Just got back from filing my taxes--well, my extension, to be honest. And while we all like to bitch and moan about them, it's worth noting that income taxes really do soak the rich, while the rest of us get a pretty decent deal. Not as good a deal as we used to get, because the Bush tax cuts overwhelmingly favored the wealthiest people in the country, but the rich still pay a huge percentage of the federal government's take.

I've written about this before, here and there, if you're feeling all wonky and want to learn more. But to sum it up: Getting rid of the federal income tax and going to a sales tax would be a huge tax increase for most Americans, and every time the Arizona Legislature does an across-the-board income-tax cut, the wealthiest Arizonans make out very well, and the average Arizonan gets peanuts.

Remember that the next time you're stuck in traffic on the Interstate and wish there was a third lane between here and Phoenix.

As you all probably know, at least 31 people, including the gunmen, were killed on the Virginia Tech campus this morning. The details of the incidents (the gunman started shooting at a dorm, and then, two hours later, attacked a classroom) are horrifying.

The Christian Science Monitor, which is still a damn good paper, brings us this fascinating story about the death of massive numbers of bees—which could lead to some very, very bad things.

Tom Danehy's recent column has unhinged some local Sept. 11 conspiracy theorists. One has sent me a 3,000-word essay that he wants me to publish; he doesn't understand why I won't.

While I am more than happy to publish letters that are within, say, a mile of our 250-word rough limit (even the letter we got attacking Danehy's opinion on the basis that one shouldn't attack another's opinion), apparently some feel that they need almost 3 1/2 times the space of Danehy's column to respond to it. OK then.

So conspiracy theorists ... here's your forum. Have at it. The comments section of this item is open for you. Just follow the comments policy, and you can say anything you want.

For those of you interested in the late, great writer, I encourage you to check out this interview -- running in NUVO, Indianapolis' alternative newsweekly.

Here are a few events that were received too late for inclusion in our print issue.

• Saturday, April 14 from 5 to 8 p.m.

  The Max Gallery

  3001 E. Skyline Drive

  Art Show. The work of LuLu Tatum and Brian Jones will be featured. Call 529-7349 for information.

• Monday, April 16

  Animal Birth Control

  1114 S. Craycroft Road

  Free Spay Day. Pima County residents who need free spay and neuter surgeries for companion animals are eligible for assistance. Appointments are required. Call 624-7729 or visit www.spayneuterhotline.org for info.

• Tuesday, April 17 at 7 p.m.

  UA Campus

  1500 E. University Blvd.

  Film Screening. The Center for Middle Eastern Studies presents a free film screening of Return to the Land of Wonders. Call 621-5450 for info.

• Wednesday, April 18 at 7 p.m.

  International Wildlife Museum

  4800 W. Gates Pass Road

  Jaguars in the Borderlands. The jaguar has been spotted in Southern Arizona. View photos and learn about the natural history of the jaguar and conservation efforts. $3 for nonmembers. Free for members. Call 629-0100 ext. 336 for info.

I just got back from a lovely five-day trip to Los Angeles. Some highlights:

• My roommate, who was kind enough to do most of the driving, was honked at/flipped off by California motorists six times. I counted.
• On a whim, we decided to spend one night at the Hotel Queen Mary in Long Beach (the ship was bought by the city after it was decomissioned in the '60s). I got the feeling we were two of, like, 12 people inhabiting the entire establishment. The pixyish woman who checked us in at the front desk was odd in a dorky/sarcastic way. (My roommate said he hoped her strange behavior could be explained by drug use, because otherwise, she was just plain weird.) Other employees at the hotel were across-the-board rude. I asked the woman at the front desk when the lounge closed. She acted like that was the strangest question she had ever heard (a reaction we got whenever we asked about something) and said that it "should" close at 11 p.m. Well, the sullen guy at the bar flatly refused to serve us at 10:20 p.m, which pissed my roommate and me off. While we were being turned away, I noticed the storage closet behind the bar had what looked to be a pin-up calendar adorning the wall. It was something you'd expect to see in a car shop or some pimply-faced teenager's bedroom--real professional, guys. The only nice person at the hotel was a gentleman whom I guessed was a valet. He offered my roommate and me a complimentary newspaper as we were leaving, and we wanted to recommend him for a raise. So, yeah, taking into account the subpar service and the fact that the Hotel Queen Mary is about as authentic as Tombstone, I won't be setting sail on their sucky ship ever again.
• A word to the wise: An order of pancakes at The Griddle Cafe, 7916 Sunset Blvd., is meant to be shared by two or more people. My roommate and I got separate orders and were shocked by the mountain of food that came our way. Our waitress, who smirked when we told her what we wanted, shared with us that she was forbidden by management from warning about the portions. The pancakes were good, though--even if I could only finish about a quarter of them.
• It's nice to know the kids who give tours to prospective students at UCLA are just as perky, loud and obnoxious as the ones at the University of Arizona. My roommate, who was admitted to UCLA as a Ph.D. student, had to meet with faculty members, so I sat by a fountain and read while he did that. Various tour groups, full of wide-eyed high school kids, paraded by, and I repeatedly heard about the rivalry between UCLA and USC. Did you know some dastardly USC students put red food coloring and detergent in the fountain one day, causing pink suds to inundate the courtyard in which I was sitting? I repeatedly gathered it was quite the scene, with professors running out of their offices, flailing their arms. One tour guide volunteered that he spends the vast majority of his time at UCLA hating USC, instead of, you know, learning. The grating, overly chummy way in which he was talking to parents and propsective students alike would have turned me off to the university right then and there. As it was, listening to all that chirpy cheerleading practically made my ears bleed.
• Amoeba Music always rocks.
• I complain about Tucson traffic all the time, with the constant stopping and going and all the elderlies who are unable to break the 25-mph barrier. But, man, was the trip home from L.A. pure hell. The traffic in Southern California added two hours to our drive. By the time we got home, at well after midnight, I thought for sure I was suffering from deep-vein thrombosis. So be thankful for what you have, Tucsonans; traffic is killing L.A.

RIP Kurt Vonnegut.

Some things worth knowing:

• There's a new issue online: Look in the right-hand column in this here blog for all of the savory content!
• Our phones were down for much of the day (Qwest was being qwirky), so if you tried to call and got a busy signal, please call back.
• The ballot is here! Go to tucsonweekly.com or pick up the print version, and vote for the Best of Tucson!

The Star has a nice story today about the impending closure of Lown's Costumes. I am bummed; the shop had become a regular stop for Garrett and me before all of our costume-party-laden cruises.

I interviewed one of the co-owners for TQ&A in 2004. It was an interesting interview, with tales of indecent exposure and a Spider-Man Elvis.