3 Things

A link-blog, of sorts

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Travelers Hate LAX. Here’s How an Airport Expert Would Fix It.

There is one universal truth in Los Angeles: avoid LAX at all costs. Generally you realize a relationship is getting serious if you are willing to consider picking up or dropping off your person at that airport. It was designed around the personal, private automobile in the 50s/60s and that is what handicaps it to this day. The video does a decent job of explaining why.

Joshua Schank’s ideal scenario for fixing LAX—trains (and other public transit) terminating directly inside the airport—is exactly the scenario LAWA (who runs the airport) had been against until very recently and their opposition is not even acknowledged in the video.

I’m hopeful the new people mover, which will connect to Metro’s K-line, brings some relief. But because it’s connecting to a short light rail line, with infrequent headways, that will also require connections to visit the majority of the city, I suspect it won’t be the LAX cure we all hope for. For example, it will likely take well over an hour to get from the airport to where I live, near downtown, right on a different rail line. And it certainly won’t compare to, say, Denver, where you can walk out of the terminal, down an escalator, and be on a fast heavy-rail train to downtown. Total trip time, about 25-30 minutes.

The idea of congestion pricing in the horseshoe is interesting—and likely one LAX will still need to implement if there’s any real hope for improvement.


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Doechii’s Tiny Desk Concert

I won’t pretend I’m cool enough to have heard of Doechii before this Tiny Desk session, but… whew… I just love everything about this performance.

Backed by a full band, horns and two background singers, Doechii’s performance was a masterclass in creativity. Sporting vintage academia looks, complete with matching cornrows and beads, Doechii delivers a freshly rearranged medley of cuts from ALLIGATOR BITES NEVER HEAL, tailored specifically for Tiny Desk. While hip-hop remained at the core, she truly gave us everything: a jazz arrangement of “BOOM BAP,” heavy rock vibes on “CATFISH” and a Southern praise break outro on “NISSAN ALTIMA.”

Give it a watch / listen.


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Adam Conover: Debunking L.A. Wildfire Myths with Climate Scientist Dr. Daniel Swain

Iykyk. Daniel Swain is one of the most clear-headed and easy-to-understand weather experts out there. If you’re having trouble grokking 1) how a fire event like this could happen in the first place and 2) why it is “different” as compared to the previously-known pattern of events in fire-prone Southern California, this is worth your time.

It’s also available as a podcast, but I would really recommend watching for some of the footage Swain references.


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Appreciate everything, endlessly

On a lighter, heartwarming note, Cabel Sasser’s talk from this year’s final XOXO Festival is the best 20 minutes you’ll spend on the internet today (or possibly any day). I was lucky enough to be in the audience for it and even in rewatching (several times!), I still get all the feels. Go into it with as little context as possible, but once you’ve watched it, be sure to check out the companion site that Cabel built.


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The US Is Destroying Young People’s Future

To call myself “young” at this point would be to strain credulity, but I am technically an “elder Millennial” and everything Scott talks about here resonates with me and everyone I know in the generations below me. We’re going to be left holding the bag with fewer meaningful ways to improve our lives than our parents (or their parents) ever had—and those are the folks still in control of our futures.


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How Utrecht Became a Paradise for Cyclists

As a cyclist in Los Angeles it can almost be torture to see what other cities have done to embrace multi-modal transit. But at the same time, we need to dream. What Utrecht has acheived in such a short amount of time is inspiring.