California Culture: Circa 2000

[methodwriter85]

You watch WAY too much television and believe its characterizations.

 

 

Chino was middle class, not blue collar.

 

Here is what is going on in LA Jeremy, not that loser guy you love to watch.

 

Highland Park Bowl

Clifton's Cafeteria

 

Agreed on the first point. Although I don't really follow serial drama t.v. series that much anymore- I watch reality t.v. much more often now. Southern Charm, Chrisley Knows Best, Below Deck, and VanderPump Rules are probably my favorites. Or, more likely, I watch narrations or vlogs on Youtube, such as that "loser guy" Tom Explores Los Angeles. LOL. Anyway,Buzzfeed also does a lot of videos about Los Angeles/Southern California life:

 

 

 

That is an interesting regional difference that people say "the" in front of their interstate roads/freeways/whatever. Here, you would just say, "I'm going up 1, then taking the exit to 273."  Also, the gourmet food truck thing was cool. I love the concept, and I love that it's expanding over here on the East Coast.

 

Anyway, Interesting articles. The first looks really cool, although I'm not sure how I feel about the second one. It sounds like it's basically going to offer a few budget options, but try to go for this trendy hybrid deal, which the commentators below seem to feel is a betrayal to the original spirit of the place.

[methodwriter85]

This is more "Cali during the Fast Times At Ridgemont High era", but check out this cool old #ThrowbackThursday picture of a teacher at Dana Hills High School teaching math:

 

 

Pretty funny. Any of you guys familiar with Dana Hills High? The teacher apparently retired this year. You gotta love the teachers that are a little unorthodox and crazy. I had one like him, although I was never able to do better than a C in his class. LOL.

 

I think these students are roughly Mark Arbour's contemporaries. Did you feather your hair like that when you were that age, Mark? LOL.

 

Anyway, this is making the rounds on Reddit.

Edited May 19, 2016 by methodwriter85

[methodwriter85]

Given that Stanford plays a HUGE part in this story, I thought I'd post this:

 

All-American Stanford Swimmer Found Guilty of Raping Unconscious Woman

 

Wow. That statistic is eye-opening: of 175 reported sexual assaults on campus between 1997 to 2009, only FOUR of them were formally adjudicated by Stanford. That is just mind-boggling to me. You would figure that would be the case at some party school like WVU, not one of the most prestigious academic universities in the country that has near-Ivy League status.

 

I can just picture JP reading this article and shaking his head. It's absolutely crazy to me that this is somehow being treated like some "grey" area rape- there were freaking witnesses that saw this poor, unconscious girl getting raped behind a dumpster and the guy RAN because he was afraid of being caught. It's unbelievable that he's getting six months in county jail for what he did.

Edited June 4, 2016 by methodwriter85

[methodwriter85]

Stanford Silenced Women Who Warned About Brock Turner

 

If this is all true, and JP is still around in 2016, I feel like he would be so utterly disappointed in Stanford.

[methodwriter85]

New PSA about the Los Angeles River:

 

 

I wonder how much Blue would have to be bribed before he'd splash around in the river.

Edited July 9, 2016 by methodwriter85

[methodwriter85]

Hey, question for guys who were young men who lived in California circa 2003-2006....

 

Mark's memory of men's hairstyles in 2003-06 basically involves them looking like this. (Will's hair is supposed to look like this, just with dark auburn hair.)

 

 

Which I remember too.. but I also remember in summer/fall 2003, this look was starting to creep in:

 

 

 

The idea with this look was that guys were letting their hair grow out of the short and spiky trend of the late 90's/Y2K era. A little less product, with bangs and hair curling in what I called "wings". Or alternately, long with sideswept bangs like Aaron Samuels from Mean Girls:

 

 

Both pictures are from circa 2003-2004, the current CAP time period.

 

Would Will, a teen from California, think long hair looked unfashionable? I'm just questioning that because on the East Coast, at least, guys were actually starting to ditch the spiky short look in 2003. (By '05-'06, I felt like every hot jock/frat boy I knew and lusted over had longer hair like this.) But from Mark's memory, that look wasn't yet around in the Mid-West.

[methodwriter85]

A random aside- I've learned today that there are ardent Disneyland fans that can get really, really touchy when people say that Disney World is better.

[impunity]

4 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

A random aside- I've learned today that there are ardent Disneyland fans that can get really, really touchy when people say that Disney World is better.

Too funny!

I find it really weird that there are adults who choose to vacation (without children) at Disney theme parks.  Why would anyone voluntarily subject themselves to that much intense tourism?

[mmike1969]

1 hour ago, impunity said:

Too funny!

I find it really weird that there are adults who choose to vacation (without children) at Disney theme parks.  Why would anyone voluntarily subject themselves to that much intense tourism?

 

This is why:

 

http://www.slashfilm.com/disney-to-offer-totally-immersive-stays-at-marvel-and-star-wars-hotels-d23-expo-2017/

[impunity]

7 hours ago, mmike1969 said:

 

This is why:

 

http://www.slashfilm.com/disney-to-offer-totally-immersive-stays-at-marvel-and-star-wars-hotels-d23-expo-2017/

Maybe. But so far they've been doing it with Mickey and the gang.  Gross. 

[methodwriter85]

I found this Buzzfeed video that basically rips off Bang for Your Buck, where people look at houses at different price points in a given area. This one looks at current Los Angeles real estate:

 

I'd be totally down for that cute little house in Alhambra. 568k for a 895 square foot house seems like a lot, but it's nicely updated. (Quartz seems to have replaced the granite countertop craze of the 2000's.)

 

I used to be a HUUUGGGGGEEEE fan of House Hunters and Flip That House back in that mid/late 2000's era, which often featured California real estate. Definitely taught me that unless you're living in the Inland Empire, you're pretty much paying a lot.

 

Also, that Californians pay pretty premium money in order to live either by the ocean or by the hills.

Edited September 18, 2017 by methodwriter85

[Canuk]

On 17/09/2017 at 6:22 AM, impunity said:

Maybe. But so far they've been doing it with Mickey and the gang.  Gross. 

 

i whole-heartedly agree - I am sure Disneyland/world/Tokyo/Paris are great places, but as an adult, unless I was taking children, I honestly cannot imagine anything worse!

[Canuk]

On 17/09/2017 at 5:51 PM, methodwriter85 said:

I found this Buzzfeed video that basically rips off Bang for Your Buck, where people look at houses at different price points in a given area. This one looks at current Los Angeles real estate:

 

I'd be totally down for that cute little house in Alhambra. 568k for a 895 square foot house seems like a lot, but it's nicely updated. (Quartz seems to have replaced the granite countertop craze of the 2000's.)

 

I used to be a HUUUGGGGGEEEE fan of House Hunters and Flip That House back in that mid/late 2000's era, which often featured California real estate. Definitely taught me that unless you're living in the Inland Empire, you're pretty much paying a lot.

 

Also, that Californians pay pretty premium money in order to live either by the ocean or by the hills.

 

sorry, but two things about this "show" put me off - the girl (Quinta?) NEVER wore her seat belt.....  and the filming was all about the furniture. What happened to location location location?

[methodwriter85]

I'm like obsessed with American Vandal right now, a true crime series documentary parody that explores the question of whether or not a SoCal stoner dude vandalized his teacher's cars. It's set in Oceanside, but the high school used is Palisades Charter High School:

 

 

I always kind of wonder what it would have been like to go to a California high school, with the open cafeteria and open-air hallways and perfect oceanside weather. (I did live in Texas, where schools are built similar, but Texas gets super, super hot.) The mockumentary is hysterical, especially if you love true crime docs, but the scenery also enhances it.

 

Edited October 24, 2017 by methodwriter85

[methodwriter85]

The Los Angeles Rams...good season, guys.

 

Also, damn, your coach is sexy as fuck:

 

 

I was actually rooting for them in this game because it would have been cool to see the Rams continue their Cinderella season. Oh, well. Still a good season.

 

Mark said once that he was a Rams fan so I figure he had to be pretty happy with this season overall. Their last seasons in St. Louis were not too good.

[Mark Arbour]

On 1/6/2018 at 10:47 PM, methodwriter85 said:

The Los Angeles Rams...good season, guys.

 

Also, damn, your coach is sexy as fuck:

 

 

I was actually rooting for them in this game because it would have been cool to see the Rams continue their Cinderella season. Oh, well. Still a good season.

 

Mark said once that he was a Rams fan so I figure he had to be pretty happy with this season overall. Their last seasons in St. Louis were not too good.

 

I am a Rams fan, and while it's sad that they're not in St. Louis anymore, I personally feel they belong in LA, so I'm good with it. 

[methodwriter85]

4 hours ago, Mark Arbour said:

 

I am a Rams fan, and while it's sad that they're not in St. Louis anymore, I personally feel they belong in LA, so I'm good with it. 

 

You gotta love that the stadium they built to have NFL football is essentially sitting empty. (Not really, but essentially.) It sounds like that stadium is kind of a piece of shit, anyway, which is ridiculous for something that only dates back to the 90's. This article from two years ago talks about how it's for the best that St. Louis lost the Rams:

 

In Losing the Rams, St. Louis Actually Wins

 

It basically comes down to the fact that St. Louis just couldn't afford to keep the team, even though they tried to.

 

But yeah, I don't remember the Rams as a Los Angeles team, so it'll be interesting to see how that fandom grows in that area, especially if they manage to keep up the promise they showed this year.

[Mark Arbour]

On 1/18/2018 at 8:44 PM, methodwriter85 said:

 

You gotta love that the stadium they built to have NFL football is essentially sitting empty. (Not really, but essentially.) It sounds like that stadium is kind of a piece of shit, anyway, which is ridiculous for something that only dates back to the 90's. This article from two years ago talks about how it's for the best that St. Louis lost the Rams:

 

In Losing the Rams, St. Louis Actually Wins

 

It basically comes down to the fact that St. Louis just couldn't afford to keep the team, even though they tried to.

 

But yeah, I don't remember the Rams as a Los Angeles team, so it'll be interesting to see how that fandom grows in that area, especially if they manage to keep up the promise they showed this year.

 

What they wrote is probably true, but they did allude to the fact that while St. Louis City is broke, St. Louis County is quite wealthy, so the resources could have been there.  I think a lot of the reason it fell apart was the strong feeling against Stan Kroenke that pretty much permeates this part of Missouri.  His 'home' is (or was) technically in Columbia, MO, some 120 miles west of St. Louis, so he was initially seen as a local boy.  I think the expectation was that he was an "Auggie Busch" kind of guy, who would do what he could for his home state.  One of those owners who has civic loyalty and wants to win, and will put up resources to make that happen.  Someone who gives a shit about the city his team plays in.  He's not like that at all. 

[methodwriter85]

On 1/21/2018 at 2:52 PM, Mark Arbour said:

 

What they wrote is probably true, but they did allude to the fact that while St. Louis City is broke, St. Louis County is quite wealthy, so the resources could have been there.  I think a lot of the reason it fell apart was the strong feeling against Stan Kroenke that pretty much permeates this part of Missouri.  His 'home' is (or was) technically in Columbia, MO, some 120 miles west of St. Louis, so he was initially seen as a local boy.  I think the expectation was that he was an "Auggie Busch" kind of guy, who would do what he could for his home state.  One of those owners who has civic loyalty and wants to win, and will put up resources to make that happen.  Someone who gives a shit about the city his team plays in.  He's not like that at all. 

 

That's interesting analysis of what went down.

 

Do you follow Kurt Warner? I thought he was pretty hot back when the Arizona Cardinals were in the Super Bowl. He joked about how Sean McVay made him feel old:

 

I wish Private Tim still posted here. I wonder what he thinks of the new Boy Wonder coach.

 

To put Sean's age in perspective, if JJ and Will were real people, Sean would be 6 weeks younger than JJ and 9 months older than Will.

 

It definitely sounds like the Rams have a bright future. Hopefully that continues. I remember your jokes before about needing medication to get through a Rams football season. LOL.

[Daddydavek]

Not all is so well with the RAMS as noted in the following article their TV rating in LA is only an 8 share on average for the 2017 season.

 

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/st-louis-outdraws-la-in-tv-ratings-for-rams-playoff/article_7175561d-259d-5b3b-adc0-c9c72507e4fe.html

[Mark Arbour]

21 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

 

That's interesting analysis of what went down.

 

Do you follow Kurt Warner? I thought he was pretty hot back when the Arizona Cardinals were in the Super Bowl. He joked about how Sean McVay made him feel old:

 

I wish Private Tim still posted here. I wonder what he thinks of the new Boy Wonder coach.

 

To put Sean's age in perspective, if JJ and Will were real people, Sean would be 6 weeks younger than JJ and 9 months older than Will.

 

It definitely sounds like the Rams have a bright future. Hopefully that continues. I remember your jokes before about needing medication to get through a Rams football season. LOL.

NOT a Kurt Warner fan.  He's one of those religious freaks.

[methodwriter85]

12 minutes ago, Mark Arbour said:

NOT a Kurt Warner fan.  He's one of those religious freaks.

 

Yeah, not surprised. You were pretty tepid about including their 1999 Super Bowl championship, as well as the fact that they had a pretty good run back in the early 2000's. I don't think you had Tony mention them at all.

[Mark Arbour]

12 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

 

Yeah, not surprised. You were pretty tepid about including their 1999 Super Bowl championship, as well as the fact that they had a pretty good run back in the early 2000's. I don't think you had Tony mention them at all.

 

The running back was Marshal Faulk.  You’ll find references to him in The Streak. 

[TetRefine]

On 1/23/2018 at 9:16 PM, Mark Arbour said:

NOT a Kurt Warner fan.  He's one of those religious freaks.

 

Funny enough, I wrote a letter to Kurt Warner when I was in 4th grade as part of a writing assignment (circa 2001). I got a hand-written letter and a signed football card of him back less then two weeks later, both of which I still have. 

[methodwriter85]

3 hours ago, TetRefine said:

 

Funny enough, I wrote a letter to Kurt Warner when I was in 4th grade as part of a writing assignment (circa 2001). I got a hand-written letter and a signed football card of him back less then two weeks later, both of which I still have. 

 

Can you try to do that for Sean McVay, and see if you can get a signed autographed picture of him shirtless in a pair of tight boxer briefs and then send it to me? Thank you.

 

If the Rams keep up the good work, the ratings should rebound. Although ratings in general aren't what they used to be.

 

As a random thought, I kind of like that Sean McVay does his hair in a vague faux-hawk that was a pretty popular look when we were 20 (he's about 7 weeks younger than me), and he seems fond of layering short-sleeved shirts over long sleeve shirts, also a popular look back in 2006. That makes me smile. All that he needs is a choker.