One day, bitches: the future of the Los Angeles Metro

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I take surface streets to work!

Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 22:36 (nineteen years ago) link

All I can really say is that in GTA: San Andreas, the EAST side is way more fun. I realize that this has no bearing on real life, but still...

the D Double signal (nordicskilla), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 22:36 (nineteen years ago) link

and fwiw the knitting factory is not in a "mini-mall" but in the Galaxy movie theatre thing thats still being rebuilt

Vichitravirya XI, Wednesday, 15 June 2005 22:37 (nineteen years ago) link

i don't think i've done one mission, i just hop on a sanchez and head for the hills.

gygax! (gygax!), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 22:37 (nineteen years ago) link

my favorite restaurant in LA is in a mini-mall!

gygax! (gygax!), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 22:38 (nineteen years ago) link

See!

Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 22:38 (nineteen years ago) link

if anyone saw that Thirteen,/i> movie, thats where the family goes when the 13 year old girl slips away onto the surrounding seedy hollywood streets (ie, where i live)

dean, you wouldn't know anything abt racism would you? i hope your burrito gives you good culture

Vichitravirya XI, Wednesday, 15 June 2005 22:39 (nineteen years ago) link

gygax, What is it???

Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 22:39 (nineteen years ago) link

gygax, why must you celebrate your ignorance towards videogames so brazenly?

the D Double signal (nordicskilla), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 22:39 (nineteen years ago) link

"mini-mall"
"shopping center"
"whatevs"

something about dan aykroyd coming out of burritoville (deangulberry), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 22:40 (nineteen years ago) link

I thought gygax plays that one game.

Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 22:40 (nineteen years ago) link

The one that's a treat.

Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 22:40 (nineteen years ago) link

dean, you wouldn't know anything abt racism would you? i hope your burrito gives you good culture

haha what?

something about dan aykroyd coming out of burritoville (deangulberry), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 22:41 (nineteen years ago) link

The Knitting factory is totally in a mall. I remember when that mall used to be just a complete ghost town.

And why on earth would I ever be on the 405? I never go east of the PCH.

walter kranz (walterkranz), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 22:41 (nineteen years ago) link

I thought gygax plays that one game.

The one that's a treat.

He does!

the D Double signal (nordicskilla), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 22:41 (nineteen years ago) link

And as of yet, he has not taken me up on my offer at a Fifa soccer challenge.

the D Double signal (nordicskilla), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 22:43 (nineteen years ago) link

x^n-post re: Los Angeles: Buying The Concept Of Security

Mike Davis to thread.

V, it's true that this is a well-established meme. I think the issue is that it doesn't line up with many Westsiders' lived experience (e.g., of paying mortgage-level rents to live in nondescript-to-grotty 1beds with shitty carpets in neighborhoods where cool, strong women still feel safer driving two blocks than walking after dark).

LA's recent Jiffy-Pop style real estate bubble exaggerates the effects (incl. gentrification), but the notion of Fortress Westside does seem to lose a bit of currency when we step outside the sociology and urban planning departments onto the mean streets south of Sunset.

There are probably more "gated communities" up the 101 than there are between Sunset and Ventura. I guess what I'm saying is, those gates have always made more sense metaphorically (incl. to Thousand Oaks homebuyers) than in real life. Hence the Concept of Security, but hardly the thing itself.

NIMBYism mostly has to do with noise and inconvenience, and while it's true that wealthier communities have always had the resources to (perhaps frivolously) fight development tooth and nail, once the Beverly Hills' of the world discover a particularly effective legal blocking tactic, the Bellflowers and Gardenas are just as quick to take it up. Which is why we ain't gonna be gettin' any more freeway any time soon...

rogermexico (rogermexico), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 22:47 (nineteen years ago) link

I will gut you like a fish!

My favorite LA restaurant is Urasawa.

I am playing Pro Yakyu Spirits 2004 Climax right now, it's unbelievable.

gygax! (gygax!), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 22:48 (nineteen years ago) link

Do you have that drumming game? Have you played Super Monkey Ball? It's Japanese!

the D Double signal (nordicskilla), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 22:52 (nineteen years ago) link

xpost
$250/person! I need to find someone to "treat" me!

Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 22:53 (nineteen years ago) link

Wow, I just read about Urasawa, hoping I was getting a good restaurant recommendation. Maybe someday.

walter kranz (walterkranz), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 22:58 (nineteen years ago) link

I am *STILL* up for Urasawa.

something about dan aykroyd coming out of burritoville (deangulberry), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 22:58 (nineteen years ago) link

You can take me when I'm in town. I *might* get the tip.

the D Double signal (nordicskilla), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 22:59 (nineteen years ago) link

Vik, in the end all I'm saying is that the "West Side" is hardly some razor-wire bounded monolith. It comprises countless neighborhoods, socio-economic and ethnic groups and it seems like you're making generalizations based on a few very specific areas, few of which are actually even "gated."

Or, Roger completely OTM.

Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 23:02 (nineteen years ago) link

Also, I don't usually consider myself "West Side" although others are free to disagree.

Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 23:03 (nineteen years ago) link

Um, *cough,* so we all still on for a Friday FAP? ;-)

Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 23:07 (nineteen years ago) link

The Knitting factory is totally in a mall.

very true. also my first impression.

youn, Wednesday, 15 June 2005 23:21 (nineteen years ago) link

What would you do
If I punked your whole crew?
Would you run like a bitch from me?
Niggaz don't test
Cause we come from the west
Yes the W-S to the C
Westside!
Westside niggaz
Fuck everybody that used to be down
That ain't down no mo
Y'all niggaz ain't from the best side
Y'all don't know how we puts it down
Trick ass motherfuckers

Let's make it happen, nigga, fuck rappin I'm bellin
With three time felons, nigga, who you tellin?
Doug Lou Ellen that a fool sellin
Thirty-six ounces what that amounts is
A whole chicken finger licken is the rumor
Catch a tumor you say I'm dickin my consumer
Suede Puma's as I walk down Florence
With warrants that don't go to court in Torrance
Tonight I'm buzzin thought I wasn't
Mack 10 and W.C. is like my blood cousins
Eleven strikes from armed robbery to stolen bikes
A nigga likes your motherfuckin Nikes

I shift gears when I see tears
Fuck a record, fuck a movie
I rack my uzi
On boosy niggaz that pretend to be friend to me
We the dopest niggaz on Hennessy in the industry
I did a lick well
I'm in a thick cell
Gold teeth, two motors and pig tails
And when I hear Westside Connection
I get the fuckin erection

So, fuck what you saying, fuck who you tellin
I'm only bellin with some three time felons
Nya, fuck what you saying, fuck who you tellin
I'm only bellin with some three time felons

Rollin till the wheels fall off
A nigga rollin till the wheels fall off
Westside rollin till the wheels fall off
A nigga rollin till the wheels fall off

something about ice cube getting an erection (deangulberry), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 23:22 (nineteen years ago) link

That song is a paean to land ownership and gated communities.

I shift gears when I see tears (deangulberry), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 23:25 (nineteen years ago) link

I think the Galaxy mall was part of an earlier attempt to revive Hollywood Blvd. but it failed dramatically. For years it sat there pretty much empty apart from the movie theater and I think the Hollywood Entertainment Museum. I guess the presence of the Knitting Factory and the strange multi-level outdoor architecture kind of make it feel less like a strip mall though.

walter kranz (walterkranz), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 23:26 (nineteen years ago) link

I've seen a number of excellent shows there.

Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 23:28 (nineteen years ago) link

hahaha. this thread has been entertaining me all day. thanks guys.

and for the record, youd have to pay me to get me to go to the 'west side'. its hard enough to get me to go to hollywood, let alone onto or past the strip. ive been to the beach one time since ive lived here (2 years). i totally prefer the lifestyle, the restaurants, the venues, the weird hole-in-the-walls, the people, the culture, and the safety of echo park/silverlake. yes, thats right...saftey.

im sure that some of you will argue, but from personal experience, i feel safer on the east side. sure, theres...well, lets call them 'riff-raff' (for lack of a better or non-PC word) on the east side, but there are far more crazies in the hollywood area (i dont know about santa monica or venice, cause i never go there). anyway, anyone ive ever encountered late at night on the east side has been relatively easy to steer clear of, get rid of, or ignore. in general they have beef with their people and wont bother ya if you dont start shit with them, ya know?

anyway, thats my nickel for the day.
oh, and hi. im new. and thats the last time ill admit that. ;)

shh! (wide-eyed), Wednesday, 15 June 2005 23:59 (nineteen years ago) link

How do!

Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 16 June 2005 00:00 (nineteen years ago) link

shh!, I'm new too, and lazy. But I WILL introduce myself on the introductions thread, I swear.

I'd be tickled to meet y'all at a FAP anywhere from the beach to downtown, but sadly I'm booked Friday. Now Saturday...

As long as it's not in the South Bay. Don't even get me started on the South Bay... ;-)

rogermexico (rogermexico), Thursday, 16 June 2005 00:28 (nineteen years ago) link

Vik, I'm curious how long you've lived in LA because ideas of what the center of LA is vary greatly over the years. And it's so personal. There's also a huge difference between west los angeles (which is what i've considered westside) and west hollywood. And then there's the gangsta definition which would be way south of both of these and is light years away from any westside descriptions here.

i think the eastside-centric attitude seems a very recent development starting with the the hipster influx into east hollywood in the 90's and probably affected by hyper-inflated real estate values. i mean those same people who won't go east of western now lived (or would have lived) in miracle mile in the early 90's.

here's a useful map i found of LA city... http://www.losangelesalmanac.com/LA/lamap2.htm
note there are so many unofficial names and names post offices use or don't use. ie. if you live in northridge. you would say you live in northridge and write that as your address (even though it's LA city). if you live in silverlake you'd say you live in silverlake, but not address letters there. and places like miracle mile or larchmont are just traditionally known names not really recognized anywhere.

lolita corpus (lolitacorpus), Thursday, 16 June 2005 03:29 (nineteen years ago) link

No more sandals?

please no

kyle (akmonday), Thursday, 16 June 2005 03:38 (nineteen years ago) link

or please, yes, rather. or just please.

kyle (akmonday), Thursday, 16 June 2005 03:38 (nineteen years ago) link

wow the distortion levels on here are going crazy

I NEVER CALLED THE WESTSIDE A FORTRESS

I WAS JUST TRYING TO SAY THAT THE WESTSIDE COMMUNITIES HAVE REPEATEDLY VOTED AGAINST THE METRO LINE BECAUSE OF RACIAL / SOCIO-ECONOMIC FACTORS OF NIIMBY-ISM BECAUSE YOU SEEMED TO BE "OH-SO-OFFENDED" BY THIS NOTION, SPENCER

I'D LIKE TO SEE SOMEONE DISPUTE THIS WITH FACTUAL INFORMATION WITHOUT TRYING TO TWIST MY WORDS, ACCUSE ME OF MAKING "GENERALIZTIONS," OR FUCKING CHANGE THE TOPIC AGAIN OKAY THX BYE


and im only going to fap if its on my damn balcony 4 now

Vichitravirya XI, Thursday, 16 June 2005 04:21 (nineteen years ago) link

I'll only go to the west side of your balcony.

walter kranz (walterkranz), Thursday, 16 June 2005 04:23 (nineteen years ago) link

Lolita OTM about neo-east-side Silverlake hipster pride.

walter kranz (walterkranz), Thursday, 16 June 2005 04:24 (nineteen years ago) link

No fair, V - I was working from the paper you posted!

"Los Angeles's walled communities provide professionals from the real estate, entertainment and technology industries with an escape from the problems of the disenfranchised that lie beyond their well protected enclaves -- with tall gates, private security forces and 24-hour a day electronic surveillance."

