WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

How Can You Have A High-Speed Chase In Fern Hill?: It happened when a moron stole a car and crashed into a state trooper. (News Tribune)

Innovation Partnership Zone: Can in happen to the east side of Tacoma's Foss waterway? (News Tribune)

Through Rain And Sleet And Email?: The U.S. Postal Service is in trouble (CNN)

Teeny Tiny Waspy Stupidity: Everything that is wrong with fashion magazines today (Dumb As A Blog)

Space Invaders: Atari is making a joystick for the iPad (Gizmodo)

May The Interior Designer Be With You: George Lucas' crazy new offices for LucasFilm in Singapore look like something out of Star Wars movies (Gizmodo)

No It's MY Chemical Romance: Michael Pedicone, the drummer for My Chemical Romance, has been fired for stealing. (Take 40)

Newsflash: Madonna absolutely hates hydrangeas. (Billboard)

WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

Cards Stacked Against Tacoma Pot Dispensary: Superior Court Judge will not allow Club 420 to snatch confiscated marijuana. (News Tribune) The Weekly Volcano wrote a detailed piece on medical marijuana in Pierce County during the time of the drug raid on Club 420.

Tacoma Week In Review: No strike for teachers (no contract either), more on medical marijuana, and saying "no" to Wal-Mart. (Weekly Volcano)

Shocking: A UK study says suicide bombers in Iraq have killed 12,000 civilians since the war began. (Guardian)

Far Out Man: The Coen brothers are working on a movie about the '60s folk scene. (Rolling Stone)

Hey Foodies!: There are some awesome apps on the iPhone. (Time)

Hey-Hey-Hey: A dude reviews the outfit choices of The Cosby Show characters. One episode at a time. (Huxtable Hotness)

Ha!: "Crap at my Parent's House." (boing boing)

WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

Christmas Present 2012 (If We Are Still Alive): Tacoma city engineers say the $57 million renovation of the Murray Morgan Bridge is on budget and will reopen to pedestrian and vehicle traffic in December 2012. (News Tribune)

Of Course You're Going To Win: Washington state Lottery reports sales increased 4 percent in the past fiscal year to more than $510 million. (Seattle Times)

There's A Starbucks For That: Starbucks is giving away free app downloads in its stores. It kicks off today with a free Shazam Encore app - a $6 value. Quite the deal for just a trip into Starbucks, even if you get a coffee. (CNET)

Darren Stevens Syndrome: Mad Men gets a new Bobby Draper. (Digital Spy)

Will There Be A Replacements Reunion?: Probably not. (Rolling Stone)

This Is Stupid: The Worst 50 States in America countdown. (Gawker)

This Is Not Stupid: Nerd hats! (Topless Robot)

Do Doo Do Do Do ...: The history of Mahna Mahna!(OC Weekly)

GET YOUR GOTH ON >>>

If viewed from a helicopter, the night crowd in front of the Backstage Bar & Grill during metal shows would look like a giant bruise. The thick knot of folks, clad mostly in black and sporting coifs that are almost unanimously dyed maroon, will swell slowly, beginning to elicit stares of both horror and amusement from drivers trying to park at the Cloverleaf Tavern. Vague smiles playing about the black painted lips and the cavernous silences are all the passersbys will receive.  They won't get it. 

Julia Jones gets it. She dressed the part growing up ... and still proudly wears Gothic-inspired clothing. In fact, she designs and finds Gothic fashion, jewelry, home décor and gifts for her store at the Middle Floor Merchants inside Sanford and Son Antiques. The store, A Little Touch of Magick, mainly focuses on mid-price romantic Gothic wear for women.

Jones didn't just jump into the Goth game. She was already successful.

"I was getting married on Halloween in Vegas and needed something for the theme," explains Jones. "I couldn't find an adult dark princess dress anywhere. I thought to myself, ‘I can't be the only adult who still wants to dress Goth."

