Cover Story
Get Out Of Town!
Every year since 2003, those of us at Weekly World Central have celebrated a tradition: We put on our Santa hats, get hopped up on some serious eggnog, and do our best Saint Nick impressions by making two lists: a naughty list, and a nice list. Then, in the two weeks leading up to Dec.…
Here Is a James Hetfield (HE-HEAH!) Soundboard (GIMME FAI!) for Your Enjoyment
haak78 / Shutterstock.com It’s the week before Christmas, so you’re probably not all that busy at work (unless you work in retail or shipping or something of the sort, to which I say, “May God have mercy on your soul”), so why not turn your computer speakers up and rock your office space with the…
Guy Fieri Will Have His Revenge on America in the Form of S’Mores Pizza
Somehow culinary-punching-bag Guy Fieri managed to sneak Indoor S’Mores Pizza past the disapproving eyes of most of the internet for almost an entire year. But Eater managed to discover the item’s Sam’s Club page, featuring a parade of comments from disappointed purchasers of the two pack of dessert pizzas. My favorite, by user “NoellesMommy,” who…
9Q+1: Kade Mislinski
Kade Mislinski moved to Tucson when he was 6 and graduated from the UA in 1997. He was once a member of the local jazz-funk band Interlocking Grip and DJ’d at mostly now-defunct clubs around town, including the Airport Lounge, the Velvet Tea Garden, Heart-Five and Club Congress. These days he’s co-owner, with Jenny Rice,…
Watch “Cyanide Beach” Online
Investigative reporter John Dougherty’s Cyanide Beach, a documentary on an Italian mine that’s linked to the parent company that wants to open the Rosemont Mine, is now available for viewing on YouTube.
We Will Absolutely Take Credit For This: ‘GIF’ Is the Oxford American Dictionary Word of the Year
Okay, so they announced this, like, a month ago. THAT CHANGES NOTHING ABOUT OUR CULTURAL REACH. In fact, I’d argue that it makes us even greater trend setters as this idea had been kicked around that long. From BetaBeat: 2012 was the year of the reaction GIF blog, where everyone from law students to editors…
Desert Gardens for Small Spaces – Frost Protection
With so many new homes in Tucson and similar desert cities creating small loft apartments, patio homes and remodeled barrio homes, I thought it time to concentrate on how potted gardens fill the desire to have a garden – regardless of limited small outside spaces. We are experiencing our cold December and therefore it is…
Recapping the GIF Contest Thus Far
With the deadline (Dec. 21) fast approaching, now seems like a good time to get you folks caught up on Tucson Weekly’s GIF contest, and what it’s all about. Animated GIFs have, as of late, entered a sort of renaissance period. They’ve been used lately to recap everything, from TV shows like The Walking Dead…
The Pima County Fair Wants You To Do Their Booking For Them
facebook.com/pimacountyfair I would love to hear T-Pain do a solo rendition of “I’m On A Boat.” Today, the Pima County Fair Facebook page spent the last few hours asking what fairgoers wanted to hear this year in their Hip-Hop/R&B category (if we’re nitpicking, and we are, those are not the same kind of music), and…
Shining a Light on Dark Money in the 2012 Campaign Cycle
The Center for Responsive Politics tries to untangle the web of campaign dollars related to Arizona’s Center to Protect Patients Rights, which doled out $23.2 million dollars last year. The CPPR brought in more than $25 million from donors whose identities are shielded because the group is technically a nonprofit, not a political committee. From…
“Da Great Gatsby”: Terrible, Kinda Racist College Project, or Interesting Look at Remix Culture?
It turns out that there’s a course at Brown University, entitled “Open Source Culture,” that studies “the line between sampling and stealing,” examining the idea of open source works and how today’s Internet-centric culture has taken the idea of using “found footage,” expanded upon it, and transformed it (for example: Danger Mouse’s “Grey Album,” a…
A Blind Man Describes His Understanding of Color
Tommy Edison has been blind since birth. He has, literally, no idea what the visual world is like — the things we take for granted, such as the ability to read this sentence, he has no experience with. Which is what makes his YouTube channel incredible. On the the Tommy Edison Experience, he explains blind…
Grijalva: Problems With Social Security Cuts in Fiscal-Cliff Deal
Time is running out to make a deal to avert the dreaded “fiscal cliff” by the year’s end. (We want to take a moment to emphasize that the fiscal cliff is a terrible metaphor that has way too many people freaked out.) Congressman Raul Grijalva does not like the details of the latest proposals coming…
A Future Food Store on 4th
There is a cryptic sign up at 210 N. 4th Ave. for a new food store. The banner on the overhang simply reads “Deli-Grocery & Homemade Dinners To Go.” It also states it’s coming in January. Looking in the window the place was still empty and January is not too far off. If anyone has…
This Is What We’d Get You for Christmas (If We Had the Money)
Sadly, the We Got Cactus music-blogging empire is not flush with the sort of cash that would allow us to purchase official Hootie and the Blowfish soccer jerseys for our entire readership, but it’s the thought that counts, right? While we’re busy trying to negotiate a significant bulk discount with the Blowfish braintrust, feel free…
What Happens When a Black Hole Eats?
P. Anninos Astronomers hope to watch as the black hole at the center of our Milky Way rips apart a mysterious cloud composed primarily of hydrogen gas sometime around July 2013. The image shows a computer simulation predicting how the cloud changes over time. UA astronomy professor Feryal Ozel, who studies neutron stars and black…
The Bounty in the Vending Machine: What We Did On Our Lunch Break
During a particularly slow moment today, incoming Tucson Weekly editor Dan Gibson and I spent far too much time and money attempting to obtain a present in our break room’s vending machine, left by the enterprising folks who stock said machine. It’s a tale that includes counting change, disbelief in how much we spent, the…
Check Out Roll Acosta’s New Music Video, “The Deep”
Truth be told, I generally don’t dig today’s indie rock that much. If there aren’t loud guitars or drum beats that threaten to change my heart’s rhythm, I’m generally not into it. Now, here’s another truth: “The Deep” is an awesome song, and in an effort to find out where they’re going to be playing…
There are Petitions Going Around Hoping to Strip Westboro Baptist Church of Tax Exempt Status
The Westboro Baptist Church. Surely you’re familiar, correct? They’re the terrible people who go around with signs that read “God Hates Fags” and protest funerals after tragedies and do generally do everything in their power to make sure that no one is ever happy around them. Basically, they’re like the worst trolls of the internet—similar…
Tucson to Be Represented in National Wiener Dog Race for Second Straight Year
Shutterstock This is probably not Oscar, but it made me laugh. For the second year in a row (the dachshund racing fans among us may remember our discussion of the wiener race last year), the Old Pueblo is home to a wiener dog competing in a national championship race, sponsored by (who else?) Wienerschnitzel. On…
Get into the Holiday Spirit by Listening to KXCI’s “Sonic Solstice” Tonight
One of my favorite holiday season traditions each year is the Sonic Solstice radio show broadcast by KXCI FM 91.3. Now in its 11th year, the program — which airs tonight, Monday, Dec. 17, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. — combines live, in-studio performances of holiday classics and original songs as performed by an…
Mitt Romney’s AZ Electors Go Birther
Republicans who cast Arizona’s official electoral votes for Mitt Romney descended into the birther conspiracy again todayAP reports: The state Republican Party chairman and two other Electoral College members spoke up during the ceremony to voice doubts about Obama’s eligibility as a native-born U.S. citizen. “I’m disappointed that the other candidate, Barack Obama, has not…
U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva: “The Scandalous Availability of Highly Lethal Weapons To Even The Least Qualified, Least Competent and Most Dangerous Among Us Has Gone On Long Enough”
In the wake of the Sandy Hook massacre, Congressman Raul Grijalva joins the chorus of voices calling for new restrictions on guns: When a man kills twenty children and seven others for no reason other than his own demons, the immediate human response is the same anywhere: deep pain, grief, anger and frustration. In the…
One in Six Adults Are Concerned About Possible Apocalypse, Survey Finds
More than one in six people are concerned that the world will end this week, on Dec. 21, according to a survey of concerns and regrets going into the coming apocalypse—or, failing that, 2013—by data backup service Backblaze. This astounds me. Not that a data backup service would do a survey of things that stress…
Dido Features Kendrick Lamar On New Single, Further Proves Hip-Hop Cred
I’ve got to admit something: Kendrick Lamar’s much-beloved new album “good kid, m.A.A.d City” wasn’t the revelation I had heard it would be would be upon my first listen. It was good, sure, but I didn’t freak out about it like I was lead to believe I would—there are skits after most every track, and…
Scott and Co. Listed Again
Well the “little speakeasy that could” gets some more public recognition. Scott and Co., located next to its sister restaurant 47 Scott (at 47 N. Scott Ave., in downtown), has been singled out by Jim Meehan as one of his ten favorite new bars in the country. Jim Meehan was named American Bartender of the…
U.S. Rep. Ron Barber: “We Must Take Action To Deal With the Easy Availability of Assault Weapons and Extended Magazines”
Congressman Ron Barber addresses the Sandy Hook massacre in today’s Arizona Republic: On Friday in Tucson, police were at my grandchildren’s school as a precautionary measure. It was an important action to ensure their safety, but nonetheless scared my little ones and their parents. We must not stand by and let our children be put…
A Great Day To Be a Wildcats Fan
Two astonishing come-from-behind wins in the final seconds? Yeah, that’s a Saturday to remember for any UA fan. Go Wildcats!
