Pay the Writers!
After negotiations that went nowhere, Hollywood writers have decided to go on strike.
Shows like The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel Live, and other late-night shows not hosted by someone named Jimmy were affected first, shutting down immediately (looks like James Corden got out just in time). Then, if the 2007-08 strike is any indication, soap operas and some daytime talk shows will be hit. Prime-time sitcoms and dramas won’t be affected for a while because they film far in advance, though the start of the new fall season will probably be pushed back. We may see more reality shows.
The timing of the strike means that it’s starting just when we’re about to see the NewFront presentations from the networks, which are like the old upfronts only more new (and capitalized, for some reason).
What are they arguing about? It’s money, of course (but also many other things), particularly when it comes to the new world of streaming and artificial intelligence.
For even more background on what is going on, check out tweets from writer Adam Conover, writer John Rogers, and critic Matt Zoller Seitz.
The Great Butter Debate of 2023
Is it safe to leave butter out on the counter? That’s a food debate going on right now. Some people seem to think it’s fine to leave it out as long as two weeks, though others (like me) leave it in the fridge but take it out a little early if I know I’m going to use it on toast or something else and need it to be softer. The USDA says it’s okay to leave it out for a day or two, but after that it can turn rancid.
And remember, in some recipes it’s actually better to use cold, hard butter.
People Leave More Than Just Their Phones in Ubers
Those items include a unicycle, a jar of pickles from the 1970s, a container of fake blood, false teeth, dogs, turtles, lightsabers, and a Danny DeVito Christmas ornament (I made up one of those but I bet you can’t guess which one).
Blondie, Flash Gordon, and … Naughty Pete?
It’s sad to think about how much paper history we lost before the era of copies and digital backups. Thankfully we have people like Bill Blackbeard, who spent years collecting 2.5 million pieces of newspaper comic strips and comic book art. Not just the well-known ones but the short-lived and obscure ones too. They’re part of a new exhibit, and CBS Sunday Morning went behind the scenes.
Uploaded to YouTube by CBS Sunday Morning
Today Is National Cartoonist Day
Staying with the comics and cartoons theme, take a look at some of the great cartoonists whose work has appeared in the Post, including Charles Schulz (before Peanuts he did Lil’ Folks); Mort Walker (his Beetle Bailey character was named after Post editor John Bailey); Bil Keane (Family Circus); Johnny Hart (B.C. and The Wizard of Id); George Sixta (Rivets and Hit or Miss), and hundreds of others.
And here’s why May 5 is National Cartoonist Day.
RIP Gordon Lightfoot, Carolyn Bryant Donham, Harold S. Kushner, Stew Leonard Sr., Ralph Humphrey, Mike Shannon, Dick Groat, Eileen Saki, Billy Emerson, and Wee Willie Harris
Gordon Lightfoot had a bunch of great songs, including “If You Could Read My Mind,” “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” “Sundown,” “Carefree Highway,” and “Rainy Day People.” He died Monday at the age of 84.
Here’s a song off of one of his best albums, Salute, an album many people don’t know about.
Uploaded to YouTube by Gordon Lightfoot
Carolyn Bryant Donham was the woman whose accusation against Emmett Till led to his horrific murder and was one of the turning points in the civil rights movement. She died last week at the age of 88.
Rabbi Harold S. Kushner wrote several bestsellers, including When Bad Things Happen to Good People. He died last week at the age of 88.
Stew Leonard Sr. was a milkman who then went on to start the Stew Leonard’s chain of stores. He died last week at the age of 93.
Ralph Humphrey was a musician and teacher who played drums for people like Frank Zappa, Al Jarreau, and the Don Ellis Big Band, as well as on the soundtracks to such TV shows as The Simpsons, Star Trek: Enterprise, American Idol, and The Emmy Awards. He died last month at the age of 78.
Mike Shannon played for the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1960s and then became a broadcaster for Cardinals games, a position he held for 50 years. He died Saturday at the age of 83.
