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?

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?

If you saw a crime in progress, would you simply shut the shades?

Photo Ryn Gargulinski

Such was the case with Catherine “Kitty” Genovese in 1964. The 28-year-old was murdered and raped near the doorway of her New York City apartment building while at least 37 folks heard her screams or saw the attack. Many simply closed their window shades. Only one woman bothered to call police.

That’s not the case on the University of Arizona campus, where a handful of folks are being honored in a Tuesday ceremony for their assistance to the UA Police Department, according to a news release from UAPD.

Some of the crimes – like shaking a vending machine to get free snacks – are nowhere near the murderous stage, but they are crimes nonetheless and these folks deserve kudos for doing more than simply walking away.

The honorees are:

Graffiti busters – Doug Archer, Frankie Kolb and Peter Smith:
This trio was working at the Lunar and Planetary Sciences when they noted folks spray painting the building and a nearby wall. They immediately called police and had enough information to lead to three arrests for vandalism.

Bicycle guardian – Justin Armer:
Armer was outside the Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering building when he saw someone trying to break a bike lock with a hammer. Rather than simply go on his merry way, glad it wasn’t his own bicycle, Armer approached the would-be thief, who ran away without the bicycle. If that wasn’t enough, Armer followed the suspect and called police. An arrest followed.

Vending machine savior – Arun Ganesan:
Ganesan helped get several folks arrested when he called police after watching those folks shake a vending machine. Lots of free goodies had fallen from the shaken machine, but their snacking was cut short when Ganesan called police.

Thief trapper – Chiara Figueroa:
Figueroa had her laptop and several other items stolen on campus when she received an e-mail that she thought might be related to the theft. She tracked down the e-mailer and gave her info to police. UAPD followed up on her lead and found the person not only stole stuff from Figueroa but also stole from several other victims. Yes, another arrest.

Another graffiti buster – Jared Melillo:
Melillo, who lived near the new recreation center construction site, noted several taggers having a field day on one of the new buildings. He quickly called police, who were able to arrest one of the suspects.

Felony finder – Kurt Myers:
Myers was jogging around campus when he noted two people drinking alcohol behind the open door of a UA building that was not open to the public. He called police to report what may have been trespassing, but turned into a bigger catch. One of the suspects had a felony warrant out for arrest. Both were arrested, thanks to Myers taking a moment to report them.

Double duty dude – David De La Rosa:
De La Rosa helped with arrests in two separate crimes, one that involved a stolen kid and another that involved a suspected killer.
De La Rosa noted a car parked with a kid in the backseat, but no parent or guardian anywhere to be found. He reported the sighting to police, who found the car had been stolen – with the child still in it. Car and child were returned to their owner.
He also reported a panhandler near Student Union who kept approaching women. Police tracked down the panhandler and found the person hand a felony warrant for homicide. Goodbye, panhandler.

Suspicious suspect nabber – Miguel Perez:
Perez was working on campus when he saw a would-be thief playing around with a bicycle lock. He noted the person had been milling around earlier, as if scoping out the bike rack. His quick call to police led to an arrest.

Monocle man – Riley Schock:
Schock was out walking his dog when he found several monocles lying around his neighborhood. He took them home, where a friend recalled a news report about monocles being stolen from a UA building. Schock turned the monocles over the UAPD, returning stolen property that was valued at an estimated $10,000.

The Partners with Our Community awards will be presented at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 17 (today!) at the University of Arizona Police Department, 1852 E. First St.

What do you think?

Do you report crimes in progress or just go on your merry way?

Do you know any other heroes who helped authorities with reporting, identifying or researching criminal activity?

If boring old beer is no longer enough for you, advanced alcoholic products on the market now offer several different ways to get drunk.

Is he low-carbing it?/Ryn Gargulinski

Yes, beverage companies will definitely go out of their way to insure there’s a feasible way for everyone to get slammed, skewed, tipsy or torrentially wasted.

Wouldn’t want to miss those sales, now.

