MONDAY, SEPT. 15 2014 >>>

1. In the 12 years since its debut, the Juried Art Exhibit at The Gallery at Tacoma Community College has not only grown in scope, but it's also become a favorite for South Sound art lovers. Nearly 40 artists - a who's who of the South Sound arts scene - have works in the 12th annual show, which opens at noon for a six-week run. Awards will be presented at the 4-7 p.m. Sept. 18 reception. Artists include: Bill Colby, Andrea L. Erickson, Ric Hall, Fumiko Kimura, Becky Knold, Ron Schmitt, LeeAnn Seaburg Perry, Sharon Styer, Jason Sobottka, William Turner, Sarah Waldo and others.

2. The 2014 Washington State Fair celebrates the U.S. armed forces by hosting its annual Military Monday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Free gate admission is offered to all active, reserve, and retired military and National Guard and their dependents, plus disabled veterans, when each shows valid military ID at any gate. March over to the traveling dental office exhibit, where Joint Base Lewis McChord gives Fair guests insight into toothache relief and other dental issues when troops are deployed. This display is staged to look like dental offices taken to war zones. They will also perform demonstrations at 3, 5 and 7 p.m. with a four-cell move team in riot gear against an aggressor. The action will capture the attention of all who attend. Several non-profit organizations related to the military will have booths at Military Appreciation Days. Hobby Hall is showing their stars and stripes with their staged recruitment office and Vietnam War memorabilia display, open for the duration of the Fair. Memorabilia will include military nurse uniforms, a military Jeep and more. Do the hoo-ah!

3. Flash back to the Roaring 20s, when Port Angeles was in the midst of the Prohibition: Booze was banned, stealthy bootleggers, rum-runners and manufactures of moonshine roamed the streets. Local author Karen Barnett captured the scene in her book, Mistaken, a suspenseful, historical romance set in and around Port Angeles, Wash. during Prohibition. Barnett will discuss Mistaken at Parkland/Spanaway Pierce County Library beginning at 6:30 p.m.

4. Jazz rock fusion quartet Hook Me Up performs at 8 p.m. in The Swiss Restaurant and Pub.

5. Led by Brazilian-born vocalist Adriana Giordano, the septet En Canto busts out the music as rich and varied as the people and places of Brazil: forró and baião from the northeast, bossa nova and choro from Rio, and sambas from every city and town. Catch the septet at 8 p.m. in Rhythm and Rye.

LINK: Monday, Sept. 14 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

GRAB A COFFEE POT AND READ THE MORNING REPORT FOR 9.9.14 >>>

President Obama will go on the offensive against the Islamic State group with a broader counterterror mission than he previously has been willing to embrace.

Degrading, defeating and destroying the Islamic State.

A longtime CIA operative in the Middle East - whose sources are probably as good as you can get - says "I have been told with no uncertainty there are ISIS sleeper-cells in this country."

Helped by the United States and Iran, Kurdish forces and Shi'ite militia are finally beating back Islamic State militants. But the aftermath illustrates the unintended consequences of the U.S. air campaign against Islamic State.

Iran has detained three foreigners suspected of trying to join ISIS forces in neighboring Iraq.

A spokesman for Steven Sotloff's family told CNN the journalist was captured by "so-called moderate rebels" in Syria then sold to ISIS. 

U.S. and China discuss avoiding military incidents.

U.S. officials believe Russia may have tested a ground-launched cruise missile in violation of the 1987 Soviet-American treaty.

Not Good: A federal investigation has found that Homeland Security is totally "ill-prepared" for something like the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic - or something worse, such as a global Ebola outbreak.

By The Numbers: U.S. military brain drain.

Veterans Affairs Secretary Bob McDonald launches 100-day VA reform plan.

U.S. House could vote this week to avert government shutdown.

U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said he plans to forge ahead with bureaucratic Pentagon reform initiatives despite the uptick of global threats and military activities in recent months.

"Aurora Monsoon" was the first-ever platoon-level bilateral exchange between soldiers of the U.S. Army and the Bangladesh army at the Rajendrapur Cantonment Area near Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Steadfast Javelin II was a large-scale, joint, multinational exercise held on Ramstein Air Base, Germany, which included aircrew from Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

DARPA released a video of what its engineers have in mind for its next generation armored vehicle.

Taxpayers cover Coast Guard private-party patrols.

The U.S. Air Force is bringing back its "Aim High" advertising slogan after a 15-year hiatus with the launch of the "I am an American Airman" recruiting campaign Sept. 8.

All eyes in the tech world are turning to Cupertino, California, today as Apple makes its biggest product announcements of the year.

