Cover Story
Kids, Chickens and Armaggedon
State lawmakers wrapped up work last week, bringing a close to the second regular session of the state’s 51st Legislature. The 101-day session was marked more by what didn’t get accomplished than by what did. While Democrats were generally unhappy with the budget, the Republican lawmakers who control the Legislature had a lot of difficulty…
A Few Things to Know About V Modern Thai
Yesterday, when we ran a post on the Range about the imminent closing of V Modern Thai downtown, I sort of expected that there might be some residual unpleasantness…the owner seemed to be avoiding us, every time we called the restaurant, we were hung up on, there were some rumors about chaos with the restaurant’s…
Tobin Cites Benghazi in Fundraising Pitch
Politico notes that Arizona House Speaker Andy Tobin (R-Paulden), who is in a three-way primary for the chance to challenge Congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick (D-CD1) this fall, used the specter of Benghazi in a fundraising email yesterday. Tobin’s pitch comes against the advice of House Select Committee on Benghazi chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), who says he…
Hero of the Week: Bud May’s Engineering Graphics Class
While the news is usually focused on hate, corruption, and crime, not all is lost. While your favorite politician was busy mourning the mysterious death of the investigative journalist who was about to publish a damning exposé, everyday heroes were at work. Bud May and the Wicker Family Our story begins in Roscoe, Illinois. Kylie…
Rock, Paper, Scissors With the World’s Cutest Japanese Girl
I think we can all agree that children on planes can make or totally ruin your flight experience. There are those interesting occasions when you play janken (also known as rock, paper, scissors) with an adorable Japanese child while your plane is boarding. Breaking language barriers a game of ick-ack-ock at a time.
Employee Caught Squirting Breast Milk into Milk Carton (NSFW)
The office refrigerator is a tricky, cold space. You run the risk of someone stealing or tampering with your food, and we all know who did it. Brobible discovered some footage of a woman sprinkling some of her breast milk in a carton from what appears to be a shared office fridge. There’s no telling if this is…
Photos and Video of the Semi-Truck Blaze on I-19
A semi-truck full caught fire on I-19 around 7:47 p.m. Tuesday, May 6. Fortunately, no one was injured, but a load of produce was lost in the blaze, according to Tucson Fire Department Public Relations Officer Barrett Baker. Here’s the official press release: Tucson Fire responded to a semi-truck and trailer that caught fire on…
The Revenge Of The English Major
Image courtesy of shutterstock.com I read an article in today’s NY Times about dot-com billionaire Jack Ma, who created China’s Alibaba Group, which is “China’s largest online retailer, with merchandise volumes that lag only Walmart, worldwide.” Before he was a billionaire, he was an English teacher. Which got me to thinking about that much maligned…
Viral Video of The Day: “Do You Want To Go to Starbucks?”
It’s finals week, so here’s something to help you from studying: A viral video inspired by Disney’s latest blockbuster, Frozen. Point Loma Nazarene University students Olivia Mowry and Jené Nicole Johnson filmed a mini-musical parody of “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?” called “Do You Want to Go to Starbucks?” It’s a cute jingle…
Arizona Wildcats Baseball Fans: Nike Doesn’t Want Your Money
Two weeks ago I ventured over to Hi Corbett Field to take in a few innings of the Saturday night game between Arizona and rival Arizona State, and I was blessed with getting to see the Wildcats’ great red baseball uniforms on display and in action. That was the end of the good news on…
WWE Pays Tribute to Connor “Stone Crusher” Michalek
Everyone has their form of escapism, and Connor “Stone Crusher” Michalek’s was good old fashion wrestling. Connor was a seven-year-old boy that was battling cancer and was granted the ultimate WWE fan experience at Wrestlemania XXX in April. Doctors told Steve, Connor’s father, that his son didn’t have long to live. The WWE caught wind…
Local Ethnic Costume Museum Attempts to Crowdfund $10K to Publish Children’s Book
The amount of museums and specialty groups in Tucson never cease to amaze me. Gayle Castañeda, founder of the Castañeda Museum of Ethnic Costume non-profit organization, has decided to publish an all ages A-Z childrens book based on her extensive doll collections. Castañeda trying to raise $10,000 before Thursday, June 5. The colorful dolls chosen…
Wait, Restaurants Are Supposed to Charge Your Phones Now?
I’ve been there, losing track of how much I’ve been using my phone and finding that I’m under 5%, and God forbid that I’m without access to the outside world until I can get back to a power outlet. I think everyone with an energy-draining phone has been there. However, what are you supposed to…
Here’s Your Bit of 90’s Alt-Rock Nostalgia for the Day
Apologizes in advance for exposing you to 4 Non-Blondes’ “What’s Up,” even if only for a few seconds, but the rest of CBC Radio’s tribute to vocal hooks in 90’s alt-rock songs is a fun, if somewhat disjointed, listen. Also, it’s a great reminder for me to go to Spotify and listen to some that…
V Modern Thai to Close Sunday
ANOTHER UPDATE: This is only getting weirder, so we added a follow-up post. UPDATE (by Dan Gibson): A very angry person named Ernie Mennes, who claimed to be the managing partner of V Modern Thai, called to say that the restaurant isn’t closing and that he’s filing a police report against us for this post.…
The Head of BASIS Tucson North Responds
After I wrote the post, BASIS and University High Are Top U.S. High Schools, Which Means . . .?, Julia Toews, Head of BASIS Tucson North, contacted me, and we met and talked. We decided that, rather than my trying to explain her position, I would give her the opportunity to write a guest post on…
Toonz Needs a Home
The Humane Society of Southern Arizona presents Toonz, a 7-year-old, male, domestic, short hair Reference no: 766481 If you’re searching for a steady companion, look no further than Toonz! This big handsome tabby enjoys attention, but he also appreciates his “me time.” Toonz just wants the peace of mind that comes from knowing he finally belongs.…
Stream the Black Keys’ ‘Turn Blue’ Before You Buy (or Pirate) It
The Black Keys are releasing their eighth album Turn Blue anywhere and everywhere you can buy music on Tuesday, May 13. Thankfully, you can listen to the whole damn thing on iTunes before you impulsively buy because the Black Keys. Dan Auerbach, the Black Keys lead singer, told Rolling Stone that this is “headphone record.”…
K12 Inc. Steps Up Its Ad Blitz
You may have seen ads for K12 Inc. virtual schools on TV. You might have even seen some online ads here on The Range. It’s nearing the end of the school year, and the for-profit virtual schools corporation is drumming up business for next year. How much K12 Inc. actually spends on advertising is an…
Improv Comedy Show at Flycatcher Tonight
I didn’t make the poster, so don’t get any funny ideas. Switch hosts Pauly Casillas and Jacob Breckenridge thought it would be hilarious to superimposed my fat head over Jean Claude Van Damme’s statuesque figure. It’s an honor to host tonight’s monthly improv comedy show at (R.I.P. Plush Tucson) Flycatcher, 340 E. Sixth St. For…
Gabriela Frias Explains Why Mexicans Don’t Celebrate ‘Cinco De Drinko’
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Brother Dean Gets Another 11 Minutes of Fame From Vice
In what is another not-so-great PR move for our city, noted-campus-preacher/rape-justifier Brother Dean Saxton is the subject of an 11 minute profile on Vice.com today. Vice tends to fetishize outsiders and those making terrible choices with their lives, and I suppose this is no exception. The strangest/most depressing section, following not long after a clip…
Future Islands Are Coming to 191 Toole
I went to the second weekend of Coachella a few weekends ago and a few people who knew I went asked me what the best performance I saw over the three days of heat, dirt and the constant reminder that I am no longer young. While it was amazing to see Outkast again, the Preservation…
Joel McHale’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner Speech
The 100th anniversary of the White House Correspondents’ dinner was full of laughs thanks to E! Network’s Soup host, Joel McHale. McHale took no prisoners, and Gov. Chris Christie received the full gamut of fat and bridge jokes. Thankfully, the New Jersey Governor can a joke or four. Looks like they laughed it off at…
Huppenthal Reasserts His Love Of Vouchers
Let’s see if we can follow the bouncing Huppenthal. Our Ed Supe has bounded hither and thither trying to clarify how much money should go to students using the vouchers-on-steroids Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESA). It’s not easy to follow where he’s been or where he’s going, but I’m gonna give it a try. There’s one…
AZ Illustrated Politics: Fred DuVal Says Legislature Flunked the Session
On Friday’s AZ Illustrated Politics: Democratic gubernatorial candidate Fred DuVal said lawmakers earned between a D (for “disappointing”) and F (for “failure”) for recently completed legislative session. DuVal called for more dollars for education and child-welfare programs; said he was opposed to expanding programs that provide public dollars for private schools; criticized lawmakers for passing…
Cinema Showdown: Alcoholic Lawyers and Lonely Vampires Edition
