• Gothamist had a week of big stories unfold—Mayor Bloomberg narrowly won his controversial third term while the Yankees won their 27th World Series Championship (yes, suck it, Philly) and celebrated with a ticker tape parade.
• Seattlest talked about gay marriage, performing, and the sexiness of the Pacific Northwest with Rufus Wainwright.
• Bostonist saw a near death experience on the subway.

       

A full month of calavera painting, banner cutting, tissue flower making and other crafting at Self Help Graphics culminated in their annual El Dia de Los Muertos celebration last Monday. The community arts center and printmaking studio has a long history of celebrating the Mexican holiday for honoring the dead, reaching back thirty-six years to its first Day of the Dead celebration, involving just two artists who met at Evergreen Cemetery to remember their ancestors. In the years that have followed, the annual festival has grown and grown in size and popularity, with this year’s festivities moving from the Self Help Graphics to the East LA Civic Center.

"Dying is easy; comedy is hard." It's a tired saying, but it's true. It’s hard to think of more than three artists whose comedy albums have been memorable - Steve Martin, Cheech & Chong, and Monty Python. Comedy albums are hard.

The LACC is seen here performing Paul Gibson's "Dona nobis pacem". The Los Angeles Children's Chorus performs this Saturday at 2 PM at the First Presbyterian Church of Santa Monica. The West Coast/Left Coast Festival is a collaboration with the LA Phil and composer John Adams highlighting the works of several Californian composers. If you're looking for "old world" music, they will also perform Carillo's Ave Maria and the Spanish carol Riu, riu, chiu to highlight the rich cultural and ethnic diversity in Los Angeles. Tickets are 32 dollars and half price for children. Piano Spheres hosts guest artist Eric Huebner in several West Coast premieres of works by Reynolds and Rothman. If you're looking for something more traditional, the Los Angeles Metropolitan Opera will perform La Traviata at the Pacific Palisades Methodist Church. There are performances on the 13th and the 15th, and you can get tickets here.

As Adam Rose pointed out on his twitter it was schadenfreude yesterday with losing being the cool thing to do. Losses by Iowa, Notre Dame, Oregon, Michigan, Penn State and LSU made it almost seem trendy. By looking at the rankings it’s easy to think college football is having a down year, but the rankings are only part of the story. There have been great games all weekend long with teams looking evenly matched. Whether that’s due to parity or mediocrity does not diminish the excitement.

              

Zeke's Smokehouses in Montrose and West Hollywood are offering an amaaaazing deal (imagine me waving my arms around like in a Crazy Eddie commercial right now)! For only 9.95 you can choose 2 meats and 2 sides! It doesn't sound too different from your usual Southern "Meat and Three" dish, but the amount of food on the plate is unbelievable. Enough for me and my dog, Spot! (cue the tiger) Come on down and see us!

       

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The Berlin wall was toppled on November 9th, 1989. To commemorate this landmark event, the Wall Project has had several segments of the wall erected on Wilshire Boulevard across the street from LACMA, and local artists, like renowned muralist Kent Twitchell, have contributed art to the panels. Today panels will be erected enough to fully block Wilshire, there will be an evening of activities and entertainment, and at midnight the wall will be toppled, marking the anniversary, which will be broadcast live on German television.

Come Monday morning, only one L.A. side will remain in the hunt for MLS Cup 2009. The fortunate team that will continue its trek will be determined later this afternoon at the Home Depot Center when the Galaxy and Chivas USA close out the first-ever SuperClásico playoff series.

She did it. It took a shade over two minutes, 2:00.62 to be exact, but Zenyatta became the first mare or filly to win the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic in an improbable come-from-behind fashion that was indeed a classic.

• A man in his 60s died last night in Long Beach after being struck by a van while riding a bicycle near Magnolia and 6th.
• A recent LA Times/USC poll shows that most California voters aren't planning on getting the H1N1 (Swine Flu) vaccination.
• Good news for Burbank newshounds; your local paper, the Burbank Leader, has announced they're expanding their coverage.

              

On tour to pre-promote their December 1st release of Stir the Blood, NYC's The Bravery took to a packed house at the Wiltern Thursday night. Once the band took the stage, it was clear from the feverish enthusiasm of the The Bravery fans that there was no other place to be, despite the fact that the concert calendar for November 5th also featured Pixies, Dinosaur Jr, Neon Indian, and Avi Buffalo within a 10 mile radius. Music junkies had to make real choices that night, and The Bravery offered a strong stage presence, excellent showmanship, and catchy dance-rock tunes.

              

The Pixies kicked off a three night stand at the Palladium Thursday night with an exhilarating run-through of their classic “Doolittle”, its assorted B-sides, and a smattering of earlier faves. These days they’re riding a wave of nostalgia, rather than a wave of mutilation, but as reunions go, this is one of the more gratifying ones.