FILM
In Bruges
Two Dublin hit men (Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell) are ordered to hide out in Bruges, Belgium, after a hit goes very wrong.  Along the way, there are times of great sadness and poignancy, times of abandon, times of violence, times of goofiness, and that kind of humor that is REALLY FUNNY because it grows out of character and close observation.  Colin Farrell in particular hasn’t been this good in a few films, perhaps because this time he’s allowed to relax and be Irish.  As for Brendan Gleeson, if you remember him in The General, you know that nobody can play a more sympathetic bad guy.  Written and directed by Martin McDonagh. Rated R. Four stars â€" Roger Ebert
[The Grand Cinema, 3:40, 6:10, and 8:30 p.m., $6-$8, 606 Fawcett Ave., Tacoma, 253.593.4474]

SOCIAL
BEAN
Apparently there are enough yuppies in Tacoma to support another young professionals group. Case in point: BEAN, which arrives via Seattle, following a small parade of Seattle-based professional organizations that seem to have run out of pledges in their home town. From the organization’s Web site: “BEAN is a forum that brings together some of the area’s leading business professionals, non-profit service providers and engineering talent. This culmination of experience is brought together in the hopes of creating lasting relationships and a better tomorrow.” They will compete for share members with Tacoma organizations such as the Young Professionals Network and Tacoma Shop Talk. BEAN will conduct their first planning meeting tonight. â€" Joe Malik
[Mandolin Café, 6-7:30 p.m., 3923 S. 12th St., Tacoma, 253.761.3482]

LINK: Candy Apple and others in the clubs tonight.
LINK: Catch a flick on a local screen.
LINK: Let’s eat a steak today.

VIDEO HOT SPOT: Doug Mackey is nuts.

BOBBLE TIKI: BREAKFAST WITH BOBBLE TIKI >>>

THE DAILY WORD
Gewgaw \G(Y)OO-gaw\, noun:

A showy trifle; a trinket; a bauble.

USAGE EXAMPLE: After noticing that his “9” button didn’t work, he couldn’t download ring-tones, and it took five minutes to send a text, Bobble Tiki began to wonder if the fancy pants phone he’d dropped three hundred bones on was anything more than a shiny, overpriced gewgaw.

MORNING NEWS

TACOMA: Primary system

OLYMPIA: Great Wolf Lodge

SEATTLE: Light rail talk

WORLD: Obama addresses race

THINGS TO DO TODAY
FILM TIMES: Look here
MUSIC LISTINGS: Here’s what’s happening

STEPH DEROSA: BITCH >>>

I was in Austin. I was at SXSW.

You know it, you've read it, you might even be sick of hearing about it. I don't know if you really are sick of hearing about it, but I do, actually, somewhat care how you feel. And the last thing I would want to do is lose any of my five readers.

So, while I  was in Austin, I took the time to squat in the bathroom of Jaime's Spanish Village. I loved this potty for the simple fact that you could voice your inner graffiti-ness however you liked, thanks to the handy dandy chalkboard they provided.

Being legally permitted to write whatever the I wanted on a bathroom wall, reminded me of something I strongly support: individualism and being true to you. You are entitled to say what you want to say, feel how you want to feel, and do what you want to do. I truly believe this, except I do have one condition: as long as it's not physically hurting anyone, not insulting anyone, and as long as it's legal.

While I was standing in line at the airport to have my bags checked on my way to Austin, I waited patiently and observed. I observed that one line was maybe moving quicker than another, or that one line was clogged with international flyers emptying their suitcases in order to meet the 50-pound weight limit. I noticed my line was not moving very quickly and that I had the option to either A.) Wait it out in this line or B.) Move to another line. I decided to move. Not always a smart choice, but it did pay off for me seeing as how I quickly moved up and was finally ready to check my baggage.

In the line next to me stood a middle-age woman who was also ready to have her bags checked. As the very pleasant airline employee was about to take my information, the middle-age woman in the next line began to create a scene. She let the entire airport know that she had been waiting the longest and that someone needed to help her¬" and not me. Wait, what? Lady, you're crazy. I very easily could've busted out some attitude back at her, but seeing as how they frown upon violence at an airport, I decided to keep my cool. Besides, she had the same options to move lines as I did; yet she just happened to choose the shittier one. It was her fault.

Then she says it¬" her excuse as to why she's a raging bitch¬" she actually says: Sorry, I can't help it, I'm from New York.Ah, yes, now it makes sense. It's a horrible thing to stereotype, but hey¬" if you're going to call it, I'll play along. Yes, you're a bitch, you fucking Yankee. Being raised in Texas, we're bred to have very narrow-minded thoughts about Northerners. Generally, they're all called Yankees,and we hate them all.

