WEDNESDAY, JULY 13, 2011 >>>

1. Lakewood Pub and Grill has taken the bar term "meat market" literally with a meat raffle every Wednesday at 5:30 p.m., when patrons drop $10 for 15 tickets to win premium cuts courtesy of Stewart's Meat Market ... or a $25 gas card. Choice wins include stacks of deli cut bacon and steaks, although the jerky packs are bonus. To see who likes this meat raffle, click here.

2. Looks like a good day to check out Parenthetically Speaking: It's Only a Figure of Speech - a new collection of work by San Francisco-based artist Mildred Howard comprising more than 40 glass punctuation marks, proofreading symbols and musical notes at the Museum of Glass from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Howard's inspiration for the work came from At the End, a poem by her friend and Peabody Award-winner Quincy Troupe.

3. Arch rival schoolmates discover they had great-great-great grandfathers at the same Civil War battle - on opposite sides - and that link leads them to finally resolve their own "uncivil war" in local author and storyteller Nick Adams's book, The Uncivil War. Adams will discus his book and his great-great-grandfather's life as a soldier and how it relates to his book at 3 p.m. inside the Puyallup Public Library.

4. Wildside Wine in Tacoma will pour South African wines from 4-7 p.m. for $5.

5. We here at the Weekly Volcano love to call Wednesdays hump day.  There's something so titillating, so promising in the name. And since Jazzbones has free live music every Wednesday night starting at 9 p.m., there's even more reason to feel the grand promise of hump day.  Tonight Zero Gravity Circus will entertain you. Along with free entry, Jazzbones also offers specials on Sessions beer and $1 pizzas. Because nothing goes better with some hump than beer and pizza.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Half-priced wine bottles night