Thesis Thursday

When I was little boy I thought the name yellow-bellied sapsucker was the funniest thing I’d ever heard and though I did know it was some sort of bird, I took pleasure in calling a friend a yellow bellied sapsucker and laughing hysterically. I was a silly kid.

There are four species of sapsuckers (Sphyrapicus spp.) in North America and I read that where their territories overlap they hybridize making identification confusing. When identifying the yellow-bellied, red-naped and red-breasted sapsuckers a favorite field guide says to “beware of relatively frequent probable hybrids” between the three species. Now you know.

By the way, the vowel a in the name Sphyrapicus should be short not long, like the way I pronounced it. There are rules as to when a vowel is long or short in a Latinized scientific name, depending on which syllable it’s found. That said, over the years I guess my approach has been to plow ahead and say the name with some authority and I’m guessing some folks think, “Wow, I didn’t know that’s the way you say that.” My apologies. I will try to mend my ways.

The photo of the line of pecked holes on the trunk of the oak is mine. I don’t think I could do be that precise with an electric drill and ruler.

The photo of the male red-naped sapsucker is from Cornell Lab All About Birds: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-naped_Sapsucker/id

Oh, and the field guide referred to above is: Finding Birds in Southeast Arizona from The Tucson Audubon Society. It’s in its eighth edition and it is to die for if you are an amateur (me) or expert birder.

The Classic Pick of the Week for the week of February 17, 2020 - Van Morrison's 1970 album Moondance.

[caption id="attachment_62514" align="alignnone" width="620"] Samantha Bounkeua. Photo by Ruth Christopherson[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_62515" align="alignnone" width="413"] Samantha Bounkeua. Photo by Ruth Christopherson[/caption]

 

We record this episode at Harbor Lighthouse Studios, where we talk with Samantha Bounkeua, aka RogueViolin; a queer experimental musician, composer and producer specializing in non-traditional violin performance. We have an in-depth conversation about the challenges involved in making a living in Tucson as a musician, and how Samantha plans to address some of those challenges through Harbor Lighthouse Studios. Part of her proposed solution--and business--is a LGBTQIA catalog of original music set up especially for sync licensing.  She also talks about why inclusion needs to be a priority for the Tucson music scene, (there's a shout out to Jamie Manser and a nod to her recent article in Zocalo), including examples related to being the only femme-identified person on stage, recurrent issues with sound engineers, bro-dominated studio sessions, among other things. Samantha also treats us by sharing her personal artistic trajectory, starting with playing on a quarter size violin at age four, performing in the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra by age twelve, her time at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the burn out, disenchantment and eventual artistic rebirth involving bands, tours around the world an eventual landing in Tucson.

Curtain Credits: Glass Bottle Heart by Sapphocracy

Listen to the full-length podcast by hitting play above (link to the mini below)!

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On February 13, 2020, No More Deaths hosted a benefit entitled An Evening with Luis Alberto Urrea at El Casino Ballroom. Luis Alberto Urrea is the acclaimed author of 18 best-selling books. Born in Tijuana, Mexico to a Mexican father and an American mother, Urrea uses his dual-culture life experiences to explore greater themes of love, loss, and triumph. He lived in Tucson for a time in the 90s where he connected with some of his literary heroes, began The Hummingbird’s Daughter, and met his wife Cindy. He continues to be a frequent visitor to Tucson and has presented at the Tucson Festival of Books each year since its inception.

No More Deaths is an advocacy group based in Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona, United States, that seeks to end the deaths of undocumented immigrants crossing the desert regions near the United States-Mexico border.

Reverend John Fife was the moderator. He served as Pastor of Southside Presbyterian Church in Tucson for 35 years. He was a co-founder of the Sanctuary Movement in the 1980s and is a founding volunteer with Samaritans and No More Deaths, No Mas Muertes.

The program begins with Reverend Fife introducing Luis Alberto Urrea. Urrea described the events in his life that lead to his bearing witness. He then went on to tell a story inspired by a nephew who thought he was born in the United States and discovered that he wasn't when he ran into problems with the law. A version of the story can be found in The Water Museum.

Recorded and produced by Amanda Shauger. This is part 1. Thank you for listening to 30 Minutes. You can find this and all recent episodes on the 30 Minutes program page at KXCI.org where you can find our social media links and subscribe to the podcast.

The anniversary of my 500th show came and went without me noticing. That's OK cause I'm no where near done with getting out in the 4 Corners Region.,

Southwestern Trails on KXCI on Facebook. https:///www.facebook.com/SouthwesternTrailsonKXCI

Alex Alvarez is an MD/PhD Candidate at the University of Arizona. While Alex hails from Albuquerque, NM, he now calls Tucson home having…

“My name is Hannah Ball and I am a junior majoring in Molecular and Cellular Biology and Biochemistry at the…

Alex Alvarez is an MD/PhD Candidate at the University of Arizona. While Alex hails from Albuquerque, NM, he now calls Tucson home having completed his B.S. in Biomedical Engineering at the U of A in 2015. In his free time, Alex likes to dance, race bikes, and travel around the world with his partner.

"My name is Hannah Ball and I am a junior majoring in Molecular and Cellular Biology and Biochemistry at the University of Arizona. I am in the Undergraduate Biology Research Program and work in Dr. Zarnescu's lab. Our lab studies ALS using fruit flies as a model. For my project, I look at how metabolism affects the progression of ALS and how an enzyme called PFK could potentially help improve the side effects of ALS. In my free time I love going to concerts and spending time with friends."

The Classic Pick of the Week for the week of February 10th, 2020 - Junior Walker's 1965 debut album, Shotgun.