Yesterday, being my day off, Luke and I slugged off to The Loft (this really cool, not-for-profit indie cinema in Tucson) to see Brokeback Mountain. This movie tells the story of Ennis Delmar, played by Heath Ledger, and Jack Twist, played by Jake Gyllenhaal. The two young lads fall in love while helping to herd sheep through the mountains of Wyoming. I don't want to give too much away since I know that this movie will be up for a bunch of awards and a lot of people want to see it but have not yet had the opportunity. Let's just say that, like a lot of movies, I liked it and Luke didn't. I guess we may just see movies for different reasons. The movie contained a lot of beautiful scenery, but I do agree with Luke that a lot of the film was spent waiting for something to happen, good or bad.

Also, this weekend, we rented Crash, which is an excellent movie about racism that I think everyone should see. It's amazing, after a bit of reflection, the things we may do or say not even realizing that we are denigrating another race. So everyone GO OUT AND RENT THIS MOVIE!!

It's fucking cold in Tucson. Like, 28. Before I get bitchy comments from people in Ohio saying that 28 is warm I would like to point out that when most days it is 80 degrees, you get used to it, and 28 here feels like 0 in Ohio. It snowed up in the mountains last night, for the first time this season. Last year, we got a lot of snow. Living in the desert, snow can be a double-edged snow. The lack of snow and being in a draught make for a heavy wildfire season (there are signs posted along the highways that say "Use Your Ashtray!"). Also, heavy snow causes in increase in mountain run-off that makes things grow. When things grow out here, they end up dying and becoming crunchy fuel for fire. I just hope it warms up soon because this has me in a foul mood.

Yesterday it was very pretty here. Not in a "normal Tucson being 70 degrees and totally sunny" way. It rained off and on pretty much the whole day. I know we are in a drought right now, and it has been a very dry fall. I think it has probably rained just since monsoon season finished. The air was filled with the fragrant smell of creosote, which is undoubtedly my favorite desert thing out here -- the way it smells when it is raining. Even Luke commented that it smelled very pretty outside, like a summer thunderstorm. It was just very nice. Since it has been cloudy, all of the smog has been trapped in the air but the rain helped to knock it all down. And now, today, it is partly sunny so it is very nice.

*Hunting camels is prohibited. (The US Army once experimented with camels in the Arizona desert, and eventually gave up. The remaining camels were set free, and are now protected.)

*Any misdemeanor committed while wearing a red mask is considered a felony.

*There is a possible 25 years in prison for cutting down a cactus. (The Saguaro cactus, treasured by Arizonians, has been endangered by those who find pleasure in shooting or cutting down cacti. Thus, a law was passed to protect the cactus.)

*Donkeys cannot sleep in bathtubs.

*A class 2 misdemeanor occurs if one places a mark upon a flag which is "likely to provoke physical retaliation".

*It is illegal to produce imitation cocaine.

*When being attacked by a criminal or burglar, you may only protect yourself with the same weapon that the other person posseses.

*It is unlawful to refuse a person a glass of water. (In the summer-time, with temperatures reaching topping 120 degrees, often people will need water, but may not have the money to pay for it (mainly applies to homeless). Hence, the law. It is very much in effect today, with businesses being reported (and heavily fined) who refuse to supply water to those who ask for it. Convenience stores are the primary businesses who uphold this law.)

*You may not have more than two dildos in a house.

Globe:
*Cards may not be played in the street with a Native American.

Hayden:
*If you bother bullfrogs or cottontails, you will be fined.

Maricopa County:
*No more than six females may live in any house. (The zoning ordinance was intended to crack down on the proliferation of brothels. However, lawmakers did not forsee cultural changes such as groups of girls living together in a sorority house.)

Mesa:
*It is illegal to smoke cigarettes within 15 feet of a public place unless you have a Class 12 liqueur license. There may be a similar law to this in Tucson...

Mojave County:
*A decree declares that anyone caught stealing soap must wash himself with it until it is all used up.

Nogales:
*An ordinance prohibits the wearing of suspenders.

Prescott:
*No one is permitted to ride their horse up the stairs of the county court house.

Tempe:
*One must be 18 years old to buy spray paint. This is STATE law in Ohio if I am not mistaken and I believe that it includes all markers of any kind

Tombstone:
*It is illegal for men and women over the age of 18 to have less than one missing tooth visible when smiling. I have been to Tombstone and they could RAKE in the fines if they wanted to start enforcing this one...

