….Guy Gaga?
Male Gaga?

Gago?

Yet again, Lady Gaga rocks the music world.. appears as a man —in drag ?— at MTV music awards….. And 

SHE EVEN USED THE MEN’S ROOM 

Schools back...

I feel for you, kids… Summer is over.

….I suppose with Amy Winehouse’s passing, Ke$ha sees an opening:

Singer Ke$ha spits out beer while performing at a taping of the 2011 MTV World Stage Mexico at Mexico City’s Auditorio Nacional, Thursday Aug. 25, 2011. The show will air on MTV Latin America Sept. 23. (AP Photo/Arnulfo Franco)

MTV music awards tonight.. and yes, Snooki and her JERSEY SHORE escaped Irene on a private last minute flight

…we can breathe easier.

Now bring on Britney and Gaga and pay tribute to Winehouse. Music, MTV style. 

MTV music awards tonight.. and yes, Snooki and her JERSEY SHORE escaped Irene on a private last minute flight

BRIT PAPERS ATTACK: IRENE WAS THE PERFECT STORM OF HYPE

BRIT PAPERS ATTACK: IRENE WAS THE PERFECT STORM OF HYPE

Ayden’s first hurricane. I think he’ll be a storm chaser..

Trying to put perspective on a strange week

This week, after an earthquake shook parts of the world that don’t know what to do during them, it was one thing. Then after a hurricane slammed into that same part of the world, it was quite another. And even more, some forecasts project a hurricane potentially taking a silimar track to Irene… It has been a strange, odd, and particularly eerie week.

I’m not saying end times are upon us. I’m not quitting the day job and hopping in my car to proclaim armageddon .. But I can admit, I felt a lot closer to that this week than ever before.

I have never lived through an earthquake before. Sure, here in the Coal Region of Pennsylvania, I suppose I’m sheltered. Or thought I was. And hurricanes? We’ve had them… that one is an old one. But for in cities that never sleep, massive rains and winds can shake not only foundations of buildings but also the human psyche. 

The only conclusion that one can derive from a week of natural disaster is this: The world, all over, is fragile. The ground isn’t certain. And the winds can blow. 

That is a scary prospect, as well, isn’t it? 

We are a society, a human race, that tries to get ahead of nature. We also have this notion that, since we made computers, we don’t have to worry about those old fashioned problems like disease and natural disasters. But we do.

I have often said, and still believe, that society as a whole is constantly on a hair trigger away from anarchy. Just one action, even if it’s small, can provoke insurrection. And in 2011, billions of dollars have been tallied in an expensive year for natural disasters.

The only stark and complete conclusion I can take from a shaky, windy week: We are at the mercy of this planet. We don’t run it, own it, or master it. We just inhabit it. 

Irene falls short of projections?

Irene falls short of projections?

Long Beachless Island: 

Drew Messler of Manasquan tries to avoid the surging water as he goes for a walk on the beach on Fifth Street at high tide as Hurricane Irene moves past Long Beach Island, Sunday, Aug. 28, 2011 in Beach Haven, N.J. (AP Photo/Joe Epstein)

DOWNGRADE: IRENE LOSES HER HURRICANE STATUS

A quick FYI as this storm departs from our memory: The European model shows another hurricane taking the same track after Labor Day weekend...

A quick FYI as this storm departs from our memory: The European model shows another hurricane taking the same track after Labor Day weekend...

This too shall pass. Amazing shot.

thedeadline:

Calm after the storm: sun’s about to come up on the Outer Banks. (New photo) (Taken with instagram)

NEW YORK CITY: TORNADO WARNING

Also now: 3.1 million homes and businesses are without power

NEW YORK CITY: TORNADO WARNING

Another Reuters image (this photographer had to be having fun watching).. of the revelers, seemingly grown adults, playing water slide on the streets of New York City. Looks fun.

And it looks like the Irish pubs that stayed open last night in the city had customers.. 

The city that never sleeps.. Reuters photog Brendan McDermid captures an image of really happy and very wet revellers in Times Square as Irene struck.. 

The moment it occurred: A hurricane passes directly over New York City

HUDSON RIVER IS OVERFLOWING..

..portions of New York City beginning to get flooded.. 

As said: The storm surge was the true worry of this storm.. And now events are showing why it was a valid concern..

The hurricane, by the way, is right over New York City now .. it’s going to race as of now, though, caught up with the right steering currents..

THE EAST RIVER IS TOPPING ITS BANKS RIGHT NOW

Winds are getting intense.. Strong East wind..

MSNBC RIGHT NOW ON LONG BEACH

Tidal flooding is beginning.. water is rushing the beach .. Al Roker is reporting that streets are flooding and cars are being inundated with water from the ocean .