Jan, uh, Guv Jan, this here economy stinks, and you and your fellow 'publicans don't even get along anymore, so here's an idea taken from the page of Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry.

Today, Henry is expected to sign an executive order that names the Flaming Lips' "Do You Realize?" as the official rock song of Oklahoma. There was a contest, and the Lips beat out The All-American Rejects, Leon Russell and The Call—although I can't believe Leon Russell didn't kick some ass.

And sure, those musicians come with their controversy. One Lips member wore a T-shirt with that there hammer-and-sickle communist symbol, and the state House of Representatives therefore rejected them. The OK guv vetoed the House vote, and now there's a ceremony and the band is printing hammer-and-sickle shirts for the occasion. That's got to be good for their economy.

So Guv Jan, why not have a contest of our own? It's just what we need to get our minds off of border politics, swine flu and those pesky Democrats who make the budget process all too realistic. Rock 'n' roll, as they say, ma'am, can save our souls and maybe even save Rio Nuevo.

May I be so bold as to offer the first suggestion: Calexico. Yes, I know they are rooted in Pima County, that Southern Arizona domicile of all things hippie and crazy, as Antenori likes to say. But take a listen to "Alone Again Or." And while I can't promise there won't be a little controversy—after all, Joey, John and the boys might wear plaid guayaberas for the occasion—you can't go wrong right now with our own diversion.

Come on down and hear for yourself this Saturday, May 2 at the The Rialto.

We know we promised you a review of Black Devil Doll, but when we got the Loft Cinema last night, we ended seeing The Great Buck Howard instead. Our capsule review: John Malkovich enchants as Buck Howard, an over-the-hill magician who still has a few tricks left up his sleeve.

We did sneak upstairs to Black Devil Doll for a few minutes and can tell you that if you like movies with foul-talking, ho-beating puppets and scantily clad girls who drink wine coolers and inexplicably wash cars, then Black Devil Doll is for you!

The Tucson City Council got an earful tonight from residents who were unhappy with the idea of a tax on housing rental payments. They set up room at the TCC that only seated 500 people, so a couple hundred were left milling around after the fire marshals quit letting any more people into the hearing. Nice prep work! Funny how they always seem to have a room big enough for Mayor Bob Walkup's State of the City speech, no matter how many people show up. Priorities, priorities.

As you'd expect, most people were against the rental tax—or any other taxes, for that matter. Some suggested council members take a pay cut instead, but since they only earn $24K, that's not gonna do make much of a difference.

The evening got off to a great start with speaker Joe Sweeney, who didn't understand that he was addressing the rental tax prematurely during the general call to audience. That was OK with Joe—he went straight into a rant about illegal immigrants that somehow got linked to public housing. Sadly enough, the audience gave him a rousing round of applause.

The Star's Rob O'Dell was filing from the scene. We would have done the same, but we couldn't get WiFi signal.

The Red House commercial is gaining popularity, with folks wondering if it's for real. Yes it is. Made by Internet comedy guys Rhett and Link. Enjoy!

Once again, Republicans have canceled a budget hearing that was set for this afternoon. It appears their latest budget proposal, released by leadership yesterday, is already running into resistance from rank-and-file.

Nielsen Online reports that Twitter has a much smaller retention rate than either MySpace or Facebook. Take that, fawning media!

I don't know about you, but I've been resisting the urge to join Twitter. Facebook status updates have almost crossed the line into annoying irrelevance for me. I don't know if I could handle Twitter.

Don't forget: The Tucson City Council will be hearing from angry citizens at the Tucson Convention Center tonight beginning at 5:30 p.m.

Most council meetings are pretty boring, but this one promises to be a real hoot. As we explained in this week's Skinny, council members are considering nearly $18 million in new taxes on rental payments, utility bills and much, much more. The Arizona MultiHousing Association is busing in apartment dwellers from across the city and promising free box lunches to people who protest. And, of course, we'll have the teabag crowd.

If you can't make it, it'll be carried live on Channel 12 on your Cox Cable system, and I'm gonna make an effort to liveblog it, although I can imagine any number of technical difficulties that could cause problems with that plan. Stop by later tonight and we'll see how it's going.

Attention, all true believers: Stan "The Man" Lee will be visiting Dave’s Comics, Cards & Games in Chandler, Az., this Saturday, May 2.

It appears that Republicans may have finally crafted a budget deal that preserves spending while avoiding a tax increase. A document released this afternoon shows that they've filled in a $2.775 billion shortfall with $670 million in spending cuts (including $175 million for school districts and $5 million for charter schools), a healthy helping of $989 million in federal stimulus dollars and $394 million in fund transfers.

The big grab is a sweep of money that local governments have in reserve. The GOP plan takes $300 million from school districts, $210 million for cities and towns and $55 million from counties.

That seems kinda gimmicky to us. What will Gov. Jan Brewer think?

UPDATE: I'm still trying to get a solid read on it, but I've heard from

It's time again for the annual Dine Out for Safety night. This Wednesday, April 29, restaurants across the city will be setting aside a portion of their profits to benefit the Southern Arizona Center Against Sexual Assault.

Details here.