This new Dewar's scotch advertisement using the Charles Bukowski poem "So You Want to be a Writer" is beautifully done and the narrator's voice is cool, although it would be even more beautiful with Bukowski's smoke-singed voice. But you know what I do have a problem with? And I know this going to seem very un-Bukowski, but he won't care, believe me. I have a problem with the fact that you don't see a woman on the screen until towards the end and only for a second.

They couldn't find cool women doing cool things? Women don't drink scotch? Shit, tell that to my mother.

I know: Guys have their things and gals have their things. But sometimes, wouldn't it be nice if everyone came to the conclusion that we aren't that much different from each other? We like the same paychecks. We like writing and life's big adventures, just like the ones shown in the Dewar's video.

I guess it's just been one of those weeks, and of course reading the bust.com blog doesn't help matters when their writers point out what they consider to be the most misogynistic article of all time. So, yeah, I'm on my feminist soap box. Deal with it.

By Sophia Solis
Cronkite News Service
Wed Sep 25, 2013 6:54 PM

Bank of America Corp. keeps foreclosed houses in Tucson’s minority neighborhoods in poorer condition than foreclosures in predominantly White areas, a national advocacy group said Wednesday.

The Washington, D.C.-based National Fair Housing Alliance made that claim in expanding a complaint it filed last year with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The initial complaint alleged unequal treatment of foreclosed houses in Phoenix and 12 other metropolitan areas. The amended complaint adds Tucson; Memphis, Tenn.; Denver; Las Vegas and Philadelphia.

Janell Byrd-Chichester, an attorney representing the group and its member agencies, said failing to maintain foreclosed houses can violate the federal Fair Housing Act by reinforcing differences in property values between predominantly White and minority neighborhoods.

Republican Ed Martin evidently plans to announce tomorrow that he wants a chance to challenge Congressman Ron Barber in Congressional District 2.

Martin, a onetime spokesman for former U.S. senator Alfonse D'Amato, has been an occasional guest host for Best of Tucson(TM) award-winning radio show host Jon Justice since moving to Arizona.

Martin plans to make an announcement regarding his candidacy at the Green Valley Republican Club at 9:30 tomorrow morning and will speak again to a reception of supporters at the Omni Tucson National Resort at 5:30 p.m. While the press release does not say he will run, we would think it odd to have two events announcing that he's not running, so we're guessing that he's in the race.

Martin is getting into the race ahead of Martha McSally, the former combat pilot who narrowly lost to Barber in 2012.

Our thumbnail analysis of the race from The Skinny a few weeks back:

Another question yet to be answered: Will McSally face a primary? We hear that Ed Martin, an occasional fill-in radio host for morning-talk jock Jon Justice, has been talking about running as well. Martin is a New York transplant with experience working as a press secretary for U.S. Sen. Alfonse D'Amato, among other gigs.

A primary could be trouble for McSally. Southern Arizona's GOP voters have leaned toward voting for the most conservative candidate in the primary. Given that dynamic, McSally will likely have to hang onto the very conservative positions she took in 2012 (such as opposing abortion in all cases except rape, incest and when a mother's life is in danger, or supporting an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would limit marriage to one man and one woman) rather than moderating herself for greater appeal to independents in the district.

We'll have more in next week's print edition, but here's Martin's rather minimalist website.

EDITED TO ADD: One of Martin's supporters let us know that he has a much more extensive website up here. Our apologies for not noticing it sooner.

It also appears that, following Martin's entrance into the race on Friday, McSally wants to make her campaign official as well. On her Facebook page, she's promising "an exciting announcement" this week.

The Flandrau Science Center is known for its world-class mineral museum, marine biology exhibits, and trippy laser light shows.

This weekend is your last opportunity to catch ELECTROLAZE at Southern Arizona’s only Planetarium Theater. Feast your eyes on the laser effects to the music of Skrillex, deadmau5 and Daft Punk at 8 p.m. Friday and 5:30 p.m. on Saturday for the early birds.

This is it folks. You can catch the last episode of AMC's Breaking Bad at 7:45 p.m. this Sunday at Espresso Art Café, 944 E University Blvd.

This is ideal if you're like me and wait for the latest season to hit Netflix, but can't wait that long because the internet and all your friends keep spoiling the show for you. I'm not sure if I want to sit in a roomful of college kids blowing smoke in my face, but I can't afford cable and my options are limited.

