What does speeding down a drag strip from zero to 300 mph in four and a half seconds feel like? Unlike most people on the planet, Don “The Snake” Prudhomme is utterly familiar with the feeling. “It’s not the same thing as going to the moon, but it’s close,” he…

Thursday, February 13 Lovebirds and party animals alike will relish the opportunity to start celebrating V-Day a little bit early at Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art’s Valentine’s Eve SMoCA Nights event, from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Thursday, February 13. Skyy Vodka SMoCAtinis and screenings of short films presented by…

Just because artist Lesley Dill inserts poetic texts into her work doesn’t mean that viewers can literally read into it. On the contrary, the words prompt us to consider things that are much more profound, and often raise questions more than they provide quick and tidy answers. “She’s not illustrating…

In Japan, people never seem to outgrow anime (abbreviated Japanese lingo for animation). From toddlers’ cartoons and action-packed shows for middle-schoolers, to romantic tales for young women and sci-fi series for salary men, there’s an incredible spectrum of genres. But until recently, anime in the U.S. was pegged as kids’…

Success comes in unexpected ways just ask Donnan Sutherland. After moving to Santa Fe three years ago from New York City, where he worked in several off-Broadway musicals, he settled into a career as a jazz and cabaret singer. Then last spring, Sutherland was offered the lead role in a…

Perhaps the most fascinating detail about Wayne Rainey’s collection of photographs on display at Bentley Gallery is not that he traveled through five African nations to gather the images (including “volatile” Zimbabwe and “some really intense country” in malaria-infected regions of Mozambique), or even that he took pains to use…

In the Valley, a car lover’s paradise, it’s easy to become jaded — impressive automobiles are everywhere you look. After all, we’re almost used to seeing Ferraris and Lamborghinis, and we’ve even spotted such rarities as a futuristic Smart car stopped at a light on McDowell, and a McLaren F1…

It’s been a rough couple of years for Marky Ramone. First, the former Ramones drummer lost his bandmate (and our favorite punk rock front man) Joey Ramone to cancer. Then, just three short weeks after the legendary band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, his dear…

You don’t need a subscription to Arizona Highways to know that our state’s landscape is one of the most photographed on Earth. Arizona’s rugged mountains, dramatic canyons and exotic flora are snapped so often, it’s easy to become immune to their charms. And that’s why it’s so refreshing, and even…

Until the day comes when Phoenicians can crack open a beer in the middle of an opera or sip a martini at the symphony, the options for getting simultaneously buzzed and entertained are not only limited, but predictable. “You either go to clubs and see bands, or you go to…

Our evergreens are shipped in. Our snow is fake. Chestnuts don’t roast very well over a chimenea. And sleighs and reindeer don’t do the desert. But there is a genuine way to celebrate the Yuletide in the Valley, courtesy of our neighbor to the south. And a truly enormous event…

At the center of many good hard-boiled novels is an elusive object of pursuit, à la The Maltese Falcon. But in the case of Plainclothes Naked — wherein author Jerry Stahl blends gruesome but slapstick violence, bizarre scenarios and perversely witty writing, then sprinkles it liberally with crack — the…

You knew it was on its way even before Halloween merchandise hit the clearance shelves: Christmas. You noticed the sudden transformation from orange-and-black to red-and-green color schemes in stores, the subtle but inescapable sounds of carols and sleigh bells, the tinsel at every turn. And you wondered if someone forgot…

From Fear’s “I Love Livin’ in the City” to “In the City” by The Jam, the history of punk rock is chock-full of tributes to urban life and all the struggle and glamour that it entails. But aspiring rockers growing up in Middle America, aching to escape suburban ennui or…

There are contrasting elements that co-exist in Japanese culture: the speedy, high-tech world that inspired Blade Runner, and the earthier realm of ancient beliefs and arts. Lately, as a generation of video gamers can attest, we’ve become fascinated with the flash of the ultramodern. But has anyone appreciated time-honored traditions…

The creative process never ends — that’s the secret behind the success of Cirque du Soleil’s Dralion, a lush, dramatic performance combining traditional aspects of the circus with dance, theater and acrobatics, staged in the Montreal troupe’s signature avant-garde style. Just as a musician improvises on a song’s theme or…

Nothing rose-tints Matthew Yenkala’s world more than that quintessential ritual for creatures of the night — an interactive performance of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. As the “self-appointed archivist and historian of all things Rocky in the Valley,” Yenkala is proud to have an instrumental role in reviving local showings…

If death is the great equalizer, then perhaps no other tradition is as welcoming as Día de los Muertos, Mexico’s Day of the Dead, devoted to the memory of ancestors. After all, says Carmen de Novais, “the only sure thing about life is death.” De Novais is an active member…

The word on the street is that members of a grassroots movement will be mounting a big display at Phoenix City Hall on Monday, October 28. But expect a bold artistic statement, not a political one: Artlink, the volunteer-run downtown arts organization, is holding its Sixth Annual Juried Exhibition, a…

There are countless ways to understand a foreign culture, such as through the language, food or religion. But François Diene, translator for the West African dance troupe Le Ballet National du Senegal, sums up his homeland very directly: “Africa is dance.” While the young performers working with Diene represent the…

Like a celluloid black sheep in a world of fluffy white feature films, the unsung short film tends to flirt with disaster — taking more risks, breaking more rules, and often deliberately throwing viewers off guard in ways that features rarely do. With so much to prove in five minutes…

At a time when skateboarding godfather Tony Hawk is as much a celebrity as pro baseball player Tony Womack, all things “extreme” seem to be taking over 21st-century sports, and the once narrow definition of “athlete” is being expanded to include anyone willing to go faster, higher and harder, with…