We had rented a small ranch-style house on a cul-de-sac on Spring Oak Drive in Bronson Canyon, between Franklin Avenue and Griffith Park, and had just purchased a new king size bed when it happened. There was a terrible noise that everyone describes it as the sound of a freight train passing through your house, and they’re right.
An East Hampton man used to dismiss nearby dune dwellers who whined when hurricanes damaged or destroyed their beach mansions: "Anybody who builds a house on sand deserves to see it wash away."
That we DO have experience with on Cape Cod. Our house is atop a hill of glacial moraine beach sand, 42 feet above sea level, but a good 3/4 mile from the ocean.
Waitaminnit... I'm just wondering if that earthquake was responsible for a few new cracks in our walls I'm just noticing ... we ARE on sand...
Excellent point illustrating the profound message of Lucian's reflections* (?) - Rock will survive us all! Act on building advice, because otherwise you'll get killed in an earthquake?
It's Only Rock'n'Roll (But I Like It) (Remastered 2009)
The Rolling Stones
* It evidently rocked the OJ trial, it was that cool White Bronco chase with as we later understood, OJ threatening to end it all, that revved up nation-wide coverage, took a while to reach the "IF I Did It" quasi-confession, the trial started November 9, 1994, etc.
June 17th, 1994 is a documentary film by Brett Morgen released as part of ESPN's 30 for 30 series.[1] The documentary details the events of June 17, 1994, in which several noteworthy sporting events occurred during the police chase of O. J. Simpson.[2] Morgen says the diversity of the events provides an opportunity "to look at the soul of America".[3]
The documentary features no narration and also no interviews and consists simply of music set to clips from news sources during the day.[3]
There are rare clips of sportscasters like Chris Berman and Bob Costas talking to their producers about how to deal with the O.J. story within the context of the events they were covering.[4]
Critical reception
Robert Lloyd wrote in The Los Angeles Times: "Morgen juxtaposes the events of that day in a kind of associative round robin, finding points of contrast and commonality, of similar action and visual consonance, on which to turn his film. But he offers no other, more remote perspective; this is not a summing up of events, but rather a meditation, of an elemental sort, not just on sports but on the way of the world."[5]
Rolling Stone writer Noel Murray ranks June 17th, 1994 as the best documentary in the 30 for 30 series as he saw the montage style of the film as a reflection on "how viewers process television", and argues that it comments on "how the media struggles to make sense of events that have no clear outcome."[1]
Jimmy Traina of Sports Illustrated called it a "tremendously fun watch".[6]
Events occurring during this day
The events detailed in the documentary that occurred during the chase of Simpson are as follows.
Arnold Palmer playing his final round at the 1994 U.S. Open (in a nod to the fact that 06/17/1994 had major events involving both Palmer and Simpson, a clip from a commercial that the two both-then-beloved athletes had filmed together in the 1970s for Hertz Global Holdings was shown).
The commencement of the 1994 FIFA World Cup, hosted for the first time by the United States with Oprah Winfrey and then-president Bill Clinton presenting.
The New York Rangers celebrating their win in the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals with a ticker tape parade on Broadway (the parade took place earlier in the day and was largely unaffected by the Simpson events).
Game 5 of the 1994 NBA Finals between the Houston Rockets and the New York Knicks; most NBC affiliates split coverage between the game and the freeway chase (as narrated by NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw on a split-screen.)
Ken Griffey Jr. tying Babe Ruth's record of the most home runs (30) before June 30 and the team's 65th game of the 1994 MLB season.[7]
Aftermath
The U.S. Open concluded on Monday, June 20, with Ernie Els winning a three-way playoff for the championship.
The World Cup concluded on Sunday, July 17 with Brazil winning its 4th championship after Italy player Roberto Baggio missed a must-make penalty during a shootout to decide the title.
The 1994 World Cup is also featured in another ESPN 30 for 30 documentary entitled The Two Escobars which follows Colombia men's national team player Andrés Escobar who scored an own goal for the United States on June 22. Escobar was murdered in Colombia on July 1, reputedly by cartel-connected hitmen, enraged that his error led to the team being eliminated from the World Cup tournament.
The New York Rangers would not make another Stanley Cup Finals until the first meeting between teams from New York City and Los Angeles for a major professional sports championship since the 1981 World Series (2014),[8][9] when the team lost to the Kings four games to one, and they haven't won the Cup since 1994.[10]
The NBA Finals concluded June 22 with Houston winning the series in seven games. The Knicks would return to the NBA Finals in 1999 but lost that series 4–1 to the San Antonio Spurs, and haven't been back to the finals since then.
The 1994 Major League Baseball season would end after the games of August 11 due to the player strike and with future Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. hitting a total of 40 home runs. Major League Baseball didn't return until the 1995 regular season, and the long delay resulted in 18 games being cut from the schedule (though the 1995 World Series did take place on time).
O.J.: Made in America won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature 23 years after the chase and was produced by ESPN, who were also responsible for this film.
We lived in Thousand Oaks in 1994 and the earthquake was really devastating. I remember standing under the front door header during an aftershock and watching our one-ton truck, which was parked in the driveway, shaking and rocking. Fortunately we didn’t have any damage to our house. Coincidentally, my sister, who lives in northern New Jersey near Newton, had been visiting us in Santa Barbara years before and experienced an earthquake then, so she was aware of what was happening. She did say it sounded like a freight train…
And don't forget I was 3 months pregnant with our first baby, Lilly. I was terrified that something would happen to her. Once we got out on the street and confirmed that all our neighbors had their gas valves turned off, my OBGYN called me to tell me that women miscarry in these extreme situations. She told me to breathe deeply and lie down. Worry about the damage later. Dr. Matsanaga called all of her pregnant patients to tell them what to do to mitigate a miscarriage. I loved her for that. Mind over matter will save your baby. I am forever grateful to Dr. Matsanaga for caring enough to call me. Lilly is now 29 and healthy as a horse. (and btw, that was just after the Rodney King riots that were just down the street from our house and the rioters were marching into our canyon) Dr. Matsanaga walked me through all those threats and disasters and I produced a gorgeous 10 lb. baby girl. I'll never forget her.
Yup, those riots were why my brother relocated back to the midwest from California - in LA after a dozen years there, working first at Santa Anita racetrack.
Many homes and businesses damaged, looted, or destroyed
Resignation of Chief Daryl Gates Parties
Rioters and looters
Crips
Bloods
United States
State of California
Armed civilians, notably from Korean American communities, defending property from rioters and looters
Casualties
Death(s) 63[1]
Injuries 2,383
Arrested 12,111[2][3]
Damage $1 billion
The 1992 Los Angeles riots (also called the Rodney King riots or the 1992 Los Angeles uprising[4][5]) were a series of riots and civil disturbances that occurred in Los Angeles County, California, United States, during April and May 1992. Unrest began in South Central Los Angeles on April 29, after a jury acquitted four officers of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) charged with using excessive force in the arrest and beating of Rodney King. The incident had been videotaped by George Holliday, who was a bystander to the incident, and was heavily broadcast in various news and media outlets.
The rioting took place in several areas in the Los Angeles metropolitan area as thousands of people rioted over six days following the verdict's announcement. Widespread looting, assault, and arson occurred during the riots, which local police forces had difficulty controlling. The situation in the Los Angeles area was resolved after the California National Guard, United States military, and several federal law enforcement agencies deployed more than 10,000 of their armed first responders to assist in ending the violence and unrest.[6]
When the riots had ended, 63 people had been killed,[7] 2,383 had been injured, more than 12,000 had been arrested, and estimates of property damage were over $1 billion, making it the most destructive period of local unrest in U.S. history. Koreatown, situated just to the north of South Central LA, was disproportionately damaged. Much of the blame for the extensive nature of the violence was attributed to LAPD Chief of Police Daryl Gates, who had already announced his resignation by the time of the riots, for failure to de-escalate the situation and overall mismanagement.[8][9]
******* Beginning of a long treatment, likely tendentious in places given the fraught nature of the causes and consequences; of course DJT exploits the "white resentment" factors as if there's never, ever any larger historical context, no need for any damn Democrats with their DEI and Black Lives Matter either!
Good to be back in the saddle with you. Somehow my paid account got suspended and l stopped receiving posts!
After several days of complaining to a very nice robot, it seems that I’ve be reinstated.
My daughter, Ariana moved out to the West Coast about 16 years ago for graduate school in LA. We were concerned about @the Big One”, but she was prepared. With her teaching stipend she bought an apartment in the reconverted Singer Sewing Machine Factory and managed to survive the loneliness of COVID isolation. I suggested she set up her tent in the living room and the bedroom swing and big-screen TV were already in place.
