Cover Story
The Strange Saga of Geronimo’s Skull
Geronimo lay in bed, delirious. He was moments from death, and his final mutterings would be familiar to those who knew him in life. He spoke of his regret at having surrendered, saying he should’ve died fighting his enemies—the Mexicans, for whom he harbored a lifelong hatred, and the white eyes who’d taken over his…
Don’t Throw Your TV Away
If you need to dispose of your old television now that stations have gone digital, save the landfill space, and bring your television (and other electronics you don’t need) to Reid Park, 1000 S. Randolph Way, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday, June 27. There will be a $10 disposal fee for working or…
Signature Problem: Democrats Move to Knock Green Party Candidate Off City Council Ballot
Pima County Democratic Party Chairman Jeff Rogers tells The Range that a lawsuit has been filed to knock Green Party candidate Dave Croteau off the ballot in the Ward 6 Council race, where Republican Steve Kozachik is trying to unseat Democratic incumbent Nina Trasoff. Croteau, who got about 28 percent of the vote in a…
The Farley Report: Budget Trouble
Rep. Steve Farley unpacks the problems with the budget proposals from the GOP leadership and Gov. Jan Brewer in his latest dispatch from the Capitol: Howdy, Friends O’Farley… The budget drama at the Capitol continues, but it’s looking more like a comedic farce right now. If only the consequences were not so severe. The Republican…
A WULF in Sheep’s Clothing
I was furious on Sunday when the Arizona Daily Star reported that the Pima County Sheriff’s Department was getting ready to station deputies at drive-through restaurants in an attempt to sniff out late-night drunk drivers. Check out the article for yourself. The operation—named Operation Would U Like Fries, or Operation WULF for short—seemed ridiculous, and…
Krispy Kreme Makes a Komeback
Krispy Kreme doughnuts are on their way back to Southern Arizona. Now I know a lot of you are still a little pissed off about the untimely bankruptcy filing that closed both of our Krispy Kreme locations back in 2006, but this time, Doughnut Dan is at the helm, and he’s apparently one well-rounded doughnut…
New Feminism, My Ass!
Last night, I cringed when I watched David Letterman apologize for the now-overly analyzed and debated joke about Gov. Sarah Palin and her daughter—Bristol. Reaction to this mess reminds me of the human stupidity that led to Bill Maher being fired from ABC post-Sept. 11, or when Air America’s Randi Rhodes was let go for…
Garlic and Onions at the Farm: Oh my!
Everyone knows that garlic and onions make the world a better place, especially the folks at Agua Linda Farm in Amado. Those good foodie folks at the farm are helping to spread the garlic and onion gospel with their second Garlic and Onion Festival this weekend. It starts Friday, June 19, at 5 p.m., and…
Rialto Theatre to City Council: Delay the Vote on the Downtown Deal
Attorney Michael Crawford, president of the Rialto Theatre Foundation, is urging the Tucson City Council to delay voting on the downtown development deal that is scheduled for a decision at tomorrow evening’s council session. The deal, which would give downtown developers Scott Stiteler and Don Martin roughly $4 million in city land in exchange for…
Flandrau Observatory Update
We reported last month on The Range about the unfortunate cloure of the UA’s Flandrau Science Center, which was to cease operations on Monday, June 1, because of budget cuts. Well, it appears that a number of extraordinarily dedicated astronomy volunteers have taken it upon themselves to keep one key activity alive at the observatory:…
Electronic Rage
The Internet offers us a personal window into the current post-election rage sweeping through Iran, from personal blogs, like Tehran24 and The Huffington Post, to of all things,Twitter.
