Top 10 Sunday Comics from The Roanoke Times: Funky Winkerbean Delivers

Yesterday's touching "Funky Winkerbean" comic strip which featured a father having a dream about his son in the military who is in Afghanistan in the form of a vintage comic book cover with a young soldier on it, is our top Sunday comic strip of the week from "The Roanoke Times," a newspaper in Roanoke, Va.

Second place went to the very hip one panel comic strip "Speed Bump" where a couple visiting a bed and breakfast like the one in Vermont that was on Bob Newhart's sitcom "Newhart" in the 1980s who are being approached by bed bugs!!!

And, "Agnes" came in third as the title character goes to church with her grandmother and has a funny take on the service which does not share with her grandmother.

Here is our top ten, which includes a return of Mister Butts to "Doonesbury:"

1) Funky Winkerbean

2) Speed Bump

3) Agnes

4) Doonesbury

5) Zits

6) Get Fuzzy

7) Pearls Before Swine

8) Dilbert

9) Jump Start

10) Non Sequitir

http://www.funkywinkerbean.com

http://www.gocomics.com/speedbump

http://www.dilbert.com

The Olympics List (4 of 10): The Canadians

While those of us on the east coast of the United States are in the midst of yet another major snowstorm mess which will probably provide fodder for Bill O'Reilly to say Al Gore is wrong, there is no global warming, ya da ya da ya da..........we have noticed that there is seemingly no snow in Sochi!

With that in mind, here is our list of ten Canadian athletes who are assuredly more used to snow than students at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, SC, one of the zip codes affected by today's storm:

1) Alex Bilodeau. Age 26. Home province: Quebec. Men's Free-style Skiing. Has won gold.

2) Dara Howell. Age 19. Home province: Ontario. Women's Free-style Skiing.  Has won gold.

3) Jesse Lumsden. Age 31. Home province: Alberta. Men's Bobsledding.

4) Heather Moyse. Age 35. Home province: Prince Edward Island. Women's Bobsledding.

5) Ryan Fry. Age 35. Home province: Ontario. Men's Curling. The team beat Russia 7-4  today.

6) Jennifer Jones. Age 39. Home province: Manitoba. Women's Curling. The team beat Great Britain 9-6 today.

7) Shea Weber. Age 28. Home province: British Columbia. Men's Hockey. Plays for Nashville Predators (pictured).

8) Laura Fortino. Age 23. Home province: Ontario. Women's Hockey. Plays for Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. The team beat the United States 3-2 today.

9) Charles Hamelin. Age 29. Home province: Quebec. Men's Short-track Speed-skating. Won gold.

10) Rosalind Groenewood. Age 24. Home province: Alberta. Free-style Skiing.

For our list of athletes from Scandinavian countries, go to our sister blog http://www.polticscultureandotherwastesoft.blogspot.com

SIDEBAR: NBC News is reporting that my beloved hometown of Roanoke, Va., will get 10-15 inches of snow during the major storm which will hit virtually the entire east coast. This is virtually the same amount of snow they are expecting in Rutland, Vermont! Major metro areas which have been affected include Atlanta, Columbia (SC), Charlotte, Greensboro and Raleigh (NC), Richmond (Va), Washington DC, Baltimore and Philadelphia.

http://olympic.ca/

http://www.hockeycanada.ca/en-ca/

http://olympics.cbc.ca/

http://www.nbcolympics.com/

http://www.winthrop.edu

Olympics Top Ten List (2 of 10): The Americans

Here are a list of ten American athletes competing at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics in Russia; some have already competed and some have not.

For a list of ten more Americans at the Olympics, go to our sister blog: http://www.politicscultureandotherwastesoft.blogspot.com


1) Erin Hamlin (pictured top) Luge. Age 27. New Hartford, NY

2) Gus Kenworthy (pictured center). Free-style skiing. Telluride, Colo.

3) Heather Lynn Richardson (pictured bottom). Speed-skating. Age 24. High Point, NC.

4) Andy Newell. Cross-country skiing. Weston, Vermont.

5) Gracie Gold. Figure Skating. Age 18. Newton, Mass.

6) Justin Olsen. Bob-sledding. Age 26. San Antonio, Tex.

7) Lanny Barnes. Women's Biathlon. Age 31. Durango, Colo.

8) Jeremy Abbott. Figure Skating. Age 28. Aspen, Colo.

9) Mikaela Siffrin. Women's Alpine Skiing. Age 18. East Burke, Vermont.

10) Aaron Blunck. Free-style skiing. Age 17. Crested Butte, Colo.

http://www.teamusa.org/

http://www.nbcolympics.com/

http://erinhamlin.com/

http://usspeedskating.org/

UPDATE 02/11/14: Kudos to Erin Hamlin; she won bronze in women's luge and she is the first American to ever medal in the Olympics at the sport. Hamlin can also been in the United Airlines tv spot that is running during the games.

Presidential Quotes (13 of 16): Chester Arthur, the Man from Vermont

Greetings to our blog readers in Serbia, Poland and Kazakhstan.

We are pretty sure this series of quotes from early American presidents will get considerably fewer hits than if we were to quote American serial killers, such as Charles Manson, who at age 79 has actually outlived our subject of the day, President Chester Arthur (1829-1886).

Or we could quip gangster John Dellinger who said: "I rob banks for a living, what do you do?" But, we'll stick with this one-term president.

Arthur was America's 21st president, and ironically, given that he was a Republican, he is one of only two presidents from Vermont, America's most progressive state today. President Calvin Coolidge, also a Republican, hailed from the same New England state.

Here is our quote: "I may be the president of the United States, but my private life is nobody's business." (I believe we've used this one before, but it's a gem!)...

http://www.millercenter.org/president/Arthur

http://www.visit-vermont.com

Happy Thanksgivingukkah from Papa Smurf

 

 

 

Greetings to our blog-readers in Nigeria, Cyprus and Japan. We have chosen Papa Smurf as the best pop culture entity to wish everyone a Happy Tahnksgivingukkah as a large helium balloon of him is likely to be in tomorrow's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and because images of Sonic the Hedgehog, who will also be in the parade, are too darn hard to find!

 

We have put together a dream Thanksgiving dinner list, which can be found on our sister blog: http://www.politicscultureandotherwastesoft.blogspot.com

 

Today (Thursday), we are celebrating Thanksgiving here in America, and this year the holiday overlaps with Hanukkah, so the term Thanksgivingukkah has been termed for the occasion.

 

 

Spiritual leader Kate Judd of the Shir Herharim Jewish community in Brattleboro, Vermont, told her local paper that she felt the mixture of the two holidays was a nice coincidence. Several years, we found out by chance that there is a synagogue in Waco, Tex., called the Congregation Agudath Jacob, where Rabbi Gordon Fuller is a minister.

 

http://wwwbajcvermont.org

 

http://www.aquath-waco.org

 

 

In the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, the Hotel Strasburg in downtown Strasburg, a town of 5,000, that is an hour and half south of Washington, DC, will hosting a traditional Thanksging dinner to the public from 11:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m

 

http://www.hotelstrasburg.com

http://www.trianglevegsociety.org/

 

 

Tomorrow, in Durham, NC, the largest vegan/vegetarian Thanksgiving diner in America will take place. The event organized by the Triangle Vegetarian Society has already sold out for seating. But, the event, first organized in 1992, will presumably be taking reservations for Thanksgiving2014 soon.

Blogging in Three and a Half Minutes (or less).........Games Children Play

Yes, today we are just going to use an image of a dodgeball in our effort to save time and energy, and besides our intern Javier the Intern is vacationing in Vermont (this is an in-joke as Javier is a fictitious person, and well, we'd like to be in Vermont actually).

Let us take a minute to greet those of you in Israel, South Africa and Malaysia, who might be checking us out today.And, to generate more hits, we will arbitrarily mention Jon Hamm, Nik Wallenda and the Rev. Joel Osteen.

Wallenda is that crazy guy who walked a tightrope across the Grand Canyon in Arizona last night. Since he is a Christian fundamentalist, he brought Osteen along for support.

Today, we are going to ask a simple question, which one of these sports was the favorite sport of Tilly Gokbudak, our managing editor (well, he is actually moi) while growing up in Roanoke, Va.

Was it?:

A) Dodgeball (pictured)

B) Kickball

C) Volleyball

D) Softball

E) Bowling

The winner gets a free ticket to see Dwight Yoakam perform at the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC, on June 21:)

http://www.930.com

Blogging in 60 Seconds or Less- the Plural for Octopus is..........

We have to keep this entry short as we don't want to be late for our yoga class at Upper Valley Yoga in White River Junction, Vermont, especially since that state is 14 hours away from here.

But, we can leave you with an image of a stuffed animal octopus (we got the idea from Bing, since they used a jellyfish today).

The plural for octopus is either octopi or octopuses.

Assuredly, one can see a real octopus at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, Maryland.

And, we are wondering if the descendant of the late Paul the Octopus in Germany, who accurately projected Eskisehir's 2-1 win over Antalyaspor in Turkish soccer over the weekend, is picking DC United in its home MLS game against the Portalnd Timber this weekend.

Ok, we need to get in our Subaru Outback now (that is the unofficial car of Maine, not Vermont, actually).


http://www.bing.com

http://www.uppervalleyyoga.com

http://www.aqua.org

http://www.mlssocer.com

CollegesNicknames- The Felines

Today's list features schools with feline nicknames; they include Princeton University, Montana State and Vermont (all three are pictured here).

One team that is on this list, the Kentucky Wildcats are virtually assured of a number-one seed in the NCAA torunament.

Since we like to make fun of Provo, Utah (it is presumably the most politically conservative place in America), we thought we'd include the Brigham Young Cougars as a goodwill gesture.

Three of these schools, Penn State, Pitt and Lafayette are in Pennsylvania.

Here are the schools:

1. BYU Cougars, West Coast Conference, Provo, Utah

2. Clemson Tigers, ACC, Clemson, SC

3. Columbia Lions, Ivy, New York, New York

4. High Point University Panthers, Big South, High Point, NC

5. Idaho State Bengals, Big Sky, Pocatello, Ida.

6. Kentucky Wildcats, SEC, Lexington, Ky.

7. Lafayette Leopards, Patriot, Easton, Pa.

8. Montana State Bobcats, Big Sky, Bozeman, Mont.

9. Penn State Nittany Lions, Big Ten, State College, Pa.

10. Pitt Panthers, Big East, Pittsburgh, Pa.

11. Priceton Tigers, Ivy, Princeton, NJ

12. Vermont Catamounts, America East, Burlington, Vt.

Quote of the Week- Dr. Seuss

Since the Muslim holy month of Ramadan is coming to a close tomorrow, I have been reminded of many unusual culture clashes which occured in the living room as a child in the 1970s. Since my late father Mehmet Gokbudak was a Turkish immigrant, the decision to let me get a copy of the legendary Dr. Seuss book "Green Eggs and Ham"
(1960) could not have been an easy one. Alas, it has been misplaced over the years.

On a recent trip to the quaint town of Lewisburg, WVa, I had a chance to go to Open Book, an independent bookstore downtown, I noticed that all current editions of those classic Dr. Seuss books, which also include "Cat in the Hat" (1957) and "Hop on Pop" (1963) now retail for $9.95. And, there are Dr. Seuss neckties as well!

So, since "Green Eggs and Ham" is perhaps as likely to get translated into Turkish as Bill Griffith's "Zippy the Pinhead" comic strips, which are a novelty even here in America_ its country of origin, we have selected Dr. Seuss (1904-1991) as our subversive for this series of quotes from cultural radicals. And, this quip from Dr. Seuss, who has a memorial statue in his native Springfield, Mass., seems just like something that the likes of John Waters and R. Crumb would fully agree with:

"Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."

SIDEBAR: We loved this tweet from Roger Ebert, the legendary Chicago movie critic who got me interested in quirky films like "Q-The Winged Serpent" when I was between 12-15 years old: "Never marry someone who doesn't love the same movies you love. Sooner or later, that person will not love you."

SIDEBAR TWO: We also loved this bumper sticker that we saw in Roanoke, Va., today: "I would rather Phish than work." This is in reference to the musical improv band Phish, which formed in Burlington, Vermont, in 1993. They broke up in 2004, but reunited in 2009. Phish will be performing from Sept. 2-4 in Commerce City, Colo.

Road Trip- Vermont to Montana

Usually when we have an entry about coffee, we go with an image of Too Much Coffee Man, the beloved cult comic strip icon created by (mr) Shannon Wheeler in 1988. Wheeler, who now lives in Portland, Oregon, is actually a Facebook friend of mine, and I figured at some point he might get irked with me for using his beloved creation, that was turned into an opera!, without his permission. Wheeler's comic strips also included Too Much Coffee's beloved friend Too Much Espresso Man, who was a man with a little coffee cup over his head.

So, we are going with an image we saw on a poster at the late, great Backstreet Buzz coffeehouse in Reidsville, NC, instead.

And, our focus today is actually the distance between two coffeeshops which are very, very far apart.

The first of the two destinations is the Radio Bean, a coffeehouse in Burlington, Vermont, a city that is said to be one of the very best places to have coffee here in les etats unis.

The other coffee joint is Liquid Planet is Missoula, Montana, located in one of the eight states I have not physically visited (well, I did go to the Detroit Airport once to change planes so I'm not sure if Michigan should count as one of the eight, but I've definitely never been to Montana).

According to Mapquest, road construction around the Chicago suburb of Gary, Indiana, may pose problems for anyone who is actually traveling this route which would also go through southern Minnesota and South Dakota.

So, just how long would it take to get from Burlington, Vt., to Missoula, Mont.?

Here are your choices:

A) 40 hours, 45 minutes

B) 43 hours even

C) 45 hours, 15 minutes

D) 48 hours even

By the way, that is a bobblehead doll of a newlywed couple on a motorcycle heading on for a honeymoon. I imagine they would choose a trip that took considerably less time!

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.

Status Update- The Flip Side of Being Single..

Here is a comment that I actually posted on Facebook a short time ago:

"If there is one good thing about being a single guy on Valentine's Day it is that I don't have to shell out lots of money for a big purple teddy bear."

Incidentally, we checked on vermontteddybear.com and for those of you in love who are financially willing and able, a Love Bandit teddy bear (he is alas not purple) with red roses retails for $76.98 (perhaps the box set of "The Love Boat" might be cheaper!).

I suppose if I were married to Katie Holmes, I might have to cough it up. But, at least, I wouldn't force her into practicing Scientology. But, hey Tom, we think you are a good actor, or at least you gave a great performance in "Magnolia."

DC Diary- Back to Hamburger Hill

So much for a hiatus!

This 'historic' blog entry marks our very first one from the nation's capital, Washington, DC, though we have blogged about this town and its suburb Bethesda, Md, many times over the years.

Even though I am now in DC for a second day, I will reflect on each preious day starting with yesterday, and our musings will continue on our other blog "Politics, Culture and Other Wastes of Time."

Yesterday, we left Roanoke, Va., at almost exaclty 11 a.m. to make the four-hour drive to The District.

We stopped for lunch at Mug Shots, a coffee shop in downtown Staunton, Va., which some Christmas albums, including one by Jim Nabors (is he dead or alive), we need to ask our Honduran intern Javiet to look that up; as soon as we find out, we'll let you know).

There were some cute college-age girls behing the counter who were clogging in the kitchen as we eating our chicken sandwiches.

We then stopped in lovely Front Royal, Va., which has a small baseball stadium named after another Christmas-song legend Bing Crosby, but we just had time to stop there for gas. But, from living near the area, I can assure you it is a charming place with lots of horse farms and antique shops, though I have to ask: "Did they really need an Applebees?"

We finally arrived in DC a little before 5:00 p.m. And, then we briefly argued over what to watch on tv before settling on some cooking reality show on tv. Personally, I would have even chosen reruns of "Sanford and Son" on TV Land, but that's just me!

The funny moment during the drive came when we were in Fairfax, Va., a DC suburb. I told my sister and her husband, Sven and Eva Thomasson, who both live in Goteborg, Sweden, (they like me to take radical steps to assure their privacy, these are not their real names or where they actually live) that I was glad we were not going to the Vietnam Memorial again this year.

The reason is not because I am an unpatriotic far-left extremist who has every cd that Rage Against the Machine ever put out (though my zip code is so far right that all Democrats are considered Maoists), but simply because we went last year so my mom could find one of her students from the '60s who went to William Byrd High School in Vinton, Va. Since this student of her's alas died during the Vietnam War, his name was on the wall.

It was a very moving, but also a very somber experience.

As it turns out, Sven's stepfather in Vermont is a war veteran and he wants us to find the names of his fallen buddies on the wall. But, at least, we're not going back to The Holocaust Museum.

Things We Learned From the BBC This Week- Beloved Gorilla Dies

Some sad news was reported on the BBC this week as the beloved lowlands gorilla Samantha (not the gorilla pictured here) died after suffering a stroke at The Toronto zoo. She was 37, and was one of the first gorillas housed in the Canadian zoo.

Samantha, a native of the African country of Gabon, was put to sleep after suffering a second stroke in two months. She had lived in the zoo since 1974 when she was two years old.

The gorilla produced five offspring, two of which remain at The Toronto Zoo, with her mate Charles, a silverback gorilla.

Matt Stephenson, the zoo's gorilla keeper said he would deeply miss Samantha, especially her singing at breakfast and dinner time.

The lowland gorillas are an endangered species.

The Toronto Zoo is dedicating its home page with a header that says Samantha (1972-2010) and the zoo is asking for donations to make a memorial in her honor.

SIDEBAR: It has now admittedly become a running joke on this blog, but I am going to name Springfield High School of Springfield, Vermont, as our 'High School of the Week." Currently, I have been naming three American high schools as my "High School of the Week" on both of my blogs.

As silly as this may seem to those of you visiting this blog, especially from places like Eskisehir, Turkey, or Antigua, Guatemala, but I have learned quite a bit from doing this.

Springfield, Vt., made international news in 2007 when it was picked as the town to host the world premiere of "The Simpsons Movie."

As for the school, it is nicknamed The Springfield High School Cosmos, which makes it only the second time I've ever heard 'Cosmos' used for a nickname. The other time was for the New York Cosmos, a professional soccer team from the long-defunct NASL, which went under in the 1980s. The NY Cosmos were famous for bringing Pele to America.

Springfield High School also has some 500 students. "The Green Horn" is the school newspaper. The school web site states that much of the school lunch comes from local farms.

Bob Thibault is the new school principal, and The Cosmos host The Poultney BlueDevils in football on Sept. 3.