I've Given In To The Box

I have a confession. I went to Radio Shack this afternoon and bought an antenna for my television. I then proceeded to cry for an entire hour while watching Oprah, then I caught about half of the local news.

The story that caught my attention was the one about how Hope Presbyterian (where my brother is a member) is trying to build a new giant church, sort of like Bellevue, except it's on Walnut Grove Road in the middle of a residential neighborhood. So, a bunch of the people that live out there are pissed and don't want it to be built. They think it will cause light pollution and even more traffic problems for the already congested area. I grew up in the Walnut Grove Lake neighborhood and their neighborhood association is the main protestor of the project.

The entire situation lends itself to shedding light on a slew of philisophical problems. I also think it's really interesting how overcrowded the whole area has become. People claim to move to the suburbs to get away from crime and poor schools, but I think that when you run from one problem you just end up setting yourself up to face a whole new set.

So, here's where the irony sets in. When I was growing up in Cordova, we had to drive to Germantown to go to the grocery store. Once you passed my neighborhood on Walnut Grove Road, just past G'town Parkway, you practically ended up on a dirt road with nothing for miles. If you live in Memphis, you know how the area is now: full of 6 lane parkways, fast food restaurants, 800 grocery stores and every big box retailer you can think of. My parents still live in the area. I on the other hand live in the middle of midtown, near East Parkway and Madison. My neighborhood is ten times quieter than any place in the dirty Dova. I hardly have to deal with any traffic problems, going to the grocery store is quick and easy and I know most of the people that work in the local stores I shop. It's almost like a small town community in the middle of the city. You really couldn't pay me to live in the burbs.

After the local news I caught NBC Nightly News for the first time in months. Wow, it's not a great time to be a Republican, is it? Pardon me while I snicker. Oh and gas prices are about to go through the roof, as if they haven't already. I am seriously considering buying a bicycle.

Anyyawn, the two most important things I've learned during my afternoon of television is that Memphis still has a Saturday morning wrestling show and the Simpsons is really, really funny.

I'm gonna go try to tune in FX and MTV2 now.

Wanna See What We Missed?

Windy has some pretty cool pictures from Gonerfest last weekend. I actually only made it to Friday night's events. I kind of wish I had pulled it together and gone to The Buc. But all of the bands that I would have wanted to see the rest of the weekend, I've already seen several times and I kind of wanted to keep a low profile last weekend and get some things accomplished around my humble abode.

Anway, I started off the evening Friday with Mark and his brother Stewart down on Mud Island to catch the Glitches. Then we headed to The Hi-tone and I ended the night at The Armory. No, scratch that. I ended the night at The Two Way. How could I forget the last hour of the evening having a totally ridiculous argument with Basil Bayne. The same argument that started at The Hi-tone. Now that I think back, I think everywhere I went that night he followed me to continue the argument. Or maybe not.

Anywho, I'm still having computer troubles and can not update my Galleries or Upcoming Events. That's why if you have emailed me about something I haven't done it. It's not that I don't love you.

Show Of The Week

Why We Drink

"Sometimes when I reflect back on all the wine I drink I feel shame Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the vineyards and all of their hopes and dreams If I didn't drink this wine, they might be out of work and their dreams would be shattered. Then I say to myself, "It is better that I drink this wine and let their dreams come true than be selfish and worry about my liver."
~ Jack Handy

WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may leave you wondering what the hell happened to your bra and panties.

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"I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're going to feel all day. "
~Frank Sinatra

WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may create the illusion that you are tougher, smarter, faster and better looking than most people.

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"When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading."
~ Henny Youngman

WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may lead you to think people are laughing WITH you.

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"24 hours in a day, 24 beers in a case. Coincidence?
I think not."
~ Stephen Wright

WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may cause you to think you can sing.

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"When we drink, we get drunk. When we get drunk, we fall asleep. When we fall asleep, we commit no sin. When we commit no sin, we go to heaven. So, let's all
get drunk and go to heaven!"
~ Brian O'Rourke

WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may cause pregnancy.

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"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."
~ Benjamin Franklin

WARNING: The consumption of alcohol is a major factor in dancing like an idiot.

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"Without question, the greatest invention in the history of mankind is beer. Oh, I grant you that the wheel was also a fine invention, but the wheel does not go nearly as well with pizza."
~ Dave Barry

WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may cause you to tell your friends over and over again that you love them.

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To some it's a six-pack, to me it's a Support Group. Salvation in a can!
~ Dave Howell

WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may make you think you can logically converse with members of the opposite sex without spitting.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And saving the best for last, as explained by Cliff Clavin,
of Cheers. One afternoon at Cheers, Cliff Clavin was explaining the Buffalo Theory to his buddy Norm.

Here's how it went:
"Well ya see, Norm, it's like this... A herd of buffalo can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo. And when the herd is hunted, it is the slowest and weakest ones at the back that are killed first This natural selection is good for the herd as a whole, because health of the whole group keeps improving by the regular killing of the weakest members. In much the same way, the human brain can only operate as fast as the slowest brain cells. Excessive intake of alcohol, as we know, kills brain cells. But naturally, it attacks the slowest and weakest brain cells first. In this way, regular consumption of beer eliminates the weaker brain cells, making the brain a faster and more efficient machine. That's why you always feel smarter after a few beers."

WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may make you think you are whispering when you are not

Wednesday Night Madness

What I Did This Weekend

The Truth Hurts

When I first moved back to Memphis I took a job at WMC as an assignment editor. I've worked dozens of freelance jobs in my life and I am very conscience of how to deal with coming into a work situation where the hierarchy and office politics have been predetermined long before I arrived. I generally sit back and keep to myself and let the people around me determine whether they would like to include me into their social network or not. My experience is that people who join a new situation very gung ho to jump in the mix immediately are often shunned by the elders. It's all about power and people needing to assert who has it and who does not.

After a few weeks at Chennel 5, one of the producers there, we'll call him JJ, sought me out and began to invite me to do things after work. He was younger than me and I could tell that he was very envious of my experiences. Because when I moved back to Memphis I had recently ended a 5 year relationship, I was definitely eating up the attention. It made me feel good that he liked me so much. He introduced me to a number of people and we ended up becoming really close friends.

Several things ended up happening that greatly hindered our relationship. The first was that he had relationships with other people who were jealous that he began to spend a lot of time with me. The second was that he became enamoured with someone in my family. The third was that he lied to me and revealed several things that I told him in strict confidence.

I should have taken more seriously the affects that his spending a lot of time with me was having on his other relationships. I am not a terribly jealous or co-dependent person, so it was hard for me to understand their resentment towards me. I had the reaction that it was their problem and not mine to deal with. But actually, I could have been more sensitive to the how they felt. That was my mistake.

When I introduced JJ to D - they immediately hated each other. They traded insults most of the night. I actually had to convince each of them that they just got off to a bad start and should give each other another chance. Have you ever been in a situation where you think two people are just alike and that they would get along great, but the opposite is actually true? JJ and D were both very catty and gossipy and into fashion and cars and home decor. I thought they would be fast friends. And I guess eventually they were.

We actually became quite a threesome for a time. Then the trouble started. You see, JJ is gay. One of the first nights we went out together he confessed this to me and at the time, even though anyone with two eyes and half a brain would be able to figure out that he was a flaming homosexual, I was quite touched by his need to be open and honest with me. And so, it was no surprise to me when early on I could tell JJ was starting to have feelings for D.

I tried to stop things before they started. I told JJ not to let his feelings outweigh reality. I've known D for a very very long time and I knew that whatever might happen between them in private would never translate into him being brought home to Sunday supper to be introduced to the family. I knew the situation was bad news.

My advice was pretty much ignored, all I did was end up being put into an even more awkward situation. JJ continued his interest in D, but began to blatantly lie to me about it. I think what he did not count on was D's own neurosis. It is extremely hard to manipulate a manipulator and everyone involved had their own agenda. JJ wanted D bad. D wanted me to know that someone who started out as my friend wanted to hang out with him more than me. When you spell it out in these terms it all seems so juvenile now, but hindsight is 20/20.

So JJ would lie to me about his whereabouts and D would call me and go over every detail. And I was stuck in the middle. You know how there are two types of people in the world? The ones that you can confront with the truth and they will listen to what you have to say and then the ones whose first defense is always denial, denial, denial and then defensiveness? Well, that's JJ to a T. For a short period of time, I was actually scared to confront him. He had quickly become my best friend and I did not want to lose his friendship.

However, as time went on I was beginning to see JJ more and more clearly. JJ is the type of person that feeds on being the center of attenton and the way that he has accomplished that goal is being the queen of gossip. In the begining, I felt special to be a part of his inner circle. But then he said things about people that I thought he really respected. Things that kind of blew me away. Things about people that clearly held him in high regard. And then I realized that he talked shit about everyone. And that's when I realized that he was probably talking shit about me too.

It all became abundently clear when I found out that he had told D something that he knew I had told him in the deepest of confidences. I mistakenly became involved in a romantic relationship with one of my co-workers and had confided about the affair to JJ. Every part of that situation was a mistake on my part. Becoming involved with someone who is totally disfunctioanl and emotionally unavailable and then having to see them at work every day is pretty much the last thing anyone should ever do. I learned the hard way.

Then I realized that JJ was using my confidences as a tool to become closer to D. D had made it pretty clear that he had no interest in JJ romantically, but he was open to hearing all the sordid details of whoever JJ wanted to talk about.

Anyone who knows me well knows one thing. When I've had enough, I've had enough. Some people say things like "I don't lie" or "I don't like liars" whereas I know that lying to protect yourself or make yourself feel better is a natural part of being human. For the most part it doesn't really bother me. There have been many, many times when I have known my friends are lying to my face and I have just let it go, cause it's mostly not that important. They're almost lying to themselves more than me.

However, when you blatently use me as a tool for your own means, I have a problem with that. And that's how I felt. JJ was using my confidences to be closer to D and that was unacceptable. So I told him so. We had met a group of people out for drinks one night and I remember just seething inside. He finally asked me what was wrong and I let him have it.

Now when I say let him have it, you would have to know me to understand that I am really good at making someone feel like a complete asshole without ever calling them a name. I don't really raise my voice. I am hard and cold and factual. I can argue most people into a corner and leave them speechless. It's a gift.

And so after letting JJ know exactly how I felt about his antics and how badly they hurt me, I also let him know that it was his actions that I despised and not him. I am very good at letting go of the past and forgiving and forgetting, i don't think anyone should be judged based on their lowest point, but instead we should all be given the opportunity to learn from our mistakes and evolve as human beings. I'm no angel myself, and I always embrace the opportunity to be better.

Well, while I thought that we had come to an agreement about the situation and JJ was truly regretful of his actions, I soon learned that he was just gearing up for some sort of retaliation. Around this time my tenure at Channel 5 was coming to an end, I had been working there for 9 months after oringinally being told they would only need me for 1. As soon as I left, the weirdness began. JJ stopped taking my calls. People from the station did not acknowledge my emails. The waitstaff at our favorite watering hole snubbed me when I came in. It was like being in an episode of the Twilight Zone.

I finally went up to the station one evening after JJ had repeatedly not taken my calls. He had for the longest time told everyone that he could not check his voicemails on his cell phone, and then it was actually pointed out to me by D one evening, if he could not check his voicemails, then why was it never full? I know I had left him tons of messages over the prior months that mostly just said things like, "I know you're not gonna hear this - but hey call me back!"

Anyway, I called him and left him a message saying that if he did not return my call then I would mmeet him in the parking lot when he got off to discuss what the hell was going on. I arrived and immediately noticed that his car was not in the usual parking place, instead he had moved it to the front lot. So I went over and sat on the hood of my car and waited for him to come outside.

When he saw me he was obviously very perturbed and refused to speak to me. He said that we would talk later, but he was clearly just trying to get out of the situation. And so he left and we cleared up nothing. I called him as he was driving away in his car and this time he answered. We argued and I could see that he was clearly delusional. And I think for the very first time I saw who JJ really was.

I thought about the confessions he had made to me over the past months, the encounters he had had, his secret life, how star struck he was, how his disfunction manifested itself in his obesity, his overindulgences, his need for high dollar items to prove his worth, his constant need for attention and to be the center of attention. How he would be the first to offer to pay for rounds on his parent's credit cards. It finally became clear how much he must hate himself.

My theory is that JJ was very afraid that once our relationship was clearly over, I might talk negatively about him. So, he decided his best bet was to totally discredit me before I had the opportuntiy to do so. I can only guess this because you would think that I ate babies for breakfast by the way some of our past acquaintances have treated me. Even Anna Marie Hartman, who I always looked up to while at Channel 5, who I helped throw a birthday party for JJ with, who I spent hours making a video about her battle with breast cancer, does not even acknowledge me if she sees me in public.

And so while my first inclination was to go to each person and set the record straight on what happened between JJ and me, I decided to take the exact opposite approach and have not spoken of it until now. And the reason why is that I have never felt like I should have to defend myself. I was not the one at fault. And I don't need to prove that to anyone because eventually the truth comes out. Over the past year, there have been several people that JJ has burned that have come to me and told me that he made it very clear that they would have to choose with whom they would like to remain friends with. It's like we're all still in seventh grade.

I don't know why I feel the need to reveal all of this at this point. I guess it's because I saw him last night and he walked right past me several times like he didn't know me from Adam. He was sitting at a table with Anna Marie and several other people. Her husband waved to me undercover and it struck me how completely ridiulous the whole situation was.

I know that I am not perfect, and I don't expect anyone else to be. I just expect people to be adults. It seems that task is a lot harder than it sounds a lot of the time. And no matter what mistakes I made in dealing with this situation, there is one thing that I think JJ should be extremely grateful of. When I told him what happens in the bathroom at Backstreet stays in the bathroom at Backstreet, I meant it.

New Band Alert

I think they are great! Not that that that means anything at all.

HOLY SHIT! VOODOO COMES TO MEMPHIS!!!

RESTORE.REBUILD. REBIRTH.

VOODOO MOVES TO MEMPHIS, TN
HALLOWEEN WEEKEND

PROCEEDS TO BENEFIT THE NEW ORLEANS RESTORATION FUND (NORF), A DONOR-ADVISED FUND OF ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY FOUNDATION (EIF)

The Voodoo Music Experience will bring its quintessential New Orleans spirit to Memphis, the home of the blues and the birthplace of rock and roll. Memphis’ Tom Lee Park will serve as this year’s site for the two-day event, set to take place Halloween Weekend. This year’s Voodoo Music Experience will benefit the New Orleans Restoration Fund (NORF), a donor-advised fund of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF).

“Since our home-base is New Orleans, it’s been an especially difficult time for us, with staff losing homes and offices, and some of them losing everything,” says Stephen Rehage, founder and independent producer of the Voodoo Music Experience. “Moving a festival of this magnitude has been no easy task and we are grateful to the City of Memphis for extending their hospitality, to Trent Reznor for voicing his advocacy of NORF and Voodoo, to all the artists dedicating their time and energy to support the cause and to our incredible fans for their dedication and support over these last few weeks.”

To encourage fundraising efforts, VH1, as the principal media partner, will support the Voodoo Music Experience through a multi-hour primetime showcase of performances, scheduled to air Saturday, November 5.

Proceeds from the Voodoo Music Experience will benefit the New Orleans Restoration Fund (NORF), a donor-advised fund of Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), to support organizations dedicated to the restoration of the people, community and culture of New Orleans. A portion of the funds will be earmarked for Habitat for Humanity, Mercy Corps, and other national organizations to provide basic humanitarian assistance to victims of the storm. The remainder of the funds will be distributed directly to local grass-roots organizations committed to restoring the vibrant cultural community of the greater New Orleans area, including WWOZ, 90.7 FM, New Orleans Roots Radio; and YA/YA, Inc. (Young Aspirations/Young Artists), a local organization dedicated to empowering future generations of young artists and community leaders.

Thank you for your patience and support over this difficult time. We are looking forward to another fantastic festival.

Worship the Music,

The Voodoo Team

Current Line-up

Foo Fighter
Nine Inch Nails
The Flaming Lips
QOTSA
Billy Idol
Social Distortion
My Chemical Romance
The Secret Machines
New York Dolls
Cake
Mickey Hart
the Bravery
Louis XIV
LCD Soundsystem
Handsome Boy Modeling School
Digable Planets
Carl Cox
Brazillian Girls
The Decemberists
Death Form Above 1979
VHS or Beta
30 Seconds to Mars
HIM
The Dead 60's
King Wilkie
Dan Dyer
The Giraffes
World Leader Pretend
Mindless Self Indulgence
Something For Rockets
Ballzack
Ghost
Prince Paul
Dan the Automator
Red Rockers Reunion
Samurai Deli
Worms Union
Noomoon Tribe
Nag Hammadi
Joss Stone
Neville Brothers
Dr John
Kermit Ruffins

More to come

HeeHaw!

I Flake, Therefore I Am

I totally ditched my own party last night. I am such a loser! But I was tired and I got the finale to the second season of Nip/Tuck in the mail from Netflix and it was the one with Joan Rivers and, yeah, I know. I suck. I totally meant to tell the parentals to DVR the new season for me, I think it started on the 20th. I forgot though. Do they have FX On Demand for Digital Cable yet?

I really need to get an antenna for my television so I can at least see Oprah. I miss Oprah. I like Oprah. Laugh if you want. I don't care. I would rather watch Oprah than INXS: Rockstar and I hear that was a huge hit.

I've been teaching myself how to do some html design, so that's been keeping me busy this week. I've flodged on going out every night. I was on the list to see The Posies Sunday, but stayed home and read a book instead. Everyone and their brother went to see The Walkmen Tuesday, but I stayed home and coded The Pesky Fly. Last night, well, we already discussed that. Last Saturday at CY was such a long one, I just felt like I needed to regroup.

Anyyawn, tonight I have to make it out. Impala is playing Gonerfest. There's some afterparty at the Two Way. And I guess I need to go to Dish and pay my tab from last week. (Sorry Chris!)

See ya there.

How I Spend My Afternoons

I have three deadlines each week that I must make in my illustrious yet low paying freelance writing career. And pretty much every week I wait until the very last minute to throw something together. I often wonder what I could accomplish if I had more self discipline and actually worked hard at putting together a really great article. Of course, part of the problem is that I often recieve accolades that I am hardly worthy of.

I've always thought that my biggest hardship in school was consistently being told how smart I was. If someone had told me I was an idiot a couple of times, I might have tried to prove them wrong. Instead, I have pretty much always had the attitude that if I applied myself to something I would master it, so not needing to prove anything to myself or others, why bother?

What am I getting at? Nothing really, I just forwarded an article for publication which I think kind of sucked. Just waiting to hear back. I guess I'll go troll Myspace.

Week In Rock

The problem with this site is, the more people that read it, the more I am embarressed to write about my adventures in partying. More about CY '05 tomorrow. Here's what's coming up this week:

WHAT: Autumnal Equinox Festival
WHO: Featuring The Glitches (new under-"cover" band) & DJ Buck Wilders (Memphis' fave soul-funk spinner!)
WHEN: Friday, September 23rd, 6-10 pm (autumnal equinox)
WHERE: Maria Montessori School (outdoor) Amphitheatre-740 Harbor Bend Rd. (in Harbor Town, near Miss Cordelia's grocery store)

HOW (much): $10-includes Free Beer and Barbecue!

Man has long celebrated the Autumnal Equinox as the time when the long, hot days of summer give way to the cool, wondrous nights of fall. Help us commemorate this celebration of the change of seasons at the Maria Montessori School (outdoor) Amphitheatre (long-considered THE REAL Mud Island Amphitheatre) on Friday, September 23rd. We'll have Memphis' fave soul-funk spinner, DJ BUCK WILDERS playing the cool wax, and THE GLITCHES, the city's newest and best under-"cover" band, playing the hits of yesterday and today...

The Glitches are:
Robby Grant (Mouserocket, Vending Machine)
Jared McStay (Simple Ones, Nice Digs)
Lori McStay (Ultracats, Porch Ghouls)
Adam Woodard (Tearjerkers, Amy and The Tramps)

No kids.

More info:
Call 527-3444 for details

Today's Agenda

East Stage:
12:30 Retrospect - Ardent Records, Alternative Rock
1:30 The Glass - Alternative Country Rock
2:30 Amy & The Tramps - Archer Record, Rock-a-Billy
3:30 The Pirates – Beatlesesque Indie Rock Group
4:30 Rusty Lemon – Rock n’Roll

Congo Stage:
10:45 New Ballet Ensemble - Dance
11:30 Rhythm Realm African Drumming
12:15 The Tennessee Boltsmokers - Madjack Records, Bluegrass
1:15 Dan Montgomery - Folk & Country
2:15 Valencia Robinson - Neo Soul, R&B
3:15 Caliente - Latin
4:15 The Tim Terry Experience - Soulstreet Records, Neo Soul/R&B

Main Stage:
12:00 Announce Young Artist Contest Winners
12:30 U of M Jazz Band - Jazz Ensemble
1:30 Will Graves - Neo Soul and R&B
2:30 The Secret Service - Retro Rock n’Roll
3:30 Papa Topps and the West Coast Turnaround
4:30 Olga Wilhelmine and Jimbo Mathus - Hill Country Blues
5:30 Jim Dickinson and the Midtowners - HEADLINER, Acoustic & Electric Blues

Then Two Chicks and A Broom Party:

885 S. Cooper

With:

Antique Curtains
Noise Choir
Jeffrey James
Zippin Pippins
Jock
The Glass

Then:

Then:

Bush Humor

Wanda Sykes on Jay Leno

Jay: "But President Bush took responsibility."

Wanda: "I don't think the President should have taken responsibility.... I don't blame the President. I blame the American people. Y'all knew the man was slow when you voted him in. You can't blame the blind man for wrecking your car when you're the one who gave him the keys."

Thursday Night Special

Cooper Young Festival

This is the second year we've done this. Last year I met Abby, Bayne and Cort. Who will I meet this year? YOU?

Answering Reader Comments

Why is the highest level of government always to blame? What did Mayor Nagin do? What did Gov. Blanco do? It's like blaming the superintendent of schools because your kid is failing. Blame needs to be directed to those who were closest to the disaster. Do I not blame Bush at all? No, I do place blame on him, but I blame Nagin and Blanco first.