Since I did eventually escape the polluted Texas education system at the age of 26, I've had 10 years to decompress. I've realized the stupidity, the arrogance, the racism, and the generalizations Texans raise their children with. I believe it's actually made me a more accepting person. And made me less likely to judge people based solely on their appearance, what they do for a living, where they are from, or how they talk. Although, just as the lady used them from New York excuse, I can admittedly say that I still have that Texas girl's attitude that makes my mouth cause trouble quite often.

Now let's say I have a job. Let's pretend someone hired me to write. Pretend my job is to voice my opinion, thoughts, daily actions, or any weird shit that happened to run through my tiny brain that day. That's my job, that's what I do.

You may not like me, and you may not like what I have to say¬" but as my friend KAke would say:Look, here's the deal¬" you don't have to read it. The glorious thing is that you have a choice. It's OK to have an opinion, and it's OK not to like me, but you don't have to lash insults. That just shows me that you are ignorant. You know what the smart thing would be to do? Look up at the top right corner of your screen. There's a little red X in a box. Click it.

CARMEN JONES: ST. PATRICK'S DAY RECAP >>>

St. Patrick's Day is one of my favorite holidays because you know that I'm the kinda girl who always looks for a good excuse to have fun.

That's why last night's adventure was most excellent.

My crew started at The Red Hot, then headed to Primo Grill for some Charlie McManus magic (the Irish stew was to die for), and followed it with a firework-worthy ending at Doyle's Public House.

Here are a couple of pix that I snapped along the way.

For the full low down on how the four-leaf clovers painted on two of my fingernails brought me great luck, be sure to read this my Permanent Lipstick column in the Weekly Volcano Thursday.

What more could you need on St. Patrick's Day other than a water (no hangover here!), a Guinness and a shot of Redbreast whiskey (that's the best Redbreast I've ever had.)

How could you say no to apple pie, sticky toffee pudding and another Guinness (of course.)

Then at Doyle's, no one could deny the Paddy's Day flair, except for the guy who was wearing a leopard-print thong under his kilt (that's not utility).

Here's a shot of the hundreds of people packed into Doyle's fun tent.

MATT DRISCOLL: BASEBALL SPRING TRAINING >>>

I’m not a huge baseball fan. In fact, I’m not even huge.

But one guy who is huge is Barry Bonds, and although he broke the Major League record for home runs last season, as the ’08 campaign draws ever closer Bonds still finds himself without a team.

Almost feel sorry for him, don’t ya?

There’s a story floating on the AP wire today that suggests the baseball player’s association will investigate the fact that Bonds and his massive noggin haven’t received a single offer in free agency. The player’s association looks at free agency every year, and if they feel a player or players are being treated unjustly or unfairly, they intervene on their behalf. The baseball player’s association is a union, and that’s the kind of thing unions do.

But before union leader Donald Fehr puts on his pencil thin mustache and two toned Ricky Ricardo jacket, I’d like to save him the time.

Barry Bonds hasn’t received any offers because he’s an old worthless cheater. That simple. Even baseball general managers know Bond’s home run swatting ways aren’t worth the negative publicity of having the man who shit on the chest of baseball’s greatest record and perverted the only thing that’s sacred in baseball â€" statistical history â€" in your dugout trying to find a batting helmet that will fit his swollen, HGH engorged head. There’s only one city on earth where fans even remotely accept Barry Bonds, San Francisco, and even the Giants finally decided enough was enough.

Here’s to hoping general managers around the majors stay strong, and Bonds is forced into retirement without ever seeing the plate again.

We’ll be seeing him, of course, but that will be in the courtroom.

STEVE DUNKELBERGER: SHOW ABOUT TO GET UNDRESSED >>>

Don't say I didn't warn you. Harlequin Productions' staging of Intimate Apparel only has three performances left before it must close to allow for the theater to move on with its season. All good things must come to an end at some point. And that time is now for the show.

Lynn Nottage's award-winning play about an African American woman trying to find her way in the word by sewing undergarments for ladies of fashion as well as ladies of the evening in lower Manhattan in 1905 is a tender drama about love and sacrifice.

The show runs at 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Visit Harlequin's Web site to read about the research and design process that went in to building the set and a photo gallery of the show.

GAME
Knowledge Night
If somewhere in the deep, dark recesses of your noggin there lurks the knowledge that actor Abe Vigoda is six-foot-four and grew up on New York’s Lower East Side, then this listing is for you. Every Wednesday Doyle’s Public House in Tacoma hosts Knowledge Night where individuals or teams answer two pages of brain teasers, trivia and current events for shirts, tickets and gift certificates. It’s a challenging, fun night. â€" Brad Allen
[Doyle’s Public House, 7 p.m. every Wednesday, no cover, 208 St. Helens Ave., Tacoma, 253.272.7468]

R&B
Kim Archer Band
Imagine soulful music of yesterday being forcibly pumped out of Janis Joplin’s larynx and then lathered with the silkiest velvet, and you’ve a pretty good idea of the kind of groove the Kim Archer Band can make.  This quartet added another layer of heat to the already blistering hot Dawson’s with funked up versions of “Hotel California,” “Born To Be Wild,” “Moondance” and “I’ll Be Around.”  Bassist Pat Fereday and drummer Jeff Derby lay down a heavy funk, with a smile.  Guitarist Dave McKibben, somehow, stays in the pocket, yet punches the soul in the face. All this funnels through singer/guitarist Kim Archer, who takes the Beatles’ hit “Ticket To Ride,” jumps on it with Joplin power and Chaka Khan finesse, and delivers it on a soul platter. â€" BA
[Tempest Lounge, 8 p.m., 913 Martin Luther King Jr Way, Tacoma, 253.272.4904]

LINK: John Lee Hooker Jr. and others in the clubs tonight.
LINK: Catch a flick on a local screen.
LINK: Let’s eat Southern today.

BOBBLE TIKI: BREAKFAST WITH BOBBLE TIKI >>>

THE DAILY WORD
Transmute \trans-MYOOT; tranz-\, transitive verb:
1. To change from one nature, form, substance, or state into another; to transform.
2. To undergo transmutation.

USAGE EXAMPLE: After fiver or six cocktails Bobble Tiki has been known to transmute into a babbling idiot.

MORNING NEWS

TACOMA: Rapist sentenced

OLYMPIA: Taller Olympia?

SEATTLE: Mustache talk

WORLD: Happy anniversary, Iraq

THINGS TO DO TODAY
FILM TIMES: Look here
MUSIC LISTINGS: Here’s what’s happening

MATT DRISCOLL:THE LONE "NO" IN LAST NIGHT'S HEALTH INSURANCE VOTE >>>

Last night Tacoma’s City Council voted 8-1 in favor of passing an ordinance that allows council members to take part in Tacoma’s health care plan at the same cost as part time city employees. Previously, council members could partake in the program, but were not technically considered employees and were thus required to pay the entire price of $1,030 a month. Members of Tacoma’s City Council earn $36,026 per year, and work an average of 32 hours a week for the city.

The passage of the ordinance came after the council heard recommendations from a citizen’s committee constructed for the purposes of researching the plan and investigating how other cities handle the issue.  After concluding that offering health benefits probably won’t solely persuade a person to run for office, but not offering benefits could discourage it, the citizen’s committee recommended the ordinance’s passage.

After being hesitant about the idea, council members seemed satisfied that the citizen’s council investigation and recommendations proved the case for voting on an issue that directly affects them.

The only member of Tacoma’s City Council to vote no last night was Councilman Rick Talbert, who opposes the notion that a sitting city council should be able to vote on their own benefits.

“I just don’t believe that sitting council members should vote on issues that directly affect their benefits,” said Talbert this afternoon.

“I do support the inclusion of city council members in the benefits plan, but again don’t believe that we should be able to vote on that directly.”

As to what effect the new ordinance will have, Talbert thinks it will be minimal on the current Tacoma City Council, but helpful in the future.

“I think most of the council members, especially those with full time jobs, have benefits,” said Talbert.

“I think it will only potentially be a couple members (who enroll in the city’s health plan.) I for one knew what I was getting into when I ran for office and I knew what I was going to be compensated. I do think (not providing health benefits) potentially limits the number of people who are able to devote the amount of time that’s necessary for the demand of the job.”

Despite the fact he cast the lone “no” vote at last night’s meeting, Talbert was happy the City Council took the time to have a citizen’s committee review the plan.

“For me it was a lot better process having a thorough investigation,” said Talbert.

MATT DRISCOLL: PAYING FOR HOPS TOO MUCH TO STOMACH >>>

In October of last year, the Weekly Volcano’s Brad Allen reported some scary news here on the Spew for microbrew connoisseurs. After talking to a local beer distributor, Allen learned the price of hops had gone from $3 a pound to $21 a pound, and that these skyrocketing costs would likely have a drastic impact on the world of microbrewing â€" especially here in the Northwest where high end specialty beers with loads of hops are king.

The Seattle Weekly posted a story today that seems to vindicate some of Allen’s worst fears. Apparently a number of small and well known microbreweries are feeling the economic uppercut of the increased price of hops coupled with our burgeoning recession.

It’s enough to make you ponder the future of microbrewing, and also ponder whether Brad Allen will be forced to find another alcoholic beverage to get loaded on every night.

These are sad times, for sure.