Holiday week

Mark Folse contemplates the future of New Orleans
If we want a city that resembles the one of memory and desire, perhaps it is best if we are left to ourselves to build it. Give me enough people like Shearer, like the New Orleans bloggers listed at right and I believe we can do it: ourselves alone; Sinn Fein, as Ashley says. Going it alone, with fair compensation from the government for the damage they caused, will be painful

EJ finds reasons to make people feel a little better this year. Hell, who knows? Maybe Nagin will miraculously wake up mute next week!


b.rox discusses the wide range of emotions that can be wrought in one day....cognitive dissonance is a way of life here. People know how to combine tragedy and celebration without giving short shrift to either. I think that’s the part of New Orleans culture that I admire the most....

American Zombie talks about another depressing NOLA rumor

R.I.P. Gerald Ford

Gerald Ford passed away on Dec 26 at the age of 93

Give me New Orleans

From Militant Moderate Musing blog, Give me New Orleans

A little ditty expressing love for NOLA and S.E. Louisiana.

Scuzzbucket of the Year

Ray Shut_the_fuck_up Nagin

I'll leave it to these links:
Schroeder pens a "letter" to RayRay

- How Nagin is hurting the city's recovery effort
- He never knows when to shut his mouth
-He continues to spew insanity
-You know, man, Nagin's brain sometimes becomes mush when he talks, man
- This year started with the never-to-be-forgotten chocolate city debacle
-He wants all the money in cyberspace to build a "bigger and better" NOLA
-Nagin is constantly 'stuck on stupid'
-Recall Nagin dot org
-Where's Nagin? dot com. If you see him, let these folks know.
-Mark Folse's inspiring words There’s nothing we can do now to remedy the leaders who hobble us, except to prove them wrong, to write for ourselves the scene that ends not in tragedy but in triumph.
-Loki's opinion on one of the hundreds of bungling Nagin's decisions
-da po blog's piece on Nagin's re-election in May
-Nagin 'gave up' New Orleans for lent last year
-How about when he mentioned that the CIA's out to get him?
-He has no inkling of what's going on!
-Let's not forget the Katrina Extravaganza he wanted to throw to celebrate the 1 year anniversary of the storm

Nuff Said

Christmas 2006

Merry Christmas to all.

It has been a good day weatherwise for Christmas. We've experienced some years where it was 80 degrees outside, so we enjoyed spending the day inside, away from the cold wind. I hope all those who are still living in FEMA trailers stayed warm somehow.

My redneck neighbors are shooting off fireworks - aerial ones at that - on Christmas night. My cats are freaked out.

Got a digital camera for Christmas and played with it inside all day....click on photos to enlarge>
GizmoSweetPea

>Midnight
>Oreo
>Meeko

R.I.P. to The Godfather of Soul.
James Brown passed away at the age of 73. Thanks for the wonderful memories, Mr. Brown.

THANK YOU SAINTS!!!!

Blues in New Orleans

Views from New Orleanians about what it's like coming back here 'from the outside'. It causes true depression

Mark Folse discusses the frustration of trying for over 15 months to be on top of the wished-for transformation of New Orleans that some fear may never happen.

Ashley thinks about the April elections that surely slammed the chance for New Orleans to come back better....if not for the f***heads who re-elected CRay.

The Chicory discusses the unknown future of NOLA They say, It’s never going to change.......And perhaps it is that type of attitude that doomed the city in the first place.

To get you in the spirit

From a tv program called Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,

The 12/4 episode featured musicians benefiting from The Tipitina's Foundation:
Troy Andrews, Trumpet
Kirk Joseph, Sousaphone
Roderick Paulin, Saxophone
Frederick Shepherd, Saxophone
Stephen Walker, Trombone
Mervin "Kid Merv" Campbell, Trumpet
Bob French, Drums

Click on "download free MP3" link. You'll be glad you did.

My thanks to Dr. Hebert for the heads up.

STILL not okay

Just a few days shy of the 16 month "anniversary" of Katrina's landfall and there is still so much that is not okay in the gulf south. It's hard to imagine without seeing it first hand.

