Last night I needed a single something from Target, so off I went. The store was fairly empty an hour before they normally close, so there was no human interaction from stockers or shoppers. 10 minutes of speed shopping later, I had a cat scratching post, 5 cans of cat food for the sweet stray in this column, a date book for 2024, and a bag of urinary tract dry cat food. No basket needed because I was just going to buy just one thing… so I struggled carrying my load to the front to find (as usual) that there were no humans available to check me out, just self-checking… I think a real human is just a benefit you should always have when shopping anywhere. So, when the self-checking female voice started talking to me, I answered back, and when she thanked me for shopping, I told her thank you, mentioning it was my pleasure to finally have someone to talk to in the store. Then I looked up to see someone in a red Target vest on the other side of the counter just watching me as I talked to the cash register. I just smiled like I talk to cash registers all the time and then walked away. It was very much MY pleasure. But yes, I probably was lonesome.
Christmas movies: Linda Gray (Dallas), Donna Mills (), Loni Anderson (WKRP in Cincinnati), Nicollette Sheridan (Knots Landing), and Morgan Fairchild (Falcon Crest), star as five glamorous soap opera queens in Lifetime’s Ladies of the ‘80’s: A Divas Christmas. The storyline is, the ‘80’s divas reunite to shoot the final Christmas episode of their long-running former (fictional) series, The Great Lakes. Premieres December 2. Let’s face it, these divas rocked the fashion world of the 80’s. I will watch!
Supposedly there are 114, give or take a few, new Christmas movies in 2023 on Hallmark, Bet+, Lifetime, Netflix, OWN, Great American Family and more networks. There is a prequel to the Hunger Games, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes on Nov 17. The Marvels on Nov 10. May December with Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman on November 17. Trolls Band Together with Justin Timberlake and Anna Kendrick on Nov 17. Maestro with Bradley Cooper as legendary conductor/composer Leonard Bernstein on Nov 22. Napoleon with Joaquin Phoenix as the French commander on Nov 22. A Disney animated musical, Wish on Nov 22. The dark fantasy comedy Poor Things with Emma Stone as a woman brought back to life by a mad scientist on Dec 8. American Fiction on Dec 15 with Sterling K. Brown. The prequel to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory called Wonka with Timothee Chalamet and Hugh Grant on Dec 15. All of Us Strangers on Dec 22. The Iron Claw with Zac Efron and Lily James about a tight-knit Texas pro-wrestling family in the ‘80’s, appears on Dec 22. Director George Clooney brings us The Boys in the Boat, the true story of the University of Washington rowing team at the 1936 Summer Olympics, on Dec 25. The musical adaptation of The Color Purple on Dec 25. The biopic, Ferrari with Adam Driver, Penelope Cruz, Patrick Dempsey, and Shailene Woodley starring in the dangerous 1,000-mile race across Italy in 1957 also appears on Dec 25. Killers of the Flower Moon is being discussed as the best movie to date in 2023. There are more movies but not enough room to list. When the families start arriving for the holidays, you’ll have something to do.
This is a tragic story … A poacher, along with four of his poacher friends, illegally entered Kruger National Park in South Africa on foot to hunt for rhinoceroses. This is where the story gets sad. The poacher was trampled to death by an elephant. Then… a pride of lions did their part and all that was left was a skull and a pair of pants. The end. (Upon further reading, I found that this is an old story, first showing up in 2019 – oh, well, I’m still going to leave it in because it’s a good… I mean sad story.)
Live a good and honorable life. Then, when you are older, you can look back and enjoy it a second time. – Dalai Lama (unless, of course, you are eaten by the lions)
RECENT BIRTHDAYS: Actor-singer Julie Andrews is 88. Astrophysicist and Cosmos host Neil deGrasse Tyson is 65. Actor Britt Ekland is 81. Bond Girl in The Man with the Golden Gun. TV host Joy Behar of The View is 81. Saxophonist Jerry Martini of Sly and the Family Stone is 80. Singer Don McLean is 78. American Pie. Musician Sting is 72. Singer Chubby Checker is 82. The Twist. Singer-guitarist Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac is 74. Blues singer Keb’ Mo’ is 72. Five Grammy Awards. Drummer Tommy Lee of Motley Crue is 61. Actor Susan Sarandon is 77. Actor-comedian Chevy Chase is 80. Singer David Lee Roth of Van Halen is 69. Actor Stephanie Zimbalist of Remington Steele is 67. Singer Jackson Browne is 75. Actor Scott Bakula is 69. Actor John O’Hurley of Seinfeld is 69. Singer Daryl Hall of Hall and Oates is 77. Maneater. Singer Sammy Hagar is 76.
Colorado authorities say that a man told police that his wife fell asleep on an Amtrak train headed from Milwaukee to Denver during a move, was then found unresponsive, and died. Seven years later the husband has been charged with her murder. At the time, the woman had been found with a large number of injuries that her husband said were injuries from their move. Hmmm. What took them 7 years? In Australia, a 49-year-old woman has been charged with murder of her estranged husband’s parents and their sister-in-law, after hosting a dinner party and serving death cap mushrooms. She is also charged with three attempted murders in three other separate incidents in 2021 and 2022, where the individuals became ill after eating her meals. Hmmm. What took them so long? Did they think that she was just a bad cook?
Sometimes I think I read too much, then I laugh and turn the page.
The Texas Rangers won their FIRST World’s Series defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks in five games. Alvin native Nolan Ryan was signed by the Houston Astros in 1979, then 10 years later, he joined the Texas Rangers. Both the Astros and Rangers retired the number 34. So, is he an Astro or a Ranger? Either way, I bet he is proud. Reba McEntire has a new album and book titled Not That Fancy: Simple Lessons on Living, Loving, Eating, and Dusting Off Your Boots. To help celebrate this achievement, 40 corn mazes in 23 different states were designed in her likeness by MAiZE, each maze a little different. Texas has Circle S Acres in San Angelo and Jenschke Orchards in Fredericksburg. A-maze-ing.
To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone, and a funny bone. Reba McIntire
Those that know me and read this column, know that I love animals. Most of them are nicer than people. Rescues make such good pets. Teller, the downtown stray found during COVID, has made the most terrific member of our family, coming to work with me at The Source Weekly each and every day; Winnie and Sully, kitty survivors of Hurricane Harvey not quite 3 weeks old when we found them, and Oliver Twist, a survivor of a journey in the engine of a suburban all the way over from Wild Peach (with the owners knowledge that he was in the engine). He was a little burned, but paws healed and whiskers grew back… it took a year plus for him to settle down where you could reach down to him for a little scratch and not have him run away. But now he is the best little lover boy around. Which leads me to a very sweet grey kitty (probably 6 months old) living at the back of my office right now. I found her last Thursday and ran to buy cat food. Then because I was moving my mom this past weekend, a friend fed and watered her for three days. Thank you, Michelle. Trust me, this little girl would make someone a great pet. She is so sweet, loves humans but starving for food and attention… She still eats like she is famished so she may need some therapy but what’s a little therapy in the whole scheme of things… Her little ear has been notched which means she was fixed then re-released to the wild, but I don’t believe this girl wants or needs to be on the streets. If you have been thinking about adding a new member to your family, I have an idea. She is precious. Come by. But I really do believe she would make a great inside pet. She is just so loving. Solid gray with spots of white on her belly and the most beautiful green eyes. And she has been fixed!! Just think of me as your kitty dating service CATch.com. Please spread the word to your friends. We need to find her a good home. She deserves it. SEE PAGE 9 CENTERFOLD.
Being 20 in the 70’s was more fun than being seventy in the 20’s.
U.S. Capitol police found a gun with a giggle switch – what is a giggle switch, you ask – it happens to turn a gun into a machine gun. This one was found after two men crashed a stolen car into a barricade outside the Capitol. In the car was a Glock handgun with a 22-round extended magazine, then hidden in a nearby flowerbed was a Glock with the giggle switch. I would have to call a giggle switch, immature and unwise behavior by good people, and an opportunity by dangerous people. WE have a new range of bad behavior from inhabitants living amongst us. November 9-12, there will be a PropStore’s Entertainment Memorabilia auction. If you have some extra pocket change ($1.2 million or more) to spend you can own an original Star Wars C-3PO head from 1976. They also have Indiana Jones’ whip from Temple of Doom, Freddy Krueger’s glove from A Nightmare on Elm Street, and the shield from Captain America: The First Avenger. Even Stanley Kubrick’s original annotated shooting script for The Shining is also available along with so much more.
I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list.
Thank you for sticking with us this week. We do appreciate you. I’m going to leave you with this thought. When I read it the first time, I had to think about it, then read it again, then think about it again. Thought provoking.
LISA
What if they’re not stars… but holes poked into the top of a container so we can breathe.
Send comments to Lisa Baker at lisa@thesourceweekly.com
