I found this plaque embedded in the bricks outside the Oil & Gas Building, on the corner of Common and Rampart in the CBD. It reads "One hundred years after Col. Drake [?] completed the nation's first successful oil well in Titusville, Pennsylvania, the New Orleans Oil Centennial Committee deposited historical documents here to commemorate the occasion."

A celebration of oil's first century, eh? Hope they enjoyed the party, 'cos according to some geologists, we are approaching the end of the "peak oil" era. Some estimate that global oil supplies will begin to decline in mid-century, and that by 2050 the decline in production rates -- from having used up this limited resource -- will be precipitous.

In a hundred years, if that plaque is still there, it might seem like more of a tombstone than a time-capsule.

[Apologies for the off-set photo cropping ... it couldn't be avoided.]

The second editorial in the Times-Pic today ("Share the excitement") gently took the Mayor and City Council to task for the secrecy surrounding the recently-approved plan for the first stages of redevelopment of 17 targeted zones throughout the city. The editors should have gone much further in their criticism. The secrecy of the elected leaders could be characterized as disingenuous at best, at worst, it is rife with the opportunity for corruption, influence-pedaling, and back-door politics. The kind of things that people living here are pretty sick of already.

If the plans to redevelop New Orleans are agreed upon by elected officials, then the democratic population who voted for these officials are entitled to see these plans, comment upon them, and above all, take hope from these plans.

Citizens like you and me won't be able to do this, though, until next month. This month is reserved for the New Orleans power structure to assure itself a profitable central role in the rebuilding effort. There are properties to be acquired, and little old ladies and blind old men to be unscrupulously evicted or bought out of their homes for a pittance by scheming developers.

There are dummy corporations to set up, in order to apply or bid for contracts (presuming, that is, that there are any contracts left to be claimed on the first $117 million in development funds; it's even money that big time disaster profiteers Halliburton and Bechtel had a seat at the table when these plans were shown to "other stakeholders" by Tsar Blakely. After all, there's federal money being poured around, and while many still suffer, there's no reason that good, highly-connected corporations like Kellogg, Brown, & Root or Fluor can't earn a buck or two million while shutting out local contractors until the cream has been skimmed from federal largesse.).

Admittedly, the bulk of planning was likely done long ago, and the REAL players didn't have to wait for the council's approval. They already have their schemes in order, you can believe that. Incidentally, this may be the reason why Nagin's office has been so insular lately; he and his cronies have probably been busy making calls and setting up deals with friends, family, and high-powered interests. There's a lot of loot on the way.

Which reminds me of the spray painted warnings after Katrina: You loot, we shoot. Only now, the shooting should be metaphoric.

But don't be surprised to find an awful lot of looting when the development money comes to town.

You know, it would seem that due to my recent posts I am interested in celebrities, but I'm actually not. They just happen to be undertaking some things related to New Orleans. Yesterday I wasn't sure if Beyonce was, indeed, Creole as she claims--and you all advised me this was true. So, props to the Queen B. She just got herself a new fan (uh, me).

This week, Brad Pitt returned to the Crescent City after his stint in Chicago to give us an illustrated example of putting a little elbow grease into something. According to the Perez Hilton website Brad is "spearheading" a new green housing development.

I don't know if this is true or not, either, but the picture looks pretty authentic. I am going to assume it's true and score one more for New Orleans. I think we've all had our differences of opinion on whether the added celebrity element is good or bad for New Orleans. If Brad Pitt is bringing anything housing- or green-related to Nola than I can only see that as a good sign.

Of course, I don't know on what ground the structure is being built or if the housing will be affordable or luxury like all the condos we've seen popping up. Let's hope they're affordable and not built on an old cemetery (although the Saints seem to be moving out from under that alleged curse).

According to the blurb Brad will spill the beans to Ann Curry on NBC this Thursday. Be sure to tune in!

Fabulous pic of Brad Pitt, who was not wearing this at the develoment site, by jawo808.

[Beat the Heat offers interesting and entertaining--and tasty!--ways to cool off in New Orleans this summer.]

Well, I think the article in the Crescent City Farmers Market weekly news bulletin says it all, but don't take my word for it. Check out the Farmers Market this week and sample one of local juicer Amanda's fruity concoctions. In fact, you'll have to--I'm stuck here in NYC. At least I have air conditioning.

This Tuesday I also have word that the Farmer's Market will offer FREE WATERMELON to folks who stop by. Now, if there is anything more refreshing that sums up summer than watermelon I haven't seen it. Or tasted it. Or basked in its cool refreshment.

