The Sound of Silence

A very powerful rendition of The Sound of Silence by Paul Simon at Ground Zero yesterday. (If the video stalls, go to the settings where it says 360p and change it to 240p. That should make it appear without interruption)...

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Amazing Spiderman tribute to the heroes of 9/11

Someone in the Youtube community put together this video regarding the Spiderman comics 9/11 tribute issue (#36). I posted this a few years back, but I thought it was worth posting again. The words and images put together by the people at Marvel Comics are extremely powerful and I encourage you to check it out. The artwork is incredible.

I never read comic books as a kid. However, it was funny reading the comments underneath this video as comic book enthusiasts passionately debate the significance of certain parts of the tribute issue. One scene in the issue shows Spiderman's three arch enemies devastated by the events of 9/11. The evil character Doom is seen crying, which apparently was shocking to some of these nerd types. In that scene, the writer says:
Even the ones we would never expect
Because even the worst of us
Are still human
And still cry for the innocent
Even the ones we call ordinary
Are made extraordinary in their courage
And their sacrifice...



And I'll tell you what. Despite 3,000 casualties, I think the hijackers failed miserably in their efforts to destroy the morale of this country. For all of it's shortcomings, I think people realized how lucky they were to live in a country where they could be free. The one image I'll always remember from that tragic day is not the planes hitting the towers, or anything else. It's the picture below, which says it all...

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Tales from 9/11

It's 4:30 in the morning and I'm not the least bit tired. So forgive me if the tone of my words is not too upbeat. I'm all for remembering 9/11/01. Just like the first time you read this blog or heard Joannie Loves Chachi was cancelled, we all remember exactly where we were when we heard the news of the first plane hitting the tower. The people who died on that day were very brave, especially those going back in to try and save others stuck inside the buildings.

What I'm really sick of hearing though, are these stories of near death. I'll guarantee most of them are outright lies. "My uncle was supposed to be at work at 8AM that day but he let someone in a wheelchair take his place on the subway train to work." Come on, dude. Your uncle works at night in Kansas City. Tell him to stop lying.

I know of at least one lady from South Buffalo who tells people she was supposed to be on one of the hijacked planes, but she opted for a later flight.Sure you were, honey. More people were supposed to be on those flights than supposedly attended the original Woodstock. Stop lying, woman. You weren't supposed to be on any flight and you're obviously just looking to be part of the story. If you want attention, do something more interesting than making up stories. Go rob a bank dressed as Darth Vader.

What about the guy who was supposed to be off that day, but decided to go in and catch up on some paper work? Or the person who was supposed to be on an earlier flight but cancelled and ended up sitting next to the Iron Sheik's nephew on one of the hijacked planes? The next time you hear someone tell one of these "fate" stories, please just say, "that never happened. You're a friggin' liar."

By the way, did I mention I was supposed to be on the Titanic, but instead I had to schedule an emergency appointment that day with my proctologist?



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Seconds from death

This was an interesting article about the last person to survive the World Trade Center attacks on 9/11/01. Ron DiFrancisco, who was 37 at the time, ran down over 80 flights of stairs to get to the ground floor. As he ran out the door, the 2nd tower collapsed right next to him. The last thing he remembers seeing was a giant fireball. He woke up days later in a New York City hospital...

He reached a landing in the impact zone and joined others lying on the floor, gasping for air. But a voice told him to get up and keep going. He ran down the stairs, covering his face with his forearms as he fought through the flames.

Finally he reached the ground floor, where a security guard directed him to a different exit. As he reached it, he heard a giant roar as the building began to collapse. He turned and saw a fireball heading right at him. Days later, he woke up in the hospital with lacerations on his head, burns all over his body, and a broken bone in his back.

http://news.yahoo.com/final-survivor-of-south-tower-collapse-struggles-with-scars-of-9-11.html

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Reason #646 to hate the French...

You can tell this was before the age of terrorism. "There is no why? When I see beautiful place to put my wire, I can't resist." Spoken like a true French bastard. This guy's sentence was to do a free show for children in Central Park. I guess they were simpler times back in 1974:

7 Days in September

I watched this documentary the other day called 7 Days in September about New York's response to the September 11th terrorist attacks. You can find it on Hulu.com. Here are some New Yorkers responding to a group of apologists. I like the way the guy in the hat stands up to these misinformed people. It was only two days after the attack and was not the time for protest. People also need to remember that these protesters probably would have been beaten up or killed if they tried this in just about any other country besides America.

This is an interview in the same documentary with a kid who looks about 11 years old. Listen to the way he talks. He might be the smartest kid I ever heard: