Even though the shameless national media and the garish exaggerations of Weather Channel reporters had many folks’ friends and families across the nation terrified and convinced Hurricane Isaac was indeed a “Katrina Redux,” for a great many of us, it wasn’t. Though for some, it was, but across the region, not so much. Lives were…
Part 2: The Independence Day Sermon of Jasper Theriot
They made it back to the square with a dozen barrels of sweet wine and corn whiskey. Some powerful fireworks. Some drugs and pharmacy items. The captain also donated some tools and textiles to the town, mostly linens and baskets, some mosquito repellent, freon, a few guns, motors, basic items they could keep or trade….
Part 1: The Independence Day Sermon of Jasper Theriot
A serialized short story mostly written in 2007 / 2008 and finally serialized here after a few years have past… ————————- Andre stood atop the Poland levee, trying to find the barge. Mosquitos were eating him up and niether the torches nor Ms. Mary’s oils was keeping them off. “Goddamn skeeters!” Giles screamed, slapping himself…
Coming Soon: ‘The Independence Day Sermon of Jasper Theriot’
There seems to be a recent connection to dystopia in the South Louisiana aether. It makes its way through the collective consciousness of our region with artistic endeavors like Beasts of the Southern Wild and Moira Crone’s novel The Not Yet‘. Perhaps the humidity hastens the invisible conduits of thought from person to person? That…
A Sassy, Cool Soul
I was stopped in my tracks early Sunday morning on Jackson Square by this splendid painting by a fellow artist, Conroy. Perhaps the performance of Quvenzhané Wallis in Beasts of the Southern Wild was still fresh in my head but never the less, the imagery in the painting was quite moving for me. Painted from…
12 Tips For The Proper Handling of Street or Market Artists
As a full-fledged, self-supporting, fedora-sporting member of the growing creative class, I present these 12 tips in the best ways to buy from and deal with street artists or market vendors… Do not devalue the art. One can try to bring the price of a piece down by pointing out what they perceive as flaws…
Human Indignities Down Highway 90
A principle ethic of humanism is dignities, the natural-born right for any person to live a dignified and worthy life of their choosing and unmolested by those stronger, more powerful or with a greater willingness toward cruelty. The prevailing philosophy is, if each person always considered essential human dignity in their worldly actions, human rights…
‘The Good Thing About Showers At A Second Line Is, Everyone Already Has Their Parasols’
“The Good Thing About Showers At A Second Line Is, Everyone Already Has Their Parasols.” The rain began at 4:30 p.m. in the metro area and continued unabated for an hour and a half. A group of Jackson Square artists and I met up at Matassa’s to get “warmed up” and then crossed over Rampart…
Why Sister, Why
On Jackson Square, the worst thing that can happen to an artist who has set up for the day is to “blank,” not sell a single piece. The entire effort being financially meaningless. Sure, the artist may have passed out some cards, met some nice folks, visited with some friends, took in the sights and…
Eulogy for Uncle Lionel
In marching bands, the bass drummers are usually big fellas. Not always, but often. It isn’t an absolute but it frequently works out this way. Big guys are drawn to big instruments. They bring up the back of the band like anchormen, guys who set the musical pace and thus the timing and mood of…