BOBBLE TIKI: BREAKFAST WITH BOBBLE TIKI >>>

THE DAILY WORD
Amalgam \uh-MAL-guhm\, noun:
1. An alloy of mercury with another metal or metals; used especially (with silver) as a dental filling.
2. A mixture or compound of different things.

USAGE EXAMPLE: The Cinco de Mayo celebration that has given Bobble Tiki an impressively strong hangover this morning was an amalgam of Mexican independence and American drunkenness. 

MORNING NEWS

TACOMA: MLKHDA no more

OLYMPIA: Commission votes to do nothing

SEATTLE: Streetcars

UNITED STATES: Christian pop culture

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

PAUL SCHRAG: HIP-HOP WEDNESDAY >>>

Head-to-head hip-hop shows tomorrow is a testament to claims that Tacoma hip-hop is coming alive.

First up is Fresh Blends at Hell’s Kitchen with Todd Sykes, Josh Rizeberg, Alpha P and Dragonfish Killswitch. The second in a series of regular mix-and-match, hip-hop shows, this week’s Fresh Blends offers up Tacoma beatsmith and emcee Todd Sykes, Tacoma rhyme pioneer Josh Rizeberg, Seattle underground cabal Alpha P and turntable Frankenstein Dragonfish Killswitch. True to its name, this Fresh Blends promises to showcase some of the Northwest’s hungriest underground talent. Between Sykes’s dirty grooves, Rizeberg’s silky-smooth aggro anthems, Alpha P’s infinitely morphing mind benders, and Dragonfish Killswitch’s spaced-out scratch epics, this show is likely to twist your head around Linda Blair style.

Also Wednesday, The Cave at PLU will host One-Be-Lo, Macklemore, Can-U, 10th and Commerce and DJ Reign. One-Be-Lo gets to Tacoma more than just about any underground emcee. The former One-Man-Army is always nice. Def Poetry Jam founder Bruce George once said the Macklemore is “Common and Eminem personified.” The Seattle emcee is neck deep in a new album, give thanks and praise. Also on deck are Tacoma pioneer Can-U and upstarts 10th & Commerce, who have a new EP that sounds pretty fresh.

[Hell’s Kitchen, Fresh Blends with Todd Sykes, Josh Rizeberg, Alpha P and Dragonfish Killswitch. Wednesday, May 7, 9 p.m., $3, 3829 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.759.6003]
[The Cave at Pacific Lutheran University, One-Be-Lo, Macklemore, Can-U, 10th and Commerce and DJ Reign, Wednesday, May 7, 9 p.m., all ages, $5 or free for PLU students, Garfield Street South and Park Avenue South, Tacoma/Parkland]

STEPH DEROSA: DEAR BAR-FLY >>>

Bandittoe Betty, with KAke and I, decided to take an easy lunch last week and bask in the warm confines of the Pinwheel Catering's Herban Cafe. The menu gave us scores of options, which delighted us in knowing that we finally had new, refreshing lunch choices. Any place that will put up with my posse, pour me a glass of wine, and hand me a homemade cookie is a sure thing. This goes as well for our other favorite lunch spot: The Rosewood Cafe.

It was really hard for me to make it to the bathroom without snapping at least 10 pictures. The long, white hallway walls framed the black and white sketches that were telling you a story you were dying to hear. I was captivated in an ADD kind-of way, but eventually made it to the Herban Cafe's potty.

I felt as though I was all of the sudden transported to a place that wasn't a typical restaurant bathroom. So much so that it resembled a bathroom at a friend's house. It was decorated in temperate colors with pieces of furniture that were un-ostentatious. It's as if they were saying to me,You ARE at you're friend's house.

Something about the sit back and enjoy yourself because you are in a friend's kitchen's atmosphere at Herban Cafe that day made the conversation at lunch one of the most amusing the three of us have ever had. With our massive brainpower (just pretend) and sheer frustration of dorky mankind, we devised a letter to all men who think they are tha shit,when clearly¬" they are not. Granted, most of this is a frustrated Bandito Betty as she bartends to pay the bills:

Dear Bar-Fly with a penis,

You sit at the bar all by yourself and attempt to make idle conversation with the pretty bartender. We give you props, because going to a bar alone is a feat in itself that we can respect. Kudos to you on that one, dear sir. But don't think that your not-so-clever pickup lines and lame conversation starters are getting you anywhere.

Subtly insulting the pretty bartender does not make you attractive. For instance, it's not OK to ask,So what's that tattoo supposed to be? Were you a sailor or something stupid like that? Nothing about that question is telling the bartender, Hey, I'd love to have an intelligent conversation with you. Because clearly, you're not.

Telling her that she'd get more tips if she took off her wedding ring is not helping your cause. It's also very obvious you're an idiot if you tell her you think her wedding ring is a fake. Seriously. Oh, and no, she does not have the ring just to keep guys like you from hitting on her. That's a fucking brilliant one. If it is a deterrent from guys like you, it's undoubtedly not working.

When you're telling a story, and it's related to Mexico, there's no need for you to tell the story in a Spanish accent. It also goes for conversations that involve tea: A British accent is unnecessary.

Open a fucking tab, dude. You're at the bar, you know you're going to have more than one drink, why do you need the bartender to run your credit card every time? To look at her ass? Yeah, she figured it out. How did she know? There's a mirror behind the taps, Fabio. Once again, it's not getting you anywhere. Except maybe some memories for you to take home later that night when you're all alone¬" just you, your lotion, and some Kleenex.

Come in and have a beer, talk normal, and don't try to be more intelligent than you are. Don't think too hard. Attractiveness in a man is measured not by his ability to out-smart the woman, but in his ability to just be real.

Hope this helps, Mr. Bar-Fly with a penis.

Love,
Steph, The KAke, and of course: Bandito Betty

Best Seat on the Street, originally uploaded by Lazeye.

I sat here and drew a lovely picture Saturday during the Tacoma Art Museum's Building Birthday Bash. I would have been at peace with the Street except kids kept poking me in the side of the head with their pencils. â€" Suzy Stump

LINK: Weekly Volcano's Photo Hop Hot Spot

SUZY STUMP: SHE'S HUGE IN OLYMPIA >>>

I'm calling it a pivotal night for her career. Can't believe what she said about the French.

There's pictures, too.

VISUAL ART
TCC Student Show
The artists featured in Gallery Madera’s latest show are all students and include: Jessica Atal, Jefferson Elliott, Joey Freer, John Gordon, Lizzie Gulick, Jessie Krett, Jimmy McDonough, and Mahta Shakib. The best are a couple of painters whose works have a lot in common â€" Joey Freer and Jefferson Elliott.

Both Elliott and Freer paint in a free-flowing, graffiti-inspired manner that calls to mind works by Jean-Michael Basquat and Cy Twombly coupled with a line quality in Elliott’s work that looks a lot like Willem de Kooning. Their paintings are gritty and energetic. They are drawings in paint. Color is almost incidental, mostly monotones with line drawings superimposed over washes of a single color. Their paintings are all about the line and the image. â€" Alec Clayton
[Gallery Madera, through May 31, 2210 Court A, Tacoma, 253.381.0039]

HIP-HOP
Fresh Blends
The second in a series of regular mix-and-match, hip-hop shows at Hell’s Kitchen, this week’s Fresh Blends offers up Tacoma beatsmith and emcee Todd Sykes, Tacoma rhyme pioneer Josh Rizeberg, Seattle underground cabal Alpha P and turntable Frankenstein Dragonfish Killswitch.â€" Paul Schrag
[Hell’s Kitchen, 9 p.m., $3, 3829 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.759.6003]

HIP-HOP
The Cave
One-Be-Lo gets to Tacoma more than just about any underground emcee. The former One-Man-Army is always nice. Def Poetry Jam founder Bruce George once said the Macklemore is “Common and Eminem personified.” The Seattle emcee is neck deep in a new album, give thanks and praise. Also on deck are Tacoma pioneer Can-U and upstarts 10th & Commerce, who have a new EP that sounds pretty fresh. â€" PS
[The Cave at Pacific Lutheran University, 9 p.m., all ages, $5 or free for PLU students, Garfield Street South and Park Avenue South, Tacoma/Parkland]

LINK: The Trevalyan Triangle and others in the clubs tonight.
LINK: Let’s eat in a wine bar today.
FORUM: Where can you dance Sunday night?

BOBBLE TIKI: BREAKFAST WITH BOBBLE TIKI >>>

THE DAILY WORD

Contrite \KON-tryt; kuhn-TRYT\, adjective:
1. Deeply affected with grief and regret for having done wrong; penitent; as, "a contrite sinner."
2. Expressing or arising from contrition; as, "contrite words."

USAGE EXAMPLE: Bobble Tiki doesn’t consider himself a contrite sinner, just a sinner. Grief and regret are for the weak.

MORNING NEWS

TACOMA: Pride week

OLYMPIA:  Condos somewhere other than Tacoma 

SEATTLE: Belltown beating

UNITED STATES: The campaign that never ends

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

KEN SWARNER: IT'S GOING TO GET CROWDED >>>

Want some investment advice?  Buy a bike.  Otherwise, expect long delays on South Sound roads as Fort Lewis’ population numbers spike to their highest rates in a long time.

Most of the post’s units will spend the summer and fall at home beginning next month as the 4th Stryker Brigade and 864th Engineer Battalion return from war deployments to join new units that arrived here last year as well as a growing number of ROTC cadets and cadre here this summer for the annual Warrior Forge.  That translates to 10,000 more troops home this summer than last year.

“It’s going to be extremely busy this summer, and it’s going to stay that way,” Steve Perrenot, Public Works director at Fort Lewis, said during a special meeting of area business leaders, government heads and military officials at the Clover Park Technical College May 1.

