THURSDAY, DEC. 15, 2011 >>>

1. There's a delightful dustiness that seems to adorn Eliot Lipp's electronic music; he embraces an old-school approach to arranging beats and synths and samples to create the kind of mélange that would find itself perfectly comfortable in a DJ's box of go-to vinyl. Whether tackling ambient soundscapes or club-bumping jams, Lipp manages to leave his own identifiable imprint on whatever he creates. Tonight Lipp plays the New Frontier Lounge.

2. Get a closer look at, and deeper understanding of, the ongoing conflict in Israel and Palestine by hitting the Capitol Theater in Olympia tonight for a screening of Swedish filmmaker Terje Carlsson's Israel vs. Israel, a documentary "about the current status of the Israeli peace movement includes both sensitive family discussion as well as secret testimony from former combat soldiers," according to promotions. Tonight's event will be a one-time screening, featuring a panel discussion led members of the Rachel Corrie Foundation and Carlsson via Skype.

3. Last year Weekly Volcano Publisher Pappi Swarner pounded some syrup, transformed into Buddy the Elf, and infamously acted as the tour guide for the Dec. 2010 installment of the Tacoma Third Thursday Art Walk Art Bus. Hilarity and art bus history ensued. Well guess what? Buddy is back, bitches! Tonight! Also returning will be musicians Doug Mackey and Evan Purcell who will perform Christmas music on the bus. Find more information about how to get involved in the art bus by going to creator Angela Jossy's website.

4. If there's nothing else that can be said about Tacoma's School of the Arts, it's a darn fine factory for churning out young and talented songwriters. To see each wave of SOTA musicians emerge from the school is an inspiring and fascinating thing to watch. To celebrate the end of the semester, tonight at The Space the students in SOTA's songwriting program will host a performance to showcase the wide array of voices and styles born out of the class. The action starts at 7:30 p.m. with a suggested $5 donation.

5. Peter Serko's photography exhibition at the Museum of Glass artistically documents the brief history of the museum since 2006. It also shows different aspects of the building, and of the adjacent Chihuly Bridge of Glass, taken during different times of day throughout the seasons. Serko, who will be on hand tonight to talk about the exhibit during Third Thursday Art Walk, says he hopes his show will prove to be an acknowledgement that art really has changed the city, and that the people, such as former Tacoma mayor Karen Vialle and longtime local artist Dayton (Karen) Knipher, who stuck their necks out for MOG and the arts in Tacoma were right. Serko says he hopes the exhibit will show that "this has been a wonderful thing for Tacoma. The Museum District has changed Tacoma for the good and in time I am certain it will be a thriving area for artists of all levels."

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music tonight