Gene Shalit, the movie critic for the Today show, announced his retirement today, saying through his PR representative: "It's enough already."

(Seriously.)

Admittedly, I might not be the target audience for the Today show or for a 78-year-old movie critic, but I assumed he had retired years ago, possibly replaced by a mustached robot who spits out puns based on movie titles. Shows what I know.

Shalit plans to pursue other opportunities, which hopefully means a reprise of his '70s era variety show, but probably means he'll start a website or something:

I spent most of last week trying to find an excuse to post a Wheel of Fortune clip—and then Friday's episode provided one of the more interesting (in the non-personal humiliation category) moments in game show history. Who knew?

In case you've somehow missed the barrage of promotion, Conan O'Brien's new post-Tonight Show talk show premieres on TBS tonight.

It's a little difficult to know what to expect from Conan on his new program. Clearly, his level of fame after tussling with NBC and (by proxy) Jay Leno has skyrocketed, so it's easy to forget that his time on the Tonight Show before the dispute was a little dull.

Part of Conan's charm in his later time slot was how his writers made the most of low budgets and third-tier guests. Conan worked in the milleu of disappointment, and the triumph of taking over the legacy of the Tonight Show didn't seem to fit him terribly well. The jokes were less randomly bizarre, less oriented toward shiftless insomniacs and more toward a mainstream that he couldn't seem to connect with.

On cable, who knows where he'll head? That is part of the excitement surrounding tonight's episode. He may not have long to connect with an audience that has the Stewart/Colbert tandem to also choose, but Conan did earn a spot on the DVR to-do list in my household.

All I ask is for the occasional return of the Pimpbot 5000:

I'm not sure if having a bearded comedian light up on premium cable is going to sway any voters in California (or by proximity, Arizona), but I'm going to guess that Zach Galifianakis would encourage a "Yes" vote on Proposition 203 tomorrow.

The Tucson Weekly agrees in our current issue:

Prop 203 would legalize medical marijuana for seriously ill patients who register with the state and get a doctor’s recommendation. Dispensaries would face a variety of regulations. If smoking a little pot makes sick and dying people feel a little better, they shouldn’t have to break the law to do it.

Find out when the episode of Throwdown With Bobby Flay featuring the westside restaurant airs Wednesday, Aug. 11.

More details are available here.

And here are a few pictures via the blog of a woman who attended the taping.

Andrew Clark, owner of Performance Fitness, reports that one of his members, a local wedding planner, is a contestant on The Biggest Loser. The member is currently filming in Los Angeles and has made it several weeks so far, says Clark.

Community members are welcome to write the contestant encouraging notes to be sent at a later date. Performance Fitness will hold the letters and send them on a monthly basis.

Performance Fitness is located at 2951 N. Swan Road; 325-5455.

Our friends at Arizona Public Media profile local musician Brian Lopez.

If you don't want to watch it on your computer, it airs at 6:30 p.m. tonight on KUAT's Arizona Illustrated on Channel 6.

Jon Stewart pwns Beck, big time. Brilliant.

• NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/Texas A&M University

Our friends at KUAT-TV present another Arizona Public Media production this evening: Phoenix Mars Mission: Onto The Ice shows how Peter Smith and his team at the UA Lunar and Planetary Lab dropped a robot lab onto the Martian north pole and sent back photos, weather reports and soil and air samples. The special will be airing nationally on PBS World channel on Thursday, March 4.

They're still listening to see if Phoenix can send a signal, but after a year under that ice, it's a long shot.

Bonus for space nuts: Tonight's Nova will feature The Pluto Files at 8 p.m.

More on Phoenix here.

• Courtesy Arizona Public Media

I really can't shower enough praise on Joey Burns, John Convertino and the rest of the guys that make up Calexico. I'm hooked on the music, a mash-up of rock-and-roll and mariachi seasoned with a lot of other flavors that could only have been cooked up in Tucson's barrio. And I stand in awe of the size of their hearts; these guys regularly give away the money from their local gigs KXCI, Solar Culture, Humane Borders and other causes. (They're headlining an all-day music fest in the streets of Barrio Viejo in April, so get your tickets now!)

I've been fortunate enough to see them play not only in Tucson, but in Seattle, Portland, Flagstaff and Phoenix in the last couple of years, and I can assure they rock the house whether they go.

But enough fanboy gushing. Arizona Public Media producer Luis Carrión has a profile of the band coming up this weekend on In Tune, a new show featuring local musicians that's hosted by jazz vocalist Katherine Byrnes. The show includes snippets of performances at the Rialto Theatre and inside Eric Firestone's swank new downtown gallery on Sixth Avenue.

The show airs at 10:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 20 and Sunday, Feb. 21 at 3:30 a.m. on Channel 6, but you get a sneak preview right now. Just push play.