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The Subprime Primer

Pretty impressive they included New Orleans in their Super Tuesday barnstorming even though the primary isn't until next week.  Who knows maybe they thought Mardi Gras translated to Super Tuesday and not Fat Tuesday.

A truly great Mardi Gras.  I got a coconut (ah the power of fat whiteboy manboobs!) and I think only a few of my cellphone contacts got unintelligible phone calls from me before I wisely turned off my phone.

Waiting for the float…

 …and making a catch as it comes on by.

Parade craziness this year.  Orpheus in Mandeville on Friday, then Iris, Tucks and Endymion on Saturday and then William and I snuck back on Sunday after the not so exciting boat parade in Madisonville for the end to Thoth and all of Bacchus. We'll all head back in for Zulu and Rex tomorrow.

Some observations:

• With apologies to STKWM's man/the boy, if you're a southern Louisiana marching band, you have the right to talk a great deal of sh|t to just about any other marching band.  On Saturday, we saw bands that marched in Mandeville the night before and then all three parades in the city.  The city parade route in the city is about 6-7 miles (my guess) so after being up late on Friday, these folks start up at about 10 AM Saturday, march 18-21 miles and finish up the day around midnight.  The they do it all again on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.  
• It's getting a little expensive, but paying for some space on a bandstand and the use of a bathroom that gets cleaned at regular intervals is well worth the money.   As you can see in the pictures of W above, not only is it less crowded, but we end up about 15 feet off the ground so it's easier to make eye contact with the riders and as a result, get some good throws.
• While not the blonde to his right, W did get to experience the whole "boobs for beads" economy that sometimes occurs down here.  Bacchus as a whole was much rowdier than the other parades - both the riders and the crowds.  There was some seriously rough throws and I spent a good chunk of time ducking behind the barrier.  No busted up head for me this year, but the woman next to me got a serious fat lip. Oh yeah, for the record, the boob showing woman was from Texas.  She was classy enough to be wearing a tshirt that highlighted her assets with the quote "Everything's Bigger In Texas."
• Cold beer = good. Cold Popeyes = not so good.
• Update:  I nearly forgot this one.  I'm a little embarrassed to admit this now, but up until Saturday, The Shriners to me were always the group toward the front of the parade who tossed out Tootsie Rolls and not so hot beads.  And I never really paid them too much attention.  Well, on Saturday we had a chance to talk with a couple from Indiana whose son was badly burned and spent months in a hospital recuperating.  I also discovered that if you've got a kid that gets really badly burned that the Shriners got your back in a big way. So when W and I went into the city on Sunday, and the Shriners cruised by in their dune buggies, both W and I gave them some good yells and applause.  And you should too.