24 years later, I'm still here. But is it worth celebrating?
You know the story: Fresh-faced college grad moves to LA to work "in the industry" as a writer. Buys his first car. Becomes a production assistant. Pays $675 a month for a 1-bedroom unit in a Venice fixer-upper. Explores the palm tree-laden city with wide eyes, blaring mix CDs loaded with Jason Mraz and Craig David jams. (It was the summer of 2002.) This nostalgic entry is brought to you by my annual Los Angeles milestone which usually comes with a small victory lap, a moment to sit back, take stock, and say l ook what I've built, see what I've done . I've been brainstorming it for a while, but I keep getting stuck because things aren't feeling very celebratory these days. (You could also blame this delay on Madonna releasing Confessions II , which was distracting in a very good way.) Depending on where you are, you've probably heard some variation on how bleak things have become in LA. With the pandemic, the continued dominance of streaming, two concurre...
