Flame me if you want, but I think Mardi Gras looks like "Reality TV"

[SoCalDem]

it looks fake..forced.. reminds me of all the make up that morticians put on corspes, so strangers can look in the casket and say "He looks like he's sleeping"..

Shame on partiers who waited til Mardi Gras to "bring money" to NOLA..

They might as well say.. "I will bring you some money to help out, but dammit, entertain me first"..

It looks phony, and other than the waiters and small shop owners, I suspect that most of the money will be leaving NOLA via bank transfer to a "home office" somewhere offshore.

[uppityperson]

1. I read an email from person who attended & was appalled

appalled that there was only a 10 block area that is up and going. Appalled at how bad the rest of the city works. Appalled that they had bought into the "things are great" line. So it is good that people go and see. Better educated late than never, better sooner than later.

[Bammo]

10. uppity

Really ??? Hmmmm -- makes one think --doesn't it!

Bet your from Louisianna uppity - I could be wrong - but that there is a hunch!

Bet we met in another forum as well! Again --another hunch!

[uppityperson]

54. Bammo

I bet we met, who are you? I tried messaging you through DU but no luck. I just sent you an email through your blog.

[elehhhhna]

39. I would be too creeped out to "party" near the wreckage. Ghosts.

[zanne]

2. You're right. It's not genuine.

What we're seeing is more like my hometown Christmas parade than the hard partying we usually see of Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

[tridim]

3. Saw a NO resident say there's not much of a reason to party this year

He sounded so sad. :(

I guess it's a bit like I've felt at New Years for the past 5 years. Obviously his situation is much worse.

[JuniperLea]

4. Mardi Gras has always been "unreal"

It is supposed to be far fetched and completely removed from reality. I'm curious to know what you expected it to look like.


I say kudos to the partiers who came back and took a chance that their Mardi Gras experience may or may not be worth their effort! There really is no way of knowing if any of those partiers donated to the cause before the big party or not.


A co-worker just told me she is going on a week long trip with Habitat for Humanity... I just made a donation for her team... feels good to do something... everyone should do it!


http://www.habitat.org/gv/participant/participant.aspx?pid=9052-0510

[TallahasseeGrannie]

7. I'm sure there is a strong profit motive involved

but I also think it is important to the folks in New Orleans to have some semblance of a celebration. Mardi Gras it that city's heart and soul.

I've been wondering how many hotel rooms are now open..does anyone know? And is the casino open yet? I was there during Hurricane Dennis. We stayed in N.O. because the storm was heading east, closer to Tallahassee. And just a few weeks later, came Katrina. It was a beautiful old dowager of a city. I hope they can rebuild it.

[JuniperLea]

8. some semblance of a celebration

Yep.

I hope they can rebuild it too. By the people and for the people, not some New OrDisney deal.

I hear the Cafe du Monde was saved... there is a God! I want to be able to go to NO and munch a few beignets, down some chicory coffee, go listen to some jazz and eat some shrimp creole. Mostly, I want to see some of those smiling faces...


http://www.cafedumonde.com/beignet.html

[neuvocat]

5. I'm inclined to agree.

Now that I think about it, its very cynical to hype up all the Mardi Gras parties. Its a cynical attempt to make everyone feel better about the mess down there.

[AbsoluteArmorer]

6. I agree!

I feel somewhat that way myself. We are in all sorts of bad times, and post Katrina, yet the message in Amerika is party party party. Our priorities are all whacked out... same same as the Shrub Corporation.

[Bammo]

9. Tell it like it is SoCalDem

I agree with your post to the free-kin max SoCalDem ---for sure!

Damn, did you hit the nail on the free-kin head --square!

It is phoney as a free-kin Bugs Bunny cartoon - for sure!

Thats the way the American sheople see things today --the "it don't effect me nones" !

SoCalDem, you ever wonder how many people were ripped off ($$$$) that went to help out people in need of that disaster?

Beaucoup SoCalDem, a free-kin sheet load! In fact --not mentionin' any names but there are some that ripped off piaster ($$$) for those deservin' Americans right here in this free-kin forum! They know I know who they are and will try their free-kin best to avoid my azz!

Bet those SOB'N slugs will party hard and heavy on piaster ($$$) that they bogarted (STOLE) !!!

