Remember a couple of months ago when I posted all that stuff about Sissy Bounce? Well, the meme is done blowed up, ’cause Gambit Weekly’s current cover story is about–you guessed it–Sissy Bounce.

Not surprisingly, writer Alison Fensterstock is a much smarter writer than I am, and had enough time and curiosity to really explore the topic. Among the article’s more interesting tidbits is verification of what I’d expected: that straight Bounce rappers aren’t exactly thrilled with all the attention being lavished on the sissies. As rapper Plies recalls from his visit to a New Orleans club this July:

“And the DJ played one of those songs,” he said. “What the f*** is that? Come on, play some Soulja Slim or something, play Dizzy’s “Work Ya Elbows.’ The DJs act like they don’t have any other music to play. It’s nothing against them. It’s just the only thing I hear now in bounce is gay, and it’s something I don’t want my children to hear,” Meana added, although he was careful to note that gangsta rap and his own songs glorifying drug use are also off-limits in his house. “They can listen to the radio version,” he said. “But I hear the same complaint (that bounce is gay) at the barbershop, at the studio, everywhere I go.”

Which is, I guess, a marginally more tolerant response than we’d have gotten five or ten years ago. So: yay, but also, boo.

Regardless of the homophobia Allison exposes, it’s a great piece. And as if that weren’t enough, the equally awesome author (and recently repatriated New Orleanian) Kevin Allman has posted a lengthy Q&A he had with Ms. Fensterstock about the whole experience of researching and writing the article. Among her observations:

[T]he NOLA sissies are less a part of queer culture at large, I think, than they are a part of New Orleans culture. There’s a huge Internet fan base for them. It’s totally possible that Freedia or Katey would have a RuPaul moment. They have that kind of rock star quality. But as Matt Miller, who directed the bounce documentary said, the problem is also with the regional quality of the music – it’s really simple and rough and based a lot on the neighborhood-projects-school call and response. So that might inhibit it translating nationally more than the sissy-ness would. But I hope they do.

Also worthy of excitement: Ya Heard Me, the Bounce documentary she mentions, which features several Sissy Bouncers. More yay for your Wednesday!

Remember a few weeks back when I wrote this? Well, we won! New Orleans is the nation’s most “Sparkling City.” What does this mean? Well, read on for selections from the press release;
White Plains, NY, June 23, 2008 — [yellow tail] wines announced today that Americans deem New Orleans to be “America’s Most Sparkling City.” After a national survey narrowed the list of nominees to 10 locations, Americans were asked to vote online for the most animated, brilliant, lively and vivacious city in the United States. The winner proved to be the home of Mardi Gras, Bourbon Street, and Jazzfest—as well as a rich volume of American history.
Jacquelyn B. Clarkson, city council member at large, plans to accept the inaugural honor on behalf of the city during an event in New Orleans’ iconic Jackson Square on July 1, in conjunction with the Independence Day holiday. Renowned travel guide author and expert, Pauline Frommer, along with a [yellow tail] wines representative, will be on site at Chartres Mall, in front of St. Louis Cathedral, to present the award.
“It’s exciting that the American people realize New Orleans has not lost its sparkle,” Frommer said. “Although the city has gone through very rough times, the tourist areas are back—and are as exciting and dynamic as ever. It’s great that [yellow tail] is honoring this city for its warm culture and unique history. If there ever were a city that truly sparkles, today and forever, it is New Orleans.”
“We are pleased to name New Orleans as ‘America’s Most Sparkling City,’” said Mark Lyle, vice president of marketing for [yellow tail] wines. “A city with so much determination and hospitality is well-deserving of this title, and we look forward to honoring—and toasting—New Orleans.”

Closepersonalfriend and fellow New Orleanian Greg Herren just received a Lambda Literary Award for his gay mystery novel Murder in the Rue Chartres–which sounds eerily like a below-the-fold headline in the Picayune, but hurrah anyway!

I’m not much of a mystery reader, and I wonder if having separate categories for “men’s mystery” and “women’s mystery” might be a little much (really, is the GLBT mystery genre that big?), but I’m a huge fan of Greg and his partner, Paul, so it’s going on my list. Consider that a recommendation.

I have a group of tiny fans on Rocheblave who sit around waiting for me to come with a laptop to play games, print coloring pages and share snacks. There are a lot of kids who need attention over there but there are two who are particularly smart and have endeared themselves to me. Nick and his brother Josh. Their mom works over at Rouse’s and she is tired after her day shift. I sort of take over in the afternoon, so she can have a nap.

Today, I promised the kids I would take them to NOMA to see the Blue Dog Exhibit. Just as Emily said, it was fantastic. Plus, we brought the camera. Josh opted to play basketball at the Victory church, so Nick and I went and we had a blast. It was only $6 for us to visit with two sets of the audio headsets for narration, which really added to Nick’s enjoyment of the paintings. Especially fun is the audio story of how the Blue Dog began as George Rodrique’s interpretation of the myth of the Loup-Garou. He also really liked the replication of the artist’s studio. When Nick spotted the Blue Dog in his tiny Saints jersey with Drew Brees, he really began to grasp the far-reaching influence of the Blue Dog.

Nick’s so funny. I tend to let kids get away with murder, the quintessential aunt. Nick ran full speed across the mezzanine to get to the stairs so I could take his photo and I couldn’t bring myself to stop him. It was so funny to see him tearing along in the staid museum atmosphere. I just wanted Nick to be exposed to museums and to know the protocol but to feel comfortable. Taking photos is one of the limited activities in a museum. We were not permitted to take photos of the Blue Dog exhibit but we took some photos around the rest of the museum. So we had a two-tiered opportunity today; taking photos and just visiting NOMA. Nick said he liked the brass drinking fountain outside the bathrooms too.

On the way home, we went to visit his Mom at Rouse’s and pick up some snacks. Nick is hooked on taking photos and videos with my camera and I love to see the world from his perspective. What a great day! I decided that we would do the sculpture garden next time . . .

Could we be America’s most sparkling city? Yellow tail, the champion wine brand for Casella Wines out of Australia wants to find out. They commissioned a survey of 900 adults over the age of 21 to be conducted by Greenfield Online. They survey asked respondents to rate a cities “sparkling” attributes on a scale from 1 – 10. The majority of survey respondents said that what makes a city sparkle is “breathtaking scenery” (61%), “great night life” (53%) and unique food (48%). Guess what makes a city sparkle is relative to the person but whatever.
Anyway, New Orleans was chosen by 59 percent of Americans. Putting our fare city in the running for America’s Most Sparkling City. Also in the running are Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Martha’s Vineyard (um what? Is that a city I thought it was a vineyard), South Beach-Miami, New York, Orlando, San Diego, San Francisco and Santa Monica. How do we pick the top city out of these ten, you ask. Well now we all get to vote, between now and the 15th of June all of America can vote (once each day) for the city they find to be the “most sparkling.”
You might be thinking to yourself, what do I get if my city is in fact chosen as America’s Most Sparkling City. Well I will tell you. A Party! Now there is one thing that I have learned about New Orleans in my time here and that is NOLA loves a party usually we are more into the crawfish boil/ Abita beer party but a party’s a party. If New Orleans gets crowned as the Most Sparkling City in America Yellow Tail is going to throw a party in the city on July 3rd the details of which I, unfortunately do not know but I am sure it will be “sparkling”.

To vote for your favorite city just follow this link.

Somehow I missed the fact that there’s a new New Orleans documentary on the scene–and it looks fantastic. Centered on the history of the Faubourg Tremé, it’s got great music, great footage, great names attached to it–Brenda Marie Osbey, Leni Sloan, Lolis Eric Elie, and Wynton Marsalis, to name a few–and best of all, it’s celebratory, not mournful. As the website says:

Faubourg Tremé is arguably the oldest black neighborhood in America, the birthplace of the Civil Rights movement in the South and the home of jazz. While the Tremé district was damaged when the levees broke, this is not another Katrina documentary. Every frame is a tribute to what African American communities have contributed even under the most hostile of conditions.

Also, no Chris Rose. Seriously, check it:

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE TRAILER
Since WordPress sucks for embedding media

(Thanks Xeni and BoingBoing!)

…but there’s an event that ought to be on your calendar this weekend:

Seriously, all your friends will be there–and a few enemies, too. So much drama!

Bad news: Our housemate made a complete ass of himself at French Quarter Fest.

Good news: The high point of his ass-foolery was dancing onstage. With Chris freakin’ Owens.

Best news ever: It was totally captured on video.

I’m not ordinarily a jealous man, but Chris Owens? Damn….

Over the last few weeks some friends and I have been heading out to the hinterland to do some exploring. It began with a trip to Natchez MS.,  with my friend, E.  We visited Longwood and a few other antebellum homes.  Longwood is a must see for architectural buffs. There aren’t many good places to eat in this sleepy town on Sunday but I always go to the Magnolia Cafe on the Mississippi River because I enjoy the dramatic view of the river which is rather humbling here. In fact, they are preparing for a rise in the river as floodwaters from the Midwest move south.  This event threatens the Isle of Capri riverboat gambling stationed near the Magnolia Cafe.

Last week we went on a walking tour of Avery Island and Rip VanWinkle Gardens. These were all really pretty adventures. The flowers are in full bloom. At the end of our safari, we rewarded ourselves with a delicious meal at Cafe des Amis.

Today we pumped it up a notch or two and visited Clark Creek, MS.  I was almost too tired to shower. The hills are a workout that can’t be mimicked on the stairmaster and the waterfalls were really beautiful. It’s a totally different world just 2.5 hrs away.

More Photos Sorry, I didn’t feel like taking photos while in Natchez. Next time for sure.

While relaxing on my day off I was fortunate enough to catch the Keepin It Real second-line on Bienville today. It was a gorgeous day. It’s such a luxury to be in a place where you can experience a second-line in between cleaning out the cat-box and doing laundry. My neighbor and I shared some ginger snaps and did some booty shakin together. After enjoying the parade, Alvin went back to spraying pigeons off his roof with the hose and I back to my Sunday ablutions, both with the fuller sense of well-being that only a good dose of a brass band and its connections to your ‘peeps’ adds to everyday life here in New Orleans.