Bye Bye BB

Well, this is a bit of a sad post. It was brought to my attention by a Daily Meaux reader that Brian "BB" Bruce has passed away. Mr. Bruce was that rare combination of community leader and musical artist. A graduate of Baton Rouge High and LSU, he founded and directed a case management company dedicated to helping people with developmental disabilities, part of his
lifelong commitment to helping those in need. He was also co-founder and harmonica player for Henry Gray and the Cats.
This obit on Crossharpchronicles.com details his music career, which included an award from Honer Harmonicas, and this article by Smiley Anders talks about Bruce and his wife Jackie, and their Mardi Gras Krewe, the "Krewe of Pigs". The video below features Bruce with Henry Gray and the Cats doing what he loved, blowing his harmonica.
Thanks for the heads-up Belle.

It's Nice To Be Noticed...I Guess

Two companies are joining forces to sell a new hangover remedy to our fellow Louisianians. After all, who suffers more from hangovers than us right? Well, true or not, that's the slightly offensive premise of Bond Laboratories Inc. and G&G Distributing Co. as evidenced in this quote from their press release:

"We are thrilled to expand into the home state of the new Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints. Like the Saints, Fusion Premium Beverages is continuing to add key 'players' to what we believe is also a championship team," stated Scott Slocum, President of Fusion Premium Beverages, an operating division of Bond Laboratories. "Louisiana's famous restaurants, music and night life, in addition to its significant collegiate presence, makes the state a very desirable market for our Resurrection(TM) anti-hangover drink to establish a distribution foothold. In fact, G&G has already begun actively developing retail accounts throughout the Louisiana territories it serves," concluded Mr. Slocum.

Maybe this is part of the economic impact of the Saints winning the Super Bowl, I dunno. But it's probably a safe bet that Resurrection(TM) works best with a Mimosa or Bloody Mary chaser.

Read the press release here, on MarketWatch.com

Where's Dick Faurot When You Need Him?

Fresh off the worst "snow day" ever, here comes the second weekend without football, or Mardi Gras. I'm holding up pretty well. The prospect of the price of crawfish coming down, and the first trip of the season to Richard's Seafood Patio in Abbeville, is all I need right now. That, and some good music around town.

Vermilionville Performance Center, Lafayette 8 p.m. Friday, is the time and the place to see and hear Theresa Andersson. As the video below shows, she's cute as a button, and very, very talented. She's always been a great violinist, and singer/songwriter, but recently she's taken her talents to another level by employing looper pedals, and YouTube. How many of us go to our jobs day in day out, doing the exact same thing? Nothing wrong with that. Pays the bills, puts food on the table. But how many of us have the courage to re-invent our career 20+ years into it? That's what Andersson has done, and that's awesome.

Keewend artsts own!

Downtown Happenings

Downtown Lafayette has been designated by the state as a "cultural district" and that means tax-free art shopping! The designated tax-free area runs from Simcoe Street to Brashear and Gordon to the Evangeline Thruway so in this specific area, the state will waive it's 4% sales tax to encourage more activity and galleries. In addition to waiving state sales tax for original works of art, they also will be offering incentives to restore historic buildings in the area. Chad Calder with The Advocate has more details here.

And while we're talking about Downtown, listen up musicians: The Acadiana Center for the Arts will offer a free healthcare clinic for uninsured artists, musicians, and cultural economy workers TONIGHT in the main gallery at the ACA from 6pm - 8pm. The workshop will begin with a performance and testimony by local musician David Egan who is a second-hand smoke lung cancer survivor, a short Q&A session, followed by a presentation by Kathy Richard, Director of the Louisiana Cultural Economy Foundation-Healthcare Initiative about local healthcare options.

Following the presentation there will be free food and drinks and a performance by Calico and Off-Brand Band. During the performance attendees will have the opportunity to sign-up for a variety of free services including massage therapy, healing touch, acupuncture, healthcare screenings and healthcare consultations from Tobacco-Free Living, Benefit The Boogie, Louisiana Cultural Economy Foundation-Healthcare Initiative, the Lafayette Community Health Care Clinic and St. Bernadettes.

For more information about Healthcare 101 please visit AcadianaCenterfortheArts.org or call (337) 233-7060.

That Shoulda Been Me

OK, one more Saints Superbowl Victory story, unless I find another one later. Over on Saintsreport.com, a guy posted this photo and story of his Mardi Gras catch. Check it out, and then check your envy.

"I'm at the Orpheus parade on Monday night with my family. I'm up on a really tall ladder with my son, wearing my Reggie Bush jersey. Around the corner comes the float carrying Sean Payton and Reggie Bush. They're throwing these cool Super Bowl hats with Fluer de lis on them. I was trying like crazy to catch one, when all of a sudden, Coach Payton points directly at me, takes out a sharpie and signs the bill of the cap. He launches it toward me and it lands right in my hands. It was like slow motion. Here's the picture from my cell phone right after I caught it. Woo Hoo!!!!"

"As A Lifelong Practitioner Of The Martial Arts"

Here's an article by Jack Feerick, on Popdose.com chronicling the duchebaggery that is Steven Segal: Lawman, the new "reality" series on the A&E network. Feerick starts with the premise that the show is ripe for "so bad it's good" yuks, but finds Segal takes into "so bad it's creepy" territory. Exhibit A:

Seagal’s the only cop in this gang of four wearing a bulletproof vest, presumably because Steven Seagal is the biggest p*ssy in the Jefferson Parish sheriff’s department. He sits in the passenger seat, rocking his yellow-tinted specs — what, he thinks he’s Bono now? — and providing a hysterically self-important narration, as atmospheric B-roll fills the screen. “As a lifelong practitioner of the martial arts, I’m trained to remain calm in the face of adversity and danger,” he says (Seagal begins many sentences with the words, “As a lifelong practitioner of the martial arts”). “When the world is speeding by for others, I see things for what they are. A cock of the head, a foot planted forward or back, a flick of the wrist — they all tell me something.” This is accompanied by a slow roll-by of two black youths, juxtaposing one grabbing his crotch with Seagal glaring at him appraisingly.

Im giggling there, but then it turns to this, Exhibit B:

In one episode, Seagal’s posse descends upon two guys leaving a house in the small hours of the morning. “I think these guys are drinking,” Seagal snarls, and sure enough, one is toting a still-full bottle of Goldschlager. Open-container laws are cited, but the men both insist they have done no wrong. One of them gets off the quote of the night: “I understand y’all are doin’ y’all job, but right now I don’t feel like y’all are doin’ y’all job!” Truer words. Then things take a creepy turn. The cops pat the guys down, and one of them is packing a gun. There is a potential for things to get ugly indeed — but a quick check indicates that the gun is legally registered, that neither man has any priors, and that neither one has even been drinking. (I think the one guy got the bottle from his Mom, which is kind of sweet.) Seagal lets them go, as he must, bust first has the balls to lecture them about his righteousness: “I’m out here looking for murderers,” he tells them sternly, which is cold comfort to a poor man, living in a rough neighborhood, who has just been hassled by a slumming movie star.

Yeah, guns, alcohol, and idiot, condescending actor....what could go wrong? There's a little NSFW, but well placed, language in the article. I feel smaller for even making that warning. But there it is. Be brave citizens.

Go Votetopolis!

Please vote online for Lafayette-produced, directed, starred in and distributed feature movie LUNOPOLIS! as the favorite movie in the Boston Sci-Fi Fest.

I know you didn’t see it there, they know you weren’t there, too - but you can still show your support for a local product by voting BEFORE SATURDAY 2/20/10!!

Vote here.

Still Surviving

::Spoiler Alert::
Lafayette's favorite Survivor, James Clement, played a pretty significant role in last night's episode. Nutshell version, Boston Rob collapsed from having the flu and the rest of the villains/doofuses, pulled together and won the reward/immunity challenge, a tarp and rope. Over on the Hero's side, James verbalized his frustration at losing the challenge and decided that Stephanie was bad luck because during her season, her entire team got voted out around her. That's where things got particularly interesting...the sparks were flying at Tribal Council but ultimately James got his bad luck charm voted out by a vote of 6 - 3.

Here's a complete recap on ledger-enquirer.com.

While we're chatting about reality TV stars from Acadiana - remember Krista Stegal? She was the one on Big Brother 2 that was proposed to by Mike 'Boogie' in the season finale, accepted, came home and worked on the radio for a while, broke up with Mike 'Boogie', and then moved back to Opelousas. Haven't heard much from her lately, but here's her Myspace page if you want to check it out...
-jill :)

To The Draft!

