Archive for June, 2006
June 21, 2006 | Filed under: big easy, misadventures
We ain’t moving. And that’s that. Why? Why? Why not move into a giant, lovely house that oozes potential and is currently hemorrhaging money? Why stay in NYC in my cramped apartment snidely nicknamed “The Shoebox”? Because, dammit, it’s dangerous in New Orleans, that’s why! The freakin’ National Guard have been called back! There have been 54 murders (six this week!) and a section of a New Orleans neighborhood has been dubbed “The Triangle of Death“! I’ve lived in New York City my whole life and there’s NEVER been a neighborhood saddled with a nickname like that.
About week before I left to return to NYC we found a posting in our local coffee haunt: a full typed page list of local crimes. Two weeks…one full typed page. And these weren’t just little crimes. These weren’t purse-snatchings. These were desperate, vicious and frightening. Stabbings, dogs being swiped from yards, people getting robbed at gunpoint, people getting robbed at knifepoint, people getting robbed at knifepoint on their own front porches, break-ins–one house got broken into twice in one week! On that single typed page there were three seperate attacks on pedestrians by a gang of young men brandishing a lead pipe wrapped in a towel. Three! In two weeks! They weren’t even out for anyone’s wallet–they’re just out to bust heads. I don’t have any idea why they bother with the towel…perhaps bonking people in the head with a naked pipe is too noisy. All of this occcured within 5 square blocks of the house within two weeks.
All that and hurricanes, too? Nope.
Deciding not to move was not an easy decision. Brian has a long history with New Orleans, and a lot of emotion wrapped up in that house. I don’t have any ties to it, but I really like New Orleans. I love its funky charm and it’s balls-out weirdness. I like that it’s all rickety-looking and battle-scarred and slow and sultry and hot. I like the people. I love that our neighborhood reaction to the crime includes a sidewalk ceremony held in the name of Ogou Achade, The Voodoo Patron of Iron And The Forge**, although I’d rather people felt comfortable calling the police, instead. I hate the giant insects, but I figured I could learn to live with the idea of them once we’d hermetically sealed the house as best we could. I thought it would be a good idea for me–a lifelong New York City gal with a rock-solid, impenetrable, liberal, Northern, East Coast backround to spend some time in The South for a change of pace. And every day…no, really every hour after we made the decision to leave something charming and singularly New Orleans-ish would makes us pause and reconsider…until that ol’ lead pipe story would creep back into our heads to bonk us back into reality.
In this instance, it was a raspberry Sno-Ball enjoyed in Audobon Park.
**You think I can make this stuff up? Hardly.
3:03 pm | 30 Comments
June 19, 2006 | Filed under: vlogalicious, amigos
Really, this is self-explanatory…no supporting text necessary other than to say that my duet with the lovely and talented Anne Walk** cannot be seen here. How was I supposed to read the lyrics off the prompter, sing and and film myself at the same time? Oh, that footage is out there someplace…
(actually, we were pretty darn good!!)
Fine, fine performances all around!
**Sonny to my Cher? Cher to my Sonny? We may never know…
7:08 am | 11 Comments
June 16, 2006 | Filed under: Uncategorized
I’ve been home for four days now and I’m STILL riding out my Vloggercon “high”…I just can’t shake it. It was just that fabulous. It was so overwhelming and I met so many fantastic, creative & passionate people and I learned so much. And I met all the vlogmen that I’ve been crushing on for ages! Y’all know who you are.** Although I was so excited to go, I was a little bit nervous right up until the last minute. What a strange opportunity: to finally meet people you feel you already know! Do you run up and hug them ? (yes) Do you gush about how much you love their work? (yes, although I got all shy and forgot to do this 80% of the time) I was quite comforted (and slightly surprised) to find that everyone was exactly as I expected. Everyone I met in the Videoblogging community is representing themselves as-is. No cover-ups. No nasty surprises. I wish all folks deported themselves with such honesty.
Ironically, I didn’t do all that much videotaping! I didn’t even take nearly as many stills as I should have–I was far too busy soaking it all in. I did manage to capture some moments from a few of the sessions I attended, and a small sample of those can be seen here. Jay Dedman, Jan McLaughlin, Dave Toole, Ryanne Hodson, Linda, Bev Sykes, Josh Leo, Dave Huth, Susan Kitchens, Jennifer Myronuk, Jen Simmons and Juan Antonio del Rosario are all here. For me, the whole point of Vloggercon was summed up by Jay in three little words…you’re supposed to go watch the video now to find out what they are.
The Vloggercon karaoke video is another animal altogether…and it’s coming tomorrow…
**ok, so, if you don’t know, that would be Josh, Dave, Anthony, Carl, Josh, Chris, Jay and Chuck and yes: I am fully aware that most if not all of you are spoken for. I’m not a tramp…I just really think y’all are the coolest and cutest dudes around…and that’s just the GUYS!! We’d be here all day if I had to list all my gay crushes, too!
4:46 pm | 17 Comments
June 11, 2006 | Filed under: un-vlogged
Marlene & Greg’s SF view on a clear day…
Originally uploaded by missbhavens.
After five days in San Francisco I’ve come to the conclusion that THIS is the city for me. So what if the weather changes from one hour to the next or even from one block to the next? I’m staying with my dear friends Marlene & Greg in the Haight and actually we have yet to get out of the neighborhood at all. It’s a charming, neat-looking town with more vintage clothing shops than any city has a right to have! I’m here for Vloggercon having a blast, learning a lot and meeting all my favorite vloggers. It’s been surreal.
Pictures & Video to follow…
1:00 pm | 9 Comments
June 5, 2006 | Filed under: big easy, misadventures
“The challenge of rebuilding New Orleans and providing housing for its residents is immense, with tens of thousands of families displaced, their former homes destroyed or damaged beyond repair. Across the metropolitan area, nearly 228,000 homes and apartments were flooded, including 39 percent of all owner-occupied units and 56 percent of all rental units (Brookings 2005). Residents have returned to some relatively unscathed areas, such as the French Quarter and Algiers, but the devastation in more hard-hit areas is overwhelming and it is not yet clear whether or how these areas will be rebuilt.”
Barely 30 minutes outside New Orleans on our way to Jean Lafitte National Park there is a massive housing boom. One giant brand new cookie-cutter home after another, only several yards apart, some in gated communities, some freestanding, few lived in. They’re going up so fast I was pretty sure there were new ones finished by the time we drove back home.
You know what’s being built/rebuilt in New Orleans? Seemingly nothing. Where are regular working folks supposed to live?
11:59 am | 15 Comments
