New Orleans Exposed - NOX

New Orleans Exposed directed by Dawayne Morgan is a film made in 2005, before Katrina changed the city. It was made at a time when New Orleans, the Big Easy was crowned the murder capital. The dark side of New Orleans housing projects without sugar coating but with real life New Orleans Rappers.

Gun was easy to come by, it was a product that made somebody a man in the ghetto, as the guys in the film explain. Some blame the bad education system, some the lack of jobs, or the lack of jobs that show beyond McDonald's. Some point out that there's a lot of retaliation going on, but almost all agreed that ghetto gunmen are/were not representing gangs, instead, " it's 'an individual mayhem.'"



"Enter the world of New Orleans. No, not the French Quarter or Mardi Gras, but the the gritty urban life that is live in New Orleans many projects. The harsh reality of the inner city exposed; drugs, guns, corruption, food, music, culture. This is the Big Easy as you've never seen it before. Features Juvenile, Sqad Up, B.G., 5th Ward Weebie, Tribute To Soulja Slim and more." The 2006 version is 30 min longer than the 2005 (including a bit on Katrina)



Another snippet of the film can be seen here.

Battle of New Orleans Video & Lyrics - Johnny Horton's version

Johnny Horton performs "The Battle of New Orleans," a song detailing the 1815 Battle of New Orleans written by Jimmie Driftwood history teacher and high school principal. This song is a mini history lesson from the viewpoint of an American, who is fighting alongside General Andrew Jackson against the British. The peace treaty was already signed for two weeks but the news about it did not reach New Orleans... (Treaty of Ghent)

The song is from the album Classic Country: 1950-1964.



Lyrics of Battle of New Orleans

In 1814 we took a little trip
Along with Colonel Jackson down the mighty Mississip.
We took a little bacon and we took a little beans
And we caught the bloody British in the town of New Orleans.

(Chorus)
We fired our guns and the British kept a'comin.
There wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago.
We fired once more and they began to runnin' on
Down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.

We looked down the river and we see'd the British come.
And there must have been a hundred of'em beatin' on the drum.
They stepped so high and they made the bugles ring.
We stood by our cotton bales and didn't say a thing.

(Chorus)

Old Hickory said we could take 'em by surprise
If we didn't fire our muskets 'til we looked 'em in the eye
We held our fire 'til we see'd their faces well.
Then we opened up with squirrel guns and really gave 'em ... weeell

(Chorus)

Yeah, they ran through the briars and they ran through the brambles
And they ran through the bushes where a rabbit couldn't go.
They ran so fast that the hounds couldn't catch 'em
Down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.

We fired our cannon 'til the barrel melted down.
So we grabbed an alligator and we fought another round.
We filled his head with cannon balls, and powdered his behind
And when we touched the powder off, the gator lost his mind.

(Chorus)

Yeah, they ran through the briars and they ran through the brambles
And they ran through the bushes where a rabbit couldn't go.
They ran so fast that the hounds couldn't catch 'em
Down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.

And here's Theodore Roosevelt's account of the Battle of New Orleans from the Naval War of 1812.

What Is Mardi Gras About?

'What Is Mardi Gras About?' is a fantastic video made by a fifth-grader teen called Kalypso. There are great pics of the Zulus, the floats, beads, dancers, the Muses, but most importantly, just after 6 months after hurricane Katrina made a huge destruction in the city, here comes a beautiful video narrative of what Fat Tuesday festivals, krewes, parties are all about - and what is New Orleans about, what was Katrina about.

The simple under-dramatized child tone makes the film very powerful. I loved it a lot. In fact, it is the very best post-Katrina (post-K) film I have seen so far. Thanks Kalypso! :)

Complicated Life in the French Quarter by Preservation Hall

This 2005 video clip of the song Complicated Life is set in the French Quarter (lower Decatur Street). It is very heart warming. The song was written by Ray Davies of the Kinks, here performed by New Orleans Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and acted and sung out by Clint Maedgen coming complete with the New Orleans Bingo! Show.

Hey, one thing is sure, it will make you feel at ease. :) The don't worry - be happy effect kicks in.




Sing along with Clint - here's the lyrics of Complicated Life:

Ladi dah di dahdah, ladi dah di dah dah,
Ladi dah di dahdah, ladi dah di dah dah.

Well I woke this morning with a pain in my neck,
A pain in my heart and a pain in my chest,
I went to the doctor and the good doctor said,
You gotta slow down your life or you're gonna be dead,
Cut out the struggle and strife,
It only complicates your life.

Well I cut down women, I cut out booze,
I stopped ironing my shirts, cleaning my shoes,
I stopped going to work, stopped reading the news,
I sit and twiddle my thumbs cos I got nothing to do,
Minimal exercise,
To help uncomplicate my life.


Gotta stand and face it life is so complicated,
Ladi dah di dahdah, ladi dah di dah dah,
You gotta get away from the complicated life, son,
Life is overrated, life is complicated,
You must alleviate this complicated life.

Like old Mother Hubbard
I got nothin' in the cupboard,
I got no dinner and I got no supper,
Holes in my shoes, I got holes in my socks,
I can't go to work cos I can't get a job,
The bills are rising sky high,
It's such a complicated life,
Take it away.

Gotta stand and face it,
Life is so complicated.
Ladi dah di dahdah, ladi dah di dah dah
Gotta get away from the complicated life, son,
Life is overrated, life is complicated,
Must alleviate this complicated life.

Gotta get away from the complicated life, son,
Gotta get away from the complicated life.

An Atmospheric Video of New Orleans French Quarter

This great video montage made of New Orleans French Quarter conveys a lot from the local atmosphere. I like walking in the French Quarter especially when the weather is fine. There is jazz swirling in the air, easy going atmosphere, and lots of time on your hands, smiles on the faces. I like to hear 'sweetheart' when buying a cake, hear the ships on the Mississippi river, and, just to be, exist, listen, learn, talk, dream, have fun.




If you wish to learn more about the history of New Orleans French Quarter, check out this site for further info. In a nutshell:

Founded as a military-style grid of seventy squares in 1718 by French Canadian naval officer Jean Baptiste Bienville.

In 1762 the indifferent Louis XV transferred Louisiana to his Bourbon cousin Charles III of Spain.

Francophile colonists staged a revolution in 1768, squelched by Alejandro O'Reilly with a firing squad at the Esplanade fort.

1803 Louisiana Purchase transferred the colony to the US

The "glorious victory" of the 1815 Battle of New Orleans fixed loyalty to the American nation.

Golden era followed as cotton, sugar and steamboats poured into the city. American, Irish, German, African and "Foreign French" immigrants swelled the population of New Orleans

Civil War and Reconstruction: creoles moved to Esplanade and later Uptown, and famine-driven Sicilian immigrants found cramped lodging in the grand spaces of French Quarter mansions of the 1890s.

The 1900 birth of jazz in nearby Storyville nurtured musical legends Louis Armstrong, Buddy Bolden, Nick LaRocca, and other jazz and ragtime greats.

By 1920 the legacy of a storied past attracted artists in increasing numbers. William Faulkner, Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote etc. were attracted to the French Quarter for its creative stimulus.

1936 marked the onset of regulatory controls in the form of the state-sanctioned Vieux Carré Commission to preserve the quaint and distinctive character of the old Quarter.

1960s traditional jazz in decline, Preservation Hall emerged to serve beleaguered musicians.

2005 Hurricane Catrina

Historical facts based on the Brief History of French Quarter by Sally Reeves

The History of New Orleans Mardi Gras King Cake

This video on Mardi Gras King Cake answers the question 'What is the origin of the purple green and gold colored bread of the Mardi Gras carneval, the King Cake made of cinnamon dough?' Producer Anne-Marie Berger went to New Orleans to find out the origin of the Mardi Gras King Cake. "This old tradition started as a pagan ritual in Europe to select a king or queen for the day... This cake is a fun tradition that is gaining popularity with Mardi Gras observers in St. Louis."



Purple representing justice, green representing faith and gold symbolizing power. Plastic babies hidden inside!

Here's an easy king cake recipe with great photo illustrations of each step if you feel like making one!