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

Steal Velvet Elvis' Idea

Why isn't someone gigging this in Shreveport? We need our own Velvet Elvis in SB Land.

The West Edge Artists' Co-op has organized an art happening in honor of the King's birthday at the Municipal Auditorium on January 8, 2009.

What Does Your Mardi Gras Costume Look Like?

Join a krewe this Carnival season. Two of the best outfits in SB Land are Blanc et Noir Marching Society and Krewe of Highland.

Fat Tuesday is February 24 in 2009.

Picture of the Day

Ho Ho Harrison
Originally uploaded by I Am Jones Designs.

Picture of the Day is "Ho Ho Harrison" by Casey Jones who also happens to be the uncle of Harrison Keith Jones.

After the holidays are over send us your Pictures of the Day. Here's to a docu-fantastic 2009 in SB Land!

First Day of Winter

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.

Remember the Reason for the Season

War on Christmas? Please. KTBS and CW 21 KPXJ we don't care what you say as long as you are polite about it. For the record, we say Feliz Navidad around here.

P.S. The reason for the season? Shopping. This is America where spending will save the world. Reverend Billy does not agree with that statement.

Give the Gift of Local Art

Ralph and Alice started the market earlier this year. It was even featured on Trudeau's blog and can be found on the listed on the Shreveport Bossier Fun guide.

P.S. The sold out Christmas in the Sky is Saturday also. Many times art from local artists can be found there but that money goes to SRAC. The money you spend at the market goes directly to the artist.

P.P.S. Where would you be more likely to find the next Clementine Hunter, M.C. "Five Cent" Jones or Howard Finster? Downtown. Open air. Bring cash. Make deals. Go home happy and warm and fuzzy and do a winter dance around the cheerful glow of your newly acquired piece of art.

SB Magazine Photo Gallery

Back in October we encouraged folks to enter the annual SB Magazine Photo Contest. It's in their December 08 issue now on the stands (the Haynesville Shale's on the cover). They've put more photos on their website.

December on the Red

We love the drawing! It warms us down to our freezing crawfish pincers when we see SB Land art.

December on the Red started in October and wraps up in January when the Toy Train Extravaganza closes its run at Sci-Port. Get ready for tasty holiday treats like Christmas in the Sky and the Sugar Plum Fairy Luncheon. If you missed Rockets over the Red you'll want to dive to Oil City this weekend for the Christmas on Caddo Fireworks Festival. Eggnog for everyone...if your not driving you can even make it a frozen eggnog daquiri from Tony's Discount Beverage on Line Avenue.

Critical Mass Bicycle Ride in Shreveport

There is no phone number on the flyer. All it says is "A city-wide bicycle ride Saturday, November 29th 3:00 PM SHARP! Betty Virginia Park."

We are intrigued and wondering 1.)Are we in shape enough to ride city-wide? 2.)Goddess knows we need the exercise since the holiday eating has started. 3.)Do we bike to the park or drive the van with the bikes strapped to the back? 4.) If we participate will we have enough energy for Rockets Over the Red Saturday night?

Dreaming of a Green Christmas

"The planting of a tree shows faith in the future."
Lucy from the Peanuts comic strip

Shreveport Green and The Renzi Education and Art Center say buy a living potted Christmas tree and plant it. They are offering Live Oak, Southern Magnolia, Mary Nell Holly and Leyland Cypress trees for sale for only $100.

How to decorate your house without a dead or plastic tree in your house? Decorate your firewood and celebrate with a yule log.

November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month

Are you a musician or employee who works in a bar or casino? You stories are wanted by the folks at the Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living.

Will America ever be smoke-free? If other countries are doing it why not us? Ireland became the first country in Europe to make the workplace smoke-free back in March 2004. To get involved in the world wide movement for smoke-free air check out Global Smokefree Partnership.

Two Years of Red River Blog Jam

RRBJ's first post in 2006 was chock-full of photos of red things. So on the one year anniversary of publishing RRBJ we did red again. Therefore it follows we do red today. Next year we may do orange or rust or pink or celedon...stay tuned.

