NK Protest summary & Pointers

 Some observations about the protest rally started less than 24 hours after attending

Got there a half hour early and glad I was to find somewhere to sit by the City Hall flagpoles near the memorials for the deceased military of past wars. A Speaker's microphone was setup nearby that could be discerned in the lulls between honking horns and the crowds lining the street cheering them on relentlessly. I heard most of what a handful of them were saying until the roar from the street dominated everything else. Some acoustic group played several feel good musical pieces between the speakers before taking a break after 12:30. I finally stood up to check out the crowd making so much noise behind me and saw that a couple thousand had shown up in last hour. They filled the sidewalks to overflowing on both sides of the street forcing many to stand on the grass and landscaping. I tried to talk to a couple of attendees. Once to point out the Peace Sign skywriting over the LA rally. A second time to offer advice to a sign painter with a blank poster board and bagfull of bright paints. 

I'm very happy to have gone and witnessed so many fellow citizens peacefully exercising their free speech rights to express dissent from the way things are being administered by those the Supreme Court approves. I was pleased to discover that free placards & paints were available for any to make their own declarations.

I was disappointed there wasn't some kind of organizing of the crowd to reinforce the amplified speakers. This must be a very common problem at similar events, so I tried to think of something to transform it. Why not create signs that could coordinate the noise level simply & substantially for all those interested. 

One side has

 WAIT

FOR IT

with

CHEER

 NOW

On the other

Sadly most of the younger patriots probably won't properly appreciate that common MP phrase. Alternatively

DON'T

HONK

NOW

will almost simultaneously reduce the cheering of the encouraging crowd.

I tried to imagine the street noise being effectively harnessed to get loud at appropriate breaks when each speaker tried to make particular points during their turn.  I believe most of the street crowd would join in. It would be akin to sustaining a "Wave" as it circles about the stands of a stadium. Only a couple of protestors, holding such signs & acting like traffic signals could have allowed a thousand or more to understand the many speeches made by some of our most courageous citizens instead of little more than a hundred that were close. A kind of Auditory Stop Sign(#ASS)

I'm confused why the power of song is rarely exerted at these news events. There has got to be at least a dozen great folk songs that the vast majority of most heterogeneous crowds could softly sing together for strength. I imagine any musicians involved with instigating beyond a few notes might be subject to a legal hassel. What penalty could be imposed on hundreds or thousands quietly singing the same tune at the same time w/o help? A playlist could be published for days before the event so people could refamiliarize themselves with the songs. Every 15 minutes of the ongoing event, the people will take a pause to join their voice in song or give it a break. Then they can be an individual to talk or cheer for 10 minutes until the next song commences

Maybe there could be a challenge contest to define the Ultimate Protest Playlist(#UPP) Here's a few that could be considered almost Gospel among most #Pragmessives. I'm reasonably certain there's a couple dozen other suitable songs that belong on this list.

This Land was Made for You & Me

I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing

Blowin in the Wind

If I had a Hammer

When I'm 64

That's Just The Way it is

Where Have All the Flowers Gone

With/Without

Fortunate Son

Time

The Impossible Dream

Message for my Inspirations

Greetings from the future 

Man Who Planted Ideas with Leaves, not Seeds 

I'm sending this missive in hopes it lifts your spirits.
It's about a dream and a plea that you helped inspire.
I've long admired the stellar example you have set.

It's about a vision for a Conservatory of Contemplation.
A special unique kind of library for students & members.
I hope you choose to be one of its' Inspirational Advisers.

Located in a hollow, on a foothill below LA's highest peak.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ip61tzxpSQQ  shows
a promotional video that Architectural Digest made there.

Try to imagine a better use for this long vacant treasure.

A Public Benefit Corporation could invite local schools to

send a thousand or more students in 50 busloads a month. 

A large collection of over-sized STEM, Art & Classic Kids Lit

books beckon to be read & appreciated by those interested.

Public & Private schools within 15 miles of JPL could reward

good students with a visit to a Library like none seen before.

If you'd care to see more about the future KPL HQ,
a search for the Serulnic/Neutra home will be fruitful.

It could be used for adult guests until schools leave.

Emails were sent to the Silverlake Conservatory of Music,

the charitable organization he founded & helps lead.

Sadly no response was forthcoming from anyone.

Questions Welcome

Best Wishes,        Epikuras        

1rst dft started 24-07-31

Message to Michael at SCM - Don't flee a future you can''t yet see!

The Accomplished and Esteemed MPB                 

Dear Sir,                                      

I would like to meet with you at at your earliest convenience to discuss a substansive change to the current use of your parcel & landmark Modern architectural properties in La Crescenta.

I hope to convince you to consider delaying it's sale for another year or two and use it to positively affect the lives and probably influence the futures of thousands of quiet, curious, courteous students fortunate enough to live nearby the northern foothills of Los Angeles.

I believe you will find no better use for this property than as a private membership club to control access to a very special library and meeting space for only authorized guests and visitors that can generate income to fund the purchase of discounted books so every student visitor can choose a great illustrated book to take back with them & treasure.

This site also possesses star qualities which could entice overnite rentals to help pay property taxes, insurance and the employment of a handful of locals to help maintain it. The original house & cabin would only be accessible to adult guests, not student visitors.

Hopefully you're intrigued enough by my audaciousness to allow a personal appeal. I suggest we meet in public where I can freely answer questions about my plan or me. If you'd like to chat outside, we might play some disc golf at one of those special parks.

I can't think of a better place for our first meeting to occur than at the local Bowling Alley. I imagine you have enough sway to finally let my big blue ball explode those pins all over. Sew then you'll see me with a colossal grin when Needles strikes his bowling pins.

I think you'll find we are pretty kopasetic on sensitive philosophical and political Qs. I suspect we are aligned like railroad tracks regarding truth, justice and free speech. I too have sought enlightenment and wisdom in the teachings of Buddhism & Daoism.

I believe it wouldn't take more than a few weeks to set things up. I hope to someday soon proclaim that "I am sharing my STEM collection to raise money for the KPL Public Benefit Corporation, a community-supported Oasis of Information, Entertainment & delight that I plan to be a key part of for sometime."  I don't want to die a lonely, wiser, miser with just knowledge & experience surrounded by great books.

 

Give it Away! Give it Away! Give it Away Now! tops my Keep Altruistic Philanthropy Selfless. Unlike yourself, despite two decades of teaching, I can use all the surplus karma I can get. I don't think my time working on modifying circuitry for the GOES/GMS weather satellites counterbalanced my extended efforts on Trident missile guidance & F14/F15 navigation.  

I hope together with many others we can 

Keep Promoting Literacy at the Karma Peaks Library

To share a better future for all children everywhere

Best Wishes to you & all your family

Read some Gon books w/ your son

You'll never forget the experience

emailed to SCM Feb12, 2024                                           

PS
If you have any contacts with access to the GSN library,
you could see me get cheated by the Inquisition show    
that I dominated after my last Jeopardy tryout failure.

PSS
I lived 12 years in LA South Bay, home of an aging Betty Page and SST Records.
I suspect we passed by each other many times in the past outside of Silverlake.
Did you get to see the the hermit crab races in J Sloanes during the early 80s?
Play pool or foosball at Barney's Beanery or the Oar House/Buffalo chips?
Did you enjoy any shows at McCabe's Guitar shop or the Fox Inn in SM?
Did you ever get to check out Papa Bachs by the Nuart or Change of Hobbit?
I remember my first drive up to the Vista Aug 15, 1980 to see War of the Worlds.
Someone blurted Playmate of the Year Dorothy Stratten had just been murdered.

PSSS
If you ever used to drive much in Silverlake where Fountain becomes Hyperion then you probably
spotted my solitary 5 story tall christmas tree composed of dozens of light strings on the west side
of the hill about 1/2 way to the top that was traditionally hoisted into position after Thanksgivings.
Hope it put a grin on your face as big as the drinks, chips & salsa at Casita del Campo did for me.

It was pointed up towards the Paramour Estate's stained window on top of the hill.  I couldn't see
your group perform there for the 911 concert because my lot was on the west side of Edgecliffe.
I lived down the street from a couple Schindler apartments, next to Carlos Mencia until he moved.
Didn't go to El Cid, Tiki-Ti and Millie's enough but kept Peaches & Pua busy weekends at Good Eats.
I'll bet you remember the Asian sisters at Eat n High, now the site of Boos. They had great Thais.

PSSSS
If you still fish and ever decide to check out the Crandon Raceway, there's some lakeside locals I know who could help make arrangements for a delightful stay w/ pointers on the best places to catch a whopper! 

Here's a bit of dejaspoo (unexpected coincidences)

Mom's Bday is March 27, Dad calls her Low-ee. She had a sister Patricia. Karen is my sister.

Gon 2p BS post

Why this artist is not as famous as Miyazaki is far beyond my ken. A child will never forget the adult that gifts them one of Masashi's magical volumes! The adult will never forget the glint in the child's eyes as they read & interpret each fable.  #Gon #KURATR-I

https://www.lambiek.net/artists/t/tanaka_masashi.htm

2nd

Parents around the world will find no better books to introduce their children to body language, emotional behavior and linear storytelling.

https://epikursa.blogspot.com/2025/06/gon-in-apprehension-will-never-be.html

Please share if you have better links to more of his phenomenal gorgeous artwork!

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gon_(manga)

Gon in apprehension will never be forgotten!

There are no better books for kids of ANY background or age to learn about body language & facial emotions. Most First graders through HS seniors that gave my worn out volumes a glance during their freetime became mesmerized by the wonderous artwork. Several Special Ed students enjoyed sharing their interpretations of the linear storytelling w/ their adult assistants who were almost as appreciative & grateful. Few students stopped before they finished the last story unless their DEAR time ran out.  

I was especially pleased to repeatedly observe when the first student to check them out would call over another after completing at least one story.  They would start out just looking at a few pages in these fabulous Fabrege Easter Eggs of extraordinary art. Invariably the other student would pull up a chair so they could read together side by side and point at pages.

When Gon was discovered about 3 decades ago in Another World at Universal Studios, I started scanning thru the first story and was instantly frozen in place for 10m until the first half of the small volume had been 'read'. I'd never seen anything comparable to these anthropomorphic fables that starred a tiny mutant T-Rex with incredible powers that behaved like Chaplin's Little Tramp character.

Gon journeyed all about the world from pole to pole making friends wherever he goes with all types of critters that are just trying to raise a family or survive. Just like the Tramp, he can't stop himself from confronting the bullies taking advantage of smaller & weaker game. There's no wider variety of the wildest predators ever seen.

Waiting rooms around the world that cater to kids should acquire a full set of Masashi Tanaka's Gon ASAP! It's one of the most captivating book series ever made! That's the follow up message sent out in Feb of 2024. People of every age, ethnicity, intellectual ability & language skill are enthralled by the wordless fables about a menagerie of fauna, naturally free of any sensitive human beliefs which display the gamut of human emotions. KPL's future sister organization, SCM didn't respond when this advice was offered for families w/ preschoolers.

BS

Why this artist is not as famous as Miyazaki is far beyond my ken.  A child will never forget the adult that gifts them one of Masashi's magical volumes! The adult will never forget the glint in the child's eyes as they read it.

https://www.lambiek.net/artists/t/tanaka_masashi.htm

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gon_(manga)

https://epikursa.blogspot.com/2025/06/gon-in-apprehension-will-never-be.html

#KURATR-I

If you're aware of link w/ at least a handful of his precise pages, please reply on Bluesky

An appreciation of Patton Oswalt

Patton Oswalt has become my favorite multi-talented comic still working in standup, acting, voiceover & hosting since Robin Williams left us all 10 years ago.

I first took notice of Patton's comedic acting when he played a video store clerk on Seinfeld about 30ya. It was shortly after I moved to Silverlake to live w/ my better half on the sunny side of comic Carlos Mencia's apartment. We frequented a Blockbuster across from the Vista & 2 other video stores by our Trader Joes, which were the only source of new videos not yet on cable. 

Back before internet streaming, we had to time shift the cable schedules using VCRs to avoid missing a rare broadcast that would not be available for replay on PBS or pay channels. I didn't see Patton in much during the 90s but learned to recognize him when he popped up in replays of Mr Show. I never saw his early stand-up.

He did well in his movie premiere as a silent & sedate  crewman of the "Stingray." He's barely noticeable in the background of the submarine control room scene at the end of Down Periscope, which explains his place in the end credits. It's one of the better sophomoric comedies of the time worth a watch. Almost as good & entertaining as Stripes.

 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Love_My_Dad  

is his most recent movie that caused me to laugh out loud several times.

I got a 1rst gen Sony DirecTivo and made great use of its' Wishlist feature to record the appearances of our favorite actors whenever they appeared. Apparently there was a couple other shows that the Tivo automatically prioritized ahead of the CBS sitcom that occasionally featured one of our favorite neighbors.

I never even knew Patton had joined the cast of King of Queens until it was in syndication and several reruns featured our neighbor, Norma Micheals, the character actress who once worked w/ Jack Benny! She owned a home on the other side of us & rented a garage unit from the same landlord that we did. She'd let my better half know when she was working or appearing in something new.

I'd sure like to know if Patton ever got lucky enough to be regaled by her about the good ole days in Hollywood & LA when they worked on 7 episodes together. She worked with quite a few of the media giants of the 50s & 60s.

