What I Heard This Week 02-24-2022
My kids will tell you that I can fall asleep just sitting at the kitchen table with them watching a show. I guess I am warm, have a tummy full of dinner, am sitting still for a change, and then I’m gone. So, last week I headed off to bed, fluffed up my pillows, turned on the TV but didn’t even put it on a show – just turned it on, bag-balmed my dry hands, and the next thing I know it’s 3:58 am and I’m realizing I fell asleep sitting up in bed with my glasses on. I returned my pillows to the flat-sleep position, deciding quickly that I probably wouldn’t go back to sleep easily, so I put the TV on news, and turned the volume down really low for just white noise. The next thing I knew it was 7:30 and I could hear the news reporter talking about how much sugar there is in a glass of wine. Immediately, I was wide awake and listening intently. Yes, that super bad boy… sugar. A standard bottle of wine could contain as much as 59 grams of sugar per bottle. This means that a single large glass of wine could contain say, 20 grams of that sugar, and that is almost twice the sugar content of a GLAZED DONUT. I have always worried about my once every 6 months Dr. Pepper, but I just never given much thought to wine. Such a hard decision… wine or donuts. This could change my life. Sigh. I’ve been drinking ice water from my wine glass the last few evenings, just in case a donut comes along.
Thirteen people died after falling into a well during a wedding ceremony in India. Ten others, all women, and children, were also injured and hospitalized. They were all singing and dancing on a metal slab, also described as an iron grill covering a well, when it collapsed under the weight of the people.
It has been widely believed that members of the Christian Scientist religion do not take medicine or consult doctors. My Boston son had an appointment to change the battery on his Apple computer and had just been notified that his appointment was rescheduled for a few hours later, so he had hours to burn. When public transportation is your vehicle, you have to stay put sometimes. Boston has so many attractions and Gage had been wanting to see the Christian Science Center and Museum, so he went to check it out. He said it was ironic that they required proof of vaccination to enter the building, but it’s understood that you can’t enter any building in Boston without a vaccine card and mask. What he wanted to see is the Mapparium, which is a world-famous, three-story, stained-glass, immersive globe with the countries of the world as they were known in 1935. As you walk inside the globe, you are looking at the countries from inside out, an interesting perspective since where else would you have the opportunity to look out from the center of the world?! But the acoustics are what Gage, my sound guy, was there for. You can whisper from different sides of the room, and it sounds like you are standing next to the person having a conversation. Every day, I learn something new from my kids.
You are going to love this. Cockroaches can live up to a few weeks without their head. They are able to do so because they do not have blood pressure or one central nervous system like humans (or even other animals for that matter) they have a series of ganglia (or nerves) spread throughout their body, enabling the body to function without the head or brain. That explains quite a bit.
An opal called the Americus Australis, weighing more than 11,800 carats, just sold for $143,750. It was purchased from an Australian opal dealer that found it in the 1950’s, it was exhibited at gem shows until the early 1980’s, but mostly just tucked away in a linen closet until recently.
Thousands of Audis, Porsches, Lamborghinis, Bentleys, Volkswagens, and electric cars (about 4000) were likely destroyed on an abandoned cargo ship that caught fire in the Atlantic Ocean last week, with 22 crew members having to be evacuated. It is believed that batteries of several electric vehicles caught fire aboard the ship, while it made its way from Germany to Rhode Island. The cost from the loss of the vehicles could be over $155 million. Total value aboard the ship is listed at $438 million. Wow.
RECENT BIRTHDAYS: Actor Patricia Richardson of Home Improvement is 71. Actor Barry Bostwick is 77. News correspondent Paula Zahn is 66. Country singer Sammy Kershaw is 64. Actor Karen Grassle of Little House on the Prairie is 80. Caroline Ingalls. Talk show host Sally Jessy Raphael is 80. Actors James & Oliver Phelps of Harry Potter are 36. Actor Marta Kristen of Lost in Space is 77. Judy Robinson. Singer Mitch Ryder is 77. Devil with a Blue Dress On/Good Golly Miss Molly. Keyboardist Jonathan Cain of Journey is 72. Actor Molly Ringwald is 54. Singer Michael Bolton is 69.
Actor Joanne Woodward is 92. Singer Sam the Sham is 85. Actor-director-dancer Tommy Tune is 83. Actor Bernadette Peters is 74. Singer Cindy Wilson of the B-52′s is 65. Author Lemony Snicket (aka Daniel Handler) is 52. A Series of Unfortunate Events. Actor Robert Clary of Hogan’s Heroes is 96. Corporal Louis LeBeau. Singer-actor Harry Belafonte is 95. Singer Mike D’Abo of Manfred Mann is 78. Singer Roger Daltrey of The Who is 78. Actor Dirk Benedict is 77. Battlestar Galactica. Actor-director Ron Howard is 68. Country singer Janis Oliver of Sweethearts of the Rodeo is 68. Actor Catherine Bach of The Dukes of Hazzard is 67. Daisy Duke. TV host Donovan Patton of Blue’s Clues is 44.
After 25 years on the air, the final episode of Arthur, shows Arthur (everyone’s favorite aardvark) as a grown-up, twenty years in the future, alongside his old school friends. Arthur is a budding graphic novelist with his first book which happens to have the same name and is based on the first ever episode of the show. According to the head writer, “The idea occurred to me that this whole series has been something Arthur has created. So, the suggestion is this has all been his memoir.” If you were raised on Arthur and need to be reminded of some important real-life lessons or want to catch the series finale, check out PBS Kids. Voice actor Michael Yarmush, who originated the character back in 1996, reprised the role one last time as a 28-year-old Arthur. Awwww.
