Cover Story
Being Baldenegro
When Salomón Baldenegro Jr. and his younger brother were little boys, their mother and father took them to protests urging shoppers to take up Cesar Chavez’s call to support struggling farm workers. When Baldenegro Jr. looks back at those days, he realizes he was luckier than most Mexican-American kids from his generation. He was experiencing…
Reason #4583 Oregon Might Be Cooler Than Arizona
Hard to imagine Al Melvin, Russell Pearce and Frank Antenori interrupt legislative proceedings to interpret the Rick Astley classic “Never Gonna Give You Up”, but ruthlessly cutting budgets takes up a lot of energy. No such time restraints in Oregon, apparently.
Travel at Your Desk? Yeah, Right, Thanks NPR
Thanks NPR for the “Travel the World at Your Desk” idea, but I think I need the real deal.
Help Tucsonans The Tryst Play Bonnaroo
Tennessee megafestival Bonnaroo could use more Tucson bands as part of their lineup, right? Thankfully, the “Road to Roo” contest makes it easy for you to play a vote for difficult-to-characterize local band The Tryst. Go to their page on the Bonnaroo site, download their song “Number 8” and that’s it. Get a free song…
I Guess That’s How It’s Going to Be, Arizona Republicans
From Rep. Steve Farley’s newsletter, The Farley Report: We felt a small bit of hope at one point when Rep. John Fillmore (R-Apache Junction) rose to say that he actually supported an amendment by Anna Tovar (D-Tolleson) to restore transplant funding and pay for it entirely in private funds. He praised our arguments from the…
An Online Personality Test Designed to Ruin Your Day
I have no idea how this test works, where it came from, or whether a square or a triangle is more likely to be reading my thoughts, but if you’d like a somewhat meaningless fortune and a feeling of unease for the rest the day, go for it. [io9]
Landing on Mars
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory uses photos from the UA’s HiRISE camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to show how NASA’s Mars Science Lab will land in August 2012. Nancy Atkinson of Universe Today notes: Entry, descent and landing is the big moment for any Mars lander mission, and the big honkin’ Mars Science Lab and…
Cat Video of the Day: Hot Dog!
This is a video of a cat dressed up as a hot dog eating a hot dog his owner made by pressing together chicken and vegetables. While the hot dogs look like something my cats wouldn’t even touch, you have to say “Yay to hot dog cannibalism.”
See a Metal Band and Weird Cartoon Characters for Free Today
The Adult Swim network is taking over the 300 E. 7th Street parking lot near the U of A today for their Ragbag Of Jollification carnival/block party, with games, free stuff and a free performance from High On Fire. Whether you spend late nights getting high and watching Aqua Teen Hunger Force or not, High…
Tucson Weekly TV – A. Greene, Intern, Fires Back at the Media
The mainstream media won’t just let A. speak to the people directly, so she presents her first advertisement directly to you, the voter.
Captain Al Will Be There, How About You?
A Community Forum is taking place at the Northwest YMCA Pima County Community Center, 7770 North Shannon Road, on Friday, April 8, from 8 to 10 a.m. in the community room. Politicians expected to be there: State Sen. Al Melvin (District 26); State Sen. Gail Griffin (District 25); Rep. Vic Williams (District 26); Rep. Terry…
Man Shoots Self in the Back, City Fights Resident Over Toilet Bowl Flower Planters and More: Rynski Radio on Party934
Update with playlist and download at bottom of the post Photo Ryn Gargulinski Gun Safety 101: Refrain from shooting self in back. We’re used to two-faced folks stabbing us in the back, but one Florida man reportedly took the concept one step further. He shot himself in the back. That story and more are up…
Ridiculous Pictures of Celine Dion Website Exactly What It Says It Is
At some point, the internet has run out of descriptive names for websites, so often there’ll be some sparkling new website with a title missing a vowel somewhere and I’ll have no idea what I’m going to be looking at. This is a source of much anxiety for me. Thankfully, there are no such issues…
International Soccer Highlight of the Day
From today’s Champions League match between Inter Milan and Schalke, Dejan Stankovic scores a goal from a significant distance from the goal, and in one moment creates more excitement than the entirety of last night’s NCAA men’s basketball championship.
