Another Coffeeshop in town? Oh yeah...

Cafe' Cohen

inside Great Harvest Bread Co

Info from their webpage...
A Premier Espresso Bar & Coffee Shop

854 Kaliste Saloom Rd
Lafayette, LA 70508

m-th (7a-6p) | fri (7a-5p) | sat (7a-4p)

e-mail
info@cafecohen.com

facebook
facebook.com/cafecohen

twitter
twitter.com/cafecohen

Link to webpage...

http://cafecohen.com/

phone

337-278-5076

Photo Credit: their business card, picked up at the Grand Opening

(OK, so I scanned it & don't know how to fix it - nobody said I knew what I was doing?!)

More Beautiful photos were taken by Catherine Guidry when they opened on the 19th of Sept, last Monday...now this past Saturday was their so called Official Grand Opening then - so both days there was Free Coffee...I  mean Wow, who does that anymore for a Whole Day--let alone Two Whole Days...And of course I went both days & had the first time a lovely Iced Latte then the second time a lovely Iced Coffee...Inbetween, have to admit, took my Realtor friend in to show her what's new in the neighborhood for a change & I had a Hot Latte--again lovely, with some Latte Art in the froth & a bit of biscotte (which I have to say you hardly find anymore when ordering a coffee out - I miss the chocolate goodies you can get in Europe with your Espresso...mmm...miss 'em, did I say that--sorry, but I so do?!)

Link to her webpage...

http://www.catherineguidry.com/blog/?p=5978

note: so go here to see Jason & Jenny make coffees with their helpers (who I will yet probably learn all their names) & their great tee shirts (who I've met Jamie who designed them & had a tee shirt shop in downtown Lafayette I think make them, if I remember the converstaion over my iced latte with that first Opening Day) & their lovely coffee (forgot to even ask where their roaster is, tho I think someone told me Dallas, TX but will find out soon enough) & I like that Logo on their papercups especially because it reminds me of a flower...

Link to another blogger, Anne, & more beautiful photos of  Cafe Cohen & her coffee topped with Latte Art too...now am reading that Jason, co-owner with wife Jenny, is also a Photographer & use to serve coffee at his studio--until they decided to open this coffeebar (I may be happy they left out of the one creative arts to jump into another--because I do consider a Barista an Artista right?!)
http://heylafayette.com/2011/09/23/cafe-cohen/

note: WordPress makes for a beautiful blog...hmmm...moving on--love this following shot, not something you'd think right off to snap a shot of...am curious about these folks cameras - tho I don't think I could own anything other than a point & shoot type or my phone camera...

Dirty Spoons....Clean Spoons...
photo credit: Anne of 'Hey Lafayette' blog, see link above...
I'd like to meet Anne & her camera, must keep an eye out for a woman with a camera case hanging off her somewheres in the coffeebar/bread shop my next stops (Yes, plural-no mistake) into Cafe Cohen?!

Maybe I can run into her on her bike too - this past Saturday rode my fav white pearlie Townie bike with my basket up front to Cafe Cohen, but must of been later than Anne because didn't see any other bikes parked outside...we slipped by each other this time, but just wait--there will be some Saturday we'll pull up on our bikes & meet... that's what Coffeehouses are good for?!


Clever Coffee

On the menu chalk board is written "Clever Coffee" - but I know them as "PourOvers"
What are they you may ask? Clever they may be but also easily just a filter holder top to 'pour over' the hotwater into the grinds inside the filter & into a glass bottom which then gets poured into a coffee cup...

There is more to it, they wash the filter & they weigh things & they time things & it does indeed give coffee a different taste - there is a difference to me in an espresso or an iced coffee or a hot/cold latte or a 'clever coffee' (all this too w/o any flavoring, I am a purest I think in enjoying my coffee first as an espresso then if any other way it's sans flavors & if possible sans sugar or creamer as well?!)

photo of a Clever Coffee Dripper

Pour-over Brewing Techinque uploaded by SweetMarias
(really more than you'd ever want to know about this process--it's over 7 min's this video?!)
Link to YouTube...
http://youtu.be/r6OdG39pfTU

Espresso Machine & Coffee Beans still a mystery, or two, to be discovered...

Just know the espresso machine they use is Made in the USA & I was told a little story about how the company who made it use to make machines for Starbucks, until BurntBucks (is what I call them) changed to probably a more automatic machine...this little company went off to just start making/selling their espresso machines on their own & I like that gumpshun a lot--plus Cafe Cohen's machine is stainless steel & that just spells clean & sterile & modern to most folks...

