A couple of years ago, my daughter and I were often (very often) in the car driving to another town for water polo, so we listened to ‘Serial’, an investigative journalism podcast hosted by Sarah Keonig who narrates a nonfiction story over multiple episodes. The story was about Adnan Syed, who was convicted in 2000 in the murder of Hae Min Lee, his ex-high school sweetheart, whose body was found buried in a shallow grave in a Baltimore park the year before. Syed was sentenced to life in prison. His case made international headlines in 2014 when the Serial podcast profiled his conviction and cast doubt on his guilt. Syed has maintained his innocence throughout the years. On March 29^th, Adnan Syed was granted the right to a new trial. It was stated that he received poor legal counsel because his attorney didn’t make contact with a key witness. It’s definitely worth listening to the podcast.

Since March 2016, China lost control and had not been unable to communicate with their space station, Tiangong-1, which translates to “Heavenly Palace” in English. On Sunday, the school bus-sized, 9.4-ton structure re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere and the majority of the structure most likely burnt up upon re-entry. The rest of the space debris is believed to have fallen into the Pacific Ocean northwest of Tahiti.

It’s Prom season and it’s a really, expensive adventure for these kids so help them out. If you have ’prom’ things just hanging in your closet, call The Source Weekly to sell them and we will run your ad for FREE. 979-285-9200

Suspected mass murderer Nikolas Cruz, who allegedly killed 17 and injured 17 more with an AR-15 rifle at a high school on February 14, has been getting stacks and stacks of fan mail and love letters sent to the Broward County jail, along with hundreds of dollars in contributions from teenage girls, women and even older men. There are photographs, cards, and letters with some suggestive remarks, of course. Groupies are also joining Facebook communities to talk about how to help the killer. The public defender’s office says that they’ve never seen anything like it before. Cruz has not seen the mail because he is on suicide watch. Go figure why this would happen.

Blogger, Jennifer S. White – “I never thought dashing to Target without kids would feel like a mini-vacation, but it does.”  Jennifer, there’s not a mom around that doesn’t feel your joy! It has been called, ‘whimsical escapism” with an air of sophistication and serenity. Yep. Target.

Wisconsin police released body camera footage that captured the moment a suspect allegedly bit a K-9 dog. Yep. The ‘man’ bit the police dog.

Kidney disease has claimed the life of Ensa Cosby, 44-year-old daughter of Bill Cosby. She stayed out of the public spotlight for most of her life but did appear on The Cosby Show in a single episode in 1989. Jury selection began this week as the 80-year-old Bill Cosby now faces the charges that he drugged and molested former Temple University athletics administrator Andrea Constand at his home in 2004.

Hawaii lawmakers approved legislation that will make it legal for doctors to fulfill requests from terminally ill patients for prescription medication that will allow medically assisted suicide. Good.

Remember 2001 Space Odyssey? Well, this week is the 50^th anniversary. Film director Stanley Kubrick hired NASA engineers and consultants to make the sets as authentic as possible. He even asked astrophysicist and author Carl Sagan for help in depicting extraterrestrial life. It was not a box office or critical success when it came out, but today it’s considered one of the most influential films of all time and perhaps the greatest science-fiction film.

RECENT BIRTHDAYS: Rock musician Eric Clapton is 73. He has been a member or played with The Yardbirds, Derek and the Dominos, Delaney & Bonnie, Blind Faith, John Mayhall & the Bluesbreakers, The Dirty Mac, Cream, The Plastic Ono Band, The PowerHouse, The Louisiana Gator Boys, The Immediate All Stars, Chick Shack, Sting and the list goes on. Actor Robbie Coltrane is 68. He was hand-selected by J.K. Rowling to portray Hagrid the Giant in the Harry Potter series. Perfect pick. Actress Doris Day is 96. Oh, my.

Actor-Director Warren Beatty is 81. Yikes. TV Host Peter Marshall is 92. Singer Celine Dion is 50. Actor Paul Reiser is 61. Mad About You. Singer Tracy Chapman is 54. Rapper MC Hammer is 56. Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte is 73. Country singer Reba McEntire is 63. 1984 Olympic gold-medal gymnast Bart Conner is 60. He is married to Romanian Olympic gold medalist Nadia Comeneci.

Rapper Salt is 52. Salt-N-Pepper, Actor Vince Vaughn is 48. Singer Lady Gaga is 32. Singer Emmylou Harris is 71. Yikes. I’m showing my age but that’s another one that’s hard to believe Singer Wayne Newton is 76. Actor Alec Baldwin is 60. Comedian Eddie Murphy is 57. Actress Ali MacGraw is 79. Rhythm & blues singer Rudolph Isley is 79.

Reggae singer Jimmy Cliff is 70. Along with Bunny Wailer he is one of only two living musicians to hold the Order of Merit, the highest honor that can be granted by the Jamaican government for achievements in the arts and sciences. Movie Director Barry Sonnenfeld is 65. Men in Black. Singer Susan Boyle is 57.

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, South Africa’s ‘Mother of the Nation’ died at 81.

