First, some background. For those who are not in the know, Blog Net News (BNN) is a site that aggregates blogs by category and by major cities. My blog is listed under Blog Net News–New Orleans. The owner of this site is Dave Mastio. The local editor is Greta Perry.

Now, BNN has been getting spit upon lately by some bloggers. And this made me scratch my head because my experience with BNN has been a very positive one. So I read the rants and have found enough inaccuracies that I decided to write this post if for no other reason than to defend why I have BNN-NO listed in my blogroll.

Let’s look at something I really like: Facts. I am going to take these slowly and in number order so when you bash me later you can easily list which parts you disagree with.

1. There seems to be much loathing for Dave Mastio and much discrediting of him because, they say, he is a Bushie. He did write for the Bush administration, but not for Bush. In fact, he was the former speechwriter for the United States Trade Representative and he worked on the Australia FTA and the Central America FTA. If you can name who the US Trade Rep is (or what the FTAs do, even) without googling it, then you may have a beef. Otherwise, calling him a Bushie without reviewing the content of those speeches is nothing more than propaganda. And it is all irrelevant because BNN lists all blogs, regardless of a blog’s political bias. And, incidentally, more bloggers are liberal than conservative and I’d suspect the blogs on BNN are likewise. Moving on.

2. It is alleged that BNN does not link back to your blog. This is, bluntly, FALSE. It does link back. If you click on the title of your post, it redirects to your site. If you click on the name of your blog, it brings you to another BNN page that shows blurbs of your blog’s most current posts. Click on one and it takes you to your blog.

3. Some say BNN posts bloggers’ entire posts. Again, this is FALSE. Unless your post is really, really short. BNN posts blurbs.

4. It is argued that BNN keeps traffic from your site. I suppose the argument is that why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free? In this case, the reason is to read the entire post. I can only speak to my blog, but my stats clearly show traffic coming FROM BNN. And I also know that I use BNN to GO to others’ blogs. It in no way keeps me from visiting another’s blog.

5. BNN makes ad dollars and doesn’t pay the blogs listed. This is TRUE. And this is just like all the other aggregators out there. The remuneration to the bloggers is exposure. The idea is you get more traffic. And hopefully that traffic will click on your ads. I am not the least bit bothered that BNN has ads.

6. It is argued that blogs listed on BNN are being damaged by reduced ad dollars on the actual blogs. I suppose the argument is that due to reduced traffic to your own site (No. 4) and that BNN has its own ads (No. 5), that your blog is making less in ads. Since I don’t believe traffic is reduced (and believe it may actually be increased) nor am I bothered by No. 5, I simply do not believe that blogs listed on BNN are being financially hampered is an accurate conclusion that can be reached.

7. BNN will not remove a blogger not wanting to participate. Again, FALSE. To my knowledge, everyone who has been asked to be removed has been removed in a reasonably short period of time. Of course, when you are pissed off, 24+ hours does not seem “reasonably short.” But it is.

8. Then there’s the pesky “he’s violating my copyright” argument. This is the pet-peeviest of all because it offends the lawyer in me. Let me state a few premises to begin: (a) blogs are on the internet; (b) the internet is by definition a public place; (c) if you have an RSS feed, you are allowing anyone the access to do what BNN is doing–scraping your feeds; (d) prior permission is not need by law, nor is it a violation of your copyright to not get it, to scrape your feeds (if it was, folks would need your prior permission to get your RSS feed, and I would assume for those bloggers that have that bright orange button on their blogs, that this permission is implied); (e) I am an attorney but not an Intellectual Property attorney.

I did more than I suspect many bloggers bashing BNN have done: I talked to an IP attorney about BNN, and I even had her look at the BNN-NO site. She did not do a full review of the legal issue, but her cursory review suggests that there are no violations occurring; that it falls under the fair use exception and buttressed further by a court-created exception relating to items of news. Bottom line, unless you have actually talked to an IP lawyer and have been explained this extremely murky area of sophisticated law, don’t spout the law. If you are an IP attorney, or you play one on TV, please feel free to clarify this point for us.

When you boil it all down, what seems to really be pissing people off is that BNN did not first ask people to be listed. He violated blog etiquette. And folks are really not feeling the love from BNN. If you are really worried about having your feeds scraped (sounds nasty, doesn’t it?), then look into removing the feed button, or adding a request that you be contacted before your feed is linked. It’s not too hard.

