Travel + Leisure Hates Los Angeles

Blogging.la links to the new America’s Favorite Cities poll being conducted by Travel + Leisure magazine — and Los Angeles is getting killed by the haters.

The survey ranks Los Angeles near the bottom (out of the nation’s top 25 destination cities) in Environmental awareness (!), safety, access to outdoors (!), cityscape, cleanliness, pedestrian friendliness, public parks/spaces, skyline/views, architecture/notable buildings and Historical sites/monuments.

Then there’s the people categories. We’re ranked DEAD LAST when it comes to friendliness and intelligence, and near the bottom in “fun” and “worldly.” We’re below the top ten in diversity (!) as well.

Gimmie a break. Do people hate the concept of Los Angeles so much that they refuse to acknowledge our city’s strengths?

"The Amazing Race" Finale: Who Will Win?

If you’ve been watching “The Amazing Race” this season, then you’d have to admit, it’s the best competition the show has seen in a while. The characters may not be quite as compelling as past seasons, but I think the show has at least got its race mojo back. In recent seasons, it seemed as if teams would constantly be bunched up and equalized, and the tasks got easier.

It’s still not quite as great as the first few seasons, but “The Amazing Race” felt a little more like a competition this time. And what’s great is two of the most unlikely finalists are now racing for the million bucks: Ron and Christina, and Nicholas and Donald. (I suppose even easy-going TK and Rachel could be unlikely finalists, because they’re just so mellow.)

Who do you think’s gonna win it all on Sunday? Take the poll below:

surveys – Take Our Poll