LA is a Thousand Cities

I read a great interview with Josh Radnor while sitting in the doctor's office the other day. I wasn't so much interested in Radnor (star of How I Met Your Mother), as I was in what he had to say about Los Angeles. Turns out, he loves it for a lot of the same reasons I do.

"It's this blank canvas, and it reflects you back at you."

I've always felt that L.A. is not one city, but thousands of them. You can find anything you want here — any kind of people, any kind of life. You just have to find the right city, the one made for you.

No one is a freak here, because we are all freaks.

The article ends with a great take on what I've always called LA's "background noise of hope":

They say a place is infused with the character of whoever settled the land. Utah is always going to have a Mormon feel to it. Wisconsin is always going to be Protestant and liberal and cheese-y. And California is gold rush territory. People came out here looking to find that opportunity. It's a great place for dreamers.

People here don't dream about a promotion or a new car, they dream about incredible fame and profound love and saving the world.

Of course, that's just the Los Angeles I live in.