Very Superstitious, Writing’s on the Wall
Happy Friday the 13th!
Is that the right greeting for Friday the 13th, “Happy?” Not that anyone is going to give such a greeting to a friend or family member today. It’s not Christmas or New Year’s; it’s the day when people avoid (or pretend to avoid) black cats and ladders.
I’ve always wondered, what if you’re a veterinarian? Can you refuse to treat someone’s black cat? If you’re a house painter, do you take the day off, or are you just really careful today?
There are some other Friday the 13th superstitions that I’ve never heard of before and seem really specific. You’re not supposed to let an owl look at you, and you’re not supposed to use a vending machine today. I think the people who create Friday the 13th rules are just messing with us.
For fun I think I’ll get my neighbor’s black cat and put him on my lap as I sit inside my house under an open umbrella, spilling salt on my broken mirror. See what happens.
Fall TV
It’s sad that the fall TV season doesn’t have the “oomph” it once did. Years ago, after a summer of reruns or not watching TV, September would come around, and there would be a ton of new shows! The networks had premiere weeks and people made plans to watch certain new shows (or got ready for new seasons of their old favorites). TV Guide came out with their popular Fall Preview issue, which I used to collect, like George Costanza’s father did.
Now? TV shows premiere all year round so it isn’t special anymore, people watch TV shows later online, and I don’t think many people care about the TV Guide Fall Preview issue (and it’s a full-size magazine now, which will never not be weird).
But anyway: TV Guide has a complete guide to the new season, including all the new shows, returning shows, canceled shows, and the full schedule for all of the networks. I’ll be watching the new Matlock, even if the premise makes no sense.
Kellogg’s and Kellanova
Did you know that Kellogg’s changed their name to … Kellanova? Well, partly.
The company split into two divisions last year, and while the cereal division (Frosted Flakes, Raisin Bran, Froot Loops, Special K) is keeping the classic Kellogg’s name, the snack division (Pringles, Pop-Tarts, Cheez-It, Nutri-Grain Bars) is now called Kellanova. Which sounds like a company that sells industrial equipment, or perhaps the name of a tennis player. Kellanova trails Gauff five games to two.
Breaking News! Mars, Incorporated acquired Kellanova just a few weeks ago. So now all of the snack foods above will be in the same family as M&Ms, Snickers, Twix, and Dove Chocolates.
What a Beer Costs in Every Football Stadium
Fifteen bucks for a 16-ounce beer in Philadelphia? People who pay that much deserve to be ripped off.
Headline of the Week
“Ingredient Found in Doritos Turns Mouse’s Skin Transparent, May Have Medical Applications”
RIP James Earl Jones, Sérgio Mendes, Will Jennings, Frankie Beverly, Herbie Flowers, Scott Simon, and Ed Kranepool
James Earl Jones was a prolific actor known for being the voice of Darth Vader in the Star Wars franchise, the voice of Mufasa in The Lion King, and for being an EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony) winner. He also appeared in Field of Dreams, Dr. Strangelove, Sneakers, Coming to America, and The Hunt for Red October, as well as such TV shows as The Guiding Light, Dr. Kildare, Paris, Gabriel’s Fire, Jesus of Nazareth, and The Simpsons. A revered stage actor, he was also the “THIS IS CNN” voice. He died Monday at the age of 93.
Sérgio Mendes was a popular Brazilian composer and musician who fused Brazilian music with American pop and bossa nova. He died last week at the age of 83.
Will Jennings won Oscars for co-writing “My Heart Will Go On” from Titanic and “Up Where We Belong” from An Officer and a Gentleman. He also co-wrote songs with Jimmy Buffett, Steve Winwood (“Higher Love,” “While You See a Chance,” and others), and Eric Clapton. He died last week at the age of 80.
Uploaded to YouTube by Steve Winwood
Frankie Beverly was the lead singer of the R&B group Maze, known for the hit “Before I Let Go,” later covered by Beyoncé. He died Tuesday at the age of 77.
Herbie Flowers played bass on Lou Reed’s “Walk on the Wild Side.” He also played with Paul McCartney, David Bowie, and Elton John. He died Saturday at the age of 86.
Scott Simon was a singer in the doo-wop group Sha Na Na. He also co-wrote the song “Sandy” from Grease. He died last week at the age of 75.
At 17, Ed Kranepool became a member of the New York Mets in their first season and went on to spend 18 more with them, including their championship “Miracle Mets” 1969 season. He died Sunday at the age of 79.
This Week in History
First Miss America Pageant (September 8, 1921)
There were only ten contestants, and the winner was 15-year-old Margaret Gorman from Washington, D.C.
September 11 Attacks (September 11, 2001)
I was in the café at Barnes & Noble that morning. A woman next to me asked me if I had heard what happened. I walked over to Sears to watch the news coverage in their television section with several other people. Where were you?
This Week in Saturday Evening Post History: Philco TVs (September 12, 1959)
I wish TVs still looked like this.
September Is National Breakfast Month
I could do a roundup of various breakfast recipes – here’s how to make toast! – but how about focusing on omelets?
