RON SWARNER: ROOFTOP VIEW >>>

Tacoma Rotary 8 moved its Thursday noon meeting inside the Landmark Convention Center to said building's rooftop today to take in all that is Tall Ships Tacoma. Rotary 8 members, visiting Rotarians and many guests mingled about smartly an hour before the meeting waiting for the Tall Ships.

And waited and waited and waited.

We could see the Tall Ships very small in the distance. However new Pres. Jeff Rounce called everyone inside the rooftop conference room for the noon meeting.

After the adjournment bell, we scurried back outside to find â€" Tall Ships.

I snapped a few shots, including the party on top of the Sky Terrace condos down the street, before heading back to work.

With a cash bar, and the rooftop reserved all afternoon, I bet many Rotarians are still there.

Jeff Rounce

Speaking of Jeff Rounce, here is the official press release announcing his presidency:

The Rotary Club of Tacoma #8 is pleased to announce that Jeff Rounce has assumed the responsibilities of president of the club.  Rounce is the editor and publisher of the Business Examiner newspaper. Rounce’s term as president began on July 1 and goes until June 30, 2009.  Rounce succeeded Pres. Steve Smith, director of Community Relations with the University of Washington-Tacoma.  Pres. Rounce has been a member of Tacoma #8 for 21 years.

Rotary International is a collection of service organizations throughout the world committed to “Service above Self.” The Rotary Club of Tacoma #8 is the eighth oldest Rotary club in the world.  It was founded in 1910. Its 400 members are employed by a wide variety of Pierce County businesses and are dedicated to this area’s growth, health, and prosperity.

For information about this press release, please contact Doug Danstrom by either phone 253.377.1465 or email.

MATT DRISCOLL: PEARL JAM BASSIST TO SOUND OFF ON SONICS >>>

Jeff Ament will be on 950 KJR AM tonight at 5 p.m. to chat with local sports radio personality the Gasman about yesterday's settlement between the Sonics and the City of Seattle. As a long time season ticket holder, Ament is expected to give his two cents on the city, the Sonics, Howard Schultz, and Clay Bennet.

Here's my guess: Ament thinks it sucks that the Sonics are leaving.

Tune in to find out.

MATT DRISCOLL: SLEEP PATTERNS >>>

What’s better than not reviewing a surprisingly solid debut record from a somewhat local band of shoe-gazing rockers?

Well, that’s easy: Reviewing that debut record 11 months after its release.

Better late than never, as they say.

In August of last year, Colonies, a four-piece made up of Travis Shumate, Christian Powers, Adam Meeks and Adrian Centoni who live in Seattle but have Tacoma ties, released Sleep Patterns â€" a seven song warning shot to the world announcing Colonies ambient and intellectual arrival to the world of new-school indie rock.

The only problem is this music writer didn’t get the call until early this month. That, as they say, is this music writer’s bad. Sitting in a pile of promotional CDs that clutter Weekly Volcano World Headquarters, I stumbled upon Sleep Patterns, and recognized the name Colonies from somewhere in my THC riddled memory banks. (Perhaps it was Izenmania’s blog post?)  That, and the fact that everything else in the promotional pile pretty much sucked this week, was all it took. This week, nearly 11 whole months after it hit the streets, the Weekly Volcano reviews Colonies’ Sleep Patterns.

Check out my review of Sleep Patterns here.

Originally uploaded by JK>.

Seems appropriate today.

STEVE DUNKELBERGER: KINGSBURY CALAMITY>>>

Capital Playhouse will present its annual Staff Cabaret on Saturday at 10 p.m.  The staff of Capital Playhouse, led by Jeff Kingsbury and Troy Fisher, will get funky fresh fun as they present a fun-filled evening of music and entertainment to benefit the Capital Playhouse Scholarship Fund.

All staff members perform â€" yes, even technical staff â€" and will amuse the audience with a runway fashion show, silly skits, belted musical theatre hits, and â€" Kingsbury’s famous one-man show.

[Tickets for the event are $30 for reserved seats and $40 for table seats. Tables of four are available for $150. Call the box office to purchase tickets: (360) 943-2744. The Staff Cabaret is held at Capital Playhouse, 612 E 4th Avenue, downtown Olympia.]

EVENT
Tall Ships Tacoma
Check out me link here fer me and me mates’ list of Tall Ships Tacoma events for the entire length de be docked in Tacoma â€" including TacomaOpolis on Saturday, Museum of Glass’ annual sale and the Black Pirate screening Sunday at the Rialto Theater.

Fer all the Tall Ships Tacoma information ye can shake a wooden leg at, be at th' official Web site. â€" Cap’n Rumgut

CONTEST
Look A Like
Mate, of course ye know what a "liger" is (it's, ahoy, a lion and a tiger mixed â€" bred for its skills in magic, avast). And ye totally know that Rex Kwon Do is, ahoy, th’ greatest of all martial arts. Aye, ye do. Well, ye do if you've seen that Napoleon Dynamite son of a biscuit eater, ahoy, infinity times. Den ye should have none trouble recognizing me as that Naphead during the Look A Like Contest Friday at Freedom Fair. Me will have some ChapStick (just in case ye lips hurt real bad, avast).

Check out de entire Freedom Fair schedule here. â€" Sweatin' Baird Dawkins
[Dickman Mill Park, noon, 2423 Ruston Way, Tacoma, 253.798.5225]

FESTIVAL
Zimfest
Me just finished a clap of thunder and ravaged a wench, but before I rest me eyes for a spell, let me tell you about a treasure of a time known as Zimfest, the Zimbabwean Music Festival, for it’s a booty of a good time. Zimfest is annual jubilee that brings together music and culture from the country far, far away from the calm seas of Tacoma. â€" Capt. Black
[Pacific Lutheran University, July 4-6, 1010 S. 122nd St., Tacoma, 360.321.2075, zimfest.org]

BANG
Fireworks
Shiver me timbers! Tacoma, yer as yella as me piss stained knickers aft a night o’ grog swillin! When yer national celebration o’ independence rolls around dis comin’ Friday, twill be illegal to set off a single bottle rocket or black cat in all o’ Tacoma. Ye cowards deserved to be keelhauled for yer sissy ways. â€" Stinkin' Radley Sparrow

LINK: Junkyard Jane and more in the clubs tonight.
LINK: Check out when the movies begin here.
LINK: Let’s eat American cuisine today.

DANIEL BLUE: MEET ERIK BJORNSON >>>

Erik Bjornson is surprisingly not the son of Bjorn.

An avid community activist, this blogging kingpin has teemed up with comic genius R. R. Anderson and done the impossible. Using a careful alchemy of chalk and sunshine, they have brought the Tacoma blogosphere out into Frost Park from behind their desks and humble keys. According to Andrew Fry, "The chalk off wouldn't have happened without him."

Erik and I met like so many others at the (gasp) Black Water Café. By day Erik is a divorce attorney, and tells me that there are a lot of military divorces because people have been in Iraq. 

"I'm swamped. It's at the point where I'm just deleting messages. But it's like the paramedics, you show up on the scene and try to take a disaster and make it better the best you can."

I like Erik's passion for this town. He has sat on community panels, fought for events and speakers such as James Kunstler, and is often spotted walking to where he needs to go. 

Check out his blog Tacoma Urbanist, where he writes what he thinks and apologizes to none.

RON SWARNER: SHORE LEAVE >>>

I was stunned when eight people and I represented the Shore Leave crowd last night at 7 p.m. in Tollefson Plaza.

Daniel Blue snapped this shot in the same location at 9:30 p.m.

Where were you?