Zona Politics Eps.5 from Zona Politics with Jim Nintzel on Vimeo.

On this week's Zona Politics with Jim Nintzel: Democratic strategist Rodd McLeod and attorney Jeff Rogers talk about why Democrats got thumped on Election Day, discuss the impact of dark money on the campaigns, examine why turnout was so low in the election and explain what's likely to happen with the recount in the Barber-McSally race. Watch the show online here or tune in at 9:30 a.m. Sunday morning on KGUN-9.

President Barack Obama is poised to take executive action on immigration, according to The New York Times:

President Obama will ignore angry protests from Republicans and announce as soon as next week a broad overhaul of the nation’s immigration enforcement system that will protect up to five million unauthorized immigrants from the threat of deportation and provide many of them with work permits, according to administration officials who have direct knowledge of the plan.

Asserting his authority as president to enforce the nation’s laws with discretion, Mr. Obama intends to order changes that will significantly refocus the activities of the government’s 12,000 immigration agents. One key piece of the order, officials said, will allow many parents of children who are American citizens or legal residents to obtain legal work documents and no longer worry about being discovered, separated from their families and sent away.

That part of Mr. Obama’s plan alone could affect as many as 3.3 million people who have been living in the United States illegally for at least five years, according to an analysis by the Migration Policy Institute, an immigration research organization in Washington. But the White House is also considering a stricter policy that would limit the benefits to people who have lived in the country for at least 10 years, or about 2.5 million people.

I suppose this one of those Gen X/Gen Y things, but the Choose Your Own Adventure series, generally purchased via the Scholastic Book Club, were a big part of my reading youth as I kept a finger on the last choice, turning to page 77 to see if I managed to avoid the clutches of the Abominable Snowman.

The original author and publisher of the series, R.A. Montgomery died in Vermont on Nov. 9 at the age of 78.

The story of the series, from Wikipedia:

According to Packard, the core idea for the series emerged from bedtime stories that he told to his daughters every night, revolving around a character named Pete and his adventures. Packard stated, "I had a character named Pete and I usually had him encountering all these different adventures on an isolated island. But that night I was running out of things for Pete to do, so I just asked what they would do." His two daughters came up with different paths for the story to take and Packard thought up an ending for each of the paths. "What really struck me was the natural enthusiasm they had for the idea. And I thought: 'Could I write this down?'"

Packard soon developed this basic premise into a manuscript titled The Adventures of You on Sugar Cane Island. He set out in 1970 in order to find a publisher, but was rejected by nine different publishing companies, causing him to shelve the idea. In 1975, he was able to convince Ray Montgomery, co-owner of Vermont Crossroads Press, to publish the book and it sold 8,000 copies, a large amount for a small local publishing house. The series was later marketed to Pocket Books, where it also sold well, but Montgomery believed that it would sell better if a bigger publisher could be found for the books. After some discussion, Montgomery was able to make a contract for the series with Bantam Books. Packard and Montgomery were both selected to write books for the series, including the contracting out of titles to additional authors.

Poetically, the font on Montgomery obit on the CYOA site should be very familiar to fans of the series.

If you enjoy music - in whatever manner you wish to define that word - you'll probably want to head to Bisbee tonight, Saturday and/or Sunday for the Sidepony Express Music Festival. It is free, starts tonight at 4 p.m. and includes approximately 8,000 bands (well, maybe not, but geez, look at the list). There's a lot of Phoenix acts involved, from the "Unstable Cowboy Psychedelic Garage Folk" of Field Tripp to the "Acoustic Indie-Goth Grunge" of Revizor, but there's some of your Tucson faves in the mix as well, including Head Over Heart. And, to repeat, it's all free.

More info at sideponyexpressmusicfestival.com.

This weekend is the final curtain for Cholla High Magnet School's production of "The Arab-Israeli Cookbook," a play by Robin Soans that was directed by Cholla's theater director Julian Martinez and produced in partnership with the Qatar Foundation International.

The cookbook as play translates the first-person interviews that bring together views from Jerusalem, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and the Israeli settlements with a discussion of social issues, violence and family.

Tickets are $10 and performances are tonight, Thursday, Nov. 13, continuing Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m. at Cholla High Magnet School, 2001 W. Starr Pass. For more info, call 225-4161.

Southern Arizona Congressman Raul Grijalva joined his Congressional Progressive Caucus Co-Chair Keith Ellison (D-MN) to urge the White House to act on immigration:

The Congressional Progressive Caucus calls on President Obama to provide comprehensive relief to immigrants residing in our nation through executive action. Expansive and robust action that addresses the economic, family, community and national problems we now face is urgently needed. Republicans in Congress have made it clear they will not engage in a good faith effort to fix our broken immigration system. The president has the legal authority and moral imperative to provide relief for over 7 million undocumented immigrants currently living in the shadows.

