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September 9, 2005
Oh, Brave New World...
...that has such people in it!
Today's link roundup of Katrina-related catastrophe features 3 absolutely fascinating (morbidly so) reports from the front lines.
If you haven't seen this, you need to read it. Bitch, Ph.D. points to a first-hand report from two Emergency Medical Technicians who were trapped in New Orleans after arriving for a convention.
The second story comes from Boing Boing, and describes the unimaginable conditions in one of the Oklahoma relocation camps.
Last, there's a terrifying entry in the Wikipedia on Rex 84, a program developed by our own government.
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In related news, there's been lots and lots of talk of the blogosphere replacing the major media news sources. Much of that talk has been complete crap.
But now we have an intriguing situation at the AmericaBlog -- the blog's readers have contributed money to fund a "roving reporter," Kyle Shank, as he travels amid the devastation and reports on what he sees, hears, and smells.
Check out Kyle's posts here, here, here, here, and here.
What makes this especially interesting for me is the subversion of authority implicit in this move. The traditional nature of Kyle's reportage makes him more or less interchangeable with any other news talking head, but the fact that Kyle isn't an officially-sanctioned and vetted reporter actually gives him and his reports a different kind and amount of authority with AmericaBlog readers.
I may not trust Brian Williams of NBC, for instance, as far as I could throw his bland, over-processed, aggressively non-offensive self, precisely because he's the talking head of a multi-national mega-corporate entity (though his blogging has been pretty darn good lately). But I like Kyle, and trust what he has to say. I know he isn't bought and paid for by money from the thousands of companies owned by General Electric, Viacom, or Disney. That means that he also isn't certified by the supposedly rigorous standards and policies of network news, however, and could be anything from a raging psychopath to a tinfoil-hat-wearing nutjob.
Do I care?
Not really. Kyles's photos could be doctored, his posts could be completely fabricated, and he could be sitting at home right now in his mother's basement in Weehawken.
I suppose my best assurance of accuracy and reality is, strangely enough, the rabidly partisan divide in online discourse today. If Kyle is, in fact, a Jerseyite celler-dweller crowned with Reynolds Wrap, I have no doubt that the right wing of the blogosphere will jump into action, denounce him viciously, and declare that because of this, the disaster relief has been a complete success (see, for instance, Rathergate).
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But for now, enough with the Katrina-fest. I'm going to my happy place. I hope to see you there.
Posted by reparent at September 9, 2005 11:02 AM
Comments
Don't look now, but I think the volcano in your happy place is erupting.
Haven't we had enough natural disasters for a while?
Posted by: coeurlion at September 9, 2005 12:06 PM
that volcano looks like it's about to erupt...
Posted by: sster at September 9, 2005 12:07 PM
The volcano is not really erupting.
It's happy-place-erupting, which means that it keeps a nice little amount of orange lava at the caldara, and every once in a while vents a little puffy white steam.
It's picturesque, people. In happy places, volcanos don't erupt and displace or kill people. They make people say, "Ooh, my goodness! How lovely our volcano looks today."
Jeez. I thought everyone knew that...
Posted by: Richard Parent ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://reparent.blog.uvm.edu/nav-commenters.gif)
at September 9, 2005 3:42 PM
Dr. Richard -- I spoke with RAM this afternoon, and reviewed your write-up in the local paper -- congratulations on your new post, hope all is well with you! I have your blog bookmarked now, will keep checking back. See ya!
Chris OK
Posted by: CPOkay at September 9, 2005 5:38 PM
Gee, your happy place seems an awful lot like Asteriod B 612.
Just stear clear of that rose bitch -- she's a manipulator!
Responding to Chris, I prefer to think of Burlington as more of an outpost than a post. The former sounds fancifully remote and, er, queer. The latter makes it sound like we're in flagrant violation of Don't Ask, Don't Tell.
Posted by: coeurlion at September 10, 2005 10:50 AM
Good to see you, CP!
And yes, Coeurlion, your knowledge of Le Petite Prince is quite impressive.
It's nice to know that happy places can still generate so much thought and discussion.
Posted by: Richard Parent at September 10, 2005 3:41 PM
There's something tantalizingly Freudian about your typo in the title of "Le Petit Prince."
One might almost discern a sort of gender confusion in that sort of comment.
Posted by: coeurlion at September 10, 2005 9:14 PM