Live From … Little Rock?
If someone would have told me, say, 5 years ago, that I’d be sitting in a hotel room in Little Rock, Arkansas, doing something called a “blog entry” for an alternative newsweekly in Tucson, I would have chortled or something. Well, looky where I am at, and what I am doing. I am here for…
Fun With the DEA
As further evidence of how completely hosed this country’s drug policy is … check out this article from the Houston Press, about a reporter’s journey into cyberspace to get narcotics.
First Draft of the Rove Apology Speech?
Karl Rove spent his evening at home punching up his impending apology speech. Naturally he felt some contrition for his malcompetent abuse of power in the case of Mrs. V. Plame—because he’s not some sort of sociopath. Indeed, his transgressions haven’t even proven to be indictable (and we all know you can indict a ham…
Batman?
Someone has painted what is probably best described as graffiti on some local buildings, namely the WorldCare building on Wilmot Road, south of Broadway Boulevard (does anyone remember when it was a Silo? Before there were Best Buys and Circuit Cities? Where has the time gone?), and an abandoned old car garage on Tucson Boulevard and 22nd…
Two Buck Chuck renegade winemaker
According to Inc. online: Fred T. Franzia is the most controversial figure in the U.S. wine industry and also one of the most savvy. By moving in exactly the opposite direction of the industry elite, he has built Bronco Winery into the fourth largest wine company in the United States in case sales: Last year…
Mo’ Blogs
Bloggish things are just getting started here at the Tucson Weekly. Elsewhere in the alt-weekly arena, the action is well under way, and it’s definitely a mixed bag, both in subject and approach: Albuquerque Alibi Boston Phoenix Durham Independent Jackson Free Press Minneapolis/St. Paul CityPages The Stranger Vermont’s Seven Days Washington CityPaper There are more…
Cuppa Joe
It turns out I mostly gave up caffeine a couple of weeks ago, and I’ve been debating giving up all coffee—which I frickin’ adore—even decaf, sometime down the line. Now comes this news. Well, crap. Now what do I do?
I Remember When, I Remember I Remember When I Lost My Mind
Gnarls Barkley has a “Crazy” costume department. (There are many YouTube links in the preceding sentence. Caveat spector.)
Are you an activist yet?
Ever since MoveOn.org made its way into my e-mail box, I have been signing petitions, calling elected officials, and occasionally donating money. They have elevated the status of power to the people. They keep politicians on their toes and they do it with simply earnest prose and understated grace. Once again despicable politicians want to cut funds…
Fun With Press Releases
Every so often, an editor has to ask himself: How in the hell did I end up on this e-mail list? I am experiencing one of those times right now. I just got a news release/guest commentary submission from the Save the Manatee Club. The commentary they want me to run is called Unwarranted State…
Comments Policy
Comments and debate are welcome on the Tucson Weekly blog, but the following will be removed by our administrator: Potentially libelous comments. Obscene or racist comments. Personal attacks, insults, or threatening language. Plagiarized material. Private, personal information published without consent. Comments totally unrelated to the topic of the post. Commercial promotions or spam. Hyperlinks to…
Kiss It!
OK, here’s what you need to do right now. Stop what you’re doing and go outside. Get on your knees, and kiss the ground long and hard. While you smooch, thank whatever higher power (God? The universe? Keanu Reeves?) you choose that you’ve been blessed to live in an area where you don’t have weather…
How to Impeach a President
Have you noticed how long it has taken the mainstream American public and the wimpy Democrats to even utter the word “impeach”? Clinton is impeached for lying about the act of oral sex (and the actual act), but Bush has raped and pillaged countries and domestic programs, started a war without due process and boasts…
Putting the “Oy!” in “Voyeur”
Scientists have proven that you, yes you, TWeekly Blog Reader, are on camera an average of 478 times in the course of a normal day. Shocking*, isn’t it? This is what makes the incredible live webcam archive at Opentopia such a great resource—now you can be the eye in the sky! Organized according to country…
Elephants in the News
Remember several months ago, when the City Council voted to enlarge the Reid Park Zoo elephant enclosure, even though a group of Tucsonans was making some convincing arguments that the elephants could suffer and deteriorate by staying at the Reid Park Zoo? Well, at the Los Angeles Zoo—where animal-rights folks have made similar arguments—an elephant has…
Breaking News! Not Really!
We here at Weekly World Central just received a news release, compliments of the Patty Weiss for Congress Campaign. The headline: FDR Granddaughter Throws Support to Weiss in CD 8 Race Wow. I am just on pins and needles waiting to see who Warren G. Harding’s grand-nephew endorses! This is, by far, the dumbest political press…
Holy Archives, Batman
So I was dorking around on The New York Times Web site, and I stumbled into the paper’s archive search. Did you know you can search the Times going all the way back to 1851. 1851!!! And I thought our archives were cool for going back to 1995. I typed in my last name—not the…
Flagging Patience
Speaking of loons and the Arizona Legislature, is there some particular problem our legislators are hoping to solve by requiring U.S. flags be posted in every classroom in the state? If one of the 20 senators who voted for the measure (or any member of the House who voted in favor of their own version…
So Long, Mr. DeLay
There are a lot of cynics out there, and I am not one of them. (I am almost always skeptical, yes. Cynical, no—there’s a big dif.) And a lot of cynics out there talk about how the country/world/etc. is going to hell in a handbasket. I didn’t used to agree with them. But now, things…
Spam Fax (or Facts)
E-mails from widows or children or accountants of wealthy or corrupt leaders or bankers in Nigeria or elsewhere in the Third World are such a daily fixture of Internet life that I don’t always remember that this particular scam has been around since it actually cost these scumbags a first-class stamp to get in touch.…
You Go, Garrison!
I’ve always liked Garrison Keillor, even if his radio show can be a little sleepy at times. But I like him even more after seeing his latest syndicated column. He discusses one of the Republicans’ tactics when it comes to the upcoming election better than anyone I’ve seen so far: I see by the papers…
Splish, splash, help give the doggies a bath
Are you looking for some good clean fun this Sunday morning, June 11? Arizona Greyhound Rescue is looking for volunteers to come out and wash dogs for our doggy spa fundraiser. Arizona Greyhound Rescue is an all-volunteer nonprofit organization that takes dogs from the local race track and racing kennels and finds them permanent, loving homes.…
If you were a ‘Weekly’ intern …
The Weekly is blessed to have three wonderful interns this summer: Jacki Kuder, Beth Prosnitz and Ellen Ranta. Well, at least they seem wonderful so far. I mean, two of ’em have been here for a week or less, and could very well turn out to be deranged or something. But so far, so good.…
Cat Antics: Essential Internerd Accessory
It’s a well-known internet axiom that no blog is complete without a broad array of cat photos/videos. So in celebration of the TWeekly’s blog launch, I submit to you one of the cutest goddamn CAT.VIDEOS.EVER. You’ll thank me upon watching it.
Zarqawi’s Dead!
Look! Zarqawi is dead! That means we won, just like we won when we captured Saddam Hussein! War is over! Again! O, wait. Now “Abu Abdel-Rahman” is in charge of evil. Ok, war’s on again! Yay! Another chance for victory! Interestingly, a little over a month ago, the Washington Post reported that The U.S. military…
The ‘Weekly’ Blog
A note from the editor.
City Week
Our top picks of what to do and where to do it for the week.
Mailbag
Howls of outrage and squeals of delight from our astonished fans.
Soundbites
WHAT HAPPENED TO LUTHER CAMPBELL, ANYWAY? Here at Soundbites, we do our best to give you a full week’s notice when shows fall on a Thursday night, since that’s the day our paper officially hits the racks. But sometimes, we must make exceptions to that rule. For example, we didn’t receive a press kit on…
Communications Breakdown
After neglecting to get available federal aid, technology-deficient TUSD enters into a questionable business deal
Working Full-Time
The Constantines, coming to Plush from Canada via Spain, won’t be undersold
Language Barriers
ESL programs, already strapped for funds, brace for an increase in demand
Live
West Memphis Three Awareness Show at Club Congress, Saturday, June 3
A Big ‘If’
The impending destruction of a city-owned building has some wondering about the warehouse district’s future
Nine Questions
Kini Wade
The Skinny
WWW.CHICKENSHIT-CYBERWAR.BS Turnabout being fair play and all, the Arizona Democratic Party has responded to the GOP’s recent complaint about Gov. Janet Napolitano’s Web page with a complaint about Republican gubernatorial candidate Len Munsil’s Web site. If you’ve been following the gubernatorial race, you know the big issues are illegal immigration, education spending and whether Napolitano…
Rhythm & Views
Following the successful self-revisionism of the recently reformed Stooges, the battering, sludge-hammer gods known as the Melvins have taken one of the most revered and groundbreaking noise-grunge albums, Houdini, and re-recorded the entire bombastic affair “live” (adding a few changes and scant extras) a dozen years after its initial major-label debut. While the Stooges basically…
Drenched in Poison
Are Tucson schools putting students at risk?
Rhythm & Views
A funny thing happens when you have a recording studio in your house: You record a lot of music. Hence, the third full-length from Vikas Pawa’s Nowhere Man is actually a 24-song double disc. While Love Asphyxia, the band’s second album, was recorded with a full band, and seriously rocked out at moments, A Perfect…
Media Watch
Meteorology Musical Chairs
Rhythm & Views
When the Long Island hard-core band Glassjaw broke up, guitarist Todd Weinstock followed his muse in a most unlikely direction: He formed the new-wavey disco group Men, Women and Children. The band’s recent debut CD is a decadent and convincing exercise in rock music for dancing–post-ironic songs filled with irresistible disco rhythms, shouted gang vocals,…
Police Dispatch
At Least He Still Has His Kidneys River and Oracle Roads, May 22, 5:15 a.m. A man went to a bar near downtown one evening, struck up a conversation with another man and woke up naked on the side of the road the next morning, with no memory of what had transpired in the intervening…
Top Ten in Music
CD City top sales for the week
T Q&A
Tucson Q&A with Sam Holdren
The Simpler Life
Nancy Green finds a more grounded existence by combining cello and yoga
Top Ten in Movies
Casa Video’s top rentals for the week
Grief-Stricken Power
Neil Bernstein takes artifacts from tragedies and turns them into art
Revealing Revenge
‘Lady Vengeance’ is fantastic for 42 minutes–and then it gets dicey in more ways than one
Conscience of the World
Jim Harrison ponders existence in his fantastic new book of poetry
Now Showing at Home
“PJ Harvey on Tour: Please Leave Quietly,” “The Princess Bride: Buttercup Edition,” “Entourage: The Complete Second Season”
Top Ten in Books
Mostly Books best-sellers for the week
Danehy
It’s World Cup time, and ESPN is delusional
‘Loon’-y Tunes
Tapes ‘n Tapes: changing the world, one blog at a time
Ode to Lemongrass
Ha Long Bay shines with its underappreciated Vietnamese offerings
Tuttle
The idea of kids tracked with electronic tags is nightmarish …
Pick of the Week
Humane Acts
Noshing Around
Philanthropy With Phlavor It’s that time of the year again when Pastiche Modern Eatery will donate 5 percent of the tab to your favorite nonprofit charity during the month of June. This year, they’re taking it up a notch and will include purchases in the Pastiche Wine Shop as well. On Sunday and Monday, June…
Guest Commentary
It’s time to set some dog-park etiquette rules
Condo Conversion
Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston shine in the funny, imperfect ‘Break-Up’
