Mardi Gras Approaching

We are getting close to the time when Mardi Gras parades begin. The weather has been very cold all month and the calendar says I think the first one is on February 4th and Mardi Gras Day on February 20th. Mardi Gras is one thing that made New Orleans singular, a huge holiday of fun that much of the rest of the country envied us for, because a genuine and full blown Mardi Gras is only found in New Orleans and Mobile, Alabama. In, fact other than a few cities in Europe, one in South America and a couple in the Caribbean, it does not exist elsewhere.
But Hurricane Katrina is still blowing on Mardi Gras. Even more parades will not be held this year and some of the other aspects of it, like the Krewe Balls and parties are not being held. The city is still too poor and destroyed for the residents to rebuild Mardi Gras. I think it's a case of rebuild the homes first, and the rest (like Mardi Gras) will follow.
Even my suburban Kenner, just a few minutes from New Orleans has lost a number of the parade organizations that put on the parades and other related Mardi Gras events. We have lost a few parades and the city has allowed the remainder to scale down in size- fewer floats, fewer bands, fewer marching units and fewer riders and participants. The idea is to allow a parade of lower quality to go on in the hope that eventually the parade krewe will find it's membership and funds to rebuild and present a normal parade in the future.
I think this is a bad idea and would prefer that those carnival organizations who have suffered too many lost memberships and funds be denied parading rights. They might decide to cease operation, but the members from those krewes could join others in the city to make a better parade for the spectators. Better to have 8 good parades than perhaps 12 bad ones and 4 good ones.
Outsiders think Mardi Gras is a frivolous celebration. But for us it is the lifeblood, the soul of the area. As Mardi Gras goes, so will New Orleans (and they are having even greater problems with their carnival than we are in Kenner). It is distressing for me to see how low the quality of carnival has slipped since Hurricane Katrina hit us. Time is running out, both on Mardi Gras and New Orleans.
I think Mardi Gras is good, but reality TV is just plan bad. Uh, bad for the brain as in the stupidity presented dumbs down the culture with every show. But I have just read about the nadir of Reality TV, this one from The Netherlands. Are you ready for-- a reality dating program for the visibly disfigured.
The broadcaster SBS 6 is seeking candidates for its "Love at Second Sight" show due to be launched on Mardi Gras Day, February 20th.. "Do you have a visible serious handicap and are you looking for a partner?" says an appeal on its Web site. "The program is a platform for people with such problems to share experiences and feelings in a positive way with the rest of the Netherlands and to show that they are absolutely not pitiful," the broadcaster said. "The main aim of the program is to remove prejudice about these people, to create more acceptance and respect and, of course, to find the love of their lives.
Ha! Want to bet that it will not be a freak show to embarrass and disrespect the contestants? How sad that a TV production will show such tripe, and that there will be contestants to appear on it.
But alas! The majority of Dutch viewers are turned off by the show that was initially set to be called "Monster Love." A poll by the mass circulation De Telegraaf daily showed 85 percent do not like the idea, with only 9 percent in favor." Maybe the Dutch TV audience sees that the real freaks are the people who supply such programming.