WHAT WE HAVE FOUND THIS MORNING >>>

Last Night's Amber Alert: Suspect in custody, baby safe. (News Tribune)

Shift Your Shopping: Tacoma joins the national campaign. (Santa Says Blog)

Flippin' Nippon: Pilot error causes plane to 737-700 to fly upside down. (Seattle Times)

Today: Tacoma City Council will hear an overview of what it could do to bridge the $25.7 million budget shortfall. (News Tribune)

Greek To Many: Greece shocked European leaders by calling for a national referendum on its debt bailout. If Greece rejects the deal, it could rattle the global financial system. (CNN)

History Of Rap 3: Timberlake and Fallon down again. (NY Daily News)

Red Vines: Not just for sticking between your teeth. (Dangerous Minds)

Dumb: Tubing behind a car on a hurricane flooded street. (TruTV)

Final Halloween Words

TUESDAY, NOV. 1, 2011 >>>

1. It's true! Santee will perform at Tacoma's New Frontier Lounge tonight with Portland's CORDUROY and special guests. This show should be a good one. The action kicks off at 9 p.m.

2. Work off your Halloween hangover tonight at the delicious and hip Dirty Oscar's Annex on Sixth Avenue during the club/restaurant's weekly "Musician's Industry Night." The good times are chaperoned by host Steve Perez.

3. So, you've been telling yourself: "One of these days I'm finally going to make it out to the Midland Tavern ... or Lil Vic's ... or whatever it's called. Well, make tonight that night! Action the bar bills as "Crazy Vegas Barstool Bingo" runs from 7 - 9 p.m.

4. The scene is pretty messed up right now. Life provides more questions than answers. There's a lot to discuss ... a lot to worry about. In Olympia, luckily, Last Word Books opens up its doors on Tuesdays (and, really, every day) for encouraged and lively discussions about politics, contemporary issues and the world around us. It's called the "Tuesday Read-In," and the free event runs from 5 - 7 p.m.

5. Across the Narrows Bridge, drop in on the Harbor History Museum exhibit The Artistry of Quilts, described as a "beautiful collection of both antique and new quilts displaying the fine artistry of this centuries old craft." The Artistry of Quilts is available for viewing all day, from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., and runs through Dec. 4.

EXTRA CREDIT: Give a woodchuck a tuna melt

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music tonight

LINK: Freebies this week

SCARY-OKE >>>

Weekly Volcano photographer Steve Dunkelberger dropped in on Jazzbones's Monday night Rockaraoke live band karaoke last night, which - as your cold sweats still tell you - was Halloween. Dunkelberger says it was a night for freaks and ghosts and slutty, slutty angels. Check out his photos of the night in our Photo Hot Spot.

LET'S DO THIS THING >>>

Saturday, the Weekly Volcano and Harmon Brewery & Eatery present a Warren Miller Prefunc Party before the new Miller flick screens (twice) at the Pantages the same night. We have bombarded you with the details, including our bitchin' raffle - which includes a two night-two lift ticket Crystal Mountain Resort package, $500 Sturtevants's gift card, free tickets to see the film and much more. Read up on the party here.

We're also hosting a Gnarliest Snowbum Costume Contest at 5 and 8 p.m. We will pick two winners for each time slot. Free food and drinks go to the winners.

After three committee meetings we decided snow shovel racing costumes will not be allowed into the costume contest. Nobody but the hep cats at ESPN thinks these guys are doing anything remotely cool. The original premise was sitting on a shovel and bombing down a hill. We can see that. Then some dork gets the idea to turn the innocent shovel into the supermodified Erector set his parents never bought him and renames himself "Captain Speed."

What we wouldn't give for a hurricane to roll in during a shovel racing competition and blow these dorks out to sea like a Polynesian fishing village.

OK, see you at the party!

Warren Miller Prefunc

Saturday, Nov. 5, 3-9 p.m., no cover
Ben Union rocks it from 5-8 p.m.
Harmon Brewery & Eatery
1938 Pacific Ave., Tacoma
253.383.2739

LINK: Like it on Facebook

RICK WALTERS HOSTS FUNDRAISER FOR LATEST FILM >>>

TWISTED. MURDER. MAYHEM.

And you thought Halloween had crawled back into its coffin for another year.

Allow me to fill in some blanks. "Twisted" belongs to Twisted Tales of Madness and Murder, a feature-length anthology of horror shorts written by Federal Way's Rick Tobin. Tobin and director Rick Walters (co-producer on Fantastic Confabulations) need some dough (roughly $17,000) to finance the completion of their first short in the Twisted family, The Resolution. So, like any committed artists in desperate need of cash, they resort to murder.

I don't mean your garden-variety psychotic kind, but rather a fundraiser called A Murder Masquerade Ball, scheduled for Nov. 11 at Stonegate Pizza in Tacoma. Brace yourself for a night of movies, music, magic and some mayhem, as the ladies of local promotions group Angels of Mayhem will be on hand to, in their words, "tantalize and entice."

As Resolution's producer, Jeremy Berg of Burien believes strongly in the ingenuity of Tobin's writing. "The whole script has some really nice twists in it," he says. "It plays on a lot of conventions that you're familiar with in horror movies, and turns them on their head."

Make a resolution to help out these local filmmakers. But don't stash away that Halloween costume just yet - throw it on one more time and get $3 off the $20 ticket charge at the door. Or buy your tickets early here. And follow the film on Facebook. 

TUESDAY FILM SERIES  >>>

The pick of this year's Sundance Film Festival, from the buzz and talent involved anyway, was Miranda July's The Future. It's been six years summers since the Me and You and Everyone We Know film director has made a film, and this one sounds as arty and, yes, quirky as her last effort.

The Future begins one afternoon on a sofa. Sophie and Jason, a 30-something couple in Los Angeles, realize that in one month, their lives will change radically when they pick up a stray cat they're adopting. Wanting to take advantage of their fleeting freedom, they quit their jobs, disconnect their Internet, and pursue new interests, all of which literally alter the course of time and space and test their faith in each other and themselves.

The Future screens at 2:30 and 7 p.m. at The Grand Cinema as part of the art film house's "something different" Tuesday Film Series.

[The Grand Cinema, $5-$8.50, 606 S. Fawcett Ave., Tacoma, 253.593.4474]

FUTURE THINGS ARE COMING >>>

Great news for those who loved Roger Waters's The Wall concert last December at the Tacoma Dome. It's just been announced that Waters will be bringing his live recreation back to the Puget Sound, this time Thursday, May 24, 2012 at KeyArena. The 2012 tour will begin May 1 in Houston, Texas.

Tickets for the show go on sale Monday, Nov. 14 at 10 a.m. 

Last year's reinvention of his iconic stage production of The Wall utilized modern day technological advances and special effects, which were embraced by audiences around the globe, including Weekly Volcano scribe Ernest Jasmin when he wrote for the Trib.

WHAT IS ACTIVE ROCK? >>>

Clear Channel Radio - the folks that send Sports Radio 950 KJR-AM, KUBE 93 FM, Oldies 95.7 and 106.1 KISS FM through your noggin' - have launched "The Brew" 104.9 FM calling it a station of "Active Rock." You probably noticed the change when your favorite Halloween music station "Freddy" died at midnight, giving way to Metallica, the Foo Fighters, Green Day, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and AC/DC.

You might remember the Funky Monkey 104.9 FM held that spot on the dial for years.

According to a press release, "during the launch period, "The Brew" will play 10,000 songs in a row and once that concludes, will continue to deliver on a more music promise; playing only one commercial break per hour."

Here are more words from the release:

"We're extremely excited to have The Brew join the Clear Channel Radio family.   South Sound listeners have been missing a rock station that actually plays MUSIC ... and by design, the Brew will ROCK!" explains Shellie Hart, The Brew 104.9 Program Director. "It will be the best of all worlds for guys ... familiar rock hits, a good mix of new music and sports updates ... all served up with a brew!"

They will also take advantage of their sister station, Sports Radio 950 KJR AM by providing listeners with hourly sports updates.

MORE DELICIOUS CONCERT NEWS >>>

Breaking: The Weekly Volcano's afternoon office happy hour has been pushed back two hours due to the ridiculous amount of concert and music related press releases flooding the office today.

Apparently, Megadeth, Motorhead, Volbeat and Lacuna Coil will rock Kent's ShoWare Center Tuesday, Feb. 21 beginning at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday? Really?

Tickets are $38-$48, and go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 4 through ShoWare's ticket office.

The Kent show is part of the Gigantour, a tour founded by Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine in 2005.

You can't make us tell you about the Guns N' Roses show Dec. 16 at KeyArena, which goes on sale this Saturday morning.

LINK: More concerts

HERE'S THE POOP >>>
In the spring of 2010, Weekly Volcano Editor Matt Driscoll explored the fascinating world of Tacoma's TAGRO, and then put his experience, and research, on record here.

In summary, Driscoll explained, "the idea of Tagro is to turn shit into something useable, which the City of Tacoma has been valiantly doing on the Tacoma Tideflats since 1991. Today, gardeners, landscapers and a whole swath of the general Tacoma population are proud and satisfied Tagro users, even if a minority still can't get over the product's origins. Tagro is completely safe and extremely effective, even having been awarded the EPA's highest rating for use in landscaping, vegetable gardens and indoor container gardens."

A few minutes ago, the City of Tacoma sent out a press release stating Tacoma's TAGRO biosolids program has been honored for its continued path of sustainability and innovation? with the 2011 Excellence in Biosolids award from the Northwest Biosolids Management Association.

"The City of Tacoma was forward-thinking with their decision to use dual digestion, produce Class A biosolids, and turn that product into a retail product that would ‘give back' to the City residents. They were a trendmaker in that respect," said Peggy Leonard of King County Wastewater in the release.

The release goes on to explain why the TAGRO is so awesome, which Driscoll fully explained last year.