Senior Airman Shane Dunaway delivers the sad news about Capt. Nathan J. Nylander, who was killed in Afghanistan last week:

Capt. Nathan J. Nylander, an Airman assigned to the 25th Operational Weather Squadron here at D-M was pronounced dead on April 27 after a shooting at Kabul International Airport, Afghanistan.

The death of this Airman marks the third loss Davis-Monthan has suffered to either operations in Afghanistan or Iraq.

Captain Nylander is survived by his wife Miriam Nylander and three children.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and loved ones of the Airmen who paid the ultimate sacrifice protecting our freedoms,” said Col. John Cherrey, 355th Fighter Wing commander. “Today’s tragic event hit close to home as one of our own was among the casualties. We will continue to support the Airman’s family as they deal with this loss.”

Our condolences to Captain Nylander's family and friends for his sacrifice on our behalf.

Local comedienne J.L. Godwin promises "the worst relationship advice on the planet, guaranteed" on her blog.

Her blog persona, The Big Chicken, is a self-described "big human person" who has a dream to "roller skate all across the land and make a movie about my funny adventures."

The Big Chicken jokes about breasts, legs and thighs and likes to eat bugs. Check out the adventures here.

On Sunday, May 1, Laura Milkins will begin her 2,000 mile walk home to her mother's house in Grand Rapids, Mich. The walk will be broadcast online 24 hours a day as she treks across the country and talks with people along the way. That footage will also be edited into a weekly online TV show.

Originally from Michigan, Milkins has lived in Tucson for the past six years and is a performance artist. She has done numerous other projects, including one focusing on people in Mexico City, which Milkins titled Walking Stories: Mexico City.

Walking Home: Stories from the Desert to the Great Lakes will focus on community and social interactions.

To learn more about Milkins' Walking Home project, or to watch the live-streaming video, visit the Walking Home website.

• Samantha Sais

The Tucson Padres made a 10th inning comeback last night, scoring four runs to defeat the Colorado Springs Sky Sox. Tim Hagerty, the voice of the Padres, brings us details:

When Aaron Cunningham’s chopper rolled into left field in the bottom of the tenth inning Thursday, the Tucson Padres sealed their first extra inning win, one-run win, and walk-off win, beating Colorado Springs 8-7. Colorado Springs scored three times off Scott Munter in the top of the tenth inning, who then became the winning pitcher when the Padres scored four times in the bottom of the tenth. The stunning comeback came after an RBI single by Anthony Rizzo, a double off the top of the left field fence by Jesus Guzman, and the two-run single over the drawn-in infield by Cunningham.

The Padres had a 4-2 lead entering the ninth inning, but Colorado Springs scored twice to force extra innings and give Luis Perdomo his second blown save of the season. The Padres had two runners on base in the bottom of the ninth inning, but were unable to score off Rockies’ prospect Rex Brothers, who hasn’t allowed a run yet this season.

Cunningham had three hits in the game, raising his batting average from .237 to .259. After a 2-for-17 road trip in Sacramento, Cedric Hunter went 3-for-5 with a double and an RBI. Will Inman had one of his best Triple-A starts, pitching six innings, allowing only two runs to the team with the highest batting average in the PCL. The Padres are now 9-12, tied with Las Vegas for third place, three games behind first place Sacramento.

Next Game: Friday, 7:00 pm — Tucson LHP Wade LeBlanc (0-0) vs. Colorado Springs RHP Alan Johnson (1-0)

Tonight, the team will be giving away 3,000 posters featuring first baseman Anthony Rizzo, who was hitting .420 with seven homes as of last night. And don't forget, baseball fans: On Saturday night, the Padres play at Hi Corbett Field for Turn Back the Clock Night. We'll be there. How about you? Details here.

Writer and producer Dan Davies presents the Arizona premiere of his film Ed Gein, The Musical at 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday, April 29 and 30, at the Screening Room, 127 E. Congress St.

Davis will offer an introduction, meet-and-greet and a Q&A session. The film's director, Steve Russell, will be in attendance. Davies' friend Michael Blake, author of Dances With Wolves, will be his special guest.

Interesting note: The film was made with a budget of $9,000. Visit www.edgeinthemusical.com for info.

From a press release:

"Ed Gein, The Musical" is a 92-minute musical/comedy/horror movie filmed in Wisconsin and is based on the notorious killer and grave robber from Plainfield, WI. Gein was arrested in 1957 and the horror of his crimes and the macabre uses of the dead prompted national and international coverage and outrage. He has been the subject of numerous books and films including, "Psycho, "Texas Chainsaw Massacre", "Silence of The Lambs", "Deranged" etc.

The producers at DaviesRussell Studios of Appleton, WI felt that their variation of this often told tale would be singularly unique and very watchable. Steve Russell who directed and co-produced felt that, "...our story does not glorify Ed or his actions or demean his victims...but we use the music and dark comedy as a vehicle to tell the story with truth and a fair amount of accuracy."

Dan Davies who wrote the film and stars as Ed feels he has an inside track on the story, "I grew up about 20 miles from Plainfield, WI. My grandpa and the arresting sheriff were, at one time, best friends. He was actually very close to all of the Waushara County deputies. My grandma knew and bought school supplies from Bernice Worden, the lady he murdered just before his arrest. I'm not some outsider from LA or New York doing an exploitative film on this horrible man." Davies added "the movie has been getting some really great laughs and people really enjoy the original and parodied music but our film is really a psychological treatise on how this man became a monster."

Steve Russell added, "we know the subject matter is very controversial as evidenced by all of our national TV, radio and print coverage but people really have to see the movie first and then decide for themselves."

• Illustration Ryn Gargulinski
• Last rites for a bumblebee

All hail the black-and-yellow bumblebee.

Many of us are reminded daily of how annoying bees can be—especially when we see the big, fat carpenter bee that somehow manages to stay bobbling through the air with the body the size of Asia. But many of us have also forgotten how painful sting can be.

The first and only time I was stung was as a toddler at a fateful family picnic in Dearborn, Mich. The incident forever prompted me to eat grilled food in the car. I have since learned not to swat, bat or otherwise make panicked flailing motions in a bee’s general direction. I've also learned not to wear vanilla-scented skin lotion while trekking through the forest after an equally ill-fated hike in upstate New York.

I thought I had insect habits mastered.

But recently, a stealthy little devil bee caught me by surprise. As I stuck my hand in a bucket to scoop out dead leaves. I felt a searing, sharp prick on my ring finger. I, at first, thought the prick was from a mesquite thorn or one of those burry goat heads, but as I pulled my hand from the bucket, I saw the prick was attached to a writhing, dusty, deflated bee.

Did I mention the word prick?

Here's a fascinating video produced by the India Staff of Watershed Management Group, a local nonprofit. The video was one of four winning videos out of 1,350 entries in the DoGooder Nonprofit Video Contest.

The device created in the video is a tippy tap, a low-tech, low-cost and low-water use handwashing device.

From a press release:

Tucson Non-Profit Wins YouTube Video Contest and Promotes Life-Saving Sanitation Practice

YouTube announced that a partnership led by Watershed Management Group (WMG) won Best Thrifty Video in this year's DoGooder Nonprofit Video Contest.

WMG’s video “It’s In Your Hands,” focuses on hand washing with soap as a lifesaving behavior through the use of a Tippy Tap, a simple, hand-washing device that is especially relevant in rural areas without running water.

The 5th annual DoGooder Contest received 1,350 videos from 750 non-profits and chose 16 finalists. The public voted on their favorite videos for seven days to choose the four winning videos.

Jackson is ready to put his rambling days behind him! Found tired, thirsty, and covered in ticks along a stretch of highway near Wilcox, Jackson made friends with a kind traveler from Nevada passing through for business. During their time together, Jackson was invited to sneak into the hotel room for a comfortable stay and a continental breakfast, followed by trips to jobsites where Jackson patiently waited. During their brief stay together Jackson was an excellent companion — loyal, appreciative and easygoing. Although he couldn’t follow his new friend to Nevada, this happy hound now has renewed hope for a brighter future. Won’t you give Jackson a happy ending so that he can enjoy a comfortable bed, tummy rubs and a satisfying breakfast everyday? Please visit Jackson soon at the Humane Society of Southern Arizona.

And here's a video of Jackson going to town on a chew toy.

Come meet Jackson! He's currently living at the Humane Society of Southern AZ, 3450 N. Kelvin Blvd. The Humane Society is open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and on Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. The phone number is 327-6088.

8:35 a.m.: Arrives at the office. Fills coffee cup. Enjoys the first sip of coffee. The highlight of the day.

8:56 a.m.: Calls wannabe prospective concert reviewer and tell him his services are not desired, in light of the fact that said wannabe prospective concert reviewer became verbally abusive with the Weekly World Central front-desk goddess, for no good reason, the day before.

9:03 a.m.: Get second cup of coffee.

10:42 a.m.: Receives phone call from a chemtrails conspiracy theorist. Unlike most chemtrails conspiracy theorists, this person is actually polite. She insists, however, that she's not a conspiracy theorist, and that soil samples from pristine areas prove that "they" are spraying us all with aluminum-chloro-whatever or something. When asked who "they" is, polite chemtrails conspiracy theorist says she doesn't know the answer to that, and concedes that she probably should have found that out before she called. Editor lets out a heavy yet silent sigh from the depths of what is left of his soul.

11:03 a.m.: Calls back a gentleman who called earlier in the morning and left a message on AHCCCS cuts. He is a single, childless man, and a former (perhaps current?) homeowner, upset about the fact that he has had to pay for everyone else's children to go to school all these years. He asks us to look into a theory that he says he has heard on talk radio: The government in Phoenix, you see, doesn't like "queers." And they figure that men, like the caller, who are single and childless must be queers, even though many of them, like the caller, are NOT queers. And that's why the government is freezing AHCCCS enrollment for childless, single adults ... they figure they're all queers, you see.

12:18 p.m.: Receives word from the assistant editor that a film-marketing company has received a credentials request from someone claiming to blog for the Tucson Weekly. However, nobody around Weekly World Central has heard of this alleged blogger, who reportedly told the film-marketing company he was working on a summer movie preview. Editor asks assistant editor to get contact info for the alleged blogger from the film-marketing company.

12:21 p.m.: Says "fuck it!" to dieting and heads across the street to Los Betos for a steak breakfast burrito.

12:48 p.m.: Returns to office and enjoys steak breakfast burrito, along with a third cup of coffee.

1:02 p.m.: Receives information from film-marketing company on alleged blogger. Calls alleged blogger and leaves a message.

1:35 p.m.: Receives phone call from alleged blogger. Alleged blogger seems very apologetic and a little freaked out, and says there must have been a misunderstanding. Alleged blogger insists he made it clear in his credentials request that he was blogging on his own, and NOT for the Weekly; he says he referred to the Weekly's summer movie preview only to show the style he was aiming for, in his own preview. Editor says he believes alleged blogger, and that he'll let film-marketing company know.

1:50 p.m.: E-mails film-marketing company and lets them know about conversation with alleged blogger.

2:02 p.m.: Receives e-mail response from film-marketing company—containing the actual credential-request form from alleged blogger. It's clear that alleged blogger was, in fact, claiming to be writing for the Tucson Weekly. What's left of editor's soul is officially declared dead.

2:30 p.m.: Realizes that he's been stood up by a prospective intern who was supposed to be coming in for an interview.

2:46 p.m.: After editing a few blog entries, editor starts to edit copy for next week's issue, seeing as the word "edit" is part of the title "editor."

2:49 p.m.: Decides he really does not want to edit Free Will Astrology, and decides to dream of bourbon instead.

3:06 p.m.: Starts writing a blog entry titled "A (Particularly Batshit) Day in the Life of an Altweekly Editor." Keeps dreaming of bourbon.

—30—

Remember when those wolf howling at the moon shirts were the ironic clothing item of choice? Well, Mountain Retail Store's selection of 3-D seeming animal face t-shirts take amusing ugliness to an entirely new level.