It's November and that means time to start holiday shopping. Here at LAist we encourage our readers to shop local, buy items that raise money for good causes, and celebrate the great things about our city.

The Carmichael Gallery of Contemporary Art in West Hollywood puts on some of the edgiest and coolest art shows in town. Tonight is the opening reception for Dark Doings with art by street artist Dan Witz. "This is the Brooklyn based artist’s first US west coast solo exhibition," explains a gallery e-mail blast. "In Dark Doings, Witz will showcase a selection of pieces from his expansive summer street project of the same name. Created both for the street and gallery, the subtle, haunting images of human and animal faces trapped behind dirty glass windows...

The season finale of HBO's "Bored to Death" is this Sunday at 9:30pm and it is a must-watch. There are plenty of McShows out there but this is not one of them and nor will it ever be. The brainchild of author and memoirist Jonathan Ames, the show about an author and part-time amateur private investigator bursts with uncompromised originality in every episode.

Tonight NY-based alternative rockers the Bravery will be headlining the Wiltern with Aussie indie rock quartet Howling Bells in tow. Austin/Brooklyn-bred electro pop duo Neon Indian are poised to grace Siren Studios with none other than Canadian experimental electronic duo Crystal Castles. And, lastly, Long Beach/Los Alamitos natives and recent Sub Pop signees Avi Buffalo (LAist Interview, Review) will be performing at the Echo. But we strongly suggest heading over to the Hollywood Palladium to catch legendary Boston-bred alternative rock outfit the Pixies, who will be taking on the penultimate night of their three-date stint.

This morning it was Vietnamese-fusion and now we're talking Japanese-fusion. After a soft-opening in October that ended last night, Grub Street gives a heads up to this Saturday's opening of Agura in West Hollywood.

                                   

It's hardly surprising that KCRW knows how to throw a party. I mean they are the home of Morning Becomes Eclectic one of the best music shows on air. And I don't mean in Los Angeles. I mean in the country. The radio station had rented out the gorgeous Park Plaza Hotel in MacArthur Park and threw a masked ball Louis XIV would have been proud of. KCRW's famed DJs spun tunes in every room as costumed guests milled around in varying states of inebriation. In the parking lot, food trucks waited patiently for the midnight hour to strike, a time when the guests would give in to their secret desire for tacos and grilled cheese.

The Gold Line's Eastside Extension is opening on November 15th, but how does one get to the light rail line? Other than the big connections at Union Station (Red Line, etc), what other bus lines connect to it?

Michelin star collector Thomas Keller has been causing a stir with the opening of Bouchon in Beverly Hills, an expansion of the Bouchon Bakeries in Yountville, Las Vegas, and New York City. Bouchon Beverly Hills is slated to open on November 18, 2009 in the Beverly Hills Gardens building located on Cañon Drive. The opening chef is Rory Herrmann, who previously headed up the kitchen at Per Se.

lad in Caltrans uniforms a few nights ago, a group of people installed a 12-foot wooden carved fork where Pasadena Avenueu splits at, well, a fork in the road, with St. John Avenue (see a map here). Who did this awesome piece of art and why? "It turns out the fork is an elaborate - and expensive - birthday prank in honor of the 75th birthday of Bob Stane, founder of the Ice House comedy club, who now owns the Coffee Gallery Backstage in Altadena," reports the Pasadena Star News. And the group would like to see it stay there permanently, but that will be up to the Caltrans, which owns the small parcel of land and the city.

In an attempt to attract the thousands of USC students ready to spend money in downtown, AEG is funding a free weekend shuttle between the campus and the entertainment complex.