17 Years Without Kurt Cobain
While today is the 17th anniversary of Kurt Cobain’s suicide and a blog write-up from today’s Washington Post captures that “Smells Like Teen Spirit” experience well, I can’t help but think about Mia Zapata, lead singer of the Gits, who was murdered a year before Cobain’s death. Living in Seattle at the time, I remember…
Big Chocolate Bunnies: Sabino Artisan Chocolates
A new artisan chocolate shop called Sabino Artisan Chocolates has opened at 10110 N. Oracle Road. The shop – which markets itself as the only artisan chocolatier in town – sells bon bons, truffles, chocolate-chipotle-popcorn caramel and other diet-destroying delights. Guinness truffles and Bailey’s Irish Creme caramels were crafted for St. Patrick’s Day, and right…
Asta: Still Unsure of Mayoral Campaign
Republican Ron Asta ran a TV ad last week asking Tucsonans if he should continue his run for mayor, in light of recent media coverage of a traffic accident that killed an 18-year-old girl in 1994. Asta says he got a lot of response to the ad, but the negative outweighed the positive. “I had…
Stephen Colbert Prepares for a Fox Without Glenn Beck
I feel like Glenn Beck will likely end up getting his own 24 hour cable network of insanity and gold infomericals if he leaves Fox, but I can understand why Stephen Colbert would be distressed to have to TiVo another channel for material.
Must Be Nice to Have a Lobbyist for a Dad
While my father’s rules of fighting have been valuable to me on occasion, there have been few tangible economic benefits to my bloodline. These things happen, we can’t all be Kennedys or children of Will Smith, so I’ve learned to be ok with it, but then I read about the awesome gig Brian Deschane has…
Maybe It’s Time for Bands to Stop Making Musicals
Musicals are always sort of a strange animal of the stage…it doesn’t seem like people often want to see all singing and dancing shows that are all that groundbreaking. Although there are exceptions, the most successful musicals seem to play on stories we’re already familiar with (Wicked or The Lion King, for example) or use…
The Most Amazing Sculptures Ever – Dragon Edition
From a roadside gift shop called Boomland in Charleston, Missouri. [HT: Reddit]
Exene Cervenka Cancels Friday’s Club Congress Show
Bummer for those planning to go to the show Friday night, but best wishes to Exene Cervenka, who suffers from multiple sclerosis. From Bloodshot Records: Due to health concerns, Exene unfortunately will not be able to continue her tour. All dates from April 4th thru the 18th. Kevin Seconds, her opening act, will still be…
Nikon’s Latest Video-Centric DSLR Leaks
Nikon’s latest prosumer D5100 DSLR has just been leaked. The D5100’s sensor has been bumped up from the 12 megapixel D5000 to 16.2 megapixels. It is capable of shooting 1080p HD video at 30 fps and 24 fps for those wanting a more “cinema” feeling. There’s still no 60p option like many Canon DSLRs. The…
Sierra Club: State Budget “Will Create a Huge Cash Flow Issue for Parks”
The Sierra Club’s Sandy Bahr reacts to the state budget: The budget sweeps funds that keep the Parks open and maintained. SB1612 general appropriations 2011-2012 (Biggs, Klein, Murphy, et al.) sweeps the Enhancement Fund of approximately $2,090 000. This is particularly outrageous as this fund consists of the user fees we all pay to use…
Tim Pawlenty’s Ad Way More Exciting Than Obama’s
While Barack Obama has kicked off his re-election campaign with a video today, hats off to former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty for his more aggressive, decidedly more frightening YouTube clip created to prove to the world that he’s not incredibly dull. [ShortFormBlog]
Meet Tucson “Storyteller” Jake Broido
Thanks to a tip from a Tucson Weekly staffer, I was introduced to Tucson musician/rapper/singer/etc. Jake Broido’s music today, which has been an interesting mixed bag. Clearly, he has a lot of ambition as he sets off to tour with YouTube pop star Dave Days (who will be in Tucson for the DigiTour stop at…
AZ Capitol Times: Transplant Still Unfunded in AZ Budget
Luige del Puerto of the Arizona Capitol Times explains why some organs transplants remain unfunded by the Arizona Legislature’s budget: Legislators inserted an “intent clause” in the measure, SB1619, saying they wanted the transplant services, which were discontinued by a law adopted last year, to be funded. But they provided no money to back up…
FYI: Barack Obama Is Running for Re-Election
Apparently, Barack Obama was planning on trying to be president again, instead of just giving up and moving back to Kenya. Who knew?
RIP, Joe Sweeney
We got an e-mail this morning from former state lawmaker Carmine Cardamone informing us that perennial candidate Joe Sweeney died of cancer on Saturday, April 2, at Peppi’s House, a TMC hospice. Sweeney, who was opposed to illegal immigration before being opposed to illegal immigration was cool, ran for Congress more than a dozen times…
Snooki Finds Something Other Than Tanning That She’s Good At
I probably should have coughed up the money to watch the highlight of the sports entertainment calendar Wrestlemania last night, but thanks to the internet, cheapskates everywhere can see the end of Snooki’s match, where she put on a shockingly competent show:
If You Have Nearly Four Hours to Spare Today…
The archive of indie dance act LCD Soundsystem’s final show from Madison Square Garden Saturday night is on YouTube for your enjoyment. [UPDATE: Bummer, EMI blocked the video on copyright grounds. If I find another source, I’d switch out the link.]
Cheryl Cole’s Coming to America to Judge Our Singers!
I don’t know whether former Girls Aloud singer Cheryl Cole’s judging skills will get me to actually watch Simon Cowell’s new American Idolish show The X Factor, but at least I’ll consider it now: Cheryl Cole has the X factor — so much so that she has signed on as the newest judge of the…
Tonight’s Arizona International Film Festival Lineup
For more information Tonight at the Arizona International Film Festival, a doubleheader of short films collected by theme: first up, love, followed by drama.Monday, April 4 6:00pmThe Screening Room LOVE(?) SHORTS BIKE RACE (USA, 12m)THE AMY CHARACTER (USA, 8m) The Amy Character – Trailer from Andrew Simkiss on Vimeo. BEDFELLOWS (USA, 15m) TALK (United Kingdom,…
‘Meat and Potatoes’ Digs in at Lindy’s on 4th
Lindy’s on 4th makes another televised appearance tonight, Monday, April 4, this time on the Food Network show Meat and Potatoes. The show’s host, Rahm Fama, will take a look at one of the restaurant’s robust and peculiar offerings, a double-patty burger with grilled-cheese sandwiches as buns. From the press release: Premiering Monday, April 4th…
Koz: What’s Wrong With Republicans Represesenting Southern Arizona?
Republican City Councilman Steve Kozachik continues to challenge GOP members of the Arizona Legislature. The latest: An op-ed in Inside Tucson Business, where he complains that state lawmakers excluded Pima County when handing out dollars for border enforcement, continue to damage the universities and are undermining efforts to get downtown redevelopment back on track. In…
Cornel West Speaks in Centennial Hall
Characterized as one of the most provocative intellectuals in America. Dr. Cornel West wears many hats: 1943 professor in the Center for African American Studies at Princeton University, distinguished author, speaker, and champion of racial and social justice. In all of his incarnations he says he weaves together “the traditions of the black Baptist church,…
Zimmerman Scholarship Fund Tops 50K, Now Eligible for Endowment
The Gabriel Zimmerman Scholarship Fund has just surpassed its goal of $50,000, making the fund eligible for endowment at the University of California at Santa Cruz, Zimmerman’s alma mater. It took just more than two months for the fund to receive enough donations for endowment, but fund co-creator Jonathan Klein says his work is far…
May You Truly Party All the Time, Eddie Murphy
Happy 50th birthday, Eddie Murphy. I’d personally prefer to remember you as the guy on top of the world, trying out a movie career with the help of Rick James than as the guy who thought making Norbit was a good idea, but so be it. [HT: Maura Johnston]
Amazing Tsunami Survival Story
An amazing tale of K-9 rescue: More than 20 days after the tsunami hit, the Japanese Coast Guard found a dog afloat amidst rubble of a house that was swept away.
