Monday, May 11, 2015
It's that time of the week again: Time for me to guilt you into filling out your Best of Tucson® ballot. I know, there are a lot of categories and sometimes it's hard to decide which Tucson institution deserves your vote. Something to keep in mind: You've got just over a month to participate in the first round of balloting. So get to it!
Here's a thing I know about you: You read things on the internet. Hey, me too! A lot! That's why Best Tucson Blog is a category in Best of Tucson®. There are a lot of solid digital publications out there, and this race is pretty close. Go vote, then campaign for your favorite blog in the comments and help our undecided readers pick a team. And, uh, speaking of campaigning...
Tags: blogging , this is a blog , blogs are internet newspapers , cats on laptops , cattops
John Oliver's show celebrated Mother's Day by reminding us the United Stated and Papua New Guinea are the only two countries in the world that don't provide paid time off for new mothers—and advocating for paid family leave for all new parents.
Keep up the advocacy, Oliver.
Tags: Mother's Day , paid leave , unpaid leave , FLMA , moms are like feet , Video
Friday, May 8, 2015
Hot off of an energetic album release show the week before and finishing up a show at Solar Culture, something really terrible happened to Louise Le Hir. Someone took her guitar from her car in the gallery's parking lot on Tuesday, May 5 and it's been missing since.
While it's an unfortunate that gear does have a tendency to get taken by low life jerks looking to make a quick buck at a pawn shop, the reason Le Hir's missing guitar sucks especially is you can't just buy a new one. Her white 1961 Gibson SG was a gorgeous, vintage instrument, sure, but it was also her father's guitar.
Mark Mason described the instrument via Facebook:
It's a '61-ish Gibson SG with "Les Paul Model" on the headstock, one mini-humbucker, wrap-around tailpiece, homebrew white paint job, and an oversized all-white pickguard. It's probably the only one remotely like it in Tucson.
So if you took it, give it back. It has sentimental value. For the rest of us, let's scour pawn shops, Craigslist and music stores until we find it. If you have any leads, you can e-mail Louise Le Hir directly.
Here are some more pictures of Le Hir and her axe:
Tags: louise le hir , guitar , stolen
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Canyon del Oro's Dakota Worden is the winner of Congressional District 3's 2015 Congressional Art Competition. Dakota will be traveling to Washington, D.C., to see her work hung in the U.S. Capitol, where it will be on display for the next year.
“Congratulations to Dakota, and all participants in the 2015 Congressional Art Competition, for making 2015 one of our best years yet,” said Grijalva. “The talent and creativity on display in each of these works is truly inspirational. Every one of this year’s participants has made their school and their community proud, and set an outstanding example for their classmates to follow.”
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
A BFF is the very special kind of person who is always around to finish your sandwiches, and it is BFFs who are the subject of the upcoming Female Storytellers event on Wednesday, May 6.
The monthly event delivers funny and true tales on a given topic that changes every time that are written and performed by local women. This time you can listen to short pieces about friendship from Annie Conway, Stephanie Carlson, Erin Whittig, Maryann Green, Kate Schwartz and Amanda Sierra.
There's a suggested donation of $7 (cash only) to watch the show. A portion of the proceeds from this event will go to Ben's Bells and their mission to infuse more intentional kindness into Tucson.
You can catch all of the Female Storytellers at Flycatcher, located at 340 E. Sixth St. on Wednesday evening. Doors open at 7 p.m. and performers begin at 7:30 p.m. It's a 21 and over event.
Tags: female storytellers , tucson , speaking , event , flycatcher , friendship
Who got to catch the amazing, intellectual, beautiful and fierce Laverne Cox at the UA last night?
At the event—which was sponsored by the UA LGBTQ Affairs, ASUA Pride Alliance, UA Women's Resource Center, The Men's Project, FORCE and the ASUA Office of Diversity and Inclusion—the Southern Arizona Gender Alliance took the opportunity to honor the Orange is the New Black transgender actress with the inaugural Alexander John Goodrum Catalyst of Change Award.
(Who is he, you may ask?)
Here are the remarks by Michael Woodward, a years-long advocate for the transgender community, who, alongside Ian Ellasante of the Southwest Institute for Research on Women, presented Cox with the award:
"Alexander John Goodrum was a black, bisexual, trans man from Tucson who contributed greatly to the advancement of the transgender rights movement.
In 1998, he published the white paper "Gender Identity 101: A Transgender Primer," which became one of the most downloaded and cited documents about gender identity and expression for the next decade, and truly helped to shape the way in which we frame and teach these concepts even today.
The community and the world lost Alexander to suicide in 2002. His work lives on through our organization, the Southern Arizona Gender Alliance. SAGA envisions a society in which every person is assured of their basic rights and can live authentically and safely at home, at work, and in the community, regardless of their gender identity or expression.
Tonight we honor Laverne Cox with the inaugural Alexander John Goodrum Catalyst of Change Award for movement-changing work in gender justice – for she, too, is a pioneer whose work has brought greater justice and love to the world."
Tags: laverne cox , southern arizona gender alliance , alexander john goodrum , michael woodward , university of arizona , transgender
Friday, May 1, 2015
When I meet new people, they either comment on my name ("Are your parents musicians?" No, no they are not) or on my glasses (because they're really good). I've had these frames for almost two years now and they're just starting to show signs of distress. As someone who wouldn't be able to wouldn't be able to recognize her own mother from 10 feet away without her glasses on, it's pretty important to find a frame before the glasses I've got now wear out.
So, fill out your Best of Tucson® ballots! And make sure one of the (minimum 30) categories you fill out is Best Eyeglass/Optical Retailer!
Tags: Fill your ballot out!
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Looking to buy that very special, one-of-a-kind Mother's Day bauble? Need to get a gift for a recent grad? Well, you're in luck because Mercado San Agustin is hosting their Spring Bazaar on Saturday and Sunday for all of your local handmade and vintage needs.
This year, the event will feature 42 of the towns makers, collectors and purveyors including Desert Vintage, Alexandra Queen, Valerie Galloway, Fine Life Co., Allegiant Leather, Feral Empire, Linda Cato, Popcycle Collected Artifacts and Bottle Rocket.
Students from the Western Institute of Leadership Development handmade bags and scarves especially for the event as well. some incredible bags and scarves. Proceeds from WILD goods sales will go to fund student-led ventures that seek to work towards the greater good in the community.
The Spring Bazaar will take over Mercado San Agustin, located at 100 S. Avenida del Convento, on Saturday, May 2 and Sunday, May 3. The event is free to attend and will run from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. on both days. As usual, you can also pop into Agustin Kitchen, La Estrella Bakery, Blu or Seis for a bite and Stella Java for a cup of coffee while you shop at MSA.
Tags: mercado san agustin , spring bazaar , shopping , local , tucson , market , vintage , handmade , desert vintage , allegiant leather , bottle rocket
I really love going to comedy shows. Concerts aren't my bag: I don't know much about music, I'm a notably bad dancer and I'm 5 feet tall, making my face pretty much at elbow level—no, thank you. So, l go to comedy nights (and I'm sure some of you tall, dancing, music experts do, too).
So, while the rest of the comedy nerds and I await next month's Eddie Izzard show, who should we go see? Who should be named 2015's Best of Tucson® Best Local Comedian?
As always: Make your case for the most amusing local in the comments but head over and cast your vote where it counts so they get some recognition.
As part of the YWCA's mission to empower women and eliminate racism, the community center, located at 525 Bonita Ave., is hosting a series of forums that discuss the issue of mass incarceration in America.
On Wednesday, the second part of the series will discuss mass incarceration of women and people of color in the U.S. and how it affects the community. The event will feature the work of prison reform advocate Sue Ellen Allen as a part of the year-long Campaign for Real Justice. Allen authored the book "The Slumber Party from Hell," chronicling her own prison experience.
According to the YWCA, the fastest growing population of inmates in the country per capita is women, over 60 percent of whom are incarcerated with drug charges. Men and women of color are also impacted, especially considering individuals imprisoned due to rigid federal minimum sentencing for "crack" cocaine users.
The discussion will begin at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, April 29. Future events in the series are planned for September 23 and November 18.
Also, on Friday, May 1, the YWCA will be celebrating 98 years in the community with a special breakfast. Beginning at 8:30 a.m., you can enjoy breakfast in the courtyard while civil rights activist and leader Missouri senator Maria Chappelle-Nadal addresses the crowd. You can purchase tickets for the event via the YWCA website.
Editor's Note: This post has been modified to correct the date of the November 18 event.
Tags: ywca , tucson , mass incarceration , community discussion , anniversary , breakfast
