Kiss My Gumbo

Update: For everyone involved in the contest mentioned on point #6 - good luck and have fun.

1. Who is @kissmygumbo?
My name is Greta Perry and I’m just some 41 yo stoopid housewife (hate that word - but I never sit on the couch and eat bon-bons), mom of 3 who supports the troops and bleeds red white and blue. Nah - actually I’m a little more complex than that:) You’ll have to read my bio for the rrrreeeeeesssst…of the story.

2. What drives me?
My husband retired from the Army in 2006 and I chose Soldiers’ Angels (actually it chose me) as the non-profit I would work with permanently. This happened after Patti Patton-Bader, the founder, invited me to spend a day at Walter Reed Army Medical Center during a Milblog conference in 2007. I realize how effective I (yes, there is an I sometimes) can be as a volunteer to help the troops and their families and put my heart and soul into it (sometimes neglecting having a hot meal on the table or keeping the house 100% spotless). Needs arise every day and some days it is morning until night SA - all as a volunteer! Yes, I would love to be paid for doing what I do - that would be a dream come true!!!!

3. How was #militarymon created?
Carson Daly and yours truly put our heads together to create this. Read here and here for that.

4. What is the mission of #militarymon?
To recognize our Veterans, those who are currently serving, honor our fallen heroes, recognize military family members, talk about military topics, recognize the Milblog community, recognize resources and non-profits that support the troops and let those serving know we support them!

5. What do I personally gain from #militarymon?
The satisfaction of knowing that this concept might work. Getting thank you’s from heroes and their families and being able to connect a hero or family member with resources. I have not used it to drive traffic to this blog (a banner day is 300 visitors) or my other one or beg for sponsors for my radio show ( I reserve that for other days & I really do need sponsors). All good things come back to you and that in itself is enough for me.

6. What are the issues with #militarymon?
I’ve heard from people trying to make money off of it, those that think Carson and I chit chat on the phone every day and want me to pass him a message and grumbling from people about getting the hashtags wrong. There also is a contest now, and though I don’t endorse or promote it, it is America and last time I checked, I do not control anyone else (heck, I can’t even get my kids to do their chores without a struggle). Some have found this contest disrespectful. Hopefully, we can all just put our differences aside and work together as a community! No time for squabbling, there is a war going on!

7. What is the future of #militarymon?
Well…if we all stand strong and unite, this will be a wonderful tool looked at by the world (who is now on Twitter - except my Mother - please don’t tell her about it) to show and recognize and strengthen the online presence of the military. I’m working on a growing database with others that will go public when it is complete (but it will need lots of tending to).

8. How can you help with #militarymon?
Every Monday come up with unique Tweets (Retweets don’t count you can replace RT with via) and add #militarymon to them. Link blogs and resources in your posts and thank people for their service. The #followfriday style is fine, but we are so much more than that. We need to reach out to the news and celebrities and those with mass Twitter followings to get them on board. We want this trend to grow and we must reach out to others to help that!

9. What does Carson think of all this?
Well, according to some of our conversations through Twitter, all he ever wanted to do is recognize the military on Twitter. He never thought it would become so complex. He will keep doing what he intended and will continue to support the troops as he does! He has my utmost respect and gets a big Hooah! from me.

10. What plans do I have for next Monday?
Monday is laundry day and hopefully I’ll be tending to only a mild weekend hangover. I’ll swim a mile and maybe run, try not to kill my children, feed my 4 cats, walk my dog and spend waaaay too much time on the computer TWEETING!!!! When hubby gets home from work, I’ll call for pizza!

FYI - my Twitter account is broken and I don’t even show up in their search - UGH!

Filed under: Twitter, Uncategorized, military | 2 Comments »

I’m so excited and honored to be a part of Tales of the Cocktail this year. Mr. and Mrs. Cocktail’s radio show (The Straight Pour) comes after mine and I consider them and the Cocktail Angels as part of the extended Perry family now. Last year I was unable to attend as it fell on the same weekend as hubby’s family reunion. Yay, for not clashing this year. I’ve always enjoyed beer and an occasional White Russian. The Cocktails have opened my eyes to real Mojitos, Whiskey Smash, Ramos Gin Fizz, and Firelfy Iced Tea. I’m getting sophisticated now, (or so I try and tell myself) appreciating finely crafted cocktail with lots of fresh ingredients, love and time put into it. I still can’t do the Sazerac thing as my alcohol training wheels are still on…but I’m trying.

Hubby and I will be down in the Quarter on the 10th and 11th, staying at the W Hotel. I’ll have my radio show live from the Carousel Bar at the Hotel Monteleone on the 11th at 9AM (hope I’m not hungover). I’ve got a full line-up of guests who will be in town for the event. Very excited about my last one who makes BEER COCKTAILS!!!! Woot woot!

