TGIF! Who's ready to clock out?

Today's weather: Keep the umbrella handy. Lots of showers are heading our way through the weekend, with threats of heavy rain and flash flooding. High today of 88.

• Some weekend events have already adjusted plans. More on that below.

🎧 Sounds like: "Soul is Invincible" by Steve Gleason.

• The Times-Picayune's Keith Spera has a story on how the former Saint and ALS activist created his first music album.

Today’s newsletter is 896 words — a 3.5-minute read.

A new museum exhibition and book explore the life and work of Bunny Matthews, the artist behind New Orleans' locally iconic Vic and Nat'ly cartoons.

Why it matters: The retrospective offers a gentle reminder that, for Matthews especially, sometimes loving New Orleans means recognizing its many faults, too.

The big picture: The Historic New Orleans Collection hosts the exhibition through May 9.

• "Bunny Matthews: His Life, Art, and Obsessions" was produced alongside a new book by Alison Fensterstock and Michael Tisserand with the same title.
• Admission is free.

Catch up quick: Matthews was a writer and artist in New Orleans, first working for alternative publications like "Figaro" in the 1970s.

• By 1982, he'd joined The Times-Picayune where he invented the Vic and Nat'ly characters.
• The resulting cartoons put the two Yats on New Orleans' front row, where they reacted to, lampooned and grumbled over daily life in one of the world's weirdest cities.
• Matthews died in 2021, but he left behind a treasure trove of records, memorabilia and artwork.

Zoom in: HNOC curatorial cataloguer Emily Perkins went through all of it, and the book and the exhibition were produced in collaboration with Matthews' family.

• Matthews' "obsessions jumped out," says Perkins. While the book goes into additional categories, Perkins "pulled what I thought were the biggest obsessions: New Orleans' authenticity, the accent, Mardi Gras, holidays, things like that."
• The result is an exhibition with the usual examples of Matthews' work throughout his life — but also a life-size replica of Vic and Nat'ly's bar, an interactive board where you can draw your own cartoons and recordings of Yat-accented people speaking.

The intrigue: "Bunny didn't just celebrate New Orleans' culture. He loved to critique it as well," Perkins says. "He loved hating on Jazz Fest from the perspective of 'who is this for?' And that's a conversation we're still having."

• "And Vic and Nat'ly could be critical, kind of griping. … They were his mouthpiece."

Share with a Yat

📚 The New Orleans Public Library reopens its Children's Resource Center tomorrow. The library facility has a play area for babies, toddlers and preschoolers, plus curated materials to support early learning. (Reopening events)

⚖️ New Orleans is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on the legality of a state law that abolished the city criminal clerk's office after Calvin Duncan had already been elected to fill the position. (Press release)

• The law was the catalyst for the current tension between local and state leaders, which ultimately led to Attorney General Liz Murrill's now-tossed indictment. Catch up quick.

🤯 A Cut Off man can drive his houseboat down Louisiana's bayous using just a remote control. (Watch the video, via ABC News)

🤑 Rep. Troy Carter had the seventh-costliest congressional reimbursements last year. Carter said his $35,442 in expenses for lodging and meals was based on the "cost of living" in Washington, D.C. (Washington Post)

🚲 100 New Orleanians can score up to $1,200 for an e-bike through a new city voucher program. How it works.

• Stay safe out there. E-bike fatalities and injuries are on the rise.

The forecasted rain has already changed some events this weekend.

• The National Fried Chicken Festival will now be next weekend.
• The Fall Garden Festival at City Park is canceled.
• Check for other weather adjustments before heading out.

🧌 The Krewe of Krampus presents its Swampus walking parade at 7:30pm Saturday through the French Quarter.

• The Halloween parade focuses on sustainable throws and handmade costumes. It has a dedicated viewing area for people with disabilities.

🌶️ Like "Hot Ones" on YouTube? You'll love "Spicy Bits." It's an improv comedy show at Big Couch where performers tackle increasingly difficult games while eating progressively hotter hot sauce.

🎉 Festivals

• NOLAxNOLA at various venues
• Abita Fall Fest on the North Shore. The festival is Friday only and organizers say they're not certain about the event's future.

🏈 Football

• The Saints host the Falcons at the Dome for Monday Night Football.
• LSU vs. McNeese at home.
• Tulane is off.
• Southern vs. University of Arkansas - Pine Bluff for homecoming.

⚔️ Salon de Jeanne d'Arc is a free conference tomorrow at the East Bank Regional Library that explores Joan of Arc, medieval history and more. There's a historical fencing demonstration too.

🇵🇭 A Filipino cultural celebration is at the New Orleans Jazz Museum. The free event features film, dance and live music.

🎤 Live shows

• Tank & the Bangas perform with Dawn Richard and the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra at the Orpheum.
• Comedian Terry Fator is at the Mahalia Jackson.
• Jose Madero is at House of Blues.
• Icelandic indie-folk band Of Monsters and Men is at the Civic.

More events

🍊 Carlie is making a fall simmer pot.

📘 Chelsea is having a hard time putting down Emma Brodie's "Into the Blue."

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Thanks to our editor Jen Burkett.