Saturday, September 10, 2005

tech, art & Katrina news for September 10

hi folks,

The Impeach Bush blogstorm seems to be subsiding a bit with something called coolstreaming (?) replacing it as the top search term in Technorati...anyway I hear that Bush's approval ratings have dropped to 38% today...

Yahoo headlines say that Bush has vowed to make New Orleans it "more vibrant than ever"...hopefully "vibrant" is not simply going to mean "gentrified"...

from the NYT via Boingboing:

Some experts warn that the crisis atmosphere and the open federal purse are a bonanza for lobbyists and private companies and are likely to lead to the contract abuses, cronyism and waste that numerous investigations have uncovered in post-war Iraq.

From Naomi Klein, also via Boingboing:

Jimmy Reiss, chairman of the New Orleans Business Council, told Newsweek that he has been brainstorming about how "to use this catastrophe as a once-in-an-eon opportunity to change the dynamic". The council's wish list is well-known: low wages, low taxes, more luxury condos and hotels.

can't remember where I read it but my favorite headline of the past few days has been "the Mainstream Media Grows a Spine"...

New content in the loop includes an article about censorship and the top ten stories the media has chosen (?) to ignore in the past year...mountaintop removal was #10. Kudos to Appalachian Voice newspaper for its dogged determination to bring this issue to light...the Toothless Media should take some lessons from AV.

I hear on my TV that there is a local need for foster pet parents for some of the pets that have been rescued from the Gulf area...dogs, cats, and goats. Pretty much every pet story I read on Katrina makes me start crying.

I sure wish I could be a foster goat mom but I don't think I am quite ready for the challenge of keeping tabs on a goat. Goats are smart, I am warned. Very smart. They are quite the little Houdinis, I am told.

Lets see, what else. I will be hanging some work up at Oddfella's in Floyd soon and also in the next week or so will be hanging some really cool photos by Mack Whatley up at the Traces Gallery in the Jacksonville Center. Right now David Franusich has some great photos up there so take a look if you get a chance.

Lauren, the lady at Greenstar Farm, just gave me some flyers for the new shop they have opened at the farm. Vintage stuff, toys, books, herbal remedies, folk art, soap, curios, baskets, seashells etc etc. Call the shop at (540) 951-4810 for hours & directions.

Well I need to go now but thanks for reading. Have a great day.

--Suzy

tags: Blacksburg, Floyd, Virginia, art, tech, news, technorati, impeach Bush, New Orleans, Hurricane Katrina, reconstruction, gentrification, censorship, mountaintop removal