• Bobby and Cynthia holding up copies of Forever Evil #1 written by Geoff Johns and art by David Finch and Richard Friend.

The Heroes and Villains crew is back with another thrilling review by Cynthia "Venom" Gerriets and Bobby "The Beast" Acosta.

Utterback Magnet Middle School students were given a letter from principal Cindy Mady last Friday, Dec. 13, to let parents know that the dozens of murals painted throughout the school's hallways "will no longer be present."

Here's a copy of the letter:
utterback_letter.pdf

"Utterback's halls will be repainted, which means the mural art that has decorated these halls will no longer be present. In preparation for this painting upgrade, action is being taken to memorialize these pieces of Utterback's culture. This week, members from the TUSD Magnet Office will be photographing the murals so they will be permanently remembered. These photographers will be collected into a portfolio and a slide show of the murals will be created."

Will the new murals be painted in their place by current students? A Range source said it's been discussed, but that each mural will have to go through an approval process. However, there's a plan for those photos taken of the murals according to the principal's letter, "eventually the photos of the murals will be framed and mounted and hanging in Utterback's hallways. The slide show will be available for playing in our front on performance nights."

Well, at least it's good to know the school will still have performance nights for dance, choir and drama classes. So, part of the magnet plan isn't only about figuring out how desegregation failed in TUSD's magnet schools all these years, but it's also about upgrading the schools, too? But keep in mind, Utterback is an arts magnet, which means it should be able to roll a little differently than other schools (the theater in the school is a district gem; it really is).

Due to the holidays, film events are a tad slow this week, but there’s still enough special programming to give you an excuse to ditch out on any awkward Christmas parties. Consider this your pass not to wear any ugly reindeer and snowflake sweaters if you don’t feel like it.

And who would want to wear one of those to Ken Russell’s hallucinogenic, bad-trip masterpiece Altered States? You’re liable to drop to your knees and start praying to a pulsating, crimson Rudolph nose while singing “Good King Wenceslas” at the top of your lungs. It’s playing at the Loft Cinema, 3233 E. Speedway Blvd, on Thursday, Dec. 19. Altered States, starring William Hurt as a professor who gulps down Ayahuasca and discovers physical evidence of devolution, is the second film in the “Loft Staff Selects” series, in which the floor-staff over at the theater curate their favorite movies one night a month. The movie starts at 9:00 p.m. Tickets are $6 and $5 for Loft members.

Do you love cats? Who doesn’t, right? You’d think it was ancient Egypt all over again with the amount of cats that take up my Facebook feed on a daily basis. You’re going to love the Internet Cat Festival playing at the Loft on Saturday, Dec. 21 at 7:00 p.m. This 75-minute feature spotlights cats doing what cats do best — being adorable. Make sure to show up early for this one; the Hermitage No-Kill Cat Shelter will have kitties on hand available for adoption! Tickets are regular admission prices. Go to loftcinema.com or call 795-0844 for more information.

On Friday, Dec. 20, the 1987 cult classic Can’t Buy Me Love is playing at the Fox Tucson Theatre, 17 W. Congress St. at 7:30 p.m. For those that don’t know, this lovable, endearing flick was filmed here in Tucson. Before he was McDreamy, Patrick Dempsey played Ronald Miller, the nerd with a heart of gold and a wad of cash who tries to buy his way in to the in-crowd. Watch as he woos actress Amanda Peterson at the Tucson Mall! Look at the jocks hanging out at Scoops, the old ice-cream joint on Speedway that’s now a Los Betos! Watch the the school bust out Paula Abdul-choreographed moves inside the Tucson High auditorium! Tickets are $7 and $5 for military, students and seniors. The whole shebang is a benefit for the Tucson High Spirit Line. Rah-Rah!

Ok, if you want to wear those Christmas sweaters, you have my permission to wear them when the Fox plays a double feature of A Christmas Story and It’s a Wonderful Life on Sunday, Dec. 22 at 2 p.m. and on Monday, Dec. 23 at 2 p.m. For admission prices and other info, visit foxtucsontheatre.org or call 547-3040. Happy holiday!

• Photo courtesy of Shutterstock

To feed your inner nerd, today I’m going to open up Pandora’s box. I’ve been boning up on well worn expressions, so today’s theme is the stories behind some of these sayings. If you have a bone to pick with this show, put a sock in it. That phrase originated with Old Victrolas, which didn’t have volume control, but did have those huge speakers, so when the kids played the music too loud, Dad would yell “put a sock in it!”

Kitty Katt McKinley is up to his old tricks: singing, dancing and making hilarious YouTube videos.

Kitty Katt and local model Katy Gierlach double as David Bowie and Bing Crosby to reenact the Little Drummer Boy duet in a deranged and hilarious fashion:

• Photo from Maker House Facebook page.

Maker House is getting creative and hosting a x-mas party at 4 p.m. this Friday, December 20, at its downtown mansion on 283 North Stone Ave.

There will be happy hour drink specials, adult jumping castles, rides in the real fire party truck and there will be a Santa Claus taking your last minute gift requests.

Last night, Weekly Web Lord Henry Barajas noted that the bust of John F. Kennedy appears to have been stolen from Downtown's El Presidio Park, and offered his suggestion for a replacement: President Barack Obama.



Now, I'm not necessarily disputing Henry's claim that Barry O is the best President that we've ever had, but I'm fairly certain that there's a sizable portion segment of Arizona's population that would regularly practice sledge hammer use on an Obama bust.



So, to keep the City and various potential bust donors from throwing their money away like sand into so many potholes, here's a quickly brainstormed list, without comment, of Tucsonans (and Tucsonans) we could bust-ify instead of Obama:

In what is certainly a harrowing experience for anyone in the area, a shootout occurred at the Bella Sirena condominiums this morning, with blog reports stating that a helicopter gunship was seen firing into the complex itself.

Currently, the U.S. Consulate is advising that American citizens in the area shelter in place.

Reports of large gun battle at Sandy Beach in #PuertoPenasco / #RockyPoint. USCits advised to shelter in place until gunfire is over.

— U.S. ConGen Nogales (@USCGNogales) December 18, 2013

El Imparcial is reporting that the state prosecutor, Carlos Navarro Sugich, has confirmed that four are dead, all "linked to organized crime" from a shootout that involved the Federal Police and the Navy.

UPDATE: If you're fairly proficient with the Spanish language, Lourdes Encinas Moreno, a reporter in Hermosillo, is collecting updates in Storify form.

UPDATE: The death count is now five, according to Sonora's Attorney General.

More information as we get it.



UPDATE:

Video taken this morning from a balcony at the Bella Sirena condos in Puerto Penasco while a shootout between federales and narcos took place outside of the complex itself.

(via TucsonScene James)

• Photo from shutterstock.com

Some thieves walked away with the John F. Kennedy bust that was located in El Presidio Park during the weekend, according to the Daily's Darren DaRonco.

It's highly unlikely that we will ever see the bulbous, granite Kennedy head again. We need to find another face to fill the void in the historic courtyard, so it's only right that we replace the bust with the greatest President of all time: Barack Hussein Obama II. Barack gave us health care, passed the stimulus that gave us funding for the popular street car, had Moammar Gaddafi killed, gave the orders for Seal Team Six to assassinate Osama bin Laden and he saved the auto industry. Obama is no Kennedy, but he's all we got.

• DANA O'SULLIVAN
• Linda Ronstadt, age 11.

"My health is not great right now," she tells Rolling Stone. "It's most likely I that I won't be able to make it to New York in April. Travel is very difficult for me."