Photo Essay: A Weekend In NOLA

Robyn · 08-27-2007, 06:06 PM

Hey, just thought I'd post a great photo essay that captures the essence of NOLA and the people who live there ... it's at http://www.orato.com/node/3384 for anyone who's interested in some beautiful photos of a beautiful city!

Jesse · 08-27-2007, 06:17 PM

Thanks, Robyn.
With almost all of my family living in NO, I know first hand the difficulties and the stresses that are still plaguing the city and the people. So much is still a disaster and I think many people are unaware of how bad it really is. I love seeing the good stuff. The new musicians row is really something to behold, as is the green project that brad pitt has underway.

Cadenza · 08-27-2007, 07:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robyn

Hey, just thought I'd post a great photo essay that captures the essence of NOLA and the people who live there ... it's at http://www.orato.com/node/3384 for anyone who's interested in some beautiful photos of a beautiful city!

Thank you for posting your beautiful shots! I will definitely check out your page on Flickr. Mine is http://flickr.com/photos/cadencecandids/
Still a work in progress.

Cadenza

joepole · 08-28-2007, 11:55 AM

New Orleans is a really misunderstood place with a long, equally misunderstood history. To many it's simply the birthplace of jazz and Mardi Gras and a spot where dozens of cultures intermingle and feed off each other's art, food, language, and spirit. What most people don't realize is that it's much more than that, the city is a wonderfully complex pit of filth and crime with hundreds of thousands of worthless citizens who can barely survive a few days without charity (or the forcible charity known as taxation) from the few productive citizens who reap nothing but scorn and blame for the ills of that cesspool of a city.

The citizenry is so much more than just the musicians, street performers, and hard workers you see reflected on television. Those few are but a small slice of the much larger population of worthless anchors on society. For every friendly saxophonist entertaining hundreds by blasting away for hours on a street corner there are literally dozens of other, shadier folks breaking in to your car, lifting your wallet, or mugging you at knife-point.

Katrina and its aftermath revealed a lot of New Orleans seedy underbelly to the rest of the nation (and the world) but anyone who has lived there and knows the real New Orleans, knows that's just the tip of the criminal iceberg. What the rest of the country sees as a city devastated by nature struggling to retain its identity while regaining its prosperity, we know to be a failing criminal Mecca, destroyed from within long ago, only to have its festive patina washed away by a hurricane.

Robyn · 08-28-2007, 01:51 PM

Thanks guys ... if you want to send your messages to the photographer, her Flickr stream is posted at the link. I'm sure she's got other great shots as well. As far as NO being a "criminal underbelly", I don't know. I think every city, including Vancouver, where I live, has it's shady bits. Ever heard of the Downtown Eastside? Look it up - it's at the centre of a gruesome serial killer trial - you may have heard of Robert Pickton? He's accused of killing sex trade workers and feeding their bodies to his pigs. Sorry to get gross, but where there's devastation, there's crime, and it's our job as citizens to fight both.
I think NO is not only surviving, but moving on - why slam that, Joepole?

joepole · 08-28-2007, 02:13 PM

I just want to make sure people don't forget the real New Orleans, the one with drug addicts, urine, and grinding poverty caused by its own residents, a population by and large too inept to lead its own life.

Seems all we hear about lately are glossy, inspiring stories of hope and redemption. That's not the New Orleans I know. The New Orleans I know is a pit of despair, corruption, and hopelessness with a faint outer shell of "culture."

Robyn · 08-28-2007, 02:23 PM

I hear you, Joepole.

joepole · 08-28-2007, 02:25 PM

If the city were "moving on" then Ray Nagin would be unemployed. It's business as usual down there.

LateNight · 08-28-2007, 02:28 PM

I'm not sure what the answers are to New Orleans.. personally I'm not in agreement with Joe on this one. I know that New Orleans has issues.. some BIG issues.. crime is very high.. But I'm not willing to pass the rest of the city off because of it. I've spent a whole lot of time in New Orleans. Have family there. There is much to do there for entertainment, and I still have a good time when I go there. And personally, I've never had a bad experience there, including the Jazz Fest, one year after Katrina.

But what are the answers ? to the high crime, the poverty etc etc etc.. I don't see it being any different than any other large inner city, with the same makeup of residence as New Orleans.. I suppose new orleans history and heritage is what has kept the likes of the French Quarter and other historical areas from totally decaying into nothingness.. despite what is going on around it.

I know New Orleans has its ugly side.. But I'll say it again. I've been down there countless times for concerts, parties, festivals, and to just visit. pre and post katrina, I've never had a bad experience down there, other than it's just down right hot in the summer time

joepole · 08-28-2007, 02:56 PM

1. What is a "large inner city?" "Inner city" is part of a city, not a type of city.

2.

>.. I don't see it being any different than any other large inner city, with the same makeup of residence as New Orleans

Such as?

LateNight · 08-28-2007, 03:35 PM

I'm just gonna assume you're in a mood today joe.. either you know what I meant, or you didn't..

joepole · 08-28-2007, 03:53 PM

I don't know which other cities "with the same makeup of residence as New Orleans" are no different. That is why I asked.

LateNight · 08-28-2007, 04:27 PM

An inner city is the central area of a major city. In the United States and United Kingdom, the term is often applied to the poorer parts of the city center and is sometimes used as a euphemism with the connotation of being an area, perhaps a ghetto, where people are less educated and wealthy and where there is more crime. These connotations are less common in other Western countries, where deprived areas may be located in outlying parts of cities. For instance, in Paris, Vienna or Amsterdam, the inner city is the richest part of the metropolis, where housing is the most expensive, and where elites and high-income individuals dwell.

I'm referring to those "inner cities" in some parts of the country.. that are literally crumbling, crime is rampant and the rule of the day. I'm just saying that I think New Orleans would have long been given up on, except for it's rich history. And Bourbon street is still a great place to go, and hear some great music.

Isaac-Saxxon · 08-28-2007, 04:29 PM

Let Joe Blow it makes him feel better and a bit more educated than the average Joe

rhertz · 08-28-2007, 04:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joepole

New Orleans is a really misunderstood place with a long, equally misunderstood history. To many it's simply the birthplace of jazz and Mardi Gras and a spot where dozens of cultures intermingle and feed off each other's art, food, language, and spirit. What most people don't realize is that it's much more than that, the city is a wonderfully complex pit of filth and crime with hundreds of thousands of worthless citizens who can barely survive a few days without charity (or the forcible charity known as taxation) from the few productive citizens who reap nothing but scorn and blame for the ills of that cesspool of a city.

The citizenry is so much more than just the musicians, street performers, and hard workers you see reflected on television. Those few are but a small slice of the much larger population of worthless anchors on society. For every friendly saxophonist entertaining hundreds by blasting away for hours on a street corner there are literally dozens of other, shadier folks breaking in to your car, lifting your wallet, or mugging you at knife-point.

Katrina and its aftermath revealed a lot of New Orleans seedy underbelly to the rest of the nation (and the world) but anyone who has lived there and knows the real New Orleans, knows that's just the tip of the criminal iceberg. What the rest of the country sees as a city devastated by nature struggling to retain its identity while regaining its prosperity, we know to be a failing criminal Mecca, destroyed from within long ago, only to have its festive patina washed away by a hurricane.

Why Joe I didn't know you had such as way with words.... "festive patina"?

heh heh eh heh He said "festive patina"...........

08-27-2007, 06:06 PM	#1
Robyn New Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 3 Rep Power: 0	Photo Essay: A Weekend In NOLA Hey, just thought I'd post a great photo essay that captures the essence of NOLA and the people who live there ... it's at http://www.orato.com/node/3384 for anyone who's interested in some beautiful photos of a beautiful city!

08-27-2007, 06:17 PM	#2
Jesse Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Sheveport Posts: 60 Rep Power: 0	Thanks, Robyn. With almost all of my family living in NO, I know first hand the difficulties and the stresses that are still plaguing the city and the people. So much is still a disaster and I think many people are unaware of how bad it really is. I love seeing the good stuff. The new musicians row is really something to behold, as is the green project that brad pitt has underway. __________________ Jesse

08-28-2007, 04:29 PM	#14
Isaac-Saxxon SBLive! Veteran Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 4,421 Rep Power: 313	Let Joe Blow it makes him feel better and a bit more educated than the average Joe __________________ Maranatha Mat 7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

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08-28-2007, 11:55 AM	#4
joepole SBLive! Veteran Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 1,606 Rep Power: 254	New Orleans is a really misunderstood place with a long, equally misunderstood history. To many it's simply the birthplace of jazz and Mardi Gras and a spot where dozens of cultures intermingle and feed off each other's art, food, language, and spirit. What most people don't realize is that it's much more than that, the city is a wonderfully complex pit of filth and crime with hundreds of thousands of worthless citizens who can barely survive a few days without charity (or the forcible charity known as taxation) from the few productive citizens who reap nothing but scorn and blame for the ills of that cesspool of a city. The citizenry is so much more than just the musicians, street performers, and hard workers you see reflected on television. Those few are but a small slice of the much larger population of worthless anchors on society. For every friendly saxophonist entertaining hundreds by blasting away for hours on a street corner there are literally dozens of other, shadier folks breaking in to your car, lifting your wallet, or mugging you at knife-point. Katrina and its aftermath revealed a lot of New Orleans seedy underbelly to the rest of the nation (and the world) but anyone who has lived there and knows the real New Orleans, knows that's just the tip of the criminal iceberg. What the rest of the country sees as a city devastated by nature struggling to retain its identity while regaining its prosperity, we know to be a failing criminal Mecca, destroyed from within long ago, only to have its festive patina washed away by a hurricane.

08-28-2007, 01:51 PM	#5
Robyn New Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 3 Rep Power: 0	Thanks guys ... if you want to send your messages to the photographer, her Flickr stream is posted at the link. I'm sure she's got other great shots as well. As far as NO being a "criminal underbelly", I don't know. I think every city, including Vancouver, where I live, has it's shady bits. Ever heard of the Downtown Eastside? Look it up - it's at the centre of a gruesome serial killer trial - you may have heard of Robert Pickton? He's accused of killing sex trade workers and feeding their bodies to his pigs. Sorry to get gross, but where there's devastation, there's crime, and it's our job as citizens to fight both. I think NO is not only surviving, but moving on - why slam that, Joepole?

08-28-2007, 02:13 PM	#6
joepole SBLive! Veteran Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 1,606 Rep Power: 254	I just want to make sure people don't forget the real New Orleans, the one with drug addicts, urine, and grinding poverty caused by its own residents, a population by and large too inept to lead its own life. Seems all we hear about lately are glossy, inspiring stories of hope and redemption. That's not the New Orleans I know. The New Orleans I know is a pit of despair, corruption, and hopelessness with a faint outer shell of "culture."

08-28-2007, 02:23 PM	#7
Robyn New Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 3 Rep Power: 0	I hear you, Joepole.

08-28-2007, 02:25 PM	#8
joepole SBLive! Veteran Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 1,606 Rep Power: 254	If the city were "moving on" then Ray Nagin would be unemployed. It's business as usual down there.

08-28-2007, 02:28 PM	#9
LateNight SBLive! Veteran Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 1,609 Rep Power: 263	I'm not sure what the answers are to New Orleans.. personally I'm not in agreement with Joe on this one. I know that New Orleans has issues.. some BIG issues.. crime is very high.. But I'm not willing to pass the rest of the city off because of it. I've spent a whole lot of time in New Orleans. Have family there. There is much to do there for entertainment, and I still have a good time when I go there. And personally, I've never had a bad experience there, including the Jazz Fest, one year after Katrina. But what are the answers ? to the high crime, the poverty etc etc etc.. I don't see it being any different than any other large inner city, with the same makeup of residence as New Orleans.. I suppose new orleans history and heritage is what has kept the likes of the French Quarter and other historical areas from totally decaying into nothingness.. despite what is going on around it. I know New Orleans has its ugly side.. But I'll say it again. I've been down there countless times for concerts, parties, festivals, and to just visit. pre and post katrina, I've never had a bad experience down there, other than it's just down right hot in the summer time

08-28-2007, 02:56 PM	#10
joepole SBLive! Veteran Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 1,606 Rep Power: 254	1. What is a "large inner city?" "Inner city" is part of a city, not a type of city. 2. >.. I don't see it being any different than any other large inner city, with the same makeup of residence as New Orleans Such as?

08-28-2007, 03:35 PM	#11
LateNight SBLive! Veteran Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 1,609 Rep Power: 263	I'm just gonna assume you're in a mood today joe.. either you know what I meant, or you didn't..

08-28-2007, 03:53 PM	#12
joepole SBLive! Veteran Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 1,606 Rep Power: 254	I don't know which other cities "with the same makeup of residence as New Orleans" are no different. That is why I asked.

08-28-2007, 04:27 PM	#13
LateNight SBLive! Veteran Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 1,609 Rep Power: 263	An inner city is the central area of a major city. In the United States and United Kingdom, the term is often applied to the poorer parts of the city center and is sometimes used as a euphemism with the connotation of being an area, perhaps a ghetto, where people are less educated and wealthy and where there is more crime. These connotations are less common in other Western countries, where deprived areas may be located in outlying parts of cities. For instance, in Paris, Vienna or Amsterdam, the inner city is the richest part of the metropolis, where housing is the most expensive, and where elites and high-income individuals dwell. I'm referring to those "inner cities" in some parts of the country.. that are literally crumbling, crime is rampant and the rule of the day. I'm just saying that I think New Orleans would have long been given up on, except for it's rich history. And Bourbon street is still a great place to go, and hear some great music.

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