I'm not sure where to start on this one. It does to some extent, affect me, but not to a point of protest or becoming an activist, attempting to effect change or to influence the outcome. Heidi from the Crescent City, would probably be far more qualified to address this one.

I am referring to today's stories in the news. Those on the unfolding aftermath of Katrina and the jockeying for control of the "NEW" Orleans.

First and foremost, it seems some city council folks(God, I wish I had the benefit of photos to help here)have taken the stance of saying that only folks able to "work" should be allowed to return to their homes in N.O. Couple that with the fact that Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu has announced that he will run against Ray Nagin for the office of Mayor of New Orleans.

A late insert here: who runs for or is elected as mayor, is not relevant to this rant - as long as he/she has the best interests of ALL New Orleaneans in mind!

Let us forget for a moment, how many cities - north and south, have absorbed, without question, the masses who were forced to flee, either before or after the storm. Let's forget, the increase in crime rates in these host communities who opened their doors and hearts to those in need.

Instead, let's focus on this blatant attempt by white bread good ol' boy, corrupt, shades of Edwin Edwards types, to sterilize and sanitize the city of New Orleans, and to rebuild it to their specifications.
To retain the services and flavor of the talented and colorful black institutions who make up the core of the culture that is the "Big Easy", while at the same time, saying no to the "lazy welfare niggers", the poor blacks, some of who have never had a fighting chance since birth, to make their stake in that society. I'll be the first to admit that there are a lot of people there and here, who make a living off the system, allowing you and me to pay their way through life.

By the same token, according to the plan to allow back, only those able to "work", think of who will be excluded. The eighty year old lady who worked as a maid in the "Quarter", or as a teacher in the schools in the wards or Metairie for the last sixty years, and retired to only be flooded out of the only place she's ever known as home. The other infirm and retired folks who lived out their lives in the delta country, and stayed with their families, waiting for their time to go to a higher place.

I think that in light of this proposal, the rest of the country and commom sense will surely prevail. I find it hard to believe, that under the glare of the spotlight now shining on this decimated, but once magnificent and proud culture, that coonass white power politics will be allowed to blatantly rebuild this population center in a way that benefits their greed, as they did under the radar, in the fifties.

For those who are offended by this, get over it it. This is New Orleans. Suck da heads. Drop your top. Go hear the Radiators or The Iguanas or Professor Longhair. Try some of the richest and tastiest cuisine on the planet. Ride an airboat. Get up early on Sunday and go to church in Acadiana.

Just don't say who is welcome back, and who you'd rather have stay away, where folks were gracious enough to take care of them when they were hurting. The ones who like it here and there and who are willing to do what it takes to make their way, and yes, that means applying for assistance, if necessary, are welcome to stay. The ones who long to go home, should be allowed to return. This ain't rocket science. It's repatriation of displaced natives after a disaster. Those aforementioned coonass good ol' boys did some jail time for their redneck, greedy attempts at making society fit their needs. Push your luck, and I'm sure there's a cell waiting for anyone else who thinks they can twist the rules to their liking.

This ain't about black and white. It's about doing what's right. It's about rebuilding a community, culture families, and a way of life. Work it out. You all have a pretty good idea what floods and what doesn't now, right? You may want to take that into consideration when rebuilding. Build it back, but build it better!

"Laissez les bons temps rouler!"

My only complaint about Presidents' Day is that I didn't get it off work like some did..... At least it's not one which has been pimped by retailers to the point of trying to get their hands a little deeper into our pockets. Best they've come up with is an extra flyer in the papers for their "Prez Day Sales", to try and entice the few who get the day off to come in and buy a toaster....

Has anyone noticed how impatient in general, our world is becoming these days? Maybe it's just in the fast paced life of the city, but nobody seems to stop and take a deep breath or bite their tongue, just for a second anymore, before unloading on someone for holding them up.

I'm reminded of it daily here in the Houston 500 (rush hour), but in this case, I am referring to an incident that happened during my recent travels up to the northeast.

To begin with, I was amazed how many people will get up at 4:00 AM to fly, albeit AWAY from snowy Pittsburgh. Once herded onto a very full 737, we were treated to a really cranky flight attendant, and her reminders of how many times she had asked us to be seated and to stow our carry-ons under the seat in front of us. Next the captain came on the P.A. and told us that we'd be having a bit of a delay after we pushed away from the gate. To a chorus of grumbling, he explained that they needed to de-ice the plane.
What's the prob, folks? Personally, I'd prefer the plane not be loaded with ice and snow while trying to get and stay airborne.......No squawk from this flier about hosing off the crud and givin' her a coat of Prestone

(hopefully it will be a while b4 I meet Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper).

