California Culture: Circa 2000

[TetRefine]

1 minute ago, methodwriter85 said:

 

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.

 

Ehhhh, he's blonde, with a beard and generic white-guy "good looks". Not my type at all. 

[methodwriter85]

1 minute ago, TetRefine said:

 

Ehhhh, he's blonde, with a beard and generic white-guy "good looks". Not my type at all. 

 

I'm usually not that into blondes but I still find Sean McVay pretty cute. He reminds me of a grown-up version of the cute cerebral jocks I knew in high school or college.

 

Unfortunately I'll always have a thing for guys that give off a frat boy vibe or a preppy boy-next-door vibe. Armie Hammer and Aaron Tveit are basically my main male fantasies for guys close to my age. LOL.

[methodwriter85]

On 1/26/2018 at 10:35 PM, TetRefine said:

 

Ehhhh, he's blonde, with a beard and generic white-guy "good looks". Not my type at all. 

 

Also like...this does nothing for you?

 

 

Nothing at all?

 

He's a California boy, although he did spent some time in the Caribbean.

 

Anyway...found this really cool shot of Los Angeles:

 

 

It'll be interesting to see what this skyline might look like in another 20 years, given that there's a push for skyscrapers.

Edited March 7, 2018 by methodwriter85

[TetRefine]

9 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

 

Also like...this does nothing for you?

 

 

Nothing at all?

 

Nope. Again, he’s just another generic clone white boy that they plaster literally everywhere as the standard of “hot” or “attractive”. That is not my type at all.

[methodwriter85]

16 hours ago, TetRefine said:

 

Nope. Again, he’s just another generic clone white boy that they plaster literally everywhere as the standard of “hot” or “attractive”. That is not my type at all.

 

Yeah, understood. Different strokes and all that. For me, it's that combination of Armie's Ken Doll looks, his sexy golden voice, his exotic upbringing in the Caribbean, and the fact that he should be douchy like his Winklevoss characters but he comes off as a pretty nice guy. I remember being super-bummed that he didn't do Finnick in the Hunger Games. And it's cool that he basically turned down his family fortune to do what he wanted to do.

 

Anyway, I found this video about cheap eats at various places in Los Angeles:

 

 

That's pretty cool that they sell off their old pizza at a dollar a slice. Looked pretty solid. (And I like cold pizza, so yeah.)

 

I wish Blue still posted. He would have liked getting some tips about cheap places to grab some decent grub on the cheap.

[methodwriter85]

I'm really active on Reddit, and over on the Delaware subreddit, there's a thread going on that explains Delaware to a Santa Barbara, California resident who plans on moving here. This is how one person  put it:

***

Welcome, former Cali resident here too. Get ready for cold/hot/snow/rain/wind/flooding. Drive slow in the snow and ice (ice is worse). Other than the freeway expect roads not to be plowed till it’s really bad. Get ready for potholes. By comparison DE DMV is amazing and you’ll get it all done in record time. Don’t trust gps if you drive into PA. Yes, NYC is 2hrs away but $40 in tolls, so jump on a bus. Wilmington is our Compton/Oakland. Dover is our Modesto/Fresno. Newark is our college town. The state is tiny so it’s less that 10 miles to MD/NJ/PA from anywhere. Go to WaWa and get it out of the way early, AT&T wireless sucks here. You will be disappointed by our beaches. Get ready to cry at our low house prices and property taxes. Dog parks and farmers markets are not that prevalent here. No lane splitting motorcycles but you can pass on the breakdown lane if the person in front of you is turning left. Watch speed limits. That’s how we get away with no sales taxes. Expect to mow your yard weekly unlike California. All of the jokes about how boring DE is true. Go with it.

***

To add to this, given what I've learned about California from you beautiful people all these years...

 

-Expressway, not Freeway

-We don't put "the" in front of expressway/highway names. "I'm going to Newark and I'm taking 273 to get there."

-There's a really high percentage of private/charter/magnet school enrollment. Even if you're in a nice area, that in no way guarantees a good school the way it seems to do in California.

-Herr's chips.

-An insanely early last call of 1 a.m.

-No big cities, but you CAN go to Philly, DC, or NYC pretty easily.

 

[methodwriter85]

On 1/18/2018 at 5:03 PM, 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.  

 

Your boys are having another good season, while my boys are crashing and burning. Since it looks like an Eagles Super Bowl return is out of the question and the Ravens aren't looking that much better, I'm also going to root for the Rams. Again, Sean McVay is pretty hot.

 

The Rams had an extended period of being pretty shitty, so it's awesome that they're starting 10-1 this year. Seriously, that's awesome.

[impunity]

We have already made plans to evacuate from Atlanta for the sportsball insanity.  

Edited November 22, 2018 by impunity

[methodwriter85]

Mark's gotta be happy that the Rams are going to the Super Bowl. I wanted it to be against the Chiefs, though.

