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