DC Week (1 of 8): A Quote from George Washington

We start DC Week with a simple entry featuring a quote from America's first president George Washington. Of course, thanks to the likes of Cong. Eric Cantor (R-Va., forgive the editorial commentary), the Washington Memorial is closed as are all national parks in Washington, DC, and around the nation.

One fiasco that the shut down caused was the scheduled cross-country journey of a Tyrannosaurs Rex skeleton belonging to a 67 million-year-old dinosaur, whose name is Wankel T-Rex, from Montana to the nation's capital where it was to be displayed at the Smithsonian Natural Museum of Natural History.

Oh well................

As for Washington, his face is on our one dollar bills (I suppose those of you in El Salvador, Moldova and  Zimbabwe already knew that) and if one is to find a one-dollar bill at the Beach Bum Café in Honolulu, Hawaii, you can see where it originated_ perhaps it originated at a gas station in Passaic, NJ.

Here is our quote from the first prez:

"Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism."

Oh, and we should add that there is a high school in Danville, Va., named for GW.

http://www.gwmemorial.org

http://www.mountvernon.org

http://www.wheresgeorge.com

http://www.beachbumcafe.com

http://www.danville-va.gov/

Presidential Quotes: George Washington

Today's quote of the day is the first in our series on the first eight American presidents, quotes from the last eight can be found on our sister blog "The Daily Vampire" http://www.nocturnalguy38.blogspot.com

For those interested in seeing where your dollars go, we suggest you check out: http://www.wheresgeorge.com

One time we got a 'Where's George' one dollar bill from a Starbucks in Hawaii, we have no idea where it ended up!

Here is a quote from George Washington:

"Happiness and moral duty are inseparably connected."

SIDEBAR: Andy Warhol made them famous, and we learned yesterday that a can of Campbell's tomato bisque soup has 130 calories; the company is based in Camden, New Jersey.

Top 10 More Things To Do List

Well, as it turns out, there are some more 'things to do' that we were not aware of:

1. Buy groceries

2. Decide on Cat's Cradle shows (music venue near Chapel Hill, NC)

3. Look up comic books values

4. Read, compare and contrast "The Nation" and "National Review"

5. Read, compare and contrast "The Weekly Standard" and "Mother Jones"

6. Make some Counter Culture Coffee

7. See what the weather in Istanbul, Turkey, is like

8. See what the weather in Trenton, New Jersey, is like

9. Avoid Blacksburg, Va., at all costs, as Virginia is having commencement this weekend

10. Let the freaking cat in

Weekend Tweets Log_ Happy 52nd Birthday, Scott Baio

We are posting some tweets that we saw on Twitter between 1:30-2:30 p.m. east coast time today. First let's us explain the above images: 1) We thought we'd go with an image of two "Happy Days" characters Joanie and Chachi to go along with a tweet from the PBS' documentary series and because Scott Baio is turning 52 today; 2) We are going with one of the two Ernest Hemingway books I've read (and, I have a degree in English) in honor of the National Book Festival, happening this weekend in Washington, DC,; 3) an image of two British kids enjoying a game of soccer. We are being a bit ironic here as Liverpool faces Manchester United tomorrow, and we expect to be a rowdy crowd. In fact, according to the BBC, security measures have been upgraded for the game.

Here are the tweets:

1) @frontlinepbs ("Frontline"): "A HS dropout will end up costing taxpayers an average of $292K over a lifetime."

2) @TheWriterMag ("The Writer Magazine"): "#TheNatBookFest is a powerful and inspiring mix of genders, genres, generations and cultures. One nation under books!"

3) @libraryofcongress (Library of Congress): "More than 500 @JWLWDC volunteers @NatBookFest! Thanks to this good and loyal group and happy 100th anniversary!"

4) @liverpool (Liverpool FC): "Liverpool v. Man Utd. Predictions please......?"

5) @CoryBooker (Newark, NJ's mayor Cory Booker, who spoke at the Democratic Convention):  "We just landed in Tampa. The Garden State meets the Sunshine State, a great combination!"

6) @MayorMarkK (Chapel Hill, NC's mayor Mark Kleinschmidt who attended the Democratic Convention): "let's be responsible out there @ChapelHillPD #ChapelHillPD will step up enforcement of alcohol laws for UNC v. ECU football on Sat." (At last check, UNC was winning the game 7-3).

7) @Gamecocksonline (South Carolina Gamecocks Athletics): "Fans cheer as palyers at Williams Brice Stadium. Go #Gamecocks." (At last report, the 'cocks were tied 0-0 in their home football game against Missouri."

As it turns out, Scott Baio is associated with many terms in the Urban Dictionary. They are a bit too explicit for National Public Radio, so if interested, we suggest you go to this link: http://www.urbandictionary.com

Other Links:

http://www.politicscultureandotherwastesoft.blogspot.com

http://www.nationalbook.org

http://www.premiereleague.com

http://www.sitcomsonline.com

http://www.happydaysfans.com

http://www.pbs.org

Tweets Log from Charlotte_ Here Come the Mayors

We logged some tweets from last night regarding the Democratic National Convention, including some from those who will be attending and/or speaking in Charlotte, NC. Mayors figure prominently at the DNC as one of the key speakers will be Mayor Cory Booker (pictured top with New Jersey Devils helmet), the mayor of Newark, NJ. Mayor Anthony Foxx, the Democratic mayor of Charlotte, will also be very involved as the Queen City hosts its very first major political convention.

The third image is of a cup of coffee because The Coffee Party is the counter to the far right-wing Tea Party movement.

We hope we have this clear to those of you checking in from Dubai, Istanbul and Hong Kong.

Here are some sample tweets:

1)@MayorMarkK (Mark Kleinschmidt, not to confused with a German Olympic rower of the same name, is the mayor of Chapel Hill, NC): Attending the LGBT delegate welcome party @ #DNC2012. Untiy!

2) @CoryBooker (Cory Booker): Tuesday night around 6 pm RT (retweet) @alli_bachmann Mayor Booker: When are you speaking at DNC?

3) @theobserver (Charlotte Observer): "Follow our #DNC2012 Twitter account, @DNC2012clt for more news and info about the convention.

4) @DaveAtNorth (Dave Allen): Who is the smallest government spender since Eisenhower? Would you believe it's Barack Obama?

5) @thedailytarheel ("The Daily Tarheel" is the student-run newspaper of the University of North Carolina): With #DNC2012 only two days away, protestors are flooding into Charlotte to voice their discontent with both parties.

6) @nationaljournal ("The National Journal" is a non-partisan political magazine): Google, Facebook to court Dems in Charlotte with trendy parties.

7) @Kevinjk (Kevin Kopplin, a Wisconsin delegate at the DNC): "Just stopped in my hotel's bar. Upon return, we have three states staying in this place, but Wisconsin appears to be the only one drinking."


http://www.ci-chapel-hill.nc/us

http://www.corybooker.com

http://www.charlotteobserver.com

http://www.dailytarheel.com

http://www.nationaljournal.com

http://www.comevisitcharlotte.com

http://www.wisdems.com

http://www.demconvention.com

Image of the Day/Week- Ice Cream Cone

Spring is underway, and now it seems like the season, especially with global warming (forgive the political humor), to appreciate a nice ice cream cone, unless you live in Fairbanks, Alaska.

We were going to mention Giffords Ice Cream in Bethesda, Md., which had a reputation for being one of the Washington, DC-area's best independent ice cream shops, but they were purchased last year by the Maine-based Giffords Ice Cream, which lead to this headline in "City Paper" (Washington)  from Oct. 25, 2011, which sounds like an April Fool's Joke or a story in the satirical publication "The Onion:" 'Gifford's Ice Cream Is Now Called Gifford's Ice Cream.'

