Despite DJ Mustard not making it to the show, people seemed to have a good time at the Skrillex concert at AVA last night:

@Skrillex you blew my mother fudginnnnn mind you did Tucson like no ones seen

— julia henning (@Jhenn9) October 8, 2014

But, hey, who wouldn't enjoy a show with that includes a tribute to the Lion King:

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Skrillex does The Lion King!! #greatshow #skrillex #lionking #tucson #avaamphitheater

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Hakuna matata, Tucson.

Life sucks. Seriously, let's be honest for a moment. It sucks. Fetal position after coffee sounds really good right now. Just some time to think about how our jobs as humans is to look for gems out there that somehow make everything meaningful and make us want to not always be in fetal positions after coffee.

So here you go, Tucson. Some Bill Murray singing Dylan's "Shelter from the Storm," from his upcoming movie "St. Vincent," which opens Oct. 24. That movie, which is also about how much life sucks, was smart to cast Murray—just so we all don't leave the theaters ready for some post-popcorn fetal positions.

Monday night, the Weekly hosted a debate, moderated by Jim Nintzel, for Legislative District 9 House candidates: Democrats Randy Friese and Victoria Steele; and Republican Ethan Orr. It was a revealing, informative session. While Steele and Friese mostly said what they meant clearly and plainly, Orr did his best to obscure his stands on issues like vouchers, gun regulation and women's reproductive rights, all of which mirror the positions of his fellow Republican legislators. Orr is trying desperately to run as a member of the Moderate Party, so he confuses and denies his views which align too closely with conservatives, views which are sometimes even to the right of old-school-conservative Jan Brewer. [Full disclosure: I'm a Democrat who supports Steele and Friese, in case there was any question about that.] [UPDATE: The entire debate has been posted on youtube.]

I'm going to focus on Orr's two minute answer to one question about education, because it crystallizes the way Orr ducks, dodges and obfuscates on issues when he wants to appear more progressive than he actually is. Nintzel asked,

"Do you support the expansion of the Education Savings Accounts, the voucher-like program that would allow public dollars to flow to private schools?"

Both Friese and Steele gave a clear, unequivocal "No" at the beginning of their answers and went on to explain their positions. Orr's answer was a flurry of disconnected points which may have sounded like they addressed the question but actually ranged over all kinds of unrelated, often deceptive, territory.

Orr focused on the one time he voted against a voucher bill, not mentioning that he voted for six other vouchers bills (there may be more), one of which he sponsored. Brewer vetoed two of them, including the one with Orr's name on it. Next he name-dropped a progressive educator even though she disagrees with him. In his explanation of his support for some of the voucher bills, he made a nonsense statement that left my mind boggled and my head shaking. And then, half way through his two minutes, when he ran out of things he was willing to say about vouchers, Orr had a Miss-America-contestant's-worst-answer-ever moment where he wandered off into talking about the relationship between charter schools and public schools, neither of which have any direct connection to vouchers, meandering around aimlessly and a bit desperately until his time was up.

I included the complete transcript of Orr's answer at the end of the post so you'll know I'm not making this up. It'll also allow his supporters to salvage some stray good moments from his answer and blame me for not being an objective reporter (Note: I'm not a reporter, I'm a blogger — that's kinda like a columnist — who uses facts to back up his analyses.)

Welcome, fellow hikers and desert lovers, to the first edition of Tucson Mountains Trail Hound, a new endeavor dedicated to detailing some of the lesser known trails in the Tucson Mountains, west of the city.

Cooler weather should soon (hopefully!) be here, which for many of us means: it’s hiking season. The abundant late summer monsoons we had in the last several weeks dumped large amounts of water onto the surrounding desert, and the beautiful Sonoran landscape around Tucson is thick and lush with abundant greenery, a chest-high jungle of healthy looking desert foliage.

Here in Tucson we’re blessed to be surrounded by mountain ranges on the west, north and east sides of the city, with others further away to the south, and still other ranges rolling out in waves behind our immediate, localized peaks and valleys; a sea of sky islands, all unique, all beautiful and all with their own opportunities for hiking and exploration.

While the Santa Catalina’s to the north and (to a lesser degree) the Rincons to the east offer up verdant canyons, steep trails, creeks, falls and endless miles of trails, the lower lying Tucson Mountains are the most accessible in the area, and probably the easiest to take for granted. But these mountains - in and out of Tucson Mountain Park and Saguaro National Park West - are a labyrinth of trails long, short and medium in length, with endless opportunities for anyone that has an hour or three or four, and wants to see and be in the remarkable Sonoran Desert landscape up close and personal.

After the National Republican Congressional Committee aired an attack ad against Congressman Ron Barber that featured Gabby Giffords, Gabby herself released a statement condemning the tactic.

“No organization or person—no matter which party they say they represent—should think they can come to Southern Arizona and pretend to speak for me," Giffords said. "I work hard to speak, but it's my voice. So take it from me: Ron is an independent leader in Congress, and no one will fight harder for our community.”

I don't understand what's happening, but as wild animals intruding into suburban neighborhoods go, these angry kangaroos are more far interesting than the javelinas that walk down my street sometimes.

[HT: reddit]

• Hotel Congress

Cancel your weekend plans, Tucson: Tiger's back.

Hotel Congress's longtime bartender, Headline News aficionado and sweater enthusiast Tom "Tiger" Ziegler is returning to his post at his Tap Room after what's been far, far too long. You may remember this post from June, where we reported that injuries sustained in a car accident were going to put the Best of Tucson®-nominated bartender on the sidelines for an indefinite period of time.

Finally, after five long months, Tiger is back on the prowl. In honor of his return, Hotel Congress is planning a Welcome Back blowout, complete with drink specials, cake, music and, of course, the man himself, all from 5 to 8 p.m. this Saturday, Oct. 11.