After a frantic 12-hour search in the fast-moving sewage of Los Angeles, a 13-year-old boy was rescued by firefighters after being swept almost a mile away when a plank broke covering an access portal to the sewage. It sounded like the sewage system is a maze underground. What a nice outcome.

Remember hearing that a woman shouldn’t use hair dye while she is pregnant? Well, doctors are now saying that hair dye generally isn’t in contact with the skin on your head long enough to do any significant damage or cause harm. If you have any cuts or scrapes on your scalp, it could increase absorption, but it’s a no-brainer that you shouldn’t EVER be putting hair dye on open cut. But there are still a huge bunch of believers that say NEVER dye your hair while pregnant. It’s a good thing that grey is in style.: 😊

Tom Hiddleston – “Every villain is a hero in his own mind.”

Elvis Presley changed history on a Gibson J200 guitar. Eric Clapton’s famous solo on the Beatles’ “While My Guitar Gently Weeps’’ was played on a Gibson, and when young B.B. King fled a burning building and realized he’d left his Gibson behind, he risked his life by going back inside to retrieve it. The fire had been accidentally started by two men fighting over a woman, and King gave his hollow-body guitar her name – Lucille. Now, after 116 years, the beloved Gibson guitar maker is fighting for life while facing debt of as much as $560-million due this summer. What happened?

Since the worldwide success of Disney-Pixar animated fantasy film, Coco, traditional Mexican guitars (the Paracho-style guitar played a central role in the movie) have seen a surge in sales in the tiny Mexican town of Paracho where prices for hand-made guitars range from 2,000 Mexican pesos ($104) to 20,000 pesos for those made with finer wood.

Lucinda, thank you for the cake that you brought by our office for Easter. It was delicious.

These guys had waited for five months but right before the start of the game at Minute Maid Park this week, one by one the Houston Astros players walked up on stage to receive their little black box containing their 2017 World Series 10.55 carat ring with 214 diamonds and nine natural orange sapphires.  The rings are huge. They have to be, to have Minute Maid Park, the trophy, 2017, and Houston Strong on there – and that’s just on one side of the ring. Go, Astros. We’re so proud.

Art. Music. Fun. This week at CenterFest. Yes, there will be art but let’s talk about the music which will be fabulous. Join us Friday night for Dale Watson. Only $20 general admission. Watson is an silver-pompadoured American country/Texas singer, guitarist, songwriter from Austin that sells out wherever he plays, and believe it or not, HE IS PLAYING HERE ON FRIDAY NIGHT. He believes in authentic country music, calls it Ameripolitan music, and as a result has become a favorite of critics, jazz, rock ‘n’ roll and alt-country fans. Pull up a video, put on your dancing shoes and I’ll see you on Friday night for craft beer, food, art and music at The Center for the Arts and Sciences. 979-265-7661. Saturday, we have family fun, more craft beer, Art March, art market, and music with Corey McGaughey at noon, Erica Honore at 3pm and Lost Vertigos at 6pm. Then Sunday is the E-Flat Porch Band at 1pm and Cole Degges at 4pm. I try to keep you informed of fun things to do but you have to turn off the TV, put up the lawnmower, grab your keys and get out of the house.

A note from my daughter: If you can, come on out and help Brazoswood High School National Honor Society make cancer history. Come to Slade Field on April 7^th from 2-8pm and enjoy games, food, entertainment and more. Proceeds benefit cancer research at University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Cancer has affected each and every one of us in some way. Let’s do our part.

San Francisco’s ‘Killing My Lobster’ troupe has a program that teaches sketch comedy to kids, then grownups take their work, rehearse it, add crazy props and perform it in front of a live audience. Now, that sounds like FUN theatre.

According to the new American Kennel Club rankings, Labrador Retrievers remain the country’s most popular purebred dog for the 27^th year while German Shepherds and Golden Retrievers have the No. 2 and No. 3 spots. French Bulldogs are No. 4 with the Bulldog coming in as No. 5. The Beagle, Poodle, Rottweiler, Yorkshire Terrier and German Shorthaired Pointer are No. 6 through 10.

The BIG Lake Jackson 75th Diamond Jubilee Parade is set for Sat., April 14^th. Everyone is invited to join the parade fun which will start at 11am at LJ Intermediate, travel downtown LJ, then return to LJI. Line-up begins at 9:45am. BISD is partnering to help with the parade, so our kiddos will be out in full force to be a part of this exciting event. Brazoswood HS and LJI bands will be marching with groups from all LJ schools and communities. Friends & neighbors from area businesses, industry, civic and community groups, come join in and honor the city. Get your fire truck, float, scout group, ball team, dance group, church members, clubs and decorate your cars, flatbeds, bikes or yourselves to walk in the parade, join city dignitaries, former mayors and Grand Marshall Grant Scoggins to celebrate rich history and honor LJ Pioneers. It won’t be much of a celebration without you so, come on. LakeJackson-Tx.gov

A Canadian teenager bought a $4 scratch lottery ticket and a bottle of sparking wine to celebrate her 18^th birthday and as luck would have it, then had to decide whether she wanted the $1-million lump sum or $1000 per week for the rest of her life. She considered her options and her age then decided to go for the weekly sum for life. What luck.

Have a great week and as always, thanks for reading this…Lisa