Saturday, Oct. 27 is National Pit Bull Awareness Day, where groups of pit bull lovers and fans around the country have vowed to come together to celebrate and support the breed.

A group of Tucsonans will be celebrating the day with an invitation-only screening of Guilty 'Til Proven Innocent, an Ohio-based documentary film focusing on the creation of breed-restrictive laws targeting pit bulls and similar dog breeds. That will be taking place at the Loft Cinema, starting at 10 a.m. For an invitation to the screening, which I have been told by organizers was put in place to preserve the film's ability to be screened as a debut at film festivals, send inquiries to [email protected].

Alternately, Lincoln Park, 4325 S. Pantano Road, is set to host the Walk for Victims of Pit Bulls and Other Dangerous Dogs, which is set to begin at noon and end at 7 p.m. that evening. The walk is dedicated to raising awareness and support for victims of attacks by pit bulls and "other violent breeds."

This is from walkforvictimsofpitbulls.blogspot.com (Warning: The site features graphic images of people and children who were attacked by dogs):

Please come and join us, and show your support by walking for the VICTIMS of pit bull and other dangerous dog attacks. Most often when these dogs attack, maul or kill children, adults or family pets, the support seems to be misplaced onto the attacking dog/s to be euthanized, rather than where it should be...on the VICTIM. It is time that the voice of the VICTIMS and their families be heard to promote public awareness and help reduce the number of these attacks.

Caps Lock abuse aside, this event is notable if only for the fact that the site for the walk has made it explicitly clear that dogs are absolutely unwelcome at the event. Also from walkforvictimsofpitbulls.blogspot.com:

Please leave your dogs at home while joining us to walk for victims. This is most importantly for the safety of the walkers and for the safety of your dogs.

DOGS ARE NOT ALLOWED AT THE WALK

Tucson Police Officers WILL BE present at the Walk to ensure safety, and Animal Control will be called to escort any unruly visitors off the property and confiscate any unruly Pit Bulls or Other Dangerous Dogs.

We have rented ramadas in the park and reserve the RIGHT to refuse entrance to unruly visitors and DOGS within our "Exclusive Area."

It doesn't appear that there will be much conflict between the two groups, but it's interesting to note (and likely no accident) that both events will be occurring on the same day.

The makers of the fun novelty web browser add-on Unbaby.me, which hides pictures of your friends' children in your Facebook feed and replaces them with "awesome stuff" have partnered with Buzzfeed to introduce a new, election-season-based add-on:

Unpolitic.me does the same thing as unbaby.me, though instead of removing baby pictures, it pulls posts on Facebook or Twitter related to political topics by scanning keywords and replaces those posts with pictures of adorable and/or awesome things. But more than that, it works on Buzzfeed as well, removing all of their political posts and replacing them with adorable animals.

For an example, check out Tucson Weekly's Twitter timeline, with before and after shots:

• Now you see 'em...

• ...Now you don't. It's like magic, with more cat pictures!

Of course, this has raised questions as to the future of targeted media consumption—David Holmes of PandoDaily talks about that here—which is a subject that definitely merits future consideration. But, let's be honest: That's a problem for the future-us. Let's live in the moment; one that brings us pictures of adorable and/or awesome things, practically on demand.

For more, check out unbaby.me for the link. Keep in mind though, the add-on is available only for Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome users. Sorry Internet Explorer fans; you'll just have to get your cat pictures the old fashioned way.

Hey folks, it appears that Black Crown Coffee Co., raised from the ashes (and tar) of the original Safehouse Espresso Bar, is now open at Safehouse's old location, 4024 E. Speedway.

Scott Hirsch, Black Crown's owner, has been working like a man possessed alongside a number of Safehouse regulars who volunteered their time to put the new place back together.

I haven't been down to the refreshed digs, but having walked around mid-remodel with Hirsch a few weeks ago, I can tell you that the reconstruction has been a labor of love for all of those involved.

This was posted yesterday, on Black Crown's Facebook page:

You all are absolutely amazing. Opening this business was terrifying and exciting at the same time. There were so many moments where we thought we had to throw in the towel and walk away. Every step towards opening the doors was met with huge amounts of problems, there is no way we could have done this without the massive amount of support, hard work, and dedication from all of you. From the bottom of our hearts here at Black Crown... thank you.

