Katrina and the Waves

I've been wanting to write that headline up there ever since Katrina was just a tropical depression. Pity no newspaper that I've seen has used it! Then again, you pretty much have to be a child of the 1980s (or an addict to Vh-1) to get the pun.

Speaking of Hurricane Katrina, here's a great article that looks at Katrina from a different angle. It's from The Boston Globe, but it was posted on Common Dreams, the Web site that conservative columnist Michelle Malkin trashed the other day as nothing but propaganda for Cindy Sheehan and her ilk.

This article has nothing to do with Cindy Sheehan, and everything to do with the global warming that is causing our planet to throw up. Hence killer tsunamis. Hence killer hurricanes. Hence tornadoes in Scandanavia. Hence Ashlee Simpson.

Well, OK, even something as evil as global warming can't be blamed for bringing us Ashlee Simpson. But here's a snippet from this Boston Globe article that hits home, especially as gas prices continue to climb:

"Although Katrina began as a relatively small hurricane that glanced off south Florida, it was supercharged with extraordinary intensity by the relatively blistering sea surface temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico.

The consequences are as heartbreaking as they are terrifying.

Unfortunately, very few people in America know the real name of Hurricane Katrina because the coal and oil industries have spent millions of dollars to keep the public in doubt about the issue.

The reason is simple: To allow the climate to stabilize requires humanity to cut its use of coal and oil by 70 percent. That, of course, threatens the survival of one of the largest commercial enterprises in history."

On another note, I've heard from at least a half-dozen people via phone, email and in person that the only thing worse than Hurricane Katrina is a Pumpkin Spice Frapuccino. Personally, I think y'all just need to get in touch with your inner Autumn. To help you do that, here's some recipes for making your own pumpkin spice at home... :-)