As evidence that we're trying to move on from constant coverage of the Tucson shooting, let's talk about Keanu Reeves for a minute.
Internet memes are a funny thing. Occasionally, good things come from sites like Reddit or Digg—like when they throw their energy behind an issue and raise money for sick kids or something—but mostly, these link-sharing sites just generate weirdness, like a photo of a guy sticking his head in a freezer.
Then you have Sad Keanu.
On June 3, 2010, someone on Reddit posted two photos a paparazzo took of Keanu Reeves on the streets of New York eating a sandwich and added the caption, "I really enjoy acting. ... Because when I act, I'm no longer me."
This week, someone finally asked Keanu how we felt about the whole thing (on BBC television), and he was a remarkably good sport about it, as these things go, largely dismissing whether it mattered that people made jokes about him on the Internet. But then he added: "Do I wish that I didn't get my picture taken while I was eating a sandwich on the streets of New York? Yeah."
Why Keanu Reeves? He happened to just be in the right (or wrong) place at the right (or wrong) time ... but now whenever I see Keanu, I think of sandwiches, instead of his role as Neo in The Matrix.
Does that make him sad? Apparently not.
The week on the Range
We continued following the story of the Jan. 8 shooting rampage, including updates on Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords' recovery; we brought you photos of her move to Houston, where she will begin the next stage of her rehabilitation; we shared letters from Giffords' parents and Maureen Roll, the wife of slain federal Judge John Roll; and told you how you could lend a hand, with information about various funds set up to help the victims of the rampage.
In other political news: We brought you a dispatch from the funeral of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry, who was killed in the line of duty in December; linked to a Politico story that examined the maneuvers of Republican Jesse Kelly, who ran against Giffords in 2010 and was preparing to launch a rematch campaign this month; told you that Andrei Cherny was the new chairman of the Arizona Democratic Party, while Tom Morrissey managed to win the chairmanship of the Arizona Republican Party, dealing a defeat to the forces of the GOP establishment (including Sens. John McCain and Jon Kyl); and let you know that the number of registered Democrats officially fell beneath the number of registered independents for the first time in state history.
We shared recommendations for the best TV in the week ahead; noted the passing of Jack LaLanne; told you how to win free tickets to Spring Awakening; brought you music from Death Kit, courtesy of Tucson's own Fort Lowell Records; let you know that El Güero Canelo was opening an eastside location; and covered the debate over Boca's now-scrapped plans to serve lion tacos.
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
"That rocks!!! What store was that at? I'm going there right now!"
—TucsonWeekly.com member DaPratt0414 is really excited about the ability to buy frozen pizza and cookies packaged together in one convenient box ("Food Company Manages to Package Despair," The Range, Jan. 24).
BEST OF WWW
This week on TucsonWeeklyTV.com, we focus on food and drink. First, we visit HUB Restaurant & Creamery for a preview of what they'll be serving downtown Tucson diners and drinkers starting on Feb. 12. While we're a little tired of restaurants with ampersands in their names (in fact, the editor usually takes them out), the winning combination of ice cream and pork products is enough to forgive the fact that we have to type so much when we mention them.
Also, we wrap up the first batch in our bartending-tip series, with one additional recipe from Downtown Kitchen + Cocktails (with a +, which may be even more annoying than an &).
We'll soon be out filming new segments, so if you have a favorite drink in town you'd like to see, let us know.
