On LA

On LA

 

Well, unlike NYC's skyline saturated with skyscrapers, LA is an unsightly urban sprawl, hard to define architecturally. It's a place of contrasts: dynamic yet chaotic; fashionable yet superficial; affluent yet with a lot of struggling wannabes (ordinary people desiring to emulate the lifestyle of the rich and famous).The sanguine attitude during the day soon sinks into a mood of despair at night. LA is like an onion, the more layers peeled, the more pale the heart appears. What LA cares most about is facade, not substance. So, the city lacks a bit of soul. 

 

I've been there several times, short trips though. The first time was in late 1990s and I seemed to like its hedonistic way of life. As time goes by, my further trips found the city in decline almost in all aspects. Now, LA joins the rank of American once glorious but now defunct cities like Detroit. Luckily, LA is financially rescued by the influx of Chinese new immigrants who snatch houses with cash, while Detroit is left slowly bleeding to eventual death. Still, precisely because of this dire situation, LA offers a fertile ground for the literature-minded. I occasionally dream about sitting in a corner cafe on Sunset Boulevard late at night, philosophizing over a glass of whisky, or scribing some juicy thoughts on a notepad, while actors, lovers, hustlers, hookers come in and out......reminiscent of the painting "Nighthawks" by Edward Hopper?

Lostalley