Rant #571: Katia?

Back to hurricane talk ...

I hate to tell you this, but another one may be on its way to our shores.

Tropical Storm Katia is gaining strength as it moves across the Atlantic, and weather forecasters say that it could become a hurricane later today.

Katia has sustained winds near 65 mph with additional strengthening expected.

The storm's forecast track shows it could become a major hurricane over the weekend.

Right now, Katia is centered about 985 miles west of the southernmost Cape Verde Islands and is moving west-northwest near 21 mph.

And if you were wondering, the storm's name replaces Katrina in the rotating storm roster because of the catastrophic damage from the 2005 hurricane that devastated New Orleans.

They certainly don't want to use that name again--ever.

But Katia? What kind of name is that? I never heard of the name before.

The name, pronounced KAH-tyah, evidently it is a variant of Katya, but my very brief research shows that some claim it is of Russian origin, others claim it is of Spanish origin.

Whatever the case, is this the second such storm that will hit the East Coast this year?

I don't know. Of course, I hope not.

But the other day, while watching the storm coverage on local TV here, one of the meteorologists said that it could happen with this storm. He discounted the storm after Irene, which I think was named Jose, and said that this one, Katia, was one to keep an eye on.

Although Irene was nothing more than a whimper in my neck of the woods, I know for others, it was a nightmare.

So who needs another hurricane?

(And by the way, my sister's name is Gail. I know that's not Gale, as in strong wind, but it's close enough.)

Rant #570: The Birth of "Frankenstein"

Now that we can talk about something else other than the hurricane, let's get into something that is even more macabre.

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley was born in London on this day in 1797.

To some, this name means absolutely nothing.

To others, this name, and the date of her birth, probably conjures up the thought, "Who cares about someone born more than 200 years ago?"

And to others, the name sends chills up their spines.

That is, after all, the way it should be, as Shelley was the creator of the character of Dr. Frankenstein and his even more famous monster.

Shelley's own life was dogged by many personal tragedies, including the deaths of many of her children and the drowning death of her husband that preceded her own death at age 53 of a brain tumor.

But in her short life, Shelley created a real monster, one that would not only outlive her, but whose very name conjures up images of a mad man.

Legend has it that Shelley and her husband, who traveled in very rarified circles, spent the summer of 1816 with some hoity-toity types, including Lord Byron, in Switzerland. On an evening which was filled with much rain and fog, Shelley was dared by her hosts, including Byron, to come up with an idea for a "ghost" novel, and thus, "Frankenstein" was born.

The story was supposed to be a short one, but due to husband, who believed that the story could be much longer, Shelley doggedly added to her tale, and it was published in novel form, as "Frankenstein, The Modern Prometheus" in 1818.

Shelley continued to write after the deaths of her husband and all but one child, but her life was cut short by serious illness.

Through the centuries, the story of "Frankenstein" has reached epic proportions.

Although the Frankenstein in the title refers to Dr. Frankenstein, the creator of the monster, many people still believe the monster is named Frankenstein. The novel has been adapted for stage and screen and for television, and the character of the monster symbolizes everything from fear to cereal, as its likeness was used for the cereal Frankenberry, with no Dr. Frankenstein in sight.

And the character has been the subject of satire. "The Munsters" TV show featured esteemed actor Herman Munster as the patriarch of the Munster clan.

And, of course, "Young Frankenstein," Mel Brooks' fond take on the doctor and his monster, is seen by some as one of the best films of all time. And to backtrack, the original "Frankenstein" film is, itself, seen as a masterpiece of 1930s cinema. Colin Clive played the doctor, while Boris Karloff played the monster.

And let's not forget that the monster even took a bride in the movies. "The Bride of Frankenstein," although not as good as its predecessor, was an excellent sequel, one of the earliest of the film sequels.

So Shelley's creation has stirred us, and has also made us laugh.

Although she lived a relatively short life, her legacy will probably live on for many centuries more.

To take a play on an old movie title, "Frankenstein Cannot Be Destroyed!"

