Besties, this is Nerd Alert, the Weekly Volcano's recurring events calendar devoted to all things nerdy. I myself am a Star Wars fan, mathlete, and spelling bee champion of long standing, so trust me: I grok whereof I speak.

Welcome to the first week of January, aka the annual geek doldrums. Good movies came out at the end of December to qualify for Oscar nominations, leaving only a sad Paranormal Activity sequel debuting this week. With the nerd-neutral exception of Downton Abbey, TV season premieres don't begin till later this month. There are no geek events planned locally this week. There isn't even a new play opening (though I will be at the debut of Lakewood Playhouse's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Friday). I thought about filling this void by compiling a Best of 2013 list, but the truth is I haven't caught up on all last year had to offer. Instead, please allow me to rattle off the finest genre projects I have been able to take in over the last 12 months. That'll at least give you some quality entertainment to binge on through this cold winter hiatus.

No one ever accused Doctor Who of excessive consistency in tone, but when it's on its A game (usually meaning showrunner Steven Moffat, who also runs the excellent Sherlock, wrote the episode) it's as entertaining as anything on TV. I thoroughly enjoyed a cuddly telefilm about the origins of the series, An Adventure in Space and Time, and the massive episode it introduced, "The Day of the Doctor." All this was to set up the departure of 11th Doctor Matt Smith, in Christmas Day's poignant ep "The Time of the Doctor." Here's the good news: the BBC's rerunning the lot of it on New Year's Eve.

I can't pretend to be a fan of modern horror, thanks to its overreliance on shock effects and sadism. (Seven Saws plus two branded video games in a decade? No, thanks.) The Conjuring was a rare and welcome exception, however, thanks to great performances from Vera Farmiga and Lili Taylor, plus a goosebumpy script by the Hayes brothers of Portland, Ore. It's available now on Netflix, including Netflix Streaming, and I dare you to watch it with the lights off.

Though it probably slipped under your radar, the "found-footage" sci-fi film Europa Report gets impressive mileage from a mere seven-digit budget. An international team of scientists is en route to an ecologically promising Jovian moon when its ship loses communication with the earth. What happens next will remind you less of Prometheus and more of 2010: The Year We Make Contact. The action and settings feel unusually plausible, and it's a fun change of pace from less cerebral efforts. (Oh, Pacific Rim ... where should I even begin?) Europa Report is also available on Netflix Streaming.

While Gravity fudges near-terrestrial orbital mechanics for maximum impact, it also boasts a fine performance by Sandra Bullock, plus what I think we can all agree are the most dazzling visual effects of the year, maybe ever. Sadly, Alfonso Cuarón's epic two-hander vacated Tacoma and Olympia cineplexes, but it arrives on Blu-ray, including a 3-D edition, Feb. 25, flush with what I expect will be a raft of Oscar noms.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is, however, in area theaters. If you passed on it because you found its predecessor lacking in the thrills department, now's a good time to reconsider. Every conceivable aspect of this installment is better, thanks in large part to a change of director. It has visceral excitement, better effects, richer acting and a promising setup for Mockingjay, Parts 1 and 2. Between this and American Hustle, that lovely young Jennifer Lawrence is having quite an annus mirabilis.

I'm working my way slowly through critics' top 10 lists of 2013 novels, having just finished Meg Wolitzer's expansive The Interestings, but few include the book I found most un-put-down-able: Lexicon, by Australia's Max Barry. It's about an underground society in which so-called "poets" wield linguistic "persuasion" tricks to manipulate the masses, for crusades both kind and abominable. It's a riveting thriller with a cerebral, satirical pulse, my favorite since Ready Player One.

If you have Xfinity On Demand, you can binge-watch all 10 first-season episodes of the BBC's Orphan Black for free, and you totally should. It's amazingly good, y'all, especially the manifold performance of Tatiana Maslany. That she didn't receive an Emmy nomination casts that entire nominating process into serious doubt. Here's the setup: A young British woman named Sarah (Maslany) spots another woman, Beth (also Maslany), in a tube station, just before Beth leaps to her death in front of a train. Sarah then swaps identities with Beth to get herself and her daughter out of a jam. That's how she meets Katja (uh, Maslany) and Alison (holy crap, Maslany again), plus three more vivid characters - all played by, yep, Maslany. Defiance be damned, Orphan Black was far and away the smartest sci-fi telly of 2013.

That said, I sure enjoyed me some Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Season 5. Memories of embarrassing prequels faded thanks to killer episodes like "Point of No Return," culminating in a series-finale arc in which a young Padawan is wrongfully accused of mass murder. It's true Clone Wars was all over the tonal map, perhaps by necessity, but it sure made my DVR fun on Saturday mornings. All five seasons are available on DVD or Blu-ray, harder to find on legal streaming services.

The summer movie season was bracketed by two apocalyptic comedies, This Is the End and The World's End. Both were hysterically funny. Both are available on something called HitBliss Streaming, or for disc rental on Netflix. Neither, I promise you, is G-rated, but only the former includes Jonah Hill getting menaced by a priapic demon. So yeah. Good luck wiping that image from your brain.

This was an unexpectedly strong season of The Walking Dead, especially episode 3.8, "Made to Suffer." Oh! And I gather there was some sort of wedding on Game of Thrones? I don't subscribe to HBO, so my wife and I are eagerly awaiting the Blu-rays Feb. 18. Don't you dare spoil anything for us! Nothing warms our hearts more than a glorious wedding. Felicitations and mazel tov, you beautiful Stark kids!

Until next week, may the Force be with you, may the odds be ever in your favor, and vartix velkor mannik wissick, may you send me a stack of Regal gift cards courtesy of the Volcano head office.

See Also

Judging by the Trailer

TUESDAY, DEC. 17 2013 >>>

1. Tacoma native Erik Hanberg is a man who wears many hats. One day, you may see him fulfilling his duties as commissioner of Metro Parks Tacoma; on another, you may spy him petitioning to pay tribute to legendary scribe and fellow Tacoman Frank Herbert, author of the Dune series, by loaning the same moniker to a local park. More recently, you may have spied him signing copies of his newly released novel, The Lead Cloak, Book One of the Lattice Trilogy,which he'll do again at 7 p.m., Dec. 17 at the Tacoma Public Library Main Branch. Read Jackie Fender's Q&A with Erik Hanberg in the Music & Culture section.

Read more...

TUESDAY, DEC. 3 2013 >>>

1. Did you ever wonder where all that rainwater goes, once it runs down that grate in the street? In Tacoma, it’s headline news with the Pacific Avenue Streetscape Project and its fancy green storm water infrastructure. In larger cities the infrastructure are often vast tunnels, an arcane and idiosyncratic series of interconnected waterways vital to a city’s daily functions, but invisible and forgotten by its citizens, save for a handful of construction and maintenance workers. At 2:40 and 7:50 p.m., The Grand Cinema will screen Lost Rivers, a recent documentary about urban underground waterways around the world.

2. One of the Pacific Northwest's leading Native artists, from a family long associated with The Evergreen State College, is the subject of a richly illustrated new book, A Totem Pole History: The Work of Lummi Carver Joe Hillaire. Lummi elder Pauline Hillaire writes about her father's legacy as one of the most influential Coast Salish artists of the 20th century.  The book includes photographs of Joe Hillaire's most significant totem poles, along with essays from contributors on Coast Salish art history, pigment technology, oral history, intercultural relations and the central role of art in Coast Salish life. Lummi/Haida carver Felix Solomon, editor Gregory Fields, and others associated with the publication will present images and readings from the book and its accompanying video and audio CDs at 3 p.m. in Seminar Building Two, Room C1105, at The Evergreen State College.

3. Olympia author Peter James Neff will read from his newly published collection of inspirational poetry, Prayers to Live, and answer questions about his poetry and artwork at 6 p.m. in the Tumwater Timberland Library. Neff, a young man with Down syndrome, lives with his parents, goes to work every day, volunteers in his community and takes an active role in his church. He is a prolific poet, responsive to each joy, sorrow, friend and everyday experience in his life.

4. Need a holiday season boost? Join the Pacific Lutheran University community at 5 p.m. for its annual lighting of the tree in Red Square. There will be singing of carols, sipping of hot cider and Pres. Anderson will throw the switch.

5. Every Tuesday, Maxwell's Speakeasy serves two chef's choice appetizers and two house wines or draft beers for $15. Chef Slater and server extraordinaire and wine pro Kent Bolden sample wines weeks in advance, mull them over, discuss possible pairings, sample more, then create an awesome dining experience.

