One thing I love about Los Angeles is that everyone comes here, and I don't have to go anywhere -- they come to me. Case in point: Joey Arias, the drag diva who first made a splash in New York's underground drag scene and then went on to infamy at Cirque du Soleil's sexytime Zumanity in Las Vegas, is here in town. I can go see him without jumping on a 3,000-mile (or 250-mile) flight for the next few weeks, in "Arias with a Twist." The name stems from the collaboration with Basil Twist, a puppeteer who conjured the fantastical set that Mr. Arias performs on.

● Soda Pop's (Mid-City West) - Recycled materials for the tables, artisan ingredients for the sandwiches...sounds like a winning combo.

When I walked into Book Soup on Sunset Boulevard for Mary Forbserg Weiland’s book reading on Monday night, it was immediately clear this was not your average book party. For one thing, there was an inordinate number of extremely tall, extremely beautiful, extremely well-dressed women in a crowded indie book store. That would be because the author was also a model. Then, there was the presence of a genuine rock star or two ... Dave Navarro (If I really have to tell you -- Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jane’s Addiction, yadda yadda yadda), and Dave Kushner of Velvet Revolver. A writer version of a rock star, Cameron Crowe, was also there, and yes, we stammered something stupid to him. The reason for all the celebrity fanfare? You might recognize her last name: she was married to Scott Weiland, the lead singer of Velvet Revolver and Stone Temple Pilots. Her friends in high places came to support her debut book, a memoir about her drug addiction and mental illness, co-written with Vanity Fair writer/editor Larkin Warren.

Posso means “I can” in Italian. It makes sense for this to be the name of the thriving LA-based brand that childhood friends Vanessa Giovacchini and Marylouise Pels have created, as the success they’ve achieved in the last year is a direct result of their ambitious mantra. From collaborating with the brand Costume Dept. on a "Space Safari" line, to DJing at the Summer Sonic festival in Japan, the duo -- who could easily pass for models at the fashion parties they also DJ -- are progressing at the speed of light. Speaking of time travel, when asked what inspires their work, they explain, “On the whole, traveling helps us stay inspired -- just seeing the way people in different places experience the world. Vintage is a key element as well, particularly the concept of re-designing and re-discovery.” Posso first made headlines in fashion when they introduced Posso the Spat, a provocatively revised version of the footwear accessory popular in the late 1800s. From there they took Posso to the next level, adding other accessories and, most recently, one-of-a-kind crop tees made from recycled t-shirts.

● The Tar Pit (Mid-City West) - '40s decor, '60s tableware, timeless drinks, celebrity chef. Drinking is going upscale.
● Hatfield's (Mid-City West) - Upgrades planned for an already very upped restaurant.
● Mooi (Echo Park) - On the off chance you didn't know, the gentrification of Echo Park is official: Vegan bakery.

Variety is key when you are testing the waters of love and lust. To some, love is motivated by how fat one's pocketbook is. To others, it's based on where one is able to get a reservation at peak time on a Friday night. Whether your leading lady is a tastemaker with a tiny appetite, or your gent is a sucker for the sauce, there’s a hotspot that’s all the bang for your buck, and a watering hole that may just lead to a bang.

● The Little Owl (New York) - Small hotspot where you can view the West Village through rose-colored window panes. A savvy choice for a date in the know, but let your date know you chose it for the greenmarket menu. Swoon.
● Mistral (Los Angeles) - Intimate space, low lighting, the smell of French cuisine, and love is in the air. Couples relish the dark corners. A vast wine list and pared-down menu means easy first date decision-making. Opt for fries over the spinach side; the soft light helps you seem sexy, but it will do nothing for a green tooth.

● The Mercantile (Hollywood) - Wine bar, ice cream parlor, French bistro, by one of Hollywood's most successful restaurateurs.
● Mendocino Farms (Downtown) - Grab-and-go operation that has all of Downtown in a frenzy.

Sparkly vampire movie New Moon is set to premiere on Monday in Los Angeles. The red carpet will be bracketed by twin galleries of screaming tweens and girls of all ages who want a peek at Robert or Taylor so they can swoon appropriately with the drama of it all. Sounds exciting! If you can't make it to the premiere in person, but you still want to see everyone sashay and pose on the carpet, you're in luck -- MySpace is going to livestream the whole ordeal.

Jackie Beat is one of those performers, writers, know-it-alls who should be more famous than she is. “Her” (she’s not a real lady) talent is a testament to the cruelty of Hollywood, a flawed system which rewards dumb and empty vessels like Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt merely for existing, and allows bad scripts (nearly everything currently playing at your local cinema) to be made into movies for millions of dollars. When my friend and I walked out of “Whatever Happened to Busty Jane,” a dark-and-twisted comic send up of Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, we had just finished laughing nonstop for two hours. I said to my friend, "Wouldn’t it be nice if Jackie Beat was writing Saturday Night Live skits?” Sadly, we both agreed that it would probably never happen because she’s too good, too smart, and too funny for mainstream America.

Nick Cohen is one of those brash mash-up open-format DJs that has the gals swooning and the guys envious of his skills. It all seems easy to an outsider, this modern DJ thing. Serrato technology can put every song you might ever want to hear on a laptop and tell you exactly how to thread those songs together; DJs use this technology to mix in songs from different genres, as they have to constantly find a new way to thrill the crowd. They can carry thousands of songs with them, and the open format set that most clubs now feature can seem repetitive. The great DJs bring smiles to pretty faces as they mix in Dolly Parton, James Brown, or Gang of Four with a song that has been enjoyed so often it needs to be twisted. Those DJs that are successful and have the looks and charisma -- the whole package -- can demand megabucks In a market that has become ultra-international. Tours are no longer the domain of the house heads, as the worldwide table/bottle service phenomena demands DJs that make you sway in place rather than hit a dancefloor. People don’t spend money on dancefloors, but they do at tables.