Last Ten Films I've Seen: Mostly Netflix Week

Greetings to our blog readers in Sweden, Brazil and China.

Why do we have images of a map of Italy, the Athens, Ga., indie rock icons REM, and photo of a grizzly bear chasing a salmon in Alaska? They all relate to the last ten films I've seen; it should be pointed out that one of the films "The One I Love" shares its name with a song by REM, hence the reason why we have an image of the band fronted by Michael Stipe that was one of the best during the 1980s.


All of these films, except "The Trip to Italy" and "The One I Love," which were both showing at the local art house cinema, where viewed either through Netflix or Netflix streaming; two of the films, "A Trip to Italy" and "What Maisie Knew" feature English actor Steve Coogan:

1) "Point Blank." France. 2010. Dir: Fred Cavaye (no connection to Lee Marvin film with the same name)

2) The Trip to Italy. 2014. Dir: Michael Winterbottom.

3) "The One I Love" 2014. Dir: Charlie McDowell w/Elisabeth Moss from "Mad Men."

4) Grizzly. 1976. Dir: William Girdler (yes, it is a guilty pleasure film)

5) "Passion" 2012. Dir: Brian De Palma (remake of the French film "Love Crime")

6) Trance. 2013. Dir: Danny Boyle (Films features a very nude Rosario Dawson!)

7) What Maisie Knew. 2012. Dir: Scott McGhee, et al.

8) The King of Thieves. Slovakia (in German). 2004. Dir: Ivan Fila

9) "Paradise: Faith" Austria. 2012. Dir: Ulrich Seidl (first film in a triology)

10) Buddy. Norway. 2003. Dir: Mortem Tyldum

http://www.filmcomment.com

http://www.netflix.com

Last Ten Movies I've Seen: In the Age of Netflix Streaming

Greetings to our blog readers in the Czech Republic, Azerbaijan and Canada.

Yes, there is a legit reason why we have images of Mao Tse Tung, a fried egg and Charlie Brown; they are all somehow related to the last ten films I've seen, which includes four films watched via Netflix streaming and another three watched through Netflix dvds! But, we did actually see "Boyhood" and "Snowpiercer" at the cinema.


Here is the last 10:

1) Not Fade Away. dir: David Chase. 2012

2) Yumurta/ "The Egg." Turkey. dir: Semih Kaplanoglu. 2007.

3) That Cold Day in the Park. dir: Robert Altman. 1969.

4) "La Chinoise"/"The Chinese" France. dir: Jean-Luc Godard. 1967.

5) Buried. Dir: Rodrigo Cortes. 2010 w/ Ryan Reynolds

6) Ginger and Rosa. Dir: Sally Potter. 2012.

7) Snowpiercer. South Korea (in English). Joon-ho Bong. 2013

8) A Touch of Sin. China. dir: Jia Zhangke. 2013

9) Stuck in Love.dir: Josh Boone. 2012.

10) Boyhood. dir: Richard Linklater. 2014

The Olympics Lists (9 of 10): Athletes from Asian-Pacific Countries, Including one 'Russian'

We are almost near the finish line! Yes, indeed.

Here is a list of 10 athletes from Asian-Pacific countries as well as some from countries that are located within the vast Pacific Ocean, which I've only seen one time in San Diego, Calif.:

1) Noriaki Kasai. (pictured) 41, Japan. Men's Ski-jumping. Won silver and bronze.

2) Zang Hong. 25. China. Women's Speed-skating. Won gold.

3) Viktor Ahn (Ahn Hyun-Soo). 28. Russia. Short-track Speed-skating. Won gold and silver. Ahn is actually a South Korean who was offered to be in the Olympics representing Russia, and he won!

4) Lee Sang-hwa. 24. South Korea. Women's Short-track Speed-Skating.

5) Michael Martinez. 17. Philippines. Men's Figure Skating. Martinez has become a social media sensation.

6) Katharine Eustace. 38. New Zealand. Women's Skeleton.

7) Pan-To Barton Lui. 20. Hong Kong. Short-track Speed-Skating. He is the only athlete representing Hong Kong.

8) Lydia Lassila. 32. Australia. Free-style skiing. Won bronze.

9) Jossi Wells. 23. New Zealand. Men's free-style skiing. Ouch! (he finished fourth, the event was won by American David Wise).

