Ahhh, the cones.
Posted by jOe
This post originally had a "Beuler, Beuler" tone to it. I couldn't figure out the cones until I saw the sign (Vets where it runs into West End):
The cones, 720 of them, stand for 720 lives lost. Presumably Louisiana highway workers, but it was a slow moving sign, and I couldn't read it all. I don't know if this figure is just for this year or the total for...ever.
I'm a terrible reporter. See.
So, I guess, be aware, and next time you're driving through a construction zone...don't hit anyone? (I already practice this)
Nevertheless. The cones.
“My brief account of April 10, 2010″ – El Sam
Posted by jOe
Robby and I met up around nine that morning at the Tchop Walmart and began our trek down to the Hilton for the Southern Republican Leadership Conference. We were wearing armbands I modeled after those worn by the Cuban Marxist revolutionaries (for hilarities sake, and because they look cool). The armbands said Tron Paul 3000 (who was the only noteworthy robo candidate, fyi).
We arrived at the Hilton in time to vote in the straw poll. Having a few hours to kill and little interest in talking to the little, old white-haired ladies, we took a walk down Poydras in search of food and something to pass the time.
Enter the World Trade Center. I asked Robby if he wanted to see if they gave tours, he agreed, we went in to check it out. The lobby was larger and filled with flags. We asked woman at the desk if they gave tours to which she replied, "No, we haven't given tours in a year or so."
Robby then said, "We are delegates from the Peoples Republic of Redonda and wish to seek trade with the World. Our primary export is hand sanitizer and hand sanitizer accessories."
We each held up our SRLC passes which only had the number 2 and the word Delegate on them, while motioning to our armbands to prove our legitimacy.
I butted in and while pointing at Robby said, "Yes, he oversees the production of all hand sanitation products while I oversee the manufacture of all hand sanitation accessories, but I can't talk about the accessories--trade secrets, you know."
Robby continued, "We noticed you have many fine oil frigates in your harbor. We wish to impose a blockade on Britain and feel they would be ideal. We would also like to hold meetings here; you know, to discuss trade with the World."
I said, "Yes, anywhere here would be fine."
Robby: "We could even hold them here in the lobby."
The receptionist looked at us for a moment then pulled out a small piece of paper and wrote down the name and number for Nick, who she said is some sort of manager there and the one to talk to. Then she informed us that he was on vacation and asked if we would still be in town in a few weeks.
We said that we would and we would call him after a few weeks had passed.
Goodbyes were said and we were off to the food part of our quest. After we ate Robby had 76 cents in change left from lunch, so we decided to head down to the casino to try our luck. After speaking with the banker in the casino she informed us the penny slots only took five dollar bills and that we couldn't play with our change.
Following our poor luck at trying to win big we made our way back to the conference and listened for three hours of some of the most horrifyingly boring speeches. One of the speakers was finishing up and made a statement he thought would be a real crowd pleaser. He was promoting American involvement in Israeli politics (I wasn't paying too much attention; Robby and I were busy discussing whether or not the blonde girl on the other side of the isle was hot or not). After the speaker loudly proclaimed his support for American involvement, the little, old white-hair ladies generously applauded but were quickly drowned out by the loud booing from Ron Paul supporters. The old white-ladies began chanting "U-S-A," and some even looked like they were about to fight the Ron Paul supporters. All the while Robby and I were doubled over in laughter (politics is serious business).
Later, Robby was reading a C-SPAN transcripts of the event. It mentioned the Ron Paul supporters booing and the "old guard" chanting U-S-A, and then, they mentioned two people sitting near the front of the Ron Paul supporters doubled over in laughter.
That was me and Robby.
After Ron Paul spoke we went home, I went to work, then we went and saw Matt breath fire. It was good times.
Additional notes:
• I had a sign proclaiming my stance on robot rights. It said "Give me Robo Liberty or Give me Robo Death!"
• Redonda: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redonda
I guess that wasn't so brief, whatevs.
- El Sam
Sapeur
Posted by jOe
My brother, Sam, first enlightened me about the Sapeur.
A Sapeur, in the Congo (both sides of the River), is a gentleman in the midst of war and poverty. Their self-proclaimed motto, "let's drop the weapons, let's work and dress eloquently" is a regurgitation of the governments constant efforts to downplay the largely civil war-stripped country. But they are happy to oblige!
Here is an amusing excerpt from AfricaFeed.com about Papy Mosengo, a Sapeur:
Mosengo can scarcely afford this passion for fashion. He worked eight months at his part-time job at a money-exchange shop to earn enough for the single outfit, one of 30 he owns, so he’ll never have to wear the same one twice in a month. He doesn’t own a car. He lets an ex-girlfriend support their 5-year-old son and still lives with his parents, sleeping in a dingy, blue-walled bedroom that is more aptly described as a closet with a mattress.
