News of the Week: A Bunch of Bonds, Cancelled Games, and the Lost Art of the Mix Tape

The Men Who Would Be Bond … James Bond

No, they haven’t picked a new James Bond yet.

I guess Amazon is being really careful about who they pick. The last Bond movie was No Time to Die in 2021, Daniel Craig’s final time as 007. Of course, I don’t know where the movies can go now that they’ve killed off Bond (sorry, spoiler alert, Bond died in the last movie). I think they should reboot the entire series and set it in the 1950s or ’60s. That would be different and fun and they wouldn’t have to explain how Bond is back in a contemporary film (or even worse, not explain it and just have the movie be business as usual).

Anyway, the finalists (supposedly) for the role of Bond are Callum Turner, Jack Barton, Jacob Elordi, Paul Mescal, Jack Lowden, Harris Dickinson, and Danny DeVito (okay, I made up that last one).

You probably don’t know most of those actors, so click on that link and find out who they are.

Bye-Bye Pro Bowl

I don’t watch much football so maybe I’m completely off-base, but the Pro Bowl has always been the “who cares?” of football games, hasn’t it? I mean, it’s certainly no baseball All-Star Game or the Olympics. It’s probably not even as popular as the Little League World Series.

So maybe that’s why the NFL is finally getting rid of it.

Mixed Up

I got rid of all of my cassette tapes years ago. I don’t have much room in my apartment, so it seemed pointless to hold on to them, especially since I had moved on to CDs (and now digital music). Besides, I no longer had a tape player.

Of course, what’s making a comeback with younger people now? Cassette tapes.

The New York Times has a well-designed feature about the lost art of the mix tape. I made some of those back in the 1980s and early ’90s, though most of the tapes I made were copies of albums my friends had. I always used either Maxell or TDK, and I always remembered to break off the little tab so I didn’t accidentally tape over it.

I never drew any fancy designs on my tapes though. I just slapped on the label that came with the tape and wrote the name of the album/band or gave a title to the mix tape, something like “Summer Songs” or “Love Songs That Feature Celery” (admittedly a rather short mix tape).

Working 9/25, What a Way to Make a Living

This has been gaining steam online for the past week. Fans want to designate 9/25 as Dolly Parton Day. As in 9 to 5.

RIP Gloria Steinem, Wendell Berry, Peter Cullen, Jackie Glass, Sal Veder, and Marty Nadler

Gloria Steinem was a leading equal rights champion and women’s liberation activist. She co-founded Ms. magazine in 1971 and the National Women’s Political Caucus the same year. She was a columnist for New York and a contributor to Esquire, Cosmopolitan, Vogue, Life, and Show, which published her famous article “A Bunny’s Tale,” where she went undercover as a waitress at the Playboy Club.  She died Wednesday at the age of 92.

Wendell Berry was an acclaimed American writer of essays, novels, short fiction, and poetry that focused on the environment, farming, and history. He died Monday at the age of 92.

We featured a Berry story in our July/August 2022 issue, “A Consent (1908).”

Peter Cullen was the voice of Optimus Prime on Transformers and Eeyore in Winne the Pooh movies and TV shows, among the many voices he did. He also appeared in such sketch shows as The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour and The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. He died last week at the age of 85.

Jackie Glass was the host of the court show Swift Justice and was the judge that sentenced O.J. Simpson to 33 years for armed robbery. She died last week at the age of 70.

Sal Veder won a Pulitzer Prize for his famous photograph of Lt. Col. Robert Stirm being greeted by his family after returning home from the Vietnam War. He died last month at the age of 99.

Marty Nadler was a standup comic who wrote for several TV shows, including Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, The Hogan Family, and Chico and the Man, as well as films like Pretty Woman and The Princess Diaries 2. He died last week at the age of 80.

This Week in History

Edgar Rice Burroughs Born (September 1, 1875)

Here’s Alva Johnston on how to be a great writer like the creator of Tarzan, from the July 29, 1939 issue of the Post.

CBS Evening News Expands to 30 Minutes (September 2, 1963)

Walter Cronkite was the anchor, and it was the first daily network news program to go to 30 minutes.

This Week in Saturday Evening Post History: Minute Rice (September 4, 1954)

If you have to add boiling water to the rice, I don’t think you can actually say it’s made “without cooking.” But quick rice was an innovative thing in 1954.

September Is National Rice Month

Since I posted the Minute Rice ad, let’s start with a few recipes from their site. Here’s their Avocado Chicken Power Salad, their Creamy Garlic Parmesan Rice with Spinach, and Anna’s Wake-N-Bacon Bowl (yes, you can have rice for breakfast).

Curtis Stone has a recipe for Hawaiian-Style Poke Rice Bowls, The Pioneer Woman has Easy Cashew Chicken and Rice, Southern Living has something called Stick-of-Butter Tennessee Onion Rice, and Allrecipes has a recipe for the best Creamy Rice Pudding.

Next Week’s Holidays and Events

Labor Day (September 7)

This is rather late for the holiday. The big question is, can you wear white after Labor Day?

25th Anniversary of 9/11 (September 11)

CBS, ABC, and NBC will have live coverage of ceremonies commemorating the anniversary starting on their morning shows at 7 a.m. ET. C-SPAN and the cable news networks will also have all-day coverage, and there will be specials and documentaries on History Channel and National Geographic. CBS and ABC will also have specials in prime time.