Virtual Postcard from Colorado- Graffiti Van in Denver

We have no idea which graffiti artist performed this radical makeover on this van, but we did learn from our visit to Colorado last week that Denver-area street artist Gamma Agosta has made quite a name for himself. Among his most famous works include one depicting a female Mexican bandit wearing a sombrero with machine guns in her hands and bullets covering her large breasts (hmmmm......I think we just got hit with an 'R' rating! But, we do try to keep it clean here).

Among the things to do in Denver when you're NOT dead (that's a reference to an independent American film for those of you in rural Uzbekistan), we highly suggest a visit to the Clyfford Still Museum, even though many of the great expressionist American painter's works are untitled (which drives us crazy).

But, speaking of people who have literally gone insane, earlier this year, Carmen Tisch, a Denver resident, punched one of Still's famous paintings, done in 1957 and worth $30 million, at the museum.

The dubious incident reminds one of an attack on Paul Gauguin's "Two Tahitian Women" painting at the National Gallery in Washington, DC, in April of last year. According to various media reports, Susan Burns of Alexandria, Va., the culprit in question in the Washington, DC-incident, said Gauguin's work was evil since it featured nudity and that it was 'bad for children.'

Burns later came back to the National Gallery and tried to assault Henri Matisse's painting "The Plumed Hat" in August of last year.

Lastly, we send out a special thanks to blog visitors from Armenia?!*, Belgium, Hungary and Jamaica** for visiting our blog today.

*-Hmmmm......I am a Turkish-American, how is it possible to be more popular in Yerevan than Ankara?!

**-It must have been a rainy day in Montego Bay! 

http://www.gammagallery.com

http://clyffordstillmuseum.org

Things We Learned on Google Today_ All Things Azerbaijan

Today, we conclude our look at the 15 former Soviet Republics which are now independent nations (the early entries, including Uzbekistan, ran on our sister blog "The Daily Vampire") and we end it all with Azerbaijan, the only country of the 15 that we've actually been to.

From Google, we learned that Elin Suleymanov, an alumnus of The University of Toledo in Ohio, is the new Azeri ambassador to the United States, as of late October. Suleymanov speaks Russian, English, Turkish and Czech.

His counterpart in Baku, the Azeri capital, is Matthew J. Bryza, who was appointed as the American ambassador to Azerbaijan in January.

We also learned that Ganja, with a population of 313,000 in western Azerbaijan is the country's second largest city after Baku. It is sister cities with Newark, NJ, and Izmir, Turkey. When Ganja was in the Soviet Union, the city was called Kirovabad.

Ganja also has a significant Armenian population since it is relatively close to the border with Armenia. Azerbaijan and Armenia have had many ethnic clashes since both countries became independent 20 years ago.

Prior to our googling venture today, we learned many other things about Azerbaijan from an excellent article about the country in the Sept./Oct. issue of "Mental Floss, including the legend that the quaint city of Lerik, near the Iranian border has a high number of people who live to be 100 or more.

Apparently, and according to the article, a "New York Times" reporter came across one such resident in 1998 who claimed he was 121 years old. The man reportedly said that fresh air and easy living were why he had lived so long.

Things We Learned on Google Today- When in Tajikistan...

When in Tajikistan, the latest country we are looking at in our series on former Soviet republics that are now independent countries, one should speak Tajik. It is the official language of Tajikistan, and according to Google and Wikipedia, the Persian-type language is also spoken widely in neighboring Uzbekistan.

Here are some other facts about the landlocked nation:

1) The capital and largest city of Tajikistan is Dushande.

2) Tajikistan was part of the Samandi Empire (existed from circa 800-1000 A.D) which also included parts of Afghanistan, Iran and Russia.

3) The Russians Are Coming was perhaps first uttered in 1864 when the Ruskies invaded Tajikistan, which later lead to it becoming a Soviet republic.

4) Sadly, Tajikistan is the poorest country in central Asia, and the country suffered a major famine in 2001.

5) Amazingly enough, there is a small Jewish population in Tajikistan; they call themselves the Bukhara Jews.

6) Tajikistan is a land-locked country that borders Afghanistan, China, Uzbekistan and Krgyzstan.




SIDEBAR: Tomorrow, we will start a special three-part series on the 10th anniversary of September 11th. Among the entries we hope to post is one Marie-Rae Sopper, who was slated to become the new women's gymnastics coach at the University of California-Santa Barbara. She was killed on her way to California aboard Flight 77 which crashed into the Pentagon. Sopper, who was a collegiate stand-out at Iowa State, was 35 years old.

Things We Learned on Wikipedia This Week- Capital of Kazakhstan

We are continuing our look at former republis of the Soviet Union today with Kazakhstan. The second largest former Soviet republic behind Russia was made famous/infamous by the film "Borat" (2006) starring Sacha Baron Cohen as the fake television reporter from Kazakhstan.

The film, which was in my top five list for the best films of 2006, will always be a special to me because the rodeo scene where Borat/Cohen tricked rodeo-goers into singing a butchered verison of "The Star Spangled Banner" was filmed at a rodeo in my hometown of Salem, Va. And, just today, I saw that the Internet Movie Database indicated one of the film's factual goofs is that it shows Salem, which neighbors the larger city of Roanoke, as being in the eastern part of Virginia as opposed to southwest Virginia.

Many of the Kazkakhstan village scenes for the movie were actually filmed in Romania. In one of the scenes, the audience is introduced to Borat's neighbor Nursultan Tuyakbey, who is a cross between the names of the current Kazak president/dictator Nursultan Nazabayev and his political opponent in the mid-2000s Zharmakan Tuyakbey.

In April, Nazabayev ran virtually unopposed and got close to 100 percent of 'the vote.'

Today's question is what is the capital of Kazakhstan? Is the answer:

A) Alma Ata

B) Astana

C) Chimkent

D) Pavlador

This is the fifth of 17 entries in this series, and the first one presented in trivia question form. The other four Soviet republics in this series were Uzbekistan, Russia, Kyrgzstan* and (the) Ukraine.

*-This has to be one of the hardest countries in the world to spell!

SIDEBAR: My friend Bruce Piephoff, a folk singer in Greensboro, NC, may not be heading out to Kazakhstan for a concert anytime soon, but he will be performing a live set for WXDU (88.7-FM, Durham), the student-run radio station of Duke University at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. My personal favorite song of his might very well be "I Remember Asheville," even though I've only been Asheville, NC, one time!

Things We Learned on Google Today- Kharkiv is Ukraine's Secnd Largest City

Hmm....Google is not always correct about everything. When I asked Google who was the Ukraine's most famous athlete. It/They responded with Anna Kournikova, the retired RUSSIAN tennis starlett who is more known for her off-the-court life as she was in a relationship with some pop star (yaaaaawn!).

Of course, another hot Russian female tennis player has been making more headlines lately and that is Maria Sharapova who lost yesterday in the Wimbledon women's tennis championship to Petra Kvitova from the Czech Republic. Sharapova is also engaged to some Serbian NBA player (yaaaaaaaawn again!).

But, Google did tell us that Kharkiv, not Odessa (which is actually the fourth largest Ukrainian city) is the country's second largest city. It ranks behind Kiev, but ahead of the industrial city of Dnipropetrovsk, which may have the longest name for any major city in Europe.

Kharkiv has 1.46 million people, and it is known for its metro system and Freedom Square. It is also sister cities with Cincinnati, Ohio, which is best known for its baseball team (ironically called the Reds, forgive the Cold War humor) and for being the setting of a 1970s sitcom set in a radio station which Ukrainians are probably not too familiar with.

