Cover Story
2012: A Real Cliffhanger
Our Favorite Headlines of 2012 COULD YOU REPEAT THAT? We’re Not Paying Enough Attention to ADHD —The Washington Post TOO MUCH INFORMATION Do Olympic Swimmers Pee in the Pool? ‘Nearly 100 Percent’ Do, Says Former U.S. National Team Member —The Huffington Post HOW WOULD A SUIT, ER, FIT EXACTLY? Los Angeles Mandates Condoms for Porn…
Here’s Your Chance to Cross ‘Got Caught Bluffing Against a Celebrity’ Off Your Bucket List
My New Year’s resolutions are a mixed bag of the usual (lose weight; manage money better) and unachievable (dunk a basketball; cross a name off my ‘List’), along with some that just happen to have a chance of happening real soon thanks to Casino del Sol: – I resolve to win a big pot off…
Navajo Times: Wenona Benally Baldenegro Chosen as One of Most Notable Navajo People
The Navajo Times released today a list of 2012’s most notable people who are Navajo people and “made a difference in the lives of Navajo women, men and children with very little or no financial assistance from the Navajo Nation government.” You care read the entire list here, but one person worth noting is the…
U.S. Rep Ron Barber: “We Owe the American People Far Better Than This”
Congressman Ron Barber explains his vote yesterday in favor of the tax deal that resolved one level of the fiscal cliff: We finally took the necessary step to extend tax cuts for more than 98 percent of Americans. But our job is far from over. We again have failed to substantively address our nation’s growing…
There Were More Soldier Suicides Than Deaths in Combat in 2012
In 2012, there were more suicides than combat deaths among the ranks of the Army, according to Stars and Stripes. According to a report from the Department of the Army, the 303 suicides among active duty, reserve and National Guard soldiers through November was significantly greater than the 212 killed in Afghanistan through Dec. 7.…
Miyazaki Happiness at the Loft this Month
You know what makes me happy? Anything made by Hayao Miyazaki (and a few other things). Get to the Hayao Miyazaki: A Studio Ghibli Retrospective at The Loft this month: All through the month of January, The Loft Cinema is proud to present a nationally-touring retrospective series celebrating the work of legendary, Oscar-winning filmmaker Hayao…
Beyond Tucson Returns: Get Outdoors Tucson, Gabe Would Love It
Gabe Zimmerman, the late constituent’s services director for former U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords who was killed during the shooting tragedy of Jan. 8, 2011, loved the outdoors. When we interviewed his father Ross last year for our Jan. 8 one-year anniversary issue, he talked about Gabe’s love of hiking, saying that his son had hiked…
Historic Downtown Building Housing Wig-O-Rama and Grill Burns Early Into New Year
Tucson Fire Department Last night, not long after revelers finished ringing in 2013, a historic building in downtown Tucson caught fire in a blaze that dispatched two alarms and more than 40 firefighters. According to a press release from the Tucson Fire Department, the building that sits on the west end of the 100 East…
A Pair of Timely Songs for Your Listening and Viewing Pleasure
Here’s wishing all of you a safe, happy and healthy new year!
Get Crazy!
When it comes to New Year’s Eve movies, the options are pretty blah. The Poseidon Adventure is hokey fun, but it’s just a disaster film with a NYE backdrop. The less said about 200 Cigarettes, the better. There is one movie, however, that perfectly embodies the rush, excitement and sometimes chaos that ringing in the…
Green Day Reschedules Tour, Disses Arizona (For Now)
As we all know by now, Green Day was forced to postpone its scheduled 2012-2013 tour dates so frontman Billie Joe Armstrong could enter treatment for substance abuse. The timing couldn’t have been worse: He checked himself in just two days before the release of ¡Uno!, the first of three albums released at the tail…
New Year’s Eve’s Giant Disco Ball
Jim Nintzel The largest disco ball in North American history was under construction this afternoon at Hotel Congress in advance of the big Studio 54 New Year’s Eve party tonight. That sounds like fun, as do the big downtown dance parties at the Rialto Theatre and Playground; Paula Poundstone’s set at the Fox Theatre; and…
Rejoice! The Return of ‘Arrested Development’ Has Been Announced!
As someone who spent far too much time watching the antics of the Bluth family during my college years, I’m unhealthily excited about the future prospect of watching the return of Arrested Development this May. From CraveOnline.com: Fox briefly posted the 14 episode names and the premiere date of May 4, 2013 on their press…
Parlour to Open Jan. 1
I had reported on Parlour here in Noshing around a few weeks back, peering in the window, and hoping it wasn’t a long “soon” on when they would open. Per their Facebook page here, the new frozen yogurt place on Fourth Avenue will be opening Jan 1. Looking at the flavors on their website (www.theparlourtucson.com)…
Post New Years Hangover Cure: Food Trucks at Himmel Park
On Tuesday, January 1st, a gaggle of food trucks will be gathering at Himmel Park, 2650 E. First St., to feed your post-New Year festivities hunger. Scheduled to appear from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. are: MaFooCo, Jamie’s Bitchen Kitchen, Stolen Recipe BBQ, Smokin’ Hot BBQ, Chef’s Kitchen, and more. Put on your sunglasses and…
Is Ten’s Becoming the New Candy Store? (For the Record, That’s Not A Good Thing) [UPDATED]
If you were inside or just outside the Speedway Boulevard strip club known (for the time being) as Ten’s, Tucson police want to talk to you about a shooting. Then again, if you’re a regular of that establishment at that time of night, police queries might start becoming part of the routine for your gentleman’s…
A Night of Regret: The Arrest of TUSD’s Former MAS Director Brings Contrition, Discussion on Gender Violence
There are several ways to look at the Sunday, Dec. 9, arrest of Tucson Unified School District’s former Mexican-American Studies director and co-founder, Sean Arce, who now faces charges for allegedly assaulting his ex-wife and for vandalism and trespassing. There’s the view from rabid critics of the district’s beleaguered MAS department, who see state Attorney…
Godhunter to take Tucson metal to seven states
In two weeks local Tucson sludge favorite Godhunter will be embarking on a tour that will take them from Los Angeles to New Orleans. It’s good to see Tucson metal getting out and around other cities, and they will be playing 23 dates over two months, including SXSW. The tour will come through Tucson Feb.…
Hasbro Caves To Internet, Creates Boy-Friendly Easy-Bake Oven
Last month, 13-year-old McKenna Pope went with her mother to buy an Easy-Bake Oven for her 4 year old brother, who had shown an interest in warming food up with a light bulb—and was unhappy with the fact that the ovens only came in bright, feminine colors. So, she made an issue of it, launching…
Nine Inch Nails and Nine Pound Balls Tonight at Industrial Bowling
No idea why we haven’t talked about this event already, but tonight’s Industrial Bowling event at Golden Pin Lanes seems like one of the most unique evenings of entertainment to occur at a bowling center in some time. $5 gets you three games of bowling and shoe rental (not a bad deal, really), but you…
Hey, Senators! Shut Up About Having to Come Back to Work!
Today in fake problems: Senators complaining that they had to come back to Washington, cutting their holiday vacations short, to fix a problem entirely of their own stubborn creation: But for once, those lawmakers were fully united, if only around their sadness and frustration at being stuck in Washington in a holiday week, peering over…
Center for Biological Diversity is Distributing Condoms, Attempting to Curb Human Biological Diversity
Courtesy: Center for Biological Diversity For when you’ve gotta play it cool—cool as ice. Well, they’re not REALLY attempting to curb human biological diversity (we think)—they’re just attempting to draw awareness to “the effects of rapid human population growth on rare plants and animals,” according to a press release. From the release: “There are more…
Talking Comics: Amazing Spider-Man #700
This week Cynthia and Bobby tackle the death of everyone’s favorite arachnerd, Peter Parker! That’s right, True Believers…Peter Parker is DEAD (kind of). Watch the video for details: Find Heroes and Villains online: Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, Pheed,
A Love Note: ‘Grandma’s Gorditas’
From the fine folks at Tucson Meet Yourself, their latest online newsletter features a video from one of Maribel Alvarez’s UA folklore students that’s worth your time (don’t blame us if it makes you hungry and in the mood to listen to more Agustin Lara): Food and Love. The two have been connected through the…
This Mash-Up of Booker T & the MGs, Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre Is the Best Thing I’ve Heard Today
That is, so long as we’re excluding Otis Redding, who I’ve been listening to on-and-off via Spotify most of the day. Seriously, this tune is five minutes of fun hip-hop/funk fusion, and well worth your time if you, at any time in your life, ever enjoyed “Nothin’ But a G-Thang. The man behind the mix…
This Holiday Season, Did You Keep it Local?
