TUESDAY, NOV. 23, 2010 >>>

1. Experts agree the only thing better than drinking discounted Alaskan beer at Tacoma's Varsity Grill is drinking discounted beer at Tacoma's Varsity Grill while simultaneously taking part in a bowling competition using frozen turkeys instead of bowling balls. It's true. Google it. Or, even better, test the experts' opinion yourself from 6-8 p.m. when Varsity Grill hosts its Alaskan Turkey Bowl. All of the above will be available. The top turkey bowler will take home a free Thanksgiving turkey, presumably not the same one they bowled with, but you never know. ... What does it matter at that point?

2. The Hub in Tacoma's Stadium District hosts a Trivia Night with cash prizes beginning at 6 p.m. Here's some trivia: Drivers from Florida are apt to be distracted by shivering because they're wearing shorts as they nurse a frosty beverage and rock out to Jimmy Buffett cranked to the pain threshold. Of course, Jimmy Buffett can cause pain even when played at low volumes, but that's another story. If you see Florida plates in front of you, make a turn.

3. What happens when the Pacific Lutheran University Wind Ensemble and the Stadium High School Concert Band share the stage? Magic we tell you. See for yourself at 8 p.m. inside Lagerquist Hall on the PLU campus.

4. Susan Jones headlines Jazzbones' Ha Ha Tuesday comedy show tonight at 8 p.m. Comedians Ed Rubin and MC Ralph Porter will also try to take your mind off your fallen backyard fence.

5. What can take your mind off your busted water pipes? Jazz baby! Saxophonist Kareem Kandi's open jazz jam goes down tonight at 9 p.m. inside SAX Restaurant and Lounge.

LINK: Art at Work month!

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

TUESDAY, NOV. 9, 2010 >>>

1. Leonard Pitts Jr., the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist whose thoughtful and at times provocative column is syndicated in newspapers across the country, will speak at 7:30 p.m. inside Schneebeck Concert Hall on the University of Puget Sound campus. Expect to hear his thoughts on teacher unions, citizen journalists and "gospel of unadulterated hate."

2. Violinists Maria Sampen and Jennifer Caine, violist Tim Christie and cellist Sally Singer perform Gabriela Frank's six-movement suite for strings "Leyendas: an Andean Walkabout" beginning at 7 p.m. as part of Classical Tuesdays in Old Town inside the Slavonian Hall. This colorful work reflects the composer's Peruvian heritage and travels.

3. Bowling is a game devised for drinkers. You get up, you roll a ball, you sit down. You pound some beers and watch other people do the same. Then you repeat this cycle, all while wearing stupid shoes and knocking stuff down. It's like alcoholic heaven. The Chalet Bowl in Tacoma's Proctor District sweetens the deal every Tuesday night with $2 games, $2 shoe rentals, $2 food items and $2.25 Rolling Rocks.

4. The granddaddy of all open mics - Victory Music Open Mic - runs from 7-10 p.m. inside the Antique Sandwich Company.

5. Comedians Brad Brake, Erick Hurst and host Ralph Porter perform at 8 p.m. as part of Ha Ha Tuesdays at Jazzbones.

LINK: Tacoma Art at Work events!

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

CHECK IT >>>

On the first Sunday of every month I visit the Northwest Convergence Zone - a South Sound based podcast orchestrated by the venerable Darrell Fortune. It's "kind of a big deal," for lack of a better description, as the pro bono, weekend warriors behind the Northwest Convergence Zone recently came in fifth in King 5's Best of Western Washington poll - in the radio personality category. Usually, the Convergence Zone talks local music, arts and happenings - but once a month Darrel and Co. make an exception, allowing me to come in, talk sports and hype the new Cup Check column - a weekly irreverant look at the wild world of sports that recently debuted in the Volcano.

Here's a taste of yesterday's conversation, which you can also hear in full as part of this week's episode of the Northwest Convergence Zone.

BRING ON THE WEEKEND >>>

Normally, weekends are cool. I mean, for the average Monday-through-Friday, nine-to-five schmo, weekends are all we have - our glimmer of freedom in an otherwise tortuous, cubicle-filled world.

This weekend, though, IS EVEN BETTER. Not only are we given the usual two days of freedom - there's an extra hour thrown in for good measure! Day Light Savings kicks so much ass in the fall! Thanks George Vernon Hudson!