The city also has The Annuciation Cathedral, which is one of the largest Orthodox cathedrals in the world. Kharkiv also has many Bronze artificats, and it is the hometown of weightlifter Igor Rybak.

Since the city was occupied by Nazi forces in World War II, there is some dark history in Kharkiv as 300,000 of the city's Jewish resident were killed during the Holocaust.

The city is in the northern part of the Ukraine. I wonder if there chicken is as good as the chicken in Kiev....well, we couldn't resist!

This is actually the fourth in our series on profiles of former Soviet Republics. The other three were Uzbekistan, Russia and Kygystan, which is arguably the hardest country in the world to spell!

Status Update- I Have Not Been Kidnapped by Aliens

Many people have been wondering if I was kidnapped or if I had flown to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, to get away from it all as it has been eight days since our last blog entry here.

But, I am alive and well.....hmm, well for the most part. (We try to avoid personal details here though I did almost start a blog about my bout with prostatitis in
2008; it is a prostate problem involving frequent urination).

There is apparently an Australian play called "Tom Stoppard is Dead." It is refering to the famous playwright Tom Stoppard, who is originally from what is now the Czech Republic but he resides in England. Stoppard, who was also born in 1937, is in fact alive, but the play is a take on his famous early 1967 play "Rosencrantz and Guilderstern Are Dead." Nevertheless, one has to wonder what Stoppard made of the title.

Another person who is alive and well is the actor George Segal who I recently saw in the 1965 film "Ship of Fools," which is sort of like a serious version of "The Love Boat" and featured a lot of famous actors, including the late Lee Marvin, who is one of my favorite screen stars. Segal turned 76 in February.

Segal, like Steve Martin, is also an accomplished banjo player. And, we learned that he was the actor who was originally in mind to play Dudley Moore's character in the movie "10," which made Bo Derek famous (it should not be confused with the acclaimed Iranian film of the same name for well obvious reasons!). Alas, Dudley Moore is no longer with us.

Another actor who is alive who was seemingly disappeared is Emilio Estevez. While his brother Charlie Sheen has made a public ass of himself, Estevez has been living a quiet life. In 2010, he starred and directed in the low budget film "The Way" which also featured his dad Martin Sheen. Estevez, who is perhaps best known for his role in "The Breakfast Club" is now almost 50 years old! (He was born in 1961).

Amadeus in Bethesda- Home and Away (Entry 1 of 3)

We are including an image of the late Austrian pop singer Falco ("Rock Me Amadeus") because the play "Amadeus" is currently being performed at the Roundhouse Theatre in Bethesda, Md., and it was one of the many things I would have liked to have done which we didn't get 'round to. The play runs through June 12. And, there were actually plenty of things we were able to get done.

One of the many complications that comes when one is traveling is that no matter if you are traveling to a nearby place or Tashkent, Uzbekistan, if it will involve at least one overnight stay then they are the issues of: "Is there enough food for Garfield?," "Will an annoying bill come in that might forget to pay?," and "Ahhh! When am I ever gonna get to clean up this house?!"

So, you have to decide if you want to stay home and perhaps settle for a vinyl quest at the Happy's Flea Market in Roanoke, Va. or a photo-taking outing to take Polaroids of the Paul Bunyan Muffler Man statue just down the road from Happy's on Williamson Road (yes, Happy's is a real place, the muffler man still stands and Roanoke, Va., is my hometown; I no longer reside there but you may see me there at some juncture...?!).

And, there is the problem of getting out of the darn house itself. I know when I travel I like to think what cds go well with the trip. Inevitably, I always choose Talking Heads or The Cars, though if I ever have to go to a funeral, I may go with The Cure (forgive the Gen X) humor.

