• 'Soul' and the city
You can tell that "Soul Cities," a unique cable-TV travel series making its way to New Orleans tonight, is generously defining the term "soul" when you watch the San Francisco Bay Area episode, which repeats, conveniently enough, right after the 8 p.m. premiere of our turn.

• TUESDAY'S CALENDAR
SPECIAL EVENTS

• MONDAY'S CALENDAR
SPECIAL EVENTS

• Prospectus
The Ratings:

• Prospectus
The Ratings:

• SUNDAY'S CALENDAR
SPECIAL EVENTS

• Have yourself a drunken Irish Christmas
Conor McPherson's "The Seafarer" at Southern Rep is the most unusual Christmas play you will ever see -- and probably the best.

• Have yourself a drunken Irish Christmas
Conor McPherson's "The Seafarer" at Southern Rep is the most unusual Christmas play you will ever see -- and probably the best.

• SATURDAY'S CALENDAR
SPECIAL EVENTS

• Sweet sounds of success
In a season dominated by bleak news about crime and the economy, New Orleanians can still give thanks for a vibrant music community with growing institutions. I had a chance to reflect on those positives after talking with a couple of noted arts administrators:

• BOTH SIDES NOW
James Hall can be intense. At times, too much so.

• Concerts
Tuba Tuba Tuba 2 -- French Market area and Barracks Street Stage (across from the Old U.S. Mint). Sousaphone soloists, duets, trios and quartets will entertain throughout the day today, 1:30-4:15, in this second annual tribute to Tuba Fats, beginning with an opening ceremony at Battery Park, 11:20 a.m., a second-line procession to WWOZ, 11:35 a.m. for a live broadcast, and another parade to the Barracks Street Stage, 12:10. Stage performers are New Wave Brass Band, 12:30, Loose Marbles, 1, Tin Men, 2, Kirk Joseph's Backyard Groove, 3:15, Kirk Joseph, Anders Osborne, John "Papa" Gros, Jeffrey "Jellybean" Anderson, 4:30. Free.

• Covington art crisis averted
Earlier this month, a letter from St. Tammany Art Association Board of Directors President Catherine L. Deano explained that the association could be forced from its home. The $750,000 Art Association building at 320 N. Columbia St. was purchased in part with a five-year balloon-note mortgage that would come due in January. The association, the letter explained, didn't have the money to pay off the $366,000 it owed, and -- because of the current tight lending climate -- was unable to secure another loan.

• Do I hear $2,000?
Today is generally one of the busiest days at Galatoire's, as locals decompress from Thanksgiving's indulgences with a healthy dose of immoderation.

• JINGLE BELL YOCKS
It's beginning to look a lot like you-know-what, which means that holly-jolly entertainment abounds on local stages. And New Orleans being what it is, we like our adult Christmas theater heavy on the cheer and hot sauce.

• Movies
NEW THIS WEEK

• Special Events
Celebration in the Oaks -- New Orleans Botanical Garden, City Park. The annual holiday light festival opens tonight with new displays, the return of "Dinobration," entertainment, food, snow "showers," Santa and more. Gates open, 6 tonight. The hours are 6-11 Fri-Sat, 6-10 Sun. Nightly, Dec. 5-30 (closed Dec. 24 and 25). Admission is $6, free for members and children younger than 2. Call 483.9415.

• SUGARPLUM DREAMS
No matter what the meteorologists might say, the long-term forecast across the metro area includes a lot of snowflakes. Not to mention warring mice, brave toy soldiers and a Sugarplum Fairy or two.

• Theater
Annie North Star Theatre, 347 Girod St., Old Mandeville, 985.626.1500. Lori Bennett directs the musical based on the comic strip, with Mary Claire Hessemer in the title role. Opens tonight at 7:30, with performances Fri-Sat at 7:30 and Sun at 2:30 through Dec. 21. Tickets are $22, $18 seniors, students $10.

• A seasonal sampler
"A Christmas Carol" Tonight-Dec. 14, Slidell Little Theatre, 2024 Nellie Drive, Slidell. 985.641.0324.

