Right now as we speak I am watching the documentary "Trouble the Water..." This documentary is a MUST for everyone everywhere to watch... As it states, "It's not about a hurricane, it's about America..." After taking a trip to New Orleans a few months ago, I feel like I can relate even more because I was there, driving through these neighborhoods... And to be honest, they did not look much better 3 1/2 years later... Which speaks a lot about how much people (the gov't) have done... A lot of people think that New Orleans is "up and going..." When in reality, it's actually worse because a lot of people have yet to returned... Which has taken away a lot of the history of the city...

In this documentary, there's a segment where a young white lady talks about how it's a "great feeling, because it seems that every weekend there is a celebration..." But as mentioned in the documentary, people are only celebrating in a small percentage of New Orleans... The 20% of the city that attracts all the tourist... The French Quarter, the Garden District, the Warehouse District... What people fail to realize is that not only were these areas less devastated by the storm, they're the areas where the wealthier, white residents lived... Most of these people have returned, whereas most African Americans have not...

Watching this film was very emotional... Seeing people risking their lives to save others was remarkable... Especially when the person doesn't know how to swim... Using a punching bag as a way to transport people... As helicopters fly by, almost ignoring the help signs and flags that were waving... I just could not believe some of the things that I saw in the documentary... Things that made me angry... People refusing to help those in need because they were "protecting the best interest of the Government..." But I thought the Government was "of the people, by the people, for the people...?" After watching this documentary, one begins to question that statement... I cannot speak enough on how moving it was, so please just make sure to watch it... The feeling is almost indescribable ...

Last night I was able to catch a show titled "Ameriville" presented by Universes, an "ensemble Company of multi-disciplined writers and performers who fuse Poetry, Theater, Jazz, Hip-Hop, Politics, Down Home Blues and Spanish Boleros to create moving, challenging and entertaining theatrical works." The group is based out of New York and came together after being the spoken word scene as sole artist for a while... They did a piece that was based of New Orleans, but as one of the group members said, "It was a show about America, not just New Orleans...." This show was amazing... And it is just fitting that I was able to watch this documentary after witnessing the show, which came just a few months after my visit to New Orleans...

I feel like this is some sort of message that I need to return... A feeling that I have had instilled in me since I boarded the plane back home...

I suggest that everyone really try to catch this documentary as well as the group Universes... Both will be sure to fill your brain with knowledge and give you a different perspective on life and more importantly, life in the United States....

Thanks for tuning in...

Jose

So yesterday we ran all over the place and just checked out most of the French Quarter... We ate lunch at Magnolia's, walked the French Market, caught a show of street dancers... Did some more walking and then had dinner at Mother's... Mother's was soooooo good... I had jambalaya and some bread pudding... They called you up for your order by name and it made me feel like I was at home... Once we got back to the hotel for good, we chilled on the roof in the pool and jacuzzi...

Today was a good day... It was raining at times but misty for the most part... We started the day with hopes of going to the Aquarium, but it doesn't open on Mondays... So we headed over to Riverwalk and hit some shops for gifts and souvenirs and all that good stuff... I chilled on the balcony/patio area and just took in the views of the Mississippi River and took some pictures... We then ate at the food court and I had a Cajun combo which had a little bit of everything from Messina's... I also had some bread pudding which was really good...

After lunch we went on a 3 hour tour of the city... It was really good and worth the hefty $42... It took us to areas that we wouldn't have been able to go to and we saw the devastating damage caused by Katrina... It was a very emotional tour... Seeing everything still in a wreck 3+ years after the storm is crazy... You could feel the pain of the people who lost it all... The people who needed the most help, but got none...

We also toured the rest of the city and checked out some of the biggest houses I've seen anywhere... It was cool, learning about the stories behind certain places and who lived where and so forth...

The tour was just great... It was very informative and allowed us to see the entire city and learn about the history which for me is the most important part...

For the evening we wen to the New Orleans Arena and caught CP3 in action against the Rockets who were without Yao (flu) and T-Mac (knee)... It was a great experience and a great atmosphere... The fans were awesome... EVERYONE was into the game... The Hornets ended up losing due to some of the worse officiating I've ever seen... BUT... We did get on the jumbo tron... I kinda looked at the guy with the camera and he came over to us and told us "when the Hornets score, go nuts..." SO WE DID!!!

(Like I said, pics and videos will come later... Probably a series of media posts...)

Thanks for tuning in....

Jose