WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

Downtown Tacoma Elks Building Development: Oops, they didn't buy the land. (News Tribune)

Pay Up: Tacoma striking teachers should receive their full pay. (News Tribune)

Big, Fat Greek Debt: Prime Minister George Papandreou guaranteed "Greece will live up to all its commitments." (CNN)

WTF?: The L Word's Leisha Hailey was escorted off a Southwest jet after kissing her girlfriend. (LA Times)

Hair Club For Whiners: George Costanza has new hair. (Best Week Ever)

Interview: Susanna Hoffs dishes on The Bangles' dysfunction, motherhood and Prince. (Spinner)

It Wasn't Because Of His Music: Randy Travis is OK after passing out at a Texas concert. (Yahoo)

If We Only Had Some Money: Dorothy's ruby slippers are on the auction block. (Daily News)

The Dream Is Always The Same: Top 10 movie dream sequences, including the freaky one below. (Flavorwire)

PETE ANDERSON KEEPS LATEST FILM LOCAL >>>

I consider myself only a part-time filmmaker, so I can't say I belong in the same league as someone like Pete Anderson. When he told me Break marks not only his seventh time in the director's chair of a feature film, but also his 17th screenplay, my jaw dropped just a bit. I had to ask him to repeat himself. You have to admire persistence like this.

The 43-year-old Anderson seems to tear into every project like a tornado of talent, a battalion of one oftentimes taking on multiple duties with boundless energy. Anderson also produced, edited, and did some acting in Break, a dramedy about strangers whose only connection is a single gun.

A Tacoma resident for only two years now, Anderson wanted to keep Break a truly local production. That meant using mainly Seattle and T-Town for the script's several dozen locations, and hiring actors close by to fill the whopping thirty-six speaking parts. Local musicians even supplied the soundtrack with sixteen original tunes.

"One of the big things I wanted to do with Break was showcase ... a lot of actors here (in our community)," Anderson says. "Probably the thing I'm proudest of with the film is that ... the performances are really solid."

A Grand Cinema regular, earlier in September Anderson rented space in the theater to publicly screen his work for the first time. The turnout and response surprised him.

"There were so many members of The Grand I didn't even know that came," says Anderson. "So it was really good getting feedback from them, and it was really positive, which was terrific."

Last week Anderson sent Break off to one of the biggies: Sundance Film Festival. He tells me he has to wait until December to find out whether his movie makes the 2012 list, but in the meantime he's already flying headlong into Script #18, called We Have the Weekend. Even if you didn't catch his brief takeover of Cheney Stadium for a recent shoot, odds are you'll hear more about this filmmaker real soon. Find Break-ing news here.

WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

Stop Sitting In Them While Waiting For The Bus: Tacoma City Councilman Ryan Mello wants to reduce the blight caused by shopping carts dumped in neighborhoods. (News Tribune). The Central Neighborhood Council agrees. (Weekly Volcano)

Trending: Senators blame the Tea Party for budget stalemate. (CNN)

Check It: Anne Hathaway in her Catwoman costume. (Ain't It Cool News)

Old Man Of The Sea: Aquaman turns 70. (Comic Mix)

They're Still Alive!: Review of Cameron Crowe's Pearl Jam Twenty. (Slate)

Wild Flag: Making chaos useful. (NPR)

Saturday Night Live 37th Season Premiere: The best and the worst. (Flavorwire)

Awkward People: Their five worst fears. (Cracked)

WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

It's Not Over Until They Say It's Over: Tacoma teachers union and district pulling hair again. (News Tribune)

It's Not Over Until They Say It's Over II: Clear Channel placed a $75 million price tagged on the boards the City of Tacoma wants removed. (News Tribune)

Where Are The Men In Black?: 6-ton satellite hits earth. (NPR)

Probably Best: Roseanne's reality show canceled. (Zap 2 It)

Is Your Day Wide Open?: Listen to The Flaming Lips six-hour song. (Paste Magazine)

Is Your Season Wide Open?: Most anticipated fall festivals. (Stereogum)

That's Great, It Starts With An Earthquake: Fans sings the hard R.E.M. songs(Slate)

WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

While You're Eating Your Lunchables: Tacoma School District teachers will vote on a tentative agreement. (News Tribune)

Get Back Here!: Gov. Gregoire is calling lawmakers back to Oly to fix the $1.3 billion budget shortfall. (News Tribune)

Changing The World: Top 10 heroes of 2011. (CNN)

Facebook Changes: Booo!!! (CNN)

Roger Ebert: A critic reflects on "life itself." (NPR)

Top Chef: Cast and guest stars revealed (Hint: I know you are but what am I). (Huffington Post)

Dream Come True: William Shatner talks Star Trek vs. Star Wars. (Furious Fanboys)

Remember TheTick?: Quickest canceled TV shows. (UGO)

Honoring Tom Selleck's mustache

RANDY SPARKS TAKES A NEW DIRECTION >>>

I dialed Randy Sparks' number late Thursday night, and his voice, tiny amidst a mob of shouts, greeted my ears.

