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The mood on Twitter matches the weather today: Stormy.
A quick search for some keywords we're not allowed to print here (read: "Hurricane Earl" and any curse word you can think of) returns a plethora of tweets as the Category 4 storm heads toward the Eastern Seaboard. Earl's ruining weddings. Earl's ruining birthdays. Earl's even ruining one woman's news-reading experience: "Got to love all those hurricane verbs the MSM [mainstream media] throws out: 'churning' 'barreling' 'bearing down' 'roars' 'swirling' 'rolls'," tweets @Laracchapman.
But as Earl roared – er, made its way – toward North Carolina's Outer Banks, twitterers also expressed concern for loved ones in the area, urging them to follow evacuation orders. As for the people who have to evacuate themselves: Well, let's just say many of them fall under the curse-laden tweets category.
Then there are the TV jokes. With all the twitterers who have decided to refer to the storm as "Hurricane My Name Is Earl," TBS must be appreciative for the publicity bump for the show's reruns: "If I was still in N.C. I'd be the idiot on the beaches of the Outer Banks with the boom box blaring the theme to 'My Name Is Earl,'" tweets @redneck_trash. And @unclekilroy makes this point, playing off the Southern, less-than-favorable attributes of the TV show's title character: "'My name is Earl. And I'm fixin to put a hurt on you!' Figures the hurricane striking the south has a redneck-esque name!"
"The Earl Cometh," tweets @whatman75 in this Twitpic.
Still others have fears unrelated to the hurricane: "OhMyGosh! I was watching 'My Name Is Earl' and a fly hit my eyebrow and I started freaking out," tweeted @HellosPerson last night. No follow-ups on the fly-eyebrow situation were tweeted, so we're still waiting with bated breath for an update.
As for news-you-can-use tweets, federal emergency administrator @CraigatFEMA is tweeting all things hurricane preparedness, from how to protect your boat to how to communicate vital information with friends and family ahead of the storm. Food safety specialist @benjaminchapman is sharing how to keep your kitchen stocked in the event of a power outage, and @RedCross is encouraging evacuees to register on their "safe and well website" and tweeting information about shelters, traffic information and feeding trucks.
Keep checking msnbc.com and our hurricane tracker for the latest on Hurricane Earl as it churns, barrels, bears down, rolls and swirls through the Atlantic.
Whew. Thanks for letting us get all of those hurricane verbs out of our mainstream-media system, @Laracchapman.
Leave a Comment:
Thanks, Elizabeth Chuck for letting us get all of those hurricane verbs out of our mainstream-media. I do hope that Earl doesn't do much damage. The people in the southern quardant of the country have gone through so much.
Sarah Palin's twit will probably be all about nouns and adjectives as well as verbs-- something like-- Lamestream media is going2put U in Fema camp.
Text funds 2 Sarah Pac.
Great true and funny!
Say your prayers and DO evacuate as nature wins. I was in Keys when Andrew came and was on a boat for twenty years in S Florida. Take precautions as life is precious.
A quick search for some keywords we’re not allowed to print here (read: “Hurricane Earl” and any curse word you can think of)
LOL.
I heard complaints this morning here @ work of people having to find the time to get their boats out of the water. I do hope everyone is safe and takes care of themselves and loved ones. You never know anymore how these things are going to turn out. When I was a kid, we loved hurricanes. And as we got older we threw hurricane parties. Not anymore. Not since Andrew.
Be safe all.
But, who is going to look out for all of those posh vacation homes in places like The Hamptons, Newport, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket that are currently under threat by Hurricane Earl?
Maybe the FOX News folks can hold a telethon if the rich folks' homes are wrecked by the storm...
...and maybe in the middle of asking for donations Glenn Beck can stare into the camera and yell, "Barack Obama doesn't care about white people!"
You do know that all those people are Democrats, don't you? AND, big contributors to the Democratic party?
I guess that flash I just saw was Da Noid racing to help with the repairs on those homes. . .
no joe, now here I thought it was the GOP all this time, who after all are spending millions and millions and millions of dollars to ensure that they won't have to pay taxes. Have you taken a look at Beck's home? Try it.
Does The Donald own a boat?
As expected, Unions are joining forces for the upcoming November elections & have $100 Million to help Fight the Corparate takeover of America. These Working men & women will be out in Full Force, knocking on doors. As expected, Democrats have let the Noise machine blow off some steam, while they sat back & watched the hysteria coming from the Rabbid Right.
Aided & Abetted by the 4th Estate"MSM", the Rabid Right has told Lie upon Lie to the American Voter.
Why, some might ask, would the MSM continue with this. Responsible JournalISM is'nt the answer, because National Enquirer(they broke the Edwards story), is seen by some to be More responsible than the MSM.
Willie Gueist(Morning Joe)stated it Plainly several days ago with the JetBlue incident, "We have a Narrative to keep, to heck with the Facts"!
Yesterday, reading on MSNBC's news, a Story about CEO's of 50 Company's taking in Absurd Bonuses while laying off a Record # of Employee's.
This is Why Union Folks will be Pounding the Streets near You, Soon! Telling You in Person, what the MSM fails to tell You:
Corparate America is laying You off, so thier CEO's can live More Comfortably!
You Betcha!
Stay safe from Earl!
What's sad is the Republicans can get people to vote against their own best interests, invoking false religious jargon and claiming patriotic superiority when in fact their ideology has ruined the country for all but the wealthiest few.
You are so right they fight for the corporations and rich and the sheep follow them lie after lie get kicked in the teeth and go vote for them because their against gays , blacks, women, mexicans , and the list never end s of the ones to hate . Christ they say guns and all kind of panic starts every one is scared they will lose their gun such idiots . Glen Beck selling survivle kits what a joke . If a liberal tv station was owned by foreigners the right wing would go nuts, but its ok for FOX idiots.
I was thrilled to see this story last night. Thrilled. The GOP has lost the working people, the backbone of our country. Where's the job bill? MIA because of these jackasses in the Republican Party.
Boehner v. Pelosi. This is what it comes down to. (Hats off to Dkos). And Nancy Pelosi.
Liz Chunk, this may have been the most useless article ever written for MSNBC. Of all the possible angles to write about concerning a hurricane, you choose to write about some remote relation of the hurricane to twitter. You're the reason twitter even still stays in the news. It's a media that never really took off, gets over exposure, and has already become passe. Time to move on to another technology and fad of the month.
Hi Cygnus, we've also written about some other angles of this storm.
Thanks for your feedback, and see you around (but clearly not on Twitter)!
Elizabeth
I was knocked off this one by the moderator, because I mentioned the breaking headline about the gulf oil rig explosion. It was off-topic. It made fun of people making fun of President Obama's moratorium on drilling, in the name of safety.
Sorry, Liz Chuck.
Sorry, posters.
Where is POTUS at with this horrible disaster heading for somewhere on the east coast, why isn't he at least helping with the evacuation traffic, filling sandbags, doesn't he care, the "American people" want to see some emotion and leadership in this dire situation...whoa wait a minuteanother platform has exploded in the gulf, where is POTUS in all this..oh the humanity..snark..call the liar king and buy gold..lol.
It's pretty clear he doesn't care about the average Americans, jomama72!
I was fishing the other day, got all tangled up in some underwater brush, and where was Obama??
That's right- ON VACATION! I lost a good lead-head jig, and all he could do was have fun!
I think i saw President Obama running from door to door yelling the Earl is comming take cover . He could be comming down your street any moment get a picture of him if ya can.
comming? ya? i? Is that Texan you are spelling?
Thoughts and prayers for those in Earl's path. It does not sound good.
Can't say the loss of Twitter would bother me much--except those employed there. I'm inclined to agree with Betty White, it seems like such a waste of time.
Jeeeze....here they go again.....finding any reason to bash Obama.....!TREASON! Now, this too, is Obama's fault? Get a life, u dumb A-'s!
.....and while you're at it.....try and see if you can stay on topic
Really?? This was a fun little article and you all had to go make it about politics.. Grow up.
Enjoy yourselves regressive Texans, and get ready for your next challenge in a few years when the new majority Spanish speaking population starts making the rules. Yeehaw on that!