Cover Story
The Star is Poor
The last few months have proven to be a whirlwind for Tucson’s latest contenders for mainstream success. Prom Body has appeared on the blogs of Spin, NPR, Noisey (Vice’s music arm), and Stereogum, each complete with a video premiere—a marketing strategy more in line with major label rollouts than a hometown rock band with one…
Has Tesla Settled on Reno?
Tesla Motors has been searching for a place to call its gigafactory home, and it looks the American electric car manufacturer might have made its final decision. A “contributor” to Forbes and the Reno Gazette-Journal are reporting that Tesla has acquired a evacuation and surface air permit in Reno, NV. But there hasn’t been official word from Tesla. From…
We Hope The New Spongebob Movie is Good
Photo courtesy of whatever corporate umbrella that owns Spongebob. Some of us are remember watching the first episode of Spongebob Squarepants the night it aired after the 1999 Kids’ Choice Awards. It’s one of the most lucrative properties that Nickelodeon has ever produced. I’ll go out on a limb and say Spongebob influenced cartoons like…
Huppenthal: “They Were Pouring Boiling Oil On Me In That Blog!”
John Huppenthal is clearly the victim here. Just ask him, he’ll tell you, as he did on the John C. Scott radio show last week. “The interpretation of those blog comments was the exact opposite of what I was trying to communicate.” “All those scholarly posts [of mine] have disappeared. There has been a massive…
Word Odyssey – Deciphering the Ancient Script Known as Linear B—Part I
Suppose that you stumbled upon ancient scripts—at least, you are pretty sure that it is writing because the characters are laid out in rows, like modern writing, but the characters are completely unknown to you or anyone else. Archaeologists have given a name to the very sophisticated civilization that left the scripts, but they have…
Oro Valley Town Council & Mayor Debate Live Stream
Candidates for Oro Valley mayor and town council have agreed to participate in a forum Wednesday, July 30, at the Oro Valley Church of the Nazarene, 500 W. Calle Concordia. The public is welcome to attend the free event, presented by the Greater Oro Valley Chamber of Commerce. Doors open at 5 p.m., giving guests…
This Dog Brakes With Style
I’m a fan of the idea that people aren’t made cool, but it’s in their genes. The dog you’re about to adore for the next 37 seconds is cool for an usual reason. It’s not because of his breed, or his facial expression. This UK dog has an unorthodox brake method for a seemingly healthy…
Huppenthal Was For Common Core Before … Wait, He’s Against Common Core?
Poor John Huppenthal. OK, I didn’t mean that, he deserves everything he’s been getting lately. But the poor guy (didn’t mean it that time either) can’t catch a break. First, there are all those vile blog comments he made. Then there’s the Common Core. His ardent, oft-stated support for what he’s redubbed the “College and…
UA Denies PTSD/Marijuana Researcher’s Administrative Appeal for Reinstatement
According to the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, the UA denied Sue Sisley’s administrative appeal for reinstatement yesterday in a letter she received from Andrew Comrie, UA senior vice president for academic affairs and provost. Here is a link to the letter from the UA: Appeal-of-Nonrenewal-of-Faculty-Title.pdf In a press release issued in response this morning…
Linda Ronstadt on NPR’s Diane Rehm; Talks Tucson, Obama, Her Children & Parkinson’s
“I told Linda Ronstadt I had a crush on her back in the day.” How many music fans over the years have wanted to tell Tucson’s favorite daughter these words in person? When you’re the leader of the free world, you can make these kind of things happen. This whispered admission occurred last night during…
Arizonans Join in Urging White House to Include Immigrants in Debate
By JULIANNE DEFILIPPIS Cronkite News Service WASHINGTON – Phoenix resident Gerardo Torres said immigrants have “ideas that are really going to help” communities affected by immigration policies – if only President Barack Obama would ask. Torres was one of a number of protesters outside the White House Monday urging the president to include immigrant voices…
Here’s a Video of DMX on a Sling Shot with a Complete Stranger
Hardcore rapper DMX doesn’t get scared, he just acts like it. TMZ intercepted a video of DMX on the ride of his life at an amusement park in Orlando, FL. The celebrity news site edited the all the profanity, but there’s enough classic DMX barking to make up for it. I wonder if this increases or decreases his…
NSFW: March of the Juggalos Narrated by Morgan Freeman
I don’t now how long this video will stay up—Morgan Freeman’s voice from the March of the Penguins, with video from American Juggalo. You’re welcome.
Here’s the Trailer for a Show Where Mike Tyson and a Pigeon Solve Mysteries
Norm McDonald stars as the voice of a pigeon (sure) in a forthcoming Adult Swim show (of course) where an animated Mike Tyson (seemingly voiced by Mike Tyson himself) solves Scooby Doo-like mysteries (why not?). No word on when the actual show premieres, but between this and Black Jesus, I might not watch another cable…
Porcelain Dolls Make People Think They’re in a Twilight Zone Episode
These weren’t Talking Tina dolls, or Mrs. Beasley, like we had in my day (OK, who else put on her glasses and thought it was cool and not freakly?)—nope, porcelain dolls left on the doorsteps of homes in an Orange County neighborhood. The woman who left the dolls thought she was doing something nice and…
Doug Stanhope is Coming Back to Hotel Congress
We have some good news and bad news. Good news: Doug Stanhope is coming to Hotel Congress. Bad news: You have to wait three weeks. Stanhope will embark on a summer tour to New York, California, Australia and Tucson, AZ. We haven’t seen him since last November when he filmed an hour of original material for the Charlie Brooker’s Weekly Wipe. …
Oh, My: George Takei Shares Fake Tucson Streetcar “CLITT” Headline, City Unfazed
FACEBOOK King of the Internet and former Star Trek Enterprise commanding officer George Takei has cast his magical meme wand over Tucson for the second time this year with his Facebook and Twitter posts of a crudely Photoshopped headline page of the Arizona Daily Star on Sunday. The image of the fake story touted an…
Bringing Pride to Arizona, That Fabulous Tom Horne
Just in case you wanted to remind yourself once again how lucky we are to have such a great state Attorney General, why not take a look at Tom Horne and team’s legal filing this week with federal court that by golly the reason Arizona can’t have marriage equality is they can’t produce children “at…
Adam Kwasman Makes The New Yorker!
First the New Yorker has 20 pages of ads and New York events. Then the first feature in every issue is “The Talk of the Town,” a series of short (for the New Yorker) pieces about cultural and political issues. Here’s how it began in the July 28 issue: CROSSING BORDERSLast Tuesday, a crowd of…
Estimated 60,000 Brave Heat and Ride Tucson’s Streetcar Over Weekend
Nicola Freegard Approximately 60,000 passengers enjoyed free rides from the Tucson Sun Link Streetcar over the three-day Sunrise Over Sun Link celebration this weekend, according to the City of Tucson and the Regional Transportation Authority. The city estimated 17,000 passengers hopped on during Friday’s Grand Opening celebration, 25,000 braved the heat on Saturday and approximately…
Deadline: Register To Vote in the Primary Election By Midnight
If you want to cast a ballot in this year’s Aug. 26 primary election, you’d better by register by midnight tonight! Most of the action is on the Republican side this year, with contested primaries in a variety of state offices—governor, secretary of state, attorney general, et al—and Southern Arizona congressional races. So if you…
‘Mad Max:Fury Road’ Clip Looks So Good It’s Scary
I’m back from the San Diego Comic-Con, so I can finally watch and read everything I missed from the event. Last year, the Mad Max vehicles were displayed at Petco Park also known as Nerd HQ. It’s nice to finally see the giant cars in action in this first look that was revealed over the…
Sock-puppet-gate: Where Did Huppenthal Post, And What Names Did He Use?
John Huppenthal wants the furor over his anonymous internet scribblings to just go away. He publicly renounced his online comments. He repudiated them. He apologized for them. He even said, cryptically, he “sought counsel about it.” (Could be psychological, religious or legal counsel he sought. He didn’t specify.) But he hasn’t said if he commented…
UA Documentary “Earthlight” Examines the Key to Sustainability on Earth
Earthlight is a documentary produced by the University of Arizona College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and filmmaker Cody Sheehy. It poses the question: Is learning to live on the Moon the key to sustainability on Earth? The documentary aired recently on PBS but is now available online for viewing. Viewers can also purchase the…
More Than 17,000 Tucsonans Ride Streetcar on Opening Day
James Hudson Tucson’s Modern Streetcar opening day launch on Friday, July 25, saw over 17,000 passengers hop on board the much-anticipated transit system, according to the City of Tucson and the Regional Transportation Authority. 107-degree weather didn’t slow down locals as eight Sun Link cars continuously took crowds of all ages down its 3.9-mile path…
Yet Another Guadalajara Grill Suffers Fire; UPDATE: Declared Total Loss
TFD A fire erupted early Saturday morning at the Guadalajara Fiesta Grill on 705 N. Kolb, and was in the process of being contained by the Tucson Fire Department by 6:00 a.m., according to TFD’s Facebook page. Though Guadalajara Fiesta Grill changed its name and became an independently owned business in November of 2011, this…
FC Tucson Advances to Conference Final With Last Minute Goal
FT: FC Tucson 1-0 @Whitecaps U23s. FC Tucson is in the final! pic.twitter.com/6IMWRi7uDh— FC Tucson (@FCTucson) July 26, 2014 FC Tucson has extended their incredible season at least another night, beating the Vancouver Whitecaps U23 team 1-0 on an incredible last minute stoppage-time goal by Juan De Rada. No rest for the winners, however, as…
Watch the Weekly’s Awkward Editor Act Awkwardly on Metro Week
I was on Metro Week tonight, clearly because most local journalists were busy trying to get a table at Pizzeria Bianco and I was the only person available, discussing the streetcar, medical marijuana, the death penalty and some other stuff with AZPM’s Andrea Kelly and Zac Ziegler, plus my Tucson Local Media pal Thelma Grimes.
Back to School Safety and Health Fair at Park Place Mall
On Saturday, July 26 (tomorrow), from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., sponsored by the Tucson Police Foundation: Check out these exhibitors: -UAMC and Diamond Children’s Center will provide pediatric and Health info and services -Arizona Oncology will offer sun and skincare safety items -Free school supplies will be given out, while supplies last -Tucson Police…
The Jigglewatts Are Coming to Town
Arguably the best-named burlesque show: Bringing their own brand of opulence and Texan sass, the performers of the Austin-based Jigglewatts Burlesque Revue will return to Tucson on their Texas Tease ‘Em Tour at 10:00 p.m. Thursday, August 7, 2014 at the Surly Wench Pub located at 424 North 4th Avenue in Tucson, Arizona. Tickets are…
Nintzel Returns to TV (And more on Sisley Termination)
Congratulations to our own Jim Nintzel who is back on the TV-sphere, albeit up north so we’re still out on if Maricopa County really counts. However, he did a nice job talking Tucson on Ted Simons’ Arizona Horizon show on ASU’s PBS station. The termination of UA assistant professor Sue Sisley came up (minute 14:47)…
Get Free Books In Spanish And Free Backpacks Saturday
Image courtesy of shutterstock.com If you’re one of the first 1,200 attendees through the door, you’ll get free books for kids in Spanish and free backpacks. It’s the sixth annual Bilingual Literacy Fair, Saturday, 10 a.m. to noon at the El Pueblo Neighborhood Center, 101 West Irvington Road. Story time readings will be held in…
Get Yourself Some Free Tickets to See Classixx
I think by allowing a signup through Facebook, I might have just given up my personal information in exchange for the opportunity to RSVP for a concert, but hey, I really want to see Classixx again. A DJ/production duo from LA, Classixx have played Tucson before, but they’re returning to Club Congress on August 28…
Official Streetcar Ribbon-Cutting and Launch (Video) on Congress St.
Following five district ribbon-cuttings along the Sun Link Modern Streetcar route, the Grand Opening celebration ended this morning at 10:00 a.m. on Congress Street and Fifth Avenue as a streetcar full of dignitaries was escorted by the Pride of Arizona Pep Band, Tucson Fire Department and the Tucson Police Department. JAMES HUDSON The event was…
Sol Axe Offers an Eating and Dancing Alternative to Streetcar Weekend
There are approximately 6,895 events happening in Tucson this weekend between the various streetcar festivities, FC Tucson’s playoff run, the opening of Pizzeria Bianco, etc, but if you enjoy good causes, dancing and food (and who doesn’t?), add Sol Axe’s Monsoon Mania 2014 tribute to Soul Train tomorrow night to your list of things to…
Tangible Transformations at Cafe 54
If you’re a fan of Café 54 and have enjoyed a lunch or two there, or enjoyed one of their catered events (I’m telling you, the roasted beet salad, when on the menu, makes me very happy. Pistachios and beets = beautiful combination), then you know that part of eating at the downtown spot off…
Pizzeria Bianco Is Open
Legendary pizza chef Chris Bianco is serving pies on Congress Street
The World’s Highest Press Release
A PR agency in London launched a press release into space as a publicity stunt. The paper stops flapping at about 40,000 feet and gets very still when it reaches 27 miles.
Sisley Termination Story Continues: The Documents
In this week’s issue we follow-up from where our cover story left off on marijuana/PTSD researcher and UA assistant professor Sue Sisley and her termination from the UA. After going to press, an announcement went out that a group of veterans assembled at the UA College of Medicine in Phoenix and an Arizona Board of…
Surf’s Up in Downtown Tucson as Pop-Up Beach Party Celebrates Streetcar Arrival
JAMES HUDSON Downtown’s faux beach during its construction Thursday morning. It will remain for public use through Labor Day weekend. Over 170 tons of sand has been shooting over 5th Avenue and Toole into the empty MLK lot across from Hotel Congress this week, bringing the beach to Tucson as part of this weekend’s Sun…
Let’s Get Some Money Together and Buy the El Rapido Property
Photo by Paul Sableman, under Creative Commons license Heading into La Cocina or possibly just wandering downtown, you might have walked by the painted wall above for El Rapido Mexican Food, formerly a great place to get a tamale, but vacant for awhile. However, if you have $325,000 and probably a lot of money to…
Throwback Thursday: JJ, King of Beepers
Earlier on at my time here at the Weekly, I lamented that somehow the internet had not seemingly captured a JJ, (THE OWNER AND) the King of Beepers ad somewhere in the cloud of online nonsense. Well, while we’re still far away from a true archive of the JJ Era, guy-who-makes-movies Adam Ray has uploaded…
Gov Race Update: What Side of the New Border Wall Will Tucson Be On?
Republican Gubernatorial candidate Andrew Thomas has unveiled his border-security plan. It includes a wall that stretches across the state—and it appears big chunks of Southern Arizona will be left on Mexico’s side of the wall. Howie Fischer reports: The majority of the land along Arizona’s 376-mile border with Mexico is controlled by the federal government…
Word Odyssey – Mein Doppelganger: Useful Foreign Words
Image courtesy of Shutterstock I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: English is a mongrel language. Its roots are Germanic, but it’s borrowed heavily from French, Latin, Spanish, Scandinavia and just about every other language on Earth. There are many reasons for all this borrowing; one of them is that English just doesn’t…
Cinema Showdown
“Spielberg Summer” at the Loft Cinema is beginning to wind down, and there’s only a few films left to see. There’s two this week, and both films are bonafide classics that the man didn’t direct. Well, maybe—read on. First up is the 1982 fright-flick Poltergeist, directed by Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre). The Freeling family…
Missed Opportunity
Sweden’s neutrality during WWII is, oddly enough, just the backdrop and not the focus in The Last Sentence, a film that tries to give us a glimpse inside the mind of newspaper editor Torgny Segerstedt (Jesper Christensen). Segerstedt famously wrote columns criticizing Adolf Hitler during his rise to power and during WWII. He also decried…
True TV
The Only TV Column That Matters™ has seen the glory of Syfy’s Sharknado 2: The Second One (premiering Wednesday, July 30) in advance and can definitively report that it’s even more ridiculous than 2013’s surprise … hit? … Sharknado. This time around, the chompy tsunami hits New York City, and it’s up to Ian Ziering…
Now Showing at Home
1 Chance 2 Dance When a teen girl (Lexi Giovagnol) is uprooted to a new, East-coast high school in her senior year, she’s torn between two boys and her One Last Shot at becoming a dancer. How many previous shots she’s had at the old age of 17 remains unclear. (Monarch) Cuban Fury Speaking of…
Simple, but Delicious
Sometimes, I wonder, how many more ways can I describe pizza? Or a burger? Or pasta? What can I possibly say about cheese and meat that I haven’t said before? But every time I think about these things, a little phrase enters my mind, and I try to remember that every endeavor, every restaurant, every…
Noshing Around
TUCSON IN THE NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT Many of our own local restaurants were the focal point of an article on The Food Network’s site titled “Welcome to Tucson: 10 Must-Try Mexican-Inspired Dishes” by sprinkles guru and person-who-makes-food-look-beautiful Jackie Alpers. Taqueria Pico De Gallo was the star, having both its Solo-cupped fruit pico de gallo and delicious…
Bennett Speaks: “Every So Often We Kind of Stub Our Toe”
Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett is one of six Republicans seeking the GOP nomination this year. Bennett is a former Arizona Senate president and Prescott City Council member. The Weekly recently talked with him about why he’s running for governor. Here are some edited excerpts from that conversation. You’ve said that when you were…
Nine on the Line
Longtime Tucson resident and Rincon High alum, Kim M. Bayne is a business tech writer turned food scribe, currently as a correspondent for the Food Network’s Eat St. blog. She has recently decided to start her own Tucson food truck called “Griddler on the Roof,” featuring multicultural Jewish-style fusion. For upcoming launch news, follow @griddlertruck…
Congressional Campaign Coffers
After teasing the media with some details from their fundraising reports, the candidates in Congressional District 2 filed the full reports with the Federal Elections Commission last week. As noted in last week’s Skinny column, Republican Martha McSally had a mammoth haul, bringing in more than $653,000 in the second quarter of 2014. But McSally…
Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)
Not far away from the corner of Broadway and Country Club, on a street shared with the west edge of Broadway Village’s cluster of businesses and at the end of a row of quiet retail fronts, you’ll find a call-back to your childhood: a bakery that makes everything from scratch, as if it were their…
Police Dispatch
CRISIS CENTER OR DETENTION CENTER? YOU DECIDE. SAN XAVIER BEAT JUNE 30, 9:31 P.M. A drunk man living with his mother went crazy in her front yard but refused psychological help—instead treating deputies like a taxi service and going to jail instead, according to a Pima County Sheriff’s Department report. A woman told dispatch that…
Staring into the Sea
It will probably take another cycle of shoegaze revivals to tell whether Nothing will garner a mention in the same pantheon as its heroes in Slowdive and My Bloody Valentine because for now the Philadelphia quartet is simply a very good band stuck in limbo as doomgaze or—shudder—nu-gaze. That’s not entirely fair to the band,…
