Xenophobic Criminals in Greensboro?!

According to the police blotter in the Greensboro newspaper "Yes Weekly!," Greensboro police responded to an emergency call at 10:40 p.m. on June 29 from the Tienda Mexicana store on West Market Street which turned out to be an armed robbery.

Store employee Maria Ruiz and her 9-year-old sister were in the store when two black men in their late teens or early twenties came in and one of them pointed a gun at Ruiz's face. The second suspect jumped over the counter and demanded cash.

The two then sped off in a black four-door vehicle. Anyone who may have info is asked to call CrimeStoppers at (336.373.1000).

SIDEBAR ONE: We expect Glenn Beck's head will explode over this one (and, we would love to see that happen actually!) as the Mexican beer Tecate aired several ads en espanyol on ESPN-2 last night during Friday Night Fights.

SIDEBAR TWO: A Mexican waiter at a local Mexican restaurant, a Greek co-worker of mine and a Turkish friend of mine in Greensboro all think Spain will beat Holland- the team I am both picking and rooting for in the World Cup final tomorrow. We'll see what happens tomorrow at 1:30 p.m.

TEASER: Next Saturday, we will be debuting a new series called "The Weekly Top Ten List." We will either go with our top ten favorite people to follow on Twitter or the my top ten favorite cities in North Carolina. Among the candidates for the top slot on my Top Ten Favorite people to follow on Twitter list are "Yes Weekly!" reporter Jordan Green, conservative activist Nathan Tabor of Winston-Salem (who I rarely agree with, but it's fun to see what's on his mind), comic strip character Zippy the Pinhead who we presume to really be his creator Bill Griffith or the acidic-tongued stand-up comedian Sarah Silverman.

Things We Learned From Twitter This PM- The Counter Tea Party!

We were working on an earlier edition of this piece this pm when Whamo!, everything went amuck.

But, we are back and we will once again fix a pitcher of Kool-Aid for our fringe, right-wing lunatic friends in the Tea Party movement.

As I was driving along Battleground Avenue in Greensboro, NC, yesterday, I noticed that there was a red sign for a Tea Party rally sponsored by the Greensboro Tea Party tomorrow (April 15).

Since I will be teaching a class 40 miles away and I am not a Tea Partier or an unemployed dirt farmer residing in a trailer park in the tiny hamlet of Stokesdale, NC, (we aren't really trying to imply anything here- nudge, nidge, wink, wink!) right outside the Gate City, I will not be at the rally which will take place at 5:30 tomorrow afternoon in front of the Government Plaza downtown. After all, my job is funded through tax-payer money, and yes I have to pay them as well!

But, hopefully Jordan Green will cover the festivities for "Yes Weekly!," which can actually be found in Stokesdale!

This lunacy is not isolated to North Carolina or even red or purple states as the Peoria Tea Party will be holding a (gazooks!) three-hour rally at Riverfront in Peoria, Ill., tomorrow morning.

But, as it turns out, there are other people than me who think Tea Partiers have flown over the proverbial cuckoo's nest (apologies to the late Ken Kesey). Enter Jason Levin, founder of the Crash Tea Party movement.

According to the Twitter site for "The Huffington Post," Levin, as quoted by Jason Linkins, thinks anoyone to the left of Conan the Barbarian should hold these whacko dittoheads accountable with an assortment of counter-punches and pranks:

"Every time we have someone on camera saying Obama isn't an American citizen, we want someone sitting next to him saying: 'That's right- he's an alien from outer space.'"

I think my good friend Chris Kingt of Reidsville, NC, will love the photo of '80s sitcom icon Alf even though he is a libertarian who doesn't care for either Democrats or Republicans.

SIDEBAR: Happy 42nd birthday to Anthony Michael Hall who is probably best known for playing the blonde-headed geek in John Hughes' coming of age dark comedy "The Breakfast Club" (1985). That film is among the features that Joe Scott of Greensboro, NC, will be presenting in his 2010-2011 edition of the Mixed Tape Series at the Carousel Luxury Cinemas in the Gate City later this year.

Late Night PSA..........

Our Public Service Announcement tonight is a fairly straightforward one:

"Friends Don't Friends Vote Republican."

Hey, those of us who are fairly uber-partisan Democrats can use Cold War scare tactics too right? Perhaps, we should tell the kids- the image is of the Russian duo Boris and Natasha (from the '60s Jay Ward cartoon "The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle).

I dedicate this entry to our 'good friend' Russell Peck, who is the executive director of the North Carolina Republican Party in Raleigh (I don't actually know him). His counterpart is David Young at the North Carolina Democratic Party. I wonder if these two ever meet up at an Indian restaurant in Cary?-(a Raleigh suburb).

I must profess, as I admitted publicly in a letter to the Greensboro alternative newspaper "Yes Weekly," that I am perhaps the only Turkish-American in North Carolina who is not a supporter of Cong. Virginia Foxx (R-NC). She has been very partial to Turkish-American political needs in Congress which I appreciate, but nevertheless Foxx is a bit far too the right for me. She did publicly say that Barack Obama's health care plan was more dangerous to America than terrorism?!

Foxx actually represents a portion of the county I live in, but thankfully my rep is Cong. Brad Miller (D-NC), who received death threats from Tea Parties for supporting health care reform!

David Lynch_ the 1,000th Person I'm Following on Twitter

Film director/artist David Lynch just became the 1,000th person I'm following on Twitter. I must profess that following newsmakers and celebrities is a very fascinating affiar. Though the likes of Conan O'Brien have perhaps rightfully made fun of people like me.

Lynch's 2000 film "Mulholland Drive" was just named 'Film of the Decade' by "Film Comment" magazine. My own personal favorite film of the decade "Cache/Hidden," a French film from Austrian director Michael Haneke finished 16th on that list. I will be posting a final update of the list I submitted for the magazine's reader poll here, perhaps as soon as tomorrow.

Reporter Jordan Green, of the Greensboro, NC, weekly newspaper "Yes Weekly!" had a great column in last week's edition about Twitter. Green stated that the recent tragedy in Haiti has made Twitter the most important outlet for news and information. I couln't agree more, though one pitfall of Twitter came about this week when tweeters said that Johnny Depp died from a fatal car crash in France (he didn't!).

I also hope to post a list of my favorite people to follow on Twitter. Though I have not made my mind up yet, I am leaning towards placing singer Amanda Palmer of Dresden Dolls fame on top of the list. She just has a way of expressing herself which is perfectly suited for Twitter. The rest of us can only hope to achieve that occasionally- I'm afraid!

We're Rooting for the New Orleans Saints in the Super Bowl

I may have dubiously picked the New York Jets and the Minnesota Vikings to win their conference title games this weekened (at least, the Vikes lost in OT), but we are rooting for Drew Brees (pictured here) and the New Orleans Saints as they face the Indianapolis Colts in the Super Bowl on Feb.7.

I know my friend Brian Clarey, managing editor of "Yes Weekly!" newspaper in Greensboro, NC, is one of the few people who was a Saints fan before the season started!

This will be the very first time that the Saints have ever played in the Super Bowl. Somehow I don't expect the city's other pro sports franchise (the struggling New Orleans Hornets in the NBA) will be reaching such heights anytime soon!

Remembering the Newspaper-Police Blotter

We are continuing to remember the falling newspaper industry with entries both here and on our sister blog "Politics, Culture and Other Wastes of Time."

Today we post an actual passage from the police blotter from the current issue of the Greensboro, NC, alternative weekly "Yes Weekly," which my friend Brian Clarey edits. Jordan Green is their ace reporter.

This story involves an unusual incident to say the least:

"Jile Maness told Greensboro police officers at about 3 a.m. on May 2 that three black men forced him into the trunk of his car and drove him to an ATM, and then left him in the trunk at Groometown Road and I-85 after he was unable to obtain any $$$ from them.

Hours later, Manes said, he was able to escape from the car.

The officers investigated the incident and concluded that Manes made the whole thing up. They charged Manes with filing a false police report, resist/delay abstruct and felong stolen property."

Coming Sunday Blogathon......

I am getting a bit far behind on this here blog, so I've decided to have a Sunday blogathon at some point during the day to catch up.....I need to find a sponsor perhaps I can go with the Greensboro, NC newspaper "Yes Weekly."

Bring your own popcorn and pretzels!