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