environment
by Rynski on Nov.19, 2009, under Rynski's Blogski, Stupidity, art, crime, environment, gross stuff, life, odd pueblo, snappy or crappy
Odd Pueblo: Snappy or crappy?
This fun Odd Pueblo feature asks the audience to rate a trend, topic or sighting of something around town: is it snappy or crappy?
The last snappy or crappy, a groovy Volkswagen bus, was definitely cruising on snappy.
The latest snappy or crappy may not be so snappy for some: positive reinforcement graffiti.
This graffiti was snapped at Lakeside Park, right before I had to put the camera away to chase Sawyer and Phoebe out of the water.
Happy graffiti at Lakeside Park/Photo Ryn Gargulinski
While it’s not very artistic per se, it is kind of refreshing to see a positive message scrawled on cold concrete amidst debris.
Yes, graffiti is illegal and often very crappy. No, I did not paint this.
Some graffiti, like those really cool murals that once graced many New York City subway trains, can also be quite artistic.
Whee!/Ryn Gargulinski
We’re not talking swear words or illegible tags, but graffiti that actually enhances a structure or mood.
Positive reinforcement messages, which some of us chant or tape to our bathroom mirrors, can really change your attitude and outlook.
Does this graffiti do it for you?
What do you think?
Please vote and leave comments below.
Have you ever dabbled in graffiti?
What’s the coolest/stupidest graffiti you’ve ever done or seen?
by Rynski on Nov.18, 2009, under Rynski's Blogski, crime, danger, environment, life
Tucson, Yuma, Casas Adobes best places to raise kids in AZ, survey says
Got kids? Bring them on down to Tucson.
Two cute Tucson kids/Ryn Gargulinski
Old Pueblo is the top place in Arizona for families to thrive, according to BusinessWeek’s annual “Best Places to Raise Your Kids” rankings.
Tucson hit Arizona’s top spot, with the runners up being Yuma and Casas Adobes.
We have a feeling the ranking committee has never been to Yuma.
We also have a feeling they may not have come to Tucson, either – or at least tried to get anywhere on a bus if they did.
“It’s (also) a relatively affordable place to live,” the report said of Tucson, “with more than 100 parks, a good public transportation system, and many public and private golf courses.”
Tucson school yards are counted as parks, by the way.
But the golf courses are important. We know how much kids love to golf away their Saturday mornings.
The ranking focused on towns that have a population of at least 45,000 and a median income of $40,000 to $125,000. BusinessWeek picked one top spot from each state, and two runners up, if applicable. Alaska’s Anchorage had no runners up.
Natural sandbox option/Ryn Gargulinski
Towns were then judged on their air quality; family income; job growth; theaters; diversity; household expenditures; crime rate; number of schools and their performance; museums and those school yard parks.
Based on those categories, it’s obvious why Tucson made the cut. Our air quality definitely beats out places like Los Angeles. We only get air quality warnings when there is a blinding, dusty wind or massive brush fires in the distance spewing ashes into our atmosphere.
Families usually make enough to live on – as long as they still have their jobs. But we are not sure why the job growth category didn’t kick us out of the mix altogether, as it seems Tucson jobs are shrinking.
The report mentioned University of Arizona as being one of the biggest employers, but it failed to mention the school’s hiring freezes.
For theaters, we got the Fox, The Loft and that cheapie place with $2 tickets at Grant and Swan roads.
Household expenditures often lack snow pants, furry boots and ski masks.
Pima Air and Space Museum probably got us hovering near the top in the museum category, and bless those school yards, as they helped us kick butt in the parks category. Tucson also has six dog parks, eight if you count the two in the county.
Not bad.
The rankings also left out some other reasons why Tucson is a great place to raise kids:
Bilingual studies. Children will automatically be immersed in the study of the Spanish language, hopefully learning key phrases, like “Your mother wears combat boots,” from their classmates.
Natural sandbox. Never mind those chintzy plastic backyard boxes, Tucson has a glorious sandbox created by God. Kids can find hours of pleasure in the dry riverbeds and washes, like the diapered child I once saw frolicking in the sands of the Rillito. All the rocks, glass shards, coyote feces and horse manure makes for some very interesting mud pies.
