Matthew Wayne Selznick

Yesterday I received a package from Amazon. I didn’t order anything from Amazon.

Turns out, it was a pack of 50 8x blank DVD-Rs!

Someone… some kind anonymous person out there… bought it for me from my admittedly forgotten-all-about Amazon Wish List!

So thank you, mysterious one! You’ve inspired me to add a few more things to the list!

Check out this short animated video explaining what Creative Commons is… then click on the advertisement at the end to help this non-profit organization support citizen media and collaborative creative endeavors!

Thanks to Duncan, I discovered that PayPal has shut down at least one Katrina relief fundraising effort that uses their service. They’re concerned about the potential for fraud.

That’s regrettable, and a real “one bad apple…” kind of thing.

In light of this information, I’ve taken down the MWS Media campaign drive. Instead, please donate directly to one of the suggested charities in the sidebar on the right-hand side of the page. These are all charities with confirmed direct involvement in the recovery effort.

I read a few blogs, of course. Just about every one of them has had something to say about Katrina, and the disaster, and the relief effort, and all that.

Just about every one… but not every one. Some of them carry on with the typical self-referential stuff that is, under normal circumstances, the very point of blogging. And I find myself disturbed by the impression these bloggers give that their life is continuing as if nothing had happened.

I don’t know. Maybe some folks don’t want to comment on the tragedy — maybe they want to keep it to themselves. I guess I can respect that. Still… I read about their vacations, and what not, and there’s nary a peep about this biggest disaster, biggest political fiasco, biggest logistical nightmare this country’s had to face in some time.

And it puts a bad taste in my mouth.

I’m just sayin’.

The blogosphere delivers: Before and after satellite images from Globexplorer posted by Don Park and found thanks to Dave Winer.

The images are large, but stunning and worth a look.

Please help, folks. Click the donate button on the right side of this site.