Photographer Profile: Michael Hillman
Michael Hillman Michael Hillman didn’t always know that photography would be his passion. Since he was young, Hillman would flip through the pages of surfing magazines to look at the photographs. The vivid colors and exotic locations captured his attention. Since he was young, Hillman has been engrossed in visuals. Michael Hillman Hillman first became…
Legislature Passes State Budget. Senate Dems: “Dawn of a Dark Chapter.” Senate President Russell Pearce: “State Has a Brighter Future”
There’s a lot to unpack in the budget that’s headed for Gov. Jan Brewer’s desk, but we’ll start with reaction from Senate Democrats: Legislative Republicans shoved a budget through the Senate and House that kills jobs, massively cuts education and kicks hundreds of thousands of people off of health care. Unfortunately, the attack on middle…
This Weekend’s Arizona International Film Festival Schedule
More information can be found at the Festival’s website. Tonight8:00pm Fox TheatreJOURNEY FROM ZANSKAR (USA, 90m) (with the filmmaker in attendance) Journey From Zanskar Trailer from Nick Sherman on Vimeo. Saturday, April 23:00pmThe Screening RoomON COAL RIVER (USA, 81m) ON COAL RIVER trailer (runtime: 2:36) from On Coal River on Vimeo. Sunday, April 31:00pmThe Screening…
Happy 20th Birthday, Comedy Central
I guess it seems like Comedy Central has been on the cable lineup forever, but there was a time twenty years and one day ago when the idea of an all comedy network featuring American Pie sequels and Futurama episodes was just a dream. However, these days my life would be a hollow empty place…
Artistic Range: Stone Dragon Studio
“Lineage of Parallel Souls,” by Anabelle Dimang, is part of In This Moment, continuing at Stone Dragon Studio, 1122 N. Stone Ave., through April 2.
RIP, Mel McDaniel
I don’t know if anyone would argue that the early part of the 1980’s was a really great time for country music, as the whole Urban Cowboy thing overran whatever was left of traditional country music. While there’s some sentimentality for the era on the pop music side of things, country tends to look way…
You Should Buy the New Cornershop CD
While you probably only remember Cornershop from their one American hit, “Brimful of Asha”, they’re in the midst of their twentieth year as a band and releasing their seventh album, Cornershop and the Double ‘O’ Groove Of… Cornershop have always played around with Bollywood influences in their music, but for the new album, they went…
How Many More Days Can The Star Run a Wildcat Basketball Story?
