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Category: general
the oilpocalypse
no, it’s not a “spill” or a “leak” when we’re at 4 million gallons of oil spewed into the gulf and counting…
ever since the deepwater horizon oil rig blew up on april 20th, and then sank on the 22nd, i’ve been trying not to spend too much time thinking about all the ways in which louisiana, the gulf coast, and the life of every person and creature contained therein is now screwed. jazz fest was a good distraction, but now that it’s over and the crisis only gets worse and worse, it’s hard to put it to the back of my mind anymore. also, it smells bad in new orleans whenever we get southerly winds. when that happens, every time you walk out of your house (and sometimes even inside your house), you are reminded again about this clusterfuck of a disaster.
i won’t go into all the latest updates or any more of a rant, cuz there are many others who are far more eloquent and have much more of a grasp of the details and scope of this disaster. if you want news, you can check nola.com’s coverage which is pretty decent. there’s no shortage of coverage in the news online, on tv/radio or in print. details are ever-changing about the status of the effort to contain the oil and where the slick in the gulf has spread. i am not a news reporter, so i will not attempt to cover that kind of territory.
i am, however, an artist and intermittent t-shirt designer. so what i would like to pass along is some of the early response from my more successful peers, all of whom are donating proceeds of their oilpocalypse-inspired designs to organizations helping with the disaster response.
the first shirt i saw was from shultzilla, called “built to spill” and featuring a play on the “drill baby drill” stupidity of certain boneheads on the far-right end of the political spectrum. i think it’s clever but it doesn’t resonate graphically with me personally, though i appreciate the visual and word play involved. he says he’s donating proceeds to some local organization involved in the response, but he hasn’t figured out which one yet. (he’s taking suggestions.)
the second one i saw was fleurty girl’s “rescue me” sea turtle shirt (above). the graphic is cute while still making its point very effectively; she printed them using soy inks, so as not to utilize any petroleum products; and she’s donating 100% of the profits to the Audubon Institute’s Louisiana Marine Mammal & Sea Turtle Rescue Program (LMMSTRP). i follow her on twitter, where i read that she got 500 pre-orders for the shirt almost immediately after putting up the web link, and she’s already sold 1000 of them, adding up to a $10,000 donation (so far) to LMMSTRP, which is frigging amazing. all in just a few days this week. i have to be honest – i haven’t always been the biggest fan of fleurty girl’s designs, graphically, but as a business she won me over during the whole “who dat” controversy and i was genuinely glad for her that it ended up being the best thing that could have happened to her business. and now this. this is pretty amazing, to have raised so much money so fast for such a great cause. it’s a wonderful example of how one person – or one very small business – can make a huge difference. and, well, validates the power of design via the t-shirt. i tip my squeegee to you and your entire team, lauren thom. keep up the good work!
but then thursday, i saw blake haney of dirty coast tweeting their new design. that day, it looked like this:
i LOVED the appropriation of the familiar tobasco hot sauce label logo to read “fiasco” (which several bloggers and tweeps have been using as their icons in the past few days). and i loved that it was a take-off of dirty coast‘s own make wetlands not war design that was popular post-katrina. (i always wanted to get one of the prints of this design to frame for my walls.) but then friday, as i was starting to write this blog entry, when i went to pull up all the reference pages including theirs, this is what i found:
so i guess something made them change it between thursday and friday. i still like it, though, despite the loss of the “fiasco” cleverness. and since i never got one of the “make wetlands not war” shirts, i’m happy to pick up one of these. this oil disaster isn’t going to go away anytime soon, and i’ve long been a critic of the oil industry and our continued drilling off the coast of louisiana (and elsewhere), so it won’t go out of fashion. dirty coast is donating proceeds of this design to the united commercial fisherman’s association, too, which makes me feel even better about indulging in a t-shirt purchase. (update: as of sunday afternoon, none of the now three variations i’ve seen of this design are available on the dirty coast website. i have an email into blake to find out what’s going on over there, but haven’t heard back. will update again when i know what the status is.)
i started writing this post on friday. yesterday, i decided to head down to the rally in lafayette square put on by the sierra club in response to the oil disaster. i heard about it via facebook but worried that the word hadn’t really gotten out about it. also, it was scheduled for a saturday, which in this town is never good for a protest/demonstration/rally. we woke up late yesterday after a big night of movie-watching (iron man 2) on friday night, so i didn’t actually arrive until about an hour into the event, which was scheduled for 12pm – 2pm.
these gals were standing out on st. charles across from gallier hall, getting motorists to honk in support. a handful of various environmental non-profits were set up, getting folks to sign petitions and handing out literature to educate people about what their organizations were doing in response to the disaster. there was a stage set up on the st. charles side, but i missed most of the music and all of the speakers. eventually, mardi gras indian big chief monk boudreaux did come on stage for a set.
i’m not really sure how much of a crowd was there earlier in the proceedings, but by the time i got there, it was dwindling. i’d say a hundred at the most. aside from the non-profit tables, there was this huge banner laid out on the ground and folks were asked to sign it with their thoughts on the disaster. the banner read “this is your crude awakening.” i didn’t really catch what they were going to do with the banner, or which group was sponsoring it. but i liked the idea, nonetheless.
i stuck around for about 45 minutes, long enough to hear the opening number by the big chief and to get my free “clean it up” t-shirt from the sierra club, after signing their petition.
simple. to the point. and i like the color. now if i can just get my noggin to thinking so i can come up with my own t-shirt design about all this. i feel like i’d rather go in a more positive direction, like the “save the coast,” “defend the coast,” or “save the wetlands,” but all i keep thinking is something along the lines of “when are we ever going to learn?” i’m mad and sad – heartbroken, really – at the same time, so i’m not really sure how to capture that in a t-shirt. but i’ll keep thinking.
unitasker blues…
oh my god, i’m SO not good at multitasking. my girlfriend calls me a unitasker – and she’s right. my brain just works that way. when i have something i’m working on, i like finishing it entirely before i move on to the next. and more often than not, i have a hard time switching gears to do something else if the previous thing isn’t done. so i will own it – i’m a unitasker, yep.
this is relevant only to explain just how scattered i feel right now. i think i mentioned in previous posts that i got hired for a temporary job enumerating for the census. (that means i go door to door trying to count/get info on all the folks who didn’t turn in their census form by april 1st.) it pays really well, and i made it through the first week of training last week just fine. (it was kinda boring to have the training manual read verbatim to me, but that’s how the gov’t does it and i was happy to take their $17.50/hr to sit there and listen.) this week has been sort of on-the-job training in the field, as we’ve all been sent out to tackle our first assignments. strangely enough, i’m finding i actually kinda like the work. it’s a little like being a detective sometimes, and since they started me off in my own neighborhood, it’s been nice getting to meet and get to know some of my neighbors. also contrary to my expectations, i’ve learned i’m pretty good at this. i guess my ever-so-brief stint as a paralegal/investigator for the death penalty defense law firm a decade ago taught me a few handy skills after all.
so yeah, i like the census work ok but the hours have slowed down as the week has gone on, because the higher-ups want us all to finish our first assignments completely before giving us any more. quality control, i guess. many of us, including me, have just one or two locations in our assigned areas to complete (can’t find the folks that live there home, keep going back at all hours of the day/evening trying to find them but so far no luck), which ends up meaning that on a day like today, i only get to log in the 10-15 minutes it takes me to knock on each door and have no one answer. i’ll be lucky if i clock in 2 hours of work today, sadly, unless i get lucky later in the day and find them. (that ain’t gonna pay the bills!)
in the absence of census work today, though, i’m finally getting the time to start listening to all the cds that have been piling up on my desk for my music column that was due, of course, several days ago. so far, lots of interesting stuff, including the new kelis album, deluka (which sorta sounds like a uk version of von iva to me), and this really great queer ragtime/vaudeville artist named sabrina chap (who sounds just like ani difranco vocally on several cuts, but her music is more diverse). i hope i can get through the whole stack today and decide what i’ll be featuring, and maybe even start writing.
meanwhile, fae’s son charles is in town for a week visiting – he just arrived yesterday. they are out running errands right now, but, you know, i’m trying to make time to hang out and do stuff with them, too, while he’s here.
and have i mentioned? i have to finish watching about a dozen lesbian/feminist films so i can then sit down and program the film fest for michfest this summer. by the end of may. ugh.
sadly, my crafty life seems a bit on hold at the moment until i get better at managing my work flow and extraneous projects. i did really well at jen’s jazz fest art show, selling lots of t-shirts, several signs and one clock. better than last year, even, which makes me really happy and grateful (thanks again jen!). but it leaves me in a bit of a dilemma, feeling like i don’t really have a very good amount of stock to be heading into the bayou boogaloo on the 22nd-23rd, which is my next and only market i have scheduled before the crippling heat of summer hits us. so i have to find time to strategize about that: make some more clocks and signs, print some more t-shirts, maybe even come up with a new design or two? it’s just one of my biggest opportunities all year to sell a lot of crafty wares, so i’d hate to miss out. but how to find the time?
also, while i’m talking about the bayou boogaloo… some of you will remember that last year the new orleans craft mafia did a wildly successful t-shirt recycling/reconstructing workshop out at the boogaloo. we were mobbed with people excited to learn how to make tote bags, halter tops and skirts out of their old t-shirts, and we got a lot of great press from it, too. plus it was a lot of fun! so how could we not do it again this year? therefore, of course, we are. we’ll be out there selling our eco-friendly and recycled wares, and then also doing two days of free workshops – 12pm-5pm on saturday the 22nd and 1pm-4pm on sunday. we’re looking for volunteers who’d like to help us cut and sew and direct traffic, and we’re also looking for your old t-shirt donations! (now i’m not talking stained and holes-worn-through old t-shirts, but rather stuff you’re not wearing anymore that’s still in nice wearable shape that you’d like to get out of your house and perhaps onto someone else as a skirt or halter or bag!) t-shirt donations can be dropped off early to unique products (2038 magazine street) or whole foods uptown during biz hours or just bring it to the boogaloo – we’ll have a donation box out. spread the word!
so see – what’s a unitasker to do? i really need to be working on ALL these things at the same time, but wow is that hard for me. it’s a major accomplishment that i’ve even managed to update this blog today while doing something else – even if it is just listening to cds. (don’t even get me started on all the various blog posts i want to be writing, on topics ranging from the last few episodes of treme, which i finally found online to watch, to the new police chief in nola, and the goddamn oilpocalypse happening out in the gulf and currently washing up on louisiana’s shores.)
i guess i’ll just keep trucking along, doing the best i can. it’s all i can do.
elysian fleas this weekend
the elysian fleas market is back after a bit of a hiatus. in this time, however, they’ve reorganized, hired a full-time market manager, and have decided to make the market a both-days-of-the-weekend, every-weekend kinda market. that’s right – 8 markets a month! and while i have my own personal curiosity about whether the community will support the increase in frequency of this market (i hope they do!), elysian fleas is well situated in the marigny, right outside the french quarter on elysian fields on the corner of chartres, to catch a lot of foot traffic between the touristy french quarter/marigny triangle area and the hipster/cultural epicenter of the bywater. so it might just work.
regardless, the emptiness of my wallet has led me to decide to, at the last minute, request a booth for saturday at the “soft launch” of the new-and-improved elysian fleas market. i’ll have all my usual crafty/folk art wares, plus maybe some flea type things like cds and whatever else i can scrounge up around here. and it being an off-weekend for BERG practice means fae can actually join me. the weather is predicted to be beautiful – 0% chance of rain right now and sunny all day with warm temps – and the vibe is always pretty laid back and fun at this market.
so. i know there’s a lot going on this weekend, and the gorgeous spring weather has folks itching to get out and enjoy the day. but while you are out and about, stop by and check out the eclectic offerings at elysian fleas and come say hello. there’ll be food and cocktails and music, so why not?
full press release from elysian fleas is below:
Elysian Fleas
Saturday, March 27th
Sunday, March 28th
11 am to 5 pm
527 Elysian Fields
corner of Chartres St.Elysian Fleas Springs Back to Life as a Weekly Market!
After a short hiatus to prepare for our big relaunch, we’re coming back as a weekly market every Saturday and Sunday 8 ,days a month! Gates open to the public with our soft opening on March 27-28 heralding the Grand Opening on Easter Weekend April 3-4. Hours are 11 am to 5 pm.
“We are going weekly to more fully enjoy the spring,” says James Michalopoulos, who hosts Elysian Fleas in the shady, tree-lined courtyard next to Michalopoulos Studio at 527 Elysian Fields on the corner of Chartres St. “This is a test to see how much fun we can have and how well it will work.”
Launched as a monthly market, Elysian Fleas quickly became a vital part of the neighborhood.
“The Faubourg Marigny and Bywater community so embraced Elysian Fleas,” says Reese Johanson of Artist Inc., which produces the market with the sponsorship of Old New Orleans Rum. “We realized New Orleans would support a regular weekly market like the village markets in Europe. People know they can come and get their cheese from farmer Jacques, and that Claudette emptied her attic and will be selling everything this weekend. It’s not only a place to shop and meet your friends for a drink or lunch. It’s also a community-building experience.”
To take Elysian Fleas to next level, the market hired Prachi Vij as full time manager. A local Marigny gal, Prachi was looking to bring her corporate event planning skills to grassroots community endeavors. “It’s a great match!” says Johanson. “We are so happy to have found her!”
Every Saturday and Sunday, beginning March 27-28, Elysian Fleas will feature a spicy New Orleans mix of flea market trash and treasures; creative art, jewelry & crafts; and delicious food & drink from some of New Orleans’ best al fresco vendors.
Longtime shoppers will recognize old favorites like Sally’s Gourmet Country Foods, Beaucoup Nola (fresh-squeezed juices, snowballs & salads), Straight From the Hipster Used Books, Cree’s Cheap Chic, Righteous Fur nutria-teeth jewelry and Susie’s Vintage Hats. New vendors range from Upper Ninth Herbal Skin Care Products to Le Divina Gelateria gelato to Fang & Feather swamp jewelry and Bridget Callais’ gulf shrimp from down the bayou.
“In the future, we’re looking to add produce, more flea market and garage sale people, perhaps a florist and a wine seller,” says Johanson. “We will have a certain percentage of vendors you can count on, but most of the vendors will rotate so there will always be a variety of fare.”
Always on the menu: Old New Orleans Rum cocktails, Abita beer and a lively grab-bag of street entertainers, from wandering minstrels to jugglers, magicians and fire-eaters. As Johanson puts it: “Expect the unexpected.”
Contact Prachi Vig at prachi.elysianfleas@gmail.com
toshi+jill sobule+more on friday 3/26 @ OEJ
ok, here’s some breaking music news (i know this blog is not known for its breaking music news, but i can’t find this press release info anywhere online so i’m posting it here so i have a url to refer to): toshi reagon, jill sobule, thao nguyen and a whole bunch of other folks are playing a benefit this friday night for sweet home new orleans.
i get the idea this might have been put together pretty quickly, since i haven’t seen any other info about it anywhere, but toshi just sent fae the press release, so it’s happening. we already ordered our tickets online at one eyed jack’s website. (they are $10 each + service fees.)
here’s the full press release with all the deets. hope to see all you locals there!
“MUSICIANS BRINGING MUSICIANS HOME VIâ€:
ECLECTIC CONCERT SERIES RETURNS TO NEW ORLEANS
Thao Nguyen (Thao with the Get Down Stay Down), Ryan Dobrowski + Israel Nebeker (Blind Pilot), Rebecca Gates, Toshi Reagon, Matana Roberts, Jill Sobule, Jon Theodore (One Day As A Lion) and New Orleans’ very own Bonerama to Perform at One Eyed Jacks on March 26th
Musicians from around the country celebrate New Orleans’ rich musical heritage & the community working to sustain it.
NEW ORLEANS, LA—Ryan Dobrowski + Israel Nebeker (Blind Pilot), Rebecca Gates, Thao Nguyen (Thao with the Get Down Stay Down), Toshi Reagon, Matana Roberts, Jill Sobule, Jon Theodore (One Day As A Lion) and New Orleans’ very own, Bonerama and more will celebrate New Orleans, her community and its musical ambassadors for “Musicians Bringing Musicians Home VI,†at One Eyed Jacks (615 Toulouse Street) on Friday, March 26 at 10pm.
Admission is $10; tickets for the event are now on sale on-line at www.oneeyedjacks.net and in-person at One Eyed Jacks box office. Proceeds from the show benefit Sweet Home New Orleans (SHNO) a nonprofit that helps musicians, Mardi Gras Indians, and Social Aid & Pleasure Club members get on their feet, earn money from their art, and pass on America’s most unique cultural traditions (www.sweethomeneworleans.org).
Musicians Bringing Musicians Home presents talented artists on their own and in unique combinations, whether its J. Tillman and Nicole Atkins backing Will Oldham or R.E.M.’s Mike Mills and Bonerama joining Corin Tucker on a Depeche Mode cover. The camaraderie established during both the retreat and concert continues well after participants have left the city, as evidenced by recent collaborations like OK Go and Bonerama’s You’re Not Alone benefit EP for New Orleans musicians and Steve Berlin and Alec Ounsworth’s collaboration on Ounsworth’s recent Mo’Beauty EP. The show is the celebratory finale of the sixth three-day activist retreat hosted by Air Traffic Control (www.atctower.net) and Future of Music Coalition (www.futureofmusic.org).
“If you care, educate yourself,†says Wayne Kramer, legendary guitarist for MC5 and Artist Activist Retreat alumni. “Go to New Orleans and meet the folks down there. Talk with them, eat with them, work alongside them and then play music with them and for them. Anyone that calls themselves a musician owes a debt to New Orleans, and these retreats are a superb opportunity make a payment. You’ll be richer for it.â€
Since the Gulf Storms of 2005 the retreats have brought over forty musicians from around the country to New Orleans to tour affected neighborhoods, visit with the city’s notable musicians and community leaders and participate in strategy sessions about integrating activism and philanthropy into their musical lives and careers.
Past retreat and concert participants include Steve Earle, Tom Morello, Mike Mills (R.E.M.), Boots Riley (The Coup) Nicole Atkins, Damian Kulash (OK Go), Erin McKeown, Nick Harmer (Death Cab for Cutie), Wayne Kramer (MC5), MartÃn Perna (Antibalas, Ocote Soul Sounds), Jim James and Patrick Hallahan (My Morning Jacket), Jon Langford (Mekons, Waco Brothers), Vijay Iyer, and many, many more.
The efforts of many groups and individuals — including Sweet Home New Orleans, Future of Music Coalition and Air Traffic Control — have had a major impact on Big Easy musicians like Mardis Gras legend Al “Carnival Time†Johnson. Funds raised by retreat participants helped Al buy a new Habitat for Humanity home after having lost his property and belongings in Hurricane Katrina. “Musicians Bringing Musicians Home VI†and the retreats are part an ongoing commitment to helping musicians like Al get back to their communities where they’ll help sustaining New Orleans music and culture for generations to come. Â
About Sweet Home New Orleans
Sweet Home New Orleans (www.sweethomeneworleans.org) is a nonprofit agency that offers social services and financial assistance to the city’s musicians, Mardi Gras Indians, and Social Aid and Pleasure Club members.About Future of Music Coalition Future of Music Coalition is a national non-profit education, research and advocacy organization that seeks a bright future for creators and listeners. FMC works towards this goal through continuous interaction with its primary constituency — musicians — and in collaboration with other creator/public interest groups.
About Air Traffic Control
Air Traffic Control (www.atctower.net) exists to help musicians play an effective, unique and vital role in the promotion of social justice. Founded by musicians and managers, ATC has become an air traffic control for artists, developing capacity, efficiency, and coordination to produce stronger and more creative social change collaborations.### Â
toshi on tour!3/20 NJPAC, Newark NJ
4/1 Music Hall Portsmuoth , NH
that’s showbiz for ya
wednesday, for the second time in a month, i worked as an extra for the upcoming hbo tv series treme, which is set in post-katrina new orleans. i’d heard through the grapevine, as well as seen a craigslist ad, that they were shooting a big mardi gras scene and needed costumed background for the shots. desperate as i am, always and still, for $$, i went ahead and signed up. last time wasn’t so bad.
my call time was originally 11am but got pushed back to 12pm. i geared up in my 2009 mardi gras costume, the aerosol avenger, and rode the scooter down to the french quarter. i love that in this town, the sight of a grown adult wearing tights and glittered boots riding a scooter wearing a spotted ladybug helmet doesn’t even garner a second look. after zipping around for twenty minutes trying to figure out where i was supposed to go and where to park the scooter, i finally figured it out. the holding pen for extras for the day was ralph and kacoo’s, where i sat for an hour or so before getting shuffled over to one eyed jack’s for a daytime mardi gras scene inside the bar.
the only actor i recognized all day was steve zahn. he was one person away from me, seated around the bar, for like ten minutes. then, they moved me from the back room to the front, as they continued to shoot in the back room (but in the direction of the front). for a while, it seemed i was in a line of people that would be in the direct background of their shots, but at some point, they moved me out of the way, saying my hat was too big and was blocking the light. oh well. much pantomiming of mardi gras revelry with fake drinks ensued.
"treme" mardi gras scene inside one eyed jacks we broke for lunch (which was at 5pm; in my world, that’s dinner) and then returned to one eyed jacks for more shots. they switched the extras around – those who had previously been in the back room up front, and those who’d been in front to the back. again they moved me around a few times, and for one or two takes, i was kinda in the background of the scene. who knows which take they’ll use, though. so no assurances that i’ll in any way end up actually on tv.
they sent us back to holding around 7-7:30ish. we all assumed we were going home. i got frantic, looking for my bag, as they’d moved everything from the room we’d been in previously to a different one, including all our bags. in the midst of hunting for my bag, i was informed they were picking 20 extras to hang on to, for some final scenes. i put on my best “please don’t pick me, i want to go home” face, but the goddamned wardrobe gal who’d loved my spray paint can lid hat early in the day came running over, even remembering my name. and, see, when you sign up to be an extra, it’s a 12 hour shift; they have the right to keep you that long. and at this point, we were only at the eight hour mark. so i had no choice. thankfully, chris (skeleton krewe) found my bag, on the seat of a chair, hidden under a table cloth, so i could stop fretting about that.
chris and i on set inside one eyed jacks the next almost four hours were fairly miserable. it was dark, and the temps were dropping. i was, however, still dressed in my tights and tshirt, sans cape. (the last scenes for the day were supposed to be at the end of mardi gras day, so we were made to look disheveled in some way.) they took us out to jackson square, and promptly picked about six of the extras to start working with, to stagger across the square behind the scene. they must have shot that scene 30 times, as the rest of us stood out in the cold, holding our fake drink props. two more scenes were eventually shot, and each time they picked a few more of the extras, but they never chose me. so until about 10:30, i stood around doing nothing but freezing, coughing, getting hungry and tired, and wishing they’d let us go back to the holding area until they needed us (or let us go home if they didn’t).
finally, it was a wrap and we were released. stood in line to check out to get the all important voucher (which proves you worked and gets you paid). and then had to ride the scooter back home in the dark and the very cold with only a hoodie. i was a popsicle by the time i got home around 11:30.
so yeah. not sure i’ll do that again. i did meet some very interesting people, and got to hang with a few folks i already knew, which helped pass the time. parts of the afternoon were even fun. but being held for those last scenes – and then not even used – kinda soured me on the day. but it’s part of the deal when you sign up to be an extra: might be an easy four hour day, might be a horrible 14 hour slog. you never know til you’re there. but this is exactly why i think i’m not really cut out for this kinda work. at my age, i’m just not all that flexible anymore and my endurance is not great. maybe if i’d brought a flask of booze and/or some hash brownies – like some of those i hung out with did – it’d been more fun… though that’s not really my style. i would have been happy with a few real beers, though.
but it will still be fun to watch treme when it airs, and to hunt in those mardi gras episodes for a glimpse of me or my spray paint can lid hat.
lundi gras is for catching up…
wow, what a whirlwind it’s been.
when last i wrote, it was a few days before the mayoral election and the superbowl, and much anticipation was in the air. well, obviously, a lot has happened since then in new orleans.
first, rachel maddow came to town do a live broadcast of her show from the french quarter, the friday before the superbowl. i went down with d to check out the scene, only to find there really wasn’t much of a scene at all. when we arrived, there were about 20-25 folks hanging out on the corner of iberville and dauphine, chillin. there was a big boom camera in the middle of the street, the traffic was blocked at the corner so only iberville was passable, a big flat screen tv was set up showing the live programming on msnbc, and a small table was set up in the entrance of the ritz-carlton with many cocktail fixins on it. it took us a while to figure out that the majority of the show was actually to be shot on a balcony above us; they were shooting out the balcony doors with an msnbc logo projected onto the building across the street as the backdrop.
rachel did come out to take some photos and check out the set downstairs before the show went live, but she didn’t really address the audience. she is, however, just as dorky and cute as she appears to be on tv. when the show started above us, the crowd had grown a bit, and we all began chanting “who dat” and screaming rachel’s name; at the beginning of the show you can see she is amused and bewildered by our revelry below. every now and then they’d cut to live shots of the crowd down below via the camera on the street. i did manage to make it onto the screen a few times, as i was standing up on a ledge in front of the hotel across the street. (my friend diane in atlanta made this cute, silly video where you can see me and some of our other friends!)
at the end of the show, rachel came downstairs and did a segment with ti martin, proprietor of commander’s palace, on how to make a sazerac. that’s them above, in the pic. that was my view of the segment from the back of the crowd. i’m glad i made it down there for it, though it didn’t turn out to be what i expected at all. i got nowhere near rachel herself, but it was still fun to hang out with all the other dorky rachel fans and drink beer while watching the show. it was a great kickoff to superbowl/mardi gras weekend.
saturday of that weekend, fae rollerskated with the big easy rollergirls in adonis, a parade on the west bank. i had to drop her off at 9:30am way the hell down general de gaulle, and then kill a few hours before going back to watch the parade later in the afternoon. poor thing – it ended up being an eleven mile slog on a cold, windy, sunny day. she was so exhausted by the end, and got incredibly sunburnt. but it was fun to take in a west bank parade, something i’d never done in all my years here.
saturday was also our mayoral election, which largely got lost in all the superbowl/mardi gras hoopla. as everyone now knows, mitch landrieu won with a commanding 66% of the vote, winning all precincts except one in the city. though i knew my progressive candidate, james perry, wouldn’t probably win, i was sad and a little disappointed he didn’t get more votes. (he came in fifth.) but i am happy to know mitch is looking to bring james in to his administration. though i didn’t vote for him this time (i did the last two times he ran!), i am happy with mitch being our new mayor. i think it signifies a new era in the city’s political landscape, and i look forward to seeing what he can accomplish.
sunday was, of course, the superbowl. two weeks of raucous anticipation all came down to this day. after a quick (and cold!) scooter ride out to old metairie to eat some etouffe at my friend theresa’s tailgating party, fae and i headed to ponce de leon stadium to get our places for the big game. we arrived two hours before kickoff, so the game is a bit blurry to me, frankly, except the bigger plays and the last few minutes. when tracy porter intercepted manning for the touchdown that sealed the deal, i think we were all in shock. the last few minutes of play i was in disbelief, and then, it was over. we won!
after screaming and running around outside for ten or fifteen minutes, we finally managed to collect everyone in the back of my friend heather’s truck and we followed mac in her convertible, also filled with friends, downtown to join all the crazy who dats. we started down canal but soon turned around because traffic was at a standstill, heading back to claiborne and winding through the treme to get to the marigny. it was so much fun to drive through all the neighborhoods and see everyone out on their porches and in the streets, screaming “who dat!” and high-fiving and hugging. folks kept running up to the truck to high-five all of us, sometimes hanging on to the tailgate of the truck, riding with us for a while.
that pic above was actually on our way out of the quarter, but was pretty representative of our night. i shot some really short videos of us on canal street, on bourbon street, and when we were leaving the marigny that night, that do a decent job of capturing the energy. it was magical and beautiful and i’m so glad i was here and able to witness it all.
amidst all this chaos, the new orleans craft mafia was afforded an amazing opportunity to do a one-week pop-up shop at 2038 magazine street (former home of winky’s, which abruptly went out of business and pulled out of that space). nocm members unique products have their permanent shop in the upstairs loft of that building, and so offered to the rest of us to do the one-week market in that space for mardi gras/valentine’s shopping, as the new tenants wouldn’t be coming in until the 1st. so monday morning, after the superbowl win, with hangovers, of course, we all schlepped our stuff down and set up in the space.
today is actually the last day we’ll be open there, 12pm – 5pm. i’m heading over there in just a bit to help out. i was there a lot at the beginning of last week but haven’t been back since thursday so not sure how it’s been through the busy mardi gras/valentine’s weekend, but the beginning of the week was slow but steady. makes me wish we had a retail outlet all the time.
back to the recap: tuesday night was the saints superbowl parade, which was absolutely crazy. i went with our friend dave who was in town from louisville for a few days; he got to be here for the superbowl and the saints parade, but missed out on muses due to the weather-induced rescheduling. he and i had to park on canal street at galvez and WALK down to girod at st. charles in the cbd to watch the parade. the traffic was insane (estimated at 800,000 in the downtown area for the parade), but i was sure glad on the way out that we had done that. as parades go, the saint parade wasn’t much to speak of – not many throws, nothing exciting, borrowed floats from all the other crews. but it was exciting to welcome our football heroes back to town after gracing us with that spectacular win, and it was just yet one more magical moment in a season of magical moments that i was glad to be part of. (i forgot my camera that night, and cell phone pics didn’t come out, so no photos.)
we skipped the wednesday night parade due to exhaustion, and then everything was cancelled on thursday due to the bad weather. i was actually relieved to have a night off from the cold and some down time at home. but then friday night was a marathon. four parades! i dropped fae off uptown, as she was walking with BERG again in muses, early around 6pm; came back home for a while to kill time and then headed back down when the parade tracker told me the first parade was nearing our girod street location. the parking gods smiled on me and i got a spot two blocks from our viewing spot. despite the biting cold, it was a fun evening of parades, with hermes and d’etat being great lead-ins to muses. (morpheus kinda sucked, but three outta four ain’t bad.)
saturday was endymion. it’s been a long time since i watched endymion over on orleans, but this year, thanks to d, we had a private yard that was fenced in to hang out in, on the corner of david street. so fae scootered and heather and i rode bicycles and we had our lawn chairs and some adult beverages and a port-o-let and it was all very civilized. i didn’t catch a whole lot but it was still fun and nice to not be stepped on by the crazy mobs of parade-watchers and bead-catchers.
we skipped parades on sunday in favor of a relaxing valentine’s day devoid of mardi gras.
and that brings me up to date. today i must go work a bit in the shop and then break down my stuff and bring it home, and also figure out if i’m to have a costume for tomorrow. (it’s not looking like it – no time!)
thanks for reading, and i’m sure i’ll have a post-mardi gras update in a few days. happy mardi gras everyone!
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