What I Heard This Week 06-27-2024
Same Song, Second Verse: Hurricane Season means you need to discuss an emergency plan with your family, but first you need to HAVE AN EMERGENCY PLAN. Check your Insurance Policies… medical and homeowners. Prepare an Emergency Kit. Clothes, appropriate footwear (tall rubber boots), flashlight, battery-operated radio, medicines in waterproof container. Anchor fuel or propane tanks so they don’t float away. Take videos of your home in advance to later show loss. Back-up critical digital files on portable external hard drive. Collect family photos and mementos and then use a watertight container to store. Check out repair businesses in advance to avoid scams. There is so much more, so you better get started. Not too long ago, I pulled out my battery-operated radio that had been in storage for years, but was still in its clear packaging, now yellowed brittle. The plastic had become so sticky, it could no longer be used. When I complained, the company wouldn’t even call me back. So, check to make sure your emergency kit still has viable, workable stuff. Right now, there is a small disturbance heading towards the western Caribbean. nhc.noaa.gov
My Hurricane Tip: Before it starts, write down all the things you love about your partner and your children. It will be really hard to remember after 72 hours without power.
Novelist Michael Crichton, wrote The Andromeda Strain, The Terminal Man, Binary, Westworld, The Great Train Robbery, Coma, Jurassic Park, Disclosure, Twister, and so, so many more, 28 in all. He actually received his M.D. from Harvard Medical School, but did not practice medicine, but was the creator of the TV series ER which ran from 1994 – 2009. When he died in 2008, he had several finished and unfinished manuscripts. Partially completed novels have since been completed by other authors, five novels in all. This month, Eruption was released. James Patterson (over 200 novels total and 114 on NY times best-selling list) co-authored and finished the novel about a mega-eruption of Hawaii’s Mauna Loa volcano… and it is already an instant #1 New York Times bestseller.
Mattel and Barbie are releasing nine new Barbie dolls depicting some of the world’s most celebrated female athletes, recognizing athletes that have broken barriers for women in sports. Venus Williams U.S. Tennis Player – one of the most decorated Olympic athletes with four gold medals and the first woman in tennis to earn equal prize money at Wimbledon, Venus Williams has persevered through countless obstacles to inspire social change within tennis and the sports industry at large. Maybe someday there will be a very gracious Caitlyn Clark – Basketball Barbie, and she will come with her own bullies and jealous opponents.
Other new Women’s Sports Barbies are:
Christine Sinclair Canadian Soccer Player – soccer’s greatest international scorer with 190 goals to her name. Mary Fowler Australian Football Player, Estelle Mossely French Boxer, Alexa Moreno Mexican Gymnast, Rebeca Andrade Brazilian Gymnast, Susana Rodriguez Spanish Paratriathlon Athlete – Born with albinism, Rodriguez began running at age 10 and has become a barrier-breaking paratriathlon athlete. She has not only set records in her sport, but she doubled as a young doctor on the front lines amid the pandemic, earning her the cover of TIME magazine in 2021. Federica Pellegrini Italian Swimmer, and Ewa Swoboda Polish Track and Field Sprinter.
I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king. Queen Elizabeth I, 1588, rallying her troops for the arrival of the Spanish Armada.
RECENT BIRTHDAYS: Broadcast Journalist Brian Williams is 65. Actor Stacy Keach is 83. Actor Jerry Mathers is 76. Leave it to Beaver. Mathers says he’s open to playing Beaver again but as a grandpa, and only if the script stuck with the same morals as the original show. Actor Joanna Gleason is 74. (Her father was Monty Hall, radio and TV host.) Comedian Dana Carvey is 69. Pop musician Michael Steele of The Bangles is 69. Walk Like an Egyptian. Rock musician Mick Box of Uriah Heep is 77. Easy Livin’.
Negro Leagues, Major League Baseball, and San Francisco Giants legend, Willie Mays, died at 93. He was called the “Say Hey Kid.” After reading a bunch about him, this space just isn’t adequate to tell you everything you need to know to pay tribute to Mays. Legendary Baseball Hall of Fame Buck O’ Neil, said it best,” Don’t feel sorry for the Black baseball player. Feel sorry for the ones who didn’t get to see them play.”
Arched eyebrows and acting great, Donald Sutherland died at 88. Klute with Jane Fonda, M*A*S*H as Hawkeye Pierce, Don’t Look Now with Julie Christie, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Ordinary People with Timothy Hutton, Backdraft, Six Degrees of Separation, Pride & Prejudice, The Hunger Games, The Burnt Orange Heresy, Animal House, Kelly’s Heroes… the list goes on.
Hurricane season is like a box of chocolates – you never know what you’re gonna get.
A Texas judge has granted conspiracy theorist and InforWars host Alex Jones’ request to convert his Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing into a liquidation of personal assets to help pay off portions of the massive financial defamation debt he owes to families of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims. If you remember, Jones and other InfoWars personalities called the massacre a hoax (26 dead including 20 children), accusing the victims’ families of being crisis actors. Alex Jones still owns InfoWars which promotes conspiracy theories and fake news, as do his other websites, NewsWars and PrisonPlanet. Jones is appealing the judgments but says he now believes the shooting did happen, but free speech rights allowed him to say it didn’t. That’s not the way free speech rights were intended to be… that’s just a bully and a liar.
For the third time in 8 months, an inmate has escaped from a Brazoria County prison. He has been found. Hackers demanded millions, halted operations at 15,000 car dealerships. Just finished the novel, Hang the Moon by Jeannette Walls who also wrote The Glass Castle and Half Broke Horses. It is set during Prohibition-era Virginia. I like her writing.
As I was walking out of Office Depot a few minutes ago, I saw a greeting card with a picture on front of a little boy wearing his big boy underwear on his head. Inside the card it said, “Let’s be brief. Happy Birthday.” My son has his 28th birthday in September, and normally I send 5-6 cards in the days leading up to the spectacular day he was born. The silly card reminded me of a time when Gage was about two or three years-old, walked up to me smiling really big with a panty liner stuck to his forehead. He said, “Mommy, look at the BIG band-aid I found in a box in the bathroom.” I agreed with him. It WAS a really big band-aid. I certainly hope he has children one day. Gage has definitely kept me laughing most of his 28 years.
The Presidential Debate will be June 27 at 8p/7C for pre-debate analysis. Whether you like, and/or believe in either one of the candidates, the truth is that one will be our new President. Get informed. Your vote really does count. The late Jeopardy host, Alex Trebek, will be honored with a new USPS Forever stamp. Some people are saying that will be the most boring stamp in history. (Those are probably people that would never, ever be honored with a stamp of their own for anything.) Other people that don’t even collect stamps are pre-ordering or heading straight to the post office as soon as possible. The stamp is blue, looks like one of the game ‘question squares’ and says, “This Naturalized U.S. Citizen Hosted the Quiz Show “Jeopardy!” for 37 Seasons. Who is Alex Trebek”? I like it. Mindy Kaling announced the birth of her third child. She quietly and secretly gave birth to a baby girl named Anne in February. Anne joins siblings Katherine 6, and Spencer 3. I love the classy ways Mindy Kaling lives her life.
What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make. Jane Goodall
Join the Lake Jackson Historical Museum as Andrew Longoria displays 1,300 items from his private Selena collection on June 29th, 10am – 4pm. He is attempting to set the Guinness World Record for the largest Selena Memorabilia Collection. There will be food trucks, hands-on activities for the kids and admission FREE, but please RSVP so they can plan for the crowd. 249 Circle Way. 979-297-1570.
Not only did North Korea send more than 1,000 trash-filled balloons to South Korea, but the balloons were also full of roundworm, whipworms and threadworms which can embed themselves in the intestinal wall and cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain. The parasites are believed to originate from human excrement. This was in retaliation because South Korea sent balloons full of literature, pop songs and one-dollar bills. Oh, and satellite images now show North Korea building a wall about 10-feet high along the border with South Korea. Another wall?
The article said, “What is your Favorite Flower?” Hmmm. That would be hard for me because I think my favorite flower is whatever seems to be blooming at that moment. I love the assorted varieties of amaryllis that start blooming early spring in my yard, then the blue and white agapanthus remind me of fireworks after they bloom and the flower petals fall off, then the beautiful poppies appear… some of which Mother Theresa gave me after she brought them back from Italy. They are super special to me. Tall lilies then appear in yellow and orange. Hot summertime brings zinnias. Everyone should plant zinnias because they are fail-proof. The more you cut them, the more they bloom, and the happier you are. Did you know that you can send a message using flowers? Daisies represent innocence and loyalty. Poppies are flowers of consolation. Red roses symbolize true love. Tulips are a declaration of passion and love… Oh, yes, I receive loads of tulips almost daily, ha-ha. Violets say watchfulness, modesty and faithfulness. Forget-me-nots are a request to be remembered. Well, that’s it… don’t forget to sell something soon! I’m serious. Please forget-me-not! You know you have too much stuff… and you need to clean it out.
LISA
Send comments to Lisa Baker at lisa@thesourceweekly.com
