It's still there.



Robert and I jetted out I-10 to the burbs, parked in the high school parking lot and walked around the corner to the house where they have this Halloween party that I have been going to for over the longest.... We greeted the hosts and everyone else, and then I hit the bathroom in the master bedroom... and that picture was still on the wall... so I took a picture. It's the pic above; I've always loved that pic....

This is a non-costume party, (there are so many costume parties already), but it does benefit an aids hospice. This one couple and their friends have been having the party for over 16 years; I've been going to it for ten. The following pictures are for your enjoyment. Wish you were here.

Robert said that he has been in too many pictures on the journal already. hehe, sorry, not.


The rest of the pics...









It was fun..

and hot....




durlx

.
.

Bali Bombing.

The recent bombing of a group of nightclubs in Bali was a tragedy indeed for the people of Australia. For Americans, it would be like a bombing in Cancun during spring break; Bali is popular resort with Aussies and especially the surfies. Noah, from the message boards and chat, tells that many people he knows from the surfing crowd are missing and presumed dead. It's especially hard on Oz, because as a country they feel that their relations with other countries are honorable; they don't deserve this, and indeed they don't. Australia has always been a staunch ally of the U.S., (they were the first country to voice support for the U.S. after 9/11), but they get little credit or mention of it in the American press. Noah reported in chat that all the embassy flags in Sydney were at half mast on Monday, except for the U.S. embassy flag. This is just wrong. The Bush administration is pushing the line that there is an Al Queda link, but people on that side of the world are not so sure. It may have been that the kind of partying that goes on in a tourist sector offends certain muslim extremists and Indonesia is no stranger to violence and killing. Whatever the outcome, you may want to compare the coverage of American television news with the on-line coverage available from ABC (the Australian Broadcasting Network) which is available HERE.

Low-riders must go says councilman.

A city councilman from the nearby city of Westwego (the town was originally the western terminus of all the rail lines, trains were ferried across the river and then assembled again to resume the trip to the West Coast, therefore the name West-we-go) has decided that the style of wearing ones pants low and exposing the underwear must be eradicated. Believe it or not, in a recent city council meeting, he proposed that some legislation be enacted to make this style of dress a violation of law. The city attorney patiently explained that this was just not consitutionally possible, but some of the city council members want to continue looking into the matter. It's just another example of the kind of ninny brained thinking that goes on in the leglislative bodies here in Louisiana; apparently no one is too much of a moron to be elected in this state.

Life is dull.

Well, my life hasn't really been dull lately... there just hasn't been a lot of high spots and picture ops. I've been busy with work and I am preparing for an interview for a new position. The time I spend there continues to be enjoyable and engaging.

I haven't been going out much though. I have spent a couple of very enjoyable evenings in chat; the group is very active and gets together at least twice a week, sometimes more and it's always amusing. It's a witty and intelligent group.

I have decided to go to Las Vegas in January. Luca and I are sharing a room and I am really looking forward to seeing everyone from last year and meeting pebbles and doc and whomever else shows up. It was a lot fun last time and I think it will be even more fun this time.

This Saturday, I'm going to a Halloween party that I've been attending for about a decade. It's also a fund raiser for one of the AIDS hospices and there's usually about 200 people there. The party features nakie bartenders and strippers, and a lot of very interesting people so I should have some pics and a full report for you by Sunday. Till then.



durlx

Darling Lili...



We lucked out major big time. Lili dropped in intensity from a category 4 to a category 2 hurricane just before it made landfall this morning. The New Orleans area was especially lucky; the storm went enough to the west of us to spare us and there was only minor damage city-wide, and none in my immediate neighborhood, so no dramatic pictures. But that's a good thing.

The city remained closed for the day as various feeder bands of storms came through, but the sun came out two or three times. I had ocassional power outages, but they didn't last long. The scariest time was between 4 and 5 AM when a storm cell crossed my area with strong tornado signatures; the wind and rain were pretty intense and things were banging around as the power flickered on and off, but that was definately the worst of it. I watched the national news and it only shows the affected areas, but as you can see from the pic above of my block, my area is just fine.

Other areas around the city, and especially to the south and west had moderate to extensive wind and water damage, but nothing catastrophic and there were no fatalities. It could have been much worse. A category 2 storm with winds of 100 mph will blow down trees and power lines and damage roofs and cause flooding. A category 4 storm, which Lili was just before hitting land, with winds of 140-150 mph will totally destroy buildings, uproot trees and toss them hundreds of feet and cause 10 to 20 foot storm surges of water that literally wash away buildings and people. There would have been fatalities, possibly quite a few.

We were very fortunate; this was an extremely close call. Because of the way the storm developed and how fast it came, there was no way to evacuate New Orleans. If it had veered a bit and hit the city as a cat 4, I probably would have been sitting on the roof of my house right now, (that is if I still had a roof) surrounded by water 10 to 15 feet deep.

The feeder bands from the storm continue to push through the city with some rain and wind, and there is a strong wind from the south that is causing some tidal flooding along the coasts which will not subside until sometime tomorrow. We are still under a flood and tornado watch until 10 PM this evening.

And finally, Monday we get a cool front and some cooler temperatures, (lows in the 60's, highs in the low 80's.) I go back to work tomorrow and do what we did most of last weekend; try to get caught up on all the work that was missed during the storm. And hopefully catch up on some sleep.


durlx