We don't seem to be getting out as many posts as we did when we first started but then we are also blogging at other places like Crazy in Shreveport. We started a new blog this year for our art House of Usher Art. Occasionally we help out Mr. Trudeau over at his web ranch. New this year we also started helping the fine folks at the Highland Restoration Association.

We also Twitter a bit but not much. Funny lately we seem to be drawn to pen and paper more and more. Who knows what the new year will bring? Whatever direction we go it will be all about documenting and sharing our passion about SB Land.

Bossier City Best for Kids?

Business Week says Bossier City is the best place to raise you kids in Louisiana. We quote it "is across the Red River from Shreveport." And that is why we had to draw this cartoon.

Welcome to Shreveport

We get all giddy inside when people on our screens, movie, television or computer, say the word "Shreveport." Rob Senska and Mindy Bledsoe say it bunches in their new web series, Welcome to Shreveport. The show is about a couple trying to break into the entertainment industry. Tune in and see how many SB Land sites you recognize.

Shreveport's Highland Community Garden

Want to be a part of the Highland Community Garden? This Saturday, November 8 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Dorothy McDonald says it's a meet and greet for folks who were a part of this year's garden and for folks who want to participate next year. Dr. Grace Peterson with the LSU AgCenter will be on hand.

The garden is at the corner of Stephens and Herndon Street, just across the way from Noel Memorial United Methodist Church. For more information 222-3678. Also this Saturday is the Shreveport Fall Farmer's Market. How cool would it be if you go to the meet and greet and by this time next year you're growing enough produce to sell at the market?

How many folks will bike to both events? Maybe more now that there's this money incentive for folks commuting by bicycle.

Highland Jazz and Blues Festival

November 15 is the date for this year's Highland Jazz and Blues Festival. Like Trudeau recommends bring a blanket or chair.

The one day Saturday fest is packed with live music and local visual artists vending their wares.

Big Eye Ball Says Vote

Election day is Tuesday. Not sure where to vote? You can find your polling place here.

For a behind the curtain look at the election process in Shreveport, The Caddo Parish Registrar of Voters, Ernie Roberson has a blog on The Shreveport Times website.

Meet Artist Debbie Buchanan Engle this Saturday at 1:00

The opening reception for Debbie Buchanan Engle's show Mercy is this Saturday at Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum, 3201 Centenary Boulevard, from 1:00 - 3:00. The opening is mentioned on this page at The Shreveport Times along with Su Stella's jewelry making workshop Saturday at The Barnwell Center.

P.S. We Googled Debbie Buchanan Engle, Artist, Shreveport and got these hits: She's on the ShreveportBossierfunguide. We rediscovered this video of her. We'd forgotten we made it earlier this year. There are even pics of her work from a Gender Studies Conference at Centenary College back in 06.

South Highlands Walk

Longleaf Forest Song

I.
October falls to the ground
Red is a leaf is a dress
Flimsy. Cheap. Tight.
Wear ‘til someone tears it off
On Halloween costume backless
But tonight modest leather Birkenstocks

II.
The forest primeval?
Longleaf’s a road in the city
Home of the happy dog
It is the click of the clip on leash

III.
Scarlet leaved tree wish I knew your name
This far South most turn brown or not at all
Sun muscles out one blazing farewell
Time to circle back to the gold van
Before spiders fall out of trees
Waving thin crotchety legs
To work down tire swing chains

Kathryn Usher
October 28, 2008

Centenary College's Bruce Allen to Perform Live

If the idea of locally grown produce isn't enough to make you load up the station wagon and head down to the Shreveport Fall Farmers' Market Saturday morning how about some performance art (sorta...work with us we're getting our creative on...)? Who needs Martha Stewart when you've got Bruce Allen to show you how to slice and dice your jack-o-lantern? Allen chairs the art department at Centenary College.

You can make your entire Saturday about fair trade and sustainability if you shop the fall market and then swing by the The Greater Gift Market in Highland.

