So, It’s…White?
Pantone — not to be confused with Panettone, the Italian sweet bread/fruitcake many people serve this time of year — has announced their Color of the Year, and it’s white.
Okay, officially it’s a shade of white called “Cloud Dancer.”
I’ve been staring at the picture of the color for several minutes now and I’m not quite sure what makes “Cloud Dancer” different from “Snowball” or “Napkin” or “Skim Milk” or “The Background of the Saturday Evening Post website.” But if you look at it and imagine yourself dancing in the clouds, then good for you.
Here Comes Tilly Norwood
She’s the A.I. actress — maybe we should call her an AIctress — who’s getting a lot of attention these days. She’s beautiful! She never gets tired! She can make 1,000 movies a year! CBS Sunday Morning has all the depressing details.
Uploaded to YouTube by CBS Sunday Morning
I’m not happy that Tilly Norwood exists, but how about this: She can make movies, but they have to fall under the “animated” category. And let’s not give her any Oscar nominations, okay?
The 70 or So Best TV Episodes of the Century
The Ringer has chosen the 100 Best TV Episodes of the Century, but because they insist on infecting the list with reality shows, I’m guessing it’s really only 70 or so.
Just think of how many other great episodes they could have included if they didn’t include nonsense like Jersey Shore, The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, Jackass, and The Bachelor.
Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire (on Your TV)
Do you watch the Yule Log on your television screen every Christmas? I do too. It sounds rather ridiculous — watch a picture of a roaring fire to make your home more cozy! — but for some reason it actually works. It doesn’t make my place warmer, temperature-wise, but I think it makes it warmer in other ways.
The original started on WPIX in New York City in 1966. Now there are dozens of them every year. Local stations run them, cable stations run them, and Xfinity has approximately 1,000 to choose from, with different settings (some are just the fireplace, but some incorporate whole rooms filled with a tree, gifts, and maybe even a dog) and different types of holiday music.
RIP Frank Gehry, Sophie Kinsella, Fern Michaels, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Jeff Garcia, and Raul Malo
Frank Gehry was an acclaimed architect who designed the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, among other structures. He died last week at the age of 96.
Sophie Kinsella was the author of the popular Confessions of a Shopaholic series of novels, as well as several standalone novels. She died Wednesday at the age of 55.
Fern Michaels was the author of over 200 romance and thriller novels. She died last month at the age of 92.
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa was a character actor you saw in a million things, including films like The Last Emperor, Mortal Kombat, Memoirs of a Geisha, and License to Kill, and TV shows like The Man in the High Castle, Nash Bridges, Hawaii, Raven, and Revenge. He died last week at the age of 75.
Jeff Garcia was the voice of Sheen in the Jimmy Neutron movie and the Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius TV series. He also voiced characters in Happy Feet and Rio and was a regular on the sitcom Mr. Box Office. He died Wednesday at the age of 50.
Raul Malo was the lead singer of the Mavericks, known for such songs as “What a Crying Shame.” He died Monday at the age of 60.
This Week in History
A Charlie Brown Christmas Premieres (December 9, 1965)
I watched this special on CBS for so many years but now it’s exclusively on Apple TV+ (sigh). I’m glad I own it on DVD. But wait! Even if you’re not a subscriber you can watch it for free this weekend, December 13 and 14.
Frank Sinatra Born (December 12, 1915)
On his 110th birthday, here’s Ol’ Blue Eyes with our Christmas Song of the Week.
Uploaded to YouTube by Frank Sinatra
This Week in Saturday Evening Post History: “Crying on Santa’s Lap” by George Hughes (December 6, 1958)
If you think about it, Santa must be terrifying for kids, especially the first time.
Sunday Is Roast Chestnuts Day
My mother loved chestnuts. I remember her making them on the stove every Christmas (boiled, not roasted on an open fire). I like them, but they’re one of those foods I can only eat a few of before I have to stop (see also: malted milk balls and candy corn).
Let’s start with traditional Roasted Chestnuts from Tastes Better from Scratch. If you want to boil them, here’s a Boiled Chestnuts recipe from Foolproof Living.
Forager has a recipe for French Cream of Chestnut Soup, Food & Wine has Chestnut Stuffing with Fennel, and The Cupcake Project has a Roasted Chestnut and Chocolate Pie, also called a Christmas Pie.
Next Week’s Holidays and Events
Hanukkah Begins (December 14)
The Jewish festival ends on the night of December 22.
Bill of Rights Day (December 15)
This date was designated Bill of Rights Day by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1952.
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Comments
Bob, my bad for not thanking you for the Sinatra link. Now it’s time for a little fake fireplace quality time. Oh! I got all the out of state cards to the post office on Friday: MA, IN., PA., and VA. CA. can wait until this week.
‘Color of the Year’ is one of the most asinine things I’ve heard yet, with the links confirming it further. The ‘Best TV Episodes of the Century’ equally so. The link for that is a disastrous mess itself. The majority of these lists, be it for TV, films, musical groups that various junk outlets (like Rolling Stone) publish are going to be garbage from the last 25 years their audience “has seen” or “knows about.”
I agree with Midnight’s points on AI overall. A lot of stuff needs to be worked out there, over time. More immediately, if it results in awards shows ending, low-rated late night talk shows hosted by ugly TDS freaks (happening already) and the dying former high priestess of Hollywood magazine mouthpiece, People, wonderful. An utter ghost town of very few ads. Very unsustainable other than the non-ad dependent softcover books we commonly see at the checkout.
I love watching the Yule Log on the computer. It has much of the relaxing appeal of the real thing. Not sure why this kid is crying/screaming on the George Hughes ’58 cover. He’s definitely older than I was (at 2) the first time at Bullock’s. If it were a modern cover, I’d sadly guess a high probability he’s likely autistic.
I like the concept of having an AI-generated actor or actress. One, they’re not associated with any radical (or otherwise) actor or writer union so they won’t go on strike at a whim or if their feeling get hurt.. Two, they won’t go on these awards shows or late night shows pissing off half the country with political or woke leanings, one way or another. Three, they can be created to appear and perform for a role which best suits the story. Four, perhaps some of our actresses/actors no longer with us can be regenerated (with permission from the families, of course) for various shows (sitcoms, drama, etc) for TV or the movies.
Yes, it might put some out of a job. But let’s face it Hollyweird has been on a downhill slide for years now. I think it will be good for the business.