Rant #569: Goodbye, Irene

So Hurricane Irene came and went. I know that a lot of people in a lot of areas got hit really hard by the storm, but in my neck of the woods, save a couple of tree branches that broke away and fell to the ground on my property, we had nothing.

And I mean nothing.

Sure, we had lots of wind and rain, but we really didn't have anything I haven't seen 100 times before.

And by the way. we live about a mile from the Great South Bay.

Surrounding areas did get hit. I know that in Lindenhurst, Long Island, people were getting around by using boats. And these are on streets that usually have only automobile transportation.

Other areas, like Freeport and parts of Queens, got hit really bad, with new canals formed on what were at one time busy thoroughfares.

In Brooklyn, the news showed video of my late grandmother's old apartment building on Ocean Parkway and Cortelyou Road. Several large trees fell on this property.

Mass transit in New York City was shut down completely, and rail service was shut down in the suburbs.

Some people lost electricity, and haven't yet gotten it back.

Certainly others suffered in the New York area, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been.

Not that I have a crystal ball or anything, but I kind of figured this.

As I previously mentioned in another Rant, my family and I were vacationing in Florida when Hurricane Charley hit. I remember the pitch blackness of the night, and the loudness of the wind and rain that were pummeling where we were staying.

I experienced none of this with Hurricane Irene, which, when it finally got to my neck of the woods, had been downgraded to a tropical storm.

It reminded me of what we had when my son was bar mitzvahed nearly three years to the day of the coming of Hurricane Irene. There was lots of wind and rain, but not much else.

But I swear to you, the people made it worse.

I went shopping in Friday evening after work, and it was as tumultuous as I have ever seen it in the supermarket. Normally, I shop on Saturday morning, but I had to work on Saturday and we were supposedly having a small get together with some relatives to celebrate my son's 16th birthday (which I mentioned was on the same day as last week's earthquake).

This was cancelled, of course, but not knowing this at the time, I did my shopping that night.

There were literally hundreds of people shopping in the supermarket that night. You couldn't move in the aisles.

And you couldn't get water or bread or milk that evening.

People started buying up these things earlier in the week, and by Friday night, there was nothing to be had.

Funny, I was on the line waiting to check out, and I found a carton of bottled water laying in the carts they use to put things back that people take but they end up not buying. So I grabbed the carton and put it into my cart. Almost immediately, some guy runs over to me and asked me where I got it from. I told him that he was out of luck, as I got it from the pile of items that were to be returned to the shelves. He ran away in disgust.

People panic. They really do.

And who do you blame for this? Why, the media.

The media has a job to cover this weather event, but I think they overdo it a bit. Wall to wall coverage, like we got beginning on Friday and running throughout the weekend, is a bit much, especially for a weather system that really didn't do a whole lot of damage in most areas of the New York metropolitan area.

Yes, it did wreak havoc in many areas. But in most areas, there was just a lot of wind and rain.

To devote something like 48 hours straight of coverage like this gets people into the crazy mode, and I think people were getting crazy on Friday night.

Do you really need all of these provisions? And if something really bad happened, how long do you think you were going to be able to drink those several containers of milk that you bought? Remember, no electricity equals no refrigeration equals spoiled milk.

Again, I am not lessening the horrible damage that the hurricane caused both in the New York metropolitan area and south of this area. I saw some pictures and video, and it really was horrible.

There were even some deaths.

But I am happy to say that where I am, the damage was minimal.

But you would think that the apocalypse was right around the corner by the way some people behaved.

And I hear that after the next storm, which I think is called Jose, peters out in the Atlantic Ocean, there is another storm that is started to rev up by the coast of Africa that weather forecasters are keeping their eyes on.

And its name will presumably start with the letter "K," just like Katrina did.

Oh, woe is me. Will we have more of this frenzy if and when that becomes something to worry about?

Rant #568: Hello, Irene (Part 2)

As much as I dislike writing about this thing again, I guess I must, because there really isn't much else going on in my neck of the woods.

Gov. Cuomo has declared a state of emergency in New York, and people who live in areas near the water are starting to be herded out of their homes to safer ground.

Many events have been cancelled, postponed, or moved to a different time. The Jets vs. Giants preseason football game, originally scheduled for 7 p.m., has been moved up to 2 p.m. The Yankees games in Baltimore over the weekend are threatened, although the Orioles have refused to play a doubleheader to get them all in. The Mets games vs. the Braves at CitiField have not been moved, at least not just yet.

People are buying up things in the stores as if we will be meeting Armageddon on late Saturday and into Sunday. I am sure that the supermarket chains here are reeling in millions of dollars during this panic period.

People are worried that cell phone service will be disrupted during the storm, and I have one word to say to them:

GOOD!

Saturday appears to be fine until the evening. Sunday appears to be a total washout.

But from what I understand, that will be it.

Of course, if it gets near land--and even if it doesn't--there will have to be some cleanup, but it will take place on a sunny Monday.

Again, I am talking about New York. I am not talking about North Carolina, which should get hit pretty good by this hurricane.

But I am several hundred miles away from where the hurricane will hit the hardest. I was in that area driving home from my vacation with my family just a few weeks ago, and I can tell you, when it rains down there, it really rains. We drove through some of the worst rain I have ever seen when we were down there, and I can only imagine that a hurricane will go beyond that 100-fold.

But where I am, it will be lots of wind and rain, but that is about it.

I hope.

Rant #567: Hello, Irene

We've been through an earthquake on the East Coast this week, and now the time has come to look at the next odd disturbance that is supposed to come upon us here in the East.

Depending on where you are on the East Coast, Hurricane Irene is supposed to be hitting us either today, tomorrow, on Saturday, or on Sunday.

The storm pummeled the Bahamas earlier this week, hit North Carolina today, and will slowly move up the coast. It should hit New York late Saturday and into Sunday.

I am sure the religious zealots are saying that we are getting these disturbances because we are sinners, and we now have to pay for our sins.

New Yorkers, like Californians, are full of sin. Me too, I guess.

Anyway, as I said in my previous post, my family and I have been through one major hurricane, Charley in 2004. I would hate to think another one of that magnitude is coming to my doorstep this weekend.

Some are already calling it the East Coast version of Hurricane Katrina.

That may be going a little bit too far, but some people are scared. Those in North Carolina--where the hurricane will supposedly be at its worst point--are reasonably concerned. Many are patching up their homes as best they can to survive the expected onslaught, others are just getting the heck out of the state until this thing blows over.

In New York, we are kind of taking a "wait and see" attitude about the whole thing.

By the time it reaches here, it should be way out in the ocean. That doesn't mean it will be harmless, but I am sure we can withstand the rain and wind that this thing will generate.

I live less than a mile away from the water, but it is a long mile, being on the other side of a good stretch of roads. I am sure that people who live on the water are concerned, and I guess they should be.

But me, I am prepared for the wind and the rain, and that's about it.

I am hoping that I am right, and that this is nothing more than a blip to the summer.

Funny thing, we are supposed to get a lot of rain today in an unrelated system, so we just might be water-logged even before this thing supposedly comes to our doorstep.

We'll know for sure on Sunday.

Rant #566: Shakin' All Over

Did you feel it too?

If you lived on the East Coast, from Virginia all the way up to New England, you probably felt a shaking sensation at 1:51 p.m., because we had an extremely rare earthquake in this part of the U.S.

It reached anywhere from 5.8 to 6.0 on whatever scale they are using now, and while it was mild, you would think that the world was ending based on some of the news reports I heard.

Sure, the shaking came unexpectedly, but it really unnerved some people.

I was typing something on my computer at work, and all of a sudden, I felt a tremor. It was like I had vertigo for a second, as I couldn't position myself correctly as I was typing. And my computer was shaking pretty good.

But then it was all over. I doubt it even lasted a minute.

The New York Metropolitan Area wasn't really hit too hard, although many office buildings had workers file into the street--which I heard is the absolutely wrong procedure, as you are supposed to stay where you are, whether in the street or inside. I don't know if this is true or not, but this was part of the hysteria surrounding what happened yesterday.

