Times certainly change. TV dinners might now be largely the domain of gap-toothed hillbillies living in trailers down by the river, but when they were introduced by C.A. Swanson & Sons back in 1953, they were Space Age all the way, mimicking the airline-food packaging of William L. Maxson’s ’40s-vintage…
Here at New Times, we’ve covered the ever-living shit out of artist James Turrell’s skyspace viewing chamber Knight Rise at SMoCA. Don’t believe us? Scroll up and punch “Turrell” into the search box. We’ve pimped it for good reason. It’s one of the best places in the state . …
The visionary, Italy-born architect and founder of the conceptual town called Arcosanti near Cordes Junction turns the big 9-0 with this celebration, featuring the unveiling of the new design for Paolo’s Soleri Bridge at the Scottsdale Waterfront, photo-ops with Soleri, and a continental breakfast. Park in the Nordstrom garage. Sun.,…
Midnite Movie Mamacita takes her love of blood, gore, and camp on the road with this double-bill of the 1975 post-apocalyptic flick starring a pre-Miami Vice Don Johnson (the Mamacita’s all-time-fave flick, BTW) and the 1980 Z-grade monster flick about a giant gator on the rampage in Chicago. Thu., June…
If you’re a hardcore gamer, chances are you woulda loved to have attended the annual E3 in Los Angeles, which is widely considered the absolute Mecca for joystick Jedi everywhere. Too bad it’s an invite-only affair and your sorry ass wasn’t on the guest list. Here’s the next best thing,…
Lead singer Aaron Weiss wants to set the record straight: MewithoutYou is NOT Christian rock band. Unless you want it to be. “It’s not like I’m offended if someone calls us a Christian band,” Weiss told journalist Matt Fink back in 2007. “I just don’t think it’s true. I don’t…
Are you all gung ho about cheaper gas prices, even if it means jacking up the land? Well, you may change your mind after watching the beautifully-captured documentary Oil on Ice. The 2004 flick documents the issues surrounding the proposed scarfing of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, including…
Unless you’re a professional baseball scout, it’s damn near impossible to look at the newest crop of Arizona Summer League talent and pick out who’s destined for the big leagues. This summer, it may be different. Competing among all the skinny 19-and 20-year-olds that have a next-to-zilch chance of making…
If you think of The Gin Blossoms as the primary legacy of Valley music, you’re invited to hop into the Delorean that is “The Grid: Music Edition” exhibition. The Trunk Space, hosts of this sweet show, posed this simple question to The Shizz online local music community: “What’s the oldest…
Pool parties seem to be quite the “to-do” in Phoenix these days. The problem is that the more well-known pool parties are getting expensive, not to mention we’re sick of dodging last week’s conquest at the Noodle Bar. It’s enough to make us long for last summer’s shindigs, where the…
BMX freestyle pro Rick Thorne has 27 screws in his head. He also once broke his palate and eye socket when he crashed into the corner of a loading dock. About the episode, he says, “Fluid from my brain was leaking out through my mouth.” Lovely. However, he usually hits…
We’re hearing the term “old, sad bastard music” thrown around quite a bit. Could this be a burgeoning genre? If so, JD Stooks – who openly admits to ripping the descriptor from High Fidelity and further labels his music as a little country, a little rock, and a little singer-songwriter…
The news that artist Rose Johnson had died suddenly in Bali on May 31 seemed like a bad dream. Johnson left indelible marks on Arizona in her final 10 years in Bisbee and, prior to that, during a long residence in Phoenix. The strongest impressions were not painted on her…
There’s a fly honey that you’ve been seeing, but you can’t figure her out. One minute, she says that she’s really into you. The next, she’s a glacier. If you’ve been experiencing this Jekyll-Hyde aura from a gal pal, she may very well be aligned with the May 21 to…
In the wake of the recent crash of Air France Flight 447, there’s an unfortunate resonance to author Dan Driskill’s upcoming presentation about the 1956 collision of two passenger planes in Northern Arizona. The event has become known among air crash aficionados (yes, they exist) as the Grand Canyon Air…
We have some pretty sick fantasies, but none ever centered on staring at the night sky through a telescope. Undaunted hat- and scarf-wearers and general-punishment gluttons can rendezvous at the secluded Estrella Mountain Regional Park for this 3.7-mile jaunt up the Toothaker Trail that ends at arguably the best place…
It’s hard to say what defined the ‘70s. The Vietnam War? Swingers? Saturday Night Fever? According to artist David van Alphen, it’s more than that. “People associate disco with the ‘70s, but I think it is only a small part,” says Alphen, who makes colorful collages featuring retro radios and…
Here’s a golf challenge: We triple dog dare you that you can’t land on the green in the dark. Sounds all Mission Impossible, right? Well, when the balls are fluorescent like they will be during the Night Flight Golf event at Palo Verde Golf Course, then it’s, like, mission possible…
The five-mile roundtripper features a gradual climb to a saddle overlooking the late Frank Lloyd Wright’s north Scottsdale digs. Sat., June 20, 6:30-9:30 a.m., 2009…
Space 55 Theatre Ensemble presents the popular collection of seven-minute-long (or short) performances. Sat., June 6, 9 p.m.; Sat., June 13, 9 p.m.; Sat., June 20, 9 p.m.; Sat., June 27, 9 p.m., 2009…
You know those scenes in TV movies where the bad guy hires a hitman who turns out to be a cop? They’re real. Just ask Jack Ballentine, author and former Phoenix police officer, who became one of the most successful undercover operatives in the history of our or any other…
Where can you find a fix of pure, unadulterated sensual pleasure for the insanely low, low price of $6? You know, without habit-forming side-effects or the use of needles? Try the Trunk Space in Central Phoenix, where some of the region’s top up-and-coming ska and surf-rock acts will convene for…
