It looks like they can fly, sometimes. What do you do on National Pig Day anyway? I could be snarky and suggest some bbq, but I love pigs, Porky and Arnold the Pig included. If you don't want to watch Green Acres or Charlotte's Web, March is chock-full of other options: It's American Red Cross Month, Irish-American Heritage Month, National Craft Month, National Frozen Food Month, National Noodle Month, National Nutrition Month, Woman's History......

"Human activity" is what the LA Times is reporting is the cause of the fires. That's arson if it wasn't an accident. The most destructive fire in Malibu in nearly 15 years raced through parched canyons Saturday, consuming 49 homes and forcing the evacuation of thousands of residents. The so-called Corral fire burned 4,700 acres before the fierce Santa Ana winds died down, allowing firefighters to make a stand. By evening, the blaze, which......

An area of Mexico larger than metro LA is almost completely underwater after two days of severe flooding. Granted, we're busy fighting a Global War on Terror and it's inconvenient to help our neighbors, not to mention our own domestic needs, but... it's probably worth knowing that 80 percent of Tabasco is underwater. More rain is on its way. Our fires were on front pages around the world. So how come when Mexico experiences......

It's been two years since an American city was destroyed. The above clip is a teaser of a video podcast series produced and promoted by entertainment icon Quincy Jones and pop guy Usher who have teamed up with Habitat for Humanity in order to urge Americans not to forget the victims of the hurricane. Think about what happened two years ago and think of a way to help. Editor Tony Pierce drove to New......

Some medical types released a study on CPR, that found the benefit of chest compressions alone, can be just as beneficial as the current procedure for CPR with mouth-to-mouth ventilation. They also studied the reactions of people when confronted with someone who’s collapsed, and discovered 70% of bystanders do nothing, partly because they’re afraid of touching a stranger’s lips. But the information shows when someone collapses it’s often due to a heart attack, where......

If Dracula were a fairy Godmother, her name would be the American Red Cross. Sure, she does deplorable things like misappropriating financial contributions during times of horrific crises. But, she also does good things, like providing blood to 3000+ hospitals across the country. Let's focus on the good right now because December is a very rough time for the blood supply. Donations slow down as schools and businesses close for the holidays, but the......

Face it, the Red Cross has been pretty good to us over the last few years. So why not give up more than a few pints of blood? Tonight from 7p-11p at the Nucleus Gallery (30 West Main Street, Alhambra, 91801) over 100 artists will be presenting work that has been created on 4" x 6" postcard sized mediums. Do-gooders and art collectors may purchase up to five pieces for $100 each. Here are......

The Orange County wildfires continue to burn in the Cleveland National Forest. Firefighers say they're making progress; more than 500 are on the scene. But the region's red flag conditions continue. Authorities have issued a public health alert for the smoke in OC and in Long Beach too. A Burbank man was sentenced to a year in jail for sitting outside a Best Buy collecting cash for Katrina victims about two weeks after the......

Well, someone did. We're not kidding. The Laugh Factory recently auctioned off stage time on EBay for a Katrina relief event. The winning bid was $7,600.00. Catch the wealthy comic, Mark Moseley, open at 8pm tonight for Jon Lovitz. Tickets cost $15-25.00 and all proceeds benefit The American Red Cross. The Laugh Factory 800 Sunset Blvd. Hollywood CA, 90046 323-656-1336 ext. 1......

THURSDAY • Caitlin Cary (Whiskeytown) & Thad Cockrell play with Oslo at the Knitting Factory tonight at 9 PM. Tickets are $12 advance, $14 day of. • Cinespace is hosting a Hurricane Hold 'Em Charity Tournament to benefit the American Red Cross tonight at 8 PM. The buy-in is $25 per table, with a $3 suggested donation at the door (players and non-players welcome). RSVP to hurricaneholdem@yahoo.com. • "Cellos" premieres tonight at REDCAT, featuring......

Restaurants in the Innovative Dining Group (IDG) have announced that on Thursday, September 8th, 20% of their local restaurants' proceeds will be donated to the Red Cross in order to help add to the growing amount of funds raised in the Los Angeles area to benefit the survivors of Hurrican Katrina. IDG has six spots in the greater LA area, three of which are locations of Sushi Roku (West Hollywood, Santa Monica, and Pasadena),......

The media coverage of Katrina permeated our hearts and minds this week. Angelenos are just as horrified as the rest of the US at the devastation, suffering and lethargic relief efforts. After being pummeled all week, it was extremely uplifting to see one Angeleno doing her small part. Jo, a hard-working waitress, is making a difference... one tip at a time. She's explained that she's on a tight budget, so this was the best way......

As World Changing looks at the most pressing concerns in the aftermath of Katrina, The San Jose Mercury News (reg. required) is helping LAist by reminding us, once again, of the kindness of strangers. Locally, corporations like Disney and Occidental Petroleum had donated over $3.5 million to the cause while the Dodger Stadium Red Cross center had collected over $350,000 in individual contributions by early evening yesterday. And that's not to mention the people......

Americans rose to the occasion when the Asian tsunami hit in December. Now it's time to help out a little closer to home. A few local media outlets have set up emergency relief centers where Los Angelenos can drop off check, cash or credit card donations. Here are a few: TalkRadio 790 KABC, 95.5 KLOS and ESPN Radio 710, ABC 7 and The Walt Disney Company are hosting American Red Cross events at the......

In the aftermath of tragedies, people say and do some pretty stupid things. Like Reverend Lewis Logan of Bethel AME, who says that Katrina is a Black woman seeking retribution on the South for its history of racism (Matt Szabo). LAist might be a little color blind but the faces we see on TV dealing with this storm seem decidedly black and impoverished. And, regardless, what the hell kind of abuse of religious faith......

Londonist has minute by minute coverage of the suspected terrorist blasts in London today. Included in their bird's eye view of the event is a link to the incredibly comprehensive (and constantly updated) wikipedia entry about the transport explosions. Update: Locally, we moved to modified tactical alert and a heightened alert at LAX but not for any specific threat. Update II: For even more minute by minute coverage, check out europhobia. From bloggers in......

As the Independence Day holiday approaches—known as much for firearm and recreational sporting injuries as for the camping and partying over the long holiday weekend—the Red Cross is warning that the blood supply in Southern California is critically low. This is a warning we've all heard before, but for some blood types (such as O-, O+ and B+), there is not enough blood in reserve to last the rest of the day, and perhaps......

LA City Council Member Eric Garcetti is providing a way to give support to the victims of the Metrolink tragedy. He explains: We have had a lot of people in the blogosphere who have asked how to help--we have set up a donation account at PayPal and are working with relief services and the Red Cross to determine the greatest needs. We will have this on the City of Los Angeles web site, but......

The Inland Valley's Daily Bulletin reports that "Some of the estimated 40,000 Sri Lankans living in Southern California prefer to vacation in their native country this time of year" putting many of them in the path of Sunday's huge earthquake and tsunami in the region. It puts our 7 or so inches of rain in perspective doesn't it? It's quite interesting watching local news and seeing how delicately they try to play the incredible......