You’ve probably seen “this video”:http://www.hs.fi/thickbox/video/1135259206031?KeepThis=true already, but if not, check it out. The speed with which the beach goes from “nice day” to “black as night” is pretty intimidating.
Incidentally, I already had a category for “weather”. WTF?
It started out brisk–almost too brisk for my bike ride to the coffee shop (since the Gaggia’s on the fritz)–but it has warmed up to merely pleasant with lots of sun.
I am suddenly pining for the Bay Area. Badly. It’s been nearly two years since our last trip out there–it’s feeling like it might be time for some travel.
“Robert Love”:http://rlove.org/ is a kernel-hacker (and former GNOME guy) whose blog I see through “Planet GNOME”:http://planet.gnome.org/.
He has posted “some pictures”:http://blog.rlove.org/2007/10/color-and-shape-of-fall.html of New England in Fall the first of which is almost artificial in its drama.
This, ultimately, is why I subscribe to all these planet aggregators–weird, unexpected stuff shows up.
…there are second- or third-hand reports that Alex is alive and well–or at least, was spotted in a bar in the Quarter on Wednesday, talking about getting out of the city.
I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me to wonder before, but apparently as of today, “Alex Chilton is still missing”:http://www.gumbopages.com/looka/archive/2005-09.html#3. He lived in the 9th ward, one of places the levees broke.
Fook.
I remember being quite happy on Tuesday morning, as it appeared that New Orleans was spared the worst treatment–not to minimize the damage that had been done to Biloxi and Gulfport or even Hattiesburg, but New Orleans is 1) closer to my heart, and 2) seemed like the place that held the most potential for going from a disaster to a clusterfuck.
I was actually happy hearing that the worst damage in the Quarter, which had really seemed like it would take it in the shorts, was that a bunch of trees around the cathedral had fallen (incidentally, refraining from taking out a statue of Jesus).
And then the first levee broke, and it’s just gone from bad to worse.
I’ve not sought out coverage–plenty is coming in through the blogs I read and I just don’t have the endurance to cope with much in the way of disaster pr0n–but it still pops up in odd places. For instance, Anne had been looking (fruitlessly) for chicory for several weeks, and I finally had the bright idea to ask at “Bean Traders”:http://beantraders.net/. Indeed, they have some (and will let us have some) because a regular customer was in New Orleans a few weeks ago and brought back several pounds for them. But, now, it may have to last awhile.
Gah.
I’ve been through a blizzard or maybe two in Boston. I have to say, though, it never occured to me to “jump out my window into a handy snowbank”:http://nat.org/2005/january/snowjump.jpg.
So, Laura, how you holding up?