The subjects of our two video picks this week couldn't be more different.
Our first video is about harvesting mesquite pods, and how to turn them into something edible.
It's next to impossible to live in Tucson and not drive over, kick or accidentally ingest the thin yellow pods that seem to decorate the ground year-round. If you have a sidewalk and a mesquite tree, chances are, you also have a really good broom.
These crunchy little things have been feeding Tucsonans for centuries, and the residents of the Dunbar/Spring Neighborhood are continuing that tradition.
Earlier this month, the Mesquite Milling Fiesta and Pancake Breakfast gave people (with help from Desert Harvesters) the chance to grind up those pods into something you can actually cook with.
Why'd we do a video? Well, if there's one thing those young YouTubers like to see, it's an industrial-grade chipper going through mesquite pods by the bucket load.
And now for something completely different: This week in her column, Tucson Weekly assistant editor Irene Messina interviews Alison Davison, a transsexual woman who is the program director for the Southern Arizona Gender Alliance.
Davison talks about a problem that doesn't cross the minds of most people: gender discomfort. That's what it feels like to be in a body that doesn't quite feel like your own. Davison works to help others understand how transgender people feel and what they go through, both good and bad.
Over the past year, at least 99 people worldwide have been murdered for being transgender.
In the video, Davison talks about what's in store for the upcoming International Transgender Day of Remembrance on Nov. 20 that will spread awareness about these hate crimes. A vigil and procession down Fourth Avenue will cap off this week's Tucson Transgender Awareness Week.
Comment of the week
"First: Open a business on Friday the 13th. Second: Owners' name: Borowitz (borrow?—no money?) and WITZ means joke in German. Third: At this recession, the prices there are SKY-high. Fourth: Stick with your old joint, they appreciate you are there. A greet weekend to everyone. Lazy V. Saloon for over 60 years in Tucson is still the best, even after removing the hitching post. LOL."
—The factually confused Hank777, in response to "Sky Bar Open Tonight" (The Range, Nov. 13)
Best of WWW
Since we've started this column, several of our readers have wondered: Of the dozen-and-a-half videos we now have on our YouTube home, TucsonWeeklyTV, which is the most popular? That honor would go to Jim Nintzel's video from March 2008 of local personality Jim Anderson (aka God) watching as his beloved Meet Rack sign gets torn down. Don't let city codes keep you from seeing the icon: You can relive the sign's last moments of glory over and over again; 1,370 people have already.
History in the making, right here on TucsonWeeklyTV!
