Testimonials from "out there" (the blogosphere) on L.A. and L.A. traffic:
I have some road rage inside of me. Traffic, especially in Los Angeles, is a pet peeve of mine.
- Katie Holmes
You don't believe me, do you? My little counter on the right tells me that, so far, since I put in the counter, 160 people from 17 countries have viewed this blog. The great bulk of them-- 130 - from the U.S. And most of you, especially those of you from overseas, are probably going, "nah! it can't be that bad! He's just exagerating! Just ranting and raving!"Well, guesswhat? It's time for some testimonials! No, not about this blog, but about L.A. traffic! I'd like you to hear the voices of others echo what I've been saying. Also, it'd be good for you to hear what I've been saying in different words (my style can be a tad "academic", "intellectual" - if you know what I mean - or borderline "free-lance journalistic" sometimes and it may not be registering with everybody. These people out there speak the real vernacular! :-). If nothing else, I think you deserve a break from my "voice."
So let's hear other voices "out there" say it like it is lest someone accuses me of "L.A. bashing" or "California bashing" or "America bashing"!
Also, my friend Steev is going to be taking pictures. And you know what that means! "A picture is worth a thousand words!" (uh-oh! Are you ready?)
Testimonials from the blogosphere on L.A. and L.A. traffic:
These comments have been edited for length and relevancy only. All emphasis (bold, italics) is mine. Feel free to follow the links to their original source and read the whole comment in its original format. (And needless to say, all comments are those of the individual authors and are not the responsibility of italianesco. Cool?)
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Lele from Houston, TX had this to say on her myspace .com blog
Monday, May 15, 2006
Los Angeles... A Curious Place...
I lived in L.A. for about 5 years or so. I left in '99, but when I go back, it still feels like home in many ways. [...]
Last year, I traveled to L.A. several times, and I am wondering how the land of all kinds of insanity has become so much more irrational. [...]
I am trying to reconcile in my head how L.A. can go on... I mean that. It's hard to explain, but here's trying. Everyone knows that L.A. holds the ingredients of an Apocalypse: fires, floods/mudslides, violence, earthquakes, El Nino... [...]
Since I left, traffic commute times have quadrupled - I am dead serious - quadrupled since 1999. At the same time, real estate prices have virtually matched that. What is going on? [...]
This city needs some serious re-planning. I haven't checked on whatever happened to the subway they tried to build (maybe finally did) since the huge sink hole on Sunset swallowed a car passing by in the initial construction stages that created - guess? - more riduclous traffic... Anyone wanting to move there (especially with a family) has to figure out how to live, work, and educate your kids in the same neighborhood (and I mean within blocks - maybe even walking distance). [...]
Why I am thinking about this now? Because I just got off the phone with the lovely concierge at a hotel in Hollywood where I will be for the next several days. We vented; so I vented here. Guess I wasn't done with the conversation when it ended. ;)
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Mike (orange_appled) from New Orleans had this to say on his livejournal.com blog
Still, there were two layovers I almost wanted to put, just because they were so memorable. The first was NYC. [...]
The other was my layover in L.A. The image of all that smog and all that traffic was horrendous. Eight lane highways with cars rushing (and the pollution they cause was so evident.) Just on that image alone, I do not want to visit Los Angeles, though I know there's a lot of positive things to be said for the city.
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Bob, a political activist and webdesigner from LA, had this to say on his polizeros.com blog
Musings on politics: Anti-war, California, and otherwise
May 14, 2006
Auto dependence: it can’t last
Category: gas prices — Bob @ 6:49 am
On Thursday, I was forced to drive in the Westside of L.A. during rush hour, an area where I lived in for 15 years until moving four years ago. The traffic, which was bad then, was appalling. A drive which normally takes fifteen minutes took nearly an hour. All my sneaky shortcuts, the ones that used to be traffic-free, were bumper to bumper.
People I asked said, yeah, that’s what traffic is like now. If, like me, you’d rather be set on fire than drive in such traffic and deliberately organize your day so you don’t, then when forced to do so every six months or so, you can easily see how hideous and dysfunctional Westside traffic has become. And how it continually worsens, never gets better.
Jim Kunstler at Clusterfuck Nation has any number of wondrous rants on this subject, on how U.S. over-dependence on the automobile coupled with decreasing oil supply and rising prices will, sooner rather than later, create massive social dislocation and chaos.
But the problem is not going away. It’s not five or ten years down the road — it’s here, now. We’re in the zone. We’re entering a world of hurt. The pain will ebb and flow, as the pain of a fatal illness ebbs and flows over the days. The price of oil and gasoline will ratchet up and down, but along a discernable upward trendline.
Can we bust out of this narrow tunnel of fantasy? Can we imagine living differently? Can we turn more fruitful imaginings into action before the American scene becomes a much more disorderly place?
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Carmen had this to say on her myspace .com blog
before you get rachel's version here's mine...
Current mood: sleepy
the guy on the motorcycle was weaving in and out of traffic. he was doing what motorcyclists do when traffic is at a complete stop. the weaving between 2 lanes to pass cars. L.A. traffic is horrible and i was just trying to get from one lane into the next and this jerk comes out from nowhere and we barely miss each other by a good 2 inches. i stare in complete shock and he's giving me dirty looks because i dared to move into "his" lane as he tried to pass cars by speeding through [see our post WHY L.A. traffic sucks: L.A. drivers' "sense of entitlement..."]. he continued to stare back at me as he flew by and when he decided to pay attention to traffic again it was too late. he and his bike bounced off the back of the car in front of us and he landed on his feet with his helmet still attached to his head. we just stayed there watching the whole thing and trying to make sure he was okay but it looked like his pride was the only thing wounded. he looked annoyed, shook his head, looked at the other driver and then picked up his bike. she looked back at him made sure he was okay, gave him a peace sign and drove off. he took off and i still sat there, took in those 2 minutes and then took off also. i guess it was just another day in L.A. traffic because no one else seemed to give a crap.
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Blakely had this to say on her myspace .com blog
Friday, May 12, 2006
One for the road, two for the show. Get ready, traffic!
Hi guys -
I'm reporting from D.C. I'm on location to find a place to move in a few weeks. Seen some interesting stuff. Traffic on the DC area is nuts. It has to be worse than L.A. I mean it took me an hr and a half to go 30 miles today. [...]
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italianesco comments:
Is that possible? Can traffic anywhere be "worse than L.A."? Apparently so! Lump o* Shea* seems to concurr and says that "well actually the traffic in maryland is worse, check the stats!" See below!
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Lump o* Shea* had this to say on her myspace.com blog
[12 May 2006 | Friday] 4:52 PM - i'm going going...back back... to cali cali...
and i'm so excited. [...] i need a vacation, and i need the beach.... [...]
i have often dreamed of moving back to california, but well it's just not the type of place i would want to live. i love living in a big city - but l.a. is just too much... AND ALL THAT DAMN TRAFFIC! well actually the traffic in maryland is worse, check the stats! [...]
the superficiality (is that a word?) of los angeles is just a bit much for me, but it's one of - if not my FAVORITE city to visit... i love it there... so loose & carefree! everybody fits in somewhere & that's great. that kinda place i love - but it's just too much of a beautiful people place... too much cookie cutter-isms... i mean DON'T GET ME WRONG, that's everywhere (ESPECIALLY BALTIMORE) but ...ahh i don't know... i just don't wanna live in l.a. - end of story.
i can't wait to get there.
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This consultant Harris had this to say on his blog Codename: CATALYST
The Countdown
Filed under:Uncategorized — posted by harris on May 12, 2006 @ 8:54 pm
Alright - here’s the plan …
I plan on having a very informative teleseminar free of charge [...]
Oh and btw - I’m still in Los Angeles on vacation. Trying to squeeze in friends, family, fun and keeping CATALYST moving all at the same time is pretty challenging (especially with the wonderful traffic situation in L.A. - whew!) .....
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This gamer Joel, had this to say on his Joel's Press Hotel Press Room Mini-Blog after attending a weekend convention in L.A.
Joel's Press Hotel Press Room Mini-Blog
Hey, everybody! What a week—and...
Thirty dollars of parking later... You can stop worrying: I made it back to the convention center. Of course, while I was braving Las Angeles traffic, our roughneck Kotaku team was putting up lots more stories and video, [...]
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italianesco comments:
Very nice turn of phrase there, Joel: "...braving Los Angeles traffic" as in "braving the elements."
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Well? Do you believe me now?
Wait 'til you see the pics!
Tomorrow we lighten up with some funny thing on L.A. that's being making the rounds on myspace.com. A lot of it is about L.A. traffic... Enough of WHY it sucks and what we can do about it. Tomorrow we LAUGH about it...
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Photo: collage by italianesco: "angelenos" face Carmen, Lump o* Shea*, Blakely, Bob, and Lele.
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Make it viral. Make it vital...
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