Nov. 22, 2008 at 12:42pm

About 3 hours from now ...

Relative Swank at Embellish

I was confused by the initial email. I'm so busy lately that I tend to scan rather than read my emails. The subject line was Relative Swank, Swank relative to Tacoma.

The teaser said:

 "Swanky" decor, food, drink, holiday hair and make up, extension add-ons, holiday gift ideas, great music, company and more!"

Of course this got my attention (I love shiny things) so I called Embellish Multispace Salon to clarify. This is what I found out:

Today from 4-4:30 pm I will be treated to swanky treats and champagne, free of charge.

From 4:30 pm - 5:30 pm I will sit in breathless anticipation watching a demonstration about holiday hair and makeup. Lord knows I could use a few new tricks.

Then at 5:30 pm I can choose from one of 5 stations where I can either have a 15 minute personalized consultation about hair color, haircut and/or hair extensions or I can have my makeup done by a professional makeup artist. (One less thing I need to do before going out on the town tonight thank you very much!)

The owner Patricia Lecy-Davis told me that anyone who books an appointment during this event gets an automatic 30% discount.

There will be lots of neat gifts there (at a discount no less!) that I can buy for my swanky or in-need-of-swank friends. The trick is, I won't know what the discount on these products will be until they ring it up on the register. Its called a "chance discount" and it could be anywhere from 10% to 50%. I feel lucky. I'm going for the 50%!

Items offered range from fancy soaps, bath washes, travel stuff, oils, room spray,makeup and assorted styling products.

I also found out that EVERYONE in attendance will receive a free gift bag !

I better go get swanky. See ya later alligator.

~Angie

PS. OK, OK, stop giving me that puppy dog look. You can come too. Here's the address: 1121 Court D Ste AA Tacoma, WA 98402.

comments [0]

Nov. 19, 2008 at 9:11am

We want your ugly old couches

In addition to the other things I'm collecting...

If you have a couch you need to get rid of that is in reasonably good shape (ie not smelly, infested or covered in pet hair) and you can drop it off during business hours in Tacoma please respond to angela.jossy@gmail.com. We need them for an art event. We cannot pay you for the couch, its considered a donation and we can give you the non-profit tax ID# so you can write it off on your taxes.

We cannot pick it up. You must drop it off. We need several couches. We don't care about color, style, rips, stains or size.

Contact me for details.

comments [0]

Nov. 16, 2008 at 1:40am

Here’s what’s happening behind the scenes at Winterfest

Wanna help? There are a few resources we could still use

Tacoma Winterfest planning is in high gear now. We're manifesting all sorts of fun things (despite a difficult financial climate) by working within our community to access various resources. It's been working like magic - its amazing what you can do when everyone works together. Now its time to widen the circle for the things we haven't been able to acquire yet. If you have a moment, please read through the following lists and let us know if you can help.

First a few words about Tacoma Winterfest:

Sponsors so far:

Click! Cable TV
F.A.T. (Fashion Association of Tacoma)
Tacoma Art Place
MKD Marketing Design
Linda Lapping Graphic Design
Embellish Multispace Salon
Weekly Volcano
KVTI I-91 FM
Columbia Bank
GoLocal Tacoma
Broadway Center
Sway Productions
Star Rentals
AABERG Rentals
APP Associated Petroleum Products
IBEW

Meet our Executive Team:

Claudia Riedener - VENDOR MANAGER
Sherah Tilley and Ondia Shapiro of F.A.T. - FASHION STREET MANAGERS
Roxanne Wolfe - KID ZONE MANAGER and LIAISON TO THE SEAPORT
Linda Lapping - GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Mary K Johnson - DECORATOR
Russ Heaton of Doyle's Public House - BEER GARDEN DIRECTOR
Patricia Lecy-Davis - GOLOCAL & DOWNTOWN MERCHANTS GROUP REPRESENTATIVE
Travis Orcutt of Glass Ceilling Music - STAGE MANAGER
Sue Pivetta of Tacoma Art Place and 100th Monkey - GIFT WRAP STATION MANAGER
Angela Jossy - FESTIVAL DIRECTOR

Here's a sneak peek at a few of the vendors who will be at Tacoma Winterfest:

Ruby Collections - www.rubycollection.com
Remy, Rocks & Rhinestones - www.Remyrocks.com
Calla Lily Designs - www.callalilydesigners.com
Winged Zebra - www.wingedzebra.com
Green Goat Art - www.greengoatart.com
Dancing Monkey Jewelry - www.dancingmonkeyjewelry.com
Word & Picture Communications co. - www.wordandpicturecommunications.com
Tacoma Photographic Society - www.tacomaphoto.org
The Seven Muses - www.thesevenmuses.com
SHAPE 3, INC. - www.weddermann.com
Dalin's Glass Blown Design - www.dalinsglassblowndesign.com
Barter Tacoma - www.bartertacoma.com
Sanford & Son Antiques -   http://www.myspace.com/sanfordandsonantiques 
Mad Hat Tea Company -   www.madhattea.com
Artist Desiree Flerchinger - http://www.desireeart.com/
DeSantis Designs - www.desantisdesigner.com
The Brown Woodshop - www.myspace.com/gramma_Pam
Fashion Association of Tacoma (F.A.T.) -   http://www.myspace.com/faoft 
The Shoe Show -   http://www.myspace.com/the_shoeshow
Embellish Multispace Salon - http://www.embellishtacoma.com


-----------------------

Here are a few issues we are working on. If you have any ideas or contacts
to assist with these please let me know.

* Donations needed: Christmas decorations, fake snow (cotton), paint
for the mural (see list below)
* Promotional item giveaways from local businesses to be placed in
free gift bags for festival attendees (ask me for more info)
* A Christmas Tree Vendor!
* Volunteers (decorating, putting up posters, internet campaigning,
help people to their cars with purchases, load in band equipment, help
with directing parking, clean up after the festival, help kids with
crafts, etc.)

Also, I'd like some vendors who sell ordinary practical items that people
might normally buy at a big box store like Target or WalMart so that
people realize they can shop local for more things than they might
realize. Do you know any local businesses who sell the things listed below
who would like to be a Tacoma Winterfest? Please have them contact Claudia
Riedener (our Vendor Manager) at TacomaWinterfest@live.com as soon as
possible. We are just about full now but we still have room for about 25
more vendors.

* Electronics (ipods, clock radios, car stereos, etc.)
* Cooking supplies
* Tools and home improvement items
* Gift Certificates
* Art Supplies
* Sporting goods
* Musical instruments
* CDs, DVDs, records etc.
* Toys (we need LOTS OF TOYS!!!)

Also, I'd like to have a booth with inexpensive items that kids can buy
for their parents. Do you know a local business that would like to take
this on? It would be cool if we had a booth just for stocking stuffer
items too. Maybe they could be the same booth? Ideas?

Here's the wish list of paint we'd like to have:

10 gallons of navy blue
5 gallons of baby blue or periwinkle
5 gallons of white
1 gallon of red
1 gallon of yellow
3 gallons of christmas tree green
2 gallons of wood brown

Anyone know a source who would donate any or all of this paint?

Its for Tacoma Winterfest decorating and a 180 foot mural that
approximately 18 Tacoma artists will collaborate to create together.

ALSO:

Can you donate any of the following? If so please contact our decorator Mary K at johnsonartist@gmail.com

painters tape
painters paper masking material
large cardboard boxes
ball ornaments
ribbon
garlands
boughs
beads on string - trim
tinsel
fake holiday foliage
wrapping paper
scotch tape
bows
asst. ornaments
asst. lights
tree skirts
white fabric
red fabric
blue fabric
heavy gauge wire
wire cutters
staple gun with staples
box knives
exacto knives
fake trees
real junipers
decorative foliage such as holly (fake or real)
actual branches
poster board
fishing line

to borrow:
- 2 theater curtains
- 2 large sails, if not more
- trucks (box truck perhaps?)
- unique antiques and holiday decor items
- live trees
- live festive plants


Thanks for reading all of this. I hope to see you Dec. 13-14 when all of
this hard work pays off! *smile*

Find me at angela.jossy@gmail.com

Thanks,

~Angie

PS.Foss Waterway Seaport is a 501(c) (3) organization. Your gift is tax-deductible.

comments [6]

Nov. 12, 2008 at 9:34am

Social Calendar

These are my must-do events for Nov.-Dec. so far

I reserve the right to add to or subtract things from this list at any given time for any reason but here goes my social calendar as I know it so far:

• Thursday Nov. 13 5 to 10 pm Mad Hat Tea Party (one of the paintings is of me!)
• Friday Nov. 14th 8 pm Carnival of Confusion aka Voxxy Vallejo's CD Release Party
• Wednesday Nov. 19th Radio8ball at Little Red Studio
• Thursday Nov. 27th Thanksgiving 
  
• Saturday Nov. 29th Noon to whenever - Painting Party at the Seaport to prepare for Winterfest. A group of artists will paint a giant mural of a winter scene together.
  
• Saturday Dec. 6th 7-11 pm Kulture Lab   http://www.myspace.com/culturelabart
• Saturday and Sunday Dec. 13-14 Tacoma Winterfest 
  
• Wednesday Dec.24 Christmas Eve with my family
• Wednesday Dec. 31st FIRST NIGHT - this will be a fantastic night - a lot of my friends are either performing, volunteering or just running around in the midst of it all.

Am I forgetting anything? What's on your social calendar?

comments [2]

Nov. 9, 2008 at 2:12pm

10 Days Later

Here's a little snapshot of my world right now

I just realized that its been 10 days since I've written anything on here and I feel a bit remiss in my duty to entertain you with all the trivial details floating around in my brain. *smile*

These last couple of weeks I've precariously juggled two jobs: filling in for the editor at the volcano while he was on vacation and coordinating Tacoma Winterfest. It was somewhat taxing on my sanity but I made it through with only one carefully monitored meltdown (thank you Linda, Desiree and Jeremy for softening the fall).  At least the Volcano job was structured and I had very carefully detailed directions on what to do and when (plus I have several years experience behind me because while most people went to a four year university, I studied the same amount of time under the tutelage of the lovely and talented Weekly Volcano staff -  BTW guys, I'm still waiting for my diploma!)

Organizing a festival on the other hand is like herding cats. It's difficult to be organized and proactive when you are working with a constantly moving target. Its alive and growing and changing all the time in ways you can't predict. And the rules change constantly!! I think that's why I love this line of work - festival planning is ALWAYS a challenge and I get to use almost every skill in my bag of tricks to put it all together. So even though I felt like I had a crazed tiger by the tail on Friday that I wasn't sure I was going to be able to tame, things are lining up now and I feel like I can breath again.

Luckily I have assembled a team of super heroes and together we're building something I think Tacoma is going to be really proud of. Claudia Reidner (of Ixia Tiles and Art on the Ave) has signed on as Vendor Manager. Travis Orcutt of Glass Ceiling Music is our Stage Manager. Mary Kay Johnson (marykdesigns.com) is helping with set design and festival decorations (with the help of several other artists who will execute of the design concept). Linda Lapping DeSantis is designing the posters and Sue Pivetta (of 100th Monkey) is organizing a gift wrap crew of artists representing Tacoma Art Place. Russ Heaton (of Doyle's Public House) will be setting up a 21+ lounge area. Roxanne Wolfe (of Foss Waterway Seaport) is organizing a children's play area and pictures with Captain Claus.

I'm overseeing all that plus working on publicity, booking entertainment, obtaining sponsors, recruiting volunteers and reporting to my employer on our progress.

We also plan to do a TV commercial for Tacoma Winterfest plus some additional footage for Click! Network's upcoming GoLocal on demand channel. 

In my personal life, nothing much has changed. I'm still single. My social life is super fun. I still adore my amazing friends. My daughter is really enjoying life at SOTA. I'm brainstorming with my band about doing a few performances this winter. I miss playing music but I don't miss playing the same type of show I've been doing for years. Now its either time to take it up a notch or leave it alone. My band wants to do a big audio/visual extravaganza with up-tempo dance grooves unlike what we've ever done before. Its just a matter of making time to make it happen. I work with some highly in demand people who stay pretty busy most of the time. We'll see though, we all want this so its only a matter of time now.

Pretty soon I'll be job hunting again. Once this festival is over, so is my employment. What's my next adventure? I'm not sure yet but I'm looking forward to finding out. I do know I'm volunteering some time toward Lynn Di Nino's performance art piece at First Night. I might do some other stuff for First Night too but I'm waiting to hear back about that so I don't want to say too much about it.

Whatever happens, I'm at your service Tacoma.

Love,

~Angie

comments [4]

Oct. 31, 2008 at 12:36pm

What to do on All Hallows Eve:

Please be safe

I just want to warn everybody about how SCARY and DANGEROUS Halloween can be. Statistics show that there are more drunk drivers on Halloween than any other holiday. They surmise that this is because on Halloween people are not themselves (because of their costumes), therefore they sometimes do things that they might not normally do and drink more than they normally would. So please be watchful for drunk drivers out there tonight and if you have any doubts AT ALL about whether YOU should be on the road, please call a TAXI or get a ride from someone sober. Better yet, pick a designated driver before you even go out tonight.

Remember, you don't have to get wasted to have a good time. 

THINGS TO DO TONIGHT:

Black Lake Haunted Asylum - Freighthouse Square, $13.

The Wicked Masquerade Ball and Auction - Varsity Grill, 6 pm to Midnight. $40.

Halloween Karaoke Party -  The Mix, 9 pm. 

Dracula – the Romantic Ballet - Theater on the Square, 7:30 pm. $25.

Bring the Noise Halloween Bash - Club Adrian, for people under age 21, 7:30 pm, $6.

Halloween Comedy Explosion - Temple Theater, 8 pm. $20.

First Annual All Hallows’ Eve Bash - The Muse, 7 pm.

6th Annual Halloween in Hell - Hell's Kitchen, with Church Of Hate, 9 pm. $7.

RobTheCommunityGuy's Halloween Party - for more information contact Rob.

And a TON of house parties. So be careful out there and please don't run over any trick-or-treaters or drunk Sarah Palin look-a-likes.

Please feel free to add more Halloween parties to this list. This list literally took me 15 minutes to compile so I'm sure its not very comprehensive. Me, I'm going to Little Red Studio in Seattle with my Girly Brat Pack. I'm dressing as a Bollywood Starlet. Ooh lala! I love the jewelry!

Love,

~Angie 

comments [1]

Oct. 23, 2008 at 2:58pm

Exit 132

What is your freakin' problem???

I live in Lakewood so when I come to Tacoma I often take I-5 to Exit 132 (Bremerton/HWY 16) and jump off at Sprague Street so I can drive downhill when I reach downtown instead of up. (I drive a stick shift and stop lights are a pain in the butt when driving up hill plus I rationalize that I'm also saving gas by driving down hill.) 

Taking exit 132 is a crap shoot. Its the fastest easiest way to downtown Tacoma and 6th Ave when there's no traffic but if there's even a little bit of traffic it become a major bottleneck. Why doesn't someone fix this exit?

The problem is there are three lanes that must merge into one before merging onto Highway 16. Selfish drivers refuse to get in line and wait until the last minute to merge. People who waited in line like they were supposed to tend to not be very happy about slowing down to allow the selfish drivers to cut in line. Traffic backs up all the way back to 38th Street. This completely avoidable fiasco can add up to 10-15 minutes to my Tacoma commute.

Why doesn't someone re-engineer this exit? There must be a better way.

comments [14]

Oct. 19, 2008 at 4:36pm

My Bucket List

I reserve the right to alter this list at any time for any reason

I am home with the flu this weekend. I missed Friday's Chalk Off. I missed Squeak and Squawk. I missed the adult prom (wasting a $20 ticket). I even missed Joe Biden's appearance at Cheney Stadium today. Life is passing me by while I sit here checking email and watching television. I hate the flu. It sucks the life out of you. The way I'm wired I have two modes: zoom and complete stop. Having the flu puts me somewhere in between the two and its not a place I'm comfortable with. One thing I can do at times like this is make lists. I love to make lists. It helps me to know that when I can start moving again, I know exactly how I'm going to go about it. 

Being sick and having no health insurance led me to thinking about my own mortality and all the things I'd like to do with my life while I still can. I know its  cliche and I know the having the flu doesn't mean I'm dying but I like making lists and it makes me feel better to dream big. 

Here's what I came up with so far:

1) Write a book about Tacoma's music history
2) Create a local bartering system so people without money can still get things they need
3) Learn to fly a helicopter
4) Look good in a bathing suit
5) Produce a fun TV show w/ news and entertainment for Tacoma
6) Streamline the festival planning process in Tacoma
7) Own my own home (preferably debt free)
8) Earn a bachelors degree (or talk someone into giving me an honorary one)
9) Learn to sculpt large statues by welding together discarded car parts and stuff
10) Hang out in Europe for an unspecified time doing whatever I feel like and learning about other cultures
11) Learn to be my own music studio engineer
12) Buy a big building and convert it into a free college for single mom's and victims of domestic violence with apartments and a daycare above it
13) Take my band on tour supporting a national act
14) Buy a high performance electric car
15) Design handbags and have somebody manufacture them for me
16) Cross off every item on this list and make new list

It should be noted that I'm currently under the influence of cold medicine so my list may be slightly fanciful and at times grandiose but where's the fun if you can't be fanciful and grandiose with your bucket list?

What's on your list?

comments [5]

Oct. 11, 2008 at 3:50pm

Stupid Americans

In my community I see just the opposite.

From the limited vantage point of my insignificant little life here in my insignificant little piece of the planet I see people all around me who are creative, adventurous, opinionated, innovative and intelligent. But what do I know? I’m not the powers that be, the all seeing eye, big brother or those marketing guru’s who watch and take note of everything we say, watch, listen to, buy and vote for. Those people tell us that the majority of Americans (the largest market share) are fascinated by all things low-brow, juvenile, uncomplicated and, in a word, stupid. They tell us what they think of is by the projects they choose to bankroll. They media blitz us to the tune of billions of dollars with mediocre, formulaic entertainment and they tell us that we should like it because everyone else does.

I first suspected something was amiss when the Billboard Top 10 best songs lists repeatedly contained songs that no-one I know would ever like. As a music writer I find myself talking to all sorts of people on the subject so I felt like my test-market was a pretty good cross section of ages and types. Who are these people who prefer these ridiculous songs? I can’t find them.

Then I noticed that a lot of cleverly written television shows were being canceled and replaced with barely passable sitcoms and reality shows and that blockbuster movies with great actors have plot lines that seemed to be written at an 8th grade reading level. So many times I would see the trailer for something and be really excited to see it only to be totally disappointed by the full length film. Don’t even get me started on reality shows and shows like Jerry Springer and the Tyra Banks show.

It’s not just the “dumbing down of America” effect that worries me, it’s also the numbing down of our standards of decency. Why must I listen to songs about some guy being horny when I’m driving in the car with my daughter? Why is it hilarious when someone on a sitcom lies, cheats or even assaults someone? Why is it charming when cute little Carrie Underwood sings about vandalizing a car? Why is violence portrayed as sexy in movies? It never really bothered me until I stopped to think about what was becoming normal. And we wonder why other countries roll their eyes when they talk about Americans. If all they know about us is what they see while watching shows like “My Name is Earl” and “I Love New York” I don’t blame them.  

We have this reputation of being selfish, deceitful, manipulative, vulgar, violent, materialistic and really uninformed in general and this is not how I see the people around me.

As consumers, are we voting for these values with our attention and our buying power? Is it true that all the wrong people are procreating and as a species we are getting dumb and dumber?

Is it all just a big conspiracy to distract us and lower our values so that we won’t get educated, informed and active in the democratic process?

Do you think our parents and grandparents were more intelligent, informed and had better values than our generation?

comments [19]