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From: stu3@mhuxh.UUCP (Mark Modig)
Newsgroups: net.flame
Subject: Re:Olympic Closing Ceremonies
Message-ID: <192@mhuxh.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 28-Sep-84 18:25:21 EDT
Article-I.D.: mhuxh.192
Posted: Fri Sep 28 18:25:21 1984
Date-Received: Sat, 29-Sep-84 09:54:41 EDT
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Summit, NJ
Lines: 98

>            Comments on the Olympic Closing Ceremonies
>                        by Mark R. Leeper
>
>     I finally got a chance to see the closing ceremony of the
>Olympics.  I had been told about it, with its flying saucer and its
>alien, and had been curious, but I had not seen it until just the
>other night.  I have some comments to make on what I saw.  First of
>all, I suppose this is the sort of thing you expect in Los Angeles,
>as I said in one of my articles elsewhere.  Los Angeles is movie crazy
>and assumes the rest of the world is also.  That is how they came
>to put a little piece of science fiction film tradition into the
>Olympics.  To the mind of an Angeleno, there was nothing out of
>place about putting a little piece of CLOSE ENCOUNTERS and DAY THE
>EARTH STOOD STILL into the ceremonies.
>
Alright, that's ENOUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Just where do all you Eastern-type snobs get off indicting EVERYBODY
in LA as entertainment-crazy, full-of-hype, wild-eyed maniacs?  The
people around here are so proud to be on the East Coast and close to
New York and "civilization" and culture that I'm surprised there aren't
more reports than there are of people here drowning to death during
rainstorms because they've got their noses stuck so high in the air.

I've lived in the LA metropolitan area for 22 years, and here for
just over two, and I can tell you a few things about differences
between the two:

People here can be nice, but I have found many more people here who
are loud, snobbish, nasty, and even cruel.  They don't give a damn
about anybody but themselves, they're always in a hurry, always
trying to make and portray themselves as being somehow "better" than
the rest of the country (an attempt which, as far as I am concerned
they fail miserably at).

People here drive like maniacs; most of them will cut you off at every
opportunity.  People here are always on the way to the top,
and they don't care if they have to screw everybody else to get
there.  I never used to have trouble standing in lines-- here you
have to fight off everyone behind you who is trying to cut in front
of you.  

This is the East of which I have heard so much about, supposedly
where politics and programs to help others got a start.  That is not
the same as the to-Hell-with-you attitude I see out in every day
life here.

As far as being entertainment crazy, yeah, there are lots of ways in
which cities on the East Coast like Washington and Boston and New
York have got it all over places west of here, such as the beautiful
museums, theaters, and parks and all the history and such. 
But that also holds true for entertainment hype, too.  I never saw
celebrities being interviewed regularly on the news plugging their
books/films/etc. until I came out here and saw "Disco News" on
WNBC.  There may be a time and place for that (I doubt it) but on
the news?????

Have you ever been out to LA or SF or SD or Port. or Sea? It's
great.  For example, Southern California has miles of terrific beaches,
better than any I've seen here (and being from California I like
beaches, so I've tried to find a good beach here).  What's more, 
many of them are completely FREE.  You may have to put some quarters
in your parking meter, but if you get there early enough you may be
able to park free.  The smog?  Don't give me smog.  There is smog in
the cities here, too.  Also, there are a lot fewer toxic waste
disaster areas there.  Southern California also has REAL mountains.
You can drive to Idlewild in 3 hours or so, and hike up a 10,000+ foot
peak.

I could go on, but it is pointless to try and convince so many
narrow-minded pointy-headed Easterners that the New Yorker is not the
place to turn to for a map of the world.  All I can say is that I like
people in LA a lot better than I do people in New Jersey or New
York, and I think everyone east of the Mississippi should be shot.
(Me included, for coming out here in the first place.)  I thought 
people out here were pretty decent; they aren't.  The East may have
more going for it when it comes to the actual cities, but when it
comes to people,

                    L.A.'s The Place

Let's hear it for the West Coast!
Comments welcomed as soon as I get into my fireproof suit, flames
from ignorant twits who have never been out to the West Coast to
dev/null.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
"Scotty, get those shields up!"
                                             Mark Modig
                                             California Native
Send all replies to:                         (and proud of it...)
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Oh, yes, I almost forgot... Sorry!