Random Notes
Stuff jotted down during a week when the snow finally began to melt…
The James Bond producers have given all creative control of the franchise to Amazon. I can’t wait for No Prime to Die, where Bond is trapped because the gadgets headquarters ordered haven’t arrived because they don’t have free two-day shipping.
The windows in my living room started to shake the other night and I thought it was an earthquake. Turns out it was just a car coming down the hill with the radio on loud.
Something frustrating: When you go to grab a tissue from one of those pop-up boxes and it doesn’t come out cleanly and the box goes flying across the room.
The Price is Right aired its 10,000th episode on Wednesday. You know when it started to go downhill? When they started to ask contestants to say hello to people while they’re spinning the wheel.
Happy 10th anniversary to The Dress. I’m proud to say I knew it was blue and black the whole time.
I know that many of the things that are harvested but I had no idea one of them is fog.
You’ve probably thought, “I wonder if it’s possible to fly a drone through a rolling tire?” Yes, it is!
Underrated pleasure: doing dishes by hand.
What Does Gen Z Hate Now?
I kid younger people a lot, mostly because I’m old and that’s what older people do. My Generation X is pretty much perfect so we always find things that are annoying and/or frustrating about Millennials, Gen Z and …whatever comes after that. Generation Alpha? Beta? Zygote?
In the past we’ve seen that Millennials hate mayonnaise, they don’t eat cereal because they don’t like to clean the bowl, and they find periods in a text threatening or sarcastic. As for Gen Z, they trust online influencers more than experts and they also can’t type!
Speaking of typing, they also don’t like using capital letters. In texts and emails they go with lowercase, because they don’t want to take the time to hit Shift, and besides, you’re just trying to convey information to another person, so what’s the big deal? One person says that it eliminates the “serious tone” you can get in a text when someone uses capital letters (translation: writes correctly).
How Rude
I’ve never heard of the web site Preply, but they’ve come out with a list of the rudest cities in America.
Of course, these are major cities, so you’re not going to find Pickleville, Arkansas or Dustbunny, California on the list (two small towns I completely made up, I think), but you will find Philadelphia at number two and Oakland at number five.
Boston came in sixth, and I don’t know if we should be happy or #%&*! upset.
You’ll have to click the link to see what number one is. Fingers crossed your city won!
The Saturday Evening Post on Antiques Roadshow
It’s always good to see something connected to the Post appraised on the PBS show. This week the show had a Robert Riggs painting used as an illustration for the W.C. Heinz story “Fixed Fight,” from the July 7, 1951, issue.
They saved this appraisal until the very end of the show so I knew it was going to be special.
Here’s more on the career of Robert Riggs.
Something I Learned This Week
I can’t find any video footage or even a photo, but the late senator John McCain was a one-day champion on the original Jeopardy! in 1965.
RIP Gene Hackman, Roberta Flack, Michelle Trachtenberg, Clint Hill, Al Trautwig, George Armitage, Lynn Marie Stewart, and Roberto Orci
Gene Hackman starred in dozens of classic films, including The French Connection (for which he won a Best Actor Oscar), The Conversation, The Poseidon Adventure, Unforgiven (a Supporting Actor Oscar), Downhill Racer, Mississippi Burning, Get Shorty, three Superman movies, and many other movies and TV shows. He died Wednesday at the age of 95.
Roberta Flack sang such classic songs as “Killing Me Softly with His Song,” “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” and “Where Is the Love?” She died Monday at the age of 88.
Michelle Trachtenberg played Buffy’s sister Dawn on Buffy, the Vampire Slayer and had roles on Gossip Girl, Mercy, and The Adventures of Pete & Pete, and in several films. She died Wednesday at the age of 39.
Clint Hill was the Secret Service agent who jumped on the back of the limousine JFK was riding in when he was assassinated. He died last week at the age of 93.
Al Trautwig was an Emmy-winning sportscaster known for his decades-long stint at the MSG Network. He also covered various sports and the Olympics for ABC, CBS, and NBC. He died Sunday at the age of 68.
George Armitage directed such films as Grosse Pointe Blank, Miami Blues, and The Big Bounce. He also co-wrote The Late Shift, the TV movie about the Letterman/Leno talk show battle. He died Saturday at the age of 83.
Lynn Marie Stewart was a regular on Pee-wee’s Playhouse and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and appeared in such films American Graffiti, The Running Man, and Tunnel Vision. She died last week at the age of 78.
Roberto Orci wrote and produced such movies as the Star Trek reboot, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and Now You See Me, as well as TV shows like Alias, Fringe, Sleepy Hollow, and the new Hawaii Five-0. He died Tuesday at the age of 51.
This Week in History
First Attack on the Continental U.S. During World War II (February 23, 1942)
That’s right, there were attacks on the U.S. mainland during World War II, and the first was in Santa Barbara County.
Final Episode of M*A*S*H (February 28, 1983)
It was titled “Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen” and is still the most-watched single episode of a TV series.
This Week in Saturday Evening Post History: “Pilgrim Collecting Sap” by E.M. Jackson (February 25, 1928)
She’ll need that sap because…
…February Is National Pancake Month
Here’s a recipe for Curtis Stone’s Whole-Wheat Pancakes with Strawberry-Maple Syrup, and here’s one from Alyssa Yano for Weeknight Pancakes.
If you like chocolate in your pancakes, here are three recipes. The Pioneer Woman has Hot Cocoa Pancakes (with mini marshmallows), The Big Man’s World has Fluffy Chocolate Chip Pancakes, and these Chocolate Pancakes from Pretty.Simple.Sweet. look outrageous.
If you’re looking for something a little healthier, try the Banana Oatmeal Pancakes from Ambitious Kitchen or the Greek Yogurt Pancakes from JoyFoodSunshine.
Since this is the last day of the month, you have to make these pancakes today. So stop reading! Run to the kitchen! Hurry before the clock strikes midnight!
Next Week’s Holidays and Events
The Oscars (March 2)
If you care about who everyone is wearing, you can watch E’s Live from the Red Carpet at 4 p.m. ET. If you don’t care about that, ABC’s coverage starts at 7 p.m. (don’t worry, they’ll tell you about the clothing too). Here’s a ballot you can fill out.
I haven’t seen any of the nominees.
Mardi Gras Begins (March 4)
Here’s a site where you can plan your visit and find out about the events, and here’s how to make a King Cake.
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Comments
And on Friday, our President and VP handled a very disrespectful grifter/warmonger in the appropriate manner after his rudeness. Thinking he was going to soak the American people for another $350 billion unaccounted for, with many of those billions, undoubtedly, being pocketed by him directly.
Let the European countries that have also disrespected the U.S. pay for everything concerning Ukraine from now on with no U.S. support. They’ve gotten a free ride they don’t deserve for far too long, and it needs to stop along with Ukraine’s.
Gene Hackman’s death along with his wife and dog (out of 3) needs a lot of further investigation. Roberta Flack had the voice of an angel that was both soothing and uplifting. As far as the Oscars go, my only interest will be in hearing what a ‘s’ show it undoubtedly will be. Speaking of that, they should KEEP Kimmel on as the host.
I read a pice in a military history magazine years ago that the captain of that Japanese sub was an officer on an oiler tanker before the war and on a visit to that facility had slipped and fallen on some stairs and felt humiliated when laughed at by some of the American oil personnel. The was why he targeted that facility.