What I Heard This Week! May 17, 2018
Some people really mess things up for the rest of us. The city of Houston had what I thought was a great idea to allow people to Adopt-A-Drain, encouraging residents to help keep their neighborhood storm sewers clear of debris and yard waste and prevent flooding during Houston downpours by cleaning 10ft on either side of their drain 4-times a year, allowing water to keep flowing and avoid back-ups, especially as flood recovery continues after Harvey. You can even ‘playfully’ name your drain – they have “Blue Eyes Crying in the Drain, Drainy McDrain Face, Thomas the Thirsty Trench, Snakes on a Drain and my personal favorite, Sterling Cooper Drainper Pryce. (Obviously, a ‘Mad Men’ follower.) Well, as in all good things, someone decided to mess it up, naming over 200 drains after an online sex toy retailer, then people were being directed to the website of this company. Houston hopes to have this problem worked out by the end of this week since there are still over 115,000 storm drains still available for adoption. So far, over 500 drains have been successfully and lovingly placed with a family of their very own. Yay.
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has rescinded the honors it awarded to Bill Cosby, the first time the center has taken such action. Aye.
One lucky woman, watching the Kentucky Derby at an off-track betting parlor in Texas, picked the winners of five straight races at Churchill Downs and turned her $18 Pick-5 bet into a $1.2 million payout. That’s nice.
“I’m not a trophy wife, I’m a commemorative plaque.” – Ali Wong
In March, a veteran who lost his genitals in Afghanistan has received a penis, scrotum and part of the abdominal wall transplanted from a deceased donor in a highly experimental 14-hour operation. The patient who asked to remain anonymous, is eventually expected to recover urinary and sexual function. He also received an extra experimental step, an infusion of bone marrow from the same donor that research suggests may help the immune system to better tolerate a transplant and would also allow him to take one anti-rejection drug instead of many. Amazing. The patient was quoted as saying, “When I first woke up, I finally felt more normal.”
The book, “Soul on Ice,” was checked out of the San Francisco Public library in 1970. It was an overdue book for 47 years, four months and 29 days, with a late fee of what could have been $1,731.70, but the library caps fines at $10.01. That’s a nice story.
Antonio Banderas is playing artist Pablo Picasso in National Geographic’s 10-part series, Genius. Not only does he share a Spanish heritage with Picasso, they were also both born in the town of Malaga where Banderas crossed the street in front of Picasso’s house, as a child.
It’s a fact that anywhere in Texas you can yell “The stars at night are big and bright” and random strangers will finish your sentence.
BrickWorld Chicago is five straight days of Lego play. Lego enthusiasts from around the world build, display, play, talk, swap and win Legos. Kragle is a bad word among this crowd (a tube of Crazy Glue designed to ensure that everyone touched by it is permanently sealed in place, for those that didn’t see The Lego Movie.) Don’t touch, don’t ask how long it took to build, don’t ask how many pieces there are and most of all, don’t ride your skateboard on the convention floor. This year’s convention is June 13-17. Be sure to tip the Lego bellman.
RECENT BIRTHDAYS: Rock musician Dick Dale is 81. The King of the Surf Guitar. Singer Rita Coolidge is 73. Country singer Tim McGraw is 51. Singer Toni Tennille is 78. Actor James Mitchum is 77. He is the eldest son of Robert Mitchum who died in 1997. Rock musician Alex Van Halen is 65. Actress Melissa Gilbert is 54. Singer Enrique Iglesias is 43. Rock correspondent Kurt Loder is 73. Editor at Rolling Stone, MTV.
NBC newsperson Brian Williams is 59. Actress Tina Yothers is 45. Jennifer Kees on Family Ties. Singer Adele is 30. Singer Donovan is 72. Actor Mike Hagerty is 64. Overboard. Inspector Gadget. Wayne’s World. Sports anchor Chris Berman is 63. Rock singer Bono is 58. U2. Model Linda Evangelista is 53. Actress Christine Baranski is 66. Fashion designer Donatella Versace is 63. Actor Dwayne Johnson is 46. The Rock. Princess Charlotte of Cambridge is 3. Singer Janet Jackson is 52. Actress Tina Fey is 48. Country singer George Strait is 66.
Filmmaker George Lucas is 74. Star Wars. “A special effect is a tool, a means of telling a story. A special effect without a story is a pretty boring thing.” Director Robert Zemeckis is 67. Credited as “one of the greatest visual storytellers in filmmaking” with Romancing the Stone, Back to the Future trilogy, Who Framed Roger Rabbi and Forrest Gump. Rock singer David Byrne is 66. Talking Heads. Actor Tim Roth is 57. Actress Cate Blanchett is 49. Writer-director Sofia Coppola is 47.
Unless your name is Google, stop acting like you know everything.
A 33-year-old man in England was sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of murdering his 32-year-old girlfriend in 2017, dismembering her body, and then admitting to police he made a necklace out of her teeth. Ugh.
Texas: Some days you eat salads and go to the gym. Some days you eat 20 tacos and drink margaritas. It’s called balance.
The co-pilot of a Sichuan Airlines flight was sucked halfway out of the cockpit window after a loud noise, then a window blowing out. The plane was shaking so hard that the pilots could not read the gauges. Luckily the co-pilot was wearing a seatbelt and was pulled back in, suffering only minor injuries. The plane was believed to be 7-years-old and mechanical failure is to blame. This comes right after a Southwest Airlines pilot was credited with landing a plane after an engine exploded in midair, shattering a window, then sucking one passenger partially out of the plane. This passenger died soon after. What the heck is going on.
In Michigan, an engineering employee has been fired after police determined that she baked ‘laxative brownies’ intended for a departing colleague’s send-off party. Co-workers believe there might have been some tension between the two. You think. If there wasn’t, there is now. The employee wasn’t charged with any crime because she ‘fessed up’ before her co-workers ate the brownies.
Shop the 6th annual Artisan’s Market at Haak Vineyards and Winery on May 20th noon-4 pm. It features beautiful, handcrafted and homemade items from talented artists and of course, wine. It’s FREE but rsvp requested so they can plan for you. www.haaakwine.com or 409-925-1401. Go do something fun while you are still alive.
If you have the defective Takata air bags in your vehicle, seek repairs immediately. Use your VIN# and go to NHTSA.gov.
Nestle is paying more than $7 BILLION for the rights to sell Starbucks coffee and tea in grocery stores worldwide. Why? Because they have failed to pull in younger consumers. Anyone under the age of 60 thinks Nescafe is boring. Starbucks will focus on their more lucrative coffee shops and higher-end Roastery locations. They will also use the $7.15 Billion to fund stock buybacks.
About a mile from downtown Uvalde, Texas, there is the birth home of country-western star Dale Evans, Queen of the West. Inside the house, it’s dusty, all the furnishings are gone, doorknobs are missing and there was some discussion that the house should be demolished but it’s now on the market for $149,000 and there might be a buyer that wants to save it especially since it was designated as a local landmark last year by the city’s historic preservation board. When Evans married Roy Rogers in 1947, she was his third wife, but he was her fourth husband. They continued as a team until his death in 1998. She died at age 88 in 2001. Evans wrote the well-known song, “Happy Trails.”
Dang. Add Roy Rogers to my list of cowboys and westerns from last week. Oh, and Gabby Hayes.
I think I messed up. Employee Appreciation Day is an unofficial holiday, the first Friday in March, and Administrative Professionals’ Day was April 25th. It is also called Secretaries Day or Administrative Assistant Day. I think I missed it. All of it. I’m sorry. The kind and loving people I work with everyday deserve better than this. I had giant candy bars on their desks when they came in on Monday morning, that said “I appreciate you, Thank-you and You’re the Best.”
Things Texans Love: Whataburger, Kolaches, Cowboy Boots, Tacos, BBQ, Shiner, Blue Bell, Sweet Tea, Chips and Salsa, 85 MPH limits.
There is a Rolex watch called the Unicorn, perhaps one of the most expensive watches to ever go to auction, is a manually wound vintage Rolex Daytona made entirely of white gold and was a special-order piece produced in 1970. A collector is now willing to sell it and donate 100% of the proceeds to charity to help humanity. Because of its’ uniqueness, it is expected to bring over $3 million. The band is quite beautiful.
According to Time magazine, February temperatures were 27-degrees hotter than normal at Greenland’s Cape Morris Jesup, the northern most land-based weather station. Yep. 27 degrees. Having temperatures in LJ in the 90’s is horrible. Can you imagine 27 degrees hotter?
The Avengers: Infinity War took in $1-billion worldwide in the first 11 days, $450-million in the US.
Streaming music service, Spotify, is dropping R. Kelly from its playlist. Over the years, the multi-platinum recording artist has faced many accusations of sexual misconduct and was acquitted of child pornography charges in 2008. Spotify says they want to choose program to reflect their values. #MuteRKelly. OK. Let’s hold some more famous people accountable. Especially the ones that young adults and kids look up to. See Bill Cosby…
Rita Moreno is 86 years old and is an EGOT – that means she has an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony award. The list of people that have received the coveted EGOT award is VERY short, as in only 12 people. So, when I heard that Moreno was on a recent talk show talking about how Marlon Brando was such a much better lover than Elvis, it took me by surprise. I thought she had more class than that. The list of people that do actually have class and show it, now seems to get smaller and smaller.
Exciting graduation and end-of-school festivities are upon us. Thank you for taking the time to read this.
