Cover Story
2010: One Slick Year
It turns out that Sen. John McCain was never a maverick. Sheriff Joe Arpaio hasn’t read the book that he wrote. And Gov. Jan Brewer has did what was right for Arizona. Ah, 2010—another big lunge toward the Apocalypse, lubricated by the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history. Considering all that we’ve read over the…
Political Correctness Killing Classic Lit: ‘N’ Word Slashed from Huck Finn
First Little Red Riding Hood’s big bad wolf no longer ate Grandma. Photo Ryn Gargulinski PC edits everything, from fairy tales to classic lit. Then new versions of the Bible popped up, replacing those horribly discriminatory phrases such as “sons of God” with the gender-neutral and politically correct “children of God.” Now the PC zealots…
New Cafe and Juice Bar in Store for the 17th Street Market
Jim Stanley over at the 17th Street Market tells us construction on the market’s new café and juice bar starts next week. Stanley said plans are still being finalized, but that the market’s enormous selection of fruits, vegetables and other items should make for some very interesting juices and smoothies when the café and juice…
UPDATE: AFSC Anti-Privatization Meeting CANCELED
The American Friends Service Committee continues its anti-privatization working group meetings regarding private prisons in Arizona. The meeting is tonight, 5:30 p.m. at the AFSC office, 103 N Park Ave, #111. Park on the streets. Entrance is in the back of the building. anti-privatization meeting tonight was canceled due to all that winter crud going…
2011: The Year Hell Finally Froze
It’s cold in the desert right now, but I didn’t realize the change in weather came from the Internal Revenue Service. This year the IRS provided us with a tax day extension. According to this Reuters piece, you can forget about those last-minute post office lines on April 15, and wait in line on April…
There’s Real Reality, Then Jack Harper Reality
Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com Arizona Rep. Jack Harper is back with his idea of creating a citizen militia to protect the border, this time with a veto-proof House and Senate. Oh joy. Read more from the Huffington Post here. Harper, a rabid cost-cutting conservative who once sparked outrage with a blunt letter warning…
Let’s Declare It George Carlin Day in Pennsylvania
According to this ACLU press release, the Pennsylvania State Police will no longer charge folks with disorderly conduct for cussing in public: The lawsuit involved Lona Scarpa, a Mocanaqua (Luzerne County) resident and mother of three. In October 2008, she and a friend were out walking when a motorcyclist who knew them drove past, swerving…
We Need to Stop Laughing at the Dave Matthews Band
It’s definitely not easy to make money in the music business these days. The best-selling album of 2000, N*SYNC’s No Strings Attached, sold 11 million copies. Last year’s best-selling album, Recovery, by Eminem, sold 5.6 million copies, and it was one of the few successes. The conventional wisdom is that musicians don’t make money on…
29th Street Coalition Community Mural Project
The Tucson Arts Brigade’s 29th Street Coalition Community Mural Project is a neighborhood project geared to bring youth and neighbors together to create community. Right now TAB has a fund-raising contest going on called Tens for TAB that you can learn more about right here. The organization is also in the early stages of the…
Giving In to the Dark Side of the Force
The halls of the state capitol building are nothing new to Daniel Scarpinato, who worked there as the Arizona Daily Star’s capitol reporter (back when they still employed a capitol reporter) and as an editor for Arizona Capitol Times before he stepped down last year to head Jonathan Paton’s failed congressional campaign. But with his…
RIP, Gerry Rafferty
Sure, Gerry Rafferty wasn’t the biggest pop star of the ’70s, but he was responsible for three massive pop hits, including one of my favorite soft-rock songs of all time, “Right Down the Line”: Rafferty had a career resurgence when Quentin Tarantino used his band Stealers Wheel’s “Stuck in the Middle With You” in Reservoir…
What Happened to the Peace Movement?
Local peace activists think it’s time to renew the local peace movement. Tomorrow, Wednesday, Jan. 5, there will be a meeting at 7 p.m. at the Ward 3 City Council office, 1510 E. Grant Road. The goal is to plan a large-action event in March on the anniversary of the attack on Iraq. For more…
Japanese Pop Culture Is Amusing: ’30 Rock’ Edition
I like the existing version of 30 Rock, but I’d be willing to watch the Japanese re-invention of the show as well. [HT: Splitsider]
Who Killed All Those Birds? Let’s Ask Kirk Cameron
I’m not entirely sure when former Growing Pains star and current Christian evangelical icon Kirk Cameron become an ornithology expert, but if you are looking to see if something is a sign of the apocalypse, maybe a guy who starred in Left Behind: The Movie would have some insight.
