Gravel crunches under Ken Lamberton’s sneakers as he follows the Yetman Trail near the Tucson Mountains west of the city on a clear, cold morning in early January. Lamberton glances up and pauses. Above him, a large bird flies in circles. He identifies it as a red-tailed hawk and gives…
When Arizona State University students filed back into the classroom this week, Bob Pettit found himself someplace he hasn’t been for a very long time: an introductory chemistry lab. Pettit is one of the top organic chemists in the world, and his cancer research is recognized as some of the…
In a city like Phoenix, it’s almost too easy to be cynical about the future. If you listen to the talk out there, downtown Phoenix is on the verge of a comeback — though really, it’s never been anything great. So maybe the message is more that Phoenix is on…
Three years since Phoenix New Times ran our “Exploding Downtown” series, the wrecking ball is still taking aim all over downtown, threatening what little history the city has left to preserve. Will Phoenix wind up a cross between Disneyland and Mill Avenue? This week: The latest great hope for downtown…
In a small manufactured home in south Phoenix, 6-year-old Jonathan Hendrix is hiding behind a chair, pretending to be shy. “I don’t want to go to the doctor,” he mumbles to his mother, when a stranger arrives at his house to talk about his medical condition. Jonathan has chronic asthma…
At 7:30 on a Tuesday morning, it’s pretty quiet at Elwood Bodyworks. There’s still half an hour before the workday begins at the south Scottsdale body shop, and a lone mechanic is moving around the garage near a car that is at once hideous and charming. At first glance, this…
Baron Gordon is a monster, but not the creepy-crawly kind. As the founder of the Alpha Monster artist collective, which comprises major players in the Valley’s growing live painting scene, Gordon is more Monsters Inc. than Frankenstein. When he started the collective in 2003, he wanted to help other artists…
Victorian England was into death. People spent their lives in poverty saving up to have a grandiose funeral, detailed jewelry was made to commemorate lost loved ones, and grave robbing was a lucrative profession. Enter Sarah and Charles Walker, the owners of Passage Boutique on Central Avenue, who are just…
First sin of the day: scarfing down a buttery, sugary brownie, laced with cherries and topped with thick, homemade pistachio ice cream. Before 9 a.m. The early morning binge is made possible by Tracey Dempsey, the mastermind behind the occasionally offbeat, always decadent dessert menu at three of Scottsdale’s favorite…
The past year has been good to Hector Ruiz, artist and owner of the downtown art gallery the Chocolate Factory. After a successful show at the Heard Museum — he sold every piece — Ruiz was picked up by Bentley Projects, is touring Romania this fall, and has a show…
A conservative pro-life organization at Arizona State University, best known for displaying 18-foot, graphic images of aborted fetuses on the campus mall last spring, is suing ASU for requiring the group to pay an insurance fee before the exhibit, claiming the charge violates its First Amendment rights. If this case…
Twenty-five very sweaty people stand facing themselves in a mirror, pushing their heads into their knees. Because this is Bikram yoga, the room is hot — easily 115 degrees, hotter than the July morning outside the central Phoenix studio. The room smells faintly of feet. The teacher, Brooke Sterling, moves…
Construction snakes up and down pretty much every street in downtown Tempe, making it practically impossible to drive — let alone find a parking spot — anywhere near Mill Avenue or the Arizona State University campus. This has gone on all summer, and will continue into the fall. Blame it…
Gretchen Schermerhorn, 31, has opinions on everything, from the exploitation of women to animal abuse to globalization, and her art reflects her political leanings subtly and with humor. She won’t get in your face, but she will make you think. Her prints stimulate conversation, allowing her to poke fun at…
Vagina not what it used to be, ladies? Hey, fella, what about those man boobs? Summer in Phoenix gives you three (okay, four or five) solid months indoors. If you’re going to sit in the semi-dark, flipping cable channels, why not have something to show for it, come Halloween? You…
It’s a Monday evening in early May, business as usual at The Rogue, a dive bar on Scottsdale Road, not far from the Tempe border. The Rolling Stones’ “Paint It Black” is on the stereo, and the daytime bartender serves cheap beers to the early regulars. As if on cue,…
Ryan Singer is a Native American painter, but don’t confuse him with R.C. Gorman or some other traditionalist you see hanging in downtown Scottsdale galleries. Toss a hit or two of acid at Gorman, and you’re getting close. Singer grew up on the Navajo reservation. Today he paints in a…
There’ll be a lot of celebrating at Casket Life’s tour kickoff show on Friday, August 6, at Ziggy’s in Tempe — not only is the band headed out for a two-week Southwest/Midwest tour, it’s also become the first group to sign to Stomping Ground Records (www.stompinggroundrecords.com), a new local venture…
Ongoing “Rising to unimaginable heights” doesn’t just describe summer’s sweat-extracting temperatures. Mere mortals have the opportunity to make like degrees Fahrenheit — and rise — thanks to the certified pilots at Gila Air, who offer introductory flights and lessons to anybody interested in putting 1,000 feet between themselves and the…
Sun 7/11 Say the name Pablo Neruda to the average Joe, and you’ll probably get blank stares in return (or, at best, a slight dawn of recognition). He’s heard Neruda mentioned somewhere, maybe on that rerun of The Simpsons. It’s a shame, since “the Picasso of poetry” penned a few…
7/2-7/4 When an artist is touted as “revolutionary,” it means one of two things. Either “I do extraordinarily odd things, call it ‘art,’ and yuppies eat it out of my hand.” Or “I do extraordinarily odd things, it’s actually creative, and yuppies just don’t get it.” Artist Vic Void falls…
6/24-6/27 Games children play often have very grown-up connotations. Playing “doctor” is an easy way for kindergartners to cop a feel, and, apparently, puppetry is a way for grown-ups to play with dolls. From Thursday, June 24, through Sunday, June 27, “Puppets for Everyone: The Pacific Southwest Regional Puppet Festival”…