I washed 20+ dogs yesterday and I'm looking at 25 more today. My back says stay in bed, my hands agree with the back. My feet have never happily reported to work at any point in my adult life. What kind of cosmic forces combined to have every dog owner in Lafayette chose this week to have their dogs washed? Seems like just last week (or was it the week before last?) I was riding high, reveling in the Saints Superbowl victory, then the parade, then Mardi Gras. Now, I'm facing the reality of no more football till August. This is traditionally the worst weekend of the year for me. Granted, it came later than it ever has before. And my team did accomplish the improbable, previously thought to be impossible. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Somebody should use that.
So, in the spirit of wanting to be back in NOLA, letting the good times roll, this song was requested by Daily Meaux reader, and former New Orleans resident, Takako, all the way from Fukuoka, Japan. It's true, the tubes stretch all the way to Japan. Maybe you find yourself in Bend, Oregon, or you have an Army job in France, enjoying excellent health care. Wherever. If you've ever been in New Orleans, you'll know what this means.
Longest, dullest weekend of my year starts now.

Goodbye Dale

Well, the party's over for sure now. As if Ash Wednesday wasn't "ashy" enough, I wake up to find that Louisiana rock and roll pioneer, Dale Hawkins has passed away. A teenage James Burton played the iconic guitar hook, but Hawkins wrote the song, Susie Q.

Daniel Kreps wrote this obit on Rollingstone.com. Check out the TV yellow Les Paul Jr. he's playing in the video too, and of course, the synchronized clapping in the audience. I don't know why I like that so much but I sure do.

Alright, it's a short week, one foot in front of the other, that's all you gotta do.

Dinner And A Movie: Rumba Cafe' and Sherlock Holmes

We have some new contributors to the Daily Meaux that we'd like to introduce you to. Please welcome the "Three Amigos: Madame X, Jester, and Sandeman"....our new 'Dinner and a Movie' critics. Recently they visited a new Cuban restaurant in Lafayette and saw the new Robert Downey Jr. flick. Here's what they had to say about both....

The Three Amigos visited Rumba Café recently. The café, which has been open less than three months, was warm and welcoming, painted in soft pleasing pastels, and very clean. Easy Latin music played unobtrusively in the background and the friendly and accommodating waiter greeted us immediately and let us pick our own table in the roughly 50-seat dining room.

The restaurant is anticipating receiving a liquor license in a few weeks but in the meantime, diners can bring their own wine and have it corked at the table. We chose refreshing canned Latin soft drinks and juices but regular American soft drinks are also available. Madame X was very pleased that the drinks were served with the drinking end of the straw still wrapped in its protective covering and the water was served without too much ice.

The empanaditas de picadillo (6 for $6.50), small ground beef meat pies, were the favorite all around of the two appetizers tried. The croquetas de carne (5 for $6.50), little beef croquettes, were also tasty. Both were served with a cream cheese sauce that was unremarkable. The waiter told us later that the croquetas de tuna rellenas were his favorite of the appetizers so we made a note to try them next time. Appetizers were followed by simple house salads: iceberg lettuce with thinly sliced tomatoes dressed with oil and vinegar. The lettuce was very fresh, the dressing light and refreshing. We did seek the waiter’s advice about entrees and ordered the churrasco ($17.95), chicken tamales ($12.50—lunch portion $8.50), and garlic shrimp ($16.25). The tamales, tasty pieces of chicken enrobed in a delicate, lightly seasoned, non-greasy corn meal, were the favorite. The churrasco came in second (flank skirt steak covered by a chimichurri sauce). Although the flank steak was slightly chewy, it was not tough, and was covered by a sauce that had a slight, very pleasant bite. Madame X describes the dish as tasting zesty and deliciously exotic. The entrees were served with black beans in individual bowls, pieces of malanga that seemed to have been fried in very fresh oil, and, depending on the entrée, delicious fried sweet plantains, boiled butternut squash, or boiled or fried yucca. The tamales came with yellow rice, and the other entrees with fluffy white rice. Portions were ample without being ridiculously large. The only things that made it into the to-go box were leftover black beans and rice.