Have you ever wanted to watch a movie about lawyers with a group of lawyers? Tonight’s your lucky night! Live out your kooky fantasy at the Fox Theatre with a screening of The Verdict, the 1982 courtroom drama starring steely-eyed Paul Newman as an alcoholic lawyer trying a medical malpractice case. The film, directed by…
‘Daily Wildcat’ Pays Homage to Tim Fuller’s 1973 Fashion Cover
Photo credit: Savannah Douglas and The Daily Wildcat archive. Daily Wildcat pays tribute to a photograph taken by Tim Fuller in 1947. The latest Weekend Wildcat cover is more than just sweet, lustful eye candy. Weekly alum and Daily Wildcat editor Tatiana Tomich thought it would be a good idea to pay tribute to Tim…
Local Filmmaker Solves Kennedy Assassination, Wins Big Award
Congrats to Tucson filmmaker Alex Italics, whose JFK assassination-themed music video was picked by comedian John Hodgman as one of the winners of a contest to produce a music video for They Might Be Giants’ “Am I Awake.” Mighty cool, in the humble opinion of The Range. Elsewhere on the Alex Italics beat: His short…
Hero of the Week: Christy Harding
While the news is usually focused on hate, corruption, and crime, not all is lost. While your favorite businessman was discovering that having a biracial girlfriend and owning a basketball team isn’t really a great idea if you’re a married racist man, an everyday hero was at work. Christy Harding Our story begins in Jacksonville,…
Manzo Elementary Presents Art Exhibit at Biosphere 2
Tanner Clinch A fourth grader from Manzo Elementary School shows off her artwork to visitors at the exhibit. Back in November, Tucson Weekly ran a story by Robert Alcaraz about the fourth graders from Manzo Elementary School who have undertaken research to help Biosphere 2’s researchers and their massive ecology experiment, the Landscape Evolution Observatory.…
First Friday Shorts: Golden Gong Awards
Finally, the Superbowl of short films is here. Red Meat creator Max Cannon will be hosting the ninth annual Golden Gong Awards at 9 p.m. Friday, May 2, at the Loft Cinema, 3233 E Speedway Blvd. A dozen filmmakers will battle for the best FFS film of 2013 and the 2014 race will begin after…
Snapchat to Integrate Text Messaging and Video Chat
Some of you have no idea or don’t care about Snapchat, but anyone under 30 will find this interesting. The photo messaging app has had a rep for users sending lewd images to a control list of contacts, but it’s has grown into a new method of communication between friends and enemies. Users send images…
MoJo: The Man Behind Martha McSally’s Winning Women Committee
Mother Jones’ Andy Kroll takes a closer look at the man behind Winning Women, the political action committee that raised more than $100,000 in March for Republican Martha McSally, who hopes to unseat Democratic Congressman Ron Barber in Southern Arizona’s Congressional District 2 this year: Paul Singer, the so-called “fundraising terrorist,” is at it again.…
Throwback Thursdays: R-Dub! & Gary Coleman Edition
We received this magnificent newsy paperback called Tucson Radio. Russ Jackson and C.J. Brown chronicle the local radio history dating back to 1930s. Go down memory lane and check it out. Click here to buy a copy. I’ll never forget hearing Gary Coleman on the radio on my way to school. It was so strange…
Lightning Strike: Keeylocko this Saturday
Having taken much of its inspiration from the desert, the new Lightning Records collective is throwing simultaneous desert parties this weekend. On the Arizona side, Lightning Strike: Keeylocko brings a host of Tucson bands to Cowtown Keeylocko, the Old West town and saloon near Three Points. On the California side, a music and art celebration…
True TV
The Only TV Column That Matters™ knows the fate of your beloved network series—or, knows enough to make a wild guess as to whether or not they’ll return next season. Could an NBC exec wake up tomorrow and say “Cancel Parenthood—we’re going with Hollywood Cornhole on Thursdays”? Sure. Is it possible that Fox, and America,…
Nine Questions
Rusty Boulet-Stephenson is one of those Tucson transplants. Originally from Kokomo, Indiana, he’s a video editor and producer. He and cameraman and editor Charlie Brown recently debuted their mini documentary on local band Sun Bones. You can catch wrestling fanatic Boulet-Stephenson performing DJ duties from 5 to 7 a.m. Tuesdays on KXCI 91.3 FM. If…
DVD Roundup
666: Devilish Charm “From the director of The Sisterhood, Witches of the Caribbean and Puppetmaster 3”? No way! When a cursed charm bracelet mysteriously appears at a sorority house, sexy/Satan-y antics ensue. Sorry, it only looks like a porno flick. (Rapid Heart) The Art of the Steal Kurt Russell stars as Crunch Calhoun(!), a motorcycle…
Danehy
HELLO TUCSON: This is Cliven Bundy, coming to you from Free America. You may have seen me on the news. I’m the one who stood up to the evil federal government and became a folk hero in the process. That Tom Danehy fella who usually writes this column is off coaching some kids at a…
Revenge Is Mine!