With that, it's time for The Prefunk - a weekly weekend guide to fun for you and your liver (with a picture of an alcoholic household pet thrown in for good measure).

Warren Miller Wintervention

Saturday & Sunday at the Pantages Theater

Warren Miller skiing (and now snowboarding) movies have been around since what seems like the beginning. As long as there has been fresh powder, it feels like Warren Miller Entertainment has been documenting it with yearly snow-porn like features, regularly drawing the ski-bums out in hordes to the theaters for a hype stirring start to the ski season.

Though Warren Miller sold his company years ago, and has even been sued by it since, the tradition continues. This weekend Warren Miller Entertainment's newest flick, Wintervention, will show Saturday and Sunday at the Pantages Theater in Tacoma. Narrated by ski legend Jonny Mosley, and capturing on film some of the most out-of-the-way ski heavens on earth, Wintervention promises to follow the tracks Warren Miller Entertainment films have been carving since the company's inception.

If you've already got the itch for the chairlifts to start running, find a way to make it to one of three showings this weekend. Saturday Wintervention will show at 6 and 9 p.m., and on Sunday it'll show at 5 p.m.

PREFUNK: Most skiers and snowboarders, or at least most skiers and snowboarders I'd care to take a few runs with, have a time-tested method of sneaking swigs of bourbon or hits from a Proto-Pipe while bundled on a chair lift or tucked behind a tree on the edge of the slope. It's part of the game. Though the professionals captured on Wintervention surely stay clear-headed while rocketing down untouched bowls of orgasmic powder, the skiers and snowboarders I kick it with stay a little cloudy while maintaining the ability to enjoy Washington's crusty, icy, sometimes even rainy slopes. A flask or sneak-a-toke is often key in this pursuit.

But, why wait until the season opens to unleash your sneak-a-buzz technique? Just like your skis need waxed and your muscles need prepped in advance of the coming season, so does your secret-drinking-and/or-pipe-hitting skill. Prior to Warren Miller Entertainment's Wintervention at the Pantages, take a few minutes do work the rust off.

ZOMBIE PREPAREDNESS

The stench of rotting flesh is in the air.. Oh wait, it's just that pumpkin decomposing on my front porch. Either way, it reminds me that it's only a matter of time before mobs of decaying corpses roam the streets searching for live bodies to feast on.

The zombie apocalypse is inevitable, and while I'd recommend boarding your windows, hoarding canned food and playing hours of Resident Evil, it won't be enough to save your ass when doomsday comes. It's time to learn some zombie combat skills.

Lucky for you! Tacoma Tactical is hosting a zombie preparedness training course this Friday and Saturday night, all as part of National Zombie Apocalypse Awareness Month (no joke). For just five bucks you'll be put into a realistic zombie fighting scenario. Think paintball meets Zombie Land.   You can rely on your Jedi-mind tricks to defeat the enemy, or just the Airsoft guns (replica firearms that shoot plastic pellets) that will be available to rent. I'm going to keep it old school with their shotgun model.

This is also the perfect opportunity for you to organize your post-apocalypse army. I don't buy that "every man for himself" bullshit. Your alliances will be key to surviving a flesh-annihilating epidemic.

Now is the time to combine forces with your girlfriend, boyfriend, or that hot girl/guy you see every morning on the light-rail (basically, anyone you think you can tolerate in a confined bunker for however long an apocalypse lasts). Make the most of this opportunity and keep in mind that while many a fool will be out getting bombed on Jaegermeister, you will be acquiring the skills and know-how to protect yourself, your loved ones, and the hot light-rail chick from impending zombie attacks. 

Zombie Preparedness Training Course

OCT. 29 - 30, 6 p.m. - midnight

810 E F ST, Tacoma, WA 98421

253.345.1471

Tacomatactical.com

TUESDAY, OCT. 26, 2010 >>>

1. "In conjunction with her joint exhibit at the Museum of Glass entitled 'Glimmering Gone,' internationally renowned Scandinavian artist Ingalena Klenell will participate in an interdisciplinary panel discussion on landscapes and ecology." Or so says the hype. The discussion - which promises to be enlightening - goes down tonight at the University of Puget Sound Rotunda, and starts at 6:30 p.m. 

