WEDNESDAY, MAY 5, 2010 >>>

1. It's movie night at Sanford and Son Anitques! Joe Taylor will discuss and present a short series of art films at 6:30 p.m. followed by the main attraction, Alfred Hitchcock's The Rear Window. Red Zeplin will be open before the show and during intermission for your snacking needs.

2. The Cinco De Mayo Chupacabra MobRide booze cruise will launch from The Red Hot at 6:30 p.m.

3. The Garden - a film that captures the struggle of a 14-acre community garden in the heart of Los Angeles - will screen at 6 p.m. inside Lecture Hall 5 at The Evergreen State College as part of the Food Sovereignty Film Series.

4. Hell's Kitchen's Cinco De Mayo Bash features Astro-Creep (White Zombie tribute), I Defy, Walk The Plank, and The Jack Trippers at 8 p.m.

5. Nymph plays Le Voyeur Café and Lounge Olympia at 9 p.m.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

NOSH PIT >>>

Burrito Eating Contest: Masa hosts a bit of fun tonight.

Special Menu: Maxwell's is going Mexican tonight.

Tasty Taco: Moctezuma's seems to have a decent taco.

Casino Rojo Del Viento: Chili Colorado, Spanish rice, Mexicna ribs, al fresco, carne asada, El Diablo shrimp and more from 4-10 p.m. for $15.

>>>>> Where are you eating tonight? <<<<<<<

The World's Most Interesting Man: Like him.

Spring Menu Launch: Pour at Four unleashes its new spring menu today, which features more than 65 new wines.

Future Things Are Coming: Brix 25 presents its second dinner in its Specialty Dinner Series featuring wines from Rotie Cellars. Chef Thad will create a four-course menu matched with Rotie's Rhone-styled wines set in an intimate atmosphere - only 18 seats - Thursday, May 13 at 6 p.m. The cost is $85 per person. Reserve your spot at the Gig Harbor restaurant at 253.858.6626.

Food Matters: The full list of James Beard Award winners for 2010.

LINK: Wine and beer tastings, dinners and events

LINK: South Sound Restaurant Guide

LINK: Send us your restaurant and lounge news

WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

Lahar fail

Dale Chihuly finds a warm welcome in western Michigan.

Anti-gay preacher caught on vacation with with male hooker.

Top 10 reasons you should quit Facebook. In other news, have you joined the Weekly Volcano's Community yet?

Famous movie quotes in chart form.

Star Wars + Lego + Stop motion = Geekgasm

VOTE NOW >>>

The Pierce County Library System wants your help in selecting next year's Pierce County READS book. They are asking the public to vote for one of three choices through the end of May. You may vote in any of Pierce County Library System's 18 locations or online at www.piercecountylibrary.org search site: READS.

The book choices - with the Library's description of each - are listed after the jump:

Read more...

The Weekly Volcano follows the people you're too embarrassed to >>>

Just like most good, new-age, social media applications, Twitter allows people to share and be privy to once personal, almost wholly pointless information about peoples' lives. It's seemingly endless. While Twitter is mostly full of everyday, ho-hum people - just like you and me, sharing info about what type of oatmeal we ate for breakfast and where we get our hair cut - Twitter is also a magnet for the moderately-famous.

Stars of yesterday, illiterate millionaire athletes, former cast members of Saved By the Bell - you can follow them all, intimately, on Twitter.

But, you've got standards. We get that.

That's why we'll do it for you, in a feature we like to call Weekly Volcano Twitter Stalker.

This week, checking in with...

Ice T

May 5: Ice T challenges Arizona

"Alotta yall talkin bout the AZ laws... Fuck em. If they arrest me and & Coco and deport us to Mexico....? Now that would be a reality show!!" via TweetDeck, 9:09 a.m.

April 16: Ice T visits Revis Island

"Daily Pic: Hangin out with the homie @Revis24 last night. Cool Motherfucka!" via Twitpic, 3:04 p.m.

April 15: Ice T dishes on Larry King's sex life

"Wow! Larry King was bangin his wifes sister for years??? That's gotta take a lotta heat off Tiger.. 7wives?? Larry is way out! #FLTG" via TweetDeck, 1:11 p.m.

April 15: And some more...

"I met Larry once. He was super cool. I never knew Larry was Illmatic! Shits sooooo crazy right now.. Moooovin." via TweetDeck, 1:38 p.m.

Tune in tomorrow for more tweets from the life of Ice T.

THE DOT HAS SPOKEN >>>

Grit City Fest music director Quincy "Q Dot" Henry has just release the schedule for the festival, which will happen June 17-19 in downtown Tacoma.

The schedule is after the break:

Read more...

