Lake Fred

My Favorite Songs By The Who

2010-02-03T11:27:00.000-08:00

The Who will be the half time entertainment for this year’s Super Bowl featuring the New Orleans Saints against the Payton Manning and the Colts. In honor of The Who, I would like to give you my opinion on their greatest songs.

The Who actually suffer from multiple personality disorder. They were, at first, a pop band riding the wave of the British Invasion with the Beatles. They were the creators of mild pop singles while acting like a tough rocker band destroying their instruments at the end of their shows. I don’t think they were happy with their image or their critical success. The Beatles put out Sgt. Pepper’s and it was a critical and artistic success being hailed as a “concept” album. The Who tried their hand at this and came up with Tommy, a rock opera. It was critically acclaimed in some circles. I personally felt that the concept of a deaf dumb and blind boy becoming a pinball wizard was strange. I could not identify with it. When this concept had songs like “See Me, Feel Me” and “Fiddle About”, this strangeness became weird and creepy.

When I was about ready to write The Who off, one of my friends bought his first car. It came with an eight track cassette player and two tapes. One was The Who, Live at Leeds. This version of The Who were not playing two minute pop singles, or creepy Tommy songs; they were a hard driving hard rock band that played with abandon with surging bass runs, fierce drumming and guitar heroics. The “Live at Leeds” version of The Who didn’t last long. They were replaced by the synthesizer keyboard dominant FM oriented “Who’s Next” and beyond Who. This version of The Who, albeit, fine in their own right, was a step down in quality for me.

Here’s my Top Ten Who songs in reverse order.

10. Shakin’ All Over – This song hit no. 1 on the British charts in 1960 for the Johnny Kidd & the Pirates, a British rock & roll band. It’s most played today version comes from the hard core of the great The Who, Live at Leeds album. This is just a great hard rocking Who song that I can listen to over and over again.

9. I Can See For Miles - This was one of The Who’s pop singles featuring great drumming, vocals and a bit of psychedelia.

8. Won’t Get Fooled Again - This was the big keyboard oriented single from their great Who’s Next album It was heavily played on the radio and we were all hypnotized into liking it.

7. Who Are You - This was the title track to their last album with Keith Moon. This was another heavily played on the radio track that was seared into my brain. It was based on a true event in Pete Townsend’s life. I still enjoy hearing this one.

6. Magic Bus - This one has passed the test of time and has grown in my appreciation. I have heard other bands play this song and it still sounds great. The percussion hooks you and it just doesn’t quit.

5. Substitute - This was the first Who single I ever heard. It wasn’t a big seller, but the lyrics are clever and meaningful. It had a second life being included in the Live at Leeds album.

4. Summertime Blues – This song had been a hit for Eddie Cochran and later Blue Cheer. This Live at Leeds version is a killer. Was there ever a greater rock performance than this?

3. I Can’t Explain – The follow up single to Substitute. Great intro and a nice rocker that isn’t long enough, clocking in at a measly 2:04. It was the inspiration to Todd Rundgren’s great Nazz single “Open My Eyes”.

2. Young Man Blues – This song leads off the great Who, Live at Leeds album with a bang. For any other band, this would be their greatest hit. The internal parts of this song are stellar.

1. My Generation – It is an anthem for the ages. It pokes fun at the British drug scene. It contains the single greatest rock lyric of all time in “I hope I die before I get old.” Great song!

The Joy of Roy

2009-12-17T07:38:00.000-08:00

Cliff Lee is gone. I'm sad because I really liked Lee. I was proud of his performances in the 2009 playoffs and the World Series. The Philly Daily News headline reads "The Joy of Roy". Hopefully, the The Joy of Roy will offset the sadness of losing Lee. I wish Cliff Lee the best of success in Seattle, only to be replaced and bested by Roy's performance in Philly. Hopefully for many years to come, we can have holiday seasons in December and Halladay seasons all summer long!

Phillies Win Game One of the 2009 World Series

2009-10-29T11:19:00.000-07:00

It'a all how you look at things. Here are two newspapers' take on the Phillies Game One 2009 World Series Victory. The Philly Daily News celebrates Cliff Lee's pitching victory and Chase Utley's Game Winning Homers. The NY Daily News finds it all less than a thing of beauty.

Phillies Win World Series

2008-10-30T08:54:00.000-07:00

As a child I began a lifetime of rooting for the Philadelphia Phillies. It was my earliest team rooting interest and remains the deepest. Last night, the Philadelphia Philles won the 2008 World Series. They had only won one previous World Series title back in 1980. This championship brings me great joy and satisfaction.

I wasn't around for the 1915 or 1950 World Series teams. I assume they were One Year Wonders. The 1964 team was that way, as was the 1993 team. The 1980 team had made the playoffs for three straight years from 1975 through 1977, always losing in the playoffs. The 1979 Pirates beat them out of the division, but the 1980 team finally won. The 1983 World Series team was an aging version of the same team. Essentially, the 1980 team winning the World Series was something they should have done earlier. It was sort of like the recent string of successful years in Atlanta, but only one World Series title to show for it.

This World Series title is different. This year's Phillies are not a One Year Wonder or a Team of Destiny, but rather, they are a good hard working team that fought their way through adversity and underdoggedness to win. This is a good feeling team that is better than it's unassembled parts. I think it's an attitude of family and hard work, fathered by Manager, Charlie Manuel, to make this team a winner. When Pat Burrell ran slow or struck out, or when Ryan Howard struck out or made an error in the field, we knew it had not occured because the player did not care. We knew they passionately cared about this team and about winning. We saw that determination in the many come from behind victories over the past few years. We also saw it this year with the amazing unblemished record of winning with a lead going into the 9th inning. This team is special and worthy of our love. They may never win another World Series, but we will always appreciate this one.

Big Day for LSU

2007-12-03T11:57:00.000-08:00

Well, I was wrong about Les Miles leaving LSU. I think all the speculation forced the issue on both sides, forcing LSU to pony up to the table and offer more money. The money and the situation at LSU made it a no-brainer for Les Miles. He will be a richer man for staying at LSU than he would have been for moving to Michigan. ESPN's Herbstreit reported that the Michigan deal was a done one, forcing Les to angrily declare his fealty to the Bayou Tigers before the SEC Championship Game. Only God knows if that declaration made the difference in the players' motivation to win the game against Tennessee. We do suspect that God aligned the planets and stars in such a fashion to cause both West Virginia and Missouri to lose and to allow LSU to leapfrog other teams ranked higher into the BCS Championship game. This change of fates gives Les Miles the ability to achieve three things in one game. One, he can beat Ohio State without needing to become the head coach of the Wolverines. Two, he can win the BCS National Championship. Three, he can erase the shadow of Nick Saban looking over his shoulder.

Winning the SEC Championship is quite a feather in LSU's cap. The last time they won was the year they won the BCS Championship. Ryan Perrilloux also redeemed himself in this game, being named the game's MVP. He will be the field captain next year, so it's good to earn his tiger stripes in a meaningful game. Congrats go to Les Miles, Ryan Perrilloux and the entire LSU team. What a weekend!

Les Miles to Michigan?

2007-11-29T07:35:00.000-08:00

My thoughts about Les Miles are torn. On one hand, I really like Les Miles. When he speaks, he says the right things. I think he's a good coach and a good man. This year, his team has underachieved expectations. After dominating early games, LSU fell into a pattern of winning close games, often needing to come from behind to win. The SEC is a meat grinder conference where all the teams are capable of winning on any given Saturday. LSU was like walking on broken glass with bare feet. Sooner or later, you will cut yourself. They did get cut in Kentucky, and later at home against Arkansas, losing both games in triple overtime. Under the old system before overtime games were allowed, LSU would still be undefeated and probably still no. 1 with a 10-0-2 record.

I think Les Miles leaving LSU will be a win-win for both schools and for Les Miles. For Les, he'll get to coach at his alma mater in a patsy conference with big name recognition. For LSU, the cupboard is not bare and the school should be able to attract the best and brightest coaches in the nation to apply for the job at LSU as it is a bird's nest on the ground type job. Tiger fans could even learn to love Steve Spurrier. All will turn out well for all involved.

Forgot My User Name (Google Made My Change It!)

2007-09-04T06:14:00.000-07:00

Sorry, for the lack of updates. Google made me change my username to my email address a while back and I forgot about it. Couldn't log in. I will try to add new content in the near future.

Football Heroes

2007-02-22T06:26:00.000-08:00

This year, the Mardi Gras Krewes decided to feature New Orleans' favorite heroes, Saints players. Here's a picture of fan favorite, wide receiver Joe Horn (87) along with starting center Jeff Faine (52) in the Endymion Parade on February 17, 2007. Quarterback Drew Brees was the Grand Marshall of the Bacchus Parade the following day. He wore a black tux. The day after that on Lundi Gras, the Orpheus Parade featured head coach Sean Payton wearing his signature Saints visor. On Mardi Gras Day, Joe Horn rode in the Zulu Parade and former Saints quarterback Bobby Hebert rode in Argus Parade in Metairie, Louisiana.

Good Luck Peyton Manning

2007-02-22T06:22:00.000-08:00

For the Endymion Parade on February 17, 2007, we found a parking spot near Isadore Newman School. They had this sign rooting on their most famous graduate posted on their fence. We parked in the same area for Bacchus Parade the next day, but the sign was gone!

Super Bowl Afterthoughts

2007-02-07T06:24:00.000-08:00

The game itself was sloppy. The rain and all the fumbles took care of that. This game won't be remembered for anything except that Tony Dungy and Peyton Manning won their first Super Bowl. The news media makes me sick. Peyton wins the Super Bowl and the talking heads ask if Peyton needs to win multiple Super Bowls before being considered great. What a bunch of horse hockey! Is Brett Favre great? He only won one Super Bowl. Dan Marino lost the one he was in.

I think there is a concerted effort to not give Peyton Manning his due. I think the news media is at fault. That's why he did not win the Heisman Trophy. The reason? The media pushed votes for a faulty quarterback named Leaf. Neither won the award. It went to a defensive player from Michigan.

Well, football season is over. In New Orleans, Drew Brees will ride in the Bacchus parade and Sean Payton will ride in Orpheus. With spring just around the corner, a young boy's heart turns to baseball. Go Phillies!

Super Bowl Prediction

2007-01-30T11:29:00.000-08:00

I wanted a Saints vs. Colts matchup, but I'll settle for Payton Manning winning his first Super Bowl. The way the Bears played all season makes them look like a suspect team for this game. Saying that, the Colts and the Saints were very similar, great offenses with suspect defenses. The Bears were able to disrupt the Saints enough to win their game at home. Last week, Payton showed that they won't get rattled if they fall behind.

This is a tough one to pick. I can't get my head or heart to pick the Bears, but the Bears are the luckiest team this season. They could luck their way to a Super Bowl win, but I'm picking the Colts.

NFL Conference Championship Predictions

2007-01-18T09:53:00.000-08:00

I recently discovered that I predicted winners last year, going 0 for 2. This year I have rooting interests in both games. I'm rooting for the hometown Saints and the hometown star, Peyton Manning.

All four teams have strengths and weaknesses. It is amazing as I read the sportswriters predictions, they will pick one team's strength as the reason to pick them and downplay another team's strength in order to avoid picking them. I'm going to pick my rooting interests in both games and here is why:

In the NFC, all teams are flawed. Watching the Saints in preseason, they were awful. What they do have is excellent coaching. What the coach's did was use preseason to identify the best players, keep the best players and play the best players. All this was done without regard to a player's perceived value. Donte Stallworth was sent packing to let 7th round rookie, Marquis Colston from lightly regarded Hofstra, to start. Here's the reasons the Saints will win: 1.) Sean Payton - he will have a great game plan; 2.) Drew Brees - he may be short in stature, but he is head and shoulders better than Rex Grossman; 3.) Deuce McAllister - Deuce is a moose. This big bruiser has toiled in obscurity for years in New Orleans. He is fully recovered from his knee surgery and is just now hitting his stride. He will carry this team on his back to get to the Super Bowl; 4.) Reggie Bush - he is a touchdown waiting to happen. Whether he gets the ball or not, he surely will get the Bears defense' attention. Here's the reason the Bears will lose: Rex Grossman.

