What I Heard This Week 12-28-2023
A rare pair of custom Nike Air Jordan 3s sneakers made for Spike Lee, were found in a donation bin and sold for $50,800 at Sotheby’s. (Sotheby’s waived their fee so that 100 percent of the money raised will go to Portland Rescue Mission where the shoes were donated.) Lee wore them when he accepted the Academy Award for BlacKkKlansman in 2019. The names of Tinker Hatfield (vice president of design and special projects at Nike and the architect of the Air Jordan and Air Max lines) and Spike Lee are embroidered into the size 12.5 shoes along with the logo of Lee’s production company, 40 Acres and A Mule Filmworks.
The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.”- Robert Swan
A federal appeals court has revived a child sexual exploitation lawsuit filed by the man who appeared naked as a 4-month-old infant on the 1991 cover of Nirvana’s album “Nevermind.” Spencer Elden’s lawsuit against the rock group was dismissed last year, but a court in California sent it back to a lower court. Spencer Elden alleges that he has suffered “permanent harm” while the band has profited from the image, although his parents were paid $200 for the photo in 1991. He has also posed several times as an adult to recreate the photo (for the 10th, 17th, 20th and 25th anniversaries of the cover) seeming to celebrate his involvement. I wonder why he is upset now. Cha-ching
If you come in and find me talking to myself, just move on. I’m in a meeting.
When we buy something online, companies track us, then collect, trade or sell what they know… to anyone that will pay for it, so that company can turn around and use your personal data in many different ways. Consumer Report (bless their hearts) launched a mobile app called Permission Slip where you can very easily send a request to those companies to delete your accounts or stop selling your information. Learn more at permissionslipcr.com or download the app for free.
I can’t believe it’s been a year since I didn’t become a better person. – Unknown
There is an approximate 850-acre site near Los Angeles where nuclear and rocket engine research and liquid metal testing was conducted until 2006. NASA and Boeing had operations at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory. Now, there are at least two “forever chemicals” believed to be leaching into the Los Angeles River and its aquifer. Farmers in the area get their water from the aquifer.
I was going to quit all my bad habits for the new year, but then I remembered that nobody likes a quitter. – Unknown
What is the difference between dementia and Alzheimer’s? I didn’t know the answer to this until recently when I was doing research after my mom had a stroke. Mom is now suffering from dementia, which is really a general term. One common cause is vascular dementia, which occurs when blood vessels in the brain are damaged by a stroke or other problems, which affects the blood supply and oxygen to the brain cells, causing them to die or malfunction. Alzheimer’s is a specific degenerative brain disease which leads to dementia… affecting memory, thinking, emotions and reasoning skills, mental decline severe enough to interfere with daily life. I want to take this space to celebrate all the caregivers out there. You don’t get enough recognition or gratitude.
Let us celebrate this New Year’s Eve in honor of the time we successfully wasted this year. – Unknown
Gypsy Rose Blanchard is about to be released from prison. Her story is so outlandish that Hulu released a series called The Act, in 2019. It even won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for retelling her story. Patricia Arquette played her mother who was murdered by Gypsy’s boyfriend. Gypsy’s mom, DeeDee had a mental condition, Munchausen syndrome by proxy, that causes people to exaggerate, fabricate or even induce illnesses in people that they care for. Like for instance, a child. DeeDee told people that Gypsy had leukemia, asthma, muscular dystrophy, seizures, brain damage and learning disabilities. She forced Gypsy to use a wheelchair, feeding tube and home-schooled her. But Gypsy was really a healthy child! But, DeeDee received a lot of sympathy and attention, donations, free trips from Make-a-Wish and Ronald McDonald House. Habitat provided a house with a wheelchair ramp and hot tub when they lost their house during Hurricane Katrina. If Gypsy refused to go along with the charade, then her mother beat her. So, when her mother went to bed, Gypsy went online and started a new life. Her boyfriend agreed to murder her mom; then he was sentenced to life without parole. DeeDee has a release date of December 28, 2023, after having served just eight years of a ten-year sentence. Hmmm.
Youth is when you’re allowed to stay up late on New Year’s Eve. Middle age is when you’re forced to. – Bill Vaughan
In my own lovely life, I am blessed with some pretty awesome friendships, including three really magnificent ladies, Cheri, Debbie, and Jeri, that host the most delightful Christmas brunch each year. All we have to do (61 attendees this year) is show up with generous amounts of toys and fill up the bed of a vintage red pickup sitting in the front yard… with a few husbands guarding the goods. Very picturesque. The three ladies are all wonderful cooks and bakers, so upon arrival we are greeted with beautifully decorated rooms full of delightful foods and desserts… along with a special holiday cocktail served around the pool. When we leave, we have a box of freshly made, luscious Christmas cookies to take with us. It’s just the best of the best. Such a great way to start the giving season. This year the girls announced $1425 in gift cards and 27 large plastic bags were filled with toys to share with children that might not have much Christmas otherwise. Friends are great! I can’t thank them enough for always allowing me to be a part of making the world a better place.
So tonight, I’m going to party like it’s 1999. – Prince
It’s called Public Domain Day 2024, and a ginormous amount of copyrighted creative works first published in 1928 (plus sound recordings from 1923) will enter the public domain in the U.S. on January 1, 2024. Among them the original Steamboat Willie Mickey Mouse cartoon (the image of Micky has been tweaked many times since then), the silent comedy, The Circus, directed by and starring Charlie Chaplin, along with Lights of New York, the first all-talking full-length feature film, and Edgar Rice Burroughs’ novel Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle, plus many more. D.H. Lawrence’s erotic novel, Lady Chatterley’s Lover. Musical compositions include I Wanna Be Loved by You, Mack The Knife, The Big Rock Candy Mountain, I Can’t Give You Anything But Love, Baby, and Makin’ Whoopee. There is way too much to tell you here. There are some great stories behind the publishing, and well worth a read if you have the time.
Thank you for your continued support this year. In 2024, remember to be grateful. Be kind. Leave the Earth better than you found it. Treat others as you want to be treated. And always say I love you.
LISA
Send comments to Lisa Baker at lisa@thesourceweekly.com