2. Every Tuesday and Sunday Longhorn Saloon hosts a beer pong tournament. Tonight's frat-like action starts at 9 p.m., and there's a $5 entry fee. If you're the kind of dude that's up for beer pong on a Tuesday night, chances are this one's perfect for you. Cash prizes will be up for grabs.

3. Surreal Ultra Lounge on Pacific Avenue hosts a service industry night (or SIN night, get it?) every Tuesday. As long as you show up with valid proof of employment in the service industry, Surreal offers half off all entrees and well drinks starting at 9 p.m.

4. Tuesday means $2 bowling at Chalet Bowl in Tacoma's Proctor District. In fact, it has a name - Two Dollar Tuesdays. And it's awesome. Think $2 games, $2 shoe rentals and $2.25 Rolling Rocks. Don't question the extra quarter for beer - just show up and bowl.

5. Boom! It's drop-in basketball time at Gray Middle School. Every Tuesday (at least every Tuesday that the gym is free of previous scheduled events), Gray's gymnasium offers adults of all skill levels the opportunity to drop-in and get their game on from 6-9 p.m. It does cost $3, but can you really put a price on regaining your childhood glory? More information can be found at the Metro Parks website, or by calling 253.305.1015.

SATURDAY, OCT. 23, 2010 >>>

1. The Robert Daniel Gallery in Tacoma is relocating. To send the cool art space off in style DJs Dizzy Dave, Big Chuck, Bilori, Chris Savenetti, DefCon1, Nitren, Matinee Cowboy and Altern8nrg will spin beginning at 9 p.m. The Doom Clap, a live drum and DJ duo that step on the dub, will also be part of this "Out With A Bang!" show.

2. Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) arrives early at the Tacoma Art Museum as community groups create ofrendas (altars for departed loved ones) upstairs and artists create traditional tapete (sand-painting) downstairs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

3. Tacoma's Dockyard Derby Dames roller derby league presents its All Stars Bout #4 at 5 p.m. inside Pierce College in Lakewood. While this is an all-ages event, there is a beer garden.

4. In celebration of Arts Crush, 2 Ravens Studio (2502 Commerce St., Tacoma) presents "Three Ravens At Two Ravens" with master storyteller Rebecca Hom sharing three raven stories of Northwest origins from 7-9 p.m.  Free admission for all ravens.

5. The Top of Tacoma Bar and Café continues its third-anniversary celebration with a free 9 p.m. show featuring CFA Disarmed (which is the acoustic-sexy version of the regular, high octane CFA), DickEd and Looking for Lizards? (Carl Zook along with Damien Simard, also rocking acoustics).

LINK: The Reaper Ride is tonight.

LINK: Tacoma Holiday Food & Gift Festival in our Prefunk

LINK: Hoot ‘N' Howl, Black Cat Five-Mile Fun Run, Friends Book Sale and salsa dancing in our Weekend Hustle

LINK: Concerts go on sale today

LINK: Taste some wine

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

BICYCLE BOOZE CRUISE >>>

Doing its part to keep Tacoma's Halloween celebrants from choking on family-friendly pabulum, the Tacoma Mob Riders will resurrect their Reaper Ride this Saturday. The ride marks the group's one-year anniversary.

You might have seen the spectacle last year: a large group of bicyclists keeping it weird, looping around the north end of Tacoma, in costume, popping into bar after bar, tossing back Flaming Dr Peppers and Irish Car Bombs like there's no hallows' eve ever again. We previewed it on Spew last year here.

I caught up with Tacoma Mob Riders organizer Kristofer Nystrom for the latest scoop on his death on two wheels ride.

WEEKLY VOLCANO: Happy anniversary Kristofer. One year, huh?

KRISTOFER NYSTROM: Yup. It's been a great year. We've been averaging about 30-plus riders. We had nearly 50 riders last time. This past year we've seen all kinds of bikes - road, mountain, single-speed, fixies, banana seat, antique cruisers, hand-welded trikes, you name it. The joy for all continues to be simply riding in a big pack. A mob ... Tacoma Mob Riders.

VOLCANO: Where is this year's Reaper Ride launch venue?

NYSTROM: We'll meet up is at The Acme Grub Cage at 7 p.m. We never give out the route beforehand. Each destination is announced when we mount up.

VOLCANO: What was the best costume last year?

NYSTROM: Hmmm, the best costume was probably the Skeleton Girls. They were head to toe in full skeleton attire - complete with skull face paint.