Maybe it’s “Week of the Wildcat” and no one told me, but it’s been six days since the men’s basketball team lost to UConn. It might be time to move on, everyone. Football’s coming up soonish, the Padres start playing next week. If we collectively take a deep breath, we can make it until next…
Big Surprise: Lawmakers Would Like to Pay Fiesta Bowl Back
I’m not entirely sure why Michele Reagan feels like it’s the Fiesta Bowl’s responsibility to make sure she obeys the law, but it really does seem like this is going to get much uglier for some legislators (I’m looking at you, Russell Pearce) in the next few weeks. Maybe we should actually pay our legislators…
Walk the Loop for Lupus
The 10th annual Walk the Loop for Lupus takes place on Saturday, April 2, at Reid Park (Broadway Boulevard and Alvernon Way). Check-in and day-of registration begins at 7:15 a.m. at Ramada No. 31, just west of Hi Corbett Field. The walk begins at 8:30 a.m. Registration is $25 in advance, or $30 day-of-event and…
Another Mexican Restaurant Opens
Mexican restaurant El Saguarito has opened a second location in the old Prince Pizza and Family Restaurant location at 1763 E. Prince Road. Right now, there is an international incident going on in that building, with a mix of Mexican blankets and Italian paintings all over the place. The best part is the European-style statue…
Frosty Jake’s Frozen Custard
I took a peek inside the new Frosty Jake’s Frozen Custard going in at 3102 E. Grant Road, and it looks like it’s going to be a good one. I tried to snap a picture of the menu board through the still-locked doors so you could join me in drooling over the tasty frozen goodness—but…
The Food Truck Diaries, Volume 11: Flankenstein’s
Flankenstein’s is one of the first food trucks in town to take a stab at elevating the mobile food scene from hot-dogs-and-tacos to more like what’s going on in cities like Los Angeles and Portland. In fact, one of the owners of Flankenstein’s is a pastor who used to run a Los Angeles food truck…
Blogislature: Budget Deal Reached?
Details are sketchy, but it appears that Gov. Jan Brewer and GOP lawmakers have a budget deal: Brewer and lawmakers are working to close a projected $1.1 billion budget shortfall. They’ve been trying to bridge differences between Brewer’s proposal and an $8.1 billion budget plan approved by the Senate earlier this month. Adams says some…
Staff of the “Spinnaker”: You Have a Future Career in Alt-Weeklies
Turns out the University of North Florida isn’t ready for their campus newspaper to openly discuss a link between oral sex and throat cancer. Either that or they just don’t want to see the act sort of depicted on the cover of the newspaper itself. Hard to say.
Thanks, South Carolina for Keeping It Crazy
What I love about South Carolina: gun advocates there are arguing against a law that would allow guns in day-care centers…because it doesn’t go far enough to allow out-of-state gun owners and those under 18 to have their guns in church. The injustice! Legislation weaving its way through the House of Representatives would increase the…
Wake Up or Wind Down: The Edge Bar
The combination coffee joint/cocktail spot is popular in Seattle, where perpetual sunlessness makes one crave massive doses of caffeine and/or alcohol on as regular a basis as possible. Having made the move from Seattle (actually, Bremerton, but close enough) to Tucson more than a decade ago, I still find myself pining for the strange buzz…
A Democrat Wants to Run For Kyl’s Seat, But Is Afraid to Say
Let’s play “Guess Who Was Unwilling to Say He Wants to Run for Senate?”, from yesterday’s New York Times: While it might be wishful thinking, Ms. Giffords’s noncampaign is already having a major effect on Arizona politics; other prospective Democratic candidates say they feel compelled not to jump in unless she bows out, allowing Republicans…
Your Thursday Live Music Recommendation – I Was Totally Destroying It
Chapel Hill’s I Was Totally Destroying It is opening for Caliche Con Carne at the Red Room tonight, and while this probably sounds like sort of a insult, what I love about this band is how much they remind me of the “college rock” of the mid-90’s, existing somewhere between Superchunk and Velocity Girl. As…
Broadway in Tucson Announces Their 2011/2012 Season
Truly, when you’re a Jet, you’re a Jet ’til the end. WEST SIDE STORYSeptember 20-25, 2011Tucson Music Hall More than fifty years ago one musical changed theater forever. From the first note to the final breath, West Side Story soars as the greatest love story of all time. Tony Award-winning librettist Arthur Laurents’ Broadway direction…
I Wish I Had Rep. Sean Duffy’s Financial Problems
This video clip might be wildly out of context, but a lesson for first term congressman Sean Duffy (he was on The Real World!): no one wants to hear you complaining about you’re struggling to make it on $174,000 a year.
