Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Does the Mile High Club have a lemony-scent?
"THE REMBRANDT OF REFUSE"? Really?
Maybe if the "aces" at
American Airlines had invested more in their (
outsourced) repair services, and less in these cutesy magazine puff pieces... well, no, actually their business would still be in a
world of hurt. Nonetheless, even by the standards of airline magazine journalism, this
"Rembrandt" article about Sidney Torres van Rijn IV is something else.
Rembrandt's chiaroscuro talents were formidable, but could they really ever do justice to our Trashanova?As someone who was tracking twentysomething Sidney as he accumulated French Quarter
hotels and "boutiqued" them during the real estate boom at the turn of the millenium, I've always wondered what his secret was. Impeccable timing? An innate business sense? Or did he simply leverage his connections and family money?
After the Federal Flood, Torres started a
Waste Management firm. With the infinite need, it seemed like another potentially shrewd maneuver. But what captured the public's attention was Sidney's other qualities. Here's a young guy who is good-looking, stylish, local, and has a "can do" entrepreneurial spirit. He's a great post-Katrina story-- what's not to like?
Well, I dunno. Most people don't hear about
SDT's large campaign contributions to Nagin (in
2007),
SDT's highly advantageous service contracts, and
SDT's curious choice of subcontractors.
Everyone talks about Sidney's (well crafted) personal story, and his style. Last year,
Nolafugees served a comeuppance when it excoriated the T-P for focusing on pure ephemera in
its profile of "Trashanova" Torres.
This self-proclaimed boy from ‘Da Parish’ has thrust himself into the spotlight as the poster boy for New Orleans’ trash. Like most people from Chalmette, Torres attended boarding school in Connecticut and is friends with rocker Lenny Kravitz. Once a personal assistant for Kravitz, Torres lived life in the fast lane and credits the rocker with teaching him to be humble (which was apparently not a joke). The featured article of the Sunday Living section, however, is.
Between the blatant name dropping and struggle to paint Torres as reformed bad-boy trying to remain humble while simultaneously inundating the metro area with his image, there was nothing of any substance.
These substance-free articles about Torres seem to be a recurring problem.
For those who embrace Sidney's style, they can purchase black
SDT shirts which say "Official Waste Provider/New Orleans Saints".
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H/T Lovely
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*Labels: R.E., Trashanova
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16 Comments:
If they're the Official Waste Provider for the Saints, does that mean they'll put the bad draft picks out on the curb - with a shpritz of lemon on 'em...
...or is THAT where the bad draft picks are COMING from? Hmmmmm....
The stories never mention that he is a diminutive lil fella. I saw it with my own eyes at Bacchus. He'd be seriously challenged by a wrestling match with Prince.
Those boots do seem elevated.
Bwahahaha! Trashanova. Consider that one stolen.
I think he lives pretty discreet considering. I mean, hell, he could be like Al Copeland was in his heyday. Eeeew.
And yah, dem boots are yuck. Like 70s rawk stahhh!
Too late. Oyster's already stolen it from The Head Pelican. Not sure where they stole it from, though.
Also... little known fact: Reggie Bush has a T-shirt that says "Official Wasted Draft Choice of the New Orleans Saints" that is... he does if he ever received the package I sent him for Christmas.
Yeah you've got to release the rights to trashanova. Consider it an official nolasphere nickname.
Oh I see here's your answer.. Head Pel got it from NOLA Fugees. Now the circle is complete.
I don't see why he needs elevations. Ya don't see the 5'6" Harry Shearer running around the French Quarter trying to be something he's not. of Course Harry utilizes enhancements in other ways.
Oh man, don't give him a Dutch name, especially one as great as van Rijn. Not even as a joke.
He is not echte hollandse...
Yeah, I liked it better when the Quarter was filthy, too.
Seriously, I'm only in the Quarter and the CBD once or twice a week usually, so I can't really speak as to whether or not SDT is perfect in every way or not. I can say I see a whole lot of improvement when it comes to cleanliness since the (admittedly probably bloated) contract was let as compared to what it was in the decades before. And having worked for 20 years in St. Bernard Parish, ironically at the very business that was the source for much of the Torres family wealth that allowed SDT's jet set lifestyle, I'll admit I'm somewhat inclined to look with a slightly skeptical eye at business ventures headed by members of the Torres family. But while I get as much amusement as the next guy from the "Trashanova" moniker and the overplaying of his "soulful, brooding good looks"....sometimes I find the local blogosphere in general tends to pile onto the bandwagon a bit when it comes to the way some individuals can find themselves the object of almost unanimous disdain. Not that we have a dearth of valid targets for that kind of treatment--at least not while Hizzoner's still around. But often I almost feel that if a couple of bloggers get on a particular public figure's case, and the bloggers are "respected" enough and have a high enough standing locally, then it becomes almost the "correct" thing to do.
I guess I'm just saying I'd hate to see a guy whose company seems to actually be doing a fairly good job and who I don't know for a fact to be either corrupt or a jerk (Does the guy treat employees poorly? Does he skip out without tipping his waiter? Does he kick his dog? Any of that kind of stuff?) become the next target of ridicule just because he's getting a little pub lately that we might feel is not entirely warrented. Just my two cents.
Puddin,
I only speak for myself but I can say with certainty that I am a critical thinker and don't let mob mentality play into my decisions to bash or exalt local characters.
But the fact remains: He IS a little guy.
Pud is right. The awesome and terrible power of the mighty "misanthropic underground" must never be taken too lightly.
"Power"? Eh...I don't know if it classifies as a "power", like x-ray vision or the ability to turn steel into tapioca or anything. Although, come to think of it, you might be more inclined to agree with my premise if there were a more unanimous groundswell climbing aboard the Reggie Bush douche-wagon.
Varg....he is a TINY guy. On that there can be no dispute.
Oh, and I wanted to say if anyone has any information that SDT IS a royal pain in the ass or something, or a crook of the finest kind, I'm plenty willing to change sides.
I don't know what to make of SDT. As a first principle, I'd say that every individual or business that's contributed to Nagin since the election deserves to have that fact mentioned whenever it's even remotely relevant. If they contributed before the election, I'm not so sure, but it should certainly be brought when it is relevant.
I'm not sure if Torres was the patsy who agreed to a deal in which he'd be lucky to break even in return for a promise of other contracts, or if he was part of the scam. But without the great and wondrous miracle of a clean French Quarter and the distracting arguments over carts, the other two contracts might have been exposed to more scrutiny than they could have withstood. So, he was an enabler, whether he meant to be or not.
That's pretty cold...if his company hadn't done their job so well, you wouldn't be calling him out as an "enabler". They should have just given us the same crappy results we've grown accustomed to getting from everywhere else and things would have stayed all hunky-dory...LOL
If I were calling somebody out, I wouldn't be so wishy-washy about it. But face it, SDT was part of the garbage scam, and everybody knows it was a scam. The only question is whether Torres was an active participant in the scam or an unwitting party. He claims he's using money, nobody believes for one second the Metro or Richards are.
