SANDEE GLIB: MY TAKE ON THE HUB >>>

Kooky author and Vanity Fair contributor Frank Scully once said, “Why not go out on a limb? Isn't that where the fruit is?” In a time of economic downturn, the best plan for your money is to play it safe. Right? This is certainly not the case for Pat Nagle and Carol Holder, owners of the recently opened The Hub, Stadium District sister to the Harmon Brewery and Restaurant.

While having lunch the other day, I chatted briefly with Carol, and she very much tongue-in-cheek said, “Why do we do this?” Her exasperation was evident. You see, this was not Carol’s first time at the restaurant rodeo, and for whatever reason, she came back for more. They say the restaurant business runs in your blood. I believe this is a clear case of masochism.

Pat certainly has found success in this business with the Harmon, so if you are going to partner with someone, he’s a good choice. Both he and Carol bear the scars of this business while learning plenty of positive along the way. Second time is always the charm, eh? I definitely think they are on the right track.

I popped in for lunch last week and thoroughly enjoyed sitting near the large garage doors, inside but kind of outside. Flies be damned. It’s a cool trend around here and I like it.

Check out my review of The Hub here on Thursday.

Special thanks to J.M. Simpson for the photo.

DANIEL BLUE: MEET ORLANDO MCCRAY >>>

Welcome to Orlando McCray. 

Orlando is the sort of person who sneers intentionally in your direction because he knows you know that is how he expresses his love. For the first couple of years that I knew Orlando he would speak in a normal voice only 50 percent of the time, the other half was a strange sort of Grover/Muppet falsetto, which made me feel at ease. 

A drummer in the band called Don't Tell Sophie, and a frontman in his electronic music project, Physics, Orlando is a Dear Records poster boy. 

On the Foursquare court he is known as "Black Magic" because he plays with rules that no one knows. You have to respect a guy who learns the game so quickly; I almost lost an eye one night when he put such a wicked English on that ball it toppled me like a Jenga.

Sometimes he is nice, and sometimes he is cold as ice, but Orlando is an incredible artist, a creative dresser and a master of facial expressions at every occasion. 

Sometimes I wonder what I'm going to do, but Orlando always knows exactly what to do. I fear that in a man, but you should find it attractive.

LINK: The Tacoma Files archive

STEPH DEROSA: GIVE ME A HUG >>>

Simply walking into Upper Crust Bistro on North 21st Street in Tacoma gives me the feeling of comfort. Owners and employees alike greet me with warm, welcoming attitudes and suddenly I feel right at home. The people, the smells, and the atmosphers¬" it all wraps me up in a huge calming hug.

I make my way to the potty, feeling myself relax. My shoulders un-tense, I shake my hands to release the stress and roll my head to break out the kinks. It's sometimes good to check myself and reconnect with the positive things in life while letting go of the stresses and worries.

Lately I've run into some bullies. I had only met one before in my life, and that was in fifth grade. Nowadays I feel as though I run into mean people more often. I usually just go away while practicing avoidance, always feeling as though there has to be some kind of reason they are acting out. A bad morning, a fight with loved one, money problems¬" who really knows? I do know that I can surely sometimes show some aggressiveness, and I usually have a damn good reason. The latest stressful situation in my life has included a local YMCA summer camp, a 5-year-old bully, my daughter, and some immature, gossipy, teenage, orange from too much self-tanners YMCA camp counselors. Yes, I acted out with assertiveness, and yes the situation still pisses me off. 

Thankfully I got most of my $500 back.

It had me so upset that I actually lost sleep over it for many nights. Even my girl KAke was ready to throw down on my behalf. Nobody fucks with my kid. Mothers all around hear me loud and clear, I know you do.

While in the Upper Crust bathroom, and while releasing tension via neck rolls and shoulder shrugs¬" I felt as though all I needed was a good warm bear hug. I didn't care who it came from. Hugs solve everything¬" really, they do. Ever been in a disagreement and then hugged? It makes you not want to punch them in the face quite as much. Even when you were a child it was the hug of your mommy that made everything feel better. I don't care who you are¬" you know I'm right. Think about it - even Ari Gold agrees when he says, Hug it out, bitch!

After feeling all that stupid tension from that stupid YMCA debacle, and feeling the need for hugs, I remembered the Free Hugs Campaign. There's a local branch of this random act of kindness.  I also remember the free hug I scored at this year's First Night.

Then I remembered a friend of a friend in Colorado put this Free Hugs video together.

(Note to my editor: Stop rolling your eyes and making a gagging sound as you read this mushy Free Hugs word trail.)

Free stuff kicks ass. Right, Matt Driscoll? Free hugs also kick ass. Ever run into me on the street¬" feel free ask me for a free hug. I'd be happy to lend one out. Unless you're a pompous asshole, then all you get is a swift kick in the balls. But I only can think of three of you here in the Tacoma area, so the rest of you are pretty much safe from a ball-kicking of any sort.

HUGS!

LINK: Toilet Tales archive

SUZY STUMP: DA NA DA NA DA NA >>>

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, the folks at the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium pull something like this. They’re holding a Shark Discovery Day Saturday with lectures, feedings and shark dives. Sink your teeth in sharks up to nine feet long and a 240,000-gallon Outer Reef Ocean Tank.

[Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, Aug. 2, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., $4-$11, 5400 N. Pearl, Tacoma, 253.591.5337]

SUZY STUMP: ERNIE AND BURT RAP >>>

I have a call into Amy McBride at the Tacoma Arts Commission regarding the rumor that the two in the video below will join Josh Rizeberg on stage at Showcase Tacoma. Stay tuned.

SUZY STUMP: 5 THINGS TO DO TODAY >>>

10 A.M.: Today, the Thurston County Fair kicks off in Lacey, where Professor Bamboozie performs hundred times and the smell of saw dustcovered cow pies will permeate your every pore. Just take Exit 109 off Interstate 5 to and follow the scent of happiness. Hee-haw! here.

11 A.M.: There are 50 icons in the ICONcepts show by 38 different artists. They are crowded into a couple of small spaces in Two Vaults Gallery. Some of the icons are serious, but most are humorous; a number are by professional artists (and it shows), and a few are by amateurs (and it shows). Check out the review here.

6:30 P.M.: From the late '20s to the early '40s, Harlem's Savoy Ballroom was the swing-dance capital of the world. The mass of roiling hoofers proved so enthusiastic that they actually melded with the rhythm sections, spurring band members to swing their hardest and loudest. Lots of popular dances were invented in that primordial soup, but one of the greatest was the lindy hop, named in honor of Charles Lindbergh's history-making flight across the Atlantic in 1927. Learn it tonight at the Abbey Ballroom.

6:45 P.M.: The Grand Cinema will screen Encounters at the End of the World followed by a discussion with Bryan Johnson, who lived and worked at McMurdo Station in Antarctica as an Air Services Representative from October 1999-February 2000. His invaluable knowledge and first-hand experience are sure to make this event intriguing and educational. That Grand idea starts here.

7 P.M.: Hey kids! Do you like the metalcore? Culling The Weak, Left Alive, Gift Of Prophecy, The Mary Celeste, No Living Witness, Darkness Stole The Sky, and Festivals & Fatalities go dark on your all-ages ass for $5 at the Midnight Sun Performance Space in Olympia.

LINK: Viva South Sound arts and entertainment calendar
LINK: Live music and DJs tonight

JAKE DE PAUL: THE MORNING BREW >>>

1. West Coast brewers pick up the distilling spirit. (LA Times)

2. White Bordeaux: oft-forgotten bliss. (The New York Times)

3. The Barefoot Kitchen Witch pulled out her Opteka 10x macro lens attachment for invasive shots of blueberries. (Barefoot Kitchen Witch)

LINK: South Sound Restaurant Guide

DANIEL BLUE: MEET PAUL SPARKS >>>

Paul Sparks is a modern Magi. Having devoted his life to the pursuit of wisdom long ago, Paul lived in the hills of Northeast Tacoma for many years before moving to Downtown and embedding himself into the workings of our diverse urban community. The view from his apartment was incredible, looking west toward our great city, it was as if he were charting a course from that vantage across the water to our beloved metropolis.

Paul reads more books than you, his personal library is ridiculous and fills the spare bedroom in his home.   

He and his wife, Liz, are extremely hospitable and will fill your bellies with wine and delicious fare; but beware, they are careful listeners and will ask clever questions of you that cause divulgence of the most personal kind. No malice is intended in their collection of your stories, it is very simply how they have come to understand themselves and the world around them: that is, through the stories of their people.   

Paul is the definition of the term "life coach," and in a careful and calculated way he finds the places that you will fit best in this world, if only by listening to your answers to his unending stream of wizard like questions.

LINK: The Tacoma Files archive
LINK: Sparks also started Local Like Tacoma