They're Hubig to Fail

"One of the firemen said we put the fire out with our tears."

To everyone's disbelief Hubig's pies burned to the ground this morning. Every last pie is already off the shelves and we are waiting for the day they are back. Owners said they will rebuild and I don't doubt for a second everyone is this city will help them do so. 

No White Flags!

'Rebirth' was unveiled today at the Superdome. A statue representing one of the best plays in Saints history executed by Steve Gleason of the New Orleans Saints against the Atlanta Falcons (boom!) on September 25, 2006. It was the first game the Saints played in the Superdome following Hurricane Katrina and over a year on the road.

Here is the team photo from today. All good things are bittersweet in this state, you might notice that Coach Payton isn't there. Free Sean Payton!

And in case you want to remember what the feeling was in 2006 in Central City that night. The Falcons' coach even said, "As hard as it is to lose this game, I'd be lying if I didn't say there was a little, little piece of me that really appreciated what this game meant to this city," said Falcons coach Jim Mora Jr., whose father coached the Saints for more than a decade" 

Can't wait for the new season! I will be in my usual seat at Pal's next Sunday with a Blood Orange vodka and soda in hand! My official Saints season drink.

Who Dat or go home! 

 Reneé

"Only Bad Writers Think Their Writing is Good"

An amazing list of lists of advice from writers on writing.

reminder: this blog is now only for crap like the above and below and for links to web pages I like but won't ever remember I like unless I put them somewhere like for instance here on this blog not the other blog, but for something a bit more thoughtful check out For the Love of Coffee, Politics and Louisiana.

More Fresh Air

If you are part of the Cabrini Breakfast Club, you hear me say this every morning. I'm getting rid of my smartphone! My brain feels overwhelmed with technology and people and things talking to me. I need a break. So I'm doing two things, going to cafes at night sans smartphone and laptop to read and write (no I can't do that home because I will watch Pretty Little Liars instead) and two taking a kayak long weekend trip somewhere, possibility Alabama in the next couple of weeks. Just need to find a kayak to borrow.

Anyways, on my way home from walking the dogs at the lake last night, I was listening to Terry Gross interview Aaron Sorkin, the writer of A Few Good Men, West Wing, and Newsroom. He was talking about how smart his family is, both parents are lawyers and they always debated all sides of issues at home. He said he didn't have the stuff to participate in those discussions, but he has a good ear and he picked the phonics of those conversations. The actual movement of sound and words, which he believes led him to be able to write tv shows like West Wing, without ever being able to actually have those intellectual conversations himself. I find this fascinating. It's hard to tell sometimes what writers really mean when they degrade themselves, because that is a hard and fast fact about the trade. Writers are the first to explain they are dumb and lazy and only write because they can't do anything else. You see it over and over and over again.


Take a listen if you didn't catch last night's episode of Fresh Air.

Renee

ps. I feel like I should contact Terry Gross and ask if I can be her blogger. I write about her nearly everyday anyway.

Sing It!

"You can't be an anti-immigrant bigot and love this country. The statue of liberty won't let you"

Sing it!

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses, yearning to breath free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,
Send these, the homeless, tempest tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.

Its a good weekend to end a bad week

I don't know what went on last week but it was rough. The heat, the grumpiness, the shootings, the rapes, the robberies, the beatings, the bad coffee. I felt like everyone was having a bad week. Thank goodness for the weekend! And a great one.

Breesus is back!

I got a new rug!

I think I found a new couch I love that can still be used as a guest bed!

Yesterday was spent finding a great new bookcase, buying a great new rug, taking a wonderful nap, getting a super sketchy massage, having a couple of really good cocktails while listening to James Singleton strum a beautiful upright bass which is totally my favorite instrument ever, drinking a great rosé at Bacchanal, deciding to finally let go of someone I should have let go of a long time ago, drinking more cocktails at Mimis with my favorite New Orleans friend, and then wondering to Markey's for more cocktails and bumping into other good friends.

I watched Beau roll around in a ginormous mud puddle at the lake where he dipped his head straight into the puddle with a kind of glee I've never seen before.

My friend Andrew is writing one sentence a day in honor of Hemmingway's search for the perfect sentence and they are great!

I found this archived list of articles by writers on writing from the NYTimes.

There is a bbq in the french quarter with a pool later this afternoon!

And now I'm going Kayaking, though it kind of looks like it might rain. Scratch that it is raining. oh well. Beau needs several more baths to wash that nasty mud puddle smell away anyway. 

When Did I Become the Oldest in the Room

I remember when I was by far the youngest person at work, not just because my mom had me in the office after every school day, holiday and in the summer from when I was in diapers, but even at restaurants. I recently picked up one shift in a friends cafe to start learning the business side of running a cafe, but first I'm spending a month in the front of the house finding out how the operation runs. Yesterday, I learned I was the oldest person in the cafe. Though they all agreed I looked 25! (liars)

If that realization wasn't enough, I woke up this morning barely able to walk because my joints hurt so much. I couldn't do my workout at full speed, cut half my lunges and all the jumping lunges out including my full yoga session. Whatthefuck?

And By Week I Mean Day

Let me know what you think.

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