a. fish

Current.tv's Christoff returns from Mississippi

On MUNI's N train tonight I met Christoff from Current.tv. He was sunburned and red-eyed, having just returned from Mississippi. He was heading home from Current's headquarters, where he and his producer finished up editing two segments which will air on Current tomorrow (Wednesday.) Some tidbits he gave me in conversation on MUNI:

• He and his producer were able to drive down into storm-ravaged Mississippi in a Hertz-rented SUV. They encountered no barriers on their way down last Wednesday, yet they managed to get there three days before FEMA.
• Christoff recounted throwing up (which will be in his "pod" or tv segment) and personally seeing twelve bodies during his time there.
• The two-man reporting crew, who brought Power Bars and bottled water for themselves, gave the first bottled water to survivers they met on the trip.

That Christoff and his producer were able to rent an SUV from Hertz and just wander into this area, and be the first outsiders to greet some of Mississippi's Katrina survivors, should make for some worthwhile alternative tv news. Christoff said the segments will only be viewable on the television portion of the network, and will not be streamed online.

Scotty (New Orleans, cont.)

One person's story. An email I just received about a mutual friend (and my old roomate) 'Scotty'. Scotty recently moved from San Francisco to New Orleans to raise his 2-year-old daughter, AnnaBella. A little lengthy, but the important part is here:

"Returning to New Orleans doesn't figure into his plans, except to see what is left of the stuff he shipped out there in the container ship not too long ago.  He has his health and lived to tell about it, and I'd say that's worth more than a thousand containers of stuff.

"Scott wanted me to pass a note along to let you all know he is safe.  Many others are not so lucky.  This hurricane was and still is a disaster of epic proportions.  There are many people struggling to survive and desperate for help.  If you have the means to do something, do it.  You never know when you may be in need of support.  Life is precious and tomorrow is never guaranteed."

Full email below. Here is the Red Cross link. As selfish as this sounds, screw it: In a state of anger or despair, you need to do something that feels good. And it feels good to give. Even if you can only manage $10. If you can only manage $10, it feels really good to give $20.

New Orleans

Elizabeth, a San Francisco friend who grew up in New Orleans just sent me this email:

Thanks very much for checking in.  I do have both family and friends, but mostly friends. They were able to evacuate and now are just waiting to see if they have anything left to go home to.  Unfortunately it looks like most of them lost everything and won't be able to return to the city for some time.  At least they are all safe.

Blogcritics has a good article and roundup of disaster relief resources, in case you'd like to help.

• Rueters: "The devastation is greater than our worst fears," Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco told a news conference. "It's totally overwhelming."
• Flickr: lumis has the best photoset of Mobile, Alabama flooding I've seen.
• Craig Newmark on craigblog: "People are smart, and good, and surprise me with the way they use our site." <--Good resource of Katrina-related craigslist links in this one.
• NYTimes Editorial:"Right now it looks as if rescuing New Orleans will be a task much more daunting than any city has faced since the San Francisco fire of 1906. It must be a mission for all of us."
• SFGate: Find out how to help.