I simply remember my favourite things…and than I don’t feel so bad!

Ichabod’s New Orleans t-shirt shop on Magazine Street was building a reputation right before the storm and like so many other local favorite shops became one for the nostalgia files. They have risen from the dust through another medium- an entertaining online site including memorable logo designs on cute tee’s and messenger bags framed next to old New Orleans You Tube videos . Everyone has their own personal and special memoirs of former local spots…. Some of mine include: Read the rest of this entry »

In terms of Katrina recovery, much of the national spotlight has focused on Louisiana’s recovery, or the lack thereof. When CNN’s Anderson Cooper, who has kept to his word and returned to New Orleans a number of times since the levees failure, reported on the two-year anniversary, Cooper compared Biloxi to New Orleans. The basic message was: Biloxi was thriving in the post-Katrina world while New Orleans was failing.

Turns out that Mississippi and its governor, Haley Barbour (R) hasn’t really fared that well either when it comes to aiding those most affected by the storm: the poor and vulnerable. As reported by PBS’s Bill Moyer, the casinos, hotels and condos are beginning to re-dot the Mississippi Gulf Coast while Read the rest of this entry »

 by Sam Winston

With all of the over-stuffing on turkey, cranberry sauce, football and hectic travel during the extended Thanksgiving weekend, one may not have seen an extremely insightful article about the future of New Orleans and how the city chooses its urban rebuilding strategies.

“Two cities: One in the midst of a decadelong real estate boom; the other, devastated, depopulated and wondering who will come home. What can they learn from each other?”

The above mentioned cities are New Orleans and Portland. The article was written for The Oregonian, Portland’s daily paper, by a former Oregon state representative that spent Read the rest of this entry »

 By Sam Winston

The hosts of ESPN’s Pardon The Interruption Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser said that the Hornets should 100 percent NOT stay in New Orleans.

“In post-Katrina New Orleans the economy isn’t strong enough to support anything but a football team. You can’t have a team that plays at home for 41 dates, you just can’t.” - Kornheiser

In referring to the NBA’s position on the issue and its relationship to Hornets owner George Shinn, Kornheiser said,

“Whether you like the owner or not, the owner is one of your partners, you can’t put him in this sort of liability.” Read the rest of this entry »

Grants are available for performing arts organizations who offer educational programs in the greater New Orleans area. The Foundation for Entertainment Development and Education, the folks who bring us the Big Easy Awards for music and theatre for the past 20 years, also offer grants for projects that focus on education in the performing arts. Past recipients include NOCCA, All Kinds of Theatre, and the Fred J. Palmisano Memorial Scholarship Fund at UNO Dept of Drama.

Application deadline is December 14. Email a description of your project and the amount you are requesting to Gloria Powers, Executive Director of the Foundation.

 By Sam Winston

Philip Roth in his Pulitzer Prize winning book American Pastoral described Thanksgiving as the quintessential American day. Where the battle of life halts and “just one colossal turkey for two hundred and fifty million people- one colossal turkey feeds all… A moratorium on all the grievances and resentments for everyone in America who is suspicious of everyone else. It is the American pastoral par excellence and it lasts twenty-four hours.”

It is certainly going to be weird to not have a Turkey Day but it will be even stranger to not even have the idea of Thanksgiving here in Germany. Roth was onto something when he said that it is truly “American.”

My first realization that there would be no Turkey Day for me was Read the rest of this entry »

In an alternate reality, The Wendall Baker Story, written and directed by Luke Wilson (with brother Andrew) would be quirky, clever and a charming homage to the lazy Texas lads of the 70’s. In reality the film tries too hard to be quirky, charming and clever, and barely achieves even “lazy”.

The story is cliché…Ex-con goes straight to win the girl and ultimately saves the day. Luke plays the Texan, Wendall Baker, with his “aw shucks” demeanor and barely invites a second glance into the depth which needs to be shown by this character. When your hero is a slacker by nature, he should show us more than smirks and shallow one-liners. This does not happen with Luke Wilson. Unfortunately, I am not sure that is in his acting capabilities. Do not totally dismiss The Wendall Baker Story. There are some amazing cameos by Will Ferrell as the Read the rest of this entry »

Much has been written in the media about the New Orleans Public School system starting their master planning process. Well, they’re not the only ones planning for the future, or trying to make a positive impact on public education. Starting tonight, the New Orleans Public Library asks that the public (this means you) join them in putting together a master plan for the future of public libraries in New Orleans.Just like the public school system was severely damaged by the levee failures, the New Orleans Public Library (NOPL) suffered a number of losses. Prior to the storm, there were 13 NOPL locations and approximately 200 employees providing library services throughout the city (I know this because I was one of those employees). Read the rest of this entry »

 By Sam Winston

If you were busy over the weekend tallying election results or fuming over the Corps recent fudge and retraction, you might have missed the most relevant world event for New Orleans to happen since Hurricane Katrina. Cyclone Sidr, a category 4 and 5 storm, devastated Bangladesh as the death toll was confirmed to reach over 3,000 today with estimates of it continuing to rise. The rescues efforts are ongoing.

The parallels are hard not see. Read the rest of this entry »

Neville family members were out in force as Quint Davis and various Jazz & Heritage Foundation and Festival officials and Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu made a host of announcements about the 2008 Jazz Fest. Ivan and Ian Neville both played as a crowd gathered at the Foundation’s offices on North Rampart Street. Art Neville was also in attendance as Davis announced the return of the Neville Brothers to their closing slot on Sunday. Read the rest of this entry »