HOTTER IN HOLLYWOOD

Doing Lines in Hollywood Hot Cuisine by Jonathan Tavss

Coming up on 15 years living in Hollywood and one thing has remained the same - there always seems to be a line waiting to order a hot dog at Pink's. What's amazing is that clubs get hot and then burn out so you might see a line for a while, but not as consistently as this. There's no VIP entry, so everyone's on the same playing field. Let's put it this way, I've stopped to get a dog - even when I had just eaten - if I saw there was no line. Its just flat-out rare.

You may ask why people would stand in line for a hot dog. Well, it might not be as much about the hot dogs - which can be prepared a jazillion ways - but perhaps the fact that its an institution, and those are slowly but surely falling by the wayside. If you're in Hollywood and have never been to Pink's and you're still reading this, then you're missing the point and might as well move back to the parent's house in Peoria. There is no hipper line to stand in with great people watching and a tasty treat at the end than Pinks. Those that can't get in to Villa, LAX or any other Club du Jour without waiting in line should take a walk to Pink's.

Drive-By Massives Hot Culture by Jonathan Tavss

If you're too busy talking on your cellphone, rocking along with the fantastic Daft Punk Live CD or just plain driving, you might miss some really cool art on recycled billboards. In a town where billboards scream everything from films to fetishes, we're used to graff artists tagging or augmenting the huge signs that are everywhere, but this is different. These actually invited the artists work and best of all, they're not selling anything. They're just about making Hollywood and all of Los Angeles Hotter!

I saw my first one by accident at the corner of La Brea and Washington and I immediately wanted to "stumble" across more. When I found the one on Fairfax, just south of Santa Monica, it was like I had found another piece of treasure. I did more research and found that it is actually a public art exhibition through January and February.

You can either be an adventurer and drive all over town with your eyes in the sky instead of on the road (dangerous, but exciting), or you can check out the website: eco-logicalart.org (safer, but less nerve-wracking) to plan your city-wide gallery visit. There are 11 billboards painted by 36 artists throught town. Be adventurous - hunt them down!

"Blog Party!" Hot & Personal by Corey Moore

Micah McCain, (Fay Wolf), Michael Medico and Abigail Carpenter

Last night we had our first "Blog Party". It was a great chance for all our writers to meet each other (a lot of them for the fist time). It was a great turnout...the drinks were flowing as usual.

Mona Holmes, Craig Nisker and Fran Nichols

"Hot Pop" Hiko played IJay. While Former Big Brother star Marcellas Reynolds chatted up Current Big Borther writer Chris Lisotta.

Julia Lee (with baby daddy, Spencer Stander) C. Jay Cox, Christina Huntington (with boyfriend Leigh Walker from the band KisTone)

Tiffany Ragain brought friend Brandon Martinez from Bravo's Blow Out who exchanged hair tips for Beauty secrets with Holly Doss.

John Barrnetine, Tiffany Ragain, Fay Wolf and Jonathan Tavss

All in all, everyone left asking about the next get together...

Me, Wonder Bright, Christine Tarallo

Altitude Without the 'Tude. Hot Tips by Jonathan Tavss

When you're jones'n for a sweet pad to spread out on in the Hollywood Hills while enjoying a phenomenal view, and want it all for free, the place to go is the Griffith Observatory. It is truly the best place to catch some altitude without the 'tude! While HIH.TVs own Christina Huntington earlier reported on touring the building, the real magic is on the porch, where you can nosh on delicacies from the Wolfgang Puck-operated cafe while enjoying one of the most fantastic views of sunsets East of the PCH.

Be prepared for a little hike to get there if you go on a clear weekend afternoon because there will be a bunch of people parked up there, but most other nights, there's a bunch of parking spaces in the lot. Even if the parking lot's packed, there's plenty of places to spread out and look down on the city. Head up with a bunch of friends, or just the one that matters most, pull up a chair or blanket and just breathe in the fresh air. Take in the view with the realization that when DiCaprio's character in TITANIC considered himself the "King of the World," he never stood outside the at the Edge of the Universe or on the roof of the Observatory with the City of Angels spread out before him.

BCAM Hot Culture by Jonathan Tavss

I'm looking forward to LACMA's new BCAM (Broad Contemporary Art Museum) to open, but not just for the art within - I'm all about the Plaza outside the Renzo Piano-designed building. The Mid-Wilshire area has historically been a stretch of buildings and parking lots with the only public space being the Tar Pits. Even LACMA used to be a blob where the outdoor sculpture gardens were unsightly - with or without Rodin.

With this new plaza, all that changes. LACMA moved the ugly parking lot underground to open up the space at Ogden, between Wilshire and 6th. And, being that this is LA, the position of every palm tree is mulled over at ridiculous lengths!

They have opening festivities next month - and then we'll be able to view works by Jeff Koons, Charles Ray and Robert Irwin during lunch hours while quickly downing our bagged lunch!