Quote of the Day- Gunter Grass

Perhaps those of you visiting our blog from Boulder, Colo., can find a Gunter Grass novel, like his most famous work "The Tin Drum" (the novel came out in 1959, an award-winning film version came out in 1979), at the Boulder Bookstore.

But, for the rest of us who aren't living in such a hip happening place, well we can always quote Mr. Grass.

The German author, who was born in 1927, was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1999. The film version of "The Tin Drum" was actually banned in Oklahoma City in 1997 after a Christian fundamentalist group saw some controversial sexual scenes from the movie out of context.

The evangelical group did not even watch the film in its entirety! But, the ban was removed in 2001 though we aren't sure if a resident of Tulsa can put the controversial late '60s Swedish film "I Am Curious Yellow" on his Netflix que!

We are quoting Mr. Grass because he is from one of the 32 countries in the upcoming World Cup in South Africa.

Although I haven't been there in a long time, we expect that partisan fans will be rooting for Germany from the Bavarian Inn in Shepherdstown, W.Va., which is actually only an hour outside Washington, DC, where one might be able to find "Cat and Mouse" (a 1961 novel by Grass) at Politics and Prose.

Here is the quip from the great writer who also penned "The Dog Years" in 1963:

"Everything bigger than life attracts a crowd."

Quote of the Week- Fidel Castro

My dear mom who resides in the cola-mining hamlet of War, West Virginia (ok, she doesn't really live there) thinks that there is probably already an FBI file on me since my late father was a Muslim from Turkey and I once had a subscription to the very liberal publication "Mother Jones" for a short while after George W. Bush became our el presidente.

(I checked out the "MJ" web site- they have an interesting article by David Corn on Afghan president Hamid Karzai's visit to Washington, DC, in which allegedly President Barack Obama grilled him like Mike Wallace).

So my idea of devoting Quotes of the Week to radical left-wingers during the month of May will probably not change anything, though I should point out that I'm a moderate Democrat.

Having said that, I may want to take a cue from the Oklahoma City Tea Party, and start a radical far-left revolution only to remove myself from the movement if I should run for Congress one day! One has to wonder why there are Tea Parties in places like Oklahoma City since the only elected Democrat in the state is probably a water and sewer commissioner for the City of Tulsa.

Of course, we should add that this does not mean we favor Fidel Castro's policies even though we are quoting him. In fact, we will give you the link to a Cuban-American blog (cubalibre.org) even though they may be to the right of Bill O'Reilly. Though there could well be a Cuban-American Democrat in the Miami metro area--and, he probably has an unlisted phone number.

Here is our quote:

"I began a revolution with 82 men. If I had to do it again, I would do it with 10 or 15 men and absolute faith. It does not matter how small you are if you have faith and a plan of action."

UPDATE: I should point out that I am aware that the governor of Oklahoma and several members of Congress from the state are in fact Democrats. But, somehow I doubt they are as liberal as Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.)

Movies of Our Youth (8 of 12)- "Bull Durham"

Congrats to the Durham Bulls from Durham, NC, , who won the Triple-A World Series over the Memphis Red Hawks by a 5-4 margin (the game lasted 11 innings, and it was broadcast on ESPN-2) in Oklahoma City last night.

Since they won the game, I thought I would feature the 1988 comedy hit "Bull Durham" as the latest entry in our series. At the time of the film, the Durham Bulls were in the Single-A Carolina League along with my hometown team the Salem Bucs from Salem, Va., (now the Salem Red Sox). But, the Bulls are now a triple-A franchise of the Florida Marlins.

Though I am considerably more politically moderate (I consider myself a centrist Democrat) than two of the film's stars, Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon, I admire their outspokeness against capital punishment which also happens to by my position on the highly controversial issue.

Robbins and Sarandon met on the set and quickly fell in love. They have co-habitated for a number of years but apparently they are not married. Both are also avid New York Rangers fans.

PS- This is NOT me in this photograph, but it is the mascot of the Durham Bulls.