Sunday Cat 5 Blogging

Just a quick post about Hurricane Katrina. My fervent hope is that the hurricane will be radically diminished by the powerful counterforce swirling around it, one of the most awesomely retardant forces in the universe: I speak, of course, of Hype. I firmly believe that it was Hype that dimmed Comet Kohoutek, emptied Capone's vault, thwarted the electronic devastation of Y2K, and caused 90% of Superbowls to totally suck. Hype may even be the mysterious "dark matter" that will eventually halt the universe's expansion.

But if even the power of Hype is helpless to subdue this beast, then it is going to be Bad. Very, Very Bad - homes and buildings flattened, animals killed, thousands or tens of thousands of deaths. There is a political dimension to the badness, in that global warming may be partially responsible for the storm's power; in that National Guard resources have been sucked away to Iraq because we don't have enough regular troops; in that FEMA resources have been cut and evacuation plans sloughed off; in that massive resources have not been mobilized to get people the fuck out of there. And heaven help the poor people who are huddled together in the Superdome as it creaks and groans and floods, hoping and praying that it doesn't cave in or become a watery tomb.

But above and beyond the political aspect, the simple fact is that regardless of what we do to avert or escape it, Nature is still powerful, and Nature still kills. And Nature has a way of reminding us of that fact, hoping to snap us out of our complacent hubris. Of course, it never works, at least not for more than a few days or a few weeks, but Nature keeps trying.

I'll just conclude with an atheist/agnostic prayer for the Orleansians' safety, and a couple of donation links:

Red Cross

Noah's Wish (disaster-abandoned pet rescue)