One For The Record Books: Maibam Itomba Meitei has spent 14 years perfecting his record - the most consecutive pinky pullups!

Bad trip: This man pulls out of his garage and straight into a tornado.

Atmospheric CO2 increases have hit a 30-year high.

List: Top earning authors of 2014.

Finally: The size of dinosaurs compared to airplanes, visualized.

Dagnabbit kids!

LINK: Original photo by Staff Sgt. Joseph Swafford

SATURDAY, SEPT. 5 2014 >>>

1. Vicci Martinez, Tacoma native and finalist on NBC's The Voice will perform at the Pizza Klatch Gayla: A Slice of the Good Life tonight. Also on tap will be the outrageously funny singing group The Righteous Mothers. There will be a silent auction with items ranging from a wine tasting for 15 people; a night at Cabo San Lucas, Mexico; a Seattle Storm fan pack and more. Featured speakers include Congressman Denny Heck, Sen. Karen Fraser, Rep. Laurie Jinkins and Marissa Rathbone of the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. Other events at the Gayla include a youth art show, specialty wine and beers, advice booth run by teenagers, and a Panowicz Balloon Pop with a chance to win jewelry worth up to $1,500, all beginning at 7 p.m. in the Washington Center.

2. "Plastics: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" will be the theme of the 4th annual Green Day at the Proctor Farmer's Market from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Expect a cluster of booths at the market, each focusing on different aspects of plastics in our lives, including volunteer programs you can join, children's activities, and drawings every half hour for prizes related to both the market, and going plastic-free.  And, of course, a marimba band. 

3. Meet national best-selling mystery writer Laurie King at a talk and book signing at 10 a.m. in the Lakewood Playhouse. Nine of King's books will be available for purchase and signing, including The Game and Locked Rooms - popular titles in the series about Mary Russell who partners with the retired Sherlock Holmes to solve cases. A former Pierce County resident, King graduated from Franklin Pierce High School in 1970. As a child, she lived in Dash Point in a house overlooking Puget Sound. She now lives on California's central coast.

4. The Fort Nisqually Living History Museum's Crafts of the Past program features milliner Dana Repp as this weekend's artist-in-residence from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The program - which will be ending this month - allows visitors to see the "creativity of daily life" in crafts of the 1800s (other crafts for September include tin whistles and cyanotypes, a photographic printing process that produces a cyan-blue print). Repp makes period replicas of bonnets based upon examples in museum collections, period illustrations and photographs. Examples of various 19th century bonnets will be on display, and Repp will demonstrate bonnet construction methods.

5. The Phoenix, Arizona, band Electrisad makes music that's perfect for swooning young lovers. Simple synths and gentle melodies weave in and around the cooing vocals. When things rise above a tender whisper, the energy is offset by a lingering sense of melancholy. Cheap synthesizers lend everything the feeling of a heartbroken teenage girl shutting herself away in her bedroom and setting her journal entries to music and endlessly writing the name of her love in her notebook. Catch the band with Seth Boyer at 8 p.m. in Metronome Coffee.

LINK: Saturday, Sept. 6 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

TUESDAY, SEPT. 2 2014 >>>

1. As part of its Tuesday Film Series, The Grand Cinema will screen Life Itself - a look at the life of iconic movie critic Roger Ebert, directed by Steve James of Hoop Dreams fame - at 1:45 and 6:35 p.m. Based on Ebert's titular 2011 memoir, the film delves into Ebert's storied career and partnership withGene Siskel, following him through the last months of his life. The film is at its most powerful when it hones in on his experience with the cancer that ultimately claimed his face, his speech, and his ability to eat. Yet, despite all this, Ebert reflects on his life with wit, candor and an unflaggingly positive attitude.

2. Washington's history is multi-faceted, reflecting the different interests of Washingtonians, and the Washington 125 program series celebrating Washington's 125th Anniversary has something for everyone. In partnership with the Office of the Secretary of State, the Washington State Historical Society has created a series that continues until the big celebration Nov. 11 at the State Capitol Building. At noon, another program segment at Tugboat Annie's in Olympia. Author Les Eldridge will discuss "Saving the USS Olympia," with a lunch option.

3. Embracing the bounty of gardens and farms, harvested locally and prepared at home, the idea is to eat mindfully while celebrating the connection between the farmer, the cook, and ultimately, the eater. When you're seated at a long table in the middle of a farmers market, you know at least a few of the dishes sport ingredients that just recently had the bugs and dirt rinsed from their roots. The Olympia Farmers Market hosts its final Dinner Series at 6:30 p.m., focusing on summer's riches and autumn's harvest. Aqua Via and Waterstreet Café Executive Chef Will Taylor will present six courses of late summer flavors from the Olympia Farmers Market, paired with wine from local wineries.

