Friday, October 4, 2019
What’s so funny about 10/12?
You have tough choices for Saturday, October 12. At 8 p.m., Tig Notaro performs an all-ages show at the Rialto Theatre. Tickets are $30 o $42 at Eventbrite.com. Her CD, Live, was the number one selling comedy album the year it was released. A cancer survivor, she’s been nominated for an Emmy and a Grammy for her HBO special, Boyish Girl Interrupted, and her memoir was a New York Times Best-seller.
You can test your stamina with 24 hours of comedy at TENWEST’s 86,400 Second Tucson Comedy Marathon from 6 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 12 until 6 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 13 at Hotel McCoy. Produced by the Tucson Comedy Alliance, it’s free, live and live streamed on Facebook at tucsoncomedy.com. Bring the kids for six hours of family comedy from 6 a.m. to noon on Sunday, Oct. 13. Watch for more details in Tucson Weekly’s coverage of TENWEST.
Finally, Tucson expat and current New York City comic Lorrie Brownstone features for headliner Jason Cheny at Laffs Comedy Caffe at 8 and 10:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday, October 11 and 12. Tickets are $12.50 and $17.50 via laffstucson.com.
Titters
If there weren’t already a word combining boobs and laughs, rascally cartoonist, satirist and raconteur David Fitzsimmons would have to invent one. His annual Titters comedy show, featuring an all-female lineup, has a serious heart, though. It benefits Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, a program that funds breast cancer research. Fitzsimmons lost both his mother and sister to breast cancer. Two of the show’s comedians are survivors.
Brownstone extends her stay to head up the bill. The lineup includes Nancy Stanley, founder of The Estrogen Hour; Priscilla Fernandez of the Retro Game Show, attorney Stacy Scheff and Laughing Stock’s own Linda Ray. Fitzsimmons hosts.
The show is at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 16. Tickets are $16 via freshtix.com.
The Estrogen Hour celebrates its “Wood” anniversary.
While we all know about those fancy anniversaries in double digits – gold, silver, maybe crystal — leave it to those randy Estrogen Hour girls, at least the straight ones, to celebrate the wood for their fifth anniversary. In its five years, the show has raised more than $40,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
The lineup has not yet been confirmed, but The Estrogen Hour typically features female comedians, including a few comedy “virgins” and, occasionally a “guestosterone.” Follow The Estrogen Hour on Facebook for updates.
The Estrogen Hour: 5th Anniversary Show starts at 6:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 20 at Laff’s Comedy Caffe. Reservations are $15 via pages.lls.org/tnt/az/ashvle20/MSteed
Even More Laughs
Friday, Oct. 4: Standup with Michael Turner at 7:30 p.m at The O ($5 and $10). Standup with Mike Merryfield at 8 and 10:30 p.m., Laffs Comedy Caffe ($12.50 and $17.50) Improv with Constable and 301 Showcase at 7:30 p.m. and The Soapbox at 9 p.m. at Tucson Improv Movement ($5).
Saturday, Oct. 5: Standup with Mike Merryfield at 8 and 10:30 p.m., Laffs Comedy Caffe ($12.50 and $17.50). Improv with The Match Game at 7:30 p.m. with Seasons Readings and 3rd Beats at 9 p.m. at Tucson Improv Movement ($5).
Sunday, Oct. 6 and 13: Free Open Mic at 8 p.m. at Chuckleheads in Bisbee.
Monday, Oct. 7 and 14: Free Open Mic at 7 p.m. at The Surly Wench. Oct. 14: Free improvised standup show with audience participation at The Switch at 9 p.m. at The Hut.
Tuesday, Oct. 8: Free open mic and Oct. 15 Roast of Roy Lee Reynolds at Neighborhood Comedy at 6:45 p.m. at The Music Box Lounge.
Wednesday, Oct. 9 and 16: Free open mics at 7 p.m. at The Screening Room and 8:30 p.m. at The Mint.
Thursday, Oct. 10 and 17: Free open mics at 8 p.m. at Laffs Comedy Caffe and 8:30 p.m. at Rockabilly Grill.
Tags: Tig Notaro , Andry Andrist , Kristine Levine , TENWEST , 86 , 400 Second Tucson Comedy Telethon , Hotel McCoy , Doug Stanhope , Lorrie Brownstone , Tucson Improv Movement , The Match Game , Demetri Martin , Rockabilly Grill , Laffs Comedy Caffe , The Screening Roo , The Mint , The Music Box Lounge , Roy Lee Reynolds , Neighborhood Comedy , The Music Box Lounge , The Surly Wench , Chuckleheads , Mike Merryield , Tuson Improv Movement , The Soapbox , Michael Turner , The Estrogen Hour , Leukemia and Lymphoma Society , Nancy Stanley , Stacy Sheff , Linda Ray , David Fitzsimmons , Priscilla Fernandez , Making Strides Against Breast Cancer , Lorrie Brownstone , Jason Cheny , Comedy Virgins , TENWEST , TENWEST;s 86 , 400 Second Comedy Telethon , marathon , Hotel McCoy , Image
Monday, September 30, 2019
Tags: pets , adoption , HSSA , cats , animals , Humane Society , Image
The necropsy (an animal autopsy) was performed at the University of Arizona Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory.
“Elinor died of an aggressive, malignant cancer known as lymphoma,” said chief veterinarian Dr. Alexis Roth, in a statement. “Her symptoms and progression of disease were rapid. Although a common form of cancer in people and many animals, lymphoma is extremely rare in giraffe and not much is known about successful treatment.”
The median life expectancy for reticulated giraffes is 19 years. Elinor lived at Reid Park Zoo with two other giraffes: Jasiri, an 8-year-old male, and Denver, a 30-year-old female who is the second oldest giraffe in an AZA-accredited Zoo.
“Elinor was loved so much by staff and guests,” said Sue Tygielski, director of zoo operations, in a release. “Little kids that visit the zoo knew her from the other giraffe and would wait to visit with and feed Elinor. She had her own special fan club. While some guests marveled at Jasiri’s tall height, and others at Denver’s bold nature, Elinor was often the sweet favorite.”
Tags: Reid Park Zoo , giraffes , Elinor , cancer , Image
Tags: Trump , MAGA , Claytoonz , Clay Jones , politics , comics , tariffs , Image
Gunnell, who finished Saturday's clash with UCLA, which the Wildcats won, 20-17, with 352 passing yards, one passing touchdown, and perhaps most importantly, zero turnovers.
Gunnell, who wasn't made available to the media on Saturday night, hit his biggest pass of the night on a wheel route by running back Darrius 'Bam' Smith, resulting in a 75-yard touchdown to give Arizona a 17-13 lead with 8:17 left in third quarter.
Sumlin said that Gunnell, who made a spot start for Khalil Tate, who missed Saturday's contest with a hamstring and ankle injury, handled the situation as well as possible.
"The first thing you look at with a true freshman quarterback is, the number one thing was poise. How he handled the situation," Sumlin said. "I thought, he was very mature about how he handled things, how he went about his business."
The Wildcats (3-1, 1-0) sealed their victory on Saturday in the waning seconds of the contest, when UCLA junior kicker, JJ Molson, missed a 38-yard field goal that would have tied the game.
The win is the Wildcats' first over the Bruins since the 2017 season.
"It's a team effort. It's always, I got to say it all the time, we were more about us than the opponent and I think we've learned a lot about each other," Sumlin said. "...We tried to get our best players on the field and give our team the best opportunity to win. And that's what coaching is all about."
The theme of the night amongst Sumlin's players revolved around the player that never spoke, with offensive and defensive stalwarts singing Gunnell's praises.
Redshirt senior wideout Cedric Peterson, who finished with three catches and 44 yards on Saturday, praised Gunnell's ability to stay in the moment on Saturday, sparking the team's surge on Saturday.
"He did great man. He had to step up. He knew what he had to do. That's how the offense, we had to make sure that we were all on the same page for him," Peterson said. "It was his first game he showed great strides. So we're proud of him."
Perhaps the greatest surprise of the night was the play of Arizona's defense, which held UCLA to 445 yards, while forcing a turnover in the win.
Junior linebacker Tony Fields II, who had 10 tackles in the team's win on Saturday, said the Wildcats' effort on Saturday night was one of the best that he's seen in his three years in the desert.
"I believe it was one of our off best all around as a full team game, I've seen since I'm in Arizona, I feel like everybody stepped up," Fields said.
Looking forward
The Wildcats will look to extend their three-game win streak on Saturday, when they travel to Boulder to face the University of Colorado.
The game, which will kick off at 1:30 p.m. Tucson time, is the Wildcats' first trip to the Centennial State since 2017, when Arizona beat Colorado, 45-42.
Perhaps the greatest memory from the team's 2017 trip to the Front Range was Tate's 327 rushing yard performance, a record for Football Bowl Subdivision quarterbacks.
Saturday's contest will be carried by the Pac-12 Network.
Tags: Grant Gunnell , Kevin Sumlin , Tony Fields II , Arizona Wildcats , UCLA Bruins , Pac-12 , College Football , Arizona Stadium , Tucson , Los Angeles , Chip Kelly , UCLA Bruins , Image
The Liberal Agenda: Feminist Comedy with Em Bowen and Friends
Em Bowen is the best argument we know for “they” as a singular pronoun. They not only own it, they sell it. They identify as “a queer, non-binary educator and comedian,” a phrase that seriously under-represents their comedic sense and laser-efficient delivery, as engaging as it is unpretentious.
A doctoral candidate at the UA, Bowen also co-directs the Tucson Poetry Festival and, note to Dave Chapelle, they model comedy that, in Bowen’s words, doesn’t “tear down vulnerable populations.”
Bowen holds forth at 8 p.m. Monday, Sept. 30, at Crooked Tooth Brewing Company. Friends sharing the stage include Andrea Salazar, Molly McCloy, Mariah Dickson and Nicole Riego. Details.
Free open mic presented by Comedy at the Wench, 7 p.m. at the Surly Wench Pub.
Tags: Things to do , events , activities , comedy , open mic , Image
Friday, September 27, 2019
Betsy DeVos and her Department of Education are sure charters run rings around district schools when it comes to student performance.
How sure are they? Here's one of those exquisite moments of self parody, in case you missed it:
A top Department of Ed official came to Tucson recently as part of his national tour of successful schools. He visited TUSD's University High School, proclaiming its Blue Ribbon status is proof "that Arizona charter schools have done something really unique in the past decade."
Say what? UHS a charter school?
A Star reporter (I'm guessing it was Danyelle Khmara who wrote the story) corrected him, saying that University High is a public school. Undaunted, the official corrected the reporter: “No, University High School is a charter school,” he said, then mansplained (charter-splained?) that the reporter was laboring under a "misconception" about charters.
DeVos & Co. are strict adherents of the Trump doctrine: Never let facts get in the way of a good story. If the students are high achievers, it's a charter or a private school. Any questions?
So it might come as something of a surprise that a U.S. Department of Education document released this month, School Choice in the United States: 2019, concludes there is no discernible difference between the performance of students in charter and district schools. Here's the finding from the executive summary.
In 2017, at grades 4 and 8, no measurable differences in average reading and mathematics scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) were observed between students in traditional public and public charter schools.The most recent results at the department's disposal are from 2017, and the NAEP is the closest we have to a gold standard in national standardized testing, so the study is using the best and most recent data available.
Tags: Charter schools , District schools , Private schools , Betsy DeVos , U.S. Department of Education , Image
The Wildcats, who defeated the Texas Tech Red Raiders, 28-14, in their last game on Sept. 14, are looking for their first win over the Bruins since 2017.
The Bruins (1-3, 1-0) are coming off a whirlwind victory over Washington State in Pullman last week, overcoming an 18-point halftime deficit to upset the Cougars, 67-63.
Chip Kelly's team features dual-threat quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who has thrown for 1,063 yards and 10 touchdowns this year.
The Bruins feature a one-dimensional offense, however, ranking dead-last in the Pac-12 in rushing yards per game (96.0).
The Wildcats, meanwhile, rank first in the conference in the same category (307.7 yard per game), with the second-most rushing yards of any team overall (923).
Arizona senior quarterback Khalil Tate leads the team in passing yards (684) and rushing yards (238) with 12 offensive touchdowns in four starts.
Here are the essentials for tomorrow night's Pac-12 After Dark showdown between the Wildcats and Bruins:
How to Watch: ESPN will air the contest at 7:30 p.m. Arizona time (10:30 p.m. Eastern)
Who to Watch: Keep an eye on the aforementioned Thompson-Robinson, who threw for 507 yards against Washington State a week ago. Junior wide receiver Demetric Felton is another Bruin to keep an eye on, as the wideout is coming off a game with 7 catches and 150 receiving yards against Wazzu a week ago.
How to Bet: The boys in Vegas currently have Arizona as a 6.5-point favorite, as of Friday afternoon. Arizona is 2-0 against the spread this season, while UCLA is 1-3 against the spread.
Who Will Win: The Wildcats lost last year's game with UCLA at the Rose Bowl by one point, 31-30, and that was a game that featured third-string QB Rhett Rodriguez. I think the Wildcats get the job done come Saturday night, earning their third-straight win.
I'll go with Arizona in this one, 45-35.
Tags: Khalil Tate , Arizona Wildcats , UCLA Bruins , Pac-12 , Arizona Stadium , Chip Kelly , Dorian Thompson-Robinson , Demetric Felton , JJ Taylor , ESPN , Adam Amin , California , Los Angeles , Tucson , Image
Tags: Trump , Claytoonz , MAGA , poltics , current affairs , whistleblower , comics , Clay Jones , Image
Heavily emphasizing the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots—and the five decades of progress for the LGBTQ community thereafter—this year's theme, Rise Up, draws inspiration from the past to continue the movement towards true and enduring equality. The 42nd Annual Tucson Pride Parade & Festival takes place at the Demeester Outdoor Performance Center at Reid Park. See this week's cover story and tucsonpride.org for more details...
Since the 1970s, this Italian film composer has specialized in scoring horror films: Suspiria, Tenebrae, Dawn of the Dead and many more. Claudio Simonetti's Goblin performs the live score to Dario Argento's classic, Deep Red (Profondo Rosso). At the Rialto Theatre...
From the painted desert skies of her native Tucson, Rhythm and Roots presents Latin-tinged country/Americana songstress Lisa Morales and her band. On the plaza at Hotel Congress...
When hip-hop artist Benjamin Laub—better known as Grieves—was asked if he always knew he'd be a rapper, the question is met with laughter. "Oh no. I was in bands and stuff, but I grew up listening mainly to punk stuff." That is until he first heard his dad playing Mobb Deep and Wu-Tang Clan. His latest EP, The Collections of Mr. Nice Guy, brings Grieves to the Club Congress stage. With Phoenix hip-hopper Mouse Powell...
Fluxx presents Over It: An evening of queer escapism. Engage in the sweat-soaked ritual of dance. BOI will perform. DJs Atlantis Moreupset, Robertitx, Daddy Slmbr Prty and Sissy Peniston spin into the early morning. At 191 Toole...
Reggae sensation vocalist Lukie D, backed by locals Rockers Uptown, performs a set of pop, R&B, country and reggae, alongside country singer Jennie Johnson. At Dunbar Pavillion...
Tucson cumbiancheros Vox Urbana continue to explore the plight of the immigrant. The lead single from their forthcoming new album is about a local hero, Karolina Lopez, a trans woman who was held in the Eloy Detention Center for three years before activist group Mariposas Sin Fronteras helped her regain her freedom. They are shooting a music video for "Karolina" at Exo Bar...
The Welty-Wilson Trio will be joined by saxophonist Autumn Dominguez to perform a mix of "originals, non-standard standards and non-ironic takes on modern pop tunes." At Saint Charles Tavern...
This Pakistani-American rapper/impresario recently posted to Twitter, "Trump is the face of racism. Undercover he takes money over humanity. Anyone that supports him is pure evil..." Real is rare. Mr. Capone-E. is set to perform at The Dive-Bar & Kitchen...
This Puerto Rican singer-songwriter/actor and true believer was quoted saying, "Just when you think we're living in a divided world, music brings us together." Four time Latin Grammy winner, Luis Fonsi spreads his message of unity veiled in a wash of pop and reggaeton. At AVA Amphitheater...
Sunday, Sept. 29
Only Love Can Bring You Peace. In a world that moves too fast to catch a breath and listen, this acclaimed Omaha, Nebraska singer-songwriter has been flying under the radar since 1991. Simon Joyner brings his downcast, yet painfully beautiful, loner folk to Exo Bar. With Lonna Kelly and Adam Ostrar...
This Western blues singer-songwriter plays an amplified acoustic guitar and harmonica in a neck rack—which has brought him acclaim as one of the best "harp-in-a-rack" players in the world. Hans Olson performs at the first-ever Sunday Blues & BBQ. At Hotel Congress. Tucson's own Tom Walbank is first at bat...
The Tucson Pops Orchestra performs Music Under the Stars. At Demeester Outdoor Performance Center... Spanish language radio station La Caliente 92.1/95.7 FM celebrate its 17 anniversary with a fiesta that features Banda Los Recoditos y mucho más. At AVA Amphitheater...
Colorado singer/guitarist Jim Dalton (of Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers) raises cane, along with Tucson favs The Jons. At The Maverick, King of Clubs...
Tags: Music , XOXO , orchestra , shows , concerts , things to do , community , rock , dance , djs , Pride , Image