Two desserts were available, both made in-house by the owner/chefs. Madame X greatly favored the tres leches cake ($5.50), and Sandeman was partial to the flan ($4.50). Jester pronounced the tres leches cake, which was of exquisite texture, the best tres leches ever, but being a flan aficionado, could not pick a favorite between the two desserts. We all agreed that next time we’d ask that the whipped topping, which did a disservice to the high quality of the desserts, be left off. All of the food was attractively presented in very colorful plates, although we would have preferred cloth napkins and a salad fork. One charming aspect of our table was a small tiki-type candleholder that was also a recirculating fountain. Our waiter very kindly lit the candle and got the fountain going for our amusement. One of Jester’s restaurant pet peeves is a nasty restroom—Rumba café passed that test with flying colors. The restrooms were very clean and had nice soap and air freshener. The location is a bit out of the way, and the shopping center does not have a lot of parking but Rumba does have a drive-through window in case you want to call in an order. Even though the owner, who came out to talk to us after the meal, said business has been good so far, we were the only customers in the restaurant at the time so we certainly recommend that you give Rumba Café a try. The food, service, and ambiance are great and we intend to go back and try some other things on the menu, including the Cuban sandwich. We think you’ll find Rumba Café a good value.
Rumba Cafe:
1512 Ambassador Caffery, Lafayette
Hours: Monday through Saturday 11:00 AM to 9:30 PM
(337) 988-5208

On to the movie....
Sherlock Holmes á la Guy Ritchie.
Most reviews of this movie have compared it to the massive library of past movie versions of the Conan Doyle character, but the Three Amigos say forget every other Sherlock Holmes movie or TV show you may have seen. (Of course, that advice is easy for us to advocate, as neither Madame X nor Sandeman have ever seen any other Sherlock Holmes movies but Jester is a true fan of the excellent PBS Sherlock Holmes series and considers Jeremy Brett’s Sherlock in that series to be unparalleled. Jester is also a fan of the Guy Ritchie movies Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels; Snatch; and RocknRolla, and thinks Robert Downey Jr. is capable of pulling off any role he undertakes, so therefore was willing to give these guys the benefit of the doubt... and they did not disappoint). Sherlock Holmes, as portrayed by Robert Downey Jr. is ripped, scruffy, needy, and uses his intellect as much to defeat an opponent in hand-to-hand combat as to solve the detective cases put before him. These fight scenes are premeditated in graphic slow motion with Downey’s voice-over, but carried out in lightning-fast fight scenes. As Holmes’s sidekick Dr. John Watson, Jude Law is not only a doctor who served in the military in Britain’s 19th century colonial India, but also a gambler with a bit of a temper. Rachel McAdams plays a charming con artist Irene Adler, whose history with Sherlock was hinted at but never elaborated on, makes him look at her with both fear and a certain longing.

Set in London in the late 1800s, the story involves a charlatan practitioner of black magic, played by Mark Strong, who tries to take over Parliament. Hans Zimmer’s score is a bit Bohemian, and to excellent effect. Sandeman especially liked the music during a scene involving a circus. Jester’s favorite scene in the movie is a boxing match between Sherlock and a big ruffian, which takes place in a warehouse in a wooden boxing ring with an audience screaming for blood, all to the accompaniment of the Dubliners rollicking version of “Rocky Road to Dublin.” Although the song is also played at the end of the movie while the credits role, it is not on the soundtrack, which is a pity. The cinematography adds to the late 19th century London aura, with a dark, saturated look that probably fairly accurately represents a London that was shrouded in smog caused by natural fog and the smoke of coal fires that warmed the homes of the city that already had a population of ca. 5.5 million. Madame X was a bit distressed by some scenes of violence, including one involving a band saw and pig carcasses, and another with a dead rat. The fight scenes were graphic, a few characters died spectacular deaths, and there is one terrific, slow motion, long lasting explosion. Is this version of Sherlock Holmes faithful to the character created by author Conan Doyle? Not being Conan Doyle scholars, we don’t know and couldn’t care less. The movie is fast-paced, coherent, funny in parts, and satisfying in its ending. The Three Amigos all enjoyed the movie, found the characters to be believable and engaging, the storyline interesting and compelling, and we, well, at least Jester, hope for a sequel.



The Three Amigos are comprised of "Madame X, Jester, and Sandeman". They are the new anonymous Daily Meaux food and movie critics.






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Local Entrepreneurs....

Here's some local folks that are getting it done....one guy is building mini-greenhouses, another is catering to our epicurean needs...and the other is just trying to Survive on national TV. Props to all of them for getting out, working hard, and starting a business they believe in.

First up: A Lafayette gardener has created MiniGreenhouseKits.com and their site is pretty impressive if you're a gardener. The concept is simple - offer an easy to build product for gardeners. They have a ton of containers and greenhouses to choose from so check out their website here.



Next: Parish Brewing Company. A Lafayette man that loves beer started his own "nano-brewery" but that company may not be so nano for long - they just signed a distribution deal with Schilling Distributors so look for Parish Beer in your favorite store soon. Thanks Marilynn for the heads up!



BTW - Does anyone watch Survivor?? James Clement, everyone's favorite Gravedigger from Lafayette, is back and we're rooting for him to win. Well, we're at least hoping he doesn't get kicked out with unused immunity idols in his pocket.
-jill :)

Lombardigras

I'm not ready for it to be over. In fact, I'm making a point to enjoy the Saints' World Championship victory for each and every day of the year they reign. I waited a long time for this. To that end, we have two videos to kick off the Mardi Gras weekend. First up, is a collage of photos set to the Professor Longhair classic Mardi Gras song. And under that is a video taken in a bar in NOLA at the precise moment Tracy Porter intercepted Lil Archie and put the dagger in the Colts. Here's a tip: Start the Prof. video with the sound way up, and watch the second video with the sound off, while the Prof. is doing his thing. I know....it's hard. But you have all the way to Ash Wednesday to get it right. Wow, that statement is true for so many things. Endweek stow narts! Happy Mardi Gras everybody.

"But I Shot A Man In Reno....Just To Watch Him Die"

The blog gods were kind this morning. A Louisiana man has invented a chastity belt for dogs. Whacky you say, zany! "How in the heck?" But that's not strange part. The story plays up the third grader "ooh gross, you have to clean it!" angle. Still, not the weird part. The inventor has been contacted to design a chastity belt for camels. Whoa, knee-slapper....but not the weirdest part of this story. No, the part that got my attention, and was left sadly under-explained in the article, was this tidbit:

Ironically, a freak injury led Blanch to his invention. He was shot by one of his beagles two years ago in a hunting accident, leaving him with an 8-inch wound. "I nearly had to face the amputation of an arm," he says. In no way did the shooting sour his feelings for his dogs, he says.

Huh? His beagle shot him? Forget about the stupid chastity belt, how does a dog shoot a gun? I have a beagle, she can't do any tricks...no sit, no roll over, no trigger finger.

Buck Wolf (his real name?), wrote the piece for AOL.com. Read it all here.

Yes, I Have Thought About That....Often

Ever thought about picking up and learning how to play the guitar?

Guitar Acadiana and the Acadiana Center for the Arts have teamed up to offer a six-week course that will teach you the basics of guitar with two local guitar instructors - Tim Benson and Jim McGee.

You will learn fundamental techniques, how to properly tune your guitar, the most common chords found in popular music, the necessary scales to start playing leads and much more.

Classes are fun and structured to maximize your learning while applying all the covered techniques to some of your favorite songs. You can sign up even if you have never played a guitar before!

Each student who registers is required to bring a guitar to the classes. All lesson materials, audio samples, workbooks, etc, will be provided at the class.

Classes begin on Saturday, March 13th and will continue each Saturday afterward until April 17th. Sessions are one hour long (youth class is 45 minutes) and for the last class there will be a reception in the AcA's Art House.

Please see below for pricing and scheduled class times.

Adult Guitar Class
Ages 12 and up
Saturday March 13 from 12:30 - 1:30 p.m.
Registration fee: $145
**Classes are limited to 20 participants each**

Youth Guitar Class
Ages 6-11
Begins Saturday March 13 from 10:15 - 11:00 a.m.
Registration fee: $95
**Classes are limited to 20 participants each**

Those interested in registering should click here or call (337) 233-7060.

Finally!

This is for all the Sons and Daughters who won't have to wait until they're almost 50 years old (like I did) to see their team become WORLD CHAMPIONS! I don't have a photo credit, so this is probably illegal, and definitely unprofessional. But guess what? I don't make any money on this thing, and my team just won the freaking Superbowl! Just choke down that lump in your throat and enjoy the moment.

I Wanna Shout It From The Roof Tops

Oh mes amis, this is the big one. The weekend to end all weekends. Yes, The Saints, are in the you-know-what(check the count down to the you-know-what ticker above). I can't say the name of the you-know-what, not for legal reasons, but for the more important jinx factor. It's just one of many rituals that I abide by during big games. Michael Jordan has me to thank for his six rings, especially his last one in Utah. I did everything but stand on my head throughout that entire series. But that was only practice/training for this weekend, the weekend I thought would never ever come. The Saints are playing in the you-know-what!

Now, that would be enough to cause a mild to severe case of anxiety. Maybe a small heart attack or series mini-strokes (shake it off! the Saints are in the you-know-what!) but your boy also picked this weekend to play his first solo show...ever in his miserable little life. That's right, on the eve of the you-know-what, I'll be opening the bill for John Cleary at the Blue Moon. My long time friend/cousin/collaborator Will Golden finally had to put an end to his brutal Houston to Lafayette commute. If you've ever had the pleasure, you know that drive is a killer. Really, its the section from Lake Charles to Winnie, that literally sucks your soul right out of your body. Anyway, Will was gracious enough to allow me to continue Sam Rey on my lonesome. Have no idea if I can pull it off, but I'll give it my best shot starting Saturday.

You-know-what weekend has started....and it's raining Black and Gold! Go Saints Go!

Help Finding Health Care

Governor Bobby Jindal announced a pretty cool new website yesterday that lets people compare costs and quality for hospitals and find the best price for prescription drugs. www.HealthFinderLA.gov lets you compare hospitals, nursing homes, and health plans side by side and see their ratings. Surprisingly, some of the "better" places might not actually be the best and some of the 'ugh...I'd never go there' places scored much better. We decided to give the prescription drug comparison a test drive and it was cool....we searched 20mg of Lipitor. First we picked our parish, then city, then the specific drug and up popped the list. Super 1 pharmacy comes out the cheapest at $127 per 30 day supply and Northside Pharmacy came out the most expensive at $187 per 30 day supply. Now, both prices are obscene, but that's another topic for another day, in the meantime, check out the new site and read more about it in today's Shreveport Times.

Personal Foul : Hebert "Over Rouges":

It's a party 42 years in the making, and when you have that much time to plan, things tend to go overboard. That's the fun of it. Check out the "Cajun Cannon" Bobby Hebert (and ex-Falcon, Never forget!) leading the madness last Sunday in the French Quarter. Even in a place where men tend to dress like women on a daily basis, this parade was special.

Ahh What A Breath Of Fresh Air

All the Louisiana searches I've done for the last week center around the freaks that tried to tamper with Mary Landrieu's phones. I'm so sick of that stuff, not post worthy in my opinion. They got busted, it's a crime, not a prank....blah.

So, imagine my delight when a Daily Meaux reader sent me these pictures and stories about a new artist living in Breaux Bridge. Joseph Jilbert is his name, and his forte' is creating sculptors from scrap metal. Creating beauty from stuff that's been thrown away, that's genius.

Jilbert has been featured in two recent articles. Check them out here and here.


Photo 1: Silvia Bertolazzi
Photo 2: Erik Graveson

Talking Green

Mark your calendars now for the February and March Alternative Energy Lectures.

February 10^th: Alternative Energy Programs and Incentives

Presented by Kevin Boone, Renewable Energy Coordinator, US Department of Agriculture (USDA)

March 10^th: Compressed Natural Gas

Presented by Gifford Briggs, Vice President, Louisiana Oil and Gas Association (LOGA).

Lafayette Economic Development Authority (LEDA) from 1:30 to 2:30 pm or from 6:00 to 7:00 pm for each lecture. LEDA is located at 211 E. Devalcourt St., Lafayette, 70506. For more information about the Acadiana Alternative Energy Committee and power point presentations from the previous lectures, www.lafayette.org/aaec. All lectures are free and open to the public.