ZHIV

"

Is it true what they say about Los Angeles, that Los Angeles is erratic,
That in the sweet national symphony of common sense Los Angeles is static?

Yes it is true. Los Angeles is not only erratic, not only erotic; Los Angeles is crotchety, centrifugal, vertiginous, esoteric and exotic.

Many people blame the movies and the movie-makers for Los Angeles’
emotional rumpus, but they are mistaken; it is the compass.

Certainly Los Angeles is a cloudburst of non-sequiturs, and of logic a drought,
But what can you expect of a city that is laid out east to west, instead of north and south?

"

Ogden Nash. LAT’s Christopher Hawthorne quoted a line from Nash for his presentation at the Los Angeles Archives Bazaar. You can read the quote in Carey McWilliams’ book “Southern California: An Island on the Land” (via lahistory)

(via latimes)