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Christian Carvajal on February 20th, 2020
Born in Indianapolis, grandson of German immigrants, he ran afoul of the law while still in his teens. After getting arrested for auto theft, he enlisted in the Navy but deserted his ship, the U.S.S. Utah, and was dishonorably discharged. He got married but couldn't keep a job. Instead, he
Features
Christian Carvajal on February 20th, 2020
Given my last name, it stands to reason Latin food is close to my corazón. Even so, despite years of living and dining in Thurston County, I'd never really warmed to south-of-the-border fare in easy walking distance of theaters and other downtown businesses I frequent. That changed in 2019, when
Music
Christian Carvajal on December 12th, 2019
It might be startling to realize this, but there's no particular reason to begin a new year on the first day of January. It's a week and a half past winter solstice, the shifting date on which the ancient Greeks rebooted their communal calendar, and nowhere near ancient Mesopotamians' preferred
Stage
Christian Carvajal on December 5th, 2019
Let us now sing once again (or should we say "carol?") the praises of The Christmas Revels at Tacoma Arts Live's Rialto Theater. It's a mid-December medley of family-friendly skits, songs and instrumental performances that showcase a different, though primarily European, culture each year. As it has been for the
Stage
Christian Carvajal on October 24th, 2019
If winding your way half-blindly through a haunted house on Halloween gives you the sniveling fantods, consider downshifting to lighter-hearted Shocktober shindigs. Your lily-livered friends at the Weekly Volcano have you covered. It may surprise you, for example, to learn Halloween's a great night for theater entertainment, thanks to performers
Stage
Christian Carvajal on September 12th, 2019
Italian composer Giacomo Puccini was a star in his own time; his legacy remains eminent among the operatic pantheon. Yet even he could never have expected the way his 1896 opera La Bohème, about young bohemians in Paris' earthy Latin Quarter, would be transplanted a hundred years later. A belted
Attractions
Christian Carvajal on August 29th, 2019
It's once again time to "do the Puyallup." Put another way, it's time to plan a family trip to the Washington State Fair in Puyallup -- a town regional newcomers should learn is pronounced "Pyoo-AHL-up" in defiance of all phonetic logic. Once that tongue trick's been mastered, a world of
Attractions
Christian Carvajal on August 22nd, 2019
The term bullfighting tends to evoke images of brave, Spanish toreros in traditional Andalusian costumes called trajes de luces (suits of lights), flamboyantly sweeping their gold and magenta capotes (dress capes) to misdirect angry bulls. (Fun fact: Bulls are color blind. The capotes are red only to obscure bloodstains.) Indeed,
Outdoors
Christian Carvajal on July 25th, 2019
Kim Archer is one of Tacoma's most popular soul singers, but that's not why we interviewed her for this issue. Rather, she doubles as the organizer of your pick for family-friendly venue, the Old Town Park Summer Concert Series, now in its sixth year. That all-ages series runs from the
Features
Christian Carvajal on July 25th, 2019
Never in world history has there been a better time to be a hardcore foodie. Educated by thousands of hours of globe-spanning food TV and toting enough celebrity cookbooks to overfill a library, we race into cuisines that would've scared American diners away before the debut of Iron Chef America.
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Recent Blog Posts
Walkie Talkie Blog
Christian Carvajal on April 23rd, 2015
I'm not going to lie: I was underwhelmed when I first glanced at a press release from L'Arche Farm & Gardens. That wasn't L'Arche's fault. It's because I know next to nothing about farming and/or gardening. What little time I've spent near either farms or gardens was in my teenage
Walkie Talkie Blog
Christian Carvajal on April 23rd, 2015
Suffering the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, this is Nerd Alert, the Weekly Volcano's recurring events calendar devoted to all things nerdy. I myself am a Star Wars fan, mathlete, and spelling bee champion of long standing, so trust me: I grok whereof I speak.
It seems this good thing
Walkie Talkie Blog
Christian Carvajal on April 10th, 2015
When I was a kid in L.A., most walk-in cinemas looked like The Grand Cinema. I remember my parents dropping me off and leaving me in a theater for hours-no helicopter parenting for me - as I watched a double feature or, often, the same movie twice in a row.
Walkie Talkie Blog
Christian Carvajal on April 8th, 2015
"Fairy tales of yesterday will grow but never die
I can fly, my friends..." - Queen (from Innuendo, 1991)
The great Freddie Mercury was born Farrokh Bulsara in Stone Town, Tanzania (then the Sultanate of Zanzibar) and was raised Zoroastrian near Mumbai. At age 24, he joined guitarist Brian May and
Walkie Talkie Blog
Christian Carvajal on April 6th, 2015
Struggling through the Voight-Kampff test, this is Nerd Alert, the Weekly Volcano's recurring events calendar devoted to all things nerdy. I myself am a Star Wars fan, mathlete, and spelling bee champion of long standing, so trust me: I grok whereof I speak.
THURSDAY, APRIL 9
Louie, one of TV's best and
Walkie Talkie Blog
Christian Carvajal on April 6th, 2015
I want to open this blog entry by doing something I almost never do in my efforts for The Weekly Volcano: admit ignorance. One of the guiding principles of journalism, meaning whatever pallid version of it we attempt here, is a writer must do his or her research, then act
Walkie Talkie Blog
Christian Carvajal on March 24th, 2015
Pouring one out for Xenu in his electronic mountain trap, this is Nerd Alert, the Weekly Volcano's recurring events calendar devoted to all things nerdy. I myself am a Star Wars fan, mathlete, and spelling bee champion of long standing, so trust me: I grok whereof I speak.
FRIDAY, MARCH 27
Sadly,
Walkie Talkie Blog
Christian Carvajal on March 23rd, 2015
"Did you know that in your lifetime, you are more likely to get attacked by a domesticated pig than by a shark?" Doug Benson inquires. "That is a true statistic, especially if you have a tendency to swim in pig-infested waters."
Silly? Yes. Funny? Also yes. San Diegan Doug Benson has
Walkie Talkie Blog
Christian Carvajal on March 16th, 2015
There's a knee-jerky, punchline quality to the news that an artist will perform at a casino, a category of venue that falls one notch above the state fair in the public consciousness. Either way, that condescension's unfair. Consider, for example, the case of Emerald Queen Hotel & Casinos. Over the
Walkie Talkie Blog
Christian Carvajal on March 11th, 2015
I'm tight with Andrew Gordon, the actor-playwright who co-authors and produces mystery nights for his company, Open Road Productions, at Pellegrino's Italian Kitchen in Tumwater. His latest is an all-new musical, Murder Beyond the Stars. Andy, you have the floor:
"It's set at the 26th annual Journeycon, a celebration of the
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Recently Reviewed Movies
Christian Carvajal on February 16th, 2015
Forgive me if I've mentioned this, oh, about a squillion times, but I used to live and work in Hollywood. Most movie and TV studios, in fact, moved to quieter parts of Los Angeles and beyond years ago, but the tiny, tourist-packed neighborhood of Hollywood remains a frequent shooting location
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