Tab Benoit

Marva Wright

Ed Bradley Introducing Marva Wright

Marcia Ball

Kim Carson

Pine Leaf Boys

Me at Jazz Fest

Jazz Fest 2006 Day Four

Wow, a whole week has gone by and it's time for the final weekend of Jazz Fest. If this post isn't that long or in depth as some of the previous ones I apologize, but it's late and I'm tired and I still have to get things ready for my trip to Disney that I leave for in two days. Am I crazy or what?

Hopefully I'll make up for any shortage in words with pictures.

First up was the Pine Leaf Boys. They are a local group from Lafayette. They sing traditional cajun music. These guys were a bunch of college kids just a year ago. Now they're a really good sounding musical group. Nothing like that ever happened to me when I was in college.

Next up was Kim Carson. She's another local singer that's been around forever. She reminds me a little of Lucinda Williams.

After Kim I tried to make my way back to the Southern Comfort stage where Larry already was. I got into the crowd, even close enough to see Larry and our chairs by the front of the stage but the crowd was so packed I gave up. Marcia Ball was coming on so I figured I'd just stand where I was and watch the show.

And what a show! After Springsteen I think this was my favorite show of the Fest so far. She did a new song called "Bucktown" about the area in Kenner called Bucktown and of course Katrina. She also did a version of Randy Newman's Louisiana 1927 that was killer. This was an awesome show.

Marva Wright was on after Marcia. Marva is a local blues singer. She was visibly moved by the crowd, she came out, grabbed her mike and started crying. She wiped away the tears and started to sing. Wow, can this woman sing! She is a real blues singer.

After Marve was Tab Benoit, another local blues singer. Another good show.

The final act was KoKo Taylor, a legendary blues singer. She got her start from Willie Dixon back in the 40s. She only did an hour show, even that got to her, she had to sit down after she would sing a few lyrics and get her breath back. But she was a trooper.

All in all another great day of Jazz Fest and a great start to the final weekend. The weather again was great, overcast so the sun did not come out and bake us and the rain held off.

Jazz Fest 2006 Day Three

Well, the end of this day was the Springsteen concert where I talk about in its own post. But the rest of this day was good too. I managed to sell my extra ticket so I started off happy.

The first act was John Mooney, a modern day blues singer. He was born in New Jersey but now lives in New Orleans.

After Mooney came Sonny Landreth. I saw Sonny last year at the Jazz Fest. Sonny is a master of the slide guitar.

And finally before the Springsteen show came Allen Toussiant and Elvis Costello. Allen performed a lot of his old hits and than brought Elvis out. They have a new cd coming out in June, The River In Reverse, and yes it is about Katrina and its aftermath. They did the title song and it was very good. Allen ended with a song, calling out to various aspects of New Orleans and its areas, saying we'll be back.

After this came Springsteen but I talk about him in another post.

Springsteen

It's been almost a week since the end of last week's Jazz Fest. I'm sure most of you have heard about Springsteen's appearance at the Fest. In Springsteen lore there are tales of his legendary concerts: the appearance at Bottom Line where Jan Landau came up with the future of rock and roll quote, his first London show, and others. These are the shows that his fans talk and write about, the ones that every Springsteen fan wishes he had been present at. Now you can add another one to that list.

I've seen Springsteen a few times over the years and he always gives a good concert. He puts on a good show, he knows how to play to the crowd. He doesn't stint on his time, he puts it all out there for his fans to see. But no show by Springsteen that I've seen comes close to this show. In fact I'm trying real hard to think of any show that I've seen that can compare to this one.

I talked in a previous post about the importance of this Jazz Fest to the city of New Orleans. In this one concert Springsteen shows he understands what is important and delivers on it. I'm not a religious person and I have never gotten what such a person gets from going to church, until this show. This might be the closest I have come to finding my religion. I've always thought music was the closest I've come to following a religion and today I was in church.

Springsteen opened with a rocking version of "Mary, Don't You Weep" and continued with his versions of the songs off his newest cd "The Seeger Sessions." He added "What's A Poor Man To Do", a song originally wrote in 1929 after the crash of the banks that eventually lead to the Depression. He kept the first verse, but wrote his own second and third verses to fit the destruction and aftermath of Katrina. And he dedicated it to President Bystander.

But the most moving moment came during his own song, "City in Ruins." This song started with him alone on his guitar. As he sang the lyrics it was obvious that this song could have been written for New Orleans after Katrina. And than when the band kicked in with the chorus of "Rise UP!" Hands went in the air, waving back and forth. But many of these hands kept returning to faces, to wipe away the tears. I don't know if I've ever been moved to tears at a concert, but I found myself wiping my own eyes.

Springsteen ended with his version of "When the Saints Come Marching Home." He sang it almost as a hymn. It was one of the most beautiful versions of the song I have ever heard.

This concert went from joy to despair, from laughter to tears. Springsteen made the truth of the importance of the Jazz Fest on this day.

How Cool Is Jazz Fest?

This is the cubes for day three of Jazz Fest. Look at all the acts on there and that's just one day! Isn't Jazz Fest so cool?

Bruce Springsteen

Allen Touisant and Elvis Costello

John Mooney

How Can A Poor Man Stand Such Times And Live

HOW CAN A POOR MAN STAND SUCH TIMES AND LIVE©
Live Apr 2006 version
Well, the doctor comes 'round here with his face all bright
And he says "in a little while you'll be alright"
All he gives is a humbug pill, a dose of dope and a great big bill
Tell me how can a poor man stand such times and live?

"Me and my old school pals had some mighty high times down here
And what happened to you poor black folks, well it just ain't fair"
He took a look around, gave a little pep talk, said "I'm with you" then he took a little walk
Tell me how can a poor man stand such times and live?

There's bodies floatin' on Canal and the levees gone to Hell
Martha, get me my sixteen gauge and some dry shells
Them who's got got out of town and them who ain't got left to drown
Tell me how can a poor man stand such times and live?

Go ahead!

Got family scattered from Texas all the way to Baltimore
Yeah and I ain't got no home in this world no more
Gonna be a judgment that's a fact, a righteous train rollin' down this track
Tell me how can a poor man stand such times and live?
Tell me how can a poor man stand such times and live?
Tell me how can a poor man stand such times and live?


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Originally written by Blind Alfred Reed who recorded it on 04 Dec 1929 in New York City and released as RCA VICTOR Vi V-40236. It had Blind Alfred Reed on fiddle and vocals and his son, Arville Reed, on guitar. Check out Blind Alfred Reed's versio

Etta James

Luther Kent and Trick Bag

Snooks Eaglin and George Porter

Clarence "Frogman" Henry

Poltics at the Fest

Mitch Landrieu, who is running for Mayor, out pumping the flesh at the Fest.

Jazz Fest 2006 Day Two

Today my brother, Kenneth, is coming to Jazz Fest with Larry and me.

Kenneth met me at my house and we than went to meet Larry. Larry is the driver, he knows his way around New Orleans better than either of us. So after a quick stop for breakfast at Mickey D's we were on the twin spans heading into the city. And Larry has to ask "Do you have your ticket?"

Guess what? Guess which dunderhead didn't have his ticket? If you guessed me you guessed right. So I was off to a good start.

Tickets at the gate are forty dollars. My only hope is that the tickets are for any day of the weekend, so the ticket that I still have at home is for this weekend. I'm going to bring it with me tommorrow (let's hope so) and try to sell it for thirty dollars, cause that's what I paid for it. Shouldn't be too hard, I'm saving someone ten dollars. I figured ten dollars is my price for being stupid.

Today we set up at the Southern Comfort Stage. At Acrua is Dave Matthews Band today. I'm sorry Dave Matthews does nothing for me. I don't dislike him, but I don't like him. He leaves me blah. But boy there were a lot of people there to see him. There was a line outside the gate when we got there at 8:30 and it was his fans.

First act we caught was part of a local pop group called World Leader Pretend. They were alright. They didn't convince me to run out and buy their cd.

We wandered around some, spending more money. Got some food this time before heading back to the stage. It was weird, when we were outside the gate waiting in line we got to talk to this guy named Bud. He remembered seeing us last year. Bud ended up being on the front row at the Souther Comfort Stage with us.

First act up at the Southern Comfort Stage that we caught was Clarence "Frogman" Henry. This man is 74 years old, walked out with a walker and had a chair on the stage for him. But once he started singing he stood up, holding onto the mic stand and sang his heart out. He closed with his most well known song "Ain't Got No Home." Too true for too many people in the city still.

Up next was Snooks Eaglin. Snooks is another older singer, probably not much off in years from Frogman. Snooks is also blind. George Porter from the legendary Meters played guitar with him. Snooks had no set list. He would just ask someone to call out a song and that was what he would play. Snooks is a joy to watch perform, he is having so much fun.

After Snooks we stayed for Luther Kent. We were going to go to the other stage for the Subdues, but we were afraid we wouldn't get back. Luther is a local blues singer with a band of 12. He was good, just not the subdues.

But after Luther came Etta James. Now Etta is another performer that has been around forever it seems. She also has lost a lot of weight. Etta has a voice that is one of a kind. It is awesome. Her stage act would put Brittany or Christina to shame. For a woman of her age she is very sexual. The things she did with that microphone....

All in all it was another great day at the Fest. The weather was overcast all day, very windy and it looked like it was going to downpour any minute. But it didn't. We managed to make it out without any rain.

Tommorrow is Bruce Springsteen.

Nothing to do with JazzFest

Buffy catching a few zzzz's.

Anders Osborne

Keb Mo

Dr John 2006

Dr. John leaving the stage.

Jazz Fest 2006 Day One

The first day of Jazz Fest.

Larry and I left for the Fest at 7:30. Now you have to understand that the Festival doesn't even start until 11:00. It only takes about an hour to get there, so we were going to have a few hours to kill. But it gets us at the head of the line. And imagine this, when we got there we weren't even the first ones waiting for the gates to open. In fact there was a group of girls from California that had slept on the street in front of the gates so they could make sure they didnt miss Dylan's appearance at the Fest.

Once inside it's a quick sprint to the stage. Okay, maybe not a quick sprint. In fact for me it was a sprint than a stop and catch my breath and think that I used to be able to run longer than this without having a cardiac arrest before? What was I doing? Getting old or something?

The idea of the rush to the stage is to claim a spot. Today most of the acts we wanted to see were going to be at the Acrua Stage, which just happens to be the biggest stage there. It's good to see some of the smaller acts and the smaller stages, but sometimes it's also good to catch the major stages. This was the stage that Dylan was going to perform on and I don't miss Dylan. We managed to get a spot at the front and set up chairs up. The nice thing is once you get your spot, you can generally leave your chairs and wander a bit. At least for the first few acts, by the time the main events come on you need to be back at your chairs or you'll lose your spot.

So we planted our chairs and than headed off to buy the offical Jazz Fest poster. We figured this would be ten, twenty minutes tops. We waited in line for over an hour to get the poster. On the way back we stopped and bought the Jazz Fest beads also. This is getting expensive, so much to buy.

Once back at the stage and our seats we figured we were stuck for the rest of the Fest. It was getting very crowded. Fridays are normally the lightest day of the Fest, a lot of locals are working and can't make it.

First up, actually second up but he was performing when we got back, was Anders Osborne. Anders is orginially from Sweden and has lived in New Orleans for more than a few years. He sings a blend of New Orleans music and blues. Very good.

After Anders came the blues great Keb Mo. Keb is one of the best blues singer out there. He performed with just himself on guitar and one other player, this man was either playing guitar or banjo or mandolin. Keb plays sitting down for his entire performance. He doesn't do the jumping around or showing off, he just lets his music speak for itself and it speaks volumes.

Bob Dylan was next. He was about fifteen minutes late, which is not a good thing for the Fest. The time lines are pretty strict, with a seven o'clock cut off time. They need time to get the place cleaned up for the next day. Finally Dylan came out and began to play. I've read that he is playing keyboard now on tour. It was interesting to see him stand behind the keyboards and sing. He started with "Maggie's Farm" and ended with "All Along the Watchtower" in his encore. I was surprised that he had an encore, ususally there are no encores mainly due to the time restraints. In face Dylan played almost thirty minutes past his time.

I was surprised by the amount of young people that were there for Dylan. There were a lot of kids in their teens and early twenties that were there just to see Dylan. I didn't realize that he was still that popular.

Dylan loses points though cause he would not allow anyone to take pictures. That's one of the nice things about the Jazz Fest. You can take pictures. I enjoy taking pictures of the singers and groups. And what was worse was that there was no announcement from the stage that you couldn't take pictures. You found out when you raised your camera to take a picture and a security guard descended on you like a ton of bricks and demanded that you stop what you were doing. They were pretty ugly about it, none more so than Dylan's head of security. He strutted around scowling at everyone and jumping on people if they even looked like they might be thinking about taking a picture. I know it's Dylan's right not to have his picture taken, but some reason I would think he would be above such acts. It just didn't set well with me.

Dylan wasn't the final act. Dr. John came after. I was going to leave that stage when Dylan finished and head over to see Ani Difranco. I've seen Dr. John a few times and have never seen Ani Difranco. But Dylan went long, so by the time he was finished she would have already been started. And there was a little matter of the size of the crowd. This has to be the biggest Friday in the Fest's history. There were more people there than I have ever seen. There was no way I was going to even attempt to make my way through that crowd. So I just sat back and listened to Dr John and enjoyed it. Dr. John always puts on a good show.

After the end of the singing we headed over to buy more goodies. A t shirt and we were ready to head home. All in all we couldn't have asked for a better opening for Jazz Fest. The weather was great, it never got too hot and the rain held off. So tommorrow is another day and more great music.

What Does Jazz Fest Mean Now?

This is a city of music. More so than most other cities music matters here. Music is part of the very fabric of this city. Slowly music has been coming back to this city since Katrina. First some of the small clubs opened. One of the first performers to come back to the city was Walter "Wolfman" Washington to play at the Maple Leaf. Than some of the bigger clubs opened. Tipitinas, House of Blues, Howling Wolf are all open and hosting music on a weekly basis now.

If anyone that has been reading this blog for any length of time they'll know how important music is to me. I'm one of those idealists that still believe that music can change the world. To me music can bring tears, laughter, just about any emotion that you can imagine. Music can heal the soul.

For a lot of people out there New Orleans has slipped off the nightly news. The hurricane was eight months ago. More than enough time for the city to get itself straightened out right? Things should be back to normal now. Right?

Just drive down I-10 through New Orleans East and you'll get an answer to thost questions very quickly. As many times as I've driven that section of the interstate my heart still sinks a little when I travel it. It's hard not to want to cry when you drive it, the homes are still wrecked, buildings with the roofs collapsed, store signs fallen over into a building, long sections of wooden fences just blown over...I could go on, but you get the point.

This is not something that will be corrected quickly. New Orleans may take years to get better. As much as it important to the soul of the city to continue with events like Mardi Gras and Jazz Fest I believe that there is a section of people out there that see these things going on and believe that must mean New Orleans is fixed. Mardi Gras and Jazz Fest are helping to fix New Orleans, they're helping to rebuild the soul of this city, to bring a much needed feeling of normalacy to a battered citizenary.

In its own way its showing that music can change the world.

Busy Weeks Coming Up

Tommorrow is the first weekend of Jazz Fest. So everyone knows what that means? Lots of pics and comments about the performers coming up. I'm planning on being there for all three days and than again next weekend for the three days of the final Jazzfest weekend.

Next weekend will be really busy. That Monday after Jazzfest I'm going to Disneyworld. I haven't been to Disneyworld in over twenty years. Heather and I had talked about going for awhile now, but she can't make it at this time, so Nick and I are going.

Jazzfest is Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Saturday night after I get back from Jazzfest I'm going to have to drive over to the Westbank to bring Buffy to my brothers. Buffy will stay with him for the week that I'm in Disnyworld.

I can't wait....it's been too long since I've been there.

Ani Difranco

This is one of the best live albums ever. Nuff said.

A Visit to the Vet

Had to bring Buffy to the vet today. She's still having problems with her ears. It's gotten so bad that she's scratched the outside of her ears raw in spots. When I bring her to the vet they have to give her a shot to knock her out, so they can look at her. She looks so sad when she goes under, her tongue hangs out and she moves her head back and forth. Her ears were pretty dirty and full of wax. They cleaned them out. So hopefully she'll feel better now and stop some of the scratching.

Bush Does Not Rule Out Nuclear Strike

That's the headline I was greeted with when I logged onto Yahoo. This means Bush is seriously considering a first nuclear strike on Iran. Is this man completely crazy? For once in my life I am speechless.

Christmas 2004

This was from 2004 at Christmas time. Last year was the first year that I have not been over my parents for Christmas. They moved right before Christmas and are too far for me to drive for one day. I work in retail so I get Christmas off and that's it for that time of year. My parents said next year they plan to come down here for Christmas and stay with either me or my brother. They're worse than kids when it comes to Christmas so I know they missed not having either me or my brother up there.

As you can see I'm dressed to the nines.

Me and Brian Stotlz

This is from last year's Jazz Fest. That's me in the red shirt and the guy I'm talking to is Brian Stotlz. He is a singer/songwriter. He was in the Neivelle Brother's band for a few years, but now he's out on his own and making some great music.

The Tree On My Porch

No, don't worry, these aren't current pictures. This is more of my clutter I'm cleaning out. This is what I was greeted with when I drove up from leaving due to Katrina. Looks pretty bad, but it wasn't as bad as it looks. Took me most of a day to cut that tree up and get it off my porch.

