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FEMA declared in August 2001 that the three mega-disasters most likely to hit the US were (1) a terrorist attack on New York City; (2) a Category 5 hurricane hitting New Orleans; and (3) a major earthquake on the San Andreas Fault. Now weve had the first two. Is L.A. next?
For comment and analysis we turn to DAVID L. ULIN. His new book, The Myth of Solid Ground: Earthquakes, Prediction, and the Fault Line Between Reason and Faith is out now in paperback. Mike Davis calls the book a wry, hugely original, and scary exploration of the unstable boundaries between science and folk magic in Californias culture of disaster. Dave Ulin is also the new editor of the Los Angeles Times Book Review.
ALSO: Does New Orleans have a future?
ANDREI CODRESCU, the poet and novelist born in Romania who lives in Louisiana, says New Orleans had a great period, and now it is going to sink into some kind of glorious mess, like Venice, and become just a tourist spot. People will come . . . to feel the grandeur of what was once there.
PLUS: the life and music of Jimi Hendrix:
CHARLES CROSS is the author of Room Full of Mirrors: A Biography of Jimi Hendrix. Charles Cross will be reading and signing at Book Soup on Sunset Strip at 7pm Wed.
PLAYLIST:
Hey Joe (Smash Hits)
“Purple Haze” (Smash Hits)
All Along the Watchtower (Experience Hendrix)
Room Full of Mirrors (The Jimi Hendrix Experience)
QUOTABLE: Bill Maher’s message to George Bush: “Mr. President, this job can’t be fun for you any more. There’s no more money to spend — you used up all of that. You can’t start another war because you also used up the army. And now, darn the luck, the rest of your term has become the Bush family nightmare: helping poor people. Now it’s time to do what you’ve always done best: lose interest and walk away. Like you did with your military service and the oil company, and the baseball team. It’s time.”
RECOMMENDED: This American Life: After the Flood. GREAT interviews listen online at http://www.thislife.org/ scroll down to “After the Flood.” Click on the Real Audio icon.