Every week the Weekly Volcano presents a round-up of the nerdy events and news happening in the South Sound and around the world. Scribes Rev. Adam McKinney and Christian Carvajal trade weeks penning the week in geek. The two actually wanted to settle it with 10 paces and turn. The trade-off was a more civilized solution.

Anyway McKinney previewed Emo Philip's Tacoma Comedy Club show in the Aug. 19, 2014 Nerd Alert! column.

Whenever a legend of comedy comes to Tacoma, it shouldn't go unheralded. Emo Philips has been in the business for almost 40 years. Since the beginning, he's been a true original, inspiring a whole generation of absurdist joke-centric comedians such as Mitch Hedberg, Demetri Martin and Patton Oswalt. His style is frequently copied, but never matched, with his odd falsetto and wandering way of delivering jokes. Emo Philips is like Steven Wright, countering Wright's philosophical deadpan with an impish, singsongy surrealism. This is not to be missed. Witness it at 8 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 24 at the Tacoma Comedy Club.

Apparently, this column moved Philips, who sent us this postcard. ...

Love and coleslaw. Nice.

SUNDAY, SEPT. 14 2014 >>>

1. Jazz LIVE at Marine View is one of the best jazz series in the South Sound, and it isn't even in a club. The venue is actually a church off beautiful Marine View Drive in Northwest Tacoma; it also happens to host a treasured music series for free. The series starts up again at 5 p.m. with Mark Lewis Quartet featuring guitarist Milo Petersen who has been honored by the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts and the Seattle Arts Commission. Petersen has performed with a wide array of artists including Eartha Kitt, Ernestine Anderson, Julian Priester, Cedar Walton and Mose Allison. Saxophone and flute master Mark Lewis, bassist Chuck Kistler and drummer Brad Boal.

2. The Social Bar and Grill's patio is a lovely spot to while away a weekend afternoon, sipping cocktails and old world red wine and watch condo residents walk their dogs. Come Sunday afternoon, tables mean nothing as resident DJ Mr. Melanin and rotating guests spin an eclectic and extremely tasteful selection of lounge, bossa nova and electro soul music 2-6 p.m. This quadruple threat of delicious food, booze, sun and hip tunes is known as Tacoma's only daytime summer party, "Dayclub." Today marks the last Dayclub of the season. Mr. Melanin says it's going to be off the hook.

3. A Most Wanted Man is a taut, tense spy thriller, a fitting swan song for Philip Seymour Hoffman, and a poignant reminder of why he was a most wanted man in Tinseltown. Read Jared Lovrak's review of the film here, then catch it at the Capitol Theater at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m.

4. Rich Wetzel's Groovin Higher Orchestra will drop in on Stonegate Pizza to perform a rockin' big band jazz dinner show from 5-8pm.

1. You mooned Bus #37 outside Oakbrook Elementary School in 1978. You depantsed Sid at Lakes High School in 1981. You streaked down Pacific Avenue in downtown Tacoma in 1983. You skinny-dipped at Owen Beach in 1985. You went to law school in 1988. You have had a life-full of truth or dare games. May we suggest the Stand-up Truth or Dare game at 8 p.m. in the Tacoma Comedy Club. Jubal Flagg hosts five comedians who will perform stand-up, then spin the Wheel of Terror to find out their fate. The other comedians get to come up with questions and challenges, and the audience gets to decide what they have to do. It should be old school for you.

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

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 10 2014 >>>

1. Walt McClements, formerly a multi-instrumentalist in bands such as Dark Dark Dark and Hurray for the Riff Raff, has struck out on his own with a one-man operation called Lonesome Leash. Armed only with drums (either preprogrammed or live), his voice and an accordion, Lonesome Leash achieves quite a great deal with so little. Despite the pared down setup, Lonesome Leash covers a surprisingly wide range of sounds. Read Adam McKinney's full feature on Lonesome Leash in the Music & Culture section, then catch McClements with Globelamp, the Raven and the Writing Desk and Eric Freas at 8 p.m. in Olympia's all-ages club Northern.