That’s Dr. Heinz to You, Bozo
Last week, two bills, SB 1206 and SB 1138, received approval from the Senate Public Safety and Human Services Committee that would require a 24-hour waiting period for abortions and increase penalties for performing late-term abortions. Unlike the previous nine anti-abortion bills that came from our state lawmakers that Guv Napolitano vetoed, chances are these…
Twitpocalypse Now
If you’re one of the twillions tweaked by Twitter-mania in general, and the twoubling twend of adding a “tw” to the beginning of every noun, verb, adjective and adverb, you may have reason to rejoice: A geek version of Nostradomus (Tweetstradomus?) is predicting a major Y2K-like event in the Twittersphere, sometime tomorrow. Technically, the site…
Leonard Cohen: Live in London (Sony)
If ever there was a balladeer perfect for the world’s end, it’s Leonard Cohen. His new two-disc set, recorded on July 17, 2008, at the O2 Arena with a nine-member band, sounds as beautifully apocalyptic as anything he’s ever done, besting even his intimate synth-pop masterpiece, I’m Your Man. While Cohen’s stage banter feels warm…
In Memoriam
Maria “Tess” Martinez, a former Tucson Weekly intern, died Monday, June 1, in a single-car accident in New Mexico. She was 25 years old. Martinez was a student at the University of Arizona. In addition to interning and freelancing for the Weekly, she served as an intern at the Tucson Citizen and as an apprentice…
Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band: Outer South (Merge)
Conor Oberst is chasing a new muse—loose and vibey jam-session rock ‘n’ roll—and while he and his Mystic Valley Band find some success along the way, Outer South mostly plays against his strengths. Released a short nine months after his last album, Outer South is unfocused and bloated; while a more concise effort would be…
The Skinny
STAGE FRIGHT Downtown developers Scott Stiteler and Don Martin stepped in front of the Tucson City Council last week to work out a few points in their complicated relationship with the city. As the Tucson Weekly has been reporting in recent months (see Dave Devine’s accompanying story on this page), Stiteler and Martin—who own the…
Live
Cotton Jones, The Parson Red Heads, Silver Thread Trio
Police Dispatch
A WAY WITH A WORD WEST RUTHRAUFF ROAD MAY 16, 1:48 A.M. A drunk female with a limited vocabulary caused trouble at a northwest-side bar, a Pima County Sheriff’s Department report stated. A female bartender at Famous Sam’s, 2840 W. Ruthrauff Road, said the subject ordered a Long Island iced tea and then headed toward…
9 Questions
Mark A. Martinez
Ask a Mexican!
Dear Mexican: I was riding the local light rail when two female Mexicans sat down and start talking rapid-fire Spanish, nonstop, for 45 minutes! It seemed as if neither one stopped to take a breath. They were loud and could be heard the length of the train. Question: Is this why Mexican men are notorious…
Top Ten in Music
Toxic Ranch Records top sales for the week
Media Watch
Access Tucson hopes to regroup during month-long furlough
T Q&A
Sharon Schubitzke
Silly Spoof
The primary mystery in Charles Ludlam’s The Mystery of Irma Vep is: What, exactly, is happening in this spoof? The action doesn’t make much sense, but it’s clearly a send-up of old-style theatrical melodramas and classic horror movies (we get suggestions of vampires, werewolves, mummies, maybe ghosts and even a crazed ax murderer), with generous…
A Virtual Blast
At some point in this mystery involving online role-playing games, you could get the impression that you’re one point-and-click away from showing up in a game yourself. Like when Hailey the wolf materializes out of fictional ether. Or when the place where the protagonist hopes to restore his spiritual center turns out to be an…
Proper Production
There’s a whole genre of English manor-house comedies, as though there were something inherently funny about rich people in a rural setting. When Americans do this, they come up with Green Acres. For the English, it’s programs and films like To the Manor Born, Cold Comfort Farm and Peter’s Friends. While our British cousins birthed…
Top Ten in Books
Mostly Books best-sellers for the week
Party Hardy
Some unlucky bastards rue the sins of male celebratory debauchery in The Hangover, a bachelor-party film that really doesn’t focus on the party itself. Director Todd Phillips and his perfect cast are more interested in the penalties of unbridled pre-wedding behavior—and how extreme, balls-out partying can eventually lead to a punch in the face from…
Resort Rations
“Hotel food has gone through a renaissance. Hotel food used to be bland and boring, but that’s not true anymore.” —Jason Weaver, executive chef of The French Room in Dallas’ Adolphus Hotel, to USA Today Hotel restaurants don’t get a fair shake. Yes, a lot of lame food is still served at hotels, but more…
Top Ten in Movies
Casa Video’s top rentals for the week
Danehy
OK, OK, so a columnist can sit back and throw tomatoes all day long when public figures mess things up, but when they get something right, it’s gutless not to tip the old cap to the perpetual punching bags. I’m talking about the Tucson City Council’s brilliant Fourth of July maneuver last week; it was…
Noshing Around
