Chris Rose Column

[mightyradgumbo]

Great story...each time I read his articles I get ready to ride an emotional rollercoaster.

[jolie]

http://blog.nola.com/chrisrose/2007/10/waiting_to_exhume_digging_up_t.html

[BigDag]

Chris on spontaneous second lines and their importance to the City's culture:

http://www.nola.com/living/t-p/index.ssf?/base/living-9/119191115058130.xml&coll=1&thispage=1

[bluesgirl]

Chris on spontaneous second lines and their importance to the City's culture:

http://www.nola.com/living/t-p/index.ssf?/base/living-9/119191115058130.xml&coll=1&thispage=1

You know, this BS happens everywhere now. What right do outsiders moving into a place have to tell the locals that they have to change their way of life? You see it all over. In my neck of the woods, it's people who want to get out of the city, so they move to the country and complain that the farms stink and try to get a odor permit. Some of the farmers are on farms that have been in the family for generations. The farmer can't keep paying court costs, so they sell and more homes are built, and soon there is a city there.

Note to the rest of the world:
If you are moving to NOLA, they have music in the streets there. It is part of the reason that you moved there. If you want to live in a quiet place with no music in the streets except by permit, head to another city. There are plenty of them around.

[Zbonnie]

Man, can that guy write!!! A talented treasure.

[glinda]

Once again, Mr Rose says it best. Long live spontaneous second lines.

[Frosty]

You know, this BS happens everywhere now. What right do outsiders moving into a place have to tell the locals that they have to change their way of life? You see it all over. In my neck of the woods, it's people who want to get out of the city, so they move to the country and complain that the farms stink and try to get a odor permit. Some of the farmers are on farms that have been in the family for generations. The farmer can't keep paying court costs, so they sell and more homes are built, and soon there is a city there.

Note to the rest of the world:
If you are moving to NOLA, they have music in the streets there. It is part of the reason that you moved there. If you want to live in a quiet place with no music in the streets except by permit, head to another city. There are plenty of them around.


Around here, they move by the airport and complain about the noise from the airplanes.

[BigDag]

Chris on the return of St. Charles Streetcars:

http://www.nola.com/rose/t-p/index.ssf?/base/living-0/1194330226231410.xml&coll=1

[festbabe]

Chris on the return of St. Charles Streetcars:

http://www.nola.com/rose/t-p/index.ssf?/base/living-0/1194330226231410.xml&coll=1

Clang - Clang --- Cheer!

[Amyloves...]

This was one from last week that I just loved so much.....
http://tinyurl.com/2f4kze

[Corona]

This was one from last week that I just loved so much.....
http://tinyurl.com/2f4kze
oh god, I'm sitting here crying at my computer before 6 a.m. That was beautiful Amy....man he just nails it every time!

Oh yeah, and we got the hour at the end of Festgiving..what a fantastic lagniappe that was. We needed that hour to get moving for the Saints game at the dome. Perfect timing :)

[papafrog]

http://blog.nola.com/chrisrose/2007/11/the_advocate.html#addcomments

heres a little snypet...
"Since the fall of 2005, perhaps no celebrity has matched Shearer's steady, visible and insistent support for and defense of the city. At risk of alienating fans who'd rather not think too hard or too much about it, Shearer continues to use all forms of media to challenge Americans to remain dialed in to the battered physical and emotional landscapes of the Gulf Coast."

[BigDag]

Check out Harry Shearer's videos on mydamnchannel.com; good stuff:

http://www.mydamnchannel.com/channel.aspx?episode=235

[rosetree]

Someone was commenting last week that they thought that we were a little "testy" down here lately. Read Chris' column he addresses this and some other discussions here i.e. the Neville Bros.
I know it is redundant, but Chris hits the nail on the head once again...

http://www.nola.com/rose/t-p/index.ssf?/base/living-0/1195973665121270.xml&coll=1

[Amyloves...]

I just LOVED Chris Rose today.....as usual....he does hit de nail on de head.

[papafrog]

" You gotta be crazy in the head to live here. Lone Star singer Robert Earl Keen says it best when he sings: "The road goes on forever and the party never ends."

That's the road I'm talking about -- the one with a marching band making you late for an appointment. That's the journey I'm taking, potholes and all. "

[ibjamn]

I just LOVED Chris Rose today.....as usual....he does hit de nail on de head.


AmyLoves & AMan were talking about this column at dinner tonight. I just read it and Chris Rose really does speak for us, doesn't he?

[VWGal]

Another good one from Chris -- I hope one day he does another book, I'd be in line again to buy it.

How about this quote: "Young people of great hope and spirit are pouring into this town to take part in the recovery of one of the world's most interesting places."

That could be our Zydekitty!

[peteup]

"I still cling firmly to the notion that the longer you live in New Orleans, the more unfit you become to live anywhere else." (Chris Rose)

That comes extremely close to the best line I have read this century. Bless y'all.

[Zydekitten]

"I still cling firmly to the notion that the longer you live in New Orleans, the more unfit you become to live anywhere else." (Chris Rose)

That comes extremely close to the best line I have read this century. Bless y'all.
Yup, that's the line that succinctly best explains why I made the move . . . after years of long visits for Fest, I just became unfit to live year-round anywhere else and had to just come down here 24-7 dagnabit! ;) :)

Chris just always has the right words and feelings though - very eloquent and right on target - love dat man! :D

[Amy Winette]

I just finished 1 Dead in the Attic (took me awhile to get to it, bought it awhile back) and in the intro, he does talk about the next book . . . Easy to have all the columns collected in one place like that!

I was sad that he and his wife split and that he had to do rehab for pain pills, suppose that's old news but I hadn't read it before, I'm sure he's doing better though, I just felt bad after all he (and everyone down there) has been through.

[Corona]

oh my...i just read it outloud to Sammy...I had to stop a few times because I got choked up...she had tears and a smile on her face. god, there's nothing like New Orleans...

[BigDag]

More Chris:

http://www.nola.com/rose/t-p/index.ssf?/base/living-0/1196145289233130.xml&coll=1&thispage=1

[Corona]

oh man...how fantastic....Ib, put this one on the list for our next dinner out sister!

[ibjamn]

oh man...how fantastic....Ib, put this one on the list for our next dinner out sister!

done and done! We'll probably go this weekend. I just sent the link to David.

[Corona]

cool, please report back...this is one restaurant we want to support...we can do a little bit to help them pay it forward :)

[ibjamn]

cool, please report back...this is one restaurant we want to support...we can do a little bit to help them pay it forward :)

LOL!!! David doesn't like middle-eastern food (I love it!), so we NEVER go out for it, even though there are a ton of good mid-east restaurants here. I just finished telling him, "just suck it up. We've got to support this place!" hehehehehhe, he agrees. :)

[funkkjunkie]

From the description, my prediction is there will be sometihng on the menu that he loves. :)

[ibjamn]

From the description, my prediction is there will be sometihng on the menu that he loves. :)

I'm pretty sure you're right!

[VWGal]

My eyes get so leaky everytime I read a Chris Rose column -- this one is no exception. :) I love the idea of paying it forward, and this is such a heartwarming real life example.

[Corona]

LOL!!! David doesn't like middle-eastern food (I love it!), so we NEVER go out for it, even though there are a ton of good mid-east restaurants here. I just finished telling him, "just suck it up. We've got to support this place!" hehehehehhe, he agrees. :)
yayy, way to go David!! :)

[ShaSha]

Man, I hope they can stay open until jazz fest! How much business would they need to be free enough to pay that $10000 forward? Such a great story - I think I want to eat there everyday!!

[AtPontchartrain]

I'll tell you some more. It is a damn shame we lost Dr. Dickson to Houston post Katrina. He is already a healer, a renowned orthopedist who is an expert on acetabular fractures and lectures on the subject all around the world. He has many N.O. patients who drive or fly to Houston to see him. And that his family had the opportunity to be angels by passing that $10,000 gift on to the Arabesque folks is some amazing miracle and reminder of what really matters, isn't it?

[VWGal]

Another wonderful Chris Rose column -- we used to drive into town to look at lights, and I'm guilty as charged for driving my kids around to see them. Maybe we'll head out tonight, even though they are now 19 and 22!

Enjoy everyone!

http://blog.nola.com/chrisrose/2007/12/have_yourself_an_anna_banana_c.html

[Frosty]

We have an area near us called Sauganash where the residents are well known for their beautifully decorated homes. In fact, if you catch a snowfall, you can drive around the neighborhood and see Santa directing traffic and a live choir dressed in their Dickens finest caroling to the carloads of gawkers. We began this tradition when I was a child when my parents would drive me around and it continues to this day as we now drive my kids through the neighborhood. The stuffed/mounted deer are a highlight for the kids. Then we get back home and I always say, "look at that house". My wife will always say "that's the best one yet", and the kids chime in "daaaaaad, that's our house you silly". I love the Christmas season right there with you, Mr. Rose.

[rosetree]

My 'hood in last Saturday's paper...:D

http://www.nola.com/home_and_garden/t-p/index.ssf?/base/living-2/119830446941430.xml&coll=1

[ozzie]

I love that in Cairns just about every neighbourhood has it's general housing balanced out by a few mansions and also some public housing.

When we do the looking at lights drive around we ooh and aah at the pretty lights on the big houses, but the lights in the public housing joints always seem a little more charming. The thrown together mish mash of decorations always make us laugh and families are gathered outside in the yard and kids are running amok, shrieking with delight... not locked inside behind their fancy front doors.

Merry Christmas to Chris.

[BigDag]

Chris' New Year's Day column. http://www.nola.com/rose/t-p/index.ssf?/base/living-0/1199168444314580.xml&coll=1&thispage=1

[rosetree]

Chris' New Year's Day column. http://www.nola.com/rose/t-p/index.ssf?/base/living-0/1199168444314580.xml&coll=1&thispage=1

"Year Three brings faith, more faith. Let the litterers, racists, self-willed ignoramuses and professional agitators take a powder. They don't deserve to reap the gains of the rebirth of this glorious city. Shut them out, shut them down and shut them up. Their numbers will dwindle over time. Enlightenment is an inexorable march."

Thank you Mr. Rose!!!!

[windowman]

Chris' New Year's Day column. http://www.nola.com/rose/t-p/index.ssf?/base/living-0/1199168444314580.xml&coll=1&thispage=1

Chris' New Year's column is wonderful. He says most everything that I have been thinking and feeling. I had thought about posting comments on the subject, but they would not be nearly as articulate or entertaining. 2007 was a time of positive change and we will see the effect of it this year and going forward. New Orleans can never be just as it once was, but there is real hope that in some ways it will be better.

[VWGal]

Go Chris Go! Accentuate the positive...minimize the negative....

[jazzykeb]

Very good, thanks for the post.

[AtPontchartrain]

I knew about these gatherings, but Chris Rose's way telling of the whole story brings them aglow with purpose....

=========

Chris Rose: One by one, murder victims memoralized
by The Times-Picayune
Tuesday January 08, 2008, 9:03 AM

http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2008/01/chris_rose_one_by_one_murder_v.html

[Zydekitten]

I really love this one . . . Chris' view from Tiger Mountain:

http://blog.nola.com/chrisrose/2008/01/chris_rose_party_time_on_tiger.html

It was my first-ever New Orleans tailgating experience downtown and it was pretty damn great to me too, my first night back in my new hometown after the holiday trip away. Good times.

:)

[Orleansnj]

hey girl !!!

So how much do you love your new home town?!?!? It's a perfect place to be.... I love that you just wrote that.

I hated coming back here on Sunday - but it's only 104 days until I get there again.......and then we can all Fest together !!!

[Zydekitten]

Hey, Sweetpea!

I love it with right down to my toes, baby!! I agree - it IS a perfect place to be and I wish you were here too . . . can't wait to see you at Fest, chica :D Hang in there, it's not too long now!

[BigDag]

Letters From The Center Of The Universe:

http://www.nola.com/rose/t-p/index.ssf?/base/living-0/120383477859360.xml&coll=1

[Zydekitten]

WOO HOO! Let's hear it for some Down East-ers!!!

http://blog.nola.com/chrisrose/2008/03/maine_teen_feels_debt_of_grati.html#more

:D

[saturn]

That's a great article -- thank for posting it.

[jazzykeb]

yes, very good, thanks.

[Michelino]

One of the many that make you wish Chris was national syndicated and sending the message to every small town editorial page that more help is needed, what has arrived is sincerely appreciated - all of which is just more proof that the golden rule is its own reward.

[Corona]

Man, that was beautiful. I agree Mich...I wish he was national. His writing is amazing. Way to go Jeff...he sounds like a sweet kid who's learned a lot during his few trips to New Orleans. Loved the "soup" part of the article :)

[rosetree]

I so look forward to opening up my paper twice a week and reading Chris' column. He is a dose of reality and many "ah ha" moments for us locals. He says things the way we are thinking!
....and a BIG thank you to the kid from Maine and all of the wonderful people who come down here and bust their butts to help us rebuild to become a better city.

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q98/rosetreeglass/rosethankyou2.gif

[Dixiegal]

Loved that story - thanks for posting it. I don't subscribe to the TP (I read it online) but it isn't the same and I end up missing Chris Rose's columns alot. That was one I missed.:)

[Zydekitten]

Y'all are very welcome! I always love Chris' articles, but really enjoyed reading about the love that a fellow native New Englander has discovered for New Orleans.

:)

[Dixiegal]

Y'all are very welcome! I always love Chris' articles, but really enjoyed reading about the love that a fellow native New Englander has discovered for New Orleans.

:)


He's had the emotional pulse of this city right for many years, but never more than since Katrina. Speaks for all of us.

[VWGal]

Another great column...I would love to go to one of these...might not understand all the inside material, but the spectacle would be hilarious!

http://blog.nola.com/chrisrose/2008/03/chris_rose_new_orleans_charact.html

Some great Sunday reading from the master, Chris Rose. :)

[McGregor]

Go hornets!
http://www.nola.com/rose/t-p/index.ssf?/base/living-0/1208496104176940.xml&coll=1&thispage=1

[VWGal]

Our man is in fine fine form today -- don't forget to read the comments, whoooooooeeeeeeeeeeeeeee:

http://blog.nola.com/chrisrose/2008/06/chris_rose_columnist.html

[PaulC]

"These guys are as tight as the voters in Louisiana, who suddenly are raising hackles over our poor public servants in Baton Rouge just trying to get by. Admittedly, they are providing a truly groundbreaking form of government: The people elected by the people for the people are voting for a bill that every single one of the people opposes.

Nothing like a citizen government to renew your faith in Democracy."

and the truth keeps on hurtin'...

ya' know what they say about the difference between fiction and the real world,..

ya' gotta make fiction somewhat believable....

[BigDag]

Chris Rose this morning, on the passing of Wing:

http://blog.nola.com/chrisrose/2008/06/chris_rose_jazzfest_fixtures_e.html

[Festngator]

Chris Rose this morning, on the passing of Wing:

http://blog.nola.com/chrisrose/2008/06/chris_rose_jazzfest_fixtures_e.html

Wow!

[ozzie]

So nicely done by Chris.

I look forward to skipping around the Gospel Tent in Wing's honour... we never met him, but sure cheered his amazing spirit when we saw him. P'raps a timely reminder that when we see someone or something that captivates us, we should take the time to get acquainted.

[glinda]

...and a reminder to dance like the wind... or the wing....

[Frosty]

Already read this this morning and felt a tear come to my eye. RIP Wing

[NYMAMA]

If you have the chance to sit it out or dance....I hope you dance

[festbabe]

ooo - goosebumps.

[BigDag]

Chicago families donate guitars to NOMRF:

http://blog.nola.com/chrisrose/2008/07/jammin_generosity_of_two_famil.html

[Frosty]

Chicago families donate guitars to NOMRF:

http://blog.nola.com/chrisrose/2008/07/jammin_generosity_of_two_famil.html


Great story. I'll have to ask around to see if any of my friends know the Racensteins. They sound like a great family.

[i wanna be in NOLA]

Great story, indeed.

[swag]

At that same store, a young student from the university asked me: "What's your opinion of the hurricane?"

He asked me, I suppose, because I was 30 years older than anyone else in the joint, thereby exuding, strictly by process of Darwinian elimination, a greater store of wisdom than anyone else present.

"My opinion?" I asked, while gratuitously scratching my chin in ponderous repose. "My opinion is that I am against it," I said, and then walked out of the store.

:)

http://blog.nola.com/chrisrose/2008/08/everybody_please_just_relax_un.html

[Amyloves...]

:)

http://blog.nola.com/chrisrose/2008/08/everybody_please_just_relax_un.html

I loved the Chris Rose column today and laughed out loud at that line you quoted Swag (which felt pretty damn good!).

[Frosty]

I loved the Chris Rose column today and laughed out loud at that line you quoted Swag (which felt pretty damn good!).

Let's just pray Threadheads don't become Coneheads.

I'm leaving town for the weekend, I want you all still down there eating crawfish and dancing to Kermit when I return, you hear.

[Staxsun]

I've never lived in New Orleans, but I've always kept up with the local media folks. I've heard that Nash Roberts story a bunch of times. I've always thought it funny that people who say Nash left home and hasn't come back aren't looking on all the local newscasts when he magically appears with a slate or something archaic. Of course he isn't home; he's living at the TV station.

[swag]

Chris storm report:

http://blog.nola.com/chrisrose/2008/09/holes_in_the_ceiling_and_a_cha.html

[festbabe]

'Not too unhappy hour' - that's nice. I think I'll get my own NTUH started.

[funkkjunkie]

moi aussi. :)

[Doubledown]

Gus wasn't to bad, Thank God .I havent had a drink in weeks, wonder whats open on labor day :)

[Corona]

moi aussi. :)
me too...afraid to exhale but things look real good for New Orleans right now....think I'll wait til tomorrow to fully exhale though. However, a glass of wine does sound good right about now! :)

[ibjamn]

me too...afraid to exhale but things look real good for New Orleans right now....think I'll wait til tomorrow to fully exhale though. However, a glass of wine does sound good right about now! :)

We're drinking my last bottle of the V. Sattui old vine Zin, eating brie, toasted olive bread, listening to music, talking & Heidi is cooking crabcakes.
Hopefully our only problem is power outage. :)

[yehyourite]

:)

[ibjamn]

:)

Hey you! I left you a voice message during Fay, didja get it?

[yehyourite]

I did not...hmmmmm.......well thank you, love you, and enjoy the crabcakes! Yum.

[Michelino]

me too...afraid to exhale but things look real good for New Orleans right now....think I'll wait til tomorrow to fully exhale though. However, a glass of wine does sound good right about now! :)

Good idea. Things do look good. Although there are still places where the water is still rising at this point.

[linza22]

Good idea. Things do look good. Although there are still places where the water is still rising at this point.

i know...that's why i'm still a little nervous...but very hopeful.

[ibjamn]

I did not...hmmmmm.......well thank you, love you, and enjoy the crabcakes! Yum.

Thank you, baybee, I am cautiously optimistic. :)

[Corona]

Hi Jenn!! So you guys finally got to make the trip to the beach house huh? :D Hopefully all is well with your home. Please let us know as soon as you hear okay? Hugs to Shaw, Heidi and Dave....and have a crabcake for me! Yum!!

[funkkjunkie]

Sounds like you've had plenty of diversions, ibj. Hugs to all. :D

[Amy Winette]

Mmm, crab cakes and zin, sounds wonderful Jenn!

[ozzie]

We're drinking my last bottle of the V. Sattui old vine Zin, eating brie, toasted olive bread, listening to music, talking & Heidi is cooking crabcakes.
Hopefully our only problem is power outage. :)

Onya! If you must go through this, it may as well be in style!

Any word from Seefood? If he's been working all thru this he must be exhausted.

[Corona]

Onya! If you must go through this, it may as well be in style!

Any word from Seefood? If he's been working all thru this he must be exhausted.
Talked to Ken via text last night. He's doing okay in Alexandria but said it was a "rough, rough ride during the storm". Not getting much sleep and has been working for days now.....BUT he's okay.

[Festngator]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wln_iq5bc8k
myths of Katrina

Natural disaster

Wrong place

under sea level

Levees Only a NOLA problem

[swag]

http://blog.nola.com/chrisrose/2008/09/the_citys_a_mess_but_the_quart.html

Funny (sort of), every now and then you pass a building that looks like it took a wind hit from Gustav but it's not clear that it's not still that way from Katrina.

It reminds me of a story told by the escort for a Newsday reporter in the Aftermath of The Big One in '05. They were just setting out from the Quarter and headed into the Marigny and the reporter from New York started going apoplectic -- all "Holy This!" and "Holy That!" -- and the escort, taking in the sight of the permanent and somewhat charming decay of the neighborhood, told him calmly: "Relax, we're not to the damage yet. This is what it always looks like."

And that's kind of what the City of New Orleans looks like today. What it always looks like. What it always looks like when almost everybody is gone.

[festbabe]

http://blog.nola.com/chrisrose/2008/09/the_citys_a_mess_but_the_quart.html

The readers' comments are ususally better than the article:

"While they're at it, do you think SDT can do a sweep through City Hall?"

[McGregor]

http://blog.nola.com/chrisrose/2008/09/after_the_hurricane_gustuv_pan.html

[NYMAMA]

http://blog.nola.com/chrisrose/2008/09/catching_up_with_sdts_sidney_t.html

[Orleansnj]

http://blog.nola.com/chrisrose/2008/09/catching_up_with_sdts_sidney_t.html

yeah - and he's cute too.

[McGregor]

http://blog.nola.com/chrisrose/2008/10/someone_objected_to_bywater_si.html

Someone objected to Bywater sidewalk art, and city crews demolished it
Posted by Chris Rose, Columnist, The Times-Picayune October 05, 2008 4:30AM

Artist Christopher Porche West sits on his Bank of Soul NOLA, which the city voted to remove from the front of his studio. New Orleans has never been a city that plays much by the rules, if for no other reason than there aren't that many in the first place and what rules there are tend to be obscure, unknown or overlooked.

At no time has this been more in evidence than in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, when a large-scale sense of activism and ownership took hold of the masses...........

[ibjamn]

That's a shame and embarrassment.

Chris is a wonderful artist who donated the gorgeous MG indian photo to the raffle this year, that I think DJGriff won.

[Delta]

I saw something on this last week or so (maybe on Squandered Heritage?) and there's a flickr site with pics of it.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/porchewest/2917383856/

Karen Gadbois is worth a read if the mass, indiscriminate demolition of the city and the f^$#ed up policies of the king of New Orleans is of any interest to you.
http://squanderedheritage.com/

[Delta]

http://nolarising.blogspot.com/

They're pretty good about keeping the blog updated with paint party dates if anyone is interested.

[Orleansnj]

I saw something on this last week or so (maybe on Squandered Heritage?) and there's a flickr site with pics of it.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/porchewest/2917383856/

Karen Gadbois is worth a read if the mass, indiscriminate demolition of the city and the f^$#ed up policies of the king of New Orleans is of any interest to you.
http://squanderedheritage.com/

Yes. The insanity of city hall is going to forever wipe out everything that is interesting about New Orleans and makes it such a wonderful destination. I really hope that a property owner or a local activist group that would have standing could seek an injunction against the Mayor's office since it is so very clear that this junta mentality could undermine the very architectural backbone of the city.

I'd definitely support that effort.

It would also serve to open a window into 'decision-making' and bring this process to a grinding halt.

[jolie]

Really great interview with one of the artists of the Prospect.1 art installation today!

http://www.nola.com/timespic/stories/index.ssf?/base/living-12/122543045126360.xml&coll=1

[duende]

Great interview! and very ironic take on love considering Chris' recent brush with living his life in prose with the lines scrambled. After listening to Dan Cameron (curator & organizer for Prospect.1) on NPR last night, I really wish I could experience the biennial myself... Locals, please start a thread on your own brushes with the installations!

[Corona]

http://blog.nola.com/chrisrose/2008/10/someone_objected_to_bywater_si.html

Someone objected to Bywater sidewalk art, and city crews demolished it
Posted by Chris Rose, Columnist, The Times-Picayune October 05, 2008 4:30AM

Artist Christopher Porche West sits on his Bank of Soul NOLA, which the city voted to remove from the front of his studio. New Orleans has never been a city that plays much by the rules, if for no other reason than there aren't that many in the first place and what rules there are tend to be obscure, unknown or overlooked.

At no time has this been more in evidence than in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, when a large-scale sense of activism and ownership took hold of the masses...........
:( That sucks. It's actions like this that are threatening the funkiness of New Orleans and why she is different from any other city in the country. Don't the powers that be friggin get that???!!!!!:mad:

[rosetree]

:( That sucks. It's actions like this that are threatening the funkiness of New Orleans and why she is different from any other city in the country. Don't the powers that be friggin get that???!!!!!:mad:

The "powers that be" don't get much!:(

[festivalgirl]

The "powers that be" don't get much!:(

Kinda sad what "power" can do to some people. They forget that they are there to take care of us - not just themselves.

[swag]

Nice one (http://blog.nola.com/chrisrose/2008/11/life_is_but_a_dream_for_second.html) today.

Life is but a dream for second-graders on a field trip by the river
Posted by Chris Rose, Columnist, The Times-Picayune November 01, 2008 4:45AM

It was just that kind of day. You could see it, feel it, smell it, that something special in the air this time of year in New Orleans on those nothing-can-go-wrong kind of autumn days.

You didn't spill any coffee on your lap while you drove to work, you didn't hear a single campaign ad on the radio and all of your lights were green -- except that one yellow, but the traffic camera at that intersection has never functioned anyway.

It was a Wednesday and you were still basking in the glow of the Saints victory in London, you were anticipating the same results from the Hornets at Golden State, your neighbor's dog slept late and your daughter agreed to be Snow White for Halloween instead of Britney Spears.

Yes, it was that good a day.

Not even Cloris Leachman getting voted off "Dancing with the Stars" the night before was enough to ruin it.

My son's second grade class ate beetles and crickets. Public school kids in other cities, they don't often get that opportunity. But this place, New Orleans, it's... different.

His class went to the Insectarium for a field trip. Part of the experience there is to visit a back room where a man in a white chef's coat prepares bite-size delicacies for visitors made out of some of the very species on display in the museum, which I think is kind of strange because what if the Audubon Institute expanded such a practice to all its properties and they started plucking turtles and eels out of the tanks at the Aquarium and made soup right before your eyes?

Buffalo and emu steaks at the zoo, anyone?

As the kids gathered outside the museum after the tour, several of them came upon a huge cricket on the sidewalk -- unusually large enough to merit inspection by an Insectarium curator who was summoned from inside. He concluded that it was not an escapee from the premises but was, in fact, a free-range cricket that probably grew so large from eating leftovers out of the dump bin behind the Palace Cafe just up the block.

OK, that was my conclusion, not his.

Afterward, the kids trundled down to the end of Canal Street to Woldenberg Park to eat lunch. Teachers and parent chaperones laid out blankets and the 60 or so of us spread out on the grass up over the river, which shimmered a lazy silver-blue below us.

It was that kind of day: The Big Muddy wasn't.

Into this Rockwellian tableau wandered a somewhat ragged-looking old man. His clothes were dirty and his eyes were that ruddy, marbled yellow-red that speaks of a life of no easy road and he wore a single gold strand of Mardi Gras beads.

I cannot conjecture what the teachers and other parents -- or the kids, for that matter -- were thinking as this man entered our public sanctuary, right into the center of our group. Who was this man and what were his intentions? What did he want from us? Were we in danger?

I looked around to see if the other adults were making eye contact and sending non-verbal communications, but truth is, nobody seemed particularly concerned. Most folks just went on eating their sandwiches and chatting with the kids, casting an occasional glance toward the man.

Amid my own private speculation, the visitor laid down an empty Popeye's chicken container at his feet and he began to sing. He sang "Dock of the Bay," very softly, his voice barely carrying in the river's breeze.

My first thought was: That sounds nice. My second thought was: It's a sure sign that the economy is on hard times when you're hustling public school kids for tips.

But he knew what he was doing. As I would find out shortly, he's been doing this for 49 years -- 50 as of next week -- singing in the streets and parks of New Orleans. And as he sang for us, segueing into James Brown's "I Feel Good," parents began to fetch out dollar bills to give to kids to put in the Popeye's box.

"Thank you, thank you," the man said after each song as if throngs of admirers were cheering him at Carnegie Hall. And, in his mind, maybe they were.

"They call me the human jukebox," he told me. "My name is Leonard Fleming, from Donaldsonville, Louisiana, and I am known all over the world. I have been on TV, in newspapers and in magazines."

Indeed, he's just the kind of guy tourists probably hope to come upon when they come to New Orleans seeking the secrets of life-well-lived in the course of a long weekend away from home.

The kids, they were also attracted to the quiet spectacle but, as kids are wont to do, they soon grew restless and began chasing each other around the park and this curious man and his curious songs were soon forgotten, relegated to the part of the brain that contained centipede cookies and a day away from the classroom in their collective consciousness.

The kids, what do they see? What do they hear? What do they know?

One learns much outside the classroom here in New Orleans. Bugs for lunch, the crazy bustle of Canal Street, the grand freight ships passing by, life and commerce commingling, the sun a warm red ball above, the river a big blue serpent below and a man in the middle singing "I Feel Good."

And it was hard not to, on one of those New Orleans autumn afternoons where music is in the air and life stretches forever downstream.

[festivalgirl]

Nice one (http://blog.nola.com/chrisrose/2008/11/life_is_but_a_dream_for_second.html) today.

:) :) :)

[ibjamn]

nice.

[Frosty]

"Indeed, he's just the kind of guy tourists probably hope to come upon when they come to New Orleans seeking the secrets of life-well-lived in the course of a long weekend away from home."

And just the kind of guy they likely move quickly away from denying themselves the true spirit of New Orleans.

[Zydekitten]

Saw Chris yesterday, sitting with his kids at Swamp Fest at the Zoo, he's grown a rather fierce looking goatee - but looked fairly at peace and seemed to be enjoying the gorgeous day and fun music (which I was happy to see).

[Doubledown]

"a man in a white chef's coat prepares bite-size delicacies for visitors made out of some of the very species on display in the museum, which I think is kind of strange because what if the Audubon Institute expanded such a practice to all its properties and they started plucking turtles and eels out of the tanks at the Aquarium and made soup right before your eyes? " We did eat gator at the beautiful Audobon Zoo , it was Gator Jerky, but still very tasty . Only in New Orleans :cool:

[swag]

Any word on Chris? I know he had some off-field issues last month, but it's been 3 weeks since his last column or post. Has the T-P said anything about his status?

[BigDag]

I don't know where Chris has been the last couple of months, but he's back in the paper today.

http://blog.nola.com/chrisrose/

[Belle]

I don't know where Chris has been the last couple of months, but he's back in the paper today.

http://blog.nola.com/chrisrose/

Short with little of Chris in it but sure glad he is in the paper again. Perhaps this is a sign he is getting back to "his thing" which we enjoy.:)

[ibjamn]

Wow, that's the kind of article Chris wrote before the federal flood, as entertainment columnist.

[rosetree]

Wow, that's the kind of article Chris wrote before the federal flood, as entertainment columnist.

That's what I thought when I read it this morning Jenn....I would like to see the new Chris with the type of commentary that he did after the "thing".

[swag]

Here's some "new Chris" for you. :)

So what if they're not really clovers? To those who've stumbled upon them, these wondrous little weeds are a lucky omen for the Lower 9th Ward

In the years since Katrina, the people of the Lower 9th Ward have been called a lot of things. Tenacious. Resilient. Obstinate. Proud.

But: Lucky? That seems a stretch, to be sure. However ...

There are a great many folks -- from here and elsewhere -- who believe nothing short of a miracle is afoot in the nation's most famous beat-down neighborhood. There, sprouting from the beleaguered soil -- from Flood Street (naturally) to Dorgenois -- are Mother Nature's very own lucky charms.

Sort of.

In the same way that sunflowers sprouted from vacant lots all over the neighborhood in the first spring after Katrina -- embodying the spirits of rebirth, regrowth and renewal -- a new horticultural phenomenon has excited the populous in recent weeks: Four-leaf clovers, they say, are coming up in vacant lots where homes were destroyed by the levee breach.

If that ain't karma, I don't know what is. Except this: The only difference between the sunflowers from three years ago and the four-leaf clovers of today is that the sunflowers were real. The four-leafed clover-like specimens, which indeed are spread far and wide across these Fields of Broken Dreams, are actually .¤.¤. weeds.

I know this because several weeks ago I reported a story for this paper about the alleged four-leaf clovers popping up in the L9 and folks going crazy over it. That story was never published because, just before press time, Louisiana State University AgCenter horticulturist and Times-Picayune gardening columnist Dan Gill took a look at the plants and corrected my naive assumption that they were, in fact, four-leaf clovers.

"I get asked about this sort of thing all the time," Gill told us then. "They see a patch of little green plants with four leaves and assume they're clovers. But four-leaf clovers are very rare."

We killed the column.

"Your editors have no sense of magic," declared Amelie Prescott, an art therapist and child trauma specialist down in the L9 and one of the first to alert me to the Miracle in the Malaise.

She and her colleague, artist Nicholas Busciglio, had noticed four-leafed, um, somethings growing in the exact location where they had previously performed an art therapy project with a couple dozen kids from the area.

This, they thought... this was BIG. They alerted the media. That is, they called me. And they introduced me to John Mullen, a retired school teacher and civic activist who tends to the many vacant lots around his home -- one of which was the site of Prescott and Busciglio's art project.

In a misty rain, he led me to the site.

"I've been looking around out here for years and it's hard as the dickens to find a four-leaf clover," he told me. "When we did find one, in the old days, we'd put it in our Bible."

Then he paused and with a gesture of his hand, beckoned my eyes to the ground. "Take a look at this. There's nothing but four-leaf clovers! My, oh my, now all we need is a leprechaun and a pot of gold!"

Indeed, they looked like four-leaf clovers to me. Then again, I grew up north of the Mason-Dixon line, where gullibility seems to run higher than in Dixie.

To wit: Chandra McCormick, proprietor of the L9 Gallery, recently accompanied a bunch of New York City culture vultures and art aficionados -- you know, the kinds of folks who actually buy art -- on a tour through the Lower 9th and when they came upon the site of the former home of famed folk artist and evangelist Sister Gertrude Morgan, all the Yankees swooned.

"Somebody looked down and said: Look at all these four-leaf clovers!" McCormick said. "They got all excited and everybody started picking them to bring back home. I had heard about the four-leaf clovers around here, but then I also heard somebody put the damper on it -- but I wasn't going to say anything to these people."

I guess that was me that put the damper on it. Because, after I told Prescott the truth about the plants -- at least, from a horticultural sense -- she told Mullen, who told someone else, who told someone else, and eventually word got out: There is no Santa Claus.

But please, don't kill the messenger. A newsman's mission is the fearless search for the truth .¤.¤. even if the truth bums everybody out.

It's all very confusing, this clover controversy. For instance, in a recent review of New Orleans' Prospect.1 art extravaganza in the New Yorker magazine, art critic Peter Schjeldahl wrote about the bizarre "installation" by German artist Katharina Grosse, who spray-painted a Lower 9 house -- and accompanying lawn -- day-glo orange to signify .¤.¤. well, something.

Schjedahl observed: "Green spears of grass -- and shamrocks! -- were starting to pierce the yard's crust of paint, stirring hope as wild as the city's despair must have been."

Shamrocks and Hope in the Lower 9! Let the people know!

Of course, this just muddied things further. First of all, it is common for folks to confuse four-leaf clovers and shamrocks but the truth is, a shamrock has three leaves. And, actually, there's no botanical species called a shamrock, which is Gaelic for "little clover" and basically refers to any strain of clover found across the globe. Including, presumably, the Lower 9th Ward.

When I called Schjeldahl to ask what, exactly, it was that he saw, he told me:

"My amateur botanical identification was that it was that it had three leaves and was very large."

"Are you sure it wasn't four?" I asked him.

He paused. Then said: "Maybe it was four. I don't remember. But I'm sure we fact-checked it."

Indeed, the New Yorker is known throughout the journalism industry as having perhaps the most rigorous fact-checking operation in the world. But they don't have Dan Gill. So they either did or did not tell the world that there are four-leaf clovers growing on Dauphine Street, thereby creating what will no doubt be a second wave of New Yorkers (the people, not the magazine) scouring empty lots for plucks of luck -- four-leaf clovers. Or shamrocks.

Blissfully unaware that they've captured a fistful of weeds.


Maintains Busciglio, in the face of evidence to the contrary: "I have researched clovers on the Internet and there are several strands around the world and some of them look very much like these."

"So, what are you saying?" I asked him. "Are these or are these not four-leaf clovers?"

"They are," he said.

He is not alone is clinging to this belief. In fact, far from it. A local named R. L. Brown put it to me in a way any New Orleanian can understand:

"They look like clover, right?" he asked.

Yes, I said.

"They have four leaves, right?" he followed.

Yes, I said.

"There you go," he said.

Case closed.

Prescott, after ruminating over the disappointing revelations for the past few weeks, put it another way.

"We are free," she said, "to determine our own magic."

http://blog.nola.com/chrisrose/2008/12/medium_clover24.JPG

[funkkjunkie]

Amen.

[Belle]

I believe:) Thanks Swag

[BigDag]

A cute column on spotting a New Orleanian at Inauguration Day:

http://blog.nola.com/chrisrose/2009/01/how_do_you_spot_a_new_orleania.html

[festbabe]

A cute column on spotting a New Orleanian at Inauguration Day:

http://blog.nola.com/chrisrose/2009/01/how_do_you_spot_a_new_orleania.html

There's some of the old, classic Chris coming back. What a great day!

[pokerchick66]

What a perfect column.

[Zydekitten]

Here's Chris' excellent take on the current trash talk goin on here in New Orleans these days:

http://www.nola.com/rose/index.ssf/2009/02/chris_rose_gets_to_the_bottom.html

[BigDag]

I'm surprised that none of our female T-heads have mentioned this today:

http://tinyurl.com/bcc35h

[pokerchick66]

I'm surprised that none of our female T-heads have mentioned this today:

http://tinyurl.com/bcc35h

I like his outlook on life, especially what he said in the last paragraph.

lol, now I can't get Roadhouse Blues out of my head. :p

[festbabe]

List of things to do in NOLA: +1

[festivalgirl]

I'm surprised that none of our female T-heads have mentioned this today:

http://tinyurl.com/bcc35h

cuz he's not ......

[McGregor]

http://www.nola.com/rose/index.ssf/2009/03/a_thankyou_letter_to_my_accide.html

[jolie]

http://www.nola.com/rose/index.ssf/2009/03/a_thankyou_letter_to_my_accide.html

Good one today! I'll take one good column a week, rather than those 60 sec interviews.....

[ohio]

oh fer sure!

[Doubledown]

Good one today! I'll take one good column a week, rather than those 60 sec interviews.....

"That you put the "ho" in Tangipahoa. " What the hell is Tangipahoa?

[jolie]

"That you put the "ho" in Tangipahoa. " What the hell is Tangipahoa?

Kentwood is a town in Tangipahoa Parish.. where Britney's from

or as known in my line of work as BFE....

[Doubledown]

learn something new everyday.

[jolie]

A lil something on Antoinette K-Doe and New Orleans:)

http://www.nola.com/timespic/stories/index.ssf?/base/living-12/1236493379275190.xml&coll=1

[BigDag]

Chris spent the last couple of days just like the rest of us:

http://www.nola.com/rose/index.ssf/2009/03/the_jazz_fest_cubes.html

[Gards]

Chris spent the last couple of days just like the rest of us:

http://www.nola.com/rose/index.ssf/2009/03/the_jazz_fest_cubes.html

Drifting a bit here BD,but your boys are going well.

[BigDag]

Drifting a bit here BD,but your boys are going well.

Yeah, I'm listening. Very encouraging. Of course, it's just the first game. And it is Richmond.

[Gards]

Yeah, I'm listening. Very encouraging. Of course, it's just the first game. And it is Richmond.

Good point.
Most over hyped game in history,but I am sure that getting 88,000 on a Thursday night will help some of Richmonds pain.Cheers, time for me to drift away over to season ending Cricket Club matters.

[pokerchick66]

Chris spent the last couple of days just like the rest of us:

http://www.nola.com/rose/index.ssf/2009/03/the_jazz_fest_cubes.html

Loved this one:

"The Cubes coming out is like hearing Fess playing "Big Chief" for the first time on the radio each winter, telling you that New Orleans is ready to throw down again. It's like seeing the first lights of Christmas. It tells me the most wonderful time of the year has arrived."

[Moon]

While I haven't been as obsessive with cube studies as Chris, I did go out on google images yesterday to find JazzFest pix for my desktop. I now have a nice collection of shots that I change out every couple of days. My favorite is one from '77 of my old buds, The Salt Creek Bluegrass Boys.

When time comes to plan my daily assault on the fairgrounds, I got a nice map of this year's(I guess)layout.

[swag]

He's one of us for sure!

Funny, Bistro Daisy buys into the theory that I believe I once heard Emeril espouse: You want to make food taste great? Two words: Pork fat.

The escargot had bacon in it. The sweetbreads had bacon in it. (Not enough to disguise what it was, though.) And my redfish on a bed of gnocchi and wilted pea shoots had bacon in it. And Emeril as correct: It was all excellent. Even the sweetbreads. That is, if you like sweetbreads.

Which, it turns out, I don't.

But I do love bacon.

http://www.nola.com/rose/index.ssf/2009/04/post_10.html

[Carolina Beadhead]

Loved this one:

"The Cubes coming out is like hearing Fess playing "Big Chief" for the first time on the radio each winter, telling you that New Orleans is ready to throw down again. It's like seeing the first lights of Christmas. It tells me the most wonderful time of the year has arrived."

Except we get that way in December/January when the weekend lineup is announced... :D

[pokerchick66]

He's one of us for sure!

http://www.nola.com/rose/index.ssf/2009/04/post_10.html

Good column. Has anybody here ever tried sweetbreads? I was thinking about maybe checking it out. I'm adventurous but that may be a little too ambitious for me.

[Orleansnj]

He's one of us for sure!



http://www.nola.com/rose/index.ssf/2009/04/post_10.html

Bistro Daisy is quite a gem of a place. Mr. Onj had an oyster soup appetizer there that was beyond divine....... definitely recommend it.

[mightyradgumbo]

Good column. Has anybody here ever tried sweetbreads? I was thinking about maybe checking it out. I'm adventurous but that may be a little too ambitious for me.

I have and I didn't like them. I do love bacon though. :p

[MaloGator]

Good column. Has anybody here ever tried sweetbreads? I was thinking about maybe checking it out. I'm adventurous but that may be a little too ambitious for me.

I have and I didn't like them. I do love bacon though. :p

Organ meats aren't for everyone...bacon is!:D

[pokerchick66]

"For those who feel they haven't been getting enough thymus gland or pancreas in their diets, have we got a culinary delicacy for you! Sweetbreads are the thymus glands and/or pancreas of calves, lambs and piglets under one year old. These glands are classified as offal in culinary circles, along with other parts such as gizzards and intestines. Unlike other members of the offal family, however, sweetbreads are considered a delicacy among those familiar with haute cuisine."

Sweetbreads are the ultimate organ meat, highly prized by chefs and connoisseurs for their mild flavor and velvety texture. They are the most versatile of offal meats and can be prepared using virtually any cooking method. They can be sautéed, braised, poached, grilled, fried, and even roasted. In addition to center of the plate entrees, sweetbreads can figure prominently in hot or cold appetizers, stews, salads, pates, terrines, and sausages.

These tender and delicately flavored meats come exclusively from young animals, most often lamb or veal. Veal sweetbreads are the most commonly used by chefs today. Sweetbreads come in two varieties. The first is the thymus gland, also called the throat sweetbread orgorge in French. The second variety is the pancreas, also referred to as the stomach sweetbread or noix in French."

[ohio]

Good column. Has anybody here ever tried sweetbreads? I was thinking about maybe checking it out. I'm adventurous but that may be a little too ambitious for me.
I think they are delish! I don't like any other organs, especially not liver. Sweetbreads are much milder tasting.

[pokerchick66]

I think they are delish! I don't like any other organs, especially not liver. Sweetbreads are much milder tasting.

Well, Brigsten's has some on their menu. I might get a little adventurous this fest. :D

[Amy Winette]

Organ meats aren't for everyone...bacon is!:D

YYR Malo!

I can't read the organ meat post PC or I'll hurl!

[pokerchick66]

YYR Malo!

I can't read the organ meat post PC or I'll hurl!

lmao, sorry, babe. :o

[stlbarb]

YYR Malo!

I can't read the organ meat post PC or I'll hurl!

you dont have to be preg-o to get a little nauseous from that post. :eek:

[duende]

http://www.nola.com/rose/index.ssf/2009/04/post_12.html

Cool profile - and more proof that there's a back-story for every "character" you've ever seen at Jazzfest... it'll be good to see the hat-man back at Liuzza's

[BigDag]

A cool story by Chris from today's paper:

http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/04/all_around_new_orleans_it_was.html

[Belle]

A cool story by Chris from today's paper:

http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/04/all_around_new_orleans_it_was.html

Smiling from ear to ear even though I am miles away. And some folks I run into think we are certifiable!!

Thanks for the post on what looks to be another great day at Fest for all of us...there or not.

Chris is right on

[swag]

Times are tough; everybody knows that. That's why "stay-cations" have become all the rage across America: The practice of staying home and being a tourist in your own town.

You can save a lot of money that way.

But I've got a cheaper and much more exciting travel idea: This summer, me and my family are taking a "Ray-cation." It's a Dream Vacation - literally. We're going to spend a week visiting all the attractions that Ray Nagin promised us over the past eight years but which never really happened.

It's been the hallmark of his two terms in office, really - the notion that you don't actually need to do anything as long as you think of an idea and then announce it with much fanfare.

Read the rest:
http://www.nola.com/rose/index.ssf/2009/07/times_are_tough_everybody_know.html

[swag]

Sunday August 09, 2009, 4:00 AM

After a few relatively idle summers, I took my kids on a rambling American road trip for a few weeks.

Just so there's no confusion, it was a "vacation" we took, not a staycation nor a Raycation, which means A) that we left town and B) that I had to pay for it myself.

Many things happened on our trip -- thrilling adventures in Washington, D.C., and Chicago and, best of all, chasing waterfalls in the forests of northern Wisconsin.

There's just something about waterfalls that gets me.

But, after having been back for a few days and talking about my trip with friends, it dawned on me that the most significant thing about the trip might not have been what happened during it -- but what didn't.

Here's what didn't happen: Once I identified myself to strangers as a New Orleanian, no one hooded their eyes, reached to touch me softly on the wrist and inquire in a hushed, cautious tone -- as one might, of a very sick relative -- "how is everything?"

No one asked me if we had electricity yet.

No one asked me if the water had drained from the city yet.

No one asked if my family had been able to return yet.

No one asked me if I thought the city was going to make it.

Several asked if I thought Reggie Bush was finally going to have a breakout all-pro season.

Two folks asked me just what was the deal with our mayor.

But back to that Katrina thing: This is no official register of where the American psyche resides, relative to Katrina and its aftermath. It's just one guy's experience.

But it's a welcome experience all the same. No one cried on me and I didn't cry on anyone else.

And it wasn't until I had returned home and reflected on the trip that I realized I had, probably for the first time since the storm, been spared the often grueling, always heart-rending chore of trying to explain all the Whats and Whys of living here. And it is no small relief to realize I can move through places wearing the colors of a proud New Orleans identity without having to justify, clarify, explain or -- worse -- beg for something.

It's almost like being from anywhere else.

Almost.

As we approach the fourth anniversary of our unholy baptism, is this good news or bad news?

Is it better to be thought of in the whole, as a regular American Joe, than to walk around with an asterisk above your head, a special needs citizen -- a victim?

I'm glad that part feels gone -- for me at least.

But does it mean everyone has forgotten us?

If your answer to that is yes, how do you suppose they feel over in Galveston?

Yes, there are lots of extenuating circumstances and lots of exceptions to the rule; Mayor Nagin's tens of thousands of phantom census-takers comes to mind.

But, could it be, at long last, that -- after pondering the notion for so long -- maybe we have actually arrived at the New Normal?

Is this it?

Or, as I heard from the back seat of the car so many times over the past three weeks: Are we there yet?

Hard to imagine.

The implications are staggering. It makes me want to ask you something.

But please, first, come a little closer. Now, tell me... how is everything?

http://www.nola.com/rose/index.ssf/2009/08/chris_rose_we_finally_may_be_i.html

[rosetree]

I'm sorry, but I disagree with Chris. I just came back from up north, and everyone was still asking how everything in New Orleans was. I was more than happy to let them know that New Orleans was, in fact, doing better in some areas than some of the rest of the country, but that we were still rebuilding. After the storm, most people said that it would be 10 years before the "new normal" would be normal, and I think that is still true. We have come a long way, but we still have a long way to go.

[Lit]

Did you get to Colony Grill for pizza Rosie?

[radi8tors]

I'm sorry, but I disagree with Chris. I just came back from up north, and everyone was still asking how everything in New Orleans was. I was more than happy to let them know that New Orleans was, in fact, doing better in some areas than some of the rest of the country, but that we were still rebuilding. After the storm, most people said that it would be 10 years before the "new normal" would be normal, and I think that is still true. We have come a long way, but we still have a long way to go.

YYR! I think since he was on vacation, his family and friends consciously avoided asking him those questions to spare him from feeling uncomfortable.

The average American, still asks those questions.

[Delta]

I'm sorry, but I disagree with Chris. I just came back from up north, and everyone was still asking how everything in New Orleans was. I was more than happy to let them know that New Orleans was, in fact, doing better in some areas than some of the rest of the country, but that we were still rebuilding. After the storm, most people said that it would be 10 years before the "new normal" would be normal, and I think that is still true. We have come a long way, but we still have a long way to go.

That was my first thought too rosie, but I hate to ever have an opinon about how things "are" since I don't live there. Even this far away from NOLA, my friends in other parts of the country still ask, and every time I mention making a trip down they want to know all sorts of weird stuff. Some of that even comes from people who live here!

My favorite, from about 6 months ago, was if they had gotten all the houses moved out of the middle of the streets yet.

[rosetree]

Did you get to Colony Grill for pizza Rosie?

No, my brother prefers Springdale Pizza, so that's what we got...it was good too! Pizza up there is just plain better than here. ;)

[mightyradgumbo]

No, my brother prefers Springdale Pizza, so that's what we got...it was good too! Pizza up there is just plain better than here. ;)

YYR, RT, but it has got much better than it was...Now chinese food that is a different story, although from what seefood say your side of da river has some good places.

I get the question whenever I talk to a person that didn't know I moved here. I am not sure if that is a good thing or not in a way. This may mean diminished media coverage of the recovery of the city. We are definitely sitting better than some places as the recession came economically later than it did in other areas.

[mightyradgumbo]

We have come a long way, but we still have a long way to go.

