These people have managed to convey what I'm feeling: The Chicory and People Get Ready.

Ugh. It's August. I remember thinking back in July that this summer hasn't been too bad/hot. Silly me. August is when summer really gets going here. The past weekend, Greg and I participated in the Rising Tide II conference and Friday evening was a get-together at Buffa's with screening of Katrina inspired films. I'd never been to Buffa's, a New Orleans institution and a bar. It was beastly hot in the back room we were in, like a sweat lodge. Good thing my gin and tonics were weak because I was sucking them down. I just couldn't watch the films, it's still too painful. I think it's very important the aftermath of Katrina and the levees breaking be documented to shown others outside the city, just don't ask me to watch it.

So not only does August suck because of the unreasonable heat, but its also when hurricane season get active (remember Dean?) and the anniversary of Katrina, but my mother passed away in August back in '99. If I hadn't taken a vacation earlier this month, I'd probably be huddled in a ball in the corner. The conference Saturday was held at the NO Yacht Club (never been there either) with blessed cool AC and it was... uplifting might be too strong of a word, but it was educational, funny and poignant. The organizers, who liked to point out they are not event planners, did a good job. Good speakers, good topics. The fee was only $20 so you can't expect something super-slick; but the conference was intimate, unpretentious, and had integrity. Kudos. I wanted to post some of my thoughts from the conference but just haven't had the chance, but if you go to the links page of the conference web site, local bloggers have been doing a good job.

Today marks "K+2" the second anniversary of Katrina and the "Federal flood." All sorts of politicians and celebrities in town. There are parades, memorials, vigils and so on the mark the occasion. Like the videos, I shy away from all that. Is that healthy? I don't know. On the flight home from my vacation the women next to me asked me "Were you affected by Katrina?" This is one of those questions that make me, and others, want to roll our eyes into our head and maybe throttle the asker. I just replied "Everyone was." Short, simple, to-the-point. If the nation has "Katrina fatigue" what do you think New Orleanians are feeling? I have an new, also simple and to-the-point reply for the question "How is the recovery going?"

One step forward and two steps back.

Here's a photo from the family reunion my cousin Dean emailed me. Greg and I are with my cousins Roy, Lyle and Georgia.

Tuesday I leave for my annual hiking/camping trip, with my new camera in tow. I'll be flying into Albuquerque Tuesday evening. Wednesday we'll pack up and head north to southern Colorado, to the Mesa Verde, Durango area. We get to go for a whole week this year because Dorie quit her job to go back to school to be an X-ray technician. Being a librarian just wasn't challenging enough for her anymore. Today's her last day as a librarian! Hurrah!

For your entertainment, I suggest you surf over to the New Orleans Levee web site "FREE Satire in the city" "We don't hold anything back." It's pretty darn funny.

Sclemeel, schlemazel, hasenfeffer incorporated. We're gonna do it!

We done did it. Milwaukee that is. I've been laid low buy a nasty cold that seems to finally be going away. Traveling will do that to you. So about our adventures. Well, for starters, we missed our flight. How you ask? There were a number of small delays that added up, but the nail in the coffin was the stupid "Park n Fly." I usually park at USPark.net but I was in a hurry and the entrance for Park n Fly was first. Bad move. USPark, you pull up, get directed where to park, and there's a shuttle ready to pick you up usually before you can get all the luggage out of the car and you get whisked away to the airport. Not PnF. There was a sign directing you to a section waaaaay in the back that had zero empty spots. We drove up and down looking for a spot, finally cramming the car into a spot in the "compact" area. I had to squeeze out the passenger side door since I was too close on the driver's side. We scanned the lot - no shuttles, so we hoofed it to the entrance, and finally board a shuttle. The driver drives around picking more people up. The last was an elderly couple who took their own sweet time getting organized and finally on the shuttle. I wasn't wearing a watch and for some reason clocks are not conspicuoius at Louis Armstrong international. We sprung off the shuttle, flew to the United counter, no line at the self-check-in kiosk! I punch in the flight info... "Too late to board. Please speak to a representative." Wha? I pick up the receiver. As I'm talking to the rep. I notice the tiny clock in the corner of the screen: 2:15. Our flight was at 2:30. I guess we are too late. Our only option was to fly stand-by on the flight at 7:30. We'd also be stand-by on our connecting flight from Chicago. I figured, if we could at least get to Chicago, we could always pick up a rental car and drive the 1-1/2 hr to Milwaukee. My nerves were shot and we had time to kill so we had a beer. After calming down and the beer, we decided to walk around. We still had our bags with us. Walking around took all of 10 min. so we stopped back at the ticket counter. I've never flown stand-by before and had no idea how this worked. Greg on the other had, used to always fly stand-by when his father was a commercial airline pilot. He knew the lingo to use to get the info we wanted. Our flight was 92% full and it "looked good" we could get on. They can't say for sure you can get on but Greg seemed pretty happy with the answer. We decided to check our luggage so we wouldn't have to schlep it around. We might not make it to Milwaukee but our luggage would. Hung out and had coffee at a cafe that said they had free wi-fi but we weren't able to connect. After we were bored of that we went through security. We decided it was time for a second beer... hey, we are on vacation after all. The lounge was packed and the woman behind the bar couldn't chew gum and walk if her life depended on it. Even though it was only around 5:30 I was feeling peckish, so we moved on the the "cafe" where we picked up some dinner and cold Abita beers (at $5 a pop!). As it got closer to 7:30 we sauntered over to the gate and chatted with the ticket agent. We were first on the stand-by list. The last 3 letters of our last name were cut off and he took a guess "Hackenberry?" He was a jovial chap and we chatted for a bit and I told him maybe we should change our name to "Hackenb" since it is so long.

