Personally, if I had my choice of video games based on Paul Thomas Anderson movies, I might choose Magnolia (Dodge the falling frogs! Try to get the money for your corrective oral surgery!), but this would do, I suppose.

Super There Will Be Blood from Tomfoolery Pictures on Vimeo.

From a story on NPR's "Morning Edition" today:

NPR spent the past several months analyzing hundreds of pages of campaign finance reports, lobbying documents and corporate records. What they show is a quiet, behind-the-scenes effort to help draft and pass Arizona Senate Bill 1070 by an industry that stands to benefit from it: the private prison industry.

Arizona state Sen. Russell Pearce, pictured here at Tea Party rally on Oct. 22, was instrumental in drafting the state's immigration law. He also sits on a American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) task force, a group that helped shape the law.

The law could send hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants to prison in a way never done before. And it could mean hundreds of millions of dollars in profits to private prison companies responsible for housing them.

Is poisoned candy something to be worried about on Sunday? The author of Free-Range Kids contributed an opinion piece to the Wall Street Journal which decidedly says no.

I grew up with a slightly paranoid mother (thanks for keeping me alive, Mom!) who demanded that the candy be inspected before I ate enough to make myself ill, and I have kids of my own, so I understand the feeling that the world is out to get children, and Halloween is the perfect opportunity to catch parents with their guard down, but apparently the rumors that sparked those fears were all untrue.

Lenore Skenazy writes:

Even when I was a kid, back in the "Bewitched" and "Brady Bunch" costume era, parents were already worried about neighbors poisoning candy. Sure, the folks down the street might smile and wave the rest of the year, but apparently they were just biding their time before stuffing us silly with strychnine-laced Smarties.

That was a wacky idea, but we bought it. We still buy it, even though Joel Best, a sociologist at the University of Delaware, has researched the topic and spends every October telling the press that there has never been a single case of any child being killed by a stranger's Halloween candy. (Oh, yes, he concedes, there was once a Texas boy poisoned by a Pixie Stix. But his dad did it for the insurance money. He was executed.)

Anyway, you'd think that word would get out: poisoned candy not happening. But instead, most Halloween articles to this day tell parents to feed children a big meal before they go trick-or-treating, so they won't be tempted to eat any candy before bringing it home for inspection. As if being full has ever stopped any kid from eating free candy!

If my concerns didn't seem irrational enough, Skenazy quotes a professor who studied crime statistics from 30 states and concluded that Halloween is actually one of the safest nights of the year. So much for those concerns. I guess I can just stick to making sure my 3-year-old daughter doesn't accidentally see someone in a "slutty Elmo" costume.

Eat all the candy you want, kid, but there are some questions I'm not ready to answer.

Local author William Esmont's book The Patriot Paradox has been published in Kindle format ($2.99).

Summary (per a press release):

Ex-CIA analyst Kurt Vetter and enigmatic foreign agent Amanda Carter race across Europe in a quest to unearth the truth behind the murder of Kurt's brother. Trying desperately to stay ahead of a government that has forsaken them, they discover a conspiracy that threatens the very foundation of world stability. The clock is ticking and Kurt and Amanda must find a way to halt the plot before millions die.

On Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 30 and 31, "practical sustainability" will be the focus of the Tucson Innovative Home Tour and Solar Tour.

Check out the press releases below for detailed information:

This exterior view shows the masonry and insulated concrete form (ICF) construction of the home’s outer walls. The low-maintenance, low-water-use xeriscape landscaping is watered by both a rainwater harvesting system and a graywater system that reuses much of the water. (Photo provided by the Solar Institute.)

Next Generation Home Seminar “How to have a much better home at much lower cost.”
Tucson’s officially recognized Next Generation Home Program presents the best unbiased, non-commercial information, advice and ideas from local experts for on the latest advances for improving your home, remodeling, building and buying - plus an analysis of the real costs of home ownership and how you can reduce them by up to 50% and more.