Fortunately because she had adopted a small dog, Fox, she was permitted outside while everyone else was quarantined!
Two years ago Ariana moved back in the East Coast for employment and rented out her apartment in LA. She was teaching high school in the Bronx when the students chairs started shaking on Friday, April 5th! That was it! You just never know what life has to offer!
Let’s not obsess about perceived and actual threats, and be prepared for anything! And for goodness sake, exercise your patience and our appreciate our versatility. It could always be worse!
Thanks for this memory, Lucian. When I moved back to my homeland, New Zealand, in 1985 it was to a country which its first human inhabitants, the Maori, who arrived by canoe from Polynesia less than 800 years ago, spoke about being a land which the gods had hauled up from the depths of the ocean. Like a lot of so-called ‘primitive mythology,’ they were not wrong. The landform the Maori call ‘Aotearoa’ is the result of the clashing of two tectonic plates: the Pacific plate and the Australian. As the Pacific plate dives under the Australian, that geological action produces some of the most severe earthquakes in the world. In my time there I was to become quite accustomed to seeing buildings sway and feel the ground rocking and rolling beneath me. However, given that earthquakes have been a matter of record for as long as humans have been there, it should also be noted that New Zealand is in the forefront of building structures that are designed to be earthquake resistant. Given that the country experiences between 14-15,000(!) earthquakes a year of which maybe 200 are large enough to be felt, it is something that government takes very seriously. The deadliest earthquake on record in New Zealand was in 1931 when the cities of Napier and Hastings were basically flattened, causing the deaths of over of over 250 people. This accounts for Napier being known today as ‘The Art Deco Capital of the World.’ How so? Because, when it was rebuilt on land that had been pushed up from the seabed, it was designed by an architect very much in thrall with Frank Lloyd Wright and the Art Deco scene. Lucian’s piece reminded me of what it feels like to suddenly be unmoored from the comfort and security of being ‘grounded’ in one’s environment. When the ground begins to violently shake, you realize that your whole existence has been resting on a mirage. It is a very sobering experience. Which….is why I drink. (LOL!)
"... lot of so-called ‘primitive mythology,’ they were not wrong."
Much ~Respect~.
~shadowcloud~" a merciless indian savage" with lots of "primitive mythology" passed on to me by ancestors and other "primitives" and "savages". Including from ~maori~
The author of such acclaimed books as Hero With a Thousand Faces and The Power of Myth discusses the primitive roots of mythology, examining them in light of the most recent discoveries in archaeology, anthropology, and psychology.
Volume 2- Oriental Mythology Volume 3 - Occidental Mythology Volume 4 - Creative Mythology. My copy of Volume 1 ended up in Denmark with a co-worker from Citizens for a Better Environment when she returned after a number of years in university here in Minneapolis, Campbell is never condescending (if anything he gets panned for being too favorably disposed to "ancient traditions," WTF???) and reading that series in the 1970s changed my life, can't recommend the series highly enough.
Our son, a recent high school grad from back east, experienced the Loma Prieta earthquake in the Bay Area in 1989. He had just gotten off a bus when it hit, and I so remember his shaking voice describing the concrete “waves” in the sidewalk that went on for what seemed like forever. I like living where that doesn’t happen!
So Lucian, that was an awful earthquake but Loma Prieta was horrible for us. It was in 1989. The Battle of the Bay was playing on tv. My husband was parked on the couch watching the game while I took my oldest daughter to her gymnastics class. At that time, I drove a 1967 Volvo and had just placed my 7 month old baby in her car seat that was in the car. I had the door opened, one foot on the curb, the other on the sidewalk. Suddenly, I noticed my car was moving back and forth. I looked up and saw all of the trees, bushes, and power poles were swaying in succession with one another. A transformer blew out. I pulled the baby out of the car and ran to the entrance of the gym. There was my oldest daughter standing in the doorway with her friends and her coach. I could see the fans inside were swaying also. My daughter looked at me with a great big smile and said “Mommy, we’re having an earthquake!” It made me happy that she was not totally freaked out. They went back to practicing and I sat under the awning nursing my baby. A few minutes later, my husband pulls up with a very scared look on his face. He told me the quake literally caused him to fall off of the couch. He was worried about us but fortunately we were okay. There were 63 deaths and thousands injured. Buildings collapsed as well as bridges. It has the distinction of being called The Day of Destruction.
I’ve lived in Los Angeles for my whole life and have had many earthquake experiences, including the 1994 quake and it was a doozy. But the one that comes to my mind reading this was the one in 1971 when my family lived in Malibu. The building was built on stilts over the ocean and the waves would crash underneath the pilings below the building. It was in the night and suddenly the whole building was swaying back and forth. My sister ran into my bedroom to get me, but we soon realized that it would take some doing to get down the stairs to our apartment and get out onto PCH. It seemed to last forever and had a rolling motion that was damn scary. But the 1994 earthquake was of a more violent nature and the condo where I lived was in Santa Monica. One of those areas of sandy soil that Lucian mentioned and not good at all! The building ended up needing $500,000 of structural repairs. I was relieved that after 2 years of nagging my fellow homeowners about securing earthquake insurance, they had finally agreed and we had coverage - a miracle! The funny part of the story is that my same sister, who lived in San Diego at the time, happened to be staying with me that night. We got to take the big ride and didn’t know what would happen next!
Makes the earthquake we felt just slightly in NYC not worth mentioning,
But you talk about houses with huge boulders for foundations . Manhattan, of course, has a great rock underpinning which makes possible our skyscrapers ( great word).
Great memories. I wasn't surprised to read that America's preeminent Christian theologian, Marjorie Taylor Greene, says that this quake is coupled with the eclipse, rains and floods, as signs of G-d's displeasure with the United States of America. Margie, baby, when you look in the mirror, what, if anything, do you see?
Jimmy Kimmel Tuesday 4/9/24 had a hilarious assortment of videos posted online making weird claims about the path of the total eclipse across the USA, Bigfoot and the Rapture are involved, it seems!
Once, I was on the golf course when an earthquake hit. The fairway rose up like a wave and then the wave moved away from me until it subsided. I will never forget that experience. We are all just fleas on the earth's skin.
Nice visuals, Lucian. Been in 2, The word that comes to mind is the disorientation of both time and space. And personally discovered the body/mind continues to be in that state after the ground and water settle back to normal.
It's only recently has some in the science community come to understand the Blue Marble is alive alive oh. Emphasis-some.
Hoomankind's maltreatment of the Blue Marble is in the same set of holy books that said don't build on sand and also said the Blue Marble is hoomankind's to do with it as it pleases. Is the holy books' version of the porn industry's free-use.
When I lived in Anchorage, I developed a healthy respect for the tremors that shook us periodically, especially after exploring Earthquake Park there, seeing some of the remaining damage and learning about :
"The 1964 Alaskan earthquake, also known as the Great Alaskan earthquake and Good Friday earthquake, occurred at 5:36 pm AKST on Good Friday, March 27. Across south-central Alaska, ground fissures, collapsing structures, and tsunamis resulting from the earthquake caused about 131 deaths.The earthquake was the largest in US history (magnitude 9.2 on the Richter scale) and the second largest ever recorded in the world. 1 Historical reports show that 115 people in Alaska died and an estimated 40-50 hospitalizations occurred for severe injuries."
Ah, yes, I, too, have lived through California quakes AND fires! My very first earthquake, however, I erroneously thought I had caused. (I know. I know.) I was making microwave popcorn in the little kitchen at the Bel-Air hotel when I felt the building shake and thought OMG, what have I done? Then I happened to look out the window to see a swaying bellman trying to not drop a tray. Then I turned on the television to see many firetrucks and police cars on the street. The anchor helpfully said it's a CA. rule that when there's an earthquake, all emergency vehicles leave their garages so they won't be trapped inside should the buildings collapse.
“Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts on them, will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”
I thought of the parable as well! The house built on rock and the house built on sand. Great sermon illustration!
An East Hampton man used to dismiss nearby dune dwellers who whined when hurricanes damaged or destroyed their beach mansions: "Anybody who builds a house on sand deserves to see it wash away."
For many years i have said NO man made structure should be erected within a mile of a coast line.
My second wife, a Potawatomi said her people never pitched a teepee in a riverbed.
Recently i have given thought about something she said many years ago.
"Some people need killing." I forgot what it was in reference too. But she was a Democrat.
That we DO have experience with on Cape Cod. Our house is atop a hill of glacial moraine beach sand, 42 feet above sea level, but a good 3/4 mile from the ocean.