I can't believe how often Patton pops up when least expected during streaming. I started bingeing What We Do in the Shadows on Dis+ last fall & skipped season 5's finale, whiich didn't list the guest stars, until 6's began.

I almost did a spit take when Patton unexpectedly appeared as himself and got waylaid by Nandoor barely 5 minutes into the finale. It's surprising he wasn't hypnotized like other humans before have been instead of getting kicked off a building after dining at Panera. Hope his evil twin from Shield investigates this demise!

I started watching the Modok series when I found the new Shadows episode wasn't yet available. I was unaware the robot chicken style could look as good as classic clayanimation. The writing is in the style of Keith Giffen's blatant subversive humor-over-action comic books he did so well for DC.  

Patton's fantastic, bombastic voiceover work manages to inject some tenderness into his family relationships. That little extra might make Modok more popular than any other extended Robot Chicken bits besides SW. Let's hope he's trying to make something similar with DC's deep bench of offbeat titles and 3rd string characters. 

I know one fan who'd be willing to help a lot. I hope when we meet sometime, I can perhaps stump him with some geeky personal questions about SF, comedy, movies or animation, that he hasn't heard before like:

.... Did Patton ever listen to Bob Claster's Funny Stuff radio show on KCRW?

.....Did he ever get a chance to visit the Ackermansion in Loz Feliz before the contents went to Germany?

......What's his favorite episode: Robot Spy, Invisible Monster or the Sea Haunt?

That's the gist of the fanmail sent via a couple emails last November to the management at PattonOswalt.com. Sadly, Gatekeeper Dave never responded to acknowledge getting them or sharing my appreciation with Patton.

BS teaser

Patton Oswalt's movie premiere, Down Periscope, is now streamable at YT. It's pretty good & almost as entertaining as the somewhat similar Stripes. Sadly he has nothing funny to say once Rob Snyder is gone.

https://youtu.be/cyTcbSBIWTo?si=gCGFhQhaeQ1t8paJ

https://epikursa.blogspot.com/2025/06/an-appreciation-of-patton-oswalt.html

Asteroid Bone Saw

There's a possible solution to reducing the damages & threat of potential asteroid strikes that I've never seen in print or heard discussed since Carl was whisked away from us all decades ago.  

Many years ago I had nightmares for some months about asteroid strikes after those two collision movies came out. As a onetime aerospace engineer, I tried to think of ways to break the problem down into smaller, manageable pieces when I had trouble falling asleep. Unfortunately, the only practical solutions I could think of need years of effort to accomplish due to the astronomical size of the problem. Luckily, the JWST is now on duty searching the infra red band for distant debris that appear to grow larger during their fall around the sun.

The simplest solution uses today's tech to construct an array of independent kilometer-sized reflective Solar Power Satellites at one of Earth's 5 LaGrange points. It should be simple to scale up the output by adding one or more simultaneously while not affecting those already in service. Some power wb devoted to electric motors that provide angular momentum to steer the beam of reflected solar light at an approaching threat. The additional sunlight from multiple SPSs would increase outgassing to deflect its' orbit or perhaps affect the rotation by shifting the center of gravity to help it spin apart. 

An array constructed at Venus could produce beams w/ twice the intensity of those near earth. SPS would have a greater effect on Icy comets that cb vaporized at a distance. SPSs around Mars cb used on the asteroid belt. When not focused on a threat less than 20 years away, The mirrors could target whatever earth crossing threats are within their effective range. This offers long term, low fuel requirements compared to the tight belt solution that needs to be implemented while the threat is as far away as posssible

It's assumed that megawatts can be made available by harnessing solar or nuclear power on or near the surface of the asteroid. It's assumed thousands of giant interchangable links could be launched to form a ring around the "waist" surface of the asteroid threat. The links are collected from where they "crash-landed" and assembled into an endless chain that can be pulled over the surface and thru fissures by motors that are embedded where they provide torque when powered. Not much different than dredging waterways. 

More power & motors means more cutting torque. When a link breaks or loses its' edge, a replacement is located nearby and quickly installed by robots or humans who work there. Simple tools and mass produced parts sb all they require to keep things running smoothly on schedule. Several motors cb distributed to pull on different parts of the same chain independently if a bit of slack is allowed near each. Small debris cb gathered in nets and disposed of by a nuclear fireball that vaporizes the solid material in an explosion.

Questions Welcome

BSky post to my favorite living author

Have any space experts you know ever considered a giant bone saw chain wrapped around an astronomical threat assembled from thousands of giant interchangable cutting links that can be pulled into the curvature?

Neil DG did not respond when I mentiioned it in a response some weeks ago