This video shows the damage Hurricane Katrina brought to the coast – it obliterated entire towns. So many lives lost. They keep repeating on the news they can’t worry about counting the dead, with so many who still need rescuing.

Tragedies like this bring out the best and worst in all of us. Looking at Craigslist in New Orleans or at those in my home town that are offering to help is heartening. Donating to to Red Cross is probably the easiest, and probably best way to help for now.

As for the worst, there is some news of looting, but that news is being presented in a racially biased way. As Atrios suggests it is “about number 589 on the list of things which matter right now.”. Lives have been lost. Survivors need to be rescued and others need food, water, shelter, and protection.

The rumblings of failures in our infrastructure and system are scary. Bush was – where else – vacationing – see here and here. And there is news that the levees had funding slashed by his administration. In addition, disturbingly, there seems to have been a failed effort to reinforce those levees in the break between the hurricane and when they broke. But as this NYTimes article says:

…this seems like the wrong moment to dwell on fault-finding, or even to point out that it took what may become the worst natural disaster in American history to pry President Bush out of his vacation. All the focus now must be on rescuing the survivors. Beyond that lies a long and painful recovery, which must begin with a national vow to help all the storm victims and to save and repair New Orleans.

People who think of that graceful city and the rest of the Mississippi Delta as tourist destinations must have been reminded, watching the rescue operations, that the real residents of this area are in the main poor and black. The only resources most of them will have to fall back on will need to come from the federal government.

Those of us in New York watch the dire pictures from Louisiana with keen memories of the time after Sept. 11, when the rest of the nation made it clear that our city was their city, and that everyone was part of the battle to restore it. New Orleans, too, is one of the places that belongs to every American’s heart – even for people who have never been there.

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.

It seems Nola’s blog is the best place to go for news direct from New Orleans.

And money. Tomorrow Richelle and me will send a donation to the Red Cross as Shelley suggests.

Join us.

I can’t write today except to say that my thoughts and prayers are with her and her family.

More from others our region:

Latoyia Figueroa: The Search Ends

Confirmed: Latoyia’s Body Found; Boyfriend in Custody

PoliticsPhilly: Press Conference Audio

The Disenchanted Forest: Possible break in Figueroa case

began out there…

This has been a terrific, but busy week. First off…thanks to the bands, the bar owners, and especially all those who came out Friday and Saturday for the Sleeping Angels Fund Music Fest. I think we had over a hundred on Friday alone. A special shout out to Dante and Katie – you pulled off a great event. I’m proud of you.

An admission – it was weird having friends from work there (I wonder what I’m going to hear on Monday!), but no blogging buddies. I admit that made me a little sad.

In any case, the band practiced hard this week to make up for a whole year of not playing out – and we kicked some ass. It was good. Very good. A release. I hope we keep at it this time.

In Philly Future news, we launched a Philadelphia specific advertiser network. I’ve been talking to developers about providing the tools to bring online a missing persons network. I’ve also been working to upgrade Philly Future to the latest and greatest version of CivicSpace.

I got into a deep discussion on the existence of the “A-list” that you can read more about here, here and here. The conversation seems to have been read by a few folks out here that I admire. I have a slightly different take then most I know, who seem to either want to decry its existence, want to tear it down somehow, or want to deny it even exists.

This Thursday we had a launch day at Comcast.net for new features. Always a big day. It went very smooth.

And yesterday we had a huge surprise birthday party for my mom (my mother in-law). Happy birthday mom!

Oh and I was out drinking three nights this week. In particular with my co-workers who came out Friday (you rock!).

And yes, that’s us above. Me in the red Daily News shirt, Dante belting his heart out, Steve on bass, and Billy on drums – the heart of the band.

It was a big week for the netroots in Philly as well. Go read Suburban Guerrilla – Growing, but I need to quote the following from her:

People are always remarking on how many well-known bloggers live in Philadelphia. “Is it something in the water?” people often say to me.

Well, it’s a number of things, I suppose: Philadelphia is not a cutthroat town. From the very beginning, the local blogging community has helped each other out, and those at the top of the blogging food chain have been very good about reaching down and pulling up the rest. (We also socialize a lot, which helps.)

Maybe it’s that Philadelphia has always been a place where important ideas generate and take form – remember that little thing called the Continental Congress? Every time I talk to another local blogger, there’s a new idea – and the next time we talk, it’s already on its way to becoming real. People here are also very good at sharing – there aren’t many resources you couldn’t find here (OK, both Jim Capozzola and I really need a free dentist, but other than that…) and someone will always help.

I guess if I had to sum it up briefly (and I know you wish I would), it would be this: Some people may look at a problem and say, “We can’t do anything about that.” In Philadelphia, people look at a problem, talk about possible solutions and say, “Well, why the fuck not?”

Ah Sunday 🙂

I hope to see you there.

Wired News: Brain Workouts May Tone Memory:

It’s common knowledge that a proper exercise regimen can do wonders for the body. Only recently, however, have psychologists and gerontologists aggressively applied the same principle to the mind.

Among people who work with older adults, the concept of “cognitive fitness” has become a buzzword to describe activities that stimulate underutilized areas of the brain and improve memory. Proponents of brain-fitness exercises say such mental conditioning can help prevent or delay memory loss and the onset of other age-related cognitive disorders.

“Most people’s idea of fitness stops at the neck,” said Patti Celori, executive director of the New England Cognitive Center. “But the brain is the CPU of our body, and most people don’t do much to keep it as fit as possible.”

The NECC runs one of a growing number of programs that work with older adults to improve cognitive abilities. Activities include computer programs designed to stimulate specific areas of the brain, replication of geometric designs using boards with pegs and rubber bands, and visual and auditory memory exercises.

Some of the other programs are Maintain Your Brain, initiated a year ago by the Alzheimer’s Association; Mind Alert, run by the American Society on Aging; and other regional programs such as the Center for Healthy Aging in Kent, Ohio.

Flash site focused on Kung Fu and the physics behind it. Check it out.

My band will be playing in this weekend’s Sleeping Angels Music Fest. Details at Philly Future. It’s for a good cause. I’d love to see you there.

Mind blowing. Check out the pictures: ESA – Mars Express – Water ice in crater at Martian north pole