We lost Hollywood Legend Kirk Douglas yesterday. He was 103 years old! Kirk Douglas served in the Navy in WW2 and then became one of the biggest stars in Hollywood in the ‘50s and ‘60s. He was Oscar nominated for his roles in Champion, The Bad and the Beautiful, and Lust for Life. He didn’t win, but the Academy did award him an honorary Oscar in 1996. Kirk is survived by his wife, Anne, who is 100 years old! Those two must be in on some secret to long life. RIP to Kirk Douglas. 103 years is one incredible run.
Today is National Girls and Women in Sports Day and yesterday GiGi Bryant’s school held a ceremony to retire her No.2 basketball jersey. Vanessa Bryant shared a bunch of video from the ceremony on her Instagram page. It was an emotional day of students and teachers celebrating GiGi’s life and sharing stories about what she was like as a fierce basketball player, but also as a humble and loving friend. One story that particularly broke my heart came from her 8th grade teacher who said that they still include GiGi’s name during roll call. When she calls her name, she now hears 40 plus kids say ‘here’ in her honor. She said “because she’s always with us.” I still tear up envisioning it.
OK – here’s something way more light hearted. Mumbai is testing traffic lights that stay red if you honk your horn. This is there attempt to cut back on noise pollution. Mumbai Police began running tests in November and December. They connected decibel meters to traffic light poles at notably busy junctions. If the meters registered noise levels of 85 decibels or over, the lights were reset and stayed red for longer. It seems the trials went well because they are hoping to expand the noise sensitive lights to 10 more locations next month.
The coronavirus has caused a lot of travel paranoia. A lot of people are especially afraid of flying and contracting the virus while stuck on the plane. The World Health Organization says that if an airplane’s air filtration system is working properly then there is very little risk of any communicable disease being transmitted on board an aircraft. If you do want to limit your chances of catching someone’s sickness, they recommend booking a WINDOW SEAT, because sitting in the aisle can put you in contact with more passengers.
NATIONAL DAYS
- National Girls and Women in Sports Day – First Thursday in February
- National Frozen Yogurt Day
- National Lame Duck Day