Potluck Quote of the Day (9 of 10): Dorothy Parker

It has been three full days since Dorothy Parker (1895-1967) would have celebrated her 123rd birthday, and we were planning to quote her before the anniversary. We gather Zeynep Akili of Istanbul, Turkey is a huge fan of her work (this is an in-joke, Zeynep Akili is not a real person)

One can probably find her books in places like The Regulator Bookshop in Durham, NC, which is hosting humorist/author Dave Barry on Sept. 7th, Malaprop's Bookstore (note to self: don't forget the apostrophe) in Asheville, NC, or The Boulder Bookstore in Boulder, Colo.

Parker was also the focus of a recent article in "Mental Floss" magazine.

Here is her quote, on love:

"Now I know the things I know and I do; and if you do not like me so, to hell, my love, with you!"

http://www.mentalfloss.com

http://www.malaprops.com/

http://www.regulatorbookshop.com/

http://www.boulderbookstore.net/

Happy Valentine's Day (1 of 4): For Lovebirds.....

Yes, this is soooooo not us!!!!

Our Pictorial Tribute to Istanbul, Turkey.............

This is our 1,800th entry and we are dedicating to the city of Istanbul, Turkey, which was struck by what appears to be an ISIS terrorist. Ten people lost their lives yesterday, including reportedly nine German tourists and a Peruvian tourist. Another 15 people are reportedly injured.

The images from top to bottom are of: 1) A bus stop; 2) a Beyoglu streetcar; 3) simit, the pastry that is sold by hundreds of vendors throughout the city; 4) the gate of Dolmabahce Palace; 5) Burgaz Island, one of the five Princess Islands and 6) The Maiden's Tower in Uskudar.

http://www.kizkulesi.com.tr/

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/turkey/istanbul

https://goturkey.com/

When It's 8:00 p.m. in New York, It's (now) 2:00 a.m. in Istanbul (until March 30th)

Yes, we know: "Always use people in photographs" is the conventional wisdom of journalism, but we are a bit rebellious and unconventional here at "The Daily Vampire."

On a serious note, we are saddened to hear about the death of Berkin Elvan, a Turkish youth who was hit in the head by a tear gas canister during street riots over the summer protesting Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Putin act (and, we are a bit subjective here as well). Elvan's death has triggered new protests all over Turkey, but it seems that a change in power in Ankara seems unlikely even though it is assuredly what is needed now.

Here are our looks at the times in other parts of the globe as Daylight Savings Time is in effect for both the United States and Canada and perhaps elsewhere.

We are going to assume the time is 8:00 p.m./20:00 in New York, which is the reason for the Brooklyn hot dog (top image) that might get us blocked in Internet cafes in Karachi, Pakistan, or Tel Aviv, Israel, but c'est la vie say the French, and when it is 8:00 p.m. in New York, it is this time in the cities listed below:

1) Chicago/Dallas 7:00 p.m.

2) Amsterdam 1:00 a.m.

3) Dubai 4:00 a.m.

4) Buenos Aires 9:00 p.m.

5) London (pictured center) 12:00 a.m./midnight

6) Sydney 11:00 a.m.

7) Istanbul 2:00 a.m. (pictured bottom, a horse carriage driver in Burgaz Island, Istanbul)

8) Mexico City/Salt Lake City 6:00 p.m.

9) Seoul 9:00 a.m.

10) Los Angeles/Vancouver 5:00 p.m.

11) Cape Town, South Africa 2:00 a.m. (same time as Istanbul and Athens)

12) Baghdad 3:00 a.m.

http://www.visitbrooklyn.org/

http://www.visitlondon.com/

http://www.qantas.com.au/travel/airlines/home/au/en

http://www.turkishairlines.com

Virtual Postcard of Turkey (in honor of Republic's Day): Burgaz Island, Istanbul

Since we were not online on Oct. 29th, we wanted to share this image of Burgaz Island, near Istanbul, it is one of the secret gems of the city. Oct. 29th was Republic's Day in Turkey. The Republic of Turkey was established on Oct. 29, 1923, by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

Image to Fill Space: A Vintage VW Bug

It is hard to believe, but when I was a child circa 1977, my late father Mehmet Gokbudak, actually drove us from Frankfurt, West Germany, to Istanbul, Turkey. To my recollection, Austria, Hungary and Bulgaria were among the countries we drove.

