ART
Faces of Leadership
Art is a bit of an exhibitionist.  Art likes to be judged.  Art is sick ‘n’ tired of being confined to damn paintings.  Art is craft-y, Art likes photos.  Art doesn’t want to be talked about like this any more.  Hey!  Bring your schizophrenic self to the Faces of Leadership: Presidential Portraiture at the Washington State History Museum and see Art as a president. This exhibition features more than 30 artworks and images or presidents including sculpture busts, coins and medallions, and snapshots. Do you suppose Art could be renamed in November? Baroque Obama? McCainesque? â€" Suzy Stump
[Washington State History Museum, through Oct. 5, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, open until 8 p.m. Thursday, opens Mondays beginning June 2, $6-$8, 1911 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253.272.3500]

CLUB
Tacoma Mountaineers
You know what Tuesday is? Tuesday is a day for planning. Planning, yeah.  Let’s plan to do something later in the week.  Hey, look it’s almost summer outside.  Things’ll be heatin’ up pretty quick.  Soon you will be able to spend time outside during the day without becoming soaked.  Nevermind.  You should join the Tacoma Mountaineers right now, just to celebrate.  Right now.  Riiiiggght now.  OK, fine, you want to know something about them? They hike, they bike, they climb, and yes â€" they mountaineer, too. (And rockin’?  Hah! â€" parties, too.) In short, indoors is out. Outdoors is in. So get out by getting in. Or something like that. Let’s plan. ...â€" SS
[Tacoma Mountaineers, 2302 N. 30th St., Tacoma, 253.566.6965]

LINK: Nudity and others in the clubs tonight.
LINK: Discover when the movie starts here.
LINK: Let’s eat Italian today.

BOBBLE TIKI: BREAKFAST WITH BOBBLE TIKI >>>

THE DAILY WORD

Ribald \RIB-uhld; RY-bawld\, adjective:
1. Characterized by or given to vulgar humor; coarse.
2. A ribald person; a lewd fellow.

USAGE EXAMPLE: After Bobble Tiki’s final ribald joke, which involved three nuns, several household objects, and former President Bill Clinton, he was politely asked to leave the dinner party. 

MORNING NEWS

TACOMA: A violent summer?

OLYMPIA: The field of diversity

SEATTLE: Battling for eco cred

UNITED STATES: Obama's is bigger

JUST BIZARRE: Surprise!

MORE STRANGE NEWS: Karma's a bitch

THINGS TO DO TODAY
FILM LISTINGS: Look here
MUSIC LISTINGS: Here’s what’s happening
SHOOT THE SHIT: Weekly Volcano forums

STEPH DEROSA: SASQUATCHED >>>

As mentioned before, KAke and I hightailed it to the Gorge in George for the Sasquatch Music Festival Sunday.

You knew I wouldn't be able to resist doing a Toilet Tales from the Honey Buckets, didn't ya? Let me tell you, we were lucky to have had the premier camping that houses lots of potties nearby, because the liquid was catching up to me all night long. It was during one of the many Honey Bucket trips of the night that I realized something about myself. I hate snobs.

No, actually, I already knew that I hate snobs. I've always detested the elitist assholes that pass judgment, or who think they would've made a better decision or done something better than someone else.  I get a mental image of these kind of people as though they are sitting with their arms crossed, shaking their head at you as if to say,Tsk, tsk, I'm so disappointed in you. I would've done that in a much better way.

This kind of behavior can range anywhere from the strangers on the streets to your very own circle of friends. I witnessed a stranger being judged right next to us on the Gorge campground, as a matter of fact.

Perrin the redheaded hippie (self-proclaimed) was trippin on some serious LSD, there's no denying that. KAke called it the minute we pulled up to the camp spot,Oh man, he's trippin on some acid¬" I guarantee it.He was sitting all by himself in the middle of a large, empty patch of grass next to a small, one-person tent. For the first hour at least, Perrin flossed his teeth and stared at the grass. KAke and I were amused. We watched him floss as we sipped our wine and chatted away.

At the RV next to us, the 25-year-old hipster wannabe was not so amused. As he passed by Perrin in the grass, the young hipster* literally stared him down until eye contact was made. Then, as the eye contact was made, the Beck look-alike would shake his head in disgust as he rolled his eyes and walked off.

KAke and I felt so bad for Perrin. Who was he hurting? (Forget that the LSD was killing a brain cell, that's not our problem.) So what if he flossed vigorously for hours on end until his gums bled? He wasn't bothering anyone, and who knows how he got in that state, really? Maybe someone slipped it to him. No one knows except Perrin. So bug off with the judgment, little Beck Jr.! You hear me? Odelay!

Turns out our little judgmental hipster camping neighbor had really no room to talk on drug use. Within 30 minutes he and his buddy were sitting on our cooler offering us some of their magic herb.

Regardless of where I am, I feel as though I run into these snobby fucks on a regular basis. People are so quick to criticize and pass verdict without knowing the person or where they are coming from. You'd think that with the liberal state of mind most Pacific Northwesterners have, these narrow-minded opinions wouldn't happen as often.

Well, it certainly goes to show: You don't have to be a bank executive's wife living in the Stadium district, driving her kids to Annie Wright in a Volvo station wagon to be a snob. Every person from every walk of life has a little elitist attitude in them. Just don't show it to me.

LINK: Check out my Sasquatch photos at the Weekly Volcano Photo Hot Spot.

*What's a hipster?

Just for fun (and you have 10 minutes to kill)

KEN SWARNER: ICE BLOCK HEADS >>>

Starbucks stock is less than half its value from two years ago. Here’s reason No. 457.

I stopped today at the Starbucks where Highway 512 meets South Tacoma Way in Lakewood. I entered the drive-thru and asked for a grande iced decaf of the day. The lady inside the shop replied, “I’m sorry, we only do hot decaf of the day.”

Hmmmm. Maybe I haven’t ordered an ice coffee at this Starbucks (obviously trapped in the Twilight Zone), but I have received many, many iced coffees from various Starbucks around the world.

“What do you mean?” I asked. “I get these all of the time.”

She said she’d see what she could do, and I drove forward. At the window, I presented my card to a young woman who asked me, “Why don’t you like the regular caffeinated coffee?” Her tone was slightly shy of “Are you weird?”

I explained that caffeinated coffee doesn’t agree with me, and then I asked if the lady who took my order had figured out my coffee. Moments later, a middle aged looking woman in the green apron approached with an iced grande glass full of decaf minus ice.

In her other hand, she handed me a tall cup full of ice.

I apparently now mix my own coffee at Starbucks.

I’d like to say this experience is unique, but alas, more and more the service at area Starbucks continues to plummet.

KEN SWARNER: WINO >>>

Rosé â€" makes you laugh, doesn’t it? Most wine lovers still don’t realize that rosé wines made a comeback â€" that many labels carry them, and that opening a few bottles makes an excellent party.

Rosé comes from red grapes crushed and only allowed to stay in contact with its skins for a short time. It’s not completely clear why the rosé tumbled from grace, but for years most middle-income homes kept a bottle or two chilled for Saturday night bridge games.

Rosé perfectly compliments a warm summer evening. Great for a post lawn mowing, or to get appetites going during hors d'oeuvres, Rosé provides both refreshment and internal air conditioning.

Will you serve a rosé with a heavy steak dinner? No. Rosé starts the evening, it never finishes it.

Pop the rosé when the party first starts, offer guests a glass or two while still mingling on the back patio, when the sun still bathes the porch and folks are just getting comfortable. Serve the bottle chilled, put out a little cheese and crackers (goat cheese and brie) and afterward move into a heartier red or white.

Mark Merrill, owner of Pour at Four, also offers a little trick he picked up about serving chilled wine. The day before, pour the rosé into ice cube trays. Then, when you serve the rosé in glasses, pop in the rosé cubes to keep drinks cool â€" and keep adding as necessary.

Now that’s thinking.

Rosé the Olympia way
I recently enjoyed the Cune Rioja “Rosado” 2006 at Acqua Via (500 Capital Way S.) in Olympia. One hundred percent Tempranillo, the rosé featured rich cherry flavors. Lovely.

MATT DRISCOLL: METAL FIX >>>

Got word from local super manager Don Robertson of www.myspace.com/idolmanagement ">Idol Management this morning that metal heavyweights www.myspace.com/toxicholocaust ">Toxic Holocaust are set to release their debut album for Relapse Records in August. Toxic Holocaust will tour with www.myspace.com/atthegatesband ">At the Gates, Darkest Hour and Municipal Waste in July, and will play El Corazon in Seattle on July 23.

For those of you looking for a taste of Toxic Holocaust’s live show, Robertson provided this link.

Enjoy, and bang your fucking head.

ART
Chuck Close and poet Bob Holman
Chuck Close is something of a one-trick pony, but he does that one trick magnificently. He does portraits of his friends in an almost endless variety of media and techniques, usually close-ups with sharp focus on the center of the face and fading along the edges. This internationally famous artist who grew up near Tacoma and went to school at the University of Washington first became famous in the 1960s for his stark, in-your-face photographic realism â€" images of faces seen so close and in such gigantic scale that every pimple, scar and wrinkle was seen in almost microscopic detail.

Now showing at Tacoma Art Museum is a collaborative project two years in the making between Close and the poet Bob Holman â€" visual and word portraits of themselves and their friends â€" titled A Couple of Ways of Doing Something: Photographs by Chuck Close, Poems by Bob Holman.

The poems are witty and inventive. If you happen to be familiar with Glass’ music or Murray’s paintings and Sherman and Serrano’s photographs, then the poems will have enhanced meaning. One of the funniest is Holman’s poem in praise of himself, which is presented as a letter to him from “the rest of the world except for you.” â€" Alec Clayton
[Tacoma Art Museum, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., $6.50-$7.50, 1701 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253.272.4258]

FILM
The Visitor
The following is a bare-bones synopsis of writer-director Thomas McCarthy’s latest film, The Visitor. A lonely man keeps to himself upon losing someone dear to him. He then meets an energetic stranger who helps recharge his broken spirit. A couple of women also enter his life and help to reawaken his tender side.

Now read it again and apply it to McCarthy’s only other film, the much-lauded indie favorite The Station Agent (2003). Funny how that works. McCarthy wrote and directed both films, and both are terrific if you buy in from the get-go that strangers from wildly different backgrounds can form intimate bonds in a short time. Give McCarthy credit, because it works. Rated PG-13 for brief strong language. Three and a half stars. Full review here. â€" Teresa Budasi
[The Grand Cinema, 4:40, 6:55, and 9:10 p.m., $4.50-$8, 606 Fawcett Ave., Tacoma, 253.593.4474]

THE PARTY
Monkey time
Like Haley Joel Osment between Pay It Forward and Second Hand Lions, the 100th Monkey parties have experienced a tremendous growth spurt. Unlike Osment, however, the 100th Monkey growth spurt has not been awkward.  What started as a small gathering under the guidance of artist Lynn Di Nino has now blossomed into a giant mass at the Freighthouse Square tonight driven by Sue Pivetta. The idea behind these parties is to meet three new artists or art lovers while munching on finger foods and beverages brought by the participants. Christopher Batinovich purchased the lucky lottery tile at the last event so the night’s entertainment rests on his shoulders. â€" Suzy Stump
[Freighthouse Square, Wednesday, May 28, 7:30 p.m., $4 tiles by Bonnie Chance, 2727 E. D. St., Tacoma, www.100thmonkeytacoma.com]

LINK: Love You Long Time and others in the clubs tonight.
LINK: Find out when the movie starts here.
LINK: Let’s eat French today.

BOBBLE TIKI: BREAKFAST WITH BOBBLE TIKI >>>

THE DAILY WORD

Forgo \for-GO\, transitive verb;
Inflected forms: forwent, forgone, forgoing, forgoes:
To abstain from; to do without.

USAGE EXAMPLE: Bobble Tiki’s doctor recommended he forgo his morning Toaster Strudels, for health and weight reasons, but the temptation of the warm, flaky, berry and cream cheese filled delights proved too much. Bobble Tiki was never able to kick his Toaster Strudel habit.

MORNING NEWS

TACOMA: Return of Semaj

OLYMPIA: Baird at SPCC

SEATTLE: Regret over flip remark

UNITED STATES:Values and the right wing 

JUST BIZARRE: Attack with a vacuum cleaner

MORE STRANGE NEWS: Too much Madonna

THINGS TO DO TODAY
FILM LISTINGS: Look here
MUSIC LISTINGS: Here’s what’s happening
SHOOT THE SHIT: Weekly Volcano forums