Remember.

Nine Years Ago.

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Mirliton: That’s Good Eatin’, Yeah!

On the vine.

They must be recovering nicely to find them this far north. This is a Mirliton - a backyard perennial and staple of the southern Louisiana diet for years. They grew wild in the woods behind my family home in NOLA and they are delicious eating. 

Mirliton (also known as Chayote) are a succulent squash-like vegetable with an avocado-like single pit, and can be served in many ways; from salads to stuffed, to main course casseroles or side dishes. They are extremely good when pickled.  It was thought that they were practically extinct in the aftermath of Katrina and Rita, but since they grow like weeds, they eventually got a grip somewhere and are coming back strong.

I can’t believe I found them at a local supermarket, unfortunately not the one I frequent most often. I just happened to be in this store because it’s the best place to find elephant garlic, which I needed for a dish. These were wrapped individually and pampered for their journey north. That’s as it should be

Stuffed with Shrimp & Crab.

Anyway, these mirliton are smaller than I remember them, so I bought 3 since I don’t remember if they handle freezing well.  I will certainly make good use of these babies. This is another one of those times that I get angry about the loss of my sense of taste. 

I have no family recipes to fall back on. Well, who’d have thought I’d find a mirliton this far north, in the first place.  Fortunately, there are tons of recipes online and some pretty close to what I remember my grandmother making when I was a kid.

Feels like I’m closer to heaven this evening.

And so it goes.

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New Life for the Orpheum Theatre

I was seven years old when I paid my first admission to the Orpheum Theatre. The beauty of the space took my breath away. I was fascinated by the luxurious velvets and silks; the ornate gold leaf trim around the proscenium and up to the ceiling surrounding the huge chandeliers.  It was a most impressive sight, for sure. (Click on any image to embiggen.)

I was there to see the re-issued Disney animated film, Fantasia (first released in 1940). I was with my sisters and a few neighborhood kids, as I recall.  Most

everyone in our little group became physically ill, some having to throw up, because of the animation.  Not me! I sat in that huge space and drank every bit of the film in. The theatre had a state-of-the-art sound system, too, and the film was presented in the original stereo format.  I was blown away - by the film and the theatre.

Four years later I was actually on the stage performing in a live radio broadcast of a locally produced show. (Television was coming soon.) It was during this visit for rehearsals and then broadcast, that I learned some of the history of the old place. It had been known as the RKO Orpheum from it’s early days as a vaudeville theatre, and the backstage areas still held the trappings of those years.  Dressing rooms with light bulb sockets surrounding the mirrors where makeup was applied.  Special passages and stage works were everywhere.  

With the best acoustics of any venue in the city, it became the home of the

Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra.  It was a first-run movie palace for years before the  disarray, disintegration of the downtown area. In later years, it hosted theatrical events and concerts before Katrina shut it down for the past decade.

But, the grande dame is getting a facelift, thanks to new owners with a vision, cash and imagination to see it happen. From NOLA.com:

The Orpheum Theater has played host to silence for nearly a decade. The 96-year-old space, shuttered since Hurricane Katrina, is the preferred venue of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra because of its pristine acoustics. Going back further in history, it was a stage for vaudeville, then a movie house.
The last time Roland von Kurnatowski remembers attending an event there was the 1960s. He was a kid going to see "PT 109," the biopic

High water mark from Katrina on exit doors.

about John F. Kennedy's World War II service in the South Pacific.
Fifty years later, a rolled-up movie screen still hangs above the stage, and von Kurnatowski is a new owner of the Orpheum, overseeing a $13 million year-long renovation of the theater.
Even in its state of disrepair, the majesty of the Orpheum persists.
"I can imagine what performing on that stage would feel like with your audience so close," von Kurnatowski said. "Something about it -- it really grabs your attention. It's a confirmation that this is a special

place, very deserving and worthy of the effort."
He and his wife, Mary von Kurnatowski, are perhaps best known as the owners of Tipitina's club and founders of Tipitina's Foundation, which supports music culture by supplying instruments and internships to young musicians. They bought the Orpheum for $1.5 million in February with business partner Dr. Eric George.
It was listed for sale last year for the third time since Katrina, after

years of failed promises from other developers to rejuvenate the performance hall.
Roland von Kurnatowski drove past the Orpheum a couple of days before Thanksgiving last year and saw the for-sale sign. He recognized the name of a friend, real estate broker Don Randon, and picked up the phone. Three days later, he had written an offer.
"I knew right away it was going to be all about bringing it back to what it was," said Mary von Kurnatowski.
The new owners hope to restore the history while creating a space for multiple uses, from the return of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra and other musical performances to movie premieres, private events and fundraisers.

The rest is HERE.

I had a similar experience when I was given a tour of the then-closed Beacon Theatre in NYC. That too, is a memory that will live with me forever. 

