News of the Week: Top Cities, Rod Serling, and Cereal Isn’t Just For Breakfast Anymore

“Please come to Boston for the springtime … “

–Dave Loggins

And the Best U.S. City to Live in Is …

… Cambridge, Massachusetts.

That’s according to data collected by Niche, a site that helps people find the best places to live. Other cities in the top ten include Arlington, Virginia; Naperville, Illinois; Irvine, California; and Ann Arbor, Michigan.

The criteria for the list includes affordability, neighborhood diversity, public schools, and the number of Dunkin’ Donuts shops in the area, apparently.

Submitted for Your Approval …

I’m rather surprised that there isn’t already a statue of Twilight Zone creator/host Rod Serling in his hometown of Binghamton, New York. But a Kickstarter has been launched to get the statue up and dedicated, and there’s still time for you to contribute (it ends this Monday)! And if you contribute $50 or more, you get your choice of a calendar or a T-shirt. Contribute more than that and you get them both and maybe even a brick you can have personally inscribed and placed at the base of the statue.

From the pictures, it looks like we’re thankfully not going to have another Lucy situation on our hands.

Midnight Snack

A lot of people eat breakfast for lunch, dinner, and late at night (paging Jerry Seinfeld), but now you can do it at night without feeling bad about it.

Post has come out with two new kinds of cereal called Sweet Dreams. One is Blueberry Midnight and the other is Honey Moonglow. Both contain “an herbal blend of lavender and chamomile, and curated vitamins and minerals like zinc, folic acid, and B vitamins to support natural melatonin production.”

(That means they can help you get a good night’s sleep.)

I wonder if it’s okay to eat these cereals in the morning too, or will you find yourself falling asleep at your desk?

In other breakfast news, Cup Noodles — which I have always called Cup O’Noodles, though that name was retired in 1993 — has a new ramen flavored like pancakes, maple syrup, sausage, and egg.

50 Years of The Young and the Restless

I’m not saying I watch CBS’s The Young and the Restless every day at 12:30 p.m., but I will say that I’m rather stunned at the lengths Phyllis has gone to get rid of Diane. Teaming up with Stark? What is she thinking? I don’t 100 percent trust Diane, but Phyllis has gone off the rails. And why does Victor always seem to win, and why has Victoria turned almost evil, and why does it seem like there’s only one coffee shop in town? Don’t they have a Dunkin’?

That’s the type of stuff I would say if, you know, I watched the show every day.

The popular soap set in Genoa City, Wisconsin, is celebrating 50 years this week. Stars that used to be on the show include Tom Selleck, Eva Longoria, David Hasselhoff, and Paul Walker.

100 Years of Warner Bros.

The Warner Bros. studio is twice the age of The Young and the Restless, and to celebrate, Turner Classic Movies will be showing a marathon of all WB films throughout the month of April. It starts tomorrow with 1924’s Beau Brummel. Here’s the full schedule (PDF).

RIP Bill Zehme, Gordon Moore, Norman Steinberg, Hal Dresner, Connie Martinson, and Bobbi Ercoline

Bill Zehme was an acclaimed journalist and author who wrote books and features on such people as Johnny Carson, David Letterman, Jay Leno, Frank Sinatra, Hugh Hefner, and Regis Philbin. He wrote for such publications as Esquire, Playboy, Vanity Fair, and Rolling Stone. He died Sunday at the age of 64.

Gordon Moore was the co-founder and former chairman of Intel and one of the people responsible for the way we use computers today. He created what became known as Moore’s Law, which says that the number of transistors placed on a microchip will double every two years. He died last week at the age of 94.

Norman Steinberg co-wrote the Mel Brooks comedy Blazing Saddles as well as movies like My Favorite Year, Johnny Dangerously, the classic Marlo Thomas TV movie Free to Be … You & Me, and TV shows like Flip and Doctor Doctor. He died earlier this month at the age of 83.

Hal Dresner co-wrote such movies as Cool Hand Luke (for which he was uncredited), The Eiger Sanction, and Zorro: The Gay Blade, and wrote for TV shows like M*A*S*H, Night Gallery, and The Harvey Korman Show. He died last week at the age of 85.

Connie Martinson was the longtime host of the Los Angeles cable books show Connie Martinson Talks Books. She died earlier this month at the age of 90.

Bobbi Ercoline is the woman hugging her boyfriend on the classic cover of the Woodstock soundtrack album. She died last week at the age of 73.

This Week in History

Triangle Shirtwaist Fire (March 25, 1911)

The Greenwich Village factory fire killed 146 garment workers, most of them young girls.

Sacheen Littlefeather Declines Oscar for Marlon Brando (March 27, 1973)

The actress and activist declined the Best Actor award at Brando’s request to protest the way Hollywood depicts Native Americans. She died in October.

Uploaded to YouTube by Oscars

This Week in Saturday Evening Post History: Ralston Breakfast Food (March 25, 1905)

Yes, “breakfast food” seems like a generic term, but at least it’s brown.

Cereal Recipes

Note: These are recipes you make with cereal. I’m not going to tell you how to make homemade Cheerios or Froot Loops.

For example, take a look at these Cap’n Crunch Chicken Strips from The Pioneer Woman or the Cinnamon Toast Crunch French Toast (spoiler alert: it uses Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal) from Lauren’s Latest. Taste of Home has snacks called Cheese Crispies (which have shredded cheddar cheese, Rice Krispies, and pecans) and also Gobbler Cakes, which you can make with turkey, stuffing, cranberries, and corn flakes.

By the way, did you know there is a serious debate going on right now as to whether or not cereal can be considered a soup? I think what this means is that if people can eat cereal late at night, we’re going to start seeing people eat soup at breakfast.

Next Week’s Holidays and Events

April Fools’ Day (April 1)

Here’s a funny joke to play on your kids: replace their sugary morning cereal with Brussels sprouts. Tell them it’s a new cereal called Sprouts! and the mascot is a talking Brussels sprout. Throw in a Belgian waffle to make the scam seem more believable.

Men’s Final Four (April 1 and 3)

How did you do with your bracket? I ask that like I know something about March Madness. But the final four have made it to, well, the Final Four, and those teams are the University of Connecticut, San Diego State, Miami, and Florida Atlantic. CBS and the CBS Sports Network will have the action starting at 6 p.m. EDT on Saturday. The championship game airs Monday at 9 p.m.