What to do in Tucson on New Year's Eve 2009

There are tons of places to go and choices for ringing in the New Year.

I am not getting paid for any of these suggestions so they are in no particular order or preference. Just a few random ideas if you're looking for inspiration.

First Night Tucson: This is the second First Night. Its an alcohol free, family friendly event. You will need a First Night button to get into some things in the downtown area. Start your exploration of everything downtown at the TCC box office (cause that's where you can buy the buttons!) The Tucson Children's Museum does some stuff for New Year's Eve related as well that is kid friendly. Website: Click here

Murder mystery? There's something different to ring the New Year. Try Four Points Sheraton at Speedway and Campbell. Starts at 7:30 p.m.

All of the area casinos are throwin' down for New Year's Eve. Good news if you go there is that they don't close. So the party and fun can go all night (even if they stop serving liquor at 2 a.m. you don't have to leave).

Every bar is open and overcharging for drinks, cover and everything else. You'll want to brave the crowds if you don't feel like spending it alone. Bring plenty of money and be aware that alcohol patrols by the police are heavy on New Year's Eve. Oddly enough, New Year's Eve brings a lower than average number of DUI's because people are super concious of it. Cabs are hard to get unfortunately. You'll have to be patient if you call one.

TV is loaded up again this year. From Carson Daly on NBC, Ryan Seacrest on ABC, and Kathy Griffin and Anderson Cooper on CNN you'll be able to watch the ball drop in Times Square while more than a million New Yorkers freeze their asses off. It is interesting that MTV doesn't do anything from Times Square anymore now that they don't have their studios there. They are airing a new episode of Jersey Shore instead.

I am not doing any kind of event for the radio station. Odd I'm not working on New Year's Eve but it has happened occasionally. I haven't figured out what I'm doing as I write this but whatever it will be it'll be fun to ring in 20-KEN!

$3.99 Jumbo Deal at Jack In The Box

I like cheap eats! I share with you when I find them. I'm a giver.

Jack In The Box just e-mailed me info on the Jumbo Deal: 2 tacos, a Jumbo Jack hamburger, small fries and 20 oz. soda for $3.99. Limited time only at participating restaurants blah blah blah. Gotta love disclaimers.

Yes, please!

Kenparazzi: Christmas week 2009

A few Kenparazzi photos from Christmas 2009:

I wrapped my Christmas gift to Anth in "Ho" paper. It has Ho's all over it!


How do you make a couple of regular ol' beers holiday beers? Candy canes!


Anth lived his dream and rolled the fuzzy dice for a prize at Cosmic Bingo. He won a free bingo comp and dinner at Bellisimo at Casino Del Sol!




One winner and one dork at Cosmic Bingo. I'll give you a hint: The dork is on the right.

Carl's Jr. broke my heart

I have made many visits to Carl's Jr. Today's was a heart breaker.

I received a $10 gift card from Leslie (my co-worker) on Christmas for Carl's Jr. and I decided to spend it tonight. I also had a promotional gift card I had scored after buying a Big Carl combo a few weeks back. The promotional gift card has a mystery amount on it ranging from $1 up to $100. I didn't know how much was on it until I made a return visit. That was tonight.

I've made many visits to this Carl's Jr. location because it is close to work (Broadway & Pantano). I don't love this one because I've never encountered a single staff member who speaks clear English. But the employees have always been nice and get my order right. So I cannot complain.

I placed my order inside and handed over the promotional gift card with great anticipation. If I actually won $100 worth of Carl's Jr. food it would have been the greatest day ever. I work on the radio. I have given away hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of prizes in my career but I have rarely won anything. At the very least, it would be worth a dollar. That's exciting too.

The clerk swiped the card. The register said "processing". And we waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. He tried it again. And we waited. And waited. And waited. I started feeling sad. My great anticipation for winning quickly faded.

The card never did process. He gave me a dollar off the combo and I paid for the rest with the gift card from Leslie.

The Six Dollar Cheeseburger was delicious (I knew it would be!). The restaurant was slow at the time I went (7 p.m. on a Tuesday) so there wasn't much people watching to do except for a guy sitting three tables away from me who kept stopping between every bite to close his eyes, clench his hands, and then make a call on his cell phone to someone to tell them he prayed for them. He repeated this process eight times during the fifteen minutes it took me to eat. I counted.

I should have known better than to get excited for a prize I was not likely to win. But, I still get enthusiastic anyway even when the outcome is predictable (as in, yeah Ken, you're not winning squat). At least I got a dollar off and a full stomach. And, the eternal optimism that one day.... maybe.... my dreams will come true.

Jared from Subway has gotten fat!

It would appear that Jared (Jared Fogle) from Subway is not sticking to his previous Subway turkey sandwich diet. He's gained some weight. 40 pounds to be exact. That's after he'd lost 245 pounds on his "Subway diet".

I have to say that if you're going to be a national spokesman for weight loss eating sub sandwiches from a well known restaurant you're held to a higher standard than the rest of us.

See the photos: Click here