Read This!
Here are five new books to read this spring (or at least buy – you can read them when you want to).
Apple: The First 50 Years by David Pogue. A stunning, in-depth look at the company as it hits the half-century mark. This isn’t just for Apple geeks; it’s an interesting look at personal computing history in general.
Pogue also did a feature on Apple for CBS Sunday Morning.
Uploaded to YouTube by CBS Sunday Morning
America’s Founding Son by Bob Crawford. According to Crawford, bass player for the Avett Brothers, John Quincy Adams doesn’t get enough credit.
Ghost Town by Tom Perrotta. The new novel by the acclaimed writer is about eighth-grader Jimmy Perrini, who experiences a tragic event in 1970s suburban New Jersey that changes his relationship with his family and friends.
How to Be Okay When Nothing Is Okay by Jenny Lawson. The subtitle of this book from Lawson, also known as The Bloggess, is “Tips and Tricks That Kept Me Alive, Happy, and Creative in Spite of Myself.” Sounds like something we should all read.
The Writer’s Room by Katie Da Cunha Lewin. A look at where writers did their work, including Charles Dickens, Agatha Christie, Virginia Woolf, Ernest Hemingway, Ray Bradbury, and Harper Lee.
No Shirt, No Shoes, No Steak
One of the benefits of getting older is that you’re more comfortable with your decisions and your stances, even if they do seem a little strict and/or stodgy.
Case in point: Ruth’s Chris Steak House and their dress code policy. They don’t want you coming in with your sloppy attire and baseball caps, and it has caused a big debate online.
This is the official policy as to what is not accepted at their locations, as stated on the chain’s site:
Gym wear, pool attire, tank tops, clothing with offensive graphics or language, revealing clothing or exposed undergarments. Kindly remove all hats when entering the restaurant. Guests wearing ball caps are asked to dine in the bar/lounge.
Who would take issue with that? Is it that unreasonable? We’re not talking about Chili’s or Dunkin’ Donuts or your local dive bar (though if you also dressed nicely for those places I wouldn’t see anything wrong with it). We’re talking about a nice steakhouse, and would it kill you to, at least for one night, leave the ripped shorts and belly shirts at home?
I’ve always wondered about the name, Ruth’s Chris Steak House. It has an interesting backstory.
Barbie’s Nightmare House
This Barbie event in Florida didn’t turn out the way fans expected, but it did give us the great phrase “that terrible niche fandom of failed events.”
You Don’t Know Thoreau
You know how to pronounce Henry David Thoreau, right? I’m sure you have the “Henry” and the “David” part down pat, but what about “Thoreau?” Are you like me and you pronounce it “Thor-ROW?”
Well, that’s wrong!
According to the people behind the new PBS documentary series about the man with the cabin, Henry David Thoreau, everyone in the world has been pronouncing the name incorrectly for as long as The Saturday Evening Post has been around. It’s “THU-ro.”
Nothing makes sense anymore.
Happy 100th to Gene Shalit!
Now there’s a name you probably haven’t heard in a long time. The former Today film critic celebrated his 100th birthday last week and got a Smucker’s jar honor from Al Roker.
RIP Dash Crofts, James Tolkan, Mary Beth Hurt, Tracy Kidder, Chip Taylor, and Marcia Ann Burrs
Dash Crofts was one half of Seals & Crofts, known for such songs as “Summer Breeze,” “Diamond Girl,” and “We May Never Pass This Way Again.” He died last week at the age of 87.
Uploaded to YouTube by Seals and Crofts
James Tolkan played Principal Strickland in the Back to the Future movies and also appeared in Top Gun, Dick Tracy, Serpico, Love and Death, and WarGames. He was also a regular on TV shows like Nero Wolfe, The Hat Squad, and Cobra, and was in the original cast of Broadway’s Glengarry Glen Ross. He died last week at the age of 94.
Mary Beth Hurt was an acclaimed Broadway actress who also appeared in such films as The World According to Garp, Interiors, Chilly Scenes of Winter, and Six Degrees of Separation. She died Saturday at the age of 79.
Tracy Kidder won a Pulitzer Prize for The Soul of a New Machine. His other works include House, Among Schoolchildren, and Good Prose. He died last week at the age of 80.
Chip Taylor wrote such songs as “Wild Thing,” “Angel of the Morning,” and “(Try) Just a Little Bit Harder.” He was the younger brother of actor Jon Voight. He died last week at the age of 86.
