News of the Week: Spring Forwarding, Average Americans, and 65 Years of Barbie

Daylight Saving Time: The Debate Continues

I like it when it gets dark at 4 p.m. There, I said it.

Last week was the week of the year when people moan about setting the clocks ahead an hour and losing an hour’s sleep. These same people will sigh heavily later this fall when we put them back an hour.

Laura Prugh wrote an op-ed for the New York Times saying that we shouldn’t set the clocks ahead and forward anymore because … a lot of deer get hit by cars. I have to admit, that’s a new angle in the debate (and one I don’t completely buy). She wants to stay on one time all year but she picks Daylight Saving Time as that constant time.

We tried that in the ’70s, and people didn’t like it.

Why is early darkness so bad? Is it really that depressing? Are we all going to stay at the beach in October if it stays light out later? Are we all farmers?

Congress wants us to stop setting the clocks back and forth – it’s called the Sunshine Protection Act – and of course they want Saving Time too. It’s something both sides actually agree on (and they’re wrong).

I don’t have a problem – at all – with changing the clocks once in the spring and once in the fall. There are worse chores. But if we’re going to stop doing that and have one time all year round, can we make it Standard time? There are actual health and sleep benefits to it and mornings are not only more normal but also safer.

At one point last weekend I had the idea of not moving the clocks ahead an hour and living an hour behind everyone else. I mean, who says I can’t live in my own time? Hawaii and Arizona already do it.

Oh Great, There’s an A.I. Marilyn Monroe

It’s amazing how fast artificial intelligence has been adopted and accepted, isn’t it? It’s everywhere you look now, and most folks aren’t being as skeptical and worried about it as they should be. This is how every science fiction movie starts, people!

AI is going to eliminate millions of jobs, destroy art and culture, and eventually kill us all. But hey, the technology is so “cool!” Here’s AI Marilyn Monroe, who you can talk to for some reason. And that reason is because, according to Deadline, the project “marks another step forward in extending celebrity brand value beyond the grave.” So … yay?

She’s creepy and banal and quite possibly the least sexy Monroe since James.

The Most Average Person in the U.S.

Writer John Green digs into polls and the census (something the Post‘s Jeff Nilsson did more than two years ago) to find the most average American. It’s you, Jessica.

Uploaded to YouTube by vlogbrothers

(Hat tip to Jade for the video.)

Headline of the Week

“‘I’d Rather Die Hot Than Live Ugly’: Tanning Mania Returns”

RIP Eric Carmen, Karl Wallinger, Malachy McCourt, Richard Truly, Akira Toriyama, Jerry Foley, Jean Allison, David Bordwell, and Bud Lamoreaux III 

It’s amazing how many great songs Eric Carmen had, both as singer for the Raspberries (“Go All the Way,” “Let’s Pretend,” and “I Wanna Be With You”) and a solo artist (“All By Myself,” “Hungry Eyes,” “Make Me Lose Control,” and “Never Gonna Fall in Love Again”). He died Monday at the age of 74.

Uploaded to YouTube by Eric Carmen

Karl Wallinger was the founder and singer of the band World Party (“Ship of Fools“) and a former member of the Waterboys. He died Sunday at the age of 66.

Malachy McCourt was an acclaimed writer and actor, appearing in such soaps as Ryan’s Hope and Search for Tomorrow and movies like Reversal of Fortune, The Devil’s Own, and Gods and Generals. He was the brother of writer Frank McCourt. He died last week at the age of 92.

Richard Truly was the commander of the space shuttle Challenger who later went on to lead NASA. He died last month at the age of 86.

Akira Toriyama was the Japanese Manga artist who created Dragon Ball. He died earlier this month at the age of 68.

Jerry Foley was a longtime director of The Late Show with David Letterman. He died last week at the age of 68.

Jean Allison appeared in movies like Bad Company, Edge of Fury, and Hardcore, as well as TV shows like Perry Mason, Bat Masterson, The Waltons, and How the West Was Won. She died last month at the age of 94.

Roger Ebert called David Bordwell “our best writer on the cinema.” He died last month at the age of 76.

Bud Lamoreaux III was a veteran reporter and writer for CBS News. He died last week at the age of 89.

This Week in History

Barbie Debuts (March 9, 1959)

It was created by Ruth Handler and debuted at the New York Toy Fair.

By the way, Oppenheimer may have won all the Oscars last weekend, but Ryan Gosling won everything else.

Julius Caesar Assassinated (March 15, 44 B.C.)

The Ides of March were not good for Caesar.

This Week in Saturday Evening Post History: Campbell’s Soup (March 11, 1933)

I’ve never had celery soup.

March is National Celery Month (Exciting!)

Nobody really thinks about celery. Even if you like it, you don’t really think about it that much. You put it in tuna salad because it gives your sandwich crunch, and you may spread peanut butter on celery for your kids and put celery sticks on a dip platter because having carrots sitting there all alone just looks weird. But you don’t really think about using celery in recipes.

Let’s change that! Here’s a Spicy Chicken Stir-Fry with Celery and Peanuts from Bon Appétit, and here’s a Beef Stew from All Recipes. Julia Child’s Braised Celery can be a side dish, and you can add celery to a Ham and Navy Bean Soup. You can even make Del Monte’s Shredded Celery and Vanilla Cake. And I bet you thought you’d never see the words “celery” and “cake” in the same sentence.

If you don’t really like celery but want to use it as a garnish, here’s how to fringe it.

Next Week’s Holidays and Events

St. Patrick’s Day (March 17)

Here’s Mike Cronin on “How America Invented St. Patrick’s Day.”

March Madness Begins (March 17)

This is my least favorite sporting event in one of my least favorite months. But if you like it, here’s the schedule.