2. The Red Hot continues its not to ciders with "Ten on the Tenth" with Seattle Cider Co. At 5 p.m., the hot dog and beer joint will tap Semi Sweet Cider, Dry Cider, Pumpkin Spice Cider, 3 Pepper Cider, Honey Cider, Heirloom Cider, Gin Barrel Aged Gin Botanical Cider, Red Wine Barrel Aged Pacific NW Berry Cider, Barrel Aged Wild Ferment Cider and Lavender/Chamomile infused Semi Sweet Cider 3.

3. Jeff McGuire, a geophysicist with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution of Massachusetts, will give a lecture about what could be the next major earthquake in the region, why it is so hard to predict, and what scientists are doing to change this. He will speak at 7 p.m. in Thompson Hall, Room 175, on the University of Puget Sound campus. It might be a good time to head to Massachusetts.

4. 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 8 p.m. in The Swiss.

5. The Laughs & Lyrics Comedy Series highlights local and national comedians on a monthly, and soon to be weekly basis, at The Sampan Restaurant & Grill in Olympia. Laughs & Lyrics 5 features New York's Anthony "Harlem" Blu, Tacoma's Frank Brown (by way of Valdosta, Georgia) and another T-town (by way of Alexandria, Louisiana) resident, Ray "Love 75" Humphrey. This will be an edgy, hilarious night with class, featuring dinner and drink specials, and Crowd Control Entertainment & Live From I-5 spinning soul/R&B, reggae and hip-hop after the comics rock, beginning at 9 p.m.

LINK: Wednesday, Sept. 10 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 3 2014 >>>

1. Teach Me Equals is a two-piece based out of Sarasota, Florida. Made up of Erin Murphy and Greg Bortnichak, Teach Me Equals do not fall under the lazy umbrella of a duet. Rather, they embody the unique relationship that develops between two people that actually collaborate. Watching them perform means seeing two people that understand the conversation that occurs, not just between artists, but between their instruments, and the give and take of the songwriting process. Read Rev. Adam McKinney's full feature on Teach Me Equals in the Music & Culture section, then catch the band with RedRumsey, Hamartia and Sounjaneer at 8 p.m. in the all-ages club Northern in downtown Olympia.

2. If you're looking for more helpful back-to-school tips, Harlequin Productions' improv troupe Something Wicked hosts Something Wicked Goes Back to School, an Improv Comedy Show at 8 p.m. They will present the joys (and tragedies) of going back to school, with the help of your suggestions. Something Wicked knows to approach everything with a sense of humor. When your roommate makes a grumpy quip about the noise keeping her awake, quip back.

3. Every Wednesday Doyle's Public House hosts Knowledge Night, its version of a pub quiz, at 8 and 9 p.m. It is free to play. Speaking of free, bar co-owner Russ Heaton is free to roam the room and look over your shoulder, crack wise and punch you in the arm. Tonight, for the second week in a row, Doyle's is giving away a pair of tickets to the Seattle Sounders versus Real Salt Lake game along with two seats on the Designated Driver Express, aka Doyle's Sounders Party Bus. Each member of the winning quiz team gets a Jameson token, with a maximum of six people.

4. One Drop based in San Diego, California, embraces the spirit of classic roots reggae and dub music with a calculated blend of R&B, pop and rock subtleties. Inspired by artists such as Steel Pulse, Gregory Isaacs and The Police, One Drop's music is infectious and well received by a wide range of age and cultural demographics. Catch the band with Barry Black and The Hookys at 8 p.m. in Jazzbones.

5. The Phoenix, Arizona, band Electrisad make 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. Even with the overarching sadness inherent in Electrisad's oeuvre, there's still that pining bit of hope around the edges, of the thought that there's sunshine around the corner. Chill with Electrisad and Anna Gordon at 10 p.m. in Le Voyeur.

