PAUL SCHRAG: HIP-HOP COMMUNITY DIALOGUE >>>

So, a dancehall DJ-turned-UPS-professor, several city and county officials, a Tacoma hip-hop heavy named General Wojack, several cops with guns on their hips, a few b-boys, a bunch of poets, bloggers, community activists, nerd rappers, educators, street hustlers, journalists, thug rappers, theater administrators and graffiti artists walk into a theater to talk about hip-hop. …

Punchline: It actually happened … in Tacoma. Thanks to Dexter Gordon, Lucas Smiraldo, General Wojack (Levitate all of a sudden, son!), David Fisher, Ms. Jessy, 2012 crew, and about 100 people that showed up to discuss why the E-40 concert was canceled at the Pantages Theater in March, breathe fresh life into Tacoma’s surprisingly live scene, and teach the following lessons:

Lesson No.1: Elements of hip-hop culture have encouraged alienation from Middle America by emphasizing misogyny, decadence and violence. Those elements are not unique to hip-hop. You’ll find celebrations of violence, abuse of women and worse in country music, rock and roll, folk, Chinese opera and screamo. Hip-hop is at risk at being marginalized indeed, but it would be dishonest to say it’s all about the message embedded in a bunch of cartoonish, pop-culture constructs. Much of the opposition to hip-hop is rooted in age-old fears of angry black men, says Gordon, a professor of African American studies at the University of Puget Sound and event moderator of the Broadway Center’s community forum on hip-hop held Sunday inside Theatre on the Square.

Lesson No. 2: Gangsta rap, sold to America by the same people who sell Tim McGraw and Celine Dion, hasn’t helped matters. Gangsta rap, by the way, is a relatively new aspect of hip-hop culture. Most people don’t know that hip-hop has much more to offer.

Lesson No. 3: This conversation is rich with risk, and it’s not always positive. It is definitely not safe. But it is as real, significant and meaningful a conversation as any that has ever occurred in Tacoma.

Lesson No. 4: Hip-hop saves lives. As an artistic outlet, as a business venture, as an excuse to party amidst struggle, and as a medium for sharing knowledge, inspiration and pain, hip-hop is a positive force in the lives of everyday folk.

Lesson No. 5: This conversation was powerful because it included voices from all corners of hip-hop culture â€" not just the components that middle-class Americans can identify with â€" and people from throughout the greater Tacoma community. It may not have been entirely comfortable, but it was real, and everybody learned something.

Lesson No. 6: Hip-hop has a place in Tacoma. In fact, Tacoma better make room if the turn out for this conversation was an indicator of hip-hop’s potential in Tacoma.

Lesson No. 7: Collectively, hip-hop and its supporters are more than capable of coming up with a plan to set this off.  Dozens of ideas and pages of feedback gathered at the event are now being compiled by Broadway Center for the Performing Arts officials, who will distill it all into a roadmap and learning tool for people dedicated to moving hip-hop forward.

Lesson No. 8: Behind this conversation is a much larger conversation about race, culture, poverty, oppression, and centuries of confusion about who we are, and how we relate. If you haven’t been part of that conversation, look at the covers of major dailies across the country, listen to conversations in coffee shops, dive bars, street corners, boardrooms, senate subcommittees and watch this year’s presidential debates. Or listen to hip-hop â€" heads have been talking about it since the early ‘70s.

Who wanna be down? Learn more here.

LINK: Tacoma's bad rap.
LINK: E-40 concert canceled.

MICHAEL SWAN: SEE YOUR FUTURE. BE YOUR FUTURE.

TAKE BACK FROST PARK: Tacoma community takes back Frost Park from thugs and drugs.
Friday, May 2, noon, free, Ninth and Commerce, downtown Tacoma.

STEPH DEROSA: I’M GOING SOFT ON YOU TODAY >>>

Last week KAke and I tried our hand in lunch at Sea Grill with the kids.  The staff there was extremely accommodating and showed patience in dealing with our frisky 5-year-old girls. It was after two glasses of wine that KAke and I discovered we don’t have any patience for our 5-year-old girls.

For Dinner with DeRosa this week I’d love to serve Sea Grill’s slightly spicy and fully flavored crab and asparagus soup.  This soup hit every point of my tongue perfectly and stroked all my favorite taste buds simultaneously.  Cooked to perfection, the soup’s asparagus coupled flawlessly with the large chunks of tasty crabmeat. I think it goes without saying that this Sea Grill soup is now one of my favorites in Tacoma.

My dinner guests this week are all amazing people I met within the last 24 hours.

