Clock-wise, Europe is a much better place to compose Hollywood Elsewhere riffs, and Los Angeles is probably the worst. if you’re in Cannes or Rome or Paris you can start working at 10 am and post your first story by 11 am or noon, at which point New Yorkers (i.e., six hours behind) won’t even be waking up for another hour or two, and Los Angelenos have just gone to bed. You’re way ahead of the game! But in LA you wake up every day in a losing position, always behind the New York crowd, never “first.” You might have the “most” in terms of original reporting or an interesting personality, etc., but “first” is what seems to matter to most readers. The only way you can turn L.A. to your advantage is to file at 11 pm or midnight, but I’m usually whipped at that hour.