Director Jeremy Saulnier has some fun with revenge-thriller clichés and creates a few twists of his own with Blue Ruin, a darkly funny, sometimes quite disturbing showcase for actor Macon Blair. Blair plays Dwight, a homeless man we first see living a meager life in Delaware. He takes baths in other people’s houses, gets his…
The End Is Near
Sometimes I think Dick Cheney should just pull the plug. He could shut down my ventilator, step back, and calmly watch as I depart this corporal plane for parts unknown, leaving behind the struggle of paralysis and moral indignation. I know he wants to do it. Haters gonna hate, and I grow weary of the…
Pedersen on Sports
It was a little less than a year ago, shortly after the UA softball team was eliminated from postseason play, that I used this perpetually temporary space to suggest that Mike Candrea was on the downside of his coaching career and might be wise to walk away. My reasoning was somewhat justified. The Wildcats had…
The Skinny
CD2: NECK AND NECK Republican congressional candidate Martha McSally’s campaign released a poll last week showing her leading Democratic Congressman Ron Barber by 3 percentage points in Southern Arizona’s Congressional District 2. The survey, done by polling firm OnMessage, shows McSally at 45 percent and Barber at 42 percent. That margin is within the poll’s…
Standout Sides
St. Philip’s Plaza is fast becoming a haven for foodies and wine geeks. On weekends, Tucson’s Heirloom Farmers Markets fill the plaza. In the evenings, the aroma of wood-fired pizzas from Scordato’s Pizzeria fills the air. Union Public House is the very definition of gastro pub and cocktail bar. And the Union team is in…
Police Dispatch
GOING UNDERGROUND GREEN VALLEY MARCH 9, 3:05 P.M. A man who interrupted the retirement ceremony for a Green Valley firefighter by screaming obscenities and touching the wife and child of one of the fire station employees temporarily fled the scene by crawling through a storm drain, according to a Pima County Sheriff’s Department report. Firefighters…
All About Agave
In New York City, it’s New Year’s Eve. In New Orleans, it’s Mardi Gras. In Tucson, Cinco de Mayo is the day when we let loose just a bit more than usual. But when the date falls on a weekday, it can put a kink in your party plans. Cinco de Mayo is on a…
Media Watch
REMEMBERING WALT NETT Some people just have the newspaper bug. Within their respective newsrooms, they’re easy to recognize. It’s as if ink from the daily printing process coursed through their veins. From the feedback on social media and numerous newspaper blogs, it’s clear that Walt Nett had that kind of journalistic impact at every stop.…
A Weeknight Under the Stars
Meteor Mania! 10 p.m. to 3 a.m., Monday, May 5 Kitt Peak Observatory54 miles west of Tucson, off state Route 86 318-8726;noao.edu/kpno Southern Arizona’s wide open spaces and a general appreciation for dark night skies make for great cosmic viewing. But when it comes to getting a glimpse of something moving among the stars, you…
Noshing Around
Down Under Bar Done Aussie Cantina, an Australia-themed bar and grill at 1118 E. Sixth St., has closed. There’s been a lot of speculation about the reasons but nothing definite. The owner says the business will reopen in the fall, but there’s no word on whether it will be Aussie Cantina 2.0 or have a…
What’s a Folk Song?
If you know who wrote it, it’s not a folk song,” says folk singer Michael Cooney, a longtime practitioner of the genre and a former Tucsonan. “My whole thing is that, through the oral process, when a person learns a song from someone else, they add their own things to it,” Cooney says on the…
Computer Justice
When 23-year-old Manjnder Singh crossed the U.S.-Mexico border near Douglas last year, he told Border Patrol officers that he was seeking asylum. But rather than being given a hearing to determine his ability to post bond while his case is appealed, Singh has been sitting in an Eloy detention facility for more than six months.…
Soundbites
WHAT’S NEW, PUSSYCAT? What we not-so-cleverly titled “Tucson’s Music Month” is now over, with the last bit of post-Coachella concert traffic leaving us behind, but there’s still a lot to see this week, without even getting into the Christian rock extravaganza at Congress Thursday, featuring RED, Disciple, Spoken and others. Elsewhere in the music section…
Not-So-Free Comic Book Day
Once a year, every comic book retailer in the Old Pueblo participates in the annual Free Comic Book Day. It all started 13 years ago, when 20th Century Fox’s X-Men movie released and Sony Picture’s Spider-Man was in production. Joe Field, owner of the Will Eisner Spirit Award winning comic book store Flying Colors, inspired…
Getting Wiser
All lovers of rock ‘n’ roll are entitled to their own Summer of Love. For Stephen McBean, frontman of Pink Mountaintops (and Black Mountain), his came a generation later, in 1987, and all those cigarette-stained gig fliers and hotboxed nights found their way into his latest record, Get Back. Led by “Second Summer of Love,”…
Ask A Mexican!
Dear Mexican: Is there a pecking order at the places where you see day laborers awaiting to be hired? What’s the hierarchy? Are all those dudes Mexican or are some Central and South American, and if so who has priority when the random contractor comes by to pick up a worker for the day? Also,…
Gardens & Villa: Dunes
For their second album, this Santa Barbara, Calif., quintet ditched the beach to record at the retro-themed Key Club in frigid Benton Harbor, Mich. That contrast—and the forced sense of isolation and dislocation—guides the mood of Dunes, blending enthusiasm with uneasiness, energy with loneliness, as frontman Chris Lynch unleashes an eerie falsetto on top of…
Web-Slinging and Sentimentality
More or less freed from the shackles of origin story regurgitation that restricted the 2012 reboot, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 begins to find its own identity. That life is mostly due to Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone, a romantic coupling on- and off-screen. There ain’t no chemistry like real chemistry. There are a number of…
The Band’s All Here
March Fourth Marching Band 8 p.m., Thursday, May 1 Rialto Theatre 318 E. Congress St. 740-1000;rialtotheatre.com Listen to a band long enough and you can usually label it with a certain style, a musical leaning that is consistent throughout its catalog. Good luck trying that with the MarchFourth Marching Band. The 20-person ensemble is playing…
Child Care in Limbo
In the past six months, Anthony Flowers has turned down four job offers. He wanted to take them, but Flowers said he can’t find a safe place to leave his six children when the opportunity to work arises, even if only for a day or two. A single father, Flowers said his hands have been…
Editor’s Note
So, as you read this, the Tucson Weekly has been sold to 10/13 Communications, so the Wick era of this paper has come to an end. I wasn’t here for most of that time (founder Doug Biggers sold the paper in 2000, I got here in 2010), but I will say that I’ve appreciated a)…
Dante and Virgil on the Road
You gotta admit: the Rogue Theatre has spheres. Orbs. Globes. OK, balls. In a scant decade of existence, the brave (and sometimes, we have to say, a bit self-conscious) entity has tackled Boccaccio, Pirandello and Kafka, among others, often commissioning or creating custom-made translations and adaptations. And it has served them up pretty darn well.…
Disappearing Galleries
Miles Conrad is still hard at work fixing up a space at the historic Steinfeld warehouse on the west side of downtown. He’s been at it since last fall, when he moved his Conrad Wilde Gallery from Sixth and Sixth. “I think I bit off more than I can chew,” he says, half joking. “WAMO…
Live
JD McPherson and Dylan Pratt, The Flycatcher, April 28 Joshua Levine Dylan Pratt’s solo acoustic guitar and voice combination showed how affecting the singer-songwriter archetype can still be in capable hands, and more importantly, how even this very worn out wheel can be reinvented. Pratt, based in Phoenix, doesn’t owe much to folk music or…
