Go Down Old Hannah

This is an Alan Lomax recording. The picture is apparently from the 50s but that is exactly how the men at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola look walking out to work each morning, today. I am trying to decide what records I will send to the people far away who helped with my bibliography. … More Go Down Old Hannah

Moi de Morón

Storm Update: T.S. Lee broke through my roof and destroyed part of the interior, where I had finally been able to have damage from the 2008 Hurricanes Gustav and Ike repaired. Before Katrina all these things were covered by homeowner’s insurance, but that is no longer the case. Roofers are coming tomorrow morning, Labor Day. … More Moi de Morón

Little Krishna

I last saw my cat, an important personage, exactly six months ago. I had named him Krishna. Earlier he had been called Melody, then Mel when he turned out to be a boy. I do not know what his name is now. Axé.

29 August 2005

I became quite interested in this song when my cat, who may have been Turkish, disappeared earlier this year. He celebrates his eleventh birthday today and his sixth month of disappeared status Friday. When he was first absent I would sing this lullaby in case he was hurt or scared somewhere, and to calm myself. … More 29 August 2005

Numa sala de jantar domingueira, lendo jornal…

Not From the Tourist Board Student: There is a very dark side to that famous Cajun joie de vivre and all the other forms of insistence that Louisiana is a happy place. Professor Zero: The poverty, the political hierarchies, and the colonial social and economic structure? Student: Those things, yes, but also the domestic violence, … More Numa sala de jantar domingueira, lendo jornal…