1. Kung Fu Panda 4 (PG) Jack Black, Awkwafina
2. Dune: Part Two (PG-13) Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya
3. Arthur the King (PG-13) Mark Wahlberg, Simu Liu
4. Imaginary (PG-13) DeWanda Wise, Taegen Burns
5. Cabrini (PG-13) Cristiana Dell'Anna, John Lithgow
6. Love Lies Bleeding (R) Anna Baryshnikov, Kristen Stewart
7. Bob Marley: One Love (PG-13) Kingsley Ben-Adir, Lashana Lynch
8. One Life (PG) Anthony Hopkins, Lena Olin
9. The American Society of Magical Negroes (PG-13) Justice Smith, Zachary Barton
10. Ordinary Angels (PG) Alan Ritchson, Hilary Swank
(c) 2024 King Features Synd., Inc.
“READ TIDBITS
BEAUTIFUL BODY: THE PANCREAS
It may be small – just 4.7 to 5.9 inches (12-15 cm) long – but the pancreas is vital to the digestive process. This week, Tidbits delves into the functions of this important organ.
• A Greek surgeon named Herophilus was the first to formally identify the pancreas around 300 B.C. The organ was first referred to as the pancreas about 400 years late, when another Greek surgeon, Ruphos, came up with the name using the Greek word “pankreas,” which translates “all flesh,” perhaps because of its lack of bone or cartilage.
• Where is the pancreas anyway? It’s located just behind the stomach in front of the spine. It’s surrounded by the gall bladder, liver, and spleen. The two main
"Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom" (PG-13) -- Is it the end of Jason Momoa's "Aquaman"? In December 2023, Momoa told "Entertainment Tonight" that if the audience loves the sequel, "there's a possibility" of a third film getting greenlit. But after negative reviews and the film only making $434 million against a budget of $215 million, it doesn't look too good. In the sequel, Momoa stars as Arthur Curry four years after the events of the first movie. Now a married family man, Arthur splits his life between the land and sea, while Black Manta still seeks revenge in the shadows. When he learns of Manta's plans, Arthur breaks Orm, his half-brother, out of prison to join him in the fight against Manta. Amber Heard, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Nicole Kidman reprise their roles from the first film. Out now.
(Max)
"We Were the Lucky Ones" (TVMA) -- After starring in the 2022 film "Bullet Train" together, Joey King and Logan Lerman reunite to lead this new eight-episode series based on the historical novel written by
functions of the pancreas are to make digestive juices and to produce hormones. The pancreas aids in digestion by producing a fluid containing enzymes that flows into the small intestine help break down carbohydrates, proteins, and fats and neutralize stomach acid. The pancreas also secretes two hormones directly into the bloodstream. These hormones, insulin and glucagon, are the ones that control blood sugar. When there’s too much sugar, known as glucose, in the blood, insulin is released. Glucagon is released when the blood doesn’t have enough sugar.
Georgia Hunter. King and Lerman respectively portray Halina and Addy Kurc, two siblings in a Jewish family of seven who live in Poland at the start of World War II. The large family inevitably gets separated as the war carries on, taking them far away from home and spreading them across continents. Amid the tragic circumstances they're forced to endure, the Kurc family is determined to keep their resilience and reunite with each other once the war ends. The first three episodes premiere March 28. (Hulu)
• The most common pancreatic ailment is diabetes. Type 1 diabetes occurs when the pancreas doesn’t produce insulin. The immune system attacks the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, preventing other cells from accessing the blood’s glucose for energy, producing an unhealthy build-up of sugar in the bloodstream. Type 2 diabetes arises when insulin is produced, but usually not enough, and the body doesn’t use it correctly. The cells become resistant to insulin, frequently due to obesity, causing glucose to accumulate in the blood.
• If the body produces too much insulin, the result is hypoglycemia, which causes low blood sugar levels. Hyperglycemia occurs when the body produces too much glucagon, creating high blood sugar levels.
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Royale, Maxine must sacrifice parts of herself to become the person she wishes to be. The series co-stars Ricky Martin ("The Assassination of Gianna Versace"), Laura Dern ("Big Little Lies") and the legendary Carol Burnett. The first three episodes are out now! (Apple TV+)
"Palm Royale" (TV-MA) -- In this periodcomedy miniseries based on "Mr. & Mrs. American Pie" by Juliet McDaniel, Kristen Wiig ("Wonder Woman 1984") takes on the role of Maxine Simmons. Maxine is a woman desperate to join highsociety life in 1969 Palm Springs, California, after getting dumped by her husband and social circle. She sets her sights on the Palm Royale, an exclusive club whose elite members are dripping with glamour and vanity. But if she truly wants to get to the top of the Palm
"Road House" (R) -- Almost 35 years after the 1989 film "Road House" starring Patrick Swayze and Sam Elliot released, a reimagining starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Conor McGregor has made its way to streaming. Gyllenhaal takes on the lead role as Dalton, a former UFC fighter who gets hired to work as a bouncer at a roadhouse in the Florida Keys. The joint attracts a great number of rowdy customers, but none are a match for Dalton's fists. However, when news of Dalton's immaculate butt-kicking hits the ears of Ben Brandt (Billy Magnussen), the heir of a criminal empire, Ben will stop at nothing to shut Dalton and the roadhouse down. For anyone who loves nonstop action, this one's for you! Out now. (Prime Video)
(c) 2024 King Features Synd., Inc.
• On April 8, 1930, baseball legend Babe Ruth signed a two-year contract for a then enormous sum of $160,000 with the New York Yankees, prompting the team's general manager, Ed Barrow, to predict (with, of course, now laughable inaccuracy) that "No one will ever be paid more than Ruth."
• On April 10, 2001, mercy killings became legal in the Netherlands following the Dutch senate's controversial approval of a bill legalizing euthanasia for patients with unbearable terminal illness.
• On April 9, 1860, French inventor Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville used his phonautograph, the earliest known sound recording device, to capture himself singing the French folk song "Au Clair de la Lune."
FAMOUS PETS
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romance went south, Max stayed for the next 18 years, until the pig’s death at age 19.
• Actor Nicolas Cage has owned several exotic pets, including an octopus for which he paid $150,000. His two albino king cobras, Moby and Sheba set him back $276,000. Cage kept a supply of antidote in his home in the event that he was bitten by the cobras, considering that he would have just 15 minutes to live without it. His menagerie also included a five-foot-long Asian water monitor lizard, a shark, and a crocodile. Cage was forced to surrender them all when faced with a $14 million IRS settlement for unpaid taxes.
• The Roman Emperor Nero was the owner of a pet tigress named Phoebe, a fighting brute he rescued from a match at the Coliseum. She was housed in a luxurious golden cage in the emperor’s palace, but was often allowed to roam free and dine at the table with guests. Those who offended or opposed Nero ran the risk of becoming Phoebe’s dessert.
• A white Japanese white Akita dog has been memorialized for his incredible loyalty to his owner. In 1924, Tokyo University professor Hidesaburo Ueno took Hachiko to live with him in Tokyo. Every day, Hachiko met Professor Ueno at the train station after the commute home from the University. The dog always turned up at the exact time of the train’s arrival.
• On April 11, 1951, President Harry Truman fired Gen. Douglas MacArthur as commander of the United Nations and U.S. forces in the Far East after he made public statements calling for an attack on mainland China if Communist forces failed to lay down their arms in Korea.
• On April 12, 1877, with a well-justified fear of ricocheting foul balls (not to mention being hit by a bat), Harvard's Alexander Tyng wore a converted fencer's mask for a baseball game in Lynn, MA, becoming the firstknown player to don a catcher's mask. While the new gear initially drew taunts from fans, designer Fred Thayer's patent for the device was approved the following January.
