The Information Super-Frog

"Tea Party Patriots" of 1862:


PRAYER OF OVERSEER OF MAGNOLIA PLANTATION AS HE WROTE IT


"This day is set a part by President Jefferson DAVIS for fasting
and praying owing to the deplorable condishions over Southern country
is in my prayer Sincerely to God is that Every Black Republican in the
Hole combined whorl Either man woman o chile that is opposed to negro
slavery as it existed in the Southern Confederacy shal be trubled with
pestilence & calamitys of all kinds & drag out the balance of their
existence in misry (&) degradation with scarsely food (&) rayment
enough to keep sole (&) body to gether and O God I pray the to direct
a bullet or a bayonet to pirce the hart of every northern Soldier that
invades southern Soil (&) after the body has Rendered up its traterish
Soul gave it a trators reward a birth in the Lake ov fires (&) Brimstone
My honest convicksion is that Every man women (&) child that has gave
aid to the abolishionist are fit Subjects for Hell I all so ask the aid
the Southern confedercy in maintaining ower rites (&) establishing the
confederate Goverment Believing in this case the prares from the wicked
will prevailth much - Amen -"

EFFINGHAM LAWRENCE, Magnolia Plantation, Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana.

http://files.usgwarchives.org/la/plaquemines/history/magnola1.txt

Patgund: "Sen. Obama and Sen. Clinton have both won their respective parties nominations." (via tongodeon)

via jwz: OMG, Godless billboard

Rationalist survives black magic's best shot on tv in India

Blank DVD ranking

"Witter, a 24-year-old self-described atheist living in Orlando, is the creator of the Post-Rapture Post, which bills itself as "the postal service of the saved."

"For as little as $4.99, Witter offers to deliver your letters to friends and loved ones left behind after the Rapture, when some Christians believe they will be whisked up to heaven while everyone else — the "Left Behind" of the popular book series — suffers a series of tribulations." -- USA Today article

Post Rapture Post website

Sounds like there are business opportunity for infidels. Who can doubt that when the Fundimentalists are spontaneously wisked up to Heaven, they'd feel more secure knowing that they've taken care of paying the friendly neighborhood atheists to feed their cats and water their plants?

Dear Saved: You know you can't take it with you, and you can be Raptured at any moment! Don't delay, pay a heretic today!

I was able to attend a couple of events of the Tulane Maya Symposium. The highlight was the keynote address by Dr. Karl Taube, discussing interesting less well known aspects of iconography and tying them in to the same motifs in other parts of Mesoamerica and up to the US Southwest-- including nifty illustrations of ancestors arriving from creation on the flower road featherd serpent shown from formative murals in Guatemala to Pueblo art some 3,000 years later. Super fabulous for folks interested in such things.

Yesterday was moderately cold but clear as I drove downtown in the afternoon for Krewe du Vieux. On the way down Loyola Avenue I saw a small group gathered in front of City Hall. Today's paper explained it: A Catholic group was protesting Blasphemy in a Krewe du Vieux parade 2 years ago! To quote:

"The crowd recited the rosary and sang hymns "in reparation" for "blasphemies" they said were perpetrated by the krewe in the 2005 parade. While much of the reaction to the 2005 parade was delayed, based on viewing of images on a Krewe du Vieux Web site, many Catholics were angry about one participant's use of fake breasts next to the words "Our Lady of very Prompt Succor" [....] They also protested one float's use of the image of a lamb chop, with signs proclaiming "He Died for Ewe" "

My immediate reaction on reading this: Ha ha ha ha!

Usually we've only gotten Jimmy Swaggart fundamentalist protestants protesting Carnival. Welcome to such distinguished company. Actually I think such "blasphemies" are very traditional for Carnival: In Europe back in the day, they would crown a fool as "king" and recite a silly nonsence "mass", making fun of the two things that had to be held most sacred of all the rest of the year.

The Krewe gathered at the warehouse den down in Marigny a few hours before the parade, with kingcake, beer, and dancing to a nice band. I was with one of several groups doing Alice In Wonderland related stuff for the "Habitat For Insanity" theme. We were assigned to make Mad Hatter hats out of paper bags. Some artistic cosumers can do something impressive with such a start; as I didn't feel up to that I decided to make the cheapness work for the concept, and did little other than a quick spray paint and adding signs on either side reading "FEMA HAT /In this style/ 16 month wait". It seems to have gone over well, as throughout the march I was hearing spectators saying "Look, FEMA hat!" and "Ha ha! FEMA hat!".

