René O'Deay gBlog

Broad Strokes- NOLA.com: "--- Clandestine celebrity ---

E-mail blasts, blog notes and a New York Times blurb trumpeted that the British graffiti artist known as Banksy visited New Orleans in the waning days of August, applying illusionistic stencils to scattered sites. Banksy's works address the threats of Hurricane Gustav (a child swinging on a life saver as if it were a tire, for instance) and graffiti eradicator Fred Radtke (a gray workman blotting out sunflowers).

Banksy might be somewhat conflicted by his dual craving for attention (one e-mailer implied that he has a 'representative') and anonymity, but it must be said that his realistic, relevant, trompe l'oeil stencils are a vast improvement over the unimaginative doodling favored by most Crescent City sprayers.
British street artist Banksy has raised the bar far above the usual wall scribbling seen in New Orleans.
Arts writer Doug MacCash can be reached at dmaccash@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3481. Read him online at www.nola.com/arts."

Photos of Banksy work in New Orleans on his website and on flickr.com, one photostream.
Unfortunately the Gray Ghost has already painted over at least one of them.

Wow, Banksy managed about a dozen before Gustav hit, and a few photos and comments made the scene.

I've been begging everyone to ask Banksy to come to New Orleans. Now if we can just stop the Gray Ghost, Fred Radtke.



René O'Deay

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

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

What do you miss most in post-Katrina N.O.? - In Your Own Words - NOLA.com:
"Posted by aylicat on 08/25/07 at 12:04PM
I miss the sense of community and the sense that people really looked out for each other. I miss the friendliness and greetings of strangers walking down the streets. I miss going shopping with my grandmother at Krauss, Maison Blanche, DH Homes, and Godchaux's. I miss going grocery shopping at the little neighborhood store, ZARA's. I miss McKenzie's bakery and all the goodies there. There are lots of things that will never be the same again. I live in VA now, and dread coming to visit NOLA, knowing that every fond memory in my childhood is just that--a memory. The landmarks are gone, the storefronts now turned into unbelievably high-priced condos, and businesses once patronized are out of business for good. "

There is just no way to express the loss of this special community.
But from an article I wrote "After the Deluge"

I remember from the 90s hot summer nights wandering down some of the side streets of Mid-City, finding castoff treasures like an old cast iron chaise lounge, the scents of delightful flowers covering hints of rot and mildew, music drifting from the corner bars, lights spilling out from Mom and Pop deli/convenience stores, and mingling with the odor of Creole and Cajun cooking .

The community of Mid-city then and actually all of New Orleans was somewhat cowed by the violence of the druggies and gangs, mostly blacks, but gangs of all different nationalities: Hispanics, Columbians, Jamaicans, and Asian. So people tended to mind their own business in vain hopes of not getting “involved.” But the exuberance of most of this unique community broke through at Tipitina’s, Bayou Barn in Lafitte, in the Quarter, at the music fests.

What do I miss most? It is indescribable!

A mere visitor, even for a few weeks, can't even touch on what seeps into your soul. But frequent visitors will miss the streetcars and many of the buses, the street artists and musicians, vendors and fortune tellers, clowns and mimes, on Royal Street during the day and around St. Louis Cathedral and Jackson Square day and night. All the great seafood and volleyball places out on the Lake.
Bakeries and the great Natural food and deli/bakery out on Esplanade near the racetrack. Cairo Cafe.

Mid-City and all the great rents for places not recently renovated. Gone forever with rebuilding costs and triple tax assessments on many homes.

But the rental situation had already begun to seriously deteriorate after the riverboat casinos and the Sultan of Brunai tried to take the town. A lot of speculation and renovation started up, rents were raised all over the commercial districts in the Quarter and in the CBD (Central Business District, on the other side of Canal from the Quarter) and the residences that were leased out to visitors who came for Mardi Gras, JazzFest, football and other events. Long-term rentals were also often raised in hopes of driving out the renters so the flats could be leased out to the increased number of visitors vainly expected.

See more blog posts on the Times-Picayune blog.

What do you miss most?

René O'Deay