Off the Beat and Path Quotes (1 of 6):: Slavoj Zizek

Today, we start a new series of quotes from people who are not in the mainstream. And, we can't think of a better place to begin than with modern Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek, 65, who states that he is actually a communist. Zizek is also known as an ardent film connoisseur and his sharp wit. Here is his quip:

"I agree with Sophocles: the great luck is not to have been born, but as the joke goes on, very few people succeed in it."

http://www.philosophypages.com

The Last Ten Films I've Seen: Avoid the Bad Mafya Babasi Film

It has been a full two weeks since we last posted a blog entry. Of course, in the modern age, two weeks is like six and a half years, or is it like 14 minutes? We will let the Slovenian modern philosopher Slavoj Zizek, a fellow film connoisseur, answer that question. In the mean time, here are the last ten films I've seen (mafya babasi is the Turkish term for mafia father/boss):

1) The Serpent and the Rainbow 1988. Director: Wes Craven (Image #1: It's actually a snake-handling church in West Virginia).

2) Saturday Night, Sunday Morning. 1960. dir: Karel Reisz

3) Massacre Mafia Style. 1978. dir-Duke Mitchell (Image #2, which is of Al Capone; this is a terrible movie which aired during TCM Underground)

4) Begin Again. 2013. dir: John Carney. w/Keira Knightley

5) It's a Disaster. 2012. dir: Todd Berger. w/Julie Stiles (Image #3: A Mushroom Cloud)

6) Goodbye, First Love. France 2011. dir: Mia Hansen-Love

7) Airplane! 1980. dir: Jim Abrahams, et al.

8) Life Itself. doc. 2014. dir: Steve James (film about Roger Ebert's last days)
 
9) Bastards. France. 2013. dir: Claire Denis

10) Bill Cunnigham New York. doc. 2010. dir: Richard Press

Little Thinkers' Quotes (13 of 16): Kurt Vonnegut

Here is today's quote from Kurt Vonnegut, author of "Slaughterhouse Five." When I was a reporter in Woodstock, Va., several years and touring the local jail, I was amused to see there was a copy of this novel in the prison library:

"True terror is to wake up one morning and realize that your high school class is running the country."

http://www.vonnegut.com/

I also have to wonder if Vonnegut ever met the engaging Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek before the author's death in 2007.

Quote of the Day/Week- Lech Walesa

Today, we begin our month-long series of quotes from famous people associated with eight of the 16 countries participating in the Euro 2012 soccer championships, which most people here in the United States will probably follow as closely as water polo, with the exception of rabid D.C. United fans of course!

We start with a quip from Lech Walesa, 69, the Nobel Prize winner and former prime minister of Poland, one of two countries along with Ukraine that is hosting the cup.

Walesa was born in 1943 in the north central Polish village of Popowo. He came to prominence by leading the anti-communist solidarity movement in the 1980s, which lead to him winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983.

Walesa then became the first prime minister in post-Iron Curtain in Poland in December of 1990; he held the post for five years.

On a personal note, we had also hoped that Turkey (my late father's country) had qualified as well as Slovenia, since we really wanted to quote philosopher Slavoj Zizek again (he is always amusing).

But, Walesa is a vintage persona in himself and here is his quote:

"He who puts out his hand to stop history will have his fingers crushed."


http://www.dcunited.com

http://poland.travel/en-us

http://www.zizekstudies.org

Quote of the Week- Slavoj Zizek (this is a great one...)

Today, we begin our series of quotes from famous philosophers, which might well seem like an oxy moron, with a quip from the great Slovenian thinker Slavoj Zizek (b. 1949).

We are not normally fans of 'bathroom humor,' but we love this image of Zizek on the throne, and we like this quote even more.

Some background for those of you unfamiliar with Zizek, and I am not a philosophy major myself though the few I've met always seem to be smarter than I am, he is described by Wikipedia as: "A Slovenian continental philosopher and critical theorist working in traditions of Hegelianism and Marxism who is known for his political theory and film theory."

Yes, I'm sure that cleared things up for you. Zizek was also the subject of the quirky documentary film "Zizek!" (2005). His books include "Iraq: The Borrowed Kettle" and "The Pervert's Guide to Cinema."

We first heard about Zizek through "Film Comment" which listed some of his guilty pleasures. I don't have the list in front of me, but I am 99 percent "Troll 2," a film we mentioned in our entry two days ago, was not on that list (it probably wouldn't be on mine either!).

Ah, yes, here is the quote:

"Love feels like a great misfortune, a monstrous parasite, a permanent state of emergency that ruins all pleasures."

We told it was a good one, didn't we!

It's too bad today is not Valentine's Day as this would have been perfect for that one day when Air Supply sells more cds than Arcade Fire!

Today's GeoQuiz- Greek Island of Chios

Today's GeoQuiz is dedicated to students at Clarke Central High School in Athens, Ga., who will hopefully go on to nearby University of Georgia after they've passed ninth grade geography.

Since The World Cup recently concluded, we thought we'd go with another country that was in the soccer tourney though Greece didn't advance into the knock-out round.

Our focus today is on Chios, the fifth largest Greek island, which is only five miles off the coast of this Turkish resort town which is popular with Turkish workers from Germany.

Before we get to the choices for the answers, here is some additional background on Chios. It was once a part of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) and the island formally joined Greece in 1912. The island was occupied by Germany from 1941-1944. Chios is also twin cities with Genoa, Italy.

As for the Turkish resort town across the Chios Strait, it is sister cities with Wise, Va., the hometown of the late, great actor George C. Scott of "Patton" fame, and this place is also known for its thermal springs and karpuz (Turkish word for watermelon).

Is the town's name:

A) Bodrum

B) Fethiye

C) Kushadasi

D) Cesme

SIDEBAR: The Akron Aeros in Akron, Ohio, won their home game over the Erie SeaWolves 8-1 on Faith Night. We hope they let folks from Temple Israel in Akron (an actual place) enjoy the same discount as everyone else.

SIDEBAR TWO: Want an interesting book to read this summer? How about "Iraq: The Borrowed Kettle," the 2004 book by Slovenian pop culture philosopher Slavoj Zizek in which the author says that the war in Iraq is a lot like a Hitchcock film because the weapons of mass destruction were very similar to McGuffins, arbitrary plot devices used to move things along in movies like "North by Northwest." Incidentally, The Carolina Theatre in Greensboro, NC, will be showing Hitchcock's "The Birds" on Monday night.

PS_ The answer to last week's quiz was "B." Utrecht, Holland, has a population of around 300,000 people.