Month: October 2020

Athenae, Elections, So Called Liberal Media, War in Iraq5 Comments

It’s Always Gonna Be Democrats’ Fault

Allison Hantschel

Tomasky, proving that nothing has changed since 2002 for his simple ass:  Trumpworld sees these things differently. Mike Pence articulated the view in the vice-presidential debate. “We’re about freedom and respecting the freedom of the American people,” Mr. Pence said. The topic at hand was the Sept. 26 super-spreader event in the Rose Garden to introduce Amy Coney Barrett as the president’s nominee for the Supreme Court and how the administration can expect Americans to follow safety guidelines that it has often ignored. Kamala Harris countered that lying to the American people about the severity of the virus hardly counts … Continue reading It’s Always Gonna Be Democrats’ Fault

Adrastos, COVID-19, Diary, Film, Fog Of Scandal, Law/Justice, Music, New Orleans, Odds & Sods, Political Crack, Television, The Darnold1 Comment

Saturday Odds & Sods: Wang Dang Doodle

Peter Adrastos Athas
Brownstones by Jacob Lawrence.

We’re not playing hurricane dodgeball this week in New Orleans. It had to happen. In fact, we’re experiencing what some observers insist on calling a “cold front” but I call a cool front. As always, it’s likely to lead to an orgy of overdressing by locals desperate to wear non-summer clothes. My coats will remain in the closet. I might, however, be daring and wear a long-sleeved shirt. That’s as rad as I’m gonna get for now. It will be back in the eighties next week.

Willie Dixon wrote Wang Dang Doodle some time in 1959 or 1960. The chronology is almost as fuzzy as with this week’s Friday Cocktail Hour tune. Here’s how the songwriter described what the title of  this rollicking song means:

 In his autobiography, Dixon explained that the phrase “wang dang doodle” “meant a good time, especially if the guy came in from the South. A wang dang meant having a ball and a lot of dancing, they called it a rocking style so that’s what it meant to wang dang doodle”

We have four versions of Wang Dang Doodle for your listening pleasure: the original recording by Howlin’ Wolf, Koko Taylor’s hit version, the Pointer Sisters, and the good old Grateful Dead who performed the song 96+ times. All night long, all night long.

Now that we’ve pitched a wang dang doodle, let’s jump to the break.

Continue reading “Saturday Odds & Sods: Wang Dang Doodle”

Adrastos, Campaign Notes, Fog Of Scandal, Political Crack1 Comment

Dissing Rudy’s Latest Disinformation Campaign

Peter Adrastos Athas

The artist formerly known as Mayor Combover is at it again. Rudy is peddling another false Ukraine-Hunter Biden story. The man who got Trump impeached continues to be a useful idiot for Russian intelligence. The story was peddled to the New York Post, which is one of the Trumpiest news outlets in Trumpistan. Does this pass the smell test? One of the most bizarre and suspect aspects of the Post’s article is the way in which the reporters say they obtained the Hunter Biden dirt. In April 2019, according to the article, an unidentified individual dropped off a water-damaged MacBook … Continue reading Dissing Rudy’s Latest Disinformation Campaign

Athenae, Elections5 Comments

It Can’t Be Close

Allison Hantschel

Listen up: BREAKING: In a late-night ruling, the 5th Circuit Court UPHOLDS Gov. Abbott order that limits counties to 1 mail-in ballot drop-off location.3-judge panel, all Trump nominees, says Abbott in fact expanded access to voting by allowing drop-offs before election day. — Chuck Lindell (@chucklindell) October 13, 2020 Yes, it’s disgusting. Yes, it shouldn’t be this way. Yes, we shouldn’t have to fight this hard to VOTE. And of course the GOP doesn’t want people in cities and blue states to vote, and of course they’re going tooth and nail to prevent that, and of course they’re framing it … Continue reading It Can’t Be Close

