b.rox

Classes ended yesterday. Final exams begin tomorrow. But today is nothing. It’s Quiet Day here at the University. Apparently at other schools this is called Dead Day. Back at IU, we didn’t have such a day, but we did have Dead Week, which was simply the last week of classes during which no big assignments [...]

After many phone calls and much wheedling, pleading and cajoling, it appears I’m getting my stripes. Those are pedestrian crosswalk-style stripes to mark the Jeff Davis bike path as it crosses Tulane Avenue. Since they were resurfacing Tulane Avenue (and Airline Highway) it seemed like a good time. The idea of course is that it’s [...]

My neighborhood is still capable of surprising me every now and again. Such was the case yesterday when we stopped by the Mid-City Community Garden for the first time. Amazing! Here in the shadow of Tulane Avenue are colorful raised beds full of beautiful vegetables. We were there for a fundraiser event — a mere [...]

Consider this a father-daughter lullaby duet of sorts. Now It’s Time to Say Goodnight by Editor B

Dear Mr. Carrere, Your name was given to me as a good person to contact in Code Enforcement for the City of New Orleans. Unfortunately a number of homes in my immediate neighborhood remain hazardous eyesores that have not been properly remediated since the floods of 2005. Today I am writing to you about what [...]

Once upon a time, there was a used car lot next to the University. Now it’s a parking lot for the University faculty and staff. There’s a fence on the perimeter. The fence still had some ugly razor wire along the top, but since the fence no longer goes all the way around, the razor [...]

Here’s a letter which I hope to present directly to representatives of Goody Clancy at tonight’s District 4 meeting (6PM @ Jesuit). Dear Goody Clancy, Friends of Lafitte Corridor has been reviewing the Master Plan draft. It is quite impressive. However, there are several points that concern us. We believe that the revitalization of the [...]

Dear Persephone, You’re walking better than ever, though you still have plenty of spills, including a tumble down the stairs that really scared us. You were frightened too, but you weren’t hurt, and a shortly thereafter you forgot all about it. You’re still not scared of the stairs — or anything else, for that matter, [...]

Our big excitement today came when the New Orleans Fire Department came out to investigate a suspicious canister leaking a mysterious substance in front of the abandoned house next door to ours. Actually we’re pretty sure it’s just white latex paint. According to a neighbor’s eyeball witness testimony, the canister was deposited in Craig’s yard [...]

From New Orleans City Business: City moving closer to work on creating Lafitte greenway Redeveloping 3-mile stretch from Quarter to Lakeview billed as recreation hot spot by Emilie Bahr, Staff Writer The city has chosen a contractor to plan and design a long-anticipated greenway for a mostly derelict stretch of land connecting Mid-City, Tremé, the [...]

We took the girl to Waveland, Mississippi, yesterday, for her first visit to a beach. Here’s a slideshow of a dozen photos from the trip. Use the full-screen button (in the lower right corner after you press play) for maximum vicarious enjoyment.

This is the third installment of three sample documents dredged up from my old Brother WP-500 disks. I really have no idea what this is. Perhaps it had something to do with the Have Fun Club? That would place it circa 1992. I have no recollection of typing it, which is what makes rediscovering it [...]

This is the second installment of three sample documents dredged up from my old Brother WP-500 disks. I think this letter more or less explains itself. I wrote a number of such letters, inspired by author Bruce West, and in fact that was my original motivation for purchasing the WP-500 in the first place. With [...]

Almost forgot… My parents passed along this bunny outfit. I think maybe I wore it when I was one. If so, that garment has held up pretty well for forty-plus years.

As I rode my bike to my book club yesterday morning, I wondered idly what name the day might have. Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Sunday… surely this Saturday must have a name too? We had a new visitor to our book circle, a woman named Charlotte. I’d guess her to be somewhere around my [...]

Here’s a Good Friday mashup to help you celebrate the day. Tenebreuse Responsorium by Editor B

Remember those Brother WP-500 disks I mentioned a while back? I was unable to find a compatible machine to actually read and print the disks myself. My research revealed there were only three models that could read this format. A guy in Britain advised me that they are considered “logically hard-sectored” — whatever than means [...]

I didn’t get a chance to post yesterday because I was sick. I’m feeling better now, but I was down with some kind of bug for about a day and a half. It was pretty low-grade, with nausea and fatigue as the only symptoms. I missed some work, but still managed to make it to [...]

Here we go again, I thought, as I sat down at the MCNO meeting last night. Once again New Orleanians are being asked to engage the planning process. But, in fairness, this time is different. This is for the New Orleans Master Plan, which will have the force of law. And another thing that’s different: [...]