20-Word Fiction (8 of 10): The Extroverted Novelist

Greetings to our blog readers in Latvia, Greece and New Zealand.........

Here is tonight's 20-Word Fiction Entry:

"If you were Mark Twain, you'd stay home and write a novel tonight. Wouldn't you? Maybe? Perhaps? Just stating the obvious."

You can visit the Mark Twain House in Hartford, Connecticut (not where we are) either in person or on the web at this link (we gather Ira Glass the host of "This American Life" was there recently):

 https://www.marktwainhouse.org/ 

His boyhood home of the "Tom Sawyer" author in Hannibal, Missouri http://www.marktwainmuseum.org/ is also a museum.

The DC List (2 of 3): More Republican Members of Congress........and, when they turn 103

Greetings to our readers around the world, including those of you in Wales, Poland and Portugal.

Today, we continue making fun of Republican members of Congress (the House of Representatives) as we give you the year they will turn 103, which is when their comfortable perfectly gerrymandered seats might be vulnerable to Democrats, God forbid!!! (sarcasm intended)

There are actually two women on this list, including Cong. Ann Wagner (R-Mo, pict. bottom) and Cong-elect Mia Love (R-Utah), a black woman representing a 99-percent white district, who along with Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas proves that Republicans are actually better at affirmative action than Democrats (David Duke and Rush Limbaugh must be fuming!).

Here is your list:

1) Cong. Randy Forbes (R-Va, pict. top) 2055

2) Cong. Patrick McHenry (R-NC, pict. center) 2078

3) Cong. Ann Wagner (R-Mo, pict. bottom) 2065

4) Cong. John Boehner (R-Ohio, house speaker) 2052

5) Cong. Jeff Miller (R-Fla) 2062

6) Cong. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okl.) 2080

7) Cong. elect Mia Love (R-Utah) 2078

8) Cong. Austin Scott (R-Georgia) 2072

9) Cong. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala) 2050

10) Cong. Matt Salmon (R-Az) 2061

http://www.mallardfilmore.com (Right-wing comic strip we don't agree with)

http://www.townhall.com (Nope, we don't agree with them either)

http://www.thenation.com (More inclined to agree with them)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/politics/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/

http://www.politicscultureandotherwastesoft.blogspot.com

Quotes from Off the Beat and Path (2 of 6): John Waters

When we last posted 12 days ago, Robin Williams was still alive, everyone from Bill Gates to Didier Drogba to the Florida State women's volleyball team had not taken the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, and Ferguson, Mo., was a suburb of St.Louis no one outside the Show Me State knew of.

So, here is our quote from the Baltimore hipster, film director and author John Waters:

"I pride myself on the fact that work has no socially redeeming value."

Virtual Postcard from Missouri- Chuck Berry Statue

Greetings from Missouri, yes we really are in the Show Me State though we are pretty far from St.Louis, where one can see this statue of the rock and roll legend Chuck Berry, who is thankfully still among the living.

Good morning to those of you in Dubai, where it is now 9:00 a.m. We're not sure if Fly Emirates has direct flights to St. Louis, but we imagine you can jump on a British Airways flight at Heathrow Airport from London to St. Louis, which was home to the now-defunct American airline TWA (1925-2001).

Missouri's largest city is also known for its baseball team the St. Louis Cardinals, the second winnigest team in Major League Baseball history.

http://www.visitmo.com/

http://explorestlouis.com/

http://www.emirates.com/

http://www.britishairways.com

Quote of the Day- Gary Sinise

Today, we continue our series of quotes from actors who have played real-life presidents with a quip from Gary Sinise, 57, who has been on the CBS police drama "CSI:New York" since 2004.

Ironically, Sinise, a Republican, played President Harry S. Truman, a Democrat in the HBO film "Truman" (1995). Alas, this week's that film's director Frank Pierson, also an Oscar-winning screenwriter, died at age 87 this week.

Sinise was also nominated for Best Supporting Actor in the film "Forrest Gump" (1994) with Tom Hanks. in spite of political differences Sinise is reportedly a close friend with Hanks, a Democrat, and the two have appeared in six films together, including "Forrest Gump," which also won a Best Actor for Hanks and a Best Picture Oscar.

Recently, Sinise gave a benefit concert in Martinsville, Va., for area resident Marine J.B. Kerns, who lost both legs and his right arm resulting from an explosive device while he was serving in Afghanistan, with the actor's musical group The Lt. Dan Band, named after Sinise's character in "Forrest Gump."

The concert was a part of the Hope for Warriors project which Sinise is involved in.

The Harry S. Truman Museum and Library is located in Independence, Missouri.

Here is Sinise's quote:

"Sometimes you're in great demand. Then suddenly your career hits the brakes."

http://www.hopeforthearriors.org

http://www.garysinise.org

http://www.trumanlibrary.org

http//www.visitindependence.com

http://www.visitmartinsville.com

Quote of the Day/Week-Harry S. Truman

Today, we conclude our quotes from former vice presidents of the United States, with Harry S. Truman (1884-1972) who also became president. In fact, Truman, a Missouri native, spent less than three months as veep before he took the oval office due to Franklin D. Roosevelt's passing. In addition to Truman, John Garner and Henry Wallace were vice presidents during the FDR years.

Truman is also famous for defeating centrist Republican Thomas Dewey, who had been governor of New York, in the 1948 election. Erroneous reports that Dewey had in fact been the victor lead to the famous photo of Truman holding up a newspaper with the headline: "Dewey Beats Truman."

A man with the president's name, Harry R. Truman, a resident of Washington state at the time of the Mount St. Helens' eruption of 1980 became famous for his stubborn unwillingness to leave his home, and he thus became one of the 57 casualties from the catastrophe.

Interestingly enough, (president) Truman, a Democrat, was portrayed in the 1995 film "Truman" by a then-40-year old Gary Sinise, now the star of "CSI: New York," who is one of the most outspoken Republicans in Hollywood.

In Jefferson City, Missouri, the state capital of Truman's native state, it was 86 degrees today.

Here is Truman's partisan quote:

"A bureaucrat is a Democrat who holds some office that a Republican wants."

Thanks to those of you in South Africa, Norway and Poland who visited our blog today.

http://www.trumanlibrary.org

Special Quote of the Week- Mark Twain

Wow, even Newt Gingrich is quoting Mark Twain (1835-1910) these days, well at least according to Google, but we don't think he'll be using the quip we will posting down below.

The author best known for novels like "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" and "Tom Sawyer" will be featured on a commemorative American postage stamp in June; the first one will be post-marked in (where else?!) Hannibal, Missouri. There is also a Mark Twain House in Hartford, Conn., which I was fortunate enough to visit as we headed north to Maine a few years ago. One of the museum's many highlights is a sketch that animator Chuck Jones ("Bugs Bunny") made regarding Twain.

Late last year, "The Autobiography of Mark Twain" also came out, and it has been selling well. I have not read the book, but I did read his novel "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" fairly recently. And, luckily I did not have to write a book report on it!

When we get a proper chance, we will be sure to make fun of Gingrich and Donald Trump, but today well we are slightly overwhelmed! But, I would love to see a Republican candidate shaking hands in places like Sioux City, Iowa, or Rock Hill, SC, and making lofty promises that they themselves know could never ever happen. I guess that's what C-Span is for.

Here is the quote from Twain:

"A man is never more truthful than when he acknowledges himself a liar."

Quote of the Week: Harry Truman

Hello and Welcome to our listeners in Hilo, Hawaii; War, West Virginia; Calgary, Canada; Anqtigua, Guatemala; Quito, Ecuador; Lisbon, Portugal; Accra, Ghana; Eskisehir, Turkey; Qom, Iran; Tora Bora, Afghanistan; and Pyongyang, North Korea.

Forgive the BBC World Service satire as we focus on tonight's entry dedicated to our great American president Harry Truman. One can visit the Harry Truman Library in Independence, Mo, where there is a current timely exhibit on "Memories of Korea" until Dec. 31.

Here is our Truman quote, which is part of our focus on the last 12 presidents before Barack Obama (FDR-GWB):

"A president needs political understanding to run the government, but he may be elected without it."

SIDEBAR: Former president Jimmy Carter will be at Politics and Prose Bookstore in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, but there are many other guests of interest this week, including author Noah Feldman who has a new book on FDR's battles with The Supreme Court on Monday. And, on Wednesday, one of favorite unapologetics liberal journalists Matt Taibbi of "Roling Stone" who coined the term: "Medicare-motor-scooter conservatives" in article about the big Tea Party convention in Louisville, Ky., a few months ago will be talking at Politics and Prose about his new book "Griftopia."

Today, the bookstore had this very amusing tweet: Overheard_ "This bookstore is like my outlet mall," we take that as a compliment.

