Month: June 2008

travel

New Mexico

Becca

I am in New Mexico for a few days for a story I am doing, and so far all I’ve seen is Albuquerque. It’s a nice little city, if only for the fact that it lacks the crowded rush of Los Angeles. Leaving LA has really made me realize how much I have fallen comfortably in the ways of that city. Here, people drive slower. They talk slower. It’s a nice change, but it just reminds me of how much I love a real, big city.

But there’s no denying the sky of this place.

I’m off to Navajo Nation for the next couple of days. It will be my first time on Native American sovereign land, so it will be an interesting experience.

travel

Expert Traveler? Heck yes!

Becca

I’ve always dreamt of a world where efficient people like myself were given their own lines. Too often, I am stuck behind the slow, older woman at the grocery store counting out 77 plastic gift bags, and then paying with a check. Or the guy paying in pennies. Or, in the line of all lines, the airport, those strange individuals who seem to have never been to an airport before. They leave their belts on, they leave their shoes on, and they do not remove their laptops from their backpacks. You see, I am a generally efficient person. I don’t have kids, I carry one bag, and I follow rules. I’ve always thought that should be rewarded.

Thank you very much, LAX. Today, on my way to New Mexico to do some reporting, I discovered a new, glamorous invention called the “Expert Traveler” line. It is heaven on earth. No kids. No slow. No penny counting.

I tried to hold onto this amazing experience, because I am sure in no time the inefficient people of the world will discover this treasure (which only uses the honor system to qualify you as an “expert”) and it will become just as snail-like as the rest of the lines.

But for today, I thank LAX for its validation of my lifestyle.

Other

An Ode to Los Angeles

Becca

I have started interviews for my next job (any suggestions welcome!), and today someone asked me why I like Los Angeles. Although I know why, I’ve never really had to explain it to anyone else. On the drive home, I took the picture above, and then I thought about all the reasons I love this big, sprawling city.

Sure, LA gets a bad reputation–too much smog and traffic and superficiality. But if you really invest time here, you learn that even if Los Angeles is called the city of “too much,” it is only because anything you could possibly dream of is at your fingertips.

In Los Angeles you can:
surf in the Pacific Ocean, ski in the mountains of big bear, attend a red carpet movie opening, run in the mountains, go to an art gallery opening, soar on a rollercoaster, get a tour of a movie studio, spy on celebrities as they film their next blockbuster, watch a giant fire, go to Disneyland, walk your dog in Beverly Hills, sleep on the beach, climb the Santa Monica stairs, cruise in a convertible, meet 9 million of your neighbors, be an extra in a movie, ride the eco-friendly ferris wheel, eat fondue, see a Jay Leno taping, buy fresh groceries at a farmer’s market, look at the stars at the Griffith Observatory, ride a motorcycle through Malibu, attend a film festival, get a view of the city lights, do a wine tasting, audition for a play, go to a political rally, march in a parade, run into a star at the mall, ride a horse to the Hollywood sign, see WICKED, lounge in a nightclub, write a novel, buy a map of stars’ homes, walk to the grocery store, drive to Vegas, cruise downtown, live in a loft, live in a mansion, and watch history be made.

Basically, it never stops. Anything you could dream of seeing or doing, you can find it here. The city is endless, and so are the possibilities.

news, politics

Finally…

Becca

No one can say that Obama didn’t fight hard for this. And maybe we can be grateful for Hillary’s stubbornness because she made Obama really fight for this. Finally, he has reached 2,158 delegates, and he is the Democratic Party candidate.

Months ago, I was at an Obama rally in Los Angeles, where Michelle Obama, Oprah and Maria Shriver spoke in support of him. I felt at that moment that I was possibly witnessing something historical. Now I know.

film

The Tragedy of Sex and the City

Becca

I just got back from seeing Sex and the City. I had waited a few days after the release because God knows there is no way I would want to be stuck in the throngs of dressed up women stampeding to the theater on opening night.

I wish I could understand how I felt about the film.

The first half an hour was amazing. Everything familiar and fabulous about the television show which women have missed so much was back–the fabulous optimism, the friendships and the clothes. The amazing, breathtaking clothes.

But then, tragedy stikes. Over and over again. In the most painful of ways. The drama is beautifully displayed. It’s the kind of heart-wrenching sadness that sticks with you even after the film is over.

I figured there were only a couple ways this film could end, in regards to Carrie’s fate. I won’t spoil it for anyone who hasn’t seen it, but when you think about it there are only two ways you can end up: alone, or with someone.

There were so many things that frustrated me about this film. The ending being number one. Also, the way some of the really interesting friends got shafted in their story lines. Charlotte and her husband are nearly absent. Samatha is one-toned in her Malibu lifestyle.

Yet, while a part of me is consumed by frustration, another part feels only jealousy. I am jealous that I haven’t written three fabulous books, that I don’t live in amazing apartment in New York, and that my best friends aren’t close enough to meet up with me for lunch every day. I am jealous that I don’t own those shoes. Or that dress. But we all know this isn’t reality. Who could live in New York like that on a writer’s salary? And that’s what is so great about this story–women love it because it is everything they can never have. And that’s why a part of me will always be pissed off about it.

But regardless of its imperfections, there is no denying that having Sex and The City made for the big screen is long overdue. Everything about it was truly grand. Bigger than ever. And, mostly, better than ever.

 

news, technology

Citizen Journalism- The future?

Becca

Because my current project has a lot of interaction with Huffington Post’s Off the Bus, I’ve had some time to think about this idea of citizen journalism. The theory that normal citizens who don’t practice journalism as their career can report on the news because of their access to events that reports can’t reach.

While I am still apprehensive about the term, there is no denying that some great stories have been discovered this way. Take Obama’s “bittergate.” This was reportorted to HuffPo by Mayhill Fowler, who has never been a professional writer. She’s got an MA, her husband is a lawyer, she’s an open Obama supporter and she’s raised some kids. But her ability to get a story that no one else got is amazing.

Just the other day, she got a shocking interview with Bill Clinton, who goes on a verbal tirade about a Vanity Fair reporter. While Mr. Clinton is known to have foot-in-mouth syndrome, maybe he was more open with Fowler because she doesn’t have the usual reporter aura about her. It doesn’t matter. What does matter is that she got a great quote that many mainstream media sources picked up on.

So, there is a place for this type of truth-sharing. Granted, I don’t want my future job to dissapear before I’ve even got it, but I think we all benefit from this knowledge sharing platform. In this changing world of journalism, flexibility is the key. Time to go do my stretches.