WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

Well Isn't This Just Awesome: Subcontractor sues City of Tacoma over Cheney Stadium project. (News Tribune)

R.I.P. Ruby Gray: Tacoma activist died at age 74. (News Tribune)

Shaken Up: Beware terrorists with big hair and snow globes. (CNN)

Better Hide In An Igloo: Former Miss Iceland Anna Bjorndottir has been identified as the tipster who turned in infamous Boston mob boss Whitey Bulger. (CBS News)

Charlton Heston Is Rolling Over In His Beverly Hills Grave: Californians can no longer openly carry handguns in public. (Politico)

"At it's core, it is the most expensive and creative Film History 101 course of all time": Martin Scorsese's children's movie Hugo reviewed. (Hollywood Reporter)

Photos: Betty Draper Francis rocking a surprisingly frumpy house dress. (Huffington Post)

Occupy: Cars jumping rope. (YouTube)

These eight- to 10-year-olds rock Metallica

YOUR DAILY GUIDE TO THE 2011 TACOMA FILM FESTIVAL >>>

Set entirely in Tacoma with Tacoma cast and crew, A Perfect Life is a wonderfully moody film starring Joe Rosati, Ashley Cozine and Scott C. Brown. But you probably already knew that. We've sung the praise of the film (as have others) plenty of times. This isn't just an, "Awe, look at what those Tacoma folks did," kind of thing. It's a "Holy shit that's a good movie," kind of thing. Tonight at 8:30 p.m. inside The grand Cinema, A Perfect Life will screen at the Tacoma Film Festival.

Rosati plays Brian, a homeless man who wanders into a diner and throws his last bit of change on the table for a cup of coffee. The waitress challenges him: "If there was one thing you could change about your life, what would it be?" He speaks of grandiose plans including being president, or even God. Then he describes the perfect life with a house and career and the perfect wife, saying he wants that perfect woman to come through the door right now. Which she does. And his perfect life comes true, but it is a life he has already lived - and already screwed up.

Before A Perfect Life screens, Sean Armentrout from United Way Pierce County and Troy Christensen from Pierce County Community Connects will speak on homelessness issues in this county.

Today's Highlights

Sound and Vision (4:15 p.m., FREE, Carein Auditorium, University of Washington-Tacoma): This new documentary, in eight parts, explores issues facing the nearshore environment. It is a film about the oceans, told through the stories of people working to clean up, protect, and restore habitat in Puget Sound and beyond.

Made in India (6 p.m., FREE, Carein Auditorium, University of Washington-Tacoma): This feature-length documentary about the human experiences behind the phenomena of "outsourcing" surrogate mothers to India is directed by Rebecca Haimowitz and Vaishali Sinha.

Grit City Flicks (1:45 p.m., The Grand Cinema): These local films also screened yesterday. Read up on them here.

For a complete list of today's films, click here.

LINK: 2011 TFF award winners

LINK: Opening Night Gala photos

LINK: Three stories behind the stories

LINK: Big stars at the Tacoma Film Festival 2011

LINK: Our Tacoma Film Festival preview

LINK: TFF Director Emily Alm's picks

LINK: TFF on twitter 

LINK: TFF website

CRITICAL MASS >>>

Every Tuesday, Spew sifts through the local Internets for arts stories so you don't have to.

The Tacoma Arts Commission's Tacoma Arts blog continues its flashback series in celebration of the 10th anniversary of Art at Work Month, which the official program hit our mailbox this morning - it's beautiful. Anyway, the blog's flashback examines the impact Lynn Di Nino has on Tacoma when she arrived 10 years ago. Hint: the impact has been huge. We fondly remember her arts-centric parties in her Old Town Tacoma garage 10 years ago. Good times. Anyway (no. 2), Tacoma Arts blog examines her Figure Head Roll First Night event, Red Door Project and Suitcase Sightings, as well as grabs her thoughts on the Murray Morgan Bridge. Remember Di Nino protesting the Mega Chess Game in Tollefson Plaza in 2009? She always has the city's back.

Weekly Volcano arts critic Alec Clayton also loves him some theater. On his South Sound Arts etc. blog he posted a preview of The Zoo Story, which opens this Thursday at Tacoma's Toy Boat Theatre.

The Trib's Rosemary Ponnekanti reviews last night's Grit City Flicks at the Tacoma Film Festival. She enjoyed half of them.

Jack Cameron interviews Journey Quest's Matt Vancil for his "5 Question Friday" series on the Tacoma Stories website. Vancil discusses the hopjockey universe.

LINK: This week in free events

READING IS FUNDAMENTAL ... FOR THOSE NOT IN THE STICKS >>>

For nerdy kids, the bookmobile was like the ice cream truck coming down the block. After all, what could be cooler than a library on wheels on a summer day?

Ice cream.

Anyway, according to a Pierce County Library release, the only thing kids in rural and remote areas of the county will be running after will be Pa's moonshine delivieries. Apparently the library system will reduce the number of places the bookmobiles stops by 11, from an average of 15 locations, beginning in 2012.

Read the release after the jump. ...

Read more...

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MUTUALLY ASSURED PRODUCTIONS PREMIERES MISSED CONNECTION IN OLYMPIA SATURDAY>>>

Authors have book readings. Painters have exhibitions. So why don't more indie moviemakers have public showings of their works beyond a film festival setting? Finding an appropriate and affordable venue is just one hurdle to overcome. The real struggle may reside within the artist himself: he thinks he hasn't enough films completed to sufficiently occupy an audience's time, and even if he does, who would care?

Olympia's Mutually Assured Productions doesn't have these problems. Instead the group secured a venue - the West Side Bar and Grill in Olympia - for Saturday, Oct. 15 at 8 p.m. For the past several years Mutually Assured Productions has been quietly at work, adding short after short to its stockpile. This weekend they show off the best in a roughly 90-minute program that includes The Van Job, A Bullet Riddled Atheist and The Man Upstairs, Senator Feelgood, and Pacifica: The Biggest Stick. The evening wraps with a premiere of MAP's latest, Missed Connection.

Directed by Kyle Scott and Ken Carlson, this love-gone-bad story stars Tyler Gianesini as James, whose existence seems to revolve around frequent snack runs to fuel his online gaming obsession. His insufferable roommate, Bryce (played by Matt Geddes), coats every word he utters with sarcasm; you will love to hate this character.

One day in the supermarket aisle he spies Astoria (Kortney Molle), who inspires some pretty funny dream sequences involving chips and beer. (What beautiful woman doesn't?) They soon connect via Lester's List (a stab at Craigslist) and some magic happens ... only the wrong kind.

By mixing sex with a bit of the ol' ultraviolence, Missed Connection shows Mutually Assured in dark territory, a terrain they've mapped out in previous works. But the script also throws in plenty of gallows humor that balances surprisingly well against the more subversive elements. It's wicked fun in time for Halloween. You can find MAP on Facebook or by visiting here.

HISTORY! >>>

A who's who of Tacoma's rock past and present mixed with the city's upper crust of business and politics at the Tacoma Historical Society's 5th Annual Destiny Dinner Sunday, Oct. 9 inside the Tacoma Yacht Club. Titled "Tacoma Rock and Roll Wall of Fame," the evening was full of story telling, rock memorabilia and elbow rubbing in celebration of the city's rock history. 

Weekly Volcano photography Steve Dunkelberger slipped past the front desk for a few photos.

For more information on the event, click here.

IT'S TIME >>>

With the approaching holiday season, restaurants are knee deep in potatoes, pork loins and root vegetables, pumpkin and cinnamon and apples and winter stews. restaurant owners are frantically poring over their paperwork, trying to figure out how to keep the lights on until the first Thanksgiving and Christmas parties go on the books. The rookie chefs complain about the short nights. The veteran chefs know all too well that this is a time for resting, for pacing themselves and conserving energy for the push that will come as soon as the last trick-or-treater knock son the door.

Pacific Grill, with its veteran chefs and smart owner, churns along as if it was voted Best Restaurant in Tacoma. The downtown Tacoma fine-dining restaurant has been announcing new menus left and right, including a new dessert menu, and next week - new fall lunch, dinner and happy hour menus.

Here are a few of its newest creations. ...

Broken' Lasagne: braised lamb shank ragù alla Bolognese with san marzano tomatoes, red wine & ricotta salata

Chicken Breast: sautéed chicken breast with polenta, duck & bacon sausage, roasted mushrooms & red wine sauce

Grilled Salmon~ sweet chili-glazed fresh salmon with bamboo rice & spicy garlic chili green beans

Click here to download Pacific Grill's new menus.

