Arts & Culture

Proceeds from the Remember 9-11 5K Run and Fun Walk will benefit the Arizona National Guard Emergency Relief Fund. Red, white, and blue attire is encouraged. Sun., Sept. 12, 7 a.m., 2010…

The writer will discuss and sign Douglass’ Women, which chronicles the love affairs of abolitionist Frederick Douglass. Thu., Sept. 9, 12-1 p.m., 2010…

Because folks take politics personally, that makes political activism a tough sell. However, Bookmans Entertainment Exchange’s “Fight Censorship Month” is that rare political endeavor that you can openly support without weirding out your friends and family. On top of that, supporting the shop’s stand for free speech is as easy…

Because folks take politics personally, that makes political activism a tough sell. However, Bookmans Entertainment Exchange’s “Fight Censorship Month” is that rare political endeavor that you can openly support without weirding out your friends and family. On top of that, supporting the shop’s stand for free speech is as easy…

Raising money for a worthy cause can mean anything from running a marathon to miles of bike riding to racing your pet ferret. But for those of us less mobile and weasel-less, the AIDS Walk A-Go-Go makes it easy to give green: drink alcohol. “We wanted to get the word…

However you feel about the prima donna quarterback/shoulder-pad-wearing god, you can air your opinions in front of the tube when the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints host the Favre-led Minnesota Vikings. The nationally televised donnybrook gives Coach & Willie’s an excuse to throw an NFL Kickoff Party, and…

If you want your business to make more money, “You just git one o’ them ‘Tweeter’ accounts, right?” This is the stuff of nightmares for any social-media strategist, but sadly, there are still many businesses with a similar mindset. Today, even technologically out-of-touch businesses know that social-media – “whatever that…

According to Michael Pollan’s eaters’ manifesto, In Defense of Food, we are fast becoming a “nation of orthorexics: people with an unhealthy obsession with healthy eating.” But since a fresh beet is less marketable than a fortified cheez whiz, paraphrasing George Orwell’s Animal Farm also seems appropriate: “Fresh food bad,…

If Justin Timberlake and Robin Thicke had a less talented baby that grew up, went to Duke University, and joined a frat, the result would be Mike Posner. His music sounds like it’s fresh out of an episode of Jersey Shore, and is inundated with name-branded shoutouts for products like…

Dodgy downhill footing. Skull-and-crossbones switchbacks. Spots where climbing or butt scooting may be necessary. Screw that noise. We like hiking and all, but we also don’t feel like freaking dying today. Instead, the Take Your Walk to the Desert event at Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area sounds more like our…

It’s easy to talk about what Arizona doesn’t have, but sometimes it’s good to focus on the positive. On one hand, Arizona lacks things like salt shops or fall. On the other, the state is blessed with a vibrant professional wrestling community. The crown jewel of that community is Elite…

With factory farming and a nation of fast-food eaters, folks who want better cuisine have separated themselves from the overweight, diabetes-ridden herd by becoming foodies. Join in at Foodie Fight 2 where you can watch as local foodie bloggers Ty Largo (www.juxtapalate.com) and Joel LaTondress (www.onefordinner.com) rush around the kitchen…

“Epic” is so overused nowadays. Yes, that sandwich is big (no, it’s not epic.) Yes, FailBlog is funny (but not everything is an epic fail.) Want something truly epic? Then check out South Mountain Community College’s Storytelling Institute “Myth Informed”. For the past 30 years, fifth-generation Californian Cathryn Fairlee has…

Viewing the works of big-time Southwest painter Merrill Mahaffey, you’d never suspect that “things God made are harder to draw than things man made,” as a teacher once told us. Mahaffey’s discipline applies fractal modernism to the wonders of nature. Somehow, in Mahaffey’s landscapes, the sun looks brighter but also…

Americans party their brains out on St. Patrick’s Day. We’ve got Cinco de Mayo down to a science. And Oktoberfest celebrations are on the rise. What’s next? Looks like Brazilian Independence Day is in the crosshairs for our latest adopted holiday. Try your hand at Brasil Fest ’10 at Martini…

The Devils take on their second FCS foe and a familiar one at that: the not-so-might Lumberjacks from Northern Arizona University. Sat., Sept. 11, 7 p.m., 2010…

Take a look at the upcoming schedule for the Mesa Arts Center, and there are enough events to make your head explode. Instead, make your choice of what to check out a little easier by getting acquainted with one of the Valley’s richest cultural institutions at the Mesa Arts Center…

In a culture so besieged by the conflict between art and commerce, it’s perhaps natural that the use of pop idioms is disparaged by the critical elite, anxious to protect their canon from dilution. Charlie Hunter has dodged such dismissive darts aimed at his eclectic jazz treatments, which have spanned…

We’re not trying to stir the pot here, but something stands out about the Crossroads of the West Gun Show. Not the fact that there will be all sorts of rare, antique, and modern firearms to check out, but because organizers decided to hold the event on the sensitive-to-every-American day…

The 23-year-old British pop-rock wunderkind (who’s been called everything from a “singer-songwriter sensation” to “the next John Mayer” bring his guitar and soulful voice to the Valley for an appearance at the Rhythm Room. Sat., Sept. 11, 5 p.m., 2010…

Do you know what a Totoro is? If you do, you’ll be happy to know there’s a giant cat bus waiting for you at this museum. See Totoro-inspired exhibits as well as other examples of Japanese pop culture. Tuesdays-Sundays. Starts: July 16. Continues through Oct. 10, 2010…

Homegrown performance artist and author of My One Night Stand With Cancer presents a one-woman show based from her best-selling memoir. Thursdays-Sundays. Starts: Sept. 16. Continues through Oct. 10, 2010…