She created a website - alittletouchofmagick.com - selling what she currently carries in the store. It grew into a successful business.

If she didn't happen to host a fashion shoot near Sanford and Son, and fall in love with the three-story rambling antique and vintage shop, she'd still be behind the computer - wearing a vested steampunk hat and laced fingerless gloves, of course.

Instead, she opened the store on Black Friday last year, selling bat pencil skirts, red dragon corsets, deconstructor jackets and formal Goth dresses.

The very people who lambaste Goth for being gloomy would likely be floored by its soaring, tragic beauty, its dependence upon small orchestras, its odd grace and almost classical posture. It becomes quickly apparent that the people most given to derision are those who have never heard a note of the music.  

A Little Touch of Magick

Middle Floor Merchants
Noon to 6 p.m., Wednesday-Sunday
743 Broadway, Tacoma
425.502.2156

WE SCENE IT >>>

While the pre-69 traditional hotrod and custom car show yesterday around The New Frontier Lounge was bitchin' cool it was the Rebel Riot Pinup Contest that drew many of the eyes. Hosted by The Pinup Angles and Miss Kitty Baby, ladies in swimsuits strutted around the warm summer day in vintage or vintage-inspired suits representing 1940s-1960s. Photographer Steve Dunkelberger was on the scene.

COMING SOON >>>

Looks as if Tacoma fashion designer Chelsia Berry Fashion Design for Women and Anew Thyme maternity clothing are moving out of the Middle Floor Merchants inside Sanford and Son and across the street to a storefront on Broadway. Our Summer Guide 2011 is currently hiding the remodel.

ARE YOU COMING? >>>

Words just came through the Weekly Volcano World Headquarters that the Renegade Calendar Girls will be attending the Super Best of Tacoma issue party - dressed in superhero costumes - Thursday, July 28 at the Varsity Grill in downtown Tacoma.

Are you coming? 

RSVP on Facebook here.

YWCA FUNDRAISING EVENT BROUGHT OUT THE BIG NAMES >>>

Sunday morning over 200 women (plus a few brave dudes) infiltrated Hotel Murano's Bicentennial Pavilion for the very first YWCA Glam that Gives fundraising event.

Created serendipitously through a random Facebook status update, Glam that Gives quickly became a hot-ticket and a low-cost way for community members to both shop and donate to the YWCA.  One woman's Facebook plea began a whirlwind of idea boosting: Take my dress that I no longer need, and in return, make a donation to the YWCA. 

(Glam That Gives preparation PHOTO CREDIT: Steph DeRosa)

Marketing Coordinator for the YWCA Kelly McDonald saw this as an opportunity to spearhead one helluva  fundraiser. I, for one, was not going to miss it.

Emceed by TV Tacoma's Amanda Westbrooke, gorgeous local women strutted their stuff on the catwalk during a crowd-pleasing runway show that brought lots of hoots ‘n' hollers from everyone in attendance.  Notable models in high fashion were Tacoma's Mayor, Marilyn Strickland, Pierce County Auditor Julie Anderson, and, of course, my good friend Melanie Manista-Rushforth of Rushforth Wheels. 

(Melanie Manista-Rushforth of Rushforth Wheels PHOTO CREDIT: Steph DeRosa)

My favorite dress, and the one that meant the most to me as I watched it flow down the runway, was Bandito Betty's wedding dress.  Gorgeous the day she got married, and gorgeous on whomever might own it next.

By receiving donations of over 200 gently used party dresses, 300 pairs of shoes and 100 purses, the Glam that Gives event raised over $18,000 to better the lives of battered women taken in by the YWCA.  Shoes were sold for as little as $5 a pair while the average dress sold for somewhere between $25 and $75.  One specialty dress sold for $300 - the most any item went for at Glam that Gives.  A small silent auction and a brief "raise the paddle" exercise also contributed to the YWCA's monetary haul.