Folks who want to boost their buzz by drinking something that mixes alcohol with stimulants, like caffeine and guarana, can go for the alcohol energy drinks.

Think Red Bull meets Budweiser, perhaps.

But you better drink up quick. It finally came to someone’s attention that the combination of alcohol and stimulants may not be safe.

Really? But people have been popping uppers or snorting coke with alcohol for years. Only some of them die. What’s the harm with a little alcohol in an energy drink?

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sent a Nov. 12 letter to 30 of these energy drink companies, giving them 30 days to prove that alcohol and caffeine do, indeed, safely mix.

Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard, along with other AGs, sent a letter to the FDA some time back, asking the agency to look into this combination, according to a news release from his office.

How many calories would have been saved with LITE?/Ryn Gargulinski

“Scientists and medical professionals who have conducted research in this area stated that the use of caffeine and other stimulants as additives to alcoholic beverages poses public health and safety risks,” the release said.

“The scientists pointed to recent studies that confirm that caffeine appears to mask, but not reduce, the intoxicating effects of alcohol. Combining alcohol and caffeine may lead to increased risk-taking and other alcohol-related problems such as traffic accidents, violence, sexual assault and suicide.”

The release also noted the target audience for these alcohol energy drinks are the younger crowd, who habitually don’t think about things like risking their lives when they are trying to get blitzed.

If alcohol energy drinks are too risky for you – or you are watching your weight – you can always join the fray of “diet” beer drinkers.

For the health conscious, the big buzz has been low carb beers. This way you can make sure to maintain your six-pack abs as you slam a six pack of brews. Lite beers are old hat. We now need the low carb versions.

While companies at first labeled anything that was light as “low carb,” the U.S. Treasury Department Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Tax & Trade set standards about five years back, according to a report at BellaOnline.com.

Official “low carb” beers must have less than 7 grams of carbohydrates, but nothing stops other pale brews being labeled as “lower carb” or “reduced carb” – as long as they have lower carbs than their original brews.

We’re waiting for other advanced alcohol products, such as beer for pregnant or nursing mothers and beer especially brewed for athletes and bus drivers to enhance their performance on the job.

What do you think?

Are you going to try the alcohol energy drinks – or have you already – before they may get pulled off the market?

Do you think the FDA is being silly with its claims of the combo being unsafe?

Do you stick to your workout while drinking low carb brews?

Are alcohol companies getting ridiculous or do you think it’s smart for them to target different sectors of the population?

Kids certainly don’t always get along with their parents. But we hope the tension never turns ugly enough for the kids to haul off and kill them.

Kevin Black/submitted photo

Such was allegedly the case earlier this week when 50-year old Kevin Black reportedly shot and killed his stepfather, Kenneth Phipps, 76.

Mom was in the house at the time of the shooting, although she is bedridden and suffers from dementia, police said. Black’s half-sister, age 47, was also there; she’s the one who ran outside yelling for help.

Police said the fatal shooting came during an argument between stepfather and son about Black walking around the house wearing a gun belt. Black had also been on the police’s radar in the past for stealing things from his family to feed his drug habit.

Kids who kill off their parents or stepparents usually do so a tad earlier than the age of 50 – since the younger kids can’t just pick up and leave as an adult can – but no matter what the age, the outcome is just as tragic.

Some of the most recent statistics, which are already 20 years old, determined more than 300 parents were killed by their children each year between 1977 and 1986. That’s about 25 dead moms or pops each month. Compared to other murders, that’s also very rare.

Parent-killing children generally fall into three types, according to parricide expert Kathleen Heide.

Sidewalk art anonymous/Photo Ryn Gargulinski

We have the kids who were cruelly abused; those who are suffering from mental illness; and the most dangerous of the bunch – the uncaring and selfish children afflicted with an antisocial personality disorder. This disorder is marked with, among other things, a blatant disregard of pretty much everyone’s rights but their own.

Never mind the commandment about honoring thy father and mother, kids who murder their parents are already breaking an even bigger rule.

Lizzie Borden was perhaps the most notorious of suspected parent killers, although she was acquitted of the 1892 crime.

Tensions were high in the Borden household when Lizzie purportedly hacked her dad and stepmother to death with an axe, some say after poisoning them didn’t work. One theory is it had something to do with seizures she was having during her menstrual cycle.

The Menendez brothers, who were convicted of gunning down their parents in 1989, are also up there on the notoriety list. Although they were brought up in a mansion and both college students when the crime went down, there are claims their dad was too tough on them.

By all means, then, shoot him.

It was later learned the double murder may have been all about the money.

My current true crime read, Cold Kill, is in the midst of outlining another slain parents tale of woe in 1982.

Adult child Cindy Ray Campbell spun skeins of delusional lies about how horribly her parents had treated her growing up. She was chained to the toilet. She was repeatedly raped.

Her boyfriend David West believed the lies. He also believed he’d get half her inheritance if he helped out his gal. So she finally convinced him to blow them away as they slept.

While we may not know every detail in these crimes, like what the heck goes through a child’s head when he pulls the trigger or she wields that ax, we do know that society’s view of parricide has gotten softer.

What once was totally and horrendously unthinkable is now, well, perhaps in some cases nearly justifiable.

A case in point is Billie Joe Powell, 16, who reportedly shot and killed her dad after he had allegedly abused her. Her Ohio community banned together with petitions and support to attempt to get her tried as a juvenile rather than an adult so she’d get a more lenient sentence.

How nice of them.

The judge was nice about it, too, not sentencing Powell to any prison term. Her 1993 plea agreement had her pleading guilty to first-degree manslaughter in exchange for 88 days in jail, five years probation and four years of psychological counseling.

So does the abuse of a child condone the murder of a father? We have to wonder if anything is horrific enough for a kid to take his parent’s life, the same life that brought him into the world in the first place.

Ryn Gargulinski is a poet, artist, performer and TucsonCitizen.com Ryngmaster who wants to stay at the Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast in Fall River, Mass. It’s supposed to be haunted. 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 anything that would justify a child killing his or her parents?

Do you like Lizzie Borden?

Have you heard any other horror stories? Do tell.

Abigail on her evening dog ride/Ryn Gargulinski

Anyone who has ever tried walking more than one dog – or even one stubborn dog – knows the task can be quite a challenge.

One Tucsonan was innovative enough to figure out how to walk six – without even breaking a sweat.

Crafty Abigail hooked up a tricycle, complete with a hook that accommodates six separate leashes, when summer treks got too hot to keep up with the half-dozen dogs.

Abigail was wary of the bicycle thing, as dogs like to dart away at the first glimpse of a rabbit or in front of the tires as their mood permits. Others, like Sawyer, will run along fine beside a bicycle until he suddenly decides he is going to sit – while I’m still pedaling.

But Abigail’s trike has been heavenly. Or as heavenly as it can be, as six dogs are quite a handful. They sometimes still get jumbled, but no one, namely Abigail, gets pulled down a gully or hauled off into the wash.

The biter/Ryn Gargulinski

Two of the pooches belong to her daughters. One is looking for a new home.

“He’s spoiled,” she said of the dog that is up for adoption, a cute black and white little thing. “And he bites people. I gave him to my daughters and he bit four people in one week. They gave him back.”

Abigail said the puffy little doggie especially has a vendetta for men. The men who get bit, however, usually try to act manly and tough, she said, but there were a few who whined about it.

“The dog needs a home with someone who has no job and no life and can devote every second to him,” Abigail said.

In the meantime, the sextet runs along in glee into the Rillito River sunset.

Abigail and crew ride off Into the sunset/Ryn Gargulinski

Dog jumble and Sawyer's snout at front of the trike/Ryn Gargulinski

What do you think?

Do you know anyone who has hooked up innovative things to suit their needs?

Have you ever tried bicycling with a dog? What about roller blading or skate boarding?

Have you seen others try it and fall on their noggins?

Enjoy the ride/Ryn Gargulinski

Taking photos of Tucson’s annual All Souls Procession is like owning dogs or eating salted peanuts – you certainly can’t stop at just one.

Don’t fret, as I shan’t post all 195 photos I snapped of the event, but I will give you my top 40 as the phrase has a ring to it.

Yes, I’m a photo junkie. But it’s much healthier than heroin.

Enjoy. My beau and I certainly did. Now I have Monday off to recover from the festivities and staying up late to post these photos.

Slide 1 of 40.
Hallelujah/Photo Ryn Gargulinski
Slide 2 of 40.
Couple of corpses/Photo Ryn Gargulinski
Slide 3 of 40.
Howdy Doody 40 years later/Photo Ryn Gargulinski
Slide 4 of 40.
A study in chartreuse/Photo Ryn Gargulinski
Slide 5 of 40.
Contemplation/Photo Ryn Gargulinski
Slide 6 of 40.
Bones and stripes/Photo Ryn Gargulinski
Slide 7 of 40.
Goats always rule/Photo Ryn Gargulinski
Slide 8 of 40.
Trio of death/Photo Ryn Gargulinski
Slide 9 of 40.
Buffalo/Photo Ryn Gargulinski
Slide 10 of 40.
Sideline players/Photo Ryn Gargulinski
Slide 11 of 40.
Shower cap and robe/Photo Ryn Gargulinski
Slide 12 of 40.
Baseball headed wonder/Photo Ryn Gargulinski
Slide 13 of 40.
My fave, of course/Photo Ryn Gargulinski
Slide 14 of 40.
Skull-o-rama/Photo Ryn Gargulinski
Slide 15 of 40.
Strutting on stilts/Photo Ryn Gargulinski
Slide 16 of 40.
Dancing on stilts/Photo Ryn Gargulinski
Slide 17 of 40.
Lil' skeleton lass/Photo Ryn Gargulinski
Slide 18 of 40.
More studies in chartruese/Photo Ryn Gargulinski
Slide 19 of 40.
Rhythm and greens/Photo Ryn Gargulinski
Slide 20 of 40.
Something we wish would be dead/Photo Ryn Gargulinski
Slide 21 of 40.
Masked in death/Photo Ryn Gargulinski
Slide 22 of 40.
Maudlin madam/Photo Ryn Gargulinski
Slide 23 of 40.
No one can resist skull face balloons/Photo Ryn Gargulinski
Slide 24 of 40.
Captivating corpses/Photo Ryn Gargulinski
Slide 25 of 40.
Step back/Photo Ryn Gargulinski
Slide 26 of 40.
Step further back/Photo Ryn Gargulinski
Slide 27 of 40.
Does this mean polka is dead?/Photo Ryn Gargulinski
Slide 28 of 40.
Birds of a feather/Photo Ryn Gargulinski
Slide 29 of 40.
Captivating couple/Photo Ryn Gargulinski
Slide 30 of 40.
Wolf wants a photo/Photo Ryn Gargulinski
Slide 31 of 40.
Unsure but likin' it/Photo Ryn Gargulinski
Slide 32 of 40.
Hamming for the camera/Photo Ryn Gargulinski
Slide 33 of 40.
Big skull head and bigger skull head/Photo Ryn Gargulinski
Slide 34 of 40.
A statement/Photo Ryn Gargulinski
Slide 35 of 40.
My new best friend/Photo Ryn Gargulinski
Slide 36 of 40.
Don't be blue/Photo Ryn Gargulinski
Slide 37 of 40.
Sugar skulls/Photo Ryn Gargulinski
Slide 38 of 40.
Masked wonders/Photo Ryn Gargulinski
Slide 39 of 40.
Completely catchy/Photo Ryn Gargulinski
Slide 40 of 40.
Former Citizen staffer Val Canez holds up the paper's epithaph/Photo Ryn Gargulinski

The procession kicked off at Epic Cafe, at Fourth Avenue and University Place, and culminated at the Franklin Street docks.

I ended up with only one photo of the Tucson Citizen newspaper gang, as I was too busy waving to all those Citizen folks I dearly miss – and getting a big hug from a dapperly yet deathly dressed Renee Schafer-Horton. She makes a cute corpse. Good job on the tribute, guys. I miss your laughter.

BONUS: ALL SOULS PROCESSION POEM

EMBRACEABLE CORPSE

a cute corpse hugged

me on Sunday night as I

drank in the All Souls

Procession she left white

makeup on my chin and –

it was quite an honor to

connect with the souls of the

dead – who thrive on the

other side – where we’re

stripped down of flesh

blood and limb and –

left with what

really

matters.

-Ryn Gargulinski.11.2009

So, were you among the thousands who enjoyed the Sunday evening procession?

What was your favorite costume/outfit/puppet/sight?

Did you see the three legged dog?

What death would you or did you honor in the procession?

Robbing a bank is a quick, easy way to make some cash – for about five minutes.

Surveillance photo from bank robbery/Ryn Gargulinski

Well, it may take a tad longer for the police to catch you. But they most likely will.

“We are very successful in catching bank robbers,” said Tucson police Sgt. Fabian Pacheco. “The majority of the time they are caught.”

After all, he added, police are handed handy photos of the folks from the surveillance cameras.

Bank employees may get a bit suspicious if a customer saunters in wearing pantyhose over his head, so most robbers have their faces in plain view.

Unless the robber immediately soaks his face in caustic acid to eat away the features, there’s a pretty good chance someone somewhere is going to recognize the thief.

Pacheco added it’s even easier if you know where to look, which is around drug circles, as many rob banks to feed a habit.

Tucson averages two to three bank robberies each month. Police stats for 2009 put bank robberies at 22; we had 40 in 2008, perhaps a bit increased due to the recession; and 2007 totaled out at 33.

Surveillance photo from bank robbery/submitted photo

Folks think it’s easy to get away with the money – because it is.

“Some of the banks procedures are to have employees comply with robber demands,” Pacheco said. “To get them out of the bank so no one gets hurt.”

A panic alarm gets police on the scene pretty quickly and the money, even if it is never recovered, is covered by the FDIC.

Some robbers make it even easier for the police. How nice.

One incredibly smart dude in Tucson robbed a bank by writing out his robbery demand note on the back of his own bank deposit slip. So cliché.

Another Tucson bank robber was a bit more original. He used regular paper to write out his demand note, which read: “Give me $100, $50, $20.”

So the teller handed him a single $100 bill, a single $50 and a single $20. He took them and left.

Surveillance photo of bank robbery/submitted photo

Other dumb bank robberies across the nation, as noted on DumbCriminals.com, include:

One man who spent 10 months in prison for robbing a bank, only to get out and go rob the exact same bank. Guess he wanted to see if he could get it right the second time around.

A robber who needed to hitch a ride as his getaway after robbing a bank – which is dumb enough on its own – ended up hitching a ride from an undercover cop.

A nervous Nellie thief who was frazzled enough to leave something at the scene – his wallet.

Police found a treasure trove of info inside the wallet, including the guy’s driver’s license, his Social Security card and a criminal registration card.

One more genius robber was noted on BankInfoSecurity.com. This robber was especially brilliant because of his day job – he was a rookie cop for the New York City Police Department.

At least the bank he robbed wasn’t in the Big Apple, but rather in Muhlenberg Township, Penn. Christian Torres threatened two tellers with his gun, which may have been police issued, until they handed over $113,000.

Surveillance photo /submitted photo

They also hit the panic button, so police were on the scene to arrest Torres just as he was pulling out of the parking lot.

The bank got their money back and Torres was suspended from the police force without pay.

Now we hope the suspension was only temporary until the investigation is complete and he gets his butt fired. Otherwise we have something even dumber than the botched robbery here.

—

—

Ryn Gargulinski is a poet, artist, performer and TucsonCitizen.com Ryngmaster who thinks going to a light fixture store is more exciting than going to a bank. Her column appears every Friday on Rynski’s Blogski. Her art, writing and more is at RynRules.com. E-mail rynski@tucsoncitizen.com.

Have you ever tried to rob a bank? What happened?

If you were going to rob a bank, would you wear bright pink stretch pants?

Have you heard other stories of really dumb criminals?

We are an armed society. We have to be. There are too many goofballs out there.

A machete beside a dragon skull enhances any bedroom/Photo Ryn Gargulinski

One creative way to keep weapons at hand without feeling or looking like we live in an arsenal is to use weapons as home décor.

They can enhance the cozy feel of any abode – while serving a life-saving purpose.

Tucson police statistics from Jan. 1 through about the end of Sept. of this year contain a pretty hefty tally of crimes.

These include:

923 aggravated assaults
151 forcible rapes
14 attempted rapes
48 other sexual assaults

171 residential robberies
84 carjackings
43 “miscellaneous” robberies

3,258 burglaries with forced entries (that’s roughly 12 each day)
992 burglaries using no force to get in
23 attempted forcible entries

Please don’t take this as an invitation to live in fear – just live in awareness. And no, I’m not trying to depress you.

Please also know that most crimes are crimes of opportunity. So don’t offer any.

One of the most recent home invasions was on Sept. 13 when a guy attended a party in the 2800 block of North Tyndall Avenue, near East Glenn Street and North First Avenue.

He left the festivities only to return with three or four of his buddies – wearing masks and armed with handguns.

They proceeded to pistol whip and rob the guests. Have a nice day.

Suspect Manuel Nunley

Police issued an arrest warrant for the main suspect, 24-year-old Manuel De Jesus Nunley. He’s wanted for armed robbery, aggravated robbery, aggravated assault and first-degree burglary. Robbery is generally defined as taking something from a person, while burglary is taking things from a structure, such as a home.

Make sure that guy’s not any of your future invitation lists.

Now if the guests had been in a home with an interior design scheme that included an ornamental gun rack, machetes, sledgehammers and Medieval maces, the tale may have had a different ending.

Yes, some weapons can look creepy and ugly. But spruce them up by hanging them next to art. Better yet, hang art from them. Just make sure you attach the weapons in such a way they can be easily removed for use but are not hung too flimsily that they fall on your head.

Another clever tactic is to pick home décor that can double as weapons, such as a cast iron plate collection or candleholders that come complete with ornate, 10-inch iron spikes.

Just make sure you get to the weapons before any goofball does. Stuck for ideas? Check out the slide show with interior weaponry design ideas below.

Slide 1 of 12.
Medieval maces make for great wall hangings - and coversation pieces/Ryn Gargulinski
Slide 2 of 12.
Jazz up a sledgehammer by painting it bright pink/Ryn Gargulinski
Slide 3 of 12.
Choose candleholders with iron spikes/Ryn Gargulinski
Slide 4 of 12.
Sickles add pizzazz against a ceiling/Ryn Gargulinski
Slide 5 of 12.
Hay hooks are ideal in tight corner spaces/Ryn Gargulinski
Slide 6 of 12.
Brass knuckles near a doorway adds zip to any room/Ryn Gargulinski
Slide 7 of 12.
We had to include the dragon again, just because we like him/Ryn Gargulinski
Slide 8 of 12.
This artful piece would work well above a sink or bassinet/Ryn Gargulinski
Slide 9 of 12.
Retratable batons work well for those small spaces/Ryn Gargulinski
Slide 10 of 12.
Hay hooks make great foundations for hanging art/Ryn Gargulinski
Slide 11 of 12.
Outfit the den with a central painting surrouded by decorative weaponry/Ryn Gargulinski
Slide 12 of 12.
Any kitchen can be enhanced with such a wall theme/Ryn Gargulinski

What do you think?

What kind of weapons do you have in your home?

How do you protect yourself?

Have you ever been robbed, mugged, assaulted or burgled in Tucson?

How has that changed the way you live or view society?

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?