Potluck Quote of the Day (8 out of 10): Brigitte Bardot

Today we quote French bombshell actress Brigitte Bardot, who was tonight's Star of the Day on TCM which screened several of her films including "Contempt" by the amazing filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard. Bardot has also gotten wide media attention for speaking out against Muslim emigre women wearing burkinis along resorts on the French coast. Amazingly enough, we got into a row on Twitter with BOTH Muslims and non-Muslims for expressing our nuanced views on that matter. It seems like social media is a great way for everyone to hate your guts!

Before we get to tonight's quote, we want to thank WXYC-FM, the student-run UNC college radio station in Chapel Hill, NC, for playing one of our high school favorites "New Girl Now" by the Canadian band Honeymoon suite and the new wave German-language classic "Das Komasor" from the late Austrian pop star Falco.

Additionally, we want to share this great line from the Sunday edition Paul Jon's comic strip "Fort Knox": "Absolutely, in a few years, it will take over our backyard.

Lastly, we want to congratulate Turkish free-style wrestler Taha Akgul for winning his nation's lone gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Here is our quote from Bardot: "If only every man who sees my films did not get the impression he can make love to me, I would be a lot happier."

http://www.tcm.com

http://www.wxyc.org/

http://www.gocomics.com/fortknox

https://www.rio2016.com/en/turkey

Saturday Night Tweets: Cairo Is Burning

It appears that over 800 people may have been killed this week from riots in Cairo, Egypt, and perhaps other cities in the world's most populous Arab nation as the secular military battles with supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood, who also stand by ousted president Mohammed Morsi.

We have been tracking tweets today regarding the messy situation, including tweets from liberal activist Gigi Ibrahim (pictured top), who was the face of the country's initial Arab Spring uprising, Sana Saaed, a female Egyptian college professor presumably based in Canada, and Sinem Cengiz, a female correspondent of Turkish and Arab heritage for the Turkish English-language newspaper "Today's Zaman."

Here are the tweets:

1) Sana Saaed @SanaSaeed: "Those aren't Islamists" or "Morsi supporters" protesting and dying: They're #Egypt-ians, no matter how the headlines characterize them.

2) Faizaan @El_OptiMist: "What is going to commence soon will be far worse than we're witnessing right now #Egypt #Syria."

3) Gigi Ibrahim @Gsquare86: "I am exhausted from being depressed and feeling helpless and trapped."

4) Politico @politico: "#Egypt weighs banning Brotherhood."

5) The Boston Globe @BostonGlobe: Editorial: Ending US Aid to #Egypt is unwise, but stronger messages are needed.

6) Sinem Cengiz @SinemCngz:" If #Egypt fails, all Arab Spring countries will fail."

7) John Fugelsang (progressive American talk show personality): "Funny how the ppl opposed to separation of church & state here are rooting for separating mosque & state in #Egypt."

8) DailaEzzat (ADaliaEzzat_): Love it when journalists keep saying 'signs of the old days are back when referrring to MOI (Ministry of Interior) and security forces. The old days never left! #Egypt

http://www.dailynewsegypt.com/

http://www.politicscultureandotherwastesoft.blogspot.com

http://www.todayszaman.com/home

Eid Mubarak/Happy Ramadan from Nasreddin Hoca

Greetings to our blog readers in Dubai, France and New Zealand.

We also want to send a special Ramadan greeting to our friends in Turkey, Cyprus and Azerbaijan.

Now, that Ramadan is complete, we can all go out for halal hot dogs and an Efes Pilsen Beer*......:)

The image above is of the famed Nasreddin Hoca, a comical Persian philosopher who reportedly rode his donkey backwards; Nasreddin lived in what is now central Turkey in the provinces of Konya and Nevsehir.

*-Efes Pilsen is a Turkish beer made from the pilsener formula developed in the town of Pilsen in the Czech Republic.

Overheard at a McD's in North Carolina: We Couldn't Have Made This Up...

Yes, I can verify that I did hear this exact conversation at a McDonald's in North Carolina last night; this is the exact dialogue and it has not been altered in any way, shape or form:

"Is the Koran a book of The Bible? Is Mohammad like their Jesus?"

Hmm.....and, yes, on that note, this might be our shortest entry in our seven years of blogging.

Remembering Sept. 11th ...on Its' 11th Anniversary

Today, we remember the 2,977 people who died on Sept. 11th. We have decided to include an image of a Hassidic Jew and Arsalan Iftikhar aka 'The Muslim Guy,' 35, who is a leading progressive Muslim advocate in the United States, to show that as cliched as it may seem America's greatest strength is its diversity, and even the atrocities of 9-11 have not changed that.


http://www.jewishtimes.com

http://www.themuslimguy.com

http://www.911memorial.org

http://www.nyc.gov/nypd

http://www.flight93crash.com

The Rabbit Ears Quiz- Mork and Mindy (Entry 2 of 12)

Today, we continue our series on tv shows which infiltrated my developing years with a quiz question regarding "Mork and Mindy" (1978-82), which in my lasted much longer than the four seasons it was actually on the air.

Many young folks may not realize that 'Mork' was actually a spin-off of the very popular '70s sitcom "Happy Days." Mork, played by Robin Williams, visited the Cunnigham family in suburban Wisconsin during the fifth season of "Happy Days" in a strange episode entitled "My Favorite Orkan."

In spite of being a ratings bonanza during its first season, 'Mork' began to take a nose-dive in popularity during the show's third season. And, in the final season, Mork and Mindy were dubiously married.

Mork was from the planet Ork, and he was given instructions by a supreme deity named Orson. Minday was played by Pam Dawber.

Many people who haven't seen the show in years (it ran on Nick at Nite from 1991-95), may have forgotten that it was the rare sitcom to take place in a college town. So, we are asking for the name of that college town, where one also find a clock which is supposedly always accurate.

Your choices are:

A) Provo, Utah
B) Iowa City, Iowa
C) Boulder, Colorado
D) Lawrence, Kansas

Good luck, and sorry we have no prizes to give you, not even a cat toy!

SIDEBAR: I wanted to wish an Eid Mubarak to all of our Muslim friends, especially those living in Provo, Utah! Amazingly enough, I read that a surprising number of Muslims attend college at Brigham Young University.

And, though one may not associate UFOs with the Muslim world, there is indeed a UFO Museum in Istanbul, Turkey, which I have actually been to.

Quote of the Day- Neil Simon

We continue with our series of quips from famous playwrights this month with a quote from Neil Simon. Though "The Odd Couple" is my favorite Simon play, "Barefoot in the Park" appears to be the most popular one. There is a great audio version of the play with Laura Linney (tv's "The Big C") from Los Angeles Theatre Works (LATW).

Here is the quote:

"If no one ever took risks, Michaelangelo would have painted the Sistine floor."

SIDEBAR ONE: Various sources have said that the following joke from stand-up comic Nick Helm was considered to be the funniest one at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland: "I need a password eight characters long, so I picked Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs."

SIDEBAR TWO: Though I am a human secularist, as the son of a late Muslim Turkish immigrant, I want to wish everyone in the greater Muslim community in the United States, Turkey and around the world a Happy Eid ul-Fitr, which falls on August 30th this year. Eid ul-Fitr, also known as Seker Bayrami (Sugar Holiday) in Turkey, marks the end of the 30-day Ramadan period. We imagine those who faithfully followed the fast in places like Austin, Tex., which was very hot this week, were tempted to go for the Dasani or Gatorade.

The alt weekly "C'ville Weekly" in Charlottesville, Va., has an interesting story about how Ramadan is being celebrated by Muslim inmates in Virginia prisons, which agreed after pressure from the Virginia ACLU to adjust dinning schedules for Ramadan for those following Islam.

And, irregardless of one's faith, Turkish food is always among the finest cuisine one can have. In the Philadelphia area, Divan Turkish Kitchen is considered to be among the best Turkish restaurants in the City of Brotherly Love.

Beers from Around the World- Stella from Egypt (#43 of 50)

With the air of revolution in the air, today we are going to revive our Beers Around the World Series (the last entry was on Dec. 24, 2010, featuring Gold Star, which is ironically an Isreali beer), with Stella, the most popular home-made brew in Egypt.

Along with Turkey, Syria, Jordan and Tunisia, among others, Egypt is a Muslim country where men, especially those who might not regularly go to the mosque, drink beer.

In our Beers of the Muslim World series last year, we featured Sakara Gold, but as it turns out that Egyptian beer is not quite as popular as Stella, which can be found throughout the bars of Cairo and Alexandria. Stella Beer comes in three varieties, and the brand is known as 'the taste of Egypt.' It can also be purchased in cans or bottles, and the beer has a 4.5% alcoholic content.

As far as the political situation in Egypt, which at least one family friend was surprisingly unaware of (yes, we asked if they were in a cave for three weeks), it appears to be at least somewhat stabilized. Now the health of the recently deposed leader/dictator Hosni Mubarak has become a question.

And, riots and protests are continuing throughout the Arab World from Algeria to Yemen with Libya and Bahrain (a tiny country) seeing people take to the streets within the last 48 hours. The turmoil has also spilled into Iran (not an Arab country), where crackdowns by the government are fully expected.

SIDEBAR_ Just a few minutes ago, we had a chance to take an online quiz on mentalfloss.com where we correctly guessed that Arbitrager is the name of a London pub as opposed to a Charles Dickens story. I hope my good friend Tom Angleberger, a children's book author who happens to love Dickens, is proud of me!

Quote of the Week- Alfred Hitchcock

Yes, I am aware that something royally effed up with the image of Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), but for right now let's move on with our Quote of the Week from the late, great Alfred Hitchcock.

Of course, we're doing this because Halloween is just around the corner:

"I am a typed director. If I made Cinderella, the audience would immediately be looking for a body in the coach."

SIDEBAR: What am I doing at the moment you ask? Well, we don't have time to post this on Facebook or Twitter, but I am in fact: "Having a halal beer with Juan Williams at the Paradise Hookah Bar in Paterson, NJ."*

*-Yes, there is such a place. Paterson, NJ, has one of the largest Muslim populations in the United States. The Fox News commentator was literally fired from his day job at NPR for saying Muslims in garb scare him on airplanes. I have a similar fear of Mormons, actually (that is just a joke, Marie Osmond fans!).Halal beer is actually a product that is served in Malaysia!

Things We Learned on Twitter Today- Crackdowns in Egypt

This above image of a female Egyptian soccer fan with her head covered by a hijab undoubtedly reflect the cultural tensions in Egypt, where like fellow secular Muslim country Turkey, separation of mosque and state is always an issue.

But, perhaps surprisingly, the latest raids by Egyptian police in the capital city of Cairo have targeted Shia Muslims.

According to a tweet from Daily News Egypt, the police arrested four men, one of whom was Safaa Al-Awadi, 44, from Perth, Australia, as well as two Iraqi nationals for insulting and denying tenets of religion.

While many Christians, particularly fundamentalists, have emphasized the sometimes alleged, sometimes obvious persecution of Christian minorities in Muslim countries, many Sunni Muslim countries, such as Egypt, have strict laws regarding the practice of Shiia Islam.

Crackdowns of Shiias have been in place in both Egypt and Bahrain since the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, where the majority of Shiia Muslims live. The Shiia Muslims are also the majority in Azerbaijan, and they have a large minority in Iraq.

Traditional Sunnis believe Shiism is blasphemy because Shia Muslims believe the Prophet Ali should have taken Mohammad's place instead of Abu Bakr, which is what the Sunnis believe. And, alas many people have died in war and strife as a result of the long-standing rift.

SIDEBAR: Washington Park High School in Racine, Wisc., is yet another one of our 'High Schools of the Week.' The school's mascot is The Panther, which originated with the class of 1949, who are now entering their 80s! The school's traditional rival is William Harlick HS. Kevin Barry of the Green Bay Packers is among the school's famous alumni in recent years.

50 Beers Around the World- Efes Pilsen (Turkey)

We have gotten slightly behind in our 50 Beers Around the World series, but we resume it today by featuring Efes Pilsen which was previously posted here under an entry about Beers of the Islamic World.

Efes Pilsen, founded in 1969, is actually now the eighth most popular-selling beer in Europe. And, perhaps even more surprising is that it has breweries in Serbia, Russia, Georgia and Kazakhstan!

The beer company is headquartered in Istanbul and is frequently advertised throughout Turkey. We have heard that it can at times actually be hard to find the beer or any alcohol products in Konya, Turkey, which is the country's most conservative city, but we have not been there is 23 years so that would hard to verify!

Eid Mubarak (Happy Ramadan) To All Our Muslim Friends

Since there has been a lot of bickering about a Muslim group trying to build a mosque in central Manhattan in the shadow of where the Sept. 11th tragedy took place, I thought I would voice my support for the greater Muslim community in the United States.

Though I haven't talked much about this, I was a Muslim as a child. My late father Mehmet Gokbudak was from Turkey, and this was simply the way I was raised.

After his death on my 13th birthday from a heart attack, I began to openly question and sincerely doubt God's existence. My views have more or less remained the same since that awful personal event in 1983 as I now see myself as a human secularist.

And, while I equally disdain all forms of radical or fervent fundamentalism, whether they originate in a church, synagogue or mosque, I have respect for those Muslims who merely wish to practice their faith and try to make the world a better place for themselves and those around them.

Thus, I wish the Muslim community a Happy Ramadan season. The holiday lasts for 10 days, and it is approaching its final stages this week.

The image I have chosen is that of the beloved Turkish shadow pupetts Karagoz (the one with the beard) and Hacivat. Though the characters are secular in nature, they symbolically represent the cultural divide in Turkey between the intellectual urban-dwellers (Hacivat) and the rural common man who generally tends to be more religious than secular (Karagoz).

The divide has remained in tact since the characters were developed centuries ago during the Ottoman Empire. Greece has a similar shadow puppet named Karagoisi, which has actually recently caused a mild cultural/political rift between the two countries who almost went to war over an uninhabited goat island in The Aegean Sea in the 1990s.

My friend Ugur Celikkol of Bursa, Turkey, and his family run a semi-annual Karagoz festival in Bursa which has attracted tourists from other parts of Turkey and around the world. It is generally held around November.

Closer to home, The Divan Cultural Center in Cary, NC (Raleigh), is sponsoring many Iftar meals which are given when the sun goes down during the Ramadan season. We imagine there will be plenty of good lamb and rice at the table for those in attendance!

UPDATE- According to "The Hill," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) is opposing President Barack Obama's support of the mosque project in New York. Many political insiders suspect that this is for political reasons as Reid faces an election this November. His opponent Sharon Angle has been dubbed a right-wing quack even from non-partisan observers.

Quote of the Week- Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam

Since this week is the final week of the Muslim Ramadan holiday, we thought we'd quip the artist formerly known as Cat Stevens. Of course, we are referring to Yusuf Islam who transformed himself from a legendary hippie folk/rock/pop singer to a devout Muslim who refused to record music for years.

Stevens/Islam courted controversy when he made highly controversial and dubious comments about author Salman Rushdie when the novelist's book "The Satanic Verses" came out some 20 years ago.

But, Stevens/Islam has lately made news by going on a world tour which has taken him to places as remote as New Zealand.

Interestingly the artist formerly known as Prince who is now known as Prince again underwent his own spiritual metamorphosis by becoming a Jehovah's Witness. He has even been known to go door-to-door and proselytize in a disguise in his native Minneapolis area!

According to Stevens/Islam's web site, he announced on July 21 that his daughter Hasana gave birth to a son named Muhammad Sulaiman which makes the singer a grandfather (presuming it is his first grandchild). The singer is known for such classics as "Peace Train" and "Moon Shadow."

Here is our quote today from Stevens/Islam:

"A person who steals bread during a famine is not a thief."

Things We Learned on Twitter Last Night- Heat Wave in Japan

The Japan Times tweeted that a heat wave has crippled the land of the rising sun, but merchants around the country have reaped the benefits of the dog days of summer.

The tweet linked to a story in the newspaper by Hiroko Nakahata which stated that beer and air-conditioners were selling quite well in the nation. In addition, some other gizmos like high-tech cooling scarves and chilly air sprays are also (pardon the cliche) flying off the shelves.

The heat wave has killed 118 in Japan since May.

New products like Maji cool high-tech strip cloths worn around the neck to take heat away from the skin is also very popular.