On this particular trip, the family cat , who is not actually named Garfield (he's a tuxedo cat, actually), was a top priority. We made sure his liter box was fresh, and that he had food and water. But, alas, we underestimated the amount of time we would be in Washington, DC, so when we came home, we saw that the cat had eaten all six cans we had left him. He was hungry and he was mad. For a moment, I thought he was going to turn into a feline Linda Blair. But, of course, once he was fed, he was a happy camper. Until five minutes later, when he wanted out, but it was midnight. Luckily for us, he did not turn blue or start yelling expletives, nor was he possessed by a Satanic demon (that we know of).

Quote of the Week: Leo Tolstoy

I may not share my fellow Turkish-American Elif Batuman's love for Russian literature. Batuman, whom I've never met, is a respected nonfiction writer who has published many articles in "The New Yorker" and she wrote a brilliant 2010 memoir "The Possessed." While much of that book talks about long, famous Russian novels, Batuman also talks about spending time in Uzbekistan where she spent a considerable long time engrossing the fascinating, yet very remote country.

Of course, one of the novels that Batuman was examining was the epic 1869 work "War and Peace" from Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) which is 1,225 pages.

Here is Tolstoy's quote:

"Historians are life deaf people who go on answering questions that no one asks them."

SIDEBAR: When I saw the headline in "The Huffington Post" that "Man Survives 96 Minutes Without a Pulse," I thought they might be refering to Dick Cheney, but the man is in fact an unmplyed chef named Howard Snitzer from Goodhue, Minnesota.

SIDEBAR TWO: Earlier tonight, we had a chance to listen to the show "Progressive Torch and Twang," an alternative country/folk/Americana music show from Impact89-FM, the college station from Michigan State via the Internet. The show is extremely entertaining and amusing. Among the highlights on tonight's show was a song from Eddie Spaghetti, an alt country singer from Seattle, who sang a tune called "Jesus Never Lived on Mars." We can't imagine that one would ever hear it on a country music station in Lynchburg, Va.!

Status Update_ Today, I Learned What the Third Largest City in Uzbekistan Is

...And, the answer is Namangan. The city located in the northern edge of Uzbekistan in the Fergana Valley has a population of about 441,300 people according to Wikipedia.

In his new book "The Googlization of Everything," University of Virginia professor/author Sani Vaidhyanathan (and, I thought my last name Gokbudak was difficult!), we can effectively ask Google anything, and it will in 99 percent likelihood give us the answer. Of course, this has a dark side as well which the authro explains in great detail which would take a long time for us to go into (ok, it is actually a bit over our heads, but fascinating!).

Author Elif Batuman, a fellow Turkish-American whom I've never met, wrote about her adventures in Samarkand, Uzbekistan's second largest city behind the capital Tashkent, in her excellent memoir "The Possessed" which also talks about her affinity for Russian authors like Leo Tolstoy ("War and Peace.").

I would write more, but the line for hamburgers at the deli is growing! In a future entry, we are hoping to post about the geographical distance between Wilmington, Del., and Lynchburg, Va.

Last year, we tried to do our own version of GeoQuiz, a feature on the NPR show "The World," but few people really seemed interested in learning about things like major tourist attractions in Slovenia. But perhaps one day we may bring the series back from the dead!

Motto of the Day- Just Do Nothing

It is perhaps slightly deviant of us to drag Kandula, the beloved nine-year-old Indian elephant at the National Zoo in Washington, DC, into politics, but..... (for those of our dear readers in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, the elpehant is the unofficial symbol of the Republican Party).

So, this is the first in what we hope we will be many Motto of the Day entries:

"Just do nothing_ it saves money, gas, and utilities."

Of course, it wastes a major resource which is time! Jonathan Chait of "The New Republic" brilliantly illustrated how the Republican Party has done nothing for America since the 1930s, and we couldn't agree more!

Interestingly enough, there is a non-partisan web site called "Do Nothing for Two Minutes" which urges everyone to just simply sit and stare at the screen for 120 seconds!

SIDEBAR: In a column that was reportedly published in "The Washington Post," Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), the most liberal member of the Senated, cited Valero Energy as the nation's sixth worst big corporate freeloader. The company made $68 billion last year, but they still got a $157 million TAX REFUND from the IRS.

