BREAKING EVEN IN SACRAMENTO >>>

*Saturday, April 9

Rainiers win 4-2, look to close the deal today

Last night (Friday, April 8), the Tacoma Rainiers won their second ballgame of the year. They did so in somewhat dramatic fashion. With the game tied in the top of the ninth inning, catcher Jose Yepez hit a single to drive in Carlos Peguero and Mike Wilson. 

The game was only Yepez's second game with the Rainiers. Two games in and he's already hitting in clutch situations. Is it too early to predict he will be the greatest catcher to ever don a Rainiers uniform? We think not.

The Rainiers look to win the series against the River Cats today at 1:05 p.m. The Rainiers could win the game and win the series against the River Cats. Or, they could lose the game and tie the series against the River Cats. 

The first outcome is clearly superior. 

*Sunday, April 10

Rainiers lose, River Cat series ends in tie

After winning last night's game (April 9) on a ninth-inning single by Carlos Peguero, the Rainiers fell to the Sacramento River Cats today by a score of 11-3.

It's a bummer the Rainiers couldn't win their first series of the season. But with something like 140 games left to play there's still plenty of baseball left. Thank god, too. We haven't had a chance to eat any Ball Park Franks or Cracker Jacks yet.

Quick notes on the game

-This was Chaz Roe's first start as a Rainier. He gave up seven runs in the second inning. Let's blame this one on the first game jitters, shall we?

-Matt Tuiasosopo had three hits in three at bats, bringing his batting average up to .333. What is it called when a person is dangerously obsessed with a number? Because Tui is clearly obsessed with three.

-Designated hitter Mike Wilson hit a solo homerun in the fourth inning. It was the Rainiers' first homerun of the young season.  Here's hoping he hits one more each game from here on out. That's doable, right?

The Rainiers head down to Fresno today to face the Fresno Grizzlies at Chuckchansi Park. The Grizzlies are also 2-2 on the year. Since both teams are looking to get on the winning side of things, it should be a vicious battle.

ONLINE CHATTER >>>

Today's comment actually comes from Van A Hurst ... an emailer so incensed over a recent Ragnet crime column that he/she felt compelled to speak out.

Hurst writes,

I find it interesting that you folks bash the residents of Kent. Yet you are based in Lakewood, The only city in Washington that has the same name as an unincorporated area in Snohomish county. Maybe you should look a little closer to home before you infer that being a resident of a particular city is lesser than you are. You really should pay more attention to your local news if you want to find issues to comment about. I see a bunch more camo hats in Lakewood than I ever see in Kent.

Enjoy your glass house.

TUESDAY, APRIL 12, 2011 >>>

1. Did you realize Tacoma has a "developing culture of Letterpress & Book Arts?" If you didn't, all the more reason to attend today's panel discussion with experts including Jessica Spring, Lance Kagey, sweet pea Flaherty, Jane Carlin and Rochell Monner. All of it, of course, leads up to the "7^th annual Letterpress and Book Arts Extravaganza Wayzgoose" on Sunday.

2. With a name like WALK LIVE! you know the twice weekly fitness get together at Sprinker Recreation Center designed for "all walks of life" (get it?) has to be off the hook, right? Of course. Lucky for us, WALK LIVE! happens every Tuesday and Thursday. He bad news is preregistration is required. More info can be found here.

3. DJ Adam Ant spins during Twisted Tuesday at Lady Luck Cowgirl Up in Parkland. Or, if that's not your musical cup of tea, check out the Volcano's extensive live local music listings here.

4. It's Comedy Night, with Ruben Barron and Leif Skyving at the Red Bicycle Bistro and Sushi Bar on Vashon. Is it worth a ferry trip? You be the judge ...

5. The Diversity Film Festival continues today at the Grand Cinema in Tacoma. For a complete look at arts events around the South Sound, try here.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

TACOMA FILMMAKER COMMITTED TO THE IMAGE >>>

Since the implementation of audio recording for film eighty-odd years ago, the world has embraced talkies and rarely looked back. A contemporary silent may have trouble finding fans in this sound-saturated age, but that hasn't stopped a few intrepid locals from dabbling in an obsolete practice. And sometimes the experiment pays off - David Derickson's Mr. Radio for instance makes up for its dearth of dialogue with old-school charm. Tickling audiences at last year's Tacoma Film Festival, it now ventures north to take its place in the upcoming Seattle International Film Festival.

Ronald Lagman has similarly taken a purely visual approach with his dramatic short Committed. In it one married couple enjoys a romantic evening that takes an unexpected turn. (Fellow screenwriter Rick Walters, whom I profiled in Jan., plays the husband.)

With Committed, Lagman puts into practice concepts he learned while in film school. "For me, I wanted to challenge myself to tell the story visually, without dialogue, because that's what film is all about," he says.

Without the crutch of exposition and all the verbal cues we normally lean on, this filmmaker challenges us to drop our collective role as audience (the word's root based on listening) and become viewers - to sense and make sense of every frame through sight alone.

Lagman hopes to have his film finished by June 15 - The Grand Cinema's final deadline for Tacoma Film Fest submissions. 

