Christmas day, 2005

Christmas settled over casa kahunah like a large, wet sack. I sat around most of the day, watching inane Christmas movies on ABC family, and then realized I was being an idiot. I needed to go out. Do something... Anything.

So, I called up Dizzy... Who I knew was in a similar situation, as her family was out of town for the holiday, leaving her and her cat alone in her house for the first time since Katrina. Now, far be it from me to intrude upon the first privacy that a friend has had since the hurricane that changed all our lives, but I figured that it was Christmas and maybe she would want some company too. So, I call and suggested we grab some dinner... So we did. Chinese Buffets are great, and open on Christmas :)

Afterward, Dizzy told me that Benny Grunch and the Bunch were giving a free concert at Mid-city lanes Rock and Bowl. For those of you not from New Orleans, Benny grunch is famous for their New Orleans themes songs, such as the Twelve Yats of Christmas, Santa and his Reindeer used to live right Here, and Aint Dere no more. His music is a combination of many different styles, from Rock to Zydeco, to Rap, and is always VERY funny. So I figured, what the heck, and we went.

Going into Rock and Bowl renewed my faith in my city. Here were at least a hundred of my neighbors, all gathered together, in the spirit of Christmas, listening to a band that is truly Uniquely New Orleans. When we arrived, and old friend of Dizzy's recognized her as we walked in, and have her a big hug. He then yelled at me "Don't know who you are!" and gave me a big hug too.

It wasn't long before Benny Grunch and the Bunch hit the stage, a unique blend of music and comedy. Aint Dere no more is about all the unique businesses in New Orleans that have gone out of business over the years, and has always been one of my favorites. But this year, Benny and the boys made a new version of the song, (which was enough for me to buy their post-Katrina CD)... Temporarily Aint Dere No More . A sample:

Ya see Grand Isle, it's way out miles in the Gulf of Mexico
Then I guess we'd go to Westwego for The Tarpon Rodeo
Here's a tale of two cities that were sittin' too pretty
'Tween the 17th St. Canal and Gulf of Mexico
When they both got dunked and sunk till they stunk
Now I don't wanna say "Ain't Dere No More"

'Cause they comin right back, you can quote me on that,
Twice as nice as they was before
Startin' with the Parish of St. Bernard -
Temporarily Ain't Dere No More

But if your boat needs gas while Hopedale's trashed
And you're lookin' for a hi-class crowd
You can join right up at the Southern Yacht Club
But it ain't gonna be right now.

Now who's got alleys so you don't have to carry
All your garbage cans out there on ya new mowed lawn
There was butterflies, parrots, squirrels, organic carrots
All of a sudden with the floodin' it was almost gone
But they're comin' back in hours, out plantin' little flowers
On the neutral ground all away out to Lake Shore
Never thought there'd be a curfew right here in Lakeview -
Temporarily Ain't Dere No More

After the traditional songs, Benny went into a few covers, mostly 50's dance tunes. Dizzy's friend, (the one with the hugging problem, now very drunk) then proceeded to grab his wife and dance, swinging her about and doing twirls and such. He then proceeded to grab his daughter and do the same, then he grabbed Dizzy and swung her around for a bit... And then, he grabbed me. I of course, rolled with it, and swung him around on the dance floor as hard as he had been swinging the girls. Had to grab his arm a few times to keep him from flying over the rail and into the lap of some unsuspecting bowlers, but it was very funny. Apparently, we were quite the sight, as the crowd around us was rolling in laughter as the song came to an end, and for a split second I was in the Old, pre-Katrina New Orleans... where things like that just happen and everyone finds it funny and rolls with the joke.

I love this town.

Reason #428 why I hate Frickin Christmas...

It's Christmas Eve... I'm bummed out cause I can't find "A Miracle on 34th street" on a single channel.

Bah Humbug.

A merry Festivus after all...

Well kids, last night I went out drinking and reminiscing (sp?) with an old friend. Lessee... need a good code name for this story, so, lets call her Dizzy. (Trust me, she'll love it.)

First, we met up for dinner at a Chinese buffet (mmmmmm chinese buffet) and got our eat on. I had just sat down when In walks two guys with guitars and a flautist (sp?). Not what one normally expects when eating chinese. So, as dizzy returns to the table, I point them out. "Fortunately, we are in a far corner of the resturant" I think to myself, "Not like they're gonna start carolling next to our table or something." Which they then proceed to do. I couldn't eat because I was too busy laughing, at both the situation (Christmas at a chinese resturant?) and at the fact that Dizzy was delighted by this turn of events. It only made matters worse then the lead guitarist introduced that the flautist and her friend were from iceland, and then they launched into an inspired version of "Feliz navidad".

That's at least three more cultures than I expected to be exposed to that night.

Well, they eventually moved on, and I chatted with Dizzy about what's going on with both of us. (had a lot to catch up on... when last I saw her, Charity and I weren't even dating, much less married and divorced) I was shocked when she told me that she had gotten me a festivus gift.

So I'm thinking, "Sure. She read my blog and just decided to call the christmas gift a festivus one to mess with my head." You see, true festivus gifts must be something you don't want, and something that the recipiant probably doesn't want either. So, I open it. Two copies of "the fellowship of the ring" on DVD. (yes, two copies of the same movie) She had gotten the boxed set, and so didn't want them any more, and I have never been one for the whole Tolkien thing.

It was indeed a Festivus gift. A Festivus miracle, as it were. I am SO getting a Festivus pole next year. I don't even need to shop for a Festivus gift for anyone, as at least two people are getting "the fellowship of the ring" on DVD, one of whom is certainly gonna be Dizzy.

Merry Festivus, Y'all

Ahhhh... the holidays. Part deux.

The amazing thing about one holiday is how it stretches into another. Basically, after halloween, it's all downhill to christmas. My friends and I have an anual christmas party, and this year it was at Drew and Stacey's house.

As you can see from the photo, we were all making with the merry. I'm the furry one in the back :)

Made out pretty well on the presents this year... I got all four Superman Movies from Ringo, The First season of the George Reeves Superman TV show from JavaFooFoo, A Superman alarm clock from Dave, and the old 1940's movie serial "the adventures of Captain Marvel" from Drew and Stacey.

Notice the pattern anyone?

Still, I found it hard to be in the christmas spirit most of the night. I dunno what is is about the holidays of late, but I have been finding it increasingly difficult over the years to keep that christmas spirit in my heart. I'm expecting Jacob Marley to come by any day now with his three pals.

Bah Frickin Humbug. I'm going with Festivus next year for sure.

But, still, it was great to have everyone in one place for a change. It's been a rough year all around, what with hurricanes and divorces (okay, one divorce... mine.) and other stuff that make up the fabric of our lives. It was nice just to kick back and enjoy a simple night in the company of friends.

Over the weekend, I hung out in Brandon and wound up buying a car. Drew now refers to me as the "CARhunah". It's a 93 buick, and runs really well. I'm thinking I could probably sell it for at least twice what I paid for it, as car prices here in New Orleans are fairly high right now. What do y'all think?

I made it a point to be back in New Orleans by thursday, to go to Pub Quiz at the crown and anchor. Ducky and I, amazingly enough, placed in every single round. For a team of two that always get their asses handed to them by the larger and smarter baby Boomer teams, it was quite the Christmas miracle. In the first round, we were named "Cat on a hot blue roof" and placed third. The second round we named ourselves "Chestnuts roasting in a FEMA trailer" and placed second. We were elated, and could have gone home right then and there, but in the third round, ("Grandma got run over by Katrina") we heard answer after answer and realized we were the only team celebrating each right one. We sat in disbelief when we were told that we got first place.

Merry Christmas to one and all. May your Chrismahanakwanzakus wishes all come true.

Trivial Tuesday

Howdy, Y'all... been up in Brandon all week visiting Drew and Stacey, and attending my merry little group's Christmas shindig. It's been fun. I will make it a point to tell everyone more when I have some more time to write, but the big news is that I bought a car! been like 10 years since I had one of my own, but in post Katrina New Orleans, it has proven to be a must.

