Rain, Reading, and Reviewing

I'm writing this from an extremely soggy Pennsylvania, which - after being lashed by the fury of Hurricane Irene - is currently suffering the additional indignities of the remains of Tropical Storm Lee.  This past Tuesday was my birthday (I continue to be thirtysomething), and it was suggested that I had wished for more rain on my candles.

In all truth, the weather around here is a little scary of late.  Flooding is happening all over the place; the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is recommending no unnecessary travel through the eastern part of the commonwealth.  Rivers in Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey are approaching levels they haven't reached since Hurricane Agnes visited us in 1972.  I didn't exist yet at that point, so this is the worst it's been in my lifetime.  The Weather Channel people are referring to it as "the Historic Northeast Flooding," capitalization theirs.

But despite the delightful squelching noises that the ground now makes when walked upon, we move forward.  Today is International Literacy Day!  A day when people around the world celebrate the written word!  Being able to read is hugely important for adults to make informed decisions and steer this planet toward a better future.  Yet almost 800 million adults are still unable to read.  Check out what the International Reading Association has to say about this occasion, and find out how you can help to maybe bring that number down some.

On a final note, I recently started a second blog.  The Opinionation Station is for reviewing the story quality of video games.  I'm finding I have a little less to say on this subject than I originally expected.  However, I may end up not needing it anyway.  I'm very excited to announce that your intrepid blogger is the newest staff writer for AngryWeb, and will be doing all manner of geeky writing therein.  This includes video game reviews.  My first article went live a few days ago, and I think I'm going to like this gig.

Besides, hunting for nerdy news will give me something to do while I'm listening to the rain.  The Weather Channel just informed me that it's expected to continue all the way through the weekend.