JianBastille.com

Injury

On the early morning (6am-8am) on May 30th, Erin flipped up and over her pink scooter on Earhart, right under 90E/Claiborne bridge, apparently hitting a pothole, or some other hazard to her small tires.

Thankfully, though traffic is very slim at those hours, she was picked up by police and paramedics, and brought to the hospital for immediate surgery.

On admission : Both of her arms are broken in multiple places, as well as most of her fingers, but will heal properly because they were set before they could begin healing wrong. She suffered some compound fractures, but no splintering or powdering of the bone, which means proper setting can take place for healing.

She's got bruised ribs, but will heal. As a result of the impact involving the ribs, she had air spillage into chest from a small puncture to her lung, but it was drained immediately, and healed quickly, though they're still keeping an eye on it. She suffered internal lacerations to her spleen, but should heal on its own, the physicians checking every 4 hours for her rate of healing.

She's got a small blood-bruise on her head, but outside of her skull, so no serious hematoma, except that her face is swollen. Her head is actually fine, her face is predominantly fine, her teeth are intact, her spine, hips and legs are fine.

She had her second surgery on her right hand the same day, because of a high rate of success of setting it back in place, and because she's been healing wonderfully.

June 2 - Getting better every day. Her face still swollen, but the swelling is down, and the bruises beginning to blacken, which is actually a sign of healing. She is believed to have a trickle of blood internally from her spleen, they're watching it carefully, may need a transfusion tomorrow to keep her blood levels from getting to low. She can now sit up with minimal pain, and breathe without much discomfort. She can (clumsily) text with her left hand, but both hands and arms are in casts, you can send her well-wishes, but understand time, volume of texts, and difficulty is involved to reply to them.

Her insurance lapsed a month ago.

Benefit

I am planning a benefit for her in June, and it's still in its infancy, please refer to bulletins and blogs in this profile for updates as they come. The bulletins and updates will be mirrored in facebook. If you 'miss' one, refer to my BLOG. This benefit will most likely take place at One Eyed Jacks (615 Toulouse) where there will be a low cover, cheap and medium-priced art and prints to buy from (hopefully) three or more artists, and a donation bucket. I do not know to what extent of involvement there will be of performers, but there will be a show that may involve members of Fleur de Tease, and possibly The Bingo! Show (both of which whose love sent to Erin was appreciated tenfold,) and perhaps other acts as well, with raffles, and possible catering. It was suggested yesterday, and just starting to congeal into a very big possibility. Anyone interested in helping, please contact me, and let me know what you'd be willing to do.

The benefit is just that, to benefit Erin, so where will the money go? That depends on her recovery, and help relatives and such can provide. The money may go to her medical bills, the money may go to her personal bills for missing work for some time, the money may also go to medicine needed, and/or replacing the clothes that were ruined.

If it keeps her healthy, sheltered, and her morale up, that is where the money will go. When she is ready to come home, I want her life to be as close as possible as the night she drove off, if not better. This is why I ask for your attendance, involvement, and/or circulation about the benefit, once we have a solid place, time, plan and such. For now, a card is all she can receive, which will be explained in the following...

Gifts

As of right now, she's still in the ICU. This means cards ONLY, no food, stuffed animals, or flowers, since the occasional sterile environment is needed. As of right now, only cards will be accepted. Visiting hours are limited, visiting length is even more limited, and must be accompanied by Scarlett or myself for the time being, since she's in ICU, and you'd most likely spend much more time in the waiting room than Erin's room before you'd be asked to leave from elapsed visiting time-blocks. Send all cards to the address below, since she's changing rooms a lot, and would be lost.

When she stabalizes to the point she can be moved to a proper room, I will notify everyone by bulletin and blog that food/flowers/stuffed animals and such can be accepted directly to the hospital, or, again, through me.

Either mail them, or drop them off in the mailbox, please.

Jian Bastille / Erin Murphy
3826 Jena
New Orleans, LA, 70125

Scarlett and I are extremely busy with her friends, family, work, organizing the event, trying to cover her existing bills, and, of course, sleep at night. Please understand that our cell phones only have so much battery power, and we can only talk for hours about the same things over and over so many times a day.

Look for updates at least every 48 hours.

Look for updates about the benefit, which will take place sometime in June.

Comment on her myspace, which she may be able to read within a week or so.



Jun 03 Update : She's doing a lot better.

It was recently discovered there was a little blood in her brain, but several scans later, it's not showing up, so it was very, very minor.

It is likely she needs a blood transfusion, they're keeping an eye on 'if.'

She's having another surgery, her spleen isn't healing as much as they would like; they are making a small incision to correct it, it should work. If it doesn't work, there is a chance that her spleen may have to be removed.

She's in good spirits, but really upset about surgery prep : not eating or drinking anything at all for several hours beforehand.

She LOVES her Bingo! Show card, and Trixie Min'x ICU pasties.

She's looking forward to a room where she can receive more guests, and for longer than where she is in the ICU, as well as gift flexibility (she's restricted on what she can get.)

She has also respectfully declined a Jameson dripper from One Eyed Jacks (well, her doctor made her refuse it.)

Jun 04 Update : Even better still!

Her transfusion was a success, and a small cauterization of her spleen has ceased the sepsis. Her left-arm cast has been removed, and replaced with a sturdy wrap, her right-arm cast has been removed, and has a softer, lighter, strong cast on it.

She will most likely be removed from the ICU tomorrow morning.

This means she CAN receive more than cards, which means flowers, and other presents!

This also means that visiting hours are FAR more lax, do not need an escort, and can stay for longer than 30 minutes every three hours or so.

If you wish to buy her something, mail me here, and I'll tell you what she'd like.

Otherwise, send it to me (at the address in the first post,) until I know she'll be in a stable room, and can receive things there without confusion or delay.

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As much as Scarlett, myself, and others close to her are trying, sometimes even we feel helpless and that it's not enough.

Ask what you can do to help!

Now, I know everyone's stressed, and we take it out in different ways, but I've heard some nasty things lately about how I'm 'handling' this situation. I cannot quit my job for a maximum of two hours of visitation a day, because I have no back-up money, would be a burden on those around me, not to mention I'd have nothing by the time she would be home, what good would possibly come of that?

To any of you who question what I'm 'really' doing, understand this : I'm poor as fuck, and, though I'm at my job more than I want to, believe me, it's imperative for many, many reasons, most of which should be obvious. I am working my ass off making her home-made gifts every time I see her to boost her morale, I am doing my best to plan an event that will both alleviate her financial insecurity (both forseen and unforseen,) and for her good spirits, especially for her to know all of the people that love her will be participating, attending, or send a well-wishing 'wish I could be there' for her well-being, and celebrating her recovery. I am working on all this and more every waking hour, even mulling over ideas when I'm at work, sending her texts when the boss isn't looking. I am in constant contact with her, and see her every moment I get. I don't know why one would think otherwise, that's very hurtful, and horribly timed.

This whole situation isn't about me, it's about HER. If, for some reason I said something to someone that came across negatively, then please understand how stressed we all are about this, and move on, and re-focus on HER.

Everyone is welcome to help her spirits in any way they see fit, it can and will be appreciated.

Despite any non-perfect craziness, both good and bad in our relationship, I care about her very much, and am doing all I can possibly do to make her relaxed, happy, and hopeful. If you seriously think you can do better, and you just may, then visit her, send her a card, whatever you can, and bitch about it to me later, rather than shaking up myself and the other people close to her who are stressed to capacity and busy as hell with everything and anything concerning Erin's speedy recovery. The good news is the vast majority of the people we know and love are deeply concerned, supportive and want to be involved more. Contact me if you need any ideas, I can't do it alone, nor am I, rest assured, she's getting a lot of attention and love from her closest friends, both long-time and new. No-one's mad at anybody, okay?

Let's put this aside and keep Erin in our concerns!

I'm more than fully satisfied, from all the info I'm gathering concerning, that she'll make a full and speedy recovery, my biggest issue and dread is the pain she's going through, and that can be somewhat alleviated by only one thing : Morale.

Keep her morale high. Please. No more about this 'uncertainty.'

The Universal History of Numbers (Georges Ifrah)

A heavy, heavy tome about the history of dozens of ancient cultures and their numerical systems (even sexigesimal systems) and how it affected their Astronomy, Engineering, Religion, and other factors, most importantly, the world-changing advent of the true 'zero.' For serious geeks only.

Sex, Time, and Power (Leo Shain)

Bad name, great book. In a nutshell, this Hematologist and Anthropologist tackles numerous events in human evolution tied directly with Iron (as in Hemoglobin,) without a dire need/supply of this, we would still be fumbling primates. A very tough, dense read, but brilliant, with both comparative views, and a weighty bibliography. A must-read for any Anthropology fan with an interest in medicine and/or anatomy. Strangely enough, for feminists, as well!

The Serpent and the Rainbow (Wade Davis)

Do NOT expect the movie. This is the real-life account of Wade Davis, and his search for what would be the infamous Zombie Powder, Tetrodotoxin. Non-fiction, of course, but a little less than Indiana Jones, but expect to learn a hell of a lot about both Voodoo and the uniqueness of Haiti in the process. It's pretty amazing.

Ghost Hunters (Deborah Blum)

Not what I expected from reading the prologue, this book is heavy on the lives of the latter 19th century seance-debunking/proof-gathering society of the SPK. You will read about involvement from everyone from Thomas Edison, to Darwin, Mark Twain, and more. It doesn't, however, focus as much on the evidence-gathering and cases as much as I'd hoped, they all seem trunicated and secondary. Interesting, but sags occur in every chapter.

STILL READING :

The Hero with a Thousand Faces (Joseph Campbell)

The 1949 classic, indispensible to any student of critical thought, Anthropology, myth/religion, storytelling and modern culure's belief systems. A dense, heavy read for 2009, a shocking manifesto for 1949. Darwin, Dawkins, and such would be proud.

Nightwatch (Sergei Lukyanenko)

The 1998 Russian classic translated into English in 2006, this is the first of the four books the Russian blockbuster NIGHTWATCH was based on, a good, and somewhat different experience by itself. Both are excellent and highly inventive, if not pioneering.

One of my two all-time favourite photographs by the immeasurable Jan Saudek, is called "Oh! Those Fabulous Brom Sisters!" and pictured here.



Now, as an ode to the great Saudek, I give you (and him) this.

22x28 (not counting frame,) Acrylic, some silver and gold oil in details.



Details :



I could go on and on about the reason and application of the fish in the water, the flowers, the symbols in the veils, horn of isis, color schemes, thread-suspended stars, the fiery, yet muted cloud-textured wall divided like a windowpane, the curious symbols in the drape-pattern, the chalice, etc, but just take it as it is, as this is my interpretation as Saudek's work in full (internally,) all projected upon personal (some common) symbolism accommodating one single image, one image that still spellbinds me to this moment, and for many more to come.

All I will tell you is that the Sanskit says "She gives you two flowers" and the Latin says "Love (wild, wanton love) and Chastity."

Mister Saudek, my last breath may fall out of rhythm, should that original image be present near my deathbed, regardless of how many times I'd seen it from now until then. This is my most sincere thank you.

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Okay, well, let's see where to begin...

As Saudek's title suggests in the original, they're sisters, as the deifications that I added, the one of the left could be Sita, Lakshmi, whichever of the Hindu Goddeses you wish, though the 'love/beauty' prominence, for those in the Hindu-know, would most likely be Lakshmi. The other is, of course, Mary, virgin or not.