And, of course, we drove through the former Yugoslavia (Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia), where we encountered some very hilly roads.
http://www.vwclub.org/

Sports Desk: France Wins Under-20 World Cup in Turkey

Today is Bastille Day in France, and their national Under-20 soccer team, is bringing home a World Cup Championship.

On Saturday, France beat Uruguay, which had upset Spain in the quarterfinals, 0-0 (4-1) on penalty kicks after 120 minutes of play without a single goal from either side.

The final was played in Istanbul, Turkey, and other host cities included Bursa, Trabzon, Rize, Gaziantep, Antalya and Kayseri. Surprisingly, neither Ankara, the Turkish capital, nor Izmir, the third largest city in Turkey held games during the tournament.

Paul Pogba (pictured top) who plays for the Italian team Juventus was named the best player of the tournament, and his teammate goal-tender Alphonse Areola (pictured bottom) from the French team Paris Saint Germain, which won the French League this season, was named the outstanding player of the final.

Ghana beat Iraq 3-0 in the competition for third place, and Ebenezer Assifuah from Ghana received the Golden Boot in the tournament as he was the player who scored the most goals.

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/sports

Presidential Quotes, Cont'd: Ronald Reagan

Greetings to our blog readers in Singapore, Dubai and Istanbul.

We actually thought about posting an image of Mao Tse-Tung to go with this quote from Ronald Reagan, but we figured if George F. Will was reading this blog that he would not be amused, though Michael Moore might be?!

Here is our quote; to check out other quotes in this series go to our sister blog "Politics, Culture and Other Wastes of Time" http://www.politicscultureandotherwastesoft.blogspot.com :

"I never drink coffee at lunch. I find it keeps me awake for the afternoon."

http://www.reaganfoundation.org

http://www.reaganlibrary.gov

Blogging in 3.5 Minutes or Less....The Six Largest Cities in Alabama (Our 1,500th entry)

Today, we are starting a series which includes entries on our sister blog "Politics, Culture and Other Wastes of Time" http://www.politicscultureandotherwastesoft.blogspot.com in which we go over the six largest cities in all 50 states.

Greetings to our blog readers in Belgium, Hungary and Italy.

Here we begin with Alabama. As a college gymnastics fan, I've been impressed with the University of Alabama's women's gymnastics team, which is a perennial power.Ashley Priess, a fifth year senior who just graduated, was named the school's female scholar-athlete of the year. Priess, who has two surgically repaired ankles, helped guide the two-time national champion Crimson Tide to a third place finish this year.

The state flower of Alabama is the Cameila, pictured top.

Here are the state's six largest cities; we gather Birmingham has a very nice zoo. Their web site reports that two red pandas were recently born at the zoo. Yesterday, the National Zoo in Washington, DC, was in panic mode as Rusty, one of their red pandas, had escaped, but he was found unharmed yesterday afternoon :

1) Birmingham 212, 237

2) Montgomery (the capital) 205, 764

3) Mobile 195, 111

4) Huntsville 180,105

5) Tuscaloosa 90, 468

6) Hoover 81, 619


SIDEBAR: We are delighted to hear that one of our favorite movie theatres in the world, the Lale Sinema in Buyukada, Turkey, (Buyukada is an island that is part of the Istanbul metro area) is showing "The Impossible" with Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor. Lale Sinema is one of the very few remaining outdoor cinemas in Turkey.


http://www.birminghamzoo.com


http://www.buyukada.org

http://www.alabamatravel.org

http://www.rolltide.com

Blogging in 3.5 Minutes (or less.........) Turkey's six largest cities

Hmmm..............trying to post a blog entry in 3.5 minutes, which is also the same length as the Elvis Costello anthem "Peace, Love and Understanding," is always a challenge.

First, let's say hello to our fans in Latvia, Slovenia and the Czech Republic, three countries which didn't exist when I was born in 1970!

Also, in order to arbitrarily increase hits today, we will mention Selma Blair, Anna Paquin and Miss Utah (alas with this compressed amount of time we don't have time to ask Google for her name!).

Here are the six largest cities in Turkey, my late father's country, which is in many times my country as well. We also like to take a moment to dedicate his entry to Duran Adam/The Standing Man (yes, we don't have to ask Bing what his name is as well) :

1. Istanbul (pictured) 13 million

2. Ankara (the capital) 4.5 million

3. Izmir 3.3 million

4. Bursa 1.9 million

5. Adana 1.57 million

6. Gaziantep 1.5 million


http://www.turkey.org

http://www.tourismturkey.org

Word of the Day: Hubris

We actually came up with this idea because of the ruthless authoritarianism displayed by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayypid Erdogan. But, given that we don't want to see his face or hear his voice after the sickening images of riot police cracking down on protesters  at Gezi Park and Taksim Square in Istanbul yesterday, we are going with an image of The Shah of Iran instead.

We also suspect that our blog could possibly be blocked in Turkey as there have been no hits from my late father's country in several days, but on the bright side our sister blog "Politics, Culture and Other Wastes of Time" is getting hits from Pakistan.

'Hubris:' (According to Wikipedia) Means extreme pride or arrogance. Hubris often indicates a loss of contact with reality and an overestimation of one's competence or capabilities_ especially when this person is in a position of power.

Things We Learned on Bing Today: KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines) Founded in 1919

Since we are a bit pressed for time today and we want to find out new information on the latest round of police crackdowns against protestors in Istanbul, Turkey, stemming from the government's decision to graze historic, scenic Gezi Park in Taksim Square, we are going to return to an old stand-by.

For these segments, we ask a major search engine a general question. Today, it was: "When was KLM founded?"

As it turns out, the Dutch carrier happens to be the world's oldest airline operating under its own name. KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines) was founded in 1919; the major hub of the airline is Shiphol Airport in Amsterdam.

KLM has 136 destinations around the globe. It merged with Air France in 2004, and the Dutch airline is also a member of the SkyTeam Alliance.

Perhaps, it's time to go back and visit Amsterdam, we we did in 1993 to revisit the Vincent Van Gogh Museum!

The Netherlands is also one of the countries in which the blog receives the most amount of hits, though per capita, we think either Latvia or El Salvador might be the two countries in which we are most popular...........perhaps?!

http://www.klm.com

http://www.rnw.nl/

Yes, Prime Minister_ Turkey's PM Says Twitter to Blame

The great Mel Brooks, who is thankfully alive and well, said the best way to make fun of your enemies is to make fun of them. As residents of Istanbul continued massive protests against Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's plans to build a shopping mall on the grounds of Gezi Park, we are going to that here as Erdogan hides away in Tunisia, his next stop on his North African foreign affairs trip.

It seems from speaking with my fellow Turkish-Americans that we might actually dislike this guy as much as Cuban-Americans despise Fidel Castro, but we are not all right-wing fanatics.

In fact, my fellow liberal Turkish-American Cenk Uygur skewered Erdogan quite well last night on his Current-TV talk show, by saying that the man thinks he can always get his way because he has been power now for just over a full decade, but the Marmara Sea's colors seem to be changing.

Here is Erdogan's actual statement about the 'causes' of the protests: "There is a problem called Twitter right now and you can find every kind of lie there," he said. "The thing that is called social media is the biggest trouble for society right now."

http://www.current.com

http://www.twitter.com

Tweets on Situation in Turkey, 3rd Entry

Since those of who have opposed Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan have referred to him as 'The Turkish Bush' for years. Here is a look at the civic unrest in Turkey which going on into its fourth day:


1. Kaan Besinci: Oh my god! Erdogan was right! Terrorists! Hooligans! (we suspect this is a tweet in jest)

2. Emre Peker: "Some #occupygezi protestors clearing debris off the street of Dolmabahce by Inonu Stadium to clear road for cars."

