KEEP YOUR SHIRT ON

In a couple of weeks, we’ll all see pictures of drunken revelers stumbling through the streets of New Orleans, happily wearing strings of colored beads during the annual bacchanal known as Mardi Gras. Ever wonder where those beads come from? Slidell, La.-based Mardi Gras Imports is one purveyor, and in what has to be one of the shortest selling seasons of the year, the company is going all out to let everyone know they’re online and open for business. A quick visit to their site shows a mind-boggling array of beads (both “regular” and “naughty”) plus hats, boas, bracelets, jewelry and more. Two observations: 1) What do they do with all the stuff the day after Mardi Gras? And 2) The site plays a 30-second riff of N’Awlins jazz when you open it. It’s gonna stick in your head the rest of the day. Just so you know…