Native American Indians knew that the marijuana plant was powerful medicine. They used it for sacred rituals and they also used it for healing. According to the history of cannabis, both written and passed down through generations, American Indian tribes used the plant for everything from diarrhea to sleep to pain relief.

Now 25 states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana for medical use. Next month, nine more states will ask voters to approve legalization of the plant for either medical or recreational use.

As election day nears, a "new customer base" for the medicinal qualities of pot was revealed in the New York Times: your pets. According to the report, dogs and cats suffer from many of the same afflictions as their human counterparts, many of which are cured or relieved with cannabis. It's been shown effective in both humans and pets for seizures, anxiety, arthritis and inflammatory states such as arthritis.

WARNING: That doesn't mean you should 'smoke up' your dog. In fact, the psychoactive THC in marijuana is toxic to dogs. However, the non-psychoactive chemical CBD, which has been shown to prevent seizures in young children, is perfectly safe. In fact, it seems to work just as well in pets as it does in people.

I don't know what to think of all of this, but like most pet owners, I would do anyThing for my dog Bosco. So if it works, I'm for it. But I'm glad Bosco is a robust, healthy beast. He only visits the vet for his routine checkups or - most frequently -  when he's eaten someThing he wasn't supposed to. By all accounts, medical marijuana wouldn't cure that.

See you next week,
Bobby

Since Comic-Con back in July, people have been speculating about the new Star Trek television series planned for 2017. Much of the talk swirling around the convention was based on rumor. As it turns out, some of those rumors were more accurate than others. But Trekkies were delighted for any morsel of information they could get about the new cast, new crew, and, gasp! new ship, whether it was true or not.

Now we're able to piece together a better picture of the new series. Though CBS will not confirm a Thing, preferring, I think, to preserve the mystery, they have released two teaser trailers. However, others involved with the show have revealed some pretty juicy tidbits for us to piece together, including the tweet from producer Bryan Fuller at left.

Besides that somewhat cryptic tweet, here are 7 other Things we've heard (from reasonably reliable sources) so far:

• Star Trek: Discovery will premiere on CBS in May, 2017 and be released to their streaming service All Access soon after.
• The main character won't be the captain. Instead, the protagonist, Number One, is a female Lieutenant Commander. (We don't know her on- or off-screen name yet.)
• The series takes place ten years before Kirk & Spock and will "bridge the gap" between Star Trek: Enterprise and The Original Series (around the year 2255).
• The Enterprise is in service at the same time as the Discovery, most likely under the command of Captain Christopher Pike with Mr. Spock as Second Officer.
• There will be a comic book and a book released in conjunction with the series.
• The show will feature a gay regular character, robots (not androids), and a LOT more aliens than previous series.
• The first season will run for 13 episodes and tell a complete story, much like chapters of a novel, but each episode will also stand alone.

Now here's the interesting Thing: the Romulan war ended (roughly) 95 years before Discovery launches, so now everyone is wondering: where will this story arc go? I surely don't know. On that topic, no one is talking. But I'm betting it will be where none has gone before.

See you next week,
Bobby

Instead of going to a Halloween party this year, I'm hosting a Macabre Marathon at my Haunted House. I've got all the decorations up, the props positioned for maximum scare value and my creepy costume at the ready. Now, to pick the fiendish films...

Creature Features are some of the scariest movies in horror and this 50-DVD set has some of the best. Blood Tide stars James Earl Jones who must save village virgins from the "evil under the sea". Little Shop of Horrors is one of my favorites and features a very young Jack Nicolson. I've also picked a few classics starring the icons of horror, Boris Karloff and Lon Cheney.

Not to be outdone by killer creatures, Mad Scientists create horror in their laboratories. From inventions of evil to reanimated monsters run amok, it's hard to pick just a few from this set of movies. But the short list includes The Atomic Brain, House of the Living Dead, Horror Express starring Christopher Lee, Telly Savalas and Peter Cushing and...just for fun...the silent classic Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde.

Next up: a Dark Shadows  binge-watch. The serial was one of my favorite shows when I was a kid and Halloween just wouldn't be the same without mysterious vampire Barnabus Collins. Nine fan favorite episodes were chosen for this set, which will take just about as long as your average horror flick and will close out the night with a retro goth bang.

My biggest challenge now is waiting until Halloween to watch it all. Now that I've picked them, I can't wait to see them!

See you next week,
Bobby

The idiom "necessity is the mother of invention" explains why we end up with some great gadgets here at Things. What it doesn't explain is how inventors come up with the devices that solve common problems — and why the solution seems so obvious to me only after someone else has invented it!

That's how it was when I discovered this little gadget. I can't stand cold coffee so I've tried ever insulated travel mug on the market. Some of them work quite well. Others...not so much. And then there's trying to remember to bring it inside and wash it every day. Well, no more. This little Thing can keep any cup hot, whether it's plastic, foam, or paper. And it fits any cup holder. I sure wish I'd thought of that!

I can't stand a warm drink, either. Whether it's an adult beverage or a soft drink, if it's supposed to be cold, that's how I want it. And I don't like Things all watered down with ice, either. Drink Rocks to the rescue! These little Things keep your drink cold without melting. They're made of soapstone for extended cooling and they won't scratch up your nice glassware.

Whether it's a Thing to make drinks more drinkable, a Thing to help you find your lost keys, or a Thing to help you stay safe, our buyers are always on the lookout for all the Things you never knew you needed but couldn't possibly live without.

See you next week,
Bobby