Tuesday, May 6, 2025

Free writing workshop: How to story (5/6)


WHAT HAPPENED?
New open mic: SPARC Centre Gallery
It was a full house of participants gathered on a damp and drizzly evening. Next local poetry event is May 15th, 4:00-6:00 pm at the SPARC Centre Gallery. Also in attendance were the current Poets Laureate Sehba Sarwar and Lester Graves Lennon, who announced the upcoming "Poetry & Cookies" on Saturday, May 17, 2025, 4:00-6:00 pm (with a surprise open mic portion, so sign up). A beautiful land acknowledgement to the Native Tongva (Kizh, Gabrieleno) tribe of Los Angeles and region including the Channel Islands was delivered by the head of the library to launch the evening. Handouts were given and introductions were made. Then we got to writing, prompted by the workshop leader, former library Poet Laureate Dr. Lipkin. Grief was expressed about the Eaton Fire four months after the LA Fire devastated the city.


These three submissions, written on site, stood out. A page of writing prompts was handed out with leading phrases meant to trigger the creative process and the start of a poem (prompt shown in green).

THE NIGHT WAS DARK BUT THERE WAS ONE LIGHT.
The tunnel, the train, ah, the 6:40, yes, right on time. And here by its light, the reason for my stumbling, railroad ties -- and this long slick guide, steely, cold in pointing only this way or that. You see, I can't go back. I was fated forward roam, here alone, at night, right on track, in search of some way out. Then came the breeze, a breath, fresh air cool on my face -- with something left to face, over there, one more thing, right there. The night was dark but there was one light.
The two hours raced as we each wrote four pieces -- a fairytale, elegy, persona poem, and a prompted piece. Poets love to "paint" outside the lines, so every work of creativity was its own, each somewhat elegiac for what was lost to the fire. Only a small percentage of the participants were men; one cried as did another woman, who read and read every chance she could get, apparently dying for validation.

Fire Gained a New Power

Eaton Fire burned down to Woodbury...
Who knew, not I, that Fire had the power to fly
from up to down and back again
from crest to Woodbury and even Washington
The Monster of All-Consuming Light

The Mountain Ogre who gorges on the gorge
The Fiend who in fright delights --
with wind and its own weather and lines
that arc to heaven to call down lightning strikes

Bunnies and bears, feral felines, oak-gall-eating
co'yotes, sinuous serpents skewered on spits
of dangling branches -- and
everywhere Embers

The power of flight
     The power of fire
          to take aim and consume
               all it desired as if to say

All that lumber you took with not a sign of respect,
I will fully feast on just the same

Alternate Endings

Would I have it another way, the fire?
Better it had never been?
No, there's something in it, something perfect.
The Akashic Record is a bin -- so to have it
"different" means it's somewhere the same:
IT - IS - WRITTEN.

But I would my part rearrange:
Just as every smart accused person "lawyers up,"
I'd "insurance up" in advance,
take a policy out on myself, homeowner's, full
coverage, renter's, and lots and lots of comprehensive.

You see, in every down market, someone wins.
Every "loss" is to someone's advantage.
Foresight is hindsight turned on its head
by the insertion of time, which spoils the equation.

You'll pay me how much for my cars?
I get to rebuild in the same spot?
If I'd known that, I would have sang,
"Let it burn, let it burn, let it burn."
.
EVENT DETAILS
Into the Woods: Using fairy tales to tell YOUR story with Elline Lipkin
Poet Laureate Elline Lipkin
Fairy tales have been around for centuries because they capture something essential about the human experience.

In this workshop, we will use fairy tales and their tropes as inspiration to write about our own lives.

Thinking about the forest, the animals, the seasons, and the symbolic characters we find in fairy tales, we will explore the persona poem and elegy, among other exercises to spark the imagination, to celebrate and commemorate Altadena, and to process grief.
The workshop is FREE and open to the public -- all ages and backgrounds welcome.

Please bring a notebook and pen if possible; otherwise, the Altadena Library may provide writing utensils.

