Marci of Co-op 28 and her counter of books

Me, I’d rather stick pins in my eyes than go to a mall the week before Christmas. I prefer to do most of my holiday shopping at places like Unique LA or Handmade, so how happy was I to hear about Co-op 28 in Los Feliz.

Behind a fairly unassuming store front, Co-op 28 houses a gallery and what a more pretentious blogger might call a “curated” gift shop/boutique. The shop hasn’t been open long, but it has the feel of a place that should become a neighborhood staple. You’ll recognize some of the artists/designers from Unique LA if you go there, but of course, Co-op 28 is open every day and doesn’t cost $10 at the door. Not that it’s cheap–I easily spent far more than I intended–but most things are priced as you’d expect for handmade, one-of-a-kind items. The owner Marci Siegel has put together a great collection–a rack of clothes, a table of bath items including eucalyptus bombs that steam up your shower, fun and fancy jewelry, guitar straps, clocks made from old pulp fiction novels and Dr. Seuss books, purses . . . even a selection of classic candies. Because who doesn’t want a handful of bit-o-honeys to go with that lomography print?

To make the whole thing irresistible, the shop is on Vermont right off of Prospect, which is to say, next door to Paradis, the amazing Danish ice cream shop that earns my wholehearted love for periodically featuring licorice ice cream. So go, finish your shopping, have an ice cream, chat with Marci, and avoid the mall. Merry whatever-it-is-you-celebrate.

One of my favorite blogs to wander through is the Big Map Blog, which finds and shares truly exquisite historic cartography from all over the place — Los Angeles included, of course. Witness their most recent ridiculously detailed find from 1932: “Greater Los Angeles — The Wonder City Of America” from the Metropolitan Surveys company:

Click the above to enlargify it a bit, but if you wanna truly pore over aaaaall those details* in their high-resolution glory than boogie on over to its Big Map Blog page and download away!

* Such as a very interesting omission: the entire Los Angeles River.

It’s become our custom at b.la to share some ideas about how to help those in need during the holidays. We’ve been posting about places or organizations where you can volunteer your time or donate your money and truly participate in the spirit of giving this holiday season. But I know what some of you are thinking: All this helping-the-less-fortunate is well and good but what about the 1%? What to get them this holiday season? Thanks to a Thrillist email a few days ago, I have the answer for you. Read the rest of this entry →

It is what it is and this spokesperson at least gives a cohesive reason why the parade should be disrupted.  Although I don’t agree with it in its entirety, something has gone horribly wrong where this once largely free event is now costing us a fortune to even view the floats after the fact at Victory Park.  Hell, even some of the floats charge “Volunteers” for the privilege of helping to decorate.  If they disrupt I fear they stand more to lose more potential followers than they can gain. Is this being naughty or nice is up for debate.

5 acres logo

Five Acres is a child services organization in Altadena that specializes in helping abused kids.  It started in 1888 as an orphanage for Los Angeles County and today has grown to include full service to families where child abuse and neglect is an issue.  They have been creamed with the loss of government and private grants as the economy has tanked yet the kids needs has not changed.  They are in need of financial assistance now more than ever.

I apologize for the late notice but they are in need of help with their “Holidays and Family Angels” program.  They have a deadline of today to help if you can.  What they need is volunteers to adopt a family of 2-10 members and provide them with Holiday gifts.  If you can spare the extra right now this is a great way to bring a little joy to the season for a family.  More information can be had on this program by contacting Danielle Barr at 626-798-6793 ext 2250 or emailing her at dbarr@5acres.org

For more information visit their web. Other contact information on the group: Five Acres – The Boys’ and Girls’ Aid Society of Los Angeles County,760 W Mountain View St.Altadena,CA 91001, (626) 798-6793

Venice, home of the World's smallest Occupy protest

This Christmas, amid all my gift-giving, I’m thinking of the Occupy protesters, who have been out there for up to three months, fighting for the rights of regular folks like you and me. That’s why I’m highlighting the Occupy movement for this Blogging Los Angeles series on holiday giving.

In the Los Angeles area, we have Occupy Los Angeles, one of the largest Occupy protests in the U.S. (Note: the LAPD evicted the Occupy L.A. protesters from their encampment a couple of weeks ago, but, as their website indicates, the protesters are holding many daytime and evening assemblies). Occupy L.A.’s website has a “Donate” section, where they ask for cash or other supplies.

