There are hundreds of thousands of apps for the iPhone, and while I wouldn't want to be judged for some of the ones I've downloaded (hey, my daughter likes games involving princesses and stickers ... what am I supposed to do?), I just want to take a moment to say that if you paid 99 cents to download one of the two apps used to obsessively follow Casey Anthony's trial, please place your iPhone on the ground or another hard surface, and smash it with a hammer. You've hereby lost the privilege to download anything, ever.
Last week, both of the Casey Anthony update apps were ranked among the Top 10 non-free news apps, beating out a number of useful applications like Instapaper and Slate's app. One of the Casey Anthony apps was created by a television station in Orlando, where the trial is being held, so that almost makes sense—but it takes a lot of downloads for an app to get all the way to the top, so it's not just people in the actual area, who have some reason to care, buying the app. Apparently, people around the country feel like it's worth 99 cents to obsessively check their phones for updates on a case to which they have no connection.
It's great that we can stay up to date with news from our area and around the world, but there has to be a better use of bits and bytes than sensationalist pseudo-journalism.
Best of The Range
We talked with Ron Barber about his return to Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords' office; visited a town hall put on by Giffords' office on the national debt; noted that Giffords' husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, knocked down rumors that he was going to run for the U.S. Senate; followed the money in the City Council races; wondered about the Obama administration's sudden interest in prosecuting medical-marijuana operations; watched the Brewer administration move forward with plans to deny health insurance to poor Arizonans; warned you that the Arizona Capitol is filled with vermin; and celebrated Stephen Colbert's new super-PAC.
We told you how you could help an abused dog get life-saving surgery; reported that Marshall Home, who kind of ran for mayor last month, got popped by the FBI for trying to drag the federal government into bankruptcy court and collect a wide range of multi-billion-dollar claims related to his quasi-legal mumbo-jumbo; looked at another fringe candidate for mayor who plans to bring the Los Angeles Dodgers and Sabado Gigante to Tucson; and said goodbye to Glenn Beck.
We opened up a spicy debate over Mr. K's barbecue; followed the Tucson Padres' season; looked ahead to the fall TV season; rounded up the week in Tucson cycling; brought you artwork from Philabaum and Etherton galleries; told you about yet another new brewery coming our way; gave you all kinds of ideas about how you could spend your Independence Day weekend; chewed the chow at more food trucks; looked back on an investigation into the links between Satanism and Dungeons and Dragons from 25 years ago in the Tucson Weekly; and listened to DJ Dan Gibson bring the funk.
Comment of the Week
"A foam cup of steaming gratitude is bestowed upon thee."
—TucsonWeekly.com commenter "mr. meade," clearly a man of fine and distinguished tastes, takes a moment to appreciate the YouTube clip of James Brown pitching ramen noodles in a '90s Japanese ad ("James Brown Stars in the Best YouTube Video Ever Possibly," The Range, June 30).
Best of WWW
Every summer, it seems like there's an influx of comic-book movies, and even though Green Lantern didn't exactly burn up the box office, the influence of superheroes and other illustrated characters in pop culture is undeniable. This week, we kick off a series with the staff of Heroes and Villains as they give us a glimpse into what's happening in the world of comic books. No previous comics experience necessary.
Also, Samantha Cummings profiles Alice Rae, a local intimate-apparel shop in business for more than 40 years. The store has served generations of Tucson women going through various stages of their lives.
