Mardi Gras Indians are the Mardi Gras most people don’t see. Modern Day Indians came from a time when African Americans felt left out of the traditional Mardi Gras krewes and parades. Residents from wards around New Orleans formed their own sort of Krewe and named them after their streets or wards. The Indians created elaborate costumes and names themselves after Native Americans- as tribute to the Native American tribes’ role in freeing the slaves. They designated someone to be the Spy, the Flag boy and the Big Chief and these tribes led processions through the streets. In the past, Mardi Gras Indians were violent, but today most tribes simply act out a scene when passing other tribes. Indians do not follow any schedule or parade route and a rare thing to see on Mardi Gras.
Of course there are also a lot of beads, beer, boobs and blues:
Everyone should experience Mardi Gras in New Orleans at least once. The parades are awesome, the music is great, and there are uninhibited and inebriated college girls. There are also pickpockets, drug dealers and people who will fight you over a plastic necklace. The beer/drinks are cheap (since they deal in volume) and the streets and sidewalks flow with unmentionable liquids so you’ll need to burn your shoes afterwards. Again, everyone should experience Mardi Gras in New Orleans at least once.
[Top image and story found here; 2nd image found here. There are hidden bonuses, too - click a pic.]
According to the Oxford English Dictionary the term “humpty dumpty” referred to a drink of brandy boiled with ale in the seventeenth century. The riddle probably exploited, for misdirection, the fact that “humpty dumpty” was also eighteenth-century reduplicative slang for a short and clumsy person.
Although there are other unproven theories that the rhyme references an historical figure or event, Humpty Dumpty was merely a riddle of the “What Am I” sort, and the answer was “an egg.” (And ten dozen guys couldn’t figure out how to make an omelette?) Try this one:
I am white And wet to touch; I can blind If you stare too much.
Etta James passed away on 20 January 2012, and there aren’t many live vids out there on the Utoobage (this one’s from 1962). She was tough on the eyes, but gorgeous on the ears.
We also lost the great Johnny Otis on 17 January. Although I never saw The Johnny Otis Show on television, his 1990s radio show was great, playing old R&B and early R&R. (I spoke with him on the phone once about some trivia about The Contours.)
So here are The Contours live in 1963. I love early R&B, so we might as well continue with that theme.
Ruth Brown recorded “(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean” in 1953, and it’s a great example of “jump blues” that morphed, terminology-wise from “Race Records” into “Rhythm and Blues” and later into “Rock and Roll.”
According to the late Eubie Blake, the phrase “Rock and Roll” originated in the late 1800s. It described a ragtime piano style that kept the patrons of brothels moving along. (Even the name “ragtime” is bawdy, and you can connect the dots for yourselves.)
Jump Blues. From the Utoobage description:
Illinois Jacquet and his band in the “Jive Crazy” scene from the 1949 noir movie “D.O.A.” — at least, according to the movie publicity.
So that might not be Illinois Jacquet’s band, but it’s still a great scene. And that makes five jumpy and jivey vids for the Saturday Matinee. Have a great weekend folks.
Well nothing much new. Everything is about the same. Am feeling O.K. and in good health. There is really nothing worth while to relate for this place is dead as the deuce.
We have organized a Jazz band and I am playing the ukulele. Have played in several concerts and are figuring on a big one for Xmas. The music we have is sure old but it is the latest that we have. Yaka Hula, etc.
You wrote a letter saying that you was going to make the sweater, etc. Well, I got the sweater, etc. about a week before I got the letter.
Well, this will be all for the present.
So long,
Bill
22 December 1918
Dear Mom and Dad:
Well, there is absolutely nothing new or startling but I feel like writing. Altho I wrote to you yesterday. Read a letter from you this evening and it had the Kodak pictures in it. Was glad to get them, too. I can’t think of anything to write so I am going to take one day out of my diary and give it to you in detail.
Here it is —– Sept. 26
We are in a camp near Auzeville and the big drive is to start. In fact the one that finished the “Boches”. Then the morning of the 26th dawned but dawn was preceded by a terrific barrage which was as loud as thunder and lighted up the whole skyline for miles. We were not flying ours but were held in reserve. Hundreds of “planes” were now flying over head. One bunch had over 150 in it. Along about 8 a.m., along comes a boche plane and he burned three of the balloons all observers landed safe but one and his parachute burned and he fell to his death. A fellow by the name of Barnett and I started out to see the fun. Put our guns on and started for the front line trenches which were about 5 miles north. After a short while we hit the trenches but of course our boys had advanced and were chasing the boche for a fare you well. We hit several mine craters where the boche had mined the roads but already our engineers had started to budge them. After another hour’s walk and dodging a few pieces of shrapnel we hit the town of Varennes and were keen for souvenirs. The boche were still in one side of the Varennes and we were in the other. Machine guns were crackling with a steady roar and long streams of ambulances carrying away the wounded. Dead Boche were laying every where. The roads were filled with them. Long about then a Boche 77 took my ….. but never touched us. Then we started going through the dugouts and it was there that I got the general’s helmet. Also was almost lucky enough to capture a Jerry but a doughboy beat me to it. He was hiding in a dug out. Looked like he wan’t as old as “Bugs” and he was scared almost to death. After monkeying around a while we hopped an ambulance and rode back toward Auzeville. So that finished the day’s fun. But you ought to have seen the dead Huns. Some had legs blown off. Some had their heads and shoulders off and some were in pieces only. A great many had been burned by mustard gas and were burned to a crisp.
Well, I guess I’ll have to “fini” as it is getting late. Hope I get the Xmas box soon.
