Returning to the Blog

I am returning to this blog! I've been absent too long. The life disturbances that sidetracked me are mostly resolved or gone away for now, so I want to get back on track. I've rejoined a large writers' group in which I once was active. I'm attending the weekly meetings of my small writers' group. Now I just have to get back to actual writing.

2011 was an interesting year, but also tragic.

On the interesting side, I met a writer whom I knew only through his blog -- Steve Malley. Steve's an American who's lived in New Zealand for many years. He came back to the States for a convention here in New Orleans and decided to meet up with some of his N.O. blogger friends. My group got together with him for dinner at one of our popular seafood restaurants and we had a great time. We all immediately felt comfortable with him. We wished he could've stayed in town longer so we could get together with him again. I've read Steve's book Crossroad Blues, a thriller with a touch of horror to it. Steve has a real talent for painting pictures with his words, and for sustaining suspense. The book has a very creepy killer and an interesting premise. I hope to see more of his hero character, Kane, in a future book.

On the tragic side, my mother died in August, aged 87. I want to post a tribute to her, but haven't felt ready to do it yet. I'll put it up one day soon. Another tragic event occurred, but I can't speak of that yet.

It's a new year, and I've always loved the idea of New Year's Resolutions. Although I haven't made any formal ones so far this year, I've made "change your life" my motto for the year.

Mariachi Beluga

Surreal: A Mariachi band plays "Yellow Bird" to a Beluga whale through aquarium glass and the Beluga nods its head in time to the music, obviously enjoying the concert...another great video via my favorite daily-refreshment website, Cute Overload:

http://cuteoverload.com/2011/08/05/whale-treasures-fiesta/

I discovered from the comments by the blog readers that the aquarium is in Mystic, Connecticut, and the Beluga is a young one named Juno, verified here.

This makes me wistfully recall my long-held secret desire to learn to play the ukulele. My golden years are here, so maybe now's the time. I could serenade the penguins at the Audubon Aquarium.

Storywonk Story Generator

Having trouble coming up with a good idea for a new story or book? Try Storywonk's Story Generator. 


Here are a couple of ideas it gave me tonight: 

He's a psychotic fashion designer with an MBA from Harvard; she's a charismatic geek with an attractive smile. Together, they must learn to use their special powers before midnight. 

 He's a selfish con artist with no sense of humor; she's a respected millionaire with one leg. Together, they must put on a show in the midst of a farce.

Beaucoup entertainment for any writer!

(The site owners do warn: The small print: the StoryWonk Story Generator is not intended for serious use, and the StoryWonk minions are not responsible for any distraction, insomnia, skin rashes or fantastic novels which may result from its use.) 

TV or Not TV, That Is the Question

(Sorry to rip off Hamlet's most famous line, but I can't resist corny puns.) 

Today's Topic: Television.

For years I spent little time on TV viewing. I was a Reader. I found most TV shows boring or inane -- to me it was indeed the boob tube.


In recent years, however, I've changed. I spend as much time watching TV as I do reading or online. I've discovered shows in syndicated reruns that I never viewed when they were in active production: Seinfeld, The Office, Boston Legal, Scrubs, NCIS, Criminal Minds. (Yes, I know NCIS and Criminal Minds are still in production, but they both have a long list of past seasons to rerun for my viewing pleasure.)

More than reruns, however, I've found new cable TV series that are thoroughly engrossing--well-written, with great production values and wonderful performances: Deadwood, Game of Thrones, Justified, The Killing, Rubicon, Treme, True Blood, The Walking Dead, Boardwalk Empire. These are all cable network productions, and at least half of them from HBO. I have a kind friend who not only subscribes to HBO, but also has a giant TV, so viewing these shows in her living room is a home version of a movie theater experience.

(Ah, with what scorn I used to look down on people who placed such importance on their televisions as to make them the centerpiece of their homes. Now I wish I had a giant TV. Shades of Fahrenheit 451? But no, I still read. I don't get all my information from TV. A lot of it comes from the Internet, and I still subscribe to my hometown newspaper.)

I digress. Anyway, I recommend the series I've mentioned above, all excellent entertainment, and some of them thought-provoking. And good for writers, too, because they're so well-written. You can sink into them purely for pleasure, or you can sit back and analyze them from an authorial point of view, to learn helpful do's and don'ts for the modern writer. (Because, frankly, nowadays readers like things that are written like movies or TV--lots of dialogue and action, low on expository passages and narrative.)

You can get any of them in DVD for past seasons. My Netflix queue grows longer every day.

