NCB

Wow, that is a HUGE development! I've been to the Summit outside of Birmingham, and that is a beautiful and, in terms of size and stores, astonishing development. Any development which requires a whole new interchange for the busiest interstate in the country, is going to be something major. That new interchange is already under construction, and all that sits in front of this massive project's construction is the approval of the site plans by the city of Slidell.

Well I'm back from Bourbon, and it's safe to say that that is one hell of a party out there. It's well after 3:00 AM and things certainly aren't slowing down. In fact, Bourbon seemed to be getting more packed as the night(or is it morning?) went on. For those of you who are reading this at a much more reasonable hour because you decided to do the smart thing...and not go out to party on Bourbon Street at 3 in the morning, here's a stamped camera shot from 3:04 AM so that you can see what exactly I'm talking about.

NBA All-Star weekend in New Orleans...welcome to the party! http://www.wwltv.com/mardigras08/bourbonstreet.html

The TNT guys; Magic Johnson, Kenny "the Jet" Smith, Charles Barkley, and Ernie Johnson, are live right now from Johnny White's on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter. Bourbon is rocking and there will be plenty of New Orleans related segments on the show, which will be on till 6:00. At 8:00, the All-Star Saturday night from the New Orleans Arena will start.

A shot of the Atlanta skyline from I-85 south: I've got a whole bunch of other Atlanta photos to post in the future, as well!

You guys already know what this is:

Yes indeed Richy, that was some very bad stuff; especially in Greater New Orleans, where there was a tornado down in Terrytown, and major swaths of power outages in Saint Tammany. From what I heard on the radio, the storms moved into Baton Rouge carrying little more than heavy rain, and moved out carrying extremely dangerous winds and tons of lightning. Weather is a weird thing, aint it?

Here's the full rundown of NBA All-Star weekend in New Orleans, courtesy of USA Today: Thursday 4-10 p.m.: NBA Jam Session, Ernest N. Morial Convention Center Friday 4-10 p.m.: NBA Jam Session 5-8 p.m.: All-Star Celebrity Game, Ernest N. Morial Convention Center 8-10 p.m.: T-Mobile Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam, New Orleans Arena (TNT) Saturday 9 a.m.-10 p.m.: NBA Jam Session 11-11:45 a.m.: NBA East All-Star practice, Ernest N. Morial Convention Center 12:30-1:15 p.m.: NBA West All-Star practice, Ernest N. Morial Convention Center 2 p.m.: D-League All-Star Game, Ernest N. Morial Convention Center (NBA TV) 7-10 p.m.: All-Star Saturday Night, New Orleans Arena (TNT) Haier Shooting Stars: Chicago: Chris Duhon, Candice Dupree, B.J. Armstrong. Detroit: Chauncey Billups, Swin Cash, Bill Laimbeer. Phoenix: Amare Stoudemire, Cappie Poindexter, Eddie Johnson. San Antonio: Tim Duncan, Becky Hammon, David Robinson. PlayStation Skills Challenge: Jason Kidd, New Jersey; Chris Paul, New Orleans; Dwyane Wade, Miami; Deron Williams, Utah. Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout: Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers; Daniel Gibson, Cleveland; Richard Hamilton, Detroit; Jason Kapono, Toronto; Steve Nash, Phoenix; Peja Stojakovic, New Orleans. Sprite Slam Dunk: Rudy Gay, Memphis; Gerald Green, Minnesota; Dwight Howard, Orlando; Jamario Moon, Toronto. Sunday 9 a.m.-10 p.m.: NBA Jam Session 8 p.m.: 57th NBA All-Star Game, New Orleans Arena (TNT) And apart from all of that, the number of celebrities in town, and parties that will be going on, is unbelievable. From parties hosted by Michael Jordan, Lebron James, Shaq, and P-Diddy, to parties hosted by the average guy down the block. And as for the celebrities, it took a local radio station a full minute to run down the list of celebrities that are in town this weekend. Star watching isn't exactly my thing, but if you're into that sort of stuff, NOLA is the place to be this weekend!

Right you are, Richy! Quoting the TBS and TNT commercials, "NBA All-Star weekend has invaded the Big Easy!" Last night, man, I don't know if I've ever seen New Orleans look as good as they did in the aerials shown on TNT. They showed tons of crystal-clear CBD aerials and they were all spectacular. And the TNT crew was above Bourbon Street at Johnny White's at the corner of Orleans, less than half a block from my old house in the Quarter. BTW, the hotel with the massive Chuck/Dwayne Wade you're talking about is the W, which is at the corner of Poydras and S. Peter, across from Harrah's Casino. There's also a massive All-Star game ad draped over the side of the Dominion Tower, across from the Dome, which is really cool.

Anyone else remember this old thing!? I had always hated the skyline image Emporis created and used for its "New Orleans" page, as it really didn't reflect the skyline at all. It combined what the skyline looked like from across the Mississippi River, and from the opposite side in Mid-City. However, upon my first visit to Emporis in a couple of weeks, I found that they created an entirely new skyline image (rare) to use for the New Orleans city page. And unlike the last image, I think this one is great. It manages to include all of the tallest skyscrapers in the city, along with nearly all of the mid-sized high-rises, and even manages to include New Orleans icons like the Superdome, Charity Hospital, Saint Louis Cathedral, and the Mississippi River with the Crescent City Connection. This image is obviously courtesy of Emporis: What do you guys think?