Marcia Ann Burrs was a character actress who played Mrs. Claus in several TV movies and appeared on such shows as Mad Men, Moonlighting, Grey’s Anatomy, and How I Met Your Mother. She died last week at the age of 85.
This Week in History
Robert Mitchum Released from Jail (March 30, 1949)
Mitchum was arrested in 1948 for marijuana possession, along with actress Lila Leeds. He served time at two different facilities and was released after 50 days.
RKO stood by Mitchum, and his career didn’t suffer at all. The same couldn’t be said of Leeds.
Falkland Islands War Begins (April 2 1982)
After Argentina invaded the British territories, the United Kingdom mounted an offense via air, land, and sea. The conflict lasted for 74 days. Over 900 were killed and more than 2000 injured.
This Week in Saturday Evening Post History: Kodak Cameras (April 1, 1961)
If you’re going out to a restaurant or to church for Easter, make sure you dress appropriately.
Easter Dinner
But if you’re staying home for Easter dinner, here are some things to make.
Instead of choosing one ham recipe to link to, here are 21 recipes from Delish, including Pineapple-Glazed Ham, Mustard Baked Ham, and Root Beer-Glazed Ham. It’s Always Autumn has these Easter Bunny Rolls, the New York Times has this Hash Brown Casserole, and Food Network has Spring Peas with Dates and Walnuts.
And for dessert, Click Americana has an Easter Bonnet Cake, The Pioneer Woman has Carrot Cake Cobbler, and Sally’s Baking Addiction has Easter Sugar Cookies.
Next Week’s Holidays and Events
Women’s Final Four/Men’s Final Four (April 4-6)
TNT, TBS, and TruTV will have the men’s final four games on Saturday starting at 6 p.m. ET. and then the championship game on Monday at 8:30 p.m. The women’s final four games air tonight, Friday, at 9 p.m. on ESPN. The championship game airs Sunday at 3 p.m. on ABC.
You might also be able to watch the games on Paramount+ and HBO Max but everything about TV and streaming is so confusing right now I’m not really sure.
Winston Churchill Day (April 9)
The proclamation was made by President Lyndon Johnson in 1966.
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Comments
Ruth’s Chris Steak House has a right to have a dress code to do business there. By the same token, I’m free to eat at any other Steak House I chose if I don’t want to dress up. What’s so complicated or controversial? And if enough customers boycott Ruth’s Chris and they lose business, maybe they’ll have to rethink their dress code policy. Some people dine at certain restaurants for the food, some for the service, some for the convenience, some for the atmosphere, etc. To each his own. If a restaurant doesn’t want my money because of the way I look, I laugh at them and tell them I’ll spend my bucks at their competitor. Midnight Rider 1961 is 100٪ right about not judging someone’s worth by what they wear. As the sayings go, appearances can be deceiving, don’t make judgements based on appearance, all that glitters is not gold, and you can’t judge a book by its cover. ‘Nuff said!
I think any dress code policy has the potential of going too far. Such is the case with Ruth’s Chris Steak House. If my money wasn’t good there, I’d first tell them to kiss my @$$ then as leaving tell them where they could go. Guess the redneck in me would be forced to come out. Never judge a man’s (or woman’s) worth by what he (or she) wears. That’s just plain bull$hit as far as I’m concerned. Next thing you know, they won’t want to serve you if you are driving an old beat-up pickup truck or riding a motorcycle.
It seems that we, American society, have lost a lot of class since the ‘40’s and ‘50’s when we wore suits and fashionable dresses on planes and trains just to look presentable and proper. Today I see men and women in exercise facilities in pajamas. Hardly presentable. I’m not sure what has changed to allow this acceptance of slovenly behavior and dress but I am very much in support of Ruth’s Chris Steak House in their efforts to correct this maligned attitude towards dress attire.
The dress code policy at Ruth’s Chris Steak House restaurants are not unreasonable at all. A VERY expensive restaurant long before prices at every restaurant (pre-2021) were, they shouldn’t have to spell it out, but do now, unfortunately. Sadly no surprise. Chili’s (a pigsty) IS suited for the airport dressers crowd.
I’ve only been to Ruth’s twice for our Christmas luncheons in 2011 and ’14, where the boss was pickin’ up the tab. Since then we’ve been sticking with Wokcano (Asian fusion) in Woodland Hills. Great 1961 Kodak ad Bob, when photos actually still meant something.