Built over the desert’s objections, Los Angeles is a city that glorifies water. I was struck by the patent absurdity of this the other day, when I was having dinner with a friend who was visiting from Central Australia (another desert). We ate our delicious Mexican dinner in the Farmers Market, then strolled over to The Grove, where we watched the dancing fountain.
And really, what says “Fuck you, Nature!” better than a fifty-thousand gallon koi pond punctuated by forty jets shooting water sixty feet into the air and periodically breaking into carefree choreography to the tune of “America the Beautiful?”
Maybe Las Vegas.
A Bird\'s Nest 
MonkeyGurrl said,
August 16, 2006 @ 3:41 pm
🙂 Hee-hee. I *hate* that thing. It just seems so insipid, and I am amazed at the number of people (OVER the age of 5) that stare at it, transfixed. Or worse, push and shove to get near it.
Maybe it’s just a testament to the inherent rudeness of our fellow angeleans (sp?).
Mom said,
August 16, 2006 @ 3:50 pm
Well said. Though I confess to a fondness for fountains of any kind, even the tacky, wasteful ones. But I wouldn’t push and shove – that would be so, so – unfountainlike.
Andrea said,
August 17, 2006 @ 5:41 am
LOL No kidding.
I remember being shocked when we were in VEgas last year that we would watch an ad on TV about the drought and water conservation, and then walk down the Strip where every hotel had a fountain out front, spurting away.
Red Diabla said,
August 17, 2006 @ 9:30 am
I’ve never been to the Grove. I hate the idea of it. I hate fountains in desert-type areas, so the Grove is still not on my list of “must-see’s”.
I also hate Vegas…what a waste!
habetrot said,
August 17, 2006 @ 2:20 pm
I love your rants. 😀 Keep up the good work.
uccellina said,
August 17, 2006 @ 3:00 pm
Ranting. I knew there was a word for what I do here.
Thank you!
SilliGirl said,
August 18, 2006 @ 8:37 am
When I lived in Arizona I used to get so upset to see people watering their lawns in the middle of the day. I heard something like 60% of the water evaporates before it even hits the ground. Plus, grass in the desert is so not okay.