Tucson:
*Women may not wear pants. ...but I appreciate that they do...

Just thought this would be pretty to post.

Luke, Jake and Sassy on Mt. Lemmon.

I did not know this... I live 145.2 miles from the ocean. It seems like such a small distance, when I will drive 120 miles to go to Ikea. The problem is, that the ocean is in Mexico. With crossing the desert, and the border, and more desert, it takes four hours to reach Puerto Penasco, and only 90 minutes to reach the mecca of european furnishings.

I have been playing with this new, ultra cool program called Google Earth. It combines satellite imagery of the entire planet, with real topographical information (yes, I'm a dork) and lets you see three dimensional pictures of places. I took a couple of where you can live, so you can experience the views that I have.


Looking east. My house is where the little label is (see, not too much grass out here). You can see the Rillito River snaking across the top. The Santa Catalina mountains are on the left, and the Rincon Mountains on the right. Most of the Catalinas are within the 6000-9000 foot range, and Tucson sits at about 2100 feet above sea level.


Looking north-eastish. More of the Catalina Mountains. It's pretty accurate... especially when compared to the current camera image from the University of Arizona...

I figured this was going to happen sooner or later. Last week, Governor Bill Richardson, of New Mexico, declared a state of emergency for several of the counties in his state that border the Mexican state of Chihuahua. This allows him to earmark both state and federal emergency funds to help combat the rise of crime and tragedy along the border. Today, Governor Janet Napolitano of Arizona did the same thing, for all four counties in Arizona that share a border with the mexican states of Sonora and Baja California Norte. As outlined in Governor Napolitano's Declaration of Emergency, the federal government's inability/inaction in this matter is costing both money and lives. This, due to Operation Gatekeeper, the program by which the goverment strategically sealed air-tight the 2000 mile US/Mexico border with the exception of the two most dangerous stretches, the Imperial Desert in California and the Sonoran Desert in Arizona. This was to force migrants to cross into places where they ran a significantly higher risk of death either from exposure to the elements (the stretches are some of the hottest, most hostile terrains in North America) or drowning. Since the inception of Operation Gatekeeper, migrant deaths have increased by 500%.

... to the Motor Vehicles Division! Yay!!

Ugh.

Ohioans, don't bitch about having to get your plates renewed every year... it costs like $45. Here, in Arizona, for my four year old car it costs $150 for a year, and I have to take it through emissions testing first. Fuckin' sucks!

Last night a friend and I decided we would drive to the top of Mt. Lemmon (right around 10,000 feet I think)to watch the city lights. We would stop along the way up and watch the sunset. Well, mother nature had other plans in store for us. We sped our way up the mountain with hopes of getting a good seat for the show, all while thick black clouds gathered right above Bigelow Mtn. We ended up stopping at the Windy Point Vista, which is the last official vista where you can park and actually see Tucson. We got out and climbed onto some rock formations and took some pictures. I told my friend that I should put the camera away because I felt it was going to rain before we got back to the car. And it did. From mile marker 17 on Catalina Highway all the way to the top it stormed like I have never experienced. Normally, this wouldn't be so bad but when you are precariously driving feet from a drop off that would bring certain death, it is more interesting. We were getting pelted with hail and rain, hitting my car so hard I thought that the roof was going to come off. My wipers couldn't keep up with it. There was a brown dirty steam coming off the roads that were being cooled for the first time in months, making it really hard to see. We stopped at the San Pedro vista and then the Aspen Vista because visibility was so poor we couldn't see anything. When it finally let up (temporarily) we made our way up to Ski Valley and through the scary windey road up to the summit. When we got up there, there was only one car parked at the top of the mountain. Save for lightning, which was still all around us, it was pitch black. The other car had its dome light on, but we couldn't see anything inside. We sat up there for two hours, looking at the city below, talking, listening to the rain and watching the lightning all around. It must have been fifty degrees, which was a nice change from Tucson where it has been above 100 for the last 36 days and above 110 for the last 15 days. As we left, we joked about how we had both seen too many horror movies and that other car was scaring us. When we drove past, my friend looked into the other car and said "OH MY GOD there is someone lying back in the drivers seat." We quickly pondered over whether or not this person was still living, and I got spooked and made excellent time back to Summerhaven. It was a great evening and I can't wait to do it again soon! How, here are some pictures that I took right before the storm hit: