In Los Angeles this month

Los Angeles Magazine kicks off a new Hollywood sociology column, Cut!, in the October issue. New contributing writer Gina Piccalo writes the first one, talking to spouses and partners about how they feel when their squeezes do sex scenes. Mark Lacter takes a break from LA Biz Observed to analyze the present and future of Beverly Hills-based MySpace, plus there's a primer on earthquake science, a conversation with Speaker Karen Bass and a short Q&A with former staff writer Jesse Katz, whose memoir coming next month, "The Opposite Field," grew out a piece he wrote for the magazine on his experiences as commissioner of the Monterey Park Little League.

CityThink: The magazine's invitations to a breakfast next week with LAPD chief William Bratton dropped the name of a new initiative, "CityThink." They're guarding details, but it sounds like Los Angeles wants into the arena of public events and civic conversations, with ties back to the print magazine and its website. I'm told that "private leadership gatherings" are part of the mix.