New Orleans

PASADENA, Calif. -- The last time I saw Larry Hagman was at his Malibu beach house, and he was just about to pass out drunk.He was at the height of his fame as J.R. Ewing on "Dallas," and he was sitting there with a big white Stetson on his head and a drink in his hand, staring out at the Pacific Ocean as a band played Bob Wills' "Faded Love.""Another ------ day in ------ paradise," Hagman said to me.When I turned to answer, he was out cold. A woman wearing a flag-of-Texas bikini bottom assured me that Hagman was OK and asked me to help her make him comfortable by putting some pillows under him on the couch.

There was a terrible incident on Mothers Day in New Orleans, where many people were injured at a parade by an addle-headed gunman ("19, including 2 kids, shot at New Orleans parade," May 13). As usual, many people witnessed the incident, but no one came forward to identify the gunman. The "stop snitching" mantra in is debilitating to the integrity of our inner cities. If allowed to go unchecked, that mind-set could very well be the demise of some of our cities. People have to come forward and identify the cowards who have turned some of our metropolises into shooting galleries.

A snowball stand's success depends on two key things: hot weather and lots of hard work, say Baltimore-area purveyors of the summer treat. Add those ingredients to the crushed ice and syrup concoction that has long been a regional favorite, and summertime entrepreneurs say they can make a decent living during the season's warmest weeks. "A lot of people think it's easy to start it," said Margo Torsell, who along with family members runs a three-year-old stand on Liberty Road in Randallstown.

For five days ending Sunday, thousands of film fans and scores of filmmakers watched movies together at the 15th Maryland Film Festival. From three-minute comedic shorts promoting horror films to gripping documentaries about the rise of Napster and cutting-edge narrative features about the relationship between a teacher and one of her students, the festival offered local cineastes the chance to lose themselves in the boundless possibilities of film....

They perch atop shelves in Hazel's Gift & Cards, world-famous dolls with names like Isabel, Desiree and Grace, porcelain-smooth complexions and garments of Chinese silk.New Orleans' Gambina dolls surrounded creator Charles V. Gambina on Friday during his visit to the Glen Burnie gift shop -- the most recent addition to a string of outlets around the world.The doll maker's visit gave a much-needed shot in the arm to Albert Jones' business in the struggling East Park Shopping Center.Jones' family opened a chain of gift shops more than a year ago. But sales in East Park, off Crain Highway near the I-97 intersection, have dropped off this year, especially since Ames closed last summer, Jones said.

Chris Paul has requested to be traded and the Hornets have scheduled a meeting with the star guard on Monday, according to a person familiar with the situation. Paul will sit down with new head coach Monty Williams , new general manager Dell Demps and team President Hugh Weber in New Orleans, the person told the Associated Press on Thursday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team had not made plans to meet with Paul public, and because Paul has not publicly demanded a trade.

Don't feel like cooking for a crowd on Sunday? Get your New Orleans flair from local restaurants and caterers instead. Restaurants: B&O American Brasserie (443-692-6172; http://www.bandorestaurant.com) will serve a five course New Orleans-themed game day dinner, including grilled oysters, a seafood boil and king cake for $50 per person, and 50 cent Natty Bohs and $5 "Hail Marys. " At Tooloulou (443-627-8090; http://www.tooloulou.com) and Ethel & Ramone's (410-664-2971; http://www.ethelandramones.com)

I n 30 years of writing about television, I have never heard music used as organically, wisely and powerfully as it is in the new HBO drama, "Treme," from Baltimore writer David Simon and playwright Eric Overmyer. The 80-minute pilot episode opens on a street parade and closes on a funeral procession. The former, with its screaming brass, syncopated bass drum and snake-hipped dancers, lifted me out of my seat and instantly transported me into the bombed-out landscape of post-Katrina New Orleans, where the series is set. The latter, with its dirgelike, slower-than-the-slowest-rhythm-you-can-imagine version of "A Closer Walk with Thee," touched me in a psychic place that has nothing to do with rational thought, criticism or even words.

Ravens fans in New Orleans clearly out numbers fans from San Francisco. The 49ers fans have come on in the last day or so, but the numbers are still in the Ravens' favor. While walking on the boardwalk last night, where several bands played throughout the evening, there were many Ray Lewis and Joe Flacco jerseys. City officials here apparently have spent a lot of money on security as police helicopters and boat patrols circled the river throughout the night. It's hard to get any place in New Orleans without bumping into Ravens fans.

A few comments on your editorial "We built that" (Sept. 3): Hurricane Katrina was not the cause of the massive devastation, destruction and deaths in New Orleans these seven years ago. Rather, it was the failure of the man-made levees and floodwalls built and maintained by the Army Corps of Engineers. There is admissions now from the corps that the blame it originally placed on the city and state was unfounded. That truth being said, it is to the corps' credit that the $14.5 billion investment in flood control after Katrina performed as planned.

SATURDAY'S HIGHLIGHTS NASCAR Sprint Cup Toyota Owners 400 45, 57 MLB Cincinnati@Washington 45, 51 Orioles@Oakland MASN4 Orioles@Oakland (T) MASN8 Milwaukee@Dodgers MLB9 NBA play. Brooklyn@Chicago, Gm. 4 TNT2 Clippers@Memphis, Gm. 4 TNT4:30 Indiana@Atlanta, Gm. 3 ESPN7 Oklahoma City@Houston, Gm. 3 ESPN9:30 Boxing Sergio Martinez vs. Martin Murray HBO8:30 Danny Garcia vs. Zab Judah SHOW9 PGA Champ.

Nationally, the TV audience for the first night of the NFL draft was down a bit from last year, but Baltimore tuned in in a big way. ESPN's round one coverage earned a 4.6 overnight rating Thursday, according to preliminary Nielsen figures supplied by the channel. That's the third highest-rated overnight since round one began airing on Thursday in 2010. That year's telecast earned a 5.4 rating, while last year's Thursday night coverage scored a 4.8. Locally, Baltimore finished fourth among metered markets behind Buffalo, New Orleans and Kansas City.

Brooklyn Brewery is on the road. The New York -based brewery is in the middle of an 11-city tour that began in Austin, Texas, before moving on to New Orleans, Nashville, Tenn., and Boston. The traveling event is a benefit for Slow Food USA. Baltimore is next. The Brooklyn Brewery Mash: Adventures in Food, Film, Music, Books and Beer pulls into Baltimore April 30 to May 5 for a week of parties, comedy, concerts, pop-up supper clubs and readings. There are a few food highlights of the six-day visit.

A month after beating the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl in New Orleans, the Ravens thanked the host city Wednesday by taking an ad out in The New Orleans Times-Picayune and donating a gift to the city. Subscribers of The Times-Picayune were greeted Wednesday morning with a thank-you note that read: “Thank you to the citizens of New Orleans, including your outstanding police department, for your warm reception and first-class service to Ravens players, coaches and fans.” It was signed by the world champions, of course.

A New Orleans educator has been named the new head of the St. Paul's School for Girls in Brooklandville. Penny Bach Evins, who currently heads the lower division of Isidore Newman School, will take on her new post in July, SPSG's board of trustees announced. Baltimore County Circuit Court Judge Judith C. Ensor, the board's president and an SPSG alumna, said in a prepared statement that Evins was "an exceptional role model for our girls. " The Isidore Newman School, the alma mater of NFL quarterbacks Peyton and Eli Manning and writer Michael Lewis, is a non-denominational school founded in 1903.

On behalf of the people of New Orleans, we want to thank you for allowing us to host your fans for Super Bowl XLVII. It was a great week and a great game between two great teams. And as we all experienced, no one does drama like New Orleans. Your fans are a real class act, and it was a joy to have them in our city, which we affectionately refer to as NOLA. Our lives in politics and media have allowed us to experience some pretty important and exciting events, but nothing has given us more pride than welcoming you to our city and representing New Orleans for this year's big game.

Ravens fans are ready to rush New Orleans for Super Bowl XLVII, emptying their pockets for tickets to the big game and scrambling for a seat on an available flight. With travel packages going for thousands of dollars, you'll want to make your stay in the Big Easy well worth it — that means seeing something beyond the inside of the multimillion-dollar refurbished Mercedes-Benz Superdome. We've come up with 10 things for Baltimore travelers to see and do in New Orleans. Celebrate Mardi Gras It's true — there won't be any parades downtown during the Super Bowl, so mister can't throw you something.

I was a New Orleans Host Committee volunteer for the festivities leading up to Sunday's Super Bowl , and I talked to lots of Ravens fans, since New Orleans was purple by more than 4-to-1. I must congratulate the Baltimore fans for being so nice; they were very much into the spirit of having fun and enjoying the experience. The 49er fans were more reserved and uptight, it seemed to me. And the connection between Baltimore and New Orleans (Ed Reed and Jacoby Jones are both from the New Orleans area)

Ravens veteran free safety Ed Reed has never embraced a conventional approach. So the Louisiana native wasn't keen on the idea of retiring after a Super Bowl victory in front of his family and friends. Following the Ravens' 34-31 victory over the San Francisco 49ers at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, Reed declared in the locker room emphatically that he has more football left in him. "This is not it," Reed shouted. "This is not it. I'm not done. " Reed, 34, has battled multiple health issues, including a torn shoulder labrum and a nerve impingement.