Naturally, New Orleans is getting lots of attention. But the Mississippi Gulf Coast has been nearly erased by Katrina. WLBT TV posted a video shot from a helicopter this morning. The word “devastation” doesn’t seem to cover it, really. If you have a moment, you should watch what television news coverage couldn’t capture when it […]

The Times Picayune, the paper of record for me growing up in the New Orleans area, has gone to an online edition-only today. In an article just posted titled, “Will New Orleans Survive?”, writer James Varney says: On the southern fringe of New Orleans’ City Park there is a live oak with a branch that […]

I’ve been through many hurricanes. This is going to sound weird, but some of my fondest memories of childhood are from hurricanes. My childhood home was a former turn-of-the-century Catholic rectory that was built to withstand the gulf’s hurricanes. So, when the hurricanes came to the Gulf south, family and friends camped out at our […]

Robert A. Moog, May 23, 1934 – August 21, 2005. Stories here, here, here, here, and here. From the family’s Caring Bridge journal: MEMORIAL CELEBRATION: August 24, 12 NOON The Orange Peel, Social Aid & Pleasure Club 101Biltmore Ave Asheville, NC 828 225-5851 www.theorangepeel.net

Okay, I’ll admit that the number and frequency of my posts regarding Penn Jillette’s “The Aristocrats” — you know the movie about the dirtiest joke ever told, the one Michael Medved isn’t going to list in his top ten list — is surprising, even to me. But I think it’s a fascinating story about a […]

Every once in a while I find it useful and pleasant to stop everything from moving around me, sit for a while, and think. I don’t know anyone who could possibly argue that the pace of life in the Internet age is so fast that what we used to call “fast” is now old-fogey stately […]

One of my occasional haunts is blabbermouth.net. A few days ago, they announced: Master provocateur Criss Angel, whose A&E series “Criss Angel Mindfreak” debuted last week (airs weekly on Wednesday) at 10 p.m. ET/9 p.m. CT, will make an appearance at the July 30 Ozzfest date in Chicago. Angel will have a tented area where […]

As I suggested earlier: It is becoming readily apparent to me that “The Aristocrats” is not going to suffer the same fate as did “The Blair Witch Project” — which is to say, it appears to me many people still aren’t getting the joke. Which, naturally, makes the joke even funnier. This may become the […]

Not quite “man bites dog” but, as a header, it’ll do. This weekend, Abbott’s Magic Get-Together marks the 68th year of get-togethers in Colon, MI. An article today in Sturgis Journal mentions: This is the 68th year for the Abbott’s Magic Get-Together. Magicians from several foreign countries have arrived in preparation for the magic shows […]

The Guardian’s Alok Jha wrote an excellent article on magic. First there’s shock tinged with disbelief. A moment of wonder follows. Then, a desperate scramble to rack your brains and work out just how you’ve been had. There’s no denying the effects of a good magic trick. From the great escapes of Houdini and the […]