Smoking Ban Hated
So, there’s this story in the Tucson Citizen today. I wonder where Samuel Scheurich found smokers who are delighted to be exiled 20 feet from any door, window, mousetrap, etc., since the smokers huddled together outside the bars who I talk to are all bitching about three things: 1) The smoking ban. 2) The smokers…
Paris Is Loose!
Paris was released from custody today. Brace yourself for another media fustercluck. Was this strategically planned to distract America from the immigration reform package being debated in the Senate? Our favorite moment of the whole circus (so far)? Stephen Colbert’s analysis of Tommy Chong’s analysis.
Farley v. Buchanan
This just in: State Rep. Steve Farley will be bantering with none other than columnist/McLaughlin Group irregular/occasional presidential candidate Pat Buchanan on MSNBC tomorrow—that’s Wednesday—at 10:30 a.m., Arizona time. The topic: Rep. Russell Pearce’s fun-filled immigration legislation.
What I Did on My Summer Vacation, Part 1
The Range took some time off to visit San Francisco and Portland last week. While we couldn’t find the time to live-blog the trip, we know our readers are dying to know how it went, so we’ll post a few notes and snapshots over the next few days. Jenny and I landed in Oakland around…
Road Closures Be Damned
Kudos to the well prepared folks at Hotel Congress, who are thinking ahead about the many road closures and how their customers are going to get there. Here’s part of an e-mail Hotel Congress sent out We’ve got you covered during the Construction Craze here in Tucson. Major construction affecting the Hotel Congress includes the…
Musicians’ Gear Stolen in Tucson
Just got this email from musician Jana Hunter’s publicist. Jana performed at Solar Culture Friday night. Friday night Jana Hunter and touring mates The Castanets had much of their equipment stolen in Tucson. It’s hoped that you’ll run this story and help bring attention to their plight and that musicians and store owners and folks…
Browncoats Alert!
Hey, Joss Whedon fans: This is your weekend at the Loft Cinema! First, there’s the screening of Serenity, the movie that wrapped up at least a few of the plot lines left dangling when Whedon’s cowboys-in-outer-space series Firefly was canceled by the no-good dingbats at Fox about halfway through the first season. The movie is…
Tales and Reviews From Laguna Beach
Hey kids, it’s been a while, but I am tuning in to you from the lovely and quaint Laguna Beach, Calif. My family has had a cute little two bedroom condo out here for years, and I just can’t stay away. If anyone is out in California this summer or in the near future, I recommend…
Top Ten in Movies
Casa Video’s top rentals for the week
Top Ten in Books
Mostly Books best-sellers for the week
Remembering Sunshine
As friends mourn the death of a homeless woman, advocates find violence all too common
Comic Defilement
The ‘Fantastic Four’ franchise stumbles along with this lame sequel
Of Burgers and Lobster
Notes on Shari’s, El Con offerings and feasts in Baja
Now Showing at Home
“Army of Shadows,” “The Film Crew: Hollywood After Dark,” and “Welcome Back Kotter: The Complete First Season”
Noshing Around
More Summer Specials · Hot Latin rhythms sizzle at J Bar. Try the summer sampler–salad plus a choice from three entrées–for $12.95. The Wednesday and Thursday night summer-music series takes over the patio from sunset to 10 p.m.; 3770 E. Sunrise Drive; 615-6100; www.janos.com . · La Placita Café–at 2920 N. Swan Road, No. 131,…
Soundbites
CREEPY CD They’re creepy and they’re kooky, mysterious and spooky. They’re all together ooky. No, I’m not talking about the Addams Family (nor those new dark-chocolate M&Ms they’re shilling these days), but rather Tucson’s The Mission Creeps. In recent months, the five-piece band–James Arrr (vocals, guitar, theremin), Miss Frankie Stein (bass, accordion), Becca “The Beastmaster”…
Danehy
Tom Danehy and the mighty ‘Summer Wind’
Beyond the Mainstream
Jana Hunter brings her lovely folk/blues songs back to Tucson
Guest Commentary
Coverage of two May deaths illustrates that Tucson has lessons to learn regarding diversity
Fresh Catch
Hot Tuna Acoustic help kick off a new musical era at the Fox Theatre
Tuttle
It’s raining presidents, hallelujah!
Nine Questions
Tim Mahoney
¡Ask a Mexican!
Why do Americans bitch about Mexicans stealing jobs?
Live
Menomena, All Smiles at Solar Culture Gallery, Friday, June 15
Shameless Self-Promotion
A note from the editor.
Rhythm & Views
In a perfect world, David Bromberg’s new recording (his first in 17 years), would come with a digital code that would not allow it to play until his enclosed song-by-song narrative had been read. These notes, eloquent and heartfelt, mirror this exquisite recording of non-overdubbed acoustic guitar and voice. They also offer insights into the…
Mailbag
Howls of outrage and squeals of delight from our astonished fans.
Rhythm & Views
Songwriting wunderkind/multi-instrumentalist Jedediah Smith writes like a Ritalin-dependent teenager, unaffected by the emotional impact of his hyperactive, chilling narratives. Mercifully, his latest pop machination isn’t a hazy psychedelic commentary on cloned crops growing in a clandestine laboratory. Instead, his intellect demonstrates scalpel-sharp focus on the demise of historical purity, the breakdown of morality and the…
The Skinny
AND THEY’RE OFF! The roster is finally set for this year’s city elections, with candidates turning in their petitions last week. Mayor Bob Walkup’s moderate ways appear to have won over Democrats, seeing how they were unable to scare up a candidate to challenge him. And, sadly, Bruce Gerowitz, who sells hot dogs outside of…
Rhythm & Views
For a dose of the old jangle and chime à la the three Bs of power pop heaven (The Beatles, Badfinger, Big Star), leavened with hearty helpings of garage-rock grit and urban-country twang, seek out the new album by Two Cow Garage. Aptly titled III, it is the Columbus, Ohio-based trio’s third full-length CD. Compared…
Media Watch
Radtke Ready to Follow the Sidewinders
Top Ten in Music
Toxic Ranch Records top sales for the week
Police Dispatch
First Impressions Cortaro Farms and Thornydale Roads, May 21, 8:18 p.m. MySpace teasing morphed into a confrontation involving a car, a Pima County Sheriff’s Department report stated. A 20-year-old woman told authorities that another woman on MySpace had been making fun of her, calling her “Jay Leno” online and posting pictures of the reportee’s deceased…
Healing Hurts
LTW does a fine job of presenting the tale of Neil Simon’s rocky second marriage
Flood of Worries
Critics ask: Why not return Sabino Canyon to nature?
Pick of the Week
The Return of Gay West
Simon Succeeds
Arizona Repertory concludes the Eugene Jerome trilogy brilliantly with ‘Broadway Bound’
Brave New Hay
Is Monsanto’s genetic engineering erasing the line between what is natural and what is not?
City Week
Our top picks of what to do and where to do it for the week.
Dropped in the Desert
Photographer Michael Hyatt presents images of what migrants leave behind
T Q&A
Tucson Q&A with Jan Lo Vecchio
Tasty Danish Treat
The captivating, Oscar-nominated ‘After the Wedding’ is a fantastic film
Good Kitty
Arizonan Kevin Hansen impressively details the amazingly adaptable bobcat
Home Loss
Pima County foreclosures are rising sharply, thanks to adjustable-rate mortgages
