Random Notes
The TSA says we no longer have to take off our shoes before boarding a plane. Next up: making sure people keep their shoes on during the flight.
On Tuesday’s episode of Jeopardy!, the answer (err, question) “What is daylight savings time?” was accepted. It’s “saving,” no extra “s” at the end. Come on, Jeopardy!
The trash collectors in my area are on strike. I hope all of the summer tourists enjoy the effect the heat will have on the trash left on the streets.
I miss Remember WENN.
Scientists say the universe is going to end in just seven billion years. You should start putting your affairs in order now.
I’ve thought long and hard about this, and you know what? I think I’d like being rich.
I don’t have a discount card for my local supermarket, so the other day the cashier asked me if I would mind her giving me the discount anyway. Why would I mind getting a discount?
If I had to pick the weirdest thing to happen to homes is that almost everyone now puts their TV on their walls.
Hey Wimbledon: it’s not the ball boy’s fault if a tennis player doesn’t wait to serve until the ball boy is off the court.
Manhattanhenge!
If you’re in New York City later today (around 8:20 p.m. to be exact) you may want to check out the “full Manhattanhenge” that will be happening. What is it, exactly? I’ll let the American Museum of Natural History explain it.
The Life of Mark Twain
I mentioned a few months ago that Ron Chernow has a new biography of Mark Twain. He was on CBS Sunday Morning to talk about it.
Uploaded to YouTube by CBS Sunday Morning
Fake Band of the Week
The Velvet Sundown, the indie band that has over a million listeners on Spotify, now admits what everyone suspected: they’re AI.
Uploaded to YouTube by BangersOnly
I can’t wait until they go on tour, all of the fans in the arena gathered around a laptop to watch the band perform.
RIP Michael Madsen, Diogo Jota, Julian McMahon, Mark Snow, Alex Delvecchio, and Jim Shooter
Michael Madsen appeared in such films as Reservoir Dogs, WarGames, Diner, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Free Willy, Thelma & Louise, the Kill Bill movies, and dozens of others. He also starred in the TV show Vengeance Unlimited. He died last week at the age of 67.
Diogo Jota was a star football player for Liverpool. He died last week at the age of 28.
Julian McMahon starred on the TV shows Nip/Tuck, FBI: Most Wanted, Charmed, and Home and Away, and appeared in such films as the Fantastic Four movies and Red. He died last week at the age of 56.
Mark Snow composed the theme song to The X-Files and did music for such shows as Blue Bloods, Millennium, Smallville, Ghost Whisperer, and Starsky and Hutch, as well as films such as Casino, Overboard, and The Boy in the Plastic Bubble. He died last week at the age of 78.
Alex Delvecchio was a Hall of Fame hockey player for the Detroit Red Wings. He died last week at the age of 93.
At the age of 14, Jim Shooter was hired by DC Comics after sending in some ideas. He was later editor-in-chief of Marvel and became one of the most influential people in comic book history. He died last week at the age of 73.
This Week in History
Arthur Ashe Wins Wimbledon (July 5, 1975)
He was the first black man to win the tournament, upsetting Jimmy Connors 6-1, 6-1, 5-7, 6-4.
P.T. Barnum Born (July 5, 1810)
Did Barnum really say “There’s a sucker born every minute?”
This Week in Saturday Evening Post History: Heinz Condiments (July 5, 1947)
Apparently, when a man cooks, he cooks a lot of meat.
July Is National Grilling Month
If you zoom in on that ad above you can get recipes for all of the food shown, and here are a few more if you don’t feel like zooming in.
Serious Eats shows you how to make Perfect Grilled Steaks, while Delish has a recipe for Grilled Stuffed Peppers. Food Network has recipes for Sticky Ribs and Smokin’ Potato Salad (you grill the potatoes first). And Curtis Stone has recipes for Grilled Chicken with Quick-Pickled Peaches and Grilled Shrimp and Okra with Saucy Skillet Corn.
Next Week’s Holidays and Events
Bastille Day (July 14)
It’s also known as the “national day of France.”
MLB All-Star Game (July 15)
It airs on Fox at 8 p.m. ET.
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Comments
After decades of refusing to acknowledge it as a man might refuse to acknowledge paternity, AMC+ is offering Remember WENN, all four seasons. The price is a not onerous ten bucks a month. But! It’s also being offered for free on Plex.
For years, we isolated devotees of that delightful program have tried to grasp AMC’s weird and maddening attitude about that show. I know that one woman kept a website about it. I imagined I’d never see it again.
For those who don’t know about it, the show is a sitcom about a fictional radio station, WENN, in Pittsburgh circa 1940. I’ve read that the actors adored working on the show, and they did it for what one called “off off Broadway wages.” A lot of people who had significant movie careers at the time, such as Molly Ringwald, volunteered guest appearances because they lived that show.
It wasn’t hilarious. It certainly wasn’t laden with innuendo. But it was great farce. OF COURSE, it would have to disappear for a quarter century. In addition to the great entertainment it gave, it helped to bring a recent widow, my now late mother, out of the worst of her grief. ( The same is true of another marvelous if considerably different TV series from that period, A&E’s A Nero Wolfe Mystery, which got two seasons, much of which was available in somewhat restricted form – sound cutting out briefly to evade copyright restrictions – on YouTube the last time I checked. A&E cancelled A Nero Wolfe Mystery for the immortal Dog, the Bounty Hunter. )
I wonder if Burke’s Law, which has the best musical scoring of any TV show in history and which is loveable for its high octane, black and white Hollywoodiness/cheesiness circa 1964, is still there on YouTube?
I have been a huge baseball fan all my life, but several years ago I gave up MLB. But I missed baseball.
Just recently I discovered live streams of High School baseball, and American Legion. The 19 / 18 u’s are particularly good. Very enjoyable.
American Legion is just starting a massive nationwide tournament to celebrate their Centennial. Regional (State) and State (National Champion).
Here’s a link – legion.org/get-involved/youth-programs/baseball. You can also search baseball legion on youtube and just use the Live filter.
Baseball just for the love of the game.
I’ve heard it and seen it spelled and said as both ‘daylight savings’ and ‘saving’ time, never giving much thought to if one was incorrect or not, until now. Either way it seems unlikely to ever go away. Someone or some industries (including the government) are profiting off keeping it going. The answer is almost always money, what else?
I just watched that episode of ‘Remember WENN’ from the mid-90s. It’s new to me though. The only name I recognized was Rupert Holmes who had the hit ‘Him’ in 1979, that did the music for the series. Manhatttenhenge is pretty neat. Thanks for the link on it. The opening picture is great, and far wiser than looking at the sun itself.
Really interesting Sunday Morning feature on Mark Twain. A fascinating man with a long reach into the present. His home alone is as unique as he was. My 5th grade teacher would read the class both ‘Huck Hinn’ and Tom Sawyer’ after lunch. This was a time before so many people were uptight and neurotic about everything.
After listening to ‘Dust on the Wind’ by the fake AI band, it was pretty good. They may want to work on a more original song title. Good music has been gone with wind for the past 30+ years, so if it takes AI to partially improve that, why not? It could be applied to the film industry and auto design, but it doesn’t matter anymore anyway.
One of my Post giftee’s in Dana Point received their July/August issue Thursday in a plastic bag from the Post office with an note inside apologizing for the fact it was smashed and crushed by one of the sorting machines. I called the (800) number to explain, and they’re sending out a fresh copy. Meanwhile I’m curious to see the smashed up one, and will on Sunday when Tom and Sherri bring it with them to the North Hollywood Tonga Hut.