by YatPundit | Nov 10, 2019 | History, Podcast
Let’s Talk New Orleans Episode 1
Let’s Talk New Orleans Episode 1
Ed Branley (@NOLAHistoryGuy) and Jessie Muszynski (@sweetbabette) have a podcast! They’re speaking their minds on history, food, politics and culture in New Orleans.
The inaugural episode drops here on YatPundit. We’re setting up a site for the pod this weekend. In the meantime, have a listen here.
We talk German history and food in New Orleans. German-speaking folks have come to New Orleans since the 1720s and are a major influence on the city’s culture. From John Law’s expeditions to the Mississippi Gulf Coast and New Orleans, through the Colonial period, to the establishment of St. Mary’s Assumption Parish, the German influence remained strong. Listen to Ed and Jessie discuss this wonderful history.
German Food
Naturally, it was lunch at a German restaurant that got Jessie and Ed started on Germans in New Orleans. Bratz Y’all is a restaurant on Piety Street in the Bywater. Jessie’s been several times, and this was Ed’s first visit. The restaurant is next door to Pizza Delicious, a popular Bywater joint with a metro-wide following.
Salted Pretzel with the Brie dip at Bratz Y’all
We started with a salted pretzel and the Bavarian Caraway Brie dip. So good!
“The Giant German” at Bratz Y’all
Jessie ordered a special off the chalkboard, “The Big German” — a huge brat with sauerkraut.
Hunter’s Schnitzel at Bratz Y’all
Ed got the Hunter’s Schnitzel. Impressive! There will be a YatCuisine post on schnitzel now. This was incredibly good.
There was beer drunk as well. Overall, this was a wonderful lunch. We always try to have lunch once a month and catch up. Even when you’re back-and-forth on Da Twittah all the time,
Worth the trip
Bratz Y’all is very much worth the trip down to the Bywater. The ride there and back is a history lesson in itself!
Tell us what you think!
Please give us your feedback on the pod! Tweet at us, or email to talknola@ebranley.com
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by YatPundit | May 30, 2019 | Books, Lit Thursday, Podcast, Writing
It’s another Lit Thursday edition of YatPundit’s Pub 30-May-2019.
YatPundit’s Pub 30-May-2019
Two literary-themed brews on tap in YatPundit’s Pub 30-May-2019. First, we’ll talk about Memorial Day as a writing theme/prompt. Then we’ll review a novel, The Carousel Carver, by Perdita Buchan.
Memorial Day in New Orleans
Fort Pickents in Pensacola, Florida, is a popular Memorial Day destination for New Orleanians.(National Park Service photo)
While other parts of the country continue school well into June, Memorial Day weekend is traditionally the end of the K-12 school year in South Louisiana. There are two reasons for this. First, we start school early here. Up in New England, folks spend the “Indian Summer” days squeezing the last little bit of relaxation and daylight out of the summer season. They grudgingly go back to school after Labor Day. Many schools here used to start after Labor Day. They learned that kids fare better taking the hot days on the chin at the beginning of the year. By the end of May, they’re done. Done with a D. The other reason we end school in May is hurricanes. We build “storm days” into the schedule by starting in August. If things go badly, well, then we stretch into June. Otherwise, time gets built in.
So, by the end of May, families are ready for a vacation, even if it’s a quick run to the coast, to Florida, or to Disney. Let’s look at writing potential in that.
The Carousel Carver
The Carousel Carver by Perdita Buchan, blurbed by Edward and Susan!
A couple of months back, I received a message from a friend. He asked me if I’d read the galleys of a new novel from his friend’s publishing company. I said sure. The novel was The Carousel Carver, by Ms. Perdita Buchan. I figured, skim it, get a feel for it, say something nice. Well, that was the plan. I read the book and enjoyed it. While it’s not my regular reading fare, The Carousel Carver was a fun read. It’s a period piece, starting in Philly in 1912, following the main character to the Jersey Shore in the lead-up to World War II. I enjoyed it very much.
Book Details
- Hardcover: 143 pages
- Publisher: Plexus Publishing, Inc. (May 14, 2019)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1940091047
- ISBN-13: 978-1940091044
- Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 0.5 x 8.5 inches
- Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
Last week’s Lit Thursday!
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by YatPundit | May 29, 2019 | Podcast, Tech Wednesday, Uncategorized
Grab a slice of pizza, it’s Tech Wednesday in YatPundit’s Pub 29-May-2019.
YatPundit’s Pub 29-May-2019
Two brews on tap today for geek night in YatPundit’s Pub 29-May-2019. First, we review personal continuity and backup. Then, we pour the first brew of a flight on Personal Virtualization.
Personal Continuity
Western Digital Passport USB Drive
Hurricane season starts Friday. We add our contribution to the media blitz with a discussion of backup. Backup strategy these days starts with a 128GB USB stick. From there, advance to a USB hard drive, 1-4TB in size. A thumb drive requires you to manually drag-and-drop files for backup. Many of the portable hard drives now include utilities for backup. Run the utility, copy your computer hard drive to the portable.
Portable hard drives start around $60 in price. Western Digital offers solid basic options. While that may be all you need, advanced possibilities include solid state drives.
Cloud backup offers scheduling and off-site protection. Services like Dropbox and Apple’s cloud service provide CDP – Continuous Data Protection. Install the cloud service’s utilities on your computer. When you save files to the designated folders, the utilities save it to the cloud simultaneously. Cloud storage also offers wider availability. While you can do what you need on your regular computer, files backed up to the cloud can be accessed from other systems. Use the utilities offered. Other computers maintain copies of your data.
Computer virtualization extends the availability possibilities. So, with your work computer as a virtual machine, it’s easy to get back up and running after a hardware failure.
Your Choice
Which strategy is right? Consider Recovery Point Objective (RPO) and Recovery Time Objective (RTO) requirements.
Personal Virtualization
We begin a 4-part flight on computer virtualization. Before virtualizing, set your goals. So, what do you want to accomplish?
- Windows on a Mac
- Running Linux on a Windows PC (or vice versa)
- Keeping older versions of Windows on a new system
- Other needs
Examine your needs and consider your approach to virtualization. Other brews in this flight explore the resources required to virtualize, and the software options.
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by YatPundit | May 24, 2019 | Podcast
Baseball and Trains on YatPundit’s Pub 23-May-2019
Proposed engine terminal near Greenwod Cemetery, 1944
Yatpundit’s Pub 23-May-2019
Our first brew in the pub for this episode is New Orleans Baseball. We interviewed S. Derby Gisclair for the history pod, talking baseball. That had me thinking of how baseball fits into a number of potential writing ideas. When I jotted down the starter notes for the segment, three things came to mind:
- Playground moms
- Amateur leagues
- Kickball!
Now, “Playground moms” is just a jumping-off point. Imagine all the things you could do at a public playground. They’re not all “mom” related, Although, the notion of a SAHM in #themetrys being a spy and doing an intel hand-off at t-ball practice is kind of a neat idea. Amateur leagues are a thing as well, particularly if you’re considering a period piece or story. The Commercial League came up in my research and photographs for both the Maison Blanche and Krauss books. These days, amateur baseball focuses more around individuals than company teams. Either way, though, the social interaction has a lot of potential.
So, when I say “baseball”, I don’t want that to be limited to just men on the field. While women play organized softball more than hardball, those games and leagues are just as interesting as writing prompts. At the kid-tween-teen level, taking a girl to softball practice plays out similar to boys teams.
Fictional Railroads in New Orleans
You’ll find me coming back to this as I work out thoughts and designs of my Pontchartrain Railroad model layout at home. While the layout has basic roots in New Orleans history, it’s more of an “alternate history” universe. The idea is, what if railroads maintained their influence from the 1940s? What if both freight and passenger rail maintained their significance? So, it’s not “prototype” as in limited passenger service provided by Amtrak.
There’s also some variations to where railroad tracks are in New Orleans. Here are a couple of diagrams of Mid-City in 1944. The Bernadotte yard was real. The engine terminal and roundhouse were proposed for the location that is now the big Baptist church behind Greenwood Cemetery. What if that facility actually existed?
Pontchartrain Railroad – N Scale
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by YatPundit | May 21, 2019 | New Orleans, New Orleans, Podcast, Politics
YatPundit’s Pub 21-May-2019
YatPundit’s Pub 21-May-2019
Ranting about Short Term Rentals and the French Market this week.
