re: Jarvis DeBerry and Mardi Gras Beads

Would be awesome if the Rex organization said, F all this China crap that ends up in landfills, we're gonna use local glass beads, cups, etc. (Cool shite that people would actually want, and doubloons for the collectors.) Cost will be the same per member, but the throws will be cut down drastically. Maybe that would start a trend. These days people don't want beads anymore, more and more just let them hit the ground, so why F'ing throw that crap? Maybe throw them to the tourists on Canal street.

A kid can dream...

What do you folks do with 50 pounds of caught beads after parades?

Use them to make trot lines for catfish? Mark alligator traps and crawfish pots?

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local glass beads

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Someone will complain that they or their kid got cut by the beads.

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Maybe that would start a trend.

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The current trend is wanting something that lights up.

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He still finds a way to inject race into an article about Mardi Gras beads.

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What a talent he is.

That 500 million has to be some sort of an economic multiplier number. As in, if every bead was manufactured in NOLA, it would have a 500 million dollar economic impact on the community.

Of course, economic impact numbers are always highly suspect.

But, point being, a ton of money is spent on beads, and a lot of that money does end up overseas.

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But, point being, a ton of money is spent on beads, and a lot of that money does end up overseas.

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It's a stupid point. The same thing can be said about most shite we use these days.

I've considered throwing crumpled up $1's. If I space them out I could probably come out cheaper than beads. Parade crowds would be crazy if every float did it.

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LSUFanHouston

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Certainly.

To me, it's an issue of, would there be an interest in diverting some of the money spent on beads, to putting that money in other aspects of the parade, that just so happen to be aspects where the money would stay locally.

It sounds to me like the answer is "no".

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In our parade, I don't want a single member to be waving his hand at people. They better be drinking their @ss off, throwing something off the float, or using it along with the p!ss bucket inside the inner well of the float.

I cannot STAND a parade where the members wave because they aren't throwing sh!t. Mofo if I wanted to wave at folks I can do that to people on the route. I want you to THROW ME SOMETHING MISTER!

But if you cut down on beaded throws, the honest truth is that Speciality Throws are simply going to cost more, and there's a law of diminishing returns at work here. Less throws-even if they're specialty throws-means that people will clamor for them but overall the parade will be sh!ttier as a result.

You can't just throw that money at marching groups because a lot of them will pocket the money when they realize the budgets are up with no real returnon those funds. They won't increase membership numbers unless you're talking a marching group like 610 Stompers or Bearded Oysters or some other low-overhead group.

On top of that, what does that money do? Honestly? Does it buy instruments? Or does it buy Big Freedia concert tix on the weekends the Band Director has off?

It's a great idea, but if Apple can't bring manufacturing back to America with 200 billion in the bank, what makes the Author think Krewe's can do it with bead manufacturing for non-profit organizations and social-aid-and-pleasure-clubs or benevolent-societies?

Again, $500,000,000.00 is a total joke though.

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To me, it's an issue of, would there be an interest in diverting some of the money spent on beads, to putting that money in other aspects of the parade, that just so happen to be aspects where the money would stay locally.

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Most of the larger parades are paying these bands to travel and perform in their parade. Every year, that number gets bigger and bigger. I'd love to see if that money actually goes toward the student and their facilities or into administrator's pockets.

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F all this China crap that ends up in landfills, we're gonna use local glass beads

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We aren't supposed to throw glass beads...you know, because it's glass. The strands typically break easier too. Just not a practical bulk throw

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What do you folks do with 50 pounds of caught beads after parades?

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They go in the back of the Mardi Gras closet and are thrown next year