On with the trivia:

In the Category of Trivial Television-
1)Name Tim Taylor's sons from "Home Improvement".

In the category of Classic Cartoons-
2)When recounting his life, where does Bugs Bunny say he was born?

In the Category of Manic Movies-
3) In "History of the world part 1", name two of the things that Mel Brooks promises we'll see in "History of the world part 2".

In the Category of "famous Firsts"
4)Who was the first Monarch to have a televised coronation?

Answers by the weekend, and as always... NO Googling :)

New Feature- Trivial tuesdays!

In our ongoing quest to have Rob make more regular posts, we are pleased to announce our first Trival Tuesday. Each tuesday, Rob will post a few triva questions, and put the answers in the comments by the weekend. We hope you enjoy this new feature, as we know Rob absolutely loves it.
---Dogs Of Atlantis management

Howdy there kids... trivial tuesday time. No cheating by looking up the answers on the internet please.

In the category of "Famous Firsts":
1)Who was the first woman to win a nobel prize?

In the category of "Classic Cartoons":
2)What was the name of Speed Racer's Younger brother and his pet monkey?

In the category of "Super Science":
3)What is the only metal that is a liquid at room temperature?

In the category of "Trivial Television"
4)In the original 'wardrobe malfunction', what actress accidentally exhaled her breast out of her dress during the telecast of the Academy Awards in 1957?

For all the Pulp Fiction folks in the house...

This is brilliant. How they got Sam Jackson for it, I will never know. Nice to see that Jules found that direction, after all.

What to post when you have exactly zip, zilch, and nada to talk about...

"You need to post something!" Java Foo Foo admonished me the other day about my blog. She, like many of you check my blog all the time, and have been wondering what happened to me. Well, the fact of the matter is very little. As many of you know, I try to keep the tone of my posts light. In the spirit of DOA, I also try to give each and every post some kind of relevance to whatever is going on in my life, but I think y'all can tell when I'm faking it. Basically, I worry about boring y'all when the most interesting thing that has happened to me today was the dramatic decision to have cream cheese rather than peanut butter on my bagel this morning. So, I figure once a week I'll start reaching into the old DOA mailbag if I have nothing else to write.

First off, On 11/13, Dreamwalker from New Zealand wrote:
I am your 1700 visitor...Do I get a prize? And, hey...Where's the new blog. I travel a long way to read this. :)

Yes, dreamwalker, you do get a prize. Your comment is the first I decided to use for this feature. Visitor 2000 will get an artifact from the DOA office, either an original cartoon about the visitor, an empty can of sam's cola, or a dirty sock. I'll let y'all know when I decide which.

On 10/29, anonymous wrote:

Oh Great Webkahunah, Don't run away to New England just yet. Come back to New Orleans. Re-enroll at U.N.O. or Delgado. Learn the intricacies of running a hotel.

You're still young and Cute too. Meet a nice woman and date her. You never know, you might get lucky. (Wink, Wink, Nudge, Nudge)

Then the 2 of you can run your little cottage inn by the ocean together. And does it have to be New England? Virginia and Georgia are nice and a lot less Snowy. And you'd have a longer "Season" you'd be open for. And just think of the different styles of Cooking you could offer. New York and New Orleans.

I know it's your life and your decision, but I wanted you to know that one of your New Orleans friends would rather have you here than there.

To anonymous, I say: Who the heck are you, and are you female and cute? These questions have been plagueing me since I read that.I admittedly, need a date as much as I need a job.

I have also been putting some of my time and energy into The grand return of Atomic Thump. Mostly, I like doing neat photoshop manipulations, and then writing the background stories... My character in the band is "Big Daddy Scruptious", seen at the right. He was the accordion player in the greatest 80's heavy metal band you've never heard of... check it out if you like silly humor.

Hey, I gotta spend my free time doing more than playing City of heroes, people.