It’s been a nauseating week at Adrastos World HQ. I’ve had some version of the stomach crud. I’ll spare you the details but suffice it to say it’s been icky, yucky, and downright gross. That’s why I have so little to report this week, so I’ll keep this introduction short and pithy. Does that pith anyone off?

I’m still adjusting to my new eyesight. I’ve traded bad distance vision for bad up close vision. I’m not crazy about wearing cheaters to read but at least it gave me an earworm, which became this week’s theme song.

This week’s theme song was written by Harry Warren and Johnny Mercer for the 1938 movie musical, Going Places. It starred pre-noir tough guy Dick Powell. It was not as enduring or endearing as Jeepers Creepers, which is a charming compendium of American slang circa 1938. Golly gee.

There are north of 200 versions of Jeepers Creepers. I’m presenting three: Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra, and Bing Crosby.

Louis, Frank, and Bing constitute the holy trinity of vocal pop jazz. They laid the foundation for those who came later. How fancy is that?

Oops, I forgot Billie Holiday. That was an unholy mistake. I’ll skip the Fab Four jokes and post Lady Day’s take on this week’s theme song.

I just snubbed Ella. It’s a good thing I don’t believe in an afterlife. Who wants to deal with angry ghosts? I’ll apologize by posting this kinda sorta seasonal number:

I hope the spirit world is placated. If not, I gave it my best shot. Not bad for a non-believer.

I still have this week’s birthright citizenship argument on my mind. We begin our second act with a piece about the immigrant roots of the members of the Roberts Court.

SCOTUS Family Histories: The NYT’s Abbie van Sickle and Julie Tate take a deep dive into the roots of the Supremes that’s worthy of Skip Gates. It’s a reminder that we’re all immigrants even though many, including Sam the Sham Alito, would rather reminisce about their relatives than face the fact that we’re all immigrants.

For the details, get thee to the NYT.

I’ll let the great Joan Baez sing us out of this segment:

Things You Don’t Know About Me: Eccentricity runs deep in my gene pool. Anyone surprised? I thought not.

As a child, there was a bewildering array of women I was told to call Auntie or Thea, which is Greek for aunt. Can I call one of my crankier relations a crone? This Thea was a crone who loved to bitch, moan, and whine, but only in Greek. Her command of the English language was limited.

In addition to fondling worry beads, she loved to deploy the Greek interjection, “po, po, po” as a sign of her agony. My gene pool is also overflowing with drama queens of both genders.

I long ago forgot her given name and think of her as Aunt Po Po Po. My mom called her that behind her back, which made my dad laugh. A rare sign of filial impiety on his part.

Hall & Oates sing us out of the segment:

Let’s get political and pay a visit to the Tarheel state.

Black Porn Nazi Update: Former North Carolina Lt. Governor Mark Robison was the subject of a swell 2024 guest post by umpteenth generation North Carolinian Lex Alexander, Mark Robinson: More Than Just Malaka Of The Week.

Later that year, I chimed in with a post called, Mocking The Black Porn Nazi. Hence the segment title.

Where is all of this leading? To a new TPM piece by Hunter Walker about Robinson, that’s where.

The last word of our second act goes to James Taylor:

We begin our third act with our favorite stolen feature.

Separated At Birth Casting Edition: Tomorrow is Easter Sunday. Posting a picture of actors who have played Jesus of Nazareth is as religious as I get.

Jeffrey Hunter thought that playing Jesus was a bad career move. He had a hunch that might be true when cast, but he couldn’t say no to director Nicholas Ray.

Your Basic Basie: Let’s keep our eyes on the prize and get down with the Count. Count Basie, that is.

Have I told you lately how much I love Count Basie?

Classic Movie Trailer: I usually dislike Cecil B. DeMille’s movies but I have a soft spot for this seasonal flick:

I never met a movie with Edward G. Robinson I didn’t like.

Grading Time: I give this unintentionally campy movie 3 stars and a grudging Adrastos grade of B.

I have an earworm, time to expel it without further explication:

Saturday GIF Horse: Presenting Touchdown Moses.

Enough with the Ten Commandments shtick. Let’s head to Iraq. No invasion necessary: been there, done that.

Toon Time: Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf was Saddam Hussein’s chief spokes creep during the second Gulf War. His relentless proto-Trumpian mendacity earned him two nicknames, neither flattering, Comical Ali and the one that stuck Baghdad Bob.

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

Saturday Closer: In which The Boss poses the eternal question: War, huh, what is it good for?

Absolutely nothing. Say it again.

That’s it for this week. I mentioned Nicholas Ray. He was married to the Glorious Gloria Grahame from 1948-1952. She gets the leggy last word.