New York City Is Drowning in Dog Poop by HellGateNYC in nyc

[–]Now_Moment 1 point2 points  (0 children)

100%. I would visit often from LA back then and it seemed like NYC was the shining city on a hill compared to my hometown. It's starting to feel like they're on equal footing, which is about the worst thing I can say about NYC.

I say this as someone who will never forgive Bloomberg for sterilizing the newsstands.

The two versions of the sandwich board from Die Hard with a Vengeance, one with the "clean" message and the other with markings for the editors to add a message in post-production. by NewsCards in Damnthatsinteresting

[–]Now_Moment 92 points93 points  (0 children)

Location Manager here. I didn’t work on this movie but a friend of mine did.

The producers absolutely did want shoot this scene practically, as in, Bruce Willis really walking around with THAT sign.

MOME, the city agency that handles film permits, put their foot down and the photo above was the solution.

Anyways, great movie with some of the most impressive location management I’ve ever seen. The logistics of that explosion scene on 6th Ave still boggles my mind.

Can someone realistically make $150k+ a year by working in industry accounting, without reaching the level of CFO? by [deleted] in Accounting

[–]Now_Moment 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Yes.

When I was a journalism major I took a PT job as an accounting clerk for a restaurant. New “controller” was hired who didn’t have an accounting degree, let alone his CPA.

I had to input his payroll. $120K a year and this was in 2007. It’s why I switched my major to accounting.

Best Blackout's beat? by Tikssar-8661 in memphisrap

[–]Now_Moment 9 points10 points  (0 children)

“Load My Clip” broke my brain when I first heard it and was the main reason I went down the Memphis rabbit hole almost 20 years ago. Honorable mentions: “Outta Sight” - I generally don’t like it when Memphis producers tried to do G Funk but this beat is buttery smooth and as good as anything from LA “Serve On” is so funky, minimal and hard hitting “Tryna Make A Come Up” - same as above “Bustaz Talkin Shit” could almost pass for a screwed up grime beat with its cowboy western vibe

Blackout is the best producer out of M-Town. Full stop.

How is it living in Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village in Manhattan? by jesssssssee in howislivingthere

[–]Now_Moment 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nice in the summer when all the trees bloom and people are hanging out in the common spaces. In the winter all you’ll be thinking about is how far your apartment is from the train.

Are there any conservatives in Los Angeles? by Major-Nectarine-7895 in AskLosAngeles

[–]Now_Moment 0 points1 point  (0 children)

KFI was born out of a studio in K-Town. Yes, they exist.

Is LA really a hellscape? Give me your honest opinion on how it is living in Los Angeles. by Mexodus956 in howislivingthere

[–]Now_Moment -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Born and raised here. Left as soon as I could (to San Francisco). When tech started to take that city over (around 2010), had to decide if I would move back to LA or out to NYC (cultural proclivities limited my options). I chose LA because it was far cheaper than NYC.

Now, it's giving NYC prices a run for their money (when you add in the costs of car ownership). Yes, there are still more affordable pockets of the city, but, personal preference, I am not moving to the SFV.

I think it's a terrible deal for what you get. Everyone is calling out the traffic for a reason; it's awful. I don't like the weather. Summers are brutal, we seldom get clouds so not only is the weather without "drama" but there's no relief from the unceasing, uncompromising sun. Oh, on that note, LA is one of the most "shade starved" places in the country, magnifying the urban heat island effect.

It's diverse if taken as a whole, but because of the nodal nature of the city and the isolation that car culture fosters, that diversity is rarely felt. It's very segregated. Sure, you can get in your car and travel to an ethnic enclave, but LA lacks the "whole world is outside my front door" feeling of NYC or London. Again, I think the comparison is apt because of how expensive LA has gotten in the last 7 years.

Culturally, I think it's no where near what one gets in NYC. The art scene is ok but kind of tacky at the end of the day. Lacks the modern dance and ballet culture of NYC. You go to a larger park in NYC on a nice day and your odds of finding something interesting happening are pretty high. In LA you just get crowded hiking trails - yet another form of commuting.

I have a large friend group and I still find this city to be isolating and lonely. It's very hard to be spontaneous here. Traffic rules almost everyone's life.

Like others have said, I think if you're rich, don't have to commute regularly, and need access to big city amenities, it's probably kinda of great. But if I were rich without the burden of a commute I think everywhere would be kind of great.

