SUZY STUMP: 5 THINGS TO DO TODAY >>>

NOW: The men who throw down at Hotrod-A-Rama add their own flavor to pay homage to the fine vehicles with their slick pompadours, necessary sideburns, simple T-shirts, sexy tattoos, and cuffed jeans. And when you’re surrounded by roaring iron, you must have music, which is why Hotrod-A-Rama will feature a stellar lineup of bands, including the Dicers, 63 Burnout, the 'Verb, Marshall Scott Warner, the All American Playboys, Shawn Hawkins and The Offenders, and Hillbilly Hellcats today. Rev up your engines here.

NOW: 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 today 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.

NOON: Cuisine and music from Columbia, Mexico, Brazil and beyond celebrate the free-market economy of international culture with Latin music by Cambalache, Miho Diego Duo, Vamola and more. The Festival Latino shakes this weekend at the Foss Waterway Seaport.

NOON: The 62nd annual Brown’s Point Salmon Bake brings fish eaters from miles around, and gives its guests lots more to do than chow on fire pit baked Salmon. People will see live entertainment such as Steve Stefanowicz, The Cody Rentas Band, Amsterdam, and Before the Radio. There’s stuff for kids to do, performances to be seen, games to be played, beer to drink, people to meet, and friends to catch up with this weekend in Browns Point. Fork out the $18 for this community dinner and eat like the bear I know you really are. The fun starts at noon, and the beer will be flowing all day.

6:30 P.M.: The drive-in movie, with a few exceptions, is as dead as James Dean. Instead, we now have the Summer Sounds and Comcast Outdoor Cinema, a politically (and environmentally) correct alternative to the passion pit of old at which moviegoers stroll up to the venue with lawn chairs in hand, sit down, watch a band and take in a flick under the stars. Tonight, Maia Santell and House Blend swings the crowd before the screening of Casablanca at The Centre at Norpoint. Thank you Metro Parks!

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

DANIEL BLUE: MEET THE SHIZSICKLE >>>

Parked here outside of Supernova Hair and Tattoo, Tha Shizsickle is a pink 1969 mail jeep that has been transformed into the best bad ass mobile ice-cream deployer this side of the Atlantic (that's the whole continent, yo!) 

Despite fairly priced cream and being hard to miss, the most unique thing about this biznach is the music.  Somehow the owners, who preferred to remain in the shadows of the cab, have figured out how to take the typical ice-cream-man song maker play Snoop Dog's "Tha Shiznit," which is ominously familiar to both your inner child desiring ice-cream and your inner teenager desiring rebellious activity.   

Not to be 'effed with, Tha Shizsickle remains a Tacoma original, and you should buy their cream in good humor.

LINK: The Tacoma Files archive

SIMON MOON: KNITTA >>>

There’s a lovingly-knitted cozy on the streetlamp by Ranier Pacific Bank. It was placed there by a local woman who has, whether she realizes it or not, has joined the ranks of guerilla artists around the world.  I’m not sure what to call it, so I’ll call it what some of the people who created the movement call it â€" Yarn Bombing, Textile Tags, Yarn Graffiti. OK, technically, it’s not graffiti, which translates as “writing.” But it’s so damn cool.

Sparked by self-described obsessive knitter Amy Thomas, the yarn bombing spree is a teaser for Showcase Tacoma, which will take place this weekend, downtown, on Aug. 8 and 9. Thomas also invites the knitting-inclined to come participate in a Sit-and-Knit â€" an outgrowth of another revolutionary art form, the quilting bee. Don’t laugh. Seriously, what is more revolutionary than a group of strangers getting together, in the flesh, to create something that no one owns, simply for the purpose of community and creation?

“This is a non-confrontational way to bring comfort and beauty to everyday spaces” adds Thomas.   

The collaborative project involves the handiwork of more than a dozen clandestine crafters. They are inspired by the group Knitta, anonymous knitters who tag the world over. Thomas wanted to bring the concept to Tacoma.   

“I think this project was very liberating for the participating artists to think about their work in this completely new context.  Knitting something for a public space is very different than working from a pattern to create a functional item,” says Thomas.   

Word, Amy. Word.

LINK: More picture
LINK: Knitta

Photo courtesy of Amy Thomas. Swatch courtesy of Colleen McGaughey.

