Today I walked into my office and found the evil ants… again. So, I put out a little ant appetizer, then watched them march from all over the office to devour it. The ants will be gone in the morning; I will vacuum, and all will be well. Then I read this story about a man in India sitting down to a dinner that his wife had just prepared and found ants in his rice, so he demanded an explanation. An altercation occurred and she strangled him with her scarf. Gentlemen, if you find any ants in your rice, first off, hide all the scarves, then try Terro Ant Bait before you mention anything at all to your partner.
The ants and the bees are, in many ways, far more intelligent and ingenious; they manage their government with vastly less quarreling, wastefulness and imbecility. H. L. Mencken
Most of us know that we need to minimize our exposure to Teflon. Yeesss, you do. I was texting a friend today about the carbon steel pan that I just ordered for my son for Christmas. My son’s request. He wants a carbon steel pan, an air-fryer, and boots. My own carbon-steel pan is fantastic. I seasoned it once per the instructions it came with. Just like an iron skillet except you use salt and high heat, and I haven’t had to season it again in the past year and half. Nothing really sticks. I wash it out by hand each time I use it using just a little soap and a swish of a sink brush, then dry it out with paper towels. So easy. It’s light weight (that was so important to me) and I wouldn’t trade it. So, if you’re looking for a great Christmas gift… there you go. Just like in a restaurant, so don’t expect it to be pretty and shiny, but it won’t expose you to health issues like testicular cancer, low birth weight, infertility, liver disease, kidney issues and thyroid disorders. Look up Teflon Coating Health Risks.
Politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason. Mark Twain
General Motors revealed a new electric SUV that is expected to be the cheapest compact electric SUV on the market. The Chevrolet Equinox EV will have a starting price around $30,000 which will make it among the cheapest electric vehicles of its kind. The average electric vehicle available today has a base sticker price of about $47,500, according to Edmunds.com.
Experts estimate you can reduce up to 15% of electricity used by your refrigerator by cleaning off the dust. When I read this, I immediately pulled the front panel off my kitchen fridge, and I was surprised to learn that I’m a super nasty person. Most of the time I only look behind my old appliances when they have to install a new appliance, or when I move to another house. There before me the nicest collection of dog hair, cat hair, dust, and dog & cat treats, but it’s clean now. Dust buildup makes the fridge use more energy to cool your food. In case you missed it, November 15th was National Clean Out Your Fridge Day, just in case you need more encouragement to get out the Windex and paper towels.
The great thing about getting older is that you don’t lose all the other ages you’ve been. Madeleine L’Engle
Sigh. A Florida woman (yep, Florida again) has filed a lawsuit (asking for up to $5 million) against Kraft Heinz’s for their Velveeta Shells & Cheese instant macaroni product, saying that it is not the easy, cheesy macaroni that it is advertised as. It takes too much time and too many steps to prepare. If you include ripping off the lid, adding water, and stirring in the prepackaged cheese sauce, then it takes longer than the 3-1/2 minutes advertised as the cooking time in the microwave. I say, what kind of attorney would take on a case like this. Then I answer myself with, “the kind of attorney that you probably wouldn’t want to represent you.”
RECENT BIRTHDAYS: TV personality Bill Nye (“Bill Nye the Science Guy”) is 67. Motown Records founder Berry Gordy Jr. is 93. Singer Randy Newman is 79. Country singer Kristine Arnold of Sweethearts of the Rodeo is 66. Musician Paul Shaffer of Late Show with David Letterman is 73. Singer Gilbert O’Sullivan is 76. Actor Judd Nelson is 63. Blues musician John Mayall is 89. One of my all-time favorites. Actor Diane Ladd is 87. Musician Chuck Mangione is 82. Director Joel Coen is 68. Actor Brendan Fraser is 54.
Actor director Woody Allen is 87. Singer Dianne Lennon of the Lennon Sisters is 83. Singer-guitarist Eric Bloom of Blue Oyster Cult is 78. Drummer John Densmore of The Doors is 78. Actor-singer Bette Midler is 77. Actor Treat Williams is 71. Actor Charlene Tilton is 64. News anchor Stone Phillips is 68. Singer Ozzy Osbourne is 74. Actor Daryl Hannah is 62. Actor Julianne Moore is 62. Actor Cathy Lee Crosby is 78.
Singer and actor Irene Cara, best known as Coco Hernandez in the 1980 musical Fame, and was the voice behind Flashback… What a Feeling, which she co-wrote, has died at 63. Actor Clarence Gilyard of Walker, Texas Ranger, died at 66. French-American actor Robert Clary died at 96. He was a survivor of the Nazi death camp during WWII. What I found most interesting was that he was most famous for his role as a feisty prisoner of war Corporal Louis LeBeau in the unlikely 1960s sitcom Hogan’s Heroes. Before 1980, he remained silent about his true wartime experiences. He also had recurring roles in the soap operas Days of Our Lives, and The Bold and the Beautiful, along with live theater performances and was a wonderful artist.
Businessman and politician, governor of Kentucky (1979 – 1983) John Y. Brown Jr., died at 88 from complications of Covid. Brown established Kentucky Fried Chicken as a worldwide name and global corporation after he bought it from Harland Sanders in 1964. He also owned three basketball clubs, including the Boston Celtics. In 2009, Harvard Business School honored Brown as one of the top American Business Leaders of 20th century, along with Ray Kroc, Sam Walton, Walt Disney, and Bill Gates. Brown married three times, once to former Miss America Phyllis George and once to a former Mrs. America.
