Cover Story
Tucson Haunts
Tucson harbors haunted places where spirits and ghosts have lingered for years, whispering into our collective ears the eerie tales they have left behind. As a Tucson native, I have had the pleasure of visiting many haunted locations. Although I have never personally experienced a sighting myself, I grew up with the oral traditions that…
You Can Drink at Umi Star Now
Umi Star, the new restaurant down at 2502 N. Campbell Ave., is now serving drinks, and we hear they’re a tad on the potent side. The owners brought in a cocktail expert from famed San Diego cocktail hotspot Craft and Commerce to create the drink menu. It’s a good one, and all the fans of…
Outlawing Shakespeare: ‘We Were the Ones Who Needed Protection From the Board’
Forget about Precious Knowledge. The newly released documentary Outlawing Shakespeare: The Battle for the Tucson Mind is controversy-free and gets to where the other documentary left off — from how the Tucson Unified School District’s governing board failed to fight for the program and protect its students to why we’re in this mess to begin…
Happy Halloween, Everybody!
A pair of songs for your listening enjoyment:
9Q+1: Sean Fitzpatrick
Cia Romano Sean Fitzpatrick Sean Fitzpatrick, known as “The Fitz” to friends and frenemies alike, is the director of interactive marketing for Canyon Ranch. He’s a veteran of the UA Science Center, the UA Athletics Department, AzStarnet.com and the Tucson Weekly’s parent company, Wick Communications. When he’s in musician mode, he plays guitar, harmonica and…
Flake-Carmona: What Are The Odds?
So what do the polls say about the U.S. Senate race between Democrat Richard Carmona and Republican Jeff Flake? Very different stories, depending on who’s doing the polling. Nate Silver still gives Flake a 73 percent chance of victory.
The Devil Makes Three at Congress on Nov. 1
With no other goal but to play acoustic music that was fun to see live, Pete Bernhard and Cooper McBean dropped the punk rock. In those first days, The Devil Makes Three was somewhat directionless, mildly reformed hellions who simply wanted to put on an energetic show. The Devil Makes Three returns to Tucson for…
Talking Comics: Ghosts #1
Pop some extra batteries into your night light and check the settings on your pacemaker, ’cause this week Cynthia and Eric review Ghosts #1! SpooOOooky! Written by: Geoff JohnsJoe KubertGilbert HernandezPaul PopeCecil CastellucciMary H.K. ChoiAl EwingNeil Kleid Art by: Rufus DaygloGilbert HernandezPhil JimenezJoe KubertJeff LemireJohn McCreaAmy Reeder Hadley Cover by: Dave Johnson Variant Cover by:…
CD 1 Air War: Mo’ Money, Mo’ Ads
The Congressional District One race has become a money magnent in the weeks leading up to the election. A slew of new political ads has accompanied the spending. The National Republican Congressional Committee debuted “Shameful,” on Sunday, Oct. 28. The ad claims that Kirkpatrick “wasted our money on ‘Obamacare,’ the failed stimulus, and then she…
Anthony’s in the Catalinas Kicks Off an Affordable Lunch Menu
Anthony’s in the Catalinas at 6440 N. Campbell Ave., one of the last remaining fine-dining spots in the city, has started offering a lunch menu that’s so affordable it’s sort of hard to believe. There are, of course, sandwiches, but they’re loaded with delectable fillings like chicken-and-pesto, short ribs and other things. If you’re looking…
FBI Agents and Others Asking: ‘Who is Carmen Chenal?’
People kept talking about karma, but geesh, it always seems to take a long, long time. TV news folks in Phoenix have been reporting on state Attorney General Tom Horne (former Superintendent of Public Instruction) and how there could be more to his pesky hit and run incident earlier this year. Their report here: It…
Tonight at Club Congress: SSION
If you’re up for some great electro music to dance to, SSION is the show you need to catch this evening. The band’s discography dates back more than 10 years, and in that time they’ve become known as much for their sound as they have their live performances, as you can see below. Their show…
A Lot of Action Down at the Magpies Pizza on Fourth Avenue
We just got off the phone with local architect and restaurant owner Jason Anderson and he says his remodel of the old Magpies Pizza location at 605 N. Fourth Ave. will be completed tomorrow. Anderson says he’s reworked the entire outdoor area – a piece of prime outdoor seating right along Fourth Avenue – and…
‘Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That’
A friend recently helped me get over the beginning of a terrible week with this video of Sweet Brown, an Oklahoma City woman who shared her experience escaping an apartment fire. So if the madness continued into Tuesday, remember: “Ain’t nobody got time for that.” Forward.
A Small Slice of Pizza News: Pie Zanno’s Pizzeria Coming Soon
It looks like a new pizza joint called Pie Zanno’s Pizzaria is setting up shop at 2921 E. Fort Lowell Road, where Vito’s Pizza Kitchen used to be. There is a chain of pizza joints on the East Coast called Pie Zanno’s, but we’re not sure yet if they have anything to do with this.…
Today in Superstorm Sandy: “The Last Restaurant in Atlantic City”
Esquire.com’s food blog, Eat Like a Man, has this account of a restaurant that, for good or bad, weathered Dr. Frankenstorm’s Monster and defied New Jersey Governor Chris Christie to cook for anyone who came through—in particular, rescue workers who happened to set up headquarters nearby. Superstorm Sandy hit the restaurant with four-and-a-half feet of…
Another Horrifying (In A Bad Way) Halloween Costume: Sexy Osama Bin Laden
This “sexy” costume of Osama bin Laden (complete with false beard and nose!) really, really should not exist. The fact that it does strikes me with a profound sadness. But hey, any time you think there may be a demand from women who wish to dress as one of the most despised human beings in…
Jason Willis’ Spooky Videos Continue to Blow My Mind
Local music fans might remember Jason Willis from his time in such late, lamented bands as The Weird Lovemakers and The Knockout Pills. But lately he’s been getting loads of Internet love for his brilliant short film Catnip: Egress to Oblivion?, a spot-on parody of “classroom drug educational film(s)” that was selected to screen at…
Today’s Terrible Thing About America: AP Poll Finds Majority Of Americans Think Negatively Of Minorities
This might be the most depressing thing I’ve read so far in this young week, but an Associated Press poll reports that feelings of racial prejudice have increased since 2008, when Barack Obama was elected to his first term as president. From the Washington Post: In all, 51 percent of Americans now express explicit anti-black…
And Now For Something Completely Different In the Flake-Carmona Race
Here’s an ad that was surely not approved by the Carmona campaign: A concern that Congressman Jeff Flake can’t be trusted with your balls because he shared a ball with President Barack Obama.
Spindrift: Burrowing More Deeply Into the American West
With its latest efforts, which include an album, tour and a film documenting said tour, the Los Angeles-based psychedelic Western band Spindrift is burrowing more deeply into the lore and music of the American West. On the new CD Songs Born of the West, Spindrift evolves from playing music inspired by spaghetti Westerns to playing…
Miss Peggy of Buffet Bar and Crockpot Fame Is Retiring
Miss Peggy gave me a big kiss last year and said “love you! love you! love you!” Geez, I love her, too. Let us speak of the unelected officials that are the backbone of any community. They are the bartenders, the street merchants and the just downright colorful folks who define where we live, and…
If an ASU Student Wins The World Series of Poker, I’m Quitting the Game
There are three players remaining in the Main Event of the World Series of Poker, a $10,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em tournament that began in July with nearly 6,600 entrants and resumed Monday night with just the final nine. Among those still alive: 21-year-old Jake Balsiger, an Arizona State University political science ‘major’ who would be…
Need Some Non-Slutty Costume Suggestions? Here’s EmotiStyle’s “Things You Can Be On Halloween Besides Naked!!!”
Seriously, this song title is a mouthful. Sure, the video may run counter to the ideas that most people have for Halloween costumes…but who cares? I’m not saying that I’m against scantily clad ladies on Halloween, but you can only have so many variations on the same thing. Though to be honest, this post exists…
DJ Gabby Giffords Spins Springsteen, The Police, Calexico and More
Jim Nintzel Gabby Giffords was a guest DJ at a Get-Out-The-Vote Barbecue at Hotel Congress yesterday A bunch of Democratic candidates for state and federal office turned up at Hotel Congress on Sunday, Oct. 28, for an afternoon of politics, live music and barbecue. The final speakers were Congressman Ron Barber and U.S. Senate candidate…
Deep Blues: Memphis Slim’s “I’m Lost Without You”
Unfortunately, I’m not as familiar with old, old blues as I should be, having a background as a somewhat-okay high school jazz musician. But I know when I hear something great…like this tune, “I’m Lost Without You,” from the great bluesman Memphis Slim. Enjoy, folks.
PCD3: Bronson Files Campaign-Finance Complaint Against Tanner Bell, Independent Committee
Pima County Supervisor Sharon Bronson has hit her Republican challenger, Tanner Bell, with an 11-page complaint last week alleging a number of campaign-finance allegations, including coordination with an independent-campaign committee. Bronson, who is seeking a fifth term on the Board of Supervisors, said that she filed the complaint with Arizona Secretary of State on Friday,…
Carmona-Flake: What To Think of the McCain-Kyl Attacks on Carmona?
In the U.S. Senate race, Republican Jeff Flake and his allies have doubled down on their efforts to destroy Democrat Richard Carmona’s character—which tells us that they’re worried that Carmona’s reputation as an independent maverick is capturing the support of voters. Carmona capitalized on the support he used to enjoy with Republicans by releasing a…
Joss Whedon Endorses Mitt Romney Because He’ll “Put This Country Back on the Path to the Zombie Apocalypse”
Just in time for Halloween: Joss Whedon’s endorsement of Mitt Romney because “Romney is ready to make the deep rollbacks in health care, education, social service, reproductive rights that will guarantee poverty, unemployment, overpopulation, disease, rioting—all crucial elements in creating a nightmare zombie wasteland.” Fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Browncoats everywhere will enjoy…
Mark Kelly: “Martha McSally May Share Gabby’s Gender, But Ron Barber Shares Gabby’s Values”
Jim Nintzel Gabby Giffords has found herself in the center of a minor controversy in Congressman Ron Barber’s race for reelection against GOP challenger Martha McSally. The Washington Post reported last week that McSally told a Tucson crowd that she thought she had a shot at unseating Barber because she’s more like Giffords than Barber…
The Tomb of the Unknowns is Still Being Watched Over
The chaos of Hurricane Sandy has produced a number of fantastic images sent in by people marveling over the storm and its effects. Some, unfortunately, have been mis-attributed, such as this blatant Photoshop job, and this photo which was revealed was actually taken in September. That’s a shame. What isn’t a shame, however, is the…
Washington D.C. Hurricane Coverage Gets HorseMan-Bombed
This is a man, jogging through the streets of Washington, D.C., shirtless, wearing what appears to be a rubber horse mask. Washington, D.C. blog DCist was able to get a hold of the HorseMan (also known as Jimmy Kruyne), who told them that “he just wanted to brighten people’s moods on a dark, doom-filled day.…
Desert Tortoises and Your Tucson Potted Garden
Desert tortoises need a diet that can come right out of your pots using some of the same flowers that I mentioned last week as edible for humans! Needing a diet with moderate protein, low fat, high fiber and water, captive desert tortoises will eat flowers such as pansies, violets, nasturtiums, hibiscus, geranium, evening primrose…
Google Produces Map To Help People Watch Hurricane Sandy In Real Time
Google.org’s Crisis Response team has updated its crisis map to follow Hurricane Sandy in real-time, in an effort to help folks prepare for the the forthcoming storm, set to hit land this evening. The map, which you can see here, has layers, projections and alerts based on data from the National Hurricane Center, the National…
Microwaves: Useful For Your Leftovers and Solar Energy
The appliance that heats your day-old Chinese food could hold the key to making solar energy mainstream. Engineers at Oregon State University have applied microwave heating to solar energy technology in a way that could lead to a manufacturing process that uses less energy and fewer resources. The engineers opted for microwave heating—as opposed to…
Political Roundtable: County Races and Arizonans for a Brighter Future
On tonight’s Political Roundtable: Michael Farley of Arizonans for a Brighter Future and Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry discuss the future of the Kolb-Valencia intersection, which has ignited Farley’s interest in changing the political leadership on the Pima County Board of Supervisors. Then Farley joins Republican National Committeeman Bruce Ash, Pima County Democratic Party Chairman…
Pit Bulls Are In Focus Tomorrow In Two Tucson Events
Saturday, Oct. 27 is National Pit Bull Awareness Day, where groups of pit bull lovers and fans around the country have vowed to come together to celebrate and support the breed. A group of Tucsonans will be celebrating the day with an invitation-only screening of Guilty ‘Til Proven Innocent, an Ohio-based documentary film focusing on…
If You’re Tired Of Political Posts on Facebook, Unpolitic.me May Be Just What You Need
The makers of the fun novelty web browser add-on Unbaby.me, which hides pictures of your friends’ children in your Facebook feed and replaces them with “awesome stuff” have partnered with Buzzfeed to introduce a new, election-season-based add-on: Unpolitic.me does the same thing as unbaby.me, though instead of removing baby pictures, it pulls posts on Facebook…
Black Crown Coffee Co. Is Open
Hey folks, it appears that Black Crown Coffee Co., raised from the ashes (and tar) of the original Safehouse Espresso Bar, is now open at Safehouse’s old location, 4024 E. Speedway. Scott Hirsch, Black Crown’s owner, has been working like a man possessed alongside a number of Safehouse regulars who volunteered their time to put…
A Handy List Of The Worst Foreign Policy-Based Ads From This Election Season
This list of ads, curated by Foreign Policy, is filled with spots so awful that they headlined their post with “Clicking This Will Make You Stupider” (which was, coincidentally, one of the original names for a blog of mine in high school). The above comes from the “pro-Newt Gingrich” Super PAC Winning Our Future —…
Donald Trump Catches Flak For His ‘Cash-For-Records’ Charity Offer To President Obama
Since developer-turned-illogically-popular-celebrity Donald Trump made clear on Wednesday that his Barack Obama-related “bombshell” was a dud of an offer to charity, Trump had been getting a healthy dose of mockery directed his way. First, Adam Gabbatt at the UK’s Guardian newspaper called Trump with what seems to be a very fair request: Since he’s calling…
This Week in Bad Publicity Photos
Brick walls, railroad tracks, band members looking in opposite directions (I call that one the “Joshua Tree”) … all are indicators that you need to fire your band photographer. Bad press photographs have become a perk — necessary comic relief — of my job, which basically consists every day of combing through hundreds of emails…
Join Divas and Doctors at the 2012 All Souls Procession
“Divas and Doctors” is the theme for the AIDS Ribbon Tucson’s “AIDS Entry” walk at this year’s All Souls Procession on Sunday, Nov. 4. Ribbon is reaching out to the community to reach out to more volunteers who would like to join them in their walk. “We will be paying tribute to drag queens and…
This Week in Tucson Bicycling
The City of Tucson is working on a new bike map to highlight routes for people who aren’t confident cycling on major streets. Check out how it will be organized and when it will be ready. Walking advocates spent an afternoon hosting a Walking Workshop this week. Find out what a Walking Workshop is and…
An NYPD Cop Has Been Arrested, Accused of Plotting To Cook And Eat People
Gilberto Valle, 28 and a six-year veteran of the New York Police Department, is being accused of planning to kidnap and eat people, using his police database to identify and target as many as 100 women. According to CBS New York: Valle’s alleged barbaric plot involved months of scheming with at least two co-conspirators online…
Don’t Miss Calexico This Friday, Oct. 26
Jim Nintzel Calexico at Portland’s Aladdin Theatre, 10/21/12 My travels in the Pacific Northwest last week happened to coincide with a couple of Calexico shows, so I got a preview of what’s on tap at the concert at the Rialto Theatre this Friday, Oct. 26. Here’s my takeaway: If you’re a fan of Calexico, you…
Luis Alberto Urrea Returns to Tucson Nov. 1
Sometimes exciting things do happen on the internets, such as last night’s announcement that author and Mexican-American studies champion Luis Alberto Urrea returns to Tucson for a Day of the Dead celebration at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 1, at the UA Student Union. Praise the literature gods! Press release from the UA Bookstore and…
Silver Thread Trio: Folk the Vote
We already love the women of Silver Thread Trio. But if you needed a reason to love them more, well, here you go:
Kore Press Asks: Who Is Your She-ro?
Male heroes get a lot of play in today’s media, from comic books to movies to TV. Kore Press asks, what about the super women? This Saturday, Kore Press invites Tucson to their Fall 2012 Grrls’ Literary Activism Workshop, where they plan to screen “Her Powers. And Ours.,” a short film that celebrates the strength…
A Chinese Man Blows Out Candles From Nearly 10 Feet Away. With His Fists.
Apparently 23-year-old Zhang Feng, of Zhengzhou, China, can generate enough force with his punches to blow out candles that have been placed three meters (or nearly 10 feet) away. The video even features the Chinese journalists who were there to watch the feat giving their best shot at replicating his fists of fury, though they…
Halloween Costume Ideas for 2012
2012 isn’t just about Mittens and Obama. It’s the year we were inspired by the Russian punk group Pussy Riot. Two of the group’s female members were recently sent far from their young children in Moscow to two notorious prisons in Siberia. Coincidently, 2012 is also the year of the vagina. Yeah, remember that word…
A Timely Tune About the San Francisco Giants
If you watched last night’s ass whoopin’ of the Detroit Tigers at the hands of the San Francisco Giants in the first game of the World Series, you saw a little history being made. In the Giants’ 8-3 victory, San Francisco third baseman Pablo “Kung Fu Panda” Sandoval hit three home runs, one of only…
‘Nature’ Shows Us How To Eat a Triceratops
The first step, of course, is to rip the head off. At least, from what paleontologists from Montana’s Museum of the Rockies gather, that’s how Tyrannosaurus Rex did it. From Nature: As [Denver Fowler] and his colleagues examined the various types of bite mark on the skulls, they were intrigued by the extensive puncture and…
New Red Fang Video – Six Days ‘Til Tucson Show
Red Fang, the Portland, Ore. hard-rock band known for among other things fantastic music videos, is at it again. The band just released a new video – this time more of a tour diary than a narrative of destruction. But the video for “Dirt Wizard” again plays up the band’s personalities as the every-men of…
Calling Past Odyssey Storytellers
Odyssey Storytelling was voted in the latest Tucson Weekly’s Best of Tucson as Best Way to be Entertained by Real Life Adventures in an Off-Broadway Setting. Anyone who has participated in a storytelling evening or been to a “performance,” knows there’s a lot of love for the organization that brings folks together to hear local…
U.S. Senate Candidate Richard Mourdock Apologizes For “Rape is God’s Will” Comments
Yesterday, U.S Senate candidate Richard Mourdock said democrats “distorted” his “pregnancies from rape are something God intended to happen” comments. Here’s what The Huffington Post wrote about it. It’s really easy for people like Mourdock to blame others for the words that come out of his mouth. He said democrats twisted his words to dimish…
The Fun of Music
Like some of the band’s songs, Red Fang started with a couple of riffs. Living in San Diego after playing in Portland, Ore., hard-rock bands like Party Time, Bryan Giles heard from his former bandmates David Sullivan (guitar) and John Sherman (drums), who had started playing with bassist Aaron Beam. They sent Giles some riffs,…
Soundbites
Weighing Your Halloween options; Calexico comes home; Tanline Priting’s grand opening bash; and more!
Top Ten in Music
1. Ghost on the Highway: A Portrait of Jeffrey Lee Pierce and the Gun Club (DVD) French Fan Club 2. Calexico Algiers (ANTI-) 3. Fish Karma Halloween in America (Alternative Tentacles) 4. NOFX Self Entitled (Fat Wreck Chords) 5. Cadillac Steakhouse Cadillac Steakhouse (self-released) 6. Propagandhi Failed States (Epitaph) 7. The Frustrators Griller 7″ EP…
City Week
Check out the Tucson Progressive Film Festival; Dimitri Matheny follows his dreams; go biking while scavenging; and a local theatre group tells migrant stories
Editor’s Note
I spent a good chunk of last Friday at the University of Arizona School of Journalism’s fall-semester internship fair. I originally signed up for eight 20-minute interview slots on the Tucson Weekly’s behalf. However, Lisa Button, the school’s fabulous internship coordinator, emailed me a couple of weeks before the fair to let me know that…
Nine Questions
Ron Heathman Ron Heathman is a big fan of fresh-roasted coffee. He played guitar in the Supersuckers for 21 years and graduated from Santa Rita High School a long time ago. He is currently working at Sparkroot Coffee Bar + Fare in downtown Tucson. What was the first concert you attended? Heart and Firefall at…
T Q&A
Carlos Ibarra is an artist with a deadline—he had 30 days to complete a 5-by-9-foot painting representing Arizona as part of a national competition sponsored by tequila-maker Jose Cuervo. From a small studio space at the Monterey Court Studio Galleries and Café, Ibarra worked virtually around the clock to complete his painting and ship it…
Danehy
Government by ballot initiative is, at best, a mixed bag, with the occasional modest success temporarily deflecting attention from a steady stream of badly written, poorly focused and mostly unnecessary propositions. Many passed propositions do relatively minor damage, but every now and then, a proposition comes along that is so obviously flawed, so fully capable…
Live
It’s no secret that because of long-running legal feuds with Fantasy Records, John Fogerty spent many years disavowing his Credence Clearwater roots. Thankfully, those days are long gone, as his set list now sports enough Credence material to fill a small boxed set. While these songs remain timeless, for the mostly 50-something (and older) crowd,…
Wherefore Art Thou?
In perhaps William Shakespeare’s most-famous play, the young lover Juliet muses aloud from her balcony, “Oh Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou, Romeo?” We can help her out. (Yes, we know the line is more a question about her would-be boyfriend’s lineage than his physical whereabouts, but please allow a little interpretive leeway.) In the next…
Serraglio
The airwaves are awash in ominous voiceovers. The scent of prevarication is in the air. And my mailbox and inbox are chock-full of claims, counterclaims and febrile fantasies of an America that’s never existed. It must be election time. You can’t tell the candidates without a scorecard, so let me check my notes and see…
Holmes-Levinson Group, Holmes-Levinson Group (Self-Released)
It’s hard to imagine a more unlikely grouping of tunes working so well together. From the Neville Brothers’ “Yellow Moon” to Billie Holiday’s “God Bless the Child” to Johnny Mercer’s “I’m an Old Cowhand,” of all things, guitarists Gene Holmes and Louie Levinson have artfully crafted a record that successfully plays upon many of their…
The Horror, The Horror
With Halloween on the horizon, The Comedy Playhouse has stepped away from its usual fare of genteel comedy to produce a night of horror, The Chilling Mysteries of Edgar Allan Poe II. The evening has the company’s usual oddball charm and a few creepy moments, but it’s disjointed—neither particularly scary nor particularly fun. The playhouse…
Guest Commentary
My wife, Nancy, and I have been reading this paper every week since it first started hitting Tucson’s newsstands in 1984. A lot has changed since then. My hair isn’t red anymore, and there’s less of it; our daughters are grown; and we have four beautiful grandchildren, with one more on the way. Twenty-eight years…
Bat for Lashes: The Haunted Man (Capitol)
The music of Natasha Khan (aka Bat for Lashes) has always been girded with a deep sense of weirdness. A few listens to the airy tribalism of tracks like “The Wizard” or “Trophy” on 2006’s Fur and Gold would be enough to convince you of that. But she’s also had a certain Lilith Fair side…
Nowhere Else in the World
Every August in Toshi Ueshina’s hometown of Kyoto, Japan, the people light bonfires on the surrounding mountains. The fuel is arranged in patterns that trace out particular shapes—of a shrine, or a boat, or Chinese characters—and these flame-drawings burn golden on the hills by night. The fires, Ueshina says, “invite the souls of the dead…
Mailbag
A reader talks barbecue; a comment clarification; and a TucsonWeekly.com user has some pointed criticism for Nancy Young Wright
John Maus: A Collection of Rarities and Previously Unreleased Material (Ribbon)
While compilations of B-sides are not usually the ideal starting place to explore a new artist, if you haven’t yet discovered John Maus’ brand of artsy goth-pop, you should do yourself a favor, and pick this up. Maus, like Stephin Merritt, maintains an unmistakable sound while working in a wide range of styles. A Collection…
Power and Vertigo
The last several years have seen Arizona’s national reputation plummet, a reality that is well-deserved and therefore all the more embarrassing. At first, it seems so much worse when the disparate actions and social forces that created the current political climate here are gathered together under one cover, laid out with a bit of history…
Barely Functional
It could not have been more obvious last week just how much—despite their best efforts—the bureaucrats are losing control of their plans to turn Broadway Boulevard into a mini-freeway. Into that breach has stepped the citizens’ task force. Originally convened as an adornment meant to rubber-stamp this $74 million project, the group is increasingly questioning…
Cancer in the Family
It’s been a rough couple of weeks in Mr. Smithville. Financial delays and the familiar sting of foraminal spinal stenosis are mounting, and someone very, very close to me got the Bad News. The news could have been worse. There hasn’t been a Take That Last Vacation Now conversation, nor has there been a gathering…
Top Ten in Books
1. The Mark of Athena: The Heroes of Olympus, Book 3 Rick Riordan, Hyperion ($19.99) 2. The Casual Vacancy J.K. Rowling, Little, Brown ($35) 3. Goodnight Goon: A Petrifying Parody Michael Rex, Putnam ($6.99) 4. NYPD Red James Patterson and Marshall Karp, Little, Brown ($27.99) 5. Mousetronaunt Mark Kelly, Simon and Schuster ($16.99) 6. The…
Common Ground or Battleground?
There’s no shortage of differences between Republican Frank Antenori and Democrat Dave Bradley, the candidates seeking a state Senate seat in central Tucson. They disagree about what kind of tax system works best: Antenori favors a flat income tax that would provide breaks to higher earners while raising taxes on the majority of Arizonans, in…
Ask a Mexican!
Dear Mexican: Why is it that every Mexican I know refuses to eat chocolate? My in-laws drink things I wouldn’t clean my carburetor in. They fill their piñatas with every kind of hard candy—but no chocolate! I bring out a bag of M&Ms, and everyone backs away to the far side of the bar. Mole…
Magnificent Mess
Some books, they say, aren’t cut out to be movies. Maybe they’re too long, like Atlas Shrugged. Sure, that’s been made into a limp two-parter over the past couple of years, but its existence more or less proves the point. Maybe some of these unfilmable books are simply not cinematic. Or, as is the case…
Media Watch
Recapping last week’s ‘Daily Wildcat’ comic kerfuffle; Brady McCombs says goodbye to the ‘Star’
Top Ten in Cinema
1. Prometheus 20th Century Fox 2. Moonrise Kingdom Universal 3. Dark Shadows Warner Bros. 4. Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted Paramount 5. That’s My Boy Sony 6. The Raven 20th Century Fox 7. Chernobyl Diaries Warner Bros. 8. Rock of Ages Warner Bros. 9. People Like Us DreamWorks 10. Werewolf: The Beast Among Us Universal
The Skinny
National pundits move the congressional race between Jonathan Paton and Ann Kirkpatrick into the “toss-up” category … Frank Antenori says he lost the Metro Tucson Chamber endorsement because he wouldn’t “place my lips on their you-know-what” … Gabby Giffords is guest DJ at this weekend’s Get Out the Vote BBQ … and more!
Profitable Piece o’ Crap
While watching Paranormal Activity 4, the latest in a series of bland found-footage films trying to squeeze scares out of home-security and cell-phone videos, I compiled a list in my head to keep from falling asleep. I listed the reasons why I would rather watch the grainy, live black-and-white security footage on the monitor behind…
Weekly Wide Web
Tucson made national headlines again last week—and once again, it wasn’t for a great reason. In case you missed it, the Arizona Daily Wildcat ran a more-than-slightly homophobic comic last week, causing an uproar that hasn’t been seen since the Wildcat ran a syndicated comic that referred to Barack Obama as a “nigger” immediately following…
Now Showing at Home
‘The Campaign’ launches; Find your ‘Friend for the End of the World’; A fantastic collection of classic ‘Looney Tunes’
Arizona Dreaming
The crowd outside of Jeff Flake’s Tucson campaign headquarters resembled a job fair, with people telling the woman who stood in the doorway their GPAs, class standing and other academic achievements. The 13 young women and men from Undocumented Youth in Action showed up at Flake’s headquarters, near Grant and Craycroft roads, on Saturday, Oct.…
Taqueria Tastiness
If you can’t find Taqueria Juanitos, you’d better turn in your driver’s license. The building sits squarely along busy Grant Road and is painted a deep purple. (I’d love to make a reference to the band Deep Purple here, but I can’t come up with anything that wouldn’t sound like an insult to both the…
Coverage Kerfuffle
The Golder Ranch Fire District has a fight on its hands—and its opponents appear more than ready for a tussle. Eleven months after setting its sights on annexing a chunk of the Catalina Foothills—a move that was met with nearly unanimous dissent (see “Competing Protectors,” Dec. 8, 2011)—Golder Ranch has scrapped that plan, and instead…
Noshing Around
The Twisted Tandoor is getting ready to roll; the Tucson Coffee Crawl is coming soon; experience the joy of pork; and Mazage Café is on the move.
The People’s Garden
Join the Feast With the Dearly Departed Oct. 27 at the Tucson Botanical Gardens.
Local Films With Great Titles: ‘Dick Night’
I generally don’t dig horror movies, myself—something about watching people get hacked to bits in odd ways makes me a bit uncomfortable—but Dick Night sounds like the kind of movie that I might consider breaking my anti-horror-movie oath for…and not because its title sounds like both a very honestly-titled porn flick and the name of…
9Q+1: Ron Heathman
Ron Heathman Ron Heathman is a big fan of fresh-roasted coffee. He played guitar in the Supersuckers for 21 years and graduated from Santa Rita High School a long time ago. He is currently working at Sparkroot Coffee Bar + Fare in downtown Tucson. What was the first concert you attended?Heart and Firefall at the…
Stop Your Alligator Tears: Tegan and Sara Play the Rialto in December
Canadian Twins Tegan and Sara will take a break from their tour with the Killers to headline a show at the Rialto Theatre on Dec. 8. They released their newest track, “Closer” in September. The single veers sharply into the land of poppy electro-dance, but they’ve yet to reach Dragonette-status. Their forthcoming album due in…
