LIVING

The latest lifestyle news from around New Orleans

Delta Festival Ballet Nutcracker auditions will be held at the Giacobbe Academy of Dance, located at 6925 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Metairie. Boys and girls needed for dancing and acting roles, Sun. Girls ages 7-11, at 1 p.m.; girls ages 12-18, at 2:30; boys ages 7-11, at 3. Visit www.deltafestivalballet.com or call (504) 888.0931.

"New Orleans Home Cooking" by Dale Curry

Retired Times-Picayune Food Editor Dale Curry will sign copies of "New Orleans Home Cooking" from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Southern Food and Beverage Museum.

Brand new from Pelican Publishing, the book ($19.95) contains 150 classic local recipes, many of them from the column Curry writes for New Orleans magazine.

Anyone who has ever wanted to get up close and personal with a Messerschmidtt will have a chance soon at the National World War II Museum.

The notorious fighter plane, backbone of the Luftwaffe, Germany's air force, has been high on the museum's wish list for years. There were 33,000 Messerschmidtts produced in Nazi Germany during the war years -- more than any other fighter plane in history.

Kathy Anderson / The Times-Picayune"It's like Mardi Gras times 10. We're trying to get everybody up and running. We're talking to the mayors office trying to lay out all our routes," said SDT's Sidney Torres IV. "The challenge is juggling all the balls without dropping them."

There's a long story behind this guy. He comes from a powerhouse political family down in "da parish," he's a boutique hotel developer, he was rock star Lenny Kravitz' personal assistant back in the day, which made him the go-to guy for rock stars who visit New Orleans.

And now, somehow, he's the "King of Trash." Certainly you've seen him on TV. Sidney Torres runs SDT Waste and Debris, the company that has done the unimaginable: Made the French Quarter look and smell clean.

I caught up with him Thursday and tried to get his story, but it turns out he was a little rushed.

Matthew Hinton / The Times-PicayuneAbelino Gomez grills hamburgers outside since the Superior Grill on St. Charles Ave. in New Orleans, La. has been with out power since Hurricane Gustav hit Monday, Sept 1. Post your recipes »

Since Hurricane Gustav's taken our power out, The Times Picayune has reported what restaurants and grocery stores are open, but we want to know how and what you're cooking at your house. We'll compile your tips and recipes for an upcoming Food feature.

Are you firing up your grill, smoker or using a microwave to whip up meals for your family while you wait on Entergy to restore your power. Let us know. We want to share your ideas with readers across the parishes.

Everyone at this point knows what a first-responder is. But what do we call the folks who stay put to ensure the first-responders have what they need when they arrive?

Chris Granger/The Times-PicayuneA standing room only crowd at Stein's Market and Deli on Wednesday.

Whatever they're called, Leif Sorenson is a member of the species. On Tuesday afternoon, he and Alias Hennessy took turns manning the griddle at Buffa's Restaurant & Lounge.

"Since the storm, we've been packed," Sorenson said over the hiss of sizzling bacon. "We haven't closed at all. We worked by candlelight back here."

Seats out front were scarce. SDT Waste and Debris Services employees had all but taken over Buffa's, a scruffy corner joint in the Marigny known more for drinking than dining. Most ate grilled hamburgers pressed between slices of white bread. The kitchen was out of buns, among other things.

Courtesy of Eric LincolnA lone bike rider heads east down a deserted Magazine Street in Uptown New Orleans.

I sit on my porch and watch the cars trickle by. The hearty souls are coming back. Hour by hour, more and more cars, more and more people. Repopulating Uptown, the Sliver by the River, the Isle of Denial.

You get a sense of deja vu. Only this time, it's accelerated deja vu.

Two days into the Gustav aftermath, we're at about the same place we were a month into Katrina. Spotty power, a load of crazies populating the Quarter, the National Guard with hardly anything left to do, impossibly long lines at the few businesses that are open and, mostly ... the waiting.

Steven Forster / The Times-Picayune Garland Robinette

It sounded a lot like this storm's Garland Robinette moment, but it was just the start.

Robinette's on-air "moments" during and after Hurricane Katrina -- angry, sad, real Garland -- made him a heroic character in the post-K media landscape.

