WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

Mount Rainier Park: It will likely open Saturday to allow workers to grieve the death of ranger Margaret Anderson. (News Tribune)

Fife Police Lt. Doug Burrus: Messed up again. (News Tribune)

Anderson Island: Out with the Christians, in with the chum. (News Tribune)

Drama In Iowa: Narrow loss a big win for Santorum. (CNN)

Yahoo Stays Alive: Brings in PayPal president Scott Thompson to run it. (CNN)

Meisterjintao Jintaomeister: There will be no entertainment on the TV. (BBC)

Arcade Fire and Decemberists: Part of the Hunger Games soundtrack. (MTV)

Weird: Axe body spray is trying to create a graphic novel. (Adrants)

Science Fiction Movies: 70 of them are coming our way this year. (io9)

Comic Book Men Preview: AMC's new show about Kevin Smith's comic book store. (Television Blend)

Amy Winehouse: Patti Smith wrote a song about her. (NME)

Get Smarter: 31 ways. (The Daily Beast)

WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

Mount Rainier Ranger Killer: Dead. (News Tribune)

East Tacoma Murder Suspect: Dead. (News Tribune)

Darth Vader: Dead. (ESPN)

Pierce County Councilman Tim Farrell: Eyeing the dead Russell Investments building. (News Tribune)

Iran Puffs Up Chest: Tehran said last week it had photographed a U.S. carrier patrolling the area where Iran was holding military drills. The country doesn't think that's cool. (CNN)

Afghanistan's Taliban: They have "an initial understanding" to set up an office overseas, possibly in Qatar - a move some see as key to future peace talks. (BBC)

E.N.G.A.G.E.D.: Aretha Franklin. (People)

Portlandia Stars: Why we tease the cool kids. (Salon)

The Price Is Right: Snoop Dogg hosted it. (Idolator)

Too Much Free Time

TUESDAY, JAN. 3, 2012 >>>

1. It's Tuesday, which means The Grand Cinema fires up the popcorn and threads another awesome indie film as part of its Tuesday Film Series. Hitting the screen at 1:30, 3:45 and 6 p.m. will be Director Andrew Haigh's Weekend, starring Tom Cullen and Chris New who have a one-night stand that becomes something more. Roger Ebert says it's"a smart, sensitive, perceptive film, with actors well suited to the dialogue. It underlines the difficulty of making connections outside our individual boxes of time and space."

2. When the folks behind the Franciscan Polar Plaza ice-skating rink arrived to melt the ice and call the downtown attraction a success, kids cried violently, throwing themselves on the ice. What do you do? Extend the run is what you do. Extended through Jan. 8, and running from 4-10 p.m. today, the Franciscan Polar Plaza will be alive with glee.

3. Trio De Vibe will fill the Mandolin Café in Tacoma with swanky jazz beginning at 6 p.m.

4. Spanish is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world. This makes it cool, because you can see all of the different ways it adapted as it spread around the world. Spaniards pronounce c's as a "th." Argentineans say a "y" sound using a "juh." In Costa Rica, the word for cool can be "duanes" or "pura vida," while in southern Spain, it's "guay." So why should you care? Because Tango Puget Sound will kick-off a month long of Tuesday Tango lessons beginning at 7 p.m. inside the South Bay Grange and it would be extra cool if you could whisper "cool" in a cool language into someone's ear.

5. You've read about Geeks Who Drink Quiz Night with Quizmaster Holland Hume. Have you seen the glorious, boozy game show yet? It starts at 8 p.m. inside Paddy Coyne's Irish Pub. It ends with you passed out in your bedroom clutching your game card.