Posted by Dat Dude at September 13, 2005 09:40 AM

Independent congressional study shows Louisiana governor took necessary steps to get federal aid

Read the study here.

Read Raw Story's quick summary.

And finally, Cong. Conyers' press release about the study.

Any Questions?

PC Humor

Google is running a beta version of a new blog search engine. I found it the other night, but forgot to save the web addy. I tried to do a google search to find it again, but had no luck. So then I used the technorati blog search and it popped up right away. That my friends, is irony.

Top technorati search today? Impeach Bush

Guitarmageddon!

I give up

I went to a business meeting today and wore heels for the first time in over a year. It felt really weird. So did my outfit. My adult life has been a constant cycle of living a bohemian or a corporate lifestyle. Usually each cycle lasts 2 to 3 years. Whenever I have employment in which I make a comfortable living, I end up hating what it does to the rest of my life. Whenever I determine that I would rather get paid to do something that I love to do rather than make a lot of money, I get tired of being poor.

Well kids, it looks like I'm tired of being poor again. I want pedicures and spa days, I want shopping sprees and new shoes, I want new furniture and a new car.

Please send job offers.

Weekly Event

Sunday - Go! Go! Go!

If We Can't Laugh...

I've added new songs to my radio blog.

Nail. Head. Hit.

I really hate being political on this stupid blog. it always gets me into entanglements and trouble - but it just doesn't seem appropriate yet to get back to life as usual.

The thing that we all have to realize is that if there is a large scale terrorist attack in this country - we will probably not have 5, 4, or even 3 days warning. Anyone who thinks that the government's reaction to this catastophic event was up to par will be whistling a new tune when it's them floating down the river. And that's why we have to be objectivists in this situation. Sure, every professor I've ever had has refuted this philosophy - but it's really the one thing that has the potential to unite everyone's opinion. How can any sane person think that if it were them living through the horror of this event that they would be happy with FEMA's management of it?

Haunted by Hesitation - New York Times

By MAUREEN DOWD

WASHINGTON

It took a while, but the president finally figured out a response to the destruction of New Orleans.

Later this week (no point rushing things) W. is dispatching Dick Cheney to the rancid lake that was a romantic city. The vice president has at long last lumbered back from a Wyoming vacation, and, reportedly, from shopping for a $2.9 million waterfront estate in St. Michael's, a retreat in the Chesapeake Bay where Rummy has a weekend home, where "Wedding Crashers" was filmed and where rich lobbyists hunt.

Maybe Mr. Cheney is going down to New Orleans to hunt looters. Or to make sure that Halliburton's lucrative contract to rebuild the city is watertight. Or maybe, since former Senator John Breaux of Louisiana described the shattered parish as "Baghdad under water," the vice president plans to take his pal Ahmad Chalabi along for a consultation on destroying minority rights.

The water that breached the New Orleans levees and left a million people homeless and jobless has also breached the White House defenses. Reality has come flooding in. Since 9/11, the Bush administration has been remarkably successful at blowing off "the reality-based community," as it derisively calls the press.

But now, when W., Mr. Cheney, Laura, Rummy, Gen. Richard Myers, Michael Chertoff and the rest of the gang tell us everything's under control, our cities are safe, stay the course - who believes them?

This time we can actually see the bodies.

As the water recedes, more and more decaying bodies will testify to the callous and stumblebum administration response to Katrina's rout of 90,000 square miles of the South.

The Bush administration bungled the Iraq occupation, arrogantly throwing away State Department occupation plans and C.I.A. insurgency warnings. But the human toll of those mistakes has not been as viscerally evident because the White House pulled a curtain over the bodies: the president has avoided the funerals of soldiers, and the Pentagon has censored the coffins of the dead coming home and never acknowledges the number of Iraqi civilians killed.

But this time, the bodies of those who might have been saved between Monday and Friday, when the president failed to rush the necessary resources to a disaster that his own general describes as "biblical," or even send in the 82nd Airborne, are floating up in front of our eyes.

New Orleans's literary lore and tourist lure was its fascination with the dead and undead, its lavish annual Halloween party, its famous above-ground cemeteries, its love of vampires and voodoo and zombies. But now that the city is decimated, reeking with unnecessary death and destruction, the restless spirits of New Orleans will haunt the White House.

The administration's foreign policy is entirely constructed around American self-love - the idea that the U.S. is superior, that we are the model everyone looks up to, that everyone in the world wants what we have.

But when people around the world look at Iraq, they don't see freedom. They see chaos and sectarian hatred. And when they look at New Orleans, they see glaring incompetence and racial injustice, where the rich white people were saved and the poor black people were left to die hideous deaths. They see some conservatives blaming the poor for not saving themselves. So much for W.'s "culture of life."

The president won re-election because he said that the war in Iraq and the Homeland Security Department would make us safer. Hogwash.

W.'s 2004 convention was staged like "The Magnificent Seven" with the Republicans' swaggering tough guys - from Rudy Giuliani to Arnold Schwarzenegger to John McCain - riding in to save an embattled town.

These were the steely-eyed gunslingers we needed to protect us, they said, not those sissified girlie-men Democrats. But now it turns out that W. can't save the town, not even from hurricane damage that everyone has been predicting for years, much less from unpredictable terrorists.

His campaigns presented the arc of his life story as that of a man who stumbled around until he was 40, then found himself and developed a laserlike focus.

But now that the people of New Orleans need an ark, we have to question the president's arc. He's stumbling in Iraq and he's stumbling on Katrina.

Let's play the blame game: the man who benefited more than anyone in history from safety nets set up by family did not bother to provide one for those who lost their families.

E-mail: liberties@nytimes.com

I'm Getting Political Again

"A president who has betrayed your trust has not won your vote. In my view, it is that simple. To say otherwise is to send a message that public integrity is meaningless."

"Public ethics is a public trust and when it is violated, the damage is done to our nation and our institutions, and our idealism. Confronting it directly and forcefully is not a personal attack; it is a public duty."

"This election will help determine the nature and integrity and dignity of the presidency itself. Can it be trusted? Should it be respected?"

(Quotes from Bob Dole speech, 10/16/96)

"If you fall on the side that is pro-George and pro-war, you get your ass over to Iraq, and take the place of somebody who wants to come home. And if you fall on the side that is against this war and against George Bush, stand up and speak out."

-Cindy Sheehan, courageous mother and patriot

Just Like 1994 All Over Again

Firefox Saves The Day

My computer woes have been partially solved, but I still have some work to do to get everything back to the way it was. Luckily, I probably would not have blogged much last week anyway.

I've spent the last 6 nights feeding meals to people displaced by Katrina. Some were devestated by the events and lost home and family, others have merely been inconvenienced. It looks like the job market in Memphis may be pretty tight for a while.

One of the most interesting things I've read lately came from Mark's blog:

[Former Atlanta mayor and UN ambassador Andrew] Young says that what played out in New Orleans this past week is the result of decisions made as long ago as the 1940s when farm work became scarce and many poor black families moved to urban America. “That’s true in almost every major city. We gave farmers money not to grow food and fiber. But we didn’t give any resources to the people who’d been living on those lands. And they crowded into cities without adequate education,” he says.

“The first of the month in America is a very important date,” says Rep. Maxine Waters (R-Calif.) “Not only do you have pension checks, welfare checks, other kinds of resources basically for poor people, by the 29th you don’t have any money. You’re out.”

I've got a lot of pictures and flyers to post. Check back soon.

First Hand Account

I got this from a friend:

My heart is breaking and I wanted to tell you about it.
Whatever you have seen on the news cannot describe what is going in New Orleans and other areas affected by the hurricane. And no one is doing anything about it.

It is 2 a.m. Monroe, La. time. I've just come back into town from Kenner, La. (10-15 miles out of New Orleans). The governor issued an executive order to all local districts in the state last night to send out any school buses available to New Orleans to evacuate people and I hitched a ride with them, hoping to get into the city. We never even made it but we didn't have to.

It has been six days since the hurricane struck. After racing through the state, and the devastation only became more apparent as you got closer to New Orleans, we were ordered by the National Guard into a long line on Interstate 10, in Kenner. It used to be the gothic, swampy road that led into an even more amazing city. The water is now at the same level as the roadway, there are dead fish everywhere, I even saw what must have been a 10-foot-long alligator on the side of the road dead but seemingly untouched. Roadway signs are gone or misshapen. Trash is everywhere. And so were National Guardsman, as far as the eye could see, just milling about with no apparent mission except to eat MREs and sweat.

On the way down, we were told the buses would be used to ferry people from the convention center and superdome to the airport and points beyond. It never happened. We spent 5 fruitless hours sitting in a parking lot along with dozens of other buses, U.S. Marshals, a fleet of cars from a commercial armored car company, water trucks, fuel tankers, cops from all over the state, and of course, evacuees.
And nobody knew what the fuck was going on or what they were supposed to be doing.

I spoke with multiple uniformed people, all calling themselves "major", who told me something different every time I spoke to them. Stay here for now. Go home. Stay here. Go to the airport. Remove coolers from the buses so people won't bum rush them. A bus overturned in the city and crushed someone so you can't go in. Get ready to carry food in. At the checkpoint up the road, they wouldn't let anyone in or out of the city.

I spent most of the afternoon with a 23 year old named Scott, who I found sitting on the side of the road. His shorts looked like they'd been pissed in a few times and had shitstains on the back of them. He just graduated from college this summer in Ohio and moved to New Orleans while touring the United States on his motorcycle.

Today, he'd managed to leave the city by riding a bicycle around for two days until he found a dry route. He had bruises all over his arms and legs and a yellow, bloody welt on his forehead. Apparently, he'd gotten too close of a look at some looters and they chased him until he fell on his face. He was waiting for a friend to pick him up from Lafayette.

I probably battered him with too many questions about old haunts and street corners, and what he'd seen where but it was all very ugly.
New Orleans has become a demented caricature of itself.

He told me that while some people were barbecuing, partying and ready to "weather" the problem, he also saw people dying in other parts of the city, heard gunfire all day and all night long, and a lot of people wandering aimlessly. Of course, he saw the looters too, people joyriding in expensive cars and crashing them into things.

Mostly, Scott had the strangest look on his face, it was a mix of resignation and utter stupor. I felt as if he were speaking through a car window while half-asleep.

It is unforunate, if not downright criminal, that what most people will remember from this will be the legends of lawlessness that will come out of the current situation in New Orleans. It's always had its criminal element but it is not everyone.

I just don't understand why no one is doing anything about this. I'm glad Bush came five days later for a few half-hearted hugs and a couple o' thank-god-i'll-never-have-to-see-you-again winks. Fuck him.
Is it because its New Orleans? Is because most of the people on TV are mostly the poor black ones? Is it because of the looting? All I know is, we all have our federal and state government to thank for shoving a hot poker deeper into our collective asses.

$10 billion in federal aid will not be enough to rebuild part of three states. Monroe may not have been affected by the weather, but we now have thousands of extra people here to feed for months, who need jobs and shelter. They're getting restless and so are the locals. I feel like we are only days away from the natives blaming the refugees for local robberies, rapes and murders. And then things will get very bad. I cannot even begin to tell you about the rumors. They don't stop and they're getting worse.

People cannot stand to be without any hope for this long. Gas prices are way up and increasing by the day. This entire region is on the verge of economic collapse. Area school districts have been swamped with hundreds of new enrollees, all evacuees, and they won't be able to afford to operate for long. People at the local shelters are starting to get sick from being pack too closely together.
This may be the one and only time I'll ever say this, but please say a prayer for all these people because they need all the help hey can get.

Ian Morrison
p.s. to all those who have emailed and called, thank you. And to those who haven't, it was probably because the goddamn phones aren't working either :)

Week In Review

This is certainly a time for appreciation. Appreciation of your health, your life, the safety of your friends and your family. And I am, appreciative.

There's an HP commercial in rotation right now that consists of shots of a bunch of little things going wrong: a broken zipper, a cabinet that won't close, unopenable CD packaging.

That's how my life feels right now. A tree fell on the house next to mine during the storm last weekend. I was without power for a couple of days, and the city decided the best time to cut up the tree to remove it was every night this week at 2AM. When power was restored I was thrilled to find that there seems to be something wrong with my computer so that now I don't have access to any of my files or to the internet. Which kind of sucks since, as a freelance writer, that stuff is kind of important.

I also have been dealing with a cell phone nightmare the last month. As some of you may know, mine was stolen at the beginning of August. After trying to talk the culprit into at least giving me back my SIMS card and failing, I called the insurance company and was informed that my replacement would be a refurbished motorola. Well, that was unacceptable, as not only was my original phone expensive, none of my accessories would work with a Motorola and once I replaced those, I would have spent enough money to have just bought a new phone. So, I dcided to do just that. I kept an eye on EBAY until I caught a decent deal on the phone I wanted, then I shelled out over $200 for it. In my current financial situation, that wasn't an easy amount to come up with.

So, finally I went to Cingular to have my phone turned on Tuesday. I brought my bill with me to pay. After waiting 45 minutes, the sales person replaced my SIMS card and activated my new phone. She then told me that my bill was not due until September 18th and I did not have to pay it then if I didn't want. So, I chose to wait.

Yesterday my phone was cut off due to non-payment. I just called to have it re-connected. I was charged a 36 dollar re-connect fee.

The point is: little things are breaking me.