Have you ever heard of super fog? Me neither. The New Orleans metro area is plagued by it right now. It’s what happens when wildfire smoke mixes with fog. There have been several car wrecks on the interstate of late. Most seem caused by truckers determined not to lose time. They should reconsider. Time was last week’s theme, after all.

It’s Veterans Day. It’s a fine time to revisit a 2019 post I wrote about the holiday and its original name, Armistice Day.

This week’s theme song was written in 1978 by Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald. It’s an irresistibly catchy pop soul song.

Loggins was the first to record What A Fool Believes but The Doobie Brothers released the definitive version later the same year. It was a monster hit, so the Doobies go first followed by Loggins, then Aretha Franklin.

One more bit of tomfoolery before we commence our second act:

I hadn’t heard Miranda Lambert’s version before but I dig it.

Let’s stop fooling around and begin our second act. We begin with a serious piece about the history of American antisemitism.

Bigot Of Detroit: I recently read Doug Brinkley’s book about the Ford Motor Company, Wheels For The World. It’s an authorized history but the Fords wanted a true portrait of the company. The ugly truth is that Henry Ford was a rabid antisemite. He didn’t dial it back until his wife threatened to leave him over his bigotry. Ever since the Ford family has tried to make up for the founder’s hate mongering.

That brings me to an excellent article in The Atlantic by Daniel Schulman. It’s an excerpt about Henry Ford from Schulman’s book The Money Kings. He places Ford in historical context and examines his lingering influence on American antisemitism.

Let’s play our way out of this serious segment with a bluegrass song that name checks Henry Ford:

Documentary Of The Week:  Ken Burns has done it again with The American Buffalo. It’s a two-part documentary about the rise, fall, and resurrection of the bison. Those who mistrust Burns because of his take on The Civil War can rest easy: the Native American perspective is fully represented in this film.

I knew very little about the resurrection of the bison, so I found the second episode particularly interesting. The folks who saved the buffalo were an odd lot that included Teddy Roosevelt and the founder of both the National and Bronx Zoos, William Hornaday.

Hornaday was a bigot but his role in preserving the bison moves him from hell to purgatory. I don’t believe in either, but I believe in examining the complexity of people. Besides, Hornaday is a punny name.

Here’s the trailer:

Grading Time: I give The American Buffalo 3 1/2 stars and an Adrastos Grade of B+

The last word of our second act goes to Harry Nilsson:

We begin our third act with our favorite stolen feature.

Separated At Birth: This week an entry featuring two quirky characters: Quentin Tarantino and the late David Lander who played Squiggy on Laverne and Shirley. 

Your Weekly Oscar: This time, a collaboration between OP and a choral group. The Shadow Of Your Smile was the theme song of the 1965 movie melodrama The Sandpiper.

Have I told you lately how much I love Oscar Peterson?

Best Of SNL: This time, former Minnesota Senator Al Franken as Stuart Smalley. I think you know who the other guy is.

Saturday GIF Horse: The featured image is of a court jester and a lyre player. Cue Danny Kaye in The Court Jester:

Spout jargon and dance, Danny.

Tweet Of The Week: Groucho is talking about his brother Chico, not Gov. Tater Tot. It works for him as well.

#GrouchMarx:
"Gentlemen, he may talk like an idiot and look like an idiot. But don't let that fool you. He really is an idiot." #DuckSoup 1933 pic.twitter.com/L6jcvoeVAv

— Groucho (@AllThingsMarx) November 6, 2023

Things You Don’t Know About Me: After debuting in the second act last week,  I decided this is more of a third act feature. Let’s talk food. I am omnivorous but I cannot stand offal and cauliflower. Does it mean I lack guts? No, just that I won’t eat them.

Let’s close down this virtual honky tonk with some more music.

Saturday Closer: The Doobie Brothers are originally from San Jose, CA. They formed before San Jose became a big city complete with a hockey team and an airport. They had neither in 1972 when the Doobies started their long musical journey. Here’s the geezer edition of a fine band with a stupid name.

I’d never noticed what short arms Michael McDonald has before. It’s an odd quirk for a keyboard player but it’s his. That’s what *this* fool believes.

That’s all for this week. The last word goes to some vintage Ringling Brothers clowns.