catesta

I assumed he was still on vacation. I hope all is well.

San Gennaro starts around the middle of September and lasts for about 10 days. I've been a few times and have always had a blast.

Very interesting.

Good points made in that article. Thanks for posting it.

Most definitely.

BTW, Chris: Are you aware you're next on the test masters list? ← I forgot to mention I changed places with.... Yes I am aware and will be ready to go.

Samples of his work can be found here.

I'm not as worried about parking as I am it being more of a yuppie fest.

I need some info from the folks in Jersey. Has anyone here ever attended this? Hoboken Italian Festival I'm thinking about checking it out on Saturday, if it's the real deal.

Received in mail today, thanks.

Is this a different contract than the competitive-bid contract we were discussing in another thread a few days ago? Guy ← I believe so. I was watching a congressional meeting on C-SPAN and some representatives were opposed to the "no-bid" contract that was awarded to Haliburton. ←

I can't help you. I've got a fear of Jim.

Total hackery. Just because New Orleans was always poor and high-crime doesn't mean that the feds were not responsible for maintaining order post-disaster. The whole point of a federal response is that local authorities are not equipped to handle natural disasters, regardless of how professional or competent they are to start with. ← Hardly "total hackery." There's more than enough blame to go around on the federal, state, local, and even (in some cases) individual levels. Lots of people and organizations they trusted fucked up on this one. ← Of course there's plenty of blame to go around. That, however, is not what this shitbag is saying. He's arguing that: 1) The NO local police is first and foremost to blame, and that those who disagree are just "Bush-bashing"; 2) That Howard Dean is charging racism--without so much as providing a quote, instead choosing to put Jesse Jackson's words in Dean's mouth; 3) That Ray Nagin, who was a REPUBLICAN until running for mayor, is representative of the Democratic party as a whole; and 4) That it's something extraordinary that the poorest city in America can't magically come up with a better police force. It's a cynical attempt at a whitewash of the Bush administration's actions in New Orleans, laced with spin from top to bottom. Feebly attempting to excuse the inexcusable? That's my definition of hackery. ← What the hell makes you think this guy (Pulitzer Prize winning Michael Goodwin) is doing some kind of pro Bush song and dance? Take your glasses off.

Seems like the cd would be a perfect fit for at least two channels on XM. Let's hope they wake up.

Have a great one!

Just out of curiousity, did you guys send a copy to XM and or Sirius?

Damn, I just heard about this on the news. "Like, I'm getting all misty"

Congrats. I tried it once myself.

Same here.

I wouldn't sweat the double park while unloading.

I hope it is/was a great day!

I'm not sure who you are talking about. I for one have said I'm not buying shit from anyone. The feds fucked up, but no way in hell can you believe the state and local government did everything they could. They didn't, plain and simple.

"There was the time when I was playing at Sherwood and a buggy comes up and out steps Tiger Woods. He says: 'Want a game?' And I said: 'No.'." He said what? "Of course I said yes! But I tell him: 'Only if you give me a handicap.' He asks me: 'What's your handicap?' I say: 'Scratch.' He says he has a similar handicap. I laugh. You must be joking, I tell him - and he gives me five strokes. "He beat me on the last hole by one stroke. I handed over $100. I always play for money, pressure is good. But I am going to get that $100 back from Tiger some day," Kenny laughed. What an amusing story.

Chris, do you ever get tired of playing the race card? There wasn't a single racist thing about GA Russell's comment. Just because there happens to be a lot of black people living in New Orleans does not make a negative comment about New Orleans or its people "racist." It's the same thing when people criticize the policies of the state of Israel, and many Jews claim that these criticisms are "anti-Semitic." It just isn't true. The race card is soooo overplayed in this country...And you'll probably call me a racist for saying that, too. ← It is, IMO, racist because GA Russell is essentially saying that the the people who were trapped in these two structures "gambled," which means that they had a choice. Many of them--most, probably--did not have a choice. These were poor people, many of them elderly and sick. Most of them were black and I am not suggesting that they were neglected by government because of their skin color--in fact, I think it was more a case of class discrimination. That said, racism is clearly what kept these people down. The Bush regime would like us to think that the thousands of victims who were left in the city were there by choice, that they "gambled" on survival in spite of having their "eyes wide open." Well, if that were so (and when was the last time the Bush people told us anything that wasn't, at best, a self-serving distortion?) it would take the fumbling, incompetent government decision-makers off the hook. It would make Bush and his cohorts seem like victims of "bashing." That, of course, is pure bullshit and either GA Russell has bought into it or he is joining the effort to whitewash Bush and his regime. So, yes, callously blaming thousands of poor and ill people for the suffering brought upon them through lack of leadership in the White House and unspeakable neglect by their own country's government, is racist, even if the neglect was not directly based upon the color of their skin. It becomes racist when one considers that the people in question--the wide-eyed gamblers, as GA Russell would have it--can attribute their lowly status to a history of racism. The world knew in advance about Hitler's hatred for Jews, but not all Jews left their country for a safer place--were they also "wide-eyed gamblers"? Should we blame them for being so foolish as to land themselves in concentration camps? I don't think so, but, since "Vibes" brought up the subject, I see a parallel. I see a sad lack of comprehension when someone points an accusing finger at people who--through no fault of their own--have undergone a nightmare of human suffering. Those who sought refuge in the Super Dome and Convention Center did so because no effort was made earlier to get them to safer ground, and because this is where they ultimately were told to go. When they got there, there was no one in charge, nothing to drink, nothing to eat, no medicine for the sick, no electricity, no working bathroom facilities. The doors were closed and they were, in effect, entombed. They deserve our compassion and help, not such insensitivity as GA Russell's remark reveals. Sorry to ramble on like this, but it really irks me when someone shows such a lack of feeling. We are talking about people who never had much of a chance to rise in society, people who became victims of a major natural disaster and then had their suffering compounded once more by their own government. Point your finger at the Oval Office and Pentagon, GA Russell. ← Chris, at what point to you hold the governor of LA and the mayor of NO responsible for their part in the mess?

Hope the day was a special one.