Weekly Volcano Blogs: Walkie Talkie Blog

Posts made in: October, 2011 (170) Currently Viewing: 91 - 100 of 170

October 15, 2011 at 10:42am

Today: Turn on to hella efficient lightbulbs

IT'S ON! >>>

We know our demographic. We know the masses reading this are going to get a huge charge to learn Tacoma Power hosts events designed to promote energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs (yay!), including exchanging CFL light bulbs for old, non-energy efficient bulbs (double yay!). Today at Home Depot on Center Street in Tacoma, Tacoma Power will offer attendees the ability to exchange up to five incandescent bulbs for life CFLs, buy qualified CFLs and get one free (up to 10) and enjoy "fun activities related to energy-efficient lighting."

[Home Depot, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., 4602 Center St., Tacoma]

Filed under: Green Crush, Tacoma,

October 15, 2011 at 2:38pm

Now Open: The Blue Octopus

Kerry Cole sells her greeting cards at The Blue Octopus in Tacoma.

LET'S GET READY FOR HALLOWEEN >>>

A new art gallery is open in Tacoma. We repeat, a new art gallery is open in Tacoma. This is not a test. The Blue Octopus has taken the leap, and celebrates its home at the Middle Floor Merchants Thursday during Third Thursday Artwalk.

The focus of Kerry Cole's Octopus gallery is affordable, handcrafted drawings, paintings, cards and prints - currently largely Cole's talents. She has other artists on the docket, including men's grooming products (hand crafted by the bearded lady, Madame Scodioli), jewelry and up-cycled lighting.

Cole began her art career drawing while studying Fashion Design at Portland State University.  She had her first professional show after two years of study, and an invitation to show in New York followed later that same year. By mingling figures from reality with myth, her paintings and drawings have an allegorical feel. She incorporates Fauvist color schemes into her works.

"I will be offering an event once a quarter involving a catered lunch, wine tasting and a 90-120 minute class where people can let their hair down and learn how to paint, draw or do collage in a relaxed, fun atmosphere," says Cole. "First event will be Nov. 12."

Cole shakes with glee when she discusses the Le Noir Bizarre event Oct. 30 at Sanford and Son.

"It's a huge steampunk event with romantic Gothic art, fashion, culture and entertainment on the eve of Halloween. I have a lot of Goth/creepy images up right now," she explains.

The Gothic fashion store down the Hall from the Octopus spearheads the event. Read up on Julia Jones' store here.

The Blue Octopus is open Wednesday-Sunday, but Cole hopes everyone stops by this Thursday.

"I will bribe people with wine and appetizers," she says.

A new art gallery, is open. In Tacoma.

[The Blue Octopus, noon to 6 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, Sanford and Son Antiques, Middle Floor, 743 Broadway, Tacoma, website]

Filed under: Arts, Events, Fashion, Tacoma,

October 15, 2011 at 5:17pm

Tacoma has been occupied again, peacefully

Fr. Bill "Bix" Bichsel and Chiara Wood joined the Occupy Tacoma march this afternoon.

OCCUPY TACOMA >>>

The banks get bailed out, We got sold out. Whose streets? Our streets. The streets of Tacoma. Occupy Tacoma.

Little by little, the surging national movement known as Occupy Wall Street is gaining momentum and adherents in Tacoma, as a was indicated by the gathering today.

Around 442 people gathered in People's Park on Hilltop Tacoma around 1 p.m. before marching through the street of Tacoma in solidarity. The peaceful, diverse crowd waved signs and chanted past government offices, the jail, investment firms, stopping at Wells Fargo Plaza and ended their journey at Tollefson Plaza for speeches and bonding.

"This event will grow. I'm glad I came," said Chiara Wood, a Tacoma business owner. "I'm a small business owner with no benefits, no retirement and on the verge of being eligible for no Medicare. I am the 99 percent and an American patriot."

