Come As You Are - No Cocktail Hour this week . . . and thank you!!

Dear Lost Souls,

Alas, there will be no Cocktail Hour this Friday night. . . but fear not, Cocktail Hour will resume next week!

I do want to take a moment to thank (all those of you that attended) for a hugely successful Mardi Gras Party. It was an awesome turn out. There were a number of bottles of great wine, tequila, port and bourbon donated to the Haberdashery's stock (as well as lots of cookies candy, etc.). I did not get a chance to thank all those folks in person, but I very much appreciate the thought! Special thanks go out to some of the generous folks who worked there ass off to help set up, decorate, cook and clean up. These include:

Billy Rhyne

Greg Dolge

Bob Fukushima

Aric Mayer

Tracy Ebanks

Sascha Welz and

Manfred Daut, who made a mid-party ice run to save the day!

I apologize if I missed anybody.

Yours,

Greg

P.S. Austin's Mom, one of our resident philosophers shared the following commentary on our little band of revelers. I thought that some of you may enjoy reading it before you run off to populate the world with party going socially active intellectuals:

“Yesterday I met dozens and dozens and dozens of stunning, healthy, attractive, super bright, talented, vibrant, exciting, aware, interesting, zesty, energetic, funny, lively, ecologically aware, environmentally tuned in, unbiased, real, non glitzy, dynamic.......great people ranging in age from mostly 25-38......and noted that virtually NONE of them are married. I realize that they are all self sufficient, non dependent, evolved, aware, and not needy of having another person for a meal ticket, for emotional security, for codependency.....A very healthy, admirable, great society of friends you have, my dear son. I liked so many of them and would have loved to play longer.

"BUT, I wonder about our world.....

Why do we get 10 children from fundamentalist, neo Nazi, religious zealots who hate gays, liberals, Jews, and think that women should be subservient? Why do the redneck, uneducated, illiterate, no career path....folks marry young and have 6,7,8 kids who also grow up to be the same? WE NEED YOU ALL TO REPRODUCE! YOUR GROUP OF TALENTED, EDUCATED, EVOLVED, FABULOUS PEOPLE ARE THE ONES WE NEED FOR THE FUTURE OF OUR WORLD.

If the redneck dummies and zealot hater mongers take over the states, country, world.....what will they create? What future exists for our society? What hope is there of a better world, awareness of issues, good ideas and solutions?

"So I urge you all to reproduce often.......with well chosen partners.....to create the newer better world you all want. Teach your offspring good thinking. Don't let the haters and dummies take over.

Please pass along this message to all your friends. We need you to save our world. REPRODUCE NOW!

Love,

MOM"

Come As You Are: Mardi Gras 2004!!

Dear Lost Souls,

Mardi Gras is Here!

Put on your party clothes! This Saturday, February 21st, the Haberdashery will be hosting its annual Mardi Gras extravaganza. But it ain't THAT simple. In the spirit of the event, it is important to remind ourselves that Mardi Gras is not just a day, it is a SEASON. As a reminder of this fact, and in deference to Science, Saturday's party is starting on Thursday; testing the Haberdashery's new highly scientific hypothesis called, The Thursday Night Theory (see the Thursday Night Theory Below). That's right, this year we are featuring a special Thursday night installment of Cocktail Hour as a warm up to Friday Night Cocktail Hour as a warm up to Saturday's Mardi Gras Party. Here is basically how this little Cajun diddie goes . . . follow the bouncing ball:

Mardi Gras Schedule/Menu:

Thursday, February 19th:

7:30pm to Whenever:Thursday Night Cocktail Hour

Friday, February 20th:

2:00pm to 7:00pm: Cajun Kitchen Workshop and decoration party (perfect for non-nine-to-fivers)

7:00pm: The Festival of the Roux begins

7:30pm through Whenever: Friday Night Cocktail Hour as usual . . . smell that Roux?

Saturday, February 21st:

11:00am: Rise and Shine; Mimosas, Bloodies, Screwdrivers

Early afternoon:Seafood Boil and Hurricanes under sunny skies

Late afternoon and evening: Gumbo, Jambalaya, Red Beans and Rice, Grillades, corn bread, munchies, etc.

Later evening: Dessert: Bread Pudding, King Cake, Cheese Cake and Bread Pudding . . . and I imagine a couple more items for good measure

This schedule and menu is by no means set in stone. But, it gives you the idea. If you have a contribution that you think will contribute to the theme, please feel free to bring it along, but contributions are not required. Depending on how everything goes down, we reserve the right to serve you ham sandwiches and Cheetos with warm Budwiser . . . mmmmm! . . . probably not though. As always, please feel free to stop by for a quickie en route to your chosen Friday venue, or . . . to linger indefinitely. Your presence is our pleasure and the friends of your friends are our friends. Please don't miss this opportunity to celebrate another great year (four and a half in all!) of great fellowship and new friends under the Haberdashery's familiar shade!

Yours,

Greg

Thursday Night Theory: If you wait all week to party on Friday, you will over do it and not be well rested and ready to go out on Saturday. Thereby effectively limiting your weekend to one night out. Now, if you go out on Thursday night, the chances are that you will take it easy, since you probably have to work on Friday. When Friday night rolls around, you will be excited to start the weekend, but will party in moderation; both because you have not had such a buildup to Friday and because you are a little tired from Thursday. Finally, because you did not over do it on Friday, you will be rested for a satisfying night out on Saturday. The result is that the by going out on Thursday you have effectively turned (what otherwise might be) a one night weekend into a three night weekend!

Come As You Are (M -9 days); Hurricanes are in the Forecast

Dear Lost Souls,

Nine days until the Mardi Gras Party . . . It is time to start you taper.

Yes, my Cajun Cohorts, Cocktail Hour is on for this week . . . but more importantly, we need to start thinking about NEXT weekend:

Dress Code:Well, there is no dress code, and you can wear whatever the hell you want, but the buzz is that folks are dressing up this year. What does that mean?? For starters; don't bring beads. I got em comin' out of my . . . and remember to take them home with you! In general, this could mean Mardi Gras masks, sequins and wigs. For the gals, this might mean a party dress (e.g.. . . say flapper style), a boa, feather tiara, etc. For guys, this might mean a dapper hat or sport coat . . . perhaps in an appropriately outrageous color/sequens. But Keep in mind, this is a New Orleans party so you can switch those gender generalizations and run with it. Use your frickin' imagination . . . I'm makin' this shit up as I go along! . . . or show up in jeans and a t-shirt!!!! . . . the point is to relax and have a good time.

Schedule: This is an all day affair . . . give or take a day. There will Cocktail Hour as usual on Friday night, February 20th. For those of you interested in the Festival of the Roux, and other cooking secrets from the Big Easy, that is the time to come. Chop, chop chop.

WARNING: Friday night can be detrimental to Saturday and should be avoided or taken in moderation if your intent is a full-on Saturday. Saturday will be all day . . . beginning whenever we crawl out of bed. There will be Mimosas, Screwdrivers and Bloodies on hand for those that are there before noon . . . or whenever. A crab and shrimp boil will dominate the early afternoon and the gumbo/ jambalaya/red beans will flow whenever they are ready. Yea, yea . . . and there will be LOTS of bread pudding for the ladies. I don't even want to think about Sunday. So, we'll hope to see you tomorrow night for our usual weekly constitution . . . cocktails at 7:30pm . . . top of stairs . . . quickie . . . linger . . . blah, blah, blah . . . lagniappe . . . you know the drill.

Yours,

Greg

Come As You Are; M -16 days and counting

Dear Lost Souls,

Only 16 days until the Haberdashery's most hallowed event; Mardi Gras. Details will follow, but mark you calendars for February 21st . . . aaaalllll day. And remember . . . choose you beads carefully because you ARE allowed to take them home!! In the mean time, I offer you a riddle to stimulate your socially conscientious consciences:

A Riddle!:What does it take to distract the entire population of the most powerful nation in the world away from a the announcement of a proposed federal budget that includes a deficit of $364 billion?

Answer:

One right tit and a couple of fart jokes.

. . . welcome to your homeland.

Yes, my Mammary Voyeurs, Cocktail Hour is on for this Friday night, and you too are invited to join us for a moment of pause and repose as we toast the passing of another week and ring in the promise of the weekend with our own special brand of alchemy and fellowship. The doors at 2107 Hearst will be open at 7:30pm. Your presence is our pleasure. As always, please feel free to stop by for a quickie en route to your chosen Friday venue, or . . . to linger indefinitely.

Yours,
Greg