Mardi Gras 2013

Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,

Well, I finally have a few minutes to load some pictures from my trip... so here they are. I'm going to warn you that the quality is not the best... and here's why. First off, my camera doesn't take good night photos (if you may recall from past posts), secondly it got dropped about half way through the trip (not by me) so you may notice when it's no longer being used, thirdly my phone's battery doesn't do too hot... so there are only a few pictures from it, & fourthly the camera that Filly lent me had some bad scratching on the center of its lens so you'll see some blurry images. With the being said... here you are...

Super Bowl - I arrived the night before the big game... and basically just wandered around Jackson Square with Filly after work... and then we ended up watching the game (since I didn't have tickets or want to deal with Bourbon Street) at her place. She's not a football fan or anything... but she said she had fun watching it with me as we made our commentaries about the commercials. Anyway, here are some pictures...

CBS basically owned Jackson Square

During the following week, there was a few days of no big events, so I went with Filly to the ceramics class that she teaches at a senior center... and the ladies were amazing & awesome... and we got to play with some clay. The rest of the week, we had Mardi Gras parades to attend... and she even got to be in a few small ones, like the one below on Bourbon Street (she's the lady leading the mule-drawn cart)

 

Filly in front of her future home... hopefully...

 

The gate is a literal "Cocke" blocker

 

Filly in the parade on Bourbon Street

(apparently sponsored by Southern Comfort)

Then we went to one of our favorites parades, the trio of the Krewes of Babylon, Chaos & Muses... where we basically screamed & drank & had fun for about five hours in a parade...

 

Yes, there was a dancing group of Rick Jameses...

but the camera didn't take any good pics except this one

Then Saturday, Filly had some of her friends from work come over & we had a big crawfish & lobster broil because she lives only a few blocks from the parade route for the Krewe of Endymion. The food... magnificent. The people... cool cats. This parade was also where the camera got dropped... like right at the beginning... but it's okay, because the crawfish pics are all good... and then there are a few from the camera... enjoy... and tell me them mudbugs don't look delicious!

One day while Filly was working, I thought it'd be awesome to go check out the WWII Museum which is regarded as the premiere WWII Museum in the nation, probably the world. It didn't disappoint., I highly recommend that anybody check it out who's in the area & even slightly interested. There was also a special exhibit by the NFL Hall of Fame!!! Also, there was a parade a few blocks away...

 

Troy Aikman has small hands...

 

And you thought Germans were the only ones with

horrible propaganda... they even had an episdoe of "Popeye"

Then on Fat Tuesday, the last day of Mardi Gras, the weather was acting up (as it had been for a few of the days) but that didn't keep me from going to the parade of the Zulu Nation a few blocks from Filly's house... and I have to say, it was probably my favorite! Met a great family there, caught a lot of beads for the kids... and they thanked me by giving me on of the Zulu Coconuts that they had gotten. I'm sure it might not sound like much to those who don't know... but it's a great throw & a time honored tradition... so thanks y'all! I gave it to Filly because she made this all possible...

Not sure why... but I really like this photo...

Well, then I flew back on Valentine's Day & you all pretty much know how it's gone from there. I'm finally caught up at work for the time being... and Dizzy & have been having fun. The next entry will be our adventures to the Asian Art Museum... and a Pole Dancing show. Yup... trust me... you want to miss that episode. Have a great weekend everybody!!!

The City Kidnapped Gretchen!!!

Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,

Well... it was bound to happen but somebody finally stole Gretchen. And no... it wasn't some asshat looking to take her on a joy ride... or some crackhead, who usually don't have the qualities needed for stealing a vehicle... or an international spy needing to commandeer it for a fantastic getaway chase or anything... but rather some knob-gobbling asshat in a trucker hat and probably unemployable by any other standards, who was hired by the city of San Francisco to go kidnap cars and hold them for ransom... or more commonly known as a tow truck driver. Why was it stolen? Allegedly it was blocking a driveway (it wasn't) but I have no proof... and the tow company by law doesn't give refunds... and God knows the City of San Francisco isn't just going to say "Here... take your $501 ransom back... our bad... oh, you got a $98 ticket with it too? Well schucks, we'll just wave that off too. Kazaam!!!" So in short, f**k the city of San Francisco... and I refuse to break for Meter Maids from now on... or tow truck drivers... if they're in the street, in my lane, they're fair game. Watch yo back, b**ches!!!

Anyway, other than that, one good thing did come out of Wednesday night when it happened. I got to have a meal with Bubbles to catch up & thank her for covering for me while I was out of town. We had dinner at Gracias Madre in the Mission... and it's a Vegan restaurant... but surprisingly good. I highly recommend it if you're into that whole vegan thing.

The New Orleans pictures are now loaded on my computer... but there's a lot to cyphen through... so instead I'm going to blab about a few movies I saw over the weekend... and show you some pictures from the Chinese New Year Parade on Saturday. Here's the latter:

Starting off this week's movie capades... is "Jack the Giant Slayer" starring Nicholas Hoult as Jack and the likes of Ewan McGregor, Ian McShane & Stanley Tucci along with the voice talents of many Englishmen... and from the director of "The Usual Suspects" & the original X-Men Trilogy. Basically it's the retelling of Jack & the Beanstalk... but with CGI, a little more character development, a love story & all the usual stuff that you would expect in a big budget movie... and it's actually done pretty well. Sure, it's a little predictable but it's what you expect... and even funny at times. There are some major loopholes in the story & execution of it (WHAT? In a fairy tale movie?) primarily with regards to the giants... but hey, it's a kids flick for all ages. I highly recommend it.

Next up was "Looper" starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt & Bruce Willis. The key to really enjoying this movie... is just to accept that the only application for time travel in the future is for the Mafia to send people back in time to get whacked. Apparently the future doesn't have the Nevada desert or something. There's a mafia mutt / drug addict (Levitt) who executes the people sent back through time to him... until one day, they send back him thirty years in the future (Willis). Well, apparently he gets craftier in 30 years & escapes... and hyjinx ensue as now the mafia is after both of them... and you throw in some telekinetic powers... and it's actually a pretty good movie despite trying to tell you the plot. Again, take it with a little bit of disbelief. It's kind of like Terminator if instead of a robot being sent back to kill an unborn child... it's some guy getting sent back through time to get whack himself. Wait... that doesn't sound good at all. Just go ahead & check it out if you want. You don't care about loopholes in the story. Bruce Willis is in it. Sold.





Next is "Beasts of the Southern Wild" which is a story about a little girl in southern Louisiana (Bayou country) during Hurricane Katrina and just living in that environment. It was very imaginative & enjoyable... and being a fan of Louisiana (and nearly going out to that area during my latest visit), you have to respect those crazy rednecks who live in that kind of environment living off the land... or the water more appropriately. You want to check this movie out. I know it gets all the Oscar buzz & all that... but yeah, it's actually pretty cool... and it's only 90 minutes.

Next up was a find on Netflix called "FDR: American Badass" starring Barry Bostwick. It's a straight to DVD comedy about FDR (Bostwick) and his being stricken with polio by a werewolf bite (true story) and how he became the president of the United States shortly after... and defeated the Nazi werewolf axis of evil (unconfirmed). The movie is actually pretty funny in a sophemoric way (allegedly there are other ways) but yeah, it's not going to win any awards... the humor is crass at times... but then again, I'm kind of a fan of that. Fun fact: Kevin Sorbo ("Hercules") is in it!!! See if you can find where he shows up.

Lastly is "Centurion" starring Michael Fassbender, Dominic West & Olga Kurylenko. Set in 2nd century Britain/Scotland, it's the story of a man (Fassbender) whose the lone survivor of a Roman legion that is basically destroyed by an army of Pilts (Scots of the day). He escapes & meets up with another army, they're devastated, and the few survivors basically spend the rest of the movie trying to get back to their people & avoid the Pilts, led by a vengeful leader and an expert tracker (Kurylenko). If you liked movies such as "Pathfinder" or "King Arthur" or "Braveheart" fight scenes, I think you'll really enjoy this flick. It's from the director of "The Descent" so that's a hint that it gets pretty bloody & is beautifully shot... so enjoy if that's your thing.

Anyway, that'll do it for tonight. Hope you enjoyed & I'll get the New Orleans pics up asap. Have a great day everybody!!!