Butterfly Cauldron
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Walking to New Orleans
My first trip back to New Orleans post-Katrina was. . .fun.
First off, we went on Easter weekend, so that may account for the lack of crowds. But I don't think so. The streets were basically deserted for the first few hours. By mid-afternoon, there were more people mulling around, but still, nothing like the levels pre-Katrina.
We got into New Orleans around 5 p.m. Friday night. Exhausted from driving and whatnot, we checked into our hotel, planning on having a low-key evening. The hotel (The Residence Inn on St. Joseph St.) was awesome. My friend Clara, who made mucho money last year, decided to spring for it. Which is good, because no way I could pay $300 a night. Anyway, she got us a suite. We each had our own bedroom, our own bathroom. There was also a living room, dining room and kitchen. We had a mini-apartment. It was very nice. King sized beds with real linens, pillows that I wanted to steal so badly and comforters, really comforters, not those nasty little coverlets most hotels have.
We decided to head out for dinner and founds this hip Chinese place across the street. Hipstix. I highly recommend it. We didn't, of course, get Chinese. I had the striped bass and it was Oh.My.Gods. awesome. (New Orleans has fantastic food in general.) It was cooked in this pineapple, mushroom, green onion, berry, mint sauce that was just.....wow. We had some really good wine, caught up (I haven't seen her in ages and we used to hang out like eh, every day, when we lived in the same town.) Then, it was back to the hotel for a dip in the hot tub and sleeeeeeep.
Saturday was Walking Through New Orleans day. Our hotel was a short walk to the Quarter, so that's where we went. First, we dropped by the IMAX to see a feature on coral reefs. Clara loves 'em so, we watched. The IMAX is nice, but I wasn't overwhelmed. I did, however, get to relax and plot out the day. After that, we got our tickets for the aquarium and then headed on down to the French Market.
I have to admit, I adore the French Market. All those open air stalls, filled with tables of stuff. I know, it's kinda low-rent, but oh well. It's fun! I bought way too much jewelry, as I always do. Amber. I looooooove amber. So, I have new earrings, new necklaces, new bracelets. I'm happy. Amber makes me happy! I found this gorgeous amber butterfly...had to have it, didn't even care about price. But, the Market itself, while awesome, was not as big as it used to be. Before the storm, it went on and on and on. Now, it's fairly decent sized, but clearly smaller. The 'market' part is no more. There used to be a section devoted to actual food. But that's not there anymore. Hopefully, it will come back, once the area recovers. It's hard to bring your produce to market when your garden space has been ruined by all the gunk that was in that water, after all. And gods know, the seafood industry has taken a hit.
After a nice long wandering through the market (Clara's first time. And boy was she pleased. She was like "now I see why you like this place." Girl spent more than I did.) we headed back up the street for lunch. (We ate at the Hard Rock Cafe. Not my choice, but she wanted to go there and hey, she did pay for the hotel.) Then, it was off to the aquarium.
You can tell there have been serious changes to the place since the storm. It's recovered, but it's not quite as amazing at it once was. They rearranged things, expanded the kids section. That was all good. But it took me forever to find my giant sea turtle! Finally found it, since I wasn't used to the new layout. There were really far fewer turtles than usual. They used to be all over the place, but now? Not so much. It made me sad, since I love turtles.
We did a little more wandering, then headed back to the hotel. It was starting to rain (frigid, freezing rain in April?? In Louisiana?? ARG!) and we were walking, so . . . We got off our very, very tired feet for awhile, then decided -- we was tired, we werent' walking to a restaurant for dinner. So, we got Japanese delivered and watched Mean Girls on tv. (Very funny movie, if you haven't seen it.) Then, it was a nice trip to the workout room and looking longingly at the hot tub -- it was outside and it was in the frigging 30s!! In Louisiana. In April!!
And then, we packed up the next day after having a really yummy hotel-provided breakfast and headed home. All in all, a very fun trip, if a bit low-key. We both needed a break and it was nice to get back to New Orleans. We're planning to head back down in a couple weeks to do the museums. There are four or five within walking distance of the hotel.
So, that's my dispatch from New Orleans. There were clearly signs of recovery, but it was clear that there was a lot of rebuilding that needs to be done. Lots of apartments being built and for rent, but rents are extraordinarily high at this point so not many people can afford them. I really love New Orleans. I love the feeling of the place, the age and the history. And it hurts to see it still so far from what it was. But still. . .it was a nice weekend.
First off, we went on Easter weekend, so that may account for the lack of crowds. But I don't think so. The streets were basically deserted for the first few hours. By mid-afternoon, there were more people mulling around, but still, nothing like the levels pre-Katrina.
We got into New Orleans around 5 p.m. Friday night. Exhausted from driving and whatnot, we checked into our hotel, planning on having a low-key evening. The hotel (The Residence Inn on St. Joseph St.) was awesome. My friend Clara, who made mucho money last year, decided to spring for it. Which is good, because no way I could pay $300 a night. Anyway, she got us a suite. We each had our own bedroom, our own bathroom. There was also a living room, dining room and kitchen. We had a mini-apartment. It was very nice. King sized beds with real linens, pillows that I wanted to steal so badly and comforters, really comforters, not those nasty little coverlets most hotels have.
We decided to head out for dinner and founds this hip Chinese place across the street. Hipstix. I highly recommend it. We didn't, of course, get Chinese. I had the striped bass and it was Oh.My.Gods. awesome. (New Orleans has fantastic food in general.) It was cooked in this pineapple, mushroom, green onion, berry, mint sauce that was just.....wow. We had some really good wine, caught up (I haven't seen her in ages and we used to hang out like eh, every day, when we lived in the same town.) Then, it was back to the hotel for a dip in the hot tub and sleeeeeeep.
Saturday was Walking Through New Orleans day. Our hotel was a short walk to the Quarter, so that's where we went. First, we dropped by the IMAX to see a feature on coral reefs. Clara loves 'em so, we watched. The IMAX is nice, but I wasn't overwhelmed. I did, however, get to relax and plot out the day. After that, we got our tickets for the aquarium and then headed on down to the French Market.
I have to admit, I adore the French Market. All those open air stalls, filled with tables of stuff. I know, it's kinda low-rent, but oh well. It's fun! I bought way too much jewelry, as I always do. Amber. I looooooove amber. So, I have new earrings, new necklaces, new bracelets. I'm happy. Amber makes me happy! I found this gorgeous amber butterfly...had to have it, didn't even care about price. But, the Market itself, while awesome, was not as big as it used to be. Before the storm, it went on and on and on. Now, it's fairly decent sized, but clearly smaller. The 'market' part is no more. There used to be a section devoted to actual food. But that's not there anymore. Hopefully, it will come back, once the area recovers. It's hard to bring your produce to market when your garden space has been ruined by all the gunk that was in that water, after all. And gods know, the seafood industry has taken a hit.
After a nice long wandering through the market (Clara's first time. And boy was she pleased. She was like "now I see why you like this place." Girl spent more than I did.) we headed back up the street for lunch. (We ate at the Hard Rock Cafe. Not my choice, but she wanted to go there and hey, she did pay for the hotel.) Then, it was off to the aquarium.
You can tell there have been serious changes to the place since the storm. It's recovered, but it's not quite as amazing at it once was. They rearranged things, expanded the kids section. That was all good. But it took me forever to find my giant sea turtle! Finally found it, since I wasn't used to the new layout. There were really far fewer turtles than usual. They used to be all over the place, but now? Not so much. It made me sad, since I love turtles.
We did a little more wandering, then headed back to the hotel. It was starting to rain (frigid, freezing rain in April?? In Louisiana?? ARG!) and we were walking, so . . . We got off our very, very tired feet for awhile, then decided -- we was tired, we werent' walking to a restaurant for dinner. So, we got Japanese delivered and watched Mean Girls on tv. (Very funny movie, if you haven't seen it.) Then, it was a nice trip to the workout room and looking longingly at the hot tub -- it was outside and it was in the frigging 30s!! In Louisiana. In April!!
And then, we packed up the next day after having a really yummy hotel-provided breakfast and headed home. All in all, a very fun trip, if a bit low-key. We both needed a break and it was nice to get back to New Orleans. We're planning to head back down in a couple weeks to do the museums. There are four or five within walking distance of the hotel.
So, that's my dispatch from New Orleans. There were clearly signs of recovery, but it was clear that there was a lot of rebuilding that needs to be done. Lots of apartments being built and for rent, but rents are extraordinarily high at this point so not many people can afford them. I really love New Orleans. I love the feeling of the place, the age and the history. And it hurts to see it still so far from what it was. But still. . .it was a nice weekend.
Labels: fun, New Orleans
Friday, August 11, 2006
New Orleans needs tourists, but this? Is not what we have in mind
Naturally, the homo-bigots can't leave anyone alone. Not even a gathering of medical professionals. Because, you see, being gay is a disease. Not a natural orientation. No, no. It's an illness and dammit, it needs to be classified as one again. Fuckers.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — About two dozen protesters marched for an hour outside the American Psychological Association convention on Friday to protest the organization’s stand on homosexuality.
The group, which was sponsored by the conservative ministry Focus on the Family, was protesting what it sees as the APA’s views on the immutability of homosexuality.
“We disagree with the APA’s stand that people can’t change if they want to,” said Dr. Joseph Nicolosi, a Los Angeles psychologist and president of the National Association for the Research and Therapy of Homosexuality. “If someone wants to change, they say, ‘No, this is you, you must learn to accept it.’ We say people have self determination, they can make a choice.”
In 1974, the APA ceased listing homosexuality as a mental disorder. The protesters demanded that the APA change its current position.
Dr. Clinton Anderson, director of the lesbian, gay and bisexual office of the APA, said the group’s position is that homosexuality is not an illness and therefore not in need of a cure. The association is not opposed to people who decide to try to change their sexual orientation if it’s an autonomous decision, but would question the motives for such a desire, he said.
“If someone wants to change their sexual orientation, we feel that may be because of an atmosphere that is prejudice against homosexuality,” Anderson said. “We are concerned it is a coercive choice that has to do with pressure from their family, their community, or their church.”
