Brad Pitt, who's presumably done more for the city of New Orleans' recovery from Hurricane Katrina than any governmental effort has, proportionally speaking—and, come on: not hard—is getting some heat for one of his initiatives, which involved building green houses in New Orleans for Lower Ninth residents to come back and reoccupy. A New York Times travel writer—hopefully, not on a junket—went down there to check the houses out. He saw big, beautiful, boxy green houses that...look absolutely nothing like the ones that were there did before. Even though the houses are free somewhat subsidized, this could cause some problems. Among them: alienating cultures of people who just want to resume their lives as normal as possible, four years later, and not being able to provide housing for every resident in the Lower Ninth as good as the Brad Pitt-installed housing that's there. One such resident gets quoted on the disparity.

"It's like New York - you know, the skyscrapers," said Ms. LeBlanc, who lives in a single-story house next to one of the much larger Make It Right creations, like a Mini Cooper boxed in by SUVs. "And there are going to be more," she added.

And naturally, designers are there to jump all over Pitt's aesthetics. One New Orleans-born architect calls them "alien, sometimes even insulting" before applauding Pitt's efforts, and a broker notes that "had he come here with houses that looked like what had been here before, he probably could have had four times, five times as many houses up by now." Okay, fine. All fair. But of the three residents quoted, two weren't in Pitt's homes and one was. Only one of them had anything negative to say. A small, insubstantial sample, to be sure, but a sample nonetheless. The entire thing illuminates a larger issue, though: How're we supposed to feel when celebrities get involved in the public sector vis-a-vis domestic in-need issues?

Well, here, Pitt's promoting a two-fold agenda: the use of green building materials and the relocation back to New Orleans. Neither can be called ignoble endeavors. Should he have mixed them up, though?

Brad Pitt's housing debacle in New Orleans illuminates the inherent problems of volunteerism and community service from those who have way more than the necessary means to execute it properly, especially with regards to celebrities. Is there a better long-term solution than to completely subvert an inefficient public sector? What's the right length and stay of commitment? What's the accessibility of public housing provided by movie star Brad Pitt? And is the influence he casts over the project beneficial to it? Was there a way for him to build green housing that didn't look ripped out of the pages of Dwell? And is reinforcing the memory of a pre-Katrina Lower Ninth the right thing to do? And who's to decide that? There're people out there who will inevitably ask if something really is, in this case, better than nothing.

We hit up a familiar voice, an esteemed all-things-Louisiana blogger up for quote. As a guy who can knowingly write at length about Louisiana and the nuances of Brad Pitt's reaction to Gwenny's head-in-a-box at the end of Seven, I figured The Cajun Boy might have some decent crossover insight on this. He didn't disappoint:

I will say this...I have absolutely nothing but respect and admiration for Pitt for all he's done back home. So often we as a culture fixate on the endlessly retarded ways celebrities spend their money and often overlook the instances where they use their money and influence to do genuine good. Contrast Pitt with Nic Cage, another celebrity who bought property in the area. Pitt's become a true part of the community while Cage's houses are now up for auction because he has a fetish for stupid shit: shrunken skulls, exotic cars, etc. Brad Pitt should be lauded for what he's done. I personally would run through a wall of fire for him. And then I'd cook him up a pot of crawfish etoufee, because that's just how we do where I come from.

So, one more Bayou-born voice to the fray. It's worth adding: At least he's not Nic Cage is a fairly acceptable reaction to any number of situations.

So, lesson! Volunteerism sucks sometimes. Even if you're Brad Pitt, to someone, somewhere, you still can't get do the right thing, no matter how hard you try. Depressing, right?

Nagin, currently embroiled in a scandal in which city contractors allegedly financed tropical vacations for him and his family, is currently being held in a Shanghai hotel, along with his wife and a staffer. According to the Times-Picayune, the three were part of a six-person team traveling abroad for ten days.

The Nagins and four City Hall staff members left Friday for the 10-day trip to China and Australia aimed at luring industry to New Orleans and discussing government's role in mitigating climate change, his office said. The three, who were quarantined as a pre-caution, were sitting close to a passenger who showed "signs and symptoms of an influenza-like illness suspected to be of the H1N1 subtype," according to a statement from Ceeon D. Quiett, Nagin's director of communications.

But the three are symptom-free and are "being treated with utmost courtesy by Chinese officials," Quiett said. She said she didn't know how long they would be quarantined.

Interestingly, this isn't the first time that Nagin, recently cited as one of the most unpopular politicians in the history of American politics, has been quarantined inside of a hotel room. According to Presidential historian Douglas Brinkley, a paralyzed-by-fear Nagin quarantined himself on the 17th floor of the New Orleans Hyatt while the city spiraled out of control in the days after Hurricane Katrina struck, a contention Nagin has vigorously denied, but one that just about anyone who's followed his horrendous stint as leader of the city has little trouble believing.

Finally, as someone who hails from the New Orleans area, I think I can speak for everyone who cares deeply about the city when I say this to the Chinese government—-Please, PLEASE, keep him there as long as needed. We want to make sure Mayor Nagin is safe and well and healthy. Feel free to keep him until at least November 30, 2009, the date which marks the official end of the 2009 hurricane season. Seriously.

Nagin, Wife, Staffer, Quarantined in China [Nola.com]

Coastal parishes in New Orleans began the first mandatory evacuations at noon (1700 GMT). Police were set to enforce a nightly curfew and cordon off areas under evacuation order, so that no one could enter.

Residents were warned that the city would not have emergency shelters, and that gathering areas such as the Superdome and bus terminal — scenes of chaos and violence after Katrina — would be closed.

As some residents boarded up windows and piled sandbags to build temporary levees, others boarded buses while shoppers crowded grocery stores to grab provisions for the weekend. Many service stations were already out of fuel.

"It's better organized this time," said Naomi Brown as she unpacked a shop's last box of batteries.

"We are getting information earlier, buses are coming, they got it a whole lot better this time. During Katrina, not one thing was organized — it was a state of panic and havoc."

The overall population of greater New Orleans is estimated at more than one million people, about 80 percent of the pre-Katrina population. Saturday's mandatory evacuation orders affected more than half of New Orleans' seven parishes.

The New Orleans airport said it would shut down Sunday evening, and area hotels advised customers to leave town.

Voluntary and assisted evacuations began Friday, but not all residents were eager to pack up and leave.

"I'm supposed to be leaving but I keep waiting just a little longer to see what the storm is going to do. I know it's a risk," New Orleans resident Sheile Robertson told AFP.

She said she escaped a day before Katrina struck, destroying her home, and now lives in an apartment with a half dozen people. [AFP]

[Previously]

[Original photos by John d'Addario , toaminorplace, and Anthonyturducken's Flickr.]

The satellite imagery shows a nest of buildings further ramshackled in the wake of the flood, while the curbside angle shows thick, expansive verdure where ensuing demolition has left empty lots. YouTube footage provides heart-wrenching narrative counterpoint. I think I just shed a single, sincere tear for Google's seemingly earnest altruism. Nice work.

Earlier this year, author Nancy Redd was asked to give her 2007 body-positive book 'Body Drama' to 250 teenage Hurricane Katrina survivors at a ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of the 'Vagina Monologues'. "I've harbored a major crush on Eve Ensler for over nine years," Nancy says. "Growing up with normal teenage angst and inadequate health education, I hated my vulva and I never referred to "down there" as anything other than a "hoo-ha". The Monologues were my introduction to feminism; nothing was more empowering to 18-year-old me than having a legit reason to scream "MY SHORT SKIRT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU!" and "IT'S SUPPOSED TO SMELL LIKE PUSSY!" to the world." Below, Nancy fills us in on everything that went down in the (very fertile) Crescent City over the weekend, where 18,000 participants raised awareness of violence towards women by giving love to vaginas and the amazing women who own them.