Programming note: Yesterday’s Red Beans and Rice Monday moves to YatCuisine next week! We’re tweaking the present pod lineup. I created a “YatCuisine” group on Facebook. The pod fits better that way.
Short Term Rentals
With respect to the “strict” short-term rental ordinance passed yesterday by the New Orleans City Council:
1. This was not a final-passage. The ordinance will come back before the Council in a couple of months.
2. in the interim, the forces supporting unlicensed hotels in the city will open their wallets and dilute the ordinance.
3. It’s likely that, by the time of final passage, the ordinance will no longer contain the “domicile” requirement, where you can only short-term-rent the house you claim a homestead exemption on (i.e., you can only AirBnB the house you live in).
How the City Council screws New Orleans
4. By the time the ordinance comes back for final passage, the Councilmembers figure you think they did the right thing back in May. The unlicensed hotels continue on as if the vote yesterday never happened.
5. Advocates for limiting short-term rentals to the renter’s domicile, banning unlicensed hotels must remain vigilant. Demand any changes and amendments proposed to yesterday’s ordinance in advance. Watch the Council’s calendar. Don’t be sandbagged on the day of final passage.
6. Do not trust the Councilmembers who you believe are on “your side” – they know how this works, voted how you wanted them to yesterday, with confidence you won’t be looking when they vote the other way in a couple of months.
7. Follow the money.
Think I’m overreacting? This is why you fail at fixing things in New Orleans. Enjoy your protests, podcasts, and blogs.
French Market
New Orleans French Market
Mayor Cantrell considered some research on Seattle’s Pike Place Market. Her staff looked into re-purposing public facilities in other cities. Da Paper published a good article on the status of the city’s research. Unfortunately, the headline was click-baity.
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by YatPundit | May 21, 2019 | Podcast, YatCuisine
YatPundit’s Pub 20-May-2019
YatPundit’s Pub 20-May-2019
Talking lunch today, along with a big format announcement. So, beginning next week, our “Red Beans and Rice Monday” pods move over to YatCuisine.com. This pod drops on YatPundit. It crossosts to YatCuisine. Next week, we reverse that. Therefore, YatCuisine becomes the permanent home.
We’re moving the food segments to bring them in line with the YatCuisine group on Facebook. When The Baton Rouge Advocate newspaper announced their purchase of the Times-Picayune/NOLA.com, I feared for the future of “Where NOLA Eats,” the big NOLA.com-sponsored food group. I created the YatCuisine group as a fall-back position. If Georges and his people nuke the NOLA.com group, So, YatCuisine offers continuity.
While we don’t expect the 50,000 members of Where NOLA Eats, we have 600+. So, the food pod moves, too!
Lunch at Caffe! Caffe!
Grilled Ceasar Pita at Caffe! Caffe!
This incredibly popular place opened in 1992, on the corner of Clearview Parkway and W. Esplanade Avenue in Metairie. A few years back, the very-successful coffee house and lunch place opened a second location on N. Hullen Street, off Causeway Blvd., near Lakeside Mall. As a lunch place, I like the vibe of the N. Hullen location. While Metairie isn’t the CBD, office workers heading to a local place to grab a quick bite is similar.
We went to N. Hullen location on a Saturday. The vibe changes on a weekend. Instead of workers from nearby businesses, the crowd includes friends catching up, couples getting out (us!), and families.
Mrs. YatPundit had the Grilled Chicken Caesar Pita. It’s not a unique sandwich, but everything is fresh and tasty.
Chipotle Chicken Wrap and Seafood Soup
I got the Chipotle Chicken Wrap and a cup of Seafood Soup. Caffe! Caffe! makes a spicy chipotle sauce. The wrap works. The soup was yummy.
Leisurely Lunch
Black Eyed Pea Hummus from Brown Butter Southern Kitchen
While my lunch last week at Brown Butter Southern Kitchen and Bar wasn’t a three-hour affair at an old line restaurant, the pace was slower. Instead of a quick sandwich, we had the Black Eyed Pea Hummus (the place is indeed Southern). One of my friends had a salad, and the other had the “Seoul Bowl,” a Korean-influenced bowl of rice, kimchi, and your choice of beef, chicken, shrimp, or Brussels sprouts. I got the “Seoul Burger,” Brown Butter’s excellent burger, topped with Kimchi and Korean BBQ sauce.
Two lunch winners!
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