Tuscan in Tucson: Brio Tuscan Grille Opening This Summer
A new Italian eatery called Brio Tuscan Grille is set to open this summer at the Tucson Mall. It looks like it will serve pretty standard Italian fare, for the most part, although there appears to be a slightly more upscale feel to it than most mall food. There’s more information over here.
Bill Murray to Play FDR? The Not Terribly Funny Ex-President?
While my general axiom is to see everything Bill Murray is in, I might need to be convinced a bit before paying money to see this particular film of his: Our spies tell us that it’s official: Bill Murray has agreed to star as FDR in an adaptation of the British radio play Hyde Park…
Devilish Details
The new crop of Tucson restaurants seems to trend toward reinventing classic regional-American dishes with local ingredients—which would be a wonderful and creative thing if seemingly every new restaurant wasn’t doing it. However, Elle Wine Bistro is one of the original local-turned-gourmet restaurants in Tucson—so, in theory, it should be one of the best. Elle…
Noshing Around
New: Jasper Neighborhood Restaurant and Bar; Southern Cooking; New: Choice Greens Express; A Shout-Out to Janos; Noshing Notes
Danehy
Through sheer happenstance (or perhaps just plain bad luck), I found myself on the University of Arizona campus last week. In case you missed it, the university allowed some people (who have much higher morals and purer motives than any of the rest of us) to erect a fence that ran the length of the…
Downing
What is it with the Internet and belly fat? When I finally got my lazy tush onto Facebook and Twitter last year—the kids more or less demanded it—this was one of the first questions that arose in my mind. You start clicking on those links your friends post for wholesome entertainments like barn-owl nest cams…
Sonic Environments
Music bred in the parallel isolations of a Japanese volcano and an abandoned train station in Detroit deserves the name Cosmic Birth. Like everything else about Akron/Family—whose members are spread from Portland, Ore., to New York—that new record sprawls all over the place. Akron/Family II: The Cosmic Birth and Journey of Shinju TNT, released in…
Stories That Resonate
The organizers of the Arizona International Film Festival attempt to showcase films from around the world that resonate with Southern Arizonans. Now celebrating its 20th anniversary year, the festival spans 20 days and features more than 140 feature-length and short films from 22 different countries. “A lot of the filmmakers who come visit us have…
Mailbag
Don’t Rant About Politicians; Rant About the People Who Elected Them; Planned Parenthood Actually Keeps the Number of Abortions Down; Drink Australian Wine; Ignore Bitter ‘Bon Appetit’ Ex-Editors; Boegle’s Reviews Have Been Painfully Pedestrian
Soundbites
Props; Special-event mania!; Finishing touches; Short takes; On the bandwagon
City Week
Autism Walk/Run and Resource Fair; Lisztian Loves; April Fool’s Fest; Fourth Annual Chess Fest: “Through the Looking Glass”
Guest Commentary
The destruction of the longstanding DeAnza Drive-In in April of last year left yet another hole in the Tucson landscape, a hole frequently filled by new-car lots, used-car lots and Taco Bells. But fear not, nostalgia buffs: A new drive-in is still in the works, with a recent update bringing the best news yet. Negotiations…
Top Ten in Music
Toxic Ranch Records’ top sales for the week ending March 25, 2011
T Q&A
When Ricci Silberman first heard about the organization Grounds for Health and its mission to curb cervical cancer in coffee-growing communities in Mexico, Nicaragua and Tanzania, she decided she wanted to volunteer. However, she put those plans on hold while raising children and helping run the Cushing Street Family Practice. With the kids finally raised…
Unkind Cuts
When the Senate passed its budget in just one day a few weeks back, Bruce Liggett got all of three minutes to testify about the impacts of the proposed cuts on child-care services for the working poor. It really didn’t matter what Liggett, the executive director of the Arizona Child Care Association, had to say.…
Nine Questions
A Tucson resident for more than 20 years, Michelle Haller was one of the original recipients of the Club Congress VIP card, and the second waitress hired at Café Poca Cosa. She has worked sporadically at vintage clothing store How Sweet It Was. Michelle now enjoys a relatively quiet life of domesticity with her husband…
Passing of the Torch
The Rosetta Stone was engraved in three ancient languages in 196 B.C., but the very first line of the inscription reads: “What is wrong with this new generation?” That’s not precisely true, but it’s the essence of a joke delivered in Live Theatre Workshop’s new production, Trying, a 2004 play by Joanna McClelland Glass. And…
The Skinny
More on that dumb racist letter read aloud on the state Senate floor … GOP lawmakers push a flat-tax plan that would raise your taxes and complicate your tax return … Congressman Jeff Flake flips on comprehensive immigration reform as he prepares for a U.S. Senate run … and more!
