the porous city - other - l.a. |
Los Angeles is where you confront the objective fact that you mean nothing; the desert, the ocean, the tectonic plates, the clear skies, the sun itself, the Hollywood Walk of Fame – even the parking lots: everything there somehow precedes you, even new construction sites, and it's bigger than you and more abstract than you and indifferent to you. You don't matter. You're free.LA residents given to talking about life in the city talk about freedom a lot. Without a cohesive citywide identity or community structure, without a city center in any sense of the word, you don't situate your life in relation to some imagined ur-community or parental figures. You're just there. But I'd add one thing: it's true that the city as a whole cares about nothing. But there are a thousand communities, more, within the city.
Tech
Wearables, AI, Open, PIM, Data, Energy, Android, Storage, Medical, Web, OS, s60, Development, WRX, barcamp, Web analytics, Shopping, Net, RSS, Javascript, Social, Hardware, Business, Product Management, Security, Automobile, a11y, Visual, Crowdsourcing, Mobile, Collaboration, MacOS, Audio
Other
Quizzes, Geography, Travel, Agriculture, Boston, Berlin, Bicycling, Housing, Minnesota, NYC, L.A., Toys, Games, Transportation, Food & Drink, Statistics, California, CrowdFlower, Clothes, Video, Personal care, Friday, Surfing, Feminism, Sports, Politik, History, Activism, Podcasts, Law, San Francisco, Life hacks
Music
Videos, Business, Boston, Labels, Making, Events, Lyrics, Streams, Mixes, House, History, Musicians, Reviews, Shopping, Good tracks, Mp3s, L.A., Mailing lists, Hip-hop, Booking
People
Friends, Exercise, Buddhism, Working with, Life hacks, Subcultures, Weblogs, Heroes, Me, MOTAS, ADD, Stories, Vocations, Health, Gossip, Languages, Meditation, Family, Enemies
Arts
Burning Man, Events, Visual, Spoken Word, Poetry, iPad bait, Sculpture, Outlets, Movies, Literature, Animation, Rhetoric, Comix, Humor, Desktop wallpaper bait
Commerce
Macroeconomics, Investing, Personal services, IP Law, Personal finance, Insurance, Non-profit, International Development, Microfinance, Web, Taxes, Management consulting, Real Estate, Shopping, Marketing and CRM
Design
Algorithmic, Process, Presentations, User experience, Cool, Type, Furniture, Data visualization, IA, Web, Tools, Architecture
Science
Statistics and Data, Cognition, Physics, Psychology, Zoology, Networks, Environment
Travel
Kingdom of Siam, Vagabond '08, Uganda, Kenya