This Blog Will Go On....

Yes, there have been way too many distractions as of late, but we are hoping to continue this blog in 2013, though in all probability not with the fervent frequency we've posted with in recent years.

One of our hopes this year is to post a Weekly World Weather Update on Wednesdays, starting on Jan. 23, and we are also going to attempt to post Sports Desk Updates on Mondays, hopefully with the start of Mon., Jan. 21.

Today, we are going to provide a sneak peak of our proposed world weather series with a look at the temperature in Bursa, Turkey, which is the country's fourth largest city.

Bursa is also the hope of our good friends Haviat and Karagoz (he's the dude with the beard on the right); all temps are Fahrenheit:


Athens, Georgia* 73 (sunny, slear)

Bursa, Turkey 49 (cloudy)

Chapel Hill, NC* 67 (partly sunny)

Dubai, United Arab Emirates 65 (clear)

London, England, UK 37 (rainy)

Provo, Utah* 18 (cloudy)

Utrecht, Holland 30 (cloudy)

*-American cities, each of them are also college towns.

Virtual Postcard from Colorado-The Boulder Theatre

Well, we are no longer in the great western state of Colorado, but we were there last week. This image is of The Boulder Theatre in downtown Boulder, Colo., the venue no longer shows films on a regular basis, but it does host traveling bands. On Thursday, the hip folk band Trampled by Turtles plays there, and on June 1st, the '80s band The BoDeans, one of the best bands out of Wisconsin, comes to the 80302 zip code.

While we were visiting Boulder, we learned that Dushanbe, Tajikistan, the capital of a remote former Soviet republic- of all places, was one of Boulder's main sister cities. For the residents of Boulder, Dushanbe's mayor Maksud Ikramov commissioned local Tajiki artists to build a teahouse which was disassembled and shipped to Boulder.

Boulder, which is home to the Colorado University Buffaloes, also has an excellent bookstore called The Boulder Book Store, where one can find both the liberal magazine "The Nation" and the conservative journal "The National Review," which is fitting that Colorado is a swing state in this year's election. Like most college towns, except Lynchburg, Va., and Provo, Utah, Boulder is a fairly liberal place and that is evident by its many marijuana dispensaries. Local news sources said several such businesses were closing due to their close proximity to schools (1,000 feet is apparently where authorities draw the line).

Colorado is also home to Colorado Springs, an evangelical Mecca (is that an oxy moron, or what) which home to Focus on the Family and several other right-wing groups.

The Boulder Book Store is hosting author Geraldine Brooks for a book signing of "Caleb's Crossing" on May 19th.

Boulder is also sister cities with Lhasa, Tibet, Yateras, Cuba, and Kisumu, Kenya.

Our special 'virtual postcard' greetings go out to blog readers from Chile, Lebanon and New Zealand, who visited our blog today!

http://www.bouldermmdispensary.comhttp://www.boulderteahouse.comhttp://www.bouldertown.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 Week/Day- Che Guevara

For the record: "No, I'm not a socialist, but I would be one if I lived in Provo, Utah."

Nevertheless, the Argentinian radical revolutionary figure Che Guevara (1928-1967) who was executed in Bolivia at age 38, has been good for massive hit totals on our two blogs. And, personally, I'd love to have this puppet for Christmas, if not to see the shocked look on a conservative friend's face.

By the way, we are dedicating to one Paul Doss of Roanoke, Va., who wrote in a letter-to-editor to "The Roanoke Times" in which he defended folks like Donald Trump and Uncle Scrooge. He added that 'anyone who wants socialism should move to Europe.' Of course, my response to that is that if Newt Gingrich becomes president, many of us may actually opt for Cuba.

And, while researching this piece, we found that many actors have played Che Guevara on film, including Antonio Banderas (in "Evita," 1996), Benicio Del Toro, Gael Garcia Bernali and most astonishingly Omar Sharif (?!). Yes, the Egyptian actor who is still alive played the title role in "Che!" (the dubious 1969 version, not the one which got a Criterion Edition release). Of course, in this same version of Che, the late Jack Palance (1919-2006) played Fidel Castro.

So, irregradless if your political legions are with Ron Paul or Noam Chomsky, here is the quote from Che:

"In a revolution one wins or dies, if it is a real one."

This our first in a month-long series of quotes from famous Latin Americans.

SIDEBAR ONE: The road trip between the two Charleston takes C) 8 hours, 30 minutes (see Saturday's entry).

SIDEBAR TWO: Didier Drogba, the Ivory Coast national, who is the main star for English soccer power Chelsea, scored two goals in UEFA Champions play for a 3-0 victory over Spanish team Valencia. This helped Chelsea win Group E.

Here is a partial rundown of the eight games played today in Europe; the stars indicate the teams that advance:

Shankhtar Donetsk (Ukraine) 2 *APOEL (Cyprus) 0

Porto (Portugal) 0 *Zenit (Russia) 0, tie

*Barcelona 4 BATE (Bulgaria) 0

*AC Milan 2, Plzen (Czech Rep.) 2, tie

SIDEBAR THREE: Last night, my fellow Turkish-American progressive Cenk Uygur made an impressive debut with Current TV on his show "The Young Turks" as he took great digs at Newt Gingrich, Herman Cain and Michele Bachmann. But, my favorite segment was when he uncovered footage from Fox News of some right-wing nut pundit saying that the new Muppets movie "The Muppets" is encouraging children to become communists. And, the reason for this is because the film suggests big oil companies don't have our best interests at heart; uh huh! Tonight, Uygur welcomes Al Gore as his guest.

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 Week- Karl Marx

A special good morning to all our friends in Corvallis, Oregon (actually, I only one person in that state, and he lives in Portland) who are just waking up, and a special salute to the graduates of the school there, which is Oregon State. Their arch rival Oregon University is in Eugene. It's easy to get the two towns mixed up.

Let's get to our Quote of the Week, and I should add that while I think the German philosopher Karl Marx (1818-1883) was a remarkable historical figure, I don't consider myself a Marxist, as Cuba has proven the short-comings of what happens in communist countries. But, of course, in Provo, Utah, which is home to Brigham Young University and is perhaps America's most conservative zip code, I would probably be classified as one there!

This quip is part of this blog's month-long quips from radical, left-wing figures.

Here is the quip, which should go over well with "True Blood" fans:

"Capital is dead labor, which, vampire-like, lives only by sucking living labor, and lives the more, the more labor it sucks."

We are planning to have quotes from many people past and present from Germany (with the exception being the Nazi-era) in October.

SIDEBAR: Yesterday, as we typing our blog post on English soccer, there was actually a game being played there. I wonder if they call it "Monday Night Futbol." Hmmm....you may have to be an American born before Ronald Reagan was president to get that joke. Liverpool beating the living daylights out of Fulham by a 5-2 score in that game with Argentinian star Maxi Rodriguez scoring three goals for the winning Liverpool side.

Quote of the Week- Robert Frost

As National Poetry month comes to a gradual close, we are featuring a quip from Robert Frost (1874-1963) who is perhaps best known for his poem "Fire and Ice" that perhaps 93 percent of us were required to read in high school.

We learned that there are actually two Robert Frost museums in New England. The Robert Frost Stone Home Museum is in South Shaftsbury, Vt. And, the Robert Frost Place Home, which is also the house where the poet resided from 1915-1920, is in Franconia, New Hampshire. Obviously, this might be quite a field trip for students from Provo High School in Provo, Utah (a real place)!

Here is the quip from Frost:

"A jury consists of twelve persons chosen to decide who has the better lawyer."

Lastly, fans of Gary Shteyngart (whew, we almost didn't get it right!) who feel that the author of the great novel "Absurdistan" was snubbed from our "Difficult, Long Names" list yesterday should know that we are planning to post another such list in May.

Silly Photo to Fill Space: Tofu Turkey

I sure hope my mom in Mount Airy, NC (not where she actually lives) does NOT opt to put tofu turkey on our table, but irregardless if you're a vegan or a right-wing nut or both, or if you live in Provo, Utah, or Provincetown, Mass., we wish you a pleasant Thanksgiving

Entry 666.........

Since we are blogging from a public library in Mount Airy, NC, (well, somewhere within a days drive from there), we thought it might be wise not to have too much fun with this, particularly after the Koran-burning brewhaha that the whacko Rev. Terry Jones of Gainesville, Fla. stirred up. If I have learned one thing over the years, it is that very religious people, regardless if they are Baptist, Catholic, Jewish, Mormon or Muslim can get offended quite easily.........!!! However, this indeed our 666th entry.

And, should one be interested in "Hot Stuff" (well the Harvey Comics series was popular circa 1975, so they probably don't have any back issues in stock) or any other comic book title and you live in The Tarheel State, I highly recommend a stop at Chapel Hill Comics in Chapel Hill, NC, particularly if UNC's football team is playing in College Park, Md. (well, the logical assumption is that there would be better parking availability).

Chapel Hill Comics is now offering eight different styles Scott Pilgrim t-shirts which would be perfect for a job interview at Bank of America. (For those of you in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, or Provo, Utah, that is a joke)

Quote of the Week- Lou Reed

Today we continue to quote famous singers with a quip from New York artsy rocker legend Lou Reed, who is also well-known for his work in the '60s as the lead singer of Velvet Underground.

Since we are way behind in our High Schools of the Week, we will dedicate this entry to students at Provo High School in Provo, Utah, where Reed's landmark album "Transformer" with the suggestive hit song "Walk on the Wild Side" is probably banned (this is just a joke!).

But, we do know that Provo High School returns to class on Aug. 24 (yay! well, maybe not??!). The school's nickname is The Bulldogs. Sam Ray is the principal at Bulldog High, which is also where famed chemist Paul Boyer went to school.

Here is our quote from Reed:

"How can anybody learn anything from an artwork when the piece of art reflects the vanity of the artist and not reality."

SIDEBAR_ Fellow fans of the Russian-emigre rock band The Red Elvises who happen to live near Bethlehem, Pa., will be happy to know they are performing there tonight. The band will also be at The Gogol Club in Moscow, Russia (not Moscow, Idaho!) on Sept. 10. While many bands, like Los Lobos, are boycotting Arizona because of their highly-controversial immigration bill, which we here highly oppose (but I'm not a fan of boycotts unless there is a very valid reason for them), The Red Elvises are performing in Phoenix at The Rhythm Room, which we understand to be quite a jazzy place, on Sept. 23. The Red Elvises, which became popular in the late 1990s, are based in Santa Monica, Calif.

Last Ten Films I've Seen---Three with Bruce Dern

Three of the last ten films I've seen, "The Trip" (1967), "Psych-Out" (1968) and "Coming Home" (1978) feature the great character actor Bruce Dern (father of Laura Dern, pictured here) who turned 76 on Friday. Dern recently played Frank Harlow in the hit HBO series "Big Love," which still may not play well in Provo, Utah (since it's about fundamentalist Mormons with lots of wives).

"The Trip" also featured Dennis Hopper, who died last week. He had also just turned 76 some two weeks before his death. "The Trip" which also featured Peter Fonda was a precursor to "Easy Rider."

Even though "Watermelon Man" (1970) was made by a black filmmaker in Melvin Van Peebles (Mario Van Peebles' father), I'm not sure it would get made today as it deals with a racist white man who becomes black overnight. Sadly, the star of the film Godfrey Cambridge died at age 43 in 1976 while on the set of a tv movie with Kirk Douglas in which he was to play Ugandan dictator Idi Amin.

Here are the films:

1. "Watermelon Man" (1970. dir-Melvin Van Peebles)
2. "Personal Best" (1982. dir- Robert Towne)
3. "The Trip" (1967 w/Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper. dir-Roger Corman)
4. "Psych-Out" (1968 w/Jack Nicholson. dir-Richard Rush)
5. "Friends of Eddie Coyle" (1973. w/Robert Mitchum. dir-Peter Yates)
6. "Coming Home" (1978. w/Jane Fonda and Jon Voight. dir-Hal Ashby)
7. "The Girl Can't Help It!" (1956 w/Jayne Mansfield. dir-Frank Tashlin)
8. "The Special Relationship" (2010. HBO TV movie about Bill Clinton and Tony Blair. dir-Richard Loncraine)
9. "Dog Eat Dog" (Colombia. 2008. dir-Carlos Moreno)
10. "It Happened One Night" (1934 w/Clark Gable. dir-Frank Capra)

SIDEBAR- There is a great blog entry by my good friend Moviezzz about the very short-lived tv show "Tales of the Golden Monkey" (1983-84). At the time, all of us thought it was a "Raiders of the Lost Ark" rip-off, but as it turns out the producers had submitted the idea for the show before the epic film came out in 1981!

Quote of the Week- Frank Zappa

We conclude our month of quotes from left-wing radicals with this quip from the late rock and roll pioneer Frank Zappa (1940-1993) who probably never got around to performing in Provo, Utah:

"When God created Republicans, he gave up hope on everything else."

Celebrity Birthdays- Iggy Pop is 62

You know we are all getting older when punk/garage rock pioneer Iggy Pop is inching closer to qualifying for a senior citizen's discount at Denny's.

Pop who was born on this date in Muskegon, Mich., is 62 today. He is known as "The Godfather of Punk" and "The Rock Iguana."

The punk singer got his name because he was the lead singer of a band called The Iguanas when he was in high school. Pop later became the lead singer of The Stooges.

His hit songs include "Lust for Life" and "Real Wild Child." And, Pop recorded the original version of David Bowie's hit song "China Girl," a personal favorite of mine.

Pop's music was featured in the soundtrack for the film "Trainspotting."

A few years ago, Pop appeared in the Jim Jarmusch arthouse hit "Coffee and Cigarettes" where he appeared in a sequence with legendary singer Tom Waits.

I must profess that we had a hard time finding a suitable photo to go with Pop. There was actually one of him performing necade! We decided that might cause this blog to be banned in Provo, Utah, so we opted for this shot of him wearing a crown instead.

Zip Code USA- Provo, Utah 84601

It has taken us awhile to run the follow-up to our last entry in this series which was Provincetown, Mass., which is believed to be the most liberal city in America.

Today, we focus on Provo, Utah 84601- which might very well the most conservative zip code here in les etats unis.

Provo is home to the entire Osmond family. Donny and Marie both live there, but we presumed neither actually lives with mom and dad.

84601 is also home to former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Steve Young, who is an alumnus of Brigham Young University in Provo (pictured here).

Provo is 43 miles south of Salt Lake City. It is the county seat of Utah County.
The city lies between the towns of Orem and Springville.

Provo was originally called Fort Utah.

The city is fairly large for a college town as it has a population of 117,592.

Provo is the third largest city in Utah.

84601 is 88.5% white (and we presume Republican), 57% of its residents are married, 22% are under 18, and 88% are Mormon..........I imagine a Jewish person would feel even lonelier there than they would in a NASCAR town like Martinsville, Va.

The mayor of Provo is Lewis K. Billings, and the police chief is J. Craig Geslison.

It is interesting to note that some Brigham Young students actually protested the school's choice for a commencement speaker in 2007. He was none other than Dick Cheney.

Movie Theatre of the Week: The Grandin, Roanoke, Va.

Today we start a new series in which we will profile a historic cinema in the United States every week or so. I hope to profile at least one cinema from every state plus Washington, DC.

I begin with the Grandin Theatre in Roanoke, Va. The only reason I have not been going to movies there since the 1930s* when it initially opened is because I was not around in the 1930s.

The first movie I saw there was a revival of Alfred Hitchcock's "Vertigo" in 1984 when I was 14 years old, which means that Jason Garnett, the current manager of the Grandin and a good friend of mine, was 8 years old at the time!

On Dec. 20, The Grandin will screen John Waters' 1981 cult film "Polyester" in smell-o-vision. There will NOT be a seance to bring Waters' frequent star Divine back to life, but the first 200** folks who come in will get smell-o-vision cards.

The Grandin is also one of the six or seven reasons why my hometown is more socially progressive and hip than Provo, Utah, though I've heard arch conservatives Republicans go there just to eat the popcorn.

Perhaps, they will come by on Dec. 20 expecting to see "It's a Wonderful Life."

Hmmm.........in that case, a seance, even one for Jimmy Stewart, would be a very bad idea.

*-I believe that is the right decade the theatre opened

**-I believe 200 is the right number

See our entry about the North Theatre in Danville, Va. on our sister blog "Politics, Culture and Other Wastes of Time."