The Way We Live Now: A few notches down. Before, you did something decent. Now, you do what you can. You can't turn shit into Shinola. But you can do the opposite, boy, easy.

Park Avenue used to be a nice place to live. Now they sold their peace and quiet to Oscar de la Renta for a few bucks and it's a god damn madhouse.

Rosalio Reta used to be a good kid. Then he went to work as an assassin for a Mexican drug cartel just to get himself some fast cars and cash.

Thieves used to hijack trucks full of fancy electronics. Now they hijack trucks full of cardboard boxes.

The LA Sheriff's office used to do DNA testing on victims of sexual assault. Now, there's no money for DNA testing on victims of sexual assault in LA.

People used to be out making news. Now, there's no news. Requires expending energy. Too expensive.