The message was loud and clear that Occupy Tacoma is an organic, self-organized movement. And those with the loudest voices encouraged everyone to gather on the Occupy Tacoma Facebook.

LINK: More photos from today's Occupy Tacoma

Filed under: Community, Tacoma,

October 15, 2011 at 11:35pm

FREELOADERS: Dead Edition

The Tacoma Art Museum celebrates the dead.

THIS WEEK'S BEST FREEBIES OCT. 17-23 >>>

Let's think about this. Dia de los Muertos goes down Nov. 1-2 and everyone will have Day of the Dead stories on Nov. 3. Some will be wild; some will be amusing, and - depending on what sort of crowd you run with - many could be incoherent. Yours should be different. Because, you know, everybody should be different. You celebrate Day of the Dead starting Monday all the way through Nov. 2. You call it 17 Days of the Dead. Here are a few suggestions that should knock you dead. You're welcome.

MONDAY, OCT. 17: You know the story: Ebenezer Scrooge is a miser who couldn't give a fig about his fellow man. He's dismissive toward his nephew, his only remaining family member; abusive toward his impoverished employee, Bob Cratchit; and just a miserable wretch in general. In the days leading up to Christmas 1843, Scrooge is haunted by his deceased business partner, Jacob Marley. This is not a social call. Marley - doomed to forever walk the earth alone, in death as he did in life - warns Scrooge that he has one chance to mend his wicked ways, and so Scrooge will be visited by three ghosts who will teach him the lessons of Christmas. You were born to play Marley. Give the Tacoma Little Theatre a call right now at 253.272.2281 and sign up for Monday's night's auditions for A Christmas Carol.

TUESDAY, OCT. 18: The My Lai massacre, which took place on the morning of March 16, 1968, was a watershed in the history of modern American combat, and a turning point in the public perception of the Vietnam War. Investigative journalist Seymour M. Hersh is best known for exposing the cover-up of the My Lai massacre, as well as the recent series he wrote on the Abu Ghraib prison scandal in The New Yorker. Hersh will lecture on his career at 7 p.m. in the University of Washington-Tacoma's Philip Hall. It's free to attend, but advance registration is required.

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 19: Are microplastics floating in the ocean killing organisms when ingested? What happens when microplastics enter the food chain? Dr. Joel Baker, science director at Center for Urban Waters in Tacoma, will share the answers, for free, in a 7 p.m. lecture at the WET Science Center in Olympia.

THURSDAY, OCT. 20: You've always had a fascination with the Grim Reaper and art. Why not combine the two? Once again the Tacoma Art Museum is partnering with Centro Latino and Proyecto MoLÉ once again to celebrate Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), which includes the annual construction of altars or ofrendas (offerings) dedicated to the spirits of the deceased. During Third Thursday Artwalk - with free admission to TAM from 5-8 p.m. - the altar artist will discuss their works from 6-7 p.m.

FRIDAY, OCT. 21: OK, you have "Wanted Dead or Alive" by Bon Jovi down pat in front of your mirror. It's time to go all the way - a live karaoke band. At 8:30 p.m. every Friday night at the Varsity Grill, the Rock-Bot band backs karaoke singers on more than 450 songs. Who knows, maybe you'll knock 'em dead. Or die on stage.

SATURDAY, OCT. 22: The Fireside Story League will tell spooky stories about the dead the whole family will enjoy at 2 p.m. inside the Bonney Lake Pierce County Library.

SUNDAY, OCT. 23: Tacoma's favorite Victorian-style glass conservatory offers a botanical montage of madness, paralysis and death Tuesday through Sunday. The exhibit Wicked Plants: An Exhibit of the Deliciously Dark Side of the Plant Kingdom features deadly flora that would please a homicidal 19th-century botanist. The W.W. Seymour Botanical Conservatory exhibit is inspired by Amy Stewart's bestseller Wicked Plants: The Weed that Killed Lincoln's Mother and Other Botanical Atrocities, a much-needed compendium of plants that rack up body counts. Go see it from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., if you dare.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

October 16, 2011 at 5:39am

5 Things To Do Today: Silver Snakes, Bird Lovers' Brunch, Gig Harbor Film Festival, Dia de los Muertos and more ...

The Silver Snakes will rock The New Frontier Lounge tonight.

