THURSDAY, FEB. 6 2014 >>>

1. Green Drinks welcomes you to meet new people and discuss environmental issues over happy hour. Happy hour for environmentalists. It's a beautiful thing. Green Drinks Tacoma rides into the Tacoma Cabana at 6 p.m. That's right, brah, and the folks from the South Sound chapter of Surfrider will be under the thatched roof to give an overview of what they are up to, including their efforts to work with the Tacoma City Council to adopt a reusable bag initiative that would include a ban on single-use plastic bags.

2. Puyallup Gallery Three will host an artist reception for watercolorist and multi-media artist Renee' Healy as well as a healing arts event featuring internationally renowned reiki master, Norma Jean Young, Tara Tremlett and Charles Klennert from Ahimsa Hypnotherapy and Healing, Denise Coyle from True Heart Counseling, Kathy Leale from doTERRA, seated massage from Salon DaVinci Medi Spa, acupuncture from William Leigh, medical aesthetician for eyebrow wax and tints and others from 5-8 p.m.

Flip on any food or travel network and most likely chefs are battling mano a mano in a duel to the death - or at least through dessert. NetShed No. 9 - the Gig Harbor waterfront creative breakfast and lunch destination opened by Thad Lyman and Katie Doherty, the husband-wife team behind Brix 25 - will launch its version of a chef battle at 6:30 p.m. They call it Fight Club, and the judges are you.

The 12th annual Sister Cities International Film Festival kicks off at 6:15 p.m. in the Tahoma Room at Commencement Hall on the University of Puget Sound campus. The city of Tacoma's Sister Cities program pulls together movies from each of its sister countries and offers nights of all things cultural - for free. Tonight's film, Thermae Romae, is based on a popular Japanese manga series. Marrying a sci-fi hook to a costume-epic look, the script tracks the time travels of a lowly architect in the Rome of Emperor Hadrian. Lucius designs bathhouses, until he slips through an aquatic wormhole into present-day Tokyo, marvels at the wonders of Jacuzzi technology, then wormholes back to put his newfound knowledge to practical use. Toga-clad Romans speaking Japanese!

5. Brian James is an accomplished singer/songwriter and instrumentalist who was hired in 2008 as the head staff writer at Sure-Fire Music Publishing in Nashville where he wrote hit songs for four years, before starting his own publishing/management company, Brick Hit House Music. He wrote the theme song for the Discovery Channel's American Farmer, as well as for Taylor Hicks, Donny Anderson and Tonya Kennedy. Catch him at 8 p.m. at The Swiss.

LINK: Thursday, Feb. 6 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

GRAB A CUP AND READ THE MORNING REPORT FOR 2.6.14 >>>

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is deeply troubled by the ethical behavior of servicemembers, following several recent Air Force and Navy investigations into drug use and cheating on qualification exams. Ya think?

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Wednesday unveiled a web site detailing the GOP's Benghazi probe amid mounting pressure from conservatives that he's not doing enough.

The threat of a toothpaste bomb targeting flights destined for the Winter Olympics in Russia is "very specific and credible," the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee said Wednesday.

A nuclear-capable U.S. B-52 bomber sortie over South Korea has endangered plans for reunions between families from the North and South of the country and risks triggering a further escalation of military tension.

The Taliban has released footage of what they claim is a U.S. military working dog allegedly captured during fighting in eastern Afghanistan in December.

The Navy receives likely boost as reports say former Navy Under Secretary Robert Work will take over as Deputy SecDef.

Locator beacons for Air Force ejection seats failing at "unacceptable" rates.

Defexpo 2014, the eighth biannual exhibition showcasing land, naval and homeland security systems, will focus on indigenous capabilities in line with new government procurement rules that favor homegrown weapons.

Analysts: U.S. should cut carriers, buy subs and work with allies.

Pentagon proposals to reportedly slice $1 billion from the annual commissary budget may not hinge on closing stores, but on raising prices for patrons.

The Army has announced changes to retention control points for soldiers in the ranks of corporal through sergeant.

More than 200 soldiers from around the force competed against each other and Mother Nature at the history-making 2014 U.S. Army Small Arms Championship.

Nine true facts that sound made up but are actually completely true.

Here's a map of the U.S. if every state's population matched its size.

Thirteen depictions of cities and towns gripped by miserable winters.

The trailer for the new James Franco movie, Maladies, is intriguing.

The goofy gag reel of Thor: The Dark World is a raucously good time.

Finally: Ice-T Records Dungeons & Dragons Audiobook.

Well played, Canada. Well played.

