What I Heard This Week! March 7, 2019
The Jameson ‘Love Thy Neighborhood Block Party’ in support of Keep America Beautiful, was held this weekend at the 8th Wonder Brewery on Dallas Street in Houston. There were Jameson cocktail samples served by local bartenders, beer tastings and food from neighborhood vendors. You had to be over 21 to attend so it was great fun getting carded again even though I don’t think that the guy ever really looked at my license, so I made sure that I waved it around a little more than necessary. Who knows, it might be years before I am presented the opportunity of being carded again, you know? If ever. Like, when is the last time you were carded? The music was great…Robert Ellis played the piano along with his band and other great musicians. The 8th Wonder Brewery celebrated Robert Ellis by creating a beer in his honor called “White Tuxedo” for one day only. It was dark, tasty and aged in whiskey barrels. Fun day. And yes, I had a designated driver.
Bumper Sticker: Adults on board, we want to live too.
Four children, ranging in age from one to five years old, will remain in foster care after two of them were found locked in a dog cage and the other two were found in a barn covered in waste. All the children were hungry, thirsty and malnourished when found on February 12, yet there was a refrigerator full of food in the home with a padlock on it. The Wise County Texas sheriff says that it is the worst case of child abuse he has seen in his 44-year career. No suitable relatives could be found to care for the children. Hmmm. You know what I think.
A Norwegian cruise ship leaving NY hit sudden wind gusts of 115mph just hours after it left port, causing the ship to rock, injure passengers, scatter debris and even broke windows. Some passengers thought that the boat was tipping over. Eight people were hospitalized when the ship docked in Florida two days later. 115mph is the same as a category three hurricane.
Jerry Lee Lewis has been hospitalized after suffering a minor stroke. He is described as “rock & Roll’s first great wild man.” A message on his Facebook page says, “He is recuperating in Memphis and doctors expect a full recovery. The ‘Killer’ looks forward to getting back into the studio soon to record a Gospel record and on the road performing live for his fans.” I saw him in Houston twenty-something years ago and he was pretty ‘killer’ then, jumping up on top of the piano. He is now 83 years young.
Last week I attended a lecture at The Brazosport Museum of Natural Science about the importance of artificial reefs to the Texas marine ecology, particularly the impact on sport fishing. The speaker was Thomas Hilton. He is patent owner of Atlantis Marine Habitats which since 2016, has designed, produced, and deployed almost 4,000 artificial reefs located outside major ports off the Texas coastline. The company deploys tons of low relief material in addition to artificial reef structures. He introduced the concept of the Texas Great Barrier Reef in 2006, designed to mitigate the loss of Essential Fish Habitat associated with the planned removal of hundreds of oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. Go to www.AtlantisMarineHabitats.com for maps to see the pictures of the concrete and limestone pyramids that look like triangle shaped dominoes. It’s time that each and everyone of us pays attention to our Earth and what is happening that we won’t be able to undo.
Remember about a decade ago when the baby polar bear “Knut” appeared in a Berlin zoo? Instant celebrity status because baby polar bears are so cute that you almost can’t stand it. The Tierpark Zoo in Berlin now has a new baby polar bear girl-cub that will be introduced to visitors in mid-March. On Valentine’s Day she weighed 18lbs. Google: baby polar bear berlin. You will smile and that’s so healthy.
RECENT BIRTHDAYS: Actress Claire Bloom is 88. A Streetcar Named Desire. Game show host Tom Kennedy is 92. Actress Marta Kristen is 74. Daughter, Judy Robinson on Lost in Space. Singer Michael Bolton is 66. Consumer advocate Ralph Nader is 85. Rock singer musician Neal Schon is 65. Journey.
Architect Frank Gehry is 90. Many of his buildings, including his private residence, have become world-renowned attractions. He designed the Walt Disney Concert Hall, Guggenheim Museum in Spain, Dancing House in Prague, 8 Spruce Street in NY. Vanity Fair labels him as “the most important architect of our age.”
First daughter Chelsea Clinton is 39. Actor Robert Clary is 93. He was Corporal Louis LeBeau in Hogan’s Heroes. Rock singer Roger Daltrey is 75. Actor-director Ron Howard is 65. Pop singer Justin Bieber is 25. Actress Jane Seymour is 68. Movie producer director George Miller is 74. Mad Max films. Rock musician John Lilley is 65. The Hooters. Contemporary Christian musician Duncan Phillips is 55. Newsboys.
Actor James Sikking is 85. Hill Street Blues. Actress Samantha Eggar is 80. She was Emma Fairfax in Doctor Doolittle. Actress Talia Balsam is 60. Formally married to George Clooney. Actor John Travolta is 65. Actor Matt Dillon is 55. Roots rock musician Zac Cockrell is 31. Alabama Shakes.
