Lake Area Ballet Theatre
A new non-profit group called the Lake Area Ballet Theatre (LABT) aims to emphasize performances of classical ballets.
The full-scale performances planned by the new group will feature guest artists, teachers and choreographers. The LABT promises “new and innovative works” as well as a “diverse curriculum” for dance students. It will support a performing company of local dancers.
The first season will feature a performance of Coppelia on Nov. 21 and a Spring Gala with mixed repertoire on March 11. Performances will take place in the Rosa Hart Theatre.
The group is asking for the public’s help as it works to bring its first year to a successful conclusion. If you’d like to know more, visit lakeareaballettheatre.com.
Myth-Busting Katrina
If recent trends are any indication, there’s a growing movement to clarify or refute false impressions that were created by the reportage of Hurricane Rita a decade ago.
For example, Pelican Press has just announced a paperback edition of the book Flood of Lies: The St. Rita’s Nursing Home Tragedy by James A. Cobb, Jr.
You may remember this case. A total of 35 residents of St. Rita’s Nursing Home in New Orleans were left in the home as the Katrina waters rushed in. All of them drowned.
The La. AG promptly began efforts to prosecute Sal and Mabel Mangano, the owners of St. Rita’s. National media pounced on the story, depicting the Manganos as self-centered, heartless owners willing to sacrifice the lives of their clients for little more than convenience.
In Flood of Lies, Cobb argues that in fact, the Manganos “sacrificed everything” to save the residents, whom, says Cobb, they cared for deeply.
Cobb, Jr., is a managing partner in the firm Emmett, Cobb, Waits and Henning. Cobb has taught at Harvard since 2008. He lives in New Orleans, where his practice is located. If you want to read his alternative version of events, call the Pelican Publishing Co. in Gretna at 504-368-1175 ext. 315 or email promo@pelicanpub.com. At the time of this writing, the paperback edition of the book has been marked down to $11.96 on the site.
Also, the creators of a new Levee Exhibit Hall in New Orleans say that the exhibit is intended to “bust the myths of the flooding during Katrina.”
The ribbon cutting for the Levee Exhibition and Garden took place July 11 at 5000 Warrington Dr. in the Filmore Gardens neighborhood of Gentilly in New Orleans. The new park is built directly in front of the east breach of the London Avenue Canal.
The Levee Exhibit Hall houses six 8 foot by 3 foot boards on which are displayed texts and 40 large photographs that tell the story of Katrina — as the curators see it. The “trauma” of the flooding is closely examined.
The Levee Exhibit Hall and its garden are free to the public. The garden features native plants that help manage storm water and reduce the load on municipal drainage systems.
Director Sandy Rosenthal says the land that the exhibit and garden sit on have been leased from the city for a year. Though it’s not yet certain, the exhibit may well go on past next July.
Levees.org built the exhibits and garden in partnership with the Filmore Gardens Neighborhood Assoc., the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority, the Growing Green program, Parkway Partners and others.
On The Campaign Trail
And so it begins …
— June 24: A fascinated world learned of Jindal’s “secret video” film in which he tells his family he’s running for president. Among Jindal’s comments about the film is: “My daughter Selia cut to the chase. She wanted a puppy. I gave in, but with some conditions.”
There has been no subsequent news about the puppy.
— On Meet the Press, June 28:
Gov. Jindal: “… Of course my kids love Iowa … They went to the Iowa State Fair. They had a deep-fried candy bar. Who wouldn’t love that?”
Moderator Chuck Todd: “There you go. Pander, pander, pander away.”
– June 29 talking point:
“Greece will happen here if we do not change course. Anyone who disagrees with this is a ‘math denier.’”
I’m entirely with Jindal on this one. If there are Americans who deny the existence of mathematics, we need to locate them; root them out; and deal with them. I like math. And at my age, I can’t afford to have the things I still like being declared non-existent.
— July 2: Public Policy Polling acknowledges the Jindal Juggernaut:
“We’re polling this weekend on whether the Supreme Court should be eliminated so don’t let it be said Bobby Jindal isn’t moving the dialogue,” Tweeted the polling group. Just eight days into the campaign, and Jindal is already moving the dialogue. Not bad!
