News of the Week: Forgotten Names, Comic Books, and These Candles Are M’m! M’m! Good!

Random Notes

An asteroid flew by the Earth this past Tuesday, and SFGate.com describes it as being “larger than three Salesforce buildings.” Now, that’s a rather confusing description if you don’t know what the Salesforce building looks like. I certainly didn’t until I googled it. Maybe they should use a more universal measurement, like “as big as nine Statues of Liberty” or “larger than 27 Pizza Huts.”

Also on Tuesday, a Jeopardy! question involved a World War II correspondent with the last name Pyle. It’s Ernie, of course. The contestant answered … Gomer.

I’ve been thinking about names a lot lately, how certain names have gone out of style. I don’t see a lot of girl babies being named Mildred or Gertrude or Martha these days. We need more of those. In 40-50 years, all of the grandmothers are going to be named Skylar and Avery and Kelly.

Any intellectual property lawyers out there? Someone has to tell this company that just because they bought a rare Dune book doesn’t mean they own the rights to that work and can make films and TV shows based on it.

Benjamin Franklin said that there are only two things that are certain in life: death and taxes. I’d add a third: If you’re on The Price is Right and you bid $1.00 and you’re not the last bidder, the next person is going to bid $2.00.

First Superman Comic Book Sells for $3.18 Million

This is where I usually would say that I need to check my attic to see if I have a copy of this, but I know I never owned one. (Also, I don’t have an attic.)

Campbell’s Soup Now Makes … Candles?

I’m a big fan of candles, especially the ones that smell like pine/Christmas and the ones that smell like you just did the laundry. But I can’t get them to smell good! I think I’m doing everything the right way. I let them burn for a long time, I use more than one, and I don’t think the room is too big. But they don’t smell strong enough. I want to be overwhelmed by the scent. They don’t smell bad — they have sort of that woodsy, burning smell with an occasional throw of pine — but I want a real strong candle. Any tips?

Oh, yeah, about Campbell’s. They’re now making candles that smell like their chicken noodle soup and candles that smell like their tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. That’s a classic combo I love, but I don’t know if I’d want my apartment to smell like that all the time. Must drive dogs crazy.

Headline of the Week

“Alberta Restaurant Ordered Closed for Accepting Dog Photos as Proof of Vaccination”

RIP Meat Loaf, Louie Anderson, Yvette Mimieux, Terry Teachout, Gaspard Ulliel, André Leon Talley, Rosa Lee Hawkins, Fred Parris, R. Dean Taylor, Ralph Emery, Mike Jensen, Steve Schapiro, and Orlando Busino

Meat Loaf – real name Marvin Lee Aday – had one of the biggest-selling albums of all-time, 1977’s Bat Out of Hell, which included such classic hits as “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” and the title song. He was also an actor, appearing in films like Wayne’s World, Fight Club, and Roadie, as well as many TV shows and Broadway’s Hair. He died last night at the age of 74.

Louie Anderson was a standup comic and writer who went on to become an acclaimed actor, winning an Outstanding Supporting Actor Emmy for the series Baskets. He hosted Family Feud, voiced the lead character in the animated series Life with Louie, and appeared on Young Sheldon, Search Party, Ally McBeal, Funny You Should Ask, Hollywood Squares, and in several movies. He died this morning at the age of 68.

Yvette Mimieux appeared in such films as The Time Machine, Light in the Piazza, The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm, Where the Boys Are, Toys in the Attic, Lady Boss, and Jackson County Jail. She also appeared in TV shows like The Fugitive, Dr. Kildare, Berrenger’s, and The Most Deadly Game. She died Tuesday at the age of 80.

Terry Teachout was a beloved critic and essayist who covered everything from theater and jazz to ballet and movies. He was a columnist for The Wall Street Journal, a contributor to The New York Times, The New York Daily News, Commentary, Harper’s, Arts Journal, and American Theater, and wrote several acclaimed books of nonfiction. He died last week at the age of 65.

Gaspard Ulliel played young Hannibal Lector in the film Hannibal Rising. He also appeared in Saint Laurent, A Very Long Engagement, and the upcoming Marvel action series Moon Knight. He died last week at the age of 37.

André Leon Talley was an influential figure in the fashion industry as the creative director and editor-at-large at Vogue for many years. He also worked for such publications as W, Women’s Wear Daily, and The New York Times. He died Tuesday at the age of 73.

Rosa Lee Hawkins was a member of the girl group The Dixie Cups, known for the hit song “Chapel of Love.” She died last week at the age of 77.

Fred Parris was the lead singer of The Five Satins, who had hits with “In the Still of the Night” and “A Million to One.” He died last week at the age of 85.

Uploaded to YouTube by The Five Satins – Topic

R. Dean Taylor was a singer and songwriter known for the song “Indiana Wants Me.” He died last week at the age of 82.

The New York Times describes Ralph Emery as “the Dick Clark of country music,” and that’s a great summary of who he was. He died Saturday at the age of 88.

Mike Jensen was the chief financial correspondent for NBC News for more than 20 years. Before that he worked for The Boston Herald and The New York Times. He died last week at the age of 87.

Steve Schapiro was a photographer whose work appeared in such publications as Life, Sports Illustrated, Look, Time, Newsweek, Vanity Fair, and People. He also worked on promotional campaigns for movie studios, and he did several covers for the Post in the 1960s. He died Saturday at the age of 87.

Orlando Busino was a veteran cartoonist whose work appeared in Reader’s Digest, Boy’s Life, Good Housekeeping, Ladies Home Journal, Fantasy and Science Fiction, and Argosy. He also did several cartoons for the Post. He died last week at the age of 95.

This Week in History

André Michelin Born (January 16, 1853)

He and his brother Édouard were the original Michelin men, starting the French tire company in 1888.

Superman Comic Strip Debuts (January 16, 1939)

The first newspaper comic strip featuring the Man of Steel appeared the year after that first comic book above. I don’t think the strip would bring in as much money though.

This Week in Saturday Evening Post History: Campbell’s Soup Ad (January 17, 1942)

It’s comforting to know that Campbell’s has a product and logo that really hasn’t changed in the past 80 years (except for the fact they now make candles).

Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese

Campbell’s soup is one of those products I haven’t stopped buying since I was a kid, and there’s always a few cans in my cupboard. It really is m’m! m’m! good! (and also good food). But if you’re looking to make your own, try this Rich Roasted Tomato Soup, this Chunky Tomato Basil Soup, or this Cream of Tomato Soup.

You’ll need a grilled cheese sandwich to go along with that, so how about this Classic American Grilled Cheese Sandwich or this Ultimate Gourmet Grilled Cheese, if you want to be a little bit more fancy.

Next Week’s Holidays and Events

More NFL Playoffs (January 22-23)

On Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET, CBS and Paramount+ will have the Cincinnati Bengals vs. the Tennessee Titans. At 8 p.m., Fox will have San Francisco 49ers vs. the Green Bay Packers. On Sunday at 3 p.m., NBC and Peacock will have the Los Angeles Rams vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and at 6:30 on CBS and Paramount+ you can see the Buffalo Bills take on the Kansas City Chiefs.

Opposite Day (January 25)

If you really want to celebrate this day you shouldn’t celebrate this day.

Featured image: Shutterstock