Just weeks after being announced Tacoma’s 3rd Poet Laureate at Poetry in the 253, Tammy Robacker joined Electric Elliot in the Melon studio to chat about her wonderful achievement, her plans as Poet Laureate and to learn more about Tammy Robacker the poet.

Completely unique from our previous Poet Laureates, Tammy’s work delicately develops clear moving pictures and presses the reader to make those images dance. The focus on craft and development is evident in the art of a focused and experienced poet. Take a listen to our interview to learn more and hear Tammy read a couple pieces from her book The Vicissitudes.

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Note: There are some unfortunate audio glitches towards the end of the recording…

Here ye! Here ye! Announcing the biggest Poetry event to ever grace the City of Destiny. On Saturday, April 24th at 7pm, in celebration of National Poetry Month, 7 fantastic poets will take the stage at the Washington State History Museum to present poetry in a new light.

This event will take the art form to new heights as Tacoma poets enhance their timeless pieces using visual imagery, theater, dance, lighting and music. Mark your calendars for what is sure to be an historical event as the poetic torch is passed to the 2010 Urban Grace Soul of the City Tacoma Poet Laureate.

Included in this bunch are current Poet Laureate Antonio Edwards, and The Melon’s own Electric Elliot.

Tickets for the event are $7 a seat, but will be a slim price to pay for what is in store.

It’s here. Time for all the Melonites to walk the purple carpet and take photos in front of the Hummer/GM backdrop for the last time. Your votes have been tabulated, considered, rejected, re-tabulated and accepted to achieve a 82.5% democratic voice in this year’s Golden Melon Awards. Below are the winners. Congrats to everyone and thanks for another great year.

Interview of the Year:

The Melon Underground – Ep 01

With 6 episodes, The Melon Underground stands as The Melon’s longest running post-KUPS podcast. This episode of TMU featured Tacoma Urbanist, Erik Bjornson and went on to be one of the landmarks in discussion about Tacoma.

Melonite of the Year:

Erik Bjornson

A one time writer for the Melon, many times guest, Erik Bjornson has become just as ingrained in Tacoma lore as has RR Anderson. Erik Bjornson stands out as a first-class citizen for his public action and honest to goodness Tacoma advocacy. What would Tacoma be without Erik Bjornson? I don’t want to find out.

Seedling Award:

Best New Melon Contributor

John Hathaway – New Takhoman

In a lot of ways John Hathaway is the embodiment of Tacoma. Old fashioned, true to himself, gritty and willing to dig through grime to find just what he’s looking for.  When we met John Hathaway in an old dinner, we found him in a 50s gangster hat, dressed in a suit and tie, as if he was about smuggle something. But behind the hat, sharp mustache and focused eyes, John Hathaway is an idealist with a heart. We were pleased to be able to record a podcast with him and help promote the oldest Tacoma comic in existence, The New Takhoman. For his dedication to telling it how it is, and pushing the city to think no matter what, the Seedling Award is far to unimportant an award for John Hathaway. Tacoma should be giving him a medal of honor.

Honorable Mention: Erik Connell

Pecha Kucha Night, devised and shared by Klein Dytham architecture, was conceived in 2003 as a place for young designers to meet, network, and show their work in public.

Each presenter is allowed 20 images, each shown for 20 seconds each – giving 6 minutes 40 seconds of fame before the next presenter is up. This keeps presentations concise, the interest level up, and gives more people the chance to show.

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Pecha Kucha. Say it to yourself. You’re probably saying it wrong. What is it? Pecha Kucha is a series of presentations consisting of 20 slides at 20 seconds per slide. The event, started in Tokyo, has branched into many cities world-wide and Tacoma is one of ‘em. This December 2nd, 2009, Tacoma will be hosting its 3rd-ever Pecha Kucha event at The Harmon Hub Gallery located at 203 Tacoma Avenue South.

The event begins at 5:30pm and features nine awesome presenters. Included in the list are Poet Laureate of Tacoma, Antonia Edwards, and The Melon‘s very own, Electric Elliot (yeah, that’s me).

The theme for this session of Pecha Kucha is “Work”.

The Melon filmed the last session of Pecha Kucha in Tacoma. Our shoots can be found here.

Full list of presenters:

Robert Horner
David Curry
Antonio Edwards
Lawrence Houston

Jen Newton
Elliot Trotter
Madera Architectural Elements
Kate Burnham
Albert Desantis

Come out and support some awesome presenters! Find the facebook event here.

Listen, after seeing Jim Merritt’s youtube campaign video, I just couldn’t help myself. No offense, Jim, you’re part of remix culture now.

When Adam the Alien and Electric Elliot join creative forces astonishing things happen, like Time Shower Episode 01. Filmed and Directed by Adam the Alien for Minutaur.com, Time Shower follows the exploits of JJ Filby (played by Electric Elliot) as he journeys through time.  Check it out:

We did it. The CLAW has made Tacoma history by arriving on this month’s cover of City Arts Tacoma Magazine. Created only a mere four months ago by Frost Park Chalkers, James Stowe, Mark Monlux, RR Anderson and Electric Elliot Trotter, the new CLAW’s City Arts issue can be found all over T-Town.

Not only does this issue feature a collaborative cover art piece by the CLAW’s council of four eyes, but it also includes a cut-out version of our first zine and a fine article by Mark Thomas Deming.

From the article:

CLAW is a joke. But it’s a joke its members take seriously. They’re serious about upholding the traditions of service and fraternity established by the organizations they mock. They’re courting new members. They’re planning fundraisers. They’re producing a zine of CLAW cartoons. They’ve even endowed a scholarship. This year it’s worth only one hundred dollars, but they’re hopeful it will grow. An apologetic Grand Pooh Bah explains: “We spent a lot of money on the hats and the gong.”

In addition to this awesome bit of CLAW-news, The Melon recently put out brief interviews with CLAW artists James Stowe and Mark Monlux. Take a look below a catch a glimpse of what CLAW is all about:

To find out more about the CLAW check out cartoonistsleague.org.

Here’s the first hour of the 02.26.09 Tacoma School Board Meeting. The Melon will no longer be offering this service due to conflicts. We did, however, speak at this meeting to encourage the school board to film themselves. Below you’ll find footage of the meeting and our segment.

The Melon lobbies the school board for filming meetings:

Thanks for your support in this endeavour, hopefully the school board will implement video recorded sooner, rather than later as suggested by the board President.