Pontchartrain Pete

Yes, folks, it’s snowing in NOLA. Here’s proof.

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I’ll let the press release from Ann Tuennerman explain all the good news: TALES OF THE COCKTAIL OPENING RECEPTION TO BE HELD AT THE NEWLY RESTORED ROOSEVELT HOTEL TOAST OF THE EVENING TO OCCUR AT THE ORIGINAL SAZERAC BAR NEW ORLEANS, LA—December 1, 2008 – Tales of the Cocktail, a cocktail and culinary festival celebrating [...]

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I interviewed an artist up in Covington for my day job. He asked if I had seen any of Prospect.1, the international art exposition going on all over New Orleans. There are installations and showings of 80 artists from all over the world. The U.S. Mint and the Contemporary Arts Center are the main venues. [...]

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It was quite the strange trip yesterday, Labor Day 2008. Gustav beat the odds and made landfall at the exact spot the models had it going to 18 hours before, and within 50 miles or so of the models from 48 hours before. It was not nearly as strong as predicted, which was the reason [...]

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Alright already. So we’re running behind a bit. Can I say I spent the weekend hunting streetcars for StreetCarArt.com? Remains of the West End lighthouse and Southern Yacht Club. A view up the canal along Hwy. 11 in Slidell, you know, where Tites used to be. And, finally, I give you Boat Mountain.

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Alright. The craziness has subsided at work. This should be the last multi-day posting for this series. Here are three from Slidell, where I was living at the time. I came home the last week of September. Most of the trees in the yard had been blown down, but all fell either parallel or away [...]

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So for the month of August, I will be posting one picture per day from my Hurricane Katrina aftermath photo collection, in no particular order. First up, the debris pile gathered up on the neutral ground between West End and Pontchartrain boulevards. Probably taken in the middle of October, 2005.

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YLC Streetcar artists Paulette Lizano and Will Smith popped up during Tales of the Cocktail at the event’s Cocktail Marketplace on Saturday. Paulette, who is in the process of building her streetcar, “Perley’s Barnyard Party” was there selling glass coasters and plates featuring martini glasses and S&WB meter cover designs. Will Smith’s streetcar is located [...]

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With that challenge, Kevin Brauch (the reporter on Iron Chef America who is not Alton Brown, thank Gawd) opened up Tales of the Cocktail. But first things first. Today’s kick-off event was Toast to Tales of the Cocktail in the Riverview Room of the Hotel Montleone. NOLA blogger Loki of Humid City and the Krewe [...]

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For a while I was living in Abita Springs. No internet, and really, no computer in the house anyway. I figured I’d get enough of both at the office during the day. Last fall, I moved out to a house north of Covington. Way north, not quite to Folsom but about 6 miles from town, [...]

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One of the perks of being a fringe member of the press (not the same as a member of the fringe press) is the occasional invite to VIP events. Today, it was Abita Brewing Company’s opening of their new visitor center in Abita Springs. A nice reception, complete with catered snacks–crawfish cakes, grilled sausage and [...]

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I planned on stopping at the grocery on the way home today. I was thinking of maybe picking up some burgers or possibly a steak to grill. Then I passed Pat’s Seafood in Covington and saw all the cars packed into the parking lot, and thought, “Shrimp.” So I turned around. Bought one pound of [...]

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This past Sunday was the 24th annual Chef Soiree. Held in Covington’s Bogue Falaya Park, the soiree is a fundraiser for the Youth Service Bureau, and organization that funds CASA and other programs for at-risk youth. An impressive list of restaurants set up booths and offer a dish or two for tasting. There are beer [...]

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I went out to Covington’s Spring for Art celebration last night. First stop was Sarah Dunn’s gallery and studio fronting Boston Street. Sarah’s probably the youngest gallery owner in town, a bundle of blond energy and a big believer in participatory art. While displaying her Kandinsky-meets Peter Maxx-crossed with Dali blend of creations inside, she [...]

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Editors note: I’m going against a promise I made myself that I would not blog about ordinary details of everyday life. But after doing laundry this morning, I decided an ode the Wise Man of the Laundromat would be in order. Please excuse the drudgery. Pete-in-Exile is forced to frequent a little laundromat in Abita [...]

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Last Friday saw another one of Pete’s excursions from the Northshore to the Big Easy. The occasion was meeting my sister and the plumber who is supposed to work on her condo out by the lake. Now, Thursday’s weather forecasts were all doom and gloom for Friday. Flash floods! Twisters! Hail the size of canned [...]

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