Things We Learned on Google Today-Scottish Futbol

We were actually considering an entry for an Italian team, such as Juventus or
AC Milan, until the BBC, which we were listening to, ran this excellent retrospective story on the 1983 Abderdeen team from the Scottish Premiere League that beat Real Madrid 2-1 to win the European Cup that year.

We noticed that it has actually been a while since Aberdeen, our team of the week, had even won the Scottish league. Despite being a dynasty in the early 1980s, the team has not won the league since 1985.

So, we asked Google, who scored the most goals for Aberdeen on that 1985 team. The answer is Frank MacDougall (pictured here, not the guy playing the bagpipes), now age 53. MacDougall became the fourth Aberdeen player to score a hat trick against their rival Celtic. He joined George Hamilton (yes, in America, we think of the actor of the same name who played Dracula in "Love Bites," which came out in 1979), Billy Williamson and Eric Black.

MacDougall now owns the Criterion Bar, a pub in Aberdeen, where one may well find the Scottish beer BrewDog (pictured here).

Alas, times have been hard for Aberdeen as they lost to Celtic 9-0 last year. It was their worst loss ever to their arch rival.

SIDEBAR: She's back! No, I am not refering to ring-wing nut job Michele Bachmann who has horrified all of us politically sane people in America by winning the coveted Ames Straw Poll in Ames, Iowa, today. But, rather, we are talking about Susan Burns from Alexandria, Va., who according to "City Paper" (Washington, DC) has once again struck the National Gallery.

In April, Burns attacked a Paul Gaugin painting at the art museum, claiming it was obscene. And, amazingly enough, she got back to the National Gallery and grabbed both sides of French master Henri Matisse's "The Plume Hat," valued at $2.5 million. "City Paper" stated that Burns slammed the painting against the wall three times.

All of this reminds us that the vintage horror film "The Exorcist" (1973) about a possesed 12-year-old girl played by Linda Blair was indeed filmed in our nation's capital.

Government Shutdown Update_ We Aren't Sure...

If anyone thinks showing a toilet is in bad taste, then they should know that our original intention was to have a Paul Gaugin painting for this entry. But, since many of those paintings feature necade native women from and Tahiti and they might offend the delicate sensibilities of Virginia's Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, we thought this might be more 'appropriate.' Incidentally, Cuccinelli was named our "Worst Person of the Year" for 2010. Actually, we did not spell his name right one, but since he is a Republican we refuse to apologize for that!

But, ironically, Cuccinelli, a far-right winger, himself is not responsible for the possibility of a federal government shutdown in Washington, DC. His 'brothers in arms,' like House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) are.

According to the "Huffington Post," Boehner told reporters that his side was close to a resolution, but as noon eastern time that appeared not to be the case, according to what we gathered from articles in "The Hill" and "The Washington Post."

But, if there is no government shutdown, and we are not exactly sure how it will affect the National Gallery in Washington, DC, one can freely go to the current Paul Gaugin (1848-1903) exhibit which runs through June 5.

According to the NGA's web site, 120 of Gaugin's works will be on display and they will presumably cover all the periods of the artist's relatively short life. Gaugin, at one time or another, lived in Peru, France, Martinique and Tahiti. We could not conclude one way or another if he ever made it to Istanbul, Turkey.

However, if there is a federal govenment shutdown, it will not affect the status of the Topkapi Palace, The Blue Mosque and Saint Sophia, all of which are major tourist attractions in Istanbul, my late father's hometown.

For more info on the National Gallery, one can go to www.nga.gov or call their main info line at 202-737-4215.

And, if you are heading to Turkey, three web sites I recommend are turkey.org, tourismturkey.com and goturkey.com; we would comment on the fact that Miss Turkey is promoting the new 'turkey burger' at Hardee's (an American fast food chain that originated in Rocky Mount, NC), but truthfully we aren't sure what to make of the promotion!