VOLCANO: Is there a trick or treat aspect to the bike ride?

NYSTROM: No trick or treat aspect. Well OK ... alcohol is the treat I suppose.

VOLCANO: Did anyone wipe out after his or her costume caught a spoke?

NYSTROM: Strangely enough no one's costume was consumed by spokes or crank. Most crashes involve folks failing to put a foot down when stopping.

VOLCANO: So, will there be another year of rides?

NYSTROM: The Mob Rides will continue. We own the streets! Stay tuned for an alley cat series, which will announce soon.

Reaper Ride

Rain or shine, come in costume
Saturday, Oct. 23, 7 p.m., no admission fee
The Acme Grub Cage, 1310 Tacoma Ave. S., Tacoma

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

WEATHER REPORT

Friday: Rain and drizzle, hi 60, lo 43

Saturday: Cloudy with a little rain, hi 59, lo 49

Sunday: Strong front moves in and all hell will break loose, hi 54, lo 46

>>> FRIDAY, OCT. 22-SATURDAY, OCT. 23: HOOT 'N' HOWL

Your Halloween costume (Yang Liwei, China's first astronaut) is ready to go. The pumpkin is carved. The candy is, er, well, you ate it, but you're definitely going to pick up another bag of tiny Snickers bars in the next couple of days. The problem is you're so excited by the prospect of the witchy day that you cannot wait until next week. Lucky for you, Northwest Trek Wildlife Park hosts its HOOT ‘N' HOWL this weekend. There'll be games, tram rides, crafts, spooky stories and the usual animals.  Best of all, you can load up on more candy. 

• Northwest Trek, 6-10 p.m., $4.50-$12.50, 11610 Trek Dr. E., Eatonville, 360.832.6117

>>> SATURDAY, OCT. 23: BLACK CAT FIVE-MILE FUN RUN

For some, running can be an excruciating experience. To many others, it's what they live for. But however you feel about running, there's no doubt the experience can be improved by the donning of a ghoulish costume or vampire teeth and a cape. Enter the Black Cat Five-Mile Fun Run, a family-friendly jaunt through Point Defiance Park set to go down at dusk this Saturday. Organized by Metro Parks Tacoma, the event caters to runners and walkers of all levels, and the registration fee gets you free glow sticks, black fleece running gloves and hot cocoa, tea or coffee at the finish line ... or water if you're, like, a really hardcore runner and stuff.

• Point Defiance Park Five Mile Drive, 5:30 p.m., check in 4:30 p.m., $25 until midnight tonight, $35 day of race, 5400 N. Pearl, Tacoma
  

>>> FRIDAY OCT. 22-SATURDAY, OCT. 23: FRIENDS BOOK SALE

Used books reign supreme over new books because there's something to be said for encountering a chocolate stain, a teardrop or a snot smear on random pages, reminding you that you're holding something someone enjoyed before you. Used books are things with histories. At the Lakewood Library's Freinds' Book Sale you can unleash your fetish for used books with wild abandon. Tens of thousands of books will be on sale, not to mention CDs, cassettes and DVDs. Knowledge has become ridiculously cheap and accessible. Take advantage.

• Lakewood Library, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., 6300 Wildaire Road SW, Lakewood, 253.582.6040
  

>>> SATURDAY, OCT. 23: SALSA DANCE

This Anglo never could get his hips to salsa. I tried. My college girlfriend - Angela de Sosa - was from El Salvador. She wore size-3 Jordache jeans when we hit the disco scene (the early ‘80s thing to do). The music would play, and de Sosa's hips would sway. She tried to show me how.  De Sosa left me for a better dancer. I took up writing. Every Saturday night at the Abbey Ballroom in downtown Tacoma there's a Latin dance featuring salsa, bachata, cha cha, merengue, and the occasional rumba. I will not be there.

• The Abby Ballroom, 9 p.m., all ages, $5, 1901 Fawcett Ave., Tacoma, 253.572.5424

>>> WHERE OUR STAFF IS GOING

MATT DRISCOLL Editor and String Cheese Addict (not the band!)
Again, the South Sound has quite a weekend in store. There's a whole crapload (maybe two) of things to choose from, and making decisions wont be easy. The best thing to do is simply be decisive, and turn whatever choice you make into the right one by going all-out and not looking back.

While I have yet to follow that advice, and my weekend is still up in the air, I would really like to make it to The Grand for part of the Race & Pedagogy Film Series, which is a precursor to next week's Race & Pedagogy National Conference at the University of Puget Sound.

That, and I've really been craving a BBC from MSM Deli the last couple days, so I'll probably have one of those this weekend too.

So, to summarize my weekend will include: race, pedagogy, beef, cheese and bacon.

PAUL SCHRAG Senior Contributor
I'll be tearing around Olympia with Eprhyme, who will release his second album on K Records sometime next year, shooting photos to accompany a video celebrating Olympia's unique culture. I'll probably end up in a garage with E and Smoke of Oldominion, and hopefully get a chance to molest fellow Volcano scribe Owen Taylor. 

REV. ADAM MCKINNERY Features Writer
This weekend is all leading up to Saturday, when I will be attending a show at my friend's venue, Hilltop Hollows. Until then, I will be helping with doing some renovating of the venue to get it goo and ready. Boy, I hope the cops don't show up.

NIKKI TALOTTA Features Writer
After my usual two days of mix mastering at the bar, I'm going on a date with my husband. We have some fun things on the menu, but due to discretionary promises, I am not allowed to disclose to readers exactly what we are up to. But, go ahead, use your imagination.

JOE IZENMAN Music/Theater Critic
Either having a poker night, playing a show at Cork! Wine Bar, getting engagement photos at Wright Park, catching It's Kind Of A Funny Story at The Grand, and learning to cook Indian food; or continuing to be ill and staying inside feeling gross all weekend. Both are viable options.

KRIS BLONDIN Food/Wine Writer
I'm boring. We WERE going to Westport, but husband has to work. At
least I have a new furnace, heat and really big bottle of vodka. Call
me?

JENNIFER JOHNSON: Lifestyle/Leisure Writer
Friday I will be going to 1022 Fall and Winter Menu Debut Party at 6 p.m. Saturday I will be running 5 miles and then catching a session at Hot Yoga Tacoma. That night I will bid farewell to the Robert Daniel Gallery at "Out With A Bang" at 9 pm. Sunday hopefully will bring a relaxing day and a walk through gorgeous fall leaves (no rain!). 

JOANN VARNELL Theater Critic
I'll be heading to the Tacoma Little Theatre to review eleemosynary, lamenting the absence of dairy from my diet and preparing for a week in Mexico with the infant, husband and in-laws.

CHRISTIAN CARVAJAL: Theater Critic
After a full day at Olympia High School for an upcoming feature, I'll be free to enjoy Harvey at OLT and The Art of Dining at my new alma mater.  Better and boobier yet, I'll be venturing Through the Looking Glass, aka Burlesque Alice in Wonderland, at the Capitol Theater.

STEVE DUNKELBERGER Meat Market Correspondent
I’m going to be all about music this weekend when Tacoma Youth Chorus hosts a free parent appreciation concert at Charles Wright Academy at 4 p.m. on Saturday. Later that night brings Tacoma Symphony Orchestra’s season opener, Gershwin and Guitar, featuring Ana Vidovic. She is featured in "Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez." The show also will include Aaron Copland's "Billy the Kid" and George Gershwin's "An American in Paris."

ALEC CLAYTON: Visual Arts Critic
 The play's the thing. Going to see Harvey at Olympia Little Theater and eleemosynary at Tacoma Little Theatre.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

TUESDAY, OCT. 19, 2010 >>>

1. In celebration of its 75th anniversary the Tacoma Art Museum presents a screening of the 1935 (45, 55, 65 ... hey, it's 75 years old) classic film Top Hat at 7 p.m. inside The Grand Cinema.

2. The Banned Book Club gathers at the Tempest Lounge at 7 p.m. to discuss the book, The Supernaturalist by Eoin Colfer, over cocktails.

3. Bowling is a game devised for drinkers. You get up, you roll a ball, you sit down. You pound some beers and watch other people do the same. Then you repeat this cycle, all while wearing stupid shoes and knocking stuff down. It's like alcoholic heaven. The Chalet Bowl sweetens the deal every Tuesday from 6-11 p.m. with $2 games, $2 shoe rentals, $2 food items and $2.25 Rolling Rocks.

4. The 4 Tissimos Saxophone Quartet perform at 7 p.m. inside the Mandolin Café.

5. DJ Omar spins at 10 p.m. inside Jazzbones.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound