voodoo fest & better weather! http://bit.ly/44rw6a
On October 31, 2009, In /, By dno
On October 30, 2009, In Photo, By dno
Generationals playing new songs at VMX09
On October 30, 2009, In /, By dno
Headin over to Voodoo soon, they make us show up so early! Going to be a great weekend, though. Come by and say hello http://bit.ly/3KCzbO
On October 29, 2009, In /, By dno
Tonight and tomorrow DNO presents @parkthevan party at Marigny Theater
On October 29, 2009, In /, By dno
Tonight! Tomorrow Night! http://bit.ly/2aJUTE http://bit.ly/2QcrkL
On October 29, 2009, In /, By dno
Enjoy #tribecon , yall, see you @voodooexp2009. #voodooexp
On October 28, 2009, In /, By dno
Getting ready for Voodoo MX.. http://bit.ly/2BbqhK
On October 27, 2009, In /, By dno
NEW ORLEANS — A judge is expected to decide whether some Mid-City resident can proceed with a lawsuit against New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin.
They claim he exceeded his authority in committing the city to provide land for the new VA Hospital downtown.
Nearly 15 people sat in court Friday morning waiting on the decision. All were opposed to the current location.
Civil District Court Judge Ethel Julien will make the decision.
The plaintiffs said the lawsuit was filed in hopes of getting public hearings on the location, but the defense countered by saying that already has happened during the crafting of the city’s master plan.
“One of the reasons people need to care about this lawsuit is it’s not just about this particular incident, but if we’re setting a precedent,” said Mary Howell, an attorney advising the plaintiffs. “And truly the amount of power that has been seized by the mayor in trying to do this without these public hearing is truly astonishing.”
On October 27, 2009, In /, By dno
(AP) New Orleans’ controversial mayor is now officially a character.
The scathingly satirical Ray Nagin Coloring Book pairs the mayor’s at-times baffling comments with illustrations that creator Karen Ocker hopes will do more than make people chuckle. “I hope people think carefully about the last eight years,” she said, “and what they want for the future of the city.”
The 24-page work touches on a swath of controversies, especially post-Hurricane Katrina. Its cover, with a chocolate milk drink, recalls Nagin’s declaration that post-Katrina New Orleans would be a “chocolate” city. His plea to federal officials after the 2005 storm, to help fix “the biggest g-damn crisis in the history of this country,” is juxtaposed with a drawing of a brass band and the date of winter elections and Nagin’s exit from office next year. Term limits prevent him from running again.
Crime scene images accompany his statement that violent crime “keeps the New Orleans brand out there,” to help keep the city’s struggling recovery in the nation’s mindset.
“I think people are fatigued, they’re sick of hearing about problems at City Hall,” said Ocker, a former New Yorker who moved to New Orleans in 2002. She said she supported Nagin’s 2006 re-election but later became disillusioned with him. She illustrated a similarly satirical 2004 book about former President George W. Bush. “My hope is that people, through laughter, will pay attention to politics more,” she said.
A Nagin spokeswoman didn’t respond to whether the mayor had seen Ocker’s book. Nagin has brushed off past criticisms. “I think when the dust settles and people look at the entire picture of what we’ve been able to do over the past eight years, especially after Katrina, I think they’ll settle down,” he said recently.
On October 26, 2009, In /, By dno
NEW ORLEANS | Bourbon Street — where Dixieland jazz competes with karaoke bars, rock ’n’ roll cover bands and strip club jukeboxes — was one of the first places in America where opera was heard.
Now it’s being heard there again, with a New Orleans-style twist.
Performances take place in a hotel lounge called the Puccini Bar, named for the composer of “Madama Butterfly.” And spectators sip cocktails while listening to the free, informal shows, which include arias from “La Boheme” and “Carmen.”
The lounge is at The Inn on Bourbon, a hotel that was built on the site of the French Opera House. The opera house near the intersection of Toulouse Street opened in the mid-1800s and was one of the grandest theaters in New Orleans. It burned down in 1919.
“We’re bringing opera back to Bourbon Street,” said Beth Ables, the general manager of the Inn, which offers a typical study in French Quarter contrasts: As elegant as any of the nearby art galleries or antique shops, the hotel sits near a row of strip clubs and across from a huge sign advertising “3-for-1” drink specials.
The French Opera House was part of a bustling theater district in the French Quarter that started in the late 1700s and lasted through the early 20th century. The city’s first opera was Andre Ernest Gretry’s “Sylvain” in 1796 at the Theatre St. Pierre in the French Quarter.
While a century ago men in tuxedos and ladies in gowns would have arrived for the opera by horse-drawn carriage, today passers-by in shorts and T-shirts meander into The Inn’s lounge to hear opera.