Quote of the Day_ Sigmund Freud

We sense that we will not be getting blog hits from Spain or Portugal today, as those two countries are playing each other in the Euro Cup 2012 semi-finals in Ukraine. And, Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), whom we will be quoting today, is not likely to be trending. In fact, according to Bing today, the following topics are trending: Syrian TV raid, Rainbow Oreos, Waldo Canyon fire (near Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Science girl ad.

But, we are quoting Freud because he is one of the figures who has a plush toy doll made in his honor from the American novelty company The Unemployed Philosophers Guild. We also saw a promotion for Freudian Slippers in a "Mental Floss" magazine catalog. We contemplated getting them for my sister Aysegul Denizli (that is not her real name, and our apologies to at least one person with that name in Turkey) in Salt Lake City, Utah (not where my sister lives), but we don't always have the same sense of humor. Although we both love Wes Anderson movies, alas his latest film "Moonrise Kingdom" has yet to open in my market as of today.

Here is Freud's quote:

"A certain amount of neurosis is of inestimable values as a drive, especially to a psychologist."

http://www.mentalfloss.com

http://www.philosophersguild.com

http://www.freudfile.org

UPDATE: The answer to our Olympic Cities Distance Quiz from a few days back is B.

Quote of the Day- Jose Saramago

Today, we conclude our quotes from famous figures associated with each of the 16 countries represented in the Euro Cup 2012 with a quip from the Portuguese novelist Jose Saramgo (1922-2010).

Portugal advanced to the quarterfinals today with a 2-1 win over Denmark; they will join Germany who defeated the Netherlands 2-1 in advancing from the dreaded group of death.

Saramago was awarded the 1998 Nobel Prize in Literature, which in recent years has gone to Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk and the late British playwright Harold Pinter.

The Portuguese writer was a communist politically which forced him to live a portion of his life in exile in the Canary Islands, joining the likes of the late Turkish poet Nazim Hikmet, who lived in Russia, and the late American novelist William Burroughs, who lived in Morocco (but lived the later years of his life in Lawrence, Kansas)  as writers who lived in exile for either political or personal reasons.

Saramago's most famous novels include "Baltasar and Blimunda" (1982), "The Gospel According to Jesus Christ" (1991), which was very controversial, and "Blindness" (1997).

Here is his quote:

"As citizens, we all have an obligation to intervene and become involved_ it's the citizen who changes things."

Congratulations to the University of Alabama for Winning Gymnastics Title

Yes, college gymnastics fans will undoubtedly notice that the headline and the photo of Georgia gymnast Kat Ding, a senior from Sparks, Nev., may not seem to go well, but please read the entry first!

And, before we get to that, I forgot to thank blog readers from Belgium, Portugal and Australia on our sister blog "The Daily Vampire,' in addition to them, I want to thank those of you from Bulgaria and Indonesia who have stopped by here in the last 24 hours.

The University of Alabama did indeed win its seventh NCAA championship in women's gymnastics on April 21, and this was the first time that the Crimson Tide had successfully defended its title.

For Tide senior Geralen Stack-Eaton, it must have been a particularly rewarding weekend for she also won an individual title on the balance beam.

Meanwhile, Ding defender her national title on bars with a 9.875 and she had a 9.995 on floor, which gave her a title on that apparatus as well; Ding edged out Stack-Eaton, the defending floor champ, and Ellyse Hopfner-Hobbs of UCLA, who is perhaps the top Canadian gymnast in the world at the moment.

Kyra Hunter of Florida won both the coveted all-around title as well as an apparatus title on vault. The Gators finished a very close second to the Tide in the team competition with the Bruins of UCLA coming in a close third.

Next year, UCLA hosts the NCAA championships in the sport.