Our Mayan ancestors, says the Popul Vuh – that sacred text of which this weblog is but a performance – were all great sacrificers and penitents. “Sacrifice and penitence are not for mortals, but for the gods,” says one of my old post-it notes, and I would like to reaffirm this right now. “Everything I … More TS Arlene
Him, by e-mail: Dear Friend, Last week, the Obama administration announced it would release 30 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). The SPR is normally only used during true emergencies, most recently after Hurricane Katrina and the 1991 Gulf War disrupted our oil supplies – but as the New Orleans Times-Picayune … More Oppose Vitter’s 3-D: The Domestic Jobs, Domestic Energy, and Deficit Reduction Act
Dear Professor Zero, It is time once again to remind you to bring _______ in for his yearly vaccination. You may reach our office at ______. Yours, Veterinarian One. Dear Veterinarian One, Thank you for your post card. I regret to say that _______ went out on 2 March of this year and did not … More Post Cards
THEM What I dislike about life in Maringouin is the invasiveness — all the assaults on space and integrity and dignity. You have to have better protection than I do to avoid this, and you have to stay on guard at all times, which is not my personality. That is why I like to go … More On Sexism and Gender Harassment in Maringouin
Here comes a very nice blog post on change, ideology, security, and if you wish, Foucault. The difference between 1972 and now is that this song was proposed and also allowed be sung at Ossining, New York. (I doubt any prison in the US would allow that refrain to be sung now; I am not … More The Order of Things
This is St. John’s Day and I’d like to have been in Recife seeing the quadrilles and dancing forró, or at a bonfire far enough north to see the northern lights. Next year I should actually go to a beach on St. John’s Eve and have the Danish celebration. I am glad Clarissa reminded me … More San Juan
Summer solstice in New Orleans is today at 12:16 PM, so this post should come up at that exact moment. Now summer begins in earnest, and it begins yet more earnestly on July 4th. Sleeping the other night next to a canoe I dreamed, quite improbably, that I had ascended a large mountain and my … More Summer Solstice
My main accomplishment this weekend was driving a Ford F-150. They threw the keys to me and said, “Take the truck!” My honor did not permit me to say I was terrified to drive this enormous, automatic transmission vehicle, the location of whose hand brake and gear shift were not immediately evident. I succeeded at … More Exotic
Northern Gaijin (observe his fascinating blog) writes in: I would like to nominate Conrad Black for the “Bluffer of the Day” award. Lord Black whose official title is Baron Black of Crossharbour, OC, PC (Can.), KCSG was incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institution Low, Coleman in Florida a.k.a. Club Fed for looting his companies of … More BLUFFER OF THE DAY AWARD: Conrad Black
Where are the weapons of mass destruction? We been lookin’ for months and we ain’t found nothin’ Please Mr. President, tell us something We knew from the beginning that your ass was bluffing! And despite the deaths now of both Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Ladin, we are still at war. The AAUP, meanwhile, has … More BLUFFER OF THE DAY AWARD: La Casa Blanca
coldhearted scientist وداد 