A great book about the birth of Los Angeles based around the intertwining portraits of engineer William Mulholland, director DW Griffith, and evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson. It presents the city as founded upon myth, greed, and man’s desire to conquer nature- which I think fits into the narrative of just about any metropolis in the USA. In New York City, we have a tendency to write off LA as some kind of self-indulgent city of cars and convenience, but there’s a part of me that thinks that LA’s image is far more honest than NYC’s: it more nakedly illustrates our innate desire as humans to exploit the Earth and each other to claim what we think we deserve as individuals. It’s a true illustration of the “every man for himself” brand of American ambition, and, in my opinion, New York is exactly the same, but we’re just a bit better at hiding it.
i’ve done this platonically and romantically recently. and both seem to be working out. i love talking on the phone. we should all talk on the phone more often
if you love a really famous musician or a major studio movie, you can probably find some bizarre promotional item on the internet. they’re often too rare to purchase. but i DID just order a set of madonna russian nesting dolls from the music era, so it can be done
