Crap. Gustav. Crap.

Gustav's a-comin'.

Oh no...

Hooray, Bobby Jindal! Boooo, creepy street flooding.

So yay, we have a new governor. He's young, dynamic and likely only slightly corrupt.

Really, my only beef with the man is that he seems like a zealot...y'know, Mel Gibson-Catholic. By that I mean he has the zealousness of the recently converted, in an almost pre-Vatican II way.

Apart from that, I'm thrilled that he was elected. (Although, I would have been okay with Georges as well...) It's pretty great that in my recently brief lifetime, Louisiana has managed to go from nearly electing a Klansman (cough, David Duke) to electing the youngest and first Indian-American governor in American history.

Here's to hoping he can give Louisiana a shot in the arm.

Oh, and the Saints notched their first home win against the Dirty Birds - and we were there!

On the flip-side of cool is the special little flood we experienced in the metro area yesterday. My car was soaked on the inside yesterday morning, so I took D.'s car to work. Around 1, I received a frantic call from my neighbor, Alita, alerting me that Dryades was flooded, and that the water was over my bumper.

Greeeeeeaaaaaaaaat.

I hopped into D.'s car (which, mercifully, he had raised just prior to his move from SoFla) and headed back towards New Orleans. Airline Highway was flooded into Kenner, so I jumped on I-10...which was also flooding.

Around this time, the city shut down all non-essential functions, and desperate Orleanians moved their cars to the neutral ground in the city. The water on Prytania (uptown/Garden District) was so high, it was lapping at living rooms and offices. St. Charles had about 8" standing at one point as well.

Yeesh.

Buuuut...the deluge did usher in very cool weather. Maybe autumn is finally (really) here?

A pox upon my hometown?

When my dad retired from his 24 years of service in the Air Force, we returned to my mother's native south - first to her hometown of Eufaula, AL, and later to Pensacola, FL, where I spent most of my formative years.

This morning, on my way into work, I chatted with Mom as I usually do whilst commuting from uptown to St. Rose. She was telling me that Pensacola was experiencing a veritable deluge of rain and hail. Shortly after I got to work, several tornadoes touched down in various parts of Pensacola. There was a great deal of damage to my adopted hometown. There are gas leaks, and tremendous power outages. Lines are down, transformers are out, dozens of cars are overturned, stores are reporting roof collapse, and houses near Cervantes have crumbled. Schools and highways are flooded - and it still hasn't stopped raining. This reminds me, actually, of the first six months after Hurricane Ivan mowed through Pensacola - storm after storm took a collective toll on the already beleaguered city. Mother Nature has an ironic way of kicking a place when it's already down.

Someone posted this video on YouTube and the Pensacola News Journal website - it's amazing and incredibly eerie.




P.S. Mom is okay.

Well, this is just fabulous.

Per NOLA.com:

According to the National Weather Service, a broad area of low pressure in the eastern Gulf of Mexico is expected to move west and northwest across the central and northwest gulf through Thursday night.

This low has the potential to evolve into a subtropical or tropical system in the central or northwest gulf.

Moderate to strong northeast winds of 15 to 25 mph over the near shore coastal waters are expected to turn east Wednesday into Wednesday night and southeast on Thursday.

Easterly winds will push tidal water into the tidal lakes and
along coastal Mississippi and coastal Louisiana. Astronomical high
tides are expected generally each morning through Friday and
depending on the strength and position of this system, tidal
flooding is possible outside of hurricane levee protection areas
late Wednesday through early Friday.

A coastal flood watch may be issued for this time. There is still a great deal of uncertainty on the development, strength and position of this system.

I just CAN'T wait.

Sigh.

The Jena 6 and a tropical storm warning

My much-adored Mollygood posted a great piece this morning on what's going on in Jena. I firmly agree with what the editor, Cord Jefferson, posted.

In other news, a tropical storm warning has been issued for the northern gulf coast, from Apalachicola (over in the Big Bend, near my brother) to New Orleans.

"According to the NHC's advisory, "maximum sustained winds are near 35 mph ... with higher gusts. Some strengthening is forecast during the next 24 hours, and the depression could become a subtropical or tropical storm" later Friday.

The depression is moving toward the northwest near 8 mph. A turn to the west-northwest is expected during the next 24 hours. Coastal storm surge flooding of 1 to 2 feet above normal tide levels can be expected in areas of onshore flow."

Oy.

It's going to be a soggy weekend.

http://www.wdsu.com/weather/14166196/detail.html?iref=topnews

Perhaps I should move my car this time?

Invest 93, you saucy minx.

You will not - I repeat, NOT - ruin my weekend of football-watching, barbequing-for-Kevin's-birthday, attending-a-going-away-party-for-Chandra fun.

I'm not sayin', I'm just sayin'.

Humberto, you suck. And I mean that in the best way possible.

I'm working from home this morning, as is my better half, because of this:

Humberto worsened overnight into a hurricane, and the outer bands, which are only tropical storm strength, are causing a little weather fun here in uptown New Orleans on this fine Thursday morning.


As Michelle points out, though, the worst has yet to come. My car already has a little water in it from this morning's freakishly waterlogged band, and tonight we'll both need to move our cars to much higher ground.

I'm having flashbacks to the day I moved here, and my car already smells a little moldy from that fun experience (Plus, the odometer no longer works. Thanks, flash flooding!).

Live, from the Gulf: It's Huuuuuuuuuuuuuumberto!

It's going to be a rainy weekend. But I'm easily more concerned about Tropical Depression 8.

K-Day

So it's the 2 year anniversary of Katrina. It seems like most people are trying to go on about their day today as if nothing had ever happened. But lurking beneath the subconscious of southeastern Louisiana and southern Mississippi are scars and psychological trauma that will last far beyond the FEMA trailers, debris and unclaimed bodies.

Example?

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/08/28/murder.board.nola/index.html

D. and I live on the edge of Central City - mere blocks away, actually. We've seen things happen in our neighborhood that we're not quite accustomed to. (Like the bloody shovel lady incident from early June...?)

But on the flipside, our neighbors are mostly sweet retired couples who have lived in their houses for more than 40 years. And for every young teenager killing another over drugs, there is someone else moving here to help:

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/08/28/katrina.braingain/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

And most of New Orleans notices those who have helped tirelessly to give the city some sense of normalcy and hope:

http://blog.nola.com/touchedbyanangel/

Progress is slow, absolutely. But for those who wonder why the gulf coast still looks like this two years, later, I remind you that south Florida took nearly ten years to recover from Andrew. Pensacola is still a mess three years after Ivan. It's the way of things. A hurricane indiscriminately destroys lives and places - and it takes time to heal both.

Bollocks...!

Go back from whence you came, Invest 921! And take Michael Vick and snotty ESPN writers with you!

Monday round-up

Now that Dean is careening wildly and purposefully towards Mexico, my breathing can return to normal. D. and I had a quiet weekend - our DirecTV was hooked up on Friday (we're both really excited)! We went out for sushi at the Sake Cafe on Magazine St., and followed that up with mojitos and beer at the illustrious St. Joe's.

Call me crazy, but I far prefer St. Joe's to Dos Jefes. Perhaps it's that pesky smoke allergy? Meh.

On Saturday, we spent the evening at Fat Harry's, so that Dave could blog the Saints-Bengals preseason game. It was pretty fun, actually, and the fans were pretty nice. Michelle and I kept noticing some really odd fashion faux pas - so concerning were they, I must note them here:

• Suede heels (before Labor Day!), half a size too big, with a white eyelet dress (close to Labor Day!!) with a gold anklet and bright red Birkin-inspired bag. The total effect was meant to look boho-chic, no doubt, but I'm pretty sure this cute young Tulane co-ed has NEVER wandered around SoHo. I was less worried about the antiquated Labor Day rule, as EVERYONE wears white year-round in south Florida, but Michelle was duly horrified.



• Faux-ho chic's friend was wearing a houndstooth, spaghetti-strapped wool sundress. In mid-August. In New Orleans. In a heat index of 115 degrees. IN A BAR. Personally, I love houndstooth. I think it's a cute fabric for the fall and winter months. But in the summer? In a bar? In New Orleans?



• It's standard in Miami and New York to wear stilettos and too-tight clothing out on the weekends, but in New Orleans, I am happy to report that I generally see sandals and jeans. Hooray for comfort! That said, I saw a lot of make-up, stiletto action and skin-tight white dresses (which displayed an obvious lack of panties) at Fat Harry's. This surprised me, until I remembered college parties at FSU. At FSU, you can always pick out the underaged girls - they try too hard. So there's a safe bet that a) these gals are new to New Orleans and college in general, or b) looking for a man. At a preseason game. Sigh. Poor girls.

There was a good crowd at Fat Harry's on Saturday night - and D. got some great footage of fan reactions to the game. My thoughts? Our offense looked sharp, Martin and Baker looked awful, our defense looked passable against an awful team, and our special teams looked MUCH better (thanks, Olindo!). Lance Moore is a STUD. I also feel sorry for Fred Thomas.

It was funny to hear Dave the Banker refer to Tyler Palko as "Plinko." Love ya, Dave. ;)

Yesterday Dave and I did useful things like exploring our DirecTV channels and going to see Frank Oz's new film, "Death at a Funeral." I love Frank Oz, and I really, really liked this movie - it was funny and endearing and boasts a strong cast. Shhh, don't tell D., but I've been harboring a major crush on Matthew Macfadyen ever since he starred in "Spooks" (Americans prolly know it as "MI-5").

I leaned over and asked D. at one point if there's something messed up about the fact that I was laughing so hard about a film about a family that had just lost its beloved patriarch. He smiled and said, "No, it's just cathartic."

(Wow, it's nearing a year since Daddy died, and it still feels like it was almost yesterday.)

After the movie, we walked through the French Quarter, watching the tourists gawk at some of the drink specials advertised on the street. I then introduced D. to NOLA's FINEST burger experience - Port of Call.

http://www.portofcallneworleans.com/

Port of Call's cheeseburgers and loaded baked potatoes are the stuff of legends. D. also inhaled a solid 24 ounces of Monsoon - some fruity drink loaded with Bacardi 151. I got through maybe 6 ounces. I didn't want to fill up on rum when there was a half-pound burger in front of me!

Instead, I mimicked a walrus. Don't ask.

The most important thing, though, is that our DirecTV harkens the start (almost) of college football season. On a good note, my Noles are picked to play Virginia Tech in the ACC Championship Game.

On a truly sad note:

http://tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007708200326

Coach Andrews, your family is in my prayers during this awful time.

And on the following, to quote Kevin..."Sweet baby Jesus!"

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/08/20/vick/index.html

I wonder if rape stands are available in federal prison? (Not that I'm advocating such a thing, of course.)

"Superbad"-ass and the Big Nasty

Yesterday was a highly productive day at work. For one thing, we haven't yet scared off Kevin. The press release I wrote for a client at last minute on Wednesday afternoon went out and...was picked up by the Kansas City Star. Woot! More importantly, said press release has generated awareness of our product in that market, and I'm looking forward to my trip there next week.

After work, Michelle and Kevin and I drove to Kenner to catch a screening of "Superbad," which hits theaters today. On the way, we stopped at a McAlister's near the Esplanade Mall, where I promptly ordered the "Big Nasty."

Oh yes, you read that correctly. Let me type that again - the "Big Nasty."

The Big Nasty, as conceived by Saints running back Deuce McAllister (oh, the humanity), consists of an open-faced sammich - whole wheat bread covered with roast beef, gravy, cheese and green onions.

To be fair, I *did* eat a salad on the side. And I left half of the sammich for D., who met us at the theater. I suppose at that point you'd have to call it a Moderately-Sized Nasty.

"Superbad" was super bad-ass. Written by Seth Rogen (from "Knocked Up") and his childhood best friend when they were 12 (wow, I'm such an underachiever), the film achieves what most Adam Sandler movies can't - it's funny from start to finish without missing a beat, and you actually care about the characters. They're more than one-dimensional, and the script is viciously funny. The cast hits every nuance of awkward high schoolish behavior and rhetoric perfectly, and there were so many quotables from the film, I can't possibly remember them all. Some examples:

"My friends taught me never to meet a chick in a bar. You need to go somewhere social, non-threatening - like spin class or a farmer's market or the pumpkin patch, given the time of year."

"He's...not usually this drunk when he does that."

"Break yo-self, foo!"

GENIUS. Now don't get me wrong - I quote "Happy Gilmore," "The Waterboy," and "Billy Madison" just like every other twentysomething. But I adored the sense of humor permeating Judd Apatow's phenomenal failure of a TV show, "Freaks and Geeks," and I'm so pleased that the films bearing his stamp are so incredibly successful now. They deserve to be. They're crude, funny and alternately worthy of a solid wince, but they always have a heart.

In short, stop reading this and go see the film. You can thank me later.

After the movie, all of us met up with Dave the Banker at Dos Jefes, a cigar bar on Tchoupitoulas. Say it with me: Tchoupitoulas.

Perhaps a pronounciation guide would help? Sure thing - Chop-ee-CHEW-las. How awesome of a street name is that?

And now here I sit, fearfully checking each subsequent forecast out of the National Hurricane Center, watching Dean trend further north with each tracking map and computer model update. Gah.

Fortunately, I have the joys of waiting for DirecTV to come hook up our brand new HD receiver to distract me. NFL Sunday Ticket, here we come!

Boo nasty hurricane! Hooray 13-days-until-college football season! Hooray for the College Gameday guys picking FSU to beat Alabama next month!

Come back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean...

"Dean is moving toward the west or 280 degrees at 20 knots. A strong and deep anticyclone is forecast to remain anchored north of Dean.This pattern would provide a continued westward steering during the next 3 to 4 days with some west-northwestward component as the hurricane reaches the edge of the high by day five. Track models are in outstanding agreement bringing the hurricane across the Caribbean Sea. This adds confidence to the track forecast."

Dahmer is trending north...

According to the latest NHC discussion:

"The initial motion is 280/21. Dean is on the south side of a deep-layer ridge...which large-scale models forecast to build westward during the forecast period. This building ridge is forecast to push aside a mid/upper-level low currently east of Florida...and should this happen that system would have little interaction with Dean. The pattern evolution should keep Dean moving quickly westward to west-northwestward through the forecast period. The track guidance is in good agreement with this scenario...and the models are very tightly clustered around a trackthrough the Caribbean Sea to near the Yucatan Peninsula in five days. The new forecast track is basically an update of the previous package....and is in best agreement with the various consensus models."

I *told* you, my name is Dean, and while my name seems innocuous enough, if you don't buy a TV, I'll create massive damage.

Whew...I really, really, really hope no low pressure systems bounce Dahmer the TV Salesman northwards over the next couple of days...it's projected to be a strong Cat 4 by Saturday night. No es bueno!

Erin, Redux.

Honestly, the name Erin sounds like the crazy (but funny and sweet) girl down the hall from me in my college dorm.

Flashback: August 1995. Imagine a 16 year-old Cait trapped at debate camp (shut it) in Waco, Texas, with a sprained knee and some very stylish crutches. I had to watch Hurricane Erin unfold on CNN from the common room in the dorm at Baylor University, where I spent my summers in high school honing my ability to make people cry during debate rounds.

I digress (and I'm mostly kidding; the crying thing only happened once). Hurricane Erin broadsided Pensacola that month - we were hit by Hurricane Opal a scant two months later.

Why do I bring this up? Well, it's because that nasty little pressure system in the northwest Caribbean finally organized into...TROPICAL STORM ERIN.

I think for the purposes of maintaining my dignity and credibility as a blogger, we will henceworth refer to this storm as Hurricane Evil Succubus. That has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?

http://blog.nola.com/stormwatch/2007/08/gulf_depression_expected_to_st.html

To be fair, THIS Erin is no real threat. So we must, then, turn our attention back to our TV salesman, Dean. Let's rename Dean...how about TS Dahmer? Dahmer's getting a little wonkier.

Hello, my name is Dean, and I'd like to sell you a new TV.

Looks like Dean is heading towards Texas, but as an almost native southerner I know that one Dean will spawn at least 2-3 other lamely named storms.

That said, I think D. and I need to increase our kitchen stockpile - we'll need some batteries, candles, bottled water and charcoal. Apart from that, I think we're set.

(And yes, we already have an evacuation plan should something come bearing down on the city. Mom lives 200 miles east, on VERY high ground - a cliff above Escambia Bay - and she has a $12,000 natural gas generator.)

All serious hurricane planning aside, who comes up with these names? Who in their right mind would take seriously a storm named Dean? Or Frances? Or Cindy?

Hurricane names are just so incongruous with the nature of the storm. Hurricanes are chaotically destructive forces of nature...named Bob.

I propose a new naming system - a system that requires the NHC to issue monikers designed to strike fear into the heart of the average American dealing with the Atlantic Hurricane Season. Here are some sample names:

-Ebola
-Rasputin
-Ted Bundy
-Woodchipper
-Flesh-eating Bacteria
-Josef Stalin
-Steve Spurrier
-Nick Saban
-Osama bin Laden

Now Dave the Banker rightfully points that media coverage of people fleeing Ebola's path in New Orleans could be easily miscontrued...thoughts? What would you name a bevy of storms?

Well, crap.

That nasty little high pressure system in the NW Caribbean makes me nervous. The waters in the Gulf are much, much warmer later in the summer...