[methodwriter85]

I don't know if Private Tim still lurks, but I thought he'd enjoy this photo of Downtown Pasadena that someone posted on Reddit:

[methodwriter85]

TIL that there's a subculture of adults who participate in what they call "Disney Bounding", where they dress up in outfits inpspired by Disney characters but not actual costumes, because Disney bans adults from wearing costumes. (Which makes sense- you don't want kids following strangers in costumes, and you don't want non-employees being thought to be employees.)

 

 

God, I wish Blue still showed up here. I wonder if he's ever dated a guy who was like super-obsessed with Disneyland.

[methodwriter85]

I also wish Private TIm showed up here, because man I want to pick his brain about the USC admissions cheating scandal. I've always gotten the vibe that he has close ties to that school.

[methodwriter85]

I had a conversation with someone at work who went to Los Angeles and got to see Disneyland. He talked about how people from there think Disneyland was the best thing ever, but of course, it doesn't compare to Disney World. He was like, "I mean, to them, it's the only Disney they get, but my god, it's so small compared to Disney World." Then we had a conversation about its complicated relationship with Anaheim and the fact that Disneyland is just surrounded by neighborhoods.

I like to imagine that if Private Tim had been there, he would have tried convincing my friend how much better Disneyland is over Disney World. LOL.

[MrM]

I'd love to see Disney World. I've been to Disneyland enough times being a native to SoCal, but Disney World is just, well, another world! 

Oh, just for some fodder for dreams and inspiration here is a patented romantic Southern California sunset to fall in love to.

Welcome to the Hotel California!
Such a lovely place.

[methodwriter85]

How to Cheat and Lie in L.A.: Vanity Fair article on the College Admissions Scandal

Interesting stuff.

Hey Mark, can we have John get designated as a fake water polo recruit for USC? LOL. Private Tim can have a cameo as a 20-something assistant coach who blows the whistle on the scheme.

Edited August 6, 2019 by methodwriter85

[Mark Arbour]

On 8/5/2019 at 12:08 PM, methodwriter85 said:

How to Cheat and Lie in L.A.: Vanity Fair article on the College Admissions Scandal

Interesting stuff.

Hey Mark, can we have John get designated as a fake water polo recruit for USC? LOL. Private Tim can have a cameo as a 20-something assistant coach who blows the whistle on the scheme.

I don't think John would be that worried about it.  And Private Tim could be bribed.  🙂

[methodwriter85]

11 hours ago, Mark Arbour said:

I don't think John would be that worried about it.  And Private Tim could be bribed.  🙂

True. John would probably just go to Arizona State and have a ball.

Edited to add: I just realized JJ still hasn't mentioned any college plans yet. Could he be forgoing college, or at least taking a gap year?

Edited August 7, 2019 by methodwriter85

[methodwriter85]

1980 (not 2000) but I thought you'd get a kick out of this, Mark. 1980 Sacramento commercials. I figure you have to be at least somewhat familiar with that area. I think this would be like the equivalent of Scranton for me.

 

Edited August 23, 2019 by methodwriter85

[methodwriter85]

TIL that Los Angeles has a neighborhood named for Wilmington, Delaware. Cool!

[methodwriter85]

Hey Mark, here's to the 49ers making it to the Super Bowl! I'll be happy with either the Chiefs or 49ers winning.

[PrivateTim]

On 3/14/2019 at 10:21 PM, methodwriter85 said:

I also wish Private TIm showed up here, because man I want to pick his brain about the USC admissions cheating scandal. I've always gotten the vibe that he has close ties to that school.

Even though I went to Cal, my family ties to USC are wide, deep and long. I know a lot of the people in the "cheating" scandal and I'll keep my comments very generic.

To start, I can't imagine why the FBI spent all the time and resources to bust 53 families for trying to get their kids into certain schools. I would have thought more resources devoted to China's involvement in U.S. universities, to Chinese students spying for their government, on what Qatar and Saudi Arabia were getting for the billions they send to U.S. universities might have been a better spend.

Second, I have a hard time believing that Rick Singer was giving his clients full disclosure, such as, "you know what we are doing is illegal, right?" I have not talked to anyone caught up in the operation about it, but knowing the ones I do (from the parental side), I can believe they thought this was just the way it was. The ones on the university side surely knew what they were doing was wrong, but when you are struggling to fund your minor sports (water polo, crew, etc), someone offering $250k donation to your program goes a long way. Little, if any, of the money found its way into personal bank accounts of university personnel.

Third, there are now questions about the conduct of the FBI agents in charge. In notes that Singer took at the time, he says FBI agents encouraged him to lie to his clients in order to get them to incriminate themselves. This goes back to the second point because the FBI/prosecutors were telling Singer to lie (allegedly) in order to shore up the case that the parents knew what they were doing was illegal. What looks very bad for the prosecution is that they withheld these notes until one day before the lawyers were to get together and set trial dates. Judge Gorton was not amused.

It is especially bad now, as it piles on to other missteps by the FBI and Justice recently and looks more and more out of control.

[PrivateTim]

On 7/27/2019 at 1:26 AM, methodwriter85 said:

I had a conversation with someone at work who went to Los Angeles and got to see Disneyland. He talked about how people from there think Disneyland was the best thing ever, but of course, it doesn't compare to Disney World. He was like, "I mean, to them, it's the only Disney they get, but my god, it's so small compared to Disney World." Then we had a conversation about its complicated relationship with Anaheim and the fact that Disneyland is just surrounded by neighborhoods.

I like to imagine that if Private Tim had been there, he would have tried convincing my friend how much better Disneyland is over Disney World. LOL.

Disneyland and Disney World are so completely different it is really hard to compare the two. I guess a lot depends on what you like. At Disneyland you can stay 5 minutes walking time from the parks at reasonably priced hotels. At WDW even staying at onsite hotels, if you are 5 minutes from Epcot (Yacht & Beach Club or Boardwalk hotels) you are 20-30 minutes or more from the Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom. At WDW you have to reserve which rides you want to go on and where you want to eat months in advance and the time elements aren't the same, 180 days for dining, 60 days for rides; so if you want to eat at The Crystal Palace (MK) on a Tuesday, you can reserve 180 days out, but then you might not get FastPass+ for the rides in the MK you want 120 days later so you are basically screwed.

Disneyland is smaller, more intimate, has more rides and attractions than the MK and better versions than the MK in several of them.

Then, you can hop over to Disney's California Adventure, 40 yards from Disneyland's Main Entrance. Park hopping is difficult at WDW.

All that said, I can do DL and DCA in two days easy. WDW when I go, I plan on 7 nights minimum, more like 10 usually. WDW for me is a real vacation, Disneyland is a fun weekend.

[methodwriter85]

Nice to see my favorite Orange County dude posting here again! Now if only Blue showed up.

[methodwriter85]

On 5/3/2020 at 2:53 PM, PrivateTim said:

Disneyland and Disney World are so completely different it is really hard to compare the two. I guess a lot depends on what you like. At Disneyland you can stay 5 minutes walking time from the parks at reasonably priced hotels. At WDW even staying at onsite hotels, if you are 5 minutes from Epcot (Yacht & Beach Club or Boardwalk hotels) you are 20-30 minutes or more from the Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom. At WDW you have to reserve which rides you want to go on and where you want to eat months in advance and the time elements aren't the same, 180 days for dining, 60 days for rides; so if you want to eat at The Crystal Palace (MK) on a Tuesday, you can reserve 180 days out, but then you might not get FastPass+ for the rides in the MK you want 120 days later so you are basically screwed.

Disneyland is smaller, more intimate, has more rides and attractions than the MK and better versions than the MK in several of them.

Then, you can hop over to Disney's California Adventure, 40 yards from Disneyland's Main Entrance. Park hopping is difficult at WDW.

All that said, I can do DL and DCA in two days easy. WDW when I go, I plan on 7 nights minimum, more like 10 usually. WDW for me is a real vacation, Disneyland is a fun weekend.

Hey, just wondering...if you were ever to go Disney bounding at Disneyland, what character would you go as?

*If you don't know what Disneybounding is, here's a video that explains it.

Disney doesn't allow people over the age of 14 to dress in Disney costumes, so using normal street clothes with a color theme synced to a particular Disney character has been a way around it.

[Mark Arbour]

On 5/3/2020 at 1:53 PM, PrivateTim said:

Disneyland and Disney World are so completely different it is really hard to compare the two. I guess a lot depends on what you like. At Disneyland you can stay 5 minutes walking time from the parks at reasonably priced hotels. At WDW even staying at onsite hotels, if you are 5 minutes from Epcot (Yacht & Beach Club or Boardwalk hotels) you are 20-30 minutes or more from the Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom. At WDW you have to reserve which rides you want to go on and where you want to eat months in advance and the time elements aren't the same, 180 days for dining, 60 days for rides; so if you want to eat at The Crystal Palace (MK) on a Tuesday, you can reserve 180 days out, but then you might not get FastPass+ for the rides in the MK you want 120 days later so you are basically screwed.

Disneyland is smaller, more intimate, has more rides and attractions than the MK and better versions than the MK in several of them.

Then, you can hop over to Disney's California Adventure, 40 yards from Disneyland's Main Entrance. Park hopping is difficult at WDW.

All that said, I can do DL and DCA in two days easy. WDW when I go, I plan on 7 nights minimum, more like 10 usually. WDW for me is a real vacation, Disneyland is a fun weekend.

I hear you.  They truly are completely different experiences.  When I go to WDW, I usually end up enjoying EPCOT most of all (I realize I'm probably an outlier on that).  If I was going to the MK, it would be in Anaheim, not Kissimmee.