Kevin Scanlon

One of the fascinating Angelenos featured in L.A. Weekly's People 2012 issue. Check out our entire People 2012 issue here.

Phil Pavel's parents begged him not to go to Northwestern University. They feared that, as the son of a gas-meter reader from Chicago's working-class South Side, he'd be uncomfortable surrounded by rich kids.

The irony is not lost on Pavel. As general manager of the famed Chateau Marmont hotel on Sunset Boulevard, for the last 16 years he's done nothing but cater to the rich and reckless.

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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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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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YouTube

People started reciting poetry in the middle of Barney's Beanery last night

It's not every day that a random old guy announces to a group of strangers that he likes tight pussy.

Actually, that happens all the time in Los Angeles. But this was different, because it wasn't an offer, but a performance. The man, actor Richard Large, was reciting poetry from the late Charles Bukowski: "What counts now is one more tight pussy before the light tilts out," goes the line from the famous Bukowski poem, "Crazy as I ever was."

Bukowski, who died in 1994, published thousands of poems and other creative works throughout his life. He is beloved by many for his focus on sex, alcohol and grimy Los Angeles life.

Legend is that Bukowski used to hang around Barney's Beanery in West Hollywood, getting wasted and writing his poetry on napkins. In keeping with that tradition, Barney's Beanery hosted a secret Charles Bukowski flash mob Thursday night.

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Carol Cheh

Dancer Alexa Weir enchants in a serpentine fashion, while choreographers Jed Caesar and Flora Wiegmann look on

On Saturday night, LAXART and the Getty threw a lavish Ball of Artists, billed as the "culminating event" of the Pacific Standard Time Performance and Public Art Festival (which, in case you haven't noticed, has been going gangbusters for the past two weeks).

Although the press release positioned the event as a serious collection of artistic "interventions" and performances, it came off more as a gigantic appreciation party for L.A. artists, their friends and supporters. And when the Getty throws a party like this, believe me, you feel appreciated.

The event was black tie, invitation-only, and took place at no less than the iconic Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills, a haunted estate with a checkered past and a long list of location shooting credits. Hordes of extremely well-dressed people started showing up around 5, for a party that lasted until 10. Although I was there for most of that expanse of time, I left with the strange feeling that I'd only been there for about 10 minutes.

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Lina Lecaro

The fourth season of RuPaul's Drag Race sashays back onto the LOGO Network on Monday, but this week, the queens from the show (past and present) descended upon -- where else? -- West Hollywood for flamboyant carousing as only an elite clan of glamazon cross-dressers could.

The official premiere party was held at Eleven nightclub on Santa Monica Boulevard, complete with colorful red carpet ops outside (Honey, the posing went on all night!) and endless Absolut cocktails inside, just like the gals enjoy on the Ru after-show, Untucked. Plus, there was a screening of the first episode.

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Paul T. Bradley

Jenn and Ti and the delicious Occupy Karaoke calendar.

Karaoke maxim: There's more to life than karaoke, you know, but not much more. --Occupy Karaoke participant Ti, with help from Morrissey

"So, have you heard of these kids who are doing karaoke for 25 days in a row? Occupy Karaoke?" we ask a fellow bar patron.

We're in the Atwater Village watering hole Bigfoot Lodge last month, on the hunt for a cabal of karaoke partisans.

"No. That sounds lame," replies the beefy patron.

"You think so? I'm kind of hoping they've got some singing chops," we rebut, taking exception with his negativity.

"If there's karaoke here tonight, my wife and I are leaving -- I can't stand that shit." He retorts, after ordering two double whiskeys on the rocks. Oof. We hope they're not driving.

Karaoke is a polarizing enterprise, apparently, and we still have yet to find the crew responsible for taking that polarity to the next level -- they haven't responded to our emails, phone calls or smoke signals and we're scanning the crowded digs looking at faces and checking them against O.K.'s tumblr photos. No luck.

They tweeted they'd be here, and so far no one knows what the heck we're talking about -- we're even scanning for their signature advent calendar. Have we been duped?

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Lina Lecaro

Also see 10 Ways to Get Past a Bouncer and Top 10 L.A. Club Nights of 2011.

At the risk of referencing LMFAO again, LA knows its party rockin' and we do it bigger and better than any other city in the world. New York may beat us at chic soirees, Miami might be sultrier and Vegas gaudier, but Los Angeles is where the magic happens. The culture, the diversity and yes, the entertainment industry make for an audacious alchemy that truly is unmatched.

Sure there's a lot glitzy superficiality too, but the stereotypes about L.A. nightlife are hardly the whole picture. For every botoxed big boob-bot bumpin' at the bash hoping to be discovered, there are artists and writers and music lovers and makers, not to mention normal, cool peeps who go out simply to have a good time. Despite an obvious decrease in imaginative gatherings and decadent sponsored spectacles due to the recession, there were still several opportunities to do just that.

Yes, some of the best events were exclusive, invite-only affairs, but just as many were open to the public... if you knew about them. Here, the top 10 best one-off parties and events that went off in Los Angeles this past year (Halloween and New Years Eve -- last year and this weekend -- not included).

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Flickr/ Bayasaa

New Year's is upon us soon, and with that, the angsty debate about what to do in order to make it the most epic night of both the last and the new year begins (no pressure attached, of course).

In order to take some of the stress out of planning the big party, here are LA Weekly's picks for L.A.'s top ten New Year's Eve events.

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