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

For Republic's Day, a Quote from Nazim Hikmet

One of the many great ironies about Turkey, my late father Mehmet Gokbudak's country and a nation I've visited 15 times, is that the great poet Nazim Hikmet (1902-1963), who was a communist who died in exile in the Soviet Union, is now the official national poet of Turkey!

Today, Hikmet is buried in Moscow (image above).

The Republic of Turkey was established by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk on this day in 1923, which was 89 years ago.

Here is a quote from Hikmet, who is honored here in America with the Nazim Hikmet Poetry Festival which is usually held in April:

"Living is no laughing matter. You must live with great seriousness like a squirrel for example_ I mean without looking for something beyond and above living, I mean living must be your whole occupation."

http://www.nazimhikmet.org.tv

http://www.nazimhikmetfestival.org

Quote of the Day/Week-Nazim Hikmet

It turns out that we have had visitors today from Afghanistan?! Of course, we have no idea if those blog hits are from American troops or village dwellers in Kandahar province, but either way_ thanks for visiting.

Today, in honor of both National Poetry Month and the up-coming Nazim Hikmet Poetry Festival in Cary (Raleigh), NC, on April 15th, we quote the great Turkish poet Nazim Hikmet (1901-1963).

The great irony of Hikmet's life is that he lived in exile in her later years in Russia because he was a communist. He ended up dying in Moscow, but today he is the national poet of Turkey and his once-revoked Turkish citizenship was given back to him posthumously.

This year's Nazim Hikmet festival honors the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda.

Here is the quote from Hikmet, who is also my personal favorite poet, with Charles Bukowski being a close second:

"However and wherever we are, we must live as if we will never die."

Quote of the Day- Mikhail Gorbachev

Today, we start our month-long quotes from famous Russians with a quip from Mikhail Gorbachev, 80, who is considered a central figure in the ending of the Cold War.

Here is the quote, which seems to be a bit ironic:

"If people don't like Marxism, they should blame the British Museum."

Quote of the Week- Nazim Hikmet

We are very pressed for time today, but I thought us off with a quip from the late, great Turkish poet Nazim Hikmet (1901-1963) who lived in exile in Russia for his communist views during the later part of his life.

Ironically, this poet, who is buried in Moscow, is now considered the national poet of Turkey.

Here is his quote:

"However and whereever we are, we must live as if we never die."

Quote of the Week- Allen Ginsberg

Gazooks! I forgot to save while I initially wrote this entry. At any rate, our subject in our continuing series of quotes from left-wing circles continues with a quip of the great American poet Allen Ginsberg (1926-1997) who was a close friend of William Burroughs.

In 1956, the year he wrote his landmark poem "Howl," Ginsberg professed admiration for the then-new Cuban leader Fidel Castro according to Wikipedia. But, Ginsberg said he had his own idiosyncratic views of communism.

In the 2010 film "Howl," actor James Franco played Ginsberg who was also a gay rights activist.

Here is his quote:

"Follow your inner moonlight, don't hide the madness."

SIDEBAR: Honeymoon in Kigali? Yes, the east African country of Rwanda which underwent a dreadful period of ethnic strife and genocide in the 1990s is literally ready to put their past behind them.

Rwanda's tourism site (yes, there is such a place) is recommending that travelers viist the Akagea National Park where one can see zebras and elephants and a large concentration of waterbirds, such as the shoebill stork.

The site also states that Kigali offers many great restaurants with both regional and international cuisine.

The Lonely Planet does recommend that visitors take precautions, and that the border with Burundi is among the areas that one should avoid in Rwanda.

SIDEBAR TWO: It may not be as exciting as Katie Holmes telling the world that she is pregnant with Tom Cruise's third child, but "City Paper" in Washington, DC, has reported that the female Chinese panda Mei Xiang is apparently pregnant. Zoo officials will be checking to see if the panda, who is believed to be mating with male Chinese panda Tian Tian, is indeed expecting.

Quote of the Week- Malcolm X

Today, we begin quoting radical left-wing figures since May 1st is associated with socialism and communism, and there will quips from these people, both past and present, throughout the month.

I should point out that I am not a fringe extremist who is into veganism and riding bicycles to work (that would take two hours in my case!), but I strongly feel such individual as closer to the political center that those far right gunsGodandcountry folks who subscribe to "Solider of Fortune." Nevertheless, in spite of being a moderate liberal, I am fascinated with those who really are socialists! (Everyone who is a Democrat is accused of being a socialist in North Carolina, except in Chapel Hill).

Today, on our two blogs, we quote two men who were both killed by guns at age 39. The person we are quoting here is Malcolm X (1925-1965), and we got this quote from a very interesting book/graphic title/self-help guide called "Self-Defense for Radicals" by Mickey Z with illustrations from Richard Cole; the 2010 book is published by PM Press in Oakland, Calif. They are known for publishing works with socialist themes.

"We are nonviolent with people who are nonviolent with us," Malcolm X.

The answer to last week's road trip quiz was B) as it takes about ten hours to travel from Portland, Maine, to Altoona, Pa; we hope to have a new quiz for you within the next few days.

Quote of the Week- Nazim Hikmet

Today, we have two quotes from perhaps my two favorite poets on our two respective blogs. Amazingly enough, the Turkish poet Nazim Hikmet (1902-1963) and the great African-American poet Langston Hughes (1902-1967) were born a mere two weeks apart.

Hikmet was born on Jan. 17, 1902, in what is now Salonika, Greece. Due to his communist beliefs, he lived much of his later life in Russia and he is buried in Moscow's famous Novodevichy Cemetery, where one can also see the tombstone of Boris Yeltsin.

Hughes was born on Feb. 1, 1902, in Joplin, Missouri. He passed away in New York where he had resided for much of his adult life.

Hikmet's life is amazing for many reasons, and it would substantially more time than we have here to go into all the details. But, we can show the following ironies about his life:

-Though he is Turkey's best-known poet, Hikmet was not only born in what is now Greece and he died in Russia, but he also had Polish ancestery.

-Since, he is now amazingly enough considered Turkey's National Poet, he was posthumously given back his Turkish citizenship in 2009 which had been revoked during the time of his political activies.

-Joan Baez, of all people, sang a song version of his poem "Nazim Turkusu" in Turkish!

-Hikmet's poem "The Epic War of Independence" is considered to be a patriotic masterpiece which is even revered by right-wing Turkish nationalists today!

Here is his quote:

"Living is no laughing matter: you must live with great seriousness like a squirel for example_ I mean without looking for something beyond and above living, I mean you must be your whole occupation."

Quote of the Week- Elia Kazan

We continue quoting Americans this month since the Fourth of July occurs .....well in July. Today, on our two blogs, we look at film directors who immigrated to the United States. Here, we will quote Elia Kazan (1909-2003) who was an Anatolian Greek (Turkish citizens of Greek heritage. There are still many living in Istanbul). On our other blog, we quip Billy Wilder who was a German emigre.


Kazan was a controversial figure off-screen though some of his films like "A Streetcar Named Desire" (1951) were quite provocative for their time. The main reason for this was that the stage and screen director was among the first to cooperate with zealous Congressmen who were out to find communists in Hollywood.

Other memorable Kazan films include "Panic in the Streets" (1950), "On the Waterfront" (1954), "Baby Doll" (1956)* and "Splendor in the Grass" (1961). He frequently directed films with Marlon Brando.

Here is the quote from Kazan which seems quite ironic:

"Anybody who informs on other people is doing something disturbing and even disgusting."

*-My favorite Kazan film

Quote of the Day- from Portuguese Writer Jose Saramago

Unfortunately, the famed Portuguese writer Jose Saramago, pictured here, died last week at his home in The Canary Islands at the age of 87.

Like many great writers, including the late Turkish poet Nazim Hikmet who lived in Russia and the late American writer William Burroughs who spent many years in Tangiers, Morocco, Saramago was an exiled man. This was mainly due to his political views for Saramago (like Hikmet) was a communist even though the Portuguese writer's exile (from what we gather) was a personal choice.

Saramago's novel "Blindness" had been made into a 2008 film with Mark Ruffalo and Julianne Moore, and the writer won the first Nobel Prize for Portugal in 1998.

We are featuring Saramgo as one of the 32 people from the 32 countries in the World Cup.

The Portuguese team made headlines on Monday with a 7-0 thumping of North Korea, which assuredly did not go over well at the Kim Jong Il residence in Pyongyang.

As many soccer fans know (and I consider myself a casual one though I did watch virtually every game of the 1978 World Cup which host Argentina won when I was a child while we were living in Turkey), Portugal has a bonafide superstar in Cristiano Ronaldo, whom David Fellerath of "The Independent Weekly" in Raleigh, NC, called 'a glowering metrosexual.' Ronaldo is also starring in a series of tennis shoe ads with Homer Simpson?!


Here is today's quote from Saramago. It is, as one would fully expect, a political one in nature:

"People used to say about me: 'He's good but he's a Communist. Now they say: 'He's a Communist, but he's good."

Special Quote of the Day- Nazim Hikmet

Since today is Republic's Day in Turkey, my late father's country, I thought I would quote the great Turksih poet Nazim Hikmet (1901-1963).

Hikmet was a communist who was frequently jailed for his political activity, but ironically today he is considered to be The Official National Poet of Turkey, and one of his poems about a Turkish military victory is actually considered to be a favorite among nationalists! Hikmet lived his later years in exile in the Soviet Union. He is buried in Moscow:

"However and wherever we are, we must live as if we will never die."