“It doesn’t matter. Who is without a flaw?”

There’s been a lot said and written already about Obama’s speech on racism. But my favorite view so far has been Cobb’s:

Obama certainly was willing to take on that mantle as the leader of the free world, and why wouldn’t he? The president is many things to many people. But when push comes to shove, there is only so much of that symbolism any reasonable man can shoulder, and Obama has demonstrated a bit of wisdom in shrugging off that responsibility today. He disowns no one, and takes no responsibility for their dysfunctions. That’s on you.

There’s really nothing left to say.

Indeed. It’s up to people to make the world a better place. Leaders can inspire, but the final change rests with you.

On Saturday night, March 15th, a storm system moved through the area. It knocked out a transmission station in local county, putting most of Savannah in the dark and casting lightning throughout the sky. Me and Lisa watched from the darkness porch and resisted the urge to go driving around. That was smart as numerous accidents occurred and the city was put in mild state of chaos. It’s rare that the entire city loses power, usually it’s just a section or two.

I’ve always loved being in the midst of storms (I stuck around Savannah when Hurricane Floyd came through in 1999), there’s something gloriously alive about it, but ya gotta play it safe too. There were tornado warnings for surrounding counties, so we made sure we had emergency supply ducks in a row and just hung out on the porch watching the world go by. I too a few photos, which can be found over on Flickr, while cell phone video is below.

Much has written and said about the drought in Georgia and what it means. But hearing about the drought and then seeing the effects up close are dratiscally different.

Back in February, we spent a weekend at cabin in Santee, South Carolina, which has numerous campsites and cabins along Lake Marion, a man made lake. Though we had gotten a cabin on the lake, we had arrived late at night, so there was much to see. The next morning I got up and walked the 30 yards to the shorelline and was perplexed by the strange trees I saw on the shore, pictured below (yeah it’s crappy photo, but my camera’s light sensor seemed to go on the fritz, blowing out the highlights)


It took me a minute to realize that I was seeing the part of the trees that was usually under water. More frightening was that I seeing about 5-6 feet of previously hidden tree parts.

Then I looked around and saw just how bad it really was:


The previous waterline was visible all around the lake. Where I was standing had previously been underwater and now it was just…gone, with nothing left to replace it. And judging from how much water had gone done, it would be a long time, if ever, before the water levels returned to their previous state.

Really funny recap of the first 3 seasons of Battlestar Galatica, in a mere eight minutes, in preparation for the 4th season premiere on April 4th

http://youtube.com/watch?v=-6yL_tMUDps

The house was getting electrical work done recently, so the power had to completely disconnected all day and I had to be home with the workmen.

It was odd to sit home all day and do without modern life for the most part. There was no internet, no computer, hell there was even a light a bathroom, though luckily I remembered where everything was. Lunch consisted of ordered pizza, a book was read, even a movie watched on the iPod, but it all felt isolating. The workmen were friendly, but busy as they scurried all over the house, no time to chat, they had deadlines see.

And with no internet, the disconnect from other people felt complete. Remember this was just a standard work day in length, nothing excessively long, but it felt extremely isolating, as if all connections with humanity were cut off, which is a foolish thought on one hand, yet on the other a recognition of the many human contacts I have these days via the net, usually through email.

Is it any wonder that now I’m lusting after a handheld Wifi device after that day? If you’re bound to one spot for most of the day, it helps to have a multitude of human contact.

There was an explosion at the Imperial Sugar Refinery in Port Wentworth, around 7:30 this evening., Details are sketchy right now, as it emergency crews try to deal with the aftermath and the fire under control. WTOC has the best info so far and I’m watching this thread over at Savannah Underground and this thread over at The Savannah Star Chamber message board.

9:30pm: Googlemaps shot of the area, taken before the explosion of course.

10:00pm: Police are requesting that families only send a single representative to the scene, in order to keep crowds under control. Families are being ushered to Our Lady of Lords Church.

The Savannah River has been closed from North of the Talmadge bride to the Houlihan bridge.

According to a short interview with a doctor at Memorial Hospital, over 30 injured have arrived there, all of them critical.

10:22pm: CNN story

10:25pm: Images showing up on The Star Chamber message board


10:40 pm: Savannah River is back open


Friday 8am: Doesn’t seem to be as bad as originally thought. Still six people unaccounted for. About 20 people have been or are in the process of being transported to the Augusta Burn Center. Fires are still raging and part of the plant has been destroyed, leading to structural concerns.

Been on a music buying binge the past couple of days. No particular reason, just the ache for some of the music that’s been lost over the years and for some of the shiny new pieces. Some of it was stuff I have on CDs around the house that I dug up to put in iTunes and on the iPod (which is named Emma for no reason I can’t explain). There’s a larger selection of rap than usual, but I was listening to some older rap recently and realized how much I miss the non-gangsta stuff.

Here’s what’s new:
“Since the Last Time” Arrested Development

Why didn’t I know these guys had put out another CD?! You’d think it would have been news.


“Game Theory” The Roots
‘cause you can never have too much Roots


“Ghost Dog: The Way Of The Samurai - The Album” Forest Whitaker;


Ghost Dog was odd movie, staring Forest Whitaker as modern day follower of the ninja school of thought and fighting. The strange part wasn’t the black ninja, but the overweight ninja. What they couldn’t get him in a gym?



“Whites Off Earth Now!!” Cowboy Junkies
The first CD of one of my favorites bands, mostly covers though. But their rendition of Me and the Devil Blues by Robert Johnson still gives me chills.


“Dead Can Dance - Toward The Within” Brendan Perry
A really amazing recording from a live concert, recommended to mewhen I was talking voice lessons (hey Carol!).


“The Book of Secrets” Loreena McKennitt
This one replaces a lost CD. There’s lots of various goodies on this one, but the prize is her adaption of Alfred Noyes’ poem, “The Highwayman”


Foo Fighters Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace
It’s The Foo Fighers, why not buy it.


Musicology, Prince
I loved him back in the day, but the parting with The Revolution rubbed me wrong and the love dwindled. But dammit, it’s Prince, you know?


‘neath Your Covers, Pt. 1 Cowboy Junkies
A 5 song EP of covers from some of the artists that influenced the Junkies. Easily my favorite of the bunch.



I also went through my CD collection and pulled out Portishead’s Live: Roseland NYC and have been grokking that. The live version of Sour Times is incredible.

Stallone tells the Governator a joke and suddenly your view of the world changes.

Cloverfield is, quite simply, a scifi/horror Blair Witch Project, wrapped up in the shell of a Lost episode. Yet as good and entertaining as the movie is , what it says about current American culture is one of the bleakest things I’ve seen in a while and I saw No Country for Old Men, which looks like a Disney musical compared to Cloverfield.

In the movie, New York City is attacked by a giant monster and all hell breaks loose. We see the attack from the vantage point of a group of 20 year old friends, who are filming the attack as they first try to escape the city and then try to rescue one of their own. They don’t know what’s happening or why. No one does, not even the US military as it tries to kill the creature. There are no quick thinking scientists who have a theory where the monster came from or a cool and calm solider who’s determined to defeat menace. One minute people are enjoying a party, the next there’s the chaos and the terror of the unknown. And the characters seem to know it on some level. Though their world is reduced to nothing and they’re thrust into a situation they couldn’t have dreamed of, they take it relatively in stride, perhaps because deep down they know, as we all do, just how close the randomness of life and death can wreak havoc on us.