ONLINE CHATTER >>>

Yesterday's comments of the day come from Becky Knold and Maureen Murphy who give thumbs up to Alec Clayton's review of Bob's Koch's show at the Pierce College Gallery in Lakewood.

Becky writes,

Ever since I first saw Bob Koch's paintings at an Arts Olympia meeting a couple years back, I've been a fan. They are such whimsical, curiously odd, more-than-slightly-distorted images of people whom we must all feel we've known in our own life. They capture the gesture and the character of people involved in life and interactions. The combination of drawn and painted lines, the overlapping and building up of a history of strokes make me feel that I understand how the artist worked his way through. It's not about "perfection", but about getting the feel of the moment portrayed. Great Job, Robert Koch, and thanks for the excellent review by Alec Clayton.

Maureen writes,

I have been a big fan of Bob Koch's new work this past year. I have purchased four of the paintings called "four on a couch." When I look at his work I feel like an active participant in the scene or sometimes just wish I were there. His energetic and loose drawings over paint that looks like pastel, have a wonderfully intimate sense.
I have a good time viewing and hanging Bob Koch's mostly playful, and sometimes sad paintings. Bob Koch is incredibly in tune with humanity.

FRIDAY, DEC. 7 2012 >>>

1. BARE Tacoma - Holiday, an a cappella performance Friday night at the Immanuel Presbyterian Church, presents 12 performers ranging from Tacoma School of Arts students to Northwest indie favorites such as Shenandoah Davis, Noah Gunderson, Sean Nelson (of Harvey Danger), Luke Stevens, Goldfinch, Colin Reynolds, Elk & Boar, Hannalee, Eternal Fair and others busting out a holiday song or two, as well as share their own songs and covers.

2. Bates Technical College's Fire Service program, and Santa Silvia, are hosting toy drives today. This morning, in the cold, the Bates crew and volunteers are canvasing Yakima Avenue from 11^th to Earnest S. Brazill streets from 6:30-10 a.m. collecting cash to buy food and toys for the needs. Fire Service students will continue the annual tradition of performing push-ups for donations, which is nice. From noon to 7 p.m. at the Varsity Grill in downtown Tacoma Silvia Cordova-Tapia will collect toys for the sick kids at Mary Bridge Children's Hospital. For 12 years Santa Silvia, as she is known throughout the halls of Mary Bridge, has collected toys for the kids.

3. You want some damn Christmas magic and you'll get it from Miracle on 34th Street, Tacoma Little Theatre's big-hearted paean to the man with the bag, which hits the stage at 7:30 p.m. Read Christian Carvajal's full review of Tacoma Little Theatre's Miracle on 34^th Street in the Weekly Volcano's Arts section.

4. The Jeff Buckley tribute show at 9 p.m. inside The New Frontier Lounge features Kurt Lindsay, RowHouse and Not From Brooklyn. It's the premiere Jeff Buckley event of the moment,and it's going to be awesome.

5. The Bucharest Drinking Team, a band that borrows stylistically from great Balkan brass bands like Fanfare Ciocarlia and Boban Markovic, mixes in a liberal shot of Romanian folk music and a penchant for '80s disco from behind the Iron Curtain to bring you a high-proof Eastern Bloc Party, complete with dancing, drinking, and music. Klezmer orchestra Erev Rav delivers a kaleidoscope of original compositions and traditional melodies infused with funk, reggae, bee bop, rock and Latin rhythms. Tonight at 9 p.m. inside the Olympia Ballroom, the two bands face off with you as the winner.

LINK: Friday, Dec. 7 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

THE LOWDOWN ON WHAT'S UP THIS WEEKEND >>>

WEATHER REPORT

Friday: Rain, hi 45, lo 36

Saturday: Chance of rain, hi 43, lo 39

Sunday: Chance of rain, hi 48, lo 41

>>> FRIDAY, DEC. 7: LEGALIZE MY SMILE PARTY

Hey, in case you've been hiding in a closet, weed is now legal! Hooray! Friday, The Royal in Olympia is celebrating Washington's new found freedom with a Legalize My Smile Party at 9 p.m.  The party features up and comers Elbow Coulee and The DaveBenSamTrio, busting out their space funk and dance rock. Pay $5 at the door and a world of irie smiles will greet you. Make sure you bust out your finest Zig-Zags and Cush, roll up some love, smoke it like there's no tomorrow and dance your ass off in celebration. For info on how much you can posses and other details of this fresh law, check out local lawyer advice in our South Sound Sidekick column. — Nikki McCoy

• The Royal Lounge, 9 p.m., $5, 311 Capitol Way N., Olympia, 360.705.0760

>>> SATURDAY, DEC. 8: HILLTOP ARTISTS HOLIDAY GLASS SALE

Tacoma is filled with local shops, galleries and antique stores where you can take your holiday shopping local - but the Hilltop Artists Holiday Glass Sale is at a whole ‘nother level. Not only can you shop locally, but you can support an important youth program, a program that produces sweet talent at that, and you can find fantastic artwork at the most reasonable prices in town. The sale will feature everything from flame-worked beads to paperweights to vases. Prices range from under a dollar for beads, to $15 to $25 for vases or cups, to $150 for vases. Large, wavy bowls can be as high as $375, but look into how much Chihuly charges to understand just how much of a deal this is.

• Jason Lee Middle School, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., 602 N. Sprague, Tacoma, 253.571.7670
  

>>> SATURDAY, DEC. 8: DUCK THE MALLS

Duck The Malls sounds fun on paper. If nothing else, this holiday sale to benefit the Olympia Film Society cuts out so much of the guesswork and crap of going to a regular flea market: With just the freaks on board selling their Yaz CDs, hipster bicycles and Ronald McDonald drinking glasses, you're sure to be steering clear of screaming babies and the scary men selling kicker boxes and enormous knives. Meanwhile, you may finally pick up that home-tattooing manual you've always wanted, along with that Boss phaser pedal whatshisname uses. You know there's going to be that moment where somebody runs into her ex, who's behind a table selling everything she ever gave him. Read Nikki McCoy's feature on this year's Duck The Malls in the Weekly Volcano's Style section. — Weekly Volcano

• Capitol Theater, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., 206 Fifth Ave., Olympia, 360.754.6670
  

>>> SUNDAY DEC. 9: LET IT SNOW COMMUNITY FESTIVAL

Sugar and spice and everything free is the song for Sunday's Let It Snow community festival, a merry, merry tradition that's ho-ho-hosted every year by the Tacoma Art Museum. The free community event lights up at 10 a.m. and includes dance performances and festive music. While the entertainment fills the main floor, free craft projects will be offered upstairs. Create a pop-up holiday card for family and friends, or buy something cool in the gift shop. Everything the Tacoma Art Museum envisioned this holiday season comes to fruition Sunday.

• Tacoma Art Museum, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., free admission, 1701 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253.272.4258

>>> SUNDAY DEC. 9: EUPHORIA MARIE SORENSEN BENEFIT

Musicians and the community will come together at The New Frontier Lounge to show support for Euphoria Marie Sorensen, who was hit by a truck Oct. 29. She remains hospitalized in serious condition and suffered several injuries including many broken ribs and a broken arm and had to have her right lung removed. The benefit show will help cover the extensive hospital costs and will provide support for community members affected by the accident. Sorensen is a mother, an artist and a good friend to many. A Leaf, Death By Stars, Looking For Lizards, Deborah Page and DJ Melodica will play their hearts out, providing healing and hope for the community. Local businesses and individuals are also contributing to the cause, offering items for a raffle and silent auction. Word has it the event will be taped so Sorensen can enjoy the music and love too. — NM

• The New Frontier Lounge, 4 p.m., suggested donation of $5, 301 E. 25th St., Tacoma, 253. 572.4020

