Image: Chron.com

Tropical storm Isaac is making its way across the Gulf of Mexico and is expected to hit from the far western part of the Florida Panhandle to New Orleans, which is remembering the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Katrina tomorrow. By the time it reaches land, Isaac is expected to be a category one hurricane. Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida are all preparing, with states of emergency declared. Oil production has been trimmed by 25 percent in the Gulf and natural gas production by eight percent. Oil prices have increased as a result.

Tropical storm Isaac has already wreaked havoc on the Republican National Convention, which has postponed all but today’s banging of the gavel to open the event. RNC chairman Reince Priebus (who got his you-know-what handed to him this morning by Chris Matthews on Morning Joe over Mitt Romney’s awful birther joke on Friday) says he believes the storm is an important story to follow, but stands by the Republican message and its ability to get out to a distracted public. Separately, Romney spoke with Politico about how he would govern, saying BET’s CEO Debra Lee is a model, but couldn’t remember her name. Yikes.

The Expendables took the top spot over the weak box-office weekend. The lull is “typical” for this time of year, says Bloomberg, but the low returns were exacerbated by the lack of a surprise blockbuster. The one surprise the weekend offered was the success of an anti-Obama documentary, 2016: Obama’s America, which has been out for a couple of months but just went into wide release. It beat the new horror flick, The Apparition, and nearly beat out the new Joseph Gordon-Levitt bike messenger movie Premium Rush.

Victoria’s Secret is being sued for $15 million by hosiery maker Zephyr’s for featuring photos of the company’s product on Victoria’s Secret packaging, but selling cheap knock-offs.

The first man to walk on the moon, Neil Armstrong, died over the weekend at the age of 82. He succumbed to complications following heart bypass surgery. He walked on the moon on July 20, 1969.

Photo: Hermera

Sensing an opportunity is literally coming to their doorstep, strip clubs in Tampa are gearing up for the Republican National Convention by hiring more dancers, bringing in Sarah Palin look-a-likes and making their facilities more private.

Tampa and the surrounding area is known for having a high number of strip clubs, though other cities like Miami, New Orleans and, of course, Las Vegas also have their fair share. And as it turns out, the GOP convention is known for bringing a crowd that wants to visit them. According to The New York Times, club owners in Tampa spoke with those in other cities that have hosted the event and learned that GOP conventioneers are big spenders, shelling out an average $150 versus $50 for Democrats.

“…[R]evenue pours in during conventions, sometimes quadrupling earnings from a Super Bowl week,” the paper reports.

So ladies, if you know a man who’ll be going to a political convention this year or in the future, you know what’s up.

The newspaper also tosses in this interesting story from a dancer named Jazmin, who’s 19 years old.

Given the opportunity to stand up before a politician, she will do her job, naturally, but also share her own tale of financial struggle, as many voters here would do.

Laid off from a job in the Medicaid billing industry, she scraped by as a cashier at a grocery store. The paycheck scarcely covered her car payments, she said. Then a friend of a friend told her about the strip club, and now there she is, saving her money (the most she’s ever made) for nursing school.