Quotes from Past Winter Olympics Athletes : Katarina Witt

Good morning to those of you in Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, Israel, Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran.

Since Bob Costas, the American host of the 2014 Winter Olympics, on NBC told us that social media was on fire with mentions of the women's figure skating results yesterday in which Adelina Sotnikova of Russia upset previous Olympic gold medalist Kim Yuna of South Korea (alas we just discovered we didn't spell her name right on the labels; we'll blame Pyongyang).

So, we thought this would be a good way to get hits on our blog! Yuna got silver; Carolina Kostner of Italy got bronze. And. Gracie Gold of the United States may want to hide in a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Bhutan as she came in fourth, which is apparently very difficult for Olympic athletes to deal with.

Our quote tonight/today is from Katarina Witt, who won two gold medals in figure skating in both the 1984 Sarajevo Olympics and 1988 Calgary Olympics. Interestingly enough, with her first win, Witt won a gold medal for a country which no longer exists, East Germany, in a country, that no longer exists, Yugoslavia (Sarajevo is now the capital of Bosnia).

Witt raised eyebrows when she posed nude for "Playboy" in 1998, the issue became only the second time, the men's adult magazine completely sold out. The first time was for an issue with Marilyn Monroe.

Witt also headed an unsuccessful bid for Munich to get the 2018 Winter Olympics, which would have made the German city the first one to host both the summer and winter games (Munich hosted the 1972 Summer Olympics).

Here is Witt's quote, she is now 48 years old:

"When I get up, I have a cup of coffee, surf the Internet, and then do a half-hour run."

http://en.katarina-witt.de/

Little Thinkers Quotes: Andy Warhol (5 of 16)

Greetings to our blog-readers in Israel, Ethiopia (?!, well perhaps) and Kazakhstan.

Today, we continue our Little Thinkers series with a quote from the great American pop artist Andy Warhol, who was famous for painting soup cans as well as avant garde portraits of Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe and Mao Tse-Tung, among others.

In art, the Baltimore Museum of Art recently recovered a Renoir that was stolen form the museum in the 1960s, the person who had the painting claimed that it was purchased for seven dollars at the Harpers Ferry Flea Market in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.

There is an Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh.

Here is his quote:

"Sex is more exciting on the screen and between the pages than between the sheets."


http://www.warhol.org

http://www.artbma.org

Quote of the Day- Marilyn Monroe

Today, we continue quoting people who have been made into plush toy dolls from the American novelty company The Unemployed Philosophers Guild. Most of the companies' other dolls, do in fact, include the likes of Sigmund Freud and Frederick Nietzsche.

We are going with Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962), one of the newer dolls (we believe) and by quoting the actress who alas died under mysterious circumstances at age 36; amazingly enough she would be age 86 today.

One of Monroe's signature film the musical "Gentleman Prefer Blondes" (1953, (dir. Howard Hawks)will air on Turner Classic Movies (TCM) on July 12 at 8:00 p.m., New York time/6:00 p.m., Aspen, Colorado, time.

And, we believe that by quoting Marilyn, we are the only blog in the world (perhaps) to quote both Marilyn Monroe and James Monroe, the fifth president of America, within the same week.

Special thanks to those of you in Slovenia, Turkey and Thailand for visiting the blog.

Here is her quote:

 "Being a sex symbol is a heavy load to carry, especially when one is tired, hurt and bewildered."http://www.marilynmonroe.com

http://www.tcm.com

http://philosophersguild.com

UPDATE_ The answer to our question regarding the distance between Los Angeles and Tokyo is B) 5,452 miles

Rabbit Ears Quiz (9 of 12)_ "In Search Of...."

Today, we go with an image that doesn't exactly match the tv show, as this is an image of the UFO Museum in Istanbul, Turkey, of all places.

We are focusing on the 30-minute documentary series "In Search Of..." which was narrated by Leonard Nimoy, who is, of course, best known for being Mr. Spock on "Star Trek."

Amazingly enough, "In Search Of..." is his most succesful venture away from "Star Trek." The series also outlasted "Star Trek" as it ran for 146 epidoes over a six-year period from 1976-1982.

The series examined mysterious things, like paranormal activiting, such as BigFoot, UFOs and the Lochness Monster, as well as people who disappeared mysteriously, including D.B. Cooper and Amelia Earhardt.

Three shows I recall watching when the show aired at 6:30 p.m. on Sundays on WSET (Lynchburg, Va.) when I was a child included an episode about the death of Marily Monroe, the disappearance of Charles Lindbergh's baby and the mass suicide in Guyana of followers to the Rev. Jim Jones.

Other unique shows, included one about the Swamp Monster in Louisiana, the discovery of Troy in modern-day Turkey and just who was Jack the Ripper.

Today, for our quiz, we ask who hosted the initial pilot episode of "In Search Of...," Rod Serling of "Twilight Zone" fame had narrated two documentary films which lead to the series that Nimoy hosted.

Is the answer:

A. Robert Vaughn

B. William Conrad

C. Peter Falk

D. Orson Welles

In the News_ American Postage Stamps Increase

On Monday, here in the United States, standard stamps for letters and bills will increase from 44 cents to 45 cents, though most stamps are now 'Forever Stamps," meaning they can be used even if stamp rates increase.

This image above is of the 1997 Marilyn Monroe stamp, which was part of the Legends of Hollywood stamp series.

SIDEBAR: Kudos to soccer star Clint Dempsey for being the first American to score three goals in the English Premiere League. His team Fulham defeated New Castle 5-2 yesterday.

In Turkish soccer, Istanbul powerhouse team Besiktas beat Antalyaspor 2-1 thanks to two goals from Portuguese nationals: Hugo Almeida (63rd min) and Manuel Fernandes (89th min).

Our favorite team in the Turkish league, Bursaspor fell to Sivasspor 2-1, but Argentinian star Pablo Battalla did kick one for the Crocodiles. Interestingly enough, the game-winning goal for Sivasspor, a team from eastern Turkey, came from Azerbaijani national Cihan Ozkara, who I mistook for a Turkish player (names are similar in both countries).

Special Quote of the Day- Joe DiMaggio

Today, we quip the late slugger Joltin' Joe DiMaggio (1914-1999), who was also known as the Yankee Clipper. The New York Yankees great was a three-time MVP and a 13-time All-Star. DiMaggio had a 56-game hitting streak in 1941 which has yet to be broken.

Off the field, DiMaggio made headlines during his brief marriage to Marilyn Monroe. Playwright Arthur Miller ("Death of a Salesman") whom we've quote a lot here was her other husband.

DiMaggio was also the spokesperson for Mr. Coffee during the 1970s, and he is mentioned in the classic Simon and Garfunkel song "Mrs. Robinson."

Here is the quote:

"There is always some kid who may be seeing me for the first time or the last time, I owe him my best."