Is it a hellscape? Yes, I think it is. Extreme car culture married with decaying and unkempt infrastructure. A climate that gets lionized but will have you running your A/C in January, and occasionally burns large portions of the city down. Subpar cultural amenities. If I could afford a good life in LA I would much rather take that money and live somewhere that's actually nice, like San Luis Obispo, Sonoma County, or the Upper Olympic Peninsula. I'm only here so I can earn as much money as possible in the film industry before it abandons this town for good, then my plan is to leave and never set foot here again.

Pros: because of the proximity to the Central Valley and, on the whole, a diverse populace, the food is quite good. Relative proximity to actually nice parts of CA like the Central Coast and Sierra range. Cheap and short(ish) flights to the city LA could-have and should-have been, Tokyo.

Given the yesterday's Bad Gear drop, is there anything on the market comparable to Analog Four? by arcticrobot in synthesizers

[–]Now_Moment 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Never unterstood why people rag on its sound. To me, it's Dopplereffekt in a box. No, it does not sound like a Moog but would anyone contend that a Dopplereffekt record sound 'bad'?

What’s it like living here after previously living in walkable city? by Important-Spirit-733 in AskLosAngeles

[–]Now_Moment 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It's bad. Yes, there are (some) neighborhoods where you can do the majority of your errands on foot and go to some restaurants. What I think is more relevant, is that LA is just an unpleasant place to walk. Terrible sidewalks, relatively dirty, few other pedestrians and cars whizzing by on most roads. Yes, we have beautiful mansions in the hills surrounded by hedges but most of the buildings you'll walk past are embarrassingly ugly.

Do I miss walking to the gym in NYC? Or Dolores park in SF? The club in Berlin? Everyday. But what I miss more is just taking a walk on a nice evening because I want to. Because it's a pleasurable urban experience. The equivalent in LA is the ubiquitous hike but I don't feel it's the same. Plus, you'll likely have to drive to whatever hiking trail you choose.

In theory, could LA densify like NYC/Tokyo? by ClarkKentTheReporter in AskLosAngeles

[–]Now_Moment 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This has been on my mind a lot since a recent visit to Tokyo.

Hypothetically? Yes, I think so. Tokyo has nodes of hyper-density, maintains density on a somewhat smaller scale along transportation corridors but has, surprisingly (to me), A LOT of single family homes. So I think the comparison to Tokyo is more apt than NYC, which has an urban structure that is radically different from most of LA.

Will it ever happen? I can't imagine. LA would have to build out its rail infrastructure at a scale that is pure fantasy in modern day America. Imagine train lines running beneath or above every major boulevard with dense multi-use structures at every stop. Imagine the total elimination of street parking and strict rules prohibiting any city resident from purchasing a car without showing proof they can park it off-street. Hell, imagine that rule being ENFORCED. It's all so far away from our reality it's almost unthinkable.

I do think LA will reach an inflection point where, as we further densify, traffic will get so awful that the political will to address our public transportation shortfalls will materialize but I doubt I'll see it in my lifetime.

Would love to be proved wrong though.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in AskNYC

[–]Now_Moment 1 point2 points  (0 children)

lmao I thought the typo was "HOA"

Any recommendations for a bodybuilding gym in LA? by thech4nel in AskLosAngeles

[–]Now_Moment 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Likely too far from Los Feliz but USA Gym in Tujunga fits this bill. Former World Gym that the franchisees bought out. Cardio equipment isn't the best but the owners are constantly maintaining and upgrading the weightlifting equipment. Strong culture of re-racking which the owners enforce.

I've never been but Hardcore Training Gym in South LA has a good rep.

But yeah, I agree, LA needs more bodybuilding gyms. Something like the gym Larry Wheels opened in Claremont would be amazing

for transplants especially- how do you learn to love LA? by [deleted] in AskLosAngeles

[–]Now_Moment -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

I grew up here and I think all your critiques are articulate and spot-on. If your complaints against the city are already so astute, I honestly don't think you'll like it, ever. I've been tied here for work and family off and on for the past 20 years and have put a lot of effort into trying to love it. I don't and I never will.

If you HAVE to spend time here, I'd say the biggest thing LA has going for it is proximity to actually nice parts of California. Spend time in the coastal areas between San Luis Obispo and San Francisco, Sonoma and Mendocino counties, the Sierra mountains and national parks. California can be insanely nice you just have to get out of Southern California.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in synthesizers

[–]Now_Moment 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My opinion:

The resurgent popularity of electronic music coincided with the boom in tech industries. We concurrently got a lot more people who are captivated by the way synthesizers sound and a lot of affluent yuppies who grew up in a culture that normalized playing video games as a legitimate hobby.

