The Boys and Girls Club of Tucson's annual fundraising gala, The Event, drew more than a thousand people to the La Encantada shopping center on Sunday night for an evening of food, music and philanthropy.

What wasn't on the original schedule, though, were fireworks.

A propane tank exploded during a cooking demonstration early on during The Event, resulting in four attendees suffering minor burns, Pima County Sheriff spokesman Dep. Tom Peine said. Two of the people were transported to a nearby hospital for further treatment.

Event organizers said the explosion caused only a minor disturbance to the fundraiser, which continued on as planned without any other incidents.

"It was literally a blip on the radar screen," said Lorraine Morgan, vice president of communications for the Boys and Girls Club. "The comments from our guests were that it was the best (Event) ever. It was a great fundraiser."

Sometimes, political ads make far, far less sense than they intend to. Take, for instance, this image, which is part of a campaign launching this week:

• via Buzzfeed

So, at first glance, can you tell exactly what they're getting at here? To be honest, my first impression was that the argument was that banning guns is on par with banning books — it took an explanation of the inclusion of Little Red Riding Hood (banned by two California school districts because Little Red Riding Hood was carrying wine in the basket she was taking to her grandmother), and a clarified version of the ad with new text at the bottom of the frame, to understand the point being made by Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America: that our society is so backwards that banning books to protect children makes more sense than banning weapons.

Because no one here has been bothered by potential book bans.

Yeah, the ads are reaching a bit, but that's not stopping them from going all in, as this ad is part of a much larger campaign:

Today, Moms Demand Action also launched a new PSA campaign, “Choose One,” a series of print ads featuring assault weapons alongside other objects that have been banned in America to protect child welfare, including Kinder Surprise eggs, the book “Little Red Riding Hood,” and the schoolyard game dodge ball. The ads, in conjunction with a video PSA, are being released through donated media on digital, broadcast and print channels.

Best of luck to them, but this campaign already seems a bit misplaced — I can hear the complaints about emotional pandering already.

Check out the video PSA below the jump, but be warned: it features some fairly emotional, possibly disturbing audio.

On tonight's AZ Illustrated Politics: Host Jim Nintzel, former Tucson City Council member Carol West, former Pima County Democratic Party chairman Jeff Rogers and GOP strategist Sam Stone talked about the Senate's debate on background checks for gun sales, the Arizona Legislature's push to expand the limits of campaign contributions, the ongoing debate over whether sustainability programs are part of a United Nations plot to steal away property rights, the city's efforts to bring police and fire pensions under control and Ward 2 chief of staff Katie Bolger's run-in with the cops.

It may have been over 40 years in the making, but Raymond Keen’s first volume of poetry hardly fails to resound in the here and now.

Love Poems for Cannibals, which Keen self-published using the Amazon company CreateSpace, is the result of decades of accumulated inspiration. His dabbling in writing began when Keen was finishing grad school in the early ‘60s, but hit a peak when he spent a year serving as a Navy clinical psychologist in Vietnam. He filled entire notebooks with “sentences and particles” during his time there, a rough framework of poetic snippets that resurfaced in 2011.

The framework began to evolve into a full volume of work, and in the meantime Keen’s work was published in a series of literary journals, including the American Poetry Review in 2005. Publishing a book, though, remained a goal, and CreateSpace proved a relatively easy outlet for achieving just that.

Described by Keen as at times “topical and political,” other times “dark and difficult,” the poetry of Love Poems for Cannibals is often a bitter reflection of a lifetime of experiences. Controversial figures from Richard Nixon to Charles Manson are referenced and routinely mocked, immersing readers in moments of history that often leave a bad taste their mouth.

This video is currently blowing up on YouTube, but it's honestly one of the better quick-hitting absurd videos I've seen in some time.

Enjoy.

Citing the proverbial desire to spend more time with his family, controversial Arizona Game and Fish Commissioner Jack Husted resigned his post yesterday. Most recently serving as chair of the commission, Husted had come under fire for his illegal poaching of a prairie dog out of season last year, and for his trenchant stances against the federal Endangered Species Act.

Here’s what Husted had to say in his resignation letter:

The Honorable Jan Brewer
Governor of Arizona
Office of the Governor
1700 West Washington
Phoenix AZ 85007

Dear Governor Brewer:

Having served in a volunteer capacity on several appointed boards and commissions in Arizona, I have enjoyed my public service opportunities and in particular my service on the Arizona Game and Fish Commission. I have worked hard over the past four years as a commissioner to strengthen the department’s role and responsibilities in managing and conserving our state’s wildlife, which is held in trust for our citizens. It has been humbling to stand alongside other commissioners and departmental staff to strengthen the governing pillars of wildlife management and conservation in our nation — the North American Model for Wildlife Conservation.

