Merry New Year 2009 (It's Okay to Say...)

SB Land Ain't Got None

12 is the number of times Shreveport is mentioned in the Winter 2008-09 issue of Louisiana Cultural Vistas (the magazine of the Louisiana Endowment of the Humanities). The publication focuses on the state's culture, arts and history.
How many times is New Orleans mentioned? By page two we'd counted 20. We didn't have the heart to wade through the remaining 94 pages. If you'd like you can go here and count for yourself.

Docublogging in SB Land

New skills are moving this blog into the world of Web 2.0. One day we hope to be as good as Ying Liu.

The video is of Loren Demerath. He's a professor at Centenary College. We first read about him on Trudeau's blog.

RRBJ is responsible for the knitting and editing of this short film.

We Not Telling Ya Who to Voteeee For

A couple of weeks ago the editor of this blog site won a camera from KTBS. Now she has a chance to win an HDTV. But. It's not about the telllllllyyy. It's about the little gal (or guy) re-claiming the world.

It's about moving this blog into docublogging. It's about being able to take the next step to show that Shreveport truly is the ..."Austin for the rest of us..." or "Affordable Austin..."

Really. Okay... it is about the winning. Go here. Vote for the Biking to Highland Community Garden video. The editor of RRBJ also shot the DDA Home Tour video but she didn't edit it so she feels the Biking tour... best represents her current work. Thank you. And if you have any events or concerns that you think need to be docublogged please send us an email.

Inquire Inside

Home tour in downtown Shreveport?

This afternoon from 2 until 6. It's free and sponsored by the DDA.

John William Corrington

I’ve been gone from Shreveport for almost thirty years [at the time of the writing], but, as you can see, Shreveport has never left me. It remains the subject and matrix of my work, and it always will. Not because my recollections of it are without pain, or because I lived a golden untroubled childhood here. It wasn’t that way. But the experiences I had here, the places I remember, the people I loved–and even the ones I despised–have been as useful to me, as evocative, as Paris of the 1880’s and 90’s was to Marcel Proust. Not in a direct sense, certainly. I have never written an roman a clef about Shreveport, using real people with fake names. Yet at the same time all my characters live here. They fitted smoothly and anonymously into the interstices of time and space in the period between 1863 and 1960. * * * * Even today, with thirty years . . . between me and Shreveport, when someone asks where I’m from, I invariably answer without thinking, “Shreveport.” When I start to put together a new story, I think of its setting here, or in New Orleans, or somewhere in between. Even when I write of New York or London or Los Angeles, the people are from Louisiana–simply because those are the people I know in the same way I know myself.

John William Corrington

Hitch'em

First offense of low hanging pants will cost you a Benjamin if Shreveport City Councilman Calvin Lester's ordinance passes. Lester first thought of setting the fine at $25 but reconsidered.

Councilwoman Joyce Bowman wants you to know this law is for the gentle ladies as well as the gentlemen. Would we really need to fine people if we just drove Councilwoman Bowman around and had her look at droopy-drawered folks with her head tilted down through those glasses at the tip of her nose? She's wearing them in the second picture on this page (we'd also like to point out her slacks are belted into their proper position).

The Abolish-Your-Briefs proposal goes before the Shreveport City Council August 28. In case you're wondering, RRBJ doesn't wear saggers. We're very attached to our high-waisted mom pants.

Thank you to lillista for the use of her picture Under.

Shreveport Words

SB Land fills the current edition of Louisiana Cultural Vistas, the quarterly publication of the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities. The front cover is a 1940 painting of the Texas Street bridge. Inside there are photos from Burch and Bill Grabill and excerpts from Joshua Clark's Louisiana in Words.

Pictured above is Tara Schemer de la Fuente's vignette of 2:30 PM on Fannin Street from page 75 of Louisiana Cultural Vistas Summer 2007.

Herby K's -- We Bet Southeast Shreveport Wished They Had One

The Times keeps asking folks "what do you love about north Bossier City and southeast Shreveport?" RRBJ doesn't have to answer that question since we spend most of our time in the Highland and downtown area.

We like our hood because of the lack of suburban sprawl and because it's walkable. Can't imagine strolling around Youree and 70th. We also like our neighborhood restaurants like George's Grill, Columbia Cafe, Julie Anne's... the list of unique eateries goes on.

One of our current favs is Herby K's at 1833 Pierre Avenue. Saturday we had lunch (including tip) for two for just one Andrew Jackson. Folks have been eating there since 1936. The place is on the small side but the wait is worth it.

Thank you Katee Fontane for the use of your Coke and Baby Shrimp Buster photos.

Keep Shreveport Weird

RRBJ is all about supporting small home town businesses. When visitors come to town they are looking for authentic Shreveport and Louisiana experiences. Some cities are organizing to keep up the awareness of the small guy/gal. That's how that Keep Austin Weird slogan came about.

Even movie stars are looking for the best local experience they can have. While in town filming Mad Money Katie Holmes spent plenty of dough at Julie Anne's Bakery and Cafe, located at the corner of Line Avenue and Kings Highway. Her Shreveport snacking habits made it into People magazine and Maggie Martin covered it in her blog.

Just this month SB magazine listed the bakery as the best in town. It also rates high with the folks at the LSU Health Sciences Center School of Medicine Shreveport.

While there's plenty on the menu that's tasty, our current fav is the raspberry lemonade.

Picture of the Day

RRBJ's Picture of the Day comes from Flickr user Allen Garcie. He took the downtown Shreveport shot, AmSouth Building Parking Meter, for a graduate level photography course he's taking through Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana.

RRBJ is always looking for nifty photos or illustrations of the Red River area to use as a Picture of the Day. Send us an email at RedRiverBlogJam@gmail.com for more details.

Live!

We wanted to pay our water bill online but that link wasn't working. However, we did find a live webcam of downtown Shreveport.

There was also a PDF complaint form you can download to complain about that funky-butt odor that sometimes lingers in downtown. For some reason we thought of a wine tasting gone horribly wrong when we read the list for odor description: Decaying Grass, Earthy/Moldy/Musty/, Turpentine, Sewer/Sewage-like, Burnt/Smoky...

Our favorites? Woody and Cabbage-like (personally, RRBJ wishes downtown smelled more like cabbage -- it would remind us of the tasty Mulligan Stew our Irish great-grandmother made).

Party Like It's 1885

Back in the day downtown Shreveport was the place to be on a Saturday. It'll be that way again this weekend. West Edge Artists' Co-op is hosting an Artwalk April 28 in the 700 block of Milam from 10 AM - 6 PM.

It's open to all artists to do whatever they want -- demonstrations, art sales, performances, etc. It's free to the public (artists who aren't members have to pony up $25 to participate but for the browsing public it's free). For more information email or call WEACo. Noma Fowler-Sandlin will be there with her tasty jams. Read all about it at her jam blog.

It's too late to register your own Holiday in Dixie block party for Saturday so you might as well park in a central location in downtown so you can visit the HID Carnival, Artbreak and Artwalk. RRBJ is really hoping someone will spray paint themselves in metallic gold paint and be a human statue. We've got the dollars for the tip jar.

Picture of the Day

It's funny how a stranger to our city can spot things we may overlook regularly. ShalomGeek captured this shot in Shreveport and posed the question "Who is Mr. Shorty?"

Thanks to ShalomGeek for the use of your picture.

Picture of the Day

RRBJ missed the lunar eclipse but caught the sweet juicy moon last week as it illuminated the riverfront. Good news for the R.S. Barnwell Memorial Garden and Art Center, more parking is on the way.

Smart City

One of the highlight's of RRBJ's Friday night is the radio program Smart City. It's on at 9 PM on KDAQ. One segment of tonight's show has host Carol Coletta talking with Scott Russell Sanders about challenging the "brand and bland" direction of our communities and urges us to re-discover what makes each one special.

On a related note, have you taken the survey to help the Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau craft a marketing brand for our area? Click here to do it. What does RRBJ think makes SB Land special? We got a long list but since it's the weekend we'll bump Rock and Roll to the top. If it wasn't for Shreveport Bossier that genre would've never been born. We birthed Huddie Ledbetter and gave Elvis his legs.

By the way, Red River Radio is conducting their spring membership campaign. Trudeau has the scoop.

About the photo: a night shot of the water fountain at Columbia Cafe in the truly authentic neighborhood of Highland.

Slot Machines Make Ya Fat

Las Vegas is the fattest city so says Men's Fitness magazine.

Sin City can thank the large number of fast-food restaurants -- more than any other city on the survey (except Cleveland). Also seven out of ten Las Vegans are so sedentary doctors say they're putting their health at risk.

Good news/bad news? Shreveport Bossier didn't make the top ten fattest or fittest list. Who's fatter than SB? San Antonio (2), Houston (6), Dallas (7), El Paso (8), Arlington (14), and Fort Worth (17). Austin is number 21 on the fittest list.

Fat/fit odd facts: Memphis is the city that watches the most TV and Oakland has the best eating habits.

About the video: Thank you to "me & jason" for sharing the footage of your trip to Shreveport.

Sell the Sizzle

Here's your chance to tell the world why you love where you live. The Times reports that the Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau needs your help in creating a marketing brand for our area. The survey takes about five minutes to complete.

By the way, the reporter of the story, Donicea Pea, is a team blogger for The Times blog Link 222.


For more inspiration go to Flickr and type in Shreveport. You'll fall in love with the Red River area all over again and be amazed by all the groovy "shooters" in our area.

Shreveport Jammy

February is sweeps month for television. That's why Lost was fresh and why all the local newscasts are running "special" features. Notable on the 10 pm KTBS cast last night was a report on blogging. We couldn't help but note their story was called "BLOGJAM."

Shreveport Bloggers Robert Trudeau and Jeff Sadow were both interviewed. Also getting good face time was the web developer for Centenary College, Michael Futreal. Funniest part of the story? Video of Alexandyr Kent's Louisiana Movies Blog. Kent is the entertainment reporter for The Times newspaper in Shreveport.

KTBS also introduced the new blog feature on their website: ArkLaTexBlog, which is a good name, almost as good as Red River Blog Jam.

Columbia Cafe

Whether you've dropped by for yummy treats or just passed by Columbia Cafe it's hard to deny the improvement the eatery makes to the visual quality of the neighborhood. Crepe myrtles and an herb garden flourish on the acre where the restaurant is located. There's also a lovely piece of art that doubles as a water fountain.

Owner Matthew Linn is an urbanist who's committed to Highland. Linn would like to add alfresco dining in one corner of his lot. He needs you to sign his petition before February 14 if you support sipping a latte amongst the leafy trees and bushes.

Why should Highlanders or even Shreveporters care? Airy eating makes for a more pedestrian friendly neighborhood -- nicer on the senses than the many drive through food chains that pockmark Kings Highway. Pedestrian-oriented gathering places foster a small town feel. Owning a home in a place where folks actually walk the streets and stop to chat is much nicer than hiding in a residence that is surrounded by the zip zip world of automobiles.