You've seen the billboards along the freeway, the ones that say Arizona is Wildcat Country. Those exist all over the state, part of a UA athletics department campaign to ensure the Grand Canyon State aligns more with the red and blue in the state flag than the gold associated with a certain school up north.

But billboards only do so much. Sometimes, you've got to hit the road and drum up support in person.

The Arizona Road Tour has stops scheduled in Tempe (May 3), Tubac (May 15) and Pinetop (May 28), with each locale getting a chance to meet athletic director Greg Byrne and UA coaches including Sean Miller, Rich Rodriguez and women's hoops coach Niya Butts. At each stop fans will also have an opportunity to win prizes as well as to join the Wildcat Club or purchase UA football season tickets.

The tour actually has four stops, though, and the UA is soliciting nominations for the final visit, scheduled for May 29.

Using Twitter (sent to @Greg_Byrne or @AZATHLETICS) or email (to [email protected]) fans can lobby for their city or town to get that last stop. Suggested submissions include photos, videos or "top 10" countdowns, with emphasis on creativity.

Submissions must be made by Friday to be eligible.

For more information on the Arizona Road Trip campaign, including a more detailed itinerary, check out the event page.

"It's become clear to me that I've won television," Stephen Colbert said on Comedy Central's Daily Show last night.

Colbert made an appearance on Jon Stewart's show to personally inform him the Colbert Report is coming to an end. The fictional right-wing talk host is going to give up his critically acclaimed multi Emmy award winning comedy news satire show to host "Late Night" at CBS.

Typically, when a "reporter" leaves the Daily Show Stewart sends them off on a night note and compiles a "Best of" video. But Colbert never got one. So, Colbert made one himself. I think there could have been a whole episode and DVD/Blu Ray dedicated to Colbert, but the segment only minute of his best moments on the Daily Show.

Former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords will honor the late Judge John M. Roll at a ceremony in Yuma today naming the new Federal Courthouse after her friend.

A snippet from yesterday's editorial Arizona Republic by Giffords on Roll, Jan. 8 and why it's important to honor her friend:

After attending Mass on the morning of Jan. 8, 2011, Judge Roll stopped by my constituent gathering at the Tucson Safeway. I've been told he wanted to catch up on our work, to say hello.

I don't remember much of that day. But in an instant he, who had for decades been both a dutiful and exceptional agent of justice for so many Americans, took a bullet that might have killed one other.

When I think about what I want the rest of my life to be, I think about Judge Roll. A man of family, faith and foundational love for our country, he spent his life in the service of others. And then he died as a hero.

Today, his name goes on the new Federal Courthouse in Yuma. It's a fitting honor for a man of such high achievement and sacrifice. I hope the courthouse can also be a beacon for all those who seek to dedicate themselves to service and justice, and a reminder of how we all should live.

According to ColorLines via Billboard, now that Prince regained control of his musical catalogue from Warner Bros, a re-release of Purple Rain is in the works for it's 30th anniversary and more new Prince magic:

In a major move, Prince has regained control of his musical catalogue from Warner Bros after a bitter separation from the label back in 1996. As part of the deal, Prince will re-release his classic “Purple Rain” album in time for its 30th anniversary. The artist also announced plans for a new album, though it’s unclear if that new project is also part of the deal.

As Billboard explains, the fight over Prince’s catalogue is as important one:

As 2013 loomed, record label executives and artists managers said that they were unsure how copyright terminations and ownership reversions would play out as they expected a precedent-setting court case to decide whether the “work-for-hire” clause in standard recording contracts could successfully be challenged by artists. Works created under work-for-hire contracts are not eligible for copyright reversion. But privately some label executives have also said that in some instances the wiser course might be to negotiate the reversions and retain control of issuing artists’ catalog eligible for copyright terminations.

In cutting what appears to be a landmark deal, Prince has chosen to remain with the label that was the subject of his ire back in the 1990’s avoiding a risky and costly legal battle and still regains ownership of his catalog.

Financial terms and length of the licensing deal were not disclosed; nor does the announcement make clear on whether the artist is gaining ownership of his catalog all at once; or more likely as each album becomes eligible for copyright termination.

Here's the new song they posted:

Jade Beall's book, The Bodies of Mothers: The Beautiful Body Project, is ready for readers and supporters of the Tucson photographer's body-positive work.

From Weekly contributor Chelo Grubb's interview with Beall in "Body Revolution," (March 20, 2014):

Because she grew up in a small Mexican village without electricity, you'd think that local photographer and dance teacher Jade Beall would have been able to start life without feeling pressured to look like a fashion model. However, weekends in the city were enough to start her thinking about body-image issues when she was just 10 years old.

Beall was confronted by a beauty ideal that she, with her dirty feet and secondhand clothes, simply didn't fit. Things only got worse when she moved to Tucson for high school.

"TV was, like, where the 'important people' sent their messages. My parents told me I was beautiful, my family was incredibly supportive, but media was way more powerful for me. I believed it more," Beall said. "Some people escape from that but a lot of us don't."

As she grew up and started a family, she found the societal pressures becoming even more destructive.

"I gave birth, gained 50 pounds, wasn't able to shed it, and was suffering from postpartum depression," Beall said. "I decided to do some images of myself and they resonated with a lot of women. Women started reaching out and wanting to tell me their stories about giving birth and loathing their bodies. ... It wasn't until I was well into that, that I realized body work could be pretty powerful. Being photographed is empowering."

Her book, A Beautiful Body Project, is a collection of images celebrating mothers' bodies—pregnant, just after birth and years later. Beall credits that work, and the hours she spent poring over the photos, with her ability to accept herself.

"Taking photographs of hundreds of women, strangers most of them, has allowed me to really love myself," Beall said. "Looking at every line, every detail, every roll, every bone, well, you can't deny it. The diversity is amazing and that is the truth. I couldn't have predicted that taking those photographs would be so healing for myself."

The book is due out around Mother's Day. There have been more than 1,000 preorders, and there's a fair amount of interest in international publishing rights. Beall says the reaction to the photos, along with the images themselves, allowed her to see the honest and natural beauty in bodies.

There is a "relentless selling of insecurity by corporations that want to make money off of low self-esteem," Beall said. "You can't sell these things to a woman who is like, 'I like my wrinkles, I'm totally good here,' or a teenager who isn't obsessed with her weight." Beall thinks the culture is moving beyond that. "You don't have to be a prisoner to the scale anymore. You don't have to buy products to help your wrinkles or your acne or all these things you think are unworthy of being on your body. They're signs of life and they're precious."

Beall said that after giving birth, her acceptance of her body was at "an all-time low." Her goal is to show a more honest, less damaging story about motherhood.

"It's about changing how we think about our bodies and how we think about other women. We've been fed this really destructive lie that if we don't bounce back after birth, that we're failures and we're no good," she said. "That needs to change because being a mother is absolutely hard enough."

Beall's talk at the conference will focus on loving your post-birth body, which she says ties into loving your body always. "Your body is precious and worthy of being photographed without Photoshop," she said. "It's about loving one's every molecule."

Beall said that when she looks for beauty in other people, it helps her see it in herself.

"It's not a perfect thing. I have about 20 years of self-loathing to undo so it's not like 'Oh, I love myself. We're good now.'

"It takes practice, and there are bad days. But that's OK and I honor that, too. I allow myself the bad days and really rejoice in my fluctuating body," she said. "Everyone walking down the street has something completely authentic that is irreplaceably beautiful."

Captain Mark Kelly, Co-Founder of Americans for Responsible Solutions, issued the following statement after Arizona Governor Jan Brewer vetoed H.B. 2517 and H.B. 2339:

“As Arizona residents and gun owners, Gabby and I applaud Governor Brewer for vetoing these two misguided bills that would have made our communities less safe. By taking away the power of our local leaders to decide when to allow guns in public buildings and penalizing leaders who act in their community’s best interest, these two bills were an affront to our local elected and law enforcement officials. As a state with a long and proud culture of gun ownership, Arizona must have laws that balance our Second Amendment rights with our responsibilities as gun owners. These two bills failed to strike that balance, and we commend Governor Brewer for recognizing the need for commonsense, moderate solutions to reducing gun violence.”

U.S. News & World Report just published its yearly national high school rankings, and once again, BASIS Tucson and University High scored very well, 5th and 7th respectively. The question is, what do those rankings mean?

First, they mean that much-maligned TUSD has a high school in the national top ten, earning the district bragging rights. Second, they mean charter schools aren't better than district schools simply because they're charters. Half the high schools in Arizona's top ten are district schools, including, locally, both UHS and Catalina Foothills High.

Third and most important, the rankings mean schools with elite student bodies rank high on the U.S. News & World Report scale. If you have lots of high income high achievers for students, with a smattering of lower income high achievers thrown in, and your staff is reasonably good, your school is likely to look good-to-great in the rankings.

As everyone knows, UHS is highly selective. It only accepts top academic students from TUSD and neighboring districts, so naturally those students are going to be among the best and the brightest in the area. BASIS, on the other hand, claims to be non-selective since it has to take all applicants, and if too many students apply, it holds a random lottery. But that's deceptive, and the people who run BASIS charters know it. The fact is, BASIS schools have a four step process which ensures that they accept mostly high achieving students, then weed out students who don't perform at the expected level. A school like Cat Foothills actually takes everyone in its district who walks through the door, but since the district is generally high income, that makes for a very select student body.

The Star article doesn't go into detail about how the schools are ranked, which creates the mistaken impression that the highly ranked schools are actually doing a better job with their students than lower ranked schools. Worse, the Star article parrots the ranking criteria laid out by U.S. News & World Report without looking at them carefully. I understand, it's hard to sort through the criteria if you're not an educator, but a Google search would reveal plenty of people who have examined how the rankings work. There's no excuse for a journalist not doing the necessary research, or consulting with a local scholar who has.

From the Arizona Republic's Laurie Roberts on Republican Sen. Gail Griffin sticking it to the Arizona Historical Society:

A routine proposal to extend the life of the Arizona Historical Society for another 10 years has been slashed to two years, a move that the state historian says could be "a death knell" to the agency that operates seven museums around the state.

Marshall Trimble says he's puzzled by why the Legislature would want to stick it to the Historical Society, which collects, preserves and showcases the history of Arizona and the west.

"Our history is one of the most unique and colorful in the entire 50 states," he said. "Our story is so important to the state. We are a place that lives by our legends and our history."

Sen. Gail Griffin, the senator pushing a two-year rather than 10-year extension, says she wants to make sure that the agency corrects longstanding problems identified in a state audit last fall before giving it a longer life.

"I'm on their side," Griffin, R-Hereford, told me. "The issues that were brought up were serious concerns. I just want to make sure those concerns are taken care of."

The audit noted that the Historical Society needs to do a better job fund raising and managing its collection, problems that were also identified in state audits in 1995 and 1998.

Problems that I'm quite sure will be so much easier, now that the agency faces the possibility of extinction in two years.

One last reminder, Tucson, author Junot Diaz will be at the Tucson Fox Theatre tonight, and I was pleasantly reminded that the evening, while a suggested $15 admission/donation ($25 for special VIP reserved seating), is pay-what-you-can. Hey, not only is this an interesting week at Weekly World Central, but it is technically the week before payday and this reminder is good news.

So ultimately, you have no choice if you know what's good for you, and believe me Diaz is good for you.

I love this interview he did with Bill Moyers. Perhaps, tonight, we'll be treated with such gems and wise perspectives, with Diaz leaving us in better shape then he found us—dear lord I hope so. And big thanks to the Tucson Pima Arts Council and the Confluencenter for Creative Inquiry for making it happen (I really, really love those guys, too).

"There is an enormous gap between the way the country presents itself and imagines itself and projects itself and the reality of this country,” Díaz tells Bill. “Whether we’re talking about the Latino community in North Carolina. Whether we’re talking about a very active and I think in some ways very out queer community across the United States. Or whether we’re talking about an enormous body of young voters who are either ignored or sort of pandered to or in some ways, I think that what we’re having is a new country emerging that’s been in the making for a long time.”

Our own version of the Justice League is asking for help renaming a beer served at the Rialto Theatre. The American Friends Service Committee's annual fundraiser, Justice On Tap, is at the Rialto this year, Saturday, May 10.

The theme: Justice on Tap.

Your Mission: The Rialto will rename one of its beers on tap in honor of the occasion and mixologist, Laura Kepner-Adney (member of the Cordials and Rialto bartender), will create a “signature cocktail” for the show. And you, the public, can help name them.

From AFSC:

AFSC is sponsoring a Justice on Tap Beer & Cocktail Naming Contest in the run-up to the event. You can visit AFSC’s webpage or Facebook page to submit your suggestions in the comment section. Or you can email your ideas to: [email protected].

The winners will be chosen by our Panel of Experts: AFSC staff, Ms. Kepner-Adney, and David Fitzsimmons, Arizona Daily Star cartoonist who will be acting as emcee for Justice on Tap.

NOTE: AFSC is a social justice organization that promotes a just, humane, and effective criminal justice system. Please keep your beer/cocktail name suggestions positive, non-violent, and respectful of incarcerated people.

Deadline for submissions is Friday, May 2nd. The winners will be announced the week prior to the event. Winners receive free admission, one free beverage, and major street cred.

WHO: The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) Arizona Program
WHAT: Justice on Tap local music benefit concert
WHEN: Saturday, May 10th
6:30pm — Doors open
7:30pm — Cyril Barrett with Thøger Lund and Gabriel Sullivan
8:30pm — Carlos Azarte & the Kind Souls
9:30pm — Chicha Dust
WHERE: Rialto Theatre, 318 E Congress Street, Tucson, AZ 85701. http://www.rialtotheatre.com/
HOW MUCH: $10 at the door.