Jim Dickinson dead at 67 ~Our hearts go out to Mrs Mary Lindsey, Luther, and Cody --and all close to the Dickinson family who knew and loved Jim. I first met Jim Dickinson when I warmed up for his band Mudboy and the Neutrons in Memphis in '81 or '82. Over the years we would congrooviate occasionally and, though we weren't close, he always left me feeling like a musician and a friend. With Lee Baker and Fury Lewis, Dickinson influenced my own musical development deeply and unmistakably, as if I can still smell the bogue in which I learned to swim. With age he just got better and better and nicer and nicer. I already sorely miss this man and will never forget him. "Fuck it, its only music," said the funniest musician I've ever met. This is where I grew up, where I come from...
Natural Disasters captured from Space~NerdModo ~At Right: Chandeleur Isls pre/post Katrina. Satellites have been responsible for providing weather news for the past 50 years, and they heralded an era of global communication. From commercial communication satellites to spy satellites to weather satellites, they are awe inspiring in all forms. Natural disasters strike in many forms, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, avalanches and floods. Today, we present a portfolio of natural disasters as photographed from the Space. Composite Image shows Mexican Island of Cozumel surrounded by Hurricane Wilma, October 2005.
CAL FIRE ~Thousands of people have been told to leave their homes as a 4,100-acre wildfire rages in the Santa Cruz Mountains near Bonny Doon. The blaze, named the Lockheed Fire, has forced the evacuation of nearly 2,500 people.
Fluff over substance at WLOX ~slabbed~You had to know on the subject of State Farm’s proposed rate increase that someone in the media would display an incredible amount of ignorance and make an ass of themselves. David Vincent of WLOX took the plunge with today’s editorial which at its heart has the premise that Ed Rust and his mafia in Bloomington don’t know what is going on down here. U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano to visit SUNO on Monday Pentagon, governors face off over reserve plan~Lolita C. Baldo The Pentagon is upsetting the nation’s governors by pushing for authority to call up military reservists for natural disasters — and to control how the troops would be used in any state. “Control” is the key word. Largely considered a wartime resource, the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine reserves can be tapped by the president for military deployments overseas and for national emergencies such as terrorist attacks. But the law is largely silent when mother nature is involved. Bandied about in the past, the issue emerged anew in recent days after defense officials floated a new proposal on Capitol Hill, sparking a sharp response from the governors. Rep. crafting amendment exempting La. from national health care
Film tells story of pet rescues after Katrina ~Stacy Lee ~The award-winning film will be shown on Sunday at 3:15 p.m. at Pittsburgh's Southside Works Cinema. It follows the pets left to perish in the hurricane and the vets, owners, officials, rescuers and adopters of the animals working together to meet the crisis. Lyle Grimes, Westwego 'motorcyle nut,' killed in bike wreck outside of Natchitoches ~Editilla Notellas~ Lyle Grimes was well known at BMW rallies across the country, to the point where we received a phone call from rider asking that we hang his obituary onto the Ladder. No problem, it is our Honor. Ride In Peace, Noble Mon. To quote Lyle: "It takes a certain kind of nut to ride a motorcycle, and I am that motorcycle nut."
Driving Miss Crazy in a future south Louisiana (part 1) ~LaCoastPost~Part 2 ~"Editor’s caveat: This post introduces my sense of the future of transportation in south Louisiana. Part two will follow soon. Environmental planning is a uniquely human exercise that provides a welcome distraction from coping with the present."
Union organizers target Rouses stores~Houma Today~Union organizers clashed with management at Rouses Supermarkets across Louisiana last week, resulting in the arrests of six union representatives and claims that the company unfairly prevented employees from getting information on forming their own locals.
Crazy times in Boutte ~Thanks Katrina "Loyola Katrina Class" Gift Dedication Ceremony Sunday Nov. 22 ~live music on two stages ~over 60 of New Orleans' best-known artists' unique artwork ~family-friendly events such as a children’s section with games and ~prizes, po-boy photo booth, and panel discussions covering the history of the po-boy. ~and, of course, the best tasting po-boys in New Orleans!
Sarajevo Film Festival kicks off, 100,000 viewers expected at fest founded during wartime ~Aida Cerkez-robinson Do something constructive for local artists~Herman Fuselier ~"I was set to scream, shout and ask questions later. That's the way “communications” seem to work these days, especially at congressional town hall meetings. Last week, Allen Toussaint and Ernie K-Doe were inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame. The honor is richly deserved by two New Orleans entertainers who have given the world such hits as Mother-in-Law, Working in a Coal Mine and Lady Marmalade. I saw news of their induction in at least three newspapers, which also ran a list of previous inductees. What caused me to shout was out of 38 inductees to the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame, there were no Cajun or zydeco artists. Not one. Zero. Nada. Pas rien."
"As usual, we will not evacuate if there is a hurricane, but will stay open with food and entertainment.~Hank" ~To that we would humbly add...Hell Yeah! NOLA, Sinn Féin!
Diaperman David Vitter So Excited About Wingnuts Yelling At Him At Town Halls, He Pooped His Diaper! ~Wonkette ~Disgusting wingnut diaper-fetishist hooker-user David Vitter says he is super excited about wingnuts yelling at him, at one of these Town Hall KKK Rallies. He’s even bringing extra diapers, because he’s already planning on jacking off and pooping in a series of diapers, while old people who really need diapers yell about how they will officially renounce Medicare and die, like patriots, at the Superdome.
The Joke’s on Junta ‘Baba gyi’ ~The Irrawaddy ~Moments after the judges had vacated the courtroom after handing down a three-year sentence with hard labor to the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, the regime’s Home Minister Maj-Gen Maung Oo entered stage left and addressed the courtroom. Reading a prepared statement from Than Shwe, the minister for home affairs said that as Suu Kyi was the daughter of national independence hero, Aung San, the junta chief had decided “to exercise leniency upon her.” A foreign staffer with an NGO in Rangoon said that when the news was read out on TV in the restaurant where he was sitting, people smirked. “It was amazing that it actually came on TV and everyone got a chance to hear it first-hand,” he said. “Everybody laughed when the TV presenter said that Than Shwe himself had granted a reduction of her sentence.” Speaking to The Irrawaddy, a Rangoon housewife said, “Than Shwe has obviously watched a lot of Chinese soap operas. Maybe he wants to be like the benevolent ‘people’s judge’ in Manchu dynasty episodes.” Here is some wonderful Burma Music. We love it all, but... Editilla's favorite is #8,My Name Is Burma First day of fall season disappoints shrimpers ~Robert Zullo New local effort aims to speed hurricane-protection work ~Nikki Buskey Fairbanks Morse Pump wins $70M contract from Army Corps for New Orleans
This Murder just won't Die ~Editilla Notellas~ Our original take on this story was one of incredulity, a yellow stench left in our mouth from our view of the cops during The Flood as: GONE FERAL, They Ran, Hid, They Faced Payback, They Looted. They killed. I know many readers may have a more benevolent impression of these thugs as overwhelmed and doing what they could, ---but I Did Not See That. Indeed, I only saw the cops when they were running scared. So, because we did not see NOPD doing any of these alleged murders or defending the stranded city, we found it odd that the rest of the country seems fascinated by this story. Not to diminish the Danziger Bridge Murders, jus'sayin... I was there and saw a lot of murder during what we have come to euphemistically refer to as "The Troubles". Thus, picking the NOPD out of the lot is like bobbing for voodoo dolls in a barrel full of rabid monkeys. Jarvis DeBerry: Has New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin let you down? Join the club Regulators from 4 states and New Orleans to discuss future of Entergy's electricity grid
Obama Administration Issues Controversial Mountaintop Removal Permit ~iLoveMountains.org ~Charleston, West Virginia – Today the public learned that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a Clean Water Act permit last week for Consol Energy’s Peg Fork mountaintop removal coal mine in Mingo County, West Virginia. This controversial decision marks the first time during the Obama administration that the Army Corps approved a mine permit to which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had previously objected, opening the door for many new mountaintop removal coal mines in Appalachia. The decision to allow this operation to proceed also demonstrates the Department of Interior’s lack of will to enforce the clear mandates of a critical Surface Mining Act regulation.
Monkey Hill on the Dirty Coast ~Editilla Gotta Toll'ya~ As Gentle'rillas well know, we don't Freak O'lay on stuff very often HA! But y'all need to see these new T'zzzzz from the Dirty Coast. So please Ride yer'asses up Magazine and get you some Right Now. Monkey Hill is special for your oh'so Noladelic Editilla, since we have spent more than a few nights climbing they heights to gaze over New Orleans, eat mushrooms and watch the monkeys play. Anywayz...jus'kiddin... They also have a new "Fang Banger" (Noooo!:) and a one in particular that leaves me wondering just what these folks will "Fess Up" for The Anniversary. Long live the Dirty Coast!
Record breaker: Check out Louisiana's Great Pumpkin ~Jeff Zeringue ~Brodie Gonsoulin was just thinking about icing down a beer keg for a Halloween party when he set out to grow a giant pumpkin. Now the New Iberia native holds the state record for great pumpkins. "I thought, it'd be neat to have one (big enough) to put a keg in, but that hasn't happened," he said. He's had several pumpkins big enough, but they've all ripened too early to keep until Halloween. His idea led to a form of "extreme gardening," Gonsoulin said, that "got wildly out of control." ~AP Photo/The Daily Iberian, Jeff Zeringue
Chris Rose: We finally may be in the post-K era~Chris Rose ~After a few relatively idle summers, I took my kids on a rambling American road trip for a few weeks. But, after having been back for a few days and talking about my trip with friends, it dawned on me that the most significant thing about the trip might not have been what happened during it -- but what didn't. Here's what didn't happen: Once I identified myself to strangers as a New Orleanian, no one hooded their eyes, reached to touch me softly on the wrist and inquire in a hushed, cautious tone -- as one might, of a very sick relative -- "how is everything?" ~Editilla takes a pilla~ Well, Chris, everything is still sucking pretty badly, "everything" is "Not OK". Y'all probably won't like me for this, and I really hates to pee on Chris Roses' vacation road food here. We do love him, buuuut... Our errant gumshoe may have finallymovedpast his own post-K Depression Era Angst and into the safe old Age of Abilify, butitappears that much of the rest of this country has been drinking the Pharma-Culture Cool-Aid long before the flood and still seems (in my view) to priss'antly misunderestimate our New Orleans and the real trauma, an added deeper denial still sinking this Nation since its Exquisite Corps of Engineers flooded our World Class City on August 29th, 2005,--and its Presidente left us to die. Still, I'm honestly glad Chris Rose is happier these days. Corps of Engineers must banish its old ways~T-P editorial
Microsoft's Gates updates hurricane solution~Zack Poche ~The New Orleans Levee~Weeks after unveiling his plan to combat hurricanes by means of an elaborate fleet of barges that pump cooler water to the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, Microsoft founder Bill Gates has proposed a simpler and more elegant solution to stopping nature’s fiercest storms: Windows Vista. “If Vista can totally halt operations and destroy productivity at multinational corporations, I am confident it can freeze a tropical storm in its tracks,” Gates said. "By simply upgrading a hurricane running Windows XP to Vista, we create a fairly significant possibility that the storm will immediately stop rotating and have to be rebooted,” Gates said. “By the time it reboots and makes landfall, it should pack nothing more than a refreshing summer drizzle.” New Orleans mayor's race notably short of candidates
Famous French Bread ~Elizabeth's Edible ~Editilla Notellas~ This is a new blog find for us, and one that goes straight to our special list of Stitch'hikas. We hung yesterday's post today en lieu of their use of Whole Wheat French Bread for Pizza. It was a hard toss with their "Not so Crabby Cakes" today. Suffice to say, this is one of those food blogs that I can't stop looking at and will damn sure follow. But I have found a dilemma with WW and Poboys, in that it never works for me. While I do enjoy Whole Wheat Bread, it has never impressed me as French Bread... and I gotta have that Fresh Crispy WHITE French Bread that EXPLODES when you bite into the sandwich. Also, to Editilla's errant pallet, the flavor of WW has always lent itself to a Subway rather than the Neutral Ground. Jus'sayin... y'all make sure to fang around this Lady's site, if you love to eat that is... if not then, well, ahem... ewe.
My favorite iteration of this song yet, outside of Leadbelly 'course
~Our hearts go out to Mrs Mary Lindsey, Luther, and Cody
