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