In early 2012, we began inviting creative types around town to write a manifesto — a personal list of 10 hard-and-fast rules of life or pieces of advice. Each manifesto was paired with a local designer who illustrated one lesson/rule in poster form. We loved the Manifesto series so much…
When William Shatner talks, people tend to listen. Not just to make fun of his tendency to deliver dialogue in hammy fashion, mind you, but also because the erstwhile captain of TV’s USS Enterprise has a penchant for amusing and self-aggrandizing quips. Shatner’s famous for his galaxy-sized ego as much…
It’s a wonder that Adam Dumper ever finds time to sleep, especially since the Tempe urban artist, live painting guru, and hip-hop impresario keeps a pretty hectic schedule. When he isn’t turning canvases into stunning-looking creations, the artist known as Dumperfoo is busy creating flyers and doing design work in…
It’s been a long time coming — 6 years, in fact — but the Black Theater Troupe will finally move into its new home in a few weeks. With the dust still settling, the troupe now prepares to debut their next show in the new theater on February 8. The…
In early 2012, we began inviting creative types around town to write a manifesto — a personal list of 10 hard-and-fast rules of life or pieces of advice. Each manifesto was paired with a local designer who illustrated one lesson/rule in poster form. We loved the Manifesto series so much…
The 2013 Governor’s Arts Awards will celebrate 32 years in March by recognizing creatives who have achieved and contributed to the Arizona arts community. The awards, presented by Arizona Citizens for the Arts, the Arizona Commission on the Arts and the Office of the Governor of Arizona, are given annually…
There’s a subdued glee in Bob Graham’s voice as the local architect describes how his firm Motley Design Group is currently involved with helping restore a piece of Phoenix’s history that was previously considered to be unsalvageable. Specifically, the 104-year-old Leighton G. Knipe House located in the Evans Churchill neighborhood…
Phoenix may have fallen behind in the size department in recent memory — slipping to sixth-largest city in America — but if you favor quality over quantity, you’re in luck. This place is taking shape in a tangible, meaningful way, and it’s about time we started acting like big-city folk…
A chiller about two abandoned girls and their bond to the wraith of the title, Mama never delivers the primal terror its premise would suggest. Instead, the movie — the first feature by Andy Muschietti, who co-scripted with his sibling Barbara and Neil Cross — distracts with too much foolishness:…
We’re now a generation removed from Arnold Schwarzenegger’s brief, odd reign as the biggest star in movies. This Coppertone age lasted from 1990, when two of the 10 top-grossing pictures were Schwarzenegger’s Total Recall and Kindergarten Cop, until 1993, when Last Action Hero — an attempt at a tonal gene…
For the next 10 days, all Hollywood eyes — and those of many a filmgoer — will turn toward the frigid wilds of Park City, Utah, reportedly experiencing its chilliest winter in a decade. Their collective hope: to discover at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival (January 17 through 26) the…
It all began with a scene in Y Tu Mamá También. In the 2001 Mexican drama directed by Alfonso Cuarón, two boys embark on an adventure to find a legendary beach and persuade one of the boy’s cousins-in-law to join. As tensions rise on the journey, all three realize the…
I called my friend Nathan the other day and asked him to join me in seeing Nearly Naked Theatre’s new production of Equus. “No,” he told me, without hesitation. “The production they did 10 years ago was perfect, and if this new one isn’t, it will ruin my memory of…
Comedian PJ Walsh has beaucoup life experience on which to draw, starting with his Irish-American upbringing and followed by his enlistment in the U.S. Navy at 18 years old in 1990, when he figured there was no chance of war anywhere on the horizon. (Oops.) Upon his safe return from…
Bay Area rappers Trunk Boiz hit YouTube platinum with their ode to the swagged out bicycles of Oakland, “Scraper Bike.” The Mill Avenue Bike Parade has just as much love for decorated bicycles (scraper-style or otherwise), folks riding in costumes, and even plain ol’ cruisers. That’s why the parade’s organizers…
If you wanted, we could tell you all about the 1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta Competizione. We could bore with specs about its short wheelbase, its 290-horsepower, 295cc SOHC V-12 engine fed by three Weber 40 DCE/6 carburetors, and how it passes power to the rear wheels via an…
The field of golden sunflowers that usually fills a vacant lot in downtown Phoenix may be cleared, but its impact on the community continues through the Valley of the Sunflowers Paper Project, an art and sustainability project headed by local artists and papermakers. Through a complicated process that spanned more…
When Kyllan Maney’s not creating her own work in the studio, the Phoenix-based artist likely is teaching a group of eager teenagers how to. Maney’s currently the Head of the Art Department at New School for the Arts and Academics, where she teaches painting, mixed media, and portfolio. This Third…
When thinking of acrobatics, your first impressions might be of extremely well-lit gymnasiums, cold and sterile equipment, or some eastern European coach yelling unintelligible support to his pupils. Now, let’s try to envision all of the aspects that make the sport a positive impact on both performer and spectator, then…
As if the intoxicating combination of gambling and booze isn’t enough to draw us to the casino, hordes of belly dancing babes will take the stage at Wild Horse Pass Hotel and Casino to compete for the title of best belly dancer in America.The USA Belly Dance Queen Competition brings…
If you smell the cornflakes (or hot dogs or whatever) and look around (you know, figuratively) for Garrison Keillor and company on your radio dial every weekend, then please prep your eyes (literally) to read some good news.The tales of Lake Wobegon will come to life as A Prairie Home…
It’s not the bushy hair and the over-sized eyeglasses that engulf his face. His unmistakable voice is what makes Ira Glass instantly recognizable. The deliberate, thoughtful inflection of the 53-year-old producer and host of one of the nation’s most beloved radio programs, This American Life, has captivated millions week in…
