“KICK HIS ASS, DAD!”It was Saturday afternoon in the arena at El Gran Mercado, and the young woman next to me was maniacally snapping photos and cheering on her father, a bald, tattooed, grizzly pro wrestler named Hatchet Jack. He was in the wrestling ring with five other guys, competing…
We’ll be honest: the last thing we expected to find at a comic book shop was knock-our-socks-off coffee, but that’s what we got at Gotham City Comics & Coffee in Mesa.This comics and gaming superstore just opened a little more than a month ago, but Gotham City Comics & Coffee…
In the 1958 noir crime film Touch of Evil, classic movie actress Marlene Dietrich made a comeback as a cigar-smoking bordello madam. Dietrich’s hard-cut elegance blended brilliantly with the setting — a shadowy, secret world where thrills always came kicking around corners.Now, picture a place like that in Old Town…
This weekend, a building where thousands of little girls practiced pirouettes and jazz hands will transform into a hip new space called Art Intersection.The new gallery is the brainchild of art instructor Carol Panaro-Smith and executive director Alan Fitzgerald. They’ve taken a building in Gilbert that used to house Dance…
If you’ve been at the intersection of Central Avenue and Roosevelt Street in downtown Phoenix, you might have spotted the giant metal sculpture situated by the Metro Light Rail stop. The figure is supposed to represent a man raising his arms toward the sky, though it’s also been likened to…
When you visit the new Gotham City Comics & Coffee in Mesa, Batman will greet you at the door. Okay, not “in the flesh,” but in the form of a mannequin dressed as Batman. He’s just one of many pieces in a smorgasbord of eye candy created by store owners…
Any film student in America would probably love to go to the Cannes International Film Festival. And some can through an internship program. Only 20 students in the United States are chosen for the internship every year — and this year, one of them is from Phoenix.Arizona native Rosemary Gee…
Lux on Central Avenue is one of the best-known and most beloved coffee shops in town. People go there to work on their laptops (Lux has great wi-fi), discuss current events, and drink delicious coffees like the Lux Velvet.The Lux Velvet is a tasty mocha that looks pretty, too. We…
Glen Guyett has designed the most iconic signs in Phoenix history. He created the signs for Buckhorn Baths, Mr. Lucky’s, and Bill Johnson’s Big Apple, among others, and last night, he talked about his long and storied career to a standing room-only crowd at vintage shop Phoenix Metro Retro.Guyett was…
Last month, we blogged about “baths salts” people are snorting to get high. We noted that these so-called bath salts, which are sold on the Internet and at many head shops, are marketed much like spice was, and are potentially more dangerous when used as a recreational drug.This week, our…
The hottest new drug on the streets is perfectly legal — and totally dangerous, according to everyone from the DEA to local toxicology experts. Sold on the Internet and at head shops under names such as Ivory Wave, Cloud 9, Vanilla Sky, and White Lightning, “bath salts” sound so sweet…
Comedian Tom Green is known for a number of things, including acting crazy on his old MTV series, The Tom Green Show, marrying and divorcing Drew Barrymore, surviving testicular cancer, and appearing in films such as Charlie’s Angels and Freddy Got Fingered.But for the past few years, Green has been…
Note: This story’s been updated for clarity.Orangutans have long called the Phoenix Zoo home, but with the introduction of a new habitat, we can now see them year-round. Typically, the apes aren’t big fans of the colder months (which exist even in Phoenix) and are only on display in their…
Wikimedia Commons Gabrielle Giffords, following her 2010 election victory. In the aftermath of the shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords on Saturday, many people are wondering about her chances of recovery. They’re the best they can be, given advances in brain surgery, according to a neurosurgeon from Barrow Neurological Institute.Giffords was…
The Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art houses a number of paintings, sculptures, drawings, and mixed media works, but did you know there are numerous sculptures you can view for free right across the sidewalk in the Scottsdale Civic Plaza?SMoCA’s collection of garden sculptures runs the gamut, from abstract stone pieces…
Orange Table is a great place to get breakfast, especially you’re planning to visit the nearby Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art. And if you need help getting your eyes peeled to take in the art, Orange Table’s got some great coffee, too.We stopped by recently and tried their house blend…
The Amazing Arizona Comic Convention flies into Mesa Convention Center this weekend, and though it’s AACC’s first appearance on the Valley’s rich fan convention scene, it’s starting out super — largely because they’ve got Robert Kirkman, writer of The Walking Dead series, as a headline guest.The Walking Dead (Image Comics)…
Horror fiction writer Howard Phillips “H.P.” Lovecraft may not have invented the bogeyman, but his creations make that old creep look like a fluffy little bunny. Lovecraft filled his pantheon with powerful and hideous creatures like Cthulu, a cosmic sea god described as a scaly octopus with huge tentacles and…
Looking at rapper DMX’s life is like watching someone punch himself in the face repeatedly. One can easily picture a cherubic angel sitting atop one of the big black guy’s shoulders, telling him not to snort that line of coke or skip that appointment with his probation officer. But, on…
nndb.com Alan Arkin Actor Alan Arkin is coming to town for an appearance at the Phoenix Art Museum, and he’ll be leading a workshop on improvisation in the Valley the following day. Cool! At least, we thought so til we saw the price tag.Arkin, who has starred in such films as…
This week, we shared our experiences cooking with Mosh Potatoes, a heavy metal cookbook filled with recipes from rockers like Lita Ford, Anthrax, Megadeth, and Otep. We noted that the most extreme recipe was “Krakatoa Surprise,” from Lemmy of speed metal band Motörhead.Apparently, this recipe is so crazy that its…
When a young, sexy woman in skimpy clothing picks up a machine gun, one of two things are bound to happen: either some poor schmuck’s gonna meet a bullet-riddled end with an eyeful, or more likely, the woman will end up on the cover of a popular gun trade magazine.The…
