And first, he goes up to Martin Grammatica and says, “Hey, instead of this ball going through the up-rights for three points, I’m gonna have this guy block it and this other guy catch it and return it for a touchdown. Read the rest of this entry »

 The New Orleans Film Festival kicks off on Friday night with the premiere of The Secret Life of Bees, starring Dakota Fanning, Queen Latifah, Alecia Keys and Jennifer Hudson. Later in the evening, Happy-Go-Lucky screens. The festival has a full schedule of feature films, documentaries, short films and more.  This year, there is a cluster of music related films, including Crazy, about the early Nashville country music scene, The Sweet Lady with the Nasty Voice, about Wanda Jackson, and The Wrecking Crew, a band including the recently deceased Earl Palmer, Glen Campbell, Tommy Tedesco, Carole Kaye and Hal Blaine that played on uncounted rock and roll hits. The festival’s closing night film is the drama/musical Dark Streets, a film set in a 1930s nightclub. It’s playboy owner is caught up with two of the clubs singers, and that’s only the beginning of his problems. Dr. John and Aaron Neville appear on the soundtrack. And Dr. John will be playing at the House of Blues the same night. The screening and the concert are not related, but it will be interesting to see who’s at Dr. John’s show.Check back this week for more preview trailers, and see www.bestofneworleans.com for film previews. 

This week I’m talking with Drew Magary, author of “Men With Balls: The Professional Athlete’s Handbook“, regular contributor to Deadspin.com and one of the founding writers of the NFL blog “Kissing Suzy Kolber.” Magary is also a Vikings fan who isn’t exactly jumping for joy that Gus Frerotte is his team’s starting quarterback.

From NPR.org:

Meet The Bailout Boss

The $700 billion man.

Chris Taylor, U.S. Treasury Department/AP Photo

The great big Wall Street bailout now has a boss, and guess where they found him? Neel Kashkari works with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson now, as assistant secretary for International Economics and Development. Kashkari, 35, came to the Treasury through the same route as Paulson, which is to say through Goldman Sachs.

He’ll oversee the Troubled Assets Relief Program and the Office of Financial Stability.

The Wall Street Journal runs down his curriculum vitae, with this note about Paulson:

Paulson likes to surround himself with people he’s comfortable with: people, mostly, from Goldman Sachs. Paulson’s inner circle already includes former Goldmanites Dan Jester, a financial institutions banker, and retired banker Steve Shafran, who focused on corporate restructuring at Goldman. It also included Robert Steel, who has since left Treasury to become CEO of Wachovia.

– Laura Conaway

Does anyone see any problems with this? Why does everyone come from Goldman Sachs? Maybe that means they know the system well, but I’m skeptical and  fear corruption. Anyone have other comments/sources on this? Should we trust this guy?

I have lived in 13 different apartments within the past 7.5 years since I moved to New Orleans. I think that is a considerable accomplishment, or a statement on my ability to co-habitate (is that a word?) with others. My career as a shady gypsy began when I moved here to go to college and has since morphed into the average vagabond, noncommittal lifestyle of most twentysomethings these days. During this time, I’ve rented from slum landlords with 100s of properties throughout the city, to a sweet middle-aged man with an interest in gardening letting the other side of his vacation-home double. I’ve lived in an apartment where mold grew halfway up the walls, to a swank, newly renovated single suite in on-campus housing. I’ve lived in Uptown, the LGD, Irish Channel, Central City, Treme, Bywater and the Marigny.  Within my demographic, emotional and financial limits, I feel as though I’ve done it all. I’ve lived with best friends and strangers, one roommate and as many as nine!

Now that I’m in the middle of purchasing my very own first home in Holy Cross, I’ve begun to implement “best practices in homeownership” in my current apartment to prepare myself for the coming responsibilities. I’ve been taking stock of what I’ve learned in the past 13 apartments, and I recently made a new discovery.

 

Read the rest of this entry »

State Rep. Michael Jackson of Baton Rouge hopes to ride the Barack Obama Express like a true Democrat, which he was until a few months ago — before “no party” replaced his official Democratic party affiliation on the ballot. In the race to capture the Sixth Congressional District, Jackson bills himself as an “independent Democrat” and claims ties to Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama.  Read the rest of this entry »

While cautious candidates and television’s culture of sound bites might drain any actual debating from the upcoming U.S. Senate debates, communications experts contend the forums still hold value for voters. This year, U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, the incumbent Democrat, and state Treasurer John Kennedy, a Republican, have agreed to four public exchanges.   Read the rest of this entry »