In the AFC, the Patriots lucked out a victory in San Diego. They won't be so lucky this weekend. Peyton Manning is due. Tony Dungy has his defense playing their best ball of the season. Good defense plus great offense equals victory.

These are the teams the NFL wants in Miami....the Saints and the Colts!

My Old Office Building - Still Katrina Damaged

2006-11-09T11:21:00.000-08:00

Here's some pictures of the building I used to work in before Katrina. From a distance it looks fine, but the second photo shows the lack of repair. These pictures were taken on September 25, 2006, the day of the Saints-Falcons game on Monday Night Football. The ramp and the bridge in the first photo lead to the Superdome which is just off the picture to the left. It is sad, that a year after Katrina, a relatively new building, adjacent to the Superdome is still not repaired.

Katrina Remembrance

2006-08-28T10:13:00.000-07:00

This is the view outside my office window of the top of the Hyatt Hotel, which is located next to the Louisiana Superdome. The white windows are the windows that were damaged by Katrina. Looking down my window, you can see the extent of this damage. These photos were taken on May 3, 2006. It looks the same, today.

Gold Rain

2006-08-10T10:37:00.000-07:00

Here's a hibiscus cultivar that can bloom as both a single and as a double. It tends to bloom as a single in the cooler months. Here is photo taken April 29, 2006 when it is still a single, but trying to be a double. The name comes from the golden yellow spots on the orange red flower petals.

More Evangeline Pictures

2006-08-10T10:24:00.000-07:00

The photos posted earlier were from April 2006. I found some photos showing multiple blooms on the bush taken on May 29, 2006, the just a day after the New Orleans Hibiscus show.

Evangeline

2006-08-10T09:57:00.000-07:00

One of the first Dupont Hibiscus we bought was the Evangeline cultivar. We planted it in our landscape and it grew into a lovely bush with an occasional bloom, one or two a year. Hurricane Katrina changed all of that when it caused our large pine tree to lean, requiring us to cut down the tree. When that happened, Evangeline started to become a blooming machine when the midday pine tree shade disappeared. It bloomed continuously from Fall through Winter and Spring, stopping only in July when daily high temperatures stayed in the nineties. Of all of my hibiscus varieties, Evangeline makes the best bush when planted in the ground. It makes a short rounded bush with deep green leathery leaves, and with sun, loads of blooms. When the bloom first opens, it is yellow and pink. As the day goes on, the pink fades away to white. Here are pictures of both bloom color phases.

Canal Blvd. Hibiscus Bushes Were Acadian Spring

2006-06-16T07:24:00.000-07:00

At this month's New Orleans Hibiscus Society meeting, Father Gerlich shared a story about some plants that I long admired that grew in front of a house on Canal Blvd. between Harrison and Fillmore on the Eastern side of the street. There were three four foot high upright Hibiscus plants that were normally covered with huge light colored blooms the size of paper plates. I never knew what variety they were until now.

Father Gerlich told a story that he and Bobby Dupont took a short drive to look at the Canal Blvd. Hibiscus during the set-up of a New Orleans Hibiscus Show at Mt. Carmel High School in 2005. Bobby identified the blooms as his Acadian Spring cultivar. Sad to say that Hurricane Katrina killed these bushes as the flood waters where these bushes grew in Lakeview was probably ten feet deep for weeks.

Now I know what they were and by coincidence own such a bush. I will need to plant one in my yard if I don't have to move to Houston.

Acadian Spring - Best Of Show Single

2006-06-08T20:06:00.000-07:00

We entered this bloom in the 2006 New Orleans Hibiscus Show on May 28, 2006 at Loyola University. We had seen this bloom during our April trip to Dupont Nursery, so we included it in the plants we bought. This bloom was picked early Sunday morning in an unopened state. It was almost completely opened when we submitted it for the Judges. It opened the rest of the way before it made it to the judging table where it won a gold ribbon. From there it gets judged against all the other gold ribbon blooms in it's class. It was selected best of class. Next, it gets to compete against the winners of the other three classes. In that competition, it tied with a June's Dragon bloom that was quite large and colorful. It won the run-off judging to win a coveted Best of Show ribbon. After the show we took it home to show our children and our neighbors. It was like carrying a floppy paper plate around the neighborhood. We took a ruler and it measured a solid nine inches in diameter. We will probably never win another Best of Show, so we are very happy to be blessed to win at our home show. We are also happy for Mr. Bobby Dupont as this is one of his blooms. The next local show is the last Sunday in June in Lafayette. Hopefully our Acadian Spring will bloom for that show, too. Mr. Dupont had a number of these plants available for purchase at our show, so there will probably be a dozen entered at the Lafayette Show.

The Radiators - New Orleans Jazz Fest 2006

2006-05-08T10:52:00.000-07:00

The day before the hibiscus show, we attended the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Shown here are two photos of my favorite band, the New Orleans Radiators. Playing the green guitar is my favorite guitar player, Camile Baudoin, pronounced "BO-dwahn" - yes! It's Cajun French!
Wearing the black "Saturn Bar" shirt is one of the voices of the Radiators, guitarist Dave Malone, who is no slouch in the guitar playing department, either! The Radiators sound is the New Orleans beat distinctively identified by Ed Volker's distinctive keyboard sound, often playing a percussion role. The Radiators feature soaring guitar solos by Camile and Dave. They call their playing "Fish Head Music".

They have an extended playlist and no two shows are the same. If they play three or four concerts in a row in the same town, each show will not repeat a song from earlier shows. A three set show will normally contain more than three hours of music. They are a human jukebox band that are now considered a "jam" band and are popular nationwide. They sound a bit like Little Feat. Most of their songs are written by Ed Volker. Cover songs they play are often songs that mention New Orleans or the River. My favorite Radiators CDs are their first two, Work Done On Premises (recorded live at Tipitina's - I was there for the whole recording), and Heat Generation.