In 1925, while delivering a lecture to his class, Ueno suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and died at work. For nearly ten years after his master’s death, Hachiko waiting at the station for his return. As commuters recognized the pattern, Hachiko was fed and given treats, and the Akita became a national symbol of loyalty. A bronze statue of this devoted canine stands at Tokyo’s Shibuya Station.
• Oprah Winfrey’s five spaniels will have no trouble surviving if anything happens to their owner. These canines are protected by a $30 million trust, a small fraction of her estimated net worth of $2.5 billion.
• Monkeys have been the pet of choice for several celebrities, but not with the best outcomes. Michael Jackson purchased his chimp Bubbles from a research clinic, and brought his pet along with him on tour, with Bubbles even enjoying tea with the mayor of Osaka, Japan. Jackson frequently dressed Bubbles in a costume identical to his own, taught him how to moonwalk, and put him to bed in a special crib on Jackson’s ranch. When Bubbles became large and aggressive, he was moved to a Florida primate sanctuary. A relative gifted singer Justin Bieber with a capuchin monkey, Mally, on his birthday, and Bieber took his pet on tour to Germany. Unbeknownst to Bieber, the capuchin is an endangered animal in Germany, and authorities confiscated the animal, and charged Bieber $8,000 to cover the costs of moving Mally to a zoo. Elvis Presley had numerous pets, including donkeys he kept in an empty swimming pool and a turkey named Bowtie, but his favorite was his chimpanzee, Scatter. Scatter accompanied the King on tour, but was unruly and out of control, biting the crew and even swigging whiskey when left unsupervised. The chimp was sent back to Graceland, where it’s alleged that a cleaning lady poisoned him after being bitten severely.
• Taylor Swift might be described as a “cat lady,” as she is the happy owner of three felines, all of which are named after television/
• On April 13, 1964, Sidney Poitier became the first Black actor to win the coveted Best Actor Oscar for his role as laborer Homer Smith, who assists a group of poor East German nuns with building a church, in "Lilies of the Field." Three years later, he was Hollywood's top box office draw.
• On April 14, 2010, Neil Armstrong criticized the Barack Obama administration's stripped-down space plans in an open letter co-signed by Apollo commanders James Lovell and Eugene Cernan, describing the president's proposals as "devastating." Supporters, however, insisted that the accelerated rocket program would set new goals for American efforts in outer space.
(c) 2024 King Features Synd., Inc.
movie characters. Cat #1 is Olivia Benson, named after actress Mariska Hargitay’s character in the “Law & Order” TV series. Kitty Meredith Grey takes her name from the female doctor in “Grey’s Anatomy,” played by Ellen Pompeo. Her third cat is Benjamin Button, named for Brad Pitt’s character in the 2008 movie, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.”
• Napoleon Bonaparte’s wife Josephine kept a primate, a female orangutan that joined her at the dinner table attired in a white cotton dress. The ape supposedly had flawless manners and had a love of turnips. Josephine also kept an emu, black swans, and several kangaroos.
• In 2020, the Guinness Book of World Records introduced a new category to their line-up, that of “Most Followers on Instagram for a Cat.” It came as the result of Nala, a Siamese-tabby mix owned by Varisiri Methachittiphan, affectionately known as Pookie. Pookie rescued 5-monthold Nala from a Los Angeles animal shelter and, upon the advice of her sister in Thailand, began documenting Nala’s adorable charm on Instagram in 2012. Her postings were an instant hit, and by 2019, Nala had more than 4.2 million fans on the site. The number now tops 4.5 million and the feline has a net worth of $100 million. In addition to the enormous amounts of paid advertising she generates, Nala has her own cat food line. In 2019, the cat was also named TikToker of the Year, getting the better of four human competitors.