There are two things I dreamed of owning all my life; one was a theatre where I could show the films I wanted and stage the shows no one else would; and the second would be a radio station.

Having studied film at NYU, worked in theatre and radio since I was 10, I think I could have done some good and brought obscure movies the attention that I think they deserve. A radio station without a format would be a real dream come true for many people I know.  Every 3 or 4 hour segment would be devoted to a different genre jockeyed by an expert in that specific genre.  Where there was spill-over of genres, there could be open mike and call-ins. We had a similar (though much pared down) version of this at the last station I worked in NJ.  Ah, the roads I didn’t take….

Suddenly I have an ear worm. Let Sondheim take us from this nostalgic place.

One has regrets Which one forgets And as the years go on The road you didn’t take Hardly comes to mind Does it? 

The door you didn’t try Where could it have led? The choice you didn’t make Never was defined Was it?

No.  It wasn’t. Still, it does my heart good to see the old Orpheum brought back to life with a grand future ahead. Maybe I’ll get to see her once more in all her rejuvenated grandeur.  May it be so.

And so it goes.

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Dropping Like Flies

A local news brief:

Since being transfused (2 units) on Friday I've slept  12+ hours nightly and still feel listless. My limited experience has usually been that I feel my perky self by the second or third day but so far, this hasn't been the case.  I hope I snap back soon.

Pulled it together for an outing Sunday for a short time.  I made the trip early to avoid possible human interaction and infection. As you can see by the image at left, (click to embiggen) the fog was a thick, swirling soup.  Visibility was only about 15 meters. Judging by the number of accidents within the 3-mile radius the fog must have permeated the brains of drivers as well.  It remained foggy most of the day with the temperature rising steadily.

The rains came in the afternoon and the pattering sounds made me sleepy earlier than I would have liked. Gave in went to bed around 4:30 pm.  It's depressingly dark so early that I didn't mind it a bit. I mean, there was nothing else to do?

Woke at 5 am yesterday morning.  After a breakfast and coffee I headed out to attend to errands that could  only be done on a week day. It was gray and warmer still as I stumbled out to a wet, dripping car. Dew covered the trees and remaining leaves and gentle slap sounds were made as the droplets fell to the ground, or car surface.  Made me drowsy again. Jeez!  I just woke up. Bother! I shook it off and started the car.

Perhaps due to the quick-changes in weather, everywhere I went people were hacking, sniffling, and sneezing. Most not bothering to cover their faces.  Stoopid or rude - take your pick.  I was met with runny, red and watery eyes at every turn. Stopped at the ATM at the Credit Union in time to witness a guy sneeze directly onto the keypad, wipe his nose on his sleeve and smile as he shuffled out the door.  I covered my hand with a paper napkin, grabbed my cash and fled. Kept the mask in place, did what needed doing, and quickly returned to the hive apartment home and hearth.  Lit a couple of candles to cheer up the place  - and myself.

Received 2 more medical statements in the mail. They joined the others in the neat pile on the shelf. I'll deal with all that later. Much later!

A call from the State Resource worker came in to let me know that the document copies they requested had been received but that the birth certificate was not acceptable.  It would have to be, I told her, all other documents were destroyed in the floods following Katrina. If she needed proof that the certificate was real, I could bring in the original embossed copy I have used since 1979.  She'll get back to me. Uh-huh. 

Another call came in; this one from the Cancer Center asking about any negative reaction to the transfusion on Friday.  Nice of them to check on me.  I mentioned the Rip VanWinkle sleeping situation, but she wasn't concerned.  I'll see her on Thursday at my regular appointment. 

Enjoyed a supper of teriyaki wings, roasted new potatoes and green beans washed down with home-made iced tea, followed by a bowl of sherbet before a shower and bed. Not as early as previous days - a little after 7, actually.  

And here we are.  Today is another day.  Yes, well, ain't it just?  What new devilry awaits on this Ruby Tuesday?  One cannot even begin to guess, or wants to.

We'll be back after these messages.

And so it goes.

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"Home" a short film about Katrina

By Matt Faust.  part of the Tribeca Film Festival 'shorts' offerings. It's a poignant live/animated film using photos and family films to reveal his HOME; what it was and what happened to it. I won't embed  it here, I believe it should be viewed at YT to boost his numbers.

Here is what Matt writes in the YT description:

A few months after I finished chemotherapy for an extremely rare cancer, Hurricane Katrina hit and my childhood home was destroyed. With ideas about what is really important in life and what makes a home special at the forefront of my mind, I was compelled to record and share these thoughts through what would become my first film, Home. I was inspired both by what came to mind when I returned to my destroyed post-Katrina home and by what I saw when I returned to my pre-Katrina home in my dreams. The result, I hope, is something that is relatable, therapeutic, informative, and encouraging to everyone whether you've experienced a sudden loss like Katrina or not. I hope it can help us all to remember and honor what we've lost, but more importantly, to appreciate what we still have.