Less environmental dangers. Sure, we have prickly, eye-poking cactus and those pesky killer rattlesnakes, but there is absolutely no chance a kid will drown in the ocean or be swept out to sea. Few Tucson children are injured from slipping on ice or getting lost and buried in the snow.
Even though I am poking fun, I think Tucson can rock for anyone.
What do you think?
Is Tucson an awesome place to raise kids? Why or why not?
What about Yuma or Casas
What criteria would you use for ranking a place good for kids?
Where were you raised? Was it good for kids?
by Rynski on Nov.11, 2009, under Police/fire/law, environment, life
Help Wanted: Someone in southern Arizona is actually hiring
Recruitment is on for one of the most heroic jobs out there – but you must be cute, strong and willing to risk your life for total strangers.
These kids got the cute down pat/Ryn Gargulinski
Well, you don’t technically have to be cute – but you do have to pass a physical and be willing to put your life on the line when duty calls to apply for a position as a Northwest Fire District firefighter.
Candidates must be at least 18 years old; have a valid driver’s license and at least a high school diploma or GED; get certified in CPR and as an EMT and, of course, be willing to swoop into burning buildings in a single bound. Northwest is expecting to hire for at least 10 positions. See more details under “Firefighter Recruitment” at NorthwestFire.org.
Other ideal characteristics for a firefighter include a willingness to spend long nights away from home, having an adaptable sleep pattern and being a very good cook. My grandpa John was a Detroit fire chief who was known around town as the Kielbasa King.
Even in the crappiest of economies, certain occupations will continue to be in need.
Firefighters are definitely one of them. Others include funeral directors, doctors, garbage collectors and hair stylists. No matter how bad it gets, folks still want a good haircut.
A list from Money Magazine posted on FiveCentNickel.com includes a number of other careers that will never go out of style – and are even growing in demand. Thank goodness the list includes hydrologist:
Some jobs are not going up in smoke/Ryn Gargulinski
1. Financial adviser – 47% growth rate – $74,000 median income
2. Software program manager – 29% growth rate – $103,000 median income
3. Database administrator – 29% growth rate – $77,000 median income
4. Physical therapist – 27% growth rate – $67,000 median income
5. Physician’s assistant – 25% growth rate – $84,000 median income
6. Environmental specialist – 25% growth rate – $53,000 median income
7. Hydrologist – 24% growth rate – $59,600 median income
8. College professor – 23% growth rate – $79,000 median income
9. Certified public accountant – 18% growth rate – $64,000 median income
10. Teacher – 12% growth rate – $48,000 median income
If we analyze the list, it’s a very telling tale of our society.
We’re living longer and becoming unhealthier as we sit in front of computers all day – hence the need for medical positions and computer software and database experts.
We are also squirreling away our money instead of enjoying it, hence the financial advisors and accountants.
Teachers and professors are always a plus – we can chuck our children at them instead of raising them ourselves. We can also continue to rape the environment and wreak havoc on the water supply, since there will be a steady stream of environment specialists and hydrologists to clean up after us.
Writer Clare Kaufman also noted an ongoing and future need for high security corrections officers and sales associates, especially those in the pharmaceutical industry.
This means we can keep throwing people in prison and buying, buying, buying things – especially those prescription drugs that make it easier to ignore everything else.
Oh, yes, and we can also burn the house down. As long as our fire departments keeps those positions fully filled.
What do you think?
What other careers are always in demand? Is yours one of them?
What careers are going quickly out of style?
by Rynski on Nov.04, 2009, under Rynski's Blogski, danger, environment, life
O Christmas tree, dead Christmas tree: Arizona supplies U.S. Capitol Tree
November’s here and that means one thing – it’s time to hurl ourselves face first into the upcoming holiday season.
Photo Ryn Gargulinski
Arizona is doing that in a big way by slaughtering a mighty blue spruce as instructed by the federal government.
Yes, our state has the honor of supplying this year’s United States Capitol Tree.
