The full episode won't air until March 2, but you can watch an extended preview of Amos Lee's performance featuring Calexico for the PBS show The Artists Den from the Fox Theatre above.

I actually enjoy my employment here at the Tucson Weekly, so this isn't entirely helpful for me, but if you're thinking of starting 2012 anew without the oppressive yoke of your crappy job, perhaps this montage of bombastic exits from work might be of some assistance.

There are many levels of celebrity status for athletes, ranging from the 'even your mother knows who they are' names such as Barry Bonds and Derek Jeter, all the way down to those that are only considered big-time to the community they hail from.

Where Shelley Duncan falls is a matter of debate. But regardless, the former Canyon del Oro High School and University of Arizona baseball star is back in town and looking to raise money for local charities.

The avenue for this effort is through a poker tournament, the Duncan's Celebrity Poker Classic, scheduled for the evening of Jan. 7 at Casino del Sol. Cards are in the air at 7 p.m.

The buy-in is $299, of which $150 goes to the prize pool. That's a pretty huge piece taken out of the entry, but that's because $50 goes to the Tucson Youth Baseball Association and another $69 gets you a "promotional package" that includes vouchers for a room at Del Sol's new hotel — which is pretty dang nice, just for the record — and a trip to the casino's Festa buffet.

Another $30 goes to the house.

The tournament is open to the first 130 people, with 10 to 20 entrants getting a piece of the prize pool. Some rebuys and add-ons are available, though it's not clear if that money will go to the prize pool or not.

It is expected other local "celebrities" will participate in the tournament, but at this point Del Sol's poker management couldn't confirm anyone beyond Duncan, who has had a semi-productive pro baseball career with stints on the New York Yankees and Cleveland Indians.

After months of argument, a lot of name-calling and several lawsuits, Arizona’s political boundaries are set—or at least darn close to set. And for many politicians, that means it’s time to move.

The Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission on Tuesday finalized—pending a legal and technical analysis by consultants, a final vote, and United States Department of Justice approval—the political maps that will define Arizona’s political landscape for the next decade.

For politicians, the process is a prolonged nightmare, and at any second, any legislator could end up like state Senator Olivia Cajero-Bedford.

“I’m screwed,” Cajero-Bedford said outside the commission meeting in Tempe Tuesday. “Say goodbye to Olivia.”

With the click of the mouse, Cajero-Bedford’s neighborhood in the Tucson Mountains got drawn into a district linked up with Oro Valley, Marana and Maricopa. It’s a Republican district where, as a Democrat, she doesn’t stand a chance of getting elected.

Every 10 years, the commission creates a new set of congressional and legislative maps adjusted for population growth and following certain constitutional and federal criteria.

Cajero-Bedford and her Democratic seatmate, Representative Macario Saldate, made a last-ditch appeal to the commission Tuesday, asking that their district lines be redrawn to protect certain “communities of interest”—aka their communities.

Eric's wearing makeup this week. Consider yourself warned.

In other news, Eric Esquivel of Talking Comics fame has two comic books out this week (Blackest Terror and Zombies Vs. Cheerleaders #5), available everywhere comics are sold, but in particular at his home store, Heroes and Villains.

Michel Gondry is a strange man with peculiar interests, but I love everything he creates. I get the feeling he makes weird videos when he's supposed to be doing something else, and to that end, here's his "sweded" take on Taxi Driver.

[Laughing Squid]

The folks at NoRTH at La Encantada are unveiling the newest vintage of Fox Restaurant Concept's custom-crafted wine from 3 to 6 p.m., Friday, Dec. 23.

The new vintage was made at Misha's Vineyard in New Zealand and is the eighth signature vintage Sam Fox's restaurant company has produced. The wine will be available
My wine expertise sort of grinds to a halt whenever the price tag goes over $11.99 - I'm working on it - so for the time being here's a description from the folks who handle public relations for the company:

The Fox Block Eight is a landmark vintage in several ways for Jasper and Fox Restaurant Concepts. It fulfills the goal of producing an international Pinot blend, created with renowned New Zealand winemaker Olly Masters of Misha’s Vineyard. As the popularity of Fox Block continues to grow, it also signifies Jasper’s success in finding Pinot high-end producers that own their land, and are capable and willing to commit a significant “block” of their vineyards and resources exclusively to a Fox Block vintage. From producing 140 cases of the initial Fox Block One1, Fox Restaurant Concepts will now release over 2,200 cases for the New Zealand Fox Block Eight

Marie Miyashiro's The Empathy Factor—Your Competitive Advantage for Personal, Team and Business Success has recently been published by PuddleDancer Press. ($19.95, 256 pages, www.EmpathyFactorAtWork.com.)

Book summary:
The Empathy Factor builds on Marie’s organizational research and consulting experience of over 28 years, focused on organization development, strategic planning and communication training. The book shows how building a more compassionate, empathetic workplace is the path to greater productivity, and consequently, profits, and offers team leaders pragmatic and strategic implementation tools to bring the transformative power of empathy to organizations.

Author bio:
Marie Miyashiro is an internationally recognized business consultant, facilitator, writer, keynote speaker and Nonviolent Communication practitioner, with over 28 years of experience. Marie speaks on topics related to collaboration in organizations. Marie served as lead speaker for the 2011 Making Collaboration Real conference in San Francisco, California, and her keynote engagements have included the University of Arizona’s convocation for the College of Fine Arts. Marie has been selected as a keynote speaker for the 2012 Association of Partners for Public Lands convention in Las Vegas, Nevada. As president and founder of Tucson-based consulting firm, Elucity Network, Inc., Marie has developed and coordinated award-winning business outreach programs for public works and transportation projects with the Arizona Department of Transportation, City of Tucson Department of Transportation, Pima County Department of Transportation, Pima County Wastewater Management Department and the Town of Marana. Nationally and internationally, she has worked with Fortune 500 companies, small businesses, nonprofits, universities and government agencies throughout the U.S., as well as in Canada, Asia and India, and with clients from Japan to Indonesia.

This seems like a vast improvement over my general "throw it in a bag with tissue paper" gift-wrapping policy.

[The Hairpin]

It looks like we have maps (finally), but will fans of either major political party be happy?