SUZY STUMP: LOTS OF MUSIC IN MAY >>>

We hit the Tacoma Art Museum’s Building Birthday Bash May 3, celebrating TAM’s fifth year in their building, cramming as many cupcakes down our throats as we could and working it off before DJ Pana-Jesus Villegas in the plaza outside.  It was a beautiful, fun bash. TAM lined its walkways with multi-colored non-edible cakes created by local artists in honor of the museum’s fifth year of residency.

Steph DeRosa invited a University Place convenient store owner to her Dinner with DeRosa on May 4.  Innocently parked in front of a store in a parking space and sitting in her car, he walked out with a sandwich board and placed it in front of her car.  The sign read (in his handwriting): NO PARKING.  She ignored him.  He walked up to her window and started banging on it.  She ignored him.  He started banging on her window and yelling.  Her daughter got scared.  She flipped him off.  He punched her car with his fist and bent her mirror in.  She hauled ass out of the car, kicked down his sign, and scared the piss out of him as she yelled in his face for him to back the F off her.  As she yelled, police arrive.  She fortunately averted arrest and was sent on her way.

A mobile cranes ran amok in downtown Tacoma just after noon on May 9. The thing  barrelled ass down 15th and crashed near Pacific at the 705 off-ramp. Thankfully, no one was hurt.

Saturday, May 10, SOTA hosted the third annual Artrageous, a fund-raiser for the SOTA Partners Foundation designed to encourage and induce monetary support from the community for the SOTA vision, as well as a chance for SOTA students to put their work on display and tell the story of their school. Artrageous 2008 took place at Urban Grace at Ninth and Market, and included multiple galleries of student and SOTA instructor work as well as short documentaries about SOTA students and a main stage performance.

Bandito Betty has filled out the application, paid the membership dues, and practiced the secret handshake in order to become part of the illustrious club called MARRIAGE.  The only thing left to do was to give her a proper initiation.  An initiation that involved embarrassment, harassment, and lude public mockery.  This was an initiation most people would call a bachelorette party â€" and Steph DeRosa and ladies did it Tacoma style May 11.

Brad Allen stood five feet from Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow at Hell’s Kitchen with 100-150 people on a Wednesday, May 14.

After weeks (if not months) of hype and excitement, the 2008 Broadway Tacoma Farmers Market was finally a reality May 15. And, of course, the Weekly Volcano is there, too â€" documenting the action and looking for free samples.  Steph DeRosa and Matt Driscoll blogged it live.

Carmen Jones rocked to diverse beats all day May 18 at Rock the Cause, a concept that came from the neurons that fire in her head, but actually wound up being more incredible than she ever could've imagined.

Eight Tacoma bands â€" including Nasty Left â€" all agreed to play for free (such an honor), each representing different styles in the vibrant T-Town music scene, and proceeds from the function went to benefit Project:U and the United Way of Pierce County's Community Solutions Fund.

Steph DeRosa was graciously asked by the powers above (read: no one else wanted to do it) to represent the Weekly Volcano at the judge’s table for the 97.7 The Eagle Sturgis Girl Model Search May 22.  The contest was held at Lady Luck’s Cowgirl Up, which is the Parkland equivalent to an internationally renowned bar known as Coyote Ugly.  The girls were smokin’ hot.  Not only the models were hot, but also the servers who brought us beer and danced on the catwalk.  It was a major blow to her self-esteem and body image, but it was all good times nonetheless.

The 2008 Tacoma Jazz & Blues Festival visited Freighthouse Square and Harmon Brewery and Pub May 24. One of the highlights was guitarist Nick Vigarino sliding the frets with various items off the tables at the Harmon.

By nightfall on May 24, Carmen Jones couldn’t wait to go to the Randy Hansen, Jimi Hendrix emulator, show. Jazzbones was super busy with so many people like her who were amazed at how Hansen sounds like Hendrix in a very eerie way. What an awesome show.

KAke and Steph DeRosa hightailed it to the Gorge in George for the Sasquatch Music Festival May 25.  The saw The Cure, Death Cab for Cutie, Spearhead and lots of spacey people.

SUZY STUMP: NICE LOOKING APRIL >>>

Bringing the beer, liquor, and wine to the frst Dinner with DeRosa of April was Mike, one of Doyle’s über-cool bartenders.  I adore Mike.  He helped the Tacoma Beer Society get its start at Stadium Bistro, and helped fight for us when things got sticky.  Doyle’s owner Russ Heaton rescued us on more than one occasion with the TBS, and we owe him and Mike nothing but gratitude. â€" Steph DeRosa

During my Toilet Tales at Club Silverstone I began to wonder how many people had changed in 20 years, and what they had changed into, or out of. You remember the cliques, right? Do you feel as though everyone fit into a specific group? If you could put yourself into one stereotypical high school genus, what would you classify yourself as? Geek? Jock? Partier? Dopehead? Check me out in my high school drill team uniform. â€" Steph DeRosa

It’s been fun watching the Wright Park renovation, as well as Lynn Di Nino’s restoration of Our Lady of the Lake, a concrete statue that stood on an island in the park for 115 years before it was vandalized.  Metro Parks Tacoma gave Di Nino the statue’s body, part of its head and two boxes of miscellaneous parts, which Di Nino has been puzzling over for the last two months. I wish this statue actually stood in the park right now. â€" Ron Swarner

The Mad Hat Tea Company held a art opening during the second Thursday of the month.  Daniel Blue sold the painting behind him. â€" Steph DeRosa

Dead center and four rows up from the floor at KeyArena, my husband and I sat for five hours to witness the beginning of a weekend-long Seeds of Compassion event.  The monumental affair last night began with a conversation between Dateline NBC host Ann Curry, musician Dave Matthews, and Tibet’s exiled religious leader Dalai Lama.  For some reason when I rattle those names off I feel like I’m saying, “A conversation between The Pope, The Queen of England and Mickey Mouse.”  It just doesn’t seem right, does it? â€" Steph DeRosa

Steve Craig, owner of RampArt Antiques in downtown Tacoma, lived a very interesting life. Sadly, on Feb. 19, 2008, he was found dead at his home. Friends are still waiting for a report about the cause of Craig's death, but very few details have been released. An auction of Craig's belongings was held April 21 and 28. â€" Daniel Blue

Maxwell's Speakeasy + Lounge opened at the corner of Sixth and St. Helens in Tacoma. Jason Ganwich served us well. â€" Ron Swarner

I called KAke this morning on my way to the gym asking if she was up for some Frost Park hijinks.  Without hesitation she was in for the ride, and immediately fulfilled my demand for construction cones and caution tape.  It was our time to submit what would hopefully be a legitimate entry into the Frost Park Sidewalk Chalk Sketch-Off. â€" Steph DeRosa

The Pink Floyd Experience inside the Pantages Theater consisted of a six-person band offering so many of the great Pink Floyd songs that you all know and love, including “Money,” “Another Brick in the Wall,” “Have a Cigar” and “Comfortably Numb.” The performance also included $2.5 million in lighting equipment, and yes, the pink pig did indeed fly. â€" Natasha

Collectively The KAke, Bandito Betty, Gayle Selden and I lost a total of 87 pounds in body water last night. We sweated our asses off in the bleachers of the 186-degree UPS Field House in order to witness one of my all-time favorite artists: Ben Folds.  â€" Steph DeRosa