>>> SUNDAY, DEC. 9: NO GOD, NO MASTER

No God, No Master benefit screening for Northwest Grand Jury Resistors is this Sunday at the Capitol Theater. The benefit is for the remaining Northwest imprisoned resistors: KteeO Olejnik and Matt Duran. The film is described as a "gritty but beautifully rendered period piece set in the early 20th century that is an eerie parallel to the war on political outsiders and immigrants that is going on today." This on-screen chapter out of American Anarchist history will have a Q and A via Skype with Director Terry Green and there will be an information table and additional speakers at the screening. The screening is sponsored by The Reef, where KteeO worked as a waitress. The two have been in custody for over two months. More information about the Grand Jury Resistors can be found here. — NM

• Capitol Theater, 7 p.m., suggested donation of $5-$15, 206 Fifth Ave., Olympia, 360.754.6670

WHAT SOME OF OUR STAFF MEMBERS ARE UP TO

CHRISTIAN CARVAJAL Theater Critic
This is an exciting weekend for me, as it marks one of my last before the end of the world. I'm joining a handful of Volcano staffers aka Quetzalcoatl worshipers on Saturday night to usher in the Dark Times with a decadent gourmet dinner and a variety of barely legal intoxicants. Save us, O might Itzamna!

REV. ADAM MCKINNEY Music Writer
Friday, I'll swing by the Jeff Buckley Tribute Show at the New Frontier. Saturday, I'm going to a super secret squirrel party. (Super secret if the others haven't already talked about it here.)

ALEC CLAYTON Arts Critic
I'm throwing a big party in celebration of the publication of my new book, Return to Freedom, with a dramatic reading featuring four fabulous actors: Michael and Heather Christopher, Jennie Jenks and Christine Goode. That's Saturday afternoon. Friday night I'm going to see Olympia Family Theater's Wind in the Willows at SPSCC.

NIKKI MCCOY Feature Writer
Alright. Well what will be a strange, sad and exciting night Saturday I will be attending a Volcano end-of-the world party as well as a memorial benefit show for a dear friend. All I can be certain of is I'm going to be completely wasted. I apologize in advance and hope that Sunday is full of bed covers and no regrets.

JOSH RIZEBERG Music Columnist
Today, I'll be teaching the Spoken-Word/Poetry class at D.A.S.H. and helping out with the Art of Hip-Hop Program. It goes down from 5 p.m. 'til we're done! Then I'll head to The Loch's and catch a heavy-hitting local line-up of hip-hop, with Island Trybe, Second Family, Po Boxx and Tha Committee. Saturday and Sunday I'll be helping my D.A.S.H. family with their production of Dream Girls. This is the last weekend of the show, so it's also yo last chance to see it and support D.A.S.H.!

JACKIE FENDER Food Writer
I'm already doing a happy dance in anticipation of the weekend's happenings. Saturday, I'll be on the big yellow bus helping guide the Shift your Shopping tours. And Sunday I will be getting all gussied up and attending PNB's Nutcracker, the first time I've had the pleasure to do so.

JOANN VARNELL Theater Critic
Continuing with the Christmas spirit of the last two weekends, The 2 year old, husband and I will head back to Polar Plaza for our second round of ice skating.  Afterward the boy and I will ride a camel all while our good friend plays paparazzi for our Christmas photos. That evening we will head to Zoolights and then have friends over for dinner. I'll also be reviewing The Best Christmas Pageant Ever at Lakewood Playhouse Sunday.

TIMOTHY GRISHAM Music Writer
It has been a very unbalanced week for the Olympia community; and frankly it has been hard to concentrate on anything beyond the immediate. With the stabbing death of a beloved local, the celebration of same-sex unions and legalized marijuana - this week has had its share of ups and downs for a lot of people in the South Puget Sound. I had originally planned on going to the King Tuff show, which I may still do. The band has the goods, and it is a great opportunity to see them in a small venue (Northern). I also promised my mother-in-law I'd take her to Zoolights!

