b.rox

It comes but twice a year, here at the university: Quiet Day. It’s the day after the classes end but before finals begin. I’d like to think of Quiet Day as a sacred time of mystical contemplation. The reality is that, since I don’t teach or study, it’s really just another day at work for [...]

I’m in coffee-reduction mode. Friday I limited myself to two cups. Ditto Saturday. Ditto Sunday. Today I cut down to one. The plan is to get down to zero and stay there for a few days, then switch over to iced tea for the summer. I did this last year and really enjoyed it. I [...]

I finally got religion. Here’s how it happened. Here in New Orleans, Jazz Fest is a big deal. A really big deal. I mean, people talk about it like they might talk about sex or drugs. They compare it to Mardi Gras, and say that it’s better. People come from all over the country — [...]

One of the neighbor girls was over at our house tonight, helping Xy water the garden. She’s three years old, cute as a button, and her name is Willanita, but everyone calls her Mamaw or just Maw. Willanita said she was hungry, and Xy asked me to fix her some oatmeal. She also likes rice [...]

National Library Week is almost over. I work in a library. To be more precise, I work in a building which houses a library. I don’t actually work for or in the library proper. But I do have to pass through the library to get to my office. And so I’ve been aware of National [...]

I led an informal discussion today on the topic of “Blogs and the Blogging Bloggers Who Blog Them.” Does this make me an expert?

Xy’s fifth grade class is building a model of an environmentally friendly house for an Earth Day contest, sponsored by the Mayor’s Office of Environmental Affairs. She wanted to top it off with a garden on the roof, and figured moss would be the perfect plant, since it does not require much soil. So we [...]

Edward J. Branley gave a talk at my favorite bookstore tonight about his new book, New Orleans: The Canal Streetcar Line. I rode my bike uptown to check it out, and it was pretty cool. One of the photos in his presentation was an aerial shot of my neighborhood from 1927, and you can just [...]

Up until two years ago, I’d only had one filling in my entire life. But that has changed. The dentist gave me two fillings today. (He also patched up an old, old chip on one of my front teeth.) I’m going back for two more on the other side of my mouth soon. That makes [...]

It’s official. I’m a delegate to the Green Party National Convention in Milwaukee this summer. I will be one of nine delegates representing the Green Party of Louisiana, and I’m committed to supporting Dr. Jonathan D. Farley for president in the first round of voting.

After a forty-year interruption, streetcar service has been restored to Canal Street in New Orleans. The first stop, at Canal and Salcedo, is just a block and a half from our house, so I thought I’d check it out. Despite the early hour — 3:10 AM — there was a large crowd gathered there. People [...]

I was supposed to take our fat cat, Archer, to the vet today for a follow-up. We’ve had her on reduced rations for the last month to bring her weight down. Plus she’s on some kind of antihistamine to help with her labored breathing. But I couldn’t get her into the cage! Archer has never [...]

Mother frickin’ fucker. I rode my bike out to the DMV this morning. It’s about 3 1/2 miles, and I knew the route well because I rode out there Friday morning only to find it was closed for the Easter holiday. My mission: to renew by drivers license, which expired in January. Of course, it [...]

Last night I dreamed my family had a reunion. We were having a special conference about our family religion. The session was being led by “Tall” Steve Volan. Steve is not related to me in real life, but in the dream he was some sort of distant cousin. He stood at the front of the [...]

Last month, a woman named Mai Thi Nguyen was killed here in New Orleans as she worked behind the counter at a grocery store. It was an attempted robbery that turned into a senseless murder. Three men were arrested. One of the men was released two weeks ago. The judge said the surveillance tapes and [...]

So it looks like gasoline is shaping up to be a big campaign issue. Bush has attacked Kerry for supporting a 50-cent gas tax years ago, even though he never actually voted for it. The Bush campaign is scaremongering, plain and simple. Kerry, far from supporting a gas tax, has been attacking Bush for the [...]

There’s been a coating of green dust over New Orleans for the last few weeks. It’s the annual falling of the oak pollen, and it’s quite impressive, kind of like green snow. Unfortunately, it also triggers allergies in many people, including Xy, and those allergies lead to sinus problems, and the sinus problems lead to [...]

So last night around 9 p.m. I mixed myself a drink and went downstairs, thinking that I would veg out watching some television. Xy was doing schoolwork and watching ER, not my favorite show, but then again there’s nothing better on, so I didn’t complain. I scooped a cat onto my lap, turned off my [...]