Just got back from a family dinner; my New Orleans-loving aunt and uncle were bemoaning the likely catastrophe likely to unfold when Hurricane Katrina makes landfall in the next twelve hours. Chilling stuff.

Still scary, but less in the wrath of god-sort of way and honestly kind of amusing, is a rare video look behind the scenes in North Korea. CNN somehow got their senior asian correspondent and a couple of cameramen into the country, with this five-minute report popping up on their website today.

Growing up with Peter Jennings

Peter Jennings, age 67, died yesterday night of lung cancer.

When I was growing up, my parents had taken control of the TV every 6:30pm to watch World News Tonight with Peter Jennings. When I was younger, I would pout but my opposition didn't prevent the development of a particular outlook on the world because of Jennings' news coverage.

Though I was only 11, watching his show gave me an understanding the fall of Communism as a momentous event bringing people together and reuniting families. I didn't understand the political differences but I could at least appreciate the weight of what was happening. Those early impressions drove my interest in journalism and eventually in public interest work.

The ability to communicate with even an elementary schooler was unique to World News Tonight: Jennings focused not only on explaining the issues in real news events but also on personalizing the story.

That is why I will so sorely miss Peter Jennings.