Anniversary of the LA Fire
The Jan. 7th fire was the worst in its history
Tuesday, May 6, 2025, marks nearly four months since the Eaton Fire devastated the Altadena community. We extend a special invitation to Altadena, Pasadena, and Sierra Madre residents and to those impacted by the Palisades Fire. Please join us to write and process experiences, releasing grief, and showing Los Angeles community resilience.
  • Tuesday, May 6, 2025, 5:30–7:30 pm
  • Altadena Main Library Community Room
  • 600 E. Mariposa Street (west of Lake Ave.)
  • Altadena, California 91001 (626) 798-0833
  • Programs — Altadena Library District
Lipkin, UChicago Graham School
ABOUT: The presenter of this workshop is former Altadena Library Poet Laureate (2016-2018) Dr. Elline Lipkin, PhD, a poet, nonfiction writer, and academic (Prof. Elline Lipkin, UChicago, Graham School) who until the Eaton Fire had been an Altadena resident for 13 years. She holds an MFA and PhD in literature and creative writing and has been a research scholar with UCLA's Center for the Study of Women. She is the author of two books. Her third, Girl in a Forest (on triohousepress.org), is forthcoming in October 2025. She served her community for two years as Altadena Poet Laureate and editor of the Altadena Poetry Review.
Get it published in Wisdom Quarterly
Those who produce a poem worthy of attention at this workshop are encouraged to submit it to Wisdom Quarterly: American Buddhist Journal for consideration. Editors will consider submissions, and publication may be the result. Yesterday (May the 4th Be With You Day) this website had 53,000 views, and today (Cinco de Mayo) 56,000 and counting (running from 5:00 pm to 5:00 pm). Moreover, the past six months have seen 2.94 million views. So publication may draw considerable attention to your efforts.


Poetry open mic in South Pasadena

Read works of poetry, short fiction, memoir, slam, spoken word, rap, whatever in a circle of area poets at South Pasadena Arts Council SPARC Centre Gallery located at 1000 Fremont Ave., South Pasadena, third Thursdays, from 4:00-6:00 pm. FREE

WEEKLY: Meditate with Amy Rutledge (Tuesdays via Zoom)
Meditate with Amy Rutledge, virtually, on Tuesday, May 13, 2025, 6:30–7:00 pm via Zoom. All-ages are welcome. Join Amy and others for a guided half-hour meditation via Zoom in recognition of Mental Health Month. Be kind to yourself and chill in a group for 30 minutes.
ABOUT: Amy Rutledge came to the study of meditation as a path toward personal healing after struggles with the effects of Lyme disease as well as depression and anxiety. She found that it helped her in unexpected ways when many other approaches failed. More: meditatewithamy.com
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Turn on, tune in, drop out: The Hippie Trail


The Hippie Trail: The Story of the Original Travel Influencers

Our quest will take us high up to the very top
(Alive & Curious) Who were the original travel influencers? This is the story of the Hippie Trail, the ultimate road trip of the 1960s and 70s, a countercultural odyssey that saw free-spirited travelers journeying overland from the U.S. and Europe to Asia in search of enlightenment and adventure.

The journey usually began in Western cities like London, Amsterdam, and West Berlin (with plenty others coming from New York and Los Angeles, San Francisco and New Jersey) before weaving through Istanbul and venturing into Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and finally Freak Street in Nepal.
  • 00:00 Introduction
  • 00:52 What started the Hippie Trail?
  • 04:01 The Hippie Trail routes
  • 09:49 Modes of Transport
  • 11:01 The Loney Planet story
  • 12:53 Drug use and psychedelic rock music
  • 13:22 Charles Sobhraj
  • 14:21 Why did the Hippie Trail end
Natural class of drugs
Entheogens are mind-expanding drugs that are capable of bringing out the divine that resides within. More than mere drugs and far from pharmaceuticals, these natural substances (like DMT, bufo, magic mushrooms, a fungus synthesized as LSD, harmaline, and even cannabis in some uses) may have been the lure -- along with the promise of "free love" -- of the Hippie Trail:

The Hippie Trail: West to East

Bamiyan was a destination the CIA/ISI blew up
The Hippie Trail (or Overland) was a land journey taken by members of the hippie subculture and others from the mid-1950s, all through the 1960s, to the late 1970s [2], travelling from Europe and West Asia through South Asia via countries such as
American hippies ruined by Pres. Dick Nixon
The Hippie Trail was a form of alternative (sometimes spiritual) tourism. One of the key elements was travelling as cheaply as possible (on a shoestring, with a knapsack, rucksack, or backpack and a big thumb), mainly to extend the length of time away from home.