Lauri Cherian is a local actor, teacher, volunteer, mother, wife, great friend, and is now a writer of poetry. Lauri will be holding a poetry reading open to the public at the Lake Jackson Library on Friday, December 2nd from 11 am to 12:30 pm. Congratulations Lauri and thank you for your hard work in the kitchen at Madrigal Feast. Madrigal Feast is now at The Center for the Arts and Sciences. The meal, dessert, and show are absolutely fantastic. You should try to come. It’s a great memorable way to start the Season. 979-265-7661. A Night of Worship W/ Justin Gambino + Friends is planned for Saturday, December 10th at 5pm, at the Brazoria County Courthouse. Everyone loves Justin. Congratulations Brazoswood Water Polo teams, (boys earned in the very first Class UIL 6A State Championship and the girls are the Texas UIL 6A State Runner-Up). Most of all, congratulations to Coach Robert Brown, the man who worked so hard in past years for my own child, for my friend’s children, and for continuing his tradition of being one of the most beloved and respected coaches at BISD. Hard-working assistant coach is Kiel Haner.
A new Alzheimer’s drug shows promise for slowing the disease but may contain significant risks such as brain bleeds, swelling and other side effects. A Buddhist temple in central Thailand has been left without a single monk when they all tested positive for methamphetamine. Oh, dear. Two never-before seen ‘alien’ minerals were found in a 2.5-ounce slice of a gigantic meteorite weighing 16.5 tons, discovered in 2020. Meteorites are meteors that survive traveling through the Earth’s atmosphere and land on the ground. A third mineral may have been identified, but it is still being reviewed. What will they find if they look through all 16.5 tons?
This one is fun. A man posted a TikTok video that showed him cutting off the zip-ties where a neighbor had attached her snow fence to the man’s guttering on his house. The next video he posted said, Update: this morning the neighbor put these two things in her window facing our house where the snow fence is. People responded saying that the two objects were motion detectors. Along with this information came ideas and encouragement to trigger the motion detectors 100% of the time… so the words I should use would be constant motion. Hmmm. How about a bird feeder that you never let go empty. How about a perpetual motion waving cat or an inflatable lawn decoration, then pray for wind. It’s my new favorite show. Who is bringing the popcorn?
A 1969 orange Dodge Charger, one of four built and previously owned by John Schneider, who played Bo Duke in The Dukes of Hazzard, recently sold at auction for $194,400. A Harley-Davidson FLH Electra-Glide motorcycle purchased by Marlon Brando in 1970, just sold for $216,000. Do you remember the Gianni Versace dress that Princess Diana wore in a photo shoot in 1991, that was used on the cover of Harper’s Bazaar Tribute to a Princess issue in 1997. It was figure-hugging shimmering blue-green, and her hair was slicked back where it looked almost wet. Well, that dress just sold for $172,800. A Marilyn Monroe worn dress from her final film in 1962, Something’s Got to Give, recently sold for $313,200. The figure-hugging silk crepe dress is printed with scattered painterly roses in shades of persimmon and deep cherry with a plunging V back. Very pretty.
Teller the Wonder Dog loves to chew on things, so I bought some bones with yummy centers. You know, very expensive fake marrow. He loved them, but I discovered that they shed crumbs of fake marrow and attracted many of our very dependable office ants, so I decided to take the bones to the SPCA for the outside dogs to chew on. Teller just doesn’t go outside during the day unless he is on a leash, so I loaded up the bones in a plastic bag with Teller very curiously watching me as I took them to the car, constantly giving me the look that was supposed to remind me that they belonged to HIM. Just imagine the longing look on a baby’s face when you take away their pacifier or bottle for the last time. That’s the look that was on his sweet little face when we dropped the bag off at the door of the SPCA. I had rolled down the window on his side and he kept looking back at the bones, then looking back at me like saying, “Wait, you forgot something, the bones, you forgot MY bones.” They grow up so fast.
Tom Cruise is set to become the first actor to shoot a movie in outer space. Yep. Plans are to take a rocket up to the Space Station and shoot part of a movie, but most of it would be shot on Earth. Does Tom realize that he just turned 60? I bet it’s hard to get him insured on a set. James Cameron’s sequel to Avatar, Avatar: The Way of Water, is expected to be a huge box office hit. It opens on December 16th. Avatar made history 13 years ago by becoming the top-grossing film of all time with $2.92 BILLION in ticket sales. The Way of Water is three hours and 14 minutes long. It stars Zoe Saldana, Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, and Stephen Lang. Newcomers are Vin Diesel and Kate Winslet. I just loved the first Avatar. Taylor Lautner is an actor best known for playing shapeshifter Jacob Black in The Twilight Saga film series. He just married and his new wife, also named Taylor, was Team Edward before they started dating, not Team Jacob. Silly girl.
In a symbolic break from the Middle Ages, Camilla, Queen Consort, has dispensed with the title of ladies-in-waiting, instead appointing a group of five personal assistants who will be known as Queen’s Companions. Queen Elizabeth’s remaining ladies-in-waiting will stay on, helping King Charles host events at Buckingham Palace. They will now be called “ladies of the household.” A name all working women share. Have a great shopping week. Remember, memories are the best gift.
LISA
Send comments to Lisa Baker at lisa@thesourceweekly.com