Like this Easy Asparagus Omelet from our own Curtis Stone or this Egg White Omelet from Martha Stewart, who isn’t our own? Land O’Lakes has a recipe for a Classic Cheese Omelet, All Recipes has a Veggie Omelet, and Taste of Home and Eggland’s Best have gotten together to create the Light Omelet Brunch Roll, if you’re looking for an omelet in yule log form.
When I was a kid, we spelled it “omelette,” but everyone is in such a rush these days.
Next Week’s Holidays and Events
Emmy Awards (September 15)
It’s the 76th show, and it airs on ABC at 8 p.m. Here are the nominees.
International Talk Like a Pirate Day (September 19)
This is the day to say things like “Arrrrg,” “matey,” and … well, that’s about it, actually.
Become a Saturday Evening Post member and enjoy unlimited access. Subscribe now
Comments
I fondly recall the old TV Guides growing up in the 1960s & ’70s. My grandparents subscribed to the mag & I enjoyed reading them cover to cover whenever we visited them, usually every other month, since they lived out of town. My grandmother would always save me the Fall Preview issue & I had a collection of them stashed away but regrettably discarded them all during a move. Those annual issues served as a a historic time capsule for many years of TV viewing.
R.I.P. Ed Kranepool, one of my fave ball players growing up, since I was a NY Mets fan back then. In 2024 we sadly lost 4 players from the 1969 Mets championship team: Kranepool, Jim McAndrew, Jerry Grote & Bud Harrelson. I recall Kranepool & Gil Hodges were the only 2 players from the original 1962 Mets who were on the 1969 team (Hodges as ’69 manager).
Where was I on 9-11? I was at work as a warehouse manger, we always had a radio on for music. The music stopped and a very serious announcer began to unfold the story as it was happening. As a US Navy veteran, my heart went out to the first responders and people in the towers, as well as the pentagon.
I was in Wichita doing my delivery run and listened to the coverage on the radio. Shifting gears, the unlucky date “Friday the Thirteenth” has been the title of one of the most successful movie franchises and the successful syndicated T V horror show of the late 80s/early 90s (the latter not about Jason but about the cursed antiques sold from a store whose owner made a pact with the Devil. His heirs try to retrieve the evil bric-a-brac before they can cause damage.) I enjoy this column every week! Thanks!
Now I have ‘Superstitious’ stuck in my head. Good thing it’s a favorite. As far as the new TV season goes, I’m the most interested in Kathy Bates’ new version of ‘Matlock’ also. I think if you watch the trailers on You Tube, it’ll make a lot more sense. It stars Kathy, and that’s really all we need to know because she’s fantastic.
I still have some boxes of TV Guides from the ’70s and ’80s with covers that featured some great artwork and photographic portraiture. It was a small magazine but they made excellent use of the space they had. Very few words on them, unimaginable now, I know. The Fall Preview’s were among my favorites too. Did you know that they actually used artwork to illustrate a particular scene from that week’s show?!
Not surprised a 16 oz. beer is $15 at the football stadiums. Either sneak in one of your own, or watch the game from home with ’em already in your own fridge. Howzat? Sergio Mendes was incredible with his mid-century musical magic. Thanks for the Steve Winwood video here, and that he’s alive and doing fine!
I wish TV’s still looked like the 1959 Philco Decorator TV too, Bob. That $200 price though would be over $2,100 now. Very Space Age isn’t it? To be brought home in your flashy new futuristically finned-out Impala or Electra! Maybe the 4-door open coupe with that thin, ‘flying carpet’ roofline?
Who would have thought 42 years later our own government/military would orchestrate such a horrific event to create the first ‘forever war’ for their own profit and greed, and that the U.S. would be the instigator of so many MORE wars by and for the military industrial complex, with our money, while our country dies? Probably no one.
“Sérgio Mendes was a popular Brazilian composer and musician who fused Brazilian music with American pop and bossa nova. He died last week at the age of 83.”
I’m sure you meant to say “bossa kellanova.”
Yer welcome.
I wish TVs still looked that way too. Now where was I when 9/11 happened in 2001. I was installing computer cable in Woodbury, TN st the telephone office when a customer came in and told us what had happened. Finally, stupid move by Kelloggs. But perhaps they wanted to spin that division off anyway. Now will we see a cereal with plain or peanut M & Ms?
Where was I on 9/11/01? I walked into the teachers lounge at Shawnee Mission Northwest High School to take a call from my wife who was out of state at the time. She told me what had just happened and asked if I was safe. I turned on the Television in the teacher’s lounge and pretty quickly was joined by others as we witnessed the devastation right before our eyes. Most of us began praying for the folks in the twin towers. News of other targeted flights began to drift in the newscasts. Strange thing; it was also my brother’s birthday.
Where was I on 9/11/01? At home, calling potential church volunteers for serving meals at our local homeless shelter. The first person I called told me to hang up my phone and turn on my TV. I went to Fredericksburg, Virginia, to give blood later that day, wearing the only “patriotic” thing I could lay hands on–an Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, Quantico, tee shirt–and feeling that it might be a hopeless gesture. A lot of prayers were said that day.