I knew my life had taken an unfortunate turn when my wife commented that nearly all of the e-mails I receive have something to do with some game I’m playing online.
As if working as the web producer here at the Tucson Weekly doesn’t mean enough time staring at a computer screen, I end up signing up for some new game every month or so, playing obsessively for awhile with friends, and then moving on to the next nerdish fad. I still love QRANK (the iPhone app I wrote about a few weeks ago), but now, it’s the browser-based Warlight (warlight.net) that takes up an extraordinarily uncool amount of my time.
In college, I spent more than a few weeknights drinking beer, listening to ‘90s hip hop and playing Axis and Allies with guys on my floor. (We tried to redeem ourselves from this nerddom on the weekends, but it didn’t get a lot better; hopefully you had a more rewarding college experience than I did). Warlight reminds me of those days, because it’s an obscenely customizable online version of map-based war games like Risk and Axis and Allies. The best part of Warlight is that everyone takes their turn simultaneously, so the amount of time waiting for others to play is minimized. Plus, as my wife found out, the game sends you an e-mail when it’s your turn—which happens a lot when you end up playing five games at a time.
Yes, I am getting less cool by the hour ... but that was somewhat inevitable.
THE WEEK ON THE RANGE
We told you about the astonishing comeback that pushed the medical-marijuana proposition over the top during the last weekend of vote-counting; followed Pima County’s steady vote-counting; and linked to an Arizona Capitol Times story that noted that state Sen. Russell Pearce appears to have forgotten that he promised to back off on all that anti-illegal-immigration legislation in order to get the votes to become Senate president.
We noted that Cindy McCain appears to have multiple-personality disorder after she complained in a video that “our political and religious leaders tell LGBT youth that they have no future (and) they can’t serve our country openly,” but later tweeted: “I fully support the NOH8 campaign and all it stands for and am proud to be a part of it. But I stand by my husband’s stance on (Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell).”
We told you about all kinds of music going on around town; urged you to check out this weekend’s Sahuarita Pecan Festival; filled you in on the Loft Cinema’s Film Fest, which wraps up Thursday, Nov. 18; suggested you check out Beowulf Alley’s Late Night Theatre’s production of An Adult Evening of Shel Silverstein; recommended the Cine Plaza series at the Fox Tucson Theatre; and told you about a free Arabic class at the Islamic Center of Tucson.
We featured photography from UA students Joshua Morgan, Caleb Tellez and Katrina Arrington, and artwork by Willi Wolfschmidt, which is now on display at the UA Student Union.
On the Chow beat: We finally learned why braciole is no longer available at Guiseppe’s Ristorante Italiano; let you know that African specialty store Nur Market has a new restaurant; and told you that Skrambles Café has opened in Oro Valley.
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
”Treachery and betrayal from the Tea Party? From those who consistently show all the character of a rat on a sinking ship? Hardly news. (My apologies to any and all rodents out there.)”
—TucsonWeekly.com commenter “LouisWu,” on his severely low expectations for the Senate presidency of Russell Pearce (“Aw, Pearce Broke His Promise? So Shocking,” The Range, Nov. 12).
BEST OF WWW
The art/science of mixing cocktails is spreading across Tucson. While it wasn’t that long ago that the more sophisticated drinker would be happy just to see more than one whiskey behind a bar, now you can find infused spirits, fresh juices and other ingredients at a number of Tucson establishments. We’re taking the TW cameras around town to find out what these masters of mixed drinks are doing with booze, in search of tips to help you at your own home bar. First up: Jasper Food and Mixology.
Also, we went to the Auld Dubliner to see the battle of wits happening at their weekly Geeks Who Drink quiz night.