Sunday Morning Primer: WTF Happened at the Tuesday TUSD Board Meeting?
It could be the only Tucson Unified School District vote and revote in recent school governance history to cause happiness and confusion en-masse simultaneously, followed by an anger that’s fueled discussions on why federal intervention is needed, as well as talk of a citizen lawsuit. Here’s your Super Sunday morning primer, folks. Grab a cup…
What’s a College Football Bowl Game Without Teammates Fighting on the Sidelines?
Today is University of Arizona day on ESPN. You’ve got the football team playing in the New Mexico Bowl right now, and the unbeaten and eighth-ranked Wildcat basketball team squaring off with No. 5 Florida at 8 p.m. There will also be plenty of airings of various UA-themed commercials — they’ve already shown the one…
The Great Cover-Up’s Daytime Portion Moves Indoors Today
Attention all daytime rockers: Because Tucsonans start shivering when it dips down to 60 degrees, and OK, because it might rain, thereby destroying all the equipment donated by our generous sponsors, all of the Great Cover-Up events this afternoon have been moved from the Hotel Congress patio to the Rialto Theatre. I know, it’s no…
Weather Is a Jerk! Daytime Cover-Up Action Has Been Moved to the Rialto
Attention all daytime rockers: Because Tucsonans start shivering when it dips down to 60 degrees, and OK, because it might rain, thereby destroying all the equipment donated by our generous sponsors, all of the Great Cover-Up events this afternoon have been moved from the Hotel Congress patio to the Rialto Theatre. I know, it’s no…
Ten 55 Brewing Offers Its First Public Tasting Today
The guys at Ten 55 Brewing are having their first public tasting today from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. The brewery is located at 3810 E. 44th St. They will be selling their Leap Pale Ale, and you may be able to squeeze out samples of the Lazy Duck Wheat. If you have beer lovers…
Political Roundtable: TUSD School Closures, Mexican-American Studies, Rio Nuevo & More
Tonight on Arizona Public Media’s Political Roundtable: Pima County Democratic Party chairman Jeff Rogers, Tucson Tea Party Founder Trent Humphries, Tucson City Councilman Steve Kozachik and GOP strategist Sam Stone discuss the TUSD school closures, the ongoing battle over Mexican-American studies in TUSD schools, the future of the Tucson Convention Center, downtown redevelopment and the…
Looking For a Place to Watch the New Mexico Bowl Tomorrow? Try The Loft
If you’re still trying to figure out where to watch the Arizona Wildcats take on Nevada’s Wolf Pack, the Loft Cinema invites you to head on down to their digs and check out the game on the big screen—and the best part is, it’s free. If you’d like to ensure that you have a spot,…
Show Us Your GIFs!: What We Want to See
So, the GIF contest. As has been said before, we think that GIFs are awesome. I tend to lean toward hilarious GIFs from the world of sports, such as my personal favorite, a rollerblading mascot of the Toronto Raptors faceplanting on a basketball court: The best part is his tail! Others in the office tend…
MALDEF/Mendoza Plaintiffs File Response to Deseg Objections
Today is the U.S. District Court deadline for all Tucson Unified School District desegregation case parties to file briefs in response to objections filed by the different parties involved: TUSD, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund representing the Mendoza Plaintiffs, Ruben Salter representing the Fisher plaintiffs, and the U.S. Department of Justice. In…
Saturday: Get Your Posada On
Ready for Las Adelitas Arizona’s holiday tradition? The Latina progressive political organization’s posada is tomorrow, Saturday, Dec. 15 at 6 p.m. in the courtyard at 326 S. Convent Ave. (Best place to park is on the street on South Convent Avenue.) Tickets are $20 at the door, and this year the project benefits Scholarships A-Z. Scholarships A-Z was started in 2009 to provide college scholarships to all students regardless of immigration…
[UPDATED] Shooting at Connecticut Elementary School; Reports Indicate At Least 27 Dead
News out of Connecticut this morning indicates that a shooting has taken place at Newtown, Conn.’s Sandy Hook Elementary School. Details are sketchy, as they so often tend to be in the early period after such incidents, but many reports have indicated at least one confirmed death, that of the shooter, whose identity has yet…
Tucson Schools Can Expect Heightened Police Presence in Wake of Connecticut Shooting
The Tucson Police Department has announced that, beginning this afternoon, they plan to have an “enhanced presence” at Tucson-area schools. A release from TPD states that, though there has been no indication that there is a threat similar to the shooting today at Sandy Hook Elementary, in Newtown, Conn., they will be increasing presence at…
Most Appropriate Tweet of the Day Thus Far
In the wake of the shooting in Newtown, Conn., there’s been anger, sensationalism, backlash against said sensationalism and plain ol’ stupidity. This has none of that. “If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” ~Mother Teresa — Ben’s Bells (@BensBells) December 14, 2012 Thanks, Ben’s Bells.
Ron Barber Comments on Sandy Hook Shooting
The Range has just obtained this press release sent from Rep. Ron Barber’s office, regarding the shooting in Newtown, Conn. at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Reports claim that there have been 27 deaths, including 18 children. Today’s tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. is a devastating loss for the families, the people…
Super Sports Saturday: What’s a Wildcat Fan to Do?
It’s not often around these parts when significant University of Arizona football and basketball events bleed into each other’s territory. Heck, most years by early October the inevitable “when does basketball season start?” queries begin. But on rare occasions, us Wildcat fans get a little of both. And on the same day. Leaving us with…
The Timeless Draw of ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’
If you don’t have any positive feelings toward “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” I’m relatively certain that your heart is made out of wood—or you don’t celebrate Christmas. Either or. The fact that it has been as successful as it’s been over the past 57 years wasn’t a slam-dunk, however. Even the men responsible for it,…
Tom Goes to the Chair: Danehy’s Blogs About TV
For years, I’ve managed to avoid blogging. It just seemed like a whole lot of people, shouting to be heard. I guess it’s better than leading one’s life in quiet desperation and going to your grave with the song still in your heart, but even the word “blog” sounds like the noise one makes when…
The Great Cover-Up Starts Tonight!!
Just a friendly reminder that the awesomeness that is The Great Cover-Up begins tonight at Plush. You know all about it by this point, right? If not, read up here. We’ve been posting a video (almost) every day this week of one of the acts getting covered at this year’s event playing a cover song,…
Enter Our GIF Contest: We Literally Have a Stack of Gift Cards To Give Away
I’ve noticed that the number of entrants in our GIF contest is quite low. In order to better entice you, the creative and attractive reader that you are, I’ve decided that you need to see the bounty that you may receive. Seriously. A stack. In the pile, in case you can’t see it as clearly…
Pima County Issues an Air Quality Advisory Due To Today’s Crazy Winds
Thanks to the odd storm that seems to be sweeping through Tucson and Southern Arizona right now, the Pima County Department of Environmental Quality has issued an “air quality advisory.” What that means is that, if you have sensitive lungs or heart disease, you may not want to venture outside unless you’ve got a handy-dandy…
AZ Foster Kids in AZ Hits Record High As CPS Struggles With Budget Crunch
The Arizona Republic digs through CPS emails that reveal an agency that is struggling to meet demand as the number of foster kids hit an all-time high: State officials acknowledge a current-year CPS budget gap of up to $35 million, about $27 million of it because of the growing number of foster kids and the…
Black Crown Coffee Co. is Truly a Labor of Love
So while out finalizing my Holiday shopping, I decided to warm up with a cup of coffee. I stopped into Black Crown Coffee Co. at 4024 E. Speedway, formerly The Safehouse Espresso Bar. I visited “The Safehouse” once or twice when it was under that name. Back then it was dirty, smoky, and scary! Black…
Lady Sings the Blues
“Billie, you’re a genius,” wrote songwriter Stephin Merritt of the band the Magnetic Fields, “enough to be a fool.” The “Billie” in question, jazz singer Billie Holiday, is remembered almost equally for the genius of her vocal stylings and the foolish tragedy of her personal life. Arizona Onstage Productions pays homage to Holiday’s life and…
Ask a Mexican!
Dear Readers: Behold your favorite Mexican’s annual Christmas gift guide, where I give shout-outs to some of my favorite books that deserve your money this holiday season! And for once, I won’t recommend my books—¡Ask a Mexican!, Orange County: A Personal History, and Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America—as gifts … oh wait, I…
Weekly Wide Web
We’re running an animated GIF contest, in part because we want to celebrate the city that we love—and in part because we dig animated GIFs. For some strange reason, GIFs have been making a comeback in recent years, despite the fact that they’re short; they can choke bandwidth; and they lack sound. Yet something about…
Art of the Season
A white star hangs in a midnight sky, and an angel is there to guide the way. But the two men walking the desert in “For Those Who Went Before Us” are not shepherds looking for the Christ child. They’re migrants looking to save their own lives. The angel walks just behind them. He’s dressed…
Sergio Mendoza y la Orkesta: Mambo Mexicano! (Cosmica)
We’ve been waiting for this record for a few years now, since the popular local act announced it was working on its first studio release with Calexico’s Joey Burns, who co-produced with bandleader Mendoza. Mendoza is the MVP, playing everything from keyboards and percussion to guitars and horns, and most of the musicians you see…
Begging Game
At public hearings on possible school closures, the Tucson Unified School District governing board listened as teachers, parents and students begged the board to keep their schools open. The district has a projected $17 million deficit, and enrollment has been declining since 2000, going from about 60,000 students to 50,000. School closures and consolidations are…
Stories in Sepia Tones
In late spring 1906, Edward S. Curtis traveled to the White Mountains of Arizona. The photographer was buoyant. He had at long last gotten funding for his long-dreamed-of project to document the Indian tribes of North America in photographs, in sound recordings and in texts that would memorialize all of their cultural practices, their languages…
Grams and Krieger: 5 (Self-Released)
It’s hard to imagine anyone who better embodies our homegrown desert spirit than these two multi-talented, blue-collar and seriously irreverent musicians. If you count their Fluffingtons project (and they do), this is their fifth release and quite possibly their most satisfying. A mix of five originals, four extremely diverse covers and one heartfelt traditional, “Lucky…
Grow, Tend, Eat?
At Ochoa Elementary School, small fingers poke smaller seeds into furrowed soil. Beets, broccoli, spinach: Every day, a few students from the pre-kindergarten classroom come out to care for their expanding plants. They water and weed, watching seedlings emerge from these raised garden beds. Soon enough, the whole class will return to harvest the produce…
Top Ten in Books
1. Flight Behavior: A Novel Barbara Kingsolver, Harper ($28.99) 2. Julia’s Cats: Julia Child’s Life in the Company of Cats Patricia Barey and Therese Burson, Abrams ($16.95) 3. The Third Wheel (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book 7) Jeff Kinney, Harry N. Abrams ($13.95) 4. A Guide to Southern Arizona’s Historic Farms and Ranches: Rustic…
Gary Clark Jr.: Blak and Blu (Warner Bros.)
Gary Clark Jr. is best when he unleashes some high-intensity guitar, and while his major-label debut has plenty of those fireworks, it’s also laden with the excesses of overproduction and indulgent genre hopscotch. It’s hard not to see Warner Bros.’ fingerprints on the record and wish that Clark would get a do-over for Blak and…
Bilbo Bungle
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is not a film that knows exactly where it stands. It’s astonishing to think that, because Peter Jackson returns to Middle Earth having so convincingly snake-charmed J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. But what else can be said about a movie so anonymous, so intermittently clumsy and, ultimately, so…
Get Out Of Town!: The Readers Rant!
Brad Nelson My suggestion for the 2012 GOOT un-award goes to Brad Nelson, head of the Pima County Elections Department. While working under Chuck Huckelberry, who works under/over the Board of Supervisors, Nelson has reigned over poorly run county elections for almost an eternity. Going back to 1996, when precincts were split up (without voters…
Top Ten in Cinema
1. The Dark Knight Rises Warner Bros. 2. Men in Black 3 Sony 3. Savages Universal 4. Hope Springs Sony 5. The Watch 20th Century Fox 6. Lawless Starz/Anchor Bay 7. ParaNorman Universal 8. Brave Disney/Pixar 9. The Expendables 2 Lionsgate 10. Beasts of the Southern Wild 20th Century Fox
Sci-Fi Meets History
See the world, revised, in Matthew Buchholz’s Altenate Histories at Pop-Cycle, Saturday, Dec. 15.
The Director
Although it is being pushed as heady Oscar fare, Hitchcock is a little too bizarre and too goofy to find itself seriously in the running for Best Picture. I’m not complaining; I am a fan of bizarre, goofy movies, and I like this one. I just don’t think it’s going to take home a bagful…
Now Showing at Home
Seth MacFarlane’s raunchy teddy bear comedy comes home … Terry Gilliam’s trippy Brazil is now on Criterion Blu-ray … and you know you want more MST3K.
Editor’s Note
In the spirit of our final Get Out of Town! issue, I thought I’d present a rant about several things that, as an editor, I wish would just go away: • People who are trekking across the country to raise awareness about (insert name of cause here). While I appreciate that you’ve put your life…
Small Plates, Surreal Service
If there are two words in the modern-day culinary lexicon that are misused more than tapas and fusion, I don’t know what they are. Tapas, to me, refers to all those wonderful small plates found at Spanish—and only Spanish—restaurants. Everything else is an appetizer. And fusion means the true blending of two or more cuisines…
Danehy
During the election, there was (thankfully) very little discussion of Mitt Romney’s religion, but quite a bit about Barack Obama’s race. The word racist got thrown around a lot, and I’ll admit that I brought up the subject of racism a few times myself. I just couldn’t understand the level of hatred for the president.…
Noshing Around
A Clubhouse for Yeti? A new place with an odd name will open soon-ish in the space formerly occupied by the My Big Fat Greek Restaurant at 7265 N. La Cholla Blvd., near Foothills Mall. The Lodge Sasquatch Kitchen is the creation of chef Aaron May of May’s Counter Chicken and Waffles, 2945 E. Speedway…
Messina
[Note: The images in the slideshow contain nudity and are NOT work safe. You’ve been warned.] On a jaunt to Bisbee in the late ’90s, Carl Baldwin and Caren Anderson made a discovery that put them on an unusual path: They wandered into a local shop and discovered a black-velvet painting of an African-American woman.…
Hard Rock Revelry
We’ll have to excuse Andrew Packer if he was a bit enthusiastic when he talked with the Tucson Weekly a few weeks ago. He and his hard-rock band, Gypsyhawk, had played Cleveland the night before, opening for the Sword, and he was simply pumped. “It was the third sold-out show in a row, man,” the…
Polluting the Poor
The coal pile rises like a black tide, spreading long and deep in the flats along Interstate 10. If Tucson Electric Power has its way, this fuel will eventually feed the Sundt Generating Station, contributing to a haze in our skies and, according to two new reports, more death and illness in the predominantly poor,…
Soundbites
In which we freak out about the Great Cover-Up … also, we urge you to check out My Jerusalem at Plush on Dec. 18
Guest Commentary
“If you close our school, you will destroy our community.” These arresting words became a repeated refrain at a packed Catalina Magnet High School auditorium for parents and students begging the Tucson Unified School District governing board not to close their school. The “no more pencils, no more books” playground doggerel of yesteryear stands in…
Top Ten in Music
1. Grams and Krieger 5 (self-released) 2. Ron Doering The Balladeer (self-released) 3. Francisco Gonzalez Viejas Canciones Para Viejos Amigos (self-released) 4. Justin Valdez Deuce-Seven Off Suit (Los Muertos) 5. Sergio Mendoza y la Orkesta Live at the Rialto (self-released) 6. New Riders of the Purple Sage 17 Pine Avenue (Woodstock) 7. Greg Morton When…
The Skinny
Will state lawmakers expand the AHCCCS rolls? … Pima County beats Marana in the latest sewer-plant battle … Americans believe in nonexistent plots … Steve Kozachik plans a town hall … and so very much more!
City Week
A visit with gender activist Betty Makoni … found and salvaged art at Conrad Wilde Gallery … A twist on the tale of the Gingerbread Man … Mercado San Agustin opens up for it’s Annual Holiday Bazaar.
Nine Questions
Kris LaFleur, 38, grew up in Tucson. By day, he works with local solar-power installer Technicians for Sustainability, helping to bring renewable energy and sustainable technologies into the Tucson community. What was the first concert you ever saw? I tried in vain to convince my parents to let me go see INXS on the Kick…
Media Watch
Mindy Blake says goodbye to KOLD … Brian Jeffries playing both ways with UA football and men’s basketball
T Q&A
When librarian Rachel Garman put the word out about her project Sexy Lady Bookworms, the response from people who wanted to be involved was overwhelming. The idea was to take sexy photos of women who love to read, and create packs of playing cards and calendars to sell, with the proceeds going to a local…
Live
The songs virtually have been coded into the DNA of music fans of a certain age—”Sharp Dressed Man,” “Jesus Just Left Chicago,” “Gimme All Your Lovin’,” “Legs,” “Heard It on the X,” “Waitin’ for the Bus” and, for God’s sake, “La Grange.” ZZ Top, that little band from Texas, now into its fifth decade, filled…
Health-Care Fight
Gov. Jan Brewer’s decision to have the federal government, rather than the state, set up a health-care exchange means that state lawmakers will avoid a new battle this year over abortion and contraception coverage. While details about the insurance plans that will be available are still sketchy, state lawmakers will not have a say over…
Not Quite a Match
Although we are delighted when a theatrical endeavor delivers something greater than the sum of its parts, most of the time, we witness a collaboration that produces … well, simply the sum of its parts. So it is with Arizona Theatre Company’s Jane Austen’s Emma, a well-crafted, good-natured musical-comedy adaptation of Ms. Austen’s much-appreciated 19th-century…
The Wait Is Over
So here I sit in my usual seat on the couch at the Epic Café, staring at my Dell computer screen and waiting. I kinda hoped that by now I wouldn’t be waiting, but the state, the slow-turning wheels of justice and various forces of evil conspired to make me wait along with all of…
Police Dispatch
Possible public sex turns into a drug citation … a man learns that drinking (all afternoon) and driving don’t mix
This Sunday’s Episode of “Bob’s Burgers” Might Become a Holiday Classic
Ever since they stopped showing Emmy-winner Will Vinton’s A Claymation Christmas Celebration on TV each holiday season, I’ve felt a little lost without a televised holiday special to call my own. However, any network TV Christmas special which includes the line “He needs a penis” and possibly includes racing vibrators is bound to be a…
This Clip From “Chasing Ice” Is Freaking Me Out
Because I am a terrible person, I don’t generally find myself all that interested in stories about the environment. Yes, I try to do the right sort of things — reusing, recycling, I’ve been known to carpool and use public transportation, we bought a high MPG car, etc. — but I tune out a bit…
Councilwoman Karin Uhlich Is Not Opening a Restaurant in New Orleans
Despite what you may have heard on the radio, Tucson City Councilwoman Karin Uhlich is not opening a restaurant in Louisiana. “I’m not opening a restaurant in New Orleans and I don’t live there or own any property there,” says Uhlich, whose second term on the Tucson City Council comes to an end in 2013.…
Finding Babel: The Key to Indo-European Language Family
Wiki Verbix Map of Romance Languages in Europe Story by Brandon T. Bishop/Scicats An international group of researchers used a new statistical approach to try to solve a long-disputed mystery—the birthplace of the Indo-European language family. For many years, most linguists and archaeologists supported an area in the Eurasian steppe north of the Black Sea.…
