HOPE THIS HELPS >>>

This weekend in Seattle-Tacoma craigslist shopping, the "barter" section yields pay dirt. ... Or rather, dirty payoff.

Flirty girl fitness / stripper pole. Used once in home, looks brand new. Is adjustable from 94 inches to 103 inches it will fit ANYWHERE. 180 OBO.

Joe

253-732-1516

We can't quite figure out Joe's photo, but can fit ANYWHERE is appealing.

TO THE RESCUE >>>

"We have more kids under the age of 12 living at our Tyler Street Campus than we have single men at our downtown shelter," said the chief executive officer of The Rescue Mission.

On any given day, The Rescue Mission - which recently dropped "Tacoma" from its name because it helps folks countywide - will tell 30 homeless families it has no room for them.

"We turn away three out of every four families," Curry said Tuesday.

Whoa.

The above graphs are from a News Tribune story on the Rescue Mission's new Adams Street Family Campus. Read it here.

LINK: Donate to the Rescue Mission

WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

This study claims heavy drinkers live longer lives than nondrinkers. What? WHAT?

LINK: South Sound happy hours

CALM ON FAWCETT >>>

The TacomaArt listserv has alerted Bobble Tiki that the Meditation Room has opened at 2501 Fawcett Ave. in Tacoma, which is the same address at the Robert Daniel Gallery.  Bobble Tiki loves the sound of that and was all set to go.  Until he discovered that meditation helps people wake up and find their true selves.  Bobble Tiki has made a career or being both unconscious and shallow, so maybe this event isn't for him. 

Maybe it's for you:

WELCOME to the MEDITATION ROOM at 2501 Fawcett Ave Tacoma, Wa. 98402

Guided meditation is a great way for a person to be introduced to meditation. On your own, it can be difficult to focus and open up to a deeper level of concentration and relaxation. With a guide to help concentrate on letting the daily concerns and stressors go, the process of starting meditation becomes easier. Many people who are experienced at meditation still use guides to reach a deeper level of meditation. Hence a guided meditation class is another way to learn proper technique along with releasing unhealthy stress and tension stored in the body & mind. Guided meditation will also enable you to have a more positive outlook, enhance concentration, and respond with a calmer approach to any type of daily stressors. Nina Stocker has twenty years of practice in the healing arts. Nina graduated from the Utah College of Massage Therapy in 1990. She later worked for Nordstrom Spa in San Francisco. Upon moving to New York City she became a Reiki practitioner. Now a Reiki Master, Nina works using her gift of healing to help others access their own healing energies through Reiki and guided meditation. Nina also holds a Masters degree in teaching. Please call or email Nina to make appointment. Each meditation session holds a maximum of six people. nina@therobertdanielgallery.com

Phone: 253-226-8663

Wed: 5:00 pm - 5:30 pm, 5:40 pm - 6:15 pm

Sat: 9:00 am - 9:30, 11:30 am - 12:00 pm

BRING ON THE WEEKEND >>>

Is it August already? Well, no, not technically - but by the end of the weekend it will be. The bottom line is summertime's a wastin', whether the sun is out or not. You'd be well advised to take full advantage of your fleeting moments of freedom.

With that in mind, here's another installment of the Prefunk, a weekly guide to weekend fun with you and your liver in mind - with a picture of an alcoholic household pet thrown in for good measure (and because it's funny).

Enjoy.

National Dance Day/ Pierce County Dances Together

Saturday, July 31

I'll shoot straight. I had NO IDEA there was such a thing as "National Dance Day." And even if I HAD known there was such a thing as "National Dance Day," I surely wouldn't have suspected that it's, "being recognized with an official act of Congress after being created by Nigel Lythgoe, executive producer and co-creator of the FOX series So You Think You Can Dance."

Oh, but it's true - unless the Tacoma Regional Convention and Visitor Bureau is sending out really funny fake press releases.

And they're not.

