Anyone from LA?

[ada]

I'll be taking a whirlwind trip to LA in the next couple of weeks. Any tips/advice on what to do/see/expect?

[rach n bach]

Expect to see lots of traffic, high gas prices, and a lot of weird people.

I can say that because that's where I live...

RnB

[ada]

Haha, well I'm used to that... tks RnB I'll keep an eye out for you

What's the weather like?

[rach n bach]

You know what I look like right?  See the pic thread about 3/4 the way down the 36th page...

RnB

[ada]

You know what I look like right?  See the pic thread about 3/4 the way down the 36th page...

RnB

Bloody hell 

If I see a chimp with a pistol or a gun toting dude in army fatigues I'll know who it is then.

Or maybe those types are a dime a dozen in LA...

[jre58591]

this is the city i call home. expect lots of traffic, smog, and no parking anywhere. best use a taxi. where will you be? im in downtown every day practically, so you might see me, heh.

as far as weather, its been fluctuating between sunny weather and cloudiness a lot. its generally mild, with the high around 75ºF on average.

[ada]

Not quite sure where I'll be - it's work related and I haven't got an itinerary yet. Will be there a few days enroute to somewhere else.

Rawther excited about it though I must say - my first time in the US.

[ada]

If anyone has any tips for places or ideas that would make an interesting travel story about LA, preferably something unusual or quirky that the tourist books don't cover (for example, a guide to LA tattoo parlours etc),  please feel free to PM me, ta.

[pianistimo]

ok.  drive directly from the airport to chinatown.  in a matter of one hour you will be lost with no place to park and bruce lee waiting at the end of the road.  to escape this - you could turn around in mid-street.  watch out for the sidewalk vendors.  once you are going in the right direction (wherever you are going) start paying attention to the direction of the sun.  it tells you much more than the freeway signs.  it is less difficult to drive than east coast freeways - but the thing is - the truck drivers are just plain mean between la and arizona - so don't go further than san diego.  san diego is nice.  ok.  take a drive THROUGH la - wave at dodger stadium - and head for san diego.  if you don't have time to go that far - how about palm springs?  that's a nice location.

#1 you could get shot in la
#2  you could get your rented car stolen
#3 you could be a victim of identity theft
#4 you could be picked up for looking innocent
#5 you could end up in martin luther king hospital

have you ever been to philadelphia?  well, the idea is to look like you know where you are going.  but everyone knows where you are going ahead of time in la.  you are going to run out of gas.  then you have to pay for parking - but if you park too long - you get towed.  much better to drive through la.

universal studios is a rip-off.  they are continually in 'construction' of something or other and you never get to see what you came for.

[jre58591]

san diego and palm springs are very far from los angeles. and the heat will be intense in palm springs, i could imagine. id say stick with the downtown area and hollywood. theres more than plenty to do in those areas. also, it prevents you from getting lost along the way. and btw, dont listen to pianistimo. it isnt that dangerous here, unless you wind up in south central through some weird occurence.

[pianistimo]

hollywood is for druggies and bad hairdos.  just my opinion.  of course, there's the hollywood bowl (pops concerts) - not sure when that's open. i think in june/july.  there's nothing IN central excepting the jewelry exchange and some restaurants.  i used to go to get good deals on fabric.  and in mid-summer the sidewalk vendors selling jeans and t-shirts for good prices.  if people go buy school clothes there - you can get away with $50-75. for the entire year.  but, i decided not to have the car stolen to get some good clothes.  perhaps i just don't like big cities.  anyways.  people will go to la whether they are told it's dangerous or not.  it's probably not as dangerous as i'm making it out to be during the day.  i wouldn't want to walk around at night. 

if you go to palm springs - there you have REALLy good food and some art shops and if you like getting 'bang' for your buck - go into some of the 'thrift' stores and buy yourself a formal gown.

[ahinton]

the truck drivers are just plain mean between la and arizona - so don't go further than san diego.

You should try you chances with the truck drivers of Italy!

#1 you could get shot in la

On the only occasion I was there, someone was shot on a sidewalk just two metres from where I was walking; I gradually quickened my pace. It was around 1.00 p.m. on a bright day with plenty of people around and, whilst it did cause something of a fracas, one could not help but fell that this was a somewhat common occurrence. I thought "well, at least they missed this time"...

#2  you could get your rented car stolen

That could happen in quite a few twons in UK, too.

#3 you could be a victim of identity theft

Over here it's almost impossible NOT to be one at some point.

