On September 16th, 2010 I will be flying to the city of New Orleans to reunite with three of my closest friends: two who have began their adult lives their and one, from Washington D.C., arriving from time spent in Chicago. I neither have the time or the money to enjoy this trip. Hardly a vacation, however, it is my hope that the city will provide me the spark to light the fire of a long career, heat to barbecue my projects and light to illuminate the way.
Earlier in the summer, I took camping trips out to the beach. There, nothing made more sense to me and gave me greater satisfaction than building and maintaining a fire. I find campfires, ancient among man's technologies, particularly graceful. One must begin with kindling, twigs and spark. One by one, an ember appears from twigs hence consumed. These embers provide heat that can dry out logs and larger pieces for burning.
Of course, everybody likes to start a fire, but not everyone is into maintaining and ending one. I admit, during my camping trips, I didn't do a good job of having people trust that I could provide a fire timed well enough to cook food, provide light within the parameters of our available resources. But the experience gave me a powerful lesson during these hard times: that what is right for a sustainable fire is often found at our feet, that these chemical reactions happen after thoughtful preparation and vigilant, well timed operations and that a campfire can turn into a forest fire in the blink of an eye. Fire is no plaything.
Given this what kindling, twigs and logs are available in my landscape? Ultimately, my goal is to provide a resource online that shows why the way I think about the world is not only valuable to to others but also well-intentioned, imbibed with intention. And thus I inaugurate this site with an interactive, map based utility that traces my experiences in New Orleans, LA. I've thought of nothing but the town in the weeks since I've decided to go. The project I create will allow me and anyone else to recreate the five days spent. Due to the characters involved and the color of the setting, may this project testify to history in the making in our generation.
As part of my kindling, I've spent the last three weeks consuming whatever I can concerning the city of New Orleans. I've read about Katrina and the Battle of New Orleans. I've downloaded 10 Gigs of Music and Google Street-viewed my heart's galore. I'd like to present several pieces I find invaluable for my education.
First, HBO's show Treme, whose first season premiered between April and June of 2010. From the creators of The Wire, many have written about the show's social commentary in the wake of Katrina. From my perspective, the characters each chase artistic dreams concerning music, dance, writing, proprietorship, investigation and food. The characters who fill my adventure this September is as follows:
Nick is an aspiring chef, who's lived in 4 different places in the last pair of years. Erik is an Engineer who's living outside of Upstate New York for the first time. Adrienne is a writer of deep Lawyer stock from Washington D.C. And I am a visual artist, map maker and piano player. I am interested in exploring how these artistic pursuits are nourished in the stimulating yet unforgiving landscape of the Garden District.
This article provides a basic rundown of What Not to Do In New Orleans. As per Nicholas Nassim Taleb, it is much more useful to explain to people what not to do, given that our world is filled with things to do and many mistakes waiting to happen. With this article, I seek to avoid cliches and such.
Finally, I'd like to find a second line parade. The Mardi Grad Digest is a resource that covers the business of parades in town, yet the website is intermittently updated. Other local resources for gigs and shows include the Gambit, Where Y'at, Offbeat, Antigravity Magazine and the eternal, WWOZ radio station which broadcasts to anywhere, online. The video above features Young Man Olympian's 126th Anniversary Parade which occurred today.
With this, I cannot wait to go and to report on what I see.
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