No, rather, Saturday is the first annual "National Dance Day," and all this prodded moving and shaking is the creation of the minds behind So You Think You Can Dance. Apparently, at locations all across the country, counties and townships so desperate for any spotlight that even having constituents filmed in mall parking lots doing a poor rendition of the cha-cha sounds appealing will engage in mass dance demonstrations, all in an aim to "empower, challenge and inspire everyone to try various styles of dance," according to the press release.

So You Think You Can Dance will be filming these mass dance spectacles, and the best-looking and/or least pathetic towns and counties will be featured on an upcoming episode of the show.

Yes, Piece County is getting in on the action. Naturally! On Saturday, from 10 a.m. to noon in the South Hill Mall parking lot in front of Competitive Edge, a swath of Pierce County's dancing hopefuls will gather to dance their asses off and hopefully end up on TV - calling the event "Pierce County Dances Together."

Here are the details:

So You Think You Can Dance will be filming National Dance Day events around the country to air on an upcoming episode of the show. If our community is chosen to appear on the show Pierce County will earn nation-wide recognition.

Join the Tacoma Regional Convention + Visitor Bureau [TRCVB] at "Pierce County Dances Together" from 10 a.m. to noon on July 31, 2010 at South Hill Mall in Puyallup. Dance festivities will be held in the parking lot in front of Competitive Edge, near the 9th Street SW entrance.

Be a part of the county's largest Cha-Cha Slide. The TRCVB is working with community partners to encourage the support of dance and the healthy benefits it provides. This opportunity to participate in National Dance Day will bring together individuals, families, organizations and communities through creative expression in dance.  So You Think You Can Dance is going on tour this fall and will be performing at the Tacoma Dome on Nov. 6, 2010.

Dances include:

•            Dance group performances

•            Zumba instruction

•            Pierce County's largest Cha-Cha Slide

•            Free-style dance

"Pierce County Dances Together" encourages everyone to get up and move in a place where all dance styles are welcomed. Join the fun - this event is free and open to the public. For more information visit www.traveltacoma.com.

PREFUNK:

There's Krispy Crème in that same parking lot.

With a drive through, I believe.

Just saying...

THURSDAY, JULY 29, 2010 >>>

1. If you followed Weekly Volcano Editor Matt Driscoll's lead last night at the Best of Tacoma 2010 party, chances are you're in desperate need of an effective hangover remedy this morning/afternoon. Since the main culprit of a nasty hangover is dehydration, you should have been drinking plenty of water with your booze last night at Masa. If not, only time is going to make the hairy, ugly pounding go away. These morning-after drink recipes from legendary restaurateur Trader Vic Bergeron, however, may help.

The Banana Cow

1 crushed ripe banana (a good source of hangover-fighting potassium), 2 level tablespoons of powdered sugar, 3 ounces of whole milk, 1-1/2 ounces of Puerto Rican rum, and (cough! ouch!) cracked ice; blend well.

The Prairie Oyster

1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce, 1 dash of Tabasco, 1 raw egg, a few drops lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste in a shot glass.

Bloody Mary

4 ounces of tomato juice, 1-1/2 ounces of vodka, 1/4 ounce of lemon juice, 1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce, dash of Tabasco, and celery salt and ground pepper to taste; stir well over ice cubes in a Collins glass, garnish with a celery stalk and serve (cough!  ouch!).

Failing any of these "cures," a well-placed ball-peen hammer to the forehead can work wonders.

2. Celebrate artists and arts organizations using their creativity to liven up vacant spaces in downtown Tacoma from 5-8 p.m. at the Spaceworks Tacoma Block Party bubbling over at Ninth and Broadway. The party will include guided walking tours, theatrical performances, live dance performances, an ongoing screening of short films and a season preview for the Broadway Center for the Performing Arts.

3. The beloved Paula Tutmarc Johnson, former owner of Two Vaults Gallery in Tacoma, curates a new show at The Robert Daniel Gallery. She's brought in a new collection by Karl Krogstad, some "barely dry" original oils by Ethan Jack Harrington, works by J. Neils Harvey (her premiere show) and artwork from The Robert Daniel Gallery's artists. The opening reception is tonight from 5-9 p.m.

4. The Lakewood Playhouse offers a "Pay What You Can" performance of Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead paired with Stoppard's Fifteen Minute Hamlet at 8 p.m. This is collaboration with the new dynamic acting company The Outfit Theatre Project.

5. The Loft on Cherry in downtown Olympia hosts The Pasties CD all-ages release show that also features The Solvents and Invisible River beginning at 8:30 p.m.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

READY FOR YOUR CLOSE-UP, MR. CUCUMBER? >>>

Tacoma Farmers Market, along with Click! Cable TV, are going viral to get the word out about healthy living, food and farming.

Their contest, which deadlines Aug. 15, requires participants to create videos four to 10 minute sin length promoting local food, farming, and markets.

All submissions will be judged by Tacoma Farmers Market, Triniti Media, and Click! Cable TV! and awarded prizes accordingly under the subjects of ‘Most Creative,' ‘Most Informative' and ‘Farm Themed' states a press release.

Meant to be read very quickly aloud: The chosen short films will be shown at the markets and broadcasted on Click! Cable TV's On Demand Service. Titles must be 19 characters in length with a 200 character long description in order to be published on the network. All DVDs must be mailed to Tacoma Farmers Market at PO Box 707, Tacoma, WA 98401 by Aug. 15, 2010. For further information or questions please contact Samantha Kielty at sam@tacomafarmersmarket.com or visit tacomafarmersmarket.com.

MONDAY, JULY 19, 2010 >>>

1. Heavy, blues-adelic rock will fill The Eastside Club Tavern at 9:30 p.m. when Bellingham garage trio Sugar Sugar Sugar take the stage and jam.

2. Unique juxtapositions and intellectual whimsy are encapsulated in Master of Studio Glass: Richard Craig Meitner, an in-depth survey of Meitner's work presenting 30 objects spanning his career from 1978 to 2001, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. inside the Museum of Glass.

3. Listen to a Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium expert wax polar bears at 11:30 a.m. inside the zoo.

4. Harvard's Continuing Medical Education faculty member Dr. Alan Logan discusses moisturizing skin from the inside out with Dermalipid at 7 p.m. inside Marlene's Market & Deli in Federal Way.

5. Chris Stevens' Surf Monkeys hit the stage at The Swiss beginning at 8 p.m.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

What was Shaggy's real name on "Scooby Doo?"

American geologists have discovered untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan that could be worth nearly one trillion dollars. Looks like the United states will be digging in for a while.

Beer commercial people  – and reporters – were abducted by Nahua Indians with machetes.

The KKK threatened to kill Ted Kennedy.

Human Genome Sciences say they have a medication for Hepatitis C but that the FDA likely won't approve it due to "risks."

A billionaire expert speaks out on killer UFOs.

Jimmy Dean died at 81.

THURSDAY, MAY 13, 2010 >>>

1. The "Latino poet of his generation," Martin Espada will be at Philip Hall on the UWT campus around 6:40 p.m. as part of the "Arts and Empowerment Series."  A fitting umbrella to bring such a renowned writer to T-town under, Espada has published 17 books and been a finalist for the Pulitzer. Sponsored by H.O.P.E. Network, Latino Students Organization, and Tahoma West - UWT's literary journal - the reading and book-signing event will also feature Speak Your Soul poet Robert Lashley and Tahoma West poets, Star Angelina Murray and Therese Ferreria-Douglas.

2. The Scrabble Rousers will push the wood from 6:30-9 p.m. inside King's Books. Entrance fee is $10 per person with proceeds benefiting the Tacoma Community House Student Scholarship Fund.

3. Join HealthForce Nutritional educator Doug Walsh as he discusses the five-week raw food-cleansing program he recommends for safe, effective detoxification and cell enhancement at 7 p.m. inside Marlene's Market & Deli in Federal Way.

4. The Mix in downtown Tacoma celebrates its second year in business with a ‘70s Disco Party tonight featuring DJ Xade, drink specials and prize giveaways.

5. From the Sea will unleash their Here Come the Wolves EP at 8 p.m. inside Hell's Kitchen.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound