b.rox

I’m nearing the end of my project of excavating old images from the depths of my hard drive. There have been some interesting discoveries along the way. A few days ago, I found a set of photos I thought had been lost, from March 23rd, 2002. That’s when I made a road trip to Shreveport [...]

I spent a few hours over the past week helping a friend pack up and move. Something I’ve done many times before.
Only, in this case, my friend already left. And wherever he is now, he won’t be needing his file cabinets or his shoes or his pipe collection… or any of his worldly possessions.
So, [...]

You’d think a guy like me would be all over Tales of the Cocktail. (Hell, I should be on a panel. After all, I’ve co-hosted almost a hundred episodes of a show about mixed drinks.) But every year it sneaks up on me, and I find myself obligated elsewhere. This year I’m hanging with the [...]

We hosted a baby shower today for our friends DJ & Daisy.

I think this is the fourth or fifth shower we’ve hosted in this house. Showers are weird to host because the guests are friends of the pregnant party and may be unknown to you.
But they can still be fun. Especially with the help of [...]

Anne McKinley phoned me this afternoon to let me know that our mutual friend Scott Speake quite unexpectedly died over the weekend.

We all knew each other through our book club. Anne sent this e-mail to our discussion group:

I have just been informed that Scott Speake, one of the founding members of the Octavia Books Science [...]

When we first moved to New Orleans in 1999, we saw flyers in the Quarter warning tourists not to be suckered into making any wagers on the provenance of their footwear. Over the intervening years, I’ve been accosted by any number of fine gentlemen who’ve assured me that they know where I got my shoes, [...]

Probably my oldest friend that I am still in regular contact with is J, famous to some as the bumbling bartender on ROX. I’m on a first-name basis with his family, though I haven’t seen much of them lately. I almost feel like they are a second set of distant relatives.
So it was particularly upsetting [...]

My day started off with a bang. I’d just changed the inner tube on my bike because I ran over a screw the other day. First flat I’ve had in over a year, seems like. I pumped it back up, went to the sink to wash my hands and BANG. Really loud. Scared me. At [...]

Haven’t had much chance to read blogs lately, but I went over to Cliff’s Crib Saturday night and what I read there about his weekends post-Katrina really knocked me for a loop.

Something about Jazzfest (presented by Shell) inspires me to stay up all night. Even when I don’t actually go to the Jazzfest. Especially when I don’t actually go.
(For the record, we never go, unless someone gives us free tix, and this year no one has, so we’ve been celebrating our own private Jazzfest at home [...]

I went in to work last Tuesday just to remind everyone what I look like and make sure they hadn’t changed the lock on my office.
Around noon I attended a “town hall meeting” on the University’s strategic plan, which is currently under draft. It’s eight plans in one, each addressing specific topics such as technology [...]

No Silence

Originally uploaded by Often Absurd in the Humid City

David Bonds was acquitted yesterday for the murder of Dinerral Shavers.
Again there is an Ashley Morris connection.
Ashley loved the Hot 8 Brass Band, for whom Dinerral played the snare drum. So when we marched on City [...]

I’ve learned a bit more about Ashley’s passing. It’s distressing to realize that he left behind not only his wife but three young children (ages 2, 3 and 5). This family could certainly use a lot of help from all of us, so please consider making a donation. Xy and I did. We couldn’t give [...]

Everybody’s favorite passionately profane New Orleans überpatriot blogger Ashley Morris has passed on.
I really don’t know anything about the circumstances of his death except to say he was way too young. This is a tragedy.
And I really don’t know what to say, except that I sure will miss his voice. I didn’t really know Ashley [...]

I didn’t have anything to do with the production of this short video from 1994, but friend Rob Womack just advised me it’s on YouTube and it certainly deserves to be seen by more people.

Observant viewers will note Xy in the role of Athena. Bonus points if you can spot her other appearance.

When we tally up the list of people who’d helped us out or given us stuff recently, it’s quite impressive. More than sixty. I didn’t know we had so many well-wishers.

We’ve been trying to make sure everybody gets a card to express our gratitude. And slowly, slowly, we’re sending them out. I really hope we [...]

Persephone had her first social outing today.

I didn’t even know there was a Louisiana Derby but apparently there is. So we went to a party at the home of Sue, Steve and Sebastian, who live near the track.
We didn’t go to the race itself, but the party was fun. There were lots of Bloody Marys [...]

From our friend MF in China comes the following awesome weirdness:

It’s a hand-embroidered bib with a gun that says “poop” on it.
No, I don’t know what it means either, but you’ve got to admit it’s cool.

PJ Christie has written a song using lyrics adapted from a poem by yours truly.
Here is the original version:

Nicotine Sonnet
When we met you smoked
Salem Lights, I think,
And your breath would stink
so bad that I choked.
Then one October night
I lit up
a Lucky Strike.
I don’t know what
Possessed me
To rip the filter off.
Now each time I cough
You bitch [...]

I’ve been in a bit of a flame war on an e-mail discussion list over the last couple weeks. I thought it was all rather silly, but my main combatant sent me a private message last night, off-list, that has really thrown me for a loop. Here’s the pertinent extract:

I am still restrained about this. [...]