"Chris, hold on a second!" he cried, sounding faraway. "I'm at Hell's Kitchen!"

It figures. If you know only two indispensable truths about Sparks, they are a) he has a fondness for local music, and b) he also has a tireless drive to make movies.

Sparks took his phone to a quieter spot across the street and began to tell me about his newest venture. Rose Colored Shades marks Sparks' first foray into both producing and directing a full-length film, coming on the heels of his short works It Don't Rain on Sunny Days (2009) and A Glitch in the System (2010). Seattle-based comedian Rod Long, who played a fast-talking boss from hell in It Don't Rain, lends his talent for language to the feature script alongside Sparks, and also steps into the shoes of lead character Joe Ware.

Sparks has known for some time he would transition to a larger project at this stage in his maturing talent. He found guidance inside the good book - The Portable Film School, in which author D.B. Gilles encourages readers to first write two short films before tackling features. It took Sparks and Long only four-and-a-half months to crank out Rose's ninety-plus pages.

The breakneck pace at which this man works suggests a race against time. Having recently turned 53, Sparks tells me, "I just wish I would have jumped on doing more film earlier in my life." But his upbeat, better-late-than-never attitude continues to push his creativity in newer, more challenging directions. With his body of work growing each day, Sparks' future looks quite rosy.

LINK: See a photo of Randy Sparks

THE TFF DIRECTOR GIVES HER TWO CENTS >>>

To mark the Tacoma Film Festival's seventh anniversary, The Grand Cinema folks are screening more than 100 independent films, local and international, from Oct. 6-16 in several Tacoma venues. "As usual, I organized about 12 volunteer reviewers to watch every submission (each one was watched by at least two people), and ultimately made our final selections in late July. We usually try to choose around 100 films, and this year we are on target with 107 official selections," Tacoma Film Festival Director Emily Alm told Weekly Volcano Editor Matt Driscoll in a feature story posted here.

Alm has seen nearly all 107 films programmed for this year's fest. The Weekly Volcano asked her to filtered out the films that stick out in her mind the most.

"It's not an easy task," Alm says, "and I truly believe that each and every official selection has undeniable value and entertainment. Each of this year's selected films has depth, unique stories, and will offer you much more than a trip to the movie theater."

We asked her to do it anyway. The follow are the TFF director's picks:

International Shorts

Sunday, Oct. 9, 12:40 p.m., Tacoma Art Museum
This grouping of seven short foreign films is a first for the Tacoma Film Festival. We've always had films of all lengths from many countries; but this year, I chose to play the shorts together. It's a sort of "passport to independent film," as I like to call it. Each short in this grouping represents a different culture, a different area of the world, and a different approach to storytelling. Not to mention, there's some terrific filmmaking as well.

Heart Breaks Open

Friday, Oct. 7, 6:05 p.m., The Grand Cinema

I had the pleasure of screening this film on the big screen during one of our regular volunteer screening sessions at the Grand. Not one person in the audience disliked Heart Breaks Open, and not one person was unaffected by its powerful and realistic story. The film was powerful simply for its storyline, but the filmmaker (William Maria Rain), and actors amplify its presence through not-to-be-missed performances and creativity. Heart Breaks Open screens Friday, Oct. 7th at 6:05 p.m. at the Grand Cinema. The director, cast and crew will be in attendance for a post-film Q&A.

Harlistas: An American Journey

Sunday, Oct. 9, 12:40 p.m., The Grand Cinema
I'm not exactly a motorcycle girl. I'm much more likely to be cruising around in my very safe, and very predictable Honda Civic. That's why, upon popping Harlistas: An American Journey in my DVD player, I wasn't sure that it would be up my alley. Boy, was I wrong. The film is so much more than an ode to Harleys - it's an intimate look at family, at relationships, and how the two shape who we are and who we want to be.