LINK: Wednesday, Sept. 3 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

MONDAY, SEPT. 1 2014 >>>

1. The all-African-American Buffalo Soldiers of the 9th and 10th (Horse) Cavalry served in America's wars from 1866 through the end of World War III. They participated in cross-country cattle drives, escorted wagon trains and stagecoaches through often-volatile territories of the Wild West and fought in the Spanish-American War and both world wars. The Tuskegee Airmen were first African American aviators who fought in WWII. During the course of the war, the Tuskegee Airmen flew more than 15,000 sorties and fought in the skies over North Africa, Sicily and Europe in P-40 Tomahawks, then P-39 Air Cobras, then P-47 Thunderbolts, then finally, P-51 aircraft. From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., The Buffalo Soldiers Museum and the Tuskegee Airmen of Seattle will host a historical tribute at Stanley Playfield in Tacoma. Joint Base Lewis McChord will host a Home Run Derby softball game featuring the "Red Tails Special" Air Force and the "Cannon Balls" Army. Following the game, Gen, Mitch Mitchell will speak on "Embracing the Future." Expect entertainment, vendors and more.

2. Toscanos Café and Wine Bar celebrates its 10th anniversary this month. Guests will receive special gift cards every time they come to the Puyallup restaurant in September, as well as entered into weekly raffle drawings. This week's raffle prize will be hand-painted decanter and wine glasses painted by its Martini Madness artist, a bottle of wine and four steaks. Toscanos will be open today at 11:30 a.m.

2. An Indian family moves to a small French town and opens a restaurant across the road from a fine-dining joint run by the imperious Madame Mallory (Helen Mirren). Will Madame melt for budding chef Hassan's (Manish Dayal) sublime curries? He's already won the tastebuds of charmant sous chef Magritte (Charlotte Le Bon). Can lonely widower Papa (Om Puri) find romance in France? Will Michelin stars fall on everyone? Will you see this film, The Hundred-Foot Journey, at 12:10, 2:55, 5:35 and 8:15 p.m. at The Grand Cinema?

Jazz rock fusion quartet Hook Me Up performs at 8 p.m. in downtown Olympia's Rhythm and Rye club.

5. Local comedian and host Eric Puddin Lorentzen hosts "Monday Madness Comedy Night with Puddin" at 9 p.m. in The New Frontier Lounge. Expect 6-10 minute sets, each recorded. The audience will choose a winner, who will headline the following week. It was the great Bill Cosby who said, "Puddin, you can't be a comedian without him," or something.

LINK: Monday, Sept. 1 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

SUNDAY, AUG. 31 2014 >>>

1. Nate Jackson's Super Funny Comedy Show has returned to downtown Tacoma. The Lacey comedian organized a super funny collection of super comedians weekly at the Varsity Grill. Jackson's show disappeared when the Varsity converted to country bar Steel Creek. It was a super sad day. Jackson is a super funny comic himself, so much so that he reigned supreme at the Bay Area Black Comedy Competition won previously by Mark Curry and Jamie Foxx. Jackson has found a home for his super comedy show, hosting comedians the last Sunday of the month at Keys On Main dueling-piano bar. Music will be provided by The D1 Experience Band and DJ Two, beginning at 8 p.m.

2. The Weekly Volcano is synonymous with fun, so there's no way we would ever let  Olympia Harbor Days festival pass without trumpeting it. Why? Because we love the hell out of some tugboats. And if there's one thing Oly Harbor Days is synonymous with, it's tugboats. And history. And fun. Is there another way we could use the word synonymous in this blurb? Probably. But why push our luck. The important thing is that you head down to Oly's waterfront for the annual tugboat races, which go down at noon.