For the Kids On a Roll Sushi (63 E. Congress St.) will donate 10 percent of all sales made on Tuesdays in June to the Tucson Children’s Museum. This is an especially generous offer considering that the summer months are hard on many local eateries. Call 622-7655, or visit www.onarollsushi.com for hours or more information.…
Now Showing at Home
Generation Kill (Blu-Ray), The Graduate (Blu-Ray), Big (Blu-Ray)
O’Sullivan
Several weeks ago, I wrote that humans must curtail reproduction in order to save the planet. This prompted both accolades and the accusation that I was advocating eugenics, which I wasn’t. The only people who should definitively and forcefully be curtailed from breeding are real bastards, absolute shitheads and mean, nasty sons-of-bitches. Unfortunately, there’s no…
City Week
Taking the Center Ring “Join the Circus” 7 to 10 p.m., Saturday, June 13 Rhythm Industry Performance Factory 1013 S. Tyndall Ave. 481-8003; rhythmindustry.org If you’ve ever wanted to run away and join the circus, summer might be the perfect time to do so. But before you pack up, come and see what you’re in…
Before the Kitsch
The most interesting thing in the Ted DeGrazia “modernist” show at the Tucson Museum of Art is not anything the artist made himself. It’s a photograph by somebody else. The anonymous photographer captured a self-confident young DeGrazia in 1942, standing with Diego Rivera in Rivera’s Mexico City studio. The great Mexican muralist is his usual…
Fiction 84
To celebrate our 25th anniversary, we’re having a short-fiction contest. And by “short,” we mean REALLY short—no more than 84 words long, excluding the title. It’s simple, really: Sit down (or stand, or recline, or whatever; it doesn’t matter to us) at your favorite computer and write the best short story you can. Just make…
Performative Aspects
To say James Luna “performs” would be inaccurate. Instead, Luna—an internationally recognized Native American contemporary artist—prefers to call his appearances “performative lectures,” because his goal is to inform just as much as it is to entertain, despite his offbeat costumes that often involve something similar to a Speedo, and his tendency to incorporate videos and…
A Heaping Spoonful
Spoon is a band from Austin, Texas. Led by Britt Daniel, the group releases music that is bouncy, sleek and famously clipped. White Rabbits is a band from New York (by way of Columbia, Mo.). Led (mostly) by Stephen Patterson, the band recently released its sophomore album, It’s Frightening (TBD Records), a collection of jittery,…
Mailbag
A Formerly Unhappy Reader Sees Improvement Last year, I wrote, and you printed, a critical response to one of Catherine O’Sullivan’s articles. I just read her latest one (May 28), and all I wish to say is that it was a very good article. She gave interesting views and comments, but most of all, she…
Throwing Down the Folk
Ever since banjo virtuoso Béla Fleck discovered many years ago that his instrument has origins in Africa, he has longed to make an album of traditional African folk music. So in 2005—when the 11-time Grammy winner took some time off from his band, the Flecktones, for the first time in 15 years—he embarked on a…
Value for Value
The constantly recited mantra of Tucson City Council members concerning a proposed downtown development agreement is “value for value.” So why are they considering an $800,000 giveaway of public land in exchange for a 20-page concept plan which can charitably be called obsolete? “That’s a fair question,” responds Councilmember Karin Uhlich. Among others, the Portland,…
Soundbites
WILCO’S LONG-AWAITED RETURN Last week, I was in Illinois, reminiscing about the only time I saw Wilco play live, with the two friends who accompanied me to the show (the then-girlfriends of two other friends). They were visiting me here from out of town at the time, and despite their attachments, they had been jokingly…
BICAS Battle
From beneath the hulking Citizens Warehouse come the sounds of metal clanking, wheels spinning and serious people hard at work. For more than a decade, the popular Bicycle Inter-Community Art and Salvage—better known as BICAS—has filled the vast basement of this Depression-era building with folks who promote bicycle riding, build bicycles for those who have…
Mitzi Cowell: Love’s So … (Self-released)
What Mitzi Cowell does on stage with an electric guitar is something to behold—but she continues to evolve the most as a songwriter and recording artist. When she left Tucson for Toronto to study political theory in grad school, few expected her to be back after one semester. It was her time in the Great…
Access Wanted
You can’t say neighbors of Saguaro Ranch weren’t warned. On the night of May 21, when the Marana Town Council voted to abandon an easement that has caused much consternation for two years, town attorney Frank Cassidy declared that “anyone walking or driving as a member of the public on the portions of the easement…
Circus Mexicus
Somewhere beyond a wall of health alerts and travel warnings, there is still a Rocky Point. Our Rocky Point. It seems pretentious to call Puerto Peñasco by its given name: The dusty little seaside escape for Arizonans was long ago gringo-ized, our closest refuge to quench a summer’s thirst for water and dip a toe…
