This past weekend I visited Real America again. Though not exactly Real America, actually it was quite the opposite. But more real than the regular day to day.

I spent the weekend in Los Angeles and noticed a few things I'd like to share.

+ LA really is the modern American city- Much of it was built-up in the mid 20th century, so it reflects our modern car culture and our free-wheeling sense of economy and space.

I was impressed as how much stuff and space there was. I can understand why there is a significant creative element there. Housing is cheap, governance is stretched thin and the weather is always perfect. It's like clay for people to mold themselves around.

+ Style- It's not too easy for guys to dress nicely there and be outside. Either you dress nicely under the assumption you will be in air conditioning all day, or you dress with the assumption you'll be in the sun for a while. But the back-and-forth can make it hard to plan outfits. Or maybe I'm just not use to it yet.

+ Vagine- Was told by two sources that all the women in their 20s and early 30s shave themselves completely down there. This appears to be true based on a sample size of one. But they were shocked that women in NY don't go totally bald.

+ Car cleaning- I couldn't help but notice a lot of clean cars. There were plenty of filthy cars, but there seemed to be little middle ground between cars that clearly get regular washing and cars that haven't been washed since Clinton was in office.

+ The limits of car culture are very evident- Weekend traffic jams, total gridlock and the inability to travel more than five miles without massive car congestion. It's clear the infrastructure to move people around is continually at capacity. The place is ripe for a real, robust rail and bus network. But it's probably too late for that given the whole state and city being bankrupt. Plus the general inertia once a place is established.

+ Good food- Like many coastal places, there is easy access to quality ingredients. Had some really nice meals. I would assume it's cheaper to start a restaurant in LA than NY, and yet LA doesn't have as vaunted of a restaurant scene in the popular imagination. Curious.

Parts of this post were made whilst breaking Rule 12.