Read This!
The Last Kings of Hollywood by Paul Fischer. An in-depth look at the careers of Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola, and George Lucas and “the battle for the soul of American cinema.”
The Epic History of Macaroni and Cheese by Karima Moyer-Nocchi. The title pretty much says it all, as it covers the history from ancient Rome to today. With centuries of recipes!
Nightmare on Nightmare Street by R.L. Stine. The popular author’s latest scary novel was inspired by … an everything bagel.
Infinite Jest: 30th Anniversary Edition by David Foster Wallace. Now the book you bought but didn’t read can now not be read in a brand-new edition!
Felicia’s Favorites by Danielle Steel. Five daughters go to the reading of their mother’s will and are shocked by certain revelations. By the way, this is the third novel by Steel to be released in the past few months (along with The Devil’s Daughter and A Mind of Her Own), but that’s to be expected from someone who works 20 hours a day.
The Write Stuff
We’ve talked about the “print vs. cursive” debate before and how cursive isn’t really taught in most schools these days (though it’s increasing). But this week I bring you an actual debate about the topic, courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
In this corner, arguing that we should just keep printing and not be too concerned with cursive, is Emma Camp. Arguing for the return of cursive is Mary Julia Koch. And after you read those essays you can watch this video debate between Camp and Koch.
(Needless to say, I’m with Ms. Koch.)
More TV Reboots We Didn’t Ask For
Remember The Rockford Files with James Garner? Perfect show, right? So obviously NBC feels the need to reboot it!
And it’s going to star … David Boreanaz? That’s right, the star of Angel and Bones will take over the role as the trailer-dwelling private eye. I don’t see it, but good luck to him. (Hey, I thought the new Matlock was going to be terrible and it’s quite good, so I’ll hold my opinion for now.)
But wait, there’s more! Fox is bringing back Baywatch. The new lead will be Stephen Amell, who starred on the CW superhero show Arrow. They’re currently holding an open casting call if you think you’d be really good at running on a beach in slow motion.
And if you like to watch your TV reboots on the big screen, they’re doing a new version of Charlie’s Angels. FOR SOME REASON.
Quote of the Week
“We plan to hire an AI rewrite specialist to ingest the reporting by Hannah and others and use AI to convert it into stories.”
– Just one of the irritating lines in this Letter from The Editor at Cleveland.com/The Cleveland Plain Dealer
RIP Jesse Jackson, Robert Duvall, Tom Noonan, Jerry Kennedy, Billy Steinberg, Frederick Wiseman, Jane Baer, Michael Silverblatt, and Lory Patrick
Reverend Jesse Jackson was a civil rights leader and a two-time presidential candidate. He died Tuesday at the age of 84.
Robert Duvall starred in such classic films as The Godfather, To Kill a Mockingbird, M*A*S*H, Tender Mercies (for which he won an Oscar), True Grit, THX 1138, The Natural, and The Great Santini, and appeared on TV shows like The Twilight Zone, Route 66, and the miniseries Lonesome Dove. He died Sunday at the age of 95.
Uploaded to YouTube by The Saturday Evening Post
Tom Noonan was the killer in the great Michael Mann film Manhunter and also appeared in Heat, The Monster Squad, Robocop 2, and Last Action Hero, and TV shows like Damages, 12 Monkeys, Hell on Wheels, and The X-Files. He died Saturday at the age of 74.
Jerry Kennedy played guitar on such songs as “Harper Valley P.T.A.” and “Stand By Your Man” and played on albums by Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr, and Kris Kristofferson. He also produced albums by Jerry Lee Lewis, Reba McEntire, and Roger Miller. He died last week at the age of 85.
Billy Steinberg wrote or co-wrote such songs as Madonna’s “Like a Virgin,” Whitney Houston’s “So Emotional,” The Bangles’ “Eternal Flame,” “I’ll Stand By You” by The Pretenders, and “I Drove All Night,” recorded by Roy Orbison, Cyndi Lauper, and others. He died Monday at the age of 75.
Frederick Wiseman was the acclaimed director of such documentaries as Titicut Follies, Law and Order, Hospital, Public Housing, and High School. He died Monday at the age of 96.
Jane Baer was an animator who worked on such Disney films as Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, The Rescuers, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Fox and the Hound, and many others. She died Monday at the age of 91.
Michael Silverblatt was the longtime host of the popular literary KCRW show Bookworm. He died Saturday at the age of 73.
Lory Patrick starred on the 1960s western Tales of Wells Fargo and also appeared on Dr. Kildare and Wagon Train and films like Surf Party and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. She was the widow of Disney actor Dean Jones. She died last month at the age of 92.
This Week in History
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Published (February 18, 1885)
Mark Twain’s classic novel was actually released in the UK two months earlier. When the American version was released it was almost instantly controversial.
John Glenn Becomes First American to Orbit Earth (February 20, 1962)
He wasn’t the first American in space – that was Alan Shepard – but he was the first to actually orbit the planet.
This Week in Saturday Evening Post History: Waterman’s Taperite (February 15, 1947)
Whether you write in cursive or print, you need a good pen.
Thursday the 26th Is National Toast Day
I’ve been thinking about how I can possibly list several recipes for toast. Maybe I can give you instructions on the 47 different colors of toast you can make, from “milk white” to “midnight black.”
But I’m going to assume you know how to make toast, so let’s try some recipes that include toast. Like this Super BLT from Allrecipes that adds cream cheese or this Applejack Turkey Sandwich from Midwest Living. And The Kitchn has a Chopped Chicken Club Salad, which is basically a club sandwich only in salad form! (The toast is in the salad.)
Or how about a classic British Toast Sandwich, which is a buttered piece of toast in between two other pieces of toast, with added salt and pepper.
I guess you really have to love toast to eat that.
Next Week’s Holidays and Events
National Tootsie Roll Day (February 23)
The candy was invented by Leo Hirschfield and named after his daughter Clara, whose nickname was “Tootsie.”
State of the Union Address (February 24)
All of the broadcast and cable stations will have the president’s address at 9 p.m. ET.
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Comments
Because we live in the digital age, some subjects are rarely taught in schools today, due to technology taking over. I was taught cursive writing in school in the 1960s. In the 1930s my dad learned Latin, my mom learned shorthand. Years ago in Driver’s Ed students learned map reading and how to change a tire. In Home Economics girls learned basic sewing & cooking skills along with budgeting & balancing checkbooks. How times have changed!
Bob, have read all of the comments posted prior to mine so I won’t rehash those parts. I do want to weigh in on cursive writing. I’m for it as a retired teacher. I substitute teach now and frankly I can hardly read high schoolers printing or cursive handwriting. So glad schools have started teaching these basics again. I know this sounds crazy but I’d like to try that toast sandwich. I think it’s the butter along with salt and pepper that is teasing my taste buds. I’ll let you know how it is once I try to it. Might be even more tasty if you use 2 or 3 different bread varieties (I enjoy in rye bread toasted the best).
I liked the original Rockford Files with James Garner. I’ll give the reboot a chance and reserve my thoughts for later. So far reboots have struck out with me. I gave them a chance as well.
Well, I watched the short video on the cursive debate and must agree with Ms. Koch and you Bob, needless to say. Another reason not mentioned that should be, is in emergency situations where you need to jot something down fast, printing’s a lot slower. It IS a basic life skill to have, no offense to Emma Camp. of course.
More reboots, because the entertainment industry is long dead. Nonetheless, a new ‘Rockford Files’ with David Boreanaz might be good, like Kathy Bates’ new ‘Matlock’. I also liked the 2018 version of ‘Magnum P.I. better than the original. The 2011 TV reboot of ‘Charlie’s Angels’ was really good, and not given the proper chance. They switched things up by utilizing the ‘Bosley’ character as a younger, 4th male ‘angel’ to assist the 3 women in the field. Also, no goofy, old-fashioned, “Once upon a time, there were 3 little girls…” in the opening!
It cleverly blended the likeable aspects of the old series, but with a modern sensibility. Of course it got cancelled without being given a chance. The feature films of the early 2000’s were bad though, and a new one now also does as well. Probably a bid to cash-in on the 50th anniversary of the ’76 series, to just venture a guess.
Great Waterman’s pen ad. If I read the price of the pen on the right at $8.79, that would be almost $128.00 now. Would be worth it for one that writes well. Very hard to find now. It’ll be easy though on Tuesday evening during the President’s speech to clearly see and hear which side is pro-American, and which side is not, once again.
I can’t believe there is no mention of Robert Duvall as The Falcon in the Wild Wild West episode “The Night of the Falcon”. Shocking!!!!