At LAist and Ames

I had a tough week over at LAist, where something I posted caused a riot of comments (many of which ran in the "you're an idiot" vein). See, we LAist contributors get an e-mail each time someone comments. So I'd open my inbox and see yet another stack of comments about "Is the San Fernando Valley Not Los Angeles?" and cringe before opening. Idiot, idiot, not idiot, idiot. Ugh. A local LA blogger accused me of "not getting" the complicated relationship between LA and the Valley, and he's dead wrong. But he doesn't have comments on his site, so I can't respond to the accusation. Well, I know why he doesn't have the comments function; nobody wants to see idiot, idiot, idiot...

Another post, about a long-ago LA murder got no response at all, even though it was pretty cool. At least lots of people have checked out the grisly 1929 murder scene photo that went with it.

But aside from all that, today I'll be talking to Jonathan Ames; he's in LA for a week or so. His Pasadena appearance was a lot like his appearance in San Francisco, with nervous asides about his material being inappropriate for kids (brought about here by Vroman's children's book section being near its reading area). Hopefully, kids will steer clear of us this afternoon.

Comments

[Angela]

it was so nice meeting you yesterday in Santa Monica--Hope your interview went well with Jonathan. Glad to know we have fellow fucktard, Goldberg in common. He's great. I'm a fan and now a friend. Jonathan's reading at Skylight was great too. They had a whole section of risque book topics and future visiting authors, so he fit right in.

[NC]

Just to let you know, I joyfully read LAist everyday. It'd feel kind of weird for me to comment Cool post! Great post! everyday. I think getting comments relies on touching similar passions, and usually isn't about quality writing. The more you jump around in your subject matter, the less likely your going to warrant comments from rabid fans of specific topics. The Valley post just had a lot readers who are passionate about the Valley. It's a little bit harder to be passionate about a grisly murder. But it was a quality read, and I'm you glad you wrote it. So cheers and keep up the good work. I think LAist is the best blog in L.A. :)