STEVE DUNKELBERGER Photog About Town
I'll be heading down the the Dickens Festival in Stadium Saturday then Marie's benefit show on Sunday and then Tacoma Cult Film Club movie night at the Acme to round out the weekend.

NIC LEONARD Music Writer
A friend and local skateboard legend Casey Heath was murdered on Monday in olympia. This weekend I will be attending and playing benefit shows for his family at Le Voyeur and McCoys

ROCKFORD ROWLEY All-Ages Music Columnist
This weekend my friend and I are headed over to Cashmere, Wash. to visit some friends and attend a dessert party. We'll probably also visit Leavenworth, and enjoy the faux Bavarian town during its holiday season.

JENNI BOREN Features Writer
Why, I'm headed to LA this weekend for a trip that is 20 percent business, 80 percent karaoke-ing on a Saturday night with my old cronies.

LINK: Even more local events that we recommend

LINK: Comprehensive South Sound Arts & Entertainment Calendar

BANDITO BETTY LOU WHO'S LEAP OF THE DAY >>>

Bandito Betty Lou Who isn't a huge fan of jingtinglers, floofloovers, trumtookas, blumbloopas and the other wack musical instruments her fellow Whos bang during the holiday season. Every two years she gets the hell out of Whoville and spends the holiday season in the South Sound.

She's back. The Weekly Volcano secretly attached a GPS device to her whocarnio. We're tracking her. Apparently, Bandito Betty Lou Who was cheering do-gooders performing push-ups this morning.

Yup, Bandito Betty Lou Who is leaping at local venues that have opened within the last year. We spotted her yesterday hanging out with kids at the new Children's Museum of Tacoma. In January, the museum moved into the United Way building, adding 60 percent more space for fun. A few parents gave sideway glances, so she blazed. Don't fret. The Weekly Volcano is hot on her trail. Expect more Lou Who action tomorrow.

CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF TACOMA, 1501 PACIFIC AVE., TACOMA, 253.627.6031

LINK: Bandito Betty Lou Who jumps archive

LINK: Weekly Volcano loves the holidays, cats and crafts, so we joined Pinterest.

YOUR SOURCE FOR LOCAL HIP-HOP >>>

What is going down this weekend?

Well, to start things off, there's a big local heavy-hitting line-up at The Loch's tonight. Catch Tha Committee, Po Boxx, Second Family, Island Trybe and others in the former Hell's Kitchen space. The Committee is down with Second Family, and Po Boxx is down with the Trybe. When Second Family and Island Trybe get together ... ya can expect some of the most thorough hip-hop 253 has to offer.

Saturday will also have ya at The Loch's, which is beginning to book quite a bit of hip-hop. Another $5 will get ya in to the Tacnology Entertainment demo release where ya can also see Abom, Illizm, Controversy, Dip from The Nuggz, Serious Mak, Influential Minds, DJ Skrewball and the whole thing will be streamed-live by Shigg from shiggsaysradio.info. The Facebook page to dress-up - So get yo Curtis Mayfield on and help these guys celebrate!

Also, a few random things to throw in

Make sure ya are letting any third-grader - on up to 20 year olds - know about the Art of Hip-Hop program at the D.A.S.H. Center. Classes are Friday evenings and Saturday at midday. It is the perfect way to educate a young person on the culture of hip-hop, and all aspects of audio engineering, rapping, graphic-design, photography and videography. The class is a one-stop shop to teach any youth everything they need to know to be a successful hip-hop artist.

Lastly, the Graffiti Garages are getting active again. Make sure ya stop by on Sundays to soak-up the rich, underground culture of a rap cipher!

LIVE MUSIC TONIGHT IN THE SOUTH SOUND >>>

4th Ave Ale House Olympia - Downtown. December In Red, Stillstand, Oriya. 9 pm.

C.I. Shenanigans Tacoma - Northend. KC Brakes presents pop folk rock night. All Ages. 7-10 pm. NC.

Dwell Hole house concert Central Tacoma. Black Pussy, Ancient Warlocks, I Like Science, Zabrana Bastard, Sok And The Faggots. All Ages. 7 pm. $5.

• Yeah mofos! It's a rock party at the Dwell Hole, or, Chuck's Home for Wayward Babes. With Black Pussy, Sok and the Faggots, Ancient Warlocks, I Like Science and Zebrana Bastards, expect beer pounding, head banging dance offs and good ole fashion Tacoma fun. Black Pussy, with its fuzzy, psychedelic, weed/shoegazer ways, pairs nicely with the stoner rock licks of Ancient Warlocks and the hilarious punk antics of Sok and the Faggots - that sings Come on baby let me shit on your chest/you know girl my shit is the best in the song, "Shitty Titties." Not to mention, the undoubted awesomeness of the other two bands. Grab a cab, ride your bike or hitchhike your ass to this show. it's not to be missed. — Nikki McCoy
  

Immanuel Presbyterian Church Tacoma - Northend. BARE Tacoma - Holiday offers an entirely a cappella evening featuring Shenandoah Davis, Sean Nelson (of Harvey Danger), Tacoma School of the Arts choir, Luke Stevens, Goldfinch, Colin Reynolds, Elk & Boar, Hannalee, Eternal Fair and others singing by candlelight. All Ages. 8 pm. $16.

• Perhaps when you think of a cappella you think of Sweet Adelines and old men wearing bashers. This is not the case when it comes to BARE Tacoma - Holiday, an a cappella performance Friday night at the Immanuel Presbyterian Church. Instead, you will hear 12 performers ranging from Tacoma School of Arts students to Northwest indie favorites such as Shenandoah Davis, Noah Gunderson, Sean Nelson (of Harvey Danger), Luke Stevens, Goldfinch, Colin Reynolds, Elk & Boar, Hannalee, Eternal Fair and others. Each artist will bust out a holiday song or two, as well as share their own songs and covers. Read Nikki McCoy's full feature of BARE TAcoma - Holidays, with interviews, on the Weekly Volcano's blog, Spew.

Jazzbones Tacoma - Sixth Avenue. The Stacy Jones Band. 8 pm. $5.

The Loch's Tacoma - Downtown. Winter Lyrical Fushion with Young Kal, Tha Committee, Tr3y Ent., Second Family, Po Boxx, Island Trybe with J-Sway. 8 pm. $5.

Louie G's Pizzeria Fife. Jonny Smokes, Black Diamond, Scarecrow Messiah. All Ages. 7 pm.

Maxwell's Restaurant + Lounge Tacoma - Downtown. Lance Buller Combo. 7 pm.

Medi's Pizza & Pasta Tacoma - Sixth Avenue. Shogun Barbie, The Trasholes, Special Explosion. All Ages. 8 pm.

• Tacoma garage rock band Shogun Barbie will unleash its debut EP, Medium, through the medium of pizza. Shogun Barbie, a rising star in the local scene, will be accompanied by fellow rockers The Trasholes - a young fuzz rock duo from Gig Harbor with strong influences from legendary punk groups such as Iggy and The Stooges and Black Flag - and Special Explosion, a contestant in 2011's battle of the bands Soundoff. These bands have a large set of music on their various websites to sample, and each one is well worth the listen. Entry is free and CDs will be handed out free of charge. Throughout the show Medi's will serve select Italian food and drinks, as well as keeping the bar open to those 21 and older, as the bands burn down the fine establishment with their unbearable levels of rock. Come out and support these three young and talented groups, and perhaps pick up a free EP as well. - Sean Contris

Mud Bay Coffee Company Olympia - Westside. You Are OK All-Ages Party, with Simon The Leper, The Deceptives, Horse Bodies. All Ages. 8 pm. $3.

The New Frontier Lounge Tacoma - Dome District. Jeff Buckley Tribute Show & Holiday Toy Drive. 8 pm.

• On a night in May, 1997, Jeff Buckley went nightswimming in the Wolf River; his body was found a week later. Three years prior to his untimely death, Buckley released Grace, a towering monument to a truly eccentric talent who had the potential to find legendary status divorced of the sad association of a man passing before his time. Grace's title track is a fierce and delicate anthem that sounds like nothing that came before or would come after (to say nothing of his famous and masterful cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah"). The task of covering the inimitable is one that will face Kurt Lindsay, RowHouse and Not From Brooklyn as they assemble to pay tribute to Buckley. This tribute night also doubles as a toy drive, so bring in a toy to get free admission. — Rev. Adam McKinney
  

Northern Pacific Coffee Co. Tacoma - Parkland. Camille Bloom. 8 pm. $8-$12.

• You may have heard one or two of her tracks on a TV show, or seen her in one of her numerous tours, but Friday, Dec. 7 you have the rare opportunity to see the singer/songwriter Camille Bloom in a very intimate setting, and from the trajectory of her career, this may be a rare opportunity. Read Timothy Grisham's interview with Camille Bloom regarding her new album and touring life in the Weekly Volcano's Music section.

The Olympia Ballroom Olympia - Downtown. Battle At The Ballroom, featuring Bucharest Drinking Team vs. Erev Rav. All Ages. 9 pm. $8-$10.

Rock the Dock Pub & Grill Tacoma - Downtown. Psychedelic Shadow Show. 9 pm.

The Royal Lounge Olympia - Downtown. Legalize My Smile Party with Elbow Coulee and The DaveBenSamTrio. 9 pm. $5.

Stonegate Pizza Tacoma - South. Rafael Tranquilino. 9 pm.

Top of Tacoma Bar and Cafe Tacoma - Eastside. Tex, Piko Panda. 10 pm. NC.

Traditions Cafe and World Folk Art Olympia - Downtown. Dana Lyons. All Ages. 8 pm. $5-$12.

LINK: Friday, Dec. 7 live music and DJs in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

LONG-ASS MOVIES THIS WEEKEND >>>

It's been nine long years since the Lord of the Rings trilogy wrapped up. Nine, precious! But no longer will you have to suffer in darkness, far from all things Middle Earth. No, precious, things will now change. An entirely new trilogy based on The Hobbit will hit movie screens Dec. 14, and word on the nerd streets is that these movies carry the torch well - with higher frame rates and better CGI.

To help you rekindle your LotR flame, many theater chains are putting on a marathon of all three movies Saturday, Dec. 8 and Sunday, Dec. 9. Some theaters are showing extended versions, but all feature a special intro by director Peter Jackson. If you haven't done the math, this marathon goes more than nine hours for the theatrical release version and more than 11 hours for the extended versions.

Count on busting out your catheter or adult diaper.

Saturday, Dec. 8

• Galaxy Narrows: 10 a.m., $20, 2208 Mildred St. W., Tacoma, 10 a.m., $20
• Galaxy Gig Harbor: 10 a.m., 2 and 7 p.m., $20, 4649 Point Fosdick Dr. NW, Gig Harbor
• Regal Lakewood 15: 11:15 a.m., $30 via Fandango, 2410 84th St. S., Lakewood
• Regal Longston Place Stadium 14: 11:15 a.m., $30 via Fandango, 13317 Meridian St. E., Puyallup
• Regal Martin Village Stadium 16 and IMAX: $30 via Fandango, 5400 E. Martin Way, Lacey
• AMC Loews Lakewood Towne Center 12 (extended versions): 10 a.m., $25, 5721 Main St. SW, Lakewood

Saturday, Dec. 8 and Sunday, Dec. 9

• Century Olympia (extended versions): 11 a.m., $25, 625 Black Lake Blvd. SW, Olympia

South Sound Sidekick series offers advice from experts living in the, well, South Sound. It posts every Friday. Today, musician Hozoji Matheson-Margullis of Lozen and Helms Alee discusses her experiences harvesting geoducks beneath the surface of Puget Sound.