We need to get C. Ray and Riley out of their respective offices. I believe the negative image of both these guys and their lack of doing anything close to their jobs have hurt the city in the past few years.

[Corona]

I'm sorry, but I disagree with Chris. I just came back from up north, and everyone was still asking how everything in New Orleans was. I was more than happy to let them know that New Orleans was, in fact, doing better in some areas than some of the rest of the country, but that we were still rebuilding. After the storm, most people said that it would be 10 years before the "new normal" would be normal, and I think that is still true. We have come a long way, but we still have a long way to go.
I agree Rosie. We were at a wedding Friday and a wedding shower today. When we talk about our wedding being in New Orleans, we still get asked by MANY people how it is after the Thing.

As an aside, my sis took my 5 year old nephew to Ontario Place in Toronto last week. They went to the Imax theatre to see Hurricane on the Bayou. Now Noah is my baby and he's completely enthralled with music and new orleans. My sis said he started bawling 3 different times and was so upset about the time it took to rescue people. He sat on my lap yesterday for an hour and a half asking question after question about the Thing, what's happening now etc. He said to me (with his big blue eyes wide) "the people from New Orleans are special people and have lots of courage to rebuild their houses". I said "yes, they sure are....they are VERY special people who love their city because there is no where in the world as fantastic as New Orleans". Then he told me he likes New Orleans music because "new Orleans music takes your blues away". I just smiled and hugged him close :)

[Corona]

That was my first thought too rosie, but I hate to ever have an opinon about how things "are" since I don't live there. Even this far away from NOLA, my friends in other parts of the country still ask, and every time I mention making a trip down they want to know all sorts of weird stuff. Some of that even comes from people who live here!

My favorite, from about 6 months ago, was if they had gotten all the houses moved out of the middle of the streets yet.
lol...oh jeez....amazing isn't it?

[mightyradgumbo]

He said to me (with his big blue eyes wide) "the people from New Orleans are special people and have lots of courage to rebuild their houses". I said "yes, they sure are....they are VERY special people who love their city because there is no where in the world as fantastic as New Orleans". Then he told me he likes New Orleans music because "new Orleans music takes your blues away". I just smiled and hugged him close :)

Sounds like a TH-in-training if I ever saw one, Lis. :D

[funkkjunkie]

Oh, how precious, corona. He already gets it. :)

[Gards]

Whenever I tell people down here or when I am Europe that I have just been to New Orleans,I normaly get the same questions.
How is it there now?
And,Has the place recovered yet?
Because the overseas perception is that Nola is still battling.
My normal reply is that the place is coming good,but that there is still a lot of work to be done and that a lot of people need to be able to aford to move home,so as to bolster the economy and small business etc.
And then I tell them to get of their Arse come to Jazzfest and help the town.I am working on a couple of prospective recruits as we speak.

[rosetree]

We need to get C. Ray and Riley out of their respective offices. I believe the negative image of both these guys and their lack of doing anything close to their jobs have hurt the city in the past few years.

By next year, you can add ---
New Federal Aid---billions of dollars
Value of volunteer hours---hundreds of millions
New mayor and police chief---priceless
;)

[rosetree]

I agree Rosie. We were at a wedding Friday and a wedding shower today. When we talk about our wedding being in New Orleans, we still get asked by MANY people how it is after the Thing.

As an aside, my sis took my 5 year old nephew to Ontario Place in Toronto last week. They went to the Imax theatre to see Hurricane on the Bayou. Now Noah is my baby and he's completely enthralled with music and new orleans. My sis said he started bawling 3 different times and was so upset about the time it took to rescue people. He sat on my lap yesterday for an hour and a half asking question after question about the Thing, what's happening now etc. He said to me (with his big blue eyes wide) "the people from New Orleans are special people and have lots of courage to rebuild their houses". I said "yes, they sure are....they are VERY special people who love their city because there is no where in the world as fantastic as New Orleans". Then he told me he likes New Orleans music because "new Orleans music takes your blues away". I just smiled and hugged him close :)

Is he coming down for your wedding? Amazing that someone so young can be so wise....;)

[Corona]

Noah is a very old soul and definitely my boy. Only my sis is coming to Festgiving because it's too costly for all of them to fly....Noah has a 3 year old sis, Sophia....my sis' husband was laid off from Chrysler for a long time so they're catching up right now.

BTW, he is definitely a TH in the making and definitely gets it! His favorite instrument to listen to is the trumpet. He takes piano lessons and his fav cd is Funky Kidz. The first gift he wanted from Jazzfest was a flag like in "DJ and the jazzfest". Last year I bought him a djembe from fest. He friggin loves that thing :)
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q242/coronaluver/PointPelee067-1-1.jpg

[piscesgirl]

That is too cute!

[BigDag]

I really enjoyed Saturday's column. If you haven't seen it...

http://www.nola.com/rose/index.ssf/2009/08/hurricane_katrina_may_have_amp.html#more

How many fleur-de-li (is that the plural?) are in your immediate vicinity right now? I count five from just where I'm sitting. If I were to count up all of them in all parts of my home; in print, on art and photos, and on any kind of item, I bet it would top a hundred.

[freebo]

From that article, re: quote from Lafcadio Hearn:

"Nothing against Ohio, of course. It's just... well, it's just not here."

Hee hee.

Ahem.

[Corona]

I really enjoyed Saturday's column. If you haven't seen it...

http://www.nola.com/rose/index.ssf/2009/08/hurricane_katrina_may_have_amp.html#more

How many fleur-de-li (is that the plural?) are in your immediate vicinity right now? I count five from just where I'm sitting. If I were to count up all of them in all parts of my home; in print, on art and photos, and on any kind of item, I bet it would top a hundred.
Excellent article once again :) From where I'm sitting, I can see 11 Fleur de lis...and that's just on me and in my living room lol.....

[piscesgirl]

Great article!

[Lostcajun]

Excellent article once again :) From where I'm sitting, I can see 11 Fleur de lis...and that's just on me and in my living room lol.....

me too, we have fleur de lis all over our house and our backyard garden!

[mightyradgumbo]

One thing that really made me happy was the place that the fluer de lis has here. Sure it is the sign of the trinity in a heavily catholic place and the logo of the Saints, but I believe it is has taken on a sign of rebirth. Jada and I have several FDLs throughout the jernt but more impressively I see them all over my friends houses and cars that made it through the Federal Flood. I think on some level that maybe people look it now as a middle finger being raised defiantly against the naysayers that this city and its residents would not come back after what they perceived as a knockout punch. Not quite the sign of the trinity but definitely a sign of the resiliance of New Orleanians both locals and relocals.

[Corona]

amen brother....amen.

[Lostcajun]

yea, I'm with Corona.....what Gumbo said....

[Rossvegas]

One thing that really made me happy was the place that the fluer de lis has here. Sure it is the sign of the trinity in a heavily catholic place and the logo of the Saints, but I believe it is has taken on a sign of rebirth. Jada and I have several FDLs throughout the jernt but more impressively I see them all over my friends houses and cars that made it through the Federal Flood. I think on some level that maybe people look it now as a middle finger being raised defiantly against the naysayers that this city and its residents would not come back after what they perceived as a knockout punch. Not quite the sign of the trinity but definitely a sign of the resiliance of New Orleanians both locals and relocals.

I LOVE the fleur de lis (and I have several of them all over my house), but it has a slightly different meaning up here in Canada. I was actually seriously considering getting a nice, discreet fleur tattoo, but the fleur is the official symbol of Quebec and it tends to inflame a lot of emotions in Canada, not all of them positive. If I thought I could find one that was very specifically related to NOLA, I might do it, but....

(Ask VW Gal what the response would be like in Alberta if she paraded around with a fleur de lis on her arm. :>)

[marignygreg]

Chris has been a little inconsistent lately, but this one is a gem.

http://www.nola.com/rose/index.ssf/2009/10/vera_smiths_makeshift_garden_d.html

[Orleansnj]

I LOVE the fleur de lis (and I have several of them all over my house), but it has a slightly different meaning up here in Canada. I was actually seriously considering getting a nice, discreet fleur tattoo, but the fleur is the official symbol of Quebec and it tends to inflame a lot of emotions in Canada, not all of them positive. If I thought I could find one that was very specifically related to NOLA, I might do it, but....

(Ask VW Gal what the response would be like in Alberta if she paraded around with a fleur de lis on her arm. :>)

Ross - you probably already thought of this -but at the base of the fleur - in the area where the leaves come together, you could have NOLA inscribed in the ring that usually gathers them. I've seen that done a zillion times in New Orleans and it looks quite good.

[Lit]

Or, he could get a tattoo based on one of Jolie's Abita bottle cap fleur-de-lis designs.

[BigDag]

Vera's makeshift grave will be forever etched in my memory. But I did not know she was hit by a car, and was totally unaware of everything that has happened since. Thanks for posting.

[Corona]

I LOVE the fleur de lis (and I have several of them all over my house), but it has a slightly different meaning up here in Canada. I was actually seriously considering getting a nice, discreet fleur tattoo, but the fleur is the official symbol of Quebec and it tends to inflame a lot of emotions in Canada, not all of them positive. If I thought I could find one that was very specifically related to NOLA, I might do it, but....

(Ask VW Gal what the response would be like in Alberta if she paraded around with a fleur de lis on her arm. :>)
I have mine tattoo'd on the inside of my wrist. It's for ME and I know what it means.....I don't care what anyone else thinks about it but if they ask me if I'm French, I say no....it's a New Orleans symbol...case closed.
If you love the Fleur and want a tattoo of it...DO IT Ross :) Screw the francophones and francophone haters...again, as long as you know what it means to you, that's all it matters in my opinion....

[McGregor]

Any word on why Rose hasn't written a column since early Nov?

[BigDag]

Any word on why Rose hasn't written a column since early Nov?

I'm not sure, but I know he was considering taking a buy-out from the Times Picayune.

One of the locals should be able to tell us.

[djgriff]

This was from November 11, 2009.

Sources within and outside The Times-Picayune told Gambit today that the paper’s most visible columnist, Chris Rose, intends to take the paper’s latest round of buyouts, but may continue as a contributor to the paper’s Living section.

Reached by phone, Rose would neither confirm nor deny the reports, nor would he comment when asked if he was telling friends he was leaving. “I am still employed by The Times-Picayune, and I am weighing my options for the future,” he said. “What’s going to happen over the next couple of weeks is a matter between me, my accountant and my Visa card.”

Rose, who has been at the paper for 25 years, began there as a metro reporter and became a lifestyle and entertainment columnist. After Hurricane Katrina and the federal floods, his writing transitioned into a rawer, more personal account of the city and his own life as they both struggled for equilibrium. A collection of those columns, 1 Dead in Attic, which was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize and garnered acclaim as a seminal book of post-Katrina writings. Rose’s personal struggles also became news; his column about his use of antidepressants was seen as a brave admission as the city struggled to recover. His divorce was also gossip fodder, as was his October 2008 arrest on a minor charge of municipal domestic violence.

Rose’s departure from The Times-Picayune staff would follow several other high-profile writers who chose to take the paper’s voluntary buyouts this year, including Rose’s fellow columnist Angus Lind, veteran crime reporter Walt Philbin and theater writer David Cuthbert.

The paper’s recent round of buyouts is seen as the final step before possible involuntary layoffs early next year. In August, the Newhouse chain of newspapers, which owns The Times-Picayune, announced its intention to rescind its decades-old pledge not to lay off employees due to economic circumstances. The “pledge,” as it’s known to Newhouse employees, will expire in February 2010. While the paper has suffered some of the same woes in recent years as most other daily papers in the United States, it has also been one of the healthier papers in the Newhouse chain — an October 2009 report by the Audit Bureau of Circulations found the Picayune and its online arm, nola.com, to have increased its print and online audience by 7%.

Other papers in the chain, though, are warning employees that the current situation will be their last chance to take a buyout. In a memo widely circulated among journalists last week, The Oregonian’s managing editor Sandy Rowe told the newsroom that staff would have to be reduced by 70 people early next year, and said, “If you are considering the buyout, I encourage you to complete that process.” To date, no such blunt warnings have come from The Times-Picayune newsroom, but staff there expects layoffs to some degree as well.
Asked about his future plans, Rose would only say, “I am not leaving New Orleans.”

[McGregor]

That's a shame. Thanks for the info!

[BigDag]

In advance of St. Joseph's Day, Chris discusses the tension between the NOPD and the Mardi Gras Indians.

http://bestofneworleans.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A70960

[BigDag]

A cute piece in Gambit this week.

http://bestofneworleans.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A79643

[Michelino]

A cute piece in Gambit this week.

http://bestofneworleans.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A79643

Love the last line!

[Corona]

that was hilarious..well done Chris!

[Orleansnj]

Chris Rose is fantastic. That piece was a riot.

[Lostcajun]

Chris Rose is fantastic. That piece was a riot.

Chris Owens!!!!!!!!!!!!! Well, they say beef jerky will last forever........

[ozzie]

Too funny! I hope Chris is in a really good place these days.

[Carolina Beadhead]

The latest Rose column:

What if It Never Happened? (http://bestofneworleans.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A80205)

[Orleansnj]

it's good...and you can still feel his angst.

[BigDag]

http://bestofneworleans.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A80575

I must have walked past this place a hundred times; I never even noticed it. Has anyone ever been there?

[Carolina Beadhead]

http://bestofneworleans.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A80575

I must have walked past this place a hundred times; I never even noticed it. Has anyone ever been there?

I had no idea it was there either!

[rosetree]

One of my employees had his wedding there a couple of years ago. It was my first time there. It's a little creepy, but the figures look like wax.(and why shouldn't they!) Madame Tussaud's figures are more life-like, but where else do you see New Orleans characters and tableau?
The space on the second floor was a nice place for a function too...

[NOLA]

One of my employees had his wedding there a couple of years ago. It was my first time there. It's a little creepy, but the figures look like wax.(and why shouldn't they!) Madame Tussaud's figures are more life-like, but where else do you see New Orleans characters and tableau?
The space on the second floor was a nice place for a function too...

The weekend of our wedding we were staying at the Bourbon Orleans along with lots of friends and family. Another couple getting married that weekend was staying there too, and they had their wedding at the wax museum. Weddings on streetcars and wax museums - only in New Orleans!

[BigDag]

As we approach opening day, I thought it was approrpriate to post Chris Rose's salute to the Saints fans of the fairer sex:

On the eve of the 2011 football season, let us pay homage to one of the city's true and sturdy fashion icons, among the most endearing – and enduring – of “local characters,” the female Saints fan.

New Orleans is well represented by her distaff gridiron fans, those braided, spangled, booted, rhinestone cowboy-hat wearing women who fill the Dome on autumn Sundays - in numbers too great to ignore.

I have been to many NFL stadiums around the country and my unwavering belief is that we have a higher percentage of women at games than other teams.

And I contend they are better-informed on matters of strategy, personnel, fantasy leagues, equipment and rules of engagement.

That's what makes this phenomenon so rich and worthy of discourse, that it runs much deeper than a matter of X's and O's.

I fear no contradiction when I suggest our women are also better pool players, drink more beer, play more darts and yell louder than their NFL counterparts.

They play cornhole in crowded downtown parking lots wearing stilettos and mesh - and they look dang fine doing it.

Historically speaking, we've always been ahead of the curve - fashion forward in the NFL. It was only in the past decade that everyone else caught up – after Madison Avenue execs handed down a memo to the hopelessly stodgy NFL and its merchandisers to tap into the potentially lucrative demographic of fabulous babes.

The order to “shrink it and pink it” forever changed the landscape of NFL stadiums.

For the better, I'm sure we can all agree.

That said, I also acknowledge that women in New Orleans may have a few style advantages over their counterparts; certainly it's easier to accessorize with fleur de lis than, say, embroidered images of oil derricks in Pittsburgh.

Or, better still: Tri-corner hats, felt boots and a bandoleer. Arrgh!

Go Buccaneers!

Not feelin' it?

Me neither; there is no fashion sensation like the Women of the Who Dat Nation.

As the players on the team try to become the league's best this season, let us salute those in the stands who already are.

[freebo]

Sa-LUTE!

[MormonMatthew]

"They play cornhole in crowded Downtown parking lots..."???

[BigDag]

"They play cornhole in crowded Downtown parking lots..."???

Look up cornhole on google. It's very popular down here in the south.

[MormonMatthew]

Look up cornhole on google...

Yeah, that's not gonna happen....;)

[Delta]

Historically speaking, we've always been ahead of the curve - fashion forward in the NFL.

Except for that whole paper bag fad. That color never went with anything.

[SweetOlive]

Look up cornhole on google. It's very popular down here in the south.

It's very popular up here in the North, too. Won't find a tailgate without one, especially.

[windowman]

There is a story in today's People section of the T-P about Chris becoming a writer for Treme. I think that he is a great choice. If I can find a link, I'll post it.

[Carolina Beadhead]

There is a story in today's People section of the T-P about Chris becoming a writer for Treme. I think that he is a great choice. If I can find a link, I'll post it.


Here ya go, Wynn! (http://www.nola.com/treme-hbo/index.ssf/2011/09/today_in_treme_more_on_new_wri.html)

[Festngator]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornhole