Arianna Huffington and Brian Grazer had a party for the release of Kathy Freston's new book Quantum Wellness: A Practical and Spiritual Guide to Health and Happiness on Saturday night. Freston and Huffington are more graceful and charming than should be allowed in mortals. It just seems unfair.

FBLA was there and strangely no one asked us to leave. Not even once. We call that a successful event!

We met lit agent Betsy Amster who happily and proudly admitted to reading FBLA. We call that Shock and Awe.

And yes, it's been five years - so that phrase has been moved from 'tired' to 'retro'.

Then we ran into LA Weekly's Pandora Young and uhm...how do we put this? Ron Hogan was over heard saying,"I just assumed she was an actress." Translation: She's stunning.

Publishers Weekly's Bridget Kinsella was also in attendance and the blogosphere may soon have her as a guest...maybe a resident.

Other notables were Trey Ellis, Byron Allen, Michael York, David Steinberg, Sara Nelson, Steve Wasserman, Rachel Resnick, Meghan Daum, Jon Burnham Schwarzand and tons of other people that looked vaguely familiar yet very important.

It was the Festival of Books weekend. What better place than a restaurant that's a little shout out to the written word. Our waiter wasn't a writer - but he was self-loathing - so there's something! Pictured is Ron Hogan of our sister blog GalleyCat and Tina Dupuy of (ahem) here.

Whether you think Snoop Dogg is a loveable children's role model, a talented rapper, or a criminal with a drug problem, there is no denying that he's a friggin' cool co-worker.

Unlike Ryan Seacrest and Kim Kardashian, Snoop Dogg showed up to the E! Holiday Party last night at the Sony Pictures lot in Culver City to eat mini-cheeseburgers (when is this comfort-food-as-haute-cuisine trend going to end?) and gossip with his colleagues. Except, of course, that none of his colleagues could get near him. Standing on an elevated V.I.P. section (in what appeared to be a woman's fur coat), Snoop had a majestic view of the party.

He even deigned to wave when a too-excited D.J. Clinton Sparks gave Snoop a shout-out and started mixing a medley of his songs. But security was too tight around the D-O-Double-G for any lowly segment producer to get close, and he mostly kept to his posse (for anyone keeping track: He seemed to be rolling about 20 deep).

As he left, surrounded by a crush of security, FBLA overheard one E! employee say, "That's as close to Snoop as you're ever going to get."

"That's close enough," his friend replied.

Los Angeles magazine threw a deb party for Amy Saralegui , the new publisher. Charming and affable in a long black coat (designed by her brother in law), Salagui had been with Texas Monthly (another Emmis Publishing title), but moved to LA in a flash, and is renting Timothy Leary's old pad.

There was talk about the WGA strike, but not enough to be a conversational trend.

Mickey Kaus, Anna Soellner (Center for American Progress), Roland Wiley (RawInternational), Bob Johnson (WithoutABox.com/producer/attorney), Linda Deutch

Amy Alkon, Ron Kaye

Kit Rachlis, Amy Saralegui and Senator Mark Ridley-Thomas

Friday lunch at Orso was surprisingly fruitful, big name-wise, with Mel Brooks holding court at a table full of cronies, Larry David in a black velor tracksuit, and tall, blond and Brit Bill Nighy looking dreamy. Perfect for FBLA's new weekly feature, Lunch with Media Moguls and Mavericks.

Ross Johnson surprised a number of people when he joined PR powerhouse Sitrick and Co., after a long career in journalism. He's enjoying himself greatly, he says. He raves about how honcho Mike Sitrick built his firm from the ground up, and claims Sitrick works a room like no one else on this coast or the other one.

Other insights:

In 1983, William Goldman said about show business--"nobody knows anything". Today, thanks to Nikki Finke, everybody knows something.

Patric Verrone has become the Abraham Lincoln of the WGA. But remember, Lincoln got shot.

The big thing about the WGA strike is like Woodward and Bernstein. Just like they made journalists look cool--now TV writers look cool.

"Any of you who know me, know I ... well, I like to drink," Justin Timberlake said to his adoring fans (and FBLA) last night half-way through his Staple's Center show. He and his formidable band then gathered in a circle on stage and held up shot glasses of tequila.

Toasting all the "straight-up Mexicans in the house tonight," Timberlake and his crew threw back the sauce.

Fans, like SNL's Jimmy Fallon, cheered wildly. And, without missing a beat, JT got on with the show, bringing -- as he often does -- the sexy back with energy, talent and charm.

It's nice to see a former Mouseketeer who can hold his liquor.

The Democratic presidential candidates were out and about in West Hollywood last night — and no, it wasn't your typical $10,000 a seat fundraiser at a house in the hills. Instead, the White House hopefuls hit up a couple of WeHo hotspots — Barack Obama opted for the hopping watering hole Area while Hillary Clinton took her act to homo-hotspot The Abbey.

Hillary's post-forum party was the cheaper of the two tickets with prices ranging from $50-$1000 while Obama’s prices started at $250. It might have worked out in Hil's favor. Says an FBLA source: "Hillary's was PACKED. The Abbey was practically busting at the seams." However, while Hillary kept close to the guests who threw down $1000 for VIP wristbands, she was still within arms reach of most guests.

My source said he even managed to get up close and personal with the former First Lady (Forget that he said the birds eye view helped him realize how short she actually is!). No word on how Obama's night went down. Both candidates were both in town for the Human Rights Campaign's Presidential Forum, aired exclusively on LOGO.

— Chris Gardner

One of these appeared at a gay rights forum.

One of them said:

I'm not a scientist. I don't see this as an issue of science or definition. I see gays and lesbians as people as a matter of human decency.

And one of them said:

There is nothing gay in this movie. I'm not playing a gay man.

Our spies went to the opening last night of the 21st Annual Last Remaining Seats screening series hosted by The LA Conservancy at the recently renovated Orpheum Theater and served up this dish:

Hitchcock's North by Northwest was the film and the event opened (looking like a glam premiere of old with klieg lights torching the sky) with a Q&A from L.A. Confidential director Curtis Hanson with Hitch's daughter Patricia and NXNW's still-beautiful-49-years-later-star Eva Marie Saint. They regaled the conservative-looking L.A. Conservancy crowd stories of Hitchcock and how he directed.

"He was an amazing director visually, sketching each scene before it was shot," Hanson said.

"He was a brilliant director who never gave direction about how to act, but he gave incredible external directions about what you're wearing and how you would hold yourself," remembered Marie Saint.

"He worked very closely with my mother, who was a film editor before she met my father. Most people don't know this, but he didn't take a step without consulting my mother," daughter Pat Hitchcock recalled.

The screening, which opened with an oddball Psycho-satire short of Hitchcock describing how messy the blood scenes were, was great watch on the big screen. The colors were vibrant and the scenes spectacular, especially the Plaza Hotel, the Indiana cornfields and the Mt. Rushmore models.

The film was a hoot to see again and I was lucky enough to bring my friend's 11-year-old daughter Hopi, who only had one thing say: "The line was so funny when the two of them were hanging from the cliff and he says, 'My two wives both left me because they thought my life was too dull.'"

The up coming film in the series is Roman Holiday, slated to screen on May 30, 2007 at The Los Angeles Theater in downtown LA. But we can't wait for the June 27 screening of Scarface, because when the lights go down at the Alex Theater in Glendale and the 1932 original rolls on the screen, the gangstas in the audience are going to be pissed.

Reps from the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender media (also known as "the media") will descend upon Los Angeles for a weekend conference that organizers promise will be "amazing." And we don't doubt it will be.

The Queer Media and Entertainment Conference, or Q-Me Con, is back for a second year on Friday, April 13 through Sunday, April 15 at the Village at Ed Gould Plaza and at elsewhere around Los Angeles.

According to organizers:

"The Queer Media and Entertainment Conference (Q-Me Con) is the only multi-day conference designed specifically for industry professionals working in, or looking to break into, LGBTQ content creation for the burgeoning queer TV, music, film and new digital media arenas.

"Q-Me Con (LA) 2007 will feature over a dozen engaging seminars, designed to bring together 'Out' members of the media, top professionals, burgeoning content creators and creative renegades looking to get access to the movers and shakers in the LGBTQ Entertainment industry. This year, we've even added some programs specifically designed to help empower queer women in the industry. Plus, we have loads of outrageous VIP parties and professional networking events planned throughout the weekend!"