GRAB A CUP AND READ THE MORNING REPORT FOR 2.5.14 >>>

Footage has emerged showing the Syrian regime using explosive "barrel bombs" on civilian neighborhoods, killing hundreds, while its representatives attended peace talks at Geneva.

Pakistan's government reportedly made the request as it pursues peace talks with the Taliban.

President Obama called his commander in Afghanistan and the nation's top military leaders to the White House to hear planning options.

DOD lacks plan for collecting and validating Afghan security forces capability assessments.

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., and her colleagues criticized Army and company officials for failing to previously spot an alleged National Guard recruiting scam that may have cost taxpayers some $50 million.

The effort to repeal the $6 billion cut to military pensions advanced on numerous fronts on Tuesday, although the central problem in Congress with passing one of the measures - how to pay for it - has yet to be resolved.

Lockheed Martin is planning to offer a civilian version of the C-130J Super Hercules, an aircraft designed for Special Operations Command.

Negotiations over the multibillion dollar deal to sell 126 Dassault Rafale jets to India have stalled.

The White House's nomination of Robert Work to be the U.S. deputy defense secretary is said to be imminent.

The 25th Combat Aviation Brigade added a different twist to the primary joint training exercise Koa Kai 14-1 around the islands of Kauai and Ni'ihau: integrating the rotary wing aircraft aboard the naval ships.

Among those in the hunt for precious metal in the mountains of Russia will be a squad of military athletes competing in the downhill speed sports of bobsled and luge.

The Olympic torch arrived in Sochi, Russia, today, and most Americans aren't too thrilled - with that country, its anti-gay laws or its President Vladimir Putin.

Area 51 spy plane and other aviation tales.

Who would win if it was actual broncos and actual seahawks?

This simple invention seals gunshot wounds in 15 seconds.

America is preparing to land a robot on the moon for the first time in four decades.

Though-provoking photos of Israeli soldiers' bedrooms and the guns they keep in them.

A great piece on Salon: "Too Poor for Pop Culture."

Magnolia Pictures will release the Roger Ebert documentary this summer.

Will Ferrell did a Q&A on Reddit.

This whatchamacallit is made out of parts from a scooter and from roller blades.

Instagram, Atari style

SATURDAY, FEB. 8: CHRIS PERONDI'S STUNT DOG EXPERIENCE

OK, dear reader, there's no use in beating around the bush with this one. We'd just be fooling ourselves. The notion of the stunt animal live show is absolutely ridiculous. Dogs being made to dress in silly costumes and perform little sketches is such an old-timey bit of entertainment that has stretched so deeply into utter nerd-dom that it's miraculously come back around into something that I'm surprised has yet to be co-opted by irony.

Chris Perondi's Stunt Dog Experience is such a show. What's made to separate this stunt animal shows from others like it - despite, I suppose, the relative "talent" of the animals on display versus rival stunt animals, which is an argument that I would hate to have but would love to overhear - is that CPSDE (as those in the know like to call it) utilizes the performing abilities of rescue dogs. I imagine their rough-and-tumble upbringings tend to lend a little gravitas and the weight of experience to their performances, just like Danny Trejo.

While we're on the subject, here are some more circus things that hipsters would do well to appropriate: diving board-based physical comedy, unicycles (I mean, appropriate them again), and that thing where you would jump off a high diving board and land in a tiny little kiddie pool. That thing. 3 and 6:30 p.m., $12-$26, Pantages Theater, 901 Broadway, Tacoma, $12-$26, 253.591.5890

THURSDAY, FEB. 13: HOLES AT THE MOORE LIBRARY

I remember seeing Shia LaBeouf years ago on Craig Kilborn's show, talking about how he started his career as a stand-up comedian when he was something like 10 years old. He said that, in order to get the attention of the comedy club crowd, his opener would go like this: "The first time I masturbated, confetti shot out of my penis."

At the time, I was charmed by LaBeouf. Now, I wonder who he stole the joke from.

In case you've been rightly avoiding entertainment news over the past month, LaBeouf has been embroiled in a controversy that began with him completely plagiarizing a Daniel Clowes comic called Justin M. Damiano for a short film he directed. Predictably, LaBeouf was immediately found out once he put the film online, and what has followed has been an exercise in lame, art-school-failure performance art, and acts of privilege and delusion so mind-boggling they'd make Justin Beiber wince.

Apology after apology were released by LaBeouf, each apology eventually being identified as having been plagiarized from other celebrity apologies. Finally, LaBeouf announced his retirement (utilizing stolen retirement speeches, of course), waited a couple weeks, then announced his next project. Daniel Clowes, meanwhile, realized the monster he was dealing with, and has now decided to sue the prick.

Interested in seeing a young, preciously untainted Shia LaBeouf? His adaptation of the beloved Louis Sachar novel, Holes, will be screened at the Moore Library. If you hiss every time his dumb face shows up on screen, though, you'll never make it through the movie. 3 p.m., Moore Public Library, 215 S. 56^th St., Tacoma, free admission, 253.341.4848

TUESDAY, FEB. 4 2014 >>>

1. The Armstrong Lie is the latest from prolific, Oscar-winning documentarian Alex Gibney, (whose prior work includes We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks, Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room and many others). The film chronicles professional charlatan/cyclist Lance Armstrong's fall from grace after the revelation that his superhuman athletic prowess owed to a level of pharmaceutical pseudoscience reminiscent of something out of a Michael Crichton novel. Read Jared Lovrak's review of The Armstrong Lie in the Music & Culture section, then check it out at 2:10 and 6:30 p.m. at The Grand Cinema.

2. Pour at Four wine bar in Tacoma's Proctor District hosts Ross Andrew Mickel of Ross Andrew Winery. Mickel has been heralded as one of the top winemakers in the state garnering great ratings and awards. Enjoy complimentary tastes of Ross wines from 5:30-8 p.m.

3. Best-selling author Marissa Meyer has captured our imaginations in the first two books of her Lunar series. She uses her craft to weave together classic fairy tales with science fiction suspense in Cinder, a cyborg princess adventure based on Cinderella, and Scarlet, a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood and her journey with a street fighter named Wolf. Book three of the series will introduce Meyer fans to Cress, a brilliant Rapunzel-type hacker and perhaps the world's last hope against an evil Queen. All three tales, though separate, share intertwining paths within the same futuristic universe.  The release of Cress will be celebrated at 7 p.m. in the Karen Hill Phillips Center at Pacific Lutheran University. The author will be on hand to sign books and tell a fairy tale or two as only she can do. Read Jackie Fender's full feature on the Cress release party on our Walkie Talkie blog.

4. The ecstatic pulse of the tango: It moves with a painterly look, an exotic atmosphere and the irresistible and insinuating rhythms of the music. That said, the boundaries in tango are very strong. What was inappropriate 60 years ago in an Argentine form is still inappropriate today. Touching your partner on purpose below the solar plexus is not acceptable. There's no tummy-to-tummy contact. People connect with an embrace that is not sexual; it's a sensual embrace. And it lasts only as long as the music lasts. If that doesn't turn you off, BackStreet Tango teaches a beginner Argentine tango class on Tuesdays concentrating on the elements of the dance for relaxed free flowing movement. It's cool if you're single. 

5. The 1230 Room probably has you at "$4 lemon drops," but you also may be interested in the downtown Olympia club's Tuesday deep, tech and progressive house night "Deep Tuesdays." It launches at 9 p.m. with drink specials, no cover and resident DJs Alex Bosi and Evan Mould.

LINK: Tuesday, Feb. 4 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

Philip Seymour Hoffman has died from an apparent overdose. He was 46.

Award-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman was found dead Sunday afternoon in his New York City apartment, a law-enforcement official said.

The New York Police Department is investigating, and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is working to determine the exact cause of death. The official said Mr. Hoffman, 46 years old, was found dead at his apartment at 35 Bethune St. in the West Village neighborhood of Manhattan.

SUNDAY, FEB. 2 2014 >>>

1. Few things tend to evoke more viscerally polarized reactions in music lovers than this series of words: "they're like a progressive jazz-fusion band." At that point, you absolutely know whether you're in or out. All of those obnoxious people who claim to be into "all kinds of music" - throw that one at them and see how quickly they backpedal. Alex's Hand is a band that can be described as such, though their brand of progressive rock lands more on the Frank Zappa or Captain Beefheart side of things, as opposed to Happy the Man or Gentle Giant (shout out to my dad, that prog-rock-lovin' son of a gun). That is to say, this is progressive jazz-fusion with rough edges, a sort of blend that refuses to let the listener hypnotically drift along. Alex's Hand wants you to feel every hard corner they turn. Catch the band with Trash Heap at 10 p.m. in Le Voyeur.

2. It's Super Bowl time! That's always exciting. The Seahawks are playing! That's even more exciting. Unless, of course, you don't give a crap about football. The local theater companies give a crap. They have moved their 2 p.m. Sunday matinees up two hours so afterward we can race to the nearest bars and root, root, root on the home team. Tacoma Little Theatre will stage To Kill a Mockingbird at noon. Lakewood Playhouse has also moved Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? to noon, which closed today.

3. If you are a South Sound resident and you're feeling deprived of classical music, you're clearly not paying attention. Look under any bush in this region and you're likely to uncover a virtuosic masterwork for cello and piano concert, such as the one Sunday in Schneebeck Concert Hall. David Requiro, a University of Puget Sound artist in residence with a string of prestigious cello performances and prizes to his name, will give a faculty recital with New York-based pianist and guest artist Solon Gordon accompany him. The 2 p.m. performance at Schneebeck Concert Hall will include Pierre Jalbert's Sonata for Cello and Piano, Frédéric Chopin's Sonata in g minor, Op. 65, and Zoltán Kodály's Sonata for Cello and Piano Op. 4. Both of these chaps have awards and prestigious performances up the ying yang.

4. Super Bowl Sunday could be the biggest holiday in Washington state history. When the Seattle Seahawks face off against the Denver broncos today, the South Sound will be awash in blue and green jerseys, seven-layer dips and, of course, lots and lots of booze. Whether you're throwing a party, or just watching the game with some friends, the South Sound bars are an option. Click here to find the nearest bar.

5. In celebration of Black History Month, the University of Puget Sound will screen The Butler at 7:30 p.m. in the Rausch Auditorium at McIntyre Hall. This film tells the story of a White House butler who served eight American presidents over three decades. The film traces the dramatic changes that swept American society during this time, from the civil rights movement to Vietnam and beyond, and how those changes affected this man's life and family.

LINK: Sunday, Feb. 2 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

Although February is a month of cold weather and hyper-awareness of being single (shout out to those celebrating Single appreciation Day on the 14th!), don't worry. There are six happs to keep you warm, keep you entertained and possibly hook you up in the South Sound.

THURSDAY, FEB. 6: SISTER CITIES INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

Anyone who believes that Tacoma is still a blue-collar backwater town with few ties to the outside world had better stay away from the 12th annual Sister Cities International Film Festival running Feb. 6 through April 3.  The experience might just shatter everything that you poor souls hold to so misguidedly. Tacoma is an international city in every sense of the world. The city of Tacoma's Sister Cities program pulls together movies from each of its sister countries and offers nights of all things cultural. This year's run will showcase films from Kitakyushu, Japan; Kiryat-Motzkin, Israel; Biot, France; Fuzhou, China; Gunsan, South Korea; Taichung, Taiwan; Alesund, Norway; El Jadida, Morocco and Cienfuegos, Cuba. Films will play every Thursday in the Tahoma Room at Commencement Hall on the corner of North 13th and Lawrence streets, with the exception of Feb. 27, when the film will be held at the Kilworth Chapel. All films will run free of charge.

FRIDAY, FEB. 7-SATURDAY, FEB. 8: WALKING PAPERS

Pure blues rock 'n' roll, executed with the nimble fingers, creative minds and a sixth sense of boys who have been around the block, Walking Papers sold out its Feb. 7 at Jazzbones. No need to walk away. Jeff Angell, Duff McKagan, Barrett Martin and Benjamin Anderson have added a second show Feb. 8. So, if you enjoy a lyrical lean toward rock 'n' roll nostalgia and a seasoned view of the world, with advice and hindsight strung throughout with the occasional token bad-luck-with-women story, tickets are $15 advance and $20 at the door.

SATURDAY, FEB. 8: MARDI GRAS

If you haven't spent much time in Louisiana, you may not be too versed in Mardi gras, aside from those "Girls Gone Wild" videos. While the March 4 holiday is as far away as paved Tacoma streets, first annual Key Peninsula Mardi Gras Music Festival is on the books for Saturday, Feb. 8 at the Key Peninsula Civic Center in Vaughn. The festival will rock with Filé Gumbo, The Kim Archer Band, Gabriel and Merrilee Rush, whose song "Angel of the Morning" was a #1 hit in 1968. An authentic southern dinner provided by Murph's BBQ, best guest costume contest to crown of King and Queen of the parade, and signature Mardi Gras cocktails will keep everyone hopping until midnight. Tickets for the 21 and older event are $30 in advance or $35 at the door; your ticket price includes in/out entry and meal. 

TUESDAY, FEB. 11: POETRY MEETS MUSIC

Here comes Valentine's Day.  You're freaking. Clinicians have conclusively established that heart-shaped candy stamped with flaky messages causes dyslexia in lab rats.  Wasn't it Wordsworth who said poetry was "intensity recollected in tranquility"?  Get with it, Willy. Write your sweetheart a poem. First, go nourish your brain. William Kupinse, Tacoma's first Poet Laureate and associate professor of English at University of Puget Sound, and composer Greg Youtz, professor of music at Pacific Lutheran University, will host the performance Poetry Above the Roar: Erin Calata Sings Songs of Gregory Youtz. The free public event will run from 8-9:30 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 11, in the Mary Baker Russell Music Building, Room 306, at Pacific Lutheran University. Erin Calata, mezzo-soprano and 2008 alumna of PLU, will sing a cycle of 10 pieces of music composed by Youtz, with words from Kupinse's collection of poems Fallow (2009, Exquisite Disarray).

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 12: SOUTH SOUND IMPROV COMEDY FESTIVAL

Some say much great improve comedy stems from unhappiness. Happy people may be fun, but they're not funny.  Consider this when you catch the first annual South Sound Comedy Festival, hosted by Harlequin Productions' new improve troupe Something Wicked. All the comedians in the show will be secretly very, very angry. Wacky improvisational antics and celebrity impersonations could so easily mutate into something darker, deeper and much more dangerous. You better laugh. But you probably will anyway, because according to pre-show hype, the night will feature "the best and brightest comedy troupes from around the sound in a comedy battle royale that will never be seen again (this year)! "Sweet! The hilarity happens at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 12 at the Historic State Theater in downtown Olympia. Tickets are $10-$25 at 360.786.0151.

SUNDAY, FEB. 16: MILEY CYRUS

Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! We're going to see Miley Cyrus at the Tacoma Dome! Slapping pleasure zones! Restless Tongue Syndrome! Jiggle! Wobble! Shake! Oh my God!

GRAB A CUP & READ THE MORNING REPORT FOR 1.31.14 >>>

A new poll finds a majority of the public believes the United States failed to meet its goals in either Iraq or Afghanistan.

It's official: President Obama will nominate Vice Adm. Michael Rogers to lead the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command.

The president also has nominated Mike McCord for Pentagon comptroller, Brian McKeon for principal deputy undersecretary of Defense for policy and others.

The U.S. Air Force should look at moving as much manpower into the Reserve and Air National Guard components as possible, according to a new report from a congressionally mandated panel.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai is refusing to sign the bilateral security agreement negotiated with the U.S. And without it, U.S. officials say they'll have to consider a complete withdrawal of troops post-2014.

Veterans group says military suicide rate is "out of control."

A long-awaited complaint system, launched Jan. 30 by the Veterans Affairs Department in partnership with other federal agencies, offers students using military or veterans' education benefits a way to report unscrupulous schools to authorities with the power to stop them.

A former Canadian brigadier general and head of Canadian forces in Afghanistan is being detained in Afghanistan for alleged gun smuggling.

Premature weapons testing drains military budget.

Senior military commanders should not retain authority over sexual assault cases within their command, a congressionally-appointed panel said in a report released Thursday. 

What exactly is this secret Seinfeld project?

See a bunch of new photos from the upcoming season of Game of Thrones.

This week's episode of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee features Tina Fey.

Get nostalgic with these bizarre Super Bowl ads from now-defunct companies.

Sharknado 2 is on the way.

Finally: A ranking of 94 X-Men members.

First-person view of Felix Baumgartner's space jump

The folks at ABQ Mastermind Productions have dreamed up a fascinating documentary, and with just nine days to go, they're 25 percent of the way to fulfilling their $2,000 Kickstarter campaign.

A little bit about the project, from the Kickstarter page:

Imagine putting your life on the line for your country, and coming home trying to reintegrate yourself into the society you have long been distanced from while in battle. What kind of problems would you have? Where would you find help? We are making the YOLO Documentary to showcase these distinguished leaders cloaked in honor, yet still struggling with underlying unimaginable traumas. Veterans are coming back home with horrifying and devastating issues, and many feel that they can't find the help they need. This trend breaks our hearts, so we are making a documentary to get to the bottom of the problems, and help the people who are trying to fix things get the exposure they deserve. As longtime filmmakers, we have recently opened a Production Company named ABQ Mastermind Productions and we are trying to gain exposure through projects that will attract a following and make a difference in the world that we are all apart of creating. As a Veteran myself, I feel Veterans will relate with the interviewees whom we have spoken with, and America will be drawn to the stories and passion that our Veterans embody. We should all strive to live with the same dedication that our Veterans do on our behalf each and every day. We have been filming with our own personal funds already, but your contributions will make the difference and our YOLO Documentary will hopefully serve as the creative embodiment of the struggle and immense optimism that our Veterans and supporting companies have to live with.  

Time's a-wasting! Donate now!