Wednesday, December 29, 2004

Feminist author Susan Sontag is dead (btw, she was raised in Tucson among other places).  Sontag became famous yet again (or maybe notorious is the better word?) for her 1000 word essay written after Sept. 11 in which she noted that "The voices licensed to follow the event seem to have joined together in a campaign to infantilize the public."  You can read this essay from an academic site provided you learn from it and use it according to the Fair Use doctrine :). Salon carries an exclusive interview (must have subscription to read it in full) with the author shortly after the essay provoked one response which asked: "What do Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein and Susan Sontag have in common?" Sontag was an ideal critic to write about Sept. 11 and it's aftermath. Her classic works On Photography and Regarding the Pain of Others explores the uses and meaning of pictures of war.  She discusses how photography transforms one's vision and sensibilities. comment []11:36:26 AM     The website of NOAA (the US National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration) is chockfull of information about the tsunami, including a map showing the epicenter and several other interactives about how tsuanmis form and operate. comment []11:20:42 AM     Across the US, the United Nations and the world (Australia, Bulgaria, China and Singapore are some of them) many people are trying to help the tsunami victims (I guess disasters like this make us realize that we can be one world after all.  The International Red Cross is warning that fatality numbers could exceed 100,000. Amazon: American Red Cross has teamed with Amazon and 1-Click so you can donate cash right away. The race is now on to prevent disease in South Asia and more deaths.   comment []11:15:19 AM     I can't recall which of the college buildings across from Marina Beach this picture shows - could be any one of the buildings on Queen Mary's College, Presidency College or the University of Madras itself. comment []10:56:08 AM     A picture of Marina Beach (Chennai, formerly Madras) taken from the car during my visit in February 2003.  This beach would have been one of the areas affected by the Tsunami on sunday.  The University of Madras is also on the northern stretch of Marina Beach. You can compare this picture with the one shown here, http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/analysis/view/124310/1/.html (the story though is about Phuket Island not Marina Beach). comment []10:53:53 AM

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