Well…not on the Web. But in her next movie, according to this New York Times profile titled “A Fling With Hollywood, But Love For the Big Easy”:

PATRICIA CLARKSON already knows how her mother, Jackie Clarkson, the peppy president of the City Council of resurgent New Orleans, will react to her latest nude scene in a feature film, this time opposite Ben Kingsley in “Elegy,” adapted from Philip Roth’s tortured novelette, “The Dying Animal”: two thumbs up….

“My parents are old-fashioned, but not in a standard conservative sense,” says Ms. Clarkson, 48, balancing her sylph-thin, barefoot self on one of the deliberately unmatched chairs flanking the banquet-size dining table in her West Village loft. Purchased 11 months ago, it is the first and only home she has owned. She fantasizes about a pied-à-terre on the outskirts of the French Quarter, but putting down roots in New York City was a priority. Even if her family is ensconced in the city where she grew up.

“I mean, please, they’re Southerners, they’re high school sweethearts who’ve been married 55 years and are still speaking to each other, plus they’ve raised five daughters,” adds Ms. Clarkson of her comfortable suburban upbringing in the Algiers section, where her parents still live. “I grew up in a boisterous, loud house; the lights were always on.”

It’s an interesting profile of one of New Orleans’ most talented native daughters, with this tidbit for the hometown audience:

[Woody] Allen invited her to join a cast that includes Larry David in what she carefully refers to as “Woody’s untitled spring project.”

In it, she plays a crazed Southern woman. A stretch? “She does contain elements of me and my mother,” she says.

Lakeview evidently has a long memory. When Randie Porobil opened Lakeview Brew, the coffee shop and dessert destination reviewed this week, she says new customers began asking about the “Lakeview girl” behind the operation.

“I’m over 50, it’s been a long time since anyone called me a Lakeview girl,” says Porobil.

But she was indeed raised in Lakeview, so to a certain mindset she always will be a Lakeview girl.

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Mandi Thompson moved to New Orleans six weeks after Katrina. One of her goals was to show that start-up companies could survive in the city as it rebuilt. It probably helped that she created a company that would create commercial interiors. But she also launched a nonprofit foundation to help others move back — called Furnishing Our Neighbors. Through it, she kicked-off the “Redefine 8/29” campaign. In the last year, Thompson has worked with the New Orleans Musicians Relief Fund to organize the campaign — releasing an internet-downloadable CD to raise money. The next phase of the campaign opens shop on Friday with a cut-rate furniture sale. The foundation seeks donations from hotels and resorts that are remodeling. It’s initial grant includes furniture from 707 of the Astor Crowne Plaza, a four-star property. Everything from lamps to desks, to chairs and sofas will be on sale for one of three prices: $8, $29 or $208.  Read the rest of this entry »

If you were stuck in the back during the filming and recording of “We are the World,” here’s your second chance to lend your voice and pretty face to a good-will choir. Join a host of local musicians for the final filming and recording of the song “We Shall Not be Moved.” The music video will be broadcast on YouTube on the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Organizers hope to draw a couple thousand New Orleanians to join the chorus and make the piece a celebration of the city’s recovery and determination. Filming is set for 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sat., Aug. 9, at Woldenberg Riverfront Park. Absolutely everyone is welcome. If weather is unsuitable, the event will be held Sun., Aug. 10, at the same hours. Check the Web site for participating musicians and choirs, details about the project and for updates regarding weather suitability.

Hmmm. The long-rumored front-page facelift. Fancy fancy:

(For some reason, I get a sign-on screen whenever I go to the new page, but if I hit “cancel” it takes me right in….)

What do you think? Easier to use? Easier to read? Harder to find what you want?And what do you make of the fact that the words “Times-Picayune” are barely visible on the page?

(For those who don’t know — Nola.com is owned by Advance Internet, which uses the Times-Pic’s content; the two are corporate second cousins, sort of, and not the same thing at all…as anyone who works at either company will be glad to tell you at extreme and sometimes profane length.)

Here’s Nola.com’s breakdown about the changes…which is also scant on mentions of The Times-Picayune itself…despite the fact that the newspaper provides much if not most of the current content. Make of that what you will.

 Going to the new X-Files movie this weekend?  Read Rick Barton’s Review in this weeks Gambit before you go. 

So what should we look for during tonight’s Saints-Cardinals game? Well turns out at least 9 starters will sit tonight, it’s all part of Coach Payton’s philosophy to “play smart.” Of course, Payton is looking forward to seeing what’s in store for his team, and everyone’s paying attention to the Cardinals (for once). Payton’s taken care of every part of preperation for this game, while his players are looking to rebound and “turn the corner” from disssapointing seasons last year — no one is taking anything for granted. Just what kind of postcard are people sending from Jackson? Well, aside from talking offense and defense,  one could be “wish you were Thomas.“And while Cardinals soup is on the menu, you can’t ignore the sound of Cadillac engines rumbling. People are singing “tomorrow, tomorrow,” (at least they were yesterday) and blessing these boys, because even though some free agents are just walking, some are convinced the Saints year has come.

We now have more specifics about Tremé, the David Simon pilot that will be shooting in New Orleans this fall. Nellie Andreeva of The Hollywood Reporter spills the (red) beans:

“The Wire” creator David Simon is recruiting some old friends for his new HBO pilot.

“Wire” alumni Wendell Pierce and Clarke Peters are set to star in “Treme,” a post-Katrina-themed drama that chronicles the rebuilding of New Orleans through the eyes of local musicians.

Khandi Alexander, who worked with Simon on “The Corner” and is coming off CBS’ “CSI: Miami,” is in final negotiations for a role.

Pierce will play Antoine Batiste, an accomplished jazz trombonist who is now scratching for gigs, trying to support a live-in girlfriend and a new baby, while still carrying a torch for a failed marriage to Ladonna Batiste (Alexander), the mother of his two children, who is single-handedly keeping her bar afloat. Peters will play Albert Lambreaux, a big chief of the White Feather Nation trying to bring the tribe’s members home.

“Treme,” which Simon created with Eric Overmyer, takes its title from an area in New Orleans.

First impressions:

- That plot description could go either way, verisimilitude-wise, but given Simon and Overmyer’s cred, scoop ‘em up a heaping benefit of the doubt….

- Two big pluses: All the folks on The Wire were outstanding actors and Khandi Alexander is similarly excellent…

- Overmyer is a part-time resident, so he can probably be counted upon to know that “Cher” is a Chris Owens-like, ageless entertainer rather than a term of endearment in the Seventh Ward.

Hopeful signs. We’ll see.

     Mayor Ray Nagin needs a reality check. He says he can’t attend the City Council meeting today to discuss the New Orleans Affordable Housing (NOAH) debacle because his schedule won’t permit it. That’s unacceptable.

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Orleans Parish School Board member Jimmy Fahrenholtz failed in his attempt to convince a federal judge to order his name placed back on the Democratic Party congressional ballot on Sept. 6.

U.S. District Judge Peter Beer, in a terse ruling handed down late Wednesday afternoon, deemed the matter res judicata — a thing already judged … in this case, by the state courts.

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