'IT'S GOT TO STOP'

In a shooting so brazen that it shocked a city hardened by recurrent gun violence, 19 people were rushed to local hospitals after gunmen opened fire on hundreds who had turned out for an annual Mother’s Day second line parade in the 7th Ward.

The attackers sprayed the crowd with bullets, despite the fact that police were embedded in the parade and several of the revelers were children.

The victims included 10 adult men, seven adult women, a 10-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl, said officer Garry Flot, a New Orleans Police Department spokesman. The 10-year-olds suffered graze wounds, as did most of the victims, Flot said. Many of the victims’ injuries were not serious, he said.

Jeb Tate, a spokesman for New Orleans EMS, said three of the nine people paramedics rushed to Interim LSU Public Hospital following the shooting were in critical condition.

Mayor Mitch Landrieu visited several of the victims in their hospital rooms, then, in a somber tone, told reporters that “the specialness of the day doesn’t seem to interrupt the relentless drumbeat of violence on the streets of New Orleans. ... It’s got to stop.”

Yes, it's got to stop, but how? It's way past time for Police Chief Serpas and Mayor Landrieu to deliver on their promises to reduce the the number of shootings in New Orleans, or my beloved home town will die a slow death from the rampant violence. 

Lord, have mercy. 

"ENJOY THE SHOW"

 

To each her/his own. Entertainment church is not for me.

From nakedpastor.

TO SEE OR NOT TO SEE...

Continuing with the Hamlet theme...

As most of you know, a new film version of F Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby is in the theaters.  The older version with Robert Redford was boring; the good looks of Redford were not enough to carry the movie, and I don't know if I'm up for another disappointment because I've read and enjoyed the book more than once.

Movie critics are about evenly divided between positive and negative reviews, but audiences give the film higher approval ratings.  My first impulse is to give the movie a pass, but my granddaughter liked the book and wants very much to see the film.  None of her friends will agree to go, so I expect we will go together.

From what I've read, the latest film version of Gatsby consists of lots of movement and a good many spectacular scenes in 3-D.  Now it's quite true that Jay Gatsby's extravagant way of life, especially the wild parties at his expensive estate, is over the top and an invitation to a director to use this sort of treatment.  Still, spectacles are not my favorite type of movie, nor am I especially captivated by 3-D.  The film runs for a relentless 2 hours and 30 minutes, whether I'm enjoying myself or not.  Sigh....  Give me a well-made movie with a good story and fine acting, and I'm happy.  Is Gatsby that movie?  I doubt it, but I will let you know, if I go.  

BATEAUX DE BOIS FESTIVAL - LOCKPORT, LOUISIANA

Click on the image for the larger view.

COME TO THE BOAT MUSEUM FESTIVAL. IN THE EVENT OF RAIN, ACTIVITIES WILL TAKE PLACE INSIDE THE MUSEUM OR IN TENTS. DON'T LET A LITTLE RAIN KEEP YOU AWAY.

AND THE RAINS CAME

 

From at least 4:30 AM, when Grandpère turned on the light in the bathroom without closing the door and woke me up, it rained and poured and rained and poured the entire day.  Since I needed groceries, when the rain slackened a bit, I rushed to the supermarket.  Alas, while I was shopping, the torrential rain started again, and, when I left the supermarket, I had to wade through the heavy rain in above-the-ankle water in the flooded parking lot to reach my car.  On the way home, I found that my street was blocked by the police because of floodwater. I backed up, turned around, and approached from another direction and was able to reach home, TBTG. I didn't leave the house for the rest of the day, except for periodically donning the plastic poncho to take Diana out to do her business.

The heavy rain doesn't show in the picture above, but you can see the puddles and maybe the water in the street, if you click on the photo.   

LITTLE RICHARD - "LONG TALL SALLY"

Friday night with Little Richard.

STORY OF THE DAY - FINISH

My mother always told me to finish what I started, but 
she had no idea of some of the people I'd be dealing 
with.

From StoryPeople.

MARY BLACK - 'LOVING HANNAH'

A beautiful woman with a lovely voice sings a wonderful old folk song.

I went to church on Sunday  
My love, she passed me by  
I knew her mind was changing  
By the roving of her eye  
By the roving of her eye  
By the roving of her eye  
I knew her mind was changing  
By the roving of her eye

DITHERING...

John Barrymore as Hamlet, 1922

To blog or not to blog: that is the question.  IT asked the question at The Friends of Jake in her post titled "Why blog?"   Comments are disappearing, and much of my energy for blogging came from exchanges with those who left comments.  Please...no one should take my post as a plea to leave comments.  People do what they will do and go where they will go, and they seem to have mostly moved on from blogs.

The action moved to Facebook and other social media like Twitter.   Though I have a Facebook account, because my family and friends are there, once I check in, I spend far too much time at the site when I should be doing other things.  As for Twitter, I tried it, and I was in and out within a couple of hours.  It's definitely not for me.

In any case, blogging is hard work, and my store of energy seems to be on the wane...at least for now, so I'll probably be writing and posting less.

I should add that dithering Hamlet is not among my favorites of  Shakespeare's characters.

OH MY!

 

Ha ha ha.  I love the cartoon.