At a Spike TV Playboy Mansion Party (more photos here) | Photo by Zach Behrens/LAist The answer is yes and no for the famed good times at the mansion in Holmby Hills. Yes, as Fox News' Pop Tarts feature says, the economy has had an effect on Playboy too: After decades and decades of wild nights, we hear Hef is calling it a day and that Playboy Enterprises has decided that [the Shakespearean themed......

ALCOHOL One of the most important elements of a new year's eve party is alcohol. Lots and lots of alcohol. This will cause people to forget your little mistakes, and turn the big mistakes into hilarious anecdotes that you will chuckle over together for years. Figure one bottle of champagne will yield around 6 glasses. Oh, and get plastic glasses if you have invited over more than 20 people. It's tacky, but beats the......

This past weekend, in the steep hills of Echo Park, there was a Christmas party extravaganza complete with booze, baseball players and bad taste. Described as "Your Parent's Christmas Party," the holiday invite explained that one must "come dressed in what your parent's once thought was their holiday best," because after all, "This is how we do it in 92." With that in mind, I reluctantly put on one of the fugliest xmas sweatshirts......

Harry Potter is a touchy subject these days. The books have been around for so long, that kids who once loved Harry Potter are growing increasingly embarassed by that fact and now distance themselves from the teen magician. Still older kids -- like, say, ADULTS -- have followed every book with a frenzy and will no doubt join in this week's madness as Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows hits stores all over LA.......

OUT TODAY The Little List Amy Winehouse - Back to Black (Universal) -- Vintage sounds, modern frankness, and a smoky songstress who lays out her vices like a sexy Randy Newman (minus the funny). Prepare to have your brain rewired with dead-on 60’s soul and epidemically contagious tunes. The Fratellis - Costello Music [2007] (Cherry Tree) -- If you like bouncy, brit-pop and hanging out in your garage, this should be your record of......

Looking to go to a music festival? Coachella is sold out, so instead, you should mosey out to Austin, Texas (Mar. 14-18) for this music spectacular, which features 1,300 acts from around the world. Walking from venue to venue is like putting your radio tuner on seek -- every style of music is represented. Besides performances, musicians like Pete Townshend, Iggy Pop, David Byrne, Emmylou Harris, Gilberto Gil, and Booker T. Jones are giving......

Monday Barbara Taylor Bradford discusses and signs The Ravenscar Dynasty, 7pm @ Vroman's Frank Warren of postsecret.com fame speaks, 7pm @ Borders Books in Torrance Tuesday Vendela Vida presents Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name, 7pm @ Book Soup Anthony Swofford (award-winning author of Jarhead) presents Exit A: A Novel, 7pm @ Vroman's Patricia Marx signs Him Her Him Again the End of Him, 7pm @ Dutton’s Brentwood Portia Iversen signs Strange Son,......

Jagshemash! Borat is a hit. It's getting rave reviews, grossing millions, and definitely the most quotable thing we've seen in ages. But Borat seems to have missed most of the -ist cities, and we were all wondering how the film would have been different if he'd made his way around the world on the -ist tour. In Shanghai, Borat would be observing Inane Learnings of Penis Photos for Make Benefit Glorious Flat World of......