The Pizza Underground, Velvet Underground meets pizza cover band, played a 15 minute — their entire set — show in front of 200 fans at the Outworld in New Brunswick, NJ on Sunday night. Apparently, the show wasn't as rowdy as the opening band, but there were laughs and happy customers. The band had to share microphones tied to water pipes on the ceiling because there wasn't enough equipment for the whole band.

Macaulay Culkin, former child movie star, and his band had some farfetched requests, according to New Brunswick Today.

From bottles of expensive alcohol to plates of fresh fruit, hummus, and chips, the band's requests were not met in most cases.

The strangest request called for: "one (1) poster of 'Beverly Hills Cop' hanging in the green room prior to bands arrival."

It's not too late to download their demo, or you can buy the cassette if you're cool.

• C. Elliott
• Gabriel Sullivan with, left to right, Connor Gallagher, guitar and pedal steel; Thøger Lund, bass; Jack Sterbis, drums; Jason Urman, keyboards.

The boy likes to stay busy.

Last year between tour stops with Howe Gelb's Giant Giant Sand, local gigs with his breakaway bar-land dance outfit, Chicha Dust, and midwifing an album by Billy Sedlmayr, Gabriel Sullivan recorded a set of new original music in, where else, Denmark, just to keep things simple. While waiting for that release, recording sessions for a new Chicha Dust release, and an impending European tour opening for and accompanying Howe Gelb, Sullivan's keeping busy by writing and recording a new song every day, no exceptions.

We had a slight techical problem with the the online edition of this week's AZ Illustrated Politics, but it's all fixed now, so if you missed it, here's your chance to watch it online. Arizona Education Network President Ann-Eve Pedersen, former state lawmaker (and community organizer) Frank Antenori and Inside Tucson Business Editor Mark Evans talked with me about the plan to revamp CPS; what other steps need to be taken to help abused and neglected kids in Arizona; whether the state should give counties and cities more road-repair dollars; exactly what kind of Arizona kid should be allowed to go to college amid the growing cost of a university education; Attorney General Tom Horne's legal and political troubles; and the ongoing feud between the two Republicans on the Pima County Board of Supervisors, Ray Carroll and Ally Miller. (Frank offered to host a beer summit to work out the differences, but something tells us that probably hasn't been scheduled on anyone's calender.)

• The Potted Desert
• Robellini Palm Creates a Tropical Look

1. Plan your tropical garden near your home, part of your seating area. Since the majority of the plants require heavily filtered light, you can make the garden be part of your outdoor living area as you appreciate similar conditions.

2. Plan the flooring to be as cool as possible. Non-reflective colors in earthtone or blue hues work well. You might add an outdoor carpet to the seating area.

3. Think in levels or layers of plantings as you would see in a tropical garden. Low plantings around the seating areas in low pots will do well. Also bordering walkways. Then mid-height plants in taller pots or pots up on pedestals or pots with trellises for some vines.

• The Potted Desert
• Thinking in Levels

4. Further back towards walls or further from the patio, you can think about larger plants and trees, still trying to keep the layered effect of the three heights of plants in the landscape. Perhaps a couple citrus or palm trees or an evergreen Pistache tree with a mixture of hibiscus and a blue leafed agave such as the Agave colorata. And definitely keep in mind your Bougainvillea and Birds of Paradise- both tropical (shade) and Mexican (sun)!!

Our conservative “education reform” movement loves to knock teachers, especially in what they call “failing schools” — read, schools with low income students. According to them, if only we had more “great teachers” — read, non-union teachers who don’t get pay raises unless they “perform” and who never have tenure — all our educational problems would disappear.

It’s a ridiculous notion. Not because “great teachers” don’t improve students’ learning — they do — but because teachers aren’t to blame for our educational woes, and taking after the entire profession with a club, pretending you're doing it to knock out the worst teachers, does more harm than good.

But let's go with the idea that we need better teachers. The question is, how do we get them? Here’s how Finland, one of the highest rated school systems in the world, does it. Short version: (1) Attract the best and brightest college grads; (2) Give them a long, tuition free, partly paid period of teacher education; (3) Give them lots of preparation and professional development time as teachers. Oh, and: (4) Have a powerful teachers union.

I finally got to the see our No. 1 Wildcats live on the court tonight. (Thanks, Curtis!) The Cats got off to a slow start and the game remained close until Arizona grabbed a double-digit lead late in the second half, but they never really seemed to be in serious peril. Not that I want to sound spoiled, but this team is such a wonderous powerhouse of talent that it was just inconceivable that this streak was going to come to an end.

So: Undefeated on the season and sitting on a 20-game win streak for the first time in school history. This week, the Cats go on the road to face Stanford on Wednesday night. Tip off is 7 p.m. and you'll find the game on ESPN2.

The Humane Society of Southern Arizona presents Doodle, a male, 2-year-old, Pit Bull mix
Reference No. 770787

Everybody loves Doodle! This social butterfly has a luminous coat and a radiant personality to match. He’s a big, goofy boy with an impressive physique and loads of energy. Doodle would do best with someone who equally enjoys physical activity. Like walking? Doodle is up for two strolls a day! Go hiking? Doodle can conquer the trail with you while wearing a pack! Jogging? Doodle doesn’t doddle! And if you have toys, Doodle will toss them around and fetch them himself. After an adventure, Doodle always knows how to curl up and relax. In fact, Doodle is such a sound sleeper that he lets his dog friends use him as a pillow. He's the sweetest! If you could give this high-spirited sidekick an outlet for his boundless energy, a cozy bed and a lifetime of fun and affection, please get to know darling Doodle soon at the Humane Society of Southern Arizona!

Watch Magnus Carlsen, No. 1 ranked chess player in the world, subdue the world's second richest man in a friendly game of chess. The match only lasted one minute and 19 seconds. It just goes to show you that even billionaire geniuses like Bill Gates don't win at everything.

Actress Maria Conchita Alonso did a commercial with the anti-immigration and Minutemen Project-affiliated California governor Tea Party candidate Tim Donnelly and the internets exploded—oh, and possibly Vagina Monologues' author Eve Ensler. Some have said a little bit of theater possibly died, too.

The result was that everyone forgot the name of the actress's chihuahua. It's Tequila by the way.

What was all the hoopla about? According to a CBS Channel 5 SF Bay Area report, Alonso was set to perform in a San Francisco Spanish-language production of the Vagina Monologues. But backlash from SF's Latino community forced the actress to resign:

Donnelly has voiced strong views against illegal immigration and was once involved with the Minutemen Project, a group that patrolled the border with Mexico to catch immigrants coming across.