Fun with music....

Its that time again...Shannon CD Mix.


Favorite Underwear- Liz Phair
it just feels right....

Don't Want to be your Queen -Dance Hall Junkies
Its fast, its easy to sing along. I like it

By My Side- INXS
The band has never been sexier.

Moonlight - Rilo Kriley
Its not the real name of the song but I cannot think of it at the moment.
It brings to mind slow sad Patsy Cline songs about Kentucky and such.

Im' Still Here - Vertical Horizon
Cause i may be here but I am still there...or something equally as deep.

Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered- Frank Sinatra
I like the title. Also because its what I do to you.

We Belong Together- Mariah Carey
Its my jam ya'll. And she doesn't shriek, not even once.

Big Machine- Goo Goo Dolls
I have this undying love for Jonny Reznik. Thru thick and thin (whatever his weight) Its the dog collar and perfectly mussed hair.

Science vs. Romance- Rilo Kriley
This artist is eceltic, none of the songs sound the same.

Elegantly Wasted- INXS
As you can see at the time of this burning I was watching Rock Star: INXS. Discovering all the good songs the band had was fun.

Over- Lindsey Lohan
Sue Me! Its my guilty pleasure.

Baby, Can I Hold You Tonite- Tracey Chapman
The prettiest song that makes me sigh.

Bitter Tears-INXS
Hey, what can I say. Its a good song

Girl from Ipanema- Boss Nova
This song makes me feel so cool just by listening to it.

Fix You- Coldplay
I mean what it says.

Cheating on You- Franz Ferdinand
FF is the best filler band.

Sara Smiles- Hall and Oats
Everytime I hear it all I think about is the VH1 Behind the Music where they explain the song was written for Hall's girlfriends sister before she died of cancer. Its such a great song from a great band.

Hallelujah- Rufus Wainwright
I have a stuffed raccoon that my grandma gave me whenI was a kiddo. Its name is Rufus. This song was in Shrek. Leonard Cohen is awesome. For those reasons alone it had to be included.

Beautiful Girl- INXS
I forgot there was more INXS on this mix. I like this song alot. I thought Tara did a nice job singing it. If I were auditioning for INXS I would sing this. But I didn't.

Best I Ever Had- Vertical Horizon
Cause I was. And still am.

Your in Love with Me- Liz Phair
It grew on me. And also because you all are. Or should be. Either way you should send me presents.

Baby, One More Time- Marty Casey.
JD is my man, but I really enjoyed this performance. Just a fun way to end a mellower than usual mix.

Cry and you're out of here. Women in business don't cry, my dear.

-Martha Stewart, last nites Apprentice.

I only caught a glimpse of this show because Weds nites are ruled by UPN
So onto the meat...

Americas Next Top Model...

I'm liking Cassandra the beauty queen who spent her time crying because they hacked off her hair...from long brown to short blonde...but it hasn't achieved that Mia Farrow look.Yeah, She was annoying but not everybody knows what MOD is. It would be nice if they gave the girls some direction and input and not just a label that they may not identify with.

Not that it matters, the chick I like never wins.

Corrine...looks like a man...who looks like Tyra....hmmmm
Best picture of the nite...Nicole...
CHECK HERE FOR ALL THE PICS
Next week the Dairy Queen gal is hooking up with Kim, the girl who wants to be a boy.

Hey you!
Yeah, you!
Remember how you scoffed at my reccomendation to watch Buffy? And then you caught some episodes on FX and soon you were crying over the end of the series. And that you now own all the DVDs of Buffy, Angel and Firefly.

I have two words....

Veronica Mars.

I am right, always right when it comes to hot tv.
See unlike its competitor in the time slot VM presents a compelling and interesting mystery.There are clues and red herrings. New characters are added to advance the plot, not to get lost in the shuffle. The villians are bad, even evil, but also human. The acting.Its good.
The producer writer listens to the viewers and when he promises big, he delivers. And the mysteries. Are answered.

Screw Lost.
It's not going anywhere, and you will never ever find out why they are on that stupid island anyways.


For the VM watchers...

She broke up with Logan. And is with Duncan. The maybe but he's not brother who maybe but didn't rape me while I was drunk. Duncan is Angel. Logan is Spike. Need I say more.

The mystery for the season. How about a bus full of kids going off the cliff. 09ers vs the outsiders? Does it have anything to do with the mayoral race? Did Logan tamper with the breaks to kill Veronica and Duncan before he went for a tryst with Cordelia Chase? You heard me right folks...MS. Cordy is working again! Yeah.


Ok everyody...
Work calls!

Lates
s

Holy Crap!

Anna Nicole Smith is going to the Supreme Court!
God I love our country.
And damn right she should get the $$$$$

Come out come out!

Hello people.
As you can see I am lost in thought over my lurve for shannon.
She see's past my strangely located and pointless tattoo...my recent stint in rehab...my unpronouncable name.
Move over Jake, there is a new hottie inm town (one without all those meddlesome man on man rumors)



Today in the shower I was trying to understand why Nicole Richie and her formerly obese boo are on every other page of my In Touch mag...what is the purpose of her...what does she bring to the table. At least Paris has the nasty vid, forever to be a classic. And we know Paris will have a future as schilling anti-aging products, indoor grills, and pleather pleated pants ala Suzanne Somers on the Home Shopping Network. Paris will matter.


Nicole, well...she apparently will become some sort of science project.




Well people, I would like to say there is excitement in the air. But there isn't
What's going on in my world. I'm starting a conversational Spanish course. It's not like four years of it ever stuck. My goal is be able to bring my blog to the world.... where I will be elected queen ensuring a lifetime of handfeeding by twentysomething coffee colored tattooed "assistants" and no taxation ever again!

Um, sorry got a little off track...

So onto the news that will be sure to bruise...(i'm witty, i know!)

Yeah like this was meant to be....
One Tree Hill co-stars Sophia Bush and Chad Michael Murray have separated after five months of marriage. . (defamer.com)

Another hollywood divorce....

I didn't think interspecies procreation was possible...she's an alien people!

In the immortal words of Kanye West...eighteen years, eighteen years

Ok eonline...Richmond is NOT in WEST VIRGINIA....

Are you watching Arrested Development?No? You suck!

G.O.B.: But it’s not like envy, or even hungry.
Michael: Could it be love?
G.O.B.: I know what an erection feels like, Michael. No, it’s the opposite. It’s... it’s like my heart is getting hard. Maybe I am ready to be a father.

Ok people...I have to make everyones life harder!
lates
s

The New Orleans Aquarium lost 6000 of its animals.
That is just sad... a blow.
"Thanks to a dedicated staff, however, some animals survived. Among the fortunate: sea otters, penguins, macaws and raptors, leafy and weedy sea dragons, some fishes, and a green sea turtle namedMidas."
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/09/0909_050909_orleans_zoo.html
Yeah, Ben the Sea Otter made it!So did the white alligator!

I just have to keep saying. This was one of the highlights of my visit and the beginning of my love for aquariums. They were doing some wonderful work, its sad to think of the dead sharks, catfish, sea horses and frogs.
It had 10,000 fish representing more than 530 species and featured four enormous exhibits -- Mississippi River gallery featuring catfish, paddlefish and alligators; the Caribbean Reef exhibit featuring a clear, 30-foot-long tunnel surrounded by aquatic creatures; the Amazon Rainforest display featuring piranhas and tropical birds; and the Gulf of Mexico exhibit featuring sharks, sea turtles and stingrays -- in addition to a number of smaller displays."
cnn.com

HERE

GO JD!

Hi everyone!

Its been busy in my lil world lately, mostly work. So thats not exciting.

What is exciting is this fall's TV season!

but first...

I thoroughly enjoyed ROCK STAR:INXS
and how thrilled am I that my man won!







JD Fortune...At first I wasn't impressed...then I was...then I wasn't.
But at the end he won me over
He is so fine!
Yummy



















Big Brother
Unfortunately, Maggie won. But the fun part is the public has a chance to rip her apart. How can you go on a show that has live internet feeds and believe that people are not seeing everything....dude!


Now for the FALL

AMericas Next Top Model Season 5...
I love this show! Its so addicting.
Unfortunately Twiggy replaces Janice Dickenson...and that may be a big mistake. We shall see..

Its too early to know the chicks by name
but a few memorable ones are...
The chick who works at dairy queen
the gay boy-girl
the one who falls
the one with the eyebrows
the texas pageant queen
the skanky one
the fat one
the black one
the lsd one
the one no one remembers

the first shoot was to be a superhero...seriously the shoots are the best part...Jay Manuel thinks up the worst concepts evah!

anyways I will keep you posted on the fighting and the crying and the puking! You know you want it

Invasion
I watched it...I liked it....but like LOST it may never keep my full attention...

Speaking of LOST...something was in the hatch...but I really can't compare when I could be watching people being called ugly on UPN!

I watched some of this...
I love Martha Stewart
Can't help it
She makes the prettiest shower curtains...I know I have one..

Speaking of Apprentice I saw one from the last cast a few weeks ago...MAria...the tall dark hair stylish one....she works for the company that owns my apt building



On to other topics:

Mk has decided that he likes to lay in both pieces of the salad spinner...thats my cat!

*** Sony and Delta are cutting thousands of jobs...(msnbc.com)
Yeah! Go Team Bush.

** Donna Martin your so bad....

Another nighttime soap for Tori Spelling

It was another man that caused the split between C-list superstar Tori Spelling and her much less famous husband, Charlie Shanian.

Tori met married actor Dean McDermott on the set of the TV movie "Mind Over Murder" (an instant classic, we're sure).
(http://www.nydailynews.com/news/gossip/story/348689p-297501c.html)

Police To Investigate Moss

British police are set to launch an investigation into allegations Kate Moss indulged in the illegal drug cocaine. Scotland Yard, the headquarters of London's police force, are to probe Moss after last week's Daily Mirror newspaper published photographs purporting to show the supermodel snorting the narcotic in a London studio, where her on/off boyfriend Pete Doherty was recording. A spokeswoman for Scotland Yard says, "Assistant Commissioner Tarique Ghaffur has reviewed the matter and had asked officers from the specialist crime directive to look at reports as highlighted in a national newspaper." The Yard added officers would need further evidence besides the Mirror photographs before they would proceed. Following the revelations, Swedish clothing firm H&M have dropped Moss from her $1.8 million contract, declaring the revelations contradict their anti-drugs stance.

(imdb.com)
Oh well....you get caught sucking it up your nose what do you expect...it is still illegal.


Finally a local story:
Missing VCU student, a perverted "artist" and the internet...read it...its fascinating!

Later beyatches!
S

A lil task...

1. List the top 100 songs from the year that you graduated high school. (Google it.)
2. Bold the ones you actually like.
3. Pick a favorite. Underline that favorite.
   
4. Strikethrough the ones you loathe.
5. Italicize the ones you consider to be guilty pleasures.

1995
1. Gangsta's Paradise, Coolio
2. Waterfalls, TLC
3. Creep, TLC
4. Kiss From A Rose, Seal
5. On Bended Knee, Boyz II Men
6. Another Night, Real McCoy
7. Fantasy, Mariah Carey
8. Take A Bow, Madonna
9. Don't Take It Personal (Just One Of Dem Days), Monica
10. This Is How We Do It, Montell Jordan
11. I Know, Dionne Farris
12. Water Runs Dry, Boyz II Men
13. Freak Like Me, Adina Howard
14. Run-Around, Blues Traveler
15. I Can Love You Like That, All-4-One
16. Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman?, Bryan Adams
17. Always, Bon Jovi
18. Boombastic / In The Summertime, Shaggy
19. Total Eclipse Of The Heart, Nicki French
20. You Gotta Be, Des'ree
21. You Are Not Alone, Michael Jackson
22. Hold My Hand, Hootie and The Blowfish
23. One More Chance-Stay With Me, Notorious B.I.G.
24. Here Comes The Hotstepper, Ini Kamoze
25. Candy Rain, Soul For Real
26. Let Her, w Hootie and The Blowfish
27. I Believe, Blessid Union Of Souls
28. Red Light Special, TLC
29. Runaway, Janet Jackson
30. Strong Enough, Sheryl Crow
31. Colors Of The Wind, Vanessa Williams
32. Someone To Love, Jon B.
33. Only Wanna Be With You, Hootie and The Blowfish
34. If You Love Me, Brownstone
35. In The House Of Stone And Light, Martin Page
36. I Got 5 On It, Luniz
37. Baby, Brandy
38. Run Away, Real McCoy
39. As I Lay Me Down, Sophie B. Hawkins
40. He's Mine, Mokenstef
41. December, Collective Soul
42. I'll Be There For You-You're All I Need To Get By, Method Man-Mary J. Blige
43. Shy Guy, Diana King
44. I'm The Only One, Melissa Etheridge
45. Every Little Thing I Do, Soul For Real
46. Before I Let You Go, BLACKstreet
47. Big Poppa / Warning, Notorious B.I.G.
48. Sukiyaki, 4 P.M.
49. I Wanna Be Down, Brandy
50. I'll Make Love To You, Boyz II Men
51. Dear Mama / Old School, 2Pac
52. Hold On, Jamie Walters
53. Keep Their Heads Ringin', Dr. Dre
54. The Rhythm Of The Night, Corona
55. Roll To Me, Del Amitri
56. Scream / Childhood, Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson
57. Freek'n You, Jodeci
58. I Wish, Skee-lo
59. Believe, Elton John
60. Carnival, Natalie Merchant
61. You Don't Know How It Feels, Tom Petty
62. Back For Good, Take That
63. Tootsee Roll, 69 Boyz
64. You Want This-70's Love Groove, Janet Jackson
65. Tell Me, Groove Theory
66. Can't You See, Total
67. All I Wanna Do, Sheryl Crow
68. This Lil' Game We Play, Subway
69. Come And Get Your Love, Real McCoy
70. This Ain't A Love Song, Bon Jovi
71. Secret, Madonna
72. Player's Anthem, Junior M.A.F.I.A.
73. Feel Me Flow, Naughty By Nature
74. Every Day Of The Week, Jade
75. The Sweetest Days, Vanessa Williams
76. Short Dick Man, 20 Fingers Featuring Gillette
77. Brokenhearted, Brandy
78. No More "I Love You's", Annie Lennox
79. You Used To Love Me, Faith Evans
80. Constantly, Immature
81. Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me, U2
82. 100% Pure Love, Crystal Waters
83. Ask Of You, Raphael Saadiq
84. Sugar Hill, Az
85. Good, Better Than Ezra
86. Brown Sugar, D'angelo
87. Turn The Beat Around, Gloria Estefan
88. 'Til You Do Me Right, After 7
89. 1st Of Tha Month, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
90. Like The Way I Do If I Wanted To, Melissa Etheridge
91. I Live My Life For You, Firehouse
92. Dream About You-Funky Melody, Stevie B
93. Cotton Eye Joe, Rednex
94. Thank You, Boyz II Men
95. I'll Stand By You, Pretenders
96. I Miss You, N II U
97. Give It 2 You, Da Brat
98. Best Friend, Brandy
99. Misery, Soul Asylum
100. Can't Stop Lovin' You, Van Halen

I LOVE THIS SHOW

Tobias...Nevernude...too funny
"I'm a Monster
Who would have thought Liza Minneli would be so awesome!
Lucille - God how i love her
Blue Man
GOB=HOT





I am so psyched the new season starts next week.
If you have not watched it, you should
This is the kind of humor that I love...all the characters are fantastic...
My favorites have to be the troika of GOB, Tobias and Buster...
Oh and Lucille...Yes my favorite character is Lucille...

anyways...nothing deep..just felt like posting some pics

I stepped on my glasses
My air conditioner is leaking and soaking my carpet
my apt is a disaester zone
i have cramps
my zipper keeps coming undone
I have to work this weekend

all in all its a normal day


fix you -cold play

When you try your best but you don't succeed
When you get what you want but not what you need
When you feel so tired but you can't sleep
Stuck in reverse

And the tears come streaming down your face
When you lose something you can't replace
When you love someone but it goes to waste
Could it be worse?

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

And high up above or down below
When you're too in love to let it go
But if you never try you'll never know
Just what you're worth

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

Tears stream down on your face
When you lose something you cannot replace
Tears stream down your face
And I

Tears stream down on your face
I promise you I will learn from my mistakes
Tears stream down your face
And I

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you.



**edited
because I believe in the power of positive thinking
I know what i want
and I plan on having it...again....
time, patience and my awesomeness are my friends....

So true

You seem to be straight forward, but you keep a lot inside. You tend to avoid confrontation and stay away from sticky situations. Your friends tend to be a as quirky as you are - which is saying a lot! You tend to always dream of things within reach - and you usually get them. How Do You Live Your Life? Your Birthdate: October 14

With a birthday on the 14th of the month (5 energy) you are inclined to work well with people and enjoy them. You are talented and versatile, very good at presenting ideas, and you are also very good at organization and systematizing. You may have a tendency to get itchy feet at times and need change and travel. You tend to be very progressive, imaginative and adaptable. Your mind is quick, clever and analytical. A restlessness in your nature may make you a bit impatient and easily bored with routine, and rebel against it. You have a tendency to shirk responsibility.

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

I bet Iggy smells

Jenn looks really pretty lately....


















While Jess apparently went NASCARn' too....

A Nascarin' we a go...

Friday I skipped work and attended my first Nascar race...
I drank alot of beer
Saw alot of guys without shirts and believe you me
many should have kept them and a paper bag on...
Apparently saw drivers up close...who knows
Drank more beer
watched the race while wearing those cool headphones
so spent most the time checking out the radio reception...
drank more beer
had no idea what was going on...
saw a guy drive on the wall...that was kinda cool
went home

lastly i felt very dirty from attending an event that is only a tool of corporate america to take away every last drippin dollar they can...
dirty


I did wake up early to work out...i'm going to try to continue that...yeah...i am
shuddup!


On to the news!
**JoePa is a big baby

**Bareback...I mean Brokeback Mountain picks up bunches of awards....See M if Jakey is up for it why not you?

**If this is true then Cruise is really gonna get his ass kicked

ok lunch is ovah
lates
s

hello visitor from alabama

i hope you and yours are doing ok
and my thoughts are with your city.

for your viewing pleasure

Can't get to much Jake....

tiddlybits

with that lil storm being so prominent in my thoughts i have been neglecting the important aspect of this blog...

useless pointless pictures, comments and linkages to all that in banal in pop culture right now..and inane babbling...

I am going to NASCAR tommorow..
it won;t be all that bad...i think
i mean minus the noise, the heat, the cars the crowds, the ucomfortable seats
hmmm
but i get to do the party pass
which i would like to point out has food! and beer!
I didn't buy the tix...since its not really my thing
but i get to see some cute redneck boys
who i developed a fondness for from my days avoiding class by drinkin at th O's with the locals
now that we are all a bit older i am sophisticated, cute and mysterious to them
before i was wierd and geeky and non-cute...
but now they are spending the 9-5's workin on the lines
goin home to the lil ladies and the 4 kids
beer and sports their only escape...and now i'm the one looking down...

also of news...
big telethon this weekend for the hurricane victims...
Jennifer Aniston has signed on
No sight of Brad and Angelina....smart move Jenn...show Americans that you care about them!
I so could be a publicist!

You may remember Charlotte Church. She made a sensation as the opera singing version of Brittney/Christina...
well folks, she is still the british version of the two...but now she is singing pop!
and folks...trashy! I LOVE HER! whether it be her unsolicited comments on the state of the world, her ex boyfriends selling details of their sex lives to the tabs, or her performing all forms of nasty PDA on her boyfriend wearing a variety of bikini's she rocks.
She reminds me of the fat slutty chick on eastenders...not the one who had the baby, gave it up for adoption and spent the next bazillion years whining about it (altho she got a cute if fey bf) but the one who has been hanging around with the old slumlord who apparently had an abusive relationship with his daughter or wife...not sure really..still can't understand a word they say...

**Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards are renewing their vows...see it really was the hormones
***Bob Denver died. Thats Gilligan people, JOHN Denver died years ago. Then Chad Lowe played him in the tv movie. Yeah, I am that pathetic.

I'm leaving on jet plane!
s

I wanna live you and pet you and hold you and squeeze you and name you ed...

its hard seeing all the abandoned pet stories coming out of new orleans...
however, i do believe in the ability of animals to fend for themselves, if they are not chained up in the backyard, locked inside a house...Pet rescue is important for several reasons
1)We are all some Gods creatures
2)Dead animals are just as dangerous as dead people
3)Leaving a pet in uncertain situation is terribly traumatic for people...i know there is no way i would evacuate without my cats...
4)it brings hope to all involved...
5)puppies!kitties!birdies! fishies!snakies! rabbities!

there is a picture on cnn.com of a curly brown hair dog watching over his dead owner for days...
i think that is all we need to consider...they love us and we love them...
one place that is doingwonderful work
Noahs Wishes
also here..
http://www.vetmed.lsu.edu/

they perform pet rescue/aid in the manner of the red cross.
they are doing awesome...sheltering pets for owners, fostering them until the owners can find permanent homes...just awesome
So please make sure you donate a few dollars to them...
since i cannot foster or adopt any animals due to mk's illness I will be donating to the ASPCA and Noah's wishes...but man I want that dog..plus my cats would be feasting on me the moment i passed...bitches!
Pet rescue is important for several reasons
1)We are all some Gods creatures
2)Dead animals are just as dangerous as dead people
3)Leaving a pet in uncertain situation is terribly traumatic for people...i know there is no way i would evacuate without my cats...
4)it brings hope to all involved...
5)puppies!kitties!birdies! fishies!snakies! rabbities!

other news...
*The famous carriage mules of the French Quarter, along with 65 other horses, have been removed to safety. And the New Orleans mounted police unit safely got out all their equine partners. They are currently stabled at the Franklinton, LA, fairgrounds.(aspca.com)

*Louisiana's Audubon Zoo is stocked with feed and fresh water. With the exception of a pair of river otters, all the zoo's animals are fine.(aspca.com)

**Awful, just truly awful
**Viva la Mexico....I have a joke here but its really racist so I am ashamed of myself...but Yeah for el hombres

Happy Labor Day!

Some hope...

From http://news.mongabay.com/2005/0830-new_orleans_aquarium.html

The Audubon Aquarium of the Americas in New Orleans apparently survived Hurricane Katrina relatively unscathed according to a report in The Baltimore Sun. Hurricane Katrina hit the Louisiana city Monday. According to Ron Forman, president of the Audubon Nature Institute that oversees the city's aquarium and zoo, only a few flamingos died and was little other loss of animal life. The Audubon Zoo also fared well in the storm suffering limited damage from fallen trees. Located along the banks of the Mississippi River near the historic French Quarter, the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas has some 10,000 animals and is considerd one of the world's foremost aquariums. Officials closed the aquarium early to prepare for Katrina. When the storm hit the aquarium lost power but relied on generator for keeping critical equipment operational. The aquarium also had plenty of food and freshwater according to an article in Wednesday's Palladium-Item. The French Quarter of New Orleans, built on the highest ground in the city, suffered less damage than other neighborhoods. The city's highest point is "Monkey Hill" in the New Orleans zoo. During the hurricane, The Dallas Morning News reports that "zoo staff took refuge in the reptile house, which was designed to withstand a major hurricane." The American Zoo and Aquarium Association reports that the Audubon Center for Research of Endangered Species (ACRES) lost only a whooping crane during the storm. The facility suffered some leaks at the Research Center. Four animal keepers were flown in by helicopter. Widespread power outages disabled the Audubon Nature Institute and Audubon Aquarium of the Americas web sites for many hours following the storm.
In neighboring Mississippi, the fate of a group of dolphins moved to Gulfport is unknown. According to The Daily Telegraph, the animals were last seen in a hotel swimming pool, but the storm left the town of 70,000 people under 10 feet (3m) of water (update: six bottlenose dolphins moved to a hotel swimming pool survived the storm and were taken this week to Walton Beach, Florida while nine sea lions from the Mississippi park were sent to Sea World in Orlando, Florida). The Gulport Marine Life Oceanarium aquarium was totally destroyed.

I have a new toy!

So i bought a cheapo webcam from overstock.com and despite my intial perplexity over the fact that the package did not include any required software i am able to bring to you the first of many pics of my most favorite creatures!

THE LOVE OF MY LIFE

Lil Kat...the porn star!

Mk urges you to donate to the Humane Society to rescue fellow animals stranded by Hurricane Katrina!

http://www.hsus.org/

Nice aren't they!

Who Knows...The Shadow thats who!

Would you believe this is the face of pure eeeeevil?

When the Saints go marchin in'

On the streetcar stop where Canal Meets Bourbon
I met an old black man
whose name I do not remember
What I do remember is sitting with him under the shelter of the stop
on the hard curved bench, designed so no one can sleep on them
in the Sweltering heat
early in the summer of New Orleans

We talked
about my visit to the city
and his world travels
he'd been to New york
he'd been to Chicago
but now he returned home to New Orleans
where he planned to never leave again

We sat together on the crowded streetcar
His cane resting lighlty against my knee
He said that he didn't think the white man waiting with us at the stop
liked him talking to the man's wife
and me
I asked why
he said because he was a black man and i was a white girl
i don't care i said
you can talk to me as long as you want
he asked about new england
i think he thought i was from England
he had never been to new england
i loved his city
he got off a few stops before me
as he left i said goodbye
nice to meet you
enjoy your trip
stay cool, sir

i don't think he ever left.

god bless old man
and David H.Taylor
who's card announcing his art show i still have on my fridge
and everyone else

Expectations

I guess I just expect more from my government.
Obviously, I was wrong.

Angry

WATCH THIS

I am angry.
My blog is no fun to read at this moment.


I want to cut and paste some exerpts from an interview with New Orleans Mayor Ralph Nagin.
I think it says it all

In response to a question about his conversation with President Bush...

"And they don't have a clue what's going on down here. They flew down here one time two days after the doggone event was over with TV cameras, AP reporters, all kind of goddamn -- excuse my French everybody in America, but I am pissed."

WWL: Did you say to the president of the United States, "I need the military in here"?

NAGIN: I said, "I need everything."

WWL: What do you need right now to get control of this situation?

NAGIN: I need reinforcements, I need troops, man. I need 500 buses, man. We ain't talking about -- you know, one of the briefings we had, they were talking about getting public school bus drivers to come down here and bus people out here.

I'm like, "You got to be kidding me. This is a national disaster. Get every doggone Greyhound bus line in the country and get their asses moving to New Orleans."

That's -- they're thinking small, man. And this is a major, major, major deal. And I can't emphasize it enough, man. This is crazy.

SCHOOL BUSES! IS THAT THE BEST WE CAN DO!-ss

WWL: Do you believe that the president is seeing this, holding a news conference on it but can't do anything until [Louisiana Gov.] Kathleen Blanco requested him to do it? And do you know whether or not she has made that request?

NAGIN: I have no idea what they're doing. But I will tell you this: You know, God is looking down on all this and if they are not doing everything in their power to save people they are going to pay the price. Because every day that we delay, people are dying and they're dying by the hundreds, I'm willing to bet you.

We're getting reports and calls that are breaking my heart, from people saying, "I've been in my attic. I can't take it anymore. The water is up to my neck. I don't think I can hold out." And that's happening as we speak.

You know what really upsets me, Garland? We told everybody the importance of the 17th Street Canal issue. We said, "Please, please take care of this. We don't care what you do. Figure it out."

They can try to take away states rights when it comes to zoning, to moral decisions, to taxation, to school systems but the FEDS CANNOT STEP IN DURING A TIME OF DISASTER AND CIVIL UNREST! BULLSHIT! BULLSHIT! BULLSHIT! WHAT WAS THE PATRIOT ACT ABOUT! IT GIVES THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT UNPRECEDENTED AND LOOSELY DEFINED POWERS TO INTERVENE IN AREAS BEYOND ITS SCOPE! DID THEY ASK FOR PERMISSION DO GO INTO NEW YORK DURING 9/11-ss

WWL: If some of the public called and they're right, that there's a law that the president, that the federal government can't do anything without local or state requests, would you request martial law?

NAGIN: I've already called for martial law in the city of New Orleans. We did that a few days ago.

WWL: Did the governor do that, too?

NAGIN: I don't know. I don't think so.

But we called for martial law when we realized that the looting was getting out of control. And we redirected all of our police officers back to patrolling the streets. They were dead-tired from saving people, but they worked all night because we thought this thing was going to blow wide open last night. And so we redirected all of our resources, and we hold it under check.

I'm not sure if we can do that another night with the current resources.

And I am telling you right now: They're showing all these reports of people looting and doing all that weird stuff, and they are doing that, but people are desperate and they're trying to find food and water, the majority of them.

Now you got some knuckleheads out there, and they are taking advantage of this lawless -- this situation where, you know, we can't really control it, and they're doing some awful, awful things. But that's a small majority of the people. Most people are looking to try and survive.

And one of the things people -- nobody's talked about this. Drugs flowed in and out of New Orleans and the surrounding metropolitan area so freely it was scary to me, and that's why we were having the escalation in murders. People don't want to talk about this, but I'm going to talk about it.

You have drug addicts that are now walking around this city looking for a fix, and that's the reason why they were breaking in hospitals and drugstores. They're looking for something to take the edge off of their jones, if you will.

And right now, they don't have anything to take the edge off. And they've probably found guns. So what you're seeing is drug-starving crazy addicts, drug addicts, that are wrecking havoc. And we don't have the manpower to adequately deal with it. We can only target certain sections of the city and form a perimeter around them and hope to God that we're not overrun.

NAGIN: Well, did the tsunami victims request? Did it go through a formal process to request?

You know, did the Iraqi people request that we go in there? Did they ask us to go in there? What is more important? HELL YEAH!-ss

And I'll tell you, man, I'm probably going get in a whole bunch of trouble. I'm probably going to get in so much trouble it ain't even funny. You probably won't even want to deal with me after this interview is over.

NAGIN: But we authorized $8 billion to go to Iraq lickety-quick. After 9/11, we gave the president unprecedented powers lickety-quick to take care of New York and other places.

Now, you mean to tell me that a place where most of your oil is coming through, a place that is so unique when you mention New Orleans anywhere around the world, everybody's eyes light up -- you mean to tell me that a place where you probably have thousands of people that have died and thousands more that are dying every day, that we can't figure out a way to authorize the resources that we need? Come on, man.

You know, I'm not one of those drug addicts. I am thinking very clearly.

And I don't know whose problem it is. I don't know whether it's the governor's problem. I don't know whether it's the president's problem, but somebody needs to get their ass on a plane and sit down, the two of them, and figure this out right now.

WWL: We'll do that. What else can we do?

NAGIN: Organize people to write letters and make calls to their congressmen, to the president, to the governor. Flood their doggone offices with requests to do something. This is ridiculous.

Representatives

Senate

I don't want to see anybody do anymoregoddamn press conferences. Put a moratorium on press conferences. Don't do another press conference until the resources are in this city. And then come down to this city and stand with us when there are military trucks and troops that we can't even count.

Don't tell me 40,000 people are coming here. They're not here. It's too doggone late. Now get off your asses and do something, and let's fix the biggest goddamn crisis in the history of this country.
AMEN-ss

NAGIN: Well, I hope so, Garland. I am just -- I'm at the point now where it don't matter. People are dying. They don't have homes. They don't have jobs. The city of New Orleans will never be the same in this time.

Donate, contact your representives, pray to whom or whatever, hold those in charge responsible, vote, volunteer, give blood- just a few things to do- ss

We are not a refugee nation....

Where the fuck is FEMA?

Where are the FEDERAL RESOURCES?

THREE FUCKING DAYS PEOPLE!

I blame the federal government for what is going on in New Orleans at this moment.

We send massive aid in a short amount of time to evacuate small islands thousands of miles away and we cannot evacutate a city that is a 4 hour flight from DC!!!!!!!!!

Treat it like a war zone
Treat it like Iraq
Use the newly closed military bases to house people.
What about the Office of Homeland Security. Surely it has the organization and resources to deal with a massive disaster!
Or are those resources reserved for incidences involving a lighter shade of brown, President Bush?


The people of New Orleans are not REFUGEE's news media. They are AMERICAN CITIZEN.
I am ashamed of my government today.

state of nature

"an atmosphere without rules or infrastructure, where the needs are so great that anything goes."

Why are people so surprised by the looting of New Orleans, of the violence from the remaining residents, from the descension into chaos? It is survival of the fittest, eat or be eaten and most of all it has leveled the playing ground of the classes.

Cause see, for those of us who have visited New Orleans staying in the confines of the tourist attractions, the pre-packaged sanitized danger of the swamps and the cemetaries. Walking the streets of the French Quarter with your commerative Pat O Brien's Hurricane, surreptiously lifting your shirt for the thrill of adding another string of beads, throwing our diets and our money out thi windows. The food, the buildings, the sounds, god the music is awesome.

But we don't see the real New Orleans. Or maybe we just don't want to see cause on vacation who wants to deal with the realities of home. I don't think many realize just how poor that state is and how poor the poor are. And being poor in the Deep South has historically been a combination of racism, violence, demoralization, fear and anger. 30% of the population are living in poverty, many far below. Gangs, drugs, sex, money. A society where the law is often times as corrupt.

Then add into the worst national disaster to hit that area, if not the nation. People, it is not a refugee camp there. Refugee camps have basic necessities, refugee camps have some sense or order. Instead people are being plucked off their rooftops and being deposited on I-10, no water, no food, no shelter from the sun. No oxygen for those who need it, no drugs, no anything. No red cross vans. Social behaviors are dictated by the predicament and response. Social behaviors are learned not inherent. People turn ugly when desperate. You think you would act better, you would be decent, that you are not an animal. In the end though, we are all animals.

All of which is no excuse for the recent lawlessness. But lets put the blame on every parties shoulders and lets do something about restoring law and order. Its time for a military clamp down to contain looters. Will this take away from search and rescue? Yes. Desperate people for so long will fend for themselves the same way the person next to them is.

I love New Orleans, then and now. I will never lose my fascination with it even now that the facade has been swept away.