disaster
08/20/2007
Hurricane Dean Seen From Space: "Holy Smokes!"
There is something about the way astronauts talk. From Neil Armstrong’s unexpectedly calm “one small step for man” speech on the lunar surface, to Apollo 13's casual, meiotic “Houston, we have a problem” when all hell was breaking loose, astronauts’ words always seem to possess an understated gravity -- maybe it’s the perspective of being high 200 miles above the earth, or maybe it’s simply being high in a capsule filled with oxygen. So when an astronaut exclaims “holy smokes,” you know something big is happening.
Such was the case with crew members aboard the International Space Station as they passed over Hurricane Dean, a potential Cat 5 storm passing by the island Hispanola on its way towards the Gulf of Mexico. External cameras captured footage of the hurricane from an altitude of 214 statute miles. Our astronaut summed up the storm's massive size with this litotic comment: “Yeah. Can’t miss that.”
08/02/2007
35W bridge collapsed into Mississippi River
Just reading the news doesn't quite give you a sense of the scale of the Minnesota bridge filmed here. As rescue workers continue in efforts to locate victims trapped by last night's collapse, all we spectators can do is hope that the body count doesn't climb any higher, and that we don't see any reoccurances of this tragedy.
07/18/2007
NYC Steam Explosion
This may not exactly work as a "Coffee Break" video, but we don't have anywhere else to put footage like this. And that's a good thing. This clip was taken at the scene of a terrifying steam explosion outside New York's Grand Central Station this afternoon. Initial reports are saying that only one person was injured, and we pray that it stays that way. There is no tally on how many people were scared shitless by the sight of debris flying through one of Gotham's most populated business districts. Hang in there, NYC!
07/11/2007
Will The iPhone Blend?
Behold, the perfect storm of internet memes: one incredibly popular web series (in this case, Blendtec's Will It Blend) featuring the most discussed technological advance since, well, fire (Apple's iPhone). Host Tom Dickson doesn't spare any words, so I see no reason to do so either. Just know: the iPhone gets blended into iBits. And a million nerds scream in anguish.
05/11/2007
On the Scene at the Griffith Park Fire
After four days and more than 800 acres of damage, LAFD firefighters have triumphed over dangerously fire-friendly conditions and contained the Griffith Park blaze. But as early as Wednesday morning, LAObserved's Jacob Soboroff was at the park, getting right under a fire department chopper as it made a water drop, and interviewing City Councilman Tom LaBonge, LAFD Chief Bill Bratton, and LAFD Captain Carlos Calvillo. If the interview with Calvillo doesn't make you want to run out and hug your local firefighter, watch it again, because you missed something.