Marchers, who stayed outside the convention for an hour carrying signs reading “Don’t tell me I can’t change,” and “Diversity includes me,” among others, were people who had changed from homosexuality, Nicolosi said.
Nicolosi, who works with people wanting to change their sexuality, said that he has found about a third of his patients experience no change, a third have what he called “significant improvement.” and a third adopt a heterosexual life style.
“They marry and are cured,” Nicolosi said. “They may have an occasional attraction, but not a major or constant one.”
The protesters also had a petition for the APA from a group of psychologists to accept both “gay affirming therapists and reorientation therapists.”
The APA does not believe the claim by Nicolosi and others that there is scientific evidence that people can change their sexuality, Anderson said.
“There has never been a well designed study to show that people can change,” Anderson said. “Our concern about the so-called conversation therapy is that it isn’t supported by science. There is simply no sufficiently scientifically sound evidence that sexual orientation can be changed.”
You know, I was going to say something reasonable and rational about this. How people can choose behaviour, but that doesn't change orientation and blahblahblah. But you know what? Fuck that. My sexuality is not an abhoration. Nor it is deviant. It's a blessing and I'm sick of fucknuts like this telling me otherwise.
I love men. I love women. And what does that say about me, other than I can love either gender? Nothing. Period. Well, it could tell you I'm less bound to rigid social roles. Or that I'm more willing to look at people for who they are instead of what they are. But you know...
So, fuck off, okay? All you people out there who think there's something wrong with me because I can love a person with a penis or with a vagina, can just Shut.The.Hell.Up. A mental illness? Please. I've been mentally ill. Being bisexual doesn't even come close. Being bisexual is a blessing, not a deviation. Sexuality is a blessing, period. It's not dirty, it's not shameful, it's not something to deny. It can be comforting or intoxicating or bonding or just plain fun. So why don't you go try it and leave the rest of us alone already?
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — About two dozen protesters marched for an hour outside the American Psychological Association convention on Friday to protest the organization’s stand on homosexuality.
The group, which was sponsored by the conservative ministry Focus on the Family, was protesting what it sees as the APA’s views on the immutability of homosexuality.
“We disagree with the APA’s stand that people can’t change if they want to,” said Dr. Joseph Nicolosi, a Los Angeles psychologist and president of the National Association for the Research and Therapy of Homosexuality. “If someone wants to change, they say, ‘No, this is you, you must learn to accept it.’ We say people have self determination, they can make a choice.”
In 1974, the APA ceased listing homosexuality as a mental disorder. The protesters demanded that the APA change its current position.
Dr. Clinton Anderson, director of the lesbian, gay and bisexual office of the APA, said the group’s position is that homosexuality is not an illness and therefore not in need of a cure. The association is not opposed to people who decide to try to change their sexual orientation if it’s an autonomous decision, but would question the motives for such a desire, he said.
“If someone wants to change their sexual orientation, we feel that may be because of an atmosphere that is prejudice against homosexuality,” Anderson said. “We are concerned it is a coercive choice that has to do with pressure from their family, their community, or their church.”
Marchers, who stayed outside the convention for an hour carrying signs reading “Don’t tell me I can’t change,” and “Diversity includes me,” among others, were people who had changed from homosexuality, Nicolosi said.
Nicolosi, who works with people wanting to change their sexuality, said that he has found about a third of his patients experience no change, a third have what he called “significant improvement.” and a third adopt a heterosexual life style.
“They marry and are cured,” Nicolosi said. “They may have an occasional attraction, but not a major or constant one.”
The protesters also had a petition for the APA from a group of psychologists to accept both “gay affirming therapists and reorientation therapists.”
The APA does not believe the claim by Nicolosi and others that there is scientific evidence that people can change their sexuality, Anderson said.
“There has never been a well designed study to show that people can change,” Anderson said. “Our concern about the so-called conversation therapy is that it isn’t supported by science. There is simply no sufficiently scientifically sound evidence that sexual orientation can be changed.”
You know, I was going to say something reasonable and rational about this. How people can choose behaviour, but that doesn't change orientation and blahblahblah. But you know what? Fuck that. My sexuality is not an abhoration. Nor it is deviant. It's a blessing and I'm sick of fucknuts like this telling me otherwise.
I love men. I love women. And what does that say about me, other than I can love either gender? Nothing. Period. Well, it could tell you I'm less bound to rigid social roles. Or that I'm more willing to look at people for who they are instead of what they are. But you know...
So, fuck off, okay? All you people out there who think there's something wrong with me because I can love a person with a penis or with a vagina, can just Shut.The.Hell.Up. A mental illness? Please. I've been mentally ill. Being bisexual doesn't even come close. Being bisexual is a blessing, not a deviation. Sexuality is a blessing, period. It's not dirty, it's not shameful, it's not something to deny. It can be comforting or intoxicating or bonding or just plain fun. So why don't you go try it and leave the rest of us alone already?
Labels: fundies, homosexuality, Katrina, New Orleans, religion
