René O'Deay gBlog

And it rained, and it rained! Up to 8 inches in some areas.
Some areas experienced major flooding, with cars floating down the strehttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifets.
Do see the Times-Picayune front page to view photos of street flooding and of the JazzFest.

Billy Joel's singing in the rain - Keith Spera - Times-Picayune - NOLA.com: "As Billy Joel plowed through 'Keeping the Faith' at the Acura Stage, a roadie armed with a squeegee swept standing water off the top of the black grand piano.

That tells you all you need to know about the weather Saturday evening at the Fair Grounds. A hard, steady rain fell throughout Joel's set. 'Why, God, why?' shouted a guy standing in the puddle behind me.

Joel, too, had some questions for the Almighty. More than once, he shook his fist and glared at the foreboding sky. 'Is that the best you got?' he shouted at one point. 'C'mon, bring it on.'"

Maybe that was the wrong thing to say, as the rain came down even harder.

More Thunderstorms predicted for Sunday, though it is partly sunny this A.M.
Hopefully the forecast will be better for next weekend's four-day event at JazzFest. Hopefully I will be going on one of those days.

René O'Deay

Stranded local couples to be rescued today -
Breaking News from New Orleans - Times-Picayune - NOLA.com: "Four prominent Louisiana couples who have been stranded on a remote island in the Pacific Ocean for nearly a week are expected to be rescued today after the Federal Aviation Administration finally gave approval for the rescue flight.
A group of 12 people, on what was supposed to be a five-day trip sponsored by the Nature Conservancy, have been stuck since Saturday on the island of Palmyra after their chartered aircraft experienced engine problems in Honolulu."

Do you love Jazz? Listen to live-streaming of the Absolute Best Jazz Radio on WWOZ website from anywhere in the world! Just click the Pink 'Tune In- Listen Online' radio button.

Sometimes they even play original recordings from the early 1900s, though much was lost in the Katrina floods.

WWOZ Jazz Fest Scheduler!!

Personalize your own Jazz Fest schedule with our interactive Schedule Designer. Just look through each day’s cubes and click on the artists that you want to catch. You’ll also find links to performers’ websites to help you make your choices.

When you have made your picks for that day, click on the “Show Your Schedule” button, and you will get a list of the performances you have chosen. You can print out your personal schedule or click on the “Link to this Page” and email the link to all your Jazz Fest buddies.

Finally a way to simplify your Jazz Fest fun! Be sure to check out our Jazz Fest page for more info on this year’s Fest.

New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival 2008

Source: wwoz.org

Tags: New Orleans | artists | buddies | button | choices | CHOSEN | click | Cowsill | cubes | Culture | designer | Email | Entertainment | fest | finally | info | interactive | jazz | link | performances | picks | Schedule | simplify | websites

New Orleans is ready for JazzFest, starting this Friday. Two weekends, seven whole days, of music, food, beer, and fans.

JazzFest website has all the schedules, news, tickets, etc.

Some of the musical greats coming include: Robert Plant, Jimmy Buffett, Sheyrl Crow, Billy Joel, Count Basie's Orchestra, and Egg Yolk Jubilee. The Gambit has an interesting roundup this week of the artists and what stage they will appear on.

Chris Rose has a plan for Jazzfest, but will he stick to it?

Chris Rose: The man with a Jazzfest plan

I've studied the positions. I've researched everything. I've talked with friends and others whose opinions I respect.

I want to make an informed decision. I want to make the right choice. It's important. You only get one chance at this thing.

The presidential election? Humbug. What I'm talking about is much more important than that.

Source: blog.nola.com via René

Tags: Culture

UPDATE: Greg Palast thinks the Bush meeting in New Orleans is some Big Secret!

Can't blame it ALL on Bush, after all he didn't start it.

by David Hammer, The Times-Picayune, Monday April 21, 2008, 10:36 AM

President Bush and Mexican President Felipe Calderon reopened the first Mexican consulate in the United States in downtown New Orleans this afternoon, then held one-on-one talks about mutual security and economic issues.

The two leaders are in New Orleans today and tomorrow, along with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, for the fourth annual North American Leaders' Summit, to discuss common economic and security goals.

Bush spoke to dignitaries outside the consulate on Convention Center Boulevard, saying it was a celebration of the reopening of the first Mexican consulate in the U.S. and "the comeback of a great American city."

"You know, I chose New Orleans for our meetings with Mexico and Canada to send a clear signal to the people of my country that New Orleans is open for business, it's a great place to visit and after the devastation of Katrina it's become a hopeful city," Bush said.

Source: nola.com via René

On the Other Side of the Issue: Some of the Opposition Mobilized in New Orleans:

Eddie Dickey from Houston said he made the trip to New Orleans because the ongoing trade and security talks between Bush, Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper represent a threat to America's sovereignty.

Michael Blache and Tom Kowitz, Mandeville (Northshore of Lake Ponchartrain), said they believe the talks are a pretext for the eventual formation of a governmental union between Canada, the United States and Mexico - much like the European Union.

Source: nola.com via René

Tags: Bush | CANADIAN | harper | New Orleans | stephen | Summit | United States | calderon | consulate | felipe | Leaders | meets | Mexican | Minister | mutual | Politics | president | reopened | Security | Talks | Times-Picayune | World

By Clara Moskowitz, LiveScience Staff Writer

You’re pounding the keyboard, double-clicking away, sighing and grumbling, but to no avail: That devilish little hourglass icon refuses to give way to the Web site you’re trying to reach. Most Internet users have encountered trouble reaching online destinations, but they often attribute the problem to their wireless network cutting out or a server momentarily going down.

Sometimes, though, the problem is more mysterious. At any given moment, messages throughout the world are lost to cyber black holes, according to new computer science research.
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"We were astounded when we did an initial four-monthstudy and we saw how many problems there were," Katz-Bassett told LiveScience."It seemed infeasible that this could be happening so often. They’redefinitely more common than we thought."

Now the team constantly monitors the Webfor black holes and posts a map of where the problems are around the world atany given moment. They hope their data will help Internet service providerstrack down the route of problems experienced on their networks.

Source: livescience.com

So, are recent problems on NowPublic.com due to 'Black Holes'?

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This sounds like a reasonable idea.

Who else agrees?

The oil and gas companies should help repair what they damaged.

Mr. Bill creator Walter Williams turns his camera on the oil and gas industry and asks for help paying for coastal restoration. He is not alone.

By Mollie Day, Gambit Weekly, April 15, 2008

As fuel prices continue to climb and people across the nation accuse oil and gas companies of price gouging to amass huge profits, some researchers remain focused on the energy industry's role in accelerating a different crisis — the demise of Louisiana's coastline.

Hundreds of square miles of marsh grasses that once carpeted Louisiana's coastal prairies have become open water in the space of a few decades. As the marshes disappear at an alarming rate, so does the state's natural hurricane protection barrier. Along with it go vast acres of Gulf fisheries and nurseries, coastal cultures, the very ground needed to protect the nation's domestic oil and gas infrastructure.

Filmmaker Walter Williams' recent documentary, Restoring the Coast: Who Pays?, explores the legacy of oil and gas companies along Louisiana's coast and the reasons why some coastal advocates believe the energy industry should pay at least some of the costs of restoring the coast — before it's too late.

Until recently, Williams was best known as the creator of Saturday Night Live's infamously tragic character, Mr. Bill. Lately, Williams has earned acclaim for his campaign to restore the coast at the expense of the oil and gas industry.

Source: bestofneworleans.com

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Bonnet Carre spillway to open tomorrow

by The Times-Picayune

Thursday April 10, 2008, 10:59 AM

The Bonnet Carre Spillway will open at noon tomorrow for the first time since 1997 in an effort to divert water from a rapidly rising Mississippi River.

The order to open the spillway was signed today by Brig. Gen. Michael Walsh, who serves as president of the Mississippi River Commission.

It's been more than 10 years since the Bonnet Carre Spillway was pulled from its recreational duties to serve its original purpose - diverting the fast rising and even faster moving Mississippi River from overtaking New Orleans.

The Army Corps of Engineers has been monitoring the river levels for several weeks and had thought that an opening wouldn't be necessary. However, recent rains in the Arkansas, Ohio, and Upper Mississippi River Valley have heightened flood worries.

The opening of the spillway in St. Charles Parish will lower river stages in New Orleans while causing a rise in Lake Pontchartrain. Corps officials said they don't expect to open the entire spillway, and that the opening will probably last between 2 and 4 weeks.

Source: nola.com via René

Tags: bonnet | corps | Jackson | Mississippi | New Orleans | Army | Carr� | divert | Emergencies | engineers | Pontchartrain | rising | spillway | World

I saw the Olympic Flame in New Orleans. The runners came into Jackson Square back in 1996 just before the Atlanta games. We could see the runners. IT WAS SO THRILLING!

But watching on CNN the Olympic Flame Relay event in San Francisco, I am highly distressed. They changed the route, they changed the whole event, so all the people who came to see the Relay are being disappointed. It looked like a Police State event. There are so many police and guards around the runners, no one can see the Flame.

Does China own San Francisco, its police and SWAT teams? And what about the so-called 'American-Chinese'? Are they loyal to America or to China?

And, China? How could they have been so naive? They asked for it all when they asked to host the Olympics. Do they really want to reveal who really they are?

Tags: China | San Francisco | Olympics | protests | relay torch | World

MONTEGUT, La. (AP) -- Waves have eaten a chunk 5 feet deep and 10 to 12 feet wide in a 6-foot wetlands protection levee here, and Terrebonne levee officials have set aside $35,000 to plug the hole with rocks before the winds change and waters rise higher.

The breach will keep some farmers from planting cotton and soybeans in Pointe Coupee Parish, and others have lost wheat and crawfish to floods and heavy rains, Gov. Bobby Jindal told U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer in a letter Monday.

He asked Schafer to declare the parish a disaster area, along with six surrounding parishes: Avoyelles, Concordia, Iberville, St. Landry, West Baton Rouge and West Feliciana.

"As you are aware, the Mississippi River is very high and it is expected to continue rising," and several thousand more acres would be flooded if the Army Corps of Engineers opens the gates to the Morganza Spillway, Jindal wrote. "The producers in the immediate area are severely affected and will suffer significant crop losses."

Source: hosted.ap.org via René

Tags: Baton Rouge | concordia | Mississippi | Parish | TERREBONNE | Emergencies | Floods | Jindal | levee | Schafer | World

Daily reports, reassurances, but locals aren't buying it.

You can see from my photos from the foot of Audubon Park that the river is very close to the top. No sandbags in evidence.

Officials monitoring river levels; don't expect it to overflow its banks

by Jan Moller, The Times-Picayune

Monday April 07, 2008, 7:54 AM

BATON ROUGE -- State and federal officials said Sunday that they are continuing to closely monitor the rising water levels on the Mississippi River for possible flooding, but that they don't expect the river to overflow its banks.

"This is a situation that changes nearly every day," Gov. Bobby Jindal said at an afternoon news conference at the state Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, where representatives of several federal and state agencies met to review emergency procedures.

State emergency officials plan to issue daily updates as the river nears its expected crest of 17 feet in New Orleans on April 16.

Last week, water levels were expected to peak at 16.5 feet on about April 7. The New Orleans river levees are designed to handle up to 20 feet of water.

Source: nola.com via René

Tags: crest | Louisiana | New Orleans | Environment | Flood | Mississippi River | official

Introducing Gmail Custom TimeTM
Be on time. Every time.*
How do I use it?
Just click "Set custom time" from the Compose view. Any email you send to the past appears in the proper chronological order in your recipient's inbox. You can opt for it to show up read or unread by selecting the appropriate option.

Is there a limit to how far back I can send email?

Yes. You'll only be able to send email back until April 1, 2004, the day we launched Gmail. If we were to let you send an email from Gmail before Gmail existed, well, that would be like hanging out with your parents before you were born -- crazy talk.

Source: mail.google.com

Tags: appears | april | chronological | crazy | Culture | custom | Email | Entertainment | existed | Gmail | Inbox | launched | option | PARENTS | recipient | selecting | unread