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New Orleans Truth is conducting an interesting experiment in social media and citizen journalism.

If you’re interested in the Rising Tide conference — and who isn’t? — now is the time to register.

Here’s some pictures taken around this time last year, before everything went crazy. That’s Xy having a meal of raw oysters at Tyler’s on Orleans. I’ve heard some neighbors considered that place a nuisance, but we always had a good time there. We’re sad they’re haven’t re-opened since the flood. Come to think of it, [...]

Here’s an excerpt from an e-mail I just sent to my City Council Representative, Stacy Head, addressing three problems in my neighborhood: There is a small grocery at the corner of Lopez and Bienville which has not been touched since the storm. It is overrun by large rats and is an immediate threat to public [...]

I’ve finally taken a stab at completing the section of our Mid-City Recovery Plan which deals with the issue of local control. These ideas are not my own but are based on conversations with the Mid-City Governance Committee and others in the community.

I was sad to read the story in today’s paper about a man who apparently snapped because of insurance problems and tried to “commit suicide by cop.” He tried to get the police to kill him by driving recklessly and then resisting arrest. “Just kill me!” They didn’t. The guy in question is John McCusker, [...]

The August issue of Harper’s arrived in today’s mail, the first magazine to be delivered to our house in a year because of the flooding.

I said in Saturday’s article that I’d post a picture of our house and try to get some free color advice out of my readers. We’ve replaced a lot of wood on the sides of the house, so we figure we might as well repaint the whole house. It’s currently light green with white trim. [...]

Some members of my extended family have been playing one of those “getting to know you” e-mail games, where you answer a bunch of questions, some serious and some silly.

I just got my copy of Katrina-ku: Storm Poems, a compilation of haiku poetry about you-know-what, to which I contributed a little technical assistance. It’s a beautiful little book, quite sad but also quite funny. Get your copy — they’re cheap!

It’s the first day of school for Xy today. I took a picture before she drove off to Algiers this morning. Here’s hoping this school year doesn’t suffer any major interruption like we had last time. It sure would seem smarter to me if we all took a cue from Dillard and started school after [...]

Last night I went to a party for a friend’s 40th birthday. There was a giant screen in the yard upon which were projected videos from the early days of MTV. It was also a karaoke system. I’ve always been skeptical of karaoke as a concept, but come to think of it I don’t think [...]

Today’s Times-Picayune carries the ninth story about our renovation.

Alan G. has some questions and criticism relating to the impending UNOP voting process, by which New Orleans neighborhoods are supposed to choose planning teams.

I put the trash out last night and a rat jumped out of one of the bags as I was carrying it. Shortly after I set the bag on the curb another rat scuttled away. Damn, I hate rats. I got in touch with Claudia Riegel of the New Orleans Mosquito & Termite Control Board [...]

I’m sure most of the world doesn’t realize it, but here on the Gulf Coast we are preparing for a big storm. No, I’m not talking about Tropical Storm Chris — at least I hope not. The one-year anniversary of Katrina is looming large, and we are preparing for a storm of media coverage. We [...]

Everyone’s working themselves into a tizzy over the Unified New Orleans Planning process. The local blogosphere is abuzz, to the point I’m not sure where to start linking. Me, I’m getting plenty déjà vu — so I’m sitting this round out. I’ll stay engaged with the actual grassroots effort in my neighborhood, but I’ll let [...]