• Actress Audrey Hepburn met her pet fawn, Pippen, on the set of “Green Mansions,” a 1959 film with a script that called for Hepburn’s character to followed around by a small fawn. In the off-hours, in order to foster a relationship with the animal for the film, Hepburn took Pippen home and fed her from a baby bottle. When filming was concluded, Hepburn kept the deer, giving her a bed in a custom-made bathtub, although Pippen sometimes slept in Hepburn’s bed. Pippen was a guest at parties, and was also taken to the grocery store.
Text by Tidbits©
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• Painful inflammation of the pancreas, known as pancreatitis, can be the result of gallstones
blocking the bile duct, trauma to the abdomen, certain infections, or excessive use of alcohol.
• Pancreatic cancer accounts for about 3% of all new cancer cases, but nearly 8% of all cancer deaths. It’s the tenth most common cancer. It’s a sneaky disease as it doesn’t cause symptoms until the cancer is advanced. At the time of diagnosis, the cancer in half the patients has already spread outside the pancreas to other organs, which denotes Stage Four cancer. The most common
type originates in the cells lining the ducts that carry the digestive enzymes out of the pancreas. The cancer is difficult to discover because the symptoms are nonspecific, such as abdominal pain, back pain, weight loss, tiredness or weakness – all things that are more likely to be caused by something else. Type 2 diabetes, smoking, pancreatitis, obesity, and alcohol abuse can raise the risk, as well as family history and older age, as most people diagnosed are over 65. The five-year pancreatic cancer survival rate is about 12.5%
Text by Tidbits©
• Residents of the Galapagos island of Floreana use a barrel of disorganized mail in place of a formal postal system. Tourists are responsible for sorting through the mail and grabbing any parcels they can deliver on the way to their destination.
• In curling, good sportsmanship and politeness are essential. Congratulating opponents on
PRESIDENTIAL PETS
• Thirty-sixth U.S. President Lyndon Baines Johnson came under fire in 1964 for his treatment of his pair of beagles, Him and Her. When LBJ was photographed lifting Him up by his ears, the Humane Society of Texas publicly denounced Johnson, calling for an apology. The President issued a statement, defending Him’s yelps as “a sound of joy.” Her died later that year after swallowing a rock, and Him perished two years later after being hit by an executive chauffeur.
• As First Daughter Chelsea Clinton left her piano lesson in 1991, a cat leaped into her arms, one that would be taken home to the White House. Socks the Cat was the official presidential pet for six years until 1997 when a
plays and abstaining from trash talk are part of what's known as the "Spirit of Curling."
• Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison Schmitt was allergic to moon dust.
• According to the record-holder for tallest waffle stack, Guinness World Records has a 40-page document defining what a waffle is. (Frankly, we think we could have managed it in just 30.)
• Alaska is simultaneously the westernmost and easternmost state.
Dark Horse Brewery about having their beer featured in a video, which would have provided great exposure for the small Michigan company. They declined, however, as "none of us at the brewery really care for the band."
• High schools and universities in New Zealand are allowed to keep up to a pound of uranium on the premises for educational purposes.
• Marie Curie's notebooks are still radioactive.
• In 2010, rock band Nickelback approached
Labrador Retriever was introduced to the family. Socks the Cat and Buddy the Dog loathed each other at first sight. Socks lost the battle when the Clintons left the White House in 2001, taking Buddy with them, and giving the cat to the President’s secretary.
• George H.W. Bush’s English Springer Spaniel, Mildred Kerr Bush, nicknamed Millie, was once called “the most famous dog in White House history.” George mentioned Millie in a 1992 speech while campaigning for re-election, referring to the opposing candidates when he said, “My dog Millie knows more about foreign affairs than these two bozos.” In 1990, Millie was credited as the author of “Millie’s Book,” a children’s book actually authored by Barbara Bush, but written from the perspective of Millie. The book was Number One on The New York Times best seller list. Millie was portrayed in
HIMALAYAN PEAKS
• The German version of the term "Average Joe" is Otto Normalverbraucher, which translates to "Otto normal consumer."
