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What I’m about to say in today’s column could get me fired. No, you stupid heads, not from this job. It’s also not from my routine day job. I’m about to disclose some information about a league that I’m in, and disclosure of that information could get me kicked out, or it’ll be
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Before there were cities, governments or tacos, ancient people endeavored to sculpt natural substances into meaningful forms — monoliths to honor the seasons, shaped mounds of earth to celebrate ancient gods. Since then, environmental sculpture has become an ever-mutating pursuit, employing a vast, varied and growing variety of media —
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Saturday morning I waited outside of One Heart Café with a bunch of artists from the gallery formerly known as a.o.c., hoping someone would come and let us in. There was supposed to be a meeting over coffee of these artists who are taking over the management of the gallery.
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Monday night I properly said good riddance to 2007 at First Night and in style. Apparently all the other Weekly Volcano scribes had plans already, so I was asked to emcee. That’s right, baby, Vee-Eye-Pee (VIP). To me, this was an honor. Not only did I get to represent this
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You hear it all the time: “There’s strength in numbers.” Or “the more the merrier.” Usually I agree. But in the case of A Pack of Wolves — who will play Le Voyeur in Olympia Saturday, Jan. 5 — the adages don’t hold up. Emanating from Northern California, A Pack of Wolves,
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It’s official. It’s winter, which means five months of trying to make your fave hooded sweatshirt look fashionable. But who’s to say you can’t wear something irresistibly saucy underneath? I mean, what do the panties you’re wearing right now say about you? Emotionally unavailable? Unable to separate whites from colors?
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What I observed New Year’s Eve at the packed El Toro in downtown Tacoma was that drinking in a group can be a highly dangerous undertaking. First, as each member of the League of Liberal Libations arrived, there was an evaluation process of his or her appearance. People typically want
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Happy New Year to all! Of course I am assuming it will be. I’m writing this on New Year’s Eve while out of town and probably the only person in Tacoma not going to First Night. Large groups of non-drinking people scare me, so I avoid them by hiding in
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Electronic music has gone through a major revival in 2007. Artists like Justice, MSTRKRFT, Digitalism, Boys Noize, and Crystal Castles have made electronic mainstream again with crossover hits and remixes. However, as new and fresh as these groups sound, they are almost all paying homage to Daft Punk. It’s fitting
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I was trying to get to I Love Bento, because it was a rainy, cold night that required a fast infusion of green tea, warm miso soup and some raw fish. Maybe some sake, too. And definitely a hit of wasabi. Since I firmly believe that a good winter funk
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You’ve driven by so many times that the large building has ceased to exist. You know it’s there, but it no longer registers. A large neon sign reads “Spaghetti Dinner” or “Prime Rib Special.” The parking lot is mysteriously and consistently half full or better. Captain Nemo’s in University Place
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Some artists wallow in their past accomplishments while others flourish and continually push their creativity. It’s a gamble, and the results are always chancy when changing direction from a proven formula. Northwest singer/songwriter Carrie Akre has reinvented her sound on more than one occasion, and the appraisal has been a
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I had a soft spot for the movie “The NeverEnding Story” when it played in theaters in 1984. I had just returned from a three-year tour in South Korea and saw the film time and again that summer and fall as we settled into our new duty station. I found it
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Learning how to control voltage changed my life,” says sonic alchemist Daniel Farrell. Farrell, also known as Myello Electronics, is a sound artist — and a whole lot more. He sculpts waveforms, tones and resonances like Pollack sculpted splattered paint into nearly perfect geometric forms. While he considers himself a
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“Jersey Boys” This Broadway hit is on tour through the nation and portrays the story of early days of Frankie Valli, Bob Gaudio, Tommy DeVito and Nick Massi. This is the story of how a group of blue collar boys from the wrong side of the tracks became one of the
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THE RV Bigger is better There’s nothing more American than a recreational vehicle. Here’s a car that’s literally as big as a house, equipped to the nines with every sort of modern amenity you can think of, a brazen gas-guzzler ready to tear giant swaths of land apart, highway by scenic highway.
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Was 2007 a good year for readers? It seems so, according to local bookseller sweet pea Flaherty. Flaherty (whose first name, sweet pea, is written in lower case letters) has been selling books at King’s Books, 218 St. Helens Avenue, for about 4 years and previously worked for one of
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Slap on your body Trojan and lube up the Purell, we’re jumping head-first into South Puget Sound’s official list of unofficial dive bars. Who made up this official list? Me. Who’s going to risk life and limb to explore and grade the insides of these bars? Me. Who will do
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With a dual guitar assault, rambunctious rhythms, and fever pitched vocals, the Shackeltons take the punk attitude of the Clash and combine it with shades of garage, grunge, and hard-core for a sound which is familiar and fresh at the same time. The Chambersburg, Penn., quintet of Mark Redding (vocals),
