I have to get outfitted for the Petronius ball this week. For all my years in New Orleans, this will be my first real Carnival ball. Petronius is the oldest gay krewe, and Grey is their official photographer, and it's formal which means we both have to wear tuxedos, so AAAARRRRRGH. He is helping me with most of the outfitting, but I found the ( Read more... )

I haven't been ignoring all your kind comments, tweets, and e-mails -- well, no more than usual, since you already know I'm not very good at keeping up with these things. I just had no choice, after the Saints' victory parade last Tuesday, but to fully succumb to this pneumonia and try to get done with it. And I'm trying. I don't feel very good, ( Read more... )

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A couple of days ago, jane_doe_ posted the following in neworleans:

I know this lady whose church goes on a mission trip to Guatemala every year, and she's looking for plush toys from Mardi Gras parades that anyone might not want. So, before you give that technicolor teddy bear to your dog to destroy in 15 seconds flat, think about giving it to me so I can get it to ( Read more... )

Since marquisdd called my Mardi Gras summary on his journal "minimal and stark ... pure Hemingway" (and since I'm a tired old fart despite only having had one Bloody Mary yesterday), I shall repost it:

We went out. We had fun. Here are a couple of lame pictures we took before leaving the house because we were too lazy to carry the camera around. Saw Rex. ( Read more... )

I have assembled these over the course of an intense and strenuous parade season. There needs to be an equivalent set for paradegoers -- beginning with "Thou shalt not judge a parade solely by how much stuff they throw" -- but I cannot do everything at once.

1. Thou shalt forsake thy cell phone except to briefly ascertain locations of family ( Read more... )

At least once during the final week of madness leading to every Mardi Gras, I need a day where I ignore it and catch up on relaxing/solitary activities. Today was my "ignore day." I hated to miss Tucks (even though Chris went as my envoy), but I worked in the garden, read, and managed to finish and photograph a couple of blank books I'd been ( Read more... )

There are few things more morally reprehensible than a float rider who dangles a gorgeous pair of beads to tantalize the crowd, then puts them away and flings a handful of crappy beads. I'm looking at YOU, Krewe d'Etat. (I do love the Archbishop Hughes' Papal Police Dance Team shirt my friend Greg Sonnier got me from d'Etat, and will post pictures ( Read more... )

I'm up early in an attempt to get some gardening done and still have energy for tonight's great parade lineup: Babylon, Muses, and Chaos. Although, honestly, I can't say I have felt quite the same about Muses since ... well, suppose I just tell the tale. Each year, Muses selects a woman from the New Orleans arts community to ride as an "honorary ( Read more... )

... at least so far. It's only 1:00 PM, the crack of dawn to me these days, so I suppose it has the potential to get better ( Read more... )