They start boarding the plane. We hear "Hackenbee party please approach the podium"-such the jokester. Finally! We are on the plane! We left behind schedule, about 15 late. When we land in Chicago several hours later, we run though the airport to our connection. Just as we are approaching the gate we heard "Hackenberg, party of two" I yell "we're here!" they scan our boarding pass and we walk through the door. Down the stairs. Across the tarmac. Past a few other commuter planes. Up the stairs. We were only in the air 15 minute but take-off, landing, taxing added about an hour to the trip. I figured out that had we flown in and out of Chicago and drove, we could have slept in an extra hour on the return trip. Why I booked a 6:30 a, return flight is beyond me, must have been $. I won't go into the return flight, exacerbated by nasty weather, but I won't be flying United anytime soon if I can help it. I'm not sure what I did to piss off the travel gods, but my flying mojo this year has not been what it used to be. One last tip on flying- always, always bring something to eat. You never know how long you'll sit on the runway or be circling and there ain't no food on domestic flights no more.

We got in around Midnight. Picked up the rental car. Got lost trying to find the interstate so I followed the signs back to the airport to start over. Pulled over to talk to my cousin on the phone for directions when a sheriff tapped on the window. This would be my first brush with the law on this trip. Finally we were on our way.

Friday was a lovely, sunny day. My cousin Dean, who we were staying with, suggested taking us on a driving tour in his convertible. Grand idea! We followed the shore of Lake Michagan, drove around downtown. We stopped for a beer and snacks at a Mader's, German restaurant downtown. Sadly, Dean says the true German restaurants are disappearing. I guess everyone's too health conscious.

Here's some views of downtown from the pier. I finally got a new camera. I didn't take a lot of sight seeing photos though, because the camera came with a woefully small flash card and I had to use the space for the family reunion.

Downtown Milwaukee

Downtown with art museum in middle

Dean picked us up and we had to hurry back to his place because our cousin Roy had arrived. That night we went to the typical Friday night fish fry. Fried fish and seafood is popular in New Orleans because of the Catholic influence. But down here the fish is catfish. We had some lovely fried cod. Greg was disappointed they didn't have malt vinegar, but they did have Tabasco. I also had the most amazing cole slaw.

Saturday was the family reunion which took up most of the day. After the reunion dinner, a group of us went back to Dean's to hang out, drink and swap stories. That was my mother's father's side of the family. Sunday we visited my mother's mother's side of the family. They were south of Milwaukee in Racine county. It's farm land and beautiful. Rolling hills of corn, big red barns and old farm houses. And some subdivisions that are starting to creep in.

Monday Greg and I played tourist. Well first, back to my second brush with the law. When my mother passed away, I knew of her wish to be cremated. But after that I had no idea. I decided she should join her family in Milwaukee and there were two empty spots in the family plot. Monday morning we had an appointment to meet with the cemetery director to make the arrangements for mom. I had wrapped mom and her wooden urn up carefully with bubble wrap and packed her in my suitcase. I figured it would look suspicious to the screeners, so I taped a copy of the cremation certificate on it. Yes, my bag was searched. Anyway, we were running late, got off the interstate and got turned around. I started down a wide, 4-lane road, and just as I noticed the 25 mph speed limit and hit my brakes - I was doing about 40 - I also noticed the black and white. Damn. Milwaukee's finest pulled me over. He was very stern.

"Margaret (my first name) do you know why I pulled you over?"
"Yes sir, I was going way too fast sir."
"And why was that." I explained why I was going too fast.
"Do you still live in New Orleans Margaret?"
"Yes sir."
"Margaret, do you want want a ticket here."
"No sir, I do not."

He let me, Margaret, off with a warning. A stern warning. He did not crack a smile at all. No "have a nice day" or tip of the cap. "I'm sorry sir. THANK you sir." Now I know why Milwaukeeians are such good, curtious drivers. The cops don't mess around and they are everywhere.

After we handed mom off, we headed back downtown to visit The Spice House and buy some spices we don't get down here. It smelled wonderful and everything is well labeled with extensive notations. We also visited the cheese shop and the sausage shop. Today was also beer day. We drove by one brewery, but it didn't look like it had a pub and we were getting hungry. We found the Water Street Brew Pub. Greg had the "Old World Selection" Fresh Usinger Bratwurst and Stuttgarter Knackwurst are simmered in our brew and spices, charbroiled and served with German potato salad, fresh sauerkraut. I had the "Smoked Sausage Platter" Flavored with our Lager Beer, Usinger smoked beef sausage and smoked link kielbasa are charbroiled and served with red cabbage, freshly sautéed spaetzle. Yum! And we washed it down with house brews of course. We decided was needed to walk around a bit and let lunch settle. Downtown is quite nice. The river runs through the middle of it and the lake is to the east. We strolled along the riverwalk. After a while, we stopped at another brew pub and had a beer. Then we drove out to the award winner microbrewery, Sprecher. No pub but we bought some t-shirts and beer and went back to Dean's to sample.

So that was our trip. Greg held up under repeated family exposure very well. It was good to reconnect with family. We had a rather nice, relaxing time and really enjoyed the mild weather.

My dear public, who clamors for details of the Milwaukee trip... (you know who you are). I'm currently playing post-trip catch-up and will do a proper post this weekend. Until then, I want to share this lovely, and timely, article that appeared in the T-P July 13th - our first full day in Milwaukee, the land of beer, brats and cheese.

And if you enjoyed that article, check out this one, with photos, by NPR.

Enjoy and Ein Prost!

G and I leave this afternoon for a long weekend in Milwaukee. I'm looking forward to many things... exploring the city of beer, visiting the art museum, (The last time I was there was 1990 before the new expansion designed by Santiago Calatrava and it was a pretty impressive museum then.) drinking beer, eating brats, reconnecting with family, drinking more beer, visiting breweries (G's a home brewer so he's happy about this too), checking out the "beer barons" mansions, eating cheese and washing it down with more beer.

It will also be nice to escape the suffocating heat and humidity (NOLA's high 94 degrees, low of 76 and 72% humidity vs. Milwaukee high of 76 and low of 59 55% humidity. brrrr!) and the depressing newspaper headlines:

"Vitter had five calls with D.C. Madam"
"Police, DA battle over dropped murder case"
"N.O. water hasn’t had fluoride since storm"
"Parent faces accusations in school money theft"
"A federal grand jury looking into a bribery scandal at the Orleans Parish School Board continues"

And that's just the front page. *sigh* No wonder this city is in such a mess. Too many people looking to make gobs of money, illegally, or can't keep their you-know-what in their pants.
William Jefferson is probably relieved all this other news is keeping his name out of the head lines, though his brother is connected to the bribery scandal. Political dynasties, some good, but most not.

So to leave on an up note, I quote Homer Simpson: mmmmm..... beeeeeeer....

Culture and Culcha...

Culture: We've been watching a fascinating series on PBS "SIMON SCHAMA'S POWER OF ART." As it is described on the PBS web site "Series Explores Dramatic Turning Points in Lives of Eight Artists and the Masterpieces That Changed the Way the World Looks at Art." We've seen the episodes about Caravaggio, Bernini and Rembrandt. Watching the first two I thought the host was being dramatic, but once I saw the Rembrandt one, I realized, no it's just the hot tempered Italian artists who were the dramatic ones. The episodes are really well done and I encourage anyone with an interest in art to catch them.

Culcha: There's a new cultural event in New Orleans, I didn't attend it because it started at 7 am but it looks like enough fun I may have to check it out next year. It was "San Fermin in Nueva Orleans" on July 7th, the same day the event occurs in Pamplona, Spain. But instead of real bulls, hoards of people dressed in white ran through the streets of the French Quarter chased by the lovely ladies of the New Orleans Roller Derby, the "Rollerbulls" wielding rubber bats. There was one bull, mounted to a shopping cart. Hard to explain, just check out the pictures: http://bigeasyrollergirls.blogspot.com/ There is also a great video on YouTube, complete with editing bells and whistles and a sound track.

The Police concert tapped into some memories that were old and musty. I poked around on Classmates.com this morning looking for former friends with little luck. Classmates was cool when it first came out, and it was free. Now, you have to buy a membership to post anything or see anything, and even though you're paying for the service, you get bombarded by ads! Next I pulled out my yearbooks from junior high. Oh boy... I remember us all thinking we were all that but we were just babies! So many people I haven't thought of in years. And some I thought "who IS that? I don't remember being friends with them." And some I'd rather not be reminded of. I am still in touch with some people from back then, as well as Tanya, my friend since 2nd grade. It is amazing how many people pass through our lives.

It was harder back then to be the world's biggest (insert band name here) fan. You have to work hard to find obscure recordings, magazine interviews and personal tidbits. "I didn't know that about Sting. But did you know Stewart..." Today with the Internet, you just go to the band's web site and/or Myspace page and viola! It's all there for you. I've been boning up on my Police trivia reading interviews on their website. I've been sucked in.

It's time I drag myself away for a while and think about other things. Next weekend Greg and I are going Milwaukee for a family reunion. I get to engulf him with my relatives for a change. I need to buy a new digital camera. I need to find cool thing to do while we are up there. Any suggestions? There's got to be a beer museum, yes? Eat German food is on the list. And visit the art museum. I need to do laundry and pack.

Today it's hot so I'm inside on the computer (duh!) and was playing catch up on some NOLA bloggers. I'd like to point your attention to Maitri's VatulBlog - she's has had some great posts lately. Especially some insightful comments on the whole "below sea level" issue-she's a geologist and knows her stuff and slams a recent editorial proclaiming New Orleans should not be rebuilt.

I'm still giddy from Police overload to really write anything meaningful. babble.

So right now, two of the the coolest things...in my book... um, the Police, of course, and the hype leading up to "The Simpson's" first full length feature movie. Who care is the movie's any good? The hype is great!

This is me as a Simpson's character - many of you are familiar with my "Christy as a South Park character." So with some Photoshop magic, voila! Moi, as a Simpson character, wearing a Police t-shirt.

You can make your own: http://simpsonsmovie.com/main.html

But what is even more brilliant is the turning 7-11s into Kwick-E-Marts! http://flickr.com/photos/rdr07/sets/72157600590001691/

More Police. A review from the Times Picayune - yes I know I can just link to it but I want to hang on to this. And I thought it was a good review.

By Keith Spera
Music writer

The Police reunion tour stopped at a nearly full New Orleans Arena on Saturday and delivered a tight, 19-song set of nearly two hours that unabashedly pandered to their collective past.

The band neither unveiled new material nor even hinted at their post-Police pursuits. Instead, on a sleek, simple, open stage, they served up one hit after another with more precision and heft than in their heyday.

The Police -- lead singer Sting, easygoing guitarist Andy Summers and mercurial drummer Stewart Copeland -- were never an essential live band. U2 and Bruce Springsteen uplift arena audiences with grand gestures; Metallica and Rage Against the Machine incite them with raw power and energy. Not so the Police. Their strength lay in crafting pristine, enduring pop songs, the earliest of which they infused with lilting reggae chords and punk moxie. With no spectacle, no drama and no emotional peaks and valleys, their reunion show could have been played just as effectively -- if not quite so lucratively -- at Tipitina's.

Chatter and audience interaction were kept to a minimum. Sting made the obligatory Hurricane Katrina reference: "Despite what you've been through, the spirit of this city is not dead. The spirit of this city is alive and kicking." Otherwise, he said little; the other two were mute.

The threesome focused on invigorated, occasionally rearranged renditions of beloved anthems and an obscurity or two. Arrangements were strictly limited to guitar, bass, percussion and vocals -- no backing singers, no auxiliary players (alas, the essential piano in "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" was absent).

All three musicians were in fighting shape. Sting strutted in black combat boots; with his chiseled biceps and slender frame, he is an advertisement for the preservative powers of yoga and vegetarianism. He shied away from the highest notes in his old songs, but his voice remains remarkably rich and full.

