Digital Ink Los Angeles

September 19th is International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Aaaarrgggh, matey. Have a swill of the mush and gimme yer booty! Make a swearin’ to the holy Capt’n, then off with yer head!

Digital Ink Los Angeles endorses the famous New Orleanian Jean Laffite into the Pirate Hall of Fame.

A New Orleans landmark still stands on the corner of Bourbon Street and St. Philip — in the Vieux Carre’ section of the French Quarter neighborhood — as remembrance of pirate lore from yester-years. Jean Laffite’s Blacksmith Shop was a place where gris-gris, voodoo, black-market commerce, and pirate legends were commonplace and encouraged.

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Administrator 21st Century Culture, Crime and Punishment, Stylio, The Good Life Bourbon, culture, French, history, Laffite, legend, Louisiana, myth, New Orleans, pirates, storyteller, treasure

She came in the early morning, with a wind that made grown men cry, and her fury was the end of 1,836 people.

As can be seen in Times-Picayune photographer John McCusker’s image to the left, Katrina made a point about sticking around longer than she was welcome, leaving New Orleans a different place than it was before.

On August 28, 2005, Hurricane Katrina was in the Gulf of Mexico where it powered up to a Category 5 storm on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale, with sustained winds at nearly 175 mph. Oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico recorded 100-foot waves, some causing these mammoth structures to collapse under the weight of the storm’s tremendous water load.

At 7:10 a.m. EDT on August 29, Hurricane Katrina made landfall in southern Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, just south of Buras, as a Category 3 hurricane. Maximum winds at landfall were estimated near 125 mph to the east of the center — crossing just south of New Orleans, then turning north toward Bay St. Louis, Mississppi, where she made a second landfall.

View Times-Picayune coverage here.

The New York Times article on President Obama’s promise to continue rebuilding New Orleans.

And another website dedicated to the victims of Hurricane Katrina here.

The best book on the subject is by Tulane University professor Douglas Brinkley, titled The Great Deluge.

Four years later, and the Crescent City still stands — albeit with a population only 70% of what it was on that fateful weekend. But it will never be the same. Hopefully, it will be better.

“We’re not even dealing with dead bodies. They’re just pushing them on the side.”
— New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, regarding rescue crews trying to locate and save hundreds, if not thousands, of people who, in the days after Katrina struck, were still stranded on roofs and in attics.

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Administrator 00s, 21st Century Culture, Earth, New America, Social Responsibility, Water 2005, America, anniversary, breach, Bush, deaths, deluge, destruction, flood, Hurricane Katrina, levees, looting, Louisiana, Nagin, New Orleans, sorrow, storm, surge, Water, winds

No doubting the fact New Orleans is mired in a real swamp. Nearing the four-year anniversary of Katrina, the city is still rebuilding, and a shrinking economy has made this growth as stagnant as Mississippi River mud at low tide.

Enter stage left, Benjamin Button, otherwise known as Brad Pitt, who makes a lucrative living as a movie star and make-believe sweetheart of a tough guy.

His Make It Right Foundation has managed to build 150 sustainable, hurricane-proof, energy-efficient and Frank-Gehry designed homes in the now infamous 9th Ward.

With the New Orleans mayoral race nearing, Pitt’s got a crew of supporters who like the carnivalesque behavior of mindless politics, with an eye for wresting control of the Crescent City’s maddened political atmosphere and changing the face of NOLA politics as it currently exists.

This sounds great in theory, but what will it look like in practice? In considering an answer to this question, consider that Mayor Ray Nagin, the man-in-charge during Hurricane Katrina, has been worse for the City of New Orleans than anyone could have imagined.

Who could possibly be worse than Ray? Except Katrina.

Administrator 21st Century Culture, Movies and Cinema, New America, Social Responsibility Brad Pitt, change, city hall, courage, film, GOOD, hope, Louisiana, mayor, movies, New America, New Orleans, politics, rebuild, responsibility, social, spirit, strength

HBO’s given the thumbs-up to writer-producer David Chase’s new series, Treme’, which will begin its first season in the latter part of 2009. The storyline sticks closely to the musical roots of the New Orleans, with similar “urban-decay” elements to Chase’s The Wire series.

According to Wikipedia, “Treme’ (historically sometimes called Faubourg Tremé or Tremé/Lafitte when including the Lafitte Projects) is a neighborhood of the city of New Orleans. A sub-district of the Mid-City District Area, its boundaries as defined by the City Planning Commission are: Esplanade Avenue to the north, North Rampart Street to the east, St. Louis Street to the south and North Broad Street to the west. It is one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city, and early in the city’s history was the main neighborhood of free people of color. It remains an important center of the city’s African-American and Créole culture, especially the modern brass band tradition. Parts of the Tremé neighborhood (particularly the area lakeside of Claiborne Avenue) have a crime problem.”

