And, we're all too old for Goth Music

But, Paul Raven is dead

At 46, a heart attack. I think I'll go jogging this afternoon.

Rock over London, Rock on Calcutta

Or New Delhi as it were.

Money quote:

Jindal last visited his ancestral home more than three decades ago. That didn’t dampen the delight in Maler Kotla.

We like to joke that Jindal turned his back on Vishnu when he was in his teens. Heck, he turned his back on the whole subcontinent years ago.

P.S.

“Now we want him to become president next ... if he can become a governor then he can also be president.”

Sadow will be pleased, no?

A grind for the new guy...

Okay, admittedly, Jason DeCuir is by no means a political outsider, his family has been in politics in Baton Rouge for decades.

For many folks, and maybe even those in the Yuppie Left, we'd like to believe that DeCuir was the breath of fresh air that the district was looking for, and so, it's with some frustration that I note that Yvonne Dorsey, who spent less than 2 weeks campaigning after the Fields' step-out, managed to best DeCuir, who had a campaign hitting on eight cylinders back during Earth Day.

Dorsey, a veteran lawmaker, led political newcomer DeCuir with 11,398 votes, or 48 percent, compared with DeCuir’s 9,915 votes, or 42 percent, according to complete but unofficial returns.

And by over a thousand votes, no less.

And, does the rest of the state hate New Orleans?

Well, I'm not sure, but the yellow blog seems to think it to be the case. Heck, he's probably right, and I'm just coming around to admitting it.

I was digging through the email the other day, and, yep, so far, 3 anti-NOLA emails, and 2 anti-Jena 6 emails. I'll spare you the content, kinfolk seem to love sending these things.

I think I need to go dig through the election results....

Maybe I need a couple of booze-free days

The pre-election grind has probably forced more Johnnie Walker into my system than I'd care for. So, I believe it's for the best that I be a teetotaler for the next week or two. The wallet will probably appreciate it as well.

And, so, as Ashley Morris says: "It's peanut butter jelly time."

Neither of my boys won their races, which basically makes 2007's electoral season as depressing as 2003's, 2004's, and, to a lesser extent, 2006's.

In retrospect, Dave scored 25% in his district 67, Jay nailed 20% in his 68, yet Jay scored 1000 more votes total. Consider that these two districts are supposed to have roughly equal population.

The tremendous mound of evidence suggesting that the working poor don't vote is pretty well dead-on, no?

And the blues...

In some regards, Baton Rouge is considered a mecca for Blues music. Is it part of the pantheon of Blues towns like St. Louis, Kansas City, and Chicago. Of course not, but for one reason or another, people seem to be well-convinced that the deuce and a quarter need more blues-based entertainment.

I can only assume that that belief is largely held by people in and around the deuce and a quarter, as I, for the life of me, can only name two blues fans.

But, more peculiar is the overwhelming volume of white blues bands... it seemed that there was a time, not long ago, where it was nigh impossible to go to any non-college bar in town and avoid a white blues band. Invariably, they'd be mucking their way through some cover of "Brown Eyed Girl"...

Now, that isn't to say that white folks can't play the blues, George Thorogood and ZZ Top seemed to prove it doable, but there's just something that turns my stomach about the white blues, as played in the Big Raggedy. I'll encapsulate it later, but I think it has something to do with berets, ponytails, and vests.

Having said that, Lil Ray Neal is playing on Sunday in front of Big Shaw. And, I can full well promise you he won't be covering "Hotel California".

Yuppie Handcuffs

As is my habit, I fired up the Daily Report, promptly at 12:05 in the
afternoon. And I stumbled across something that profoundly upset me
(and not just the overwhelming support for another casino ... "and finally!
Baton Rouge will no longer be in the cultural and entertainment shadow
of Biloxi!"). Nope, folks, the Thirsty Tiger is closing.

So, a half-century old tradition is now gone. Gone are the
newspapermen, and the downtown workers, and the football fans, and the
service industry crowd, the couple of black gents who were always up
for a discussion of politics, the jazz player or two who stumbled upon
the place, the "absolutely not passable" transvestite
or two, and the guy with the sleeveless shirt in the El Camino. Heck,
Jim McCormack, easily the best barkeep in the 225 was headed out before
the place closed. I'm sure he smelled the change in the air.

And all to be replaced by: A wine and martini bar.

Taking a quick inventory of entertainment options available, I
realized it was time
to hop out my dour funeral garb, and gracelessly second line down Third Street
, which, I'm now gonna call "Wine and Martini Heaven." Yep, friends,
it will be nigh impossible to walk down Third Street without a glass
of wine in the
left hand and a martini in the right! Come ye blessed yuppie handcuffs!

For starters, we've got wine and martinis at the the Wine
Loft. And in just a handful of weeks, we can get wine and martinis at
the M Bar and the Thirsty Tiger.

Immediately after that, we'll be getting wine and martinis before dinner, at
D'Agostino's, or at Capital City Grill, or Tsunami, or the Little Village
(wine and martinis upstairs and downstairs!). And soon,
win and martinis at the new steakhouse under Big Shaw.

Yes folks, in just a few short months, we'll have eight places for wine and
martinis, all within a block.

And, then, who are the holdouts in our new Elysium? First, there are
the frat bars (Roux House and
Happy's), both of which could use a wine and martini makeover.
Then, there are the PENDING frat bars (Schlittz and Giggles), which
could learn a lesson and serve wine and martinis with pizza. Heck,
even the Third Street Daiquiri Company could hop aboard the trend.
Their patrons would just have to overcome a somewhat misleading name.

Not to be outdone, we've also got the Jimmy Buffett set, over in
Avoyelles/Cat House and
Boudreaux and Thibodeaux. Let's be frank here, nothing goes with a
cheeseburger in paradise like a shrimp-decorated glass of white wine
and a filthy martini. Maybe Poor Boy Lloyd's can tell their crowd to hop in,
as well. There's the Red Star, which at one
time was fancied a wine-and-martini bar par excellence. And,
there's the place that will open in the former Richoux's. Maybe, just maybe, a
wine-and-martini joint will lift the curse put on that place.

Yes folks: Seventeen spots to drink within a block of
3rd street, all trying to squeeze that dollar out of that elusive set
of wealthy, young professionals. Those who, astonishingly, can
imagine nothing better to do on a Friday night than go out and pretend that they
are as sophisticated as their peers in suburban Dallas.

We'll set our sights on the Pastime and the gay bars next!

But, honestly folks, I love Baton Rouge, it's my home. I love
downtown. And, I'm even a so-called young professional. But, I'm
overwhelmed by that painful sameness that we're marching toward.

Let's have an Irish pub (with fish and chips, not schoolgirl outfits),
or a pool hall, or a reggae bar, or a juke joint that's not playing a
some tired, accountant-friendly cover of "Brown Eyed Girl", or how
about a late night coffeeshop where the pseudo-anarchists can connive.
Heck, I'd even be supportive of a theater for the artsy-farts.

Or, well, how about just a bar for the everyman? Where he or she can
meet, after work, or class, or a day playing soccer, or a day out
fishing, or after the Spanish Town Mardi Gras Parade. Let any age,
race, creed, or background be welcome. Where we might celebrate, and
meet, and share stories, with friends, family, and the dozens of
people you had yet to meet.

You know.. a bar like the Tiger?