So how many of you out there shopped local this holiday season? I know I tried my best, but while running errands with my mom one day, I realized that in preparing for the holidays there’s not much you can do except buy local — masa for the tamales (Alejandro’s for us), extra tortillas for…
NY Newspaper Publishes an Interactive Map With Addresses of Registered Gun Owners; Blogger Publishes Addresses of Reporters as Revenge
In the wake of Sandy Hook and the national discussion on gun laws, White Plains, New York newspaper The Journal-News, has posted an interactive map on their website, featuring the names and addresses of every licensed gun owner in three counties. The map is a companion to an article entitled “The gun owner next door:…
Seis Curbside Kitchen & Catering is Serving Lunch Outside Weekly World Central
If you’re near Weekly World Central, by the airport at 3280 E. Hemisphere Loop, feel free to come on by—Seis Curbside Kitchen and Catering is serving up great food and award-winning tacos here from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Find out more about Seis at their Facebook page and their website here.
Bigfoot’s Been Spotted: The Lodge Sasquatch Kitchen is Now Open
Their website may say different, but The Lodge Sasquatch Kitchen at 7265 N. La Cholla Blvd. is open. I happen to be in the area yesterday afternoon and saw a “Now Open” banner as well as a few cars parked in the lot. I popped in and was informed that it was their first day…
Top Picks
Lists, lists, everywhere. Every publication on planet Earth is publishing best-of lists at this time of year—and we’re no different. We’ve asked some of our resident music writers about their favorite albums of 2012, and here’s what they gave us. Another round of writers will weigh in next week. Gene Armstrong (in alphabetical order) Fiona…
Nine Questions
Alanna Thompson was raised in Sierra Vista and couldn’t wait to move to the big city of Tucson. She is a histology technician, which combines chemistry, art and the science of pathology to make beautiful microscopic images of flesh-eating bacteria, fungus and yucky cancers. She is the proud owner of three rambunctious mutts that needed…
Editor’s Note
For 520 or so issues of the Tucson Weekly, the editor’s chair has offered me an interesting vantage point on Tucson media. I have watched various sources come (TucsonSentinel.com) and go (the Tucson Citizen). I have watched other media slowly wither away. (The Arizona Daily Star today is a fraction of what it was in…
A Heart Full of Love
This review comes to you from a man who loves a good musical—and is a diehard fan of Les Misérables. Haters of movie musicals everywhere, I beseech you: Give this one a chance! Lovers of this musical … unite! The movie is a blast! Les Misérables, based on the Victor Hugo novel set in 19th-century…
Danehy
In 2012, a year in which Americans restored my faith in America, these were a few of my favorite things. (As always, I’m not saying that these things are the best. Those determinations are made by people who are paid to be pompous, pedantic and pontificating. I’m only paid to be pugnacious and to piss…
Lackluster Spaghetti
Quentin Tarantino unleashes all hell in Django Unchained, which features the gratuitous violence, uncanny dialogue and twisted sense of humor that has become his stock in trade. But it lacks the polish and craftsmanship he displayed in the Kill Bill movies and Inglourious Basterds. Part of that sloppiness could be intentional; QT is summoning not…
Gargulinski
The world did not end on Dec. 21, as all of the fear-fueled hype predicted. Damn. Although doomsday has seemingly come and gone with nary a hiccup in the overall scheme of things, don’t worry—there is still plenty to fear. Society makes sure of it. Ours has become a paranoid lot, fearing everything from the…
Top Ten in Cinema
1. Ted Universal 2. The Bourne Legacy Universal 3. The Dark Knight Rises Warner Bros. 4. Men in Black 3 Sony 5. Lawless Starz/Anchor Bay 6. Beasts of the Southern Wild Fox Searchlight 7. Ice Age: Continental Drift 20th Century Fox 8. Hope Springs Sony 9. The Odd Life of Timothy Green Disney 10. Total…
Mailbag
Reader responses to the “Get Out of Town!” issue … is karma coming around for cigarette smokers?
Now Showing at Home
Trouble With the Curve (Blu-ray) WARNER MOVIE D SPECIAL FEATURES C BLU-RAY GEEK FACTOR 3 (OUT OF 10) Clint Eastwood had originally stated that 2008’s Gran Torino would be his final acting gig. Then filmmakers, including friend and frequent co-worker Robert Lorenz—making his directorial debut—convinced the squinting man to come out of thespian retirement. Clint…
Demolition Dilemma
Condemned by contrasting notions of progress, the empty buildings dot Broadway Boulevard’s northern flanks like a melancholy death row, their windows vacant, their signs faded into oblivion. Purchased by the city over the past two decades, they’ve long been slated for demolition, collateral damage in an ambitious plan to widen Broadway between Euclid Avenue and…
Quaint Café
Campbell Avenue is now home to another eatery—and oh, what a pleasant little spot it is. Amelia Grey’s was once buried deep in the bowels of an antique mall on Speedway Boulevard, but earlier in 2012, it moved to Campbell Avenue, just south of Fort Lowell Road. The move was a great thing, both for…
A Strange Trip
When Roque Daniel Planas heard how the Tucson Unified School District went about banning the books used in the district’s former Mexican-American studies classes, he knew he had to come to Tucson. Planas—now associate editor for Latino Voices on The Huffington Post—worked as a Web reporter for Fox News Latino when he came to Tucson…
Noshing Around
Thunder Canyon — Downtown is nearing completion … 17th Street Market is downsizing … Create Café and Catering isn’t what it used to be (literally) … a new spot to get breakfast on the Avenue
Help Wanted
At this time of year, in the depths of winter, there’s not even a hint that dawn is near when day-laborers start heading out from their homes to search for work. The destination for many local day-laborers sits inside the Southside Presbyterian Church, 317 W. 23rd St. Every weekday morning, the Southside Worker Center—consisting of…
Soundbites
A bevy of potential New Year’s plans … Steve says farewell to a friend … and more!
Police Dispatch
Losing the lottery (tickets) … a woman and her money are parted … a drunken minor gets friendly with local flora
A Tradition Develops
Welcome Tucsonan Patti Zlaket home when she performs at Hotel Congress on Dec. 28.
Weekly Wide Web
I’m writing this on Friday, Dec. 21, after catching a recap of the National Rifle Association’s long-awaited response to the shooting in Newtown, Conn. I can’t believe what I’ve heard. The executive vice president and CEO of the NRA, Wayne LaPierre, took the stage immediately after remarks from David Keene, the organization’s president—remarks which basically…
City Week
Following through with your New Year fitness resolutions … learning the histories behind Tucson’s wedding gowns … Tucson Repertory Orchestra digs into the Music of the Masters, again … Market on the Move lands at Pueblo Magnet High School
Top Ten in Music
1. We Got Power! Hardcore Punk Scenes From 1980s Southern California (book) David Markey and Jordan Schwartz (Bazillion Points) 2. Inoculara/Godhunter Split 7″ (self-released) 3. A Rule Is to Break: A Child’s Guide to Anarchy (book) John Seven and Jana Christy (Manic D) 4. Fish Karma/Al Perry American 7″ (Sapient) 5. Ugly Things No. 34…
Ronstadt Generations y Los Tucsonenses: Prelude (Ronstadt Record Co.)
Longtime Tucsonans know that music is only a part of the Ronstadt family business, right up there with hardware and public service. At the same time, there must be a responsibility inherent in maintaining the family brand to be interesting as well as good. By these standards, this album is an off-the-charts success. Prelude has…
Tucson’s New Year’s Eve 2012-13
Celebrate 2013 in style at one (or all!) of our recommended New Year’s bashes
Ask a Mexican!
How to deal with a loud neighbor, Mexican-style … the Mexican says thanks
Clinic: Free Reign (Domino)
Liverpool’s Clinic could never be accused of laziness. Since 2000’s Internal Wrangler, they have released an album every other year. Their rate of productivity has also been a source of criticism—specifically, that they always sound the same. (The fact that the band has always performed wearing surgical masks and scrubs doesn’t help.) However, this is…
T Q&A
On Saturday, Dec. 29, Pueblo Magnet High School will host a Market on the Move, a project started by the Phoenix-based 3000 Club that brings fresh produce for purchase to communities in Phoenix and Tucson. According to Ethel Luzario, the co-founder and CEO of the 3000 Club, for just a $10 donation, you can take…
The Skinny
The Skinny recommends the best places to give your money–and take advantage of the state’s charitable tax credit.
Philip Shiozaki: Lightening of the Dark (Self-Released)
On his debut album, this experimental musician-composer uses only electric guitar and a bit of synthesizer to craft imaginative, impressionist watercolors of sound. Part of the appeal involves Shiozaki’s gentle, minimalist compositions, on which he explores hypnotic patterns and carefully paced structures. He inventively uses unusual guitar-tunings to re-create the sounds of a toy piano,…
Different Dimensions
It’s not every day that Matisse comes to town. Work by the glorious French painter (1869-1954) is making a rare appearance in Tucson. Henri Matisse: The Pasiphaé Series and Other Works on Paper is at the Tucson Museum of Art, but only for a few more weeks. Don’t go expecting anything like the acclaimed show…
Media Watch
Jim Arnold comes out of hiatus … the Pac-12 Networks are in the midst of union worker talks
Moody Metaphors
It has been three years since Jefferson Carter published his most-recent and deeply satisfying verse collection, My Kind of Animal. The themed poems gathered in Animal speak to the idea that man, another dumb beast, redeems himself with humor. Even accepting that a divine spark animates us, Carter consistently keeps his tongue in jowl. His…
Shame and Mary Jane
When I was 17, I flunked out of high school. It wasn’t a slow descent into failure, as it is with a lot of kids. It was an abrupt, spectacular, fail-every-class-my-senior-year crash into the deck. Despite the darkest, most-fervent efforts of my subconscious, I almost made it anyway, barely falling short of a D in…
Top Ten in Books
1. Flight Behavior: A Novel Barbara Kingsolver, Harper ($28.99) 2. A Thousand Mornings Mary Oliver, Penguin ($24.95) 3. A Very Hairy Christmas Susan Lowell, Rio Nuevo ($15.95) 4. Queen of America: A Novel Luis Alberto Urrea, Little, Brown and Company ($14.99) 5. Running the Rift: A Novel Naomi Benaron, Algonquin ($14.95) 6. Unlikely Friendships: 47…
Live
Although dreaded images of Grateful Dead spinoffs and/or knockoffs come to mind when the phrase “roots-rock” is uttered, My Jerusalem, along with Carlos Arzate and the Kind Souls, proved that the form has as many meanings as rock ‘n’ roll itself. A local supergroup of sorts, Carlos Arzate and the Kind Souls played a brief…
Standing with Wolves: Center for Biological Diversity
The Tucson-based Center for Biological Diversity filed formal notice of intent to sue U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to prevent them from capturing wolves that happen to visit us or New Mexico from Mexico. Here’s the press release: Lawsuit Launched to Challenge Feds’ Capture of Endangered Wolves That Enter Arizona or New Mexico SILVER CITY,…
Life Heats Up for Incoming TUSD School Board Members
When former Tucson Unified School District candidate Betts Putnam-Hidalgo stood before the TUSD board at the last special meeting for the closure and consolidation vote on Thursday, Dec. 20, she brought up a recent radio interview with newly elected board member Cam Juarez. On KVOI’s Buckmaster Show with Bill Buckmaster, Juarez said, “You have a…
