FREE EVENTS THIS WEEK IN THE SOUTH SOUND >>>

Ugh. Bobble Tiki thinks he's officially reached middle age. Old and tired. Bobble Tiki used to do things like go to New York for Christmas or stay out dancing all night. This year for Christmas, one of Bobble Tiki's best friends gave him a toilet tank, and Bobble Tiki was in bed by 10 p.m. Ah well. Bobble Tiki will just keep on laughing to keep from crying. In the meantime, here's a quick look free events happening this week in the South Sound centering around old things - just like Bobble Tiki.

MONDAY, DEC. 26: Free Christmas tree collection and drop-off opportunities are available in Thurston County after the holidays. It is important for the safety of the crews and machinery that Blackwater ornament, pickle ornament, Frosty the Blow Job ornament, lights, tinsel, nails, wire, garlands and stands be removed from the tree. Bobble Tiki's rule of thumb is to take your old tree to the recycler in the same condition as he would find it naturally in the forest. For more information, click here or see the website below or call 360.754.4398.

TUESDAY, DEC. 27: On the way to the bathroom at 5 a.m. to pee for the fifth time of the night, Bobble Tiki's foot caught the cord of his old Apple 3400c and the laptop got slammed to the ground. He can still use it for word-processing, but the modem and floppy drive no longer work, meaning he has no way to transfer information off the computer. It's time to get rid of the thing. SBK Recycle at 10733 A St. S. in Tacoma will recycle it for free from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. SBK will take old computers, laptops, monitors, printers, scanners, televisions, VCRs, telephones,

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 28: For a generation of youngsters raised in a world of electronic convenience it's hard to understand how people survived before the advent of cable television, the Internet, video games, Kindle Fires - much less electric lights and air conditioning. For them, The Job Carr Cabin Museum is like taking a step back into time, specifically in the mid 1800s. The museum itself is actually a log cabin, a replica of the one Job Carr built in 1865, less than two blocks from its original location. Check it out from 1-4 p.m. before it closes for the month of January.

THURSDAY, DEC. 29: How does the simple act of planting trees lead to winning the Nobel Peace Prize? Ask Wangari Maathai of Kenya. Back in 1977, she suggested rural women plant trees to address problems stemming from a degraded environment. Her tree-planting mission, which grew into a nationwide movement, has been documented in the film Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai. Community Cinema Olympia will screen the film for free at 7 p.m. inside the Washington State Capital Museum.

FRIDAY, DEC. 30: The Delbert McBride Ethnobotanical Garden, located on the grounds of the State Capital Museum, displays more than 30 species of Northwest flowers, shrubs, and trees that have been used for food, tools, and medicine throughout history by the Native American tribes in Western Washington. Check it out from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

SATURDAY, DEC. 31: The best album of all time is the Spinners' Pick of the Litter. (Of course, number two is Gino Vanelli's Storm at Sunup, but that's another Freeloaders column.) All five musicians grace the silver cardboard with sexy smirks and checkered bell-bottoms. Bobble Tiki has heard lots of people say they don't like album covers that contain a picture of the band, but the Spinners do it differently. The five men can be cut out in paper-doll fashion and then glued to Popsicle sticks for your very own Spinners Puppet Show. (Disclaimer: Singer Pervis Jackson is squatting in the picture, so cut out Maurice White from Earth, Wind & Fire's 1973 release Head to the Sky and have the two sumo wrestle). The '70s may always be remembered best for bands like Journey, Foghat and the Bee Gees, but the Spinners remain one of the few bands that unfairly slipped through the cracks. Bobble Tiki's glad that more than 35 years later, as he dances before them Saturday during the band's free concert at the Emerald Queen Casino, he finally can look over at his friends and ask, "Can you dig it?"

SUNDAY, JAN. 1: Bobble Tiki and his creaky bones will run hysterically down the Point Defiance Marina into wintery waters of Commencement Bay in the hopes of a fresh start for the new year. Santa Claus has all the cold details here.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music and DJs this week