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Last Call: Mardi Gras King Cake Ice Cream And Ricky Jay

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By  Gwen Ihnat

Now that New Year's Eve is behind us, it's time to look ahead to the next celebratory event: Not to worry, Mardi Gras is only about two months away (March 5) and some people are already starting to party. For example, Blue Bell Ice Cream announces its release of Mardi Gras King Cake ice cream, which sounds delicious: "cinnamon cake flavored ice cream combined w/tasty pastry pieces and a colorful cream cheese swirl w/festive candy sprinkles." Mardi Gras King Cake is actually a combination of two previous Blue Bells flavors: "Mardi Gras" introduced in 2004, and "King Cake" in 2006; in previous years it was only sold in the Mardi Gras-celebrating states Louisiana and Alabama. This year it's still only available for a short time, but distribution has been expanded to all areas selling Blue Bell products, according to USA Today, including most southern states and Colorado. Might be worth a trip to New Orleans a bit early. No word on whether there's a plastic baby in there—due to choking hazards, we're guessing not. But who needs luck when you have cinnamon cake flavored ice cream? [Gwen Ihnat]

Ricky Jay plays poker

I've written about my fondness for magic, and shared multiple videos and links of card tricks and conjuring in this very Last Call feature. I won't apologize for posting more, especially of the late, great Ricky Jay. This one comes from an obscure album (yes, album) featuring 21 songs about gambling, from such luminaries as Bob Dylan and Robert Johnson. Included is a half-hour DVD featuring Jay demonstrating card cheating techniques to a group of friends (among them, John C. Reilly). It is on YouTube for you to enjoy. [Kevin Pang]

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