I was not a cat person.

I didn’t like cats. My family always had dogs. Dogs were congenial, enthusiastic, stoked. Cats were diffident, seemed to not form attachments, and were generally a pain in the ass with zero ROI.

Then I moved into the Little House In Canoga Park.

Ok, so this little house had a bunch of feral cats living around it. Scads of ‘em. Everywhere! The place was filthy with cats! They were all terrified of me. The house was surrounded by trees and undergrowth, and the cats ran and hid under bushes, amidst vines, and in the crawl space under the Little House. I was determined to not become attached to them.

That endeavor did not succeed.

I began feeding the cats.  They warmed up to me. They curled around my feet and purred. They licked my arm when I petted them. My heart melted. I started to see how many little ones would show up, be cute, then…disappear. I tried not to think about what became of those kittens.

I had to try to get these cats all spayed and neutered, but how? Vets charge a lot for that. My search led me to FixNation, a nonprofit that offers free spay and neuter services for homeless cats. Slowly, over the course of about two years, I got all the cats trapped, taken to FixNation where they were sterilized and vaccinated, and then released them again. They mellowed out. They became cool cats. They chilled, lounged and rolled around adorably. Distinct personalities could be detected. They snuggled up to one another–I’d always thought cats were loners! Not these guys. They were friends. They were a pack. Team Meow.

It’s great that these guys are all doing so well, with me looking after them, but if they’d kept reproducing, the resultant kittens would NOT be doing well. And they’re NOT doing well all over the city. It’s awful. But FixNation is leading the charge to prevent the uncontrolled breeding.  Their mission is to reduce the population of homeless cats and kittens in Los Angeles by sterilizing as many as possible. To date, FixNation has spayed and neutered over 65,000 cats.

I know that there’s great suffering all over, in our communities. Homelessness and poverty are becoming ever more evident. And we all could stand to help out our fellow man. But it’s in the way we treat those who are small, who are relatively powerless, that grace is found. All creatures great and small, we should be responsible stewards of them all.

One donation of $40 neuters one male cat. You improve the quality of his life, and prevent the needless suffering of untold others. Thank you to FixNation for doing this work.

Below a high-summer sun

autumn slinks in

under the green leaves

and waits,

conspiring for the coup

of late September.

Last weekend a few of us got together for a delicious craft day to assemble our supplies for the Donut Summit.

Key materials: donuts, enthusiasm. Check…:

…and check. Photos by Ben Simpson of Hodomania (with the exception of the blurry donut shot above, chez moi)

More adorable photos of your awesome bloggers when you click through!

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134 Fwy, California Street overpass, Burbank

LA River, Warner ovp. at Forest Lawn Drive

Contained and constrained,
holding only the barest bit of exuberance,
tiniest sparkle of life flaring
illegally in your hand,
moving on and through,
along this vein–
toward a
pulling,
drawing
of the
heart,
the
nar-
row-
est
line,
the finest hold on life.

You arch and slide through,
balletic,
again
hurtling home
for your one singular reason.

We all do not stop moving–

LA River, distant San Bernadino Mtns, eastward river of cloud, from Forest Lawn Drive, Burbank.

Eagle Rock Blvd. at Ave. 35

Pow!
An explosion, ultraviolet
The jacarandas bloom and bang
one after the other like popcorn,
like fireworks on a fuse—
Summer sinks down on LA
pushing the shattered past to the edges,
glass confetti fanning the street.

Eagle Rock Blvd. at Ave. 35

LA cirque-gone-feral performance troupe Cirque Berserk have arrived at the Nokia Theatre for a month-long engagement, and we’ve got a FREE pair of tix just for you!

You’ll enjoy your evening of lovely fire dancers, disturbing clowns, stunning aerialists, music and burlesque, chez bLA and Goldenvoice (thanks guys!).

To win: Tell me, in the comments, which sideshow attraction you would be if you had to be in a traveling circus. Would you be the bearded lady? The giant? The knife thrower? The fortune-teller? Let a girl know! We’ll randomly pick one lucky winner to go.

You can buy tickets here.

Photo by Brion Topolski.

The inimitable Peaches returns with something only she could have thought up–and only she would have the rocks to do.  The reigning queen of electro-rock-raunch is singing the entire rock opera of “Jesus Christ Superstar,” from beginning to end, all by herself–accompanied only by virtuoso pianist & rapper Chilly Gonzales, playing piano.

