Hey, my cousin called. He was in Hammond, LA. Anyway, he's OK, but is hungry.

This post is a good introduction to the clue train for most of us. I sometimes am annoyed at Debra Dickerson(we don't care if random white men want to fuck you) but sometimes she shows good sense. Of course this sort of education is hard going not because so many people refuse to avail themselves of it, although that is true- but the fact that to many people it doesn't matter what actually happened just so long as they don't have to take responsibility to help anyone or fix anything. Humans are depressing.

The whole world has sympathy for our plight. In other news, stupid assholes embarrass themselves on the internet.

More on the racist media. Why do people point this out? Well, biased media is one of the ways whites cut themselves off from reality. (No, lynching somebody and calling somebody a cracker are not equally bad) By pointing out that not every media representation of blacks is accurate, we hope to teach everyone to question things, to look at the reality on the ground and to compare it to what is represented, and then say hmmm...

In other news, saying that this doesn't matter isn't fooling anyone.

From wikipedia, more ways to conserve energy. I keep the lights off in my dorm room during the day and open the blinds to let sunlight in. I reuse packing materials for my business. Also, plastic grocery bags end up as bathroom trashbags. You can use a freecycle group to keep things from ending up in landfills. You could also join a rideshare group or carpool with friends or coworkers. I would recommend southerners use blankets and layers this winter, but I have no advice for northerners. It's fucking cold up there.


Also, in certain cities, you can use a zipcar service to rent a car for a little bit. I wish they had this in atlanta.

Here is a board for information exchange, offers of shelter, and relocation information for the victims of Katrina. While I fear the ones who need it most may not be able to get internet access, hearts are in the right places.

It seems that the superdome will be evacuated. I had been worried about the thousands of people left behind in the flooding. I think we need to do a better job in emergencies like this. For example, to evacuate we are depending on private cars and having enough money to stay in hotels for weeks. There needs to be a better way, as this leaves the destitute high and dry. Think of how many deaths we could have prevented with a better system to get people out. There were traffic jams trapping people on the roads, which exposed people to more danger, even if they had a private car.

I've been trying to get the book Status Anxiety for a year. It was always checked out from my school library. Someone for some reason had had that book for over a year. I couldn't exactly recall it because I didn't need it for a class or anything. Yesterday, finally, I looked it up, and it was in. So today I went to the library. At first I wondered if there was even a HM821, all I could see was HM251s. Then I stumbled upon the fact that the call numbers skipped several hundred, and finally found the 821s. Then I had to drill down to the letters. I could see the Cs, and the Es, but there wasn't a D. I looked again and again, dragged a stool so that I could look a bit higher, but the book was simply missing. As I nearly resigned myself to actually buying a copy, I looked hopelessly at the overflow shelf. All the social psych books nearly in a row...and there it was. I had finally found it.

I think this story says something about my character, and I worry it's not very flattering.

Finally, some non hurricane news. I advise everyone to take one for the team, and either bike or walk to places that are near by, and try to take public transportation as much as you can. Not only do you save gas money, you also save gas and help the environment. Also, it can help you lose weight if you are having difficultly. Biking a few miles a day is good for the heart.


Also, turn off lights when you're not using them, use efficient light bulbs, don't leave your computer on when you're not using it. Seriously people, if you download more stuff than you can ever watch in your lifetime, what's the use?

In more hurricane news, Amanda from Pandagon worries about blaming the victim. On fark, I have already seen some posts saying that the people who were stuck were just too stupid to get out. Hopefully those were just trolls, but it is much easier to say "personal responsibility" than actually take some yourself. In another post, she laughs at people who thinks the storm looked like a fetus, and thus it was punishment for all us whores who had abortions at Mardi Gras or whatever.

Blackfolk are on the attack. Color coded Katrina coverage leaves some hopping mad. This annoys me personally. It's just like a whole city just got destroyed, can't you give your racial bias a rest? And I don't care if they meant it or not. When this sort of crap comes out of you when you're not thinking about it, well, to me, that's more indicative of what you really think than what you say when you think you are being watched.

Another blogger writes an eloquent post on why black people are so damn 'sensitive'. It's not just this one thing that makes me mad- it's the everydayness of the bullshit. I'd not mind if like white people worked hard to fix the results of past racism and weren't racist, and then, one day, some guy bust out with the n word, and then they said sorry, and went back to their former hard working ways. But when you are just lazy all the time, and then do something like that, you're in for some serious rage. Speaking of that, here's the follow up post to the other post I cited. I like how she noted that you don't have to ignore the obvious to have a good discussion on racism. That's in fact why I say 'white people' as I'm well aware that if I divide whites into the good moral majority(in my experience the majority of whites are not actively fighting racism, in fact many of them seem to be actively helping it along) and the bad evil racists, everyone is going to think they are one of the good ones, even if they burned a cross on someone's lawn yesterday.

Wargles, I think it's time to freak out now. I think I'm going on a news fast starting tomorrow. It's just too worrying. I'll just keep waiting for that call when my mom finally gets some news of how my cousin is holding up.

But in good news, you can always donate to Americares. I donated to them during the Tsunami disaster, them and Architecture for Humanity. and Doctors Without Borders.

In more international aid news, Russia pitches in. Also, FEMA explains how to best help when disaster strikes. Wanting to help is admirable, but the victims of this hurricane do not need your ratty winter coats, people.

Fund raising and blood drive for Katrina for people in the DC area. Looting and bad sanitation reported.

International aid is on the way to the victims of Hurricane Katrina thanks to Chavez of Venezuela. It's good to see other countries care about our tragedies.

This news video is a bit blurry, but you can get a glimpse of the destruction. Also, here is a interview with the mayor of New Orleans, who explains how much has been destroyed. I can't imagine dealing with a city where the electricity might be out for 6 weeks and there's no drinkable water.

I'd like to remind everyone to donate to the Salvation Army as well. This hurricane could take millions of dollars in aid.

Tragic hurricane video. I nearly cried just watching it. Even the reporter looked like she was going to burst into tears any second.

Well, it seems that several cities in the US are under water, and there are lots of dead and homeless, and the devastation will cost billions and take months and months to recover, so hey, look, there's a contest for the best egl male! At this time of national disaster, we can always see which man looks best in a dress.

Donate to the Red Cross.