Pres. Dick Nixon killed Freak St.

This is part of the trail that started in the U.S.
The term "hippie" became current in the mid-to-late 1960s; "beatnik" (BG) was the previous term from the later 1950s, when everyone was reading Jack Kerouac's Buddhism-infused The Dharma Bums.
At every major stop of the Hippie Trail, there were cheap hotels, cozy restaurants, and far out cafés for Westerners, who networked with each other as they travelled West and East.

These hippies tended to interact more with the local population than traditional sightseers did [1], really wanting to experience each location fully.

Pink Floyd starring in Dune (Jodorowsky)

Old Freak Street, Kathmandu, Nepal
The Hippie Trail largely ended in the late 1970s primarily due to both the Iranian Revolution resulting in an anti-Western government, and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, closing the route to Western travelers [4, 5, 1, 6].

Nowadays, a handful of overlanders, van-dwellers, and adventure travelers follow roughly the route of the old Hippie Trail [7, 8] -- destination Freak Street (Jhochhen Tole). More

The Beatles destinations Pink Floyd Jimmi Hendrix The Pudding Shop Istanbul the Lale Restaurant Magic Bus Company Goa Volkswagen Kombi VW Combi Van Travel in 1960s Travel in 1970s Role of Psychedelic Music The Bikini Killer Serpent Bangkok Drug Tourism Rishikesh Ashram The Who
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Monday, May 5, 2025

Cinco de Mayo: I'm a Mexican Buddhist



If you are, I am, too!
What does it mean to be a "Mexican Buddhist"? Born and raised in Los Angeles, which is still in many ways Mexico just like it originally was, I went to visit my brother in Orange County. We had recently returned from skiing at Mammoth, where I would meditate in the snow for fun outside the sliding glass door. I didn't realize his young daughter would watch me. So as I'm talking to him in his very modern kitchen, she yells, "Tio! Tio, look!"

Alyssa's a Mexican Buddhist, too
I stick my head into the living room, where she is wearing a Peruvian cap with tassels seated in full lotus with perfect poise focused on her breath. "I've been practicing!" I didn't know what I was looking at. I thought I was the Mexican Buddhist (Chicano/a, Latin, Hispanic, whatever). Oh, to have had a phone camera in hand at that moment! In lieu of that, we've tried to reenact the moment with a mannequin.



Frida Kahlo crossed the US border from Mexico
Happy Mexican Independence Day (El Grito de Dolores, "The Cry of Dolores [Hidalgo]," whose name literally means "pains"), which is NOT today. That's on Sept. 16th every year.

It's largely celebrated only in South Mexico, mostly in the state where an important act of colonial resistance took place. Here in Middle Mexico (Los Angeles, SoCal, extending from San Diego up to about Fresno), we celebrate the 4th of July after the 5th of May (lit., Cinco de Mayo) in much the same way. But they're not the same, and no one cares.


The Avian (Eagle) Bird People?
In the ongoing fight to resist European colonial occupation and exploitation, it's important to remember a "free and sovereign state" called Puebla in the United States of Mexico (Mexico's official name, Estados Unidos Mexicanos), is celebrating today. Is it the arrival of Buddhism? No, most Mexicans have no idea that la Dharma arrived in California, the Southwest, and Mexico in ancient times long before Christianity, Catholicism, or Columbus' aftermath the Conquistadors.
What is "Mexico"?

Ask a Mexican! (Prof. Arellano)
"Mexico" [a, b] is officially called the United Mexican States [c] and is a country in NORTH America, not south, not even central. But to distinguish it from its two other parts (the USA and Canada), it sometimes gets referred to as Mesoamerica.

