Monday, 2/4 Proteus and Orpheus

I foolishly thought Cox 10 was going to webcast the Zulu Lundi Gras
Fest but all they have is a promo. You have to have Cox cable to see
the show. Oh well.

So tonight, it's
Proteus - 6:15 p.m. and Orpheus - 7 p.m. (NY times) (DSU said Zeus
too but we never see it.)

I tune in at 6:04 NY time. DSU cam has reporter. Paradecam is still
on the roof.

Jeff is on Paradecam. "Bloggers have been mentioning you, Meredith,
too." I have... Others?

People walking around in shorts so the weather must be nice. Arthur
Hardy next on DSU. We see Arthur reacting to whatever they are saying
in the studio. He talks. When done, a beauty shot...

Watching people standing around eating, drinking, talking on cell
phones before the parade starts.

DSU guy white balances the camera on a guy's shirt?

See flambeaux with lights arranged vertically. Haven't seen that before.

Hear the train whistle from down by the river. Ah nostalgia.

6:30 NY time and no sign of any movement. We can see the first float
in the DSU cam. Now hear a siren. The parade is moving.

Flambeaux moving up. The DSU cam is only just around the corner from
the Paradecam so is slightly ahead of the Paradecam.

20 floats. Realms of Enchantment the theme. DSU cam has a good spot.
First float after the captain is nice, green Proteus, nicely done.

Poseidon (Pronounced Po-sigh'-den not Posaden). A flambeaux shouts
Happy Mardi Gras.

Nice faery float coming up. Well, at least the faery is nicely done.
The rest of it is poorly painted. A nice figure on the very end I
see. (That may be on another float. It's hard to keep track...)

I missed a big fish float.

Proteus had a lot of family troubles...

Did I see one of the black band members in whiteface?

This float is waddling up, the figurehead seems to be pulling it.
(The Cyclops! I later hear.)

Paradecam guy reads James Joyce!

Nice to hear the weather is nice.

The (St James) Wildcats conveniently stopping in front of the
Paradecam. I noticed the cymbal player jazzing it up too. The tuba
player giving it alot of body English. Cymbal player really showing
off! Now they all gyrate.

DSU reporter getting ready to go live, on cam.

Damian wants to get an organ transplant from one of these guys! The
band shakes it up. Band finally moves off.

Float #11, nice figurehead.

Beautiful blue sky shot on the DSU cam.

Nice leprechaun figurehead on this float.

Jeff thinks that I might know who is who. Nope. I'm just following
your lead and writing down as much as I can. But thanks for the
reference! It's nice to be mentioned. And fun to see who is looking
at the blog!

Crystal Caverns, cool figurehead. I would have guessed it was an
alien but Jeff has a better view.

DSU reporter is doing her on-cam thing. A beautiful float
(figurehead, an old man) passing by her.

Sunflowers on this float. Gilded Gardens it's called.

Fire engine on the DSU cam. 7:18 pm NY time.

(I do watch the streetcar cam occasionally...)

St Charles Streetcar Band again.

Proteus is done. (~ 1 hr) after it started. 7:22 NY time.

The view on Bourbon St is familiar but we sure miss the Bourbocam and
it's hosts. All those interviews. The whole scene. Now all we see is
a silent mass of people moving around, jerkily, very slow motion.

Orpheus 7:30 pm NY time
Paradecam is going but DSU cam is bluescreen. Are they done?

Eating dinner as I write, we see a Trojan horse float! The DSU cam is back.

Paradecam video camera is acting up, giving strange but beautiful
colors and having other technical problems. 7:40 pm NY time

St Aug band coming up on the DSU cam.

Some nice spotlights coming up on the DSU cam. Very cool effect
seeing the light in the trees.

Original Lady Buck Jumpers/Steppers struttin' front of the cam.

O Perry Walker wearing white pith helmets!

They ran out of Hummers and now have golf carts! (Good, I hate Hummers.)

Gorgeous effects with the searchlights on the DSU cam.

Paradecam has been better but still has some video problems.

Damian: Palm trees?

Float goes by Pitt St so DSU cam is by Pitt and Napolean.

Wow, a very bright float approaches on the DSU cam.

Have a steam train float but haven't seen Smokey Mary yet. Oh, that
is her. 6 floats long! Wow. Let's watch this go around the corner.

Smokey Mary has all kinds of American flags on her. We hear the
whistle but she isn't smoking much that I can see.

Bachalopter? I thought it was the Bacchussaurus? Paradecam is acting
up, strange colors.

Wow, an incredible white float coming up on the DSU cam, 2 sections,
full of feathers or what looks like feathers. Might be flowers.

Another cool gremlin with a blue shirt coming up on the DSU cam. And
a nice owl.

Kids marching on the DSU cam. Not in uniforms or at least it looked
like it (they do on the Paradecam). Then a band.

Jiminy Cricket and a large sun behind him.

Paradecam is all video noise now. Audio is fine. 8:31 pm NY time.

Bee on the Stinger float. I like the arch of flowers on it too.

We hear the Paradecamers catching beads.

Lots of nice close-ups of the riders on the DSU cam. The crowd is
very close to the float on the DSU cam.

Paradecam video is f'd up. 8:41 pm NY time (before and after the tape
change.) OK now but not for long.

Unmasked riders on the Coast Guard air rescue float with the
helicopter on the back.

I watch the DSU cam cuz the Paradecam video is too bad. Audio is
fine. (I think there is something wrong with the camera or the
transmission from it to the receiver.) Internet connection is fine
for both. DSU cam, not surprisingly since they are a TV station, has
had a great picture throughout Mardi Gras. Not always the best
position but best picture quality. And good audio when they use it.

Nice Neptune? float coming up. Paradecam fine now!

How are the high school seniors marked? The hosts are noting the
seniors often so they must be marked somehow.

Cool dragon coming up on the DSU cam. Fabulous! The best decorated float yet.

I agree. It's not quite the same when the Ford blows its horn
compared to the train!

Band in red making a good noise on the DSU cam.

Dragon looks great on the Paradecam, smoke everywhere.

Wow, a white creampuff of a float.

DSU cam is blue screen now. 9 pm NY time.

Here's the white creampuff. A green dragon as its figurehead.

Well alright, biodiesel!

Paradecam is now blue screen. Both are blue now. 9:05 pm NY time.
Good, they realize there is a problem. This is so much better than in
previous years when they would go on without doing anything about it.
Glad they still have audio.

The DSU cam is blue screen and doesn't look like it is coming back so
goodbye, DSU.

Paradecam is still on the roof. 9:15 pm NY time.

Good, the audio gets better on the Paradecam. We have radio at this
point with the cam up on the roof.

The hummingbird? Not the restaurant...

End of Orpheus. Very nice. Tomorrow starts at 10 (NO time for the Paradecam.

Sunday 2/3, Bacchus

I tune in about 6 NY time. The DSU cam is on Annunciation and
Napolean. Traffic was too messed up to get to other spot, anchor
says. OK.

