This one is pretty much copied from an email I received today but I want to get the word out so here is the info:

This evening at 6pm, the Valley of Silent Men Social Aid and Pleasure Club will lead SilenceIsViolence and the Social Aid and Pleasure Club Task Force in a Walk For Peace through the Central City neighborhood. The peace walk begins and ends at 2220 Jackson Avenue, near Van McMurray Park. Earlier this year, the Task Force memorialized two-year-old homicide victim Ja’Shawn Powell in this location as part of the January 9 Strike Against Crime. We all pledged on that day to keep the park as a special site of remembrance and anti-violence activism. Please join the Valley of Silent Men, the Task Force, and SilenceIsViolence as we stand up for peace in our communities this evening.

WHAT: A Walk For Peace

WHEN: Thursday, August 27, 2009, 6pm-7pm

WHERE: 2220 Jackson Avenue

WHO: Valley of Silent Men SAPC; SAPC Task Force; SilenceIsViolence

WHY: WE WALK FOR PEACE through our neighborhoods each month!

For more information about this evening s walk or the SilenceIsViolence/Social Aid and Pleasure Club Task Force partnership, call Tamara Jackson at (504) 453-1155.

www.silenceisviolence.org

I knew that Ray Nagin had announced a deal with Nickelodeon to redevelop the Six Flags theme park that’s lain abandoned in New Orleans East since Hurricane Katrina rolled through nearly four years ago.

What I did not know was that there’d been a photo op at the announcement:

I can only presume that by this time next year, C. Ray will be comfortably ensconced under the sea, living in an upside-down pineapple with his new paramour. Or possibly alone, ensconced in some very heavy footwear. Either way.

[WWL]

Half of me thinks this is crazy. Another half of me thinks it’s nice that someone’s envisioned New Orleans’ architectural landscape in a wacko, high-on-life, rich-from-petroleum, bring-on-the-Bangladeshi-slave-girls kind of way. And a third, nonexistent half of me thinks that the residents of One River Place are probably already pissed that someone bothered to imagine this Tron-style tenement (click through for video):

Rebuilding New Orleans is an ongoing effort and pitching into the concept-zone is the New Orleans Arcology Habitat or NOAH. Since the details on this structure are in-depth and plenty, lets plunge into them right away. NOAH proposes to be a habitat for 40,000 residents who can benefit from the planned residential units, school system, commercial, retail, hotels, casinos, parking, and public works facilities.

NOAH is based upon the following preliminary program outline.

1. Residential Units / Rental and Condominium; 20,000 units @ average 1100 Sq ft
2. Three Hotels; Average 200 rooms plus associated services
3. Time Share Units; 1500 units @ average 1100 sq ft
4. Three Casino Facilities
5. Commercial Space / Rental and Condominiums; 500,000 sq ft
6. Commercial Space / Retail; 500,000 sq ft
7. Parking Garage / within foundation; 8,000 cars
8. Cultural Facilities; 100,000 sq ft
9. Public Works; 50,000 sq ft / includes storage
10. District School System; 100,000 sq ft
11. District Administrative Office; 50,000 sq ft
12. District Health Care Facility; 20,000 sq ft

Estimated Total Square Footage : 30 million

Location/Site Specific: In reviewing all the options and possible sites for NOAH, the most logical location is on the Mississippi riverfront and adjacent to the Central Business District.

Oh: and it goes on.

The last time Circle Food had one of these events I went to show support. It was supposedly intended to have people sign up in support of re-opening the grocery again. I don’t know if it will really work this time. Not only is the Circle Grocery an architectural icon in the neighborhood, this area of the city just really just needs a place in their immediate area to make groceries. C’mon Circle !

Today we went to Satchmo Summerfest in the French Quarter. It was the perfect afternoon for it, there was a little rain earlier and the sky remained overcast which means the whole area stayed much cooler than it had been yesterday. We began our Search for good music at the U.S. Mint building, a logical choice since it seemed to be the center of all the festivities this year but so many people in such a small space overwhelmed us so we moved on down the French Market toward Jackson Square, after a while we crossed over and watched the boats on the river for a while before beginning our leisurely journey in the direction of home. That is when the real fun began, we ran into the Baby Boyz Brass Band playing on a street corner. This band put a smile on my face not to mention a dance in the step. I want to ask you a question. Do you see the young man in this first picture, see his dreads and his sagging pants? Do you also see that he is playing an instrument with a band? These things put together completely endear him to me, I love that he can be at seemingly two ends of a spectrum. This picture (ok it’s not the picture but the subject) represents what I love about New Orleans. After 4…5…6 songs with the Boyz we walked on till we came to the Balcony Music Club where we dropped in to listen to Dominic who we used to live across the street from and who has known the little guy since before he was born. We all had a seat and the little guy danced and was given a Sprite by the bar back for doing nothing more than being little and looking cute, he is good at that. It was a great day, we listened to some great music and had tons of fun doing it, couldn’t ask for much more than that.

Question: What sort of person leaves her dog — a large and thick-haired one at that — in the back seat of a Pontiac Vibe on a sunny August afternoon in New Orleans while she roams the aisles of an over-air-conditioned Office Depot?

A) Leona Helmsley
B) Cruella DeVille
C) Paris Hilton
D) Michael Vick’s mother
E) A veterinary acupuncturist

Personally I’d lean toward “C”, but I’m awful at these things.