We took my daughter down to the train station in New Orleans (right by the Superdome) so she could visit her boyfriend in Lafayette. The trip from Slidell to New Orleans is a depressing one indeed.

Once across Lake Pontchartrain, the landscape is just miles and miles of depressing, dead trees in the area of Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge as a result of saltwater intrustion due to the storm's path. As you near New Orleans East, you will witness hundreds of gutted, unoccupied apartment complexes and subdivisions. The only sign of life in this area is Home Depot and a few auto dealerships. It remains desolate until you near the I-10 High Rise. It is in this area that you can view the Ninth Ward Here it's not just desolate, it'd downright depressing.

There is much to be done in all areas affected by the storm. Even we who live in this area forget how bad things still are until we venture to and or through them.

To all those who still in some way want to help, it is desperately needed in places like New Orleans East and the 9th Ward.




click picture for full-size version


Been a foggy week in SE Louisiana. Took this early Sunday morning while other parts of the country experienced real winter weather.

Fwinter

We're in fwinter right now. Most places have fall then winter. Here we get a combination of both. I know I'm not alone when I notice that the changing of the leaves on the trees seems to be much brighter this year. Don't know what causes this to happen, but I'm glad it does. Here are some trees across from the Northshore Square Mall. click on images for full-size versions





Typical of SE Louisiana fwinter, it's been foggy all week. Today seems to have the heaviest fog all week. Glad I don't have to commute. Took a ride down to Bayou Liberty to see how the fog looked there





I noticed that sounds are more intense during times of heavy fog, similar to when it snows up north. Kinda neat.

Update 12/17/06
Went by the mall today and all of the trees pictured above are NEKKID!

Take that, Biatch!

KBB thought she would be wonderwoman by calling the special legislative session two weeks before Christmas and play Santa Claus, giving money to everybody so people would remember come election day what a bright, generous leader she was. WRONG!

from today's TP

The House of Representatives struck a crippling blow Wednesday to Gov. Kathleen Blanco's bid for public employee pay raises, road construction dollars and other new spending, refusing for the third straight day to raise a constitutional cap on state spending.

I'd like to thank all of those people who refused to allow the raising of the state spending cap. This lady STILL has no idea how to be an effective leader.
more from the TP
While Blanco had proposed a multitude of tax credits for individuals and companies, only one major change appears destined to become law: House Bill 59 by Rep. Yvonne Dorsey, D-Baton Rouge, which provides the child tax credits at an annual cost to the state treasury of $73 million.


So far in this special session the house okayed tax credits meant to give relief to all homeowners who are paying a 15 percent to 18 percent assessment to keep the Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp. solvent for claims received after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. "This is a refund tax credit" instead of a cash rebate, Rep. Taylor Townsend, D-Natchitoches(author of the bill) told the House. "The individual has to make the payment first" before a tax credit can be taken. "This says everyone assessed will be able to get the credit," Townsend said.

Like a woman caught at a clearance sale, Mizz Blanco's eyes are ablaze with all of that lovely state revenue, which is actually a result of insurance payments as a result of Katrina and Rita. KBB wanted to give teachers a measly $1500/year raise (that comes out to $28 a week). Wow.

House unanimously approved HB52 for a $300 million incentive to help bring durable goods manufacturer to Louisiana


Today's session's schedule is as follows:


LEGISLATION TO BE CONSIDERED

HB35 TOWNSEND TAX/SALES USE - Provides relative to the sales and use tax exemption for utilities purchased by steelworks, blast furnaces, coke ovens, and rolling mills (Item #21)
HB59 DORSEY TAX/INCOME-CREDIT Provides for a child tax credit (Item #12)
HB120 TOWNSEND TAX/INCOME-CREDIT Authorizes a state tax credit to "offset" assessments levied by La. Citizens Property Insurance Corporation (Item #1)

One more thing, Kathleen. Ditch that gigantic fleur de lis you're wearing on your shoulder, put some of your money into local jeweler Mignon and get something more tasteful.

JMHO

Celcus has more here
and - as usual - adrastos puts his humorous spin here

HiTech NOPD

Tongue in cheek title.

This post discusses the very low-tech crime tracking techniques employed by New Orleans Police