The Brazoria County Library System Foundation is presenting their 11th Annual “Evening with the Author.” This year, Matthew Wendel, a Danbury boy with no culinary training, will explain how he ended up cooking in the Bush White House, all while you enjoy a meal made from his recipes and cookbook. Along with the dinner there will be a silent auction, author presentation, cookbooks for purchase and a book signing. Whoo! Sounds like a super-fun evening. Grab a friend for March 29th. $45 per person. For more info call Mary Meyers 979-299-7785. Sponsorships still available. Call soon.
Teller the Wonder Dog played ball with me this morning, then preceded to run down to the creek and roll his entire body in something stinky… again. This, of course, was on our way out the door to the office. About three weeks ago, he did the same thing, so I wasn’t totally unprepared, but it is still so gross. Dogs are nasty. This morning I cleaned him up as well as I could with wet bath towels (ears, nose, neck and back because they want that smell EVERYWHERE) without putting him in the bathtub, then sprayed him with Febreze Air HEAVY DUTY with up to 2 times the odor eliminating power… ha-ha. Then he ran straight into my bedroom and wiped it all over my good rug. I guess it smells like Chanel No 5 to dogs, so they want everyone to experience it. KoKo Chewnel. He was not free to roam the office today and had to stay put on my side of the building. If he wasn’t so dang cute…
Bernie Madoff was known for his Ponzi scheme that wiped out many people’s fortunes, retirements, and ruined whole charities. He was sentenced to 150 years in prison after pleading guilty in 2009 to fraud and other charges, dying while incarcerated last year at age 82. Recently his sister and her husband were found dead inside their residence with gunshot wounds, in what was an apparent murder-suicide in Florida.
According to Whiskey Raiders, a Japanese man returned home after a yearlong trip abroad and found 170 bottles of his precious liquor had been stolen. Mostly whisky. Almost $67,000 worth. Some expensive drams had been replaced with bottles of carbonated water. One bottle of high-end whisky was worth $3,700. A home-renovator was arrested. Obviously, fine Japanese whisky is a hot commodity.
Andrew, Andrew, Andrew. “Prince Andrew regrets his association with Epstein and commends the bravery of Ms. Giuffre and other survivors in standing up for themselves and others.” Ka-ching!
Two Vermont parents left their child in the backseat of their car while they went skiing… multiple times. Both parents were charged with cruelty to a child, and one is charged with driving under the influence. If convicted, both parents could face up to 2 years in prison and a $500 fine on the cruelty to a child charge. There is no excuse for not taking care of our children, elderly, and animals that are defenseless.
The problem with winter sports is that — follow me closely here — they generally take place in winter. Dave Barry
Justin Bieber and Queen Elisabeth have both tested positive for covid. Her risk is roughly 340 times greater than his. But she isn’t dead, and neither is Paul McCartney. An Arkansas sheriff has assigned himself desk duty after a video of him serving papers to a man went viral, because the video shows an open beer can in the front door of the truck. As they opened the casket in the middle of the funeral of their beloved grandmother, a California family discovered that the funeral home had placed the wrong body in the casket. They are now suing the funeral home because they experienced emotional trauma.
Virgin Galactic is charging $450,000 for a 90-minute rocket ride that will rise about 50 miles and offer four minutes of free fall, plus a view of Earth. The company is resuming sales of tickets and requires a $150,000 deposit per seat. They already have about 600 reservations from the first round of ticket sales. I remember back in the old days when the Log Ride at Six Flags Over Texas was wild and crazy.
Did you know? Kids whose parents read to them five books a day enter kindergarten having heard about 1.4 million more words than kids who were never read to.
This is probably NOT worth repeating but I’m going to anyway because I need to fill this space. TV personality Nick Cannon just keeps on having babies. Twins Moroccan and Monroe (10), with Mariah Carey. Then Golden Sagon (5) and Powerful Queen (1) with Brittany Bell. Twins, Zion Mixolydian and Zillion Heir (1) with Abby De La Rosa and about a week later, Alyssa Scott delivered Zen, who passed away ☹ at 6 months. His fifth baby mama is expecting one in a few months. Yes, there may have been some overlapping of relationships going on. Busy man. He stated that every single one of those babies were intentional. To those of us that are aware of how babies get here, please describe intentional. On Valentine’s Day he released a song, Alone, which some people believe is him reflecting on his former relationship with Mariah Carey and how much he misses her. That’s a guy that needs some attention.
A Massachusetts college student ate rice, chicken and lo Mein leftovers from a restaurant. Soon after, he felt abdominal pain and his skin turned purple. He was admitted to the hospital where his condition worsened as he developed necrosis, with doctors having to amputate his legs and fingers. Refrigerate leftovers within two hours after cooking, then eat it within 3-4 days, or freeze. Use clean containers. One article said that if you licked it clean before you used it, it’s not clean. You are not a cat. If you wait to clean up the kitchen until you finish the next episode of The Crown, then it may be too late. Oh, his friend that took him to the E.R. had also eaten the leftovers and had vomited, but that’s all. Hmmm. Thank you for reading us and don’t forget to do something kind today. Sell something! LISA