It borders the USA to the north, Guatemala and Belize to the southeast, while having maritime boundaries with the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Caribbean Sea to the southeast, and the Gulf of Mexico (which would seem to be part of the Atlantic Ocean) to the east.

Racism/colorism in Mexico?
Where did Mexico's racist "caste (casta) system" come from? Spain 

What do Mexicans look like?
Mexico covers 761,610 square miles (1,972,550 km2) [12] and is now the thirteenth-largest country in the world by land area, having had a giant portion of its land occupied and stolen by the USA.

With a population exceeding 130 million, Mexico is the tenth-most populous country in the world (possibly the largest country if its annexed land and population were restored) and is home to the largest number of native Spanish speakers [1].

But Spanish was imposed on Mexicans on pain of death by Conquerors (Conquistadores), colonizers, plunderers from Spain, Southwest Europe.

Gringos welcome: Come swim in clear sinkholes, clean beaches

Mexico's original language, if it had only one, would be Nahuatl (an Uto-Aztecan language of the Mexica people, who called their country "Mexico").

An Inglorious Columbus, 1885
Its religion would likely be Buddhism (due to the influence of early Buddhist missionaries from Afghanistan and China because the West Coast from BC to Mexico is the mysterious land Chinese Buddhist explorers found, wrote about, and named fUSAng), Indigenous shamanism (animism, polytheism), or Native American spirituality were it not for colonial imposition of imperial Roman Catholicism, which rode in on the back of the Virgin Mary and her local appearance as La Virgen de Guadalupe). The Buddhism that thrives there today is a recent arrival, likely unaware of earlier missionary work.
AI, what is Cinco de Mayo? - Let me explain, Gringo.

The Mexica speak Nahuatl
Mexico City is the capital and largest city, which ranks among the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. (Los Angeles, a Mexican pueblo and city for most of its history, is similarly large -- a megalopolis on par with its Asian twin Bangkok in Buddhist Thailand).

Mexico is also the northwesternmost country in Latin America.

The human presence in Mexico dates back to at least 8,000 BC. Mesoamerica, a great cradle of civilization, was home to numerous advanced societies, including the:
Aztec Mexica goddess: Queen Cali
  • Olmecs,
  • Maya,
  • Zapotecs,
  • Teotihuacan civilization,
  • Purépecha.
Spanish colonization overthrew and enslaved the dominant Aztec Empire (from Aztlan, possibly Atlantis or Great Tartary), establishing the Southwestern European colony of "New Spain" (full of soldiers and priests from the Iberian Peninsula) with its capital at Tenochtitlan (now Mexico City).

Mexico became a major center of the transatlantic economy, fueled by the massive mining of silver that changed the world economy and the forced labor of Indigenous peoples and enslaved Africans [descendants of Afro-Caribbeans, Olmec-Africans, Black skinned indigenous peoples of the Americas and/or Polynesia?]

Who's the current imperial power around here?
The 1810–1821 Mexican War of Independence ended colonial Spanish rule and led to the creation of the First Mexican Empire, which quickly collapsed into the short-lived First Mexican Republic. In 1848, the new USA (an extension of British Empire) stole nearly half the territory of Mexico during what the U.S. calls the "Mexican–American War." More
Mexicans are world's most diverse (blended) people, all colors: brown, red, black, white, yellow...
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Moss People: real forest-dwelling fairies

Hi, I'm Kate Moss. I just love green; there's no relation.
Kate MOSS, yes, she sounds familiar and related to us, all waifish, skin all lichen-like (crepey).
.
Don't look at me. I'm not a Moss!
Trees are greening, flowers are blooming, birds are nesting – why? Spring is in the air! Despite the happy days this brings, be wary of what else may be lurking in deep, dark forests. From German folklore, let's explore the world of the moss people.

In German folklore, moss folk resemble dwarves (called kumbhandas in Buddhist cosmology and gnomes in much of Europe), nearly the size of human children. But they are covered in green moss, with skin that looks gray, and a lot of hair like lichen.

The mossy frog of Vietnam shows off its moss camo

I may be small and love green...
Their arms and legs appear as “knotted maple bark.” Centuries ago, humans considered them part of the fairy realm dedicated to trees and the forest in general.
.
For unknown reasons, the moss people population consisted mostly of females. These “fairies” were known to borrow things from humans and, at other times, ask for help from them.

