Skip to main content

Baby, It's Climate Change outside

Back in the day when I was a student, I wondered why homeless people stayed in cold climates. If you're going to be homeless, why not be homeless somewhere warm?

I guess it should have been self-evident...if you have made decisions that have landed you on the street then you probably won't make decisions putting yourself anywhere except on a better street corner nearby.

I remember arguing to some people who called themselves homeless advocates that instead of sleeping overnight with homeless people to show they cared, that they'd help the homeless more by helping them move to the deep south for the winter.

After trudging through the snow yesterday in D.C. and Virginia,, I'm sorry I didn't set up such a program so I could apply to be moved to Florida or Texas.

I mean, if even a bird with a tiny brain knows to move deep south for the winter, then why am I still living in a cold weather climate?

* * *

I'm not following political issues that much these days, but...

I have noticed that global warming has become climate change. It is a sleight-of-hand move that I won't go along with. During the 1970s there were warnings that there was a chance we'd have global cooling. That morphed into global warming. Then it became a little tough to explain how the same problem could lead to either warming or cooling.

So...Viola! Abracadabra! Cover your eyes! Cover your brain! Forget what we were saying! Global warming+global cooling=climate change.

The tremendous snow should be a rude reminder that humans have very little control over the climate or weather. Even if we wanted to make it snow 27 inches over a large area in just a day, could we get it done? Could we stop it? I assume we can't stop it because if we could then I would not have been slip sliding around yesterday.

* * *

Yes, I ignored the repeated warnings to stay home yesterday. At least I did (make that, could) not drive.

There were no taxis on the street. I walked for five minutes to the metro--I saw one car moving, slowly. There were very few people on the street. The mall I went to last night was a ghost town.

How bad were things?

Even the Chinese restaurant at the mall ran out of food!

Even the McDonald's near my home was closed!

I bet even the hookers were home on a Friday night!

McDonald's closed? Chinese restaurants running out of food?

The only other time I've seen things like this, with so few people out, with so many restaurants closed? I went to New Orleans a few months after Katrina devastated the city. But that was not a natural disaster, at least according to the conspiracy theorists who thought it was part of former president Bush's plan to destroy the city and eliminate black people.

* * *

linked by pengram, Booker Rising,

* * *


Ray Charles & Betty Carter - Baby It's Cold Outside

Popular posts from this blog

2022-12-09 Seoul Honorary Citizenship (ceremony & media roundup)

  On September 29, 2022, I was informed that I had been awarded Seoul Honorary Citizenship. December 9th, I was one of the 18 non-Koreans to receive Seoul Honorary Citizenship.  I was delighted to have several colleagues and supporters join me at the ceremony. They all have had a special role in my activities here. Here's the media roundup so far: The Korea Times (English) https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2022/12/113_341484.html Yonhap (English) https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20221211001200320 (Korean) https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20221210022100004 (French) https://fr.yna.co.kr/view/AFR20221211001000884 (Spanish) https://sp.yna.co.kr/view/ASP20221211000900883 K-Odyssey https://m.k-odyssey.com/news/newsview.php?ncode=179556481389320 Newsis https://www.newsis.com/view/?id=NISX20221209_0002118460 Chosun https://www.chosun.com/national/national_general/2022/12/11/S2OA76535FCBHFIQI7R5P7HYYM/ Daum News https://v.daum.net/v/20221211111512898 MSN https://www.msn.com/ko-kr/news/n...

2015-01-09 Asia Liberty Forum (Kathmandu, Nepal)

I was pleased to be one of the speakers at the 3rd Asia Liberty Forum, held this time in Kathmandu, Nepal. Freedom Speakers International has presented at the Asia Liberty Forum several times. I was invited in 2014 and have been able to invite North Korean refugees to also speak at the forum. 2014, New Delhi, India Speakers: Chanyang Ju, Casey Lartigue Jr. https://caseylartigue.blogspot.com/2014/01/07-09-ALF-India.html http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/opinion/2014/01/137_149698.html https://www.facebook.com/CaseyLartigue/posts/1308010646009594 2015, Kathmandu, Nepal Speaker: Casey Lartigue https://caseylartigue.blogspot.com/2015/01/2015-01-09-asia-liberty-forum-kathmandu.html 2018 Jakarta, Indonesia Speakers: Eunhee Park, Casey Lartigue FSI was named a finalist for the Asia Liberty Award https://caseylartigue.blogspot.com/2021/01/11-Asia-liberty-award.html https://www.atlasnetwork.org/news/article/organizations-from-afghanistan-nepal-south-korea-named-finalists-for-asia-l 2019, Colomb...

2016-01-31 Speech coaching

  On February 2, 2016, Teach North Korean Refugees (now Freedom Speakers International) will be introducing itself to the American Women's Club. Co-directors Casey Lartigue and Eunkoo Lee will be telling AWC about the wonderful project we co-founded in March 2013. Then three refugees participating in our project will give speeches. One of our speakers is Ken Eom. He's a wonderful guy, he's been in our program since last March. Thanks to his tutors and coaches, as well as his own effort, he has improved so much. His natural sense of humor has always been there, and now with practice and assistance, he has improved so much. The two other speakers will be giving their first public speeches. One of them was a bit nervous, so she asked if she could meet Eunkoo and me today.. Even though I have known her since early 2015, I had never heard her story so it was good for me to get a preview.  I'm sure she will do quite well. 2021 update: The lady hiding her face is Eunhee Park. ...

Race, race, race

On the issue of race: Clinton goes first, (surprisingly) without her Selma accent. Biden doesn’t mention that there is a clean and article black person on the stage. Richardson says the next president must talk about race…we need less talk about race, and more about individual action. Edwards said something, apparently to help us transition to the only somewhat black candidate on the panel. Obama has the home field advantage being at Howard, but doesn’t do much with the initial question. Kucinich says that people are told to raise themselves up by their own bootstraps, but then they steal the boots. He gets the loudest cheers. This will be a long night if that continues... Gravel —who? Dodd —like the 64th team in the NCAA basketball pool, Dodd should be one and done. Brb, I’m checking on the NBA draft… CJL

Breen's column that outraged Samsung

“What People Got for Christmas” Michael Breen The Korea Times December 25, 2009 At this time of year when Seoul’s bare winter trees are wrapped in beckoning lights ― blue and white are the in colors ― and Merry Xmas signs at hotels and department stores are really saying come-hither-gentle-reveler-and-empty-your-purse, and when expensive restaurants belch noisy year-end office party groups onto every street and the karaoke rooms are full, it is tempting to declare that Christmas has lost its soul. But that would be a mistake. Christmas is a time for giving, and, before they can be given, gifts have to be bought. Commerce is good. Here, as proof, is a round up of some of the gifts given and received today by people in the news. Samsung, the world’s largest conglomerate and the rock upon which the Korean economy rests, sent traditional year-end cards offering best wishes for 2010 to the country’s politicians, prosecutors and journalists, along with 50 million w...