If you're already a fan of NPR's Tiny Desk Concerts, you know the series of videos is a great place to discover up-and-coming talent in the music world among videos of stripped down performances from more established musicians.

That's probably why so many local artists have submitted YouTube videos to win their spot to record their own video at NPR's Washington D.C. offices as part of the Tiny Desk Contest. Although the submission time for the contest has ended, singer-songwriter Jacob Acosta has curated a list of Tucson's entries.


Competing Old Pueblo submissions include Run Boy Run performing "Far From My Home / Lion and the Fawn," Mark Anthony Febbo performing "Bankrupt Man," and Carlos Arzate & The Kind Souls performing "On & On & On."

To watch the local videos that were made for the NPR contest, which could really mean some big national attention for these indie artists if they win, visit the Facebook event page created by Acosta. The winner of the NPR Tiny Desk Contest will be announced on the event's website on Thursday, Feb. 12. And, from the looks of it, Tucson has a pretty good chance of getting picked.

This evening, President Obama will be giving his State of the Union address. He's expected to discuss a very progressive tax plan, which would hike taxes for the folks with large salaries and give the middle-class tax breaks, celebrate the economy's recovery post Great Recession, talk terror threats and foreign policies, among other goals he's set for the next year.

But who is going to be paying attention to all that, when there will be this—


As reported by The Onion:

Speaking to reporters as he ran a tattered extension cord along the House of Representatives rostrum this afternoon, Vice President Joe Biden confirmed that he had arrived early in order to set up a fog machine for tonight’s State of the Union address. “This baby kicks out the fog like you wouldn’t believe, but you gotta give her plenty of time to warm up if you want the whole room to fill up real thick,” said Biden while carefully mixing water and glycerin according to his own homemade “fog juice” recipe, which he explained he’d been using since his brief stint as a roadie on White Lion’s Pride tour in 1987. “I wanted to do this thing up right with a whole laser rig and shit, but that would’ve set me back mucho dinero. But don’t you worry; Uncle Joe knows a few tricks with strobes that’ll get the crowd going.” At press time, Biden was reportedly double-checking the timers on a set of flash pots in order to avoid another congressional aide losing their fingers in a pyrotechnic mishap.

Ok, it's not true, but wouldn't it be fun? 

Playground's rooftop area might have a space reserved in the bumping, grinding, and boozing weekend portion of your brain, but now the bar's roof will be home to beats of a different kind— specifically of the West African variety. The bar, located at 278 E. Congress St., is presenting two classes on Tuesday nights to add some flavor to your workout routine. 

The Beats & Bends Tuesday night series at Playground begins 6:30 p.m. with an interactive West African dance class led by The Movement Shala's Jade Twilite Beall featuring live polyrhythmic drumming. Then at 8 p.m., instructors from Yoga Oasis will lead an hour-long yoga practice under the stars.

Beats & Bends takes place at Playground every Tuesday. It's $7 to attend one class or $13 for both the yoga and dance classes.

TUSD's Catalina High School and the district's Food Services Department want you to come try some internationally-inspired food as the high school preps for the Healthier U.S. School Challenge: Smarter Lunches.

About the challenge:

It is a voluntary certification initiative recognizing those schools enrolled in Team Nutrition that have created healthier school environments through promotion of nutrition and physical activity.
In 2010, First Lady Michelle Obama introduced Let’s Move!, incorporating HUSSC: SL into her campaign to raise a healthier generation of kids. At that time, monetary incentive awards became available for each HUSSC:SL award level: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Gold Award of Distinction.
To date, HUSSC: SL awards have been given to schools in 49 states and the District of Columbia. As of December 22, 2014, there are 6,797 schools certified (4,638 Bronze, 1,229 Silver, 573 Gold, and 357 Gold Awards of Distinction).

At the tasting event, which will include dishes inspired by the youngsters' native countries, your role would be to stuff your face and then score the food. The winner would move forward to student tasting and would get a change to be on the school menu next year. Oh something else, the winning dish will be served on the menu at Lodge on the Desert.

Student dancers representing Nepal and Somalia will perform at the beginning of the evening, and each entrée will come with information about the country of origin.

The event takes places Thursday, Jan. 22 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. For more info, call Food Services at 225-4700.

Tucson, we have some visitors. BBC Pop Up is traveling around the US, introducing the world at large to different cultures and they've landed in the Old Pueblo. I want to love it.

I mean, sure, in their first video they referred to Tucson as the "Wild West," shot half the footage at the OK Corral and had cowboys introduce the state. That's not great. But I like that they also used their intro video to touch on border issues, and they did give some non-costumed Tucsonans a minute in the spotlight.  

The team is camping out at the Arizona Daily Star's newsroom, and you can follow their adventures all over the Internet.

Many bills are written in the Arizona legislature, but few are chosen. And when Democrats write the bills, even fewer make the cut. With that in mind, here's an incomplete list of bills relating to education which I hope will get a serious hearing, even though some of them are less than perfect. (If I've missed any important ones, commenters, let me know.) I'm not going to list the sponsors of each bill, but I'll show how many are Democrats and Republicans. You can click on the links to learn more.

There's plenty to say about the bills, but it doesn't make sense to say much until we see which get serious consideration.

Opt Out of Statewide Assessments
HB 2246. This bill would allow parents to choose to have their children opt out of statewide assessments for whatever reason they choose. (Sponsored by 3 Republicans)

Public School Tax Credits
HB 2198 allows tax credit money given to public schools to be used for classroom curriculum as well as extracurricular activities. Currently, the money can only be used for extracurricular activities. (Sponsored by 2 Democrats) 
HB 2232 increases the maximum public school tax credit from $200 for an individual ($400 for a couple) to $500 for an individual ($1,000 for a couple). (Sponsored by 9 Democrats, 1 Republican)

Private School Tax Credits/School Tuition Organizations
HB 2231 says 95% of the tax credit money collected by STOs must be used for scholarships, meaning the STOs can only keep 5% for overhead. Currently, STOs can keep 10%. (Sponsored by 11 Democrats) 
HB 2233 forbids tax credit donors from recommending beneficiaries for scholarships. Currently, donors can recommend anyone but their own dependents (STOs aren't bound by the recommendations, but they tend to follow them). (Sponsored by 10 Democrats, 1 Republican) 
HB 2235 means tests scholarships. At least 66 percent of the scholarships have to go to children whose family income doesn't exceed 185 percent of the income qualifying a child for free or reduced lunch. (Sponsored by 11 Democrats)
HB 2251 says the Department of Revenue has to send information on tax credits donated by corporations to the Governor, President of the Senate, Speaker of the House, Chairs of the Finance and Ways and Means Committee, and the Secretary of State. (Sponsored by 10 Republicans, 6 Democrats)
HB 2234 Restricts the amount of extra tax credit money parents can give when their children move from public to private schools. (Sponsored by 12 Democrats)

This week you can keep Tucson kind and have some great eats all at once when Downtown Kitchen + Cocktails joins forces with Ben's Bells for a special happy hour event. On Thursday, Jan. 22 from 4 until 6 p.m. you can enjoy food and drink specials including $2.50 craft brews, $5 glasses of wine, and $4.50 cocktails.

Downtown's happy hour offerings also include $2.50 braised beef cheek or fish tacos; $9 crostini with foie gras mousse and Prosciutto di Parma; and the $8 Downtown burger with mushrooms, manchego, bacon, foie gras, and a side of fries—just to name a few. You can view the full list of happy hour offerings on the Downtown Kitchen website.

The event will feature two guest bartenders—Olympic gold medal swimmer Matt Grevers and Ben's Bells founder Jeannette Maré. All tips from the event will go to benefit Ben's Bells in their mission to promote intentional kindness throughout Tucson.

In honor of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday celebration today, the Loft Cinema is presenting a free showing of Through a Lens Darkly, a documentary that, according to the Loft's description, "traces the nearly 200-year struggle to counter demeaning and stereotyped images with positive and authentic ones, probing the recesses of American history by discovering photographs that have been suppressed, forgotten and lost."

The film screens at 5 p.m. Here's the lowdown from the Loft:

Somewhere between  a circus sideshow and a funky marching band, March Fourth blends visual art with music for a high energy, one-of-a-kind performance that will keep you dancing. The full band is stopping back through Tucson to play the Rialto Theatre on Saturday, Jan. 24 and we have a pair of free tickets to give away for those of you looking for some cheap thrills this weekend.

All you have to do is text TUCSON to 77948 to download our Best of TW app for Apple and Android phones, if you haven't done so already. Once you're signed into the app, just tap the "Our New Giveaway" banner and follow the prompts to enter. The winners will be chosen and notified via e-mail on Friday, Jan. 23 so you have some time to enter for your chance to win the tickets.


Tickets for the event are also available for purchase for $14 via Rialto Theatre's website. 

Last week, I wrote about the case of Nicoll Hernández-Polanco, a Guatemalan transgender woman who is detained in an all-male Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Florence.

Mariposas Sin Fronteras, a Tucson LGBT/immigration advocacy group, and the Transgender Law Center wrote a letter denouncing the verbal, physical and sexual abuse Nicoll has endured while in custody. Among many things, Nicoll says she was sexually assaulted by another inmate—she filed an official complaint but says she never found out if an investigation was carrier out—and has been called violent slurs like "the woman with balls," and "it."

Because Nicoll had been deported in the past—she first came to the U.S. when she was a minor—ICE will not release her. Mariposas Sin Fronteras, the Transgender Law Center and other groups created a petition demanding ICE let her go.

I heard back from ICE a couple of days after I sent them the allegations.

This is what they said:

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is firmly committed to providing for the safety and welfare of all those in its custody. ICE has a strict zero tolerance policy for any kind of abusive or inappropriate behavior in its facilities and takes any allegations of such mistreatment very seriously. The Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General and ICE’s Office of Professional Responsibility investigates all allegations of sexual abuse or other misconduct and takes appropriate action – whether it is pursuing criminal charges or administrative action - when such allegations are substantiated. Posters displayed in all ICE detention facilities direct detainees how to initiate a formal complaint. ICE meets routinely with nongovernmental organizations and other stakeholders as a part of the agency’s detention working groups. As a result of these discussions as well as the agency’s overall detention reform efforts, ICE has issued formal guidance to address the care and housing of vulnerable and special needs detainees.

On LGBT detainees:

ICE is committed to upholding an immigration detention system that prioritizes the health, safety, and welfare of all of those in our care in custody, including lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals. The incident in question was reported to ICE and has been referred to the appropriate authorities for investigation.
Since 2009, ICE has taken important steps to reform the detention system as part of the agency’s Detention Reform Initiative. Many of the improvements benefit LGBT detainees; such as, reducing transfers, improving access to counsel and visitation, promoting recreation, improving conditions of confinement, ensuring quality medical and mental health care, protecting vulnerable populations, and carefully circumscribing the proper use of segregation.
The recently issued Sexual Abuse and Assault Prevention and Intervention Directive established agency-wide policy and procedures for responding to incidents or allegations of sexual abuse or assault of individuals in ICE custody. The policy delineates duties for timely reporting, coordinated response and investigation, and effective monitoring of all incidents to ensure an integrated and comprehensive response system.

As of today, Nicoll is still in detention. Her attorneys continue to ask for her release, but say ICE refuses and that they continue to ignore the abuse and negligence she's going through. 

Is it that hard to at least transfer her to a facility for female detainees? Sadly, it's not surprising to hear this system is as gender diverse phobic as others.