And let me close with saying that it was because of BNN-NO that I found many, many NOLA bloggers that I had not known existed, bloggers I have since met in person and really am the better for knowing. Was that worth the value of ad dollars attributed to my blurbs listed on BNN? Without a doubt.

First, some blog bling. During the throws of Mardi Gras (heh, I made a funny), Tara R. from If Mom Says OK bestowed this award on my blog:

and just the other day, MomBabe over at The Bingham Diaries gave me this award:

I am not good at acceptance speeches. So I’ll quote Sally Field accepting her Oscar, “You like me; you really like me!!” And I really like that you like me! Thank you both so much!

Now for something completely different.

While riding the streetcar last week, I noticed there was a bit of trash on the floor. The distinct bright yellow caught my eye. Upon closer look of the Hubig’s pie wrapper, I noticed a St. Joseph’s altar lucky bean next to it:

In New Orleans, even our trash is interesting!

I have recently found myself a bit addicted to Twitter. And I am now following many other New Orleanians. There is something even more intriguing about following the (mostly) silly details of a person’s day when that person is in your city–eating where you eat, enjoying (or not) the same weather, lamenting the same local political problems. It’s been very satisfying.

Yesterday, my sister came to visit Sun and me. We didn’t have any plans mapped out, and it was too cold to do the zoo and I was in no mood to run errands at the mall. So I twittered, “What to do today that is kid-friendly. Nothing with animals or malls. Suggestions?” And within minutes, YatPundit responded to me to “ride the streetcar,” and I knew immediately it was the perfect thing to do.

I decided to ride the Canal Street line since I’d never ridden that one and we’d be in the new red cars. YatPundit soon concurred with my idea to ride the Canal Street line, advising, “if you do it, do canal. start at cemeteries, end up at the old mint or vice versa,” but cautioning once we were settled on the green car (much to my confusion) that “the red streetcars aren’t running yet. all but one got flooded and are still being rebuilt.”

Armed with my camera and my Treo (and the baby and all her stuff), my sister and I were off. We approached the streetcar named “Cemeteries” (it says Special at the top but that is because the green cars are used for the St. Charles line–the piece of paper taped to the window gave it’s accurate name) and got its pic:

The point where the streetcar leaves from (Canal Street at City Park Avenue) has not less than six cemeteries. Here’s a shot of one of them:

Further along in Mid-City, Sacred Heart Church:

Then the neoned Walgreens downtown:

While stopped at a light, my sister noticed something odd on the side of a lamppost:

I got home and did a quick search on The Google to learn that the base of the majestic lampposts are decorated, and each of the four sides are different. This picture is of the first side; the second side has a castle and lion rampant, and states “Spanish Domination 1769-1803”; the third has the motto Deo Vindice (“With God as Our Defender”), “Confederate Domination 1861-1865.” And the last side has the American eagle and states, “American Domination 1803-1861, 1865 to Date.” I love the little things like this that NOLA offers for the observant.

At the foot of Canal Street, the car turns left and goes along the river in the French Quarter to the Old Mint Building. We saw the Mississippi River Bridge, the St. Louis Cathedral, the French Market, and the former Jax Brewery building:

Then we were at the end of the line. We paid another $1.25 each (young children ride for free; correct change is required). And we returned from whence we came.

It wasn’t all roses. We also saw various states of repair (including no repair at all) of homes and companies impacted by Katrina. We saw vacant lots where building stood before Katrina. We saw a tent city of homeless people under the interstate. We saw the cheesy t-shirt and tennis shoe shops peppering the downtown Canal Street.

And that is New Orleans. The beautiful intermingled with the ugly; the rich with the poor; the old with the new; the dead with the living. This ride was the most fun I’ve had in a really long time. I am ready to ride again.

I have three things that warrant honorable mention.

First, a shout-out to Christy to thank her for my lovely gift of hand-made stitch holders (click here for Christy’s pic):

They are beautiful (and in the colors of Mardi Gras!) and are the inspiration I needed to dive into my next knitting project. Thanks, again, Christy.

Second, I ate at a new taco joint this weekend and it blew me away. Hands down the best taco I have had in years and definitely the best I currently know of in the city. It’s called Taco San Miguel and is located in Fat City (in Metairie). How good are these tacos? After eating some Friday night, I returned Saturday to eat more. Yeah, they are that good. I think I’ll go again this week. Still don’t believe me? Read here for another’s high opinion. The place is small, and you order at the counter. They don’t yet have a liquor license. And the good folks who run it don’t speak really good English. But none of that matters because this place is about the food. ¡Y es el más delicioso!

Third, a moment a silence as the living will for my laptop is being perused by the legal department. I tripped over the cord yesterday and it crashed to the floor. I got concerned when I clicked to turn it on and nothing happened; no noise, no lights. Nada. So the good Captain Sarcastic got his tools out and did what he could. Towards the end, it looked like this:

and this:

But he DID get it to vroom back to life. Sort of. It has been put back together (all but a corner that had already been super-glued back together once before) but it is officially on life support. It works only if plugged in; it will not take a charge. I do think CS performed a miracle. But the miracle was to turn my laptop into a desktop. Which is better than nothing, granted. But it sucks because Sun likes to pull the cord out of it. Now if she does, it dies. And it currently smells like Cheerios. I asked CS if he used it as a table for Sun today and he giggled and responded, “What else is it good for?” It’s plug will be pulled just as soon as the newer, younger, sexier model arrives at my door. It has been a good and loyal friend and deserves a better demise than I will give it. Alas.

Yesterday, I drove out to get satsumas for Christy over at Misplaced Southern Belle. I ended up at DeWitt’s Fruit and Vegetable Shed on River Road (this stand has been at this location for over 50 years). I have driven past it many, many times and never stopped. So, thanks, Christy, for giving me an excuse to visit this NOLA stronghold.

Unfortunately for Christy, the clerk informed me that satsuma season ended two weeks ago. Well, damn. So the clerk sold me on some Louisiana seedless oranges instead. It was that or navel oranges and he assured me the seedless ones were sweeter. So I got two sacs of oranges (five oranges per sac), and some bananas and pears and one avocado for Sun. I ate one of the oranges after dinner and was surprised to find, yes, you guessed it, SEEDS. CS explained that “seedless” doesn’t mean “without seeds” it means “less seeds.” What kind of marketing is THAT?

I also made a trip to the bookstore to buy, “In the Land of Cocktails: Recipes and Adventures from the Cocktail Chicks.”

Except all I could remember was it was called something about drinking in New Orleans and something something “Chicks.” Pete had sent me this article from The Times-Picayune on the book on Monday. I was sold after reading that the Chicks (cousins Ti Adelaide Martin and Lally Brennan of the famous restaurant Brennan family) do not use the word “hangover” but rather the more civilized expression of “the vapors,” and they gave the advice never to mix grapes with grain.

As I approached the information desk at the book store, I overheard an older woman asking about a brand new book on mixology. I knew we were on the same hunt. She couldn’t remember the name of the book either (although she at least remembered the authors names). So as the clerk walked us both to the NOLA section of the bookstore, I mumbled to the woman, “We’re something, huh? Between the two of us we know it’s a book on booze with the word “chicks” in the title!” She responded to me in a heavy southern accent, “Oh, no. Ti and I have known each utha fawevah. I have comp’ny comin’ and I whant to get a few copies faw mah frienz.”

We arrived at the table and the clerk pointed to the book. I picked it up as the woman said, “That’s not it” (she didn’t see the “Chicks” part in the title). I recognized the cover from looking at it online, and, seeing the short stack of books, I wasn’t going to lose getting one for this woman’s “frienz.” Being polite, however, I assured her it was the right book. She finally saw that, in fact, it was and grabbed the rest in the stack.

I then went to a coffeehouse to meet Penelope and CS. As I waited for them, I flipped through the book. Straight away, I was hooked. Here’s their dedication:

For bartenders everywhere who care about well-made cocktails.

We also want to dedicate this book to our beloved city of New Orleans. New Orleanians have shown a courage and resilience even we did not know existed beneath your head-strong joie de vivre. We wouldn’t trade being of and from New Orleans for any other location on earth. This one is for you.

And if that’s not enough for you (and it was for me!), this book offers so much. It’s got a good look (the illustrations are done by Tim Trapolin), it celebrates New Orleans living, and, best of all, it gives recipes so you can properly mix for yourself (and friends) such famous drinks as the Sazerac, an Old-Fashioned, a Sidecar, and even a Grasshopper (and oh so many more cocktails). No vodka and tonics in this book. Heck, the book even offers a cure for “the vapors.”

So buy a copy of the book and get your shakers and swizzle sticks out and start mixing. And remember to raise a glass and toast New Orleans!

It’s hard to believe I have been sharing pieces of my life through blogging with the unknowns of the Internet for just over a year now. I think I am starting to find my voice. Here’s a short list of things I’ve gotten from blogging:

1. New NOLA friends, Katie, Leigh, and Stacey that I have met in person. With Belle and Jane soon to join this list.

2. A [soon to be received] knitting-related gift for no reason from Christy. In return, I am sending her Louisiana satsumas.

3. The release of forgiveness.

4. Many field trips with Captain Sarcastic, Wendy and/or Pete to get Cajun meats, visit art markets, see Bonerama, and take pictures of fleur de lis. Okay, technically I would have done some of these things anyway, but doing them with the idea going in that I’d be blogging about them made the experiences a bit richer.

5. I have also made many, many online friends. I have read many others’ blogs, and they have made me laugh, cry, learn, grow.

6. I have fallen even more in love with New Orleans (and I didn’t think THAT was possible) and shared the birth (and fertility problems related thereto) of my daughter.

I think about how Year Two will be–will things be as interesting the second time around? I am such a creature of habit! I promise you I will do a lot this year that I did last year. I am a sucker for tradition and rituals.

But the beauty of this city, of life, is that even in doing the same thing, it’s always new and a bit different. And at least Year Two will be many of Sun’s Firsts. Plus, we have the streetcars to photograph.

So, thank you, Internet, for the gift of blogging. And thank you, too, fellow bloggers (and even you lurkers), for reading me and supporting me. The whole process has given far more than it has asked in return.

When I started blogging just over a year ago, I had little expectations of what it’d give me. I began for one purpose: to exercise my writing muscle. From that perspective, I have met my goal.

But something happened along the way. I found that I began to look at the things that I do in my day-to-day world through a NOLA lens. I’d think, can I find this store (be it Nor-Joe’s or Angelo Brocato’s) or this event (like Mardi Gras and City Park’s Storyland) anywhere else? Usually, the answer was no. And I took on an even higher appreciation of my city.

That was all fine and good. But the next thing I knew things had taken a turn, a turn had you told me it’d have taken I would never have begun blogging. Had you said, “you will start to meet other bloggers,” I would have been turned off. I am not one to “meet someone through the internet.” And I could never have envisioned me wanting to meet other bloggers in “the real world.”

Never say never, right?

Last night, we took Sun to my cousin’s, and CS, Pete and I headed to Rock ‘n’ Bowl to see Bonerama and meet fellow NOLA bloggers Stacey and Leigh (and Leigh’s husband, Dan).

When we arrived, we realized the folly of our plan: Pete and I don’t post pictures of ourselves and we have only seen very small pics of Stacey and Leigh. We thought we’d spot Stacey straight off selling Bone merch, but we didn’t. Finally, I worked up my nerve to approach a woman and ask, “Are you Leigh?” And she hugged me. Then we all had a good laugh about maybe bloggers needing a secret handshake or something. Then Stacey walked in with the merch and everyone was introduced and spent time talking like normal folks.

Then the band started. How do I describe Bonerama? To begin with, they are a trombone band. Four trombones, a sousaphone, guitar and drums. Their first song lasted 20 minutes. I thought that’d about do them in—all that blowing. But oh, no; they were just getting warmed up. Their collective sound is really unlike anything I’ve ever heard before: it’s smooth and silky; it’s jazzy and energetic; it’s polished and refined.

Then they played Led Zepplin’s “The Ocean.” I swear one of the trombones “sang” the lyrics. I couldn’t take my eyes off them. I am not musically inclined and will not be able to do justice to what my ears heard and my eyes saw. What I can say is that I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I couldn’t believe that it had been since before Katrina that I’d heard live music (I know–from NOLA and not seeing live music could get me deported).

They also looked really good:

And now that you can’t smoke where food is served, Rock ‘n’ Bowl’s smoke-free environment was just a delight. It was liking seeing an old friend. She was mostly unscathed by Katrina and looked like she always looked–funky and very un-self-conscious.

I hope that this is the first of many Bonerama gigs I attend with other NOLA bloggers. So, thanks, blogosphere, for a truly unexpected gift.

Here are the answers to yesterday’s truths and lies:

1. I cannot drive stick. This is TRUE. Years ago, several friends tried to teach me and a few telephone poles came close to getting hit. I am happy to drive standard.

2. I will not ski or snowboard or skydive. It is TRUE that I am deathly afraid of breaking a bone. I broke my right wrist a few years ago and eventually had to have a plate screwed into the bone. Uh, FYI, having a plate screwed into bone hurts far more than childbirth.

3. In high school, it is TRUE that no boy ever invited me to his class dance. I didn’t hang out with a lot of boys as a teenager and went to an all-girl high school. As a result, I dated very little in high school and was not invited nor attended one boy’s class dance.

4. That I have never dyed my hair is a LIE. Though it is true that my mother was responsible for many bad hair cuts and perms that I had, it did not scar me for life. I have dyed my hair as an adult but have not had a perm for over 20 years.

5. It is TRUE that I had a mad crush on Dudley Moore. Charlotte, I forgive you for saying, “Ewww.” I fell in love with Cuddly Dudley after seeing “Arthur,” a movie I stopped counting how many times I’ve seen at 24. How serious was my crush? I once took a picture of Dudley on TV (yes, I took a picture of my television) giving an interview, an interview I had recorded (and probably still have on tape somewhere). But wait; there’s more. He’s the reason I trudged to the library and did my first research project. I learned of his clubbed foot and his rough childhood; I learned of his many tall, blonde wives and lovers (and nonetheless believed that if we ever met he’d fall in love with me on the spot); I learned of his partnership with Peter Cook in the comedy revue and their famous sketch in Beyond the Fringe of the “One Legged Tarzan,” seen here (starting at 2:35):

What wasn’t to love?

6. It is a LIE that I am really good at math and can do it in my head in lightening speed. I cannot do math in my head. Cannot. Do. It. With a calculator or, better yet, an Excel spreadsheet, my math skills don’t suck (which is good since I AM a tax attorney/estate planner). It does seem, however, that I end up figuring the bill after dinners out but I am not sure why this is.

Not one of you got it right.

Katie and Greta recently tagged me for two different memes.  Neither meme really blew my skirt up.  So instead I will follow something Katie recently did on her blog (and it is similar in what Greta’s meme asked). 

I’m going to list 6 things—4 of them will be true, 2 will be false. I ask that you leave me a comment telling me which two you think are false. Got it?  If you personally know me and thus the answer, please do not spoil the fun and give it away.  There will be no prize other than the esteem of the people.  Here goes:

1.  I cannot drive stick.  Several friends have tried to teach me; we were lucky to get out with our lives.

2.  I will not ski or snowboard or skydive.  I am deathly afraid of breaking a bone.

3.  In high school, no boy ever invited me to his class dance.  Not one.

4. I have never dyed my hair.  As a child, my mother had complete control over what was done with my hair and she wanted what was the easiest.  Thus, I had many [bad] perms as a kid.  All those chemicals turned me off ever wanting to dye my hair as an adult.

5.  I have a mad crush on Dudley Moore.  Shhh; we don’t talk about the fact that he is d.e.a.d.

6.  I am really good at math (part of being a tax attorney/estate planner).  I can do it in my head in lightening speed.  Friends love me to figure the bill after dinner.

So, think you know me?  Let’s find out.

I love the semicolon; it’s my all-time favorite punctuation mark.  My love for it stems from the first author to whom I ever really found myself truly devoted, John Irving.  In “The World According to Garp,” Irving sings the praises of “the good ole semicolon,” and my love for the semicolon was cinched from my first reading of “Garp” way back in college.

This past Tuesday, the New York Times heralded the semicolon.  I have learned that Kurt Vonnegut abhorred the semicolon (he called semicolons “hermaphrodite transvestites,” saying that they serve no purpose: “The only reason to use one is to show you’ve been to college.”).  I love Vonnegut but must attribute this loathing to his notorious pessimism.  I do love his quote in the article, though (“When Hemingway killed himself he put a period at the end of his life; old age is more like a semicolon.”).

So go read this delightful NYT piece and revel in a language that gives us the semicolon.  It makes me curious—what’s your favorite punctuation mark?