3. The Social Bar and Grill's patio is a lovely spot to while away a weekend afternoon, sipping cocktails and old world red wine and watch condo residents walk their dogs. Come Sunday afternoon, tables mean nothing as resident DJ Mr. Melanin and rotating guests spin an eclectic and extremely tasteful selection of lounge, bossa nova and electro soul music 2-6 p.m. This triple threat of delicious booze, sun and hip tunes is known as Tacoma's only daytime summer party, "Dayclub."

4. Picture your perfect Sunday night: the drinks are flowing, the tunes are cranking and you and your friends are dancing it up, having a grand old time. Now picture that evening exactly the same except you are covered in foam. We are not talking about the type of foam that resembles squishy Nerf balls; this is foam that is caused by soap. Soapy foam! Jazzbones hosts Foam Fest 9 with DJ Pedro at 9 p.m. Bring your goggles.

5. Encore Boutique Nightclub hosts the Pre Labor Day Party with DJ Eric Nelson, DJ Eric Deshaun, DJ L!VE, DJ Roscoe, DJ Puerto Roc, DJ Tripple 9 and DJ Asia, as well as and free VIP tables and free cover for ladies before Labor Day. It gets moving around 10 p.m.

LINK: Sunday, Aug. 31 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

FRIDAY, AUGUST 22 2014 >>>

1. Here's a novel idea: Put rags and ribbons on the floor at the Museum of Glass. After all, there is breakable glass everywhere. Check that. Rags & Ribbons is actually a melodic rock band from Portland, Oregon. The band rocks the anthems, driven by classically-inspired piano. Progressive and post-rock influences by way of Queen, Muse, Arcade Fire and Sigur Ros color their intricate pop songs, expressing desire, yearning, regret and joy like only a band driving through Portland's business district can. The band's debut album, The Glass Masses, features elaborately structured songs with rich harmonies and dramatic hooks. Ah, there's the reason to haul a band up from Oregon: Glass. Rags & Ribbons will perform in MOG's Hot Shop in a party atmosphere featuring live glassblowing, food, drinkies and glass from 6:30-8:30 p.m.

2. Over a dozen local organizations and community projects are banding together for "Reach Out at the Well," a street outreach and volunteer recruitment fair from noon to 2 p.m. the Artesian Commons Park in downtown Olympia. Participating organizations include Community Youth Services, POWER (Parents Organizing for Welfare and Economic Rights), SideWalk, Thurston County Food Bank, Partners in Prevention Education, Stonewall Youth, the Olympia Free Clinic and others. The Olympia Downtown Ambassadors will also be present. The public can expect to find resources and volunteer opportunities for housing and shelter, youth services, back to school information, free food options, free health services, low-income pet care and more.

3. Kermet Apio is the kind of comic who doesn't feel the need to use graphic language and off-color jokes to get laughs. Apio's style, which blends observational comedy, sarcasm and satire, earned him the top spot at the Seattle International Comedy Festival as well as the Great American Comedy Festival based in Nebraska. He'll bring that crazy humor to Tacoma Comedy Club at 8 and 10:30 p.m.

4. Citing musical influences like Cream, Elvis Costello and Tom Petty, Daniel Kirkpatrick puts a premium on composing songs people can sing to. For him, melody is king. Kirkpatrick and his band, The Bayonets, join Kara Hesse and Whitney Monge for a night of meaningful music at Jazzbones, beginning at 8 p.m. This is the night you drink from the top shelf.

5. Theater Artists Olympia present An Improbable Peck of Plays 3D, a night of one-act plays featuring the directing prowess of Mark Alford, Pug Bujead, Christian Carvajal, Elizabeth Lord, Morgan Picton and Vanessa Postil combined with a stellar cast at 8 p.m. at The Midnight Sun Performance Space.

LINK: Friday, Aug. 22 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

THURSDAY, AUG. 14 2014 >>>

1. CannaCon opens today at 10 a.m. in the Tacoma Dome and runs through Sunday. The cannabis convention is more home-and-garden show than a public smoke-out as marihuana smoking will not be allowed. More than 500 exhibitors - Pipes, vaporizers, dirt, nutrients, lights and everything else but no medicine, because it has to be I-502 compliant. Also expect a whole section about hemp, from biofuels to paper, makeup, all the things that can be made out of hemp.

