SEE YOUR FUTURE, BE YOUR FUTURE >>>

I've you are interested in helping the Broadway Center shape its 2010-11 season, take this short survey.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3, 2010 >>>

1. Join artist Lisa Sweet for the opening reception of her devotion and demonstration show from 4-6 p.m. inside Kittredge Gallery. Sweet borrows symbols and imagery from medieval and early Christian art to create 21st-century icons that explore contemporary concerns and beliefs about faith and myth, ritual and tradition.

2. The Intermittent Health And Fitness Club presents Recess, a night of Double Dutch, four square and hopscotch at 7 p.m. inside King's Books.

3. Singer and guitarist Olivia De La Cruz will perform at 7 p.m. inside Sax Restaurant and Lounge.

4. My Name Is Rachel Corrie, the controversial and politically charged play about the Olympia human rights activist who died protecting a house from demolition by Israeli soldiers in Rafah, Gaza, will be given a staged reading at 7 p.m. inside the Kilworth Chapel of the University of Puget Sound. Following the 90-minute reading, there will be a discussion with Cindy and Craig Corrie, Rachel's parents, and Kate Cohn, Assistant Dean of Students at UPS. 

5. Trop rock guitarist Rob Rigoni will perform at 7 p.m. inside the Tempest Lounge.

LINK: Movie show times in the South Sound

WHAT WE FOUND TODAY >>>

Pirates have hijacked a Saudi Arabia tanker that was on it's way to Jeddah.

There is a new iPhone app for removing graffiti, which allows cities to take stock of graffiti, send cleanup crews and catalog evidence.

McDonald's has begun selling its own version of macarons, the delicate French treat, in its McCafés in France with ads showing people eating them with two hands like a hamburger. That's called a "Freedom Cookie" to you.

Two members of the 27 Israeli hit team that assassinated a top Hamas official in Dubai in January are now believed to have fled to the U.S. under fake passports. Who knows, they could be sitting right next to you

Sometimes you just need a rainbow.

THE INCREDIBLE, EDIBLE BOOK >>>

Collins Memorial Library at the University of Puget Sound dedicates itself to protecting books, but come April 1 (no joke) it will eat them at the University's fourth Edible Books Festival.

What is an edible book? Duh. An edible book is made of food and inspired by literary titles, characters or authors - such as Lord of the Onion Rings.

Collins is calling all culinary artists to participate in the event. Prizes will be awards for most literary, most artistic, most beautiful and other categories.

For details, call the library at 253.879.3669.

Be sure to drop by Collins on April Fool's Day and browse for a story you can really dig into.

[Collins Memorial Library, Thursday, April 1, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., entry drop-off 8-11 a.m., people's choice voting 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., awards ceremony 3:30 p.m., University of Puget Sound, 1500 N. Warner, Tacoma]

TWANGY GOOD IDEA >>>

San Francisco's porch band Trainwreck Riders will be rolling into Olympia Friday for a show with Southern Skies and Tilted Stilts at Northern. Their debut album, Lonely Road Revival, harkens back to a golden age of Americana, when folk, country and blues musically intertwined.

Anyway, I found a video of Trainwreck Riders' on Youtube. The band performs their song "Slow Motion Cowboy" inside a subway car. It got me a thinkin' that we need more live band performances on the Tacoma Link. It would make the trip from Freighthouse Square to beautiful Commerce Street more fun.

You can read a preview of Southern Skies in tomorrow's Weekly Volcano.

[Northern, Southern Skies, Tilted Stilts, Trainwreck Riders, 9 p.m., all ages, $5, 321 Fourth Ave., Olympia, olympiaallages.org]

SHARE YOUR MUSIC >>>

The music industry may be dying, but one aspect of the machine seems to be adapting: local music scene. Community is where it's at. Bands should get themselves out there and start building a local fanbase.

The Tacoma Farmers Market is looking for bands for its upcoming season.

Weekly Volcano has a local Band Profile section to share your songs, post photos and videos, and list your upcoming shows. Also, all band profile will automatically be included in our March 11 Music Issue, which is nice.

WHAT THE %@&*! HAPPENED TO COMICS? >>>

Ask 12 serious comic book fans what their favorite stories are, and you're likely to get 12-or more-different answers. But ask the same dozen for the works that truly elevated the medium, in content, scope and respectability, and you'll land on a few. Watchmen. The Dark Knight Returns. Maus: A Survivor's Tale.

Art Spiegelman was a professional cartoonist for 20 years before the first volume of Maus was published in 1986. The second volume came in 1991, and with it something new for comics-literary respect. Maus quickly became the first of only two graphic novels awarded a Pulitzer Prize.

Were this the only thing Spiegelman had accomplished, it would still be enough for a place as one of the comic book medium's most influential creators. But in a career closing in on 50 years in the making, it marks just one facet of his experience in the industry.

Read more...

THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 2010 >>>

1. The Speakeasy Arts Cooperative hosts a potluck dinner from 6-9 p.m. The theme is Mexican. There will also be an open mic for musicians.