Katfish 4 Kids

Mufasa by Josephine Carmody. Spotted near the fountain at Columbia Cafe in Highland. Part of the Volunteers for Youth Justice Katfish 4 Kids project.

Tasty Local

Fall markets are popping up all over America. Chicago. Austin. Portland. Consumer trends show an increasing demand for fresh locally grown food and hand crafted items.

Shreveport's version opens Saturday at the Festival Plaza in downtown. Up to 60 vendors will be on hand every Saturday from October 18 through November 22 from 8:30 a.m. until noon.

Have you friended the Shreveport Farmers' Market on MySpace yet?

Get Shooting

SB Magazine wants your photos for their annual photo issue. Send only your best work by October 31.

Eric Brock and Neil Johnson

Noma gave us the heads up on the smashing article in the Fall 2008 issue of the Louisiana Cultural Vistas Magazine. We were whining because there's never enough about SB Land in there.

Historian Eric Brock covers the Highland-Fairfield area with words and Neil Johnson fills in the visuals. If you click on the above link you go to a web version of the magazine. Eric's story starts on page 24. A yearly subscription to the printed version is only $16.

Speaking of Highland... have you read the Highland Restoration Association blog lately? It's a good place to find out what's happening in the best place to live in SB Land.

Picture of the Day

Katie Jo and Courtney
Originally uploaded by cka51966.

Thank you to Cindy Pierce for capturing the annual autumn rite of homecoming in SB Land and letting us use it as our Picture of the Day.

Send us your best work so we can publish your take on life on the Red River.

Oxford American

Who doesn't love this magazine? And who's in charge of publishing the SB Land version of it? Imagine lush photo essays in The Forum and SB. And we don't mean snapshots of society folks. And we're not big fans of some of the content folks are generating for The Shreveport Times website. We want pictures of pie, decay, architecture, culture... we want the essence of this place. Hey, isn't that what Trudeau does? Spend your advertising dollars with him...

It's not too much to ask for good photos. Life magazine set the standard for high quality shots to tell the story way back in the 1930s. If you're a publication, web or print, do us a favor and don't publish rubbish. If you're a photographer, pro or amateur, do us a favor and don't put your garbage out there. One well composed photo is worth... lots of rotten photos are worth crap...

Scribble This

Big culture comes to town this weekend with the annual arrival of The Red River Revel. How scary is it to be an artist-vendor selling your work while folks walk by shouting out critiques?

Why not just offer the lookers a marker and let them just scrabble all over your work? That's what Bette Kauffman's done with her Waterline interactive photo exhibit in artspace. It hangs until October 18.


P.S. We confess. We're the ones who tagged "700 Billion Dollar Bailout Socialism Works in America For the Rich Not For the Middle Class or the Poor or New Orleans Save U.S.!!"

Shreveport True

Love these opening credits. How many SB Land landmarks can you spot?

Alexandyr Kent's been following the making of this HBO series.

Business Week Says Buy a House in Highland

Shreveport's Highland neighborhood is HOT. Business Week says so.

From the article:
"Artists turned around Soho and the Lower East Side of Manhattan in the 1960s, '70s, and '80s, and then Brooklyn's Williamsburg in the 1990s...Similar trends are occurring...BusinessWeek.com selected 15 urban neighborhoods that artists have discovered and where homeowners could see returns in coming decades."

The cities (followed by neighborhoods)

Atlanta Castleberry Hill neighboorhood
Austin East Austin neighboorhood
Boston Jamaica Plain
Chicago Pilsen
Los Angeles Echo Park
Miami Wynwood
Minneapolis Northeast
New York Bushwick, Brooklyn
Philadelphia Northern Liberties
Portland Alberta Street Arts District
Raleigh/Durham, N.C. Downtown Durham
San Franscisco Mission District
Seattle Georgetown
Shreveport Highland
Washington D.C. Atlas District (H Street)

Leading to Sustainability

Caught the tail end of a new ad for Paul Carmouche on KTBS last night. This screen capture is not from that ad. In the new ad he says something like "our energy future is here" and he's standing in front of a oil rig.

