I've had that countdown clock on this site since there were 111 days to go, and now that I see the precious 1 by itself, I am grateful. The Fest is here. My pilgrimmage. My backyard. A playground where many a good time passes between and among all. From the music to the art to the food and the people-watching, there couldn't be a better Festival to attend in this country.

This year the Fest is marred by a couple of controversial (albeit small) incidents. Number 1 is the ticket price increase. Another $5, now $50/day at the gate. Many of the locals are grumbling. But the Fest did put up an incredible lineup this year, featuring more top acts than any other I can remember in the last 10 years. And when you think about other festivals in the country, ones in Frisco or Chicago and their associated costs, we truly are still lucky. I think the Fest would be worth up to $60/day in this market, and that is where I suspect the promoters are aiming.

The underlying cost within the festival is food and beverage. And these are the prices that need to be controlled. This is where the Fests' greedy promoters can find a spare dollar or two off each item sold, and pass the cost off to the vendor, who is stuck with the unlucky venture of raising prices of their fare for the general public within the Festival. It's an underhanded strategy, but brilliant, because once you are in the gates, you are basically trapped, and food and beverage come from few sources not controlled by the Fest organizers.

One solution for Fest-goers, especially local, is to invest in the WWOZ fund raiser Brass Pass or even better, the OverPass. These passes allow you to enter on any day, and to come and go as you please. The OverPass even lets you allow others to utilize the pass in the event you cannot. Any local who can't find 6 other people to invest in this to go to the Fest just needs to get out and make some friends. Oh, and the pass is a charitable donation, so it is a write-off come tax time. It is worth it.

The other issue is the return of the Neville family, and the fact that they reclaim their throne as the closing act of the Fest on the last Sunday. Some are angry at comments made by members of the family, many of whom were disenchanted at the lack of progress for communities in general and the music community in particular in rebuilding after Katrina. Aaron cited health concerns, and as someone battling major health issues, I can understand his plight. But the family has returned, and are giving back to the community, and deserve the recognition and their place back at the Fest. If New Orleanians feel comfortable ostracizing members of their own dear families due to hard times, who in the nation not from Louisiana could be expected to sympathize with the NOLA dwellers who did return?

We all put up with aspects of our culture that may not be something we care for. I am not a fan of the NBA at all. The sport itself is watered down, the talent pool over-emphasized, the pay not equal to the quality of the entertainment or level of competition. At least, not until the playoffs. When you compare basketball on the pro level to hockey, soccer, or football, the level of physical dedication and toil leave basketball in the dust.

But, in the pro world, there are aspects that greatly benefit Louisiana. THere is an entertainment tax that is levied on certain pro athletes and actors and actresses as well as other professions in the entertainment field which garner huge wages for the state of Louisiana. For instance, when the Phoenix Suns come to New Orleans on game day to play the Hornets, certain players (based on residency issues and other exempt-status issues) will be levied an entertainment tax based on their salary for the game played in NOLA. So if Shaquille O'Neal suits up, and doesn't even play a minute of a game, his exhorbitant salary is garnished a percentage of the entertainment tax, which is basically a state income tax for his labor in the state. O'Neal makes a great deal of money, and his percentage of the tax is an incredible sum. In one game, O'Neal could conceivably pay more state income tax to Louisiana than any 7 random fans picked out of the stadium will pay in their COLLECTIVE lifetime. So I may not be a fan of the sport, but I am a great fan of the income it derives for our needed coffers in Louisiana. This happens across the country in many states.

As a nationally regulated sport, the NBA monetary contributions to the city in one given season are significant, and are a great deal more honest and upright than casino revenue, which flows through too many private and public hands before reaching the state coffers.

Money is a complicated issue down in NOLA, especially since a new breed of ilk have surfaced from the dim and oily waters of post-Katrina drainage. Carpetbaggers utilizing the Internet have found many means of depriving multiple families of rightful reimbursement. The initial, unmanaged aspects of suppsed quick fixes as saving graces only served to hurt more famlies down the road.

Well, i lighter news, I've been watching that coundownl clock on my blog with anticipation early in the year, then trepidation lately. Becase since January, I could beging to feel my chemo treatment was not working as well as it had been before Christmas. We had gone to Arizona, and other consults, to find treatment options we could employ when the Fulfox started failing again, as it was most likely to do. My CEA levels continued to rise, despite full treament, and after a CAT scan we discovered the coughing and shortness of breath I had experienced over the last few weeks was direclty caused by a sudden increase in the size and number of tumors that had infiltrated my lungs. At best guess, according to the CAT scan, my lungs are infiltrated with tumors up to 90% of the entire surface area available. I'm operating on 10% lung capacity. Cathching my breath after climbing a flight of stairs, or going outside and checking the mail, was becoming and ardorous chore.

In fact, my physician and nurses were preparing me to understand that home oxygen therapy would be necessary soon, if the new drug we had moved to didn't begin working soon.

All in all, not good news. I can tolerate not feeling well, as long as I had other resources of strength I could draw upon to continue my exploits. But at the end of last week, and the beginning of this week, the likelihood that I would not even be able to drive to NOLA, much less walk into the fest, was diminishing.

I made a concerted effort to rest as much as possible the few days before the Fest. I received and read the OffBeat magazine, as well as the Gambit, two collections of modern, up-to-date information of all the goings on in the city and especially the music scene.

So in order to enjoy the Fest to the fullest, I have to make sacrifices. First, I can't go every day. I just don't have the energy to do it. Second, I must completely swear off drinking alcohol. Any alcohol intake one day, and I pay for it twice over the next day. My body just can't fight two major battle fronts any longer.

So all in all the experience needs to cool down for me, the ranting and raving and breezing through all the stages and experiencing all the music which pleases the ear and opens a new avenue of excitement and enjoyment, well, I'll need to rely moreso on my great friends who find the gems buried in the crazy excitement of all the festivities.

One thing I know I'll be able to enjoy greatly: The food. Reading the OffBeat magazine article concerning the food booths and where the caterers are from, it was surpising to note that most of the more eclectic dishes, the really good ones, come from areas outside New Orleans, whereas the standard fare is mostly from New Orleans. This is a true testiment to the Heritage portion of this festival. Anyone with a modicum of Louisiana history  knowledge knows the Cajun culture barely graced New Orleans, and when it did it was initially by force, through indentured servitude that constituded near slavery, the only difference was the obscure promise of land ownership  at a "later date." Those Cajuns who had endured the hardships in the Dominican republic learned quickly to get away from any aristocrasy and its inherent lies and to find more suitable cultures in which to share and grow as a community.

Ok, more later. ENjoy the Fest, all of it if you can. I hope the weather smiles on us all and the music carries far and loud throughout the entire Fairgrounds.

ok-rizzo