1-year anniversary of LA Fires (1/7)

First anniversary commemoration of the Eaton Fire starts at 4:30 pm, Wednesday eve.

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Firestorm: The Great Los Angeles Fires and America’s New Age of Disaster

Firestorm (Jacob Soboroff)

This hardcover -- released January 6, 2026 -- by victim and author Jacob Soboroff has 3.0 out of 5 stars (with 4 reviews) yet is somehow already a #1 Best Seller in Natural Disasters on Amazon.

Why? [It is] A "gripping, unshakeable firsthand account" (San Francisco Chronicle) of the firestorm that consumed Los Angeles, from the MS NOW reporter and New York Times bestselling author of Separated, who covered the fires on the ground as an LA native.

"Read[s] like a sci-fi thriller.” — Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles reporter Jacob Soboroff

[One year ago,] on the morning of January 7, 2025, a message pinged the phone of Jacob Soboroff, a national reporter for MS NOW. “Big Palisades fire. We are evacuating,” his brother texted within minutes of the blaze engulfing the hillside behind the home where he and his pregnant wife were living.

“Really bad.” An attached photo showed a huge black plume rising from behind the house, an umbrella of smoke towering over everything they owned. Jacob rushed to the office of the bureau chief. “I should go. I grew up in the Palisades.”

Pacific Palisades: 'They let us burn!' protest

Grocery Outlet of Altadena has been a hub for events since the Eaton Fire

(FOX 11 LA) Altadena's Grocery Outlet survives Eaton Fire flames

• 

  Michael Monks Reports | iHeart

  Eaton Fire gathering
• Grocery Outlet (at Mendocino)
• 2270 Lake Avenue, Altadena
• 4:30-7:00 pm, Jan. 7th, 2026
• RADIO: "LA Fires: One Year Later" on KFI 640 AM with Michael Monks at 7:00 pm
• A Concert for Altadena | Pasadena
• "They Let Us Burn" protest gathering in Pacific Palisades is taking place Wed., Jan. 7th by the seaside
• Spencer Pratt and wife Heidi announce reality TV's Spence will run to be California governor in outrage

Future PP Mayor Spencer Pratt

Soon he was on the front line of the blaze—his first live report of what would turn out to be weeks covering unimaginable destruction, from both the Palisades Fire and the Eaton Fire, in Altadena.

In the days to come, Soboroff appeared across the networks of NBC News as Los Angeles was ablaze, met with displaced residents and workers, and pressed California Gov. Gavin Newsom in an interview on Meet the Press.

But no story Soboroff has covered at home or abroad—the trauma of family separation at the border, the displacement of [NATO's] war in Ukraine, the [CIA's] collapse of order in Haiti—could have prepared him for reporting live as the hallmarks of his childhood were engulfed in flames around him while his hometown burned to the ground.

But for Soboroff, questions remained after the fires were controlled:

• What had he just witnessed?
• How could it have happened?
• Is it inevitable something like it will happen again?

(KTLA 5) Where's Kathryn Barger? Jews burned out of Pasadena

(NBCLA 4) Toxic? Preparation underway for ‘A Concert for Altadena'

This photo is very misleading because two LA fire departments stood down and let it burn.

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New date and location: Jan 11, 2026

This set Soboroff off on months of reporting—with firefighters, fire victims, political leaders, academics, earth scientists, wildlife biologists, meteorologists, and more—that made him keenly aware of how the misfortune of seeing his past carbonize was also a form of time travel into the dystopian world his children will inhabit.

• Eaton Fire Candlelight Vigil
• Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, 6:30 pm
• Altadena Town & Country Club
• 2290 Country Club Dr., Altadena, CA 91001

(KTLA 5) A year later: Remembering lives lost in Eaton and Palisades fires

Plans changed. See correct info above.

This is because the 2025 LA Fires were not an isolated tragedy, but rather they are a harbinger—"the fire of the future," in the words of one senior emergency—management official.

Firestorm is the story of the costliest wildfire in American history, the people it affected, and the deeply personal connection to one journalist covering it.

Eaton Fire burned LA foothills

It is a love letter to Los Angeles, a yearning to understand the fires, and why America’s new age of disaster we are living through portends that—without a reckoning of how Los Angeles burned—there is more yet, and worse, to come. More

• Who's to blame? - Mayor Karen Bass and Gov. Gavin Newsom
• What caused Eaton Fire? - SoCal Edison
• What caused Palisades Fire? - LAFD's Lachman Fire
• The windstorm contributed, but these were manmade disasters.
• (ABC News) Families try to find hope 1 year after the devastating LA wildfires
• (ABC News) Eaton and Palisades fires 1-year anniversary to be commemorated at events across SoCal
• Are we really spiritual or are we just fooling ourselves? — Science of the Spirit (sott.net)
• Jacob Soboroff (book); FOX 11 LA News; Grocery Outlet of Altadena; Gary and Shannon, Michael Monks (KFI 640 AM); compiled by Ken W., Paige, Editors, Wisdom Quarterly

California's forgotten Pyramid (video)

Lost ancient technology: Inside Egypt's Abu Rawash Pyramid | Watch (MSN)

Adventure traveler and spiritual tourist Thea Booysen meditates in Egypt's Giza Pyramid

The Forgotten Pyramid of Rocklin: A Family's Monument for Reincarnation

The Pyramid House of Malibu (realtor.com)

(Sidetrack Adventures) ROCKLIN, California. Hidden in a suburban neighborhood in Rocklin is the Whitney Pyramid, the last resting place of Joel Parker Whitney and a number of his relatives.

• There are numerous pyramids in the USA, including an unlisted house in the Malibu hills we visited: The Pyramid House (on sale for $3.1 mil: Malibu Pyramid House. Oops, sorry, sold for $2.81 mil. We look inside below.)
• Here are the others: List of pyramid tombs/mausoleums in North America

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  American pyramid mounds of Cahokia, USA

  The Native American (topped off) Pyramids of Cahokia, Illinois, by the Mississippi River, near East St. Louis, Missouri like Monks Mound: Monks Mound is the largest Pre-Columbian earthwork in the Americas and the largest pyramid north of Mexico (Mesoamerica). The beginning of its construction dates from 900 to 955 CE. Located at the Cahokia Mounds, a UNESCO World Heritage Site near Collinsville, Illinois,
• The (super ancient) Grand Canyon Pyramids

Joe Rogan talks to Why Files - No one knows how predynastic Egyptians built the pyramids

• There are pyramids in Los Angeles, visible from Eagle Rock along the 134 Freeway, and the pyramid at Pyramid Lake, all so old and crumbling that no one notices them.
• Joaquin Miller built a pyramid: The mystery of the pyramid that looks over San Francisco

San Francisco Bay, Oakland Hills (sfgate.com)

Arriving in California nearly penniless in the 1850s, Whitney would become the richest man in Placer County, owning over 27,000 acres. When Whitney passed away in 1913, he chose to be entombed in a pyramid, with the belief that it would bestow reincarnation on him. [He had no idea rebirth was inevitable in any case.]

Let's go inside Malibu's Pyramid House

Inside $3 million Pyramid House in Malibu, Los Angeles, California (manofmany.com)

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Venusian aliens went under a rock and gave the meditators The Integratron?

With this floorplan, we can all live in pyramids.

Over time, the Whitney family sold off most of their property, and a neighborhood built up around the pyramid. Now, the pyramid is hidden in a wooded area next to Rocklin Golf Course.

This video looks into Joel Parker Whitney's history, with a visit to Whitney Pyramid, and explores the Nisenan (Native American) history of the site.

What is Pyramid Meditation?

Meditation pyramid for sale (Giza 46) - Etsy

Meditation done inside a pyramid is thrice more powerful meditation done outside a pyramid, or underneath a pyramid. But any of these are called Pyramid Meditation. Many people experience feelings ranging from calm to extreme euphoria during their meditation sessions inside pyramids.

Could one sleep inside for better dreaming?

Pyramids provide the most effective high-energy environments for beginners. Pyramids help reduce the level of stress and tension in the physical body.

Most people who have experimented with Pyramid Meditation describe themselves as experiencing total bodily relaxation, followed by the shutting out of distracting external stimuli and irrelevant discursive thoughts. Finally, one achieves an altered state of consciousness that allows the practitioner to concentrate on deeper inner levels. More

“Spiritual health is the root,

and physical health is the fruit."

Gear used: amazon.com/shop/sidetrack... ► Patreon: sidetrackadventures ► Subscribe for weekly updates showcasing some adventures: @sidetrackadventures ► Follow Sidetrack Adventures on Instagram: sidetrackadventures ► Music in this video is from Epidemic Sounds; use this link for a free trial: share.epidemicsound.com/v927fj

• Sidetrack Adventures, May 21, 2025; Pyramid Spiritual Societies Movement; Realtor.com (Malibu); manofmany.com, Pyramid House Malibu; Pat Macpherson, Dhr. Seven, Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation) (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

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

American women set gowns on fire for wedding  (The Indian Express) - Sati in Iowa?

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.

• After the LA wildfires, stories emerge at UC Berkeley of great loss, support and strength (Berkeley News)
• South Pasadena Arts Council (SPARC)
• SPARC - South Pasadena Arts Council | South Pasadena California | Facebook
• SPARC - South Pasadena Arts Council on Instagram
• SPARC Gallery hosts captivating art exhibitions and event rentals in South Pasadena | The South Pasadenan

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."

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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.

• RSVP: Free Writing Workshop and possible Publication: Into the Woods, Fairy Tales, Tue, May 6, 2025, 5:30 PM | Disclosure Project Meetup
• Free Writing Workshop and possible Publication: Into the Woods, Fairy Tales, Tue, May 6, 2025, 5:30 PM | PasaDharma Meetup

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.

• Elline Lipkin: What is poetry writing?
• Altadena Poets Laureate: Poetry & Cookies POETRY ANTHOLOGY READING, Saturday, May 17, 2025, 4-6 pm (Altadena Library)

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.

(Fail Army) Trying is not failing; failing is not trying | Funniest of the Week

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.

• Register on Zoom: us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/0qcJfbfPSL-pUIw_WVh-fg

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

• Meditate with Amy Rutledge Virtually, Tuesday, May 13, 2025, 6:30-7:00 pm - Programs — Altadena Library District
• Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Ashley Wells, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Snow, rain pound burned out LA, OC

Powerful storm moves across burn areas, causes power outages

Storm timeline: When will the heavy rain, mountain snow hit SoCal?

(ABC7) March 11, 2025: Another storm in Southern California will soak the region, bringing mountain snow and heavy rain to the region, with strong winds and flooding, particularly in the burn scars of the Eaton and Sunset Fires in Altadena and Hollywood but not sparing sunny Orange County and the Airport Fire burn scar. The Palisades Fire may wash more debris into the sea, further polluting Santa Monica Bay. Snow at the beginning of spring and freezing temps as the city prepares for St. Patrick's Day? What climate change and chaos is afoot? Legend has it that when there is fire, there are earthquakes so Angelenos can "shake and bake," with mudslides following every hillside fire, wearing away at the city, capital of the world, as it falls into the Pacific. Mt. Baldy is covered in snow with foothills dusted, easily melting in the sunshine of clear days. Meteorologist Dallas Raines explains, and KTLA 5 provides in-depth coverage. Torrential rains, atmospheric river, El Nino and La Nina threatening, waterspouts, a tornado in Pico Rivera, thunder, graupel, hail, the weather devas are having a field day. Full story: abc7.com/post/los-angeles-wea...

• Eaton Fire victims: legal help | Edelson PC
• SoCal residents brace for heavy rains overnight
• SNOW in SoCal as area braces for impactful storm system
• Storm slamming SoCal with rain. Here's when it'll clear out
• KTLA 5; ABC7 News, Los Angeles, Eds., Wisdom Quarterly UPDATED

California earthquake: Big One's coming

GDLA reacts to earthquake happening live

(FOX 11 Los Angeles) Sept. 12, 2024: A preliminary magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck Southern California Thursday morning, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Here's how the Good Day LA (GDLA) crew reacted when it hit live.

(@SundayCoolTees) The biggest earthquake

the West Coast has seen in over 300 years?

• Another earthquake strikes Malibu Sept. 16th (ABC)
• EarthquakeTrack.com: 3.7 shaker stirs up beachside

(ABC News) 4.7 mag earthquake strikes near Malibu breaks Calif. record

• Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024: Today's earthquake in Malibu broke a record for the most magnitude 4.0 and above quakes in a single year. ABC News' Jeff Nguyen reports.

San Andreas fault's weird behavior: The Big One might be close

(Insane Curiosity) Sept. 13, 2024: The San Andreas fault is one of the largest and most important geological faults in the world. Throughout history, it has been the origin of earthquakes that have caused much destruction and have claimed the lives of thousands of people from San Francisco to Los Angeles.

Today, this crack exhibits unusual activity, which some scientists think could indicate the dreaded "Big One" will occur soon. Where and when could this event occur? Let's find out!

• 00:00 Introduction
• 00:20 What is the San Andreas fault, and how did it originate?
• 3:04 Why is this geological fault dangerous?
• 4:18 Past earthquakes due to the San Andreas fault
• 7:40 When and where will The Big One take place?
• 10:38 How to prepare before this happens

What is the San Andreas fault, and how did it originate?

There will be a lot more gold nuggets afterward

This fault is one of the world's most prominent and studied geological features. Why is this geological fault dangerous? The San Andreas fault's influence on California's seismic activity is not limited to the region directly adjacent to it. It is part of a more extensive, complex system of geological faults running through California.

Past earthquakes due to the San Andreas fault

Throughout California's history, the San Andreas fault has been responsible for several major earthquakes, some of which have caused considerable devastation. The deadliest so far was:

• The 1906 San Francisco earthquake: This shaker occurred on April 18 of that year with an estimated magnitude of 7.9 on the Richter scale.

When and where will The Big One take place?

The region's geological history, combined with the patterns of seismic activity observed in the past, suggests that it is only a matter of time before the San Andreas fault produces another earthquake of great magnitude.

DISCUSSIONS AND SOCIAL MEDIA

Commercial purposes: lorenzovareseaziendale@gmail.com, Tik Tok: insanecuriosity, Reddit: insanecuriosity, Instagram: insanecuriositythereal, Twitter: insanecurio, Facebook:  insanecuriosity, Linkedin: insane-curiosity-46b928277. Website: insanecuriosity.com

CREDITS: Ron Miller, Mark A. Garlick (markgarlick.com), Elon Musk/SpaceX/Flickr. #insanecuriosity #sanandreasfault #sanandreas

• Insane Curiosity, Sept. 13, 2024; Eds., Wisdom Quarterly