SUNDAY, OCT. 16, 2011 >>>

1. Southern California indie rockers Silver Snakes pull up to The New Frontier Lounge at 9 p.m. for a show with Hands of Toil and Kicking Spit. The Silver Snakes list bands Lack, Hum, Cave In and Recover as influential in its sound.

2. The 8th Annual Bird Lovers' Weekend continues at the Museum of Glass with today's activities opening big with the Bird Lovers' Brunch from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Enjoy a complimentary brunch and no-host bar and be among the first to purchase select Birds by Toikka specimens created in the Museum of Glass Hot Shop. Tero Välimaa will be present to sign these one-of-a-kind birds. Free for Museum of Glass members, regular admission for non-members. 

3. The Gig Harbor Film Festival ends today with a full schedule of films including Homecoming (10 a.m.), Christopher Woods' Gray Eagles (12:30 p.m.), Randy Sparks' A Glitch in the System (1:30 p.m.), True Vision (3:45 p.m.) and many more screening at the Galaxy Theatre Uptown.

4. The Tacoma Art Museum's Dia de los Muertos celebration officially kicks off this morning when artists Fulgencio Lazo and Jose Orantes, with help from a team of professionals and volunteers, create two large tapetes, or sand paintings, in the museum's lobby beginning at 10 a.m. Also, community members will be installing altars remembering loved ones and raising social awareness.

5. Face it. In this economy, you're not headed to Eastern Europe anytime soon. The Tacoma Concert Band knows this, and bless its heart, will bring a little bit of Prague and Budapest to you. At 2:30 p.m. inside the Pantages Theater the TCB will tour Europe, with Czech, Austrian, Hungarian, and American music, plus three soloists:  Jason Gilliam, euphonium; Sheryl Clark, saxophone; and Bill Dyer, trombone.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Catch a movie

October 17, 2011 at 11:38am

Words and photos: Nosh League at The Melting Pot

The Nosh League dipped into fondue Thursday, Oct. 13 at The Melting Pot in downtown Tacoma.

DIP INTO SEDUCTION ... AND CHEESE AND CHOCOLATE >>> 

The Melting Pot in Tacoma was the Nosh Leagues' next outing. The drive wasn't as terrible as I imagined on a Thursday night at 5:30. The parking, however, was not pristine, circling around Tacoma streets trying desperately to find a spot NOT next to a stop sign or fire hydrant.

Of course, the parking lot designated for The Melting Pot was completely full, so I settled for the next best thing, a not-so-creepy alley. Soon I found myself venturing into a dimly lit restaurant.

The air of the old building was much more private and secluded than the last Nosh League gathering at Affairs Cafe, but the room quickly filled with guests apprehensively waiting (and by guests I, of course, mean myself) to dip into the delicious cheese trio fondue, the first course.

As the only Nosh Leaguer under 21, I was denied the wine. Instead, I ordered blackberry lemonade, which with much delight, was served with real blackberries crushed into the beverage.

This was my first time eating at The Melting Pot. Upon entering, I was prepared for the dipping pot of cheese fondue, due to hearsay from friends. The arrangement was an interesting dynamic; everyone at the four-person tables dipped into the same pot. I was sitting with many strangers. The waitress said teasingly that it was nice to be close to your guests when dining here; fortunately I have no boundaries when it comes to strangers!

Soon various raw veggies, apples and bread appeared on the table in front of me, along with a napkin filled with an assortment of jabbing devices.

