Friday, November 04, 2005

My Knights


IMG_3248
Originally uploaded by SummerB.
I got tired of the rockstar costume....

I think this one should be a postcard.... taken by yours truly :)


IMG_3245
Originally uploaded by SummerB.

Erick's Music Video Pose


IMG_3234
Originally uploaded by SummerB.

Cool Darryl Photo


IMG_3223
Originally uploaded by SummerB.

Look at the pretty lights!


IMG_3218
Originally uploaded by SummerB.

Under a Las Vegas skyline :)


IMG_3215
Originally uploaded by SummerB.

Cool Pic


IMG_3208
Originally uploaded by SummerB.

Camillo, Darryl & Erick


IMG_3196
Originally uploaded by SummerB.
Wasn't it nice of them to let me sit in the front?

The Rockstar & the Dead Lumberjack


IMG_3195
Originally uploaded by SummerB.

Wednesday, October 26, 2005

Pumpkin Carving


IMG_3183
Originally uploaded by itzkoolaid.
We carved pumpkins yesterday! My first time ever! We all got pumpkins and sat around to carve them- the one that I am holding is mine.

His name is Frank.

It was pretty cool. Dan and Jake came over to carve too, and Pete got a special pumpkin just for Camillo. Afterwards we lined the pumpkins up outside and took a picture.

Maybe I'll post that sometime this week. :)

Me and my pumkin!


IMG_3156
Originally uploaded by itzkoolaid.

The filmmaker house (and friends) hard at work.


IMG_3149
Originally uploaded by itzkoolaid.

Andy force feeding Erick pumpkin goo.


IMG_3153
Originally uploaded by itzkoolaid.

Dan and Jake


IMG_3164
Originally uploaded by itzkoolaid.

Camillo!


IMG_3136
Originally uploaded by itzkoolaid.
Camillo is here to visit. My kitty was in heat so I had to stay inside while taking this pic, so don't mind the lines from the screen door.

Iron and Wine


IMG_3118
Originally uploaded by itzkoolaid.
We at the filmmaker house would like to send a shout out to a lucky friend: our great professor Mr. Beam, aka Iron and Wine. We went to his LA concert a week or so ago and OH MY GOD was it HUGE.

All my Miami friends will remember the little boheme hovel Churchills Bar on N. Miami Ave where Beam used to perform to a small smoking crowd of drunks and students. Well- THOSE DAYS ARE LONG GONE. I took this picture from the balcony of the Wiltern(?) theatre in West Hollywood- a $30 ticket that got me about as close as the poor dead moth sitting on the ground in row #500.

No- I do not have a picture of that.

And THE FANS. OMG. Hundreds of people grooving around us to songs that WE helped make music videos to. ADORING FANS.

Wild. Two groups preceded Beam, Calexico and someone else. They were pretty good but the moment Beam stepped onto the theatre I could hear nothing but the deafening roar of the multitude.

Go Mr. Beam!

FINALLY


IMG_3131
Originally uploaded by itzkoolaid.
So after the AMAZING concert we walked around begging someone to let us see Beam. Of course the security people thought we were insane obsessed fans who were lying about the fact that we used to be taught be the illustrious IRON AND WINE singer but, after many minutes of sitting in the cold, dark alleyway behind the back entrance of the theatre (while watching cooler looking, more beautiful HIP people get in past security) FINALLY the door opened and out stepped Mr. Beam.

Mr. Beam! Wow. From the moment he stepped out you could tell he was tired. His eyes weren't really focusing too well- NO, not drugs- and his skin was drained of all humane color. But still, it was him, and we were happy to see him.

This is him signing Erick's Iron and Wine poster.

Adoring fans.


IMG_3132
Originally uploaded by itzkoolaid.
Poor Beam. He was exhausted. Of course, a gaggle of old students surrounding him asking for autographs probably didn't make him feel any better.

Me and Our Scarecrow


IMG_2934
Originally uploaded by itzkoolaid.
Yeah, so I was at the store and I saw this scarecrow, and if you don't understand why I HAD TO BUY HIM then you have no soul.





its a joke mommy :)

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Out for Blood

I can taste it in my mouth- the sweet bitter rush of blood on my tongue from the helpless online flower shop customer service rep. He told me today that he cannot give me a refund until the TX flower shop opens. The left side of my brain understands, but the right side wrestles it down and screams profanity.

"I'm not waiting any longer." The lioness roars.

"Please ma'am, I'm sorry but I cannot do anything at the moment." The mouse squeaks.

I dangly some hope in front of him- "Well, if you do not want to take the responsibility of giving a customer a full refund for work not done, you could upgrade my order to the normal offer on the web: instead of my 1 dozen roses, you give me 3 dozen roses for half the price. Of course I could not be expected to pay that horrendous sum I did yesterday since this is no longer what you would consider a "same day" delivery, so I will be seeing about $15 back."

"But ma'am, I do not have the authorization-"

"Well apparently sir you do not have the authorization for anything. I mean- what am I doing talking to you? You can't even get a flower shop on the line. Let me talk to your manager."

At this he surrenders his soul and gives the expected reply "let me see what I can do."

Ha ha. They are weighing my offer. I will get a call back in a few minutes. Hazzah the forsaken queen returning to her throne!



That, Mommy, was the "package" I wanted you to wait at home for. A dozen roses- Happy Birthday!

Update: $10 off plus another 20%, including an apology card from the shop and the courtesy of meeting my mother wherever she wants to deliver the flowers. Success!!!

Sunday, October 16, 2005

Complete Devestation

I can't write.

I haven't been able to write in 2 months.

I'm so dejected, I haven't loaded any new photos on flickr to show my nice blog community what I have been doing in the last week. AND I HAVE SOME NICE PHOTOS- even one that I took with the 'okay goodbye!' guy that shows up at the logo after American Dad.

Without my writing my life is totally, utterly useless.

Worst thing is that, for inspiration, I went to Allegra's site and her writing is so funny and awesome and original that it made me even more depressed. So I went to Thuy's site (who is a DENTIST and should NEVER BE funny, awesome, and original) but that didn't help either because she kept talking about her 40 year old neighbor who was keeping her up at night because he and his 20 year old friends kept freestyling, and it was TOTALLY FUNNY/AWESOME/ORIGINAL.

How am I supposed to follow something like that? Argh! ARGH!
I think today I will watch my "It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" VHS (OMG VHS!), read my "The Artist's Way" book (which is infamous on the internet for taking writers block away from writers, but hasn't really done much for me so far), and hopefully get the energy to write the script outline that Roberto asked me to do for his documentary.

*&$%!!!... I totally forgot about that! *sob*

I am a lion in her den. Hear me hiss and back away. :(


P.S. Happy Birthday Hazel, Keianna, & Mommy. :) I'm glad have no money because if I did I would spend it all on gold and diamonds for your smiles.

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

this is an audio post - click to play

OMG Angel and Bim

AAHHHH!!! Guess what I saw?! I went to the FIRST EVER screening of this film- it's so big that the lines were huge (and it was a secret screening!) and they had infrared scanners in the theatre to catch anyone secretly filming. I'll give you three hints (you'll never guess):

-it's release date is in December
-it's based on a best selling book
-Hatsumomo is a b*tch

I've said to much! You'll never guess! I've said to much! You'll never guess!
OMGOMGOMGOGMOGMGOMGOGOGMOGMOGMOGMOMGOMGOMGOMOGMOGMGOMGOGM
LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLMFAOLOLOLOLOLOL

Misc:
-UNICEF and the Smurfs don't mix. What do I mean? http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,17550,00.html
-Listening to Ryan Seacrest in the morning talking about getting his hair bleached while millions of people have died somewhere else makes me wonder why christians don't blast people like him for not caring for their neighbor.
-Doing ANYTHING while thinking that somewhere, someone has lost their whole family makes it difficult to breathe.
-What is happening with the world?

