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Friday, February 17, 2012
Endymion's Progress: Friday morning
Posted by Kevin Allman on Fri, Feb 17, 2012 at 11:30 AM
In the latest set of snaps from our weeklong series, "Endymion's Progress," we find that it's not just a hardy soul or two camped out on the Krewe of Endymion route — there are people, tarps, tents, ice chests, chairs and CAUTION tape everywhere.
Let's start on Canal Street, around Scott Street:
We're already anticipating your questions:
Q. Is this legal???
A. No.
Q. Is the NOPD going to do anything about this sort of thing?
A. Dunno.
Q. What the hell is the streetcar supposed to do? Levitate?
A. There's no streetcar service on Canal Street today and tomorrow. If you're planning to ride public transportation at all through Tuesday, you'd better download a copy of NORTA's Mardi Gras related changes. Here you go:
More pix under the cut, including Orleans Avenue ...
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
New BP ad says 2011 was "best tourism season in years"
Posted by Alex Woodward on Tue, Nov 22, 2011 at 6:20 PM
... followed with Galatoire's owner Bill Kearney approaching the camera, saying "all because so many people wanted to visit us — in Louisiana."
BP America announced on its Facebook page yesterday that it's "expanding its Gulf Coast tourism advertising campaign with new ads highlighting 2011's successful tourism season. ... Part of BP's ongoing commitment to support economic restoration on the Gulf Coast, the ad highlights 2011 as the best Gulf Coast tourism season in years and will be part of an integrated television, online and social media campaign."
The ad, another in a series of ads like "Great Vacation" and "Best Place," is peppered with lines promoting Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. "This was the Gulf's best tourism season in years," says one anonymous ad man. "Sun's out, and the water's beautiful!" "Anyone who knows the Gulf knows winter is primetime fun time."
Did New Orleans skip fall this year and go straight from summer to winter?
Posted by Kevin Allman on Tue, Nov 22, 2011 at 3:40 PM
One of these things is not like the other ...
A total cheat. What happened to fall?
Thursday, September 1, 2011
The Waffle House Index: FEMA's "How screwed are you?" gauge
Posted by Alex Woodward on Thu, Sep 1, 2011 at 1:12 PM
As we prepare for National Waffle Week, let's pass the mic to FEMA director Craig Fugate, ladies and gentleman: "If you get there and the Waffle House is closed? ... That's really bad. That's where you go to work."
The ol' Waffle House Index, developed by Dr. Hashbrowns von Larrythecableguy, is a gauge used by the disaster response agency following hurricane landfall in the U.S. to determine its impact on a given area.
... and here's how it works!
Green means the restaurant is serving a full menu, a signal that damage in an area is limited and the lights are on. Yellow means a limited menu, indicating power from a generator, at best, and low food supplies. Red means the restaurant is closed, a sign of severe damage in the area or unsafe conditions.
During Hurricane Irene, Waffle House lost power to 22 restaurants in North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and Delaware, according to the WSJ. But in Weldon, N.C. that weekend, the fryers were up and running. Even the diners in Joplin, Mo., stayed open after the devastating tornadoes. Following Katrina, the company lost seven of its restaurants and 100 more were shut down — Waffle House jumped into the disaster recovery biz and invested in generators and a mobile command center (named "EM-50" after the Stripes' "urban assault vehicle").
FEMA explains: "The Waffle House test doesn’t just tell us how quickly a business might rebound — it also tells us how the larger community is faring. The sooner restaurants, grocery and corner stores, or banks can re-open, the sooner local economies will start generating revenue again — signaling a stronger recovery for that community. The success of the private sector in preparing for and weathering disasters is essential to a community’s ability to recover in the long run."
Friday, August 26, 2011
From The Village Voice: hurricane boyfriends
Posted by Lauren LaBorde on Fri, Aug 26, 2011 at 3:21 PM
Due to the threat of Hurricane Irene, New York is in full-on evacuation mode — which is a feeling us New Orleanians know all too well. (Former Mayor Ray Nagin also knows this well, and is available for any and all press opportunities!) Everyone's in a panic, but the Village Voice has presented a positive side to this state of emergency: It's a great opportunity to find a boyfriend! (Or at least someone to snuggle with until this whole thing passes over.)
Jen Doll, the author of the post, has a point. We all know from experience that imminent hurricanes present ample opportunities for mingling. Stocking up on canned food and batteries at the grocery. Filling up at the gas station. Boarding up your windows. And the feeling of apocalyptic doom that pervades all those situations is arousing for a lot of people — so why not make the most of it? Plus, striking up a conversation is easy, since potential topics abound:
But before the hurricane starts, you should be outside as much as possible, so that you can make conversation with possible hurricane boyfriends. Some good conversational lines are, 'Have you ever been in a hurricane?' 'Do you think this is actually going to happen?' 'What lovely weather we're having!' and 'You had me at hello.'
If a storm heads our way anytime soon, this is something to keep in mind.
And for any New Yorkers reading this: EVACUATE. Trust us on this one.
Full post: How to Find Your Hurricane Boyfriend
Ray Nagin's advice for those affected by Hurricane Irene
Posted by Kevin Allman on Fri, Aug 26, 2011 at 11:59 AM
Former New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin appeared on the CBS Early Show this morning to offer pearls of wisdom for those freaking out about the approach of Hurricane Irene:
"It's very concerning, because this storm has a larger footprint than Hurricane Katrina and, in my book that I self-published through CreateSpace, I talked about what we did to prepare for it, the evacuation," he said. "Most people don't know, we got about 95 percent to 96 percent of the people who were in the city out of harm's way before the storm hit, so there's many lessons to be learned from our experience."
Watch:
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Rising sea levels could send the Gulf to your backyard
Posted by Alex Woodward on Wed, Jul 27, 2011 at 6:06 PM
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) dropped a report this week (following this fairly damning one) outlining the potential (and likely) effects of rising sea levels on several U.S. cities. New Orleans of course is on the list — the NRDC says its one of "the most vulnerable cities in the United States to the impacts of climate change, due to its low elevation, land subsidence rates, sea level rise, and prediction of more intense hurricanes." (Read the full breakdown of New Orleans here.)
The NRDC predicts sea levels in the area to rise by 1 to 4.6 feet by 2100, one of the highest rates in the the nation. The effects include wiping out significant chunks of wetlands, exposing the city directly to the Gulf of Mexico.
Rising seas will likely wipe out a significant portion of the coastal wetlands in the Mississippi River Deltaic Plain, where wetland loss rates are already among the highest in the world. Without inputs of sediment, an additional 3,900 to 5,200 square miles of wetlands will be under water by the end of the 21st century. If the impacts of relative sea level rise on wetlands are not checked, metropolitan New Orleans could eventually sit on land almost completely surrounded by the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico.Loss of Louisiana’s coastal wetlands would not only represent a loss of natural flood protection, but it would impact the vast array of plants and animals that the wetlands support, many of which are tied to economic activity including fishing, timber, agriculture, tourism, and recreation. The combined value of infrastructure and biological productivity associated with Louisiana’s wetlands exceeds $100 billion.
Earlier this year, the University of Arizona produced a similar report showing that by 2100, New Orleans could face 10 percent land loss. The report's maps show much of the city lying at or below 1 meter of elevation, with areas immediately along the Mississippi River (read: levee protection and higher ground) lying at or below 6 meters of elevation.
But while the UA report didn't specify any call to action, NRDC seems confident in post-Katrina reconstruction — raising homes, 500-year storm protection, flood mitigation — to combat the rising tide.
Friday, July 15, 2011
NOLA Drive-In screening cancelled
Posted by Lauren LaBorde on Fri, Jul 15, 2011 at 2:38 PM
Due to the monsoon currently in progress, NOLA Drive-In's screening of Dr. Strangelove has been cancelled. The screening, which was slated to take place in the parking lot of the former Schwegmann's at the corner of St. Claude and Elysian Fields avenues, has been rescheduled for next Saturday in the same spot. Check the New Orleans Film Society and follow NOLA Drive-In on Twitter for updates.
Also, a reminder that Patois: The New Orleans International Human Rights Film Festival's screening of The Harder They Come originally scheduled for tomorrow has also been cancelled.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Review: Julie Dermansky's Haiti After the Earthquake at Ogden
Posted by D. Eric Bookhardt on Thu, Jul 7, 2011 at 3:46 PM
- Photo by Julie Dermansky
- The national cathedral was ruined in the January 2010 earthquake that shook Haiti.
It is said that “history is written by the victors,” but what if there is too much history and no victors? Last year started with a bang as a huge earthquake hit Haiti and dominated the headlines until the massive Gulf oil disaster in April, and then storms, fires, tsunamis, tornadoes, wars, revolutions and more earthquakes happened in quick succession. Yet the earthquake in Haiti, which shares a common history with New Orleans, was staggering in scope, and this selection of images by New Orleans-based photographer Julie Dermansky captures both the overwhelming chaos and the extraordinary resilience of the Haitian people.
In January 2010, Dermansky went to Haiti to try to find an old friend, an arts activist she later learned had perished in the quake. Dermansky remained to document the plight of the Haitian people, and her images convey the apocalyptic nature of the destruction — rubble is all that remains of the monumental national cathedral (pictured), the presidential palace and other massive buildings where mangled human limbs protruded from the rubble. The photos also capture the dignity, endurance and irrepressible spirit of the Haitians themselves. In much almost-generic media disaster coverage, Haiti appears hopeless, but Dermansky’s cool, compassionate eye reveals a remarkably stoic if vivacious people whose true potential really never has been tapped. If these people have endured so much misery for so long and are still capable of hope, who are we to doubt them?
On Wednesday, July 13, the Ogden Museum of Modern Art (925 Camp St., 539-9600; www.ogdenmuseum.org) hosts a panel discussion moderated by WWOZ’s George Ingmire and featuring New Orleans cultural community activists who went to Haiti after the quake. The panel includes Dermansky, journalist Michael Deibert, WWOZ’s Maryse Dejean, Haitian Association for Human Development President Dr. Yvelyne Germain-McCarthy, Ogden curator/photographer Richard McCabe, Tekrema Center founder Greer Mendy, Loyola University’s Dr. Jean Montes and photography gallery owner Joshua Mann Pailet.
The exhibit at the Ogden will be up through July 24.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Katrina blah blah God's punishment blah blah Southern Decadence blah blah. Still.
Posted by Kevin Allman on Thu, Jun 30, 2011 at 1:10 PM
We're nearly six years past Hurricane Katrina and the federal floods, but it seems we'll never be over the bizarre notion that "God sent" a hurricane to make landfall on the Mississippi coast in order to register His displeasure with Southern Decadence in the French Quarter, about 60 miles away.
The latest opportunist to remount this hobbyhorse is — surprise — a televangelist named Rick Joyner, who seems to have picked up Jim and Tammy Bakker's Heritage USA hotel for a steal and turned it into a conference center. In a sermon this week, the preacher (and Kenny Rogers doppelganger) claimed a U.S. Senator had phoned him specifically to ask if Katrina was "judgment from God." Of course it was:
A very gracious judgment — filled with grace! Katrina hit New Or-lee-anz the day before they were supposed to have that day of decadence.
That "day of decadence" went on anyway, with two parades staged by both gays and straights.
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