Friday, November 22, 2013
Autumn in New Orleans
Look at the first graph on this page. Those are the fluctuations we've been dealing with: a couple of days of nice crisp autumn weather, a couple of days of disgusting swampy not-November weather. It is ten degrees warmer out now than it was yesterday; tomorrow, it is predicted to be fifteen degrees cooler than today. I do not like it, nossir.
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Weekend 11/15-17
Friday night: delicious Saints Black & Gold Rolls Sushi Brothers followed by cocktails at The Saint. Seriously, you would not walk into the Saint and expect to find consistently excellent and creative mixed drinks.
Saturday: a baby shower which I mention only because it had pear and goat cheese donuts I was told came from that new donut place The District. District, if you're going to rip off Cake Cafe, at least do a better job of it. Then a jerk chicken burrito at Juan's and a show at The Howlin' Wolf. The opening act was Rareluth, a strange little act out of Lafayette consisting of drums, bass, keyboard, sometimes wind chimes, and an interpretive dance section. They really set the tone for the main act, Of Montreal. I've never done drugs, but I have to imagine that it would be something like seeing an Of Montreal show. Very wild, with projected video displays and giant puppets and a whole lot of energy. I wasn't too familiar with their work, but I had a lot of fun. Then we walked back uptown (perfectly safe, Mom), with a pit stop at the Bridge Lounge for an overpriced beer and french fries from the Slider Shak (of the greasy style, but good).
And while we were sitting outside the Bridge Lounge, we had an encounter. A young woman approached us and asked to use a cell phone to call her boyfriend because her battery was dead. She was damp from the intermittent rain, wearing a bow tie, very drunk, and had no idea where she was. We helped her get in touch with her boyfriend who was waiting for her at the Half Moon, and because that was in our direction we offered to walk her there. Along the walk we got a truncated version of her recent history. She moved here from Nebraska six months ago with her boyfriend "for a change" and liked the city so far. Earlier that night she had been drinking downtown with friends who then abandoned her, and she wasn't yet familiar enough with the city to navigate on her own. She gave us a hug when we got her to the Half Moon and called us her guardian angels, which was nice. Her boyfriend seemed like a real jerk, but what are you going to do? So that's my good deed for the week.
Sunday: Have I mentioned that the weather here is seesawing unpredictably? Two days of fall weather followed by two or three of swampy 80-degree heat seems to be the pattern. So today was a sweaty walk through Couturie Forest in City Park followed by a stressful Saints victory over the hated 49ers. Dinner was from Naked Pizza and was delivered in a box with the cryptic message "REMEMBER TOMORROW" scrawled across the inside of the box.
Saturday: a baby shower which I mention only because it had pear and goat cheese donuts I was told came from that new donut place The District. District, if you're going to rip off Cake Cafe, at least do a better job of it. Then a jerk chicken burrito at Juan's and a show at The Howlin' Wolf. The opening act was Rareluth, a strange little act out of Lafayette consisting of drums, bass, keyboard, sometimes wind chimes, and an interpretive dance section. They really set the tone for the main act, Of Montreal. I've never done drugs, but I have to imagine that it would be something like seeing an Of Montreal show. Very wild, with projected video displays and giant puppets and a whole lot of energy. I wasn't too familiar with their work, but I had a lot of fun. Then we walked back uptown (perfectly safe, Mom), with a pit stop at the Bridge Lounge for an overpriced beer and french fries from the Slider Shak (of the greasy style, but good).
And while we were sitting outside the Bridge Lounge, we had an encounter. A young woman approached us and asked to use a cell phone to call her boyfriend because her battery was dead. She was damp from the intermittent rain, wearing a bow tie, very drunk, and had no idea where she was. We helped her get in touch with her boyfriend who was waiting for her at the Half Moon, and because that was in our direction we offered to walk her there. Along the walk we got a truncated version of her recent history. She moved here from Nebraska six months ago with her boyfriend "for a change" and liked the city so far. Earlier that night she had been drinking downtown with friends who then abandoned her, and she wasn't yet familiar enough with the city to navigate on her own. She gave us a hug when we got her to the Half Moon and called us her guardian angels, which was nice. Her boyfriend seemed like a real jerk, but what are you going to do? So that's my good deed for the week.
Sunday: Have I mentioned that the weather here is seesawing unpredictably? Two days of fall weather followed by two or three of swampy 80-degree heat seems to be the pattern. So today was a sweaty walk through Couturie Forest in City Park followed by a stressful Saints victory over the hated 49ers. Dinner was from Naked Pizza and was delivered in a box with the cryptic message "REMEMBER TOMORROW" scrawled across the inside of the box.
Friday, November 15, 2013
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
The Moth Storytelling
The Moth is a storytelling podcast I have listened to for a while. One of the events under its jurisdiction is the curiously capitalized StorySLAM in which volunteers tell five-minute stories on a certain theme. Last night was the second of three scheduled StorySLAMs in New Orleans. I missed the first (on the topic of "Firsts") but caught last night's slate of stories about "Scars." I frankly didn't know what to expect because the podcast is curated pretty well but the live show would be folks off the street volunteering to share with the audience. It turned out very well! There were ten storytellers and an encouraging diversity in styles and tones. We heard from the guy who was arrested in '91 in California with a heap of drugs, the guy with the bullying older brother and the lawnmower accident, the medical student who changed paths because of a bike accident, the archaeology dig that led to a journalism career, and the cab driver who survived a carjacking. Although some of the stories had little to do with the theme, they were all interesting. And the MC, Peter Aguero, was just top notch. I look forward to going again.
In other news, it got cold. Real cold. High of 72 yesterday, high of 54 today. I walked around last night as it got dark and the arctic air blew in. I don't miss snow, but I do like good brisk walking weather.
Miscellaneous
First of all, the aftermath of the typhoon that hit the Philippines is horrifying. The United States got by scot-free this year, so the very least I can do is donate to relief funds. Maybe you'll consider donating as well. Now back to your regularly scheduled narcissism.
New Orleans has a new Costco and I am probably a little too excited about it. Something about walking around the cavernous interior, eating free samples, and wondering what I would do with two gallons of olive oil or seven pounds of frozen chicken thighs just feels satisfying. Anyway, I've got a membership card now so if you want to shop or buy cheap gas, let me know.
I went to another trivia night at the Half Moon, now being operated by Geeks Who Drink. They run a tight ship and it starts an hour earlier, so I imagine I'll be attending more frequently.
Finally, I think I am going to tweak my Domenica Project. I went again last week and quite enjoyed the roasted carrot with goat cheese, red onion, shaved brussels sprouts, beets, and hazelnuts (and another four cheese for leftovers). But looking at the menu again, I just want to order the duck pizza again next time, which will undermine my ability to try them all. (At least until the uptown location opens). Therefore, I will instead try other happy hour specials around town and report back.
New Orleans has a new Costco and I am probably a little too excited about it. Something about walking around the cavernous interior, eating free samples, and wondering what I would do with two gallons of olive oil or seven pounds of frozen chicken thighs just feels satisfying. Anyway, I've got a membership card now so if you want to shop or buy cheap gas, let me know.
I went to another trivia night at the Half Moon, now being operated by Geeks Who Drink. They run a tight ship and it starts an hour earlier, so I imagine I'll be attending more frequently.
Finally, I think I am going to tweak my Domenica Project. I went again last week and quite enjoyed the roasted carrot with goat cheese, red onion, shaved brussels sprouts, beets, and hazelnuts (and another four cheese for leftovers). But looking at the menu again, I just want to order the duck pizza again next time, which will undermine my ability to try them all. (At least until the uptown location opens). Therefore, I will instead try other happy hour specials around town and report back.
Monday, November 4, 2013
Weekend, 11/3-4
A lovely weekend in New Orleans. A nice run in Audubon Park, watching the Saints game with the Krewe of the Rolling Elvi at the Fly on the Mississippi (shame about the outcome, though), the duck special at Dat Dog, browsing the comic book shop, and listening to the public pianos placed around town by Let's Play Nola. Life is great.
Halloween!
Thursday was a rainy but enjoyable Halloween. The Bob Ross/happy little tree duo hit the Quarter and the Marigny again, to even more positive comments. People seem to love Bob Ross and we got several more comments about how much he meant to people. Pretty cool. Over the evening, we hit the Carousel Bar (looks nice after the renovation but the service is iffy), a daiquiri shop (a a Big Easy Daiquiris, because they do the good bellini daiquiri), Frenchmen street, the Golden Lantern (can't find a satisfactory link), and finally the Half Moon for cheese fries. Along the way I saw plenty more Rob Ryans, only one more Miley Cyrus, a very in-character Hulk Hogan, Dame Edna, a lousy Vincent Van Gogh (pretty much just an ear bandage and a paintbrush), a stupendous Vincent Van Gogh (face-painted to look like a self-portrait, with a frame and everything), and a lot of Breaking Bad costumes. My cell phone camera is terrible so this is all I got. Not a bad crowd, considering the rain:
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