News of the Week: Video from Mars, Virtual Bars, and Are You Eating Bacon the Right Way?

The Red Planet

In a perfect world, the landing of the Perseverance rover would be all we’d be talking about right now. It’s an astounding achievement. Just look at the video below. It’s like we’re living in the science fiction stories we read as kids (there’s even sound!).

Uploaded to YouTube by NASA

The rover’s parachute contains a hidden message, which the internet quickly decoded.

Munch’s The Scream Has a Hidden Message Too …

And that hidden message is …

Do You Miss Your Bar?

There isn’t much “going out” these days, certainly not to a crowded bar or crowded restaurant scenario. So let’s go to the virtual bar!

I Miss My Bar re-creates your favorite bar scene, complete with the sounds of a bartender working, customers talking, even the night or street ambience. There’s even a music playlist that changes every week. Make yourself a cocktail at home, sit back, and close your eyes. If you just want to relax and be left alone with your drink, play the “rain on window” option.

Sorry, there’s no setting for sticky floors or drunk jerks hitting on your girlfriend.

Don’t Use a Knife and Fork to Eat Bacon

Let’s check in with Miss Manners and see what type of questions she’s been getting recently. Sometimes she answers the really important life questions; sometimes she answers questions like, “Can I eat bacon with my fingers?” That was one of the questions from her column this week (scroll down to the last question).

I don’t think Miss Manners answered the question satisfactorily, because the only response is “How else are you going to eat it?”

David Sedaris Goes to the Apple Store

On CBS Sunday Morning, the humorist (who was interviewed for our September/October 2017 issue) described a recent trip to the Genius Bar to get his laptop fixed.

Uploaded to YouTube by CBS Sunday Morning

RIP Prince Markie Dee, Bruce Blackburn, Arturo Di Modica, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Fanne Foxe, Martha Stewart, and Bruce Meyers

Prince Markie Dee — real name Mark Morales — was a member of the Fat Boys rap group that had such ’80s hits as “Wipeout” and “Fat Boys.” He died last week at the age of 52.

Bruce Blackburn designed NASA’s “worm” logo. He died earlier this month at the age of 82.

Arturo Di Modica sculpted the famous Charging Bull statue that stands on Broadway in New York City. He died last week at the age of 80.

Lawrence Ferlinghetti was the poet and City Lights bookstore owner who helped introduce many of the Beat poets to the world, including Allen Ginsburg and Gregory Corso. He died Monday at the age of 101.

Fanne Foxe — born Annabel Villagra — was at the center of one of the big Washington political scandals of the ’70s, but she had a really interesting life before and after that scandal too. She died earlier this month at the age of 84.

Actress Martha Stewart — not to be confused with the other one — appeared in such classic movies as In a Lonely Place and Daisy Kenyon and sang with the Glenn Miller and Harry James orchestras. She died last week at the age of 98.

Bruce Meyers invented the dune buggy. He died last week at the age of 94.

This Week in History

The New Yorker Debuts (February 21, 1925)

The man on the cover of the very first issue — and the mascot for the magazine to this day — is named Eustace Tilley.

George Washington Born (February 22, 1732)

Here’s some trivia about our first president to impress your friends with: He had dogs named Sweet Lips, Drunkard, and Madame Moose.

This Week in Saturday Evening Post History: Washington Crossing the Delaware (February 24, 1951)

It’s always fascinating to me when an artist (in this case, Stevan Dohanos) has to re-create a really famous painting, like this one by Emanuel Leutze. And Dohanos did a fine job.

Pistachios!

I eat pistachios all the time, but I haven’t actually cracked one in five years. Ever since breaking a front tooth (on a pretzel) and getting a bridge put in, I’ve been somewhat reluctant to actually eat anything with my front teeth (or open beer bottles with them). And if you don’t open pistachio nuts with your fingers, a talent I never mastered, you have to do it with your teeth. So I’ve been just buying them out of the shell. They’re easier to eat that way, though I bet you eat more of them because you’re not pausing to open each one.

Today is National Pistachio Day, so here’s a recipe for Pistachio Crusted Chicken from AllRecipes. I never knew this soup existed, but you can make this Creamy Broccoli Pistachio Soup from The Sugar-Free Londoner. For dessert, you could make a classic Watergate Salad, which features instant pistachio pudding mix, pineapple, and marshmallows. And if you’re wondering about the Watergate Salad name, there’s an interesting history behind it, though no one can really agree on what that history is.

By the way, like bacon, it’s best not to eat pistachios with a knife and fork.

Next Week’s Holidays and Events

78th Golden Globe Awards (February 28)

Because of the pandemic, the show is going to look very different this year, but it’s great to see that Tina Fey and Amy Poehler will be hosting again, with Fey in New York and Poehler in Los Angeles.

National Anthem Day (March 3)

It’s on March 3 because that’s the day in 1931 the United States adopted Francis Scott Key’s “The Star-Spangled Banner” as its official anthem.

Featured image: Masarik / Shutterstock