This Narrow Place

Friday, Oct. 7, 3:55 p.m., The Grand Cinema
Also Wednesday, Oct. 12, 6:30 p.m., The Grand Cinema
Sometimes a film comes along that blows you away, that represents new, raw, and undeniable talent. The director of This Narrow Place, Sooney Kadouh, exhibits enormous potential with his debut feature. His cause is greatly empowered by the lead actors, Sammy Sheik (Hassan) and Jonathan Stanley (Chris). Hassan has recently smuggled himself into the United States and plans on avenging the death of his brother, who was killed in Israel by a US-made bomb. In the meantime, Hassan develops an unlikely and fascinating friendship with Chris, a lonely drug-addict who seems reinvigorated by his new relationship with Hassan.

Hit So Hard

Saturday, Oct. 8, 8:35 p.m., The Grand Cinema
Much like Harlistas, I wasn't sure how well I would relate to Hit So Hard, given that my music tastes differ quite a bit from the grunge and rock scene dispelled from Seattle in the 1990s. But yet again, I was pleasantly surprised. I was lucky enough to watch Hit So Hard  in Seattle on the big screen, and listen to Patty Schemel herself (the film centers on her, the openly-gay female drummer for the band, Hole), talk about her life story and her experiences in the music industry, and yes - her friendships with Courtney Love and Kurt Cobain. This is a music documentary unlike any other.

Splinters

Monday, Oct. 10, 6 p.m., FREE, Rausch Auditorium, University of Puget Sound
Like many other films on this list, Splinters snuck up and floored me. The seemingly innocent documentary about the introduction and development of surfing in Papua New Guinea has a lot more meat to it than you'd think. Sure, it's entertaining to watch the surfers practice and prepare for battle in the island nation's first-ever surfing competition. But it's ever more fascinating to get a peek into their culture and social dynamics.

Pacific Northwest Programming

One thing that the Tacoma Film Festival prides itself on is showcasing, celebrating and supporting filmmaking in the Pacific Northwest. This year, the overall festival program looks a bit different. All of the locally-made films will be screened within two days - Oct. 10-11. No matter what you come to see on either day, you'll see impressive and vibrant works from filmmakers who live in Tacoma, Seattle and a few other neighboring cities. There will be shorts, features, documentaries, and more - there will definitely be something for everyone.

LINK: 2011 Tacoma Film Festival preview

WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

ON HOLD: Tacoma School District kids are still on summer break. (News Tribune)

ON HOLD: City building officials call the Central Tacoma Walmart project too damn big. (News Tribune)

ON HOLD: Pierce County Council members are expected not to give themselves raises. (News Tribune)

ON HOLD: Business logic at Netflix (Slate)

ON HOLD: INXS has fired its singer. (Spinner)

ON HOLD: Supergirl puts tweeting and watching TV on hold to fight giant robots. (USA Today)

ON HOLD: The message that fat-activating foods like fried chicken, ice cream, and pizza are bad (Complex)

WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

Strike Still On: Tacoma School District Administrators' desire to have more control over where teachers work is the biggest point of contention. (News Tribune)

Redistricting: Proposed maps leave a few lawmakers on the outside of their districts looking in. (The Olympia)

Obama The Hacker: The president will unveil a $3 trillion debt cut plan today. (CNN)

Uncomfortable Moments: 10 most awkward moments on the 2011 Emmys. (Flavorwire)

Where's The Music?: MTV has ordered siz new shows. (Aol TV)

R.I.P.: Frances Bay and Electron Boy. (LA Times & Seattle Times)

Showtime's Homeland: Watch the first episode. (Hit Fix)

Webcomics: Here's 14 awesome ones. (Paste Magazine)

WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

Strike This: Although pissed the Tacoma School District teachers didn't return to work, Superior Court Judge Bryan Chushcoff didn't throw down the hammer. (News Tribune)

HUD Bud: Almost $2 million in federal housing money is headed for Hilltop Tacoma's community center. (News Tribune)

Video: A pilot lost control of his vintage plane during an air race over the skies of Reno and slams into box seats. (CNN)

Stirring Some Shit: Seventy-four year old Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi called the German Chancellor Angela Merkel an "unfuckable lard-arse." (The Independent)

We Wonder If They Called Erica Albright A Bitch: Meet some Stanford genius hackers and code writers. (New York Magazine)

Let's Look At Art: The 30 Best Pop Culture Google Doodles. (Flavorwire)

Wipeout: Too sexy for his shorts. (Dumb As A Blog)