Courting Disaster is Jackalope Ranch’s weekly column of dating horror stories, observations, how-tos, and more by Katie Johnson. Names of ex-boyfriends, past hookups, and bad blind dates have been changed to protect the guilty. Like any person riding the existential roller coaster that is their 20s, I bounce back and…
Here is a true story about Bill Thompson, known for decades from Seligman to Scottsdale as Wallace of The Wallace and Ladmo Show: I ran into him in the lobby of the Herberger Theater Center about 10 years ago, and before I had a chance to introduce myself as someone…
It looks like some pretty big congrats are in order for one of Arizona’s own. On Tuesday, July 22, The National Endowment for the Arts announced that President Barack Obama would be awarding the National Medals of Arts as well as the National Humanities Medals on Monday, July 28, to…
The Legos are back. And, once again, these colorful interlocking plastic bricks and mini-figures are housed at a local museum — this time at the Heard, in an exhibition called “BUILD! Toy Brick Art at the Heard” that’s timed, no doubt, to cash in on The Lego Movie, recently released…
“I forget that people think that I’m the girl with a ponytail and a briefcase,” says Anna Kendrick, perched on a couch in a T-shirt and jeans. Her career-launching role as a prim go-getter in Up in the Air is so far removed from her actual self that she’s still…
With his stately drawl, Morgan Freeman has narrated nonfiction documentaries about penguins, slavery, the lemurs of Madagascar, ancient Egyptian pharaohs, and the expansion of the universe. His is a voice of authority tempered by warmth and wisdom, capable of evoking felt human experience and the majesty of creation. In writer-director…
Beware the movie that’s Fun! with a capital F, the one populated with seemingly unpretentious characters that say adorable, clever things, the one that presents each off-kilter joke as if it were a porcelain curio, the one that boasts a comfort-food soundtrack of songs you’ve always liked but perhaps haven’t…
One could be forgiven for being skeptical that a Hercules movie starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and directed by Brett “Rush Hour Trilogy” Ratner might have a brain in its head, but it actually does. We’re not talking Snowpiercer levels of intelligence, but it’s far less aggressively stupid than, say,…
Bookworm without a clue? Let the experts at Scottsdale bookstore Poisoned Pen, 4014 North Goldwater Boulevard, Suite 101, pick your poison for you. With several book clubs — each dedicated to a different genre — there’s plenty of flavors for even the most voracious novel nerd to choose from. At…
We’ve officially hit the part of summer where everyone’s tired of dodging the sun, and we need our senses fully indulged. You can party arty and soak in the sights and sounds of RAW Artists Phoenix’s latest shindig Communique on Thursday, July 24.RAW Artists Phoenix rolls massive with artists of…
It’s going down, Scottsdale.In one corner, there’s a bunch of arts patrons. In the other, we have what, um, yes, looks like more art patrons. On Friday, July 25, these two sides will fight until their dominant hands tire in a battle befitting a museum: Arm Wrestling for Art. What…
Shot in the dark here: Hula dancing is trickier than it looks. Not buying it? Consider the last time you took a stab at that deviously complex Hula hoop. If you’re like most modestly proportioned humans, it probably made a wobbly mess outta you. Sure, the comparison isn’t apples to…
Attention, citizens of Springfield! This is an announcement from Charles Montgomery Burns: You are hereby forbidden to attend Nerd Night: Simpsons Edition at Bragg’s Factory Diner on Saturday, July 26. The first time this trivia event was held last year, there was simply too much joy and frivolity about. Oh,…
There’s no reason to not spend the summer drinking tequila in the comfort of an air conditioned room, and that’s exactly what you can do on Saturday, July 26, at the first-ever Taste Tequila festival in Scottsdale.This nighttime, indoor celebration of all things agave spirit will feature over 100 different…
Foodist favorite The Clever Koi takes the concept of grandiose family dinners out of the home and into the restaurant with its increasingly popular Day Off Dinner.The series, which debuted this spring, has already hosted menus dreamed up by Payton Curry of Brat Haus, Welcome Diner’s Michael Babcock, and the…
Admit it, you watch Dancing With the Stars every now and then. We do, too. 1. Because there’s nothing wrong with guilty pleasures. 2. It’s fun to see celebrities with no dancing skills become polished experts. 3. Better yet, the show is full of drama. Imagine applying the same principle…
It’s been forever since arcades were staples of the shopping mall experience. One of the most beloved companies in video gaming is coming to town to give a blast from the past and a sneak peak at the future with the Play Nintendo Tour on Friday, July 25. Nintendo’s popular…
Ever wondered if you’re a poet, and you didn’t even know it? Not so for the competitors at this year’s Copper State Poetry Slam. The two-day event pits teams of four or five poets each against each other in slam rounds, leading up to Sunday’s championship bout. But even if…
The irony is beyond compare, but oh so perfectly relatable for anyone who has ever been in love. After all, there’s that initial attraction that seemed so right, so, well, perfect, yet, something always needed tweaking — for betterment or folly. That’s the general premise behind the Rodgers and Hammerstein’s…
If you’ve ever used the phrase “booty call,” you owe Bill Bellamy a dollar. The comedian coined the phrase while performing on HBO’s Def Comedy Jam, finally giving late-night copulators all over the world a way to refer to that 2 a.m. text. In fact, you’ve probably said it a…
Somewhere between skinny jeans and facial hair, bicycles became, arguably, the most essential hipster accessory, and it might just be Portland’s fault. In the new documentary Aftermass: Bicycling in a Post-Critical Mass Portland, filmmaker Joel Biel explores Portland’s storied history with cycling both as a mode of transportation and as…
Double trouble meets the double feature with Actors Theatre Phoenix’s Two Shots. This two-for-one theater event will offer a single evening of original plays from Ben Tyler and David Barker. In part one of this two-part theater production, The Sperm of Ten Men, Tyler tells the story of being a…