PLUS: Holiday Events Calendar

PLUS: South Sound Holiday Command Center

LINK: Tuesday, Dec. 3 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

TUESDAY, NOV. 26 2013 >>>

1. Located alongside the Tennessee River, Muscle Shoals, Alabama is the unlikely breeding ground for some of America's most creative and defiant music. At its heart is Rick Hall who founded FAME Studios. Overcoming crushing poverty and staggering tragedies, Hall brought black and white together in Alabama's cauldron of racial hostility to create music for the generations. He is responsible for creating the "Muscle Shoals sound" and The Swampers, the house band at FAME that eventually left to start their own successful studio, known as Muscle Shoals Sound. Greg Allman, Bono, Clarence Carter, Mick Jagger, Etta James, Alicia Keys, Keith Richards, Percy Sledge and others bear witness to Muscle Shoals' magnetism, mystery and why it remains influential today in the film Muscle Shoals, screening at 2:30 and 6:45 p.m. in The Grand Cinema.

2. Rosemary Adkins, author of a new memoir, Reflections of Mamie: A Story of Survival - a heartrending account of her life that took 16 years to write - will sign and discuss the book at noon in Orca Books. Her message to other victims is to "share your story" with someone you trust and if you are able, "shout it out" to other victims, showing them how you overcame and got help.

3. The South Sound has its share of geeks. We should know. Our office D&D room is full of them. Heck fire - we every post a weekly Nerd Alert on our blog. When local book geeks aren't tinkering with gizmos that can scan books at 2,000 pages an hour, they're reading them, including Deadpool, Vol. I: Dead Presidents by Brian Posehn & Gerry Duggan. Said geeks will gather at 7 p.m. in King's Books to discuss the chemical reactions to control moisture when cooking turkeys, as well as Posehn and Duggan's book about an overly patriotic ex-Shield Agent, who is also a necromancer, resurrects all our nation's Dead Presidents in order to fix the nation's problems. Unfortunately, the Dead Presidents' solution is to wipe the slate clean with the blood of the American people who they feel have forsaken its dream. S.H.I.E.L.D. dispatches Captain America to confront the issue and things turn bloody.

4. Full Moon Radio plays grunge/pop/punk rock with crystal clear lyrics that are moving and edgy, executed with the feminism and integrity of three superbly powerful women. Catch the band with The Ground Up and Red Red Red at 9 p.m. in The Brotherhood Lounge.

5. The 1230 Room probably has you at "free taco bar," but you also may be interested in the downtown Olympia club's new Tuesday deep, tech and progressive house night "The Deep End." It launches at 9 p.m. with drink specials, no cover and resident DJs Alex Bosi, Evan Mould and Chris Paro.

LINK: Tuesday, Nov. 26 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

THURSDAY, NOV. 21 2013 >>>

1. Antje Duvekot silky voice wraps around her songs like a nice hemp sandal. One song breaks out and tackles grittier social matters with razor sharp insights. The next song, her pitch perfect, sweet, delicate and poignant soprano voice waxes personal. Then, she'll sing a dark-eyed ballad about what becomes of people who fall short of the American Dream in uncomfortable detail. She is as understated as she is wise and her songs go down mentally as well as soulfully. Her voice has a sound of innocence and naivety, which makes razor sharp insights into the human condition. Catch the Boston folk darling at 8 p.m. in Morso Wine Bar in Gig Harbor.

2. Your smokin' local ticket to great art, cool venues, celebrity tour guides, shopping, delicious nibbles, special treats, games, raffles, and fun, fun, fun is just two words: Art Bus! Hop aboard this premier Tacoma art tour at 6 p.m. in front of the Tacoma Art Museum and explore the city, enjoy games, great giveaways and so much more with a wickedly wonderful local twist. Tonight, the Art Bus gives back to the community by donating non-perishable food items to help the hungry (those who donate get a VIP raffle ticket to say thanks).

3. The University of Puget Sound's Art + Science Salon series returns to the Tacoma Art Museum for a conversation about the intersection of science, literature and the printed medium at 6 p.m.