WE'RE LOSING ANOTHER GREAT ONE >>>

Two Vaults Gallery owner Paula Tutmarc-Johnson just send out a press releasing announcing that she is closing her gallery, which is located next to The Grand Cinema in Tacoma.

Hello to all our friends and neighbors,

We are sorry to have to announce the closing of TWO VAULTS Gallery. It has been a long and tough decision, but the economic climate has shown that,  there simply are not enough sales to continue.  We hope you will join us for our last ARTWALK evening on Thursday May 20th, where we are still featuring the inspired encaustic/mixed media and 3 dimensional work of Carla Dimitriou.

Now is the time ... if you have been eyeing something here, we will give you the best deal we can, so it never hurts at ask.

Two Vaults will be open through May 2010 and closed on June 1st.

Jerry and I both thank you all,  the art community of Tacoma, our friends and artists throughout the Puget Sound region and beyond. ... there are too many of you to name here, but please know that we have enjoyed every moment chatting with you, and aknowledging your friendly waves as you pass by. We will miss you and the gallery, but you are likely to see us at Artwalk and other events throughout the city. Please do all you can to continue to support the wonderful remaining galleries and venues here in Tacoma. We need these wonderful places to stay open . Turn out for the events, and buy art if you can! I hope to see you soon.
 
All the best to each and everyone of you,

Paula Tutmarc-Johnson

THURSDAY, MAY 6, 2010 >>>

1. The Grit City Fab Follies will take you on a musical journey through Tacoma's dark side at 7 p.m. inside the Tacoma Musical Playhouse. More details here. 

2. In 1964, Susan Sontag recognized that homosexuals "constitute the vanguard - and most articulate audience - of Camp," and that it often includes purposely "bad art or kitsch." Camp = kitsch + gay. And boy, howdy, there are plenty of each in Theater Artists Olympia's production of The Brain from Planet X - a musical so campy it makes Glee look like the Expendables trailer - which shows at 8 p.m. inside the Black Box theater at the Washington Center. Read the full review here.

3. The shops and restaurants in Tacoma's Proctor District are "Puttin' on the Pink" from 5-9 p.m. offering discounts, plus hosting fashion shows, in-store demonstrations, raffles, pampering, drink specials and more to benefit the Breast Cancer Resource Center. The cost is $10.

4. The Human jukebox Steve Stefanowicz plays a 6 p.m. show at The Ale House.

5. Big Wheel Stunt Show, Dirty Change-Up, and Vile Red Falcons perform at 9 p.m. inside The Swiss.

6. Adrian & The Sickness, Loose Cannon, Astrovan, and One Nation Undereducated will rock Hell's Kitchen beginning at 9 p.m.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

ART SHOW OPENING >>>

I want to learn how to weld, not just for practical purposes; I want to make intricate brass sculptures that will still be around when the rest of us are living on Mars. I might ask Ben Hirschkoff for pointers. The Seattle artist will be on hand tomorrow for the opening of his brass chandelier show at the tiny Telephone Room Gallery in Tacoma. Entitled Eternal Flickr Flame, Hirschkoff's sculpture celebrates the artificial and symbolizes renewal, creation and destruction.

"After a busy beginning of the year, I find myself attracted to the idea of purification and renewal of focus," Hirschkoff writes in a press release. "My initial concept for this piece included the blending of landscape, the figure, and mechanically kinetic elements. As is frequently the case, experimenting with various materials influenced my concept and I gradually decided to simplify this piece to what I felt were its essential elements. The Eternal Flicker Flame. Using the all too common brass chandelier as a medium, this sculpture celebrates the artificial. The artificial luxury of the chandelier, the artificial golden finish of yellow brass, the artificial nod to rococo design reduced to the mass produced "S" scroll with stunted frill. The smoking flame is a motif I've repeatedly come back to over the last 4 years. To me it symbolizes renewal, creation and destruction. In a sense, this is what I do with the materials I choose, shifting them from their manufactured purpose, into a new visual context as sculpture with the intention of creating fresh art from depleted design components."

I want to see the light.

Eternal Flicker Flame

Opening: Friday, May 7, 6-9 p.m.
Run: Through May 30 by appointment at thetelephoneroom@gmail.com
Telephone Room Gallery, 3710 N. Seventh St., (Sixth and Union), Tacoma
thetelephoneroom.blogspot.com

INSIDE TODAY'S WEEKLY VOLCANO >>>

Lord of storytelling: Elizabeth Lord, set to take the stage in Crazy and a Half, is a queen of all trades by Nikki Talotta

Mecca Normal: Political artists from Vancouver, B.C. at Northern in Olympia by Alec Clayton

One fun weekend: Reviews of Little Shop of Horrors and Inherit the Wind by Christian Carvajal

Space camp: The Brain from Planet X delivers plenty of kitsch by Christian Carvajal

LINK: Arts and entertainment events in the South Sound