BRAD ALLEN: SHAKING THEIR MONEY MAKER >>>

The Black Crowes will perform Monday, Sept. 8 at The Puyallup Fair.  Tickets are $25 and $55.  They will go on sale Saturday, May 3, 10 a.m., at all Ticketmaster outlets.

DANIEL BLUE: IMPORTANT THINKER SCHOOLS ME >>>

I just had the honor of corresponding with a very important thinker in today’s mixed up and crazy world â€" James Howard Kunstler, author of The Geography of Nowhere and The Long Emergency. Geography won him attention as a critic of sorts on America's poorly illustrated urban planning. He reminds us that oil is nearly gone and the way we have structured our lives, cities, and cultures, depends on something that cannot last.

This may not seem important to you. But just imagine where you would get your food and Starbucks when the truck wont start. On the eve of his lecture at the Theatre on the Square in downtown Tacoma I started my interview as a bit of a mock skeptic, and then he schooled me.

DANIEL BLUE: So much of the information we receive as a culture we have trained ourselves to dismiss as another advertisement or fear-based propaganda. I don't have a television, and most of the news I hear is transmitted orally. I hear whispers of the end of oil, but I hear rumors that there is plenty still locked in the arctic. As strange as it may seem, for every voice that sends a warning, there seems to be an equally extreme voice shouting that there is nothing to worry about and we have all the time we need. Who the hell do we believe here?
JAMES HOWARD KUNSTLER: You're not paying attention. The “cognitive dissonance” has got you. The evidence overwhelmingly suggests that we have a huge problem with oil, which will not be offset by the skimpy new discoveries that have come along recently.

BLUE: Who stands to gain from the end of oil? Won't the corporation that discovers an alternative energy source rule the world?
KUNSTLER: That's magical thinking â€" tinged with grandiosity and paranoia. There's no corporation that can bail us out of our oil-addiction problem with "rescue remedy." There are lots of alt.energy resources, and we will use everything possible, but we're sure to be disappointed by what they can do for us. That's the key to understanding what we face. As I've said a million times, no combination of solar, wind, ethanol, biodiesel, nuclear, or used-french-fry-oil will allow us to keep running Wal-Mart and the Interstate highway system (and that's the unstated wish behind your question). We have to make other arrangements for everyday life. Those who benefit will be those who are prepared to live locally and work shoulder-to-shoulder with their neighbors.

BLUE: What was your favorite celebrity divorce last year?
KUNSTLER: Oh Christ, I don't even remember who ditched whom.

BLUE: What role do you see the arts playing in the transformation of the human slave state?
KUNSTLER: I consider the arts of tremendous importance â€" more as a mentality than an instrumentality. Wendell Berry had a lot to say about this in Harpers Magazine recently. He is correct, of course. Our technological fixation has gotten us in a lot of trouble. These days we suffer from techno-triumphalism or techno-grandiosity that is very pernicious. It has led to much delusional thinking about technology's ability to rescue us from the diminishing returns of ... technology! We desperately need to turn instead to artistry, excellence, fine work, loving, and other human enactments not strictly technological

BLUE: Do you think there is oil on the moon? Mars?
KUNSTLER: No. It's a dumb question.

BLUE: Are we the dinosaurs that will fuel the next evolution?
KUNSTLER: Well, we're gonna leave a lot of crap behind, but not much that would be considered a precursor to great underground pools of oil.

BLUE: All of this doom is so depressing, what is your favorite anti-anxiety medication?
KUNSTLER: I'm actually pretty cheerful. But once in a while I'll pop a Xanax. For example, I get anxious in big concert crowds and situations like that. Xanax has an unpleasant fatigue-like blowback, so it's best taken later in the day.

BLUE: What are some things that my readers can do right now, this evening, to improve the quality of life for the whole? Where does your doom find traction in my current paradigm?
KUNSTLER: You say "your doom" as if I have ownership of a particular brand of doom. Not so. My new post-oil novel, World Made By Hand depicts the future as having many lovely qualities â€" though there is also much hardship. I'm not gloomy about the future. It's the present that I find disagreeable, especially the tyranny of cars and machines. Your readers can learn how to use hand tools, cultivate a social network of people they can depend on, learn to play musical instruments, stay healthy and fit by being active, grow something at whatever scale is available to you (even just a pot of herbs), read some of the 'great books' rather than turn on the boob tube, save money rather than spend it on electronic crap, and find somebody to love. ... Most of all, don't be crybabies.

BLUE: Love is all you need. Who will be the next hero? They killed John Lennon, why haven't they killed Bono?
KUNSTLER: Bono strikes me as more of a grandstander than a truly heroic figure. Somebody will get it, though, at some point in the future. Who can say?

BLUE: Yeah man. How do we wake up? Is anyone doing this right?  Do you have examples of communities who are living in a true sustainable manner?
KUNSTLER: How to wake up: pay attention. Be earnest and brave. Circumstances have not really forced the issue, so I don't think there are any great examples out there yet of how we will be actually living in the future. I am inclined to think that agriculture will come much closer to the center of our daily economic life than it has for generations.

BLUE: Are you interested in running for mayor of Tacoma?
KUNSTLER: That's obviously not a serious question.

BLUE: What is the question that you've always hoped someone would ask you?
KUNSTLER: Are you available to accept your Nobel Prize in person, or shall we just send the check?

If you have wondered how you are going to wake up, this would be a good start.
James Howard Kunstler will be speaking in Tacoma Wednesday, April 23, 7 p.m., at the Broadway Center for the Performing Arts’ Theatre on the Square. Tickets are $18, $9 for students, at 253.591.5894.

Kunstler is funny and dangerous, don't miss it.

MATT DRISCOLL: LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD >>>

If downtown revitalizationists and economic development freaks are correct with their predictions of Tacoma’s imminent boom and grandeur, parking downtown will be an issue in need of addressing. With more people come more cars, even with Tacoma’s efforts to promote alternative modes of transportation and public transit, and knowing this as fact the City of Tacoma is in the process of making a plan for parking. That plan will include paying for it.

For this reason, the City Center Parking and Mobility Strategy Implementation Team (try saying that three times fast) will hold a public meeting tomorrow from 4:30 â€" 6 p.m. in room 708 of the Tacoma Municipal Building - the first in a series of public get-togethers designed to develop “recommendations to determine how to employ parking pay stations within downtown Tacoma,” according to a release circulated by the City of Tacoma. The meeting will be the first of many, with subsequent meetings scheduled to take place every other Wednesday at the same time and location.

The City Center Parking and Mobility Strategy Implementation Team is actively seeking the advice of Tacomans to help determine, among other things, what type of pay stations should be used and how much people should pay.

The input of citizens will be used to help the City Center Parking and Mobility Strategy Implementation Team make recommendations to the City Council on how to proceed.

FUNK
Trunk Fulla Funk
Taking his cue from the golden days of funk is keyboardist/vocalist Anthony Smith. The San Diego-based Smith and his latest venture, Trunk Fulla Funk, take funk into the 21st century while paying homage to the past. Keeping it fresh, TFF incorporate a pinch of hip-hop into their funk mix, but it doesn’t dominate or overbear. The band’s 2008 debut, Life As We Know It, is a fresh and funky collection of originals full of tight grooves and steady beat. â€" Tony Engelhart
[Jazzbones, 7 p.m., all ages, $5, 2803 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.396.9169]

COMEDY
Jimmie "JJ" Walker
Unlike Dave Chappelle's growing weariness of people barking, "I'm Rick James, bitch" at him and Gary Coleman's near-violent reaction when people ask him to say, "What you talkin' 'bout, Willis," Jimmie "JJ" Walker embraces the career-eclipsing catchphrase that led him into a tightly focused limelight. Even though his career has been less than "Dy-no-mite" after Good Times, Walker keeps on truckin' at comedy clubs and on TV game shows. His material may not be the edgiest or even the funniest, but at least he has sense enough to steer clear of 1-800-COLLECT commercials. â€" Brad Allen
[Paradise Bowl, 8 p.m., 12505 Pacific Ave.  S., Parkland/Tacoma, 253.536.8995]

ROCK
Pink Floyd Experience
This latest retro phenomenon is the brainchild of Annerin Productions â€" the entertainment company that brought you The Led Zeppelin Experience and ABBA resurrection Bjorn Again. The company’s Floyd clone is led by San Diego-area guitarist Tom Quinn, who picked up his first guitar in 1973 â€" the year The Dark Side of the Moon was released. Quinn’s crew labels itself “psychedelic,” “conceptual” and “provocative” â€" words that often are associated with the psychedelic and disco-era pop sensation they seek to emulate. According to their website, the two goals of the Experience are to “keep it intimate,” with emphasis on small venue and theater performances, and reproduce the sensory onslaught that the real Floyd made its name on.

