The Juxtaposition is less a blog than a showcase of occasional essays by the two local writers who share the space. In La Ciudad, Scott O'Malley muses on the specialness of L.A. and missing his friend Zak.

There is no logic to combat cancer. When the best doctors at UCLA, the best doctors in the world, men and women who read in their sleep, and sleep on their lunch. When the doctors cry, when they cry you realize the magnanimity of life. You realize there’s more to figuring things out. There’s more to work and rent, debts and politics; more to who’s cleaning the dried-out pot of chili, and who’s buying the three-month supply of paper towels.

It’s now been two years. And there’s less room for bitterness, even less for wallowing.

A smattering of what's going on at a few local blogs:

   • In the Hat hears the Mexican Mafia's next target.
   • The Elegant Variation covers last week's LA Lit mixer at LACMA.
   • Cathy Seipp guest-blogs among the academics at the Volokh Conspiracy.
   • The Rose Review, a new news satire and comment site by Don Rose.
   • LAist adds a co-editor, Marleigh Riggins.
   • LAVoice.org doesn't like the new "Best of L.A." issue of Los Angeles.
   • Matt Welch and friends save a gray cat from a coyote.
   • BoifromTroy and Wonkette keep trading links.
   • Tiffany Stone cooks dinner for a friend.
   • Marc Cooper to triple-blog the Democrats in Boston.
   • Luke Y. Thompson contributes to the anti-Bush Rawkus Caucus blog.
   • Bill Barol makes it official, two months after the NYT: ex-blogger.
   • Roger L. Simon loves his wife, especially now.
   • Justene Adamec and Steve Smith on Arnold's "girlie men" quip.
   • Amy Alkon still dislikes ugly Americans in Paris and that Susan Spano blog.
   • Brian Linse makes Johnny Friendly a daily read.
   • Moxie goes anti-liberal 24/7.
   • LAPD Wife on keeping guns in the house.
   • Dadtalk on monogamy in a pill.

More next time. Lots more locally written blogs in the links to the left and at LA Blogs.