b.rox

We made it out of New Orleans with our three cats and not much else. We’re now safely ensconced with the in-laws in Bloomington, Indiana.
We got up at 3AM on Sunday morning, packed a few things, choked down some hash browns, checked the weather reports, and hit the road by 5AM. Five hours later we [...]

We’ve never evacuated for a hurricane before. But we’re evacuating for this one. Katrina looks like she’s headed straight toward New Orleans, and she’s now a Category Four. Worst case scenario: Lake Ponchartrain floods the city, and our neighborhood is under many feet of water for many weeks to come. We wouldn’t want to be [...]

I don’t like the looks of this.

I know school’s back in session, cuz I can hear the Warren Easton High School Marching Band. Right now they’re directly in front of our house, playing “Sweet Dreams Are Made of This.” It’s a good thing I like that song. I’ll be hearing it pretty much every day from now until Mardi Gras.
They are [...]

I had a little cold on my first Mardi Gras in New Orleans, but after that I didn’t get sick for years. This was a stark contrast to life in Indiana, where it seemed I came down with a cold every six months or so.
I thought maybe the subtropical climate agreed with me. Ha! Wishful [...]

Heard at the barbershop today:
The devil’s out on these streets… Kids killing each other… It’s hard… Anybody doesn’t keep themselves prayed up these days is crazy…

Students go back to the New Orleans Public Schools today. In theory anyway. In practice — but that’s another story.
The big hype this year? The tissue issue. (Pronunciation guide: tisha isha.) Yes, administrators are actually promising toilet paper will be on hand at every school this year! Amazing.
From the Sunday T-P:
A&M executive Sajan George, now [...]

It’s hot in New Orleans. The sun is just blazing. It’s 91¬?F, according to weather.com. 56% relative humidity. Heat index of 100¬?F.
But the amazing thing is, I just rode my bicycle from work to home — and didn’t break a sweat. Not even a fine sheen of perspiration. Nothing. I don’t feel overheated, either.
It was [...]

Strange — there were only six movies on our list that started with “N.”
Good:

Night and Fog — 1955. Short and brutal documentary about the Holocaust. Why hasn’t the narration been translated into multiple languages?
Nashville — 1975. I’ve come to the conclusion that Robert Altman’s flicks just don’t translate to the small screen very well. I [...]

Damn my dentist. Damn him! He has moved to Metairie.
I first chose this dentist about two years ago based solely on his location, just three blocks from our house. And, happily enough, he turned out to be a good dentist. Xy now goes to him as well, and we’ve even referred a friend.
But now he’s [...]

Today the Octavia Books Science Fiction Club discussed our 50th book — Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan.

Actually, only two members of said club have been there to discuss all 50 books — Scott and yours truly.
It was a great discussion. Afterwards we had lunch Ethiopian-style at Addis Deli and Grocery.

New Orleans’ own Andrea Garland has joined Cindy Sheehan out at Bush’s ranch in Crawford, Texas — and she’s blogging on location.
Y’all have heard about Cindy Sheehan, right?

For some reason, we designated this season as “The Summer of Xy.” I’m not sure exactly how or why, but I think it had something to do with Xy realizing a need to come to terms with some of those big “life issues.” Or maybe this was to be a season of celebration and wild [...]

I’m not sure exactly what chitterlings (a.k.a. chitlins) are, and I’m not sure I want to know, but I just had a plate-full at the Two Sisters Restaurant. I don’t think I’d order them again. Don’t get me wrong: I cleaned my plate. But I liked the greens and the yams and the potato salad [...]

The Times-Picayune published an article about the Green Party’s new-found ballot status.
I can only assume the crack about the “Anarchist, Cajun and Gypsy parties” is an ill-conceived joke. But maybe not. It’s hard to tell, since the Liberal Party, Christian Party, Confederate Party, Black Panther Party, and Aerosmith Party are given actual head counts.

Today, the Green Party of Louisiana became an officially recognized political party in the state of Louisiana.

Here’s to a greener future!
On a personal note: Wow. I was there at the founding of the Greater New Orleans Green Party, five years ago, and in the thick of the aborted first effort to form a state party [...]

As a rule, Parade magazine is remarkably devoid of interesting content. But Xy found the following tidbit in today’s “Ask Marilyn” column:
Q: If our country decided to pool everyone’s weekly paycheck, then redistribute it equally, to what would our income amount? — Ed B., Virginia Beach, Va.
A: We’d make about $37,784 annually.
I’ve toyed with this [...]

Xy and I got to see the Philip K. Dick robot at White Linen Night. It was pretty cool. The back of Dick’s head was off, exposing a bunch of circuitry and animating mechanisms. This detracted somewhat from the verisimilitude but added an element of humorous absurdity, especially when the artist, David Hanson, explained to [...]

I already posted my thoughts on the seven “Man” films. Here’s the rest of the letter M. This letter was plagued by an abundance of technical problems.
Note: Of course, I loved Microcosmos and The Maltese Falcon and Magnolia and Midnight Cowboy and Minority Report and Manufacturing Consent and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and my [...]

Everything you need to know about me, you can learn from how I like my iced tea:

Luzianne’s my brand. Besides tasting fine, it’s made by Reily Foods Company which is based in New Orleans. I like the idea of supporting the local economy. I nourish the hope that, in a more enlightened future, we’ll deem [...]