I'm just talking 'bout Harry.

Cause he's one bad mother-

-Shut yo mouth!

He's a complicated man!

-Potter!

I just saw the new HP movie trailer last night. It happens to be coming out on my birthday. I know they did this just for me, because I am awesome. Thanks, HP people. I love you so.

Won't Someone Think of the Red Beans 'n Rice??

I've listened to a lot of the talk over whether or not to rebuild New Orleans. There are many compelling reasons to just declare it a dead zone and move on with reality. I mean, the billions and billions of dollars it will require for the clearing of rubble, the demolition of ruined buildings, the restoration of power and communication lines, the complete overhaul of water and sewage systems, it goes on and on... And all of that is only after the water is pumped out, the bodies carted away, and protective measures taken against the city flooding again.

Not to mention the contamination that is seeping into the earth as it sits in a soup of human waste, oil and chemical spillage, and god knows what else. That stuff doesn't go away with a few good rains. I read somewhere that there are places outside of St. Petersburg, sites of old villages and such, where people do not ever go because they can still catch the plague.

Not that I really have a say in the matter, but I had been in favor of everyone just cleaning up the disaster area the best they could, caution-taping the whole place off, and walking away for a few decades. No rebuilding. Let sleeping dogs lie. Until.

Until I was made aware of the fact that Zattarain's is actually based out of New Orleans. It never really occured to me that such a delicious company would not have outsourced it's production to somewhere less voulnerable, say, Chicago. Kansas City. Detroit. ANYWHERE ELSE!

I mean, how could this happen?? One minute we are all munching on jambalaya with chicken, shrimp, ground beef or sausage, and the next minute, realizing that we never really appreciated this versatile, mouthwatering food of the gods while we had it!! So much better than hamburger helper, yet so convenient!! A one-pan, two-step meal for three or four people for under $5, in only 25 minutes! And the spanish rice! SO GOOD FOR STUFFED PEPPERS!! I can't even tell you how many nights we ate the dirty rice in college and were so sooo happy! Some of you were there! You know!

Ok, people, I do not know for a fact that the Zattarain's company was actually affected by the hurricane. For all I know, the factory or plant or whatever is perfectly dry, still churning out boxed rice deliciousness as we speak. But on the off chance that my jambalaya supply will be interrupted in the slightest, I vote yes. YES on the rebuilding of New Orleans. Toxic wasteland be damned! This is America! We have billions and billions of dollars! Who's with me?? Zattarain's...I mean New Orleans forever!!

Rated ARRRRRRRR!!!!!!

Everyone needs a pirate day. On this day, I pimped it, pirate-style.

My Baby

Jaimie's (my) baby turned one on the 25th. With all the Pennsic hangover and whatnot, I haven't gotten around to sharing the cuteness until now. But oh, the cuteness.

They got a cake all for him, just so he could rip into it. It was a big fish (I don't know, they like fish) that said "JR." Frosting. Everywhere.




It was a big day. It's been a big year. I mean, he discovered his fingers and toes, learned how to clap, learned how to say "dadadaDaDaDADADADADAD!!!" whenever mommy is simply not satisfactory, learned how to kiss mommy because she is actually the light of his life, and became entirely self-propelled, willing and able to seek out every bite-sized floor crumb and dust-covered couch flotsam and furniture staple forgodsake in exsistance.

No wonder he's all tuckered out.

if I have to be on a wagon...

...it's going to be of the "band" variety. In particular, the "outrage" bandwagon.

I'm not a self-hating American. I am a bleeding-heart liberal Bush-basher. It's different.

However.

I am having a real hard time with the reporters and commentators who, upon viewing the aftermath of a hurricane and the very human reaction people are having to being homeless and hungry, proclaim with a touch of horror in their voices that they cannot believe they are seeing this on American soil. This, of course, encompasing the natural disaster, the destruction of a beloved city, and the frightening chaos of human desperation in the aftermath. This happens to darker, poorer countries that have no infrastructures anyway, right? This affects exotic faraway lands, and probably is a direct result of those people not speaking English. Didn't everyone get the memo? This is too base...to common for Americans to have to endure. This happens to Indonesians and Chinese and Africans, not us.

We are Paris Hilton at a Supreme Court ruling, stamping our stiletto in protest; "What do you mean I don't get to vote? Don't you know who I am?!?"

There is a great line from Terry Pratchet or someone that goes, "civilization is only 24 hours and two meals away from utter barbarism." I believe that the average American has no idea what we are supposed to do in times of crisis, or what a relief effort even looks like up close, because for most of us, a crisis involves Starbucks running out of caramel drizzel for our machiattos. I am not surprised that relief efforts have been slow and disorganized. We have resources, but a massive disaster is still a massive disaster, even if it happens on the sacred soil of our forefathers. Imagine how slow and futile relief efforts must be in places without mighty American resources.

We can't just give some lip service to UNICEF, donate five bucks to some unfortunate foreign tragedy and go about our business with this one; we have to actually do something, a lot of continuous something. I think the sensation of actual responsibility is shocking to the American system. Responsibility compounded with the reality that for so many, even our best efforts would not be enough.