Redistricting Update
Craig McDermott of Random Musings brings us an update on the legal fight over the Independent Redistricting Commission here. Key takeaway: The Arizona Supreme Court will hear arguments over the nominees on Jan. 18.
Remembering Carol Somers
Scott D. Kirtley eulogizes former state lawmaker Carol Somers, who died last week: I first “met” Carol Somers over the phone in late 1999. I have to admit I was a snarky jerk. She called me as a courtesy to let me know she would be running for the Arizona State House of Representatives in…
Robb: How Brewer and Horne Blew Their Inaugurals
The Arizona Republic’s Robert Robb chides Gov. Jan Brewer and AG Tom Horne: Inaugural addresses are expected to sound political themes. But they are also supposed to be unifying democratic celebrations. So, there needs to be a bit of grace and art in the way political opponents or predecessors are treated. Gov. Jan Brewer and…
Election 2011: Strolling Toward City Hall
So who wants to be mayor of this crazy burg, anyway? As Republican Bob Walkup wraps up his third term, it appears as if next to nobody does. Maybe Tucson’s titanic budget problems are discouraging ambitions. Maybe more people would be launching campaigns if voters had boosted the mayor’s pay up from a mere $42,000…
Play Ball! Tucson Padres Release Summer Schedule
Take us out to the ball game…
Buckmaster Makes Radio Debut
Dan Shearer of the Green Valley News welcomes Bill Buckmaster’s new radio show: So what’s the first thing you notice about Buckmaster’s taste in guests? Simple: He doesn’t have an agenda. That’s what made “Arizona Illustrated” a hit, and is what will serve him well at KJLL 1330 AM. Buckmaster is all about asking the…
Boyz in the Shtetl
Love it: Fiddler on the Roof gets served.
Conservative Blogger Only Person Still Watching ‘Smallville’
I admit that I didn’t spend that much time thinking about the liberal influence in Hollywood this year, but based on the list of “The Top 10 Repulsively Liberal Hollywood Moments of 2010” on the Big Hollywood blog, it was out there. Honestly … the large number of digital entertainment options out there make any…
Chicago Politics: Far More Entertaining Than Tucson’s
Whether Carol Moseley Braun would make a good mayor for Chicago or not, I have no idea (and even if I did have an opinion, I would keep it to myself to avoid the wrath of Rahm Emanuel), but you have to admire the simplicity of her responses to questions from the media. The obsession…
Adventures in Burying the Lede: Arizona Inauguration Editon
Today is Arizona’s inauguration day, with Gov. Jan Brewer’s first full term kicking into gear this afternoon with the other five Republican statewide office holders. Understandably, The Arizona Republic had something in their print edition today previewing the affair, in which we learned that some rose bushes were moved to accommodate the guests. Fascinating! However,…
Cherny Running for AZ Democratic Party State Chairman
We hear that Andrei Cherny, who raised gallons of money in his unsuccessful run for state treasurer in 2010, is running for chairman of the Arizona Democratic Party. That sets up a contest between Cherny and Rodney Glassman, the former Tucson city councilman who lost a U.S. Senate bid to John McCain last year.
Salon Splits Hairs Between 2010’s Best Movie and Best Scene
Salon’s attempt to pick the Top 10 scenes from 2010 movies is an interesting one. After all, there are movies that are great because of the entirety of the work, but you might not be able to remember a specific scene. Then, of course, there are movies that have one or two great moments, but…
Writer’s Block: Desert Harvesters
A new cookbook, Eat Mesquite!, from the nonprofit, volunteer-run group Desert Harvesters has just been published. It features more than 150 mesquite-based recipes celebrating desert life. The book is available locally for $20. The group Desert Harvesters realized people were craving a cookbook when at an event in 2009, they served hundreds of people more…
Top Tech Trends of 2011
2010 was a great year for tech, and 2011 is shaping up to be another standout year for consumer electronics. Here are my predictions for the top tech trends of 2011. Tabletmania!Call it an oversized iPod Touch all you want, there’s no denying that the tablet is here to stay, thanks to the Apple iPad.…
SB 1070 Debate at the Arizona Inn
On Wedesday, Jan. 5 at 7 a.m., Bruce Ash will be hosting a debate about SB 1070’s effectiveness at curbing illegal immigration. Arguing for 1070 is Sen. Frank Antenori, and arguing against the bill will be Rep. Steve Farley. The debate is part of the Off the Record Debate series. The cost is $40 per…
A Real Snow Photo
Jim Nintzel Well, it’s cold outside, but I’m still waiting to get buried under all that snow that’s supposed to be headed our way. In the meantime, here’s a snowy pic I took up in Flagstaff last week as a family of deer trotted across the Hard Ranch’s corral. Happy New Year, everyone!
One Last Mars Shot of 2010
NASA/JPL/University of Arizona I sure do love the photos of Mars taken by the UA’s HiRISE camera. Here’s a final shot of a crater in light-toned layered bedrock south of Oyama Crater. You can find more HiRISE photos here. And if you really dig them, you can order a 2011 HiRISE calender here. HiRISE team…
10 Worst Predictions for 2011: WWIII, Ono-McCartney Album
Grab your children and your cameras, as World War III is on the way for 2011. Illustration Ryn Gargulinski At least that’s one of the predictions that kept popping up while researching the 10 worst things in store for the new year. Psychic Linda Monroe, who claimed to have predicted a plane flying into a…
I’ve Been Taunting Nature All Day, and Still No Snow?
What gives? The National Weather Service basically assured me that I’d be frolicking in a winter wonderland by now? Where are my winter flurries? Hello? Is anyone even listening? Furthermore, I have been taunting nature all day, to no effect. I drank cold Coca Cola on a street corner just after sunrise. I walked around…
Allegro: Il Gelato Naturale
Meet Ivan Lucchina, general manager of Allegro: Il Gelato Naturale at 446 N. Campbell Ave., Suite 120. He moved here all the way from Italy to make gelato and sorbet for you. He has cool rotating display cases and two degrees from Carpigiani Gelato University. The fruit flavors are made with 50 percent fruit and…
Sushi Cortaro Is Open
A new sushi restaurant called Sushi Cortaro opened this week at 8225 N. Courtney Page Way, in Marana. It’s in the same weird strip-mall thingy that houses the sole Tucson-area location of the national chain eatery Native New Yorker. Hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., Friday…
TPD Gets Another Grant to Ticket Pedestrians and Bicyclists
From Tucson Velo: The Tucson Police department was awarded another grant for targeted enforcement of bicycle and pedestrian laws. According to an email from Sergeant Jerry Skeenes, who ran the targeted enforcement that wrapped up in October, they will begin deploying officers in early January. Skeenes said this enforcement campaign will be less intense because…
The Cost of SB 1070: $750 Million a Year?
Michael P. McDonald writes at HuffPost that Arizona’s war on illegal immigration might have cost the state three-quarters of a billion dollars: The federal government uses these population counts to distribute federal dollars to the states. According to Andrew Reamer at the Brookings Institution, in 2008 the federal government distributed $866.5 billion in funds to…
The Good News, Bad News of Unemployment Claims
With 2010 wrapping up, it’s easy to get to the point where you want to hear any good news about the economy at all, so the mildly positive information in the national unemployment claims announcement today is welcome, but it’s a little early to start singing “Happy Days Are Here Again”: For the first time…
RIP, Bobby Farrell of Boney M
Sure, Bobby Farrell, who died from a post-concert heart attack this morning, didn’t actually sing on Boney M’s records (producer Frank Farian, the guy behind Milli Vanilli, took care of that part), but he sure could dance. Below the cut, my personal favorite Boney M track, a cover of Bobby Hebb’s “Sunny” that seems to…
Happy New Year 2011
Elves gone bad; Elves Gone Bad; Winter Wonderland party with Chi Chi LaRue; Early New Year’s Countdown; Congress Bordello
Robyn: Body Talk (Konichiwa/Cherrytree)
It’s no coincidence that one of the first tracks on Body Talk is “Fembot,” a song that comments on the recent vogue of pop starlets re-imagining themselves as cyborg provocateurs (see Gaga or Christina Aguilera’s latest incarnation)—not by rejecting objectification (that’d be too easy), but by turning the whole metaphor on its head by overemphasizing…
We Hereby Resolve …
It’s that time of year, so here are some resolutions: • We resolve to continue to improve our online news/content efforts. This was an amazing year for us as far as TucsonWeekly.com goes—especially the stuff we managed to do on The Range, our daily dispatch, at daily.tucsonweekly.com. In 2009, we posted about 800 stories on…
T Q&A
Ricky Gelb
The Autumn Defense: Once Around (Yep Roc)
Like every side project, The Autumn Defense is saddled with the fundamental questions of why it exists and what it has to offer apart from its members’ well-known day jobs. Wilco’s John Stirratt (who’s been with the band since its inception) and Pat Sansone (who joined in 2004) get to stretch out as multi-instrumentalists in…
Danehy
As 2010 fades into history, these were a few of my favorite things this year: Favorite books: It wasn’t the greatest year for books, but there were still a few gems, including: • Nathaniel Philbrick’s The Last Stand. While no book on George Armstrong Custer will ever touch Evan S. Connell’s Son of the Morning…
The Greats
Chamber Music PLUS, Tucson’s innovative purveyor of theatricalized chamber music, is keeping busy this January with two concerts that provide a dramatic study in contrasts. Each concert focuses on either male or female artists, on the Old World or the New, and on classical or modern artistry. Vivaldi’s Four Seasons will be enjoying its world…
Freebass: It’s a Beautiful Life (24 Hour Service Station)
Even before the release of this album, the high-concept supergroup behind it had already disbanded. The lineup centered on three bass players from influential English bands: Peter Hook of Joy Division and New Order; Gary “Mani” Mounfield of The Stone Roses and Primal Scream; and Andy Rourke of The Smiths. All three played bass when…
Messina
When he traveled through India in 2008, Victor Shamas saw an unusual pair of concepts in action: play and spirituality. A pool table happened to be in the middle of the ashram he was visiting. “I asked, ‘Why would you have a pool table in the middle of the ashram?’ They said, ‘We like playing…
Cowboys and Spirits
To compile this anthology, co-editor Russell Davis issued a challenge to a group of writers of Western fiction: Write a story about a real or fictional ghost town. Include, if desired, an element of the supernatural. The writers took the challenge, drew and brought down, as Davis notes, some “good-uns.” The writers of these 15…
¡Ask a Mexican!
Dear Readers: Wish I could say I was back on the rancho, but you know how that drug war of ours (both Mexican and American) is going, so the Mexican decided to stay home for the holidays for the first time in decades. Besides, there’s too much work at mano. The failure by the U.S.…
Guest Commentary
He trips heading into the kitchen and knocks his forehead against the doorway. He topples while squatting to examine the grain of the hardwood floor of our Brooklyn, N.Y., home. He tumbles headlong from the couch while practicing, for the 38th time, his dismount. All completely normal toddler mishaps. Yet as I watch the latest…
Top Ten in Books
Antigone Books’ best-sellers for the week ending Dec. 24, 2010 1. Earth (The Book): A Visitor’s Guide to the Human Race Jon Stewart and the writers of The Daily Show, Grand Central ($27.99) 2. Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk David Sedaris, Little, Brown ($21.99) 3. Cutting for Stone Abraham Verghese, Vintage ($15.95) 4. Just Kids Patti Smith,…
Delisting Dilemma
Given that there are probably fewer than 50 Mexican gray wolves in the wild, folks were a tad surprised recently when the Arizona Game and Fish Commission threw its weight behind a plan to yank the animals from federal endangered-species protection. The December commission vote came as congressional Republicans introduced legislation to strip away federal…
An Embarrassment
When a 31-year-old Robert De Niro earned his first Oscar for The Godfather: Part II in 1975, the movie world lay before him like a Las Vegas buffet ready to be plundered by a fat guy. When he accepted his second Oscar, for Raging Bull in 1981, the not-yet-40 method actor must’ve thought things were…
The Skinny
Is Republican Jesse Kelly reading for a rematch against Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords—and is he trying to rig the redistricting commission? … Why won’t Congressman Raul Grijalva tell us who’s on his staff? … Lute Olson gets an honorary law degree from Joe Sweeney … and much more!