I’ll keep you posted about all this and will be drunk Twittering and blogging while I’m there. OMG - I’ll be sampling on air for an hour - that is dangerous!!!

Filed under: NOLA, WIST, alcohol, festival, talk radio | 2 Comments »

My motto on my other blog is, “We don’t drink the kool-aid, we pee in it.” I’m not into bashing people, not my style. I’m not nasty about politics either. But…when I see something that doesn’t sit right with me, I will call it out. Sarah Palin has certainly taken enough grief lately (sad about that), she didn’t need any more unnecessary jabs. Apologies ahead of time Sarah - I do like you and respect you as a person, politician and Blue Star Mother.

On with the post……soooo….I’m on Twitter this afternoon and see this Tweet from my left-wing friend @yatpundit

RT @charyl: I eagerly await the multiple Red State diaries screaming about her mistreatment of the flag. http://bit.ly/NL7Cv

This tweet brought me over to Balloon Juice and then to The Daily Dish which brought me to the picture that bares scrutinizing, even by me, a conservative who like Sarah.

I recently did a segment on my radio show segment (half way through) about flag etiquette with John Donovan of Arrgghhh!!!. This was not using your brain Sarah. No, it is not the worst thing in the world, but it borders on disrespectful. When you are in the public eye and everyone is waiting for you to mess up - this one screamed “d’oh.”

Yours truly would be happy to grace the cover of Runner’s World some day and would certainly be honored to have a flag hung properly in the background. And yes, I’m still envious of Sarah’s great athletic shape.

Others talking about this Argghhh! and Blackfive

Filed under: politics | 5 Comments »

I thought I already wrote about a moron this week? Oh… but that one was not a politician. NEWSFLASH “Moronic Louisiana Politician” in the news! Our own Ray Nagin and his shady computer scheme. Seems the Voodoo Queen must have done some magic on his computer as his e-mails magically disappeared. Fercryingoutloud, I just used to think he was a moron, now I highly suspect he is criminal too. Oh…and the NOLA.com comments came a rolling in - bwahahaha.

Posted by soulmusic on 07/01/09 at 4:12PM
ACORN did it!

Posted by my5cents on 07/01/09 at 6:06PM
Have they looked for the emails in Jefferson’s freezer?

Posted by gotacalakaya on 07/01/09 at 4:14PM
Nagin meet Nixon, Nixon meet Nagin.

Posted by Toocynical on 07/01/09 at 4:16PM
I guess one of those cranes in the sky plucked the hard drive right out of his computer.
Or Ms White “plucked” the mayor’s hard drive.

Posted by wwxx on 07/01/09 at 4:20PM
Professionally removed? That rules out anyone working at City Hall.

Posted by dacritter on 07/01/09 at 4:20PM
Cool! What a Renaissance Man! Both a splendid leader and an IT professional at the same time. Is there anything our Dear Leader IS NOT capable of?

Filed under: Louisiana, NOLA, NOLA.com, New Orleans, corruption, crime, politicians, politics | No Comments »

Force Protection Team

Members of the force protection team at Camp Eggars, Afghanistan, assess damage resulting from an explosion near the gate. A vehicle-born improvised explosive device exploded near the German Embassy and a U.S. base. Eliminating threats such as the VBIED is the focus of Army’s 3rd Counter-IED Conference that was scheduled July 28-30.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Filed under: military | No Comments »

What does it take to make the front page of NOLA.com these days? The competition is tough here; rapping for politicians, stealing from Toys for Tots, having a freezer full of cash, getting quarantined in China. Nobody actually reads the shooting articles anymore - they are getting trivial (sadly) and are just headline skimmers. In order to be newsworthy in New Orleans, you have to do something Farkworthy (most political stuff here will suffice) like chew and screw.

Let’s look at our new 15 minutes too many famer, Michael Bryant of Tuscon, 36 and most likely NOT on Match.com. Michael achieved his infamy as the solo dine & dasher of NOLA.com (his Mama should be proud). He actually might use his new-found fame and free picture (compliments of the police), to beef up his Too Many Fish in The Sea profile.

Bryant is accused of pulling the stunt again at Pitre’s Restaurant in Westwego on Thursday, and at Sun Ray Grill near Gretna on Monday, according to reports. At Sun Ray, he ordered four margaritas with his cheeseburger for a total of $30.99 and then tried to sneak out of the business. The report said that Bryant was chased down and detained until police arrived.

