Priceless

David Sedaris visits Jon Stewart. Very funny

The Birds of Paradise

Filmed in New Guinea over a 10 year period, this beautiful film is fascinating. Enjoy.



The film is courtesy of Cornell University.

Windows Wednesday

Taken in 2008 along Highway 90 in "the East", this abandoned boat survived Katrina but lost most of her windows. If she could talk, I'm sure she would keep us enthralled for hours with her tales of the past.

Scott Fujita

A great video where Scott Fujita reflects on his eleven years in the NFL and the chance to retire as a New Orleans Saint.

Windows Wednesday

Taken somewhere between Woldenberg Park and Lafayette Square in New Orleans, October 2012.

Scuzzbucket of the Week

Senator Stacy Campfield from Tennessee.

Good old Stacy earns Scuzzbucket status because of his recent take on the Boston Marathon Bombing.

Stacy has a blog where he writes about "Tennessee politics behind the scenes". On Sunday this jerk posted this on his blog:


I guess he thinks there's something funny about a pressure cooker bomb.

From AATTP.org, here are some examples of the Senator's views on other issues:

Campfield, known for his oh-so-brilliant musings on things like the origin of AIDS (“Most people realize that AIDS came from the homosexual community – it was one guy screwing a monkey, if I recall correctly, and then having sex with men. It was an airline pilot, if I recall…”) and bullying (“That bullying thing is the biggest lark out there.”). The Tennessee Senator also made news recently when he dropped a bill tying TANF (formerly known as welfare) benefits to children’s grades after being followed around and shamed by an awesome 8-year-old little girl.

We can see why Mr. Campfield claims bullying is a “lark” since he seems to have it down to an art form himself.


Who votes for people like him?

Sweet Caroline

It is a tradition in Fenway Park. During the 8th inning of each home game, the crowd sings Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond.

Today - the day after the capture of the remaining Boston Marathon bomber, Neil Diamond showed up at Fenway to sing along with the crowd.

This is wicked awesome!!! I miss my crazy talking home state sometimes.

Our National Anthem from Boston

Windows Wednesday

Taken somewhere on our trek from Woldenberg Park to Lafayette Square last October during the Blues & BBQ Fest.



I really loved how clearly the sky reflected in the glass.

Scuzzbucket of the Week

A New Hampshire state representative said he was just trying to emphasize a point when he used “vagina” as a synonym for “woman” in an email to the full House earlier this month.



State Rep. Peter Hansen (R-Amherst) was debating the recently passed HB 135 — a State House bill repealing parts of a Stand Your Ground law passed last year — with Rep. Steve Vaillancourt, also a Republican, who had argued in favor of retreating from a confrontation rather than resorting to the use of deadly force.

In an official email to Vaillancourt, Hansen wrote:

There were two critical ingredients missing in the illustrious stories purporting to demonstrate the practical side of retreat. Not that retreat may not be possible mind you. What could possibly be missing from those factual tales of successful retreat in VT, Germany, and the bowels of Amsterdam? Why children and vagina's (sic) of course. While the tales relate the actions of a solitary male the outcome cannot relate to similar situations where children and women and mothers are the potential victims.


According to Hansen:

“I used it for, number one, as a factor for shock, and I used that word to bring people into the mindset of a perpetrator” – that is, “of a potential rapist,” he said.

Hansen added, “I only regret my word choice because, one, it is misconstrued and, two, not as effective as I wish it had been.”

The men of the GOP are hell bent on degrading women until they bow down to them.

There's Paul Ryan

Republicans in the House proposed a bill (HR 1179) called “Respect for Rights of Conscience Act of 2011.” The bill, introduced by Jeff Fortenberry (Nebraska), allows health care providers and pharmacists to deny birth control to women if it conflicts with their religious or moral convictions.

Remember Todd Akin? He stated that Legitimate rape' victims rarely get pregnant

I could go on, but you get the point.

Scuzzbucket of the Week

Her name is Brittany Ozarowski and she is from Long Island.

She's 21 years old and is a heroin addict.

She's not a scuzzbucket because she's an addict. No, Brittany is a scuzzbucket for faking cancer and using the donations to buy heroin.

Brittany claimed to have ovarian, stomach, bone and brain cancer. She used her bogus diagnosis claim to raise tens of thousands of dollars from people to help pay for a year of “medical expenses,” Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota said.

“There was no cancer, no chemotherapy, no radiation and no medical bills,” Spota said. “There was just heroin.”

“She admitted to taking the money from people. She admitted she does not have cancer,” Prosecutor Michelle Pitman told reporters.

Prosecutors said Ozarowski left donor jars at Nassau and Suffolk county businesses and hit up supermarket shoppers for money. She also scammed her father and grandmother, who sold her house and gave Ozarowski more than $100,000.

Windows Wednesday

A sweet scene seen in Olde Towne Slidell.

Scuzzbucket of the Week

There has been positive forward movement in this country regarding the acceptance of "gay", but not enough.

From the great state of Wisconson, comes the story of an Applebee's employee being beaten by a homophobic idiot just because of his sexual orientation.

On Saturday (March 30, 2013), Timothy "Tim" Phares, a well known waiter at the Rice Lake Applebee's Burger Restaurant decided to return to work after Apple American Group franchise CEO, Greg Flynn assured "his safety and welfare" and "zero tolerance for discrimination of any kind" at Applebee's restaurants. Phares had given his two weeks notice after a customer made an out burst remark targeted at him pertaining to his sexual orientation. The management apparently failed to take adequate action at the time to stop the harassment or tell the customer that the restaurant has a zero tolerance policy and won't tolerate any kind of discrimination towards any employee.

Days later at another location (near a Perkins Restaurant), Phares was beaten with a 2x4 by Rien L. Hendricks, 35, whose wife worked at Applebee's. His wife drove Hendricks to where Phares was and after the battery assault attack left the scene. Phares' sister witnessed the beating and was able to identify Hendricks and his wife as the suspects involed in the incident to police.

Windows Wednesday

A myriad of windows in the Jax Brewery along the Mississippi River.

Scuzzbucket of the Week

From the wacked out state of Arizona, this scuzzbucket is an elected official.

Senator Don Shooter, went to his grandson’s school to discuss several incidents of alleged bullying by a teacher.


Shooter burst into the classroom the morning of March 22 in a “visibly angry manner” and demanded to speak with a teacher, who told police Shooter “was an arm’s length from me pointing and shaking his finger at me,” the report said.

The outburst scared the teacher, Danielle Munoz, and students in her classroom.

“She was afraid for her safety and the safety of her students,” according to an officer’s account of the incident in the police report.

Munoz is seeking an injunction against harassment and wants to press charges against Shooter, who is under investigation for assault, third-degree criminal trespassing, and the disruption of an educational institution.

No charges have been filed against the Yuma Republican and no arrest had been made.

According to the 15-page report, Shooter was told by the registrar at the school’s entrance that Munoz was teaching a class and was not available to meet with him. But when the registrar was distracted by a phone call, the senator walked past her and into Munoz’s classroom, the report said.


This isn't the first scuzzbucket-like action by the Senator. In 2011, he entered the Senate building for a special session on unemployment dressed in what some Senate Democrats are calling an offensive Mexican costume.

Shooter,a Republican, was reportedly dressed in a sombrero and poncho, chomping on a cigar and carrying a half-empty bottle of tequila in a gun holster.

Oh, yes, he is a Tea Party leader.

GOP slimers

More on the Monsanto Protection Act

Windows Wednesday

I've always been a fan at the stained glass windows of the early 20th Century, particularly in the older buildings in the New Orleans metropolitan area. It appears that the older buildings in this area have at least one window that catches the eye. In the picture below, I caught this window driving through Slidell one day. Luckily I had my camera with me and caught it before the light turned green.

Just to be there....

Scuzzbucket of the Week

Janice Ricks Linam worked for 28 years as a personal assistant for two sisters who lived in the New Orleans area. The son of one of the sisters made a complaint to the St. Tammany Sheriff's Office that irregularities had been found in his mother's personal finances.

A Sheriff's spokesman says months of investigation led to evidence that Linam had been writing checks to herself for several years. The total amount stolen by Linam is more than $2 million, according to police.

Police say the woman turned herself in and confessed, after which she was booked into the parish jail on two counts of bank fraud. She was able to meet the bond of $500,000 and is now out of jail.

I'm sure that she used some of this money to fund a trip to Europe.

Windows Wednesday

Taken on Oak Street in New Orleans. This lady sat in her window all afternoon, scowling at the festival goers for the Oak Street Poboy Fest. We saw her again this year with a companion.


I wonder what she does for the other 364 days of the year?

Sign of our times

This will make your Monday better

The 610 Stompers - Ordinary Men. Extraordinary Moves. New Orlean's one and only all-male dance crew perform a tribute to Flashdance



You're welcome!

Priceless

Bead Town!!

Bead Town is the brainchild of Stephan Wagner from Germany.

Wagner came to Louisiana after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated the area. He found a job in the much-needed construction activity. It was during this time that he fell in love with the area and her strong people.

"I remember thinking that it was right after Katrina-with 50% of the region destroyed and the other 50% helping those whose homes were destroyed, that was quite a challenge" he said. "So I moved on from construction and started putting beads together to capture the iconic images that make Louisiana so special: the food, the culture, the architecture....I was on a mission".

His mission has created so many beautiful things made with used Mardi Gras beads. Pictures are created by artists and Stephan - along with anyone willing to help - use the beads to create his magic.



The beads are applied to the pictures one at a time. Bead Town will be open to the public in Slidell through April 5th. From there the collection will travel to Denham Springs and many other Louisiana Main Street communities, each of which has a story to tell as part of the bigger city. In each city additional works have been or will be created which tells the community's tale.

Windows Wednesday

I caught this during tonight's sunset through the woods through a window in my sunroom. This piece is my favorite leaded glass. Happy Wednesday, y'all

Scuzzbucket of the Week

Ty Hickman of Jesup Iowa.

Ty Hickman was arrested Thursday night in Jesup and taken to Buchanan County Jail. A Waterloo code enforcement officer, Maria Tiller, says Hickman is charged with a misdemeanor charge of animal torture. Online court records don't list the name of Hickman's attorney.

The carcass and kennel were found February 16 on the east side of Waterloo. Waterloo Animal Control says the carcass was covered in feces and urine and it looks like the dog died of starvation or dehydration.

A reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction had reached $7,500. Tiller says tips from the public led to the arrest.

I hope this pig rots in hell.

Update March second: he was released from jail last night and didn't have to pay any bail to get out :( more than likely there will be more arrest to follow! His "friends" rolled on him (more than likely for the reward) and that is why we need high reward amounts for future cases like this, money talks!!!!

Windows Wednesday

This is one of the stained glass windows hanging in St. Genevieve Church in Bayou Liberty
According to an elderly parishioner, these particular windows hung in one of the original St. Genevieve Churches circa 1852. This lady remembers going to church not via horse or car, but by paddling up Bayou Liberty