Drowning the first piece of bread into the pot of cheese I almost drooled. I love cheese on almost everything. There is no judgment here for this cheese lover as I proceeded to mop up the excess cheese on the plate.

There were only two courses being served, so I wanted to get my fill of each. As I moved to the other types of food, visions of the raw veggies flying through the air filled my mind as I tried desperately to skew a carrot.

Looking around, I noted the 41 people crammed into a room meant for 40, the largest Nosh League gathering in its 14-month life.

During the intermission between courses, the prizes were handed out. This round: DVDs and tickets to Warren Miller's latest flick, a handful of Stink Cheese and Meat gift cards, and an XL Cat Daddy T-shirt were raffled (I'm told this is seriously awesome moonshine! Unfortunately, I can't verify this claim). But of course Irony got Her way and the only underage female got the extra large whisky T-shirt. The one time I win something! (It was a nice gift for my father.)

Before we were served the second course, chocolate fondue (my favorite!), we were given a little history lesson about the origin of fondue and the Melting Pot.

Apparently Switzerland invented fondue in the 18th century, and the first Melting Pot popped up in 1975. Soon after, the franchise began to grow in 1979. Now there are more than 100 locations, including International locations.

Tentatively listening, I realized I pay closer attention during a history lesson when it is discussing food I'm about to consume ... especially when the next dish is chocolate fondue with yummy treats to dip within.

I sensed no fear when poking into the cakes, brownies, and rice crispy treats. Just sheer bliss.

By the end of the night, my stomach was completely filled with cheesy, chocolaty goodness. It is a restaurant with much pleasure and no regrets. My, oh my do I love Nosh League food.

Next month's Nosh League event hasn't been confirmed. Keep an eye out on its Facebook page.

LINK: More photos from The Melting Pot gathering

October 17, 2011 at 5:18pm

COMMENT OF THE DAY: Making connections

ONLINE CHATTER >>>

Today's comment comes from Sybil Ross, in response to our Sexy Issue profile of last year's "Sexiest Deliver Person," John Ledington

Ross writes,

Funny....I had a dream about you last night, you must be somewhere in my psyche from over 30 years ago. Looked you up and found this. Congratulations! An honor not many share.

Filed under: Comment of the Day,

October 18, 2011 at 9:47am

5 Things To Do Today: Seymour Hersh, Billy Farmer & Diamond Experience, Tightwad Tuesday and more ...

Award-winning journalist Seymour Hersh will speak at the University of Washington Tacoma tonight.

TUESDAY, OCT. 18, 2011 >>>

1. As part of both the University of Washington's Grad School 2011-2012 public lecture series, and the Tacoma-based Paulsen Lecture Series, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour M. Hersh will visit UW Tacoma tonight. Hersh, who writes about the military and national security, is best known for his work exposing the My Lai massacre during the Vietnam War. Writing predominantly for the New Yorker, Hersh has also spilled plenty of ink over the Iraq War and the Abu Ghraib prison scandal.

2. Billy Farmer's Diamond Experience show will be staged tonight at the Red Wind Casino. This is definitely one event that should make your Tuesday less mundane.

3. It's Tightwad Tuesday and Casey's birthday at Tacoma's iconic Hell's Kitchen today. Check out bands Sok & the Faggots, South 11th, Absence of Grace and Deathbed Confessions while throwing a few cheap ones back.

4. In this week's Volcano, which drops Thursday (of course), visual arts critic Alec Clayton reviews Beyond Crayons & Finger Painting 2.0 Youth Art Exhibition at B2 Fine Art Gallery. Spoiler alert: there's a ton of good stuff. See for yourself today.

