Lundi

New Orleans's economy gets mixed reviews, the best of times or worst of times?
~Jacketta White

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times;
it ws the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness;
it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity;
it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness;
it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair;
we had everything before us, we had nothing before us; we were all going directly to Heaven, we were all going the other way." ~Charles Dickens

It's Monday... got slabbed?

Corps of Engineers Increases Risk in New Orleans, threatens to put the Lake back in Lakeview
~Editilla Notellas~"Almost" does not cut da'muster.
This flaccid editorial by the Times-Picayune comes 5 Days after the crime, and refers back to this article in Thursday's Print Edition <--which was published without comments section, contrary to the usual practice with T-P/Nola.com articles.
Since we have yet to get a straight answer from Nola.com regarding overwhelming evidence of Corps Infiltration of that media outlet, we must presume collusion between Corps OPPPR (COPPPR) and the T-P Editorial board to delay and manipulate the news that the Corps had planned all along to stuff Pump Option 1 up our Outfall Canals.
~More Corps Risk-Building here
~More Corps Risky Buildings here: The DOD-IG is probing allegations that the Army Corps of Engineers accepted a $28.7 million headquarters building in Kabul, Afghanistan, with leaking pipes, sinking sidewalks and unusable bathrooms, according to documents and congressional testimony.
“The only way you could physically approve it is not be physically there,” said Michael Thibault, chairman of the Commission on Wartime Contracting.

Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District to Implement Dataforensics

Homes rebuilt in flood-struck Lakeview display gutsy individuality~Stephanie Bruno
~The failure of the 17th Street Canal floodwalls sent a tsunami of floodwaters through the sprawling neighborhood, submerging lower levels of homes for weeks. And though many homeowners have chosen to renovate, salvaging traits of the pre-2005 Lakeview, others sold to the Road Home program or simply demolished and started anew.

Repairs To Streetcar Cables Will Be Hurricane-Proof ~WDSU

First direct international flights set for takeoff at Armstrong
~Scott Satchfield, WWL

Crescent City Hack

Losing Louisiana?

Mourning the Iowa River,
New Orleans style
~Chris Curtland
~Six pallbearers carried a casket through the rain, on July 4th, to the tune of “When the Saints Come Marching In,” followed by a herd of umbrellas.
They held a New Orleans-style funeral for the Iowa River,
ranked as the third-most polluted river in the U.S. in 2007 by American Rivers, a national conservation organization.
The funeral was held by Save The Iowa River (STIR)
Photo~Rachael Jessen / The Daily Iowan

Tiny Houses on Tiny Islands

Houston Roller Derby Skates New Orleans Running of the Bulls

Yo-ho-ho: A spirited collection of 1,000 bottles of rum finds a home in Broadmoor
~Karen Taylor-Gist

Rum 101: Rum In The USA (Pt 1)
~RumDood.com
~When most people think of spirits in the United States, they think of Rye, Bourbon, or Tennessee Sour Mash - the Holy Trinity of American Whiskey. What they don't realize is that another spirit has defined the US - and pretty much the entirety of the Western Hemisphere - almost since Europeans first set foot on the Western side of the Atlantic Ocean.
That spirit, of course, is rum.

LadyFest set for Nov 4th, 2009!

Iowans digging jazz with a Latin accent~Adam Salazar