{"id":8102,"date":"2018-10-19T09:15:52","date_gmt":"2018-10-19T14:15:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/?p=8102"},"modified":"2018-10-21T17:17:21","modified_gmt":"2018-10-21T22:17:21","slug":"gulf-coast-roller-girls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2018\/10\/19\/gulf-coast-roller-girls\/","title":{"rendered":"Gulf Coast Roller Girls\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been several years since I did a Lagniappe feature on the Gulf Coast Roller Girls. It was a fun story to write. It must have been. I still remember it. As a rule, anything I write about completely leaves my memory within 24 hours.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When I learned the team was still around, I thought spreading the word might be a job for the Up Fronter. Team member Squid (Squid Pro Quo for full) was happy to answer my questions. \u201cWe really just want to get the word out that we exist and for people to come to games.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Nov. 3rd at the Civic Center, the Gulf Coast Roller Girls will take on the No Label Society Roller Girls. The Lake Charles Pit Bull Rescue will be the team\u2019s guest charity for that game. There will be a kissing booth (at which you can kiss puppies). And there will be opportunities to adopt a dog.<\/p>\n

The Roller Girls\u2019 matches are all-ages shows. Youths 10 and younger get in free. Doors open at 6 pm; the first whistle blows at 7. Concessions are available. Alcohol is served via the civic center. Please don\u2019t bring in food or drinks from the outside. Tickets are $12 at the door.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The group is always actively recruiting new members. It holds a \u201cFresh Meat\u201d open practice every Tuesday for anyone who\u2019s interested in joining.\u00a0 <\/span>Prior knowledge of roller derby or experience with skating isn\u2019t required. The Roller Girls supply the training and have loaner gear for anyone who\u2019d like to try it out. (Message them at their Facebook page before you go so they can make sure they have equipment in your size.) It\u2019s a \u201cgreat way to get exercise, make new friends and challenge yourself,\u201d says Squid.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Amanda Auggie Augustine is the squad\u2019s captain. She\u2019s a tenacious blocker. Her hard hits have been described as \u201cvicious.\u201d She\u2019s known as a solid teacher of new players. When she\u2019s not on the skates, she\u2019s a vet tech; she\u2019s well into her nursing school work for this semester.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Follow the Gulf Coast Roller Girls on Facebook and Instagram. If you\u2019re a vendor and would like to have a booth, send a private message on the Facebook fan page for more information.<\/p>\n

You Just Had To Tell Me<\/strong><\/p>\n

When I wrote in the last issue about the \u201cDrag Queen Story Time\u201d that\u2019s set to take place in the Lafayette Library this month, I hoped I\u2019d heard the last of it. No such luck.<\/p>\n

The day that edition of Lagniappe hit the stands, the Lafayette City Council took a vote on a measure to condemn \u201cDrag Queen Story Time.\u201d A majority of the council members abstained from voting, so you can make what you like out of that. (The council has no legal ability to stop a library event.)<\/p>\n

What was of interest was that citizens voiced their opinions of \u201cDrag Queen Story Time\u201d for more than five hours. I guess we finally figured out what gets the Louisiana citizenry motivated.<\/p>\n

Of even greater interest than the length of the speaking was its content. Lafayette\u2019s The Weekly Wire reported that various citizens stated that \u201cDrag Queen Story Time\u201d \u201copens the door to jihadis … will result in bomb-making classes and promotion of illicit drug experimentation … [and] is part of normalizing pedophilia.\u201d<\/p>\n

OK. Now I know what\u2019s wrong with it. See, all you had to do was tell me.<\/p>\n

Baton Rouge Bees<\/strong><\/p>\n

Drag queens telling stories in the library isn\u2019t really your cup of tea? Well, how about this concept: swarms of bees plaguing pedestrians in downtown Baton Rouge?<\/p>\n

It happened \u2014 on Sept. 20, at least. While pedestrians swatted or swore or otherwise reacted to the too-friendly bees on Third Street, Andrea Gallo, city hall reporter for the Advocate, filed this very enthusiastic report on Twitter:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWelcome to #BatonRouge, where a stretch of 3rd Street downtown is roped off with police tape because bees are swarming everywhere. I\u2019m not kidding. @BRPD on the scene along with many lunch goers watching the commotion.\u201d<\/p>\n

I found this news item to be a bit of a puzzlement. It\u2019s my experience that bees aren\u2019t in the habit of approaching people. In fact, as far as I can tell, bees don\u2019t want to have anything to do with people at all unless the people are dumb enough to swat them or spray caustic chemicals on them. How, then, to account for this swarming on a street in downtown Baton Rouge?<\/p>\n

Maybe folks would go for a conspiracy theory to the effect that the huge flood that struck B.R. a while back somehow made the bees do what they did. If that\u2019s too bland an explanation, how about a conspiracy theory that posits that the bees \u201copen the door to jihadis … will result in bomb-making classes and promotion of illicit drug experimentation … and are part of normalizing pedophilia\u201d?<\/p>\n

The Bad Idea Society<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re afraid that years of budget cuts have stifled creativity at LSU, you\u2019ll be relieved by recent news that indicates that in at least one instance, that\u2019s not the case. This semester, English and business major and senior Jamie Leung has formed a new LSU organization called the Bad Idea Society.<\/p>\n

Leung said she started the society \u201cto discuss anything and everything.\u201d Member Trevor Serpas said, \u201cit\u2019s a good way to discuss creative prompts or generally any kind of idea.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But wait a second. Doesn\u2019t the society\u2019s name strongly suggest that it is not concerned with any kind of idea; rather, that it is concerned with one particular kind of idea, namely, bad ideas? It has to be more interesting to talk about bad ideas than boring old good ideas, right?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Apparently not everyone agrees. The LSU\u2019s Daily Reveille\u2019s Rachel Mipro explains that the group tries to avoid \u201ctopics that are too extreme.\u201d Not only that, but also \u201cthe concept is that there\u2019s some good in every idea. Members try to find interesting or productive angles in each idea they discuss.\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019m afraid that if this society meets much longer, we aren\u2019t going to have any bad ideas left. Let\u2019s hear some more from Leung about the matter:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s kind of ironic because I don\u2019t believe in bad ideas. I do believe in bad ideas, but I do believe that they\u2019re not completely bad, so it\u2019s just a tongue-in cheek way of saying it.\u201d<\/p>\n

She starts the Bad Idea Club but she doesn\u2019t believe in bad ideas. Well, college is the place for doing that sort of thing. Believe me, you won\u2019t be doing it after you graduate.<\/p>\n

In spite of this wishy-washyness about bad ideas, the group has hit on some interesting topics of discussion. \u201cIn the first meeting, we talked about obstacles that kept us from achieving our best,\u201d Leung said. \u201cA lot of the answers are ourselves.\u201d Another discussion centered around human trafficking, and \u201cwhether artificial intelligence could be an alternative for it.\u201d I get a little queasy just thinking about AI alternatives to human trafficking. I would have hoped that maybe somebody would have gone out on a limb and said that human trafficking is a bad idea; and in fact, that it was a \u201ccompletely bad\u201d idea.<\/p>\n

At every meeting, society members are given a prompt and have to write something about it. Now why do they want to do that? That\u2019s what they do in class. Do you form a campus society to do what you already do in class?<\/p>\n

Still, this is where the creative part comes in. Once the answers have been written, they\u2019re mixed up, then handed to the members of the group to be read aloud. Each member reads an answer that was written by somebody else. There are no names on the answers, so members are able to express themselves in a completely anonymous manner.<\/p>\n

Member Lou Pham said, \u201cthe format\u2019s pretty interesting. It\u2019s all anonymous, so you can ask anything. You\u2019re not worried about \u2018[people saying] hey, you said this, you said that.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

LSU instructors take note. The group meets every Thursday in the Student Union.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Scout Island Scream Park<\/strong><\/p>\n

I know that here in SWLA, we have the Lost Hollows, USS Orleck\u2019s Haunted Ship and the Gothic Jail in DeRidder. There are probably a few more scary attractions around the area in the run-up to Halloween.<\/p>\n

