Mardi Blah

Shane and I ventured up the 101 on Saturday in seach of action. Specifically we had heard that San Luis Obispo was host to the wildest Mardi Gras celebration this side of the Mississippi. What a dissappointment to arrive and find only long lines outside crappy, overcrowded bars. Where were the costumes? The people in the streets? The drunken, naked revelry? The locals insisted that the celebration had resembled it's reputation in the past, but this year the authorities had changed things. Appalled by the possibility of bead giving and breasts flashing, the upright leaders of SLO decided to put a stop to the offensive merriment. The mirth-inducing Saturday evening parade was moved to early afternoon on Sunday. And Saturday night was further held in check by a small army of cops roaming the town, keeping people off the streets, breaking up parties, and generally making folks uncomfortable. Inside bars people complained about the new restrictions, but no one put forth any creative solutions. So, people got drunk while packed into bars like sardines instead of out in the main street. We ended up at someone's house eating seven layer dip and tamales, but got kicked out after a dispute arose between Shane and some drunk guy. After one last stop at a bar and a lengthly search for our car we started on our way back home.

Earlier on Saturday I picked Krishna up from the airport and we retrieved his '67 New Yorker. We had to replace the battery but the car seems to run just like it did a year ago. Over the last couple days Krishna has gathered together all of the materiels he had shipped here and has aquired many new parts. Our living room now resembles a surplus store. Tomorrow we'll gather even more parts and hopefully on Wednesday we'll secure the use of a welder and plasma cutter. Well ventilated area ...

I'm sure you've all heard the now famous remarks by Canadian MP Carolyn Parrish: "Damn Americans, I hate those bastards." I wish politicians would insult each other more often. Wouldn't that make political debates much more interesting? "You son of a bitch, I'll show you environmental policy reform!" I think it's funny that people are calling Parrish brave and outspoken for something she said under her breath while she thought no one could hear. In fact, she tried, at first, to intimidate a reporter into not publishing the comment. Though, to her credit, she hasn't backed down on what she said. She apologized for saying it publicly, but stands by her opinion. This earned her a cheering crowd when she appeared on TV. And why not? Everyone should be allowed to freely speak their minds. Even those damn Canadians