Next week is the qualifying period for the Mayoral race in New Orleans. Mayor Teedy DBA LaToya Cantrell is term limited. It’s a good thing: She gave up on the job midway through her second term. There’s a bunch of well-known candidates, Helena Moreno, Oliver Thomas, Arthur Hunter, and Royce Duplessis. I’ve met all four over the years. I support Moreno. She’s an at-large Councilmember and former local news anchor. More importantly, she’s the most committed progressive in the field thereby making her the most likely to stand up to The Clownfish DBA Jeff Landry. That was a whole lotta mosts…

Unfortunately, the race will turn on race as New Orleans elections usually do. We’re still what C Ray Nagin called a chocolate city and Moreno is a light-skinned Latina. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Televangelist Jimmy Swaggart died last week at the age of 90. When I lived in Baton Rouge, I attended one of his services to see a bona fide demagogue in person. It was alternately scary and entertaining. Swaggart was a shitbird who got caught with his  pants down, which limited his influence and lowered his profile. He lived longer than his famous cousins Jerry Lee Lewis and Mickey Gilley, which was no surprise: The Killer was on my list of rock stars who I expected to die next, so was Keith Richards who is still alive and kicking at age 81. How did that happen? Beats the hell outta me.

The featured image comes from what critics call Rene Magritte’s nasty period. He lived through the Nazi occupation, so he was entitled to be nasty. Nazis are nasty which was confirmed by The Three Stooges in You Nazty Spy. It always comes back to Moe, Curly, Larry, and Shemp with me. Why? So I can say this: Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk.

This week’s theme song was written by Chuck Berry for the 1956 movie, Rock, Rock, Rock. It does, does, does. Rock, rock, rock, that is.

We have three versions of You Can’t Catch Me for your listening pleasure: The Berry OG, The Rolling Stones, and George Benson.

Speaking of songs with catch in the title:

It’s time to drop in on our second act. I’m not dropping it this time.

The Bear: I have an odd relationship with the FX series. I’ve fallen in and out of love with it more than once. It happened again with the start of Season-4. I nearly abandoned it because it felt like a slog. I stuck with it because of time invested in the characters. I’m glad I did.

Last year’s burning question was whether this series is a comedy or drama. It’s both and neither. Does that clear things up? Let’s consult with Graham Parker:

Documentary Of The Week: Bill Simmons is a Boston Celtics super fan. He’s the driving force behind the HBO documentary, Celtics City. Simmons may be a fan boy, but this nine-part docuseries is not a puff piece. It delves into the racial issues that have dogged Boston and their team over the years. It’s hard to avoid mentioning someone breaking into Bill Russell’s house and taking a dump on his bed. In two words: Racist. Gross.

I’ve never rooted for the Celtics, but I’ve always respected them. During the Bird-McHale-Parish era, I rooted for their arch-rivals, the Los Angeles Lakers, thereby proving that the only LA team I hate is the Dodgers.

Most members of the early Celtics teams are dead but Bob Cousy lives. He was the NBA’s OG great point guard; he looks great at 96. Cousy is one of many terrific talking heads including the chatty and charming Kevin McHale and the surprisingly loquacious Robert Parish. I used to think he was the only native Louisianan who was taciturn, but Celtics City disproved that theory.

Here’s the trailer:

Grading Time: I give Celtics City 3 1/2 stars and an Adrastos Grade of B+.

In honor of Bob Cousy, the last word of our second act goes to ? and the Mysterians:

We begin our third act with our favorite stolen feature.

Separated At Birth: This week, we turn to a skeet from the man who gave us SAB:

How do British people tell the difference between prime minister John Major and prime minister Keir Starmer?

— Kurt Andersen (@kurtandersen.bsky.social) 2025-06-30T14:06:46.572Z

One is a Tory, the other is Labour. Next question.

Your Weekly Oscar:  Incoherent Blues was composed by trumpet deity Clark Terry 40 years before an incoherent man took control of the Republican party.

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

The Best Of Letterman: Here’s a Top Ten list read by a bunch of NBA legends including two of my heroes, Bill Russell and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Saturday GIF Horse: Richie is my favorite character on The Bear. He’s changed a lot over the course of the series; one thing remains constant, his potty mouth.

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

Saturday Closer: It’s rare that a popular album recorded by a rock star is posted in its entirety on the YouTube. Feast your ears on Wildflowers by Tom Petty:

That’s all for this week. The last word goes to the Season-1 cast of The Bear.