Cover Story
Project Censored
The world was a different place in 1976 when Carl Jensen, a professor of communications at Sonoma State University, founded Project Censored to highlight important national news stories that were underreported or outright ignored by the mainstream press. Back then, there were few good alternatives to the television networks and major newspapers and magazines, and…
Happy Birthday, Carl Sagan
Yesterday was Carl Sagan’s 75th birhday. If you don’t know who he is, then you need to check him out here. When I was a kid, luckily we didn’t have Bill Nye the Science Guy. We had the real thing in Sagan, a planetary astronomer and writer, who made science and the stars cool in…
Picture This: Rolling with the Dry Heat Militia
Katrina Arrington Roller girl Layla Montiel, otherwise known as Zippys Takeout, skates by during a Dry Heat Militia practice at Catalina High School. This is the first of a series of three photographs of the Militia taken by UA School of Journalism student Katrina Arrington.
More Votes Counted In Pima County
Pima County Elections Director Brad Nelson tells us Pima County has run through another 4,800 ballots today. He expects to wrap the count tomorrow. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords widened her lead somewhat over Republican challenger Jesse Kelly. The margin of victory now stands at 4,156. Meanwhile, Prop 203, which would legalize medical marijuana, is now losing…
Gene Shalit to Leave Job No One Realized He Still Had
Gene Shalit, the movie critic for the Today show, announced his retirement today, saying through his PR representative: “It’s enough already.” (Seriously.) Admittedly, I might not be the target audience for the Today show or for a 78-year-old movie critic, but I assumed he had retired years ago, possibly replaced by a mustached robot who…
Two Readings From “Rigor Amortis”
We mentioned the Rigor Amortis reading at Revolutionary Grounds last week, but if you missed it, we recorded two of the authors reading their work from the book, which is available from Amazon: John Nakamura Remy: Andrew Penn Romine:
Hacking Conservative Websites: A Really Bad Idea
While it may seem hilarious to remove Bill O’Reilly and Ann Coulter from the Internet, if only briefly, it probably isn’t worth the trouble of going to prison for 2 1/2 years: From Raw Story: A 23-year-old Ohio student who took down the websites of Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly and conservative pundit Ann Coulter, and…
Tucson Water Director Jeff Biggs Calls It Quits
Tucson Water Director Jeff Biggs doesn’t want to run the department anymore. The press release: Tucson Water Director Jeff Biggs today submitted a letter of resignation, citing personal reasons for the voluntary move. Mr. Biggs has been granted a voluntary demotion to be assigned to his previous position as Water Administrator at Tucson Water. Mr.…
Friday Roundtable: Kyl Talks GOP House Control, Medicare Reform & More
U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl stopped by Arizona Illustrated last week not to gloat about the GOP’s big takeover of the House of Representatives, but rather to tamp down expectations by reminding viewers that Republicans don’t control the U.S. Senate or the presidency. Kyl’s spin: Don’t expect too much from the GOP until voters give them…
Disney to Make Movie Loosely Based on Your 35th Favorite Disneyland Attraction
As someone who works in an ostensibly creative profession, I understand that coming up with ideas is hard, but I think if Disney hasn’t hit the bottom of the conceptual barrel with a movie sort-of-not-really adapted from the Enchanted Tiki Room, the second take on The Haunted Mansion certainly is. From the Los Angeles Times…
Picture This: Tucson Rises for Celebration for the Dead
JOSHUA MORGAN Tucsonans come out for All Souls Procession. JOSHUA MORGAN While the elections may be over, politics was still a common theme at the procession. JOSHUA MORGAN Tucson’s teenagers got in on the action. JOSHUA MORGAN Participants came in various forms of elaborate make up, or simply weird get ups. This one goes into…
Tucson’s Everyday People: Not So Easy Rider
Student Josh Morgan, the chair of the UA Journalism Student Advisory Council Visual Task Force, gives you an insight on a BMX rider.
Olbermann Back on Tuesday Night
Looks like Keith Olbermann’s contributions to Gabrielle Giffords and Raul Grijalva have not permanently sidelined him. The New York Times reports: Keith Olbermann will be allowed to resume his nightly program on MSNBC on Tuesday, the channel’s president said Sunday night, after he was suspended for donating money to three Democratic candidates. The policy at…
Your ‘Wheel of Fortune’ Post for the Week
I spent most of last week trying to find an excuse to post a Wheel of Fortune clip—and then Friday’s episode provided one of the more interesting (in the non-personal humiliation category) moments in game show history. Who knew?
Matzo-Ball History Has Been Made (Updated With Photo!)
Chef Jon Wirtis puts the finishing touches on his monster matzo ball. Chef Jon Wirtis of Shlomo and Vito’s New York Delicatessen set the world record for the largest matzo ball this weekend, smashing the previous record by nearly 160 pounds. Wirtis used 125 pounds of matzo meal, 25 pounds of schmaltz (chicken fat), more…
The Triumphant Return of Conan O’Brien
In case you’ve somehow missed the barrage of promotion, Conan O’Brien’s new post-Tonight Show talk show premieres on TBS tonight. It’s a little difficult to know what to expect from Conan on his new program. Clearly, his level of fame after tussling with NBC and (by proxy) Jay Leno has skyrocketed, so it’s easy to…
Picture This: Rolling, Rolling, Rolling Down the … Driveway
JOHN DE DIOS Professional downhill skateboarder Joey Silvestri prepares for a drift down a hillside road on a warm Saturday afternoon. JOHN DE DIOS Chris D’Allesandro, another downhill skateboarder, predrifts as he hits a bend in the road.
Grijalva on Olbermann Suspension
U.S. Congressman Raúl Grijalva released a statement yesterday on Keith Olbermann’s suspension without pay from MSNBC due to the contributions Olbermann made to Grijalva and U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and Kentucky Senate candidate Jack Conway: I am personally distressed and saddened by the news of Mr. Olbermann’s suspension. If there were any way to undo…
AP Follows TW’s Lead, Calls CD8 Race for Giffords
The AP has called the CD8 race for Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Republican Jesse Kelly has posted a statement on his Facebook page: I would like to thank our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, my wife Aubrey, who has been by my side this entire time, my family, for their unwavering support, and the thousands of…
Mesquite Pancakes Tomorrow!
This event is always a blast. The truly saavy know to bring their own plate and fork. Cutting into the pancakes (only $1 a piece!) can be a hassle on the paper plates they provide.
CD8: Giffords Beats Kelly
Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords now has a 3,848 vote lead over Republican challenger Jesse Kelly. It’s enough for us to call the race for her, even if AP and all those other respectable news organizations haven’t made the call yet.
Brundog’s Is Back, Wine-Tasting, Amarsi Ristorante, O’Hungry’s, New Farmers’ Market, Joe Mama’s Grill Closes and More
Tastes of more than a dozen wines can be had at the Saturday Sipper event from 2 to 4 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 6, at the RumRunner at 3131 E. First St. It’s free and the featured wines will be available at a 15 percent discount after the tasting. Brundog’s Zy-De-Que closed months ago when a…
There’s Still Time to Go See Expose at the Fair Tonight
Between gas and personal effort, (for me, at least) it can be a little difficult to justify a drive to Phoenix for anything these days, but when you combine two great events like the State Fair and an Old School Jam concert, it’s like the car starts itself. I’m generally a big fan of any…
Tucson Candidates Get Olbermann in Trouble
Keith Olbermann has been suspended by MSNBC for donating to three congressional candidates, including Raul Grijalva and Gabrielle Giffords, according to Politico: MSNBC host Keith Olbermann has been suspended indefinitely without pay after POLITICO reported that he made three campaign contributions to Democratic candidates. MSNBC President Phil Griffin said in a statement Friday: “I became…
Update: Guiseppe’s Has Not Been Sold
Like many people, I was shocked when I woke up today and saw this on the Range. Guiseppe’s Ristorante Italiano has been hugely successful since opening earlier this year, and was even a staff pick for Best New Restaurant by an Old Favorite in this year’s Best of Tucson® awards. So I called the restaurant…
Giuseppe’s Has [Not] Been Sold
[UPDATE: Turns out we received incorrect information for this post. Adam Borowitz has a follow up post with a correction.] A reader sent me an e-mail yesterday. Apparently, he took his girlfriend out for her birthday to Giuseppe’s (by Joe Scordato) after reading my review. He wanted the braciole. (If you’ve never had this dish…
Video: Improving E-Voting
In this elections-themed video, voting system engineer David Bismark talk about a new way for clean electronic voting that preserves identities, protects privacies, and targets tinkering.
Picture This: Clinging on For the Competition
JOSHUA MORGAN Surrounded by her supporters Tuesday night, Ruth McClung provided a tough challenge for Rep. Raúl Grijalva’s CD7 seat. Despite a tough competition, it may look like Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., has finally cinched his victory over challenger Ruth McClung. As of Friday morning, Grijalva’s 6,000-vote lead on McClung seems to be holding. JOSHUA…
Picture This: Your Smile is So Lovely, Your Hair is So Clean… (The Kelly Song)
JOSHUA MORGAN Jesse Kelly speaks before an elated crowd at the DoubleTree on Election Night. With ballots still being counted, Jesse Kelly continues to hang in there in a very competitive Congressional District 8 Contest against Rep. Gabby Giffords, D-Ariz. JOSHUA MORGAN Kelly speaks for a brief time at the GOP rally. JOSHUA MORGAN Kelly…
Zombie Erotica
If you didn’t get your fix of zombies on Halloween, check out this book reading of Rigor Amortis at 10 a.m., Sunday, Nov. 7, at Revolutionary Grounds, 606 N. Fourth Ave. 620-1770. Robert Paul Nixon illustrated the cover (pictured) and local artist Galen Dara illustrated many other images in the book. Information per press release:…
Margaret Regan to Appear at No More Deaths Benefit
photo of Margaret Regan by Jay Rochlin Margaret Regan, Tucson Weekly’s arts editor, will read excerpts from the new paperback edition of her book The Death of Josseline: Immigration Stories from the Arizona Borderlands at a No More Deaths benefit concert at 7 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 6, at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 4831 E. 22nd…
CD8: Giffords’ Lead Widens With Latest Pima Numbers
Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords has widened her lead over Republican challenger Jesse Kelly with the latest votes counted in Pima County. Giffords now leads by 3,055 votes. Congressman Raul Grijalva has widened his lead over Republican challenger Ruth McClung as well.
Farley, Heinz of Southern AZ Elected to House Leadership Roles
Southern Arizona Democrats will be serving in House leadership positions in the Arizona legislature. The press release: House Democrats elected new leadership today that will hold Republicans accountable for their actions and fight for jobs, schools and small businesses to get Arizona’s economy moving again. House Democratic Whip Chad Campbell will serve as House Democratic…
Your 2010 Election Aftermatch Update: Giffords Widens Lead Slightly in Cochise County; Pima County Starts Counting Ballots
With a few more ballots counted in Cochise County, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords has slightly widened her lead over Republican challenger Jesse Kelly. Giffords now leads Kelly by 2,356 votes. (You can find the latest results here.) In Pima County, there are roughly 47,000 ballots left to count, according to Pima County Elections Director Brad Nelson.…
Free Live Music: An (Unofficial) Tucson Weekly Endorsement
While you can’t tell from the nearly useless Main Gate Square events calendar, the Facebook feed for champions of limited edition vinyl/local musicians Fort Lowell Records informs us that Tracy Shedd is performing in Geronimo Plaza on University tonight from 6 to 8 pm. To be brief, Tracy is a great songwriter who recalls the…
Arizona Democrats in the Senate Devise Largely Useless Strategy for the Next Term
As if this week hadn’t been stressful enough, between Gov. Brewer discussing national politics more than what’s actually happening in the state in her victory speech and (former?) pal of white supremacists Russell Pearce being elected the Senate Majority Leader, now there’s this, from the Arizona Capitol Times: The Senate minority caucus, which is poised…
You Can Be the Object of Gordon Ramsey’s Televised Scorn!
Does this look like fun? If so, I suppose you should drive up to Phoenix for the Hell’s Kitchen open casting call next week. I watch a lot of really terrible reality television, but I checked out on this show a few years ago, so it was a little surprising to me that the winners…
Cuts on the Way
The city of Tucson will have to make deeper budget cuts and consider other tax and fee increases after voters overwhelmingly rejected Proposition 400, which would have raised sales taxes within the city by a half-cent per dollar to raise an additional $40 million a year. “I think the voters have spoken,” said Shaun McClusky,…
Now Showing at Home
Alien Anthology (Blu-ray); Predators (Blu-ray); You Don’t Know Jack
Testing Her Limits
Harpist and singer Joanna Newsom—classically trained but a darling of the indie-rock world—constantly challenges herself. The process of reaching beyond her abilities is one of her primary methods for artistic growth. “That’s true in terms of my music, I guess, but maybe not in the rest of my life,” she says with a chuckle during…
Agency Angst
For months, the U.S. Border Patrol refused to release details about suicides among its agents, despite an apparent spike in such deaths, as revealed in research by The Associated Press. On Oct. 22, U.S. Customs and Border Protection—the parent agency of the Border Patrol—finally provided the Tucson Weekly with suicide statistics within the CBP, although…
Intriguing Indian
Ordering spicy food at Indian restaurants is always a gamble: You never know if you’re going to get tongue-searing food, or the watered-down American version of spicy. New Delhi Palace teeters on the edge of not being quite spicy enough, but they bring the flavor in other ways to make up for it. Situated in…
Soundbites
Back in the saddle: Post-procession; Under the local covers; On the bandwagon
Media Watch
Program Director Meyer Leaves KCUB AM 1290
Noshing Around
Coming Soon: Casa Marita; Tucson Firefighters Chili Cook-off; Mobile Food; Openings
Top Ten in Music
Toxic Ranch Records’ top sales for the week ending Oct. 31, 2010
On Mortality
Tim Burton’s movie Corpse Bride had just been released, and the gothic glamour of it captured one little girl’s imagination. From her first glimpse of the beautiful animated zombie-bride, she knew what she wanted to be for Halloween. Her father felt slightly uncomfortable with the prospect of his 5-year-old daughter dressing up as a bride,…
Thank God It’s Over
As I write this, it’s Tuesday, and the polls are still open in Arizona. The results are starting to trickle in from the eastern side of the country (Rand Paul … really, Kentucky?), but I don’t know if these early GOP gains are indicative of anything that will happen in Arizona. All I can think…
Nine Questions
Cassie Van Gelder
Danehy
While sitting through the excruciatingly manipulative documentary Waiting for “Superman,” I thought back to one of the first teachers’ strikes in America, the one involving teachers in the Los Angeles Unified School District. It was a horribly divisive action. Many teachers—especially the older ones—had not joined the union, perhaps believing that doing so would forever…
Live
Of Montreal, Har Mar Superstar, Provocatease: Rialto Theatre, Sunday, Oct. 31
A Guitar Place
Lars Rosvoll sits with the neck of his classical guitar held high. He gets into character like an actor just about to take the stage, and loosens his body like a runner before a meet—and then the music begins. A delicate thread of sounds radiates into the audience like a lullaby as his fingers dance…
Messina
My first experience with the mourning process involved a simple black dress. It was the late ’70s—I cannot recall the exact year—and we were visiting my recently widowed grandmother in South Philadelphia. She had come to America years before, with other immigrants on a boat to Ellis Island. She and my grandfather settled in South…
Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s: Buzzard (Mariel)
As the title sort of suggests, this is a starker-than-usual effort by the Indianapolis sextet Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s, which used to be an octet. (A product of the recession?) The up-and-coming indie-rock act flirted miserably with Epic Records in 2008, resulting in an off-kilter album, Animal!, that neither the band nor…
City Week
Turn the Page on Pants Presents “All Souls, No Pants”; Comedian Jo Koy; Pato Banton, Mystic Roots Band, Vine St. and Jahmar International; Jewish Food Festival
Mailbag
Fodder for Follow-up: How Bad Could the Legislature Make Things?; A Comment From a Reader at TucsonWeekly.com; Correction
Megaton Leviathan: Water, Wealth, Hell on Earth (Féretro)
At live shows, Portland shoegaze-doom trio Megaton Leviathan hits like a sonic avalanche, with singer/guitarist Andrew James Costa beautifully navigating a tricky conduit between My Bloody Valentine and Black Sabbath, where waves of guitar miasma ride atop pummeling heavy-metal rhythms. Throw in creepy projections and a candlelit altar littered with animal bones that the band…
T Q&A
Celeste González de Bustamante
Guest Commentary
Early morning sunrise washed over the Colorado National Monument outside of Grand Junction as I headed for a boulder-strewn knoll. There, 110 years ago, paleontologist Elmer Riggs discovered a previously unknown dinosaur that we now call Brachiosaurus. When it was alive some 150 million years ago, the plant-eating dinosaur measured 75 feet or more from…
The Walkmen: Lisbon (Fat Possum)
Aside from the uneven A Hundred Miles Off and the one-off lark of Pussy Cats, the Walkmen have quietly released nearly a decade’s worth of excellent music, equal parts truculent and frangible. The group’s laidback, beautiful sixth album, Lisbon, finds the band playing to its strengths. Vocalist Hamilton Leithauser extends his croons to their raspy…
Universal Appeal
Show of hands: How many of you have seen a production of Shakespeare’s classic Romeo and Juliet? I thought so. That’s a lot of hands. Another question: How many of you would like to see the play again, especially if the product were the joint effort of two of the most respected entities in American…
Red Tide
Southern Arizona’s two Democratic incumbents held extremely narrow leads as of our press deadline on Election Night, as they hoped to avoid the fate of many of their congressional colleagues on a day that the Republicans took control of the House. With 298 out of 352 precincts reporting in Congressional District 8 (as of 11:20…
¡Ask a Mexican!
Dear Mexican: I’m totally serious about my e-mail, so please forgive me if my question sounds ridiculous. I also mean no insult to anyone. There are a lot of antsy/jittery people along the United States’ southern border. Lots of those antsy people seem to want to grab anyone who looks like a Mexican, or acts…
Halloween’s Last Hurrah
November has arrived, but if you’re looking for one last fix of Halloween candy, check out Say You Love Satan, entering its final week as part of Live Theatre Workshop’s late-night Etcetera series. The tale of a graduate student who learns that his perfect new boyfriend is actually the devil’s wayward son, Say You Love…
The Skinny
The Tucson City Council kills the downtown hotel … The Rio Nuevo audit is finally out … Sloppy accounting in campaign-finance reports … and more!
Art Has No Borders
The best place to see the artwork of Alberto Morackis and Guadalupe Serrano is normally on the border wall. It takes some effort to get to it, though, because their “Paseo de Humanidad”—a cavalcade of humanity in colored aluminum—is hammered onto the south side of the barrier that slices through Nogales. A collaboration with Tucson…
Police Dispatch
Not OK; Cranky Panky; Fecal Matters
A Longtime Friend
On Nov. 17, 1960, Robert Frost, then America’s most beloved living poet, stood on the stage at the UA’s Centennial Hall and read his poems. This Sunday, Nov. 7—almost 50 years later to the day—poet Billy Collins will repeat that Frost feat. At an event called “An Afternoon With Billy Collins and Friends: A Benefit…
Weekly Wide Web
Where’s the Blog?; The week on The Range; Comment of the week; Best of WWW; and more!
Top Ten in Books
Antigone Books’ best-sellers for the week ending Oct. 28, 2010
Not Quite Genius
The age-old battles of good versus evil usually have one conclusion, at least in fiction: The hero prevails, and the vanquished villain—if he lives to fight another day—vows he would have gotten away with it, too, if not for those meddling kids and their darned dog. But what if the bad guy wins every once…
Top Ten in Movies
Casa Video’s top rentals for the week ending Oct. 31, 2010
Not a Pretty Sight
As I write this review, it’s Halloween, and I’m waiting on kids to come and take some of this damn candy out of the house. I bought three bags—consisting of Dots, Snickers and Hershey’s bars—so it’s pretty good stuff. I recently moved to a new apartment complex, and I am on the third floor of…
A $12 Banh Mi Sandwich?
Duckling sandwiches, while delicious, are expensive. I would like to take a moment to laugh out loud at the $12 bánh mi sandwich on the lunch menu at Janos Wilder’s new DOWNTOWN Kitchen + Cocktails. And yes, I see that one of the ingredients is roasted Chinese duckling, but have you ever seen a duckling?…
218,862 Uncounted Ballots in Maricopa County Keeps Prop. 203 Hopes Alive
From the Arizona Republic: Election Day may be over, but there still are hundreds of thousands of ballots left to count. In Maricopa County, there are at least 218,862 ballots that have not been tabulated, said Yvonne Reed, spokeswoman for the county’s elections department. This number includes early ballots that were dropped off at the…
Well, That Didn’t Take Long: Pearce is President
According to today’s Arizona Capitol Times, the man who makes the U.S. Constitution look like a used paper towel, Sen. Russell Pearce, is now president of the Arizona Senate. Sen. Russell Pearce will lead the Arizona Senate next year after colleagues elected him to be president of the chamber during a closed-door meeting Nov. 3,…
Vendors Needed for New Saturday Morning Market
Lisa Theberge of the new Metal Arts Village Saturday Morning Market at 3230 N. Dodge Blvd. says she’s looking for vendors. They currently have people selling homegrown vegetables, coffee and an assortment of very delicious-sounding bread from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., every Saturday. If you’ve got extra vegetables in the garden, or if anyone’s…
Election Results (Updated): All the Precincts Are In; Giffords Lead Down to 2,348
The Secretary of State just updated the unofficial election results, and the news was good for Raul Griljalva. Giffords? Not so much. Her lead is now less than 2,200 votes. There are still a ton of late early ballots (not an oxymoron, really) and provisional ballots, as Jim Nintzel noted earlier. So these races—especially Giffords/Kelly—are…
Writer’s Block: Ethel K. Coffey
Local author Ethel K. Coffey’s new children’s book, Cloud Watchers, has recently been published ($23.99). Summary (per a press release): Cloud Watchers is a story set in the magnificent Sonoran Desert. The main characters are based on two very real characters- the author’s own dogs, Meg and Baylee. In the story, Baylee is unhappy and…
Picture This: More Gabby
FRANKIE BRUN Gabby Giffords, D-Ariz., greets media and supporters at the Marriott University Park Hotel. FRANKIE BRUN Giffords greets her supporters. FRANKIE BRUN Giffords, D-Ariz., poses with supporters, galvanizing a big crowd at the Marriott University Park Hotel.
Picture This: Afternoon Stroll
TAYLOR MEDEIROS A UA student walks home across the mall at The University of Arizona.
