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Sometimes, you just have to post lots of photos of your cat being adorable.

Knockemstiff :: Donald Ray Pollock 

Not since Palahniuk first hit the shelves has a writer captured hitting bottom without any sort of idealistic glamour. Donald Ray Pollock worked in a paper mill in Ohio for over 30 years before before publishing his first book, Knockemstiff, named so for the holler in Southern Ohio he was born in.

Spanning from the nineteen sixties to the mid-nineties, Knockemstiff tells the stories of the town residents in gruesome detail. The stories intertwine one another, and the characters reappear on the periphery of one another’s lives, often lewdly and violently.

The Devil All The Time :: Donald Ray Pollock

Pollock’s first full length novel follows the same path as Knockemstiff – the characters and their lives are separate stories intertwined, and gritty and obscene. Set earlier in the century, starting with a soldier returning home from battles in the South Pacific during WWII, it follows a cast of religious fanatics, rapists, addicts, and serial killers, with one man caught in the middle.

I wholly recommend reading Donald Ray Pollock’s work. He’s hit the mark that Palahniuk has been missing the last few years.

Voodoo Queen : The Spirited Lives of Marie Laveau

Now that I’m living in New Orleans, and working in the French Quarter, I wanted to get a bit more educated on its fringe spirituality. I picked up this book in shop around the corner’s local interest section, and I can say that I enjoyed it, even though it wasn’t really what I expected it to be. It was an interesting biographical account of the two Laveau women (mother and daughter, both named Marie), but less of the spooky mojo than I was hoping for. Instead, it was an incredibly interesting account of the racial and caste system of New Orleans in the 1800s, with accounts of events on streets that I now walk every day.

In retrospect, I feel a little silly expecting some sort of historical account of a magical woman.

What did you read this month?

It’s been about three weeks since I made my statements about my diet and well-being.  Since then, we’ve had loads of delicious home cooked, colorful, and nutritious meals.

Then, Mardi Gras happened, and everything went to hell.

In case you weren’t aware, Mardi Gras makes living in New Orleans incredibly difficult. It’s weeks and weeks of parades, revelry, and celebration. It’s awesome and it’s incredibly inconvenient. It’s the busiest time of year for bars, especially in the French Quarter, where I’ve been bartending.  For the better part of two weeks, I spent every waking moment either at work, or trying to get to and from work – my normal routes all hit giant floats of masked monsters throwing beads and trinkets to the drunken masses.

After multiple 50-70 hour work weeks, I had lost about seven pounds and several nights sleep, and lived off of whatever I could scavenge. There were days at a stretch that I didn’t have time to eat, and I think I got a better workout behind my bar than I ever did in any gym. My cabinets are empty and we lived off of take out and whatever was easy and fast.  Somewhere in the last few weeks there were sandwiches, jambalaya, red beans and rice, meaty pizzas, and one praline ice cream sunday topped with smoked bacon and caramel that I am totally unapologetic about.  There was even a street cart hot dog on one occasion, which I’m not proud of.

Like I said, everything went to hell.

Now that the festivities are over, I can resume normal life again and restock my vegetable drawer. At least I never had time to binge on all that junk!

Skirt Steak with Roasted Asparagus, Spinach, & Guacamole :: Red & Green Peppers sauteeing in Coconut Oil with Onions :: Lean Beef Patty with Sauteed Spinach & Avocado
Raw Baby Spinach, Strawberry, Almond & Turkey Breast Salad :: Sauteed Spinach & Onions with Broiled Chicken Breast :: Snack Plate!

[I really like spinach]

Not my door, but how could I resist?

We’ve been in New Orleans now for just shy of a month, and I can’t believe how incredible this city really is. Seriously. Things like this are happening right this second, directly in front of my house, as I’m typing this.

While I was living in New York, I always felt closed in, and slightly claustrophobic. I realized once we arrived here that I missed seeing a sky above me, and I marvel at it all the time now.

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I think I could live off of beignets from Cafe du Monde & French Vanilla soy lattes from Velvet. I’m (mostly) sticking to my no-more-junk guns, though!

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Ryan bought me a new ride! Sadly, I haven’t had any time to go cruising on it, but once Carnival is over next week, I should have a bit more free time. I can’t wait to take a ride through the park! I haven’t had a bicycle since I lived in Santa Barbara, and here’s hoping I don’t crack my head open.

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Creepy Christ behind St. Louis Cathedral :: The awesome housewarming gift my mom got us :: Skully Betsy Johnsons on the street corner
My bangs are growing out way too fast! :: Chinese lanterns & ceiling fans :: Southern Living on our front porch!

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At almost any time of the day or night, there’s music somewhere in the streets.

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And, of course, Chicken is still grotesquely adorable.

• I have to try some of these Fancy Hairstyles for Thick Hair from ModCloth.
• This quote from Frida Kahlo is simply perfect.
• Should sugar be a controlled substance?  [More on my Adventures in Paleo later this week, time permitting]
• I’m kinda loving Pinterest.
• Steven Siegel has been shooting photos of NYC for about 30 years.  He posted an amazing set of photos of NYC in the 1980s on Flickr. I grew up in Brooklyn in that era!
• Thomas Czarnecki’s From Enchantment to Down photo series is pretty awesome. I really liked his Vestige of a Childhood set, too.