Live
What’s a music and basketball fan to do when the Arizona Wildcats are scheduled to play Connecticut in the Elite Eight—smack dab in the middle of the second annual Festival en el Barrio Viejo? No one had to decide, as organizers brought in a giant TV—and even the Wildcats’ last-second loss couldn’t dampen spirits. The…
Too Many Missteps
Celebrated American playwright Lanford Wilson died last Thursday, March 24, in New Jersey. The cause of death was complications from pneumonia. He was only 73, and his death surprised and saddened many. As fate would have it, the next evening—Friday night—here in Tucson, one of Wilson’s most celebrated plays, Fifth of July, was dying on…
Media Watch
Vinzetta connects with birth family after 20-year search
James Blake: James Blake (Universal Republic)
Glacial might be the best way to describe James Blake. The album is sparse and lilting, both robotic and warm-blooded. As a singer, he’s got a post-Jeff Buckley croon. (Don’t liken him to Antony Hegarty; Hegarty’s too self-consciously theatrical.) But it’s the pairing of Blake’s robust voice with these wide, practically empty soundscapes that gives…
Got Glass?
In the “Rev. White Church of Light,” the devout worship neon. A multitude of little silver figures raise their arms in ecstasy. In their joy, some of them seem to dance, tilting sideways on their feet. But all of them lift their heads to gaze at a billboard rising above them. Up there, among the…
Mixed Messages
Lt. Tim Taylor, of the Tucson Airport Authority, works in a no-man’s land, caught between a state where marijuana will soon be legal for medical use, and a federal government that still calls possession a crime. Subsequently, travelers who pass through our local airport with legally purchased pot may face interrogations and flight-missing delays. The…
Various Artists: Sofrito: Tropical Discotheque (Strut)
The Sofrito collective started by throwing an ongoing series of dance parties in warehouses, lofts and other marginal spaces in East London in 2005. Now more of a global affair, they’ve put their main players on the DJ highway to gigs outside of the United Kingdom and are releasing a series of “Sofrito Specials,” 12-inch…
Flame On
More than any other book about Burning Man—the annual art show-cum-rave event that takes place in the Black Rock Desert of Northern Nevada, drawing more than 50,000 participants—Steven T. Jones’ The Tribes of Burning Man seems to capture both the gritty essence of subsisting on the playa, and the abstract battles being waged for the…
Spilling Over?
We have a mess on the Arizona-Mexico border, and the people of Arizona can’t make an honest assessment of it without pondering the concept of spillover. The word has become a mantra that appears in just about every pronouncement by the feds, and it gets repeated by a compliant mainstream media. In a speech in…
… And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead: Tao of the Dead (Richter Scale/Superball)
Everything about … And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead has always been over the top. Place part of the blame on core members Conrad Keely and Jason Reece, whose grandiose prog-punk has rivaled Muse in the mine-is-bigger-than-yours contest. Another culprit is Jimmy Iovine, head of Interscope Records, who swore he’d make…
Top Ten in Books
Antigone Books’ best-sellers for the week ending March 25, 2011
Running to Heal
Mario Aguilar is amazed at everything his daughter, Consuelo Aguilar, was able to accomplish before she died in 2009 at the age of 26. The Tucson High Magnet School graduate lived and breathed everything having to do with ethnic studies while she was in high school, where she took Mexican-American studies classes and started the…
¡Ask a Mexican!
