They don't want to see me with you....

Good news [at this point, I'll take whatever I can get]. This morning's forecast is a little less alarming than last night's. 80 mph winds with gusts up to 100, then slowing back down a bit.

The weather service reported that Isaac hit Cat. 1 hurricane status a couple of hours ago....which means it's reached sustained winds of 75 mph.

The storm's forward movement is slowing down, which as I understand it, increases the amount of rain it'll drop. I believe the current projection is something around 18 inches...up an inch or two over yesterday.

Looks like some storm surge estimates are down. As far as I know, the city has either already closed all floodgates or is the process of doing so.....including the first closing of the huge not-quite-finished Lake Borgne surge barrier.

I have ultimate faith in My Boy. He can def take care of himself.....and he knows he's gonna catch living hell if my dad so much as stubs a toe. I imagine the party will begin soon enough. They've a portable generator and are well stocked with food, water, and 14 different varieties of alcohol.

Anyway, this goes out to both my husband and my dad. A bit of an in-joke.

One of two recordings Earl King made of this song. It was meant to be included on King's unreleased "Street Parade" album. Production by Allen Toussaint.

Hope ya'll enjoy.......

Some joke 2....

By the time everything was packed up this morning, it was clear that I was heading for Austin. We undoubtedly would've been fine in various places around the state, but ya know, while you're at it why not just drive till you're well out of the line of the storm? Even simple power outages are a problem when charged with the care of an infirm elderly aunt and her totally obnoxious peekapoo, "Cinders".

And then there's the little problem of the free-ranging mess known as "Baby Girl".

So, yeah you rite, I weenied out and headed for the one place I knew I'd be able to get a warm bath over the coming week. My Boy along with various relatives [including my father] have decided to stay in New Orleans. I am, of course, very concerned.

While Mayor Landrieu is quite correct in saying that Isaac is not Katrina and that the city is far better prepared that it was......I, like many others who don't have access to major News outlets, are completely spooked by this storm. If nothing else, you can put it down to being 'once bitten'.

But then there's also the graphic issued earlier today by the National Hurricane Center which shows Isaac becoming a hurricane shortly after midnight tonight, and reaching wind speeds of 90 to 115 miles per hour 24 hours later.

Wind speeds of 100 mph may not be the same as wind speeds of 150 mph, but it's still not-good no matter how you look at it.

That's right, Cat 2 pushing towards Cat 3.

I sincerely hope I'm wrong.

Some joke....

Not funny. Not funny at all.

While we're of course hoping this scenario doesn't play out [on August 29th, of all days], it's not like I really want Isaac to hit any place else either. Truth is, we're probably going to have problems with the storm surge no matter were the storm comes to land.

Ironically enough, we just got home after spending a week and a half in Austin. So, now we have to turn around and go back???

My Boy definitely falls on the 'better safe than sorry' side, so it's entirely possible that Baby Girl and I will drive to Morgan City tomorrow morning and stay with relatives. My mother is probably coming as well. Possibly even a few others. That way, if need be, we'll be part of the first wave of westward evacuation. And if things change, we can simply turn around and go home.

What can I say? My husband is protective. No harm in that. Right?

Please help me.....

Here's a cut a friend and I have been paying some attention to lately. Seems it may be a rare example of James Booker playing both piano and organ on a single record....the organ bit being overdubbed. Sure sounds like him, in fact I can't imagine it's anyone else.

Beyond that, this is the b-side of one of two 45s recorded by Katherine Holt, both on the Booker label. As far as I know, nothing is known about her.

The flip-side of this 45 gets the occasional play, but you rarely hear this tune. Checking DJ playlists online, I can only find two spins listed. Unsurprisingly, one of those being on WWOZ, New Orleans.....which is, without a doubt, one of the greatest radio stations in the world.

*Blows a kiss to Billy Delle* [wherever you are].

Hope ya'll enjoy. It's from 1963...........

[addendum: I don't think any of Katherine Holt's recordings have ever been comped]

I'm still in love with you.....

Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of the band Black Merda. And I do understand that after playing on a number of great sides in Detroit, under several different names, that Anthony Hawkins, VC L. Weasley, Charles Hawkins, Tyron Hite, et al, wanted to do something different than play straight up soul/funk.

But....I really don't understand how the guys could record this absolutely amazing one-off 45 with Linnie Walker [the Hawkins brothers' sister] and apparently not consider the project worthy of more effort.

Actually, I'm a little pissed off that they didn't 'cause I think I deserve to hear more Linnie. How's that for being self-centered?

Btw, all of Black Merda's recordings are still available on one format or another. That includes the killer collection of rarities titled, "The Psych Funk Of Black Merda", on which both sides of this 45 can be found.

Hope ya'll enjoy.........