Waitaminnit... I'm just wondering if that earthquake was responsible for a few new cracks in our walls I'm just noticing ... we ARE on sand...
For the record, a friend on the Long Island Siuth Fork didn't feel it. He seems a wee bit disappointed.
Definitely not on a hillside in California.
Excellent point illustrating the profound message of Lucian's reflections* (?) - Rock will survive us all! Act on building advice, because otherwise you'll get killed in an earthquake?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmgCy__eUa8
It's Only Rock'n'Roll (But I Like It) (Remastered 2009)
The Rolling Stones
* It evidently rocked the OJ trial, it was that cool White Bronco chase with as we later understood, OJ threatening to end it all, that revved up nation-wide coverage, took a while to reach the "IF I Did It" quasi-confession, the trial started November 9, 1994, etc.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/o-j-simpson-ford-bronco-car-chase-25-years-ago-nicole-brown-simpson-murder-case/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_17th,_1994
June 17th, 1994 is a documentary film by Brett Morgen released as part of ESPN's 30 for 30 series.[1] The documentary details the events of June 17, 1994, in which several noteworthy sporting events occurred during the police chase of O. J. Simpson.[2] Morgen says the diversity of the events provides an opportunity "to look at the soul of America".[3]
The documentary features no narration and also no interviews and consists simply of music set to clips from news sources during the day.[3]
There are rare clips of sportscasters like Chris Berman and Bob Costas talking to their producers about how to deal with the O.J. story within the context of the events they were covering.[4]
Critical reception
Robert Lloyd wrote in The Los Angeles Times: "Morgen juxtaposes the events of that day in a kind of associative round robin, finding points of contrast and commonality, of similar action and visual consonance, on which to turn his film. But he offers no other, more remote perspective; this is not a summing up of events, but rather a meditation, of an elemental sort, not just on sports but on the way of the world."[5]
Rolling Stone writer Noel Murray ranks June 17th, 1994 as the best documentary in the 30 for 30 series as he saw the montage style of the film as a reflection on "how viewers process television", and argues that it comments on "how the media struggles to make sense of events that have no clear outcome."[1]
Jimmy Traina of Sports Illustrated called it a "tremendously fun watch".[6]
Events occurring during this day
The events detailed in the documentary that occurred during the chase of Simpson are as follows.
Arnold Palmer playing his final round at the 1994 U.S. Open (in a nod to the fact that 06/17/1994 had major events involving both Palmer and Simpson, a clip from a commercial that the two both-then-beloved athletes had filmed together in the 1970s for Hertz Global Holdings was shown).
The commencement of the 1994 FIFA World Cup, hosted for the first time by the United States with Oprah Winfrey and then-president Bill Clinton presenting.
The New York Rangers celebrating their win in the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals with a ticker tape parade on Broadway (the parade took place earlier in the day and was largely unaffected by the Simpson events).
Game 5 of the 1994 NBA Finals between the Houston Rockets and the New York Knicks; most NBC affiliates split coverage between the game and the freeway chase (as narrated by NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw on a split-screen.)
Ken Griffey Jr. tying Babe Ruth's record of the most home runs (30) before June 30 and the team's 65th game of the 1994 MLB season.[7]
Aftermath
The U.S. Open concluded on Monday, June 20, with Ernie Els winning a three-way playoff for the championship.
The World Cup concluded on Sunday, July 17 with Brazil winning its 4th championship after Italy player Roberto Baggio missed a must-make penalty during a shootout to decide the title.
The 1994 World Cup is also featured in another ESPN 30 for 30 documentary entitled The Two Escobars which follows Colombia men's national team player Andrés Escobar who scored an own goal for the United States on June 22. Escobar was murdered in Colombia on July 1, reputedly by cartel-connected hitmen, enraged that his error led to the team being eliminated from the World Cup tournament.
The New York Rangers would not make another Stanley Cup Finals until the first meeting between teams from New York City and Los Angeles for a major professional sports championship since the 1981 World Series (2014),[8][9] when the team lost to the Kings four games to one, and they haven't won the Cup since 1994.[10]
The NBA Finals concluded June 22 with Houston winning the series in seven games. The Knicks would return to the NBA Finals in 1999 but lost that series 4–1 to the San Antonio Spurs, and haven't been back to the finals since then.
