When I was a kid, refillable soda bottles (and milk bottles) were the norm. In earlier days, we left our milk bottles on the front porch for the milkman to pick up. The coke machines had racks on the sides of the machines to put your empty bottles to recycle. Could refillable bottles make a come-back? Coca-Cola says that by the end of the decade it will sell a quarter of its drinks in refillable packaging, a big step towards helping curb plastic pollution, but that is 7 to 8 years away, and it’s only a projected 25% of the product produced. I wonder what would it take to have refillable bottles everywhere, for everything?
Always make sure your kilt is short enough to do a jig, but long enough to hide your Lucky Charms!
Starbucks is introducing the Pistachio Latte, described as rich and creamy with a brown-buttery topping. When given a new pen, 97 percent of people write their own name. Actor Dakota Johnson is supposedly in talks to join a Spider-Man spinoff as Madame Web, a blind woman with psychic powers. According to The Washington Post, Trump’s impenetrable southern border wall has been breached more than 3,000 times. AMC Theatres revealed that they will employ surge pricing and charge more in North America for tickets to Batman starring Robert Pattinson. About 64% of Americans are fully vaccinated, but only 28% have received a booster dose.
As you are aware, my children bought me a Roomba robot vacuum cleaner for Christmas, and I am so in love with it. It doesn’t dust, clean toilets, or buy groceries, but the floors are incredibly clean, and with four furry family members, it’s just so much nicer. My phone app receives messages if Cousin Greg slacks off, gets stuck, his battery runs low, or even if his filter is dirty. The basics. But today I was back in graphics talking to Tina and I could hear my phone beeping, and beeping. Well, it was an SOS from Greg, and my phone said he was “stuck near a cliff.” Well, I tried to imagine where that could be. I have a one-story house and it’s close to the creek, but not a cliff. When I got home, I found him on the edge of a sisal rug, which might be just a tiny bit scary if you are used to the height of regular carpet, stuck between a cabinet piece and Teller’s crate. To this cute little vacuum cleaner, it must have seemed like The Cliffs of Moher in Ireland. I saved him!
One of our long-time customers commented today, that his own customers are making appointments with him, then never showing up for the gun safety classes. That’s not very nice. Small businesses are still hurting from the past 4-5 years of hurricanes, freezes, and a pandemic. Help us out. Commitment means staying loyal to what you said you were going to do, long after the mood you said it in has left you. Anonymous
QUIZ: Which president could simultaneously write in Greek with one hand and in Latin with the other? Answer below.
According to Wikipedia: Because Ireland became isolated from mainland Europe by rising sea levels before the last ice age had completely finished, it has fewer land animal and plant species than Great Britain or mainland Europe. There are 55 mammal species in Ireland (about 490 species in the U.S.), and of them only 26 land mammal species are considered native to Ireland. Some species, such as, the red fox, hedgehog and badger, are very common, whereas others, like the Irish hare, red deer and pine marten are less so. Aquatic wildlife, such as species of sea turtle, shark, seal, whale, and dolphin, are common off the coast. About 400 species of birds have been recorded in Ireland. Many of these are migratory, including the barn swallow. There are no snakes in Ireland, and only one species of reptile (the common lizard) is native to the island.
RECENT BIRTHDAYS: Guitarist David Gilmour of Pink Floyd is 76. Actor-director Rob Reiner is 75. Singer Kiki Dee is 75. TV personality John Stossel is 75. Singer Peter Wolf of The J. Geils Band is 76. Guitarist Ernie Isley of The Isley Brothers is 70. Songwriter Carole Bayer Sager is 78. Actor-director Micky Dolenz of The Monkees is 77. Bassist Randy Meisner of The Eagles & Poco is 76. Singer Gary Numan is 64. Considered one of the foremost pioneers in electronic dance music. NBC News anchor Lester Holt is 63. Country singer Mickey Gilley is 86. TV anchor Charles Gibson is 79. Guitarist Robin Trower of Procol Harum is 77. Guitarist Jimmie Fadden of The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is 74. Singer Edie Brickell is 56.
Singer Mark Lindsay of Paul Revere and the Raiders is 80. Actor Emmanuel Lewis of Webster is 51. Actor Chuck Norris is 82. Singer Dean Torrence of Jan and Dean is 82. Actor Sharon Stone is 64. Magician Lance Burton is 62. TV journalist Sam Donaldson is 88. Singer Mark Stein of Vanilla Fudge is 75. Singer Bobby McFerrin is 72. Don’t Worry, Be Happy. Country singer Jimmy Fortune of The Statler Brothers is 67. Actor Barbara Feldon of Get Smart is 89. Actor-singer Liza Minnelli is 76. Singer-songwriter James Taylor is 74. Singer Bill Payne of Little Feat is 73. Singer Marlon Jackson of The Jackson Five is 65.
Gary Brooker, founder and lead singer of Procol Harum (A Whiter Shade of Pale) died at 76.
Some days are just better than other days. One of our favorite readers (well, he is definitely one of our favorites NOW) stopped by the office to remind us of Saint Urho’s Day, celebrated on March 16th, the day prior to the better-known feast of some minor saint from Ireland (cough, cough, Saint Patrick), who was alleged to have driven out the snakes from that island. That’s nothing. The legendary Patron Saint of Finland chased the grasshoppers out of ancient Finland, thus saving the grape crop and the jobs of Finnish vineyard workers. Reading between the lines, this tells me that he also saved all the wine. The legend of Saint Urho originated in Northern Minnesota in the 1950’s. The story says Saint Urho did this by uttering the phrase, “Heinäsirkka, heinäsirkka, mene täältä hiiteen” – which roughly translated means, “Grasshopper, grasshopper, go to Hell“. His feast is celebrated by wearing the colors Royal Purple and Nile Green and is nearly always represented with grapes and grasshoppers as part of the celebration. I have relatives in Finland, so Happy St. Urho’s Day, Patrick, Emma, and Elias. I know you thought you were named after St. Patrick, but I bet now you wish they had named you Urho especially after learning all this new information. I guess this means corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, grasshoppers, AND wine to help us celebrate properly this month. Don’t you just love it when people take time to help educate you?
My Favorite Irish Toast:
May the light always find you on a dreary day; when you need to be home, may you find your way.
May you always have courage to take a chance, and may you never find frogs in your underpants.
Across Hollywood, studio execs are pulling upcoming movie releases from Russia. So far, Paramount and Sony Pictures have joined Walt Disney Co. and Warner Bros. in pulling upcoming films. It seems that cinemas in Russia are privately owned, not government owned, but many of the media-advertising platforms are state-owned. Without the global banking system SWIFT, studios may not be able to get any money back from their Russian distribution partners. The Academy is urging producers to terminate any business dealing with Russian companies, reminding them, “that the business that will use your films, pays taxes to the Russian budget, which finances the army that violated the borders of an independent state and buys missiles to bomb the civilian population of Europe.”
ANSWER: James Garfield was ambidextrous and was reportedly able to pull off the feat of writing in Greek with one hand while writing in Latin with the other. My mother always said that I couldn’t even walk and chew gum at the same time.
The Senate approved a $107 billion overhaul of the U.S. Postal Service. This will provide relief for the agency to modernize and invest in efficient service. “The Post Office usually delivers for us. Today we’re going to deliver for them,” said Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer.
All of my life, I have believed that people look better tanned. When I was going through chemotherapy, I put on loads of self-tanning cream, so I looked healthy, even though I really wasn’t. Today there is a tanning nasal spray that you inhale but it is not FDA approved, and the potential side effects include nausea, increased blood pressure, dizziness, and vomiting. The inside of your nose is very absorbent. The tanning nasal sprays are just full of chemicals that you would be absorbed into your body. So, no.
After Harvey Weinstein had a face-to-face meeting with one of his attorneys, he was searched, and they found a box of smuggled Milk Duds. “This was an innocent misunderstanding,” Weinstein said. “It will not happen again. I have been a model inmate, following the rules and regulations and I am sincerely sorry.” Sounds like he was more apologetic for the candy than he was for rape and sexual assault.
Just ten hours after the call for help, Elon Musk announced Starlink’s activation in Ukraine for internet access. Starlink is basically a satellite-based internet constellation intended to blanket the planet in high-speed broadband. Stolichnaya Vodka has now rebranded as Stoli Vodka, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. I’ll tell you more on that next week. For Disneyland Paris’s 30th anniversary, Minnie Mouse is debuting a new look. Her red and white polka dot dress is staying in the closet, and she will be wearing a stunning blue and black polka dot pantsuit with a blazer and hairbow designed by Stella McCartney, along with much more sensible shoes than her normal heels.
Irish Blessing: May the Good Lord take a liking to you…but not too soon!
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, from a Russian-speaking Jewish family, has remained dignified, resolute, and articulate, all while trying to avoid more war. In the process, he has earned the respect and admiration of the world, but it won’t do much good if Putin kills him, which he plans to do. Putin continues his erratic behavior and lies indicating he was provoked, and everyone else is at fault. Babies, children, civilians, soldiers and pets continue to die. The people of Russia still don’t know the full truth about what is happening, and Russian soldiers feel that they have been tricked with lies. Since Putin is the longest serving leader of Russia since dictator, Joseph Stalin, he has been in office since some of his Russian soldiers were born. Some are so young that they have never known any other kind of government. Former Ukraine President Poroshenko says Putin poses danger to the whole of humanity. That’s you and me. If you’re not alarmed by the attack on Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant, then you’re not paying attention. The Russians are now in control of that plant. It’s scary as hell to think about a madman running a country and the nuclear power plants. The World needs our prayers.
My friend Serena just called to ask if I remember what I was doing 30 years ago today? Well, of course I did not remember. She reminded me I was having a dinner party with make-your-own pizzas, and the next day she went into labor, having Trevor 3-weeks early. We decided it must be marinara sauce because Gage arrived after an evening meal of spaghetti and meatballs. Serena, thank you so much for the sweet memory! Readers, be sure to make your own memories this week. Life is short.
LISA