3. Emre Saglam: "Sleep well dear Turkish media! You will be remembered as traitors. Enjoy your place in the hisotry.......#occupygezi"

4. Tayfun Eker: "The Turkish Government is killing the Turkish citizens. Police violence turned into hateful police authority."

5. Aysun Yurel: "Can't sleep and fearing for the safety of my friends' lives for the last two days.......Stop the violence! Just stop it! #occupygezi"

6. Elif Batuman: "I wrote about #occupygezi for @tnynewsdesk and it almost killed me. Respect to all the reporters out there!"

7. Witchy: "What's happening in #Turkey is a very good example of how quickly things can change when change seems almost impossible."

PS: We are listening to an excellent radio piece on the BBC about Azerbaijan and the country's territorial struggles with Armenia and domestic problems with the dictatorial government in Baku.

More Tweets Regarding Events in Turkey

Here are some more tweets regarding the events in Turkey. Various media outlets report that four people have been killed by the police who are cracking down on protestors in Istanbul. Protests are in full swing across Turkey as right-wing Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has taken draconian measures to suppress his own constituents.

The BBC is reporting that 40,000 Istanbulians crossed the Bosporus Bridge by foot; the above image is of Taksim Square where the initial protest began.

Here are the tweets:

1) Juan Cole: Taksim Square Protests in Turkey spread to other cities. Police accused of brutality.

2) Hurriyet Daily News: #Photo Clashes over #Taksim Gezi Park protest spread across #Istanbul and #Turkey.

3) Mark Ruffalo (a famous American actor): "Be safe and strong! Something tremendulous is Happening in Turkey.

4) Mustafa Edib Yilmaz (a reporter with the conservative Turkish newspaper "Zaman"): "This is crazy. Turkey is a democracy unlike elsewhere in the a region where populist uprisings occurred. Here we have elections, not insurgency."

5) Gigi Ibrahim (an Egyptian activist who helped organize Tahrir Square uprising): "It is a little too pathetic for Egyptains to think that what is happening in #Turkey is about trees?! You have to be kidding right."

6) Rawya Rageh: "Starbucks staff in #Taksim are amazing! Gave us free coffee and doing same with protestors. Ystdy they gave ppl shelter, milk."

7) Kemal Saracoglu: "May 31, 2013: Turkey_ Istanbul Man is Killed by Police."

Tweets Regarding the Revolutionary Stand Against the Right-Wing Government in Turkey

Though the island of Buyukada, pictured here, is the quietest part of the Istanbul metro area, one may well expect that the protests in Taksim Square regarding Gezi Park have affected the island community as well. The island is said to have one of the best views of Istanbul one can see.

Here are some tweets regarding the May 31st events in Istanbul. Let me make one thing clear here: I am a Turkish-American and in no way can I be objective here. I am absolutely support the protestors, and I hope this movement brings an abrupt end to the corrupt right wing leadership of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan:

1) Hurriyet Daily News @HDNER: "Crowds cross #Istanbul's Bosporus Bridge to the European side in the early morning hours, marching in #Taksim.


2) Bianca Jagger @Bianca Jagger #Istanbul awake since yesterday morning. Police has been using tear gas & water against people for 24 hours.

3) Claire Berlinski: Okay, exciting as all of this is, I've got to get some sleep. Tune in tomorrow for the next episode of "Turkey Loses Its Marbles."

4) Alya Albayrak: Protests took and are still taking place in over a dozen Turkish cities. Thousands still on the streets. Extraordinary. #Gezi #Istanbul

5) BBC News (UK): "Turkey branches for fresh protests."

6) Asli Sonceley: Los Angeles for Istanbul right now.

7) Bruce Willis (yes, that Bruce Willis): "Let everyone know...Press in Turkey is not working....Is people dying on the streets. Turkey is suffering.

