Facebook Status Of The Day

Courtesy of Jesus Needs New PR:

Yeah, like Cher's kid is responsible for the end of the world.

Video: Bill Nye "The Science Guy" "Confuses" Fox News Anchor

Climate change and hurricanes, as explained by a children's television show host, gets too "confusing" for the anchor and viewers of the Fox Business Channel.



When it comes to debating scientific evidence for global warming, couldn't Fox find a more accredited authority on the subject than Bill Nye?

What's next?  Elmo and Big Bird debate tort reform?

Video: Platoon Of Guard Troops Nearly Drown In Flood Waters

Due to the rising flood waters brought on by Irene over the weekend, the levee in Manville, NJ, broke.  The water level Sunday afternoon eventually got as high as 7 or 8 feet.  It was so high, that two National Guard trucks, specially equipped to drive in such conditions, stalled and floated down the city streets.

The best part of the video...some of the soldiers couldn't swim.  Why would you send people that can't swim into a flooded city?



Your tax dollars at work, people.

Video: Irene Destroys 141 Year Old Vermont Bridge

Of all the states in the North Atlantic, Vermont appears to have received the worst of Hurricane Tropical Storm Irene.  Most of the state is under feet of water.

Sunday afternoon, the Lower Bartonsville Covered Bridge, built by Sanford Grangers in 1870, succumbed to the rising flood waters of the Williams River.



It's a sad day for the people of the Rockingham area, as well as the State of Vermont, to lose such a beautiful and historical structure.

Photos: Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial

The MLK memorial in Washington D.C., was scheduled to be dedicated yesterday, on the 48th anniversary of King's "I Have a Dream" speech.  With landfall of Hurricane Irene this previous weekend on the East coast, the dedication has been rescheduled to a date "yet to be determined in September or October".  In the meantime, take a look a number of photos of this awe inspiring memorial.

At 29 feet tall, the Stone of Hope is the centerpiece of the memorial.

The Stone of Hope is made to appear as if it is coming out of the Mountain of Despair.

The entire memorial complex sits on four acres.  It is surrounded by numerous paths, lined by cherry trees.

The walls lining the paths are inscribed with quotes from King's life.  They are illuminated at night.

The memorial had a "soft opening" on Thursday of last week, meaning it was open to became open to the public.  The dedication is just a formality, in which the President, civil rights leaders and dignitaries make speeches and pose for the cameras.  It is quite a memorial.  Makes a beautiful addition to Washington D.C.

Video: 'Goodnight Irene'

To close out the weekend, I thought it would be nice to play one of my all time favorite tunes.

This was recorded Saturday night at O'Flaherty's, in NYC's Restaurant Row.  As Hurricane Irene was approaching, a group of Broadway performers had gathered to sing...and drink the night away.

The video's performers are Alex Harvey on guitar, and Chris "Mr. Sullyphane" Sullivan on ukulele and vocals.  Sullivan is currently on featured in 'Chicago' as Amos Hart.

Pay close attention to the improvised lyrics in verses three and four.  Very nice.  Enjoy.

Video: Hurricane Reporter Covered In "Organic Material"

Speaking of Ocean City, Maryland, Tucker Barnes, from D.C. station WTTG-TV was doing a live spot from the boardwalk last night, when the waves started washing him over, with what he described with as an "organic foam".  He said that, "I can tell you first hand, it doesn't smell great", and, "it doesn't taste great".  I imagine not:



Turns out, that "organic foam" was probably the effects of raw sewage that had seeped into the ocean.  Congratulations Tucker, you were swallowing shit on live television.

Something tells me that Tucker Barnes won't go on location for so much as even a drizzle from now on.

Photo Of The Day

As a way to keep their pool furniture from blowing away, employees of the Hilton in Ocean City, Maryland, were told to shove it all into the hotel's pool.  On Thursday, the city's mayor, Rick Meehan, ordered a mandatory evacuation in advance of Hurricane Irene.

Video: Live On Weather Channel...It's Raining Men! (NSFW)

According to a live feed from Virginia Beach this afternoon, it's raining cats, dogs and naked college guys.  Check out the guy in the red shorts about thirty seconds in.



Hallelujah!

Hurricane Irene Could Threaten 9/11 Memorial

In the event that a hurricane should ever hit New York City, the city is set up in "Zones", depending on how close they are to the water, and the topography of the city.  "Zone A" are areas that would be in danger in the event of a Category 1 hurricane.  "Zone B" is for Category 2, "Zone C" is for Category 3, and so on.

With Hurricane Irene expected to make landfall in New York City tomorrow morning, mayor Michael Bloomberg has ordered mandatory evacuations for those living in "Zone A".  That comes to roughly 370,000 people that have been asked to leave their homes by 5PM today.  To make things worse, all public transportation (subways, buses) were stopped as of noon, in advance of the storm.  They will not be back online until Tuesday.

At the bottom left hand corner of Manhattan (Manhattan is the area that is entirely wrapped in "Zone A"), you'll see an area that looks like a notch is cut out of the island.  Between the spots on the map that say "Battery Park City" and "Bowling Green".  This is the location of Ground Zero.

Next month, on the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks, the 9/11 Memorial is being dedicated at the site of the former World Trade Center location.  The memorial was designed to have water gently falling, from ground level, into the imprints of the towers.  Here are a couple of photos taken during construction showing how massive this project is.  Since completion, developers have tried to keep a lid on photography of the memorial until it's official unveiling on September 11th.

With only two weeks to assess and repair any damage made to the memorial, the city is going to be on a tight schedule.  As is, the site has been embroiled in a mass of controversy concerning designs and countless delays.  It has been a struggle for crews to meet their ten anniversary deadline for the memorial.

I will keep you posted.

Photo Of The Day

If you live in New York City, rats are part of the territory.  Sadly, there is no way to avoid them.  But, this is ridiculous.

The rat, killed Wednesday in a housing project in Brooklyn, is approximately three feet long.  Experts believe that it is a pet rat that was at one time imported from Gambia.  They're unable to reproduce.  The worst part of the story:  the Housing Authority worker that killed it said there were two more just as big that got away.

(Shudders)

In related news, there are tens of millions of rats that call the New York City subway system their home.  As Hurricane Irene approaches within the next 24 hours, many city officials realize that there is a distinct possibility that part of the subway network may be flooded after she passes overhead.  With that in mind, an MTA official announced yesterday to expect the possibility of millions of subway rats "seeking higher ground".  Lovely.

Maybe New York City should just change it's name to the Fire Swamp.