List: Top 20 Whistling Songs of All Time

In my continuing quest to express my love of music, I present my

Top 20 Whistling Songs of All Time

#20 -

Let's Go Surfing - The Drums

Thanks to Jason for turning me on to this song back in 2010.

#19 -

Dock of the Bay - Otis Redding

#18 -

Patience - Guns N Roses

#17 -

Winds of Change - The Scorpions

#16 -

Brick House - The Commodores

#15 -

Don't Worry Be Happy - Bobby McFerrin

#14 -

Tighten Up - The Black Keys

#13 -

Walk Like An Egyptian - The Bangles

#12 -

Pumped Up Kicks - Foster The People

#11 -

Me & Julio Down By The Schoolyard - Paul Simon

#10 -

Home - Edwin Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes

#9 -

Centerfold - J. Geils Band

#8 -

The Ruling Class - Loose Fun

#7 -

The Good The Bad and The Ugly Movie Theme - Ennio Morricone

#6 -

Always Look on the Bright Side of Life - Monty Python

#5 -

Good Life - OneRepublic

#4 -

The Andy Griffith Show Theme

#3 -

Danse Caribe - Andrew Bird

And many other songs by him!

#2 -

Games Without Frontiers - Peter Gabiel

#1 -

Big Chief - Professor Longhair

Paul

To quote a part of my November 25, 2010 blog post:

In my generation, we have 13 cousins. At 43, I am the second oldest. The first five of us are very close in age and grew up together.

My 41-year-old cousin Paul, the youngest of us five, has been battling colon and liver cancer for the last six months or so.

In person, via email and via Caring Bridge, he keeps us updated on his condition.

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I am now 45; Paul is now 43. He is still battling color and liver cancer. From what I have heard, but not from him because he doesn't like to discuss it, he is regularly going to MD Anderson as well as getting treatment here in New Orleans.

While his mom - my Aunt Barbara - was going through the final stages of hospice, her four kids watched over her. She was staying at my cousin David's house, but passed while Paul was watching over her. (David and his wife Becki were out of town for the Easter weekend.)

Here is Paul's Caring Bridge update, posted today -  three weeks to the day since his mom died: 

It’s been over two weeks since the death of my mother, and I think that I may now have enough clarity on the event to sit down and write.  I once said of my cancer and the ensuing events, that it brought no epiphanies to my life and its purpose.  I experienced no parting of the clouds with a booming voice of instructions or recurring dream that clearly showed me the way.  I had not expected such events, so the lack thereof brought no disappointment.  What the tragedy of my mother and my cancer ordeal has revealed is that we are all innately prepared to deal with adversity. The choice to use this ability is solely our own. This fact was once again confirmed by my mother spending her last two months of life under the constant loving care of my brother and sister-in-law. Without a moment’s hesitation they took on tasks and duties that 6 months ago they would have flatly denied having the capacity to handle.  It is this capacity that separates us and defines our character.  It seems to be a tailored opinion that we would fail to rise to an adverse situation, but it is my conviction that it is our nature that overrules our conditioning. 

I will say only a few things about the actual passing of my mother and what I have taken from that experience. I guess my most powerful emotion would be how natural death is. The actual moment of her passing felt so right and so peaceful that you could feel nothing but relief. The body is an amazing machine that wants to live and will fight so hard to do so, but there was a defining moment around 2:00 in the morning where her death was imminent and her body just didn’t want to let go. It was when I felt the most pain for her fight. I just wanted it to be over. I wanted her body to let her die and free her of this suffering. Two hours later her struggling calmed and her breathing settled to almost normal. It was a moment I will never forget. The room went from one of torture and anguish to stark silence. She was gone and there was such an emotion of rightness about it all. 

As a families go, I could not be more proud to belong to such a group of people. Aunts, Uncles, cousins and friends all took part in the last two months of my mom’s life. Mom got to see how much she was loved and experienced how she affected so many. We celebrated her life with a crawfish boil and blaring Cajun music. We all cried a little but laughing is so much easier. There are times when I pass by her number on my phone and wish that she would have left a greeting that I could listen too but Mom was not the most technically gifted person in the world, and I’ll just have to settle for the number. I miss the little things most and those are the hardest because they can’t be anticipated. They pop-up on me like a shiver and demand a moment of reflection.  She was the only Mom I will ever have, and I was lucky enough to tell her so.

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During our Memorial Crawfish Boil, many members of our family stood up to speak about Barbara. Here is Paul's contribution...



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Barbara is gone but not forgotten. Let's now work toward that same sentence not be about Paul...

Mardi Gras

Work has been stressful for the last month: I was transferred to another department, and the changes are challenging and ongoing. In the midst of all the upheaval, we had Mardi Gras. In this post, I had planned to post about Mardi Gras and complain about my job. Then I came across this blog post - which put all my complaining into perspective.

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Each night, after she listed her daily gratitudes and wrote in her diary, she would find the countdown calender drawn on pink paper and dressed in white, silver, purple, and red glitter. With her very special pen, she would carefully cross off one more day, informing me of  the new countdown as she called out wishes of sweet dreams. As the countdown slimmed from a month, to a week, and then to days, her excitement grew.

“I don’t know if I should wear a costume this year or not, Mama,” she contemplated in the middle of a lesson on polygons for her sixth grade math class.

“Mama. do you think I will get a shoe?”

“What do you think the floats will look like?”

“Which book should I bring with me to read while we wait?”

“Should I take pictures with my cell phone?”

“I am so excited for beads, Mama!”

She was preoccupied with the parade, the Krewe of Muses, and our Mardi Gras holiday.

Since our first parades as New Orleanians a few years ago, our Mardi Gras holiday has consisted of Muses on Thursday and d’Etat on Friday. Having a spouse working in the restaurant business, Lundi Gras and Mardi Gras were never spent together – he is busy insuring everyone else has their spirits high on these two special days. And because my daughter is a high-functioning autistic child, we stayed away from the crowds of the super krewes. Just in case.

We have always watched the parades along the extended route, sometimes called the family zone, and it has been an enjoyable experience. We have reconnected with old friends, exchanging Mardi Gras wishes while catching up with the latest changes in our lives, and have met many new friends. My daughter has played along strangers, created art while patiently waiting for the show to start, and read her first Nancy Drew book along the parade route. Through the challenges that we sometimes face throughout the year, issues dealing with social and sensory issues, Mardi Gras and Muses was the moment of the year where it all faded away, where we were a normal family embracing the culture in our new city, creating memories of our new life.

As we sat on the sidewalk along the parade route and patiently waited for start time, we talked about what we thought we would see, which bands we loved listening to best, and whether Elvis would make an appearance on his moped. We watched Pussyfooters pass by on foot, 610 Stompers in full uniform, and a few Bearded Oysters with high hair weaving through the crowd.  As parade time approached, as cliche as it sounds, there was a sparkle in my daughter’s eye and a smile so big, it made me wish that she could spend her life this happy – always.

And then they came. Despite sitting on the ground, our feet on the street, they came in front of us, a gaggle of college kids holding to-go cups full of booze, cigarettes in hand, f-bombs flying out of their mouths with no care who was around them.  Once the parade started, we stood, them still in the street. Then the first marching band hit the road, forcing us all to back up, my daughter getting lost in a sea of twenty-somethings drinking a little too much. Some were local, others were not. She looked at me, her eyes tense.

“Mama, I can’t see. And that guy keeps touching me with his beer.”

Despite her 5′ 6′ frame, she was surrounded by young adults too involved in gossiping about who was going to be screwing who, which picture they had on their phones that were “too epic’ to not post on Facebook, and preoccupied by the booze pouring out of their red SOLO cups.

One boy, over 6 foot, came dangerously close to starting my daughter’s hair on fire. Only one float had passed by.

“Excuse me, Sir,” I said, ” do you think you could move over a bit. My daughter cannot see, you’ve spilled some beer on her, and you almost got her with your cigarette.”

He looked at me blankly, then looked at her. He looked at my daughter from head to toe, staring at the patch on her coat that would indicate she was autistic to medical personal should an emergency arise. He sneered at me before laughing in my face.

I put my arms around my daughter, warming her up, protecting her, whispering in her ear.

The tall man with the bear hat on his head paid no mind to us. He didn’t move, either.

“Hey, man! I need to move. This woman is bitching at me because her retard daughter can’t see the parade!” he shouted to a kid a few feet away.

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You can read the rest of the post and all the comments here. I assure you that you'll be moved.

Tourist In Your Own Town - 2011

For the 5th year in a row, Carlos and I spent a long weekend (the first weekend in October) playing tourist in the New Orleans French Quarter.

Here is a link to all our past adventures.

This year's theme was Live Music, though we ignored the theme once we arrived.

As we have the past three years, we stayed at my parent’s bed and breakfast. I keep lobbying for us to stay at a proper hotel as we did the first year, but Carlos likes the family aspect.

I live strolling through the French Market. Carlos loves taking the streetcar. We both love eating out and movies. 

I am definitely not a food writer and I have forgotten most of what we actually ate, but I do remember my general feeling about the food and the restaurant - so here's a description of our weekend guided by our food choices.

 

Friday Lunch

The Gumbo Shop

C+

I had the Chicken and Andouille Sausage Gumbo to see if it was better than what I cook. It wasn’t. We have traditionally started off our Tourist Weekend here, but I think we’ll find a new tradition. If I can cook gumbo better than a place called The Gumbo Shop, it's time for us to move on.

Friday Dinner

Mojitos Rum Bar& Grill

B+

Better than we thought it would be. I think we pre-judged the place because it has changed names so many times over the years. The outside courtyard was packed, with everyone listening to the band. We ended up inside, which was sparsely filled. Very nice.

 

Saturday Breakfast

Croissant d’OrPatisserie

B

We arrived a little before 9 am. By 9:15, there was a serious line out the door – and limited seating. If you want to eat here, go early. Carlos, Jason, Brandon and I are going to Paris for a week for Thanksgiving. When I return, I'll re-judge this place against the best Patisseries in the world.

Saturday Lunch

Mona Lisa Pizza

A

Pie and Slice are my top two pizza places in the city, but Mona Lisa is a close third.

Saturday Dinner

Drago’s Seafood Restaurant

Charbroiled Oysters: A+

Everything else in our meal: C-

Carlos had the Shrimp and Grits with Tasso. I had the Shuckee Duckee: "Blackened duck breast over linguini pasta with oysters and cream sauce". We both ate about 1/4 of our main dishes and later on tossing the To Go boxes. This is another Tourist Weekend tradition that we’re going to change next year.

Sunday Breakfast

El Gato Negro

A

A wonderful new tradition. The rating is for the El Gato Negro in the French Quarter, not the one on Harrison Avenue. I have heard that location is terrible.

 

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Our Other Activities

Friday Night Movie

50/50

B+

Though I thought it would be more of a comedy. Carlos’s response: “It’s about a guy getting cancer. How funny did you think it would be?”

My thinking is a bit shallow, but I don't follow Joseph Gordon-Levitt as an actor because I don't think he's cute.

I have to respect his talent, however, because he's starred in some of my favorite movies:

Inception

(500) Days of Summer

Brick (still one of my all-time favorite movies - I sat Jason and Carlos through it one New Year's Eve a few years ago during our night of "Everyone bring the best movie/TV show right now you want to share".) I still agree with my decision.

Mysterious Skin

Latter Days (one of the best ever gay-themed movies)

Spice and Tea Exchange of New Orleans

A+

A huge selection of spices and teas. 

I bought:

Black Chocolate Tea (my favorite)

Green Tropical Tea 

Tuscany Blend

Vik's Garlic Fix

Pesto Blend

Plus the sales guy was cute.

Presbytere Museum: Katrina Exhibit

A+

This was Carlos's idea. We both museums. He saw the promotion for this exhibit during last year's trip.

Of course, we both lived through Katrina so it was very moving.We spent nearly three hours watching the videos and looking at the photos. It's definitely a must see!

Santa’s Quarters

A

I bought Purple, Green and Gold ornaments for two people on my Christmas list. This business has been around since the 1980's. With such a niche marketing idea, I don't understand how, but if you're in New Orleans - no matter what season - it's definitely worth the stop.

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We also stopped at numerous art galleries on Royal Street. I'm always looking for wall art. But none of their wares struck me. Maybe next year.

We also spent a couple of hours perusing the French Market along Decatur Street - both on Saturday afternoon, before waiting for the Riverfront Streetcar to go to Drago's and then again Sunday morning after breakfast. I bought presents for my cousin Casie - I picked her name in this year's family gift giving - and my brother-in-law Jeff. Casie lives in Austin and Jeff lives in Atlanta. I bought them gifts to remind them of New Orleans.

By the time Carlos and I left Sunday afternoon, our stomachs were full and our wallets were empty.

I feel that's a great way to give back to my city.

New Orleans. Proud To Call It Home.

Carlos wants to move our Tourist Town weekends to the spring so we're going to skip October 2012 and have Tourist In Own Town VI in March 2013.

Stay tuned.

Post Scrips II

Back in June 2011, I updated a few past posts. As I type this, it is Sunday morning and Carlos is still in bed - so I have a few minutes to update some other posts, which I have been meaning to do for awhile.

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Update to Gardening: Year Two
and
Gardening: Year Two, Week Three

The Summer 2011 here in New Orleans was very dry for about two months. Then we had tons of rain for about a month. This year's crop - green bell peppers, cucumbers, eggplant, jalapenos, and snap beans - shriveled up in the heat. And then were drowned out by the rain.

NOTHING grew this year. Next year, I'll try bell peppers, cucumbers, snap beans (which seemed to do the best this year) and onions - a new choice, that Monica, a friend of mine at work, tells me grows well.

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Update to Fun with Remodeling

At the end of the post, I wrote, "Once all this is completed, I’ll post before and after pictures". Well, I completed the office remodeling project in February 2008, but never got around to posting pictures. Thanks to a reader (Hey Iona!) for pointing that out. Here are before and after pictures of my office / guest room.

Back wall...

Front Wall...

 

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And an update to a very recent post...

Update to An Evening with Stephen King

 "The doors open at 6:30 pm." My plan was to pick up Carlos at 5 pm, eat at a restaurant about a block away from the event, and get in line at 6 pm. We altered our plans a bit and ended up getting there about 5:45 pm. This is what we saw:

The entrance was on the other side of the block - meaning that the line snaked around the front of the building, down the entire left side of the block, and back to near the middle of the next side of the block - where we joined it.

By the time, everyone was let in at 6:30 pm, the line almost joined back to itself at the front of the building. In the auditorium, we were in the middle - so the seating wasn't too bad.

We received a free book with our ticket. Only 250 out of 2000 were signed - randomly distributed. I got one!

Since I'm also in the Stephen King Book Club, I will also receive the book within the next month. I'll give that copy to charity.

Carlos and I ate at the newest location of New Orleans Hamburger & Seafood Company on St. Charles Avenue. New Orleans has many, many great restaurants so there is really no reason to eat at a chain. This chain is the only one I enjoy.

Best Drummer Ever?

At last night's Rush show, there was some discussion about Neil Peart being the Best Drummer Ever.

Back in high school, I played along with Neil Peart in my bedroom with my drum sticks (uh, my dad's screw drivers), dreaming of making a living as a drummer. I also drummed along with John Bonham, Keith Moon, Sib Hashian, Carl Palmer and others.

Through the years, I have had two friends who actually made their livings as drummers in bands.

Marc, whose band put out two CD's here in New Orleans in the early 1990's, played with the same tree-trunk drum sticks that John Bonham preferred and - at least to my ear - tried to emulate his sound.

Kyle, who is the only person that I know personally that has a Wikipedia entry (sorry, no link, I try to keep this blog a bit anonymous), was the third drummer for a still-successful New Orleans rock band. He even played on one of their best-known hits. When he's drumming, he looks and sounds like Keith Moon. His all-time favorite drummer, however, is Ringo Starr.

My point is that Neil Peart is a great drummer, but the title of Best Drummer Ever depends of one's taste.

Who is your all-time favorite drummer?

Incidentally, my all-time favorite drummer is Don Henley...


Eagles - Hotel California by hushhush112

Judgment Day

According to sources, this Saturday - May 21 - is Judgment Day.

Here are four perspectives.


My Friend Steve

In discussing the upcoming New Orleans Wine and Food Experience, he guides his readers:
Maybe you’re afraid you’ll be Raptured this weekend and don’t want to make any big plans. That’s understandable, but I am here to help. If you fear you may be a divine bubble-team, a potential at-large participant on Selection Saturday, you still have time to ensure this is not so. Here’s a handy list of activities. Make sure you do a few of these over the next day or so and you can rest easy that your name will be wiped from the Rapture list, freeing you for dinner next Wednesday. You can thank me at MiLa.

1. Assert that the earth is more than 4000 years old
2. Believe in evolution
3. Treat someone gay as, like, just another human being
4. Dance (see Footloose for more information)
5. Refuse to handle snakes
6. Commit a crime against nature (this is an advanced strategy)


My Friend Jason




My Current Favorite TV Show Ever - This Week (Supernatural)

The series's Season 4 Episode 20 episode entitled The Rapture (click the link to see the episode) is described as:
Castiel appears to Dean in a dream and says he has something important to tell him but they need to meet somewhere private. Dean and Sam go searching for Castiel but instead find Jimmy, Castiel’s human vessel, who has only a spotty recollection of being an angel. Jimmy wants to return to his family and normal life, but Dean and Sam are concerned about his safety.



This movie (or Arnold Schwarzenegger's current situation)



New Post This...Sunday (May 22)

Working The Room

Carlos and I had a busy weekend.

Friday night, I was invited to an Asado by my friend Dale. Her (36-year-old) daughter Beth and Argentinean husband Gabriel were hosting at their Uptown house.

Gabriel designed and custom built a brick-enclosed grill - complete with chimney - in their backyard. I had been to a "Meat Party", as I call it, at their old house pre-Katrina. This one was just as fun. Gabriel would ring his bell - installed on his brick-enclosed grill - every time new meat was ready. I told him that I was up for whatever he was cooking - as long as he didn't tell me what was "odd" food and what was "normal" food.

I know I had ribs and different types of sausage. I found out later that I also had sweetbread. I can tell you that it is neither sweet nor bread - but it does taste a bit like chicken.

Saturday morning, Carlos and I were invited to a brunch at Steve and Sheree's house. (Steve is an old friend of mine from early high school. I have known him since we were both 13.)

Then he and I spent the day in the Quarter at French Quarter Fest.


When Steve invited us, he told me that there would be about 20 people there and that besides Carlos and me, everyone else would be food writers or food bloggers. I do read Steve and Sheree's blog regularly - and I highly recommend it, especially if you live in New Orleans and/or love New Orleans and/or love food.

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Tangent - Some of my favorite posts from their blog, French-Quarter-Fest-centric because that fest was this weekend:

French Quarter Fest Logistics
French Quarter Fest Food
French Quarter Fest Music
Ranting about Outback Steakhouse - and chain restaurants in general

And my all-time favorite post of theirs (so far)...
Safety in the French Quarter

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I also mentioned to Carlos what Steve had said about the other attendees so he would have the same information as I had and could be prepared. He didn't seem concerned. Carlos is always so graceful and social at parties. I, on the other hand, show up at our (mutual) hair cut guy with prepared topics. Over the years, I have tried to absorb his calmness about "working the room".


This weekend were two great occasions to practice my social skills. Friday night, I knew maybe five people out of 50. Saturday morning, Carlos and I knew exactly two people out of 20 (the two hosts). Both outings were successful in their own way.

Picture yourself invited to a large party where you know a very small handful of people - maybe even only the hosts: Do you talk just with them? Do you branch out and talk with other people? Do you drink too much to overcome your shyness? Do you make an excuse to leave early? Do you wuss out entirely and not show up at all?

Over the years, I have done all of the above. Here are my Tips For Working The Room that I have learned over the years.

1. The first people and the last people at the party you should talk with are the hosts. But do not cling to them all night. They have an entire room to attend to.

2. When you arrive, have something to hand the hosts. Never show up to a party empty handed. Never. Plus it'll give you something to - briefly - talk about.

3. Leave the above item at the party. Always. Do not take it home with you. Ever.

4. Offer to help with something. Refill the ice. Stir the chili. Take the coats. It'll help the hosts and give you something to talk with your potential new friends about.

5. When introducing yourself to other guests, relate yourself to your hosts - someone you will all have in common. ("Dale and I worked at Kinko's together, and have remained friends ever since. I have known Beth since she was in her teens.")

6. Don't talk too much. Listen. Ask questions. No one wants to hear about your life. Everyone wants to talk about their own life.

7. Don't talk too little. No one wants to talk with someone who can't keep up his side of the conversation.

8. Find the most wall flower person at the party. She/he is feeling exactly as you are, but not handling it as well as you are. There is power in numbers. Go talk with him. Then the two of you go talk with other people together.

9. When you're introducing yourself to someone, repeat their name back to them. And again. And later again. (I still remember Karen's name from Friday night because when I met her, I kept saying her name.)

10. Think about what you have in common with the guests before you arrive. (Before Steve and Sheree's brunch, I read the 15 unread entries of their blog - and all the comments. Turns out, many of the comments were made by other guests at their brunch.)

And in case all of the above fails...

11. Have an exit strategy when you arrive. Near the beginning, work into the conversation with someone (preferably the hosts) that you may have to leave early because 1) you have to get up early for work, 2) you accidentally double booked the evening, 3) your spouse is a bit under the weather, and so on. Make the excuse something that you can brush off if your night is going well.


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Keeping with the weekend theme, here is the song W.E.E.K.E.N.D. by Arling & Cameron. If you are in New Orleans and listen to WTUL on Friday mornings, you know this song.

Mystery Solved

Remember the guy in the below photo? He is the mystery actor described in this post.

Carlos figured out who he is. We were watching Runaway Jury yesterday morning and recognized him. His name is Cliff Curtis. Here is his official IMDB photo.


Here is his bio via IMDB:

Cliff Curtis was born in Rotorua, Aotearoa, New Zealand, on July 27, 1968.

Of New Zealand Maori descent (Ngati Hauiti, Te Arawa) he spent time when young learning the traditional Maori fighting styles of mau rakau. He enrolled at the New Zealand Drama School, and then the Teatro Dmitri Scoula in Switzerland.

After returning to Aotearoa New Zealand from Europe, he was cast in The Piano (1993). Subsequent roles in New Zealand include the camp melodrama Desperate Remedies (1993), the gruelling urban drama Once Were Warriors (1994), and the lighthearted comedy Jubilee (2000).

In Hollywood, Curtis has played a range of different roles and ethnicities in films. He plays a Colombian in Blow (2001), an Arab in Three Kings (1999) and The Insider (1999), a Latino in Training Day (2001) and Runaway Jury (2003), and a drug dealer of ambiguous ethnicity in Bringing Out the Dead (1999). However, he is probably best known for his role as Paikea's father Porourangi, in Whale Rider (2002).

Carlos has a great memory. He said that he couldn't remember the guy's name, but remembered that he had starred along Bruce Willis in a movie. We can now confirm that movie is Live Free or Die Hard.

Punching The Clock

At work, we have a new time clock system, mandated by the university.

There are five people in my office. Three of us are salaried and are unaffected; the other two are hourly. Even though I am the Manager of our office - but AS I HAVE SAID OVER AND OVER TO THE HOURLY PEEPS NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU BITCH TO ME - I have no control or affect on the new system.

Today, we had an Office Meeting. I said:

You can complain and complain all you want about this new system. I will always listen to you. I will never get defensive.

This is not my system. I am merely telling you the details that I hear from my superiors. Whatever questions I cannot answer, I will ask upward - no matter how much resistance I get.

[The upper up bosses are "tired" and "frustrated" of questions about the new system and want them to stop. I plan on asking questions as long as I want to.]

Remember this though: This new system is not going away. Whether you like it or not, long term, you WILL be judged by how you react to this obstacle.

Character comes from how well you work with adversity. Grow and learn from this experience.

Will you adapt? Will you fight it? Will you quit? It is your call. I will back any decision you make.

Tourist In Your Own Town - 2010

Once a year, Carlos and I spend a weekend in the New Orleans French Quarter, doing all the activities that tourists do. We’re tourists in our home town.

Our theme this year was “Eat, Drink, Be Merry…and Shop”. I researched many choices in all those categories. Once our weekend began, we virtually ignored my list.

We arrived at The Little Yellow House Bed and Breakfast (next door to my parent’s house) around 1 pm, and promptly walked past Port of Call. Our plan was to eat there, but the line was too long. (That ended up being that restaurant’s theme all weekend.) We ate at The Gumbo Shop. We each had Gumbo as our appetizer (though different types of Gumbo). I had the Catfish St. Peter – a special of the day. It was catfish with some kind of rich sauce that included shrimp. (I’ll have to hunt around for the recipe.) Carlos also had a catfish dish, though his was not nearly as good.

We then wandered through the Quarter, stopping in many shops and finally the French Market. I saw some local themed trivets that I wanted to buy but didn’t want to carry around. I should have bought them then: The booth disappeared after Friday.

After a quick rest at the B&B, we ate dinner with my parents at Marigny Brasserie. The service was slow and the food was underwhelming. My friend Cherie tells me – in the blog post here that she and my friend Steve run – that the place has gone down over the years. I can attest to that.

Our parents went to a fundraiser for Uganda (a random reason for a fundraiser, we thought) at Café Rose Nicaud, between Marigny Brasserie and Snug Harbor, while Carlos and I wandered down Frenchman Street. We stopped in the Faubourg Marigny Art and Books store, browsed through the porn and both bought Superman Fleur de Lis t-shirts. After looking in on a few other clubs down Frenchman, we ended up at Balcony Music Club for a drink.

Then home to bed.

Saturday morning, I was up early, letting Carlos sleep in. My mom and dad were in the driveway. My dad was going to work for awhile and my mom was walking down to Café Rose Nicaud for coffee, as she does every Saturday morning. She and I first walked to the French Market (again in search of trivets). Then met some more locals for coffee. Carlos joined us.

Laury, the friend of my parents who lives in the south of France and who we visited during our October 2007 trip, was there. We caught up with her and her adventures. She works in New Orleans two months a year and lives in France the other 10 months. I want her job!

Carlos and I then took the Riverfront Streetcar all the way down to near the World War II museum. (If we ever end up living down in Marigny, I could take that to work every day. Ahhhh, to dream. I don’t think I could convince Carlos to live in that area of town.) We had already seen the actual museum; we were there to see the new movie – Beyond Boundaries. The movie was interactive in that it was projected on a huge screen, our seats shook, smoke and mist came at us, and objects were raised and lowered at appropriate times. It was amazing!

I picked up a WWII t-shirt at the gift shop (more spending!) and then we raced over to our 2 pm reservation at the New Orleans School of Cooking for a cooking class. The highlight of last year’s Tourist Weekend was the cooking class. We had found out the previous day that there were actually two classes offered. We immediately signed up!

This year’s class consisted of more New Orleans history woven through the cooking of Shrimp and Artichoke Soup, Crawfish Etouffee, and more Pralines. (The school demonstrates Pralines during every class.) If you are ever looking for something to do in New Orleans, I highly recommend these cooking classes. They’re $22, last about two hours, and you get to eat your results.

I will post the recipes for both main dishes in my next post.

With our bellies full, we wandered around the Quarter a bit, ending up at Canal Place Cinema – now called The Theatres at Canal Place. We saw the 6:10 showing of The Town, but were going really just to experience the updated set up.

The overall experience was very elegant. Since we arrived almost an hour early, Carlos and I bought our reserved seats (for $12 each), had a drink at the bar, and chatted with the very friendly staff. Once the time came for the movie, we leisurely bought our popcorn from the counter and took our seats. We could have ordered our popcorn - or anything from the extensive menu - from our seats merely by pushing a button between us, but we wanted to save the automatic 18% service charge.

Downside...
The lights in the theatre were on the entire time. I thought because the servers needed to see the patrons. When relating this to others who have been to this theatre, they told me that they think that someone forgot to turn the lights off. During the course of the movie, there were at least 20 trips by servers into the theatre. I don't think it was an accident. If you want to actually watch the movie you are paying for without any distractions, The Theatres at Canal Place are NOT the place to go.

Walking down Decatur back to our B&B, we saw Ami – of “Travis & Ami”, who got married in my parent’s backyard back in 2002 (?) – walking to a bar on Decatur to “do her show called Fire and Ice”. Apparently she is a fire twirler in her spare time.

We ended up getting some late night food at La Peniche and eating it in our B&B.

Then to bed.

Sunday, I again awoke early and again walked down to the French Market. Still no trivets, but I did buy some very nice smelling candles. When I returned, Carlos and I had breakfast with my mom and dad, recapping our weekend.

My co-worker Karen asked me about my favorite meal during the weekend. I guess it was the Catfish St. Peter, but no meal really stood out for me. For a city known for food, we must not have covered the correct restaurants. We’ll have to concentrate on that more next year.

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Details on 2007 trip

Details on 2008 trip

Details on 2009 trip

Story: Move over NYC, New Orleans gets top city rankings

I'm proud to pass on a positive story on New Orleans...


(Reuters Life!) - Looking for romance? Head to Honolulu. But if you are single, like live music, boutique hotels and want a wild weekend, New Orleans is the city to visit.

In its latest survey of America's favorite cities Travel and Leisure magazine asked readers to pick the best places for everything from the most attractive, intelligent, stylish and the friendliest people to where to find the best museums, restaurants, bars, museums and affordable hotels.

"The big news this year is that New Orleans received the most number one rankings over New York," said Travel and Leisure Assistant Editor Stirling Kelso.

"It is a popular weekend destination. You can go to New Orleans and feel like you have left the country," she added.

The city known as the "Big Easy" also came out tops for people watching, singles scene and the metropolis with the best bars and concerts and bands.

"In the nightlife category, New Orleans beat Las Vegas. Last year New Orleans swept all of the night-life categories and New Orleans did this year," Kelso added.

Miami topped the charts for the most attractive people, followed by San Diego and Charleston but southern charm seemed to come into play with Nashville, New Orleans and Charleston having the friendliest folks.

New York was the U.S. city with the most stylish residents with Miami and San Francisco and Los Angeles also coming up with high marks.

But when it comes to most intelligent Minneapolis/St. Paul took the crown, followed by Austin and Boston. The twin cities also scored top marks as the cleanest city.

The results were based on an online survey of more than 60,000 people who rated 30 U.S. cities in various categories. Five new cities, Providence, Kansas City, Cleveland, Houston and St Louis, were added to the survey this year.

Washington D.C. was the top choice for best museums, galleries and historical sites, with New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and Boston also in the top five.

"In regards to culture, Washington D.C. and New York really tied in that category. New York got the No. 1 ranking for classical music and theatres, and Washington D.C. did for historical sites and monuments and museums and galleries. It was a nice East Coast tie," Kelso said.

For more sedate family fun, Orlando, Florida was the top choice with Washington D.C. coming in second, and San Diego third. If money is a consideration, Cleveland scaled the chart for best affordable getaway.

New York may have bowed to New Orleans in the nightlife ranking but it was still scored top marks in a category considered important by many -- shopping.

Full results are found at www.travelandleisure.com.

Tourist In Your Own Town - 2010 (Preview)

This past weekend, Carlos and I had our Fourth Annual Tourist In Your Own Town weekend. I am working on a detailed post of our adventures. Coming very soon.

Meanwhile, I wanted to post this one short piece of information. He and I saw a movie at the new, improved Canal Place Cinema, uh, The Theatres at Canal Place. Carlos recognized an actor eating at the lounge area while we were getting a drink at the bar. Neither of us could remember his name. I did manage to get a (blurry, bad angle) picture of him.

Does anyone recognize this actor?



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Details on 2007 trip

Details on 2008 trip

Details on 2009 trip