FRIDAY, JAN. 20, 2012 >>>

1. At 7:30 p.m. inside the Theatre on the Square, the magic of theater and a little suspended disbelief can take you to Catholic school. In Late Night Catechism: "Til Death Do Us Part, the character known as Sister goes from being a kindly instructor who rewards the audience for correct answers (prizes include glow-in-the-dark rosaries and laminated saint cards) to being more of a disciplinarian. Weekly Volcano editor Matt Driscoll chimes in on this show here.

2. Update: This has been canceled due to the weather. Tacoma's Anthem Coffee & Tea will officially celebrate its grand opening today with an all-day celebration that includes musical contributions from Puyallup's own Roman Holiday along with drink specials, a champagne toast, and the warm-and-fuzzy feeling that comes with supporting hyper-local goodness.The festivities begin at 3 p.m. with Roman Holiday rockin' at 9 p.m.

3. UPDATE: This event has been canceled. Lynn Di Nino's Tripod Slide Shows are worth falling on your ass to see. Selected photographers slide through their talents, explaining techniques and circumstances to viewers. At 7 p.m. inside Madera Architectural Elements (stone's throw from The Melting Pot) showroom, Francesca Siena, Diane Hansen and Candy Anderson take you on a journey to Peru, Ethiopa and the Galapagos Islands, respectively. It's fun.

4. Weekly Volcano theater critic Christian Carvajal loved and despised Almost, Maine at Olympia Little Theatre, which will be staged at 7:55 p.m. To read Christian Carvajal's full review, click here.

5. Seattle Songwriter Trevor Ras will bring some Blue Sky (his first solo album in five years) to Olympia's Spar Café beginning at 8 p.m. If you dig James Taylor and Crosby, Stills & Nash, you'll dig this show.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music and DJs tonight

LINK: This week's freebies

WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

The Aftermath: Flooding, canceled flights, power outages, dogs and cats living together. (News Tribune)

Legalizing Gay Marriage: Puyallup senator closes the gap to one vote. (Weekly Volcano)

Mount Rainier: It has its grips on two overdue parties. (News Tribune)

South Carolina Debate: Newt Gingrich's fiery response to the first question - seeking comment on claims made by his second wife - set the tone for the night. (CNN)

Megaupload Site: Hackers launch attacks on a variety of US government and copyright enforcement websites after the file-sharing site was closed. (BBC)

The GQ&A: Burt Reynolds is Sterling Archer's spirit guide. (GQ)

Salute To The Kornfield: Surviving cast members salute Hee Haw. (Billboard)

Undersea Photographer: Russian photographer Alexander Semenov nails it. (io9)

You Are Welcome: The many d'ohs of Homer Simpson. (BuzzFeed)

A Lovely Songs About A Dog And A Fish

SLUSH DAY SPECIALS TOO >>>

Whether you like to shoot a game of pool in a boisterous tavern or want to bring the kids along, there are tons of places with pool tables in the area. Many restaurants and bars have a pool table. Farrelli's Pizza joints always have a table or two, as does The Spar in Old Town Tacoma, Harmon Tap Room, Top of Tacoma, Meconi's, Brotherhood Lounge and many more.

The places we've chosen to feature have more than one table, as well as an undeniable perk or two to go with your game of pool.

Also listed below are specials for today.

The Swiss

1904 S. Jefferson Ave., Tacoma, 253.572.2821
The Swiss is quintessentially Tacoma is so many ways-local artwork on the walls, industrial-chic local, and awesome food. There are four pool tables at The Swiss along with shuffleboard, foosball and other games. Better yet, stop in Monday through Thursday and enjoy free pool. Friday and Saturday nights often include live music.
Slush Day Specials: Pasta primavera, egg salad sandwich and clam chowder

Malarkey's Pool and Brew

445 Tacoma Ave. S, Tacoma, 253.383.3301
With about 16 pool tables, Malarkey's is hard to beat if you're looking for a serious pool hall. Wednesday evenings feature 9-ball tournaments, and all evenings offer cheap food, beer and games.
Slush Day Specials: Clam chowder, plus $5 "summer-ish" drinks and hot cocoa

