Eating crawfish in Louisiana

The first night in Shreveport was crawdad (as they are often called in the south)night.

These tiny little lobster like creatures are a real

delicacy in the south east U.S. Louisiana produced 98% of the countries crawfish.

It had been nearly 40 years since I last ate them so I had to relearn the technique. We bought them freshly boiled from the Crawfish Palace.

AND they are expensive. $112.00 for crawfish, potatoes and corn for 7 people.

Many people start by sucking out the head. I skipped that. Then my nieces demonstrated the

procedure of straightening out the tail,

twisting if off, separating it from the body

then pull the tail apart -Wohla - A very

tiny piece of meat that tastes like lobster.

The last step is cleaning up.

Toss out the shells.

Clean off your face and hands.

Since the crawdads are boiled in

water with a hot red spice some people

have to suck on ice cubes.

I noticed that there is a crawfish festival in

Tucson this weekend. The crawfish are

listed in the paper as $8.00 a lb. And

most people eat several lbs. My niece and

her hubby say they eat about 5 lbs a piece.

Drive Thru Daiquiri Shops

Driving through Shreveport with my niece I saw this Drive thru stand and said "Whoa I can't believe that". So we took a U turn and came back for the photo op.

It is said that Cajuns love their alcohol and apparently like it fast and convenient. Google revealed that there are many of these drive thru shops through in Louisiana. Especially New Orleans.

They get by the open container laws by putting the straw through the plastic cover. True??

Inside Edition did an expose of the drive thru and discovered than most drivers start sipping them immediately. Often with an extra shots.

Az Buddy in Louisiana

Y'all know I think that Arizona is a weird state.

But I did find some tacky tourist photos in Louisiana.

5 de Mayo??

Ralph and Kacoo's is an

upscale seafood

restaurant.

A look at the menu reveals some

items not found in

Az. places.

Especially noted

is gator. Cooked

anyway you like.

Here grilled & fried.

OK in bites but no

thanks to a gator steak.

Gun Clinics soon to appear

in your Arizona neighborhood.

A Southern Comfort port-a-pot?

The Color of Roses

Birding Madera Canyon

A great day birding in the Sky Island in the Sonoran Desert - Santa Rita Mountains.

The green of the leafing trees contrasting the white bark of the sycamore attract birds and those who watch them.

Wild Turkeys gobbled in the background at the Lodge. Scotts Oriole at the Kuba House mooned me at the feeder. All three Towhees were seen at Proctor Road - The spotted, the green tailed and the canyon were all hanging out in the same area.

Probably the most showy were the Lazuli Bunting and the Magnificent Humming bird. He flashed his colors both at the feeders and at the honeysuckle blossoms.

These two photos courtesy of google images.

Az Buddy Movie Reviews

What's a person to do in a week when politicians have their heads in the sand and make you want to throw up.

Az Buddy goes to the movies. Two very good movies in one week. The first was "Source Code" reviewed early this week.

The second was "Hanna", a story about a teenager, raised by her father to be a trained killer. This is an action thriller with an indie feel to it. This is largely due to the fabulous set design. Loved the use of monochromatic tones from the snowy winter forests in the early part of the film to North Africa, often with only a single

placement of color.

This is an original story and screen play. It

reminded me of "The Professional", another

man and young girl assassin team. I recommend that movie also. It is a very different coming of age story.

Directed by Joe Wright who also directed the young actress Saoirse Ronan in "Atonement", who made the request to have him direct her in this movie. Cate Blanchet does a fine job of

playing the bad girl role. Interesting that Ronan

reminded me of a young Blanchet.

This will probably be a "Love it" or "Hate" it movie.

Az Buddy loved it. 4****.

When "127 hours" was in the theatre I couldn't get any one to go with me. Not that I don't go alone but I never did get around to it.

So it was my DVD of the week when my spouse was out playing bridge for the afternoon.

Although the scenery of Canyon lands Utah was great and the performance by James Franco was

first rate, I thought that this films was mediocre.

Maybe because we knew what the out come

would be. I found it quite tedious and had a hard

time keeping my finger off the fast forward on the remote. For one thing he was, as he admitted

a "very selfish man" who made many mistakes.

I had hoped that he would taper off his adventures but apparently not as is addressed at the end of the movie.

There were a number of goofs or inconsistencies that I usually overlook. There was a heavy storm that washed through the canyon nearly drowning him.

And he filled his water bottles but still ran out of water. And why didn't some of his equipment

wash away or his camera get wet?

Just an OK movie IMO 2**

Az Buddy Rants today

Az Buddy is on a rant today. You are warned and may not want to read any further.

We the people voted.

Did you vote?

Have you gotten what you thought you voted for?

I did not vote for wars over education.

Az cuts 200 million for k through 12. Made the uniformed decisions of WHAT to cut without allowing the local superintends to decide what to cut.

College will soon be unavailable to many.

AND technical schools also cut.

No jobs. No trained work force.

Do we turn our backs on North Africa and the Middle East? I don't know.

Do we turn out backs on our children and young people - the next generation? ABSOLUTELY NOT.

And don't even get me started on the idiot idea of cutting funds to planned parenthood. Again punishing the poor and increasing rates of poverty.

And regardless of the what the pro gun people think. More guns mean more crime. Just read the headlines.

I'm glad I got that off my chest.

On the brighter side, it is grilled cheese month and I think I will go make one.

photos from Google Images.

Movie review -Source Code

Source Code is an intense Science Fiction thriller. Intense in a good way. Not a second of boredom. Very human and

real for a sci fi flick. Great cinematography and shots of Chicago from the air. Excellent direction and tight editing.

Flawless acting by Jake Gyllenhaal. Especially when he is on screen by himself.

Good performances also by Michelle Monaghan who I had not seen before. Vera Farmiga gave a very sympathetic performance unlike the coldness of the role she played opposite the George Clooney character in Up in the Air; a movie which doesn't even come close to Source Code.

This movie is not predictable. And enough fore shadowing occurs that when the twists & turns happen they are understandable

The ending, criticized by many was satisfying to me.

All in all, it is the performance by Gyllenhall that I will remember the most.

4****

Spring in my neighborhood

The gopher plant's unique shape and flowers brighten up the yards of neighbors.

Bunnies appreciate the new foliage.

Gila woodpeckers loudly announce their desire to mate.

The red claret cup assumes its role as the first cactus to bloom each spring.

Right behind it comes

the woolly stalk with blooms only a hummingbird finds beautiful.

And roses.

The tombstone roses veil the walls in white and yellow.

And the rose gardens spring up almost over night

from their severe January pruning.

Snap dragons, long thought to be dead, rise tall and full of color.