Anyone who grew up here in New Orleans should remember watching our beloved Morgus the Magnificent. For over half a century, Morgus prefaced the weekend horror movies with his own New Orleans style horror vignettes. Morgus, along with his sidekick Chopsley would entertain us with his weekly scientific experiments gone wrong, dissecting and poking and prodding […]
Category Archives: NOLA Noteworthy
Sandy Hook Elementary School’s Chorus & Jennifer Hudson sing of hope in nation’s murder capital
Feb 4
At Super Bowl XLVII, Jennifer Hudson and Sandy Hook’s community reminded us that we can do great things, like curb gun violence.
Actor’s tweets misrepresent gesture of remembrance and respect by Kabuki Hats
It’s easy to understand how a gesture intended as a display of community love and respect can be misinterpreted. What’s not so easy to fathom is when the fallout can have unwarranted negative impact to a local, internationally-recognized craftswoman to the detriment of her business.
Actor Wendell Pierce tweeted the following regarding Kabuki Hats — created, owned, and operated by Tracy Thomson — on 7/14/12:
The link referenced is as follows: http://www.kabukihats.com/uncle_lionel_watch.pdf
Mr. Pierce adds the following subsequent comments via Twitter:
What’s unfortunate is that, Mr. Pierce (who has 33,000+ followers on Twitter), sadly got the intent of this gesture completely wrong.
Tracy Thomson (who does not have a Twitter account) was alerted to these tweets today and offered the following in response via Facebook:
“Okay, I am horrified to understand that Wendell pierce has tweeted numerous awful things about the memorial watch that I made. I don’t tweet, but want him to understand that in NO WAY did I profit from these watches I GAVE AWAY as a tribute, at my expense, and with the permission of the photographer. The copyright I added says explicitly ‘this image may be distributed without compensation,’ which means I was GIVING it to the family to do what they want with it. There was NO PROFIT MADE from this gesture that was made in love of Uncle Lionel. Can someone help me set the record straight? Try to do something GOOD and have my reputation destroyed by a celebrity, that just ain’t right. Thanks for your help.”
She adds, “Mr Pierce, I want to set the record straight. I created these paper watches as a FREE tribute to our beloved Uncle Lionel, for the family, and for his huge extended worldwide family. It was NEVER my intention to sell or make a profit; in fact, when I was handing out dozens of them at the second line, in the rain, a guy offered me a dollar. I declined, telling him they were free for all. I have been asked by Markieth, Lionel’s nephew, to make memorial watches for the pallbearers at Lionel’s funeral. I have made beautiful tributes at many New Orleans funerals, from banners to flags to fans, and have never asked to be compensated. As you might notice, I do not even have my website printed on the watch. People wore them in the second line, proudly, on their left hand, as Lionel did. I hope your followers DO click on the link that you posted above, there is a full explanation of my intentions, and they can print one out for themselves, as a tribute, not a trinket. Have a great day in Paris.”
Mr. Pierce, I do believe that you owe Ms. Thomson a sincere apology. While your concern regarding the representation of Uncle Lionel’s image is laudable, I would hope that, in the future, you’ll exercise more care and consideration before causing genuine and unwarranted harm to the reputation of another local icon’s livelihood.
As one reader replied, “It’s a little like the pot calling the kettle black, since he [Pierce] actually does monetarily profit from the destruction of our city… ahem.” Another added, “Has anyone pointed out to him that [the television show] ‘Treme’ is a commercial exploitation of the deaths of all the victims of crime and disaster? And that he makes a paycheck from it?”
In loving memory of Charlie: LAST CALL…
Mar 4
This gallery contains 3 photos.
We’d met on an intermittently drizzly day in the heart of the Vieux Carré in January 1992, when I’d stopped to check out the poetry he was peddling at Jackson Square.
Mike Ainsworth, Everyday Hero
Jan 27
This gallery contains 4 photos.
Mike Ainsworth was a perpetually good-natured man with a long stride who would always make time to say “Hello” to me whenever our paths crossed. He was the kind of guy who was comfortable in his own skin; he smiled easily and always wanted to know how the people around him were doing, how life […]
NOLA Noteworthy
A random roundup of my personal picks of the best from local blogs and other NOLA-related news.
In Treme news, in response to the last episode, Sam Jasper at the Back of Town blog has written a beautiful and thoughtful post about the culture and tradition of place and the inevitability of change, “It Just Don’t Smell Right Up In Here”. Big Chief Albert Lambreaux is showing more of his cantankerous side while in New York recording Indian chants for a proposed record release. The title of the post comes directly from Big Chief’s mouth. Sam writes in part,
“His son has come around to the tradition in his way, but it’s not Albert’s way, and that’s mortality hitting ya in the face. Not just his own, but possibly the old ways, the culture he is so totally self-identified with and by. I know many elderly Native Americans who are terrified that their grandchildren won’t know any of the songs, traditions, creation stories, or medicine ways. In fact, several years ago, I believe it was the Shawnee who were given back sacred objects that had been held at the Smithsonian for a very long time. They let the Smithsonian keep them because no one alive knew what to do with them anymore.”
As an aside,in an earlier thread, Sam talked about the character Aunt MiMi, commenting as how she wanted to be Aunt MiMi. Huh. I’m acquainted with Sam and have heard a few of her stories. I think Aunt MiMi would be thrilled to be her. Sam is one of the most interesting people I’ve ever met. She’s a born teacher and storyteller who shares her knowledge and life experiences with an open heart, bypassing the need to instruct. I highly recommend her personal blog, NOLA Slate, although she doesn’t post nearly enough to feed this starving reader. (Check out this amazing post.)
Former mayor Ray Nagin released his self-published Katrina memoir last week resulting in a frenzy of blog posts, opinions, tweets and grumblings all over town. The best thing I’ve read hands-down is Michael Homan’s post, “Pharaoh Nagin”. No spoilers here – you must go read it.
Local indie designer Kerry Fitts was featured in the Times-Picayune last Thursday. (Sorry I don’t have a link.) After the earthquake in Japan Kerry allocated a portion of her sales from her Etsy shop to ArkBark, a non-profit group that was rescuing pets left behind in the radiation zone. Shortly thereafter she began exchanging emails about a possible fund-raiser and is traveling to Japan in July to participate in that event. She is donating her original designs for dogs and seeking additional donations from other local crafters. For more info about this amazing woman see my interview with her here.
One of my favorite local blogs is “NOLA Details” where the blogger Carla shares a NOLA-related photo every day. My favorite reoccurring theme on this blog is “Fun Porches” and we surely have plenty of those here in NOLA so I don’t anticipate she’ll run out of candidates any time soon! Here’s one of my favorites. Carla has another blog, “Watching NOLA Nature”, described as “Explorations in the urban oasis of New Orleans”. I really like how she zeroes in on the little things that go unnoticed in our every day lives. She reminds us of the wonder of nature and the beauty that is all around us. It’s a great little Zen moment everyday that I really look forward to.
Are you a tweeter? If so, my pick for Tweeter To Follow is @gadboiselensnola for informative up-to-the-minute reports from many of our city services department meetings including the City Council meetings, the City Planning Commission meetings and the Housing and Human Needs Committee meetings (all in the last 12 days!), among many others. Karen has made it so easy for us to keep up with what’s happening it would be a shame not to follow her.
Finally, I want to give a little shout-out to local blog “New Orleans Write Spot” that currently has one of my pieces posted. Susan Prevost (whom I interviewed here) publishes local talent and has the welcome mat out for local writers who are interested in publishing there. It’s a great place to read a bit of poetry and prose and support local talent.
Remember, you can follow us on Twitter and on Delicious to keep up with what we’re talking (also found in the sidebar) about or just wait for here for my random NOLA Noteworthy posts. Take care, y’all.
Update: I just want to add a post on NoLA Rising I read this morning (6/30) about the musical house that’s being created in Bywater. Internationally known artist Swoon is involved along with many local artists. I recently viewed & photographed a scale model of the house from the street (seen below). Go to ReX’s website to read about it and view the video that details this community-minded event.
Bragalicious
Over at my personal blog (which has recently been re-named), Jill of All Genres, one of my most regular types of post is what I call the “bragging post,” where I take the opportunity to brag about the accomplishments of my talented friends. It’s one of my favorite things to do and luckily, there are no shortage of accomplishments to brag on.
Charlotte suggested that I post my most recent bragging on post, Bragalicious, here, since many of my shout outs are local New Orleanians (or Baton Rougeians). It’s been too long since I’ve written a post on NOLAFemmes, so I am happy to post Bragalicious here for you.
Speaking of NOLAFemmes and bragging…Judy’s post “Up, up and away!” was a “Freshly pressed” pick on the front page of WordPress yesterday (now page 2). That is totally bragalicious.
* * *
First and foremost, as we speak, pretty much all of The Peauxdunque Writers Alliance is gearing up for The Oxford American Summit for Ambitious Writers. Four of our members are attending, including Maurice Ruffin, Terri Stoor, Tad Bartlett and J.Ed Marston. That means something like 40% or so of our membership was accepted.
Jamey Hatley is also attending the Summit. Additionally, she’s won a prestigious waitership to Bread Loaf later in the summer.
Also, Maurice Ruffin‘s short story “And Then I Was Clean” will be published in UNO’s Ellipsis Journal.
Another Peauxdunque member, Joselyn Takacs has been accepted into the MFA program at Johns Hopkins University and is on her way.
A little birdie told me that Barb Johnson will be receiving the Barbara Gittings Literature Award at the ALA Conference tomorrow.
Sarah Morton is creating a graphic novel out of a short story written by Bobbi Perry, who attended the LSU MFA with me and Jamey. You can read it online!
Helen Krieger and Joseph Meissner are screening Flood Streets at the San Antonio Film Festival on Thursday.
Lindsay Rae Spurlock‘s song “As for Now” was featured on Adult Swim’s “Children’s Hospital.” You may still be able to download it for free if you like her Facebook page. Here’s an awesome photo of her, too:
Lindsay Rae Spurlock, photo credit Julia Henry
Congrats to all my phenomenally talented friends!
NOLA Noteworthy
Good morning, NOLA!
Here for your pleasure is another random (as in whenever I get around to it) post of links that impressed me from the NOLA blogosphere as well as articles of interest that are not local but are NOLA-related. Without further ado, you must click over to:
- Karen Beninato wrote her review of episode 13 of HBO’s Treme, “On Your Way Down”. I’ve mentioned Karen’s reviews here before because I like her style of writing clearly and knowledgeably, as a local, but without getting mired down in minutia. This episode drew upon the explosion of violence we experienced in the city in 2006 – a situation that was especially heart-wrenching to those of us who experienced the spirit soothing balm of a violence-free few months in the wake of the storm. Probably the only positive, however short-lived, that came out of the devastation. This episode depicted the robbery and rape of our feisty and strong LaDonna and I particularly like how Karen took the opportunity to educate her readers on rape statistics in New Orleans and to recent political attempts to “reclassify rape victims as “rape accusers,” and “efforts to split sexual assaults into two different terms, rape and “forcible rape”. Great job, Karen!
- The rising of the river and threat of flooding was, and continues to be, a concern for New Orleanians and Southeast Louisiana residents. Several local bloggers and photographers have posted pictures of the rising water. Kate over at What I Saw Riding My Bike Around Today blog posted what is a stunning photo of the engorged river from the Holy Cross community with the cityscape in the background. The tranquility of the scene belies the seriousness of the situation but, sweet baby Jesus, you cannot help but admire the beauty of it. Arthur over at Calliope Street blog has been watching people watching the river and posted several photos taken from the French Quarter area and Liprap posted a slide show of river photos that look like they were taken at The Fly.
- Harry Shearer was on Real Time With Bill Mahr Friday night. I have to confess this was the first time I’d ever watched the show and I tuned in strictly to see Harry. I’m glad I did because I think I like Bill and his show but I know I love Harry who has worked his butt off trying to educate people about the great levee failure of 2005 and exactly who is responsible. He talked a bit about his film, The Big Uneasy, but didn’t get nearly the amount of time to expand on it that I would have liked. Not only did I like this episode because of Harry but also because of Bill’s commentary about Bin Laden’s death, Christians and the teachings of Jesus at the end of the show. Y’all must watch. But not if you’re an easily offended person who thinks you’re a Christian. Just sayin.
- Dambala at American Zombie went to court Friday for a well-earned day of entertainment compliments of the Mark St. Pierre trial and, in turn, entertains us with a blow-by-blow. Eat your heart out, MSM.
- If you’re into the local literary scene or just like to know who the hot poets and writers are and who are signing their books around town, check out Mark Folse’s weekly lit post, Odd Words, every Thursday.
- Aura Fedora’s latest podcast on Backstage On The Bayou is an interview with NOLA’s own hip-hop artist, Truth Universal. Don’t miss it.
Well, it’s past midnight and I’m ready to visit la-la land so off I go. Remember, you can catch many of these stories, and more, weekly via NOLAFemmes on Twitter. Or, you can wait for the random post here. Until next time….
NOLA Noteworthy
OK, boys and girls, here is the next installment of NOLA Noteworthy, my personal picks of the best from local blogs and websites that I’ve read in the past week, in no particular order.
- Season 2 of Treme begins April 24 and the Nola-based blog Back of Town is awakening from it’s between seasons slumber. If you haven’t read this blog you’re missing out on a nice forum for local chatter and background information that you won’t read anywhere else. Check it out.
- Speaking of Treme, my choice for local blog quote of the week goes to Cliff’s Crib (referring to this brouhaha):
“I want to tell David Simon and the folks connected with Treme that even though the mayor went ahead and demolished the block of blighted houses featured on your promotion pictures that you shouldn’t worry. We have dozens of blocks like that. You can choose a new one for each individual episode if you want to. “ Word. - Editor B. over at B.Rox gives an update about the design and construction of the Lafitte Corridor greenway, a project he’s been involved with for five years now. In the following post, Hike Report 2011, he gives a first-hand account of this years’ Lafitte Corridor hike.
- Disenfranchised Citizen posted yet another of his hard-hitting, no holds barred opinion pieces on the continuing disaster that is the aftermath of the BP oil spill, And So It Begins: Year 2. Drake has become the go-to man for late-breaking, well researched and concise information regarding all issues related to the Macondo spill. Keep your eyes on that space.
- Architecture Research posted an interesting piece, with photo, about the Cultural Center for New Orleans that was proposed in 1963. In part it reads, “With an estimated cost of $18 million, the plaza was to extend from the Orleans-Basin Connection to St. Philip Street, and from N. Rampart to N. Villere Streets. Widespread site clearance began in 1966, after the relocation of 122 families. Hampered by financial shortfalls, the CC was delayed and eventually abandoned. “
- That Cultural Center post puts me in mind of another not fully funded project that has relocated families in Nola. Inside The Footprint talks about and links us to recent comments made by State Treasurer John Kennedy about the financing for the proposed University Medical Center hospital in lower mid-city.
- I recently discovered a new blog – well, new to me – called Riverside and instantly fell in love. It has got to be one of the most complete resources I’ve ever seen for all things New Orleans. It has everything from where to eat in Nola to where to shop to a list of local blogs to local music, art and videos to upcoming events, etc, etc, etc. I particularly like a video he posted which is a great snapshot of life in One Square Mile (around 4th and St.Charles) of the city and the people who live there. So cool.
Do you have a favorite story from a local blog you’d like to share? Just email me at nolafemmes at gmail dot com and we’ll publish it on NOLA Noteworthy with your name.
Like what you’ve read here? Follow us on Twitter for daily tweets of everything we find interesting about NOLA and other subjects.
NOLA Noteworthy
It’s been a busy week in NOLA and I’ve been saving like crazy to my Delicious and Instapaper. I thought I’d share some of the interesting reading I found this week about our city and her people.
The Rumpus, an online zine based in California, published two NOLA-related stories. One, With Words and With Pretty: Super Sunday 2011 by Benjamin Morris, is a colorful narrative with photos of this years Mardi Gras Indian yearly spectacular. It explains a bit about the Indian culture to those who aren’t lucky enough to live here and unable to see it for themselves.
Also on The Rumpus is NOLA native Mark Folse’s book review, The Last Book I Loved, Mystic Pig. I read this book back in about 2006 and found it a bit too dark and violent for my taste at the time. The city was still in the active aftermath of the storm and my psyche was still a little too sensitive for such an intense story. After reading Mark’s review, though, I’ve decided that it’s a good time to reread this book. Mark also has a FaceBook page for it – click here.
Our own Emilie Staat wrote a wonderful tribute to some NOLA artists on her personal blog, Jill of All Trades, titled “Going To Bragtown”. It’s a great run-down of several of our city’s best and brightest authors, musicians and film makers and all the wonderful things happening to them lately. Thanks, Em!
Dawn Allison of Dawn Breaks blog recently volunteered at the Tennessee Williams Literary Festival and penned a great recollection of her experience including photos, Tennesse Williams Poetry Slam. Wow – I really missed a great event but I won’t miss it next year!
Finally, I want to direct your attention to an upcoming event at The Jazz Suite in Algiers and organized by O. Perry Walker High School benefitting The Wonderful World of Jazz Foundation. The event also honors Japan native Yoshio Toyama who has come to NOLA for years with his band to play at the Satchmo Summer Fest and is a huge supporter of the O. Perry Walker band. This is such a wonderful story and you can read all about it here. Here are the particulars of the event:
O. Perry Walker’s benefit and jam session will be April 12 at 7 p.m. at the Suite Jazz Cafe, 3580 Holiday Drive, in Algiers. The Roots of Music kids will lead off the night. Other performers include Rebirth Brass Band, TBC Brass Band and The O. Perry Walker Jazz Ensemble. The Jazz Cafe is an adult venue.
Do you follow NOLAFemmes on Twitter? If you did you would see my tweets about all of this and more. Follow us on Twitter!
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