Hozoji Matheson-Margullis writes,

I started training for my job harvesting geoducks with the Puyallup Tribe in December of 2009. So I'm coming up on my third year of diving. Three years definitely does not make me an expert on the subject, but I have learned a lot about diving, myself, my tribe and our environment in that time.

The word "geoduck" is an adaptation of "gwideq," the Nisqually Tribe's name for the clams. In their language "gwideq" means "dig deep." Harvesting gwideq has been a life source for many of the coastal Salish tribes for as long as we have lived here.

An average adult gwideq can weigh around three pounds. If you manage to wrestle just one of them out of the ground you can feed several people.

Many people today still go down to the beach and use the old school method of harvesting: a shovel, a bucket and patient persistence. The giant clams bury themselves about three feet deep in the sand and then extend their long necks up through the sand to filter feed. When they sense a predator they retract their necks down close to their shell, which means you have to dig all the way down to the base of their shell to get them out.

Washington state has its own geoduck program and each tribe has its own program.

There are gwideq farms where they plant the clams in PVC tubes placed in the tidelands and harvest the mature clams at low tide.

The type of harvesting I do is surface supplied air diving off of a dive boat. Divers wear full-face helmets that provide our air and allow us to communicate with our crewmates on the boat. We wear dry suits to keep warm and carry a back-up tank of air that would give us an additional three minutes of air should the generator up top malfunction. The diver takes a net bag and a high-pressure water nozzle and descends to the seabed to search for the clams. Gwideq can be harvested anywhere from 20 feet shallow to 70 feet deep. Much of the time the clams are completely submerged in the sand and you are looking for just the tiniest divot in the surface or a slight discoloration of the sand. But when you're lucky the siphon of the clam will be sticking out above the sand filtering food. This is common in the summer time when the algae are blooming in our waters and the gwideq are feasting. Come wintertime the clams go dormant.

To harvest a gwideq you grab the neck with one hand and stick the water nozzle down by the shell with the other. The high water pressure blows away the sand around the base of the shell releasing it to be collected.        

Being down there walking around feels how I imagine it would feel to walk on the moon. Movement is slowed. The most prominent sound is your own breathing. Fifteen feet visibility is a normal day but some days you can see up to 50 feet. Other days there is almost zero visibility and you spend the entire dive with you face in the sand.

When I signed up for my training I was pretty confident I wouldn't make it through to become a diver. The course was a two-month session taught at Joint Base Lewis-McChord by two former Navy Seals. The Seals' end goal was to push us to our limits of fear and physical exhaustion. I was born and raised in Tacoma and spent much of my life on our beaches but I've always had a primal fear of the dark murky water. The idea a seal or sea lion being anywhere near me in the water sent me fleeing for shore. And back then I had no idea that we have two of the largest sharks in the world in our little bay!

After my very first dive, my mind shifted. I was amazed by what I saw down there. I enjoyed facing my fears. Despite what it looks like from the surface, it is colorful and beautiful on bottom.

Puget Sound is one of the most nutrient rich bodies of water in the world. Because of that we have a vast array of sea life. I highly recommend getting certified and getting down there. There are dive shops in our area that do SCUBA training. It would blow your mind to see what's beneath the waters you have been staring at all these years!

LINK: Smoking marijuana in Washington state advice

LINK: Speeding ticket advice

LINK: DUI advice

LINK: Music business advice

LINK: First tattoo advice

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SATURDAY, DEC. 8 2012 >>>

1. Imagine soulful music of yesterday being forcibly pumped out of Janis Joplin's larynx and then lathered with the silkiest velvet, and you've a pretty good idea of the kind of groove Kim Archer can make. Archer has a strong, emotional voice, a robust musical sense and a willingness to work outside the tightly proscribed boundaries of the genre. Tonight, from 7-9 p.m. you may ice skate to Archer's heavy soul and groove when she performs at the Weekly Volcano's electric Salchow Stage inside the ice rink at the Franciscan Polar Plaza. They'll be dancing on the ice tonight.

