Have fun, New Orleans! Wish we could be there.

For the homesick, click here.

For those of you in Seattle, rumor has it that a little Mardi Gras shindig is happening at the Balmar tonight from six. Maybe see you there.

If you happen to be in Seattle, tune to 94.9 FM KUOW tomorrow at 9 to hear Chin Music's very own David Rutledge (co-editor of and contributor to Do You Know ..., pictured here with his agent) on Steve Scher's Weekday. Steve and krewe have assembled a panel of New Orleanians in Seattle to talk about their city, and author Chris Rose will be joining them. The rest of the world can hear the interview on a podcast anytime by going to the Weekday homepage.

Last-minute shoppers, you still have time to get something special for friends and family and also help a good cause. The cool green Tee featured here is offered by the New Orleans Musicians Relief Fund, They have many more stylish offerings at the NOMRF store. Gifts like these are wayyyy better than another sweater from the mall.

Also, remember that Chin Music Press is donating $5 to KARES for every copy of Do You Know ... and Last of the Red Hot Poppas ordered over our online store. KARES is a support group for displaced writers from New Orleans that has been operating since soon after the levees broke. This offer extends until Fat Tuesday.

So if you're going to shop anyway — and you know you are — why not support a good cause like NOMRF or KARES this holiday season.

Whether you're at the track or sitting down with family tomorrow (or both), we hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

To kick off the holiday shopping season this year, Chin Music Press has decided to help KARES, a group that supports displaced writers, by donating $5 for each copy of Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans? and Last of the Red Hot Poppas sold in our store from today through Mardi Gras.

We're very proud of both of these books not only because of the stories inside but because of their physical beauty. These are little literary objects that make the perfect gift for someone who cares about the future of the Gulf Coast and NOLA. Here's what the critics think:

“So lovely to look at, so pleasant to hold, with a bit of intrique or insight on every page.” — The Times-Picayune on Do You Know

"Jason Berry, quintessential Louisiana insider and witty chronicler of what passes for morality in the halls of power, has concocted a tantalizing mix of comic misdemeanors and serious criminal activity." — Valerie Martin on Poppas

One more reason to buy a book from our Chin Music store (besides the good feeling you get when you support small-press publishing) is that this may be the last chance to get a first edition Do You Know. We printed 6,000 and have about 200 left. So bibliophiles, head directly to our store and know that proceeds from your purchase will go to helping writers in New Orleans.

Check out more photos of the books behind the cut.

Behind the cut, check out this Brave New Films short and sign the petition to help restore the Gulf Coast at WhenTheSaints.org. It may be two years after the fact, but it's not too late.

Join David Rutledge, Sarah Inman, CW Cannon and Ray Shea for an eclectic reading from Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans? tomorrow (Wednesday, the 24th) at 7pm at the Jefferson Parish library. It's free and will no doubt be fun.

This foursome will give you a taste of the breadth of our little post-Katrina book. Readings will include the dark hours before the levees broke as people decided to stay or go, a telling tale about lessons learned on the trapeze, a manifesto from the 2003 Mardi Gras that is even more pertinent today and an insider's look at the life of a teenage float grunt. Hope to see you there.

The march in New Orleans to protest inaction by city leaders is on. As Colleen has written in other posts, it looks to be a big demonstration. People from many NOLA neighborhoods and organizations are marching, as are at least a few local and national celebrities.

Filmmaker Tim Watson is offering his skills today gratis for news organizations, blogs and anyone else who is interested. At around 3 pm central time, he'll start posting photos of the march for download on this website. Two hours later, he'll have high-res video available on the same site. There will be interviews with participants and shots of the march.

Use the photos and video, spread the word, and let's show that people around the world still care about the fate of New Orleans, even if our political leaders don't.

Jason Berry has created a short film about the late great Governor Rex LaSalle.

Ready for a comedy set in southern Louisiana? A page-turning whodunit that centers on a larger-than-life governor who wears disguises to zydeco clubs, never saw a skirt he couldn't chase and one morning is found dead in his bed with lipstick south of his equator? Then join us this weekend and over the next few weeks in celebrating the new novel by long-time investigative journalist Jason Berry, Last of the Red Hot Poppas.

We're launching Poppas at a very special museum called the The Ogden Museum of Southern Art at 925 Camp Street in New Orleans this Sunday at 2pm. Jason Berry will be reading and signing there until about 4 pm. If you're in the area, please come celebrate with us.

Next week, Jason's also speaking at noon on Thursday the 14th at a Hotel Monteleone Literary Luncheon, and at 6 pm on Saturday the 16th at Octavia Books in Uptown.

On Sunday the 17th, Jason will be at the St. Tammany Art Association in Covington, LA, from 5 pm. And on the 20th at 6 pm, he'll be at Beth's Books at 2700 Chartres Street in New Orleans.

Plenty more events are planned. Plus, NOLA folks can read an excerpt of the book in the next Gambit Weekly. After all the nonfiction we'vee been digging into over the past year, we think it's time for a nice big (and beautiful) novel about one of America's most intriguing places, southern Louisiana.

Our sister site, cannedcoffee.com, has turned its focus to New Orleans this week thanks to DYK contributor Rex Noone.

Sarah Inman and David Rutledge will be at the Sheraton on Canal Street this Sunday from 2 to 6:30 as part of a big event hosted by the New Orleans press club to honor the writers who produced works after Katrina. The event, called "The Katrina Collection: An Afternoon of Authors," will start with a book signing and end with back-to-back one-hour forums where the public can pose questions to the authors. Sarah will be representing Chin Music Press and Do You Know ... at the forums, and both Dave and Sarah will be at the signings.

C-Span is planning to air the forums live, so check in at 2:15 PST (4:15 in New Orleans) to hear Sarah Inman talk about Katrina, life in New Orleans and her favorite antidepressant (hint: starts with an X).

Join Bruce and David Rutledge at Book Buffs in Denver this Thursday at 7pm for a reading and talk about the making of Do You Know ... Book Buffs isa great store in south Denver, filled with beautiful first editions and original prints from local artists. Rumor has it the Rutledge brothers may be packing Colorado Rockies Mardi Gras beads as well.

Jazz Fest starts today. For all of us who can't be there this year, don't forget that MSN is offering a live stream this Sunday from 3pm to 8pm Eastern Standard Time (or 2 to 7 in New Orleans) that will include Dr. John, Terence Blanchard. Herbie Hancock, Allan Touissant, Elvis Costello, the Dave Matthews Band and Bruce Springsteen.

Enjoy, everyone!

If you're in the New Orleans or Baton Rouge areas, come out and see us this weekend. We have two exciting events on tap.

April 1, 1pm, The Cabildo, Jackson Square in the French Quarter
On Saturday, from 1pm, we'll deliver a panel on our book for the Tennessee Williams Festival. Jason Berry will moderate and David Rutledge, Sarah Inman and Toni McGee Causey will be on the panel. (And others connected with the book will be in the audience.) Here's the blurb on the panel from the festival's website:

Two days after Katrina hit New Orleans, David Rutledge headed to Seattle to stay with his family. His brother and sister-in-law, who run Chin Music Press, were deeply troubled by what they were watching on TV and proposed that David help them create a book on New Orleans — something that would both capture the rage and impotence of the moment and look beyond it to grasp some small truths about the city. Panelists, all contributors to the anthology, talk about the book and how Katrina has affected striving writers.

April 2, 2pm, Baton Rouge Barnes & Noble, 2590 Citiplace Court
On Sunday, in celebration of LSU's trouncing of UCLA, we'll be geauxing to Baton Rouge to do a reading and a signing at the Barnes & Noble. Writers at the event will include Toni McGee Causey, Sarah Inman, Juliette Kernion, Ray Shea and David Rutledge. The reading will be about an hour, and the signing will go until the books are gone or the Barnes & Noble staff politedly asks us to leave.

Hope to see you this weekend.

Five contributors to Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans? will be reading from their work and talking about the rebuilding process at Octavia Books in the Garden District Thursday at 6 pm. Editor and contributor David Rutledge will introduce the book and the writers; Toni McGee Causey, Jason Berry and Sarah Inman will read from their work; and Dar Wolnik tells us she's going to make a slide presentation about the resurging Farmers Markets. Please come join us!

And for those of you in the Bay Area, check out another Chin Music event this Thursday in San Francisco.

Jason Berry and David Rutledge will be on WWL 870 AM at 2:15 New Orleans time. Check out the blog entry below for links to the streaming feed.

Jason Berry and David Rutledge will be on WWL 870 AM on Tuesday at 2:15 New Orleans time to talk with Garland Robinette about Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans? You can listen to the interview over the web for free, but you have to register first. Robinette is going to be talking to them for an hour.

Update: As of this evening, the time of the interview was not 100% set. We think they'll be on at 2:15 tomorrow, but check back here to find out exactly when the interview will air.

We just added archives to the site to make it easier to navigate. You can now sort by author and quickly go into headlines for past news stories and blog entries. Let us know if you'd like other functions — we're open to suggestions.