The Pink Floyd Experience delivers on its promises, providing everything you would expect from the minds behind the great pop-culture spectacle â€" six musicians, 200,000 watts of light, big-screen, psychedelic animations and ear-bending quadraphonic sound. It’s like Cirque de Soleil for hippies and scenesters. Go check it out. â€" Paul Schrag
[Pantages Theater, 8 p.m., $30-$44, 901 Broadway, Tacoma., 253.591.5894]

LINK: The Circus In Your Town and others in the clubs tonight.
LINK: Let’s eat in a wine bar tonight.

BOBBLE TIKI: BREAKFAST WITH BOBBLE TIKI >>>

THE DAILY WORD
Ubiquitous \yoo-BIK-wih-tuhs\, adjective:
Existing or being everywhere, or in all places, at the same time.

USAGE EXAMPLE: Besides the ubiquitous beer cans that litter Bobble Tiki’s home office, there’s also a large array of Hooter’s collectable calendars.

MORNING NEWS

TACOMA: Shauna says goodbye

OLYMPIA: North Thurston plans for worse

SEATTLE: OK to swim

UNITED STATES: Don't call it a comeback... because it wasn't

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

CARMEN JONES: MAXWELL’S VIP DINNER >>>

Last night I was fortunate to attend the Maxwell's Speakeasy + Lounge pre-opening mock dinner with My Gay Husband, The Reverend and Hot Pantz. Oh, what a night. Each of the courses that were brought out to us were marvelous (all sorts of shell fish, orange soup that I wanted to sip through a tippy cup, fancy steak, pork sandwich, creme brulee), and I sincerely have to thank Maxwell's for the most excellent time.

My night ended with high fives and hugs at The Hub, and then I met up with fellow Maxwell's party-goers, K to the K and her Cowboy Cutie at Hanks Corner Bar.

Here's a pic of everybody's favorite Sheri from Hank's. The rose tattoo was so fake, yet so real.

Oh yah, by the way, Maxwell's is officially open to the public TONIGHT. Check it out, yo!

LINK: Background on Maxwell’s
LINK: Maxwell's Invitation Only opening

MATT DRISCOLL: PARKLAND SKATE-N-STATION PLAYS HARDBALL >>>

Tacoma’s Dockyard Derby Dames, “Pierce County’s only roller derby league,” have a little problem. They’ve still got plenty of spunk, aggression, and burning desire to flatten broads, but they no longer have a place to practice. The Weekly Volcano received word from the Dames this afternoon that the league, which had previously practiced at the Parkland Skate â€"N-Station, is searching for new practice digs. It seems a difference between the Dames and the Skate-N-Station led to the decision.

“The Dockyard Derby Dames have valued their business relationship with the Skate-N-Station as a practice space for the league,” says DyDD cofounder Michelle McKittrick. “But the Skate-N-Station recently conveyed their wishes to have all of our league’s roller derby bouts based out of their rink.  This has never been part of the skaters’ vision for the Dockyard Derby Dames.” 

Currently, the Dames pay an hourly rate to practice at the Skate-N-Station, and hold all of the bouts they host at the Tacoma Soccer Station (aside from a yearly exhibition at the Skate-N-Station.)

“Owners of the Skate-N-Station notified us that they would not continue to rent practice space to our league after April if our bouts were not going to be held at their rink,” says skater Beth Gould in the released provided to the Weekly Volcano.

The Dockyard Derby Dames are looking for your help. If you’ve got a lead on a possible practice space (and keep in mind they need a track that’s 100 feet long by 60 feet wide, with a 10-foot perimeter for skater safety, and free of poles or structural supports between the floor and ceiling) contact the roller derby league. The Dames have a website, and a Myspace page.

If you’re interested in seeing the Dockyard Derby Dames do battle, the next bout is scheduled for May 3 at the Tacoma Soccer Station. Tickets are available here.

MATT DRISCOLL: THE WINNERS ARE >>>

The 22nd Annual City of Destiny Awards â€" designed to acknowledge outstanding volunteers and volunteer work in Tacoma- will happen on May 13 at Jason Lee Middle School. Mayor Bill Baarsma and the entire City Council will be on hand to honor 4 individuals and 4 organizations who have rocked the volunteer house over the last year.

While the evening will no doubt be exciting, the excitement wont come from suspense about who will win. The recipients of this year’s City of Destiny Awards were announced today.

The winners:

Ray Schuler: Schuler is a volunteer leader with the Boys and Girls Club of South Puget Sound

Randyn Morris: A senior at Stadium High School whose mother and sister have also won City of Destiny Awards. Morris is involved in too many volunteer activities to count.

Marion “Skip” Young: A kick ass Hilltop grandma who helped found the Bryant Neighbors group.

Amy Pudists: A fitness fanatic and Wilson senior, Pudists has put in 950 volunteer hours since the summer of 2004 for a number of worthy causes.

Lincoln LAWGs Safe Streets Group: They’ve cleaned up the Lincoln Area and made their neighborhood uncomfortable for panhandling and public urination.

REI Employees: Employees helped clean up Point Defiance after last winter’s storms.

Metro Parks SHERPAS: Students who help Metro Parks do their thing on weekends, evenings and summer vacations. Students come from the Metro Parks Tacoma's Leadership Experience Apprenticeship Program.

University of Puget Sound’s Project Save: Puts all the crap students leave behind to good use at local charities.

BOBBLE TIKI: QUITTING TIME >>>

Bobble Tiki’s got quite a dilemma on his hands. It’s quitting time here at Weekly Volcano World Headquarters, and the evening is full of possibilities.

Bobble Tiki must decide between:

- James Howard Kunstler’s lecture tonight at Theater on the Square
- The Pink Floyd Experience next door at the Pantages
- Or getting shitfaced drunk drinking boxed wine with the old lady.

It’s a tough call, but Bobble Tiki’s up for the challenge. As a Tiki who embraces difficult decisions and enjoys doing the unthinkable, Bobble Tiki may try accomplishing all three. Boxed wine with Mrs. Tiki first, then off to Kunstler to be totally freaked out, and then the Pink Floyd Experience â€" at which point Bobble Tiki’s alcohol soaked mind will probably be on par with Syd Barrett’s.

Sounds like a plan.

SHOPPING
The Shoe Show
The trio behind The Shoe Show compliment each other well â€" half Parisian former model Ondia Shapiro, Sam Shapiro, whose family owned Olympia’s Jinjor for 18 years, and fashion enthusiast and creative mind Alex Marr all hail from the Northwest but have spent extended time in various parts of the globe gathering visual images, ideas and finally crafting them into one solid reality.

Feeling that Tacoma’s downtown area was too conservative, they settled on 6th Avenue “because it's the Broadway of Tacoma.” There’s a real lack of shoe boutiques in TAcoma. The Shoe Show hopes to capture the attention of shoe lovers â€" girls, women, drag queens, cross dressers, whoever, and carry sizes in some shoes up to 16. â€" Jennifer Johnson
[The Shoe Show, 2614 B Sixth Ave., Tacoma 253.272.1412]

POETRY
Soul of the City Poetry Series
If good people are the heart of Tacoma, then great poetry is our city’s soul. Join the Tacoma community in welcoming newly appointed Poet Laureate of Tacoma, William Kupinse, at the Soul of the City Poetry Series, presented by Urban Grace Church. The Soul of the City Poetry Series will take place at King’s Books tonight. Refreshments will be served. Admission is a suggested donation of new or gently used clothing to be distributed at the upcoming Urban Grace's Community Breakfast to help people in our community who are living on the streets.

As with any arts endeavor or literary event in Tacoma, there is no use being commercialized, pretentious or ultra-affected. What sounds real, what has roots in our local history and what is genuinely rejuvenating to our spirits is what moves us. Maybe a poet laureate whom everyone simply refers to as ‘Bill’ is that someone the over-worked, over-commuted, over-extended citizens can truly connect with and gain poetic inspiration.

During the Soul of the City reading, Kupinse will read along with Honorable Mention winner, Tim McNeilly, and other contestants from the competition. â€" Tammy Robacker
[King’s Books, Thursday, April 24, 7 p.m., free, 218 St. Helens Ave., Tacoma, 253.272.8801]

LINK: Angelo Fawcett and others in the clubs tonight.
LINK: Let’s eat Japanese today.