In real life, the geeks rule the cool table. The kids from Fox’s “Glee” -- including Mark Salling and Jenna Ushkowitz -- welcomed Audrina Patridge in to their prime corner-table real estate at US Weekly’s “Hot Hollywood” party Wednesday night. When fellow partygoers Adam Lambert and Kris Allen were duking it out for the Idol crown six months ago, the chorus kids would have been as happy as their characters to score an invite to party with the cool kids.

Industry fans were (inexplicably) surprised to see the show’s wheelchair-bound-on-TV Kevin McHale bouncing around Voyeur at the weekly’s annual fall bash. Before making it inside where guests rejoiced over unlimited Skyy vodka bottle service and True Religion denim handouts, La Toya Jackson channeled a “This is It” pose on the carpet (above; Getty Images).   “The Office’s” Jenna Fischer showed up to claim a “Hot Employee of the Year” award, and LL Cool J sported his trademark Kangol cap (with Pussycat Doll Melody Thornton; Getty Images) in the corner opposite the Glee kids. Cool J’s NCIS: L.A. partner Chris O’Donnell probably had a hard time picking up his “hot action team” award from two miles away at GQ’s simultaneous “Men of the Year” party at Chateau Marmont. (Below left, O’Donnell with Dexter’s Jennifer Carpenter and recent SNL “hostess with the leastest” January Jones at GQ; Getty Images). US’s bash wound down before midnight as stars were eager to catch Katy Perry perform for the launch of Samsung’s Behold II cell phone over at Boulevard3 in Hollywood. Most of the same faces hit their second red carpet of the night.  Inside the Chateau at GQ, there was an impromptu episode of “Inside the Director’s Studio” as Clint Eastwood chatted with Quentin Tarantino (who later fired away with fellow “Inglourious Basterd” Eli Roth). Christian Slater and Kobe Bryant proved popular, and the comics in the crowd cliqued up – Rainn Wilson, Zach Galifianakis, Paul Rudd and Sarah Silverman. For a quieter night, some stars hit the premiere for “Ben 10: Alien Swarm” on the Warner's lot, a live action take on Cartoon Network’s animated hit "Ben 10: Alien Force." “Extra” host Mario Lopez walked across the lot to attend, as did Dominic Purcell (“Prison Break”). And finally, an appropriate footnote level placement on the night goes to former political prop, and current “Playgirl” poser, and yellow pocket square model Levi Johnston -- 2009’s version of Kevin Federline. The Alaskan hit both magazine bashes – US Weekly and GQ. Let’s hope one of the gift bags had a watch in it. Tick, tick, tick…

As the cable newsers go wall-to-wall with autobiographies from conservative women Sarah Palin and ex-beauty contestant Carrie Prejean, two Blue State tell-alls of addiction, excess and recovery debuted this week from Hollywood women.

Model/”rocker wife” Mary Forsberg Weiland quietly packed a tour bus-sized group of '90s rockers into Book Soup for the launch for her autobiography, “Fall to Pieces,” on Monday night.

Best known for setting ex-husband and Stone Temple Pilots' Scott Weiland’s clothes on fire in their front yard -- in what became known as “the bonfire in Burbank” -- Forsberg Weiland alleviated the stress of reading sensitive passages to friends by asking Jane’s Addiction rocker Dave Navarro (seated attentively in the second row) if she could read an anecdote centering on him. Navarro gave the thumbs-up.

Later, Mark McGrath waited in line with the civilians to get his copy autographed (at left; photo by TheCHIMP.net). Adding to the backstage feel? “Almost Famous” director Cameron Crowe lurking (mostly unnoticed) among the 40 invitees.

On Tuesday night, Jodie Sweetin of “Full House” fame celebrated the launch of her book “Unsweetined” with a dinner party at Nobu West Hollywood.

Sweetin’s tale of giving college campus sobriety lectures on cocaine and subsequent spins through the Malibu rehab circuit (co-written with former OK Magazine writer Jon Warech) brought out fellow “Full House” alum Dave Coulier (at right; photo by Getty Images), who indulged an embarrassingly eager fan with his “Cut it out” catchphrase.

Over sushi and signed books, the crowd quickly focused on the book’s 1994 Mickey Mouse Club photo of Sweetin flanked by Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, Ryan Gosling and Justin Timberlake. Meanwhile, Timberlake himself was hitting another bash just a few minutes away.

Brit singer Leona Lewis tucked as many friends as the fire code would allow in to Hyde Tuesday night for an Asics-sponsored celebration of her new album “Echo.” Friends like Timberlake (at left; photo by WireImage), Ciara and Eve came to congratulate her.

As word leaked out that fellow Brit Paul Oakenfold was spinning for the tiny room (he fills stadiums abroad) and with the growing U.S. star power inside, Timberlake and Lewis ducked out the back (separately) as a paparazzi storm suddenly clogged up Sunset Boulevard.

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, Pierce Brosnan, Rose McGowan and Jessica Alba put on their party shoes for MOCA NEW, the Museum of Contemporary Art's 30th anniversary gala, Saturday night in downtown Los Angeles.

Joined by Christina Ricci and Chloe Sevigny, only the elite got a private cocktail preview of a new collection celebrating the museum’s first three decades before heading in to a seated dinner and after-party. (At left, Jolie and Pitt get a very private tour; photo by Getty Images)

Once inside, Gwen Stefani caught up with Guy Ritchie (right; photo by Getty Images) as Gavin Rossdale spent time with fellow musician Pharrell Williams.

A modern art museum finally provided the long-awaited appropriate venue for Lady Gaga’s pop-art wardrobe choices. (Some sort of a dented trash can served as a headpiece while she played a pink piano dotted with blue butterflies.)

Over dinner, Lady Gaga bonded with her counterpart from the photography industry, David La Chapelle (left; photo by Getty Images). Neil Patrick Harris and Marisa Tomei (right, with boutique owner Cameron Silver; photo by Getty Images) got a sneak peek at Gaga’s one-time performance with the Bolshoi Ballet.

Before the weekend, the rare November rain hit Jermaine Dupri’s watch launch soiree for his Nu Pop Movement pieces at the exact second Lindsay Lohan stepped out of her car. The heavens above Robertson Boulevard opened up from the time the paparazzi magnet left her car until she arrived inside the Kitson Men garden party moments later.

Super-producer Dupri partnered with “jeweler to the starlets” Pascal Mouawad (left; photo by Getty Images) to launch the big and bright watches, which even un-super producers can afford at under $150.

Is somebody worried about the ratings for NBC’s “Community”? Already carrying two shows on his back (E!’s “Soup” and the (lower) higher education comedy), plus standup comedy tours and a new baby, the usually party-shy Joel McHale has been working the press lines the last two nights.

Castmates Alison Brie, Yvette Nicole Brown and Danny Pudi joined him for a virtual “international junket” to Africa on Wednesday night.

Puma transplanted a slice of Africa to Wilshire Boulevard with a living, breathing ”African Bazaar” marketplace in anticipation of the 12 national teams participating in 2010’s biggest sporting event – soccer’s World Cup in South Africa. (Sorry, Vancouver Winter Olympics, half of the world doesn’t ski.)

Along with McHale, Ed Norton, Jessica Stroup and James Van Der Beek stamped their passports to an unrecognizable former retail space on the Miracle Mile (created by Jeffrey Best). Guests including John Hensley and Anoop Desai designed their own gear and got to play an American version of sweat-free soccer – Foosball.

Because Norton premiered his behind-the-scenes Obama doc “By the People” during the the same week he finished the NYC marathon (running on Puma‘s team for the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust), he would have been well entitled to relax in the bazaar’s lounges with a distinctly un-African refreshment – free-flowing Patron tequila. Hanging out with Chris Kattan isn’t a bad reward either. (pictured above and at right; photos by Getty Images)

Meanwhile, four miles north on Hollywood Boulevard, the focus was 3,600 miles northwest of South Africa in Sierra Leone.

At the Vegas-sized Playhouse, L.A.’s top hosts, including Daytime Emmy winner Pantera Sarah, Grace Fernandez and Brent Bolthouse drew attention (and their elite crowd) to a benefit for charity org Shine on Sierra Leone.

Female rockers The Darling Stillettos, with Matt Sorum, treated the donors to originals and covers like “Rebel Rebel,” “Dancing With Myself” and other classics from bleach-blond rockers. The crowd, including Seth Green, Chris Klein and Samaire Armstrong, approved. Christina Aguilera and Nicole Richie pulled wardrobe from their closets to donate for an auction.

Over at Voyeur, the less-rocking singer/dancers of Fox’s “Glee” – Cory Monteith, Lea Michele and Harry Shum Jr. – hit the premiere for UbiSoft’s video game “Assassin’s Creed II.” The crowd parted for Shum to show off in a dance circle during an LMFAO song.

Kristen Bell, Sofia Milos (“CSI: Miami”) and the usual party monsters from “Dancing With the Stars” and “The Hills” (pictured at left; photo by Getty Images) checked out the Arabian-themed game scenes on the flat screens -- and not the Maxim models climbing across the ceiling – completing the African throughline on Wednesday night.

Brunette is the new black.

From Courteney Cox Arquette (at left; Getty Images) and Adam Lambert (below right; TV Guide), to Selena Gomez and Seth MacFarlane, there was a wave of non-blonde star power cramming TV Guide Magazine’s Hot List party on Tuesday night. (So many bodies, the press wall nearly tipped over ...)
  Simultaneous with ABC’s broadcast of sci-fi newbie  “V” (down 29 percent Tuesday night from its 14.3 million viewer debut a week earlier), Morena Baccarin (aka “the talking doe-eyed alien in the sky”) was the first of more than 40 of TV’s big fall stars to hit the carpet at the Bazaar at SLS Hotel.   Network stablemate Cox (“Cougartown”)  arrived fashionably early for a star billed as the topliner to the event, following behind “Cougar” castmate Busy Phillips. "The Community's" Joel McHale jumped off the carpet to see Phillips while Julie Benz (“Dexter’s" girlfriend) was eager to remind McHale about her “appearance” on his industry-skewering show “The Soup” ((below left; JPI Studios). Following Sunday night’s semi-restrained "Family Guy" cabaret-style special on Fox, the increasingly camera-friendly Seth MacFarlane told TheWrap that the network allowed him as long a leash on the live show as he enjoys on his animated series. “The Fox network, at the moment, are some of the best note-givers on the planet. They are unbelievably disciplined. … I have yet to get a note that is anything but intelligent,” Macfarlane said (without irony).   During Sunday’s broadcast, Alex Bornstein (voice of Lois) mocked deaf actress Marlee Matlin, a continuation of a long-running gag on the show that has ridiculed Matlin’s predicted inability to use a phone. The much-discussed segment surprised auds with Matlin herself showing up to confront Bornstein. So who made the phone call to Matlin to get her on the show? According to MacFarlane, Bornstein herself. Sounds like the phone works.  

You have been warned: Gas up the car. (Or call the car service.) You cannot avoid “downtown events” much longer.

Greg Grunberg, James Denton, Jesse Spencer, Louise Griffiths and former “Bachelor” Bob Guiney -- aka Band From TV -- rocked Grey Goose’s Breeders Cup Winners Circle kickoff to the weekend of horse racing at LA Live on Thursday night.

The superstar band (pictured at left, courtesy of Getty Images) surprised the equestrian elite with pal Michael Chiklis taking the stage for the set. “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” and “Mustang Sally” went over well with Scott Grimes and Eliza Dushku inside the ESPN Zone.

Two nights earlier, a major film premiered next door at the freshly minted Regal Cinemas for the second week in a row. Roland Emmerich’s apocalypse pic “2012” followed the previous week’s “This Is It” in bringing the red carpet to downtown.

Film’s stars John Cusack and Amanda Peet reunited at the after-party on Tuesday, both back under the Columbia banner where they previously co-starred in the studio’s 2003 thriller “Identity.” Sony's exec suite -- Howard Stringer, Michael Lynton (pictured at right with Cusack), Amy Pascal and Jeff Blake -- poured into the Conga Room following the “end of the world” on screen. Colin Hanks, who earlier in the day nabbed a Fox series alongside Bradley Whitford, also hit the party to celebrate.

New Oscar co-host Alec Baldwin took NYC by storm last week, hitting red carpets on the three consecutive nights surrounding the Academy’s surprise announcement. Before partnering with Steve Martin on the March 10 Oscarcast, he saddled up to a mini red-carpet press tour.

"30 Rock’s" Jack Donaghy hit a screening of the doc “William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe” on Wednesday, a project that already earned his “thumbs up” in his side gig as a Huffington Post film blogger/critic. Before another screening on Tuesday at the NYC DGA theater, Baldwin joined Tisch Dean Mary Schmidt Campbell for some fundraising jazz performances at Lincoln Center on Monday night. (picture at left courtesy of Getty Images)

Josie Moran stepped in to play the role usually fronted by fellow model Tyra Banks -- next top model “anointer.” Eco-activist Moran brought Project Green Search’s hunt for a “green-beauty” to the finish line at Ecco Ultra lounge on Friday night. The hyper enviro-friendly venue (free valet parking for Prius drivers) hosted the spokesmodels angling for a permanent spot alongside regulars on the green scene like Adrian Grenier and Leonardo DiCaprio.

Clients and friends including Shane West, Taryn Manning and Colin Egglesfield flooded Jane’s House for always smiling publicist Siri Garber’s birthday Thursday night. The Los Angeles Magazine’s “Publicist of the Year” and one-time L.A. Confidential “hippest young publicist” proudly announced her big 4-0, keeping pals like Sean Faris out dancing to DJ Morty Coyle till way late, despite some 5 a.m. call times on Friday.

  Who and what are those two ….??     Heidi Klum and husband Seal carried on their annual tradition of disappearing into costume with their over-the-top outfits at Klum’s Halloween bash on Saturday night.  As a pair of black crows (the birds, not the ‘90s rock band) the flashbulbs didn’t immediately start popping when the unrecognizable duo hit the carpet outside hotspot Voyeur. (Photo at left, courtesy of Getty Images).  For the 10th annual party, Steven Cojocaru pulled a “Howard Stern”/”Dennis Rodman” strolling in a full white bridal gown. Meanwhile, blogger Perez Hilton also cross dressed, predictably honoring his pal Lady Gaga with what turned out to be a popular costume around town. Over at Skybar for a rare “cover the pool for dancing” party, Jim Carrey’s “Ace Ventura” look and Johnny Depp’s “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” gear were amongst costume winners from Hollywood’s proverbial “costume catalogue." In honor of 2009 breakout hit “The Hangover”, Zach Galifianakis’ “bearded-baby-carrying weirdo” also had the flashbulbs popping throughout the night. 

Ironically, the venue itself dressed up as one of its own ancestors: The Ian Schrager-founded property converted itself into Schrager’s “Studio 54” of NYC 70s/80s fame. Earlier in the weekend, iconic musicians left their costumes at home for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 25th Anniversary Concert doubleheader at Madison Square Garden. Bono pulled out a Halloween treat with a surprise appearance by Mick Jagger (and the Black Eyed Peas’ Fergie) joining in a superstar rendition of the Stones’ “Gimme Shelter” on Friday night. (Photo at right courtesy of Getty Images)   If you weren’t lucky enough to see any of the special collaborations in person during the two night mega-concert (like Sting with Stevie Wonder, and Annie Lennox with Aretha Franklin) set your Tivos now: HBO will air highlights from the concert as a special on the Sunday night of Thanksgiving weekend, November 29. HBO also put on a live show in LA last week. The cabler joined the Paley Center for Media to pry open the doors to Alan Ball’s writers’ room for their hit series “True Blood” on Wednesday night. (At left, the Paley Center’s VP/executive director Craig Hitchcock and HBO Entertainment President Sue Naegle flank Ball. Photo courtesy of Kevin Parry/The Paley Center) Ball and his writing teams fed a rabid crowd just a few spoiler-ish hints on the show’s third season currently set to premiere next June.

Despite a tidal wave of famous U2 fans backstage at the Rose Bowl on Sunday night -- stars like Barbara Streisand, Ben Stiller, Pierce Brosnan, Irish confederates like Colin Farrell, and even suits like Tom Freston and Joel Silver -- it seemed none of the stars took Monday night off to recover.

Over on Sunset the music kept going. Activision and Best Buy Musical Instruments counted down to the midnight launch of the next chapter of the multi-hundred million dollar “guitar hero” video franchise -- "DJ Hero." Pioneering hip-hop personalities DJ Jazzy Jeff and Public Enemy, who show off their tunes in the game, came to life on stage for the industry-heavy crowd.

After taste testing the game vs. Best Buy’s actual DJ equipment set up side by side, actors-come-DJ’s Danny Masterson and Caroline D’Amore told friends “it's exactly the same (as real life).” Before hosting next week’s Soul Train Awards with Terence Howard, Taraji Henson (pictured at left; WireImage), learned to mix and scratch before heading over to the night’s other big carpet.

Across town Stephen Spielberg, Nora Ephron, Charlize Theron, and Robert De Niro were amongst the heavyweights to hit the quasi-official kickoff to the mainstream awards season -- the “Hollywood Film Festival’s Hollywood Awards." At right, comedy award winner Bradley Cooper hit the press room with his trophy and Sandra Bullock (photo, Getty Images).

For this year’s class of Oscar hopefuls eyeing a March date at the Kodak, or even a free dinner at the Globes in January, actors Hilary Swank (“Amelia”) and Christoph Waltz (“Inglorious Basterds”) scouted out the stage and practiced podium talking points at the Beverly Hilton Monday night.    Although many of the movies awarded haven’t been released yet, and the universe of voters is somewhat murky, the industry can’t resist early momentum. (At left, De Niro accepts an award for December’s “Everybody’s Fine” from Kate Beckinsale; Getty Images.) Two days earlier on the same stage, last season’s Oscar nominee Viola Davis hosted Amber Valleta and 400 others for the Annual Friendly House Luncheon, benefitting the oldest home for women in recovery in the country.