2007_10_01_archive

College football makes no sense

Failing to put away Tulane for an entire first half is hardly the kind

of performance one would expect to vault a team to number one in the

AP poll. In fact, it isn't altogether out of bounds to begin to

consider firing the coach.

Labels: LSU, sports

# posted by jeffrey @ 4:12 PM

In case you're living under a rock..

... a rock with an internet connection, I guess... you should be aware

that Jefferson Parish Sheriff Harry Lee has passed away this morning

following a frighteningly rapid onset of complications from his

ongoing leukemia treatments.

Lee was a colorful and controversial figure on the local political

scene for nearly three decades alternately beloved and despised for

varying reasons. Lee's legacy will undoubtedly be closely tied to the

strange politics of race in Orleans and Jefferson all of which we can

discuss later. For now, it's sufficient to note that an era has ended

in local politics in tragic fashion.

Update: Very thorough obit from the T-P

Labels: New Orleans, politics, suburbia

# posted by jeffrey @ 11:56 AM

Crucial issue of the morning

Go see Haney now to get in on the "best iced coffee" discussion.

New Orleans, as many of you know, is one of the great coffee towns in

America. The Louisiana State Museum maintains an exhibit in the

Cabildo Armory that treats the history of the coffee trade at the port

of New Orleans and its lasting cultural impact. A few highlights:

Today, New Orleans is the number one coffee port in the country.

Around 241,000 tons of green coffee or 27.8 percent of the coffee

that entered the United States in 1995 came into New Orleans. Beans

are shipped here in large containers from thirty-one

coffee-producing countries. This coffee is shipped out to large

bulk roasters and smaller specialty roasters around the world.

In the 1920s the coffee break, as we know it, had not yet become a

part of the daily ritual of American workers. In New Orleans,

however, where business was said to have taken a secondary role to

pleasure, the mid-morning break began to take form. In 1928 Lyle

Saxon wrote in Fabulous New Orleans:

It is no unusual thing for a business man to say casually: "Well,

let's go and get a cup of coffee," as a visitor in his office is

making ready to depart. It is a little thing perhaps, this drinking

of coffee at odd times, but it is very characteristic of the city

itself. Men in New Orleans give more thought to the business of

living than men in other American cities. . . . I have heard

Northern business men complain bitterly about these little

interruptions for coffee or what-not.

We may never know if the coffee break was actually invented here in

New Orleans, but the tradition remains popular. In recent years, a

new breed of coffeehouse, the gourmet shop, has gained popularity

in the New Orleans region in keeping with a national trend. With

premium blends of coffee from around the world, these

establishments are breathing life into a coffee industry that was

suffering from high prices and competition from soft drinks and

flavored waters. Workers in New Orleans, now more than ever, enjoy

their sacred coffee break ritual to its fullest.

The highlight indicates the sentence that brings the largest smile to

my face. Also, I should point out that the "Coffee houses" of the day

more often than not traded in stronger drink than just coffee. The New

Orleans "coffee house" of the 19th and early 20th century was often

interchangeable with the saloon.

And there were quite more than a few of them as this FrenchQuarter.com

article indicates.

By the 19th century, New Orleans was already one of the world's

busiest ports and, thanks to its proximity to Latin America, coffee

was one of its leading imports. Naturally, coffeehouses sprang up

around city. In fact, one city directory from the 1850s lists more

than 500 coffeehouses in the rapidly growing port town.

Today, there aren't exactly 500 coffee houses in town but there is

still quite a good number from a surprising variety of operators. So,

again, go visit Haney and give some love to your favorite.