There’s NOT a Beast In Me, I needed a pretext to use that shot of Boris Karloff, Basil Rathbone, and Bela Lugosi in Son Of Frankenstein. Mission accomplished without so much as a trip to an aircraft carrier. Did that joke land? W certainly did.
We’re having our first cold front of the season in New Orleans. It’s come early this year. The space heaters are out, much to the delight of our heat-seeking cats. I prefer not to run the central heat until Thanksgiving BUT I broke down and switched it on. Oh well, what the hell.
How banal was the previous paragraph? Small talk makes the world go round even in the game of liar’s poker that is the Trump era, epoch, or whatever synonym floats your boat. Sinking the Bad Ship MAGA has its appeal but only if it doesn’t take the Good Ship America down as well.
This week’s theme song was written by Nick Lowe in 1994. The Beast In Me was first recorded by his ex-stepfather-in-law Johnny Cash. That’s where we begin followed by Nick’s version:
Our theme song was used in the pilot for The Sopranos. How beastly is that?
One more beastly song for your listening pleasure:
That number is dedicated to the people of Jamaica who have been marked by a beast named Hurricane Melissa. It’s by far and away the strongest storm of the 2025 hurricane season. Beware, take care.
We begin our second act by taking a virtual trip to Saudi Arabia, a place I have no desire to visit. Beheadings aren’t my jam.
Stand-up Broad Watches Stand-up Comedy In Saudi Arabia: Helen Lewis is an Atlantic staff writer who begins her piece about the Riyadh Comedy Festival thusly:
“Sometimes you have to ask yourself: How did I get here—sitting in Saudi Arabia, listening to Louis C.K. do jokes about Barely Legal magazine?
Honestly, I thought it would be funny. The instant I heard about the Riyadh Comedy Festival, I pleaded with the editor of this magazine to send me. Despite a series of legal reforms over the past decade, Saudi Arabia remains one of the most conservative Muslim societies in the world, while Louis C.K. is famous for his foul mouth and his record of masturbating in front of a succession of unimpressed women. A match made in heaven!”
The stand-up malakatude, it burns.
For the details, get thee to The Atlantic.
The thought of that wanker Louis CK, makes me wanna run away with Del Shannon to the tune of another one of his songs:
The Sports-Betting Disaster: I knew that pro sports leagues getting into bed with gamblers would eventually blow up in their faces. I’m feeling vindicated after the recent arrests in the NBA betting scandal. I am, however, saddened by the arrest of a coach and former player with a great name, Chauncey Billups. Say it ain’t so, Chauncey.
We were told repeatedly that professional athletes make too much money to fix games. Wrong: Greed is encoded in the genes of many including those who shoot baskets for a living.
The best thing I’ve read about this mishigas is by Donny Funt at The New Yorker. Click here for a funt time.
The last word of our second act goes to Graham Parker:
We begin our third act with our favorite stolen feature.
Separated At Birth Casting Edition: JD Vance has emerged as the top troll in an administration groaning with them. That’s why I’m subjecting you to this segment featuring Gabriel Basso, who played Vance in Hillbilly Elegy, side-by-side with Couch Boy.
Now that was scary. I prefer Muswell Hillbillies to hillbilly elegists:
Your Basic Basie: The Count always tried to stay current. Basie’s Beatle Bag is an exceptionally fine album. Michelle is not one of my favorite Beatle tunes, but I love Basie’s big band version.
Have I told you lately how much I love Count Basie?
Best Of SCTV: Let’s return to our day after Halloween theme with this sketch by the Canadian cutups at SCTV.
I identify with that sketch. I live in a house of cats. Meow from Claire Trevor and Perry Mason.
Classic Movie Trailer: I dig Hammer horror films. The Curse Of Frankenstein was among the first to pair Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. Cushing’s Baron is perhaps the most villainous Victor ever. He’s usually portrayed as an idealist gone bad. Cushing is just bad. The character, not the performance.
Grading Time: I give The Curse Of Frankenstein 3 1/2 stars and an Adrastos Grade of B+.
Saturday GIF Horse: In my Selected Scary Movies Dozen, I mentioned how many things from Son Of Frankenstein were reanimated in Young Frankenstein. Lionel Atwill’s weird prosthetic arm in the former became Kenneth Mars’ weird prosthetic arm in the latter.
Toon Time: The Insult Comedian felt insulted by an anti-tariff video posted by Ontario Premier Doug Ford. Trump claims that Reagan loved tariffs, which is, of course, a lie. He punished Canada with a tariff bump for telling the truth. The MAGA malakatude, it burns.
Let’s close down this virtual honky tonk with some more music.
Saturday Classic: Instrumentals rarely hit the charts. Edgar Winter’s Frankenstein is an exception to that rule. I dig exceptions more than rules myself.
Isn’t that Midnight Special?
That’s all for this week. The last word goes to Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, and Robert Urquhart in The Curse Of Frankenstein:
