Arizona was one of eight states without a State Poet Laureate, a position established in states and countries around the world, in which a local established poet educates students and residents about poetry and literature. But on May 11, 2012, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed SB1348 into law, and the…
Matthew Clark’s exhibit, Fields of Vision, at ASU’s Night Gallery at Tempe Marketplace explores social relationships and choice and chance using a maze as a visual metaphor. If Facebook were a painting, it could be in this show. The paintings are made of acrylic sheet, vinyl, automotive paint, epoxy resin…
If you’re looking for a little chaos and a kickass showcase of local art, mark Legend City Studios on your list of Third Friday must-sees. Chaos Theory, hosted by local artist Randy Slack at Legend City Studios in downtown Phoenix opened on October 5. And while the exhibition is usually…
Perhaps you’ve lost faith in movies about amusingly digressive criminals. Maybe you believe it’s no longer possible to be pleasurably jolted by inventive swearing, from-no-place head shots, and post-everything structural flourishes. Certainly you have no reason to expect blood-splattered poetry or throat-clearing laughter from yet another movie in which Los…
Perhaps more than any other male American star of his generation, Ben Affleck understands the narrative advantage of having Hollywood on your side. The Good Will Hunting co-screenwriter and co-star won an Oscar at age 25 in large part because he and collaborator Matt Damon, as struggling actors who created…
Next week’s Paranormal Activity 4 continues the story of an extended American family whose members own a lot of surveillance cameras, camcorders, smart phones, baby monitors, webcams, Talkboys, and other consumer electronic devices with which they record the haunting of their nice suburban tract homes by a terrifying demonic entity…
With ever-evolving slang, text message shorthand, and more Internet memes than we can handle, it’s a wonder the English language survives. But for some Native Americans languages, preservation is a far more pressing issue as entire dialects face obsolescence. Poet and University of Arizona linguistics professor Ofelia Zepeda, a member…
It’s really easy to predict how well an NBA team will fare. Pretty much you just count the number of superstars on the roster. By this logic, the Phoenix Suns figure to be bottom-dwellers this season. The Suns traded away their only true star player (two-time MVP Steve Nash) so…
Rick Santorum said that sex between married couples (you have to be married to have sex, silly) should only be for procreation. The politician has fathered eight children, which means that if the poor sap practices what he preaches, he probably hasn’t done the nasty much more than eight times…
When in need of a fashionable pick-me-up we have a handful of go-to places, both brick-and-mortar and in the digital realm, that we trust to reinvigorate our love of clothes. There’s Georgann Bryant’s boutique Frances, for retail therapy. And then we have Kristy Roschke and Jennifer Woolsey’s Style Tutor, for…
Usually we associate Greek life with jungle juice and neon tank tops. But this weekend things will get a little more authentic (and a lot less frat-tastic) at the 52nd Annual Greater Phoenix Greek Festival, a celebration of all things culturally Greek. The Mediterranean merrymaking kicks off at Holy Trinity…
If you have plans to check out Mad One’s annual sticker show, you’ll want to bring a bag — and a few of your own stickers to trade. Mike “Mad One” Neely moved from Phoenix to Portland last year, but promised to return for “Sticker Phiends,” a staple in the…
Ah, 1974. Not only had the Slip ‘n Slide just been invented, but the Fonz made his television debut, kids started playing Connect Four, and Mohammed Ali knocked out George Foreman to win the Rumble in the Jungle. Good year. Forgive us for waxing nostalgic, but this season’s Arizona Cardinals…
After Jeff Hardy left the one-ring circus of World Wrestling Entertainment in 2009, most fans considered the daredevil grappler to be a has-been whose best days were firmly in the rearview. He was beset by allegations of substance abuse, mired in a legal battle over charges of drug possession, and…
President Franklin D. Roosevelt dropped the ultimate gem — “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself” — but what about those thrill-seekers who relish being creeped out and love all things that go bump in the night? Well, Phoenix FearCON is right up their dark alley. Locally…
Whether it’s because the name conjures images of jovial Indians polishing their Schwinn cruisers or because it abbreviates snugly into an acronym shared by the most powerful media outlet on earth, London rockers Bombay Bicycle Club have pinned down the most elusive of name traits, bizarre and somehow unforgettable. Even…
Not many an opera (that we know of, at least) is set in the high hills of Scotland, but Gaetano Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor takes the audience to the romanticized locale through the eyes of a love-stricken, unstable woman whose scheming brother arranges for her a marriage into an influential…
We know that Here Comes Honey Boo Boo is the latest in addictive reality programming from TLC. But ,we consider ourselves purists when it comes to the network, and that means our loyalty lies with Stacy London and Clinton Kelly of What Not To Wear. London has a tough-love-meets-fashion-therapist way…
International performing troupe Bellydance Superstars brings The Magic of Dance to the Valley. Tue., Oct. 16, 7:30 p.m., 2012…
It’s hard to imagine that just five decades ago, racism wasn’t just tolerated, but, in some areas, legislated. African-Americans across the country found themselves disenfranchised by the government that freed their ancestors a century earlier. But what is freedom, really? Author and playwright August Wilson explores these themes in his…
High school guidance counselors will ask you to “define normal” when you feel out of place among your peers. Growing up in suburbia, you’re pretty sure being normal doesn’t consist of a family dealing with mental illness, drug abuse, and suicides. But, you’re pretty sure telling the counselor about all…
Hating on vampires officially has become more annoying than the Twilight-loving teeny-boppers themselves. People make a point to subtly say, “I’m so not one of them,” with a scoff at sparkly skin and a roll of the eyes at vampire vegetarianism. So much so that vampires have gotten a bad…