Silly Photo of the Day- Day Without Shoes Day 2013

 

Even though we are politically liberal here at "The Daily Vampire" (apologies to Oak Ridge Boys fans), we are not inclined to take part in Day Without Shoes Day, although we are taking a yoga class at the Northern Arizona Yoga Center in Flagstaff, Ariz., later today (this is a joke: Though there is an actual place called the Northern Arizona Yoga Center, we don't live anywhere near Flagstaff_ not even in the same time zone).

 

The day is meant to recognize starving children in places like Ghana, Guatemala and Tahiti (well, we suppose rich people also go around barefoot there).

 

With this in mind, we are featuring an image of the British women's beach volleyball player Zara Dampney, who has one of the few professions where one can go to work barefoot every day!

 

SIDEBAR: On a more serious note, we want to take a moment to recognize the three people killed and scores more who were injured in yesterday's bomb blast at the Boston Marathon. For me personally, this brings to mind Amanda Rigg, a 22-year-old Australian tourist who was killed in Istanbul, Turkey, on Sept. 10, 2001, the day before September 11th. I was in close proximity to that blast and I will never forget it. We wrote a story about Rigg in a 2011 entry here:

 

http://nocturnalguy38.blogspot.com/2011/09/ten-years-later-remembering-australian.html

 

 

Other links:

 

http://www.northernarizonayogacenter.com

 

http://www.onedaywithoutshoes.com

 

Catholicism By the Numbers

Many people in America and Europe may not realize it, but there are a fair number of Catholics in Turkey, my late father's country, in addition to a sizable Jewish community, particularly in the largest city of Istanbul.

Though I'm not a Catholic myself, I thought that with the crowning of a new papal head in Pope Francis I of Argentina and the fact that tomorrow is Easter Sunday, I thought I would post an entry to look at how many Catholics live in countries where they are in the minority.

The image above is of a Catholic church in Buyukada, an island in the inland Marmara Sea that is considered to be part of Istanbul; this is also where one sees many horse carriages as seen below.

In addition to Catholic churches in Istanbul, there are congregations in Izmir and Mersin.

And, as one might expect, Wikipedia states that there are very few Catholics in Afghanistan; here is a look at some of the numbers we found:

1. Afghanistan 200

2. Armenia 110,000

3. Cyprus 10,000

4. Jordan 170,000

5. Kuwait 140,000

6. Serbia 411,000

7. Turkey 35,000

http://www.catholic.org

http://www.adalarturizm.org

Here is a Look at Times Around the World

As is custom when there is a time change in the United States, where we sprang an hour forward yesterday, here is a new look at various times around the world. The top image is the logo for Radio Sweden, the middle image is of Moscow, Russia and the third one is an antique pocket watch.

We imagine one can this and other antiques at Terrace Oaks Antiques in Charleston, South Carolina, one of the nicest (and slowest) cities in North America.


Here we go:

New York: 11:30 p.m.

St. Louis 10: 30 p.m.

Los Angeles 8:30 p.m.

London 3:30 a.m.

Istanbul 5:30 a.m.

Stockholm 4:30 a.m.

Moscow 7:30 a.m.

Tokyo 12:30 p.m.

Hong Kong 11:30 a.m.

Capetown (South Africa) 5:30 a.m.

Sydney 2:30 p.m.

Buenos Aires (Argentina) 12:30 a.m.

http://www.charlestoncvb.com

http://www.terraceoaksantiqes.com

http://www.twitter.com/radiosweden

Comic Strip Dialogue_ Work Out More in 2013

Happy New Year to those of you in Istanbul, Turkey, where it will be midnight in ten minutes. We imagine there are a few pilates studios there though one well assume they would be fewer in number than Starbucks places!

Here is comic strip dialogue from the Sunday Dec. 2, 2012,, edition of "The Washington Post":

1) "Good thing I was born with no apparent purpose in life" (from "Sherman's Lagoon").

2) "Clean your room" (from "Zits")

3) "What?" (from "Doonesbury")

4) "Nope that's prograstination" (from "Knight Life").

5) "By the way, when is dad going to call me?" (from "Judge Parker")

6) "The casin's paying him big money" (from "The Amazing Spiderman")

7) "Walk it in and rise up as you release the breath of a new start" (from "Reply All")