I love ampersands, especially in post titles. This week’s theme song allows me to place two ampersands in the title. My linguistic heart is full or some such shit.
I used to be active on social media and post with some frequency. Because of my dislike of what social media has done to our politics, I mostly use it as a vehicle to publicize First Draft. Fewer people come directly to the site so you gotta do what you gotta do.
I recently saw a post on Blue Sky that inspired me to break my silence. I didn’t share the OG skeet because it got lost in the ether.
Saw a post from some woman claiming to be from New Orleans. She claimed that the first store she went to after Katrina was Rouse’s on Baronne. It didn’t open until 2011. Rouse’s didn’t operate in the city until 2007. Oy just oy.
We concluded that it was just another mendacious newbie basking in the dubious reflected glory of those of us who went through the storm and its aftermath. This was my favorite comment from our game of spot the post-Katrina poser:
I feel like the people claiming to be from here during/post K but who weren’t actually here is a kind of stolen valor.
— RevMelanieNOLA (@revmelanienola.bsky.social) 2026-08-11T04:54:47.045Z
Rev. Melanie nails it again.
This week’s ampersanded theme song is another song Robbie Robertson wrote for The Band’s 1975 album, Northern Lights-Southern Cross. That’s two weeks in a row, y’all. Like Jupiter Hollow, the lyrics of Rags & Bones are as cinematic as hell foreshadowing Robbie’s future life as Martin Scorsese’s music guy.
Another day, another YouTube mistake. Dude, where’s my ampersand?
I’m feeling ragged right now. Calling on Dinah Washington to make that feeling go away:
We begin our second act with a segment about a once beloved roadside attraction that’s become controversial.
South Of The Border: The border in question is that between the Carolinas. I first visited South Of The Border during a road trip with Dr. A to Virginia. It’s located just off Interstate-95 in Harmer, South Carolina. It has a faux Mexican theme with a mascot named Pedro.
The whole thing is cringy and unintentionally racist. Why am I going on about this? The New York Times has a swell piece by Eduardo Medina about South Of The Border’s past, present, and future: Tacky, Rude and Beloved: Is an I-95 Landmark Worth Saving?
That’s a rhetorical question. I’m not sure what to think but as someone who grew up in an area with many Hispanics, it’s always made me cringe.
I’ll let Francis Albert sing us out of this segment.
Hellenic Intermission: My people are proud and stubborn. Theatre owners in Greece believe that intermissions are mandatory for movies over 2 1/2 hours. I agree: I think most current “prestige pictures” are too damn long. The lack of intermissions is one reason I rarely go to long movies at a theatre anymore. Those big ass sodas beg for a pee break.
The Guardian has a fine article on this subject, ‘An intermission is a must’: why Greek cinemas are adding a loo break to The Odyssey.
You say loo break; I say pee break. Let’s call the whole thing off.
The last word of our second act goes to Steely Dan:
We begin our third act with our favorite stolen feature.
Separated At Birth: While researching my Exhuming Hoover post, I came upon this SAB pairing of the 31st president and Orson Welles. Would Hoover have done better in 1932 if he sounded like Orson? Discuss amongst yourselves.
The dam named for Hoover inspired a song by Bob Mould:
Your Basic Basie: The Count and composer Neil Hefti move us from Rags & Bones to a Bag ‘A Bones. Either way is bony.
Have I told you lately how much I love Count Basie?
We have a bony tune for the road:
Thanks, Mac.
The Best Of Penn & Teller: The ampersand is one of many reasons I love the modern masters of magic.
Saturday GIF Horse: My motto for this feature remains: when in doubt post a silent comedy GIF. Here’s Charlie Chaplin as a dancing waiter.
Was he dancing to this boss Anita O’Day tune?
Meme Street: Seen on the mean streets of Blue Sky:
No shit, Jack. In the immortal words of Hank Hill:
FYI, in the King Of The Hill reboot, the boy *is* right.
We move from Bobby Hill back to Bobby Junior.
Toon Time: For the second week in a row, I’m obliged to turn a blind eye to the use of the unearned acronym for Bobby Junior. It’s okay. Consider this toon a companion piece to my Nobody’s Worse Than Todd Blanche post.
Let’s close down this virtual honky tonk with some more music.
Saturday Closer: This video is blurry and the title is ampersand-free but it still rocks.
The last word goes to Penn & Teller. Why? They use an ampersand, that’s why.
