friends,
as of this morning, there are over one million people in the state of louisiana, a quarter of the population, who are homeless. the excitement of monday relating to the fact that New Orleans did not take the "brunt" of the storm has given away to the reality of the present. at least three of the parishes are closed. there is widespread looting and violence, and as a result, martial law has been imposed. the flood waters are continuing to rise in Orleans, and will do so until the Lake levels sometime tonight. 80% of the city is flooded, and much of it is toxic. the mayor is now saying that it could be up until 16 weeks before people are allowed to return. as one resident said last night, "It's over."
these are people who spent their entire lives working for what they had, and were told one day that they had to leave it all behind. they knew when they left it could be a long time before they returned, and they knew when they came back it was uncertain what exactly would be there. more importantly, there are many thousands of people still in the city waiting to be rescued. it came out last night that 10,000 body bags had been ordered. those who have been stranded have called radio and television stations begging to be rescued and believing they are about to die.
living in baton rouge has only added to the surreal-like atmosphere of the entire situation. it is very difficult knowing the places I've driven by many times on my way to New Orleans are no longer there. it is even worse to know that the city I so loved will need years of work to return to some sense of normality.
I know ask all of you to do what you can. Please donate money to the American Red Cross, because that it what is needed most right now. Ask your friends and family to do the same. Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama will see daylight again one day, but we will need your help getting there.
More Mysteries from the World of SpamOkay. So perhaps I'm too easy to confound. And maybe it's passe to think spam is funny or mysterious. But I submit here another mystery that arrived in my email from Lucio Ochoa, presumably a mortgage refinancer of some kind. Following the usual plea for me to update my information there was the following paragraph, coiled at the end of the email like a snake, patiently waiting to strike:
"Gardeners supervise the Elvis impersonators. Thieves have already become janitors. Rolfers would like to purchase gangsters. Unlike in years past, today's Trekkies usually date heathens.
During the debate, Ann Richards maintained that the bestselling authors panic the insurance agents. Executives worship goblins. Peanut butter eaters long to be ogres. Cyborgs say that the psychoanalysts warn their children about old-timers."
What does it mean? To top it off, the subject header of the spam was "re: 23" referencing a number with obvious and potent magickal properties.
My theory? Spam can see into our immortal souls.
But remains confused by them.
Labels: spam
friends --
i just got off the phone with sarge. he asked me to post a message to this here jackyblog in lieu of calling everyone, just to let you all know that he is safe and sound in baton rouge.
his cousins evacuated their home in new orleans saturday night and came to stay with him. they got gas, food, smokes and whiskey and camped out at casa collins, drinking and smoking and watching cooper anderson get "fucked in the face from wind," said sarge.
the power went out at about 9 this morning, so they've been sitting around waiting for the humidity to kick in and make them sweat. also, the winds have been bad enough that part of a gas station ended up in the sarge's backyard.
but! they are safe. there is tonnes of clean-up, and sarge probably won't be going to andrew and andi's party because he'll be helping his cousins pick up the pieces of their apartment, but they are all alive.
i am reminded of my favorite first-hand war protest moment, when a rotund, shirtless man with an american flag bandana on and a rebel flag tattoo across his chest leaned out of his apartment window in midtown DC to yell "get a job, assholes!" to the protesting crowd below.
worthy of note:
a) he himself was at home (without shirt no less), clearly not at work
b) it was a saturday.
One more reason to love Pat Robertson...man that guy sure likes talking about killing people. I certainly wouldn't want to be on his bad side... oh wait, I already am.
Labels: religion
Yee Haw for RealWell kids, it's official, I live in the south, for the next three years. Cowboy, if you start missing your horses and rednecks in your city-fied capital, you should come visit me in Nashville, that goes for the rest of you as well. Come visit me anytime, just give me a little notice. I have a huge room in a sweet house and I like people.
In other news, I need advice- I'm going to buy a new laptop, soon,very soon. But I keep going back and forth between a PC and a Mac. Please, ya'll help me if you have any preferences, input, or helpful tales.
Thanks,
Skirt
Before I can continue to be friends with you heathens I must know,
Have you accepted Christ yet? If you haven't, please consult with
Lambuel and Professor Giraffenstein. Then, ask yourself again. I would hate to lose you all to Satan and his demon armies.
the trophymen are playin' at the Tiny Planet loft tonight (~10:30p) with
these gents we met on wednesday. holla at me for directions.
Labels: music
Ohio Governor Bob Taft (R), already universally renowned for his jaw-dropping 17% approval rating, was
charged today with four criminal misdemeanors.
...meanwhile the Ohio Democratic party still ain't got shit for candidates other than Rep. Ted Strickland, widely known on the Hill as an old guard do-nothing labor-lackey.
I say we all pitch in to draft Bruce Goldflies.
Labels: gubernatorial dongs, ohio
quandary i shall be in chicago from wednesday august 31st until sunday september 4th for vacation. sadly, i don't know anybody in chicago! thus, it will likely be a very lonely endeavor.
some things weren't meant to be forgottenthis old treasure, friends, is one of those things.
do yourself a favor and regale your coworkers with a dramatic reading today.
i realize most of you couldn't give a shitfuck about this, but i wanted to mention that
son singer
ibrahim ferrer died today. he was fucking beautiful, and you should check out his work on the buena vista social club cd or dvd, as well as his countless solo discs.
sorry this took so long to post: i'm not going to get sentimental here, but it was insainly good to see these boys playing live again. their new material and delivery is ... awe-inspiring. in the future, it's worth the trip to DC. but can we confirm rumors of a tour?
