Quote Of The Day

"Writing a novel is a terrible experience during which the hair often falls out and the teeth decay."

— Flannery O'Connor

— TJ Sullivan in LA

NATIVE INTELLIGENCE: LA's Super Markup

© 2008 www.TJSullivanLA.com

A new post written by yours truly at Native Intelligence:

A few grocery facts from my weekly shopping experience …

Four pounds of hothouse tomatoes (pictured).

Local mom-and-pop market cost @ 69¢ per pound: $2.76

Local chain supermarket cost @ $3 per pound: $12 ...

Read the full post at Native Intelligence.


— TJ Sullivan in LA

NATIVE INTELLIGENCE: What's Honda See?

© 2007 American Honda Motor Co., Inc.

A new post written by yours truly at Native Intelligence:

I couldn't help but do a double take at the sight of Honda's double truck in the latest issue of Wired. The ad, which is part of Honda's Power of Dreams campaign, portrays what looked to me like the yellow-skied Los Angeles of the 1970s, but not exactly. So I pulled out the skyline shot I had blown up last year for my wife's office and did a side-by-side comparison. ...

Read the full post at Native Intelligence.



— TJ Sullivan in LA

NATIVE INTELLIGENCE: So, What's Your Line?

A new post written by yours truly at Native Intelligence:

The holiday parties are the worst, when that question comes from strangers and the spouses of friends. “So,” they ask, “what do you do?”

I can’t be the only writer who dreads it, and not for the reasons some might expect.

This weekend's engagements will be particularly difficult. I’ve been absent for months, haven’t written a word for newspapers or magazines since spring, haven’t posted on this blog, or any other, since early October, and, save for an appearance at an SPJ panel on freelancing last month, I’ve ...

Read the full post at Native Intelligence.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

Off Doing What Writers Do

I've been, and continue to be, holed up in a Los Angeles cafe editing the final draft of my second book.

I'll be back soon.

— TJ Sullivan in LA

'You Have A Big Head!'

I recently discovered the Overheard in New York blog and have come to consider it a brilliant demonstration of the difference between New York City and Los Angeles.

Today there was an entry with a literary tie so I thought it worth passing along. It was overheard in the Queens Library:

Little girl: "Can I have a job here?"

Clerk: "How old are you?"

Little girl: "Nine."

Clerk: "Well, you have to be at least 14 to work at the library."

Little girl: "Oh, yeah? Well, you have a big head!"

The only time I hear people talk in the library in LA is when they're shouting into a cell phone, so this one was good for a grin.

Much of the New York commentary contributed to the site is not for the faint of heart (a.k.a. people in LA who consider it an abomination to actually use a car horn), so don't blame me if you don't think it's funny. If you can't tolerate Overheard in New York then you definitely better stay out of the subway if you ever visit.

— TJ Sullivan in LA