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?

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?

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.

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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?

Pumpkins are great for a number of things that go far beyond Halloween. In fact, you can even kill a kid with one. Here are six ways of looking at these funky orange gourds:

Art and photo Ryn Gargulinski

As artistic expression –

Check out the artistry of some fabulously talented TC.com readers who sent entries into our Pumpkin Decorating Contest. The slide show below showcases their creativity and the poll is open for votes through Saturday Nov. 7. Winner will receive a yet-to-be-created piece of creepy Rynart.

As protection –

Jack-o-lanterns came about not because people wanted to enter pumpkin decorating contests, but rather as a form of protection.

Legend has it this guy named Stingy Jack played a few trick on the devil and, when Jack died, would not be admitted into either heaven or hell, according to History.com.

The devil gave the guy a piece of burning coal and told him to go wander the earth for eternity. Jack carried around the coal piece in a hollowed-out turnip. Europeans for years used turnips, potatoes and beets for jack-o-lanterns until they immigrated to America and found the pumpkin to be the perfect choice.

This guy looks dead 100 years/Art by Loews pastry kitchen, photo Ryn Gargulinski

As a killer –

A little German kid died after his 10-year-old sister hurled a pumpkin at him as a joke and it hit him in the stomach, according to an 1884 archived news report posted at NYTimes.com. “He became very sick and died in a few hours,” the report said.

An unattended jack-o-lantern is also being blamed for staring a Northwest fire that killed three dogs and two cats, according to a report in the Arizona Daily Star. Two dudes who lived in the house at 1200 block of West Giaconda Way reportedly lit candles in the decorative gourds – then left the house to go to work.

As a weapon –

Since we already know pumpkins can kill, perhaps the sight of one would be an ample deterrent for muggers, degenerates and unleashed dogs encountered on narrow Tucson pathways.

Please be advised it may take some ingenuity – and muscles – to walk around town with a pumpkin and may be much simpler to invest in pepper spray or a retractable baton.

As a healthy snack –

Pumpkin pie laden with whipped cream, sugar and other strange additives is not necessarily on the healthy menu, but plain ole pumpkin is. Pumpkin is rife with fiber, minerals, vitamins and antioxidants.

Canned pumpkin, with no additives, is also a great way to get rid of a pet’s diarrhea, as my dog Sawyer found out when he got 1 tablespoon per day until his ailment passed, pun not intended.

As a seduction method –

KoreyK. shared the story of the political pumpkin entries, which were used to seduce:

“One of my brother’s friends gave the pumpkins away, without my permission, to two sorority girls to take to their party, thinking it would get him laid. It didn’t. In fact, they wouldn’t even tell him the location.”

TC.com pumpkin decorating contest entries in alphabetical order (top four culled from hundreds of thousands submissions):

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AZMouse - Scary scarecrow
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AZMouse - Peeking pumpkin
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Jennatoolz - Hungry Demon (daylight)
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Jeannatoolz - Hungry Demon (dark)
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KoreyK - Political pumpkins of yore
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RadMax - Razortooth
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RadMax - Daughter Lindsey's design

Vote now through Nov. 7 for your favorite entry in the TC.com pumpkin decorating contest.

What do you think?

Did you carve or smash any pumpkins this Halloween?

Is pumpkin a part of your daily diet?

What other uses to pumpkins have?

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?

We sometimes like to blame our neighbors for all the woes of the world – from the lack of parking to the garbage that blows in our yard. And sometimes they deserve it.

Proof Sawyer is sweet and doesn't deserve to be attacked/Ryn Gargulinski

After all, it is my neighbors’ fault my arm still hurts.

Sawyer, Phoebe, my beau and I were returning from our evening riverbed dog romp. The dogs were leashed and sauntering nicely.

The narrow path back to the house is crammed between a ditch full of thorny trees and a solid brick wall.

We were on that crammed path when we encountered the neighbors and their two dogs, whom we shall call Dumbo and Bimbo.

Dumbo and Bimbo, who are no small puppies, have a long history of distaste for Sawyer and Phoebe. The feeling is mutual and the dogs like to lunge at each other when we pass across the street. Everyone is leashed and the end result is lots of noise but no injuries.

But this time Dumbo and Bimbo were not on their leashes. And I ended up getting bit.

We rounded the corner to find the neighbors and their horror hounds, with enough time for the neighbors to leash up Dumbo and Bimbo. But they didn’t. They just stood there and watched as Dumbo approached us, acting dumb enough to merit his nickname, and set off a growl fest.

Bimbo, whose head is the size of a basketball and jaws are as wide as Montana, soon joined the fray.

Proof Phoebe is sweet and doesn't deserve to be attacked/Ryn Gargulinski

Sawyer, Phoebe, my boyfriend and I had initially moved towards the brick wall to let the foursome pass. Now were cornered against it by Dumbo and Bimbo while their owners stood back in the distance. Please note the dog dad was no small puppy, either, and could have at least attempted to restrain at least one of the hounds.

Dumbo was trying to sneak up on Sawyer’s hind end while Bimbo was going for Sawyer’s throat. Sawyer and Phoebe were still leashed and couldn’t really maneuver.

Yet Sawyer still attempted to defend himself while big, bad, barking machine Phoebe hid.

My dog mom instinct kicked in and I did I really dumb thing.

I stuck my arm out to push Bimbo away and ended up with my arm clamped in a dog jaw.

Once Sawyer realized it was my arm in his mouth, he let go immediately. But not before a nice pain set in. The pain was accompanied by a fine red mark that was only later alleviated by a pouch of frozen vegetables.

Dumbo and Bimbo were eventually restrained and led away by the neighbors, who didn’t even bother to apologize.

And I’ll bet it’s their garbage that blew in my yard.

Eager for input – please take the poll.

Do you have inconsiderate neighbors? What’s the worse thing they’ve done?

Have you been accosted by their dogs, cats, blowing garbage or children?

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 gun-toting mailbox, got mixed reviews. Folks liked that it was an effort at cleverness, but not that it was unkempt.

Several folks also voted crappy on a bugged-out VW bug posted many moons ago – but now we got the Volkswagen’s big sister: an awesome Volkswagen bus.

Judging from my calling it awesome, you can bet I think this thing is groovy. Check out the slide show, featuring six ways of looking at a VW bus.

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Six ways of looking at a VW bus/Ryn Gargulinski
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Six ways of looking at a VW bus/Ryn Gargulinski
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Six ways of looking at a VW bus/Ryn Gargulinski
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Six ways of looking at a VW bus/Ryn Gargulinski
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Six ways of looking at a VW bus/Ryn Gargulinski
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Six ways of looking at a VW bus/Ryn Gargulinski

The couple that owned this beautiful bus was also fun – and definitely full of the hippie vibe. When I told them I’d send them a link to their VW when I posted it, they said they had no computer.

One of my friends, too, has a VW bus decked in peace signs. He may not have the hippie vibe, however, as his bus is parked between his Harley Davidson motorcycle and an old Ford pickup outfitted with a gun rack and NRA stickers.

What do you think?
Please vote and leave comments below.

A Tucson pizza guy was fired after being accused of throwing dough balls at and drawing a chalk penis on the outside wall of Magpies Gourmet Pizza on Broadway.

Photo Ryn Gargulinski

While the premise may be a tad humorous, Casey Lemme’s story is anything but.

Lemme is 30, just finished his bachelor’s in history at University of Arizona and is a well-liked fellow. He has three dogs, a sweet wife and has worked at Magpies for the past 10 years while he completed his degree.

But his denial meant nothing. Another worker, who was supervisor on the day of the chalk penis incident, was also slated to be fired over it. She was instead tipped off in advance and simply never came back to work.

Lemme had no clue when he arrived to work his 4 p.m. shift on Sept. 27 that he would be immediately called into the office and axed.

He said Magpies President Mike Acedo was at the Broadway location to do the honors.

“He told me somebody from the property management company called and saw me outside drawing penises on the wall,” Lemme said. “I was throwing dough balls, apparently, as well.”

Lemme asked Acedo to view the videotape from the outdoor security camera but said he refused.

Photo Ryn Gargulinski

Acedo did not wish to comment on the incident when I called him, but did say something to the effect of “We are happy with the outcome” which followed “company procedure.” He said there was no videotape.

He also mentioned the dough balls and chalk penis drawings were a recurring theme and the person responsible admitted to it, but would not say if that person were Lemme.

“Yes, I wrote the words ‘I like chalk,’ on the pavement,” Lemme said he told him, “but I assure you have not drawn a penis or thrown dough balls. That’s childish and I don’t really have the time. I have work to do.”

Lemme said chalk was always kept in the office and finding chalk drawings or writing was not uncommon, but he has never seen a chalk penis.

In a last bid to clear his name, Lemme went down to the corporate office after his firing, even though he didn’t think it would do much good.

“I told them, ‘If you don’t want me working there, fine, but I can’t have this on my record,’” he said.

No dice. Lemme will instead be haunted by the dough balls and chalk penis.

“He is wrongfully accused and now he faces problems when applying for a new job since his name has been tarnished with this filthy lie,” his wife Louise Nilsson wrote in an e-mail. She’s originally from Sweden and they are living off the savings from selling her house there until Casey finds a new job.

“Is there no rights for workers in this country? Why is it that businesses can do what they want to innocent workers and have their future ruined because they feel like it? I don’t understand how there is nothing that protects the worker from this kind of thing.”

Photo Ryn Gargulinski

Good questions, Louise.

While researching dumb reasons people get fired, I found they run the gamut to “position eliminated” to “not a good fit.”

The former can hold true even if someone was hired to do the exact same or similar job and the company slaps on a different title. The latter can be a catchall for pretty much anything at all.

One woman was fired for refusing to sign a written reprimand for something she denied doing.

Sure, there’s unemployment, which pays a ridiculous fraction of our salary and sometimes gets denied. Who knows what the outcome would be over the dough balls and chalk incident.

All Lemme knows is it’s time to move forward. And be glad that Brooklyn Pizza Company finally beat out Magpies as Tucson Weekly’s Best of Tucson pick for 2009.

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Ryn Gargulinski is a poet, artist, performer and TucsonCitizen.com Ryngmaster who has never been fired for graffiti although it did once really freak out one of her former bosses. 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?

Have you or someone you know ever been unfairly fired? What happened?

What’s the dumbest reason you know of someone getting fired?

What would you do if you were Casey?

PLEASE NOTE: Casey’s last name is Lemme. It was originally posted incorrectly as Nilsson, which is his wife’s last name.

Thank you! TC.com readers who sent in photos of your tattoos. They are as beautiful as you are – and make for a nifty slide show, as evidenced below.

Jennatoolz's card suits, designed by her best friend Ross/submitted photo

Contributors include:

* Self-proclaimed text message junkie Jennatoolz – her two tattoos include one of her former goldfish, Buzzkill, started by a boyfriend and then fixed by Andre from State of Art Tattoo; a playing card tattoo down her left side, designed by best friend Ross and installed by Adrian Rodriguez at Unlimited Ink. When I showed Ross the finished product, his exact words were, “Oh Jenna, that is, like, the biggest form of flattery I’ve ever received!”

* Pet lover and hilarious story teller AZMouse (aka Dianne), who sent in pix of her daughter Sara’s tats. AZMouse says Sarah has about 10 tattoos all told, and her musical notes were actually a cover up for something else. Good cover!

* A man named Travis Reed who works at a local insulation company, sent in by loyal reader RadMax. Travis’s only comments were: “James, Adrenaline Tattoo.”

* Joey Flowers, another man who works with RadMax with a few tats that include his daughters and Marilyn Monroe.

* E.E. Farley sent by loyal reader A. Farley – who is being left dad’s tattoo in the will, by the way. E.E. Farley’s tat is from WWII and depicts “a petite woman with a nice hat” in front of a ship’s anchor and the initials U.S.N. for U.S. Navy. Dad was one that set up the older ships in the Bikini Atoll Atom Bomb tests. If I ever get one it would have to be exactly like Dad’s. Kind of like a Sailor Jerry Tattoo.

* A photo of the tattoo on TC.com Editor Mark Evans. Yes, this man who seems like he’d be one of the last people in the solar system to have a tattoo actually has one. He got the fish on his ankle after peer pressure and beer pressure with four other guys that got the same ones during his college days.

* Two Rynski tattoo pix – One is a dragon on my foot in the shape of a number five and installed by my fave tattoo artist, Michelangelo in Brooklyn. The other is a snap of my left leg, installed by a guy named Chris in Clovis, N.M. I designed the dragon on my foot and four out of the five dragons on my leg. I don’t know why I love dragons so much when I was born in the year of the dog.

Enjoy!

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Jennatoolz's Buzzkill/submitted photo
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Jennatoolz's card suits/submitted photo
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Sara's arm/submitted photo
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Sara's arm take two/submitted photo
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Travis Reed/submitted photo
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Travis Reed/submitted photo
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Travis Reed/submitted photo
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Joey Flowers' Marilyn/submitted photo
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Joey Flowers' Daughters/submitted photo
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Joey Flowers' arm/submitted photo
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Hello, Joey Flowers/submitted photo
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E.E. Farley's WWII gal tattoo/submitted photo
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Back to Sara/submitted photo
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Sara's musical notes/submitted photo
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Mark Evans's ankle fish/Photo Ryn Gargulinski
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Rynski's legski/Photo Ryn Gargulinski
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Ryn's foot with Brooklyn artist Michelangelo/Photo Ryn Gargulinski

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Ryn Gargulinski is a poet, artist, performer and TucsonCitizen.com Ryngmaster whose column usually runs on Fridays. She did not write one this week because she wrote the editorial for Monday’s Arizona Daily Star instead. Check it out in Monday’s AZDS or read it on Rynski’s Blogski. E-mail rynski@tucsoncitizen.com.

Stars for Sara/submitted photo

What’s the most painful place you got a tattoo?

Where would you NEVER get a tattoo?

Have you ever experienced tattoo regret?

What’s the dumbest thing anyone ever said about your tattoo (besides, of course, “Did it hurt?”)

With a profession that surrounds him with Playboy Playmates and rock stars – not to mention his first feature film coming out in a few months – it may sound like Tucsonan Benny Kennedy has the world at his feet.

Benny Kennedy in action/submitted photo

But that didn’t come without hard work, sacrifice, and tough stuff along the way. He also never let go of his biggest asset – his dreams.

This 34-year-old, happily married “father” of four Jack Russell terriers will be quick to tell you that even the entertainment business has its fair share of, shall we say, difficult people.

“I have worked with more delightful celebs than difficult ones, thank God,” Kennedy said.

One of the best was Playboy Playmate Colleen Shannon, who was serious about promoting her club deejay career. She even wrote a glowing letter to Hugh Heffner about how much fun she had in Tucson.

Not all are as dreamy.

Drugs and alcohol are huge issues for many in the entertainment business, with some bands being paid in beer alone.

But the jerkiest encounters involved a dishonest club honor and an overnight sensation that hijacked a car only to take it to New Mexico and get arrested.

Perhaps “hijacked” is too strong a word, as Kennedy had willingly let Corey Clark borrow the rented vehicle while he was promoting Clark at DV8 Nightclub.

Clark, as some may know, became famous during the second season of American Idol after he was disqualified for legal trouble and then claimed to have slept with Paula Abdul. He had completed a couple of gigs Kennedy booked for him and had one more appearance on the agenda.

Clark never made the final appearance, as he was arrested in New Mexico for violating his parole – the same legal trouble that got him disqualified from the show. The car got shipped back and all ended OK, but not without some heartache.

Heartache was also on the agenda when Kennedy booked local actress Tiffany Shepis, who was the scream queen of horror and the host of Playboy TV, at a local venue.

Working with her was fine – it was the venue’s owner who became a pain when he decided he didn’t want to pay.

“Maybe the 550 people that attended did not buy enough drinks or something,” Kennedy said. “I am not sure but, he was not happy and he refused to pay Tiffany her appearance fee.”

Since Kennedy didn’t have the cash, he instead had to break the news to the scream queen.

“She was obviously nowhere near happy and used quite a few choice phrases that described sexual acts with one’s self, but in the end she was paid and vowed to never work with me again,” Kennedy said. “I learned at that moment to never do an event unless you have the money to back up every last promise and to be sure every agreement that is signed covers your butt entirely.”

Benny Kennedy on stage/submitted photo

Kennedy also learned a lot in the U.S. Navy, where he enlisted right after high school.

“Growing up without a father was a strain on me as well as on my mother who only wanted to make sure I became a good man,” he said. “In a way the Navy became my father.

“It taught me how to fight, how to shoot a gun, how to interact with people in a strong and professional manner as well as learn organization and cleanliness. It also taught me how to work under pressure and what the meaning of loyalty and teamwork really was. I also learned how to cook for 500 people, which could come in handy some day.”

Other life experiences were felt in his bones, like knowing he needed to be in the entertainment business.

“Ever since I heard my voice on a recording I was fascinated with production,” he said. “Then when I got my hands on a video camera I was hooked for life.”

He also dabbled in radio and film as a teen, but knew just being passionate about something may not pay the bills.

“I grew up in a very low income household and was raised like many by a single mother who did everything she could to nurture my passions but, at the same time she showed me the harsh realities of life,” he said.

“I’ve worked as a cook, a martial arts teacher, a security guard, a strip club bouncer; I’ve repaired and manufactured aircraft interiors, promoted and managed rock bands, handled entertainment of nightclubs, worked with celebrities and music artists promoting and producing special events and concerts.” Kennedy also does freelance writing, voice over projects and event production – check out his website ProjectBennyBlanco.com.

Oh, and don’t forget to add his feature film, “Alien, Alien,” to his credits. The movie is being co-produced with Tucson native and Hollywood producer Mark Headley and will be screened this winter at the Loft Theater.

Kennedy’s main passion, always, has been making people laugh – even the security guards who escorted him out of the parking lot when he was once let go from a job.

“You can’t believe how stressed-out security people get when they have to escort someone who was just laid off to their car,” he said.

He also wants to send a message that any dream is attainable – even working with Playboy Playmates in the entertainment industry – as long as you’re willing to work for it.

“Always remember this is a business that thrives on hopes and dreams,” he said, “and the moment you stop dreaming there is no hope for success.”

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Ryn Gargulinski is a poet, artist, performer and TucsonCitizen.com Ryngmaster who loves to dream big and make art out of debris. Her column appears every Friday on Rynski’s Blogski. Her art, writing and more is at RynRules.com. E-mail rynski@tucsoncitizen.com.

What celebrity would you love to work with?

Who was the most difficult person you ever had to work with?

Would you ever want to work in the entertainment business?

Are you going to see Benny’s film when it comes out?