Cover Story
The Joy, the Suffering, the Poetry
From the couch in TC Tolbert’s living room I hear snoring.
Cinema Clips: The Void
This throwback to John Carpenter/Clive Barker horror films is completely insane, horribly acted, and totally great for anybody who likes their horror served up with a side of cheese. A brash policeman (Aaron Poole) picks up a stranger on the side of the road and takes him to a sparsely populated hospital (shades of Halloween…
It’s Best of Tucson® Time
It’s spring in the desert and we all know what that means: It’s Best of Tucson® time. I think the timing is a little poetic. Just as the temperature outside starts to make some of us desert rats think, “Maybe I’m done with living through the unique hell of monsoon season with a swamp cooler. Maybe…
Cinema Clips: Sandy Wexler
Adam Sandler’s third movie with Netflix is the very definition of over indulgence. There’s a decent movie in here from director Steven Brill, who worked with Sandler previously on Little Nicky, Mr. Deeds and The Do-Over. Sandler stars as the title character, a talent manager trying to find new clients in the ‘90’s. After working…
The Weekly List: 15 Things To Do in Tucson in the Next 10 Days
Your Weekly guide to keeping busy in the Old Pueblo. Earth Day Earth Day at Biosphere 2. Our favorite terrarium is celebrating Earth Day with a full-day festival that will include talks about local food, energy, water and the environment, as well as a look at what’s happened at the Biosphere since the University of Arizona…
Streets of This Town: Phoenix Rising
“Streets of This Town” is a little daily photo series featuring random pics I take on long walks through Tucson—to sort of coincide with Tucson Salvage.
The Pima County Fair is Back and You Don’t Want to Miss It
It’s that time of year again folks: The Pima County Fair is back which, for most, is the official kickoff to summer in Tucson. Here’s your guide on some quick information you should know before attending. The Pima County Fair will take place April 20-30. General admission is $8, ages 6 to 10 are $4,…
Cinema Clips: Personal Shopper
Kristen Stewart plays Maureen, a personal assistant to a celebrity, fed up with her job while dealing with the recent passing of her brother. Before his dying, the brother pledges to make contact afterwards in the event of his death, so Maureen spends some time in his old house, where a spirit seems to be…
Libraries Trump Hate
When Congressman Raúl Grijalva was a child, libraries were one of the most important things in his life. He discovered newspapers, magazines and Gulliver’s Travels. “It was a place where you could be someone else, experience something as a young kid that was beyond any comprehension of what you would be able to do yourself,”…
Dare to Say, ‘Tax the Rich’
If there’s a Democratic primary for governor, I’m supporting the candidate who says “Tax the rich.” David Garcia already signed on to run against Ducey in 2018. Steve Farley has said he’s interested. Farley and Garcia are both very smart, energetic guys who I would be happy to see as our next governor. Add the extra…
Malory Needs a Home
Hi, I’m Malory! I’m a 1-year-old little girl and I’m looking for a home! I’ve been at HSSA since February, because they noticed that my heart seemed bigger than usual. I passed all the staff veterinarian’s tests and have even had an special ultrasound to make sure that I am as healthy as I am…
Streets of This Town: Gettin’ Lucky
“Streets of This Town” is a little daily photo series featuring random pics I take on long walks through Tucson—to sort of coincide with Tucson Salvage.
In The Flesh: Jae Motherfuckin’ Tilt, Mind-Blowing Brownies, and a Death Ride Inside the Ass-Kicking Rap Van
Shortly after boarding the high-ceilinged cargo van, otherwise known as The Rap Van, Tom Johnson, impresario and driver, introduced the night’s featured artist. “Let’s welcome Jae motherfuckin’ Tilt!” Jae Tilt took to the mic and before launching into his first song, like all good hosts, he graciously offered the audience─packed 18 deep in the cargo…
Zona Politics: The Latest From Capitol Hill in the Age of Trump From Reps. Grijalva & O’Halleran
Welcome to the relaunch of the televised edition of Zona Politics with Jim Nintzel: U.S. Reps. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ03) and Tom O’Halleran (D-AZ01) talk about Trump’s proposed border wall, Attorney General Jeff Sessions visit to Nogales to announce stiffer policies for the prosecution of undocumented immigrants, where healthcare reform goes after its collapse in the…
Streets of This Town: Sparkle in the Dust
“Streets of This Town” is a little daily photo series featuring random pics I take on long walks through Tucson—to sort of coincide with Tucson Salvage.
Favoring the 8 Percent, Ignoring the 92 Percent
A little more than seven percent of Arizona’s students attend private schools or are home-schooled—eight percent, tops. That’s who the vouchers-for-all Empowerment Scholarship Accounts are all about, the eight percent, making sure they get the maximum access to taxpayer dollars our Republican legislators and the governor can manage. Meanwhile, the ninety-two percent attending district and…
Dispatches From Country Thunder No. 6: Finale Great; Plus Oak Ridge Boys Talk
FLORENCE—If you’ve been to Country Thunder in Arizona at least once over the past decade, chances are good you’ve seen this year’s closing headliner, Blake Shelton, perform. He seems to be at the top of the list of performers every two or three years, and clearly loves the heck out of coming to the Arizona…
Catch Reps. Grijalva and O’Halleran on the Zona Politics Relaunch at 6:30 p.m. Tonight
I’m excited to announce that Zona Politics with Jim Nintzel is making a return to your TV screens tonight at 6:30 p.m. on the new Creative Tucson network. Tonight’s episode will feature interviews with two Southern Arizona Democratic members of Congress, U.S. Reps. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ03) and Tom O’Halleran (D-AZ01). We talk about U.S. Attorney…
Dispatches From Country Thunder: Tucson’s Drew Cooper Talks Loyalty, Kids and Cheerleading
FLORENCE—Having lived in Tucson for most of his life and having played nearly every bar, club festival and bar mitzvah within 50 miles of the city, Drew Cooper is the embodiment of the Old Pueblo. In fact, given his no frills tour bus, his willingness to play nearly anytime, anywhere, and his passion for what…
Laughing Stock: Is Maria Bamford All Right?
There’s not a single thing wrong with Maria Bamford. We just haven’t learned how to live with her yet. Luckily for future generations of people we call “mentally ill,” Bamford leverages her considerable assets—genius, even—to Illustrate, as lyrically and colorfully as La La Land, just how much our “normal” standards compound the distress of those…
Diane Douglas Got Trumped. And DeVosed. And Maybe Duceyed. And It’s a Damn Shame.
Education Superintendent Diane Douglas called it “fake news that was published by a failing news organization,” and criticized the “so-called reporters” for writing a misleading story in the Arizona Republic. She also complained about a “hack media lawyer.” I’ll give her this. At least her Trumpian put-downs were in a three page letter, not a…
Five Bands From Country Thunder You Should Know (And Will be Hearing More From)
Runaway Jane, Dorado, Austin Burke, LANco, Jared and the Mill, Country Thunder
Stars of David Because a Fab, Super-Entertaining Show at Berger Performing Arts Center
Not every musical is a big, splashy outrageously overwrought Disneyland on stage. No, some are smaller, more intimate and focused on characters and songs instead of stuff. These are the kinds of musicals Kevin Johnson, artistic director of Arizona Onstage Productions, prefers. And for one weekend only, he has mounted what’s sure to be—if we…
The Age of Anxiety
Three bodies are climbing heavenward in the painting “Skyscraper” by Tim Murphy.
Ask a Mexican!
Dear Mexican: Okay, sour cream!
Mile-high bud
For medical marijuana patients, pot is their prescription.
Danehy
So, I’m in this shopping mall in Las Cruces, New Mexico …
Noise Annoys
Big Meridox has always functioned as a larger-than-life presence of moral conscience, and a barometer of consciousness in Old Pueblo hip hop.
Rise
Alex Soto grips his microphone.
Liberate, Create!
If there’s a single theme that shapes The Wild Reeds’ new record The World We Built, it centers on the word liberation.
Police Dispatch
University of Arizona police found that one of the campus’s main garages was hit hard by one or (probably) several vandals ;but the result was the opposite of a depressing eyesore…
Sci Fiesta
UA Vice President for Innovation and College of Science Dean Joaquin Ruiz is also the director of Biosphere 2, the environmental science lab north of Oro Valley.
West African Flavor
The goat soup is what got them some recognition, but the good people of Tucson seem to be still a bit wary of the small corner restaurant called Alafia.
The Skinny
Congrats, Gov. Ducey, on pulling off a heist for the ages.
Business of Business
If you’d like a splendidly hilarious intermission from the Sturmund Drang of life as we know it these days—and seriously, who wouldn’t?
Editor’s Note
I remember when Mayor Jonathan Rothschild first announced that the city would begin the search for a new Poet Laureate. To be honest, Rebecca Sieferle, our last poet laureate wasn’t someone I had connected with over the years. However, I was thrilled when it was announced last month during the Tucson Festival of Books that…
Dust Devil
I feel an urge to be gone from here
Police Dispatch
Rather early one morning, a threesome of troublemakers ran into law enforcement at a grocery store after an unsuccessful attempt to steal a whole lot of chicken wings.
Going Out of Style
I know I bitched a little about the Beauty and the Beast remake being a little unnecessary a couple of weeks ago.
