WAY  DOWN  YONDER  IN  NEW  ORLEANS

T H E   C R E S C E N T   C I T Y

 

Good night, America, how are you?
Don't you know me I'm your native son,
I'm the train they call the City of New Orleans,
I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done."

-Arlo Guthrie

Film location: New Orleans LA    More Treats      NOLA history       lyrics: Saints Go Marching In

           

 

Ske-Dat-De-Dat: The Spirit Of Satch Dr. John salutes the patron saint of New Orleans

Dr. John Talks New Orleans Music 10 Years After Katrina

                       

 

 

Dr. John the Night Tripper

vocals, piano, keyboards, guitar

Crescent City native son - Instrumental Musician
Music groups: Dr. John and the Nite Trippers, The Wrecking Crew, Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band
Dr. John the Night Tripper told Rolling Stone in September 2015, "The whole Lower Ninth Ward hasn't really recovered, but I feel a good spirit in my heart that something is going on — music is coming back slowly," Dr. John declares in his trademark growl, reflecting on the state of his hometown, New Orleans, on the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. The 74-year-old singer-pianist, who was born Malcolm Rebennack, has seen a lot of loss and change in the city during his half-century career in Crescent City R&B. "Things were really solid back in the game," he says of the glory days on Bourbon Street, when there was "funk and Dixieland in every club. Even the hip jazz musicians like Ellis Marsalis were there, playing the real music."
Dr. John said the rebirth process is ongoing with a little help from friends like the Jazz Foundation of America and the Musicians Clinic who take care of a lot of people.

Star Chart Notes

In a computer star chart study of 100 instrumental musicians [the signs occupied by Sun, Moon, and Ascendant] no zodiacal sign significantly portrays the ability of an instrumental musician. We look to other signs in the star chart. Prominent Mars thought-cells map creative energy and muscular control; Saturn maps plodding perseverance required for long, monotonous practice sessions; the Moon maps time, tune and rhythm; Neptune maps feeling and dramatic approach; and Venus, while the planet of art, maps a good ear for harmony and tonal quality.

Dr. John [b. Malcolm John Rebennack] was born on November 21 so many of the heavenly bodies within his star chart are deposited in Scorpio, the eighth zodical sign of initiation, mystery, and reform. His name is derived from a legendary Louisiana voodoo practitioner who lived during the early part of the 19th century.

Mars: 0 Scorpio 31 rx [cusp]
Saturn: 9 Taurus rx
Moon: Leo [birth time unknown]
Neptune: 27 Virgo
Venus: 23 Libra rx - conjunct Spica,
fixed star of The Arts [more @ Michael Caine Spica aspects]

 

 

Over a 50-year career, Dr John has grown from session man into the presiding spirit of New Orleans (he plays himself in the TV drama Treme). Tribal celebrates his legend with relish. A clutch of spooky swamp blues evoke his early days as the Night Tripper, elsewhere a classy band help the doctor drawl through strutting funk and anguished blues. - Neil Spencer

Recommended Vintage Dr. John

196-?Storm Warning/Foolish Little Girl Rex 45 RPM
1968-Gris-Gris [Atco*]
1969-Babylon
1970-Remedies
1971-The Sun, Moon & Herbs
1972-Dr. John’s Gumbo, released April 1972, during a leap year [In 2003, the album was ranked number 402 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time]
1973-In the Right Place
1974-Desitively Bonaroo
1975-Cut Me While I’m Hot [DJM]
Hollywood Be Thy Name [United Artists]
1978-City Lights [Horizon] 1979-Tango Palace
1981-Dr. John Plays Mac Rebennack [Clean Cuts]

The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll: Combining New Orleans funk, glitter and voodoo charm, pianist Dr. John was an energetic frontman in the early Seventies ["Right Place, Wrong Time"] and a behind-the-scenes mover before and since.

Rebennack got his first taste of show biz through his mother, a model who got young Malcolm’s face on Ivory Soap boxes; his father ran a record store. By his early teens, he was an accomplished pianist and guitarist, and hanging around at his dad’s store and Cosimo Matassa’s studio, he got to know local musicians.

By the mid-Fifties, he was doing session work with Professor Longhair [Henry Roeland Byrd and aka Fess], Frankie Ford and Joe Tex. He also helped form the black artists’ cooperative AFO [All for One] Records, and he was the first white man on the roster. At the start of the Sixties he had graduated to producing and arranging sessions for others [Lee Allen, Red Tyler, Earl Palmer] and recording some of his own [notably "Storm Warning" on Rex Records]. Rebennack’s reputation was based on his guitar and keyboard playing, but a hand wound suffered in a 1961 bedroom gunfight forced him to take up bass with a Dixieland band. [He switched to the bass, and then the piano after his left ring finger was injured by a gunshot while he was protecting his bandmate, longtime friend Ronnie Barron.]

In the mid-Sixties, Rebennack moved to L.A. and became a session regular, notably for producer Phil Spector. He played in various unsuccessful, wildly named bands like the ZuZu Band [with Jessie Hill] and Morgus and the Three Ghouls. He also developed an interest in voodoo, to which he had been introduced by a mystical voodoo artist named Prince Lala in the Fifties at AFO.

In 1968, Rebennack unveiled his new public persona of Dr. John Creaux the Night Tripper [quickly shortened to Dr. John] after New Orleans crony, Ronnie Barron, decided not to front the act. With New Orleans associates [Hill as Dr. Poo Pah Doo and Harold Battiste as Dr. Battiste of Scorpio of bass clef], he recorded Gris-Gris for Atlantic in 1968. As indicated by the song titles—"I Walk on Gilded Splinters," "Gris Gris Gumbo Ya Ya," "Croker Courtbouillion" —it was a brew of traditional Creole chants, mystical imagery and traces of psychedelia, an influence underscored by Rebennack’s onstage wardrobe [brightly colored robes, feathered headdresses and a Mardi Gras-style retinue of dancers and singers].

Dr. John slowly acquired a loyal cult following, including Eric Clapton and Mick Jagger, who played on The Sun, Moon & Herbs. He moved to the more accessible regions of funk [backed by the Meters] on In the Right Place. Produced by Allen Toussaint [who also played in Dr. John’s band in a 1973 tour and who produced Desitively Bonaroo] "Right Place, Wrong Time" was his biggest hit, followed a few months later by "Such a Night." In 1973, Dr. John also worked in Triumvirate, a short-lived trio with Mike Bloomfield and John Hammond, Jr. [John Paul Hammond]. He appeared in the Band’s 1978 farewell concert film, The Last Waltz. In 1981, he released a solo-piano LP, Dr. John Plays Mac Rebennack.

Dr. John reads

* Atco Records was a United States based subsidiary label of Atlantic Records. In 1991, Atlantic merged Atco with its fledgling label Eastwest Records, and briefly operated as Atco/Eastwest Records.

DR. JOHN'S SHRIMP
NEW ORLEANS

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup butter
1 clove garlic, cut in half, do not peel
1 tablespoon Italian dry seasoning mix
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon seasoned pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 pound (21 - 25 count per pound) Gulf shrimp with
heads, do not peel
1/4 cup white wine
Salt, to taste
1 loaf French bread, heated

DIRECTIONS

Heat olive oil, butter, garlic, Italian seasoning and bay leaf in large skillet, saute about 8 minutes, until garlic is soft. Add seasoned pepper and cayenne pepper, saute 3 minutes. Add shrimp to skillet, cook over low heat 5 minutes, until shrimp turn dark pink. Add wine and season with salt.

Pour shrimp with sauce into serving bowl. Serve with hot breat and Enjoy!
- Dr. John - Mac Rebennak

Jazzman Louisana Aromatic Rice - Louis Armstrong’s Creole Red Beans

The Sazerac Cocktail, the Official Cocktail
of the City of New Orleans.

Recipe Bin: Cajun Devilish Eggs
“The Spice of Life”

 

Dr. John notes and HONEST TUNE’s John Sinclair

I ain’t never got un-angry since the hurricane. Every night on the gig, no matter where we at, I give the audience an earful about my thoughts about it, you know?

Every night on the gig I get on my robe and – you know I’m crazy, so I don’t give a damn what I tell ‘em. And the only time we ever had any complaints about it –actually, I got one in Seattle that was a complaint that I didn’t say enough.

In Miami, the only negative thing I got was a mayor, I think it was Hollywood Florida, she came up and said, ‘We don’t use the "C" word in Florida.’
Doctor John replied, "I think we had dibs on possibly inventin’ corruption, so if you don’t like the "C" word here, what do you call it? What you call corruption?...."

Dr. John [Gris-Gris, Babylon, Duke Elegant, Sippiana Hericane] the Night Tripper
interview with HONEST TUNE’s and links for the latest about the ongoing reconstruction work.

Goin' Back To New Orleans (Video) by Dr. John
(c) 1992 Warner Bros. Records Inc. for the U.S. and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the U.S.

 

 

Keith Olbermann co-creates the second New Orleans
TWO DAY FREE C.A.R.E. CLINIC - August 31st & September 1st
for information about the event

High blood pressure and depression are both on the health problem list according to reports by nurses and volunteers at the clinic. They said most people don't realize there is a local free clinic down the road from them in New Orleans.
Check the acid-alkaline balance chart if you want to stay in balance by eating healthy.

Keith Olbermann - DOB: January 27 in New York City [time unknown - solar chart, noon]
Sun 7° Aquarius 01' - Moon 13° Virgo 45'

Jupiter in Scorpio Aspects
Mercury sextile Jupiter
Jupiter square Pluto
see also Trump VIII

Pluto 3° Virgo 36' rx Aspects - Pluto, or Dis Pater, is the dancer in the dream. Ruler of Scorpio
Saturn trine Pluto
Neptune sextile Pluto
Moon conjunction Pluto [noon solar chart]

Destiny Path 7

COUNTDOWN [MSNBC]
Keith Olbermann Helps Raise $1.2 Million For Free Health Care Clinics

Because of an appeal during his special comment about health care in the United States, Keith Olbermann helped raise over $2.0 million for free health care clinics in 2009, http://freeclinics.us, resulting in new health fairs in Little Rock, Kansas City and New Orleans.

VOLUNTEER-Register to be a volunteer at the New Orleans clinic

www.regonline.com/neworleanscare

 

 

 

USGBC honors Brad Pitt's Make It Right New Orleans as the ‘largest
and greenest single-family community in the world’

The Green Home Guide greenhomeguide.org is an educational Web site for consumers to learn about the benefits of a green home and connect with green home professionals. For more information on USGBC and the LEED for Homes program visit www.usgbc.org.

".... In transforming the Lower 9th Ward, Make It Right is showing us how we can transform those parts of our nation that have fallen behind the most, whether through neglect, poverty or disaster," President Clinton said. "Make It Right offers a blueprint for how to build homes that instill pride and combine to form communities of hope and opportunity. By following the Make It Right model, we can generate the green collar jobs our economy needs to move forward and advance building practices that reduce carbon emissions, while at the same time growing neighborhoods where families can thrive...."

.... While Katrina gave us the opportunity to think creatively about how to make green homes affordable for the low-income families who need them the most, it shouldn’t take a hurricane to make that happen in other cities," said Pitt said. "Our plan is to take what we have learned in New Orleans and help other communities build healthy, safe and affordable green homes. Our hope is to make these homes the norm, not the exception."

DEZEEN design magazine
pix and comments about New Orleans house boats going green

 

 

In New Orleans, Mayoral Race Still Lacks Heft - NYTimes.com
Source: www.nytimes.com
No candidate or potential candidate has so far galvanized voters or emerged as a front-runner to handle what promises to be a daunting agenda.

Brad Pitt articles includes about Brad Pitt for mayor campaign in New Orleans

Larry King Transcription  0712/05/lkl.01.html [complete conversation]
MakeItRightNola.org for update

 

Brad Pitt Commissions Designs for New Orleans
By ROBIN POGREBIN

Mr. Pitt commissioned 13 architecture firms to help rebuild New Orleans’s impoverished Lower Ninth Ward.

Thom Mayne of Morphosis in Los Angeles designed a house that would float if the city floods. James Timberlake of KieranTimberlake Associates in Philadelphia created a house with native vines climbing up the side walls to provide shade and coolness. Steven B. Bingler of Concordia in New Orleans envisioned a house with wide front steps ideal for a traditional crawfish boil.

Those are three of the designs by 13 architecture firms commissioned by the actor Brad Pitt to help rebuild New Orleans’s impoverished Lower Ninth Ward, one of the neighborhoods hit hardest by Hurricane Katrina in 2005....

The green building elements will reduce upkeep costs by at least 75 percent, Mr. Pitt said, and reduce some of the problems that devastated the Lower Ninth Ward during Katrina, when multiple levee breaks forced thousands of people from their homes.

The architects were each asked to design a 1,200-square-foot house for about $150,000, with Make It Right to help with the financing. The houses had to be built five to eight feet off the ground, with a front porch and three bedrooms....

Mr. Pitt is asking foundations, corporations and individuals to contribute to the project by adopting one house, several houses or a portion of a house through the project Web site, makeitrightnola.org. "You can adopt a tankless water heater or a solar panel or a tree or a low-flush toilet," Mr. Pitt said. "You can give it to someone for Christmas," he said — instead of another sweater.

Responding to critics who question the wisdom of rebuilding at all in an area likely to get hit again, Mr. Pitt said: "My first answer to that is, talk to the people who’ve lived there and have raised their kids there. People are needing to get back in their homes."

'Uptown' is a section of New Orleans, Louisiana on the East Bank of the Mississippi River encompassing a number of neighborhoods between the French Quarter and the Jefferson Parish line.

 

Mo' Better Blues - tight-knit community
Spike Lee and Terence Blanchard [right]: nice work if you can get it - walk outside and randomly pick people from the sidewalk for a musical score.

Spike Lee recalled, "All those guys were living in my neighborhood. They had all moved up from New Orleans to Fort Greene, Brooklyn. Wynton was there, Branford was there, Terence was there, Donald Harrison. So my father, Bill Lee, managed to give these young jazz musicians some experience working on a film score."

Mo' Better Blues, stars Denzel Washington as a jazz trumpeter [resemblance to Terence Blanchard]. The opening scene, set in childhood, finds him stuck at the piano while his friends head off to play ball. Mr. Blanchard played the film's trumpet parts and, at the director's invitation, contributed a theme.

In the studio, Spike Lee said, "my father handed the music back to Terence and said, 'You wrote it, you conduct it.' Terence has been doing my scores ever since."

According to Nate Chinen [NY Times], Blanchard observed, when he returned to New Orleans and stood in front of his mother's house, in the Pontchartrain Park neighborhood, "It was hard coming here, man....[but] This is all stuff that can be rebuilt."
That initial visit, and especially the staggering despair of Mrs. Blanchard, made for one of the more poignant scenes in "When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts," the 2006 HBO documentary directed by Spike Lee. "In fact," Mr. Lee said by telephone the day the film's six Emmy nominations were announced, "when we shot that scene, I stayed outside. I couldn't go inside the house."
More Spike Lee below - Movies and More Treats from New Orleans

 

 

Prayer For The Crescent City

Candles: White [devotion to rebirth of the city, compassion,
and energy management]
optional - Red [courage, life force, and passion]

Thus the elements interchanged their qualities,
As on a harp the notes may change their rhythm,
Though all the while preserving their tone
This clearly appears from a scrutiny of the events.

Join with family and friends to light candles, renew dedication
to New Orleans, and give thanks for a new beginning.

 

 

THE DICTIONARY OF AMERICAN SLANG, in its 1960, pre-hippie edition, gives a very adequate definition and historic background for American hip lingo. For example, here are the entries for, 'far-out,' 'like,' and 'too-much:'

From The West Coast Magazine, an article by Phyllis Fisher [continued]
Auras and Alchemy III - Continuing Studies, Searching Auras

Far out far-out adj.
1. Descriptive of or characteristic of the most modern forms of jazz or progressive music; technically, more progressive than cool.
2. Descriptive of or characteristic of devotees of 'far out' music and their behavior; intellectual.
3. Satisfying; capable of arousing enthusiasm. 1956: 'Far-out' is the new hip term of critical approval, superseding the swing era's 'hot' and the bop era's 'cool'. A. Shaw, West Coast Jazz. See way out.

 

 

 

 

 

Some favourite flicks from New Orleans
see below for well known actors and actresses with Mars in Capricorn

Always for Pleasure Les Blank 1978
An insider’s look at the cultural gumbo of New Orleans, with Mardi Gras and Jazz Fest, along with live music from Professor Longhair, the Wild Tchoupitoulas, the Neville Brothers and more. also go to:
A Well Spent Life - Directors: Les Blank, Skip Gerson 1972
Documentary about legendary blues guitarist Mance Lipscomb, born in 1895, a Black Texas sharecropper, guitarist, and singer, who was recorded by Arhoolie Records in 1960.


The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans
Terence McDonagh is a drug- and gambling-addled detective in post-Katrina New Orleans investigating the killing of five Senegalese immigrants. Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes, Val Kilmer, and Russell M. Haeuser - Director: Werner Herzog (2009)

Belizaire The Cajun
[personal favourite on the topic of early America and our Southern states]
Belizaire (Armand Assante), unofficial spokesman for his people, butts heads with local bigots who want to rid the area of Cajuns; music by Michael Doucet and Howard Shore

The Big Easy
Jim McBride 1986, Set in New Orleans. Remy McSwain, lieutenant in Homicide finds that he has two problems, the first of a series of gang killings and Ann Osborne. Stars: Dennis Quaid and Ellen Barkin

The Big Uneasy
Harry Shearer documents an alternative story of New Orleans, Hurricane Katrina and the Army Corps of Engineers. Close to the action, Shearer reports on the letter whistleblower Maria Garzino sent to the Obama Administration earlier this year that fully exposes the degree of deception by USACE. The letter reveals not only a shockingly detailed portrait, but also the attempts of government officials to prevent Garzino from blowing the whistle at all. Garzino details how the Corps knowingly installed equipment that cannot adequately protect the city of New Orleans from flooding.

Blues Brothers 2000
Director: John Landis 1998
Stars: Dan Aykroyd, John Goodman, Walter Levine, Erykah Badu-Queen Mousette
Fun all around. Check "Ghost Riders in the Sky", and New Orleans battle of the bands between The Blues Brothers Band and The Louisiana Gator Boys [including B.B. King, Eric Clapton, Dr. John, and a long list of all-stars]. Great musical support and cameos contributed by a multitude of R&B, Country, and R&R music icons.

The Client, Director: Joel Schumacher 1994
A young boy who witnessed the suicide of a mafia lawyer hires an attorney to protect him when the district attorney tries to use him to take down a mob family. Stars: Susan Sarandon, Tommy Lee Jones, Brad Renfro

New ­Orleans home-owners Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie
premiere of Benjamin Button

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, David Fincher 2008
Tells the story of Benjamin Button, a man who starts aging backwards with bizarre consequences. Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton

Dead Man Walking Director: Tim Robbins 1995
A nun, while comforting a convicted killer on death row, empathizes with both the killer and his victim's families. Stars Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn
Trump XIII - Grim Reaper, Metamorphosis

Deja Vu Tony Scott 2006
Stars: Denzel Washington, Val Kilmer, Paula Patton and Jim Caviezel
Writers: Bill Marsilii, Terry Rossio 126 min
God of Film Making Director Tony Scott

Double Jeopardy
A woman framed for her husband's murder [Ashley Judd] suspects he is still alive; as she has already been tried for the crime, she can't be re-prosecuted if she finds and kills him. Tommy Lee Jones, Bruce Greenwood
Bruce Beresford 1999