Looked up find 3 choices it could be if Made in the USA & was it bought in Dallas or Portland...
1) Grindmaster, 2) Astra or 3) Salvatore Espresso Systems (that last one had a big Italian influence)
But looking thru all 3 webpages I don't see Cafe Cohen's machine, hmmm...(I feel like a detective, a coffee detective?!)

Cultivar Dallas, TX roaster

Link to the coffee roaster...
http://cultivarcoffee.com/

note: will be supporting the Gutemalan coffee from Finca Santa Clara on their list of coffees - as I've probably said this before I know a family from Gutemala & the Dad told us how sad it was for him & his Father too to see how the coffee farmers were losing their land/livelyhood...besides it's some really tasty coffee, so it's easy for me to support it - Fair Trade even better?!

Link to just about Finca Santa Clara & the Zelaya Family of coffee growers in Antigua valley - Cultivar Coffee's Gutemalan roast...
http://cultivarcoffee.com/coffee/guatemala-finca-santa-clara/

Cafe Cohen articles...

This one is a blog article about Jason when he was a photographer with a studio where he'd just happen to make coffee...Oct 2010 - Hope for Opelousas - Cafe Cohen Caring with Coffee...
http://hopeforopelousas.org/2010/10/25/cafe-cohen-caring-with-coffee

note: love their photo of Jason with his Love hoodie & paper coffee cup, but it's the smile that wins you over right off...


The Advertiser article...Sept 12, 2011 - New Coffee Shop Open in Lafayette Next Week...
http://www.theadvertiser.com/article/20110912/NEWS01/110912023/New-coffee-shop-open-Lafayette-next-week

The Independent article...Sept 19, 2011 - Cafe' Cohen Opens in Great Harvest...
http://www.theind.com/food/9038-cafe-cohen-opens-in-great-harvest

note: I didn't know this about the chocolate they use, which is a good thing...
"The chocolate they get is one of only two distributors in the U.S. that ensure 'bean to bar,' meaning the company is invested in the chocolate from growth to when it is sold." (thanks Anna Purdy for that tidbit - missed her there on Saturday too, Anne in the morning & Anna in the afternoon--odd that, but true?!)

Other Links...

Jason's Photography Blog...
http://jasoncohenphoto.com/2011/09/12/announcing-cafe-cohen-a-premier-espresso-bar-coffee-shop/

note: I loved how Thomas welcomed Jason to the 'coffee-fold' - I love that there is a 'coffee-fold' in Lafayette & I am here for it...as I have a bit of 'passion' in regards to drinking my coffee, my espresso especially--rather than making it?!

Oh that would be, if I were to take a great guess, Thomas from Carpe Diem Gelato Espresso & a very kind gesture--but there is of course Room for Everybody & they are in different parts of town...
I just love 'em both & am happy to have these great Alternative Choices as I refuse/boycott going to BurntBucks--Oh I mean StarBucks & I've probably just stepped on a few toes there (my many friends overseas too, who are Crazy GaGa for StarBucks I just don't understand them either--but I forgave them & tried ever so hard to steer them once in a great while elsewhere...to the Indie Coffeeshops & their Baristas instead?!)

Link to Great Harvest Bread Co - which is so full of good stuff you could not list them all, I am however very partial to the healthy Go Bars (as I've traveled to CO & back with them for energy) & am (im)patiently awaiting the holidays so I can get Cranberry/Orange bread again?! mmm...my tastebuds are so ready?! These are some good people & so wonderful it's now become a community of such with Jason & Jenny in the shop with a Coffeebar - a (I'm gonna say it) Match Made in Heaven?!
http://www.greatharvestofacadiana.com/

Link to the Man Behind the TeeShirt Design--Jamie & his blog, he's not just a Designer, he's a Photographer too so of course there are photos from Cafe Cohen...
http://jamieorillion.com/blog/

note: I heard, straight from the man, he took the idea for the TeeShirt design from their commercial stainless espresso machine...am considering buying one, if they sell them, the teeshirt mind you cannot afford a real espresso machine--as I love espresso so why not have a whole machine on my chest rather than a tiny little espresso cup?!

And Jamie may have gotten the First Cup of the Day--but I'll swear I got the Second?! Hah?!

Link to the new Colossus Calendar & the announcement that Cafe Cohen was Opening - I know who posted that & was so excited I even knew about Colossus Calendar to begin with (Thank you Michael Lunsford for that insider tip & help on Twitter to figure out how to even post something on the calendar...)
http://colossuscal.com/9-19-2011/

Link to UrbanSpoon & their listing of Coffeeshops in Lafayette...
http://www.urbanspoon.com/nf/190/21814/20109/Lafayette/Coffee-Shops

Link to their Charity for the Day - Blood Water Mission - our tips on Grand Opening Day went here...
http://www.bloodwatermission.com/

note: Wiki explaining Blood Water Mission...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood:_Water_Mission


   ^^^

Last Link - to my all time favorite Barista, an award winning one too, who happens to live in Sandnes, Norway (prob the last place you would of thought I'd have a fav Barista right?!)
http://www.benkkaffebar.no/

note: you can translate the page/blog & check them out too, if you happen to be traveling to Scandinavia & possible Stavanger, Norway--then Sandnes & Benk Kaffebar is not far away...tell Thomas I said Hi & I miss his espresso - which he could do latte art in them, in the froth alone...my fav latte art of his was inside a regular latte, it was a fish eating a fish--so cute, so different, loved it (sad tho it wouldn't fit inside my espresso cup, but that's OK?!)

I watched a regional competition here at this Kaffebar in Sandnes, before they went off to Oslo for the final competition & the 2 from the BenkKaffebar did do well - am sure I blogged about all that coffee fun stuff on my Rain in Stavanger Blog, when I lived there last year & the year before that...

Of all the things I miss from Norway--this espresso by this Barista in this Kaffebar I miss probably the most?! ;o(

A Night of New Firsts

First Night of Theatre 810 & First Play of The Compound & a New Play of Cody Daigle's...
but sadly I missed the First (Opening) Night & was there the Second Night...
close enough I'd say--still New, a Day Old Baby is still New in my book?!

Characters: Jude - Shakespeare's daughter & Judith - Shakespeare's sister
Actors: Martha Diaz & Sarah Gauthier
photo credit: The Compound's webpage
(note: my 2 fav women in the play & I didn't want to borrow all the posts photos so chose this one)

AUI/AURA & The Compound presented
William & Judith

A New Play by Cody Daigle
Directed by Alicia Chaisson

photo credit: from The Compound's webpage
a great photo of Cody Daigle, with his facial hair intact
(as you'll note previously in The Guys, he had to sans the beard for a 'stache only & now he's actually all bare faced again - until the beard grows back...Whew?! almost as bad as a woman & her haircuts... just kidding mind you, if he reads this or anyone that knows him--no offense y'all?!)

Director: Alicia Chaisson
photo credit: The Compound webpage
(note: I have not met Alicia yet, but am sure I will one day--if I continue to go to the Theatre 810 for the rest of their plays after this First New one of William & Judith...)

The Play: William & Judith's next stop--Tulsa, Oklahoma...
Since the play was developed/read at Playhouse Theatre in Tulsa, OK it will have it's World Premiere at the same theatre in Feb of next year, 2012...

Link to The Compound's webpage to read more about the new theatre collective (that's their description--collective) & the Play William & Judith with photos from the production, their first & a lot more about the actors & director & Well--just go over there & read more...
http://thecompoundtheatre.wordpress.com/

From the Program, some details follow...

Time: 1609 - 1610

Place: William Shakespeare's rooms, London (UK)

Description: (or I'd say Inspiration)

"Let me imagine, since the facts are so hard to come by, what would have happened had Shakespeare had a wonderfully gifted sister, called Judith, let us say...

She was adventurous, as imaginative, as agog to see the world as he was. But she was not sent to school. She had no chance of learning grammar and logic, let alone of reading Horace and Virgil.
She picked up a book now and then, one of her brother's perhaps, and read a few pages.
But then her parents came in and told her to mend the stockings or mind the stew and not moon about with books and papers...

Had she survived, whatever she had written would have been twisted and deformed, issuing from a strained and morbid imagination. And undoubtedly, I thought, looking at the shelf where there are no plays by women, her workd would have gone unsigned...

Anonymity runs in their blood."

-Virginia Woolf
"A Room of One's Own"

photo credit:

Source: http://www.english.sbc.edu/Graphics/Other/book.jpg

Article: A Room of One's Own


From Wikipedia...

Judith Shakespeare

[In one section, Woolf invented a fictional character, Judith, "Shakespeare's sister," to illustrate that a woman with Shakespeare's gifts would have been denied the same opportunities to develop them because of the doors that were closed to women.

Like Woolf, who stayed at home while her brothers went off to school, Judith stays at home while William goes off to school.

Judith is trapped in the home: "She was as adventurous, as imaginative, as agog to see the world as he was. But she was not sent to school."

Woolf's prose holds all the hopes of Judith Shakespeare against her brother's hopes in the first sentence, then abruptly curtails Judith's chances of fulfilling her promise with "but."

While William learns, Judith is chastised by her parents should she happen to pick up a book, as she is inevitably abandoning some household chore to which she could be attending.

Judith is betrothed, and when she does not want to marry, she is beaten and then shamed into marriage by her father.

While Shakespeare establishes himself, Judith is trapped by the confines of the expectations of women.

Judith kills herself, and her genius goes unexpressed, while Shakespeare lives on and establishes his legacy.

For Woolf, Judith Shakespeare is an exemplification of the danger and waste in denying women education and the means to determine the course of their lives.]


Link to Wiki...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Room_of_One's_Own

Note: although this version of Virginia Woolf may have been Cody Daigle's inspiration his version was nowhere near this dark, though not a complete Happy (Fairy Tale) Ending either...still it fit with how William Shakespeare would have ended a play?!

photo credit: unknown
found on someone's blog who did not give credit to the original source, so do I need to give credit to their blog? hmmm...dunno for sure, they're in France & does that matter...nevermind...I like the photo for another view of Virginia Woolf in a room, a much different one than the Monk's House Room - this one with her books & a cigarette in it's proper holder in front of a painting I don't know...again, nevermind...it's the feeling of this woman in this room different than the other--but still a Women in a Room of Her (One's) Own right?!

Link to the Virginia Woolf Society...
http://www.virginiawoolfsociety.co.uk/

note: especially another black & white photo of her at the Univ of Sussex & Society of Authors at Monk's House...She looks as contemplative as a woman can be seated in possibly a Room of Her (One's) Own...

Link to Facebook Page for AUI/AURA...
http://www.facebook.com/AUI.AURA

AUI = Acting Unlimited, Inc
AURA = Acting Unlimited Repertory Academy

link to AUI webpage...
http://actingunlimitedinc.org

Link to The Ind newspaper articles by Anna Purdy...
Sept 6, 2011
http://www.theind.com/arts-a-entertainment/86-aae/8969-bet-the-bard-would-like-gelato-and-cody-daigle
Sept 13, 2011
http://www.theind.com/arts-a-entertainment/86-aae/9012-weekinder-091411


Theatre 810
address:
810 Jefferson St.
Lafayette, LA 70501
phone:
337-873-1548
tickets:
www.EventBrite.com

Note: Yes, they are right next door to Carpe Diem Gelato Espresso...could they have a better neighbor? Hello! Intermission--Espresso or Gelato or Pastries?!

Link to Closing Night - Thursday - Sept 29, 2011 - Dinner & Theatre...
http://www.eventbrite.com/org/1397247745?s=5078277

And next door/across the side street from Carpe Diem Gelato Espresso is Bonnie Belle's Bistro - which on Closing Night there will be a Dinner & Theatre combination ticket being offered for an extraordinary price of only $30.00 (am sad I will miss it most likely, but I was there on their Second Night ever I can still tell the Grandkids?!)

       ***

A woman's point of view... (yes, mine)

...as I did leave the play thinking - and wanting to talk about the women's ideas in the play?!

I can well imagine this play - William & Judith - as a Women's Studies Course, along with naturally Virginia Woolf's "A Room of One's Own" being read along side it...

How Cody Daigle--Yes, a man...could channel these women characters & their words so incredibly well is a mystery to me...as I have also read books that were written by men about women or women about men who could so 'get into the characters' that it didn't matter which gender they were writing in--they just knew the character, the people, as if they were real flesh in blood standing in front of them living/breathing/speaking/moving... (maybe one day I will ask 'the' man--How Did You Do That?!)

But I'll admit too there were Women playing the Women's parts, so they must have had some input & there's a Woman Director (Alicia Chaisson) along with them so how could she not also have her input into these women as characters - whatever the combination between them all, it was wonderful to watch/hear unfold...

And though many of the posts on The Compound's webpage comment in reply for instance by actors/directors that the story is about 'a man' or about 'Shakespeare' - I felt the story of the Women (all of them: Judith, Jude & Anne Hathaway-Shakespeare) was so much stronger, Judith afterall gets equal billing with William in the Title of the Play...

It does also make you ponder, perhaps too many women already have, if  indeed 'back in the day' of the Victorian's or Virginia Woolf's or the Elizabethian's or the Shakespeare's that Women were behind more than we know...behind the Plays or the Books or whatever else that men lay claim to - that saying that goes something like: Behind every Successful Man Stands a Great Woman, is then not just an idle remark or a feminist rant either...(btw besides, again, I'm just 'pondering' - I am also not old enough to be a Militant Feminist / Femi-Nazi, so don't go there - thank you & good night?!)

And another ponderance (is that a word-it's sounding like mispelled Shakespeare maybe) is within the character of Jude, who is illiterate in the play & what's been written as in real life as well - though a daugher of a great & famous writer - she doesn't even desire to read...which makes me think of all the women as girls who were not encouraged to do anything besides "mend the shirts or stir the stew?!"

All in all it ALL makes me very/Very/VERY grateful for living in the time that I am in right now & especially for being raised by a strong woman - my Grandmother - who told my sister & I that we could be anything we wanted to be & that we 'would' be going to college as well....my British friend's right about now would be saying "Bless Her" & I would have to agree?!

Brother Simon could do standup

Benedictine Monk Tunic & Scapular

photo credit: www.gothicgarments.com

(note: as didn't have one of the actual Brother Simon in his tunic)

Who knew a Monk could be funny...

I lost track of how many times I giggled or covered my mouth not to full out laugh, during Brother Simon's talk today at AdFed's Lunch 'n Learn...

Wish I could remember some of them, as you'd be listening it would take you a delayed second to realize he'd come up with yet another 'zinger' & you'd think did he just say that? Did a monk just say something funny--Yes he did?!

Non-profits not a typically fun subject, but there's no doubt this Monk is not typical - he deff blows the preconceptions outta the water I'd say...

And I like what he'd done for the Abbey's logo & webpage & how he designed thank you cards for contributions (taking design ideas from De Wit curtains in the Abbey or Rectory) & even the afternoon's presentation to an Advertising group, of all things - in a room full of people eating lunch at round tables where he was standing at a podium to give his presentation, which am guessing he's not use to doing on a daily basis - but we did all smile/laugh/later asked questions of him...

this a de Wit design on the curtains at the Abbey/Rectory 

that Brother Simon copied in order to make thank you cards that would print

As he said himself, as he took another drink of water, he was nervous having not spoken so much nor having seen so many people (when I was wondering somewhat if he also meant seen so many women too) in a long while - when they're not a silent Abbey but many hours are spent in prayers (did he say 5 hrs/times a day? which made me think of the Mosques with their calls to prayers...) And he also mentioned they eat in silence at the Dining Hall - so what a diff this day out was for him am sure...

Obstacles we think of in Abbey's/monastery's are not usually WiFi/Internet connections & print techniques or old camera's - for Brother Simon, also the Abbey's Communications Director, to at first try to do a modern day job of communications from ancient (if you can say early 1900's is ancient)/yet being remodeling facilities...

And besides a new artist I must look up, who painted in the Saint Joseph Abbey, I learned today about  rhythmic mode notes/inflective marks before the musical notes on 5 lines of today were made - or - they could be called breath notes--"neumes" (and you'll see them on Saint Joseph Abbey's webapge too, now you'll know what they are) They look like little square notes w/o a lot of tails down or strokes up...

a sample of  'neumes' or 'square notation'

I would of called this a chant, as in Gregorian Chant (which I have heard sung beautifully before inside the acoustics of an Abbey or Church....) Because of what the sounds are that come from reading words say in Latin in a song like way only by holding the breath longer on many a letter/note...

YouTube of Gregorian Chant by Benedictine Monks - don't find one of the Saint Joseph Abbey Monks...
http://youtu.be/fAdODk5vBoM

Oh my, now am remembering how I use to attend meditation classes at the Zen Center in Houston & they would have some ceremonies, we the public, could go to & attempt to 'sing' along - even with the words in front of me, often not in English, I couldn't sound like I was in harmony with anyone (it would take some practice I'm sure...)

Link to read more about neumes, if you're curious (like I always am...)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neume

Benedictine Artist Dom Gregory de Wit...

"Day visitors will enjoy tours of the Abbey Church and refectory, which were designated in 2007 as National Register of Historic Places properties. In 1946, Abbot Columban Thuis commissioned the Benedictine artist Dom Gregory de Wit to execute a series of original murals in these buildings. The Dutch monk lived and worked at Saint Joseph for 10 years as he painted the murals with mixtures that could withstand the humid climate. The magnificent results on the walls and ceilings have remained well-preserved and drawn lavish praise from critics and visitors alike."

Note: above text borrowed from AFF Acadiana webpage in their write up for the speaker...
Selling God: A Monk's Marketing Solution...

Link to AAF Acadiana...
http://aafacadiana.com/rsvpmaker/selling-god-a-monks-marketing-solution/

(note: check out their logo, like the walking ad board design guy in black/yellow...)

this is 'not' what I had in mind when I think of St Francis standing with the animals of the forest

but apparently this is what Dom Greogory de Wit thought - I can't seem to find many photos of the murals, surely there are postcards in the Abbey's giftshop...hmmm...

photo credit, taken in 2008 & found on this blogspot by I'm guessing a contemplative catholic who happened to visit the Saint Joseph Abbey & take these photos of a few select murals: http://contemplativecatholicspirituality.blogspot.com/2008/12/st-josephs-abbey.html

in the Rectory dining hall, the last supper mural by Dom Gregory de Wit - if not at one time the largest such mural of the last supper (with curious modern additions in it, as Brother Simon told us, water glasses or ashtrays?!)

photo credit: from www.peeepl.com (maybe this is like a Flickr page)


Artist Monk's Name: should be spelled De Wit & not DeWitt (but if you do a search, it may be spelled both ways) - the prefix title 'Dom' is from the Latin word: Dominus, a sign of respect (the feminine is Dame) & other languages could use Don & Dona *

*thank you Wikipedia

1 of their 5 apostolates...Pennies for Bread

the monks bake bread then take it to NOLA to distribute to a center that gives food to the poor & needy - after Hurricane Katrina I can only imagine how that must of been needed, possibly a reminder of the Bread Lines from back in the Depression Years if anyone had taken photos of the lineup (that was a time my Granny use to recall for us, her Grandkids - this from a Granny who got an orange for Christmas in her sock hung up on the fireplace & that was a big deal...)

Another of their 5 apostolate*s is Woodworking - where they had started making caskets, only to find out there was some obscure law on the books that supposedly only funeral homes could sell them...we'll be waiting to find out about this latest odd court ruling, as it's gone to legal action - can you imagine telling a church/monks they can't make/sell caskets for their dead parisheners/families, boggles my mind...(I thought all the crazy Blue Laws & such were done with in LA, but apparently there are a few leftover we don't know about - caskets being one of them?!)

*which I don't recall hearing that term before either - so my new word for the day after 'neumes' is 'apostolate', which basically in a community like this would be doing the work of the church...

Woodworking
(note: drawing gift for the day, was a monkmade wooden box - no, not a mini casket either - with a handcrafted soap inside, the soap making is a new venture the Abbey monks are taking on so folks can look for more to come from that idea soon...)

A link to an article about this court battle...
http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2010/08/st_joseph_abbey_battles_state.html

And one more link - someone asked in a nutshell if bad publicity was not also good publicity at times, or in this case then the Abbey/Monks/Woodworking/Caskets/Fundraising all came to the public awareness in the media/court debate...
http://veracitystew.com/2010/08/29/casket-making-monks-vs-louisiana-funeral-assoc/

Link to Saint Joseph Abbey webpage...
http://saintjosephabbey.org/

Check out the Monastic MultiMedia - YouTubes? Flickr photos?
on Abbey Voice Online - the 'digital scriptorium'

Under the Christian Life Center--they offer retreats out in Covington, LA...even art retreats (am hoping not just Icons) - would I love to go to the woods/gardens/cemetery with a camera or inside the Abbey to take photos of the DeWit paintings to start - or to sit in a room to write in total peace & quiet...no matter the Faith you can go as a group of up to 40 & stay in the modern rooms with meals, or at least the 1 photo of a room online reminds me of modern if not somewhat Scandinavian type furniture (remembering I just moved back from Stavanger, Norway...)

Sept 30 - Oct 1st the next retreat date on their online schedule...