No, it won’t be placed inside the White House, but rather outside in front of the Capitol Building.
The 85-foot beauty from the White Mountain area’s Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests will be chopped at the knees on Nov. 7, according to a news release from the National Forest Service.
Everyone is welcome to attend this historic event – as it’s the first time ever that a forest in Arizona has been chosen to deplete its resources in the name of tradition.
The tree slaughtering ceremony will feature White Mountain Apache Dancers, an Apache blessing, choral music and Arizona’s official historian Marshall Trimble commemorating the event.
That’s quite a funeral.
The dead tree will then “tour Arizona” and other parts of the nation on the way to its Nov. 30 delivery to the United States Congress in Washington, D.C.
A dead tree is taking a tour? Isn’t that kind of like pulling a casket behind a sled and telling the corpse to enjoy the view?
I am not anti-Christmas trees. They are a fine addition to holiday décor, with their stately stance and fragrant boughs.
With a population of more than 300 million, if only a quarter of the nation’s residents wanted a fresh Christmas tree, 75 million trees would be killed.
But fake trees may not be the answer, according to a report on MSN.com, as they will eventually rot in a landfill when they become too ratty for display.
In fact, the report goes on to explain that Christmas trees and other live holiday décor are grown as crops specifically for that purpose, and not raped from Mother Nature.
That’s good to know. That’s probably why we haven’t encountered any “Save the Spruce” groups, too.
But that still doesn’t excuse the 85-foot slaughter, which is indeed being taken from its natural habitat. But in the big scheme of things, does one dead tree from the White Mountains actually matter?
What do you think?
Are you honored Arizona was chosen to supply the Capitol Christmas tree or do you wish the feds would pick on another state?
Are you a fan of Christmas trees? Do you recycle yours properly when you’re through with them?
Should we forget Christmas altogether and just sit around grouchy like a bunch of Grinches?
by Rynski on Oct.30, 2009, under Rynski column, danger, death, environment, gross stuff, life, politics
Do you know where that candy came from? Child slave labor in the chocolate industry
Chocolate may be a tasty treat for most kids – save for those stuck as slaves in the cocoa fields.
Illustration Ryn Gargulinski
Hundreds of thousands of children in West Africa toil 12-hour days in sickening and dangerous conditions – at no pay – just so folks elsewhere can get some cheap candy and coffee, according to the organization Global Exchange.
I’m betting just the thought of chocolate makes those kids sick. That is, if they have ever been lucky enough to taste some or even know what it is.
Global Exchange does more than just fret and moan about it. For the third year in a row, its Reverse Trick or Treating program is in full swing, expecting to hit some 250,000 households throughout the U.S. and Canada.
The campaign is on here in Tucson at the Volunteer Center in Southern Arizona, 924 N. Alvernon Way.
Between five and 15 kids, ages 11 through 18, are expected to participate. They will hit the streets around 5 p.m. on Halloween armed with fair trade chocolate and information to hand out to folks who open their doors.
Before anyone starts panicking, no one is asking you to throw out that large, costly batch of candy you have in the decorative bowl by your door.
Nor is anyone telling you to boycott candy or coffee that doesn’t come from free trade certified vendors.
You’re just being asked to think about what it’s like for those kids, the ones who are permanently ripped out of school to pick cocoa pods all day just so their family can survive.
And those are the fortunate ones.
Other African kids are actually sold – by their own families – to traffickers with the promise of a cocoa job on the Ivory Coast where they will send home their wages, Global Exchange says.
Once the family is out of sight, however, the kids are put to work with nearly or absolutely no pay from about 6 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
We doubt they get a lunch break.
Tasks include cleaning machetes, playing with pesticides and scaling high branches to cut down cocoa pods, which are split open for the beans to be scooped out.
It takes 400 cocoa pods to make a single pound of chocolate.
Enjoy your candy.
Cadbury provided a huge leap for the industry when it became the first major brand to earn fair trade certification earlier this year. While the certification is thus far only for its dairy milk chocolate bars in the United Kingdom, it plans to follow suit with other products in other countries.
Hershey’s is in the process of being targeted by advocates to become the first big U.S.-based company to achieve fair trade certification.
In the meantime, you can make sure to buy only fair trade chocolate and coffee. I checked out the selection at the Global Exchange’s online fair trade store thinking the prices would be ridiculous. Some are, but others are reasonable.
Any individual effort can help, but the major changes will most likely take major companies, like good ole Hershey’s and major coffee firms, to join the fray.
Now go enjoy your Halloween. And don’t feel guilty about eating that candy bar – even though it may have taken some 52 starving slave children with scabby knees and machete scars littering their stick-figure arms to help make it.
—
Ryn Gargulinski is a poet, artist, performer and TucsonCitizen.com Ryngmaster who doesn’t eat chocolate but enjoys her coffee. She likes the idea of fair trade products but has to yet to solely seek them out. Her column appears every Friday on Rynski’s Blogski. Her art, writing and more is at RynRules.com. E-mail rynski@tucsoncitizen.com.
- Photo Ryn Gargulinski
What do you think?
Is this a valid concern or just another way for people to draw customers away from big businesses?
Do you really care where your products come from as long as they are cheap?
Will you be changing your chocolate and coffee consumption in any way?
Rynski column
by Rynski on Oct.23, 2009, under Pets/animals, Police/fire/law, Rynski column, Stupidity, crime, danger, death, environment, gross stuff, life, politics
The case of the duct taped coyote – Does anyone care about coyote abuse?
Tucsonan Joe Gardner was on one of his favorite day trips to Lochiel, about 100 miles southeast of Tucson, where the air is clean and the land pristine – usually.
Except when he finds a dead duct taped coyote.
Duct taped coyote/submitted photo
During his trek about two weeks ago, the 62-year-old who grew up in the Lochiel area noted buzzards circling about and followed their feast to find a mutilated carcass.
The coyote was definitely dead, with a hole in his underside where something had chewed out his entrails. He had not been skinned, but the two front legs and two back legs had been secured with tape, leaving him defenseless, provided he had still been alive when taped.
“I was surprised and puzzled and wondered about mutilation stories I had heard in the past,” Gardner said, “but those involved livestock, not wild animals. I also wondered if it was some kind of sick message for human smugglers, who are also referred to as coyotes.”
He vaguely recalled stories of livestock’s organs and genitalia being removed with “precision-appearing incisions” some time back in Cochise County. Perhaps Jack the Ripper of the cattle world.
Yet he had never seen such abuse of coyotes.
Lochiel school house/submitted photo
“I have not an inkling as to who or why would bind a coyote and leave it out for the buzzards,” he said. “I was born and raised in the area, and as a matter of fact, this was right in front of the one room school I attended when I was a kid. I know just about everyone who lives in the area, and can’t imagine any locals doing this, as they live in the area because they love and respect the land.”
Nothing respectful about a duct taped coyote.
Arizona’s animal cruelty felony law, ARS 13-2910, slaps a felony on anyone that “intentionally, knowingly or recklessly inflicts unnecessary physical injury to any animal.”
Awesome law. But it may not apply in the case of the duct taped coyote.
“Law enforcement would have to successfully allege that it was cruelty,” explained Marsh Myers, spokesman for the Animal Cruelty Taskforce of Southern Arizona. “Since coyotes can be legally hunted, an investigation would have to rule this possibility out. Sometimes the animal is hunted and then the carcass is just left to rot. It’s a sloppy practice but it happens all the time.”
In that case, it’s OK.
Many hunters are respectful – even reverent – about nature and engage in the sport for much more than just the kill. But there are always the idiots.
In another coyote case earlier this year, six mutilated carcasses were found dumped in a creek near an Oklahoma high school.
The critters had been skinned, with their front legs chopped off at the knees and their remains unceremoniously hurled where teens could easily find them.
The animals were originally thought to be dogs and all hell broke loose. Necropsies revealed they had been a half dozen coyotes. Hell kind of subsided.
While Oklahoma, like Arizona, does have animal cruelty laws with severe penalties, it would probably not apply if the animals were being hunted for their fur.
Authorities in Ohio were going nuts in 2007 trying to find the sicko who apparently skinned and boiled a dog – while it was still alive.
The animal, identified by a vet as a chow/pit bull mix, was fully skinned except for fur left on its paws, had cuts on its legs and neck and had wire wound around one of the back legs.
Someone finally did come forward to confess – that the animal was not a dog at all but simply a coyote he hunted but didn’t dispose of properly.
Even though the vet had initially been wrong about the animal’s identification, calling it a dog, the doc was not wrong about the animal having been still alive when it was boiled and skinned.
No matter. It was just a coyote.
The case was immediately closed and all pending criminal charges promptly dropped.
| Yes – people who torture any animal should be tortured themselves. | 68% | |
| Yes – even if the coyote is being hunted, it should not have to unduly suffer. | 29% | |
| No – if the coyote is being hunted, it’s OK to torture it. | 0% | |
| No – coyotes deserve to be tortured. They are evil and they smell. | 0% | |
| I have no opinion because I watch TV and eat marshmallows all day. | 1% | |
| 426 users voted | ||
// __
Ryn Gargulinski is a poet, artist, performer and TucsonCitizen.com Ryngmaster who loves coyotes as much as she loves wolves but not as much as she loves her dogs. Her column appears every Friday on Rynski’s Blogski. Her art, writing and more is at RynRules.com. E-mail rynski@tucsoncitizen.com.
by Rynski on Oct.28, 2009, under Rynski's Blogski, danger, environment, life
Forget candy and plastic costumes – Go green for Halloween
Yes, kiddies, even though Halloween is all in fun and frivolity, that doesn’t mean you have to ruin the environment.
DO decorate with organic pumpkins/Ryn Gargulinski
You can be green for Halloween – which means saving the Earth, not necessarily dressing as a frog or a witch.
Forget the Butterfingers. Many of you kids are too fat, anyway, since all you do is sit around and play video games.
Rather than candy, tell all your big people friends to mete out “organic, fair trade fruit snacks, raisins, juice boxes, snack bars, trial size packs of veggie chips.” Obesity and overweight statistics are already at a hefty 67 percent. Don’t make it 68.
Forget the stupid plastic costumes. Those store-bought atrocities are never original and wholly disposable. They are also made of thin, icky plastic that will eventually clog our waterways and feels gross against the skin. Rather than investing in yet another landfill item, borrow stuff from your adult friends for costumes.
If you know a beekeeper, I’m sure he’ll be happy to hand over his hat and netting. Belly dancers will be glad to let you wear their tasseled bikini tops and finger chimes. And don’t forget your neighbor, Mr. Policeman. You can borrow his hat, badge and gun.
A big, inflatable DON'T/Ryn Gargulinski
Don’t make dad inflate Frankenstein in the middle of your yard. Sure, those big, inflatable Halloween decorations may look snazzy, but all that air being pumped inside is wasting energy and probably screwing up our ozone.
They are also known to randomly deflate and rip. This becomes a choking hazard for any kittens, coyotes and babies that may randomly crawl across the lawn.
Instead make Halloween decorations out of recycled materials or something strong and durable so you can later hang them in your bedroom all year round. Use washable, re-usable pillowcases instead of plastic pumpkins to gather your loot.
Walk already. Don’t have your parents drive you around and idle the engine outside every house from which you will gather your organic, fair trade fruit snacks. Get out and walk. Have mom or dad park on the corner and walk around the whole block.
Better yet, carpool with neighbors so you can cram as many kids as possible into one vehicle. This will cut down on pollution and put fewer cars on the road, which means less chance of running over a child who haphazardly darts across the street dressed as a ghost.
It will also let a host of adults get out of the trick or treating gig, as they can claim they cannot fit in the car and the person driving will be stuck with the whole gaggle of children.
Source: Some original ideas but mostly highly embellished news release from the Pima County Department of Environmental Quality.
Are these durable enough to be used year round?/Ryn Gargulinski
Disclaimer: Although this was written with sarcasm, some of these are actually pretty good ideas. But please don’t loan a kid your police badge and gun. And we’re not sure how excited kids will get over organic, fair trade veggie chips.
This kid's got the costume right, but tsk, tsk, he's using a plastic pumpkin/Ryn Gargulinski
What do you think?
Should folks concentrate on going green and feeding kids fruit snacks instead of candy?
Is the “go green” movement something you try to embrace or is the whole thing getting on your nerves?
by Rynski on Oct.27, 2009, under Rynski's Blogski, art, environment, life, odd pueblo
TC.com VIDEO debut: Tour of Rynski’s wacky backyard
Our backyards can be just another place for the dog to poo – or we can turn it into a heavenly haven.
Pepe/Art and photo by Ryn Gargulinski
Mine happens to serve both functions, and it was snappily captured on video by the extremely talented Eric Heithaus.
Heithaus doubles as the dad of Mr. Angel, the cutest dog in the world, and also runs HeithausProductions.com. He’s good.
Having a backyard full of art is also wonderful, although it does have a couple of detriments.
One is the folks who think they have carte blanche to peek their nosy noggins above the fence just because they see a skeleton flapping in the wind.
Another is the HOA that gets cranky if any of the colorful stuff is visible enough to mar the overall beige-ness of the neighborhood.
My backyard wonderland was inspired by Valley of the Moon, although the style is quite different. It was also born of necessity, as I had no more room to put art inside the house.
Please enjoy TucsonCitizen.com’s debut video:
Please note: Video quality suffers due to the high compression currently necessary to view videos on the site.
Please take the poll and add additional comments below.
Also – I am eventually going to add video regularly to my posts, which means less time for writing. Do you care?
What kind of videos do you enjoy: Stories? Quick snippets? Clandestine shots? Fun stuff set to music? Comedic commentary? Horror?
P.S. You know you’re gonna get animal stuff.
by Rynski on Oct.23, 2009, under Pets/animals, Police/fire/law, Rynski column, Stupidity, crime, danger, death, environment, gross stuff, life, politics
The case of the duct taped coyote – Does anyone care about coyote abuse?
Tucsonan Joe Gardner was on one of his favorite day trips to Lochiel, about 100 miles southeast of Tucson, where the air is clean and the land pristine – usually.
Except when he finds a dead duct taped coyote.
Duct taped coyote/submitted photo
During his trek about two weeks ago, the 62-year-old who grew up in the Lochiel area noted buzzards circling about and followed their feast to find a mutilated carcass.
The coyote was definitely dead, with a hole in his underside where something had chewed out his entrails. He had not been skinned, but the two front legs and two back legs had been secured with tape, leaving him defenseless, provided he had still been alive when taped.
“I was surprised and puzzled and wondered about mutilation stories I had heard in the past,” Gardner said, “but those involved livestock, not wild animals. I also wondered if it was some kind of sick message for human smugglers, who are also referred to as coyotes.”
He vaguely recalled stories of livestock’s organs and genitalia being removed with “precision-appearing incisions” some time back in Cochise County. Perhaps Jack the Ripper of the cattle world.
Yet he had never seen such abuse of coyotes.
Lochiel school house/submitted photo
“I have not an inkling as to who or why would bind a coyote and leave it out for the buzzards,” he said. “I was born and raised in the area, and as a matter of fact, this was right in front of the one room school I attended when I was a kid. I know just about everyone who lives in the area, and can’t imagine any locals doing this, as they live in the area because they love and respect the land.”
Nothing respectful about a duct taped coyote.
Arizona’s animal cruelty felony law, ARS 13-2910, slaps a felony on anyone that “intentionally, knowingly or recklessly inflicts unnecessary physical injury to any animal.”
Awesome law. But it may not apply in the case of the duct taped coyote.
“Law enforcement would have to successfully allege that it was cruelty,” explained Marsh Myers, spokesman for the Animal Cruelty Taskforce of Southern Arizona. “Since coyotes can be legally hunted, an investigation would have to rule this possibility out. Sometimes the animal is hunted and then the carcass is just left to rot. It’s a sloppy practice but it happens all the time.”
In that case, it’s OK.
Many hunters are respectful – even reverent – about nature and engage in the sport for much more than just the kill. But there are always the idiots.
In another coyote case earlier this year, six mutilated carcasses were found dumped in a creek near an Oklahoma high school.
The critters had been skinned, with their front legs chopped off at the knees and their remains unceremoniously hurled where teens could easily find them.
The animals were originally thought to be dogs and all hell broke loose. Necropsies revealed they had been a half dozen coyotes. Hell kind of subsided.
While Oklahoma, like Arizona, does have animal cruelty laws with severe penalties, it would probably not apply if the animals were being hunted for their fur.
Authorities in Ohio were going nuts in 2007 trying to find the sicko who apparently skinned and boiled a dog – while it was still alive.
The animal, identified by a vet as a chow/pit bull mix, was fully skinned except for fur left on its paws, had cuts on its legs and neck and had wire wound around one of the back legs.
Someone finally did come forward to confess – that the animal was not a dog at all but simply a coyote he hunted but didn’t dispose of properly.
Even though the vet had initially been wrong about the animal’s identification, calling it a dog, the doc was not wrong about the animal having been still alive when it was boiled and skinned.
No matter. It was just a coyote.
The case was immediately closed and all pending criminal charges promptly dropped.
__
Ryn Gargulinski is a poet, artist, performer and TucsonCitizen.com Ryngmaster who loves coyotes as much as she loves wolves but not as much as she loves her dogs. Her column appears every Friday on Rynski’s Blogski. Her art, writing and more is at RynRules.com. E-mail rynski@tucsoncitizen.com.
What do you think?
Is there a way to better enforce – or even prove – the animal cruelty felony law?
Can anything be done to better protect hunted wildlife from undue abuse?
by Rynski on Oct.07, 2009, under Rynski's Blogski, art, environment, gross stuff, life
Downtown Tucson has its charm – Slide show and poll
Downtown Tucson is always getting slammed – and often unfairly.
Disturbed horseman adds to downtown's charm/Ryn Gargulinski
Sure, it could use some free parking and a few thrift stores, but it does have a slew of charming features as long as you know where to look.
Then again, I find a wad of c-shaped chewing gum in an ashtray charming.
When you’re stuck downtown during a jury duty lunch break, you get ample opportunity to find that charming chewing gum and other fine features of our glorious downtown.
Check out downtown photos from A to Z, but be forewarned the slide show concludes with the ugliest building on Earth.
 |  |  |
Do you ever go downtown for fun?
What’s your favorite downtown feature?
Your least favorite?
Did you ever note the horseman looks so dang disturbed?
by Rynski on Oct.05, 2009, under Rynski's Blogski, art, death, environment, gross stuff, life, movies
Artist Sketchbook: The art of dead things – Slide Show and Poll
From cattle bones to smirking skeletons, dead things are all over my yard.
Melange of dead things on a dead tree/Art and photo by Ryn Gargulinski
The problem is – I like it.
Perhaps liking dead thing art is not a problem, as I’m not alone in my passion.
Zombie movies are always a hit on the silver screen and skeletal figurines have long held center stage in shrines and mausoleums across the globe. Heck, the Capuchin Cemetery in Rome is even constructed of monk bones.
Dead thing art lovers get a welcome respite from being called weird during October, when Halloween, Day of the Dead and the general autumnal climate makes our adoration of dead thing art appear normal.
We just know in the back of our heads the stuff rocks all year round.
Check out the slide show featuring some of my dead thing art, some of which I created this weekend to stock up for the holidays.
Also feel free to leave ghoulish – or non-ghoulish – comments and take the dead thing art poll.
|  | |
My favorite "butterfly"/Art and photo by Ryn Gargulinski
How many dead thing art pieces do you have around your own home? – No, velvet Elvis paintings don’t count, unless he’s depicted as a skeleton.
Looking for something?
Use the form below to search this blog:
Still not finding what you're looking for? Drop a comment on a post or contact us so we can take care of it!
Visit our friends!
A few highly recommended friends...
Archives
All entries, chronologically...
