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.

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!

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

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.

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.

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.

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.