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Southeast Louisiana’s winter weather is so fickle. One day it’s cold, damp and gray and the next is sunny with blue skies and mild temperatures. During Christmas break from work hubby and I decided to go looking for pelicans in … Continue reading
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This quick post is really mostly for our NOLA ex-pat readers. Yesterday there was a second line in the French Quarter/Marigny for Coco Robicheaux who died on November 25. This afternoon I’ve been looking at some of the photos and … Continue reading
This gallery contains 19 photos.
“My hunch on why New Orleanians are so ceremonial about death is that they celebrate life so fervently. ” ~ Errol Laborde Continue reading
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This week’s post was supposed to cover the Crescent City Blues and BBQ festival which we were excited about attending. Unfortunately, the little criminal below decided to derail my husband from descending the stairs on Friday night, forcing us to … Continue reading
Last Thursday the Occupy Wall Street movement made it to New Orleans. 
With signs ranging from End the War to Government is Organized Crime, the message of the protesters was at times hard to fathom. To be frank, I all but dismissed them as an oddity that was interesting to photograph, but not something that I took seriously. As I thought and read more about the movement, I came across a great Op Ed in the NY Times yesterday that helped me put into words what I was seeing. ”As the Occupy Wall Street protests spread from Lower Manhattan to Washington and other cities, the chattering classes keep complaining that the marchers lack a clear message and specific policy prescriptions. The message — and the solutions — should be obvious to anyone who has been paying attention since the economy went into a recession that continues to sock the middle class while the rich have recovered and prospered. The problem is that no one in Washington has been listening.” The full opinion is here; http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/09/opinion/sunday/protesters-against-wall-street.html?scp=5&sq=Occupy%20Wall%20Street&st=cse
I was really glad that I found that link prior to posting these images….I have had some conversations recently with friends and acquaintances about the fact that this might be the hardest time to finish a college degree and enter the workforce than any other time in US history. Imagine being twenty-two years old, with a fresh bachelors degree in hand, with numerous college loans that you needed to finance that degree, hanging over your head that you need to repay. It is not a pretty sight just now here in the US for those individuals. Young college graduates still lag far behind older college-educated workers: 9.3% of them are unemployed, more than double the 4.7% unemployment rate for college graduates age 25 and older and the class of 2011 will likely face the highest unemployment rate for young college graduates since the Great Recession began. What a terrifying time to arrive in the US job market.
Add to the mix, the average American who has lost their trust in a government that bails out banks and Wall Street while ignoring the pain that the Wall Street fallout has caused to middle class America. We are constantly being assailed by the profits that JP Morgan (successor to Bear Stearns) , AIG, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, the auto industry continue to make even after receiving extraordinary bailouts from the US. It seems unbelievable that the US government was forced to bailout such companies, at the expense of the American public who has had to endure job losses, home equity losses, a credit bubble that cost them their homes and jobs, while Wall Street has hummed merrily along, thanks to the bailout, and the politicians who were elected pledging to reform Wall Street continue to maintain the status quo, all while raking in money from the corporate sponsors they had pledged to reform. Is it any wonder that the ordinary American is angry? When you factor these in, you begin to understand the need for such protests. Indeed it has even been suggested that the Occupy Wall Street protests that are beginning to spread across the US, might even become similar to the 1960′s protest. Time will tell on that forecast. For now, I think that the politicians, the pundits and the elite who are denouncing these protests should think twice about them; if you continue to bailout and coddle the rich while ignoring the middle class, the protests of the sixties could pale in comparison to these protests currently in their infancy.
The rest of my photos are here; http://laurabergerol.photoshelter.com/gallery/Occupy-NOLA/G0000vZy4n3gOvi4/
This blog post will be short on words and long on pictures to show what a wonderful experience attending a hot air balloon festival is.
I treated my hubby to a get-away weekend in Foley Alabama at the 7th Annual Hot Air Balloon Fest. Both the “glow” event and the flight of the balloons were equally exciting.
We arrived on Friday night to experience the “Glow Event”. This begins with watching teams inflate their huge balloons and then light them up with the propane feed that eventually helps them fly. It was our first experience and I must say that I was as excited as a kid at Christmas watching all of the balloons come to life.
The “glow” happens as the balloonists open up their their propane valves to inflate the balloons. It’s best seen right at sunset and it’s an impressive sight.
This balloon is glowing!
Some of the balloons took off that night and it was an awesome sight.
Saturday morning was to start right at sunrise and we made sure we’d be there to watch the balloons arrive at the festival grounds.
We arrived by 6AM and the moon was still up. There were rain clouds present, which made the arrival of the balloons run a little late. Balloons will not fly if there is a chance of high winds or lightening for obvious reasons.
So we bided our time taking pictures of the early morning light
The late running balloons made up for it with their beauty. Behold
I think I may have found a new passion. It’s a fantastic sport and one I can appreciate from the ground!!!
For anyone anywhere interested in attending a festival, here is a website for all hot air balloon fests. Enjoy!
Photo by Charlotte Hamrick
Tomorrow will be the last second line of the season. Put on your walking shoes and get out there!
Start: Tapp’s II Lounge. Out Washington Avenue to Magnolia Street. Left on Magnolia to Second Street.
Stop: Teddy’s Hole in the Wall. Out Brainard Street. Right on Brainard to Baronne Street. Down Baronne St. Right to Second Street to Dryades.
Stop: Sportsmen’s Corner. Continue out Second St. to Danneel. Left on Danneel to Washington Ave. Out Washington Ave. to Baronne St.
Stop: Turning Point. Out Washington Ave. to St. Charles Ave. Left on St. Charles Ave. to Jackson Ave. Left on Jackson Avenue to Simon Bolivar. Left on Simon Bolivar to Washington Ave. Right on Washington Avenue.
Disband: Tapp’s II Lounge.
Brooklyn-based artist Caledonia Curry, known as Swoon in the street art community, will be unveiling her work, Thalassa, tonight at NOMA. I first became aware of Swoon’s street art in 2008 when I saw her work (photo below) plastered on the side of a crumbling structure on Tchoupitoulas which is no longer there.
Tchoupitoulas St, November 2008, Photo by Charlotte Hamrick
Back then, I was regularly photographing street art along Tchoupitoulas as I traveled it twice a day to my workplace. I’d never seen art like this on the street before so I contacted ReX of NoLA Rising who told me it was Swoon’s work. I could tell the piece wasn’t actually painted onto the structure and, subsequently, read that Swoon paints onto paper which she applies to buildings with wheat paste.
In the fall of 2010 Swoon visited New Orleans again, leaving, I believe, three images in the Bywater/St.Claude area. I was able to photograph one of the pieces on St.Claude, below. (Update: went by this site 6/11 and the art has been greyed out.)
St. Claude Ave, October 2010, Photo by Charlotte Hamrick
St.Claude Ave, October 2010, Photo by Charlotte Hamrick
“Big paper prints are Swoon’s stock and trade, but they’re not the sort of tame art reproductions so often found framed on apartment walls. Swoon, 33, gained international fame as a graffiti guerrilla, aggressively applying her artwork to public places with — or without — the property owner’s permission. But Swoon’s style has always been a bit gentler than most taggers. Curry’s lacy paper prints, often perforated with hundreds of shaped holes and affixed to public walls with old-fashioned wheat paste, aren’t permanent like spray paint. In time, they peel away. And the images she chooses to decorate urban common areas — mostly portraits of benign deities and ordinary folk — don’t have the same alienated bravado of most graffiti writers.”
Michael DeMocker / The Times-Picayune ~ Thalassa, a large-scale sculpture by street artist Swoon, rises in a New Orleans warehouse
Swoon will speak tonight at NOMA at 6 p.m. There is also reception is from 5 to 10 p.m. and Thalassa will be on view through September 25.
Despite the fact that it’s held in June – which, according to local standards, is a month with no “R” in it and therefore not good for oysters – New Orleans Oyster Festival rocks! I enjoyed attending because it doesn’t have the crowds that popular New Orleans festivals attract.
This particular festival was born out of tragedy in 2010. The BP Oil spill alienated Louisiana’s seafood industry – and still does – due to (in my opinion) consumer ignorance.
Using the same strength that helped this area come back from Katrina, the Louisiana Seafood Board and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries along with a slew of local supporters decided in June of 2010 to show that the Oyster industry was down but not out.
As the following photographs will show, there were plenty of oysters to be enjoyed, prepared in a variety of recipes. My only regret is that the local chefs haven’t come up with a good, cold oyster dish aside from shucked oysters.
We arrived at 11 A.M. knowing that the heat was going to continue to rise. The organizers of this festival did very well in providing a number of shady spots for diners and festival goers to get away from the heartless sun. Every table in the tents had linen table cloths and free fans to keep the festival goers cool.
Our first stop was one that got my attention: Redfish Grill’s Oyster Shooter with Grey Goose. Yum!!!
Here I am trying to take a picture of my oyster shooter. It was delightful, by the way.
Here is my tiny-chef daughter celebrating her oyster shooter.
Our next stop was the most visible sites of the fest: Drago’s with their charbroiled oysters.
They were delectable
Hungry for yet more oysters, we headed over to Luke for the Oyster Poboy with smoked tomato relish.
It did not disappoint us. In fact, there was a slice of bacon in the sandwich which we knew came from hogs raised on the northshore….yum, fresh pork!
I was impressed with the professionalism of the Luke staff.
By this time the Treme Brass Band had taken the stage and got the crowd into their fantastic New Orleans music.
By now it was noon and my daughter and I decided to take shelter under the cooking demo tent to cool off.
Hubby opted to roam the area in search of interesting pictures. Here are his results:
The blue guy really isn’t as wacko as he seems in this picture. 
In this picture you can see me motioning that my beer is empty.
By now we were ready for more oyster dishes, so we headed for the Court of Two Sisters Booth for both Oyster Pie and Crawfish Louise.
I asked if they would divulge the recipe for the Crawfish Louise and they promised that they would when I visited the restaurant. Tiny Chef and I figured it out while eating it.
Our next choice of food was our mistake of the day.
The oysters had the consistency of liver, they were tasteless and the spinach/artichoke “bruschetta” was plain. Don’t waste your money.
The oyster shucking contest was next and was fun to watch, chiefly because Joe Cahn was the MC.
Shuckers lining up to shuck
This guys was my favorite, but he didn’t make it.
The Shucker Winner was from Desire. A humble man who shucked 20 oysters in 2 minutes.
Joe Cahn enjoyed his role as oyster taster.
What follows next is a series of pictures of people I found “interesting”.
A chef from Antoine’s
This picture is blurry, but I needed to show it to show men what NOT TO WEAR in public.
Later we ran into a friend that gave us access to the Acme Oyster House VIP area to watch the Bucktown Allstars. We found this group of derelicts interesting:
Eventually the NOPD ran them off
Our day didn’t go without catching a few local “celebrities”>
Chef Andrea Apuzzo and Joe Cahn
Monica Pierre, local radio host and award winning woman.
By this time it was 3 pm and we were as fried as the oysters, so we decided to head home. All three of us are sunburned in one way or another, but it was fun. We’re looking forward to next week’s Vieux To Do featuring three festivals in one.
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:
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….
Across Lake Ponchartrain from New Orleans lies St. Tammany Parish.
I have called the eastern part of the Parish home for over 30 years. While I adore all that New Orleans has to offer, I prefer the quiet of the northshore. A truely beautiful attraction in St. Tammany is Fontainebleau State Park .
Located about an hour from the city, Fontainebleau is a world apart from the music, food, unique individuals and wonderful ambiance of the Crescent City.
This past Friday hubby and I headed out to the park to check out the health of the area since Katrina and the BP Oil Spill. Good news: all is well at Fontainebleau. The following pictures should give you an idea how nicely things are going.
The Visitors’ Center is newly completed and has some fascinating items from the park’s past. It also offers picnic tables and bathrooms.
This sign used to be hung out on Highway 190. If you look closely you will see that where it says “Cold Beer” it looks a little scratched out. Our host told us that the sign originally said “sandwiches” until they realized that cold beer would bring more people into the park.
The Center is located right behind what used to be a sugar mill.
The Visitors’ Center itself is fascinating. It gives one the opportunity to learn about the geology and ecology of our region
This display shows all of the different areas of activity at the park: from camping to swimming.
There are miles of hiking/biking trails.
On the far eastern edge of the park are about a dozen cabins ready to be rented for about $120/nite. In these days of high gas prices, we are considering renting one instead of taking a road trip for vacation this year.
We spent a week in a cabin in 2008 and loved it.
It was very peaceful and close enough to restaurants and stores AND home. The perfect spot. But I digress……
Leaving the Visitors’ Center the road curves around. In the middle of the curve this is the first sight you see
This row of magnificent live oak trees marches towards the lake. There were many more oaks before Katrina, but these are all that survived the flooding.
I could still see the beauty in these oaks
As you get closer to the lake, there is a trailhead off to your left. This will lead you in three different directions. We were headed towards the boardwalk that brings you out into the wetlands.
It is out here that Katrina’s destruction is still visible.
But nature is resilient. These wetlands hold so much life! While out here on the boardwalk, the only sound you hear is the wind and the very lovely call of the redwing blackbird.
This little crab was trying to bury himself in the mud.
There had to be a reason why this sign was put up.
The beachfront of the park has been expanded and is really very nice.
The fishing pier is alway busy.
This picture of New Orleans was taken from the pier.
This little weather vane sits atop the building that houses bathrooms and dates back to the 20′s.
To the east of the beach is a trail that follows what used to be a line of cypress trees. It is inside this area where you can find a quiet piece of beach and a little shade to enjoy the day.
Here are some other things we captured during our visit
Here is a link to my album containing all my pictures from this wonderful place
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v217/judyb54/FOUNTAINBLEAU/
Sunday I went to The French Quarter Fest. I only had a few hours to spend and had decided I would use them to see Susan Cowsill, whom I had never heard sing live. It turned out to be a fantastic decision because I (and everyone there) experienced one of those magical New Orleans moments that come along sometimes when you least expect it. Susan was singing “River of Love”, the sun was shining, the breeze was blowing cool off the river and then…..two fire boats began twirling in circles, spraying water up to the blue sky. Sweet.
We criticized you
We recognized you
I memorized you
And I eulogized you
I loved you more than you’ll ever know
Man I hated to see you go
I’ll be waiting by the River of Love
_________________________________________
Karen Dalton-Beninato has written a beautiful in-depth post about Susan’s set with some background comments about Susan’s brother, Barry, who was found in the river after the levee breach and Hurricane Katrina. Read it here.
This is probably the best time to live in the Gulf Coast area. The overwhelming heat and humidity have not yet taken over, the nights are still cool and we aren’t on the lookout for tropical disturbances. Everything is awakening from a long (well, long by Southeasteners’ standards) cold winter and looking very nice.
I had a gut feeling this morning about visiting the The Crosby Arboretum in Picayune, Mississippiand I’m glad we followed through. Although it is situated along side Interstate 59, the Crosby Arboretum is a world apart from everything. I believe that all of us need to get back to nature every once in a while. If you haven’t done it lately give it a try. You won’t believe how exhilarating it can be.
From the website, here is a brief description of Crosby:
The Crosby Arboretum is dedicated to educating the public about their environment. This mission is carried out by preserving, protecting, and displaying plants native to the Pearl River Drainage Basin ecosystem, providing environmental and botanical research opportunities, and offering cultural, scientific, and recreational programs. The Arboretum displays three basic habitats found in this ecosystem. They are a Savanna exhibit, a Woodland exhibit, and an Aquatic exhibit. Both drastic and subtle changes in landscape patterns can be observed within each exhibit. In addition to the 104-acre interpretive site, the Arboretum also collectively maintains 700 acres of off-site natural areas that are preserved for scientific study.
The most stunning part of Crosby is the Pinecote Pavillion. It is located on the pond in the Aquatic exhibit. Its design fits into the surrounding landscape as if it grew there. Check it out for yourself.
Click on pictures for larger versions
After you check in and pay the $5 admission fee, you’re given a baggie of fish/turtle food. Walk out to the end of the pavillion and start tossing the food into the pond.
The turtles living in the pond will soon welcome you. The fish are also ready to welcome human visitors who have food.
Here are more photos of the aquatic exhibit
Just outside the aquatic exhibit is the Pitcher Plant Bog. Pitcher plants may be related to venus fly traps. Check out the following signs.
The following series of photos are random shots we took as we walked around the Crosby Arboretum. I highly recommend a visit if you enjoy a few hours away from the craziness that is our every day lives.
find the dragon fly
We discovered the Damsel Fly here. It appears to be a cross between a dragonfly and a butterfly. Beautiful creature!
These trees intrigued me. They look like they withstood the winds of Katrina
The place is rife with wild azaleas.
If you are hungry after touring all of the different parts of Crosby I highly recommend the the Kobe Grill less than 1/2 mile from the Crosby Arboretum. Great service, great Japanese food and sushi.
I realize that this blog has already had a post regarding the passing of Jeff Lamb, but I wanted to share my own thoughts about him.
Here is a link to his obituary, written by his beautiful widow, Leyla. Thanks to donations from friends of Jeff, this obituary will remain online for a year.
The advent of social media has changed the way we correspond in so many ways. It has changed the way used to communicate via telephone. How many people do you know that still have a “home phone”? I gave mine up a few years ago. I find it amazing and yet refreshing that less and less people are relying on the telephone to contact people. I never was a “phone person” myself. I always found it intrusive and rude.
Social media has also changed the way in which we interact with people.
The birth of Facebook and Myspace and other social media sites have made it easy for us to have “friends” all over the world. Jeff Lamb was one example of this. Just check out his Facebook page to see how many people he touched. There are condolences there from all over the world.
Jeff communicated with people in a way that found their happy spot. He made them “LOL” as they sat with their laptops, their desktops and their smartphones. Jeff loved people. He interacted with people VIRTUALLY. I believe that virtual communication represents the direction we are taking in interaction with each other. The whole world is out there for us to meet! Our parents never in their wildest dreams could have foreseen this. We are lucky to experience it.
You could tell through your online conversations with him that Jeff loved life. He would see the beauty in places that most of us would just walk right past; until we saw – through his photography – what he saw.
Jeff’s love for New Orleans never faded. He lived in New Orleans from 1978 thru ’85, where he met Leyla. His photography of the city will live on forever. As a matter of fact, Jeff’s pictures have helped the The Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans document some of the incredible architecture this city has had, both before and after Katrina.
Jeff loved his dog Sonny Boy, who was the subject of so many photographs. Here is a link to one of the hundreds if not thousands of photos of Sonny Boy.
Jeff leaves behind the woman he loved dearly, Leyla. If you would like to help Leyla out, go on over to one of his galleries and purchase some prints. Here’s a good start. I purchased six prints on Wednesday and got them on Friday. His photography is very inspiring to amateurs like myself.
Here is his photostream on flickr. that has many pictures of New Orleans in the late 70s, early 80s.
Here’s a book of Jeff’s photos available for purchase.
Here are other posts related to Jeff’s passing:
Random Photo Blog has a great photo of Jeff as well as a
Michigan Pics remembers Jeff
Lansing Rocks’ mention of Jeff’s passing.
I just discovered that Jeff had a wordpress account, updated in 2011 here .
RIP, Jeff
“Time doesn’t take away from friendship, nor does separation.”
— Tennessee Williams
To see more beautiful examples of New Orleans architecture, visit the NOAH Survey on Flickr. The group was created by Jeff Lamb who loved this city so much and was a wonderful supporter of this blog from the beginning.
Rest in peace, dear friend. You will never be forgotten.
_________________________________________
(P.S.- By clicking on the Flickr photo above you will see Jeff’s 1984 photo of the same house in comments.)
