HAPPY ANNIVERSARY

SKY , Baton Rouge, LA 7/2007 from Baton Rouge Blues

all reproduction rights reserved Wm. Greiner

I can see clearly now, the rain is gone,I can see all obstacles in my wayGone are the dark clouds that had me blindIt’s gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright)Sun-Shiny day.

I think I can make it now, the pain is goneAll of the bad feelings have disappearedHere is the rainbow I’ve been prayin?forIt’s gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright)Sun-Shiny day.

Look all around, there’s nothin?but blue skiesLook straight ahead, nothin?but blue skiesI can see clearly now, the rain is gone,I can see all obstacles in my wayGone are the dark clouds that had me blind

It’s gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright)Sun-Shiny day.

Johnny Nash

"Pásame el pan"

LA PALAPA , Houston , TX 7/2007

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I think it makes some people uncomfortable,

but the fact is - New Orleans will have a

Latin flair and Hispanic influence!

IT AIN'T ROSY

Roses at McDonalds, Baton Rouge, LA 8/2007 from Baton Rouge Blues

all reproduction rights reserved Wm. Greiner

I am so sure the rest of the country is tired of hearing about New Orleans? I woke up this morning wondering if this is the beginning of the decline of a great country, when it appears a great city is being abandoned? Read:

THE SLOW RECOVERY

Aug 23rd 2007

https://www.economists.com/

YUPS*

Unkown Art Patrons, Lafayette, LA 2006

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YOUNG URBAN PIONEERS* is a term I coined to described a group of people , whom I suspected would be the ones to keep New Orleans alive! I may not be wrong:

"The buyers (in New Orleans) tend to be younger , said Arthur Sterbcow - president of Latter & Blum realtors, 25 to about 40, while sellers tend to be older than 55".

Population tracker suggests growth in N.O. to continue by Becky Bohrer AP

STRANGE TURNS

River Road, Baton Rouge,LA 8/2007 from Baton Rouge Blues

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Art imitates life in the new Fox Television drama

K Ville

the entire first episode to be aired in September can be viewed now on the web:

http://www.fox.com/fod/player.htm?show=kville

HOLLYWOOD SOUTH

Red Motel Doors #30 and #31, Franklin, LA 5/2005

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The Short, Shady History of Hollywood South

One New Orleans industry survived Katrina: its booming film business. Now the lawsuits are flying, and the old rot is setting in fast. Another sad tale from the city that just can't stop itself.

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/118/the-short-shady-history-of-hollywood-south.html

Real Grass Roots!

New Growth, Lakeview-New Orleans, LA 8/2007

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LSU prof says grass can fight termites, levee leaks

The Wall Street Journal has a front-page profile of Gregg Henderson, an entomologist at the LSU AgCenter, who is touting a cure for two issues that plague New Orleans -- levee leaks and termites. Henderson says vetiver grass, a tall grass with a massive root structure, could reinforce levees and discourage the Formosan termites gobbling up the Crescent City. Vetiver grass repels termites and other bugs. But the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is skeptical of Henderson's claims and concerned about introducing a non-native plant, which could be a problem if vetiver is invasive.

Read the article here.

KATRINA KOTTAGES

Raised Cottage, Baton Rouge , LA 4/2007 from Baton Rouge Blues

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Financing feud mires Katrina Cottages

BATON ROUGE -- Eight months after FEMA announced plans to distribute $388 million for alternative housing along the hurricane-battered Gulf Coast, Louisiana's $74.5 million share stands untapped because of bureaucratic haggling and, more recently, a dispute between the state housing board and a group of private contractors slated to build the structures.

Those circumstances leave the state several months away from handing any storm victims the keys to the so-called Katrina Cottages named for the killer hurricane of two summers ago.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007
By Bill Barrow

The Times-Picayune

PICTURING PEOPLE - William Eggleston

William Eggleston, Santa Monica , CA 1999
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William Eggleston , Photographer , artist , musician , audiophile and friend.

#3 in a series Picturing People

Does Dean Do Dallas?

Fence, New Orleans , LA 7/2007

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KINGSTON/CRAWFORD, Texas, (Reuters) - President Bush on Saturday approved a pre-landfall emergency declaration for Texas in case the state is hit by Hurricane Dean, White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said.

BUILD IT BETTER

Build It Better Lumber, New Orleans , LA 7/2007
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Patchwork City
A Billion Dollars Later, New Orleans Still at Risk

NEW ORLEANS — Six inches.

After two years and more than a billion dollars spent by the Army Corps of Engineers to rebuild New Orleans’s hurricane protection system, that is how much the water level is likely to be reduced if a big 1-in-100 flood hits Leah Pratcher’s Gentilly neighborhood.

The New York Times 8/17/2007

The Real Season starts......today!

Green Boat , near Houma , LA 3/2005

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First hurricane of 2007 season forms in Atlantic

MIAMI (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Dean strengthened into the 2007 Atlantic storm season's first hurricane on Thursday as it revved up over warm waters and raced toward the Caribbean, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

By Michael Christie Yahoo News

PICK UP PLEASE!!!

Pick-up at Dusk, New Orleans 3/2004

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I remember reading Matt Anderson's by-line as a photographer when I was a kid! He was everywhere. Matt now needs some help, if you have a truck and are in New Orleans.

This from the New Orleans Photo Alliance:

Help for a Senior Member of our Photo Community: This is a call for help for one of the members of the New Orleansphoto community. Many of you know Matt Anderson and his wonderfulphotography. Since Katrina, Matt has been having a difficult timefinding a home for his archive of negatives, prints, and personalitems. He's finally made some progress in finding storage for hispossessions but is facing a deadline of August 15 to move some of thefinal items. He has some physical problems that make it very difficultfor him to move, but to his credit he is soldiering on in spite of it.He has asked us to help by posting on our blog his request for someonewith a pickup, station wagon, or car to assist him with this finalmove. So if there is anyone who has a couple of hours to help a photographer in need, please contact Matt, as soon as you can, at hiscell phone: 504-914-2372 or his email: mattanderson48@hotmail.com.

Thank you!

PICTURING PEOPLE - Michael Book

Michael Book, Venice, LA 12/2006

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Michael Book - Photographer, Educator, Craftsman, Sportsman and friend.

Picturing People #2 in a series of portraits.

Pay to Park

Parking Lot, Houston, TX 7/2007

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In the most dramatic development to date in a sprawling probe of corruption in New Orleans city government, longtime City Councilman and mayoral hopeful Oliver Thomas has reached an agreement with federal prosecutors to plead guilty to charges of demanding illegal payments from a City Hall vendor and is expected to resign his at-large council seat as early as Monday, sources familiar with the case said Saturday.*

excerpt * Federal probe nets councilman in parking lot payment scheme

By Frank Donze The Times-Picayune 8/12/2007

BRANDING OPPORTUNITY

Smokes Poster, Metairie, LA 3/2005

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New Orleans Mayor, Ray C. Nagin, has once again managed to publicly sound out his bizarre opinions about the city! In an interview on WVUE-TV, the mayor in discussing the 117 murders in the city this year said, “(it) keeps the New Orleans brand out there”, all the murders are a “two-edged sword”!

I think the mayor needs to re-think the idea of murder , as an advertising theme for New Orleans.

Bros. Grime

"He paints.....", Baton Rouge , LA 6/2007 from Baton Rouge Blues

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Demond Phillips , 29, of New Orleans was gunned down in the St. Roch neighborhood this past Wednesday. Michael Phillips his brother , 27, was killed 10 hours later in the Irish Channel.

Demond had been linked to and arrested in 8 murder investigations. Phillip had been linked to and arrested in 6 other murder investigations!

A grime tale all around!

How to save $6000-$10000 this month

Renovation Site, New Orleans , LA 8/2007

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The Wall Street Journal reported today in "Katrina Survivors Face New Threat: City Demolition", that the city of New Orleans government officials are tearing down homes which should and can be saved! It appears the city may be really trying to save itself money ! How and why? Well, FEMA is still footing the bill ($6,000-$10,000 per structure) for razing unfit structures , at least until the end of this month when the city will then have to pay!

Read and learn more at:

http://squanderedheritage.com/

GOD vs. MAN

Sand Bagging along Lake Ponchartrain , Metairie , LA 8/2007

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"Floods are 'acts of God'. But flood losses are largely acts of man."

Gilbert F. White, Geographer 1942

The current issue of National Geographic magazine has an extensive article about New Orleans, read it.

Louisiana Cultural Vistas

Capital viewed from Armory, Baton Rouge , LA 5/2006 from Baton Rouge Blues

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Louisiana Cultural Vistas - Summer 2007

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leh/lcv-summer07/index.php

LIKE MIXING OIL AND WATER

Raven , Baton Rouge , LA 8/7/07 from Baton Rouge Blues

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"We're basically holding it together by tape , by glue , by spit , whatever we can get a hold of."

Robert Jackson, spoekesman, New Orleans Sewerage & water Board

quote from New Orleans sewers at risk , Becky Bohrer Associated Press writer

Do You Have.......fluoride?

Do You have..., New Orleans LA 8/2007

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Fluoride, the cavity -fighting ingredient, introduced into most municipal water supplies has been absent from New Orleans for almost two years! The Sewerage and Water Board in New Orleans has found a supply , but since the ingredient is in short supply , the city is forced to buy small quantities on a bi-weekly basis.

History repeats what?

New Orleans home before and after flood of 1927.

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PICTURING PEOPLE* - Steven Maklansky

Steven Maklansky , New Orleans , LA 2003 from Picturing People

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Steven Maklansky , circa 2003 , curator , writer , educator and friend.

*I have been making portraits for quite some time, but I have rarely shown them.

MILLENNIUM IMAGES

Tree Top at Dusk, Baton Rouge LA 7/2007 from Baton Rouge Blues
all reproduction rights reserved Wm. Greiner

Millennium is delighted to announce the launch of the new design of our website. Click here to have a look. You will be directed to our new American gallery to get you started.

The Long and Winding Road.....has ended

Two Yards - Lakeview, New Orleans LA 7/2007

all reproduction rights reserved Wm. Greiner

The deadline for applying for Road Home money ended yesterday,

even though the program is still at least $2 Billion short of funds!

It seems more like a dead end , than a road home?