Many of us bitch and moan about the commenters on NOLA.com. To the site’s credit, it’s doing a better job of moderating these days, but it’s still pretty easy to find racist, homophobic, inflammatory remarks lurking below the fold. I mean, I’m not asking anyone to curtail her right to free speech — if you want to expose yourself as a bigoted asshat, that’s your prerogative — but for Pete’s sake, STAY ON TOPIC.

More troubling than the folks at NOLA.com, though, are the people who comment on New Orleans stories found elsewhere on the web. This piece on CNN.com about the marsh fires generated some fairly representative remarks. For example:

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Six years after the fact, you’d think that most of us in New Orleans would be tired of talking about Hurricane Katrina.

We are.

That’s not to say that everything’s as it was. That’s not to say that everyone has come home. And that’s certainly not to say that people, communities, and the city we call home haven’t been deeply, deeply scarred by a particularly forceful force of nature.

And yet, we don’t want to talk about it. I certainly don’t. None of my friends talk about it. My family doesn’t. In fact, the only time it comes up in conversation is when I’m out of town, and someone finds out that I’m from New Orleans — as happened while I was paying a visit to my birth mother, Callie, this past weekend.

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Since New Orleans isn’t directly in the path of Hurricane Irene, I haven’t heard as much discussion about the storm and all that she threatens to disrupt as I normally would. But of course, Irene is likely to cause a lot of damage, and at the very least, she’ll put a serious damper on people’s weekend plans along the East Coast.

One of the biggest disruptions is undoubtedly the official dedication of the Washington, D.C. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial, which is scheduled to begin on Sunday at 11am — almost exactly the time at which Irene will be giving D.C. her most powerful stink-eye. It looks as if the storm will be downgraded to a category 2 by then, but that’s more than enough to flood roadways, knock out power, and force cancellation of all outdoor events.

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Two years ago — nearly two years ago to the day — a certain cueball-headed mayor of New Orleans announced that Jazzland/Six Flags was coming back. The theme park where so many of my friends had worked before the storm, performing to crowds of dozens (on a good day), has done nothing but gather mold since Hurricane Katrina swamped it. Which wasn’t hard to do, since the whole thing was built on a swamp anyway.

But I digress.

On August 19, 2009, Nagin stood for a photo op with Spongebob Squarepants and announced that Nickelodeon would be redeveloping Six Flags. But like a good souffle, the deal didn’t keep, and now the city is looking for a new partner to rescue the property.  If you’re the sort of person with a dream in your pocket and several million dollars in a Swiss bank account, you have until October 10 to submit your proposal.

My personal take? There are certain parts of New Orleans that are perfectly fine for habitation and others that should return to their natural state. There were some contentious discussions about which neighborhoods fit into those two categories after the storm, but I don’t think anyone would complain if Mitch Landrieu ripped Jazzland off the map and signed the deed over to Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge.

At the moment, Louisiana is run by Republicans: we have a Republican governor (a terrible one, IMHO) and the party holds a majority in both the House and the Senate. As elsewhere, many of these GOP legislators are first-timers, and they’re pissing off the elders with their arrogance, their Tea Party-naivete, and their frequent ineptitude*.

And yet, there were some good things to come out of the 2011 legislative session that wrapped up in June. I’ll start with the bad, though:

• As of today, there are more obstacles standing between women and safe, legal abortion: “Abortion clinics must give more information to women before they can terminate a pregnancy, including new signs telling pregnant women that they cannot be coerced into abortion, that fathers are liable for child support and that adoptive parents may pay for prenatal care and birth expenses.” [AP]
• New Louisiana residents used to be required to wait six months before receiving a concealed handgun permit. Not anymore.
• And of course, Representative Austin Badon’s anti-bullying bill was defeated on the House floor, which tickled the backward-looking Louisiana Family Forum pink (a very butch pink, I assume).

And on the plus-side:

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Four storms in the Atlantic? When did this happen? Ack.

Also: for those keeping track at home, we’re just four weeks away from the peak of the North Atlantic hurricane season, which is generally considered to be September 10. Fingers crossed, bags packed….

In case you haven’t heard, tonight is the Louisiana SPCA’s “Pause 4 Dinner” dine-around. If you’ve never taken part in an event like this, never fear: it’s simple and straightforward.

