Last summer, the creative and quirky minds at Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art created a grant that’s community generated and in support of “innovative art makers, wise-crackers and trailblazers based in Arizona.” From a number of submissions from artists throughout Phoenix, six proposals from the local arts community have been…
DrinkSavvy is trying to raise money for a series of cups, straws and stirrers that would change color if they come in contact with colorless, odorless, and tasteless date rape drug like GHB or Rohypnol. Unlike existing proposed system, this technology would be discreet and impossible to misplace or forget…
Still holiday shopping? So are we — and we’ve been taking notes. Introducing our series of gift guides for your “easy to figure out, but hard to shop for” friends. Today, Jackalope Ranch’s Gift Guide for the Fashion-Obsessed. Shopping for a shopaholic is a tough game to play — tougher…
If there’s one constant to this time of year (other than nonstop Christmas music), it’s lights and lots of ’em. Glowing displays of color cover businesses, public parks, and numerous other locales as everyone except the grinches get into the holiday swing of things. Besides all the gorgeously ginormous public…
Christmas has come early for fans of good writing and excellent acting, courtesy of Stray Cat Theatre’s production of Steve Yockey’s Wolves. The play, which squeaks onto my list of best plays of 2012 at the very end of the year, is a violent drama with no real gore; a…
Welcome back to Middle-Earth. It has been nearly a decade since writer-director Peter Jackson last set foot on J.R.R. Tolkien’s hallowed ground, signing off on a spectacular trilogy of films adapted from the British author’s Lord of the Rings novels. There were box office billions and well-earned Oscars aplenty and…
It’s dispiriting that a film about the romantic life of Franklin D. Roosevelt, who cultivated a small coterie of mistresses, should exhibit so little interest in what so engaged its hero: the women’s individual hearts and minds. Instead, Hyde Park on Hudson quickly introduces us (and FDR) to the president’s…
We pass through doors both literal and figurative every day, but fail to stop and appreciate their beauty more often than not. Photographer Nicole Dunlap set out to explore neighborhoods around the world through a study of doors. The first exhibition of her planned photo series, “Doors of Hermosillo,” wanders…
The Phoenix Suns haven’t been as awful as you assumed they would be. Goran Dragic has looked like a capable heir to Steve Nash, Marcin Gortat has proved solid at center, and the Suns as a whole have earned a spot that’s only a few games out of eighth place…
From the angelic rhythm of the snow scene to the unforgettable and unmistakable melody of the Russian Dance, the score of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker has become a holiday season staple. And the music truly comes to life when dancers float across the stage in satin point shoes and shimmering tutus. This…
No, it’s not Reptar On Ice. First off, this is Arizona, and therefore there’s very little ice for dinosaurs to dance and sing on. Two, Reptar was on Rugrats ®C a kid’s show ®C and Repticon is for grownups. Snake- and lizard-obsessed grownups — but still. This weekend promises the…
The holidays are a time for going over the top. Think you might need a speedboat? Someone might get you a speedboat! Feel the need to wear a cat hair-coated snowman sweatshirt you recently purchased from Goodwill? Hey, ‘tis the season! Feel the need to tell Uncle Greg what you…
In what’s become a Jekyll-and-Hyde season of epic proportions, the 2012 Arizona Cardinals hold the dubious distinction of being the only team in NFL history to rattle off four wins at the season’s onset only to follow up with nine consecutive losses. With Cardinals fans left wondering if Hyde will…
It’s a given that any beloved pop culture property probably will take a spin (successfully or not) on Broadway. The Addams Family, the creepy, kooky clan that achieved mass appeal with a mid-’60s TV show that became syndication gold, hit the Great White Way in 2010 and land in Tempe…
While Mayanist scholars dispute whether December 21, the last day of a 5125-year cycle of the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar, is a harbinger of any world-ending cosmic event, it would be a deliciously ironic upending of the holiday season. Those plunderers of VHS-trapped gems of awfulness, Everything is Terrible!, are…
Most stories are either Oedipus Rex (Hamlet, The Graduate) or The Odyssey (The Wizard of Oz, The 40-Year-Old Virgin) underneath, and that knowledge renders required lit courses much more straightforward. There’s another pervasive seasonal influence, though: Even if a play isn’t technically called A Christmas Carol, chances are some grumpy…
gets away or takes ballet surely has been a topic discussed during many a playground tussle. Regardless of regional differences in these immature lyrics, one thing’s for sure: Batman smells. So says first grade protagonist Junie B. Jones in Childsplay’s production of Junie B. in Jingle Bells, Batman Smells! Though,…
If you’ve spent any time in Sky Harbor International Airport’s Terminal 3, you’ve likely marveled at the work of Jun Kaneko. The Japanese sculptor and painter moved to the U.S. in 1963 to study art and worked under the leaders of the contemporary ceramics movement in California. Kaneko’s sculptures are…
If you’re tempted to make the argument that this city has no palpable history, take one look at the current exhibition at George Washington Carver Museum, 415 East Grant Street. “Environmental Memories of South Central Phoenix” tells the story of south Phoenix long ago — when neighbors swam the canals,…
The beginnings of Ledger Art trace back to narrative drawings created by Plains Indians on paper or cloth in the late 19th century. As trade flourished, accounting ledger books became a common (and very portable and convenient) source of paper for the Plains Indians. These narratives documented daily life as…
The setup: Ironically, it was the almost-entirely-sold-outness of another popular holiday show (iTheatre’s perennially popular Back Home for the Holidays cabaret) that led Curtains to check out this offering in Mesa, which is in its second year. Tonight is actually your best chance to see Southwest Shakespeare Company’s A Christmas…
Surfing Reddit when you’re a Reddit amateur is a lot like trying to figure out why your iPhone randomly shuts off in a Juggalo forum — you rarely find what you’re looking for, but you’re likely to find something else worth sharing. Exhibit A: The Grumpy Cattoo. See also: -…
