This blog entry is going to be a departure from my normal style and context. I've decided to dedicate this entry to someone very special to me, without whom my days would be boring. Though no one who does not know her will ever be able to appreciate the depth of her character and the complex person that is Tropicana Malulu ,I thought this list of essential character traits would help those who are not fortunate enough to have her in their life.
The Essential Tropicana
+ likes to build forts
+ enjoys Jameson
+ is currently celibate
+ researches how to preform fish abortions
+ has fish
+ only eats imported Kielbasa
+ lives in a mysterious land filled with snow and crazy people
+ enjoys Jameson a lot
+ is currently looking into being on the Tyra Banks show
+ has considered becoming a madame
+ has done extensive research into pregorexia and drunkorexia
+ loves B.A.D's
+ is an expert on all things day time television related
+ is a professional hermit
+ drinks a lot of Jameson
If you have had the pleasure of knowing Tropicana Malulu please let me kn0w of anything I should add to the list.
Tropicana I hope you read this!
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Friday, October 9, 2009
going for a run
Last night I decided to go running in my neighborhood after work (by decided I mean forgot my gym clothes at home and realized if I went home I would never leave again to go to the gym). I had gone running in my neighborhood before but never at night and not that often so I was not familiar with the routes exactly. Lets just say what ensued was an interesting experience.
I started off fine (or as fine as I can ever be while running), I was going down a pretty main street, things were basically well lit. Let me say now that I was aware that LA has an issue with sidewalk consistency and I don't just mean what it is made out of or how level it is (which is an issue also, see below), I mean they have issues with consistently having sidewalks at all. So perhaps it should not have been as startled when mid stride I realized that I was no longer on the sidewalk, it was gone and I was falling. In a swift move of agility I managed not to fall into the dirt pit that had taken the place of the now nonexistent sidewalk. Ok, I told myself just be more vigilant, sidewalks are an unnecessary luxury I said and kept going. Over the next few blocks I became pretty good at transitioning from sidewalk to busy street to dirt path (seriously though LA, dirt? How did that even get there). After awhile though I was growing annoyed and I could see up ahead that the sidewalk completely disappeared for what looked like forever. I saw a little side street ahead and went for it, those at least usually have sidewalks.
So I quickly crossed the street and walked into what was apparently a scene from Friday the 13th, owing to the complete lack of street lights and the eerie light coming from inside the houses. No problem I thought, now I'll just run a little faster. Which was easier said then done since, yes there were sidewalks here but I think they must have suffered some sort of structural damage in a earthquake at one point since they shot up in weird angles in places and had been patched more times then seemed possible or logical. Right, so I just have to pick my legs up higher when I run to keep from stumbling (hopefully) since I can't see at all what I'm about to step down on. Awesome, I love exercise. Run, run.
What the fuck was that? Oh, you have your sprinklers on, that's cool. I was getting pretty hot. At least that explains that creepy hissing noise.
So at this point I'm sweating, running with my legs kicking up unnaturally high and slightly damp from the sprinkler. In other words having a great time. I start to head back on a much better lit and fairly well sidewalked street, the next time I decide to go for a run I know where to come (ha, I can't even say that is a straight face). I finally get back to my apartment excited that I survived.
Now that the weather in LA is nice I would like to think that I would be doing this running thing more often. But lets be honest that was not fun. And it's not just because running for me is never exactly fun. I'm pretty sure that LA Fitness pays the City of LA to keep the sidewalks and roads a mess. It's all a giant conspiracy to keep people from exercising outside - LA wants its citizen inside running on treadmills like god intended.
I started off fine (or as fine as I can ever be while running), I was going down a pretty main street, things were basically well lit. Let me say now that I was aware that LA has an issue with sidewalk consistency and I don't just mean what it is made out of or how level it is (which is an issue also, see below), I mean they have issues with consistently having sidewalks at all. So perhaps it should not have been as startled when mid stride I realized that I was no longer on the sidewalk, it was gone and I was falling. In a swift move of agility I managed not to fall into the dirt pit that had taken the place of the now nonexistent sidewalk. Ok, I told myself just be more vigilant, sidewalks are an unnecessary luxury I said and kept going. Over the next few blocks I became pretty good at transitioning from sidewalk to busy street to dirt path (seriously though LA, dirt? How did that even get there). After awhile though I was growing annoyed and I could see up ahead that the sidewalk completely disappeared for what looked like forever. I saw a little side street ahead and went for it, those at least usually have sidewalks.
So I quickly crossed the street and walked into what was apparently a scene from Friday the 13th, owing to the complete lack of street lights and the eerie light coming from inside the houses. No problem I thought, now I'll just run a little faster. Which was easier said then done since, yes there were sidewalks here but I think they must have suffered some sort of structural damage in a earthquake at one point since they shot up in weird angles in places and had been patched more times then seemed possible or logical. Right, so I just have to pick my legs up higher when I run to keep from stumbling (hopefully) since I can't see at all what I'm about to step down on. Awesome, I love exercise. Run, run.
What the fuck was that? Oh, you have your sprinklers on, that's cool. I was getting pretty hot. At least that explains that creepy hissing noise.
So at this point I'm sweating, running with my legs kicking up unnaturally high and slightly damp from the sprinkler. In other words having a great time. I start to head back on a much better lit and fairly well sidewalked street, the next time I decide to go for a run I know where to come (ha, I can't even say that is a straight face). I finally get back to my apartment excited that I survived.
Now that the weather in LA is nice I would like to think that I would be doing this running thing more often. But lets be honest that was not fun. And it's not just because running for me is never exactly fun. I'm pretty sure that LA Fitness pays the City of LA to keep the sidewalks and roads a mess. It's all a giant conspiracy to keep people from exercising outside - LA wants its citizen inside running on treadmills like god intended.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Vehicular Exploration: Why it will never work for me
I like having a car, I really do. I just don't like having to drive it. This may seem like a paradox but it's not. I like the convenience, I like being able to just get in my car and go somewhere, I enjoy long drives (as long as they are not long because I'm in traffic). I don't like however having to drive. And in Los Angeles you have to drive. Though the metro is great for a very specific number of destinations it is in no means able to replace having a car. I know because I've spent probably a total of 6 months in Los Angeles without a car. I was able to manage with a combination of buses, the subway and very nice friends. It was not something I would wish to experience again however and the experience cemented in my mind the truth that LA is meant for cars. It was a city designed with driving in mind and any form of public transport have been an after thought. I include walking in this as well, though there are some very beautiful areas to walk around, overall LA is not a great walking city either; at least not as far as getting anywhere is concerned.
There is something about having to drive everywhere that often times makes me not want to go anywhere. I feel there is so much in LA I have yet to explore and the fact that I need my car to do that is discouraging to me. I'm going to blame Boston for this, as my first long term city experience was in a place where you could walk all of Boston proper in a day and the subway was everywhere. Also my proximity to New York while living in Connecticut further established the idea that cities were not for driving. And though while living in Boston most of my roommates did have cars they were not, strictly speaking, necessary (though I loved them when going to the grocery store). And though I'm sure I'm downplaying the fact that while living in Boston I would have loved to have a car at my disposal to go on a road trip or just drive around, I think at the time I did not appreciate the relationship between walking and truly discovering a place.
LA is massive so I know that it would take years to really explore all it has to offer but I feel like my car is more of a hindrance. This is a personal take on the issue as a lot of my friends view theirs cars as an aid to get out and see more things and they would be a lot less likely to explore if they had to use public transportation to do it. But to me driving around a city does not seem like a natural way to get to know a place. Whenever I think about a new place I want to go all the issue that driving brings up (having to get directions, thinking about where to park, probably paying to park, etc) come to mind and the idea starts to seem a whole lot less appealing. I acknowledged that this is my particular issue with driving coming out but driving also creates other casualties, it makes stumbling on a place much more unlikely. When you are driving you usually (though not always) have a destination in mind, it's very difficult to wander while driving and when driving to a specific destination you miss getting to explore things a long the way.
There is something about having to drive everywhere that often times makes me not want to go anywhere. I feel there is so much in LA I have yet to explore and the fact that I need my car to do that is discouraging to me. I'm going to blame Boston for this, as my first long term city experience was in a place where you could walk all of Boston proper in a day and the subway was everywhere. Also my proximity to New York while living in Connecticut further established the idea that cities were not for driving. And though while living in Boston most of my roommates did have cars they were not, strictly speaking, necessary (though I loved them when going to the grocery store). And though I'm sure I'm downplaying the fact that while living in Boston I would have loved to have a car at my disposal to go on a road trip or just drive around, I think at the time I did not appreciate the relationship between walking and truly discovering a place.
LA is massive so I know that it would take years to really explore all it has to offer but I feel like my car is more of a hindrance. This is a personal take on the issue as a lot of my friends view theirs cars as an aid to get out and see more things and they would be a lot less likely to explore if they had to use public transportation to do it. But to me driving around a city does not seem like a natural way to get to know a place. Whenever I think about a new place I want to go all the issue that driving brings up (having to get directions, thinking about where to park, probably paying to park, etc) come to mind and the idea starts to seem a whole lot less appealing. I acknowledged that this is my particular issue with driving coming out but driving also creates other casualties, it makes stumbling on a place much more unlikely. When you are driving you usually (though not always) have a destination in mind, it's very difficult to wander while driving and when driving to a specific destination you miss getting to explore things a long the way.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Warning: this is long and probably boring.
I realized that even after 3 years of living in Los Angeles I still don't consider myself part of the city. It's not that I feel uncomfortable or out of place all the time, I have however yet to feel that I have made this city my own. I always feel slightly outside of the group - that 'group' being the city, I suppose . Being that LA is such a large and diverse city it sounds strange saying that, as there is no one group that defines the city. In a small town it seems it would be easier to have that 'not from around here' feeling. But I feel it in LA nonetheless. I have friends here so it's not a matter of feeling alone - it's something totally different from that. I realize also that it is coming from an inward place not something imposed on me by the people I encounter. Though in this city I am very aware that there are certain places I would feel very unwelcome the general feeling I have is not coming from people it's coming from me.
This realization came to me while at the gym the other day. I analyze people. I watch people while I'm at the gym (often for the purpose of writing blog posts about them). And while I think it is totally normal to analyze people, especially in situations like the gym where people put themselves on display, I realized though that I do it everywhere. Though on a very subtle level; I did not even realize how often I was doing it. And by having that analytical mindset I am in some small way removing myself from the group - I don't think it's possible (or normal) to analyze something that you truly feel apart of. And while the gym might be a bad example since I would desire a natural separate from a 48 year old in the midst of their mid-life crisis, trying to get back their high school football-playing body, I don't know if it is normal everywhere else. Though I can't be sure if I have this feeling because I choose that separation or if it would occur whether I did that or not. I could be blowing the significance of this 'epiphany' way out of proportion. But it did make me think about that tendency that I have, which made me realize that I don't think I ever feel like LA is my city. My life is in no way depressing, which I think this is making it seem to be. I've had a ton of fun these past 3 year but part of me always feels like a long (long) term visitor. Viewing the situations and locations I'm in as an outsider would.
Not sure what to do with this new found discovery. I do know however that I should probably spend more time actually working out when I'm at the gym.
I realized that even after 3 years of living in Los Angeles I still don't consider myself part of the city. It's not that I feel uncomfortable or out of place all the time, I have however yet to feel that I have made this city my own. I always feel slightly outside of the group - that 'group' being the city, I suppose . Being that LA is such a large and diverse city it sounds strange saying that, as there is no one group that defines the city. In a small town it seems it would be easier to have that 'not from around here' feeling. But I feel it in LA nonetheless. I have friends here so it's not a matter of feeling alone - it's something totally different from that. I realize also that it is coming from an inward place not something imposed on me by the people I encounter. Though in this city I am very aware that there are certain places I would feel very unwelcome the general feeling I have is not coming from people it's coming from me.
