Every desk that I owned had a main drawer filled with the bits and pieces of life that I pick up over the months. Typically I would have paperclips, rubber bands, screws. A washer. Some misc plastic thing-a-jigs, and perhaps a marble or ball bearing.
Back when I lived in the states, a bullet or spent cartridge or two would appear in the drawer as well. All of this would be alongside the pencils, pens, rulers, and tiny articles that would simply migrate there.
Today is an ode to our junk-collecting desk drawers.
Today…
Tom Hanks
"I saw Tom Hanks at Best Buy! He was in line right in front of me with a full cart, all by himself.
I was just picking up a bottle of water since they didn’t have what I needed. Out of nowhere, I blurted out, “Forest Gump is my favorite movie,” sounding a bit creepy.
He turned around and said, “That was my favorite movie to make! I’m glad you love it.”
We chatted about movies while we waited in line.
When it was his turn to check out, he said, “Oh, let me get that water for you,” and paid for it.
He kept the conversation going, and as we walked out, he said, “Nice talking to you! You’re a very nice young lady, and always remember... life is like a box of chocolates... you never know what you’re gonna get,” in his Forest Gump voice.
It was the best experience ever!"
Halo-Halo with Coconut Milk
(Ginataang Halo-Halo)
Halo-halo literally means a mixture; in this case a mixture of fruit.
Ingredients
- 4 cups water
- 1 1/2 cups coconut milk
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup diced sweet potatoes
- 1 cup diced plantains
- 3 tablespoons water
- 1 cup sweet rice powder
- 1/4 cup tapioca (quick-cooking type)
- 1 cup jackfruit, cut into strips
Instructions
- In a medium pot, bring the water and coconut milk to a boil.
- Add 1/4 cup sugar and simmer.
- Add sweet potatoes and plantains and simmer until half done.
- Add 3 tablespoons water to sweet rice powder.
- Take a little of the mixture at a time and form into balls the size of hazelnuts.
- Drop balls into the simmering mixture.
- Add cooked tapioca, 1/4 cup sugar and jackfruit. Stir and cook for 5 minutes.
- Serve hot or cold.
THAT’S WHAT THE BLIND SEE IN THE NDE! It Turns Out That After Death, A Person Becomes…
Justice Rises, Heaven Falls
Submitted into Contest #280 in response to: Write a story that solely consists of dialogue. (No dialogue tags, actions, or descriptions. Just pure dialogue!)… view prompt
David Walkins
“You finally made it, Jonathan. I was beginning to wonder if you’d even show up at all.”
“So you’ve heard of me, huh? Jonathan’s a little formal, but I’ll allow it- long as you step away from the button. If you know who I am, you oughta know just what I’ll do if you don’t hurry and do as I say.”
“You don’t recognize me, do you? Not even a little.”
“‘Fraid not. And even if I did, it wouldn’t change what I gotta do. You’re the last person stopping me from shutting this whole thing down, and suffice to say I’m extra motivated to get this job done. It ain’t a lot, but I got a few too many people I like on this big blue planet for me to let you kill ‘em all off with a single button.”
“You think I want to kill everyone?”
“Are you telling me this rocket isn’t about to turn 90 percent of the planet braindead?”
“That’s… technically right, but it barely covers half of what the Divine Tuning is meant to do.”
“…You know what? Go ahead; I’ll bite. What exactly is this Divine Tuning you’re so gung-ho about? None of your sub-commanders out there were willing to say a thing about it.”
“The Divine Tuning is a three-step process. We launch this rocket, and it will orbit the planet in two rotations. As it does so, it will broadcast a special message into everyone’s cybernetic ID chips- the ones placed in their heads at birth. It will make digital copies of their brains- every memory, thought, and word- and upload them through the rocket, into satellites, and from there they will be sent to a series of supercomputers spread across the solar system.”
“…Right. Tell me, why shouldn’t I just shoot you now? Cut this whole crazy scheme off at the source, and avoid any chance of it starting up again somewhere else?”
“Firstly, because a failsafe has been embedded into my heart- if it stops, the rocket will launch regardless.”
“Crap.”
“And second… because we have known each other for a long time, even if you don’t realize it yet. And it’d be a shame for our reunion to end as tragically as this.”
“What, are you saying we grew up in the same neighborhood or something?”
“As a matter of fact, I am.”
“Even as a joke, that ain’t funny. News flash to you, douchebag- everyone who knew me more than 15 years ago is dead.”
“Not everyone. Just, hear me out- before I was adopted by the late Reverend O’Farrell, my name was Zachary.”
“Zachary? As in-”
“Zachary Harris, yes. Like the boy who grew up three doors down from you. When we went into the forest together, we saw a dead deer with its leg twisted in four directions.”
“How do you know that? I’ve never told that story to anyone.”
“Because it’s me, Johnny. You got cybernetics and changed your name to Johnny Steel, I was adopted and had my name changed to Zephaniah. Zephaniah O’Farrell.”
“Zachary to Zephaniah… Wait, even before that- you’re Zephaniah O’Farrell? The hidden third sibling? When we asked your sisters, they said they had no idea who was running this thing.”
“Because they were in on it from the start. Aurora works in aerospace, and Angela in biotech- they were the ones who made all this possible. They just wiped their own memories before they went into the investigation.”
“They never even mentioned you!”
“They think I’m a family friend who killed himself out of grief over their father’s murder.”
