Weekly Volcano Blogs: Spew Blog

Posts made in: 'Rocket Science' (52) Currently Viewing: 1 - 10 of 52

February 8, 2012 at 8:03am

MORNING SPEW: Garage rocked, festivals are on, history of the middle finger ...

Watch out Russian scientists!

WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

Garage On Broadway: The city-owned garage next to the McMenamins Elks Temple is not looking good. (News Tribune)

The Show Must Go On: despite budget shortfalls the Tacoma City Council will continue to fund local events and neighborhood markets. (News Tribune)

Fourth Of July In The Boonies: Pierce County Council says residents in unincorporated Pierce County can continue to blow shit up for eight days. (News Tribune)

GOP Presidential Race: Rick Santorum's hat-trick reshaping the contest that will decide who runs against President Obama in November. (CNN)

Watch Out For The Thing: Russian scientists are reporting success in their quest to drill into Lake Vostok, a huge body of liquid water buried under the Antarctic ice. (BBC)

Metallica: It has its own summer music festival. (USA Today)

Jay And Silent Bob: The cartoon. (Paste)

Today's Lesson: The history of the middle finger. (BBC)

Times Are Tough. Even for Batman. (Comicbeat)

February 1, 2012 at 7:19am

MORNING SPEW: Firefighters stay, Don Cornelius shot dead, "Mad Men" fashion predictions ...

Unidentified not-so-flying rust / Image credit: night86mare

WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

Your House Is Safe: Tacoma City Council accepted $1.6M in concessions to avoid firefighter layoffs. (News Tribune)

It Should Pass: The state Senate will vote today on gay marriage bill. (News Tribune)

Aftermath: Romney on a roll, Gingrich undeterred. (CNN)

Coroner: "Soul Train" founder dead of gunshot wound. (CNN)

Science!: Researchers have demonstrated a striking method to reconstruct words, based on the brain waves of patients thinking of those words. (BBC)

Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha: The band Survivor is suing Newt Gingrich for using "Eye of the Tiger" at rallies. (Rolling Stone)

If You Go All Darth Maul On A Toy Store ...: You'll go to jail. (Blastr)

Groovy: Mad Men season 5 fashions. (The Sew Weekly)

Surreal Photos: Taiwan's abandoned UFO-style homes. (Flavorwire)

Let An Educational Palette Of Primary Hues Wash Over You

January 18, 2012 at 9:44am

Lecture: Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Yuck. Photo credit: greatpacificgarbagepatch.info

FUTURE THINGS ARE COMING >>>

Capt. Charles Moore's presentation, "The Great Infection of the Sea," has nothing to do with that time Lindsey Lohan gave the entire Strait of Gibraltar Chlamydia (like you read about in US Weekly). Rather, Moore's presentation is actually of paramount importance, with the scientist and activist discussing his book, Plastic Ocean, which, according to pre-event hype, "describes the alarming presence of plastics in our oceans." 

Capt. Moore will be in Olympia Thursday, Jan. 19 at the Olympia Center and the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma Monday, Jan. 23. At both events the good captain will talk about what he reportedly calls the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch" in the Pacific Ocean. Information on the U.P.S. website indicates the area is "roughly two million square miles in size," and "is estimated to hold an estimated three million tons of plastic debris."

Should be some uplifting chats.

[Olympia Center, Thursday, Jan. 19, 6:30 p.m., donations welcome, 222 Columbia St. NW, Olympia, susanshaf@comcast.net]

[University of Puget Sound-Murray Boardroom in Wheelock Student Center, Monday, Jan. 23, 5:30 p.m., free, open to the public, 1500 N Warner St., Tacoma, 253.879.3419]

Filed under: Word, Rocket Science, Olympia, Tacoma,

January 10, 2012 at 7:30am

MORNING SPEW: Memorial traffic, six things you'll pay more, Coachella announced ...

Wholesale coffee prices have been on a tear for two years, rising 18 percent last year alone.

WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

Mount Rainier Ranger Memorial: Traffic will be impacted. (News Tribune)

Republican Presidential Nomination: Mitt Romney is expected to win New Hampshire, but there's lots of speculation about who will take second and gain momentum for the South Carolina primary. (CNN)

Drat: Six things you'll pay more in 2012. (CNN)

Morning Business Round-up: Olympus shares surge. (BBC)

Separated At Birth: Michael Cera and Hitler's mom? (Videogum)

Kenneth G: He grew snowflakes in laboratory conditions. (boing boing)

Friendship Is Magic: The Bronies take Manhattan. (The AWL)

The Shins: The band has a new track. (AV Club)

Coachella: The lineup has been announced. (Facebook)

November 22, 2011 at 7:29am

MORNING SPEW: Noah watch, Tacoma filters, Depeche Mode-ish, "Star Wars" engagement photos ...

WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

Let's Look At The Weather: Rain, lots of it, for 40 days and 40 nights. (Wunderground)

Some Of You Can't Reading This Awesomeness: Outages! (News Tribune)

Tacoma School District: There goes the few remaining field trips. (News Tribune)

Nice To Have This Now: Downtown Tacoma rain gardens will filter, not soak. (News Tribune)

Well This Is Just Super: Uncertainty lingers about what the continued fallout will be from the failure of the congressional "super committee" to forge a deficit reduction deal. (CNN)

"Ask About The Measurement Of The Sun": Leonardo da Vinci's To-Do List (NPR)

Is Jay-Z An Illuminati Puppet?: Pop music's strangest conspiracy theories. (Slate)

Anthony Bourdain: Unvarnished opinions, lots of smoking and swearing, and tales of hard living that enhance his travels rather than detracting from them. (AV Club)

Wish It Was On Right Now: Game of Thrones season 2 teaser. (Los Angeles Times)

New Mode: Depeche Mode original members Vince Clarke and Martin L. Gore have announced they will release a series of EPs and a new album under the band name VCMG. (Rolling Stone)

Um: Star Wars theme engagement photos (Geekologie)


Electric Six covers "You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch"

November 3, 2011 at 7:20am

MORNING SPEW: Winthrop woes, Phoenix Jones lost his job, flying orb robot ...

Fetch me some oatmeal Flying Orb Robot.

WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

Checking In with Downtown Tacoma Buildings: The Winthrop is in bankruptcy court, but it's not bankrupt. (News Tribune)

Idiot: A Sumner man suspected of snatching old ladies' purses is in jail. (News Tribune)

Fighting The Evil Department of Social and Health Services: Seattle's masked crime-fighter Phoenix Jones has lost his day job. (Seattle P-I)

Awesome: University of Puget Sound Ski Team is having their annual ski swap this weekend. (CBS Seattle)

There Big Fat Greek Meeting: Greek Prime Minister Papandreou and President Karolos Papoulias to meet. (CNN)

Nice: Built to Spill working on a new album. (Rolling Stone)

Cool: Neil Gaiman, his wife Amanda Palmer of the Dresden Dolls, Moby and Steven Merritt performed a cover of "Science Fiction Double Feature" from Rocky Horror Picture Show on Craig Ferguson. (Topless Robot)

Trouble In The Kitchen: Why Top Chef is bad. (Time)

Today In Photographs: 20 Stormtrooper portraits. (Dvice)

Flying Orb Robot Will Kill Us All (Thanks Blogtown)

October 15, 2011 at 11:35pm

FREELOADERS: Dead Edition

The Tacoma Art Museum celebrates the dead.

THIS WEEK'S BEST FREEBIES OCT. 17-23 >>>

Let's think about this. Dia de los Muertos goes down Nov. 1-2 and everyone will have Day of the Dead stories on Nov. 3. Some will be wild; some will be amusing, and - depending on what sort of crowd you run with - many could be incoherent. Yours should be different. Because, you know, everybody should be different. You celebrate Day of the Dead starting Monday all the way through Nov. 2. You call it 17 Days of the Dead. Here are a few suggestions that should knock you dead. You're welcome.

MONDAY, OCT. 17: You know the story: Ebenezer Scrooge is a miser who couldn't give a fig about his fellow man. He's dismissive toward his nephew, his only remaining family member; abusive toward his impoverished employee, Bob Cratchit; and just a miserable wretch in general. In the days leading up to Christmas 1843, Scrooge is haunted by his deceased business partner, Jacob Marley. This is not a social call. Marley - doomed to forever walk the earth alone, in death as he did in life - warns Scrooge that he has one chance to mend his wicked ways, and so Scrooge will be visited by three ghosts who will teach him the lessons of Christmas. You were born to play Marley. Give the Tacoma Little Theatre a call right now at 253.272.2281 and sign up for Monday's night's auditions for A Christmas Carol.

TUESDAY, OCT. 18: The My Lai massacre, which took place on the morning of March 16, 1968, was a watershed in the history of modern American combat, and a turning point in the public perception of the Vietnam War. Investigative journalist Seymour M. Hersh is best known for exposing the cover-up of the My Lai massacre, as well as the recent series he wrote on the Abu Ghraib prison scandal in The New Yorker. Hersh will lecture on his career at 7 p.m. in the University of Washington-Tacoma's Philip Hall. It's free to attend, but advance registration is required.

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 19: Are microplastics floating in the ocean killing organisms when ingested? What happens when microplastics enter the food chain? Dr. Joel Baker, science director at Center for Urban Waters in Tacoma, will share the answers, for free, in a 7 p.m. lecture at the WET Science Center in Olympia.

THURSDAY, OCT. 20: You've always had a fascination with the Grim Reaper and art. Why not combine the two? Once again the Tacoma Art Museum is partnering with Centro Latino and Proyecto MoLÉ once again to celebrate Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), which includes the annual construction of altars or ofrendas (offerings) dedicated to the spirits of the deceased. During Third Thursday Artwalk - with free admission to TAM from 5-8 p.m. - the altar artist will discuss their works from 6-7 p.m.

FRIDAY, OCT. 21: OK, you have "Wanted Dead or Alive" by Bon Jovi down pat in front of your mirror. It's time to go all the way - a live karaoke band. At 8:30 p.m. every Friday night at the Varsity Grill, the Rock-Bot band backs karaoke singers on more than 450 songs. Who knows, maybe you'll knock 'em dead. Or die on stage.

SATURDAY, OCT. 22: The Fireside Story League will tell spooky stories about the dead the whole family will enjoy at 2 p.m. inside the Bonney Lake Pierce County Library.

SUNDAY, OCT. 23: Tacoma's favorite Victorian-style glass conservatory offers a botanical montage of madness, paralysis and death Tuesday through Sunday. The exhibit Wicked Plants: An Exhibit of the Deliciously Dark Side of the Plant Kingdom features deadly flora that would please a homicidal 19th-century botanist. The W.W. Seymour Botanical Conservatory exhibit is inspired by Amy Stewart's bestseller Wicked Plants: The Weed that Killed Lincoln's Mother and Other Botanical Atrocities, a much-needed compendium of plants that rack up body counts. Go see it from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., if you dare.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

September 29, 2011 at 8:12am

MORNING SPEW: Teachers have deal, free coffee, Great pick-up lines in science ...

Heeeeeeeeey, Broham.

WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

Three-Year Deal: Tacoma School Board ratified a teacher contract in a unanimous vote. (News Tribune)

Free Coffee: Oh Thank Heaven until 11 a.m. (SPEW)

They're No Michael Scott: Coverage of the action at the 14th Annual Forklift Rodeo in downtown Tacoma. (News Tribune)

It's About Time: FDA increases cantaloupe checks. (CNN)

Hipsters On TV: A retrospective from Fonzie to "Portlandia." (Flavorwire)

Oh Good Lord: First social TV network debuts. (Koldcast)

The Office: What's the future of Dunder Mifflin. (TV Guide)

Riveting: Watch Ad-Rock from the Beastie Boys make a PB&J. (Grub Street)

Great pick-up lines in science

September 24, 2011 at 8:01am

MORNING SPEW: Tacoma school mess, billboard price tag, fall festivals, 6-ton satellite fell and more ...

WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

It's Not Over Until They Say It's Over: Tacoma teachers union and district pulling hair again. (News Tribune)

It's Not Over Until They Say It's Over II: Clear Channel placed a $75 million price tagged on the boards the City of Tacoma wants removed. (News Tribune)

Where Are The Men In Black?: 6-ton satellite hits earth. (NPR)

Probably Best: Roseanne's reality show canceled. (Zap 2 It)

Is Your Day Wide Open?: Listen to The Flaming Lips six-hour song. (Paste Magazine)

Is Your Season Wide Open?: Most anticipated fall festivals. (Stereogum)

That's Great, It Starts With An Earthquake: Fans sings the hard R.E.M. songs(Slate)

September 13, 2011 at 10:04am

MORNING SPEW: Why the neighbor kids are still messing with you, moratorium schmoratorium, earth-like planet and more ...

WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

Why The Neighbor Kids Are Still Running Through Your Sprinklers: Tacoma teachers are on strike. (News Tribune)

Moratorium Schmoratorium: Wal-Mart may hit the Elks property anyway. (News Tribune)

Make It Stop: The fifth GOP debate rolls on. (CNN)

How Big Is The Internet?: Group aims to find out if it's bigger than a bread basket. (Tech Flash)

We Finally Get The Chance To Colonize!: Scientists have discovered an earth-like planet 36 light years away. (Washington Post)

Finally Proof!: Nicolas Cage is a time traveler. (Buzz Feed)

She Should Have Stopped At 64,999: Dutch woman charged with stalking after calling her ex-boyfriend 65,000 times (AP News)

They Felt The Need ... The Need For 3-D: Top Gun is being converted into 3-D. (Hollywood Reporter)

Give this woman a Grammy!

About this blog

South Sound news, life, art, music, food, culture, obsessions and outsiders written by the Weekly Volcano staff.

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The BEST biscuits and Gravy in the STATE is at The Boxcar Grill. They are located where the old...

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A very diverse group of artists with talents in many styles. Pieces sell quickly so get there early!

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The Arts Olympia group has had a ball getting ready for this show. Anticipation and Preparation...

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Hyon didn't make it two years. Someone owes me $10!

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