Dusk at my grandmother's house once sounded like sirens – like the wailing truck that circled town, spraying pesticide children would chase.

Last year, a New Yorker told me that every time he flies into LA, he feels like he's arriving in Gotham City.

As regards my job and the state of Los Angeles and my body and my government and the lives of my friends as well as my health

Up the street, hills that had been dark and drowsy when I laid down were dancing.