DON'T BE LIKE BARRY >>>

Everyone likes a good party. Or almost everyone does. We've got this friend, Barry, who doesn't like parties AT ALL. He's adamant about it. But he's also in the minority. That's why we feel more than comfortable saying next Thursday's Best of Olympia 2012 Party at the 4th Avenue Tavern is going to be, for all intents and purposes, "off da hook." Music from Scott Taylor and the Fond Farewells and headliners Glass Elevator, $2 Oly draft all night long, a huge raffle, Olympia trivia, a large percentage of the Volcano's esteemed staff in one spot (and available for mass ridicule), and the debut of the Volcano's Best of Olympia 2012.

What else could you want?

Probably nothing we can deliver.

What we can deliver is all the aforementioned goodness for free - which should hopefully be enough to please everyone ... except Barry.

[4th Avenue Tavern, starts at 6 p.m., free, with Glass Elevator, Scott Taylor and the Fond Farewells, 210 Fourth Ave. E, Olympia, 360.786.1444]

LINK: Read the Best of Olympia 2011 issue

THING: Mom's Buttery Soft Toffee

AKA: Heaven's toffee

I just: Named it that

Because: This toffee

Proves: There is a God

Toffee made by: Momi Bowles

Since: 2009

Only: Seasonally

Beginning: September

Ending: February

You're going to hate me. I just know it. That is, if you don't already hate me for the many various reasons one might develop a disliking for my abrasive and often tacky charm.

I've known of Momi Bowles and her UH-MAZE-ING handmade toffee - which goes by the name Mom's Buttery Soft Toffee - since 2010. I'm sorry to just now be telling you about it.

I'm also sorry to tell you that Bowles' toffee-making season ends at the end of February.

I swear, I haven't been trying to keep this toffee secret all to myself. It's more of a keen example of my extreme laziness. Read my full feature on the toffee here.

BE A PART OF THE HOOPLA >>>

Contemplate if you will - and as you most likely have - your past Oscar experiences. Lonely. Nachos with not enough cheese. Asleep on the couch before the Best Original Screenplay winners are named.

Wake up, little starlet! You can endure the four-hour show by exchanging snarky comments with your fellow film enthusiasts in a movie theater environment. The Grand Cinema hosts an Academy Awards Party Sunday, Feb. 26 at the Theatre on the Square in downtown Tacoma.  The doors open at 4 p.m. for the 5 p.m. preshow telecast of nominees walking down the red carpet, in which otherwise talented people such as Hillary Swank and Leonardo DiCaprio engage in inane chatter with an inane interviewer.

Bobble Tiki is here to tell you it's going to be on helluva party. For $25 ($20 for Grand members), attendees receive dinner by Maxwell's Restaurant, dessert by Corina Bakery, and several chances to win raffle prizes throughout the evening. By correctly guessing the most Oscar winners, you can win the coveted Golden Ticket, which allows you free movies at the Grand for an entire year.

Finally, there's something positive about the Academy Awards. Bobble Tiki watches the ceremony now to amuse himself with how wonderfully predictable the Academy is - and also to see what ridiculous thing Helena Bonham Carter will wear this year, or what stupid thing Steven Seagal will do. (Bobble Tiki always thought an Exit Wound was that numb feeling in his butt after he leaves a Seagal movie.)

For those who treat Oscar night as another excuse to dress up, the Weekly Volcano promises more than $100 worth of gift certificates for best costume. Yup, the Weekly Volcano is sponsoring the costume contest.

Bobble Tiki hopes Steven Seagal attends this year's Academy Awards. Bobble Tiki wants one cutaway shot of Seagal, brooding in the back corner of the upper mezzanine, eating a box of JuJuBees and trying to see over Carrot Top's hair. It'd be the crowning touch on the world's most anticipated show. 

[Theatre on the Square, Sunday, Feb. 26, doors at 4 p.m., $20-$25 includes dinner, dessert, cash bar, 915 Broadway, downtown Tacoma, buy tickets here]

NOSH LEAGUE IN THE HOUSE >>>

Simple beer math: courtesy of the Weekly Volcano's Nosh league: winter is cold and alcohol makes you warm, so by way of booze logic, the Nosh League beer tasting Thursday at the Ale House is equivalent to the warmest snuggle-buddy in all the land!

A representative from Deschutes, New Belgium, Alaskan, American, Mac & Jack's and Widmer Brothers brewing companies will join the Nosh League Thursday to pour two beers each:

• Deschutes Hop Henge and Abyss
• New Belgium Dig and Cocoa Mole
• Alaskan Black IPA and Barley Wine
• American Breakaway and Brown
• M&J's Serengeti and Cascadian Dark Ale
• Widmer Rotator Spiced IPA and Brrrbon

Seriously.

For a mere $15, you will 12 receive healthy samples while noshing on appetizers and raking in the raffle prizes.

RSVP to Thursday's tasting here.

FOR A GREAT CAUSE >>>

A gaggle of 20- and 30-somethings will throw down - and maybe throw up (unlikely) - on behalf of United Way Pierce County tomorrow night. The tenderhearted tipplers known as Project: U will takeover the Varsity Grill as a fundraiser and food drive for United Way.

The Varsity Grill has generously agreed to donate 20 percent of all sales proceeds from the evening to United Way in the fight to improve the lives of all in Pierce County.

Although Project: U is driven by 20- and 30-somethings, you can certainly join the fun if your main project is getting your old bones to move.

In addition to the donated sales, Project: U is collecting canned food donations that will be donated to the F.I.S.H. food banks in Pierce County.

Visit www.facebook.com/UWPCprojectu for more information. 

[Varsity Grill, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 5:30-9 p.m., no cover, 1114 Broadway, Tacoma, 253.627.1229]

Fight homelessness

Homelessness and access to affordable housing is a critical issue for our community.  In 2010 - during a 24 hour annual "count" - 1,807 persons were counted as homeless. However, it is estimated that four to five times more people will be homeless during any year than can be counted on any given night. 

To donate money to United Way's effort to provide affordable housing to those in need, text HOUSE to 20222 and donate $10 to provide housing for all.

For more information on United Way's housing programs, click here.

GET YOUR GAME FACE ON >>>

It's Super Bowl Sunday, possums, and the Weekly Volcano has to confess to feeling a tad bipolar about the whole thing: glad to see the Pats in it again and ready to don our ''Mrs. Brady" T-shirt, but also bored to distraction at the thought of subjecting ourselves to a four-hour advertising blitz interrupted by a few minutes of pro football.

Weekly Volcano editor Matt Driscoll offers 11 tips for certain Super Bowl XLVI success here.

At The Mix's Super Bowl Party, the Weekly Volcano can at least whoop it up with some of the craziest, gayest fans in Tacoma ... and maybe win a trip to Vegas. For every drink you purchase during The Mix's Super Bowl Party, you'll receive a raffle ticket in the Vegas drawing, as well as an opportunity to win four of five other big prizes. The Triangle District watering hole will serve $5 Jack shots, $5 Bloody Marys and free food during the game. Folks are encouraged to bring food, too.

Seeing as the Weekly Volcano won't be eligible for the Vegas trip or other prizes if we stay at home, we will just have to defy all expectations that our couch or dog might maintain.

[The Mix, 2 p.m., 635 Saint Helens Ave., Tacoma, 253.383.4327]

Post your party below!

LINK: Super Bowl Sunday eating in Tacoma

LINK: Super Bowl at the Liberty Theater

HERE WE GO AGAIN >>>

A facelift and another name change are scheduled for the revolving door at 728 Pacific Ave. Currently Club Kokonut operates out of the space, which sits across the street from The Office Bar and Grill in downtown Tacoma. Club In General Manager Suzie Gaultier reports under building owner Thomas O'Connor's LLC Good Old Dog, Club Kokonut will become Club In - not INNightclub as its Facebook reads.

"The name on Facebook is wrong. I had to spell it differently to get a page," explains Gaultier regarding the name confusion.

As you may recall, the gay-friendly club On the Rocks operated out of the space before it briefly became Club Kokonut in the summer of 2008, followed by the Surreal Ultra Lounge in April 2010. At the end of last year, Club Kokonut re-opened in the space.

"There was too much drama," says Gaultier of Surreal.

A liquor license has been applied for under Good Old Dog LLC. The business is currently open and will see an interior overhaul up until the grand opening party Saturday, March 3 when it will officially launch as Club In.

"We are changing everything. We'll have a very basic menu, it'll be happy hour food - sliders, honey hot wings, simple foods we all enjoy," says Gaultier. "Most clubs do a lot of shots. I want to do more martinis and special cocktails - more classy stuff."

As for the music, anticipate DJs and maybe a few surprises.

"I'm pretty open to music, you never know what I might have," explains Gaultier. "It will be a mix of everything: Top 40 mash-ups on the weekends, dubstep and electro during the week, as well as live hip-hop shows."

A dress code will be enforced on Friday and Saturday.

Gaultier says she wants to bring the missing piece to Tacoma.

"People from Tacoma drive to Seattle, get drunk and party then drive home. You want your community to keep their money, not spend it in Seattle."

She admits she's still trying to figure out just what Tacoma needs in order to stay put.

She also vows she'll connect with the community by "throwing events and helping neighboring businesses to discover each other."

Above all she wants patrons to "be happy and comfortable" at Club In.

Good call.

[Club Kokonut, 728 Pacific Ave., Tacoma]

WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

Puyallup City Council: A moment of silence before discussing daffodils? (News Tribune)

We're Number 15!: Tacoma is overpriced, according to Forbes magazine. (Tacoma KOMO)

Olympia Coffee Roasting: They know what they're doing. (The Olympian)

Hacked While Discussing Hacking: Anonymous releases what it says is a recording of a phone call between the FBI and UK police discussing their efforts against hacking. (BBC)

National Jobless Rate: Employers added 243,000 jobs in January, higher than anticipated. Hiring numbers for 2011 were also revised, with 180,000 more jobs added than originally thought. (CNN)

Football Anger: Egyptian protesters clash with security forces for a second day in Cairo, as anger over the deaths of dozens of football fans threatens political unrest. (BBC)

Sasquatch! 2012: The lineup has been announced. (KEXP)

Rock Star TV: Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl and comedian Dana Gould are working on a TV show that would revolve around a rock band on the verge of stardom and breaking up. (The Hollywood Reporter)

It is its Density: Will Back To The Future become the latest film to get a Broadway stage production? (Deadline)

Unluckiest Person Ever?: Entire town wins lottery, except for one man. (Time)

Screw The X Games: Until you've strapped an ironing board to your back and climbed a 14er to iron the fuck out of a dress shirt, you haven't lived. (BuzzFeed)

To Cap Off A Slow News Morning

THING: Best pizza ever

Historically: Speaking

Place: The Cloverleaf World Famous Pizza

Most popular pizza: Monster

Number of Monster pizzas sold: 9,398

Total number of pizzas sold: 74,679

Every crust: Handmade fresh daily

Only one thing could keep me away from The Cloverleaf prior to 2004, and that was the smoke. I couldn't afford awesome pizza and shiny quarters for the laundry machines. I hated the way we all smelled after exiting a wonderful night at The Cloverleaf.

Thankfully, The Cloverleaf's new owner as of 2004, Debbie Manke, had the balls to take a customer poll - then backing it up by becoming a completely non-smoking establishment when her customers responded.

Read my conversation with Manke here.

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 1, 2012 >>>

1. The good news is that ladies' night is no longer the sole domain of cheesy bronzed-and-bleached venues - it has infiltrated every corner of the South Sound and you can now sip discounted highballs and wine almost every night of the week. However, not all ladies' nights are created equal. At the Tempest Lounge, ladies are treated very well - thanks to bartender Larry. The friendly chap tags happy hour prices on drinks for the ladies, beginning at 7 p.m. At the other end of this hip bar, DJ Sc works his laptop and mixer stocked with old school soul ballads and new school pop.

2. Tacoma artist Mark Hoppmann's show Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crows: The Art of Mark Hoppmann opens today at the Collins Library on the University of Puget Sound campus. Inspired, (albeit) loosely by the borders and motifs found in The Book of Kells, The Madness of Crows also uses elaborate border motifs and random bits in addition to the main illustrations. The library is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

3. Ready to trip out today? The Chemical Brothers: Don't Think - considered to be one of the most mind-bendingly psychedelic live shows ever seen - was caught on film and screens at 7:30 p.m. at the Capital Mall 14 in Olympia.

4. Midwest reggae rockers Jon Wayne and The Pain join Live Wyya, Mighty High and Stay Grounded for the Bob Marley Fest at 8 p.m. inside Jazzbones.

5. Hell's Kitchen hosts a 9 p.m. rap show featuring  Philthy Rich, Rydah J Klyde, Meezilini, I-Rocc, Smigg Dirtee, Conceit and Two Against Critics.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music and DJs tonight

LINK: Local happy hours