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)

WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

How Can You Have A High-Speed Chase In Fern Hill?: It happened when a moron stole a car and crashed into a state trooper. (News Tribune)

Innovation Partnership Zone: Can in happen to the east side of Tacoma's Foss waterway? (News Tribune)

Through Rain And Sleet And Email?: The U.S. Postal Service is in trouble (CNN)

Teeny Tiny Waspy Stupidity: Everything that is wrong with fashion magazines today (Dumb As A Blog)

Space Invaders: Atari is making a joystick for the iPad (Gizmodo)

May The Interior Designer Be With You: George Lucas' crazy new offices for LucasFilm in Singapore look like something out of Star Wars movies (Gizmodo)

No It's MY Chemical Romance: Michael Pedicone, the drummer for My Chemical Romance, has been fired for stealing. (Take 40)

Newsflash: Madonna absolutely hates hydrangeas. (Billboard)

10 YEARS. 10. YEARS. >>>

According to the Tacoma Arts Commission, 10 institutions, individuals and ideas born around a decade ago have made a clear impact on Tacoma - around the same time TAC launched its Arts at Work month program. In celebration, TAC initiated a "10 in 10" series on its Tacoma Arts blog focusing on 10 things created 10 years ago that helped make Tacoma the progressive urban center it is today.

A few of the 10 have been named and examined on said blog:

Tacoma Reads Together: "Tacoma Reads Together is T-town's version of a literary potluck."

Tacoma School of the Arts: "... five hundred 15 to 18 year olds ‘going to work' each day in downtown Tacoma [bring] creative energy, fresh perspective and a little lunch money" into town."

UW-Tacoma's Urban Studies Program: "It is the only such program in the state, offering Bachelor Degrees in both urban studies as well as the new Sustainable Urban Development Program."

Hmmm, I know an alt. weekly born 10 years ago in Grit City.

LINK: Tacoma Arts blog

WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

School Bullying: Tacoma School District and the union shove each other. (News Tribune)

Could This Save The Cliff House Restaurant?: Hylebos Waterway drawbridge is getting close to opening. (News Tribune)

Buffet Boost: Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway announced it is investing $5 billion in Bank of America. (NPR)

On The Job: 11 pivotal in Steve Jobs' career. (TechFlash)

Don't Blow Away Your Immune System: The DEA has announced that three-quarters of cocaine in the U.S. can sometimes fatally lower a person's white blood cell count. (Scientific American)

Dying: Walmart and Groupon. (Ad Age and Gawker)

Reunited And It Feels So Good: The Royal Tenenbaums. (Gothamist)

Video: Princess Leia loss 50 pounds. (Hollywood Reporter)

Two Words: R2-D2 helmet. (walyou)

WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

Christmas Present 2012 (If We Are Still Alive): Tacoma city engineers say the $57 million renovation of the Murray Morgan Bridge is on budget and will reopen to pedestrian and vehicle traffic in December 2012. (News Tribune)

Of Course You're Going To Win: Washington state Lottery reports sales increased 4 percent in the past fiscal year to more than $510 million. (Seattle Times)

There's A Starbucks For That: Starbucks is giving away free app downloads in its stores. It kicks off today with a free Shazam Encore app - a $6 value. Quite the deal for just a trip into Starbucks, even if you get a coffee. (CNET)

Darren Stevens Syndrome: Mad Men gets a new Bobby Draper. (Digital Spy)

Will There Be A Replacements Reunion?: Probably not. (Rolling Stone)

This Is Stupid: The Worst 50 States in America countdown. (Gawker)

This Is Not Stupid: Nerd hats! (Topless Robot)

Do Doo Do Do Do ...: The history of Mahna Mahna!(OC Weekly)

WELL, INDIRECTLY >>>

Check out the national exposure our Happy Hour Mobile App system received below. Because the Weekly Volcano has partnered with GoTime.com, our happy hour app doesn't only work in the South Sound; it also works in 160 other cities around the country - including New York, which was featured on CNN.

The Weekly Volcano Happy Hour App has up-to-date listings of happy-hour offerings from bars, clubs, taverns and restaurants from Tumwater to Federal Way, from Gig Harbor to Bonney Lake. As of now, some 210 happy hours are listed - with more being added on a constant basis.

WE'RE A BIG BOY NOW >>>

The Weekly Volcano's "personal" Facebook page is closing in on FB's 5,000 friends limit. Holy wow is right. We've started a "fan" page, which will allow us to compile as many friends/fans as technologically possible. If you're on FB and dig the Volcano's posts, quips, discoveries and news breaks – as well as content that doesn't appear either online or in print – go to facebook.com/weeklyvolcanofanpage and please "like" us.

Bonus: To make you really "like" us, we will enter those who "like" us before 5 p.m. Wednesday, June 8 into a random drawing for a free one night stay for two in a King Deluxe Room at the Hotel Murano. You will need to redeem the room before June 30, 2011.

The new Weekly Volcano Facebook page will also be your guide to exclusive Weekly Volcano events, promotions, blogs and photos.

Thank you!

LINK: Like us

LOCAL TWEETUP >>>

What happens when you get 140 characters from the greater Tacoma area in a room together?

Double Play Tweetup!

The Double Play: A Hotel Murano and Tacoma Rainiers Tweetup!, as it is called, is an informal mixer for the social media community. As you may have surmised from the name, it will be at the Hotel Murano - 1320 Broadway Plaza in downtown Tacoma. And not only will it be a good opportunity to meet and mingle with some of the area's local social media community, you also may win a fabulous prize:

• Two night stay at Hotel Murano (@hotel_murano, www.facebook.com/hotelmuranotacoma)
• A $250 gift card to Alaska Airlines (@alaskaair, www.facebook.com/alaskaairlines)
• One night stay at Hotel Max (@hotel_max, www.facebook.com/hotelmaxseattle)
• One night stay at Hotel deLuxe (@hotel_deluxe, www.facebook.com/hoteldeluxeportland)
• One night stay at Hotel Lucia (@hotel_lucia, www.facebook.com/hotelluciaportland)
• One night stay at Hotel Frank (@hotelfranksf, www.facebook.com/hotelfranksf)
• Vouchers to upcoming Tacoma Rainiers games
• Limited edition Rainiers' ball caps

Here's a snippet from the promotional material:

You are invited to the Hotel Murano for an evening with the Tacoma Rainiers. Get there quickly because the first 50 guests will receive a complimentary drink ticket! There will be awesome appetizers from Hotel Murano's BITE Restaurant, specialty beverages (cash bar), and of course cool prizes (Check the list below for the goodies you could win!).With drink in hand and a happy tummy, mingle with our friends and meet your favorite players from the Rainiers! (Specific players will be announced May 19th! Stay tuned!) Of course, we will have the opportunity for you to have a photo taken with Rhubarb, everyone's favorite mascot and don't forget to ask our fabulous Murano Sales Team for a tour of the Murano's beautiful rooms!

To RSVP, click here.

TUESDAY, MARCH 22 >>>

1. The topic of today's workshop at the Tacoma Public Library's Main Branch is "Introduction to Blogs." This is important people. You must learn how to blog. If Jason didn't have a blog, how would we know that this Pi Lambda Phi-er is a student at University of Virginia, currently enrolled for 17 credit hours (including Discrete Math II), and a RA to boot? Or how would you know what "Janna in a Tight Hat with Me" or "Earwhore and Hippeeeeeeee . . ." on the pics page look like? Clearly, everyone needs to get in on this blog thing. As Homer Simpson once said, "Ooh, they have the Internet on computers now?!" See you there at 1:30 p.m. Advance registration required at 253.591.5666.

2. You know where you want to be. Home. Home. Why can't you just stay at home? Oh yeah. That's where the kids are. Well, that's no good. Sanity's short and thin enough as it is. Well, you could always send them away. Excellent! Take back your home. Ship 'em off to the Children's Museum of Tacoma's Happy Hour from 3-5 p.m. for half the price of admission.

3. Whether you're into washboard abs or a long set of stems, a summertime beach typically doesn't disappoint in the eye candy department. One problem: the Northwest isn't overflowing with warm, beach-bod-scoping locations. Especially in March. Thankfully, The Beach Tavern fills us with enough alcohol to help us forget about those sunny days and beach bodies that are so far away. The Beach's Tipsy Tuesdays feature alternating drink specials - past favorites like shots of Jose Cuervo Gold for $3.25 and Three Olives Grape Vodka for $4.25 really rocked the house.

4. Sami Al Jundi was sentenced to 10 years after a bomb he made and intended to use against Israeli police killed a friend. Al Jundi's sentence included plenty of torture, but also an "extraordinary metamorphosis from militant to a passionate advocate of nonviolence," according to the press release. It's all captured in the book The Hour of Sunlight: One Palestinian's Journey from Prisoner to Peacemaker, by Al Jundi and writer Jen Marlow. At 6 p.m., Marlowe will be at Orca Books in Olympia to discuss her work.

5. You've eighty-sixed all meat from your diet for more than a decade now. (OK, barring the occasional crab cake.) And if your family - your own flesh and blood, people - refuses to acknowledge your dietary whims, why should a perfect stranger? Herein lies the challenge of being a high-maintenance food-lover. Screw family and strangers, you need to mingle with your own kind. Join the Vegan Book Club, coordinated by The South Sound Vegan Meetup Group at 7 p.m. inside King's Books. The book club is open to anyone interested in a vegan diet, vegans and vegan-curious alike. The book for March is Mad Cowboy by Howard F. Lyman. No animals were harmed or eaten in the writing of this blog post.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

THEY'RE BRAVE >>>

If your New Year's goals included cooking less often and spending less money, this new site could help: Clearance Cuisine, launched by Tacoma-area foodies Marisa and Ben. Their mission is simple: "We taste and comment on food and drinks from discount grocery stores, outlets and liquidators," or so states their website. Posts so far include reviews of WisPride Lite Port Wine Spreadable Cheese (Marisa: "It also kind of felt like modeling clay in my mouth"), Go Girl GLO Energy Drink (Ben: "not only will your weight loss be minimal and short lived, but your nuts might disappear too"), and PLOMBO Ice Cream Cups (Marisa: "more like a pseudo-McDonald's soft serve than a gourmet treat"). They have tasted disgusting food-like products.

Their reviews sing with humor, the photography is crisp, and it's my new favorite blog. They should app it.