HumidCity

well, according to (un)reliable sources, er i mean the government, all the trailers will be gone ala pecan by june. the mayor, when he’s not busy threatening to coldcock the media, expects another exodus since there is/will be a lack of available housing. meanwhile formaldehyde poisoning and shoddy construction continue to characterize these top of the line tin cans. free healthcare for all who lived in them or so wishes our very own gun-toting c. ray???). and to think those four-wheeled fuck-ups only cost an estimated 100k each. black mold creepily yet methodically (even bureaucratically) crawls up the walls of my trailer. to think I was complaining about my health in august 2006! e pleurisy unum part 2, anyone?

welcome to mcnola. can I take your order please?

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PH FRED

so it’s as if i’m charlton heston walking down the beach…. DAMN DIRTY APES! DAMN DIRTY BUSH! DAMN DIRTY FEMA! but somehow that post-apocalyptic analogy is missing something… no witty or insightful sequals (thank goodness), no action figures (although the t-shirt biz and faux fleur de crap is still blooming), and no great tie-ins (apologies to brinkly, rose, spike lee, and the cast/ ace bandage of k-ville)

no it’s hard to survive new orleans… you know the day in/ day out life in a trailer or the previously unheard/ unreported/ or downright ignored gunshots, the visits for katrina related illnesses or the lack of understanding and loss of jobs, the strain on relationship, the self doubt, the suicides and countless others contemplated or attempted…hard indeed, but are you really that happy to see me?

new orleans has become a forgotten city perhaps except when luminaries like brad pitt draw the media or criminals too numerous to hold office get elected and re-elected… it’s hard geetting to sleep, it’s hard getting out of bed… and yes, i remembered to take my medicine,

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phfred@notthat.com

last call?

so many words describe the current state of affairs here in new orleans:

betrayed, abandoned, scared, scarred, scary, broken

each word represents another shot of whiskey, another drug, another way to numb and be numbed … AND i dare anyone to spend a week in my trailer in my hood … piles of garbage, crime, pools of blood (i’m not exaggerating)…. these are my IKEA, my designer jeans…this is my hollywood. i dare people to say things are getting better… they’re not. i dare people to say they donated money or did a benefit … i ask where the money went and who benefited. i dare people to tell me what FEMA, insurance companies and the government have done …nothing. i dare people to crawl into my head and walk around a while … you can’t nor would you want to …

as a vietnamese woman on the westbank said … i came to america for freedom, to escape, now i fear for my life … i cannot expose my children to this

this is not america

everyday more life looters are driving & pushing me to the end of the line
how many strikes will it finally take before this city drives me away?
6 months ago i wanted to save it.
2 days ago i wanted to champion it.
today i just want to survive it …

not sure how or if i will
after further bouts of censorship, distrust,
poor attendence, and now empty coffers
the freddy fred show is coming to an end …

thanks to the artists, musicians, dancers, and clubs that were involved …
if possible, remaining posters may still be printed for archival’s sake
(to think the archive of contemporary music wanted to document this???)

i close my eyes now because the words are killing me …
someone has stolen my gift of laughter …
without that, i have nothing else to give …

Ever notice that everything has a warning label on it? The mop bucket with the graphic on the side saying “don’t drown the baby in the mop water,” is a commonplace example. Well it continues, ad absurdum, on into the blast zone of NewOrleans. Tim brings us this wonderful catalogue of idiocy from within the walls of his FEMA trailer. Check out the original post, it is rife with visual aids…

~ Tim’s ~ Nameless ~ Blog ~ Post-K life in New Orleans
I’m not the first person to notice that everything nowadays comes with copious and often stupidly obvious warning labels. Like electric hair dryers that are marked, “Do not use while bathing,” and lawn mowers that warn, “Do not place hands under mower while blade is moving.”

The labeling boom is the result of two powerful forces on the consumer market: government regulations and consumer litigation. Big Brother and Big Lawyer never seem to be satisfied.

And so it should not be a surprise that our FEMA travel trailer is virtually decorated with warning stickers. This white box we call home is the perfect convergence of manufacturers’ CYA strategy and government’s “We’ll protect you” maternalism.