The real kicker came, when before de-icing, the door was closed and we still couldn't push away from the gate. Seems someone had occupied the lavatory, and we were going nowhere until they returned to their seat. This was announced repeatedly and impatiently over the intercom, by the stews AND the flight crew, as most heads in the aisle seats were peering aft to see just who the perpetrator was that was keeping them on the ground. After about five minutes, the door opened, and out strolled this frail little old lady, walking with the aid of one of those little chrome things with the bicycle grip handle and four little legs on the bottom. Talk about taking the starch out of an angry mob.........

Personally, after the impatient display from so many passengers and the crew, I was sorta hoping it would be some guy about six foot six, named Keshawn, walking out with a rolled up Playboy, muttering something like "jes' a lil' stress reliever 'fo I fly.............

The Captain mumbled something about a tailwind and a shortcut after that, and we still arrived in Houston ten minutes early!

I am going to get on my soapbox here. I am not however, going to point a finger at one culprit - I don't have enough fingers. Check out this link http://www.etsmtl.ca/pers/j... target='_blank'>Blunt and Frank
First click on the cut "Blunt and Frank".
You'll have to have or to install real player to listen to the cut - or to search for the Shawn Phillips CD that contains the cut. Please try and take the time to listen. I'd really be interested in seeing the response from those who bother to take the time to see what a gifted poet/writer and musician observed thirty years ago, and just how many of you see the foresight and power of observation exhibited by this man.

We are drowning in what he saw back then. There is still time to reverse the course. It requires conservation, independent thinking, and standing up against the corporate giants and speaking with our actions and our buying habits. We need to stop feeding the greed hole, and to know that we can live a bountiful and rewarding life, by spiritually vaccinating ourselves against that nasty thing - how did JB put it? Oh yeah, affluenza.

An afterthought: Google Shawn Phillips' other recordings. Play what's available for free, and I think some of you may be digging deeper for more. You may be pleasantly surprised at the timeless rock/poetry in store for you, not to mention some unique hot music that defies time.

Just some observations for the day. I've spent near two weeks now in Beaver Valley, Pa. Quite a change from my stomping grounds, I must say, but not bad, not bad at all. It's nice to get a new perspective on your surroundings once in a while. Normal, at home for me, is day in, day out of navigating flat coastal plains, driving out of a maze of subdivisions that for the most part, all look the same, filled with houses that every fifth one has the same floor plan, but not that much different from the other four. Then I emerge onto a six lane "street" which transports me past all the retail giants until finally dumping me onto the biggest freeway in the state, maybe country, maybe world.

This place is quite a contrast to that. The newest construction out here is beaver dams. It's a mix of industry and old homes and townships scattered among the hills. But the most striking thing about this area, is that it's old. Looks old, feels old. Even the rocks, hills and dirt look old. Old, but peaceful, and very friendly. Old, but new to me. I'm glad I came up here. I have missed my kids, but I have found something to share with them one day.

Just reinforces what I have been learning since I abandoned the bay so many years ago. There's a big world out there. We should get out and taste it from time to time. Maybe that's not for everyone, but it works for me.......and I still can't wait to get back to the bay when I can!

As for the weather - we've all heard the line "If you don't like the weather, stick around a few minutes, it'll change". No place is that more true than up here - much like home. I froze and skidded on icy roads last week, went home to a chilly weekend, then came back to folks digging out after a nor'easter on Monday here. Today I had lunch in sixty plus degree sun on the patio. Same forecast for tomorrow.

Friday calls for thunderstorms turning to ice, then snow and hopefully a day on the slopes. Hope I can make it to the airport and out on Sat. before the deep freeze returns.

Nope, Texas weather's got nothin' on this place. How many places do you have to roll your windows down to let the heat out - but not so far that someone might steal your snow brush/ice scraper that you'll be needing tomorrow?

Looks like Bush finally found the WMD he's been looking for? And to think it was right under his nose the whole time. How'd the Dickster pop someone behind him??? Was it the Buffalo Bill, Annie Oakley, over the shoulder lookin' thru the sight in a mirror trick?

Hallmark, Whitmann, and the J.C. Penneys lingerie department will hate this one, but Here's my take on VD (Valentines Day) - It's a contrived retail holiday. Love the ones you love, 365 1/4 - 24/7, and make sure they know it, every day, by your words and actions.

Save yourself the money on that skimpy little red nightie that probably will never be worn. Save the flowers for a surprise - you'll be amazed what a warm response you'll get when you pop in with a dozen roses, or better yet, a rose bush, live in a pot, but done spontaneously, as opposed to on a scheduled day when they are scarce as sunshine in a coal mine and double priced.

Wanna do something off the wall???? Spend a few minutes cutting out a big red heart. Pin it to your shirt, then find a very conspicuous phone in the middle of the office. In a raised voice, call your significant other and announce "Honey, I'll be home soon, and boy, do I ever have a big heart on for you today".

Okay, word it however you want, but let her know every day, and not just when the retail establishment has it on the calendar for you..........

Sentence, as in more jail time. Best Buy, WalMart,-p-friggin-tooey! Maybe I'd better get to the point, while still coherent enough to try and put pissed off and why, into words.

As far as I can tell, 50% of what we are spending these days, beyond on the bare necessities, is as a result of deception, dishonest diagnoses, be they medical, automotive or whatever, or price gouging. I am fresh off an attempted screwing by Best Buy, rectified, only because the pretty little flunky covering for the manager, recognized, that had she not sent me home with what I wanted, **** was going to hit the fan AND hit a couple hundred more pieces of fresh, oblivious meat, wandering the aisles, as I was bordering on going postal on her.

First, let's talk about my choice of music. Austin City Limits - if it don't fit there, I probably am not going to pay for it in a store. Rap - sorry, 99% of it is violent crap and disguisting and degrading to women, in my book, except for the first rap song I ever heard in '86 - Rapture, by Debbie Harry and Blondie, when I was in NYC. For those who know me, they know my tastes in tunes are eclectic, to put it mildly. I'll leave it at that.

One band, that I am really into at the moment is Chris Martin and Coldplay. My oldest convinced me today, on my two day Texas visit, to take him to buy a Green Day CD (yes - I like Green Day too), at best buy. I did, and I also picked up a Coldplay cd(I thought). I insisted on playing mine first on the way home, and immediately, he said "dad, that's bluegrass, no words, just pickin'".
The voice of experience, is getting younger and younger.....

After flipping thru the tracks, and discovering he knew what he was talking about, I looked more closely at the CD case. Sure enough - in fine print on a sticker, was "A Bluegrass Tribute to Coldplay", and another sticker in larger print "File under Coldplay".

Let's get this straight. The band was not Coldplay, and the songs were not written by Chris Martin or Coldplay. It was simply a ruse to get a disk that cost best buy $0.50, onto the shelf with a $14.99 tag next to Coldplay recordings of the same price, and hope someone would not figure out the difference for at least twenty minutes.

Forget that the musicians were quite good in their own right. The issue here is their sneaky little, up your butt, sans lube, approach to tricking customers into taking a knock-off out the door, and opening it before they realized they have been reamed.

Maybe I'd better drop back here to last week, while I was on the road. My oldest son convinced his mom to let him buy a Green Day CD at WalMart. Guess what - you guessed it, same label, same bend over ploy. Does that mean I'm as gullible as a ten year old? No, it means these mega pricks are sneaky bastards, relying on the fact that most are too meek to confront them and to demand a refund, whereby, the math is on their side, and it is good business, forget the moral implications. Unfortunately, I wasn't there to cover for my son at WalFuc&. I'll deal with that in good time.

I sit here wondering who decides who gets the "secondary search", and who breezes thru security at airports. Seems when I fly w/co-workers, I must look like a terrorist, as they have my companion(s) for a comparison. Twice already this week, flying solo I have blown right past the screeners. Same jeans, same boots, ponytail, Keep Austin Weird cap, as before. Go figure.
That's it battery is running low - plus if anyone is looking over my shoulder, and sees the word "terrorist", I may have spoken too soon........wouldn't that be fun to explain to my kids and the boss.........busted at a McD wifi hot spot, in Pittsburgh, for bragging about getting by security without a BCS. Can't have that. Which brings me to this. I noticed in the Vicad obits today, the first lawyer I ever required a miracle from, passed away in Port Lavaca. Rest in peace Larry Dio. I'd still like to know how you kept me on the outside for that back in '70. Maybe it was that the DA in Vic who was your high school buddy? An old loon told me it worked that way around there......

Shades of Woodstock! I'm watching the Grammys as I write, okay, type, alright for you Royal Rangers, as I input computer data. Point is, I'm in my element. It's coming a Lake Erie blizzard outside, and I'm warm in my room, watching a mix of old and new, proven and pretender musicians, but I'm in my element - a place where Tim Oi and Wayno and Captain D reside. I hope some of you who chance upon this are stirred, or at least can identify with how music, your music, or your kids' music or your dad and mom's music, can touch your soul. Like it or hate it - you have to give it it's due. From St. Louis to Cumberland Gap to Detroit to Jamaica to African Tribal lands to Austin City Limits, it is a part of most of our souls. Music is a language for most of us. We integrate it into our culture, our politics our religion. At my tender age of 55, I still drag myself and whoever I can cajole into coming along, to any performance I feel will be a tonic for our souls. I always try to offer the same guarantee I have used for countless Shawn Phillips, Marshall Tucker Band, Jethro Tull, Joe Ely or ZZ Top shows: If you are not moved or blown away by the show, I'll pay you for your tickets.

I've yet to have a single taker on my offer.........

Now to address the title to this blog. The Sly and the Family Stone tribute and Sylvester Stuart appearance was a great surprise and very well done - Woodstock revisited. Takes me back to where it all started for me, and to a special send off for the mother of my best friend, on a chilly and warm two days out in San Bernadino and Whittier, and a ride up to Big Bear.

Friends, memories and music, music to dig, music to remember, and so much new music to look forward to!

Boom Shakalakalaka Boom Shakalakalaka, Hey, hey, hey, hey!

Just another silly lead in title......for the moment. Call it killing time, The Hotel Boredom Files, or call it what you will. But give it it's proper due, since when a fish fillet costs what I can feed my entire family for back home, I figure it's fair game for a weird photo op, prior to consumption. More later.

Here I am in Pittsburgh with those Texas blues again... Normally a desk jockey by day, one of the occasional duties assigned to guys and girls who do what I do, is to make a personal appearance among the hardhats charged with interpreting our drawings and building a stinky, noisy plant that can crank out an enormous amount of plastic, the stuff that your's and my cellphone, Toyota dash, etc., is made of. My predescessors (note plural) were full of advice for me - see this, do that, go here, go there. Strength in numbers I guess - plus, it was sixty degrees and nice while they were here for their turn on the hotseat. Flurries and a high of 29 is the best I've seen.

For my money, sightseeing or out on the town is best saved for when the family is together. I'll indulge myself with a Pistachio Crusted Salmon fillet, served over a bed of truffle potatoes, artichokes, and baked asparagus, and a bit of reading and writing. Maybe, just maybe, on the last trip up, I'll push my flight home back a day and get my skiing fix in for the year - but in a new place - the Alleghenny or Pocono mountains and checking out the east coast alpine area.

Truth is, I'd rather be in Texas - fixin' a go kart, refereeing a dispute, or teaching a kid to play baseball.....hey, that's right - pitchers report to spring training in a week!

If anyone has noticed, my stories and rants have tapered off of late. My apologies for that. It is only temporary. In my paying day job, I have been under the gun somewhat lately and airborne some as well. Currently for any of you working in plants in south Texas, you will appreciate this - I am stationed,as I write this, in a snowy, cold plant on the banks of the Ohio River, just north of Pittsburgh, far from the warm confines of my office and desk in Houston. Could be worse - the folks here are in a festive mood. I'm sure the outcome of the Super Bowl has something to do with that.

I am currently,(back home), getting a first hand lesson in a teenage daughter experience, complete with internet acquired friends, Myspace communications etc. A new world, to be sure. Please keep checking back for updates - the stories are forthcoming, as soon as I get back to my computer and my brain thaws. Cheers to my friends.

The day before yesterday, or maybe on Sunday, there was a story here in the news about a rash of fires up in Kingwood, an upscale northeastern suburb, that had officials "concerned". Lo and behold, a day later, the perpetrator of this arson spree is in custody! Sounds like a convenient press release and quick arrest to me.......

The point is though, that the guy was caught, and caught before someone was killed or injured in one of his fires. Turns out he was a clean cut, soft spoken 24 year old suburban kid. His family just moved here in 2005 so his dad could take his job as airport manager of George Bush Intercontinental Airport, a remote little airfield, up north of here.

When asked why he did it, his response was "'Cause I was angry, a lot of stuff was going on". Well thanks, you little bed wetting freak, for sharing your little self centered attempt at self-expression with us. Glad we could be here to help you get that off your chest! Now what they need to do with you, is drop your little ***, naked and armed with only a wet gunny sack, into a Colorado wildfire up on the front line, to watch the real firefighters, and get a taste of the hell that you created for your neighbors. No, that wouldn't do, because one of them would likely get hurt in the process, trying to save your sorry ***.

You little booger eating, maladjusted moron. You rank right up there with the other's like you around here, who make the news from time to time. I'm talking about the volunteer firebugs - those little green tooth rednecks who will join a VFD, then run up a $10,000 credit card bill for gear, and light bars, sirens, and such to mount on a $500 pick-up truck. And for what? To start their own fires, then maybe kill someones wife or child, while racing to the station to answer the "fire call".

These are the folks who need to be put away, period, forever, no exceptions. All they do, is make it harder on the real heroes of our society, the real firefighters and emergency medical technicians. People like an old friend of mine, HFD Captain Jay Jahnke, who perished in a high rise fire a couple of years ago............