LINK: YWCA Glam That Gives Weekly Volcano Photo Hot Spot

YOU SHOP AND LIVES CHANGE >>>

Every once in a while you can hear faint coughing as you open up your closet doors.  It's a sound of desperation, faded memories and hopeful glee that one day she will be rescued. She will once again live to be paraded and enjoyed.

In the very back of your closet, behind your politically incorrect leather skirt and 2001 striped Gap turtleneck sweater, lives a fancy dress barely clinging to life underneath a tattered plastic Nordstrom hanging bag.

Rescue the dress. Let it be free. Stop holding onto the memories of that one time you wore that dress when you were dating that egotistical loser who only invited you to that one event so you could make his ex-girlfriend jealous. He doesn't like you.  He's never coming back. The dress, however, deserves better.

And don't go thinking you'll wear it again to your next big event, because even if you were still that size, you'd want an excuse to go shopping for a new dress anyway.

Give life to a dress that you no longer need. Stop being selfish and let the dress go.  Give it to someone who needs it, like someone at the YWCA who will sell the dress and use the money to eliminate racism and empower women at their annual Glam that Gives benefit Sunday, June 26 at the Hotel Murano.

Go right now. The deadline to donate is Monday, June 20. Take the dress out of your closet and do the right thing. The YWCA awaits your delivery.

Drop off your gorgeous garments, purses and shoes during to the YWCA located at 405 Broadway in Tacoma. Business hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

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Weekly Volcano photographer Steve Dunkelberger snapped a few of the dresses set to auction off at the YWCA's upcoming Glam that Gives benefit. The annual event raises moneys to assist more than 12,000 women and children in crisis due to domestic violence.

Thanks to donations from around the 253, the YWCA has some 300 dresses, 200 pairs of shoes and 100 purses just in time for Zoobilee dress shopping.

Tacoma Mayor Marilyn Strickland, Pierce County Auditor Julie Anderson, Emergency Food Network Director Helen McGovern, Rushforth Wheels partner Melanie Manista-Rushforth and others will wear donated dresses, many with shop tags attached.

"They will be priced to sell," says Kelly McDonald, director of Marketing and Donor Relations at YWCA Pierce County. "Nothing will be out of reach."

Some dresses will go for as little as $25 while others might go for closer to $200. A silent auction will add to the tally as a way to reach the $10,000 goal for this first-time effort.

A fashion show of selected items will also be held.

Tickets are on sale here.

Glam That Gives

Sunday, June 26, 11 a.m., $35
Hotel Murano, 1320 Broadway, Tacoma

FRIDAY, MAY 20, 2011 >>>

1. DJs dAb, Suga Jones, Mr. Clean, Chris Savenetti, and rotating guests spin new wave, '80s, funk, pop and club classics during Beat Boxxx at the Tempest Lounge beginning at 9:30 p.m. Don't be an airhead and miss this bad party.

2. Bike-to-Work Week continues today with a bike fashion show and picnic from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Wright Park. All attendees to the picnic will receive a free box lunch from Marlene's Marketplace.

3. The Thurston County Food Bank Benefit Show goes down at the Black Lake Grange from 6-8:30 p.m. featuring Burdman and friends, Jabi Shriki, Scott Taylor, 5 Stings and The Walrus, Marnie, Trick Cowboy, Momenti Rubati, Good Wood and The Brown Edition.

4. Stick Soup, A Steilacoom Indian Story - the story of a girl struggling to find her place in the local community, and written by Steilacoom Indian tribe leaders Danny K. Marshall and his daughter, Lacie. B. Deck - debuts at 7 p.m. at Pierce College Fort Steilacoom.

5. The Don't Stop Crew presents a night of all-ages hip-hop featuring Night Fox, Never Sleep, Free Whiskey, Billy The Fridge beginning at 8 p.m. inside the Capitol Theater in Olympia.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the south Sound

LINK: New movies open today