1. I am so woefully ill prepared for a serious emergency that I would really like to take a few days off and learn – and practice a few things like turning all the utilities on and off, purifying water, and so on. I do not have time to practice all of these things now, … More On Ecology. On Competence. On Cities
PROBLEM: HOW TO CONVERT THIS INTO LUXURY, CALM, AND VOLUPTUOUSNESS: HURRICANE IKE IS A CATEGORY 4 STORM NOW AND IS EXPECTED TO BE A MAJOR HURRICANE WHEN HE REACHES THE CENTRAL GULF THURSDAY EVENING. HE COULD MAKE LANDFALL ANYWHERE ALONG THE LOUISIANA OR EASTERN TEXAS COAST, TO EXTRAPOLATE FROM CURRENT PROJECTIONS. PEOPLE NEED TO START … More Luxury, Calm, and Voluptuousness
This weekend I have begun shopping for Hurricane Ike. I considered putting off roofing until the end of hurricane season, so as not to have to repeat the job. The roofers got here before I could make this wild decision. But if Ike or any other storm comes here, I am not repairing the roof … More La Tricotea
We interrupt our program of amusement to ask: why did Ray Nagin or his government not make plans to set up post Gustav goods distribution centers? why did he plan to have people rely on charities and corner stores? was it not clear to him that many evacuated on public transportation and public aid, and … More Cinq Choses
My roof is leaking. Since Gustav, who dislodged several of my shingles, it has rained steadily and hard. Now there is water running down an interior wall, coming from the attic. After Katrina my insurance deductible for wind related damage in named storms was raised to $2,980. Ave Maria. This, however, is the kind of … More Latest News. On the Palins. On Language Teaching. On Storms
Most of this post was written before Hurricane Gustav came into being, but these first paragraphs are written from my very couch, with the help of electricity restored by workers from northern Texas! Other emergency workers I saw were from Kentucky, Indiana, and Oklahoma, and of course from here. There must have been many more, … More Reading for Pleasure Wednesday: Charles Barber, Helen Redmond
My culture shock is acute and may never leave me. In Peru, for instance, we were concerned with our own beauty, whereas here I am concerned with the beauty of my house. There are obvious explanations for this shift but I think the best explanation is less obvious: here it actually is within the reach … More Ostranenie
I wrote this post a few days after returning from Peru, so not all of the sensations and impressions it registers are current. It is ironic that I programmed it almost two weeks ago to come up the week of Hurricane Gustav. Soon we will be in a position to compare not only traffic jams … More On Culture Shocks
The eye of hurricane is going to Cajun country, it is now said, so we will look at pictures of the 1927 flood as experienced there from the Louisiana Digital Library. These pictures appear first in postage stamp size, but enlarge in a few seconds. Check out the Evangeline Oak in St. Martinville, which is … More Backwater Blues
I am not interested in the discussion of whether Sarah Palin is good for women or not – that is ridiculous, of course she isn’t. If people claim to vote for McCain so as to vote for a woman, I will only think they are trying to hide their closet Republicanism. I wondered, when McCain … More Sarah Palin
coldhearted scientist وداد 