A Pint for London Paramedics

Nosemonkey's piss-up for London emergency workers went off tonight in London. If you missed the details, one of his readers came up with the idea of buying a pint for hard-working emergency workers after the 7/7 bombings. Nosemonkey followed through and organized the event, giving people all over the world a simple way to show our appreciation and admiration for the guys from St. John Ambulance. Cheers to him for that.

Watch the BBC video here (click the "Watch Thursday's News" link in the upper right corner). The piece begins about halfway through, at 17.40.

UPDATE: Many more details from Nosemonkey here. Brilliant stuff.

(If you're not familiar with Nosemonkey, I should point out that he is one of the Internet's most powerful Website Masters. He's also a noted Online Diarist and an enthusiastic Internet-User.)

Yet Another Reason to Hate Katrina

My friend Pete informs me that Andrew Brott, an old childhood friend from Chicago, is one of the countless New Orleans residents displaced by Katrina. We attended the same church as kids...Andrew has come a long way from being the Sunday School class clown (if he denies it, don't believe him...). He fled with his wife in advance of the storm, and they're currently living in suburban Chicago with his parents. They're not sure of the status of their home...but it's clear that returning to New Orleans in the forseeable future is not an option.

Andrew runs a glass-art studio in New Orleans. His artwork is really quite impressive. Many examples can be found on his studio website, as well as here. Andrew's resume is available here (wow). Since he has no idea how long he'll be displaced, he's trying to find work in the Chicago area.

I'll post more information as I get it. In the meantime, if you'd like to commission a stunning piece of glass art, contact Andrew by email (the address is available on his site).

UPDATE: Donating to the Craft Emergency Relief Fund is a great way to help artists in need. In addition, Tyler Green at ArtsJournal is blogging about the effect of Katrina on cultural institutions in Louisiana and Mississippi. It's an angle of the story that isn't getting much attention, but it's something I'm sure we'll hear more and more about as the humanitarian crisis eases. When the water finally recedes and the dead are buried, we'll find ourselves mourning the loss of the artistic and cultural treasures that make New Orleans so unique.

Remember Beslan

Katrina dominates the news, but take a moment today to remember the children of Beslan, and their grieving parents. It's hard to believe that it was already a year ago.

"I draw the terrorist and burn them for all the children who died in the school. I want to take revenge on them for killing those children."

That's what you've created, Basayev--nine-year-old girls wishing for your death. May Laima get her wish.

You can still help the victims.