BONUS: Tacoma author Mariss Meyer unveils the Cinder series

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Nightlife It List

LINK: This week's freebies

FREE EVENTS IN THE SOUTH SOUND JAN. 2-8, 2012 >>>

The folks in the Freeloaders-land R&D Department have been diligently working to find new ways to improve this column, and they think they've outdone themselves with their newest innovation. Just in time for the shorter days of winter, Bobble Tiki's column will soon glow in the dark! Are your children afraid to sleep at night? Just use Freeloaders as a comforting nightlight!  Read it in darkened rooms, use it to send signals across the Narrows - the options are nearly limitless! In celebration of this new development, Bobble Tiki will shed light on this week's free events that will help you see the light. So sit back, leave that lamp off for a few more minutes and enjoy!

MONDAY, JAN. 2: The Stevie Nicks landslide has brought Bobble Tiki to a life of corked, isolated displeasure.  Heartily aware of his divergence from productivity some 25 years ago, he nonetheless goes on, still picking at shag carpets for the cheap and banal and crying all the way to the bank. Not to be overly dramatic but Bobble Tiki has the feeling that the end is nigh.  He says this because he's starting to notice something extremely dire in his day-to-day swish through life, equal parts fabulous and scary, and therefore necessarily apocalyptic: His life is becoming just like the color of his hair. Bobble Tiki needs answers.  He needs them now! So he's stopping by the free Psychic Buffet that offers "a tasty treat for the soul" every first Monday of the month inside the Urban Onion Restaurant in downtown Olympia. Psychic Lisa Holm and crew offer energy healing with intuitive readings and numerology at 5 p.m.

TUESDAY, JAN. 3: As counterintuitive as it might initially seem, if you own a Nook or Kindle or a device with the Kindle app (iOS, Android, PC), you can learn how to download free e-books to your device from the folks at Pierce County Library.  Yes, students that includes Cliffs Notes, if you've managed to seriously drop the ball on homework.  As part of its "How To..." Month at the Summit Library, a librarian will teach you how to download for free at 7 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 4: If you're anything like Bobble Tiki you need to work off all the holiday cookies. If you are truly like Bobble Tiki than you know that's difficult because you have a spring instead of legs. If you do have legs, then Bobble Tiki suggests you hit the Cushman Trail in Gig Harbor.  It's quite lovely. Even more lovely - Sound Vista Village, a retirement community close to the trail, will serve complimentary cocoa, tea or coffee fireside during January.

THURSDAY, JAN. 5: Isabel Wilkerson's mesmerizing book The Warmth of Other Suns shed slight on the mass movement of six million African Americans from the south to the north in the middle decades of the 20th century - told through the lives of three people who joined the exodus. The Fireside Bookstore Book Group will discuss the book at 7 p.m. inside the historic Hotel Olympian in downtown Olympia.

FRIDAY, JAN. 6: Do you know about the case of Leonard Peltier? In 1975, two FBI agents were shot in a gunfight on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Peltier, as a representative of the American Indian Movement, was convicted of their murders in spite of a government case dependent on coerced testimony and suppressed evidence.  Robert Redford produced and narrated a documentary shedding light on the incident with an original musical score by John Trudell and Jackson Browne. Redford made the film in the hopes that Peltier's story, when it became more widely known, would make people demand his freedom though he has exhausted his legal appeals. Catch the film for free at 6 p.m. inside King's Books in Tacoma.

SATURDAY, JAN. 7: Saturday is just an artsy kinda day, isn't it?  Which is good, if you're an artsy kinda person.  And artsy kinda people need good days, because their lives are difficult. Oh, you chortle, but the price of Ramen has gone through the roof lately. But Saturday is an artsy day because Saturday is the first Saturday of the month, which means the Gig Harbor Monthly Art Walk is on.  Take a free, self-guided tour of the galleries along the Gig Harbor waterfront from 1-5 p.m. See other people's work and become inspired.

SUNDAY, JAN. 8: For weeks the newspaper ads have been catching Bobble Tiki's eye: "Psychic Readers Network - Work at Home - No Experience Necessary." If no experience is necessary, then anyone could be a telephone psychic, Bobble Tiki figures - even Bobble Tiki. He's determined to try. He has seen the late-night television commercials that portray psychics gleaning the innermost secrets of amazed callers. But before he takes the plunge, Bobble Tiki will do a little homework. He'll check out the Intuitive and Healing Arts Fair noon to 7 p.m. Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday at the Crystal Voyage in Tacoma.  Psychic readers in palm, face, tarot, angel card and past life promise to enlighten for free. Right now, the only thing Bobble Tiki can predict is last night's winning lottery numbers.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

SUNDAY, JAN. 1, 2011 >>>

1. Here at the Weekly Volcano we take our showers warm. We're kind of wimps. But there are plenty of tough, adventurous, rosy-cheeked folks out there who live on the edge, no doubt partaking in activities like today's Polar Bear Plunge at Point Defiance Marina. According to hype, the New Year's Day cold-water fiasco presents a chance to get 2012 off on the right foot. As the press release says, "The New Year offers opportunities to set new goals and try new things, so get your bucket list out and come take the Plunge with other jubilant merrymakers at the Point Defiance Marina." The all-ages Polar Bear plunge will go down rain or shine, starting at 11:30 a.m.

2. If you have yet to check out the ice skating adventures in currently being offered in Tollefson, today might just be your chance to do so. With its stay recently extended through Jan. 8, The Franciscan Polar Plaza, located on the corner of Pacific Avenue and South 17th Street, is a covered outdoor rink is about half the size of a hockey rink. It will have real ice and hold about 150 skaters at a time. And it's pretty awesome.

3. Nursing a hangover? Find your way to The Grand Cinema in Tacoma for a great movie in a dark room. My Week with Marilyn, The Descendants, Shame and Young Adult are currently playing. In Olympia, the place to hit is the Capitol Theater, where The Rum Diary and Margin Call are playing.  

4. There's a ton of football on today. New Year's Day is synomous the pigskin. Browse the Weekly Volcano's bar listings and find the perfect place to watch whatever game interests you.

5. So far, it's a pretty nice day. And since one of your New Year's resolutions undoubtedly involves being healthier (read: less fat), try an enjoyable walk through one of Tacoma's parks or along the Ruston Way waterfront. In Oly, a jaunt around Capitol Lake is always a good time. Or, if you're looking for more than just a walk, in Tacoma get in on the Metro Parks New Year's Day Dance at the South Park Community Center.

EXTRA CREDIT: The West Coast Bridal Showcase continues today at the Puyallup Fairgrounds.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music tonight

LINK: This week's freebies

WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

New 10th Congressional District Map: It's unveiled today. (News Tribune)

Tougher DUI Fatal Terms: It's unveiled today. (News Tribune)

Olympia's Mistake By The Lake: Olympia officials are in the process of condemning the old county Department of Health Building at the base of the Fourth Avenue bridge. (The Olympian)

Survey: Top economists are less worried that the economy will slip back into a recession. (CNN)

Swag: Hip-hop's word of the year. (NPR)

End Of The Year List: 25 most powerful songs of the past 25 years. (Mental Floss)

House Of Lies: Watch the premiere. (The Hollywood Reporter)

More Painful Than An Orc Slap: Lord of the Rings back tattoo. (The Daily What)

Time For Your Beard Slap: Bam!

DIRECTOR ISAAC OLSEN GIVES DISTRIBUTION A SHOT >>>

Given all the handmade technical innovation the young Isaac Olsen displayed in his first feature, Quiet Shoes, I dubbed him "our city's own Orson Welles" in an earlier Volcano article. Now I may have to revise that title, since Olsen pulled off a nearly spot-on impersonation of Martin Scorsese during our interview last week.

From what I've seen of the man through his work and in person, this normally reserved filmmaker still does not shy from venturing beyond his comfort zone. Olsen's next project, I Hunger, savors the moody visual flavor of German Expressionism, a style of acquired taste the director realizes may not find many fans.

Olsen jokingly refers to the film as a "classic in the making." Then comes the self-deprecating coda: "It's got a very specific destiny as an oddity, sought out by the same people that might see The Human Centipede but will be very disappointed to see I Hunger."

Though shot entirely in the town of Flint, Michigan, the project has assembled a cast from multiple countries. Olsen anticipates a "small-scale but calculated release" at an unspecified local venue in Summer 2012.

Confident as a director, Olsen recently began tackling the role of film distributor. He admits, "It's something I'm very bad at, which is the self-promotion end of making a movie."

Eventually Olson sees his production company, Schnelluloid, serving not only his work and those of other filmmakers, but many talented artists from this area. His first "clients" come right from his own family - aunts and uncles in the band Girl Trouble, and a younger brother who plays in Red Hex.

While Olsen gets used to the businessman persona, his home really is behind the camera, where he now puts, as he calls it, "very fine, subtle shading" on I Hunger. "You don't want to miss this ... it's going to be the Tree of Life of Tacoma," he promises us.

Forget Welles or Scorsese - I guess I have to start calling Mr. Olsen "Malick" from now on. For a peek at the I Hunger trailer or to contact Olsen about distribution, visit schnelluloid.com.

Hear Olsen express his love for Germans, hatred of painting metaphors, and more during my interview with him this week on Volcano Radio, which airs Thursday from 8-9 p.m. on www.nwczradio.com and is available as a podcast at weeklyvolcano.com and volcanoradio.com directly following.

FREE EVENTS THIS WEEK IN THE SOUTH SOUND >>>

Ugh. Bobble Tiki thinks he's officially reached middle age. Old and tired. Bobble Tiki used to do things like go to New York for Christmas or stay out dancing all night. This year for Christmas, one of Bobble Tiki's best friends gave him a toilet tank, and Bobble Tiki was in bed by 10 p.m. Ah well. Bobble Tiki will just keep on laughing to keep from crying. In the meantime, here's a quick look free events happening this week in the South Sound centering around old things - just like Bobble Tiki.

MONDAY, DEC. 26: Free Christmas tree collection and drop-off opportunities are available in Thurston County after the holidays. It is important for the safety of the crews and machinery that Blackwater ornament, pickle ornament, Frosty the Blow Job ornament, lights, tinsel, nails, wire, garlands and stands be removed from the tree. Bobble Tiki's rule of thumb is to take your old tree to the recycler in the same condition as he would find it naturally in the forest. For more information, click here or see the website below or call 360.754.4398.

TUESDAY, DEC. 27: On the way to the bathroom at 5 a.m. to pee for the fifth time of the night, Bobble Tiki's foot caught the cord of his old Apple 3400c and the laptop got slammed to the ground. He can still use it for word-processing, but the modem and floppy drive no longer work, meaning he has no way to transfer information off the computer. It's time to get rid of the thing. SBK Recycle at 10733 A St. S. in Tacoma will recycle it for free from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. SBK will take old computers, laptops, monitors, printers, scanners, televisions, VCRs, telephones,

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 28: For a generation of youngsters raised in a world of electronic convenience it's hard to understand how people survived before the advent of cable television, the Internet, video games, Kindle Fires - much less electric lights and air conditioning. For them, The Job Carr Cabin Museum is like taking a step back into time, specifically in the mid 1800s. The museum itself is actually a log cabin, a replica of the one Job Carr built in 1865, less than two blocks from its original location. Check it out from 1-4 p.m. before it closes for the month of January.

THURSDAY, DEC. 29: How does the simple act of planting trees lead to winning the Nobel Peace Prize? Ask Wangari Maathai of Kenya. Back in 1977, she suggested rural women plant trees to address problems stemming from a degraded environment. Her tree-planting mission, which grew into a nationwide movement, has been documented in the film Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai. Community Cinema Olympia will screen the film for free at 7 p.m. inside the Washington State Capital Museum.

FRIDAY, DEC. 30: The Delbert McBride Ethnobotanical Garden, located on the grounds of the State Capital Museum, displays more than 30 species of Northwest flowers, shrubs, and trees that have been used for food, tools, and medicine throughout history by the Native American tribes in Western Washington. Check it out from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

SATURDAY, DEC. 31: The best album of all time is the Spinners' Pick of the Litter. (Of course, number two is Gino Vanelli's Storm at Sunup, but that's another Freeloaders column.) All five musicians grace the silver cardboard with sexy smirks and checkered bell-bottoms. Bobble Tiki has heard lots of people say they don't like album covers that contain a picture of the band, but the Spinners do it differently. The five men can be cut out in paper-doll fashion and then glued to Popsicle sticks for your very own Spinners Puppet Show. (Disclaimer: Singer Pervis Jackson is squatting in the picture, so cut out Maurice White from Earth, Wind & Fire's 1973 release Head to the Sky and have the two sumo wrestle). The '70s may always be remembered best for bands like Journey, Foghat and the Bee Gees, but the Spinners remain one of the few bands that unfairly slipped through the cracks. Bobble Tiki's glad that more than 35 years later, as he dances before them Saturday during the band's free concert at the Emerald Queen Casino, he finally can look over at his friends and ask, "Can you dig it?"

SUNDAY, JAN. 1: Bobble Tiki and his creaky bones will run hysterically down the Point Defiance Marina into wintery waters of Commencement Bay in the hopes of a fresh start for the new year. Santa Claus has all the cold details here.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music and DJs this week

HEAD INTO THE DARKNESS >>>

Gathering 'round the tree is all well and good on Christmas morn. But what do you do after the last shred of wrapping paper lands in a trash bag, the feast is demolished and you've tired of admiring – or deploring – your gifts?

Go to the movies!

Click here for a schedule of what's playing tonight.I

SANTA DAY, 2011 >>>

1. My Week with Marilyn playing at The Grand Cinema is not about hanging out with the mayor of Tacoma. The film is based on the diaries of a young man named Colin Clark, who talked his way into a lowly job on a Marilyn Monroe movie. For one troubled week, while her husband, the playwright Arthur Miller, was absent in Paris, she asked the worshipful 23-year-old kid to join her at a hideaway cottage. She was 30. Roger Ebert says of the film, "It was about her gift of her wonderfulness to a kid who stirred her sympathy. Michelle Williams evokes all the Marilyns, public and private, real and make-believe. We're probably looking at one of this year's Oscar nominees." Ebert gave it three and a halfout of four stars. Catch it at The Grand at 11:30 a.m., 1:45, 4, 6:15 and 8:35 p.m.

2. After you work your way through the Christmas tree, you can ditch the Claus-induced calories and that extra side of grits at the Franciscan Polar Plaza, which is open from noon to 6 p.m. The 40 by 100 square feet of ice is sure to be full of skate crews demonstrating their mad skillz and test-driving their recently unwrapped winter garb.

3. As the sun starts to sink on Christmas, prepare yourself for an untamed night at ZooLights Tacoma, where thousands of twinkling, animated light sculptures illuminate the nocturnal paths of the animal kingdom. Peddlers offer hot cocoa, while you ride the carousel or camels.

4. Fiddler on the Roof - back again this year at the annual Dec. 25 sing-along at the Capitol Theater - was released in 1971 and is set in 1905, but some of its themes have never felt more topical. In one scene, Perchik, the student revolutionary (played by the late Bert Convy, probably best-known as a staple on TV game shows), says to Tevye: "In this world, it is the rich who are the criminals. Someday, their wealth will be ours." The sing-along, a project of the Olympia Film Society and Temple Beth Hatfiloh, is in its eighth year, and Fiddler has been the film of choice for six of those years. Sing along at 6:30 p.m. inside the Capitol Theater.

5, Arrendadores will fill El Tenampa's large back room will various Mexican dance music beginning at 10 p.m.