[Pacific Grill, 1502 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253.627.3535]

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 12, 2011 >>>

1. There is no such thing as too many open jam nights. If you agree with that statement, then you probably know the Harmon Tap Room launches an Open Jam tonight from 7-9 p.m. The Stadium District brewpub will invite special local performers every week to back those willing to get up and jam. You got a shiny new guitar for your birthday and you've been jamming along to Badfinger for five months straight. Throw on some snazzy duds, champ, you're ready for the big time. Or brew time, that is. Expect Harmon brews to be out in full force as well as drink and food specials. And you know someone will wander into the outdoor beer garden and jam on top of the tables.

2. Mixed media artist Becky Frehse, adjunct faculty in the Art Department at the University of Puget Sound, will be discussing her recent works on view in the exhibition Show and Tell: Art Department Faculty 2011 at 12:30 p.m. inside the Kittredge Gallery.

3. bellaballs studio - the all-lowercase home of glass artist Diane Hansen and designer Lesli Jacobs-McHugh and their beautiful hand-blown glass floats, bellaballs, will host another bella social from 5-8 p.m. featuring cocktails, food and its latest ball - the rococo seashell.

4. Hello MTN is Catherine Odell and Matthew Morgan from Portland. Hello Catherine. Hello Matthew. The first time they said hello to each other was when Catherine did some cello studio work at Jackpot Recording Studio where Matthew is an engineer. Catherine plays keys. Matthew plays acoustic guitar. Together, they'll play righteous indie folk at 6 p.m. inside the Mandolin Café. Hello good time.

5. Turn your radio dials back and experience a time when the world was at war - back? We have to turn them back for this? - and pop music consisted of "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy." Oh, OK, there we go. Let's all put on our nostalgia hats and head back to a time when things made sense, or, at least, gave the impression thereof. And where do we end up? In The Mood: A 1940s Revue at 7 p.m. inside the Washington Center. It's a sentimental, romantic, nostalgic, jazzy and patriotic tribute to America's Swing Era. It's gonna be grand.

PLUS: Duct tape fashion class today in our Freeloaders

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

YOUR DAILY GUIDE TO THE 2011 TACOMA FILM FESTIVAL >>>

This Narrow Place, the story of a conflicted young Palestinian man who befriends a lonely drug addict, grabbed Best Feature Film at the 6th Tacoma Film Festival, which will conclude Thursday.

Gear down Turbo. You can still catch the flick. The focus of today's TFF Sniff is second opportunities to catch the festival's award winners.

This Narrow Place will screen at 6:30 p.m. tonight at The Grand Cinema. You will the devout Muslim and the profane junky find much to teach each other in this slow-footed but occasionally optimistic drama.

Here are the other winners screening today:

Fort McCoy (Audience Choice) will screen at 1:45 p.m. at The Grand.

The Best Shorts group (including winners for Best Short, Best Animated and Best Regional) will play at 4:15 p.m. inside The Grand.

The Two Escobars (Best Documentary) screens at 2 p.m. inside The Grand.

The award for LOCAL Audience Choice will be announced tomorrow at Closing Night.

LINK: Trailers for the films listed above

For a complete list of today's films, click here.

LINK: 2011 TFF award winners

LINK: Opening Night Gala photos

LINK: Three stories behind the stories

LINK: Big stars at the Tacoma Film Festival 2011

LINK: Our Tacoma Film Festival preview

LINK: TFF Director Emily Alm's picks

LINK: TFF on twitter 

LINK: TFF website

WEEKLY VOLCANO TEAMS UP WITH UNITED WAY OF PIERCE COUNTY >>>

When it comes to opportunities created within a community and the impact they have on individual lives, the United Way of Pierce County (UWPC) makes a positive difference.

"The United Way always provides the traditional safety net, the emergency services for those in need," says Sean Armentrout, vice president of UWPC Community Education & Resource Development. 

"We also work with leaders and subject matter experts to further the impact we have in the community."

Based on a 2003 survey seeking to identify the critical issues effecting Pierce County, the United Way focused on education, housing and health issues.

What resulted is a plan to improve the community as well as funding guideline for contributions made to the United Way's Community Solutions Fund.

Financial support to the UWPC helps fund 117 non-profit programs in 71 agencies. 

"When you donate, it is a smart investment in this community in which you live," Armentrout explains. "All of the dollars remain local and have a tremendous impact."

The Weekly Volcano has partnered with UWPC for this coming year, concentrating our efforts on housing needs and homelessness. Stay tuned for more information on our events and donation opportunities.

The United Way for Pierce County is located at 1501 Pacific Ave. SW, Suite 400, Tacoma. For more information, call 253.272.4263 or visit www.uwpc.org.