What I Heard This Week! 04-08-2021
In early February, I received a Notice of Application for Unemployment Benefits from the TWC. It had my name, business name, social security number and the reason I was no longer employed…Permanent Layoff. Hmmm. I realize that COVID has really put a huge kink in the advertising business with small businesses just trying to hang on until business picks up again, but I do not remember a permanent layoff at my office. So, I got on the phone and called the number that was listed on the form. I never found a real person to talk to, so I waited a few days and called again. Still no real person, just a lot of button pushing. So, I got online and filed a fraud claim. Weeks have passed. Well, I was in bed this morning sipping on my coffee when a potential spam call came in. Supposedly it was someone from Texas Workforce Commission asking about my fraud claim. This person said that it is considered identity theft and it is happening in huge amounts since COVID. Beware. The thieves would have filed the claim then changed the address and deposit information to an account in their name. Sigh.
It is likely that in the past, I mentioned that I save the cardboard centers to toilet paper and paper towels rolls, then I stuff them with dryer lint to use as fire starters for my fire pit. My new Farmer’s Almanac arrived in the mail last week and I immediately flipped open the page that says to save and dry your orange peels because they work well as fire starters. Hmmm. I will let you know. Bet it smells good. Orange peels and other citrus can also be used in your garden because ants, aphids and most scavengers do not like the scent. Including cats, dogs, and mice. Orange peels contain a chemical called d-Limonene which is an all-natural insecticide that damages the nervous systems of small pests such as aphids and ants, killing them. Hmmm. I think I might find it hard to ever throw away citrus peels again.
Think about this. What exactly is a normal life worth to you? I like the way that the New York Times just said it, “The Coronavirus is plotting a comeback.” How we behave now is probably going to determine if we can return to a semi-normal life by summer. I don’t know about you, but I need normal, soon. Many scientists are expecting, and seeing another rise in infections because of the new strain. We are now armed with vaccinating three million people a day (over four million doses of the coronavirus vaccine were administered last week in a 24-hour period, a record for the US.),good brains, and information that should help us understand that we need to be cautious, mask, wash our hands, and stay away from inside groups of people. Please. We are almost to the finish line. After more than a year, we can even see the finish line, so now is not the time to sit down and get comfortable. Hold on a little longer. Please. I desperately need your help because my children really need to get out of the house and go back to school. Oh, never mind, if I have to seal them in bubble wrap and ship them, they are going back!
Somewhere there is a parent, driving alone, stuck behind a slow-moving truck, thinking to themselves, “I don’t care how long this takes.”
A Goodwill employee in Oklahoma was sorting through a pile of donations when she felt something odd between two sweaters. It was stacks of cash, totaling $42,000. Instead of keeping the money, she had Goodwill track down the owner. There is good in the world. Dwight Yoakam will be at the Arena Theatre May 27 & May 28. COVID-19 guidelines will be followed. Wow. A concert. Tiger King’s Joe Exotic and Dillon Passage are getting a divorce after three years of marriage. I am at a loss for words. Joseph Maldonado-Passage (Joe Exotic) is serving a 22-year prison sentence after being convicted of plotting a murder-for-hire against Carol Baskin (who is believed by some to be guilty of feeding her husband to the tigers.) NASCAR drivers had a chance recently to test Ford’s electric 1,400 hp Mustang racing version of its all-electric Mustang Mach-E crossover car. The prototype is not street-legal, and it is not competing in races, but the company is using it to showcase how great an electric vehicle can be.
RECENT BIRTHDAYS: Singer Steve Gatlin of the Gatlin Brothers is 70. Actor Robert Downey Jr. is 56. Singer Allan Clarke of The Hollies is 79. Actor Billy Dee Williams is 84. Actor Marilu Henner is 69. Taxi, Evening Shade. Actor Paul Rudd is 52. Singer-guitarist John Oates of Hall and Oates is 73. Actor Jackie Chan is 67. Actor Russell Crowe is 57. Singer Peggy Lennon of the Lennon Sisters is 80. Bassist Mel Schacher of Grand Funk Railroad is 70. Actor John Schneider is 61. The Dukes of Hazzard. Actor Michael Learned is 82. The Walton’s. Actor Kristen Stewart is 31. Twilight. Actor Dennis Quaid is 67.