2. Christmas shopping can be fun — especially when you dress up the shopping environment like a Victorian English town, make it feel authentic with roving, costumed entertainers, town criers and carolers, and fill it with beautiful handmade gift items and scrumptious food. You’ll get all that at the Dickens Festival at Stadium, a period-piece shopping experience in Tacoma’s Stadium District from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dickens Festival at Stadium concludes with the Dickens Ball inside the Titus Will Showroom. From 6-9:30 p.m. The Fat Tones will fill the dealership with rockin' blues.

3. To inject a little spirit and a lot of youth in our veins, the Weekly Volcano is headed to the Freighthouse Square Saturday for its annual Family Holiday Event featuring $5 Santa photos, holiday craft bazaar, Lego display, carolers, DIY craft tables, Winter Wonderland Model Train exhibit and more for noon to 4 p.m.

4. This holiday season, step away from the shopping madness at the malls and try something different - a shopping tour brought to you by Tacoma ART BUS and Go Local Tacoma. Today's bus tour is hosted by Tacoma City Councilmember and president of the Tacoma Urban League Victoria Woodards. The tour boards at Tacoma Art Museum between 3:30 and 3:55 p.m. and leaves at 4. Tickets are $10 via Brown Paper Tickets, or $20 if you want a swag bag. Again, you'll get the passport and must shop at five participating businesses to enter the raffle. Since you'll have wheels for this tour, businesses are as far-flung as Sixth Avenue, the Dome District and South Tacoma Way.

5. Downtown Olympia was rocked Monday night by the senseless murder of one of its own, Casey Heath. Tonight at 9 p.m. inside McCoy's Tavern, Heath's longtime friends are throwing a benefit to help with the funeral costs, but more importantly, bring together the Downtown Olympia Community to remember a dear friend. The Resident Kings, Little Red Car Wreck and The Have At Its join McCoy's staples AKA & The Heart Hurt Goods and DJ Slimrock for an incredible night of music. There will be a suggested donation of $5 (but any amount, more or less, is welcome) and no one will be turned away at the door.

PLUS: The Hilltop Artists Holiday Glass Sale and Duck The Malls in our Weekend Hustle

LINK: Saturday, Dec. 8 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

BANDITO BETTY LOU WHO'S LEAP OF THE DAY >>>

Bandito Betty Lou Who isn't a huge fan of jingtinglers, floofloovers, trumtookas, blumbloopas and the other wack musical instruments her fellow Whos bang during the holiday season. Every two years she gets the hell out of Whoville and spends the holiday season in the South Sound.

She's back. The Weekly Volcano secretly attached a GPS device to her whocarnio. We're tracking her. Apparently, Bandito Betty Lou Who loves Jeff Buckley as she was tracked last night at the tribute show inside The New Frontier Lounge.

Bandito Betty Lou Who continues her tour of new Tacoma businesses. This past spring Jooley Heaps converted her Box Top Vintage into a pop culture store called Poison Apple. The change added more novelty retail including toys, movie posters, out-of-print horror VHS, local music CDs, DVDs, art, bacon Christmas ornaments and wackiness. Poison Apple's annual Frightmare Before Crimiss will be held Saturday, Dec. 15. We snapped Bandito leaping next to Poison Apple's Christmas tree before she ran down Pacific Avenue. Don't fret. The Weekly Volcano is hot on her trail. Expect more Lou Who action tomorrow.

POISON APPLE, 907 PACIFIC AVE., TACOMA, 253.304.1874

LINK: Bandito Betty Lou Who jumps archive

LINK: Weekly Volcano loves the holidays, cats and crafts, so we joined Pinterest.