• Espresso Art Café Facebook Page

While I generally agree with the morning daily's point that GOP legislative leaders are barking up the wrong tree—and wasting taxpayer dollars—in their latest attack on the Independent Redistricting Commission, I can't help but scratch my head about this assertion in today's Star editorial:

While districts can never be completely equal, the redistricting commission has done a good job of balancing the requirements it must work under (see box). A quick look at the latest Arizona voter registration report, which notes voters’ party affiliation, shows no district has an insurmountable advantage for either party.

Looking at congressional races since the commission was established, the balance of power has fluctuated between Republicans and Democrats. These shifts are as it should be. There should be no “safe district” for any party if we hope to have lawmakers compromise for the good of all.

No district has an insurmountable edge? That must have been a very quick look at the latest voter registration counts. How about Congressman Raul Grijalva's district, where 123,000 voters are Democrats and 61,000 are Republicans? Or Congressman Paul Gosar's district, where 155,000 voters are Republicans and 78,000 are Democrats? Or Pima County's Legislative District 3, where 42,000 voters are Democrats and just 14,600 voters are Republicans?

The competitive districts remain a rarity in Arizona, despite independent redistricting. Only three of the nine congressional districts are competitive (and they were all close races in 2012). And here's a breakdown of competitiveness viewed in various ways developed by the Independent Redistricting Commission itself, which clearly shows only a handful of the 30 legislative districts are competitive. There are reasons for that, based on geography, communities of interest, and other factors, but let's face it: If every district were competitive, our legislative races would be a lot more interesting. Arguing that there are no "safe districts" suggests a laugh-out-loud misunderstanding of the basics of Arizona's political landscape.

We have two 4 tickets packs to for An Evening of Pink Floyd: TSO Rocks the Fox show next month.

Celebrate the 40th anniversary of the release of Pink Floyd’s legendary Dark Side of the Moon with the TSO at the Fox Tucson Theatre on Friday, October 11 at 8:00 p.m. Experience classic rock masterpieces including “Money,” “Us and Them,” “Speak to Me/Breathe in the Air” and “Time” with full orchestra. The first half of the program will feature hits from Pink Floyd’s other blockbuster, The Wall, including the No. 1 single, “Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2,” “Run Like Hell” and “Comfortably Numb.”

The 6th annual Arizona Underground Film Festival wrapped up on Saturday night after a week of thrills, spills, and chills. While I wasn't able to attend every screening, I caught a few flicks of note. Check it out.

If you picked up this week's copy of the Tucson Weekly, you may have seen our Nine Questions Interview with George Nardo. Nardo is the owner of and lead audio engineer at one of Tucson’s most well-known recording studios, the Luna Recording Studio. He has been a dedicated musician since the ’60s, written songs for platinum albums, and toured everywhere from Hollywood to London. As it turns out, George had more to say than what we could cover in our short Nine Questions—a lot more. The Tucson Weekly dropped him a line and, last Thursday, I stopped by the studio to pick his brain about the Beatles, rappers stuck in the eighties, and his take on new vs. old-school equipment.

How did you get into the music business?

I got into this when the Beatles came on Ed Sullivan. It was just amazing— the British Invasion—the songs that were happening at that time were just incredible. It really captured my heart and soul, and that’s what I’ve been doing, I’ve been a professional musician and audio engineer since I graduated high school.

I see kind of a mixture of what I would consider old-school equipment and then some newer stuff here too. Analog or digital, what’s your preference?

I love the sound of vintage analog equipment, so I have a studio that has vintage analog front-end, vintage microphones... then I put it all into the latest DAW (digital audio workstation). So I have the best of both worlds, I have the big fat sound of analog and the editing ability of digital. It’s a nice combination.

How do you bring hip-hop into a studio like this?

There are a few hip-hop artists that I actually make the beats for and we spend time going through the lyrics and spend time with the performance. They’re very thoughtful, they’re very concerned about how they sound—what they have to say. And then the other 90 percent are "pop a cap in your dome," they’re still in the ’80s. Still gangsta.

I really love this new video on Tucson Meet Yourself, probably because it's one of my favorite Tucson events to share with friends and my son. Every year is a different experience for us because my son experiences it differently as he grows older—what foods he's more willing to try, what crafts he's interested in and what music he wants to sit and listen to.

This year's festival in downtown's El Presidio Park is from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, Oct. 11, and Saturday, Oct. 12, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 13.

To honor the festival's 40th anniversary, UA Special Collections is doing a retrospective exhibit, 40 Years of Tucson Meet Yourself, at 1510 E. University Blvd. through Jan. 10, 2014.

See the interview with Bob Diaz below: