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Lakewood Playhouse has hit a long ball with its first time at bat this season. The community theater’s staging of Agatha Chirstie’s “The Hollow” simply was entertaining from first line to curtain call. I have to admit that I wasn’t particularly looking forward to seeing the show since I had seen
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THE 11TH HOUR: A dire warning about the demise of planet Earth, presented in a deadening format of talking heads and what often looks like stock nature footage. The doc has a lot of valuable information, but fails to convey it in an effective, involving way. Rent Al Gore’s “An
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Billy Bob Thornton is in full “Bad Santa” mode in “Mr. Woodcock,” an uneasy comedy about an adult who returns home to discover his mother is planning to marry the gym teacher who made his high school days a living hell. The thing about Thornton is, he makes no compromises
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The Brave One How many films have there been about victims of violence who turn into avengers? Charles Bronson made five. Kevin Bacon’s “Death Sentence” was released two weeks ago. How are we supposed to respond to them? When Bronson’s kill count got above 50, why didn’t the scales of justice
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Despite the image Bobble Tiki has created for himself with his writing in the Weekly Volcano and despite the rather impressive number of friends Bobble Tiki has wracked up on Myspace, believe it or not Bobble Tiki isn’t always a social butterfly. Sometimes when Bobble Tiki’s weekend rolls around, all
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Far too much of the time in life having fun gets put on a back burner in favor of “more important” things — like money, jobs, responsibilities, and even rigid ideals. Screw that noise. No matter how noble your cause, if you’re not having fun in this world, what’s the point? Call
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While Rich Wetzel’s third release The Mayn Thing strengthens the trumpeter’s links with the big band legacies of Stan Kenton, Woody Herman and Don Ellis, it declares in no uncertain terms that his “mayn” man is still the legendary screech king, Maynard Ferguson. Which means plenty of brass-plated pyrotechnics. It
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Many moons ago, when I still worked the door at Jazzbones and Jason MacKinnon still owned the joint, the two of us got into a good natured argument. Or rather, MacKinnon got into a good natured argument with me, and I found myself along for the ride. If you know
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Thursday, Sept. 13 SWAMPABILLY junkyard jane As the saying goes, “Time flies when you’re having fun,” and for Junkyard Jane it’s been a barrel of monkeys for the past 10 years as Billy Stoops and Leanne Trevalyan have been hosts to a non-stop party. Junkyard Jane was formed in 1997out of stragglers
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on sale now This Providence, Search/Rescue, The Real You, Chris Wise Seattle. Sept. 21 (all ages) 7:30 pm. $10-$12 (El Corazon, TW). Mark Pickerel and His Playing Hands Seattle. Sept. 27 7 pm. $10 (The Showbox, TM). Keali’I Reichel Tacoma. Sept. 29 8:30 pm. $25-$55 (Emerald Queen Casino, TM). Bill Mays, The Inventions Trio
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Sugar skulls are candy concoctions given as gifts to the living and deceased during the Mexican holiday Dias De Los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. Typically, sugar skulls are made of a sugar paste that’s been pressed into a ceramic mold — as the name implies. However, sometimes they’re
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Charlie McManus is a bad ass, plain and simple. Sure, he uses locally grown produce to make food the Dalai Llama would put down with ease. And some macho moron might quip at his general avoidance of alcoholic beverages. But trust me. He’s a bad ass. Take his work at
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Still patio weather The Weekly Volcano loves to toast the YMCA workout classes that run up and down 15th Street, doing their little jumping jacks, from the Sea Grill’s deck with a happy hour $2 off gin and tonic. That’s right — wells are $2 off. Bar menu is loaded with
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After Labor Day Weekend, I felt all itchy and unkempt and disjointed like nothing really fit and nothing made sense and everything had this bitter washed-out pallor and sticky oily residue. Then my car broke down in front of Applebee’s at the Lakewood Towne Center, and once again, booze was
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At a loss to decide among the performance choices lined up at the Tacoma’s Broadway Center and Olympia’s Washington Center? Here’s a selection of highlights from what’s in store to make it even harder to decide: Broadway Center for the Performing Arts Cirqueworks Birdhouse Factory I’m still not sure what it is, but
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Tacoma City Council Position 8 candidates Marilyn Strickland and David Curry don’t get invited to talk about the arts much. Arts get about as much play as animal rights and shoreline development during election season. In Tacoma, down-to-earth issues such as affordable housing, economic development, neighborhood growth, administrative reform and
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From the outside, the distinctive, sturdy and simple shape of the house — generally low-pitched roof with deep eaves embellished with exposed rafters or decorative brackets, front porch screaming for a low-slung Adirondack chair, and simple double-hung windows — may clue you in to the style of the home. On the
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The YMCA of Tacoma/Pierce County offers Zumba classes at all its branches. The aerobics class serves up dance with a generous topping of salsa, adding in merengue, cumbia, calypso, and reggaeton. Class originator Beto Perez, choreographer for the likes of Shakira, created the class to combine fun moves that maximize
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You say it’s my birthday I signed up for Dame Lola’s mailing list years ago when the shop first opened and have been receiving postcards telling me of their events and sales ever since. A big plus to signing up, which may seem insignificant, is the birthday discount you get during
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With a slogan like “Exciting. Versatile. Handmade,” you better believe Marilyn LoSavio, owner and designer of Materialization, has been sewing for about 40 years. She describes her Materialization line as “Ready-to-Wear, made out of exciting, high quality fabrics … eye-catching, but comfortable clothing.” Marilyn’s inspirations come from the fabrics themselves,
