27/09/05 Evacuating Rita

I felt a bit guilty at the weekend at being slightly disappointed that Hurricane Rita didn't quite turn out to be quite as catastrophic as the media would have had us believe. Obviously, I didn't want to see anybody get killed, but thought that we would be privvy to witness a stunning example of the incredible forces of nature at work...
Of course, it's ultimately a good thing that this didn't completely materialise, and now that I've come to my senses, I'm happy about it too.
It's all the fault of "Sky News". They love a good, huge impending disaster and like to give it the big build-up.
It's like being in the audience for a big wrestling match as the promoter launches into an extended hyperbole to introduce the contestants.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, and in the blue corner,she's 400 miles wide, she's an unstoppable force of nature, she can lift buses high into the air, shes one b-a-a-a-a-d-a-s-s-s mama....will you give it up for "Hurrrrrrrr-icane Riiiiiii-tttt---aaaa!!!"
They did all this for "Hurricane Rita", but when the time came for the stunning entrance, the metaphorical "wrestler" was a 9 stone weakling dressed in a pink leotard and wearing national health glasses. What a let down. 165mph winds my arse! (only if I've been living off home-made scotch broth which this week I have, ironically enough)
I expect that the Bush Administration were keen to talk up the threat level of the Hurricane to make it look like they'd dealt with the crisis professionally and effectively, even if it wasn't all that bad in the end. They definitely
needed some decent PR after the Hurricane Katrina debacle.
I was quite shocked to see that ITV poll programme which was trying to establish the Top 50 News Shots since ITV began.
They'd got down to the last 10, and they were encouraging viewers to phone a premium rate number and vote on what they thought was the most memorable story.
It was basically a case of voting for your "favourite disaster".
You could have had the Tsunami, the Ethiopian Famine, 9/11, the JFK Assassination, England's 1966 World Cup Win etc It all seemed a bit weird to me...I didn't hang around to see what the "winner" was...