It’s been a wild week in New Orleans. The local media has been fixated on a jailbreak: Ten violent offenders escaped from Orleans Parish Prison 8 days ago, as of this writing only five have been captured. The Clownfish DBA Jeff Landry dispatched his mini-me, State AG Liz Murrill, to butt in. The state deserves part of the blame: some of the escapees have been convicted and should have been transferred to state prisons. But when did MAGA maggots let the facts interfere with their narrative? Stay tuned.
Dr. A and I attended a funeral for the father of some good friends this week. He was a lovely and kind man who deserves the encomiums he received during the funeral mass. Condolences to Becky, Brian, and the rest of their family. Jerry will be missed.
The funeral was on the day of our anniversary. It was a throwback to our wedding day: We attended a memorial service in the morning, then got hitched by a judge that afternoon. It’s a funny old world.
This week’s theme song is that rare breed: an underrated Rolling Stones song. It was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards for the band’s 1976 album Black and Blue. The album is lesser Stones. Hand Of Fate is not:
Let’s follow up with a list song by Rodney Crowell who looks downright grizzled in this video:
When I think of hands, this song immediately pops into my head:
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
You’re fated to hear one more song before we dive into our second act:
One year at Jazz Fest, my late sister-in-law and I engaged in an informal contest to see who could say Chaka Khan the most without a verbal slip. I don’t recall the outcome, but I do recall seeing Chaka Khan that day.
Repeat after me: Chaka Khan, Chaka Khan, Chaka Khan.
A great name is a terrible thing to waste.
This week’s second act consists of a review of a 9-part 2014 series about The Three Stooges. Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk.
I’m about to do something I never do: Use exclamation points. Why? They’re in the title. If I were Catholic, I’d go to confession now but I’m not, so I’ll confess to y’all. Forgive me readers, I have sinned…
In Hey Moe! Hey Dad! Stooge son Paul Howard tells the story of his famous father Moe and his merry band of miscreants. He also describes his mixed feelings about being the SOM, Son of Moe. Those feelings have receded with age, he’s now proud of his zany lineage and the Stooges’ enduring popularity.
The series is overlong but great fun as we see home movies of Moe and his family. I dig old home movies. I wish someone in my family had taken them. Of course, my family isn’t as colorful as Paul Howard’s but whose is?
I used to think of my Three Stooges fandom as a guilty pleasure. That changed when I wrote about their brilliant anti-Nazi shorts last year. Yes, I used the word brilliant to describe The Three Stooges. Is it time to head to the virtual confessional again?
Like many others, I grew up watching The Stooges on TV. In my case, it was on the Captain Satellite show on KTVU. I watched them after school before growing out of Moe, Larry, Curly, Shemp, Joe Besser, and Curly Joe. I seem to have reverted to my childhood. Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk.
Here’s something akin to a trailer:
Grading Time: I give Paul Howard’s video memoirs 3 stars and an Adrastos Grade of B. If it had been trimmed down, I would have rated it more highly. I hadn’t seen this 2014 series until it popped up on Amazon Prime. If you don’t do Amazon, it can be found on the YouTube.
There’s only one possible last word for this second act. It goes to the Jump ‘N The Saddle Band. Terrible band name, terrific song:
Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk.
We begin our third act with our favorite stolen feature
Separated At Birth Casting Edition: I still have the Black Sox on my mind. I give you Buck Weaver and John Cusack who played him in the John Sayles’ Eight Men Out.
Your Weekly Oscar: We continue to take a hands on approach in this segment:
Have I told you lately how much I love Oscar Peterson?
The Best Of George Wendt: Actor George Wendt died this week at the age of 76. He’s best known for this:
Norm was also known to say this:
Was his never seen wife Vera one of the Andrews Sisters? Probably not.
Saturday GIF Horse: I’m one of those Stooges fans who likes Shemp almost as much as Curly. Joe Besser, however, was from hunger.
Here’s a song from the Other Stooges. Curly was a dog-lover and so is Iggy:
Celebrity Ad Corner: I hadn’t planned to do another Stooges segment until I saw this camera ad.
FYI, Moe was a soft-spoken auto-didact who could usually be found with his nose buried in a book.
Let’s close down this virtual honky tonk with some more music.
Saturday Closer: Nick Lowe returned to his rock-n-roll roots on his new album, Indoor Safari. Unlike Los Straitjackets, Nick is not wearing a mask in this video.
That’s all for this week. The last word goes to the Howard brothers and their brother from another mother, Larry Fine.