Tower Lanes

6323 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.564.8853
Tower Lanes is a good place to go if you want your pool with a side of mini golf, arcade games, pull tabs and bowling. There are three pool tables available at $6 per hour. If you go on a Friday or Saturday evening, you might have to wait to play, but there is enough to do at Tower Lanes that it's not likely to be a problem. Tower is also one of the rare places where adults can play pool and tip back a beer, but still bring the kids along.
Slush Day Specials: None. Still $2.50 a game to bowl

Eastside Club Tavern

410 E Fourth Ave., Olympia, 360.357.9985
If you live closer to Olympia, check out the Eastside Club Tavern for all your pool hall needs. Located downtown (close to several other bars and taverns if you want to make a bar crawl out of the night), the Eastside has a great selection of microbrews at very reasonable prices and an array of other table games.
Slush Day Special: $3.25 pints from 4-7 p.m.

4th Ave Ale House & Eatery

201 E. Fourth Ave., Olympia, 360.786.1444
The 4th Ave has a fantastic jukebox, a huge room of pool tables, a predictable selection of domestic-micros on tap, sandwiches, pull tabs, and of course - the infamous "back room."
Slush Day Specials: Ring ... ring ... ring ...

Where do you like to shoot pool?

SERIOUSLY ... A FREE DINNER >>>

A fiery mix of minds should banish the chill and slush tonight.

Members of the Saint Martin's University community will unleash hopes and thoughts on the life of Martin Luther King Jr. tonight.

But this isn't the typical four-days-after MLK Day event.

The free and open to the public event features a Southern-style dinner with remarks by Jonathan Hew Len, the University's student body president, and University President Roy F. Heynderickx, Ph.D.

Yes, the events includes a free dinner.

A powerful performance by the Mayhem Poets will round out the evening. According to hype, "The Mayhem Poets blend spoken word, hip-hop, theater, improv and standup comedy to expose audiences to fresh perspectives on both historical and contemporary issues. Their unique approach to spoken word has landed them feature spots on The Today Show and Eyewitness News."

The event is presented by Saint Martin's Campus Life PROS, SMU Black Student Union, and Office of Intercultural Initiatives.

[Norman Worthington Conference Center, Friday, Jan. 20, 6-7:30 p.m., free, 5300 Pacific Ave. S.E., Lacey, 360.491,4700]

BESIDES SOCCER, WE ALSO COVER INSURANCE >>>

Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler's office just sent tips on dealing with storm-related insurance claims via a Q&A with itself. There are some good tips, including an answer about your television that gone and done blown up.

OLYMPIA, Wash. - As Washingtonians start to recover from this week's snow and ice storm, the state's insurance regulator offered some tips on insurance claims.

"We encourage people to start with their agent or insurer. But our staff can often help with denied claims, delayed payments and confusing policy language," said Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler. "And although we're also recovering from the storm - our main buildings are without power - people can still e-mail us or file complaints online."

The e-mail address is AskMike@oic.wa.gov. To file a complaint online, go to www.insurance.wa.gov.

Here are some tips and frequently-asked questions about insurance claims:

Will filing a claim make my insurance premiums go up?

It may. So it's a good idea to first weigh the cost of the repair, your deductible, and the possibility that you'll pay higher insurance rates in the future before deciding whether to file a claim.

My neighbor's tree fell on my house. Whose insurance pays?

Your homeowners will often pay for the damage, even if it was your neighbor's tree. And you'll be responsible for the deductible. Sometimes your insurer can get the neighbor's insurance to pay, if it can be shown that the neighbor was at fault. But that can be hard to prove.

Read more...

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SATURDAY, JAN. 21, 2012 >>>

1. At 10 a.m. The Grand Cinema will host a free screening of Astro Boy, a CGI-animated origin story for the legendary cartoon hero of the same name, who first appeared in Osamu Tezuka's 1951 futuro-Pinocchio manga comic. Westernized and sterilized, the still nipple-less, rocket-thrusting robo-kid now wears pants, flies without his classic theme song and name drops Asimov's law of robotics and Kant.

2. James Keeffe III will sign copies of his award-winning book, Two Gold Coins and a Prayer - The Epic Journey of a World War II Bomber Pilot, Evader and POW, which includes tales of his father's time in hiding in occupied Holland, from 1-3 p.m. at the Tacoma Costco.

3. Cindy Arnold from Live Paint will conduct free theater workshops Saturday afternoons from 1-3 p.m. in the Spaceworks Tacoma spot at 1314 Martin Luther King Jr. Way on the Hilltop, which Toy Boat Theatre once inhabited. The sessions are free and open to anyone who wants to read a script, perform an original piece, practice an audition monologue, or do improv and get friendly feedback.

4. If the names Ratched, McMurphy, or Bromden mean something to you, then get ready for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest at Paradise Theatre in Gig Harbor. And, if those names are unfamiliar, then it's definitely time you experienced the play, which is based on the Ken Kesey novel. While many people are likely familiar with the Academy Award-winning 1975 film (starring Jack Nicholson), less have probably experienced the play adaptation, which is not only a bit different, but arguably more poignant. It hit sthe stage at 7:30 p.m.

5. Offering music of the world, Vagabond Opera dabbles in sounds spanning the globe - from European cabaret, to Balkan belly dance, to Old World Yiddish theater and beyond. The six-piece troupe of out Portland will perform at 8 p.m. with Erev Rav inside the Olympia Ballroom.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music and DJs tonight

LINK: This week's freebies

A NOVEL GEM >>>

To the outsider, the South Sound can seem like a sea of trucker hats, strip malls, teriyaki restaurants and traffic jams. At first glance, we may be viewed as an over-caffeinated lot with seasonal affective disorder that loves a good cover band and burger while we try to claim a more liberal definition of the American Dream.

Three talented Tacomans have a different view of the South Sound. They see the nooks. They see the treasures. They see the back trails. And they see it through a creative eye.

Civic activist Ken Miller and artists Chris Sharp and Sean Alexander have assembled a team of writers and visual artists to produce the South Sound Users Guide - a guidebook to the region's more than 3,000 square miles and its 1.1 million inhabitants.

This will not be your typical, glossy travelogue. From what I can gather, it will carry an independent tone with sass completed with hand-drawn illustrations and an out-of-the-box design.

I traded a few questions with Miller as the team generates money for the project via Kickstarter.

WEEKLY VOLCANO: What sparked this project?

KEN MILLER: I've been convinced for a long time the South Sound is a distinct cultural and economic region, and then I saw some of Sean's drawings and talked with Chris and it just sort of tumbled together.

One of my motivations really is to help us see ourselves as a distinctive place. We don't have a Pottery Barn, for example; but by population we're bigger than eight states.

Plus with LeMay and the U.S. Open, we'll need a guide of our own, and I want it to be cool, rather than glossy photos of daffodil fields.

VOLCANO: What's your definition of the South Sound?

MILLER: We're concentrating on Pierce, Thurston and Mason counties – breaking them down by locations, much like Saul Wurman's Access series.

VOLCANO: Where will the guide be distributed?

MILLER: We're finalizing a distribution agreement with Partners West, to put the book into bookstores and gift shops across the western U.S. and Canada. We'll have an e-version, too. There won't be advertising in the text, but we have the ability to offer "customized" back covers in volume - over 100 copies - for $5 per book. The retail price will be $20.

VOLCANO: You already have 32 backers on your Kickstarter.

MILLER: We're using Kickstarter to finance the front-end costs - with rewards at various levels of donations. Among the rewards on Kickstarter are three opportunities to write up one's own "feature" - a business, for example. Those rewards are at the $500 level, and are the only paid content.

For more details, to provide support or to pre-order a copy of the book, go to kickstarter.com and enter "South Sound Users Guide" in the search box; or contact Miller at krm@harbornet.com.

HELLO BEST OF TACOMA 2012! >>>

Tirami sù ("pick me up"), far from being an Italian dessert of ancient vintage, was actually invented at El Toula restaurant in Treviso, just north of Venice, in the '60s. It spread across the ocean like the Beatles, with such startling rapidity that by the '80s, it was de rigueur in every Italian restaurant in the South Sound.

Catch a slammin' version at Marrow Kitchen and Bar.

Last night Marrow bartender Greg Rodriguez (harp man with the Fucking Eagles) served me enough tiramisu to choke Augustus Gloop. Chef Kyle Wnuk's version ($6) is probably the best version of this Italian classic I have ever had. It had not the slightest hint of heaviness, although due to my huge intake during the evening I could only manage a few bites. His whipped-cream-consistency tiramisu is made of savoiardi (lady finger biscuits) dipped in strong coffee and rum, layered with a whipped mixture of that includes mascarpone and chocolate.

Sadly, it's not inked on the menu, but rather written with chalk on the specials board.

Keep an eye on the board.

[Marrow Kitchen and Bar, 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. Tuesday-Saturday,  2717 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.267.5299]

LIVE MUSIC TONIGHT IN THE SOUTH SOUND >>>

Eagle's Hall Olympia - Downtown. KBRD Benefit Swing Dance, with Lakewood Community Jazz Band, Syd Potter, Jessica Blinn, Greta Jane Pederson, Vicki Anderson, Rich Sikorski, Lizzy Boyer, Brad Schrandt, Christine Corey. All Ages. 7 pm. $10-$20 suggested donation.

Eastside Club Tavern Olympia - Downtown. Eldridge Gravy & The Court Supreme, The Brown Edition. 9 pm. $5.

Forza Wine Bar Gig Harbor. Chicken Joe. 7 pm.

Hell's Kitchen Tacoma - Downtown. Big Wheel Stunt Show, Fonzarelli, Dungeon Science, Dreams Jaded, DJ Darren Selector. All Ages. 8 pm. $5. Sok & The Faggots, Reptile Eruption. 11 pm. NC.

The Hub Tacoma - Stadium District. Tai Shan. 9 pm. NC.

Imperial Dragon Tacoma - Sixth Avenue. T. Bone & The Porterhouse Boys. 8 pm. $5.

Jazzbones Tacoma - Sixth Avenue. Rae Solomon, Aces Up. 8:30 pm. $10.

Louie G's Pizzeria Fife. Left 4 Dead, Vigilante Justice, Rancheros, Hairstorm. All Ages. 8 pm.

Mandolin Cafe Tacoma - Central. Alejandro Fleites & Friends. All Ages. 8 pm. NC.

The New Frontier Lounge Tacoma - Dome District. Dandy CD Release Party. 9 pm.

The Olympia Ballroom Olympia. Vagabond Opera & Erav Rev Double CD Release Party, with DJ Sweet Elite, belly dancing by Heidi Joe Landin. All Ages. 8 pm. $15-$18.R&B

The Red Room Tacoma. The Mural Project, Cell Phone Parking Lot. All Ages. 7 pm. $5.

The Spar Tacoma - Old Town. The Buckets. 9 pm.

LINK: More live music tonight in the South Sound

SUNDAY, JAN. 22, 2012 >>>

1. The Broadway Center in Tacoma concludes its three-part Audrey Hepburn film-focus with a 3 p.m. screening of the classic My Fair Lady, in which, as film lovers and old people will recall, Hepburn portrays Eliza Doolittle. The film will be screened at the Theatre on the Square.

2. In honor of Tacoma Art Museum's 75th Anniversary and to commemorate the milestone of two decades of biennial exhibitions, The 10th Northwest Biennial will examine the vital questions of who we are as residents of the Pacific Northwest, what we look like, and what are our aspirations for our communities. The Biennial exhibit opened last night and can be viewed from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

3. Music Director Harvey Felder and the Tacoma Symphony Orchestra present the classic Peter and the Wolf, narrated by David Fischer, at 2 p.m. inside the Rialto Theater. The concert, which is aimed at children 4-9, will include a musical instrument petting zoo, courtesy of Ted Brown Music.

4. The Blues Vespers inside the Immanuel Presbyterian Church in North Tacoma will feature long-time blues band Junkyard Jane beginning at 5 p.m.

5. Mojo Overload will fill The Spar in Old Town Tacoma with blues, rock and R&B beginning at 7 p.m.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music and DJs tonight

LINK: This week's freebies