The only thing left to do is get the free watermelon people with Amanda to make some sort of watermelon juice creation. Talk about tasty and refreshing. And sticky, but that's to be expected in these parts this time of year, no?

So get yourself on over to the Farmer's Market this Tuesday or Saturday. Yes, it may be hot--or perhaps raining--during your visit, but it will be well worth it when you enjoy Amanda's special papaya lime juice. You'll cool down AND help the local economy, as well as the environment, all at the same time.

Remember, the Tuesday market runs from 9:00AM (when it shouldn't be too hot and you could enjoy a nice cool juice for breakfast) until 1:00 PM (when you can enjoy one for lunch) at 200 Broadway, the Uptown parking lot. The Saturday market runs from early-bird 8:00AM to high noon at 700 Magazine Street.

Photo of lime juice with orange juice, another fabulous treat, by gigijin.

Can someone please try this juice and let me know how delicious it is? After all, I have to live vicariously through you.

[Terra Nola documents the long-distance love affair between a New Yorker and New Orleans.]

So I was sitting near a window in my local coffee bar the other day when this young woman walked by me. She was wearing a T-shirt that simply said "Ray Nagin for President." Now, mind you, I live in Brooklyn, in New York City, not in New Orleans (or in LA for that matter).

As she passed me by we exchanged knowing half-smiles through the glass. The absurdity of Nagin running for president was even more absurd than seeing that T-shirt outside of the French Quarter. The French Quarter, as we all know, is where tacky yet often witty T-shirts are born...and where they go to die.

You will recall the "Chocolate City" T-shirt of yesteryears that hit the scene mere moments after the phrase was uttered by Ray Nagin. Still others expanded on that idea by presenting Mr. Nagin as Willy Wonka and cast New Orleans as the Chocolate Factory. Ringing a bell at all for ya?

This T-shirt was different though, in that it represented a possibility of the future, not the reality of the past. Mr. Nagin made the "chocolate city" comment--for real, yo, it was in the papers--but he has yet to admit he is interested in throwing his hat in the ring for President of the United States of America. Note I said "yet."

Now, I am not about to get involved in a political discussion with you about Ray Nagin, his politics, and whether or not he would make a good president. Since I am in no way, shape or form a citizen of New Orleans, it is not my place to discuss such things, or to even cast my opinion of them. I leave that to my bloggingneworleans colleagues. They tend to have opinions on such things and don't mind sharing them.

No, I'd rather discuss with you, or ponder, really, how politics have made their way into the T-shirt business, how what information we know comes in the form of a witty slogan on a piece of crappy cotton stretched across the chests of unsuspecting tourists.

In the case of my new-found (from afar, through glass) friend of Nola, I suspect she either is a lover of New Orleans like myself who couldn't resist the tongue in cheek notion of Nagin running for election, or was just trying to get someone to ask her who the heck Nagin is.

See, around these parts, Hurricane Katrina or no, a lot of people STILL don't know who Ray Nagin is. If I weren't so obsessed with everything that goes on in New Orleans I too might be just like everyone else and assume he is some politician from the South, or worse: that he was the guy who coined the "Chocolate City" phrase.

It's said when your entire legacy can be summed up in the form of a stupid T-shirt. Seriously.

Speaking of legacies, one of my favorite T-shirts from the Quarter that I started seeing moments after the stores reopened was one that was frank and to the point. It said "F_CK FEMA," only there was a fleur de lis where the "U" should be.

That short, sweet statement pretty much summed up the sentiment of the entire population of New Orleans, from what I could tell. Now that we know all about the toxic environment of the FEMA-provided trailers that sentiment perhaps has never rung so true.

In New York City you see plenty of T-shirts that use the word F_CK, but never do you see any taking aim at local politicians. Perhaps it is because Bloomberg and Guiliani before him weren't as colorful as Mr. Nagin, nor so free with their speech.

Either way, the T-shirt business in New Orleans makes for the best reading outside of the Times Picayune. Want to know what's going on in town when you get there? Forget the local paper, just check out the T-shirts in the Quarter. You'll get all the info you need to know, boiled down into juicy, entertaining bites.

Last time I was in town, which was just before the one-year post Katrina anniversary, I noticed the same T-shirts I'd seen hanging around when I was down for Jazz Fest. Those that didn't refer directly to Nagin described the population's general feelings about the hurricane, surviving it, and living to tell--or drop the F-bomb--about it.

We'll see what lurks in the Quarter next time I hit town. I've never bought a T-shirt in New Orleans outside of those I got at Jazz Fest, but something is begging me to get one of those "Chocolate City" tees just to have for future reference. I don't plan on ever wearing such a T-shirt in public, but perhaps I will wear it to bed.

Frankly, I don't want to spend the time explaining what the phrase means to those who don't know. In this case, what they don't know won't hurt them. I do wonder, however, how many people--if anyone--stopped my friend with the "Ray Nagin for President" T-shirt to ask who he was or, if they did know, if she seriously considered his candidacy.

I decided I didn't want to know whether or not she was serious. I immediately took it for a joke. I may be in the minority on this...or not. Again, not my call to make.

I can think of a T-shirt I'd like to see in the Quarter: "My life was blown away by Hurricane Katrina and all I got was this lousy formaldehyde-laden trailer ."

What about you? Anything you'd like to see printed on a T-shirt? I'm sure the list goes on for miles....

By the way, I am certainly not the first to consider the notion of Mr. Nagin running for president. Just go to google and type in "Ray Nagin for president" and have a ball with all the links--pro and con opinions--that pop up.

The Naval Support Activity (NSA) East Bank, a military facility housing local US Marine administrations and other military support services, will be closed in less than three years, under the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990 (and later the Base Closure Community Redevelopment and Homeless Assistance Act of 1994).

What's going to go there is the subject of a great deal of low-level musings of Bywater neighbors of the facility, and, to be sure, high-level attentions of real estate and commercial interests.

The location is prime: 25 acres perched on the corner of the Inner Harbor Navigation Channel (aka the Industrial Canal) and the Mississippi River. It's on the western side of the Canal, making it convenient to the French Quarter, it's near an established neighborhood that will appreciate in value significantly in the next decade -- just wait and see -- and it's on some of the city's highest ground. All these factors must make it extremely attractive to investors. Rumor has long maintained that certain interests have been looking to the Canal for some kind of cruise/gambling ship berth.

But there's a catch. That 1994 Base Closure act provides that, in determining the uses of decommissioned bases, consideration be given to homeless advocacy and service organizations. The time for such groups to declare their interest and file applications for consideration began recently and will last until November. The next step, in the words of the New Orleans Advisory Task Force, will be to "Develop a plan that will enhance the local economy and increase local tax revenues."

Step six in the NOATF plan is to "Strive to be responsive to the social needs of the local community." [emphasis added].

Homeless advocates are probably going to have to do a lot more than just "strive" in order not to be kicked out of the considerations of the future of East Bank NSA.

[Beat the heat offers interesting and entertaining ways to cool off in New Orleans this summer.]

One of my favorite things to do whenever I'm in New Orleans is get an iced coffee. I know I could do that practically anywhere, given the prevalence of Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts, but for some reason the coffee in New Orleans just tastes different to me. And it tastes better.

Nola is an import town after all, sitting on the river as it does. One of the main things it imports is coffee. So, it should be no surprise that folks around here know their stuff when it comes to the bean. Despite setbacks from the Big K, coffee is indeed still a brewing business for both local mom and pop shops and chains.

So, this tip to beat the heat in New Orleans this summer is:

1. Enjoy an iced coffee from a local cafe.

To me, there is simply nothing better than kicking back with an iced coffee (or iced cappuccino, if you want me to be specific) from Royal Blend Coffee in the French Quarter. While some prefer to sit indoors munching on breakfast pastries and reading the free local papers, I prefer to sit in the beautiful and well-maintained courtyard pretending to be in a different era.

More tips on how to Beat the Beat after the jump!

It's easy to do in such a courtyard, with its bubbling fountain (complete with goldfish last time I checked), lush greenery and shady umbrella tables.

Which brings to mind another tip:

2. After purchasing your refreshing iced coffee, ensure you find someplace shady in/under which to drink it.

Other local cafes serving up the best of the iced bunch include perennial favorite Cafe du Monde, who will:

3. Pair your iced latte with their world-famous beignets (which go down a lot smoother in the summer months with an iced latte).

Some folks in the past have argued that local chain CC's Coffee isn't really that tasty. The one time I sampled it I enjoyed a nice iced coffee, so I can't complain. If you haven't tried CC's yet, give it a whirl--it's easy since there are so many locations, although if I were you I'd:

4. Hit the CC's Coffee by the World War II Museum and then hang out indoors.

Finally, if you find yourself in the Garden District (and you should):

5. Hit the coffee shop in the bookstore nestled in a shopping center called the Rink. They make a fabulous iced cappuccino, which you can enjoy along with the air conditioning while perusing new titles from local authors.

I am sure there are innumerable places to enjoy a nice cup of iced joe during the summer months in New Orleans, Can you think of any hot (cool) spots I've missed to add to the list?

If not, then sip up! Iced coffee season only lasts so long, you know!