Top Ten in Movies
Casa Video’s top rentals for the week ending Dec. 26, 2010
Update This!
The craziness of Arizona in 2010 was enough motivation for some to move away, while others decided to stick around and fight. In June, Jon Gettel talked to the Tucson Weekly about his fight to legalize medical marijuana (“Pain for Pot?” June 24). The director for the local chapter of the National Organization for the…
Media Watch
Humenik, Buel promoted at ‘Star’–sort of; Tucson 12 hopes proposals lead to 2011 survival; Lantz named program director at 1290; Rapp joins KIIM morning show
Center of Attention
In a curious bit of promotion, contestants on the recently concluded season of Survivor were given the chance to see Jack Black’s new family comedy, Gulliver’s Travels, before the film’s official release. Talk about roughing it in the wild. It’s never a good recipe for success when the biggest star in the movie is also…
Now Showing at Home
Catfish (Blu-ray); Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole (Blu-ray); The American (Blu-ray); Cyrus (Blu-ray)
Of Course!
What eventually happened regarding some of the stories we covered in 2010 can be summed up in two words: Of course! Of course the state of Arizona slashed assistance for the mentally ill (“Better Off Poor,” May 13). Since it didn’t make financial sense, of course the proposed Tucson Convention Center hotel (“Downtown Reservations,” April…
A Bit of Baja
Valencia Road is lined with big-box stores and just about every chain restaurant one could imagine. But tucked away between a Pizza Hut and a Big O Tires is an inviting little spot called Salud Oyster Bar and Grill. Housed in a former Chuy’s, this locally owned and operated bar and grill serves a plethora…
Noshing Around
Your Frozen Yogurt and Gelato Update; An del Sol; In the New Year
Weekly Wide Web
The 2010 Weekly Wide Websters; The week on The Range; Comment of the week; Best of WWW; and more!
No, Really, Listen Up!
Because you have an unquenchable thirst for lists this time of year, and because our critics want nothing more than to please you (mmm hmmm), here we present Part 2 of our lists of favorite albums of 2010. Sean Bottai (in alphabetical order, except for the first one) Album of the Year: Robyn, Body Talk…
Police Dispatch
Solo food fight; Frog thieves; Wonder what his other unit is called
Soundbites
Start the new year by going wayback; Another day, another release from Howe; Because lists from six writers aren’t enough; So long, Serpe
Top Ten in Music
The 17th St. Guitar and World Music Store’s top sales for the week ending Dec. 22, 2010
Not-So-New New Poets
Poetry, according to the ever-so-informative Wikipedia, is “a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning.” For the non-poet or language-inadequate individual, let me break this down for you: Poetry could mean something, or it could mean nothing.…
Nine Questions
Chuck George
City Week
A Field Guide to Dragons; The Manhattan Dolls; Warlock Wednesdays; 25 Years of Photography: Teec Nos Pos, Tibet, Tucson
Live
The crowd in the lounge at Plush squeezed in shoulder-to-shoulder Monday night to witness the San Francisco-based band Pocket Full of Rye playing its Tucson debut. The gig marked a sort of homecoming for the band: Its three members, all in their mid-20s, originally hail from Tucson, and family and friends turned out in droves…
No Changes for Redistricting Panel
Craig McDermott, who has done a terrific job following the controversy over the candidates for the Independent Redistricting Commission, brings us an update about today’s meeting, in which the Commission on Appellate Court Appointments decided against making any changes to the list of finalists that will be forwarded to legislative leaders. The gist: The Arizona…
Or Like Calling Megyn Kelly A Journalist
Fox News’ Megyn Kelly suggests calling people who enter the country illegally “undocumented” is like calling a rapist a “non-consensual sex partner.” TPM has details here. My personal favorite Megyn Kelly moment in recent weeks was Chait’s blog entry here after the sex kitten posed for GQ. Photo may be NSFW.
Slideshow: All Souls Procession
Emily Ann Jones captured the happenings at All Souls Procession, one of Tucson’s most unique and popular events.