Sunday, October 02, 2005

BY SUMMER BERDIN


BY SUMMER BERDIN
Originally uploaded by itzkoolaid.
My first serious attempt at making a desktop background. Tools: My trusty Mac, Photoshop, & Illustrator. I got the photo on the left from the official japanese site, and cloned the umbrella & flowers to have them blend towards the right. The letters were my own, the last font Hanshand with a couple filters: film & backlight(?).

Proud of the most: Keeping my hand steady enough to extend the umbrella lines, and matching the 'antique paper' by mixing paintbrush tools with good color sense.

King of the Mountain


IMG_2856
Originally uploaded by itzkoolaid.
Peter on his throne. Quintessential.

Saturday, October 01, 2005

You take my love, you take my land...




Just watched Serenity.

OMG *sob*

Advice: Rent the series, watch completely, see the movie. It's well worth it and in no way a waste of time. I'm a huge fan of Firefly, which says A LOT because I don't watch tv (much less watch a show that was CANCELED $@%# a year ago).

Round Up: The tv show is smart- WITTY- has actual 3 dimensional characters and not the usual crap 'stereotype', has AMAZING history, depth, feeling. It's scifi, but for those who do not like scifi just ignore that fact. It doesn't have severe make-up job aliens or robotic people or anything... it's kinda like a western in space. Oh! I know = Cowboy Bebop in the wild west.

Review: Pretty Okay. Three and three quarter stars out of five. It was nice to see the ship again (SWEET handheld of the whole set in the intro) and the storylines from the show were there. Seriously- I can't review it without saying exactly what I would have said about the show, and as a transition from tv to film Whedon did a good job. Only flaws I saw were: 1. Josh Whedon still seemed like he was FILMING for tv in the beginning, 2. Shephard was hardly in it. 3. Mal was a bit preachy a couple times... but that has to be let go because it's HIS BIG SCREEN MOMENT.

Like I said: Rent the series, watch completely, see the movie. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Thursday, September 29, 2005

That's Not Rain


IMG_2917
Originally uploaded by itzkoolaid.
It's Ash
From the fire.
The whole sky is red
The situation dire.
My lungs are brown
The smell of cigarettes
Permeate the town.

Yep. I got out of my car after work and thought it was raining, but realized when the water didn't melt into my clothes that it was really ash from the brush fires. We're not affected where we are, but we are close enough to feel the effects.

A prayer for those who are not so lucky.

Misc Stuff:
-DHT needs to release sheet music to Listen To My Heart before I explode
-3 chapters into Memoirs of a Geisha and I CANT PUT IT DOWN
-Converting E! TV program timecodes from NTSC to PAL for their international networks is not as exciting as I thought it would be, but more monotonous and anti-climatic.
-I've caught up on the E! tv shows that I've missed for the past 2 months, though.
-Bally's Total Fitness of North Hollywood sure has a lot of celebrities that go there.
-Running on the treadmill while looking at the figure of a gorgeous celebrity running in front of you is more depressing than motivating.

College Hunting


IMG_2909
Originally uploaded by itzkoolaid.
This is Andy. Hi Andy! Me and Andy went a' college huntin' at the beginning of the week. Colleges we visited:

-AFI
-USC
-Drove past UCLA

AFI looks amazing. After further discussions with Mommy I think I might take the Screenwriting Masters Course there. USC & UCLA were beautiful (typical movie college campuses) but very... hmm... cold, where as AFI was extremely personal and had people (JJ!) there willing to help us and give us a tour.

Downtown LA!


IMG_2907
Originally uploaded by itzkoolaid.
The first time I've seen it. It's so pretty! (NO- Hollywood is NOT downtown LA... LA DOES have a downtown all it's own, you know).

Adventures of Seeking Autographs of Fanboy Filmmakers and Their Friends: Part 2


IMG_2886
Originally uploaded by itzkoolaid.
So this is what I made you wait a week for- this. Sorry, I had to make sure David received his package in the mail (which includes this doll & the below pics) so as not to ruin the surprise with a premature blog post.

This, my friends, is David Rey. I made him for one reason and one reason only. SO THAT KEVIN SMITH WOULD REMEMBER HIS FACE.

Oh yeah- and have him sign David's chest so I can send a SIGNED DAVID DOLL to David in NYC and reap the rewards of a gift well given.

Famous People!


IMG_2897
Originally uploaded by itzkoolaid.
People signing at the Mallrats DVD release were the following: 1 VERY IMPORTANT PERSON, 2 people on the cast that I'm ashamed to say I don't know, and these two dudes right here:

Jason Mewes (JAY!!!) and the FAT BULLY FROM BOY MEETS WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

When I saw it was him I rushed to him and said I loved him on Boy Meets World.

*sigh*

Horrific, I know. Can you imagine: the tired acceptance in his eyes? The bored I'll-smile-at-you-but-I'm-really-seething-over-the-fact-that-you-look-past-all-of-the-great-movies-I-have-done-and-keep-going-back-to-that-stupid-tv-show look? Of all people, I- being a filmmaker myself- should have shown some sympathetic restraint and understanding over his plight.

I couldn't help it. The giggling little girl inside me made me do it.

Grand Finale


IMG_2896
Originally uploaded by itzkoolaid.
So this is what it all was about- this man right here. Folks, you are looking into the eyes of one of the most influentual filmmakers of my generation: Kevin Smith, the auteur of such films like Dogma, Jersey Girl, and the Jay and Silent Bob Series.

He happens to be David Rey's favorite person of all time, and the 7am-3pm line wait was all so I could surprise David with a Kevin Smith signed miniature David doll for his birthday.

Happy Birthday David- glad you like it!

Tuesday, September 27, 2005

AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

AHH!HH!!!!!

*$#^$*&^ %(#*$^#&$$& (

I just spent AN HOUR filling out the Florida Tax Independent Company Exempt Renewal Form for Chispa Productions because the f*&$in website kept saying my "application form has run out of time" and I had to fill the amounts in over and over again.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH




*sob*

sigh... okay, think of the good things:
-finally saw Prozac Nation (noncomparable to the book), March of the Penguins, 40 Year Old Virgin, and Galaxy Quest
-will be getting Memoirs of A Geisha tomorrow + my much needed printer ink
-have been permanently upped to $12/hr wage
-will begin working at E! Entertainment again tomorrow for long term/indefinite
-excersized today
-WROTE today (first time in a month: EXILARATING)
-paid my cellphone bill without needed my parents financial help
-received a coupon to get my kitty spayed for only $10

Okay, fine: Life Is Good

Sunday, September 25, 2005

Adventures of Seeking Autographs of Fanboy Filmmakers and Their Friends


IMG_2888
Originally uploaded by itzkoolaid.
This is us at 7 in the morning waiting in line in front of the Jay & Silent Bob's Secret Stash store. Why?

Because yesterday was the 10th anniversary of the release of the Mallrats DVD, and the cast of Mallrats (sans Jason Lee) was going to be present to sign stuff. INCLUDING KEVIN SMITH!!!! (stop crying David...)

So here we are. We got there at the primitive hour and were lucky enough to score seats a few feet from the doors. Unlucky folk that got there later lined up along the block (and around the corner) behind us.

Hmmm.... I wonder what I'm doing. *evil snicker*

JIM LEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


IMG_2890
Originally uploaded by itzkoolaid.
This door was made by Jim Lee.

nuff said

Hmmm


IMG_2891
Originally uploaded by itzkoolaid.
As we went along the tour of the Secret Stash store we noticed in the back corner a set of wings. Could it be- the magnanomous appendiges that had hung from hunk Ben Affleck's back in the promiscuously controversial Dogma?

My GOD it was!!!

So, here are a couple of pics of Darryl and I thinking happy thoughts.

Yay


IMG_2893
Originally uploaded by itzkoolaid.
I can fly!

I'm Sorry...


IMG_2894
Originally uploaded by itzkoolaid.
Poor shmucks Pete and Andy sat with us from 7am-3pm, but could not come in because they would not purchase the new Mallrats DVD. Bye Pete and Andy!

Next week: News (AND PICS) from the inside: Adventures of Getting Autographs From Fanboy Filmmakers and Their Buddies. STAY TUNED!!!

Self Explainitory


IMG_2895
Originally uploaded by itzkoolaid.
Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash

Krum


Krum
Originally uploaded by itzkoolaid.
Geez Angel... I've been trying for days to get this picture to you. It hasn't worked for me on MSN Messenger, and I totally failed at MySpace. HE'S SO HOT!!!! The trailer is cool- Have you seen the new promo? It was just released yesterday.

Oh, and for more pics: http://summer.attenhofer.info

Tay Tay


Tay Tay
Originally uploaded by itzkoolaid.
TAYLOR!!!! Hazel went and got professional pictures done. She's so cute. :)

Friday, September 16, 2005

Radio Star!


IMG_2831
Originally uploaded by itzkoolaid.
I was on the radio this morning!!!!!

Star 98.7 is a station I listen to during traffic because the DJ's (Jamie, Jack, and Stench) are about as rude and crude as I am, and through them I've had many an entertaining morning. Low and behold, today they start talking about their new boss saying at a morning meeting that he will begin to make some 'productive changes' to the station (primarily meaning Jamie, Jack, and Stench).

Blaspheme.

Well, as expected, listeners from all over south Cali. start calling up to make sure they get vocal support. Among one of those listeners was a little filipino in a white toyota camry.

Yes, me.

And HOLY SH*T!!! They picked up!!! Jamie, Jack, and Stench suddenly start talking over my phone, saying: "And now here is Summer, Summer- are you there?" and they proceed to converse with me!

OVER THE RADIO!!!!!

Anywhoo... I give them my support forever and tell them they rule. They ask background info, I tell them. I even get to sell my movie a bit, ON THE AIR, with them cheering me on. And then, with another cheer goodbye, they hang up.

And I raise the volume on my car radio and (god bless 2 second delays) HEAR MY VOICE!!!!!!!!!!!!


AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

Blogger Baby




It seems that Blogger has become increasingly popular. Today I found out that my hero (Angelina Jolie) is the subject of two new blogs authored by none other than- Surprise!- her son Maddox and new daughter Zahara.

Links respectively:
http://automaddox.blogspot.com/
http://princesszahara.blogspot.com/

Weird, huh? Some people have nothing to do.

Sunday, September 11, 2005

Cleaned My Room!


IMG_2815
Originally uploaded by itzkoolaid.
Yay! It's been a while since I could see my floor. Responsibility rocks!

Thursday, September 08, 2005

WHAT?

WHAT THE F*%$!!

www.repentamerica.com said:

"The citizens of New Orleans tolerated and welcomed the wickedness in their city for so long, they really brought this on themselves."

and: "God destroyed a wicked city."

They are talking about a celebration- Southern Decadence- that happens annually in New Orleans which took place a few weeks before hurricane Katrina. Because Southern Decadence is a gay and lesbian gathering www.repentamerica.com has called it a "celebration of sin."

Wednesday, September 07, 2005

Flowers In The Attic




Among the many other people & animals that are having their lives interrupted by Katrina, University Students are having a difficult time too. Their semester has been interrupted. An overflowing amount of US Colleges and University (Go UT of Arlington! Now accepting ALL applicants!) have offered to take in the misplaced students for low or no fees, but a surprising response came from the people upstairs. Here's an insert from dancingwithkatrina.blogspot.com:

"I am trying to get the word out to university students who were affected by the hurricane. Please pass this on to anyone who might be interested; five universities in Nova Scotia, Canada are willing to take in students at a reduced tuition fee. One is even offering to take 5 students free of charge (will provide full tuition and room and board). The others are willing to do whatever they can to get students into classes and houses. contact hurricane.relief@acadiau.ca
or go to www.smu.ca to see two examples."

You nice Canadians you!

