Weekly Volcano Blogs: Walkie Talkie Blog

Posts made in: September, 2010 (126) Currently Viewing: 1 - 10 of 126

September 1, 2010 at 7:54am

5 Things To Do: Zines on Toast, glass artist Ron Desmett, "Life Support," hip-hop show ...

Zines on Toast

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 1, 2010 >>>

1. What does Zines on Toast actually mean? No clue. That's one of the ways they get you. By "they" we mean, Northern; and by "get you," we mean lure you to their space at 7 p.m. for one of the best events of the week - the Zines on Toast Tour. Portland's Alex Wrekk (of Brainscan and Stolen Sharpie Revolution) has rounded up "zinesters" (you can't be cool without the lingo) from the UK and put them all on the road. Pure brilliance.

2. Ron Desmett has been working with glass for over three decades. His use of hollowed out walnut trees as glass molds allows him to "infuse nature that has lost its life with life anew." Desmett is in the Musuem of Glass' Hot Shop from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. as part of the Visiting Artists series.

3. The Grand Cinema, Old Milwaukee Cafe, and Pierce County AIDS Foundation invite you to a free screening of the HBO Film Life Support, based on the true story of AIDS activist Andrea Williams at 6:30 p.m. inside The Grand Cinema. A dessert reception provided by Old Milwaukee Cafe will follow the screening.

4. With popular culture more youth-obsessed than ever, promising talents like The Makeup Monsters' Shayne Weeks and Isaac Solverson seem poised for great things - provided they aren't squashed by the weight of peoples' Great Expectations. Check them out at 8 p.m. with Takhoma, Motorbikes and Trevor Dickson inside the Den Fulcrum Gallery. 

5. Sweatshop Union, Pigeon Hole, General Wojack, Josh Rizeberg, Whhikid Matticuless tell it like it is at 9 p.m. inside Hell's Kitchen.

LINK: More arts and entertainment ideas in the South Sound

September 1, 2010 at 11:43am

Men's Room Original Red mania

GET YOURS WHILE YOU CAN >>>

It's very rare in the grocery world when something so hot takes over. Backroom receivers are at odds with how to keep their shelves stocked. The trickle down theory ensues and customers bitch at storeowners, storeowners bitch at vendors and vendors bitch at suppliers. It's supply vs. demand. The reality is, there is only so much to go around, and man oh man, I ain't seen nothing like this since the Pop Rocks fad of the '70s.

It all started on KISW 99.9 FM's little radio show The Men's Room. Potty room reference aside, this is a red HOT talk show, with a huge audience and demographic reach. While the show is clearly targeted at the men-folk, women also like to listen in for a look into the world of how men think.

The guys on the show like to drink. Hell, who don't (stole that from Tracy Morgan, SNL)? Enter supremely popular Elysian Brewery in Seattle. They brew a little beer for the guys on the show and call it Men's Room Ale. It sold at the brewery, very drinkable and popular. But that wasn't enough. ...

Soon the guys wanted to see the beer reach a wider audience - like their show. A new beer was brewed call the Men's Room Original Red. Soon it was being poured in more than 150 restaurants and pubs in the Seattle/Tacoma area, with bar managers clamoring for more. They began bottling soon thereafter and then it happened. ...

Grocery stores and specialty beer shops started bringing it in 20, 30, 50 cases at a time. 99 Bottles in Federal Way went through more than 90 cases in a week. Stadium Thriftway went through 15 (which is a lot for this store) and ordered another 20 to be delivered today. What the WHAT? (stole that from Tina Fey. I see a trend here)?

It certainly doesn't hurt that they promote EVERY venue that carries their delicious beer on their radio show. Most importantly, a portion of the net proceed from every Men's Room Original Red sold goes to help support the families of our military vets through the VA Puget Sound Fisher House and Joint Base Lewis-McChord's Fisher House.

I've spoken with many people in the industry, with my personal experience included, and no one has seen a beverage, beer or otherwise create such a frenzy in the marketplace.  Because of the Men's Room Red's popularity, there is only so much to go around and Elysian is trying their best, as is the distributor, to get the beer out as fast as they can.

This beer is a moneymaker for any store. It's basic math really. While the Men's Room Ale retails for $4.49 a bottle at 30 percent mark-up, the profit margin on this beer verses let's say a 22-ounce bottle Budweiser that's priced at $2.35, is pretty significant. Which would you rather sell (or drink)?

Nothing stays on top forever, but I suggest you jump on the bandwagon if you see a bottle of Men's Room Original Red at your grocery store. It may not be there tomorrow. Oh, and I should add it's pretty darn tasty. Hola Bitcholas!

Men's Room Original Red

Sold locally in many specialty beer shops and grocery stores including Stadium Thriftway, Tacoma Boys, 99 Bottles, Abby's on Broadway and more. Click here for a complete list of locations.

LINK: Kris Blondin's Grocery Stories column

Filed under: Food & Drink, Federal Way, Tacoma,

September 1, 2010 at 3:36pm

PLAN AHEAD: Junkyard Jane reunion

Junkyard Jane of old

HORN PLAYERS ARE PEOPLE TOO >>>

Junkyard Jane is one of the hardest working bands around, having blues-rocked up just about every joint this area has to offer. The band also has an impressive history, and many awards to its name. Junkyard Jane's history includes renowned trombonist Randy Oxford and saxophonist Sue Orfield, both of whom were part of the band for the acclaimed Washboard Highway record. Friday, Oxford and Orfield will reunite with Billy Stoops, Leanne Trevalyan and the gang for what should be an infectious show at Stonegate Pizza.

Junkyard Jane Reunion

Friday, Sept. 3, 9 p.m.
Stonegate Pizza, 5421 S Tacoma Way, Tacoma
253.606.2255

September 2, 2010 at 7:04am

5 Things To Do: Final Fan Appreciation Night, Art Award reception, patio music, Tacoma Runners dress for success ...

THURSDAY, SEPT. 2, 2010 >>>

1. The Final Fan Appreciation Night in the old Cheney Stadium begins at 6 p.m. when the Tacoma Rainiers take on the Colorado Springs Sky Sox. First 1,000 fans through the gates receive a 2010 team photo (hurrah!).  Post game fireworks and closing ceremony will bring tears.

2. James Coates performs at 10:30 a.m. at the downtown Tacoma Farmers Market.

3. The opening reception for The Greater Tacoma Community Foundation's Foundation of Art Award, 2008-2010 exhibit at Kittredge Gallery runs from 5-7 p.m.The exhibition itself includes work by the 25 nominees featuring works range from painting, sculpture, and prints to video, jewelry, and embroidery, among other techniques. Materials are as diverse as felt, Legos, found cardboard signs, and repurposed books to the more traditional media such as oil, watercolor, ceramics, and photography.

4. Groove House will perform on the patio of Tocanos Café and Wine Bar in Puyallup beginning at 6:15 p.m.

5. The Tacoma Runners will summon their inner cowboy/girl for tonight's Giddyup Run. That's right, the Runners will don costumes for their weekly run, which begins at 6:30 p.m. at Big Whisky Saloon in downtown Tacoma. We're talking chaps people.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

Filed under: 5 Things To Do, Arts, Sports, Music, Tacoma,

September 2, 2010 at 7:32am

ARTS BEAT: Two seats and a stroll

"DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE": A plethora of personalities, or at least possibilities. Courtesy photo

SOUTH SOUND ARTS COVERAGE IN TODAY'S WEEKLY VOLCANO >>>

Twists and turns: A review of Tacoma Little Theatre's Sleuth, without giving too much away by Joe Izenman

The minds of Henry Jekyll: We contain multitudes, and the monster inside us may be lurking down the next fog-bound alley by Christian Carvajal

Impersonal portraits: Matthew M Johnson shows at Fulcrum Gallery by Alec Clayton

LINK: Arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

Filed under: Arts, Tacoma, Olympia, Theater,

September 2, 2010 at 9:39am

MORNING SPEW: "Restrepo" returns, Tacoma parking thoughts ...

WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

Keanu Reeves is 46 today.

Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger's outstanding documentary Restrepo - shot as the filmmakers were embedded with one company over 14 months in the Korengal Valley of eastern Afghanistan - returns to The Grand Cinema Friday. Released as the war in Afghanistan stretches drags on, the film offers a series of moments, some mundane such as digging trenches, building sandbag walls and surveying harsh mountainsides tend to do, and others jarringly singular.

The Tacoma Urbanist asks, "Will the City of Tacoma be able and willing to get parking rates right?" Will a price raise the perceived value of downtown? We'll see.

Spaceworks Tacoma gives a by the book Holly Senn report before tonight's reception for The Greater Tacoma Community Foundation Art Award Exhibit, 2008 – 2010.

Another offshore oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico exploded. Lovely.

OMG: Stephen Hawking says God didn't create the universe.

LINK: You probably need a happy hour today

Filed under: Morning Spew, News To Us, Tacoma,

September 2, 2010 at 12:18pm

KEEPING UP WITH THE COFFEEHOUSES: Forza Off Cirque Drive West

BECAUSE WE NOW HAVE A MILLION IN THE AREA >>>

Neighborhood: University Place

Address/Phone: 4828 Bridgeport Way W., 253.564.9112

Website: Click here

Hours: 4:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday-Friday, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. Sunday

Noshing/Sipping: In a glass display case, sandwiches, salads, breakfast sandwiches, yogurt and baked goods await your pressed nose. The sandwiches and salads are straight out of the Europa Bistro kitchen. My favorite, the Al Capone with proscuito, mozzarella, artichoke heart, basil, olive oil on sliced Como bread, bursts with flavor. Asked for it grilled. It's to kill for. I believe a full stick of butter went into the making of the bacon breakfast sandwich. Schwartz Bros. Bakery out of Seattle supplies the pastries, including bagged bagels.

Espresso is delicious. Their creamy, Mocha Italia tastes chocolaty but never sickly sweet, and the cappuccinos and lattes are rich and full flavored. The Venetian Latte with its brown sugar sends me to heaven without the crash. They also serve juices, sodas, tea and wine. Yup, wine.

Standard Cup o' Joe: $1.60-$2.10

Bean Source: Signature bean blend from Dillano's Coffee Roasters in Sumner

Crowd: I think it's the world headquarters for the Mother/Daughter Beauty Pageant. Seriously, at least in the morning, moms and their 20-something daughters have the full attention of the neighboring Precision Tune employees, that guy who's always there with his laptop, guys just back from a run and, surprisingly, the two elderly women knitting in front of the fireplace, which isn't turned on yet.

Soundtrack: Sometimes there's music in the morning, but it's too low to hear over the people chatting.

WiFi: Yes

Bonus Points: Choose glass pours and bottles of Novelty Hill-Januik, Stina's and Woodhouse Family Cellars off the wine board in the back. Also, Forza is giving away a scooter. Fill out the slip of paper before Sept. 15, then cross your fingers. You can enter once a day.

The House:

Forza, in Italian, signifies "Strength." You'll need every bit of your strength trying to pull into this Forza between 7:30 and 8:30 a.m. on weekdays. The traffic stacks up in front of the parking lot in which is already filled with cars waiting for a tune-up. Plus, the cars idling in the drive-thru line overflow out onto Cirque Drive West. It's mayhem! Inside, during this hour, the baristas play bumper cars with their bodies.

The other hours of the day, this Forza - part of a local franchise founded by Brad Carpenter - has a mellower vibe. Golden hues and dark woodsdominate the long, narrow space. It's on the small side compared to the other Forza locations.

My guess if I hurled a Schwartz Bros. bagel at one of the barista's heads, I'd still receive a smile. Forza Coffee Company has received awards for its customer service. At this location, the staff has their sights on the next award.

September 2, 2010 at 2:16pm

THE WEEKEND HUSTLE: Tugs, steers and thrusting

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

WEATHER REPORT

Friday: Sunny and clear, hi 76, lo 54

Saturday: Chance of rain 30 percent, hi 65, lo 52

Sunday: Mostly cloudy, hi 63, lo 50

>>> FRIDAY, SEPT. 3-SUNDAY, SEPT. 5: OLYMPIA HARBOR DAYS

You poor, tragic thing. Your friends have all but deserted you for a fabulous holiday weekend at the ocean, and you are stranded, Banarama-style, here in the South Sound. The only way to exact revenge is to have a better time than those so-called friends. This calls for some quality time at the Olympia Harbor Days festival.  Stupid ocean.  Stupid friends.