My Home After Katrina

This is a shot from the back of my yard. As you can tell the storm blew my fence down. The good thing was that it just blew it over in sections. We were able to basically pick the sections up, pour more concrete and nail them back together. Ok, ok, I wasn't part of that they. My parents and brother came out and put my fence back together while I was in the hospital.

This picture makes it look really bad, but I made out a lot better than a lot of people.

Twin Spans Post Katrina

Ok, as you can tell from yesterday's reworking of this blog I'm in one of those moods. Like I said I'm trying to get back into the swing of things. I'm cleaning up my office area, and when I say it needs cleaning I'm not lying. As I clean I'm finding a lot of old stuff and pictures that I meant to blog about but just never got around to. So now you're going to get the chance to see some of this stuff.

This is a picture of the twin spans that cross the lake from Slidell where I live towards New Orleans. This was a few weeks after Katrina. Both sides had been damaged but they got the north bound lanes open within weeks. The other side is now open too and traffic is flowing both ways.

Jazz Fest Is Coming!

The last weekend of April and first weekend of May Jazz Fest will be here. Last year I only managed one weekend, this year I plan to be at both weekends. Already bought my tickets. I'm not going to be able make Bonnaroo this year, it's on one of the few weekends that we have blackout dates for work, so Jazz Fest is going to be the big concert for me. But it's going to be a good one. Fats Domino, Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, Ani Difranco, Keb' Mo, Subdues, Dr John, Etta James, Elvis Costello, Meters, Marcia Ball, Koko Taylor, Doug Kershaw, Little Feat, Keith Urban, Susan Cowsill, Theresa Anderson, Jimmy Buffet, Radiators, Deacon John, Frankie Ford, Irma Thomas, Lionel Richie, Sam Moore, Rockin Doopsie....well, you get the idea. That's only a scratch on the surface of who is going to be there. This is am important Jazz Fest to the city. It's our first since Katrina.

I can't wait.

NEW THINGS!

To be honest it's been awhile since I've been very exicted about this whole blog thing.  When I started I thought it was the coolest thing since sliced bread.  Even during my evacuation from the city due to Katrina I kept up with it.  Lately though it seems to be a chore.   The malaise I have been feeling has to do with a lot of things, some of which I'll tak about in other posts, but suffice to say I don't feel like I've been doing good at a lot of things lately.  But I'm here to tell you that is all going to change.  I don't like feeling like the world is passing me by while I try to keep up on my tricycle.  From now on I'm going to pedal harder and faster and not just keep up, but move ahead.  

And as proof of that I've been playing with this blog, trying to improve it, trying to make me enjoy it again.  I've added a lot of things to the sidebars, lots of links to other blogs I've been reading.  Also blogs about things I enjoy, be they this city I love or comic books.  I've moved around some other things too, so hopefully you can read things a bit better.  I know I have a lot of....stuff, shall we say, on the sidebar, but I can't help it.  I see things that interest me and I just want to pass them on.  I hope some of you enjoy some of them at least.

I do enjoy this world of blogging and I treasure the friends I have made on here so far.  I may slow down now and than, but I plan to be on here blogging and making friends for years to come.

My Name

Напиши еще?

MORE ME

Why would I do it?  I'm not really sure.  I have some reasons, but do I really need another website?  I still haven't gotten my real website up and running yet, but I've went ahead and added a My Space to my resume.  The other site will be and is for my comic book work.  It's actually a big ad for artists.  I hope to use it to showcase my past and hopefully future writing  and to find artists to work with on such future work.  It's not going to be a place I talk about much else, as far as my thoughts and things go.  That's for this blog.  You're not getting rid of me that easy.  

For all those that would like to check it out, and it's still in the start up phase you can find my new site at: http://www.myspace.com/pencil_dreams

WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE WORLD?

 

Despite what others may say about me I am not that full of myself that I would even begin to lay claim to knowing the answer to that question.  I may give some opinions as to theories that I have, but I think I would always know that I am far from being able to claim the answer.  But I'm sure you know someone, or several someones, that will tell you what is wrong with the world and even better they can tell you how to make the world a better place, and it ususally only requires listening to them and acting on their advice.  And I've noticed something.  As I get older a lot of my friends fall into this catergory.  I'm not talking about my younger friends, a lot of them don't even know when there is something wrong and what's worse could care less...that's a post for another day, but the friends I've had for years and that are my contempories as far as age goes.   Listen to them and they can tell you what's wrong and what to do to fix it.  And it ususally deals with getting those "others" to do something, to get off welfare, to stop killing people, to....whatever.  You know what "others" I'm talking about, the type of people that are different than you or me.  A couple years ago I got into a big argument with a really good friend of mine about oil companies drilling in Alaska.  He thought it was fine, that the oil companies should be able to.  He thought that they should be able to get as much proftt as they can squeeze from us.  This became a loud, shouting arguement.  Neither side gave an inch.  (Now I will tell you that when we finish we were still friends, that's one good thing about friends, you can argue with them but in the end they're still there as your friends.)  But I'm noticing that a lot of my friends seem to be on that side that thinks liberal is a dirty word.  What is going on?  Why does getting older mean getting more conservative?  My Dad was never someone you would mistake for a big liberal, but growing up there was a certain balance at our dinner tables.  My parents came of an age when they might say something about blacks along the lines of "those people", but I never heard either of my parents say a black person couldn't be just as good as a white person and they never used the N word.  And even more surprising is that as he ages my Dad seems to be getting more liberal in some regards.  He is a big supporter of Bill Clinton and cannot stand the current President.  Want to see him get mad real quick?  Say something good about W.  If you had asked me years ago I would have swore that he would hate Clinton and support the Heir Apparent.  So I quess that not all aging means losing your senses.  It's just when I'm with these friends I am finding myself on the other side of the opinions more often than not.  

New Orleans Is Sinking

Kalypso's New Orleans

This video was from a ten year old girl that lived and has moved back to New Orleans. It shows some good footage of Katrina and its aftermath. A very good video from such a young person.

