220 Fitness

If there's anything we are not lacking in Los Angeles, it's places to work out. But finding the perfect gym to tone, slim down or -- dare we even say it -- find a date is a highly subjective decision.

Then there's that old real estate rule of location, location, location; You want a gym close to you so you'll actually go to it, but also one that has the amenities that make you want to go to it. Big box chains will have more gyms in different areas, but they also can be more crowded than a cattle call casting session. Most neighborhoods will have more intimate, boutique gyms -- workout studios that can be more expensive and also render themselves useless by one job change or apartment rental.

Taking all of this into consideration, we scoured the city for 10 of the best gyms in Los Angeles.

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Colin Young-Wolff

The Standard Downtown

Quantifying the best of anything is a dicey endeavor. Whether it be dive bars or gay bars or strip clubs, the best places for you will, of course, depend on your taste. (Many of these lists will be available via the Weekly's new "Best Of" mobile app, by the way).

When we wrote about the "10 Bars Most Likely to Get You Laid in L.A." we were called out and questioned a lot in the comments section, with attractiveness of patrons the biggie. We never promised Victoria's Secret Angels or David Beckham look-alikes, folks.

We're not making any guarantees with this list, either. Some guys like earthy natural beauties, some like tattooed punkettes, some dig curvy Latinas, while many are into lanky blondes. (Were you thinking of the Stones' song "Some Girls," too?) Being genetically -- or surgically -- blessed is one thing, and in L.A., there's a bounty of both. But "hot" is ultimately about attitude, heart and mind; how you carry yourself and put yourself together.

Still, as the Weekly's nightlife prowler-at-large, we do tend to notice a predominance of pretty things at certain night spots. Since we shoot a weekly slideshow, we have to be on the lookout, after all. The following bars always seem to have gal gaggles with moxie and allure -- L.A. women we like to look at and boys go to the bars to meet in the first place.

Note: This one's about celebrating allure, not objectifying. Please refrain from the anonymous hater comments, unless you're an ugly, lonely loser who knows you could never, EVER get any of these babes in real life, even with lame lines and tons of liquor. And ladies, a list of hot boy bars is coming soon...

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Rolling-Blackouts.com

Gay nightlife in Los Angeles might seem like it's separated into two distinct camps -- WeHo on one side and Silver Lake on the other -- but the truth is, plenty of queer and queer-loving crowds hit both, thanks to promoters offering parties on both sides of town.

Cliches about the Westside being superficial and too twinky/queeny, or the East being all inked-up bear types, might be valid some nights, but there's so much going on these days, and so much cross-pollination of preferences, that the generalities don't hold up so much anymore. There are tons of fun, gay, bi, polysexual parties that happen all over town (Mr. Black and Tigerheat in Hollywood, A Club Called Rhonda and Mustache Mondays downtown). There ain't much difference between a gay "bar" and gay "club" in Los Angeles. After all, dancing, drinking and cruising goes down at both, so the following venue list includes a mixture, though super-big clubs were left out.

And speaking of mixtures, all of the following -- especially the establishments near the top of the list -- are homo hubs that also happen to be fairly straight-friendly, on most nights. Indeed, inside these lively L.A. hangouts, "gay" usually does mean happy.

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Raymond M.

South by Southwest (or just "South by" if you're cool and/or in a fake hurry) is well under way, with the interactive and film portions kicking off last weekend and the biggest draw, the music, just beginning.

Couldn't make it all the way to Texas? Fuck it. For those of us left behind, we bring you the guide to re-creating SXSW here in Los Angeles. It's easier than you think, probably just as fun, and definitely not as much of a hassle.

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Lina Lecaro

Angels pair up with Kings nightly at Pete Wentz's rockin' Hollywood bar Angels & Kings

If there's one thing Valentine's Day hammers home, it's the suckiness (or lack thereof) of being solo. We're talking S-E-X, people, and for you poor souls who had an unsatisfying week sans even a prospect for V***** or D*** (we're talking body parts, not venereal disease), it's time to put it all behind you and get to prowling the bars again.

We can't guarantee a hookup at any of the following, but we will say that, based on atmosphere, comely crowds, our own get-hit-on ratios and those of our scenester pals (both male and female), these drinking holes seem to provide the best chance to get your hoe down.

As always, boozers looking to get bumpin' should drink responsibly, not drive and be safe about who you go home with. Tell a friend where you'll be, with whom, and promise to call the next day. Here's hoping all you have to deal with after your hookup is a hangover, a walk of shame and a little regret. Who knows? Maybe you'll actually meet your Valentine for next year?

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The world is becoming increasingly paperless, but don't tell that to the paper peddlers at last Sunday's inaugural L.A. Zine Fest, who proved that if you can doodle something clever, copy, staple and distribute -- voila -- you've got a zine.

Nearly 90 DYI-ers from Gardena to Portland gathered to sell and trade their comics, drawings and stories at downtown's the Last Bookstore, at an event that also included workshops and panel discussions led by Meltdown Comics, Machine Project and Grrrl Zines A-Go-Go, in addition to a talk with Henry Rollins and publisher V. Vale.

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See more from L.A. Weekly's Sex Issue: "Condoms Suck," "The Swingers' Story: How Two Married People Found True Love While Swapping Partners," "10 Condom Reviews for the Well-Endowed Man," "Twelve Tales of Sexual Mortification," and "UCLA vs. USC Sex Survey 2012: Who's Sluttier?"

As told to L.J. Williamson

A heart-shaped box of chocolates? Sentimental and short-lived -- not to mention fattening. But girls like having nice things, and boys like having girls who have nice things. So why not get your honey a high-tech vibrator?

The Weekly asked a married couple to test-drive some of the latest models. Here's what the missus reported back.

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Via bravotv.com

It's Real Housewives of Beverly Hills reunion time! Those delicious three weeks in which Andy Cohen forces the ladies to relive every tension-filled moment from the past 18 episodes they've supposedly "grown from" or "moved past." (But inevitably just end up fighting about all over again.) The public shaming is why we watch the rest of the season.

So what better way to celebrate than to reflect on what invaluable lessons we've learned from the ever-wise Housewives this year.

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Everybody's looking for work right now and, according to L.A.'s Craigslist, there's a lot of work to be done. Perusing job hunters will find the usual "party girl" openings ($250/hour, "must be liberal but race is open"), surrogacy ads offering up to 35 grand for allowing a strange couple to rent your womb for 9 months (that's like New York rent prices!), and recruitment ads for the National Guard.

We culled through positions for scientists interested in studying poop, an old lady looking for someone to fix her scooter, casting agents ready to expose babies to the world market, and the oddest fetishes we never knew existed to deliver to you 5 particularly odd jobs being offered on Craigslist in L.A. right now.

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photo by Colin Young-Wolff

Occupy this...or that...or whatever you damn well please.

Twenty Eleven has been a year of occupies. Occupations. Occupitudes. You get the idea.

Sure, the Occupy Wall Street movement has only been around since September, but since then we've been occupying all manner of whatnot like there's no tomorrow (thanks to the Mayans, there actually might not be one in 2012). We've even been occupying all the bizarre intangibles that the internet and the clever asses behind it can come up with.

Here are the 50 craziest. If you make it to the end, there's a page you can lick that tastes like blue raspberry Kool-Aid.

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