on 19 june 2013 canadian crime reporter, byron christopher, electronically released the inaugural version of his much anticipated true crime story into the fantastic escape and incredible eighteen months on the lam by federal inmate richard lee mcnair.
wst... caught up with mr. christopher the night of friday, 02 august 2013 and in this nearly 39 minute interview, mr. christopher from his home in edmonton, alberta, canada, discusses his book, mcnair, and several central louisianians he met in person and interviewed, including ball, la., policeman, carl bordelon.
**********note for 2013: this blogger posts that he saw hummingbirds at his rapides parish home on 18 march 2013
hummingbirds return to rapides parish, louisiana,
8:37 am cdt, saturday, 30 march 2013
the petition for damages of staci saucier and her husband joseph, states that on 02 april 2012 they were at rapides regional medical center with their daughter who was scheduled for surgery.
their daughter was brought into the surgery prep area and while waiting there with her, a nurse entered the room and moved a cart that was near the side of the room.
when the cart was moved it revealed a snake (what kind of snake the petition doesnt say but does it really matter?) coiled up and in the striking position.
not unexpectedly, the sight of a snake in there freaked ms. saucier out. according to the petition she has a phobia of snakes.
ms. saucier fled from the room and struck a wall or the door which caused an injury to her person. also, according to the petition, the sight of a snake in the hospital aggravated a pre-existing condition and caused her great mental distress.
the petition for damages is filed by alexandria, la., attorney w. jay luneau of the luneau law office and is allotted to ninth judicial district court judge harry f. randow.
a few minutes ago, wst... received the following press release from lieutenant governor, jay dardenne:
March 18, 2013
Cami Geisman
Office of the Lieutenant Governor
225.342.1013
LT.GOV. DARDENNE TOUTS MANAGEMENT OF DCRT DURING BUDGET CRISIS
Lt. Governor Jay Dardenne has not given merit raises to the classified or unclassified employees of the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism or Office of the Lt. Governor during the past two fiscal years.
"We have a very hardworking staff, both classified and unclassified, many of whom are deserving of pay increases," Lt. Governor Dardenne said. "But we try very hard to use the money we are budgeted to return even more revenue back to the state. We create jobs and earn money for Louisiana."
Since Dardenne’s election in 2010 only two pay raises have been given; one was less than five percent to Obiekezie Agbasi, a State Parks employee who was given additional duties and the other was to Kristin Sanders, an Office of Cultural Development employee who earned an advanced degree and was assigned additional responsibilities.
In addition to serving as lt. governor, Jay Dardenne acts as secretary of the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism saving the state $130,000 annually.
ahh slip-n-falls. whatever in the world would the courthouse crowd do without slip-n-falls (as well as divorces, protective orders and paternity cases) to give the appearance of actually doing something, you know, to justify their tax parasite existence. luckily for them, louisiana lawyers are more than happy to provide them endlessly with.
according to the petition of mary l. doucett, of calcasieu parish, louisiana, on 20 january 2012, she had just checked in at the front desk of the haynes best western inn and suites and conference center at 2720 north macarthur drive in alexandria, la. and was in the process of looking for her room:
"when she fell as a result of a variation in elevation of the floor, causing her severe pain and discomfort, and fracturing her femoral shaft which required her to have surgery to repair the fracture with a intramedullary implant and which will require a surgery in the future."ms. doucett "alleges that the damages sustained in this matter exceed the sum of $50,000, the threshold for a jury trial in state court."
SON OF THE REPUBLIC, LOOK AND LEARN!
George Washington's vision has been published from time to time and is recorded in the Library of Congress.
[...]
The place was Valley Forge, in the cold and bitter winter of 1777.
Washington's army suffered several reverses and the situation was desperate. Food was scarce. The Continental Congress was not sending supplies or money.
Some of the troops did not even have shoes to wear in the snow. Many soldiers were sick and dying from disease and exposure.
Morale was at an all-time low and there was great agitation in the Colonies against continued effort to secure our freedom from England. Nevertheless, General Washington was determined to see the struggle through.
"This afternoon, as I was sitting at this table engaged in preparing a dispatch, something seemed to disturb me. Looking up, I beheld standing opposite me a singularly beautiful female. So astonished was I, for I had given strict orders not to be disturbed, that it was some moments before I found language to inquire the cause of her presence. A second, a third and even a fourth time did I repeat my question, but received no answer from my mysterious visitor except a slight raising of her eyes.click here to see george washington's vision.
"By this time I felt strange sensations spreading through me. I would have risen but the riveted gaze of the being before me rendered volition impossible. I assayed once more to address her, but my tongue had become useless, as though it had become paralyzed.
"A new influence, mysterious, potent, irresistible, took possession of me. All I could do was to gaze steadily, vacantly at my unknown visitor. Gradually the surrounding atmosphere seemed as if it had become filled with sensations, and luminous. Everything about me seemed to rarefy, the mysterious visitor herself becoming more airy and yet more distinct to my sight than before. I now began to feel as one dying, or rather to experience the sensations which I have sometimes imagined accompany dissolution. I did not think, I did not reason, I did not move; all were alike impossible. I was only conscious of gazing fixedly, vacantly at my companion.
"Presently I heard a voice saying, `Son of the Republic, look and learn,'
"it is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliance with any portion of the foreign world": george washington's farewell address to us.
like nobody could see anything like this coming.
in their petition for damages, plaintiffs, kent devillier and ivy tran, residents of krotz springs in st. landry parish, louisiana, claim that on 21 may 2012 they and their kids and some local friends were swimming in the river at mudfest.
eventually, mr. devillier and ms. tran left the swim party (their kids wanted to stay) to return to their campsite to start supper.
about twenty minutes later here comes their kids with a group of four wheelers behind them seemingly like herding their kids back to their camp.
upon arrival at their camp the group of four wheelers began accusing mr. devillier and ms. tran of abandoning and starving their kids.
so they started shouting and arguing back and forth when finally mr. devillier who was sitting in a lawn chair asked them to leave ... "when suddenly a bald man with a beard ... attacked mr. devillier."
then, according to their petition, "as mr. devillier was getting attacked, three other men proceeded to jump in and hit mr. deviller at the same time."
ms. tran went to mr. devillier's aid and was attempting to pull one of the men off him when some girls from the four wheeler group attacked her.
finally someone phoned 911 and the rest is civil court history.
kent devillier and ivy tran's petition for damages is filed on 11 february 2013 by opelousas, louisiana attorney alfred v. pavy boudreaux of the pavy & boudreaux law firm; docketed at number 246,684 and allotted to ninth judicial district court judge harry f. randow.
wst... note: while we've never personally visited mudfest, over the past year, or so, members of our family have repeatedly attended events there and have never mentioned having anything other than a pleasant time.
"the abduction of psyche"The painting The Abduction of Psyche (which is also known by the French title Le ravissement de Psych ) is one of artist William Bouguereau's most recognizable and famous works.
The Abduction of Psyche was inspired by an episode from Classical mythology, and Bouguereau was certainly not the first to be fascinated by the legend.
Indeed, the tale of Psyche and Cupid (or Eros, if you prefer the Greek name for Cupid) has appealed to many painters and poets over the centuries. But the way in which the artist has depicted his version of the myth is what makes this particular image so memorable.
In this painting, the beautiful woman Psyche is being carried by her immortal lover Cupid.
Bouguereau biographer Fronia E. Wissman writes poetically of this piece: "...she [Psyche] is literally being transported by love." And this, in essence, is what the image represents.
Psyche seems lost in a blissful reverie. She is being embraced by the handsome god of love, who, with his elegant wings and idealized features, seems custom made to drive young women into a frenzy of admiration and desire.
The two figures almost seem as one in this work, and together their bodies form a lyrical arrangement.
Floating draperies - delicate lilac for Psyche and muted blue-grey for Cupid - complete the composition and give the painting a subtle but sophisticated diagonal emphasis.
It is also worth noting that the composition of The Abduction of Psyche is similar to one of Bouguereau's much earlier works, his beautifully decorative painting The Dance (which is in the collection of the Muse d'Orsay).~ source
