When I go to the gym, I usually just flail body parts around and assume that something is being exercised. Hoping for a more engaging workout, I tried an aerial silks class at Tucson Circus Arts.

If you’ve ever been to the All Souls Procession, you’ve seen the Tucson Circus Arts performance troupe, Flam Chen, perform hundreds of feet above the audience, twirling and flipping amid the pyrotechnics and smoke.

“I like it because I think people see performances and they think that it’s impossible, then they do it,” said teacher, Katherine Tesch, of teaching silks. Before joining Tucson Circus Arts she was a ballet dancer and rock climber.

• Mariana Dale
• The warm up for class starts firmly on the ground with some light jogging.

• xkcd.com

XKCD creator Randall Munroe is no stranger to huge, detailed, humorous comics — but today's takes the cake.

Entitled "Click and Drag," the image of the comic's bottom panel will move as you drag it, not unlike browsing on, say, Google Maps.

And, like Google Maps, the image seemingly goes on forever — underground passageways, flying whales and skyscrapers are among the features that Munroe included.

You're liable to lose a lot of time with this one. Bring a snack.

• Reid Park Zoo

The Internet is inundated by adorable animal photos, but Reid Park's newest additions can compete with the cutest of them. Reid Park Zoo welcomed a newborn Grevy's zebra on August 31. He went on display for the first time September 12 and is looking for a name!

Mom and baby spent several days behind-the-scenes under careful observation. The young zebra had a low birth weight, but he is now nursing, gaining weight, and ready to explore the larger habitat. Zoo staff and Veterinarian will continue to keep a close eye on this first time mom and her offspring for the next several critical months as he gains strength.

He will be on exhibit this morning for an undetermined length of time, and may return to his behind-the-scenes area in the afternoon, or whenever Zoo Keepers feel he needs additional rest.

The Grevy's zebra, Equus grevyi, is an endangered species with as few as 2,500 remaining in the wild. Reid Park Zoo is an active participant in the Species Survival Plan, which works to protect this species through captive breeding and education programs. Over 35 US zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) participate in the joint conservation efforts of the Species Survival Plan.

For more information, visit the zoo's website at tucsonzoo.org, or call 791-4022. For more pics check out their Facebook page here.

Last month marked the first-ever Cat Video Festival, in which someone won with a video entitled "Henri 2, Paw Deux," a title that tries so hard to be clever it makes my eyes ache.

Now the Friskies cat food brand has decided that they want in on the lucrative cat video market by creating the Friskies awards, which may either be the best or worst thing that could happen to the Blogosphere.

From Fast Company's interview with Friskies communications brand manager Shaun Belongie:

“One of the things we celebrate is that cats have this really vivid imagination," says Belongie (a claim substantiated by the brand’s jaw-droppingly trippy "Feed the Senses" ads). "They experience the world differently. Cat videos, in a lot of ways, really do celebrate the imagination of cat owners and cats.”

...

“The cat video has almost become an art form. But it needed to be legitimized, in our estimation, as an art form. It needs a major award—like movies have the Oscars, like TV has the Emmys, Internet cat videos needed an award. Friskies can do that.”

Spectacular.

For more on this story, including a conversation with the editor of Cat Fancy, check out Fast Company.

For the cherry on the kitty cat cake, let's watch a cat stalk its owner below the jump.

Love Letters To Tucson is an on-going project that is exactly what it sounds to be: Open letters from Tucsonans explaining just why they love the Old Pueblo, and why they insist upon living here in spite of the challenges of desert living, and the difficulty (and joy) of living in a city that's slightly off-kilter.

From Love Letters To Tucson:

Dear Tucson,

I love you. It wasn’t love at first sight though. Rather, it was incredulity.

I first met you when I turned off I-10 to Tangerine Road on a black December night in 1998. It was desolate: no street lights; lots of humps in the road; and signs saying ‘Do not enter when flooded”.

Whaaaat?

“Did we come to the right place?” I asked my hubby from the driver’s seat. “This is the desert, isn’t it?” (I didn’t have a clue then about the monsoon season).

...

Tucson, I love your scrappiness and your charm. I love that you are not the tidiest nor most stylish of creatures. You are, to me, the quirky, crazy aunt of the family, the one who doesn’t care how messed up her hair is, or that her lipstick is smudged, or that her skirt is tucked into her underwear, because when she smiles everyone else smiles with her.

I love that you grew on me. I had my doubts, and in fact I almost called the whole thing off, remember? I got a seven-year-itch and wanted to move back ‘home’ to the U.K. But we found our feet, you and I, and now I’m proud to call you home.

This rather upsets my parents, who believed my hubby and me when we said our America adventure would only last five years at most. But love, as they say, changes everything.

- Gillian

If you're interested in reading more letters, learning more about the project, or contributing your own love letter, give Love Letters To Tucson a visit.

• Image via Reddit user WTFAlex

Apparently, someone replaced the mural that used to be on the wall of the former Sharks Nightclub with a large "community chalkboard." If you want to check it out, it's at the corner of Congress Street and Arizona Avenue, between the former Sharks (soon to be Saint House, from the same folks who brought us 47 Scott and Scott and Co.) and Buffalo Exchange.

Not sure if the chalkboard is related to the forthcoming Saint House, but it's certainly a fun bit of potential community art in the wake of the Congress Street chain-link fence art that was removed in July.

UPDATE: Thanks to Tucson Weekly's own Adam Borowitz, we now know: It turns out that the chalkboard is a project from Dinnerware Artspace. More information on the chalkboard, as well as pictures of some particularly cool art, can be found at the project's Facebook page.

• Lucille and Mitt

If you're familiar with gone-before-its-time-but-back-again-soon sitcom Arrested Development, you know that Bluth family matriarch Lucille manages to be self-centered; cruel; and flagrantly obnoxious about her wealth, typically all at once.

Recently, a few sharp-eyed AD fans of the show decided that Lucille Bluth shares a number of traits with a certain politician, who has been in the public eye of late, and chose to superimpose his quotes atop photos of her, with chuckle-inducing results.

The fruit of their labors: Lucille and Mitt

For more, give that site a look; if you're so inclined, don't be afraid to suggest your favorite Mitt Romney quotes to the creators.

If you dig science, you're likely already familiar with XKCD, the witty, physics-and-language filled webcomic. Now the comic's creator, Randall Munroe, has taken to answering hypothetical questions with physics and philosophy once a week, with topics ranging so far from "What if a glass of water was, all of a sudden, literally half-empty?" to "How much Force power can Yoda generate?"

This week's question: "What if everyone actually had only one soul mate, a random person somewhere in the world?"

School has started; it's hot as hell; and you don't think you can break away from the office. But if you're up for a pirate-themed way to help take care of local businesses (and if you've paid attention to the rate with which places are closing up shop, you should be) give this a shot:

As part of our commitment to local businesses and the community, Bookmans Entertainment Exchange is a member of Local First Arizona. Their ShiftAZ campaign encouraging shopping at local businesses has inspired us to use our noggins, crank up our creativity and find a fun way to support other companies while bringing you added value via our Bookmans Treasure Hunt: The Search for Local Business Booty in Tucson.

All aboard me mateys because we have set sail for adventure and prizes that even a scallywag wouldn't hawk. You won't be using the stars or a map to find your way to the hidden treasure; you'll use the clues from @BookmansTucson via Twitter. This month's treasure trove consists of a B.O.B coupon, a $40 gift certificate to Main Gate Square (can only be used at participating stores), a cinch pack and a special goodie from a local business. We have hidden this booty at an undisclosed location. There is a limit of one prize package per group and only five to be discovered. The three clues will be twittered on Tuesday, Aug. 28 and you will have until Friday, Aug. 31 to use your wits and locate the hidden treasure.

I don't think there are bonus points for being in pirate-themed garb, but if you're able to procure a prize pack while sporting privateer pantaloons, you'll earn a special place in my heart for the next day or so.

The third episode of Hopped Up, a series created by local beer enthusiasts for local beer enthusiasts, takes viewers to what I honestly believe is among the city's best pizza places: downtown's Empire Pizza and Pub.

This 21 minute video features a beer summit with Empire general manager Scott Lynch, a drop-in from local hip-hop group The Natives Are Restless, and a short Star Wars riff.