What! Oct. 5, 2017
By Lisa Baker • 10-05-17
Carlos Rafael, a US fishing magnate known as “The CodFather,” has been sentenced to nearly four years in prison for falsely claiming his vessels caught haddock or pollock when they had other species subject to stricter quotas, then sold the fish for cash. He accepted full responsibility for the crimes he committed including tax evasion, false labeling and fish identification. The CodFather. I love it. There are some stories I find that are a little more fun and interesting than others. Read on.
Gilbert Toby Curtsinger, ringleader of an operation called “Pappy Van Winkle Bourbon Heist,” that stole at least $100,000 worth of bourbon from a couple of Kentucky distilleries, pleaded guilty. We are talking good, expensive bourbon. Nine people (so far) were involved in the bourbon heist which included members of his softball team who over the course of seven years, stole not only bottles but full barrels, which ultimately led to their ruin…how many people do you know that have a barrel of bourbon in their kitchen? The full barrels were worth between $1,200 to $1,500. Most of the bourbon is ruined since only unopened bottles could be salvaged which makes us all very sad.
The woman that was physically removed from a Southwest flight (and recorded) told officials she had a life-threatening pet allergy but then couldn’t produce a medical certificate needed for her flight from Baltimore to LA. Why…there were two dogs on board. Crew members told her that she could be barred from the flight if she couldn’t travel safely with animals on board but she refused to leave the plane. What’s wrong here? That’s like going into the restaurant that has peanut shells on the floor and you’re allergic to peanuts. YOU JUST CAN’T GO INTO THAT RESTAURANT! If you have a pet allergy, then you need to let the airlines know before you board the plane. Geez. Why must some things be so difficult?
Earthquakes. Volcanos. Hurricanes. Flooding. Mass Shootings. Now, fleas have tested positive for the Bubonic Plague in two counties in Arizona. You remember the Bubonic Plague…the infectious disease that killed millions in the Middle Ages. It seems that prairie dogs began dropping dead so someone said, “hmmm. I wonder why.” The plague is curable with early treatment and antibiotics. Prairie dog holes are now being dusted with an insecticide to help prevent the spread through prairie dog colonies. You just thought we had it bad.
Rapper B.o.B. started a GoFundMe so he can prove that the Earth is flat. He only needs $1-million to launch multiple satellites into space to prove his point. I know that you’re asking yourself what’s wrong with all the thousands of images from all the other satellites already out there? Hmmm. He needs a job.
Saudi Arabia was the only country in the world where women couldn’t legally drive. It could harm their ovaries. Soon, women will be allowed to drive. Next year, in fact. They had only recently received the right to vote. As Bob Dylan sings, “…then you better start swimmin’, or you’ll sink like a stone, for the times they are a-changin’.”
North Korea threatened to deploy a hydrogen bomb. Kim Jong Un said, “I will surely and definitely tame the mentally deranged US dotard with fire…” hmmm. Dotard. According to Merriam-Webster, this is “a state or period of senile decay marked by decline of mental poise. The word comes from the Middle English word ‘doten’ (to dote), and initially had the meaning of ‘imbecile’ when it began being used in the 14th century.” Shakespeare liked to use the word. Ref: The Taming of the Shrew and Much Ado About Nothing… “Tush, tush, man, never fleer (laugh) and jest at me. I speak not like a dotard nor a fool.”
A new study published in the annals (records) of Internal Medicine found that even if you are a heavy exerciser, people with desk jobs should get up every thirty minutes and walk around. You will live longer. By doing this, you may live. Period. Get up.
HAPPY BIRTHDAYS: Actor Wilford Brimley is 83. The Waltons. Rock singer Meat Loaf is 70. Can that be? Singer Shaun Cassidy is 59. Singer-actress Olivia Newton-John is 69. Musician Cesar Rosas is 63. Los Lobos. He can play the guitar! Actress Linda Hamilton is 61. The Terminator and Beauty and the Beast. Actress Melissa Sue Anderson is 55. Mary Ingalls on Little House on the Prairie. Actor Walter Kownig is 81. Pavel Chekov in Star Trek. Singer-actress-dancer Joey Heatherton is 73. She posed for Playboy in 1997, at the age of 53.
Actor Sam Neill is 70. Dr. Alan Grant in Jurassic Park. Actor Tommy Lee Jones is 71. Director Oliver Stone is 71. Football Hall of Fame Dan Marino is 56. Britain’s Prince Harry is 33. Actor Ed Begley Jr. is 68. Country singer David Bellamy is 67. Actor Mickey Rourke is 61. Magician David Copperfield is 61. Actress Jennifer Tilly is 59. Celia in Monsters’ Inc. and a World Series Ladies’ Poker winner. She’s good. Singer Julio Iglesias is 74. Rock star Bruce Springsteen is 68.
Actor Jason Alexander is 58. George Costanza. Actress Angie Dickinson is 86. Singer Sissy Houston is 84. Singer Johnny Mathis is 82. Actress Fran Drescher is 60. Classical singer Andrea Bocelli is 59. Rocker Joan Jett is 59. Actor Scott Baio is 57. Chachi Arcola on Happy Days. Actress Bonnie Hunt is 56. Actress Brigitte Bardot is 83. Actress Hilary Duff is 30. Former President Jimmy Carter is 93.
Deaths: Television icon Monty Hall has died at the age of 96 of heart failure. Remember Let’s Make a Deal which started in 1963. What was behind door No. 3? As a little kid, I always liked it when he offered money for what women in the audience had in their purses. Liliane Bettencourt, L’Oréal cosmetics heiress and the world’s richest woman, died at the age of 94. Jake LaMotta, the boxing champion whose career was depicted in 1980 by Robert DeNiro in the film, “Raging Bull,” died at the age of 95. Violet Brown, the world’s oldest person, died at the age of 117. Xavier “X” Atencio, an animator behind early Disney movies including “Pinocchio” and “Fantasia” and the imaginer behind the beloved Disneyland rides like “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “The Haunted Mansion,” died at the age of 98. Musician Tom Petty died of heart failure at the young age of 66.
Hugh Hefner died at age 91 of natural causes. He was buried in Los Angeles next to Marilyn Monroe – his first ever Playboy cover star, in a plot that Hefner bought in 1992 for $75,000. He is survived by 4 children and third and current wife of five years, Crystal Harris (she was 60-years younger.) That’s like Betty White marrying Zac Efron. Hmmm. “Life is too short to be living somebody else’s dream.” Hugh Hefner
OJ Simpson has been released from prison. He got out on good behavior. Settle down girls.
Aaron Hernandez, former football player serving life sentence for murder before he died by suicide, has been identified as having Stage 3 CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) according to Boston University. Stage 4 is the highest. The disease can only be detected through autopsies. It has been linked to depression, memory loss and dementia. There is now a lawsuit against the Patriots and the NFL on behalf of Hernandez’s daughter. Last year the NFL acknowledged a link between football-related head trauma and the brain disease. A study showed that out of 111 brains examined of former NFL players, they found 110 of them had CTE. Yet, these guys continue to collect unbelievable paychecks, then sue because the NFL didn’t protect them from such danger. This doesn’t make any sense to me.
Coca Cola just bought out Topo Chico. Tell me it isn’t so. Coke, don’t mess this up!
Prayers for Las Vegas and our world right now.
– Lisa