Summers, at 64 the oldest in the band by a decade, resembled an off-duty insurance salesman in an untucked gray button-down shirt, black slacks and shiny black shoes. In a break with arena-rock convention, he rarely swapped out his guitar. His robust fingerpicking jazzed "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic." He inserted bracing electric guitar solos in "Driven to Tears" and elsewhere, and scissors-kicked across the stage as "Can't Stand Losing You" built to a big finish.

Copeland's intense determination faltered only when he tripped while clamoring from his drum kit to a percussion set on an elevated riser. His hustle fleshed out the atmospherics of "Wrapped Around Your Finger" and "Walking in Your Footsteps," both highlights of the set.

The opening "Message in a Bottle" and "Synchronicity II" stuck close to the familiar recorded versions. "When the World Is Running Down You Make the Best of What's Still Around" broke down to brief instrumental passages, a welcome diversion. A meandering "Don't Stand So Close to Me," by contrast, was flaccid. "Roxanne" was the obvious but underwhelming regular set finale. In the encores, a spot-on "King of Pain" and crisp "So Lonely" fared much better.

Save Summers' "South Park" guitar strap and the guy in the 14th row of section 113 snapping pictures with a new iPhone, this could have passed for 1983. But time does not stand still, and neither does pop culture.

Rock 'n' roll thrives on the energy of youth. When a band first taps into that energy -- as did the Police 30 years ago -- it is at its most vital. When that same band's audience can afford $200 tickets and a baby sitter -- and when the merchandise table includes a souvenir "onesy" jumper for babies -- that time has passed.

Saturday's sole emotional payoff was nostalgia. During a final charge through "Next to You," quick-cut images of Sting, Copeland and Summers from the 1980s flashed by on overhead video screens. Otherwise, they preferred to let the songs represent their considerable legacy. And they represented those songs well.

http://blog.nola.com/living/2007/07/police_reunion_concert_an_80s.html

The Police rocked!

This reunion tour isn't a stale, rehashing of old songs (well even if it was, it’s still the Police!). Because all three of them have continued to be working musicians, they are not like some bands on reunion tours where the playing and singing are not up to par. They reworked many of their hits, especially the intros, so you had to listen for a few second before picking up on which song it was. I was trying to recall all the songs they played when I discovered the set list in on their web site:

Message In A Bottle
Synchronicity II
Walking On The Moon
Voices Inside My Head
When The World Is Running Down
Don't Stand So Close
Driven To Tears
The Bed's Too Big Without You
Truth Hits Everybody
Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
Wrapped Around Your Finger
De Do Do Do De Da Da Da
Invisible Sun
Walking In Your Footsteps
Can't Stand Losing You
Roxanne
King of Pain
So Lonely
Every Breath You Take
Next To You

The last 3 songs were the encores. Thank goodness they wrapped it up with "Next to You" since "EBYT" isn't in my top 10. Kristen commented the one song she wished they had played was "Spirits in the Material World." Because it was just the three of them, there was no one to play keyboards. Andy filled in the empty spot on guitar on several songs, though I did miss the keyboard on "ELTSDIM." Both Andy and Sting played the same instrument the whole night—no roadies running out between every song to hand them a new instrument. Sting’s bass looks like the first one he ever owned, with much of the finish worn off. Stewart had not only his sprawling drum kit, but also a whole menagerie of other percussion instruments on a rising platform behind him. At one point he popped up from his drums to dash back to the other stuff when he stumbled. There was a slight gasp from the audience. Stewart, always the comic, stood up, then did a mock fall, flailing his arms in the air before getting back to the task at hand, hardly missing a beat.


Our seats were directly left of the stage. We were pretty high up, but our view was unobstructed and there was also a screen above the stage. I love watching Stewart do his thing, flinging drumsticks everywhere. The guys looked like there were having fun and were very generous with the audience, not pretentious at all. I don’t think I sat still the whole time; a lot of the time it was one big sing-along. The opening band, Fiction Plane, is a 3 piece with Sting’s son on lead vocals and bass. They didn’t suck, but I’m not going to go buy their album either.

Hopefully they will do a DVD of the tour, it wouldn’t surprise me at all. I can’t believe I almost didn’t go. There were quite a number of people with tickets to sell outside, and the two seats in front of us stayed empty the whole night. I would probably be in a deep funk today if I hadn’t gone. If you missed it, you can still buy t-shirts on their website. I want one, but the lines were so long at the show so I’ll just order one. $35 for a t-shirt!?! Yowza!

