When my editor told me about the Art-O-Mat, all I said was, “I have no idea what to think of this.”And, I have to admit, I still don’t know.Tonight the Chandler Arts Commission will unveil a vending machine that dispenses original artworks…
It’s Monday morning and my inbox is way out of control with reminders, announcements, pdf fliers and press releases all about this upcoming weekend.It’s gonna be a big one, chickens.But I want to be sure to point out the 50th anniversary celebration for the Phoenix Art Museum, happening this Friday,…
Cannibals, cops, bird flu: All three of these things have grabbed headlines before, but probably not simultaneously. That’s where comic book creator John Layman comes in. His runaway hit series Chew follows the adventures of Tony Chu, a detective turned FDA agent who lives in a world where chicken meat…
Many of our favorite stories are love stories, or at least have love stories in them — the thrill of new relationships, the steam of lust, the warm comfort of a lifelong, mutual romance — but relatively few novels, plays, or movies are about love. The phenomenon. The indefinable but undeniable condition that…
Naturally, I like to give a little background to the subjects I blog about. I mean, that’s what writers do, yes?So today, I’m writing about the crafting duo, a.ware. And when I punched in some key words to a search engine, waddya know, an Arty Girl entry was the first…
The webslinger and the Naruto anime/manga fave help break in the new East Valley pop culture emporium with autograph sessions and fan meet-and-greets. Get your pic snapped with one or the other for $5. Sat., Nov. 28, 1-3 p.m., 2009…
Derek Glasser, Eric Boateng, Ty Abbott, and the rest of Coach Herb Sendek’s crew host the Golden Lions of Pine Bluff as a warm-up for big upcoming non-conference match-ups against Baylor and BYU. Mon., Nov. 30, 7 p.m., 2009…
The Maricopa County Sheriff answers questions at this open-to-the-public event. His counterparts on the “media” side of the table will be ASU Carnegie Professor of Journalism Rick Rodriguez, Cronkite News Service broadcast director Susan Green, and Cronkite News Service director of digital news Steve Elliott. Mon., Nov. 30, 7 p.m.,…
Is it just me, or is “folk” as a descriptive term battling “indie rock” to the finish line of complete uselessness? Take the Monsters of Folk, that indie-singer/songwriter collective which spawned an eye-sore mural on Roosevelt lots of folks bitched about. Their self titled debut leaned heavily on blue eyed…
Death metal ain’t for everyone. But Decrepit Birth makes a good case for being the perfect gateway through which the metal-phobic could enter the darkened realm – provided that the prospective listener could overlook that scary-sounding name. Take an instrumental like “The Enigmatic Form,” from the, Santa Cruz, Calif. band’s…
Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck’s 2008 film stars Algenis Perez Soto as a teenage baseball player who faces culture shock when he’s brought from the Dominican Republic to play in the American Midwest. Wed., Dec. 2, 7:30 p.m., 2009…
The first two versions of this reoccurring hard rock hootenanny apparently weren’t enough, so organizers have decided to provide a third go round of heavy metal madness. The local bands booker for this thunderous event include Fracture Point, Vehemence, Hemoptysis, Animus Divine, Blackened Skies, Auracaust, Fair to Reason, Chaos Ascending,…
If your inner Cindy Lou Who is craving an electric parade, Santa’s arrival, fireworks, and a massive tree, then be in place for opening night of the annual APS Fantasy of Lights. The Mill Avenue District, a sparkly, sometimes-crazed wonderland from now through New Year’s, gets extra-sparkly and family-cozy for…
Take a winter desert walk under a frosty full moon. The guided trek takes participants to the Pemberton Pond along the Pemberton Trail. Wed., Dec. 2, 5:30 p.m., 2009…
The associate professor at the University of California, Irvine, discusses and signs Sunbelt Justice: Arizona and the Transformation of American Punishment. The book examines our “mass incarceration nation” and specifically the leader of the pack, Arizona. Wed., Dec. 2, 7 p.m., 2009…
Who needs Venice? Like that lovely city, Phoenix may, if Dr. Nan Ellin and her students have their way, be fronted by waterways one day soon. The exhibit “Canalscape for Metro Phoenix” proposes the re-creation of Phoenix’s most vital urban hubs, where our canals meet major streets. It’s an adventurous…
Since it’s called “No Festival Required” rather than “No Festival Allowed,” perhaps Steve Weiss’ downtown film series doesn’t lose all credibility in sheepishly admitting to sponsorship of, well, a festival. Especially since the subject of No Fest’s Alex Karpovsky Film Festival, one Alex Karpovsky, has such indie chops. The second…
America’s favorite airhead, errrr, former vice presidential candidate/governor of Alaska Sarah Palin posts up quickly at Costco to sign her new memoir Going Rogue: An American Life. Tue., Dec. 1, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., 2009…
We’ve seen lots of performance art downtown, but nothing like a non-striptease striptease. It’s all part of the “Unpolished” exhibit, a new feminist-art installation that opens Tuesday, December 1, at the Chocolate Factory. The show, organized by ASU art alumni Victoria Latunski and Katie Hovencamp, strives to bring women’s issues…
Do you wonder what planet you came from because you appreciate the heck out of Roscoe Mitchell’s Sound? Are you generally a low-key cat except for when you flip anytime you hear a prepared piano? Do you scour Italian and German Web sites for original-edition ESP and FMP Records? Then…
Since it’s called “No Festival Required” rather than “No Festival Allowed,” perhaps Steve Weiss’ downtown film series doesn’t lose all credibility in sheepishly admitting to sponsorship of, well, a festival. Especially since the subject of No Fest’s Alex Karpovsky Film Festival, one Alex Karpovsky, has such indie chops. The festival’s…
A picture may be worth a thousand words, but a name can be worth a million bucks. Would anyone notice a singer named Brian Warner or Stefani Germanotta? Hell, no. But change their names to Marilyn Manson and Lady Gaga and you’ve got a couple of moneymakers. Local cartoonist Dave…