The Expendables
Sylvester Stallone 2010, film location include: New Orleans, and Elmwood, Louisiana
A team of mercenaries head to South America on a mission to overthrow a dictator. Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li
see poster for The Mechanic
Jason Statham, Ben Foster, and Donald Sutherland January 2011

Fantastic Four
Director: Tim Story 2005
A group of astronauts gain superpowers after a cosmic radiation exposure and must use them to oppose the plans of their enemy, Doctor Victor Von Doom. Jessica Alba, Ioan Gruffudd, Michael Chiklis, Chris Evans
Trump XVII The Star The Rise of the Silver Surfer

The Guardian
Director: Andrew Davis 2006
A high school swim champion with a troubled past enrolls in the U.S. Coast Guard's "A" School, where legendary rescue swimmer Ben Randall teaches him some hard lessons about loss, love, and self-sacrifice. Stars: Kevin Costner, Ashton Kutcher, and Sela Ward
Trump XIII - Grim Reaper, Metamorphosis

If God Is Willing and da Creek Don't Rise - Spike Lee 2010
Lee returns to New Orleans, to see how the ambitious plans to reinvent the Crescent City are playing out.

It Might Get Loud
Jimmy Page takes us on a guided tour of Headley Grange; he discusses the drum set location Bonzo used for the Led Zeppelin recording of fourth album version, When The Levee Breaks
2008 Davis Guggenheim - IMDb A documentary on the electric guitar from the point of view of three significant rock musicians: the Edge, Jimmy Page and Jack White.

J F K
Director: Oliver Stone 1991
Stars: Kevin Costner, Gary Oldman, Jack Lemmon, Sissy Spacek, and all-star cast
New Orleans DA Jim Garrison [Kevin Costner] decides to take on an investigation of all players involved in the assassination of President Kennedy in Texas. Brilliant review of the possible conspiracy beyond the boundary line imposed by the official story. JFK should have received nominations for Best Director and Best Picture, but was passed over by the Academy as "too hot".

Last Holiday
Director: Wayne Wang 2006
Stars: Queen Latifah, LL Cool J, Timothy Hutton, and Gérard Depardieu as Chef Didier
Filmed in New Orleans, Louisiana, Karlovy Vary's Grandhotel Pupp, and Tirol, Austria
After she's diagnosed with a terminal illness, a shy woman [Queen Latifah] decides to take a European vacation and see it all. What’s in your book of possibilities?
Caution: Not for the weak of heart: if you watch your cholesterol, avoid base jumping because you fear heights, and refuse to spend cash on anything but essentials, this film will not entertain you.
Ooooo! Look at that!
Possible side effects: perfect family holiday movie to watch while trimming the tree!
Last Holiday DVD and trailer
Link with Trump II, Trump XIII, and Trump XIX
Last Holiday recipe tribute @ Shrmx Menu here

Live and Let Die [007] Roger Moore, Yaphet Kotto, Jane Seymour
Guy Hamilton 1973
Ian Fleming and Jupiter in Pisces

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil John Cusack, Kevin Spacey
Clint Eastwood 1997

The Night Stalker
Carl Kolchak investigates "The Spanish Moss Murders" Episode 9, aired 12/06/1974
Spanish moss, left at the scene of a murder, gives Carl a lead on the murderer. While interviewing street musicians, one fiddler gives him the background of an old Louisiana legend about "Peremalfait." Kolchak links this childhood legend to another Cajun musician, who, as part of a university experiment, has been kept asleep for six weeks without being allowed to dream. A better-than-average episode with some interesting scenes cut from it. with stars Keenan Wynn, Severn Darden, Randy Boone, Johnny Silver, Elisabeth Brooks, Maurice Marsac, and Richard Kiel. see also Jack Grinnage's (Ron Updyke) web page

No Mercy
Richard Pearce 1986, maverick Chicago cop Eddie Jillette poses as a hit man to meet with someone in from New Orleans looking to have a job done. Stars: Richard Gere, Kim Basinger, Jeroen Krabbé

Ocean's Thirteen - cool cameo, George Clooney and Brad Pitt watch the Oprah Winfrey show as Oprah gives a very large house to a family in her audience. see The Angel Network, Oprah Winfrey -  Angel Network and other organizations in the effort to rebuild homes and rebuild lives
- Official Site

The Pelican Brief
Alan J. Pakula 1993
Stars: Julia Roberts, Denzel Washington, and Sam Shepard
Law student Darby Shaw [Roberts] uncovers a conspiracy after the violent death of two Supreme Court Justices. College professor Thomas Callahan [Shepard], who clerked for one of the two men, quickly spirals down in a deep depression, after he hears one of his heroes was assassinated. Darby is his star student, also his lover, so he reads her research. Her theory ties loose threads together and links both judges to a case about the endangered brown pelican. Callahan gives Darby’s brief to an FBI friend and takes some time away with Darby. Callahan does not survive and Darby seeks help from investigative reporter Gray Grantham [Denzel Washington], another Callahan hero, who has connections and the integrity to rescue her and uncover the conspiracy.

The Princess and the Frog Walt Disney Animation Studios presents an animated comedy set in the great city of New Orleans.
2009 IMDb
Sherbet the Frog - cool amphibian-inspired snack for a hot summer day.

RED
Robert Schwentke 2010
When his idyllic life is threatened by a high-tech assassin, former black-ops agent Frank Moses reassembles his old team in a last ditch effort to survive. Stars: Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman; film locations in New Orleans [1507 Magazine Street, New Orleans], and Canada

Riverboat stars Darren McGavin as Captain Grey Holden - from the early 1959 promo
"John James Audubon, the noted ornithologist was decidedly put out when Internal Revenue officers took a flask of whiskey away from him while he was riding a Missouri riverboat through "dry" territory.
And Charles Dickens, who traveled the Mississippi aboard another riverboat, summed up the cruise with a terse "uncivilized."
On the other hand, artist George Catlin so thoroughly enjoyed his riverboat roaming that he talked dozens of foreign dignitaries into taking the "grand tour" of the Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri Rivers.
Because they rode the boats, some of history's most noted figures will be portrayed in this years NBC-TV's RIVERBOAT, a full-hour weekly program dealing with the romantic, colorful and sometimes uncomfortable life aboard sternwheelers.
The famous names will be worked into the storylines but they will not be entire episodes in and of themselves.
Young Philippe of France is one likely person encountered. He and his two brothers traveled from Pittsburgh to New Orleans and created a legend in so doing. Story has it the barge they were on got stuck. One of the boatmen yelled into their cabin, "Hey, you kings there, get yourselves up and shove this...barge off the bar!" And, according to tale-teller, the royal gentry did just that..."


Runaway Jury A juror on the inside and a woman on the outside manipulate a court trial involving a major gun manufacturer. John Cusack, Rachel Weisz, Gene Hackman, and Dustin Hoffman
Gary Fleder 2003

STAR TREK: Deep Space 9
Favorites of Captain Benjamin Sisko, from the family bistro Sisko’s in le vieux carré in New Orleans LA
include Jambalaya, a Creole stew, Gumbo [also a favorite of Jake Sisko], and Bread-Pudding Soufflé
go Star Trek: Guinan, under construction

St. Joan of Arc, Patron Saint of France
Ingrid Bergman labored to bring this project to the screen [director Victor Fleming 1948] and her portrayal of Joan helped Joan of Arc win two Academy Awards, with seven nominations.

Mark Twain translated the original transcript of St. Joan's story, word for word, from French to English, as provided by her page, secretary [Joan could not read or write], and one of her best generals. The two volume epic is taken directly from the original Vatican records of testimony about Joan given to the Pope, transcribed twenty five years after Joan was executed. People close to Ingrid Bergman report her dedication to St. Joan and a deeper research of the life of Joan and the small village in France where she was born and lived her brief life. During these years there were four popes in the Christian world.

see Joan of Arc article about The Maid and Mark Twain's transcription of her story delivered directly to the Pope in Rome.

Note: according to IMDb, Maxwell Anderson's play, "Joan of Lorraine", from which this film was adapted, is a play-within-a-play, and its plot not only relates the story of Joan of Arc but also shows the effect that Joan's story has on an acting company that is performing it, especially the actress playing the leading role.

A Streetcar Named Desire Disturbed Blanche DuBois moves in with her sister in New Orleans and is tormented by her brutish brother-in-law while her reality crumbles around her. Marlon Brando and Vivien Leigh
Elia Kazan 1951

TREME - HBO tv series Season two

"When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts"
Interview With Spike Lee "... it was a breaching of the levees that put 80 percent of the city under water. It was not the hurricane .... one interesting thing is that these European journalists were saying the images they were seeing looked like they were from a third world country, not the almighty United States of America."
Spike Lee 2006

Wild at Heart
Young lovers Sailor [Nicolas Cage] and Lula [Laura Dern] run from a variety of weirdos that Lula's mom has hired to kill Sailor.
David Lynch 1990

X-Men Origins: Wolverine Director: Gavin Hood May 2009 | Film
After seeking to live a normal life, Logan sets out to avenge the death of his girlfriend by undergoing the mutant Weapon X program and becoming Wolverine. Stars: Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Ryan Reynolds
X-Man Remy LeBeau, the ragin’ Cajun mutant | Marvel Comic Book Hero - see also Storm @ Halle Berry Star Menu and Catwoman - Women of Gotham [women with Venus in Scorpio]

 

Congratulations New Orleans Saints!

MARS IN CAPRICORN

Mars is exalted in Capricorn, cardinal earth sign of the Sea-goat. The life is committed, courageous and with honor, health and strength. The nature is inclined to success regardless of an extended length of time, expected or unexpected obstacles, and sacrifices to be made. Mars in Capricorn imparts strength to limb and keenness to the intellect, swiftness of movement, and an indefatigable spirit. The mind is subtle and gains through intuition. Love of duty is strong; awareness and acceptance—not fatalistic passivity, but acceptance as a road map or thematic blueprint for individual creative activity—can modify adverse karma and adverse circumstances. Anciently the skills were said to extend to mind over matter and confer the rare power that enables the higher self to communicate with every kind of quadruped, and tame them [akin to the Elves and Rohirrim in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth.]

Mars in Capricorn is linked to the Three of Disks in the Minor Arcana, sometimes titled, "Works", that shows the material establishment of the idea of the Universe, the determination of its basic form. Mars energy is constructive, often active as a production designer, builder or engineer. The card represents a pyramid viewed from above the apex. The base is formed by three wheels – Mercury, Sulphur, and Salt [in metaphysical terms.] This pyramid is situated in the great Sea of Binah in the Night of Time, but the sea is solidified; hence the colours of the background are mottled, a cold thin dark grey with a pattern of indigo and green. The sides of the pyramid have a strong reddish tint, showing the influence of Mars.

Grant Lewi writes, "Controlled actions and speech come naturally to you; your vitality works well in the harness of the world as it is, and you can master details as well as the executive functions. You are tactful in a proud sort of way; you say the right thing without yielding your dignity or compromising with the truth as you see it. You are a born leader, having the first requisites of leadership: control of yourself and ability to take orders. This is one of the most favorable positions of Mars for worldly success, for you will rarely do anything that interferes with your security, or with security's broader manifestation, desire for power; and in one way or another, authority will accumulate in your hands if you don't block the free flow of your vitality with too much self-confidence. You can afford to "sit loose in the saddle of fate" in the assurance that your mount will carry you where you want to go, and you should respect the steed by sparing whip and spur."

Business skills can reach top level positions. There may be titles and positions like president, senior vice president, judge, appointed official, health care manager [and/or surgeon], general sales manager, real estate manager, sports commissioner, engineer, landscaper and builder, to name only a few. Mars in the earthy sign Capricorn becomes industrious, a perfectionist, and well informed [keeps up with changes, speculative possibilities on the back burner that may be game changers in the future.]

Business executives prefer comfortable, congenial surroundings and cheerful employees. Office design and personal workspace should be thought through in every detail, including the lighting, period furniture, and images in the room. The colour scheme is of vital importance because Mars is strongly effected by any shade of red. Accessories should include statuary - ideally marble, granite, or clear glass forms – holographic art is always smart. Hours go longer than they should or become irregular and uneven. A nearby gym, walk path, or meditation spot is a good way to stay on an even keel during the difficult financial recovery. Will attain a position of authority and prominence, usually through achievement, social associations [marriage sometimes] and club affiliation, friends among powerful people, within electrifying movements, and occult study.

Energy is confident and aggressive; denotes many changes in lifestyle, preferment, honor, and vigor; the nature is frank, generous, candid, ambitious, progressive, fearless, inclined to look upward and forward to the future. Physical pastimes include mountain climbing, biking, running, and as many strenuous sports as can be managed in a weekly schedule. Some special interests include spelunking, antique shopping, interest in sacred land, ancient sites, historical landmarks, national parks, and petroglyphs.

Super Bowl XLIV - Best Shots
Read More: Saints - Sports Illustrated
A screen pass to Pierre Thomas on the drive that followed the successful onsides kick led to this touchdown and a 13-10 New Orleans lead.

Many well known people with Mars exalted in Capricorn are assisting with the restoration of the Crescent City: Aaliyah [Aaliyah Dana Haughton], Christina Aguilera, Woody Allen, Jane Austen, Frankie Avalon
Meher Baba, Ginger Baker, Scott Bakula, Jack Benny, Peter Bogdanovich, Ellen Barkin, Roseanne Barr, Sir James Matthew Barrie, Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Beals, Jim Belushi, Bernardo Bertolucci, Orlando Bloom, Humphrey Bogart, Lisa Bonet, David Bowie, Lorraine Bracco, Marlon Brando, Drew Brees, Lloyd Bridges, Leo Buscaglia, Admiral Richard E. Byrd, USN
Nicolas Cage, Jane Campion, Jim Carrey, Edgar Cayce, Jean-François Champollion, Dabney Coleman, Judy Collins, Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, Francis Ford Coppola, Elvis Costello, Kathryn Grant Crosby, Aleister Crowley, Sir Noël Coward
Léon Delacroix, Alain Delon, Gérard Depardieu, Guillaume Depardieu, Marlene Dietrich, Walter Disney, Fats Domino, Kirk Douglas, Daphne du Maurier
Albert Einstein
Marianne Faithfull, Henri Fantin-Latour, Mia Farrow, Dian Fossey, Megan Fox, St. Francis of Assisi
Lady Gaga, Andy García, Marvin Gaye, Uri Geller, Andy Gibb, Kahlil Gibran, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Jeff Goldblum, Robert Goulet, Betty Grable, Joan Grant, Peter Graves
Gene Hackman, George Hamilton, Ed Harris, George Harrison (BEATLES), Mary Hart, Anne Hathaway, Dennis Haysbert, Tippi Hedren, Katharine Hepburn, Freddie Highmore, Kate Noelle "Katie" Holmes, L. Ron Hubbard
Ice-T, Washington Irving
Samuel L. Jackson
Frida Kahlo, Danny Kaye [Sun 28°02 Capricorn, Moon 4°29 Gemini, Ascendant 15°48 Taurus, Midheaven 26°29 Capricorn], Harvey Keitel, Richard Dawson Kiel [Jaws], Larry King, Kathryn Kuhlman
Shia LaBeouf, George Lazenby, Timothy Leary, Alan Leo, Jerry Lewis, David Livingstone, Mike Love (Beach Boys), Franz Liszt
Martie Maguire [the Dixie Chicks], Gustav Mahler, Lee Majors, Barbara Mandrell, Bob Marley, Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, Henri Matisse, Ewan McGregor, Victor McLaglen, Aimee Semple McPherson, Margaret Mead, Cléo de Mérode, Michael Moore, Jeanne Moreau, Rita Moreno
Leslie Nielsen
Annie Oakley, Merle Oberon, Laurence Olivier, Kelly Osbourne, Ozzy Osbourne
Paracelsus [Philippe Paracelse], Rosa Parks [Sun 15°21 Aquarius, Moon 29°18 Capricorn], Anna Pavlova, Joe Pesci, Mary Pickford, Brad Pitt, Annie Potts
Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen (Red Baron), Lynn Redgrave, Miranda Richardson [The Daily Prophet, Harry Potter], Julie Roberts, David Lee Roth, Mark Ruffalo
Greta Scacchi, Joel Schumacher, Jerome Seinfeld, Tom Selleck, Patti Smith, Paul Sorvino, James Spader, Steven Spielberg, Dusty Springfield, Barbara Stanwyck, Gwen Renée Stefani [No Doubt], Rod Stewart, Ben Stiller, Sharon Stone, Donna Summer, Loretta Swit
David Tennant [Doctor Who - Barty Crouch Jr., Harry Potter series], Meg Tilly, Lily Tomlin, Kathleen Turner
Lars Ulrich [Metallica], Keith Urban
Steve Van Zandt [E Street Band], Sarah Vaughan, Stevie Ray Vaughan
Bill Walton [NBA, Basketball Hall of Fame], Alan Watts, John Wayne, Richard Widmark, JoBeth Williams
Glenn Yarbrough [The Limeliters]
Catherine Zeta-Jones, Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. [Babylon 5]

 

 

     

 

 

More Treats From New Orleans

Armstrong Park Treme music series, People United for Armstrong Park - Sowing Seeds in Sacred Ground

A Taste of Louisiana with Chef John Folse & Co.

Brees Dream Foundation Drew and Britney’s Brees Dream Foundation announced a partnership in 2007 with international children’s charity Operation Kids, to rebuild and restore academic and athletic facilities, parks and playgrounds, after-school programs, mentoring programs for the intellectually disabled, neighborhood revitalization projects and child care facilities in New Orleans.

Congo Square Rhythms Festival
Drums ancient and modern beat, presented by the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation.

Defender - online NOLA Defender

How to cook Beignets In 1986, beignets became the Louisiana State Doughnut.

IMPACT! Your World - Jazz musician Branford Marsalis helps music return to New Orleans' 9th Ward by working with Habitat for Humanity.

Wynton Marsalis [homepage], trumpet, Sun: 25° Libra 05' - Moon: 14° Aquarius 57' [solar chart noon], Mars 11°33' Scorpio is conjunct Mercury and Neptune, sextile Pluto * Brandenberg Concerto No. 2, In Gabriel’s Garden

New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
twitter follow jazzfest See you at Jazz Fest!

ORDER FESS JAZZTIVAL TICKETS
online @ WWW.TIPITINAS.COM for more about Neville Brothers, John Lee Hooker, and others

Blanchard continues crusade to revitalize his hometown
Terence Blanchard is the internationally renowned jazz trumpeter who composed music for all of director Spike Lee's films — from Malcolm X, Inside Man, and Miracle at St. Anna to music from When the Levees Broke, Spike Lee's acclaimed HBO documentary on Hurricane Katrina. Miracle at St. Anna is one of my favorite Spike Lee films partly because of the haunting musical score. Directed by Spike Lee and written by James McBride [novel], the WWII film follows four African-American Buffalo Soldiers of the 92nd Infantry Division who thread their way through the Italian war zone and reach the other side of the 'high risk' river. Lee utilizes the effect of time displacement to substitute his natural time window blueprint for the mechanical hardware model devised in Deja Vu. Blanchard's score runs parallel to the visual story akin to a sitar master tuning into one of nature's morning ragas and playing along.

John Folse of Lafitte's Landing
Lafitte's Landing, 10275 Highway 70, Donaldsonville (New Orleans) , 504-473-1232
BOUCHE NOIRE Chocolate is for lovers!
The definition of "black mouth", the English translation of Bouche Noire, becomes immediately apparent when you see 12 ounces of dark chocolate as the main ingredient in this recipe. I must caution you however, do not attempt this recipe if you don't consider yourself a chocolate addict! Undecorated layer cakes such as this one were often served in early Creole homes with a topping of fresh fruit and unsweetened whipped cream.

Master Chef
Gordon Ramsay's search for "MASTERCHEF"
GO TO: www.masterchefcasting.com for more info
MasterChef is conducting a nationwide search for the Best home cooks in America.
Gordon Ramsay: A Chef for All Seasons by Gordon Ramsay with Roz Denny
(Ten Speed Press, September 2000)

NOLA tiles Established in 2008, nolatiles.com is a project conceived on the idea of using the historic New Orleans street tiles as a basis for art and home décor.



New Orleans Chowhound - The Best Thing You Ever Ate: New Orleans

New Orleans City Seal

Neville Brothers Fried Eggplant Strips

2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons Tabasco pepper sauce
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 eggplant, cut into 3-inch strips
1/2 cup flour
Bread crumbs, the spicy seasoned type are best
Vegetable oil for frying

Mix eggs, milk, Tabasco sauce, cayenne and black peppers. Dust eggplant lightly with flour on all sides. Dip into egg mixture. Cover completely with bread crumbs. Heat large skillet filled 1/2 full with oil. Fry breaded eggplant slowly until golden brown.

The Old Absinthe House, the corner of Rue Bourbon and Rue Bienville
two blocks below Canal Street. Famous as the one-time headquarters of notorious pirate Laffite
Absinthe House Frappe created here by Cayetano Ferrer in 1874. Absinthe, the predecessor of anis, has been banned since the 1920s because of some properties of the wormwood.
the Old Absinthe House’s motto is that "Everyone You Have Known or Ever Will Know, Eventually Ends Up at The Old Absinthe House"

Po Boy - New Orleans style
Parkway Bakery & Tavern
538 Hagan Avenue, corner of Hagan and Toulouse, block or so off Bayou St. John
Featured on The Rachel Maddow Show MSNBC, Parkway's Surf and Turf
[closed Tuesday]

           

TREME local bars, clubs, and restaurants as seen on HBO series

Apple Barrel 609 Frenchmen St., 504.949.9399
Bacchanal is now fully an only-in-New Orleans institution
corner of Chartres Street and Poland Avenue, 600 Poland Ave., 504.948.9111
Bullet's Sports Bar 2441 A.P. Tureaud St., 7th Ward, 504.948.4003
Columns Hotel Bar 3811 St. Charles Ave., 504.899.9308
Snug Harbor 626 Frenchmen St., 504.949.0696
The Spotted Cat 623 Frenchmen St, Marigny, 504.943.3887
Willie Mae’s Scotch House, 2401 Saint Ann St, New Orleans, LA, (504)822-9503
video New Orleans: Saving Willie Mae's Scotch House
          

Voice of the Wetlands is grateful
for the donation of this special edition Music Rising
Epiphone Les Paul guitar, designed by U2's The Edge

VOODOO CHILD
Nicolas Cage created a comic book series with his son called Voodoo Child. He says that the series is different because it's "more spiritual than, say, a Superman or a Batman." The illustrations and storyline are original and well laid out. The series is a real find for comic book collectors.
"Weston has always been a huge inspiration to me," Cage said of his son. "He has been drawing comics since he was three." Weston says he had tinkered with the idea for Voodoo Child since seeing hurricane damage in New Orleans, where he and his father lived part time for years. The first of the six-issue miniseries was published in July 2007.

Terence Blanchard, the trumpeter, bandleader
and composer, muses about Divine Providence,
our collective soul, and New New Orleans
where water meets the earth NY Times article by Nate Chinen

"A Tale of God’s Will," like the album "Flow"
before it, includes one song apiece by each young band member. Mr. Winston, a former New Orleans resident, contributed a haunting lament, "In Time of Need." Mr. Hodge, a budding film composer who helped with the Levees" score, lent his anthem, "Over There." Mr. Parks, then still in the band, wrote a sonorous piece called "Ashe." Mr. Scott brought in "Mantra," with his own orchestration. ("You wrote it, you conduct it," he was told.) For his cultivation of these players, Mr. Blanchard is often likened to Art Blakey. A better analogy might be Miles Davis, whose young quintet of the mid-1960s featured compositions by all of its members and absorbed their characteristics.

Mr. [Herbie] Hancock, a member of that group endorses the idea. "They're able to take these compositions," he said of the musicians, "and immediately translate them into the particular sound of Terence's band, which in many ways reminds me of what used to happen with Miles."
Check above "When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts," the 2006 documentary directed by Spike Lee

 

 

           

 

Thumbnail History of New Orleans, Louisiana,
Previous Capitol of the Creole State

Louisiana is called the Pelican State, after the brown bird*
that lives in its coastal marshes.

New Orleans is the Paris of America, the home of Mardi Gras, the French Quarter, and restaurants world famous for their Creole cooking. Streets still carry the original name they were given when New Orleans was a French settlement - some are romantic, elite, and elegant – Royal, Chartres, St. Louis. Bourbon Street, seems a signature favourite for Hollywood, from JFK to Woverine. It was the site of the old French Opera House, destroyed by fire, and a blacksmith shop that was an office front for the pirate brothers Laffite.

In a room in the Cabildo, an ancient government building in the French Quarter, the formal ceremony was held which transferred New Orleans and all Louisiana from France to the United States in 1803. Thomas Jefferson appointed Meriwether Lewis and William Clark as leaders of an expedition to explore all unknown land** included in the Louisiana Purchase. Their success was due in part to Shoshone guide Sacagawea, and Lewis’ mastery of celestial navigation-astronomy before they began their journey. Jefferson appointed Meriwether Lewis Governor of the Louisiana Territory in 1807.

The city began to flourish after the first steamboat, the New Orleans, successfully navigated the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers in 1812. New Orleans once handled more cotton, bananas, and coffee than all other American seaports combined.

The Phoenix-like character of New Orleans represents a blended chord of French, Spanish, Indian, and African cultures on this continent. Residents are resilient, resourceful, and display the warm sunshine of their smile, even in turbulent times.

Renowned historian Alexis de Tocqueville reported his impressions of America when he toured 17 states during 1831-1832; de Tocqueville and his companion reached New Orleans on January 1, 1832.
His journal includes detailed notes about the event of his arrival, during a very difficult winter, and brief stay in New Orleans, including an interview with the eagle Mr. Mazureau.
Arrival at New Orleans. Forest of ships. Mississippi 300 feet deep. External appearance of the town. Beautiful houses. Huts. Muddy, unpaved streets. Spanish architecture: flat roofs; English; bricks, little doors; French: massive carriage entrances. Population just as mixed. Faces with every shade of color. Language French, English, Spanish, Creole. General French look, but all the same notices and commercial announcements mostly in English. Industrial and commercial world American.
full article

The history of New Orleans hasn't always been easy going. Hurricanes and floods ravaged New Orleans in 1722, 1732, 1831, 1874, 1915, and 1965. Fires decimated the city in 1788 and 1794. Yellow fever and cholera epidemics killed tens of thousands of residents in 1832, 1853, and 1878. The Reconstruction Years, 1865-1877, that followed the Civil War were difficult for city residents.

The French historian Gayarre wrote, "On the 21st of March, 1788, being Good Friday, at half past one in the afternoon, a fire broke out in New Orleans, in the home of the military treasurer, Vicente Jose Nunez, and reduced to ashes 856 edifices…Most of the buildings that escaped the conflagration were those which fronted the river. The imagination can easily conceive the scene of desolation; almost the whole of the population of the smouldering town was ruined, and deprived even of shelter during the whole of the following night."

1880s archaeology - excavations and review*** by Augustus Le Plongeon, his wife, and other archeologists, bring to the surface a deeper level of understanding about the New Orleans area:

" …on this continent, not far from New Orleans, exist the relics of past generations which are as interesting, if not more so, as those of Egypt, Babylonia, Greece, and Italy; as deserving the attention of all students of archaeology, of history, of ethnology, and philology. It is time yet to save from utter destruction the last records of ancient American history, that are crumbling every day more and more, and are being destroyed by the hand of ignorance and cupidity."

Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005, flooding 80 percent of the city of New Orleans and killing 1,577 in Louisiana. Hardest hit was the Lower 9th Ward, where more than 4,000 homes were destroyed by the storm and the surge of water caused by the breach in the Industrial Canal levee. Today, according to the New Orleans Data Center, close to 80 percent of residents have returned to the city. In the Lower 9th Ward, which in addition to being hardest-hit by Katrina was one of the city’s poorest areas, only 19 percent of residents have come home. Make It Right, a co-operative organized by Brad Pitt, and other local groups, work to address the reasons residents have not returned – building housing, increasing neighborhood sustainability and investing in infrastructure repairs and improvements.

HURRICANE KATRINA in New Orleans, Louisiana USA
August 29, 2005

Sun 6° Virgo 22' - Moon 10° Moonchild [Cancer] 03'
Ascendant 19° Libra 52' - Midheaven 21° Moonchild [Cancer] 08'

Manly P. Hall gives Scorpio as the ruler of the following Countries and Cities

Countries: Algeria, Barbary, Morocco, Norway, Transvaal, Judea, Bavaria.
Cities: Dover, Liverpool, New Orleans, Washington [D.C.], Baltimore, Cincinnati, Milwaukee, St. Johns [Newfoundland], Halifax, Newcastle.

Red, Gold, and Black Wave
On August 27, 1883, the volcano Karang on the island of Krakatoa
in the Sunda Strait

Release of the Kracken!

 

* The pelican is a symbol of sacrifice and resurrection because it will pierce its breast to feed its young. Christian mysticism often portrays Christ as a pelican because He saved humanity by sacrificing His own blood.

** scenario presented by historians and archaeologists from Ohio shed light on a page from a lost epic.
Tracking Ohio’s Great Hopewell Road, by Bradley T. Lepper
Archaeology Magazine, November/December 1995

The Maya have long been known for their great network of roads, or sacheob, that criss crossed the Yucatan Peninsula, connecting one ceremonial center to another. In the southwestern United States the Anasazi built their own system of sacred pathways replicating a spiritual landscape described in their origin myths. Until recently such roads were unknown in eastern North America, though nineteenth-century observers had recorded short stretches of parallel earthen walls leading to and from the large geometric enclosures of the Hopewell, a people who thrived in the valleys of what is now southern Ohio from ca. 100 B.C. to ca. A.D. 400...

... In the sixteenth century, when the Spanish encountered the Maya of the Yucatan and asked of them the purpose of their long straight highways, the natives said they were sacred roads, routes of pilgrimage. The Maya name for them – and for the Milky Way – was Sache, meaning "white road." Delaware Indians have a tradition about, "the good old times. [there was] ...a string of white wampum beads… stretched from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and on this white road their envoys travelled from one great ocean to the other, safe from attack." Among the eastern Algonquian peoples, wampum was not merely a form of money. It was also an instrument—or a sacrament—for negotiating peace, proposing marriage, or offering condolences at the death of a chief. Among the Iroquois the "great white wampum belt" signified purity and peace. The Delaware referred to life’s journey as the "Beautiful White Path," one ritually enacted in Big House ceremonies. American anthropologist Frank Speck believes the White Path also represented the Milky Way, the Spirit or Ghost Path, over which the souls of the dead would continue their journey into the spirit world.

The Hopewell participated in a trading network that spanned much of North America. They acquired copper from the upper Great Lakes, mica from the Carolinas, shells from the Gulf of Mexico, and obsidian from the Rocky Mountains. Diverse peoples from Missouri to New York and from Michigan to Florida, adopted artistic and architectural motifs of the Hopewell...

*** If we start from the mouths of the Mississippi River and travel due south, across the Gulf of Mexico, at a distance of exactly four hundred and eighty miles, we come to the northern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula. Its north-eastermost point, Cape Catoche, is one hundred and twenty miles from Cape San Antonio, the western end of the island of Cuba. Yucatan divides the Gulf of Mexico from the Caribbean Sea. It is comprised between the 17° 30’ and 21° 50’ of latitude north, and the 88° and 91° of longitude west from the Greenwich meridian. Its length is, therefore, 260 miles from north to south, and its breadth 180 miles from east to west.
The author of the Troano Manuscript – a very ancient treatise on geology, one of the four known books which escaped destruction at the hands of Bishop Landa and other fanatical Catholic monks who accompanied the Spanish invaders, when, after a struggle of twenty years, they at last, in 1541, became masters of the country—tells us that anciently the peninsula was called MAYAX; that is, the primitive land, the terra firma It gave its name to the whole empire of the Mayas, that comprised all the countries known today as Central America, from the isthmus of Darien on the south, to that of Tehuantepec on the north. The site of the government was at Uxmal; but the great emporium of their arts and sciences, the heart, consequently, of that marvelous civilization, was at Chichen-Itza; that became a vast metropolis.

Heartwarmers more - about Brad Pitt and the Morning Joe team in New Orleans; give to Habitat  for Humanity

Mardi Gras mask - make your own! You Tube how to 7 min