I know that the Pentagon was emptied, just in case this was an act of terrorism and not an act of Mother Nature.

Anyway, it was over and done with pretty quickly, and that's all anybody was talking about, including me.

Heck, it was my first earthquake.

I have been in some hurricanes. The most recent one was in 2004.

My family and I were vacationing in Orlando, Fla., and lo and behold, Charley was headed straight for downtown Orlando, which is about 20 minutes away from where we were.

Orlando got hit hard, and we got hit, too.

I remember how it turned the blackest black I have ever seen outside right before Charley hit. We lost all power, and I was using a portable TV as a beacon to see where I was going.

My son--who, appropriately, turned 16 yesterday--was little then, and I think he slept in the same room as my wife. I know that that night, I slept on the couch.

The next morning, we saw all the damage, mainly uprooted trees. I remember being on line in a Burger King--the first fast food restaurant in the vicinity that reopened--and talking with other East Coasters who were on vacation about how Floridians panicked due to Charley, and laughing about it.

Well, now I know how East Coasters, in general, panic about an earthquake.

I am sure Californians are laughing at us. They probably get 10 of these types of things a year, and they are used to it.

But, I guess for one moment, I must have been puzzled myself.

What was happening?

But what else can you say about it? We have now had an earthquake in New York City.

What's next--a tidal wave?

With Hurricane Irene on the horizon for this weekend, who knows ...

Rant #565: I've Had My Fill of Dr. Phil

Who is Dr. Phil anyway?

That is the question I ask to start off this rant, and it is a question that the millions of people who watch his show on a daily basis should really be asking themselves.

This guy, whatever his real credentials are, is a TV creation, nothing more. And his fame and notoriety have often jumped over the edge of reasonability.

I remember when he poked his nose into the life of Britney Spears when she was pretty much at the lowest point of her existence. Her father had taken over care of her finances, her concert tour was panned, she had been going through rough marital times, and her kids were being looked at by the state as being improperly cared for.

Whatever you think of Spears, why did Dr. Phil feel he had the right to poke into her affairs?

To me, it was a publicity stunt to spread his name around the world, get him known as the TV self-help guru who chastises people when he should be looking at his own behavior.

The latest fiasco related to Dr. Phil is the case of a child who was filmed being abused by his stepmother so she and the boy could get onto his show.

A woman put hot sauce in her adopted 7-year-old son's mouth, not to punish the Russian boy for lying, but to create sensational footage to get on the TV show, said a prosecutor in a child abuse case in Alaska.

Jessica Beagley, 36, recorded the punishment on Oct. 21, 2010 for a show segment titled "Mommy Confessions," said prosecutor Cynthia Franklin. The Anchorage woman faces misdemeanor child abuse charges stemming from the footage.

The eight-minute video allegedly shows Beagley confronting her son Kristoff about misbehaving in school and lying, and then pouring hot sauce into the crying child's mouth and not allowing him to spit it out for more than a minute. The footage also shows Beagley forcing the screaming boy into a cold shower before sending him off the bed.

The episode aired on Nov. 17, 2010, and it evidently sparked public outrage in Russia, with some demanding that Kristoff and his twin brother, who were both adopted by Beagley and her husband, be returned to their native country.

The boy is in therapy now for an issue causing his misbehavior. And why isn't the mother in some type of program to cure her behavior, which was downright nauseating.

Beyond the outrage about how this child was treated by his adopted mother, why was this video shown on Dr. Phil's show without the proper background checks? Evidently, this woman has tried to get on the show before, but was unsuccessful. Shouldn't a red flag have gone up?

I am sure Dr. Phil, himself, doesn't screen anything. He lets his staff do it. But he is the big name, the guy being paid the big bucks, so he is responsible for what goes on his show. And he is responsible here.

Why anyone wants to air their dirty laundry on national and international TV is beyond my comprehension.

But to stage an act just to get on a TV show is reprehensible, especially when it involves a helpless child.

Dr. Phil should be ashamed of himself for airing this segment.

And again, I ask, who is Dr. Phil anyway?