ANNOUNCER:  Since opening in August, Gig Harbor's cute rooster-themed Red Rooster Cafe on the water has seen some changes, and there are more to come. They have applied for a license to serve beer and wine. A cook at the café shares that more crêpes, dinner selections and hours will be added along with additional seating on the large waterfront deck by June. Red Rooster currently offers breakfast and lunch.

To read Jake and Jason DePaul's full review, click here.

[Red Rooster Café, 3313 Harborview Drive, Gig Harbor, 253.514.8175]

THE WAR EXPERIENCE PROJECT AT 906 BROADWAY >>>

I heard about this show from Lisa Kinoshita from Mineral Gallery.  It's part of the amazing, on-going Spaceworks Tacoma, and it's called The War Experience Project.  See it at 906 Broadway in downtown Tacoma. There will be an open house this weekend, April 15-17, and works from the project will be on view there until April 30.

The War Experience Project is the brainchild (and heart child) of artist and Iraq War veteran Rick Lawson.

Lawson says that after returning home from combat duty in Balad, Iraq in 2004-2005 he had a hard time answering questions from friends about what the experience had been like. He took a humanities course at Western Washington University in which they studied the 11^th century Bayeux Tapesty, which portrayed the Battle of Hastings. That study was the inspiration for this project. As quoted on the Spaceworks Tacoma website, Lawson says he dug his uniform from "the deepest, darkest part of my closet so I wouldn't have to access it." He painted his memories of war on the back of his uniform, and - finding the experience to be cathartic - he enlisted other war veterans to paint their memories.

The ongoing project includes art workshops for veterans. Lawson says the workshops, which are conducted in a private setting, offer "an intuitive outlet for soldiers who find it difficult to verbalize their experience."

Following a three-month residence at the Spaceworks space at 906 Broadway, a full exhibition of The War Experience Project will open on Veterans Day, Nov. 11 with a full day of activities. After that it is expected to go on a world tour.

"The uniforms are devastating; there is a lot of personal writing on them, and walking through the gallery has the effect of listening to a long, sad murmur of conversation," Kinoshita says.

She adds: "I've never seen anything like it. Some of the veterans came back for return sessions and you can see the progression of their thinking as the outer layers and emotional defenses surrounding their experience are pulled back; it is rending. If you go, ask to see the three pieces by a woman named Patty - wow - she started out with sort of cliché imagery, then went to some very dark, deep places."

For more information check out the official Spaceworks Tacoma blog.

Thanks to Lisa Kinoshita for steering me to this, and watch for my blog about Kinoshita in this spot next week.

LOCAL GROUP AIMS TO CREATE TEEN PHILANTHROPISTS >>>

Founded by Michelle McLean and daughters Amber and Danielle, Peace Out is an after school group that aims to help teens get hands-on experience raising funds and awareness for nonprofit organizations. In other words, the definition of Peace Out is the proposal to help abolish (fill in blank here: hunger, domestic violence, animal cruelty, etc.).

"Everyone is passionate about something different," says Amber McLean. These passions are reflected in the nonprofits participating with Peace Out, aiding causes from homelessness, animals, art, cancer - you name it. If a teen walks through the door with a cause they feel compelled to aid, Peace Out will find an outlet for it through a local nonprofit.

To read the full story by Jackie Fender, click here.

THIS WEEK ... >>>

Thing: Homemade natural soap

Price: $4 per bar

Made possible by: Jada-Moon Gridley

Who also makes: Massage candles

And: Lip balms

And: Shampoo bars

And: Shaving bars

And: Lotion bars

Not found in: Drinking bars

Or: Behind prison bars

Not to be confused with: Candy bars

To read this week's full "Person, Place or Thing with Steph DeRosa" click here.

HYPE BLAH HYPE BLAH >>>

Last Sunday I made time in my busy life (see: buying bunk beds and comparing high efficiency washer and dryers) to stop by the Northwest Convergence Zone podcast (you know, it spawned NWCZRadio.com). I'm supposed to make this pilgrimage to the "Man Cave" once a month, but lately it's been far more irregular. It seems the relationship may need some Activia.

Anyway, when I stop by the Northwest Convergence Zone we talk sports, because what the hell else would we talk about on a podcast dedicated to shining a light on our area's countless talented musicians, entertainers and artist?

Exactly.

Here's a link to the blabbering. I'm the dumb sounding one. The Gimmer is the mustachioed sounding one. Darrell Fortune is the one who sounds like he's wearing cargo shorts. Voxxy just sounds like Voxxy ... which is quite alright by me.

ONLINE CHATTER >>>

Today's comment comes from BonBon45 in regard to our recent story on efforts by Tacoma City Councilmembers David Boe and Ryan Mello to stop a street-level parking lot from being built at 12^th and Pacific Avenue in downtown Tacoma.

BonBon45 writes,

Maybe the city could run a competitive process for ideas to fill that space, and David Boe could act as a consultant to a group of bidders and then try to steer the council towards awarding the project to his group - just like he did with Cheney Stadium. I am a little tired of many who post here acting like, because he is an architect, he is the "expert" at urban planning and will be Tacoma's saviour.