BREAKING >>>

Usually on a Tuesday afternoon, with the Volcano's print deadline looming, I wouldn't be making time for a Spew blog post.

But gold like this only arrives in your inbox every so often. When it does, it's best to pounce.

Straight from MultiCare Media Relations Coordinator Cole Cosgrove:

World's Youngest Person Born

TACOMA, Wash. -- The youngest person on Earth was born Sunday morning at MultiCare Tacoma General Hospital.

Immediately upon entering this world, Grayson Dale Burlingame held the prestigious title of "World's Youngest Person" for approximately 4.2 seconds - until an even younger person was born somewhere else on this planet. On average, a baby is born every 4.2 seconds, according to world population statistics.

In 2011 at Tacoma General Hospital, 3,048 newborns claimed the title of "World's Youngest Person," at least for a few seconds. 

Grayson, who weighed 7 pounds, 7 ounces, was born to Tacoma residents Lisa Patterson Burlingame and her husband Jeff Burlingame, who beamed with pride over their son's accomplishment at such a young age. The parents attribute their son's remarkable youthfulness to diet, avoiding cigarettes, and the fact that he just now emerged from the womb.

Grayson himself didn't have the words to describe what it feels like to be so young. During the nearly 5 seconds that he reigned as the "World's Youngest Person," Grayson spent most of that time adjusting to the light while staring lovingly at his parents

The world's oldest person, Besse Cooper of Monroe, Georgia, couldn't be reached for comment. She was born Aug. 26, 1896 - a date when she briefly held the title of "World's Youngest Person."

###

Cosgrove says he's always wanted to do such a press release, calling it a "light-hearted counterbalance to the recurring ‘news' story ‘World's Oldest Person Dies.'"

I just call it pure brilliance.

TUESDAY, FEB. 7, 2012 >>>

1. Bring your love of the bagpipes out of the closet and into full view today when Dick Hensold, billed as "one of America's finest traditional bagpipers," drops in on Tacoma for a performance brought to us by the Old Town Music Society and Puget Sound Revels. Dabbling in Northumbrian smallpipes, reel pipes, seljefloyte, sackpipa and piborn according to promotion - in traditional and historical styles including Cape Breton, early Scottish, Northumbrian, Scandinavian, Irish and medieval - Hensold seems certain to blow the roof off the joint.

2. Tonight at Varsity Grill join the United Way of Pierce County's Project:U for a fundraiser and food drive event. The Varsity Grill will donate 20-percent of all sales proceeds to the United Way of Pierce County cause, and canned food donations will be collected for area F.I.S.H. food banks.

3. Saint Martin's University in Lacey will celebrate the 200^th birthday of Charles Dickens today with what's described as "a marathon reading of the renowned author's works." According to hype, Saint Martin's English Department and the English honor society Sigma Tau Delta will host the event from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Harned Hall. Expect excerpts from Great Expectations, A Christmas Carol, A Tale of Two Cities and more.

4. Tuesday means it's time for another Ha Ha Tuesday at Jazzbones, a night of comedy hosted by the venerable Ralph Porter. After the comedy, stick around for Jazzbones' hot weeknight DJ action.

5. It's open mic night at Tugboat Annie's in Olympia. Bring your geetar or your best songs and show the world what you've got (and by "world" we mean the collection of Thurston County folks on hand at the favorite local watering hole).

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music and DJs tonight

SATURDAY, FEB. 4, 2012 >>>

1. A wonderful therapeutic effect happens when people and horses connect. The same can be said when people connect with comedians. Although, sometimes the comedians make fun of your mother. Anyway, the folks at Changing Rein in Graham, where self-discovery and healing happens through working with and riding horses, hosts a fundraiser at 5 p.m. at the Grit City Comedy Club in Tacoma. Tacoma comedian and entertainer Mike Agostini headlines the benefit show.

2. Zumba officially began in 2001, combining hip-shaking Latin-inspired dance moves and aerobics. Now in more than 125 countries, it has a fan base that is almost cult-like in their devotion. If you want to see the phenomenon for yourself, Zumba big-wig Kass Martin will drop in on Tacoma's Studio 138 at 10 a.m. for two hours of craziness.

3. Tacoma author Marissa Meyer will discuss and sign her book Cinder at 2 p.m. inside the Wheelock Library. Come listen to what happens when a cyborg girl finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle.

4. Playwright August Wilson is best known for his Pittsburgh Cycle - a series of 10 plays each set in a different decade recalling the struggles and comedies of the African American experience in the 20th Century. That's what happens when you win two Pulitzer Prizes for Drama for something. At 3 p.m., the Broadway Center, Northwest Playwrights Alliance and hosting venue Washington State History Museum bring us Two Trains Running, part of Wilson's Pittsburgh Cycle recalling Civil Rights Era Pittsburgh in 1969. Hype on the Broadway Center website describes the play, saying "In spite of the political and social change that sweeps through the nation, many of the characters are too cynical and down-trodden to experience hope for the future or even rage for the ongoing tragedies."

5. I Defy, CFA, Attitude Adjustment, Konkhra and Contrast The Water will rock Hell's Kitchen beginning at 9 p.m.

PLUS: Scrapartsmusic show details in our Weekend Hustle

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music and DJs tonight

LINK: Local happy hours

THURSDAY, FEB. 2, 2012 >>>

1. Tacoma figurative painter and editorial cartoonist Jeremy Gregory has taken his dark sense of humor to the world of puppetry. We don't need to tell you that since you recognized his talent on the Halloween and Christmas covers of the Weekly Volcano. Gregory will showcase his original puppets made from repurposed materials from 4:30-7:30 p.m. at the artist reception of his Tiny Circles show at Brooks Dental Studio at 732 Broadway in downtown Tacoma.

2. Bluegrass music was born in the '40s from the fast fingers of mandolin player Bill Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys, and from there quickly took its place as a cornerstone of American music. As an offshoot of country, it's often associated with the South, but Tacomans who love the twang of the banjo or tight climb of the mandolin need look no further than the next three days at the Mandolin Cafe. The neighborhood gathering spot will host the Rhythm and Roots Weekend kicking off with a good ol' fashion bluegrass jam tonight from 6-8 p.m. Friday and Saturday nights are loaded with local talent; click here for details.

3. The 10th anniversary of the Sister Cities International Film Festival opens at 6:15 p.m. at Tacoma's Blue Mouse Theater with 200 Pound Beauty from Gunsan, South Korea - a sister city of Tacoma since 1978. According to promotion for 200 Pound Beauty, Hanna is a famous Korean pop singer who also suffers from poor self-esteem. In the film, Hanna "makes the decision of a lifetime to have full-body plastic surgery." More information on the Sister Cities International Film Fest can be found at sistercityfilmfest.org.

4. Ah, Ricky J's in Puyallup. It's a nice family restaurant. They have a bunch of karaoke nights. And they serve coconut shrimp. But on Thursday nights Alan Smith brings in national-touring comics for big shows at 8 p.m. We're talking $15 at the door big shows. Tonight, Gabriel Rutledge and friends will be in the house.

5. Oh, the plight of the fashionable Tacoma basshead. All dolled up with a $125 Soma record bag and no place to go. No record shop counter to trade esoteric labels by, no listening booths to thoughtfully nod bleached heads at. Boo hoo - nowhere to share your chic catalogue number trivia. Well, at least you have tonight at the new Deltan Club. DJs Omarvelous, Bada$$ Paul Wheeler, Jess E Bomb, Electro and guests will spin at "Beat Fetish!" beginning at 10 p.m. Ah, just a techstep away.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music and DJs tonight

LINK: Local happy hours

TUESDAY, JAN. 31, 2012 >>>

1. Filmmaker Jan Hrebejk tackles the touchy subject of the collaboration between Czech citizens and their former Communist government with a light, ironic touch in Kawasaki's Rose, the official Czech nominee for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2011 Academy Awards. The Grand Cinema screens the flick at 1:15 and 6 p.m. as part of its thought-provoking film series on Tuesdays.

2. Chef William and Shannon Mueller, the talent behind Dinner Solutions and Babblin' Babs Bistro, will open up the Parisian-style bistro Secret today for lunch in the back of Babs. With small tables for two, no electronic devices allowed and reservations only (253.761.9099), the Muellers hope you will leave the world behind and savor several courses over good conversation. Read the full story here.

3. Has the commercialization of "traditional" Andean animals like the Guinea Pig for nouveau cuisine or social protest against extractive industries in Latin American been eating away at you? Ease your mind. Professors Maria Elena Garcia (Anthropology; History of Ideas) and Jose Antonio Lucero (International Relations; Latin American and Caribbean Studies) from the University of Washington, Seattle will give a public talk on new trends in the shape and focus of local and transnational indigenous politics in Latin America at 4:30 p.m. inside the Murray Boardroom at the Wheelock Student Center on the University of Puget Sound campus. They will make sense of it all.

4. The Doors tribute band The American Night hits the Red Wind Casino's stage at 8 p.m. Strange days have found us.

5. Our state's credit outlook, Republican presidential race, kitten halftime show ... Let's face it, we could all use a good laugh. So do yourself a favor and enjoy a little levity courtesy of Brett J at 8 p.m. as part of Jazzbones's Ha Ha Tuesdays night.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music and DJs tonight

LINK: Local happy hours

THURSDAY, JAN. 26, 2012 >>>

1. Tacoma Community College's Artist & Lecture series continues Thursday with Robert Manning, PhD - billed in pre-event hype as a research professor and founding director of the Center for Consumer Financial Services, and "a specialist in the deregulation of household debt, consumer finance, economic development, immigration and globalization." Manning will be in Tacoma at TCC to talk about all of this, and likely his book, Credit Card Nation: America's Dangerous Addiction to Credit. Best of all: it's free and open to the public. Considering how much you put on the Discover Card during the holidays, free events are a good thing.

2. Dukesbay Productions presents its first monthly staged reading as part of the 2012 Play Reading Series. The series is made up of the work of Puget Sound-area playwrights, with tonight's focusing on the work of Roger Iverson. The action goes down at Trinity Presbyterian Church Fellowship hall and it's free.

3. The Black Swans, in Olympia tonight for a show at the Guest House, is not the type of band that lifts you up with bouncy, hopeful energy. The Black Swans don't dabble in sunshine pop or carefree smiles without caveats. What the Black Swans do deal in - led by the singer Jerry Decicca - is lonesome and morose reality, achieving a package weighted with emotion and sparse comfort. It's hipster country with a healthy splash of despair, and that's something today's tastemakers have been able to get behind. Pitchfork gave the Black Swans' latest record, Don't Blame the Stars, a solid 7.5, while Paste weighed in on the LP with an 8.4. But beyond any of these contemporary accolades, what makes the Black Swans worth your attention is the band's diligence in crating songs that often border on the morose, while managing to avoid coming off like yet another act tugging at heartstrings simply for career gain.

4. Think you were bummed when Dave Chappelle decided he didn't want to do his hilarious-ass TV show anymore? Think you cried for days? Think you wondered what to do with your "I'm Rick James, bitch!" coffee mug? Think how comedian, writer and Chappelle's Show co-creator Neal Brennan felt. You can reminisce together tonight at the Tacoma Comedy Club when Brennan brings his stand-up act to town. Or you could just laugh at Brennan's jokes. Either way. Brennan will be at the Tacoma Comedy Club all weekend.

5. Get down with country dance lessons tonight at Big Whisky Saloon in downtown Tacoma. Basic lessons kick off at 7:30 p.m., with intermediate and advanced lessons at 8:15 p.m.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music and DJs tonight

THURSDAY, JAN. 19, 2012>>>

1. UPDATE: This show has been canceled. If Paul Westerberg was a comedian, he would probably sound a lot like Matt Davis. Issuing a comedic stance equal parts brazen honesty and smarmy sarcasm, Davis's brand of comedy has earned the comic high awards, big audiences and television appearances. Believing nothing is 'off-limits' his material ranges from the taboo and unspoken to the simple facets and truths of everyday life all spun together by an off track train of thought at full steam ahead. Catch Davis with Alex Knoll and Rich Shultis at 7:30 p.m. for the Comedy in the Box show inside the Washington Center. Warning: If you are wearing retro clothing, Davis will make fun of you.

2. There are a lot of artist-made postcards in the Wish You Were Here postcard exhibit at the Kenneth J. Minnaert Center for the Arts Gallery at South Puget Sound Community College, which runs from noon to 4 p.m. today. More than 75 local and regional artists submitted more than 250 works. The postcards include paintings, prints, photography, drawing, ceramics, sculpture and mixed media. Read Weekly Volcano visual arts critic Alec Clayton's review of the show here.

3. Tonight during Third Thursday Artslip the Brick House Gallery will host Self Portraits: Past to Present, a show of 18 artists exhibiting self portraits in variou sstyles - from classically literal to wildly conceptual. See how they see themselves from 5-9 p.m.

4. UPDATE: Tonight's recpetion has been postponed for a week. Debuting today with a special opening reception from 6-9 p.m., Dawn of 2012 at Fulcrum Gallery is a collection of Tacoma artists ready to break out - on the cusp and ready for someone to brightly shine a light on their work. That's exactly what Fulcrum, and proprietor Oliver Dorris, plans to do. Featuring the work of Julian Pena, Kelsi Finney, Gabriel Brown, Kirsten Marie Pisto, Meghan Mitchell and Branden Urban, Fulcrum says to expect of the show, "a spectrum of graphic forms, surrealistic imagery and repurposed material."

5. Swing dancing's Africanist cousin, blues dancing, hits the Olympia Eagles Ballroom in the form of OlyBlues every Thursday at 9 p.m. Blues dancing derives from the so-called "Black vernacular" of Southern dance styles and includes such moves as the Lindy and the irresistibly named "Funky Butt." Worst-case scenario: you have two left feet but get to listen to Nina Simone.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music and DJs tonight

LINK: This week's freebies

THURSDAY, JAN. 12, 2012 >>>

1. Dick Dale created the surf guitar sound. This is a statement that is irrefutable (a rare commodity in music). As it's been documented and retold, Dick Dale began by playing the drums and then transferred this percussive quality to the electric guitar - the result being the breakneck strumming and picking that has become irrevocably associated with surf guitar. As a style, surf guitar as endured and informed generations of guitarists, from heavy metal to garage rock and every rock-minded station in between. Tonight Dale plays Hell's Kitchen with Girl Trouble, the Coloffs and Graceland 5.

2. Olympia's Christian Mistress, purveyors of old school metal of the purest and most potent kind, will release their sophomore LP, Possession, on Relapse Records Feb. 28. Expect it to be scorching, and like a literal flashback to the glorious 1980s. Anchored by the darkly feminine vocals of Christine Davis, Christian Mistress has built a name on authentic riffage and plodding power chords. A listen to "Haunted Hunted," the first available song from Possession, indicates more of the same is on its ways to the surely-thankful, devil-horn waving masses. Presented by Owl Lodge, catch the band at the Capitol Theater Backstage with Thou, The Body and Dreamdecay next week. Prepare to head bang. Tonight, Christian Mistress will rock the hell out of the Capitol Theater Backstage.

3. Comedian Chris Mata performs at the Tacoma Comedy Club. The show starts at 8 p.m. and will cost you $15 to get into.

4. Ian Moore will be across the bridge at Morso Wine Bar in Gig Harbor- promising to be a show not to miss.

5. As has become tradition, one of the South Sound's favorite blues musicians, Jerry Miller, will be in Spanaway tonight for Taco Thursday at Uncle Sam's American Bar and Grill.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music and DJs in the South Sound

TUESDAY, JAN. 10, 2012 >>>

1. The Swiss Pub and science are synonymous. OK, so maybe they're not quite synonymous, but they do go together quite well -the monthly "Tacoma Science Café" at the Swiss proves it. Today, join the University of Puget Sound's Rand Worland, Ph.D. as he delves into "The Physics of Music: Using Light to Study Sound." As hype of the free event reminds us, music has vibration at its root. Worland will help attendees, "discover how he uses lasers to produce images of these vibrations and how differences in vibrations alter how we perceive sounds. The Tacoma Science Café kicks off at 6:30 p.m.

2. Get your Tuesday night on with the Joe Faker Band and Allen Alto at O'Callahan's Pub & Grill in Key Peninsula. If the music, which starts at 7 p.m., doesn't float your boat, just play pull-tabs. There's no cover.

3. Get your groove on tonight in Parkland. DJ Adam Ant spins during "Twisted Tuesday" at Lady Luck Cowgirl Up, offering Top 40 action and karaoke. The good times start at 9 p.m. Or, if you're looking for something more, peruse the Volcano's extensive live local music listings here.

4. Tacoma's Backstage Bar & Grill has stormed onto the scene - quickly becoming this town's go-to location for nostalgic drunken fun and devil horns. Tonight witness the awesomeness of a "DJ & Drummer Duo Battle," featuring DJ Switch and Chris Dahl. Magic starts at 9:30 p.m.

5. The Royal Lounge in Olympia offers a Comedy Lounge night every Tuesday, featuring an open-mic from 9-9:30 p.m. and headlining comics from 9:30 - 11 p.m.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music and DJs in the South Sound

MID-SEASON ANNOUNCEMENT >>>

After "They actually pay you for writing this?" and "How can one writing team be so handsome?", the question most asked of Spew is, "Are there any new shows coming our way?"

Why, yes there is. The Broadway Center reminds us it added six shows to its current season. Let's take a look:

Sweet & Spicy: A Valentine's Day Burlesque     
Tuesday, Feb. 14, 7:30 p.m., Theatre on the Square and Studio II
Tickets: $40 - 21+ only

Broadway Center says: A decadent dessert buffet, wine, music and dancing!  Then for the show, see two of the Northwest's best burlesque troupes - Gritty City Sirens and Tush!

Peter Frampton: Frampton Comes Alive! 35 Tour    
Friday, March 23, 7:30 p.m., Pantages Theater
Tickets: $59-$119
Broadway Center says: This epic show features a complete performance of Frampton Comes Alive! with other highlights from his Grammy award-winning instrumental album, Fingerprints.

Annie, Jr.                                                               
Saturday, March 31, 1 and 5 p.m., Theatre on the Square
Tickets: $16.50
Broadway Center says: Local students, age 6-18, have been cast for the Winter Musical session and will work for three months honing their skills to present this lovely musical about never giving up hope.

Spring Dance Extravaganza
Friday, April 20 and Saturday, April 21 7:30 p.m., Sunday, April 22 3 p.m., Theatre on the Square
Tickets: $24
Broadway Center says: Three top South Sound choreographers present original and dynamic dance that spans traditional and contemporary styles in a remarkable showcase.

The Best of Seattle International Comedy Competition
Saturday, April 21, 7:30 p.m., Pantages Theater
Tickets: $29-$42
Broadway Center says: Featuring past winners and finalists of Seattle International Comedy Competition - guaranteed laughs!

On Stage Together: An Acoustic Evening with Mary Chapin Carpenter & Shawn Colvin
Saturday, May 12, 7:30 p.m., Pantages Theater
Tickets: $39-$66
Broadway Center Says: Longtime friends come together for a special evening of music and song.  Sharing the stage in an intimate evening of storyt3elling and music, their exquisite voices and expert guitar styling blend together in perfect harmony.

For ticket information, click here.