Here's the word from Hotel Congress:

In honor of Tiger’s return after an extended leave of absence, The Hotel Congress is throwing him a party to celebrate his being back in action. Stop by The Hotel Congress from 5 to 8 p.m. this Saturday, October 11 to welcome back Tucson’s Best Bartender to Tucson’s Best Bar while listening to music from Tucson’s Best Jukebox.

Sorry, wait: the jukebox is back, too? HOT DAMN.

The Wurlitzer 2900, produced in the early to mid-60s, plays 100 records and 200 songs which includes a mix of punk-rock, country, Motown, and other classics, with a special section dedicated to local bands. The jukebox will officially be the only thing working longer than Tiger in the Tap Room or you could say the best thing to happen to bars until Tiger walked in.

So, let's recap: Tiger's back; Tucson's Best Jukebox is up and running; Tiger's back; there's gonna be cake and drink specials; and most importantly, Tiger. Is. Back.

See you there, Tucson. Make sure to ask the man his opinions on the latest Jodi Arias developments. Check out the badass flyer below, or head to HotelCongress.com for more info.

• Hotel Congress

While the debate about debates could continue, we've finally reached the first of two scheduled showdowns between Democratic Congressman Ron Barber and his Republican opponent, Martha McSally. The two candidates will face each other live on TV tonight from 6 to 7 p.m. on PBS 6. If you can't tune in, you'll be able to watch the debate once it's posted on AZPM's web site, www.azpm.org.

Our lengthy look at the race here.

• Uproxx, via ABC

If you're anything like me (or "Weekly" Chowhound C.J. Hamm) you've got a fondness in your heart for the classic '90s sitcom, "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," Will Smith's catapult to greatness (and DJ Jazzy Jeff's occasional catapult to the ground).

But for Smith's co-star Alfonso Ribeiro, his time on the Fresh Prince was notable mostly for his portrayal as comic-relief cousin Carlton:

I was pigeonholed as an actor based on that character. There were years when casting directors wouldn't call me in, because they felt "Oh, well he's Carlton, and that's not right for this role."

Still, a rough period in his career or not, Ribeiro knows what America wants, and he broke it out last night's episode of "Dancing With The Stars." Now, if you'd like, you can watch the entirety of Ribeiro's segment from last night's show here, intro and judging included (Spoiler: He and partner Witney Carson crushed it) here. But if you're a busy person with little time to waste, why wait? We gotchu covered, bae:

You've still got it, Carlton Alfonso. You've still got it.

• Image courtesy of Shutterstock

Monday's choice by the Supreme Court's to decline to hear several cases regarding same-sex marriage didn't mean same-sex couples now have a constitutional right to marry, but it did mean that in 30 states, same-sex couples can marry, either by the state's decision or through this Supreme Court non-ruling.

So, of course, people ARE FREAKING OUT about how the gays are going to ruin all the straight marriages, human sacrifices, dogs and cats are going to live together, mass hysteria, basically.

Hat tip to The Stranger's David Schmader for finding the saddest story ever, an op-ed reprinted by the Deseret News from Janna Darnelle, a Utah woman who had her life ripped apart and who won't stand for this tragedy to be repeated:

Every time a new state redefines marriage, the news is full of happy stories of gay and lesbian couples and their new families. But behind those big smiles and sunny photographs are other, more painful stories. These are left to secret, dark places. They are suppressed, and those who would tell them are silenced in the name of “marriage equality.”

But I refuse to be silent.

I represent one of those real-life stories that are kept in the shadows. I have personally felt the pain and devastation wrought by the propaganda that destroys natural families.

The sad part: Darnelle's husband left her in 2007 after ten years of marriage, announcing he is gay. Totally fair that Darnelle and her two children were devastated by that news. She certainly had expectations for how her life was going to be and this interruption was surely awful. Darnelle, unfortunately seems to believe that her husband woke up one day and decided to be gay, which is unlikely, but let's give her the fact that the "marriage" part of her life has been rough.

However, then the editorial gets a little unhinged:

USA Today did a photo journal shoot on my ex and his partner, my children, and even the grandparents. I was not notified that this was taking place, nor was I given a voice to object to our children being used as props to promote same-sex marriage in the media...

After our children’s pictures were publicized, a flood of comments and posts appeared. Commenters exclaimed at how beautiful this gay family was and congratulated my ex-husband and his new partner on the family that they “created.” But there is a significant person missing from those pictures: the mother and abandoned wife. That “gay family” could not exist without me.

There is not one gay family that exists in this world that was created naturally.

They took photos of her children STANDING NEXT TO GAYS. THE INJUSTICE.

Of course, it gets even worse for these kids as they've been absorbed in the Nightmarish Gay Underworld:

My children are brought to gay parties where they are the only children and where only alcoholic beverages are served. They are taken to transgender baseball games, gay rights fundraisers and LGBT film festivals...My son is now a maturing teen, and he is very interested in girls. But how will he learn how to deal with that interest when he is surrounded by men who seek sexual gratification from other men? How will he learn to treat girls with care and respect when his father has rejected them and devalues them?...

My daughter suffers too. She needs a dad who will encourage her to embrace her femininity and beauty, but these qualities are parodied and distorted in her father's world. Her dad wears makeup and sex bondage straps for Halloween. She is often exposed to men dressing as women...What is my little girl to believe about her own femininity and beauty? Her father should be protecting her sexuality. Instead, he is warping it.

The son? clearly going to end up gay as well. The daughter? Who even knows? Clearly, because of the rainbow-colored hellscape this woman is dealing with, we need to shut down gay marriage. And possibly ban bondage straps.