Actor director dancer Tommy Tune is 80. He is a 10-time Tony Award winner. I saw him last year with Chita Rivera and sat next to him at a restaurant once in NY. He is bigger than life. Actress Paula Prentiss is 81. Oooh. Remember her in The Stepford Wives? There was a great article about her in Texas Monthly last year. Her great quote is, “You shrink as you get older.” Tell me about it. 😊
Singer songwriter Bobby Hart is 80. He wrote for Chubby Checker, Jay & the Americans “Come a Little Bit Closer”, Little Anthony & the Imperials “Hurt So Bad”, Paul Revere & the Raiders, the Monkees “Last Train to Clarksville”, then he and Tommy Boyce recorded their own hit “I Wonder What She’s Doing Tonite.”
Jazz, Pop and classical composer, conductor and performer, Andre Previn, died at the age of 89. Previn was married quite a few times but is known for his affair with Mia Farrow who left her husband, Frank Sinatra, for Previn. They had three children, then adopted Daisy and Soon-Yi, who married Woody Allen in 1997. Previn was born in Berlin in 1929 and became a US citizen in 1943 and in 1950 was drafted into the Army and served with the 6th Army Band.
Luke Perry, the 90’s heartthrob, Beverly Hills 90210 and Riverdale star, has died after suffering a stroke. He was 52. It certainly makes you question your own mortality. He played Dylan McKay, the sensitive teen alcoholic not-so-bad boy with a heart of gold in 90210. He caused riots in shopping malls because of all the girls that crushed on him. He was so young.
Ross Lowell died at age 92, at his home in NY. I bet you are scratching your head wondering who he was. Well, many people have said that Mr. Lowell changed the TV and film industry as the creator of one of the most versatile pieces of equipment on any set. Gaffer Tape. Working tech, he needed a tape that was strong, heat-resistant and didn’t leave a residue. He found Johnson & Johnson’s Permacel tape that is used for ducts and heating coils, then transferred its adhesive surface onto tough silver fabric backing, and Gaffer Tape was born. It’s a roll of tape that solves almost every problem on stage and behind. My son, Mr. Techie, loves it.
The parents of a 21-year-old West Point cadet fatally injured in a skiing accident asked for and received permission to retrieve his sperm and store it, pending a court hearing on March 21. The parents said he was the only male child of their family and if they don’t obtain the genetic material, “it will be impossible to carry on our family’s lineage, and our family name will die.” There are other documented cases where this has been done, but mainly by a surviving spouse or partner. If it was my child, I don’t know how I would feel. Interesting topic for discussion.
Ariana Grande beat the Beatles’ 55-year chart record with, ‘thank u, next.’ Her possession of the top three spots on this week’s Hot 100 Singles Chart, ties a record set by The Beatles in 1964. WHAT?!? Outshining the Beatles? Can’t be.
Kylie Jenner is now the world’s youngest self-made billionaire at 21. That means she passes Mark Zuckerberg, who was given that title when he was 23. Jenner’s make-up company is worth at least $900 million, and she owns 100% of it. She has $100 million in cash from the company’s profits, less than 15 employees and outsources her manufacturing, packaging, sales and has more than 128 million followers on Instagram. Ahh. Instagram. So, does it come down to hard work or social media exposure? It’s puzzling to me but then again, I’m not an Instagram follower.
Cardi B set a RodeoHouston record. Tickets sold out in 40 minutes, even faster than George Strait’s closing performance. Go figure.
Two sisters, ages 5 and 8, were lost in the California woods for 44 hours. They had decided to go on an adventure, found themselves lost, then located shelter under a fallen tree branch. For warmth, each stuck one of their arms in the sleeve of a single rain jacket, then listened to their bellies growl the whole night, only having water to drink from what had collected on leaves. First responders found the girls 1.4-miles from their home. I saw the interview and those were cute, tough little girls who had listened to their 4H survival training program and stayed put when they realized they were lost. I’m so pathetic. I wouldn’t have lasted the night.
Pray for the people and the pets of Alabama. Strange weather everywhere.
It is with great sadness that we inform you of the death of our co-worker, fabulous father, grandest of grandfathers, and dear friend, Tom Aucoin. If you were one of his customers, then you were also his friend. That’s the way he worked. On Mondays and Tuesdays, he said he went out to call on customers, but we knew he was actually just ‘visiting’ with you. Tom was a part of this office and our lives for almost 20 years. He helped raise my children here at the office and was the designated person (voted by his peers) to slip his head around the corner of my office, wink and remind me to not forget the carrier checks, because I always forget the carrier checks. He was a first-rate all-around human being. If it was fireworks time, Tom was selling at Churchill Grocery store and gas station where they placed his stand. The locals knew him, brought him sweets, homemade tamales, and he in turn, watched generations of their kids grow up and buy fireworks. He loved the fact that he got to see the children of his customers that had been little kids twenty years ago…and they came back every year. He loved Jimmy Buffet concerts and his family, not necessarily in that order, but maybe. Tom, we miss you, but the sparklers in the sky will be beautiful tonight.
See page #2 for the obituary and scheduled memorial time.
Remember to spring forward an hour this Sunday!
Thanks for reading this. Lisa