Actor George Segal died at 87 of complications from bypass surgery. Oscar-nominated for his role as the dinner guest of dysfunctional couple Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in the film classic Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1966), he went on to enjoy success with comedies that paired him with Robert Redford in “The Hot Rock” (1972), Barbra Streisand in The Owl and the Pussycat (1970), and Jane Fonda in Fun with Dick and Jane (1976). Younger generations were most familiar with him in Just Shoot Me. Novelist and screenwriter Larry McMurtry died of heart failure at 84. He co-wrote the Oscar-winning screenplay for Brokeback Mountain and novels, Lonesome Dove (Pulitzer Prize), Terms of Endearment, The Last Picture Show; more than 30 novels in all. Movies adapted from McMurtry’s works earned 34 Oscar nominations, with 13 wins.
Stanford beat Arizona to win its first NCAA Women’s basketball title since 1992. Baylor beat Gonzaga to win the NCAA Men’s Basketball title. I am aware that I don’t love sports, but who the heck is Gonzaga? Disneyland in California finally set a date to reopen: April 30.President Biden says that all adults in the US will be eligible for COVID vaccination on April 19th. I am going to remind you right now that Mother’s Day is May 9th. Write it down, because 4 weeks from now, I don’t want you whining that no one told you. Yep. The Former ‘Sexiest Man Alive’ is also an AARP star. On his 60th birthday, George Clooney will receive the AARP highest honor, the annual Career Achievement Award and has graced the February/March cover of the AARP Magazine. What a man.
Wearing a mask and getting a vaccine isn’t a political statement, it’s an IQ test. Dayna Steele
My son and I went to see An Iliad two weeks ago. A one-act, one-man on stage, re-telling of Homer’s classic. Three actors shared and played the part on different evenings. They were Wes Copeland, Bobby Britton, and Jeremy Todd. It is amazing how one person can remember so many lines. We sat in pods, outside Brazosport College in The Glen. It was a little windy, but pretty perfect. A chance to see friends from a distance…friends that we have missed much the past year. Just a taste of what is to come. Don’t throw away your masks just yet, because we are so close to having our world back, and it is so delicious.
Musician Paul Simon sold his songwriting catalog to Sony for more than $300 million. Several other noted songwriters have struck big deals recently. Bob Dylan’s song catalog pulled in $400 million and was sold to Universal Media Group. Both of these guys are almost 80. Stevie Nicks (72) recently sold 80% interest in her copyrights, valued at about $100 million. Fleetwood Mac’s Dreams was No. 1 on June 18th, 1977, then recently captured its largest streaming week ever (2.8 billion views) after a Tik Tok video went viral… 44-years later. Neil Young (75) sold 50% of his song catalog to the Hipgnosis Songs Fund, reported to have cost $150 million. Carole Bayer Sager (74) also sold to Hipgnosis Songs Fund, along with Blondie singer, Debbie Harry (75). Mick Fleetwood (73) sold his interest in his Fleetwood Mac catalogue to BMG which included Dreams. The list goes on with Barry Manilow, Shakira, Lindsey Buckingham, John Lennon, Dire Straits, and Richie Sambora. Other artists, including Dolly Parton, have said they are considering trading in their songs for “for business reasons and estate planning” as they approach the end of their careers. COVID and the lack of touring is also a reason, along with a huge tax benefit. I guess these songs can now be used for commercials. Hope they don’t mess that up.
Have a great week, sell something, and most of all, thank-you for taking the time to read us! We appreciate you.
Lisa
