Health
If given the choice between an all-expense paid fishing trip or sitting in a therapy session, the pioneering Rivers of Recovery program, which helps combat veterans, is willing to bet there's actually no choice. Joint Base Lewis-McChord's Sgt. Kurt Erickson went out on a Rivers of Recovery trip in August after
Guides
The kiddies are perhaps the hardest to shop for. Many are ungrateful little wretches who think entitlement is a breakfast cereal. Ok, I may have a little humbug in me, but you know it's true. So when the sweet little cherubs let their good sides shine during the months leading
Features
We all know them: those impossible friends and family members that are hard to shop for. Buying clothing is tricky, because let's face it, if it's too small you can remind them just how much they indulged on Thanksgiving. If it's too large, you can also offend. Housewares are OK
Music
So much has been said about the classic Tacoma punk band Girl Trouble that very little more needs to be said. For anyone not in the know, this is the most badass band still working in Tacoma. KP Kendall still performs shirtless. The band still fights the good fight against
Critics' Picks
[ROCK] + SAT, DEC. 7 When I wrote about Bacon Moon, back in 2010, I compared them to Guided By Voices. Much like Robert Pollard's drunken pop music wonder-band, Bacon Moon have a knack for finding indelible pop melodies in the middle of lo-fi rattling. Since that write-up, Bacon Moon have
Stage
The "Northwest Mystics" exhibition at Tacoma's B2 Fine Art Gallery is a museum worthy exhibition of works by the Northwest School and the Hood Canal Colony. From the 1920s through the '50s and ‘60s, these were the artists who put the Pacific Northwest in America's art consciousness: Guy Anderson, Elton
Arts
Tacoma native Erik Hanberg is a man who wears many hats. One day, you may see him fulfilling his duties as commissioner of Metro Parks Tacoma; on another, you may spy him petitioning to pay tribute to legendary scribe and fellow Tacoman Frank Herbert, author of the Dune series, by
Recreation
While the sport of paintball was only invented around 1970, it has rapidly grown in popularity and profile since then, as Sgt. Christopher Mooney of the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, can attest. Mooney and fellow Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldier Spc. Lonnie Austin are members of the U.S.
Heroes & Awards
"When you are representing a veteran or even someone still on active-duty, someone who has served their country and done something so amazing, it is truly humbling," stated attorney Alex Frix, who started his career as a public defender in 2006 and currently works in the Thurston County Office of
Arts
Stumped on what to buy the soldier or airman in your life? 2013 was another record year in publishing for military books, from historical to contemporary, and placing an order is just a click away at Amazon or a trip away at Barnes and Noble. Also, most titles are available
Style
While we usually explore locally-owned gems among South Sound business districts, there is one place that one must explore whether they love it or hate it and that is the mall. For this week's spelunking adventure, we play mall rat and knock out some holiday shopping in one fell swoop.
We Recommend
Take a mini vacation south of the border Wednesday. Preposterous? Not at the Sumner Pierce County Library. It's an indoor Mexican Christmas complete with traditional Mexican rituals, food and entertainment. In Mexico, the Christmas season begins Dec. 16 with las posadas, a series of nine nightly processions that recreate Mary
We Recommend
There are some hobbies better kept quiet. You know, the ones you do alone in your basement late at night. And then there are some truly cool hobbies, like model railroads. These should be celebrated and dragged out in the open for all to admire - which is why the
We Recommend
Tacoma native Erik Hanberg is a man who wears many hats. One day, you may see him fulfilling his duties as commissioner of Metro Parks Tacoma; on another, you may spy him petitioning to pay tribute to legendary scribe and fellow Tacoman Frank Herbert, author of the Dune series, by loaning the same
We Recommend
The moths are on to something. Lights are awesome. Especially holiday lights. Make Monday the day you check out Zoolights or Fantasy Lights - both South Sound institutions. Zoolights, the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium's holiday light show and extravaganza, offers a stroll through more than half a million lights,
We Recommend
The genius of David Sedaris' essays lies not in his unrelenting mockery of all who surround him, but in the underlying fact that it is he, not they, to whom fate has been most cruel. Yes, all the people involved with Macy's annual Santaland extravaganza may be insane, selfish or
We Recommend
You are invited to travel through the byways of Eastern Washington, Oregon and Idaho with photographer Dennis DeHart at Galerie Fotoland at The Evergreen State College. DeHart, a TESC graduate who teaches photography at Washington State University, has trained his lens on many of the out-of-the-way places in the Northwest
Online Contests
Home of Calvin Johnson and grunge rock, historic record labels and KAOS FM, The Evergreen State College, and the best crappy beer you can get, Olympia is the perfect place to fill the musical void in your life. With a constant forecast of rain, an abundance of
We Recommend
Just as surely that every December stockings will be hung, malls will become volatile swarms of madness and It's a Wonderful Life will clog television schedules, The Nutcracker will be performed at local venues - including at Mt. Tahoma High school by the Washington Contemporary Ballet. Set to Tchaikovsky's most
News Front
A large part to maintaining this country's national security lies in how well it works with its allies in the Pacific. To that end, I Corps and the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force's (JGSDF) Northern Army are taking part in Yama Sakura 65 at Camp Higashi-Chitose, located on the island of Hokkaido. Operations