Our current deportation system is inhumane and wastes billions of taxpayer dollars. Choices between addressing the needs of millions of aspiring Americans and attempting to satisfy the demands of an uncompromising and entrenched opposition are inevitable. We should stand for what is right for our nation. This memo contains our requests for a new affirmative relief program and an expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

The administration should act swiftly and comprehensively. We should not force deserving individuals and families to wait any longer.

But Arizona Gov.-elect Doug Ducey opposes any executive action by the Obama Administration. Today's statement from Ducey:

We are a nation of immigrants, but we are also a nation of laws. I believe that everyone must be treated with respect, but the first thing Washington needs to do is rebuild our trust, as Americans, by securing the border.

Vox Urbana is one of my favorite Tucson bands, but that's not the only reason I'm telling you to see their show tomorrow night, Friday, Nov. 14 at Tanline Printing Studios, 14 W. 35th St., 8 p.m., $5 cover. You should see this show for two reasons: because you understand the value of dancing your cumbia-loving ass off or if you don't know the value, this is the best way for you to learn. Go!

This cumbia group is part of ourTucson soundtrack and tomorrow night's show celebrates the release of their new record La Pitaya.

From the Vox folks:

Throughout the southwest and Mexico, Vox Urbana have “established a cult following thanks in large part to the group's highly entertaining shows, a bevy of skillful instrumentation and shake-your-hips rhythms." (Flagstaff Live!) Recently Vox Urbana has been garnering attention not just for their high-energy shows but also original songs whose lyrics tell stories of the political and personal realities of the borderlands they call home. Songs such as “La Piedra y La Bala,” which relates the recent tragedy of Jose Antonio Elena, a Mexican teenager shot dead through the US-Mexico border fence by Border Patrol agents. Or “Pepe Arpia,” a scathing and comic indictment of Maricopa County’s infamously racist and media-pandering Sheriff, Joe Arpaio. These new songs appear on La Pitaya, as well as other songs whose lyrics and rhythm find the middle ground between dance parties and grass roots political protest.

Brought together by Tucson’s diverse and bustling live music scene, Vox Urbana formed in 2010 and has undergone multiple instrumental and stylistic shifts, with several personnel changes resulting in the current six-man lineup that features a driving rhythm section, muscular horn arrangements, and harmonized group vocals. The band’s ability to write and play cumbia, salsa, funk, huapango, cha-cha, trova, and Latin soul are indicative of its member’s wide-ranging U.S. and Latin American musical backgrounds.

This year Vox Urbana was awarded grants from the Tucson Pima Arts Council and Puffin Foundation for its “Cumbia Corridos” project, which seeks to create storytelling songs inspired by interviews the band has conducted with Tucsonans whose voices may not always be heard in public discourse. The Cumbia Corridos project is set to debut in early 2015.

Enjoy this video from an equally loved Tucson creator, our friend Heather Gray:

Viva la cumbia

I'm not sure why this seems so weird, but DJ Jazzy Jeff - who, yes, you probably remember from backing The Fresh Prince, but should be know for being a straight-up great DJ - is performing at Hi Fi at either 11 p.m. tonight, as part of a Throwback Thursdays event there. Even better, there's no cover.

Here's a set from earlier this year that he did for hipster music site Boiler Room:

The gentlemen of the Sunnyvale Trailer Park, in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia are coming to Tucson in what might be the most surprising concert announcement in some time.

The Trailer Park Boys' Still Drunk, High and Unemployed tour is scheduled for the Fox Theatre on Feb. 20, 2015, with Ricky, Julian and Bubbles from the Canadian cult comedy (now seen on Netflix here in the States) providing an evening of entertainment:

Having answered to the law in the "Community Service Variety Show" preaching the dangers of substance abuse to avoid jail time, the crew are now on the road without parole officers. Spend an evening with the boys as Bubbles tries to create a new career for himself in the movie industry, Julian puts his latest money-making scams into action and Ricky has an idea that can 'change the world!'

Tickets go on sale Nov. 21.

Due to the changes with our distribution, sometimes not everyone has a copy of the Weekly on Thursday, so in an attempt to make sure you know about the best things happening around town tonight, here's a knowledge jewel for you: Go see Billy Sedlmayr tonight at Tap & Bottle.

Here's what Mari Herreras wrote in City Week:

If you haven't heard Tucson musician Billy Sedlmayr perform songs from his first solo debut, "Charmed Life," this is your chance. And, if his songs weren't enough, the intimacy of a little venue like Tap and Bottle is absolutely perfect for his style of storytelling. The little pub's music nights have been brilliantly booked lately, and for the record, the beer selection's equally stellar. Go take a listen and a sip, Thursday, Nov. 13, 8:30 p.m. at 403 N. 6th Ave. There's probably going to be a great food truck parked out front. If you need more details, check out the bar's Facebook page. For more on Billy, go to www.billysedlmayrmusic.com.