An Amazing Gumbo - Mardi Gras Lex

wils on da drum (Photo by Mick).

This year's 3rd annual Lexington Mardi Gras parade was an absolute blast. As with all great gumbo, it's all about the ingedients. I love seeing all kinds of people just show-up and the parade figures it's self out. There's not too much planning or organizing or details, leaving lots of room for people to just show-up and have fun. Thanks to Mecca, Action Arts, WRFL, Gumbo Ya Ya, Isle of You, Lex Arts, and others ... really, THANKS!
I'm using one of Mick's killer photos since mine are lame by comparison. Thats Wils on drum, and Michelle (and Charile) in the background with Uncle Scott hiding in the back.
The video is a quick scene of the parade strolling downtown, notice the samba dancers, followed by the drum line, followed by Wils, Scott, Murphy & Evil Bunny (who was that?). If you have any idea who the Evil bunny is, please leave a comment, even if it's only a guess, or to point out a clue that might help someone else solve the mystery. Together we can figure this out.

Charlie, at 32 weeks

click for more pics

Whew! No other words at this point. Oh my God, oh my God.

We got snow ...

I think most folks around Lexington were hoping for a little snow. The weather man called for 6" ... I wish. What was it? Maybe 3" before it melted in the afternoon? Anyway, we played a little.

Wils and I both built opposing forts. I announced, "War starts in 5 minutes!". Wils began an obsessed rush to complete a worthy fortress. By contrast, I started packing and hiding snowballs in a large pile behind my fort. Wils remained too focused to notice my strategy, or even get a clue about his fate. The bad angel on my shoulder was telling me how fun it was going to to creme my 7 year old son at a near-range snowball fight. I kept making ammo, Wils kept building a solid fort. He never noticed my tactic, and he never made a snowball, not one.

I called to Wils, and we both walked to the DMZ between our forts. Once again, the thought crossed my mind ... I was going to creme Wils. We shook hands, our pre-battle conversation was brief:

Me: "You think your fort is strong?"
Wils: "Yeah ..."
Me: "Could it protect any one?"
Wils: "Yeah ..."
Me: "Wanna trade forts? ... mine has a suprise in it."
Wils: "Yeah ..."

Nothing like getting cremed by your 7 year old son - armed with an endless supply of snowballs :-)

So long, and thanks for all the fish.

Damn! Early Sunday morning, I hear Michelle scream, "Oh my God!! There's a GIANT BLUE HERON in the fish pond!!". That's Sunday February 5th, snow on the ground, broad day-light, two big dogs laying just feet away from the pond (they bark at snow, but not Herons, apparently) ... what the hell is a Blue Heron doing in our friggin' fish pond?? We rush outside, bare feet across a snow covered brick patio, glance into the pond ... and as the giant bird slowly escapes, we see ONLY ONE of our nine fish. "Long John", our fearless Koi was the sole survivor.

As we've told this story, I find that most people eventually laugh. And they eventually mention something about how it's all cool and natural. Some people have actually suggested we get a scarecrow. Hmmmmm.

I don't imagine scare crows. I imagine a scene where I run towards the giant bird, and it stumbles. I pin it's wing under my low-top steel toe boot, and I shove my fist down it's scrawny neck, grabbing all eight fish in one swoop. And as I toss 'em back into the fish pond, I pin the bird's beak under my right arm and whisper into its ear, "I knew it was you all along, Fredo", then I hand it an envelope, with a single one-way ticket to South Beach Miami, and let it limp off. And as I turn back towards the pond, I hear two shots, and the sound of a Blue Heron's body falling in the snow. I just stand there, shivering, and staring into Long John's sad black eyes, "It's gonna be OK girl, it's gonna be OK".

Time for the Oscars

Brokeback Shmokemack. We just missed making this year's Acedemy Awards, but still - check out the boys latest video. This has my pick for Best Actor, Best Actor in Supporting Role, Cinematography, Directing, Costume Design, Film Editing, Short Film (Live Action), Sound Editing, and Visual Effects.

There are a few spots where Wils can't help but look at the camera, which remind me of the way Pee Wee Herman act's in Big Adventure. There's also Wils' keen sense of detail, in his first scene, you'll notice his front tooth is wrapped in gold foil.

The sword fighting action is the best I've seen since Princess Bride ... primo deleux. Especially the way Jack traverses the living room from sofa to chair to chair to floor ... effortlessly.

Ahhh, but then there is Wils' classic ad-lib line, "I'll spare your life from my grave!". Gosh!!

But in the end, it's Wils' depiction of the classic "Dying before telling where the Gold is hidden" line, and Jack's gut wrenching portrayal of regret ... whew! This is classic stuff.

Is this their best work? They did their own re-make of King Kong with the Hayden brothers (coming soon) ...

So, you decide: Who gets "Best Actor" and who gets "Best Actor in a Supporting Role"?