I'm opting out of further participation in the ruckus in the comments section of this story about Mr. K’s Barbeque, but I did pick up one interesting little tidbit this morning that seems worth sharing.

I spoke with Ray Kendrick, who has handled the day-to-day operations of the original Mr. K’s on South Park, and he is not going to be involved in the new business. But here’s the really juicy detail: He says he never handed over the real barbeque sauce recipe, and he’s the only one who knows what’s in it.

That is some cold-ass sibling-style maneuvering, and I was a bit shocked to hear it. He says the original sauce created by Charles Kendrick has been tweaked over the years to perfection, and that he never kicked down the knowledge as far as what changes were made.

He also says he’s moving on with his barbecue career, and that Tucson hasn’t seen the last of him, although I’m not at liberty to get into it any deeper than that for the time being.

Barbeque is typically messy, but, honestly people, this is getting a bit ridiculous.

There's nothing I can say to enhance this video in any manner whatsoever. Just take it in. Enjoy every fleeting moment.

Trust me, it's just as enjoyable the tenth time you watch it.

[The Awl/Ego Trip]

You might have seen the Sonoran Snoballs trailer at Broadway and Campbell, but you haven't heard the story from inside the blue stuccoed shaved ice establishment on wheels. Allie Leach interviewed John and Stacey Roads, who will celebrate the 19th anniversary of their business in September.

I've personally attempted to pitch people on seeing Jonathan Goldstein at Club Congress for a few months now, since the show was announced by Stateside Presents, and the general problem is explaining what it is he does exactly. He has a radio show in Canada (Wiretap) that you can hear in Arizona only on satellite radio or via podcast. He has a book out. He's been on This American Life quite a bit. He'll read some things, that will be funny, sometimes in a laugh out loud way, show a video featuring post-it notes, take some questions. It will be entertaining, if you enjoy smart people with dry senses of humor talking.

Summary: If David Sedaris was coming to a Tucson area nightclub, would you go? Then you should see Jonathan Goldstein. Not the same thing for sure, but close enough for your entertainment.

We can't think of a better place to watch Hook than at Valley of the Moon. Think about it: A fantasyland full of fairy lights and enchanted gardens? A world of legend and lore? A place once home to "children, thousands of children, and those who were still young at heart" (via our very own Jim Nintzel)? Sounds kind of like Peter Pan and the Lost Boys, eh?

Come out to watch the movie under the stars at on Saturday, July 2. Admission is free. Gates open at 6:30 p.m.; Movie starts at 7:45 p.m. There's a $4 suggestion donation/person. Refreshments available. Bring something comfy to sit on and someone cozy to snuggle up with. Valley of the Moon is located at 2544 East Allen Rd. north of Prince Road and east of Tucson Boulevard. Keep an eye out for the second star to the right and straight on ’til morning.

Goodnight, sweet clown prince. Glenn Beck ends his Fox News program tonight. It's like a perfect storm, a Archduke Ferdinand moment, and a socialist conspiracy on fire all in one. You won't be the only one tearing up tonight, Glenn. Well, maybe you might, but you're still just a man who loves his country, maybe too much.

It's hot-as-hell and you're not gonna take it anymore! Okay, drama mama, why not head over to the Loft? Not only do they have AC (what! what!), but they also have a grab-bag full of movies playing. Take your pick!

On Friday, join Red Meat's Max Cannon as he hosts "the biggest, baddest short film contest in town," a la the Loft's website. If interested, bring your own short film (15 minutes or under) and they'll play it on the big screen. The Grand Prize is $200! Now that could buy you a lot of fireworks. Show starts at 9 p.m. Admission is $6 general/$5 for Loft members. Below is last month's winner, Eva Julieta Alcazar, who won for her animated short, "Niche."

Niche from Eva Alcazar on Vimeo.

Like War flicks? Come back Monday, July 4th, when Liberty Watch Radio and Inside Track present the action-packed, Oscar-winner, "Battleground." Come before the movie for burgers and dogs and ice-cool drinks on the patio. Show starts at 12 p.m. Admission is $6 general/$5 for Loft members.