However, I have come to the realization that it is time to embark on a new chapter in my life, as a private citizen, with time to focus on my family, my faith and my professional endeavors. So with this letter, I tender my resignation as a commissioner on the Arizona Game and Fish Commission effective immediately. I am grateful and honored to have had the opportunity to serve your administration as a commissioner and sincerely thank you for the confidence you showed in appointing me.

Respectfully,

Jack Husted

The PDF version can be found herehere.

• s_bukley / Shutterstock.com
• Kid Rock in 2010, wearing some kind of former mammal.

Apparently, Kid Rock's business model for his new tour consists of charging $20 for tickets, anywhere you want to sit, from the front of the house to the back, as apparently everyone is equal in the world of Rock — and not only that, but he plans to pull random ticket holders from the crowd and move them up to the first rows as a special treat, and selling the next 18 rows via paperless ticketing. That happens to be the sticking point:

In places where it's legal, rows two through 18 will be only available via paperless ticketing. Unfortunately, many states have outlawed the practice, which infuriates Rock.

"That's one of the times I'm fucking embarrassed to be a Republican," he seethes. "It's fucking Republican lawmakers passing those laws, you dumbasses. They already did it in New York and they're trying to do it in Michigan. I've even called some of those guys to try and stop it."

Apparently, Rock tends to lean as much toward common-sense as he does any other ideology, according to this interview, saying that "athletes and musicians make astronomical amounts of money," according to Rolling Stone. He continues, saying "people get paid $100 million to throw a baseball! Shouldn't we all take less and pass some of that money onto others? Think about firefighters, teachers and policemen. We should celebrate people that are intellectually smart and trying to make this world a better place."

Even if you don't like Kid Rock (and if you don't, middle school David Mendez would have some very pointed but polite disagreements with you,) it's refreshing to hear a celebrity publicly say that, though they lean toward one side of the spectrum, they're willing to hear things on both sides.

Check out the rest of the interview at Rolling Stone.

When University of Arizona athletic director went to Twitter and Facebook to announce a "big announcement for the football program" via a Google Hangout live feed today, the interwebs quickly became a beehive of speculation.

New uniforms?

Stadium naming rights?

Replacing Wilbur with some Disney-created abomination that resembles the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland?

In the end, the news didn't turn out to be that earth-shattering, but still a big deal: Arizona and everyone's favor devoutly Mormon college, Brigham Young, announced a three-game football series that will include a neutral site game at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale.

The catch? None of this is happening for another three years.

The UA and BYU will meet in Glendale on a date to be announced (though likely around Labor Day weekend, to milk the most from the TV money teet) in 2016, with the Cougars coming to Tucson in 2018 and the Wildcats heading to scenic Provo, Utah in 2020.

The non-conference series is the first major football deal inked by Byrne since taking over the athletic department. Previous deals had been made with Nevada (2014 at home, 2015 in Reno), Texas-El Paso (2017-2018, sites TBD) and Hawaii (2019 in Hononlulu, 2020 in Tucson).

It was speculated the UA was trying to line up a big-time opponent to open the 2013 season, thus bringing in a big TV audience to christen a renovated Arizona Stadium complete with its fancy new seatbacks in the north end zone (seats that yours truly has secured a pair of for all six home games this fall). Many thought that foe would be West Virginia, where UA football coach Rich Rodriguez had gained so much previous fame and from where Rodriguez stole defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel.

Instead, we got another game against Northern Arizona to open the 2013 slate.

Don't be surprised if other major-level opponent series get locked in by Arizona in the next few years, especially if RichRod is able to keep the program moving in the positive direction it did in 2012. That could mean a much hoped-for matchup with Michigan, the school Rodriguez went to from West Virginia and flamed out at in three spectacularly bad seasons.

Some advice, though, UA schedule-makers: avoid Notre Dame. Despite the fact the Fighting Irish just aren't as good as their national reputation leads you to believe, they're also backer-outers. Just ask our neighbors to the north at Girls Gone Wild University and Casino, which is playing Notre Dame in Dallas this season but appears to have lost its 2014 home game against them Irish.

• Geraniums in All Their Glory

We also expect our geraniums to ‘brown out’ by late July and August. When this happens, cut them back to their lowest point and either shade them or plant some flowers around them to provide a natural shade. You will be rewarded by having fresh wonderful plants in the early fall. Be sure to let them dry somewhat between waterings as they don’t like their feet constantly wet!!

Cyclists around the region were honored this week at the Pedal the Pueblo awards breakfast. Find out who Tucson's advocates and commuters of the year.

Looking for a bike? Want to unload one of your own? Check out the spring Bike Swap this Sunday.

Bike Fest is this month and organizers are giving away prizes just for riding your bike. There is a new push to get people out for short trips. Find out how you can win.