ONLINE CHATTER >>>

Yesterday's comment of the day comes from Donovan Wilson in regards to Joshua Swainston's feature story Tacoma: The Divide of Division Avenue, which discusses how Tacoma still adheres to arbitrary divisions set up by its city founders.

Wilson writes,

Great work! I always cringe when I'm reminded of the original plan for Tacoma because it sounds so great. But lost opportunity should stop defining this town. This article is great because it makes us think about the affects of urban planning on society. The challenge now is how to work within a rigid framework to create a great city. Lets not forget how connected our city actually is. You can walk from Stadium High right to Lincoln High!

RESTAURANT TAKES IT TO AN 11 >>>

What makes dining at a bar awesome? Is it the drinks themselves, coming fast and fresh and teetering on a long communal bar? The ease of eavesdropping or starting a conversation with the women by your side? Dining under twinkly lights with live music in the background? Is it dining where the bartender knows "your" drink?

Yes, all of those factors are worthy. What truly makes eating at a bar awesome is when it's the fanciest bar in town and the prices have been hacked because a bridge reopened!

El Gaucho Tacoma has introduced a Murray Morgan Bridge Week menu in celebration of the bridge's 100 anniversary and reopening. Because the bridge used to be known as the 11th Street Bridge, El Gaucho has 11 items on sale for $11. And if you know anything about El Gaucho, $11 is a steal. Check it out below.

EL GAUCHO TACOMA, 2119 PACIFIC AVE., TACOMA, 253.272.1510

Who are the important artists today? Someone posed that question on Facebook (Actually she said painters, not artists, but I don't follow instructions well).

Hardy anybody responded and those who did said things like nobody younger than 60 is important. One person listed a whole bunch of people who are dead and gone. The most frequent names put forth were Gerhardt Richter, who is 81, and British graffiti artists Banksy, who is the only artist of any international importance I can think of who is younger than 40. The only other artists I can think of offhand who is still doing important work is sculptor Richard Serra, another old dude - born in 1939. Oh, and Martin Puryear, born in '41 but a late bloomer who did not come into prominence until the '90s.

And I guess we have to include Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst, two young artists who will undoubtedly go down in history as important figures. I have my doubts about Hirst but have to admit I do not know his work well enough to make an informed judgment. Koons, on the other hand, I find fascinating even though he's done little if anything that Warhol and Duchamp didn't do long before him.

Either there's a dirge of exciting young artists at work today or I am totally out of touch with what's happening.

It's not an exciting time in art. It's not like when I was in college. That was an exciting time (about the time Damien Hirst was born). Pop Art was in its heyday. There was minimalism, hard edge abstraction, happenings and environmental art. There was something new almost every day. I still think the most important artists of the modern and post-modern era were the Abstract Expressionists and Pop artists. Everyone since has just recycled what de Kooning and Pollock and Warhol and Frank Stella did with some comic art thrown into the mix.

But then the question - who is important begs another question: What is meant by important? I think to be truly important an artist needs to affect change in the world or in the history of art. Picasso and Braque certainly shaped the history of modern art with the invention of Cubism. Kandinsky has to be considered important as the first abstract painter. And Pollock, ironically, not so much for his paintings - which are marvelous - but for opening the doors to multi-media happenings and performance art. By painting on unstretched canvases on the floor and famously walking around and literally being in his painting he turned the art of painting into something larger that metaphorically and, in some cases literally, became something larger than life or something that obscured the boundaries between art and life - the act of painting became as important as the painting that resulted, which was just a kind of archival record of the act.

Throughout the history of modern art many people have declared painting dead. Perhaps Pollock killed it, but if he did, out of the ashes rose the phoenix of a new kind of art loosely termed post-modernist, which now encompasses everything that has come since. To extend the irony of Pollock, in the last years of his life he begin to make paintings that gave hints he might be reverting back to traditional easel painting. Since he died so tragically and so young we will never know.

Painting is dead; long live painting.

LINK: Alec Clayton's Visual Edge column

LET'S DRINK TO THE MURRAY MORGAN BRIDGE! >>>

Back in December I had a sit down with Harmon Brewery co-owner Pat Nagle to discuss local brews and his desire to collaborate with local businesses. Harmon has united with Dry Fly distillery, 21 Cellars and the Grocery Outlet. In celebration of the reopening of the 11th Street Bridge - renamed the Murray Morgan Bridge - Nagle continued his collaboration efforts, brewing an Eleventh Street IPA - with the blessing of the city of Tacoma and JayRay Advertising - and offering the brew to numerous downtown hot spots such as The Swiss, Office Bar and Grill, TwoKoi, The Mix, Puget Sound Pizza, Meconi's Pub, The Social Bar and Grill and Rock the Dock Pub, just to name a few.

Nagle took the bridge celebration a bit farther with his new beer, incorporating 11 different hops and bumping it to 100 IBUs (bitterness measurement) to represent the 100th year anniversary of the bridge. IPAs tend to be very high in IBUs, which is desirable by hopheads who enjoy that fuzzy tongue feeling.

"The City of Tacoma, along with JayRay Advertising and the Pierce Co. Chamber of Commerce, are putting together a christening of the bridge on Valentine's Day, Thursday February 14th," Nagle states in a release. "The goal is to have as many downtown retailers as possible participate by putting together an 'offer' for Valentine's Day that will tie into the 11th St. Bridge celebration."

The offers poured in. As part of Murray Morgan Bridge Week Feb. 11-16, downtown Tacoma businesses will offer discounts, as well as carry the Harmon Eleventh Street IPA as I previously mentioned. The list of participating businesses can be found at tacomachamber.org.

The official rededication ceremony begins with the Light the Bridge fun run/walk at 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 14. Light the Bridge organizers ask all participants to wear headlamps and/or carry flashlights or glow sticks. Advance registration is required.

A dedication ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. Feb. 15. The event will take place near the bridge at the intersection of 11th and A streets.

THE LOWDOWN ON WHAT'S UP THIS WEEKEND >>>

WEATHER REPORT

Friday: Partly sunny, some fog, hi 50, lo 36

Saturday: Partly sunny, some fog, hi 50, lo 38

Sunday: Partly sunny, some fog, hi 49, lo 39

>>> FRIDAY, FEB. 1: TACOMAPOCALYPSE III

We'll be frank. Apocalypse-like events usually only happen once. If an apocalypse-like event ever returns, it's either really bad news, or a sign that things weren't that apocalyptic in the first place. The good news about the Treefish Studio-produced "Tacomapocalypse III," set to inhabit Amocat Café during the month of February starting Friday, is neither statement is true. A collection of two and three-dimensional art that's heavy on the zombie, and designed to offer a gruesome alternative to the usual Valentines-style lovey-dovey crap that's everywhere else this time of year, Tacomapocalypse III is the sequel to last year's successful Zombie "Tacomapocalypse II." The electronic musical stylings of local musician Gibson Starkweather will rock the walls of Amocat. Technophobic Android will also make a special appearance.

• Amocat Café, Tacomapocalypse III opening party, 5-9  p.m., free, 625 St. Helens Ave., Tacoma, 253.242.3370

>>> SATURDAY, FEB. 2: ART OF CHOCOLATE WALK

Those who have already caved and thrown out their New Year's resolution to abstain from sweets, prepare to get giddy. Gig Harbor, the quaint gateway city of the Olympic Peninsula, hosts the fourth annual Art of Chocolate Walk Saturday. Held in conjunction with the Gig Harbor First Saturday Art Walk, The Art of Chocolate is designed to be a walking tour of art and sweets. The idea is to get your passport stamped by as many participating locations as possible, for a chance at a number of prizes - perhaps more important, however, The Art of Chocolate promises an opportunity to sample chocolates and confections, check out cookbooks on chocolate and chat with sweet-makers. — Weekly Volcano

• Downtown Gig Harbor, noon to 6 p.m., Gig Harbor waterfront, gigharborwaterfront.org

>>> SATURDAY, FEB. 2: SACRED HARP SINGING

Shape note singing dates back centuries to early singing schools, with each solfoge note of the scale being given a different shape to ease sight-reading. When groups gather, they form a "hollow square" with the four voice parts of a typical choir facing one another. No pitch pipes or other instruments tune the group - that's done by the song leader. Who is that? Whoever's turn it is. They stand facing the tenors, who always have the melody. Want to see all of this in action? The Scared Harp Singing sing-along goes down Saturday at Fort Nisqually Living History Museum. - WV

• Fort Nisqually Living Hisotry Museum, 2-4 p.m., Point defiance PArk, 5400 N. pearl St., Tacoma, 253.591.5339
  

>>> SATURDAY, FEB. 2: ILLUMINATED BALL

Last year's Illuminated Ball - the Procession of the Species main annual fundraiser - turned the Eagles Hall in Olympia into an enchanted forest. An intricate tree canopy decorated the walls and ceiling, and all around, tables, chairs and especially people, were glowing, glittering and celebrating illumination. How will it look this year? Live music by The Brown Edition, an illuminated pageant, no host bar and appetizers, plus all things glowing, lovely and artistic will make for a splendid evening. - NM

• Eagle's Hall, 8 p.m., $65/adv. $75/door, 805 Fourth Ave. E., Olympia, 360. 929.9907

>>> SATURDAY, FEB. 2: "NEON MAN" AND BRAD UPTON

Watching Henrik Bothe's "neon man" routine, where he lines his body with glowing tubes, shuts off the lights and creates an onstage animation is worth the admission alone. Bothe also escapes a straight jacket while riding a unicycle, and juggles with four legs. Paired with national touring comedian Brad Uptown and his side-busting jokes, the duo go together like hippies and Haight Street. And just as if you were on the infamous street in San Fransisco, expect tracers (from the neon man) and uncontrollable bouts of laughter. — Nikki McCoy

• The Royal Lounge, 8:30 p.m., $12, 311 Capitol Way N., Olympia, 360. 705.0760

>>> SATURDAY, FEB. 2: DANCE PARTY

Thank heaven, the days are getting longer, new green buds are sprouting and seasonal light disorder is hopefully wearing off. One good way to shake off that winter funk is to get out and dance your fucking ass off. Seriously, close your eyes and shake that thing. Weekly Volcano you catch the Polyrhythmics and AKA and the Heart Hurt Goods at the Olympia Ballroom. With at least eight instruments aboard, Polyrhythmics busts out the funk like no other, and always bring a packed house. - NM

• Olympia Ballroom, 9 p.m., $10, 116 Legion Way SE, Olympia, 360.943.9242

WHAT SOME OF OUR STAFF MEMBERS ARE UP TO

CHRISTIAN CARVAJAL Theater Critic
After seeing Cirque du Soleil's "Amaluna" Thursday night, we're catching "Next to Normal" at Capital Playhouse and Olympia Family Theater's all-youth production of "James and the Giant Peach." Oh, and apparently there's some sort of ballgame on Sunday?

REV. ADAM MCKINNEY Music Writer
This weekend's a tough call. There's a perfectly good show at the New Frontier, featuring Wes Sp8 and members of Solvents (whom I really enjoy). OR, there's a Santee show up in Seattle at the awesome all-ages mecca, the Vera Project, which I haven't visited since I was underage. Might be fun to go back.

ALEC CLAYTON Arts Critic
Gabi and I are going to the opening of "Out of the Silence," a very special art exhibition to raise awareness of anti-gay bullying and in support of Pizza Klatch, a group that provides support (and pizza) to students at six high schools in Thurston County. The opening is Friday night starting at 5 p.m. at the Urban Onion in Oly.

NIKKI MCCOY Feature Writer
Friday, I'm going to party it up with my cousin Tess, who is really like my best friend and sister, too. (Hey girl! Wassup? Shout out to you on your birthday! Coco!! XOXO!) I'm pretty sure there will be dancing and enchiladas involved. Saturday, I will clamber onto my roof with a big janitor's broom and a bottle of vinegar and scrub out the moss that's growing through shingles like all that alien vegetation in Stephen King's "Creepshow." Sunday is R & R and football.

TIMOTHY GRISHAM Music Writer

This is the first weekend of February; the month where winter can either hit hardest or ease toward spring. In that end I look forward to that spring optimism by planning a beach hike. It is going to be 55 on the coast Saturday! Sorry bands, films, art shows. You'll have to wait. Then on Sunday I'm going to the Motorcycle exhibit at the Washington State History Museum.

STEVE DUNKELBERGER Nightlife Correspondent
Well, Nugget got a new puppy, Luke Skywalker Dunkelberger, so I imagine I'll be covered in puppy spit and fur by the end of the weekend. Other than that, I'll be watching "Grease" with the girl child and going to the Free Radical Media Exchange to drop off and pick up some more hard-bound lovin'.

LINK: Even more local events that we recommend

LINK: Comprehensive South Sound Arts & Entertainment Calendar

THE WEEK OF JAN. 31-FEB. 6, 2013 >>>

In this week's issue of the Weekly Volcano ...

Here you go sweethearts. The Weekly Volcano presents our favorite restaurant seats in the South Sound. Love ya!

In the cold and blustery January 2010, three intrepid runners planned a three-mile run followed by celebratory beverages at the Parkway Tavern. These three runners - Mike Hahn, Derek Young and Rob McNair-Huff - announced their plans online. When they met up, rather than just the three of them, there were seven runners waiting to dash and drink. Tacoma Runners was born. Since that fateful day, the group has met up at different Tacoma bars every Thursday evening. Tonight, the Tacoma Runners celebrates its three-year anniversary. Read up on its history, and find out where you are running tonight (you know you want to join the party).

Originally known as the 11th Street Bridge - also the City Waterway Bridge - the Murray Morgan bridge has served as the gateway for the Thea Foss Waterway for one hundred years. The bridge we know today replaced an original single span bridge in 1913. The reason for the change was that a single span bridge does not move, so to allow for increased boat traffic the new bridge was built. With the bridge reopening Friday, the Weekly Volcano takes a look at the Murray Morgan Bridge's history and its coming-out parties.

Super Bowl is Sunday, and the Weekly Volcano has to confess to feeling a tad bipolar about the whole thing: glad to see the 49ers in it again, but also bored to distraction at the thought of subjecting ourselves to a four-hour advertising blitz interrupted by a few minutes of pro football. We could invest loads of man hours baking hot wings, making deviled eggs and concocting some clever pig skin themed cocktail OR we could leave it up to the professionals and ante up to a bar where testosterone swirls in the air, hoots and hollers fill the room and someone else makes the barbecue ribs and cocktails.

Weekly Volcano theater critic Christian Carvajal read Liz Duffy Adams' script Or, (the comma is part of the show title) a few months ago, when he admired rather than enjoyed it. He couldn't visualize all its chaotic comings and goings. As with any sex farce, it turns out Or, has to be seen to be fully appreciated. Read Carv's review of Harlequin Production's OR, in the Weekly Volcano's Arts section.

Australian Circus Oz is kicking off its new North American tour with three performances this weekend in Tacoma. Formed in 1978, Oz is a rock and roll, animal-free circus of musicians, acrobats, contortionists and artsy clowns. However, because Oz doesn't have the financial backing of Cirque du Soleil, it only has a dozen or so performers doing all the acts. Whether you've been awaiting its show or have never heard of them before, here are five reasons you should be Circus Oz's new biggest fan.

PLUS: Deep Sea Diver is blowing up

TACOMA REPRESENT >>>

Valentine's Day draws nigh. If you're planning on running out the night before and snagging a box of chocolates from the drug store - don't you dare! We live in a region filled with locally made items - jewelry by talented local artisans, handmade candy without nasty chemicals - even historical items. Below I offer a few locally made products for your sweetheart with the 253Heart.

The gift of local body care

"We have several body care products made in the Pacific Northwest," says Bill Evans, owner of the Pacific Northwest Shop in Proctor District. "Antoinette is a line of soaps with some special Valentine's soaps. Another option is Jenteal Soaps out of Yelm, which are largely floral scented. More unique options are our chocolate-scented soaps and candles by Chocolate Flower Farm from Whidbey Island." Eacg bar of soap costs around $6.50.

The gift of local art

"A couple might want to take one of our Try It pottery classes," says Eileen Hudak of Throwing Mud Gallery in Old Town Tacoma. "It's a two-hour class with basic instruction on the pottery wheel. We also have a lot of gift items in our store. We have several styles of jewelry. I have rock pendants, earrings and bracelets with heart shapes, along with other handcrafted jewelry from about 20 different jewelers." Classes cost $60 per person.

The gift of local history

"The gift shop here at the History Museum is a unique place to find a gift for Valentine's Day," says Kimberly Ketcham, director of marketing and communications at the Washington State History Museum. "We have a variety of items from here in the Northwest, such as Pendleton wool blankets in Native American designs, glass art and jewelry made by local artists, and a collection of great books with historical photographs from our area. All our items really let you share our Washington heritage with your sweetheart."

The gift of gothy goodness

"Le Noir Bazaar offers unique gifts this Valentine's Day," says Amanda Jones, manager of Le Noir Bazaar in Tacoma. "We have lovely fingerless gloves with a Victorian flare of hand embellished crocheted lace." The gloves cost between $9 and $20.

The gift of local sweet treats

For Valentine's, Legendary Doughnuts has a few special selections: raspberry dark chocolate truffle (heart-shaped raised doughnut filled with raspberry and topped with dark chocolate truffle), white chocolate raspberry (chocolate cake doughnut dipped in white chocolate with raspberry filling) and raspberry fritters (heart-shaped raised doughnuts). "Do-nut forget your valentine," says Shannon Patten, owner of Legendary Doughnuts. Doughnuts are around $2 a peice, or $19.99 for a heart-shaped doughnut cake.

And if all else fails ...

"For people having a crappy Valentine's Day, World Market and the Pacific Northwest Shop have our CHOC-AID chocolate Band-Aids to mend a broken heart," says Sara Evans of With Love Chocolates. The Band-Aids cost $4.50 per box.

LINK: Hipster's guide to love on Valentine's Day

YAY! >>>

Murray Morgan Bridge is the proper name of what some people call the 11th Street Bridge or City Waterway Bridge. It's that old steel bridge over the Thea Foss Waterway. Yeah, the one that has been shut down since 2007. The one that has spent the better part of 2012 under a big white tarp. The one that got tens of thousands of wire stolen from it in 2009.

And it's going to reopen next month. With a new pedestrian path. And a bike path. And an elevator connecting it to Dock Street.

Who was Murray Morgan? He was a Tacoma historian, author and columnist. He passed away in 2000.

The city of Tacoma and Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber of Commerce will celebrate the bridge's opening with what they call Murray Morgan Bridge Week, which include a fun run across the bridge Feb. 14 and an officially opening ceremony Feb. 15. The city and chamber sent out a letter yesterday to Tacoma business asking them to join the fun. Part of the letter is attached below.

One of the businesses joining the celebration will be the Harmon Brewing Co. "We're brewing a special beer with 11 different hops and 100 IBUs in celebration of the bridge's 100 year anniversary," says Harmon co-owner Pat Nagle.

A list of businesses participating in Murray Morgan Bridge Week can be found here.

What will you do?

TOURS AND POETRY >>>

The Buffalo Soldiers Museum in Tacoma preserves the artifacts and history of the Buffalo Soldiers of the 9th and 10th (Horse) Cavalry - all-African-American cavalry units that served in America's wars from 1866 through the end of WWII. 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 museum was founded by Buffalo Soldier William Jones of Tacoma.

"Before Mr. Jones died in 2007 he had already amassed quite a few relics from other Buffalo Soldiers and a large quantity of printed materials, in order to start his museum," says Lynn Di Nino, local artist and friend of the museum. "Of course he belonged to the national organization and attended their reunions every year."

The museum is open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday and Saturday, or by appointment.

Saturday, Jan. 26 the Buffalo Soldiers Museum will host its first open house, welcoming everyone in to learn and explore. Local poet Elijah Muied will be on tap with a reading of a work inspired by the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. Muied's poems have been published in "Threads" and he has showcased his work at his own open mic events as well as multi-poet happenings such as Hope in Hard Times at WSHM.

There will also be refreshments and tours of the museum. The open house is free. Come one, come all.

BUFFALO SOLDIERS MUSEUM, SATURDAY, JAN. 26, NOON TO 4 P.M., FREE, 940 S. WILKESON ST., TACOMA, 253.272.4257

SOTA INTERN REPORT >>>

Downtown Puyallup is mostly known for its pretty parks and small town feel — and, of course, the Puyallup Fair. But, what is not known about Puyallup is some of its unique history, such as The Spite wall and the ghost that still haunts the area.

On a recent outing to Central Perk Espresso and Deli I dropped in on nearby Ace Pawn and Loan, which is owned by an acquaintance of mine, Eli Reed. Striking up a conversation with a customer at Ace Pawn — which the customer calls "The Pawn Stars of Puyallup — I inquired about the building's history. Apparently, the building was originally the site of "The Spite Wall." Ezra Meeker, a remarkable pioneer that is best known for his 25 year old struggle to interest Congress in marketing the Old Oregon Trail, built The Spite Wall to keep people away from his Meeker Mansion.

Today, the wall is the home to several businesses and office spaces, including The Pawn Stars of Puyallup. Ace Pawn is chock-full of electronics, tools, firearms, musical instruments, jewelry and ski gear.

My history lesson continued. ... I was told about the apparition people claimed to have seen on the stairs in the scary alley behind the building. People claim to have seen the figure of a person standing on the back staircase that would suddenly disappear. If that wasn't scary enough, the ghost can move things, such as shutting doors and windows, and in one case, actually poked someone.

The poking ghost hasn't hurt the businesses. People find the ghost more interesting than scary. 

Intrigued by the stories, I checked out the back alley. I didn't see any ghosts. Even if I did, I didn't have the proper ghost hunting equipment, such as a Ghostbuster trap.

I highly suggest you drop by Ace Pawn and Loan, and hear the stories first hand. Tell them "Mckenna sent me" and you could receive a Valentine's Day discount on their jewelry.

Happy pawning! 

ACE PAWN AND LOAN, 212 S. MERIDIAN, PUYALLUP, 253.848.4118

LINK: Hi, I'm Mckenna. I'm a student at the Tacoma School of the Arts. Thanks for following my Daily Trip