2. Tacoma Runners was founded over beers. When the weekly running group launches its 3-mile run at a brewery, it's almost like coming home. We have no idea what that means, so meet at 7 Seas Brewing in Gig Harbor at 6:30 p.m. and get in on the party. 7 Seas Brewing was named Best Brewery in Pierce County in the Weekly Volcano's 2014 Best of Tacoma issue.

3. Old Growth Poetry Collective is hosting a weekly poetry open mic at Cafe Love every Thursday at 7 p.m. A different featured spoken word artist from the Cascadia area is featured every week.

4. Not sure what this means astrologically speaking, but it's time again for another Jazz Under the Stars concert, which kicks off at 7 p.m. in the outdoor amphitheater of the Mary Baker Russell Music Center on the Pacific Lutheran University campus. The Jazz Sound Trio is in the house, which is comprised of PLU faculty members David Deacon-Joyner on piano, Clipper Anderson on bass and Mark Ivester on drums. In this performance, the trio will back Scott Whitfield, one of the world's greatest jazz trombonists, and his wife, Ginger Berglund, the newest addition to the legendary Modernaires. Show organizers say the event series has only been rained out twice (it heads indoors if it rains), so pack yourself a picnic.

5. New York City-based comedian Joe Zimmerman is praised for his accessible style of comedy that combines absurdity with a fun loving demeanor. He has been selected by Ricky Gervais as a Conan contest finalist and can be heard regularly on SiriusXM and Pandora. He is an original member of the Beards of Comedy. Catch him at 8 p.m. in the Tacoma Comedy Club.

LINK: Thursday, Aug. 14 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

GRAB A COFFEE POT AND READ THE MORNING REPORT FOR 8.9.14 >>>

U.S. military aircraft dropped humanitarian aid to Iraqis under threat from hardline militants in northern Iraq for the second straight night.

Islamic State insurgents who seized Iraq's biggest dam in an offensive that has caused international consternation have brought in engineers for repairs, witnesses said today, as nervous Kurds stocked up on arms to defend their enclave nearby.

The U.S. campaign against a militant group that has taken control of huge chunks of Iraq has begun. Despite the near-total withdrawal of U.S. ground troops from the country in the past five years, the Pentagon has many options for more airstrikes - and many options on deployment, given the air dominance US forces will have.

The president's expansion of the U.S. military mission in Iraq is conjuring up two dirty little words for anti-war Democrats: Mission creep. 

Interviews with administration officials suggest President Obama was forced by the rapid deterioration of security in Iraq to abandon his reluctance to use military force.

As U.S. warplanes launched airstrikes against Islamic extremists in northern Iraq, CNN reported the fighters were in possession of U.S.-made M1 Abrams tanks.

Why Obama's campaign in Iraq could require 15,000 troops.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says ISIS "campaign of terror shows all the warning signs of genocide."

Israel launched more than 20 aerial attacks in Gaza, killing five Palestinians, and militants fired rockets at Israel as the conflict entered a second month, defying international efforts to negotiate an agreement for an extended ceasefire. 

The $5 billion counterterrorism fund that the White House requested in the Pentagon and State Departments' 2015 budget proposal would likely fund missions like the ones the U.S. military has been conducting in Iraq over the past several months.

The United States is warning Russia that any further intervention in Ukraine would be viewed as "an invasion of Ukraine."

U.S. Sen. John McCain said it's time for the United States to ease the ban on selling lethal arms to Vietnam, saying it has progressed on human rights.

America needs to reboot its thinking about the next great battlefield.

Veterans Affairs Department officials will open their scheduling books to outside reviewers in an effort to get an independent assessment of how to fix medical center wait time problems.

Starting yesterday, some military installations will be able to run FBI background checks on anyone trying to pass through the gates.

Awesome windowless jet makes its fuselage transparent using displays.

A look at the sub that took James Cameron to the bottom of the sea.

Olympia-based trio Television Man just released its new album (also called Television Man) and is currently on tour.

The Meltdown With Jonah and Kumail comedy show seems made for short attention spans - but the talent is impressive.

Dana Buoy's cover of Everywhere: The Fleetwood Mac hit gets a blissful and experimental makeover from the artist and Akron/Family drummer. Stream his new EP on purevolume.com.

Of course there's an entire documentary about Star Wars toys. Check it out next time you're feeling nostalgic; stream a 13-minute preview on plasticgalaxymovie.com.

Dreaming Like Mad With Dion McGregor: we can only hope for dreams as colorful as this man's.

The least exciting massive explosion ever.

LINK: Original photo by Cpl. James Clark

MONDAY, AUG. 4 2014 >>>

1. The students at Arbutus Folk School will put down their Pieh Har-Lev Ergonomic Cross Pein Hammers, Langstroth Beehive Frames, Spriggs Adjustable Frame Looms and Excalibur nine-tray food dehydrators and pick up guitars for the Arbutus Acoustic Open Mic, which happens every first Monday of the month from 7-9 p.m. The M.C. and organizer of the event is Mark Iler, who started and ran the open mic for Victory Music in Seattle for 20 years. It's a friendly environment, and certainly open to everyone, even if you don't make Scandinavian knives at the Olympia school.

2. Our ears perked up and our stomachs flipped a little when we heard the phrase "ultra cool spy themes." It sounds dangerous and sexy. Blues, that most American of musical forms, will receive a dose of spy music, as well as surf tones, at The Swiss' Monday Blues Night at 8 p.m. Seattle guitarist and singer Chris Stevens will fill the downtown Tacoma watering hole with electric blues lines via a big Gibson archtop. Taking their unusual name from a song title by legendary blues guitarist Freddy King, Stevens' back band, the Surf Monkeys, keep a firm footing in the blues while stretching the boundaries with "ultra cool spy themes," reverb drenched surf twang and Chris' own "blues on the edge of jazz" originals.

3. Kryptonite will play selections from the mid-'60s to the present - a mix of post-bop/modal jazz, a la Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter, Bobby Hutcherson, Joe Henderson, Herbie Hancock and John Scofield - at 8 p.m. in Rhythm & Rye in downtown Olympia.

4. Want to feel like a rock star without all the pain and annoyance of having to be a  fire-breathing demon that bleeds from the mouth? Then hit Jazzbones Monday nights for Rockaraoke, where you can belt out songs like the Whitesnake's "Here I Go Again," Bonnie Raitt's "I Can't Make You Love Me," Joan Jett's "I Hate Myself For Loving You" and enough INXS tunes to make you feel like you're on a reality show, and other hits from the days when you made mixtapes by recording the radio, all backed by a live band. Expect a college crowd enjoying $2 PBR drafts, $3 Sinfire shots and $4 Smirnoff Flavor Vodka Bombs. Dibs on "Hungry Like a Wolf."

5. Comedy open mics are where performers cut their teeth, develop their chops and other folksy idioms meaning "possibly suck to get better." Comedians nervously testing out premises they thought of while parking. These baby-steps are often tucked into weekdays as not to compete with the weekend's bigger events. Do you smell an opportunity? Or is that the Pabst sloshing around on the bar? Local comedian and host Eric Puddin Lorentzen want you to indulge in both with the brand new weekly, "Monday Madness Comedy Night with Puddin" at 9 p.m. in The New Frontier Lounge. Expect 6-10 minute sets, each recorded. The audience will choose a winner, who will headline the following week. It was the great Bill Cosby who said, "Puddin, you can't be a comedian without him," or something.

LINK: Monday, Aug. 4 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area