The FDA has approved the first drug in nearly 20-years to treat the flu. The oral medication, Xofluza, is designed to reduce symptoms and shorten the flu’s duration for people who have developed their flu symptoms in the past 48-hours.
The husband and wife that fell to their deaths recently at Yosemite National Park were apparently taking a selfie. Taft Point allows visitors to walk to the edge of a vertigo-inducing granite ledge that doesn’t have a railing. Park visitors discovered the couple’s camera and tripod near the ledge the next morning. Hikers who had seen the couple the day before said that the woman seemed very comfortable close to the edge.
In a recent auction, five bottles of wine sold for nearly $2-million total, each joining the list of the priciest bottles in history.
In January of this year, a bottle of the world’s most expensive vodka was stolen from a bar in Copenhagen. The bottle was on loan to the bar, uninsured and estimated to be worth $1.3-million. The bottle was covered in about 6.6 pounds of gold, 6.6 pounds of silver and the cap was encrusted with diamonds in the shape of the Russian Imperial Eagle with the actual bottle made of bullet-proof glass. The bottle was later found empty at a construction site. Hmmm.
California Governor Jerry Brown has been named executive chairman of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, a group that measures ‘manmade threats to human existence.’ The planet is in one of its most dangerous times since the atomic bomb was dropped and Brown stated, “it is crucial to wake people up to the dangers that still persist.” You know, little things like nuclear weapons, climate change (have you paid attention to our weather lately? Turn off your lights, drive less, switch to LED, plan a meatless meal one day a week, NY and London are already thinking of solutions for potential rising tides), pollution (Google: Great Pacific Garbage Patch, recycle), oceanic dead zones (146 dead zones were found in the world’s oceans, caused by high levels of chemicals in the waters. North America’s Gulf Coast has a high concentration of dead zones, which causes fish to become unable to reproduce), explosive population growth (the human population is growing to a point that our society and systems can’t handle), deforestation (use recycled paper and plant a tree), loss of biodiversity (bees and butterflies) and the list goes on and on. Again, I repeat (with a sarcastic edge.) What if it’s a big hoax and we create a better world for nothing?
In Time Magazine said that there was a tiny little article that said there was a study published showing that climate change may make beer more expensive. eee-gads. I had to know more. Nature Plants says that the price of beer could double with climate change, as droughts and extreme temperatures will cause barley yields to drop. If this doesn’t get your attention, then nothing will. 😊
Venice, Italy was hit with a high tide this week, leaving about 70% of the city covered in 5ft. of water. There was a combination of more rain in two days than they’d had in 3 months and the highest tide in years, then news stated because of rising sea levels, the Venetians could expect this again in the future.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone was released in 1998 which makes it now 20 years old. Hard to believe. Just think. Those kids have kids reading the series now. These books brought so much joy to my own kids that if asked, I would suggest this as the “best” gift you could give a child. My 19-year-old daughter agrees since she has read the whole series four times and is listening to the audio books right now while she works in the studio for architecture at college. Put it on your Christmas list.
RECENT BIRTHDAYS: Rock singer musician Bob Weir is 71. Grateful Dead. Actress Dawn Wells is 80. Mary Ann on Gilligan’s Island. Actress Pam Dawber is 68. Mork & Mindy. Writer producer Chuck Lorre is 66. Called the “King of Sitcoms” he has created and produced Grace Under Fire, Cybill, Dharma & Greg, Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, Mike & Molly, Mom, and Young Sheldon. Actor Jean-Claude Van Damme is 58. Kung Fu Panda 2 & 3. Jazz musician Wynton Marsalis is 57. Actor Zac Efron is 31. The Greatest Showman. Actor Tim Robbins is 60. Rock musician Flea is 56. Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Singer John Mayer is 41. Fashion designer Donna Karan is 70. Photographer Annie Leibovitz is 69. Singer actor Sting is 67. Country singer Kelly Willis is 50. Talk-show host Kelly Ripa is 48. I still remember her as a teen in All My Children. Astronaut Mae Jemison is 62. She resigned from NASA in ‘93 to start a company researching the application of technology to daily life and holds nine honorary doctorates in science, engineering, letters, and the humanities. Country singer Alan Jackson is 60. Movie critic Richard Roeper is 59.
Rockabilly singer Wanda Jackson is 81. Queen of Rockabilly or the First Lady of Rockabilly. Actor Viggo Martensen is 60. The Lord of the Rings. Rapper Snoop Dogg is 47. My son met and got his picture made with him last month when he was in Houston for a show. Cute picture. Actress Marion Ross is 90. Happy Days. Basketball Hall of Fame Bob Knight is 78. Nicknamed ‘The General.’ Pop singer Helen Reddy is 77. I Am Woman, I Don’t Know How to Love You, Delta Dawn. Political strategist James Carville is 74. Pop singer Katy Perry is 34. Singer Ciara is 33. Rock singer Manfred Mann is 78. Blinded by the Light.
Judge Judy Sheindlin is 76. She should run for president. Actor Jeremy Miller is 42. Ben Seaver on Growing Pains. Black Panthers co-founder Bobby Seale is 82. Actor Christopher Lloyd is 80. Doc Brown in the Back to the Future. Actress Catherine Deneuve is 75. Actor Jeff Goldblum is 66. Christian singer Toby-Mac is 54. Former First-Daughter Amy Carter is 51. Rock musician Zac Hanson is 33. Hanson Brothers. Soccer great Pele is 78. Artist Peter Max is 81.
We are the people our parents warned us about. Jimmy Buffet
In 1955, Dorcas Reilly was a Campbell Soup kitchen supervisor. She has died at the age of 92. This probably doesn’t mean much to you except for the fact that she created the dish that every single one of us has eaten on Thanksgiving for as long as we can remember. Green beans and cream of mushroom soup topped with crunchy fried onions. Yep. Green Bean Casserole. That dish was among hundreds that were created during her time at Campbells (1940’s to 1988 when she retired,) but it has remained the most popular recipe to ever come out of the corporate kitchen. I’m going to make it gluten free for my son this Thanksgiving because I was able to find a can of gluten-free onion rings at Aldi and I’ll use homemade cream of mushroom soup that I have put up in the freezer that is wheat-free. I will make “good mother” points for this, I can assure you.
Found on Facebook: Didn’t win the lottery, but I did wake up in the best country in the world and that’s kind of the same thing.
When someone says they have 20/20 vision, what exactly does that mean? Well, that means you’re able to see an object at a distance of 20 ft. For someone with 20/60 vision to see clearly, they must be 20 ft. from an object that a person with normal vision can see at 60 ft. It’s not unusual for the average Major League Baseball player to have 20/12 vision. That could be one of the reasons they’re so good at aiming their bat at ball racing towards them at triple-digit speed.
While I was piddling around this week I came across a list. ‘21 Books That Everyone Should Read’. 1. War and Peace – legendary masterpiece. 2. Song of Solomon – Nobel Prize winning author. 3. The Fountainhead. 4. Ulysses. 5. The Shadow of the Wind. 6. The Lord of the Rings. 7. The Satanic Verses. 8. Don Quixote – “one of the best books of all time”. 9. The Golden Compass – fantasy tale. 10. Catch-22. 11. 1984. 12. The Kite Runner. 13. Little Women. 14. The Cloud Atlas. 15. The Picture of Dorian Gray 16. Lolita – funny. 17. The Help – beautiful & funny. 18. The Liar’s Club. 19. Moby-Dick. 20. Gravity’s Rainbow. 21. The Handmaid’s Tale. These are just some reading ideas that will make you smarter, funnier and prettier – ok, not prettier, but definitely well-read.
It takes no more time to see the good side of life than to see the bad. Jimmy Buffett
Rowan Atkinson (63) is back in Johnny English Strikes Again. The official trailer is a hoot but maybe they’re just showing all the funny parts. “When the identity of every field agent in the UK is exposed, they have no choice but to bring Johnny out of retirement.” The British comedian say he was excited to once again play the spy who’s not as good as he thinks he is. Emma Thompson plays the prime minister.
Olympic gold medalist Mary Lou Retton and her husband of 27 years, Shannon Kelley, were recently divorced.
I was at H-E-B last night and found myself in front of the freezer section staring (again) at the frozen pizzas and wondering (again) which one was the best pizza to pick up for office lunches on the days I forget to bring my leftovers. I didn’t leave the store with a pizza. Imagine my surprise when I opened The Chronicle this morning and saw their list of the ‘Top’ grocery store frozen pizzas. In repeating this information to you, I’m going to list just their #1 pizza choice in each of the four categories. *Classic Brands – Freschetta Naturally Rising Crust Pepperoni Pizza. *Fancy Pizzas – Bola Pizza Lamb. *Tons of Toppings – Home Run Inn Deluxe Pizza and *Gluten-Free Pies – Against the Grain Nut-Free Pesto Pizza. Hope this helps you in your own selection. Our family favorite is still a package of Stonefire Naan bread, then we build our own with spinach, artichokes, green onions, pesto, fresh mozzarella and mushrooms.
People who think too much before they act don’t act too much. Jimmy Buffet
On October 2nd, a dwarf planet was located by astronomers far beyond Pluto. Its official name is 2015 TG387 but it earned the nickname ‘Goblin’ because it was first observed around Halloween 2015.
Book review: I just finished the 2008 book, Barbara Walters, Audition: A Memoir. She was the first woman to co-host an American news program in 1974 and in 1976 she became the first female co-anchor of a network evening news with Harry Reasoner. She fought many battles being a woman in a man’s world (when Frank McGee was host at NBC, he refused to do joint interviews with Walters unless he was given the first three questions) but she certainly paved the way for today’s women in broadcasting. It was a good read and I recommend it.
Pollinator Palooza, Butterflies & Bees, is set for Saturday November 3, from 10-4pm at Quintana Beach County Park Discovery Event Center. There will be a walk-in butterfly enclosure, crafts and activities, caterpillar & chrysalis exhibits, pollinator gardening tips, Brazoria County Beekeepers live bee hive display, local honey for sale and free milkweed seed while supplies last. 979-233-1461.
If life gives you limes, make margaritas. Jimmy Buffet
Thanks for taking the time today to pick up this paper and read this column. We appreciate it. Lisa Baker
