La Dolce Vita morphed into Anima Mundi is now here.

Dr. John's "Gris-Gris" came out in 1968. Here's a very good take on it.

 Here's a good take on the unwise choice of a bad metaphor by Shrub.  

On his radio show of Sept 4th, Harry Shearer mentions a well known namelessMardi Gras party in Nawlinz that he tried to get into once without a tux. The Radiators, with a repertoire of 500 or so songs, play at this upper crust gig. "Zig-Zaggin Through Ghostland", so I've been told, was a term used in the Vietnam War for wading through rice paddies stoned. The Crescent City is another kind of dangerous swamp now thanks to levee funding cuts. May the gracious lady rise again like a Phoenix crying out through the people, music, food and any other possible means of expression. 

Jon Cleary recorded this all to short album in 1989. Highly recommended out-of-print Nawlinz' music at www.fastatmosphere.com/ or www.joncleary.com as an mp3 or cd. "C'mon Second Line" is worth the price of admission. Recorded with lot of that special soul-funk from the The Big Easy. Harry Shearer played the track on his show on New Orleans on Sept. 4th. Thanks, Harry.

Garlic-sherry shrimp with romesco sauce (recipe below) tonight. Mano a Mano, a gutsy inexpensive red from Jumilla will be the vino. In retro, a Minervois reserve 2000 added to the enjoyment.  Romesco sauce made with fresh garlic and fresh tomatoes is dynamite, especially if you increase the heat just a little. It's made for shellfish, but it's good on everything except plastic cups.

Romesco Sauce

1 dried new mexico sweet pepper

1 dried hot chili pepper

1 cup water

½ cup red wine vinegar

¾ cup olive oil

2 slices French bread ¼ inch thick

1 large tomato chopped

2 oz blanched almonds, lightly toasted

6 cloves garlic, roasted in the oven or on grill

salt

place dried pepper & chili in saucepan with water & vinegar. bring to boil, simmer 5 minutes, drain & cool.

in a skillet, heat ¼ cup oil and fry bread until golden on both sides. In same pan, fry tomato for 3 minutes.

Place in processor, the peppers, bread, tomatoes (including oil in which cooked), almonds, garlic and remaining olive oil & salt. Process until well blended but with small pieces remaining. Let sit at room temp for a while.