Oh yeah,I didn't take the photos. They are from Stewart Copeland's website.

I can't believe it!

After all these years I am FINALLY going to see The Police live in concert!!!!! I was a huge Police fan back in the day. When their tour came to Jacksonville, I asked my mother "Mom, Can I go see the Police in concert?" She gave me an odd look and asked "Why would you want to see a bunch of cops sing?" I quickly filled her in and she herself became a fan of their music. Unfortunately, the tickets sold out too fast. I was sooooo crushed! (I was in junior high after all). I think it was the "Ghost in the Machine" tour but I'm not sure. I was able to get ticket to the Foreigner concert around that same time. Boy was that totally cheezy. I think only Styx's concert was cheesier. There wasn't much else to do in Jacksonville at that age - go to concerts or rollarskating.

Anyway... I almost didn't get to go again. Tickets went on sale and the "cheap" ($50 plus Ticketbastard's $15 fee) went fast as did the not as cheap $90+fees but still not the $200+fees most expensive tickets . Greg and I just couldn't justify spending over $400 on a concert. Plus, the tickets went on sale during JazzFest and our cash went to that. So I accepted the truth. I can't wait to see what they are going to charge for t-shirts.

Well... about a month ago I was getting my hair cut when my hairdresser/friend, Jeanne, took a phone call. She was talking to a friend about the upcoming Police concert and Jeanne said she's find someone to buy her two extra tickets. As soon as she hung up the phone I asked her "You have to tickets to the Police you needs to sell? How much? I'll take them!" I still didn't really believe it. I didn't become real until Friday morning I was reading the paper and saw the ad "The Police in concert New Orleans, June 29." I'm going to be there! Yahoo!

So... Scott and Kristen came into town from Baton Rouge last night to go out with us and some others, they stayed over, then drove back to Baton Rouge this morning. I drove over to Jeanne's this morning after they left to pick up the tickets. I was about 1/2 way to her house when she calls "Do you know anyone who might want the tickets to the two seats next to you?" I told her I'd make some phone calls and see her in a few minutes. I called Scott and Kristen - they were still on the road back to Baton Rouge. "Would you guys want to see the Police? The two tickets next to us are available." Of course they said yes. So they will be drive back to New Orleans tonight for the show.

Crazy how things work out sometimes. Can you say "Synchronicity?"

Synchronicity I

With one breath, with one flow
You will know
Synchronicity

A sleep trance, a dream dance,
A shared romance,
Synchronicity

A connecting principle,
Linked to the invisible
Almost imperceptible
Something inexpressible.
Science insusceptible
Logic so inflexible
Causally connectible
Yet nothing is invincible.

If we share this nightmare
Then we can dream
Spiritus mundi.

If you act, as you think,
The missing link,
Synchronicity.

We know you, they know me
Extrasensory
Synchronicity.

A star fall, a phone call,
It joins all,
Synchronicity.

It's so deep, it's so wide
Your inside
Synchronicity.

Effect without a cause
Sub-atomic laws, scientific pause
Synchronicity..................................

I think I can safely proclaim summer has begun in New Orleans. It started, was it Thursday or Friday? Up to that point I could still drive around with the car windows down and we hadn't turned on the AC in our house yet. This weekend has been blazing hot and no cooling rains. Last summer, people were still in panic mode, especially with the first hurricane season since Katrina bearing down. This summer, people are fed up with the slow pace of recovery, corrupt politicians and insurance companies and quality of life issues. Trash, littering and recycling have been hot topics lately. Lots of ink spent covering these topics in the T-P. Chris Rose is back in fine form and sums up some people's feelings:

We may feel powerless in our battles with the faceless bureaucracies of the Corps of Engineers and FEMA and Allstate and the Road Homeless and the drive-by shooters and Bill Jefferson and everyone else who would screw us over, but when affronted by a potato chip let loosed in an uncivil fashion, then we feel like maybe that's a battle we can win. (read whole article)

I think you do have to be crazy to live here. Bill Jefferson... indicted... everyone asked "how did he get re-elected?" How indeed. The murder rate keeps growing and historically it increases with the heat. And there may be litter related shootings soon. June 1 the media was waving the "hurricane season has started" red flag, but it only lasted a few days. I think people didn't pay attention. We all know things don't get bad until August and we all had already made our disaster kits last summer.

On a positive note... Saturday Greg turns 40! Greg not one to make a big deal about his birthday, but the big 4-0 is cause for celebration. He's been making steady progress on the bedroom renovation (too hot to work outside). The cats are happy and healthy - I still haven't replaced my digital camera. My garden is growing out of control and it's a challenge to keep everything watered. For the past few months, Sunday was grill out night but not tonight. The grill will be lonely until October when the heat breaks.

Well, another JazzFest has come and gone. We only ended up going once each weekend. The first weekend Greg and I parked in our usual spot - at our friend Daniel's house on Bayou St. John. Daniel commented that he could always tell how crowded it will be by how fast the parking fills up at Cabrini. Cabrini's a private high school and every year for $20 you can park on their property; they really can cram the cars in. It wasn't even noon yet and Cabrini had "lot full" signs up already. It was crowded but the nice weather and the light breeze made it tolerable.

Now, there are two types of Fest goers - the floaters and the parkers. Greg and I are floaters, we travel light and move around from stage to stage. Parkers bring their camp chairs and mini coolers and park themselves in front of one stage for the day. Thankfully Fest officials decreed a no parking area directly in front of stages, AKA the dance floor. It can get really hard to navigate around big congregations of chairs.

Much to my dismay, the Jazz Tent was moved behind Acura stage. We usual avoid the Acura stage; it's the biggest and all the big name headliners play on it so it's always a mob scene. Dr. John was playing this day so we of course had to swing by to catch some of his act. We get a good bit of exercise, bouncing between the Jazz Tent, the Gentilly stage, blues tent, Congo square, etc... I'm not going to do a blow by blow account of what we saw and what we ate, but it was all good. There are photos posted to the JazzFest official website.

The second weekend we also went on Friday-it feels even more decadent to go on a work day. It had poured the night before but the forecast said it would clear up around noon. We grabbed our parkas and drove to Daniel's. Cabrini was only half full and there were still gray clouds in the sky. As soon as we walked through the gates it started to drizzle. We put on our parkas and headed to the food area while most people were rushing to the tents to get out of the rain. Usually, it will rain for a while then clear up. After we ate we went over to the Gentilly stage. Even thought it was drizzling there was still several hundred people there, grooving to the tunes. We joined them. It started to rain harder, then harder, then side ways, but still we all stuck it out. The band cheered our determination and played on until the lightning started - in the distance but still - and power was cut from the outdoor stages. There was a mass exodus to various music tents. We waited for a while are the grandstand, certain that any minute now, it would stop. After 20 minutes it was back to a drizzle up so we decided to walk over to the JazzTent to catch Ellis Marsalis. The tent was over flowing so we stood just outside an opening. A man walking out commented it sounded better out there because there wasn't people talking. The rain continued. We were both completely drenched by this point. I could pour water out of my backpack and every inch of our clothing was sopping wet. My digital camera bit the dust but my phone survived. Ellis finished up and we walked around and hit the port-o-lets. It started to rain really hard ago so we bid our time in the 'lets. That was when I decided I had had enough. It had been raining non-stop for 2 hours and I was freezing cold. I don't think we realized just how hard and long it had been raining. As we drove home, it took three times as long due to all the street flooding.

Oh well, you win some, you lose some. As Greg says "a bad day at JazzFest is better than a good day at the office." And next time, I'm putting my camera in a ziplock!

JazzFest starts this Friday! One of my favorite things about New Orleans. I am a little miffed that ticket prices went up again and the big name jazz artist are absent this year, I guess it's to make room for more big name pop/rock and even country stars. But all the local greats are represented, except for Aaron Neville who still has not come back since Katrina. Next week I'll be taking a friend from out of town on the tour of destruction and will probably have pictures to show. I'm trying to remember that last time I drove the tour... Was it really last July when these pictures were taken? I also want to try and find Fats Domino's house. You may remember he had to rescued by helicopter when his 9th ward house flooded after the federal levees broke. And speaking of levees, Levees.org is a local group formed to investigate the levee failures after Katrina. Now that the Corps of Engineers have claimed responsibility, and has said levees in 28 other states are also compromised, the organization is expanding their scope nation-wide. And to debunk another Katrina myth, a recent study shows that most of New Orleans IS above sea level.

