On Friday, Sept. 13, Arizona Highways magazine announced its October 2013 edition would not be available on newsstands because the magazine mistakenly identified the fly agaric mushroom as edible.

From our home state publication:

The fly agaric mushroom should not be consumed in its raw form because of its unpredictable psychotropic and physical effects.

“This issue will not be sold on newsstands, and we are alerting our subscribers to the mistake. We regret the error,” said Win Holden, publisher of Arizona Highways magazine.

The mushroom—one of those classic fungi that you'd find in a fairy tale—can cause kidney and liver failure and evidently includes magic properties.

From Shroomery:

Are your summer flowers in your desert pots looking really sad right now? With a little effort, many can be pruned back to encourage new growth and prolific blooms for the next couple of months while we wait for the cooling temperatures of late October and November. Flowers such as vinca, pentas, Rudbeckia (the Black Eyed Susan family), summer snaps, (Angelonia,) Gallardia and salvias will all respond very well to pruning back to new growth. Zinnias and if you still have them, marigolds, if in poor shape, will need to be pulled.

Foliage plants such as coleus and sweet potato vine (Ipomoea batatas) will also benefit from a pruning. If you have sweet potato vine, and it is wilting during the day regardless of how often you water, it is just hot! A good hair cut will help the root system succeed in supplying the water needed to keep the plant happy all day long.

Depending on the amount of “empty” space in the soil due to removal of low life plants, you can decide if the other plants will fill in or if you need to add a few things. A trip to your local nursery will provide you with some possibilities of good plants to keep you growing through the rest of our long summer.

Be sure you continue to water your pots deeply during the varying degree days of the valley desert. It is even more important at this time of year to feed your flowering plants as the pots have been depleted of their nutrients from the constant watering they receive. Use a water soluble fertilizer as we have previously discussed in our articles

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Marylee is the founder and former owner of Tucson’s The Contained Gardener. With more than 15 years of successfully designing and growing potted gardens in the desert’s challenging and oftentimes harsh climate, Marylee has become known as the Desert’s Potted Garden Expert. Marylee is available for digital consultations and you can always email her with comments and questions. Follow The Potted Desert on Facebook!

While Chad Campbell has been both entertaining and competent as an Arizona legislator, his prospective run for the Democratic nomination to succeed Jan Brewer never seemed to get off the ground, partially because he doesn't have great name recognition outside of Phoenix. However, he announced on Facebook that he's leaving the Democratic side of the race for the governor's office to Fred DuVal:

It’s been no secret that for the last few months I have been considering running for Governor of Arizona. Our analysis, as well as independent polling, confirms that I would be in a very strong position if I entered the race. I have talked with Arizonans across the state about the need to move Arizona in a new direction. We must focus on job creation, improving our education system and instilling transparency at all levels of government. However, there are other issues that need to be considered outside of purely political factors when deciding whether or not to run. It is with these considerations in mind that I have decided to not run for Governor of Arizona at this time. This decision was not made lightly. I need to focus on my family and other new business opportunities that will allow me to improve communities not only in Arizona, but also across the nation. To the countless number of people across Arizona who have encouraged me to run, I cannot thank you enough. While I look forward to serving my last year in the Arizona Legislature as the House Democratic Leader, this decision by no means marks the end of my public service. I will continue looking at all options in the future to determine how best I can serve Arizona.

Local comedians Mike Sterner and Bridgette Thum joined forces with the The Loft Cinema to create a free weekly comedy night. Thus, Happy Tuesdays was born. Every Tuesday a local comedian or comedy group hosts different hour long variety shows in Mooney’s Back Lot (behind the new digital theater three). I host “Viva La Viral” on the third Tuesday of every month. I perform some standup then show my favorite viral videos people have sent me or I discovered throughout the month.

There's special local personality at every show to share their favorite videos. This month’s guest is Jacob Breckenridge. Breckenridge is the co-host of “The Switch” a monthly improv comedy show at Plush Tucson and he’s comic book writer and artist.

All the Happy Tuesday shows are all ages (but the theater encourages that folks don’t bring children 3 and younger; get a babysitter) and free, but seating is limited. Come relax on either on the love seats, comfy chairs, and satisfy your thirst at the well-stocked bar. The doors open at 8 p.m.

Check out the Loft’s website for all the details.

My colleagues over at Arizona Public Media are presenting the first part of Latino Americans, a six-episode documentary about the experience of Latinos in the Americas. From AZPM:

This six-part documentary chronicles the lives and experiences of Latinos in the United States from 1500 to the 21st century. Through its people, politics and culture, Latino Americans tells the story of early settlement, conquest and immigration; of tradition and reinvention; of anguish and celebration; and of the gradual construction of a new American identity from diverse sources that connects and empowers millions of people today. Narrated by actor Benjamin Bratt, the series utilizes the accounts of historical figures and events as well as present-day interviews with nearly 100 Latinos — from best-selling authors, entrepreneurs and pop cultural celebrities to political leaders and everyday people, as well as historians and other experts.

It airs at 8 p.m. tonight and repeats at 2 p.m. on Friday.

More Latino programming this month as part of Hispanic Heritage Month:

Hi Fi Kitchen and Cocktails, a restaurant concept that debuted in Scottsdale back in late March, is opening a location in Tucson early next year.

Looking at the menu one can reasonably prepare to shell out around $15 per burger or $10 per salad. One will also find a selection of alcohol-spiked milkshakes with various additions stirred in. These and other foods can be enjoyed in the company of lots of pretty women, if the general theme of the restaurant's Facebook page is a factual representation of how things go down in Hi Fi land.

Check out the restaurant's website here. We're waiting for a call back from the management and will be back with more details when we have them.

If you like zombie comedies, I mean, if you really like zombie comedies. The Arizona Film Festival is screening Buck Wild tonight at 8 p.m. in the Screening Room, 127 E. Congress St.

Craig Thompson’s idyllic hunting trip with his two buddies and unstable cousin is wrecked after hearing that his fiancé and best man‐to‐be have been cavorting behind his back. To make matters worse, his cousin appears on the verge of a murderous rampage, while a rapidly-spreading Chupacabra virus is turning locals into the undead. After shooting the ranch owner, drugging the Game Warden, and narrowly escaping an insidious hillbilly gang, the friends must not only survive an impending zombie apocalypse but each other.

The trailer looks appealing and gives that John Dies In The End absurdity. All you Wishbone fans will recognize Joe Stevens from his unforgettable performance in the classic "Flea Bitten Bargain" episode. The website says there will post film Q & A with writer/actor Matthew Albrecht, actor Jarrod Pistilli and Dru Lockwood. The film is playing with a 7 minute short film called "Elegy" by Chris and Eduardo Ramirez.

Get your tickets here and check out the rest of the AZUFF schedule before it's too late. The festival ends this Saturday.

Ken Brazzle attended most of the biggest sports events in Tucson during the last 20 or so years that the print version of the Tucson Citizen existed. But you'd never know it unless you read the paper the next day.

Brazz, as most everyone knew him, was one of those blend-into-the-background media types. He was there to cover the story, not be a part of it. He had no biases—except maybe to have those late-summer Tucson Sidewinders games end a little earlier, and without causing him to have to change his lede—and would cover pretty much whatever you wanted him to.

Ken Brazzle passed away last week, right around his 63rd birthday. Word of his death didn't start spreading until the weekend, when former Citizen sports editor Mike Chesnick posted the news and the remembrances from ex-Citizen staffers started flooding in.

Brazz was just finishing up a six-month stint with USA Today when I started my journalism career in Tucson, back in 1995 at the Citizen as a high school football "correspondent." He'd been the prep editor before that, and was glad to pass on guidance and advice for covering high school kids. Though I moved over to the morning daily in 1999, I still saw Brazz all over, and loved every moment of it.

Brazz, a native Texan, left the business when the Citizen folded but remained in Tucson, where among other things he served as a deacon in his church.

A memorial service for Brazzle is set for 11 a.m. Saturday at Grace Temple Baptist Church, 1018 E. 31st St.

Last night, in the wake of yesterday's shooting at the Washington Navy Yard that resulted in the death of 13 people, members of the media went all in on trying to understand the suspected shooter, Aaron Alexis (partially because of requests from authorities for more information on Alexis and partially because web traffic), resulting in this story-pushing tweet from The Wall Street Journal:

Suspect in Navy Yard shootings was skilled in first-person shooting videogames, says friend. http://t.co/pwKTaU5wsd— Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) September 17, 2013

The article itself is an interview of an associate of Alexis, who met him at a Buddhist temple. The two became fast friends, sharing a place to live, helping each other move and drinking together. Granted, the headline plays into the cultural narrative claiming that video games are the source of all our world's ills ("Another friend, Michael Ritrovato, a government worker, said he witnessed Mr. Alexis playing first-person shooting games online," which probably isn't the greatest information one could cherry pick from an interview, probably), but that's a rant for another time — probably in about three hours, when Headline News and its ilk lose momentum and they tie the release of Grand Theft Auto V to the incident, somehow.

Later on, an interview from HLN's Dr. Drew On Call tries to paint a picture of Aaron Alexis as someone who was mentally unstable, filled with rage, a quiet sociopath haunted by PTSD from his time aiding in rescue efforts after 9/11...only the show's guest, a friend of Alexis, didn't bite, noting over and over that he was beloved by the patrons of the restaurant in which he worked, and that Alexis was just as affectionate toward them. 

Everyone searches for answers during times like these, after tragedies in which a person goes on a shooting rampage that erases the lives of dozens. TV is blamed, movies are blamed, military service is blamed, video games and books and music are blamed...but even if those could be considered contributing factors, Alexis was just a guy who worked, drank beer, played video games and prayed at his local Buddhist temple.

We might not know what caused the shooting at the Navy Yard — not for some time, at least. But for now, it seems that Aaron Alexis, for all of his faults and issues, was a regular guy like the rest of us.

Which is, honestly, the scariest trait a mass shooter could have.

Yes, they're one of the most successful rock bands of all time, but I think most sane people can agree that The Eagles are a scourge upon humanity. Not just musically, but in general. Someone should have done something to stop them when there was still time to nip things in the bud, but now we have to suffer through songs like "Life in the Fast Lane" forever. However, one North Charleston, South Carolina woman was taken to the limit one too many times:

A North Charleston woman is accused of wielding a knife in an assault on her roommate after he refused to stop listening to rock music by the Eagles Monday night.

Vernett Bader, 54, of Brossy Circle, is charged with criminal domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature.

North Charleston police responded to Bader’s home late Monday concerning a reported stabbing, an incident report states.

The woman’s 64-year-old roommate was nursing stab wounds to his arm, hand and elbow, police said.

The wounded man told police that Bader grew angry with him while he was listening to the Eagles and watching television with his brother.

Bader told her roommate she didn’t want to listen to the band. He responded by telling her to shut up, the report states.

To be clear, at the Tucson Weekly, we don't advocate violence, but if I ended up on this woman's jury, she'd walk.