SIDEBAR TWO: Today's trending topics on Twitter and AOL are Obama Busted Lip, Willie Nelson, Wal-Mart, Kim Kardashian, Hallee Berry, Signs of a Drinking Problem, File for unemployment.

We will add Noam the Gnom and Zinn the Mink which are gnomes in homage of Noam chomskey and the late Howard Zinn that the liberal "The Nation" magazine are trying to sell to help them compensate for a half-million deficit. We imagine this will work better than trying to get subscriptions from folks in places like Provo, Utah, Lynchburg, Va. and Paducah, Ky.

Happy Thanksgiving/Black Friday from Roy Rogers

Yes, of course, we are aware that cowboy singer/actor Roy Rogers (1911-1998) is no longer with us, but why should that stop him from wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving, or Black Friday, as it is now in Mumbai!

It is still only 6:08 p.m. in San Francisco where author/blogger Christian Lander who hit it big with his first book "Stuff White People Like" will appear at Books Inc on Chestnut Street on Dec. 2. Lander then travels to nearby Berkeley, Calif., on Dec. 3 to visit Pegasus Books.

Lander is also going to visit two of my favorite bookstores in les etats unis early next year when he stops at The Boulder Bookstore in Boulder, Colo., on Wed., Jan. 12 at 7:30 p.m. He then ventures just outside the 303 area code (whoops! We stand corrected Denver IS in the 303 area code) to visit the Tattered Bookstore in Denver on Jan. 13, also at 7:30 p.m.

But, for you red state folks who obviously stumbled upon the wrong blog, fear not, my dear mom's home state of South Carolina which just elected one of Sarah Palin's crazed mama grizzly cubs for governor in Nikki Haley is having tax-free buy as many guns as you like day for the gun wacko Yosemite Sam-types who are eagerly going to sneak across the border from the Charlotte-metro area and stack up on some ammo.

One such place is Aim Right Guns and Ammo in the border town of Fort Mill, SC, (yes, we wondering if the name suggests a political message too) which features photos of a local kid who took out a Bambi Quentiin Tarantino-style.

If that doesn't satisfy one's gun lust, there is Nichol's Store just down the road in Rock Hill, SC, which will open on Black Friday, which is also Tax Free Day for all your glock and magnum needs, at 8:00 a.m. sharp.

However, if you're a conservative guy who prefers a night of good music to a deer-hunting trip to West Virginia, you can enjoy Roy Rogers Jr. himself (well, there are some liberals who like country and western shows, I suppose, but I imagine they have to keep wery, wery quite around their Elmer Fudd buddies) will be performing at the Mickey Gilley Theatre in Branson, Missouri, until mid-December.

But, irregardless if you're a fellow booky liberal intellectual type or if you're a right-wing maniac who likes to get his ass up at 3:30 a.m. to shoot woodpeckers, we hope you have a fun and safe Thanksgiving/Black Friday....just be sure to wear blaze orange if you're going to walk in the woods in South Carolina!

High School of the Week- Marquette High School in Chesterfield, Missouri

Sticking with the Show-Me State (see last entry; that's Missouri's nickname for those of you surfing in Mongolia), our designated High School of the Week is Marquette High School in Chesterfield, Mo., which is a suburb of St. Louis.

We got the idea to go with Marquette High School because it is the alma mater of University of Missouri gymnast Tori Howard. The sophomore turned 19 on June 21. The first significant home meet for the Tigers' gym team will be against Nebraska on Feb.4.

As for Marquette High School, the principal is Greg Matthison. The school colors are blue and green, and the nickname (if you haven't guessed?!) is The Mustangs.

Know Your Congress Reps and Senators (Entry 19 of 21)

Today's entry is devoted to Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri) who gave then presidential candidate Barack Obama a coveted endorsement. But, rather than do our usual blog entry giving background on the senator, I thought I would just go with some of her recent tweets on Twitter, which include mentions of the White House dinner which made headlines this week when a DC couple managed to somehow sneak past the Secret Service without an invitation!

The first of Sen. McCaskill's tweets is in reference to today's college football game between rivals Missouri and Kansas:

"Woooooohoo! What a game nothing better than beating the Jayhawks."

"Sat by David Axelrod last night, one of the truly good guys. Talked about family....and health care."

"Prime Minister Singh seemed genuinely moved by the warm welcome. Our alliance with India is very important I think tonight strengthened it."