But, we did find an actual non-corporate ice cream place in Boulder, Colo., in the Table Mesa part of town called the Boulder Ice Cream Shoppe. However, we presume it may be easy to mistake it for Boulder Ice Cream, an organic ice cream company which says on its web site that it makes its produce from the milk of Rocky Mountain cows.

SIDEBAR: Speaking of ice cream, we loved this headline's in today's online edition of "Politico," a daily Washington, DC-based newspaper/web page dedicated only to politics: 'Rob Portman: Vice President Vanilla.'

This is in reference to the possibility that Mitt Romney will choose Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) for his vice-presidential nomination given that votes in places like Dayton, Toledo and Akron will matter significantly more than ones in Provo, Utah, or Princeton, NJ, two college-towns which will assuredly go to the respective candidates (the other, of course, being President Barack Obama) who are almost certain to carry Utah and New Jersey respectively.

Portman is liked by moderate Republicans and intellectual conservatives, such as commentator David Brooks of "The New York Times," but fervent right-wingers, birthers and tea partiers, seem to be carrying the mantra of far right Fox News host Bill O'Reilly, who is tauting Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.).

Quote of the Day/Week-Kevin Smith

Last week on NPR, film director Kevin Smith, who is also known for writing comic books, his eccentric tweets and blogs, writing memoirs, acting in his own films and having a row with Southwest Airlines (they apparently kicked him off a flight for being too overweight), announced that after his next film "Hit Somebody," he will retire from filmmaking.

Smith is among the people born in 1970, the year of my birth, that we are quoting this month. Smith turns 42 on Aug. 2. He will apparently not go the way of the legendary Swedish film director Ingmar Bergman who directed film right until his death at age 89 in 2007.

Of course, while Smith has directed some nifty films like "Clerks" and "Chasing Amy," no serious cinephile could ever compare him to Bergman, who directed such classics as "The Seventh Seal," "Wild Strawberries" and "Fanny and Alexander."

Smith, who made "Clerks," a comedy about lazy convenient store employees who discuss "Star Wars" while selling Camels and Marlboros (those brands were never named in the film for legal concerns) for a mere $27.575 in 1994, also runs a comic book store called Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash in Smith's native Red Bank, NJ.

Smith played Silent Bob in "Clerks" and its sequel "Clerks 2," as well as in the film "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back."

Here is his quote which refers to his controversial film "Dogma," with Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, which poked fun at the Catholic faith that Smith was raised in:

"I'm going to hell. But I knew that back on Dogma. It's not news to me. I'm just going to enjoy the ride there."

Bonus Road Trip (8 of 10)_ In the Ivy League

Today, we ask you the blog reader how far apart two Ivy League towns are. They are Princeton, New Jersey, where (of course) Princeton University is, and Hanover, New Hampshire, the home of Dartmouth College, where Ron Paul might very well be trying to pump students up for the upcoming New Hampshire Republican Primary so he can surge past Newt Gingrich, or as we like to call him here (we are a center-left blog) Sigmund the Sea Monster (forgive the retro humor).

Until today, we were unaware of Dartmouth's nickname; they are the 'Big Green.' And, their men's basketball team will have a daunting task when they face nationally ranked Harvard on the road at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. As for Princeton, they can boast at least one NBA star and U.S. Senator from their alumni, as Bill Bradley, who was both, graduated from the school as a Rhodes scholar. Alas, he still lost the Democratic Party nomination to Al Gore in 2000, perhaps New Hampshire was to blame.

So, for this trip, our destination points are the Ivy Inn in Princeton, NJ, and Molly's Restaurant in Hanover, NH. Feel free to take a guess so you can win an 8-track tape of the Oak Ridge Boys' greatest hits.

Is the answer:

A) 4 hours even

B) 5 hours even

C) 6 hours even

D) 7 hours even