benjie sanders / arizona daily star 2006

Mechanical
Komatsu Equipment Co
Resident Field Mechanic Trades/Construction
RANCHO RESORT
MAINTANANCE POSITION Administrative & Professional
Tucson Urban League
CEO/President Administrative & Professional
Jorgensen Brooks Group
Counselor Finance and Accounting
Charles E. Gillman Company
Accounting Specialist Sales and Marketing
Everready Glass
Sales Reps

Here are some suggestions for great gifts that won't make you lose precious moments circling the mall looking for a parking spot. You have better things to do, right? And go ahead, pick up something for yourself. You deserve it.

There are two recently released concert DVDs/documentaries we can recommend this holiday season.

The first is "U.F.O's At The Zoo — The Legendary Concert In Oklahoma" from the Flaming Lips ($19.97 on flaminglips.com; $18.99 at Zia Records, 3370 E. Speedway) The film chronicles the Lips playing their hometown, splicing together footage of fans gathered before the show, interviews with band members and thrilling concert highlights. There are also bonuses like MP3s of the entire show, 5.1 surround sound and an application to make your own ringtones out of some of the songs.

Pearl Jam hasn't played Arizona in years, but luckily they've put together a stunning concert DVD to hold us over. "Immagine In Cornice" ($15, pearljam.com; $18.99 at Zia Records) is shot by longtime band photographer and filmmaker Danny Clinch and follows the Seattle group on and off stage during its 2006 European tour. Almost every frame of the film pops off the screen, and the song selection (from "Alive" to "World Wide Suicide") is top-notch.

For fans of British rock act Radiohead comes "Dead Children Playing: A Picture Book," which features artwork from the band's longtime artists, Stanley Donwood and Dr. Tchock. The artwork is from albums including "OK Computer," "Kid A" and "Hail To The Thief." ($10.85 on Amazon.com; $15.95 at Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 5130 E. Broadway.)

One of the best local country CDs of 2007 was Andy Hersey's sophomore release, "Between God and Country," a rich collection that tips its hat to our Western and Sonoran heritages. It's available on his Web site, www.andyhersey.com.

Take your tweens and teens to see the live stage version of Disney's "High School Musical" Jan. 2-6 at the Tucson Music Hall. Tickets are $18-$54 through Ticketmaster, 321-1000. For good measure, get a copy of the DVD or CD soundtrack of "High School Musical" and "High School Musical 2."

The new "Christmas in Tucson" CD features 22 local bands with a mix of holiday favorites and originals for a noble cause: The Primavera Foundation. The CD is available at the Club Congress front desk for for $10. You can also buy them at Primavera, 702 S. Sixth Ave., between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., or call 623-5111 for more locations.

Catch Brian Bromberg, whose "Downright Upright" is up for a Grammy in the Contemporary Jazz Album category, at the JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort & Spa.

Give the jazz lover in your life tickets ($75) to the Jazz Brunch & Legends of Jazz All-Stars Show, from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Dec. 30. The lineup also includes Ernie Watts, Randy Brecker, David Bromberg, Patrice Rushen and special guests Brice Winston, Maurice Brown and the JazzWerx Youth Combo.

For $139, get a ticket to The New Year's Eve Gala, which includes a five-course dinner in the resort's grand ballroom. It starts at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 31. and the Jazz All-Stars Show includes Jeff Lorber, Rick Braun, Marion Meadows, Paul Jackson Jr., Joel Taylor and Brian Bromberg. Call 903-1265 or go to www.tucsonjazz.org.

Take the family to Bedroxx bowling alley and amusement center, 4385 W. Ina Road, for kids night out on Wednesdays (two hours of bowling for $5.99 a person, add $5.99 a person for unlimited pizza and soda). The staff pops in a movie that plays on large screens throughout the cavernous center. Or come by on Thursdays for Family Fun Night — $9.99 a person for 90 minutes of bowling, a 7-inch pizza and medium soda. For reservations or details, call 744-7655.

Give your golfer 18 challenging holes at the Pines Golf Club in Marana. It's the only course in Arizona — and one of possibly only five in the country — to plop its back nine holes in a former quarry. Until around 2003, the course — formerly the Links at Continental Ranch — was contained to sprawling green grass that followed the Interstate 10 frontage road off Cortaro Road. But when work finished at the quarry, the golf course moved in, creating the final hole of the front nine and the entire back nine below street level. You can walk the windy switchbacks that dip and sway to varying elevations, or you can zip around in a car that comes with the greens fees — $69 for 18 holes. The Pines is at 8480 N. Continental Links Drive, off Interstate 10 and Cortaro Road. For reservations, call 744-7443.

Help motivate someone near and dear to you with a year's membership to the Southern Arizona Roadrunners. Perks include entry fee discounts, special offers from local merchants and an annual subscription to the club's bimonthly newsletter.

Memberships cost $20 (individual without a club T-shirt) to $80 (a three-year family membership with one T-shirt).

Find the membership form at azroadrunners.org.

Pick up a little Korean, German, Turkish or one of more than 12 languages taught at the Bernard Language School, 931 N. Swan Road. The school celebrated its 10th anniversary this year and offers private and group lessons. Class costs vary depending on how you want to learn. A five-person express Spanish class, for example, would cost $14 an hour per person ($336 for the recommended 24 hours). For more information visit www.bernardlanguage.com or call 327-4844.

The Humane Society of Southern Arizona offers gift certificates in different amounts to cover the cost of anything from adopting a pet to providing low-cost spay or neuter surgery. For more information, call 327-6088, Ext. 106 or visit www.hssaz.org.