What! May 11, 2017
By Lisa Baker • 05-11-17
Researchers have developed an artificial womb that could one day be used for premature babies. Instead of the womb, the fetus would be put inside a clear plastic bag filled with synthetic amniotic fluid and the fetus’ umbilical cord would be hooked up to a machine that pumps oxygen. So far, it’s only been tested on fetal lambs, but with good results. Hmmm.
Nominations have been announced for the 2017 Tony Awards, honoring the best of the Broadway season. The favorites are: Come from Away (7 nominations), Groundhog Day (7 nominations), Miss Saigon (2 nominations), The Great Comet of 1812 (12 nominations), Bette Midler in Hello Dolly! (10 nominations), Dear Evan Hansen (9 nominations), A Doll’s House, Part 2 (8 nominations), OSLO (7 nominations), The Little Foxes (6 nominations), War Paint (4 nominations), Indecent (3 nominations) and Present Laughter (3 nominations). The 71st annual Tony Awards will be June 11, 2017, live from the Beacon Theatre.
CHI St. Luke’s Health-Brazosport hosted it’s 4th biennial Power of the Purse Luncheon a few weeks ago and Jennifer Arnold, MD, neonatologist at Texas Children’s Hospital and star of “The Little Couple,” was our guest speaker. Wow. She was powerful and positive…a great mom, wife and human being. Along with her husband, Bill Klein, they have endured every obstacle they have encountered with a can-do attitude. Their purpose in life: make the world a better place. I just started their book, “Life Is Short (no pun intended)” – Arnold did say at the luncheon that they love the name little people and dislike being called midgets.
Five children were injured last month at a carnival in SC after an inflatable bounce house and slide were thrown 20-feet into the air by a gust of wind. This weekend, an inflatable castle at a restaurant in Spain, was hurled 65-feet into the air before it crashed to the ground (some witnesses also said they heard a huge explosion right before the children were thrown out.) A 6-year old girl was killed and several others were seriously injured. Readers, when your kids see a bouncy house, they don’t look to see if it’s tied down with either long stakes in the ground or heavy, weighted blocks. That’s your job. And if it’s a windy day, just take them to do something else.
Taco Cabana and La Casona are both opening soon in Lake Jackson so it’s looking like dueling Mexican food is finally here. Yeah.
The wrens (a happily married couple) that so carefully built the most beautiful nest in my granny’s watering can that sets on my back porch, have now successfully raised three beautiful babies. I watched them build the nest, tend to the eggs, and feed the babies big fat worms for the past several weeks. It was my morning, coffee time, fun. I just happened to go home for lunch on the day that they were being taught to fly off the porch. I took a little longer than my allotment of lunch time to sit and watch and take pictures. In just a matter of an hour and half, they went from sitting on the table where their nest was, to climbing the brick wall, all while the parents were close by, chirping non-stop from over in the olive tree. Nature.
Local TV anchorman legend, Dave Ward, has said, “Good evening friends, I’m Dave Ward,” for the last time. He has retired from Channel 13 after 50-years. Ward was their first on-the-street reporter, has interviewed five presidents and is now in the Guinness World Records for the longest-running anchorman in television history. Congratulations, sir. You are grace under fire and a true gentleman.
The Houston Symphony announced it will perform Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in concert on July 21-22.
An 18-year-old senior at Dawson High School has just been elected to Pearland ISD’s Board of Trustees. Mike Floyd says that he is someone who can better represent students’ and teachers’ interest because he has seen firsthand how district-level decisions affect local classrooms. Make sense to me!
Auditions for the summer musical, Mary Poppins, are this Sunday, Monday and Tuesday at The Center for the Arts and Sciences. Call 979-265-7661 for additional information.
A year after Michael Strahan left the Live! with Kelly and Michael Show to join The Good Morning Show, Kelly Ripa announced that Ryan Seacrest will join her on Live! with Kelly and Ryan. Seacrest is the ultimate host with 15-seasons of American Idol, New Year’s Rockin’ Eve and his radio show, On Air with Ryan Seacrest, in addition to guest-hosting Live! Several times this past year during their search to find a new co-host.
HAPPY BIRTHDAYS: Singer Engelbert Humperdinck is 81. Fashion designer Donatella Versace is 62. Wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne Johnson is 45. The Rock. Soccer player David Beckham is 42. Singer Frankie Valli is 83. He is coming to the Smart Financial Centre on May 11th…oops, that’s tonight at 8pm in Sugarland. He puts on a really, good show. Sports announcer Greg Gumbel is 71. Actor Bobby Cannavale is 47. Officer Vince D’Angelo in Will & Grace. Actress Christina Hendricks is 42. Best known as the beautiful, red-headed Joan Holloway in the AMC drama television series Mad Men, for which she was nominated for six Emmy Awards. Comedian Jerry Seinfeld is 63. Actress Michelle Pfeiffer is 59. Actress and painter Eve Plumb is 59. Jan on The Brady Bunch. Actress Uma Thurman is 47. Tennis Hall of Fame Andre Agassi is 47. Actor Albert Finney is 81. Actress Candice Bergen is 71. Singer Billy Joel is 68. He is the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the US.
ESPN told about 100 employees to go home recently. The layoffs of mostly on-air talent and longtime writers comes as more and more people are canceling their cable company. Gee, I wonder why.
A 10-year old girl swimming in a foot of water at Mary Jane Lake in Florida, was bitten by a nine-foot alligator. She punched the alligator in the nose but it didn’t release her leg, so she took two fingers and jammed them up the gator’s nostrils – since he couldn’t breathe, he released her. Smart kid. She was paying attention when they taught her that at Gatorland, recently.
There’s a couple of new dinosaurs in town. Saunter on over to the Brazosport Museum of Natural Science and see the new Bambiraptor and Agujaceratops. Located at The Center for the Arts and Sciences..
It seems that some kids are beginning to complain about the amount of time parents spend on their phones…I see it every time I go out to eat, at school functions, the grocery store, shopping…our devices are needed to keep us informed and connected but there are times that we need to say no. If you don’t draw the line on your phone use, then what are you saying to your children and grandchildren. Let’s set some good examples…No phones in the kitchen, breakfast or dining area. My go-to question was always, “Who did you sit next to at lunch today?” No phones in kid’s bedrooms after bedtime – charge their phones in your room overnight. That goes for parents too. Put the phones away at night. AND put the phones away when you are in the car. Store them in the glove compartment since we don’t really wear gloves often in Brazoria and Matagorda county. Start good habits.
Entrepreneur Tom Cridland will sell you a sweatshirt that has a 30-year guarantee on it. His idea is that fashion is the second-most polluting industry in the world so if you make clothing to last using the best cloth and limit the company to clothing basics that won’t go out of style, then it’s a win-win instead of FAST fashion where clothing is mass produced, made cheaply and not intended to last more than a year. It’s not for sale in stores so for the 30 Year Collection go to www.tomcridland.com.
Dorothy Mengering, the mother of former Late Show host David letterman, who often made guest appearances on his show, died at the age of 95. She was fun!
MOM (noun*adjective*verb) One who does whatever it takes to get whatever it is done. Period.
Happy Mother’s Day to all!!
“Can you see the holiness in those things you take for granted – a paved road or a washing machine? If you concentrate on finding what is good in every situation, you will discover that your life will suddenly be filled with gratitude, a feeling that nurtures the soul.” - Harold Kushner, Rabbi/Writer
– Lisa
