My new favorite way to waste time is playing with Photoshop. I took a class in the program years ago, and about once every 7 months, I miracously remember some of that information and can turn things green and stuff.
And, for something a little more fun…how about a visit from the grey rapper, Buns!?
Posted by jackson on 31 Jan 2007
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New Orleans’ NPR station only plays classical music during the day, but thanks to the good ole internets, I just caught Bush’s interview on NPR. His response to why he didn’t mention New Orleans in his latest State of the Union? “I gave the speech I thought I needed to give.” And then, to rip off Jon Stewart, he essentially says, “The buck stops, um…well… over there.”
Insisting that his government’s response to Katrina has been “robust”, he tells Juan Williams that he has given billions to local programs.
…the money is there and the money is available…
Which is to say, I wrote the check, but the idiots down south can’t cash it! It’s a spin that’s working pretty well, playing on the notion that southerners (and in particular, Louisianians) are, as a people, crooked and slow and just plain bad at their jobs.
Oh, and we drink.
Bush’s people have been hard at work blaming local government for the destruction of New Orleans from the get-go. And to be sure, we do have our own work cut out for us. But what he’s really conveying in the end, is that we just plain are not his problem. He washes his hands of us. Which is callous and sad and completely unsurprising.
Helping us to remember our souls this lovely Monday afternoon is a very smart article in the New York Times, and an even better audio slide show. This critique of plans to demolish New Orleans’ housing projects is primarily an indictment of HUD, a cabinet department of the federal government. Yes, Mr. Bush. That’s you.
Posted by jackson on 29 Jan 2007
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My old pal Carn told me I should be writing more about New Orleans. It’s been a while, so I’ve got a few things on my mind.
1. The Saints. The last time I cared about football game, it was 1986. I was in the fourth grade, and the Bears were playing the Patriots in the Super Bowl. You know, the year the Bears crossed over into Casey Kasem’s world with Super Bowl Shuffle. (Oh, you know, and also won the big game.)
Funny how that 1986 game was all anyone could talk about this past Sunday, as the Bears tried to play some kind of weak underdog card for their NFC Championship win. We got it. 1986 was a long, long time ago, and its cool to be back on top. But for reals? You played the Saints, a team that has never, ever, in all of its existance won any kind of NFL championship, a team that hails from, lets face it, a seriously sad-sack city, and YOU are the underdogs? Let’s give us all a break, kay?
I’m bitter. I’ll recognize it. Maybe the whiny proclamations I hear from people at work all the time (”The Saints are the ONLY thing New Orleans has going for itself! That’s it! Everything else is crap!”) have finally rubbed off on me. I felt we were entitled a win, which is obviously not how these things work.
2. Crime. We’ve got a bit of a problem. Maybe you’ve heard about? It’s not that I’m hopeless, but I’m not sure what to say…I’m way way too busy obsessing about item #3…
3. Brad and Angelina, of course! I realized yesterday that their new abode is right on my way home from work. Um, ok. Pretty much on the way. You know, an extra tour around a couple of blocks. With the slow drive by, it adds mere minutes to my afternoon commute….What? You think that’s stalkerish? Remember this: I live in New Orleans, bitches. All I had was a FOOTBALL TEAM! Do you know how sad that is for a girl like me?
Posted by jackson on 25 Jan 2007
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We are knee-deep in 2007, y’all. Has any other year we’ve lived through sounded quite so much like the future? 1984 passed by without Big Brother making any major appearances, and 2001 came and went without a single spacy odyssesy — it seemed the future would never get here. But 2007? The iPhone is only the beginning, is all I’m saying.
To bring in the end of days in style, the mister and I decided to do up the holiday season full throttle, squeezing in as much holiday cheer and as many family and friends as possible. We got our first Christmas tree, which happily, the cats only looked upon as a water source:
Trimmed tree? Check! Eggnog? Check! (Perhaps it should go without saying, but the bottled stuff from Wal Mart is nasty.) Homemade holiday cards? Half check. (Completed but still not mailed…) Time spent in mall battling Christmas traffic? Very minimal, thanks to the bounty that is Magazine Street. Not only are there fun stores aplenty, but during the holidays nearly all of them are giving away free booze when you shop. Really. Next time you wonder why people are so loyal to New Orleans, remember that.
Then we trekked north. First to Nashville, where all the tough kids live:
And then Prairie du Sac, WI, where the mister made a goose:
And where we opened presents for a clocked 5 hours and 37 minutes:
With the mister’s family, we go for quantity over quality, and we also get kinda loopy on wine. It is a good time, Wisconsin style.
And for the new year, the mister and I cruised down to Chicago to bring in the future with a couple of our favorite people:
I’m tired just thinking of it all, but in that good way. We miss all of you already. Happy New Year!
Posted by jackson on 10 Jan 2007
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