4. If hearing the sound of your own cackling voice echoing off the walls of your shower stall has you craving the sound of something a bit more harmonious, check out the local songbirds at Victory Music Open Mic at the Antique Sandwich Co. from 7-10 p.m. It's guaranteed to be jam-packed with gorgeous sounds and humbling verses, as the South Sound's greatest up-and-coming acoustic musicians bare their souls impromptu-style.

5. James Alfred Wight always enjoyed writing. But when he finally started chronicling his experiences as a country vet, prohibitions against advertising in the veterinary profession meant he had to publish them under a different name. Every surname he thought of all ready belonged to someone else. Then, one day, he was watching a soccer match and was taken with the name of the goalie. He hastily thumbed through the list of veterinarians. It wasn't there. And so James Herriot was born. The South Sound Vegan Meetup Group will discuss Herriot's name and his book, All Creatures Great and Small, during their Vegan Book Club meeting inside King's Books at 7 p.m.

LINK: Tuesday, Sept. 2 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

WEDNESDAY, AUG. 27 2014 >>>

1. Thanks to the English Beats' "Mirror in the Bathroom," countless kids of the Reagan era perused restaurants for glass tables, hoping to mimic the paranoid - yet chic - stars of the flick Less Than Zero. Led by vocalist Dave Wakeling and punk-toaster/rapper Ranking Roger, the Birmingham, England-based sextet English Beat secured success by merging reggae with mainstream pop. Thanks to VH1's Bands Reunited crew, Wakeling and company remerged 10 years ago. Tonight, at 8 p.m., the English Beat perform at Jazzbones. The Georgetown Orbits and DJ Dubmatix are in the house, too.

2. Experience the work of Washington's talented high school photographers in the Community Art Space at Tacoma Art Museum. The 2014 Washington State High School Photography Competition received more than 4,100 entries, submitted by 1,524 students from 70 Washington schools. Finalists from each of the 12 competition categories are included in the exhibition, which opens today at 10 a.m.

3. Kittredge Gallery on the University of Puget Sound campus hosts an artist reception for two new exhibits from 5-7 p.m. Marita Dingus' "They Still Hold Us" featuring mixed media sculptures from her "Fence" series and Sarah Gilbert's "3000 Miles from Home" new work about the concept of home and a sense of place will be on display through Sept. 27. Gallery talks with both artists will be scheduled during the run of the exhibition.

4. Puyallup River Alehouse hosts the Harmon Brewing Co. crew for a night Harmon beers, giveaways and prizes beginning at 6 p.m.

5. The Tacoma Food Justice Book Club will discuss the story of organic food from its humble beginnings to its industrialization by a number of large producers, and what's good and bad about the industry today as they flip through the pages of Organic Inc.: Natural Foods and How They Grew, by Samuel Fromartz. Fromartz loved cooking and food and its presentation and ecology, so he soon fell in love with Whole Foods; he also loves knowing from whence his ingredients come. Some of the best parts of Organic, Inc. serve as an extension of the farmers market ideal: to put a human face on the otherwise anonymous food-supply line. How do you create a health food Americans actually want to eat? Discuss at 7 p.m. in King's Books.

LINK: Wednesday, Aug. 27 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

I always get uneasy when musicians attempt to cross over to stage and screen. John Bon Jovi on Ally McBeal? No amount of chest waxing could make him tolerable. Britney Spears in Crossroads? No longer a girl, not yet an actress. Madonna in ... anything. Run for the aisles!

Graham Nash of Crosby, Stills & Nash demonstrated his inner Andy Warhol in his photography exhibits and books. His fiercely intimate self-portraits made me wonder if I've intruded on a private moment. There has been tenderness, a reverence about his stunning images.

Nash has written another book, this time his autobiography, Wild Tales: A Rock and Roll Life. Puyallup Public Library will host Nash for a book signing at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 13. No, seriously.

According to pre-visit hype, "Graham Nash - legendary singer-songwriter and founding member of the iconic bands Crosby, Stills & Nash and the Hollies - delivers an engrossing, no-holds-barred look back at his remarkable career and the music that defined a generation."

The Puyallup Library folks warn the author will only sign copies of Wild Tales and the CSNY 1974 box set, "that only guests with at least one copy of the book will be allowed in the signing line and there will be no posed photos with the author.  King's Books of Tacoma will be in hand with copies of Wild Tales for purchase and signing." 

This is a free event; no registration is required. Doors will open for the limited-seating event at noon and you're out the door by 2 p.m.

TUESDAY, AUG. 19 2014 >>>

1. Hear (and see) classically-trained violinists Greta, Willow and Solana. See (and hear) the dancing of Greta, Willow and Solana. See sisters Greta, Willow and Solana present a Celtic variety show at no cost to you. Catch The Gothard Sisters at noon at Puyallup's Pioneer Park.

2. Catch the Fun Addicts at Skansie Brothers Park tonight at 6:30 p.m., part of the Gig Harbor Summer Sounds at Skansie Park series.

3. Yes, 5 Things To Do Today is pounding home the 25 New Faces of Independent Film at The Grand Cinema. The best rising talent in the film industry - actors, writers, directors and animators - can be seen in Tacoma's art house. Among the magic today is a 7 p.m. screening of the Spike Lee-produced Manos Sucias, the story of young, black Colombian men and their attempt to break free from the downtrodden and war-torn country and find peace in another place featuring young talented actors.

4. Art Spiegelman has almost single-handedly brought comic books out of the toy closet and onto literature shelves winning the Pulitzer Prize in 1992 for his masterful graphic novel, Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History - one of the hardest hitting graphic novels ever written. Spiegelman wrote Maus as a biography of his father, Vladek Spiegelman, and his Holocaustexperiences through very straightforward but well drawn and written metaphor. The Banned Book Club will discuss the graphic novel at 7 p.m. inside Doyle's Public House.

5. You are getting sleepy, v-e-r-y sleepy. Now, go see the hypnotist show at 8 p.m. inside the Red Wind Casino. Whether a skeptic or believer, the show will be sure to entertain with its comedy, rock and roll and outrageous hypnosis, like people sneezing and having orgasms(!) when Ron Stubbs, the man behind the magic, utters the word "pepper."

LINK: Tuesday, Aug. 19 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

FRIDAY, AUG. 15 2014 >>>

1. Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist's fifth annual Signed Book and Wine Auction will be held at 5 p.m. inside King's Books. New York Times bestselling author Garth Stein will attend. His new novel, A Sudden Light, will be available for auction six weeks before it appears in bookstores. Other signed books on the auction list include bestsellers by Ann Rule, Maria Semple, and Bret Easton Ellis. For music fans, Peter Buck of R.E.M. and actress/singer Molly Ringwald have donated signed CDs. Lindquist, after being elected by a landslide in 2010, is up for election again this year, although he lacks an opponent. Thankfully, this tall, handsome novelist/prosecutor with cool friends is throwing a party anyway. It's our one chance a year to feel like an A-lister.

2. Since 2010, The Grand Cinema has been taking advantage of the simultaneously obvious and genius concept of taking Filmmaker Magazine's yearly list and turning it into a film festival celebrating rising talent. Actors, writers, directors, animators and other facets of filmmaking are honored by the magazine, and then in turn are celebrated during the five-day festival at The Grand Cinema. Frequently, the honorees in question show up to introduce their films and participate in Q & A's. Read Rev. Adam McKinney's full feature on the 25 New Faces in Independent Film in the music and Culture section, then attend the opening films today at The Grand Cinema, including a mixer with DJs at 9:30 p.m.

3. "Awesome coffee on a farm in the middle of pretty much nowhere, group photo on the haystacks every year ... swimming in the river, eating food that was grown on the land, standing in the back field late at night, watching the bands play (really loud), or watching from the hay bales under the stars." These are musings from Mariella Luz, K Records general manager, as she reflects on some of her favorite things about Helsing Junction Sleepover. In its 10th year, the Helsing Junction Sleepover is bigger than ever, with plenty of room to grow. The three-day party takes place on a 30-acre-farm. Tonight kicks off with eight performances, including Spider and the Webs, Arrington De Dionysio and Tender Forever. For more info and a complete list of bands, visit www.krecs.com/helsingjunction.

4. If the music of Voxxy Vallejo were the soundtrack for your life, you'd be guaranteed a good time and a crazy ride. Heavy blues laced southern rock and roll that is perfect for sweaty summer nights and back yard barbecues. Hot and sticky ... Voxxy's vocals entice and forbid while Gene's guitar licks interplay with her voice, both teasing and encouraging the song right out of her. It's Gene's Vellejo's birthday so the back will tear it up at 7:30 p.m. in Jazzbones.

5. As you know the CannaCon cannabis convention is going down at the Tacoma Dome. Those with CannaCon credentials or tickets can get into see local, original bands Mighty High and Ethan Tucker at 9 p.m. in The Swiss Restaurant and Pub at a discount, which of course is probably the entire city.

LINK: Friday, Aug. 15 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

WEDNESDAY, AUG. 13 2014 >>>

1. Washington state is home to such oddities as a giant coffee pot by the side of the road; a garbage-eating goat sculpture in Spokane; mysterious bumps in the landscape near Olympia called Mima Mounds; a replica of Stonehenge - Stonehenge! - in Maryhill. There's even a Menudo Festival in Granger! All of these oddities, and more, have been cataloged into Washington Curiosities by author Harriet Baskas. She'll be on hand at noon in the Washington State History Museum to tell more stories and sign copies of her book.

2. Tacoma's Mad Hat Tea Co. and local band The Cloves teamed up to create a special tea blend. Mad Hat's Tobin and Maureen made their own unique mix of black tea, cinnamon and cloves to spawn "Tea Time with The Cloves." The band will be playing an acoustic set at this favorite Tacoma hideaway on Commerce Street at 4:30. Come have a sip and celebrate this tasteful collaboration.

3. There's street art and then there's graffiti. One can be beautiful, creative and inspiring; the other can be destructive, ugly and a huge nuisance. But the dividing line is difficult to determine. For proof of that, at 4:30 p.m. head to downtown Tacoma's Post Office Building for a graffiti forum featuring representatives of Tacoma Police Department, BIA, Tacoma Arts Commission, Downtown Merchants Group, Fab 5 and the City's Graffiti Task Force. After the panel answers directed questions the floor will open for audience comment.

4. Northwest composer/pianist Scott Cossu has been erroneously slotted into the neo-classical new age section of the record store. Sure, his stuff is mellow, laid-back and relaxing, but Cossu pushes the musical boundaries further than Yanni or John Tesh ever did, would or could. In other words, he's uncategorizable as he flirts with everything from jazz, blues, world and classical. at 7:30 p.m., Cossu, accompanied by John Croarkin playing flute and harmonica, will present a variety of music styles including jazz, blues and his own compositions, which he has described as "heavy mental" and "cosmic national geographic" at the Olympia Timberland Library.

5. Maurice The Fish Records grabs Jazzbones' stage for its Wednesday Sessions series, this time featuring The Thrill, Dear Darkness, Breakaway Derringer at 8 p.m.

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

TUESDAY, AUG. 12 2014 >>>

1. The Gregarious Oranges may have a name that calls to mind the psychedelia of the late '60s, but their sound recalls a period in music that came almost a decade earlier. Drawing from the Merseybeat sound of the early '60s - which included early Beatles, Gerry & the Pacemakers and Herman's Hermits in their ranks - the Gregarious Oranges sound like they came beamed in from an era that predated not only the psychotropic revolution, but the general inclusion of R&B that eventually made rock and roll what we know it today. Read Rev. Adam McKinney's full feature on Gregarious Oranges in the music and Culture section, then catch the band with Lazer Fox, Where My Bones Rest Easy, Mi Amore Cadenza, Crisis Arm and Airs at 10 p.m. in Le Voyeur.

2. Joanna Hogg's Archipelago is a dispiriting drama about a well-educated but inarticulate upper middle class English family that threatens to come apart at the seams while on holiday. Filmed in permanent twilight with a static camera and no music, it is gloomy and unrewarding with an oblique and uninformative script. Playing emotionally constipated characters, the actors improvise much of the dialogue. Catch the film at 3:30 and 6:10 p.m. in The Grand Cinema.

3. Maybe the character of the film Archipelago should explore the power of self-talk and the effect it has in every area of their lives, with Valerie Sumter, professionally trained and certified life coach. She knows how to replace negative self-talk with positive self-talk to help one achieve his or her best. Hear what she has to say at 6:30 p.m. in the Summit Pierce County Library.

4. One of the most beautiful things about studying history is finding new discoveries along familiar and well-traveled paths. It is that discovery process that makes history so rich and vibrant. Even better: having these terrific discoveries right in one's own backyard. This is especially true for Lakewood authors Steve Dunkelberger and Walter Neary. In 2005, the duo co-authored the definitive and local bestselling book, Images of America: Lakewood, which highlights the poignant and fascinating history of the city. The authors are back with their follow-up book about the people who influenced and shaped the city of Lakewood and region into what it is today. Their Legendary Locals of Lakewood not only offers the reader a fascinating glimpse into the characters of the past, but also uncovers some surprises and hidden gems along the way. Dunkelberger and Neary will discuss and sign their new book at, appropriately, the Lakewood Pierce County Library at 7 p.m.

5. This might be hard to believe, but you can't go see The Beatles live anymore, unless you have some sort of resurrection or time traveling technology. If you do have said technology and are using to see The Beatles, you've got some problems, so let Red Wind Casino help you out. It hosts Beatles tribute band British Export at 8 p.m. Go scream your head off.

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