This realization came to me while at the gym the other day. I analyze people. I watch people while I'm at the gym (often for the purpose of writing blog posts about them). And while I think it is totally normal to analyze people, especially in situations like the gym where people put themselves on display, I realized though that I do it everywhere. Though on a very subtle level; I did not even realize how often I was doing it. And by having that analytical mindset I am in some small way removing myself from the group - I don't think it's possible (or normal) to analyze something that you truly feel apart of. And while the gym might be a bad example since I would desire a natural separate from a 48 year old in the midst of their mid-life crisis, trying to get back their high school football-playing body, I don't know if it is normal everywhere else. Though I can't be sure if I have this feeling because I choose that separation or if it would occur whether I did that or not. I could be blowing the significance of this 'epiphany' way out of proportion. But it did make me think about that tendency that I have, which made me realize that I don't think I ever feel like LA is my city. My life is in no way depressing, which I think this is making it seem to be. I've had a ton of fun these past 3 year but part of me always feels like a long (long) term visitor. Viewing the situations and locations I'm in as an outsider would.
Not sure what to do with this new found discovery. I do know however that I should probably spend more time actually working out when I'm at the gym.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Shopping Carts
I think I'm going to commission a gallery showing the theme of which will be "shopping carts: a los angeles institution" (and by commission I mean post a blog about it since I have no connections in the LA art gallery scene). Before moving to LA I never really gave a lot of thought to the shopping cart - their impact on my life was minimal at best. However three years in LA has changed all that. Angelenos are an industrious people who are not content to see the shopping cart as merely an aid to get items to a checkout stand to them it has a myriad of uses that would put the average shopping cart user to shame. The most obvious of uses of course is to the homeless person who uses it as a portable storage system (this is not limited to LA clearly as homeless all over the country make use of this function). However, Los Angeles is not content to allow the shopping card to be so underutilized. My favorite use for the shopping cart is very simple but also brilliant - the personal take-home shopping cart. Think about it, why would you leave the cart in the store, and then be forced to CARRY your items to you home when you can simply take the cart with you. With minimal effort you can just roll your items right up to the entrance to you apartment. This does however create the issue of what to do with the shopping cart now that you are at your apartment. And leave it to the cleaver people of LA to figure that out. You just leave it outside your apartment, maybe push it to the side of building so it is less likely to be stolen by an envious neighbor. Done. Other uses for the shopping cart include (but I'm sure are not limited to) stroller, dolly, table and though this might be inadvertent, it is no less striking, the lawn ornament.
This is where the art show comes into play. With all these people making use of the shopping cart in so many different ways the shopping cart has become part of the LA landscape and has become an integral part of society. I realized this as I was walking to my car this morning and saw a man stopping to collect shopping carts on the street and loading them into his shopping cart truck (yes, they have trucks designed for this purpose). Now I had seen these trucks driving around before but I had always assumed they were just delivering shopping carts from the shopping cart factory to the stores. I had no idea that it was actually someones job to drive around the city and collect stray shopping carts. Clearly there are a lot of detail that I'm not aware of, like, does he work for a certain store and just collect stolen carts from that one store? Maybe he works for himself and then he sells the carts back to the stores, for a price. Or maybe he works for the city and it is some attempt to beautify the neighborhood (some people are of the mind that shopping carts left on the front lawn of apartment building is not aesthetically pleasing). So I think an art gallery showing where artists are encouraged to reflect on the shopping cart as a muse would yield some amazing results. It's time the shopping cart is celebrated not just in our streets and in front of our apartment buildings but in our art.
This is where the art show comes into play. With all these people making use of the shopping cart in so many different ways the shopping cart has become part of the LA landscape and has become an integral part of society. I realized this as I was walking to my car this morning and saw a man stopping to collect shopping carts on the street and loading them into his shopping cart truck (yes, they have trucks designed for this purpose). Now I had seen these trucks driving around before but I had always assumed they were just delivering shopping carts from the shopping cart factory to the stores. I had no idea that it was actually someones job to drive around the city and collect stray shopping carts. Clearly there are a lot of detail that I'm not aware of, like, does he work for a certain store and just collect stolen carts from that one store? Maybe he works for himself and then he sells the carts back to the stores, for a price. Or maybe he works for the city and it is some attempt to beautify the neighborhood (some people are of the mind that shopping carts left on the front lawn of apartment building is not aesthetically pleasing). So I think an art gallery showing where artists are encouraged to reflect on the shopping cart as a muse would yield some amazing results. It's time the shopping cart is celebrated not just in our streets and in front of our apartment buildings but in our art.
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