Cover Story
Dear Mr. President
This inauguration is, well, a historic mess based on a campaign that brought racist and sexist vitriol to the surface that made it difficult for many American sitting together at Thanksgiving dinner with relatives across the land.
Cinema Clips: Silence
Martin Scorsese’s Silence, or, How to Torture a Jesuit Priest Until He Says, “Ah, Screw It!” and Looks for Another Gig, is the auteur’s most inconsistent offering since his misguided and sloppy Casino. It’s clear that Scorsese has poured his heart into the passion project, which makes it all the more sad that it doesn’t…
Laughing Stock: Let’s Laugh As Many Ways As Possible
The Comedy Night: Variety Comedy Shows have taken over The Screening Room on Friday nights at 7 and 8 p.m. The shows feature all live-comedy genres; the format changes every half hour. Each show is $5; for $7 you can see both. Comedy Night’s impresarios are Walter Temple, founder of the improv company Comedy Temple,…
Casa Video Top 10
During chilly days like this, there is a phenomenon at my house we like to call “Winter Time Cats.” When the outside temperatures dip below 65 degrees, our antisocial little fuzzballs forego their usual scampering to climb onto our laps (and chests, heads and shoulders) for warmth and cuddles. It is the damn best. Don’t…
7 Ways to Have a Better Day
Marches, “alternative facts” and avalanches, oh my! This year has been quite the roller coaster so far, and it’s only been about three weeks. If the commotion of this unpredictable world is making you feel overwhelmed or stressed, here’s a list of seven random acts of kindness you could do today and one day for the…
Song of the Day: ‘Waiting Underground’ by The Patti Smith Group
Everything was soaked that morning of the march, and then made clean again. I rifled through my records and pulled out Patti Smith Group’s Peace and Noise LP, mostly recorded lean, terse, no tricks. Songs find their way to the listener through a seasoned rock ‘n’ roll band whose leader is a minstrel, a teacher…
Increasing Teacher Salaries: Isn’t That Econ 101 Stuff?
I admit I’m a layman when it comes to economics. I studied a little Econ in college, though not enough to hurt me. Now and then I read newspaper and magazine columns by economists. So I don’t claim any expertise in the field. But isn’t the idea of Supply and Demand pretty basic? If the…
Arizona’s Theatre Company’s Powerful ‘La Esquinita’ Lifts on Empathy and Tragedy
Arizona Theatre Company almost defaulted on its 50th anniversary season, and from what we’ve seen so far, that would have been a gigantic loss. This season their shows have represented a global reach of place and history and sensibility (and with An Act of God, even a universal reach.) Their most recent offering, La Esquinita,…
Cinema Clips: 20th Century Women
Annette Bening, Elle Fanning, Greta Gerwig and Billy Crudup shine in Mike Mills’s ode to his unusual mother, who raised him in the late seventies and tried to like punk music as much as she could. Bening is terrific as Dorothea, perhaps the best work of her career. She represents the late seventies woman, still…
Frederick Douglass, an Inspiration
Today we went to visit the home of Frederick Douglass. He was an Abolitionist and Suffragist who was a friend and an advisor to Abraham Lincoln. His house is on Cedar Hill, which is just south of D.C. We learned a lot about this courageous man who was born into slavery and became one of…
A Recall On Something That Could Have Saved Me—Or Did It Already?
As the spring semester started to roll in, I figured a good way to stay sane through the 14 weeks of stress and pulling my hair out would be to purchase a Himalayan salt lamp. I’ve heard from my peers that salt lamps have many natural benefits to staying calm, cool, and somewhat collected. According…
Cinema Clips: The Founder
Michael Keaton is flat out great as Ray Kroc, the sorta-kinda founder of McDonald’s. Director John Lee Hancock’s film tells the story from when Kroc was selling milk shake mixers door-to-door, up to his wife stealing days as the head of the McDonald’s corporation. Hancock’s movie desperately wants you to like Kroc, but maybe we…
T.H.R.E.A.T. Watch: Working the Refs, and the Fans (Or, “Why’s everybody always pickin’ on me?”)
Some basketball players complain mightily when they’re called for an obvious foul, then they adopt a look of shocked disbelief when the refs don’t call a minor foul on the other team. If the player does it often enough, especially if he’s a star, he may have a later foul overlooked or get a makeup…
Atticus Needs a Home
Hi, I’m Atticus! I’m a handsome 3.5-year-old boy and I need a new home! I was found as a stray so the Humane Society of Southern Arizona doesn’t know a lot about my history, but they do know that I am very playful and cute! I’ve been getting along well with my kennel mate by…
American Babylon: The Women’s March on Washington and a Trump Inauguration Protest
American Babylon traveled to Washington, DC over the weekend. Here’s a peek at the Women’s March on Washington and an inauguration protest:
Cinema Clips: Julieta
Writer-director Pedro Almodovar’s latest is one of his more quiet, introspective films. It also has the characteristically good looks and great performances his movies often have. Julieta (Emma Suarez) appears ready to move with her boyfriend (Dario Grandinetti) and start a new life in a new land. A chance meeting with an old friend (Michelle…
At least a 1/2 a Million New Friends at the Women’s March in DC!
Amazing day! We heard there were 500,000-800,000 people joining us at the Women’s March on Washington We apologize for not posting during the day but overall we heard everyone had problems reaching the internet… Here’s our summary of the March on the ground. Priscilla: Immediately when we reached the Washington Mall area, we saw a…
Tucson Marches for Equality
Women, men and children filled the streets of downtown Tucson to denounce Donald Trump’s rhetoric and behavior. One day after Trump took office, the Women’s March took to the streets, in almost 700 cities worldwide, with a message of equality for everyone. Despite the morning rain, an estimated 5,000 gathered in Armory Park to hear…
Introducing Priscilla & Ella
Hi Everyone! We are Priscilla and Ella. We are 12 and 9 years old, from Tucson AZ and we have been fortunate enough to travel to DC for the Woman’s March in Washington D.C. We are excited to be at the Women’s March and be a part of history! We hope to get more knowledge…
T.H.R.E.A.T. Watch Begins in Earnest
From the election until today, we’ve watched Trump strutting and fretting in Trump Tower. We’ve listened to tales told by an idiot, full of tweets and fury, signifying nothing. Until today. Today Trump is President. Today he matters. And so T.H.R.E.A.T. Watch—Trump Human Rights Erosion and Termination Watch—begins in earnest. Trump knows nothing about governing, but…
Dos Amigos and the Gaslight Way
If, while you are attending the theater, you hear boos and hisses and drum ba-da-bings indicating groaner jokes, you are probably at the Gaslight Theatre, purveyor of silliness, song and—well, more silliness. For nearly 40 years, the Gaslight has been providing fun live entertainment suitable for you, your children and your grand-pa’s-and-ma’s in an unapologetic…
Southern Arizona Sanctuary Movement Makes a Statement
Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric and his campaign promise to deport as many undocumented immigrants as he can has helped give the nation’s church-led sanctuary movement a rebirth. And it’s fitting that Tucson, the birthplace of the modern sanctuary movement, should be involved. Reporter Paul Ingram has an excellent article on the history of the modern sanctuary…
Know Your Product: Ace Frehley
A combination of covers and Kiss reworkings, the record features guest appearances from Slash, John5, Lita Ford, and former Kiss colleague Paul Stanley. The spaceman is coming to Tucson so, in anticipation, we asked Frehley to pick the top five albums (by others) that changed his life.
Editor’s Note
3,200 pairs of shoes? That’s amazing.
Real As It Gets: Lydia Loveless
Country-punk roustabout Lydia Loveless has packed more experience into her 26 years than many see in a lifetime.
The Skinny
Is there a kinder, gentler Doug Ducey running the state?
Pre-rolled Legislation
The Arizona Legislature kicked off its 53rd session last week, bringing with it the possibility for some changes to the state’s marijuana laws.
Ask a Mexican!
Dear Mexican: I was wondering if you could shed some light on the debate on whether 29 percent of Mexicans/Hispanic voters really voted for Trump, or whether it was much less like other polls show?
Police Dispatch
Foothills-area pedestrians were temporarily inconvenienced by a mysterious instance of crosswalk vandalism.
Dust Devil
Sunrise in Tucson in photos
Health Appeal
The Affordable Care Act may not be perfect, but it probably saved Aaron Parkey’s life.
From Global to Local
Not long after Election Day, Shauna Anderson created a Facebook event for a Tucson Women’s March on Washington. She thought a couple dozen women would be interested. A little more than two months later, over 2,000 people have clicked “going.”
Danehy
Alas, America is awash with hypocrites these days. Let’s count down to the worst of the bunch.
The New Old School
“If I changed too much on the menu, I’d probably get shot.”
Presidential Follies
A satirical painter of scathing political art, UA art prof Quiroz has already skewered American commanders-in-chief from George Washington to Barack Obama. His neon-colored cartoon caricatures of the nation’s leaders are in the Presidential Series, an exhibition now in its last days at the University of Arizona Museum of Art.
Myths, Questions and Lessons
Theaters, like most every other entity, work hard to create their brand.
Tortured Sounds of Silence
Martin Scorsese’s Silence, or, How to Torture a Jesuit Priest Until He Says “Ah, Screw It!” and Looks for Another Gig, is the auteur’s most inconsistent offering since his misguided and sloppy Casino.
The Impossible World of Howe Gelb
Howe Gelb has spent years refining.
Police Dispatch
A sad woman with strange “bathroom” habits and a very interesting “signature” was caught stealing a can of vodka spritzer from a convenience store.
Noise Annoys
For many decades rock ‘n’ roll has followed a rather predictable trajectory: In the early part of any 10-year period, there’s a creative breakthrough.
