Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Jackass star Bam Margera says he was hauled in by NOPD officers during Carnival
Posted by Kevin Allman on Wed, Feb 22, 2012 at 5:38 PM
According to Margera, the trouble began when NOPD officers ordered him to get out of a hotel swimming pool due to the fact he was swimming with clothes and shoes on — whereupon he ignored them and continued to do the backstroke. (Ignoring an NOPD command during Mardi Gras is a stunt worthy of Jackass, frankly.) In Margera's telling, officers threatened to use a Taser on him (which the "hotel lady" was all for), but another employee convinced the gendarmerie that Taser + water = electrocution.
Regarding the alleged incident (what's the opposite of skinnydipping?), Margera told TMZ, "I don't think there's a crime in that, because my dad's fat and he goes in the pool with his T-shirt on."
We've requested comment from the NOPD. Meanwhile, here's the Margera side of things, and it's New Orleans-weird enough to be Nicolas Cageworthy ...
David Vitter named one of 10 "Most Conservative Senators" by National Journal
Posted by Kevin Allman on Wed, Feb 22, 2012 at 4:39 PM
Sen. David Vitter isn't just conservative; he's super-duper conservative, and he wants you to know it. This afternoon Vitter took to Twitter to announce:
And here's the article, in which National Journal names Vitter alongside such conservative stalwarts as Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla. and Sen. Jim DeMint, R.-S. C.
Oscar viewing parties abound in New Orleans
Posted by Ken Korman on Wed, Feb 22, 2012 at 4:15 PM
Now that Carnival is over it's time to get ready for the next party. This Sunday, Feb. 26, is Oscar night, and there's no shortage of local options.
New Orleans is the site of one of 49 Oscar Night America parties officially sanctioned by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The festivities begin with a patron party and live cabaret show featuring Becky Allen and Marshall Harris at Morton's The Steakhouse, 365 Canal Place at 5:00 p.m. The party then movies upstairs to The Theatres at Canal Place for red-carpet arrivals and a theatre viewing of the live broadcast starting at 6:00. Tickets and more information can be found here.
The New Orleans Film Society is hosting an Oscar party at the Prytania Theatre, 5339 Prytania Street. Attendees are encouraged to dress as their favorite character from the nominated films. An Oscar trivia contest will happen during the commercials. Prizes will be awarded to trivia and best-costume winners. A suggested donation of $25 or $20 for Society members includes complimentary food, beer, wine, popcorn, and soda. More Info here.
The Westin New Orleans is hosting an Oscar viewing party at its 11th-floor Plimsoll Club. Admission is $8 and includes complimentary fruit and cheese. The partier with the most accurate Oscar predictions wins a one-night stay at the hotel and dinner for two at The Green Bar. More info here.
Local businesses on Magazine Street are getting together for the NOLA Oscar Viewing Party at Salü, 3226 Magazine. Red-carpet attire is encouraged for the event, which is free and open to the public. Sponsors include Fleurty Girl, Yelp, Feet First, Fun Flicks NOLA, Make Me Up, NOLA Flora, Swanky Illustrations & Graphics, and Salü. Additional info here.
Mardi Gras 2012 over: Respite from murder-focused national news coverage ends today
Posted by Charles Maldonado on Wed, Feb 22, 2012 at 4:10 PM
Overall crime during the 2012 Mardi Gras season was down from 2011, New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Ronal Serpas and Mayor Mitch Landrieu said in a post-Mardi Gras press conference today. According to Landrieu, police reported a nine percent reduction in crimes against persons and a six percent reduction in crimes against property during the festivities. What's more, in spite of at least two high profile shooting incidents, one near the St. Charles parade route on Thursday, Feb. 16 and another near the French Quarter on Mardi Gras, violent crime was down significantly.
"We believe from preliminary data that violent crimes are down 44 percent," from 2011, Serpas said.