Night Runner - Best Of Show Seedling

2006-05-08T10:11:00.000-07:00

We attended the May 7, 2006 Baton Rouge Hibiscus Show. This beautiful bloom won the coveted Best Of Show Seedling Award which puts this bloom in the Hibiscus of the Year Award race four years down the road. Night Runner was grown and submitted by Bobby and Bootsie Dupont, who won the 2005 Hibiscus of the Year with Black Dragon. This flower's parentage is Rum Runner and Night Fire, two plants that we owned previously, that are now growing in heaven. This photo does not truly represent the colors which were deeper and darker. This is a striking bloom that has every right to be a strong contender for Hibiscus of the Year.

Pride of Acadiana

2006-05-03T11:06:00.000-07:00

Here's a pretty one I picked up at Dupont's Nursery last week. It's a brightly colored double that is very attractive. These photos were taken in the shade, so you can imagine how much better it looks when in full sun.

Sweet Potato Pie

2006-05-03T10:54:00.000-07:00

Went to Dupont Nursery a few weeks ago and picked up some new bloomers. This one is called Sweet Potato Pie and is a real shower. This photo taken in the shade doesn't give it justice. It's a big bloom with great eye appeal.

Hibiscus Time Of Year

2006-04-20T10:18:00.000-07:00

I'm back in the New Orleans area and last night was the first time I was able to do anything substantial with my hibiscus as I repotted eight of my 2005 seedlings into slightly bigger pots. There is much I need to do around the house as Katrina's effects have lasted much longer than imagined and will last a long long time. This weekend we drove into the Ninth Ward and viewed the damage from the Industrial Canal levee breech. It was horrible. The destruction was beyond one's worst nightmare. We drove into St. Bernard Parish, where we saw houses still attached to their foundations now resting in the middle of streets. The scope of this disaster is overwhelming. The New Orleans area we remember will never be back fully. Areas may rebuild and individual homeowners may rebuild, but many will never come back and I fear the damaged houses will remain behind for years and years.

Back to hibiscus: my tinkering in the garden may help me psychologically to escape to a peaceful activity that rewards me with beautiful flowers. The photo is of the 2004 Hibiscus of the Year winner Royal Treasure. It is a beautiful cup and saucer bloom. This particular photo was taken on June 4, 2005, one day before the New Orleans Hibiscus Show. It bloomed one day too early, as it could have won a head table ribbon. This shot is taken from above with the potted plant sitting on a park bench. The next local show this year is May 7th in Baton Rouge. My potted plants have been mostly ignored since Katrina and are not blooming. My bushes in the ground are blooming nicely, but I think they would enjoy some rain as we are in a drought right now. I hope to have some blooms to enter in Baton Rouge in a few weeks.

My Baseball Predictions for 2006

2006-04-06T21:17:00.000-07:00

As a Lifetime Phillies Phan transplanted to New Orleans many years ago, now working in Houston due to Katrina, but returning to New Orleans after Easter, I have bought into a lot of NFL Saints preseason hype for years, only to be disappointed. I feel less optimistic right now about the Phillies than I normally due for a mediocre Saints team. Here’s why: Preseason games mean nothing. If the Phillies come out of the gate strong like they did in 1993, I’ll jump on the Magic Carpet. If they start bad like Phillies teams of recent years, it’ll just be heartbreak all summer as they try to get back to .500. If Floyd and Madson are the best two pitchers, why are they 4th and 5th in the rotation? The fifth guy never pitches as much and it appears that Gavin Floyd is the best pitcher right now. Lieber and Lidle don’t excite me. The bullpen has really dropped off from last year. Do we have a closer? Who knows? Will the old man, 38 year old closer Tom Gordon, ride a wheelchair from the bullpen and use a cane while on the mound? Offensively, we still have the black hole in the lineup. (the black hole is third baseman David Bell and catcher Mike Lieberthal who bat 7th and 8th in the lineup and rarely provide any offense.)
Before a season starts we always see our favorite team in its most favorable light. We always view the opposition in less than glowing terms. I think we’re wearing Phillies Pink eyeglasses when we look at this team. The Phillies broke my heart as a boy in 1964 and always let me down with those great teams under Danny Ozark that couldn’t win in the playoffs in the mid 70s. I see the Phillies as a team on the downslide in the beginning of the rebuilding process. I don’t see them in the playoffs let alone the World Series. I fully expect a third place division finish and I’ll be pleasantly surprised if they finish higher. However, saying that, in baseball anything can happen as attested by a humorous shirt I saw this week sporting an Apollo 13 theme. The shirt read, “Houston...We have a World Series.” I see a Red World Series, a rematch from 2004, with the Cardinals winning over the Red Sox.

Super Bowl Predictions

2006-01-22T22:16:00.000-08:00

Well, I was completely wrong in my predictions for the Super Bowl participants. For my final try at prediction, I predict that the Pittsburgh Steelers will beat the Seattle Seahawks. Again, very low confidence in this prediction. My advice is to watch the game with family and friends and enjoy the game for what it is and be happy for however wins.

NFL Conference Championship Predictions

2006-01-17T16:26:00.000-08:00

Obviously the crystal ball was hazy last week. I promise less certainty this week. In the AFC, I was wrong for both picks last week. I have very little rooting interest in either team. I have nothing to root for in Denver. For Pittsburgh, I respect their coach and like Jerome Bettis. I'll root for the Steelers, but will pick Denver to win. The NFC game is intense. I picked both of these teams last week. I feel that Seattle is the remaining "team of destiny". Carolina almost won the Super Bowl two years ago. Either team can win this game. I'm rooting for Jake Delhomme, so I'm picking Carolina to upset the Seahawks. I'm not comfortable with either of these picks. We should just enjoy these games and hope the best teams win, so we can have a fun Super Bowl.

NFL Picks for Next Week

2006-01-08T21:40:00.000-08:00

Two teams that won this week will win next week. I predict that Carolina will beat the Chicago Bears and the Patriots will bust the Denver Broncos. The Steelers will lose again to the Colts and the Redskins will be whitewashed by Seattle. The crystal ball is hazy for who makes the Super Bowl. My heart says it'll be Carolina and the Colts, but my gut says Patriots versus the Seahawks. That's why they play the games.

Who Won The National Championship?

2006-01-04T21:29:00.000-08:00

Two years ago, LSU beat Oklahoma in the BCS National Championship Game, yet the AP voted USC as the number one team. This year, USC is playing Texas in the BCS National Championship Game. The ABC announcers Keith Jackson and Dan Fouts, both West Coast guys, gushed over USC all night. With 19 seconds left in the game, the Texas quarterback Vince Young scores the winning points. When the game is over, after the two head coaches exchange good wishes to each other, who does ABC interview? They first interview the losing head coach, USC's Pete Carroll. Next, they interview the losing quarterback, USC's Matt Leinart. In a true moment of sportsmanship, Leinart said, "We still think we are a better football team, but we just couldn't make the plays.'' What a jerk! Then they go to a long commercial break. When they come back it's the formal trophy presentations to the winning head coach, Mack Brown and the game's most valuable player, Vince Young. At this time we get to hear from the winning team, but not at the moment of victory, but rather at a more formal planned trophy presentation. My hat is off for the Texas Longhorns, but not to ABC Sports. I'm glad for Mack Brown because years ago he was the head coach at Tulane and I got to meet him and shake his hand at a Tulane alumni luncheon. The New Orleans Saints have the second pick in the NFL draft, who should they pick...Young or Leinert? Rumor has it that the West Coast papers will take a poll and vote USC the number 1 team, anyway.

Crown Of Bohemia

2005-12-21T18:38:00.000-08:00

This is one of our favorite hibiscus cultivars. This bloom is considered to be a common garden variety. We find it to be an equisite addition to the garden. In the summer months it blooms as a solid yellow butterball type double bloom. In the cooler months, a magnificent orange color highlights the blooms which can come in a variety of shapes. These two photos of April 2005 blooms show a simple single format, ideal for hybridyzing, and a classic "cup and saucer" bloom. We had a couple of these bushes planted in the ground and they survived Katrina's wind and floodwaters.

Audubon Zoo Reopens Link

2005-12-16T06:05:00.000-08:00

I saw this great picture on another blogsite that you have to see. It is the floating swamp shack in the alligator swamp exhibit newly decorated to reflect the post-Katrina mode complete with blue tarped roof, taped up refrigerator outside and an MRE. Here's the link.

Oak Alley

2005-12-15T18:05:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since I posted any pictures. These are two views of Oak Alley in Vacherie, Louisiana, one looking toward the plantation house and the other looking toward the Mississippi River. These pictures were taken on August 26, 2005, just days before Hurricane Katrina hit the area on a stop from the American Queen. Here's a link to the Oak Alley website.

Cherry Ice - Survival is Nice!

2005-11-21T11:00:00.000-08:00

Before Hurricane Katrina, our most thirsty plant was the Cherry Ice hibiscus. No matter how often we watered Cherry Ice, the pot was always the first to dry out and have the plant wilt. Cherry Ice also likes to grow straight and tall. As part of our evacuation strategy, when we wedged all our plants into the back corner of yard behind the garage, the tallest plants go up against the fence. As such, Cherry Ice was put in the corner. On our initial trip back to Kenner, it had only dead leaves. We figured it had dried up and died. In the last weekend of October 2005, we cleaned up all the tree branches covering our patio in front of our garage. We had a little garden area between the driveway and our neighbor's fence off the patio. We had four in ground garden variety hibiscus and smaller flowering plants in this garden patch. After seven weeks of being underneath a six foot high pile of heavy oak tree branches, the little garden are had four badly damaged, but alive hibiscus, some Louisiana Iris and daylily leaves and that was it! We decided to bring out some of the bigger pots from behind the garage and fill in all the barren ground area of this little garden patch. As we retrieved plants in that northwest corner, we discovered that our Cherry Ice had not died; only the high branches that we could see were dead. The first foot of the plant was covered with a lot of vigorous new growth. Unbelievable! Cherry Ice’s bloom is one of the prettiest around. We have not had much success getting it to bloom, but when it does, like this May 2005 bloom, it is well worth the wait.

Where I was right before Katrina

2005-11-16T10:40:00.000-08:00

This is where I lived from August 23rd through the 27th , 2005. This is the American Queen, the largest of three riverboats run by the Delta Steamboat Company out of New Orleans. I spent the week before Katrina, enjoying the splendor of the Mississippi River and its surroundings leaving from and returning to New Orleans.

Little did I know that as soon as I arrived back to New Orleans, I would be spending that Saturday, August 27th, packing up family photos and mementos for evacuation the following Sunday morning before Katrina, having little time to savor the steamboating experience on the river.

Nights Scenes of LSU

2005-11-14T10:51:00.000-08:00

Here are two more photos from our trip. The clock tower is prominent in the LSU night skyline. It is often used as a meeting place because it is easy to find.
This northward view from the nosebleed section of Tiger Stadium shows the I-10 Mississippi River Bridge lights over the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

Geaux Tigers

2005-11-14T10:41:00.000-08:00

On November 3, 2005, I attended my first LSU football game in years. As you can see from my halftime photo of the band spelling out LSU, you can see that I wasn't seated close to the field. The other photo from before the game outside Tiger Stadium shows the "Geaux Tigers" signs draped on the outside. The Tigers beat Appalachian State 24 to 0.

Jean's Sunset - Jamila's Sister

2005-11-10T10:50:00.000-08:00

These pictures are in reverse order showing the color changes this hibiscus bloom undergoes during the day. The bottom photo shows the bloom when it first opens is mostly pink, As the day goes on, the pinkness gets lighter and the outer edge becomes a pastel orange yellow as shown in the middle photo. The top photo is the end of the day when the pink is very faded and the outer edge is now more yellow.

