Needlepoint Pillow Quote - Quentin Crisp

"If at first you don't succeed, failure may be your style. "

(photo from crisperanto )

Seen on my way to work...

four layers of grafitti: the grey ghost (over someone else), a paw (a new anti-grey ghost coverup) and a fine sentiment from Major Payne*.

*I had to look it up - never saw the movie. I just liked the colors. And the sentiment was bracing at 7:30.

Stop!

Is this a hoax?

Or does (did) Stephen Alesch (Roman and Williams) have a blog?

http://schopfung.blogspot.com/

Out and Around

Our Lady Star of the Sea, 1835 St. Roch Avenue

Wogan and Bernard Architects, 1930-31.

One of the perquesites of my job is that I'm out and around in most of the historic neighborhoods in New Orleans and seeing sights like this almost every day. Wogan and Bernard have a long history in New Orleans: under various firm names, they are responsible for large houses Uptown, the original part of the Xavier University campus, the Monteleone Hotel in the French Quarter and numerous churches around Louisiana.

The church is built in a Byzantine/ Venetian style and is a landmark in the St. Roch neighborhood north of St. Claude Avenue.

I was just passing through the neighborhood, so I couldn't go inside, but found these images online. Apparently it has quite a pipe organ.

I like the interior, but not quite sure what I think about the altar painting. (It's starting to grow on me)

last 2 photos from http://www.neworleanschurches.com/StarofSea/star.htm

A Rainbow in Marrero

We do things a little different in New Orleans.

p.s. he's playing at One Eyed Jack's Tonight

http://www.oneeyedjacks.net/

John Richardson at Home

Truly the grand style.

My Dream Bedroom...

Horst image of Cy Twombly's roman apartment in the 1960s. (image from http://hdldesign.blogspot.com/)

If I won the lottery, this is what my bedroom would look like (minus the fur bedspread - perhaps on the floor for my dog)

Something for Everyone!

http://www.democraticstuff.com/Supporter-Buttons-s/7529.htm
Oh, SNAP!

Not quite sure that I'd go to an optometrist with this sign.

All hairstyles can participate!

You can vote for Obama, no matter how big your 'stash!

Or how existentially oppressed..

My favorite, but the Dude may be too busy abiding to vote. (Although there might be a polling place by the grocery/ liquor store/ bowling alley)

Evacuation Recap 1 - The Corinthian Order

I know it's a week late, but my wi-fi is on the blink, work has been crazy since Gustav, and it's not like I post that much. Anyway, the Corinthian Order is very popular in Madison, MS , a suburb of Jackson. According to my (very gracious) hurrication hosts, Madison has strict design guidelines, so the Corinthian Order may very well be in the building codes, along with ADA and NFPA guidelines.

The above pergola of fuel makes filling up the tank a veritable garden party!

This convenience store features engaged Corinthian Columns on plinths. I guess they're going for the ruined grotto effect with the bricked-in arch. You, know, instant history - like Lutyens and Addison Mizner. Yeah.

This Walgreen's is practically academic in its use of the Corinthian Order- note the double pilasters at the entrance pavillion. The frieze is a bit exaggerated, but I saw much (much!) worse in town; unfortunately, the person driving me around found my outrage less than amusing -"not everyone is that picky about architecture" (her Dad's a civil engineer) - and didn't want to pull over on busy roads so I could get pictures of numerous monstrosities. I wish I could have gotten a better shot here, but the Madison police were busily arresting a Gustav evacuee. (Or maybe they caught some local stealing Sudafed to make meth - you just know there are labs up in the hills)

One final shot, taken on the way out of town. On the left is the local Kinko's. Nice cupolas.

Hurricane's Coming!

Time to bring in the plants! I inherited this split-leaf philodendron with my current apartment - it usually lives out on the gallery (see previous posts) where it does well enough to require regular pruning. This thing moving to the hallway has always been something of a bellwether - it also sometimes showed up in my old apartment across the hall. The wardrobe is Italian Art Nouveau - my landlords have a side business doing estate sales. It looks like it belongs in a hotel room overlooking Lago di Como.

ALL of the plants have to come in. Even the ones I would prefer to throw away. Of course I managed to break a pot in my living room. There's a nice marble mantel and campaign bed behind that jungle...

A little grim, no? (well, I was going to paint the floor anyway)

Yes, a bit grim. Now I'm off to help my friends Uptown batten down their hatches. We'll decide tonight or tomorrow morning whether to stay to go. If I stay, I'll stay at their house. If not, Jackson here we come. We being Etta and I. We're prepared.

View Up Royal, 11:00 pm

A rare quiet night in the Quarter.

A Suggestion for Visitors to the Quarter

Your Chevy Suburban is not a Lotus Elise. Slow your happy ass down.

I'm Happy to See You, Too!

My friend Donovan has a new fisheye lens, which my pug Etta seems to think is something to eat. Yes, her tongue is always like that. No, I don't know why.

Happy New Years

Wow! I somehow managed not to post for a year, but then 2007 was a helluva year, mainly a series of narrowly averted disasters. When my old job became hell on earth thanks to a couple of people (who happened to be a couple), I managed to jump ship to a better job. I've managed to not get thrown in jail, go to the hospital, get fired, or permanently alienate my friends and family, but there were times when I pushed it. So I'm giving my guardian angel some time off: no pushing it. So far I'm off to a good start; no hangover on NYD, and no regrets for last night's behavior. There are things about my life I'd like to change, but there's a lot in my life to envy.



I'm also going to take more pictures around the quarter, since my walk to work is a visual feast - if I'm awake enough!

My Balcony in the NYT!

This is from an article in the NYT a month ago; I downloaded the image during Thanksgiving and it sat on my sister's desktop in Kaintuck for a month. The building dates (far right of picture) from 1859, and is probably what rightly should be called the Beauregard House: PGTB lived here for several years after the war (I'm not sure whether he owned it or not - I'll have to check the title chain at the HNOC), not the several months he lived at the house on Chartres St that bears his name. But then my building didn't have the luck to be restored by a lady who wrote fanciful historical novels; instead it became something of a tenement, divided into a series of one bedroom apartments, which was ultimately to my benefit. While I have a million-dollar balcony (gallery, actually), the apartment is rather modest. My old apartment across the hall was honestly a nicer apartment - refinished floors, a decent sized kitchen (with a dishwasher), and great morning light, but it lacked the balcony. The place needs a bit of work: I've started with the floors - down to the tongue in the living room, so they'll have to be chemically stripped. Then the next step will be redoing the bathroom (new tile). I suppose that the floor of the balcony should be repainted while I'm at it...

All of this will have to wait until I return to NOLA, which should be Wednesday; I'm still in Kentucky suffering from a cold - perhaps I will be in a state to drive back down tomorrow. As far as my reading, not much of that, just watching movies with my sister.

My Balcony, with Etta

At the left is my balcony, complete with my dog, Etta. People who live in the Quarter all know Etta, while I'm just known as her walker. The picture was taken in September, roughly a week after I took possession of the apartment; since then I've added to group of plants and furniture. The split-leaf philodendron was inherited - it used to always wind up in my old apartment down the hall during hurricanes.

Right now my life revolves around my job, walking Etta and what I'm reading. Since I work for the government (meaning I really shouldn't discuss work, not that it's that interesting) and dog-walking is very repetitive, I'll discuss what I'm reading....

Currently reading:
Memoirs of the Duc de Saint-Simon (vol 1 of 3)
The gossipy account of life in the court of Louis XIV through the Regence of Louis XV and finally his Royal Court. Similar to Pepys's brush with fame, but Saint-Simon is not quite the amusing scamp as Pepys (he is just a little to concerned with good friars for my preference). Definitely an ongoing project.

The Sitwells, A Family's Biography - John Pearson
Literary gossip, a guilty pleasure because I'm only familiar with Facade.

In the wings:
Pages from the Goncourt Journals - Edmond and Jules de Goncourt
More guilty pleasure, but then I'm going to visit my family for the second time in 2 months. It's still better than reading old issues of Star.

Put down to be picked up later:
A Spot of Bother - Mark Haddon
The Natural Disorder of Things - Andrea del Cannobio