Donuts!

 I love donuts. There's a new donut shop in New Orleans called Blue Dot that's getting rave reviews. In addition to the usual varieties, it has some exotic flavors on the menu -- Red Velvet, Maple Glazed with Bacon, Key Lime Crumb, Almond Joy -- to name just a few of the fancies. They also sell ice cream in only-in-New-Orleans flavors: Creole Cream Cheese, Bananas Foster, White Chocolate Bread Pudding, Nectar Soda, Chocolate City Chocolate. (The ice cream is produced by New Orleans Ice Cream Co., not by Blue Dot.)

Photo by Rusty Costanza, The Times-Picayune
Blue Dot owners: Brandon Singleton,
Dennis Gibliant, Ronald Laporte

The part that really tickles me is that it's owned by ... wait for it ... COPS! 

Plus it's in my old stompin' grounds, Mid-City -- Canal Street at North Hennessey. I gotta try it soon. Next time I eat at Mandina's, I'll stop at Blue Dot for dessert!

Quickmeme

Judgmental Bookseller Ostrich

I just discovered Quickmeme, a website that allows posters to add their own caption to a photo. It's hilarious! The only ones I've looked at so far are Judgmental Bookseller Ostrich and Business Cat, and there are so many versions of each I couldn't view them all.

Business Cat

There are lots of other Quickmemes, too. Try it, you'll like it!

The E-Book Revolution

During my hiatus from blogging, I managed to keep up with my weekly writers' group meetings. I haven't done any creative writing in a very long time, but just being around my writer buddies keeps me from wallowing in the stews of anxiety. Our discussions--works-in-progress, books being read, developments in publishing--are soothing and reassuring. My own writing interests and ambitions have long been in stasis, but I enjoy their successes vicariously and I value their esteem. To the Wordsmiths group--Charles Gramlich, Laura Rowland, Steve Harris, Candice Proctor, Rexanne Becnel, Pam Ahearn, Marie Goodwin--thanks for being there.

Sony Reader

E-publishing has been one of our regular discussion topics for quite a while. The increasing popularity of e-books and the resulting huge changes in traditional publishing concern us all. Our individual opinions run the gamut: Some of us have been eager to embrace the new technology (I myself own a Sony Reader and a NookColor reader); some are gingerly learning about it and trying it out; some have sworn never to read an e-book. We all are stunned by reports of huge sales of a few writers' backlists in e-book form (e.g., Barbara Freethy) and writers who became popular and successful through e-books alone (e.g., Amanda Hocking).

NookColor e-reader

The biggest change that e-publishing works is that many authors e-publish without a traditional publisher. They are self-published or, as it's coming to be called, "indy" published. This wreaks havoc with the financial aspects of the publishing business. Established publishers don't earn money from authors' self-published works nor, in most cases, is there an agent involved. One of the members of my writers' group is an agent, so this directly affects her future in the business. 

As an unpublished author, it's encouraging to think I can get my work out to the world despite rejection by traditional publishers, but it's discouraging to realize how few self-e-published authors earn significant money. (There will be very few Amanda Hockings.) As a reader, it's encouraging to realize there will be more variety on the reading market--we won't be locked into books published only to follow trends; we'll get to see good work that was rejected by a traditional publisher as not marketable enough.  On the other hand, we readers also will have to wade through a lot of dreck that people will e-publish, because without screening via review by an agent and/or editor, some really bad work is going online. 

Kindle e-reader

One way or the other, e-publishing is the future. Paper books won't die, but more and more people will go to e-readers. As much as I love books (and I own thousands of them), I love the idea of being able to carry hundreds of books with me in one small e-reader. I long ago ran out of shelf space in my home for traditional books; being able to store them invisibly in a device the size of a single slender volume is appealing.

I'll still want to keep paper books around. After all, what if I have to do without electricity for a while and can't recharge my e-reader? (I can never forget the post-Katrina morass of loss of power, etc.) The idea of going without reading material terrifies me! So next time I evacuate for a storm, I'll carry my e-readers with me...but I'll also bring some paper books. Just to be safe. 

Return of the Prodigal Blogger

Greetings, my friends and readers! I'm lucky you can still find my blog. I've had a long blank spell. My last entry was nearly seven months ago. During the past couple of years I've endured serious family issues and  worrisome health problems. I let go of extraneous activities to manage day-by-day responsibilities. I couldn't focus on things that took mental effort, like composing blog posts. Instead I became a viewer. I watched television a lot. I Web-surfed and read other peoples' blogs. I read books, although sometimes reading novels took more effort than I could muster.

Time heals or it kills. Months have passed, situations have changed. The family issues have partly resolved, which relieves a lot of my anxiety. I'm coping with the health problems. I want to return to life as I once knew it. I've adopted that corny-but-true old saw from the 1960s:

I'm back in the blogosphere and I hope to post on a regular basis.

Confessions of a Book Fiend

Too true, alas, all too true...

INCIDENTAL COMICS: Confessions of a Book Fiend

New Favorite Humorous Website

I have a few favorite humorous websites I check regularly to get a few laughs. The newest is Oddly Specific, which showcases peculiar signs, signs that are...well, oddly specific! Here's a sample. (If photos don't display properly, click on box & link will take you to site.)


see more funny videos


see more funny videos


see more funny videos


see more funny videos


see more funny videos

The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead is a new series on cable channel AMC (American Movie Classics). It's a six-episode miniseries about a zombie apocalypse, where the live people are trying to figure out how to survive. (There seem to be far more Living Dead than Living Living.) It's really well done, with excellent production values and good actors, good writing, classy ambiance (okay, "classy ambiance" & "zombie movie" sound like a contradiction in terms, but it's classy for a zombie movie). The Associated Press critic loved it. I recommend it, unless you just can't stomach the peeling flesh, partially-rotted corpses, etc., that are the stock-in-trade of zombie movies. The AP article on the show has interesting comments from a couple of the network execs:

One big surprise for viewers who thought they knew the zombie-film genre: an across-the-board humanity resonating in the "Walking Dead" saga.


"There are sequences where zombies are actually humanized," notes Joel Stillerman, AMC's head of original programming. "The series has an empathetic point of view that isn't just about the survivors but about the zombies, too.

"Transcending gore for gore's sake was very important to us," he says.

Adds AMC president Charlie Collier, "It's a character drama about survival, where the characters are faced with decisions of 'What would you do, given this adversity? Who would you be? Would you stay or go? Lead or follow?' These are universal themes."

Michael Connelly & Steve McQueen



Michael Connelly

USA Today has a good article on Michael Connelly, author of the Harry Bosch detective series and the Mickey Haller "Lincoln Lawyer" series. Connelly has become one of my favorite writers. I love his Harry Bosch series.
The article page also features a video interview of Connelly, in which he reveals that his vision of the best actor to play Harry Bosch onscreen is the late Steve McQueen. Connelly says when he created Harry Bosch, he was picturing McQueen in his role as the detective Bullitt.



 

Steve McQueen in
The Great Escape



That was a surprise to me, because I hadn't pictured Bosch as being anything like McQueen. But then, it's been a long long time since I saw the movie Bullitt. I'll have to put that on my NetFlix queue. My favorite of the roles he played was his character in The Great Escape, Virgil Hilts, "The Cooler King."



McQueen, who was nicknamed the King of Cool, died 30 years ago. If he'd survived he'd be 80 years old now. It's hard to picture an 80-year-old Steve McQueen.



Followup on San Fermin

To follow-up my post on the Running of the Bulls in New Orleans, the fourth annual San Fermin in Nueva Orleans event was a big success. An estimated 8,000 people participated, with nearly 300 "bulls" consisting of not only New Orleans' Big Easy Rollergirls but also teams of rollergirls from surrounding states.

Below is a video of parts of the run itself. The video starts at the back of the Rolling Elvi and moves through them to the group escorting the fake "St. Fermin" statue (in imitation of the procession with the St. Fermin statue that opens the Pamplona fiesta). Later on you'll see the runners and the rollergirl bulls. (I love the creativity of the bulls' headgear--who'da thunk there were so many ways of putting horns on helmets?)

(Photo by John McCusker/The Times-Picayune)



© Video. neworleans.com © Photo. Nolabulls.com / facebook

I don't know how they could stand the scorching heat, but I guess that's why the organizers set the run for early in the morning. It looks like everyone had a great time. What wonderful silliness!

Oh, and here's some late-breaking news (meaning I just found it via Google). The New Orleans festival this year also included competitions among the "bulls":  One for the best dressed bull; the other for the horniest bull -- "You know, the one with the longest, pointiest horns." (No word yet on who won that.)

Running of the Bulls in New Orleans!

It's that time of year again--the Running of the Bulls in New Orleans!

This is the announcement from the Times-Picayune:

Saturday, July 10, 2010

The Running of the Bulls


The 3 Legged Dog, 7 a.m.
Conti Street and Burgundy Street, French Quarter


Tickets: Free
Resources: Official site
More on this event

San Fermin in Nueva Orleans replicates and pays homage to the world famous Encierro of Pamplona, Spain, or "The Running of the Bulls", only the bulls are none other than members of the Big Easy Rollergirls. The event will begin at 7 a.m. at the Three Legged Dog bar the French Quarter. Sangria, Stella Artois beer, Spanish wines and good cheer will be available. The "running," which winds through the streets of the Quarter, begins sharply at 8 a.m.

This event has grown exponentially each year since it started. Now, in only its fourth year, it's expanded to a three-day festival. It starts on Friday night with a pre-party (El Txupinazo) featuring tapas, paella, flamenco dancing, and lotsa beverages. On Saturday morning is the main event--the running of the bulls (El Encierro)--followed by rest time, then a post-run party Saturday night (La Fiesta de Pantalones) that includes a concert, more great tapas, and lotsa more beverages. (Me, I love a good Sangria.) On Sunday there is a grand finale (Pobre de Mí), about which I quote from the Nolabulls website:

WHAT: As part of the grand finale to the San Fermin in Nueva Orleans fiesta weekend, the festivities continue with the second annual Pobre de Mí (Poor Me). Featuring a savory tapas brunch menu by Vega Tapas Café and specialty drinks, the event is highlighted by the 2nd Annual Ernest Hemingway Talent Contest, a collaboration with NOLAFugees:

Death in the Afternoon Drinking Society presents Hemingway, Ole!

Six teams enter the ring, but only one will claim the big prize. Sign up now with your 2 or 3-person team (or just sign up now and draft someone on game day) to compete in this Ernest Hemingway-themed contest of nerves. Teams will perform 2-minute micro-skits (no memorization required,as there will be closely-guarded scripts provided at the event) of infamous Hemingway scenes. A panel of judges, and the audience, will decide who advances to sweet sweet victory.

What you need to participate: absolutely nothing. A sense of humor helps, but is not required.

What you do not need: any prior knowledge of Hemingway’s works or life.

What you will gain by joining the hunt: Prizes. Glory. And your photo will be made over the carcasses of your enemies.

What you stand to lose by not joining the hunt: your sense of adventure, and perhaps the ability to look your mother in the eye when she says, “Don’t worry, honey, I love you anyway.”

So unleash your inner Hemingway and enter now!

We will also roll the party directly into a live screening on multiple screens of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final Match in South Africa!

I love the whole idea of this--it's so New Orleans and, yes, so Spanish. (Not to mention that The Rolling Elvi will be following the crowd of bull-runners....)

What fun!

Reviewerspeak Awards

Book Examiner Michelle Kerns has a great post about her monthly Reviewerspeak Awards:

Hilarious yet heartbreaking: The Reviewerspeak Award results for May 2010

Just inaugurated a couple of months ago (It's gripping! It's luminous! It's the maiden voyage of the Reviewerspeak Awards!), Kerns' Reviewspeak Awards aim is

to thought-provokingly observe, vividly record, and unflinchingly report every book reviewer cliché perpetrated daily on the hapless readers of a select number of online book review sites. To leap boldly into a Brave New World where prose isn't always lively or spare or graceful or taut or accessible or lyrical; where debut novels aren't always solid or sparkling; where characters aren't always flawed or fully realized (or, if you prefer, perfectly realized) or quirky or likable or nuanced; where authors aren't masterful or at the top of their game in every third review.

For anyone whose work has ever been savaged by a book critic, damned-by-faint-praise, or even received a rave review, Kerns' Reviewerspeak Awards posts are hilarious. See also some of her previous review-satire articles:

• The top 20 most annoying book reviewer clichés and how to use them all in one meaningless review; 
• Book Review Bingo; 
• Book reviewing as a blood sport.

Battle over Search-Engine Placement for Oil Spill Info

Today our local newspaper (The Times-Picayune) reports that BP has purchased the top spots on search engines such as Google:

BP, the giant oil company that owns the collapsed rig that is spewing oil, has paid search engines like Google to prominently feature links to the company's website. And, according to one online marketing expert, lawyers and other parties with work tied to the spill will likely fight for prominent links of their own. . . .

BP has purchased the "sponsored link" for that search term, via Google's AdWords program, according to Sandra Heikkinen, a spokesperson for Google. Unlike the standard links provided by a search engine, a sponsored link is one that a search engine sells to an interested company -- the link appears above the "related searches" and the "organic" links, which are based on relevance.

I myself when searching rarely click on the sponsored links, but go below them to the organic links. I've always figured the sponsored links are little more than advertisements or propaganda for the sponsor. On the other hand . . .

[W]hile BP currently has the market cornered on web searches, other interests -- such as law firms trying to attract clients affected by the spill -- are going to increasingly attempt to fight the company for the coveted spots at the top of the page.

"Those lawyers are going to start making it awfully expensive for BP to stay at the top of the links."

I Give It a 10 on the Cuteness Scale

This is so cute I can hardly stand it!

From http://pixdaus.com/pics/124413205779nuL9K.jpg

Mr. Potato Head has left the building...

This is hilarious--like something from a Saturday Night Live skit:

The Elvis version of Mr. Potato Head will be released for Elvis Tribute Week, according to a Graceland spokesman.

Photo by PPW Toys

Mr. Potato Head Elvis Presley Figures to Launch in August of 2010
From http://www.elvis.com/news/full_story.asp?id=2297


Elvis fans, toy collectors and pop culture enthusiasts will spend much of this summer anticipating the launch of the Mr. Potato Head Elvis Presley collectible figures from PPW Toys, under license from Hasbro, Inc. and Elvis Presley Enterprises.

Mr. Potato Head appeared as KISS last year, and this year he is ready to take on the king of rock 'n' roll. A series of Mr. Potato Head collectible figures will be released, each with a variety of costumes, instruments and other iconic components representing Elvis' most memorable performances.

The first spud to be released this August in tandem with Elvis Week events at Graceland in Memphis and will feature Elvis' famous white jumpsuit, microphone and guitar. A second version with Mr. Potato Head wearing black leather from Elvis' 1968 Special Performance will be released during the 2010 holiday season. Components such as hairstyles, costumes, faces and musical instruments will be compatible with every version, so fans can mix and match the styles with hilarious results.

The Mr. Potato Head Elvis Presley collectible figures will not only appeal to kids, but these figures will also be in demand by music fans and pop culture collectors of all ages. The Mr. Potato Head Elvis Presley collectible figures will be available at specialty retailers and e-tailers.

Created in 1952, Mr. Potato Head, the first toy to be featured in a television commercial, became an instant hit with youngsters. In the past 58 years, the beloved character has emerged as an American icon, a true evergreen brand with broad demographic appeal.

Hasbro licensee PPW Toys suits up MR. POTATO HEAD as Elvis Presley for a unique co-branded product. An Elvis tribute artist shows off the new collectible during a launch event at Licensing International Expo 2010 in Las Vegas.

The Oil Spill and the Chain of Life

It's Prophet-of-Doom time again. If you're not in the mood to be bummed out, then skip this post.

A few days ago Newsweek published "What the Spill Will Kill," which discusses not only the damage the BP Oil Spill will have on the surface environment, but also what may happen in the deep sea:

The consequences for the delicate balance of existence in the vulnerable ecosystems of the gulf, and for the vast cycles of nature that sustain life there and beyond, are as incalculable as they are potentially devastating. ...

As far as scientists can tell, the undersea oil is actually a witch's brew of crude mixed with dissolved methane, stretching 15 miles long, 5 miles wide, and 300 feet thick in the case of one plume detected by the Pelican, and 22 miles long, 6 miles wide, and 3,000 feet thick in the case of a plume found by University of South Florida researchers aboard the WeatherBird II last week. The latter plume reaches all the way to the surface. ...

These undersea rivers of oil, though not nearly as concentrated as oil at the surface, are likely to affect the gulf through two mechanisms. The first is oxygen depletion, which has been estimated at 30 percent in the plumes. The other will be direct toxic effects of the oil and methane. Leatherback turtles and sperm whales dive to the 3,200-foot depths where plumes have now been detected, and aren't smart enough to take evasive action. ... Sharks, shrimp, and squid are all inhabitants of the deep, which would protect them from a Valdez-type spill on the surface, but now puts them in the crosshairs. Marlin, snapper, and grouper swim hundreds of feet down. One of the biggest losses may be bluefin tuna. Already imperiled from overfishing, the species breeds only in the Mediterranean Sea and the gulf. ... Even small bits of crude, like those in the plumes, can suffocate fish by gunking up their gills.

Other species imperiled by the deep-sea plumes include those that migrate down from the surface and others that make the reverse commute. "There are plankton that go from the surface to the middle of the water column, and other things eat them and go down deeper, and other things eat them and go to the bottom," says oceanographer Lisa Levin of Scripps Institution of Oceanography. "All the zones of life interact, and now they're probably all being hammered."

