What I Heard This Week 12-08-2022
We all remember back in 1997 at the WBA Heavyweight Championship fight, when Mike Tyson bit off a chunk of ear from the only four-time world heavyweight champion, Evander Holyfield. Holyfield had defeated Tyson at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas the year before (1996), so the rematch was highly anticipated. People watched as Tyson bit off a small piece of Holyfield’s ear and spit it onto the canvas. Tyson has now launched several cannabis-related ventures. Tyson 2.0 is a company that released cannabis-infused gummies called Mike Bites, shaped like an ear, with a little piece gone. I’m not smart enough to make this up. Genius idea. Tyson and Holyfield have since reconciled. Many celebrities have launched their own cannabis-related products. Snoop Dogg debuted Leaf’s by Snoop, while Martha Stewart launched her own line of CBD-infused dog treats in 2021, and Family Matters, Jaleel White released a strain of, you got it, Purple Urkel cannabis. But none can beat the cleverness of Mike Bites.
As I watched the dog chasing his tail, I thought dogs are easily amused. Then I realized I was watching the dog chase his tail.
As of the day I wrote this, Wall Street is smiling. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said rate hikes could ease this month, and that seems to send stocks happy, so with that rise Dow is more than 20% above its 52-week low which means bull market. If you remember from a previous column, favorable market is horns up. But who knows what today will bring.
A little boy was sitting on his front porch eating candy just as fast as he could unwrap it. A man passing by saw what he was doing and said, “All that candy is not good for you and will spoil your dinner.” The little boy said, “I don’t know about that, but my grandpa lived to be 102.” The man said, “Wow, you mean by eating candy?” The little boy replied, “No, by minding his own business.”
The magazine ad had CLICK. FLOW. REPEAT. written at the top of the full-page slick advertisement. Below that, was written Feel the Weight of the Day Slowly Fade Away, One Brick at a Time. Hmmm. I’m intrigued. The nicely dressed gentlemen in the ad is sitting in the air about a foot above his chair, just floating in the air while looking peacefully at a flower he was holding in his hands. Or was it a flower?!? No! It’s LEGOS that look like a flower. Then I saw the words Adults Welcome. Yes, LEGO is now making sets just for adults. You should see them all. The website says: Spend quality time with premium LEGO® sets designed specifically for adults. From wonders of the world to movie magic, intrepid space exploration to pop culture icons, luxury cars to architectural masterpieces, there’s a LEGO set waiting for you. So, unplug, unbox and unwind. This is your zone. It would take the rest of this page to tell you about all the kits available, but here are a few. Camaro Z28, Porsche 911, Fiat 500 (I dated a boy in high school with one), Mustang GT, Vespa 125, Soccer stadium, Atari 2600 (just like the one released in 1977), Adidas shoe, roller-coaster with loops, flower arrangements, succulents, world map, Vincent van Gogh – The Starry Night, Eifel Tower, Time Machine car from Back to the Future (includes gull wing doors, Dr. Emmett ‘Doc’ Brown & Marty McFly minifigures), Ghostbusters ambulance, space shuttle, Ferrari Daytona SP3… I must stop here. There’s still so much more but no space to tell you all. You should go to LEGO.com/adults-welcome. Remember what I’ve said… Isn’t it much better to give a memory than just a gift? I think this would check all the boxes this season. Are they pricy? YES, some of them are pricy. But you could buy one for the whole family, have them put down their phones, and the memory would start to happen as everyone sat down together. One brick at a time. Did I mention Star Wars, Black Panther, Super Mario, Nintendo Entertainment and Harry Potter sets?
RECENT BIRTHDAYS: Singer Billy Idol is 67. The name Billy Idol was coined due to a chemistry teacher’s description of Idol on his school report card as “idle”. Actor comedian Howie Mandel is 67. Bassist Roger Glover of Deep Purple is 77. Actor Ed Harris is 72. Game show host Wink Martindale is 89. Singer Freddy “Boom Boom” Cannon is 86. Actor-producer-director Max Baer Junior of The Beverly Hillbillies is 85. Jethro. Bassist Bob Mosley of Moby Grape is 80. Singer-bassist Chris Hillman of The Byrds & Flying Burrito Brothers is 78. Actor Jeff Bridges is 73. Guitarist Gary Rossington of Lynyrd Skynyrd is 71. Actor Patricia Wettig is 71. Drummer Brian Prout of Diamond Rio is 67. Singer Jim Messina of Loggins and Messina & Poco is 75. Singer-guitarist John Rzeznik of Goo Goo Dolls is 57. Actor JoBeth Williams is 74. Bluegrass singer Bobby Osborne of the Osborne Brothers is 91. Actor Ellen Burstyn is 90.
Actor Susan Dey is 70. The Partridge Family& LA Law. Country singer Gary Morris is 74. The Wind Beneath My Wings. Actor Priscilla Barnes of Three’s Company is 65. Announcer Edd Hall of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno is 64. Singer Jerry Butler, original lead singer of The Impressions is 83. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991. Drummer Bobby Elliott of The Hollies is 81. He has been described as “one of the very finest drummers in all of pop/rock. In September 1973, Paul McCartney offered him the position of drummer in his band Wings, but Elliott declined due to commitments with The Hollies. Actor Kim Basinger is 69. Actor Judi Dench is 88. Actor Beau Bridges is 81. Football player-turned-actor Dick Butkus is 80. Singer Donny Osmond is 65. Drummer Walter “Clyde” Orange of The Commodores is 76. Country singer Johnny Rodriguez is 71. Rodriguez has been honored by three U.S. presidents: Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush, and George W. Bush, playing at George H.W. Bush’s inaugural ball.
Christine McVie, co-lead vocalist, keyboardist and songwriter for Fleetwood Mac died after a short illness at 79. Such great music memories. The first time I saw them was at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas, sometime in the middle 70’s. It was an all-day music festival in the hot Texas heat, but it was fantastic. She gave us all so many years of great rock’n’roll music. Like Rumours. “Don’t Stop” and “You Make Loving Fun,” as well as “Hold Me,” “Little Lies,” and “Over My Head.” With her ex-husband and other band members of the ‘60s and ‘70s, Christine McVie was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. She had announced in June that she was in poor health and struggling with chronic back problems. Her music will live forever.
Kristie Alley, best known in her role as Rebecca Howe on Cheers, died at 71 of colon cancer. She first appeared in the 1982 Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, where she played Vulcan Starfleet officer Lieutenant Saavik. In 1987, she joined Cheers where she replaced Shelley Long, remaining with the show until its final season. Cheers earned her an Emmy Award in 1991 for outstanding lead actress in a comedy series. She earned a second Emmy for her role in the 1994 TV drama David’s Mother. The following year, she was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Bob McGrath, an original Sesame Street cast member who portrayed friendly sweater-wearing music teacher Bob Johnson, died Sunday at 90. He was one of the four non-Muppet characters when the show first premiered on Nov. 10, 1969, where he continued until 2016. He sang on Mitch Miller’s ’60s series Sing Along with Mitch and then made his acting debut on Sesame Street. McGrath sang of a peaceful & picturesque street on a “sunny day sweeping the clouds away,” where “the air is sweet.”
Do you love the show Yellowstone? Monopoly has released a new collectible version of their iconic board game inspired by the series. It features many of the series’ recognizable locations such as the Dutton Ranch Main House, Stables, Bunkhouse, Rip & Beth’s Cabin, Paradise Valley Resort and Four Sixes Ranch. There are also dozens of pop-cultures inspired board games that have come out recently like Hocus Pocus Yahtzee, Friends: What Do You Meme? Seinfeld: What Do You Meme? Friends Clue, Friends and Hello Kitty Monopoly, Game of Thrones Monopoly, and Stranger Things. More new board games include Stranger Things, The Walking Dead, Jumanji, Jurassic Park, Goosebumps, Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, and more. Just in time to make it on your gift list.
Liver & Onions Fans: please note that Luby’s in Lake Jackson is closing soon. I stopped by last week and enjoyed chicken & dressing, fried okra, and turnip greens. Oh my, it was good. The U.S. has never recorded this many positive flu tests in one week, and health care systems are getting slammed… again. After years of secrecy, the Air Force unveiled the B-21 Raider, America’s newest nuclear stealth bomber. Brazilian football legend Pele, 82, has been hospitalized again for a reevaluation of his treatment following a colon tumor last year. A teen fast-food worker stepped in to verbally defend a person with special needs from a bully customer, then the foul-mouth bully hit her in the face several times around her eyeglasses and headset, injuring her right eye which doctors say she will now lose. I’m so tired of bullies in our society. After three years, the House Ways and Means Committee has received six years of Donald Trump’s federal tax returns from the IRS. Thanks to a recent Dallas Cowboy touchdown which resulted in a 54-17 win over the Colts, the score marked the first time in NFL history that a game had ever ended with that exact score. It’s even got a name – it’s called a Scorigami, and it’s the 1074th unique final score in NFL history. What!? Must be a sports or math thing because I don’t understand the purpose in this information.
A new clue has been uncovered in the disappearance of Amelia Earhart during her attempt to fly around the world in 1937. An aluminum panel found washed up on a remote island in 1991 near where Earhart’s plane went missing, has markings on it that no one had seen before, indicating it could be part of a repair. It has rivet punctures similar to Earhart’s Lockheed Electra plane, so scientists are working to trace the origins. My grandma and grandaddy bought me Amelia Earhart luggage for my HS graduation. I still have one of those suitcases full of my kid’s dress-up clothing and costumes from when they were little. Just waiting for future little ones that need an imagination play-date adventure.
On January 23, 2023, Magic Kingdom Disney World will close Splash Mountain for a new Princess and the Frog adventure. After just a one-week theatrical release, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, the anticipated sequel to the 2019 Knives Out, will be available on Netflix December 23rd. The first trailer is here for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, starring, yes, Harrison Ford. Due next summer. “I’ve seen things I can’t explain, and I’ve come to believe it’s not so much what you believe, it’s how hard you believe it. “
The light bulb was having his first date with a Christmas tree bulb, and he nervously rang her doorbell. She opened the door glowing, with twenty-plus other Christmas tree bulbs standing behind her. The light bulb asked with surprise in his voice, “You’re bringing friends?” She answered him very matter-of-factly, “We’re Christmas lights… when one of us goes out, we all go out.” I found this while trying to find new wire Christmas light stakes for my yard. I’ve had no luck so far finding any wire stakes that match the height of my old ones, but I got a good laugh and so did you. Thank you for taking the time this week to let us share.
LISA
Send comments to Lisa Baker at lisa@thesourceweekly.com