Just head to dinner at one of the many participating restaurants. There’s a range of spots on the list — from the very affordable to the slightly swanky — and a percentage of every sale will go toward the LASPCA’s noble efforts. Plus, it’s a nice break from the daily routine of coming home, playing partypoker cz, and heating up some Soup for One.

No time for a full meal? No problem: even Pinkberry is participating. Don’t tell me you don’t have time to pop in for some yogurt on a scorching hot day like this.

On the off-chance that you’re reading this from afar, though, you can always make a contribution to the LASPCA on the web. Not that we’re pushy or anything, but consider that a hint. Need more info? Visit the LASCPA website.

See you at 8. (Dinner’s always at 8, kids.)

In honor of the start of the 2011 North Atlantic Hurricane Season, here is a list of names that will (probably) never make it onto the World Meteorological Organization’s annual list:

Airfoundia
High school classmate. Wallflower type. Barely heard from before graduation, never heard from after.

Boadicea
Although it would be funny.

Cicciolina
Which would also be funny.

Dick
Which would be hilarious.

Eudora
Though Ms. Welty was pretty feisty in her own right.

Filomena
The name of an in-law and a favorite (name and in-law), but perhaps not WASPy enough.

Gargantua
Probably a shade too literate.

Higgins
No one could live with themselves, knowing that their community had been devastated by a character from Magnum P.I.

Ikebana
Naming a storm after the Japanese art of flower arrangement seems poetic, but highbrow.

Jehoshaphat
Though the headlines would be pretty good.

Kiki
Because “kiki” is a slang term — in both French and Tagalog, I think — for “tiny penis”. Don’t ask how I know such things, just go with it.

Lachrymosia
Seriously: back in the day, I knew a girl who adopted this as her name. She wore a lot of black, which shouldn’t surprise anyone.

Manderley
Though a very good friend has named his house that. I’ve a very good mind to name ours Mrs. Danvers.

Nanook
Because hurricanes are hot, not icy.

Ozymandias
Speaking of highbrow, right?

Pantagruel
Though the idea of the broadcasters trying to get that one out of their mouths makes me smile. “Hurricane Panda…Pantera…Plantagenet…oh hell: storm’s a-comin’!”

Quelea
Because in the entire history of Western Civilization, I don’t think anyone has named a child “Quelea” — even though it’s my favorite bird and the most abundant on Planet Earth (though in flocks of over a billion, they can destroy crops very quickly). If you’ve never seen them in action, behold.

Rococo
Because it’s a brilliant Cocteau Twins song, and who would want to ruin that memory?

Sindy
Even the World Meteorological Organization has a taste level.

Titania
Again with the literate references. Also the humorless Family Research Council would probably whine.

Ulala
Because she can’t be bothered to leave Space Channel 5.

Vendetta
Although it would be badass. And Margaret Orr could draw a little mustache on the hurricane map.

Wilson-Phillips
Because enough is e-freaking-nough.

Xtopher
Because the Xtians would start whining again, and we just got them quieted down after the whole “Titania” debacle.

Yaqueteria
A fictional character from some very early Varla Jean Merman videos.  Hilarious, but fictional nonetheless. (And so “very early Varla” that they haven’t yet made the transition from wax cylinder to YouTube.)

Zed
Because, as Mr. Willis once said, Zed’s dead.

* * * * *

And in case you’re wondering about this year’s official names, they are:

Arlene
Bret
Cindy
Don
Emily
Franklin
Gert
Harvey
Irene
Jose
Katia
Lee
Maria
Nate
Ophelia
Philippe
Rina
Sean
Tammy
Vince
Whitney

A year and a half ago, I had a handful of sidewalk conversations with one of the most interesting women the Marigny has to offer: Eva Schneider. In halting English — weirdly broken for someone who’s lived in the U.S. for most of her life — she told me about the years she spent working at Disney Studios. Shortly thereafter, I began receiving little missives in my mail slot: short letters offering more detail of her career as a professional animator. They were sometimes hard to follow, so I skimmed them and filed them away, hoping to transcribe them at some point.

Apparently, I’ve reached “some point”. I recently sat down with Eva’s letters and started to type, keeping her curious capitalizations, spellings, and punctuation intact.

In the end, I’m sorry to say, there’s not a lot of new information about her or about Disney & Co. In fact, sometimes, she repeats herself, occasionally on the same page. And her story follows a predictable path: an artist working in a medium that’s changed by emerging technology — technology that she finds cold and inferior. She dismisses the computer-animated Disney films of today, and it would be easy to write her off as yet another person who’d rather bash technology than adapt and use it.

Unfortunately, she talks very little about her experience as one of the few women working in a field dominated by men, or about her impressions of Walt Disney’s political/world views. But even though I didn’t get what I was hoping for, the act of writing seems to have been cathartic for her. And so, I kept transcribing. Because I know that when I’m her age (90, I’m guessing), I’d want the chance to be heard.

I haven’t seen Eva on the street in months — maybe a year. I don’t know if she’s still alive, but I can’t find an obit for her. Perhaps she was taken in by her relatives. Or maybe, knowing her, she’s taken them in. She’s kind of spunky.

If you’re interested in what she had to say, the transcriptions are after the jump.

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Check out what showed up at my house the other day.

That’s right, it says “recyclables only” on the top. To say I am excited is an understatement in fact it’s probably wrong to be this excited about something such as a garbage can but I can’t help myself. I have a hard time believing it took this long for the city of New Orleans to revive it’s recycling program which is just a sign that we are still recovering every day. Now that it is here I am overjoyed.
Recycling pick up begins on May 2nd for those who have already registered. Find out which day of the week they will pick up in your area by visiting the WDSU website (I couldn’t actually find the info on the city’s site, weird.) If you haven’t registered not to worry you can still register on the city’s website
Some extra awesome things about this recycling program is that nothing needs to be separated, as residents we just throw everything into the bin and they take it away. Also, they accept pretty much everything, here is a list of what they will pick up according to the city’s website:
– Paper products (Examples: office paper, newspapers and color inserts, magazines, catalogs, junk mail and telephone books)
– Plastic containers coded #1 through #7 (Examples: water, soda, juice, detergent containers, etc., plastic pots from nurseries)
– Metals (Such as: aluminum, tin or steel cans)
– Cardboard (Examples: brown corrugated boxes used for moving or merchandise packaging)
– Boxboard (Examples: cereal, food, detergent, paper egg cartons)
– Waxed cartons (Examples: juice boxes and milk cartons)

Last night we went to see Gal Holiday and the Honky Tonk Review at the Botanical Gardens in City Park. At least that was the plan, it was going to be a family affair we had even invited a couple other friends with kids to make it a concert playdate but when we arrived the set up was a bit different from the last time we attended one of the Twilight Concerts at the Gardens. Last year when we went the concert was held outside in the gardens with plenty of room to let the little guys look around and still not bother the other audience members. A perfect way to listen to some great live music with young children.
Last night however they held the concert inside the pavilion at the Gardens. At first we thought it might be due to weather even though the sun was shining and it was warm there were a few grey clouds floating about but we soon debunked this theory with the simple fact that none of the people entering the Gardens had blankets, chairs or anything else that would be needed to sit on the grass like last year. They obviously knew something we did not. We let the little ones run around in the grass for a while before going into the Gardens and as we watched the people file in we realized one other thing. The age of those in attendance had a posh retirement home feel to it, there wasn’t a single person even remotely close to my age let alone my son’s age.
It was then we decided it would probably be a bad idea to take five kids under the age of five into a room full of senior citizens and expect them to sit quietly for over an hour, so we bailed and went to the playground. Although I was looking forward to hearing Gal Holiday I’m sure the playground was the right way to go.
Now what I wonder is if all the concerts will be inside this year. I hope not, last year it was a great family outing and it can be again if they just move it back outside into the actual Gardens.

Note to self: If I’m going to be posting more I need to make sure I take pictures while I am out.

Last night my husband and I went to our first meeting at Audubon Charter School. Our first meeting after getting in of course there was a meeting before the lottery even happened which was only slightly more informative than the one last night.
This latest meeting was to talk about tuition. For those of you who don’t know Audubon is a charter school within the Orleans Parish School System. Which one? Honestly I don’t know though I should look that up as it’s info I “should” know…the school’s website says New Orleans Parish School Board. I’m not sure that really answers the question at hand however, let’s move on. Since the school lost federal funding for it’s Pre-K program last year they were forced to cut the K-3 grade all together and charge tuition for K-4. We will be heading into K-4 next school year so we will be paying tuition. The up side to this over private schools in which we would also be paying tuition this year is that every year after next is free. That makes paying $4,570 by July 15th much more appealing if not actually easier.
The long and the short of last night’s meeting was we all have to go to an independent website (sss.nais.org) type in our financial information and that will tell us if we are eligible for reduced tuition. I am pretty sure we are not eligible though I will be plugging our numbers into that little website just to be 100%. They also mentioned a loan that is available but of course couldn’t really answer any questions on that since it is “official bank stuff”. The whole shebang lasted half an hour and I didn’t learn a single thing I couldn’t have learned easier from an e-mail.
I was reminded of one thing though, this is going to be a long bumpy ride. I love to learn, I enjoy taking classes and I always have but what I just can not stand is all the bureaucratic crap that goes along with school. I am not the lowest common denominator and I have worked hard my whole life to surround myself with intelligent people in intriguing situations, I do not enjoy being spoken to as though I am a child. I didn’t like it when I was a child and I sure as hell don’t like it now. But there I was in a room full of people asking a question two minutes after someone across the room asked the same exact question. And I ask myself what am I doing back in this place? I worry I will not be able to deal with the system even for the sake of my own child’s school experience. Is this a worry all parent have or is this just me?

Man it’s been a long time since I posted on here. I am going to change that, I promise. Have I said that before? Probably, but I mean it this time. I have been out of town for a while but I’m back and the weather is beautiful so I am going to get out and explore and I am making it a goal to share those explorations with you in the metblog universe.
There are so many fun and interesting things going on in the NOLA area, things that are in my plans to attend like this weekend (French Quarter Fest), this Thursday (Gal Holiday at the Botanical Gardens) and tonight I am on my way to a meeting at Audubon Charter School. My 4 year old son was accepted into the French program so there will be a whole new set of adventures in NOLA starting as we traverse the public/charter school system.
The whole prospect of school is scary for any parent but tack onto that the fact that my son will be going to school in French (I don’t speak french) and that adds a level of scary I am not at all sure I am ready to deal with, I hear they have some french classes for the parents and I hope beyond hope that I can keep up, languages are not my thing. I don’t want other parents to be left out in the cold, there are so many questions that I have about this whole thing and it isn’t so easy to find the answers. I will do my best to share with all of you the answers as I figure them out, how can my son learn the basics in another language and not fall behind in his day-to-day English speaking world? There must be a way kids do it all the time and Audubon is hailed at a great school in these parts, It’s just hard to wrap my head around. Of course no one ever said this was going to be easy.

Carnival officially begins on January 6 (aka Epiphany, aka the 12th Night of Xmas), but most of us in New Orleans don’t really get into the Carnival spirit until much later. For me, the trigger is usually the Krewe du Vieux parade, which happens about two-and-a-half weeks before Fat Tuesday (aka Mardi Gras).

This year, however, I’m late — late like Rizzo in Grease, to use a theatre queen simile. I’m just not in the mood yet. Maybe the balls and parades this weekend will tip the scale.

My friend Elizabeth, however, is full of the Carnival spirit(s), and she’s penned something to commemorate the season: “The Benefits Of Getting Drunk: A Manifesto”. Whether or not you live in New Orleans, whether or not you celebrate Carnival and Lent, whether or not you sip the Devil’s Urine (as my Sunday school teacher used to call it), it’s well worth your time. Here’s an excerpt:

Sometimes life is terrible. You get divorced. You get laid off. Your loved one dies. Your heart breaks. Your city floods. When it does, most of us soldier on, waking up to a bleak future, plodding through the day, trying not to cry in public, keeping it together so we don’t lose our jobs/annoy our co-workers/scare our children. Merely being alive exposes  us to failure, fear, regret, and loss. Most of us endure these moments, these weeks and sometimes these years, managing to not kill ourselves, until little by little we make life better or, by the grace of time, it just gets better. But during these terrible times, it is perfectly appropriate to want to get the hell out. To get away from the bad that seems like it will never end. And getting drunk can do that for you. Granted, sometimes the drinking can make problems seem worse than they are, but when they actually cannot get worse, when they are really, really bad, go ahead. Get drunk. Forget where you live, whom you live with, your name (old or new) your job (old or new), someone’s absence, someone’s presence, your own presence. Line them up and knock them back. Don’t flip through the old letters, the old photos. Don’t watch the DVD for the 100th time or listen to your song. Don’t try and do the ugly math that is your bank account. They will all be there tomorrow to remind you to remember. Instead, stare blankly ahead of you, don’t look back, and for now, forget.

“The Benefits of Getting Drunk: A Manifesto” at SouthernFood.org

See y’all on the neutral ground.