THE DAILY WORD
Learn it, use it, spell it

Unguent \UNG-gwuhnt\, noun:

an ointment.

USAGE EXAMPLE: “What’s in this unguent?” Barry Bonds asked with a cold smirk, coating his (at the time much smaller) muscles with a clear goop given to him by Greg Anderson, his buddy from BALCO.

“Flaxseed Oil, Barry. It’s flaxseed oil.”

And with that, the sky darkened, a bolt of chilling lightning crashed to the ground, and Bonds and Anderson cackled wickedly as the camera panned out.  Thus concluded the second day of filming on the set of “The Guy Who Took a Dump on the Hallowed Chest of Baseball: The Barry Bonds Story.”

Available on DVD later this summer.

THE MORNING NEWS

CONTEMPT: Two in the Bush.

ARAB LEAGUE: Hello, Israel.

LOVE: Is monogamy natural?

DRINKS: Partied like Brad Allen.

WEDNESDAY BLOWDOWN
You can stand atop the mountain and scream your naked desires to the universe or shed that synapse epilepsy and hug the South Sound today with your fellow man:

MUSIC: Tonight!
It’s Hump Day, people! Celebrate with sausage!

Tonight at Hell’s Kitchen, after an early all ages show with Dear Whoever and A Quiet Uprising, it’s time for your monthly sausage party.

At least your monthly sausage party at Hell’s Kitchen. There’s a decent chance you attend others on your own.

Tonight’s is a very special sausage party, pitting hip-hop vs. punk featuring Friday Knights, Botox Party, Nasty Left, and Sok and the Faggots.

Bobble Tiki likes this show because it’s going to kick ass and there’ll be free sausage. Bobble Tiki likes the Spew because he can write things like Sok and the Faggots.

More music tonight!

DRINK: Last beer before Point Defiance.

As always, Bobble Tiki doesn't care what you do today because he doesn't even know you.  And unless you check out the Weekly Volcano's Web site, Bobble Tiki doesn't want to me you.  Besides, it's time to blow this joint because it's so obvious you are becoming further and further removed from all that is genuine and real and visceral and virtuous and Bobble Tiki doesn't play that with his morning bowl of Quisp.

OK, Bobble Tiki apologizes.  Please be his friend here.

Breakfast with Bobble Tiki runs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.  Deal with it.

Club Vertigo will open Aug. 10 in the South Tacoma Way spot formerly occupied by The 54.  Joey Gingerella of Show Media will book the joint.

Hey!  What’s this? â€" Brad Allen

For the last four months, the Weekly Volcano staff has fought, argued, cajoled one another and basically worked themselves into a frenzy on their way to choosing â€" and then writing about â€" the most interesting, useful, quirky, and unique things that make the city of Tacoma the ideal place to live.

That's right friends, the Best of Tacoma issue has hit the streets, stuffed inside the Weekly Volcano and Ranger newspaper, as well as thrown about smartly on its own.

We concentrated solely on Tacoma city limits.  We apologize to Olympia, Lacey, Lakewood, Puyallup, University Place, and other South Sound cities.  We didn’t have enough space to do them justice.

Although we had to moan and complain and struggle and fight and pull our hair out to make this issue happen, secretly we all know that the Best of Tacoma issue is the most fun we can legally have while still getting paid. â€" Ron Swarner

THE DAILY WORD
Learn it, use it, spell it

Incommunicado \in-kuh-myoo-nih-KAH-doh\, adverb or adjective:

Without the means or right to communicate.

USAGE EXAMPLE: No matter how hard Bobble Tiki tried to convince her, Mrs. Tiki just wouldn't believe Bobble Tiki when he told her that a band of wayward strippers had held him hostage and incommunicado for three days and four nights, torturing him with glitter and forcing him to withdraw large sums of money from the joint account for lap dances and $17 Pepsis.

THE MORNING NEWS

ASTRONAUTS: Drunk in space.

HONG KONG: Turn those machines back on.

GAS: 2,000 Exxon love.

SEX: Dress like a chicken.

WEEKEND BLOWDOWN
If you're anything like Bobble Tiki, when the weekend rolls around all you can think about doing is cutting loose and tying one on. Then again, if you're anything like Bobble Tiki you're drunk right now.  Either way, there are a number of great shows tonight where one will surely be able to wet their whistle, and see a kick ass band or two to boot.

Ninetynine plays Le Voyeur in Olympia tonight.  They're from Australia.  They play indie pop with Casio keyboards.  And Laura Macfarlane, Ninetynine's leader, was one of the original drummers for Sleater-Kinney.

Utterance and Severus play Hell's Kitchen tonight.  While it's not exactly the first time something like this has happened, the show will still be loud and intense, and the booze will still flow freely.

And finally, the Fourth Ave Tavern in Olympia will host 2112, a Rush tribute band.  If you missed Geddy Lee and Co. when they swung through the Northwest for real, here's a fine chance to make up for it.   

MORE MUSIC: Tonight’s music calendar.

ART: Art scene girl power.

CULTURE: Ethnic Fest Saturday.

As always, Bobble Tiki doesn't care what you do today because he doesn't even know you.  And unless you check out the Weekly Volcano's Web site, Bobble Tiki doesn't want to me you.  Besides, it's time to blow this joint because it's so obvious you are becoming further and further removed from all that is genuine and real and visceral and virtuous and Bobble Tiki doesn't play that with his noon bowl of Quisp.

OK, Bobble Tiki apologizes.  Please be his friend here.

Breakfast with Bobble Tiki runs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.  Deal with it.

The scenesters who filled the interior of the Bella Vita Restaurant and Ultra Lounge appeared to be enjoying posh cocktails and yummy looking plates â€" due to my attendance sans date I was standing around, milling awkwardly in a sea of unfamiliar faces. 

The parking lot alluded to the crowd inside, filling the lots at Tacoma's Bella Vita, the as-yet-unopened Opa, and even spilling over to Safeway across the street.

“Appropriate attire” ranged from high-end jeans to wool trousers, for men, and flowing frocks to Capri khakis, for women. 

The food appeared to be snack-like, though as a VIP “soft open” that doesn’t mean anything for the menu later on (which promised to be high-end Italian.)

What I loved about the space, a mere two miles from my home, was the potential for lounge-cocktails, similar in feeling (and lighting) to the Blue Olive, with a cozy section defined by opulent blue fabric that spans the entire width of the restaurant, to either side of the front door.

At first I thought the low-slung table heaped with fruit sitting in one portion on the area alluded to a Tatami-style dining experience (which confused me: Italian eats in a former casino a’ la Japan?) but I read the writing on the wallâ€"actually, the computer-generated sign â€" apologizing for the lack of couches, which would be arriving soon for lounging enjoyment.  The other side of the door showed how the space will work, and showed full occupancy.

There looked to be a dance floor, CG fish swimming on flat-panel TVs (apparently, today’s décor piece de riguer) and low key lighting tucked in a well-shaped black ceiling that did a nice job of wiping out the feeling of the former business in the pace, though I have to wonder how the whole car wash/Carl’s Jr./pawn shop/bowling alley/Arby’s location will work for them in the long run.
My suspicion is that once word gets out about how cool the interior is, and providing the service, food, and drinks remain good,  the location will work great as a good central place that UP residents, North Enders, West Enders, and  Fircrest residents  can go to for a night out on the town.

For us, I think it’ll work great â€" once inside, the location is a moot point, and it’s close enough to the house that we’ll be able to sneak away for a quick bite and sip pretty easily.

We shall see though, once service (and the couches) are up and running in a full capacity. â€" Jessica Corey-Butler

The Midsummer Soiree came to the Warehouse, transforming a downtown Tacoma dirty alley into a clean narrow street with festive canopies, and transforming a boxy warehouse live/work space into an opulent party pad with bar and many lovelies wandering about.

The party planners themselves were transformed, resplendent in their finery with their art on display.

Desiree Flerchinger had a new nude on display (chained to a keyboard) that I especially loved, while Lia Craven’s impressive use of duct tape and subject matter intrigued me.

Also whimsical and fun, Suzanne Skaar’s works (was that a bunny on a Vespa?) and Linda De Santis Lapping’s fun little ceramic faces and fabulous skeletons. Impressive, as well, Elizabeth Cardany’s sensual work with the brush, and Mandi Webster-Martin’s eye with the lens.

Unlike December’s Eyefull event, the Midsummer Soiree had a good-sized crowd that appreciated, rather than consumed, the art, which included the performance variety.  I especially loved seeing Kate Monthy and Mary Mabry performing a piece they’d preciously performed at "Ten Tiny Dances" â€" yep, on a tiny stage.  Unlike Ten Tiny Dances, which performed on a low stage, this dance was set high for the crowd to enjoy, as were the aerialists.

And yet another really cool element of the Soiree, the moments of free-form, improvisational fun that brought the crowd to the forefront, and where members of  the crowd was almost as much fun as the art.

I can’t wait ‘til the next one! â€" Jessica Corey Butler

THE DAILY WORD
Learn it, use it, spell it

Prink \PRINGK\, transitive verb:

1. To dress up; to deck for show.

intransitive verb:
1. To dress or arrange oneself for show; to primp.

USAGE EXAMPLE: After an episode or two of "Tikis Gone Wild" on DVD, Bobble Tiki often retires to his bathroom to prink himself. Sometimes, if you walk by the Tiki bathroom, you can hear it.  Friends and family members sometimes call out to Bobble Tiki, asking what he’s doing in there, to which he replies “Nothing. I’m just prinking.” The only problem with this is Bobble Tiki just learned today what “prink” actually means.

MORNING NEWS

BUSH: Welcome Mr. Pastry.

OBAMA: Pragmatic and shrewd.

PARIS: Get off grandpa's lap.

MONDAY BLOWDOWN
Monday is a notoriously lousy night for live music, as “conventional wisdom” tells you to avoid the bar or club on the start of the “conventional work week.” This is probably the reason that Monday night’s club listings look like Bobble Tiki’s grocery lists â€" short and full of additives and fillers. Tonight in Olympia, though, at Charlie’s of all places, Five Days Dirty will swing through town as part of the band’s West Coast tour. An East Bay Area punk band, kinda, Five Days Dirty is about as fresh faced and sugar sweet as a punk band is allowed to be. If they got any lighter Bobble Tiki is pretty sure a gang of mohawked dudes in tight jeans would pummel them with bike chains. Check out www.myspace.com/5daysdirty.com to see for yourself. 

MUSIC: Live music tonight.

As always, Bobble Tiki doesn't care what you do today because he doesn't even know you.  And unless you check out the Weekly Volcano's Web site, Bobble Tiki doesn't want to me you.  Besides, it's time to blow this joint because it's so obvious you are becoming further and further removed from all that is genuine and real and visceral and virtuous and Bobble Tiki doesn't play that with his noon bowl of Quisp.

OK, Bobble Tiki apologizes.  Please be his friend here.

Breakfast with Bobble Tiki runs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.  Deal with it.

The CDM Psychic Institute holds a workshop titled “Meditation & Healing” tomrrow.  Bobble Tiki loves the sound of that and was all set to go. Until he discovered that meditation helps you wake up and find your true self. Bobble Tiki has made a career or being both unconscious and shallow, so maybe this event isn’t for him.  â€" Bobble Tiki

[Tacoma CDM Psychic Institute, Tuesday, July 31, 7 p.m., $20, 4004 S. 12th St., Tacoma, 253.759.7460]