News of the Week: Bob Ross Paintings, Magic 8 Balls, and What Are Lay’s Potato Chips Made From?

Leaf Peeping

Influencers ruin everything.

That should be on a t-shirt or a coffee mug.

The latest thing that influencers are negatively influencing? Fall foliage! They’re invading New England with their cars tearing up roads and their noise and their selfie-taking, and Vermont residents in particular are fed up.

How fed up are they? One local has even created collectible action figures of the intruders, giving them names like “Influencer Trespassing on Private Road” and “Leaf Peepers Blocking Traffic.”

I’ve always wanted an action figure of myself. Though it would probably be a little plastic me, sitting at my laptop, drinking a cup of tea. I don’t know if that counts as “action.”

Bob Ross Paintings to Be Auctioned Off

Was there anything more calming on television than watching Bob Ross paint a picture? He could start a painting at the beginning of an episode, maybe a forest scene or a lake or mountains, and was so patient and methodical you’d assume there was no way he was going to finish it by the end of the episode. But he did. And it was beautiful!

Now, 30 of Ross’s paintings will be auctioned off to help PBS, which recently saw its federal funding taken away. The first three will be auctioned at Bonham’s in Los Angeles in November and the rest at various Bonham auction houses next year.

What Are Lay’s Potato Chips Made From?

Lay’s is doing a complete rebrand of their chip packaging, because, according to their own market research, only 42 percent of consumers know that their potato chips are made from potatoes.

It’s true that many Lay’s products don’t say “potato chips” on the front, but they do have potatoes. The new packaging has “Real Potatoes” on the front so everyone knows.

Magic 8 Ball: The TV Series

They’ve made a Battleship movie and a Ouija movie and there’s a new Netflix series based on Clue, so why not a TV series based on the Magic 8 Ball? It’s going to be a horror series directed by M. Night Shyamalan, who directed The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable.

We’ll have to see if the outlook is good or not so good.

You know what game would make for a good horror movie? Mystery Date. One of the guys behind the door is a killer!

RIP Diane Keaton, D’Angelo, Drew Struzan, Ron Dean, Ian Freebairn-Smith, Sister Jean Schmidt, and Clark Olofsson

Diane Keaton starred in several classic films, including Annie Hall, Manhattan, Sleeper, Something’s Gotta Give, Looking for Mr. Goodbar, Reds, Finding Dory, The Little Drummer Girl, The First Wives Club, and the Godfather films. She died Saturday at the age of 79.

D’Angelo was a big R&B star in the 2000s, with such songs as “Untitled (How Does It Feel?),” “Lady,” and “Brown Sugar.” He died Tuesday at the age of 51.

Drew Struzan designed several iconic movie posters, including Back to the Future, The Empire Strikes Back, The Goonies, Risky Business, and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. He died Monday at the age of 78.

Ron Dean was a character actor who appeared in Risky Business, The Breakfast Club, The Package, The Dark Knight, The Fugitive, and dozens of other films and TV shows. He died earlier this month at the age of 87.

Ian Freebairn-Smith arranged the song “Evergreen” from A Star is Born and sang the title song to the movie version of M*A*S*H. He composed or arranged music for TV shows like Fame, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, and Magnum, P.I. and provided vocals for the theme songs to Batman, Flipper, and Gilligan’s Island. He died earlier this month at the age of 93.

Sister Jean Schmidt became famous for her deep devotion to Loyola University’s basketball team. She died last week at the age of 106.

Clark Olofsson was one of the bank robbers who participated in the 1973 heist in Sweden that helped popularize the term “Stockholm Syndrome.” He died in June at the age of 78.

This Week in History

Eugene O’Neill Born (October 16, 1888)

The writer of such plays as Long Day’s Journey into Night and Ah, Wilderness! was born in a hotel and died in a hotel.

Winnie-the-Pooh Published (October 14, 1926)

HIs name originally had the hyphens, but Disney decided to go without them.

This Week in Saturday Evening Post History: “Leaf Pile” by John Clymer (October 16, 1954)

 The boy and the dog are happy there are no influencers around to spoil their foliage.

National Nut Day

It’s next Wednesday.

You can make Curtis Stone’s Banana Bread with Lots of Toasted Walnuts or this Broccoli Cashew Casserole from The Saturday Evening Post Fiber & Bran Better Health Cookbook. Allrecipes has a recipe for Peanut Clusters and this Apple Almond Crunch Salad, and Taste of Home has Rich Pistachio Brittle. And Creative Culinary has Potato Chip Cookies with Toasted Pecans.

You can use Lay’s if you want.

Next Week’s Holidays and Events

No Beard Day (October 18)

If I had a beard year-round, I don’t know if I’d participate on a day when I’m supposed to shave it. Maybe this is a better day for men who shave regularly.

Orionid Meteor Shower (October 21)

This is the day the meteor shower is at its peak, and NASA says this is going to be a good one.

Back to the Future Day (October 21)

This was first celebrated on October 21, 2015, because that’s the date Marty, Jennifer, and Doc traveled to in Back to the Future II.

By the way, the original BTTF is getting a new 40th anniversary IMAX release on Halloween.