Letterman after 9/11

This was Letterman at his best.

Bonnaroo 2005

I don't know any of the people in this video, but it was a good indication of what Bonnaroo was like last year. The pic of Joss Stone on stage is very similar to one I took and is now the screen saver on my laptop. A great time for all!

Joss Stone

Fun New Things

I just added a search engine to the sidebar. So if you want to find any previous posts where I talked about Buffy the Wonder Dog all you have to do is type is Buffy and click on search and presto! There are the posts that will tell you more than you want to know about the Wonder Dog. Anything you want to find, at least anything that I've talked about on this blog, you can now find with just a simple click.

Isn't modern science wonderful?

I'm Going On A Trip

I have a new email address!

You can now email me at: dera_722a@yahoo.com.ph

Dear friend,

RE save our soul

I am Mrs. Deborah Kabila, one of the wives of Late President Laurent D. Kabila of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Consequent upon the assassination of my husband, I am in possession of USD 58,000,000 (Fifty Eight Million US Dollars Only) being funds earlier earmarked for special projects. This fund has since been deposited in a security company in West African Country of Togo where I am residing now with my children. It is now my intention to move the said fund out of this place (Togo) to a safer place for the benefit of my children and I, for immediate investment. Based on this that I solicited for your assistance to enable me take this money out of Togo. However, note that my children and I have agreed to give you 20% of the total fund if you can accept the offer of assisting us. Also it will be your responsibility in directing us on a viable business. It is also my intention to relocate and probably take a temporarily resident in your country pending when all the troubles in my country will be resolved. We advised that you look for a house we will buy as soon as we arrived. To conclude this transaction, you will be required to come to Togo to open an account in any bank here in Togo where the security company will deposit the total sum in your favor. From this bank the money will be remitted into your original bank in your country. Immediately this done, all of us will depart Togo to your country, where my children and I are expected to take a temporary resident. Please note that I can not open any Bank account with my name because, My late husband's first son-JOSEPH-who took over power in our country, don't want to see me and my children, He claimed that when our husband was alive, that I was very close to him than any other of his wives including his (Joseph) mother. He also claimed that because of my closeness to him that I was able to get things from him more than others. As a result he has been monitoring me. Infact this one of the main reasons I want to take my children out of our country and any nearby country. Thanking you in advance. Yours faithfully, Deborah Kabila (Mrs.) N/B: Kindly give me your direct telephone,fax and your mobile telephone numbers for more explanations.




- DEBORAH DEBORAH

Ok, it's me now. You know I almost want to give my phone number out just to see what they tell me when they call. You'd think by now just about everyone in the world has heard of this scam.

New Book

I've just started reading this book and it is fascinating. Already I am learning things I didn't know. Seward, who was Lincolon's Sec of State, was always a distant figure to me, someone that thought he should be president instead of Lincoln and who helped bring Alaska to the United States. Within the first hundred pages I see Seward in a new light...his own heroic life.

Neko Case: Hold On, Hold On

From her new cd Fox Confessor Brings the Flood.

Will Hoge: Woman Be Strong

Will Hoge from new cd.

Video Mania

I'm sure everyone has noticed the amount of videos I've posted recently. I've just been off on a video tagent, finding some cool music videos and a few others. Hope everyone likes the videos.

System of A Down

Jeff Tweedy (of Wilco)

My Morning Jacket

Sonny and Cher

Ever Had One of Those Days?

A Very Weird Friendship

I found the link to this on Mark Evanier's blog and just had to put it here. If a chicken and a cat can get along why can't the rest of us? At least it should bring a smile to your face, I know it did mine.

You Know You're From New Orleans...

You Know You're From New Orleans When...

