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
WRX, Crowdsourcing, Android, PIM, OS, MacOS, RSS, Audio, Net, Open, barcamp, Storage, Data, Collaboration, s60, Hardware, Development, Energy, AI, Product Management, Security, Web, Mobile, a11y, Visual, Javascript, Web analytics, Wearables, Business, Medical, Social, Shopping, Automobile
Other
Podcasts, Geography, Politik, Personal care, Games, Food & Drink, Quizzes, Minnesota, San Francisco, Clothes, California, Toys, Feminism, Activism, CrowdFlower, Bicycling, Travel, Law, Statistics, Life hacks, Berlin, Housing, Transportation, Sports, Surfing, History, Friday, NYC, L.A., Video, Boston, Agriculture
Music
Musicians, Making, Streams, Lyrics, Business, Mailing lists, Shopping, Boston, Events, Good tracks, Booking, Videos, History, Mixes, Reviews, Mp3s, Hip-hop, L.A., Labels, House
People
Enemies, Me, Health, MOTAS, Vocations, Heroes, Family, Meditation, Working with, Languages, Stories, ADD, Subcultures, Weblogs, Exercise, Friends, Gossip, Life hacks, Buddhism
Commerce
IP Law, Shopping, Real Estate, Microfinance, Personal finance, Management consulting, Web, Personal services, Macroeconomics, Insurance, Taxes, International Development, Non-profit, Marketing and CRM, Investing
Arts
Poetry, Rhetoric, Spoken Word, Comix, Desktop wallpaper bait, Outlets, Events, Burning Man, Movies, iPad bait, Sculpture, Literature, Humor, Visual, Animation
Design
Data visualization, Web, Architecture, User experience, Cool, Presentations, Type, Furniture, IA, Algorithmic, Tools, Process
Science
Zoology, Networks, Psychology, Cognition, Physics, Environment, Statistics and Data
Travel
Vagabond '08, Kenya, Kingdom of Siam, Uganda