If those aren\u2019t enough for you, New Orleans has a new scary place. And it\u2019s got 14 full acres of scary stuff.<\/p>\n

New Orleans\u2019 City Park will be the site of the new Scout Island Scream Park, which will run from Oct. 5 through Nov. 3. Those who go will be given instructions for a self-guided tour that will take them down lantern-lit paths that run through \u201cghoul-infested woods.\u201d They may encounter a \u201claser shoot-out with rampaging zombies\u201d as well as \u201ca circus of crazed clowns.\u201d That phrase \u201claser shoot-out\u201d suggests to me that if I went, I might have to do something more than just walk. So I won\u2019t be in attendance. But of course, that doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t enjoy it.<\/p>\n

Scout Island is a patch of City Park land that\u2019s surrounded by forested lagoons. It used to be the site of N.O.\u2019s Voodoo Fest.<\/p>\n

Nearly 170 actors will be on hand to do the scaring.<\/p>\n

According to the Times-Picayune, the owners joked in mid-September that \u201cthe scariest thing about the Scout Island Scream Park so far has been the weather.\u201d Almost daily showers have delayed work and saturated the ground. One T-P photo showed an enormous statue of a monster that got stuck in the mud as workers were pulling it with an ATV.<\/p>\n

The Scream Park attractions will be open Friday through Sunday, and then the entire week leading up through Halloween. Hours are different for different days, but Scream Park will always be open between 6 and 10 pm. According to the website, \u201cthe entrance is very close to the corner of Marconi Drive and Harrison Avenue. Look for the pedestrian bridge crossing the lagoon on Magnolia to enter the island.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tickets are $49; if you don\u2019t want to wait in line, get the $79 ticket. If you just want to go to the Scout Island site, you pay $15 then pay a la carte for any activities you want to undertake once you\u2019re there.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Burlesque For Nerds<\/strong><\/p>\n

Although it\u2019s an annual event, this is the first year I\u2019ve been aware of New Orleans\u2019 Nerdlesque Festival. Performers at the fest promise to blend burlesque, nerd humor and lots of material about pop culture, including sketches that both celebrate and satirize every major pop culture phenom from science fiction to horror.<\/p>\n

The event will take place in the Contemporary Arts Center at 900 Camp St. on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 16 and 17. No hours are listed for the performances, but the hours of the center are 9 am-5 pm on Fridays and 11 am- 5 pm on Saturdays.<\/p>\n

Shows will include \u201cStripped Crusaders,\u201d in which superheroes use their super powers to peel off the spandex costumes that grip their bodies like a second skin; \u201cTease from the Crypt,\u201d which is supposed to be \u201cfilled with movie monsters and murderers\u201d; and Cyburlesque, which is \u201ca robotic, laser-powered, sci-fi show.\u201d Another revue will feature animation and video game characters.<\/p>\n

The festival is put together by burlesque producers with names such as Pers\u00e9 Fanny, Sable Switch and Honey Tangerine. \u201cEveryone is a nerd about something,\u201d says Perse. \u201c[At the festival,] we have everything from films, TV shows, literature, comic books [to] video games and more. It is funny, innovative and empowering.\u201d For what it\u2019s worth, I\u2019ll take a show about pop culture that\u2019s \u201centertaining\u201d over one that\u2019s \u201cempowering.\u201d<\/p>\n

The show will feature local burlesque performers and more than 40 other performers from around the country. Tickets are $15; get them at nolanerdlesque.com.<\/p>\n

Who You Got?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tweeted by the Advocate on Sept. 21: \u201cLouisiana Tech vs. LSU: Who ya got? The Advocate writers make their picks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Who I got? I got some weirdo who says, \u201cwho\u2019ve you got?\u201d or \u201cwho have you got?\u201d or even \u201cwhom have you got?\u201d and who doesn\u2019t give a damn about who does what in that game or any game. That\u2019s who I got.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been several years since I did a Lagniappe feature on the Gulf Coast Roller Girls. It was a fun story to write. It must have been. I still remember it. 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