“Please answer the phone and let me inside.”
We visited Sunnie’s on Monday with Kenny. This is a new place on Freret Street that we found out about from a partial owner that we met at the Batture farmer’s market. They have some pleasant tables outside by the pool (one can buy a daily or longer term pass to use the pool.)
They were having a special “Still Austin” night and we sampled the unique cocktails created for the event, and several of their snacks.
I don’t think Sunnie’s will be on the regular rotation, but is a pleasant stop on a good pool day.
I remember one thing that I learned at trivia on Tuesday evening. “What is the only state that is unicameral?” The answer is Nebraska, and it means having just a single legislative body. Who knew? Most certainly not me.
After trivia, we went across the street to the open mic comedy show. The comics are always happy to see us – gives them an opportunity to roll out all their old guy jokes. I sent Diana a text that I was on my way home, and by the time I got home (6 minutes later), she was fast asleep. That would have been fine, had the front door lock not been acting up. It wouldn’t open at all and I didn’t have a physical key. Thankfully, I did have a key to the side gate in a lock box and so was able to “sleep” on a lounger in the backyard. It got chilly! I did call Diana every hour or so, several times in a row, and rang the front doorbell many times. She ultimately answered at 5am. It’s a funny story now, but was not when I was shivering outside.
Kenny and Kara joined us at Merry Lee’s pool on Wednesday. I asked Diana to drive since I was pretty sleepy from my time outside. We had a pleasant time chatting, napping and reading books until the sun dipped behind the building at 2pm.
Then it was time for a stop at Juan’s Flying Burrito for a late lunch – always delicious. A good, relaxing day.
Stanley Jordan played the newly reopened Jazz Market on Thursday and Friday evenings. He was interviewed on WWOZ and it was perhaps the best interview of a musician that I have ever heard. Cerebral, genuinely kind, and monstrously good at talking about music – just a great listen. I’ve spent some time and have not been able to find a link to the interview. Here’s what he sounds like if you’re not familiar:
The New Orleans Film Festival opened on Thursday night with a showing of “Michalolopoulis – The Art of Celebration,” and we were fortunate enough to attend. We are lucky to have one of his paintings and were interested to learn more about his background. That’s him on the right of the picture.
This is a typical example of his work, and similar to the one that hangs in our dining room:
Here’s what the brochure for the Film Festival said:
“No artist has captured the spirit of New Orleans like James Michalopoulos. “Michalopoulos – The Art of Celebration” traces the evolution of his work—from iconic architectural paintings and celebrated portraiture to luminous French landscapes. The son of a Greek immigrant and architect, Michalopoulos’ wanderlust brought him to New Orleans four decades ago. Drawn to its beauty and decay, he forged a lifelong love affair with the city. From street artist to New Orleans’ icon, his rise in the ’90s led to international acclaim, yet he chose to root himself in America’s last bastion of Bohemia. Here he champions its culture, artists, architecture, and communities – making the preservation of New Orleans’ spirit as much his legacy as his art.”
The Ardbeg whisky “Masters of Smoke” airstream trailer posted up at Martin Wine Cellar on Friday afternoon. Ardbeg is distilled on Islay, off the west coast of Scotland and is famous for its smokiness, where most of the other whisky from Islay is dominated by a distinctly peaty taste.
You smell five different scents in the airstream, give them each a rating, and are told which of the Ardbeg lines is best for your palette. Then head inside Martin and have a sample to confirm before purchasing. What a deal!
I think I enjoyed the “Wee Beastie” the most.
After wetting our whistles with Ardbeg, we met the extended (various kids included) krewe (and a surprise of Aidan Gill out front with a Guinness) at St. Joe’s pub. We couldn’t stay too long as we had to head over to our final event of the afternoon – the “Walrus” at the Broadside theater outside stage.
This is an excellent Beatles cover band that were doing all Paul songs from either the Beatles, Wings, or his solo career. They were calling it Paulapalooza ahead of his upcoming concert in New Orleans.
I enjoy most shows at the wonderful Broadside, and this was no exception. Here are some highlights. I loved that the band were willing, and even seemed to relish taking on some of the more musically and technically challenging songs.
We joined Denny, Fred, Jack and Brennen to watch the Alabama game at the Rusty Nail on Saturday afternoon. We bailed out at half time and went around the corner to Plates for tapas and one of those yummy Spanish G&Ts.
Diana was fortunate that they had soft shell crab still on the menu (getting late in the season) and we supplemented that with some perfectly cooked shrimp.
Diana made friends with the lady next to her who seemed to be very knowledgeable about the local hotel and dining scene because of her job.
We left Plates just in time to see Chris Peet heading off the Krewe de Boo Halloween parade:
We didn’t stay for the full parade, but caught all the usual attractions – marching krewes, bands, and the rolling Elvi:
After very busy Friday and Saturday afternoons, it was time for a lower key Sunday. I wasted some time watching both Cowboys and Saints lose horribly.
I started “Buckeye” by Patrick Ryan this week. I’m making steady and slow progress. Here are a lot of rave reviews and an exciting overview, but it just hasn’t hooked me yet:
“A glorious sweep of a novel.”—Ann Patchett
“Captivating.”—The New York Times Book Review
“A once-in-a-decade novel . . . I fell in love with these characters.”—Jenna Bush Hager
One town. Two families. A secret that changes everything.
In Bonhomie, Ohio, a stolen moment of passion, sparked in the exuberant aftermath of the Allied victory in Europe, binds Cal Jenkins, a man wounded not in war but by his inability to serve in it, to Margaret Salt, a woman trying to obscure her past. Cal’s wife, Becky, has a spiritual gift: She is a seer who can conjure the dead, helping families connect with those they’ve lost. Margaret’s husband, Felix, is serving on a Navy cargo ship, out of harm’s way—until a telegram suggests that the unthinkable might have happened.
Later, as the country reconstructs in the postwar boom, a secret grows in Bonhomie—but nothing stays buried forever in a small town. Against the backdrop of some of the most transformative decades in modern America, the consequences of that long-ago encounter ripple through the next generation of both families, compelling them to reexamine who they thought they were and what the future might hold.
Sweeping yet intimate, rich with piercing observation and the warmth that comes from profound understanding of the human spirit, Buckeye captures the universal longing for love and for goodness.”
My favourite Jazzfest performance so far:
I love the “Live from Daryl’s House series, and this one with Robert Fripp is very good:
Fripp played on the original David Bowie version and raved about how quickly Daryl’s band could jump from song to song and genre to genre.
Coexist peacefully, with kindness and patience for all.