Thursday, July 01, 2004
Just like L.A... Kinda
This is all taking-on biblical proportions:
Earthquake in eastern Turkey kills 18
But really...5.0...5.2...in L.A., that just gets people in a room nodding and muttering things like, "Did you feel that? What do you think? About a 5? Maybe 5.1? I'll get on USGS and check."
How many times have I had that IM conversation?
So I've felt the earth move. It's strange. It's disorienting. But it's no longer foreign.
Visiting in a world where "built to code" (in earthquake terms) is a recent innovation may ignite a spark of concern, but I'm not worried.
What strikes me as a little odd, though, is this: every time I sit down to write a cheerful entry about how excited I am to be days away from leaving, intending to jot a few words about the absurd difficulties involved in getting your "world phone" to visit the rest of the world, or how seductive shopping in "travel stores" can be, there's always a gloomy headline waiting at the top of the Turkish News wire.
Something that feels substantial. That merits comment.
Hmmmm.
This is why things should cheer up around here, once I leave. Much less internet. More interaction.
And besides, I'm going to be sleeping in a cave. (Really, I am.) Sounds up to code to me.
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Earthquake in eastern Turkey kills 18
Moderate shaker strikes early Friday morning near Iranian borderNo, a little "temblor" isn't going to scare off an Angelino. Albeit an Angelino who missed the Northridge quake and hasn't really had to endure anything more than a halogen lamp swaying a little from side to side as the soil in Studio City ripples in waves. (And even that was ages ago.)
The Associated Press
Updated: 1:33 a.m. ET July 02, 2004
ISTANBUL, Turkey - A moderate earthquake in eastern Turkey destroyed houses, killing 18 people and injuring 21 more on Friday, television channels reported.
The earthquake, which struck around 1 a.m. Friday (2200 GMT Thursday) caused heavy damage in several villages in Dogubeyazit province, near the Iranian border, private NTV and CNN-Turk television reported.
...
NTV put the magnitude of the quake at 5.0; CNN-Turk said it measured 5.2.
Television showed people spending the night outside following the temblor. [sic]
Quakes are frequent in Turkey, which lies on the active faults. Two massive earthquakes hit northwestern Turkey in 1999, killing about 18,000 people.
But really...5.0...5.2...in L.A., that just gets people in a room nodding and muttering things like, "Did you feel that? What do you think? About a 5? Maybe 5.1? I'll get on USGS and check."
How many times have I had that IM conversation?
So I've felt the earth move. It's strange. It's disorienting. But it's no longer foreign.
Visiting in a world where "built to code" (in earthquake terms) is a recent innovation may ignite a spark of concern, but I'm not worried.
What strikes me as a little odd, though, is this: every time I sit down to write a cheerful entry about how excited I am to be days away from leaving, intending to jot a few words about the absurd difficulties involved in getting your "world phone" to visit the rest of the world, or how seductive shopping in "travel stores" can be, there's always a gloomy headline waiting at the top of the Turkish News wire.
Something that feels substantial. That merits comment.
Hmmmm.
This is why things should cheer up around here, once I leave. Much less internet. More interaction.
And besides, I'm going to be sleeping in a cave. (Really, I am.) Sounds up to code to me.
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