Hector Mediavilla has been working since 2003 to document the Sapeur in the Congo.
Photo Credit: "the internet"
Christmas Eve for Not-You
Posted by jOe
Today after work I'm going to my Aunt's house, which is something my family does each year on Christmas Eve. We all have an excuse to be together and, cold or not, the excitement and warmth of Christmas is in the air. It seems no matter hold old I get (and each years manages to trade-in a little more excitement for stress) Christmas Eve is a time I always look forward to.
That's me. And I'm probably not too far off in assuming that's you, too. But it's not the case for everyone. For many people, it's just another day of surviving and waiting for tomorrow because it might be better than today.
Recently I worked for Missionary Expediters, a logistics company that specializes in shipping cargo for humanitarian aid organizations. In doing so I had the great pleasure to meet and work alongside many selfless people. People who would often work long hours. Although the paychecks might be small, their reward is in the hearty smiles and eager anticipation of people they serve.
I plan to write more in a later post about the individual agencies and what they do, but in the meantime, here are a few you can check out:
Because of our exchange rate in the US, you can sponsor a child from as little as $35 a month. If you smoke or routinely pick-up a daily pre-work coffee, that's like sponsoring two kids a month! Really, it's not a lot at all. I've been doing it for almost two years now and am constantly rewarded from the knowledge that this is probably the best $35 I spend each month. And everyone I've talked to who does this tells me the same thing.
ICR
Posted by jOe
I know, I know, Tuesday is for music, but I'm changing it up this week! I think it's because of Christmas, but I can't be sure.
Anyway.
Recently I've been hearing almost daily updates about the calamities progress we're making in Copenhagen. And that's okay; after all, I keep reading those articles, so I'm not wishing they'd go away. But I can't help to disagree the basis of much of their reasoning.
If you've never heard of ICR (the Institute for Creation Research), you should really check them out.
A privately funded research facility focused on proving biblical creationism from a scientific and professional point of view, ICR has been in existence for almost 40 years! But unfortunately many Christians are still not familiar with them. They publish regularly supporting evidence on critical topics including the six, literal days of creation; the genesis flood and a young Earth; and the extinction of the dinosaurs, to name a few.
Among the plethora of tools ICR offers are two FREE publications: Days of Praise and Acts & Facts. You can read both of these online, or, if you prefer to feel the paper in your hand, they'll mail them to you. Free. Did I say that?
Days of Praise is a short, daily devotion. Wait. If you're anything like me, when you first hear the word "devotional", you started skimming this paragraph. And to your credit, from all the ones I've read, I don't blame you for feeling that way. But Henry Morris III, the CEO and son of founder Henry Morris II, does an over-the-top job of concisely diving deep and sharing his insights in this two-minute-a-day read (a rare feat in it's own right). I strongly recommend it for both it's brevity and clearness of thought. Two things not often found together in devotionals.
Acts & Facts is a monthly periodical with articles covering the gamut 'of ICR'. Always providing captivating insight in the fields of paleontology, geology, evolution, as well as a biblical view on current events. ICR works diligently to compare the "truth" to the Truth.
In this writing, I don't want to leave the impression that their mission is to cause strive and confrontation. In fact, it's just the oposite. Their mission is to help Christians see, from a logical and scientific perspective, the biblical proofs that exist all around us in our modern, twenty-first century life--that science is not at odds with the Bible, but in agreement!
As you continue to hear about climate change and become curious about how it fits into the Bible, IRC is a wonderful resource to find Christian in the top of their field, who don't pull punches when it comes to comparing the facts they find with what God has to say about our world.
Yeah,
BAM.
I Broke My Big Toe.
Posted by jOe
It's your big toe. What's the big deal? After all, it's only big compared to those other little guys, but it's not really that big. I've been pondering this question as of late, and here are a few things I've come to:
1. When walking, the leg under you that continues moving backward--as you move forward--is controlled by your big toe.
2. It keeps you from randomly falling forward.
3. And if not for it, the guys who makes toenail clippers would have way overshot in size.
I have many more observations for my big toe list (somewhere in the double digits), but these three really kinda make the point. Now, I'm no stranger to pointless blog posts, and right now you must be thinking I've just topped myself, but it's coming. The truth is, I've been pondering the significance of my big toe more from the perspective of a captured audience. A captured audience who dropped a really, really big piece of wood on their left big toe and broke it.
Clean off.
Well not the last part, but definitely the 'broke' part. Yeah, it sucks.
As I'm forced to do a bit more sitting and a quite a bit less ADHD-ing, I find myself pondering what has been throbbingly forced back into my conscious--my left big toe. In one such case, this little thought came to me: all these years my big toe has been so much bigger than my little toes. And because it's broken it's swollen, which means it's that much bigger.
Now they'll never have a chance. Poor guys.
And since posts look better with a picture--BAM!
EDITOR'S NOTE: This picture has absolutely nothing to do with the contents of this post. But it was a wonderful movie.
Don’t Worry, it’s Australian
Posted by jOe
My friend Jodie moved back to Australia a few months ago, but while she was here, she'd keep me up to date with some of the better Australian music that often didn't make the jump to America.
A couple weeks ago while I was out of town, she sent me some more, and I've just now been able to sit down and give them a listen. Supercool. Here they are, embedded YouTubes and all:
British India is the kind of band I wanted to be in when I was sixteen and planning to play music and live in vans for the rest of my life: hair long enough to get in my eyes, a make-shift living room recording studio, and boat-loads of nerve. What more could any kid ask for? Oh, and songs people liked. That was in there, too.
And major props for the black and white video. I'm a sucker for that.
When I first heard Kisschasy, I instantly thought if Nada Surf had been produced by Weezer, they would have sounded this good. I would have a hard time saying they're better or worse than Weezer, just more...um...Australian.
And doesn't the preacher in the video kind of remind you of an over-dramatic Dave Grohl?
With their basic, vintage-New York inspired sound, I was an instant lover. There are many bands and artists whose music I buy and listen to in my car, but only a few rank a live show. Unfortunately, Philadelphia Grand can only be found playing in Australia right now. Bummer.
"Embedding disabled by request" What does this mean, YouTube?! I'm so proud, I've just learned this skill and like that, gone. All I can say about Paul Dempsey other than give-him-a-listen-'cause-he's-awesome is no, he's not having an epileptic seizure throughout this video or any of his other live performances. Leave him alone--he's an artist!
What you might not know…
Posted by jOe
About My Blog:
1) You can register. Why would one register, you might ask? That's a great question! And to be completely transparent, I have no idea. But Caroline did it and you can, too! It's very simple, just scroll this page until you see the "Meta" heading on the left side and click Register.
2) If you like what you read, you can send it to your friends on facebook or twitter, or post it on digg or reddit by clicking the respective icons at the bottom of each post. I just found a plug-in for this and am very pleased with myself. I'm resisting the urge to put a smiley emocon here. Watch out, I might not be so strong later 
Oops 
3) I'm getting ready to start two new series on my blog. The first is similar to my September 24th post, and it will be called, "It's a New Orleans Life." The thrust behind it is to bring back some of the romanticism of New Orleans that's often lost in the real news. Is it safe to assume we don't want "Hurricane Katrina" to still be the country's first thought they associate with New Orleans? Maybe you're still milking that, and I'm all for you (go free enterprise!), but I could stand to think of New Orleans in a rosier light. Remember the names and places and sweat-drenched undershirts from A Streetcar Named Desire? That's what I'm talkin' about. I'm not so interested in the sweat, but you get the idea. That's New Orleans. In this series, I'll be interviewing and photographing local people who can quaintly capture the essence of our city.
My second series will be a community-driven expose of individuals you should know. Regardless of your field, demographic, or political standing, there are people in New Orleans (and beyond) that you can stand to benefit from knowing. And that's my only criteria. If you know someone that you think I should include in this series, send me their contact info and a quick why you think they qualify.
I'd love to hear from you!
Shot on RED
Posted by jOe
Know the RED cameras? They're dSLRs that do video...or the video cameras that do still frame...or, I don't really know because they're that far out of my reach. As a matter of fact, they don't even sell them on Amazon. I'm not making this up. I know, the Apocalypse, right?
So naturally I was perusing their website in the same way I'll sometimes find myself on Bently's site building my own Azure or weighing the options because I might really like the Continental better. You never know.
Back-to-the-camera.
Interesting to note, it was used to shoot some recent movies like The Informant, District 9, Gamer, and My Bloody Valentine 3D. Not that you can tell by watching the movies themselves (RED's website spilled the beans).
It's always cool to me to see the converging of these kinds of technologies. In fact, Alexx Henry, whom I greatly admire as a money-making artist, in his latest blog post talks about the nearness of a video-print-fused format. Like a video on the cover of a magazine, etc. It's paper thin and flexible. I guess the last hurtle is making it affordable enough to be disposable. But it shouldn't be too much longer until you'll see it around.
More on RED; click here to see some of their outlandish prices! You can order your own straight from their site. Isn't it fun?
Here's a picture of one. It would cause some problems if I took this on vacation.
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