THE LOWDOWN ON WHAT'S UP THIS WEEKEND >>>

WEATHER REPORT

Friday: Partly cloudy, hi 72, lo 52

Saturday: Partly cloudy, hi 70, lo 52

Sunday: Partly cloudy, hi 70, lo 52 ("Same as it ever was ...")

>>> FRIDAY, JULY 16: "DON'T NEED YOU"

Olympia plays a major roll in the story of the Riot Grrrl movement - a story brought to life and further light by the documentary Don't Need You: The Herstory of Riot Grrrl, which will be specially screened Friday at the Capitol Theater. The event is a benefit for Natalie Cox, a longtime member of the Olympia music scene currently battling a rare, aggressive form of cancer.  All proceeds from Friday's showing will go to help pay Cox's medical costs.

• Capitol Theater, 9:30 p.m. Fall ages, $5 and up, 206 Fifth Ave., SE, Olympia, 360.754.6670

>>> FRIDAY, JULY 16-SATURDAY, JULY 17: SCRAPBOOKING EXPO

What does everybody love? A birthday party!  What else does everybody love? Scrapbooking!  Isn't that the best thing in the world! If you love it as much as I do, take your scrappy self to the Scrapbooking Expo at the Puyallup Fairgrounds. It's a scrapbooking weekend with classes, workshops and uninterrupted time devoted to putting your precious photographs into cutesy albums – or just stay home with your cat and keep on shoving all your photos into unlabeled shoeboxes.

• Puyallup Fair & events Center, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, $8, 110 Ninth St SW, Puyallup, 253.845.1771
  

>>> SATURDAY, JULY 17-SUNDAY, JULY 18: GIG HARBOR SUMMER ARTS FESTIVAL

Often we try to bring you fun activities at a reasonable price. But it doesn't get any better than FREE! Of course most of the time, free isn't exactly free, that is just the sugar-coated packaging the really expensive activities come in. The Gig Harbor Summer Arts Festival is probably one of them. But it does sound pretty cool, and if you can abstain from buying anything, you might come out scotch free - unless you have a girlfriend. But ... what can be more romantic than taking a stroll along the beautiful Gig Harbor waterfront, hand-in-hand with your better-half, taking in beautiful art by 148 area artists. You will see stained glass, clothing, baskets and, of course, pastels and watercolors.

• Downtown Gig Harbor, all day, free, Judson Street, 253.265.8139

>>> WHERE OUR STAFF IS GOING

MATT DRISCOLL Editor and member of the Hilltop Elementary 1991 Recycling Team
My weekend will be all about preparing for the publication of the Weekly
Volcano's Best of Tacoma 2010 issue, to hit streets July 29. I'll be visiting our readers' pick for Tacoma's best donut shop and best "smoking accessories" shop  - not necessarily in that order. Oh yeah, as mentioned, I'll also be working on Best of Tacoma stuff.

JOE IZENMAN Music/Theater Critic
Saturday: playing concerts at 9 a.m., 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. in and around Tacoma. Sunday: sleeping the hell in.

NIKKI TALOTTA Feature Writer
My weekend consists of: Demo burgers and elephant ears to start, then serving sunburned Lakefairians their PBRs and cosmos. And repeat. Followed by a family reunion and a friends wedding. 'Tis the season!

PAUL SCHRAG Feature Writer
I'm recovering from one hell of a week. May be hosting Eprhyme the Humanimalien and wife, Chani, temporarily observing Shabbat, making some sort of feast with food from the garden, learning about sweet, mystical Jewish stuff.

JENNIFER JOHNSON Lifestyle/Leisure Writer
Going to Temple Square and downtown Salt Lake City today, fishing at Strawberry Friday with family, fish-fry/BBQ with 30 relatives Saturday and church Sunday. Wooo hooo!

KRIS BLONDIN Food/Wine Writer
I will get gussied up for Zoobilee on Friday, and then summer cleaning at the lake place. A modest amount of fun may happen, but I'll have to earn it.

ALEC CLAYTON Visual Arts Critic
I'll be checking out the new show at Fulcrum Gallery plus going to two plays: Withering Heights at Breeders Theatre in Burien (no, that's not a typo, it's Withering with an "i") and Fiddler on the Roof at ASTRA in Puyallup.

CHRISTIAN CARVAJAL Theater Critic
This would be the perfect weekend for Shakespeare in the park, don't you think? Animal Fire Theatre thought so, too. It's a new group that's staging that ominous Scottish play at Priest Point this weekend, and I'll be there with a cooler and Deep Woods Off.

