Vendredi

'Uncharted territory' as city floods in Iowa~Hospitals in Cedar Rapids evacuated as river continues to rise as downtown was submerged Thursday by the rising Cedar River. Around 100 blocks were under water, forcing some 10,000 people to flee. Photo~Steve Pope / AP
Cedar Rapids struggles to endure historic flood~The Cedar River poured over its banks here Thursday, forcing the evacuation of more than 3,000 homes, causing a railroad bridge to collapse and leaving cars underwater on downtown streets. Those train cars were filled with tons of sand and gravel in the hopes of weighting down the bridge enough to withstand the raging current. Photo~Cliff Jette/The Gazette
REUTERS
Ron Mayland->
House boats from the Ellis Marina on the Cedar River in Cedar Rapids lie jammed and destroyed against the Quaker Oats railroad bridge after breaking free from their moorings in downtown Cedar Rapids, Iowa



1,200 turnout to help save Cedar Rapids water supply
~USGS Gauge readings:
-Cedar River at Cedar Rapids, IA
-Iowa River below Coralville damn
-Des Moines River near Saylorville, IA



UPDATE
~Iowa State Capital Evacutating

Iowa legislative panel creates flood study panel

Iowa flood evacuations rise, losses seen in billions


Soggy Austin, MN pushes back; more thunderstorms to the north
Joel Luker, left, of the Salvation Army and Dick Hinton waded through floodwaters Thursday with sand bags to shore up the makeshift defenses around the Salvation Army headquarters in Austin, Minn. The race against the rising water turned into a community effort.
Photo~Richard Sennott, Star Tribune

Residents Around Wisconsin Start Flood Cleanup Efforts

Flooding major concern in Nebraska

Stephenson Co. Illinois Flooding

Missouri communities prepare for river crests

Missouri Scout camps prepared for hazardous weather
WAVCIS~Wave-Current-Surge
Information System for Coastal Louisiana
Note~ Gentle'rillas can use these interactive sites together to study the flooding in any state: zoom WAVICS sat'view out and "curser" the Map up the Mississippi River to Indiana and Illinois and then zoom'click back down to follow the smaller rivers like the Ohio and the Iowa.
This is active data. I use the USGS maps to get oriented to the states and their flood gauges due to the lack of boundries of the sat'view. I also look up State Maps.
USGS~Flood Stage Levels current 'real-time' guage readings

Had enough yet, America? Didn't think so...

Bad news travels downriver fast
HANNIBAL, Mo. — Here along the banks of the Mississippi River, people are braced for the worst flooding in 15 years as severe storms and major floods batter states farther north.

Communities along the river work to secure water supplies

Midwest floods expose aging, weak protection~Years of neglect of dams, levees put many folks at risk

Corn surges to record for 6th day as Midwest rains flood more crops; crude up slightly

After the storm in Burma
Landing in Rangoon in the wake of Cyclone Nargis, the Human Rights Center's Eric Stover witnessed the impacts firsthand — and now warns of a 'second wave'

The Sisters Told State Farm — What did State Farm Do? ~slabbed

Louisiana House Committee Passes Bill That Would Shift Hospital Funds From New Orleans to Other Regions

Elevation grants set to start flowing

Legislative pay is session hot potato

The pay raise that will try Louisiana's soul
~Your Right Hand Thief

How dysfunctional can things get?~Thanks Katrina
Editilla gotta tol'yaz~I tapped a general link address here, so that everyone might fang down through this blogger's posts to get to the lede. Why? Because JudyB has refined the standard of "Scuzzbucket" to the gimpth degree and included class pictures and emails of the perps.
As she is too much of a Lady with Manners to call them Fuckmooks, Gentle'rillas know, yer oh'so humble Editilla gatz noooo gumption fo'da assssumption.
You Geaux Mz. JudyB! You Editillero!

Lottery? Crap Shoot? Just Shoot Me?~Liptrap's Lament - The Line

On the one hand, I count myself very lucky to have gotten the little guy into a good school.
On the other hand, any parent who has a smidgen of empathy for what other families are going through knows that things could be otherwise.

David Simon pays tribute to 'Wire' fan Ashley Morris
~Shawn Malayter of DePaul’s media relations office said that Simon got in touch with the university after hearing of Morris’ passing, and expressed a desire to speak at the ceremony. Simon had reluctantly turned down the offer to speak when it was originally made several months ago, because he was supposed to be in London editing his new miniseries, “Generation Kill,” which debuts on HBO July 13. But he felt compelled to honor Morris’ memory and their friendship, even though the two men had never met in person.

“So I never got to know him. And that is my loss. And on some weird level, I owe him a trip to Chicago and a morning spent in a funny hat and gown.”
-David Simon

Bluegreen Corporation Enters New Orleans Vacation Ownership Market

Audubon Insectarium Opens in New Orleans
Editilla jus'axin~What is the Audubon Institute doing getting involved in the parentage of the NO City Council...what? OH'D'OH! Incects...Got it. Cool!

Driving me out of my mind
~New Orleans Daily Photo

Weekly Photo Challenge: Tawdry
~Bigezbear
~I Just Want To Be A Tugboat Captain

New Orleans Cooking School - Gumbo, Jambalaya,
Bread Pudding and Pralines
~Menu In Progress

A New Orleans Vieux-To-Do
Celebrating Tomatoes, Seafood
and Zydeco
~Schedule Here ~WWOZ to broadcast live from the French Quarters!

Crab-Stuffed Creole Tomatoes
1 tbs Olive Oil
1/2 tsp Salt or to taste
1/8 tsp Black Pepper
1/4 tsp Dried Tarragon
1/4 c Mayonnaise
1/2 ts Fresh Lemon Juice
5 -7 Fresh Louisiana Crab Meat
5 - 6 steamed Asparagus Cut into 1/2-inch Pieces
2 Hard-boiled Eggs, chopped
1/2 c Cooked Peas
8 lg Creole Tomatoes
Washed Lettuce and Parsley for garnish.
In a mixing bowl, toss together the crab meat, asparagus, eggs, peas, olive oil, salt, pepper, tarragon, mayonnaise, and lemon juice. Blend lightly, then refrigerate to chill.
Cut a thin slice from the top of each tomato and hollow out the center, leaving a firm shell to hold the salad filling. You can save the tomato pulp for another recipe. Sprinkle the insides of the tomatoes with a dash of salt, and turn them upside down on paper towels to drain. Refrigerate the tomatoes until serving time. When you’re ready for the salad, simply fill each tomato shell with about a half cup of the crab mixture. Set each tomato on a few lettuce leaves and add a sprig of fresh parsley.

A Tribute to my Orisha
~American Zombie

Ingrid Lucia & The Flying Neutrinos

Friday Cheers Gets Dirty...
NOLA's dirtiest brass visits the Old Dominion

Daddy Would Be So Proud ~Toulouse Street