Vin Diesel, and his popularity, is one of the great mysteries of our time.
He’s a lunkhead. A big, bald, dumb lunkhead. He’s been in such movies as “Pitch Black,” “The Fast and the Furious,” and “XXX.” He was also the voice of the title character in “The Iron Giant,” which is pretty much the only respectable movie he’s been in.
Basically Hollywood has been facing an action-hero void for several years now because Arnold, Sylvester and Bruce are all too old. So they found this guy.
No one is quite sure where he came from. My theory is that he just started crashing Hollywood parties, where people would ask, “Who the hell are you?” and he would say, in his dumb voice “Derrrr… I’m Vin Diesel!”
Natually, no one could forget a name as absurd as Vin Diesel, so he started getting “mentioned” and it’s all been downhill from there. Or maybe not… his last film, “A Man Apart,” was a massive flop.
Call me milquetoast (you wouldn’t be the first) but I wouldn’t worry too much about being overly shocked about things in LA. You still have the conservative folks in OC, the more liberal folks in Hollywood, and West LA is still conjestion hell. I go to West LA only when absolutely necessary. Rent will be higher than when you left, of course, depending on where you wish to live and how safe and clean you wish it to be.
Gas is anywhere from near $2 to over $2.50. Again, depending on grade, neighborhood and proximity to a freeway.
I don’t smoke so I can’t help you with cigarette prices but – I can’t believe I’m about to say this – find a friend with a Costco membership. Buying in bulk has got to be cheaper. If you want to smoke at a public establishment, find a bar that has “no employees” – I think those are the only exempt businesses. Otherwise, it’s outside with you. The fine is pretty stiff from what I hear.
The government crack down or “wish list crack downs” on everything is pretty scary, but as I live firmly in the middle of the spectrum, the police don’t harrass me and I don’t feel the sting of anyone except when flying and going through security check points. These days I think I’m more concerned with SARS than anything, and even then, I’m not walking around with a face mask or anything.
Because I want to like you and spare you from unnecessary harm, I will not explain Vin Diesel to you. Well, mainly because I can’t since I don’t understand myself, but I think his 15 minutes is about up anyway. Any man who names himself after a petroleum product … well, it looks like SNenc has taken the bullet for all of us.
Moving on…
Santa Barbara is still nice.
I’ve never had a problem with customs, but if you’re flying in through LAX, you may want to brace yourself for that.
janx, it’s not like San Francisco or New York City, but it’s fairly high. We’re paying ~$1900/mo for a two-bedroom, albeit a very large, 1700 sq.f. unit. We could probably manage without so much space, but we wouldn’t save much after the cost and effort of moving, and any less expensive place would be a lot smaller.
I think you can still find a decent one-bedroom for around 1K/mo.
I don’t know California, so I can’t comment on the local conditions.
Marley’s views may reflect his own beliefs to some extent. It’s not like people are being sent to concentration camps. The public mood is probably less conservative than it was at the height of the Reagan era.
Having been away, you’ll probably be surprised at how pervasive anti-smoking bans have become. A good rule of thumb is that if you see another person and they aren’t smoking, you should assume it’s illegal to smoke where you are.
The money will look strange. Everyone thought it looked fake when it first came out but we’ve gotten used to it.
There’s been a shift in law enforcement towards anti-terrorism. So life’s probably easier if you’re black but it’s become more difficult if you have a foreign accent.
Thanks Guys! I thought this thread went the way of John Wane.
I’m glad they aren’t using concentration camps yet. I can feel the conservative mood all the way down here, I think I can handle it as I’m not nearly as um…rebellious as I once was, in fact, you could say I’m a pretty dull guy.
As far as the rent in West L.A., that’s almost what it was, I work in the administrative side of the hospital bidness and could probably swing it. It will be interesting to pick up a local paper and read the funnies again. Also I’d like to see my opinion of Starbuck’s after all this time. I wont go into coffee snob mode again, but remember Santos is less then 50 miles from here.
Thanks again guys! Also no one has really addressed the question as to weather or not there was a big exodus from N.Y. to the west after 9/11, was that true or just the impression of my tourist countrymen?
