Happy International Women’s Day, lovely humans of the Earth. Take a moment to thank the kick-ass women in your life a little bit extra today. Listen to some Beyoncé—you're #Flawless. Also take a few moments to try and understand the apparent and more concealed struggles women encounter on a daily basis.

Society puts women at a disadvantage that varies in intensity due to a variety of factors, be it race, socioeconomic status, religion, disability status, physical appearance, etc. We're conditioned to blame ourselves and are blamed by others for our own rapes, we make less money than our male colleagues, we're sexualized from grossly young ages, we're forced to fight to control our reproductive rights, we're taught "boys will be boys," we're called sluts and whores and unpure for expressing our sexualities, we're labeled as "bossy" for asserting our opinions and ideas—the list of injustices goes on and on. 

Listen. I'm not not here to judge if you've never registered any of these realities—though I think that's almost impossible this day in age, with social media, the internet as a whole, the supposed "Media Circus" and what not. I myself wasn't always aware of the inherent bias and discrimination our society imposes against women. I am here to tell you, though, that these realities are, yes, very real, and oftentimes heart-breaking for any woman or girl you may know and love.

If you're feeling rather disheartened, angry or just generally emotional after that last proclamation, good. You should be. But instead of just wallowing and feeling like a shitty person for just realizing this, be curious. Educate yourself and try to understand. Watch and read up on other kick-ass women's opinions and research regarding what it means to live as a woman in today's society. Check out the following educational starting points for your daily dose of Womanhood 101. 

It's a two giveaway kind of day! This Thursday, March 10, Neon Indian will be performing with BRYDES at the Rialto Theatre. Want to go? We're giving away a pair of tickets. 

Not not familiar with the music? Here's Neon Indian's bio, as told by the Rialto.  

Neon Indian (aka Alan Palomo) has announced the long awaited follow up to 2011’s Era Extraña and this year’s standalone single “Annie.” Slated for release via Mom + Pop on October 16, VEGA INTL. Night School was conceived during a period of aesthetic reinvention for Palomo, as he retooled the lo-fi and spontaneous writing style he’d developed as Neon Indian by incorporating elements of the cleaner production values and dance oriented approach of his previous recording moniker VEGA, ultimately merging the two into one fast lane. Developed over a four year period, the album brims with funk-centric guitar lines, pronounced Balearic rhythms, and the most elaborate songwriting of his career.

Composed and recorded in a variety of locations including, but not limited to, the cabin aboard a cruise ship, DFA’s Plantain Studios in New York, Pure X’s practice space in Austin, Ben Allen’s studio in Atlanta, and mixed in Brooklyn with Alex Epton (XXXchange). Upon its completion, Alan noted “most of what I’ve learned about human nature in my twenties has happened after dark. People are just kind of more honest then. More deliberate. I like to call the places I go to Night Schools.”

The new album single “Slumlord” arrives alongside an inventive relaunch of his website as Nightschool.biz The site features an hotline (+1-512-643-VEGA) to receive and send audio of the song and a special voice greeting about the album, in addition to newly announced US tour dates and an album-preorder that comes with instant grat tracks “Annie” and “Slumlord.”

Disney delivers another winner with Zootopia, a cute, uplifting story with a surprising dark side.

It’s the sort of movie that’ll have kids asking their parents a few questions about some tough topics, while also being a movie that should entertain just about anyone who sits their butt in a theater seat to watch it.

Judy (Ginnifer Goodwin entering the Voice Acting Hall of Fame) is a little bunny determined to be the first bunny cop on the force in Zootopia, a metropolis populated by animals. On the road to joining the force, she faces a lot of opposition for being both a bunny and a girl. Judy beats insurmountable odds, and winds up on the force, much to the chagrin Chief Bogo (Idris Elba). She soon finds herself on a missing mammals case and enlists the help of a sly fox (Jason Bateman) for investigative work.

The film is co-directed by three guys: Byron Howard (Tangled), Rich Moore (Wreck-It Ralph) and Jared Bush (His feature debut!). Directing by committee certainly works in this case, as the film has a nice unified feel while sustaining a surprising depth for an animated movie. The animation is top notch and inventive, with cute little touches throughout.

Judy’s hometown is farmland distinguished by an Easter pastels palette. When a cop chase winds up in a rodent community, it becomes a funny Godzilla riff. There are little, witty touches throughout, and the movie is just another animation home run for the Disney catalogue. 

Well, every so often we get to give out tickets to something other than a Basketball game and it looks like that day has come again. 

Jeff Dunham is going to be in town this weekend, and if you're so inclined, you can go see him! Dunham will be at the Tucson Arena (206 S. Church St.) on Sunday, March 13 at 3 p.m.

Tickets are going for $46.50, but we've got two to give away. Want 'em? Enter here. We'll draw a winner on Friday. 

That's right, Potter fans! Your wish has been granted. We American muggles are finally getting some answers.

In anticipation of the new film trilogy from the wizarding world, author J.K. Rowling will be releasing four new stories about the history of magic in the new world. The series, called Magic in North America, will be released in installments starting tomorrow March 8 at 7 a.m. Tucson time and continuing every day until Friday, March 11, according to the announcement on Pottermore.com.

The first of the films, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, will be released Nov. 18.

"Magic in North America will bring to light the history of this previously unexplored corner of the wizarding world in the run up to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. And you’ll want to get up to speed before the film comes around in November."

Check the interactive Harry Potter site, Pottermore, tomorrow for the first story.

Meow! I’m Keyshawn! I’m a 6 year old little boy who was found as a stray and brought to the Humane Society of Southern Arizona in September!

I’ve test positive for FeLV but that doesn’t mean that I can’t be adopted, I can even go to a home where other kitties live! If you’re interested in adopting an FeLV cat HSSA will test and vaccinate your current kitties at no cost to you! We want everyone to stay safe, healthy and happy!

I’ve been at the shelter for way too long and can’t wait to be adopted! If you’re interested in giving me a home please stop buy HSSA Main Campus at 3450 N. Kelvin Blvd. to meet me!

Hope to see you soon,
Keyshawn (813093)

I arrived in January to work for Mathare Foundation, a foundation that gives free classes to vulnerable children in Nairobi's infamous Mathare Slum.

Day one was a shock. Nothing in the slum surprised me, but the chemistry I had with my coworkers was impressive and I'll always remember how I felt when I saw the 80 square foot apartment that I would spend the next month in, void of furniture or running water. 

Things calmed down the rest of the week. We settled into a rhythm at work, got to know the children at Mathare Foundation, and then I spent my weekend exploring downtown while battling salesmen and thieves. 


Week two got off to a quick start. I arrived at the office and immediately went over changes I had made to the website over the weekend. The changes were cosmetic and I spent that morning discussing menu layouts and photo organization with Eric, the founder and leader of Mathare Foundation. We made a list of changes, then went to a restaurant nearby for lunch. It was the more expensive restaurant in the area, I was told. I paid $1.75 for a bottle of Fanta and a heaping plate of pilau, a seasoned rice dish with diced vegetables and chunks of beef. The restaurant would become my daily lunch that week, while by breakfast and dinner were usually tap water and chapati, a circular fried bread. There was no mirror at the apartment but every weekend when I went into the city center I saw that my reflection was thinner and darker than the week before.

Len Sherman, who co-authored Joe's Law: America's Toughest Sheriff Takes On Illegal Immigration, Drugs and Everything Else That Threatens America with Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, says America's Toughest Sheriff needs to go. An excerpt from Sherman's Arizona Republic op-ed:

The sheriff’s obsession with his own fame, combined with his determination to keep his job no matter what, have caused him to bend the priorities of the department to his own needs. He has politicized a law enforcement agency, and in doing so, corrupted it.

That corruption has mired the Sheriff’s Office in incompetence and negligence, and has too many of the rank and file disillusioned and disgusted.

I know this because almost three years ago I was invited to join MCSO on a part-time basis — not by the sheriff, incidentally. The idea was that I would provide a perspective different than the conservative norm of the command staff.

I recently and reluctantly resigned because voices unwilling to toe the party line are no longer welcome.

A bunker mentality rules as the walls close in, information hemorrhages to the press from numerous anonymous inside sources, and paranoia and threats from the top continue.

To understand what has happened, start by understanding that illegal immigration and the "birther" business have one fascinating thing in common: Both began as crass ploys to appeal to voters, with Arpaio’s tone hardening as he somehow, over time, convinced himself that what he was peddling was actually so.

And it worked. Millions of dollars needed for his increasingly difficult re-election campaigns rolled in, along with the media attention he so desperately craves.

There’s nothing more complicated to any of it, and neither ever had much of anything to do with MCSO’s actual responsibilities. Yet they have cost the department dearly in money and manpower—resources that could have been better deployed elsewhere.

The Ku Klux Klan began in 1866, founded by former officers of the Confederate army, and remained active in one form or another until 1871. It was revived in 1915, mostly due to the very popular film, The Birth of a Nation, by D.W. Griffith. The film rewrote post-Civil War history, and as it was shown across the country to large audiences, it helped validate and legitimize racism and discrimination which were already prevalent in the U.S.

The Birth of a Nation is a cinematic masterpiece, the finest film made in the U.S. to that point. It took the various cinematic techniques available at the time and used them to enhance the visual and emotional impact in a way no one had seen before. I watched it years ago in a film history class. Though it's a silent film, its power is unmistakeable.

The film, based on a 1905 book, The Clansman, begins with the Civil War, then portrays a defeated south where the freed slaves have taken over. Black legislators are seen sitting in the state house drinking liquor and eating fried chicken with their bare feet up on their tables, ogling white women. Black soldiers push white citizens aside on the sidewalks, and whites are kept from voting while black officials stuff the ballot boxes. The film's shocked and dismayed white hero sees black children being frightened by white children pretending to be ghosts, and the idea for the white-robed Klan is born. The KKK rides to the rescue and saves the day.

Inspired by the film, "Colonel" William Joseph Simmons, revived the Klan in 1915.

In its second incarnation, the Klan moved beyond just targeting blacks, and broadened its message of hate to include Catholics, Jews and foreigners. The Klan promoted fundamentalism and devout patriotism along with advocating white supremacy. They blasted bootleggers, motion pictures and espoused a return to "clean" living. Appealing to folks uncomfortable with the shifting nature of America from a rural agricultural society to an urban industrial nation, the Klan attacked the elite, urbanites and intellectuals.

Their message struck a cord, and membership in the Klan ballooned in the 1920s. By the middle of the decade, estimates for national membership in this secret organization ranged from three million to as high as eight million Klansmen. And membership was not limited to the poor and uneducated on society's fringes. Mainstream, middle-class Americans donned the white robes of the Klan too. Doctors, lawyers and ministers became loyal supporters of the KKK. In Ohio alone their ranks surged to 300,000. Even northeastern states were not immune. In Pennsylvania, membership reached 200,000. The Klan remained a clandestine society, but it was by no means isolated or marginalized.

The Women's Studies Advisory Council will screen six films about, for and by women, at the Loft Cinema (3233 E. Speedway Blvd.) in their 15th annual LUNAFEST tour on Tuesday, March 8. 

The festival aims to illuminate women's issues, nationally unite women and highlight female filmmakers through a variety of film mediums ranging from animated shorts to fictional dramas. Topics explored include motherhood, body image, cultural diversity and breaking gender barriers. 

Created and funded by LUNA (yes, LUNA as in the nutrition bar), LUNAFEST benefits Tucson's Breast Cancer Fund and the UA's Women's Studies Advisory Council. The event will also collect money and non-perishable food or feminine hygiene products for the Adult and Youth Programs of the Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation as part of the YWCA Southern Arizona. Donors will get one voucher for buy-one-get-one free raffle tickets. 

Featured LUNAFEST films include the following: 

• Balsa Wood by Dominique Lecchi
  
• Beach Flags by Sarah Saidan
  
• Boxeadora by Meg Smaker
  
• Finding June by Anna Schumacher
  
• First World Problems by Hanna Maylett
  
• Raising Ryland by Sarah Feeley
  

Screenings start at 7 p.m. and run until 9:30. Get tickets for $10 at the door or call 621-5656 to buy them in advance. Check out LUNAFEST's website for more information.