Flickr/Scott Lowe

Trystero Coffee in Atwater Village

If plowing through the pages of your 760-page volume of Gravity's Rainbow has left you mentally exhausted, you might consider reviving yourself by bringing a copy of the book -- or any of the other novels written by secretive postmodern author Thomas Pynchon -- to Atwater Village's Trystero Coffee tomorrow. Those who bring in a Pynchon book between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. will get a free cup of Brazilian "Lot 49" cold brew or an espresso shot of the "Lot 49" blend in celebration of Pynchon's 75th birthday and the second-annual Pynchon in Public Day, in which fans commemorate the author's works using various discreet "culture-jamming" tactics.

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MyLastBite/Flickr

Menu at Street

It's Tax Day, one of a few days this Election Year that you'll likely be remotely interested in tearing apart the finer parts of the so-called Buffett Tax and seeing how it would have directly affected you, or not. At least, that interest will hold for a few seconds, until you've stared at your sadly adjusted gross income long enough and decide to either drown your sorrows or pre-spend your refund at one of the many eateries with Tax Day-related deals. Eater has a great round-up of the discounts offered by national chains (free curly fries at Arby's! 15% off your bill at P.F. Chang's!); to that list we add a few more local specials. For those still managing Schedules A, B and C, you may as well forget about turning in your homework on time and instead request an extension so you, too, can go out and play.

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djjewelz/Flickr

Doughnuts

Arts group ForYourArt kicks off the opening of its location across the street from LACMA at 6020 Wilshire Blvd. on Saturday with a box of doughnuts to share, as you do on your first day of work when you want to endear yourself to your officemates. Because this is an arts group, after all, the sugary medium is the message: To coincide with LACMA's 24-hour screening of Christian Marclay's The Clock from noon Saturday to noon Sunday, ForYourArt will host "Around the Clock: 24-Hour Donut City" to comment on the nature of Los Angeles' sprawl and 24-hour doughnut shops.

Marclay, who was profiled in a lengthy article in last week's The New Yorker, spent three years compiling thousands of hours' worth of scenes from television and film where the time or a clock is shown, organizing them by hour and editing them together into one giant collage. The final movie is a full 24 hours, with each hour unfolding in real time, minute by minute, turning the film itself into a clock of sorts.

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It's not just breakfast all day, it's free breakfast all day today at IHOP, which is offering a free short stack of buttermilk pancakes to each guest from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m in honor of National Pancake Day.

In return, diners will be asked to make a voluntary donation to support the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals programs at Children's Hospital Los Angeles and Children's Hospital Orange County. [List of participating IHOPs after the jump.]

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Pack up the surfboard and throw on the bikini. UrbanSpoon is giving away one free trip to LudoBites Nine-0 -- in Hawaii. The prize includes two first-class, round-trip tickets on Hawaiian Airlines, four nights at the Four Seasons Kona and dinner for two at LudoBites. All you have to do to enter is...

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A. Scattergood

mole at Rocio's

If you have not yet driven up to outer Burbank to check out Rocio's Mole de los Dioses ("moles, tons of them, from the smoky-hot manchamantales to a huitlacoche mole served with veal..."), you might want to hit the freeway this Friday, as Rocio Camacho's new mole palace is having a free mole tasting. Why? Well, other than it's a great idea in and of itself, the restaurant is having a 6:30 reception for the performance later that evening of The King of the Desert.

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Flickr user Martin Westin

Same cappuccino, different price

If you like to idle away those work hours with wordplay endeavors (who doesn't?), here's a fun one: What are the most and least expensive cappuccinos in L.A.? There is a catch, of course. This is not a menu battle between espresso machines in different parts of town or an obvious face-off between the genetic lineage of coffee beans, but a single cup at one location.

As for what makes something a "deal," we should note that we consider a good bargain the entire experience, not simply the price/taste. If you've ever made (back home in your apartment overlooking the 405), a brilliantly bare-bones dish like cacio e pepe (pasta with butter, cracked pepper and a little cheese) that you tasted for the first time during an impossibly romantic dinner in Tuscany, you know what we're going for with this deal. One last hint: The cappuccino in question is not at one of our 10 Best Coffee Shops in L.A. Get the answer after the jump.

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Yogurtland's frozen treats

In honor of National Frozen Yogurt Day, you can get free frozen yogurt today from 4 to 7 p.m. at any Yogurtland. The popular serve-yourself froyo chain is also offering one-day-only special-edition collector spoons and cups. Expect long lines -- even longer than usual. Find a full list of locations here.

To kick off the new year, Currywurst the new-ish sausage shop on Fairfax, is hosting a sausage party. (Sorry, we couldn't resist.)

Every Tuesday in February, Currywurst will serve free sausages -- but only for 20 minutes and 12 seconds (2012, get it?) beginning at 7 p.m.

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Guzzle & Nosh

Black Cat muffin

To celebrate their first year anniversary, Black Cat Bakery will be handing out complimentary cake tomorrow (Thursday, Dec. 15) from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. We're suckers for their chocolate and sour cream muffin as well as their bread.