2. The Chair Affair Auction benefiting Northwest Furniture Bank runs 6-9 p.m. inside the Tacoma Art Museum.

3. The Pacific Lutheran University Literary Spotlight Series focuses on author Langdon Cook and his book, Fat of the Land: Adventures of a 21^st Century Forager at 7 p.m. inside the Garfield Book Company.  Cook, who was once a senior book editor at Amazon, left the corporate life behind to live off the land.

4. The Tacoma Community College Symphonic Band under the direction of John Falskow presents "Style in History," an exploration of the different ways composers from different times have sought out expression in sound, at 7:30 p.m. inside TCC Building 3 Auditorium. 

5. Skerdio, the dynamic duo of emcee/boomboxer Radio Active and saxophonist Skerik, perform at 9 p.m. inside the Eastside Club Tavern in Olympia.

LINK: Movie showtimes in the South Sound

WHAT WE FOUND TODAY >>>

Nestle is giving away five new Golden Tickets inside their new line of candy bars. Instead of touring the Nestle factory, winners will get a free trip around the world and $12,500 to buy chocolates!

Kingdom of the Little People is populated by small adults in fairy costumes.

The disastrous wave of earthquakes continues in Taiwan, which recorded a 6.4 magnitude quake on Thursday. So far, no one has been reported killed.

A man was arrested when his plane "touched" down in Denver for masturbating next to his female seatmate, whom he didn't know. For the record: If you do it by yourself, you have not joined the Mile High Club.

Why are acting awards still based on gender?

It's Catherine O'Hara's birthday!

AN INTERESTING EVENT A DAY KEEPS THE DOCTOR AWAY >>>

TONIGHT: The Rev. Colin will host Sing Like A Crooner Dress-A-Raoke tonight at the Tempest. With props plucked out of the, er, prop chest, singer will compete for Crooner Bucks, which may be turned in for fabulous prizes. Got get your Sinatra on - wearing a feather boa. March 4, 8 p.m., no cover, Tempest Lounge, 913 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Tacoma, 253.272.4904

FRIDAY: It's the first Friday of the month and that means only one thing: Dance Oly Dance. Head on over to TCTV Studio A on Olympia's Westside and dance to DJ PhilosoBitch's bumpin' set on TV! March 5, 8-9 p.m., no cover, TCTV, 440 Yauger Way SW, Olympia, lukon100@hotmail.com

SATURDAY: Local actors bring Washington state historical figures alive to discuss unsolved mysteries during Ghosts of the Great Hall: Unsolved Mysteries at the Washington State History Museum. Hunt for lost treasure with D.B. Cooper. Listen to the sole survivor of the Andelena shipwreck. Chat with a Can Can girl from Steve's Gay 90's in the '70s (haven't confirmed this one yet). March 6, 1-3 p.m., $6-$8, 1911 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253.798.5877

SUNDAY: If James Cameron made a four-hour movie about paint drying, chances are it still wouldn't be as pointless as watching the Oscars. Check that - it wouldn't be as pointless as watching the Oscars alone in your sad little hobble. Watching the Oscars amongst friends at The Grand Cinema's annual Academy Award Party, on the other hand, is sure to be far more captivating than anything involving funny looking blue aliens. Hosted by Tacoma City Councilmember Marty Campbell, maestro Gavin Guss and "Tinseltown legend" Quinton Loyne-Packard, the Grand's Oscar party is sure to be a hoot. March 7, 4 p.m. red carpet, $15-$18, Rialto Theater, 310 S. Ninth, Tacoma, 253.572.6062

MONDAY: The dorky Graphic Novel Book Club will discuss DMZ, Vol. 1: On the Ground by Brian Wood and Riccardo Burchielli, which may be purchased at King's Books. It's the story about the ultimate embedded war journalist trapped in a most unlikely war zone: the streets of New York City. March 8, 7 p.m., no cover, 21 and older, 1022 South lounge, 1022 S. J St., Tacoma, 253.272.5801

TUESDAY: Take a break from the slots to watch Danny Vernon performs his dead-on Elvis impersonation.  March 9, 6:30 p.m., no cover, Red Wind Casino, 12819 Yelm Hwy. SE, Olympia, 360.412-5000

WEDNESDAY: Kirk Larson of the Social Security Administration will present "Social Security 101" at Cascade Park Vista assisted living community. Afterward, all the visiting children will cry. March 10, 6:30-8 p.m., Cascade Park Vista, 242 Saint Helens Ave., Tacoma, 253.627.3833

THURSDAY: The crafty group Tacoma Is For Lovers hosts another Craft Night, this time welcoming Tacoma artist Chris Sharp who will introduce collage using a 1980s book on breakdancing as source material. Bring your own cardboard for impromptu head spins. March 11, 7 p.m., $15 fee for materials, King's Books, 218 St. Helens Ave., Tacoma, 253.2672.8801