BOBBLE TIKI: BREAKFAST WITH BOBBLE TIKI >>>

THE DAILY WORD

Halcyon \HAL-see-uhn\, noun:
1. A kingfisher.
2. A mythical bird, identified with the kingfisher, that was fabled to nest at sea about the time of the winter solstice and to calm the waves during incubation.
3. Calm; quiet; peaceful; undisturbed; happy; as, "deep, halcyon repose."
4. Marked by peace and prosperity; as, "halcyon years."

USAGE EXAMPLE: It was a halcyon life of double cocktails and long naps, and Bobble Tiki loved every second of it. 

MORNING NEWS

TACOMA: You've got to pray just to make it today

OLYMPIA: A protest in Olympia of all places

SEATTLE: Old pumps

UNITED STATES: Human nature

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

MATT DRISCOLL: QUATRO DOS EQUIS >>>

Yesterday we had our Weekly Volcano news editorial meeting, and Pappi Swarner had an ingenious idea. What makes a bimonthly editorial meeting better? Booze, that’s what. So we headed to Masa to talk shop and get our drink on.

At some point during the get together â€" which may have set a world record for lengthiest editorial meetings of all time â€" Masa owner John Xitco stopped by our booth to promote some of his newest menu items (no surprise there) and talk about his restaurant’s Cinco de Mayo festivities coming up on Saturday and Monday, which will include a live band performing outside.

While exactly who will perform during Masa’s Cinco de Mayo parties is still a bit of a mystery (the promotional flyer says “secret special guest band”), one thing isn’t. Whoever plays will need to keep it below 85 decibels at Masa’s property line or Xitco’s wallet may become a bit lighter.

That’s because Masa is the very first club to apply for and receive a special events permit under Tacoma’s new noise ordinance. When Tacoma enacted its new noise ordinance on April 2, members of the City Council and others who worked toward the creation of the ordinance realized that special events would arise that would require special consideration and rules.  Cinco de Mayo at Masa is just such a situation.

Tacoma has aimed to create rules for special events noise permits similar those in Austin, Texas â€" widely regarded as the live music capital of the world. A threshold of 85 decibels has been established as the maximum allowed at the property line of a business. After taking decibel readings near Masa, Tacoma noise officials determined that music measuring 85 decibels at the restaurant's property line decreased by nearly 20 decibels across the street from the club â€" to around 65 decibels, or just about ambient.

“85 decibels seems like a good number,” says John Harrington, Land Use administrator with Public Works, Building and Land Use Services Department, who worked with other city officials to create the guidelines and application process for special events noise permits and variances.

Unlike the regular noise ordinance, Masa’s compliance with the special events permit will not simply be based on whether a neighbor complains or not. Building and Land Use Services will be monitoring Masa on Saturday to make sure they stay below 85 decibels at the property line. If there are no problems they may stay home for Monday’s event, but if there are Xitco can expect to see them on both nights.

“The key is figuring out if there’s a problem on Saturday and fixing it,” says Harrington, “so we don’t have problems again on Monday.”

Yesterday at Masa, Xitco didn’t sound so hopeful.

“I told them to bring their ticket books,” he said, driving home the point that he opened Masa on Sixth Avenue because it’s an entertainment and mixed use area zoned so he can do business until 2 a.m.

Xitco expects to have difficulty staying under the 85 decibel limit this weekend, but feels like he’s done all he can to work together with the city. For Harrington’s part, he was also thankful for Masa’s cooperation.

“We really appreciate them working with us on this,” says Harrington.

If Masa is found to be too loud on Saturday or Monday night, the club will be subject to similar fines as outlined in Tacoma’s noise ordinance, which dictates a $250 fine be levied against first time offenders. Also, according to the wording of Masa’s special events permit, the music must be done by 10 p.m., and someone from the club must be on hand at all times to handle a noise situation should one arise.

For the sake of Masa, Xitco, and Cinco de Mayo in Tacoma, let’s hope a noise situation doesn’t arise.

Although with a limit of 85 decibels at the property line, that may be hard to do.

