b.rox

We had some friends over for dinner.

Yes, it’s that time again. As I’ve noted here before, Twelfth Night is traditionally observed on January 6th in New Orleans, but in other places it’s considered to begin at sundown on January 5th. I guess this relates to the old idea of holidays beginning the night before, like Christmas really seems to start on [...]

Our friend James is kind of like the brother I never had. We’ve even been known to quarrel from time to time. I remember some years ago when James went back to school and started studying history in earnest. That he’s now presenting original research at the Louisiana State Museum fills me with a feeling [...]

Over the last week I’ve been sleeping less soundly and remembering my dreams better. I believe the two are related, and decreased alcohol consumption probably plays a role in both. The most vivid dreams come just before I wake up. This morning, I dreamed that Brian Denzer was working on a newspaper story about the [...]

We stopped by our friends’ house yesterday and I talked to a couple four-year-old-boys playing in the sandbox. One of the boys had a sucker that had gotten coated with sand. Me: Mmm, sand, that’s my favorite flavor. Russell: Do you want it? Me: No thanks, I just ate a bunch of sand before I [...]

We had a little party. For Beltane and May Day. I didn’t send out engraved invitations, only announced it via Twitter. What is this day, anyway? A cross-quarter day, Beltane falls halfway between the vernal equinox and the summer solstice. Some folks mark it as the beginning of summer, which makes sense to me. We [...]

reflections (A) by camil tulcan We had overlapping houseguests last weekend. My mother-in-law was still here, and we were also playing host to a former student of mine. What? I have former students? That phrase seems strange to me, but I guess it’s accurate. Back in the 98-99 school year I assisted Ron Osgood in [...]

My old friend Erik B. wrote this fabulous sonnet about ROX and stuff. In Blooming Town a young man cast his fate A TV show he’d wring from force of will For lighting rigs and soundboards he’d not wait His friends and he demanded not a frill The substance of the thing, aye there’s the [...]

My friend Brad W. once made an offhand remark in an online discussion that has been preying on me for years now. We were discussing early heavy metal, in particular Black Sabbath and Blue Öyster Cult, in particular a certain riff that shows up on both bands’ debut albums. Who was copying who, I wondered? [...]

Our first plan was to reprise last year’s costumes which we didn’t really get to employ last year. But then it became clear that this Mardi Gras would be unseasonably cool, and perhaps downright cold. Costuming as Olympian deities seemed like it would be uncomfortable, and so I scrambled at the last possible minute to [...]

Friday night my daughter stabbed me in the eye. Not intentionally — she was just waving her arm around. Her little finger somehow got past my glasses, and her nail sliced right across my cornea. When she realized I was in pain she gave me a kiss. Very sweet. It was pretty painful, but I [...]

With help from over twenty friends and neighbors we knocked our move out in just over four and a half hours. I’m still totally amazed by that. It must be a new world record. Many thanks to everyone who lent a hand. So now we are in our new house unpacking. And unpacking. And unpacking… [...]

I got the key to our new house this morning. It’s starting to seem like reality. My mother-in-law was down here for a week. It wasn’t possible, logistically speaking, for me to go to Houston and leave Xy alone with our daughter. Her workday begins before the daycare opens. But this worked out well for [...]

I found and scanned an old photo from my files. Here’s Brian Jones and I getting into a serious subterranean study session. I’m not sure who took this photo. Possibly Shelley Richmond aka Michelle Richmond Vallejo. Circa 1988? Anyway it’s at Greene Hall, Collins Living Learning Center, Indiana University, Bloomington. Naturally there is some music [...]

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 my new desktop wallpaper, courtesy of Brother O’Mara: This photo was taken on Iberville in Mid-City, up near N. Telemachus. I’ve passed by this drainpipe many a time and thought it would make a great picture. I finally snapped a crappy shot with my phone, which led to Brother O’Mara to visit the location [...]

Facebook continues to amaze as I connect again and again to people with whom I haven’t communicated for up to a quarter century. So what do you say to someone after such an interval? Sometimes, not much. But the fact is, sometimes it doesn’t take much to trigger old forgotten memories. For example, my friend [...]

Parties are strange affairs. People gathering together for no other purpose than to celebrate life and enjoy each other’s company. What an ephemeral proposition! And also how wonderful. It’s almost enough to make one suspect that gross material possessions are not the most important things in life. Hmm. We had a great party here yesterday. [...]

Three cheers for Steve Volan. He’s blogging again. He’s writing about a hot topic in New Orleans. And he’s the only person on the City Council that I look up to. I mean that last part literally. They call him “Tall Steve,” and there’s a reason for that. Did I mention he’s on the City [...]

Today we gathered with friends and family — well, really it was just our little minimalist nuclear family and our friend James. We thanked Dame Fortune for the health of our new child, for all our friends, and for gainful employment in these grim economic times. We had a fantastic meal. I made the smoked [...]