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What I Heard This Week 02-22-2024

What I Heard This Week February 21, 2024

 

In Arizona (you thought I was going to say Florida, didn’t you), an alligator floating in a pond received quite a few 911 calls from concerned residents. One person reported they saw three live alligators – one under the bridge and one that was swimming around; while another person stated that the alligator bit their boyfriend’s fishing line and they had to cut it. The only problem was that the very realistic-looking, single alligator was made of foam and had been placed there by the City of Mesa Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities so that the ducks, birds, turtles, and other animals would have a place to gather and hang out. They also added a fake crocodile and two fake hippos. This is one good example of why you can’t believe everything you hear… read… OR SEE.


More positive vacation news. A disruptive incident (fistfight/brawl) occurred onboard, in the air, on a Southwest flight from Oakland to Kauai. There is even an available video, foul language, hitting and blood. The two men are now facing criminal charges of up to $37,000. Together or each – don’t know. I just hope it includes jail time, losing their jobs, plus a lifetime ban on flying. It just doesn’t make any sense that people are so unhappy, now believing that any kind of behavior is acceptable.


I have officially resigned from adulthood. Decisions will be made using the eenie-meenie-miney-moe method and arguments will be settled by sticking out my tongue. I’ll be at recess if you need me.


Have you heard of West Side Story, Into the Woods, Sweeney Todd, or the song, Send in the Clowns? This past weekend I worked with several new and old friends, bussing tables and washing dishes as ticket holders were served a Valentine dinner of salad, lasagna, and crème brulee during a musical presentation of Side by Side by Sondheim at Center Stages.  We are so lucky to have such talented individuals in our community to pull off something as grand as this performance, especially since tickets were just $40, for dinner theatre! Even better were discussions of the lyrics of the Sondheim songs I heard from Mary while we worked.  If you think you might enjoy being a volunteer in art, theater, science, space, or music, or even washing dishes, there is a place for you at The Center for the Arts and Sciences. They are having a Volunteer Open House on March 2 from 11 am to 1 pm. This will give you an opportunity to check out the art gallery & studio, two theaters, science museum, and planetarium, all while visiting with staff and volunteers. There are opportunities for museum attendants, set builders, art classes, servers at intermission… the list is endless. Volunteering helps you live longer, relieves stress as it releases endorphins that encourages prosocial behavior, empathy, concern for others, and puts you in such a good mood that you don’t get into fights on planes. Surely, I have convinced you! If you want to volunteer, you couldn’t ask for a better place. Questions: Contact ahelms@bcfas.org or 979-265-7661. This Thursday is the BASF Planetarium Scholastic Bowl, an evening of trivia and fun. You may want to have your own team answering questions about art, science, pop culture and local interests. It is SO MUCH FUN.


I was raised to be charming, not sincere. Stephen Sondheim


Daylight Saving Time: I am really enjoying the daylight lasting longer each day. Teller and I go walking downtown in the afternoons, and he really enjoys it, smelling and hiking his leg on EVERYTHING. On March 10, 2024, if all goes well, we will SPRING forward again.


Charlotte the Stingray, age 12-14 years, is about to give birth…any day now. The problem is that Charlotte hasn’t been around any male stingrays in her tank at the North Carolina aquarium. One possibility is either Larry or Moe mated with Charlotte… but Larry and Moe are little sharks. The only other explanation is that Charlotte is going through a very rare process called parthenogenesis, where eggs develop on their own without fertilization and create a clone of the mother. The last study of parthenogenesis in stingrays took place 25 years ago. When Charlotte gives birth (she could have as many as four pups), and if they survive, they will have to double the size of Charlotte’s current home. DNA testing can then be performed to determine if they’re a mixed breed (mutt) or clones of their mother. They called it a once in a blue moon experience. Isn’t science and nature great. Where there is a will, there is a way.


“In French, you don’t say ‘I miss you.’ You say, ‘Tu me manques’, which means ‘you are missing from me.’ I love that.”


According to the Presidential Greatness Project, the New Survey of Scholars finds Abraham Lincoln is the favorite and remains America’s Greatest President. Here is the list. Some may surprise you; some may NOT surprise you.
2024 Ranking of Presidents
#1. Lincoln  2.FD Roosevelt  3.Washington  4.T Roosevelt  5.Jefferson  6.Truman  7.Obama  8. Eisenhower  9.LB Johnson  10.Kennedy  11.Madison  12.Clinton  13.J Adams  14.Biden  15.Wilson  16.Reagan  17.Grant  18.Monroe  19.GHW Bush  20.JQ Adams  21.Jackson  22.Carter  23.Taft  24.McKinley  25.Polk  26.Cleveland  27.Ford  28.Van Buren  29.Hayes  30.Garfield  31.Harrison  32.GW Bush  33.Arthur  34.Coolidge  35.Nixon  36.Hoover  37.Tyler  38.Taylor  39.Fillmore 40.Harding  41.Harrison  42.Pierce  43.Johnson  44.Buchanan  45.Trump.


Hate. It has caused a lot of problems in this world, but it has not solved one yet. Maya Angelou


Golf legend Tiger Woods announced his 27-year partnership with Nike is over. This comes right after Nike announced plans to cut $2 billion in costs over the next three years. Velvet Taco is opening their first airport location at Hobby. If you have never, ever had a Velvet Taco, you’re in for a treat. Cat Food: I’ve said this before, check the ingredients in your cat food. Many popular brands, even ones labeled healthy or natural, contain powdered cellulose derived from wood pulp, also known as sawdust.


