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