Unless you plan to be decked out in a ballgown or feathered like a Mardi Gras Indian, and whether you plan to line Canal Street, chase a chicken in Eunice, or keep it close to home along the Seawall, you should dress comfortably… and poignantly. Mardi Gras has come to mean so much more since August, 2005.

May we recommend a few smart numbers? Our hands-down fave is Reboottees simply sophisticato line of Make Levees Not War gear, available online only – not in any retail location.

Dirty Coast and TrumpeTees also have some freakin' fabulous designs, from the political to the profound, to the uplifting, as well as some inside jokes that true New Orleanians will get. But then again, the city is known for being totally open-armed and open-hearted about embracing honorary NOLAns, as well, that's for sure.

Top your look off with a nifty bit of Recycled Brownie (our name for it, not theirs, but they are more than welcome to steal it if they like), a smart tote made from leftover FEMA tarps designed by smarty recyclers Let's Get Up.

Gots a li'l Fleur de Lis on da brain.

Just got off the I-10 from a week in New Orleans and Acadiana and am ready to scuttle back as quick as a mud bug in a hot tub.

ROADTRIP ALERT: Based on the year's Lenten Calendar, the date on which Mardi Gras falls this year (Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2008) is the earliest it has been since 1983 and the earliest it will be for decades. It will not be in the first week of February again until 2035 and then again in 2046 (both slated for February 6).

If like me, you are an Austinite or entertainment-biz type chained to a little four-letter bugger for the better parts of the first quarter of your year, you know how hard it is to get away for most Mardi Gras. This year, it's early enough to roadtrip.

Check back and forth between Chronique and the Gay Place Blog for a variety of posts and photo galleries from my recent trip and some hints and info to make your trip, should you choose to take it, Big and Easy.

The stink of fuel oil still fills the air on Sixth Street as clean-up crews deal with the leak that spewed into Waller Creek on Thursday. A water main burst between Congress and Brazos and seemingly flushed an old buried tank out, and some of it got through the storm drains to the creek.

Pumping removed most of the leak but on Saturday afternoon it was still so thick it was folding over on itself. There is progress: Clean-up crews from Eagle Construction and Environmental Services, L.P. had pulled the surface boom up to the stretch between Fifth and Sixth, and were using absorbent pads and foam sponges to soak the oil up, as well as pumps to remove larger volumes. This first stage should be over at the beginning of the week, but the local limestone is porous enough to soak up oil that could still leach out later.

They called Steve Coogan, Simon Pegg, and Team Gervais/Merchant, not to mention punk, long before our side of the pond caught on. So it’s no surprise that the Brits have seen the future of the South by Southwest Film Festival … and let’s just say they’re urging shades. Number one on the Guardian’s list of predictions for film in the year 2008: “The new Sundance is SXSW.” By now, It’s old hat calling Sundance old news, but kudos to our British compatriots for recognizing SXSW’s role in the ascension of mumblecore. The only downside? They predict SXSW Film’s so hot, “Paris [Hilton] is probably packing her bikini as we speak.” Yikes.

When I was eight years old my mother, perpetually early for everything, would drop me off at gymnastics 30-45 minutes early. So I would sit in the waiting room, watching the hour of power – He-man & She-ra.

Bow was the object of my eight-year-old affections, and at a dinner party last night I rediscovered my long lost love. Now, finally, She-ra is out on DVD and Bow. is. too.

The e-mail sent out announcing Responsible Growth for Northcross’ town hall meeting Friday evening said, “Most of all, we want to hear from you tonight,” but the only one who actually fielded any questions from the audience was RG4N attorney Doug Young. Really, the meeting mostly just seemed to serve as a pep rally for the organization trying to stop the Wal-Mart proposed for the former Northcross Mall property, and to outline the plan going forward after losing the lawsuit that sought to force city to overturn the Wal-Mart’s approved site plan.

That said, the 300 people in attendance seemed plenty willing to cheer RG4N’s leadership on, and left little doubt how they feel about their prospective new neighbor. (Hell, the fact that 300 people were willing to show on a frickin’ Friday night ought to tell Wal-Mart something!)

While talking yesterday to Brian Thompson, aka The Man That Would be Dist. 46 Rep, he let it be known that he knew he would be getting a primary endorsement from Rep. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth, in his struggle against incumbent Dawnna Dukes.

In fact, he was pretty happy. Normally, such primary endorsements are pretty much verbotten, but if that's a sin, then Burnam sinned and sinned again. He also threw his support behind Sandra Rodriguez, who challenges Rep. Ismael “Kino” Flores, D-Mission, after he took cash from the Craddick-connected HillCo PAC. He's also made an early bid for the Christmas Card list over at Armando Walle's office, chasing the Houston house seat held by Kevin Bailey (a man who has already rumbled that he's being picked on for his support of the speaker.)

The reality is, in Texas this year, some primary races are going to be about one issue: where do you stand on Tom Craddick? It's as much an issue amongst Republicans as it is amongst Democrats. With Burnam announcing that next week he'll talking about the new PAC, "Too Close to Craddick," that he's backing, there's one real question: is it going to be bi-partisan?

The first real evidence of mudslinging thus far in the Democratic primary for Congressional District 10 has popped up, although there’s no evidence that it came from a candidate. Vince Leibowitz of the Capitol Annex blog made a post on Jan. 8 noting that Larry Joe Doherty’s finance chair, Jim McIngvale – aka “Mattress Mac” of Houston TV commercial fame – crossed party lines by hosting a reception in December for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. And to boot, the fundraiser was hosted by Austin/San Antonio Republican Congressman Lamar Smith.

Leibowitz also cross-posted the revelation to the widely read Burnt Orange Report blog, which set off a flurry of responses both attacking and defending Doherty. One poster tarred Doherty as “McCaul lite” – Michael McCaul is the three-term Republican incumbent – which brought an online defense of Doherty from former District 10 candidate Lorenzo Sadun, who wrote, "I prefer Grant to Doherty, but the main thing is beating McCaul," and, “On the issues, the two candidates are very close, and are miles apart from McCaul."

Friday, Jan. 28, 2005: My flu was coming on. Fever, cold sweats, caving joints – the bitter wind whipping the flags outside the Frank Erwin Center wasn’t helping matters.

Inside, whipped up a scene straight out When We Were Kings, the James Brown-soundtracked Muhammad Ali documentary immortalizing 1974’s Rumble in the Jungle. Last night, as events unfolded in similar fashion – 16,746 blood-hungry ticket holders engulfing the sold-out UT drum – Thrilla in Manilla, Ali and Joe Frazier’s heavyweight sequel in the Philippines the following year, pingponged through my much clearer head. The four-corner stage standing in the middle of Austin’s biggest concert venue focused all adulation to the center. When George Strait walked out onto it at 9:25pm – Jan. 10, 2008 – in his starched white shirt, not one hollering Texan doubted his championship form for one minute. If “Bob Wills Is Still the King” of the Lone Star State, then Strait’s commander-in-chief.