Thursday 7
THE QUINTESSENTIAL NAVAL GAZER. Who else would it be but Woody Allen--filmmaker, director and best Jewish martyr of the 20th century.
The third in the series, Live from the 92nd Street Y, features an interview (monologue, maybe?) with Allen by Dr. Gail Saltz, a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at New York Presbyterian Hospital and chair of public information at the New York Psychoanalytic Institute.
If Woody thinks he can sneak anything by her, he's mistaken.
In their live, screened satellite conversation, Saltz discusses Allen's films--classics such as Annie Hall, Hannah and Her Sisters and Manhattan, where (surprise, surprise) the filmmaker's neuroses are just like the main character's.
The free, screened interview begins at 6 p.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center, 3800 E. River Road. For information, call 299-3000, ext. 211.
WHAT MAKES A PERSON? In 1886, the Supreme Court stated that corporations were persons deserving the law's protection. It's this legal sleight-of-hand that has allowed corporations to amass enormous wealth and political power. Why? They are immortal with unlimited life spans (no arthritic aches and pains for them), they can't go to prison if they commit a crime, they can merge with each other and morph into something entirely different overnight. They control elections, legislation and regulations. They don't care about the environment. They plunder without conscience.
Come hear why we need to abolish corporate personhood in a lecture at 7:30 p.m. tonight. It's hosted by the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom--part of their national campaign to Challenge Corporate Power, Assert the People's Rights. Speakers are Jan Edwards and Molly Morgan from WILPF's leadership team. The two-hour discussion takes place in Room S 212 in the Aeronautics and Mechanical Engineering Building on the UA campus, northeast corner of Speedway Boulevard and Mountain Avenue. Free parking is available at the Helen Street student parking lot adjacent to the building. Bring your person down or call for details at 908-9269.
Friday 8
STATE OF THE CITY. You might be wondering how we're doing. Tucson's economy, that is.
Greater Tucson Leadership sponsors its first State of Economic Development Forum today from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Moderated by the mayor, the forum features a panel of speakers from the city's major economic development organizations: City Manager James Keene, Greater Tucson Economic Council CEO Steve Weathers, CEO and President of the Metropolitan Tucson Convention and Visitors Bureau Jonathan Walker and many others join in conversation.
Prior to the luncheon, there's an economic development tradeshow featuring organizations that devote their efforts to, you guessed it, economic development projects. Folks with booths include the City of Tucson, Pima County, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the United Way and others.
It all takes place at the Tucson Convention Center's main ballroom at 260 S. Church Ave. Admission costs $35 or $30 for members of Greater Tucson Leadership. There are discounts for groups. Call 881-4344 to register.
NO TIME FOR AN MBA. Geez, I can't seem to fit that one into my busy schedule. You too? Don't fret. Learn all you need to know from Billy--that's Mr. Shakespeare.
It sounds like one of those late-night, local commercials. "Want more insight into management issues but don't want to buy another book? Ever get lost trying to follow a Shakespearian play? Here's Shakespeare on Management to the rescue."
The screening begins at 7 p.m. at The Screening Room, 127 E. Congress St. Michael Wurth uses Kenneth Branagh's Henry V to illustrate modern management principles. Wurth says the playwright had a keen grasp of the principles of organization, team building and leadership. He says they're relevant to today's corporations, big and small. Wurth introduces these skills before the screening and stops the film periodically to prove his point about management issues.
Not a CEO or Harvard Business School graduate, Wurth actually holds a masters in comparative literature from Indiana University--it's Shakespeare that he knows well--and lectures on many subjects as well as producing and writing independent films.
Tickets cost a mere $7 (cheaper than student loans). Call with questions at 622-2262.
35 MPH OR LESS. Rev up your engines tonight at 8:30 p.m. in front of Grill and Vaudeville Cabaret (100 and 110 E. Congress St., respectively) as folks from all around the Southwest converge on Tucson to celebrate the 15th Annual Tucson to Nogales Scooter Rally.
All curbside parking is reserved for scooters and any other two-wheel "vehicles." Grill offers drinks and music. Next door at Vaudeville, the music cranks up with Mankind, Irish Car Bombers and others.
To accommodate the previous night's rockers' sleep cycles, the scooter ride gets started at a relatively reasonable hour. Meet at 10:30 a.m. at Stone and Toole avenues for the 100-mile jaunt. (Let's see, at 35 mph, they'll get there sometime after noon.) They'll return to Tucson on Sunday and meet at Rocco's Little Chicago for pizza and drinks at 3 p.m.
Cheer them on or celebrate their return. Or hop on your own Vespa or Lambretta and come down for the fun. Call Grill at 623-7621 with questions.
Saturday 9
HIP HOP ON THE BIG SCREEN. Isn't it great when a trend that no one thought would have any staying power actually proves the pop-culture pundits wrong? Hip-hop ain't going nowhere.
The Fifth Element is the first annual Hip-Hop Film Festival. The optimistic folks behind this event call themselves The Human Project and Urban Dance Theater. They promise flicks musing on old school hip-hop and break dancing, new video work by local artists, a panel discussion on hip-hop culture and special performances by some of the finest (hip-hoppers, one would presume). Show times are 5 and 8 p.m. tonight and again at noon and 3 p.m. tomorrow at The Screening Room, 127 E. Congress St. Tickets cost $7.Questions? Call 408-8189.
REIGNING HERBS. What would happen if instead of selling their trees to the logging companies, indigenous tribes ecologically harvested their Rainforest herbs? It might shift our relationship to the herbs and to the drug companies that foist their synthetically derived potions on us.
Hear about the health benefits of nutritional botanicals from the Amazon basin of Peru. Watch a video about indigenous tribes sustaining themselves, find out about Rainforest teas and sample the herbs: Pau d'Arco (an anti-fungal), Una de Gato (Cat's Claw, an immune enhancer), Stevia (a natural sweetener) and more.
The free presentation goes from 7 to 9 p.m. at The Providence Institute, 1126 N. Jones Blvd. Call 290-6889 with questions.
CONTENTIOUS BORDERS. Tom Russell grew up in Southern California in the early '50s, listening to the West Coast hillbilly sounds of Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, Merle Travis and Spade Cooley. In the '60s, when folk-rock emerged, he began to hang around Los Angeles, hoping to become a songwriter. His professional career started in the skid row bars in Vancouver in 1971. Fast-forward to today. Russell has 17 albums of original material to his name. His songs have been recorded by Johnny Cash, Nanci Griffith, Iris DeMent and k.d. lang. A motley crew.
His newest release on Hightone is Borderland in which he explores the frontier of El-Paso and Juarez--where he makes his home--as well as the often miserably lovely border between men and women. Billboard says Russell is a major talent and Borderland ranks among his best work.
Russell croons along with his long-time guitarist Andrew Hardin in two live sets beginning at 9 p.m. at Boondocks Lounge, 3306 N. First Ave. Tickets cost $20 at the door or $17 in advance at Hear's Music. Call Border Beat for details at 321-0928.
MAKING IT UP. When Michael Travis met Xander Green in 1999, the two quickly discovered a musical kinship. Both self-taught musicians maintain an almost mystical relationship with improvisational music. But over the next few years, they would only play sporadically, as Travis was on the road with his main musical project, The String Cheese Incident.
SCI is on a less-grueling tour schedule this year, so Travis has more time to explore other inspirations. Enter Zuvuya, an improv trio. Long-time friend and Boulder musician, Jamie Janover has joined the group, challenging Zuvuya to solidify their percussive sound. Travis plays drums and bass, Greene plays acoustic guitar and drums and Janover hits the percussive instruments and hammer dulcimer.
In case you're wondering, the name comes from the Mayan term for the universal energy surrounding each of our bodies that, when turned back on, gives us expanded awareness of who we are. Cool.
Hear Zuvuya perform at 9 p.m. at Vaudeville Cabaret, 110 E. Congress St. Tickets cost $10 at the door or $8 in advance at Antigone Books, CD City or online at dotucson.com. Call 297-9133 for more information.
Sunday 10
IN HOT WATER. Lettice Doufet is an expert on cuisine and medieval weaponry. She's also a tour guide for a very British stately home called Fustian House.
Emily Chamberlain stars in Lettice and Lovage, directed by Dana Armstrong in the Invisible Theater Workshop comedy that follows this multi-faceted character as she tries to bring more excitement to her tours by weaving romance and intrigue into the otherwise dull history of the house. Enter Lotte Schon (played by Elizabeth Gooden), an inspector for the Preservation Trust. She's not so impressed with Lettice. But she becomes embroiled in her theatrics. The two women forge an alliance to awaken their fellow citizens to the dreariness of modern life. Kind of a Thelma and Louise with British accents.
Today's the last chance to catch the show at a 3 p.m. matinee or 7 p.m. evening performance. Earlier this week, shows start at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday as well. Tickets cost $12 to $14. Call 327-4242 for reservations. Live Theater Workshop is located at 5317 E. Speedway Blvd.
Monday 11
TRICKS UP THE SLEEVE. For challenged adults in Tucson, there's MOCHA--a mentor group of parents, guardians and friends who help them get through the details of life.
A benefit for MOCHA opens today. It's Magic features performances by some of the best magicians in town. There's Bruce and Jan Spell (an apt name for magicians). They've just returned from London with new tricks up their sleeves. Norm Marini and his wife Melody present Comedy Magic, a blend of humor and prestidigitation (fancy finger work). Gene Collins, aka Top Hat, is the magician from ABC's The Young Riders and, along with Charlene Collins, presents magic, music and illusion.
The doors open at 6 p.m. with the show starting at 7 p.m. at The Gaslight Theater, 7010 E. Broadway Blvd. Tickets cost $10 and are available at Williams Magic and Novelties (6528 E. 22nd St.). Call 790-4060 for details.
BEST BIRD SHOTS. No, we're not maiming anything. Tucson's resident nature photographer gives a lecture in bird shots--the black and white or color kind.
Don Conway shares his tricks for capturing bird images in the wild. He offers the best local sites for finding his subjects as well as tips for improving the quality of your own bird photos. Or just stop by and enjoy slides of beautiful winged creatures in their natural state.
Just before the 7 p.m. presentation, Judd Klement, Regional Coordinator of Public Policy for the National Audubon Society, describes the free advocacy tools the office provides and details the Audubon's Population and Habitat Program. The meeting is open to all and takes place in the Duval Auditorium at the University Medical Center, 1501 N. Campbell Ave. It's free. Call the Tucson Audubon Society for details at 629-0510.
Tuesday 12
BLAST IT. It defies description. That's because Blast! features classical, blues, jazz, rock and techno-pop music. It stands, blows, pounds, marches and whirls. It's a visual and aural juggernaut.
Born on athletic fields across the nation, Blast! evolved from the showmanship of outdoor pageantry, specifically, the drum corps. It grew out of Star of Indiana, a 1984 corps initiated to help young people hear music in a new way. Blast! consists of 54 members, largely in their early 20s, drawn from all over the country. Three sections form the ensemble: brass, percussion and visual. The latter spins and tosses unusual implements along with traditional sabers and colorful flags.
It's like going to a parade in a performance hall.
Shows blast Centennial Hall, 1020 E. University Blvd., at 7:30 p.m. today through Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. matinees on Saturday and Sunday. Tickets cost $20 to $50. Call 621-3341 for reservations or more information.
Wednesday 13
WORDSMITH EXTRAORDINAIRE. OK. I'll gush. My absolutely favorite writer is passing through Tucson this week for the UA Poetry Center's reading series.
I've read just about everything Carole Maso has written, own nearly all her books and always, always check the "M" section of bookstore fiction shelves for used copies to give to anyone I know who isn't familiar with her work.
Maso's novels are lyrical. Pick up Ava or Aureole and you're sure it's a book-length poem. But she's defiant in calling them novels. Her book of essays, Break Every Rule, sometimes reads like non-fiction and more often, like a poetic journey through the mind of the writer. I've never been pregnant (and am not about to start now) and I read, with rapt attention, The Room Lit by Roses--a memoir of her pregnancy and her 20-year relationship with her girlfriend, who, she says, finally made a respectable woman out of her, despite affairs with both men and women.
Maso's newest book, Beauty is Convulsive: The Passion of Frida Kahlo, promises more jewels from this prose poet who defies literary definition.
The free reading begins at 8 p.m. at the University's Modern Language Auditorium just off Second Street near Mountain Avenue. An informal reception follows. For information, call 626-3765.
