I’m digging the Olympics this time around. That’s not always so but the way the French have made Paris itself a focus of the games has drawn me in. Who among us doesn’t love Paris?

The rain soaked opening ceremony was weird enough to attract the ire of American wingnuts. They seem to be on a quest to be offended by anything and everything. I don’t get it: life is annoying enough without going out of your way to be offended.

In the past, I had qualms about watching women’s gymnastics because the athletes were all so young. This time, the American team has four gymnasts old enough to drink instead of being made up exclusively of terrified teenyboppers.

I’m not sure which of the gymnastics announcers called the balance beam the pencil but I dig it. I like pointed remarks…

As my regular readers know, I’m not big on uplift but watching Simone Biles and Suni Lee celebrate their gold and bronze medals warmed the cockles of my icy blue heart. I still have no idea what cockles are. Does it have anything to do with the canine breed? You know, the cockle spaniel…

One last Paris Olympics thought: Vive Leon Marchand.

This week’s Cubist featured image and theme song have me running my mouth as it were.

Hit The Ground Running was written by Tim Finn for his 1993 album Before & After. What’s not to love about a record that has a visual pun on the cover?

In the course of my research, I stumbled into this swell Johnny Lang song with the same title:

While we’re on the subject of running, I’d be remiss if I didn’t post this Todd tune:

I’ll stop running my mouth and move on to our second act.

Grandpa’s Gun: I like antiques but I’m particularly interested in the history and story behind objects. The best segments on Antiques Roadshow are the ones with the best stories. This tale told by veteran journalist Katy Roberts is a doozy.

Roberts inherited an antique revolver with a notch on the handle. She did some research and learned that its original owner was an Old West lawman named George Nelson Moses. He turned out to be a fascinating character who sounds a bit like Seth Bullock in Deadwood. I love me some Timothy Olyphant, especially Justified. End of yet another Adrastos digression.

Except for the digressive shit, that was a true story. This is not:

M Night’s Comeback: Writer-director M Night Shyamalan started off his career with a bang: The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, and Signs were all commercial and critical hits. That meant that some film critics were ready to take him down a peg. It happened after the 2006 release of Lady In The Water, which to be fair to the critics is a bad movie. Shorter Adrastos: They were NOT all wet.

After that film fizzled, Shyamalan wandered in the cinematic wilderness until striking thriller gold with Split. That movie became the middle child of a trilogy that started with Unbreakable and concluded with Glass. The trilogy not only rocks, it rules.

M Night’s career is ably chronicled at The Atlantic by David Sims. Don’t be afraid to click here and check it out.

The last word of our second act is another doubleheader. It goes to Eddie Floyd followed by Robert Cray:

We begin our third act with our favorite stolen feature.

Separated At Birth Casting Edition: I’m reading a biography of former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson. So, I mounted a Wilson casting quest. That, in turn, led to an online quiz about actors who have played various PMs including Harold.

I scored 18 out of 20, but it involves my oddest hobby, British politics.

While we’re talking quizzes, it’s never too late to take The JD Vance Pop Quiz.

Your Weekly Oscar: This week, we have an OP composition from his Canadiana Suite. The Hogtown in question is Toronto.

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

The Best Of Johnny: I still have the late, great Bob Newhart on my mind. Here’s Bob cracking up Johnny:

Saturday GIF Horse: I planned to use a running GIF as a part of our running running gag. Instead, here’s Charlie Chaplin doing some table gymnastics.

Buster Keaton is jealous that I’m running away from him:

Buster was no Carl Lewis. He was also no Joe:

Tweets Of The Week: This image popped up on my feed out of nowhere. It made me laugh so hard that I followed this guy.

I just gave this man $100 bucks. You never know. pic.twitter.com/eziCQF4I3w

— Alex Cole (@acnewsitics) July 30, 2024

Our second tweet is from yours truly posting a picture taken by Dr A on her way to work:

Seen at the corner of Laurel and Napoleon: pic.twitter.com/Yheki9vTjC

— Shecky (@Adrastosno) August 2, 2024

Holy post Katrina throwback. Dead refrigerators were found everywhere in the months after the storm and flood. Here’s another picture by Dr A:

That concludes this 2005 flashback. Holy stinky Wayback Machine, Batman.

Cartoon Corner: Mike Luckovich used to work for the New Orleans Times-Picayune. Like kicker Morten Andersen before him, he defected to Atlanta. In his case the Journal-Constitution, not the Falcons. He nails the GOP’s weirdness factor in this cartoon:

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

Saturday Closer: We conclude with another musical doubleheader with Three Dog Night performing two tunes written by Hoyt Axton on The David Frost Show:

As for myself, I’ve been to Spain but not Oklahoma. I would, however, love to meet Jeremiah the bullfrog. That would be both joyous and worldly.

That’s all for this week. The last word goes to the stars of the aforementioned M Night Shyamalan trilogy: James McAvoy, Bruce Willis, and Samuel L Jackson.