The Random Bemused Musings of Alan Partridge

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Hurricane Sandy, Part 2

The calm after the storm.

...and Prospero's magic does not cease to amaze. The entire East Coast seaboard of the United States was in some way affected by Hurricane Sandy's devastating swath of destruction and death. The overnight death toll is given as 30, but that may rise as new storm victims are discovered or those currently in hospital care succumb to their wounds.

Above: Example of a widely-circulated, doctored photograph supposedly showing Hurricane Sandy storm clouds ominously hovering over the New York City skyline.

Aside from the death tolls and bizarre images of destruction in the wake of Hurricane Sandy's wrath, a new phenomenon is spreading--the posting of fake Hurricane Sandy images through social media. These photos do not depict realistic images, but improbable scenes of devastation, such as large waves pouncing on the Statue of Liberty or ominous storm clouds over the New York City skyline. Since many businesses were closed during the weather emergency, I assume a few bored workers stuck at home had time to play around with doctored images and shared those photos with their online friends. But others took photographs of actual property damage, perhaps for insurance purposes, but also to chronicle the historical destruction of Hurricane Sandy.

When you stop to survey the enormous amount of damage or pause to reflect on what happened over the past few days, you begin to appreciate the raw, uncontrollable power of nature. Some people might even ascribe this meteorological phenomenon to divine will, but I cannot go down that road merely because the deaths and destruction seem so random. Why would God--anyone's god--bring about such catastrophe? Perhaps we are being tested again. I don't know. But what I do know is that in all of humanity, no matter how boastful our claims, we could never rival nature's sheer force and power.

That is why I hardly pay any attention to environmentalists who claim we are somehow damaging the planet by our very existence. They say mankind causes so much devastation that the earth will never recover. Oh really? So when a volcano erupts and molten lava burns down tropical forests while changing the landscape, the Earth will never recover from that catastrophic event? Or when a large-magnitude earthquake shakes up the land and creates mammoth-sized tsunamis in the Pacific region, the Earth will never recover from that event either? Or when a global megastorm like Hurricane Sandy just happens to flood low-lying areas and tears down everything in its path through ferocious and unyielding winds, the Earth will never survive such costly destruction? I have to muster a mocking laugh at those apocalyptic and fatalistic environmentalists who believe--with the height of human arrogance--that we can damage the Earth more than Mother Nature herself can. We're at the mercy of the Earth, not the other way around.

I SURVIVED HURRICANE SANDY, WINDY and RAINY

October 28, 29 and 30, 2012.

~Andrew K.

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Hurricane Sandy, Part 1

The calm before the storm.

Media coverage of Hurricane Sandy is--as with any major storm--at a fever pitch. Nothing sells more commercial television time between newscasts than a little weather scare. Every storm becomes the "Storm of the Century" if a TV channel can sell you a few more fast-food burgers or offer a "storm sale" from the local car dealership. How responsible are meteorologists in reporting this upcoming storm?

One side effect of the weather scare permeated by various media outlets is to create a rush on emergency goods, such as bottled water, flashlights, batteries, etc., which helps the local economies of businesses, but also results in a shortage of supplies. That is what I experienced on Sunday, October 28, 2012 as my wife and I went from store to store looking for a simple flashlight, in case the power goes out in the house and we're left in the dark. Not one store had a serviceable flashlight, and we checked them all--Home Depot, Lowe's, Sears Hardware, Walmart, Kmart, Giant Supermarkets, Rite-Aid, and even a couple of dollar stores. All sold-out, no thanks to the weather scare. None of these stores even had the D-size batteries we were looking for in order to replenish our "lantern-style" flashlights at home. I was tempted to go to RadioShack, because they are known for their well-stocked battery displays, but after searching all the other stores, we just drove home defeated. Our efforts were all for nothing.

I guess if the power goes out, we can rely on candles. A sort of Amish turn-of-events that takes us back to a time before Edison. We have plenty of waxy sticks with wicks at home, especially the scented kind. This truly romantic setting--the bedroom darkness broken by the flickering flame while the aroma of florals and fruits wafts through the sensually-charged air--will make surviving Hurricane Sandy a more pleasurable affair to remember. Still, you have to wonder about nature.

We claim to understand the world we live in, but the truth is that the world is constantly surprising us with its power. From periods of great heat and drought to periods of great snowfall and frigid cold, there is never a time of seemingly consistent weather. And, not surprisingly, we cannot control any of it. We are at the mercy of our own environment, of the planet's petulance or of the world's whim.

Hurricane Sandy will bring about high winds and torrential rains, more than likely flooding many places and causing may hardships or deaths. But how we weather this storm will say a lot about us as people. Neighbor helping neighbor to survive what are commonly called "acts of God." Perhaps that is why we experience such extremes in weather--a divine test to see the good (or evil) in our human nature. Is God testing us? I don't claim to know. But I do know this much...

We are a strong people and we will get through this raging and rampaging storm. And after the winds have subsided and the rains have ceased, we can relegate Hurricane Sandy to the dusty pages of history as just another storm--full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

I await Prospero's magic... (to be continued, after the storm, in Part 2).
~Andrew K.

Saturday, October 27, 2012

The Human Eye

Is it really a portal into an individual's soul? Does it really contain mystical powers, such as those used by magicians or hypnotists? Is the human eye more than it appears to be? I don't think so.

As a romantic notion, I can see how some people would think all of the above are true. The eye is a symbol of many things. Just as symbolic is the different colors of the iris, from bright blue to dark brown or black. I have a brown pair, which are nice in most people's eyes (pardon the pun), but everyone seems to prefer the lighter hues, especially the blue eyes---such as the ones my father had before he passed away.

He was a womanizer and I have no doubt that his sparkling, roguish blue eyes helped him seduce many women in his lifetime. He wooed my mother and later I resulted, so there's one piece of proof. But what is it about the eyes that make them seem so powerful? Why are both men and women drawn to them? There are many answers to these questions and each answer appeals to a different person, but here's my take on it...

EYES are proof that we are ALIVE. Forget about them being windows into the soul, part---eyes represent life itself. They move fluidly, they help us see, they scan the world around us, they give our brains the images we need to make sense of our world, and without eyes---we'd be literally and figuratively blind.

When we sleep, our eyes are shut. Sleep is like a little death. We visit other worlds in our dreams, but those worlds are not seen through our eyes, but our mind's eye. In death, the body lies stiff in a coffin with the eyes shut. Life has ended. Even if we are living, blood-shot eyes and red or bleary eyes suggest an unhealthy life. I know when I have lost many hours of sleep, my eyes make me look dead or like a zombie. What woman would find those kinds of eyes attractive? None, I suspect.

Eyes are like life monitors and show how vibrant we are---living and seeing all around us. As humans, we are attracted to lively people and people who have bright eyes, no matter their color. So even if the eyes reveal something about a person's soul, it is that they show not the soul, but the life currently being lived. And to those sparkling eyes an equally sparkling smile and you have a combination potent enough to lure any man or woman.

Next time, don't be shy. Look the other person in the eye. Don't wonder why. Just smile and say "hi."

~Andrew K.