Hang Tough~

[Toots]

13. Screaming Chicken sound beaucoup dinky dou

:shrug: Mardi Gras is dead. This is just an enactment.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

38. What's that smell?

:freak:

You better be able to back up those accusations with some facts.

[uppityperson]

59. 2 words

Red Cross

[Viva_La_Revolution]

61. We have people from the Red Cross posting here?

:shrug:

[uppityperson]

62. No, I mean many people donated money to the Red Cross

and much of it did not go to helping people. I didn't read the rest of his accusations about here in DU. sorry. :cry: tiny tear

Mardi Gras is Mardi Gras, don't know what the rest of that means.

[Swamp Rat]

11. To we New Orleanians this Mardi Gras is REAL and very much needed

I am reading sooo many whacked out statements on DU about Mardi Gras that I'm beginning to wonder about this place... a lotta BS about what is good for us down here, when y'all have NO FUCKING IDEA how important it is! :eyes:

[OBrien]

12. I'm with you

I lived in NO for 21 years. I LOVED MG and it is important for morale.
As a matter of fact some New Orleanians who uaually avoided the parades are steppin on fingers for doubloons again!
Have fun and I wish I was there!

[Swamp Rat]

14. I wish you were here too

I have rolled with two Mardi Gras Krewes so far, and will play on Sunday and on Fat Tuesday. Lundi Gras, I'll be out roaming around, playing on the street until Ash Wednesday! :D

Not only is it important for morale, it IS our way of life. To hear it called "fake" because of images seen on TV (yes, the Girls Gone Wild crap is utter crap and NOT of our doing), makes me sad and feel a bit frustrated.

Most of what I have seen that is "fake" comes from people from other states who came here with preconceived notions, that then feeds the preconceived notions of TV viewers.

This Mardi Gras is REAL, like any other, and we consider THIS Mardi Gras to be more important than any we've had before.

Though it got NO TV coverage, Krewe du Vieux was actually the first parade to roll on Saturday, Feb. 11th. (I played and marched with my band). We even had to use mules to pull the floats, but we made it happen. :D

http://www.kreweduvieux.org/index.html

[OBrien]

15. I used to roll in krewe du vieux!

years ago We lived on Valence off Magazine. Fanatastic area for parade watching.My last MG was two years ago. We stayed with neighbors and rarely left the hood for three days! No need to!

[Swamp Rat]

16. Did you go to the Krewe du Vieux ball?

My band played in the State Palace Theater on Canal St. that year. ;)

As for Valence St. (and Annunciation), that's where I started from when I rolled with Muses last Thursday night.

Did you ever eat po-boys at Domilese's? I've been eating at that mom-n-pop restaurant since childhood. It's one of the few remaining in our area, but I found some new (old) ones down Jeff Hwy in River Ridge and Harahan two weeks ago. I eve ran into a De La Salle classmate who I haven't seen in 25 years at a small mom-n-pop po-boy shop out towards Willims Blvd. :)

[OBrien]

18. I know Dot Domilese

Her best friend was my neighbor across the street. My dear neighbor died last year and we were on the next plane there. In No neighbors are forever. Thats what makes it so special. We were in NO this past Christmas and stopped in to see Dot and eat a sloppy roast beef po-boy. yum.
My heart is broken for my dear New Orleans

[Swamp Rat]

22. I saw her the other day, when I was ordering a large oyster po-boy

:9

One of my neighbors (since childhood) just passed away... so many elderly people I know are dying before their time due to the stress and trauma.

I'm starting to be traumatized by the ignorant comments here on DU about New Orleans. :eyes:

Thanks for your understanding... and by the way, I consider you a New Orleanian, even if you weren't born here. Most Americans have no idea... :hug:

If New Orleans dies, so then does the soul of this increasingly pre-fab, homogeneous, cookie cutter nation.

[OBrien]

28. these people

are talking out of their ass. just pity them that they never had the wonderful experience of living in New Orleans. What I saw this past Dec only made me want to move back even more. I just want to help. Unfortunately, hubbys job is here in Houston. The good thing is I'm only an hours plane ride away. Will probably come for a visit next month.
I've been giving money to habit for humanity and also buying goods made in NO. Lots of great artists there!

[Swamp Rat]

32. Yeah, we are having an Artistic Renaissance here!

:D

It's incredible! Lots of artists are back and having shows (I am deeply embedded in the NOLA art scene)... and the anti-Bush sentiment predominates many of the works I've seen.

If only DUers could BE HERE to see for themselves... many wouldn't want to return to their cookie cutter communities. ;)

[Puglover]

41. I'm not from NO but I agree wholeheartedly with you SwampRat

What the hell do some people want anyway? I'm thrilled that mardi gras is going on as usual. "Shame on the people who waited for mardi gras to go down there?" Jesus. :eyes:

[KoKo]

23. I saw some pictures last week and many of the "floats" seemed to

be expressing grand guignole. A theater of the macabre. In contrast many of the pictures this weekend on the cables seem to be pix of floats from past celebrations that look more Disneyesque than I would assume folks could afford or would be able to assemble given the devastation down there to warehouses that must have stored all the equipment. Were the warehouses destroyed or did they survive so that props from past years could be used?

Have you seen or do you have pix of any of the floats this year? I think it's important to do it...and in a way that is joyous for survival but also macabre given what the area surrounding the French Quarter looks like.

:shrug:

[Swamp Rat]

29. The floats have been great!

Not last year's at all... at least the ones I've been in. Most of the floats have hilarious comments making fun of Bush, FEMA, Brown, Chertoff... and the themes have been DIRTY and DEPRAVED! MSM cannot show them! :D

I will post pics as soon as I can... we're too busy celebrating right now to update websites. :D Check out http://kreweduvieux.org/ in a few weeks. ;)

[KoKo]

31. Thanks...I'll look forward to seeing them.

And, what you say is kind of what I was getting at. That the floats would have lots of political commentary and jabs at Bush while also showing some sad realities.

:-)'s :toast:

[Marie26]

63. Like this? "Mardi Gras parades lampoon politicians, agencies"

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - The crowds are smaller at New Orleans' first post-Katrina Mardi Gras parades but there is no shortage of fiendishly satirical wit on floats lampooning public figures and agencies with any connection to the devastating hurricane.

One float on Thursday was festooned with the seal of the "Department of Homeland Insecurity," poking fun at the Department of Homeland Security that oversees the Federal Emergency Management Agency. FEMA has been blasted for its slow initial response to the disaster.

Another was called "Chocolate Divinity," featuring a bust of Mayor Ray Nagin in a send-up of his comments last month about wanting to rebuild New Orleans as a mostly African-American center, or "chocolate city."

"It's fabulous. It's great to see and, as some people would say, only in New Orleans can you take a tragedy and have fun with it," said Allen Fandal, an airline employee trying to catch beads along St. Charles Avenue, a main parade route.

http://today.reuters.com/News/newsArticle.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyID=2006-02-25T002413Z_01_N24527191_RTRUKOC_0_US-HURRICANES-MARDIGRAS.xml













Mardi Gras is definitely not fake. A lot of these floats are bitingly satrirical, angry & passionate. And it's not easy to find pictures of these floats in the media reports.

[flygal]

35. delete - dupe

[flygal]

36. Thank you Swamprat

NOLA was my last home before moving overseas - after my first Mardi Gras I had never known community spirit like that - it was amazing.

After Katrina I was FLAMED over live coals for suggesting one small way to help is spend your vacation there. FLAMED I tell you. NO ONE knows these people bleed purple, yellow, and green. I moved there in Aug and that's all people were talking about already.

Fuck tv coverage - Krew da vieux man. oh my god!

[Swamp Rat]

42. Way'at flygal!!

... and I just don't mean how are you doing? in "Yat" dialect, but what country do you live in now?

[flygal]

47. I'm in Germany

One of our first trips back to the states was NOLA. I missed it so much. Lived in River Ridge and then Slidell. We're planning a trip this next year to pump our vacation dollars into some of our favorite eats.

You are so right on about New Orleans making other cities seem like the vast suburban waste lands they are. We visited Cin. and Indianapolis last year and I felt like I got my soul sucked right out of me. Even Slidell being suburban had so much flavor to it. Much like my favorite maple nut frosted king cake.:9

At least our little German town has a pretty damn festive Fasching season. It tides me over. Way to go keeping NOLA alive Swamprat!!!! :toast:

[Swamp Rat]

52. Did you ever eat at Bobby's Seafood on Jeff Hwy and Rural St.?

EXCELLENT po-boys for real cheap. :9

Ich vermisse Deutschland. Ich habe Familie nahe München und ich wohnte in Tirol, gerade zum Süden. ;)

[flygal]

58. I spreche scheisse deutsche

I habe vergessen du kannst deutsche sprechen. Ich lebe im Osten nahe die Harz Berge. Sehr Hübsch aber nicht die Alpen.

Don't remember eating at Bobbies - damn! I'll make up for it next time. I did however have the priviledge of living at the cross sections of Hickery, Dickery, and Dock streets. That impressed my friend who lived on Lois Lane in Austin :)

[OBrien]

53. Bacchus

btw, I met my husband 23yrs ago at a Bacchus party. Our first "date" was mardi gras! That's how important it is!

[Swamp Rat]

55. Bacchus rolls tomorrow at 5:15 pm.

;) I will be playing in the in the Marigny, but I might be able to catch it near the end of the route.

[OBrien]

56. I love the marigny triangle

my good friend live on Burgundy. I suppose you'll be playing somewhere on Frenchman?
we're off to lunch... wish it was at Praline Connection!

[Swamp Rat]

57. Yep

There will be dozens of musicians playing on Frenchman!

Bon appetite!

[uppityperson]

60. Hope you all have a great time

I wish I could be down there, have wanted to see Mardi Gras for years and am glad that it is still happening. I am glad people are visiting and spending money there and seeing how things are there. It is all good.

General rambling follows.
So many of us have moved, perhaps once perhaps several times, and it can be difficult to realize what life is like having the family spending generations in 1 place. I talked with a young woman on the plane (baton rouge to WA) who was returning to school here in WA after visiting family (siblings, parents, aunts uncles cousins grandparents 2 3 4 levels out of relatives still living in LA. She was going to finish school and return to LA to marry a nice boy there. So many of us have moved and wish we had those connections (which can be difficult and limiting yet can be stabilizing), some turn to be indians of the wanna-be tribe, some turn to other things, it is incredible to some of us that there are people who are generations in 1 place. "Why don't they just leave?" Because everyone they know is there, everything they have is there, life is there. End of rambling.

Peace.

[Beelzebud]

64. I only wish I could be there with you bro!

Should we rebuild New Orleans?

I say we start punching people in the face that ask that question. :)

Party down, man!

[hedgehog]

17. The images I saw on NBC weren't what I expected.

It did look more like a local home town parade than a Macy's Thanksgiving extravaganza. On the other hand, isn't Mardi Gras supposed to be for the local people? I'm used to seeing pictures of tourists in the French Quarter. What NBC showed was local people in the neighborhoods.

A lot of people question how many tourist dollars actually stay in New Orleans. I second those comments. I bet those dollars leave as fast as the tourists do.

[Swamp Rat]

20. Those tourist dollars HELP US SURVIVE!

I don't know about this specualtion that the "tourist dollars leave." We would be totally broke if it weren't for those tourist dollars... and THIS year, Mardi Gras is more important than ever, on sooo many levels.

So far, it has been more fun than past years. Every parade has themes highly critical of Bushler and more than any other year I can remember, there are MORE LOCALS attending.

[annabanana]

24. Swampy.. I would love to see pics

of those emotive floats and the themes. (We won't get THOSE on corpoTV) My guess is that laughin to keep from cryin is beating in the heart of the city.

[Swamp Rat]

30. Our float said:

"Cuntraflow in Effect" ( as opposed to "counterflow," referring to the Katrina evacuation procedure). When I played in Muses the other night, there was a float that had Bush almost completely nude and prostrate, ready for sex. :rofl:

[JitterbugPerfume]

19. I can not watch

it seems obscene to me to celebrate while others suffer and die next door

[Swamp Rat]

21. Then you want us to suffer?

If we don't have Mardi Gras, we die as a city and a unique culture.

Talk about obscene! :eyes:

[JitterbugPerfume]

25. no-- i want people to be able to return

rebuild their homes and resume living

[Swamp Rat]

40. We all want that

:hug:

[JitterbugPerfume]

51. yes we do

and perhaps I voiced an opinion when I should have remained silent NO should be left to those who have a stake in it---those who have suffered the loss

[Ripley]

27. Ignorance Here has been

Growing exponentially for the last 6 months. I wonder if it is *Planned*?

I wish I could have seen Your Krewe, Swamp! Hope You had a Blast! :toast:

[Swamp Rat]

43. Thanks!

:toast:

[davsand]

33. I'm hitting the streets with you (in spirit) Swamp Rat!

Here in Illinois it is cold and too far to make the trip on the fly--but know that I'm there with you in spirit.

I think a lot of folks see Mardi Gras as some sort of touristy phenom that is WAAAAAY too commercial to consider. Growing up here in the Midwest, I have to admit that I had no idea, either, until I came down and met a few folks FROM there.

I think what really hit it home for me was hearing the stories of folks who grew up going to picnic while watching the parade down in the Garden District. I'm talking entire families--GENERATIONS-- out there to celebrate. It was seriously touching to watch them light up when they talked about how excited they were as kids. They talked about hearing the drums coming, and how they could barely stand still...

I came home with a much better realization of what, exactly, Carnival is all about and why it is so deeply rooted in the culture of the cities that celebrate it.

My husband is from the St. Louis area, and they celebrate Carnival there in Soulard. The Barkus (a pet parade, and a lot of fun) was last weekend and it was so very cold we didn't take our daughter. She was really bummed.

I'm sending a King Cake to my daughter's school Tuesday, along with a box of beads and throws. Those kids need to know. They NEED to see now that it isn't all about women pulling up their shirts and everybody pissing in the streets.

I love your city. I loved your neighborhoods, the people I talked to and the spirit that ran so deep in everyone who lived there. I'll be back, and I'll bring my tourist money along with my deepest admiration for all that your city has been and will be.

Laissez Le Bon Temps Roulez!


Laura

[Swamp Rat]

34. merci beaucoup davsand!

:hug: You understand. :hug:

[JVS]

46. Does this mean that you won't be going to Kam's for Mardi Gras?

;-)

[davsand]

48. Knowing me, do you EVER expect to see me there?

Hon, even when I was a student there at UIUC I wouldn't go to Kams. I see that place as the home of the puking frat rats. I doubt I'd be able to get kevsand to even drive BY there...

:puke:

I think the last time I set foot in that bar was sometime in 1977. I was underage and could actually GET in that one bar. Even THAT didn't last too long, we left to go to another bar where we knew the bouncers.

I'll be happy to meet up with you someplace like the Esquire, Tod & John's, or even Boomerang's anytime, however!


Laura

[JVS]

50. I'm too busy to do any celbrating.

I knew you wouldn't go to Kams, I was joshing you

[fishnfla]

26. What a stupid waste of a post

you have no idea what you are talking about

way obvious

[bloom]

37. I haven't been watching the coverage of it

but it seems entirely possible that the M$M is giving a "Disneyland" view instead of the reality that Swamp Rat described as the "real" Mardi Gras. Of course anyone who has been to NOLA for Mardi Gras knows you can't really get a sense of it from CNN or anything like that anyway. And if the $M is acting like NOLA is all better - to make BushCo look good - then that's baloney.


How great it would be if the anti-Bush, anti-FEMA aspect were shown to the country.

[RB TexLa]

44. At least the parades are scaled down, just have to wonder about

the people who were pushing so hard for the parades back in November and December. I only ran into a couple of people who were, and I asked them "just what kind of a human being are you?" Most everyone I know in the city said "Mardi Gras, who the hell is thinking about Mardi Gras?"

I thought at the time and think now that the balls and courts, the important stuff should have gone on but I still think the parades are way off base. At least they have been scaled back.

[JVS]

45. Can a society that does not observe Lent truly understand and fulfill...

the debauchery requirements of the shrovetide and Carnival?

[Marie26]

49. It made me sad to see it on TV

It was so forced, like people putting on a brave smile at a funeral. I know they're trying to bring back New Orleans, but I'm not sure this Mardi Gras is going to be able to do it. It's like a lot of the joy was sucked out of it. It was probably even sadder to be there; watching people throw beads on one street while people clean up wreckage on another.