Dead or Alive (5 of 12)- Christopher Lee

Today, we resurrect (no pun intended) our Dead or Alive series for Halloween by asking if British actor Christopher Lee, perhaps best known for his title role in "Dracula Has Risen From the Grave" (1968) is still among us.

Lee was born on May 27, 1922, in London, England.

In the last entry to this series, we asked if former game show Richard Dawson was alive or dead. "Family Feud" fans will be happy to learn that he is alive as his game show which continues with another host (sorry, I don't watch much daytime tv so I have no idea who hosts the show now).

Special Quote of the Day- Nazim Hikmet

Since today is Republic's Day in Turkey, my late father's country, I thought I would quote the great Turksih poet Nazim Hikmet (1901-1963).

Hikmet was a communist who was frequently jailed for his political activity, but ironically today he is considered to be The Official National Poet of Turkey, and one of his poems about a Turkish military victory is actually considered to be a favorite among nationalists! Hikmet lived his later years in exile in the Soviet Union. He is buried in Moscow:

"However and wherever we are, we must live as if we will never die."

Silly Photo to Fill Space- Pumpkin Face

Yes, it's that time of the year again.

Silly Photo to Fill Space- Pumpkins on a Fence

This picture was supposedly taken in New York. A bit creepy, huh?!!!

Quote of the Week- Gilda Radner

Eight years ago, my aunt Jo-Jo died of breat cancer in her mid-40s.

Comedian Gilda Radner (1944-1989) also succumbed to the disease at that juncture in her life.

Today in honor of Breat Cancer Awareness Month, we quip the famed 'Saturday Night Life" actress pictured here as Roseanne Roseaannadanna with Jane Curtain:

"I'd much rather be a woman than a man. Women can cry, they can wear cute clothes, and they're the first to be rescued from a sinking ship."

Know Your Congressional Reps and Senators (16 of 21)- Frank Wolf

Those of who read this blog regularly know I'm a fairly partisan Democrat. In fact, we just endorsed Demcratic state senator Creigh Deeds for the Virginia gubernatorial race (see earlier entry).

But, I do happen to have many Republican friends and some of them are federal state representatives in Washington, DC, Richmond and Raleigh.

Cong. Frank Wolf (R-Va) is one of those friends, and I have tremendous respect and admiration for him.

Wolf, who was born on Jan. 30, 1939, in Philadelphia is the most senior of all Virginia's congressional reps. Wolf was elected in 1980 after narrowly defeating the incumbent Democrat Joe Fisher (1914-1992) who had served three terms in the house.

Wolf is co-chair os the Human Rights Caucus along with Cong. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), and he is also prominent in the fields of transportation and gambling.

Since 1989, Wolf has made five trips to The Sudan (according to Wikipedia) and he has advocated relief for the genocide in Darfur.

Wolf also formed the bipartisan Iraq Study Group in 2006 to access the war in Iraq.

But, Wolf is perhaps best known for vocally criticizing China's human rights record. During a visit to Beijing with Cong. Chris Smith (R-NJ) just prior to the 2008 Olympics, Wolf was not allowed to meet with local human rights lawyers.

He was last challenged by Democratic opponent Judy Feder.

Wolf represents the tenth district of Virginia, which includes mostly DC suburbs as well as the town of Front Royal and the City of Winchester.

Cong. Rick Boucher (D-VA), who was elected to office in 1984, is Virginia's most senior Democratic congressional rep.

I met Wolf while working for a weekly newspaper in Woodstock, Va., which is now in the sixth congressional district represented by Cong. Bob Goodlate (R).

The Last 10 Films I've Seen

This may qualify as an in-joke since I am using two images from the original books to two movies I've recently seen on my two respective blogs.

The in-joke is that because I watch so many films, I rarely get around to actually reading novels, but perhaps I can read the original book to "Where the Wild Things Are" (pictured here) since it is reportedly less than 300 words! Perhaps, my friends Sam Riddleberger (pseudodymn) and CeCe Bell (a married couple, both of whom are children's book authors) would be proud of me.

I have read William Burroughs' novel "Naked Lunch" several times though, but I haven't read Upton Sinclair's novel "Oil!," which was the basis for "There Will Be Blood." However, I have read Sinclair's most famous work "The Jungle," which I don't believe ever got made into a movie.

I got this idea from "Film Comment" magazine which lists the last ten films that film directors or esteemed film critics have seen. I forget whose list I saw last (I think it may have been Wes Anderson) though I would love to see the list of films that Quentin Tarantino and John Waters have seen.

Here is my list, going from the film I've seen most recently backwards. I actually saw all but three of these films at a movie theatre, including a midnight screening in Greensboro, NC, of the ever-disturbing Japanese horror film "Audition."

The star indicates that I had viewed the film previously:

1. "In the Loop"
2. "Zombieland"
3. "Where the Wild Things Are"
4. "Audition" (Japan)*
5. "Death at a Funeral"
6. "Bright Star"
7. "Capitalism: A Love Story" (doc)
8. "Naked Lunch"*
9. "There Will Be Blood"*
10. "Cold Souls"