LOOKING FOR MORE IDEAS? CHECK OUT THE WEEKLY VOLCANO'S LISTINGS FOR:

Events

Concerts

Restaurants

Movies

BOBBLE TIKI'S COLUMN HAS FINALLY POSTED >>>

Getting sick in the summer is like getting hit with a sledgehammer only worse, because it's the sledgehammer Bobble Tiki lent his now sun-bathing neighbor five months ago ... and why didn't he return it to Bobble Tiki sooner ... and where is that Weedwacker Bobble Tiki lent him ages ago, asshole. Jeez.

Any – achoo! – way, Bobble Tiki finally posted his music column on the Volcano's website here. Bobble Tiki waxes Plogfest 2010, and the Eddie Spaghetti show at Hell's Kitchen.

Now Bobble Tiki has to finish this week's Concert Alert that he was forced to do after last week's prank during the "editorial meeting." Bobble Tiki secretly filled a bottle marked "suppositories" with white jellybeans. Bobble Tiki ate the jellybeans in front of the writing staff and we all had a good laugh. But then they stopped laughing when Bobble Tiki stuck them in his butt.

So, if discovering what concerts go on sale this week on a Thursday is important to you, you will be disappointed. Bobble Tiki is headed back to bed.

FRIDAY, JULY 16, 2010 >>>

1. Olympia plays a major roll in the story of the Riot Grrrl movement - a story brought to life and further light by the documentary Don't Need You: The Herstory of Riot Grrrl, which will be specially screened at 9:30 p.m. at the Capitol Theater. The event is a benefit for Natalie Cox, a longtime member of the Olympia music scene currently battling a rare, aggressive form of cancer.  All proceeds from Friday's showing will go to help pay Cox's medical costs.

2. Experience Tacoma's history as it comes to life featuring nine re-enactors from Fort Nisqually Living History Museum portraying people who played integral parts in the history of Tacoma's parks as they share their life stories from their gravesites at the Tacoma Cemetery from 6-7:40 p.m.

3. Tacoma Little Theatre presents Annie Jr., a version of Annie that has been adapted for the younger performers in the Summer Youth Theatre beginning at 7:30 p.m. The program tells the story of a spunky Depression-era orphan determined to find her parents after being abandoned on the doorstep of a New York City orphanage.

4. With the recent news that Northwest Harvest has a food shortage, the folks behind "Metal Effing Fridays" at Uncle Sam's Bar and Grill ask you to bring two cans of food before you head bang to Acropolis, Surgical Chaos, Mechanism and A Sic End at 8 p.m.

5. With the weather finally shaping up in the Pacific Northwest, there's no better time for Weed Diamond's balmy, golden-hued beach pop. The Denver band performs with Tan Dollar and Dash Jacket at 10 p.m. inside Le Voyeur in Olympia.

LINK: New movies open today

DINING NEWS, NIBBLES AND BITS >>>

Changes: Pacific Grill will now share its Thursday night Noodle Bar with the other days of the week, except when the restaurant is closed on Sundays.  The Noodle Bar will open after 2 p.m. Monday-Friday and after 5 p.m. on Saturday featuring Asian street food discounted 40 percent. Pacific Grill has posted its new summer menu on its website, too.

Tonight: The 20th annual black-tie gala Zoobilee, a major fundraiser for Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium, consumes the zoo tonight with what seems like thousands of local restaurants, bars and wineries scattered about the zoo grounds. View the hoopla here.

Wine Dinner: Brix 25 restaurant in Gig Harbor hosts a Obelisco Estate Release Party and Dinner tonight at 4:30 p.m. Four new wines from Obelisco Estates will be introduced followed by a three-course dinner featuring Obelisco wines. The release party costs $25, the dinner is $65. Reserve your spot at 253.858.6626.

Food Matters: Speed eating pizza test

LINK: South Sound happy hours

LINK: Restaurant coupons

LINK: Wine and beer tastings today

The Weekly Volcano follows B & C-list celebrities so you don't have 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.

Today, checking in with...

MC Hammer

July 13: Apparently, when you're MC Hammer, you don't have to turn your cell phone off in flight.

"I'm relaxing in the air .... #MLB All Star was fantastic !!!! Anaheim was lovely." 9:55 p.m., via Twitter for iPhone

July 12: MC Hammer jumps on the nerdy glasses bandwagon

"Hey, my nerd glasses are workin' look at all the love the ladies give me... It's like I'm wearin' Hi-Karate Cologne or something .."9:30 p.m., via Twitter for iPhone

July 12: Two minutes later, MC Hammer talks nerdy glasses some more.

"Ok here's proof of the power of these glasses.. So Sexy ... Lol" 9:32 p.m., via Twitter for iPhone

July 12: OK, what we don't understand here is why MC Hammer is the one posting these pictures. Is HE going up to strangers and asking for photos? Something seems backwards...

"Look What The Glasses Did !!! Oh Boy !!" 9:41 p.m., via Twitter for Iphone

July 3: MC Hammer isn't too legit to enjoy a fruit platter in the tub

"Into the Bath I Go !!!!" 1:38 a.m., via Twitter for iPhone

Tune in next week for more hot Twitter Stalking action from the Weekly Volcano

BRING ON THE WEEKEND >>>

Good lord. It's Friday already. Is it just me, or do the weeks seem to be zipping by at light speed lately?

Of course, there are a few reasons for this - including my continued use of drugs and alcohol. Now, these habits aren't making YOUR weeks go by any faster, but they're certainly screwing with mine.

More importantly, though, it's the summer festival season in the South Sound and specifically Tacoma. It feels like for the last month or so every waking moment of Saturdays and Sundays has been spent frantically bouncing from one festival to the next. Urban Arts Festival, Art on the Ave, Hempfest, Out in the Park... the list goes on. It's been fun, but it's also made summer speed at an alarming rate.

But let's not complain. It could be far worse.

That said, it's time for The Prefunk, a primer for the coming weekend for you and your liver - with a picture of an alcoholic household pet thrown in for good measure.

Seventh Annual Plogfest @ Uncle Sam's American Bar & Grill

Saturday, July 17

As the typically hung-over Bobble Tiki noted in his Threats & Promises column yesterday, the annual Plogfest musical celebration - which made its name as a camp-out, nature meets local music summer music orgy in Graham - has moved this year, relocating the action to Uncle Sam's American Bar & Grill in Spanaway. While the campfires and Kum-ba-ya vibe will be gone, this year's Plogfest - the seventh annual - will still kick major musical ass, with a lineup featuring Koz of Konfuzion, Voxxy Vallejo, I Defy, Dave Hannon, Body Box, Menace, Faces Pale, Dead Soul Funeral and more. More info is available here.

PREFUNK: The thing is, Plogfest - to me, at least - seemed at least half as much about the music as it was about the communal camping experience. While I whole-heartedly support Plogfest's move, as I'm sure the reasons were plenty, it will be sad to see the outdoorsy aspects lost.

So here's what you do...

Plogfest will kick off at noon Saturday at Uncle Sam's in Spanaway. That means, if you play your cards right, you could get a full night of camping in prior to the festivities. Why not pack your backpack, grab a sleeping bag, and finally experience the wondrous camping opportunities offered by Spanaway.

I call dibs on the dumpster behind Lucky Teriyaki.

SUSTAINABILITY FROM A PUBLIC RELATIONS PERSPECTIVE @ PLU

Sunday, July 18

Sunday, Pacific Luther University's Dr. Amy Young, who taught a class last spring, "focused on developing a plan for advertising and building a public relations campaign around sustainability at PLU," according to promotional material, will lead a presentation based on the research that class collected from 3-5 p.m. Young will discuss what her class discovered, including obstacles identified in establishing sustainability into the culture at PLU, and how those obstacles might be overcome. All of this, of course, from a "public relations perspective."

PREFUNK: It might not be a bad idea to brush up on a recent email from the City of Tacoma, which hit my inbox yesterday. Learn the ins and outs of it, and then ask Dr. Young how Tacoma is handing its sustainability... FROM A PUBLIC RELATIONS PERSPECTIVE.

The email:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 15, 2010

Consent decree over improper release of refrigerant leads to cleaner air

The City of Tacoma has entered into a consent decree with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Justice regarding improper release of refrigerant into the air at the City's Household Hazardous Waste facility. As a result of the consent decree and environmental projects specified in the decree, the city's environment will be safer and cleaner and greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced.

According to the EPA, the city released refrigerant into the air between October 2004 and August 2007 in violation of the federal Clean Air Act.

Under the consent decree, the city will pay a civil penalty of $224,684 and complete three environmental projects to reduce diesel emissions and improve air quality in Tacoma. The projects are:

1.      Replacing one existing diesel garbage truck with a truck powered by diesel hydraulic hybrid technology. This vehicle saves fuel and reduces diesel emissions.

2.      Purchasing an electric hybrid "yard mule," a small tractor used to move trailers around at the landfill. This vehicle runs largely on electricity, saving fuel and reducing diesel emissions.

3.      Retrofitting 10 semi tractor-trailer trucks with equipment that reduces diesel emissions.

In November 2006, a departing city employee expressed concern about the handling of refrigerant gases at the landfill. The city immediately contacted the EPA to report the potential violation and seek assistance in dealing with the concern.

A city investigation was unable to substantiate improper refrigerant recovery practices, and the city understood that technicians were following accepted procedures.

The EPA determined that the city had released refrigerant from storage tanks after the gases were removed from appliances. The EPA estimated that about 4,160 pounds of R-12 and 450 pounds of R-22 were improperly vented from the storage tanks. The city didn't have sufficient documentation to prove this didn't happen.

