I was reading an article about birding in India (two great passions of mine combined – yay) and how there are tailorbirds that design intricate nests to attract females – the males compete and the female decides who is the best designer and which nest she wants to live in and with which bird. Ever notice how the NYT is what NPR was a decade ago? It seems like sprinkled into every conversation I had…
I heard on WWOZ that St. Augustine was going to be having an event in honor of Martin Luther King’s birthday and so we went all went to check it out. We arrived right about the time the Mass was ending and walking into this church you know right away there are not a lot of Catholic churches in this country/world that are rocking out – something’s different. Something is different, this is the oldest…
My baby went in for a haircut today and it was quite exciting. I took him to the Quarter to this salon that I have passed when I’ve been headed down Iberville, where, at night, the chandeliers are all lit up and gorgeous black women and men are sitting there in all sorts of stages of hair dressing. Cyril cut his hair and framed him up a little, although I was less inclined to this…
I was speaking to a colleague about Tin having become a music dictator – he has his music and as far as he is concerned, we should listen to ours somewhere else. Trombone Shorty, Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, some Brian Eno, Gal Holiday, and Professor Longhair for starters. My part of the conversation was fear we had created a music monster and what my friend said is he envisioned Tin growing up to…
It’s not even the end of January 2011 and so far it feels as if this year has expanded beyond its days, its minutes, its moments to contain unsettling, unexpected, and unexamined events. The year began with a harbinger of what was to be the theme of this year – trust. And that five letter word now pervades every meaning – can we trust government? Should we trust China? How long shall we trust our…
Before I start winding down by cleaning up my desk and figuring out my calendar for next week, let me just say that the season has begun in earnest here in New Orleans – Mardi Gras kicked off on Epiphany, Jan 6th and was underscored by the first parade of the year – Joan of Arc parade. Next up Martin Luther King weekend with marches and memorials a plenty. Do you know some cities don’t…
This weekend is a long one in remembrance of Martin Luther King. Why stop the madness and take some time to honor this man? Well that question is almost akin to asking why New Orleans should be rebuilt, but I’ll answer it and not just because I’m the proud mama of a little black boy, but because Martin Luther King did not fight just for black people, he fought for every people – for you…
Last night, I went to meet a friend at Houston’s in Metairie and I walked in at night, to see so many young faces – servers and hosts and cooks – that it brought me back to a time in my life that seems like it was someone else’s life. I worked as a server there when I was in my early twenties. It was when I was with the first love of my life.…
Truly one of the iconic politicians of New Orleans was released from prison today.
When Tin was around 10 months he started singing this song and it went gunda, gunda, gunda da and now that song has progressed to him using his voice to mime an instrument – he puts the recorder or his drumstick up by his neck, looks in the mirrors in the den and begins his performance, ammmmmm, ummmmmm, ommmmmm – wailing on his horn. Other than picking up our erudite language like fucking jerk and…