BRAD ALLEN: DRINK OF THE WEEK >>>

I hung out with a bunch of ladies in knitted sweaters at the Hotel Murano tonight for my Drink of the Week column, which will run in Thursday's print version of the Weekly Volcano.  The easdropping was priceless.  The hotel looks cool.  Knitters who attend fiber arts conventions drink. Here are a few snap shots.

ART
Lino Tagliapietra
Lino Tagliapietra is a glass maestro from the oldest international glass art capital in the world â€" and no, I don’t mean the upstart glass capital of Tacoma, Wash. I mean Murano, an island off the coast of Venice, Italy, that was a recognized world glass center before the United States was a country.

Americans don’t even have such things as maestros â€" although we do sometimes use the word as a term of respect. A real maestro in the European tradition is someone who has served an apprenticeship, mastered his craft and taught it to others. Tagliapietra began his glassblowing apprenticeship with Archimede Seguso at the age of 12 and became a maestro at 21. Now 72, he is lauded throughout the world for his skilled craftsmanship and classical design.

Tacoma’s Museum of Glass will host Tagliapietra’s first retrospective exhibition beginning Feb. 23. In conjunction with the exhibition, Tagliapietra will come to Tacoma for two five-day visiting artist residencies working in the museum’s Hot Shop Feb. 17 and Feb. 27-March 2.

Watch the action live from MOG’s Web site stream.â€" Alec Clayton

[Museum of Glass, noon to 5 p.m., $10, 1801 Dock St., Tacoma, 253.284.4750, www.museumofglass.org]

CELTIC
Ockham’s Razor
Doyle’s Public House and its patrons have been warming up to St. Patrick’s Day all year in a unique way â€" with a St. Practice Day series â€" and the next one tonight, which is one month away from St. Patrick’s Day, will feature contemporary Celtic band Ockham’s Razor. The band takes the Gaelic-Celtic genre into the 21st century with a keen sense of the past coupled with a progressive attitude that is entirely fresh.

Check them out and get your green drink on early. â€" Suzy Stump

[Doyle’s Public House, 8 p.m., no cover, 208 St. Helens Ave., Tacoma, 253.272.7468]

FOLK
Deer Hearts
There’s not a lot of mystery to the Deer Hearts, who will play Le Voyeur in Olympia tonight. The Deer Hearts, besides a witty name, are two people â€" a girl and guy with an acoustic guitar â€" playing disenchanted folk with lyrics built on streetwise vernacular and melancholy humor.

The Deer Hearts are smart, charming, witty, endearing, ironic, moderately talented, and one Olympia/Seattle band you should absolutely know about.
To help you on your quest to better know the Deer Hearts, which you are now no doubt on, check out www.myspace.com/thedeerhearts.

Did I mention the Deer Hearts are funny?  They are. â€" Matt Driscoll

[Le Voyeur, Deer Hearts, Christopher Stewart and Lorey Konga, 10 p.m., no cover, 404 Fourth Ave. E., Olympia, 360.943.5710]

STEPH DEROSA: GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER >>>

Welcome to another episode of Dinner with DeRosa.  I met these folks throughout the week and invited them to dinner.

Once upon a time they lived in Tacoma, but we lost them to the calling of the great Rose City: Portland. Ryan and Victoria Huckaby are back in town for the weekend to visit buddy Ian Bender. I’m not going to pick on them for leaving one of the best cities on earth (Tacoma).  No, I’ll leave them alone, no harassment.  Only because I happen to think Portland is amongst the rankings as another one of the very few “best cities on earth.”

My nomination this week for the official Dinner with DeRosa “Beer Guy” is James Moss.  He’ll be bringing the suds.  I gave him the test to see if he could hang, and he passed.  I asked him to take his knit cap and pull it down over his face and talk like Dumb Donald from Fat Albert.  He was way cool and played along perfectly.  For this, he is now one of us.

Infinite Soups, Infinite Soups, Infinite Soups â€" oh, how I love you so.  I know I’ve mentioned the tiny Tacoma soup kitchen before in my weekly blabbering that nobody reads, but they are just so damn GOOD.  Owners Wendy Clapp, Todd Deshazo, and Laura Adams (not pictured) have done something right when it comes to flavor and originality.  I especially like Todd because he’ll go along with my lame bets.  He’s gambler, a trooper, and a gracious loser â€" right, Todd?

My new friends from the Tacoma News Tribune are definitely invited this week. Scott Fontaine and his Trib buddies have the green light to be a part of my dinner party any day of the week.  They are cool as shit, witty as hell, and bring a smile to my face.  The Volcano is also a fan of Fontaine’s Word on the Street blog.

Even though they had just seen for the first time our new Volcano billboards, they managed to not punch me in the face and STILL somewhat compliment me on my Toilet Tales.  This proves they can hang.  Also â€" what you can’t really see, and what made them immediately fantastic in my book â€" is the fact that there was an issue of Weekly Volcano sitting on their table that they had been reading.  Congrats on raising your coolness factor guys!

This next guy I’m inviting with hopes of performing some “coolness osmosis.”  I hope the “just go along with Steph’s silly games” attitude that the other dinner guests have will rub off on him: 

He comes to the Tacoma Beer Society functions, I saw him at SinSational the other day, we chatted, I met his girlfriend “from Seattle” (Why do people need to point that out when they introduce someone?), and it was all good, right?  I knew he had just purchased this fine-ass camera with hopes of really getting into photography, and I was there to support him.  To do so, I thought it’d be cool to get a picture of him taking a picture of me.  Not the case at all.  He immediately shot me down.  Not because he didn’t want his picture taken, but because he “didn’t want to waste his shots.”  Oh, did he have film in it?  No, it was a digital camera.  He apologized for being “anal,” but that he only took pictures of things that were worth the shot.  Wow, thanks dude. 

Mangiamo!

FILM
Atonement
An event on the lawn of an English country house is misinterpreted by a 13-year-old girl, and leads her to a wicked lie that destroys all possibility of happiness her herself, hr older sister (Keira Knightley) and her sister's lover (James McAvoy). Begins in sheer happiness, ventures through the horror of the war in France and London, ends in darkest irony. One of the year's best films, a certain best picture nominee. Rated R. Four Stars â€" Roger Ebert

[The Grand Cinema: 12:20, 3:10, 6, 8:40]

MORE FILM: On local screens today.

MUSIC
Rockaraoke
If you give Tacoma a microphone it knows what to do with. That much is proven night in and night out at karaoke joints all over town. Now, give Tacoma a microphone and a live band, and you have Rockaraoke at Jazzbones every Monday night. Fun is always had by all, and booze is consumed at an alarming pace. The $1 High Life pints and $4 Jäger bombs might have something to do with it.  Fun. â€" Suzy Stump

[Jazzbones, 9 p.m., no cover, 2803 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.396.9169]

ROCK
Failing Winter
The genius of 70’s punk acts was not their musical talent, but rather it was their ability to construct short and simple songs with authority and force. The short life of punk was emulated by countless bands who wanted to combine musical muscle with the rebellious spirit of the genre. One such band is the Olympia, WA power trio, Failing Winter. While the threesome of Jamie McPheeters (guitar/vox), Chad Maurer (bass/vox) and David “Tex” Venegas (drums) also list classic rockers Zep and Rush as influences, their core sound is closer to the Clash on crack and coffee. â€" Tony Engelhart

[Charlie’s Bar & Grill, 5th Anniversary Monday Mayhem Celebration with Failing Winter and Building Spires, 9 p.m., no cover, 620 E. Fourth Ave., Olympia, 360.786.8181]

MORE MUSIC: In the clubs tonight.

BOBBLE TIKI: LASCIVIOUS, MORNING NEWS, TAB BENOIT>>>

THE DAILY WORD
Lascivious \luh-SIV-ee-uhs\, adjective:
1. Lewd; lustful.
2. Tending to arouse sexual desires.

USAGE EXAMPLE: There’s nothing like the lascivious look of a roast beef sandwich to get Bobble Tiki’s juices flowing.

MORNING NEWS

SEATTLE: Capitol Hill violence

MILTON: Slow news day

OLYMPIA: Chat with Dicks

SPORTS: Cheater update

HUSTLER OF CULTURE
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: Since Bobble Tiki is a big time fan of getting big time wasted and making a big time ass out of himself, it’s hard for Bobble Tiki not to recommend Rockaraoke tonight at Jazzbones. For those who don’t know, Rockaraoke is just like regular karaoke, only singers are backed by a real, live band instead of out of key CD versions that came with the karaoke equipment. Bobble Tiki’s thinking about heading down to Jazzbones, taking advantage of some of the cheap booze they serve on Mondays, and then tearing into “Barracuda.” What could be better on a Monday night?

MORE MUSIC: What’s on tonight
SAVE THE MURRAY MORGAN: See who wants to
FORUMS: Check ‘em out

THREATS AND PROMISES COLUMN

Tab Benoit is coming to Jazzbones this week, and Bobble Tiki’s all over it. Check out Bobble Tiki’s Threats and Promises column come Thursday to catch all the details. Benoit is a top notch guitarist, and Bobble Tiki will have all the dirt on his upcoming NW gigs. Now you know…

Breakfast with Bobble Tiki runs six days a week now. Deal with it.

BRAD ALLEN: INDOOR SOCCER >>>

Former Tacoma Stars players will play in a reunion match Friday, Feb. 22 at the Tacoma Soccer Center. This annual event has a twist this year: The match is titled "NW Legends Night" and includes soccer players from other clubs, too.

The match starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for kids ages 11-18, and free for kids 10 and younger.

LINK: Goal Seattle.

J.M. SIMPSON: BURGER PATROL >>>

I’m a simple guy who likes simple things. 

And when it comes to food, one of the simple things I like is a good hamburger. 

Well, that and a cold bottle of beer.

Jake’s Bar & Bistro in downtown Steilacoom offers up one of the best burgers I’ve ever tasted.  And the beer’s not bad, either.

My bacon and cheddar burger was a delicious creation that featured one-third of a pound of lean beef generously topped with cheddar cheese and lean bacon.

The juiciness of the meat and bacon â€" served on two lightly toasted buns lightly buttered â€" literally melted in my mouth.

Add fresh tomato, lettuce and onion, and we’re talking a real culinary treat.

“I’ve been coming in here for some time,” says the guy sitting next to me at the bar.  “And I can see from how you enjoyed your burger that you’ll be back.”

He’s right; I will be back.  Jake’s serves a righteously good burger that leaves you wanting a second one. 

MATT DRISCOLL: LIKES THE TASTE OF LEAD>>>

Almost as though they read our booze soaked minds, Exit 133 and King 5 TV are talking about something we here at the Weekly Volcano were discussing this weekend at a news staff meeting.

Construction is now in full swing on developer Mike Cohen's massive "Point Ruston", which will radically transform the old Asarco Smelter site in Ruston into some of the most beautiful and, no doubt, expensive property this area has ever seen.

The question on everyone's mind seems to be the implications of cleaning up the Asarco mess. As has been well documented, nearly a century of smelter activity at the Asarco sight has left the soil at Point Ruston rich with pollutants like arsenic and lead.  Asarco has reportedly cleaned up 75 percent of the mess, leaving Cohen and Co. to deal with the rest - something Cohen agreed to when he purchased the waterfront property. Though construction is underway as we speak, the cleanup process could take as long as ten years - with the EPA monitoring the whole process to make sure things are done correctly.

We don't claim to be psychic or know the future here at the Weekly Volcano, but something tells us there's bound to be a hangup or two over the next ten years while cleaning up the Asarco environmental disaster and erecting high priced homes and business real estate in its place. We're not psychic, but it seems like a pretty safe bet.

Only time will tell. We'll be here to keep you posted.

BRAD ALLEN: THE DIRT >>>

The Bull's Eye Sports Lounge is bringing back live music beginning March 6 featuring Just Dirt, which was considered the Bull's Eye house band since the quartet packed the joint every time they played.

Owner Richrad Kim says they will host band every Friday and Saturday night, beginning with Kickstart March 7 and 8.

If you can't wait until March 6, Just Dirt hosts a jam session every Wednesday at Club Vertigo.

[The Bull's Eye Sports Lounge, 14904 Pacific Avenue S., Spanaway, 253.539.1311]

BRAD ALLEN: PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT >>>

With a holiday the next day and a trip to Dublin on the line Doyle’s Public House packed its last St. Practice Day before the real thing last night.  Tator Tot and I snagged a seat early. I could have sold it for a $32.41 two hours later.

Doyle’s has been practicing for St. Patrick’s Day every 17th of the month.  By the looks of it last night, everyone is ready.

Doyle’s will be sending Brenda Snider and a guest to Dublin on dates of their choosing. Snider ordered the last drink from a bottle of Jameson at Doyle’s a while back, signed it and waited for last night’s drawing to see if she’d be eligible for two round-trip tickets to Dublin. She won.  She was happy.  I mean real happy.

The first five entries are already in for next year’s Dublin On Doyle’s promotion.

Speaking of St. Patrick’s Day, Doyle’s will be celebrating for four day â€"  March 14, 15, 16 and 17. They will be tenting off the parking lot Friday morning and turning it into Outdoor Doyle’s. Live music will be under the tent Friday, Saturday and Monday. Ockham’s Razor will play Saturday and Monday. They are still in search of a band for Friday night (If you have any ideas pass along â€" they do not need to be Irish). Doors open Saturday, Sunday & Monday at 6 a.m. There will not be a cover.

What I’m looking forward to most during Doyle’s St. Patrick’s Day celebration is the introduction of their new drink â€" the Big Ginger, a 20-ounce glass filled with Jameson and Ginger Ale.

I will be celebrating St. Throw Up Day on the March 18.