And then there was a parade... sort of
~Library Chronicles

And then there was a Nola.com parade cam... sort of
~Editilla loves a parade cam and commentary.
Last night's 1st up with Oshun sucked marbles from nola.com.
When they finally did get some audio, we had to endure Dude talking about his dry-cleaning career as floats and bands rolled by without description. Yeah, the dumbass was talking about Dry-Cleaning School in Silver Springs, Maryland. No shit! The Nice Lady commentator at least named a few floats and bands, but the down-take is this: shut your yappers and talk about the parades and your relationship to Mardi Gras.
That said, it was fun to follow the duo's Twitter live exchanges with people watching the parade locally (-: such as Youses' Truly: the Troublemaker ;-) and from around the country. It should be noted that these aren't TV people @ nola.com, so their technical dexterity isn't perhaps congroovient with Live Video Coverage. We hope they fix the technical problems. As for the inane banter...
WWLTV Parade Cam unfortunately covers only 1 parade at a time until Mardi Gras day, but that is good, and MG day's coverage is exquisite, all over the parade route. They are the ones to watch for The Rex Toast and Zulu.

~Nola Parades Today~Krewe of Pontchartrain: Uptown 2:00 p.m.
~Knights of Sparta: Uptown 6:00 p.m.
~Krewe of Pygmalion: Uptown 6:45 p.m.

Rəsolution to le Petit Printemps, Enfin?

Night parade will be Thibodaux's first in a century

Washington, D.C., Mardi Gras has theme of '200 Years with Oysters and Beers'

A not so quick note from your moderator at Slabbed

Ricky Williams Announces His Retirement

Wanted: a new home for paddle wheeler

'Beasts of the Southern Wild': The making of a Sundance sensation

Rebirth Brass Band giddy about Grammy nomination, trip to L.A.

Carnival canines cavort in the Quarter
~MISSION: Impossible-Canine Protocol Armstrong Bark Reloaded.
Your "mission," if you choose to accept it, is to dress (your dog and/or you) in a costume appropriate for this Mission. The cast of Mission Impossible were constantly changing their identities to gain access to the CIA at Langley, The Kremlin, Foreign Embassies, etc. They disguised themselves as firefighters, elevator repairmen, waiters, Russian military officers, Senators, (hey what about Congressman Weiner for the Dachshund crowd.) The opportunities are endless. There were action sequences on trains, helicopters, sports cars, boats, motorcycles. They wore rubber masks changing their identities from young to old, male to female -- hey, perhaps canine to feline. Don't limit yourself to Tom Cruise in a black muscle tee (although that's fine!). Rent one of the movies and get ideas while eating a bowl of pop-corn. We can't wait to sneak into Armstrong Park on February 12. This message will self-destruct in five seconds. (Please note: If your costume is a trenchcoat please be sure to wear suitable clothing beneath in case of warm weather...)

~Also~Today~Krewe of Cork: French Quarter 3:00 p.m.
Krewe of Oshun: Uptown 6:00 p.m.

Mini Mardi Gras: New Orleans’ Only Petit Parade ~GO NOLA

~The New Orleans Healing Center will celebrate Carnival Around the World at the premier of its expanded arts bazaar the weekend of February 11 & 12. In addition to the daytime Crossroads Arts Bazaar on Saturday, the New Orleans Healing Center will present a “2nd Saturday Night Market” coinciding with the St. Claude Art Walk that evening and a “2nd Sunday Art Market” mega-bazaar on Sunday.
The “Second Saturday” and “2nd Sunday” events are the first in a recurring series of expand arts bazaar offerings on the 2nd weekend of every month. Complimentary wine and cheese will be served beginning at 6pm Saturday. All bazaars that weekend will feature a wide range of works such as sculpture, textiles, paintings, clothing, and jewelry as well as repurposed items and art made from recycled objects. In keeping with the “Carnival Around the World” theme of the weekend, festivities will feature live Carnival music from New Orleans, Trinidad, and Brazil; a limbo contest; “Trini Winin’” dance instruction and demonstration; Mardi Gras beads-making workshops for kids; decorate-it-yourself king cakes; food samples from Trinidad, Brazil, and New Orleans; parades, and more. Click poster to enlarge.