I should hope this would raise the eyebrows of even the most conservative Democrat, arguably Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) and/or progresive Republican, whom many believe to be Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), but they are perhaps concerned with other things. The rest of us, however, can pump gas some place else....and, I'm speaking as someone who catered to Valero!

Special Quote of the Day- Johnny Bench

"I can throw out any man alive," Johnny Bench.

For those too young to remember, Bench, a catcher with the Cincinnati Reds, who is now 63, was a vital part of the Big Red Machine. Alas, the Reds who had won 102 games during the regular season were upset in the 1970 World Series by the Baltimore Orioles.


FYI- In case, you are wondering who is Terry Gross (yikes, we almost spelled her name with an 'i'!) going to interview on NPR's "Fresh Air" today, the answer is former "SNL" star/current "30 Rock" star/wonderful Sarah Palin impersonator Tina Fey. For those of you in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, where we think at least one person reads this blog, we're pretty sure you will have to go the "Fresh Air" web site (http://www.npr.org/programs/fresh-air/) to listen to show since public radio is probably not otherwise available in the former Soviet republics.

PS- In case, I seemed a bit too harsh or critical of Barracuda yesterday, I just want to say I have seen the light: "I Love You, Big Brother" (reference to George Orwell's novel "1984").

Special Quote of the Week- Venus Williams

We are continuing our series of quotes from famous African-American athletes, past and present, with a quip from tennis superstar Venus Williams. As everyone outside Tashkent, Uzbekistan, probably knows (and perhaps they do too), her sister Serena Williams, who is a year younger (Venus is 30; Serena is 29), has also established an exempliary career on the court.

Here is our quote from Venus, who has assuredly won virtually every tennis tournament from New York to Dubai* to Sydney, at least once (we need to verify this, but we don't have that kind of time!):

"If you're not a competitor, you've just got to go home."

*- NPR reported last month that there is a North Korean restaurant in Dubai (?!). Yes, we said North Korean. There are also some pretty good South Korean restaurants in Istanbul, Turkey, which seemed surprsing enough to us at the time.

Our Best Person for 2010 Is.....

.............Lisa Murkowski, the Republican senator from Alaska. Yes, we are a liberal-leaning blog, and we are choosing Sen. Murkowski!


The reason for this is that while she may officially beaten Tea Party favorite Joe Miller and the mostly not-talked-about Democratic candidate Scott McAdams on the ballot, the person she really defeated was mama grizzly Sarah Palin, or Palinzilla as we like to call her.

At age 53, Sen. Murkowski is rather attractive for an elected official. Someone from Tashkent, Uzbekistan, might well think she was in the cast of "Charlie's Angels" in her younger days. Politically, her father Frank Murkowski put her in the U.S. Senate after he vacated his U.S. senate seat to become the governor of Alaska (he was later toppled by Palinzilla).

This did not go over well with many folks in Alaska, and it actually gave her 2004 Democratic opponent Terry Knowles, who was also once the governor of Alaska, a fighting chance in the very red state.

But, in spite of losing the GOP nomination to Miller, a far right nut who is gunsGodncounty radical who actually cited the former East Germany as a country which could control their borders (they did this by shooting people trying to leave the country) by a 51-49 margin, Murkowski put up a good fight with a write-in campaign.

And, in spite of lawsuits and court hearings and even disputes about ballots in which Murkowski's last name were not spelled correctly, she emerged as the victor in the close election. Thus, Murkowski was able to give the Tea Party a left jab that few Democrats were able to deliver, and it was indeed a knock-out punch.

Murkowski is considered one of the most moderate Republicans in the Senate. She is pro-choice, favors stem cell research and opposed Don't Ask, Don't Tell. While she has opposed President Barack Obama on federal health care legislation, she should be a hero to anyone who thinks this country needs more people like David Brooks and fewer right-wing idiots like Glenn Beck.

Thus, in a Republican year, it only seems fair to break form and choose Murkowski as our person of the year. Take that, mama grizzly!

Top 10 Favorite Christmas Movies_ A Controversial Choice

Yes, we are choosing the eight-minute $700 short film "The Spirit of Christmas" from 1995 by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, two Colorado college students who went on to make "South Park" as our top choice.

The film is known for it is essentially a mock kung fu fight between Jesus and Santa Claus which is laced with profanity, and makes fun of former Olympic ice skater Brian Boitano.

But, this short film which I saw as part of "Spike and Mike's Sick and Twisted Animation Festival" at the Lyric Theatre in Blacksburg, Va., still stands out as one of the most hysterical things I've ever seen. Ironically, I haven't watched "South Park" hardly at all since it's second season. I am amazed it is somehow still on the air (we need to get Javier, our Honduran intern to fact-check that).

Here is our top ten; the rest of the films are full-length features:

1. "The Spirit of Christmas" (1995)

2. "A Christmas Story" (1983)

3. "National Lampoon's Christmas" (1989)

4. "Gremlins" (1984)_ A film I chose to show for my 40th birthday celebration earlier this year at the Grandin Theatre in Roanoke, Va. Many people forget that it takes place at Christmas time.

5. "Bad Santa" (2003)

6. "It's a Wonderful Life" (1946)_ A film which may be the only Christmas film they show in Tashkent, Uzbekistan

7. "The Muppet Christmas Carol" (1992)

8. "Scrooged" (1988)

9. "Miracle on 34th Street" (1946)

10. "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians" (1964)_ Yes, the movie itself which features a very young Pia Zadora does actually suck, but the title is still vintage!

We should mention that John Waters has said that his favorite Christmas movie is "Christmas Evil," also known as "You Better Watch Out." The 1981 horror film predates the much more known and decidedly infamous 1984 slasher flick "Silent Night, Deadly Night" which features a Santa Claus who goes around killing folks.

Currently, American audiences are intrigued by the film "Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale" out of Finland which depicts a Santa Claus who is found frozen in the Arctic Circle. It is currently showing at the following cinemas (not listing every cinema where it's playing, but the film is not showing everywhere): Carousel Luxury Cinemas in Greensboro, NC, Landmark E Street Cinemas in Washington DC, Kendall Square Cinema in Cambridge, Mass. and lastly, Lyric Cinema Cafe in Fort Collins, Colo.

Silly Photo to Fill Space- the Tom and Jerry Necktie

One of the items on my Christmas wish list that we published back on Dec. 5 was a Tom and Jerry necktie. We mentioned the same time several months ago when we quipped that a guy can know he's in trouble on a first date if the girl asks: "Which one is the mouse?"

For those of you in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, who were born when Bill Clinton (another saxophone player) was president, Jerry is the mouse (did we really need to say that?! Yes, we probably did).

The Tom and Jerry necktie retails for circa $15 on most online sites, like zazzle.com

An interesting historical note about the characters is that a new incarnation of "Tom and Jerry" appeared on a series with Grape Ape (who looks like a purple King Kong with a baseball cap) cartoons in 1975.

The producers who perhaps later went on to advise George W. Bush (forgive the center-left political humor, kids! and Newt Gingrich if you are reading this) thought it would be a idea to make Tom and Jerry friends instead of the bitter rivals they had been for four decades before. By doing this, they thus ruined the basic plot premise that drove the storyline. A familiar gag that worked as well for kids in Dubai as it did kids in Topeka. And, of course, the new 'toons flopped.

Actually, a Grape Ape lunchbox would be a nifty item to have as well, but there are folks starving on the streets, especially in Detroit (read a depressing, but well-written article in "Mother Jones" about that), so wanting such things seem pointless and trivial.

You can probably find the Tom and Jerry cheaper than $15 if you look hard enough:)