Walkie Talkie Blog
Penetrating your firewall, 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, JAN. 16 Blackhat, directed by Michael Mann of Miami Vice,
Walkie Talkie Blog
If, like so many of us, you're making New Year's resolutions, allow me to suggest an addition to your list. I encourage you to see more in the way of live performance. Often people think of theater as a civic duty, an obligation they owe higher culture. Meanwhile, they fill
Walkie Talkie Blog
What does New Year's Eve mean to you? If you're anything like us, it used to mean glum tequila shots among strangers, followed by blurry staggers home and migraine-enriched New Year's Day mornings. There was room, shall we say, for improvement. Luckily, Tacoma offers vastly superior options. The best of
Walkie Talkie Blog
Just saying no to the Polar Bear Plunge, 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, JAN. 1 Jay Hollingsworth is
Walkie Talkie Blog
The phrase triple threat, meaning a person who excels at acting, dancing, and singing, is among the most overused in all entertainment. Oh, sure, any number of actors can carry a tune. I've even met trained opera singers who can manage a waltz without requiring emergency services. All the same,
Walkie Talkie Blog
What was the first piece of writing you truly, deeply loved? I'm talking fictional characters whose biographies you knew back and forth, settings as real as your quiet hometown, and plot surprises you felt as keenly as your own life events. Chances are, it wasn't a book your teacher assigned.
Walkie Talkie Blog
Dwarves of Erebor, 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. With The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies cutting
Walkie Talkie Blog
I guess every kid goes through waves of fascination. Some are mere passing phases; I doubt I've composed a sonnet or drawn a comic strip in years. Some endure. I'm as interested in astronomy and visual effects now as I was at age 12. Decades after my addiction to Land
Walkie Talkie Blog
"I soon got used to this singing, for the sailors never touched a rope without it....It is a great thing in a sailor to know how to sing well, for he gets a great name by it from the officers, and a good deal of popularity among his shipmates." -
Walkie Talkie Blog
Chomping the shark, 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. I submit to you, Gentle Reader, that last week was
Walkie Talkie Blog
Jackie Fender, Weekly Volcano cohort and one of the Gritty City's art scene and literary superstars, is about to step things up a notch. She and fellow Volcano scribe Joshua Swainston are releasing the first print collection of stories and poems from their online literary destination, CreativeColloquy.com. I chose this
Walkie Talkie Blog
Volunteering as tribute, 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, NOV. 20 Despite the enduring success of Chess and The
Walkie Talkie Blog
It shouldn't be necessary for us to tell you why Fleetwood Mac is one of the greatest bands of the rock era, but we love our young readers so here goes: if the only album Fleetwood Mac ever released was 1977's Rumours, it would still have been plenty. Like Michael
Walkie Talkie Blog
I'm a hairy guy; there's just no getting around it. Thanks, ample testosterone! With one infuriating exception - my scalp - I can grow hair pretty much anywhere, seemingly just by flexing for a few seconds. My face sprouts a beard at the speed of a Play-Doh "spaghetti" extruder. Thus,
Walkie Talkie Blog
All right, all right, all right, 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, NOV. 6 The 2014 holiday movie season
Walkie Talkie Blog
I can't and won't profess to be a country music aficionado. Luckily for our purposes, however, I do know someone who can lay fair claim to being an expert: my father-in-law, Greg Stevens. Now in radio ad sales (and occasional jingle writing), he spent decades singing and playing guitar for
Walkie Talkie Blog
Did you know the last name of Hyde's more civilized alter ego is pronounced "Jeek'l?" Nor did I, but that's how Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson pronounced it. That's the fun sort of fact an actor learns working on reader's theater. One also learns Stevenson possessed an intimidating vocabulary, requiring
Walkie Talkie Blog
Taking the red pill, 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. Last week Oly police arrested a woman for drunk
Walkie Talkie Blog
How was your first time? Was it painful? Exhilarating? Humiliating? Was it true what they say about band camp, or church camp, or those roommate-warding socks on dorm doorknobs? Was it your high school or college sweetheart, some stranger at a party, maybe someone you thought was in the friend
Walkie Talkie Blog
Talking dead, 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. If you're a true movie lover, or just feel like not