b.rox

So… The Santa Clara Democratic Party is asking the California Democratic Party to urge the national Democratic Party to support a Gulf Coast Civic Works Project.

I just learned that tomorrow will be my co-worker Althea’s last day here at the University.

Althea has been with the University for many years. I believe she started working as an administrative assistant in English. I knew her because she was working a computer lab manager for my unit when I was hired back in [...]

One year ago today, we moved back into our home.
I’ve been thinking about that time quite a bit recently, in part because I’m trying to reconstruct a bit of narrative ROX #95, but also just because. I think last December was probably the strangest month of my life. Living without electricity, with no neighbors (or [...]

3319-21 Iberville Street [map]

This building has been proposed for demolition by FEMA. Since it’s in a historic district (Mid-City, my neighborhood) FEMA is “requesting the aid of the public in identifying alternatives to demolition.”
But how can we provide any such suggestions if we don’t know why the owner has requested demolition? The house appears to [...]

Click to enlarge.

I took a walk down Tulane Avenue last week. I had my camera with me, and I took some pictures.

Tulane Avenue is a major thoroughfare which runs through my neighborhood, Mid-City, and continues all the way into the Central Business District. These pictures were taken in the blocks near Carrollton Avenue, which is where the [...]

I took this picture this morning at Jeff Davis and Conti.

I think anyone in New Orleans would recognize what this marker means: that’s how high the water came during last year’s flood. As a point of reference, the waterline was about the level of my neck, and I’m tall.
What I wonder about is: Who put [...]

My friend Daisy told me the following Katrina story. It’s a simple tale, but kind of chilling. I wanted to record it before I forget.
Daisy and her husband stayed through Katrina, and their Garden District apartment was relatively unscathed. They lost power, of course, and they heard about the looting at Wal-Mart but they weren’t [...]

I know I mentioned this a couple weeks ago, but I thought I’d plug it again because my copy just arrived in the mail. Now that I’ve actually seen the book I can vouch for its quality.
I’m talking about Signs of Life. It’s a book of photos taken in New Orleans and around the Gulf [...]

A photo of mine is featured in the new book, Signs of Life. It’s this one, taken on September 25, 2005 just a few blocks from my home in Mid-City New Orleans:

Profits from the sale of the book go to Common Ground Relief and Hands On Network.

I’m foregoing the many memorial and remembrance services going on around the Gulf Coast today. The President of the United States is making an appearence just a few yards from our house, but I don’t care. I’m observing the one-year anniversary of Katrina’s landfall in my own way. I’m breathing deeply and reconstructing my personal [...]

This ramp-up to the anniversary of Katrina’s landfall is brutal. It’s not bothering me so much personally, but the city as a whole is on edge. There’s some mighty negative energy going around. At least that’s how I’m explaining the recent spiral of bad stuff in my life. In the last month, Xy had a [...]

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 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!

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 [...]

Eleven Months Post-Katrina on Vimeo
Also on YouTube.
This video seems a little disjointed to me, but hopefully you can connect the dots: We personally are OK, but as a city we are not OK, and we’re trying to make it better in any little way we can.

This is the most utterly outrageous thing I’ve read in a while:

FEMA does not allow the media to speak alone to residents in their trailers.
“If a resident invites the media to the trailer, they have to be escorted by a FEMA representative who sits in on the interview,” Rodi said. “That‚Äôs just a policy.”

I [...]

It’s been abundantly clear to all of us over the last ten months that New Orleans is at extreme risk. The city is still here, but we are fighting for our lives, and the spectre of another catastrophic event looms large. We could get hit by a powerful hurricane this year while our defenses, apparently [...]

For our ten month update, I turn the helm over to Xy.

Ten Months Post-Katrina on Vimeo
Also posted to YouTube, or you can download the 5 MB QuickTime movie, but you’ll need QuickTime 7.
See also: Nine Months, Eight Months, Six Months, Five Months.

My parents are here for an absurdly short visit. Yesterday I gave them the Mandatory Misery Tour. First we drove to Lakeview. Then to Gentilly. Took a gander at a breach on the London Avenue Canal.

Then we headed down to the Lower Nine.

Wow. I’m still blown away every time I go there. It’s absolutely heartbreaking.
My [...]