Little Thinkers (7 of 16) Ludwig van Beethoven

Greetings to our blog readers in the Czech Republic, The Bahamas and Laos (?!, well, we have gotten at least one hit from there before).

Tonight, we quote the great German composer Ludwig van Beethoven, whom us Generation X'ers became familiar with in some part because his music is featured prominently in Stanley Kubrick's film version of "A Clockwork Orange" (1971), which was originally a novel by Anthony Burgess.

Those who like to listen to classic music on the radio may want to tune to the American daily public radio series "Performance Today," which airs on WFDD (88.5-FM; Winston-Salem, NC), and other public radio stations.

For those who want to see classical music up close and personal and happy to reside in the Denver-area, The Colorado Symphony is offering a companion concert series this weekend to the Denver Art Museum's "Passport to Paris." Among the pieces that the symphony will perform will be several from Frederick Chopin.

Here is our quote from Ludwig van:

"Nothing is more intolerable than to have to admit your own errors."

SIDEBAR: Those of us on the east coast probably didn't get a chance to watch the University of California-Santa Barbara Gauchos (10-5; 1-1 in the Big West) win their home game versus the Long Beach State '49ers (5-12; 1-2 in the Big West)  by a score of  64-51. The Gauchos were lead by Michael Brayson (soph. Sacramento, Calif.) who scored 13 points. His teammate Alan Williams (jr. Phoenix, Ariz.) had a double-double with 12 points and 15 rebounds. For the visitors, Mike Caffey (jr., Corona, Calif.) scored 21 points. The game aired nationally on ESPN-U.

http://www.wfdd.org

http://www.coloradosymphony.org

http://www.ucsbgauchos.com

http://www.longbeachstate.com

Quotes from the Little Thinkers (3 of 16): Charlie Chaplin

Greetings to our blog-readers in Italy, France and Bulgaria.

Today, we quote the great actor/filmmaker/composer Charlie Chaplin, whose classic film "City Lights" is available from the Criterion Collection: http://www.crterion.com

There is also an independent bookstore in San Francisco, Calif., called City Light.

Here is his quip:

"This is a ruthless world and one must be ruthless to survive in it."

http://www.charliechaplin.com

DC Week (6 of 8): Cong. Reps from Blue States

Today, Cong. Chris Van Hollen (pictured top) made headlines when he was informed by Cong. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), who was presiding in the speaker's chair, that Democrats in the House could not introduce legislation to end the government shutdown. The video of the spat went viral, and the incident was subject of stories in both "The Salt Lake Tribune" and "The Baltimore Sun."

Since the government shutdown has just concluded the 15th day of deadlock, we thought we'd post two boxers as the middle image.

The first image is of Cong. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.) who should be mistaken for ventriloquist comedian Jeff Dunham. While the House has a reputation for being a group of grumpy old men, Denham is only 46 years and there are two House members on this list who are younger than him.

Denham is also one of only 17 House members (from both parties) who lives in a competitive district, according to "The San Francisco Chronicle."

Here are 10 House members from Blue states:


1. Chris Von Hollen (D-Md.), fifth dist., 54, budget committee

2. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), 48, 23rd  district, minority whip; financial services

3. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), 35, 15th dist., energy and commerce; foreign affairs

4. Pete Welch (D-Vt.), 66, energy and commerce

5. Jim Langevin (D-R.I), 49, 2nd dist., Armed services

6. Pete King (R-NY), 69, 2nd dist., Financial services; foreign affairs

7. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.) 46, 9th dist., agriculture; transportation and infrastructure

8. Elizabeth Esty (D-Conn.), 56, 5th dist., science, space and technology; transportation and infrastructure

9.Niki Tsongas, (D-Mass.), 67, 3rd dist., Armed Services; Natural Resources

10. Michael Grimm (R-NY), 43, 11th   dist., Financial Services


http://www.baltimoresun.com/

http://www.sltrib.com/

http://denham.house.gov/

http://www.sfgate.com/news/

http://vanhollen.house.gov/

http://www.rollcall.com

10 People Who Will Decide the Election (7 of 10) Donna Scott of Portland, Maine

Yikes! "Politico," on the last objective sources for news in the United States, along with "The Washington Post," has stated Mitt Romney has made tremendous gains on President Barack Obama following last week's debate in Denver, Colo., in which Romney interrupted moderator Jim Lehrer at least 17 times (more or less). NPR, which the likes of Bill O'Reilly seem to proclaim as being as radical left-wing as Radio Havana, Cuba, said that the race is now a 'virtual dead heat.'

But, 'Politco' also shows Obama winning the race 303-235 though the president is only winning Colorado 47.4 to 47.2 percent. Conversely, the numbers are also close in a very politically divided Virginia, my home state, in which one congressional district represents the rural hamlet Boones Mill, where one can see signs for far-right third party candidate Virgil Goode (from nearby Rocky Mount) and the collegetown of Charlottesville, by a margin of 47.8-47.5 percent.

Today, we are turning our attention to Maine, which seemed like a possible swing state when we planned this project over the summer, where Obama is winning 53.3-38.0 percent.

And, we are choosing a fictitious person named Donna Scott, whom we will say works at an independent bookstore in Portland (Maine). We will say she is 37, white, pro-choice and would likely vote for Obama.

Lastly, welcome to our Armenian-American blog readers. This afternoon, I posted a comment on the web site for "USA Armenian Life," (I am a Turkish-American, there are some differences between the two groups- to put it mildly) where I endorsed Cong. Howard Berman (D-Calif.) over his arch rival Cong. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) or was it the other way around?

For those of who reside in Provo, Utah, or Tashkent, Uzbekistan, who might be oblivious to American national politics, Berman and Sherman, who both represent the suburban area around Los Angeles, which has a large Armenian-American population, are entangled in a congressional race with each other due to gerrymandering, even though both are Democrats.

http://www.politico.com

http://www.armenianlife.com

http://www.ataa.org (ATAA is the leading Turkish-American group in the United States and Canada)

Portland, Maine, independent bookstores, hopefully, none of their employees has the name of Donna Scott:

http://www.nonesuchbooks.com

http://www.longfellowbooks.com

Quote of the Day/Week- Steve Jobs

Today, we conclude our month-long series of quotes from people who passed away within the calendar year of 2011.


Originally, we were contemplating quoting Kim Jong-Il, the ruthless North Korean dictator whom we actually quoted in 2010 when we were quoting one person from all 32 of the countries in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. We simply couldn't find anyone else from North Korea to quip.

Our quote today though comes from Steve Jobs (1955-2011) who died at age 56 on
Oct. 5, 2011 from complications due to cancer. He was a techno wizard innovator responsible for many gadgets, such as the iPhone, the iPod and the i Pad. He is also the subject of an acclaimed, best-selling biography by Walter Isaacson.


Jobs was also technically (pardon the ironic use of the word) a Middle Eastern American since his biological father was from Syria. Isaacson said that ironically Jobs unknowingly met him as the Syrian immigrant ran a deli near Palo Alto, California,the town with Stanford University where Jobs resided.

Here is the quote:

"Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren't used to an environment where excellence is expected."

Status Update_ Je Suis Tres Burned Out

If folks are wondering why a seemingly compulsive blogger like myself has not blogged in a full 48 hours, the reason is very simple. I am toast!

Recently, my friend Chris Knight made a highly confessional series about his a serious health condition that he was dealing with, and I thought to myself: "Hmmmm.....I'm not sure I could do that!" And, as a general rule, I've tried to avoid personal matters, except my political beliefs (memo to Newt Gingrich: Bring It On!).

But, the strains of teaching summer school are quite challenging, and it never seem to end. However, we are hoping to have some new entries up again as soon as tomorrow. Of course, grading mountains of papers will have to be the priority.

Interestingly enough, an image of burnt toast was used for the web site of Valley Bible Fellowship, a seemingly quite evangelical outfit in Boonville, Calif. (hey, I thought California was a blue state?). I read the post on the assumption that they were implying if one did not come to their church, they might find themselves in Hot Stuff's lair. But, upon reading the passage that went along with the entry, I could not quite figure out what they were saying at all.

That does remind me, all the "World is Coming to an End" billboards put up Harold Camping to promote May 21, 2011, as doomsday, have come down. There were about four on Route 220 between Roanoke, Va., and Greensboro, NC. I suppose we'll see them again with a new date some time next year!

SIDEBAR: The "If you gotta go, you gotta go" sentiment apparently does not apply to residents of Zimbabwe. While dictators in Syria, Yemen and Libya are making headlines due to their violent reactions towards political protests against their Orwellian leadership, Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe has gone under the radar.

But, on May 7th, Alois Mabhunu, a police sergeant in (we presume) the capital city of Harare, made the mistake of using Mugabe's own personal throne. So for using the designated toilet, Mabhunu got a ten-day jail sentence for invading the dictator's privacy.

I actually heard this on the BBC_ of all places!

Quote of the Week- Angela Davis

Today, we conclude our quotes from radical left-wingers for the month of May with a quip from Angela Davis, who is alive and well in Oakland, Calif., at age 67. Though today she makes the rounds in speaking engagements, she was a headline-maker from 1969-1972 as she became a controversial figure involved with both The Black Panthers movement and Communist Party, USA.

Davis spent time in jail from 1971-1972 because (according to Wikipedia) guns registered in her name were used in the infamous Marin County Courthouse Incident on Aug. 7, 1970. The sensational event involved guns being brought into a courtroom, hostage-taking, and an exchange of gunfire which alas lead to the killing of a judge.

Her quote comes to us us by way of the interesting graphic novel-inspired book "Self-Defense for Radicals" which I purchased on a whim from The Internationalist Bookstore in Chapel Hill, NC, several weeks ago.

Though I'm not a radical or a socialist myself (nor am I a Tea Partier or a Republican), I found Mickey Z's book, which features quotes from Davis and Malcolm X, to be quite fascinating. The author uses both expressions of his left-wing political views alongside boxing tips from pro boxing trainer Joe Goosen. The book was released by PM Press, which also has the ever-radical illustrated manifesto "Abolish Restaurants" by the writer/artist Prote.

On June 25, The Internationalist has a unique event as they host Duckmandu (Aaron Seeman), a self-described punk accordianist who plays everything from klezmer to Broadway to The Dead Kennedys (?!)

Here is the quote from Davis:

"Radical simply means grasping things at the root."

SIDEBAR: We want to take a moment to congratulate the University of Virginia men's lacrosse team on winning their fifth NCAA title. The Cavaliers beat the University of Maryland in a title game that was played in the Terps' home state in Baltimore. Colin Briggs scored five goals for the Cavs in the 9-7 victory. But, we loved the Terps' team motto which was "Fear the Turtle."

Road Trips USA (4 of 20) New Hampshire to Oklahoma

Greetings to those of you enjoying your well-deserved lunch hours in Long Beach, Calif.

Today, we continue our either much-loved or much-disdained Road Trips USA series of entries as look at how far the women's gymnastics team from The University of New Hampshire in Durham, NH, will have to travel for their 'regional' meet at The University of Oklahoma in Norman, Ok.

But, rather than examining the exact distances between the two campuses which are quite far away, we are going to go with the distance between Ozzie's Diner on 1700 Lexington Ave. in Norman, Ok., and Young's Restaurant/Coffee Shop on 48 Main Street in Durham, NH.

We almost went with the Pink Cadillac Diner in Rochester, NH, since we love the Pink Cadillac Diner in Natural Bridge, Va. (we presume they have no other connections), but we decided it was only fair to stick to the zip codes in question.

Is the answer:

A) 28 hours even

B) 28 hours and 20 minutes

C) 28 hours and 50 minutes

D) 29 hours and 35 minutes

The UNH Wildcats are also very competive in men's hcokey as they got to the Final-8 before losing to Minnesota-Duluth over the weekend.

Of course, those of us here in ACC country are more familiar with Durham, NC, where Duke University is. The Blue Devils terminated their women's gymnastics program many years ago. If you want a precise answer, ask Google.

In our last entry in this series, we asked how far Durham, NC, was from Tucson, Az. The answer was A) 32 hours even!

In Turkish, It's Called Tembellik

I am suffering from laziness today.... (tembellik does mean laziness in Turkish)

Boy, this is really bad. I know this image doesn't suit the season, especially since it might snow in Cary, NC, (a suburb of Raleigh) tonight, where I was hoping to see a movie at the Galaxy Cinema, but we like it and that's all that matters. Right?

There happens to be a Lazy Dog Cafe chain in southern California, with locations in Irvine. Thousand Oaks and Torrance.

And, there is a Lazy Dog Vineyeard in Sonoma, Calif.

Ahh, it's time to take a nap.