The last day of the first weekend

Red Highlights, New Orleans LA 4/2007

Red Head, New Orleans LA 4/2007

Images copyright Wm. Greiner 2007

Jazzfest 4/29/07

Paradise Found

Shirt - Jazzfest, New Orleans 4/2007
copyright Wm. Greiner

The breeze blew
The sun shined
The beer flowed
The people danced
Van Morrison sang
It was paradise

SUPER BOWL OF SOUNDS

Security Guard - Jazz Fest, New Orleans 5/2006 from 8 Days in Spring

Copyright Wm. Greiner

Jazz Fest starts today!

www.nojazzfest.com

Connecting the Dots

Clouds, Baton Rouge LA 11/2006 from Baton Rouge Blues
copyright Wm. Greiner


If Swedish power company Vattenfall* can build a power generating plant burning coal, which instead of spewing earth warming carbon dioxide into the air is injected into the ground - our environment may be saved from more atmospheric heat. If the earth is subjected to less global warming, hurricanes may not be as strong or frequent? And if this happens, maybe New Orleans is spared another Katrina like natural disaster?

I call that connecting the dots!

Going Underground to Clean Up Coal by Leila Abboud , The Wall Street Journal 4/26/07

THANK U2

Blue Guitar, Des Allemands LA 1990 from The Reposed (LSU Press)

Copyright Wm. Greiner

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The beloved Gibson Les Paul guitar of U2's The Edge fetched $240,000 and Bono's sunglasses pulled in $20,000 at an auction on Saturday to benefit musicians who lost everything in Hurricane Katrina.

Sunday 4/22/2007 U2 donates instruments to help Katrina victims

GOT MILK?

Stratford Cows, UK 6/2006 from UK is OK

copyright Wm. Greiner

For some reason , a gallon of milk costs more in New Orleans than just about anywhere else in the United States.

HAPPY MEALS RETURN!

Breakfast, Ket Biscayne FL 3/2007

copyright Wm. Greiner

20 months after Katrina, Camellia Grill on St. Charles Avenue has reopened! This institution has been around since I was born and if you come to New Orleans, breakfast at Camellia Grill is a must! This is home of a true happy meal!

Confounding Conflictions

Parking Lot, Baton Rouge LA 4/2006 from Baton Rouge Blues
copyright Wm. Greiner

I am all on the bandwagon that Global warming has caused stronger hurricanes such as Katrina.

However, the findings by Gabriel A. Vecchi of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Brian J. Soden of the University of Miami, indicate that Global warming may actually decrease storm strength or frequency. *

* Does global warming intensify storms? By Randolph E. Schmid The Associated Press science writer 4/18/07

LESS IS MORE

Tree Supports, Baton Rouge LA 3/2007 from Baton Rouge Blues
copyright Wm. Greiner


A New Orleans resident, living in a 1975 single story cottage, paid $1,174. for insurance before Katrina. That coverage is now costing $7,789.!*

*Residents paying much more for Insurance By The Associated Press/The Advocate 4/15/2007

Pearls of Wisdom

Mardi Gras Beads in Tree, Baton Rouge LA 4/2007 from Baton Rouge Blues

copyright Wm. Greiner

Last week, there was a letter to the editors in USA Today, from a man who claimed to have been a relief worker after Hurricane Katrina. However, this man was now saying how stupid New Orleanians were for establishing a city below sea level. I think there is a large group of Americans who really don’t understand how or why New Orleans was settled.

I would recommend to him or anybody, to watch the documentary “New Orleans” which recently aired on PBS as part of the American Experience series - http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/neworleans/index.html

The program traces the origins of the city and outlines what makes it utterly unique among all American cities!

A week ago EASTER

Easter Egg Dyes, Gulfshores AL 4/2007

copyright Wm. Greiner

It was a nice break but it is good to be back home!

Yes I said it, I am now home.

Painters Rule!

Sunbeam Eyes, Baton Rouge LA 4/2007 from Baton Rouge Blues
copyright Wm. Greiner


The New Orleans City Council ruled to restrict the area around Jackson Square for artists making original works. The Square has had a long tradition of having painters make and sell their work , until it was recently proposed to allow the sale of reproductions.

This idea has been rejected and so, the painters rule!

N.O. upholds tradition for artists , By Stacey Plaisnace The Associated Press 4/6/07

LETS ALL SMILE!

Construction Site, New Orleans 4/2007

copyright Wm. Greiner

“We want a FEMA that is much more sensitive, that has a heart.”

David Paulson , FEMA Director
Speaking at the National Hurricane Conference

What $756,000,000.00 Buys You in Louisiana?

Surveyor Equipment, Baton Rouge LA 4/2007 from Baton Rouge Blues

copyright Wm. Greiner

What $756,000,000.00 Buys You in Louisiana!

A Company based in Fairfax, VA by the name ICF International is being paid
$756,000,000.00 over three years to distribute $4.2 billion federal funds to 120,000 homeowners in Louisiana.

So roughly , it will cost about $6,300. per household to distribute the Federal relief money! Now that sounds like a profitable venture and it’s what $756,000,000.00 buys you in Louisiana!

The Call has been reversed!

Spray Painted House, New Orleans LA 3/2007
copyright Wm. Greiner

About the New Orleans imagery in Google Maps and Earth

Monday, April 02, 2007 at 6:50:00 AM Posted by John Hanke, Director, Google Maps/Local/Earth

This weekend, there has been a lot of discussion about our imagery of New Orleans in Google Maps and Google Earth. I thought I'd give you some background that may clear things up, and also let you know about new imagery of the region now available.In 2005, shortly after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, a very motivated group of volunteers at Google worked with NOAA, NASA, and others to post updated imagery of the affected areas in Google Maps and Google Earth as quickly as possible. This data served as a useful reference for many people -- from those interested in understanding what had happened, to friends and families checking on the status of loved ones and property, to rescuers and relief workers.

Shortly after the event, we received a voicemail thanking us for the role Google Earth played in guiding rescuers to stranded victims.Several months later, in September 2006, the storm imagery was replaced with pre-Katrina aerial photography of much higher resolution as part of a regular series of global data enhancements. We continued to make available the Katrina imagery, and associated overlays such as damage assessments and Red Cross shelters, on a dedicated site (earth.google.com/katrina.html).

Our goal throughout has been to produce a global earth database of the best quality -- accounting for timeliness, resolution, cloud cover, light conditions, and color balancing.Given that the changes that affected New Orleans happened many months ago, we were a bit surprised by some of these recent comments. Nevertheless, we recognize the increasingly important role that imagery is coming to play in the public discourse, and so we're happy to say that we have been able to expedite the processing of recent (2006) aerial photography for the Gulf Coast area (already in process for an upcoming release) that is equal in resolution to the data it is replacing. That new data was published in Google Earth and Google Maps on Sunday evening.

Make no mistake, this wasn't any effort on our part to rewrite history. But it looks like this April Fool's joke was on us.

A Series of Unfortunate Events*

Empty For Sale sign, New Orleans 3/2007

copyright Wm. Greiner

Two trade associations that would have brought nearly 6,000 people to New Orleans have canceled meetings scheduled more than 2 years from now, saying members are worried about crime and the city’s problems recovering from Hurrican Katrina.

The National Ground Water Association and the Specialty Tools and Fasteners Distribution Association both had conventions scheduled in late 2009.

Excerpt from 2 groups cencel meetings in N.O. by The associated Press/The Advocate 3/31/2007

These unfortunate decisions make me wonder - Do these people come from some community that is completely crime free? If so, please let me know where this idyllic town is located!

And do these people realize that the life blood of this great, but forgotten, American city is counting on the return of the tourist/convention trade for survival?

*A Series of Unfortunate Events is a children's book series, written by Daniel Handler under the pseudonym of Lemony Snicket .