This moment was sparked by two listener calls early in the day Tuesday (Sept. 2) to the WWL AM-870 talk host.

The topic was the many bafflingly scattershot re-entry schemes.

John McCusker / The Times-PicayuneGas station owner Ahmet Dorry is a colorful guy who spent Wednesday enthusiastically moving customers through the line at his gas station.

For newly-returned drivers and residents needing to power their generators, New Orleans is conspicuously lacking in working gas stations.

Enter Ahmet Dorry, who owns the Discount Corner on Claiborne Avenue near Napoleon Avenue.

He returned from Tennessee Tuesday night and opened his gas station and convenience store to cash-only service about 9 a.m. today (Wednesday). Since then, a line seven to 10 cars deep has formed outside the gas station and down Claiborne Avenue as Dorry has choreographed a nimble ballet, directing cars, getting cash, making change and moving things along.

John David Mercer / AP Photo, Press-RegisterHeavy traffic lines Interstate 10 eastbound as motorist make their way out of the path of Hurricane Gustav on Sunday, Aug. 31, 2008 in Mobile, Ala. Alabama.

I'm sure that Gov. Bobby Jindal, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, Mayor Ray Nagin, Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard and all the other public officials mean well. I'm sure they thought it was a good idea to panic people into leaving. I'm sure they believe it's in the public's best interest to stay away while they clean up.

But the evacuation of the metro area in advance of Gustav, and the subsequent policies regarding re-entry, will guarantee that in the next major storm to strike the region -- which may occur in a matter of days or weeks -- many more people will be at risk. The slightest bit of vision, combined with an open ear to the anger and frustration of this hurricane-weary citizenry, would make the government officials responsible realize that they helped to make this happen.

Keith I. Marszalek / NOLA.comTell us if you're event is still happening this weekend by posting to our public blogs, and contacting the Times-Picayune

Hi y'all,

Due to Hurricane Gustav, many events scheduled for last weekend were postponed or canceled. Other events slated for this week may be affected by the storm as well.

Let us know if your event will take place this week. We want returning evacuees and those who road out the storm here to know where to go and what to do this weekend as things get back to normal.

Please include the name of the event, the date, the time, the address/location, a brief description, a contact number for the public as well as a contact number we can use to reach you.

Everyone at this point knows what a first-responder is. But what do we call those who take care of them?

Whatever they're called, Leif Sorenson is a member of the species. On Tuesday afternoon, he and Alias Hennessy took turns manning the griddle at Buffa's Restaurant & Lounge.

"Since the storm, we've been packed," Sorenson said over the hiss of sizzling bacon. "We haven't closed at all. We worked by candlelight back here."

Maria Montoya / The Times-PicayuneGeorge Norman, and his wife, Chris, stayed in their Algiers home for Hurricane Gustav.

With a cigar in one hand, Philip Brown raked up the branches and leaves Hurricane Gustav left on the lawn of his Algiers home. A generator droned loudly.

"I didn't have anything to do besides clean the debris up," he said.

The deserted, gloomy streets of New Orleans gave way to quiet signs of life Tuesday morning, as residents who stayed through the storm chatted on porches and tidied up yards. They roamed their neighborhoods, walking dogs and riding bikes.

When it appeared that Hurricane Gustav was headed on a path near where I had planned to evacuate - to a rural Avoyelles Parish farmhouse in Big Bend, La., my refuge during Katrina three years ago - I did a reverse Horace Greeley and told myself, "Go east, old man, go east."

Alex Brandon / AP PhotoSidney Torres IV, owner of SDT Waste and Debris Services, had his crews working the streets of the French Quarter early Tuesday, Sept 2., cleaning up the debris from Hurricane Gustav. Torres, pictured here, on Bourbon Street directing Mardi Gras clean up.

Tuesday morning brought a familiar sight to French Quarter residents: The jet black SDT Waste and Debris trucks and street sweepers out on the streets in force, cleaning up.

These guys are amazing. I've said it before, can I say it again: Sidney Torres for Mayor? If a man can keep the French Quarter clean, even the day after a hurricane, I believe he's up to saving our schools, parks and roadways.

Kathy Anderson / The Times-PicayuneWarren Easton High School student Xylona Williams was one of six local students who searced the city to see what sort of back to school fashions $50 could get them. She was able to purchase her whole outfit an hour at Lakeside Shopping Center.

We know better than to try and jump the generation gap. So for our annual survey of back-to-school fashion, we turned to the experts. The Times-Picayune gave six local students -- from middle school to high school, across the metro area -- $50 each and sent them to the mall with simple instructions: Buy something cool that fits your school's dress code. And if your school has uniforms, find something you could wear to a school event, dance or extracurricular activity.

We realize that $50 doesn't have the spending power it once did. But then, families don't have as much money to spend on clothes as they once did. So part of the challenge was to see how creatively fashion-conscious kids could stretch their budgets.

Prashant Gupta / AP PhotoMichael Chiklis stars as Det. Vic Mackey in a scene from, "The Shield," returning for a new season, Tuesday, Sept. 2, at 10 p.m. on FX.

Vic Mackey has been headed to hell since the opening seconds of "The Shield."

The FX series launched in March 2002 with Mackey, leader of a rogue Los Angeles Police Department anti-gang "Strike Team," killing another cop.

The downward spiral has grown tighter ever since.

An anti-hero for the TV ages, Mackey, depicted so powerfully by Michael Chiklis, expends nearly all his energy keeping his low-life lies straight.

Even as Hurricane Gustav set his sights on south Louisiana, a contingent of Louisiana musicians decided to stay on the road to promote the need for coastal restoration.

Houma guitarist Tab Benoit and his Voice of the Wetlands Allstars kicked off a convention season tour with an Aug. 24 appearance at the Democratic National Convention's delegate welcoming party in Denver, Colo. Later that night they performed at a fundraiser for the advocacy group Friends of New Orleans, followed by an Aug. 27 fundraiser for Friends of New Orleans and the Tipitina's Foundation in Aspen, Colo., and an Aug. 29 gig in Jackson Hole, Wyo.

The trip culminates tonight with a Friends of New Orleans show during the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn.

Louisianians fleeing Hurricane Gustav on Interstate 55 Sunday night encountered the kindness of strangers. Hanging from an overpass crossing the northbound lanes several miles inside Mississippi was a blanket spray-painted with the words, "God Bless and Good Luck."

Lake Pontchartrain at the end of Canal Blvd., at approximately noon on Monday.

Some New Orleanians trying to escape the winds of Hurricane Gustav found themselves threatened by other forces of nature Monday, Sept. 1, when a tornado warning was briefly issued for Destin, Fla., where many evacuees are staying.

Chris Rose, ColumnistWhere did you go and how did you fare? »

Every week starts the same for me. Get a cup of Joe, wipe the sleep from my eyes, sit out on my front porch and start writing a story. I got those Monday Morning Blues again.

Admittedly, today's a little different than most. First of all, the chair I usually sit in is halfway down the block, upside down on the neutral ground. Or, it was when I started writing this sentence. Now it has blown further down the street and out of my view.

I wasn't so crazy about that chair anyway.

CNN's Anderson Cooper stood in the rain in the French Quarter, gusts of wind accenting his report as Gustav stopped waiting to exhale.

Sherry Smith from Belle Chase watched him on television with others in the lobby of the Lakeshore Motel, just across the Mississippi River from Greenville, Miss.

Jack Woynowski didn't want to leave.

For two-and-a-half years, the Lakeview resident has slowly been rebuilding his townhouse just blocks from the 17th Street Canal. He just recently received his new kitchen appliances. A shiny convection microwave oven sits on the counter in his still unfinished kitchen, and his new black refrigerator with the French doors and freezer drawer is stocked with food.

The trailer in his driveway was supposed to be picked up by FEMA last Friday. Until Gustav threw a wrench in the plans.

With the storm bearing down on the city, Woynowski weighed his options. He could evacuate. One of his son's lives in Atlanta; the other in Houston. Or he could ride out the storm at his three-story home. After much thought, Woynowski decided to stay. Here he explains why.