Los Angeles, Part I

So a week before I leave back to the bay area, I want to record some of the best times/stuff around socal for posterity. Since there's really nothing to do in Chino Hills, I made it out to LA a whole lot these past few months, especially when I dipped my foot in the acting pool.

Los Angeles has a lot of haters. A lot of them hang out in the Bay Area. All of them are wrong. I read/heard/imagined someone say that Los Angeles is America's America. And I think this is true,LA and the USA have a whole lot in common, and you can criticize them for the same thing. You could say LA is too big and you need to drive everywhere. You could criticize the fake smiles, fake boobs, and faux-bohemians talking about the script they're working on. You could criticize the lack of history, that some of the biggest monuments tend to be shopping mall tributes to consumerism. You could whine that everything is expensive, that shows like The Hills show the extent to which the area is overpopulated with rich-for-no-good reason douchebags that eat overpriced shitty food and drink overpriced shitty drinks in overpriced shitty bars while wearing overpriced shitty Ed Hardy shirts. 

Yes, you could say all of this. But that would be so unfair. It would be painting giant generalizations that ignore what is really great about the city. Like criticizing America, you'd be technically right about most charges. But that has two faults. First, it assumes that other places are any different. You can sub in LA bleached hair snobs for San Francisco cheese importing snobs anyday. You could walk around Times Square and wonder how it's any different from Universal City Walk's shameless tourist trap consumerism. Every city suffers from similar elements of stereotypes that ring true: blatant inequality, and an overemphasis on shopping and catering to rich people with unfortunate taste. So singling out LA is pretty unfair. The second big flaw in LA bashing is that it's alot like hating America. Sure, you'd be right, it's a big bulky, unrealistic, self absorbed society. BUT, it's also awesome. It's a testament to diversity, and like the country as a whole, if you bother to look around at all you're bound to run into a whole lot of awesome stuff. If you look past the crass stereotyping, there's a genuine heart to the place. There are little nooks in every corner of the city that merit attention. It's greatest gift is its constant potential. Shit always seems to be on the verge of going right. There's always hope of public transit becoming more prominent, there's a vibrant music scene that delivers on artistic potential. On all fronts, LA is a city that's always just about to get things right, and it's exciting to be around when that's happening.

In my next entry, I'll list my favorites of the past few months in the area. 

Stop hating. In the words of Lil Wayne, "fuck y'all, hatin for no reason."