Your sunglasses fog up when you step outside You reinforce your attic to store Mardi Gras beads Your baby?s first words are "gumbo" and "whereyat" You save newspapers, not for recycling but for tablecloths at crawfish boils When you give directions you use "lakeside? and ?riverside' not north & south Your ancestors are buried above the ground. You get on a green trolley car to go to the park and a red one to the French Quarter You listen to holiday songs such as "the 12 yats of Christmas" and "Santa and his reindeer used to live next door" You walk on the "banquet" (sidewalk) and stand in the "neutral ground" (area of ground between a two sided street) "by ya mommas" (by your mother's house). Someone asks for directions and you stop and help them with a smile You start an angel food cake with a roux. Watching "Wild Kingdom" inspires you to write a cookbook. You think a lobster is a crawfish on steroids. You think boudin, hogshead cheese, and a Bud is a bland diet. You think Ground Hog Day and the Boucherie Festival are the same holiday. You take a bite of five-alarm chili and reach for the Tabasco. Fred's Lounge in Mamou means more to you than the Grand Ole Opry. You have an *envie* for something instead of a craving. You use a "#3" washtub to cover your lawn mower or your outboard motor. You use two or more pirogues to cover your tomatoes to protect them from the late frost. You use a gill net to play tennis, badminton, or volleyball. The horsepower of your outboard motor is greater than that of your car motor. You pass up a trip abroad to go to the Crawfish Festival in Breaux Bridge. The four basic food groups are boiled seafood, broiled seafood, fried seafood and beer You are asked to name the holy trinity and your reply is "onions, celery, bell pepper." You let your black coffee cool, and find that it has gelled. You describe a link of boudin and cracklins as "breakfast." Every once in a while, you have waterfront property. Your mama announces each morning, "Well, I've got the rice cooking ... what will we have for dinner?" None of your potential vacation destinations are north of the old Mississippi River Bridge (US 190). You refer to Louisiana winters as "Gumbo Weather." You get a disappointing look from your wife and describe it as, "She passed me a pair of eyes." You think of gravy as a beverage. You greet your long lost friend at the Lafayette Regional Airport with "AAAAAAAYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE." You sit down to eat boiled crawfish and your host says, "Don't eat the dead ones," and you know what he means. You learned Bourre the hard way: Holding yourself upright in your crib. You don't know the real names of your friends, only their nicknames. You give up Tabasco for Lent You worry about a deceased family member returning in spring floods. You don't learn until high school that Mardi Gras is not a national holiday. You push little old ladies out of the way to catch Mardi Gras throws. You leave a parade with footprints on your hands. You believe that purple, green, and gold look good together Your last name isn't pronounced the way it's spelled. You know what a nutria is but you still pick it to represent your baseball team. You like your rice and your politics dirty. No matter where else you go in the world, you are always disappointed in the food. Your loved one dies and you book a jazz band before you call the coroner. Your accent sounds nothing like Harry Connick, Jr's. You can sing these jingles by heart: "Rosenberg's, Rosenberg's, 1825 Tulane;" "At the beach, at the beach, the Pontchartrain Beach..." You ask, "How they running?" and "Are they fat?" but, you're inquiring about seafood quality and not the Cresent City Classic. When a hurricane is imminent, you have a lot more faith in Nash Roberts than some Super Doppler 6000. Your town is low on the education chart, high on the obesity chart and you don't care because you're No. 1 on the party chart. Nothing shocks you. Period. Ever. Being in a jam at Tulane and Broad isn't the same as being stuck in traffic. Your idea of health food is a baked potato instead of fries with your seafood platter. You have to take your coffee and favorite coffeemaker with you on a three-day trip. You have sno-ball stains on your shoes. You call tomato sauce "red gravy." Your middle name is your mother's maiden name, or your father's mother's maiden name, or your mother's mother's maiden name, or your grandmother's mother's maiden name, or your grandfather's mother's maiden name. On certain spring days, Crawfish Monica is your breakfast. Your house payment is less than your utility bill. You've done your laundry in a bar. You don't show your "pretties" during Mardi Gras. You know that Tchoupitoulas is a street and not a disease. You "boo" the mayor on national television. You wear sweaters in because it ought to be cold. Your grandparents are called "Maw-Maw" and "Paw-Paw." .Your Santa Claus rides an alligator and your favorite Saint is a football player. You suck heads, eat tail, sing the blues and you actually know where you got them shoes. You shake out your shoes before putting them on. You don't think it inappropriate to refer to a large adult male as "Li'l Bubba." You know why you should never, ever swim by the Lake Pontchartrain steps (for more than one reason). You cringe every time you hear an actor with a Southern or Cajun accent in a "New Orleans-based" movie or TV show. You have to reset your clocks after every thunderstorm. You waste more time navigating back streets than you would if you just sat in traffic. You still call the Fairmont Hotel, the Roosevelt. You consider garbage cans a legal step to protecting your parking space on a public street. You fall asleep to the soothing sounds of four box fans. Your one-martini lunch becomes a five-bloody mary afternoon... and you keep your job. Being in a jam at Tulane and Broad isn't the same as being stuck in traffic. You're walking in the French Quarter with a plastic cup of beer. When it starts to rain, you cover your beer instead of your head. You eat dinner out and spend the entire meal talking about all the other good places you've eaten. You actually get these jokes and pass them on to other friends from New Orleans.

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NEKO CASE

 

The new cd by Neko Case is out today.  It's called Fox Confessor Brings The Flood.  No, I'm not sure what the title means and I haven't even had a chance to listen to the cd yet, but I know it will be great.  Neko Case has one of the greatest voices out there.  

Oscars

I was going to blog as the oscars where on, making my snide comments along the way, but instead I went out to eat with Heather.

New Phone

This is the new phone I bought today. Did I need a new phone? No...but this one I can download music and watch tv. Isn't that cool?

(Yeah, I know, I'm hopeless.)

1 DEAD IN ATTIC

This is the title of a book by Chris Rose.  Mr. Rose is a reporter for the Times-Picayune.  Before Katrina he was the entertainment writer for the paper.  Since the storm I'm not sure what his exact title would be, or if he has one.  During the storm he continued to write, but the comings and goings of the current hot movie star were not his scribblings, instead he wrote of his life in the post Katrina city.   This small book is a collection of his articles from the paper.  This book made me smile at some of the images he wrote about, thinking about it, remembering it from six months later.  It also brought tears to my eyes too many times, just in the simple acts he describes of life in the city.   There's a picture in the book, of his kids standing in front of a huge cardboard stand that welcomes them home...I dare anyone to look at that picture and not feel tears welling up in his or her eyes. This book is a true testmentant to those times as we'll get.  Read it and you'll get some idea of what the people of this city have went through.  

Sam's Story

Not much more I can say about this:

http://www.newsarama.com/dcnew/Sams_story/jeph.html

READ THIS BOOK

WHY NEW ORLEANS MATTERS by Tom Piazza.

 Read this book.  Not much more I can say about it.  

BURGER KING ADS

I just saw the newest Burger King ad where women dressed as parts of the burger come down this big slide and become part of a giant burger, done like a Las Vegas chorus show.  This has to be one of the worst, stupidest commericals I have ever seen, but what should I expect from Burger King?  They have some of the worst commericals ever.  Any commerical with their "King" goes beyond stupid into creepy.  I can't believe they keep him as their spokesman.

I NEED HELP

Ok, no jokes, I don't need that type of help.  I have a question about this blog.  Is there a way to check on previous posts?  The only way I know now is to click on the previous month, but that only shows me some of the posts.  Is there any way to see how many posts I've made so far and to go back and check on certain ones?  Any help will be greatly apprecited.

ONE YEAR AGO TODAY

Actually I think it was yesterday that marked the one year point, but I forgot about it.  Not quite as catchy as "It was twenty years ago...", you know, by the Beatles.  But nevertheless it's been a year of blogging on here.  For most of the year I have enjoyed it, recently I went through a spell where I wasn't quite sure if I was going to continue this, but in the end decided to.   I've meet some good people on here and hopefully made a few new friends.  Here's to many more years....

A brief glance...

I saw someone today that I haven't seen in a long time. What once was a special friendship ended very badly. Neither of us spoke, I know she saw me and I watched as she walked by. Than I left.

One final Grammy comment

Just about to leave when Mariah Carey came on. This is another person that I have never understood what the big deal is about.

Grammy Comments

I have to go to work tonight before the Grammys are over, but I thought I'd just make some comments here as they occur.

I wasn't that impessed with the opening, the duet between Gorillaz and Madonna. Basically it was Gorillaz doing their song, a minute or so with Madonna and than her doing her thing. I actually liked the Gorillaz part, not the Madonna part. I'm not that big a Madonna fan. When did dancing become twisting and crawling across the floor?

The first prestentation made me realize what I watch shows like this for. Alicia Keys and Stevie Wonder presented the Best Female Performance. They led the auidence into an accapalla version of Wonder's Higher Ground. Just listening to these two sing, using nothing but their voices, this was good. And boy, does Alicia Keys look beautiful. I was kind of surprised by Kelly Clarkson winning this one. She was going against some pretty heavy weighs, Gwen Stefanni, Sheryl Crow, Mariah Carey. From her reaction I don't think she was expecting to win it either.

I have never figured out what the fuss about Coldplay is.

John Legend is an interesting singer. More of an old style R&B singer.

Sugarland is just more proof to me that a lot of country acts are just pop acts with cowboy hats.

Merle Haggard wins a lifetime Grammy and he isn't there to accept it. Who screwed that one up?

Best Country album wen to Alison Kraus who I like, but Faith Hill who I am in love with lost. One day Faith will realize that she is married to the wrong person and leave Tim McGraw and come find me. Truthfully her new album was not her best. The best part of her new cd was the fact that it introduced new listeners to the music of Lori McKenna, who is one of the most deserving singers of a much wider auidence out there.

Speaking of Merle as we were a few lines ago. He sure has changed from being the hippie bashing right winger to now criticizing the President on his new music.

I wonder how many times New Orleans will be mentioned during the show? Alicia Keys started it early with comments about the city. I wonder if there will be any Kayne West type statements? Sometimes I'd like to see some of these musicians veer from the script and say something wild.

U2 is coming up now. How many super groups that have continued for as long as they have kept their original members? R.E.M. was one of the few until Bill Berry left the group. Their new cd was good, but I like All That You Can't Leave Behind better. After Vertigo they went into One, their duet with Mary J Bilge. Not much I can say abou this song, it's one of their best songs in a long line of great songs.

David Bowie won a lifetime award and he wasn't there either. What gives with this?

Best rap album is up now. Not much I can say here, I'm not that familar with rap, but I would be surprised if Kayne West didn't win. And he did.

I just realized that the awards go to best album....but they're not albums anymore. They're cds. Shouldn't the award be best cd of whatever?

I've never been a fan of American Idol. I think it's pretty mean spirited and I'm not talking about Simon. Actually I think he's the most honest one of the show, but this is a different rant for another time. So I really haven't paid much attention to the winners. You can't completely escape them, they're everywhere after they win. But I've never really thought much of them. But I have to admit, Kelly Clarkson is starting to grow on me.

Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day is up with Gwen Stefani to give the Best Rock Album award. Billie Joe, the punk rocker, mentions Les Paul being in the hospital. I just find it kind of strange, that's all. This catergory has some pretty bad choices, but the best won...U2. How did the Rolling Stones get in here except for their past laurels?

Edge didn't mention New Orleans but he was wearing a Music Rising shirt, which is his organization to help the city's musicans to get instruments so they can continue to play.

Paul McCartney is starting to look old. But than again, he is getting old. I can listen to his music anytime, even if it isn't what I would consider his best. He knows how to write a good song almost without fail, maybe just a great one anymore.

Wow, just one I thought I had it pegged, a nice, normal moment from Sir Paul and than he does a second song...Helter Skelter. And a joke for those off us in the audience sligthly older than some, you have to remember the Let It Be sessions and John's qoute at the end of Get Back. The screen behind Sir Paul during this song showed a roller coaster...I wonder how many people know that Helter Skelter is the name of a roller coaster in England.

Chris Blackwell, founder of Island Records won the Trustee Award. And no appearance. You'd think for these big awards they would want the person there. Or maybe not, a lot of today's audience probably isn't that familar with these people, so maybe they werent even wanted at the awards.

Best Male R&B performance goes to John Legend. He is nominated for more awards than anyone else tonight, I think tying Norah Jones and Lauryn Hill's list of nominations.

Ok, I gotta go work now, so the rest of the show will have to go on without me.

UPDATE

Driving along the interstate through New Orleans East I felt like I had stepped into a photograph fromWorld War II. Along the sides of the road, where once grew thousands of green trees now stood only brown, bare shattered remains of that once had been there. For miles there is no sight of anything but this desolate starkness. It reminded me of photos I have seen of parts of Europe during World War II where firebombs had been dropped.. Crossing the lake now was easier. Both sides of the Twin Spans are now open. One side had been being used for traffic coming and going across the lake. This bridge is vital to New Orleans, prehaps even more so now with the added people living in Slidell and surrounding areas that still need to travel into the city. This is the type of rebuilding and rebirth that the city needs. Both sides of the Twin Spans were up and running by the first of the year. See what can be done. Driving along the interstate at points it easy to forget what has happened to the city. Everything looks fairly normal, until you turn a corner and see a row of billboards torn apart. Or a business sign still on its side, half crushed through the business it used to advertise for. The Sam's in New Orleans East was torn down to the framework. They tore the walls and everything down to start over.

SMALLVILLE

Somehow I've never really watched this on tevlevsion.  I know, I know, the comic book geek not watching a comic book show, what is the world coming to?  I remember watching one, which I'll henceforth refer to as the Bug show, and not liking it.  I've caught lit bits and pieces over the last few years, but I never saw anything to grab hold of me and make me want to watch it.  Still I have friends that swear by this show.

So I decided to take a chance.  Sams had all four seasons of the DVD on sale for $23.00 a season.  I decided to take a chance and bought them.  I sat down and watched the first two episodes of Season 1.  The second episode was the aforementioned bug episdoe.  I hated it.  The rest of Season 1 sat around for months, I just couldn't get excited about going back to watching the rest of the season.  I finally decided to give it another shot.

I'm glad that I did.  Once I got started I couldn't stop.  I've now finished watching all four seasons of Smallville.  I have to say that I love it.  In some ways it reminds me of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, in terms of creating a believable world for the characters.  And we all know how much I like Buffy...can anyone remember the name of my dog?  

I think my favorite character is Lex Luther.  (Well except for Clark of course.)   One of the main themes of the show is the tragedy of Lex.  He doesn't start off as a bad guy.  He is a tormented young man that wants to do good, but so much seems to be against that side of his nature.  The friendship between Lex and Clark is geniune and will mean that much the worse when the break occurs.  

I managed to catch the 100th episode of tv the other night, the one where someone dies.  At first they made it look like it was going to be Lana, which I thought a very brave choice.  It would have meant a completely different show, but perhaps it would have given the chance for Clark and Lois to start moving towards each other.  But they ended up pulling a time traveling rabbit out of their hat and saving Lana and in the end it was Clark's Dad that died.  Which was the safe choice.  

 

THIS IS JUST A TEST...

This is a test of a new program I just bought.  It's mainly for making web pages, but it's supposed to be able to work for blogs too.  For a hundred dollars it should do both.  I mainly bought it for web pages.  I'm hoping to get back to creating my web page for my comic book work.  I've made two serious efforts at it before but somehow never quite manage to finish it.  Part of the problem has always been the programs I was using, they just never seemed to work right.  Or maybe it was me, computer savy I'm not.  

How Much Profit Is Too Much?

Need I say it? 36 Billion dollars profit. That's how much Exxon made last year. This was the year that they had to jack up the price on gas because of the hurricane. When they said that the three or four dollars depending on where you lived was necassary to cover the costs of doing business due to the hurricane. This is a company that gets tax benefits from the government so they can make a profit. How much more profit do they have to make before we as consumers wake up and realize that we are being taken for a ride?

Sophisticated Footwear

Doesn't She Look Comfortable?

Movie of the Week: Death and Life

I think we've been so overwhelmed with television and movies, and for the few that still read even books, and the hyper cool way they talk and act and behave that we think that is what real life is like. I love William Goldman, I think he is one of the smartest writers out there, but I don't know many people that talk like his characters do. The West Wing is one of the smartest shows on television, it's characters show intelligence when they speak. But they don't sound like my friends and the people I met on the street.

I've been thinking about this for awhile now. It's actually slowed me down in blogging. If anyone reads these posts they may have noticed that I haven't been blogging as much as I used to. During the Katrina when I was in Tennessee and couldn't get to an internet connection I continued to write posts almost everyday, to post them when I finally got the ability to connect to the internet. I enjoy this form of communication, but lately I found that whenenver I wanted to post my mind would go to other things, and I would think I should write this post first, but never did.

Whenever someone in a movie or tv has a near death experience it always changes them. It ususally makes them a better person. They have conversations about how much it means, how much more life means to them. That everyday is more precious than the last. You all know it, I'm sure you've seen the act in a thousand movies or tv shows.

But is it really like that?

I can't claim that my near death experience was anything very exciting. Lying on a hospital bed with your appendics turned poisionous isn't going to make a movie of the week. I felt sick going in the hospital, sicker than I have ever felt. But I never really thought I was going to die. The doctors and the nurses, everyone that was present at the surgery all told me that they've never seen an appendics that bad, it had turned gangrene. The next day I most of had a steady stream of hospital personnel come by my bed to tell me how bad it was. The doctors told me that another day and it would have been too late. I got in to the hospital just in time.

But it still didn't feel like I was almost at death's door. I was glad that I got in to the hospital in time. I was glad that everything went so well. But I didn't feel this life changing event.

The only time I really thought I might die was about three days after the surgery. I was still sick. I couldn't eat. I was throwing up, what I don't know, cause I wasn't eating anything to put in my stomach. I would feel ok for a little while, than I would feel as bad as I've ever felt. This was still continuing about three days after the surgery. I thought that I should be getting better. And I asked my doctor was everything all right? Was I getting better? He explained that the poision from the bad appendics had gotten so into my system that it was just taking longer to get them out. And the next day I actually started to feel better.

Still there was no conversion. I wasn't signing my life over to Jesus for saving me. I wasn't going out to help the homeless and the hungry. I wasn't devoting my life to chairty. I'm not trying to be flip here and make it sound like I'm making fun of this. I"m really not. It's just that part of me feels like there should be more to all this. My life was saved so I should be out there on a soup line now.

I'm not even sure if any of this makes any sense. But it has been nagging at me for a long time now. Whenever I would think about posting I would think I should write this first, but never got around to it. Mainly cause I'm not sure if I'm not just completley babbling away here and not making any sense.

I'm sure that there are people out there that do re invent their lives after a life threatening situtaion. Maybe because I never really felt like my life was in jeopardy (save for that one brief moment). In some ways I guess I feel quilty that I'm not doing my part to save the world now. Guilty that my life was spared and I'm not doing anything to make the world a better place. If this was a movie of the week I would have quit my job and be working in a shelter trying to help the homeless. But than this isn't a movie of the week so all I can really do is try and live my life the best I can and if along the way I can help a few people and make a difference in a few lives than that should be enough.

Jolie-Pitt

Who Cares?

Barry Cowsill Dead

It seems that all my recent posts have been about death. I promise that I will start posting about other things soon. But I just read that Barry Cowsill, part of the Cowsills, which was the musical family from the sixties that inspired the tv show the Partidge Family, is dead. He's been missing since Katrina, the last word from him was a call on his cell to his sister Susan. His body was recently identified. He was found under a wharf in New Orleans. How he died is unknown.