Perhaps you've noticed the banner ads we've been running for the last month or so: FBLA is going to New York this weekend for MediaBistro.com's two-day summit to learn all about media trends and drink network.

Some of the speakers include Chris Anderson, Editor-in-Chief of Wired magazine and Jim Roberts, Editor of Digital News for the New York Times.

Wanna come with? We pack light and have a splitter on our iPod, so we make for great travel companions. See you there!

And uh - Gore Vidal will be there on June 24, so mark your iPhones.

For more information about this event or Town Hall, go here.

Mark your calenders. Catch the spirit of the Olympics and the Nixon Administration all in one tournament!

For the record - we always thought 'ping pong diplomacy' was akin to 'yo-yo dieting'. Totally different...according to most of the people we asked.

From MarketWire.com:

The Richard Nixon Presidential Library will be the venue for American/Chinese Ping Pong Diplomacy: The Rematch, a historic sequel of the extraordinary 1971 and 1972 table tennis events between United States and Chinese table tennis teams that became internationally known as "Ping Pong Diplomacy."

The three-day table tennis tournament, scheduled for Tuesday, June 10 through Thursday, June 12, will feature greats from both countries. They'll take part in a series of table tennis exhibitions, including instructional clinics for school age youngsters, collegiate challenges, competitions against the public, and the official Rematch of players from the original "Ping Pong Diplomacy" teams.

Festivities will occur in the Library's spectacular East Room, a full-size replica of the White House East Room in Washington, D.C., considered America's Grand Ballroom.

Any excuse to go to the Nixon Library is good enough for us.

Well, there's Coachella, which is not just a little dingy town to drive through on your way to Blythe. There's a music festival that bears the same name. And it's happening this weekend. Prince will be there. As will Jack Johnson. As will you if you're headed that way.

Then there's our favorite - The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. Depending on what genre of books you're into - could be the same amount of public nudity as Coachella.

We're going to say hi to GalleyCat blogger Ron Hogan at his panel "On Page & Screen" on Sunday morning at 10:30 AM. Panelist include Tom Epperson, Mark Frost, Gary David Goldberg and Chris Miller.

Mortified, is the idea that we all wish we would have had. Getting regular people to stand up in public and read their adolescent angst and teeny bopper operas. Because who knew that stuff would ever be funny?

From their site:

Hailed a "cultural phenomenon" by Newsweek and celebrated for years by the likes of This American Life, The Today Show, Esquire, The Onion AV Club, Daily Candy, Entertainment Weekly, and E!, Mortified is a comic excavation of the strange and extraordinary things we created as kids. Witness adults sharing their own adolescent journals, letters, poems, lyrics, home movies, stories and more.

After all, where else can you hear grown men and women confront their past with firsthand tales of their... first kiss, first puff, worst prom, fights with mom, life at bible camp, worst hand job, best mall job, and reasons they deserved to marry Jon Bon Jovi.

The largest and longest-running project of its kind, Mortified produces comedic content for the stage, the page, and the web. Its latest book, Mortified: Love Is a Battlefield, is in stores everywhere.

FBLA was given tickets to the show at King King in Hollywood. It was sold out and there was literally standing room only. Which is what your humble bloggers did. At the back of the room. Behind two tall guys. In front of other taller people.

Even from the same vantage point as we experience Lollapalooza - it was worth it.

Check on their site for the next time they have a live show in LA. And to get a taste of what you'd be in for - check out the video with Elijah Wood.

Ten years with the little blue pill. Ten years of celebrity endorsements. Ten years of dick jokes. Thank you Viagra.

And yes, we know the actual date was yesterday. We were going to post about it then, but something came up.

...You'd think a joke that cheap would embarrass us...but it doesn't.

SUNDAY 3.01.08
WHAT: KCRW's ArtDontSleep concert series
WHO: Blu & Exile, Platinum Pied Pipers and Black Spade Tiombe Lockhart
WHEN: 9 p.m.
WHERE: The Crash Mansion
WHY: It's an underground hip hop and soul music scene. And you know what that means: Old, white people. More info here.

SATURDAY 3.08.08
WHAT: Classic Rock Sing-Along
WHO: You. And a bunch of other drunks.
WHEN: 10 p.m.
WHERE: M Bar
WHY: If you have to ask, don't come. 21 and over. $5 cover.

THURSDAY 3.27.08
WHAT: Meet The Teachers Night
WHO: Mediabistro.com Teachers, including Jen Jones, Chad Gervich, Rita Williams, Sally Lehrman, David Seidman, Eric Hiss and Nancy Kremer
WHEN: 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
WHERE: Mediabistro.com LA Headquarters
WHY: Because our classes our great, our instructors are smart and the drinks are free. Reservations Required.

FRIDAY 2.22.08
WHAT: Signing of No End In Sight: Iraq's Descent Into Chaos
WHO: Charles Ferguson
WHEN: 7 p.m.
WHERE: Book Soup
WHY: Dreary, yes, but this work takes you inside the White House, Pentagon and Baghdad's Green Zone to unravel the, well, unraveling of Iraq.

SATURDAY 2.23.08
WHAT: 16th Annual Art of Motion Picture Costume Design Exhibition
WHO: Costumes from nearly all your favorite movies - including some true works of art for Beowulf.
WHEN: Now through April 12, 10 a.m.- 5 p.m.
WHERE: FIDM
WHY: What better way to get pumped for the Oscars? Plus, it's raining.

MONDAY 2.25.08
WHAT: Architect of the Iraq War and FOX News commentator Karl Rove speaks.
WHO: Karl Rove
WHEN: 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: Gibson Ampitheatre
WHY: So you'll know why there's such a strong stench of sulfur in the air. Ticket information: www.PublicLectureSeries.com

THURSDAY 2.14.08
WHAT: Last Thursday night performance of This Is Our Youth
WHO: Actors Joshua Everett Johnson, Rachael VanWormer and Tom Zohar
WHEN: 8 p.m.
WHERE: New Village Arts Theatre
WHY: Tickets come with a free glass of wine. And, really, if you haven't already planned something for tonight, you don't have many options. Ticket info here.

SATURDAY 2.16.08
WHAT: showing of Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars, followed by a concert
WHO: Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars
WHEN: 8 p.m.
WHERE: UCLA's Royce Hall
WHY: If you're feeling low, this will remind you of how amazing human resilience is. Ticket info here.

TUESDAY 2.19.08
WHAT: Ferras performs
WHO: Ferras, whose album Aliens and Rainbows comes out April 1.
WHEN: 8 p.m.
WHERE: The Viper Room
WHY: The girls go ga-ga for him.

FRIDAY 2.08.08
WHAT: Screening of A Boy and His Dog and Q&A with director
WHO: Director LQ Jones
WHEN: 12 a.m.
WHERE: Nuart Theatre
WHY: It's a cult classic. And it stars Don Johnson. Ticket information.

SATURDAY 2.9.08
WHAT: Final weekend of Shut Up And Eat Your Groundlings
WHO: Groundlings performers
WHEN: 8 p.m. and 10 p.m.
WHERE: The Groundlings
WHY: It's the final weekend of this funny show, and -- with so many of today's talented comedians coming out of The Groundlings -- you'll never know who will show up. Ticket info.

MONDAY 2.11.08
WHAT: Closing night of the MURAKAMI at MOCA show
WHO: MetroMix is hosting the party which will feature a lot of smiling flowers. And free drinks!
WHEN: 7 p.m.
WHERE: MOCA
WHY: This private reception bidding adieu to Murakami's exhibit will be a great place to mingle with like-minded art lovers. And if you find your Valentine there, credit us. RSVP by noon on Feb. 11 to reserve a spot: rsvpla@metromix.com

TUESDAY 2.12.08
WHAT: Book signing of The Delivery Man
WHO: Author Joe McGinniss and, for some reason, a guest appearance by Bret Easton Ellis
WHEN: 7 p.m.
WHERE: Book Soup
WHY: Your book club is going to want to read this one soon anyway. Might as well get a signed copy.