On Friday, thousands of people piled onto the beach wearing green and yellow, many with the Brazilian flag painted on their faces.

CNN: Brazilians celebrate Olympics bid in Rio de Janeiro

The Janmashtami Festival will feature thousands of children with their faces painted blue, many carrying flutes and wearing peacock feathers in their hair, dressing like Lord Krishna as part of the festive spirit.

BBC: Janmashtami: A celebration on Krishna's birthday

"You can see it for yourself, " Weaver moaned to a reporter, staring Friday at all the vacant lots, overrun with weeds that are taller than he is, at all the abandoned shells of former homes, many of them still marked with the spray-painted "X" that became the grim symbol of a great American city nearly wiped off the map.

NPR: New Orleans: A Tale Of 2 Cities Since Katrina

It is an ancient-looking room, with a gleaming floor buffed by many feet for many years, its low willow-branch ceiling and beams brightly painted and hung with banners, the walls depicting floating Buddhas and snarling, dark-faced demons.

FORBES: Feature