Thanks for watching. Feel free to contact me.- Matt

Go and watch HOME. Now!

And so it goes.
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NOLA's Famous Art Deco Airport Gets a New Life.

Concrete & Steel enveloped the building- 1960s

This is a great story, beautiful images, and great piece of history. The airport was close to my home and after swimming in the lake, friends and I would trudge over to the beautiful building for a Coke & candy, or something. Fortunately for me, the 60s make over didn't happen until I was already far away in NYC. It would have torn my heart apart to see what they did to the place.  But now, it is being rejuvenated, given a whole new life in the grand old manner.  A slide show accompanies this article, so please check out the images HERE.  There is also an earlier story at the "classic Art Deco building" link below. That story contains many more images of the actual pain-staking work of the renovation teams.  Check that one out as well.  If you're an Art Deco fan, or just a fan of beautiful architecture, you've love these stories and images.  Enjoy.

Stripped and renovated, ready to reopen - 2013

As T. Sellers Meric and business partner Benedict Cimini put pencils to paper a half century ago to redesign the Lakefront Airport terminal, preservation stood at the heart of each decision the architects made. 

Not only did they want to preserve the local populace from nuclear fallout, but they also wanted to preserve the classic Art Deco building on the shores of Lake Pontchartrain that they were about to ensconce in concrete two inches thick.

At the height of the Cold War, Cimini and Meric produced an award-winning mid-century remodeling that turned the terminal at the end of Downman Road into a fortress of horizontal lines and right angles. Fifty years later, architects and engineers of another generation have restored the 1933 building to its original appearance in the heydays of Huey Long.

As is the case with many things in New Orleans, change for the airport catalyzed with Hurricane Katrina.

Sitting on the bank of Lake Pontchartrain, the terminal swallowed a few feet of water and was battered by high winds and rain during the storm. Wilma Heaton, who was working for the Orleans Levee District, had an office on the second floor and was one of the first people to survey the damage.

"I just sat here crying," she recalled. "I said, 'This place has to come back.'"

As federal disaster aid flowed to New Orleans, FEMA sent $10 million to restore the Lakefront Airport terminal. Barred from rebuilding several structures outside the new levee system, officials redirected another $9 million in federal dollars from those projects to the terminal.

The consulting firm RCL Architecture of Mandeville signed onto the restoration project in 2006 and began four years of research into the building's history.

A restored mural once hidden behind plywood and concrete.

Designed by architects with Weiss, Dreyfous and Seiferth, construction on the original building began around 1929. Lakefront Airport started taking commercial flights in 1933, although it wasn't officially christened until Feb. 9, 1934.

The building is steeped in history. Amelia Earhart stayed in its VIP suites on her way to California to launch her final flight. Air races were common occurrences and spectators watched from the terminal's rooftop observation deck. Murals by the late Spanish-American artist Xavier Gonzalez spanned the central atrium's second-floor balconies.

Long, a U.S. senator by then, had a fully operating surgical suite installed onsite, preparing for the worst possible scenarios. The terminal also housed a post office, a kitchen, cafe, restaurant, a station for immigration and customs and offices for the federal departments of Agriculture and Commerce.

Inside it was a small city and an architectural marvel, unlike any other art deco site in New Orleans because of its level of detail. Built for about $3.5 million at the time, it couldn't be built from scratch today, said Alton Ochsner Davis, an architect who led the recent restoration project for RCL.

"There are so many features to this building," he said. "It would be cost-prohibitive." Cimini and Meric understood this, but in the months following the Cuban-missile crisis, the threat of nuclear war took precedence. Still, they went through enormous pains to preserve as much of the original architecture as possible as they bricked up windows and sheathed the building in concrete and steel.

"They recognized that the completely different art deco design had value and was appreciated by many people, artisans and civilians alike," said R. Vaughn Cimini, Benedict Cimini's son. "And they thought it would be a disservice to society to destroy it."

Meric said he didn't design the 1960s renovation to be temporary, but he believes that had it not been done the building would likely be in worse shape than what Davis found it in. "We probably protected the building for 50 years," he said.

Meric and Cimini's decisions turned the restoration project into a revelatory treasure hunt, Davis said. As each wall was removed a new feature would appear. Crews found six of Gonzalez's eight murals still hanging in their original spots, carefully covered with protective rice paper. The Louisiana State Museum has returned a seventh mural, but an eighth one was destroyed. The Non-Flood Protection Asset Management Authority plans to host a fundraiser on Feb. 9 to help pay for the existing paintings' restorations. Following the terrazzo tiling on the floor, Davis retraced the terminal's original hallways, moving walls and doors back to their original places wherever possible.

The restoration removed the large boardroom Meric and Cimini had installed above the lobby, once again opening the atrium's nicotine-stained ceiling two stories up to the open air. Davis said his team salvaged enough tiles to recreate the original colors of the painted ceiling before decades of smoking travelers had sullied it.

Davis also orchestrated the renovation of the airport's fabled Walnut Room, a popular dance hall and dining space during the war years and the 1950s.

Along with its terminal, Lakefront Airport is undergoing its own small renaissance. It handles roughly 190 takeoffs and landings every day, and in June it restored commercial airline passenger service for the first time since 1946.

"It's like a battered child," Heaton, who is now a commissioner with the Non-Flood Asset Management Authority that oversees the airport, said of the terminal. "But it survived, and it's back and it's a new day."

The link to this story & slide show is HERE.

The link to the "Classic Art Deco building" is HERE.

We used to get all dressed up on Saturday evenings and go dancing at the Walnut Room to live bands, no less.  The place was one of our favorites.

Never thought I've live to see the terminal as I remember it, but there it is. The terminal was officially reopened to the public the week after I returned to Delaware.  

And so it goes. 

Blackout 1965 - Hurricane Sandy 2012: Baby-Makers

Walking to work this morning, as I crossed the Avenue I noticed there was a long line to get into the Bakery.

That in itself wouldn't be unusual for any morning in summer.  What made this queue different was that there were 8 very pregnant women in that line all standing so I could see their profile.  A few had toddlers in strollers which made the image even more amazing.  Many looked like they just might explode if their cravings weren't satisfied  - immediately.  I mean, these gals were HUGE!

I would've taken a quick picture, but I didn't want to embarrass them, or myself.

The Bake Shoppe is the (oldest and) only family bakery in town offering delicious pastries, cakes, croissants, donuts, and muffins.  The only other place in town is Dunkin' Donuts in the beach block and though many tourists are prone to go with what they know, the more adventurous tend to give the bakery a chance and they are not disappointed.

When I got to work, I remembered so many others just like those 8 waddling down the avenue, some nearly unable to sit down on a bench.  So, I wondered why all this potential new life should ripen at this time.  Then, I did the math, worked backwards in time,  and realized that Super Hurricane Sandy hit us 8 months ago and hundreds of thousands of homes were without power for days, even weeks.

It reminded me of the east coast blackout in November of 1965 which produced a bumper crop of babies  the following summer, so we ought not be surprised this time around, either.

I recognized one woman straight away, when she arrived for lunch with the hubby, a toddler, and grandmother.  She was wearing a bright multi-colour  top that drew attention to the belly. They (She) ate the most bizarre combination of menu items, and their total bill for the party of 4 came to over $100. - and mind you, no alcohol.  After they left their server noted that by her menu choices and size, the mom-to-be was likely to deliver twins.  This server knows, she has twins of her own.

Cocktail at the ready, I venture forth onto the Intertubes in search of a travel package to meet my upcoming travel needs. Wish me luck.

And so it goes.

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A Fine Way to Treat a Steinway!

I am mystified by the fact that I have to visit the site of  a British newspaper to get this kind of information. I suppose Honey-boo-boo, the latest celebrity bitch fights, Lindsey Lohan, and the marathon  bomber's wife are more important than salvaging one of America's Music Treasures. From the Daily Mail:

A white Steinway grand piano salvaged from musician Fats Domino's home after Hurricane Katrina has had its classic looks restored and will be the centerpiece of an exhibit in New Orleans' French Quarter.The piano was damaged after water poured through a broken levee during the August 2005 storm, flooding Domino's home in the Lower 9th Ward. Its restoration came through $30,000 donated to the Louisiana Museum Foundation.
The largest gift of $18,000 came from Allan Slaight, a retired music producer in Miami. Other donations came from Sir Paul McCartney, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Tipitina's Foundation.Greg Lambousy, director of collections for the Louisiana State Museum, described the restoration of Domino's piano as "painstaking" and a years-long process.‘It was in really bad shape,’ he said. ‘It had been submerged in water for weeks.’

 There are great pics at the link HERE, including a great shot of Fats in his prime, sitting at this very piano. Check it out.

And so it goes.
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It's Not There Anymore.

While resting today (alternating between hot and cold compresses) I downloaded Google Earth and paid a visit to my childhood home in New Orleans.  Had no trouble finding the area - it was a pretty unique little enclave of small homes a block from Lake Pontchartrain and the old (now private) airport. The homes once served as housing for military officers during World War II and close to the military facilities on the other side of the Industrial Canal. 

My grandparents purchased their home from the government on June 23, 1945 and I was born on July 23, 1946. I lived in their home from age 5 to 16 when I moved to NYC. (If you click to embiggen and follow the arrow in the image almost directly down, you can just make out the small U-shape of the homes with another street located straight down the center.  A trident of sorts.)

The U is Curtis Drive that begins and ends on Haynes Blvd. Martin Drive was the center street and ended at the corner of our home and the stream that wound into the woods behind our house.  Martin  Drive now continues past the house and continues into the newer neighborhoods that replaced the woods. The area  known as "Little Woods" would later become New Orleans East. I prefer the former title.

I spent many a summer's day in that lake slowly bobbing around in an inner-tube (car tires used air-filled soft rubber tubes in those days, if one was punctured it was usually discarded. They would be patched and given to anyone who wanted one) or using the tube to hold a bushel basket while we caught crabs.

Individual summer camps - houses on pilons that jutted out into the lake - stretched for miles down the Haynes Blvd. coastline.  One such "camp" was owned by an aunt and uncle who lived further into town.  They would spend weekends and a few weeks at the camp, crabbing, fishing, shrimping and cooking up the most amazing fare you could ever imagine.I would spend days there enjoying the lake, birds, and of course, the food.

In my travels via Google Earth I discovered that all the camps are gone. The airport has been completely renovated to accept private planes, even small jets. There is a marina where I used to swim. When I found the little horseshoe shaped enclave I once called home, I zoomed in to get a better view of the homes there.   A few remain abandoned since Katrina, but most have been restored, enlarged and look to be well cared for.  Green lawns and even some trees.

Sadly, my own old home has been replaced by a red brick structure (house?) resembling a bunker or utility station. With windows high off the ground, 2 X 3' rectangles, and offering no view of the surrounding neighborhood, I wonder who would build such a fortress-like thing. Clearly, not "community" minded folks. 

I was saddened by viewing the surrounding neighborhoods that are still washed out and vacant. Schools, churches, even roadways in dis-repair.   All these years later, it is heartbreaking to think that this could be so.

While disturbing on so many levels, it gave me hope for the city and (at least for a while) took my mind off the back pain. I am left with only images, not what I have seen with my own eyes.  That is the next logical step. I need to visit to see for myself.

And so it goes.
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FEMA Head To Michael Brown: 'Better To Be Fast Than To Be Late'

On Tuesday I posted an interview with Michael Brown, BushCo's head of FEMA, who botched the Katrina disaster and now has the gall to criticize Obama's quick response to Sandy's devastation.  My personal views aside, the current head of FEMA, no longer the gutted agency it was under Dubya, responds to Brownie's comments today.

FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate dismissed criticisms of President Barack Obama's response to Hurricane Sandy lobbed by Michael Brown, who oversaw the disastrous Bush administration response to Hurricane Katrina.
"Better to be fast than to be late," Fugate said in an interview on NPR Tuesday morning.
Brown, whom President George W. Bush infamously praised for doing a "heckuva job" in the aftermath of Katrina in 2005, told a Denver paper that Obama had acted too quickly in mobilizing relief for Sandy.
"Here's my concern," Brown told Denver's Westword on Monday, suggesting that the prompt official response was actually making people complacent. "It's premature [when] the brunt of the storm won't happen until later this afternoon."

Fugate also addressed the role of FEMA, which has been a hot topic since Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney said he wanted to abolish the agency so that states would have direct responsibility for disaster response.

His campaign later clarified that he would not eliminate FEMA.

"Governor Romney believes that states should be in charge of emergency management in responding to storms and other natural disasters in their jurisdictions,” said campaign spokeswoman Amanda Henneberg. “As the first responders, states are in the best position to aid affected individuals and communities and to direct resources and assistance to where they are needed most. This includes help from the federal government and FEMA.”

But as Fugate explained on Tuesday, this is exactly how FEMA already works.

"We're a federal government; we're not a national government," he said "Disasters are local. Through state constitutions, the governors are the primary incident commanders for the entire state response in support of that. And the role of the federal government is to support the states when the disaster exceeds their capabilities. And when it's this bad, we work as one team. But we are in support of the governors, as they are in support of the local officials. It's a federal system of government."

Read the rest and listen to the NPR interview HERE.

And so it goes.
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Obama Criticized for Quick Response to Sandy by Michael Brown?

Remember Michael Brown?  How about "Heck of a job Brownie"? He's the douche nozzle who headed FEMA's non-response to Katrina. While New Orleans drowned, Brownie was in Baton Rouge trying on new suits that made him look official, or something. The sub-header to this story published today reads:  

Irony is dead, cremated, stuck in a capsule and shot into outer space.
Amen.

Former FEMA Director Michael Brown offered criticism of President Obama’s early responses to Hurricane Sandy yesterday, including a dig at the administration’s response to last month’s attack in Libya.
Yesterday, ahead of the storm’s pummeling of the eastern seaboard, Brown gave  an interview  to the local alternative paper, the Denver Westword, on how he believed the Obama administration was responding to Sandy too quickly and that Obama had spoken to the press about Sandy’s potential effect too early.
Brown turned then to a reliable right-wing attack on the President’s response to the attack on a U.S. diplomatic outpost in Benghazi that killed four Americans:

“One thing he’s gonna be asked is, why did he jump on [the hurricane] so quickly and go back to D.C. so quickly when in…Benghazi, he went to Las Vegas?” Brown says. “Why was this so quick?… At some point, somebody’s going to ask that question…. This is like the inverse of Benghazi.”

Conservatives have been hitting Obama  for weeks  on his attendance at a fundraiser in Nevada following the assault in Benghazi, claiming at alternate times that the President either  cared more about politics  than lives lost or that he was trying to downplay the attack’s significance. Now the critique has mutated into a belief that Obama is currently “playing President” to score points during disaster relief in the run-up to the election, in contrast to his actions in September.
Brown is  not the only one  making the insinuation that Obama and his administration are responding too quickly to Sandy only for political reasons. He’s joined in his accusations by such prominent right-wing commentators as former House Speaker Newt Gingrich  and columnist  Charles Krauthammer .
However, Brown’s comments carry a special irony due to the role he played during the Hurricane Katrina debacle in 2005. As director of FEMA during the legendarily botched response, Brown,  famously dubbed “Brownie”  by President Bush, was in the center of criticism from both sides of the aisle that the Bush administration was too slow to respond. An  internal review  by the Department of Homeland Security’s Inspector-General following the disaster concluded, “Much of the criticism is warranted.” Brown resigned from his position as director less than two weeks after Katrina hit.

The bastard should have been thrown in jail for incompetence, if not brought to trial for the deaths of almost 2,000 innocent men, women, and children.

Isaac Takes Aim at New Orleans

This isn't ironic, it's downright fucking scary! Isaac is expected to make landfall on the exact date and time that Katrina's storm surge slammed into Mississippi &  Louisiana and the NOLA levees broke seven-years-ago. And Katrina was not a direct hit.

I just talked with the sister and she's decided to ride it out.  No mandatory evacuation has been issued for New Orleans, or Metairie (where she lives) - only the parishes that are nearest the Gulf - and she's staying put.  She's prepared for just about anything thrown at her and I believe she'll be OK.  She has her land line phone (thank G*d) and emergency cellphone, which will be useless of course, if the towers go down as they did during Katrina.  Most of the other tenants in her complex are hunkering down, as well. Bless them.

FEMA is present again, but this time they seem to have the whole situation well in hand.  Well, at least let's hope that's the case.  The sister seems to think it is.

The only variable is if Isaac slows down and makes landfall at high tide.  That could mean major problems.

Tropical Storm Isaac is intensifying and now expected to make landfall late Tuesday or early Wednesday on the northern Gulf Coast as a hurricane, forecasters said on Monday.

The storm--with sustained winds of 65 mph--is moving northwest at 14 mph. According to the National Weather Service, New Orleans is in the projected path of the storm. Wednesday marks the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans and the Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005.

Hurricane warnings have been issued along the northern Gulf Coast from Morgan City, La., to Destin, Florida. According to the National Hurricane Center, a storm surge between six and 12 feet could threaten the northern Gulf Coast if the storm makes landfall during high tide.

[Slideshow: Tropical Storm Isaac]

Isaac was blamed for as many as seven deaths in Haiti on Saturday and forced the delay of the start of the Republican National Convention in Tampa, where GOP leaders are still mulling how to hold a convention as a hurricane concurrently thrashes the Gulf Coast.

"Even if the storm largely bypasses this region," the New York Times said, "it holds the risk of creating an uncomfortable split-screen image, especially if it continues barreling toward New Orleans."

Wait, wait...Excuse me, we're talking life and death issues with this storm and the NYT is concerned about satellite feeds and split screen images of storm coverage beside those of the Republican Convention.  PR is a bitch! Then, just cancel the whole stupid thing!  Problem solved. You can't make this stuff up!  No, really, you can't.

And so it goes.

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Alligator House - New Orleans

This affordable home is being built as part of the Post-Katrina rehousing effort in New Orleans. buildingstudio approached  one of its clients in Boulder, CO to see if they'd be willing to contribute toward an affordable home for a Katrina refugee. Not only did the clients generously give their own money, they went into their community and raised additional funds towards the cost of construction. When finished, Neighborhood Housing Services who promotes and markets low-cost properties will offer the house at a vastly reduced rate.

 One of the most inventive and creative ways talented people are helping solve housing problems in post-Katrina NOLA.  I love the design. To read more of the story, click the link.

And so it goes.
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'S' for Storms, 'M' for Movies

Thunderstorms began rolling through yesterday afternoon forcing everyone off the beach and into Happy Hours.  All in all, a cheerful bunch with the occasional grump thrown in to keep us on our toes.  (Of course, you KNOW that whenever it rains at the beach, it is automatically OUR fault. Look it up.)

Coastal Highway traffic was a nightmare and crew couldn't get in on time, so we juggled tables and servers as we could to keep up - but it was a stretch. I am changing my name to Juanita; I never want to hear my name whined as often or as loud as it was yesterday.

Walked home in yet another storm, was soaked to the skin when I arrived...but I didn't care.  I was HOME!!!  Slipped out of the wet work drag and into a dry martini as I prepared a light supper.

After that, I decided to stream a movie via Amazon Prime and chose "The Big Uneasy" by Harry Shearer - the true story of the Katrina debacle, coverup by the Army Corps of Engineers, and the ultimate truth destroying the ACoE's stories.  Well done and something everyone ought to spend 90 minutes watching, because the area you live in may be next.

BTW, the 7th Anniversary of the Katrina disaster is coming up on August 29th and I am sure there will be precious little coverage in the press, but much to-do in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.

It was still early and I was still revved up from the day, so I found another interesting film (also on Prime - free) called "Forks over Knives" yes another documentary, but this one about how the so-called "diseases of affluence" that afflict us can be controlled; or even reversed; by cutting back, or rejecting most of our animal-based and processed foods. It made some very good points and the folks involved are top-notch in their fields.

While I could never see myself as a true vegan, I like the Asian diet of mostly fresh veggies, rice, sprouts, and a little meat on the side for flavour.

There!  I knocked out an entire evening that would have been boring otherwise, went to bed and slept like a rock.

Today was again filled with thunderstorms and the Crazy.  More on that later, maybe tomorrow. Another storm is upon us, so I'll end this and shutdown everything in case of a power-surge or outage.

And so it goes.
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Ex-Officers Sentenced in Katrina Bridge Killings/Cover-up

It took 6+ years to get there, but these guys were sentenced for both the killings and the disgusting cover-up after the fact. I suppose slow justice is better than the swift injustice these guys almost got away with in 2005.  From the Washington Post:

NEW ORLEANS — Five former New Orleans police officers were sentenced Wednesday to prison terms ranging from six to 65 years for their roles in deadly shootings of unarmed residents on a bridge after Hurricane Katrina.
Kenneth Bowen, Robert Gisevius, Anthony Villavaso and Robert Faulcon were convicted of firearms charges in the shootings. Retired Sgt. Arthur “Archie” Kaufman, who was assigned to investigate the shootings, was convicted of helping orchestrate the cover-up.
Faulcon received the stiffest sentence of 65 years. Bowen and Gisevius each got 40 years while Villavaso was sentenced to 38 years. Kaufman received the lightest sentence at six years.
A federal jury convicted the officers in August 2011 of civil rights violations in the shootings on the Danziger Bridge and the cover-up.
Police shot six people, killing two, less than a week after the storm’s landfall on Aug. 29, 2005. To make the shootings appear justified, officers conspired to plant a gun, fabricate witnesses and falsify reports.
The case became the centerpiece of the Justice Department’s push to clean up the troubled New Orleans Police Department.

There is more HERE.

And so it goes.

BP, Katrina & Cat Island: The Heartbreak Continues

I've not had a lot of time to read blogs of my southern faves, but I just came across this one and it broke my heart, again. It's pretty much a photo essay, so I'll post a teaser and send you over to judyb54 at NOLAfemmes for the rest.

Cat Island…the heartbreak continues

I have been lucky in friending Plaquemines Parish P.J. Hahn, Director of Coastal Zone Management on facebook and following his photography. I did so during the oilspill of 2010, knowing he would provide local, honest first-person reporting of an incident that was censored by BP, the Coast Guard and our government.
I can’t watch the repeats of the footage from the BP Oilspill. The carnage just makes me ill in the same way the the replay of the explosion of Challenger in 1986. But I will never forget those dark periods in our history.
I remember that I had jury duty during one of the first weeks of the spill and I absent-mindedly chose the book Bayou Farewell, published in 2004 and authored by Mike Tidwell . This book basically predicted a Katrina experience. Of course a lot of books and articles were floating around during the early 21st century regarding the perfect storm that would be called Katrina. In the book Tidwell visited and worked with the heart and soul of southern Louisiana: the fisherpeople. The one thing that was repeated over and over by these hard working folks was the loss of our coastal wetlands and the speed in which it is happening.
The BP poisoning of the Gulf Coast is still having its effects from Louisiana to Florida, 20 months later. Just this week P.J. Hahn took a boat ride out to Cat Island in Barataria Bay to assess its health. It turned out to be extremely disappointing, as evidenced by P.J.’s pictures below:

See the rest HERE.

And so it goes.
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Katrina Victims Fight FEMA Demands for Repayment

They must be kidding, right? 

Um, no. 

Six years after the man-made disaster FEMA is claiming they made mistakes and want their money back.  You can't make this stuff up.  From NOLA.com:

When the Federal Emergency Management Agency mailed out 83,000 debt notices this year to victims of Hurricane Katrina and other 2005 storms, one of the letters showed up in David Bellinger's mailbox. Bellinger, who is blind, needed a friend to read it and break the news that FEMA wants him to pay back more than $3,200 in federal aid he received after Katrina.
Racusen said the agency has implemented "strong protections" to avoid making improper payments, reducing its error rate from about 14 percent after Katrina to less than 1 percent for more recent disasters.
"We have also worked to significantly improve the recoupment process so that it is more understandable and provides due process for both disaster survivors and taxpayers," she said in a statement.
FEMA's collection efforts aren't limited to the 2005 storms. The agency has mailed out more than 6,000 debt letters to survivors of other recent disasters, including floods.
Approximately 2,500 recipients, including 930 victims of the 2005 hurricanes, have appealed their debt notices. FEMA says about 30 percent of those appeals successfully erased at least some of the debt. Recipients also can ask for a waiver due to economic hardship.
"It is important for any individual who has received a recoupment notice to know that these letters are the start of a conversation with FEMA, not the end," Racusen said.

"A conversation with FEMA" the agency that allowed New Orleans to drown and didn't send aid for 5 to 7 days, thanks to "heck of a job, Brownie"?  Right!

Read the rest HERE.  Take a blood pressure med first, though.

More later.
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Remember New Orleans

Irony: Katrina vs. Irene

It's ironic that Hurricane Irene slashes her way up the east coast of the US on the same weekend Katrina did the same to the Gulf Coast 6 years ago - almost to the day.  Katrina came ashore for the final time on Monday, August 29, 2005 with catastrophic results for the entire region. Especially Mississippi.  It took the direct hit. (Tomorrow is Monday, August 29, 2011.)

New Orleans was spared the brunt of Katrina only to suffer flooding of 80% of the city caused by the failure of levees designed and built by the Army Corps of Engineers, hours after Katrina came ashore.

Irene chewed her way up the coast causing chaos in the southern and mid-Atlantic states before slamming into New York, leaving the 5 Burroughs of the city virtually cut off from one another due to the shutdown of mass transit, not expected to be restored any time soon. Buses may be up and running in time for Monday's commute, but that's a drop in the bucket. 1.5 million NY homes are without power with the storm surge and flooding from rain and high winds taking their toll, as well.

Here in Lower Slower Delaware we took Irene's punches, fortunately nothing compared to what happened in Gotham.  There are 20K homes without electrical power here, and that's not good.  Folks with homes on, or near, the Rehoboth and Delaware bays or the Atlantic have not yet been allowed to return to assess damage.


My friend Elizabeth is returning from exile tomorrow hoping to get into her place on Rehoboth Bay.  She expects the worse, but the roads may be in passable condition by then. I hold hope that there is little damage to her wee cottage by the bay.

It was weeks, in some cases months, before residents were allowed in to New Orleans or surrounding parishes following Katrina.

All things considered, tiny Delaware, and even NYC will be repaired, restored, replenished and back in business in a few days, or weeks. Rehoboth Beach will be open for business tomorrow morning.  New Orleans remains, in many neighborhoods, a scene of devastation and while there is always hope and talk of rebuilding in those areas, well, it's been 6 years, hasn't it. 

As you think about Irene and her path of destruction all the way to New England, please take a moment to remember what happened to "the city that time forgot" 6 long years ago.

And so it goes.
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Post-Katrina: ASCE Does PR to Protect Army Corps After Levee Failures

We're coming up on the 6th anniversary of this man-made disaster and still more truth is coming to light regarding the role the ACoE played in the flooding and how they've tried to blame other entities for their own shoddy work by using a huge grant to produce PowerPoint presentations used in a traveling circus of sorts, to confuse and point fingers elsewhere.  From Levees.org:

Mere months after the federal levees failed in New Orleans after Katrina, the Corps of Engineers awarded the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) a grant to conduct what was seemed to be a PR show to repair the Corps' damaged reputation. The grant steered money to the ASCE to present powerpoints apparently designed to mislead the American public on what caused the August 2005 flooding. These taxpayer-funded presentations explained how the damage occurred, but neglected to explain who was responsible. (Levees.org discovered the details about the multi million grant in a request under FOIA.)

It's bad enough that the presentations contained lies and spin designed to shift blame for the flooding away from the Corps and onto the people of New Orleans. The American taxpayers also paid for it. The information in this video is not new, but most of the footage is new. Not to be accused of taking anything 'out of context', we have uploaded a 15-minute segment -- the longest that YouTube allows - of the full 80-minute presentation and you can see even more of the travesty for yourself.

How much more is still out there? Like the truth surrounding the BP Gulf disaster last year, stay tuned, there is more to come.

And so it goes.
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