Jindal Trek

Please provide a link back to this post and to EthanKillett.com when referring to this strip.

Raising Cane's

Please provide a link back to this post and to EthanKillett.com when referring to this strip.

The DHH issued a press release this morning declaring seven confirmed cases of influenza A strain H1N1, more commonly known as the swine flu. Five cases were in Lafayette at the Cathedral Carmel School school that was closed early this week. There was also one case in Orleans Parish at the Audubon Charter School and a case in Ascension at Lake Elementary School. Officials said that the latter two schools will remain open because both students have been absent for some time. There are still no confirmed cases in Baton Rouge.

The DHH is continuning to monitor this situation. Governor Bobby Jindal is holding a press conference today at 2:30pm—we’ll update with any new information.

The most shocking news coming from these confirmed cases is that the Ascension case did not have any direct link back to Mexico.

We’ve been busy since our launch about a month ago brining you the best in local news for Baton Rouge. Since our first post, we’ve added 45 posts, 50 comments and have had almost 2,000 visitors, averaging somewhere around 200 per day. We also now have about 25 readers via RSS and about 120 followers on Twitter. We’ve added a weekly cartoon column by talented local cartoonist Ethan Killett. We are the first to bring you the daily forecast via our weather center feed. We’ve broken several stories, including the Mall of LA bankruptcy story. We also have reviewed several restaurants, including the first critical review of Dingo’s, and are now the number one blog on Urbanspoon.

And we’ve only just begun.

There are many exciting thing in store for the Baton Rougean. Next week, updates might be sporadic and sparse as I move into finals, but one week from today I’ll announce more about a new update to our site that’ll change local news for you even more. It’s a project we’ve been working on since day one and it’s finally getting ready. I’m very excited about what the Baton Rougean has done for local news already and I’m very, very excited about what the future has in store. And, of course, look forward to more great local content.

That being said, if you would like to advertise on the Baton Rougean, it’s a great way to get hyper-focused advertisements to your Baton Rouge customers. Get more details by contacting us. Also, if you’d like to join our team, get in touch—there’s always room for more columns in the Baton Rougean. And show your appreciation by giving us a shout out on Twitter.

If you’ve been paying attention to the world, by now it’s likely you’ve seen the outbreak and subsequent public hysteria surrounding Influenza A virus subtype H1N1—or, more commonly, swine flu. As readers of our fine hyperlocal blog, you’ve probably also noticed that we’ve been mysteriously quiet about the whole situation. While many traditional news agencies have published dozens of article about swine flu, we’ve only published one. And that article was called “No Confirmed Cases of Swine Flu in Louisiana” and it served only one purpose: to tell you not to panic.

And now, I just wanted to say that until there is a confirmed case of swine flu in Louisiana, you won’t here anything about it from us. Why? Because there’s really no reason to worry or panic until it actually gets here. You can see from the swine flu map that reported cases are still several hundred miles away from our state. Sure, there have been suspected cases of swine flu, but there haven’t been any reported cases yet. The Governor’s press conference yesterday confirmed that he and the DHH are taking preemptive measures to ensure the safety of the public, so the closing of schools has nothing to do with any outbreak. In fact, since the human flu is a derivative of the same strain and we are in flu season, it’s very likely that these suspected cases are just that—suspects.

I really don’t think it’s expedient towards any cause to bring more attention to a matter that’ll likely subside than is necessary. Of course, that isn’t to say that you shouldn’t be prepared—you most definitely should be. Furthermore, we will update when we actually receive news of a confirmed case. That is all.

The Red Stick International Animation Festival wrapped up last week. It was a great event, and we’re so lucky to have this kind of thing in Baton Rouge.

Held at the Shaw Center, Red Stick is a four-day event that brings talented professionals from the animation, video game and film industry to our great capital city.

One of the biggest events for me was the portfolio review held by Disney representatives. I had the honor of meeting Max Howard, a fascinating man who worked on “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” and “The Iron Giant.” Disney also treated the festival with an exclusive preview of their next animated film, “The Princess and the Frog”. This new film is so special because it will be Disney’s first hand drawn 2d film in nine years.

The Red Stick festival also offered many fun and interesting workshops. Among the many workshops, attendees could learn how to do stop motion animation, draw dinosaurs, learn the intricacies of drawing animal anatomy, even do motion capture for video games. I attended workshops dedicated to character design and advanced inking techniques. The Baton Rouge Cartoonist Society was at the festival in full force. They held two workshops, as well as providing children with coloring books, which the BRCS did the artwork for.

I sat in several lectures, one of which was titled The Biology of “Bolt”. Stuart Sumida, a professor of biology for California State University –San Bernardino explained how he consulted with Disney on their 2008 CG film “Bolt”. Sumida showed us how he created skeletal structures and musculature for the film’s animal stars. He explained how the origins of Bolt lead to technical issues with the characters elbows and knees. He even showed us diagrams he created for the animators to show which paw would fall when on quadruped animals during a walk, trot and a gallop. Of all the lectures I attended during the festival, this one was the most interesting!

Red Stick is an amazing event, and I’m so grateful we have this event in our own backyard. It is a great opportunity to meet and network with industry professionals and other folks just trying to get into the business. At Red Stick, there’s an aura of excitement that you can feel right as you come through the door. Everyone there is there to celebrate animation and the great things it can do. I’m going back next year; I hope to see you there.

Brad Arton, the owner of the Chick-fil-A in the Mall of Louisiana, just told me that he plans on giving away 200 sandwiches tomorrow at 11:15am somewhere in the Mall of Louisiana. He’ll also be giving out 500 coupons somewhere on the LSU campus at 1:30pm. Follow him @bdarton on Twitter to get the location and the free chicken. And who doesn’t love Chick-fil-A—especially when it’s free?

Just to be totally clear: There have been no confirmed cases of swine flu H1N1 in Louisiana. The closing of the school in Lafayette this week was a precautionary move only by the DHH and Governor Bobby Jindal. Some of the kids did test positive for the flu, but only for the common A strain.

There is no reason as of this moment to be alarmed about the Swine Flu. The DHH and the Governor are taking precautionary measures to ensure public safety. We’ll keep you informed as the case develops.

Here’s a good rundown of what’s been breaking in the last 24 hours.

Reuters is reporting that Baton Rouge-based Albemarle Group’s profits dropped 60% for the first quarter as a direct result of the contraction of the consumer electronics, automobile and construction industries. Recently, we featured the Albemarle group in our Forbes Fortune list article.

Chelsea’s—a local restaurant and bar that has been operating around the LSU area for the past 20 years—is being threatened by the state alcohol licensing board for some, allegedly, fraudulent accusations of business misconduct. While the Baton Rougean has never reviewed Chelsea’s—we should get on that—, they have been a valued business member for quite some time. To revoke their liquor license would, in effect, kill their business. The full story is here.

Today was the opening session to the State Legislature’s Regular Session. You can view Bobby Jindal’s opening address to our legislative body on YouTube: part 1 and part 2. This is a highly crucial moment in our state as they rework the Governor’s proposed budget.

As always, we’ll keep you informed of further breaking news.

Also, we unveiled the Baton Rougean’s weather feed this week. It posts the daily forecast every night and also updates for any breaking NOAA emergency bulletins (such as advisories, watches, or warnings). It updates live and runs 24/7/365. I’d recommend subscribing to its updates via text from Twitter (I do) to stay updated on the go. You can catch it on Twitter @btrweather.

We also got our hands on some interesting data we’d like to analyze. If anyone has a background or any experience working with statistics or some other analysis, please contact me.

I met up with my family on a cool and breezy Thursday afternoon for an early evening dinner at Di Giulio Brothers Italian Restaurant on Perkins Road near College at Acadian. I had heard many great things about this quaint place, but had never actually been. They offer a variety of your standard Italian fare as well as some Cajun-infused po-boys. However, they are known for their pizza, which I hear is quite delectable. We had a pleasant experience and I would patronize them again.

Menu and Food

Overall, the food was very good. It’s something you’d expect from a typical Italian restaurant. The menu was large enough for anyone to find something to eat. Their signature is their pizzas. I tried the chicken parmesan po-boy. The other members of my party had their house salad garnished with sauteed shrimp and the meatball po-boy. Everything we eat was very good and prepared with the utmost of culinary quality. I was very full after the meal with no room for dessert (which is good considering they didn’t have cheesecake, which is my favorite dessert). My po-boy was an interesting Cajun-influenced version of a typical Italian dish. I was considering getting the chicken parmesan until I saw it as a po-boy. I recommend getting this dish or their meatball po-boy, which was incredible. The meatballs were so delicious. For their menu selection we give them a 4/5 because, despite the po-boys, there aren’t many original dishes.

Menu Selection Rating—

Quality of Food Rating—

Atmosphere

We sat outside at Di Giulio’s, which is a fantastic setting on such a day as when we visited. I imagine it would be nice for any family or general party. In fact, there were a couple of other parties outside enjoying the breeze and an after-work meet up. Inside, the restaurant is slightly more intimate and I imagine that it’d be a great place to take a date. Italian is always a great choice so I give it romantic points. I recommend this as your next date spot. I know it’ll be mine. (Speaking of which, do I have any single lady readers?)

Atmosphere Rating—

Overall Review

My overall experience at Di Giulio’s was good. It wasn’t fantastic like my experience at Dingo’s was, but then again not every restaurant has a Patrick Muller. Regardless, we recommend Di Giulio’s as a good Italian pick in Baton Rouge.

Overall Rating—

Urbanspoon Rating—

Yelp Rating—