SUZY STUMP: 5 THINGS TO DO TODAY >>>

10 A.M.: Humans and well-behaved dogs group hug over games, picnics and wading until 4:30 p.m. at the University of Puget Sound’s Todd Field during Woofstock. Bow wow wow

NOON: Cuisine and music from Columbia, Mexico, Brazil and beyond celebrate the free-market economy of international culture with Latin music by Cambalache, Miho Diego Duo, Vamola and more. The Festival Latino shakes this weekend at the Foss Waterway Seaport.

NOON: Today marks the 4th Annual 27th District Democrats Summer Picnic â€" which will go down at Point Defiance Park at noon. According to the 27th District Democrats Newsletter, drinks, hot dogs, hamburgers, and veggie burgers will be provided, but the menu’s success will hinge on whether Democrats who show up bring tasty concoctions of their own â€" as the event is a potluck of sorts. Sides and desserts are this picnic’s greatest area of need.

3 P.M.: Double dose of great local blues hits Malarkey’s today when the Malcolm Clark Band and Loose Gravel & The Quarry provide the tunes for the billiards players.

4 P.M.: The Grammy-nominated worship band Sonicflood will play the Thurston County Fair today at 4 p.m. Fair game here

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

JAKE DE PAUL: THE MORNING BREW >>>

1. Consumers are raising cane over corn sweetener. (LA Times)

2. Pairing steak a la Stone with Carmenere wines. (SF Gate)

3. Japan fights off summer heat exhaustion with Eel Soda. (serious eats)

LINK: South Sound Restaurant Guide

DANIEL BLUE: MEET PRESTON JOHNSON >>>

Preston Johnson is my cousin.  Well, kind of; our family is complicated.  Having no blood relation, we are still somehow related by a marriage that has since been dissolved.  Even though I heard many stories of Preston and his brothers growing up, I actually never met him until a few summers ago on Titlow Beach where we were stumbled upon a bonfire he was sharing with James Sinding. We didn't know we were related, but that didn't matter, we got along from the start. 

Preston is a "fixie" bike rider.  A fixie is a messenger type road or track bicycle with only one gear that is attached to the hub.  That means that if the back wheel is turning, so are the pedals.  Most fixie bikes do not have breaks, and Preston slows down by applying backward pressure on his pedals, like an engine break.   This can be very dangerous when you are traveling at high speeds, but Preston is no stranger to danger.

Always on the cutting edge of color and fashion, Preston has introduced me to many trends in clothing, music and lifestyle.  Preston is as cool as it comes, and I'm glad he is on my team.

LINK: The Tacoma Files archive

RON SWARNER: MAXWELL’S STAFF HAS SKILLS >>>

No only does Maxwell’s Speakeasy + Lounge’s professional wait staff deliver the goods; they also can draw, paint and create. The restaurant on the corner of Sixth and St. Helens Avenue will display the artwork of its staff through August. Acrylics, photography, lithographs and more by Gene Sorenson, Ethan Shurick, Heidi Benson, Corey Lund and Jon Sheard hang from Maxwell’s walls while you dine on the restaurant’s delicious food.

LINK: Maxwell’s food review
LINK: See art today

TONY ENGELHART: NIGHT IS OURS >>>

Rarely if ever should a band be compared to the Beatles. However, ever so often a group comes along that is so fab-four influenced, it is unavoidable, and darlings of Australia, Youth Group, fall into this category. With a Beatles 1965 to 1966 influence, the band writes songs akin to “Nowhere Man” and “Rain.”  In other words, they produce music using abstract metaphors which leaves room for listener interpretation.

Best known for their Alphaville cover of “Forever Young” â€"which appeared on the teenage drama The OC â€" the Sydney-based quartet is steadily making their presence known outside their native home. With complex yet pop-friendly arrangements, the band falls into the same indie-pop genre as Death Cab For Cutie and the Shins. Night is Ours continues down the same path they started with their debut. The new record was released on Australian label Ivy League, and it is not clear whether it will have domestic distribution. However, the whole CD is posted on MySpace for your listening pleasure.

LINK: Weekly Volcano CD reviews
LINK: Trax From the 253

RON SWARNER: FROST PARK CHALK CHALLENGE >>>

Master Illustrator Mark Monlux won Friday’s Frost Park Chalk Challenge Episode XVII: Tacoma Mama was on the scene and snapped a few photos that may be viewed on the Weekly Volcano’s Photo Hot Spot. Many thanks Mama!

The next Frost Park Chalk Challenge is Friday, Aug. 8, noon at Frost Park at Ninth and Commerce in downtown Tacoma. With Showcase Tacoma in full swing down the street, it will be a fun, creative day.

LINK: Tacoma Mama