Best way to be! Anger never helps and only makes things worse!
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I feel very sorry for everyone affected by the fires.
So much culture, music, cinema and civil rights contributions from the L.A. community to the world… this is very sad.
I hope all of you are safe.
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My brother lives around Highland Park, he is currently safe, but I have spent the past week obsessively refreshing news about the fires.
I am so sorry to those of you who have been displaced and am hoping for your continued safety.
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So sad, I saw that the firefighters were warning of this kind of disaster due to the cuts to the budgets and as usual politicians didn’t listen, they should be fired and prosecuted for gross negligence.
I’d urge folks again to not put stock in every attention grabbing headline you read. The line item operational budget decreased by ~$17M but there were very large increases in fire department pay, so the net increase in the LAFD budget was >$58M.
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This was an actual LA fire captain saying it on CNN, not some random unqualified armchair critic on the internet, he was in tears, been in the fire service for 35 years. One of the main problems was the lack of mechanics to get the fire trucks operational, it showed a huge yard of equipment just sitting unused, there were a lot of other failings too, which given the climate is absolutely unforgivable.
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My wife’s symphony colleague spent last week at our house during the rehearsals and concerts of one of their sets. She lives in Altadena. Her house was not burned, but a single block to the north of her, most houses were burned. She may be back with us soon, after she returns from visiting her elderly parents in Europe. Before leaving, she told us she didn’t know when she and her husband would be allowed back in their house. Also yet to be determined was the extent of possible smoke damage to her house and its contents. Her husband volunteered at an animal shelter immediately after the fire, and he has been working there ever since, as far as I know.
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A post was split to a new topic: Scamming vermin
How are things going now, man?
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hit you back the ol’fashioned way, thanks for checking in!
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As usual I’m rolling up late as hell to the discussion, but my heart truly goes out to everyone on here whose life has been touched by these fires. I’m devastated whenever I think of how much has been lost by so many people, and so quickly.
If anyone’s feeling woozy from particle inhalation or worried about what they might be breathing, the COVID-era Corsi-Rosenthal box (a cheap and effective DIY air purifier) worked wonders for me while NYC was drowning in Canadian wildfire smoke:
They take about 5 minutes to make and can be built out of things you’ll find in any hardware store, just a box-fan, the box it came in, and 4 HEPA filters. Video instructions here:
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As my in-laws are starting to weigh their options for their future, I’ve been thinking of how ways to improve their life while they find housing and rebuild their life. My father-in-law loved playing the piano, they had a modest upright in their living room.
Since they still don’t have a permanent home that’s obviously not a particularly great option but I’ve been considering if some kind of stage piano with weighted keys would be an option. Anybody have recommendations in that vein? I’m trying to keep it under $1000 but if I needed to go higher that’s understandable. He doesn’t need any fancy effects or synthesizer parameters or anything, and he isn’t performing for anybody. Decent piano sounds and maybe the option to plug in a foot pedal would be more than enough.
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I’m going to suggest that you don’t get too financially invested in this idea until they’re not thinking so much about getting their lives sorted out and you have a better idea of what might be useful in a long term sense, but that something which is very portable and simple to use and set up which could provide a distraction is a good direction to head in.
Some additional info / thoughts
I found this folding 88 key midi piano with built in sounds and a rechargeable battery and I think this is probably the kind of thing you want go for based on price ($70USD) and compatibility both for purposes of storage but also transport. I don’t know their age but I think even a compact stage piano is a huge hassle for what I assume are a slightly older couple to move from location to location.
This is made by blackstar amplification who makes some decent little guitar amps, but I have no experience with this piano other than searching “folding piano” and watching a couple demos, I just feel that at the price, even if it isn’t a long-term solution, it’s both affordable and a nice gesture which may be more useful than you might assume.
You can order it from Amazon with a solid return policy and have it shipped to them overnight (or whatever) is another thing that’s appealing about it.
Definitely not saying “do this without researching it first” but I just wanted to mention that this is probably closer to the direction you may want to look in, given their current situation. In this scenario, I don’t think you’re going to be judged based on the cost of the gift you give, so like I said I think it’s a nice gesture either way.
I’m not sure that this was what you were looking for but hopefully this is in some way helpful, and I hope that people out there are doing ok. It’s still a difficult subject to think about or discuss even now that the shock has worn off, but it’s been on my mind a lot.
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I agree, Casio has some cheap 88keys that feel good enough and are easy to move around… specifically the Casio Privia line
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Thanks for the advice @captain8 @shigginpit. The world of piano adjacent instruments is something I’m more or less entirely unfamiliar with. They definitely aren’t ready for anything yet but when the time comes I just want to be able to help them narrow down the options.
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Not sure if this is up anyone’s alley, but if anyone is interested, I saw something about this FireAid benefit concert being held in Inglewood tonight with all benefits set to go to fire relief.
I also saw that they’re thankfully nearing 98% containment on the wildfires, so hopefully the government will continue to provide aid and people’s lives can start to return to normal soon.
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with Rilo Kiley announcing they’re reuniting for Just Live Heaven in May, was kind of hoping for a more LA-centric show at some point they could headline strictly for the locals. with like Muna, Best Coast, Beck, Aimee Mann etc. the ones who’ve always lived here to write and record their shit.
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Random story — I remember seeing Rilo Kiley in 2003 at Sunset Junction. My friends and I went to the festival because we wanted to see Moving Units, and when Riley Kiley was announced coming to the stage, we groaned and rolled our eyes. We’d never heard of Rilo Kiley, we didn’t know what those words meant, we just wanted dance beats and distorted basslines and such.
But then Rilo Kiley totally won us over with their set. It was wonderful, and I was a fan ever since.
Thinking of you every day, Los Angeles <3
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@JonMakesBeats glad to learn you’re ok and keep on crafting soulful little pieces of music.
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