Visiting Los Angeles, an Aucklander can't help but think of home, though not in a homesick way. It's more to do with wondering if this vast, sun-baked, car-mad, homeless-filled place is actually future Auckland.
The taxi driver from the airport is garrulous but, unusually liberal for an LA cabbie, says the city is hurting over the Hamas-Israel war. "There's a lot of fear." And, as usual, he's never been to New Zealand, but he hears it's very beautiful.
Wife working, me tagging along, for our first few days in Hollywood we're based at the Thompson Hollywood, new and hip and full of rich youngsters. There's a rooftop bar and a pool. It's just a hop off Sunset Boulevard and I can see the skyscrapers of Downtown in the heat-hazy distance.
After 6pm, the sun a fading glow way above Santa Monica, we venture out for a drink and food and go around the corner to the rooftop bar in another hip hotel. The seats have no backs and everyone is less than half my age. There's no tap beer, just cocktails with names like Jolene. Incongruously, the sound system is playing Dire Straits.
Next morning, even hotter, an Uber driver says, "I'm starting to notice the homeless in parts of town they weren't before, like Beverly Hills, even Rodeo Drive. There was an influx after the epidemic. For the first time, it's starting to feel dangerous."
But the thing he's really in a state about is the price of petrol. "It's so expensive now, hitting $6 a gallon." When I tell him that back home, we pay the equivalent of $14 a gallon, he refuses to believe me.
TAKING SHELTER
Denne historien er fra November 25 - December 1, 2023-utgaven av New Zealand Listener.
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Denne historien er fra November 25 - December 1, 2023-utgaven av New Zealand Listener.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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First-world problem
Harrowing tales of migrants attempting to enter the US highlight the political failure to fully tackle the problem.
Applying intelligence to AI
I call it the 'Terminator Effect', based on the premise that thinking machines took over the world.
Nazism rears its head
Smirky Höcke, with his penchant for waving with a suspiciously straight elbow and an open palm, won't get to be boss of either state.
Staying ahead of the game
Will the brave new world of bipartisanship that seems to be on offer with an Infrastructure Commission come to fruition?
Grasping the nettle
Broccoli is horrible. It smells, when being cooked, like cat pee.
Hangry? Eat breakfast
People who don't break their fast first thing in the morning report the least life satisfaction.
Chemical reaction
Nitrates in processed meats are well known to cause harm, but consumed from plant sources, their effect is quite different.
Me and my guitar
Australian guitarist Karin Schaupp sticks to the familiar for her Dunedin concerts.
Time is on my side
Age does not weary some of our much-loved musicians but what keeps them on the road?
The kids are not alright
Nuanced account details how China's blessed generation has been replaced by one consumed by fear and hopelessness.