Dick Groat was not only a shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates, he set a scoring record at Duke playing basketball. He played in the NBA for one year too. He died last week at the age of 92.
Eileen Saki was the third (and longest-running) actress to play Rosie the bar owner on M*A*S*H. She died Monday at the age of 79.
Billy “The Kid” Emerson was one of the first artists signed to Sun Records. He wrote the classic song “Red Hot.” He died last month at the age of 97.
Wee Willie Harris was a British rock and roller who was a major influence on The Beatles. He died last month at the age of 90.
This Week in History
The “Old Man of the Mountain” Collapses (May 3, 2003)
It wasn’t a real old man, it was a rock formation on Cannon Mountain in Franconia, New Hampshire.
Carnegie Hall Opens (May 5, 1891)
How do you get to Carnegie Hall? It’s at 881 Seventh Avenue in Manhattan.
This Week in Saturday Evening Post History: Meadow Gold Butter (May 5, 1951)
Meadow Gold is still around, and Fred Harvey is credited with creating the first restaurant chain.
More Butter
As you may have guessed, there are a lot of recipes online that include butter. Because it’s butter! But I’ve tried to compile a few of the more tasty-looking ones.
AllRecipes is helpful because they actually have a category called 50 of Our Most Buttery Recipes, and it includes a Quick and Almost-Professional Buttercream Icing, Buttery Garlic Green Beans, and Grandma Rita’s Soft Butter Rolls. Taste of Home has recipes for Big and Buttery Chocolate Chip Cookies and Kentucky Butter Cake. And because we had so much news this week about comic strips, Popeye would probably love the Buttery Creamed Spinach from Spruce Eats.
Next Week’s Holidays and Events
Coronation of King Charles III (May 6)
The major networks and cable channels will have full coverage starting at 5 a.m. ET.
Kentucky Derby (May 6)
The 149th race, billed as “the most exciting two minutes in sports, airs on NBC, NBC Sports, and Peacock at 2:30 p.m. ET (though the race itself doesn’t start until around 6:57 p.m.). You can eat the above Kentucky Butter Cake while watching it.
Free Comic Book Day (May 6)
There’s an official site for the day, and you can search for a store in your area that is participating.
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Comments
There’s really not any late night show worth watching anymore. They’ve gone political and push their personal agenda and there’s really nothing entertaining about them anymore. Too bad we no longer have a Johnny Carson or Jack Paar.
The only late night host that’s clever and smart is Seth Meyers, and I watch segments of his show online at my convenience. The others, forget it. Especially beady-eyed Kimmel. Talk about a bottom feeder. When it comes to butter, I like the Parkay squeeze bottle or ‘I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter’. Used in moderation, like the ‘0’ cholesterol and trans-fat.
Thanks for the Sunday Morning segment on comic strip art. I was really into the wonderful comic strips that appeared in The Los Angeles Times Sundays and weekdays. I’d cut out ‘Momma’, ‘Rick O’Shay’, ‘B.C.’, ‘Nancy’, and the photo-realistic ‘Apartment 3-G. In 1971 the new serial strip ‘Dark Shadows’ appeared from that March to August, with the return of Apt. 3-G. Meanwhile that April, the experimental ’60s show itself went away.
Thanks for the video ‘Salute’ for Gordon Lightfoot. I have that album in storage. It’s very underrated. He updated his sound for the 80’s, but remained faithful to his classic style. I love all of his major (earlier) hits, but “If You Could Read My Mind” is my favorite. It’s weird I heard it twice, a day apart, about 2 weeks ago. ‘Sundown’ my next favorite.
It would have been neat if I could have written a record review for the school paper for ‘Sundown’, but it came out the same month as ‘Buddha and the Chocolate Box’, so another guy got that one in April. In May I was assigned to write a review of the film ‘Dirty Mary and Crazy Larry’. The following December though, I got “Phantom of the Paradise”, still a favorite De Palma film, followed by ‘Dressed To Kill’ starring Angie Dickinson years later.