Parts four and five of the Mardi Gras dispatches are up at the Rumpus (click through for the links). The last are soon to follow, as soon as my liver lets my brain out of its box. No word yet on when that will be. All we can hope for is soon.

Parts two and three of the Mardi Gras series are now up at the Rumpus (click through for the links). With lightning storms forecast for tomorrow and Endymion rescheduled for Sunday, now after Bacchus, there’s no telling what could happen next.

I’m writing a short series of dispatches about Mardi Gras for The Rumpus; the first one is available here (click through for the link). They’ll be appearing every day or so, until the parades run out or my vision is so blurred I can’t see to write, whichever comes first.

Slake Magazine has just announced its Lundi Gras celebration in Los Angeles for next Monday, featuring a host of artists, writers, filmmakers, and musicians with Crescent City connections. Angelenos take note — nights as rich as this are rare to come by, especially for such an inexpensive cover. And we’re all still waiting for the New Orleans edition of Slake, but that’s a different story.

A stirring essay up this morning at the Times, by the Chinese writer Hao Qun, aka Murong Xuecun. “…when the air quality deteriorates, I feel we should do something; not simply shut our mouths and stop breathing.”