THE WEEK OF DEC. 20-26, 2012 >>>

In this week's issue of the Weekly Volcano ...

Even though they have brains that work in creative overdrive, capable of producing beats, licks and lyrics you and I couldn't hold a candle to, musicians are just like us. Musicians still have laundry to do, they still have bills to pay and they still have holiday wishes. From used panties, to world peace and tow hitches, Nikki McCoy gathered a compilation wish list from some of the South Sound's best musicians.

Above the busy port waters of Tacoma, just between the train tracks and the commotion of Pacific Avenue, a gem rises from the concrete, its two-story glass entrance beckoning sleekly at an inviting angle, the Tacoma Art Museum. Hidden within that gem is a magical place, a place where appearances can be deceiving, where masterpieces masquerade as wooden crates, the Tacoma Art Museum receiving dock. Jenni Prange Boren goes behind the scenes at the Tacoma Art Museum.

There's a battle going. It's a battle that may or may not touch your life, but one that will help to shape the future of digital rights. It's a battle between many top publishers and libraries. You can join this battle. You can make your voice heard. Pierce County Library's "STop Being Scrooge" campaign urges bookworms to unite against Scroogey publishers - publishers who are not selling e-books to libraries.

If you're anything like Jackie Fender, reveling in holiday cookie parties doesn't necessarily mean you want to slave away in the kitchen. Baking requires a different finesse than what Fender is endowed with. Rather than show up to the sweets shindig empty handed, or worse even, hands full of hideous mounds she passes off as "cookies," Fender hires a bakery. She has found five local bakeries that bake awesome holiday cookies.

When Weekly Volcano theater critic Joann Varnell headed to Lakewood Playhouse, she was so affected by the horrific event in Newtown, Conn. She wasn't prepared to laugh and she definitely wasn't in the Christmas spirit. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever opened up with Beth Bradley (Katherine Dunkelberger) narrating. The actors portraying the Bradley family were good and it was refreshing to see a blended family like many in society. Read her full review here.

PLUS: Music critics' picks for the week

PLUS: Details on the musical benefit for Nicole Skoog

PLUS: Josh Rizeberg's Q&A with hip-hop artist Jusz Nyce

PLUS: Alec Clayton's review of the Holiday Show at Childhood's End

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