The Phoenix New Times shared the 33rd annual Governor's Arts Awards nominees last week. Seventeen Tucson artist and organizations were among the 84 worthy Arizona nominees.

Here's the list of Tucson nominees:

Artist:
Daniel Buckley
Simon Kregar
Luis Mena
Joseph Rodgers

Arts in Education - Individual:
Dr. Suzette Battan
Adrienne Magee
Morgan Wells

Our fearless competitors and amigos at Jalph.net are giving away some rad limited edition sold out 7" vinyls you can't get anywhere else.

All you have to do is share this link on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr (they suggest all three) and you can win two 7" by La Luz and Destruction Unit. You have to tag @Jalph.Net and include #jalphnet to win La Luz's Brainwash and Two Strong Hits by Destruction Unit.

You can catch Destruction Unit play with Prom Body and Man Bites Dog this Wednesday, Jan. 29, at Hotel Congress, 311 E Congress St. The free show (21 and older) starts at 8 p.m.

The Washington Post digs into the latest on Gabby Giffords' fight against gun violence:

In a new ad set to air before and after Tuesday night's State of the Union address, former Rep. Gabby Giffords says it's time to "tell Washington it's too dangerous to wait" for gun-control legislation. The ad was produced by Americans for Responsible Solutions — the 501(c)(4) started by the Arizona Democrat and her husband Mark Kelly soon after she was critically injured at a campaign event in Tuscon that left six of her constituents dead — and is set to air on MSNBC and CNN nationwide.

It juxtaposes the gun violence-prevention plan outlined in President Obama's 2013 State of the Union with the relative inertia that followed, especially after the Manchin-Toomey amendment pushing for universal background checks failed 54 - 46 in the Senate (60 votes were necessary for the bill to advance). Giffords mentions a Washington Post/ABC News poll from April that showed over 90 percent of Americans support background checks — specifically at guns shows — in the ad, as well as the $243 million the National Rifle Association spent in 2010 fighting these efforts.

"As Congress delays," Pia Carusone, Americans for Responsible Solutions executive director, said, "gun violence rages on in our nation and we continue imploring Congress and state houses around the country to take action. It's too dangerous to wait. For example, today we are in Washington state to lend our voice and support to the state initiative to help keep guns out of the hands of criminals, terrorists and the dangerously mentally ill."

Vin Diesel decided to post a Facebook video of himself dancing, crotch grabbing and singing along to Beyonce's Drunk In Love and Katy Perry's Dark Horse.

So this is what the Iron Giant does when he's not stealing cars and blowing things up on the big screen. Apparently, Diesel was home alone and must have been bored to tears.

• Art by Jon Morris
• There will be an original art auction at Charlie's Comic Books from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. this Saturday, Feb. 1, 5460 E. Speedway.

Charlie Harris, owner of Charlie's Comic Books, has rounded up some local cartoonist to draw their favorite comic book characters in the name of love and charity. Harris is holding an original art auction from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. this Saturday, Feb. 1, at his comic shop at 5460 E. Speedway.

All the proceeds are going to benefit the American Red Cross.

Here's a list of local artist and what pieces they have decided to create for you:

Jacob Breckenridge: Charlie Brown and Peppermint Patty
Tino Castaneda: Spider-Man and Black Cat
Jenn Corella: Hellblazer and Zatanna
Gene Hall: Krazy Kat and Ignatz
Jon Morris: Swamp Thing and Abby Arcane
Bea Romero: Robin and Starfire
Ernesto Romero: Conan and Red Sonja
Christian Vilaire: Howard The Duck and Beverly

We’ve gotten our first glimpse of how much money is being stuffed into the bank accounts of our local congressional candidates.

The deadline for the year-end reports is Friday, Jan. 31, but some candidates have done so well that they’re eager to share the details.

Here’s what we know as of Tuesday morning: Republican Martha McSally, who wants a rematch against U.S. Ron Barber in Congressional District 2, has had another great fundraising quarter.

McSally raised $322,552, between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31. That comes on top of a $358,231 haul in the third quarter of 2013.

McSally came within a few thousands votes of unseating Barber in 2012. Provided McSally can dispatch political newcomers Shelley Kais and Chuck Wooten in the August GOP primary, the rematch between the former aide who inherited Gabby Giffords’ congressional seat and the former A-10 fighter pilot promises to be one of the most watched races in the nation.

McSally said in a prepared statement that the big fundraising numbers demonstrated that “Southern Arizonans are definitely ready for a fresh voice in Washington.”

Team Barber spokesman Rodd McLeod told The Range that Barber had raised $252,000 in the fourth quarter, but added that the campaign had raised more than $1.1 million in 2013, compared to McSally’s $680,000. His bottom line: The numbers show that both Barber and McSally will have plenty of money for the 2014 campaigns.

“The real question is, what are the differences between these candidates?” McLeod asked. “Ron has been working hard in Congress to make things better for middle-class families in Southern Arizona and McSally either won’t tell voters where she’s at on key issues—like, would she vote to extend unemployment insurance?—or she’s taken positions, like privatizing Social Security, that hurt middle-class families.”

A new Republican candidate wants to see if he can outmaneuver GOP favorite Martha McSally for the chance to take on U.S. Rep. Ron Barber in Congressional District 2 this year. Meet Chuck Wooten:

Chief Master Sergeant, U.S. Air Force (Retired) Chuck Wooten is announcing his candidacy for the Arizona Congressional District 2 (CD2) on the Republican ticket.

Chuck Wooten is seeking the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic Congressman Ron Barber.

Wooten has achieved certain notoriety with his Open Letter to Congressman Paul Ryan regarding the reduction of military retirement payments in the Ryan-Murray Budget that was passed into law in late December 2013.

Congratulations. You made it to Tuesday.

• Photo courtesy of See Arrival From Sweden: the Music of ABBA.

We would like to reward you with some tickets to see See Arrival From Sweden tonight. You don't have to thank us, but you should thank the folks at the Rialto. We are giving away 5 pairs of tickets to see Arrival From Sweden: the Music of ABBA tonight! This is the closest thing to see the Rock and Roll Hall of fame band.

The Goldwater Institute has an op-ed pushing Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESA) — aka Educational Savings Accounts, aka (according to me) Vouchers on Steroids — in Friday’s Arizona Republic and another in Saturday’s Sierra Vista Herald. It’s no wonder G.I. loves the vouchers-on-steroids program. The Institute created it and babied it through the Arizona legislature. And it’s no wonder G.I. is making a big ESA push right now. Republicans, under G.I.’s watchful eye, are pushing a bill to expand the program.

Whenever you read something from the Goldwater Institute — an op ed, one of its emails if you’re on the mailing list, a quote from one of its six-figure-salary spokespeople — remember: G.I. is a conservative lobbying organization, lawsuit mill and propaganda factory, not a think tank as it likes to bill itself. No think tank worthy of the name begins with the conclusion it wants to reach, then thinks back to figure out how to “prove” it. That’s G.I.’s M.O. That’s how G.I. works.

Both op-eds are penned by Jonathan Butcher, the Institute’s education point man. Do you know ALEC, the corporate funded conservative organization that brings business leaders and Republican legislators together in fancy hotels, creates conservative model bills on all kinds of issues, then sends the legislators home to pass them in their home states? Butcher is co-chair of ALEC’s Education Task Force. That’s pretty much tells you what you need to know about him.

Anyone who's watched a college football game knows that officiating isn't always the most accurate of disciplines. There's nothing more frustrating when calls get blown, penalties are ignored, and both fans and coaches flip out and go apeshit over a perceived bias from what's usually an older man in a black-and-white-striped shirt with a whistle.

If you've ever watched a game officiated by Pac-12 Conference refs, then, the thought that you think you can do better must have crossed your mind. We can at least make ourselves sound a little less dumb than the league's most famous official, the now-retired Jay Stricherz, known fondly as Glasses Ref.