The meeting broke into primarily three discussions: transportation, housing and education â€" all of which Perrenot said would be affected.

Transportation
Roughly 42,000 vehicles enter and exit Fort Lewis every weekday, according to figures Perrenot displayed. That number will jump this summer.

As reported in The Ranger earlier this year, traffic mitigation will be minimal due to funding constraints to ease the strain of more cars on the road.

Gov. Christine Gregiore, the keynote speaker for last week’s meeting, said the state would add a traffic signal at Highway 507 and the East Gate to ease traffic congestion there.

Gregoire said the state also will work to fund the Cross Base Highway plus add traffic cameras and real-time traffic updates on the freeway at the DuPont interchanges. Finally, the state will add roving tow trucks to clear accidents during peak hours daily on Interstate 5 around Fort Lewis.

Housing
For years Fort Lewis officials have maintained the same number of homes on post.  Through the privatization of housing, homes have been replaced or remodeled; however, the same number of homes remained constant.  That will change under current plans as officials add 800 more homes to the inventory.
What does stay the same, however, is the percentage of homes. Currently, 30 percent of military families live on post; that ration will stay the same as the new housing comes online.

With 70 percent of military families living off the installation, most soldiers must look to the economy to live.  Add the fact that 30 percent of homes are deemed inadequate by Department of Defense standards, meaning they are too costly or too far from the installation, according to Rob Boisvert, chief of housing at Fort Lewis, and competition will be high.

Post officials expect eastern Pierce County in particular to grow due to an increasing military population.  Currently 7.8 percent of military personnel live in the Yelm, Roy and Rainier areas compared to 23.7 percent living in Lacey, 8.2 percent in DuPont, 16.4 percent in Lakewood, and 10 percent in Parkland/Spanaway.

Education
With more soldiers come more families, and school districts are gearing themselves to handle more students.  Eight hundred new homes on Fort Lewis also add kids to already crowded schools on post.

Hillside Elementary, for example, had 280 students in 2006.  Today, it has 542.

Perrenot said the military must work with the federal government to help find money for districts such as Clover Park that are heavily impacted by a growing military population.

Norma Melo, the school liaison officer at Fort Lewis who serves as a bridge between military families and the 14 school districts in the South Sound that educate the sons and daughters of military personnel, said districts aren’t just impacted by more bodies.  Military children, she said, come with more baggage too and strain the social services schools offer.

“Many of these incoming students have more than two but less than five deployments under their belts,” she said. 

Melo said military kids need more help adjusting to the stresses they feel when a parent or both parents are deployed in the war zone.

Gary Wilson, assistant superintendent for Clover Park, said his district has two full-time therapists to work solely with military kids.

“They’re busy every minute of every day,” Wilson said.

With problems, of course, come opportunities. At the entrance to the technical college’s auditorium, local businesses set up booths to tout their services.  The Tacoma and Lakewood chambers of commerce also organized at Thursday’s meeting.  More troops equal more business, and during a possible recession, that’s good news for the local economy.

MATT DRISCOLL: TODAY IN PRESS RELEASES >>>

It’s only a little after noon, but today has already been a busy day for the folks over at Tacoma Community College who generate press releases for hacks like me.

Not one, but two noteworthy announcements regarding TCC have already graced my inbox. Who knows? By day’s end it could be more.

First off, it was announced this morning that little ol’ TCC, which competed in the annual RecycleMania contest this year, can recycle and reduce waste with the big dogs â€" that is famed universities like Stanford, the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Princeton, the University of Michigan and plenty of others.  Out of 88 colleges and universities, TCC finished fourth in the Grand Championship category, with a cumulative recycling rate of 47.59 percent. TCC finished third among 95 participating universities and colleges in the Waste Minimization category generating 22.20 pounds of waste per person during the RecycleMania competition. 

The RecycleMania competition started in 2001, as a small contest between Ohio State University and Miami (OH) University. Over the course of seven years it has become a nationwide event administered by the National Recycling Coalition, which lasts ten weeks and drew 400 institutions to participate this year.

More info about RecycleMania can be found here, including complete results from all 16 categories.

Next up was a less descriptive press release from TCC, but nonetheless it seemed worth passing along.

In 2003 President Bush created the President’s Volunteer Service Award, which is intended to recognize people in the community from all over the country that make things a little better for everyone through volunteer community service â€" or something like that. It just so happens that TCC is a certifying organization for the award (one of thousands across the country), and today they awarded 17 people with the distinguished honor. Those people, however, were not listed in the press release.

Apparently, though, almost anyone is eligible to receive the President’s Volunteer Service Award. There’s no shortage of them, and they’re handed out annually. Basically, you turn in your volunteering record to a certifying organization like TCC, and then they make the call. Like I said, there are thousands of these certifying organizations across the country, and all of them have the authority to give the award.

Anyway, more information on the Presidents Volunteer Service Award can be found here. Congratulations to the 17 people that TCC honored today â€" whoever you may be.