I took this in 2009.
I am naturally heartbroken about what is going on. Friends have lost everything. I am in a constant state of worry about my friends and family who are there, and devastated for everyone who has lost everything, communities like Altadena and Pacific Palisades, all of the historic sites and artwork. Yes, people are more important than things, but history is held in objects and objects are also irreplaceable and deserve to be mourned. It is far from over. This week we had the New York Film Critics Awards, a night of celebration haunted by what was going on in Los Angeles. Wednesday already feels like it was a million years ago. So much has happened since Wednesday. But I did want to share Adrien Brody’s speech when he accepted Best Actor for The Brutalist.
The feeling of mourning and fear in the club was palpable.
And I also wanted to share a devastating and yet beautiful piece in the London Review of Books by the great Colm Tóibín. And the fate of the legendary critic Gary Indiana’s book collection. Human life is the most important thing but there is a lot to grieve and we can’t even begin to start to grieve while there is still so much danger raining down, while the air is still on fire.
God bless the firefighters and the help from Canada and Mexico. And all of the people who are there on the ground, offering their hotels for shelter, offering “housing” for all the displaced horses, the shops turned into relief and aid centers, and everyone doing their best to offer solace and shelter. Dark days ahead. We have to help each other, look out for each other. We are all we’ve got.
Raymond Chandler
“There was a desert wind blowing that night. It was one of those hot dry Santa Anas that come down through the mountain passes and curl your hair and make your nerves jump and your skin itch. On nights like that every booze party ends in a fight. Meek little wives feel the edge of the carving knife and study their husbands’ necks. Anything can happen.“
It’s hugely covered events like these that emphasize how unique and dangerous the Santa Ana winds are. Growing up with them and dealing with the effects and aftermath just seems so not-normal to non-natives.
I remember that passage. there’s a lot of misunderstanding about why you can’t just put these fires out. they operate different. there’s that clip of the wind literally being on fire – going horizontally – which I’m sure you saw. unfightable. watching those water drops has been so emotional.
it’s just so catastrophic. and the winds are rising again. I feel helpless. it’s just so much.
The over stimulation is real. In the past it was a perceptual matter of something happening where all the cameras were and the media gatekeeps it. But now there’s tens of thousands of high quality cameras everywhere with an easy way to universally publish everything instantly.
It’s awful to realize, but that kind of neighborhood fire wipeout is as normal in Cali as a tornado blast in Oklahoma. But someplace like Paradise, CA didn’t have as high a public or economic profile as Pacific Palisades, and that fire was so much worse.
so many close-knit communities without the high profile but full of history.
I love Los Angeles. It took me a while. I lived there for a bit in my early 20s. I didn’t last long – I found it alienating and strange. (I moved there without knowing a soul). when I returned some years later, i just fell in love with it. It’s so painful.
I am so sorry, Sheila. Watching this unfold from the other side of the world is horrific. My heart goes out to all those who’ve lost loved ones, homes and businesses as a result. Wonderful to see the community come together and support each other though.
Maddy
Maddy – hi, yes, it’s overwhelming to see everyone helping each other. and opening up stables for horses, and vet hospitals throwing open their doors – they are going to need so much more of that. so many of these fires are still barely contained. it’s such a catastrophe and i feel helpless although there are a lot of local aid groups I’ve donated to.