We Don't Need No Stinkin' Badges...

Back to Los Angeles
Originally uploaded by ilmungo.

I have to say,
last week's issue of LA Weekly was wonderful. I'm not usually the biggest fan of those "Best Of" issues of magazines and newspapers. Of course, I know they are tremendously important to advertisers, and usually the biggest moneymakers of the year for their respective publications. A necessary evil of alt weeklies for certain. But I also lament one of my favorite hidden spots showing up in one of those lists, then suddenly being overrun with people. It's why I'm happy there's no Time Out in LA.

This Best Of issue of the Weekly took a completely different look at the best of the city, and I have to commend them for it. Instead of listing things like "best sushi place" or "best place to have sex in public"...wait a second, there ARE those types in entries in this issue. However, the paper also compiled a series of well-written essays from current and past contributors, and peppered them throughout those various lists. Many have been lifelong Angelenos, while others are recent arrivals. Some no longer live here, and have written laments about not appreciating what the city had to offer until they left. All told, it is the most vivid and readable testament to life in this city today that I have seen in a newspaper. If you are even vaguely curious about what living in LA is like, check it out. Most of the better essays are in the "Encounters", "Memory", "Terrain" and "Mirrors" sections. I doubt the Weekly (or any other alt weekly for that matter) will ever be able to get away with a package like that again.

Even though it is HUGE (the issue was actually bound like a book), I mailed several copies of the paper to friends back in New York, because as a transplanted New Yorker, I have to say that it really nailed the contrasts between the two cities so very well. Also, pointing and clicking on every online entry looking for the essays is a little lame, and the bound original copy (which has wonderful photos) is just so much better. Still, if you can't get ahold of a hardcopy, it's worth the effort to click through the site.