4. The last CONVERSATIONS RE: TACOMA urban design lecture series will center on the arts and its influence on the livelihood of a community, such as Tacoma, at 6:30 p.m. in the museum of Glass. The after party will be at The Social Bar and Grill where the topic will be how cocktails affect an arts discussion.

5. And just when you were about to reach karmic exhaustion and flip on South Park, the anthology Sarasvati Takes Pegasus as Her Mount - featuring poems by Peggy Barnett, Glenna Cook, Maria Gudaitis, Marjorie Rommel, Josie Emmons Turner, Connie Walle and 11 other women poets  - is released, with a 7 p.m. celebration at King's Books. And the calm flows into your skin like the cool rays of the morning sun.

LINK: Thursday, Nov. 21 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 13 2013 >>>

1. Author David Cantlin will lecture on Tacoma Rail, one of the largest short-line railroad systems in the country, at noon inside the Washington State History Museum. Cantlin's new book showcases the history of the railroad industry in Tacoma, from its humble beginning as a rickety trolley line to the economic engine that helps power the Port of Tacoma and surrounding area.

2. Digital media pioneer Jennifer Steinkamp fabricated a vividly seductive digital artwork following a tree through the four seasons as though blown by unpredictable winds, causing the branches to twist and clench. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Tacoma Art Museum, the artwork charts the passage of time by following the path of a single tree as it cycles through a year of change in 11 minutes.

3. Meghan Mitchell's drawings in the show "Hello" at Fulcrum Gallery are delightful. We could easily dismiss them as cute little drawings not really important as art, but we could just as easily dismiss the art of great graphic artists like Saul Steinberg and Jules Feiffer in the same way. We can see similarities between Mitchell's drawings and some by Steinberg and Feiffer. We also see similarities in style to popular Tacoma artist Sean Alexander. We can also see the show for the last time as it ends today. Catch it from noon to 6 p.m. Read Alec Clayton's full review of "Hello" in the Music and Culture section.

4. There are not many foods you can philosophize about effectively (what does a hamburger mean?), but soup is one of them. It's the perfect winter food, it's rich and healthy, it's just so damn ... warm. You could probably come up with many more fitting theories why soup is so metaphorical. So, come embarrass your peers by waxing poetic at Pacific Lutheran University's Empty Bowls benefit where bowls created by professional and amateur potters will be on sale from 4-6 p.m. to benefit the Trinity Lutheran Church food banks. Admire (and take home) the pretty bowls at $10 a pop. Oh, and there's soup, baby ... beautiful, bottomless bowl after bowl.

5. Saxophonist Kareem Kandi has hosted an open jazz session for years, a backyard patio for his music school friends, fellow musicians and newbies to jam out standards - fresh, fiery and exciting. The jam now resides every second Wednesday at 7 p.m. in The Swiss.

LINK: Wednesday, Nov. 13 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

TUESDAY, NOV. 12 2013 >>>

1. Bay Area band One Hundred Percent channel the sort of guitar-driven alt-rock that dominated the '90s, calling to mind groups like Dinosaur Jr. and My Bloody Valentine. Angular guitars melt into fuzzy atmospherics before exploding into a squall of distortion, all the while accompanied by the sensitive lead vocals of Matt Habegger. Rather than send-up that period of music with touches of contemporary influences, One Hundred Percent instead strive for slavish recreation, the end result being an uncanny approximation of the kind of band you would theoretically spot on a flyer for a Jawbox gig, or would see pop up on 120 Minutes. Catch the band at 10 p.m. in Le Voyeur.

2. Composer Neil Flory will share his thoughts on some of the more than 80 musical compositions he has created in acoustic and electro-acoustic mediums as the next guest in the Saint Martin's University "Music @ 11" recital series at 11 a.m. in Kreielsheimer Hall. Flory will also perform a piano improvisation.

3. "A haiku must be very simple and free of all poetic trickery and make a little picture and yet be as airy and graceful as a Vivaldi Pastorella," wrote Jack Kerouac. And that's exactly what the Commencement Bay Haiku Club hopes to accomplish tonight - refreshingly simple and accessible poems that jog the imagination. Here's a haiku we wrote about the folks down the street from our office:

Trailer has no tires

Rusted rims have sunk in deep

My Homeland's secure

Think you can do better? Pop into King's Books at 6 p.m. with your page of three to five haiku poems to read and listen for feedback.

