I haven't been entirely kind to Josh Brodesky's work for the Star in the past - I did try to coin a neologism based on his name, after all - but when the guy isn't getting worked up about seemingly minor aspects of Tucson's bureaucracy, he's a really good writer, and his piece on Steve Vihel in today's paper is a good example of that. Vihel was a close friend of several of my friends, so when he passed, I saw several tributes to him on Facebook that made me wish I knew him better. Brodesky's written tribute to the local bike-shop-owner convinced me that I really missed out by not knowing the guy. I can't imagine that column was easy to write, but it's an excellent remembrance of a life cut too short. Well done, Josh.

[Arizona Daily Star]

For some reason, Tucson has two radio stations playing mostly the same R&B and hip-hop tracks, two playing a slightly more youthful take on adult contemporary, two classic rock stations, and a couple conservative talk stations on FM now. However, what Tucson does not have is a retro hip-hop station and while I'm ignoring whether there's actually an audience for such a thing, this city would be a better place to live if it did.

I've been using the TuneIn iPhone app, which suggests radio stations from around the world based on most listened to tracks on your iPhone, and thanks to the fact that I never seem to take off my personal Outkast greatest hits playlist off iTunes, the app suggested I check out Yo! 107.1 Classic Jams, a locally owned radio station in Montgomery, Alabama.

While there are a few clunkers in their playlist — no one needs to hear "Ice Ice Baby" ever again, I assume — the station is the most reliably great radio station I've heard in ages.

Here's a selection of what they played yesterday:

H-Town, people! This city could use a more reliable way to listen to "Knockin' Da Boots", right? Who's with me?

The Arizona Republic uses the nuclear option to clean up online reader comments. Senior vice president of news and audience development Randy Lovely explains that commenters will no longer be able to hide in the shadows of anonymity:

My views shifted gradually as I held out hope that the community at large would rise to the responsibility of shaping a productive exchange. At first, I defended the range of remarks, then I began to grow concerned about the tenor, and I finally became disgusted.

The final straw came for me earlier this year. In the aftermath of the tragic shooting near Tucson, comments such as these were all too pervasive:

WeElectedIdiots2: "I guess a politician with half a brain is better than the rest of the idiots that get elected."

AZJavaRooster: "She should be up for Canonization soon! oh, God! she was heard to say, 'Well if I had half a mind ...' "

ksteele26: "This guy Loughner is a true patriot. Giffords has the blood of millions of the murdered unborn on her hands."

At no point did I ever consider completely eliminating the community's ability and right to speak out, but I knew we needed to work toward a solution that would bring greater accountability and responsibility — to your words.

During the past few months, the azcentral staff has been exploring options and experimenting with different technology that will continue to allow an exchange of opinions, but with a goal of reducing meaningless, mean-spirited rhetoric.

Beginning today, azcentral users wishing to comment on any of our blog posts will need to do so through the use of a personal Facebook account. Ultimately, in the next couple of months, the same technology will be in place for all articles on the site.

I'm in full support and hope that the Arizona Daily Star considers doing the same thing to banish the trolls from the sewer its online commentary section has become. Does anyone think for a second that most of those comments would still be made if someone had to sign their name to them?

For your reference: at the Weekly, we're not fans of animations that cross your computer screen and make some sort of noise. Just so you know.

The Atlantic dug up a video from Vocational Guidance Films, Inc., which makes journalism seem awfully glamorous, as long as you're a man and it's still 1940.

Alison Davis, the former coordinator of the Southern Arizona Gender Alliance who recently relocated to Seattle, on Transgender Day of Remembrance and so much more:

Often my scope of activism is narrowly focused on gender and transgender related issues. I participated in my 10th Transgender Day of Remembrance last night. It was my first in Seattle, my new home. I felt moved to talk a bit at the event. It was another year of brutal murders of my trans sisters. (I did not see any trans men listed this year.) I think a lot about the anger, fear and hatred directed at my transgender community. I am amazed and not surprised by the amount of violence directed at those who challenge gender norms. We really scare people. We challenge reality and all of the social conventions most folks assume to be "normal". By our very existence we cause people to question themselves and their relationships. We are a very real threat. Boo!

On, perhaps, an even broader stage, I am watching people brutalized and murdered by the political and economic powers that be. I saw the 84-year-old woman pepper sprayed by police in Seattle last week and the students at UC Davis sprayed while sitting in protest. I watched the people in Egypt in Tahrir Square beginning a second round of demonstrations - facing death - in order to obtain some sort of a voice in their own future. I hear and read about Syrians and others defying armed military in order to get a taste of elusive autonomy and "human rights". I am in awe of their courage. I am delighted to see the light turning on in so many minds.

Brian Taraz is a local actor, parent and musician with a penchant for what he calls scripture rock inspired by all faiths. He's also a great storyteller you can catch once in a while as part of Odyssey Storytelling. Taraz, unemployed (if you need some tile laid give him a call) was inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement and wished he could be more involved, hard to do when you're helping to raise two kids and look for work. He started the blog Occupy God, a shot of spirituality (his style) he thought the movement could use a bit more of.

The blog quickly focused on a series of videos he recently completed. However, before you freakout because of the word "god", don't rush to judgement. Sure, it may be one of his favorite topics, but he presents his case in a way you've never seen before that's part performance art, spiritual rant and philosophical debate.

When Brian asked what I thought of the final seven videos of his series, I admitted I had become a bit obsessed and was surprised someone like me, whom he'd probably describe as an atheist with a little "believer," could get sucked in. I think it's because his videos remind me of those coffee-infused nights with the college roommates smoking cigarettes and covering almost every topic our twenty-something hearts once cared about — belief, philosophy, love, heartache, music and dreams. Besides the coffee jitters, those nights weren't too bad, were they? So, grab some coffee, and be warned, by the end you'll likely crave a cigarette.

Related: "Obama's 'lazy' comment taken out of context," USA Today; "Romney takes Obama out of context again," Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

[Buzzfeed]

Clearly, the general strategy for any retailer is to give potential shoppers some sort of positive feeling about their establishment, whether that's the feeling of getting a bargain, that making a purchases conveys some sort of cool factor, or general convenience. However, that-store-that-reminds-me-of-Mervyn's Kohl's seems to be going a different route: running an ad using an incredibly annoying song that everyone hates at this point and showing somewhat despicable behavior by an actress pretending to be one of their customers. Interesting concept, Kohl's, completely ignoring everything anyone ever learned about marketing.

The head of the American Cable Association is saying that the deal for Raycom and KOLD Channel 13 to take over production of Belo-owned KMSB Channel 11's newscasts is a violation of at least the spirit of Federal Communications Commission rules designed to protect the public interest.

"With breathtaking disdain for the public interest, Raycom is seizing effective control of Tucson's CBS and Fox affiliates just as the FCC is about to release a notice of proposed rulemaking asking to what extent such deals violate the ban on consolidation among the top four local stations," said ACA President and CEO Matthew M. Polka in a news release. "As we've seen elsewhere, SSAs are strong indicators of bad news to come, including higher retransmission consent fees; higher advertising rates; less competition, localism and diversity; and job loss among news reporters and production employees."

In related news: Peter Diaz, the president of media operations for Belo, told TVNewsCheck.com that the poor Tucson economy was one reason for the decision.

“The Tucson economy has not been good,” Diaz said. “The way we look at it, this move allows us to increase our news product that we couldn’t afford to do otherwise.”

That article also noted that master-control functions for KMSB that have been controlled by KMSB's sister station in Phoenix will also be taken over by Raycom/KOLD.