Tuesday, September 06, 2005

I know it's corny, but...

http://www.popdance.us/bigkids.html

I'm joining. It's about two blocks away from where I live, only $10 per class, a good excuse to excersize, and a better excuse to learn how to dance. I gotta somehow catch up with my canadian cousins, right? And it starts tomorrow, which is good because if I had to wait too long I would just find an excuse NOT to go.

Speaking of joining stuff... I joined the Red Cross! I've been thinking about it for all of last week. I felt awful reading and watching news about thousands of people dying and having their whole existence taken away from them; and the fact that I would be in some posh office in Malibu or in my home in North Hollywood complaining about how hot it was, or the price of gas, or how bad the driving was seemed so conceitful and disrespectful. I had to do something...

...don't worry Mommy. It won't cost me a thing, I still have my full-time job (they know all about it and are fine with it), and when the Red Cross flies me over to help with the survivors I won't be going into the cities that were damaged but to the camps and relief stations like the Astrodome and such. Completely safe.

I would be doing nothing with that time spent but watching TV anyway.

I am thankful for:
-Understanding parents who (pretty please) realize that I need to do this and support me even though it is most likely against their wishes for me
-Ice cream on a hot day
-My car to get me where I need to go
-Knowing my family is safe
-Knowing where my family is
-A house to call home

Saturday, September 03, 2005

The Funeral


IMG_2737
Originally uploaded by SummerB.
Yesterday we held the funeral for Eclipse at the Filmmaker House. I invited everyone a week ahead of time and made out these programs for the occasion. Everyone agreed to coming (which had me siked!) and so, on Friday the 2nd of September, we proceeded in saying farewell to my kitty.

Cooking


IMG_2716
Originally uploaded by SummerB.
To show my appreciation for their attendance I cooked my roommates a traditional Filipino dinner before the funeral. Pancit, Shrimp with baby corn and mushrooms, and Caldereta! Ummm.....

Unfortunately it was the first time I cooked some of the recipes so (even though I started 2 hours early) I ended up finishing an hour late.

Ha Ha


IMG_2720
Originally uploaded by SummerB.
It was so funny! Peter offered to help me cook (because I needed it badly) and so we set about shelling shrimp together.

Hilarious! Peter had never touched raw shrimp before and when I showed him how he had to behead the shrimp he almost puked. Poor Pete... I had to behead shrimp before him so he could touch them. LOL

Finally, dinner!


IMG_2724
Originally uploaded by SummerB.
Anyway, the guys were nice enough to wait the HOUR past they needed to while I finished cooking the food (thank you Mommy and Daddy for you help over the phone).

Look at them! They are so cute! When I made the invitations for the funeral I put "formal dress" and they totally went for it. It really touched me- they looked so nice and handsome in it all. Miska and Darryl even put on some nice cologne!

The Ceremony


IMG_2732
Originally uploaded by SummerB.
We went outside and proceeded with the funeral. While Peter officiated we did the "Lighting of the Candles," Darryl did a heart-wrenching Eulogy, and with great fanfair and charm Miska read the lines of the poem on the program.

I was pretty brave- I didn't cry once.

Continued...


IMG_2730
Originally uploaded by SummerB.
Afterwards we lit the candles and, since I could not bury her remains because it had already been done by my amazing family in Texas, everyone watched as I planted 2 sunflower seeds in her honor.

Erick watered the seeds from the water in our coffee pot, since all of the glasses had been used for the dinner.

We went inside then and Peter surprised me with a small video he made that showed clips (I had forgotten!) of Eclipse during our roadtrip. It was so touching- the tears I had blocked the whole night kinda came out then.

I have the greatest roommates in the whole world.

I Love My Roomates


IMG_2736
Originally uploaded by SummerB.
Erick comforts me in a sweet show of affection and sympathy.

And Last But Not Least...


IMG_2714
Originally uploaded by SummerB.
The final resting place of Eclipse (at least in spirit for the residents of California).

Thursday, September 01, 2005

News From www.drudgereport.com

This just came in:

4:15 P.M. - (AP): Police say storm victims are being raped and beaten inside the New Orleans Convention Center.
About 15,200 people who had taken shelter at the convention center to await buses grew increasingly hostile.
Police Chief Eddie Compass says he sent in 88 officers to quell the situation at the building, but they were quickly beaten back by an angry mob.
Compass says, "We have individuals who are getting raped, we have individuals who are getting beaten."
He says tourists are walking in that direction and they are getting preyed upon.
In hopes of defusing the unrest at the convention center, Mayor Ray Nagin gave the refugees permission to march across a bridge to the city's unflooded west bank for whatever relief they can find. But the bedlam appeared to make leaving difficult.


Whatever hope I had of fiction staying fiction (Blindness- see post below) has just been shattered.

Help




It's almost surreal. Last month I was enthraled in the horrible fiction of Blindness (by Jose Saramago), a book about a society undergoing an epidemic crisis and the drastic, inhumane choices it makes to control it, and I remember thinking "If this ever happens in real life it'll be like living in Hell." ...and now I'm going through the pictures of the damage done by Hurricane Katrina and reading the articles about what the people have to go through in- among other cities just like it- New Orleans and I can't help but notice the similarities between real life and fiction; when all of the sudden I read a quote by the man in this picture that sends chills down my spine:

"It's like living in Hell."

Can this be? Surely the US must be doing something about it... we helped aid the tsunami victims and are always ready to help when other countries are going through crisis...

But then I read about the poor masses of people- who the papers are now calling refugees- crashing through closed stores (which are damaged anyway and will see all their money back through insurance) trying to get their hands on any food or water they can find to survive and, as a response, read quotes like what Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour said on NBC's Today show Thursday: "We're trying to deal with looters as ruthlessly as we can get our hands on them."

Looters? Ruthlessly? Is that what you call mothers trying to feed their children? Or men trying to get medicine for sick loved ones?

Or how about this quote from an MSN news article:
"We were told (by police) don't drink or eat in public as it could lead to a mob situation," NBC's Michelle Hofland said. "We were told that by sundown to get out of here."

Or how about the picture I saw of young boys being forced by gunpoint to lie on the hot gravel of the Texas Highway because they stole a mailman's cart to GET AWAY from the devastation?

Or what about:"He was frightened and would not land," Richard Zuschlag, head of Acadian Ambulance, said about why the ONE helicopter the national guard was sending to the superdome refused to land after shots were fired.

Do not misunderstand me- I am not trying to disregard the helping efforts that have been made. Fishermen from surrounding towns on the Gulf- some coming from 200 miles away- have been driving their boats in to aid with the search for people in the water. The few policemen and service men there to help are doing the best they can with their short numbers and smaller amount of medicine, life saving supplies,and ammunition. And the National Guard is still coming to the superdome to help evacuate the some of the thousands of people stuck there with no home, food, water, or news from loved ones.

But what I am surprised about is the disgusting way the government- from the President down to Mississippi's Mayor- is treating the people going through this. While police and service men are down there 'getting dirty' and helping, the men up top- the men who fly by on helicopters to 'survey the disaster,' are saying things like 'shoot to kill' about looters and calling in 100 troops to help when there is clearly a need for thousands. This is not some charity case that you can hope to rub off on well-meaning celebrities and donations Mr. President and Mr. Mayor. This is not a 'low point' in the economy or 'something to learn from next time.' Get off your vacation ranches in Texas or your leather chair and take a good look at the people you swore to help and protect. You are spending 300 billion on the 'war against terror,' and spend millions of dollars to help refugees in the sad little 3rd world countries on your wish list, but these are your CHILDREN, the TAX PAYERS, that need more than a statement or a meesly call to arms.

Never should you ever attach the word 'refugee' to a citizen of your nation. Stop what you are doing and help.


For a detailed account happening RIGHT NOW from 2 men who are blogging through the storm (with pictures) go to: http://dancingwithkatrina.blogspot.com. If that doesn't work go to my link section and you'll find a working one there.