Waiting for a 'Deo Gratis' in Lafayette now to laugh with the monks, or at least Brother Simon - but so far there are only fundraiser parties going on in NOLA & BR...

Wiki about the Abbey, if you're interested...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Joseph_Benedictine_Abbey

from Wiki about the Abbey...

The Abbey Church

St. Joseph Abbey is known for its Abbey Church. It is a fairly large building built in the Romanesque style. In 1946 the Abbot of the monastery, Abbot Columbian, commissioned Dom Gregory De Wit, a very talented Benedictine artist, to fill the abbey church, monastery, and monastery refractory with beautiful murals. These murals depict saints, stories from the Bible, God's creation, and stories from the life of St. Benedict. De Wit was able to come up with a mixture of paint that would withstand the harsh humidity of South Louisiana. Many visitors have traveled to the Abbey just to see these remarkable paintings.

However, this is not the only thing that draws visitors to the Abbey Church. In the early 2000s St. Joseph became a proud owner of a Dobson Pipe Organ opus 2000. This organ has become very well known. Many accomplished musicians have traveled to St. Joseph to play this organ and record many musical albums. This organ was also privileged to be the cover picture of the April 2001 edition of The American Organist magazine  The world renowned Fr. Sean Duggan, a monk of St. Joseph Abbey who teaches piano and organ at the University of New York, is well known for his playing of this organ...

(note: there was no mention of the pipe organ in today's talk, but now am curious to hear it...but then it doesn't take much for me to be curious?!)

2000 Dobson organ at St. Joseph Abbey, Saint Benedict, Louisiana
photo credit: http://pipedreams.publicradio.org/listings/2009/0912/

A link to a photo gallery starting from the Spring of 2005 - I especially liked seeing the white peacocks (not sure I've ever seen a white one before, as many zoos/gardens/grounds/countries I've been to-it's usually the regular colorful ones I've seen/heard & on at least one occasion have tried to take a video of them spreading their tail feathers...)
http://www.pbase.com/septembermorn/st_joseph_abbey

*NOTE: Addition since Sept 11 - written up in Dec 11/Jan 12 ABiz by John Mikell:
Link to article " The Anti-Loren Scott: Brother Simon Stubbs, a monk at St. Joseph's Abbey in Covington, addresses AAF Acadiana on his career in 'Selling God.' "
http://abizlafayette.net/publication/index.php?i=&m=707&l=1&p=19&pre=&ver=swf

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Lunch 'n Learn...I did learn something, a lot of somethings - so thank you AdFedAcadiana...
& esp to the 2 members who sent me Tweets last minute or I wouldn't have made it on time/if not early, because I thought it started at 11:30am not that it was pre-registration & 12:00pm was the start time - I'm never early, this was a first I think?! Well, you know who you are--again, thanks guys?! :oD

not just any 1 of The Guys...

The Guys by: Anne Nelson
September 9th and 10th @ 7pm
September 11th @ 3pm *

(note: made it to this one, but just a bit late - as was using the new GPS & don't know Opelousas - ended up then sitting up under the balcony next to the guys filming so a perfect viewing spot in the Delta Grand Theatre...also thankfully in the dark, so I could cry at least 3 if not 4 times & once back in my car too - you hurt for a lot of folks, we were away from our country back then so I think I hurt for the country still from 10 yrs ago...)

“The Guys” tells the story of Nick, a New York City fire captain who has lost many men in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. He comes to see Joan, a writer, so that she can help him write eulogies for his fallen men. As the two characters talk about the dead firefighters, Nick opens up and they create testimonies to these men.
This is a very moving work of drama. Although rooted in the events of 9/11, the play touches on issues that transcend that specific historical moment; it’s about the place of a writer in society and about the potential power of words as healing tools. It’s also about how extraordinary events impact ordinary people

Cast Members:
Cody Daigle as Nick | Bio*
Jody L. Powell as Joan | Bio
Director: Tammy Lamonte
Assistant Director: Charlie Roy

photo credit: Facebook page, The Delta Grand Theatre, Opelousas, LA

*I've met this guy, Cody (4th from the left in the photo) & have seen/enjoyed a number of his plays performed in Lafayette, esp at Cite des Arts, but have never seen him act--yet, but this afternoon for the last performance, in honor of the 10 Year Anniv of 9-11 am planning on attending...my bro in law use to be a volunteer fireman, but not anymore, & thankfully not ever in NYC & not in 2001?! And I hear too it will be the last time we'll see Cody in a 'stache - tomorrow he's back to his beard?!

photo credit: finally--me, at the end, smoke still in the background, real local firemen in the line up, Cody/Nick in his captain uniform somewhat center, Jody Powell/Joan to the right & I had forgotten there's a woman in firefighter's gear too next to her - didn't get to hear her story (am thinking now if they did all 8 'guys' who were lost for real that day in this play then I only heard 3 of them coming in late, that leaves 5 earlier that I would of missed & could be 1 was a woman? or she's local? or she's a surviving wife or daughter or ?? I may have to read the book yet to find out more & perhaps before next year...)

note: returning from the play & writing...It was indeed a moving show, Cody as Nick had a major part & filled the captains/the fireman's shoes & his uniform well, even with an added New York accent...He can act, he is not just fluff & now I know he can do more than direct a play he can be in one as well, very well...And really I don't know how he could say his lines in this play, I would of lost it after talking about the first on his 'guys' at the firehouse that was lost that day in the Twin Towers - it's when people start telling a particular person's story on that day I can't not get choked up...

At the end of the play you found out there were real firemen in the last lineup of firemen on stage - so some of  "our guys" or local guys/the real firemen were mentioned as they stood on the stage with the actors & since I missed the beginning of the play I don't know if anyone knew a firemen or a first responder lost on 9-11 which they might have announced at the start...

As Nick/Cody says in one line during the play...we watched the video at the firestation...you see them just walk away, they just walked away...then Nick/Cody walks away off stage & you're left quietly thinking a moment...he's just walked away - what if right? What if you were the one to walk away to your job that day, to your plane, & you never walked back home again...

Now I'd like to get a copy of this play & be able to read it, read what I missed at the start & just to reread these 8 firefighter's stories & about the captain - a man of action - & the journalist - a woman of words - that helped him write his eulogies--that is of course with a whole box of tissues by my side...

note: there is a book from the play, so must look for this next - here the photo of the cover...

For many it would be a cleansing - & am sure for some who've watched this play over the years - a healing experience...what an honor to be in such a play & how well they did honor these particular firemen as well as all the others lost/affected/left...forever remembered ox....

Link to the local theatre in Opelousas, LA...
http://www.deltagrandtheatre.com/theguys2011.html


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The Guys is a play by Anne Nelson
about the aftereffects of the collapse of the World Trade Center.
In the play, Joan, an editor, helps Nick, an FDNY captain, prepare the eulogies for an unprecedented number of firefighters who died under his command that day.
The play debuted off-Broadway at The Flea Theater on December 4, 2001, directed by Jim Simpson and starring Sigourney Weaver and Bill Murray. (*see below in photo)

photo credit: Variety Reviews, 2002 review of Flea Theater presentation by Charles Isherwood

Since 2001, The Guys has been presented in 48 US states and in... (5 countries to date)
Tim Robbins & Susan Sarandon presented it at the Edinburgh Festival.

photo credit: from The Telegraph, article by Charles Spencer Aug, 2002

It enjoyed a commemorative rerun at the Flea Theater in 2006 on the 5th anniversary of 9/11...
They also star in a 2002 film adaptation, for which Weaver was nominated for a Golden Satellite Award...

photo credit: blockbuster.com - the 2002 movie version

The audible.com recorded version, which featured Bill Irwin and Swoosie Kurtz, won an Audie Award...

Thank you Wikipedia for the breakdown, to the link...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Guys

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"Tim Cummings as Nick in “The Guys,” Anne Nelson’s 9/11 play that opened in December 2001 with Bill Murray and Sigourney Weaver. It’s being re-mounted this year for the fifth anniversary of the attacks.

Five years later, still one of ‘The Guys’

By Tim Cummings

...Not since being in The Guys have I remotely touched on how powerful theater can be. As it entertains you, causing you to laugh, to cry, to think, it has a restorative healing power, too. It’s true there are a million stories to be told about 9/11, and “The Guys” is only one of them…but it is the story that I know, and the story that I get to tell again this year at The Flea, for the 5-year commemorative re-mounting of Anne Nelson’s play. And going back to this work that made me a better person and a better actor is a rare opportunity."

photo credit: Tim Cummings as Nick in The Guys - 2006 article in The Villager

an excerpt from The Villager article link...
http://www.thevillager.com/villager_175/fiveyearslaterstill.html

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Watch with at least 1 box of tissues