Thursday, November 29, 2012

Posted By on Thu, Nov 29, 2012 at 4:45 PM

The Muppets, for some reason, appeared on NBC's "The Voice" last night. I couldn't tell you why, though — any curiosity I had for the context of their appearance went out the window, replaced by astonishment from the outfit that CeeLo Green wore as he sat alongside Kermit the Frog as they sang "Bein' Green." See, because frogs are green, and CeeLo's last name...yeah, there's the pun. Hilarious.

Actually, the rendition isn't all that bad. CeeLo is a hell of a singer, so you couple that with the nostalgia-pang-inducing efforts of Kermit the Frog and you've got a few minutes of magic on your hands. Even more if you pause the video to riff on the Battle Zone-esque hat-shirt-possible muumuu that CeeLo is wearing.

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Posted By on Thu, Nov 29, 2012 at 4:06 PM

Steve DeLong, project manager for Biosphere 2s Landscape Evolution Observatory, thanks his large team for their hard work with getting the project up and running. DeLong will leave Biosphere 2 and the University to take a job with the US Geological Survey in California.
  • John de Dios
  • Steve DeLong, project manager for Biosphere 2's Landscape Evolution Observatory, thanks his large team for their hard work with getting the project up and running. DeLong will leave Biosphere 2 and the University to take a job with the US Geological Survey in California.

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Posted By on Thu, Nov 29, 2012 at 3:18 PM

Say what? You're into sauteed mussels, shawarma sandwiches, salads and hot dogs like they make 'em up in Detroit? Well then, you'll be wanting to make it down to the grand opening of Chef's Kitchen and Catering, which happens tomorrow, Friday, Nov. 30, in the parking lot of Tucson Federal Credit Union on the corner of Speedway Boulevard and Alvernon Way.

We interviewed the man behind this amazing new mobile food phenomenon last week—you can check that out here—and can report that he certainly sounds like he means business. Chef Cryderman has decades of experience when it comes to making delicious things and it should be rather interesting to see what happens when all of that culinary knowledge is contained inside one tiny little food truck.

Also worthy of note: The artwork on the side of Chef's Kitchen and Catering was created by none other than local artist Donovan White, who also tends bar at local watering hole Che's Lounge. Very cool.

You can also follow the food truck on Facebook over here.

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Posted By on Thu, Nov 29, 2012 at 2:15 PM

A new frozen yogurt joint called Yogurtland is setting up shop in a space in a shopping center at 2800 N. Campbell Ave.

I'm a little spent on the whole frozen-yogurt thing, what with a zillion of the places opening up here and around the country in recent years. Yet I find myself intrigued by this place's inventive flavors such as rubarb, lychee, dragon fruit and others.

There's more on Yogurtland over here.

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Posted By on Thu, Nov 29, 2012 at 1:30 PM

First, I'd like to give you a moment to cancel your plans for Friday night. It's ok. The blog post can wait.

Now that you've taken care of that, because you are clearly a person of discerning cultural taste, you'll be at the Loft Cinema at 10 p.m. Friday night for the Trapped in the Closet Sing-Along. The idea is relatively simple: 22 chapters of the greatest musical storytelling experience ever to involve an male asthmatic midget stripper will be projected on a screen, with convenient subtitles so you can sing along with the rest of the audience. If that wasn't enough, the festivities will be kicked off with a selection of R. Kelly's greatest non-"Closet" greatest hits, including his classic remix to "Ignition." You might still be bitter because the cruise was cancelled, but this will be a great opportunity to experience the work of a living genius with your friends and neighbors. Plus, free Trapped in the Closet condoms! What more could you ask for?

General admission tickets are $8, two bucks cheaper for Loft members.

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Posted By on Thu, Nov 29, 2012 at 12:45 PM

Apparently, Mike Tyson's one-man show, "Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth" is coming to UA's Centennial Hall. I am so legitimately excited about this right now that it is incredible.

I mean, it's Mike Tyson, who I believe could have been the greatest boxer of all time and still think could have beaten Ali in his prime, on stage, reciting his life story in a show written by his wife and directed by Spike Lee, of all people. The entertainment potential there, given Tyson's relatively insane personal history, is astounding.

But, to be honest with you, reviews for the former heavyweight champion's show have been, uh...less than great, so far. The New York Times said that Tyson "...is doing little more than relating his well-publicized life story, and, under Spike Lee’s direction, he’s doing so with a clumsiness startling to see on a Broadway stage,"

The New Yorker is more harsh, saying that "the performance feels more like a slavishly chronological series of boozy barroom reminiscences, complete with the high-spiritedness, the cringe-inducing settling of scores, the wallowing, the feints of solemnity, and occasional blubbering incoherence built into that form." But on the bright side, the Telegraph called it an "amusingly honest, if at times self-indulgent, two hours." That's vaguely positive, right?

If nothing else, this has the potential to be one hell of an entertaining evening, whether or not Tyson gets his verbal delivery as sharp as his left hook.

Tickets aren't yet on sale, but Broadway in Tucson appears to be the place to get 'em when they're announced. We'll keep an eye on it.

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Posted By on Thu, Nov 29, 2012 at 12:15 PM

Tucson's fifth location of Einstein Bros. Bagels is coming soon to 4105 N. Oracle Road, which was most recently home to the very short-lived Overboard Seafood and Grill. The building was a Long John Silver's prior to that.

How much power-washing does it take to remove years worth of deep-fried fish smell from the structure of a building? Apparently plenty, being that the building is currently in the middle of a complete overhaul.

There's more information on Einstein Bros. Bagels over yonder.

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Posted By on Thu, Nov 29, 2012 at 11:15 AM

Last night, Daily Show host Jon Stewart skewered U.S. Sen. John McCain's ongoing war with U.S. Ambassador the United Nations Susan Rice, which we covered in this week's Skinny column.

Over at Slate, Fred Kaplan notes:


So far five GOP senators have objected to the idea of President Obama nominating Rice to be the next secretary of state. Two of those senators—John McCain and Lindsey Graham—are party leaders on foreign policy and frequent visitors to TV news studios. This is what makes the campaign particularly bizarre. Their case against her is not just unusually flimsy and transparently partisan; It also shines a glaring light on their own brazen hypocrisy (something most politicians do all they can to avoid).

At CNN, international security reporter Peter Bergen knocks down McCain's arguments:

Second, it was the intelligence community, not officials at the White House or State Department, that eliminated from the talking points used by Rice after the Benghazi attack the suspected involvement of the Libyan jihadist group, Ansar al-Sharia.

According to accounts of former CIA director David Petraeus' closed door testimony about Benghazi to congressional intelligence committees earlier this month, the intelligence community eliminated references to Ansar al-Sharia in the talking points so as not to tip off members of the terrorist group that the CIA believed that they were responsible for the attack.

The conspiracy therefore was not to mislead the American public but to mislead America's enemies.

If Rice had gone beyond her unclassified talking points and said that Ansar al-Sharia was suspected to be behind the Benghazi attacks, no doubt she would now be being hounded for the unauthorized disclosure of classified information.

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Posted By on Thu, Nov 29, 2012 at 10:26 AM

I feel like this video might even change noted-enthusiast Sir Mix-A-Lot's opinion regarding butts, so consider yourself warned. Even after just a few of this YouTube clip's 22 seconds, your life will be profoundly changed...and probably not for the better.

[World Star Hip Hop]

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Posted By on Thu, Nov 29, 2012 at 9:00 AM

This Saturday, December 1st, the guys at Dragoon Brewing Co. will be having the final voting for their "Beard-Off." The three guys have been growing the best facial hair they can and each have selected a charity to support.

The masses will vote for the best and the winner's charity will receive a donation basted on November's pint sales. The tap room, at 1859 W. Grant Road, #111, will be open from 2-8 p.m. There will be food from MaFooCo starting at 4:30pm, and the winning beard & charity will be announced at 6 p.m.

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