Ikuko Shimazakija, a 49-year-old housewife, told "The Japan Times" that she wears the strip cloth while riding her bike during the day and it helps her tremendously.

Closer to home, I learned from Twitter that it would be 95 degrees in Charlotte, NC, this afternoon, so assuredly folks in Japan are not the only ones trying to get through this sweltering summer.

SIDEBAR: Tom Sietsema of "The Washington Post" recently reported a new French restaurant called Bistro Provence has opened up in Bethesda, Md., which is perhaps our favorite suburb in the country. The food critic gave the restaurant a generally favorable review stating that chef Yannick Cam makes an excellent duck confit as well as scrumptious scallops and shrimp appetizers. Sietsema did state that the restaurant can be a bit pricey and noisy, but it was still one of the best places to eat in suburban Maryland.

And, if you are a Muslim who is currently celebrating Ramadan in the Washington DC-metro area there may be no better way to break the day-long fast than heading to the Syrian-Lebanese restaurant Layalina in Arlington, Va. (we don't know the religion of the owners who could well be Christians), which features hommos- a chickpea puree with tahini sauce, garlic and lemon juice.

Thing We Learned on the BBC Today- Iranian Lawyer Trying to Defect to Turkey

The Iranian lawyer Mohammed Mostafaei is seeking political asylum Turkey, where he is now residing. Mostafaie has been a diligent human rights activists, and he has recently been defending Sakineh Mohammed Ashtiani, 43, (pictured here) who was initially sentenced to be stoned to death for adultery.

Ashtiani, a mother of two, still faces the possibility of execution by hanging. Her case has provoked international outrage which has even involved the president of Brazil, one of Iran's diplomatic allies. Protesters in Sweden have also petitioned for Ashtiani's release. The woman has already recieved 99 lashes from Iranian authorities.

Mostafei's asylum appears to be held up by Turkish bureacracy though human rights activists in Turkey are trying to expeditate the process.

SIDEBAR: (Editorial Comment) Personally, I think the Muslim group trying to build a controversial mosque at Ground Zero in New York should move the building thousands of miles away---to Wasilla, Alaska. Along with Newt Gingrich, former vice presidential candidate and Alaskan governor Sarah Palin has been the most vocal opponent of the move saying it would be a 'stab in the heart to all victims of
9-11.' The most irritating part of this bally-hoo is that people like Palin always seem to forget is that many 9-11 victims were in fact Muslims. And, though my late Turkish father was a Muslim, I say his as somehow who is a human secularist.

Bonus Silly Picture to Fill Space- Big Pig!

We are posting this image of a Vietnamese pig (George Clooney apparently had one like this for a pet!) in honor of the 28th Annual Hillsborough Hog Day, which gets underway in Hillsborough, NC (near Chapel Hill) tomorrow morning starting at 9 a.m. The festivities are scheduled to conclude around 6 p.m.

I actually went to this fest two years ago, and it was quite the interesting occasion. I wanted to jokingly invite a Turkish friend who was taking classes at UNC on a lark, but I'm not sure that Mustafa (pse) shares my twisted sense of humor.

This year, I was reminded of the event through an ad in "The Carrboro Citizen" (weekly newspaper in Carrboro, NC, which is also near Hillsborough).

The ad featured the following tidbits:

Admission is Free!
Crafters, games and contests.
Live music all day Saturday.
Fun for the whole family.

There will also be lots and lots of barbecue!

For those who live in the Tarheel State, but have other plans, there is also a b-b-q place called 'The Pit' in Raleigh, NC, on West Davie Street which claims to provide 'everything but the squeal.'

Now, I must profess that even though I am a human secularist, as a Turkish-American who had a Muslim father (alas he died when I was 13) I still feel guilty indulging in pork.

But, apparently, one gave ham and bacon without eating pork when they dine at The King's Family Restaurant (no relation to the chain of the same name in the Altoona, Pa., area) in Newark, NJ, as they offer halal meats. According to the New Jersey restaurant's web site, King's also offers omelets with beef or turkey bacon instead of pork.

Somehow, I can't imagine this would go over very well at the Omelette Shoppe (a regional chain open 24/7 with restaurants in Virginia and West Virginia) in Beckley, W.Va., which presumably has a very small Arab-American population.