Weber is a visual artist who casts succulents in metal, then paints them with enamel. It’s hard for me to believe I’ve been here for 18 years. My family and I moved to Arizona from Damascus, a small rural town in Maryland, when I was 12. When I heard we…
Arizona’s first poet laureate, Ríos has published 10 acclaimed books of poetry. I’ve lived in the desert in its different incarnations, from high to low desert, all my life. And though my addresses have been cities, I have often lived a good distance outside of them. In Nogales, I was…
Downtown Phoenix is waking from a long snooze. Chain restaurants and name-brand boutiques and that most irrefutable proof that a neighborhood has arrived, the cell phone store, have taken over what planners like to call our “urban core.” Arizona State University, once Tempe’s concern, has cast a long shadow on…
The good news about the Richard Gere drama about the bad news of New York’s enduring homeless crisis? Time Out of Mind, written and directed by Oren Moverman, is stubbornly, respectfully unflashy, Manhattan neorealism steeped more in reportage than in the clichés of prestige films. A prideful man slow to…
First things first: This is not the list of movies you’d see on a syllabus for any classic films class. Some of these might appear there, but this list wasn’t made to teach you which films released before 1975 were the best made. Instead, we’ve compiled a list of truly…
For four years, I’ve owned a “garage bike,” a blue Schwinn mountain bike nicknamed “Bluey.” Since 2012, Bluey has leaned against a cement wall, collecting dust and cobwebs. Each time I noticed Bluey, my heart sank. Poor little guy, I’d think. One day, I’ll fix you up nice. Like a…
It was a big year for Mary Poppins in metro Phoenix. During Monday, September 21’s 25th annual AriZoni Theatre Awards of Excellence ceremony, held at Tempe Center for the Arts, Phoenix Theatre’s production of Mary Poppins waltzed off (sans umbrella) with the best overall production for a contracted musical. It’s…
It can be exhausting to keep up with all the festivals, concerts, and politicians visiting the Valley. Sometimes you just want a quiet day to spend doing your favorite things, or maybe learning some new skills or picking up a new hobby. Here’s your guide to some of the best…
The city’s newest reading series is a big hit — if we say so ourselves. The next installment of Phoenix New Times’ Bar Flies will take place at 7 p.m. September 30 at Crescent Ballroom. Tickets are on sale now for the Best of Phoenix collaboration with Scottsdale Public Art…
This week we’ve amassed a list of things to better your mind, body, spirit, and closet. Sounds expensive right? Wrong. All these events are free of charge and happening here in the Valley. Except for one, that is. It will require a road trip up the I-17 and into one…
Phoenix native Mikaela Shwer’s Don’t Tell Anyone (No Le Digas a Nadie) premières on the PBS series POV on Monday, September 21. The documentary tells the story of Angy Rivera, whom Shwer met in New York when Rivera was undocumented. Rivera grew up in New York City after her fleeing Colombia…
Jonathan Evison Writing is not unlike talking into a void – at least until you introduce (what might be) writing’s most crucial element: the reader. New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Evison will be leading a workshop about the importance of the reader at Changing Hands Phoenix, 300 West Camelback…
Last week, Facebook genie Mark Zuckerberg announced that the social media site is working on a “dislike” button – that is, an icon that expresses remorse and polite disagreement. We’re pretty sure there is no way this could possibly go wrong. Feeling inspired by this impending cyclone of hatred — er, empathy…
When it comes to comedian Lewis Black, to paraphrase Rage Against the Machine, his anger is a gift. That is to say, the often-incensed comedy veteran and sociopolitical pundit has made a considerable living and earned significant fame over the years with his rage-filled rants that hilariously skewer stupidity, hypocrisy,…
Space 55 Theatre announced on Thursday, September 17, that Duane Daniels is its newly appointed artistic director. Daniels steps into the role previously held by Shawna Franks,who founded the independent downtown Phoenix theater space in 2006. Franks has moved to Chicago, where she’s recently worked with Steppenwolf Theatre Company. “I…
Two of five galleries operated by the Arizona State University School of Art — which are used primarily to exhibit works by students, faculty and alumni — are undergoing significant changes. One has closed temporarily while ASU looks for a new gallery space, and the other just moved from the…
Charlie Kaufman is a cartographer of the soul. You can picture him hunched over parchment accurately inking each dark river and, off to the side, cautioning that there be dragons. What makes Kaufman cinema’s best psychoanalyst is a contradiction. He sees people for who we are — hurtful, hopeful, lovely,…
Park(ing) Day For a city steeped in commuter culture and bursting with blacktops, a day dedicated to transforming parking spaces into public places may seem a pipe dream. Yet every year people gather in metered spaces not to pay to park, but rather to create a different version. Park(ing) Day…
“Part of what I do comes with an apology,” says Bob Saget. Throughout the 1990s, Saget had a corner on the family-friendly, “America’s Dad” market courtesy of hit shows Full House and America’s Funniest Home Videos. When the light-hearted laughter ended, he found himself back on the stand-up circuit, bluer…
The lineup for this September’s Third Friday exhibitions is looking fabulously eclectic — featuring everything from walls dotted with plant art to an art installation that offers a visual dip into the deep end of a swimming pool. Check out these 10 exhibitions, which include art by an intriguing array…
Sounds like there are some really, really, ridiculously good-looking Sun Devils out there. As if Mill Avenue and ASU college parties needed anymore advertising, Arizona State University once again is home to the hottest student body in the country, according to a study in college dating trends from a mobile…
“I’ve turned into this kind of crazy optimist,” Michael Moore admits in his new documentary Where to Invade Next, his first film in six years. At 61, the gadfly savant has mellowed. Instead of charging into rooms, he shuffles, the American flag wrapped around his shoulders like a grandmother’s shawl. Conservatives…
