Katrina and Television

If you do not own a TV, get to a neighbor's house or an electronics store and watch the news ASAP. Nothing -- not reading, hearing or seeing pictures -- can portray the horrific nature of this catastrophe as can television.

I'm not advising owning a TV. But get to one NOW (if you haven't already) so you can understand the nightmare. It is terrifying to see.

Back in the 90s, it took me a while to realize that the Sarajevo of the Bosnian civil war/genocide was the same Sarajevo that had hosted the olympics when I was a child. Civilized cities can descend into terrifying scenarios very quickly. The thread that holds together our comfortable society is indeed very fragile.