Six Degrees of Separation fro Kevin Bacon: The Girls of Beverly Hills 90210

She was only on "Beverly Hills 90210" for a few episodes after she was fired from the show (?!), but we have decided to put two-time Oscar winner Hillary Swank (pictured bottom) on this select list of female stars of the teenage or tweenage soap opera which ran for 10 years and 292 episodes.

For this entry, we are looking at how many degrees of separation each actress is away from Kevin Bacon. And, as to not offend, blog readers in Algeria, Dubai and Pakistan, we have halal bacon (yes, we are not making up!) as out center image.


Let's start with Tori Spelling (pictured top), she is two degrees separated from the star of the original "Footloose" as was in the film "Sol Goode" (2003) with Octavia Spencer who was in "Beauty Shop" (2005) with Bacon.

Or 'fellow Turkish-American' (well, she is like one-eighth Turkish) Tiffani Thiessen is also two degrees removed as she was in "Ladies Man" (2000) with Julianne Moore who was in "Crazy Stupid Love" (2011) with Bacon.

Shannen Doherty, one of the anchor stars of '90210,' was in "Night Shift" (1982) with Clint Howard, who was the brother of that film's director Ron Howard, and Clint was in the tear-jerker "My Dog Skip" (2000) with Bacon.

Lastly, Swank was in "P.S. I Love You," which is NOT one of the films she Oscared for with Harry Connick Jr. who was also in "My Dog Skip" with (you guessed it) Kevin Bacon!


http://www.torispelling.com

http://www.oracelofbacon.org

http://www.bacontoday.com

http://www.ilovebacon.com

10 People Who Will Decide the Election (7 of 10) Donna Scott of Portland, Maine

Yikes! "Politico," on the last objective sources for news in the United States, along with "The Washington Post," has stated Mitt Romney has made tremendous gains on President Barack Obama following last week's debate in Denver, Colo., in which Romney interrupted moderator Jim Lehrer at least 17 times (more or less). NPR, which the likes of Bill O'Reilly seem to proclaim as being as radical left-wing as Radio Havana, Cuba, said that the race is now a 'virtual dead heat.'

But, 'Politco' also shows Obama winning the race 303-235 though the president is only winning Colorado 47.4 to 47.2 percent. Conversely, the numbers are also close in a very politically divided Virginia, my home state, in which one congressional district represents the rural hamlet Boones Mill, where one can see signs for far-right third party candidate Virgil Goode (from nearby Rocky Mount) and the collegetown of Charlottesville, by a margin of 47.8-47.5 percent.

Today, we are turning our attention to Maine, which seemed like a possible swing state when we planned this project over the summer, where Obama is winning 53.3-38.0 percent.

And, we are choosing a fictitious person named Donna Scott, whom we will say works at an independent bookstore in Portland (Maine). We will say she is 37, white, pro-choice and would likely vote for Obama.

Lastly, welcome to our Armenian-American blog readers. This afternoon, I posted a comment on the web site for "USA Armenian Life," (I am a Turkish-American, there are some differences between the two groups- to put it mildly) where I endorsed Cong. Howard Berman (D-Calif.) over his arch rival Cong. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) or was it the other way around?

For those of who reside in Provo, Utah, or Tashkent, Uzbekistan, who might be oblivious to American national politics, Berman and Sherman, who both represent the suburban area around Los Angeles, which has a large Armenian-American population, are entangled in a congressional race with each other due to gerrymandering, even though both are Democrats.

http://www.politico.com

http://www.armenianlife.com

http://www.ataa.org (ATAA is the leading Turkish-American group in the United States and Canada)

Portland, Maine, independent bookstores, hopefully, none of their employees has the name of Donna Scott:

http://www.nonesuchbooks.com

http://www.longfellowbooks.com

20 Things To Do List for September- Get a Haircut

With an image of Bulgarian stamps, a Japanese barber (that's not me in the barber's chair, in fact, I've never been to Japan) and a poster for Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman," which is apparently being revived on Broadway, we are posting our 20 Things To Do List for September:


1) Read the overcoming procrastination book (by Jane B. Burka, et al)

2) Use Craig's List more often

3) Wear the Batman tie more often

4) Get stamps

5) Visit the Unitarian Universalists  congregation in your area

6) See an ACC college volleyball game

7) Get a haircut

8) Watch Democratic Convention on PBS

9) Call Bob

10) recylcle

11) wash car

12) Write an essay

13) shoot hoops

14) Listen to "All Things Considered" on NPR on Mondays

15) Get more orange juice

16) Go to make-shift Facebook high school reunion in Bethesda, Maryland*

17) Have coffee some place besides Starbucks

18) See a local stage play

19) Go to a Turkish-American event

20) Laundry

*-Bethesda is not where I really reside; it's an in-joke for those of you who have read this blog day in and day out for the last seven years.


http://www.kramers.com (Bookstore in Washington, DC, where we originally saw the book mentioned in #1)

http://www.craigslist.com

http://www.neckties.com

http://www.uua.org

http://www.charlestonuu.org (We chose the Charleston, SC, UU congregation at random)

http://www.gopack.com (We chose North Carolina State's athletic page at random, nothing against Duke or UNC).

Quote of the Day/Week- Joe Frazier

Last month, we had hoped to quote the great boxer Joe Frazier (1944-2011) as one of the quips from famous people who died last year, but as it is, he also fits into our efforts this month to quote famous African-Americans in honor of Black History Month.

Next month, we are hoping to quote famous gold medalists. We learned while researching this piece that Frazier, who died at age 67 from cancer was a gold medalist at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. He defeated Hans Huber from West Germany.

Frazier, whose nickname was Smokin' Joe, was known for his bitter rivalry with Muhammad Ali. The two ironically became close friends even though they said terrible things about it each other at several junctures during their careers.

The two boxers met three times. Frazier won the first bout at Madison Square Garden in New York for what was dubbed 'the fight of the century' on March 8, 1971. Frazier would win that fight which saw the likes of Woody Allen in attendance.

Ali won the subsequent meetings between the two, including the 1975 'Thrilla in Manila," which did indeed take place in The Philippines.

Here is Frazier's quote:

"Life doesn't run away from nobody. Life runs at people."

SIDEBAR ONE: Since we are huge admirers of William Shakespeare, we thought we'd mention that in the hamlet of Hamlet, NC (some 75 miles east of Charlotte) it is 51 degrees and rainy today.

SIDEBAR TWO: As a fellow progressive Turkish-American, I want to salute Cenk Uygur, who coincidentally is a mere 17 days younger than me, for standing up to a right-wing electronic media outlet which said that Uygur looked like the notorious Pakistani terrorist Khalid Sheik Muhammed.

The comments were made in response to Uygur's interview with right-wing commentator Andrew Breitbart, on the Feb. 14th broadcast of Uygur's Current TV show, which airs at 7:00 p.m., New York time. Breitbart apparently disclosed that his 'stop raping people' jeers that he made at Occupy DC protestors was a publicity stunt.

Uygur confronted the haters by juxtaposing his face over that of the terrorist's through computer animation, a technique made famous by comic talk show host Conan O'Brien, who is seemingly and surprisingly popular in Turkey. O'Brien's own show airs at 11:00 p.m., New York time, on TBS. Steve Martin is scheduled to appear on that show tonight.

SIDEBAR THREE: Lastly, kudos to the UNC-Greensboro men's basketball team as they upset College of Charleston (from Charleston, SC) 78-63 on the UNCG Spartans' home court last night. Derrell Armstrong paved the way for the home team with 30 points.

The UNCG Spartans (12-15) were profiled by North Carolina Public Radio (WUNC-FM, Chapel Hill) since the team's coach Wes Miller, 29, is the youngest head coach in Division One basketball. Miller has been serving as a temporary coach since then-coach Mike Dement resigned in December.

Quoting William Shakespeare (1 of 5)

What do Che Guevara, Jesus Christ and William Shakespeare all have in common?

Well, they've all had bobblehead dolls made after them, of course!

Here is our quip from the Bard:

"Ambition should be made of sterner stuff."

If you are looking for a refuge from Christmas play season, we highly recommend a production of the American Shakespeare Center's production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" if you happen to be in the Staunton, Va., area where the stage company is based.

SIDEBAR: I happy to report that my doppelganger, and yes we checked Google to make sure this term was spelled correctly, Cenk Uygur will be back on television with a new daily show airing on Current TV at 7:00 p.m.

Uygur and I have many things in common. We are both politically progressive. We are both Turkish-Americans. And, amazingly enough we were born on a mere 16 days a part in March of 1970 (I was the one who was born first, not that that matters really).

Up until George W. Bush's now dubious decision to go to war over Iraq, Uygur was actually a Republican so I presume he did not vote for Michael Dukakis, a Greek-American, as I did, which did NOT quite go over well with the relatives in Istanbul.

And, I supported Hillary Clinton at the primary stage though Uygur endorsed Barack Obama. Ironically, it seems that I am considerably less critical of Obama than Uygur. But, all things considered, I agree with Uygur about 90 percent of the time, and I know he will be a great counter to the dittoheads on Fox News, and a strong complement to Keith Olbermann's show which airs at 8:00 p.m. on Current.

Both Olbermann and Uygur were previously talk show hosts on MSNBC.

SIDEBAR TWO: The answer to our Rabbit Ears Quiz on "H.R. Pufnstuf" (not spelled correctly on our tags) was C) $325. Yes, that is how much someone on e-bay is offering for an H.R. Pufnstuf lunch box. The products were made in limited quantity in 1971. We sure hope it has the thermos.

Quote of the Day- Doctor Oz

Perhaps someone from the central Turkish city of Yozgat, which is believed to be the most right-wing place in the old country would object to me quipping a fellow Turkish-American as opposed to a Turkish person from Turkey, but hey everyone in Fresno has heard of Dr. Oz. The same alas can't be said for the late, great Turkish novelist Aziz Nesin.

Dr. Mehmet Oz is from Cleveland originally, and many of us Turkish-Americans are pleasantly stunned by his success even though we realize it means he will never email us back again.

This month, we are quoting famous Turkish people in honor of October 29th, which is Republic's Day in Turkey. Ironically, as I found out from listening to a segment on "The World" about the Greek Debt Crisis, tomorrow is a national holiday in Greece as well!

Here is the quote from Dr. Oz, who seems to have an unfair advantage over the rest of us with his very short last name, which is one of the reasons why the populr Turkish singer Nil Karaibrahimgil will never sale more records than Lady Gaga (Of course, the fact that she sings in Turkish wouldn't help either):

"You can't get rid of a bad habit, but you can replace it with a good habit."

Quote of the Week- John Waters

We must profess that while we love John Waters, we are not sure what to make of his early films from the 1970s. Though I have yet to see his most-famous film "Pink Flamingos," which was made in that era, I've been told that I would probably enjoy watching "Midnight Express" again, more (I'm a Turkish-American).

While we were fully aware that he partnered with the late cult film actor Divine
(1945-1988), we were unaware that another deceased underground figure Cookie Mueller (1949-1989) also appeared in many Waters films, which have mostly been filmed in the director's native Baltimore. "Serial Mom" with Kathleen Turner is actually my personal favorite. Amazingly enough, a movie about a suburban mom who turns out to be a serial killer is also among the most mainstream films Waters has ever made!

Here is our quote, which we truly agree with in every way, if it were only realistically possible:

"True success is figuring out your life and career so you never have to be around jerks."

Quote of the Week- Jules Verne

Today's quote is our third one this month from famous French people in honor of Bastille Day, which was one week ago today. It comes from the author Jules Verne
(1828-1905), who is best-known for his novel "Around the World in 80 Days."


Since I love cats, this quip is a vintage one to me:

"I believe cats to be spirits come to earth. A cat, I am sure, could walk on a cloud without coming through."

SIDEBAR: We are saddened to hear of the departure of progressive talk-show and fellow Turkish-American Cenk Uygur (we were both also born in March of 1970, and we are both liberals) from MSNBC. Since I only have basic cable, I only got to see his show "MSNBC Live," which aired at 6:00 p.m., a few times.

Uygur told sources that the network brass approached him in April to tone down his rhetoric. Amazingly enough, his replacement appears to be the uber-controversial Rev. Al Sharpton. Uygur is expected to be a guest on Keith Olbermann's new show on Current-TV. Olbermann left MSNBC for similar reasons. This comes at a time when MSNBC's rival Fox News has been reeling from the scandal involving their owner Rupert Murdhoch who is embattled with a phone-hacking scandal at one of his English newspapers.

Ironically, we found out that one of the country's leading conservative activists and Armenian-American (our rival ethnic group) Mark Krikorian, who is an anti-immigration advocate was the editor of "The Winchester Star" in Winchester, Va., a few short years before I worked as a reported at "The Shenandoah Valley-Herald," a newspaper owned by the same company in Woodstock, Va.

I imagine given our ethnic and political differences, Krikorian would probably not have gotten along too well.......to put it mildly!

Top 10 Worst Ways to Break-Up

We are being tres lazy today, so we are going to use this Top 10 Worst Ways to Break-Up with Someone list from shine.yahoo.com

I would say from personal experience that one shouldn't take someone out to The Olive Garden and then tell them: "It's Over." Yeah, that sorta sucks.

1. By Cheating- Amazingly enough, Warren Beatty has not done this to Anette Benning!

2. By Doing Nothing- Whatever that means.

3. On Valentine's Day- Ouuuuch!

4. In Bed- Hmmm....we'll skip the commentary on this one.

5. At Your 'Special Place'- which is hopefully NOT the Olive Garden or that truck stop restaurant off I-81 in Toms Brook, Va. (two hours south of Washington, DC)

6. At a Wedding- Yeah, that would be bad and rude!

7. Around the Family- especially if it's a mafia family!

8. On Facebook- I left you for a guy in Mumbai....hmm, yeah I would really hate that. Amazingly enough, it hasn't happened to me....yet!

9. In a Text Message- I know someone in Greensboro, NC, who had this actually happen to them!

10. On Vacation- Hope the hurricane hits you while you're in Cancun!

SIDEBAR: Meredith Fineman, 23, of Washington, DC, recently told "The Washington Post" about her more pleasant experiences dating. Before taking a trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina, she decided to sign up for the Jewish dating service JDate.

She then decided after having some strange and unique experiences to post them on a blog called FiftyFirst-JDates.com (site was down at press time).

Fineman told the WP that she simply wanted other Jewish singles to know what might be in store for them:

"There are just so many little awkward intricacies of the site and the way it works," Fineman said in the story.

The last time I checked her blog, she said she was getting responses from as far away as Israel. And, Fineman told the WP that she isn't sure if she will actually get to 50 Dates or not. But, at least, she does not live in Welch, West Virginia, where we assume it would be a bit hard to find a 20-something Jewish single.

Alas, I am not Jewish (though as a Turkish-American, I'm most certainly ethnic!) and I am 17 years younger than Fineman. And, unfortunately, I do live in a place like Welch, West Virginia!

Perhaps, we should start a Turkish-American dating site, but then again, the pool would be rather slim....

NOTE: Since there was a glitch with a post on my other blog, today is "No Tag" day, but you can file this entry under Jewish, dating, Turkish-Americans, The Olive Garden, and.....?! Well, maybe we'll see if this works after all....

UPDATE: Hey, the tags did work after all!

Things We Learned From the BBC Today- UFOs Over Rio?!

The BBC has reported today that the Brazilian government is actually going to start recording UFO sightings. The decree has stated that all military and civilian pilots as well as air traffic controllers should register UFO sightings with the national aerospace defense command.

There have apparently been a number of UFO sightings in Brazil that have caused concern.

In 1986, Brazilian air force jets scrambled to investigate a UFO over the country's largest city Sao Paolo.

And, way back in 1977 when "Space 1999" was on the air and I was in the first grade, citizens of the Amazonian town of Vigia said they were attacked by aliens!

We dedicate today's entry to students at Glendale High School in Glendale, Calif., (for our bonus high school of the week) which has the largest Armenian-American populations per capita in the country. The mayor of this city where comic actor legend W.C. Fields is buried happens to be an Armenian-American named Ara Narajarian. We imagine his ninth grade geometry teacher couldn't spell his name right, either!

The school where I would probably be hard-pressed to get a prom date since I'm a Turkish-American (we have a spat--long story!) if I were in high school.... But, I didn't get a prom date at my high school in Virginia back in 1987 either! Glendale High is nicknamed the Dynamite or Nitro. The school's principal is Deb Rinder.

John Wayne (yes, the guy who was in "Stagecoach" and "The Searchers"), who was actually born in Winterset, Iowa, is Glendale High's most famous alum.

And, the school has both boys and girls water polo teams. Definitely, not something that my alma mater in southwest Virginia will likely have any time soon!

But, we did have a soccer team........I have still have the benchmarks on my rear end to prove it!

Happy Father's Day from Robert Reed

We actually meant to post this much earlier in the day, but I was working on my exam for students at Woodrow Wilson Middle School in Roanoke, Va. (not actually where I work).

But, Happy Father's Day to all. Alas, my father Mehmet Gokbudak, a Turkish immigrant, died of a heart attack at age 62 in 1983 when I was just 13 years old but we remember him fondly. Perhaps, this entry is a bit ironic because he didn't like us watching "Happy Days" (as we discussed in an earlier entry) but he had no such qualms with "The Brady Bunch."

The series which starred Robert Reed (1932-1992) lasted from 1969-74, and it featured Florence Henderson and as the mom. Unfortunately, Reed died from complications due to AIDS, but there are many fans of the show who will never forget him.

I had expected many web sites and blogs dedicated to the show, but some of the ones I had found borrowed the Brady Bunch but they had nothing to do with the actual show (like some blog that has vampire in its name, but nothing to with Christopher Lee movies!). One of them was actually from an evangelist family in a place like Twin Falls, Idaho.

But one legit Brady blog features a 'guide to morals, themes, and definitions' of the show, which makes one think there might be someone writing a term paper on the sitcom as if it were an Akira Kurosawa film!

We leave with this quote from Reed, who was apparently an H.G. Wells fan:

"I've always thought of science fiction as being, at the same level, as 19th century business."

GIFT IDEAS FOR DAD: Well, it is really too late for this, but if you live in Denver, you may want to give him a cupcake from The Big Fat Cupcake located on 129 Adams Street which boasts that it won the 2009 Colorado Cupcake challenge!

Things We Learned on Twitter This PM---Politics in Swedish School Elections

We were only going to post one entry today, so I don't go overboard and post 14 entries per blog as I did this last week. We also normally post "What I Learned on Twitter This P.M." on Wednesday, but this was too good to pass up.

Imagine if you're school election, in a place like Georgetown, SC, were to be held with each candidate being backed by a certain political party!

I remember the school election my senior year at our high school in the Roanoke, Va., area in 1987. Cheryl (psedonym) was running against Mark (psedonym) as it turns I would later find that as adults one was a Democrat and one was a Republican, but we didn't know this at the time.

Mark beat out Cheryl who was the incumbent junior class president in what I believe was a close race.

Can you imagine if this were done with local political parties got involved?

Well, apparently, that seems to be what they are proposing in Sweden! According to Radio Sweden's Twitter page, the youth wings of Sweden's political parties and the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions have issued a joint call for local councils to take on such a measure.

Many schools have decided to ban political parties for fears that it would include the far-right Sweden Democrat Party (no that is NOT a typo- the radical right-wingers in Sweden are a part of the Democratic Party, which for those of you in Uzbekistan is not the way it is here in America).

Anders Krape who heads one of the governmental organizations in favor of political parties in the classroom told Radio Sweden that his support for the motion was based on the fact that high school students couldn't be sheltered from xenophobia. He added that it was best for students to learn how to argue against such archaic ideals politically.

PS_This is the first story we're reported about concerning Sweden since the parliament in Stockholm passed a bill regarding the Armenian matter which angered the Turkish government earlier this year. I am a Turkish-American, but I generally refrain from getting into the highly toxic political dispute between most people of Turkish and Armenian persuasion over very violent events which occured in eastern Turkey in 1915 since my views have actually been disputed by virtually everyone (Turk and Armenian alike) though I have referred to the issue as a 'Rashomon Nightmare.' And, I stand by that.

SIDEBAR_ Joe Eskenazi of "The San Francisco Weekly" is reporting in an article I also found out about through Twitter that the City of San Francisco, lead by supervisor David Campos, is actually going to introduce legislation calling for a boycott of Arizona since state has passed a highly-controversial new immigration law.

I personally oppose the Arizona law myself as it will only lead to more paranoia and xenophobia towards Hispanics, but this seems to be a bit extreme as well. Does this mean we should all quit drinking Arizona Iced Tea?--- (well, it is actually brewed in Canada!).

Late Night PSA..........

Our Public Service Announcement tonight is a fairly straightforward one:

"Friends Don't Friends Vote Republican."

Hey, those of us who are fairly uber-partisan Democrats can use Cold War scare tactics too right? Perhaps, we should tell the kids- the image is of the Russian duo Boris and Natasha (from the '60s Jay Ward cartoon "The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle).

I dedicate this entry to our 'good friend' Russell Peck, who is the executive director of the North Carolina Republican Party in Raleigh (I don't actually know him). His counterpart is David Young at the North Carolina Democratic Party. I wonder if these two ever meet up at an Indian restaurant in Cary?-(a Raleigh suburb).

I must profess, as I admitted publicly in a letter to the Greensboro alternative newspaper "Yes Weekly," that I am perhaps the only Turkish-American in North Carolina who is not a supporter of Cong. Virginia Foxx (R-NC). She has been very partial to Turkish-American political needs in Congress which I appreciate, but nevertheless Foxx is a bit far too the right for me. She did publicly say that Barack Obama's health care plan was more dangerous to America than terrorism?!

Foxx actually represents a portion of the county I live in, but thankfully my rep is Cong. Brad Miller (D-NC), who received death threats from Tea Parties for supporting health care reform!

"Tarkan Versus the Vikings" Revisited

Last week, the Swedish Parliament in Stockholm passed a resolution recognizing the ever-controversial Armenian Genocide (or as I call it The Rashomon Nightmare) by a 131 to 130 vote.

A similar measure was passed by the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on Capitol Hill the week before by a 23-22 count. Among those who voted for the measure were comittee chair Cong. Howard Bermon (D-Calif.) over the objections of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The current Turkish-Swedish spat has reminded me of a right-wing comic book film (actually based on the comic book "Tarkan" by the late Sezgin Burak) "Tarkan Versus the Vikings" (1971) which starred action film icon Kartal Tibet as (who else?!) Tarkan.

"Tarkan vs. the Vikings" is actually available on Netflix, and it is quite an amusing film, which even non-Turkish cinema cinephiles (yes, we are the oxy-morons of oxy-morons) will undoubtedly love. I personally think the fake octopus (we should have posted an image of it here- maybe, next time) is one of the greatest bad special effects in world cinema history.

David Austin of cinemastrikesback.com called "Tarkan Versus the Vikings" (one of several Tarkan films): "Turkey's answer to the Italian sword and sandal films and it is more fun than a proverbial barrel of monkeys."

Austin added that the film was like "Conan the Barbarian done on $10,000 and amphetamines."

