SUZY STUMP: DA NA DA NA DA NA >>>

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, the folks at the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium pull something like this. They’re holding a Shark Discovery Day Saturday with lectures, feedings and shark dives. Sink your teeth in sharks up to nine feet long and a 240,000-gallon Outer Reef Ocean Tank.

[Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, Aug. 2, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., $4-$11, 5400 N. Pearl, Tacoma, 253.591.5337]

DANIEL BLUE: MEET ORLANDO MCCRAY >>>

Welcome to Orlando McCray. 

Orlando is the sort of person who sneers intentionally in your direction because he knows you know that is how he expresses his love. For the first couple of years that I knew Orlando he would speak in a normal voice only 50 percent of the time, the other half was a strange sort of Grover/Muppet falsetto, which made me feel at ease. 

A drummer in the band called Don't Tell Sophie, and a frontman in his electronic music project, Physics, Orlando is a Dear Records poster boy. 

On the Foursquare court he is known as "Black Magic" because he plays with rules that no one knows. You have to respect a guy who learns the game so quickly; I almost lost an eye one night when he put such a wicked English on that ball it toppled me like a Jenga.

Sometimes he is nice, and sometimes he is cold as ice, but Orlando is an incredible artist, a creative dresser and a master of facial expressions at every occasion. 

Sometimes I wonder what I'm going to do, but Orlando always knows exactly what to do. I fear that in a man, but you should find it attractive.

LINK: The Tacoma Files archive

DANIEL BLUE: MEET MATHEW JOST >>>

This Mysterious Sailor is named Mathew Jost.  He sails into town every now and again, and we are hopping that he decides to make this his port of origin.  Fun to the very last drop, Matt is a sea of energy and debauchery mixed into the shape of a broad shouldered and extremely likable fellow.   

Currently working in the Alaskan fishing industry, Mathew is a graduate of Southern Oregon University in Ashland and has traveled the oceans of many continents.  For all his travels, he has spent quite a bit of time here in Tacoma, having lived here for a month just this spring and having spent a summer here during the time that his sister was attending the University of Puget Sound. 

There are very few people that don't find this young man a potential friend-mate, having met up with him at different pool halls around Tacoma, usually by the time I get there he has collected a crew of buddies and fellow pool sharks to drink the night away amongst. 

Matt is passionate about the world outside our urban vs. suburban arguments. Having spent extensive time in Mali, Africa, his perspective and wisdom are enlightening and a breath of fresh air. 

Rumors abound amongst the single women in Tacoma that Mr. Jost will be returning to Tacoma for a long stint, having given himself a hernia under the Alaskan Fish Monger's cruel whip.

LINK: The Tacoma Files archive

DANIEL BLUE: MEET MARY KAY JOHNSON >>>

Mary Kay Johnson is an artist in the truest sense of the word. 

Recently taking the plunge out of the corporate graphic design world of Costco, she is now counting on her wits and intelligence to navigate the strange and beautiful landscape of freelance design in the modern recessive American Northwest.   

A master of the Photoshop and Illustrator, Mary Kay is also an accomplished painter and figurative illustrator with her own bare hands. This type of hybrid digital/analog artist is rare, usually creative people tend to lean one way or the other, especially when entering into the task of making a living.   

Mary Kay can be found at the Mad Hat Tea Company on a fairly regular basis, scheming with her fellow womanly artisans and making a general political fuss.   Nothing short of a revolution will satisfy her need for a better America, and nothing short of perfection will leave her pen or brush.  Recent MKD Marketing Design projects include: a political gallery instillation in several locations, the past few months worth of Weekly Volcano cover artwork, pieces hung at the Mad Hat's Crow and Cosmic shows and a handful of high end graphic design gigs for illustrious companies and individuals including the design and layout of my Web site and upcoming album.

In a word, Mary Kay ROCKS!

DANIEL BLUE: MEET KERRY MUISE >>>

Kerry Muise is the sweetest and most gentle woman in Tacoma. A soft voice and elegant smile wins the heart of every man in the bar. One night at The Monsoon Room I saw three of my friends falling all over themselves in comical attempts to win her attention. Life for Kerry must be interesting, she sits back and watches masculinity at its competitive finest and graciously holds herself in patient speculation and mystery. 

Kind to everyone, even other women, which is a rarity among "it" girls these days, Kerry enjoys the social aspects of "going out" as much as the soulful aspects of "getting out."

Pictured here on the Washington Coast, nimbly weaving her way through the killer beach logs on our pleasant outing, which was and filled with many long periods of just being and listening to the waves.

During the day Kerry spends her time in the Wells Fargo building downtown, running an official sort of office in a secretarial manner. I bet her phone voice is very soothing. 

Originally from Alaska, Kerry moved here with her ex boyfriend several years ago and has resided in the Stadium District near the Parkway Tavern ever since.

LINK: The Tacoma Files archive

DANIEL BLUE: MEET MIKE STASIAK >>>

Mike Stasiak is a reasonable man. Pictured here humbly plucking out a beautiful tune at this year's Dear Fest, he will travel back to N.Y.U in the fall where he is seeking a higher education than the one he got already, heyuck'.  Any man in a bolo is a friend of mine, because a bolero is a Mexican cowboy tie.   

Once Mike dressed like a pirate and danced in choreography; that was a good day. 

Another time, mike was going to trade me my car for his mini-van so that I could go get a scooter in Chehalis, I remember thinking how generous he was.   

In general, Mike is a man of few words, but when he does decide to speak, it is usually the kind of thing you are happy to hear.   

Someone raised this boy well, it was probably the Spanish because he is so good-looking.   

His songs were soft, and heartfelt, the ones that he had written himself were extremely poetic and on par with early Simon and Garfunkel.   

Always humble and careful to offer credit where it is due, Mike has secured a place in the hearts of this city's young culture, and we welcome him back with open arms.   

LINK: The Tacoma Files archive

MICHAEL SWAN: WEEKLY VOLCANO'S MUDROOM >>>

Today, while hanging out with fellow Art Door enthusiasts in downtown Tacoma, your best course of karmic action is to spin around and tap your ruby heels together three times and with your debit card securely in your pocket exclaim there's no place like the South Sound … there’s no place like South Sound:

WHAT WOULD JESUS DO IN TACOMA?: A parable, of sorts, on how Jesus the good Samaritan would respond to real situations happening in Tacoma.

REVOLVING JAIL DOOR: The homeless are gonna getcha.

REZONING OLYMPIA’S WATERFRONT: Whose vision will be chosen?

NUMBERED SPACES: Another typical week in Pierce County according to our meter.

PLAN YOUR WEEK: Check out our Viva South Sound arts and entertainment calendar.

Josh Ott is a bassist. He is also an accountant, math is music.

There are few musicians out there (Bono excluded) who are as passionate about making a difference with their art. For as long as I have known him (10 years?) Josh has been diligently pursuing his voice and its impact on the people around him.

Freshly married and rooted in Tacoma, this hard working artist has recently re-titled his musical project from Glimpse to The Joshua Cain Band. The new songs are about exodus and the trials of a hidden oppression, the new sound is like a Southern Baptist chain gang meeting up with the Pixies in 1989.

Josh is a man of many talents, and one of the original members of the bicycle gang called The Market Street Petal Pansies. 

When pink was the new black, Josh said, "fuck that shit," but now he tries not to swear on stage because his wife doesn't like it. 

There are many reasons why you should find yourself waiting around after shows to meet with Josh, mostly because he is nice and will not make you feel like a dork.

DANIEL BLUE: MEET JAMES HUME >>>

  Pictured here in his natural habitat, (read: the shadowy reaches of a neighborhood bar), the elusive and quixotic artist, rocker icon James Hume is biting his clothing like a rabid animal. Custom clothing for the custom man, James Hume likes the symbol of the skull.

You may have seen his art hanging at places like The Swiss, Sanford and Son, Rampart, and the party he started with his Dead Artist friends: KULTURE LAB. I capitalized that last bit to emphasize its importance, lest we forget how to do things in this town.

The son of the great and mighty television gardener Edward Hume, James grew up to be a total rebel and front man for the hair metal band Roadrunner. After marriage and fatherhood, James decided that San Francisco was a bit hot, and moved back to the cradle of his family in and around Auburn. Tacoma is a natural choice for a man like James, unsatisfied with the depressing Auburn nightlife, he quickly rose in popularity as an artist and a party animal in this rich mecca we call T-town.

James now owns a home in Lakewood and often can be found at art parties, gallery openings and anything hip with his beautiful girlfriend Jennifer.

LINK: The Tacoma Files archive

DANIEL BLUE: MEET HANNAH BUCK >>>

Hannah Buck keeps a poker face on at all times. Mostly because she always has the winning hand. Consistently wearing the perfect outfit, this sophisticate is someday going to be your boss. She will probably be the boss over everyone.

Hannah and I met when her sister, Taylor, moved into The Warehouse last summer. Hannah was mostly quiet and seemed star struck by all the arty dorks hanging out at all hours of the night. To this child of Gig Harbor, the city underbelly must have been a real culture shock. Quickly adapting and growing her cool, Hannah became a regular fixture at most dance parties and dinner functions. 

A student of SOTA, and a recent tenant of the University of Puget Sound section of North Tacoma, Hannah splits her time between school and fun, just like you did when you were in school. 

Last I heard, Hannah wanted to be a fashion designer, we have spent a little time reviewing current lines and her eye is sharp and her understanding actually quite vast. There have been few young people in this town that have impressed as much with her no-nonsense attitude and fastidious poise.