The 1994 Major League Baseball season would end after the games of August 11 due to the player strike and with future Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. hitting a total of 40 home runs. Major League Baseball didn't return until the 1995 regular season, and the long delay resulted in 18 games being cut from the schedule (though the 1995 World Series did take place on time).
O.J.: Made in America won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature 23 years after the chase and was produced by ESPN, who were also responsible for this film.
*******
We lived in Thousand Oaks in 1994 and the earthquake was really devastating. I remember standing under the front door header during an aftershock and watching our one-ton truck, which was parked in the driveway, shaking and rocking. Fortunately we didn’t have any damage to our house. Coincidentally, my sister, who lives in northern New Jersey near Newton, had been visiting us in Santa Barbara years before and experienced an earthquake then, so she was aware of what was happening. She did say it sounded like a freight train…
And don't forget I was 3 months pregnant with our first baby, Lilly. I was terrified that something would happen to her. Once we got out on the street and confirmed that all our neighbors had their gas valves turned off, my OBGYN called me to tell me that women miscarry in these extreme situations. She told me to breathe deeply and lie down. Worry about the damage later. Dr. Matsanaga called all of her pregnant patients to tell them what to do to mitigate a miscarriage. I loved her for that. Mind over matter will save your baby. I am forever grateful to Dr. Matsanaga for caring enough to call me. Lilly is now 29 and healthy as a horse. (and btw, that was just after the Rodney King riots that were just down the street from our house and the rioters were marching into our canyon) Dr. Matsanaga walked me through all those threats and disasters and I produced a gorgeous 10 lb. baby girl. I'll never forget her.
Actually, that head start seems to have agreed with Califonia Girl Lilly.
Yup, those riots were why my brother relocated back to the midwest from California - in LA after a dozen years there, working first at Santa Anita racetrack.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1992_Los_Angeles_riots
"LA riots" redirects here. For other uses, see Los Angeles riots.
1992 Los Angeles riots
Aftermath of the riots
Date April 29 – May 4, 1992
(6 days); 31 years ago
Location Los Angeles County, California, United States
Caused by
Four policemen acquitted of assaulting and beating Rodney King
Killing of Latasha Harlins
Racial tension in Los Angeles
Methods Widespread rioting looting assault arson protests vandalism shootouts
Resulted in Riots suppressed
Many homes and businesses damaged, looted, or destroyed
Resignation of Chief Daryl Gates Parties
Rioters and looters
Crips
Bloods
United States
State of California
Armed civilians, notably from Korean American communities, defending property from rioters and looters
Casualties
Death(s) 63[1]
Injuries 2,383
Arrested 12,111[2][3]
Damage $1 billion
The 1992 Los Angeles riots (also called the Rodney King riots or the 1992 Los Angeles uprising[4][5]) were a series of riots and civil disturbances that occurred in Los Angeles County, California, United States, during April and May 1992. Unrest began in South Central Los Angeles on April 29, after a jury acquitted four officers of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) charged with using excessive force in the arrest and beating of Rodney King. The incident had been videotaped by George Holliday, who was a bystander to the incident, and was heavily broadcast in various news and media outlets.
The rioting took place in several areas in the Los Angeles metropolitan area as thousands of people rioted over six days following the verdict's announcement. Widespread looting, assault, and arson occurred during the riots, which local police forces had difficulty controlling. The situation in the Los Angeles area was resolved after the California National Guard, United States military, and several federal law enforcement agencies deployed more than 10,000 of their armed first responders to assist in ending the violence and unrest.[6]
When the riots had ended, 63 people had been killed,[7] 2,383 had been injured, more than 12,000 had been arrested, and estimates of property damage were over $1 billion, making it the most destructive period of local unrest in U.S. history. Koreatown, situated just to the north of South Central LA, was disproportionately damaged. Much of the blame for the extensive nature of the violence was attributed to LAPD Chief of Police Daryl Gates, who had already announced his resignation by the time of the riots, for failure to de-escalate the situation and overall mismanagement.[8][9]
******* Beginning of a long treatment, likely tendentious in places given the fraught nature of the causes and consequences; of course DJT exploits the "white resentment" factors as if there's never, ever any larger historical context, no need for any damn Democrats with their DEI and Black Lives Matter either!
Good to be back in the saddle with you. Somehow my paid account got suspended and l stopped receiving posts!
After several days of complaining to a very nice robot, it seems that I’ve be reinstated.
My daughter, Ariana moved out to the West Coast about 16 years ago for graduate school in LA. We were concerned about @the Big One”, but she was prepared. With her teaching stipend she bought an apartment in the reconverted Singer Sewing Machine Factory and managed to survive the loneliness of COVID isolation. I suggested she set up her tent in the living room and the bedroom swing and big-screen TV were already in place.
Fortunately because she had adopted a small dog, Fox, she was permitted outside while everyone else was quarantined!
Two years ago Ariana moved back in the East Coast for employment and rented out her apartment in LA. She was teaching high school in the Bronx when the students chairs started shaking on Friday, April 5th! That was it! You just never know what life has to offer!
Let’s not obsess about perceived and actual threats, and be prepared for anything! And for goodness sake, exercise your patience and our appreciate our versatility. It could always be worse!
Thanks for this memory, Lucian. When I moved back to my homeland, New Zealand, in 1985 it was to a country which its first human inhabitants, the Maori, who arrived by canoe from Polynesia less than 800 years ago, spoke about being a land which the gods had hauled up from the depths of the ocean. Like a lot of so-called ‘primitive mythology,’ they were not wrong. The landform the Maori call ‘Aotearoa’ is the result of the clashing of two tectonic plates: the Pacific plate and the Australian. As the Pacific plate dives under the Australian, that geological action produces some of the most severe earthquakes in the world. In my time there I was to become quite accustomed to seeing buildings sway and feel the ground rocking and rolling beneath me. However, given that earthquakes have been a matter of record for as long as humans have been there, it should also be noted that New Zealand is in the forefront of building structures that are designed to be earthquake resistant. Given that the country experiences between 14-15,000(!) earthquakes a year of which maybe 200 are large enough to be felt, it is something that government takes very seriously. The deadliest earthquake on record in New Zealand was in 1931 when the cities of Napier and Hastings were basically flattened, causing the deaths of over of over 250 people. This accounts for Napier being known today as ‘The Art Deco Capital of the World.’ How so? Because, when it was rebuilt on land that had been pushed up from the seabed, it was designed by an architect very much in thrall with Frank Lloyd Wright and the Art Deco scene. Lucian’s piece reminded me of what it feels like to suddenly be unmoored from the comfort and security of being ‘grounded’ in one’s environment. When the ground begins to violently shake, you realize that your whole existence has been resting on a mirage. It is a very sobering experience. Which….is why I drink. (LOL!)
"... lot of so-called ‘primitive mythology,’ they were not wrong."
Much ~Respect~.
~shadowcloud~" a merciless indian savage" with lots of "primitive mythology" passed on to me by ancestors and other "primitives" and "savages". Including from ~maori~
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/589064.The_Masks_of_God_Volume_1
The Masks of God, Volume 1: Primitive Mythology
Joseph Campbell
4.27
4,170 ratings167 reviews
The author of such acclaimed books as Hero With a Thousand Faces and The Power of Myth discusses the primitive roots of mythology, examining them in light of the most recent discoveries in archaeology, anthropology, and psychology.
Volume 2- Oriental Mythology Volume 3 - Occidental Mythology Volume 4 - Creative Mythology. My copy of Volume 1 ended up in Denmark with a co-worker from Citizens for a Better Environment when she returned after a number of years in university here in Minneapolis, Campbell is never condescending (if anything he gets panned for being too favorably disposed to "ancient traditions," WTF???) and reading that series in the 1970s changed my life, can't recommend the series highly enough.
Wow, felt like I was there. Great piece, as usual.
Our son, a recent high school grad from back east, experienced the Loma Prieta earthquake in the Bay Area in 1989. He had just gotten off a bus when it hit, and I so remember his shaking voice describing the concrete “waves” in the sidewalk that went on for what seemed like forever. I like living where that doesn’t happen!
That's memorable for sure!
So Lucian, that was an awful earthquake but Loma Prieta was horrible for us. It was in 1989. The Battle of the Bay was playing on tv. My husband was parked on the couch watching the game while I took my oldest daughter to her gymnastics class. At that time, I drove a 1967 Volvo and had just placed my 7 month old baby in her car seat that was in the car. I had the door opened, one foot on the curb, the other on the sidewalk. Suddenly, I noticed my car was moving back and forth. I looked up and saw all of the trees, bushes, and power poles were swaying in succession with one another. A transformer blew out. I pulled the baby out of the car and ran to the entrance of the gym. There was my oldest daughter standing in the doorway with her friends and her coach. I could see the fans inside were swaying also. My daughter looked at me with a great big smile and said “Mommy, we’re having an earthquake!” It made me happy that she was not totally freaked out. They went back to practicing and I sat under the awning nursing my baby. A few minutes later, my husband pulls up with a very scared look on his face. He told me the quake literally caused him to fall off of the couch. He was worried about us but fortunately we were okay. There were 63 deaths and thousands injured. Buildings collapsed as well as bridges. It has the distinction of being called The Day of Destruction.
I’ve lived in Los Angeles for my whole life and have had many earthquake experiences, including the 1994 quake and it was a doozy. But the one that comes to my mind reading this was the one in 1971 when my family lived in Malibu. The building was built on stilts over the ocean and the waves would crash underneath the pilings below the building. It was in the night and suddenly the whole building was swaying back and forth. My sister ran into my bedroom to get me, but we soon realized that it would take some doing to get down the stairs to our apartment and get out onto PCH. It seemed to last forever and had a rolling motion that was damn scary. But the 1994 earthquake was of a more violent nature and the condo where I lived was in Santa Monica. One of those areas of sandy soil that Lucian mentioned and not good at all! The building ended up needing $500,000 of structural repairs. I was relieved that after 2 years of nagging my fellow homeowners about securing earthquake insurance, they had finally agreed and we had coverage - a miracle! The funny part of the story is that my same sister, who lived in San Diego at the time, happened to be staying with me that night. We got to take the big ride and didn’t know what would happen next!
Thank you for the earthquake story.
Makes the earthquake we felt just slightly in NYC not worth mentioning,
But you talk about houses with huge boulders for foundations . Manhattan, of course, has a great rock underpinning which makes possible our skyscrapers ( great word).
Anything over one story is bad.
May Otis make sure your safe.
Great memories. I wasn't surprised to read that America's preeminent Christian theologian, Marjorie Taylor Greene, says that this quake is coupled with the eclipse, rains and floods, as signs of G-d's displeasure with the United States of America. Margie, baby, when you look in the mirror, what, if anything, do you see?
Jimmy Kimmel Tuesday 4/9/24 had a hilarious assortment of videos posted online making weird claims about the path of the total eclipse across the USA, Bigfoot and the Rapture are involved, it seems!
Once, I was on the golf course when an earthquake hit. The fairway rose up like a wave and then the wave moved away from me until it subsided. I will never forget that experience. We are all just fleas on the earth's skin.
Nice visuals, Lucian. Been in 2, The word that comes to mind is the disorientation of both time and space. And personally discovered the body/mind continues to be in that state after the ground and water settle back to normal.
It's only recently has some in the science community come to understand the Blue Marble is alive alive oh. Emphasis-some.
Hoomankind's maltreatment of the Blue Marble is in the same set of holy books that said don't build on sand and also said the Blue Marble is hoomankind's to do with it as it pleases. Is the holy books' version of the porn industry's free-use.
When I lived in Anchorage, I developed a healthy respect for the tremors that shook us periodically, especially after exploring Earthquake Park there, seeing some of the remaining damage and learning about :
"The 1964 Alaskan earthquake, also known as the Great Alaskan earthquake and Good Friday earthquake, occurred at 5:36 pm AKST on Good Friday, March 27. Across south-central Alaska, ground fissures, collapsing structures, and tsunamis resulting from the earthquake caused about 131 deaths.The earthquake was the largest in US history (magnitude 9.2 on the Richter scale) and the second largest ever recorded in the world. 1 Historical reports show that 115 people in Alaska died and an estimated 40-50 hospitalizations occurred for severe injuries."
Thanks Lucian. Fascinating ... (from a country with our fair share of earthquakes) and beautifully written, as usual.
Ah, yes, I, too, have lived through California quakes AND fires! My very first earthquake, however, I erroneously thought I had caused. (I know. I know.) I was making microwave popcorn in the little kitchen at the Bel-Air hotel when I felt the building shake and thought OMG, what have I done? Then I happened to look out the window to see a swaying bellman trying to not drop a tray. Then I turned on the television to see many firetrucks and police cars on the street. The anchor helpfully said it's a CA. rule that when there's an earthquake, all emergency vehicles leave their garages so they won't be trapped inside should the buildings collapse.