SUZY STUMP: NICE LOOKING APRIL >>>

Bringing the beer, liquor, and wine to the frst Dinner with DeRosa of April was Mike, one of Doyleââ?¬â?¢s Ã?¼ber-cool bartenders.  I adore Mike.  He helped the Tacoma Beer Society get its start at Stadium Bistro, and helped fight for us when things got sticky.  Doyleââ?¬â?¢s owner Russ Heaton rescued us on more than one occasion with the TBS, and we owe him and Mike nothing but gratitude. ââ?¬" Steph DeRosa

During my Toilet Tales at Club Silverstone I began to wonder how many people had changed in 20 years, and what they had changed into, or out of. You remember the cliques, right? Do you feel as though everyone fit into a specific group? If you could put yourself into one stereotypical high school genus, what would you classify yourself as? Geek? Jock? Partier? Dopehead? Check me out in my high school drill team uniform. â�" Steph DeRosa

Itââ?¬â?¢s been fun watching the Wright Park renovation, as well as Lynn Di Ninoââ?¬â?¢s restoration of Our Lady of the Lake, a concrete statue that stood on an island in the park for 115 years before it was vandalized.  Metro Parks Tacoma gave Di Nino the statueââ?¬â?¢s body, part of its head and two boxes of miscellaneous parts, which Di Nino has been puzzling over for the last two months. I wish this statue actually stood in the park right now. ââ?¬" Ron Swarner

The Mad Hat Tea Company held a art opening during the second Thursday of the month.  Daniel Blue sold the painting behind him. ââ?¬" Steph DeRosa

Dead center and four rows up from the floor at KeyArena, my husband and I sat for five hours to witness the beginning of a weekend-long Seeds of Compassion event.  The monumental affair last night began with a conversation between Dateline NBC host Ann Curry, musician Dave Matthews, and Tibetââ?¬â?¢s exiled religious leader Dalai Lama.  For some reason when I rattle those names off I feel like Iââ?¬â?¢m saying, ââ?¬Å?A conversation between The Pope, The Queen of England and Mickey Mouse.ââ?¬Â?  It just doesnââ?¬â?¢t seem right, does it? ââ?¬" Steph DeRosa

Steve Craig, owner of RampArt Antiques in downtown Tacoma, lived a very interesting life. Sadly, on Feb. 19, 2008, he was found dead at his home. Friends are still waiting for a report about the cause of Craig's death, but very few details have been released. An auction of Craig's belongings was held April 21 and 28. â�" Daniel Blue

Maxwell's Speakeasy + Lounge opened at the corner of Sixth and St. Helens in Tacoma. Jason Ganwich served us well. â�" Ron Swarner

I called KAke this morning on my way to the gym asking if she was up for some Frost Park hijinks.  Without hesitation she was in for the ride, and immediately fulfilled my demand for construction cones and caution tape.  It was our time to submit what would hopefully be a legitimate entry into the Frost Park Sidewalk Chalk Sketch-Off. ââ?¬" Steph DeRosa

The Pink Floyd Experience inside the Pantages Theater consisted of a six-person band offering so many of the great Pink Floyd songs that you all know and love, including ââ?¬Å?Money,ââ?¬Â? ââ?¬Å?Another Brick in the Wall,ââ?¬Â? ââ?¬Å?Have a Cigarââ?¬Â? and ââ?¬Å?Comfortably Numb.ââ?¬Â? The performance also included $2.5 million in lighting equipment, and yes, the pink pig did indeed fly. ââ?¬" Natasha

Collectively The KAke, Bandito Betty, Gayle Selden and I lost a total of 87 pounds in body water last night. We sweated our asses off in the bleachers of the 186-degree UPS Field House in order to witness one of my all-time favorite artists: Ben Folds.  ââ?¬" Steph DeRosa

EVENT
Free Comic Book Day
Whether you read them while on the toilet or put them away in plastic bags with cardboard backs for safekeeping, everyone loves a good comic book. But just as prices swell out of control â€" you used to be able to buy a comic book for a dime, and now you’re lucky if you can get one for under $2 â€" the annual Free Comic Book Day is here to the rescue! Tacoma’s Comic Book Ink has 1,000 events planned for the day, as I’m sure the other stores do, too. And remember, the early bird catches the bad guy â€" and gets free comics. â€" Brad Allen
[Comic Book Ink, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., 1625 E. 72nd St., Tacoma, 253.761.4651]

BLUES/JAZZ
Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers
Somewhere in between hard bop jazz and jump blues is where you’ll find Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers. With influences such as Billy Holiday, Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald, Smith and company play a style of blues that transports you back to the1940s. Not a screamer, this lady can sing, but she does so with control coupled with gusto; and she ain’t bad to look at either, as the San Francisco-based vocalist is all about bringing the glamour back to the blues. â€" Tony Engelhart
[Pantages Theater, 7:30, $25-$34, 901 Broadway, Tacoma, 253.573.2360]

MULTIMEDIA
Train
Tacoma's Barefoot Studios is staging a dance-theater show called Train. Josephine and Paul Zmolek researched the Depression-era train jumpers and hobos who would cross the nation on their way to finding better lives and employment in distant states. This workforce on the move got Zmolek thinking about the current flow of workers found in the illegal immigrant community and the political climate that surrounds them.  They set the two concepts to dance and added local artists as the background. â€" Steve Dunkelberger
[Barefoot Studios, 8 p.m., $18, 1604 Center St., Tacoma, 253.627.2273]

LINK: Vicci Martinez Band and others in the clubs tonight.
LINK: Let’s eat Asian today.

PAUL SCHRAG: A SOUND I CAN GET BEHIND >>>

Olympia was out in force Thursday night to celebrate the unbelievably-long-awaited release of the first full-length album from hip-hop trio (((SoundAsylum))) at The Clipper.

(((SoundAsylum))) is the Voltron of Oly hip-hop crews, formed from the sleek, lionesque machines that are Xperience, A.K.A. and Compost. Also in the house were Seattle sensation Macklemore, Saints of Everyday Failures, and the first public appearance of the Junkyard Gang.

Brazilian brothers Fato Criminial paid a surprise visit, and are apparently back in the states for a couple of months to find more fans, and promote and raise money for the Committee in Solidarity  with the People of El Salvador.

Left to Right: A.K.A., Xperience and Compost are (((SoundAsylum))).

Macklemore represents with a fresh new outlook and another solo project in the works. Photo Credit: Owen Taylor.

BOBBLE TIKI: LUNCH WITH BOBBLE TIKI >>>

THE DAILY WORD

Sub rosa \suhb-ROH-zuh\, adverb:
1. Secretly; privately; confidentially.
2. Designed to be secret or confidential; secretive; private.

USAGE EXAMPLE: It was at that point that Steph DeRosa began her sub rosa agenda of trying to persuade Bobble Tiki into his fourth beer of the meeting. Naturally, it worked like a charm.

MORNING NEWS

TACOMA: Chambers Bay tree, blah, blah, blah

OLYMPIA:  Quintessential  Olympia 

SEATTLE: Stay away from medical marijuana if you're hoping for a transplant 

UNITED STATES: Give it up, media

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

blue bird, originally uploaded by dreamsjung.

Blue Bird driving with the dead at night.

LINK: Weekly Volcano's Photo Hot Spot

TOUR
Tour of Historic Tacoma Homes
OK, you live here. You get this nifty block system. You know where old City Hall was. Find the Heidelberg Brewery? Not a problem. You’re ready to take it to the next level. That’s right, the city of the past. What did Tacoma look like 40, 60, 100 years ago? Who lived in those really neato homes in North Tacoma? Whatever your epoch of expertise, the presentation being, well, presented by the Tacoma Historical Society is for you. It’s called Tour of Historic Tacoma Homes, and it features a sightseeing tour of old homes in North Tacoma such as the Sickels House, Knoble House, Glidden House and the House of the Rising Sun. OK, I made the last one up. â€" Suzy Stump
[First Congregational Church, 1-5 p.m., $15-$20, 918 Division Ave., Tacoma, 253.472.3738]

OPEN MIC
Aaron Bigler
If college is a distant memory for you and you’d like to get in touch with your past days of fraternizing with the co-eds, Farrelli's Gourmet Wood Fire Pizza is calling your name. It may not be a nice name, but it’s a name that makes you want to visit them for drinks and pizza nonetheless. Myself, I like to go so I can sit with my IPA and look at the hot college guys in the most stalkerazzi way possible.

Aaron Bigler and his Farrelli’s Open Mic Nights call your name tonight on Sixth Avenue. No, you don’t have to have the voice of a swan and the guitar talent of a pro. Some of us just like to leave all that up to Bigler. He’s good enough to keep the crowd going with popular classics and well-known hits. All shows start at 9 p.m. â€" Steph DeRosa
[Farrelli's Gourmet Wood Fire Pizza, 9 p.m., 3518 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.759.1999]

INDIE DISCO
Lismore
Lismore, an electro-twosome with a knack for getting the party started right, will be in town from NYC to bring smiles and gyrations to the dance floor. Lismore is vocalist Penelope Trappes and composer and instrumentalist Stephen Hindman. Together, they started Lismore in 2002, though back then the band had more members and less certainty in their creative vision. Six years later, Lismore has focused their energy on laptop powered indie disco (to the delight of club kids and fans of electronic pop across the country) and have proceeded to cut the fat, both by reducing the band to a two-piece, and by refining their sound to what Trappes and Hindman do best â€" electronic powered, melodic dance hits with punk rock attitude. â€" Bobble Tiki
[The Brotherhood Lounge, Kismore, DJ AC Slater, DJ Joee Irwin, Grab The Bat Killer, 9 p.m., $3, 119 Capitol Way N., Olympia, 360.352.4153]

LINK: GE5 CD Release Party and more in the clubs tonight.
LINK: Let’s eat French today.

STEPH DEROSA: @#%&! >>>

I’ve run into some real assholes lately.  I try to let their ridiculous mannerisms roll off my back, I really, really do.  I have my daughter in the car, or I’m too hung over, or I’m just plain not in the mood; but something helps me stay calm and not go off on these f-tards.  Usually it’s a self-centered bitch in line at Safeway, totally unaware that people don’t write checks anymore and if they do you have the damned check filled out before the checker tells you your total.  Amirite?  And please, for the love of all things vodka â€" don’t feel as though you need to tell the grocery checker your life story as you hold up the entire line.

Aside from the bitch at Safeway testing my patience, I’ve collected a photographic essay of local people that make me want to laugh and vomit at the same time.  These people, my dear seven readers, are invited to this week’s Dinner with DeRosa.

First invitee is Christian Crusade Guy.  This guy is no joke.  He was on the corner of 54th and Pacific Highway in Fife.  Screaming through his bullhorn and frantically pacing up and down the corner, he let everyone stopped at the light know that we were all going to this hypothetical place called Hell if we did not accept Christ as our savior.  Give me a fucking break.  This guy needs to get a life for so many different reasons, too many to list.  Before he causes a Fife accident I’d like to note something George Carlin once pointed out: There is more scientific proof that life on other planets exists than there is proof that the Bible is a true story. 

Secondly I’d like to have Puyallup Spring Fair Games manager at DWD this week.  That greedy MF’er can kiss my ass.  Long story short, they sat and watched as children cried because the games were physically impossible for them to win.  Daddies get involved, trying to win their kids some shitty stuffed animal, only to no avail.  Daddy after daddy step up and try to win toys for their kids, yet all of them lose.  I eventually walked over to the manager and asked if people could just buy the damned POS stuffed animal and this picture shows what he did. He laughed in my face.  What a greedy, heartless prick.

Next person on my shit list is University Place Convenient Store Owner.  Innocently parked in front of a store in a parking space and sitting in my car, he walks out with a sandwich board and places it in front of my car.  The sign reads (in his handwriting): NO PARKING.  I ignored him.  He walks up to my window and starts banging on it.  I ignore him.  He starts banging on my window and yelling.  My daughter gets scared.  I flip him off.  He punches my car with his fist and bends my mirror in.  I haul ass out of the car, kick down his sign, and scare the piss out of him as I yell in his face for him to back the F off my car and me.  As I’m yelling, police arrive.  I fortunately averted arrest and was sent on my way.

My fourth guest is Big Truck/Small Penis Guy.  Seriously people, is a truck that big and high really necessary?  Are Hummers really necessary?  I certainly hope you don’t have to conquer any log obstacles or shallow rivers as you’re rolling down I-5. Could someone please tell me: What is the purpose of a huge diesel truck?  I could see if you are regularly hauling a boat or working as a hauler, but to drive to your cushy office at the Pierce County Annex on a daily basis?  Somebody is obviously trying to compensate for some sort of personal shortcoming.

I know I usually have five or six dinner guests every week, but I’ve done gone and drained myself from all the violent typing.  I can’t possibly go on. 

So instead, here’s a bunny with a pancake on its head.

Mangiamo!

CELEBRATION
Cinco de Mayo
How much does the Weekly Volcano dig Cinco de Mayo? We woke up this morning and took a bath in picante sauce (not from New York City) and are currently riding burros around Tacoma handing out soft tacos and parasitic water. But even though Cinco de Mayo is dominated by idiots like us mainlining margaritas, it is, in fact, an actual holiday. As you know, Cinco de Mayo is not the Mexican Independence Day. It’s actually a celebration of the day Mexican forces beat the pommes frites out of the invading French army in 1862.

So to commemorate the greatest holiday on the planet The Weekly Volcano will get our drunk on during Masa’s huge bash featuring a live, mystery band Vicci Martinez Band, DJ spinning salsa and reggaetron at 8 p.m. â€" Suzy Stump
[Masa, music starts at 8 p.m., cover after 9 p.m., 2811 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.254.0560]

LINK: Ocho Pies and others in the clubs tonight.
LINK: Let’s eat (and party!) Mexican today.