MONDAY, FEB. 9 2015 >>>

1. The Tacoma Mountaineers, the Sierra Club, University of Puget Sound and Tahoma Audubon present a night of film, reflection and a celebration of veterans who have bravely shared their stories, and documented the struggles of returning home and demonstrated the role wild places have in helping our troops heal from the profound trauma of war. Warriors in Film in the North Cascades and Beyond will feature speakers involved in the Sierra Club's Military Outdoors program who will present the spectacular footage and touching stories of veterans who adventure into the outdoors to heal, experience camaraderie, and to muster the strength to continue their fight to make America a better place. The free event will take place at 7 p.m. in the Tacoma Mountaineers.

2. Walk through the basics of sauerkraut fermentation with Lisa Oldoski at 6:30 p.m. in the Gig Harbor Pierce County Library. You will be inspired to make your own delicious, healthy probiotic sauerkraut at home.

3. Nashville's 10 String Symphony blends aggressive, almost discordant, Celtic and punky string-chording experimentations. Vocally, Rachel Baiman and Christian Sedelmyer lock in seamlessly, and their vocal duets often take center stage despite the fact that they are self-described fiddle players. Check the duo out with Forest Beutel at 7 p.m. in Tacoma's Immanuel Presbyterian Church.

4. As a scarf-wearing Muslim teenager in Chicago, Tahera Ahmad played a mean game of basketball. As a young woman, she wrestled with interpretations of her own faith and went on to study Islamic law at the prestigious Al-Azhar University in Cairo. Today, as a respected scholar, speaker, and youth leader, Ahmad has drawn national attention for social justice views that combine her devout Islamic faith with a feminist worldview. Sister Tahera Ahmad, associate university chaplain and faculty fellow at Northwestern University in Illinois, will share some of those viewpoints in a University of Puget Sound lecture that addresses questions that Muslims and non-Muslims alike may ask as they encounter conflicting pictures of the Islamic religion and culture at 7:30 p.m. in Schneebeck Concert Hall.

5. Guitarist, harpist and singer Brian Lee has led popular Northwest bands Brian Lee Trio, Streamliner, and Brian Lee & the Orbiters for many years. These musician's musicians have mantle full of awards, playing originals and cover. The Brian Lee Trio pops in at 8 p.m. for Blues Night at The Swiss Restaurant and Pub.

SUNDAY, FEB. 8 2015 >>>

1. This festival of improvised music at Obsidian features a very special guest by the name of Mazen Kerbaj. Hailing from Beirut, Lebanon, Kerbaj specializes in the trumpet, taking that instrument many miles from any expectations you may have when I utter the words "improvisational trumpet." His style takes the trumpet in directions that delve deep into the experimental, testing the instrument's limits of expression, whether they be textural, percussive tonal, or pushing the envelope of what could reasonably pass for music. In taking advantage of his instrument's many characteristics, Kerbaj takes his audience through a journey of finding the potential in any sound to transport. For anyone with a passing interest in experimental music, this 8 p.m. show with Arrington De Dionyso, Paul Hoskin, Daniel Buscher and Hammer of Hathor must be observed. The daring will get the most from this excursion into the base elements of the musical experience.

2. Though 120 years old, H.M.S. Pinafore is as seaworthy as ever, an irresistible blend of Sullivan's matchless melodies and Gilbert's shrewd satire of the Victorian caste system. Tacoma Opera's production boasts vocals by Boston Lyric Opera soloist Michael Drumheller, Seattle Opera Guild's Ksenia Popova and returnees from The Barber of Seville. Read Christian Carvajal's full feature on H.M.S. Pinafore in the Music & Culture section, then catch the show at 2 p.m. in the Rialto Theater.