Sponsor Appeal
After making it clear UA policy prevents its administrators from commenting on personnel issues last week, the university released a letter it sent to Sue Sisley dated Wednesday, July 9 that provided “details” on the decision to not renew the marijuana researcher’s contract. The letter, forwarded to the Tucson Weekly on Saturday, July 19, was…
Primer
WHO ARE THEY Experimental noise rock trio Boris formed in Japan in the early ’90s by vocalist/drummer Atsuo, bassist Takeshi, and vocalist/guitarist Wata. Initially resembling the kind of molasses paced, heavy grind of the Melvins song from which the group took its name, early records raised the bar for formless, though spectacularly majestic droning soundscapes…
The Skinny
The governor continues her legal battle against DREAMers, school funding Brewer: See You In Court Gov. Jan Brewer had two big court decisions go against her in recent weeks—but the litigation-happy gov is ready to keep fighting in court rather than comply with court orders. The first decision came from a three-judge panel at the…
Soundbites
IN THOSE JEANS So much good stuff this week, everyone, including the Ceremony/Nothing /Coathangers show next Thursday, July 31 at 191 Toole (covered in the feature this week), the can’t-miss-if-you-love-loud-stuff Boris show at Congress on Saturday, July 26 (learn more in Primer), the Melvins’ King Buzzo’s acoustic show on Wednesday, July 30 (also at Congress),…
Danehy
Hi, I’m Doug Ducey. I hate Barack Obama and I’m running for Governor of Arizona because I hate Barack Obama and because I want to be Governor of Arizona so that I can sit in a better office from which to hate Barack Obama. A little bio here: My ancestors came from the good (mandatory…
Nine Questions
Kate Willow Inman is a Tucson transplant by way of Ithaca, New York. The mixed media artist, since driving cross country four years ago, has found a place in the local art scene. Inman hosts a weekly Nicolas Cage movie night properly titled “Cage Match.” You might remember her from days working at Casa Video…
Media Watch
FOOK AND MISHELL LEAVE KFMA, LARGER MARKET LOOMS KFMA 102.1 FM’s morning show, helmed by Fook and Mishell Livio, ended its run on the Lotus-owned new rock station last Friday. As Dan Gibson reported in The Range, the Tucson Weekly’s website, Fook made the announcement that morning, and while vague about future details—apparently this is…
Live
After several songs of solidly played, if compositionally unremarkable, instrumental surf noir, Boogienauts finally captured the essence and peak of its genre: The dual guitar melodies and crashing drums caught the same wave and rode it out together. This happy ending was only temporary—lasting half of a song, maybe—but it did prove that Boogienauts are…
Planning Progress
Tucson last week took a step closer to allowing some big changes in the medical marijuana world, but some of the changes suggested by the advisory Planning Commission seem unlikely to make the cut. The city asked the commission, a board of appointed volunteers that advises the City Council on many aspects of where, when…
Who You Gonna Call?
This is good one. If you are a fan of the Gaslight Theatre’s singular brand of silly, you’ll really enjoy their current offering, Ghostblasters. Quick: tell me the name of the movie that the Gaslight crew has bent to its grandly goofy and gloriously rowdy will. If you didn’t say Ghostbusters, there’s something seriously wrong…
Ask a Mexican!
Dear Mexican: I am from an Arabic-speaking country. After my education is completed here, I’ll be returning to my country or Kuala Lumpur, the Garden City of Lights. Since I’ve been in this country, I’ve noticed there’s a rising tide of hatred toward Mexicans. I’ve talked to Mexicans and they all say they’re proud to…
Fools and Their Money
Zach Braff wrote and directed the out-of-nowhere Garden State back in 2004. It made fat cash at the box office, sold a lot of soundtracks, and arguably became its decade’s best approximation of The Graduate. After succeeding even more wildly with a number of seasons on Scrubs, Braff announced he was going to make his…
Editor’s Note
In all the excitement about the Star’s paywall (which still doesn’t seem to work and if there’s a way to pay for the digital package, I’m not immediately finding it) last week, I did forgot to use this space to talk about the annual Association of Alternative Newsmedia convention in Nashville which wrapped up two…
Video of Tucson Streetcar Ride Down 4th Ave Underpass
Following a Sun Link news conference today hosted by Mayor Johnathan Rothschild and a plaque dedication honoring Rep Raúl Grijalva, a group of local dignitaries and the media were led aboard Tucson’s Modern Streetcar on its route up to Mercado San Augustin and back down 4th Avenue to the University of Arizona. This is part…