The city has already implemented strict refrigerant handling procedures, including increased recordkeeping standards. The city believes its current procedures will prevent the release of refrigerants in the future.

Tacoma City Council authorized the consent decree June 15.

###

Now that's some real sustainable shit... at least from a public relations perspective.

See you next week.

SATURDAY, JULY 17, 2010 >>>

1. Death is everywhere, and the sooner the tykes under your supervision learn about it, the better equipped they will be to deal with the chaos their own world holds in store for them. The movie Ice Age sets the standard for sensitive treatment of mass extinction - oh, and computer animation. The Grand Cinema screens the movie for free on two screens at 10:30 a.m.

2. The skies over Joint Base Lewis-McChord will be filled with MiG Fury, T-33 Ace Maker, C-17s, F/A-18 Super Hornet, Tuskegee P-51 Redtail and many more planes when the gates open at 8 a.m. for Air Expo 2010, which kicks off at 11 a.m.

3. How does rock climbing on a bike sound? Awesome? Then head down to Ruston Way today near Marine Park at 11 a.m.  The T-Town Throwdown Bike Trials Competition will take place on the rocks, beach, logs and other natural obstacles on the Ruston Way waterfront until 5 p.m. Five bad-ass courses for various levels of expertise will be marked among rocks and other natural features.

4. The streets of Olympia will be filled today with sweat and good cheer as the Capital Lakefair crowd club hops tonight: Le Voyeur on Fourth will have Lozen and Blood Bones; McCoy's down the block will have their infamous Fitz show; Fourth Ave Tav hosts The Missionary Position; The Eastside Club Tavern stages funk bands in the back; The Loft on Cherry has an All City Dance Party; The 109 and China Clipper will have karaoke.

5. The jazz quartet Rio featuring Jim MacCarthy on jazz guitar, Jim Trefethen on sax, Tom Brooks on Bass and Paul Boardway on drums will perform from 7-10 p.m. while you sip margaritas at Woody's on the Water.

Oh, and Mr. Fusion featuring Weekly Volcano scribe Joe Izenman performs tonight at 9 p.m. inside Cork!

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

TONIGHT PIONEERS WEST, TOMORROW A HANGOVER >>>

To cut to the chase, Pioneers West is one of the better things this town has going, an unabashed sonic perpetuation and proliferation of a genre of the band's own making - "Western Doom." It's a self-contrived genre that sounds badass, both in name and practice - and this band has it down pat.

Tonight, Pioneers West will unveil a new eight-song record, Move West, which was recorded with the expert help of Tacoma Dial Twirling All-Star Kyle Brunette of Nightgowns and Friskey fame. He's recorded just about every band that's worth two shits in Tacoma, so the pairing makes sense. See for yourself this weekend. Move West, loyal reader.

You won't be disappointed. 

[The New Frontier Lounge, with Musuji, The Skurfs, guests, 9 p.m., Cover TBA, 301 E. 25th St., Tacoma, 253.572.4020]

LINK: More live music today in the South Sound

LINK: Concert go on sale today

YEE-HAW! >>>

Cowboy poets will gather at the Puyallup Fairgrounds today as part of the American Cowboy Days Roundup inside the Fred Oldfield Western Heritage & Art Center. Stop laughing. Can you do it? OK, then. Cowboy poetry is cool. You live in the West, you should learn to appreciate it.

Come hear tales told by some of today's finest cowboys, storytellers, poets and songwriters and see some pretty cool roping and horse demonstrations.

More details, kind of, are on the Heritage Center website.

American Cowboy Days Roundup

Saturday, July 17, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The Fred Oldfield western Heritage & Art Center, Red Gate, Puyallup Fairgrounds, Ninth and Meridian, Puyallup

THE 2010 SOUL OF THE CITY POETRY PERFORMANCE WORKSHOP >>>

You know you want to. Write a poem, that is. You've got that half-finished prose rotting away in a box in your basement and a house full o' kids to look after. Or you've simply told yourself that you'd like to, but you just don't think you have it in you.

Rubbish!

What you should do instead of self-deprecate is head over to the Urban Grace Church for the 2010 Soul of the City Poetry Performance Workshop: Reading Your Work Aloud in Public tomorrow afternoon. Hosted by Tacoma Poet Laureate Tammy Robacker, the workshop features great advice from teacher, writer, playwright and actress Kisha X. Palmer, as well as local wordsmiths Josh Rizeberg and Quincy "Q Dot" Henry.

Let your creative juices flow, unleash your poetry itch, rid yourself of public speaking fears and get down with the sickness (without getting down with Disturbed, of course).

You should bring your half-written poem to practice speaking aloud.

Reading Your Work Aloud

Sunday, July 18, 2-4:30 p.m., $10 donation
Urban Grace Church, 902 Market St., Tacoma
253.272.2184
RSVP required: tamsugah@aol.com