Estate Planning: Legendary songwriter genius, Beach Boy Brian Wilson recently lost his wife of almost 30 years. She was his caregiver and managed his daily needs before her death on January 30. But there was no successor to his late wife. His family has now filed to put Wilson under a conservatorship because of his recent diagnosis of dementia. Two longtime Brian Wilson representatives, his publicist and manager, will now oversee his personal and medical decisions, but not his estate and finances.  Jay Leno has filed for conservatorship over his wife’s estate after her dementia diagnosis, in order to create a living trust so that she has managed assets in case of his death.


Sitting here at my desk eating the remains of my lunch, a salad from Luby’s with sunflower seeds, cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers, spinach, purple cabbage, mushrooms and of course, lettuce. There are so few places in town to get a good to-go side salad, so I just thought I should remind you. It was such a nice addition to my lunch of my roasted chicken, fried okra, and mashed potatoes. Yeah, Luby’s. Liver and onions next week.


You don’t love someone for their looks, or their clothes, or for their fancy car, but because they sing a song only you can hear.  Oscar Wilde


Capital One is set to buy Discover for $35.3 billion. The credit card industry is dominated by Visa, Mastercard and American Express, with Discover in 4th place. The most interesting part of this is hearing Americans are deep in debt with a record high of more than $1.1 trillion. On the morning news it said 49% of cardholders carry debt from month to month, and an average credit card balance is $6,088. The Rule of Thumb: pay off your credit card balance every month except for emergencies. A $5.25 Starbucks Caramel Macchiato is NOT an emergency.


William “Bill” Post died at 96. Who in the heck is Bill Post? Well, in the early 60’s, he was plant manager at Hekman Biscuit Co. One day a bunch of suits (VP’s) showed up with their vision – a piece of pie in the shape of a slice of bread, complete with fork marks around the edge… basically just two pieces of dough with filling. The guys requested they needed something like that… except they wanted it toaster-ready. Post promised them he would have something in two weeks. They were originally called fruit scones, but Andy Warhol’s pop art was very popular, so it became Pop-Tarts. In 1964, there was strawberry, blueberry, brown sugar cinnamon and apple currant. In 2022 consumers bought 3 billion Pop Tarts…that’s almost a billion dollars in pop-tarts sales. I know I ate plenty when I was a kid. Bet you did too. Hope you have a great weekend.

Thanks for reading us this week. Please sell something.

Lisa


Send comments to Lisa Baker at lisa@thesourceweekly.com

  • What I Heard This Week 10-26-2023

    by on October 25, 2023 - 0 Comments

    Former US astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon, recently remarried for the fourth time, which also happened to be on the occasion of his 93rd birthday. This time it was to Dr. Anca Faur, his 63-year-old, long-time companion (who looks like she wants to be 27), has a PhD in chemical engineering, and is now the executive vice president of Aldrin’s company, Buzz Aldrin Ventures.  He was first married to Joan Ann Archer in 1954 until divorcing in 1974. The next year he married Beverly Van Zile; they divorced after three years. His third marriage was to Lois Driggs Cannon in 1988 on Valentine's Day, divorcing 23 years later. Looks like he hasn’t given up on ‘love’ quite yet. He has sued two of his children and his former business manager claiming they stole money from him and are slandering his legacy, and that they also undermined his "personal romantic relationships" by forbidding him from getting married. His children say he is also spending money at an alarming rate. Sounds like those children are out of luck. There is a new sheriff in town and her name is MRS. Aldrin. ☹ Notes: Aldrin is also a strong advocate for human exploration of Mars. In 2002, he escaped assault charges after punching a man who demanded he swear on a Bible that the Moon landing was not staged. Good for him. He also said, “Tang sucks. “

  • What I Heard This Week 11-30-2023

    by on November 29, 2023 - 0 Comments

    Former US astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon, recently remarried for the fourth time, which also happened to be on the occasion of his 93rd birthday. This time it was to Dr. Anca Faur, his 63-year-old, long-time companion (who looks like she wants to be 27), has a PhD in chemical engineering, and is now the executive vice president of Aldrin’s company, Buzz Aldrin Ventures.  He was first married to Joan Ann Archer in 1954 until divorcing in 1974. The next year he married Beverly Van Zile; they divorced after three years. His third marriage was to Lois Driggs Cannon in 1988 on Valentine's Day, divorcing 23 years later. Looks like he hasn’t given up on ‘love’ quite yet. He has sued two of his children and his former business manager claiming they stole money from him and are slandering his legacy, and that they also undermined his "personal romantic relationships" by forbidding him from getting married. His children say he is also spending money at an alarming rate. Sounds like those children are out of luck. There is a new sheriff in town and her name is MRS. Aldrin. ☹ Notes: Aldrin is also a strong advocate for human exploration of Mars. In 2002, he escaped assault charges after punching a man who demanded he swear on a Bible that the Moon landing was not staged. Good for him. He also said, “Tang sucks. “

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    The power went out at my house last night for four hours. While this may not seem like a major catastrophe as it was the middle of the night and […]

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  • What I Heard This Week! December 20, 2018

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