MICHAEL SWAN: THURSDAY, AUG. 27, 2009 >>>

1. Blues guitarist Malcolm Clark plays the Mandolin Café at 7 p.m.

2. Angel Matamoros’ abstract paintings are paired with surrealistic paintings by Blake Flynn in the current exhibition at Childhood’s End Gallery in Olympia open today from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

3. The candidates for Tacoma mayor, city council and school board will state their views in a town hall forum beginning at 7 p.m. inside the Epworth LeSourd Church.

4. Harlequin Production’s Mating Dance of the Werewolf hits the State Theater’s stage at 8 p.m.

5. Doyle's Public House hosts a free Reggae Night featuring Zach Lujan’s Island Vibes at 8 p.m.

LINK: Live music and DJs in the South Sound

LINK: Local movie starting times

LINK: South Sound Restaurant Guide

MATT DRISCOLL: WHEN SOCIAL PROFIT TRUMPS FINANCIAL PROFIT >>>

Still, there’s a lot of work yet to be done before the Tacoma Food Co-op vision is a reality, and sometimes people don’t realize that an ever changing, democratic body like the one necessary to power a food co-op takes time to develop. A storefront doesn’t pop up overnight, and â€" for success â€" the groundwork has to be laid properly, which requires a lot of community building elbow grease. Businesses are easy to start, says Julio Quan, the former executive director of Tacoma’s Centro Latino and a self-described Co-op supporter “since the womb.” Co-ops aren’t.

The Tacoma Food Co-op is well on its way yet far from the finish line. And those behind the Tacoma Food Co-op are tired but relentless. My impression is they won’t be denied, and they want to recruit you.

“We have the instruments, the foundation, the technical parts,” says Quan. “We are responsible for this pregnancy. It’s about to be born. Now it has to be developed by the community.”

Throughout our discussion, Quan regularly turns the spotlight in my direction, quizzing me â€" to some extent â€" on just how much I actually know about co-ops.

It’s a good place to start.

Read how I did and my story on the Tacoma Food Co-op here.

REV. ADAM MCKINNEY: THE FUN POLICE CRACK DOWN >>>

It’s a strange thing, asking a band (or a person, for that matter) what they think of themselves. My interviewing style is still mighty amateurish and I still ask hackneyed questions like, “How would you describe your sound to people who’ve never heard you before?”

Shame.

The Fun Police couldn’t possibly answer that question, and they really shouldn’t. One member gets as far as, “It’s hard to classify our sound … maybe Celtic-country-blues-pop-rock…” before the other members interrupt him with a residing “Nahh!”

What they forgot was reggae, seemingly a major influence on their “sound,” though I now feel weird using that word. It’s one of many pleasant contradictions that define The Fun Police â€" one of the ways that they play with the concept of The Band.
  Onstage, they dress as cops, complete with stage names reflecting their personas Major Mullet, Ranger Ruffhousen, and so on. When not performing in clubs, they busk in uniform, though they express concerns that one day they’ll get nabbed for impersonating police officers. One almost gets a sense that nothing would make them happier than to be stuffed in the back of a squad car for rock ‘n’ roll.

“When we’re not performing, we’re working on something,” they say.

Part of what they’re working on is a series of PSAs that they post on YouTube. They’re nothing if not vigorous self-promoters. The rest of the band’s time is spent in the recording studio, readying their album under the supervision of Conrad Uno, a producer who’s helmed works by the likes of the Presidents of the United States of America, among others.

It seems to be where they’ve been headed from the beginning. It’s always the ones who crack down on fun who end up on top.

[The New Frontier Lounge, with Big Wheel Stunt Squad, Down and Out, Thursday, Aug. 27, 9 p.m., 301 E. 25th St., Tacoma, 253.572.4020]

JOHN HERBERT: A COUPLE LOCAL GALLERIES SEE A BUMP IN SALES >>>

Two Vaults Gallery owner Paula Tutmarc-Johnson had her first good month in a year. Art sales in July were so strong, in fact, that she actually drew a paycheck. Tutmarc-Johnson, like so many other business owners, has weathered an economic storm, or lull perhaps, as widespread unemployment and a general dearth of spending dough has crushed sales.

“I had a three week period where I sold one greeting card,” she says. “It’s gotten to a place for many of us where we don’t need a lot, but it’s been hard. I kind of decided to not let this one get me. But I had times when I thought I might be closing.”

Read my full report on local art sales on the Weekly Volcano's Web site.

Art by Dianne Kurzyna, part of Two Vault's Rabbitual.

NEWS TEAM: GOOD MORNING SOUTH SOUND >>>

House Of Ill Dispute: Felix Flannigan says he doesn't wear a mask.

Extended Summer?: Kent teachers voted to walk off their jobs.

The Great Pizza Robberies: Tacoma police are searching for two men who robbed pizza delivery people in last night.

Afghanistan: political test for Obama.

This Sucks: August tied for deadliest month in Afghan war.

Do You Like This?: Facebook changes privacy policy.

Oh No!: Snooker pair in police bet probe.

At Least We Have This: Drinking wards off dementia.

Want To Have Eyesight Like The Terminator?: Check this out. Of course you'll need the clothes, too.

When Puppet Dogpiles Go Bad

MICHAL SWAN: THIS JUST IN >>>

We just received this press release at the Weekly Volcano World Headquarters:

I am sending out this email to everyone I know, and asking you that you forward it to everyone you know.  Since 2001 the D.A.S.H. Center has worked to provide positive performing arts education and opportunities to at-risk, minority, and lower income youth in Tacoma.  The shift in the economy is putting us at risk of having to close our doors!!!
 
We must raise $6000 by September 30, or we are being asked to vacate our space.  The Center is located on the corner of 15th and MLK, in the Sons of Normana building.  We are in the heart of the community where are target youth live and play!  We have been working effortlessly to help bring family arts and entertainment back to the Hilltop!! The D.A.S.H. Center serves as a safe haven and home to many youth and adults who have come to use the performing arts as their outlet. 
 

I am asking everyone to help us stay alive!!!  Obama built his campaign $25 at a time...We are working to do the same!!!  Whatever amount, how small or large, will help the D.A.S.H. tremendously toward our goal!!!
 
Go to our website www.thedashcenter.org and follow the donation link, or simply go to your own paypal account enter the email address chall@thedashcenter.org to donate to this cause.  Any donation over $25 is fully tax-deductible and you will receive letter of donation receipt.
 
Thank you very much for your support over the year and into the future!!!

Candi Hall, D.A.S.H. Center Founder & Executive Director

MICHAEL SWAN: TACOMA LITTLE THEATRE KICKS OFF ITS SEASON WITH A DEAL >>>

Because Tacoma Little Theatre has a heart â€" although an old heart as it ventures into its 91st season â€" the theater company is offering $10 tickets for the first two weeks of its production of Neil Simon’s The Star-Spangled Girl, which kicks off tomorrow at 7:30 p.m.

Jump online here to reserve your seats. At checkout, enter the code word "TLT91" and all your tickets will convert to $10.00 Tickets. You can also call the box office at 253.272.2281 and mention the code word "TLT91" to receive your discounted tickets, too.
 
The theater describes the play:

"The Star-Spangled Girl," by Neil Simon, is a typical fast-paced wonderful evening of fun â€" a very funny Simon comedy. It's the Summer of Love â€" Neil Simon style! San Francisco, 1967. Andy and Norman write, publish and sell a radical magazine dedicated to fighting the system. Enter Sophie, an all-American, Olympic swimmer (5th place out of five) from Arkansas, who moves into the apartment next door. Its love at first sight (or smell) for Norman and his mad-cap obsession turns everything upside down in this classic Neil Simon comedy.

SUZY STUMP: TODAY’S HAPPY HOUR DISCUSSION TOPIC >>>

Today’s Happy Hour Suggestion:

The Swiss Pub
1904 Jefferson Ave., Tacoma, 253.572.2821

Happy Hours: 4-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday

Drink Specials: Margarita Monday $4 house margs, Two-Dollar Tuesday $2 pints, Humpday Wednesday, Hornito Thursday $4 shots, TGIF $5 Bombs, half off bottle of wine Saturday, $4 Bloody Mary Sunday

Food Specials: $5 plates â€" deep-fried chicken breast tenders, fish taco, grilled skewered prawns and crispy calamari rings. $4 plates â€" calamari rings, olive tapenade and crispy tater tots

LINK: South Sound happy hours

MICHAEL SWAN: ON THE BIG SCREENS TOMORROW >>>

WoodstockSome Kind of Wonderful: Ang Lee's Taking Woodstock, starring Demetri Martin, is an uncomplicated caricature of the era.

TAKING WOODSTOCK: Ang Lee’s entertaining new film about the kid who made it all possible â€" in Woodstock, anyway.  This was Elliot Teichberg, a young interior designer who leaves a New York City career to return home to upstate New York and help his parents bail out their failing and shabby motel.  Rated R. Three our of four stars. â€" Roger Ebert

Also opening tomorrow: The Final Destination 3D and Halloween III.

Discover what these films are about and when they screen here.

MICHAEL SWAN: FRIDAY, AUG. 28, 2009 >>>

1. The Washington State Capital Museum will load Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds in ye ol' projector for an outdoor screening on their lawn at 9 p.m.

2. Free Ya Mind's open mic and spoken word event hits Tully's at Ninth and Broadway at 7 p.m.

3. Le Voyeur in Olympia hosts Gendersmash! the trans/queer/allies open mic with music, dance, spoken word, performance art, comedy, drag, improve, theater, sing-alongs, games, rants, circus acts and silly human tricks at 8 p.m.

4. The BGP will lay down some suburban soul with Ernie Halter at 8:30 p.m. on Jazzbones' stage.

5. The Tempest Lounge presents Reggae Fridays featuring Jason Diamond spinning at 9:30 pm. â�" no cover.

LINK: Live music and DJs in the South Sound

LINK: Local movie starting times

LINK: South Sound Restaurant Guide