How many can you balcony hold?

rogermexico (rogermexico), Thursday, 16 June 2005 04:24 (nineteen years ago) link

Vic, about the metro line votes, I was trying to look this up but couldn't find any information. I'm quite ignorant of the recent political history of LA public transportation. Is there any good reading on the subject you could recommend?

x-post I didn't read the big article you posted upthread but I'll look at it now to see if that answers my question.

walter kranz (walterkranz), Thursday, 16 June 2005 04:28 (nineteen years ago) link

lolita i've lived here for almost 7 years, from around "the ghetto" of south central to hollywood and funnily enough i live near relatively near la brea NOT silverlake etc

roger i posted that just to demonstrate the history of racial segragation here

whats just making me want to tear my hair out is how adamant everyone on this thread is being in completely DENYING what has already passed into history, and what is common knowledge.

its like...okay:

the encyclopedia is wrong, spencer / ile is right
the local times and alt weeklies are wrong, spencer chow / ile is right
all the pro-metro activist groups - which can be contacted online, try yahoo (im a member of that yahoo group) are wrong, spencer chow / ile is right


this is total madness and i dont know why im bother putting up with this thread. its only making my blood boil

Vichitravirya XI, Thursday, 16 June 2005 04:30 (nineteen years ago) link

im going to see batman begins. see u guys later when ive cooled off!!

Vichitravirya XI, Thursday, 16 June 2005 04:32 (nineteen years ago) link

you're citing an online encyclopedia that anyone can edit! and activist groups? PLEASE

I shift gears when I see tears (deangulberry), Thursday, 16 June 2005 05:20 (nineteen years ago) link

I'd be tickled to meet y'all at a FAP anywhere from the beach to downtown, but sadly I'm booked Friday. Now Saturday...

Ah, ya punk, missing out on Friday. But fear not, Arthur the Very Good is DJing on Saturday, and I'm frankly tempted to stay in LA for that after the Friday FAP and all. We'll see!

Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 16 June 2005 05:25 (nineteen years ago) link

the thing is Vic, is that people are really really really really sensitive about places they grew up in. you can't talk about neighborhoods without affecting people. the fact is, spencer was born here. I was born here. it's our home. I lived in chatsworth when it was 213, my mom lived in 'mid-city' west when her number started with WEbster and my grampa lived in boyle heights when his number had only 5 or 6 digits. claiming seniority or authenticity is lame, but this is one of the few things where that's what it's all about!!! i mean we're talking character/traditions of city and you're saying because you've read some stuff and came here for college, your ideas are more 'right' than the resident's own stories and perceptions? it just sounds so arrogant and is no help to your (perhaps interesting and non-anger-inducing) ideas about transportation. i mean what if i spent a few years in another country and started lecturing them on the facts about where they live?

true, the metro line is a big mess and it sucks and it's unfortunate we don't have a transportation system and traffic is becoming catastrophic. but you can't just casually say 'i hate the fucking WESTSIDE so much' (and then say 'Spencer I don't hate the Westside' to what? try to back out of irresponsible stereotyping?) and not expect some shit. i mean i like some of your ideas on other threads, but Spencer's right in saying you're all over the place on this one.

lolita corpus (lolitacorpus), Thursday, 16 June 2005 05:51 (nineteen years ago) link

...this is like one big ugly break-up. I can't wait for Vik and Spencer's mind-blowing make-up thread.

giboyeux (skowly), Thursday, 16 June 2005 06:12 (nineteen years ago) link

I really don't think that trying to pull rank is any way to settle this.

Remy (x Jeremy), Thursday, 16 June 2005 06:19 (nineteen years ago) link

There is no way for this to be settled. LA threads are always one big argument that never gets settled. IT'S HOW WE ANGELENOS DO IT.

I shift gears when I see tears (deangulberry), Thursday, 16 June 2005 07:18 (nineteen years ago) link


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