Dear Readers: Rather than punking ustedes with an April Fools’ prank, I give you the cruelest joke of all—ex-congressman and eternal Know Nothing Tom Tancredo! In return for him graciously allowing us to debate in Denver last year, I’ve allowed him to answer two questions of my picking, with no editorial interference from me, save…
Eight Minutes
Colter Stevens believes he’s on a combat mission in Afghanistan. Then he wakes up on a commuter train, sitting across from a woman who clearly thinks he’s someone else. Before he can get his bearings, the train explodes, and Colter wakes up again, this time in some sort of holding cell. He is asked if…
Police Dispatch
Dinner and detainment; Blood is thicker than vodka
Top Ten in Movies
Casa Video’s top rentals for the week ending March 27, 2011
Weekly Wide Web
Mr. Editor, Tear Down This Paywall!; The week on The Range; Comment of the week; Best of WWW; and more!
Incoherent Fantasies
Director Zack Snyder has made good movies based upon graphic novels (Watchmen, 300) and children’s books (Legends of the Freaking Creepy Owls), and has even shown that he’s adept at remakes. (His Dawn of the Dead is a blast.) With Sucker Punch, Snyder is using his own original screenplay. The movie is sad proof that…
Now Showing at Home
Excalibur (Blu-ray); Yogi Bear (Blu-ray); TRON: Legacy (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo)
Time to Celebrate
Holy crap! April is pretty much here. April and October are the months in Tucson in which it’s impossible to be bored. (OK, it may be possible, but you sure would have to work hard at it … and why in the world would you want to do that?) There is just so much going…
Finally, the Tea Party Has Its Own (American) Justin Bieber
Will our society rip Kory Shore’s dreams from his young hands? Will America spread its wings and soar again? I know I won’t sleep tonight considering these deep, meaningful questions. [HT: Videogum]
Your Wednesday Live Music Recommendation – Murs at Club Congress
I’m not sure what to say about Murs, playing tonight at Club Congress as part of “The Road to Paid Dues” tour. He’s just an entertaining, clever, and creative rapper who consistently impresses on every track he’s on and puts on a great live show. If you actually like hip hop at all, you probably…
Name the Padres Mascot!
A fan has already suggested Kino Bambino, but there’s still time to for you to submit your entry in the contest to name the Tucson Padres’ new mascot, who happens to be the Swinging Friar’s long-lost twin brother. (We hear he’s been away at a monastery.) If you’re the lucky winner, you get an official…
New Tea Emporium Opens Friday
A new tea emporium called Teavana opens Friday, April 1, at Park Place Mall. It willl apparently feature a retail space, a tea bar and so-called “master teaologists” to answer all of your tea questions. From the press release: TUCSON, Ariz. (March 30, 2011) — Chocolate. Nutty. Energizing. Diet. Chai. What do these words have…
Critter of the Week [Cat Edition]: Stoney
Stoney is a 10-year-old domestic shorthair kitty who is ready for love. With a thundering purr and electric green eyes that beg “pick me,” Stoney is ready to pounce into your arms! Although it takes a while for Stoney to acclimate to her surroundings, she’ll be your inseparable sidekick once she knows she’s safe and…
Woman Arrested for Choking Walmart Greeter, Man Jailed for Shaking Parrot and More: Rynski Radio on Party934
Update with playlist and download at bottom of post. Illustration by Ryn Gargulinski Firefighters, police officers and window washers aren’t the only ones with dangerous jobs, as one Ohio Walmart greeter who was choked by a customer found out. That story and more are up this week on Rynski’s Shattered Reality radio show on Party934.com…