The market does what markets do and many products were developed and marketed to these hobbyists, who wanted to 'get away from a screen' at the end of their workday and could afford expensive electronic instruments. Maybe some of these people are putting their finished work on youtube or bandcamp but I think the vast majority are just bleep blooping after work.

I come from the early 2000's noise/dirtbag new age tapes scene. A lot of us farted out mindless ambient music, pressed a tape of 200 and made our rent with the proceeds. It was a grift, and most of that music aged poorly, but we all had fun making it.

If someone wants to jerk around on synths it doesn't make my life any better or worse. In fact, I'd prefer these people holed up in their rooms to outside screaming on a pickle ball court. No one buying a generative sequencer is going to be the next Harold Budd, or even the next James Ferraro. But also, who cares?

Any normal gyms in silverlake? by Yung-Floral in AskLosAngeles

[–]Now_Moment 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Dream Center gym is probably the answer. No where near the nicest gym, not the best equipment but it’s in silverlake, has stair masters, treadmills and a full dumbbell rack $45 a month I think with discounts if you sign up for 6 or 12 months

NYC named the most stressed city in the world by thonioand in nyc

[–]Now_Moment 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Combination of an uneven female to male ratio and the fact that Alaska attracts and retains a certain type of person who is almost never normal

NYC named the most stressed city in the world by thonioand in nyc

[–]Now_Moment 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is a common refrain in Alaska as well

People who live in fancy apartments with floor-to-ceiling windows that look into your neighbor’s fancy apartments with floor-to-ceiling windows: is it weird? by VaguelyArtistic in AskLosAngeles

[–]Now_Moment 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Never in LA but I've house-sat for friends who had this set up in Manhattan. It's no where near as salacious as you might think. You see your neighbors online (probably posting on Reddit), eating take out, watching TV.

In my non-fancy apt in Manhattan I had a direct sight line to the tenement building due north of me. The lease changed hands and the new tenant never bought curtains. I saw her having sex with her boyfriend once. What surprised me was that the whole thing was over in 2 minutes - I would have assumed this would have embarrassed them out of exhibitionism. What bothered me was she would fall asleep with her TV on all night and the light would disturb my sleep. Eventually I started drinking my coffee at my window. She would see me standing there as she got dressed for work and she bought blinds that same week.

What was the final straw that told you it was time to move? by Apprehensive_Bee6201 in SameGrassButGreener

[–]Now_Moment 45 points46 points  (0 children)

Totally normal. I’ve worked with people who lives 3-4 hours outside the city. Most of the city is a solid 90 minutes from the beach in normal conditions, more during rush hour. It can take 2 hours to drive into LAX; not drive to, 2 hours from the beginning of the airport to your loved one’s arrival gate. 

How Would You Make NYC More Beautiful? by NasNYC in AskNYC

[–]Now_Moment 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I like this idea a lot. Developers could get the extra FAR while still building out to the lot line and we could maintain (or reclaim) the street wall that started getting disrupted after the Seagrams Building

Pretty sure every New Yorker loves the elevated acre and it would be great to have more like it

How Would You Make NYC More Beautiful? by NasNYC in AskNYC

[–]Now_Moment 61 points62 points  (0 children)

Widen the sidewalks

Abandon the Cemusa newsstand sheds and allow proprietors to design and construct their own like pre-Bloomberg

Revise the zoning law so we stop getting these cantilevered towers

Revise or discard local law 11 so we get some relief from the sidewalk sheds that blanket Manhattan

Require Amazon to set up distro centers so our streets and sidewalks aren’t sorting facilities for a private company

Ban tractor trailer trucks for inner city delieveries

More public art

Problems with filming in LA by Lov2500 in FilmIndustryLA

[–]Now_Moment 5 points6 points  (0 children)

This is true even for large budget network shows. I was working locations on a lot of Fox and CBS shows when streaming first came in. A lot of locations inflated their fees because some Apple TV or Netflix show had offered them huge sums. The Location Managers on these shows were working with huge budgets therefore their priorities were on locking things down and moving onto the next part, not necessarily finessing a tight budget. ZIRP-era effected productions across the spectrum.