Damn dude, I doubt those were top-shelf Margaritas. If you are going to dine for free, quit cutting corners! Bad tequila will give you a bad hangover!

Restaurants…lock your doors. He is back on the streets and I hear he is very hungry and thirsty!

Col. John Fortunato said that Bryant has been released because overcrowding at the jail requires the Sheriff’s Office to release many non-violent offenders.

I’d love to hear your own original headlines for this one!

Filed under: Louisiana, NOLA, NOLA.com, New Orleans, crime | 1 Comment »

This cap and trade stuff is making me sick to my stomach! I hope Mary Landrieu does some type of crazy dance or rap on the Senate floor to get her point across that she does not want this to pass. Nick, over at Conservative Cajun sent me this today and BRAVO to him!

Fellow Taxpayers and Concerned Citizens:

This past Friday evening, the U.S. House voted 219-212 in favor of putting the screws to the petro-chemical industry, meaning our home state of Louisiana, by passing the Cap and Trade bill, H.R. 2454.

This bill is the biggest tax increase in American history, with draconian effects on Louisiana’s number one industry.

Now that this all out assault on our domestic petro-chemical industry has passed the House, it will move on into the Senate, where our recently re-elected Democrat Senator, Mary Landrieu, needs to be held accountable for this legislation’s fate.

Senator Landrieu was a supporter of and endorsed Barack Obama for President last year, though she abruptly had her name removed as a co-host of a fundraiser, but still attended.

That means despite receiving endorsements from many local Republicans and leaders in the Louisiana Oil and Gas industry, Mary Landrieu still endorsed a man for President who made clear his desire to go after the coal and oil & gas industries.

Now it is time for Senator Landrieu to step to the plate and own up to the fact that when she supported Barack Obama for President, she was supporting his major plans, one of which is Cap and Trade.

It is not enough for Senator Landrieu to simply vote against H.B. 2454, nor will it be enough for her to tell President Obama to “keep his hands off the oil & gas industry” while speaking in Lafayette, Louisiana.

She needs to say those things on the Senate floor and in private to President Obama and all his left-wing Pelosi soldiers.

These leftists, really socialists, are specifically targeting an industry that has provided hundreds of thousands of good paying jobs for Louisiana residents, including many who did not have the opportunity to attend college but were still able to make a good living in the workforce Day 1 out of high school. This is what the petro-chemical industry has done in Louisiana, and the Gulf Coast as a whole.

But Senator Mary Landrieu’s best political allies want to take this away from our state.

NOW is time for Senator Landrieu to stand up and be a real fighter for Louisiana. She touted her “seniority” as a reason for people to re-elect you, NOW is time for her to use that seniority to influence as many of her Democrat friends in the Senate as needed to kill this legislation; not amend it, but KILL it.

Or else, it will be accurate to label her as simply another politician looking to get re-elected last year, but not willing to truly stand up for the people and industry she claims to represent.

Phone numbers to call Senator Landrieu’s office and ask WHY she endorsed a man for President whom she new would go after Louisiana’s oil & gas industry, and to “suggest” that she fight against this legislation tooth and nail:

Washington, D.C. (202) 224-5824

New Orleans (504) 589-2427

Baton Rouge (225) 389-0395

Shreveport (318) 676-3085

Lake Charles (337) 436-6650

Freaking brilliant t-shirt from Scott Ott. I need to start marketing some of my best Tweets! “My butt just Tweeted you” and “Did you miss me I just got back in the states from Argentina?”

Other Louisianans writing about Cap and Trade: And So it Goes in Shreveport Mostly Cajun, All American and Opinionated

Filed under: Louisiana, politicians, politics | 1 Comment »

Got this from here

FYI - yes it is probably photoshopped- but still hysterical

c/p at Hooah Wife

Filed under: Uncategorized, politics | 1 Comment »

I had to blurt this out this AM, because it was bugging the tar out of me. Freaking Twitter, FB and blogs are all on the fallen celebrity bandwagon right now. Every loss of human life is sad, but why isn’t there more talk about the fallen heroes? Each of these heroes should get front page coverage. Sadly, they don’t and that is where the Milblog community comes in, to remind and honor those who the media neglects in order to plaster celebrity stuff on the front pages. Go over here and skim down and see all the names of real heroes who died for this Country.

Filed under: military | 2 Comments »

Join me and my co-host Chuck Collins, this Saturday on WIST AM 690 out of New Orleans or live from your computer here from 9-10 central time. Call in number 888-880-WIST. We’ll be talking about the economy and small businesses. If you own a small business you might want to call in and talk about it (yes, you get to plug).

Filed under: Louisiana, WIST, talk radio | 1 Comment »