Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! Here's to 2012! We look forward to another year of blogging ... thank you, as always, for reading.

-- the BEAT

Photo credit: tssphoto.com

Click It. BEAT picks of the week.

In honor of New Year's Eve, some drink recipes from the BEAT:

Calvados Sidecar

Candy Cane Swirl

Margarita

Whiskey & Lemonade

Lillet

Rosé sparking wine

... or just simple ice-old beer

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: the BEAT

the BEAT of the week: The Weeknd's "Echoes of Silence."

Hands down, The Weeknd's spooky, sexy and all-around down and dirty "House of Balloons" is one of my favorite albums of the year. And one of the best parts about it? It was simply just a mixtape, available on his website, for free. Yep. The best things in life really are free.

And just in time for your New Year's Eve festivities, The Weeknd's got a brand new free mix called "Echoes of Silence" to jam during your pre-partying, surely to set the mood right. You can download it here, as well as past mixtapes "Thursday" and the as-yet-untoppable "House of Balloons" here (just press the arrows on the right to scroll to the other albums).

Enjoy! And happy new year!

Visit The Weeknd's website here.

-- Chau Tu

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, readers!

-- the BEAT

Click It. BEAT picks of the week.

Happy Holiday weekend!

How amazing would it be to see Woody Allen and his jazz band perform? He'll be at UCLA's Royce Hall January 29.

A good Bûche du Noël makes Christmas that much better.

Perfect classic ballet flats.

A new Atwater/Glendale spot for microbrews.

A deliciously decadent French Toast Casserole I like to make on Christmas morning (it would be a nice start to the new year on Jan. 1 too!).

I love this Breakfast at Tiffany's sleep mask I got as a birthday gift this year - a must for long flights!

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: nederlanderconcerts.com

the BEAT of the week: "Battle Royale" at the Cinefamily

Cinefamily -- the nonprofit organization running the Silent Movie Theater on Fairfax -- has been killing it as of late. Not only did they just finish the crazy feat of a 24-hour telethon complete with entertainment from none other than Spike Jonze, Stephen Merritt of the Magnetic Fields, Jonathan Gold, No Age, Michael Cera and more, but they've also managed to book some great films lately. Just finished was the first official L.A. run of a great -- and completely intense -- movie called We Need to Talk About Kevin, starring the always mesmerizing Tilda Swinton.

And now coming up beginning this weekend, Cinefamily is set to screen the controversial Japanese cult film Battle Royale in its first North American run ever. Ever! And Cinefamily got it for one whole week. If you don't know, the premise of the film revolves around a society where the government sends whole classes of 9th grade students to a remote island where they're forced to fight each other off to the death, one by one. And from the looks of it, the film doesn't shy away from being bloody and gory but altogether thrilling. Surely an inventive -- if not gruesomely fun -- way to spend the holidays in the winter wasteland known as L.A. in December.

And, since we're all in the giving spirit these days, why not extend that further to the Cinefamily? Members get to go to nearly every screening and event for free, and judging by what they've been able to book for the last month alone, 2012 is only yet to get better. A good gift for a friend, family member or yourself! Plus, you can get it written off in your taxes! Sad as it is, indie films are finding it more and more difficult to find places to screen out here in L.A. (of all cities!), so let's support one of the best places that still does. Become a member or donate here.

Cinefamily programs the Silent Movie Theater, located at 611 N. Fairfax Ave. in Mid-City. Check out the schedule of screenings here.

-- Chau Tu

Click It. BEAT picks of the week.

Hilarious, stylish, and very New York--The Last Days of Disco.

Get tickets now for the Red Hot Chili Peppers at the Staples Center (and Ryan Adams at the Walt Disney Concert Hall!), both in February.

Sarabeth's preserves really are that good--a jar would make a delicious stocking stuffer!

I admit, I'd like a bottle of Kourt is Red-y for a Pedi by Nicole by OPI.

If you're going to see a movie on an IMAX screen, make it Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol!

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: moviefone.com

the BEAT of the week: Live read of 'The Princess Bride,' with Jason Reitman.

This is going to be a fun one. The last time Jason Reitman put on one of these 'Live Reads' for LACMA, he corralled up none less than Natalie Portman, Steve Carell, Pierce Brosnan, Mindy Kaling and Ken Jeong for a reading of The Apartment, and before that he got Jennifer Garner, Patton Oswalt, Aaron Paul and James Van Der Beek to do The Breakfast Club. All the castmates are announced on Reitman's Twitter the week of the reading, and the readings were all full of fun surprises.

So this time around, Reitman's doing the '80s classic, The Princess Bride. Of course it'll be difficult to top Billy Crystal, but admit that you can't wait to hear the line "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."

Live read of The Princess Bride, directed Jason Reitman takes place this Thursday at 7:30pm at LACMA, located at 5900 Wilshire Blvd. in Mid-City. It's currently standby only, but worth the wait if you can get there early.

-- Chau Tu

Click It. BEAT picks of the week.

This weekend, I'm very excited about a Tex-Mex-themed Christmas party (the invite said "Feliz Nav, Y'all!") we're attending in Brooklyn. There will be margaritas (my recipe here) and queso--and other delights from the Homesick Texan cookbook.

Another book from my mental Christmas list: The Perfectly Imperfect Home: How to Decorate & Live Well (by Deborah Needleman, Domino magazine's founding editor).

Two comedies I'm hoping to see this weekend: The Sitter, and Young Adult. And maybe a rental of The Hangover Part II on DVD, if the video store has any left.

The LudoTruck will be at Echo Park's Sunset Beer Company tomorrow night, 7:00 p.m.

Get some Scoops ice cream afterward for a sweet start to the weekend, the brown bread flavor is really interesting and delicious!

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: homesicktexan.blogspot.com

the BEAT of the week: David Lynch at Amoeba.

The L.A.-loving David Lynch has always been known for the striking sound design in his films, but now he's expressing his noise skills in another way: a solo album. Crazy Clown Time is Lynch's first official album, after having written lyrics for others and curated compilations (2009's Dark Night of the Soul). One of the songs features the Yeah Yeah Yeah's Karen O on vocals, but otherwise Lynch takes the lead on the album, a strange, electro-poppish sort of creation.

You can ask Lynch about the album yourself when he makes an appearance at Amoeba tonight. He'll be signing Crazy Clown Time (and one other item, if you wish) and will surely be entertaining should you have some time with him. Get there early -- Lynch loves L.A., but L.A. may love him back even more.

David Lynch will be signing at 7pm tonight at Amoeba Hollywood, located at 6400 Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood.

-- Chau Tu

Click It. BEAT picks of the week.

A cute film about young love, by a young California director--Like Crazy. It's showing at the ArcLight and the Landmark, among other Los Angeles-area theaters.

Another easy-on-the eyes college (and beyond) romance--One Day--came out on DVD this week. Just after its star Anne Hathaway's real-life engagement.

Hollywood holiday cards!

Alicia Silverstone, of Clueless fame, and now one of my favorite lifestyle bloggers on thekindlife.com, is hosting a live chat on Tuesday December 6 at 4:00 p.m. PT. Join in!

Keep your hair soft and manageable this winter with Kiehl's Formula 133.

A signed copy of Marilyn: Intimate Exposures would make a great Christmas gift for any fan of the bombshell--and really, who isn't?

Marilyn's favorite face soap: Erno Laszlo Sea Mud Soap (Audrey Hepburn was a fan, too).

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: collider.com