The girls :

Lakshmi is usually clothed in tons of colors, but I chose plain white, a cold color, because the warmth of the entire spectrum is all about the two, if not the embrace, and to balance Mary. Mary is white not so much because of the renaissance caucasoid insistence, but for the fact that she's represented in so many statues, a white/marble grey, again, a cold color. The blue of Lakshmi's skin balances Mary's signature blue veil (which, in truth, means she's unmarried, not necessarily a virgin, hence the 'given' that she's a virgin... how many brides you know wear white? Exactly, and how many brides you know are virgins? Exactly.) Mary's skin balances Lakshmi's ensemble. Again, cold-color combinations, with warmth in embrace and colors around them. Lakshmi's detailed silver lining on the lip of her veil, and hairline is silver oil, as per the moon, Mary's is gold, as per the sun, on the lip of her veil... both micro-designs are a series of stars, Neptune symbols, and Pisces symbols, very tiny. Both veils are tapered at the hairline and adorned, suggesting female genitalia, as is the intersection of the two halo rings, forming a tapered oval! Mary's hair is red, because, of the two, Mary would by far be considered the lesser wild/more virginal of the two, and, well, aside from the association with passion and fire, we all know what redheads are like! The patterns and cloth on the girls are different textures, and the patterns are simply ornate without any specific meaning, except for the lotus representation on Lakshmi's right thigh.

Haloes :

Sanskrit "She gives you two flowers" - Latin "Love (reckless, wanton) and Chastity."

Since the deifications here are feminine, and therefore a woman/goddess suggestion, 'she' could easily be the goddess of your choice, or a simple, understandably feminine personification of beauty.

Stars : four on each side (represents 'the world' in Eastern + Western culture, such as 'four corners of the world,' nautical bearings, etc,) and one in the middle, forming nine, which, depending on your culture, means fertility, crescendo, orgasm, near-perfection, etc. They're held up by strings, stage-like, as an homage to Saudek's genius of working with what he had to, to make that little room he always shot in look like another world, vast and lush, by any means or tricks necessary.

'Saudek' (Latinized = SAVDEK) graces the top, in subltle letters.

Wall : The orange-cloud-patterned wall behind them is to balance the blue of the girls, suggest texture, and to soften the areas around the bodies, in interpretive context. It is divided by a horizontal and vertical line to suggest a windowpane weakly (Saudek almost always had a window in the background, through which you would always see something different,) and to flatten the background, to not appear as a hellish sky, but a soft, muted ember-like cotton of clouds, a personal matrixing of a patterns on a flat wall. See things in clouds? People do. Seeing clouds on a pattern on a wall? Exactly what I was going for.

Drapes : Red and rich, velvet and parting, again, like a woman's sex, patterned with alternate Neptune and Pisces symbols, soaked and color-bleeding (or is it reflection?) into the deep water.

Water : Green to balance the red, feminine, mysterious, reflective, always in motion. It ripples from the seemingly still ladies, stocked full with swarming fish (another pisces reference,) and topped with floating (feminine-leaning) flowers (purple to both balance the yellows, and, as a youth, those that grew out of my grandmother's garden, the first flowers I remember seeing, and thought them beautiful.) Originally, they were to form real constellations, but that might be a bit much. Content-wise, they also balance out the stars in the sky, similar to 'as above, so below.' The reflections of the girls in the water can either be interpreted as translucent water over them kneeling up, or simply their reflection, and are standing in deep water. I wanted to leave that up to the viewer.

Moon : The moon in phase, long-dubbed 'The Horns of Isis...' Mary is usually depicted standing over it (a slap to Eastern religions,) but here it cradles the girls, as if encouraging them to embrace, sharing the mysterious, fertile water, resting in a sort of parallel night sky.

Chalice : Long-associated with the feminine throughout history and across religious/cultural lines, both for its anatomical shape to the female frontal pelvic region, the woman's entire body like an hourglass (or a tall chalice, as well,) it being a 'recepticle,' and, even later, for the womb itself. I had half a mind to fill it with 'milk,' but that might come across as something else, despite the overwhelmingly feminine theme.

Finally, the dark corners balance out the light in the middle, as all of the colors, the full spectrum, is already represented.

That's about all I can remember putting into it. :p

Here's the books that I've been reading lately, I recommend all of them!

(they speak for themselves!)

“Vasa Iniqvitatis : The Nine Mvses of the End of Days, and the Sedvction of Oblivion.”

Most of the ‘V’s are indeed Roman/Latin ‘U’s.

Vasa Iniqvitatis is Latin for, roughly,‘Vessels of Wickedness.’

The ‘hats’ are to resemble pendulums, even if some appear to look like a 90-degree slighted Roman helmet, peacock fan, machine gear, axe blade, half-moon, or such, even an Incan brain-surgery tool (they exist.) The detail within the figures is Ivory Black on Mars Black, to which you can only see close-up, or with an odd-angle light source, otherwise, the silhouettes appear solid black; they, upon even closer inspection, have no eyes, not even the center one. The ‘Eyes’ are on the left and right sides of the painting, each with a planetary sign in its iris. (original 9 planets, that is.)

Last Supper reference : instead of 13 (12+1,) there are 9 (8+1,) for many reasons, (including, counting spaces, the title is 81 letters long, 9x9,) and where the central figure is leaning into the figure to its right, this is intentionally opposite of DaVinci’s Last Supper, where they’re facing away from each other. Instead of pointing fingers, there are Roman spears positioned upward. Instead of soft robes, there is a sort of decorative Roman armor battle-dress. The Chalice (a spiked one,) appears to cradle the female’s womb, an age-old metaphor for a chalice, and vice-versa.

Snakes, an ‘evil,’ ground-hugging animal, are ‘above’ while the universe/starfield is ‘below,’ an inverse of everything, with a galaxy swirling about the central figure’s navel/Solar Plexus, and a flattened galaxy emerges from her sacrum (as in Kundhalini.).

Around the 'universal' cape, and accenting the capes of the others, are a kind of heavenly Aurora with hints of green, as well as deep blue.

Why orange, goldish-green? Unlike Blue (sadness,) red (anger,) yellow (happy,) and other immediately associative colors, Orange, and that Green-Gold I use is psychologically neutral; instead of immediately pulling a mood out of it color-wise, you’re forced to take your impact from the image itself.

Roman numerals, left to right : 2, 7, 5, 3, 9, 6, 1, 8, 4

The major three, left, center, and right (2,9,4)

The left three (7,5,3,)

The right three (6,1,8)


Forms this :

294
753
618

…which 1-9 is used only once, and each horizontal row, vertical row, and diagonal one equals 15, it’s an old Chinese trick, called ‘Nine Mansions’ or ‘Lo’s document·’

Those sigils on the left and right?

If you that that number square, and draw a line through 1,2,3 then 4,5,6 then 7,8,9, you get that symbol, which happens to be the sigil of Saturn (note the large jewel on the Chalice,) and the one on the right, same 9-square setup, connects as a pitchfork/Neptune/Poseidon.

The center snake (note : obviously not tentacle) is, indeed an Eternity symbol, making, with other elements, the center figure look like this :



While painting this, I played Godflesh’s ‘Streetcleaner’ album constantly (“Like Rats,” mostly,) and Carl Orff’s “Fortune Plango Vulnera.”

First off, a very intimate backstage shoot with Trixie Minx of Fleur de Tease proved wonderful; these are the digital photos from the set, the 35mm set is yet to be developed. 23 Photos!

Go to the main/update page for December, and click on Trixie Minx's name, or look under Photos > Models > Trixie Minx.





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Also, check out the 'Happy Holidays' Fleur de Tease set, clickable under the December update under 'Fleur de Tease,' or Photos > Models > Fleur de Tease! 173 Photos!

Rock City Morgue gallery now up!

Under Photos > Concerts > Rock City Morgue, (or use the direct link from the main page,) you'll find photos from the kick-ass show during the Red Masque Ball event this November 1st, where Halloween wasn't necessarily over. Also, in the gallery, once you pass the 'The Cat's Meow' album cover, you'll find even more photos of Rock City Morgue, from the September show on the 26th of this year, again at One Eyed Jack's.

You can also find their myspace page here : >>> RCM <<<



Fleur de Tease performed between the bands of the Red Masque Ball at One Eyed Jack's.

You can find the photos at Photos > Models > Fleur de Tease, and scroll to the bottom, if not the direct link from the main page.

See Chris Lane as the ghoulish ringleader of the scarily sexy FDT girls!



Halloween in New Orleans never disappoints.

Go to Photos > Miscellaneous > Halloween 08 to see them all!

Lots of updates, so bear with me here, most recent first!

Bella Blue of Fleur de Tease fame just completed her first formal (posed) photoshoot with myself 10/27/08, with male model Derek, and makeup by Natalie. I went for flesh-colored with minimal background, after all, typical Vampire shoots are all black-and-white, uninspired clothing, and usually only one decent-looking model of the two. That's not what I did.

I wanted it WARM, because, well, passion and blood are warm, no? Instead of blues, I shot the skin unpowdered, and in color.

Granted, from the get-go I knew I wanted to play around with the shoot digitally far, far more than I would normally do, but hey, it's Halloween! I shot with close-up framing, wide aperatures, lots of light, and an already-well-done makeup job. In post-production, I pushed the exposure, thickened the blacks, and upped the color and saturation. (the only photoshopping was the fangs, his fang-props malfunctioned.)

The results are under PHOTOS > MODELS > BELLA BLUE



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Fleur de Tease played the Bingo tent on Sat (Oct 25) at Voodoofest this year, see the show up close!

Go to Photos > Models > Fleur de Tease (and scroll to bottom!)



...and see their friends backstage, like members of Nosician Coalition, Camel Toe Lady Steppers, and more!

Go to Photos > Models > Fleur de Tease (and scroll to bottom!)



Finally, don't forget Tony Clifton with the gals from Fleur de Tease as part of his traveling entourage... caught on film in New Orleans!

Go to Photos > Models > Fleur de Tease (and scroll to middle!)

Photos from September 7th's 'School of Rock' show at One Eyed Jack's are now up at jianbastille.com

Featured performers were : Trixie Minx, Bella Blue, Lily Summers, Sarah the Bobcat (Aerialist,) Natasha Fiore, Andrea Gomez (Cellist,) Magic Mike, Madame Mystere, Special guest Angela Eve, and, of courst, emcee Chris Lane.

Click the 'Fleur de Tease' link in the September update, or go to Photos > Models > Fleur de Tease.

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Fleur de Tease's official site : >>> Homepage <<<

Fleur de Tease's myspace : >>> Myspace <<<

Left 1:30 am Friday, encountered NO traffic, and NO gas-station troubles, and went straight 15 hours to Des Moines, IA, arriving about 6:30 pm Saturday.

Parents (who live in Houma) left this Saturday, heading North as well.

Pals of mine that left Saturday at 11am took about 14 hours for the usual 6-hour ride to Auburn, AL, spending nearly 6 hours to make the usual '1st hour' worth of driving which put them at Biloxi, MS.

Fuck, I hope it doesn't hit my parents' house, a low Cat3 on down would be okay, but a standard Cat3+ would be very, very bad. Technically, they're in Bayou Cane, which is north of Houma, roughly touching Hwy 90 @ Exit 202, so anything's possible.

I can be contacted by my myspace, or by my cell, which is working well.

A little-known fact : Tatu has indeed played an American show, but only one, at the campus at Santa Barbara, on March 6th, 2008 (coincidentally, my birthday!)

After a smooth soundcheck, and a warm welcome from the Santa Barabara Russian Club, the band met a furiously excited, packed house, and the band gave that energy right back at them. Performing both singles and album-favourites, it was a landmark show for American fans.

Finally, here they are. I posted my personal favourites first, and the rest of the series immediately following.

Currently, the band is working out a new album slated for later this year, and seriously considering a full American tour, with an upgraded, rock-influenced, bigger sound than previous works.

The band : Yulia Volkova, Lena Katina,Troy MacCubbin, Steve Wilson, Sven Martin & Domen Vajevec.

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Here's a quick preview of the 96 photos in the set!

(go under Photos > Concerts > TATU or go to the main page and click the link!)

Mind you, my car's A/C had broken shortly before the trip, but couldn't get it fixed.

Highlights :

Had to delay the trip 24 hours, due to Hurricane Edouard (or YouTard, as I call it,) ending smack in the middle of the I-10, when, as scheduled, I'd be 6 hours from crossing it. The problem wouldn't be so much as the dying storm itself, as the residual flooding, debris on the highway, bad drivers in rain/water, etc.

Leaving after a 2-hour map and a huge dinner at Steve and Amanda's, I started the car about 5am, and headed out.

There are fucking MILLIONS of windmills between Los Angeles and the California line. Since I've only been through there at night, I'd never noticed them.

Once you cross into Arizona, gas drops $0.70 a gallon, until you approach Phoenix.

Don't know if it's today's gas prices, but, there was NO traffic on the streets of Phoenix. I've spent about two months combined in Phoenix just a few years ago, and the traffic was about a fourth of what I was used to. They also nearly finished the tram that will run on Apache/Main. I went to Tempe Camera, but 1/2 of their stock seemed missing, and didn't have anything I wanted, so I was out of there in under 5 minutes. From there, to my favourite sticker/cigarette shop, which seems to have been sold, doesn't really carry stickers anymore, and had only one pack of my cigs. Finally, I stopped at Kelly Camera to pick up a camera strap, this gorgeous embroidered one for $19.99; they were shut down, they closed their doors less than a week previous, so said the sign.

Unproductive in Phoenix, I got back on the road.

After Tuscon, and near a rest stop, I saw a parked maroon 80's Cadillac, and from it emerged a well-dressed, 50ish Indian man, with a portly white girl, with tube-top, jean shorts, flip-flops, and tightly pulled-back hair, wandering off into the foliage... I hope she didn't cost too much, or perhaps it was in exchange for the ride? Who knows. Heh. Lot Lizards.

In Van Horn, Texas, I ate my first meal on the road, about 17 hours into the trip, Van Horn is pretty much exactly in the center of the L.A. to NOLA trip. I stopped at a particular Chevron to see all of the girlie pin-up and military pins they have there on the wall, for sale. Consistent with my earlier errands, those pins no longer exist. So much for my little 'fun things to do' in the Southwest. Filled up, drove on.

El Paso, like Phoenix, had a fraction of previous traffic, to my relief.

San Antonio finally decided to fix the I-10 between the North 410 to the center of town, but still a clusterfuck in the downtown area. I think I counted SIX ramps you need to take in a split-second to simply continue the I-10, knowing it takes a 90-degree turn in San Antonio. This was earlier than 6am, and, despite having little traffic, was still horrible.

Between SA and Houston, there's a lot of deer warnings. I saw several, in random spots, grazing on the side of the highway, which made me nervous as fuck.

By the time I got to Houston, the storm clouds of the weeks before cleared, and searing heat came into my car, two-inch cracks in the windows, and the vent on full wasn't reprieve enough. 43 miles construction. No shoulders. 23 miles of one-lane traffic. Accidents... everything went wrong, including smack in the middle of downtown... they quit putting signs up for directions, despite there being multiple splits in the highway... they began, unannounced, painting them on the actual highway pavement. One blink, and you don't know where you are. With exits veering off to the left, right, and sometimes the lane right next to you (even if you're in the center,) it's daunting.

Finally, I got to Lafayette, and was so tired, I got lost trying to get back to the highway, after liberating an ICEE from a run-down gas station.

Soon, I was home, marinated in 31 hours of heat and sweat, mildly hallucinating (odometer slightly rotating, seeing a stuffed animal in my backseat, hearing video-game like sounds softly from the car, and it wasn't my phone, or Nintendo DS,) I went to sleep for 17 hours, after a shower.

Today, my A/C is getting refilled (hopefully there's no leak,) and I may or may not venture to the French Quarter for the evening.

Otherwise, I put myself on spontaneous nap alert.

Excuse the spelling.

With a 24-hour delay from a Hurricane that swept through my exact path, I'm packed up, errand-free, and leaving within six hours of this message.

With a lot of work in New Orleans ahead of me, and burning CDs for the long (30-hour) trip ahead of me, I'm driving straight through.

Yep, STRAIGHT through.

See you in the Irish bars!

If you don't know who he is, and don't recognize the longest-standing member of MADtv and such, then quietly catch up here : >>> Bobby Lee <<< or >>> Myspace <<<

Basically, the girls and I were heading from Hollywood proper to the edge of West Hollywood, for Margarita night at El Compadre's. We were Southbound on La Brea from Franklin, and heading to the corner of Hollywood Blvd.

Some kid "this is my father's car, it's my father's insurance, waaaaaaaaaaaah," from Arizona wasn't paying enough attention to hit the breaks for a clearly red light (and three cars in front of him,) and hit us, we hit the car Bobby was in, and they hit a final car. Being #2 in a Manage a Quatre wasn't as fun as it sounds. However, I leapt out, and quickly assembled the camera, and took photos of the car order, license plates, and four corners of all the cars.

For once, this wasn't a hit-and-run, which Los Angeles is known for.

So, it turns out, Bobby was in the car ahead of us, needing to be on stage at The Comedy Store on the Sunset Strip in 20 minutes. We sped it along, and soon were enjoying flaming margaritas, while Bobby no doubt incorporated the event in his monologue.

We'll see him this week.

In my last month of living in Los Angeles, I've meant to attend, but haven't yet gone to, The Comedy Store, but perhaps I was waiting for both money in my pocket, and a comedian I really liked to be there?

Consider me alerted!

Well, this was a sign, wasn't it?

After the interest from Suicide Girls wanting Khamera and not knowing who in the hell I was, we figured to go ahead and shoot anyway.

I actually woke up early, one good scouted location led to several in the immediate area, and she showed up looking exactly as I'd have wanted, as if I'd given her a 10-page description beforehand.

Aside from the occasional passer-by car, and down-the-block surly vagrant, we were largely left undisturbed.

After a long run, we went back to the house, dumped the cards, checked for anything we needed to address, but everything was going very well.

We drove up to the Hollywood sign (daunting, with streets like a goddamn ant farm maze,) and found a rather good location for a few seed pics. From there, we headed back to the location, the sky and light shifting only slightly, given it being a few hours after the initial shoot, and continued exactly where we left off. We blew through a few cards, and finished with decent time, and satisfactorily.

We parted, and I went to see what the new addition would yield.

I lost a fucking card.

I went through the bag, dumping it out several times. I walked slowly back to the car, checking every nook and cranny, myself and Erin rummaging through the car. Nothing. Drove all the way back to the location, and went over the area with a fine-toothed comb. Erin helped. A curious cop approached, and even he assisted.

Nothing.

There should be enough to link the sets, but it'll be a bitch to re-shoot the filler.

We'll see.

The good news, is, though, it's a damn good set, and she's as excited as I am.

Let's see if Suicide Girls shares the enthusiasm when I compile and send the pics this week!