#4 you could be picked up for looking innocent

Do you mean in a nice way or in a not nice way?! Just curious. Anyway, what makes you assume that "ada" would necessarily look innocent? - and of what?

#5 you could end up in martin luther king hospital

"I have a coma", as in? I'm sure that "ada" would rather end up in a hospital without those connections - although naturally we hope that she won't end up in one at all.

have you ever been to philadelphia?  well, the idea is to look like you know where you are going.

Like you do when in the throes of your planned London trips?!...

Best,

Alistair

[ahinton]

I'll be taking a whirlwind trip to LA in the next couple of weeks. Any tips/advice on what to do/see/expect?

Expect to find some A'straalians there.

Anyway - enjoy! Hope that assignment will be interesting, too.

Best,

Alistair

[lichristine]

disneyland!

[pianistimo]

or the la zoo.  but, the zoo is kind of passe.  disneyland is definately a must see.  and, knottsberry farm is kinda quaint - but the thing is that some of the rides are rickety.

i'd say the water rides at disneyland. 

also, the coastline of california is so beautiful.  drive out through malibu just for fun.

[ada]

Thanks for the tips but I want something unusual to write about. I want a story about a side of LA that isn't Disneyland, Universal Studies, nothing that's been done to death. People can find that stuff in tourist guides.

You might find this strange but I have absolutely no interest in Disneyland and I don't have the slightest intention of going there.

I want to try and get beyond the usual tourist attractions - unless I can get a fresh or unique angle on them.

So keep the suggestions coming!

[ahinton]

You might find this strange but I have absolutely no interest in Disneyland and I don't have the slightest intention of going there.

I don't find it strange at all!

Best,

Alistair

[jre58591]

if you want something weird, come down to melrose avenue , just east of the famous beverly center and just go walking. you dont even need to shop. youll see some pretty weird stuff.

[cmg]

Ah, forget LA, ada. 

It's a giant, sprawling parking lot . . . nuthin but a smoggy summer camp for New York wannabes.  Everybody there is just dying to get East where the REAL city is.

Besides, Judith Regan (Uncle Rupert's girl-o-rama) is out there now.  That town isn't big enough for the both of you. 

[jre58591]

youll love LA in the spring. its not hot right now either. the coastline in the spring is the best time to come, especially around malibu or, if you have time to drive, down by san clemente (the halfway point between san diego and LA).

[lichristine]

or the la zoo. but, the zoo is kind of passe. disneyland is definately a must see. and, knottsberry farm is kinda quaint - but the thing is that some of the rides are rickety.

knotts berry farm is incredible!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
the halloween night thing i went to there was officially the third-best night of my life

[thalbergmad]

the halloween night thing i went to there was officially the third-best night of my life

I am now interested as to the best 2.

Thal

[pianowolfi]

I am now interested as to the best 2.

Thal

Well we could open a thread "My best night"   

[cmg]

Well we could open a thread "My best night"   

Okay, you're on!  How about the night Martha Argerich insisted I replace her in the Rach3 at Carnegie Hall because she thought I played it much better than she did.   

[pianowolfi]

Okay, you're on!  How about the night Martha Argerich insisted I replace her in the Rach3 at Carnegie Hall because she thought I played it much better than she did.   

CoMedicGenius or true? 

[jre58591]

knotts berry farm is vastly overrated. six flags is way better, both in terms of the rides and halloween events. i hear theyre closing, so go there as much as you can before.

[ada]

Isn't knott's whatsit farm, like, a theme park?

I do not do theme parks 

Seriously though, during the course of my, ahem,  research a colleague who's worked there made the comment that the only way to get to the other side of the road in LA is to be born there.

  

[rach n bach]

See what I mean Ada?  Weird people with vastly differnt oppinions.  Let's sum up the advice given so far:

There is going to be smog

Traffic is horrendous
Traffic is pretty bad
Traffic is not that bad

You will get mugged
You are pretty safe

Go to Knotts Berry Farm
Go to Six Flags
Go to Dinseyland

Go out of town
Stay in town
Go to Chinatown
Go to the Coast

Palm Springs is a good place to go
It's too far away

Stick with Hollywood
Hollywood is for druggies and weirdos

You can get stuff cheap
But the rental car could be stolen
Then agian, the likelyhood of that is no greater than anywhere else

Goodness, it is no wonder people claim that American's are stupid...    Hope you make up your mind.  

RnB

[pianistimo]

ok.  let's put it this way - if ada is confident and sure of herself - nothing's going to happen to her that wouldn't happen randomly to someone untargeted.  but as ahinton put it - you don't know sometimes if people are hit intentionally or just randomly.

happened to hear a smattering of an ad for sex in the city and one woman said - the only '30 something' - unmarried guys in la are the homeless.  i don't think that's true - but there are a lot of 30 something's that look rather lost.  just roaming and trying to regain their identities.  you know - riding skateboards.  they just look idiotic.  riding the elevators up and down.  i mean - there's more to life that waiting for something to happen in la.  everyone wants that big break.  they never see what happens to that 99% that don't make it in the film industry.  and teen moms.  whew.  that's a story. 

la is good for shopping. 

[ada]

Frankly I am more worried about my plane falling out of the sky than being raped and murdered in LA.

[jre58591]

thats the spirit. most rapists would find the australian accent too amusing to do any harm anyways.

[ada]

thats the spirit. most rapists would find the australian accent too amusing to do any harm anyways.

oi fair go 

But thanks for the tip babycakes. If I happen to be confronted by a rapist I will TALK.
 

[pianistimo]

that's scottish, ada.

a refurbished 'blechstien' falling from the sky would be an odd occurrance.

say - ada, i have an idea for a story.  take a LRAD device and set it up somewhere's downtown and point it basically any direction.  just see what happens as you up the freqencies.  it would be a story in the making.  people would be coming up to you asking what you are doing - then you say something like you are an exterminator (kind of like 'dirty harry') and you are performing an extermination.

all those A-rated restaurants?

[ada]

say - ada, i have an idea for a story.  take a LRAD device and set it up somewhere's downtown and point it basically any direction.  just see what happens as you up the freqencies.  it would be a story in the making.  people would be coming up to you asking what you are doing - then you say something like you are an exterminator (kind of like 'dirty harry') and you are performing an extermination.

yeah right I am likely to be arrested and thrown into guantanamo bay for doing that

[pianistimo]

guantanamo bay?  a good looking australian girl?  i doubt it.  the worst that would happen is you would end up missing only to reappear again as a 'lost pianist' that cannot talk and can only play exerpts of long-ago learned piano repertoire to communicate.

[ahinton]

"LA is a great big freeway"
(on which the traffic is horrendous, pretty bad or not that bad, depending on sources)
"Put a hundred down"
(if you've now already been mugged and had it stolen)
"and rent a car"
(that'll get ripped off you the moment you turn your back on it)
...but don;t worry...
"it'll make you a star"
(just like those 99% that Susan probably rather underestimates when telling us that they don't make it in the film industry).

The most fortunate thing about the risks of your "plane falling out of the sky" and that of your being "raped and murdered in LA" is that the likelihood of these both happening at once is exceedingly small, although, not being an A'straalian and never having been or known a rapist, I would have to defer to "jre"'s expertise when he states that, in any case, "most rapists would find the australian accent too amusing to do any harm". Personally, although I've not yet heard yours, "ada", I don't in general terms find australian accents "amusing" so much as merely acceptably Australian - but then I am obviously unqualified to give an authentic LA rapist's point of view on the subject.

Anyway - have a good time there, don't get seduced in an LA church (regardless of the quality of piano therein), remember that LAPD stands for Los Angeles Philharmonic Down-and-outs and bear in mind that, as "rach n bach" says, "all Americans are stupid" which, even though untrue, is something that all self-respecting A'straalians have surely known since well before American Independence (sorry, Susan).

That said, if "babycakes" is an A'straalian term, then...

As a Scotsman, I can tell you that "Disney" disnae do a thing for me...

Best,

Alistair

[ahinton]

guantanamo bay?  a good looking australian girl?  i doubt it.  the worst that would happen is you would end up missing.

Prison overcrowding is almost as much of a problem in Guantanamo Bay as it is across the UK prison "service" these days, so the risk of that is also very samll, methinks. Anyway, I think that you left "Australia" off the end of that last sentence...

Best,

Alistair

[pianistimo]

that is because you never rode the viper, alistair.  i can assure you - you would kiss the ground you came back to - even if you were never an american - after that ride.  wait - that might actually be a ride at six-flags magic mountain.  sorry.  stupid american that i am.

[ada]

"Disney" disnae do a thing for me...

Best,

Alistair

ooh i love it when you talk scottish. A scotts accent drives me wild 

[prometheus]

...high gas prices,..

High gass prices? In the US? Since when?

[pianistimo]

unless we switch to much lighter and smaller cars - we will run on gas.  we're not used to overcrowding.  look at the fiat.  it's gas efficient - but only two babies can sit in the back seat.

there's some new car in the latest popular mechanics.  forget what it runs on.  ok.  it's the obvio.  it is ethanol powered and is designed in brazil.  steven schneider is the designer (part of ZAP - or zero air pollution - a company that steven is CEO of in santa rosa, calif). 

q. why aren't electric cars more popular in the usa?  a. those of influence don't promote them. 

q. what's with the zebra stripes and  neon paint job?  a.  people want to be noticed.  they want to stand out in a crowd.  it's the same for ferrari or rolls-royce drivers.

q. who's buying your cars?  a.  families, people who want to make a difference, people who want to save money, people who want to make money, and everyone in between.

(our little xebra truck is the ideal meter-maid vehicle).

as i see it - if we are all driving freeways - there will have to be certain lanes that truck drivers keep (and do not pass) - otherwise these small fragile cars will be like people to tanks.  can't have hummers and these cars in the same lanes.

[rach n bach]

High gass prices? In the US? Since when?

Dude, that had better be sarcastic.

It is 3 1/2 flippin' dollars a gallon out here in California...

RnB

[ahinton]

ooh i love it when you talk scottish. A scotts accent drives me wild 

But do you think that it would be sufficient defence against potential rapists?...

Best,

Alistair

[ahinton]

q. why aren't electric cars more popular in the usa?  a. those of influence don't promote them. 

Go check out the story of the defunct General Motors' EV1; it disnae make for pleasant reading (I think that a small movie has been made about this, too).

The trouble with most of these biofuels is that their very manufacture is itself deemed to be environmentally damaging.

Best,

Alistair

[ahinton]

Dude, that had better be sarcastic.

It is 3 1/2 flippin' dollars a gallon out here in California...

RnB

So? - it's at least 9 bucks a gallon over here (not that we use bucks or gallons per se, of course)...

Best,

Alistair

[prometheus]

Dude, that had better be sarcastic.

It is 3 1/2 flippin' dollars a gallon out here in California...

RnB

Haha, it is still the cheapest in the western world.

There are places where you pay three times as much, like Alister says.

But, is it even cheaper outside California?

Also, I thought you people stopped using gallons and started to join the rest of the world in using liters.

Anyway, even in the Netherlands, the highest gas prices in the world, one still plays less of it than its actual value. Even after adding 75% of taxes. It took the sun millions of years to change up this energy. Once it is used it is gone forever and we have to wait millions of more years to get the same energy.

[cmg]

Ada, hate to hijack this thread -- which has already been hijacked at least twice -- but getting back to the original topic:

DO NOT MISS "Pianistimo's Pole Dancing Palace" in West Hollywood!  It's stuff like this that really makes America great!! 

[cmg]

CoMedicGenius or true? 

    I'm going to get Martha to answer this question for you.  She'll be posting soon on my behalf (screenname: "dirtydigits."  Just PM her.)

[pianistimo]

what?!  pianowolfi - you should know by now that i don't even own a pole -excepting the radon vent pipe in the basement.  do not know how to pole dance (although my husband might like it if i did - but he won't let me take lessons - so how am i supposed to learn?) and to add insult to injury have had a broken leg that recently healed enough to barely walk on.  i mean - i can't even run across intersections when the light turns red anymores.  i have to totally rely on cars to wait for me.  if that sounds like i would OWN a pole dancing studio - well, fantasize away.

btw, i was watching 'model body parts' last night - and some foot model says that age doesn't matter when you just model one part or the other.  i don't know why i am telling you this.  but i did look at my hands and think - hmm.  i could make $3000 a day with these.  they still look good because i use them a lot and they aren't wrinkly or anything.  piano playing helps you have youthful hands. 

[cmg]

what?!  pianowolfi - you should know by now that i don't even own a pole -excepting the radon vent pipe in the basement. 

btw, i was watching 'model body parts' last night - and some foot model says that age doesn't matter when you just model one part or the other.  i don't know why i am telling you this.  but i did look at my hands and think - hmm.  i could make $3000 a day with these.  they still look good because i use them a lot and they aren't wrinkly or anything.  piano playing helps you have youthful hands. 

Pianistimo, stop picking on pianowolfi!  It's me.  cmg.  I tipped "ada" off about your Pole Dancing Palace in West Hollywood.  Don't be so shy.  I should also tell her about your Tambourine Repair Shop on Melrose.

And forget hand modelling.  I swear, you'll come up with anything to avoid practicing.