In Turkish, It's Called Tembellik

I am suffering from laziness today.... (tembellik does mean laziness in Turkish)

Boy, this is really bad. I know this image doesn't suit the season, especially since it might snow in Cary, NC, (a suburb of Raleigh) tonight, where I was hoping to see a movie at the Galaxy Cinema, but we like it and that's all that matters. Right?

There happens to be a Lazy Dog Cafe chain in southern California, with locations in Irvine. Thousand Oaks and Torrance.

And, there is a Lazy Dog Vineyeard in Sonoma, Calif.

Ahh, it's time to take a nap.

It's Been a Messy Week

Things haven't quite been this bad, but snow, sleet and ice were reported throughout our Bethesda, Md.-Rock Hill, SC, viewing area (of course, this is a joke since even folks in Yerevan, Armenia, or Mumbai, India, can access this blog).

But, we are focusing on the important things in life for the time being. Once those pesky things are taken care of, we will post our usual shananigans once again!

In the meantime, you can go to Youtube and watch a chainsaw juggler in Amsterdam, Holland, (yes, there is actually such a video!) until we get a chance to post a legitimate blog posting either tomorrow or some time early next week.

In the meantime, Merry Christmas and Happy Festivus!

Quote of the Week- Edvard Munch

Dagnamit! Well, that's what my friend Susan Paige from Bethesda, Maryland,(pse) said when she missed the Edvard Munch exhibit at the National Gallery in Washington, DC, that ended on Halloween. But, the good news is that she can now go to Rotterdam, Holland, to see an exhibit of the classic Norwegian artist's work!

Munch, best know for the pictured image ("The Scream") is perhaps the most famous Norwegian of all time although theatre people like my friend Sal Edmunds of Boones Mill, Va., (also a pse-fake name and fake residency for a real person living in a real place) would argue for Henrik Ibsen.

But, we never take sides here unless we're pummeling Sarah Palin!

The National Gallery, for its part, is now showcasing early Victorian British photographs until Jan. 28, so there's no need to kick a fire hydrant (which I actually did after narrowly missing a Norman Rockwell exhibit at The Corcoran Gallery, which is also in DC, some ten years ago).

Here is today's quip from Munch:

"But, can they (great works) get rid of the worm that lies gnawing at the roots of my heart? No, never."

One has to wonder if those sentiments were also felt by Australian artist Lloyd Graham and fellow painter Sarah Irani when they completed their 'masterpieces' which are hanging from the walls of The Museum of Bad Art (yes, it is an actual place) in the Brookline, Mass., area.

Irani's "Mama and Babe" looks like a picture of Cher with an orphaned child, while Graham's "Artist as a Young Man" appears to be a bad portrait of Bob Dylan.

Both paintings are a part of the museum's blue people series, which you can see on the net (if we showed those pictures here, they'd assuredly shoot us!).

I also love "Worried Guy," an anynomous painting of a man who looks like Medusa after a sex change, which was rescued from something like a trash can in Seattle.

50 Beers Around the World #39- Stella Artois (Belgium)

Today, we are featuring Stella Artois, a Belgian beer primarily brewed in England, which was considered a high end beer since they advertised in high-brown magazines, but now one can even find the brew at a Sheetz gas station in Lynchburg, Va.!

Of course, Belgium is known for other things besides beer, but we can only think of Tintin (just kidding!).

According to Wikipedia, Belgians apparently drink a lot of beer_ some 93 liters per person annually! Of course, Wikileaks could tell us if the Emir of Kuwait secretly drinks it at his hotel room in Paris. (just kidding, again!).

Belgium also produces some 800 different brands of beer, which is remarkable given it is a relatively small country which is the size of Maryland or Connecticut.

Tintinland also has many beer festivals, in cities like Antwerp, Bruges and Brussells.

Additionally, there is a Christmas beer festival in Essen, a northern Flemish town that borders Holland. Essen is also where a lot of international cyclists like Bart Aernouts and Tom Meeusen reside.

I was in Tintinland way back in 1993, and much to my surprise the first beer I had in Brussells was from Norway?!

Bonus Silly Photo to Fill Space- Mr. Potato Head (Our 750th Entry)

I suppose if one gave a child in Eskisehir, Turkey, a Mr. Potato Head doll for Christmas (hopefully, you're smart enough to get the joke), you have the tell little Ali or Ayse that the toy's name would be translated to ' Mr.Patates Kafasi'

But, closer to home, one can presumingly find Mr. Potato Head who is now over 50 years old at an independent toy store like Building Blocks, which has two locations in Chicago.

This item was feautred on our Top 10 Silly Things to Buy Me for X-Mas list last week.

Today, happens to mark the 750th entry of "The Daily Vampire" and we are celebrating here at the famed Elmo's Diner in Durham, NC, (actually not where we're at, but I have driven by the place and it looks swell!). The establishment also has a location in Carrboro, NC (Chapel Hill).

We will post another silly image from that list on Tuesday (perhaps). So, there is a chance you may get to see what a Che Guevara plush-toy or a Jesus Christ bobblehead doll looks like! We have no idea if they sell those at Building Blocks (we needed to say that for legal reasons!).

Top 10 Favorite Songs from The Beatles

In a recent issue of "Rolling Stone" heavy metal icon Ozzy Osbourne chose "She Loves You" as his favorite tune from The Beatles while Brian Wilson, the former lead singer of The Beach Boys, chose "Hey Jude."

Since yesterday was the 30th anniversary of John Lennon's assasination, I thought I'd do my own list of my top 10 favorite songs from The Beatles.

Even though I loved The Beatles in my early teen years, I got more into the New and underground music that was popular of Album-Oriented rock radio stations as well as legendary bands from the '70s like Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin.

Nevertheless, the music from Lenon, Paul McCartney, the late George Harrison and Ringo Starr has left a cultural impression on every music fan from Anchorage to Dubai, and beyond.

I just recently found out that the title for Stephen King's novel (which was made into a Stanley Kubrick film that the author is not found of) "The Shinning" came from the line: "We all shine on" in Lennon's solo song "Instant Karma." King happens to be own a rock and roll radio station in Bangor, Maine (100.3 FM).

Here is my list, which I may well disagree with come tomorrow morning!:

1. "Strawberry Fields Forever"

2. "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"

3. "Norwegian Wood"

4. "Something"

5. "Ticket to Ride"

6. "Walrus Man"

7. "Helter Skelter"

8. "Nowhere Man"

9. "Yellow Submarine"

10. "Day Tripper"

Things We Learned on Twitter Today: Snows-a-Coming to Northwest USA

According to a tweet from "The Seattle Times," there is a winter storm warning that has been issued for the Cascades region of central and eastern Washington state where they are expecting (double yikes!), one to three feet of freaking snow by Friday afternoon!

Comic strip artist/political cartoonist Keith Knight who pens "The Knight Life" will be protesting in front of "The Seattle Times" today as they newspaper dropped his comic strip. According to the comic strip's web site, Knight said he was ironically on his way to Seattle to give the editor a fruit basket for deciding to add "The Knight Life"!

And, "The Onion" also has a 'story' about the Northwest part of the United States today as they put together a mock article regarding people's opinions over the disclosure that the property which was once the location of the Unabomber's log cabin in a remote part of western Montana is up for sale. Kylie Laskin (since "The Onion" publishes fake stories, we have no idea if she is a real person) said: "That (the property) would be a perfect place for my Kevorkian van."

We also want to pass our condolences to the friends and family of Elizabeth Edwards who passed away at her home in Chapel Hill, NC, yesterday from a seven-year fight with cancer. But, I must profess I'm glad I backed out of volunteering for her estranged husband John Edwards for the South Carolina primary. We all know what happened there!

Top trending topics on Twitter today include: Grinch, Birthday Ian, Yoko Ono, Pearl Harbor, Rubin and Glee Christmas.