Freakin' Saints

I'm hating the Saints a bit more than I love them right now, as their season just ended on another disappointing note. I think 6 of their 8 losses were by three points or less. They can't finish games. Our defensive secondary is awful, as is our pass rush. Jason David might be the nicest guy in the world, but I sure hope he's being nice in some other city next season. And yet, as crushed as I am right now, hope springs eternal, as I just renewed my season tickets for 2009.

Turning Pages Soaked by a Flood on a Christmas Day

We went to see Benjamin Button today at the Prytania. The film had a big impact on me, and my eyes teared up more than a few times. The city of New Orleans plays a leading role in the movie, both through its amazing links to the past, as well as the tragedy of Katrina. The movie begins with a blind clockmaker losing his son to the First World War. He builds a clock that runs backwards in order to go back in time and to bring the dead loved-ones back. The movie ends with Katrina flood waters rising, soon to destroy this same clock. The two relatively recent events in my life that made the film especially poignant were witnessing the suffering of New Orleanians after the waters rose when the levees broke, and the passing of my own father a couple of years ago.

The theme of photographs, captured moments in time, were recurring in the film. I was sad a couple of months after Katrina to learn that my photo album had been destroyed in the flood. A few days before Katrina, Therese said she had moved all the photo albums upstairs, but she forgot mine. Here is one of the pictures I took of a flooded photo, one that shows me sleeping with my dad.

So this year I was impressed that Therese went to the trouble to make me a new photo album of a few pictures she was able to collect. Here's a picture of the first page:

The message I suppose, perpetrated by the film and my photo album experience, is that monumental moments in our lives are unexpected, random, sometimes sad, sometimes happy, rarely orderly, and it takes a great deal of courage to keep playing.

I know some have disregarded Benjamin Button as a Forrest Gump copy due to many similarities, mostly because Eric Roth's authorship of both screenplays. I'm not a fan of Gump, and felt that Button was a much better film. Roth explains that both of his parents died while he was writing Button, and I agree with Roth that this script is "more mature." David Fincher did a great job directing. His earlier film Seven remains one of my all time favorite movies.

So I guess we need to go forward, though I do enjoy looking backward now and then. And if I aged backwards like Mr Button, one day someone will look in my new (though old) photo album, and see what looked like shortly before my death:

Now I'm going to introduce my visiting in-laws to Benjamin Button's favorite libation, one that so well represents New Orleans, the mighty mighty sazerac.

Christmas is a Lie

Today, they will tell you, it is Christmas Eve 2009. However, it isn't Christmas Eve, and it isn't 2009. They've been lying to you.

Christmas is supposed to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Yet nobody knows the time of year at which Jesus was born. Some people claim Jesus was born in the Spring, because of a passage in Luke 2:8 which claims that there were shepherds keeping their flocks nearby. But all of that is suspect too. I don't even believe Jesus was born in Bethlehem. So, at best, there is a 1/365 chance that Jesus was born December 25th. Not very good odds.

And we really have no idea what year it is. Some reportedly brilliant man named Dennis the Little miscounted the reign of Augustus when calculating how many years it had been since Jesus' birth. Some people claim that we're off by four years because Herod the Great, the guy who tried to kill the baby Jesus according to Matthew 2, died in 4 BCE. So there we are, with Jesus being born four years after a man who tried to kill him. So it might be 2005, but we really don't know. They're lying to us. People like Kathy Lee Gifford, Adrastos, and Oprah.

Furthermore, if some of the great biblical prophets came into a home with Christmas trees, they would rightly claim we are worshipping the fertility goddess Asherah. But in reality it's the pagan elements of Christmas that I love the most, like the lights, the santa clauses, elves, and all the eggnog flavored brandy. I'm hoping that Asherah might visit me tonight, due to the tree and some triangle-shaped-pubic-triangle-cookies I left out for her, old school style (Jeremiah 44:19). I'll bet she is hot! For dinner tonight, with Therese's parents John and Mary Mike Fitzpatrick in town, I'm making oyster soup, prime rib, Yorkshire pudding, coconut covered dates, asparagus, and creme brulee. There will be quite a bit of wine involved, so after I explain how Christmas is a big fat lie, I might just tell everyone what I think of them.

Fa La La La Booooooo!

Last night we went caroling in Jackson Square. It was fun. The best part was when they announced Mayor Nagin and then hearing most of the 8,000 people boo. Also, turns out the crowd could sing better than Becky Allen, bless her heart, so they might think about turning down her microphone next year.

Can the Bluebird of Happiness Survive?

Our friends B and Xy got us a bluebird of happiness for a housewarming gift.

It's cool, and Xy says it is an Appalachian tradition, where the glass bluebird is supposed to bring happiness to any house. I repeatedly joked that it wouldn't live long in our house due to so many people suffering from depression. In fact, it nearly died today from bad moods from Therese and Kalypso. Maybe Christmas will bring it back to health.

Save the New Year's Bonfire in Mid-City

I was shocked and sad yesterday when I received this flyer:

"The City of New Orleans," which apparently means some bureaucrat who convinced the police department, the fire department, and parks and parkways, has decided to end a century old tradition in my neighborhood. Every year people take their Christmas trees on December 31st to the neutral ground on the 4200 block of Orleans Avenue. Then at nightfall, there is a massive celebration with a giant bonfire and fireworks. They argue that they are shutting this down for the safety of our persons and our homes. To the best of my knowledge, nobody has ever gotten hurt during this tradition, and no home has even come close to catching on fire. In the past there have always been police and a fire truck standing ready in case there were problems. With only a few firemen and police required, this strikes me as a very limited drain of city resources. Instead of focusing on this event, why not try to ticket the hundreds of people who shoot firearms in the air on New Years? Or spend some time doing police work so we don't have to live in the murder capital of the world. The Mid-City Neighborhood Organization asked if there was anyway to get a permit to hold the bonfire, and they were told no. I plan on writing to my City Council representatives, and voicing my disapproval at the Dec 22 meeting.

People who live here are going to fight when outsiders try to take away these cultural events. We don't want to live in anytown U.S.A. New Orleans has unique traditions that need to be defended.

Here is a video we made of our family at the bonfire two years ago. It's one of our favorite things to do in New Orleans.


Check out Save the Bonfire.

Less News is Good News

My name is Michael, and I'm a newsaholic. But I'm getting better.

Just one month ago, I would wake up around 6AM, listen to NPR's Morning Edition, read the Times-Picayune, and during the work day I would often check internet news. Back at home I would listen at 4PM to All Things Considered, watch the local ABC news at 5, and the national ABC news at 5:30, watch the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer at 6, while surfing back and forth with Hardball, and then at 7 PM my favorite news venue was Countdown with Keith Olbermann. He was outraged at the Bush administration, just like me. Then I would watch the Daily Show at 10, followed by the Colbert Report. Then I'd go to bed after checking the internet.

Now that Obama has won the election, I find I'm satisfied with far less news. I find all I need now is the Times-Picayune, NPR, the internet, and of course the Daily Show and Colbert. Sorry Keith Olbermann. I'm glad you're on the air, for what it is worth. Good night Keith, and good luck.

What You Want, Baby I Had 40 Years Ago: Jazzfest Ages

The lineup for the 40th Jazzfest has just been announced. Aretha Franklin seems to be the biggest name on the bill. I remember how great she was, about 40 years ago. Here's a visual aid to show what time and fast food have done to her.

I also noticed acts like the O' Jays and Earth Wind and Fire. It will be like a freakin' 1970 polyester wax museum, so hope for clouds. In fact, is there anyone under 40 performing at Jazzfest? And if this is a trend, in 10 years will all the performers be over 50? Wasn't this the generation that said "Don't trust anyone over 30"? But before you think that I am advocating youth at any cost, I am pleased to report that the Imagination Movers are off the list. Rumor has it that their orange jumpsuit idea backfired when they got mistaken for prison workers last year. Even though Disney Channel isn't popular in prison, turns out the "Movers" are.

Homan With A Bullet

There's been an unholy war going on in the New Orleans blogosphere. The goal is to post the absolutely worst Xmas video. Thus, with bile and malcontent I present to you "Santa Claus Wants Some Luvin"

If you watch closely you can see a shirtless Adrastos with a weed blower.

Turns Out Chicago is the "Who" in "Who Dat Say They Gonna Beat Them Saints?"

For the third year in a row, da Bears ended the Saints' season on a cold and windy day at Soldier Field. Allstate is based in the Chicago area, so they celebrate, while I am thinking about getting back in shape and playing cornerback. The Saints need much improvement on defense, and I am pretty sure that I can be at least as good as Jason David.