Since Stamos and Kigh just got back from the Big Easy (and by “just got back” I mean they’re wandering around somewhere between New Orleans and Raleigh in a heavy brown and bourbon hued sweat glazed haze, unsure if they still have jobs, lady-friends, or functioning lungs), I thought I would take this time to talk about New Orleans for a bit. Plus, you’re likely sick of me using this spot to talk about The Wire and Lost. (Note that I thought Simon’s use of symbolism in 58 was a bit heavy handed, but at the same time thought Abrams was appropriate, so I may be totally hypocritical.)
First of all, the good news is that the NBA provided a slightly bigger boost to the NOLA economy than Stamos’ bachelor party did (early figures indicate a $30 million dollar infusion into the economy, although some of that may not have been accounted for by the state or city itself). This is kind of cool, since the NBA is benefiting more than than NOLA actually is. See, the NBA is now “back” to a degree – Dwight Howard made the dunk contest cool again and the infusion of big name deals at the trading deadline suddenly made the L unpredictable and exciting again. Much like a certain person, who we will refer to as “Slug”, and his actions on the blackjack tables. (Word on the email street is that he was up large playing next to DL4 until Karma realized they were both Carolina fans and f’d them in the A.)
The other thing I want to give a moment to discuss is David Simon’s potential new series on the New Orleans music scene (which actually deserves its own post, but whateva). Simon, of course, is the genius behind The Wire and while I’m not positive of his experience in NOLA and the music scene – his personal knowledge of the streets and inner workings of Baltimore’s various functions is pretty obvious – I’m willing to bet that if he got the green light for this series, he wouldn’t do it half-ass.
In fact, it seems to me that his ability to portray poor black America in such a positive and humane light (note that I’m not saying this very generic and accidentally racially charged phrase I’m using is not humane, just that the stereotypical view is that it’s an extremely violent society is all) would work really well in the NOLA community. Also, it seems to me that if you’re going to pick any subculture out of America, New Orleans and music has to be pretty close to a top option. It’s fascinating on so many levels – first that it is the foundation for so many other types of music that we listen to today and second that it is not a glamorous community. This popularity without (rich) fame creates a pretty spectacular juxtaposition for dramatic purposes.
Oh yeah, and Jazz Fest is coming soon (which Kigh will let you know about, surely, once he brain cells start functioning again in late April); I was going to go but Spring Break ‘08 (WOO!) is going to be spent on a Caribbean Island with my parents pounding ‘ritas and chasing college chicks. Whatever. It’s still an island.