If you’re looking for another camel-toe-tastic, colorful and bombastic performance by Peaches–this won’t be like the past shows you’ve seen. It’s her alone on a stage, singing the original songbook of the musical, with tonality and emotional range you don’t see as much of in her original work. But if you can imagine her powerhouse voice belting out these power-ballads, you know you’re in for an amazing, one-of-a-kind show.

To win, tell me what musician or band you’d like to see perform a classic rock opera, classical opera, or Broadway musical. For example, I’d love to see Adele do a stripped-down, soulful bluesy version of La Boheme, or David Bowie doing Cats.  That would be epic.

Info on the show is here.

Photo by helenadagmar on Flickr via a Creative Commons license.

Fans of powerhouse country divas, rejoice–The Judds‘ reunion tour, The Last Encore, is making its way to Club Nokia this Wednesday & we scored a couple pairs of tickets just for you dedicated fans. They’ll be playing songs from their upcoming album, as well as old favorites.

Wynonna was quoted as saying, “This tour gives me a chance to enjoy where Mom and I are in our relationship. I look forward to celebrating our personal and professional journey…together.”

And you thought the holidays with YOUR family were weird.

To win, tell me what makes you a deserving Judds fan. We’ll choose a few lucky folks to see the show.

Info on the show is here.

This is a heartbreaker. Artist, collector & gallerist Ben McGinty’s closing his beautiful Gallery At the End Of the World in Altadena, and this weekend is its last hurrah. You can’t miss your last chance to see his amazing back garden full of treasures, everything from a hanging garden of magnifying glasses to the back of a gypsy caravan. There will be the ubiquitous eclectic collection of art, crafts and handmade books, and a chance to meet the artists & enjoy drinks with the locals.

Also celebrating a final night tonight: The Robotanists close out their residency at Casey’s, the historic Irish tavern in downtown. Don’t miss their atmospheric, dramatic compositions and vocalist Sarah Ellquist’s lush vocals.

Continuing the theme of going out with a bang (or in this case, lots of bangs & thuds & whams) is the final Derby Dolls bout of the year…tonight’s their season championship, with my personal faves the Tough Cookies going up against The Swarm.

And I also have to recommend hitting Divine Design in Beverly Hills, the annual charity shopping event; 100% of funds raised to to Project Angel Food, and everything–from Oscar De La Renta dresses to cosmetics & jewelry and shoes, is 60% off today; 70% off on Sunday; and 80-90% off on Monday.

I love Donny’s home-made sign, not just because it’s so ingenuous, but because it’s so darn refreshing to see signage around me that’s not polished, glossy, and premeditated by a dozen branding consultants in a boardroom in New York.

There’s something about it that makes me wish we all would make more personal, handmade marks upon the spaces we occupy. I’m not talking pissing-contest-spraycan-tagging, which is only to mark territory. I’m talking about us communicating with the people around us. Hey you, out there:  I’m talking to you. I’m reaching out to you. And if you want, I will fix your plumbing, 24 hours a day.

Spotted in Burbank.

I can’t believe what an amazing pairing this is. I first saw The Books a long time ago when they opened for Califone at the Getty Museum. Their moody, glitchy, echo-filled compositions are part intensely detailed instrumentation and, the other half, comprised of a vast library of samples. The result is a meditative, slowly unfurling blossom of sound and fascinating vocals.

Combine that with the moody noir-rock of the Black Heart Procession (think Tom Waits on quaaludes in an echo chamber)  and you have a show that, conceptually as well as in execution, should be absolutely amazing.

Wanna go? We’ve got tickets.  This show’ll wipe the typtophan haze from your eyes.

To win, tell me the most mindblowing pairing of indie-rock acts you can think of. We’ll pick a few lucky winners to go experience the show.

Info on the show is here.

When I first heard Sleigh Bells‘ single, “Crown On The Ground,” on pitchfork, I was beset by equal parts revulsion and amazement. Squelching, overpowering guitars rattling out a stattaco, distorted-into-the-red rhythmic melody, accompanied by flattened vocals that provided more of a melodic layer than the guitars themselves–as if the vocals were a synth texture–was almost unlistenable, with producer Derek Miller utilizing the blown-out-speakers sound as a defining feature of the duo’s sound.

