Rising Tide 8

I attended another Rising Tide this year and it has inspired me to blog more. The New Orleans blog sphere that rose up after Katrina has settled down with many of the people, myself included, blogging less or not at all. It's always nice to see the people I used to read almost daily. Plus the conference always has good content, a great lunch and refreshments.* A bargain at only $20 a ticket.

This year I spent most of my time in "Tech School" to brush up on my blogging and on-line presence. I learned some new stuff that I'm looking forward to trying. My friend Addie from Culicurious was on the second panel and did a great job. The biggest take away was just dooooo iiiiiit.

Gen. Honore, the keynote speaker, gave a rousing speech about Louisiana's disappearing wet lands, unfair and illegal practices by the oil companies, and the politicians who take money from oil companies and don't hold them accountable. He told us to work to change things, if not for ourselves, for our children, even if it meant engaging in civil disobedience. He was also quite funny but whenever his gaze came my way I felt the need to sit up straight and say "yes sir!"

There will be video of the conference soon, once it's been edited. Uptown Messenger live blogged some of the conference. I high recommend checking out the video once it's out. Video of past conference is available on the web site. I missed the tourism panel but I heard it got rather heated.

*Only in New Orleans is there a keg at a conference I bet.

K+5 and Rising Tide

Sunday will be the 5 year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina making landfall in Louisiana and Mississippi. Wow. 5 years. All week there's been TV specials and articles devoted to the anniversary. Chris Rose wrote an article asking "What if Katrina Never Happened?" which is something I can't wrap my head around.

For book club we are reading two Katrina related books, City of Refuge by Tom Piazza and Nine Lives by Dan Baum. I'm halfway through City of Refuge. I loved Piazza's book Why New Orleans Matters but I'm just not connecting to City. I think it would be a very good book for someone who doesn't live in New Orleans to read. It's a novel but very true to life, following two families Katrina experiences. Their stories are ones we New Orleanians have heard many times. I have yet to start Nine Lives.

I have learned that rituals are a good thing to help get through a difficult anniversary. Every year to remember my mother's passing (August 23rd-I hate August), I cook a special meal while listening to some of her favorite music, then watch one of her favorite movies. The first year after Katrina, G and I didn't do anything special. We tried to pretend it was just another day, went to work, didn't go to any wreath layings or bell ringings, but it wasn't a normal day and it felt off. The 2 year mark we drank a bottle of wine we had picked up in Sonoma and was saving for a special occasion. Every year around this time is the Rising Tide Conference. To me it's a great way to mark the anniversary. I started blogging because of Katrina and have met a whole host of wonderful people after the storm through our blogs. I don't post as often and I have not been keeping up on others' blogs because of Facebook. I'm looking forward to the group FYYFF shout out.

The artwork is a revised design from the t-shirts I put on CafePress after Katrina. Occasionally someone still buys stuff. I had to do something to keep from going crazy.

Rising Tide V

It is my duty as a NOLA blogger to promote RT, though not sure anyone reads my blog any more. Hello? Anyone out there?

Rising Tide is a conference for bloggers put on by bloggers. I attended II and IV and have been very impressed. So here's the 411:

Rising Tide 5
Saturday, August 28, 2010
9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
The Howlin’ Wolf
907 South Peters Street
New Orleans, Louisiana

www.risingtidenola.com

Rising Tide NOLA, Inc. will present its 5th annual new media conference centered on the recovery and future of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast on Saturday, August 28, 2010, 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m., at The Howlin’ Wolf, 907 South Peters St., in New Orleans.

The one-day conference features speakers and panel discussions on the status and future of the culture, politics, criminal justice system, environment, and flood protection of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. Past speakers have included actor and outspoken champion of New Orleans Harry Shearer, and authors Dave Zirin, John Barry, Christopher Cooper and Robert Block.

Rising Tide NOLA, Inc. is a non-profit organization formed by New Orleans bloggers in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the failure of the federally-built levees. After the disaster, the internet became a vital connection among dispersed New Orleanians, former New Orleanians, and friends of the city and of the Gulf Coast region. A surge of new blogs erupted and, combined with those that were already online, a community of bloggers with a shared interest in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast developed. In the summer of 2006, to mark the anniversary of the flood, the bloggers of New Orleans organized the first Rising Tide Conference, taking their shared interest in technology, the arts, the internet and social media and turning advocacy for the city into action.

Conference registration is open at http://www.risingtidenola.com and at the Rising Tide blog: http://www.risingtideblog.blogspot.com

Rising Tide 5 is sponsored by The Canary Collective, a media publishing agency, and by Levees.org.

Rising Tide’s featured artwork, available as a poster and t-shirt, is once again produced by the award-wining editorial cartoonist and artist Greg Peters of Suspect Device.

Well I have quite the weekend ahead of me. Tonight's the Opening Reception for the Rising Tide IV "Bloggers" Conference. Got to love this year's theme "Sinking to New Heights." Looking forward to checking out the new and improved Avenue Pub. It's been a long time since I stepped foot in there.

The conference starts Saturday at 9 a.m. Ouch. I'm not really one who follows celebrities but I am very excited that Harry Shearer is going to be the keynote speaker. He's so talented, I hope I get a chance to meet him. It can be hard to get a word in with other bloggers (they can talk as much as they type) and I'm sure Harry will be the belle of the ball. The conference has been getting some press so it should be interesting to see what this year's turn is like.

That evening there will sure to be the post-party somewhere, but I'll be scooting off to go join my fellow FSU alumni at the Greater New Orleans Seminole Club inaugural meeting. Years ago there was a club but it became defunct. Thanks to the tireless Shrimp Po-Boy we again have a group. That's 7-10pm at Cafe Prytania, 3445 Prytania Ave, in case some fellow Seminole stumbles across this page.

Sunday marks 10 years since my mother passed away. In her memory I'm going to have a movie marathon of some of her favs. I already watched "Clue" (can't ever get enough of Tim Curry and a favorite board game of ours) and saw "Young Frankinstein" when I was in Albuquerque (Gene Wilder was on of her favs). First up will the "Blues Brothers," hands down her #1 fav movie followed by "Murder by Death" (she loved murder mysteries and had a great sense of humor). I have all of these on DVD. Another fav is "Ladyhawke" that I only have on VHS - it's kinds of a silly movie with a bizarre soundtrack by Alan Parson's Project, but has Rutger Hauer and Matthew Broderick so there you have it. And I should get a Dirty Harry but there's only so much sitting around I can do at one time so we'll see. Plus I'm going to make Hungarian stuffed cabbage and that can be time consuming. Hmm... maybe I can roll the cabbage rolls while watching one of the movies?

Spinal Tap is Back! "Back From the Dead"

It's the 25th anniversary of the original release of the mockumentary "This is Spinal Tap." I LOVE that movie. And I love that "the band" managed to release albums and tour in spite of not being a real band, not originally.

Their website rocks and they have fully embraced all the new media available. No Facebook page though? I downloaded the Spinal Tap app for my iPhone. You have to be careful where you use it. Every time you launch it, it starts cranking out a song.

The new CD is over the top as well, with a pop-up diorama of the band.

So of course I'm thrilled that Harry Shearer will be the key note speaker for this year's Rising Tide Conference. I missed it last year, but am already registered.