Where are our local, regional and state leaders who are for new sources of renewable energy? If other locations are exploring new technology and creating new jobs why can't we? For instance wind energy is being harvested in downtown Chicago.

Here's a look at how other American cities are working towards sustainability. Popular Science has list of 50 communities that are hot when it comes to environmental action.

Picture of the Day

Red River
Originally uploaded by OzPaws.

Thank you to Rebecca Bolda for letting us use her photo Red River as the Picture of the Day.

We'd love to publish your work that celebrates SB Land. Put it on Flickr or YouTube and we'll even run your short film or video that's about our great area! Shoot us an email at the above address.

Support Your Local Artists

Two of the best people Hurricane Katrina blew up from the Gulf Coast are Su Stella and Curt Harville. The artists now have a live work space in Highland where they do blacksmithing, cold and hot glass work, metal work, painting, and more.

This fall they will be vending, teaching and demonstrating their different disciplines at venues as varied as the Barnwell Memorial Garden and Art Center, LSUS Pioner Heritage Center Pioneer Day and the Highland Jazz and Blues Fest at Columbia Park.

You can purchase their jewelry in the artspace giftshop in downtown (by the way, artspace will be hopping Friday night with the opening of the Clyde Connell retrospective).

For more information on art events with Su and Curt
228-263-2333 Su 318-525-2164 Curt
OurFireflyRanch@hotmail.com
Visit their online store at etsy.

Got Power?

Little strings running between poles is a barbaric way to deliver electricity. Storms like Ike, Gustav, Rita, and Katrina continue to prove that.

Why put up with waiting for a SWEPCO crew to restore your power when you can light your house the Michael Reynolds way? His work is covered in the documentary Garbage Warrior. We love the quote 30 seconds into the above trailer "A family of four could totally survive here without even going to the store."

His buildings operate off the electricity grid, requiring little or no mortgage payment and no utility bills.

Totems

Maybe the best thing Hurricane Gustav delivered to SB Land were those few days of cooler temperatures. And that always makes outdoor exercise easier. When was the last time you strolled through Highland Park? At 1700 Gilbert Street, it's one of the hidden jewels of Shreveport. And a great place to get an aerobic work out since the two mile foot path is all hills.

Highland Park has been home since 1996 to three Highland Totems by Shreveport artist Leonard Service. The three other totems that are a part of the Highland Totems project can be found in Columbia Park.

Ouch!

SB Land didn't look good as the lead story on last night's ABC World News. The story focused on the anger of the Hurricane Gustav evacuees housed in state shelters in Shreveport.

Those shelters run by the state of Louisiana didn't have enough "wrap-around services." That's according to Sandy Davis, director of the Caddo-Bossier Office of Homeland Security. We saw him on KTBS speaking sometime during the storm. By the way, didn't KTBS have great coverage? They stayed with live and locally produced programming as the storm moved through our area.

SB Land fares better in this AP report and it even shows that the evacuees are grateful. Evacuee Charles Lucas seems to understand the situation. And even seems more level headed than a lot of folks leaving anonymous comments at local media sites.

One Week Into Curbing It

Does it bother anyone else that the recycle truck comes down your street twice each pick-up day? How green is this?

P.S. Those blue cans will be picked up every week. So get ta curbin.' And since the cans have to be clean how much water will we use to recycle? It's not bad if you are recycling your gray water. It ain't easy being green.

Picture of the Day

Absodogly
Originally uploaded by trudeau.

Thank you to Talbot from Trudeau for letting us use Absodogly as our Picture of the Day .

We know your household is buzzing with prep for the Clyde Connell Show at artspace in September.

Time is Running Out

Last day for the Shreveport Farmers' Market is August 30.

Make it an earth-friendly weekend by shopping there tomorrow and then hitting the Everything Green Expo at the Shreveport Convention Center.