The worst effect of large-scale death on the gulf floor is nothing as photogenic as dead pelicans, but much more pernicious. "The organisms most likely to be harmed by the oil plumes are those at the base of the food chain," says biological oceanographer Andrew Juhl of Lamont-Doherty. "Most of the primary producers, such as phytoplankton, live throughout the water column. Effects on them would cascade to the larger species we care about."

The deep-sea communities are also linchpins of the global carbon cycle—the ocean's garbage men and recycling centers. They eat the waste and carcasses of creatures that lived and died in higher layers of the sea, and whose bodies drift to the sea floor. ... [W]ithout deep-sea organisms, dead marine creatures would accumulate like bottles and cans in places without deposit laws. That would deprive the rest of the living seas of the nutrients they need to keep life going. If a large enough area in the depths of the gulf becomes a kill zone, organic matter would accumulate in the sediment and be cut off from the rest of the ecosystem, says marine scientist Mahlon Kennicutt of Texas A&M.

Uniquely in the crosshairs are creatures living at or near the sea floor: deep-sea corals, jellyfish, and soft-bottom fish such as Atlantic croaker, sand seatrout, Atlantic bumper, sea robin, and sand perch. Three coral reefs live in the area under the surface slick, and two are close to one plume that scientists tracked last week. Oil could be lethal to a reef. The Minerals Management Service's 2007 report concluded that "in the extremely unlikely event that oil from a subsurface spill were to reach a coral reef…in lethal concentrations," recovery could take as long as "10-20 years." "In the time scale of man, this will be a catastrophic event," says Baguley.

Of special concern are the hundreds of "seep" communities in the gulf, enclaves of crustaceans, weird tube worms, tiny fish, mussels, and crabs that live near natural gashes in the sea floor. These seeps release hydrocarbons, which might suggest that the oil-and-methane plumes are good for these creatures. Unfortunately, the profusion of hydrocarbons is likely to be less like sitting down to a Thanksgiving feast than like being encased in marshmallowed sweet potatoes: deadly. Like Yellowstone's geysers, they support unique organisms that may have scientific and commercial uses. Bacteria from a Yellowstone geyser are the source of enzymes that power a biochemical reaction called PCR, a workhorse of the genome revolution. Marine scientists have high hopes for finding similarly valuable microbes at the seeps. Some even talk of compounds that might fight cancer, much as extracts of the rosy periwinkle fight Hodgkin's disease and childhood leukemias.

Oil on the ocean surface eventually evaporates, is degraded by sunlight, gets consumed by microbes, or washes up on beaches, where it can be collected. The fate and effects of the undersea oil are largely unknown. The Deepwater Horizon disaster is thus one big unplanned experiment.

As I said in my previous post, Krewe of Dead Pelicans, the effects of the BP Oil Spill will be felt not just for decades but possibly for centuries. It could change the ecological balance of the entire planet.

Krewe of Dead Pelicans

Feeling helpless at the immensity of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, New Orleans resident Ro Mayer organized a protest in a typical New Orleans way: a mock jazz funeral for the Gulf and its wildlife. Participants in The Krewe of Dead Pelicans were asked to wear black pants and blue shirts, and to carry blue umbrellas painted with black splotches--symbolizing the black oil beneath the blue waters. They also were asked to wear shrimpers' boots--the short white rubber boots you'll see many people in the second-line parade wearing--symbolizing the mighty Louisiana seafood industry, which is likely to be permanently devastated by the oil spill. 

Photo of oil-coated pelican by Matthew Hinton/The Times-Picayune

As Ro Mayer said in her video interview with the local newspaper's reporter, we feel helpless in the face of this calamity. We have to cope as best we can. At nearly five years after Katrina, we are faced once again with an environmental disaster that will destroy our marshes, our wildlife, our homes, our businesses, our jobs, our economy, our lives. Its effects will be felt for decades, if not centuries, and will reverberate far beyond Louisiana and the other Gulf Coast states.

See the video of the event, held Saturday, June 5, 2010. Hundreds of people participated.

In a press conference last week, BP CEO Tony Hayward said he'd like to have his life back. Yeah, so would we, but it ain't happening. How about this, Mr. BP? You don't get your life back until, and unless, we get our lives back. You suffer what we suffer, as long as we suffer. How about that?

Photo by Michael DeMocker/The Times-Picayune