It's Natchitoches, this time. Natchitoches, Louisiana. Home of Steel Magnolias and the Christmas Festival to end all Christmas festivals, complete with a 20 foot tall Steel Magnolias sign made of lights that sits on the bank of the river. It also happens to be the home of this fine establishment>

I couldn't resist the alure of a VW sized crawdad atop a metal roof. And the payoff is in-sane. I've had alot of crawfish in my life as a Louisiana born and bred ex-redneck and I have to say that these were some particularly good mud bugs. Yes, we sometimes call them mud bugs. The menus can be a bit misleading if you're not paying attention. There are some cajun entrees in the $12 to $15 range but taped to the order counter is a spread of hand-written specials for crawfish by the pound with the corn on the cob and potatoes, boiled in the spices and seasonings with the crawdads. You can sit at the red, disposable plastic tablecloth covered picnic tables and enjoy a great meal with a drink for under $10. Not bad at all.

So if you're in Natchitoches (pronounced 'NACK uh dish'), especially in the late spring, then you have to check this place out. It's an experience you won't forget for a long time.

By the way, I don't intend to make a habit of doing restaurant reviews here but I do love the occasional dip into food critique so indulge me.

Peace

Wow. I am a very bad blogger. I know, I know it's been like months since I last added anything to the site and I'm sure all of you are dying to know what I've been up to and what sort of important business could keep me away from doing what's most important such as this wonderful website.

Well, I've been in space. I've been studying the effects of weightlessness on Xbox gaming activity in the male brain. For that matter, I've also been in the middle east rooting out terrorists. And I took a trip back in time to World War II England to fight the Germans in the skies above London. There was this one time when I came in behind this formation of Stukas that were flying down the Thames trying to take out London Bridge and MAN! That was something else. Splashed at least 5 right there before I had to refuel.

Okay, so obviously I've been playing way too much Xbox. And now that Battlestar Galactica has kicked back in I'm a hopeless wreck. I mean -- is Starbuck a Cylon or not? I don't really think she's the last Cylon and all but stranger things have happened. Come on! Who would have thought that Colonel Tigh would have those octagonal blood cells swimming around inside? And now Starbuck is off on her own to find earth with Adama's blessing. And sentient Raiders?!! Dude!!!

Sorry, I know. I'm a complete geek. But I make up for it by making a mean pot of gumbo. Which come to think of it, it's about that time again.

It's CRAWFISH season!!!

Okay, if you've been to this blog then you can see my link to Autism Speaks.  Well, this is why I chose that organization.  This is my little boy, Elijah.  He's 8 years old and was diagnosed with autism when he was two and a half.  He has what we would call a moderate case--not nearly as severe as some but also not nearly as high-functioning as others--kind of sitting in the middle of the spectrum.  We're doing everything we can to make his quality of life as high as possible, from basic speach therapy to expensive medical treatments, just hoping for him to have a shot at what you and I would consider a 'normal' life.  We don't really have any certainty, because autism is still such a mystery.  But he has a shot.  And just by visiting this site, you are helping Elijah others like him have a better shot at being able to interact with the world around them without the confusion and neural anguish that this disease can cause.  So check out Autism Speaks.  And thanks for checking out TheOneLove.

Okay, I feel like I've been playing a video game and got the power-up to unlock this awesome new level called St. Augustine, Florida.  I never knew about this place!  Well, I'd heard of it and I knew that it's the oldest city in the country but I didn't know how freaking cool it is.  I mean, they have the Fountain of Freaking Youth. And fresh oysters and huge fish.  It didn't hurt that we were staying at a friend's ridiculously sweet house right on the beach.  Obviously, you should go there.  Now.  Pack your bags and head to your car and go.

Another day, another show, another instance of people not following the rider that says we're vegetarians.  Not to sound indignant or anything but it's pretty clearly stated that we choose not to eat meat.  So we show up and there's nothing but grilled hamburgers and hotdogs which actually sound really good to me.  My problem is not that I am opposed to meat, I actually love a good steak.  But it's definitely a love/hate thing because I don't get the respect I deserve from a good juicy steak.  It was kind of an intestinally abusive relationship that I finally decided to end. 

So we finally made our way into the circle of someone who could go get some delicious local seafood for us and placed our order, afterwards going out to play the show.  Mmm, we thought as we played our songs, anticipating the delicious goodness from the sea.  So when we came back from the autograph lines we went to find our food only to be told that someone placed our delicious local seafood, encased in styrofoam containers, into the really hot warming trays which had fire beneath them.  Guess what happened to the styrofoam!  Of course it began to melt and smolder up through the food.  So they hand us these bags of food and we took it--graciously and politely--to our table and sadly and unsuccessfully tried to find something that didn't taste like burned plastic.  AND THIS STUFF LOOKED SO GOOD!!!  There was a plate of fried oysters and these awesome looking garlic shrimp and then there was another plate of these big fried cod fillets.  We couldn't really eat any of it.  It was really disappointing.  AAARRRGGH!!!  The frustration.  I smolder like that styrofoam tray.

Aaahhh... Time off.  An entire week.  I've brought out the old man in me and sat on the porch in a rocking chair cracking pecans.  This has to be the most boring blog imaginable.  Okay well, I totally slipped and fell on stage the other day.  That's kind of exciting or at least non-boring.  Flat on my back and didn't miss a lick.  Played through the last 16 bars lying down. 

Hmm... what else is exciting?  The new record is done!  Having some issues with the cover so wish us luck with that one.  But the songs sound amazing.   We're super proud of all the new material.  We'll have a single up on myspace pretty soon. 

I can't really think of anything else right now.  I lost the clicker to deactivate my car alarm yesterday and couldn't start it.   Had to get Jess to come get me.  It's in a parking lot on the other side of town.  Not really exciting but whatever. 

Look.  I'm on vacation.  I have the entire week off which means I sit on the porch cracking pecans.  I cook comfort foods.  I play video games.  I play with my kid and hang out with my wife.  It's not meant to be full of excitement.  It's relaxing!  STOP TRYING TO MAKE ME EXCITING!!!

This is the last day of the Building 429/Afters tour.  One can only assume that pranking will commence shortly.  I, oddly enough, have forgone the timeless art of last-day-of-tour pranking.  I guess I just wasn't in the mood or something.  I haven't even given it much thought through the whole run of shows which is pretty uncharacteristic of me. 

You see, I had a great, great practical joke teacher in my youth.  You may say he was the David Carradine of pranks.  The Yoda of practical jokes.  My father... is a master.  When I was a small child he would try to trick me into drinking alca seltzer and tell me it was sprite.  He once tried to get me to eat a small red chili pepper which he had told me was a 'candy carrot'.  These are a couple of examples of some of the less complicated conspiracies.  If it weren't for the diligent watchfulness of my proctective mother I would have fallen prey to countless schemes.  Nevertheless, I learned my craft.

So... I think that I will have mercy on my comrades today.  There will be other tours and other days to plot for.  They will never know how close they came to certain humiliation.

I love how the sky in autumn is a deeper shade of blue.  And the light of the sun has a warmer cast, almost like a permanent sunrise.  It never fails to make me feel happier and younger.  So many good things happened to me in the fall.  I met my wife in the fall, my son was born in the fall, and as I grew up on a farm in the country my favorite outdoor activities involved hunting which always initiated in the fall.  I remember the Thanksgiving family reunions which happened in the fall.  Cotton harvest was a fun time for me as well.  We would work until well after dark and I would lie in these huge open trailers full of fluffy new cotton and look up in the sky for shooting stars which were always plentiful.  And I always come back these moments when the air gets colder and the sunlight gets warmer and the shadows get longer.  I have this beautiful picture of my wife (then fiance) standing outside with the wind blowing her long red hair gently about her face.  She embodies the season.  It's definitely my favorite time of year. 

... and I get to wear cool jackets