When. Saturday, October 30, 8:30 - 10:30 a.m. with registration starting 8:00 a.m. The tour is 11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. with tickets available at the seminar 10:30 a.m. - noon.

Where. Take the seminar and get your home tour tickets at Pima Community College’s Campus Center Auditorium (CC 180), 1255 N. Stone Ave., just north of Speedway. Lots of free parking. Just go in the main entrance.

How. The seminar is $10 per person, $5 with tour ticket. Available only at the seminar. Cash only - please bring exact amount.

For more information, see the web site at www.solarinstitute.org or call 792-6578.

Maracay Homes is offering Halloween safety kits through Sunday.

Stop by one of their locations (Entrada Bonita Enclave at Rancho Sahuarita, 647-2153, or Entrada Bonita Village at Rancho Sahuarita, 396-4192) and pick up a cool kit which includes Halloween Hot Dots (stickable reflectors that react to headlights), a coloring poster with crayons, a list of smart tips for parents and of course, candy. Visit www.maracyhomes.com for more information.

To view Halloween safety tips, click the pdf below: here.

First of all, Planet of the Crepes is the best name for a food truck, ever. Second of all, owner Jessica Kraus has 15 years of experience in the pastry-making business and is the former head of the pastry programs at Hacienda del Sol, Harvest Restaurant and both Zona 78 locations.

Need more reasons to visit Planet of the Crepes when it opens for its second week on the corner of Tanque Verde Road and Camino Principal tomorrow? How about the fact that you had to drive to the top of Mount Lemmon for one of these gourmet crepes until now? How ‘bout smoked-duck crepes, chicken-salsa-avocado-Monterey-jack-cheese crepes and a crepe that tastes just like a Reese’s peanut butter cup?

Crepes range in price from $3.25 to $6.75, and hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday through Sunday.

Visit the truck’s Facebook page for more information.

In "Let's Here It for the Local Guy" news, Mike Pedicone, former drummer for the Bled (who played a nearly infinite number of shows in town in the early part of the 2000s before moving to LA) has been hired as the new drummer for My Chemical Romance ahead of the release of their new album, Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys, out Nov. 22. Congratulations on the new job, Mike.

The band's new single, "Na Na Na":

The Arizona Republic ran a AZ Fact Check story today (although I'm not entirely sure what AZ Fact Check is, outside of being a section of the Republic that does what newspapers should probably be doing anyway) on whether Gov. Brewer once hit someone on Interstate 17 while drunk on scotch.

While I suppose that's a story, considering Brewer voted for or signed into law a series of increasingly tough penalties for driving intoxicated, it happened in 1998. She then held an office different than the one she's running for now, so it's hard to judge her for trying to beat a charge back then.

Driving drunk is clearly wrong, but 12 years seems like deep to dig for dirt.

What was notable to me in the article was this section:

Brewer was released because, according to the arresting officers, she was protected from arrest by her status as a lawmaker in session. Brewer did not ask for immunity, nor did she mention that she was a senator, according to reports.

"It wasn't my decision," Brewer said. "I never asked for legislative immunity."

Brewer said lawmakers arrested on charges of "serious" crimes should not be exempt from arrest.

"We are no different from anybody else in this state," she said. "We all, I think, are citizen legislators."

The Arizona Constitution does exempt lawmakers from arrest during the legislative session - with the exception of cases involving treason, a felony or breach of peace.

A similar provision exists in the U.S. Constitution. It arose as a way to protect lawmakers from retaliation by political enemies, who might otherwise arrest them on trumped-up charges to keep them away from their duties.

Wait, what?

I suppose I understand the logic of that provision, but if I won a seat to the Arizona Senate, could I steal candy bars or whatever item comes in under the limitation of making the act a felony and be immune to arrest until after the session closed (when hopefully the cops have forgotten about the whole thing)?

This is the greatest perk EVER. Sure, being a part of the Legislature is a terrible gig as far as pay goes, but to be untouchable (as far as misdemeanors and non-treasonous acts go) would be amazing. Wrong ethically to exploit that loophole, but amazing.