From Spags to Riches?~moosedenied

West, Brees join lineup for Make It Right gala

Sheriff’s wife earns thousands through no-bid deal handed out by judge
~Matt Davis, The Lens

Ray Ray the Chocolate Guy is focus of Federal Grand Jury ~Slabbed

Update~Ray Nagin responds to Times-Picayune story on corruption probe

Does this mean we have to wait a while before Volume II of "Katrina's Secrets" comes out? ~Library Chronicles

Corps Begins Phase One Flood Fighting

CA aims its legal guns at Corps of Engineers

Bill Gates backs climate scientists lobbying for large-scale geoengineering

It has begun, Governorcist Jindal proposes state budget and layoffs

Wetlands master plan could change under public scrutiny~Nikki Buskey

Fortus' Fair Grounds Forecast for Friday

New Orleans is Named as One of Only Three U.S. Destinations on New York Times Winter Getaway List

Handmaiden's Crone Sarah Palin to Speak at IDDBA's Dairy-Deli-Bake 2012

Warrenetta Banks: Committed Resident Rebuilds New Orleans

AMPS Builds New Orleans’ First “Aeroponic” Recirculating Farm, Demonstrates Sustainable Urban Agriculture~City Farmer News

NOLA Eats King Cake Tasting Party set for Saturday in French Quarter

Behind the Velvet Rope: Club Homochitto
~He Said/She Said NOLA

Not So Super Hero Party!

foburg 2012 lineup features music, film and comedy~Alex Woodward, Gambit

Retro New Orleans rock n'rollers the Haunted Hearts are musical - and architectural - preservationists

Ray Nagin is focus of federal grand jury probe

NOPD detail controversy escalates~WWL

Corps Quixotic Yazoo River pump project case heard by federal judges in N.O.

BP's blemished safety record is off-limits in trial, judge rules

Corps to appeal EPA ruling to kill their huge, badly engineered pumps project
~Corps lackeys at the Mississippi levee board are asking a federal appeals court to revive a $220 million flood control project that the Environmental Protection Agency vetoed in 2008, claiming it would harm wetlands and wildlife. A three-judge panel from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans is scheduled to hear arguments in the case on Thursday. The Board of Mississippi Levee Commissioners sued the EPA over its veto of the massive, decades-old, badly-engineered, factory-farm-friendly Yazoo Backwater Project.

Voices of the Delta: Chris Macaluso

Report: Sea-level rise must be considered in projects~Nikki Buskie

La. gets $22M from corps for river and port work, $400K for coastal protection plan

Drew Brees: "Confident" that contract will be resolved ~WWL

Incompetence in managing life insurance cost New Orleans taxpayers: An editorial
~Also~Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon hires former legislator as chief deputy~Citizens insurance board considers its legal options

A quick note from your moderator~Slabbed

Hard Truths: The Art of Thorton Dial ~NOMA~Hat Tweet @humidbeings

How to Shuck an Oyster

Jean-Paul Villere: Parade Etiquette 201 (the master class)~Uptown Messenger

New Orleans preps for Mardi Gras with earlier curfew, extra street sweepers

Mardi Gras 'king cake king' tasters visit Gambino's~Judy Walker

Mardi Gras 2012: Parade Route Food
~Ian McNulty, Gambit

Volunteer Seamstress or Tailor Needed!
~Mardi Gras Indian Hall of Fame

~Hat Tweet @KreweOfMuses: Just one week until our parade, so we thought we'd share a shoe pic. More to come.

Mardi Gras Guitar Marshal: An Interview with Leo Nocentelli~Nola Live Music Blog

Don't even know where to begin with this IG report ~Library Chronicles

Garland Robinette's loan is a low priority for lender Fred Heebe~James Gill

Just another Hump Day at the office here at Slabbed New Media

NOPD Promotes 30 After Rank-and-File Reproach ~NOLA DEFENDER

Haley Barbour pardons showdown has high stakes

La. waterway projects get funding boost

Mardi Gras DWI crackdown gearing up across state

Orleans Levee District examining options for former Bally's casino

FEMA to explain process on forgiving overpayments from Hurricanes Katrina, Rita

Citizens Insurance to discuss hurricane judgment

School Probes Controversial Obama Art
~School officials are investigating a political art project at a Northshore junior high school that resulted in the display of images of President Barack Obama on a "hunting season" sign and with a bullet wound to the head.

Two Years After Spill, BP Profits and Plans
~Dudley Do'Wrong, CEO of BP, said the company was “on the right path,” as it reported $7.7 billion in profit for the fourth quarter of 2011, a 38 percent increase from a year earlier.

