Mexican Fan Palms

Sometimes, they look like lion heads. They are ominous, whether fierce themselves or defeated, impaled. At any other time, they make up part of Los Angeles' collectively dotty signature. They are like the cars, impatient attitudes and nature, made deliberate. They join douchebags, donuts, immigrants, fashion, cops, and the Hollywood sign on a hill. They are the $5 Sale! sign that forever claims to be today only on Sunset Blvd and the American Apparel images of each corner. The power of Los Angeles is in its outrageously priced, high maintenance, imported trees because here, image is more precious than air.

Koreatown, Los Angeles in 100 Words

On the corner of 5th and Oxford, a party blower drops. Giggles interrupt my halting stare and half a face looks down. His friends appear and all are seized with laughter. I'm amused and so is the black man in front of me. He walks east and I continue west. He points with an expressive eyebrow and says, "I see you up there." Birthday parties in Latin apartments of kids in Koreatown are charming to me now. I hope they don't escalate the experiment. Cone shaped hats make a lively fringe on the bounds of a balcony, Har har har.