I'm terrible at compiling year-end lists of anything. Either I have wildly incomplete knowledge on a subject (I don't have HBO or Showtime at home and I keep forgetting to watch Breaking Bad, so take anything I say about the "best" anything on TV with a grain of salt) or I tend to forget what I watched or listen to over a span of a few months. So, when I saw that The Awl's list of the best internet videos of 2011 was topped by "Game Deaths", a BoingBoing compilation of life's end as seen through old video games, I assumed I had posted this brilliant clip on The Range at some point. I remember watching and enjoying it and I tend to post nearly anything I like, even if it's just for a few moments, but searching our archives, it appears it slipped through ether of internet time. So, in case this didn't make it to The Range already, here you go.

Sleep Driver, "Signals" by TucsonWeeklySleepDriver

The guys from local instrumental rock outfit Sleep Driver were nice enough to share with The Range four tracks from their new EP "Signals", available January 2nd online and in limited edition physical form. We'll post a track each Monday in December [week 1; week 2; week 3]. This week, you can stream the title track above.

Mark your calendars...Sleep Driver will celebrate the release of Signals on January 6th at Club Congress with Tugboat & Scrilla Gorilla.

Amari Magdalena has released Beyond the Four Agreements: Mastering the Inner Shields of Transformation. (168 pages, $22.99 hardcover, $13.95 paperback.) For more information, visit here.

Book summary:

Arizona writer, Amari Magdalena has released a new self-awareness book on utilizing ancient wisdom to achieve inner-healing and outer happiness.

In a world where outer relationships fracture and fail regularly, Amari presents practical tools for healing the most important inner relationship of self. Beyond the Four Agreements builds a bridge between two Toltec Masteries-the Mastery of Awareness and the Mastery of Transformation. Expanding on The Four Agreements and ways in which unhealed parts of self sabotage the agreements, Amari takes the reader on a guided adventure through a series of activities designed to awaken qualities within that are often projected onto others as unrealistic relationship expectations. Wonderful life-long tools are provided to foster the health of each of four inner personas that govern happiness and contentment. These personas endow the original four agreements with life-changing transformational actions. Learning to develop complimentary vs. compensatory relationships is an outgrowth of the healing benefits of Beyond the Four Agreements.

I don't know if there's ever been a better example of how useless/wonderful the internet can be at times than this, but Jotly, a fake app that was once just the subject of an amusing YouTube app, is now real and available on the App Store. There's no real point to Jotly that I can discern, but it is remarkably enjoyable to take photos of things and rate them. For example, if you go on there now, you can see that I gave this post a C+. Let's be honest, this isn't my best work, after all.

DJ Earworm's annual mix of the year in pop music hit the internet yesterday, so if you'd like to hear a clever blend of the entire KRQ playlist into a five minute dance jam, here you go. Plus, it takes two minutes for "Rolling in the Deep" to appear, so that's a plus.

There's a bit of professional bias involved here, since Patrick McNamara works across the office from me and I also handle the web stuff for Inside Tucson Business, but his reporting on the Rio Nuevo board lately has been must-read stuff, if live in Tucson and care about where your money is going. Turns out the new-look Legislature-stacked version of the Rio Nuevo board spends more time meeting in secret executive sessions than any other political organization in town:

The Rio Nuevo Multipurpose Facilities District board's frequent closed-door meetings have begun to raise questions about secrecy and what the group intends to do with the millions of dollars in taxpayer money it has banked.

The board, which has met regularly since the Legislature wrested control of the downtown redevelopment authority from the City of Tucson in 2009, has spent much of its meeting time in closed-door executive sessions.

Executive sessions are a privilege state law affords public bodies for the purpose of discussing certain issues prescribed in statute, such as legal matters, contracts, negotiations for purchases and specific personnel issues.

"They are not a government, they are a taxing district, and doing the people's business with the people's money behind closed doors," said Tucson City Councilman Steve Kozachik.

Since first empaneled on March 16, 2010, the Rio Nuevo board has met 45 times and held at least 29 executive sessions.

A review of the minutes from the Rio Nuevo board shows the total running time of all those meetings has been 165 hours and 25 minutes. During that time, the board has spent nearly 54 hours in executive session, a full third of all meeting time spent behind closed doors. The actual time spent in executive session is probably greater because the minutes on the board website for at least five meetings do not reflect when executive sessions began and ended.

• Jim Nintzel

Wilco (The Dog) celebrates a white Christmas in Flagstaff, 2010. Happy Holidays to All!

A look back at 2011 and a look ahead to 2012, courtesy of Arizona Public Media reporters Andrea Kelly and Christopher and your Political Roundtable host, Tucson Weekly senior writer Jim Nintzel.

Christmas shopping is seldom an enjoyable experience, especially when you’re still frantically searching for that perfect gift this late in the game. Luckily, the magic of the Internet allows you to skip the need to even step outside of your home to make up for your gift-shopping procrastination habits.

Digital subscription services have made a huge splash on the web this year. Giving the gift of digital love is bound to make even the pickiest friend or family member’s eyes glow with holiday joy. Even better, these gifts can be purchased on the spot and shipping is a non-issue.

Here are a few suggestions that both the tech-savvy and technologically inept will enjoy this holiday season.

From City Councilman Steve Kozachik:

I’m on my honor with the City Attorney not to mess with our mediation effort with respect to the City and Rio (Nuevo). So I won’t mention that, except to say that some of the dynamics appear similar to what is happening over at the Rialto.

Should the Rialto get a free ride? No, and when you’re reading through this and start to feel as though I’m suggesting that, come back and re-read this paragraph. And, for the record, the Rialto Foundation is not asking for a free ride.

The Rialto lease began in 2004. The purchase was done using cash on hand. Rio Nuevo does not have any debt on the building and so any money it receives in lease, or other payments is simply cash flow to the District. The Rialto Foundation is paying lease money directly to Rio. It’s gravy to the Board. The deal is not at all like the County Bonds where there is debt being paid from taxpayer money. That transaction happened, and now the issue is how to earn a legitimate return on that investment for the taxpayers.

Small clubs are in a tough market. The Rialto is paying in the neighborhood of $3,600 per month to Rio. They’ve asked to have Rio take another look at that. The Rialto Foundation is a nonprofit. Rio is its landlord.

The way the lease reads is that starting in 2014, the Foundation can purchase the building. They won’t have the money. In addition, after 40 years, ownership of the building automatically reverts to the Foundation, or if it doesn’t exist at the time, to Rio — which will sunset well before that, so effectively, the City will own the theater if it is not purchased ahead of the end date. The current Rio Board wants to ensure that doesn’t occur — a curious goal for a group that won’t be around to see it play out.

The media has carried some surface level reports about this issue, leaving readers with the impression that the Rialto Foundation is asking for a free ride. The fact is that they requested a reduction in their current lease agreement (remember — cash flow to Rio, not the payment of any existing debt service) but increasing over time as the
theater recovers along with the economy.

Rio rejected that notion and sent this “Draft” of a counter proposal to the theater: Draft_Rialto_Ltr_Reponse_Rev_12_16_11_rev.pdf

Note that this was not sent to the Foundation, nor was it sent to the Foundation’s counsel, but to the G.M. of the theater — a person not empowered to cut a deal. And, the theater was given 2 days to reply.

(I was not given this Draft by the G.M. I do not want him to take any heat from Rio about my having, or sharing it. In my opinion, it’s a public document and you should have an opportunity to see how the District is dealing in your downtown area.)

Let me make a couple of points:

First, the statement that the District’s revenue stream has decreased is simply factually incorrect. TIF dollars are up, and increasing by several millions of dollars per year since this lease was first signed. Next, the District raises the red herring of it being locked in by the “Gift Clause.” That’s the State Constitutional issue of a governing body not giving away taxpayer money in excess of the value received. The truth is that Rio is exempt from the Gift Clause under the
Constitution. It’s a taxing district. The claim is bogus.