Home to the world famous slave-trading Congo Square, the Treme’ has always been the center of music in the Crescent City, with many French Quarter musicians hailing from its dilapidated homes and shady stoops. Louis Armstrong and Sidney Bechet were two of its more recognizable celebrities from the early Jazz Age. The neighborhood — as the center of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival’s Fairgrounds — is always bustling with energy and soulful sounds, but it’s also infamous for its late-night shenanigans and violent undercurrents.

With New Orleans’ renovation under full-steam, and a television show to lift its spirits, the spirit of the Big Easy is starting to return. Now, if only those Saints could get their act together and go marching in.

Where y’at?

Administrator 21st Century Culture, Art and Justice, Aural Pleasure, New America, The Good Life, writing crime, culture, drama, entertainment, goodness, HBO, jazz, Louisiana, music, New Orleans, race, social, television, Treme

Stormy Daniels (born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on March 17, 1979), also known as Stormy Waters and simply Stormy, is an American pornographic actress, screenwriter(???), and director.

It seems that Stormy Daniels has some understanding of how to give the paying public what they need. In Louisiana, she wants to replace an incumbent Senator David Vitter, who’s been linked to prostitution through the so-called “D.C. Madam.”

According to the New Orleans Times Picayune: “Adult-film actress Stormy Daniels announced today that she is forming a committee to explore a potential campaign against Senator David Vitter, R-La.“

Why doesn’t this surprise me, and why am I not amused by the need for Louisiana politics to begin an evolution of self-identity. Let’s free Edwin Edwards and get Stormy and the ex-governor to throw some really fun campaign parties!

Stormy Daniels - La. Senator

I can see it now — LSU cheerleaders, FBI-supplied cash, and a camera crew to capture it all on a new show titled, “Louisiana Politics Gone Wild!“

By the way, the recruitment process (action committee?) is centered around the website DraftStormy.com. Nothing to it but to do it…

Administrator 21st Century Culture, Art and Justice, New America change, culture, freedom, Louisiana, media, New America, New Orleans, New World, politics, pornography

New Orleans — home of the New Orleans Saints — will host Super Bowl XLVII in 2013 at the rebuilt Louisiana Superdome.

Who dat in 2013?

Administrator New America, The Good Life culture, football, GOOD, Louisiana, music, New America, New Orleans, sports, super

This crazy annual event was featured as an “Offbeat Traveler” article in the LA Times last week, and is worth a mention.

Every spring, around Easter, Warden Burl Cain and his inmates at the Louisiana State Penitentiary host outsiders into their world — at least an entertaining part of their world.

This year, the Angola Prison Rodeo is April 18-19th, and features the following events:

1.  Bust Out
All six chutes open simultaneously, releasing six angry bulls, with temporarily attached inmate cowboys.  The last man to remain on the bull wins the event.

2.  Bareback Riding
Riders are expected to keep one hand in the air, and must stay on the horse for eight seconds to qualify.

3.  Wild Horse Race
Six wild horses are simultaneously released into the arena with short ropes dragging behind them.  Three-man teams attempt to grab the ropes and hold the horse long enough for a team member to mount.  The first team to cross the finish line while still on top of the horse is the winner.

4.  Barrel Racing
This is the only event in which inmates do not participate.  It is a tour stop for the Girl’s Rodeo Association.  Contestants race their horse in a pattern between three carefully placed barrels.  The fastest time wins.

5.  Bull-Dogging
The animal is placed in a chute, with two cowboys positioned just outside the chute.  Their job is to wrestle the animal to the ground as quickly as possible.  The team with the best time earns points toward the coveted “All-Around Cowboy” award.

6.  Buddy Pick-Up
This event requires one man on a horse (riding bareback) to navigate the length of the arena, pick up another inmate who is standing on a barrel, and race back to the finish line.

7.  Wild Cow Milking
Teams of inmate cowboys chase the animals around the arena trying to extract a little milk.  The first team to bring milk to the judge wins the prize.

8.  Bull Riding
This dangerous and wide open event is what the fans come to see.  Inexperienced inmates sit on top of a 2,000 pound Brahma bull.  To be eligible for the coveted “All-Around Cowboy” title, a contestant must successfully complete the ride (6 seconds).  The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association’s rules govern this event.

9.  Convict Poker
It’s the ultimate poker game, and even winning has a price.  Four inmate cowboys sit at a table in the middle of the arena playing a friendly game of poker.  Suddenly, a wild bull is released with the sole purpose of unseating the poker players.  The last man remaining seated is the winner.

10.  Guts & Glory
A poker chip is tied to the meanest, toughest Brahma bull available.  The object here is to get close enough to the bull in order to snatch the chit.  This is the last event of the day, and usually the most exciting.

The event sells out almost every year, so it’s smart to purchase tickets in advance.

Check out an informative NPR (2008) article here:

Broncos and Boudin:  The Angola Prison Rodeo

Administrator Art and Justice, Athletes as Artists, New America Angola Prison, annual, April, Burl Cain, cowboy, Louisiana, prisoners, rodeo, warden