One Week Until NOLA

My trip to New Orleans is coming up next week, and from the sound of it, I should expect the French Quarter and the more touristy areas to be relatively normal. But outlying areas are apparently still devastated. I won't have a way of getting around, so I probably won't get a chance to tour the rest of the city unless one of my local friends has a car and offers.

But apparently the French Quarter and the Lower Garden District are not completely without problems. I'll need to be wary of coked-up black transvestite thieves. Truly, an "only in New Orleans" phenomenon.

In belated and unrelated news, Germans are seriously peeved at having to drink Budweiser -- which they call "an insult to all true beer lovers, taste-buds, and football-fans" -- at World Cup games. Some Krauts have even set up a web site to protest. Go, Germany!

Speaking of patriotism, happy Independence Day and stuff.

(Thanks Verd.)