Good stuff. For more info, give their Facebook page a look here — or just head down there and grab a cup tonight.

This list of ads, curated by Foreign Policy, is filled with spots so awful that they headlined their post with "Clicking This Will Make You Stupider" (which was, coincidentally, one of the original names for a blog of mine in high school).

The above comes from the "pro-Newt Gingrich" Super PAC Winning Our Future — for those not brave enough to sit through it, it depicts a future in which America is in shambles. Abandoned buildings are everywhere, people are collapsed in the street, everything looks as if it's being seen through a greyscaling color-filter...in other words, the ad makes America look like it's Detroit.

(rim shot)

Foreign Policy has this to say on the ad:

First there was Rick Santorum's Obamaville ad, which took viewers on a tour of a dystopian future America menaced by a nuclear Iran (in what some interpreted as a subliminal message, President Obama appears for a split second on a television screen flashing images of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad). Now Newt Gingrich's Super PAC, Winning Our Future, is out with an ad that paints an even more dire picture if Obama wins reelection. With the help of soaring music and apocalyptic images, we're told that by 2016 the Middle East will burst into flames, Iran will go nuclear, and gas will be rationed. Never mind that four years into Obama's presidency, the world has yet to end. He'll have more flexibility in a second term, people.

Okay, that writer appears to have gone a bit left-apologetic there (and considering the weird brands of socialism I've been accused of since I've been here, that's saying something), but that doesn't make this ad any less ridiculous.

For the other nine terrible, no-good, very-dumb ads, check out Foreign Policy's write-up here.

Since developer-turned-illogically-popular-celebrity Donald Trump made clear on Wednesday that his Barack Obama-related "bombshell" was a dud of an offer to charity, Trump had been getting a healthy dose of mockery directed his way.

First, Adam Gabbatt at the UK's Guardian newspaper called Trump with what seems to be a very fair request: Since he's calling Obama one of the least transparent politicians in our history, why not open up his own records to the public? After all, Trump mulled over a presidential run of his own before deciding to stand on the sidelines.

Strangely, Trump and his people took issue with the newspaper's counter-offer.

From Guardian.co.uk:

Trump announced on Wednesday that he would donate $5m to a charity of Obama's choosing, if the president handed over his "college records and applications, and passport application and records".

But when the Guardian contacted Trump's office to ask for Trump's college and passport records, it was accused of "trying to be funny" and the request was deemed to be "stupid".

"I tell you what, he'll provide them to you when you provide yours to him," said Michael Cohen, executive vice president at the Trump Organization and special counsel to Trump, in what began as a friendly encounter.

I readily agreed to the deal, and offered to provide my college records and passport-application records to the Trump office for inspection. That seemed to prompt a change of heart.

"But what's your point? Mr Trump's not the president of the United States and he's not running for the presidency," Cohen said. "And pretty much all you need to do is go to one of the thousand different books that Mr Trump has been featured in or has written and so on, and you could learn more about him than you know about pretty much anybody on the planet."

Which, of course, isn't the point, but who's to let a little thing like that ruin a good publicity stunt?

The story goes on to feature a longer back-and-forth between Cohen and Gabbatt which ends when Cohen makes an offer that he thought Gabbatt wouldn't accept:

...I attempted to steer the conversation back to the original suggestion — that Trump would turn over his records in exchange for mine, for free. Cohen promised that he would "take it up with Mr Trump".

"And by the way, while we're at it, I'd like to have all your authorisations under HIPAA, for all your medical records as well," Cohen said.

Happy to oblige, I asked for an address. But Cohen hung up.

But it doesn't stop there: Comedy Central's resident pundit parody Stephen Colbert made a classic offer of his own — but, considering that the video's language isn't exactly work-friendly, we're dropping that video below the jump.

Note that "dropping" is, indeed, the appropriate word in the context of this situation.

"Divas and Doctors" is the theme for the AIDS Ribbon Tucson's "AIDS Entry" walk at this year's All Souls Procession on Sunday, Nov. 4. Ribbon is reaching out to the community to reach out to more volunteers who would like to join them in their walk.

"We will be paying tribute to drag queens and performers, as well as those in the medical profession who have given so much of themselves in the fight against HIV/AIDS," said Jeffrey Scott Brown, one of the faces of AIDS Ribbon Tucson.

Along the route, which is now (because of the modern streetcar construction) from Congress Street and 4th Avenue to Mercado San Agustin on West Congress Street and Avenida Convento, Ribbon participants will collect written prayers from spectators to then burn them in a ceremonial urn onstage, and then hold up a huge red ribbon, which symbolizes HIV/AIDS awareness.

The organization wants to remind the community that HIV/AIDS affect thousands of people in Tucson, and millions around the world.

Brown would love for everyone who has been touched by the disease, and even those who haven't, to join them at the procession and remind everyone that HIV/AIDS is not necessarily a death sentence anymore. With support from friends, family and organizations such as AIDS Ribbon Tucson, people have been able to live with it and make a difference in others' lives.

If you would like to volunteer with AIDS Ribbon Tucson message Brown on Facebook, and he will give you more information. The color theme this year is white, so wear white clothing!

Walking advocates spent an afternoon hosting a Walking Workshop this week. Find out what a Walking Workshop is and what they discussed.

The 2012 Regional Bike and Pedestrian Count wrapped up yesterday. Construction may throw off some of the numbers this year. Did you get counted? Let us know.

Like bicycles? Like scavenger hunts? Combine them during the Headless Hunt and raise money for a El Grupo Youth Cycling.

You are in luck if you missed Kidical Mass earlier this month. Check out the details on the second ride happening this weekend.

Gilberto Valle, 28 and a six-year veteran of the New York Police Department, is being accused of planning to kidnap and eat people, using his police database to identify and target as many as 100 women.

According to CBS New York:

Valle’s alleged barbaric plot involved months of scheming with at least two co-conspirators online to abduct women, kill them, and eat their cooked remains, the FBI said.

“As it came together and they followed these discussions going through the summer, about kidnapping individual people, they had monitoring these chat rooms and then yesterday arrested Valle,” CBS News Senior Correspondent John Miller said.

Let's pause; I'm astounded that they thought that chat rooms, of any variety, are a safe place to discuss anything, much less cannibalistic crimes.

Valle talked about his sick plot in an online chat:

“How big is your oven?” a co-conspirator asks.

“Big enough to fit one of these girls if I folded their legs….The abduction will have to be flawless…I know all of them…as for Victim #1, I can just show up at her home unannounced. It will not alert her, and I can knock her out, wait until dark, and kidnap her right out of her home,” Valle says.

A co-conspirator says: “How could we put her over the fire, spitting kills the girl. Have to put her in kind of cage. What is your favorite cut of meat.”

Valle responds: “I was thinking of tying her body to some kind of apparatus… cook her over low heat, keep her alive as long as possible.”

And that's where this story takes a turn from strange to straight-up wrong.

Upon obtaining Valle's computer, federal investigators found detailed documents detailing files for more than 100 potential targets, as well as at least one complete kidnapping blueprint. They also uncovered a plan in which Valle would have been paid $5,000 to kidnap a second victim.

Officially, Valle is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit kidnapping, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. He is also charged with one count of intentionally and knowingly accessing a computer without authorization and exceeding his authorized access for allegedly using police computers to locate potential victims, officials said.

I'd say that Valle appears to have bit off more than he could chew with this plan, but that'd probably be in bad taste.

For the complete story, head over to CBS New York.

• Jim Nintzel
• Calexico at Portland's Aladdin Theatre, 10/21/12

My travels in the Pacific Northwest last week happened to coincide with a couple of Calexico shows, so I got a preview of what’s on tap at the concert at the Rialto Theatre this Friday, Oct. 26.

Here’s my takeaway: If you’re a fan of Calexico, you need to get your ass to Friday’s show.

Sure, you may have seen a lot of Calexico over the last few years, what with their concerts in conjunction with the All Soul’s Procession, the Festival en el Barrio and the other one-off performances they’ve been doing here and there.

But the show that Calexico is bringing to town tomorrow features a lot of songs from the new album Algiers. While there are plenty of old warhorses mixed in—“Across the Wire,” “Crystal Frontier,” “Guero Canelo” and more—the Calexico concert experience has been refreshed and rejuvenated with the new material.

Both at Seattle's Neptune Theater and Portland's Aladdin Theater, Calexico opened with “Epic,” the song that also opens Algiers. And new tunes like “Splitter,” “Sinner in the Sea” and the show-closing “Puerto” simply explode as rock anthems when they’re played live.

The touring band has set up John Convertino’s drums at the front of the stage, so his expert craftsmanship is on display alongside Joey Burns’ guitar work. Tucson’s Jacob Valenzuela and Germany’s Martin Wenk continue to mix and match with trumpets, vibes, accordion and whatever else happens to be onstage. Sergio Mendoza is the master of the keyboards, newcomer Ryan Alfred is handling the bass and Spain’s Jairo Zavala is lighting it up on electric guitar. The chemistry works—you can see it in the smiles on their faces as they play each concert.

I’m sure we can expect plenty of special guests to join them here in Tucson. On the road, I saw some astounding collaborations: In Seattle, Devotchka came out to join them on “Corona” (as well as “Para,” from Algiers), which was an unforgettable encore. In Portland, Steve Berlin of Los Lobos came out to play saxophone with the band on “Splitter” and Luzelena Mendoza of Y La Bamba provided vocals for “He Lays In The Reins.” At both shows, Portland’s Laura Gibson joined Burns for a haunting duet of Leonard Cohen’s “Waiting for the Miracle.”

My advice: If you like Calexico, you’re gonna love this show. The Dodos open.

It all starts at 8 p.m. at downtown’s Rialto Theatre. Tickets are $22 today and $24 tomorrow, unless you want to spend an extra 10 bucks on balcony seats. You’ll find the details here.

(Of course, if you're in the Phoenix area, you'll have a chance to see them Saturday and Sunday nights at the Crescent Ballroom. Details here.)

Sometimes exciting things do happen on the internets, such as last night's announcement that author and Mexican-American studies champion Luis Alberto Urrea returns to Tucson for a Day of the Dead celebration at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 1, at the UA Student Union.

Praise the literature gods!

Press release from the UA Bookstore and the Confluencenter for Creative Inquiry:

A celebration of Day of the Dead (“Día de los Muertos”), including traditional Mexican food and entertainment and Day of the Dead altars created by UA students will be held on Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012 at the University of Arizona Student Union Memorial Center beginning at 4 p.m. All events are free and open to the public and sponsored by Confluencenter for Creative Inquiry.

Luis Urrea, a member of the Latino Literature Hall of Fame, will join in the festivities at the University of Arizona BookStores, Student Union Memorial Center in the lower level, speaking with the UA students who have designed their own Day of the Dead Altars for the occasion and meeting with the public. The altars, traditional remembrances of the deceased, will be on display at the bookstore through Nov. 3.

The festivities begin at 4 p.m. and will include performances by Grupo Folklórico Miztontli and Las Aguilitas de Davis Mariachis. Traditional bread made for this holiday, “Pan de muerto” or Day of the Dead sweet bread, will be served along with hot chocolate at the bookstore event.

At 5:00 p.m., the mariachis and dancers will lead the audience in a procession to the Student Union Ballroom where Urrea will give a reading followed by a book signing. Along with the UA BookStores, the event is co-sponsored by Asian Pacific American Student Affairs/JEDI, Binational Migration Institute, Mexican American Studies, Chicano/Hispano Student Affairs and the Department of English.

A celebration of life and a way to honor deceased loved ones, Día de los Muertos is a 3,800-year-old indigenous Mexican tradition. It is a holiday that is gaining popularity in the United States. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have passed away. Despite its name, this holiday does not glorify death and is not associated in any way with Halloween. Rather, it is a time of reflection on and appreciation for life.

Chicano/Hispano Student Affairs (CHSA) is also holding a Día de los Muertos Celebration with altars created by CHSA students available for viewing in Chavez Building Room 211 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. with students available to answer questions about their altars from 12:15 to 3 p.m. Altars created by SEED teachers will be available for viewing in Chavez Building Room 205 from noon to 4 p.m. and the teachers will present the traditional altar at 12:20. At noon there will be a procession from the center of the UA Mall to the Chavez Building. The procession is open to all and will include a Catrina Hat contest. At 12:15 pm, the procession will arrive at Chavez Building where there will be refreshments including “Pan de muerto,” champurrado and chocolate on the second floor. Face painting will take place from 12:15 to 1 p.m. in Chavez Room 211.