Category: Holidays

What A Fun Costume

Be a paper cowboy with a broken ankle.

[Found here.]

Merde Mercredi

That’s a lotta Mardi Crap there. Bet it smells delightful as well, but I’d rather have to clean up that mess than several month’s worth of Occupoopage. Although Fat Tuesday’s Gone for another year, we’ve still got plenty of Gris Gris Gumbo Ya Ya left.
[Found here.]

Beads, Beer, Boobs & Blues = Heureux Mardi Gras!

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.]

Weather Forecast For The New Year


[Found here.]
I’m a pessimistic optimist, in that I expect the worst, and if the worst doesn’t come to pass, it’s gravy. This new year has the potential to be just as bad economically as 2011, but I have hope.

Trouble is, hope don’t feed the bulldog, so we’re forced to hunker down until the storm passes. There’s a small patch of blue sky on the economic horizon that suggests the worst may be over. Don’t bet on it clearing until after November when the political pendulum begins its slow return to normalcy, providing plenty of gravy and mixed metaphors for all.

Happy New Year, Peeps!

Another year’s gone down the toilet, and I’m happy to flush it. Too many things happened and too many things didn’t, but at least we have a lot to be thankful for, like the .gif I stole from here.

As for you folks who visited and linked to Tacky Raccoons, we are thankful for your rapt attention during the past year. We know who you are and where you live. You’re good peeps.

To you commenters who occasionally remind us that we’re not the only ones in the kitchen, here’s a tip ‘o the ‘ol tarboosh:

1389AD, alex c., AmyOops, Angel, anon, Anonymous, Basement Cat, Bill, Bounce Houses, brcmongooseMongoose, Brian, Brian In Florida, Bunkessa, C Monster, Calo, Captain Obvious, Caryl, Chiqui, chicquero, cmblake6, dalparadise, Dan, danielledevalera, davelogdotcom, deena, DF’s Puddy Tat, Dillon, doriangrey1, Feng, foxylady, G Eagle Esq, gingerfightback, Hala Ajam, harmonysweetpea, Heart, hihihihih, insipid life of mine, JB Maddawg, Jane, Jen, John, John M., Jonco, kdub, Kitty, LC Aggie Sith, Lemur King, Leeuna Foster, Lisa, The Literary Horse, Macker, Mark, Maxim, MILESTONE MAN, Mr. Caps, mrmacs, Mr.PaulRevere, The Necromancer, Number Six, nursemyra, Ollie, Paula Tripordie, Pete56, phil cordery, PISSED, planetross, raincoaster, Rob Cypher, RobinKatie, RoboMonkey, Rose [1], Rose [2], Soylent Green, sparrow1969, stan, Stefan, Tattoo Jim, Teresa in Fort Worth TX, thebigbookofdating, The FonZ, Tony McGurk, VE, The Watcher, Wheels, Ziffy, & Zoe.

Happy New Year, folks. Wish you the best. — Bunk

2011 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

London Olympic Stadium holds 80,000 people. This blog was viewed about 270,000 times in 2011. If it were competing at London Olympic Stadium, it would take about 3 sold-out events for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

Christmas Diner

[Found here.]

Merry Christmas

For a Child hath been born to us, A Son hath been given to us, And the princely power is on his shoulder, And He doth call his name Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace.

Saturday Matinee – Christmas Eve

Monty Python’s Terry Gilliam’s 1968 Christmas Card is classic. [Found here.]

What a voice! Darlene Love sings her 1963 hit in 1993.

Brian Setzer rockin’ out from a few years ago with “Dig That Crazy Santa Claus.”

Three vids is enough for tonight. Have a Merry Christmas Eve.

22 December 1918 Ville-sur-Cousances, France: Two letters from “Soldier Bill”

22 December 1918

Dear Mom and Dad:

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.

Bill