We hear anchor live, before they are on cam.

Paradecam is on the roof still.

She throws to Camille. Behind the scenes of live tv...

Parade doesn't look ready but who knows when it will start.

(6:15 NY time) Two motorcycle cops just went by and I see some
blinking lights and hear more sirens, but now that's stopped... Oh
well.

More sirens. Here we go. Lots or people in wheelchairs here. We may
be near a hospital. Sirens stopped. Now started again. Now stopped.

(6:19 NY time) Paradecam switches to the street level. No host yet.
(Paradecam has audio hum...)

DSU cam will be AHEAD of the Paradecam...

Crowd on DSU cam cheers.

Anchor says some bands are still unloading, so will be more delays.
(6:25 NY time)

Meredith of nola.com comes on. "We're excited about Hulk Hogan." Un hunh. lol.

DSU cam goes blue screen but is ok shortly after.

Marching band. Marines probably, playing the Marine Hymn. 1st float
is going by. DSU cam is not changing position.

See some flambeaux. Now DSU cam moves. Nice shot of masked riders
moving closer.

Paradecam is going to the roof but little do they know the parade is
on it's way.

There's Hulk. Dad by ladder does Hulk poses!! Hulk throwing casually.
People might be booing! He definitely wasn't into it.

Paradecam is blue screen, now ok.

Lots of flambeaux!! These flambeaux carriers have propane containers
on their backs!!

Nothing has reached the Paradecam yet. (6:43 NY time)

Nice marching band on DSU cam. St Aug? Purple Knights so yes.

"Beads crushing under your feet are like fall leaves..." Meredith.
Sort of. If your leaves are real crunchy.

Meredith wonders if they sleep in the big cop van when they're on
stakeouts. Another guy points out that having Police written in big
letters on the van probably eliminates that idea.

People waving to the cops. Angola Prison rodeo...

Some nice close-ups on the DSU cam. Some guy on the Bacchus float
signing throws.

DSU audio cuts out. (6:53 pm NY time) but comes back soon. The parade
has stopped. Guy is signing a shirt now.

Meredith is a roller girl. (Her audio is a little low now, compared
to everyone on this cam being really loud normally. She was loud
earlier so I guess someone turned her down.)

Hulk hasn't rounded the corner by the Paradecam yet.

Here we go.

Nice dancers going by, in black. Band behind them. Good audio from
DSU cam. 7 pm NY time

Confetti! Two tigers. Louie Louie! Unmasked riders on this float. LSU
float. National champs in something.

How many toes have been run over by police cars trying to clear
people from the street. 1st float, riderless, is for Harry Lee. They
really worshipped him down there. I don't know why. Black bunting on
the float.

DSU stream looks nice. A little jerky but nice. 7:06 pm NY time

Paradecam guy catches a miniature Harry Lee magnets. Very weird!

We see some marchers turn onto Napolean on DSU cam. Floats come up Napolean.

Nice band! Red outfits.

Wow, a big white French Quarter float, the 4-parter?! Hey Pocky Way
plays! Then Going To The Mardi Gras.

This is like watching two different parades. Where's Hulk on the
Parardecam?! 7:12 pm NY time

Here he is. Meredith goes nuts. Paradecam miss him by not pointing
high enough up.

Meredith discovers making flirty eye contact gets her throws.

Statue of Liberty float. Some cowboy types in the middle and a ladies
leg on the back. Not sure what the theme was there.

St Aug parade leaders walk backwards!

Nice effect to see the confetti and the searchlights.

Peace sign on this float!

Beautiful red float coming up. Big heart and hearts all over. Cupid
ready to shoot his arrow. That is a well designed float. Hearts like
strawberries.

Great band beat! O Perry Walker. Bravo! (Maybe this is on the DSU
cam though so I don't know who the band is there.)

Cool dancing on the Paradecam. O Perry Walker there.

Budget truck. Somebody moving in the middle of the parade?

Guy just got 4 bags of beads! His old boss.

Star Wars float.

Nice band, 7:56 NY time. Thundering drums. Then Led Zeppelin
dirigible on float. Bee Gees on the end. WTF?

Band with straw hats! St Paul's High school.

Star Wars float reaches the Paradecam 8:15 pm NY time. Spectacular
dinosaur on the DSU cam!

I rejoin things after dinner 8:30 NY time

Bands conveniently stop in front of either cam. Great sound from the DSU feed.

Beautiful alligator float on the DSU cam.

We have smart hosts on the Paradecam for a change. Not that I think
Jeff isn't smart but compared to the other usual hosts, Meredith and
friends are a pleasant change.

DSU cam goes blue screen suddenly, losing audio too. (8:38 NY time) I
miss it...

What a scream! As the Bachussuarus passes by. (Took 1/2 an hour to
get to the Paradecam.)

DSU cam is back but now is a high overhead shot with static for audio
(and some on the video). They are probably almost done with their
feed though there is still plenty of parade by them. Getting some
cool effects from the searchlights maxing out the camera... Kind of
like the aurora around the sun.

DSU cam is black cuz the lighting is so low. We see only a light or two.

Nice overhead shot from the Paradecam too. Still getting audio from
them. Now we're back to street level. There goes the gator. Saw that
about 20 minutes ago on the DSU cam.

No audio from the Paradecam now. 9:01 pm NY time. (Seeing street
level view.) The DSU cam has a truck on it. Done for them?

Audio is coming back, but breaking up, on the Paradecam. Here we go.
Yeah, those are the street cleaners on the DSU cam. Audio is ok on
Paradecam now.

Misimpression is only a word while Bush is president. Hopefully after
that we go back to reality as we used to know it.

Ick. The Spice Girls. The hum comes back.

I stop the DSU cam

Guy they are interviewing, 'I know where the adult fun can be found.
He feels good about the country that families can have fun like
this.' We know how you feel bro.

Float 25 out of 31 here. A beautiful woman.

Cool, throwing beads into the exhaust pipes of the Mardi Gras tow
truck! Nice diesel horn. Other woman host needs a doorbell like that.

CSI float. Ick. "Lust" written after it.

It's done. See you tomorrow.

Sun, 2/3: Mid-City, Toth

1:31 NY time, the 2nd half starts. (Already started on DSU cam?... hmm.)

40 floats. Quite the scene with all the crowd. BBQs going? Something smoking.

St Aug passes by yet again.

Now no parade on the DSU cam.

Looks like St Aug passing on the DSU cam. So, DSU is after Paradecam....

This is Mid City, not Toth. OK.

Uses aluminum foil rather than paper mache'. Their "den" got flooded during Katrina , dens being where the floats are stored.

Xavier Prep band.

A bright red float looks great.

Nice medallion.

Mid City had the first animated float, being propelled by Boy Scouts on stationary bikes! Hilarious. Slave labor.

Float 6 - beautiful.

This guy knows how much hotter the foil floats are: 35 degrees. Un hunh. Is that a fact?

