"I.O.U.S.A.," a documentary that examines America’s crushing national debt, will be screened at 7 p.m. today in Room 100 of PLU’s Ingram Hall.

Directed by Patrick Creadon, who made "Wordplay," the lighthearted yet gripping 2006 documentary about crossword puzzle devotees, "I.O.U.S.A." features interview footage with such financial heavyweights as former Federal Reserve chiefs Alan Greenspan and Paul Volcker, as well as Warren Buffet and Robert Rubin, Treasury secretary during the Clinton administration. Given the financial crisis currently gripping the nation, it’s particularly timely.

The screening is free.

Cirqueworks acrobat Russ Stark on the German Wheel. Photo Darin Basilie.

Remember Cirqueworks? That Cirque-du-Soleil-style stage show about the mythical Birdhouse Factory that came to the Pantages back in September last year? Well, they’re making good in New York, running at the New Victory Theater to rave reviews like this one by Lawrence van Gelder in yesterday’s New York Times:

“If a production line cranked out adjectives to appraise "Birdhouse Factory," the results would certainly include exceptional, evocative, eye-catching, ear-catching and, to keep the list short, engrossingly entertaining…Sagiv Ben

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Belly dancer Hanan Valiant will perform Thursday at TAM. Photo courtesy Hanan Valiant.

You wouldn’t usually think of Tacoma Art Museum as a den of iniquity, but this Thursday it’s coming close., with alcohol, belly dancing and naked women (on the walls, of course.) The programs team there usually think up fun stuff for ArtWalk night, and this month the theme is Middle Eastern, to coincide with the Ottoman-era art in the middle gallery.

Arrive between 5-7:30 p.m. and drink up the happy-hour-priced wine and microbrews in the cafe.

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The Valkyries (Stacey Rishoi, Marie Plette, Holly Hall, Sarah Heltzel, Caroline Thomas, and Luretta Bybee). © Chris Bennion photo

It’s coming, folks, with blasting trombones, shrieking Valkyries and magical flames. Yes, it’s Wagner’s “Ring Cycle,” and the Seattle Opera version is just nine months away. Devotees need no encouragement here. For the uninitiated, Wagner’s four lengthy 19th-century operas concerning the German legend of a golden ring of the Rhine river are a mammoth opus, seminal in the history of opera and a very, very big deal for companies to put on.

I went along Saturday night to the Metro Parks gala in the Seymour Conservatory, where Tacoma’s high-fliers were celebrating yet another Dale Chihuly addition to Tacoma, albeit a temporary one. The Tacoma-native glass celebrity has lent Metro Parks enough of his glass collection (252 pieces, actually) to fill the Victorian glasshouse for an exhibition to commemorate the conservatory’s 100th birthday. It’s part of a now-ongoing program to put glass in the historical Wright Park edifice.

You can read more about the details in C.R. Roberts’ fine story this

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Preston Singletary, “Seal People.” Image courtesy Traver Gallery.

Happy Birthday, Traver Gallery!

Traver celebrates five years in Tacoma with a show featuring Australian glass artist Tim Edwards and Tlingit glass sculptor Preston Singletary. Reception 4-7 p.m. Nov. 15, then 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays, noon-5 p.m. Sundays through Dec. 7. Free. 1821 E. Dock St. Suite 100, Tacoma. 253-383-3685, www.travergallery.com

Tacoma Symphony does chamber music

Locals Craig Rine (clarinet) and Thane Lewis (viola) are soloists for Saturday’s chamber concert with the Tacoma Symphony. 7:30 p.m. Nov. 15. $10-$75.

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The Museum of Glass has just been awarded the Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass (AACG) Annual Award for 2008. The AACG is a non-profit supporting glass art via exhibition grants, teaching programs, seminars and so on. On receiving the annual award (and the accompanying $5,000) MoG director Tim Close was invited to give a lecture on the museum’s mission and recent changes at the Sculpture Objects and Functional Art (SOFA) exposition in Chicago last Saturday.

From the MoG press release:

"We are very honored to be the recipient of this prestigious award," states Close. "The Museum

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Sculpture by D.J. Garrity. Image courtesy Lakewold Gardens.

From Thursday through Sunday, Lakewold Gardens are playing host to a stone sculpture workshop led by D.J. Garrity. Garrity is not only the award-winning sculptor-in-residence at Mount Rushmore National Memorial, he’s been listed as one of the top 100 Irish Americans by, naturally, Irish America Magazine.

“The Rhythms of Stone” workshop, according to Lakewold’s press release, “blends stone carving technique and the art of three-dimensional portraiture in a process that offers a unique garden sculpture with the creative imprint of

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