This Patrick seedling is from the same 2002 pod that produced Jamila and Red Nectar. We call it Jean's Sunset as the colors are sunset colors. This upright bush has small leaves and thin branches. It blooms a lot, but never at show time. It almost died from Katrina as most of its leaves dried out and turned brown, but it resprouted new leaves and has come back complete with flower buds. On a few occasions, Father Gerlich has remarked that this was an interesting bloom. That's a great seal of approval!
We were able to get one cutting to root and produce a vigorous small bush. We gave it to a fellow collector to preserve the line in case of something bad happening to the original plant. Well, Katrina was bad and killed all the plants of my fellow collector friend. Now we are back to one plant.

Red Nectar - Jamila's Brother

2005-11-10T10:39:00.000-08:00

This March 2005 hibiscus bloom is from a 2002 seedling from the same seed pod found on Patrick that produced Jamila. This plant took longer to get around to blooming. It produces a nice pinkish reddish bloom. For want of a better name, we call it Red Nectar because it is the same color as a Nectar New Orleans Snowball. (A snowball is a shaved ice summer treat that is flavored by colored syrup. There are seemingly hundreds of snowball flavors.) This plant is a frequent bloomer. It tends to want more water than its neighboring plants as we'll find it wilted in the pot from drying out. It has suffered some die back of branches, but it has yet to fully die back to the ground. It roots easily and after Katrina, I planted a cutting in the ground to try to save it since we had no water pressure. We'll see if it likes being in the ground instead of a pot.

Jamila - Lost Seedling to Katrina

2005-11-10T10:22:00.000-08:00

This June 2005 hibiscus bloom is from a 2002 seedling from a seed pod found on Patrick. I imagine that the pod was self pollinated. The pod had a number of seeds that were fertile. We had a number that sprouted and produced a bloom or two before dying. We still have at least two others from that pod that are alive and well. I suspect that weak genes can be doubled and matched against themselves during self pollination and produce a weak plant. This plant was special because it was the first to bloom for us. It bloomed in the winter following its spring germination. It produced a purplish bloom. The plant almost died in 2003 and was saved by emergency grafting. This plant was the only graft that was successful. The crude graft was sealed with plastic food wrap and held together with a plastic and metal wire twist tie. It must have not liked Katrina's floodwater because it was dead when we returned to town and were able to extract it from underneath the tree debris behind our garage. We called it "Jamila" and may use that name again when we have a nice strong seedling with a pretty bloom.

We Hit Water!

2005-11-09T11:08:00.000-08:00

On September 5, 2005, which was the first day we were allowed back to our homes, we had to dig a hole to bury our garbage. Without electricity, all the refrigerated food had spoiled. With no garbage pickup available, the local government officials urged citizens to bury their garbage on their property. It was very hot and we started the tough job of digging a garbage hole. We weren’t able to go very deep before we hit water. Looking back at the calendar, even though it seemed like a long time before we were able to return, in reality it was only seven days after Hurricane Katrina had hit the area. We had floodwater for a number of days, so it is perfectly understandable to have such a high water table. You’ll notice the gloves on our hands to protect us from nasty bacteria. You can also see an old bottle we found during this excavation project.

Katrina Debris Pile On Street Curb

2005-11-09T10:55:00.000-08:00

This is the second pile of debris we left on the curb. A similar sized pile was picked up a few weeks ago. The cut wood piled on the left is only about 20% of what actually was sitting on the curb for pickup. It would be great for someone with a fireplace; nicely cut oak wood. You'll notice the lean of the pine tree in the center of the photo. We've contacted the low bidder to have it cut. It's scheduled to be cut about five weeks after we agreed to have it cut. We all have to wait for things these days. You'll also note the light blue tarp on a roof on a house in the background. With so much roof damage in the area, these blue tarps used for temporary rain protection are commonplace. This picture was taken on November 6, 2005.

Katrina Debris Behind Garage

2005-11-09T10:26:00.000-08:00

Here are three pictures of downed Live Oak tree branches that were blown onto my garage roof and into the area between my garage and the back fence by Hurricane Katrina viewed from both sides of my garage looking toward the street.
These photos were taken on September 5, 2005 on the first day we were allowed back to our homes. It would be November before we would be able to completely clear this area. There were many potted plants buried underneath all of this debris. If you look closely near the bottom of the bottom picture, you will see the top of an aluminum ladder that I normally store outside behind my garage.

Katrina Patio Debris Looking Down Driveway

2005-11-09T10:18:00.000-08:00

This is a picture of the downed Water Oak tree branches that were blown into my patio and driveway by Hurricane Katrina viewed from the side of my garage looking toward the street.
The second photo is looking up my driveway from the street side. These photos were taken on September 5, 2005 on the first day we were allowed back to our homes. It would be mid-October before we would be able to completely clear this area.

Katrina Tree Debris in Patio

2005-11-09T10:03:00.000-08:00

Here's a photo of the downed Water Oak tree branches that were blown into my patio and driveway by Hurricane Katrina. The big house in the picture is my neighbor's home. They had an old TV antenna and a new satellite dish knocked off into the debris. Against the fence under the debris are hibiscus bushes and other assorted flowering plants. This photo was taken on September 5, 2005 on the first day we were allowed back to our homes. It would be mid-October before we would be able to completely clear this area.

Time For Magic

2005-11-08T10:53:00.000-08:00

Here are two views of an April 2005 bloom of the cultivar Time For Magic. It is the other parent of Magic Moments. We really like this variety. This particular plant has never bloomed for us on a show day, but it seems to bloom for others and often wins a spot on the headtable. It is a cup and saucer bloom as illustrated in the top picture. In cooler months it blooms yellow and white. In the warmer months, a greenish hue is the predominant feature. This particular bloom is halfway between the two phases, so it has a hint of the green over the inner parts of the yellow.

Bob Harkins

2005-11-08T10:33:00.000-08:00

This is the Bob Harkins hibiscus cultivar. It produces a nice large orange red bloom on a vigorous bush. It grows readily from cuttings. I planted one in the ground last year and it quickly grew to a good size in one year producing many blooms. It seemed to enjoy being in the ground as opposed to being in a pot. I was looking forward to next summer when it would truly be a full size bush, however, Katrina had other plans. Floodwater killed my Bob Harkins in the ground. All the other hibiscus along that side of my driveway survived. I would assume that Bob Harkins does not tolerate wet roots over an extended period of time. Luckily, I had at least two other Bob Harkins bushes in pots that survived. This photo is from the smaller potted plant taken in April 2005.

Please Help Mt. Carmel

2005-11-08T08:08:00.000-08:00

Off to the right is my Links. One is named "Saving Mt. Carmel". The normal site for the annual New Orleans Hibiscus Show is the Duplantis Gymnasium of Mt. Carmel Academy, which is located in the Lakeview section of New Orleans near the famous 17th Street Canal breech of Hurricane Katrina. This link will show you before, during, and after flood pictures including the Duplantis gym. Mt. Carmel Academy is one of New Orleans' premier Catholic girls high schools. They have been dealt a mighty blow, but are well supported in the community. Sister Camille is much beloved and will see the school resume its rightful role in the community. At the bottom of the linked page is an address for your contributions. It is a worthy cause. Thank you. God bless you.

Safe Against The Fence

2005-11-07T15:53:00.000-08:00

We had placed plants all along the back fence behind my garage. That area was covered by about ten feet of oak tree branches and debris. In this picture, it is the shaded area to the left going out of the picture. About eighteen days after Katrina, we cut a path along the fence and pulled out our bushes, until we rescued all that we could rescue. We placed them against the fence under a big crepe myrtle for shade from the hot sun.
They look pretty good in these pictures taken two weeks after they were removed from the debris. The pinkish bloom in the picture is from the cultivar Wine & Roses. It is a delicate bloom as the edges burn before the bloom fully opens. It is one of the parents (along with Time For Magic) of Magic Moments, a Father Gerlich hybridization that was a Best of Show Seedling winner, now in the running for Hibiscus of the Year. Since I received this rather large bush from Father Gerlich when he left for a long research trip to Europe, this particular bush may actually be the parent plant of Magic Moments.

Hibiscus Spot for Katrina

2005-11-07T15:26:00.000-08:00

This is where we tried to save our hibiscus when we evacuated from Katrina. We wedged the plants into a protected corner of my yard behind my garage. We put the tallest plants in the corner, then the next tallest, in order to the smallest. We placed pot against pot, and on the outer edges, we placed flat trays with multiple pots. The corner was the northwest corner with a garage building up near both fences. The area was shaded by the branches of a Live Oak and a Water Oak in our neighbors' yards. In these pictures you see hardly any shade as Katrina had removed the shading branches. These pictures were taken about four weeks after the storm. At the height of the flooding, these plants were under water. The empty green pots had had cuttings placed in perlite. The cuttings and the perlite both floated away in the floodwater. When the water receded, the cuttings died. For the first two weeks, these plants received little water as it did not rain until Hurricane Rita made a visit. For the next three week, we watered the plants when we made periodic visits to the house. There was not a permanent move back into the house until five weeks after Katrina.
In retrospect, we did very well in saving our plants. We have been very busy, so we have not been able to inventory our plants to see what was saved and what was lost. We had roughly 75 varieties before the storm. I believe that we'll have between 65 to 70 varieties when it is over. We had about half of the varieties growing in the ground, of which only three have died (Kona, Sahara Wind and Bob Harkins), but we had duplicates of those varieties in pots, so we avoided losing those cultivars. That's a good thing as I really liked all three of those cultivars. I'll try to feature pictures of these three varieties in upcoming posts real soon.

Golden Dust

2005-11-03T17:11:00.000-08:00

This bloom is a garden variety hibiscus called Golden Dust. It must have been overcast when I snapped this photo, making the background appear blue. I love this picture just for the colors. I had this Golden Dust a number of years, but sadly it got beat up by Tropical Storm Cindy. I tried to splint the broken branches with bamboo shishkabob skewers and duct tape. It wasn't doing too well when Katrina hit. It lived for a short while after the flood waters receded, but it did not survive. At least I have this great picture from March 23, 2005.

Patrick

2005-11-01T10:49:00.000-08:00

This set of Patrick hibiscus blooms shows color change through the day. It may have some seasonality in it also. The top bloom from January 2005 has just opened and is a deep pink throughout. The second bloom from June 2005 is from the end of the day where the pink has faded exposing a yellowish outer edge border. The Patrick cultivar exhibits this color change through the day regardless of the season. The January bloom may be a little richer in color due to the cooler weather and the June bloom may fade more than a winter bloom due to longer and richer sun exposure. The Patrick is a great plant. It roots easily and is a prolific bloomer. For hybridizing it is a good fertile mother plant, setting and producing many seeds. Overall it is one of my favorites because it possesses many good qualities. This plant survived Katrina both in the ground and in pots. It must've liked the contents of the floodwater, because it was full of blooms when we were first allowed back to our home two weeks after the storm.

Magnifique!!

2005-11-01T10:34:00.000-08:00

This shows how temperature can affect the coloration of blooms. These blooms are from a recent Bobby Dupont cultivar he named Magnifique. The first bloom is an April 2005 bloom which shows the color from one of its parents, Wheel of Fortune. The second bloom is during the heat of June 2005. It's hard to believe that these blooms are from the same bush! The bloom of this flower has so many petals that it takes days for it to open. I had one bloom that had the petals that opened the on the first day, start dying while the bloom was still opening fully on a later day. This plant survived Katrina.

Tres Bon - Katrina Casualty

2005-10-31T10:42:00.000-08:00

Here are three different faces of the hibiscus cultivar Tres Bon. The First is a cool weather one taken in March 2005. The second bloom was taken in late May 2005 and is more typical. The last bloom is a sun bleached faded bloom. Tres Bon was one of my favorite blooms. It is another Bobby Dupont variety. The Katrina floodwaters were too much for Tres Bon to survive. I'll miss this pretty bloom.

C'est Bon - Katrina Victim

2005-10-31T10:28:00.000-08:00

This hibiscus bloom in my garden was snapped on 3-29-05. The cultivar is named C'est Bon and is one of Bobby Dupont's creations. It doesn't always look like this. The summer pattern is a thin white outer border with the body filled with lavender. This bush is a good bloomer and will set seed pods, but I have not been too successful in creating seeds with C'est Bon. This bush had been threatening to die on several occasions over the past two years, but Katrina's flood waters were the last straw. I brought a disc with a lot of hibiscus photos from my garden back to Houston, so I'll try to post a lot of blooms on this site.

June's Joy

2005-10-18T10:46:00.000-07:00

This 2004 bloom is June's Joy. It was hybridized in Australia by Bob Gray. This photo is a bit out of focus, but it clearly shows June's Joy's strong points of its rich colors. The yellow border edging highlights the bright red center. In the Hibiscus competions, a tally is taken of all the gold ribbon blooms and the person with the most gold ribbons within their category is awarded the Sweepstakes ribbon for that category. For the 2004 New Orleans Hibiscus Show, we were fortunate enough to win the Collector Sweepstakes ribbon. At this point you are allowed to select one of your blooms to be displayed next to your ribbon at the head table. We selected June's Joy to represent our entries. This picture is of the last bloom this bush ever produced. Shortly after the show, the bush started wilting and was dead within a month's time. Hibiscus are very particular about the temperatures they like and their watering conditions. They like temperatures no higher that 80 degrees. For water, they like water every day, yet they don't like wet roots. They need well drained soil. In New Orleans, summers provide steady high heat, usually in the 90's and lots of rain...or no rain. In New Orleans, they like the spring and fall the best, and if you can avoid a freeze, they like winters, too!

Jane Cowl - 2004

2005-10-18T10:34:00.000-07:00

This bloom is from the same Jane Cowl hibiscus bush that provided the ribbon winning bloom in 2002. This bloom was entered in the 2004 New Orleans Hibiscus Show and won the Best Collector Double ribbon. This is a better bloom than the one entered in 2002. It is bigger and has a richer color. The irony is that on that day it was only the second best bloom on the bush. The rules allow only one bloom per cultivar per person. I brought three blooms and one was clearly the best. It was bigger and fuller than the other two. To display the bloom, you need to impale the bloom underneath onto a sharpened stiff wire. When I tried to stick the wire into the bloom, the bloom got damaged and lost a number of petals near the base. I had to enter one of the other two smaller blooms and it won the Best Collector Double Ribbon! Go figure.

Jane Cowl - 2002

2005-10-17T15:42:00.000-07:00

This bloom was picked in June 2002 and entered in the New Orleans Hibiscus Show where it won the Best Amateur Double ribbon. It is an ordinary garden variety found growing in many southern landscapes. The bloom is a light peach color that darkens to a purplish crimson color where the petals are attached to the stem. This bush is planted in the ground by my garage. It survived Hurricane Katrina, although it needed to be heavily pruned as it was blown over in the storm. This past weekend it had new flower buds. It blooms better in cooler weather with bigger blooms and stronger color. You can root this cultivar from cuttings.

Rest in Peace Miss Liberty

2005-10-12T10:24:00.000-07:00

One of my hobbies is growing Tropical Hibiscus. This is a 2002 picture of a two day old bloom of the cultivar "Miss Liberty", hybridized by Joe Ludick of Florida. We had bought the plant at the Dupont Nursery in Plaquemine, Louisiana. We entered this bloom in the 2002 New Orleans Hibiscus show and it won the Best Amateur Single ribbon. It has bloomed many times since this picture was taken, however, none have matched the full crimson color and the white spots of this bloom. The plant itself is a sprawler, preferring to grow in a horizontal rather than a vertical upright fashion. We had the plant through Hurricane Katrina, when it was submerged for a time under floodwater. Most of its branches died in September 2005, with the final branch giving up the ghost in the first weeks of October 2005.

Where I Worked Before Katrina

2005-10-10T17:42:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of the building where I normally work in New Orleans taken shortly after Hurricane Katrina. The picture is taken from the Superdome. The plywooded windows on the fifth floor are the windows of the studio of WWL-AM Radio 870, the clear channel radio lifeline of the Gulf South Region. I work on the ninth floor in an interior office.

Sunday in Houston, Texas

2005-10-10T16:42:00.000-07:00

I am a Hurricane Katrina evacuee living in Houston, Texas for a while. Actually, I am a double evacuee, having left Houston for Baton Rouge for Hurricane Rita. I had to work in Houston over the weekend, so I found a local church to visit this past Sunday. The Galveston-Houston Archdiocese has a cool feature on their website. It's a map of Houston with crosses denoting the location of their churches. When you click on the cross, another page comes up with details about that particular church including the Mass schedules. Using that, I discovered St. James the Apostle Church in Spring, Texas as being the closest church to my apartment. I attended their 9:00 AM Mass. It was very nice. St. Paul's epistle talking about helping others when they are in need really hit home. The pastor asked if there were any Katrina evacuees in church. When I raised my hand, the people applauded. I was asked to fill out some form for Archbishop Hughes of New Orleans after Mass. People talked with me after mass. It was very emotional for me.
It seems that this storm has brought out the best and worst in people. That has been the real religious experience for me, from the people that helped me and my family (the good) and seeing the bad stuff on television. This struggle of good versus evil is very evident in the Katrina aftermath with both the selfless volunteers helping people to the looters helping themselves. Evil will continue in the use of restoration funds. Will evil politicians skim funds for themselves? Will restoration companies defraud the government and/or their customers? Will people scam their insurance companies and the government to get more than they deserve? Will insurance companies screw their policyholders to help prevent their losses? The looting that will go on now will not be on camera for the world to see.

How to Avoid Poverty

2005-10-08T15:08:00.000-07:00

I have heard that the way to avoid poverty is to do a small number of things in a specific order. First one should graduate from high school. Next one should get a steady job. At this point it is not important to worry about how much one is being paid. One must first establish a good work ethic. Monetary improvement will come naturally with a good work ethic. Next one should not have (or create) children before marriage. Married people are less likely to be in poverty, so the next step is to get married and stay married to the same person. If you do these things in the proper order you will most likely avoid poverty in your lifetime.