Kicking off Friday on a happy note!

D. and I went to the Sugar Bowl Committee's kickoff cocktail shindig last night at the Superdome.

(I even got to exchange pleasantries with Archie Manning. ZOMG. I'm amazed I didn't pull a Wayne-and-Garth.)

As usual, the food and drink and setting were gawkworthy. D. developed an insatiable craving for the crabcakes that were being fried up on the field, and I was content to nurse my merlot and engage in a favorite past time of mine - peoplewatching.

But what we truly gawked at was the Committee's presentation to the NOPD of a Sky Watch. And yes, they do look quite a bit like the Imperial Walkers from "The Empire Strikes Back." (I think there's one in the Home Depot parking lot on Earhart, actually.)

That's not the funny part.

Not by a long shot.

So as the Committee was making the presentation, the fog machine kicked in and dramatic Empire-esque music started swelling throughout the Dome.

I swear I saw Ted Lewis from the Times-Picayune snickering.

So the Sky Watch started to rise slowly through the fog. There, inside the module, sat Warren Riley. Flanking the Sky Watch on either side, though?

The only reasonable choice for a party attended by local officials has to be models hired to dress as sexy cops, right? Hereafter they shall be referred to as the "stripper cops."

(Way to improve credibility in a room where reps from all of the major NCAA conferences, All State and various NOLA hoi polloi are located. Sigh.)

Amazingly, the stripper cops were dressed in blue shirts and black skirts - wait a sec, I thought wearing a blue shirt could get an NOPD officer suspended?

Maybe they make exceptions for extras off the set of a Skinemax flick. Hmmm. Must ponder.

Either way, minus that bizarre interlude, it was a great party that definitely kicked off the Sugar Bowl's 75th Anniversary with panache.

I'm just glad I wore low heels, since we were walking on Tulane's rolled-out turf. ;)

On to the music...so last night I suddenly started craving the Breeders, the underrated Kim Deal-led band that rose from the ashes of the break up of the terribly underrated Pixies.

Man, I REALLY loved "Safari" and "Last Splash." Still do, in fact. I dare you to listen to "Divine Hammer" or "Saints" and not catch yourself humming them later. Plus, it's just a known fact that "Cannonball" is the only song about the Marquis de Sade to ever get insane amounts of airplay on MTV...

...y'know, back when they actually played videos.