while i was in england, i spent one evening in this very strange club that seemed sort of like a ski lodge, with tables of middle-aged couples watching a woman sing soul songs. she may have been really good karaoke or else very bad singing, and an alto sax and a drum machine accompanied her. the lights were on very bright for some reason, and an out-of-place twenty year old couple with some piercings was making out in front of me. there appeared to be security guards walking around with earpieces and suits. it was weird. but it was past midnight, and pubs mostly close early, and any port in a storm.

i ended up talking to this australian girl, and i thought we were having a nice conversation, loud as it was. we started talking about our accents, and she said that european people sometimes confuse her for an american. i said, "really? that's strange." and she responded with, "and you know how little anyone likes to be confused with an american." it was very matter-of-fact. normally i shrug such things off, but i was feeling a bit sensitive, and so i nodded and sort of wandered away.

europeans or canadians always eventually get around to alluding to how little people think of americans. and they usually mean it in the way that excludes you--as in, i know you're not like the rest of them, or i know you don't fit the stereotype. it can be sweet, but sometimes not.

i always imagine that being an american in the world feels a little like being a black person in the united states. ask black people what white people seem like when they get a little relaxed and feel like they can speak freely. maybe they bust out with the "you know what, one of my best friends is black" or the "i used to go out with a black girl." it's all very "i know you're a nice person," and sometimes people will do that to you for being an american. they know you're different. they know you're a nice person. they know they can speak frankly to you.

it's just an observation. maybe i'm wrong. maybe i over-react. you know what i like to do? when someone asks me directions when i'm in a foreign country, i like to answer correctly and politely in my american accent. when i'm with non-americans, i like to be good conversation. i'm an american, and i want everyone to know. it's public relations. believe it or not, you--you all by yourself--can balance out george bush. what fucking power.

mia and i got back from our trip to iceland and england yesterday. i would like to report that icelandair sends its regards, and that in the past year i have landed in an airplane to the following rolling stones songs: mixed emotions, play with fire, honky tonky woman (x2), and sympathy for the devil. there is something about landing airliners, the stones, and me--we meet at one of the universe's little knots.


a picture of iceland

during yesterday's layover in reykjavik, i spent half an hour wandering around and looking at people--we were all the passengers on an icelandair flight trapped in duty free between connections, so probably no one was icelandic. i decided i couldn't tell what nationality anyone could possibly be, and i liked the feeling of looking at people and having no basis whatsoever for knowing what they would sound like if they said something. none at all. like, "that old man looks really stately--i wonder what kind of accent he'd have, or if he'd even speak english."

i also wondered if they thought the same about me. the guy with the hair, who was staring at them.

mia and her friends finished up their work for fashion week yesterday, and i went to join them at the bar for their post-fashion celebration. some of them i know really well, others less so. i sat down at a table and started telling a story to some people i know, and one of them stopped me after two sentences and said, "wait! josh, have you had a few days off work or something? you're more animated than the past twenty times i've seen you put together. holy shit." perhaps i have been a bit bipolar lately.

there is no denouement to that story. that's it. no analysis, nothing witty. do you feel kind of like you needed to sneeze, but didn't? oh well. tomorrow mia and i are flying to iceland, where we'll spend a few days in reykjavik. after that, we're headed to london to see a few friends. and belle and sebastian.

so. be good.

the cmj music marathon is happening now in new york city. on wednesday night i went to see the dandy warhols at cbgb. last night i went to summerstage to see arcade fire, and dammit if david bowie didn't come out and play the encore with them.

both shows pleased me. watching arcade fire is like watching this fantastic machine, and they're even obnoxious, which endears them to me. like, they throw stuff. still, i liked the dandy warhols show the better of the two. dandy warhols songs are really atmospheric, like poppy droning noise, and that's always been a favorite sound of mine. plus it was crammed, and dark, and there were fans blowing and strobe lights going, and cbgb is, of course, a dump. it's all a good feeling.

on an elevator, i am often very scornful of the people who get in and go up or down one floor. not out loud, of course. in my head--or maybe to the people left after the elevator starts moving again. one floor? you couldn't walk one floor?

this morning on the way into work, a woman got on on 4. she had her hands full, and she said to me, "push 5." then she got off at 5. push five? did i wear my double-breasted elevator operator jacket today? push five? push fucking five? you definitely didn't say the magic word.

the leviathan from the krewe of orpheus

is it tacky to post a picture from mardi gras when new orleans is a mess, and people have died? i don't think so. it's just a reminder. and it's got pretty colors. sometimes you need some of that.

the other night i was doing an extended walk down broadway, to go in staples on the way home and get some cd cases. i went in mcdonalds to get something to eat, which is something i do on extended walks down broadway.

there was a rather amorphous line at the registers, and this guy came up next to me, seeming as if he might try to jump in front of me. i gave him a stare, and he stepped back behind me.

right after i ordered, he went to the register next to me, and he spoke very slurred and nasal, as if he might have been retarded. he unfolded two dollars very carefully and put them down on the counter and smoothed them out, all proper. he looked down and nodded the whole time.

ever feel like shit for something like that? you look at someone all mean because you think they're going to infringe on your space somehow, then you find out they're retarded? yep. feel like shit. happens.

i will try, after today, to stop obsessing about new orleans any more than i have to--both in real life and on my website--because it really is not doing much for my well-being.

joe has put the rest of his katrina pictures up on his website. they show that there were a lot of branches and trees down, but most things held together. since the flooding apparently did not reach this area, i count this as a fortunate thing. he and jennifer are going to spend this week with my folks in nashville.

roy will meet up with the rest of his family in baton rouge this week. his job might put him up to work out of st. tammany parish (the north shore of lake pontchartrain) while the city is coming back together.

my friend dave, who is a doctor, might head to baton rouge this week to see if he can help out. like me, dave used to live on prytania street in a pink greek revival house.

that's everyone i keep in touch with. i'm sure i'll find out about other people sooner or later.

i have been reading the WWL blog while keeping up with stuff. today there are statements by three local officials (nola mayor, jefferson parish president, and slidell mayor) all shouting-angry with the federal agencies. it's terrible to think things are not going as quickly and efficiently as they could go. however, not-too-distant history has other examples of the government giving a halting, cold response to a flooded louisiana, and fortunately the lesson from history is that things will come around eventually. this statement from broussard makes me feel better:

Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard - We've already begun to rebuild. We need to get up and running in three weeks to be a staging area for the rebuilding of New Orleans, St. Bernard and Plaquemines.

and so far, not one other public figure has followed the speaker of the house, suggesting that some of new orleans could be "bulldozed." such talk is ridiculous. you don't throw away something beautiful because it is temporarily inconvenient. that's the logic of a philistine.

here are some photos of the tulane area, showing that freret street has a couple feet of water. the interdictor's livejournal is still updating with news from inside the CBD.

in the time to come, when things are being fixed by those who can fix them, i hope people resist the temptation to blame new orleans, its citizens or its officials, for what happened after the storm. what happened is an unfortunate act of nature. here is the american red cross, and here is the tipitina's foundation, which will help new orleans musicians while their livelihood is disrupted.

when things are more normal and it is feasible, if you can, plan a trip to new orleans. maybe we can all meet up for mardi gras next year. i'm sure my boss will let me take off two days for that.

in talking to people around new york, when the hurricane and its after effects come up, people always seem surprised about two things--everyone not leaving when the evacuation was ordered, and the looting and violence that started the day after the storm.

have you ever heard the band galactic? (a fine example of new orleans music, if you take my word for it.) if so, the singer theryl houseman de'clouet might have told you, in a song, "welcome to new orleans, louisiana, home of the hits. and if you're from out of town, welcome to the third world."

some residents of the city, quite casually, refer to new orleans as a third world country. poverty there is everywhere, always visible, and accepted in a way you have to accept something that you can't do anything about. there is a quote, and it might be apocryphal, but of course makes perfect sense anyway, that goes, "don't think of new orleans as the most dangerous city in the united states. instead, think of it as the fourth most dangerous city in the caribbean."

there's nothing in new york city to compare to the normal conditions in new orleans. lots of those people are old, have nothing, and wouldn't know where to go anyway. and the people who were shooting at each other--those people might have been shooting at each other given a typical friday night. the difference is that they would have been doing it on st. claude avenue, and no one would have thought anything of it.

regardless, things sound better, and the quote one post down makes it sound like violence is under control. people--and people who care too much about politics especially--should resist the temptation to tsk-tsk at new orleans. now things just need to be fixed. it'll cost what it costs. hopefully nothing else like this will happen for a long time to come.

This is from today, Saturday, from the WWL website.

6:40 P.M. - New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin: We're starting to see a turnaround for the better in town. When asked if his angry comments perhaps hastened the federal government's response, Nagin said he could not take all the credit. "The nation demanded a response" and the government responded, he said.

Nagin advised those who had fled or evacuated the city that they should not return for some time. He said there is a long checklist city officials must go through before declaring the city open to the public, among them: draining the city, cleaning out debris and other waste, removing dead bodies, and decontaminating the city for disease potential.

The Mayor said that history will judge whether or not he could have done more to save Orleans residents.

joe's putting up all his katrina pictures on his website.