“His murder- was that the reason you started all this? Because your father was murdered, and you never found out who did it?”
“You’re not seeing the big picture, Johnny. I grew up with you- I was there, on that day, in the middle of the fire. Remember?”
“The last time I saw you, you were running into your burning house. And then it collapsed.”
“Exactly. I survived, but my windpipe was almost completely crushed. I could hear you pleading to the man who organized the fire. I could do nothing but listen to your screams, as you were tossed into a burning building because someone with power couldn’t find it in themselves to care.”
“…”
“By the time I was rescued, I had third degree burns. It took me a year to get enough skin grafts and implants to look human again, but the only person willing to adopt me was an elderly woman with two grandsons that hated her. One of them killed her trying to get extra inheritance money, and the other didn’t even show up to the funeral.”
“The only reason Mr. O’Farrell took me after that was because the hospital director told his wife about me. He eventually warmed up to me, but by that point a crime boss was trying to get in his pockets. He refused, and guess what? They killed him for it.”
“I’ve lost family three times over, Johnny. Not because people wouldn’t do the right thing- because there were people who couldn’t resist doing the wrong thing. Repentance is well and good, but you know what’s better? Never doing the crime in the first place!”
“And that’s how you came up with this?”
“That’s how we came up with this: Me, Aurora, and Angela. This was all three of us, working together for a decade, using everything we could find and talking to everyone we could. And now, our goal is finally going to come true.”
“…Zach, you used to be a pretty cool kid. You know that?”
“And you used to have all your limbs. We both know how cruel life can be.”
“Well jeez, yeah, but like. We also know how kind people can be. The scientist who put me back together was a great guy, and so were all the people who took you in, from the sound of it. I’ve seen thousands of people on my bounty hunts the past dozen years. There’s lots of powerful people out there who do awful stuff, but there’s also millions of people who try to do something good every single day. The little guys.”
“For an internationally feared mercenary, that’s sickeningly sweet.”
“Says the guy who grew up to be a literal cult leader! I’m trying to be serious here!”
“It’s not a cult-”
“That’s what every cult leader would say! And unlike most of them, you’re actively trying to destroy the world right now!”
“I’m not trying to destroy the world, I’m trying to fix it! Did you not hear what I was saying about the Divine Tuning?! All your arguments are just proving my point.”
“Then let me ask you this- what’s gonna happen to all the bodies left on Earth when their brains stop working? Some of them are outside fighting each other right now. Some of them are driving to or from work, some of them are riding in planes. Some of them are hiking, climbing, or swimming- they gonna fall or drown?”
“One of the settings in the Divine Tuning program is to wait until a moment where the person seems to be safe before uploading their brains into the system.”
“And if it seems like they’re safe but they really aren’t?”
“…You’re cherry-picking.”
“It’s a real situation that actually would’ve happened if you hit that button! There’s no program in the world that works perfectly every single time! Especially on the first try!”
“But it’s not our first try! We did multiple test runs with several small groups- all of them completely willing. It worked fine, and people returned to their bodies completely safe once the test was done!”
“Sounds like you’re ignoring the issue- wait. What’s that sound?”
“I do believe that’s the rocket, preparing to begin the Divine Tuning.”
“What?! But you- you were just stalling for time, weren’t you?”
“If it makes you feel better, everything I told you was the truth. It’s just that Aurora and Angela both have their own backdoors to the rocket launch. Even if I didn’t do it, one of them would.”
“There’s gotta be something I can do… Dang it!”
“I think that’s checkmate. It was good to see you again, Jonathan- we can talk more once the Divine Tuning is complete. In fact, I daresay we’ll have all the time in the world.”
“You know… I think you’re right. I think we will have all the time in the world.”
“My sisters are calling me… what did you do, Johnny?”
“I figured it out. I can’t stop the rocket, and I can’t stop the machine. But I can change the coordinates, and this thing is only built to fire once.”
“You localized the beam?!”
“Yep- right in this building. The only people who are gonna get ‘Tuned’ are you and me, Zach. I’m gonna learn all about you, and you’re gonna learn all about me- and that’s all it’ll ever be.”
“…I hate you, Johnathan.”
“That’s okay, Zach. We’ve got all the time in the world to talk it out.”
Potential tariff impacts on China shrink as trade routes shift to Global South and BRICS
Shorpy
American Tiktok Refugees Sharing Their Experience With The RedNote App
How would China’s invasion of Taiwan likely unfold in its first 48 hours?
Saturday
03:00 AM
Communications in Taiwan get cut. Communication with Taiwan and mobile services get jammed within Taiwan. Massive Cyber attacks on electricity infrastructure and major blackouts
04:30 AM
TBS and Hakka TV broadcasting feed cut off. Internet services cut off from Taiwan.
06:00 AM
Senior Taiwanese Army General reported missing. The American Institute in Taiwan surrounded by Taiwanese Army but not harmed.
06:45 AM
Lai Ching Te, President of Taiwan reported missing. Senior Members of the Government reported missing.
07:12 AM
Missile Strikes on Taipei Airport. Four Missiles hit Taipei Airport destroying the Runways and Parallel Emergency Runways and the Control Tower
No Casualties
07:41 AM
Xi Jinping addresses the mainland and informs them that due to security reasons, China has declared war against the DPP
China declares the DPP as separatists in violation of the one China policy and declares Lai Ching Te as an usurper but assures the Taiwanese people that his war is not against Taiwan but against Lai Ching Te and the DPP
08:51 AM
Mainland China declare a No Fly Zone near Taiwan and shoot down 3 Mirage 2000 aircraft killing 2 pilots while one ejects away
China declares the Taiwanese straits closed for 72 hours initially while the exercise against the DPP is carried out
09:43 AM / 4:43 AM Moscow
President Putin extends support to Xi Jinping and China making it clear that principles of international law must be upheld but Mainland China is within its rights to declare war on the DPP and Taiwanese separatists
11:27 AM / 9:27 PM Washington DC
President Trump addresses the People and warns China not to invade Taiwan but acknowledges the one China principal and says the US will retaliate if China invades Taiwan with a land army. Trump says the DPP and Mainland China and KMT can sort out any other disputes without US involvement
2:50 PM /3:50 AM Washington DC
Taiwanese Senior most general on the scene holds an address and reasserts STATUS QUO with the mainland and confirms NO INTENTIONS OF SEPARATISM
Han Kuo Yu – President of the Legislative Yuan summons a full session of the Yuan to move a motion to confirm Status Quo for Taiwan and no resolution of Independence
9:42 PM / 10:42 AM Washington DC
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio resigns after disagreement with President Trump and declaring the decision of Trump to abandon the DPP as TREASON against the Taiwanese people and recommends Article 25 against Trump
10:45 PM / 11:45 AM Washington DC
Xi Jinping has 50 minute phone call with Donald Trump and the Japanese Prime Minister with the conclusions
Mainland China won’t invade Taiwan
Mainland China will not force reunification
The DPP will be blacklisted from Taiwanese Politics due to separatist Agenda
Fresh Elections for President in Taiwan will take place after three years until which time a Pro Status Quo Taiwanese will be President of TaiwanTrump addresses the Americans and says there will be NO INVASION of Taiwan and says whatever else is an Internal matter to Taiwan and Mainland China and the US shall not intervene
11:40 PM/00:40 Washington time
Thirty two Pentagon officials threaten to resign unless China backs down within 24 hours and goes back to the democratic position or US declares war on the South China Sea and assist Japan to assist Taiwan
Sunday
12:57 AM
PLA launches missile and drone attacks against Taiwanese Radar and Air Defense and destroys three warehouses with weapons
Taiwanese strike down 50% of the drones but lose their entire air defense and radar
6:53 AM
PLA Senior Generals agree to meet Taiwanese Generals in Okinawa,Japan the following day in the presence of John Bartush, Special Envoy of Donald Trump
7:42 AM
UK, Germany, France and EU condemn China and threaten sanctions if China will invade Ukraine or overthrow democracy in Ukraine
Indian PM Modi urges both sides to work out a peaceful solution
8:55 AM
US Transport Aircraft from Philippines lands in Taoyuan Air Base and takes off after 2 hours. Allegedly Lai Ching Te and Tsai Ing Wen and seven other leaders including the Taiwanese Army Seniormost General fly out from Taiwan to Philippines for their own safety. Their families also fly with them
China doesn’t shoot down the Transportation aircraft in agreement with the US
11:00 AM
The Yuan holds its session with 74 members and votes 69–1 in favor of Status Quo and to not make Taiwanese Independence part of Taiwanese policy for the next 25 years
Banks back to normal, life back to normal in Taiwan by Monday
Leaders of the TPP, KMT agree to the CPC officials in Xiamen the following day
Monday
Xiamen conference
Chinese Premier Li Qiang meets with TPP and KMT leaders of the Yuan and agree to the following principles:-
Taiwan will not, now nor ever declare Independence nor procure missiles with range exceeding 400 Kilometers
China won’t invade Taiwan now nor even unless Taiwan violated the first point
No Official world leader or member of government may visit Taiwan without Mainland Chinas approval
Mainland China wouldn’t interfere in Taiwans economy or internal legislation
Okinawa Conference
Same is confirmed in Okinawa in the presence of Jared Kushner and Glenn Bartush, Trump’s envoys
Straits of Taiwan will open back from Wednesday morning 4:00 AM
Taipei Airport will be reconstructed by a Japanese firm
DPP is blacklisted from Taiwanese Politics for five years and can contest polls only if they remove the words Taiwanese Independence from their manifesto
Status Quo will revert itself and Taiwan will have lost its radar and air defense completely but would gain guarantee of No Chinese invasion
The Mainland would get guarantee of No Separatism from Taiwan
Taiwanese Yuan appoint an Interim President for 3 Years – Han Kuao Yu
Dating In 2024 Proves Once Again…Men Who Have Walked Away Are The Smartest Guys In The Room
Money bags found in leg of statue in German church
Restorers working at St. Andrew’s Church in Eisleben in the east-central German state of Saxony-Anhalt, discovered four bags of coins from around 1640 in the cavity of the leg of a statue of a kneeling count. They were hidden in the count’s leg during the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648) when Swedish occupying troops wreaked havoc in the area, forcing the local population to house them, feed them and pay them large amounts of cash.
Conservators found the treasure in 2022. The leather bags contained 816 coins, including an extremely valuable “golden angel,” several gold ducats, gold double ducats and silver thalers, half-thalers and quarter-thalers, plus 800 pennies. This was an enormous amount of money in an era when a miner made 24 pennies (one thaler) a week.
The most valuable gold coins were wrapped in paper and labeled in a way that indicates the money belonged to the church treasury. “However, it is not the bell pouch for the Sunday collection,” [head of the State Coin Cabinet of Saxony-Anhalt Ulf] Dräger said. “Instead, it is the collected income from special services provided by the pastors,” such as weddings, baptisms and funerals. Pastors also collected money from “chair fees,” in which congregants would pay to sit in prominent seats in the church, he added.
Historians know that from 1561, Eisleben had an “Aerarium Pastorale” — a common parish fund that was used as a pension and health fund, as social insurance for pastors, and to promote the training of theologians. “Perhaps we now have this fund before us,” Dräger said. “Historical research will show this.”
Martin Luther was born in Eisleben in 1483 and died there in 1546. He gave his last four sermons from the pulpit in the Church of St. Andrew and his funeral was held there, although his body was taken to Wittenberg for burial by order of the Elector of Saxony. In Luther’s time, Eisleben was the capital of the county of Mansfeld, ruled by the counts of the House of Mansfeld, several of whom converted to Protestantism, splitting from the Catholic Church and the Holy Roman Emperor to follow Martin Luther. Luther acted as intermediary between the Catholic and Protestant Mansfeld Counts, negotiating a unique ceasefire in the roiling conflict of the Reformation: St. Andrew’s held Catholic masses in the mornings and Protestant services in the afternoon. As a matter of fact, Luther was only in town because he was settling another dispute between the Mansfelds. He arrived in January, rapidly took ill and died on February 18th. His body lay in state at St. Andrew’s for four days before it was removed to Wittenberg.
The statue where the money was found was depicts one of the Mansfeld counts, namely Count Johann Albrecht von Mansfeld-Arnstein (1522-1586). It’s a high-relief scene of the count and his wife Countess Magdalena von Mansfeld (1530-1565) kneeling at the foot of the cross. The sculpture marks the tomb of the countess which was installed there in 1574, a decade after her death. Sixty-five years or so later, someone, perhaps a church functionary, cached the pension fund in his leg.
Originally built in the 12th century, the church was undergoing a major reconstruction when Martin Luther was born. Most of the church that stands today — the three-aisled nave, choir and ground floor of the tower — were completed by 1486. The rest of the tower and dome were added to the Late Gothic hall in 1714-23. The wooden pulpit where Luther preached his last sermons is still present and has been a site of pilgrimage since his death.
Canadian took me inside a Chinese Factory… I Didn’t Expect This
Is it true that there are tunnels when people are dead and come back alive saying that the bright light is heaven?
Here’s what I experienced.
As I died my eyes were open. The room everything and everyone in it began to fade away as if in a vapor or mist (for lack of a better description) as this world went out of focus I found myself standing in the presence of God (an actual place) a place of pure light. I will try to explain it all the best way that I can but understand there are very few words that explain this in justice.
I no longer was afflicted with pain; physical, emotional or otherwise. I saw my son and daughter who were murdered 14 years ago at the ages of 8 and 5. They were adults here. Clothed in brilliant light. I knew immediately who they were and stand next to them was Jesus. Again the absolute peace of this is beyond words as nothing on earth can compare.
As I was told it was not yet my time I felt my soul being breathed back into my body as my lungs filled with air.
There was no tunnel, there was no sign only the absolute peaceful Presence of God.
Religion will NOT save you. Only putting your Faith in Jesus will save you
DeepSeek is not just shaking up AI – it’s also shaking up US capitalism
He makes GREAT points. Surprisingly excellent.
Sir Whiskerton and the Great Cart Race Caper
Ah, dear reader, prepare yourself for another uproarious adventure on Sir Whiskerton’s farm, where chaos reigns supreme, and no day is complete without a healthy dose of absurdity. Today’s tale involves a race, a bullfrog with delusions of grandeur, and two dogs who are about to learn that pulling carts is harder than it looks. So, grab your popcorn (or perhaps a bucket of slop, if you’re Porkchop), and let’s dive into The Great Cart Race Caper.
Leonardo’s Grand Plan
It all began on a sunny afternoon when Leonardo the Bullfrog, with his booming voice and even bigger ambitions, decided that the farm needed a little excitement.
“Friends! Farm-mates! Amphibians and mammals alike!” Leonardo croaked, standing on a hay bale like a tiny, green Napoleon. “I have conceived the most spectacular event this farm has ever seen—a cart race! Rufus and Bingo shall compete in a test of speed, strength, and sheer determination!”
The animals gathered around, intrigued. Rufus the Dog, now glowing faintly green from his radioactive mishap, wagged his tail excitedly. “A race? For me? Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!”
Bingo, who had been napping under a tree, lifted his head lazily. “A race? Do I have to move? Can’t we just… nap instead?”
“No naps!” Leonardo declared, puffing out his chest. “This is a race for glory! For honor! For… uh… carrots! Yes, the winner gets a basket of carrots!”
Porkchop the Pig, who had been eavesdropping while lounging in his favorite mud puddle, snorted. “Carrots? What kind of prize is that? Where’s the slop? The corn? The real food?”
Leonardo ignored him. “The rules are simple: Rufus and Bingo will each pull a cart around the farm. The first one to cross the finish line wins! And to make it even more exciting, the chickens and geese will cheer for Rufus, while the ducks will cheer for Bingo!”
The chickens clucked in agreement, while the geese honked their approval. Ferdinand the Duck, ever the drama queen, flapped his wings and declared, “Bingo shall win! For he is the most majestic of dogs, and I, Ferdinand, shall sing his praises!”
“Majestic?” Rufus muttered, looking at Bingo, who was already dozing off again. “He’s a snoring log with legs.”
The Carts of Chaos
The next morning, the farm was abuzz with activity. Leonardo had enlisted Porkchop to help build the carts, which turned out to be a terrible idea. Porkchop’s idea of “engineering” involved tying random pieces of wood together with twine and hoping for the best.
“Behold!” Porkchop announced, presenting the carts. “The finest chariots ever built!”
Sir Whiskerton, who had been observing the chaos from his perch on the barn roof, raised an eyebrow. “Those look like death traps.”
“Nonsense!” Leonardo said, hopping onto Rufus’s cart. “They’re perfect! Now, let the race begin!”
The chickens and geese lined up on one side of the track, clucking and honking their support for Rufus. The ducks, led by Ferdinand, stood on the other side, quacking loudly for Bingo. The rest of the animals gathered around, eager to see how this would play out.
The Race Begins
With a dramatic croak from Leonardo, the race began. Rufus took off like a shot, his cart rattling behind him. Bingo, however, didn’t move. He just stood there, blinking sleepily.
“Bingo! Go!” Ferdinand quacked, flapping his wings. “You’re losing!”
“Losing?” Bingo said, yawning. “Oh, right. The race. Okay, here I go.”
Bingo started trotting slowly, his cart creaking ominously. Meanwhile, Rufus was already halfway around the track, his cart wobbling dangerously as the chickens and geese cheered him on.
“Go, Rufus! Go!” Doris the Hen squawked. “You’re our champion!”
“Champion! Oh, I can’t bear it!” Lillian screeched, fainting into a pile of hay.
But then, disaster struck. Rufus’s cart hit a rock and flipped over, sending him tumbling into a mud puddle. “Oh no!” Rufus yelped, his green glow now covered in brown sludge. “I’m stuck!”
Bingo, still plodding along at a snail’s pace, glanced over. “Huh. That looks like fun.” He veered off the track and jumped into the mud puddle next to Rufus. “Whee!”
The ducks groaned. “Bingo! What are you doing?” Ferdinand quacked. “You’re supposed to be racing!”
“Racing?” Bingo said, rolling in the mud. “This is way better.”
Sir Whiskerton Saves the Day
As the race descended into chaos, Sir Whiskerton decided it was time to intervene. He leapt down from the barn roof and sauntered over to the mud puddle, where Rufus and Bingo were now having a mud-splashing contest.
“Gentlemen,” Sir Whiskerton said, his tail flicking in annoyance. “This is supposed to be a race, not a mud bath.”
“But mud is fun!” Rufus said, wagging his tail.
“Fun!” Bingo echoed, flopping onto his back.
Sir Whiskerton sighed. “Very well. If you won’t finish the race, I’ll have to declare a winner myself.”
He turned to the crowd. “Ladies and gentlemen, due to unforeseen circumstances—namely, the incompetence of our contestants—I declare this race a tie. Both Rufus and Bingo shall receive a basket of carrots.”
The animals cheered, though Porkchop looked disappointed. “What about me? I built the carts!”
“You built death traps,” Sir Whiskerton said. “But fine, you can have a basket of slop.”
Porkchop’s eyes lit up. “Slop? Best prize ever!”
The Moral of the Story
As the sun set on the farm, the animals gathered to celebrate the race that wasn’t. Leonardo, though disappointed that his grand plan had failed, realized that sometimes the best moments come from unexpected chaos.
The moral of the story, dear reader, is this: Life doesn’t always go according to plan, but that’s where the fun begins. And sometimes, the real prize isn’t winning—it’s rolling in the mud with your friends.
As for Sir Whiskerton? He returned to his sunbeam, content in the knowledge that he had once again saved the day—even if it meant dealing with a bunch of muddy, carrot-loving misfits.
Until next time, my friends.
The End.
In ‘a mass erasure of heritage,’ numerous historic landmarks lost in L.A.
The Robert Bridges House, designed by the architect whose name it bore, was destroyed in the Palisades fire.(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Message to the Community
There are no words to describe the devastation we are experiencing in Los Angeles. During this truly historic disaster, our hearts go out to the many Angelenos whose lives have been upended by the raging wildfires across the county. The loss of their homes, schools, cultural anchors, legacy businesses, and other places important to their communities is overwhelming.
And, still, the windstorms, wildfires, and threats to lives and structures continue.
The Los Angeles Conservancy has received many inquiries about the historic places the fires impacted. Unfortunately, we don’t have a lot of details yet, as the heavy winds and fires remain highly unpredictable. We are working to gather information to share with the public and assess how we can help bring resources to those who need our support now and following the fires.
While the full extent of the destruction to historic places caused by these fires is yet to be seen, we are reminded of how important it is to be there for one another as a community. It reminds us all what places and spaces mean to us, especially once they are gone. Significantly, we recognize that the focus should remain on immediate wildfire relief and then long-term recovery.
We hope you remain safe and look forward to keeping you updated.
- The Palisades and Eaton infernos have destroyed more than 30 structures that preservationists consider historically significant.
- The tally could grow as an accounting continues.
- The fate of many notable properties remains unknown.
Will Rogers’ ranch home. Pasadena Waldorf School. Robert Bridges House. The Bunny Museum. Andrew McNally House. Theatre Palisades. The Zane Grey Estate.
The Palisades and Eaton infernos have laid waste to more than 30 structures considered historic in what preservationists believe is the single worst loss of such properties in the region’s history.
“It’s staggering and heartbreaking — I don’t know any other way to put it,” said Ken Bernstein, principal city planner at Los Angeles City Planning’s Office of Historic Resources. “This is widespread destruction of significant architecture and places that are cherished in our communities.”
The tally could grow, perhaps dramatically, as an accounting of the losses continues. Though institutions including the Getty Villa were saved, the fates of many other notables — such as several influential mid-century Case Study Houses built with Arts & Architecture magazine’s sponsorship — remain unknown.
The Los Angeles Conservancy said Friday afternoon that 32 properties it considered historic because of their architectural or cultural significance were claimed by the fires, which have destroyed or damaged more than 9,000 structures.
Some of the historic buildings, including Altadena’s Zane Grey Estate and Rogers’ Western-style Palisades home, had formal landmark status on the National Register of Historic Places or another list. But others, such as Fox’s Restaurant in Altadena and Theatre Palisades, were considered important in part because of their status as beloved community spaces.
“It is a mass erasure of heritage,” said Adrian Scott Fine, chief executive of the Conservancy, a nonprofit dedicated to historic preservation. “We haven’t seen anything like this before.”
The Palisades fire destroyed Will Rogers’ former ranch home at Will Rogers State Historic Park.(California State Parks)
In some cases, notable properties are severely damaged but not obliterated, including Gladstones, the seaside fish restaurant formerly owned by the late L.A. Mayor Richard Riordan, according to the Santa Monica Mirror. In the Altadena foothills, much of Zorthian Ranch burned, including artwork by founder Jirayr Zorthian. But two buildings of the artists’ colony were spared, said Jason Deach, a ranch hand who visited the site Thursday.
“Every other thing is gone, wiped from the map,” he said.
Some institutions have already vowed to rebuild — among them the Bunny Museum in Altadena, which featured quirky but seemingly irreplaceable collections of porcelain figurines, artwork, clothing and other items depicting rabbits. The Lake Avenue museum lost roughly 46,000 objects.
Altadena’s Bunny Museum burned down amid the Eaton fire. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
“We are losing these touchstones — physical places in the world that mark our intellectual history,” said Richard Schave, a preservation advocate and co-founder of Esotouric, a cultural tour service.
As natural disasters grow increasingly intense amid climate change, preservationists said they face a new, and foreboding, challenge. The losses from the week’s fires have highlighted a fundamental shift in the field.
“The quintessential historic preservation threat of the 20th century was symbolized by the bulldozer demolishing individual historic structures or communities for urban renewal,” Bernstein said. “Today, it’s the extreme climate event. Wildfire, sea-level rise and extreme winds pose not incremental threat but constant threat of widespread destruction of our most cherished historical and architectural landmarks.”
Eaton fire obliterates ‘esoteric knowledge’
Some of Altadena’s notable properties, Zorthian Ranch and the Bunny Museum among them, tell the story of the community’s long-standing role as a haven for free spirits, mystics and counterculture figures.
Their destruction, Schave said, amounts to an erasure of regional history tied to “raising social consciousness to affect positive change.” He and his wife, Kim Cooper, the other founder of Esotouric tours, were particularly upset over the loss of the Theosophical Library Center.
The Lake Avenue facility housed the largest collection of materials related to Theosophy, a modern religious movement that counted writers such as William Butler Yeats as devotees and was influential among later New Age belief systems. “That was a repository of esoteric knowledge,” Cooper said.
Sunset Boulevard in ruins: Fire’s massive scale comes into focus in Pacific Palisades
Jan. 8, 2025
The library contained 40,000-plus titles and the archives of the Theosophical Society. The collection, Cooper said, accounted for “the cultural ideas that formed this visionary Southern California spirituality.” The Theosophical Society did not respond to interview requests.
Other notable losses in Altadena include its homes. The Andrew McNally House was built by the eponymous mapmaking impresario who co-founded publisher Rand McNally. Constructed in 1887, the Queen Anne-style mansion, privately owned, was on the National Register of Historic Places.
The house was known for its so-called Turkish room, an ornately decorated octagon that Cooper said was “one of the most beautiful spaces in the world.”
The Andrew McNally House, built by the co-founder of the Rand McNally publishing company, was destroyed in the Eaton fire. (Chris Pizzello / Associated Press)
Not far from the McNally property, the Zane Grey Estate is in ruins. Co-designed by famed architect Myron Hunt and built in 1907, the house was long the residence of its namesake owner. Grey was the author of “Riders of the Purple Sage” and many other works of western fiction.
“Grey was very important in terms of being a literary figure and [the house was] significant architecturally,” Fine said. He added, disconsolately, that a restoration of the property had been “nearly complete.”
Historical devastation on the coast
As with Altadena, the Palisades lost a mixture of privately owned historic properties and famed public spaces, perhaps none more beloved than Rogers’ ranch home.
The 31-room residence, built by the vaudevillian-turned-movie star in the 1920s, was situated within Will Rogers State Historic Park. The home has served as a museum, housing a collection of artwork, western memorabilia and a library centered on Rogers.
The California State Parks system, which oversees the property, said it saved certain items, including art.
“They saved some of the interior features and some of the collection, but not much,” Fine said. “That is an epic loss. You can’t talk about the Palisades without talking about Will Rogers.”
The Palisades’ Business Block was severely damaged by the fire that tore through the area. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Bernstein mourned the fate of the Palisades’ Business Block, a Spanish Colonial Revival shopping plaza from 1924. Television footage showed the Sunset Boulevard property almost fully leveled, though some architectural features remained intact.
He called the trapezoidal building, listed as an L.A. Historic-Cultural Monument, “the earliest commercial heart of Pacific Palisades.”
A representative of the development did not respond to a request for comment.
Los Angeles has never seen this level of destruction: ‘Everything is burned down’
Jan. 10, 2025
Bernstein and others said that it will take time to catalog all the destroyed historic structures. He said that his office would eventually update a citywide survey of historic places — searchable online via the HistoricPlacesLA database — to reflect the losses.
The information, he said, will help preservationists, property owners and others understand “both what we lost and what we may still have the opportunity to help revitalize and recover.”
There has long been an old saw about Southern California: It’s a region too willing to bulldoze its history in the name of progress. These days, observers may question the accuracy of that maxim — preservationists have made great strides in recent decades — but a devastating new truth has emerged amid the ashes this week.
A firestorm has done what no bulldozer could do.
Americans Can’t Believe China’s Grocery Prices—Why Are We Paying So Much?
Coconut Gulaman
From the Philippine Islands.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups coconut milk
- 2 envelopes Knox gelatine
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 cup evaporated milk
Instructions
- Dissolve gelatine in water.
- Add sugar and coconut. Cook over very low heat for 20 minutes. Do not let it boil.
- Add milk.
- Pour into an 8 inch square pan and let cool.
- Chill.
When did the bully get a taste of their own medicine?
Back in Jr. High School in Alaska in the early 1960’s I was taking wood shop. The class had a variety of grades, 7 to 9, as it was an elective course. I was assigned to a work table with 3 other students, all 9th graders whilst I was an in the 8th. They were all jocks and I was definitely the odd one out. Every day, the biggest of them would find someway to taunt me, usually by slugging me as he walked by on my shoulder. This went on for some weeks and the shop teacher.. well.. he just didn’t pay much mind to what was going on.
As it happened my dad had been relating some of his stories to my uncles about his years in the Navy at a previous family get together. The one that caught my attention was about a small Shore Patrolman and his partner being called to a brawl going on between some Army & Marine’s in a bar. They looked in and given the number of participants, the one ran back and called for some more Shore Patrol officers. Well by the time he returned with the help, the fight was over. As they looked in the bar what they saw was.. sprawled out across the floor, a bunch of sailors and leather necks holding their shins and writhing in pain. What had happened was that the small Shore Patrolman had stooped down low and using his billy club, he mowed them down and they never saw him coming. For some reason, although it had been some time since I heard that tale, I remembered it & it stuck.
Monday came and I went into the wood shop and once again I got the slam to the back of my shoulder. Laughing, my tormenter walked around me and started talking to his buddies. Well that story just popped up in my mind as I spied a piece of 2×4 wood about 18 inches long. Without thinking of the consequences, I guess I had just had enough & grabbed the board in hand, reached up.. tapped him on the shoulder and when he turned around I bent down and hit his shins as hard as I could, sending him crashing to the floor and crying like a little school girl.
The shop teacher came over and seeing him lying there asked what happened. By this time I had laid the board on the table and told him.. the guy slipped. He looked over at the other two guys but they didn’t say anything, and… neither did the rest of the class. So.. he just reminded everybody to be careful in the shop as it could be a dangerous place and had his two buddies take him to the school nurses office. The class continued on as normal.
After that, the bully & his buddies left me alone and I, on my own, moved myself to another table.
Sonata No. 33 in E minor, Op. posthumous, “Tail Light”
Submitted into Contest #280 in response to: Write a story that solely consists of dialogue. (No dialogue tags, actions, or descriptions. Just pure dialogue!)… view prompt
Drew Herman
– Always still it is faster.
– Hey, nobody likes a back-brain driver. Anyway, we should have left Milford an hour earlier.
– Why have you not simply started without me? You do not need me here for driving.
– I thought you wanted to warm up my hands.
– “Warm up”?
– Practice, stretch muscles, loosen finger joints, get yourself ready.
– Yes, you do not do it correct.
– That’s what I’m saying. I’m not a pianist. I played clarinet in high school. Without you, I wouldn’t even know which end of the piano to blow into. I sat with my son’s electric keyboard and waited as long as possible, but you can never be sure about the traffic, so I had to hit the road.
– As said, I was busy composing. I am come now to the important place in my new symphony. I could not simply stop.
– Couldn’t you just do it later?
– You cannot schedule genius. Also, we do not have alarm clocks here. Or paper to write on.
– You literally have eternity to write the symphony. Today we have a 6:30 call for a 7:30 curtain.
– For me the audience will wait. But even still, many of them will come in after I begin. They will talk, and cough like they die of phthisis, and always the cellphones will sing.
– Die of p-what?
– Phthisis. Consumption. The wasting.
– Ah. It’s called “tuberculosis” now. Or maybe COPD. I’m not sure. Anyway, lucky for you I will not slam the lid on the keys and storm off stage like you want.
– Why are you turning here? This is the Kitchen of Hell, yes?
– We have a reservation at a garage on 11th.
– So we will walk 20 blocks? Naturally we will arrive late!
– Well I can’t exactly drop you off at the venue while I park, can I? But no, we’ll catch a cab from the garage.
– I do not understand why you live so far from the city. You must get an apartment near Central Park so we can take the subway.
– If you keep canceling shows and blowing off deadlines, I won’t even be able to pay for gas, let alone space in Manhattan. Besides, you like the country better. And I have to stay a Connecticut resident.
– Why?
– Never mind. Just please try to appear a couple hours earlier for the next gig.
– You know, we do not have calendars up here, either.
– The Devil Duo never shows up late or cancels. Maybe that’s why they’re outdrawing you.
– Liszt? Paganini? Poltroons! Prostitutes! They waste their gifts with tricks and lights. It is a scandal. A disgrace, you would say.
– Still, you should consider their offer. You might even enjoy it.
– I work alone. Besides, I could never put up with those egoistical show-offs. Do not roll your eyes at me! I can tell when you do that, and I resent your implication.
– You resent everything.
– My agent should get me better deals. He is a poltroon.
– “Poltroon” again. Where did you even get that word? I never use it.
– Very well, then they are – how do you Americans call them? – A-holes? Schmucks?
– I’m actually from Canada originally. We call them “hosers.” At least our TV characters do.
– He should get me into bigger halls. I, who played for kings and emperors! Until that tyrant Napoleon came along. You roll your eyes again.
– Maybe it’s time to get over Napoleon. Nobody’s going to let him conquer Europe again. Besides, Lincoln Center is about as high-class as you can get here. You should be content.
– But this horrid duo gets the Schubert for eight weeks! Do you know they actually use sequined costumes and lewd dancing? They pollute the art of music!
– Meanwhile, Vlad the Impaler’s Comedy Sucks Tour is outdrawing all of you.
– Yes. Very bad taste. You people are all mad. Your century makes no sense.
– No argument there.
– Verdammt! Why did you allow that poltroon to cut you off? You should let me drive.
– Oh, that’s brilliant. Then we’ll both be shopping for new mediums.
– Should you not say “media”? Maybe I do not know English, but Latin cannot have changed.
– I’m rolling my eyes again. So you want bigger crowds and more downloads? Why don’t you write something happy? Your new sonata is so … so dismal. You should write something in a major key. OK, now who’s trying to roll my eyes?
– You will give instruction to the greatest musical genius of all time?
– Well, you’re good, but you’re no Jimi Hendrix.
– Touché.
– Sorry. I didn’t mean that. It’s just, sometimes you rub people the wrong way.
– I do not rub anybody. I cannot.
– Well, you rub me, and I’m, what, your fifth medium in less than two years? Plus I’ve been dealing with some stuff.
– Say it to me.
– It’s my ex. He’s wants to change our custody agreement. I really hate lawyers. That’s why I can’t leave Connecticut.
– Do you regret agreeing to host me?
– I could certainly do without all that extra time making depositions about 200-year-old copyrights. You should just settle.
– So you give music advice, and now also legal advice? I pay real lawyers for their advice.
– But you don’t listen to them. Anyway BMI and SACEM can afford better lawyers — whose advice they actually take. You’ll never win in court.
– Maybe I will lose, but they will learn not to try to take advantage of the great artist.
– They will learn that doing business with you isn’t worth the hassle. And if you win, McCartney and Manilow will take you to the cleaners for quoting their material. Not to mention Mozart, Brahms, Rogers, Gershwin — pretty much everyone you’ve heard since you came back.
– Maestro Williams will not sue. He loves me. He knows respect for the master.
– John Williams is enjoying a peaceful retirement. He doesn’t need the money or the headache.
– I have been in court over custody, too, you know. I tried to save my nephew from his drunken father. The boy made suicide. Always still neither of them will talk to me.
– Committed.
– Eh?
– He “committed” suicide. Not “made” suicide.
– Ach, so. Also in German it is not “machen.”
– I know. “Begangen.” That’s funny, I never took German. It must be leaking through from your mind. I heard it can happen after enough sessions, even unintentionally.
– Yes, I have been — what do you say? — jonesing for a taco. I do not like tacos. You will not eat a taco while I am here. They make dyspeptic.
– I know. And it’s not “make dyspeptic,” it’s … never mind. Anyway, that’s all in your mind. Or in my mind. Whatever. At least, it’s my stomach. We can handle medium salsa just fine.
– This is the concert hall?
– The backstage entrance.
– I will be brilliant tonight. Tomorrow you will help write down my new symphony. You must install Sibelius 7.5.1.
– Oh, so you don’t have alarm clocks or pencils or paper, but you know all about software updates?
– Of course. We have 7G everywhere, no dead spots.
– How ironic.
– Why is there no chamber pot in this dressing room?
– Hey, Louie.
– Yes, Miranda?
– I’m sorry about your nephew. Break a leg tonight.
– Neck and leg.
– Huh?
– We say, “Break your neck and leg.”
– God, you Germans are violent.
– We Germans? How do you Americans say? “Let’s knock them dead.”
– “Knock ’em dead.”
– Genau. We go now. We will kill them all.
– After you, Louie. And I told you, I’m Canadian, you hoser.
– You are a good woman. Thank you for having me.
– You know, there’s a bodega next to the garage with great tacos. We can stop off after the show.
– Maybe I will play in Canada next year. I think I will like to try your hockey.
– Not with my teeth, you won’t.