This is the first time I marched without my glasses (post eye operations). I left my driving glasses in my car and just carried a small pair of reading glasses in my pocket (which I only needed to pull out briefly when signing in at the Den). A number of aquaintances seemed not to quite recognize me, getting that "I know I know you, but I can't quite place..." look. While I saw a number of folks I knew long the route, for the second year I saw no sign of the group of friends who said in advance they'd be catching the parade in front of Molly's. I flung handfulls of stuff into the crowd there anyway. Afterwards, post parade party at the Lowe's Palace.

Today Ms. Hollie & I are having our Super Bowl Avoidance celebration.

Been in town one week.

Main activity: Cleaning up (de-debrising) my place.

Small signs are all over town along the roads, many announcing businesses that are open. Others advertise clean up, repair, etc companies or workers. One of the more interesting was a hand made with a phone number and "TEMP REPAIRS TREE INSURANCE".

More is opening up every day. Yesterday the laundrymat near me opened.

Large parts of the city, however, are still, well, dead zones is the term that comes to mind-- even parts of Uptown that were flooded. No lights at night. Grass and shrubs killed by the toxic flood waters.

Also, nothing like regular trash pick up. Foul odors abound; it reminds me of Belize City, which when I lived there for a few months had open canals which served as the sewage system. Let's be honest: It's nasty here.

Still, this weekend Uptown seemed more healthy, and for the first time I've been seeing families with children back.

Somewhat to my own surprise, I have not gotten down to the Quarter yet. I even didn't take up a chance to jam last weekend. I got into sawing and carting fallen trees, and just kept at it til too tired to go anywhere else.

One of the early days in town I was driving on the Westbank with Ms Hollie, and there was a Salvation Army truck set up at one of the more up & running intersections in town at that time (had an open grocery store, gas station, and pharmacy). I pulled in, just 2 cars ahead of me. I asked if they had bottled water (east bank not yet declared safe at the time). They said yes, and food too if you want some. Sure, I said. They handed us two small personal bottles of water, two styofoam containers with a ladel full of stew (not bad), and two rectangular packages from a large stack that I thought were going to be MREs, but were instead Bibles. They didn't ask if we wanted any Bibles, they just gave them.

The "New Democracy Rising" March on the 2nd anniversary on the start of Dear Leader Bush II's Iraq war was a good event. Much smaller than the Inauguration Day "Jazz Funeral for Democracy", but was much less publicized. Only some 300 - 400 people, I think, but a nice group of people, good march, good band, good speakers.

photo album

pic of yours Frogly with the band

I hadn't been playing open horn in the street since Mardi Gras; mostly I've been playing indoors using a mute. I had a bit of problem getting a good marching band tone at first, having neglected to practice that recently, but otherwise the band went well. The banner carriers at the front of the band for some reason turned from Canal Street into the French Quarter one street too soon, taking us the wrong way up a one way street, but we all got there, ending with a rally at the Supreme Court Building.

After the protest event, a few other musicians and I went to the Moon Walk (boardwalk along the Mississippi River front) and played a little. A group of teens with a couple of adult supervisors in identical yellow shirts were handing out some sort of evangelical flyers. As usual, the kids looked like they were having no fun. One covered his ears against the sounds of sin with one hand and a sholder while holding out a flyer towards the trumpeter then to me while we were playing. Two of the yellow-shirts had guitars, and we tried to get them to join us on "Over In The Gloryland", an old spiritual that is a trad jazz standard. Some of the kids started clapping along (they were clearly from up north), but the adults continued to look disaproving dispite the spiritual lyrics. Not demominationally compatable, apparently. The guitar player said they play only "praise music". We urged them to learn some spirtuals before their next visit to New Orleans. Some of the group were handing out bottles of water (wrapped in a pamphlet, of course) to passers by. The water bottles had been out in the hot sun. I took a water bottle offered, and held it up towards the sky and asked Jesus to chill it for me. As no miracle occured, I shrugged and told them he had his chance, but I wouldn't be converting to their religion today.

My musician friends then went down to the Jazz Park building to catch a good newly-formed all female trad jazz band, which doesn't yet have a name (though the banjoist told me they were considering "Estrogen"). Doreen Ketchens on clarinet; a good young trombonist who moved here from Finland; Mari Wantanabe, piano; Amy Sharpe, banjo; I didn't catch the name of the bass player who was good despite playing electric; Miyume on drums.

After I went back uptown. For the first time I went to the "Art on Oak" in my Carrollton part of town. I think this is their third one, but they hadn't publicised it much, and it's just getting started, but looks like a promising event. Shops and galleries are open 4-8pm with wine & cheese & such, two places had music. They plan to have "Art on Oak" henceforth monthly the last Saturday of the month, not to conflict with the bigger openings/open shops parties on Julia and Magazine streets on the first Saturdays.

Christian Scientist Reading Room open house up the street.

Hm. Is it wise to mooch free food if it is prepared by people who don't believe in the germ theory of disease?