While on screen Ross’s eyes convey a range of emotions, in person I received only one dispatch: extreme seriousness. Like a boxer weighing in, she stared me down and dared me to challenge her when we met during the recent New Orleans Film Festival. As she posed for photos, her eyes softened. Ross agreed to an interview and wanted me to ask the hard questions about her first attempt behind the camera; she said hard questions help to improve her craft.

Style, jazz, and a cause converged at Snug Harbor last week. The Uptown Jazz Orchestra Goes Pink was created to shine a proverbial light on smaller breast cancer organizations that too often go unseen. We chose two organizations, Mothers Month and Poems and Pink Ribbons, to receive the funds raised.

Jabari Greer, a defensive back for the New Orleans Saints, hosted his third annual Masquerade Ball benefiting his foundation, The Greer Campaign. The event was held at Eiffel Society and featured several bands, New Orleans food, and a live auction with sports memorabilia and art local and international artists.

I didn’t set out to buy a pair of overalls because of Zora Neale Hurston or her denim-wearing heroine Janie Crawford. I didn’t buy them for any sort of practical reason either, unless you count the fact that they cost next to nothing on eBay. That’s practical enough, I guess.

Lolis Eric Elie, a story editor on the show and OA contributing writer, sent me an e-mail: “Your sartorial splendor has been noted. As a FYI, nobody dresses up around here. Or I should say, seldom does any one dress up around here.”