spasticrobot

The Saints Are Definitely NOT Coming

Man, that was the hardest game yet. The Saints snatched victory right from their own hands. This week the Defense, Offensive line and RBs looked pretty good but Brees, Henderson, and especially Olindo Mare looked pathetic at times. Special stinky award goes to Sean Payton, whose horrific play calling is climbing to epic levels of badness.

These Saints are looking pretty bad, but at times their potential still shines through. If Payton wises up and starts using Pierre Thomas, Reggie Bush and Aaron Stecker in tandem we might actually get something started.

There's always next week and then there's always next year. Looking out onto all of the empty seats today I think I'll definitely be able to increase the number of season tickets I hold after this season. We'll also end up with a decent draft pick; maybe we can use it on a Kicker that can actually make field goals.

faub.org

Faub.org is a neighborhood for creative New Orleanians. I've been involved with the group since it's inception in February 2007. Faub.org recently launched a temporary site, while the full site, that seemslikeitstakingforever, gets finished. Check out some of the work on there, pretty amazing stuff. The temporary site was designed by Erik Kiesewetter and Ness Higson.

We're throwing a launch party sometime next month. Details TBD.

A Prayer to the Saints

When you go to Heaven after you die, tell St. Peter you're a Saints fan. He'll say, 'C'mon in, I don't care what else you done, you suffered enough.' -- Buddy D, "The Point After," 10-03-04

This is an open prayer to the Patron Saint of Saints, Buddy D, and the Patron Saint of Lost Causes, St. Jude. Please intercede on behalf of all Saints fans in New Orleans and living in exile, to turn the season around. I don't know how this terrible start has happened but please get our players back on track.

At this point I don't know what else us Saints fans can do.

P.S. Saints players, please snap out of it. What's going on guys?

Quick Start Schools

Five New Orleans Recovery District schools were awarded "Quick Start" status today, which means that construction for entirely new schools will begin before the end of the year resulting in 5 brand new state of the art schools by the beginning of the 2008-2009 school year.

Langston Hughes Academy, the first turnaround school our client Nola 180 has opened, is one of the five schools to receive the status. If you don't know the story of John Alford and Nola 180 yet, I highly recommend you read this profile at Echoing Green.

This is the new face of New Orleans; young, energetic, and service & purpose driven. We're lucky to have folks like John working to make our city a better place.

On the Second Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina

• Two years later and 1/3 of our population is still gone, some forever.
• Crime is worse now than ever before.
• Hopelessness abounds in the poorest neighborhoods.
• None of the hospitals that were closed after the storm have been reopened
• The school system is fractured
• More professionals leave the city everyday

Where is our political leadership? Why is this city being forgotten?

While the ineptitude in City Hall, Baton Rouge and Washington continues, the NGOs are doing the only good and important work down here. Here's a list of some of the ones I've been working to help over the past two years:

• Unified New Orleans Plan
• Tulane University Cowen Institute for Public Education
• NOLA180
• The Idea Village
• Global Green

It's been totally obvious to me throughout these two years that we would have to take things into our own hands in order to get the job done. But without serious governmental infrastructure like responsible governance, a judicial system that works, a strong police force and working hospitals we are all but lost.

We're doing our part, why isn't our government?

image from Suspect Device

We're Moving!

That's right, you heard me. Shanna and I are moving to Old Metairie in September. The double homicide less than two blocks from our house a few weeks ago and the brutal murder at Pal's two nights later were the straws that broke our backs. We're retreating to the edges of this battle.

There's also this map of crime within a mile of our current home from January 1st - August 1st, 2007:

That pink square in the center is our block. Anyone have any questions about why we are moving?

Hot Late-Summer Ramblings

August is the worst month of Summer in New Orleans. It's blisteringly hot, today's heat index is 107, the humidity is relentless and Tropical weather is really picking up steam. As we speak there are two systems in the Atlantic, one is already a depression, becoming a Tropical Storm and one threatens to become a depression imminently.

Corruption has also reared its ugly head in our dilapidated city again. Councilman at Large Oliver Thomas today pleaded guilty to accepting bribes and has resigned his office. This scandal really hurts, perhaps more than all the others combined. It hurts not only because I admired Thomas' political positions and his passion and dedication to the city, but mostly because if this man is guilty it shows a depth of corruption that is endemic in our culture. The palm greasing and "hookups" are everyday normal to our Creole society but it doesn't work in the larger system of (read Federal) law, and unfortunately I think our political leaders will never give it up. I wonder who old Oliver will flip on, who is the next to go?

This city is all about ups and downs right now, and they come at you with such speed and frequency that I oftentimes feel physically ill. Right now I'm feeling pretty skeptical about our future.

August in New Orleans always gives me a serious case of the Spleen.

A list of things that are helping me through the month:

• Veronica Mars, Season 1
• Lost season 3 reruns with Rick & Sarah
• Spook Country, William Gibson
• BibliOdyssey
• Pho Tau Bay
• Burritos
• Saints Pre-Season Excitement
• Todd Rundgren
• Jorge Ben Jorge
• Lemonade

Civil War Envelopes

This image seems weirdly related to my earlier post. From BibliOdyssey, American Civil War Envelopes.

New Orleans, Entrepreneurial Bohemia?

Yesterday's Times-Pic ran a great story about about the New Orleans Exchange, a daring new start up created by two transplants. The main story is a pretty good, but the thing that really caught my eye were the words of  local developer Sean Cummings and Idea Village CFO Keith Crawford.

"New Orleans . . . is being seen as an entrepreneurial bohemia," he said.

Keith L. Crawford, chief financial officer of The Idea Village, a consulting firm that assists growing companies, said the New Orleans Exchange is among the first in a wave of businesses flocking to the Crescent City. He says about $15 billion in public and private money will be invested in New Orleans to assist rebuilding efforts, which will provide small and growing companies with "opportunities that we never dreamed of" before Katrina. "I've seen a renewed optimism and confidence in the entrepreneurial community here," Crawford said. "They are starting to see that this is going to be an exciting place to be over the next 10 years, and they want to participate in that."

New Orleans really is a great place for startups to come, because of the cheap rents, great people and all of the available money. My little company has greatly benefited from the low overhead, the abundance of recovery money and the lack of competition.

Video Report from a New Orleans Ad Agency

AdAge.com is running an interesting interview with Trumpet president Robbie Vitrano. My company has been doing lots of work with the guys over there and Robbie's got some interesting observations about both the new reality of marketing in New Orleans as well as the need for all residents, including advertising professionals, to step up and do their part in the recovery.

Speaking of my little company, I've got some exciting news brewing. Should have an announcement sometime next week.