Read the rest of this entry →

This post is part of our Blogging.LA Holiday Giving series.

The holidays, for many, can be a time to excuse a bit more indulgence than usual. A few extra drinks at the office Christmas party, perhaps. But then, most offices have that guy or that gal—you know the one—who takes it to another level. Slurring, stumbling, making inappropriate comments and feeling like a total asshole upon waking up coming to the next morning. Or maybe it’s the one who spends an inordinate amount of time in the restroom, talking like Charlie Sheen when they finally emerge. Winning! Read the rest of this entry →

Serving families in need in the SGV is the Foothill Unity Center.  They are in need of more help than ever due to the ever increasing demands on them as a resource for families in distress.  Over Thanksgiving they served over 2,000 families up from some 1,600 a year ago.  Things aren’t getting better and they need all the help they can get for this Holiday Season.

They have a nifty page on what they need right now to get ready for Christmas.  They need food items.  They need gifts for kids.  They need to have volunteers to help with the distribution.  That is 3 ways to help them out, not including the constant need for cash donations.

If you have someone on your list that has everything, consider making a gift to the Foothill Unity Center in their name this Holiday Season.

For more complete information on the Foothill Unity Center visit their web site.

Monrovia Center: 415 W. Chestnut Ave., Monrovia 91016 Phone: (626) 358-3486 / Fax: (626) 358-8224 Hours: 9:00am – 5:00pm Monday through Friday.

Pasadena Center: 191 N. Oak Ave., Pasadena 91107 Phone: (626) 584-7420 / Fax: (626) 584-7422 Hours: 9:00am – 5:00pm Monday through Friday.

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.

Christmas in full swing in my 'hood

Over the next several days the writers here at Blogging.LA will be sharing with you ideas to help those in need in the Los Angeles Area.  We will cover a variety of ways to help from charities to causes that we hold near to our hearts.  And giving doesn’t have to be monetary, it can be your labors, your gifts in kind even raiding your pantry to help others out.  You don’t have to be religious either, much of what we share will strike a cord at least with your humanist and spiritual side.

Of course, feel free to jump in on the comments with your favorite charity or cause that needs a little extra help this time of year…include links where possible so others can help if they are so inclined.

Via the Eastsider LA blog, Silver Lake resident Matt Hartman went up on his rooftop in the pre-dawn chill of December 10 and came down with an awesome sequence of the moon getting rubbed out from behind a thin veil of high clouds:

Check it out:

According to Wikipedia, the total eclipse of the heart moon will take place from 6:06 AM to 6:57 AM tomorrow. Anyone staying up that late/ getting up that early to watch it? What are some of your favorite spots for viewing cosmic events such as this?

screen grab with the announcement no Fesitval of Lights

Busy looking for things to do different than the Hastings Ranch or Christmas Tree Lane displays to take the out-of-towners to this year I decided to look for the details on the Festival of Lights.  Imagine my surprise to learn that an infrastructure project has it cancelled for this year. More details on the cancellation HERE.  With Griffith Park out of the picture am on the hunt for something equally grand…ideas anyone?

Marina Boat Channel by day

If you’re an L.A. lover of the life aquatic, you’re in luck: this weekend, we’ve got two boat parades in a row.

First up, on Saturday, December 10, is the Marina Holiday Boat Parade at the Boat Channel in Marina del Rey. The boat parade, where the vessels are decked out in lit holiday splendor, begins at 6 p.m., preceded by a fireworks show at 5:55, which some people may be eager to see after the annual July 4 fireworks display was canceled due to budget cuts. There will be judging in various categories for the boats. See the first link above for all details.

Read the rest of this entry →

I ain't afraida no ghosts

Spotted this Chrysler 300 with license plates “ECTO 300″ and ghost-catching gear attached heading down Ventura Boulevard Sunday afternoon, but this was the only decent pic I was able to snap. I saw another Ghostbusters logo on the side of the vehicle as I passed, but no phone number to call when there’s somethin strange in your neighborhood. No indication as to whether this might be part of a rumored third installment in the Ghostbusters series, but I doubt it.

For old time’s sake: