Since it opened its doors in 2002, the Tacoma Glass museum has stood out as part of the Tacoma skyline, nestled between the highway into downtown and the bridge.  The unique cone shape sticks out as unusual, and the beautiful glass bridge that accompanies it draws thousands of visitors a year.

The Tacoma Glass Museum's unmistakable spire is impossible to miss and a staple of downtown Tacoma.

Because of this, I’m and saddeded to report that the man responsible for designing this unique welcome to downtown passed away on Wednesday.

Arthur Erickson was a Vancouver, Canada native who was internationally renowned for his architectural designs.  His career began in 1946 after being inspired by pictures of a Frank Lloyd Wright house, and took off after receiving a degree in architecture from McGill University in Montreal.

His award winning building designs can be found in many countries on several continents, and those of us living in Tacoma are lucky enough to be graced with one of our own.

To read more about Erickson’s life and works, you can read a detailed autobiographical artical on Canada’s National Post website.

In an age of immediate satisfaction, automatic headline updates and constant breaking news, the quest for personalized information becomes harder and harder.  People are left to sort through digital pages of big news stories that may only cover what appeals to the masses.

Google took a step in the right direction with GoogleAlerts: a service that allows you to enter key phrases that then flags and delivers in an e-mail any article that contains them.  Even these topics, however, are subjective to what others find to report on them.  With small town newspapers disappearing and large town newspapers limited ability to cover everything, topics that may strike a personal chord with just a handful of readers tend to get lost.  In 2006, web developer Kevin Freitas decided to take a stand and make a change and Feed>>Tacoma was born.

Feed>>Tacoma shortly after launch in 2006

“My inspiration for Feed>>Tacoma came from what I saw as a need for a couple things.  First, a place that makes it easy for folks to read up on a lot of budding new local blogs.  Back then there were five or so Tacoma focused blogs that I kind of thought would be stronger if we pooled together our content and make life easier to read up on them for people interested in more grass roots, local perspectives.”

From this simple group of five blogs, Feed>>Tacoma grew into the interactive and multi-media platform that it is today.  Individuals can create blogs on the site itself, or link specific blogs from their personal external sites by including a “Tacoma” tag.

“Choosing what comes up is easy – I don’t.  For any external blogs that want to contribute, I make sure that they know we want to keep things focused on Tacoma first and things that interest Tacomans.  From there it’s all automatic.”

The original five blogs that started it all included Cassioposa, Exit133, KevinFreitas, Tacomaness and ThriceAllAmerican.  Since then, Feed>>Tacoma has grown to include over ninety on-site blogs and almost forty external contributors.  It also has its own weekly comic titled the Tacomic and has spawned new local traditions like the weekly Frost Park chalk-off competitions in downtown Tacoma.

Feed>>Tacoma has also spread to include sections for an interactive community events calendar (anybody can post their event), a small shop with local products for sale, photos and video from Flickr and YouTube with a “Tacoma” tag and an extensive discussion forum for all things Tacoma.

“All kinds of events, activities and groups have organically materialized because they had Feed>>Tacoma to help them do so.”

Feed>>Tacoma today in 2009

As Feed>>Tacoma has continued to grow, so has the attention it pulls from other local media.  It’s contributors make frequent appearances in both the Weekly Volcano and Tacoma’s CityArts magazines and has even received attention from the Tacoma News Tribune which recently sent out PLU student reporter Kirsten Ostgard to cover last Friday’s chalk-off.

So what’s in store for the future of Feed>>Tacoma?

“I’d like more options to help the Tacoma community share perspective and get together.  Hopefully some ore organized events and meet-ups, new features to help people get more content they want or are interested in, more ways to help local businesses gain exposure and thrive, and more resources to educate locals and visitors alike about all things wonderful and Tacoma.”

I can only imagine the thought process that led up the the evenings events.

A man was admitted to Harborview Medical Center for severe burns Monday night after being set on fire.

Was this an act of maliciousness?  An attempt at collecting a debt, or just a random act of violence?  Unfortunately, none of the above apply.  The unfortunate individual was set on fire by his friends as part of a twisted version of the classic childrens game Tag.

The men created their own adult version and titled it Lighter Fluid Tag.  The rules were simple: all of their clothes were doused in lighter fluid, and one man was set alight.  It was then the job of the others playing to beat out the flames as quickly as possible.  I can only assume that anyone unfortunate enough to ignite during the process would be the next one to be “it.”

Clallam County Sherrif Bill Benedict is looking into the incident to find whether anyone involved will be charged with a crime.

Could this be where the H1N1 virus made the species leap? Unlikely, but I still wouldn't reccommend it.

Ever since Swine Flu became the big media craze, organizations have been taking action and making contingency plans about what to do, and emergency rooms are being swamped with nearly three times their normal capacity as concerned parents bring in their children (most of whom fail to show any symptoms of ill health at all).

Even our own Pacific Lutheran University has taken actions, requiring all Resident Assistants to hold “Emergency Swine Flu Meetings” to inform students living in the dorm about the disease. The university health center also asked for suggestions on how they could make us feel safe and keep our spirits up.  (My floor suggested we take it upon ourselves to act out this scene from Monty Python’s Holy Grail.)

As a result, we’ve seen a sudden rise in the number of hand sanitizer dispensers around campus, and are receiving constant e-mails discussing the various “what-ifs” and “how-to’s” of dealing with the epidemic.  Pacific Lutheran University in the mean time has set up a webpage on the site that anyone can access.  It updates frequently and details the current situation in Washington state and on campus.  It also provides information on the symptoms to watch for, and how to determine whether or not your symptoms are severe enough to notify the health center.

If you would like to follow reported cases of the H1N1 virus worldwide, you can follow it with an interactive map on the FluTracker website.

Don't forget to request free tickets to the Seattle/Tacoma filming on Wednesday April 29th!

The Internet has been buzzing recently with the two latest icons in pop-culture.  Susan Boyle wowed the audience on Britians Got Talent and was followed several days later by 12-year-old Shaheen Jafargholi.  In the last week, the two videos together have received nearly 45 million views.

This week, it could be  your turn.  Starting tomorrow, auditions for America’s Got Talent are being held in downtown Tacoma at the Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center.   Center head David Bobo said he has no idea what to expect.

“It could be fifteen hundred, it could be fifteen thousand.”

So build up some courage, get in line and show off your talent in the hopes of being the next Internet superstar.  For those who make it through the preliminary rounds, finals will be held next week at the Pantages theatre.

It’s every parents worst nightmare – a childrens ride known as the Lolli Swing toppled over at the Puyallup Spring Fair earlier this evening, sending fourteen children and two adults crashing to the ground.   Six people were sent to the hospital, but all are expected to make full recoveries and be released tonight.

For more information, check out the story from KING5 news.

These students would willingly put their lives on the line for you.

Campus Safety is one of the hardest working and most under appreciated groups on campus.  They are the only position on campus that runs twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, three-hundred and sixty-five days a year.  Not only that, but the majority of their makeup is students from our own population.

While Campus Safety already has an unsavory reputation with the trouble makers on campus, recent events seem to have spread these feelings to the rest of the student body.  Any and all shortcomings during the events of last nights lockdown have had the blame placed securely on their shoulders, simply because misinformed students need to point fingers.  Campus Safety is rarely recognized for its achievments and sometimes heroic actions, but is always the first to be held responsible and it’s flaws pointed out.

I would like to set the record straight.  Members of Campus Safety are the hardest working students on campus.  They deal with drugs, alcohol, assaults, thefts, suicidal students, medical emergencies and more, and don’t ask for special treatment because of it.

If the events of last night had turned out not to be a false alarm and there was a gunman on campus you can be assured that these STUDENTS would be the first on the front line.  They take their job seriously, and take pride in being the protectors of this campus.

I suggest that the next time you pass an on duty officer, or receive an escort in one of the safety vans that you appreciate the work they do and offer a simple “thank you.”

The popular Seattle-based site Amazon.com is under pressure after nearly 60,000 books were removed from their listings for dealing with GLBT material.

Last Sunday, there were rumblings on Twitter that quickly grew into the most talked about topic – even beating out “Easter” and “Jesus.”  The most popular phrase that day was #AmazonFail, and many who followed it were ready to take up arms in response.

As early as last February, books that dealt with Gay and Lesbian subject matter have had their sale ranking removed (meaning they will no longer show up in searches) under the pretence of being “Adult” material.  This previous weekend, the final headcount was at over 57,000 books including classics like Lady Chatterly’s Lover and the recent book-to-screenplay Brokeback Mountain.  Items like Playboy: The Complete Centerfolds collection, however,  remained.

Amazon has yet to release an official statement, but is blaming the removal of these books on a “glitch” that flagged and automatically removed the sales listings.  Because of the large outcry from the online community, the issue was bumped up to the Sev-1 level of concern (meaning it goes straight to the Senior Vice-President) almost immediately.

Since Sunday, the majority of the books have had their sales ranking reinstated, and the “flag material as innapropriate” button on their website has been temporarily disabled.  Amazon should be releasing and official statement and apology in the near future.

If you would like to follow the discussion on Twitter, simply search for the #amazonfail tag.