Skip to main content

Media Curbs Cyclone for Celebrities

22,000 people dead and counting...

That is the bottom line after a vicious cyclone whipped through Myanmar. In what seems to be one of the greatest natural disasters in world history, has also seen a change in people - a change in heart. In a country often ruled by a repressive military regime, citizens of Myanmar, soldiers, Buddhist monks, and Catholic nuns all have come together to clear away trees and damage from Cyclone Nargis.

However, even though the cyclone's unmeasurable damage seems to be completed, the struggle has just begun as survivors face greater challenges than finding the bodies of those who remain missing. Such struggles include loss of electricity, spreading disease in the world's worst health systems, and a lack of food, water, and shelter for over 6 million people.

In all of this, Myanmar's regime still has not, and is not expected to allow U.S. Navy ships into Myanmar's waters to help aid the relief effort.

However, through all of this, it seems that the United States media does not seem to find this as important as Lindsay Lohan's next role, who is stalking Uma Thurman or who Roger Clemens has played boy toy for in the past. Without going into a varying rant or bordering an all out assault on the declining morality of American culture, one has to wonder what exactly is important in our society?

Recently Read

Quick Ponder: Future Self

We always think,  what would we say  to our  younger self? However,  what would  our younger self say  if they met us, today?

Turning 40 - Grateful and Renewed

I became a forty-year-old individual yesterday.  The milestone is very significant for many and has its societal measures and benchmarks that carry some fear for those approaching its gates. Regardless of approach, turning 40 is filled with reflection, pondering (of course), and preparation for what should be a "new" stage of life. A life stage centered around "transitioning" into a stage seen as the "pre-senior" years.  Sure. Whatever.  I won't disagree that the new "4" digit that sits in front of your age feels encompassing even without understanding completely. Yet, as I stated last year when I turned 39 (going into my 40th year on this earth), I was ready for it. Ready for 40. Today, oddly enough, I am not filled with profound life lessons, ponderings, or reflections.  I sit here, punching the keys, filled with gratitude. I am 40, and I love it.   I carry my baggage of life and bear scars from it at 40. I am grateful for so many experien...

Knicks Trauma - Ugh Not Again

Well, that was a kick in the stomach.  Coming off a week where the word "catharsis" was used as the description for the euphoria and release of joy from two and a half decades of suffering, Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Indiana Pacers brought about another word - trauma.  Watching the Knicks collapse was the kind of moments that come with these deep runs and moments. NBA Playoff basketball will do that. Yet, this loss - this one - feels about as bad as the 2004 ALCS when the Yankees collapsed in the series to the Boston Red Sox.  That one carries some serious trauma. Luckily, the series isn't over.  Some other quick thoughts from this awful, awful night, New York Knicks Basketball.  - Not to conjure up hyperbole, or even contribute to "hot take" sports reaction culture - but this might have been the worst loss in Knicks franchise history. I cannot think of another in my lifetime, or historically.  - Tyrese Haliburton's "choke"...