• An ordinance in Gainesville, GA, states that everyone must eat fried chicken, "a culinary delicacy sacred to this municipality, this county, this state, the Southland and this republic," with their hands. The tongue-incheek law began as a publicity stunt aimed at getting folks to think of Gainesville as the fried chicken capital of the world.
• Polar bears gain more than 400 pounds during pregnancy. ***
(c) 2024 King Features Synd., Inc.
episodes of TV’s “Murphy Brown,” “Wings,” “Who’s the Boss,” and “The Simpsons.” A Houston, Texas dog park is named in her honor. The 12-year-old Millie died in 1997 of pneumonia.
• Seventh president Andrew Jackson, a war hero of the War of 1812, was the owner of a parrot named Poll, a bird that first belonged to his wife Rachel. Following her death, Jackson was Poll’s caretaker for 17 years. When Jackson died in 1845, the parrot was brought to the funeral, where he began squawking and swearing in the voice of his owner. The cursing was neverending, and the foul-mouthed Poll had to be removed from the service held at Jackson’s Nashville home, The Hermitage.
• During his presidency, Ronald Reagan owned six different dogs – Rex, a Cavalier King Charles spaniel, Victory, a Golden Retriever, the Irish setter Peggy, a Siberian husky named Taca, Fuzzy the Belgian sheepdog, and Lucky, a Bouvier des Flandres, a Belgian herding dog breed.
Text by Tidbits©
1. GEOGRAPHY: Where are the Seychelles islands located?
2. TELEVISION: In which sitcom is the catchphrase "Hello, Newman" used often?
3. FOOD & DRINK: What is a cornichon?
4. HISTORY: According to a WWII government slogan, what should citizens do after they "Keep calm ..."?
5. MOVIES: What is the name of John Wayne's character in "True Grit"?
6. LANGUAGE: The Latin word "genu" refers to which part of the human body?
7. U.S. STATES: How many states begin with the letter "R"?
8. MEDICAL: The first vaccine was created to protect against which disease?
9. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE: What is the name of Helen Keller's teacher, who taught the blind and deaf girl how to communicate?
10. ANATONY: What is the smallest organ in the human body?
(c) 2024 King Features Synd., Inc.
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Q: When is "Virgin River" coming back? Will there be another season? I've seen all of the episodes and hope it returns. -- M.C.
A: Filming has already begun for season six of the Netflix series "Virgin River," but don't expect to see it on your screen for a while, possibly not until 2025. Showrunner Patrick Sean Smith confirmed at Netflix's Tudum event that Mel (Alexandra Breckenridge) and Jack (Martin Henderson) "will advance on their path to parenthood while also turning Lilly's farm into their ultimate dream home."
Smith further hinted that in the new season, viewers will "be surprised by some returning favorites from the past" and also get introduced to a new character -- Mel's biological father, played by actor John Allen Nelson ("Crazy ExGirlfriend").
***
Q: Is there going to be another season of "Heartland"?
I was so sad when Ty died in the ending chapter and wondered if Amy found love again. -- T.A.
A: I'm assuming that you're watching "Heartland" via Netflix because only seasons 1-15 are currently available to watch on the streaming service.
Fortunately, the Canadian series is on season 17 on the CBC network, but here in the United States, you'll have to wait a bit.
While no official statement has been released, there are reliable sources on the internet saying that season 16 will most likely be available on Netflix beginning in September, possibly earlier. This is because another streaming service, called UP Faith & Family, has first dibs on the show here in the U.S.. Once their customers have had enough time to watch season 16, Netflix viewers will then have their chance, likely starting this September, as mentioned above. If you can't wait that long, visit UPFaithandFamily.com and learn how you can subscribe to the streaming platform, which calls itself "the leading streaming service for uplifting entertainment." They offer a monthly subscription plan for just $5.99 month, but as always, be sure to read the fine print. ***
Q: What is the latest on Richard Simmons? He hasn't been seen in years, and now there's a rumor that he died. But fortunately, it was just a rumor, right? -- E.C.
