Talk about the power of blogs to bring you inside the world of war and disaster. Check out katrinablog. I've been following it all week. Now a new team of writers has taken over -- they've got big shoes to fill. Among the horror and despair, a glimmer of good news: Bill Harris and Miss Kitty.

September is here -- time to put my mothballed brain back in school, just like the students off to Central and City High sooo early each morning, right across the street. Events on the local lunch n learn circuit this month:

Sep. 21 -- Association for Corporate Growth, "Leadership: The Driving Force. Extraordinary Results from Ordinary People," Peter Schutz, retired CEO of Porsche AG Worldwide

Sep. 21 -- Ad Club of West Michigan, "How to use Storytelling to Build Brand Identity and Revenue," Kenn Buckner, Red Truck Films/Serious Robots

Sep. 23 -- Glima West, "RFID, Tag you're IT," discussion on new RFID technology

Sep. 29 -- West Michigan PRSA, "Take Flight to the Air Zoo", a tour of Kalamazoo's cool Air Zoo.