Like Giving Another Man's Wife A Foot Massage

Another new post at Native Intelligence:

Director Quentin Tarantino could have used a few partners in 213 to help produce the collector's edition DVD of his most-celebrated film, "Pulp Fiction."

The DVD's trivia track says Echo Park (see inset) is "a suburb of Los Angeles," something any self-respecting, Los Angeles film buff ought to know is about as wrong as giving another man's wife a foot massage.

Read the entire post at Native Intelligence.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

Prisoners Of Our Own Device

Check out my new post in the Native Intelligence section of LA Observed.

Here's a snippet:

“Auld Lang Syne” is a song made up of words in the Scots language, which means many of us understand only that it's about old friends and days gone by...

I mumbled through it myself Sunday night in downtown Los Angeles as Lyle Lovett and His Large Band led a chorus...

Most of Lovett’s audience stood and sang in happy voices...

(Then) I spied three women in about the 25th row raising their Blackberry (Crackberry?) devices aloft...

Flipping their phones as an alternative to flicking their Bics...

Read the entire post at Native Intelligence.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

Material Matters More Than Material Things

My wife and I are hosting the family at our home on Christmas Day. It will be the first year we’ve done this. And, as you might expect, the stress level increases as the time draws near, and not just because it’s sure to be remembered as the Christmas we spent on the floor.

The adventure began Thanksgiving Day, when we decided that playing host meant it was time to spruce up our home. That led to the conclusion that we had to part with the couches each of us had brought to the marriage. Although I had resisted this final step into adulthood, I went willingly to our Westside Macy’s furniture store and stepped into the red-tag obstacle course. A sale was on, and it promised free delivery before Christmas...

Read the rest of this post at Native Intelligence.

— TJ Sullivan in LA