Thanks, guys! I was very happy with the way that shot turned out. I'm back in New Orleans and I now have to sort through the 1,351 photos I took throughout my trip to D.C., hundreds of which came from the cities and nature between Washington and NOLA. Looking forward to posting them soon!

Thanks for posting that, Richy! I was very happy to read that bit of news on NOLA CityBusiness once I got back from Washington D.C. There's certainly alot going on in New Orleans and throughout the metro area, especially in Jefferson and Saint Tammany.

Good stuff there, Richy! It's extremely nice for any urban-enthusiast to see those cranes, isn't it? A very belated hello to the Louisiana forum from Washington D.C.:

Hello to all my Louisiana friends! I'm sitting along Interstate 81 (not literally, but you know) in Roanoke, VA and decided to stop in and wish all of you a great, safe, and eventful Mardi Gras. I'm not entirely sure when I'll be able to get back on, but in the meantime, here are some photos of some things in northeast Tennessee and southwest Virginia that we don't see in Louisiana: And something that you'll only find in three Louisiana locations, none of which are in any major urban areas: C'mon Hardees! Bring more of those charbroiled thickburgers down to Louisiana! And bring your curly fries, too! See you folks later!

Hey guys, I'll be gone for the next week or so on a spur-of-the-moment trip to Washington D.C. I'll have some internet access, but I won't be on enough to handle any problems. So if you guys have any problems, questions, requests, etc. please direct them to one of the other Southern mods. Thanks!

Hey guys, I'm putting together a thread for the entire developing medical district around Canal St. and Tulane Ave. and should have it up by this weekend. It's good to hear some more news coming from the Trump developers and executives. I'd be interested in knowing how many condos have already been sold, or at least pre-sold.

Very exciting news about the New Orleans BioInnovation Center! I'm thinking that project deserves its own thread in the forum. Anyone else agree?

This is something I stumbled upon on NOLA.com, and it's something that I really like seeing in the New Orleans area. http://blog.nola.com/tpvideo/2008/01/bmx_b..._in_gretna.html Projects like this, which bring kids and parents together, along with entire neighborhoods, are really positive for the New Orleans area. I checked the address of that BMX Park(800 Gretna Blvd.) on Google Maps, and two years ago, that location was just a vacant lot. We've got plenty of vacant lots all over the southshore, and it would be great to see many more of them turned into playgrounds, neighborhood parks, skate/BMX parks, recreation fields, etc. Any development, big or small, that is targeted towards families is a major positive for the area, IMO.

Love the shot of Perkins Rowe, Richy! Next time I'm in Baton Rouge I really want to stop and check it out. Interestingly enough, the city with the most French Quarter reproductions is....New Orleans. You won't find the modern buildings with cheap "wrought iron" balconies and galleries thrown on, but they're still scattered around the CBD, especially in the Warehouse District, where they were added to the numerous converted warehouse lofts/apartments in the Warehouse District in the 1980's and '90's, and continue to be added on new condo buildings today. I don't like fake French Quarter reproductions in any city, but I can kind of deal with them if some effort is actually put into the design. The Fieldhouse Apartments reproduction is probably the best I've seen in Baton Rouge, which is home to many of the worst FQ reproductions I've ever seen. Still, I'd much rather see these developers, in any city, come up with modern and interesting designs rather than just copy the French Quarter...there's just no creativity in that.

Yeah, I know exactly what you're saying, though that's something that has been going on for many years now. Like restaurants aimed at tourists with names like "New Orleans style seafood"....ya think? And seeing fake French Quarter architecture (hate it, hate it, hate it, hate it) all over the CBD. It's all aimed at tourists who, sadly, know absolutely nothing about the city they're visiting and expect to see wrought iron balconies and galleries all over the city and aligators roaming the city beside their french speaking, voodoo practicing, cajun owners. It's something that you don't like seeing, but it's almost unavoidable when tourism plays such a big role in the local economy. You'll find the same type of stuff in Vegas, L.A., and even Chicago, which I saw firsthand.

A look towards the New Orleans CBD from Bourbon Street in the French Quarter:

A look towards the CBD from Bourbon Street in the Quarter:

This is a story that slipped through the cracks a few days ago, but is something that adds to the excitement of the development of a serious medical district around and along Tulane Ave. and Canal Street downtown. Canal Street office building to be sold, renovated Article This location is only two blocks from the LSU Medical Center and only 5 blocks from the Tulane Medical Center. Link

I heard something about that as well, JPK. Apparently the idea of "new, modern, and cutting-edge designs" was too much for Jackie Clarkson to handle. I wonder if Chicago city leaders complained about "tradition" when Frank Gehry unveiled his plans for Millenium Park? Get a clue Jackie, because you can't move forward if you're always looking back.

And there will still be a whole slew of guys with no shirts and women in bikini tops during the game.