Athenae, JOEY B SHARK

Happy Joey B. Shark Things

Allison Hantschel

You know, we can and should still have a shit ton of fun in this fight. I missed this absolutely ADORKABLE interview when it happened and if I have to catch up with it so do all of you: View this post on Instagram A post shared by ELLE Magazine (@elleusa) I love her so much. And he’s just a gigantic walking Dad Joke which, let’s be honest, is kind of what you want the president to be. A grown-up, trying way too hard, not always getting there. A. Continue reading Happy Joey B. Shark Things

Uncategorized

Not Everything Sucks

Allison Hantschel

Jennifer Wheeler is cooking and posting videos:  “It’s not just about cooking a meal and having the meal for lunch or dinner, but it’s about connection with our ancestors and how they have been so resilient and strong,” said Jennifer Wheeler. Jennifer Wheeler, a Navajo language teacher, posted a series of videos on her Facebook page showing her making traditional foods like blue corn much and kneel down bread. Her videos have been shared across the platform tens of thousands of times. “I didn’t even imagine the response that I’m getting now,” she said. BRB adding to my “watch and … Continue reading Not Everything Sucks

Athenae, COVID-19

Yet Another Mystery

Allison Hantschel

But why, why do all these assholes keep voting for Trump?  One of the evergreen thought exercises of the Trump era has been trying to guess what it might take to finally shake the faith of his most devoted supporters. “We’re always asking, ‘What would it take to break the camel’s back?’” said former Representative Tom Rooney, Republican of Florida, who withdrew his support for Mr. Trump in 2016 after the release of the “Access Hollywood” video. “When the losers-and-suckers thing happened, I asked a friend of mine if that bothered him, and he said, ‘Nope,’” Mr. Rooney told me. … Continue reading Yet Another Mystery

Adrastos, Diary, Film, Law/Justice, Music, New Orleans, Odds & Sods, R.I.P., Sports2 Comments

Saturday Odds & Sods: Delta Lady

Peter Adrastos Athas
Hummingbirds by Walter Anderson.

It’s been an unduly stressful week in New Orleans. For the sixth time this hurricane season, we were in the cone of uncertainty. My friend Chef Chris DeBarr calls it “hurricane dodgeball.”

Hurricane Delta obeyed what could be called Adrastos’ First Rule Of Hurricane Forecasting: If there’s a bull’s eye on New Orleans 4 or 5 days before a storm hits, it will not come here. It happened again. It’s pure luck but it beats the hell outta the alternative. Delta is following an eerily similar path to Hurricane Laura, alas. Best wishes to everyone in Southwestern Louisiana.

All is not gloom and doom in the New Orleans area. In suburban Pearl River, a man saw a Catholic priest having sex with two women. In the church. On the altar. The scene was being recorded. Instead of beating off like a proper pervert, the peeper called the cops. One could call this an altercation. But were they doing it dog collar style?

This story is funny because it involves consenting adults, which makes it an anomaly for the Catholic church. It turns out the women were rough trade. There’s been a raging dispute as to the plural spelling of dominatrix. Some say dominatrices but I’m sticking with dominatrixes because X is a funnier letter than C.

I’m feeling terse this week, so this will be a relatively short Saturday Odds & Sods. We will dispense with our second act altogether. I’m worn out from all the presidential* acting up so one less act sounds good to me.

This week’s theme song was written by Leon Russell in 1969. It was first recorded by Joe Cocker but I’m still putting Leon’s version first. I don’t want to trip over his beard or some such shit. Of course, both Leon and Joe are no longer with us.

We have three versions of Delta Lady for your listening pleasure: Leon Russell, Joe Cocker live with Leon Russell, and a mostly instrumental version by the great Rick Wakeman. It’s unclear if his cape attended the session.

One reason for the avian Walter Anderson featured image is that Leon Russell also wrote a song called Hummingbird:

Let’s fly or hover to the break. There may be pollen on the other side. Achoo.

Continue reading “Saturday Odds & Sods: Delta Lady”