5. See Tucker & Dale vs. Evil tonight at Tacoma's Grand Cinema. Here's what Volcano film critic Rev. Adam McKinney had to say about the film.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music tonight

October 18, 2011 at 10:43am

Walk in the park with Mr. Parks

Metro Parks Board Commissioner Erik Hanberg / courtesy photo

Q & A WITH METRO PARKS COMMISSIONER ERIK HANBERG >>>

If you dropped in on Wright Park Friday afternoon, you would have seen swarms of teens battling in a high school regional cross-country meet, kids climbing on the new playground while grandmas chatted, gussied-up seniors having their portraits snapped under trees, middle-aged joggers circling, and two guys standing in the middle of all this, dressed for a business meeting – Metro Parks Commissioner Erik Hanberg and Pappi Swarner.

Pappi tossed questions at Hanberg, who's running for re-election to Metro Parks Board Commissioner Position 5. Read Pappi's full story here.

As a side note, Hanberg will be the host emcee at Doyle's Public House's Knowledge Night tomorrow at 8 and 9 p.m. Expect environmental and park-related trivia questions with your Guinness.

Filed under: Green Crush, Tacoma, Politics,

October 18, 2011 at 12:30pm

MOVIE BIZ BUZZ: Feel the love - and music

Atafeh (Nikohl Boosheri, left) and Shireen (Sarah Kazemy) share a special bond in "Circumstance," playing now at The Grand Cinema. COURTESY: cinereach.org

CIRCUMSTANCE PLAYING NOW AT THE GRAND CINEMA >>>

A feeling of paranoia arrives early in writer-director Maryam Keshavarz's film, Circumstance, and it never leaves. We see two young women - the beautiful Atafeh (Nikohl Boosheri) and the beautiful Shireen (Sarah Kazemy) - giggling and playfully pushing each other on a sidewalk. Their intimacy means friendship, but suggests more: these teenagers are in love. Suddenly we watch them through the grainy lens of a security camera. The movie refuses to explain this moment, and it doesn't have to. We know intuitively this forbidden affair cannot last - the rest is simply waiting for the circumstances of its destruction.

Before that happens, Keshavarz introduces us to her heroines' families and their lives in Tehran, Iran. Atafeh's parents joined the political revolution a generation before but have since settled into a comfortable, bourgeois existence. Their son Mehran returns home after trouble with drugs, converts to Islam and begins working for the local Morality Police. Shireen, meanwhile, no longer has her mother and father (eliminated apparently for political reasons), and now suffers calls from suitors arranged by her uncle. Both girls find escape in the underground club scene - and in each other.

Like Brokeback Mountain, Circumstance rises above its hackneyed love-against-the-odds plot with truly passionate performances from the lead actresses. The film also forces you to feel the fear and tension between characters. No one lets on how much, if anything, they know about Atafeh and Shireen's true relationship. The suspicious glance a mother gives the girls during an otherwise pleasant volleyball game could mean nothing, or mean everything.

Thankfully the film diffuses the building suspense with some lighthearted teenage abandon. The funniest scene shows friends dubbing sex scenes from the American movie Milk into Persian. But like the authorities who sit hidden in the shadows with their cameras, always recording, Circumstance reveals much more than what simply meets the eye.

Last Saturday afternoon's showing of Circumstance concluded with a live Skype chat with the film's composer, Gingger Shankar. (Her last name should strike a chord; her grandfather is famous Indian sitarist Ravi Shankar.) She visited The Grand Cinema back in August for the 25 New Faces Festival, which screened another project she had worked on.

With credits that include The Passion of the Christ and Charlie Wilson's War, Shankar discussed Circumstance's unique musical presence, which blends Iranian and Indian styles and doesn't conform to a traditional soundtrack format. "Music was a character in the film," she says, "(since) Iranian culture is a culture where everybody sings and it's always happy."

The joy behind the music, however, ebbs away as the film's tone darkens, and Shankar traced this trajectory: "At the beginning...there's so much music, and as the story progresses and the brother (Mehran) becomes more fanatical, the music starts dropping out more and more...(and) becomes very discordant."

Circumstance is currently showing at the Grand Cinema.

Filed under: Arts, Screens, Tacoma,

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