But now for a really important news flash...New Orleans is back to 100% the number of restaurants Pre-Katrina! This doesn't include fast food or chains. Food is such a part of the local culture. And one of the local icons, Camellia Grill, finally reopened this week with people waiting in line to get in. Food critic Tom Fitzmorris writes about this and have been tracking restaurants as they reopen after the storm. The growing Latin American population inspired the T-P to feature restaurants that sell Central and South American cuisine, including the post-Katrina taco trucks, in this Spring's Dining Guide.

Which brings me back full circle to JazzFest... not only amazing music, also incredible food and art. To me it's heaven on earth.

G and some of our civic-minded friends are forming a new group:

As the political season approaches, we invite friends, neighbors and colleagues to join our effort to create a new era of clean, responsive politics in New Orleans.

Come joins us for some light political conversation and a discussion of what can be. We welcome everyone from seasoned veterans to the newly engaged.

Politics on Tap
Thursday, April 19th
5pm - 8pm
Bridge Lounge
1201 Magazine St.

Please forward this information to others who may be interested in attending.

So I'm going to just ramble. It's an overcast blah Sunday, which fits my mood. Not blue, just blah. Had things gone as planned, I wouldn't be posting today. I would instead be deep underground in Carlsbad Caverns. However, due to the really bad weather in and around Dallas Thursday and Friday, my flight was canceled. I was pretty bummed. I had been packed for a week, Dorie and I had talked a few times about details, I had made our trip mixed CD of tunes and I was busy all week trying to get things done before going. A very nice and funny American Airlines representative tried for 20 minutes to find me a flight, but the earliest she could get me to Albuquerque, on ANY airline not just AA, was Monday. I was supposed to return Tuesday. I could drive there faster. Plus Dorie only had Monday off. So my ticket was refunded and we'll have to reschedule. But staying in town allowed me to go to the Geek Dinner III. Greg got to know one of the NOLA bloggers through the neighborhood stuff we've been doing and loves to read the blogs. Today I've spent good bit of time reading the blogs of the people I met last night, since after one glass of wine too many I'm not fit for much else. It was a large group of very interesting people who sure know how to cook and it was a total blast. I haven't written much about the recovery lately. I was inspired by the people I was around last night to go back to the topic of recovery. Life is good in the sliver. Most blue tarps are gone either from roof repair or just disintegrated in the elements. We only have a few trailers and you know, it really is true if you see something everyday, you don't even noticed it anymore. It's only when I venture out to Mid-City or some other area of town that got flooded that you can't ignore the reality that there is still a long way to go. The second best way to know how things are here, after coming in person, is to read the blogs. New Orleans Wiki has a list of blogs on their site.

The other day I met a guy who is living in the house behind us. He's with Habitat for Humanity and he moved here from California. He hosts groups of students who come into town to gut houses and do other needed things on their spring break. Instead of going to Cancun or Key West, these people are coming to New Orleans to gut and clean houses. Yes, there are still houses that have not been touched since the storm. Things aren't back to normal and we still talk about IT at parties and such. But we want people to come down here. That's the only way to understand what happened, what is happening and why we (everyone who lives here) love this City so much and stay. We want to you to come, have a good time, help if you want, spend your money at our shops and restaurants, then go back home and tell everyone. I'm thinking of taking photos taken right after Katrina and photographing the same place now and put them up. Maybe someone's already started doing that? But it will get me out of the house and behind the camera. Though with all the festivals coming up, that project might have to wait.

If you do wander over to some of the NOLA blogs, you'll see the hot topic is the new trash cans and sanitation contract. I took a photo of our new can. You can see the normal size 40 gal can next to it-this will give you a sense of scale and what people are talking about.




The T-P (newspaper) made light of the controversy today, April Fool's day, with staff artist's ideas for decoration the cans (I can't find the photos on their site though) and a Brief History of over sized trash cans. Which reminds me, I need to go scoop the cat boxes, oh joy!

Do you know what this is?

It's an official Disney©TM® Pirates of the Caribbean cookie featuring the likeness of Capt Jack Sparrow... who is...

Johnny Depp.

People who know me know I love Johnny Depp. My husband even knows this and accepts this fact. So imagine my shock to see, walking in to my neighborhood A&P grocery store to see these cookies. Has Johnny sold out? Did he know Disney was going to pimp his likeness out? The cookies were made in China so I suspect they were decorated by hand - the one turned over, his eyes are all cattywhompus. I mean, he's already on cereal boxes and fruit roll ups. Cookies? Got to love the candy "beads" in his "hair". But what is the red thing on the left? Am I the only one who find this bizarre?

I've started a new garden blog. Check it out here: http://deepsouthgarden.blogspot.com/