What I Heard This Week! 09-09-2021
A Fort Worth man had been ordered to mow his lawn because it was taller than the city’s permitted 12-inches. He refused, so officers, along with a city mowing crew, knocked on his door several times, but no one answered. The city crew got to work mowing the yard, while the owner opened a window and opened fire. The SWAT Team arrived, and after four hours they fired tear gas canisters into the house, and the man came out wearing a hazmat suit and was arrested. Dang. Police officials said there have been issues with the homeowner dating back to 2010. No one was injured. Only in Texas. That used to sound like a compliment, but I don’t think it is anymore.
Instead of a sign that says Do Not Disturb, I need one that says Already Disturbed Proceed with Caution. (Thank you, Kay)
IKEA is launching a program in the US that asks shoppers to sell back their unwanted, gently used IKEA furniture. Great! It’s called Buy Back & Resell. This service will allow you to sell back your fully-assembled and functional IKEA pieces, and those items will be resold in their AS-IS section. You will receive store credit based on condition, age, and functionality. IKEA is trying to become more sustainable, circular, and carbon-neutral, just announcing that they will soon be selling renewable energy to Swedish homes and are on track to become net-zero by 2050. Not soon enough but certainly a worthy start. My son just left for college, and we have done more than our share of Ikea shopping recently, trying to get his apartment set up. It is affordable, yet stylish furnishings. Here’s another story.
IKEA’s famous Swedish meatballs have been around since 1985, selling more than 1 billion every year at their store cafeterias. Earlier in the pandemic, when stores were closed, the Swedish-based company shared its meatball recipe for customers to make at home. Hint: it’s all about the cream sauce. “It’s difficult to do business with someone on an empty stomach,” IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad, who died in 2018, said of why the company decided to open up restaurants in stores. Well, recently they were trying to entice customers to sign up for a loyalty card, good for rewards and other perks. 1,925 lucky winners were able to claim a meatball candle. Yep. Meatball candle. Enough said.
In Pennsylvania, a rare half-male, half-female Northern Cardinal was spotted by a bird-watcher. “I have been birding for 48 years and yesterday (20 February 2021) I had a once-in-a-lifetime, one in a million bird-encounter!” James Hill shared on Facebook. The bird is divided right down the middle. Genetically, the left side is biologically female, while the right side is biologically male.
Since 1953, storms have been given human names to make identifying them more convenient. For 26 years they were given only female names, but in 1979 the male-female alternating alphabetical lists that we use today were introduced. Names associated with storms that cause severe loss of life or property damage are retired by the World Meteorological Organization. In the history of hurricane names, ‘I’ now stands for infamous. In fact, we should watch out for hurricanes with names that begin with the letter “I”. Iris in 2001, Isidore in 2002, Isabel in 2003, Ivan in 2004, Ike in 2008, Igor in 2010, Irene in 2011, Ingrid in 2013, Irma in 2017, and now Ida in 2021. By the time we get to the letter I, it is the heart of the storm season. September 1st was the halfway point in the season, and November 30th, will be the end. Can storms develop in December through May? Good question. YES, because the atmosphere does not own a calendar.
Did you know? Scott from the City of LJ was kind enough to explain to me about deadbolts. If you own a home, you can put any kind of deadbolt on your doors that you wish. But, on rental property doors, you may not put a deadbolt that requires “a key or special skills to open from the inside…” in case of fire.
RECENT BIRTHDAYS: Actor Linda Gray of Dallas is 81. Singer Maria Muldaur is 79. Midnight at the Oasis. Original MTV VJ Nina Blackwood is 69. Actor Rachel Ward is 64. Actor Barbara Bain of Mission: Impossible is 90. Cinnamon Carter. Actor Eileen Fulton of As the World Turns is 88. Singer David Clayton-Thomas of Blood, Sweat and Tears is 80. Actor Jacqueline Bisset is 77. Actor Walter Koenig of Star Trek is 85. Ensign Pavel Chekov. Singer-actor Joey Heatherton is 77. Singer John “Bowzer” Baumann of Sha Na Na is 74. Actor Mary Crosby is 62. Actor Kimberly Williams-Paisley is 50. Actor Tommy Lee Jones is 75. Movie director Oliver Stone is 75. Actor Robert Blake is 88.
Actor Elvira is 70. Actor-singer Janis Paige is 99. Please Don’t Eat the Daisies. She is one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Actor Ed Begley Jr. is 72. Singer David Bellamy of the Bellamy Brothers is 71. Actor Mickey Rourke is 69. Jazz guitarist Earl Klugh is 68. Illusionist David Copperfield is 65. Actor Jennifer Tilly is 63. Singer-turned-photographer LaMonte McLemore of the Fifth Dimension is 86. Puppeteer Kevin Clash is 61. Formerly Elmo on Sesame Street. Singer-actor Frankie Avalon is 81. Musician-actor Nick Jonas of The Jonas Brothers is 29. Actor Sam Neill is 74.
Willard Scott played both Bozo the Clown and the original Ronald McDonald on TV, in addition to being the longtime weather forecaster on the Today show, always emphasizing cheerful showmanship over science. Mr. Scott died at 87. He wished so many individuals a happy birthday when they turned 100, until his retirement in 2015. He delivered the forecast dressed as Boy George and Carmen Miranda, even emerging from a large manhole on Groundhog Day…dressed as a very large groundhog. In January 1989, the country’s new first lady, Barbara Bush, broke ranks from the inaugural parade to dart over to Mr. Scott, broadcasting from the sidelines, and plant an impromptu kiss on his cheek. “I don’t know Willard Scott,” Mrs. Bush explained afterward. “I just love that face.” “Everything I do looks like it just falls into place,” he said in 1988. “Part of what I do is make it fall into place. You have to work at being a buffoon.”
There must be a better way to make the things we want, a way that doesn’t spoil the sky, or the rain or the land… Paul McCartney
Erik Cowie, a Tiger King zookeeper, has died at the age of 53 in NYC. Cowie made several appearances on Netflix’s hit show last year, even testifying against Joe Exotic saying he had seen him order some of the zoo animals to be shot and killed, which supposedly contributed to his conviction and prison sentence. Fifty years ago, George Harrison put together an all-star concert at New York’s Madison Square Garden to help Bengali refugees in India. The Concert for Bangladesh has had a lasting impact on every all-star charity event that has happened since. Mexico has decriminalized abortion, a huge step in the world’s second-biggest Catholic country. Australian Musk ducks have the ability to mimic the human language and sounds. Yes, ducks. Someone brought it to my attention today, that Buc-ee’s does not have their logo on their drink cups right now. When this girl comes back into town from Tennessee each time, she stops at the first Buc-ee’s, takes a picture of her iced tea and posts it.
A 5-year-old boy in Austin grabbed his grandmother’s 40-something year old wedding ring from the bathroom counter, then flushed it right down the toilet. Luckily a plumber was able to successfully retrieve it from the septic tank. I watched the interview and honestly, if the child belonged to me, I would have seriously thought about flushing him down the toilet. The kid was perfectly aware of what he was doing. Hmmm.
Music is probably the only real magic I have encountered in my life. There’s not some trick involved with it. It’s pure and it’s real. It moves, it heals, it communicates and does all these incredible things. Tom Petty
Happy 40th Birthday MTV. On August 1, 1981, MTV Music Television made its cable debut with one of its creators, John Lack, announcing “Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll.” The channel changed music as we knew it and popular culture forever. Think back to shoulder pads and permed long curly hair. Not that you care or remember, but in case you do, here are the first 25 videos.
“Video Killed the Radio Star” The Buggles
“You Better Run” Pat Benatar
“She Won’t Dance with Me” Rod Stewart
“You Better You Bet” The Who
“Little Suzi’s on the Up” Ph. D.
“We Don’t Talk Anymore” Cliff Richard
“Brass in Pocket” The Pretenders
“Time Heals” Todd Rundgren
“Take It on the Run” REO Speedwagon
“Rockin’ the Paradise” Styx
“When Things Go Wrong” Robin Lane and the Chartbusters
“History Never Repeats” Split Enz
“Hold On Loosely” 38 Special
“Just Between You and Me” April Wine
“Sailing” Rod Stewart
“Iron Maiden” Iron Maiden
“Keep On Loving You” REO Speedwagon
“Bluer Than Blue” Michael Johnson
“Message of Love” The Pretenders
“Mr. Briefcase” Lee Ritenour
“Double Life” The Cars
“In the Air Tonight” Phil Collins
“Looking for Clues” Robert Palmer
“Too Late” Shoes
“Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Other things that happened in 1981: Ronald Reagan was president. The AIDS virus was identified, Post-It Notes launched, Space Shuttle USA Columbia was the first reusable space vehicle. This was the year that the word internet was first mentioned, and MS-DOS was released by Microsoft along with the first IBM PC. Lady Diana Spencer married Charles Prince of Wales. President Ronald Reagan appointed Sandra Day O’Connor, first female justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. Raiders of the Lost Ark made its debut in theaters. Pope John Paul II was shot by would-be assassin. The first DeLorean DMC-12 futuristic sports car was produced. Muhammad Ali finally retires with a career record of 55 wins and 5 defeats. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states could require parental notification when teenage girls seek abortions. (Oh, my, how we regress.) Egyptian president Anwar Sadat is assassinated. The first American test-tube baby was born. The first Frequent Flyer Miles was introduced by American Airlines. Artificially produced Insulin became the world’s first genetically engineered protein to treat the human disease, diabetes.
Have a great week and thank you today and always, for taking the time to read us and shop with us. Please spread the word and sell something. It’s almost perfect garage sale weather. Call for your FREE ad.
LISA