Drill team dressed in black does routine in front of Paradecam. One guy drops his fake rifle.

2:02 PM NY time. A break in the action on both cams.

"Port-O-Lets have regained their shape after Friday." People were sitting on top of them then.

Jeff interviews group in front of Paradecam. Guy sings The Time of My Life, ick. 'Blood level is vodka and tonic right now.' Their breath would catch fire...

More break. 2:11 NY time

Paradeacam comes back at 2:20 NY time.

DSU cam has parade at 2:24 NY time so it is definitely AFTER the Paradecam, ok?

Last float of Mid City. 2:27 NY time. (False alarm)

DSU stream is very jerky. My computer is running at 100% CPU use.

Smokey Mary? No, just a steam tractor! Cool.

And a calliope! Calliope being pulled by a steam tractor. We don't hear much of it, alas.

End of Mid City? (Audio is dropping out/breaking up on Paradecam) 2:31 NY time.

No pies from Hubigs. No love...

Jeff: Jaeger - Epicac with alcohol! (I've never had it.)

Yes, they are making absinthe again! Great. We can narcotisize ourselves with it.

Jeff asks group to sing. American Pie. That's kinda what I would expect from them. 'They are adjusting so well for their first time in NO.'

Toth begins. 2:39 NY time. ("Toth. Is that a word?")

Beautiful horses for the mounted police. Apaloosas? I have no idea. Lots of white markings. (Some of the cops have cowboy hats. Gretna police?)

Cheese fries. Sausage sandwiches. Yum.

Coast Guard helicopter flies over.

When The Saints - somewhere in GA Marine Corp band.

Drill team does their thing.

3:00 pm NYtime (Have blue screen when he thinks Paradecam is done with tape exchange.)

3:01 pm NY time. I write to nola.com to tell them the Paradecam is still blue screen. Let's see how long it takes for them to fix it. Cool. It is fixed as I am writing this! Thanks!! 3:03 ny time

Tulane band is in front of the Paradecam now. Jeff will be graduating soon. (after 7 years...)

Float with (Egyptian?) one eye. Master Builders. Masons?

Gary is a target so Jeff moves away. Aiming for Gary but their aim sucks. Get tons of stuff.

Fish beads

Nice stepping from the Arlington High School dancers.

Float #1 now?

Lots of Carmelettes.

Another song... You've Lost That Loving Feeling. Artfully sung. Or more accurately, drunkenly. They go on.

One guy throwing heaps, armfuls, of beads on the Renaissance Festival float.

Jeff says to a guy on  the float, "you look familiar." He responds with a shrug.

Maine lobster float! Lobster, bland compared to crawfish and hard to peel. (But so much more meat and damn good!)

Low-weesiana...

Parisolcam?

'A band displaying their pride in motion?' Something only a bandmember would say or think.

Nice Egyptian masks!

Maybe the horses enjoy Guns N Roses. Maybe...

Almost 4pm NY time and the RealOne Player hasn't stopped in a long time. Stream is abit jerky and video quality is not great but is as good as can be expected. Audio is better, not breaking up much. DSU cam is still jerky but I haven't been watching it much.

India float followed by NO Irish Pipe Band. Well, alright.

AZ Balloon Festival! Wouldn't have expected them to be there.

Day of the Dead. Yes, Mexico. Float isn't decorated very well. A skull here, a skull there. Could have been MUCH better.

LA Fantasy Girls?

LA Swampfest. Alright!!! Miles of alligators! Alligators love marshmallows! lol

I remember the Chinese New Year dragon float. One of my favorites.

(CPU is staying at 100% now... but all seems well.)

Abdul and the Tentmakers on their burger break.

(I stop watching the DSU cam as the Paradecam has a better angle on it all, though it is blurry.) 4:05 pm NY time Get CPU use to 75% now. Better.

Another dunk tractor driver.

"Tiger bait" idiot yelling.

Big Chief by Gulf Coast something band. Drummers in truck!

NO Jazz Fest, float #21.

Loyola dance team, not very energetic... Jeff says.

Nice gold medallion!

Jeff: "This is getting dangerous. These assholes are going way too far." The riders on the floats?

I like the striped outfits on these dancers.

Horse drawn cart! The Mardi Gras Indians on horses. The Indian competition on Mardi Gras day is to see who's the prettiest.

Basketballs being thrown from floats.

Rider hands out one of his flowers to someone and he didn't have many. Another rider talking on his cell phone. Black cowboys.

"Once again, the horses are being followed by a sound truck. they apparently enjoy it!"

Hear a steam/train whistle coming up. Christmas in NY float - what's that about? Maybe a Santa Claus and maybe either a Rockette or a Nutcracker figure. Two touristy things to do I guess. An interesting idea for New Orleanians going up to NY for Christmas.

We hear a little bit of Zoot Suit by the WIld Tchopitoulas.

A very quick battery change!! 4:23 pm NY time

It's getting dark there. Still light here! Maybe, it'd be good to adjust the camera... It's ok for looking towards the parade though. The sky is a little dark when focusing on that.

Nice Egyptian insignias on the last float. Meredith will host Bacchus. Starting at 5:15 NO time.

OK.

Sun, 2/3: Okeanos, Babylon

I tune in about 5 of 12 NY time. The WDSU cam is on, low level audio
but nothing happening. People standing around with no parade in
sight. As usual they are abit back from the action but they do zoom
and pan so we will see good scenes. The Paradecam link for the live
Real video isn't working. (The Quartercam looks nice...)

Paradecam (works now and) is still on the roof. And people are marching!

12:07 NY time, Paradecam switches to handheld. Jeff again. great!
(Nothing happening on DSU cam)

This is Okeanos. New Orleans Past and Future, Back To The Future. 17
floats for this parade.

Dominican cheerleaders and talk of gods/sacrifices...

DSU cam has parade now. A nice white Roman-stylle villa float stopped.

Queen of Okeanos passes by the Paradecam. (12:16 NY time)

Chappelle High Steppers have lots of "protection".

Okeanos frisbee.

(I think the DSU cam is ahead of the Paradecam. Am seeing the
streetcar. (Paradecam stops but starts again...) float, St Charles
Streetcar band, singing Prof Longhair's Going To The Mardi Gras. I
saw another streetcar float on the DSU cam abit before.)

It's raining stuff. (We hear them get bombarded.) Aquarium
float.(Audio drops out)

Parade is stopped on DSU cam. Now moving. See cowboy on float. (12:30 NY time)

Paradecam has stopped but it starts again eventually. Then stops. May
have to drop it. It comes back.

Indians on horses.

Change in LA license plates!

Fire engine on DSU cam. (12:35 NY time)

Talk of Roy Scheider... boring. Christopher Walken - renaissance
man... can't get enough....

Here comes the fire engine so DSU cam is ahead of the Paradecam. I
suspect by the corner of Perrier and Napolean. (12:39 NY time)

King and other floats are behind fire engine?!

This parade does not use electricity on their floats when usually
parading at night. Only flambeaux. Got to see that in person.

(DSU cam is blue screen now.)

Officers/official knights. M'Lasses, ah. Translucent cups.

Float #3, so this is a new parade? Ah, this is Babylon.

12:55 NY time, paradecam stops then starts.

12:59 NY time we see a blue satyr w/ a bow (and arrow I suppose)
float on the DSU cam.

Here it is on the Paradecam, 1:03 NY time. Sagitarius. Fire engine
behind it. Wait. The satyr is still sitting stopped at the DSU cam
and that cam is live! Hmm... Now I'm confused. There's the fire
engine. So the DSU cam is after the Paradecam? Like, a few feet past
it?

Now a break on both cams. Paradecam is holding up well despite some
starts and stops. DSU cam is good. No audio on it but good steady
stream. Better picture quality than the Paradecam. But the Paradecam
has hosts and people like Jeff are worth listening to. His
accomplices, while smarter than the usual, are not worth listening
to. At least they aren't screaming like some of the other accomplices.

(Might as well post this since there is a break in the action.)

Sat 2/2 Iris, Tucks, Endymion?

Endymion from a different place than where their camera was for the webcast... (edited post facto)



I tune in about 10 after 12 NY time. RealPlayer stops within 30 seconds. I restart it and it is ok for awhile.

Jeff is hosting.

DSU cam is black. I wonder why.

RealPlayer stops again. This isn't good. I may not be able to watch. I switch to RealOne Player. See how that does.

I give up on DSU cam. (12:22 NY time)

Nice ladybig plushie.

Damn Yankee story? Do tell!

Baby seal.

Blue then black screen w/ sparkles... weird (12:28 NY time) Audio is fine. Then it is fine. Then it happens again. Then RealOne Player stops.

I restart it. Getting blue flashes then is ok.

It stops again. I give up for now.

***

I return home at 6:15 pm NY time. The DSU cam has, I guess, Endymion on it. The Paradecam is up to the roof again. We see Arthur Hardy* and a DSU reproter on the DSU cam. Funny to watch them wait for the feed to go live, their being distracted by the parade behind them. Audio level is low.

*Make all those previous references Arthur Hardy, not Blaine Kern.

Arthur Hardy: "There's a lotta love here."

We see the parade off in the distance. DSU has again picked a spot where they can't see the parade well, can barely see it at all.

The paradecam is done yet the DSU cam still has the parade so where is the DSU cam? We see Mardi Gras Indians on trucks. This looks like Uptown somewhere. Where?

I watch, committed that I am.

One float has a searchlight that is bright even in the afternoon sun.

Two floats coming, both large heads that move with lights for eyes and mouth. They look great. Parade's moving slow when it moves at all.

7pm (NY time) the parade moves again. This float is a two-parter. Has building facades and the Superdome on it. Nice.

Maybe the DSU cam is on the corner of Orleans and Carrolton? Orleans and City Park? Floats are turning right from Orleans so I think it is Orleans and Carrolton. At least the sign looks like it says Orleans Ave but it's pretty hard to tell.

7:27 (NY time) Not alot going on.... The parade has stopped again. The other big-head float has yet to go around the corner and looks great, one big smile, all lit up. It changes from green to blue as it's eyes open and close. Gorgeous at night. "A Salute to Rudyard Kipling?" Broadway comedy and tragedy masks at each end, or just two comedy masks, I really didn't get to see the one at the back, I don't see how this is a salute to Rudyard Kipling.

The parade is now moving. Floats look great at night. People on them are showering the crowd with beads and other throws. It's raining beads. Like a snowplow flinging snow out of the way, beads are flying in a constant stream. Or a waterskier. Or like kids splashing in a pool, the water flying up are the beads.

A gorgeous Asian/Indian goddess on the next float. Blue face, red blouse. Thai? I'd say Siamese but that would be Thai these days.

The next float has a circular sun radiating on a pole in the front. That sun turns out to be a trumpet when I see it in profile. A god playing a trumpet.

A huge = long float now passing by. A three-parter.

DSU cam goes blue screen now. (7:50 PM NY time), Stream still working but blue screen. Not much point in waiting for this to get better...

More tomorrow.

Hermes, Krewe D'Etat, Morpheus, Muses

I missed the parades for Wed and Thurs. True to
New Orleans form, the website for WDSU still has
info for last Saturday's parades (Sparta,
Pegasus) at the top of the page for the Live
Streams with no info on anything since then. And
the page for this weekend's parades has info for
only last weekend's parades.

I will watch whatever parades will be on...

I am checking out WWOZ. I am not sure if I missed
the New Birth Brass Band. I think I did.

From WDSU's website:
>Watch the following parades live on WDSU.com:
>
>Friday, Feb. 1, 6 p.m.: Hermes, Krewe D'Etat, Morpheus, Muses
>
>Saturday, Feb. 2, 11 a.m.: Isis, Tucks
>
>Saturday, Feb. 2, 4 p.m.: Endymion
>
>Sunday, Feb. 3, 11 a.m.: Okeanos, Thoth, Mid-City, Babylon
>
>Sunday, Feb. 3, 5:15 p.m.: Bacchus
>
>Monday, Feb. 4, 5:15 p.m.: Proteus, Orpheus, Zeus
>
>Fat Tuesday: WDSU.com will stream WDSU's
>coverage of Mardi Gras live from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Good. I look forward to them

(HI to BourboJeff for mentioning my blog!! I'll
have to be on my best behavior, which is
challenging since the Paradecam is pooping out so
often...)

WDSU cam and Paradecam are working fine. No audio from the paradecam yet.
Hermes getting ready to go. Woman hosting on DSU.
I've the 2-cam switched feed going here, Nice!

(DSU has a Bourbon St cam but it is very high
above the street. I miss the Bourbocam.)

Woman w/ trooper. Audio is very low level. (Paradecam is back on the roof.)

Almost as if on cue, the marching band starts in.
The DSU cam has no view yet. Paradecam is still
on the roof but we can see the parade.

Paradecam has audio and host. BourboJeff? Good
level. Arthur Hardy is on cam on DSU cam but not
speaking and we're not getting their audio.
Sounds like BourboJeff. I'll probably keep both
audios on unless it gets too confusing.

DSU is missing the parade.

BourboJeff: "Back before electricity, New Orleans only got it recently..."

New float: the garden of earthly delights.

"Hermes, God of Commerce. Something NO really likes."

DSU cam is airing white noise. DSU cam is BEHIND
the crowd. Behind the tall ladders so they won't
be able to see anything. Will this change? They
can only see what is above the crowd. Bad...

I catch Blaine getting hit with some beads. He is oblivious!

Cupid and who? are the theme this year.

Girls being escorted by nuns... not costumers in nun's outfits.

Nice dancing from girls in blue.

The birth of Dionysus. (He butchers it.)

DSU audio is real low. Paradecam audio is a bit hot.

Shaw next.

95 floats tonight! Float #7 passes by.

Beautiful white dove float! The goddess plots revenge. (40:00)

Paradecam is not handheld and is mostly staying in one position. That's ok.

DSU cam is blue screen now but the stream is still working.

Oracle of Apollo.

We see Hermes doubloon.

Great dragon float.

DSU cam is back. See kids waving for beads behind
the crowd. Nice shot now from higher up. Whoa,
now they get really loud audio.... Mostly noise.

Nice Hermes throw. LA women vs TX women...

DSU cam is good now. Way up above the crowd.

Got you some titty beads?

Good dancing from band in white (55:34)

I'm guessing the DSU cam is abit downriver of the
Paradecam. It used to be slightly above the
paradecam. (Or else it it is WAY upriver. I'm
seeing on the Paradecam what might have been a
float I already saw on the DSU cam.)

Things seem to be done at the DSU cam. I'm seeing
vendors on the street whereas on the Paradecam
the parade is still going on. So the DSU cam must
be Uptown of the Paradecam.

Float 23. Rams with Golden Fleeces. (See LA State Police van on DSU cam.)

Talking Greek/Roman/Egyptian influences.

See Clydesdales on DSU cam.

Nice marching (1:15:35)

People walk faster than 15 minutes a mile...

Float 26. Psyche?

Paradecam has blue screen. Now is ok.

Float 27: Pleasure. Daughter of the lovers. "She
looks a little stoned on this float."

See fire engine on Paradecam. One drunk woman on mic.

Jeff got married recently. Spent the honeymoon in Gatlinberg, TN.

Krewe d'Etat coming up next. (Seeing LA State
Poice van on Paradecam so DSU cam is WAY uptown
of the Paradecam.)

NASCAR, no thanks.

See Clydesdales on Paradecam... (DSU cam's parade
is not moving so it will be along time before it
gets to the Paradecam.)

Nice skeletons!

D'Etats Dirty Dishes flyer held up to cam. Jeff
gets on cam. Great skeleton heads!

Parade is moving on the DSU cam. Big green float.

Tulane marching band.

Title float, E'Tat's Dirty Dishes.

DSU cam is rewinding! Now stuck on still.

Both cams are f'd up now. Now fixed.

Hilton float on DSU cam (8:41 NY time)

Paradecam shows Jen talking to husband on the phone.

Looks like Hilary on the float on the DSU cam now.

Guy with float sign but no float!

NC girl.

Hilton float passes Paradecam 10 minutes after it
passes the WDSU cam. OK. Now I have my bearings.

Nice drumming from marching band passing by P-cam.

Hillary float passes p-cam.

Lauren's husband is from South Dakota. His first
Mardi Gras. Lauren runs the ? watch on nola.com?

US Sin-Ate float.

Bush Whack float. "Regardless of your political
lean, if you don't have a sense of humor, not a
good place to be right now."

Half baked Alaska float. Energy/environmental.

Giant martini glass float on DSU cam.

(9:08 NY time) We lose the audio for the
Paradecam . Stream stops. I restart it. It looks
like it won't start. It thinks I have network
problems.

City Hall float on DSU cam.

Paradecam is out and I can't change players
because they don't offer that choice on the
windows I am getting. STUPID! I usually have that
choice but not now. I'd switch over to the
MediaPlayer feed but IT ISN'T BEING OFFERED.

DSU cam scene is stopped. Now it moves.

Paradecam is back. Martini glass is passing by. (9:28 NY time)

Paradecam is moving some, handheld?, so it covers what is happening better.

Seeing vendors on the DSU cam so that is the end of Krewe d'Etat.

Nice fluorescent lights on the Navy float.

Fire roasted pig = Don Imus!

Float 18...

Paradecam stream stops again... Can't start it. Goddamit!

I quit the RealPlayer again and it works. Jeff is
talking about pagans loosing Saturnalia to the
Christians! Heathens, thus came carnival. The
abridged Carnival as told by Jeff.

Mobile AL vs NO's Mardi Gras.

See fire engine on Paradecam.

Stream stops again. I have to quit it to get it
back. Morpheus next. (9:39 NY time)

No parade on the DSU cam yet so it's gonna be
awhile.... Just seeing the cop car now.

Plushy pervs. Like Jon Donley.

DSU cam audio is very low.

Paradecam vs Bourbocam. I miss Reese.

DSU cam has parade flowing.

GD Paradecam has stopped again.

Nice dancing, Helen Cock High School. Harvey, LA.

Nice marching band antics.

GD Paradecam keeps stopping. I have to quit it
and restart it to get it to work. What a pain.
(And a constant problem with watching and
listening to Mardi Gras and Jazz Fest.)BourboJeff
remarks on my blog!! Thinks I see blog on how the
media treats it. Well, sort of. It is more just a
log of what I see that I have tried to make a
little more readable, lately. Thanks, Jeff!
(Calls me lipwok.)

Shot of Fat Harry's!

Parade is stopped. King of Morpeus is still sitting there.

Paradecam stopped again.

Finally King's float moves. King Jerry.

RealPlayer stops again. Godamn it.

(RealPlayer started again) Nice cat float.

I'd be cool to see the truck floats lined up on
River Road. Anyone got any pics of that?

(RealPlayer stops again. I have to quit it and
restart it to get it going again.)

Funny Pope story!

GD RealPlayer stops again. ****! This is
happening every couple of minutes or so. VERY
frustrating. The DSU cam has been pretty stable.

10:45 NY time. Talking about Barkus parade. I
missed it too and don't seem much of anything
good on the net of it. The video was very
disappointing. Some good pics, especially one by
Jon Donley of that little dog with the jester's
cap on! (Which I think is from last year?)

"Do you know the Mr Bingle jingle?" and then the
GD RealPlayer stops again. Very tiresome to a)
quit it and restart it and b) write about it.
(10:49 NY time)

"That nun has a beard!... All the nuns have extra
parts." Jeff yelling out hey, pretty lady.

Now DSU cam has blue screen but is still streaming.

I see lots of blue flashing lights in the crowd. Cool.

Float 19, Hollywood South. 10:53 NY time. Now
RealPlayer stops again. I really am a masochist...

DSU cam still blue screen. Muses up next. 10:56 NY time

10:57 DSU cam is back up. Paradecam has stopped.
I can't take it anymore. I'm gonna watch only the
DSU cam. Sorry Jeff.

We see butterflies on poles. A giant purple slipper!

(I will listen to the Paradecam but won't watch and won't care if it stops.)

Penis police and Beadwhores partying together!

Rollergirls go by.

PC stops again. 11:05 NY time.

Woman got kissed by the Roller Girls.

Very cool flashing Muses shoes on poles!!

St Augustine band. (Sound is uneven but you get the idea.)

Guest Muse is Marva Wright! Well, alright.
(RealPlayer stops again. 11:10 NY time.)

There she goes sitting in the pink shoe!

Nice marching steps, Warren Easton Sr High. Nice band too.

26 floats in the Muses parade tonight. 768 riders.

(RealPlayer stops again. 11:15 NY time.)

Cool Bathtub float! With bubbles!!

Title float: All That Glitters? Jeff despairs,
not knowing the title. So close...

RP stops, 11:19 NY time.

Stilt walkers! Very cool! Dressed in black.

Some nice floats on the DSU cam. A house or tower
on one float. (When will we see you again, it
says.)

Nice throw with the mirrors on it.

Literally hitting on him!

Nice dancing girls in white. 11:25 NY time.

Czar Wash? float! (on the DSU cam) PC has stopped again, 11:26 NY time

The "When will I see you again" float arrives at
the Paradecam 11:32 NY time. Dedicated to the
contractors helping rebuild..." (Paradecam stops
so it is cut off!)

Good art on them? They look pretty crude on the webcam.

Czar Wash arrives, 11:36 NY time.

11:39 RP stops. DSU cam has blue screen. Hmm.

Wow, cool throw! (Psychedelic)

We see Elvis's on bikes go by! The Krewe of Elvis.

11:43 RP stops. DSU cam still has blue screen.
(Turning my firewall off. Maybe that will help.)
DSU still has blue screen.

The pink slips.

11:49 RP stops. DSU cam still has blue screen.

Chicks with wigs dancing! Nice! Or are those
helmets? Awful music but cool to see them all
dancing.

So, it seems to be that RealPlayer is stopping
every 5 minutes. Why? (Still blue screen with the
DSU cam. I guess I'll give up on them.)

Come on down to Fat Harry's to see this chicks bare ass...

Cameltoe steppers!!

"Daddy, who was the captain of Bacchus, Hi Daddy..."

All female brass band? (We don't hear them...)

I could do without this chick helping out.

Krewe d'Etat sounds like crudite! I always
thought it was a play on coup d'état...

Great. The Bearded Oysters! Love em!

RP dies again.

The Molassies!

Bad Girls, float 20.

We lose audio on the Paradecam, 12:13 NY time.
Pic is still working, for now. Audio comes back.

The chick says: "Mardi Gras tests the hand to eye
co-ordination of the natives." Good one.

Family Gras?

Float 25.

"I'm all about feminism. I love Muses. But these
girls can't throw!" Another good one from the
chick.

The parade ends. "Vendredi Gras." Another good one.

Bye all. Paradecam starts up at 11 tomorrow, 12 NY time. (2 hrs for this one)

Mardi Gras in Nyack

Today's Journal News had a story on Mardi Gras celebrations in Nyack (NY) this year. Kinda cutting it close, eh guys? Anyway, I look forward to it and will spend some time there for it.

Sparta and Pegasus, 1/26

(See video below)

We have a male announcer. Not a good camera position again, on the wrong side of the street. Cameraman isn't zooming in for much so we're far away. Stream is jerky too. (The old Copeland's? You mean the sign is still up and it isn't open anymore? How long has that been? Will it ever open up again? I guess they're keeping the site?)

Video goes black 25 minutes into it. Oh well. We hear audio but have no video. (Might as well be radio.) Larry from Minnesota says it (the temperature) is like an August day (in MN). Hear Jon Donley. (Keith and Lauren and Greg were the hosts earlier.) WDSU is tied in with the TP and nola.com. Hmmm.

'The return of gaps in parades is a sign that the city is coming back to it's same old usual self....'

32:00 They realize they have a problem with the stream. (And I am watching/listening still!) (It doesn't get fixed.)

Killing time, Jon; "How about those Saints?"

Pegasus probably won't run tonight. I'm assuming it didn't. (It does.)

One of the floats has a flat tire. We get this from a cop. Officer Deal. Good deal, Bad Deal?

The parade starts again. More radio. Good enough. I like radio. These hosts this yaer are MUCH better than the nola.com ones although I liked some of them alot. No more Charlie, thank you .I do miss Reese, Cory, BourboJeff, others.

Pegasus begins. (More radio, no video)

Hosts talk about the band Rush. Please...

Wayne and Gary are hosting. Jon Donley will post blog shortly after. Where? The Mardi Gras blogs on nola.com haven't been added to since January 6th! I have seen stories by Jon on the WDSU site. Haven't seen them on the TP site.

Why do they still have links to the Bourbocam? It's been dead for a long time.... As usual, New Orleans is lackadasical about keeping things up to date.

The DSU crew signs off one hour and 41 minutes after it started.

Host says he is from nola.com. Hmm.

I have a fan!

I have a fan for my blog. Me. That's it.

My Technorati ranking is 8,911,336. lol

Sat 1/26 , Pontchartrain, Shangra La

Pontchartrain, Shangra La, Sparta, Pegasus



I tune in at about 5 of 2 my time. No sound, beautiful picture though
and good stream. A cloudy day at (Copeland's, who's web site doesn't
have a NO location!) and St Charles. At least it isn't raining (much,
it is raining some but not like last night). No signs that the parade
is near starting, cops milling around, few people lined up.

Police mobile command center sets off at about 2:15, See a military
Humvee go by. DSU cam is on the wrong side of the street! See
motorcycles go by. Dune buggies throwing throws. I provide my own
soundtrack as the marching band goes by. Float! Throwing tons of
crap. Fish on front. (Carpi Sun?) Lots of overarm throwing. I thought
that was illegal? Stream getting a little jerky. Dancing girls are
mimicked by watchers.

I switch to the (nol.com) Paradecam. it is on the correct side of the
street and has sound. Fun, not obnoxious hosts, a guy and a girl. Not
sure how old the girl is, sounds young. There's a better quality
picture on the DSU cam but better POV on the paradecam and it has
sound. (They are both on the same corner, but the DSU cam is on the
NW corner.) And the DSU cam is several seconds behind the paradecam.
Gold Dusters dancing away. Woman announcer is an adorable blond....,
I switch DSU cam to tv and leave paradecam on. Now can tab between
the two, keeping the audio going! 2:57 my time

Shangra La
Using RealOne player but it is using up more of my CPU than
RealPlayer was. DSU feed is stuttering more. (I don't think it is me.)

Starts 3:17 my time. I have a two cam switched feed! lol Can't get
the Real feed to go full screen though. Now I have a two-cam split.
Not bad.

A kid comes up to the paradecam, "I'm Aiden. I'm from the great city
of New Orleans!" Well, alright!

Cool, both are full screen! (Use on screen control on RealPlayer) but
then I don't get to watch the QT player at all. Guy is talking
off-mic but we can hear him. Audio for the marching bulldogs is very
distorted. DSU feed is very jerky now.

Lots of marching band's dancers using a hop step. (Higgins High
School) Haven't seen that before. Male flag wavers? Skipping too.

AE Breedy says hi to wife in Seattle.

Imperial Children, from China?

I switch to the DSU cam for the floats, to the paradecam for the bands/flags.

Mt Carmel Carmelettes.

Woman host gets hit by beads, it hurts, she laughs.

Ice cream truck music while watching marching band.

Must be woman host's first Mardi Gras. She asks why the parades stop
in the middle.

Good looking high school dancers, mostly blond, with terrible music.
(Before Land of the Matador float)

"Lotta dance companies from Kennah (Kenner)".

(35% CPU!)

Different dance steps. Leaping, one foot hops.

DSU cam has stopped. 4:25 pm my time I restart it.

Big Easy Rollergirls.

Vietnamese Young Leaders of New Orleans dragons!, Riverside Ramblers.

Sparta at 6, paradecam signs off. 4:30 my time. DSU cam still going.
Still more floats! Maybe I'm seeing reruns... I am.

Oshun

I start up the WDSU cam at about 10 of 7 my time. It's raining badly.
I can hear a band coming in the distance! Great stream quality! A
beautiful picture. Here they come, they're smiling! The parade must
go on! I'm nice and warm inside and it's only a little colder
outside: 27 vs 37 in NO. Floats are throwing stuff, alright. The DSU
on air talent goes to to talk to some parade watchers: "we're crazy!"
we hear them say off camera. The cameraman yells to the king as his
float passes by, "King!". "He didn't do nuthin", after... People
inside their cars, to stay out of the rain, honk their horns in
appreciation. The on air talent goes to get some more sound bites,
brings back a black family, "We're going to be on tv! one of the
children says excitedly. Then the signal goes dead. I restart it and
see what turns out to be the beginning of the whole thing repeated.

On restart, I see Pygmalion has been rescheduled. I give up as player
won't play. They have probably stopped the feed.

We'll see if the video ends up on the internet. It isn't up yet.

the first parade, Krewe Du Vieux

Here is the video from the TP/nola.com ex-Bourbocam host, Jester/Jon Donley.
(Audio from him)(He catches a Golden Bagel.)

The notes below are from my watching the WDSU cam.

My first glimpse of the WDSU cam was of a lady in a red dress with
cone tits that had cans of whipped cream inside them which she could
dispense! I forget what she called herself. What a great concept!

The WDSU feed looked good! (Quicktime) A little mottled but not bad
and a good strong stream, good internet speed.

(What I saw in the order it came in )
The cameraman yelled at people to get out of the way. A menora. Lots
of pirates. The cult of landscaping. Lots of Egyptian outfits. People
covered w/ cash. A good brass band by the record player float. Single
sperm cells on sticks. A smoking gun float. A devil float w/ ex-Mayor
Morial's (and other's) pics on the side. A float as Senator Vitter's
family values meal (Wendy's parody). A woman who was going as a
shit-head said "When life gives you poo, make mushrooms!" Lots of
mushrooms. Skeletons. We all live in a Jello-shot machine float (a
parody of the Beatles Yellow Submarine). A paper-mache' guy getting
an enema on one float. A girl gave the camera some beads and kissed
it. (Love is in the air!) A kaos sign. A woman is interviewed. Her
group are the LRA (Louisiana Recovery Authority). The theme - "You
never give us the money" (spoof of the Beatles song) the theme of the
parade this year being the Magical Misery Tour. She said "People are
miserable but it is still a great place to be." (God bless her and
those trying to make NO come back.). The parade had passed by at this
point. They then interviewed a kid. His favorite part of the parade?
The penis tank! They interview a couple. They interview a guy named
Greg, "The parade was fast cuz it was cold." His favorite part:
Spermes, a spoof of Hermes. The WDSU techies talked for awhile.

So, not quite like the Bourbocam but not bad. No constant yakking
like the Boubo/Paradecam hosts but they did do some properly
journalistic interviews. I am looking forward to the rest!

Eh la bas!

More info on the Krewe du Vieux here:
http://www.kreweduvieux.org/

Here is last year's. My new favorite parade...

The Millennial Territory Orchestra plays Prince's 'Darling Nikki' at Tonic, 4/9/07.

MTO Darling Nikki 4-9-07
Uploaded by sharpiepen

"Get In My Belly!!!"

"Get In My Belly!!!", originally uploaded by The Voice of Eye.

(Click on the pic to read what it's about.)

From a comment he made on another Flickr pic, the photographer, The Voice of Eye says:

"Can't think of any other place I'd rather be... Though I'm sure the playful and provokative adolescence of Krewe du Vieux might put some people off... that's part of what I love about this place. Pushing the boundaries of free speech and having a great time without trying to be something we're not..."

Amen.

How to prepare for being in a parade...

Getting ready for the first parade tonight at 7:30 NY time, The Krewe
du Vieux (Doo?), (which apparently will be streamed live on WDSU probably here: http://www.wdsu.com/mardigras/index.html ), I ran
across the Krewe Dy Vieux's guide on how to prepare for the parade.
A good guide to the behind the scenes of how a Mardi Gras parade is done.
How would you corral 900 drunks?

Check out the Brass Bands in this parade!

* Kirk Joseph
* Trombone Shorty
* Treme Brass Band
* Paulin Brothers Brass Band
* Stooges Brass Band
* Free Agents Brass Band
* Hot 8 Brass Band
* James "12" Andrews
* Da Truth Brass Band
* Rebirth Brass Band
* Panorama Brass Band
* The Jazzmen
* Charles Joseph
* Down N Dirty Jazz Band
* The Soul Rebels
* New Birth Brass Band
* Bone Tone Brass Band

Most of the best brass bands in NO!

The ball afterwards features:
Late Night Trip by Quintron and Miss Pussycat!!

More info on the Krewe du Vieux here:
http://www.kreweduvieux.org/

A Day In The Life Of My Cat, 1/8/08

I thought I would document a day in the life of my cat. See the slideshow on YouTube above.

She usually sleeps with me so when I wake up in the morning, she'll be there on the bed. When I wake she'll come over and lie down so that she is connected to me somehow, her back, her butt, whatever. I pet her and she'll purr. She purrs alot.

I get up eventually. Today, like many, she stayed on the bed sleeping. After my shower, she likes to drink some bathtub water. I guess it is fresher than what I have in her water bowl.

I get dressed and shave, then have breakfast. After breakfast I give her her shot of insulin. Lately, the routine is for me to round her up from wherever she is and herd her to the kitchen. Hopefully she will jump up on the table which is amazing and today she did that. I assume she knows it is time for the shot but I don't know if she wants it by jumping up on the table. I am just glad she does it.

She certainly doesn't enjoy the shots. Today, despite "assuming the position" which is the first time I've seen that, she hissed and was mad at me for injecting her. Sometimes she'll lash out and scratch me. I don't enjoy giving her her shot.

After, I give her her pill, Marin, for her liver. That gets put in a Pill Pocket, a WONDERFUL thing that I can't recommend enough. Getting a cat to take a pill is a miracle so something like Pill Pockets which the cat usually likes, is a godsend.

I also fed her some dry food.

After that I go read the paper and check e-mail. She sat on the table, either looking out or asleep.

Later she sacked out on the floor in the main room. I think she is sleeping more than before. Either old age or a possible reaction to the insulin/blood sugar problem. We see the vet this Friday.

(about noon)

I try to interest the cat in trying out the leash since it is a nice day out and maybe she might like to go out. I wouldn't let her our on her own at this point. She complained, hovered by the ground so eventually I took it off. This is the second time I have tried using the leash. Maybe some day she won't mind and we can go outside. No pics of this.

I go outside. It's 70 or so in the sun. I see the cat in the upstairs window.

She returns to the stereo cabinet to look at the birds.

Then she goes to eat again. Then to the kitchen table to smell the fresh air.

3:53 pm

She eats some more then wanders by me in my chair. Then to the bathroom to sniff around. Eventually she ends up on my lap.

I go out. When I come back she is sleeping, curled up on my chair. When I sit down, she leaves and goes to sit in the bathtub, one of favorite places to sit these days. It used to be that that was where she went when she wasn't feeling good. I don't think that is the case now but it could be. (I haven't seen her go into the closet much lately but she has disappeared in this tiny house sometimes and either one of the two closets are where she is likely hiding in. As often as she's been hiding she has been finding a place nearby just to be near me too so that is nice.)

6 pm

Cat has disappeared. I guess she is in one of the closets. Last time I saw her, she was in the bathtub.

She appears around 7. I feed her. Then she moves into the bathroom, jumps up onto the toilet seat, which usually means she wants to look out the window there. I opened the window for her, leaving the storm window down, but she didn't want to jump up onto the windowsill. She has had trouble in the past few months jumping up onto things she used to do easily but this may have been just a case of not wanting to rather than not being able to.

7:40 pm

She's sleeping, Sphinx-like, on the chair now. This has been a favorite spot for awhile.

8:50 pm

Cat eat some more. Now she's sleeping by the corduroy chair.

8:57 pm

Cat leads me around the house. We go to the kitchen. She pokes her head into the cupboard and a closet. To the bathroom. To the front door. She ends up back in the kitchen, eating.

9:30 pm

Has been sleeping on my lap for awhile, snoring slightly. Very cute.

9:50 pm

She's wandering around, looking for something interesting in the same old house she's lived in for 5 years. Now she's resting by the bathroom door.

10:30 pm

She comes over to be petted, ends up sitting in my lap, facing me, purring. She loves to bury her head into my wrist as I pet her so I indulge her often. Her other most favorite thing is to have her tummy scratched. Loves it. She'll direct my hand to her belly and then stare at me as I scratch her. I have never seen a cat do either of these. She does it all the time.

10:56 pm

She gets up to eat again.

11:17 pm

Eating again.

11:23 pm

She poops then runs to the bathroom and elsewhere. She sometimes howls after going to the bathroom (her litterbox) and does so tonight. I don't know why she does this. Often she'll run around the house before she poops. I guess it helps things.

11:30 pm

She sniffs around the front door then sits there. Later, she moves up to the top of the stereo cabinet and goes to sleep.

I get sleepy around then too and end the picture taking.

New Orleans, Mon Amour

This might be interesting. A movie called New Orleans, Mon Amour
http://www.neworleansmonamour.com/NOMA%2011-27-Trailer.mov
Done by the director of the movie Hamlet that was set in NYC, Michael
Almereyda.

New Orleans, Mon Amour indeed.

Mardi Gras is coming up, Feb 5th!

From WWOZ's "Mardi Gras Central"
http://wwoz.org/community/mardigras/

Parades start on 1/19. I doubt any of them will be webcast by OZ but
maybe they'll do a webcam like they have in the past. See the parade
schedule at WWOZ or http://www.nola.com/mardigras/

Tom Morgan's Annual Mardi Gras Indian Extravaganza
Jan. 29th 11 am - 2 pm New Orleans Time
Three hours of Mardi Gras Indian music and history with John Sinclair
joining in !

David Kunian's Indian Show
Jan. 29th sometime between ten and midnight, New Orleans Time
David Kunian will be doing 2 hours of Mardi Gras Indian music with
special guests.

I guess OZ will have some live in studio shows/guests too so that
should be fun.

And on NOLA.com...
http://www.nola.com/mardigras/

Paradecam starts Friday, January 25, 2008 at 6 p.m (NO time)

Catch the Bourbocam, although it isn't being called that anymore, here:
http://www.earthcam.com/usa/louisiana/neworleans/bourbonstreet/

I'll do my usual Mardi Gras Day celebration eat and drink-a-thon and
be watching and listening as much as possible then as well as
catching the parades beforehand on the Paradecam and checking out
Bourbon St if it is worthwhile.

WKCR may be doing some Mardi Gras music too so check them out. 89.9
FM in the NYC area, http://www.columbia.edu/cu/wkcr/

some good Prince music

Listened to some great live Prince bootleg tunes on Morning Dew on WBAI tonight. Go
to the archives at WBAI here: http://archive.wbai.org/ (Only for 2
weeks though) and look up Saturday, 9-11pm,1/5/08.

The sound isn't great, no high end but lots of bass and since it was
recorded in the crowd, you hear people all around whoever was
recording it. Some great grooves. I taped 90 minutes of the Prince
stuff but there was more before and after that.

New Year's at my house this year

On the menu:
a large shrimp cocktail, some leftover Boston cream pie, a Hormel
"Compleats" roast beef and mashed potatos dinner (with "beef like
flavor" as an ingredient, I swear to god!), the remains of some not
Bailey's but McCormick's Irish Cream. ice tea and eggnog at other
times. (Sometimes together. My version of Thai ice tea...) I also
have some double-chocolate Milanos but I don't think I'm going to get
to them.

Listening to:
FMU in the afternoon and evening.

WNYC
Listened to Paul Winter's solstice celebration at the Cathedral of St
John the Divine. Nice to hear Wolf Eyes again after so long. I
remember playing that in the early 80s when I first got that record.
Hearing the cicadas sawing and the wolf's cries. Still moves me. And the
crowd howls along en masse! Bravo! And then to hear Minuit. Heaven.

Prairie Home Companion is re-running last year's show at the Ryman in
Nashville but are playing some good cuts from various shows before
that. In particular, Joe Ely's I'm Gonna Live Forever.

WBAI
Will listen to Peter Bochan's Short Cut through 2007 at 11.
Best line so far: "Hi. I'm Art Buchwald and I just died." (His real
obit!) Otherwise, I don't think I'll save any of it. I must be out of
touch with things audio. I didn't recognize many of the soundbites.

Watching:
Various channels. Later, CNN looking at various New Year's Eves around the world with
the sound off, listening to Short Cuts.

And poking around the web.

The ball drops 8 seconds after my computer's clock says it is New
Years. Who's right? timeanddate.com says I am...

12 minutes after midnight. What else is on tv...

Happy New Year, world.