"We call her sultry and sexy when we crave her, but after when we want to demean her and dismiss her, we call her swampy and soiled."

"We brag about her music, the way she moves, we beg to get inside her, but disown her later when she has needs."

This year, Eve decided to concentrate the power of her tenth anniversary on the community who needs it the most: the women of New Orleans, who, as Ensler explains, have "survived the fallout of global warming, failure of public structures, racism, economic hardship, and domestic abuse." (She calls them "Katrina Warriors".)

As soon as we walked into the Superdome, we were overwhelmed by the Biggest. Vagina. Ever. Very hypnotizing, and reminiscent of Gene Simmons' tongue!

Right after I arrived at the arena on Friday, author Gabrielle Roth had everyone come to the front of the stage for a fifteen minute "ecstatic dance" designed to release grievances and to allow positive energy to flow. The crowd was LOVING it, and I wanted Gabrielle to crowd surf so badly, because we would have caught her and it would have been awesome.

Afterwards, I checked out the art that decorated the Superdome, created by activists from around the world. Pieces included the biggest bra ball ever...

...an activist comic titled "Fuck, I'm a Victim," and V-Day memorabilia from the past ten years. One really cool installment was the Intentions Hut, where people could go inside and write their dreams and goals and place them in a box aptly titled 'Intentions.' This is where I found out that nearly everyone working the event — from Rosario Dawson's assistant for the day to the translator for Congolese doctor Dr. Denis Mukwege — was a volunteer, and many were college students or retirees. (The volunteer manning the Intentions Hut told me that her husband took Eve Ensler to his prom!)

A large part of the decision to hold the anniversary event at the Superdome was to transform horrible memories for Katrina survivors into positive ones. To do this, V-Day created three healing stations for local women (with some services and samples open to everyone) on the upper levels. To get to the stations, which was also where the food was, everyone had to pass through a giant glowing vulva. Perhaps for rebirth?

Once upstairs, there were massage sessions, yoga classes taught by Rodney Yee and Colleen Saidman, and free haircuts and makeup application for Katrina survivors, who were truly enjoying all of the pampering.

There was also a jam-packed activism room full of creative and inspiring groups and organizations, like the women from SAFER, who displayed edgy t-shirts...

...and Rha Goddess, who offered her new book We Got Issues.

There were so many younger kids swarming around and it was heartwarming seeing them studying the artwork and questioning the activists about what they do.

One of the best stage presentations included a girl who looked to be about ten and who proudly exclaimed that in her life from now on, she was "going to ignore stupidity and claim self control." She is now my new role model.

There were quite a few guys (a.k.a. "V-Men") around, too, both as participants and spectators. Authors and activists Jimmie Briggs, who brought his proud mom and aunt (aw!), and John Prendergast chatted with Tara from CosmoGIRL! and myself in between adoring fans (of which there were many).

On Saturday morning, Asia Rainey, local activist and the force behind the Daughters of Hope Rites of Passage, gave us our cues and got us all charged up, and Eve Ensler came in to say hi to the giddy teens, who were nervous and thrilled about being onstage in front of so many people, where they recited skills they'd learned in mentoring classes.

A lot of the girls were super-amped about the fact that they were going to meet Kerry Washington afterwards, worrying that their cell phones wouldn't get good enough pictures. As I was lining up to go onstage to give my presentation — during which I gave a motivational speech and presented my book — I bumped into Dr. Mukwege, an amazing Congolese doctor who is at the forefront of next year's V-Day focus on stopping violence against women in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Even though I let loose with an embarrassing scream of glee and a big hug he was incredibly gracious, just chilling in the waiting room wearing a sparkly red feather boa around his neck. I was hoping he would keep it on for the whole evening but alas, he took it off before his Q&A with Eve.

Next up was a Hollywood panel with Kerry Washington, Rosario Dawson, Amber Tamblyn, and Ali Larter; it was a huge hit, and the ladies really opened up about a lot of the sexism and weight concerns that they deal with in the industry.

Women are actually lambasted for crazy things like their ARM size, y'all! When asked about racial stereotypes of females in the media, Kerry expressed her frustration about the few roles for black women that aren't maids or prostitutes, and said that when she had to play one of those roles she tried hard to make the character a real person and not just the stereotype. There were girls who started CRYING in the audience when the celebs came out, and a few teens were brave enough to sneak backstage to get hugs and pictures, and everyone was really cool and gracious about it.

For that evening's star-studded performance of the Vagina Monologues, the Superdome was packed and full of energy.

Eve's adopted son Dylan McDermott was sitting right in front of me next to one of his daughters.

For me, the Vagina Monologues are like My Big Fat Greek Wedding and other movie classics...even though I've seen 'em a million times and I have most of the lines memorized I still love watching from beginning to end. Seeing Eve perform live injected new life into the decade-old words, and I loved her vulva pantsuit.

The celebrities added an interesting flavor and there were some new monologues that had been introduced since the last time I did the show. After watching the touching monologue "They Beat the Girl Out of My Boy" in homage of the transgender experience, I had to Google one of the performers, Calpernia Addams, and I have found my new favorite time-killing video channel.

Towards the end of the performances, Jennifer Beals stole the entire show with her rendition of the crowd favorite "The Woman Who Loved to Make Vaginas Happy", aka "The Moaner".

Her and her backup moaners' renditions of the Irish Catholic orgasm moan "Oh, Oh, Oh PLEASE forgive me!" and the African-American moan "Oh SHIT! Oooooh SHIT! SHIT SHIT SHIT!" were absolutely hilarious.

At the afterparty at the W, I finally got a good look at Rosario Dawson's shoes and they were as I suspected - the infamous backward heels!

What's really funny is that earlier that evening, while we were both backstage, she seriously questioned whether or not my gold wedge heels were comfy. Anyway, she said her shoes felt fine but I wished I had asked her where she got them because my Google-fu is failing me and I NEED THOSE SHOES!

There was tons of food at the party, including made-to-order FREAKING chicken and waffles, y'all! (Eve and her people know how to throw a party.) Everyone was into the music and the atmosphere and the people and it was just a room full of hot, happy vaginas and their guy friends...a perfect end to an amazing weekend. Hope to see everyone in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2009!

The V Day Event Of The Decade: V To The Tenth [V10.VDay.org]

Earlier:
"Here At The Hospital, We Have Seen Women Who Have Stopped Living"
New York Interviewer Accuses Vagina Book Author Of An "Anti-Waxing Slant"
Badass, Self-Described Feminist Jane Fonda Drops the C-Word On Today

Related: Body Drama [Amazon]

We say good for them: if there's one economy we'd want to support (besides North Red Hook's!) it's that of our sister city on the bayou.

Those left behind in the Hearst building might not feel as happy as we do. The underlings are getting restless! A tipster reports that annual performance reviews have been postponed from March to September; in lieu of raises, assistants have been given one-time bonuses of $300.

A Hearst spokesperson did not respond to a request, but our tipster says: "Meanwhile, March performance reviews somehow forged on for the higher-ups. I'm an assistant at Hearst; my boss makes $200,000, which means a 3% raise will net her a cool $6,000 more this year. Or approximately 20 percent of my salary." Girl, relax! Maybe she'll bring you back some beads! —Doree

Released last week, the DVD compilation of Spike Lee's documentary When the Levees Broke is a charming antidote to holiday cheer. More sobering than depressing, it's a must for anyone who cares at all about New Orleans. The four-hour vision of the city after Hurricane Katrina contains everything you'd expect — rage, horror, disgust, sorrow, and moments of surprising, lively humor. Lee is not a subtle filmmaker, but he's plenty smart enough to let the scenes and interview subjects speak for themselves. And they speak volumes. Nothing on the scale of Katrina has happened to modern America, and no disaster so large has been so thoroughly covered in the media. But even if you watched the Katrina coverage religiously, you didn't see the personal angles presented here (sometimes to pretty heart-rending effect). Original footage and news reports are seamlessly wed, and the devastation and citizenry alike are beautifully shot. The DVD comes with the usual audio commentary track (Lee, talking over the footage and providing a few interesting side notes, but often doing the voiceover he wisely left out of the film itself), plus an additional epilogue featurette and a slideshow. But it's the interviews that make When the Levees Broke an instant classic, in all their confused, angry, sincere, painful, and profane glory. The easy path would call for a good wallow in the pain, but neither Lee nor his interviewees are interested in what's easy. It's refreshing to feel yourself engaging with the actual stories of a documentary, with a deft though heavy-handed filmmaker like Lee rightly ceding center stage to his subjects.

When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts [Amazon]

Interview with Alan Richman
Renowned restaurant writer rips New Orleans but only embarrasses himself [NOT-P]

Earlier: 'GQ' Critic: Lousy New Orleans Restaurants Make Me Question Rebuilding

During my time in New Orleans, I sought to keep some perspective. For example, when the sommelier at August brought me an incorrect vintage of the wine I'd ordered, I tried not to be too distressed, knowing that somewhere in the Lower Ninth Ward a house was sitting atop a car. Yet it's important to come to a tough decision about New Orleans, because it's going to cost Iraq-magnitude money to get this place back to where it was or, better yet, where it should have been. I do admire much about the restaurants, even if their desserts survived Katrina because they were too heavy to float away. Restaurants could be the saviors of New Orleans, providing they produce innovative rather than repetitive food. They risk becoming meaningless if restoration means transforming the city into a low-density Creole theme park where food is one component of a commemoration of the past.

YES, WE'RE OPEN [GQ]

• 
  
• New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin accuses press of not covering the vast swathe of stories in New Orleans that don't involve rape, poverty, sluggish reconstruction, municipal incompetence, or women being vivisected and baked in ovens. [E&P]
  
• Former GE head Jack Welch wants to buy the Boston Globe, which would help current owner The New York Times company focus on just running one paper into the ground. [NYT]
  
• Vanity Fair's redesigned website offers readers "easier access to Vanity Fair's archives, Web exclusives and slide shows," and, starting Monday, extensive use of the word "twat." [WWD]
  
• "By any objective measure, Barry Diller is grossly overpaid," says Jonathan Weil, managing director of research firm Glass Lewis. He's referring to a study that placed the IAC/Interactive chairman's 2005 compensation at 295 million dollars. So if you've got a website based around pictures of drunken coed boobies and Barry comes knocking at your door, hold out for some extra cash. [NYT]
  

A suicide note in the pocket of a man who jumped off the Omni Royal Orleans Hotel late Tuesday led police to the grisly scene of his girlfriend's murder, where they found her charred head in a pot on the stove, her legs and feet baked in the oven and the rest of her dismembered body in trash bag in the refrigerator, according to police and the couple's landlord.

It's a sad, shocking story (handled by the ever-sensitive Post as "Gal-Pal Gumbo," although nothing we've seen so far has shown any evidence that Bowen even knew how to make a roux), but credit the NYT's Alex Berenson for good reportorial instincts. Also credit the Mobile Register's Bill Barrow, who also profiled the couple, and elicited the following: 'As he picked up limbs along the sidewalk, Bowen added, "It's actually been kind of nice. And I'm getting healthier, eating right and toning up.'"

Man dismembers girlfriend in Quarter; cooks body parts [NOT-P]
Primitive Living in French Quarter Has Its Boons [MR]

Earlier: Joe Francis Would Be So Proud

Anderson Cooper Will Be Here Thursday [92Y.org]