From L.A. to New Orleans: Swiftie daughter relives ‘Eras’ effect

RAZZLE-DAZA - Pat-P Daza - The Philippine Star 

November 18, 2024 | 12:00am

Back in August 2023, my 32-year-old stepdaughter, Alexa Bonnevie-Milmont, invited my daughter Gabbie to join her for Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour” concert last Oct. 27 in New Orleans. Alexa — who lives in Denver — managed to secure two VIP floor tickets. Though Gabbie had already seen the “Eras” show in L.A. last Aug. 4, 2023, she couldn’t resist the chance to experience it again. Since then, Gabbie has been saving up for the trip and the concert, excited to relive “Eras” in a whole new city.

Every month, Gabbie would set aside a portion of her salary specifically for this trip. I made it clear to her from the start that she would be responsible for covering all the expenses — including airfare, concert ticket and even pocket money — so she has been diligently saving up ever since.

Gabbie finalized the itinerary for her trip with New York (her favorite city) as the first stop. She spent over a week there, embracing the magic of the city in the fall, enjoying the crisp air, the golden leaves, and all her favorite New York activities. She spent time with friends, watched three Broadway shows (“The Notebook,” “Wicked” and “Romeo and Juliet”), and just soaked in the city’s vibrant energy. A huge thank you goes to my dear friend Angel Gamez for graciously hosting her in his beautiful apartment during her stay.

After New York, Gabbie flew to Denver to meet up with Alexa, and together they headed to New Orleans for the “Eras Tour” concert. After the concert, she spent some quality time in Denver with Alexa, her husband David, and their two adorable little girls Sienna and Athena, before returning to New York for the final leg of her trip.

After a great week in New York and a fun, full day in Denver, I could hardly believe it was finally time to see Taylor! Ate Alexa and I boarded a 6 p.m. flight to New Orleans, and to our surprise, the plane was filled with Swifties! It was easy to tell — everyone (including us) was decked out in “Eras” merchandise or sporting friendship bracelets. The air was already buzzing with excitement. As we were getting off the plane, our United Airlines flight attendant even joked, “Looks like we’ll all be seeing each other tomorrow!”

At the NOLA (New Orleans Louisiana) airport, there was even a Taylor Swift standee, the city’s way of welcoming the pop sensation to the city. At our hotel, we were greeted by another delightful surprise: the entire hotel was fully decorated and themed for the “Eras Tour”! It was such a fun and immersive experience, and it made us feel even more excited and safe as we settled in.

And then, the concert day arrived! Because we wanted to start the day with beignets for breakfast, we headed to the famous Café Du Monde. The line was long, but as we looked around, we realized everyone in line was a Swiftie! When we finally got our seats, we were so glad we stayed because it was the perfect way to load up for the night ahead.

As we walked around afterwards, we could feel the excitement in the streets of New Orleans. Everyone was buzzing with positive energy, and the atmosphere was very warm and welcoming. But we didn’t want to burn all our energy too soon, so we headed back to the hotel to rest up before the big night. Around 1:30 p.m., we started getting ready. I wore the same dress I had for the L.A. “Eras” show, but this time I added eye gems for an extra touch. Additionally, Ate and I both wore face sparkle freckles from the brand Fazit (which Taylor herself has been seen wearing). We were beyond excited and totally pumped for the concert.

We wanted to get to the venue early because I was eager to buy merchandise. When we were ready, we took an Uber to Caesars Superdome. Our driver shared something that warmed our hearts. He told us to thank Taylor when we got there because she had made so many people happy and provided jobs for so many over the weekend. It was a lovely reminder of the incredible impact she has.

We were told that the gates would open at 4:30 p.m. and we arrived a bit before 4. We spent the time chatting with people in line and admiring everyone’s amazing outfits. When the doors finally opened, I quickly headed to the merch line, which was still short. Luckily, I was able to snag all the designs I wanted in the sizes I needed.

Afterwards, we made our way to our seats. And my oh my… we were seated in the row 4 VIP seats, right by the diamond stage! When we saw how close we were to the stage, we couldn’t contain our excitement and screamed so loud. This was truly a dream come true! We were so close…I couldn’t even imagine how I would feel when Taylor finally emerged.

Since we arrived early, we had plenty of time to settle into our seats, enjoy an order of chicken tenders for dinner, and most importantly, make friends with the Swifties around us who also couldn’t believe how incredible the view was! I was handing out friendship bracelets left and right, even to the venue security guards nearby. It was Taylor’s third and final night in NOLA, and the excitement was absolutely contagious!

At 7 p.m., the opening act, Gracie Abrams, took to the stage. I’ve been a huge Gracie fan since 2020 and seeing her perform live was such a joy. She was absolutely incredible and so beautiful, and I had the best time during her set! By the time she finished, there were only about 30 minutes left until Taylor would take to the stage. And when she finally appeared, I was absolutely speechless. I looked to my right and saw that Ate was already in tears. There was so much to take in — Taylor Swift was right there, so close, and it was overwhelming!

Seeing the show in the Big Easy was a completely different experience for so many reasons. First and foremost, the fact that I was so close to my all-time favorite artist felt almost illegal. There were moments when it felt like she was singing just for me, looking directly at me. I’ve been a Taylor Swift fan since I was seven years old, and now that I’m 23, having her right there in front of me — singing only for us — was indescribable. It’s a feeling that will stay with me forever. Growing up with her music, watching her evolve, and having this connection is something so special to me.

Since it was the final leg of the tour, I also got to experience the newest addition to the “Eras Tour” — the “Tortured Poets Department” set — and it was surreal. For the highly anticipated surprise song acoustic set, Taylor did a mashup of Afterglow and Dress. I completely lost my voice because I love those songs so much and hearing them live on guitar was something I’ll never forget.

Another thing that made the show special was that it marked the 10th anniversary of her iconic album, 1989. During the piano set, she performed a 1989 medley of How You Get the Girl and Clean. It was a jaw-dropping mashup, and of course, it went viral afterwards!

For four hours, I was just in awe, taking in the magic and dancing and singing along to unforgettable favorites. I’m so grateful I got to share that most special night with Ate Alexa; it truly was a precious core memory that I’ll hold onto forever.

After the concert ended, it was time to head back to the hotel. While we were initially nervous about how we would get back considering there were over 65,000 people at the show, we ended up walking back to the hotel. Not only was it relatively close, but almost all the Swifties were walking, too. That’s one of the things I love about the Swiftie community… it just radiates with so much positivity and warmth. That weekend, everyone was incredibly sweet, nice and fun, and Ate Alexa and I agreed that we would never experience New Orleans that way again.

When I explored New Orleans the next day, I had a poem written for me on-the-spot by a poet-for-hire, and she said this was the most fun weekend she had had in a very long time. That’s the Taylor Swift effect for you.

Wetter-Wechsel schon Anfang der Woche: Experte nennt konkretes Datum für Wintereinbruch in Bayern

Stand:17.11.2024, 17:56 Uhr

Von: Klaus-Maria Mehr

Wintereinbruch in Bayern? Ob es so wild wird, wie hier im Archivbild auf der B22 in Oberfranken, lässt sich noch nicht sagen. Klar ist: Ab Dienstag gibt es Polarluft mit viel Niederschlag, also eine hohe Chance auf Schnee bis ins Flachland (siehe Grafik). © Imago/DWD

Die lange Hochdruckphase ist vorüber. Am Sonntag startet ein Wetter-Wechsel in Bayern, der Dienstag und Mittwoch für einen Wintereinbruch sorgen könnte.

München – Für die einen nahe an der Winterdepression, für die anderen, wenigen, die am Alpenrand leben, strahlender Sonnenschein. So lässt sich die ungewöhnlich lange Hochdruckphase der vergangenen Wochen über Bayern in Kürze zusammenfassen. Doch damit ist jetzt (endlich) Schluss. 

Nach langer Hochdruckphase droht Wintereinbruch: Bayern-Wetter wird die woche richtig wild

Es kommt wieder Abwechslung ins Bayern-Wetter. Nico Bauer, DWD-Meteorologe, wagt in seiner Prognose für die neue Woche sogar die Festlegung auf ein konkretes Datum für den ersten richtigen Wintereinbruch in Bayern: Dienstag, 19. November, spätestens in der Nacht auf Mittwoch könnte es bis ins Flachland schneien und sich eine geschlossene Schneedecke bilden. 

Schneefallgrenze sinkt bereits am Sonntag – dann nochmal milder

Ein erstes Tief vertreibt bereits am Sonntag (17. November) die lange Hochdruckphase und sorgt für Regen. Die Schneefallgrenze sinkt in der Nacht auf Montag (18. November) auf 600 Meter in den Mittelgebirgen und am Alpenrand bei Tiefstwerten von 4 bis -2 Grad. Es herrscht Glättegefahr. Das Ganze bei zunehmend auffrischendem Wind bereits ab Sonntag. Das ist aber laut Meteorologe Bauer nur ein Vorgeschmack. 

Sturmtief bringt perfekte Mischung für erstes Schneechaus in Bayern

Denn dann zieht ein ausgewachsenes Sturmtief von den Britischen Inseln Richtung Ostsee. Das feuert zuerst feuchte und mildere Luft nach Bayern, die Höchstwerte steigen Montag und Dienstag auf über 10 Grad bei Sturm und Regen, dann schleudert es Polarluft hinterher – die perfekte Mischung für ein Schneechaos.

Philippine Fairy Tales (XXXII) - Philippinische Märchen (XXXII): The Virtue of the Cocoanut - Die Tugend der Kokosnuss

  

From time to time since the American occupation of the Islands, Philippine folk-tales have appeared in publications, has there been an attempt to offer to the general public a comprehensive popular collection of this material. This collection of tales will give those who are interested opportunity to learn something of the magic, superstitions, and weird customs of the Filipinos.

The Virtue of the Cocoanut 

One day a man took his blow-gun and his dog and went to the forest to hunt. As he was making his way through the thick woods he chanced upon a young cocoanut tree growing in the ground.

It was the first tree of this kind that he had ever seen, and it seemed so peculiar to him that he stopped to look at it.

When he had gone some distance farther, his attention was attracted by a noisy bird in a tree, and he shot it with his blow-gun. By and by he took aim at a large monkey, which mocked him from another treetop, and that, too, fell dead at his feet.

Then he heard his dog barking furiously in the distant bushes, and hastening to it he found it biting a wild pig. After a hard struggle he killed the pig, and then, feeling satisfied with his success, he took the three animals on his back and returned to the little plant.

“I have decided to take you home with me, little plant,” he said, “for I like you and you may be of some use to me.”

He dug up the plant very carefully and started home, but he had not gone far when he noticed that the leaves had begun to wilt, and he did not know what to do, since he had no water. Finally, in despair, he cut the throat of the bird and sprinkled the blood on the cocoanut. No sooner had he done this than the plant began to revive, and he continued his journey.

Before he had gone far, however, the leaves again began to wilt, and this time he revived it with the blood of the monkey. Then he hastened on, but a third time the leaves wilted, and he was compelled to stop and revive it with the blood of the pig. This was his last animal, so he made all the haste possible to reach home before his plant died. The cocoanut began to wilt again before he reached his house, but when he planted it in the ground, it quickly revived, and grew into a tall tree.

This hunter was the first man to take the liquor called tuba from the cocoanut tree, and he and his friends began to drink it. After they had become very fond of it, the hunter said to his friends:

“The cocoanut tree is like the three animals whose blood gave it life when it would have died. The man who drinks three or four cups of tuba becomes like the noisy bird that I shot with my blow-gun. One who drinks more than three or four cups becomes like the big monkey that acts silly; and one who becomes drunk is like the pig that sleeps even in a mud-hole.”

Die Tugend der Kokosnuss

Eines Tages nahm ein Mann sein Blasrohr und seinen Hund und ging in den Wald, um zu jagen. Als er durch den dichten Wald ging, stieß er zufällig auf einen jungen Kokosnussbaum, der im Boden wuchs.

Es war der erste Baum dieser Art, den er je gesehen hatte, und er kam ihm so eigenartig vor, dass er stehen blieb, um ihn zu betrachten.

Als er ein Stück weiter gegangen war, wurde seine Aufmerksamkeit auf einen lauten Vogel in einem Baum gelenkt, den er mit seinem Blasrohr abschoss. Nach und nach zielte er auf einen großen Affen, der ihn von einer anderen Baumkrone aus verspottete, und auch dieser fiel tot zu seinen Füßen.

Dann hörte er in den fernen Büschen seinen Hund wütend bellen, und als er zu ihm eilte, stellte er fest, dass er ein Wildschwein biss. Nach einem harten Kampf tötete er das Schwein, und dann, zufrieden mit seinem Erfolg, nahm er die drei Tiere auf seinen Rücken und kehrte zu der kleinen Pflanze zurück.

„Ich habe beschlossen, dich mit nach Hause zu nehmen, kleine Pflanze“, sagte er, „denn ich mag dich und du könntest mir von Nutzen sein.“

Er grub die Pflanze sehr vorsichtig aus und machte sich auf den Heimweg, aber er war noch nicht weit gegangen, als er bemerkte, dass die Blätter zu welken begannen, und er wusste nicht, was er tun sollte, da er kein Wasser hatte. Schließlich schnitt er in seiner Verzweiflung dem Vogel die Kehle durch und spritzte das Blut auf die Kokosnuss. Kaum hatte er dies getan, begann sich die Pflanze wieder zu beleben und er setzte seine Reise fort.

Bevor er jedoch weit gekommen war, begannen die Blätter erneut zu welken, und dieses Mal belebte er es mit dem Blut des Affen wieder. Dann eilte er weiter, aber ein drittes Mal verwelkten die Blätter, und er musste anhalten und es mit dem Blut des Schweins wiederbeleben. Dies war sein letztes Tier, also beeilte er sich, nach Hause zu kommen, bevor seine Pflanze starb. Die Kokosnuss begann wieder zu welken, bevor er sein Haus erreichte, aber als er sie in die Erde pflanzte, erwachte sie schnell wieder zu neuem Leben und wuchs zu einem hohen Baum heran.

Dieser Jäger war der erste Mann, der den Schnaps namens Tuba vom Kokosnussbaum nahm, und er und seine Freunde begannen, ihn zu trinken. Nachdem es ihnen sehr ans Herz gewachsen war, sagte der Jäger zu seinen Freunden:

„Der Kokosnussbaum ist wie die drei Tiere, deren Blut ihm Leben gab, obwohl er gestorben wäre. Der Mann, der drei oder vier Tassen Tuba trinkt, wird wie der lärmende Vogel, den ich mit meiner Blaspistole geschossen habe. Wer mehr als drei oder vier Tassen trinkt, wird wie der große Affe, der sich albern verhält; und wer betrunken ist, ist wie das Schwein, das sogar im Schlammloch schläft.“