3. The Swiss Restaurant and Pub will host a benefit concert for the Mitrata-Nepal Foundation for Children featuring The Oly Mountain Boys at 4 p.m., Steve and Kristi Nebel at 5 p.m., The Twang Junkies at 6 p.m. and The Barleywine Revue at 7 p.m. Mitrata-Nepal Foundation for Children's mission is to educate and empower severely underprivileged children to reach their full potential as citizens of Nepal.

4. Mark Dufresne is schooled in the ways of Sonny Boy, Junior Wells and James Cotton. His work on the chromatic harmonica is considered as some of the most innovative in blues music. His ability to circular breathe has left audiences dazed, dancing in circles until they drop. Catch the blues musician and his band at 7 p.m. in The Spar in Old Town Tacoma.

5. Jubal Flagg from the Movin 92.5 FM morning show host a Comedy Drag Show featuring five comedians performing as themselves, get a complete makeover, and come back as the opposite sex. Check it out at 8 p.m. in the Tacoma Comedy Club.

SATURDAY, FEB. 7 2015 >>>

1. LeMay - America's Car Museum will unleash beer, booze, blues and classic Buicks at 7 p.m. when their "Drive the Blues Away" celebration consumes their space next to the Tacoma Dome. Chug Red Hook and Narrows Brewing beer, sip booze from 2bar Spirits, Heritage Distilling Co., Sidetrack Distillery, Magnolia Moonshine Cocktails and Glass Distillery, chow down on grub from Pacific Grill as you listen to Little Bill & The Blue Notes, the Kim Archer Band and James King and the Southsiders. Bonus: Gibson Guitars will be in the house, allowing you to test drive acoustic and electric guitars. Oh, then there are the 300-plus classic, collectible and vintage vehicles spanning more than 110 years - but that's a given.

2. Ravenna Woods have grown in ways that enter them into a different realm from those that consider folk revivalism the be-all and end-all of new indie expression. What began as a three-piece that created percussive folk has nor involved more electronic elements that expand their sound. Now, with their newest album, The Jackals, Ravenna Woods will be subjected to a modern dance interpretation of their album, just as Lemolo did last year with the Kaleidoscope Dance. Just as last year's performance involved a band its album in its entirety, accompanied by modern dancers, so will this year's production involve Ravenna Woods' latest album, The Jackals, joined with interpretive dancers. Read Rev. Adam McKinney's full feature on Ravenna Woods in the Music & Culture section, then catch the performance at 7 p.m. in the Urban Grace Church.

3. The South Sound MC battle scene began in the early '90s, but flourished on an astronomical trajectory with the emergence of Heretic The Heathen's For MCs By MCs Presents organization a few years back. The local battle scene is composed of upstart and veteran writers, lyricists and vocalists who compete with clever combos of wordplay and verbs. At 8 p.m. in McCoy's Tavern, the battle continues when For MCs By MCs Presents "Capitol Punishment" featuring multiple bouts with highly touted MCs. Get it innnn!

4. Mig Artugue is the defining voice behind Too Long Sparks, which takes spare drum machines and layers looped guitar and ukulele on top to create a moody atmosphere that builds with increasing anxiety. His vocals drift from laconic to panicked, lending an urgency to his minimalistic compositions that sounds like nothing more than one man having a nervous breakdown in the recording studio. Catch the one-man band with Red Planet Rebels, No Crown and Little Star at 8 p.m. in Bob's Java Jive.

5. It seems only natural to combine the worlds of bluegrass and punk, and The Rusty Cleavers do so magnificently, with all manner of mandolin, banjo and backyard clatter coming together in a cacophony of spirited group-singing and hoops and hollers. Catch the band at 8 p.m. in The Spar in Old Town Tacoma.

FRIDAY, FEB. 6 2015 >>>

1. In The Simpsons' 1993 episode "Cape Feare," Bart distracts his homicidal nemesis, Sideshow Bob Terwilliger (Kelsey Grammer), by imploring him to perform H.M.S. Pinafore in its entirety. A flattered Bob replies, "Very well, Bart. I shall send you to Heaven before I send you to Hell." He follows through with a medley of "We Sail the Ocean Blue," "Hail! Men-o'-War's Men!" (Little Buttercup's Song) and a falsetto'd climax from "He Is an Englishman." So guess what? If you recognize that pop culture references, then you know some H.M.S. Pinafore. Tacoma Opera's production of H.M.S. Pinafore boasts vocals by Boston Lyric Opera soloist Michael Drumheller, Seattle Opera Guild's Ksenia Popova and returnees from The Barber of Seville. Read Christian Carvajal's full feature on H.M.S. Pinafore in the Music & Culture section, then catch the show at 7:30 p.m. in the Rialto Theater.

2. Seattle novelist Tracy Weber will read from her new novel, A Killer Retreat - the second installment of her award-winning Downward Dog Mystery series about a murder-solving, vegetarian yoga teacher, Kate, and her feisty German Shepherd - at 6 p.m. in Garfield Book Company. This new book finds Kate teaching yoga at a vegan retreat center when a wedding guest at the center is found dead shortly after a loud and public fight with Kate. Kate must try to solve the murder before the police put her behind bars as their number-one suspect. Weber will lead a yoga class for PLU students and others following the reading.

3. Music faculty members and students at University of Puget Sound will perform works from some of history's most influential baroque composers - from a Bach work centered on the biblical story of Cain and Abel to a Nicola Porpora piece written for the convent choirs at Venice orphanages - at 7:30 p.m. in Kilworth Memorial Chapel. The Jacobsen Series concert from the School of Music will include strings, harpsichord, and piano, with solo arias and choir.

4. Few songs are sweeter than "Tennessee," the acoustic tune by upstate New Yorkers Band of Lovers. Their debut single comes correct with homespun violin, upbeat lyrics, even trilled ooh-oo-oohs and la-di-dahs. Friends for 10 years, Sabina Beachdell and Dave Strumfeld united their troubadour talents in 2013 to craft a five-song eponymous EP. Now they're on the road in support of The Coast, a full-length, crowdfunded album they recorded in a cabin in Woodstock. See them perform at 8 p.m. in Metronome Coffee.

5. Mig Artugue is the defining voice behind Too Long Sparks, which takes spare drum machines and layers looped guitar and ukulele on top to create a moody atmosphere that builds with increasing anxiety. His vocals drift from laconic to panicked, lending an urgency to his minimalistic compositions that sounds like nothing more than one man having a nervous breakdown in the recording studio. Catch the one-man band with Middlewav, The Various Moods Of, People Under the Sun and Patrick Galactic at 8 p.m. in Deadbeat Olympia record store.

THURSDAY, FEB. 5 2015 >>>

1. If you need another excuse to drink a good beer (and who doesn't?), Puyallup River Brewing Alehouse is celebrating its 2nd anniversary beginning at 6 p.m. Puyallup River Brewing owner-brewer Eric Akeson opened the downtown Puyallup taproom less than a year after launching his South Hill garage brewery. The long, dark 2,000-square-foot alehouse showcases Akeson's talent - including Valley Farmhouse IPA, Fryingpan Cascadian Red Ale, Paradise Blonde Saison, as well as 2014 Washington Brewers Festival Silver medalist Cream Ale, Silver medalist Black Pumpkin Saison and Bronze medalist Oak Aged Point Success Porter - plus guest taps and some of the best brewer's nights and beer events in the South Sound. Puyallup loves beer and parties, at least according to those who attend Akeson's hosted events. We expect tonight's party will follow suit, with a special anniversary beer and giveaways.

2. Speaking of beer, Engine House No. 9 will host a Trinity Brewing Night with five on tap and three different brews in bottles at 6 p.m. Trinity head brewer and owner Jason Yester will be in the firehouse.

3. Tacoma Green Drinks provides a social and networking opportunity for Tacoma-Pierce County residents interested in sustainability, conservation, environmental issues and booze! Join them at 5:30 p.m. in front of The Swiss Restaurant and Pub for City of Tacoma Environmental Services' Merita Pollard's tour of the Low Impact Development aspects of the Prairie Line Trail. The Vision2Action Symposium is coming to town March 5, and this pre-event will be geared toward answering questions on the Symposium, how you can get involved and what the heck is Low Impact Development. After the tour, it's all about drinking.

4.  A night on the town turns unexpectedly poignant when four best friends convene to reminisce about the past and provide insight into relationships. Just kidding. They sing Gloria Gaynor tunes, toss back shots, and yell things like "That one made my hoohah tickle!" That doesn't stop Louise Roche's otherwise flighty karaoke-standard revue from attempting to delve into substantial topics, and things get a little awkward once the Shake Weight jokes take a hard right to marital regret and miscarriage. Catch Centerstage's version of Girls Night: The Musical at 8 p.m. in the Knutzen Theater.

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 songs for Taylor Hicks, Donny Anderson and Tonya Kennedy. Catch him at 8 p.m. in The Swiss.

Oscar Nominated Shorts

For anyone with an Oscar pool, this weekend is as important to him or her as the Super Bowl was to gambling junkies. Yes, the time has come, once again, to learn just what exactly the Oscar nominees for Best Live Action and Animated Shorts are. These will be your edge in beating out your office mates when it comes to predicting the big winners come the Academy Awards. Because, let's be honest, we all know that Boyhood is winning Best Picture and JK Simmons is winning Best Supporting Actor (those predictions are yours for free), but the left-field awards are always relegated to the short films.

The Grand Cinema is here for you. Starting Friday, the live action and animated shorts will be compiled and shown at Tacoma's favorites theater. Short films of the past have included projects that have gone on to create great full-length films like this year's nominee, Whiplash. What's better than a three-hour nominee like Boyhood? How about a little over an hour of five nominees? The math speaks for itself.

Jupiter Ascending

The Wachowskis (now, someone regrettably, known as the Wachowski Starship) have quickly become the directing duo to most represent M. Night Shyamalan's career trajectory, with a noticeably downward trend. Bound is their best work, with The Matrix coming in second (and I will accept no arguments on this matter!). Ever since then - especially given the Matrix trilogy's unfortunate second and third acts - the Wachowskis have languished on the edges of the Hollywood blockbuster machine.

Their latest film, following their involvement in the divisive Cloud Atlas, is their much-anticipated Jupiter Ascending. For such an eye-popping blockbuster, the film's release in February should set off a million alarm bells. Its premier in 2015's movie graveyard does not portend the best for the Wachowskis' latest. Preliminary reports from the suspiciously secretive non-premier at Sundance do no bode well for this ambitious sci-fi adventure. What I can say, from my position of having seen nothing but the trailer, is that Jupiter Ascending may be a fascinating folly, which is more or less what we've come to expect from the Wachowskis.

For mainstream directors, the Wachowskis have never lacked for taking risks, including helping to adapt the un-adaptable Cloud Atlas and bringing a neon frenzy to Speed Racer. They're hit or miss, to be sure, but I'll take their gleeful pranking of the studio system over any Michael Bay franchise any day of the week.

I suppose it's possible you're one of those Washington weirdos who applies his or her summers to the pursuit of such ostentatious pastimes as going outside. If so, this article won't mean jack to you. My wife and I, however, are allergic to direct sunlight, plus we reserve our remaining ATP molecules of organic energy for the ordeal of digesting meatball sandwiches. We spend our summer months parked on the couch, basking in the cool blue light of an O-class supergiant star we like to call ... our TV.

It seems strange that two adults of not inconsiderable intelligence should feel they're on a first name basis with the likes of Sharon Osbourne, Howard Stern, Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum or Scary Spice. (The latter seems more of a name than "Mel B.") Thanks to terms as judges on NBC's America's Got Talent, the Teutonically bland Heidi Klum, Melanie Brown's Yorkshire-accented "uh have to sayyy" and Howie Mandel's relentless trolling for Twitter followers seem as familiar as Mariner baseball. Are we on the same wavelength, you and I? Will you feel me when I lament the year our nation expended its fickle affections on that Kentuckian "singer" whose name none of us now remember? (It was Kevin Skinner in season four. No, he was never seen again.) Are you even now wondering how that sweet little Jackie Evancho is holding up in her big-ticket limelight? Exactly. One of us.

It's ironic this show puts its skilled contestants' fates in the hands of people who clearly have nothing in the way of talent to speak of; namely, us. Time and again, Met-worthy vocalists get shunted aside in favor of that tousle-haired boy who looks cute in a hat, because squillions of teenagers are superheating their phones in a rush to call in votes. The Midwest's inexplicable fondness for softcore-racist ventriloquism comes into frequent play, as does our hereditary preference for symmetrically attractive people on TV. But that's how the tele-cookie crumbles, my friends, and it gives folks like you, by whom I mean good-looking people who can tell a few jokes or warble karaoke on camera, a shot at celebrity. That's right, you, Gentle Reader, could join the ranks of Jackie Evancho, Kevin what's-his-name, and that guy who had abs and could juggle his Chihuahua. The only catch is: first you have to audition.

Luckily, the producers of AGT make that process so easy, why, a Kentucky chicken farmer could do it. All you have to do is take the day off work (no disappointment there), drive to the Greater Tacoma Convention Center and hang out all day with other frustrated narcissists. Your spotlight awaits! Try not to make us Puget Sounders look bad. My wife and I hate to feel sorry for people as we gorge on our summer nachos.

AMERICA'S GOT TALENT SEASON 10 AUDITIONS, 8 a.m. Monday, Feb. 9, Tacoma Convention Center, 1500 Broadway, Tacoma, free, 253.830.6601

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 4 2015 >>>

1. The Pierce County Conservative District Seed Swap goes down from 6-8 p.m. in the Parkland/Spanaway Library. Bring excess seeds either purchased or saved, cuttings, or transplants to trade with community members. Kelda Lorax of Divine Earth Gardening Project will host a seed saving workshop. The event will also be a potluck so bring a dish to share. Top your dish with sesame seeds and watch the crowd erupt in cheer.

2. Transcendent Music Group brings in Seattle Rastafari roots reggae band Laborer for its One Love Wednesday music series at Jazzbones, beginning at 7 p.m.

3.The Medicine Creek Council took place in the Nisqually Delta Dec. 26, 1854. It brought together 62 Native American tribal leaders and a contingent of American settlers headed by territorial governor Isaac Stevens, and changed the course of Northwest history. The treaty established reservations for the Native American tribes represented and described the lands that would be ceded by the tribes to the United States Government. Historian and author Drew Crooks will discuss the event and its ramifications at 7:30 p.m. in the Olympia Timberland Library.

4. Harlequin Productions' improv troupe Something Wicked returns to the stage for a show about the beautifully absurd world of dating. Join them at 8 p.m. in the Historic State Theater as all the terror, glee, tragedy and joy of modern-day romance are whirled together into a frothy, intoxicating evening of heart-mending laughter.

5. The Brotherhood Takes Flight aerial show is back, featuring Tan Tan and others taking to the air with whimsy, strength and artful grace at 8 p.m. in The Brotherhood Lounge. The performance above the drinking crowd is just plain beautiful. A dance party with DJ Fir$t Lady follows.

TUESDAY, FEB. 3 2015 >>>

1.  With all the discussion about food these days, there has been is very little interest in the hands that pick it. The documentary Food Chains draws much needed attention to the oppressive conditions faced by many farm workers in the nation's tomato industry. Food Chains exposes the human cost in our food supply and the complicity of the supermarket industry. Catch the film at 1:45 and 6:30 p.m. in The Grand Cinema.

2. Missionaries to the inland Northwest created the earliest and most substantial archives of Plateau Indian culture. Trevor J. Bond, head of Manuscripts, Archives and Special Collections at Washington State University, will examine how collectors with varied motivations amassed American Indian cultural materials at 4 p.m. on the second floor of Collins Library on the University of Puget Sound campus.

3. Pierce County residents can learn how to grow their own food during the 2015 Edible Gardens Workshop series, which runs from February through November. The free series of monthly workshops, which are sponsored by Pierce County and the Pierce Conservation District, teach beginning gardeners how to plan a garden, prepare the soil, plant seeds, and harvest the food they've grown. Each workshop is designed to help students throughout the growing season by addressing what needs to be done in the garden that month. The classes combine presentations with hands-on activities. At 6 p.m., it's all about fruit trees in the Washington State University Extension Puyallup building.

4. If hearing the sound of your own cackling voice echoing off the walls of your shower stall has you craving the sound of something a bit more harmonious, check out the local songbirds at Victory Music Open Mic in the Antique Sandwich Co. from 7-10 p.m. It's guaranteed to be jam-packed with gorgeous sounds and humbling verses, as the South Sound's greatest up-and-coming acoustic musicians bare their souls impromptu-style.

5. Moby Grape was one of the most versatile San Francisco rock bands to emerge out of the summer of love. Sadly, through a combination of inner turmoil and bad management decisions, the mighty Moby Grape broke up in 1969. However, their debut album is still considered one of the best of all time by many critics, in part because of the nimble fingers of guitarist Jerry Miller. Miller was named one of the top 100 guitarists of all time by Rolling Stone above Eddie Van Halen, Johnny Winter and Randy Rhoads. The Tacoma native has enjoyed a rich career sharing the stage with countless musicians including members of the Doobie Brothers and Carlos Santana. Miller hosts an open jam at 7 p.m. in Dave's of Milton.

MONDAY, FEB. 2 2015 >>>

1. The Tacoma Sister Cities International Film Festival kicks off tonight with Crossed Destinities, a Moroccan film in honor of sister city El Jajida, Morocco, which screens at 7 p.m. in the University of Puget Sound Rotunda. The French film set in Morocco follows Abdelkhalek and Rachida as they play host to their college friends, invited to spend the weekend at their beautiful beach house but don't know who sent the invitations bringing them all together. The group of 40-somethings begin to recall stories of their past and reveal to each other, and themselves, veiled truths and long hidden secrets with a central thread of mystery weaving through the story. A Moroccan cultural program will kicks off the night at 6:15 p.m.

2. In 2013, filmmaker Isaac Olsen (Quiet Shoes, Ich Hunger) and his friends started Strapping Young Productions, a company to promote Olsen's projects and local bands Red Hex, Trees and Timber, and the Dick Rossetti (former disc jockey at 107.7 The End) fronted Jilly Rizzo. Today, Rossetti and Olsen find themselves under a new umbrella, the online weekly radio show, "Underwhelmed." Kicking off at 6 p.m. on nwczradio.com, and every Monday from 6-7 p.m., the two will present "unshitty/shitty music played, revelry and neat segments like ‘Record Collectors Are Pretentious Assholes" and "Ten 30 Second Commercial Free Music Sweeps.'" Tonight's episode will feature an interview with The Clash, local calls bullshit on the Seahawks, NFL and all 12s in general, top tunes from Toto, The Germs, Tit Nuns, Chaka Khan and many more. ...

3. Get out your dancing shoes and join in the whimsy of a country western shuffle dance, hosted by the Evergreen Country Dancers from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Olympia Elks Lodge.

4. Don't stay home and watch TV - come listen to TV. Trumpeter Mike Lewis and friends are going to blow up your favorite TV theme songs in the Jazz Lab at 8 p.m. at Rhythm & Rye.

5. The Shelly Ely Band will fill The Swiss with blues at 8 p.m.

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