New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival 2009

[cmcpokey]

never actually heard of Brigtsens.

and i agree about commanders being an institution, but that being said, they arent very innovative anymore.

[my porsche]

I got to watch Frank Brigtsen (who owns/runs Brigtsen's...duh ) at Jazzfest make a crawfish bisque that looked amazing. His roux looked like Hershey's chocolate syrup...mmm.

Yeah, I mean there's something to be said for old world fare, the turtle soup and gumbo were both fantastic, but sometimes it's nice to have a fresh take on a classic dish.

By the way, if you're ever in Houston you should definitely let me know for restaurant recommendations. Imagine New Orlean's best, and then also Mexican food that will knock your socks off (pardon the over used phrase). I guess it's just because of the sheer size of the city, but we have a huge number of great restaurants, from $5 all the way up to $75 an entree, the full spectrum.

Brennan's is one of my absolute favorite restaurants ever, but it burned down during the hurricane (how's that for some irony? ) and the executive chef and his daughter were both badly burnt, however they are reopening at some point, I'm definitely going to try to get in on the first dinner service after reopening or if they have a grand reopening party I will try to attend that. Also, a scene from Terms of Endearment was filmed there. You definitely need to eat there at some point in your life, it's fantastic.

Ok enough of my drivel.

[NOLAgirl13]

This was something I really was interested in from about the week after Katrina until last year, and I had pretty much just given up hope of getting to see the city post-K after three years of not having an opportunity to go, so this was a nice surprise. My short answer is YES.

The people really banded together I think to rebuild and renew. There is still a kind of "rebuilding" atmosphere going on, but I sensed that was more a cultural renaissance that physical re-population. The city was pretty much completely occupied that I could see. Granted, it was the first weekend of Jazzfest and we didn't really go outside of downtown, uptown, garden district or the quarter, but the feel I got was that it was business (party?) as usual.

I can understand why you might think this to be true, given that you remained mostly in the tourist area of New Orleans (areas that were not hit as badly by the storm as others, and areas that have been repaired for the most part). But, I read this and simply had to respond.

A big part of the problem we are facing down here is also a part of why we're surviving - and that is this (in my opinion):

Tourist are still coming to New Orleans because the French Quarter and neighboring areas are intact. This is a good thing, because we need the revenue. However, when out-of-towners come and see this, they assume that all is ok on the homefront, which is ABSOLUTELY NOT TRUE!!!

If you had ventured from these areas, into the Ninth Ward, Lakeview or parts of Mid-City, you would have seen that we are still very much facing a housing crisis. In addition to this, we are at half population. With all do respect, most of the people you were seeing were either an abundance of tourists or a fraction of the New Orleanians who have returned that happened to be working the festival, restaurants, bars, etc.

It was important to me to respond to this, I don't usually comment on these things, but a big part of the problem is that the city is being perceived as "fixed," or, on its way to being "fixed." This is so far from the truth . . .

We need attention to our wetlands and levees to stop this from happening again. But, while this is the major requirement of the city, we also need people to realize that our rebuilding effort has been slow and in many cases, non-existant.

Yes, we have banded together as a people, we had to. However, a lot of what you were seeing were pretty flags declaring, "Renew, Rebuild, Rebirth" blah, blah, blah, etc. most likely in tourist areas. You don't really see many of these banners and flags on the ruined homes in the Ninth Ward, St. Bernard Parish, etc. because it would be, to me, ironically sad. You were most likely seeing these banners in the French Quarter or Marigny where things are bright and ok for the most part.

I'm not sure what else to say. It's been over 3 years and this city has still not seen the media or government attention it deserves. You say that you like this city for so many reasons - the music, the food, etc. I just wanted to express to someone who seems to care about the place that we are not all right, and we desperately need preventative measures to ensure that this does not happen in the future . . . Because, this is a great city, it's the last of its kind in the U.S. It deserves to be preserved and enjoyed by anyone and everyone who wants to experience it. So, please, spread the word - we need aid for rebuilding (so that people can come home and we can have a true New Orleans heritage), we desperately need proper levees and we need attention toward our wetlands, or New Orleans will be no more . . .

[Dary]

Interesting.

Do u think New Orleans a good place to live in (as a student)?

[cmcpokey]

Interesting.

Do u think New Orleans a good place to live in (as a student)?

i do, but then again i was there pre-katrina. it was a great place to get a very interesting perspective on the world, since life in NOLA is very different from anywhere else I have been. it's typically more laid back, and a bit of a take it as it comes approach to things. we used to joke that instead of setting your watch 10 minutes ahead, you would have to set it 10 minutes behind.

post katrina i think the mentality has changed a little bit. there is still the laissez faire attitude, but with a stronger focus put on service to the community and rebuilding. it is not universal, and everything that NOLAgirl said is right. lots of the population is struggling, and the speed of the rebuild hasnt allowed the city to return yet to its past glory. It is a much different population to what it was prior to katrina, with some and good and bad repercussions, and there are vast swaths of city are still wrecked. but i think this all is an opportunity for a very different but much more positive experience than i had there, even though mine was fantastic and i wouldnt trade it for anything.

[Dary]

i do, but then again i was there pre-katrina. it was a great place to get a very interesting perspective on the world, since life in NOLA is very different from anywhere else I have been. it's typically more laid back, and a bit of a take it as it comes approach to things. we used to joke that instead of setting your watch 10 minutes ahead, you would have to set it 10 minutes behind.

post katrina i think the mentality has changed a little bit. there is still the laissez faire attitude, but with a stronger focus put on service to the community and rebuilding. it is not universal, and everything that NOLAgirl said is right. lots of the population is struggling, and the speed of the rebuild hasnt allowed the city to return yet to its past glory. It is a much different population to what it was prior to katrina, with some and good and bad repercussions, and there are vast swaths of city are still wrecked. but i think this all is an opportunity for a very different but much more positive experience than i had there, even though mine was fantastic and i wouldnt trade it for anything.

Still sounds a nice city.

actually nowadays im searching for universities in the US. i made a "filtered" list contains 59 universities in 28 states. only two unis in LA for now, one in New Orleans and the other in Baton Rouge. what i liked about NOLA is my friend told me its not a boring city , and i searched for apartments renting prices which turned to be a very reasonable prices!

[my porsche]

Still sounds a nice city.

actually nowadays im searching for universities in the US. i made a "filtered" list contains 59 universities in 28 states. only two unis in LA for now, one in New Orleans and the other in Baton Rouge. what i liked about NOLA is my friend told me its not a boring city , and i searched for apartments renting prices which turned to be a very reasonable prices!

For New Orleans are you looking at Tulane or Loyola? Don't go to Louisiana State University, in my opinion. Huge party school that's not exactly known for its academics, you can get a much better education elsewhere.

[Rockefella]

Still sounds a nice city.

actually nowadays im searching for universities in the US. i made a "filtered" list contains 59 universities in 28 states. only two unis in LA for now, one in New Orleans and the other in Baton Rouge. what i liked about NOLA is my friend told me its not a boring city , and i searched for apartments renting prices which turned to be a very reasonable prices!

NOLA is for noobs, and they wont accept foreignors as easily as the Big Apple werrrrrrrrrrrrrrd.

[cmcpokey]

For New Orleans are you looking at Tulane or Loyola? Don't go to Louisiana State University, in my opinion. Huge party school that's not exactly known for its academics, you can get a much better education elsewhere.

This.

And it's not even that great of a party school. sure if you like drinking at one of 3 bars or a frathouse then yes, i guess it would be a party school. in new orleans you have an internationally known party spot just a streetcar ride away. that was a big draw for me.

And Rocke, NYC is a great town. and it woudl be very good to go to school there, but damn is it expensive. nola is still a southern city, so it has a rather low cost of living. meaning, cheaper drinks and cheaper food. not to mention off campus housing.

[my porsche]

This.

And it's not even that great of a party school. sure if you like drinking at one of 3 bars or a frathouse then yes, i guess it would be a party school. in new orleans you have an internationally known party spot just a streetcar ride away. that was a big draw for me.

And Rocke, NYC is a great town. and it woudl be very good to go to school there, but damn is it expensive. nola is still a southern city, so it has a rather low cost of living. meaning, cheaper drinks and cheaper food. not to mention off campus housing.

Not to mention...nice people. Southern cities have much more polite, outgoing, nice-off-the-bat people than New York or L.A. Yes, I've been to both.

[Dary]

For New Orleans are you looking at Tulane or Loyola? Don't go to Louisiana State University, in my opinion. Huge party school that's not exactly known for its academics, you can get a much better education elsewhere.

neither, im talking about University of New Orleans, but, hmm, didn't decided yet.

This.

And it's not even that great of a party school. sure if you like drinking at one of 3 bars or a frathouse then yes, i guess it would be a party school. in new orleans you have an internationally known party spot just a streetcar ride away. that was a big draw for me.

And Rocke, NYC is a great town. and it woudl be very good to go to school there, but damn is it expensive. nola is still a southern city, so it has a rather low cost of living. meaning, cheaper drinks and cheaper food. not to mention off campus housing.

i dont care if its a party school or not. what i do care or what i want is a "kinda easy" study, because my brine stopped working for about 4 years i graduated on 2005 and i have a Diploma in mechanical engineering (85 credits). another thing i care about is how many credits can be transferred.


Los Angeles, San Fransisco, San Diego or even Arizona are great places, because there is a lot of Kuwaiti students there. CA is expensive for living and kinda cheap for studying tuition. Arizona is cheaper for living but more expensive in tuition.

i know, its complicating and confusing for me right now, it will be more clear in the next two weeks i guess.

[my porsche]

neither, im talking about University of New Orleans, but, hmm, didn't decided yet.


i dont care if its a party school or not. what i do care or what i want is a "kinda easy" study, because my brine stopped working for about 4 years i graduated on 2005 and i have a Diploma in mechanical engineering (85 credits). another thing i care about is how many credits can be transferred.

D'OH! I forgot about UNO.

So if you've already got a degree in mechanical engineering, are you going for some sort of graduate degree, or just a degree from the US?

[Dary]

D'OH! I forgot about UNO.

So if you've already got a degree in mechanical engineering, are you going for some sort of graduate degree, or just a degree from the US?

I don't know what u call Diploma in the US, but here (in Kuwait) its means 2 years or 2.5 years of study after the high school. another meaning, its half the bachelor degree.

Now, I'm seeking for a "full" bachelor degree. and i hope the universities there in the US can transfer units (credits) as much as they can, let's say 60 to 70 credits from my 85 units, I'll be lucky.

[faksta]

As was already said, great photos. Recently I caught myself finding a great pleasure in old architecture.

[my porsche]

I don't know what u call Diploma in the US, but here (in Kuwait) its means 2 years or 2.5 years of study after the high school. another meaning, its half the bachelor degree.

Now, I'm seeking for a "full" bachelor degree. and i hope the universities there in the US can transfer units (credits) as much as they can, let's say 60 to 70 credits from my 85 units, I'll be lucky.

Ah ok, I think 2 years is an Associate's Degree, some of our American members correct me if I'm wrong. 4 is typically a Bachelor's. Then there are various degrees after bachelor's.