9/17/25 - Robert Redford, TV Themes, and Blue Lava
- bribriny
- 2 hours ago
- 4 min read
Wednesday 9/17/25
Celebrate:
Constitution Day and Citizenship Day
National Apple Dumpling Day
National Monte Cristo Day - sandwiches usually made with Swiss cheese and ham.
National Professional House Cleaners Day
National School Backpack Awareness Day
National Table Shuffleboard Day
Time's Up Day
World Patient Safety Day
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Robert Redford has died at the age of 89.
Known for his starring roles in “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” and “All the President’s Men,” Redford also directed award-winning films such as “Ordinary People” and “A River Runs Through It.”
His passion for the art of filmmaking led to his creation of the Sundance Institute, a nonprofit that supports independent film and theater and is known for its annual Sundance Film Festival.
Redford was also a dedicated environmentalist, moving to Utah in 1961 and leading efforts to preserve the natural landscape of the state and the American West.
Read more from CNN here.
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Snack brand Rewind has just launched 9-volt battery-flavored corn chips. In an attempt to capture the 90s nostalgic feeling of licking a 9-volt battery and experiencing the zappy tingly metallic feeling.
For now, they will only be available in the Netherlands and expand into Europe.
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Did you know that in the entire history of the charts, only five TV theme songs have hit #1 on Billboard's Hot 100?
On this day in 1984, "Miami Vice" premiered on NBC and that is one on the list.
Here they are:
1. "TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia" (The theme from "Soul Train".) MFSB. (1974) This was the first.
2. "The Theme from S.W.A.T.", Rhythm Heritage. (1976) (Ray Parker Jr. is playing guitar.)
3. "Welcome Back" (The theme from "Welcome Back Kotter"), John Sebastian. (1976) (influenced the name of the show..it was just going to be Kotter.)
4. "Miami Vice Theme", Jan Hammer. (1985)
5. "How Do You Talk to an Angel" (The theme from "The Heights"), Jamie Walters. (1992) (a bigger hit than the show, the song goes #1 and two weeks later the show was cancelled)
See the full article here.
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When Elton John had a double knee replacement last year, he had a special request for his surgeon . . . to KEEP his kneecaps to turn them into JEWELRY.
His jewelry designer said, quote, "We baked them. We had to bake them to dry them out. Then they get raw like pumice stone, they're very porous. So we had to paint them with acetate and then just polish them up."
Elton's right kneecap was turned into a gold-plated necklace that looks like "an old artifact from Egypt." It has an engraved phrase in Latin on the back that translates to, quote, "I will no longer bow to any man."
His left kneecap was smaller, so it was turned into a gold brooch.
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Ed Sheeran recently announced plans to release an album after he dies. It'll be called "Eject". And this is not a joke.
Ed just released his eighth album, "Play", on Friday. And he has plans to do at least five more albums, titled "Pause", "Fast Forward", "Rewind", and "Stop" . . . then ultimately "Eject".
(his last set were all math symbols, plus, times, divide, equals, and minus.)
He says, quote, "It's actually in my will, and [my wife] Cherry gets to pick the tracks for it."
Ed envisions "Eject" as sort of like a greatest hits album of the 10 best unreleased songs he's written since he was 18.
He adds, quote, "You know how posthumous albums come out, but they're sort of unplanned. And I don't want to go and someone just to jumble up stuff and put it out. I want it to be planned."
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Reba McEntire and Rex Linn are officially engaged!
They've known each other since the 1990s but didn't start dating until 2020, after reconnecting during the pandemic.
Reba shared that Rex reached out when her mother was sick, and from there the bond grew quickly. And they've been "pretty much inseparable ever since."
Reba says that they share a love of the cowboy lifestyle . . . and said that Rex is a better cook, but she brings the music. They now even work side-by-side on the sitcom "Happy's Place" . . . which Rex calls a "dream come true."
Earlier this year, Rex described them as "best friends" who want to "cross the finish line" together . . .
This will be Reba's third marriage and Rex's first. Congrats on the engagement Reba and Rex!
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Doctors have reportedly developed "special eye drops" for people with longsightedness, that could replace the need for reading glasses or surgery.
You wouldn't have to be constantly lubricating your eyes, or even dropping the solution right before reading. It could be as simple as using them twice a day.
The idea is that this could be more convenient than carrying around reading glasses . . . and it would be a lot less invasive than surgery.
This isn't the first time that scientists have used eye drops to address eyesight.
In 2023, researchers at Ohio State worked on special eye drops that could "prevent or delay nearsightedness" . . . so kids might not have to get corrective lenses so early.
And in 2021, Vuity eye drops hit the market. Those drops claimed they could replace eyeglasses for people who have trouble seeing close-up. The medicine takes about 15 minutes to work, but the effect of sharper vision can supposedly last up to 10 hours.
(what about those that CAN'T do eyedrops...that's me)
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We're living longer than we used to . . . or, Japan is at least. They just set a new record. Nearly 100,000 people in Japan are now 100 or older. The official tally is 99,763. It's the 55th year in a row that number has gone up.
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Today’s Useless Fact of the Day - There's one volcano in the world that doesn't have red or orange lava. The lava from the Kawah Ijen volcano in Indonesia is bright blue.
Ok...not really true, but, is instead the brilliant blue flames produced by burning sulfur gases that seep from the volcano's cracks and react with oxygen in the air, a phenomenon best observed at night. These intense blue flames, which can reach several meters high, have given the volcano the local nickname "Blue Fire". Visitors can see this spectacular display, though they must take precautions, such as wearing gas masks, due to the hazardous, toxic gases.
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