Hurricane Irene NYC Damage Report

Non-metereologist RoBeast Rollie reporting here from the No-No Zone in the middle of Manhattan. I hit the street early this morning to see the latest disaster that I slept through. For the most part, there were more dogs and amateur photographers out than branches down. Thumbs up, NYC.

Here's my round up of the urban destruction:

Umbrellas have been mutilated.

Balloons have been abandoned.

Drum Circles are cancelled. 

Looters are running rampant. 

Unemployment has not been halted. 

And businesses continue to get their typo on. 

In all seriousness, it's still potentially dangerous out there, so be careful. I was a few steps away from getting hit by a metal rod falling from one of the blue awnings in the picture below.

Some tourists saw it happen and I told them, "I wouldn't go that way if I were you." They responded, "Maybe we should go back to the hotel."

Branch down on Laguardia Pl.

Off of Bleecker St. 

Evil fog and a large branch being cleared looking South on Broadway.

If you can fight the cabin fever, it's probably best to just stay inside and wait for the branches to be cleared and the flood waters to recede. You bought all that damn food so you may as well stay wherever you are, eat it, and ponder this message:

... and the Media too.  

Thanks Tehran Times

PARIS (Agencies) – An Air France plane with 228 passengers on board has gone missing, and the families of the passengers, in response to this sad news, can only hope that their loved ones find a fate similar to the passengers on the plane of the U.S. TV series “The Lost”, who survived and were stranded on an unknown island, where they struggled to stay alive.

It's ridiculous (and offensive) that the headline has already declared "French plane crashes with 228 aboard" without that actually being confirmed anywhere else in the news world, but then to talk about fucking Lost in the lead paragraph? Now That's Infotainment.

E! online also knows how to look on the bright side:

Twitterverses: Celebs Saddened, Nervous About Missing Air France Plane

Today 12:42 PM PDT by Breanne L. Heldman

Like you, Hollywood is holding its breath waiting for news of the missing Air France flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris.

Some, like Stephanie Pratt, are terrorism theorists: "I really dont think its the result of a lightning strike...Why is my gut thinking it was a terrorist act," she says.

Most, however, are saddened or just plain scared.

"I can't believe what I just read about the Air France plane that's missing," Samantha Ronson writes. "So sad and frightening. my heart goes out to all affected."

Mark Hoppus from Blink-182 says basically the same thing. "Just read the news. Terrible. My thoughts and prayers to everyone involved in the Air France flight loss."

"Say a prayer for Air France Flight 447," Emmy Rossum orders.

Thankfully, Elizabeth Banks, Michael Urie and Denise Richards are in sunnier moods.

• Elizabeth Banks had a good time in hell at the movies this weekend. "Saw Drag Me to Hell this weekend. So much fun. I giggled thru the gross parts like a baby boy."

• Michael Urie is proud of his Ugly Betty costar. "Congrats to my girl Becki Newton, she won a Glamour UK award, commiedienne of the year!"

• Happy birthday to Denise Richards and Charlie Sheen's kiddo! "My daughter Lola turns 4 today," the proud mama writes.

• Soulja Boy, we're not sure you want us to answer your question… "Has anyone of my followers use to not like me and then woke up one day and said 'Hey.. I think i like Soulja Boy'.?"

• Tweet Topic: What's up with this June gloom people are whining about in California? Brooke Burke is complaining, as is Emmy Rossum. East Coasters, start your comment engines!

The National in Abu Dhabi, UAE is now reporting "'No hope' for lost airline passengers" in their headline. The "No hope" quote is actually pulled from No Where. Unless you count their own paraphrasing: "The French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, and French aviation sources conceded that there was no hope of finding survivors." Quoting yourself has got to be a party foul in international journalism, no?

Just so it doesn't look like I'm only picking on Middle Easterners and Americans, the UK's Times Online also claims "No hope for 228 passengers..." in their headline. They soften their outlook in the first sentence of the article though: "There is virtually no hope for the 228 people on board a packed Air France jet which went missing over the Atlantic Ocean today, the worst disaster in the airline's history." The article was written by two French correspondents. Maybe those were the "French aviation sources" that The National was citing?

Ok, I think I finally found the source of "No hope." The Telegraph in the UK had the headline "Air France plane lost: officials say 'no hope' of finding airliner." Reported by two correspondents in Sao Paolo, Brazil, their lead is "Officials said they had 'no hope' for Air France Flight 447 which dropped off the radar three hours and less than 200 miles into a flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris." I am still not satisfied with this "No hope" claim. In subsequent paragraphs, the article quotes "Air France," "sources," and "authorities," but I'm still not seeing a sentence anywhere that has the phrase "No hope" attributed to a human being nor is it linked to a longer sentence. Unless there was a press conference and someone asked "What have you got?" and the spokeperson said "No hope" then I think this reporting is no bueno.

Katy Perry is Evil

I was just reminiscing with Ryan "Ryborg" Stevens, drummer of Plowing Mud Forever over the days when we used to have band practice in midtown Manhattan. It's not that we miss the rehearsal space or the atmosphere of the city or the boring commute--it's the subway vandalism that seems to mysteriously follow us in the stations and sometimes even onto the trains.

With those fond memories fresh in my mind, and the Budweiser still flowing through my veins after the big Fear show in Brooklyn last night, I just could not resist assisting the giant 92.3 NEW subway ad in exposing Katy Perry as the Anti-Christ.

I apologize in advance if the purple-dyed Hitler 'stache catches on with poser mall punks all across the country, but I don't regret my statement. Katy Perry is a fucking tool and writes horrible, vapid music. She's got a pretty face and generic talent and it pisses me off how far that goes in the pop world. Bah. Grr. Fart. I'll go write a song about it and I'll show her! Nyah!

Anyway, some kids walked by while I was standing there and said "Wow, that's awesome." Vindication! I love livin' in the city!