L.A. in the Eyes of He of the U.P.

Between Axe's bare walls we pondered Los Angeles last night, its place in the world and in our lives. Though trout and wine and company were undeniably priceless, what of the value of most of the rest of the lot: the competitive striving, the grotesque scale of consumption, the utter-but-usually-ignored chaos? Jim Harrison's numinous Tracking offered this not 15 hours later:

... he also began to enjoy Los Angeles, especially the aspects not associated with show business: the Pacific Ocean, the weather, the cuisine that came from the broad ethnic mix, the flora he studied on the streets of Santa Monica, the thousands of beautiful women who weren't very democratic in their affections. He could finally understand how such literary people as Thomas Mann, Aldous Huxley, and Christopher Isherwood loved the place. It was the strong but not very deep hint of the Mediterranean. It was a set for a movie too large and confusing to get made.