Last night I spent some fun family time with my daughter, a couple of newfound friends, and the YMCA.  Every so often the YMCA holds a parent/child overnight campout in their very popular Camp Seymour in Key Peninsula. 

It’s common for most parents to have feelings of angst when the thought of spending a weekend with the kids at an overnight camp crosses their minds.  Trust me, the thought crossed my mind as well, but only for about half a second.

I grew up loving camp.  Loved, loved, loved it.  So much so that I inevitably became a camp counselor, and eventually a camp director.  I worked with the YMCA for years before my daughter was born (actually, up until weeks before she was born), and I miss the summer camp environment constantly.  So, this overnight camp with my babe was the perfect setting for me to introduce her to a way of life that I hold very dear to my heart.

What made the weekend extremely effortless were the labors of my first group of dinner guests: the staff.  It was late last night after the s’mores were toasted and the sun had gone down that this group of camp counselors strutted their silly stuff in order to make camp visitors giggle with glee.  The crowd was laughing out loud at every move, every skit, and every song.   Pure entertainment: No television, no computer, and no Xbox â€" just your imagination.

Two of my favorite YMCA staff this weekend was Jeff and Sarah Jane.  My daughter fell in love with these two.  Holding a conversation with a 5 year old been proven to be a challenge, but Jeff and Sarah Jane did it gracefully.

Steven and his father Ken are invited as well this week.  Steven is by far one of the coolest 7-year-old boys I’ve ever met.  His comedic timing is always spot-on, and his courage is that of a lion.  Steven holds his award in this picture for being the youngest 2008 member of the “Dippy Club.”  In order to be part of this elite club of risk takers, you must jump into the freezing cove at 7 a.m.  Yikes!  Kudos to you, Steven!

Jessica, the camp director for the weekend, gets a huge, warm invite for dinner this week.  I cannot thank her enough for heading up that group of crazy yahoos she calls “staff.”  Her interaction with the smaller kids also showed her amazing character. I was in awe.

Mackenzie gets an invite to dinner AND an award: Best Freehand Face Painter in the Entire Galaxy (BFFPEG).  It’s a prestigious award, and one that should be taken seriously.  One so prestigious that I found out where she lives (Steilacoom), and grabbed her number to hire her for parties (e-mail me if you want more info).

Our YMCA cabin mates from University Place are invited this week as well. The two younger girls, Makaila and Anna, took my daughter under their beautiful angel wings and treated her like a true friend this weekend. Thank you cabin mates â€" you made dining, Sorry, Shrinky Dinks, canoeing, and mattress surfing more fun than ever!

Lastly, Roy and Richard (oh dear Lord, let that be their correct names) are also invited to DWD this week, and they better bring their instruments.

Somehow the YMCA decided to let in a rowdy group of triathlon trainees for the weekend, and we all had a blast together at the campfire.  As kids got up and did skits (including my daughter with a knock-knock joke), these two men were coerced into getting up and sharing a little ditty with us all.  It was a grand time.  One I will not soon forget.

Thank you YMCA, Camp Seymour, and all it’s staff!  I’m giving you a fair warning: load up on the marshmallows, ‘cause we’ll be back!

LINK: What is Dinner with DeRosa?

STEVE DUNKELBERGER: ONCE ON THIS ISLAND ENDS RUN SOON>>>

Rush tickets are available on first-come, first-serve basis to Lakewood Playhouse's fun, family musical Once Upon this Island. This tropical tale of love and lore is one that warms the soul and gets feet tapping.
For more information on these $10 tickets, or to make a reservation at the regular ticket prices, call the box office at 253-588-0042 or visit www.lakewoodplayhouse.org.

MATT DRISCOLL: THE WINNERS ARE >>>

The 22nd Annual City of Destiny Awards â€" designed to acknowledge outstanding volunteers and volunteer work in Tacoma- will happen on May 13 at Jason Lee Middle School. Mayor Bill Baarsma and the entire City Council will be on hand to honor 4 individuals and 4 organizations who have rocked the volunteer house over the last year.

While the evening will no doubt be exciting, the excitement wont come from suspense about who will win. The recipients of this year’s City of Destiny Awards were announced today.

The winners:

Ray Schuler: Schuler is a volunteer leader with the Boys and Girls Club of South Puget Sound

Randyn Morris: A senior at Stadium High School whose mother and sister have also won City of Destiny Awards. Morris is involved in too many volunteer activities to count.

Marion “Skip” Young: A kick ass Hilltop grandma who helped found the Bryant Neighbors group.

Amy Pudists: A fitness fanatic and Wilson senior, Pudists has put in 950 volunteer hours since the summer of 2004 for a number of worthy causes.

Lincoln LAWGs Safe Streets Group: They’ve cleaned up the Lincoln Area and made their neighborhood uncomfortable for panhandling and public urination.

REI Employees: Employees helped clean up Point Defiance after last winter’s storms.

Metro Parks SHERPAS: Students who help Metro Parks do their thing on weekends, evenings and summer vacations. Students come from the Metro Parks Tacoma's Leadership Experience Apprenticeship Program.

University of Puget Sound’s Project Save: Puts all the crap students leave behind to good use at local charities.

ALTERNET: How many earth days do we have left?

TIME: Green funerals make for Eco-Exits.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC: Top ten tips to fight global warming.

NSIDC: Antarctic ice shelf disintegration.

SEATTLE TIMES: Cracking the code.

GLOBE AND MAIL: Greenprint for the homes of the future.

CROSSCUT: Washington state's symbolic first steps.

RON SWARNER: SEE YOUR FUTURE, BE YOUR FUTURE >>>

BATES OPEN HOUSE & INFORMATIONAL FAIR: Check out the college, eat a 25 cent hot dog.
Wedenesday, April 23, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., free, 2201 S, 78th St, Tacoma, 253.680.7000.

LUNCH 'N' LEARN: Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber marketing strategies for small to mid-size businesses lunch.
Monday, April 21, noon, free for members, $20 for outsiders, Tacoma Community College, RSVP to 253.627.2175.

GREEN SCENE 2008: An Earth Day Sustainable Urban Market.

Tuesday, April 22, 3-7 p.m., free, 21 Commerce, 21st and Commerce, downtown Tacoma, 253.627.4367.

TAKE BACK FROST PARK: Tacoma community takes back Frost Park from thugs and drugs.
Friday, April 25, noon, free, Ninth and Commerce, downtown Tacoma.

MATT DRISCOLL: HOPES YOU'RE NOT EASILY GROSSED OUT >>>

As has been noted around the blogosphere many times already, today was Parks Appreciation Day. Hordes of do-gooders showed up from 9 a.m. to noon all over Pierce County to lend a helping hand to the little patches of green in the South Sound that make life just a little bit better.

Scott Fontaine of the News Tribune checked in from Bonney Lake and Wapato Park.

And my neighbor, Mr. Cole Cosgrove, added his two cents about Parks Appreciation Day this morning on the Trib’s Grit City blog.

Sadly and predictably, I didn’t clean up a park this morning. I did spend a good 20 minutes scooping up dog shit in my yard, though, and that’s got to count for something.

Here’s the proof.

For scale, I asked NFL superstar Peyton Manning to stand next to the pile of fecal matter I collected. He gladly obliged.

Maybe you’re more motivated than me. It wouldn’t be surprising. Anyone out there have a good story from Parks Appreciation Day, or better yet a picture of dog poop that rivals mine?

STEVE DUNKELBERGER: KIDS IN KONCERT PLAY DISNEYLAND>>>

Capital Playhouse’s Kids in Koncert continued its tour schedule, which has included Japan and gigs around the nation, by traveling to Disneyland in early April.

Directed by Troy Arnold Fisher, who is the musical mind behind Capital Playhouse, the choir consists of 50 students from the Olympia area emanating that pure sound so treasured in youth choirs. The concert lineup features favorites from The Beatles, Diana Ross, Disney and musical theatre hits.

Kids in Koncert will now present its annual concert on Thursday, April 24 at 7 p.m. at South Puget Sound Community College’s Center for the Arts. The performance is free of charge, donations to the program gladly accepted. South Puget Sound Community College’s Kenneth J. Minnaert Center for the Arts is located at 2011 Mottman Road in Olympia off of Hwy. 101.

[For more information contact Capital Playhouse at (360) 943-2744 or visit  www.capitalplayhouse.com.]

RON SWARNER: SEE YOUR FUTURE. BE YOUR FUTURE >>>

TACOMA SHOP TALK: Meet other Tacoma businesses, exchange ideas, get drunk on sake.
Tuesday, April 15,  4:30-6:30 p.m., Twokoi Japanese Restaurant, downtown Tacoma.

TOGETHER THURSDAY: Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber business afterhours networking social.
Thursday, April 17, 5-7 p.m., Three Chicks Catering, 3822 S. Union Ave., Tacoma, RSVP to 253.627.2175.

LUNCH 'N' LEARN: Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber marketing strategies for small to mid-size businesses lunch.
Monday, April 21, noon, free for members, $20 for outsiders, Tacoma Community College, RSVP to 253.627.2175.