News of the Week: New Books, How to Keep Cool, and the Music of Lalo Schifrin

Read This!

Here are six new books to get you through the rest of the summer.

Unplug: How to Break Up with Your Phone and Reclaim Your Life by Richard Simon. How we got addicted to our smartphones and tips on getting your life and time back. (My tip: don’t use a smartphone, get a flip phone.)

The Great American Retro Road Trip by Rolando Pujol. The creator of the fantastic Retrologist newsletter has this new, beautifully-designed look at the various roadside attractions and signage around the United States.

The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States by Jon Meacham. You can tell what this book is about from the title.

How to Survive a Horror Story by Mallory Arnold. Several writers are invited to the estate of a recently deceased writer and are subjected to game. Lose and the house consumes you!

Victory ’45: The End of the War in Eight Surrenders by James Holland and Al Murray. Just in time for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II is this detailed look at the various surrenders that led to the conflict’s end.

Like: A History of, Like, the World’s Most Hated (and, Like, Misunderstood) Word by Megan C. Reynolds. “Like” was a perfectly acceptable word until people started using it in weird ways. Social media wasn’t any help either (by the way, if you’re on Facebook, please Like this column).

Are You Going to Participate in “No Buy July?”

I’m not going to take part in the month-long effort to help people control their spending. For one, I think people should learn to do it as a regular part of their lives. Second, I need some new shorts for the summer.

Sometimes I think people like to participate in things because the name rhymes.

How to Keep Cool

I can always use tips on how to stay cool in the summer when you don’t have air conditioning or access to a pool. Over in Britain, people are encouraged to use their tongue.

I’ve heard of that before but I don’t know if it works or not. It sounds like an old wives’ tale, or if it does work it’s something psychological and you’re just convincing yourself you’re cooler (though I guess that works too, right?).

Here’s another ancient remedy (that I just made up). Hold a hardboiled egg in your left hand while you sing the theme song to Gilligan’s Island twice. By the time you’re done I guarantee you’ll feel twenty degrees cooler.

Stevan Dohanos Also Did Stamps

Dohanos created over 100 covers for the Post, but he was also one of the top illustrators for postage stamps, as this 1973 episode of To Tell the Truth shows.

Uploaded to YouTube by GarryMooreFan

Headline of the Week

“Psychopaths Are Most Likely to Live in These 4 U.S. States, Study Finds”

RIP Jimmy Swaggart, Lalo Schifrin, Bill Moyers, Rick Hurst, Dave Parker, Walter Scott Jr., Jim Parkinson, and Jane Stanton Hitchcock

Jimmy Swaggart was a massively influential televangelist involved in two sex scandals in the 1980s and ’90s. He died Tuesday at the age of 90.

Lalo Schifrin composed two of the best themes in TV history, Mannix and Mission: Impossible. He received Oscar nominations for the scores for Cool Hand Luke, The Sting II, The Fox, Voyage of the Damned, and The Amityville Horror, and wrote music for The Cincinnati Kid, Bullitt, the Dirty Harry films, and many other films and TV shows. He also won four Grammys. He died last week at the age of 93.

Uploaded to YouTube by 11db11

Bill Moyers was press secretary for President Lyndon Johnson and then went on to become a host and commentator on PBS and CBS. He died last week at the age of 91.

Rick Hurst played Deputy Hogg on The Dukes of Hazzard and appeared in several other shows and movies like Steel Magnolias, Earth Girls Are Easy, and In the Line of Fire. He died last month at the age of 79.

Dave Parker was a right fielder who played for several teams, most notably the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was part of two World Series championship teams, the Pirates and the Oakland A’s, was a seven-time All-Star, a batting champion, and will be inducted into the Hall of Fame later this month. He died last month at the age of 74.

Walter Scott Jr. was the lead singer of The Whispers, known for such songs as “Rock Steady” and “And the Beat Goes On.” He died last month at the age of 81.

Jim Parkinson started at Hallmark Cards and went on to create the logos for many newspapers and magazines, including Rolling Stone, The New York Times, Esquire, The Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Variety. He also did the logos for Ringling Bros. and Barnum Bailey Circus and The Doobie Brothers. He died last month at the age of 83.

Jane Stanton Hitchcock was not only a mystery novelist, she was a professional poker player. She died last month at the age of 78.

This Week in History

Thurgood Marshall Born (July 2, 1908)

He served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court from 1967 to 1991. I had no idea his full first name was Thoroughgood.

Back to the Future Released (July 3, 1985)

When we went to see Back to the Future in 1985, we were all amazed at how far back in time Marty McFly went. All the way back to 1955. 30 years! Please note that it has now been 40 years since the movie came out. That’s how old we all are now.

Here’s a great list by Troy Brownfield of things you might not know about the film.

This Week in Saturday Evening Post History: “Fireworks” by Ben Kimberly Prins (July 4, 1953)

Tonight at 8 p.m. ET, PBS will have A Capitol Fourth, with a concert and fireworks from Washington, D.C. At the same time, NBC will have the Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks from Brooklyn. At 9, The CW will have the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular.

Fourth of July Recipes

I almost posted these recipes last Friday, because I thought that posting them today would be too last-minute to be useful. But then I realized that many of us will be having our cookouts and barbecues on Saturday and Sunday.

Curtis Stone has a recipe for Turkey Burgers with Parmesan Wafers, and Food.com has these Chicago-Style Hot Dogs. The Kitchn has a recipe for a Classic Potato Salad, while The Pioneer Woman shows you how to make Grilled Corn on the Cob. Food Network has a Spicy Coleslaw, and Country Living has Salt-and-Pepper BBQ Ribs and a Blackberry Gin Smash.

For dessert, let’s go back to The Pioneer Woman and make these July 4th Ice Cream Sandwiches, this Atlantic Beach Pie, or this 4th of July Cake.

Next Week’s Holidays and Events

International Cherry Pit Spitting Day (July 5)

Cherry pit spitting contests are more popular than I realized.

Workaholics Day (July 5)

I’m not sure how many people are going to celebrate this day considering it’s on the Saturday of July 4th weekend.