After nearly 50 years as a singer, songwriter, musician, and actress, it’s a difficult task to pinpoint Dolly Parton’s greatest accomplishment. But hidden behind “Jolene” and “Coat of Many Colors” is her role in a 1986 made-for-television movie, A Smoky Mountain Christmas.
On May 21, 2006, the people of Montenegro flocked to the polls to cast their ballots in a referendum for independence. It was a dramatic proposition for this small Balkan region, whose populace had spent much of the 20th century under the umbrella of Yugoslavia. But by the slimmest of margins—2,300 votes out of more than 400,000 cast—Montenegrins declared themselves an independent nation.
A few years ago, if someone had asked me what I knew about Uruguay, I wouldn’t have had a whole lot to say. I might have remembered that its national soccer team won the first World Cup back in 1930. I would have guessed (incorrectly, as it turns out) that it shares a border with Paraguay. And I probably would have ventured that it’s a country with a rich gaucho heritage—an accidental correct answer, since I was really thinking of neighboring Argentina.
In 2009, the food-loving fans of Bravo’s hit cooking competition, Top Chef, were given a gift. For the first time in Top Chef history, the cast of 17 chefs included two brothers, Maryland natives Bryan and Michael Voltaggio. It made for riveting television—two brothers blessed with visionary talent, outperforming their competitors until they were the last two men standing before the judges’ table.
As the 2012 presidential campaign finally came to an end this week, so concluded an election season that for two years had locked Americans into a fierce partisan divide. Thus, it’s little wonder that I find myself in desperate need of someplace tranquil. Someplace quiet. Someplace neutral, perhaps.
The Long Weekender 