But it was unlistenable in that bracing, so-intense-it-hurts kind of way, the way I love that first ice-cold sip of Diet Coke because it hurts so good going down my throat. Sleigh Bells make your ears bleed, in an irresistible way. Alexis Krauss belts out anthems like a raver-cheerleader, her one-note vocals providing additional audio textures, as if Derek is using her voice as yet another layer of instrumentation.

Sleigh Bells are fucking amazing.

I’m really excited about this show, and apparently everyone else in LA is too, because it’s SOLD OUT. So blogging.la is now one of the only ways to score tix.

Wanna win your way into the show? Leave a comment telling me what you thought the first time you heard Sleigh Bells. We’ll pick one lucky winner to get a pair of tix to the show.

Info on the show is here.

Hey there! Long time no posts. Even as out of the loop as I’ve been lately, though, I could NOT turn down a chance to hook you up with tickets to one of my favorite musical acts of all time.

Lead Eel Mark Oliver Everett, aka “E”, is an unlikely object for a crush, but I’m totally a fangirl. His plain-speaking lyrics contain so much emotion and heart, managing to do that for which every writer strives: containing as much meaning as possible in as simple a way as possible. As Emily Dickinson said, “For writers, a success prescription / Fewer words / More description.”

Eels albums are powerful, full of dark topics treated squarely-on. But the live shows are wild and animated, with the band rocking out & dancing onstage, an incongruous sight with bearded, sunglass-wearing dudes jumping around the stage, doing high kicks.

Wanna go? Of course you do! Leave a comment telling me your favorite Eels lyrics & a little bit about why you love ‘em. I’ll pick a couple lucky winners to go to the show tomorrow night. Be sure to fill out the email field on the comment-submit form correctly so I can get in touch with you.

Info on the show is here, thanks to Goldenvoice.

Are you a tween? No? Perhaps you parent one. Perhaps you’re not afraid to let your inner 13-year-old freak flag fly. But for whatever the reason, you want these tix to see the multitalented America Idol winner, Jonas Brothers gal pal and ubiquitous Nickelodeon guest star Jordin Sparks when she plays live at Club Nokia this Friday.

Wanna get the tickets? Leave a comment telling me the very first musical idol you had a crush on. We’ll pick a few lucky winners to go.

Featured photo by colormepink on flickr via a creative commons license.

So here’s the thing. I badger the occasional slackin’ blogger to post to this site, and I myself have been slacking lately. There’s no one to badger me, but I had to out myself.

I spent pretty much the last three weeks out of LA–first in Death Valley, CA and then in the Seattle area. Two vastly different places with a lot in common: the ubiquity of the natural world; an inexhaustible supply of delicate details of flora and fauna and land around me; clean skies stocked with epic cloud formations; and neither of them are LA.

I grew up here, and have loved this city’s vagaries, inconsistencies and chaos since before I can remember. But I have to say, after a couple weeks back in LA, I miss the immediacy of the natural world I got in both Death Valley and Seattle. I feel a little lost. When I was in the vast empty spaces of the desert or cocooned in green in the Pacific Northwest, I felt like I’d found my right size in the world around me. Here in LA, I lose my bearings, get distracted, get dissatisfied with my insignificance or arrogant in my importance.

It seemed apropos that the jacarandas would have exploded into bloom while I was away & welcomed me back with a flurry of irrepressible violet. They’ve always marked melancholic episodes in my life: the boy with the floppy hair and southern drawl who never loved me back; the inescapable job that I only wanted to flee;  the years I spent living off vodka and pop-tarts. The jacarandas remind me of things I’ve lost, as if their impossible beauty stands in marked contrast to the various & sundry travails I’ve been experiencing. They don’t care if I’m down. And I don’t feel like LA does either. People complain to me often about how heartless LA is, and I defend its microcommunities and diversity and hidden gems earnestly, but sometimes I feel like I’m tired of a city that’s too vast to be personal, too ephemeral to be substantive. It seems to happen more and more lately.

I guess one of the things about chronicling a town as weird as LA is remembering to include the gray areas, the more liminal aspects of the city, and not just stick to relentless boosterism. Hence this post. I’m worried I’m falling out of love with LA.