• Family Affairs
--- Learn about photography ---

• Luderin Darbone, 1913-2008
Luderin Darbone, the acclaimed Cajun-swing fiddler who co-founded the Hackberry Ramblers in 1933, passed away Nov. 21 in Sulphur. As the core of the Hackberry Ramblers, Mr. Darbone and multi-instrumentalist Edwin Duhon pioneered the melding of the Cajun repertoire with western swing and country songs; they are also credited with introducing electronic amplification to south Louisiana dancehalls, elevating the profile of fiddles and other acoustic instruments. In 1935, the band signed with RCA Bluebird; the Ramblers' 78 rpm releases included the first rendition of "Jolie Blonde" under that title and "Wondering," later a hit for country singer Webb Pierce.

• Nightclubs
Andrea's Capri Blu Lounge -- 3100 19th St., Metairie. 834.8583. Barbara Lane, 8 Fri; MaryFlynn, 8 Sat.

• Hot Picks
--- FRIDAY ---

• 10 movies you shouldn't watch online
Movies are increasingly creeping online, as video sites such as YouTube and Hulu are adding feature films to their extensive libraries.

• Exhibitions
PROSPECT.1 NEW ORLEANS

• GOOD REFLECTIONS
In the real world, parkouring is a young man's street sport. The idea is to get a running start, jump across dangerous gaps between rooftops and land in a rolling tumble to absorb the fall. If you're unfamiliar with this way of life, you should type "parkour" into YouTube and be prepared to be amazed.

• HERE'S LOOKING AT YOU, KID!
"Casablanca," the 1942 wartime romance directed by Michael Curtiz, isn't the most sophisticated example of filmmaking, but it has endured as one of the most beloved -- and most quoted -- movies of all time.

• Reel winners
--- Top 10 ---

• After 25 years, nothing else matters but Metallica
Sunday at the New Orleans Arena featured metal detectors at the doors, epic lines at the beer booths and men's rooms, a preponderance of black attire and stupefying volume.

• After 25 years, nothing else matters but Metallica
Sunday at the New Orleans Arena featured metal detectors at the doors, epic lines at the beer booths and men's rooms, a preponderance of black attire and stupefying volume.

• FOUR CHRISTMASES, INDEED
Reviews at nola.com

• Just smile and go along with 'Happy-Go-Lucky'
Her real name is Pauline, but she's a "Poppy" through and through. A Technicolor whirlwind of unbridled optimism, Sally Hawkins' character in English director Mike Leigh's new up-lifter "Happy-Go-Lucky" goes through life with a smile on her face and a skip in her step and a determination to spread a little cheer every day.

• Pixar's John Lasseter: New Orleans is the prefect setting for 'The Princess and the Frog'
Right now, and for the next few weeks at least, it's all about "Bolt" for the Walt Disney Animation publicity machine, but about this time next year, you can expect the House of Mouse to be giving New Orleans the royal treatment.

• STRANGE ARTFELLOWS
The former home of the Universal Furniture store, on the corner of St. Claude and St. Roch avenues, is not the Crescent City's most attractive piece of architecture. Sheet metal panels have fallen off of the old Jetsons-era facade, leaving gaps like missing teeth. But, like a homely boyfriend, it's what's inside that counts.

• UNCOMMON PO-BOYS
Turkey is the odd duck at the American table.

• A Southern gothic screwball comedy
Is it any wonder that the three MaGrath sisters are a scandal to the jaybirds? Why, their individual and collective notorious behavior almost kept their cousin Chick Boyle out the Hazlehurst, Miss., Ladies' Social League.

• A Southern gothic screwball comedy
Is it any wonder that the three MaGrath sisters are a scandal to the jaybirds? Why, their individual and collective notorious behavior almost kept their cousin Chick Boyle out the Hazlehurst, Miss., Ladies' Social League.

• THURSDAY'S CALENDAR
BENEFITS

• Trey McIntyre's 'Ma Maison' is a unique artistic triumph
I could almost hear the clatter of bones as nine skeletons, dressed in Carnival motley, shimmied to the wailing clarinet, dangled loose-limbed arms to the thrum of the banjo, and jerked their heads as if nagged by the long, steady roll of the snare. When a downbeat came, they let loose with fluttering steps and whiplash turns from the world of ballet, moving with the singular purpose of schooling fish chased by a shark.

• Can you transport me out of the theater?
After two previous outings, it would seem French filmmaker Luc Besson's high-octane "Transporter" series finally has run out of what little fuel it had.

• Prospectus
The Ratings:

• Season's screenings
Movie-goers heading to see the romantic comedy "Four Christmases" might want comedy, Christmas cheer and chemistry, but nobody gets everything on his wish list.

• WEDNESDAY'S CALENDAR
LITERARY EVENTS

• Postcards from the edge
The series finale of "The Shield" opens with Vic Mackey driving in Los Angeles, the sordid street life of the neighborhoods where he's spent his professional career flickering past like a nightmare inversion of the "Entourage" credits.

• TUESDAY'S CALENDAR
SPECIAL EVENTS

• MONDAY'S CALENDAR
CHILDREN'S ACTIVITIES

• Prospectus
The Ratings:

• A Charleston chef at the New Orleans Grill
The Windsor Court Hotel is steeped in Anglophilia, and its restaurant, the New Orleans Grill, has long aspired to approximate the sophistication and elegance of the grand Michelin-starred restaurants of Europe.

• A man and his dog -- and the Mouse
For those unconvinced that an old dog -- or, more appropriately, an old mouse -- can learn new tricks, Disney offers "Bolt."

• Just another manic Monday
Martin Gramatica missed, Ryan Longwell didn't, and the Minnesota Vikings narrowly defeated the New Orleans Saints on the Oct. 6 edition of "Monday Night Football."

• Prospectus
The Ratings:

• SUNDAY'S CALENDAR
SPECIAL EVENTS

• LPO earns ovations as it plays to strengths
It felt like Easter morning at the First Baptist Church on Thursday, as a joyous, near sell-out crowd leaped to its feet in a pair of standing ovations. They had plenty to celebrate, starting with the near-miraculous resurrection of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra -- a band that might have died after Hurricane Katrina, but which now feels like an emblem of a resurgent city.

• Prospectus
The Ratings:

• Quirky and outrageous 'Crimes'
"It may seem outrageous, but there is almost nothing in this play that isn't based on reality," said Cassie Steck Worley, the director of "Crimes of the Heart," now playing at Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carre.

• Quirky and outrageous 'Crimes'
"It may seem outrageous, but there is almost nothing in this play that isn't based on reality," said Cassie Steck Worley, the director of "Crimes of the Heart," now playing at Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carre.

• SATURDAY'S CALENDAR
SPECIAL EVENTS

• Broad Strokes
--- Art ahoy ---

• Concerts
New Orleans Jazz Historical Park Concerts -- Visitor's Center, 916 N. Peters St. UNO Jazz Studies Day today: UNO Guitar Ensemble, directed by Steve Masakowski, noon-1:15, UNO Hot Club Ensemble, directed by Matt Johnson, 1:30-2:45, UNO No-Jive Ensemble, directed by Brian Seeger, 3-4:15; Kids program with the Treme Brass Band, 11 a.m. (bring your instruments and play along); Guitarist Steve Masakowski and NOLA Nova perform, 2-3:30 Sat; pianist Joe Krown performs, noon Wed. Free. Call 589.4806.

• FRESH SOUNDS
--- 'ALL THE SAINTS' REDUX ---

• JAZZ MOVEMENT
It's a rare visitor who understands that a second-line is more than a chance to dance in the street, that Mardi Gras is more than a party, that New Orleanians' zest for life is wrapped up with an acceptance of death as part of the natural course of things.

• Movies
NEW THIS WEEK

• Quick Bites
--- Pupusas, pork and po-boys ---

• RICH HISTORY
If you went to the first New Orleans Po-Boy Preservation Festival last year on Oak Street, you witnessed the rapid depletion of food, fest T-shirts and artists' wares -- and the human gridlock when 10,000 people jammed into three blocks.

• Special Events
CORRECTIONS APPENDED

• Theater
NEW ONSTAGE

• Family Affairs
--- Drawing all day long ---

• Nightclubs
Andrea's Capri Blu Lounge -- 3100 19th St., Metairie. 834.8583. Barbara Lane, 8 Fri; MaryFlynn, 8 Sat.

• Spare Notes
--- Cash Money turkeys ---

• Stage Business
--- Last 'Grenadine'? ---

• Hot Picks
--- FRIDAY ---

• Short subjects
Oscar hopes intact for docs with local links

• J.D. Souther feels like a new kid again
When The Eagles ascend the stage at the New Orleans Arena in January, fans will likely be calling out for songwriter J.D. Souther's hits. Like The Eagles, who are bringing their "Long Road Out of Eden" tour to the Arena on Jan. 23 (tickets went on sale Monday), Souther has taken a little time off from recording new material. Twenty-four years to be exact.

• BIGGEST GAMES OF THE SEASON
A friend called the other day and asked (and I paraphrase): Why does every TV ad for a video game look like it's the end of the world, like we're all going to die in a fire of blood? My answer: Because this is the most apocalyptic season for games I can remember.

• Exhibitions
PROSPECT.1 NEW ORLEANS

• Reel winners
Top 10 at the box office

• 'SOUNDER' BARKS UP RIGHT TREE
When "Sounder," director Martin Ritt's adaptation of William H. Armstrong's Newbery Award-winning children's novel, was released in 1972, it attracted a flood of acclaim and received four Oscar nominations, including nods for best picture and best adapted screenplay.

• CNN to show weekend in the life of NOPD
Soledad O'Brien and a CNN crew came to town in the spring to report on violent crime.

• Disney's 'Bolt' slight but still fetching
Disney's latest animated offering, the puppy-dog tale "Bolt," might not quite capture lightning in a bottle -- it's a touch too slight for that, particularly by House of Mouse standards -- but even if it's not high art, it's still warm-and-fuzzy fun.

• FANGS, BUT NO FANGS
The undead being the frustratingly resilient buggers that they are, there's probably nothing any one critic can say that will drive a stake through the heart of the vampire romance "Twilight," the big-screen version of the young-adult literature phenomenon.

• HOME AT LAST
My last meal at MiLa began with what amounted to an edible advertisement for what makes the restaurant impressive.

• In the end, it's a very good 'Boy'
Built upon a tragic but gimmicky end -- and an immensely powerful one, despite the contrivances that lead to it -- the story behind the World War II-era drama "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" would make a fine short film.

• 'Let the Right One In' a smart tale of vampire angst
Yes, "Let the Right One In" is a horror film, but that label doesn't do the beautifully original Swedish import justice.

• SIDE MAN
What: The NOLA Project and InSideOut Productions present Warren Leight's play, directed by Mike Harkins.

• STEP RIGHT UP
I asked the guard if my kids and I could play on the giant red teeter-totter; or if we were just supposed to look at it. She said we could certainly play on it, but we'd have to round up 10 people to get it to work. So I called out to other people scattered around: Do any of y'all want to try this thing out?

• 'Synecdoche' one weird trip
It's a delicate line that screenwriter Charlie Kaufman walks.

• 'The Frogs' at Delgado: joking while croaking
Another day, another minor musical from Stephen Sondheim's Old Curiosity Shop.

• THE WAY WE ARE, US
A great evening awaits at Le Chat Noir with ". . . in other words, New Orleans," 10 short plays providing an eclectic overview of the city and its citizens, hop-scotching through comic, dramatic and absurdist looks at life as we're attempting to live it now.

• Big Easy upbringing
For musician "Deacon" John Moore it's the sound of recited Latin.

• Tips from the teachers
--- Poppy Tooker ---