CSM: Houses of the Future
Christian Science Monitor has a thorough look at architectural marvels being built in the Lower 9th Ward and other damaged parts of the cities. The article shows five different houses that were built through charity efforts and explains what effort went into building them, complete with floor designs and artist renderings, and how those molding the new New Orleans strive to make it a greener city. It's a pointed reminder of how many of our communities have come back through private initiatives.
"In the absence of strong central leadership, the rebuilding has atomized into a series of independent neighborhood projects," Wayne Curtis writes for the Christian Science Monitor. "And this has turned New Orleans--moist, hot, with a fecund substrate that seems to allow almost anything to propagate--into something of a petri dish for ideas about housing and urban life."
Be sure to to visit their slideshows of the houses mentioned in the story.
And for more on that floating house, Interior Design digs in a little deeper with a flooring plan that you can check out.
Star Tribune: Kayak odyssey from Itasca to New Orleans
Two kayaks and over 2,000 miles. That's impressive.
The Star Tribune has the story of two kayakers who came all the way from Itasca, Minnesota - just a four-hour ride away from Canada - down to New Orleans using their inflatable boats, paddles and a small sail. They filmed their quest for a documentary that's set to be released next year.
Along the way, though, the two almost lost their video camera, giving them quite a scare.
"Unfortunately, my boat surfed a wave sideways and turned over," 32-year-old Ryan Jeanes told the Star Tribune. "All of my gear was in the water. I instantly saved the camera ... and was picking out other things. Justin, the young man, was diving after my camping supplies. 'Screw that!' I told him. 'I can sleep in the cold; I can't tell Phil that I lost all the footage!' "
VOA: Life is Slow - But Fun - in Cajun Country
Ted Landphair with VOA News continues his trip across America with a stop in Breaux Bridge, hopefully picking up some boudin along the way.
"Forty years ago, to find Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, you really had to want to go there," Landphair writes. "Yet even then, when only a twisting, two-lane highway reached this wide spot in the road, people from Texas, Mississippi, as well as Louisiana made a point of going there every evening."
It's a short piece, so Landphair obviously missed a lot. Let us know in the comments below what you would want the rest of America to know about that little nook of Louisiana.