4. Beverly Conner and Hans Ostrom will read from two new books - Conner's devastating and inspiring novel Where Light is a Place and Ostrom's stark, intimate collection of poems Clear a Place for Good - at 7 p.m. in Trimble Forum at Trimble Hall on the University of Puget Sound campus. The event is part of the university's Coffeehouse Series.

5. While all of the glossy, radio-ready electro-pop and achingly beautiful, heartfelt lyrics of Melanie Valera's (aka Tender Forever) recordings were well on display during this year's Squeak and Squawk Music Festival, what we weren't expecting was how utterly charming and downright funny Valera is in a live setting. Kicking off her shoes and dancing down in the pit with the audience members, Valera announced herself as a mesmerizing performer. Narrating youtube videos via projection screen, conducting percussion with Wii remotes, making a shaved-head picture of Britney Spears both silly and inspiring - Tender Forever is a stunning live act, and one that you shouldn't dare miss with Poppet, Hot Fruit, Symmettrix, Hym(e)n, Everybody Weekend, Taylor Newcomb, DJ Royal Bleu and DJ Anna Phylaxis at 7 p.m. in Northern.

LINK: Tuesday, Nov. 12 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

NANOWRIMO WRITE IN, NOV. 2

In my four years working for the Weekly Volcano, I'd say I've averaged roughly 1,000 written words per week, which adds up to 4,000 a month. Not too bad. But, in the month of November, a few hundred thousand people will be putting me to shame as they each churn out at least 50,000 words as part of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo).

Beginning Nov. 1, participants in NaNoWriMo will have 30 days to start and complete their novel. Once they've finished, they will turn them in to nanowrimo.org for verification and receive a certification of their accomplishment in return.

Why do something like this? I dunno. Personally, the very idea of it sends homework anxiety shivers down my spine. But, if you've had this idea in the back of your head that would make for a good short novel, but you've never had the gumption to just go ahead and do it already, NaNoWriMo is the perfect excuse to take a month and force yourself to make some art. There's nothing like having a deadline to wring all that creative juice out of your head - warts and all.

To commemorate the beginning of National Novel Writing Month, King's Books will be holding a "Write In" - a sort of meet-up and support group for NaNoWriMo participants to get together and vent and plan the rest of their novel-writing flurry. Creativity doesn't grow in a vacuum, so it doesn't hurt to meet other people who are working for the same goal.

NATIONAL NOVEL WRITING MONTH MEET-UP, 3-7 p.m., King's Books, 218 St. Helens Ave, Tacoma, no cover, 253.272.8801

JET CITY COMIC SHOW, NOV. 2

Jet City Comic Show's (JCCS) origin story finds it rising up to humbly take its place as Tacoma's premier comic book convention, amid a wasteland of out-of-town events. JCCS fills a void in Tacoma, creating a place for disenfranchised Tacoma nerds to gather in safety, free to browse every rare reissue and alternate timeline experiment and up-and-coming graphic novel auteur. The amount of talent and creative freedom on display at a comic book convention such as Jet City Comic Show is staggering, and well worth the time for even the casual comic enthusiast.

Of most interest to serious comic fans is the programming on tap for JCCS, including an intriguing talk from GeekGirlCon's Jennifer K. Stuller on the mythology of women in comics, and a Q&A featuring Neal Stephenson and Mark Teppo of the epic Foreworld Saga.

Mainly, though, this is an opportunity to take in all of the brilliant work on offer and to add more items to your no doubt exhaustive collection - or to make the first entry into your inevitably expansive library. Either way, Jet City Comic Show is a great way to meet new artists, with like-minded people, and get your geek on in fully regal costume. Any way you wish to nerd.

JET CITY COMIC SHOW, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Greater Tacoma Convention & Trade Center, 1500 Broadway, Tacoma, $8, jetcitycomicshow.com

ALERT!: The official Jet City Comic show Drink-N-Draw returns on the night before the show at the Harmon Brewery & Eatery in Tacoma

TUESDAY, OCT. 22 2013 >>>

1. Imagine a book club. Then imagine a nerd wearing a cape, a non-weird, non-hippie vegan and a teen girl dressed as Katniss. Now imagine them smashed together like chocolate and peanut butter. The result: The Capes and Cowls Book Club, Vegan Book Club and Young Adult Fiction Book Club meeting at the same time in King's Books. That's right, Young Health-Conscious Superfriends! What we imagine as King's owner sweet pea's titillation trifecta will go down at 7 p.m. Will members defect to other groups? Will nerds and vegans hook-up while YA members post Instagrams of the unions? What's certain is parking shouldn't be a problem as they all will bicycle to King's.

2. Soprano Erin Guinup will trace a century of musical theater history through the music and words of women as the next guest in the Saint Martin's University "Music @ 11" recital series. The one-hour concert, "The Ladies of Lyric and Song: A Musical Reflection on the Ground-breaking Female Composers and Lyricists of the American Musical Theater," will take place at 11 a.m. in Kreielsheimer Hall. The event is free and open to the public.

3. Tacoma wine bar STINK Tank hosts a free tasting of Stafford Hill Riesling, Tempranillo and Roccascossa Red Blend from 5-7 p.m.

4. On the surface, Posole bear many of the telltale signs of a surf-rock band, but the San Francisco band folds in elements of mariachi and Latin rhythms. Sometimes, they approach the sort of desert rock of groups like Los Lobos, with horns adorning their cinematic narratives. All the while, the guitars are louder and more aggressive than one would expect when listening to a band that describes itself as "dream pop." Check them out in an all-ages setting with Tatarus and Mister Master at 6 p.m. in Le Voyeur.

5. You have one chance to see The Acting Company's production of Hamlet so err not. The national touring company presents the tale of a young man who finds his father has been murdered and must avenge the horrid deed at 7:30 p.m. in the Minnaert Center. Power politics, a haunting, a love story, murder, revenge and great fight scenes converge in one production. 

LINK: Tuesday, Oct. 22 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

TUESDAY, OCT. 15 2013 >>>

1. Tacoma's Head Bookworm Erik Hanberg is everywhere. If he's not helping old ladies across the street, or building little houses for squirrels at every park in Tacoma, or designing a marketing program with his wife, or ballroom dancing to raise money for charities, or giving local dignitaries a ride on a 12-person bike, or building a shrine out of cocktail swizzle sticks for Tacoma author Frank Herbert, he's releasing a new book. Old ladies, squirrels, dance partners, city councilmembers and cocktails will be on hold tonight as Hanberg releases yet another book, The Lead Cloak, with a book launch party at 7 p.m. in King's Books. The book, his first science fiction adventure, is set in 2081 when "The Lattice" enables anyone to re-live any moment of his or her life. According to pre-event hype, "Most people love (The Lattice). Some want to destroy it. Colonel Byron Shaw has just saved the Lattice from the most dangerous attack in its history." It's best to arrive at King's early as the Stadium District bookstore will, no doubt, be full of old ladies, squirrels, dancers, Tacoma City Councilmembers, drinkers and his wife, Mary.

2. Based on true events and laced with wry humor, Still Mine is a heartfelt love story about an 89-year-old New Brunswicker who comes up against the system when he sets out to build a more suitable house for his wife whose memory is starting to go. The Grand Cinema screens the flick at 2:10 and 6:40 p.m.

3. Women vs. men. Make all your jokes about remote controls and refusing to ask for directions, but we all know it's way more complicated than that. The complexities are ripe for the examining, precisely what Hanna Rosin, senior editor at The Atlantic, editor and founder of Slate's women's section DoubleX, and author of a new book, will do at 7 p.m. in William W. Philip Hall on the UW Tacoma campus. Rosin will explain her reasons for believing that, although men currently seem unwilling to adjust to new realities that are changing their roles in society, they "may become more flexible as the world around them continues to change." 

4. Sinatra-esque crooner Chris Anderson takes his show to the Red Wind Casino at 6:30 p.m., hitting all the notes and making the ladies swoon in the process. Anderson has repeatedly proven to offer a throwback good time.

5. The 1230 Room probably has you at "free taco bar," but you also may be interested in the downtown Olympia club's new Tuesday deep, tech and progressive house night "The Deep End." It launches tonight with drink specials, no cover and resident DJs Alex Bosi, Evan Mould and Chris Paro.

LINK: Tuesday, Oct. 15 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area