(Continued after the jump)
Attention cheapskates: TLC wants you for reality TV
Posted by Missy Wilkinson on Wed, Feb 22, 2012 at 2:58 PM
Do you sift through ashtrays to salvage partially smoked cigarettes? Do you have track marks from selling your plasma? Have you wiped with pages torn from a Victoria's Secret catalog to cut toilet paper expenses? If so, you might be exactly what Extreme Cheapskates is looking for. Coming on the heels of Extreme Couponing's success, this new TLC reality show showcases "thrifty geniuses" with "extraordinary money-saving methods." To be considered for the show, email casting director Michael Petrella (casting@michaelpetrella.com) with the following information:
Please send us an e-mail detailing your most extraordinary money-saving methods and how much it saves you every day, month, or year. Please also include:FULL NAMES (you, your spouse, your children, etc)
AGES (of everyone involved)
CITY AND STATE
PHONE NUMBER(S)
E-MAIL ADDRESS(ES)
SKYPE HANDLE (if you have one — we will likely conduct Skype interviews during the process)
PHOTOS
Finding cheapskates in New Orleans ought to be about as hard as finding a needle at Jo-Ann Fabrics, since we're the 22nd most frugal city in the country, according to a ranking issued this morning by coupons.com. So I'm really hoping to see a family of penny-pinching Yats on TLC - I have a feeling our most mundane cost-cutting recipes could give the guy who cooked a goat's head a run for his money.
And the James Beard Award nominees are. . .
Posted by Ian McNulty on Wed, Feb 22, 2012 at 11:52 AM
The James Beard Foundation has released the list of nominees for its 2012 awards, and New Orleans is well represented across the roster. This year, 12 local chefs, restaurants and bars are in the running for James Beard Awards, an honor that TIME Magazine has dubbed “the Oscars of the food world.”
Brett Anderson, restaurant writer for the Times-Picayune, sits on the foundation’s 17-member Restaurant and Chef Awards Committee.
By category, these local nominees include:
It's Ash Wednesday, are you ready for that salad yet?
Posted by Ian McNulty on Wed, Feb 22, 2012 at 10:27 AM
- Ian McNulty
- City Greens in the CBD.
Approach the First Bank & Trust Tower on Poydras Street, and its sleek façade, brass detailing and classic bronze sculptures speak of money. That’s appropriate enough for a bank headquarters, but the ground floor of this CBD skyscraper is also now where to find green of another sort.
- Ian McNulty
- The First Bank & Turst Tower
City Greens, the newest salad slingers in the CBD, opened here in late January. Just proceed past the security desk and you’ll find that the polished marble floors lead to a café with a modern and decidedly more lighthearted design. Step up to the counter, and servers quickly whip together fresh salads from a large and impressively stocked bar of greens, assorted shredded fruits and vegetables and other fixings.
“Traveling around, we saw lots of salad shops turning up in other cities and felt New Orleans was definitely limited in healthier options, so this was a niche we could fill in the market,” says Micheal Birtel, who started City Greens along with business partner Ben Kazenmaier.
This is the first restaurant from the two, but they took some time last year to test run the concept as a pop-up. Initially they operated on Sundays inside Vizard’s, the Uptown fine-dining restaurant where they had both previously worked.
Monday, February 20, 2012
The New Orleans Hornets mascot (Scary) King Cake Baby
Posted by Kevin Allman on Mon, Feb 20, 2012 at 2:20 PM
Y@ Speak: It's Carnival time! edition
Posted by Lauren LaBorde on Mon, Feb 20, 2012 at 12:29 PM
Friday, February 17, 2012
Arrogance and insouciance
Posted by Clancy DuBos on Fri, Feb 17, 2012 at 6:34 PM
Now that the feds are officially investigating former Mayor Ray Nagin, the most popular water-cooler conversation starter in town is guessing when he’ll be indicted and on what counts. The Times-Picayune outlined three potential problem areas for Nagin, to which I would add a fourth. And that covers just what’s in the public domain.
The TP noted in its first story about the grand jury investigation that the feds are looking into “three parallel tracks” against Nagin, who campaigned as a crusading reformer in 2002. According to the newspaper, one track involves city tech vendors who provided Nagin with luxury travel and home maintenance; another concerns the Nagin family’s countertop business and its exclusive deal with Home Depot; and a third involves suspicions that the countertop biz got free equipment and materials from city vendors.
Add to that list the City Hall email scandal. Computer records of Nagin’s schedule and emails disappeared — right after WWL-TV asked for them in a public records request. It is a federal crime to tamper with public computers, and if the tampering is done to conceal a crime, we’re talking obstruction of justice.
The stink of corruption was already on Nagin even before he left office. The feds indicted former city tech chief Greg Meffert while Nagin was still mayor. Meffert ultimately pleaded guilty to conspiracy and tax fraud. He has yet to be sentenced, but he did testify against his old partner, former City Hall vendor Mark St. Pierre, who got 17-and-a-half years after the feds nailed him on 53 counts of bribery, conspiracy and wire fraud. Another former City Hall tech chief, Anthony Jones, pleaded guilty to bribery and has been cooperating with the feds.
