b.rox

Dear Persephone, You are four years old today. So: Happy Birthday! But also: Happy Mardi Gras! The last time Mardi Gras fell on the 21st of February was in 1950, which was not only before you were born but well before I was born. These dates will line up again in eleven years, for your [...]

Or would that be Mardi Mince? I never completely recovered from the cold I caught in late January. I only missed one day of work, and I felt well enough that my general routine was not disrupted, but I could not quite kick that last stage. I kept coughing up little bits of phlegm, but [...]

I imagine anyone reading this post today will be from outside New Orleans. Here it’s Mardi Gras, and people have other things to do. So for all those people in the rest of America, where it’s just another Tuesday, I offer the following mix for your amusement. My boss challenged me to whip up an [...]

Yes, it’s that time again. As I’ve noted here before, Twelfth Night is traditionally observed on January 6th in New Orleans, but in other places it’s considered to begin at sundown on January 5th. I guess this relates to the old idea of holidays beginning the night before, like Christmas really seems to start on [...]

Our first plan was to reprise last year’s costumes which we didn’t really get to employ last year. But then it became clear that this Mardi Gras would be unseasonably cool, and perhaps downright cold. Costuming as Olympian deities seemed like it would be uncomfortable, and so I scrambled at the last possible minute to [...]

I was really looking forward to this Mardi Gras, in part because we skipped the last one, and because it was my baby girl’s first, and because it’s also the first for my septuagenarian parents, and most of all because I’ve come to learn that all celebrations have an aspect of transcendence, and that’s good [...]

Here’s Persephone (my daughter) with Persephone (the float): Also pictured: Persephone’s father and grandparents. In fact, this morning we got a tour of the Rex den from the very kind Dr. Stephen Hales, who also took the photograph. It’s my parents’ first Mardi Gras as well, so this is all new to them. I think [...]

It’s three weeks until Mardi Gras. I’d been meaning to post something here about masking on Mardi Gras, how it’s pretty much essential to the spirit of the day, how it differs from Halloween, and so forth, for the benefit of my parents who will be coming down for their first Carnival ever. But I’ve [...]

So my parents want to come visit for the girl’s first birthday. That’s cool. Her first birthday falls on Samedi Gras — the Saturday before Mardi Gras. That’s a special day for us, as it’s the only day when Carnival comes to our Mid-City neighborhood any more. We usually have a party on that day, [...]

Today is Mardi Gras, the most wonderful day of the year. Ideally I’d be getting up at the crack of dawn, donning a wild costume, and venturing forth to partake in a day of mad revelry, probably hooking up with the Societé de Sainte Anne and walking from the Bywater to the Marigny to the [...]

Is it possible for one day of festivity to change everything? I woke up Mardi Gras morning wondering if I had a friend left in the world. Turns out I’ve got hundreds. If not thousands. We saw many old friends. We met many new friends. Some were almost a little too friendly, like the guy [...]

For the last 364 days, life here may have sucked for most of us, but on this one day (at least) there’s no place I’d rather be than New Orleans. We got up early, we had a good breakfast, we’re rocking out, we’re getting into costume, we’re hitting the streets. Happy Mardi Gras.

When you’re in a big robe, it’s much easier to pee if you’re not wearing underwear. Unfortunately I was wearing underwear, and yes, I kept ‘em on all day. Must be my Midwestern Lutheran upbringing. The major parades? Zulu? Rex? Missed ‘em entirely. We started in the Bywater eaaarly in the morning, made our way [...]

And in a wild and sudden dance We mocked at Time and Fate and Chance – William Butler Yeats, The Wanderings of Oisin

When I moved to New Orleans back in 1999 I didn’t really know what to expect. Certainly I didn’t anticipate that at age 32 I’d discover a whole new holiday. And not just a new holiday, but an entire holiday season. I’m talking about Carnival, of course, and Mardi Gras, and it’s not really new [...]

Holy crap! Mardi Gras is just four weeks away and I’ve got no costume. Not even an idea.

For the last few years I’ve actually kind of enjoyed going in to work on Ash Wednesday. The sudden transition back to so-called normality after the craziness of Carnival was bracing. Plus, school was not in session, so it was very quiet on campus. It was a good time just to putter around the office, [...]

Happy Mardi Gras!

Step three in the mask-making process: I’ve been told it looks like a giant marshmallow, but it’s supposed to be a skull.

Stage two of the mask-making process: Looks crappy, but just wait for the paint. Then it will look even crappier!