because we should read things that don't relate to the penis

I'm linking you to this article in part because I'm a Francophile, in part because I'm a cultural critic, in part because it's pretty short and sweet, and in part because I needed something non-sexual to write about.

Bernard-Henri Lévy has followed in the footsteps (in spirit since there was a lot more ground to cover this time) of Alexis de Tocqueville, who wrote Democracy in America in 1835. Lévy's forthcoming book American Vertigo exposes a variety of American experiences through a set of French lenses. No, he's not anti-American, so quit your bitching. Sounds like a fascinating read actually.

I liked what he had to say about Los Angeles. As Sebastian Rotella, Los Angeles Times writer explains:

"As much as the disciple of Tocqueville admires America, however, the affection falters in Los Angeles. He does not get Los Angeles. He calls the city 'illegible and unintelligible.'

'The definition of a monster according to Aristotle is too much substance and not enough form,' Lévy said. 'That's exactly the case of Los Angeles. It may be a European point of view. I say it with all the prudence of someone perhaps with a traditional idea of a city... I don't say I hated it, but I was lost. 'Lost in Translation.' Perhaps it's the city of the future. But without me.'"