July 28, 2008

Blogging from the Pacific Time Zone.

It's hard! You can't catch the wave...

DSC_0025

... of news and rumors and topics — it's always too late. I feel so out of it.

Not saying I don't love L.A.

I kind of do. You have to love the good and overcome the bad, but the time zone... I'm just saying the time zone is hell for blogging.

41 comments:

Palladian said...

And what says L.A.– and by extension America– better than a doughy Spanish kid in American flag swim trunks?

gefillmore said...

eagerly anticipating and awaiting a photo of you in your swimsuit-

chuck b. said...

True, but it's a great time zone for blog reading.

I also like that the stock market closes for the day at lunch time.

Palladian said...

And also, the fish eye lens is perfect for Los Angeles: nothing in the center, all the interest on the periphery.

Ann Althouse said...

George, I was wearing long pants. So was my son. I haven't gone swimming in years.

gefillmore said...

re swimsuit-

oh well-

I'm just tired of looking at pamela anderson holding that balloon to her chest-

XWL said...

That's why out here you are better off reading the Brit papers rather than those from the East Coast.

3AM there is 7PM here, so you can peruse tomorrow's headlines just after dinner, and have a few posts up before bedtime. Also, I've noticed their papers (tabloid, or not) have gossipy, celebrity-centric L.A. based stories up far faster than the local rag. The LAT seems to think that nobody cares for stars and gossip, so they don't cover all the crap going on in their own backyard, while the English press will go with the latest crap of that kind almost instantly.

Our papers are bleeding cash, and can't keep advertisers, theirs are still doing pretty damn well, and have even started selling ip address location based advertising since they get a lot of eyeballs from this side of the Atlantic (guess there is a market for news+gossip, after all, you'd think the LAT would figure that out at some point)

Same with the East Coast to a degree, the NYT usually posts about 2AM ET, so you can actually comment on the next day's news before Midnight here.

It's all a matter of perspective, in other words.

If you want to be at the leading edge of the news cycle, then blogging at night is better, if you want to have the time to digest and respond to the morning scuttlebutt, then that three hour lag is a feature, not a flaw.

Anonymous said...

Mama Althouse and son Christopher amongst the peasants in Venice Beach, dressed to the nines, standing out like a couple of sore thumbs...but don't think for a second that they care. Of course, the Althouse clan wouldn't make it 2 feet if they were just a few miles north, in Malibu. They don't let just anyone roam the beaches in Malibu, snapping photos and ogling people, causing a spectacle ... Trust me, I know what I'm talking about.

Didn't you feel awkward and inappropriate, wearing long pants at the beach? Why bother going and dealing with all those unsightly people, and all that troublesome sand, if you're not going to do it up right and, at the very least, throw on a snazzy sarong and a big floppy hat?

It's very elitist of you, and Christopher, traipsing around that filthy beach with a bunch of overweight immigrants, in your "long pants."

Let me guess, you were both wearing black, right ?

Trooper York said...

"George, I was wearing long pants. So was my son. I haven't gone swimming in years."

That's kinda sad actually. I mean I am the orignal fat pasty white guy and I put on a ton of sunblock to cross the street. But I would like to jump in that water, it looks so inviting. Live a little.

Mrs. Bonita Spratzle said...

Christopher, might have a fighting chance in Orange County, because at least, there, they look like him. He might find someone with skin lighter than his own.

In any case, the Althouses, on their little LA jaunt, are visiting all the wrong places. All these inconsequential, unsubstantial, dinky, hole-in-the-wall type establishments, that won't even be there next year.

It reminds me of tourists who travel to England, and then proceed to call all the wrong people "Sir".

Ole Eichhorn said...

Ah, but bloggers don't have to be reporters, they can be commentators.

The trick to blogging from the left coast is to spend the day at the beach (without your computer), get home, read the news, and then comment on it. You don't have to be reporting it in realtime, others will do that for you...

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
John said...

My problem when I'm in LA is waking up at 3 AM.

vbspurs said...

Theo, that is NOT an unflattering photo of you.

You're cute. :)

And so is Chris! Long pants or no. I'm not sure what all these Maxine parodies are on about, but they depress me.

P.S.: I tried to broach the subject of Hispanitude in another thread, making all the points you did about the differences between Hispanics, but it's hard going in this country.

Cheers,
Victoria

Dust Bunny Queen said...

My ancestors come from a part of Spain where they play bagpipes and have a Celtic cross on the flag. Ted Williams was of a similar ancestry, as was a guy I knew who became a stand-up comic. One of his routines was, "Say, you don't look Spanish!"

My family is Welsh and we have been taken for Spanish or Basque when in Europe. The Hispanics in LA and throughout the South West are by and large Mexican Native Americans.... Indios y Mestizos.

People who have never been swimming in the Pacific Ocean will love the southern beaches, however believe me.....you do not want to go swimming in the waters off of the more northerly beaches. You'll freeze your cojones off and they don't call it Tiburon* for no reason.

*shark in Spanish

Beth said...

I don't know whether to call these theories or legends, but aren't there very old stories to the effect that sailors from the Iberian peninsula made it to the British Isles (waaay before they were called such)? I recall reading Irish myths that attribute their origins to ancestors from that coast.

Palladian said...

"Hey, Palladian, that kid is probably of Mexican ancestry, NOT Spanish."

My "Spanish" friends (from the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, etc.) all refer to other Spanish-speaking people as "Spanish" so that was how I was using the phrase. What's the P.C. term these days?

Dust Bunny Queen said...

"I don't know whether to call these theories or legends, but aren't there very old stories to the effect that sailors from the Iberian peninsula made it to the British Isles (waaay before they were called such)? I recall reading Irish myths that attribute their origins to ancestors from that coast"

Most likely a close connection genetically and culturally. You used to be able to walk from Iberia to the Isles during the last ice age. Before Global Warming in 10,000 B.C. LOL

Beth said...

That's the Sons of Mil, I think. And in doing a little googling, I came across a story titled "DNA shows Irish and Scots should look to Spain for Ancestry" but the link was broken. Ah well. This engages my curiosity but I have an exam to finish writing and copying in the next couple of hours, so it will have to wait.

AllenS said...

Words of caution:

Stay out of the ocean. When you walk into the ocean, you immediately move to the bottom of the food chain.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Trooper York said...

I guess beaner is out of style?

Bissage said...

Beth, here's the straight dope.

Accurate?

Got me.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
ricpic said...

Why do you think they're all so laid back out there? They can't beat the PTZ so they do the next best thing and join it.

Palladian said...

"I will also tell you, as someone with Mexican relatives as well as Spanish, that neither side would think of referring to Mexicans as "Spanish."

Yes, you're right. I have one "Latino" friend who sadly refers to Mexicans as "dirty Mexicans".

AllenS said...

Does anyone want an eye-opener on how people used to be classified? There is a web site on Viet Nam veterans who died during the war. Remember, this is how the goverment classified races. Google "the wall usa". When at the web site, scroll down to the area of search. Type in for city "San Francisco" and for state "ca". Mexicans used to be caucasian.

blake said...

Catherine Zeta-Jones is Welsh, but didn't she make a convincing Spaniard in The Mark of Zorro?

Yes, she did.

blake said...

If you're on the West Coast, you have time to reflect, to see what others have said about the rumors and trends and hot stories, and to say something wise and perceptive based on that.

Why, that's what we're known for in Los Angeles: reflective wisdom.

Heh.

Alternatively, you can go the narcissistic route and say that if it didn't happen here, it doesn't really matter.

Anonymous said...

Victoria: Thanks for the compliment. I don't deserve it, but at my age, I'll take it.

Funny thing, I do have this old portrait of myself in the attic that's starting to look a little rough lately.

Trooper York said...

All I have to say Theo is:

There's a holdup in the Bronx!
Brooklyn's broken out in fights!
There's a traffic jam in Harlem
That's backed up to Jackson Heights!
There's a Scout troop short a child!
Khrushchev's due at Idlewild!
Car 54, where are you?!

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Trooper York said...

To be sure it's better than a Herman Munster joke.

Trooper York said...

But that's ok because I look like David Wells got locked in a bakery.

blake said...

Funny thing, I do have this old portrait of myself in the attic that's starting to look a little rough lately.

Could be worse. I have a portrait in the attic that looks great!

I'm afraid to look in the mirror.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

Well, I'm sorry I couldn't attend the meetup, but this will make you laugh, now that you're in LA. I especially like the "live" traffic map.

(From patterico.com)

Not the LA Times

AlphaLiberal said...

Beach looks nice and inviting.

Don't care for people using the American flag for clothing. How did that disrespect ever become a patriotic notion? It helps someone sell clothes, but is not respectful of the flag.

Burn those shorts!

MadisonMan said...

Just because you are in the Pacific Time Zone doesn't mean you have to keep PDT hours.

veni vidi vici said...

"But I would like to jump in that water, it looks so inviting. Live a little."

No, not *that* water. Filthy awful stuff. Offshore drilling would likely be an improvement (esp. with today's technology).

blake said...

Just because you are in the Pacific Time Zone doesn't mean you have to keep PDT hours.

Lord knows I don't.