The 11th Commandment

15 08 2010

Better get right with God, BP…





Kindra Arnesen. Badass.

29 07 2010

Kindra Arnesen, of Venice, Louisiana, is what you might call an accidental activist. That’s not to say she’s not wired for the job or not good at it, but I think it’s safe to say it’s not a role she cherishes or ever expected to be thrust into. She’s the wife of a Gulf fisherman and mother to two little children she evacuated from Venice for health reasons, no longer wanting to expose them to the toxic dispersants used by BP, not to mention the, you know, oil. She’s also an inspirational and fearless leader, a voice for the so-called “small people” of South Louisiana’s fishing communities. She’s feisty, sharp, and strong-willed, and I wouldn’t want to go up against her. However, knowing she’s out there, speaking truth to power without any hesitation, makes me feel better.

All of us down here and across the Coast — and, shoot, across this country — owe her a big thank you. So, Kindra, on the off-chance you ever see this, thank you, and please, I know the fight is long and tiring, but we need you. Keep it up.

Here are two videos that can better illustrate Kindra’s strength than I can with words:

Spilling Over  (The Washington Post – a powerful video about the possibility that Venice, LA will cease to exist altogether)

Venice, Louisiana Needs to Evacuate (YouTube — this is a speech Kindra gave back in June and was the first thing I saw about her)





Goodbye, Louisiana oysters

11 06 2010

The oldest oyster processor and distributor in the country, New Orleans’ own P&J, just announced that it’s going to have to start shipping in oysters from the West Coast. The 134 year-old company had to lay off some of its workers and is doing what it can to just hang on in the hopes that the oyster beds in the Gulf of Mexico recover. Other oyster processors around the city are experiencing the same thing, so Louisiana oysters will soon be a relic of the past here in the Big Easy, at least for a time. A horrible state of affairs, if you ask me.

So, to combat my sorrow and to fill my belly, I walked over into the Quarter today and enjoyed two dozen raw oysters, from the remaining P&J stock. I hope they aren’t my final ones ever.

Thanks, again, BP, you bastards.

Ordered a dozen, and got 18. Love that Nola generosity!

And, done!

Monster oyster!

18 just wasn’t enough, so here’s 6, er, 8 more.

A map/placemat depicting the oyster beds in the Gulf that P&J sources from. I took one home as a keepsake. The oysters we ate today were from area 7. And man, were they ever delicious.





Krewe of Dead Pelicans

6 06 2010

Down here, when you pass on to the other side (wherever and whatever that may be), we send you off with style, music, and dancing. Jazz funerals are one of my most favorite traditions here, a bit of culture that is truly and uniquely New Orleans. They are both a mourning for the person’s passing, and a celebration of his or her life. I hope like hell someone sees to it that I get one when I go.

So, then, it’s only right that we have a jazz funeral and “second line” parade for the dearly departed wildlife from the oil spill. It happened yesterday and a handful of photos are below.





No oyster poboys!

3 06 2010

Damn you, BP. Not only are you contaminating the Gulf, coating the wildlife with sludge, and putting fishermen out of business, but now you’ve gone and robbed New Orleanians of the best oyster poboys in the city. I’m talking about the ones from Parkway, of course. There’s nary an oyster to be found in the place, thanks to volatile and rising prices on the little bivalves. So, I had to make do with shrimp. Not the worst compromise in the world, but still, not oyster!

(I like how those three shrimp off to the side seem to be making a break for it. Not so fast, lil buddies…)








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