Best Of New Orleans Blog

by Sam Winston

Who says we aren’t over-medicating ourselves, huh? The AP investigates traces of prescription drugs found in city water supplies across the country and while traces where minute, many were alarmed at what they found ( including sex harmones, pain relievers, and anti-cholesterol drugs in New Orleans water, after the jump).

“A vast array of pharmaceuticals including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones - have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans…

How do the drugs get into the water?

People take pills. Their bodies absorb some of the medication, but the rest of it passes through and is flushed down the toilet. The wastewater is treated before it is discharged into reservoirs, rivers or lakes. Then, some of the water is cleansed again at drinking water treatment plants and piped to consumers. But most treatments do not remove all drug residue.”- AP
(more…)

by Sam Winston

For those worried about the time lost from putting the clocks forward, think again. It’s all in your head.

“But the quest to spend time the way we do money is doomed to failure, because the time we experience bears little relation to time as read on a clock.

The brain creates its own time, and it is this inner time, not clock time, that guides our actions. In the space of an hour, we can accomplish a great deal - or very little.” -IHT.com

The above video is of Hornets rookie forward Julian Wright bowling alongside teammate Hilton Armstrong. A couple of things that should be noted:

• Wright, despite playing for only two years, is quite adept at the sport
• He also bowls at a frenetic pace, as noted by his use two lanes per game
• His shoes — sporting his alma mater’s (Kansas) colors — look strikingly the rentals at AMF All-Star lanes in Kenner.

Turns out that this is a regular exercise for Wright on off days. He says his average is I around 215 and his highest ever score was 278. Yesterday he bowled seven games for an average of 203 and a high of 246. Of course, that doesn’t include his low game of 146, when he played left-handed.

Also playing with Wright and Armstrong yesterday was Hornets ball boy Chase Forestier, who’s been bowling since he was 8 years old. This was the first time Forestier has played with Wright and he said he was surprised at how refined the basketball player’s game was.

“I expected him to look a little more awkward being so tall,” he said. “How tall are you, Julian? 6-8?”

“6-8 and a half,” Julian growled back jokingly.

Check out the pictures and more about Wright’s day bowling, after the jump. (more…)

LLocal fitness guru Mackie Shilstone doesn’t believe simply calculating body mass index (BMI) tells him enough when he is assessing a person’s size. For Shilstone, BMI is only the first step.

“I make it a three-tier approach,” Shilstone says. “I first look at what your BMI is to point me in a direction. Then I want to know what your total percentage of body fat is. BMI and body fat don’t go one to one, but the outcome can be the same. Then after I go to body fat, I want to know where you store your fat. All the research points to the waist measurement — from the belly button — as the single most predictor of disease there is.” (more…)

To any Southerner, last Krewe De Vieux Saturday felt insanely cold. Inhuman. 60-degrees at least. Later someone told me 29-degrees. My god, where am I?

I felt cold on the inside as well, this being the first Mardi Gras event I’d ever attended solo, without Mizzy, my girlfriend of six-and-a-half years. We broke up finally, this New Year’s Eve. I’m unready for Mardi Gras like this. But assuming I would live, I forced myself onto my bike. Everything would be OK, I hoped. I would surely crash into some friends to distract from my woes. Pedaling past Marky Park from Bywater down to Mimi’s in the Marigny, I definitely noticed I’d forgotten my gloves, but a pint of $7.92 whiskey from Schiro’s would help combat the air, and everything else. (more…)

Seven years ago, after moving here from Florida, I spent some weeks working at a fine-dining restaurant on Bourbon Street. I watched the place’s white-table-cloth-and-piano-jazz mood killed over-and-over by the constant stream of stumbling Yankee pukers passing outside the picture window, until finally they turned it into a sports bar called The Frat House. I went on to work at better, or at least more tolerable restaurants and bars in other more realistic parts of this city, and even managed to escape the Service Industry entirely for several years. But now as I plan my escape from New Orleans (surely I’ll return; I just need a break; god do I need a break) I find myself again tending bar on Bourbon Street.

“You need to hurry and squeeze in your three, three-hour training shifts this weekend,” said my new boss, a big burly older dude who seems mellower and more understanding than most who’ve been in charge of me. “That way you can be ready to work the big Ohio State vs. LSU game Monday.” So badly in need am I, that wading into a crowd of drunk football fans sounds absolutely desirable. (more…)

Those who suffer from asthma may want to try choking down oh-so-good-for-you-tofu and other soy products as much as possible from now on. New research suggests that soy products may help reduce asthma symptoms. According to a study conducted by Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, isoflavones found in soy foods may reduce levels of leukotriene in the immune system, the substance responsible for producing inflammation — airway inflammation is a primary cause of asthma.Participants in the study showed a marked decrease in the level of leukotriene at the cellular level— 1/3 less —after only four weeks of eating foods rich in isoflavones. Also known as phytoestrogens, isoflavones are pretty much found only in soyfoods, so if you want to reap the benefits you better get used to silky soy milk, tofu, or the much more appetizing choices ( I think, anyway), of edamame or soy burgers.Research is currently being conducted on the benefits of soy in other areas of prevention as well, such as coronary heart disease, osteoporosis and cancer. Likewise, soy also is known to lower cholesterol and is a rich source of protein.Many health food companies have jumped on the soy wagon, making it quite easy to find soy products in almost any grocery aisle, from produce and vegetarian products to meat substitutes, snacks (soy chips) and frozen desserts like soy ice cream bars. For more information about the nutritional benefits of soy, visit the SoyFoods Council Web site.

Picture a big, huge mountain. Now picture a mountain climber. Does a Hemingway-esque figure come to mind? An antiquated image of a rustic mountaineer with boots, gun and beard? Or do you see a new, high-tech version— a sexy, lean young man in Northface gear with a sun-kissed, rosy complexion? (more…)

The mental health crisis continues. LSU’s Health Sciences Center recently conducted a survey of 1,638 school children, grades 4-12, and found that 54 percent of them met the criteria for either Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or depression. The New Orleans Coroner’s Office has data that shows the suicide rate in New Orleans has tripled since the storm. (more…)

The 3rd annual “Magazine Street Retail Relief” event will take place this Saturday, Nov. 3rd.

Get in Shape: Put on your walking shoes and walk the 5 mile stretch in and out of Magazine St. shops. (Calories Burned: 500) (more…)

Make a bold statement and help an important cause this week by purchasing the “Viva La Cure” t-shirt designed by Juicy Couture at Saks. All proceeds from the sales of this shirt goes to the Women’s Cancer Research Fund, a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation.

Locally, Saks Fifth Avenue kicks off their Annual Key to the Cure event this week: from October 18-21, Saks will donate 2% of their sales to the Louisiana Cancer Research Consortium (LCRC).

A gala benefiting the LCRC is planned for Wednesday, Oct. 17, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Call 988-6592 if you are interested in purchasing tickets to the event ($50).

“What I need is someone who will make me do what I can.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson

In a way, I think Ralph was right on with that one. It’s easy to say, “Wow, I wish I had someone to keep me on track, to make sure I’m living up to my potential, to keep me on my toes.”

But in reality, if you did have such a person in your life — say it’s your mother or your husband or your wife or your neighbor — you’d probably end up resenting them for “nagging” you or avoiding them just to get a little peace and indulge in a little non-creative loafing. So I think it’s safe to assume that Emerson’s “someone” is really a hypothetical entity. But that was then. (more…)

Acai berries, pronounced like ah-sigh-eeee, are one of nature’s best-kept berry secrets. Exported from the Brazilian rainforest, these Amazonian berries contain one of the highest levels of antioxidants available in any fruit or vegetable. Researchers predict that the high levels of antioxidants and other similar compounds may be valuable in the prevention of damage by free radicals, cancer, diabetes, chronic inflammation, heart and (more…)

For the past few years my husband has tried to get me to ride bikes in New Orleans with him and I have resisted, due to a fear of local drivers, potholed streets and the lasting image of a black-’n'-blued friend who was knocked out when a car door opened as he was riding in the CBD.

My argument has always been that there is nowhere to bike besides the levee, The Tammany Trace and the Lakefront — and without a car bike rack, it was totally impractical. I would finish my (more…)

In Washington, a showdown is looming over of President Bush’s threatened veto of expanding the SCHIP (State Children’s Health Insurance Program) program. The U.S. House of Representatives voted 265-159 in favor a Senate compromise of the bill, which received substantial bi-partisan support. As syndicated columnist, David Broder, recently pointed out column Bush’s stance couldn’t be more unpopular and (more…)