Recently in City Park in New Orleans Category

I offer a couple of pictures today because the writing well has run a bit dry. The first one was taken just a few minutes ago. The other two are from City Park and were taken a few days ago.

Santa's Tree Farm - Bush, LA - December 29, 2007 - Too late - Santa's Tree Farm is right up the road from CrabAppleLane. I think this lot has been closed for a few years now. I can't remember the last time I saw anyone here buying a tree. All of the Christmas tree farms around here have fallen on hard times. Not really sure why.

City Park at Marconi - New Orleans, LA - December 26, 2007 - Not sure if this is a bus stop or a train station. I can't think of a bus that runs here and that train in City Park has a very haphazard schedule.

Not open - City Park Ave - New Orleans, LA - December 26, 2007 - Bummer - I'd have settled for strawberries or avocados.

Quote of the Day

Oh now feel it coming back again
Like a rolling thunder chasing the wind
Forces pulling from the center of the earth again
I can feel it

Lightning Crashes, Live

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "Somewhere in the deepest reaches of Hell, a demon just earned its horns."

Found this one the other day. It's a fairly new one that provides one thought-provoking entry after another. -Rob

I imagine last night's Saints-Falcons game looked good to someone at sometime but I have no idea why. I suppose Michael Vick was still in their thoughts and the Saints, well, everyone wanted to get the Saints on TV after last season. Still, the Saints waxed the Falcons both times last year even with Michael Vick quarterbacking. The Falcons season went into the tank when Vick was indicted and the Saints have been disappointing all season. They are chasing the Bucs for the division and won't catch them and chasing the Vikings for the last wildcard and probably won't catch them, either, mainly because it would involve them being consistent for three straight weeks. Not likely. There were better games to showcase this week.

Gorgeous day yesterday in New Orleans. The regular readers here know I try to spend these kinds of days in City Park. I just cannot understand why more people aren't doing this. I'd say less than 20 people were there yesterday. That's not to say I don't like the peace and quiet. Below, I offer two images from beautiful City Park in New Orleans.

City Park - New Orleans, LA - December 10, 2007 - Not a bad place to picnic.

City Park - New Orleans, LA - December 10, 2007 - Someone did a great job cleaning up this sidewalk. It's right on Marconi Drive for those who know the area.

My City Park images.

Quote of the Day

Oh yeah, we meet again
It's like we never left
Time in between was just a dream
Did we leave this place?

Live, The Dolphin's Cry

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "Ellen Susan's jewel-like photographs of contemporary American soldiers are at once intimate and revelatory."

As I was tooling around last night looking for information about FDR Mall (See 3rd photo below), I ran across a site that has the same photographic interest in City Park since Hurricane Katrina as I do except she goes into more detail and has better photos. Her photo of "Roosevelt Mall in the Rain" is what informed me about FDR Mall.

City Park - New Orleans, LA - December 5, 2007 - Told Sheila O'Malley that I loved the tilt in her photo the other day. Not as wild about it in mine. Thought about correcting it but decided against it. I was level.

City Park goose - New Orleans, LA - December 5, 2007- This is one of the less silly geese I encountered yesterday. There were 10-12 geese, 15-20 ducks, and 7-8 swans in the area I chose to eat. The geese were honking and chattering at absolutely everything.

FDR Mall - City Park sign - New Orleans, LA - December 5, 2007 - In spite of the directions, I'm not certain where FDR Mall is or was although I think it might refer to the street and its attendant live oak canopy.

Quote of the Day

And the Ohio State defense? Pretty darn effective against Big Ten Conference opponents.

But this is big-boy football now.

Joey Johnston, MSNBC contributor

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "Your Monday Moment of Noir"

Another Blade Runner fan. -Rob

It was another gorgeous day in City Park yesterday. Couldn't resist taking out the camera.

City Park - New Orleans, LA - November 28, 2007Reminds me of long division problems from my school days.


Tad Gormley Stadium - City Park - New Orleans, LA - November 28, 2007Saw my first NFL game here. It was 1965 or 1966 and I believe it was just called City Park Stadium then. It was an exhibition game featuring the St Louis Cardinals versus the Baltimore Colts. Both teams have moved since. Dad took me and he was a big LSU Tiger fan. Former Tiger, Jerry Stovall, played cornerback for the Cardinals so we were cheering for them. That Unitas fellow for the Colts had other ideas. I don't remember much except that the Colts wore blue. I had always seen them in white on TV. Johnny Unitas wore his high top cleats and I'm not sure he missed a pass. The Cardinals intercepted a pass near the Colts goal line late in the game and ran it in for a touchdown. The Colts won, 22-10. I can't find any box scores or accounts of that game. Wonder if they exist somewhere.

Did anyone notice that Ted on How I Met Your Mother was wearing a New Orleans Saints t-shirt in one scene on Monday night's episode (The Yips)? You can watch the episode on their website if you like. Good on you, Ted.

Quote of the Day

Is it going to be a Jeff Garcia game plan? Well, if Garcia plays, then it will be. But if Jeff doesn't play, then what do you prepare for? I think keeping it a little unsure can be a good thing strategically from our standpoint.

Paul Hackett, Tampa Bay Bucs QB Coach

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "Second, she seems to be more carefree these days. She no longer looks over her shoulder every few minutes just to check if I'm okay."

Thought I'd add a couple of images from City Park in New Orleans. I ate lunch there yesterday and I wish I'd had more time to just wander. The park is really starting to shape up thanks to a lot of volunteers and a wonderful trash contractor. It's not entirely litter-free and probably never will be but it's much, much better than it was.

City Park Lagoon - New Orleans, LA - November 23, 2007 This is my favorite vista at City Park. I took a similar picture of it in May of last year. Then, I had to move around and zoom in and out just to avoid getting litter in my shot. The park is much cleaner these days and I like the contrast between fall this year and spring last year.


City Park Oak - New Orleans, LA - November 23, 2007This is one of the younger oak trees in the park and it's really looking healthy these days. I cannot describe how bleak this area looked just a year ago. The grass was brown and dead from the salt water that poured in from Lake Pontchartrain after Katrina broke the levee, the oak trees were ailing from the flooding and the wind, and there was mud and trash everywhere. It broke your heart. Look at it now.

Now, for some other stuff.

When you think of beautiful cities, does Pittsburgh ever come to mind? It should. I've been admiring this photograph of Pittsburgh for a few days now. Just lovely.

Tip of the cap to the Arkansas Razorbacks on their win yesterday in Baton Rouge. After some early jitters, they took it to the LSU Tigers. They had a plan that played to their strengths and they outplayed the Tigers from the second quarter on. Arkansas led 7-6 at halftime in what looked to be a defensive struggle. They won 50-48 in three overtimes. It was a wild game as most of LSU’s games have been this season. Darren McFadden is a super football player. He’ll be coming to an NFL game near you in the not-too-distant future.

Quote of the Day

We understand that this cost us and what was at stake.

Les Miles, LSU Tigers Head Coach

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "He Brought That Woooooood"

City Park - New Orleans, LA - November 23, 2007

This is a temporary url. CrabAppleLane Blog will be at http://www.crabapplelane.net/roblog as soon as I can make the transition.

With 5 days left in the regular season, three of the four playoff berths in the American League are clinched and the fourth is one game from being so. We pretty much know who the four will be. In the National League, NOTHING is decided yet and I don't think we'll know until the last weekend. National League fans are being treated to real pennant races. They'll be told that their teams are inferior to the ones in the junior league and will be shown stats (There are always stats in baseball) to prove their inferiority. The National League representative in the World Series will be a decided underdog. It means nothing. World Series history is rife with examples of underdog National Leaguers beating powerful American League teams. These are just some of the ones I remember:

The Mets take 4 of 5 from the Orioles in 1969.
The Phillies take 4 of 6 from the Royals in 1980.
The Dodgers take 4 of 6 from the Yankees in 1981.
The Dodgers take 4 of 5 from the A's in 1988.
The Reds swept the A's in 4 in 1990.
The Marlins take 4 of 6 from the Yankees in 2003.
The Cards take 4 of 5 from the Tigers last year.

I offer a couple of images from City Park.

City Park Lagoon in New Orleans - September 26, 2007
Just sunnin'

City Park in New Orleans - September 26, 2007 City Park is much cleaner these days. It's not spotless and it probably never will be. There's never an excuse for litter but the fine ought to be multiplied by the number of garbage cans within easy walking distance.

Quote of the Day

This ball will be branded with an asterisk.

Marc Ecko

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "Next up for the UAW is either Ford Motor Company or Chrysler LLC. It has yet to decide which of the remaining domestics it will negotiate with next, but we're anxious to see if one contract already in place will make the next two go smoother."

G. T. Beauregard - Entrance to City Park in New Orleans, LA

P.G.T. Beauregard is a Louisiana Civil War General most famous for firing on Fort Sumter and commanding the Confederates at the first Battle of Bull Run at Manassas. Why he's posted at the entrance to City Park in New Orleans is unknown to me.

Short for this Friday the Thirteenth. French Quarter Festival gets underway today. Of the many, many festivals in New Orleans and Louisiana, this is our favorite. We’ll surely be there one day this weekend, maybe even today.

Ate lunch in City Park Wednesday. Always a treat.

Not sure what this is but it got the best parking spot. Click here for a better view.

Quote of the Day

Bang bang, he shot me down
Bang bang, I hit the ground
Bang bang, that awful sound
Bang bang, my baby shot me down.

Nancy Sinatra - Bang Bang

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "MR. & MRS. RICH: Brad and Angelina are buying a $270 million yacht. And then, once they finish adopting two babies from every country in the world, they’ll be ready for the flood."

Took lunch in City Park yesterday. Was a little too cold to get out of the truck so I pulled over and parked next to what I thought was an empty field. It had rained yesterday and there was some standing water in the field ... among other things.

I didn't see the ducks at all when I pulled over. I was just looking for a spot not too close to anyone. They were having a good old time in this field. The water couldn't have been much more than 6 or 8 inches deep. Counting the two in the immediate foreground on the left behind the clover, an astute observer will count eight male Mallards and one female. Methinks love was in the air.

CrabAppleLane on "a cappella" singing: The Andrews sisters singing I'll Be With You In Apple Blossom Time in any Abbott and Costello movie is OK. The Buffalo Bills singing Sweet Adeline in The Music Man is good, too. The Whiffenpoofs of Yale singing Girl from Ipanema in a West Wing episode was almost unbearable. One song is usually my limit. However, watching Ted's a capella singing group sing the Theme from Underdog on a Scrubs rerun was easily one of the coolest things I've ever heard on TV. Enjoy.

Another call to do away with the NFL's Pro Bowl. CrabAppleLane agrees wholeheartedly with all of it.

Quote of the Day

I have six locks on my door all in a row. When I go out, I only lock every other one. I figure no matter how long somebody stands there picking the locks, they are always locking three.

Elayne Boosler

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "I’m not going to post a link to the house, but the roundabout in Basildon above (which I thought was beautiful in its own way) is here."