Frolic: jazz, books, food

Jazz, Books, Food, and the Writing Life

Blogging from New Orleans, La

26 September 2005

Picayune columnist Chris Rose takes a trip to visit his family in Chevy Chase:

When I am introduced as someone from New Orleans, people sometimes say: “I’m so sorry.” New Orleans. I’m so sorry. That’s not the way it ever was before, not the way it’s supposed to be. When people find out you’re from New Orleans, they’re supposed to tell you about how they got really drunk there once, or fell in love there, or first heard the music there that changed their lives. At worst, people would say: I’ve always wanted to go there. But now, it’s just: “I’m sorry.”
Man, that kills me. That just kills me.

Chris Rose is always the first thing I read in the paper. His recent writing has been even better than before. I tear up nearly every time I read his column.

Posted by Todd at 12:38 am | No Comments

I’m tired of doing nothing. Katrina hit over three weeks ago, and we’ve been living in limbo. There are rumors that the mayor will reopen sections of the city next week. My parents have a motorhome, so we plan to camp outside the city until they let us return.

I’m coming in New Orleans, and I’m not taking “no” for an answer.

Posted by Todd at 12:22 am | Comments (1)

16 September 2005

The blogger at Gulfsails rode out the storm. He reassures us that about half the city survived more or less intact. He’s got the photos to prove it.

Posted by Todd at 9:51 am | No Comments

15 September 2005

We’ve been busy trying to get our lives back on line. Too busy to blog. I’ll try to update soon, but in the mean times I’ll leave you with some articles by friends.

Pableaux Johnson reports that Brigtsen’s will return to New Orleans after all. Austin Leslie, however, is headed to Atlanta. Michael Tisserand, the editor of the Gambit, has been doing some great pieces on Katrina. You can find them here, here and here. The Association of Alternative Newsweeklies has commissioned a 10-week series from Michael. He plans to continue writing until Mardi Gras. Sara Roahen, writing in the L.A. Weekly, captured my mood as a fellow refugee far from the city.

Posted by Todd at 11:37 pm | No Comments

9 September 2005

In early August, just before I was headed to Argentina and Chile for a two week vacation, I had dinner with Brett Anderson, the Times-Picayune restaurant critic. We talked shop, drank a pretty good bottle of wine and ate a not very good meal at one of New Orleans’ grand old restaurants.

I had just finished my first six months of reviewing restaurants. I was ready for a break, I told Brett.

Now Brett is riding in military trucks and reporting on the destruction of eastern New Orleans. That last week in New Orleans seems like a long time ago.

Posted by Todd at 11:06 am | No Comments

Tom Fitzmorris is reporting that Galatoire’s will relocate temporarily to Baton Rouge. How bizarre.

Posted by Todd at 9:23 am | No Comments

8 September 2005

Chris Rose reports that not everything has changed in New Orleans:

In a strange way, life just goes on for the remaining. In the dark and fetid Winn-Dixie on Tchoupitoulas, an old woman I passed in the pet food aisle was wearing a house frock and puffy slippers and she just looked at me as she pushed her cart by and said: “How you doin’, baby?” Like it’s just another afternoon making groceries. I love the way strangers call you baby in this town. Outside the store, there’s an old guy who parks his old groaning car by the front door from sunup to sundown. There are extension cords running from his trunk into the store, which still has power – don’t ask me how; I have no idea – and he watches TV in his front seat and drinks juice. That is what he does, all day, every day. At this point, I just can’t see this guy leaving. I don’t imagine he has anyplace else in the world but this. A young guy walked up and said to him: “I hear you can charge your cell phone here?” and the old guy said “Yes, indeedy,” and walked him into the store and showed him a plug that still had juice.
And life goes on.

I wish that I were there.

Posted by Todd at 8:22 pm | No Comments

In the hours after Katrina hit, music writer Keith Spera was one of the Times-Picayune reporters filing stories on the damage. Now he’s covering music again, and his report on the state of New Orleans music is depressing.

I don’t know what more upsetting–that Charmaine Neville was attacked by a gang or that Aaron Neville says he won’t return to the city.

Posted by Todd at 4:47 pm | Comments (1)

A friend of mine, Seung Hong, went into New Orleans yesterday and snapped some photos.

Posted by Todd at 3:59 pm | Comments (2)

An online petition has been set up asking Mayor Nagin to allow residents back into Uptown.

Posted by Todd at 12:29 pm | No Comments

Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse started in New Orleans. Recently it became a publicly traded company. Today Ruth’s Chris announced that it would permanently relocate the corporate headquarters from New Orleans to Orlando.

Posted by Todd at 9:51 am | No Comments

3 September 2005

Willie Mae Seaton is safe. The 90-year-old Seaton fries the best chicken in America. Lolis Elie Eric spoke with her family, and they are all safe in Shreveport.

Her restaurant, Willie Mae’s Scotch House, was in one of the neighborhoods devastated by the flood.

Posted by Todd at 9:57 am | Comments (1)

Last night I spoke with Chef Pete of Marisol restaurant. He’s safe, but armed, in Algiers Point. Amazingly, his phone still works. When I called, he was just about to grill some lamb and open a bottle of wine. With no electricity, he hasn’t seen the pictures from the rest of the city.

Chef Pete said that the long term effects on New Orleans will be devastating. The tourist industry, he said, is gone and won’t return anytime soon. It may seem trivial to talk about tourism, but visitors to the city employ large parts of the residents. Chefs, waiters, hotel workers. With no jobs, they will probably have to move.

Marisol, located just off the French Quarter, appears to have survived. Pete thinks he can feed survivors and workers, but needs logistical support. If anyone has contacts with FEMA or national media, please email me (see email link at right) and I will relay Pete’s contact information.

Posted by Todd at 9:54 am | No Comments

Boing Boing has found a live feed of New Orleans police scanners.

Posted by Todd at 9:35 am | No Comments

A new website called I’m OK has been set up to track people affected by Katrina.

Posted by Todd at 9:30 am | Comments (1)

2 September 2005

My friend Brooks Hamaker is tired of being stunned. It’s time to do something. It’s time to get angry. Here is the message he sent me:

They are all blaming each other now. Heads will roll but not the one that should. Do any of you see what the problem is? Can any of you get your arms around the fact that because of some bizarre battle for power and control over an area that is poverty stricken and controls few electoral votes (unlike Florida) there is really no one that cares. Now the focus is on blame and they still haven’t gotten them the stuff to keep them alive. They are talking about shooting and there are people DYING from lack of food and water. What the fuck? This isn’t about politics, it’s about our neighbors and friends. You people that are nearby, I can tell you, personally, that you could drive to the Gulf Coast this weekend with nothing but water, rice and beans, and diapers, and you might save someone’s life. Damn near everyone reading this can do something. Anything will help. Our government is failing us at a time when we need them most. We can get food on the ground in 12 hours after a tsunami on the other side of the world and we can’t get a bottle of water to the Gulf Coast? This is crazy. If I see one more press conference I am going to scream. Did you see the one in Mobile this morning? Huh? Did you? George Bush standing in front of what? Helicopters. Big fucking helicopters. All polished and shiny. Why would a single asset, a single one, be parked in a hangar and shined so our Fearless Leader can have a manly backdrop when there are people, lots of them, waiting to see one of these things land with some food and water on it? This is such a sad, sad shame. The division between the haves and the have nots has become much clearer this week. The haves not only have it, but the don’t care it the have nots even live. They should read Doctor Suess. All of this was covered, long ago, by a race of people called the Sneetches. Once they figured out that having “stars on thars” was not such a big deal, things got much better in Sneetchville, very quickly. I pray that happens here soon. Wherever you are, there is something you can do. If it’s only calling your congressmen and yelling at the machine, driving to the gulf coast with water (you can fill up the back of a pickup truck for about $150 bucks (I know, I just did it)and food or giving to The Red Cross or Second Harvest, or writing a column that gets to the root of the matter, anything will be better than what is going on now. Help. Help them. Help us. I am homeless,angry, and no longer silently stunned.. Give me your tired, your poor, your hungry…….and we will let them die.
Brooks.

Posted by Todd at 1:05 pm | Comments (2)