If you like more irreverent war movies, stick around Monday night for the "TEAM AMERICA" sing-a-long! Curse and cuss your heart out with those little, filthy puppets. Come again (no pun intended) for the pre-show burgers and dogs. Pre-show starts at 6p.m. Show starts at 6:30 p.m. Admission is $8 general/$6 for Loft members.

Fore more details, visit the Loft's website.

It almost just seems too easy. Basketball players generally don't celebrate when they get a wide open layup, so it's barely even worth making jokes about the Capitol's rat problem.

The House of Representatives, the Senate and the executive tower where the governor works have been magnets for the little (and not-so-little) rodents, who have been reported scurrying across floors and nibbling on food left on office desks.

One of the critters was found outside House Majority Leader Steve Court's office door, heading for the office refrigerator.

Another was afoot, and under foot, in the House clerk's office.

The state Department of Administration said glue traps had ensnared 64 of the vermin recently.

Officials speculate the abundance of rats and mice is due to the disruption caused by storm-sewer construction in the streets surrounding the buildings at 1700 W. Washington St.

Fine, here's one...say what you will about the rats, I think they would have gotten it together and voted to extend unemployment benefits, so maybe we're trapping the wrong pests.

I really like Stephen Colbert, I think his show is quite funny, but I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry, now that he can raise and spend an unlimited amount of money in future elections with very few restrictions:

Colbert’s request was part of a long-running satire by the Comedy Central host poking fun at loosened campaign finance rules. But Colbert himself said very little during the hearing, leaving most of the talking up to his attorney, Trevor Potter, and to FEC commissioners.

Meaning there were almost no jokes at all.

“If we had viewed this as just a funny request, that would have been a lot easier,” said Ellen Weintraub, a Democratic FEC member.

The real parody came outside the FEC building, where Colbert began accepting donations from fans for the Colbert Super PAC.

“Some people have said, ‘Is this some kind of joke?’ ” Colbert told the crowd. “I for one don’t think participating in democracy is a joke.”

[...]

“Today we put liberty on lay-away,” he quipped in a series of one-liners to the throng.

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords' office announces that District Director Ron Barber will be returning to work on a part-time basis next week:

U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ district director, Ron Barber, will return to work next week, almost six months after he suffered serious injuries in the Jan. 8 shooting.

Barber, who supervises 11 employees in Giffords’ offices in Tucson and Sierra Vista, will work halftime while continuing to undergo rehabilitation to help him fully recover from his wounds.

Barber will return to Giffords’ district office, 3945 E. Fort Lowell Road, Suite 211, at 9 a.m. Tuesday, July 5.

• Ron Barber

“I have been working and planning for this day since I was injured in January,” Barber said. “I have missed my colleagues in the congresswoman’s office and am ready to rejoin them as we continue offering services to the people of Congressional District 8. I very much look forward to the day Congresswoman Giffords herself will be able to return to work.”

Barber, 65, was shot twice, once in the left cheek and once in the left thigh. He was hospitalized in the intensive care unit of University Medical Center, where Giffords also was treated. Barber was discharged after six days in the hospital.

The bullet that struck Barber in the cheek exited from the back of his neck, barely missing his spinal column. The shot that struck him in the thigh caused far more serious medical problems and has hampered his ability to walk. Barber has only limited feeling in the lower part of his left leg and continues to undergo physical therapy.

Doctors have said that Barber likely would have died if bystander Anna Ballis had not stepped forward and applied pressure to his thigh wound. In an interview soon after the shooting, Barber said of Ballis, “I just remember her coming to my aid after I was down. … Had she not been there, I would have probably bled to death right there on the ground.”

Six people died in the shooting including Barber’s colleague, Gabe Zimmerman, Giffords’ community outreach director. Both Barber and Zimmerman had been working for Giffords since she first took office in January 2007.