Maiden (Kettle Quill/Deviant Art)
Occasionally, they would ask humans for breast milk to feed their own moss babies. They repaid their benefactors with good advice or bread.

However, one had to be wary of their quick tempers. If one gave them caraway bread, for instance, they would become very angry and cry, “Caraway bread, our death!”

Some tales describe them as behaving like changelings in that they would sometimes steal very small human children. Female moss people, called Mossfraulein (“moss women”)... More: Moss People creeping out of forests
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What's hidden on top of mountains?


What are they really hiding on top of [these] mountains?
(Origins Explained) May 5, 2025: Origins Explained Daily on Spotify (spoti.fi/3rW60R2) or on other socials (linktr.ee/originsexplained). 
#originsexplained #history #mystery #mysteriousdiscoveries #discovery #discoveries #mountains
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World under Egypt’s pyramid finally found

20K-y-o labyrinth, 3K chambers hidden under Egypt’s pyramid found (The Daily Galaxy, UK)

20K-year-old labyrinth with 3K chambers hidden under Egypt’s pyramid finally found, as centuries-old claim resurfaces
A groundbreaking discovery has emerged from the sands of Egypt, where a labyrinth — hidden beneath a pyramid — could dramatically alter our understanding of ancient civilizations.

This labyrinth, boasting 3,000 rooms and multiple passageways, was once described by ancient historians like Herodotus. For centuries, the hidden labyrinth beneath the Hawara pyramid has sparked interest.


Herodotus, who visited Egypt in the 5th century BCE, wrote about a structure with 3,000 chambers, both above and below ground. He described the labyrinth as surpassing the pyramids in scale and complexity, though he was only able to view the upper chambers, as access to the underground levels was denied.

His accounting of this tale, rich in detail, suggests that the labyrinth was a remarkable feat of engineering, with passages that captivated all who saw it.

Atrahasis: Ark was round basket boat during flood:
Sumerian Noah (Assyrian carvings, cuneiform tablet)

Despite Herodotus’s descriptions, no direct evidence of the underground complex has been found — until recent advancements in technology.

Groundbreaking tools like satellite scans and ground-penetrating radar are now being used to investigate the site and reveal what may lie beneath the surface.

Modern discovery resurfaces the mystery
In 2023, a research paper titled “The Labyrinth, the Colossi, and the Lake” presented evidence supporting the existence of underground rooms at Hawara.

These findings align with Herodotus’s descriptions, suggesting that the labyrinth may have been a much older structure than previously thought.
Researchers used radar and satellite imaging to detect underground anomalies, potentially revealing parts of the long-hidden labyrinth.

While the discovery is promising, there remains debate within the academic community regarding its validity. Some experts express caution, while others argue that modern technology could provide the long-awaited evidence of the labyrinth’s existence.

Herodotus’s account and archeological efforts
Herodotus’s firsthand account has long been a key source of information about the labyrinth. In his writings, he described the structure as having chambers both above and below the surface. The underground sections, he claimed, were even more awe-inspiring, but access was restricted.

He further noted that the labyrinth was “greater than the pyramids” in grandeur. Modern archeology has struggled to verify this description.

In the 19th century, Sir Flinders Petrie uncovered what he believed to be the foundation of the labyrinth, but his findings were inconclusive due to limited resources and technology. Despite Petrie’s observations, definitive evidence of the labyrinth remained elusive.

The most recent use of space-based radar and electromagnetic surveys is helping uncover the truth.

These advanced technologies, unavailable during past archeological efforts, have made it possible to detect subsurface features beneath the pyramid at Hawara. The latest findings point to the existence of extensive underground structures that could align with Herodotus’s description of the labyrinth.

A 2008 expedition using electromagnetic surveys uncovered subterranean features that resembled ancient walls, indicating the possible presence of a mortuary complex or a hidden section of the labyrinth.

Recent 3D reconstructions of the area suggest two levels of underground chambers around the pyramid of Amenemhet III, further supporting the theory that the labyrinth is real.

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