By Wynter Holden Independence Day is fast approaching, and no doubt you’re either looking forward to attending someone else’s barbecue party or planning a menu for your own grilled feast. If you’re in the latter category — or are kind enough to offer up your grilling skills for a friend…
Recent Arizona transplants, let us enlighten you about the infamous “Scottsdale Galleria” rule: Why revitalize a perfectly good building when you can abandon it and build more strip malls less than a mile away? Until local developers get wise to the joys of recycling, Phoenix will continue to be littered…
Ever notice how a celebrity’s career goes downhill after he or she “finds” religion? Scientologist Tom Cruise alienated fans by publicly flogging celebs over their antidepressant use. Prince’s concerts blow chunks now that his Jehovah’s Witness beliefs have him singing the praises of the Lord instead of “Little Red Corvette.”…
Ever notice how a celebrity’s career goes downhill after he or she “finds” religion? Scientologist Tom Cruise alienated fans by publicly flogging celebs over their antidepressant use. Prince’s concerts blow chunks now that his Jehovah’s Witness beliefs have him singing the praises of the Lord instead of “Little Red Corvette.”…
We’ll never forget the time our college art professor sent us Dumpster-diving for supplies. Two cracked frames, a dozen food wrappers, and a moldy banana peel later, we had a piece of art that looked (and smelled) like a trash can. Somehow, local artist Angela Cazel Jahn doesn’t suffer from…
Just when you thought we’d never stoop to dressing up for some geeky-weird costume event, we prove you wrong. This past Saturday evening, dozens of geeks (including yours truly!) in spandex, leather and all manner of scary custom superhero attire converged on Scottsdale Fashion Square Mall for the Improv AZ…
What’s cooking this weekend? Considering that Saturday is July 4th, we’re guessing some rich, tangy barbecued meats — or at least hot dogs and burgers on the grill. In this week’s Meal Ticket dining newsletter, get grilling tips from the award-winning Joe’s Real BBQ in Gilbert and find out where…
Befriend a lawyer and you’ll beat that DUI charge faster than you can knock back another tequila shot. Make nice with a vet and Spot’s worm shot is on the house. But if your inner circle consists of artists, well, we hope you like Ramen noodles. There are some perks,…
Book clubs are great — in theory. We imagine soul-searching intellectual chats about Brave New World and 1984. Of course, what you actually get is a bunch of bored housewives reading stupid feminist tomes about love and loss and blah, blah, blah. Cue violins. That’s why we’re excited about Torch…
A massive crowd turned out for last night’s Arizona premiere of the new sequel Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Fans lined up in rows that snaked through the Tempe Marketplace Harkins Theater, spilling out onto the sidewalk and clear around the other side of the building. Not everyone who held a coveted…
There are plenty of bars to grab a beer at after catching a sports game in the West Valley. But what if you need a late-night nosh as well (and don’t want to be limited to stale peanuts)? In this week’s Meal Ticket dining newsletter, we’ll profile one neighborhood pub…
Every parent thinks that his or her little snot-nosed brat has the artistic talent of da Vinci, the athletic prowess of LeBron James, or the musical chops for American Idol. So can family members really be objective observers? That’s definitely an artistic dilemma facing photographer and ASU professor Betsy Schneider,…
It’s hard to say what defined the ‘70s. The Vietnam War? Swingers? Saturday Night Fever? According to artist David van Alphen, it’s more than that. “People associate disco with the ‘70s, but I think it is only a small part,” says Alphen, who makes colorful collages featuring retro radios and…
In the early 20th century, Marcel Duchamp stirred up controversy in the art world by displaying what he termed “readymade” art — everyday objects, like the urinal in his famous Fountain, displayed under the auspices of fine art. While some critics denounced the idea as artistic laziness, proponents argued that…
This Sunday, June 21 is Father’s Day. What are you doing for the special dad in your life? We’re pretty sure he’s thinking “not another tie, please!!”, so a better choice might be a special Father’s Day meal he won’t forget. In this week’s Meal Ticket dining newsletter, we’ve got…
So, it was no surprise to find a few familiar faces at this past Saturday’s Anime Fest at the Atomic Comics Paradise Valley location. The venue was packed with teens playing Anime-themed games like Anime Password and Project Anime, thumbing through the $4 bargain bins (tip: the Atomic Comics PV Store is moving, so look for…
You know that eye-searing experience you have whenever you see a voluptuous chick try to pack her, um, assets into a size-2 top? Yeah, that’s exactly what you can expect at the upcoming Paisley Town Block Party at Paisley Violin. No, we’re not literally talking about hotties in tight clothes,…
Sure we prefer fresh pasta over the dried stuff, but we always imagined chefs slaving away for hours rolling dough and cutting semolina spirals with crazy thousand-dollar pasta makers. Little did we know that making noodles is literally easier than pie… In this week’s Meal Ticket dining newsletter, Chef Payton…
Woah! Wait just a minute. This can’t possibly be Geek Beat, can it? Where are the nerds? The thick glasses and pocket protector-wearing, techie lingo speaking, socially inept dweebs who got shoved into lockers and pantsed in gym class? Well, dear readers, this nerdolicious babe is here to tell you what you’re missing…
Last night, a dozen local bartenders gathered at Scottsdale’s fashion-forward CANAL restaurant for an Iron Chef style competition which tested their cocktail making prowess. A few of the culinary scene’s big names were also there, including chef James Porter and emcee Dave Johnson, head of the wine and spirits program at Sol y Sombra. When Johnson showed…
A few years ago, Scottsdale-based painter Nate Ronniger ditched majestic Western landscapes for still lifes. No worries, they’re not the stale-fruit-and-flowers crap your doily-knitting granny collects. Ronniger’s whimsical oil paintings feature modern resin toys and iconic figures like Ronald McDonald. “I was never fully connected to landscapes,” Ronniger tells New…
A few years ago, Scottsdale-based painter Nate Ronniger ditched majestic Western landscapes for still lifes. No worries, they’re not the stale-fruit-and-flowers crap your doily-knitting granny collects. Ronniger’s whimsical oil paintings feature modern resin toys and iconic figures like Ronald McDonald. “I was never fully connected to landscapes,” Ronniger tells New…