10) Mao Asada. 23. Japan. Women's Figure Skating. The event is traditionally the most watched event during the games; competitions starts today.

http://sochi2014.olympics.com.au/

http://www.olympic.org.nz/sochi-2014

http://jossiwells.com/

Little Thinkers (6 of 16): Leonardo da Vinci

Greetings to our blog readers in Sri Lanka, The Netherlands and China.

Here is quote of the day from Leonardo da Vinci:

"While I thought I was learning how to live, I have been learning to die."

7 Words in Turkish (6 of 7): Oysters

Greetings to our blog-readers in Argentina, Belgium and China.

Even though I am 90-percent fluent in Turkish (or maybe just 89 -percent), I didn't know the Turkish word for oysters; it is ISTIRIDYE; I am not using all caps because I've gone insane or towards political extremism, but rather because the Turkish word for oysters is hard to spell. And, we certainly didn't want to eff that up.

For some genuine underwater laughs, we recommend the "Sherman's Lagoon" comic strip. The Sunday edition of the strip is carried by the Sunday editions of "The Washington Post" and "The Denver Post" as well as other newspapers throughout the United States (see link below).


http://www.shermanslagoon.com

Highlights from The Bucket List: Going to Seattle Anyone?

Yes, even though I'm only 43 years old, I actually made a bucket list of 100 things to do before I die. Some things are a bit more idealistic; some things are a bit more practical.

With that, I want to send special greetings to our blog-readers in Russia, China and Japan as well as those of you in smaller countries like Malta and El Salvador.

Here are some of the highlights:

1. Take a Greyhound bus trip from Burlington, NC, to Seattle.

2. Go to Iceland, and take some photos of the volcanoes while you are there.

3. Watch "Breaking Bad" on dvd in its entirety (I have yet to see a single show of the series which concludes this weekend).

4. Write an article for "Mental Floss."

5. Wake up at 6 a.m. for six days in a row?! (I'm a night person)

6. Take a Varan bus trip (Varan is a Turkish bus line) from Istanbul to Van

7. Date a woman 20 years younger than you

8. Date a woman 20 years older than you

9. Visit the National Zoo in Washington, DC, take lots of photos of the pandas

10. Volunteer at a homeless shelter

http://www.greyhound.com

http://www.visiticeland.com

http://www.turkey.org

http://www.mentalfloss.com

http://www.washington.org

http://www.homelessshetlerdirectory.org

Guest Blogger Today: Zappa the Family Cat

Welcome to our blog-readers in China, Brazil and Malta. Today, our guest blogger is Zappa the Family Cat, who is named after the late iconic rock musician Frank Zappa.

Zappa has a tendency to swear a lot, so we have to work around that:

"**D **M*, you stupid bastard, why didn't get me some ****ing roast chicken from Harris Tetter. Why do care about no one except else. You are such a *****e*** and a ****ing narcissist. I hate your guts, and I hope you die of liver cancer."

Of course, the person Zappa is talking to is me!

Reptile Week Cont'd_ The Alligators

Yesterday, we started with the turtles. We forgot to mention that the Minnesota-based folk/rock band Trampled By Turtles will be performing in Buffalo, NY, at the Town Ballroom and The Port City Music Hall in Portland, Maine, on Dec. 2, in addition to their show at the Newport Music Hall in Columbus, Ohio. The band plays many other days in the northeast during that interval as well.

For those of you in North Carolina, my good friend folk singer Bruce Piephoff will play at the Southern Lights Bistro in his hometown of Greensboro, NC, on Nov. 29 and Dec. 4; I'm not sure if he has ever written a song about reptiles.


Today, we continue with the mighty alligator, which can be found from North Carolina to Florida here in United States. Initially, we were going to post an entry for crocodiles, which were the subject of a kitschy, but catchy Elton John song "Crocodile Rock."

But, we couldn't find a good image of Gustave, the notorious man-eating croc in the central African nation of Burundi to use. Gustave, who has reportedly devoured some 300 people, perhaps some of whom were photographers, was mentioned in a "Mental Floss" article about Burundi within the last year.

That same magazine said that 9:30 a.m. was the best time to post blog entries. It's actually 9:30 p.m. here on the east coast, but it is that time in Beijing, China, right now.  Perhaps, it's that time in Hong Kong too.

The Crocodiles are also the nickname of the Turkish soccer team Bursaspor, located in Bursa, Turkey, in western Turkey; the city is Turkey's fourth largest. This weekend the Crocs' tied Istanbul powerhouse Besiktash 3-3. I suppose taking photographs of the game is less risky than sneaking up on Gustave.

As for alligators, if one is in St. Augustine, Fla.,  then one can visit the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, which is open from 1:00-5:00 p.m.

http://www.trampledbyturtles.com

http://www.brucepiephoff.net

http://www.southernlightsbistro.com

http://www.mentalfloss.com

http://www.alligatorfarm.us

http://www.bursaspor.net (In Turkish)

Olympic Stories- Romanian Gymnastics Veteran Catalina Ponor

Team Romania did not repeat their 2004 Athens Olympics' feat, which was winning a team gold medal in women's gymnastics. But, thanks to the efforts of Catalina Ponor, 24 (she turns 25 on Aug. 20, shortly after the games finish) the team will leave London with a team bronze medal in the sport.

Along with British gymnast Beth Tweedle, 27, Ponor, is one of the oldest Olympic gymnasts competing in London and her achievement is made more remarkable because she completely missed out on the 2008 Beijing Olympics due to injuries, in fact, four years ago, she was actually retired from the sport.

But, in early 2011, she back to train with Ocatavian Balu, who is considered to be one of the best gymnastics coaches in the world. Ponor had a major setback along the way as she was hospitalized as she underwent a medical procedure to correct a heart defect in August of 2011.

Romania's chances of winning gold in the team competition, which ultimately went to Team America, were diminished from because of an injury to one of the team's key gymnasts Larisa Ioardache, 16. But, along with fellow gymnastics veterans Sandra Izbasa, 22, and Diana Chelaru, 18, the team pulled together for a bronze medal.

Russia got the silver, and the defending Olympic champion Chinese team actually finished fourth.

Ponor's honors also include winning four European titles on balance beam 2004-06 and again this year. Ponor hails from the Black Sea port city of Constanta.

http://www.thecouchgymnast.com

http://www.romaniatourism.com

Quote of the Day- Karl Marx

Since there were "Jeopardy" categories pertaining to both Karl Marx and John Lennon (a play on the term Marx and Lenin), we thought we'd quip the German philosopher Marx (1818-1883) who known for being the first to develop the political philosophies of socialism, at least in the modern era.

Marx is also one of the subjects made into a plush doll from the Unemployed Philosophers Guild.

Due to his controversial views, Marx lived much of his later life in exile, including stints in Paris and London, where he died. His most famous works are "The Communist Manifesto" (1848) and "Das Capital" (1867-1894).

Marx was born in Trier in southwestern Germany. His theories revolved around class struggle and conflicts between ownership and the working class.

There are historians who believe that the Soviet Union and red China which were established in theory according to Marxism were actually against Marx's thinking because he was opposed to totalitarianism.

Here is his quote:

"Capital is dead labor, which vampire-like, lives only by sucking labor, and lives the more, the more labor it sucks."

Casulaties of Modern Technology (8 of 12)_ Etch A Sketch

Of course, we love Albert Einstein here at The Daily Vampire, but the reason for this entry, which was originally going to feature Hallmark greeting cards, is for a politically honest gaffe made by Eric Fehrnstorm, a spokesperson for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's campaign.

This week, Fehrnstorm told CNN following Romney's win in Illinois in response to a question about the possibility of the Republican Mike Dukakis (forgive the editorial comment) shifting his stump speeches to win over independent voters as opposed to staunch right-wingers who have seemingly split the vote between Romney's two main Republican foes, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum.

And, in case you were in a village in Uzbekistan, and you missed what Fehrnstorum said, it was this: "You hit a reset button for the fall campaign. Everything changes. It's almost like an Etch-A-Sketch. You kind of shake it up and start all over again."

As for the product itself, its origins go back to th elate 1950s, according to the manufacturers, the Ohio Art Company (which relocated production to Shenzhen, China, in 2001), when Andre Cassagnes, a French electrician discovered that a drawing toy could be created with joysticks, aluminum powder and glass.

As a result, the first Etch-A-Sketch went into production in 1960, and it became very popular with baby boomers. The Etch-A-Sketch was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in Rochester, NY, in 2008.

To be fair, the Etch-A-Sketch, which was not as popular as it was in its heyday until Fehrnstorm gave new attention to something that most of us played with the backseats of station wagons as kids, is not really a Casualty of Modern Technology. But, it has evolved since the toy was introduced to the market. The modern Etch-A-Sketch also allows for coloring.

Status Update_ It's Been a Fairly Rotten Day

We were hoping to post a more interesting entry, but well even though at times, it looked like today might be an okay day, things just sort of fell apart. But, the highlight of the day was perhaps seeing an old Huckleberry Hound cartoon from 1961 on Boomerang where the blue dog with a Southern accent was in drag! He was trying to be Little Red Riding Hood in a cartoon that followed the plot of the age-old fairly tale which is supposedly about a girl coming to terms with her sexuality. But, we'll leave that up to English majors at Yale.

As for apples, the United States of America is the world's second leading producer of apples behind China. American apples account for 7.5 percent of the world market, according to Wikipedia.

While Michigan and Washington are known for apple production, there is quite an abundance of apples in my home state of Virginia, and my state of residency, which is North Carolina.

In Virginia, many apples can be found in the Shenandoah Valley, particularly around Winchester, which is the hometown of the late country-singing icon Patsy Cline. Each April, Winchester hosts the Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival, which according to its web site brings in 250,000 visitors to the area each year. I remember one year when I attended, the crooner Pat Boone was one of the guests of honor, but I didn't get around to asking him why he was a right-wing nut (forgive the political humor).

In North Carolina, the town of Hendersonville, near Asheville in western North Carolina, is known for its apple farms.

The other leading producers of apples are Iran, Turkey and Russia.

Turkey is my late father's country, and I knew that the country produced many apples, but I did not realize Turkey was fourth in the world in apple production.

Many Turkish apples are produced around Amasya, which is in the central Black Sea region of Turkey, relatively close to the port city of Samsun.

Hopefully, tomorrow will be a better day. In the worst case scenario, I can always play with the family cat.

Silly Photo to Fill Space- Santo the Wrestler Toy

If there is one 'good' thing about globalization, it is that one can find an action for beloved Mexican wrestler Santo that is Made in China!

This figure above was not among the toys featured in a recent "Independent Weekly" expose/satire as the Raleigh, NC-based alt weekly went into a Roses discount store, one of many owned by millionaire businessman Art Pope, who is from Raleigh.

Pope is one of the leading contributors to the Republican Party and the Tea Party in North Carolina, and he has complained that it is 'almost extortion' that state Democrats want to boycott his stores.

On the right-leaning radio station 680-AM WPTF, Pope apparently said (according to "Indy Weekly") that his free-market, anti-government approach allows him to give more money to charity. (inserted editorial comment here: uh-huh).

The excellent article by Bob Geary, Samiha Shanna and Lisa Sorg featured many toys sold at Pope's stores, which were ironically Made in China.

Olympic Athlete Profile (23 of 25)- Wang Meng/women's short-track speed skating/China

Whew! We had tremendous problems trying to find an image that worked for this one, but I think after literally going through 15 different images we finally found one.

And, hopefully since Wang Meng, 24, is a short-track speed skater from China, a country with over a billion folks, I will be rewarded with more web hits than normal for a Friday afternoon!

Wang (in Chinese, one is refered to by first names) is considered to be the best women's short-track speed skater in the world. Before today's competition, she had earned 14 total medals in her career.

The Chinese skater has already won individual gold in the 500-meter race at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, and she is expected to win more medals today as she competes in two separate events.

Additionally, Wang won a team gold in the 3,000-meter relay when a South Korean skater crashed into one of Wang's teammates causing her team, which would have won gold otherwise, to be disqualified.

Wang got into short-track speed skating at age nine.

Her hero is English soccer star David Beckham.

She told the AP through an interpreter that she was elated and relieved to win gold in the 500-meter race:

"On the final two laps, I still felt my legs shaking," Wang said. "I guess when you're so close to what you've always wanted, it's natural to be shaken."

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).

Quote of the Week- Mao Tse-Tung

I had a chance to read Tom Stoppard's hit play "Rock and Roll," which was being staged in Chicago and Washington, DC, earlier this summer.

Since it takes place (primarily) in the former Czechoslavakia in the summer of 1968, I'd thought I'd go with a quote from two figures from that era on my two respective blogs.

We were initially going to go with Jim Morrison here and Mao Tse-Tung on the other blog, but I like the former Chinese leader's quote better, and it is ironic considering that he was a dictator:

"I voted for you in the last election."