— And then there’s the travel. Jindal has been able to travel to The Foot and Ankle Specialists of Iowa and the metropolis of Urbandale (in Iowa).
— On no particular date:
I figured as a journalist, I pretty much had to check out the Bobby Jindal for President web site (bobbyjindal.com). And, boy, am I glad I did. I’m telling you, this is the best web site ever!
On the front is a family portrait of the Jindals. All but one is wearing a camo jacket, and they’re all in an ATV with a camo Fiberglass body. I thank God our next president is a country boy.
I see one girl is wearing a red blouse — no camo. She’s probably the adolescent rebel in the family. At first I thought she was holding up an assault weapon, which I thought was a super-clever country touch. But on closer examination, it looks as if she’s just holding one of the roof supports of the ATV.
Now on the same site, there’s Jindal’s campaign slogan: TANNED. RESTED. READY. JINDAL 2016. I’ve taken a page from Jindal’s book in creating my own slogan — PALE. RESTED. READY TO THINK OF A SLOGAN. (As you all know, I’m presently running for coroner of Wagon Rut.)
Jindal is probably making a subtle nod to history here. A tee shirt with the exact same slogan — TANNED. RESTED. READY. — was circulated at the 1988 Republican Convention. The slogan was accompanied by a photo of Richard Nixon. I think Jindal’s chances in 2016 aren’t as good as Nixon’s were in 1988, but they’re still pretty good.
Citizen Of The Issue
There was no competition for the Citizen of the Issue. The hands-down winner was Shunta Michelle Green, 37, who lives where most of our best Louisiana news comes from — Monroe, of course.
Green was arrested after she brought four of her children to a neighborhood fight. And as sketchy as that sounds, it’s not really the big deal here. Green is alleged to have given three of her kids kitchen knives to take to the fight.
According to police, the three children had no confusion about why they’d been given the knives. Police allege each of the children stabbed and cut someone at the fight.
Green’s defense was novel to say the least. She is reported to have told police that there were no knives on the scene. If she’d been quicker on her feet, she might have told police there was no fight at all.
The Monroe News-Star covered the story with the headline “Witnesses: Mom brings kids to knife fight.”
Ending Again
Ever since I was a little boy, one person or another has been telling me (and others) that the “end times” are upon us. Now, when I was a boy, I went to Sunday school for years and years. So I know the contents of Matthew 24:36 perfectly well. But I try to avoid cherry picking.
The latest to assure me (via email) that we are getting really close to end times is one T.C. Joseph. The reason I say “really close” is that his new book on the matter is titled Precipice — as in, “we’re standing on the precipice.”
The only reason I mention this is that Joseph boldly identifies the exact players in the end times. He assures readers these players are: “average citizens, Vatican employees, members of the Illuminati and extraterrestrials.” If you go to Joseph’s site, tcjoseph.com, you can read a plot summary that adds a “strange being of light … has come to the earth.” I presume he or she is doing more than just signing books.
What you might want to go for on this site is the extensive blog. In a post titled “Conspiracy and Coincidence,” Joseph poses this revolutionary, unheard-of question: “What if the people in power have agendas, plans, and goals they haven’t shared with us?”
Well, gee, I never considered that possibility. I mean, it just sounds so far-fetched. Why wouldn’t a super-rich, super-powerful guy be willing to share his agendas with me? It just doesn’t match up with human experience, does it? But I guess stranger things have happened. Maybe.
Biggest Funny
The suburb’s officers are trying to find the perpetrators of a theft of 28,000 pounds of packaged nuts. The 18 pallets of stolen nuts are worth $130,000.
The Shelby Township Police Dept. has asked for the public’s help on this case. The department has helped the effort along by posting a mug shot of a likely suspect on Facebook. It’s a mug shot of a squirrel. As anyone can see from the mug shot, this squirrel is just barely 7″ tall. So he’s one of those short but dangerous criminals — like Joe Pesci in Casino.
The department says it’s ready to deal with a squirrel suspect if necessary. In the last month, the Shelby Township Police Dept. has had to extract a goat from a parking lot and capture a stray pig.
The News
“Homeless Piano Man Nails ‘Come Sail Away’”
— Headline from Patch.com; chosen as Google News’ top “Spotlight” story on July 2.
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