For 900 years the city of Olympia has hosted Harbor Days.  While Harbor Days doesn't sound overly exciting considering every coastal town seems to have such a festival, this weekend's event has something unique - tugboats.  Apparently, like the swallows returning to Capistrano, tugboats do the same in Olympia.  There are vintage, working and retired tugs to get your heart aflutter.  And if that doesn't get your life vest in a bunch, Sunday also features tugboat races. 

  • Port Plaza, 5-8 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, near the Farmers Market and Thurston Avenue, Olympia, 800.788.TUGS


>>> SATURDAY, SEPT. 4-MONDAY, SEPT. 6: ROY PIONEER RODEO

The Roy Pioneer Rodeo is not just a rodeo - although it bills its cowboyin' competition as the "Daddy of ‘em All." During the event, the rodeo also features a cowboy breakfast, beer garden, spaghetti dinner feed, homemade bake sale, clowns, an Old West town and, at night, concerts.  But ultimately, RPR is the rodeo, complete with hokey jokes - "If Texas is so great, why are Texans always somewhere else?" - and clowns, as well as steer wrestling, barrel racing, saddle-bronc riding, and that PETA favorite, calf roping. While the standard rodeo events occupy the center of the arena, a series of acts parade in front of the grandstands, including a royal rodeo court.

  • Downtown Roy, gates at noon, 1:30 p.m. start, $4-$10


>>> SATURDAY, SEPT. 4: CONTRA DANCE

Polish up your dancing shoes and join in the whimsy of a Contra Dance, hosted by the South Bay Grange. What is a Contra dance, you say?  Contras have roots in traditional American dancing, with strong British Isles and French-Canadian influences. A caller, working with a group of live musicians, guides new and experienced dancers alike through a variety of moves, teaching each dance before it is actually done to the music. The patterns are similar to those of old-time square dancing, yet have nothing whatsoever to do with country line dancing. Zilch. And every 30 seconds or so, according to the dance, a different person of the opposite sex is thrust into your arms, and there's nothing wrong with that.

  • South Bay Grance, 8-11 p.m., 3918 Sleater-Kinney Road NE, Olympia, 425.223.2176


>>> WHERE OUR STAFF IS GOING

MATT DRISCOLL Editor and Life Coach
Hey now! Hey now! My wife is back!
After enduring an entire month of single parenting and bachelor cooking, my wife returned from Germany this week and we'll definitely be celebrating in style. Yeah, that's right! We'll go to Costco, make a trip to JC Penny's for some kid clothes, and maybe even clean the house of all the grime I let build up over August. It's gonna be awesome!

NIKKI TALOTTA Feature Writer
I'm leaving to Vegas on Tuesday, so this weekend is going to be a whirlwind of domestic duties. It will be hailing laundry and raining dishes. Bills will be blustering by and there will be a shit-storm as I scrub toilets and clean the chicken coop. But soon, the forecast calls for easy breezy, calm and sunny with poolside reading and writing followed by warm nights and sultry sins.

JOE IZENMAN Music/Theater Critic
Bumbershoot. Bumbershoot. Bumbershoot.

KRIS BLONDIN Food/Wine Writer
Since Dustin had to WORK on our 9th anniversary, we are spending all three damn days at the lake. Eatin', drinkin, boatin' and NOT thinkin'. Word.

JENNIFER JOHNSON: Lifestyle/Leisure Writer
My Birthday Birthday Birthday is today, which means daytime bliss at Olympus Spa followed by dinner cooked by my ultra-wonderful boyfriend DJ Bilori. Going to a local high school football game Friday night to show some team spirit! Saturday, I'll drop by Sanford & Son flea market after a bike ride that will surely leave me weak and feeling 35. Saturday night, I'll bust out my funkiest dance moves for a little more birthday fun at Tempest to the beats of DJ dAb. Sunday will be a definite day of rest.

REV. ADAM MCKINNEY Features Writer
This weekend is all about celebrating my best friends' birthdays, which basically entails drinking for several days. The climax will come on Saturday, with a huge birthday blowout house show, featuring performances by some local bands. If I were to go out on the town, though, I'd aim for the New Frontier on Saturday. Abraham and Santee looks like a pretty good bet.

CHRISTIAN CARVAJAL: Theater Critic
I'm driving up to Lakewood to see Sleuth, even though I clearly can't afford it. Oh, by the way, credit card company, feel free to contract the hantavirus and die in a hot puddle of your own effluvia. Seriously. XOXO.

ALEC CLAYTON: Visual Arts Critic
 Revising the screenplay of The Backside of Nowhere, which will be presented in a reading at a Tacoma theater, time and place to be announced.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

September 3, 2010 at 8:00am

5 Things To Do: Ships and lattes, theater and fake rocks for chicks, scary flick at The Grand ...

Look at paintings of ships while sipping a mocha inside the Amocat Cafe beginning at 4:30 p.m.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 3, 2010 >>>

1. Stuart M. Dempster opens his month-long ship-themed paintings show at Amocat Café with a reception from 4:30-7:30 p.m.

2. It's Ladies Night at Edgeworks Climbing in Tacoma. Beginning at 5 p.m. the climbing gym in Tacoma discounts its prices for the ladies.

3. In Jeffrey Hatcher's 2008 adaptation Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde play at Harlequin Productions, Hyde is represented by four actors, one of them female, but Jekyll's a different actor altogether. It's a challenging idea, which Harlequin Production's director Scot Whitney does a fine job of communicating quickly. Read our full review here. Tonight's bonus: It's Ladies Night featuring complimentary champagne and chocolate in the lobby from 7-7:30 p.m., followed by the play at 8 p.m.

4. Horror films have carved out a bloody niche for themselves on the badlands of mainstream cinema. So it makes sense that The Grand Cinema will begin making screen space for this oft-overlooked genre with a new monthly series beginning tonight at 9:09 p.m. with the gruesome Italian-made schlockfest, The Beyond.

5. The Dirty Change up and the Revengers perform at 10 p.m. inside O'Malley's Irish Pub.

LINK: More events in The Weekend Hustle

LINK: New movies open today

LINK: Concert go on sale today

September 3, 2010 at 8:17am

NIGHT MOVES: More live than you'll ever be

Studebaker John & The Hawks play Jazzbones tonight.

THE WEEKLY VOLCANO RECOMMENDS TONIGHT >>>

Hell's Kitchen Tacoma - Downtown. The Hollowpoints, Dylan Summers, Red White & Die, Noise, Walk The Plank. 21+. 8 pm. NC.

Jazzbones Tacoma - Sixth Avenue. Studebaker John & The Hawks. 21+. 8 pm. $8.Mandolin Cafe Tacoma - Central. Ian McFeron, Alisa Milner. All Ages. 8:30 pm.

O'Malley's Irish Pub Tacoma - Sixth Avenue. The Dirty Change Up, Revengers. 21+. 10 p.m.

Stonegate Pizza Tacoma - South. Junkyard Jane Reunion Show, the four-piece local favorite reunites with sax player Sue Orfield and trombonist Randy Oxford. All Ages. 9 pm.

  • Junkyard Jane is one of the hardest working bands around, having blues-rocked up just about every joint this area has to offer. The band also has an impressive history, and many awards to its name. Junkyard Jane's history includes renowned trombonist Randy Oxford and saxophonist Sue Orfield, both of whom were part of the band for the acclaimed Washboard Highway record. Friday, Oxford and Orfield will reunite with Billy Stoops, Leanne Trevalyan and the gang for what should be an infectious show at Stonegate Pizza. – Michael Swan

Waterstreet Cafe and Bar Olympia- Downtown. Ocho Pies. Afro-Caribbean music. All Ages. 7 pm. NC.

LINK: More Live music tonight in the South Sound

Filed under: Night Moves, Music, Olympia, Tacoma,

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