Gulf Coast lawmakers: Time may be running out for RESTORE Act

Gibbs Amphibians Introduces Phibian and Humdinga High Speed Amphitrucks
~Phibian and Humdinga feature Gibbs' proprietary High Speed Amphibian (HSA) technology, which incorporates many technological breakthroughs in suspension, water propulsion and wheel-retraction design. The water-jet propulsion system enables safe operation in shallow water yet provides the high levels of thrust necessary to achieve planing speeds within seconds. A patented retracting suspension system provides exceptional ride-and-handling on the road, but in the water retracts wheels in seconds to reduce hull drag in marine use.

Leah Chase likeness enshrined in the National Portrait Gallery

Finally some encouraging news on crawfish

A Tree Grows in NOLA: City Greens
~He Said/She Said NOLA

Listen Up, Fool~Blackened Out

Leah Chase likeness enshrined in the National Portrait Gallery

Galactic’s Underground Guide to Mardi Gras ~GoNOLA
~Also~Listen to Galactic's updated version of 'Carnival Time'

Northern Overexposure: JP Muckraker Slabbed Blog Slapped for Defamation Against Gay Canadian Couple
~NOLA DEFENDER

To fight violent crime, New Orleans may need to get the lead out~Mark Moseley

Editilla~New Orleans Ladder says:

February 7, 2012 at 6:42 pm

Your comment is awaiting moderation.

Wow, you nailed this one like a coffin maker.

But’but…
in order for your lead theory to take flight you need stats on New Orleans’ crime rate going back at least a couple of generations, considering how long this lead has been on the ground here. Parents and grand parents should exhibit a similar tendency towards violent crime. Yet, I would argue that is probably not the case, based solely on some of the older folks I’ve know in the city.

A chemical correlation could be more easily argued by citing the advent of Crack Cocaine in New Orleans circa 1980. Things really changed after that.

I would like to mention the PANO letter in all this.
Pre Federal Flood New Orleans had no police dept. Period. They were a well armed junta, exhibiting what NOPD Chief Slurpy likes to call “Sophisticated Gang Behavior”. They were at best feral lawmen.
Given such a culture, I’m surprised most New Orleanians could even recognize a real police dept.
I mean really. Those bitches struck on Mardi Gras 1979!
Anyway, this letter from the rank and file has me, well, rankled. I am NOT used to feeling sympathy for the NOPD. But, alas, there it is in black and blue. And their (PANO) response today to Chief Slurpy’s Wonk Parade response to their letter struck me between the eyes, to wit: there just ain’t enough goddamn officers. Slurpy has a fetish for statistics –and he don’t care where he finds them! Statistics solve crimes! Oh, and errah, crime cameras!

Don’t git me started…

State of LA releases report on sea-level rise of 3 feet by year 2100

Sen. David Vitter wants to remove Corps of Engineers from lead role in projects

Fifth Circuit to hear PLF suit over EPA “vetoing” Corps' huge Yazoo Pump boondoggle

Shaw Awarded ID/IQ Contract from Corps ~Dredging Today

Inspector General on city employee life insurance: Many, many problems~Gambit

Nagin taking credit is a long-held tradition ~Stephanie Grace

Mardi Gras Indian tribes, New Orleans police establish peace pact

Mardi Gras parades will pause for Super Bowl XLVII, in 2013

Tuscaloosa shale promising, St. Helena well’s initial production spurs interest

Oyster hatchery could come to Terrebonne

Unexplained Nostalgia on Race Street ~NOLAFemmes

Pascal's Manale: Is It Worth It?
~Blackened Out

Jeremy Labadie, aka the Beer Buddha, on where to find the best brews near parade routes ~Gambit

~New T from our friends at Dirty Coast

Chewbacchus Chic: Intergalactic Krewe's Fashion Show to Strut on the Spacewalk
~NOLA DEFENDER

HangOut Fest Headliners Include Dave Matthews Band, Jack White

~Hat Tweet @dbaneworleans~The Treme Brass Band 9PM tonight @ d.b.a.!

Doubling water rates debated as S&WB gives away millions of gallons for free

With Levees Rated ‘Unacceptable,’ Officials Along the Mississippi Fight Back

File under: BWAHAHAHA! Detroit ‘Comeback' SB Ad Filmed in New Orleans

Fired NOLA teachers' lawsuit closer to resolution ~WWL

re: Discontent Within the NOPD
~ The Police Association of New Orleans
~Hat Tweet @skooks
~Updata~ Response (sorta) from NOPD Chief Slurpy

NOPD, Mardi Gras Indians meet with City Council ~Charles Maldonado

Former NOPD assistant superintendent still coordinates lucrative police details for movie sets

Owen Courreges: In defense of fire and brimstone~Uptown Messenger

Jefferson Parish Corruption Miscellany: Payola and the Broussard/Wilkinson Superseding Indictment ~Slabbed

N.O. gains little from GO zone. BR got more from storm-recovery program than many destroyed areas

Louisiana congressman duped by The Onion's Planned Parenthood satire

New Orleans ramps up for Super Bowl 2013

Royal Caribbean Cruises ship allowed to dock in Nola carrying norovirus outbreak

New Orleans' lush landscape of trees is thriving once again

Their speeches were largely drowned out by the sounds of heavy machinery coming from somewhere near City Hall
~Brendan McCarthy, Mr Irony

Today, the Black Widow Salon catches new Orleans writers in her French Quarter web, and more from NOLA DEFENDER

Trend Alert: Art Deco Jewelry
~Slow Southern Style

Shrimp Juice Only In Louisiana -New Cool Blog Alert! New Cool Blog Alert!

~Cajun Hardhat~

Mardi Gras Food from Cajun Country!
~Louisiana Culinary Trails
~It’s Carnival in Louisiana, and celebrations are happening all around the state in preparation for the big day—Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, on Feb. 21. Many folks associate Mardi Gras with beads and booze, but there’s so much more to this holiday, including some pretty delicious foods eaten in honor of the occasion.
Crowley native and host of “Cooking Up a Good Life” Chef Patrick Mould celebrates the holiday in Cajun Country, where Mardi Gras takes on a different personality from that of its New Orleans’ counterpart. We asked him to tell us more about his Mardi Gras memories and the food traditions associated with this time of year.
~Editilla Quotellas~“The SPCA came once to complain,” one reveller recalls. “Do they think chickens go the supermarket, pluck their own feathers and commit suicide?”

Blue Nile Mardi Gras Costume Bazaar Returns to Frenchmen St. Sunday

Krewe of Kolossos, bringing art and ecology to Mardi Gras

Back to the Butcher ~Blackened Out

Aces of Cakes: The Best King Cake in New Orleans 2012~He Said/She Said NOLA

Bayou Boogaloo Bicycle Second Line 5/20!

Occupy Mardis Gras!
~Krewe du Vieux rolls through Marigny, French Quarter
~Hat Tweet~@small_affair~Love you #OccupyPan for putting up tents during 1st parade & occupying #MardiGras #ows twitpic.com/8fyw40

Former New Orleans Saints player Steve Gleason and retired N.O. fireman having trip of lifetime at Super Bowl~Jeff Duncan

~Hat Tweet @Saints~A SB XLIV Schecter Guitar signed by Brees & Payton is being raffled off to support @Team_Gleason. $2 raffle tickets: http://www.celebritiesforcharity.org/raffle/drew-brees-autographed-guitar-raffle~Editilla Bro'tellas~ WANT! THIS! GUITAR!!!

Despite misfortunes, New Orleans enjoys rebirth ~Michael Newman

Confessions of a straight southern white guy: “Why context coupled with facts matter” ~Slabbed

~Hat Tweet @Editilla the Pun~@RayNagin You are one petty, pusillanimous, peckerhead punk mfkr: bit.ly/A6FxSD So! How long must #Nola listen to you whine'n'bitch?

Report places New Orleans' homeless rate at second in the nation ~Katy Reckdahl

Mayor Landrieu urges state to spare New Orleans from mental health cuts ~WWL

Gulf oil spill's 'trial of the century' could end before it begins ~David Hammer

Gulf oil spill blame is focus of New Orleans court case~Rebecca Mowbray

Corps of Engineers backs off controversial flood control plan; local opponents hope for more input on new plan

Tchefuncte beach vision includes boardwalks, pier, shoreline park
~Bob Warren

Pour Me Somethin' Mistah Logo
~The Beer Buddha

Room 220: Writers 'Emerge' at Black Widow Salon~NOLA DEFENDER

~Hat Tweet @BigRedCotton~TODAY: Rolling in the 6 ward with the Sidewalk Steppers & REEEEEBIIIIIRTH!! bit.ly/xRY1x7 #nola #secondline #Getinthere