News of the Week: 996, 25 Great Magazine Covers, and 75 Years of Peanuts

Working 996, What a Way to Make a Living

Apparently, San Francisco is the ultimate “996” city.

No, I didn’t know what it meant either, but it’s a new phrase from the Gen Z workforce we’re all going to have to get used to. This one comes after “quiet quitting,” “green flags,” and “coffee badging.”

I guess every generation has their own slang.

According to the San Francisco Standard, 996 is “the demanding, 72-hour work schedule that goes from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week.” It’s something you see a lot in the tech industry. (Don’t these companies have A.I. to take on jobs like this?)

When I worked in restaurants this was called a “double shift.”

The Essential Peanuts

Last week marked the 75th anniversary of the debut of Charles Schulz’s classic comic strip (and don’t forget that he contributed comics to the Post even before that). And this week we have the release of what might just be one of the ultimate pop culture books ever published, The Essential Peanuts by comics writer and historian Mark Evanier.

This isn’t just some greatest hits package; it’s a beautifully-designed coffee table book that comes in a slipcase, with eight postcards, eight ready-to-frame prints, stickers, an iron-on patch, and even a complete comic book.

Truly, this is a fantastic book that would make a great gift for the person you know who’s a big Peanuts fan or someone who is a fan of comics history. Peanuts was essential, and I’d say this book is essential too. It’s my (early) Christmas gift to myself this year.

The 25 Most Influential Magazine Covers of All-Time

I always cringe when I see another list. There are too many of them now. The “best” this and the “worst” that. There are so many of them that they’ve lost their meaning and influence.

So when I saw this list of the most influential magazine covers from The New York Times, I almost didn’t read it, because I knew there would be some choices I aggressively disagreed with and some magazine covers I knew should be included that wouldn’t be. But then I wondered, did they pick any Saturday Evening Post covers?

And they did! It’s probably not the one you’re thinking of though (and probably not the second one). I probably would have picked something else from the artist, but I’m just happy he made the list.

Headline of the Week

“Shhhh! California Bans Noisy TV Commercials”

RIP Dame Patricia Routledge, Joan Kennedy, Saul Zabar, Chris Dreja, and Jim Mitchum

Dame Patricia Routledge played Hyacinth Bucket on the popular British sitcom Keeping Up Appearances. She also acted on stage in London’s West End and won a Tony Award in 1968. She died last week at the age of 96.

Joan Kennedy was the former wife of Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy. She died Wednesday at the age of 89.

Saul Zabar ran the iconic New York City store Zabar’s for 70 years. He died Tuesday at the age of 97.

Chris Dreja was a bass player and rhythm guitarist for the 1960s group The Yardbirds and in the ’80s co-founded the band Box of Frogs. He died last week at the age of 79.

Uploaded to YouTube by Philtration

Jim Mitchum was the son of actor Robert Mitchum and an actor himself, appearing in such films as Thunder Road and In Harm’s Way. He died last month at the age of 84.

This Week in History

The Great Chicago Fire (October 8-10, 1871)

No, it wasn’t really started by Mrs. O’Leary’s cow.

Vice President Spiro Agnew Resigns (October 10, 1973)

After Agnew pleaded no contest to a felony charge of tax evasion, he was replaced by Gerald Ford, who later replaced President Nixon when he resigned.

This Week in Saturday Evening Post History: “Commuters in the Rain” by John Falter (October 7, 1961)

This picture probably doesn’t make sense to a lot of people today. For one, men don’t wear suits and hats every day. And two, who is going to have a print newspaper handy to cover them when it rains?

October Is National Cookie Month

Since we had one of Norman Rockwell’s covers picked as one of the 100 most influential above, I have to link to Norman Rockwell’s Oatmeal Cookies.

We also have recipes for Gingersnap Cookies with Lemon Icing, from Dana Jacobi; Carrot Cake Cookies, from The Pioneer Woman; these Blueberry Breakfast Cookies from Allrecipes, and the Original Toll House Cookies from Nestlé. (You can thank Ruth Wakefield for those.) And Serious Eats has a recipe for Homemade Oreo Cookies.

And what do you wash those down with? Why, Coca-Cola’s Zero Sugar Oreo Limited Edition, of course.

Next Week’s Holidays and Events

Canadian Thanksgiving (October 13)

Silly Canadians. Thanksgiving is in November!

Dictionary Day (October 16)

November 18th will see the release of the 12th edition of the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, the first update in 22 years. It includes 5,000 new words.