“…Dennis Quaid, along with his band, The Sharks, will perform a live concert in New Orleans on Thursday, June 21st. The band specializes in rock ‘n roll and country-soul, and has performed around the country to the raves of adoring fans. The performance will take place at Spanish Plaza and is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. local time, followed by a movie screening of the 1987 crime thriller The Big Easy.”

http://www.netflix.com/liveonlocation/01index.html

Barring any rain I will usher a report of this event on Friday.

WHEREAS,
I was getting ready for work this morning I heard that Babs had declared today Louisiana Recovery Day. They didn’t say much about it other than that. Then on the drive in I heard on the radio that today is Louisiana Recovery Day but didn’t say much about it either. By the time I got to work I’d decided something fucked up was going on so I started looking around online for a second to see what I could find. This is really it.

WHEREAS,
the lame-duck Governess, concerned about her legacy has given herself an attaboy in writing before leaving office. To me, that’s what it looks like. What else explains a statement like this: “the ability of our citizens and communities to recover has required substantial efforts on the part of government agencies” or this: “government agencies at the state and local levels have redoubled their efforts and devoted considerable resources to help rebuild South Louisiana safer, stronger, and smarter” or this: “local and state agencies have implemented recovery programs that are making a significant impact in people’s lives;”. I mean I hate to be cynical about it but it sure looks like a thinly veiled pile of bullshit. Anyone wanna step up and defend the state and local governments in their recovery efforts over the last two years? We can go to Mother’s and have a Debris Sandwhich (the traditional food for Louisiana Recovery Day).

WHEREAS,
she’s an ass. She’s incompetent. And so on. But years from now when we’re all dead and gone and history lessons are given; the paper trail will speak louder than anything else. I won’t be there; no one will be there, in those floating New Orleans schools, built based on “bobble head technology” to stand up and call her a useless fuck and she knows it. She’s preserving her legacy. The tone of it makes it sound like every thing’s done and the recovery is complete. Princess Blanco lead the state of Louisiana though some of its most troubling times. Her work complete she retired with modest dignity to her family home….Bullshit!! I’m declaring this “Blanco’s A Bitch Day” and I’d create a cute little proclamation thing but she isn’t worth the time it would take. I swear, this little proclamation of hers couldn’t be more meaningless and contrived if she was standing on the deck of an aircraft carrier declaring victory in a war that had barely started.

Ordinarily I’d be referring to our mayor or the governor or one of my mother’s casserole catastrophes, but in this case I mean a real trainwreck. If you’re in the Bywater, get comfy.

One last crucial element of fixing my house was the air conditioner, which got installed today. My plan for the weekend is to sit on the couch and bask in it.

When the guy came out to give an estimate, he gave me the option of putting the air conditioner on a stand, so in theory it would not be ruined if there were another flood. He said tons of people have been doing that lately, and I have noticed this trend as well. It was an extra $300 and I opted not to do it. I figure it this way; if another Katrina hits, I’d much rather have $1,500 in insurance money than a working A/C unit in a dead city. I have this recurring thought every time I see people preparing for another deluge, like when people jack their houses up fifteen feet into the air. The thought is that those people are crazy.
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Robin Malta was found beaten to death in his home on Monday.

I didn’t know Robin Malta very well. He started out as a friend of a friend, he cut my husband’s hair a couple times actually he was the only person we’ve found that could cut his hair the way he wants it. He wears it in a pompadour and no one still knows those old styles these days. Well, no one except Robin so my husband went back and asked for him special. I live very close to Salon D’Malta the salon Robin co-owned with his sister Monica so I pass by quite often walking the dog or to and from the coffee shop. Any time he was outside he would say “hi” and pet the dog or look at the baby and tell me how much he has grown and how he is so cute.

The salon doors, windows and step are covered in pictures some taken with a camera some drawn by hand, there are personal notes taped to the walls, flowers wrapped in plastic and flowers in glass vases. The sidewalk is spotted with multi colored wax and candles still burn in front of the door.

One paper on the door tells of a Remembrance Walk scheduled for tonight to start at the corner of Royal and Clouet and will snake through Marigny and the Quarter ending at the salon. Services will be held tomorrow afternoon.

I’ve never been a big fan of Esquire magazine. I mean — they’ve had some good articles over their long history and, as a men’s magazine goes, it’s outwardly classier than most. Just not my kinda thing, y’know?

Anyway — Esquire is out with its list of the Best Bars In America. All of them listed in Louisiana are in New Orleans (rated American’s Best Bar City) — but all of them are in the French Quarter.

This, my friends, ain’t right. Did their researchers once cross Canal St? I know this is typical — but it’s nonetheless disappointing. Nothing against the FQ (I love the bar at Tujague’s) — really — but I’m thinking the fine editors at Esquire need guidance in where to drink in this city.

I’ll start the list by mentioning The Columns on St. Charles.

Holy baby Jesus friggin’ christ I am bored. The summer months are not the friends of the restaurant industry.
It is sooooo slow. This site has gotten kind of boring as well. I think everyone is definitively Katrina’d out and could care less as to what is going on. I can’t blame them. There ain’t much to talk about after you beat everything to death so many times you’re numb to it.

I don’t think anything could surprise us at this point. One term I am truly tired of hearing is “since Katrina”. It seems like the end of every sentence we hear has that as its ending.

“The lump on my ass has gotten bigger since Katrina”
” I don’t think the place will be the same since Katrina”
“This can of cheese wiz sure is expensive since Katrina”

Blah blah blabbidy blah. So what have we learned from this by now? Life goes on, people still suck, and its so fucking hot down here you want to stab stuff. Nothing new.
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Congressman William Jefferson is innocent until proven guilty. Just listen to these people to hear the REAL culprits in this mess:

Kaare Johnson speaks a local Reverend about Congressman William Jefferson

The audio from the Justice for Jefferson Committee meeting

An interesting question was raised this morning and I’ve got to say, I don’t really know the answer. So I’ll throw it out there for all of New Orleans to answer. Just what has Congressman William Jefferson done for:

a.) Black New Orleanians. Are they better off today than they were 17 years ago when Bill took over?

b.) The 2nd congressional district? Does the westbank have legitimate levees? Is there some large base of jobs in the 2nd congressional district?

c.) The New Orleans area in general.

Can anyone point out something tangible and concrete that William Jefferson did for this area in the last 20 years? I am not talking about he helped my uncle get out of a traffic ticket kind of shit. I am talking about a project that brought jobs to the area. Something that produced a positive influence for the area, something I can go see and touch? Is there anything? Everyone screaming about how important William Jefferson is to this area and I cannot come up with one solid concrete thing that this guy has done in the 17 years he has served in the U.S. Congress.

A St. Tammany deputy died yesterday when a tree fell on his car. He was riding in a funeral procession for another deputy, who was killed when his car hit a tree.

No, seriously.

I feel like we’re all living in a bad soap opera sometimes.

I am walking around uptown near Magazine Street today and I stumble across this little historical marker of sorts. Actually I walked right past it and then came back to read it as it is nondescript. I know full well who Jefferson Davis was, no self respecting Southerner wouldn’t (no American should either for that matter), but I never took the time to think about what really happened to him after the whole North winning thing.
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