The plot of the film is a relatively simply one. Tibet/Tarkan has to resuce the Princess Yonca (played by Swedish actress Eva Burden) from the evil Viking Toro who happens to worship an octopus-god monster. Well, maybe it's not as simple as I recall (I must profess to only seeing the film in its entirety once).

But, the film does reflect the Turkish distrust of the outside world, and it perhaps explains why Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan went as far as to remove Turkey's ambassador to Sweden Zergun Koruturk and cancel a pre-arranged trip to Stockholm.

I must profess that I agree with Mehmet Kaplan, a Turkish member of the Swedish Parliament who represents the liberal Environment Party, who told Turkey's conservative newspaper "Zaman" (the FoxNews of Turkey, and I don't tend to agree with them much) that the political timing was bad since Ankara and Yerevan were working on peace negotations. But, (and I know some of my fellow Turkish-Americans will not like me for saying this) I also think Erdogan, who in my opinion has been a bad leader at an important juncture, overeacted as the measure was passed by only one vote and Swedish Foreign Minster Carl Bildth opposed it.

The Swedish measure was praised by the leading Armenian-American lobbyist Aram Hamparian who heads ANCA, the leading Armenian political group in Washington, DC, and Suzanne Khordalian who heads a similar organziation in Sweden. She told various Armenian news outlets that the meetings lasted five hours.

One of my concerns about such political spats is that it will assist ultra-right Turkish nationalists in their political efforts. In an unrelated manner, Yurdagul Simsek of the English-language edition of Turkey's leading newspaper "Hurriyet" reported that far-right politicians like Devlet Bahceli (The Turkish Newt Gingrich) were upset that Turkish performers at a European song contest were going to sing a song in English.

Hey, Abba sang songs in English and look what it did for them.....and Sweden!

The Short Answer from Doctor Oz

If you google any search engine right now, you will probably find a load of info about the Turkish-Armenian political squabble going on in Congressional halls in Washington, DC. And, if you want to find out about the matter, which I personally consider a 'Rashomon nightmare,' I suggest you go to Google.com right now.

But, we thought it would be more interesting to focus on the world's most famous Turkish-American since Joe Camel*, Dr. Mehmet Oz, (I am a Turkish-American too, but I don't have a syndicated talk show.)

In a response to a follower on Twitter, Dr. Oz answered the following two-part question:

"Are you from Turkey? How much turkey should i eat a day?" (the tweet had a lower-case i)"

Dr. Oz responded by saying: "Yes, and the less meat the better"

*-Dr. Oz has publicly said he will not treat any patient who smokes. I completely agree with him on that matter, though assuredly he would find a hard time developing a clinic if he worked in a place like Danville, Va. (where some 65 % of the population still smokes). And, smoking remains a major societal problem in Turkey as well though less of the population there smokes than they did when I lived there as a child 30 years ago.

Merry Christmas from Michael Moore!

The most famous man to come out of Flint, Mich., formally wished all his followers on Twitter a Merry Christmas. To be fair, so did John McCain's daughter. Here was the message Moore tweeted last night (actually X-mas Eve):

"Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you're having a wonderful Christmas Eve. Let's hope 2010 is a more peaceful and just year."

Moore's latest doc "Capitalism: A Love Story" is now on dvd. It's not Moore's best film, but it was a fairly good effort. I find Moore a bit idealist as I am a supporter of the war in Afghanistan and he is not. Though I do agree with him MUCH more than the likes of Glenn Beck.

"An American Carol," a very bad right-wing slapstick comedy featuring Kelsey Grammer and Jon Voight in showing on Showtime throughout December. I must say I love the Turkish actor who played an Afghani terrorist in that movie, but he should be waterboarded for taking the part (I am a Turkish-American).

Coincidentally, Pat Boone the subject of an entry on this blog on Dec. 23 was featured in Moore's first film "Roger and Me."

Moore also said that he liked the new epic mess "Avatar." I did not, and neither did my good friend Moviezzz (http://www.moviezzz.blogspot.com) though as I said on Facebook last night I somehow hate James Cameron's most famous film "Titanic" even more!