BEST DOG AWARD presents: "Successful" from Felt Film on Vimeo.

Best Dog Award, three-piece surfy-rocky Tucson band, debuted their latest music video for their latest track "Successful" on Saturday. The song will be available for purchase of the band's new EP titled Faith-Based Space Place. Click here with their official website to buy the EP and watch the sequel to this gnarly music video.

I must admit, great use of D & D Pinball space.

How did we miss this adventure in humiliation?

Evidently there's a sculpture in southern Germany that required the use of 22 firefighters to help rescue an American exchange student caught—yes, the sculpture is of a vagina.

From The Guardian:

On Friday afternoon, a young American in Tübingen had to be rescued by 22 firefighters after getting trapped inside a giant sculpture of a vagina. The Chacán-Pi (Making Love) artwork by the Peruvian artist Fernando de la Jara has been outside Tübingen University's institute for microbiology and virology since 2001 and had previously mainly attracted juvenile sniggers rather than adventurous explorers.

According to De la Jara, the 32-ton sculpture made out of red Veronese marble is meant to signify "the gateway to the world".

Police confirmed that the firefighters turned midwives delivered the student "by hand and without the application of tools".

The mayor of Tübingen told the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper that he struggled to imagine how the accident could have happened, "even when considering the most extreme adolescent fantasies. To reward such a masterly achievement with the use of 22 firefighters almost pains my soul."

Among the first public figures to call for Ed Supe John Huppenthal to resign are conservatives. The political distancing and damage control begins.

There's Glenn Hamer, president and CEO of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce. As recently as a week ago, the Chamber loved Hupp. It actually created a new award to honor his support of the Common Core, known in Arizona as the College and Career Ready Standards. No more. The award has been withdrawn. In his condemnation of Huppenthal's jaw-dropping blog comments, Hamer echoed Captain Renault in "Casablanca."

"I am shocked. I am shocked and saddened," Hamer said. "The comments that were posted should not be posted under any circumstances. I am in extreme pain over this conversation."

The Chamber's board will consider asking Huppenthal to step down, or at least withdraw from the election before the upcoming primary.

Then there's Lisa Graham Keegan. When she was a Republican state senator, she shepherded through Arizona's charter school law in 1994, then became Ed Supe in 1995. Since then, she's been McCain's education adviser during his presidential campaign and is currently a heavy hitter in Arizona's "education reform" movement, working hand in glove with Craig Barrett, ex-CEO of Intel and Gov. Brewer's right hand man on education.

Lisa Graham Keegan joined the call for Hupp to drop out of the election immediately, becoming an unlikely bedfellow with Andrew Morrill, president of the Arizona Education Association. She went on to say Huppenthal should resign.

We've had a record number of votes this year for our annual Best of Tucson poll, so hey, Tucson, pat yourself on the back. However, as the number of votes is still a number fewer than the total number of Tucsonans, there are clearly some hold-outs. 



So, here is your one-week-left warning for Best of Tucson, since you have until 11:59 p.m. on Monday, July 30 to submit your ballot. You don't have to be interested in all of the categories, but you will need to pick a favorite in at least 35 categories for your votes to be counted (but if you can't find 35 categories to vote in, you might need to get out more). Every vote makes the results more accurate, so be sure to set some time aside to pick your favorite Southern Arizona people, places and things.



Vote now! Go! Do it!

State Sen. Al Melvin has officially quit running for governor today, saying he had been unable to collect the necessary 4,500 $5 contributions from Arizona citizens to qualify for $753,000 in public dollars via the Clean Elections program.

In a statement to the press, Melvin said the decision "was difficult because I believe so passionately about the principles we were campaigning for and because, as other candidates can attest to, you feel a tremendous responsibility to not let down your supporters and all those who have contributed time and treasure to the effort. At the same time, I am at peace with the decision because in spite of our efforts we were not going to be able to win the race, and no one who believes in our shared conservative values wants to see conservatives split the vote and allow a liberal to claim our party’s nomination."

Melvin's entire statement is below the jump:

The Humane Society of Southern Arizona presents Pickles, a 2-year-old, female, pit bull mix
Reference no. 779723
Pickles was in a pickle when she arrived at the Humane Society of Southern Arizona not a moment too soon. This lethargic stray was gravely ill after eating rat poison. She was weak, anemic and bleeding internally. But swift action on the part of a good samaritan and Humane Society veterinarians saved Pickles’ life. After blood and plasma transfusions and weeks of Vitamin K, Pickles is on the road to recovery. Now Pickles is all wiggles and kisses as she showers everyone in gratitude. What would really make her dreams come true is a forever family. Pickles is patiently waiting in a foster home until her perfect person comes along. She gets along great with absolutely everyone (pets included), has impeccable manners and will make a fantastic addition to any home. To make Pickles your faithful sidekick, please call the HSSA at 327-6088 and arrange a meet and greet.

David Morales has compiled comments Huppenthal made on the Three Sonorans blog using the Falcon9 alias. Can these comments possibly be worse than what we've already seen? Take a look. These are direct quotes, so I've left in any misspellings.

"Che Guvera is not to be afraid of, he is to be despised and his memory should be defecated upon."

"Yes, MAS=KKK in a different color"
[NOTE: "MAS" is short for "Mexican-American Studies."]

"You can’t believe a word on this blog. No book whatsoever has been banned. Just that MAS skin heads can’t run classrooms. They were teaching hate in these classes, just as this blog preaches hate and revenge."

"Their having an orgasm over the claim that their book was banned. Now, maybe a student will read it."

"You have an ethnic majority, hispanics, oppressing an ethnic minority, small business owners, exacting a property tax and paying to force students to undergo a toxic indoctrination."

Wild America, featuring photography from Ansel Adams and Debra Bloomfield, continues through Aug. 30 at Etherton Gallery, 135 S. Sixth Ave. Check out an opening reception from 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday, June 21. Bloomfield will be on hand to sign her new book and Carl Hanni, as always, will be your DJ for the evening. Sure to be fun. More details here.

If you're paying attention to our desert, then you know that monsoon season is almost upon us. The cicadas are providing that deafening hum and the saguaro fruits are starting to ripen.

This is my favorite time of the year. First, we in perpetual drought now, so any drop of rain is to be celebrated. Just look at your recent Facebook feed—our recent few drops of rains made people crazy.

So when it rains during monsoon, sometimes we go outside and dance in it while filling up buckets to feed our plants. And we post where the rain is falling, because sometimes the eastside gets a deluge, while my Menlo Park neighborhood gets a drop or two. We compare notes. We get excited. And if we're practiced, we stay out of washes and take it easy on the road.

This weekend is the Raices Taller 222 Gallery and Workshop annual monsoon exhibit and next Tuesday El Dia de San Juan Fiesta. Raices' Chubasco! celebrates monsoon rains and all things water. There's an opening reception from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, June 21, at 218 E. 6th St., and it continues through July 26.

Today is Bring Your Dog to Work Day, and we wish we knew sooner. Granted, I personally don't own a dog. But my friends and colleagues do, and I would love to spend my Friday playing their pets while on the clock. According to Take Your Dog, the holiday was started in 1999 to highlight how great companions dogs make and encourage their adoptions from local shelters, rescue groups and humane societies.

Everyday should be "take your dog and cat" to work day, but we would never get any work done. 

Here are some pictures of some pets going to work with their strangely attached owners:

Pets are always welcome in our offices, especially today on @takeyourdog to work day! http://t.co/bV0EgEwqvz #TYDTWD pic.twitter.com/TpVcMVtQ5T

— Cundari (@CundariGroup) June 20, 2014