What! July 27, 2017
By Lisa Baker • 07-27-17
An English woman was having anesthesia injected into her eye before cataract surgery when they discovered 17 contact lenses clumped together in her eye…then, they discovered another 10 lenses…that’s a total of 27 contact lenses in one eye. The patient had been wearing monthly disposable contact lenses for about 35 years. Yikes. That makes my eyes hurt.
The rapper, Bow Wow, has denied that he paid people to follow him down the street to “make him appear more popular.” I’ve thought about doing that…me in H-E-B, with an entourage following close behind, through the gluten free isle then on to the red wine. People swooning when they see what I placed on the checkout line. I would be so popular that readers would want to read more and advertisers would be lined up, just waiting for me, begging me to let them advertise more each week. I should try it. I wonder how much he paid them to follow him. Which reminds me…I need part-time sales people at my office. Retired…college students…mothers that want to go back to work now that their kids are in school…I need good, conscientious, MATURE people that want to work with a super-great, employment family.
Between 1980 and 2014, the average life expectancy increased in the US from 77.5 to 81.5 years for women and from 70 to 76.7 years for men.
Texas Monthly has named Truth BBQ in Brenham as one of their “Top Fifty BBQ Joints in Texas.” If that wasn’t enough, Truth made the “Top 10 List” for their mouth-watering brisket. Truth BBQ Pitmaster is 29-year-old, third-generation restaurateur, Leonard Botello IV, who also happens to be a Lake Jackson native. Remember Café Laredo and Café Annice? It is reported that Leonard will soon open a second location “somewhere” inside the loop. Congratulations to the whole Botello family. We know you ALL worked hard for this.
According to the Geological Society of America, the coast of Louisiana has experienced catastrophic rates of wetland loss over the past century, equivalent in size to the state of Delaware. A variety of factors have contributed to the problem, including construction of flood-protection levees (sediment from the Mississippi River is now funneled into the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico) and accelerated sea-level rise (climate change.) It was stated, “Perhaps worst-case scenarios should be considered the new normal in other low-elevation coastal zones worldwide as well.”
Just weeks ago, Saudi Arabia decided to let girls take PE class in public school. Then a week later, Saudi police arrested a young woman for wearing a mini skirt and crop top in public which is very much against the law there. They are still required to cover their hair and bodies in public. Hmmm.
Have you noticed how pretty the crepe myrtles are this year. Plenty of blooms and the colors are just gorgeous. I wonder why this year is different than the last.
“Flowers always make people better, happier and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul.” Luther Burbank
England is celebrating Jane Austen (it is the 200th anniversary of her death) by releasing a 10-pound note with her portrait on it. Last year England released a 5-pound note with Winston Churchill’s portrait on one side and Queen Elizabeth on the other side. Both notes are printed on polymer plastic and should last twice as long as cloth paper notes.
“Whoever said money can’t buy happiness simply didn’t know where to go shopping.” Bo Derek
Basketball Hall of Fame center Dikembe Mutombo says he is working on putting together a group that have interest in buying the Houston Rockets.
A couple called off their $30,000 wedding in Indiana, but were left with a non-refundable contract and a plated dinner for 170 guests, so families, veterans and others – around 200 homeless strangers in all – arrived at the Ritz Charles in donated clothing and accessories to feast on bourbon-glazed meatballs, roasted chicken smothered in chardonnay cream sauce and of course, wedding cake. The bride-to-be had scrimped and saved for years to pay for her dream wedding and just didn’t want it all to go to waste. When life gives you lemons…
HAPPY BIRTHDAYS: Actor Patrick Wayne is 78. He made eleven films with his dad, John Wayne. Actor Jan-Michael Vincent is 73. He was once the highest paid actor on TV. Singer Linda Ronstadt is 71. The singer is often referred to as the first true female rock superstar and is considered the top-selling female singer of the 70s. Arianna Huffington is 67. She is the co-founder of The Huffington Post. Actor Terry O’Quinn is 65. John Locke on Lost. College Football Hall of Fame and football coach Jimmy Johnson is 74.
Rock composer-musician Stewart Copeland is 65. He was the former drummer of The Police. Dancer Michael Flatley is 59. Actress Phoebe Cates is 54. She has been married to actor Kevin Kline since 1989. Actor Donald Sutherland is 85. The Dirty Dozen, M*A*S*H, Kelly’s Heroes, Klute, Animal House, Ordinary People and many, many more, Singer-actress Diahann Carroll is 82. Julia. Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall is 70. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is 63. Singer Vikki Carr is 77. It Must Be Him. Rock musician Brian May is 70. Queen. Actor Benedict Cumberbatch is 41. Actor Vin Diesel is 50.Actor Anthony Edwards is 55. ER.
Ex-NFL player and actor Rosey Grier is 85. Actress Jane Lynch is 57. Actress Diana Rigg is 79. The Avengers. Singer Kim Carnes is 72. Bette Davis Eyes. Musician Carlos Santana is 70. Actress Donna Dixon is 60. She has been married to Dan Aykroyd since 1983. Actor James Brolin is 77. Businessman Richard Branson is 67. Virgin Group. Singer Ricky Skaggs is 63. Actress Elizabeth McGovern is 56. Cora Crawley in Downton Abbey but also the frontwoman of a band called Sadie and the Hotheads. Watch, ‘Nothing New.
A Nevada parole board has decided that the 70-year-old former football, TV and movie star, O.J. Simpson, will be released in October after serving his minimum term for armed robbery and assault with a weapon.
A Dallas man walked 3-miles to work every day because he was trying to better himself. A group of strangers, so inspired by his need, secretly set up a donation box at a local restaurant where they were able to gather enough money for a used Toyota Camry, a year’s worth of insurance, 2-years of oil changes and a $500 gas card. There is so much good in the world.
Former President Jimmy Carter was treated for dehydration while helping to build houses in Canada for Habitat for Humanity. He is 92 years old and still building houses for Habitat. Two years ago, after he revealed that cancer had spread to his brain, doctors treated him with Keytruda, a drug to help the immune system seek out and destroy cancer cells. It sure sounds like it worked.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg visited North Dakota last week to learn more about the fracking and oil industries. There has been much speculation about the billionaire’s possible future in politics.
Mark your calendar. The 2017 Lavender and Wine Festival will be hosted by Chappell Hill Lavender Farm and Windy Winery on August 12th, in Brenham, Texas.
Back to childhood years…remember the black and white Indian head picture on the tv screen as it signed off the air at midnight after playing the national anthem…then that terrible shrieking noise and outrageous static that was a reminder to turn off the TV and get to bed. Somewhere during that midnight hour, they had a video of a jet fighter with a poem that had nothing to do with going to bed or turning out the lights. Then early the next morning the color bar test pattern would appear and your day had started.
They are calling them reboots. New movies about previously produced topics. Tom Cruise will make archaeology cool again in a reboot of The Mummy. Brie Larson will star in the new King Kong movie, Kong: Skull Island. The Fate of the Furious is the eighth installment in The Fast and Furious franchise. Helen Mirren will make a cameo appearance which classes up the whole thing. Baywatch returns with Dwayne Johnson and others. I never saw the TV series so I’m underwhelmed. Oh, and Top Gun 2.
Krispy Kreme – Japan, has Crème Brulee donuts and café latte bunny donuts. Central Florida Krispy Kreme’s have the Birthday Cake Batter doughnut – yellow cake batter and white Kreme filling, topped with yellow icing and sprinkles. But, no one can compete with London… Red Berry Drizzle yeast donut filled with raspberry jam, topped with cream cheese frosting, finished with biscuit pieces and fresh strawberries, plus a drizzle of red berry coulis and lacy crepe crumbs. You should see the pictures. There’s a Popping Champagne donut filled with Marc de Champagne brandy-infused white chocolate topped with champagne cream and Belgian chocolate shavings, sprinkled with popping candies and gold sugar…Magic Unicorn Donut (think new unicorn drink at Starbucks – it’s beautiful) and then Salted Caramel and Honeycomb donut drizzled with white chocolate. Don’t get excited because these upscale donuts are only available at one location…inside the food hall at Selfridges (a high-end department store similar to Neiman Marcus) where the namesake Selfridge Donut is stuffed full of chocolate frosting, covered in dark chocolate ganache, finished with gold dust, Belgian chocolate stars and a candy Selfridge plaque on top. I heard there are some good deals on flights right now.
Disney has announced that Epcot, Disney’s third-oldest theme park, is going to get a facelift.
Remember when the TV announcer would say…” It’s ten o’clock – do you know where your children are?” When I explained this to my kids, they did not understand AT ALL. Sigh. Those were the days when we were still outside playing instead of having our noses stuck into a phone.
UrbanDictionary says the word of the day is “Magic Stairs” which is another word for escalator…” The elevator is too slow, so I’ll take the magic stairs.”
When a barber shop owner received an estimate for the new floors at his shop in the UK, he decided that it was way too expensive and that he could do better, so he covered the floor in pennies. It took the barber shop crew a full week to glue 70,000 coins to the ground and then grout. Talk about the coolest floors in town! They are beautiful. I would never have guessed that it would be that pretty.
“Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing.” Phyllis Diller
I told you that my daughter turned eighteen last week. Heavy sigh. She had a reunion group that met at the Zoo early that morning so we went together, then I did my own thing which was to visit the new 305-pound baby elephant named “Joy” that was born to Asian Elephant mom, Shanti on July 12th. Nothing prepared me for Joy being so cute. We hurried back to LJ, showered then headed back to Jinya Ramen Bar (our favorite ramen noodle joint) and on to Jones Hall to watch/listen to The Houston Symphony perform live while the first Harry Potter movie, “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” played on a huge screen. IT WAS SO GOOD! 3 sold-out performances. What an 18th birthday!
– Lisa
