Archived comment by edd:
Montygirl? In a state of depression? From all your comments I have read, it is hard to see you in a state of depression. No way! Cant' believe it...

Archived comment by Montygirl:
Ouch. *blush* YES, I know that L.A. is in CA, but I was referring to the state of Missouri (or Misery) as the case may be. Yes, that's the state I'm in ... in addition to the general state of mind, Confusion. Or, you could easily substitute the state of depression, etc.

Hey, LA is a state, and I've been there. And, I didn't see much that would make me want to return. Although, the drive-through mixed-drink bars were an interesting concept...

And, steff, I don't hate you, but I am going to pout for a day or two. :P

Archived comment by steff:
*grin* ok... so i didn't really resist very well. still love me?

Archived comment by steff:
*is 100% positive that montygirl knows LA isn't a state.... but has to try very hard to resist taunting her*

Archived comment by Montygirl:
Susan and andys, Thanks for sticking up for L.A.! I love it! I've only been there a couple times (business), but I think its beautiful. I could definitely live there (of course, I can't *afford* to live there, but I still loved it). Sure, L.A. has its wierdos, doesn't every state?! But, L.A. has a beach! A BEACH! It's 40 degrees here right now, and that's a veritable heat wave!

And I would love to see the Rose Parade, even just once. I bet it even smells good! :)

Ok, I'll now return you to our regularly scheduled non-tangents.

Archived comment by Saint Louise:
I'm thoroughly stoked by the Veblen reference.

Thought I'd give y'all an instant full grasp of my geekiness with the above comment.

But my real reason for joining the fray (Grue?) is that what I found particularly interesting about this quote is that there was actually a MAN waiting in line for a restroom. I can't tell you how often I've slipped into the men's restroom just to avoid the massive line on the women's side.

Thinking only about my bladder...in L.A. or anywhere else in the world.

Archived comment by Kamiilyaan:
Ah ha! Now we know what to look for when we look over our shoulders to see who might be listening...

Archived comment by IP Admin:
Matt, I may be self-respecting, but it's one of my goals in life not to take myself too damn seriously. :-)
Hence, the Rose Parade. I'd never been, it sounded like fun, I gave it a shot. If it had involved camping out overnight on a street corner in Pasadena, I probably wouldn't have gone. (On the theory that if I wasn't willing to camp out to get tickets to see the Stone Temple Pilots, I'm definitely not willing to camp out for some flowery floats.)
Anyway, I didn't know there was any kind of stigma attached. I went, it was good fun, and the left half of my face got nicely suntanned.

Archived comment by andyS:
The event horizon is about 35 miles out of LA County when you can sometimes VISIBLY cross the smog barrier (looks just like a bank of thin fog).

Also, I think Catalina Island is outside the event horizon (except for the 7 days of the year you can see it from Pedro).

I am a refugee from La Ciudad de Nuestra Reina de Los Angeles de Porcioncula and know whereof I speak. It was not Life In Hell (10 c.p.), but there's a lot of stuff you could fix about it.

Archived comment by steff:
don't you know that any time you watch a movie, ESPECIALLY one that has any type of science (supposedly) in it, you're supposed to take that part of your brain out and put it in a little cup (careful not to drop it in the popcorn!) and leave it until the end of the movie? it's called suspension-of-disbelief-and-ranting-at-least-until-the-movie's-over-so-you-dont'-get-hauled-away. but yeah, i do that too. it gets pretty mst3k-ish even during the GOOD movies. (geek points) but LA is just such a nifty place to put a movie. see what happens when they try to put on in the midwest? fargo?? c'mon.

Archived comment by EastCoast:
Bumps on the head I can see, but what does Dick Tracy have to do with selective breeding?

Better yet, maybe it's LA that is the last bastion of phrenology, eugenics, and crude ethnic sterotypes!

Archived comment by EastCoast:
Geez, Mike take a breath. I was just having a little fun with the guy's name. I didn't mean to hit a thor spot.

I'm sure LA is just chock full of "normal" people, there are plenty of pretentious, self-absorbed idiots on the east coast as well.

Archived comment by Mike:
*I* think Meg Ryan and Nancy Wilson wrestling would be interesting, if the loser were to be put to death...
You're right. Again, we seem to have fallen into the old LA stereotypes. But, you know, they wouldn't be so easy to believe if Hollywood didn't keep churning out such ridiculous crap that Los Angeles ends up tarnished. My personal favorite: "Volcano". In it, there was a lava flow going down some LA street, and a fire truck pulled up and put it out-- PUT IT *OUT*-- with a fire hose. *One*. Fire. Hose.
By the time I was through screaming and thrashing around on the floor, the movie was over.
Oh, and EastCoast, there is no way you're going to goad me into changing a respected economist into some weird Norwegian Dick Tracy character named "Moneybags" or something. Dick Tracy sucks. I hate pretty much any comic where the plot is too obvious or the villains are stupid. Last time I stooped to reading a Dick Tracy comic, Tracy was interrogating Flat-Top's son, Hi-Top (Dick Tracy-- last bastion of eugenics, phrenology, and crude ethnic stereotypes) about a pair of shoes stolen from a murdered teen-- and Hi-Top was *wearing* the shoes, with the dead kid's initials carved into the heel. Oh, Dick Tracy, what a super-sleuth!
Other crappy comics: Brenda Starr, Judge Parker, Mary Worth, Nancy, The Family Circus, Ziggy, Curtis-- oh, hell, let's just cut this short and say that I pretty much hate them all at one time or another. Even the ones I sometimes like. Oh, gee, Norm is in love with Reine, his supposed long-time female "friend"? Couldn't see that one coming!
Hmm, how do I tie this in to the original subject?
Uh, "Dick Tracy" the movie sucked. Another strike against LA! :^)

Archived comment by Susan:
OK, I'll be the dissenter here ... L.A. is such an easy target to stereotype. But I have lived there all of my 35 (!) years, and am not now, nor have I ever been, anorexic, blonde, an aspiring actress/ starlet, or obsessed with (insert one): movie stars, New Age, health food, or any of the other things L.A. is supposedly known for. Nor is anyone I know. The people/places commonly described as "LA" exist mostly in myth, and in reality in a very small percentage of the population. The most vocal criticism comes from people who have never even been near this town. Most of us are normal, down-to-earth folks living normal, down-to-earth lives.

Or at least that's what my agent/psychic friend/colonic irrigation technician told me. :-)

P.S. I think Meg Ryan and Cameron Crowe would be interesting, if she could wrestle him away from Nancy Wilson.

Archived comment by EastCoast:
Thanks Mike. Very interesting.

I've never been further west than Dallas, but judging from the postings on this site I think Thorstein Veblen would probably just walk away, shaking his head, and mumbling something about it being too easy.

Do you think in his spare time that Thorstein Veblen could have been an evil villian? It's not impossible. Would he have had minions?

Archived comment by Mike:
Oh. Sorry, I was trying to keep my comment short (for a change). Thorstein Veblen was an early 20th century economist. Among other things, he coined the term "conspicuous consumption" and wrote a book analyzing American society, much like Jane Goodall studied chimps. He picked apart many of the shallow fashion trends of his day as being empty displays of greed and foolishness. I myself have never *been* to LA, but if most of the people visiting this site are correct, then they need *some* kind of help.
There was a link in my earlier comment, but it's kind of a lot to read if you're not really interested.

Archived comment by EastCoast:
Okay, I'll bite. Who the hell is Thorstein Veblen?

Sounds like some villian from the Dick Tracy comix.

Archived comment by Mike:
Maybe LA could use a critique from a modern-day Thorstein Veblen.

Archived comment by susan:
Was talking to a friend who was stage managing play that C. Flockhart was in.Asked if she realy looked that bad in real life, thinwise. Friend said" Oh, I dont think she's that skinny" There was a pause. "oh" said friend "Ive been in L.A. too long".

Archived comment by Jill27:
Sorry Mike- just doing my duty as a fan of the movie, Gladiator (starring Russell Crowe-- I rented it 3 times this week proving just how pathetic my life has become).

Excuse me, I need to get back to carving my miniature evil emperor Commodus action figure ;-)

Archived comment by Elizabeth:
I usually say that, I just leave out the word "black"......

I have a very low opinion of L.A.

Archived comment by Mike:
Oh. Oops. Yes, I'm an idiot. Maybe I was just befuddled by the sight of his dreamy abs or something. :^)

Archived comment by Jill27:
Cameron Crowe? Thought that was Russell Crowe?

Archived comment by Chel:
I only have one thing to say to all the LA natives, GET OUT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Save yourselves while you still can! Screw protecting loved ones, think 'What they do for me?', not 'What can I do for them?'

Man, I am an unfeeling bitch.

Archived comment by Matt:
LA is a swell place full of messed up (insert expletive here) people who live in an alternate reality that they unknowingly help create. But frankly, I don't give a tinker's cuss about the whole "LA sucks/LA rules" debate.
What the hell was a self-respecting person like our Site Goddess doing at the frickin' Rose Parade? Oy vay.

Archived comment by Mike:
Yeah, but maybe Seattle has slowly been pulled *into* the black hole that is Los Angeles, and can no longer escape its evil influence. It's cultural accretion: LA will eventually engulf the entire US, then all of Planet Earth.
You're well beyond the event horizon when you spend all your time watching "V.I.P." and deeply analyzing the "Meg Ryan/ Cameron Crowe" vs. "Meg Ryan/ Tom Hanks" movie debate. That's when you know you've been sucked in. Those who move away only *think* that they've escaped.
We're all doomed.

Archived comment by Larry Hosken:
Los Angeles can't be a black hole. Former Angelenos keep moving into Seattle and blocking its freeways. Nothing can escape from a black hole, *not even to block Seattle's freeways*.