Man is the only animal that laughs and weeps, for he is the only animal that is struck with the difference between what things are and what they ought to be. – William Hazlitt
30 Aug 2008 No Comments
in NOLA Tags: FEMA, hurricane, NOLA
Remember this statement in about a week.
FEMA Director R. David Paulison tried to reassure nervous residents that the levees protecting New Orleans are stronger than they were before Katrina. However, he added that dangers remain that make it critical for residents to follow evacuation orders. [source]
Let’s just say I’m skeptical of that statement. Good luck, my New Orleans friends.
19 Feb 2008 No Comments
in Food, Made Me Laugh, NOLA Tags: Anthony Bourdain, awards, Food, NOLA, sarcasm
…or why I think Anthony Bourdain is the coolest chef/host/dude on TV.
THE DOUCHEBAG
For the best example of twisted, repressed, or compromised “I’d rather be making lemon bundt cake with My Cat, Mr. Mufflesworth” journalist who actually HATES food and hates the people who make food even moreNominees: Alan Richman for taking a big Dump on New Orleans at the worst possible time. And for his totally disingenuous piece on celebrity chefs not being behind the stove when Alan chooses to dine;
(Reference material: The hit job in question, Time-Picayune article on same)
Check out the other nominees. I think The Doucebag (the Doucey?) is all wrapped up already, so tune or surf in Friday for the other winners.
30 Aug 2007 No Comments
in NOLA
I began a long rambling post about the Katrina-ravaged coast yesterday (the anniversary of the hurricane’s landfall), but became bored by my own self-righteousness. I’ve never been to Louisiana or Mississippi so my attempts to personalize what is happening in that region fall flat.
Instead, you, dear reader, should go out and read for yourself from those living it what is going on or, more appropriately, not going on. A link fest is below, but I will add one commentary of my own. As a child of the West coast of Michigan, Lake Michigan was a huge part of my psyche. Living near one of the largest fresh-water lakes in the world really clicked for me and is one of the things I dearly miss living inland. As a one-time sailor and freeloading boater, I also know that the Great Lakes are a large area of work for the Army Corps of Engineers.
The same Army Corps that failed the city of New Orleans so spectacularly. To my Michigan family, friends, and random readers, what happened in New Orleans and all over the Gulf Coast is a signal to us as well. This state depends heavily on the services and projects completed by the Army Corps. You need only think of Holland, Grand Haven, or Saugatuk to envision the immense sea-works that allow shipping to come in and out of those harbors.
The precedents being set by the disaster in New Orleans has ramifications all the way up here. Katrina did not drown the city of New Orleans. Let me say that again. Katrina did not drown the city of New Orleans. The failure of the levees which held back the Mississippi River did that. The levees were not and are not the responsibility of the state, despite all the finger pointing. The levees are a federal responsibility. Just like the sea-ways on our coasts here in Michigan.
So, as you read some of the posts linked below, remember that what happens in New Orleans is not isolated there. The same agency that allowed the disaster to happen there is very active here. Holland may not flood, but the same methodology that allowed much of New Orleans to flood is being used to protect our coastline as well.
Alan Gutierrez: When The Saints Go Marching In
Large news round-up at VatulBlog
Anderson Cooper: No Right for Us to Feel Fatigued
Douglas Brinkley: If we want New Orleans to die, we should say so
16 Apr 2007 No Comments
in NOLA
Alan at ThinkNOLA has hit a tough spot. Head over to the ThinkNOLA Blog and donate some cash to get him and the server through not just this month, but help make ThinkNOLA a real non-profit.
I’ll issue this challenge. Anyone who’s coming to the party this weekend, donate $25 to ThinkNOLA. That’s two beers and nachos at Cambridge House.
23 Jan 2007 2 Comments
in NOLA
But some economists and demographers are beginning to wonder whether New Orleans will top out at about half its prestorm population of about 444,000, already in a steep decline from its peak of 627,525 in the 1960 Census. At the moment, the population is well below half, and future gains are likely to be small.
…
The new doubts, surprisingly, are largely not based on the widespread damage caused by the flood. Rather, crippling problems that existed long before Hurricane Katrina are mostly being blamed for the city’s failure to thrive.
A hard, but fair, look at the situation in NOLA 17 months post-Katrina by the New York Times. The basic tennet is the possibility that the current population is within a few percentage points of what the new, normal population of NOLA will be. With pre-Katrina problems such as crime and government corruption now leading the list of issues facing the remaining residents (and those who have yet to return), the culture of NOLA is in peril.
With scholorly work now coming to the mainstream with predictions like this, what is the face of NOLA to become? Is it realistic to expect to preserve every cultural aspects of the city pre-Katrina? Where does the city shrink, either geographically, culturally, or both? Who gets to decide? Who is deciding?
In short, who chooses what to lose in order to save the most?
Hard questions, but questions that need to be asked (and for which I’ll be flamed, I’m sure). Good article, check it out.
New Orleans of Future May Stay Half Its Old Size – New York Times
11 Jan 2007 1 Comment
“We pledge to you that we will get better and we’re going to start today,” he said, adding that the city would not recover until residents felt safe. (source)
Hope you meant that, Nagin. There’s a lot of pissed off people who are going to hold you to it.
By the way, those few NOLA people who still troll this site, congratulations on a message well delivered. I only wish there were fewer people in the ground before someone listened.
Oh, and you made Drudge. (screen cap)
04 Jan 2007 No Comments
in NOLA
The WaPo weighs in.
“It’s terrifying: We’re doing the same things we have in the past but expecting different results,” said Robert G. Bea, a professor of civil engineering at the University of California at Berkeley and a former New Orleans resident who served as a member of the National Science Foundation panel that studied the city’s levees.
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