-cvj

Yes it is fantastic! You can see some interiors of it in earlier posts of mine on music….

Gehry’s extension of that region has just been announced…there will be several new buildings added in the block over the road…part of the rejuvenation of the Downtown area with new residences, shops, cafes, restaurants.

Cheers,

-cvj

After seeing pictures on the web, I must say that I would like to see it in real life too.

But it is also true that Los Angeles is less centralized, less walkable, and has more of a car culture and less of a public transportation system than New York City.

All true. Nowhere do I say anything to the contrary.

Cheers,

-cvj

All these things are relative. Of course it is possible to live happily in LA, walk places, take public transit and not have a car. It is probably even possible to do that in Houston! But it is also true that Los Angeles is less centralized, less walkable, and has more of a car culture and less of a public transportation system than New York City. That’s not hearsay, and there is nothing wrong with it. In fact, many people would find it preferable to living in a dirty, chaotic city, working eighty hours a week to afford a tiny, absurdly expensive fifth-floor walkup, constantly being awoken by car alarms, and living in perpetual fear of a cockroach infestation. These are all stereotypes about New York that happen to be true, to a greater or lesser extent.

A nice salon interview on the topic (food snobbery) can be found here: http://www.salon.com/nov96/interview961118.html

-cvj

This is exactly what I’m talking about… more incorrect assumptions based on often-repeated cliches.

Also, you said:

I don’t really think the East coast culture is necessarily European-wannabe, though,

I agree… and said myself that it was a deliberately playful over-simplification…. but that’s also my point. There are so many innaccurate characterizations of LA (examples of which you readily provided above), so I get to use an inaccurate characterization in the other direction just this once….

Cheers,

-cvj

This is a tangent, Clifford, but have you read any of Ruth Reichl’s books? She was a retaurant critic in LA in the early 90′s, and then got hired by the NY Times and worked there for several years. Apparently it was quite shocking and upsetting that she wanted to review “ethnic” restaurants in the Times!

As another example, take food. I’m constantly shocked by people coming here from New York (say) and even after being here for a while say that they can’t find any decent food! In reality, you can’t help but stumble on really excellent food here, ranging from all around the world -including Europe. It is just not organised in the way it might be elsewhere, but it is there….. etc, etc, etc …..

It should be clear -sorry if it is not…I sort of assume people have read some of my other posts too- that I love several of those “European-wannabe” (a deliberately playful and not entirely fair term) cities too! I just don’t think that they need be used as the standard for what consitutes the model of a city, and all other cities judged by that standard. In fact, this post was pointing out that if even if you must define culture to mean “European culture”, you can find it here too in quantity….

All I am doing is swimming upstream a bit by pointing out positive aspects of a city that has so many negative things said about it. By doing so, it does not mean -and nobody should assume- that I am attacking other cities. It is possible to like several models of a city….you just need to keep an open mind. It is not hard.

Cheers,

-cvj

As an East-coast European wannabe, I find it easy to appreciate the Victorian architecture of the Doheny mansion and the European chamber music of Schubert, Shumann and Wolf. I do, however, find it hard to understand why you’re so derisive of this sort of culture in the first half of your post, yet seem so enthusiastic in the second.

I quote:

La Taquiza is located a few blocks north of USC, and serves up heaps of quality Mexican food for clientele ranging from mechanics to MBAs. Positioned at the top of La Taquiza’s substantial menu are the mulitas, complete with registered trademarks. A mulita is fashioned from two handmade corn tortillas, smeared with melted cheese, and topped with a choice of shrimp, steak, chicken or beef and a generous spoonful of guacamole. They also serve an array of salads not seen at many local Mexican eateries, like their Baja seafood salad. La Taquiza also allows patrons to build their own taco with anything from the standard asada beef taco, chicken or chorizo to more authentic Mexican ingredients such as beef tongue or shrimp. Jumbo burritos ranging from veggie to sautéed fish are most popular. A unique inclusion at La Taquiza is the juice bar, which provides a range of fresh-squeezed juices. Prices range from $1.99 to $8. Open Sunday thru Thursday 8:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Friday thru Saturday 8:30 a.m. to 12 a.m. .

-cvj