By John BattenbergIf you’re a religious reader of the Night & Day section of the Phoenix New Times – and, my God, why wouldn’t you be? – you’ve probably already heard about Michael Dixon’s show, “Sambo Scatches His Navel and Watches His Crazy Sister” at West Valley Art Museum.With a…
Bettie Page, the 1950s pinup and bondage model that provided more than a half-century of inspiration for everybody from Madonna to the Suicide Girls to artist Olivia De Berardinis (as well as having her image used on all sorts of merchandise), died yesterday in Los Angeles at the age of 85.
Kelly Leeth and Fred Bornhoeft are adorable in Miracle on 34th Street. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus, and he was heard mildly cursing into his body mic during a quick backstage costume change last Saturday night in Peoria. But he shouldn’t feel bad. Seriously, actor Fred Bornhoeft…
It’s no secret that we love local artist Jason Hill. His bold, graphic depictions of Phoenix landmarks have graced a few New Times covers, and this year he scored our Best of Phoenix award for Best Etsy Shop. His iconic images are everywhere, from coffee houses and vintage shops to light rail infomercials…
If you’re like me, then you take your tree-decorating seriously. When I saw the holiday themes out this year (if you haven’t noticed, ornaments come and go in cycles) I was less than thrilled. Snowflakes? zzZZZZ. A lodge-style moose, lanterns and flannel ornaments? Seriously, does this look like the Midwest? Ballet…
Puzzled by Tim HamIf you’ve know me for any amount of time, you know I’m an incessant story re-teller. It’s an unforgivable offense and I apologize to my friends and family for having to put up with me. There’s nothing more embarrassing than starting off with a great build-up only…
I hear America singing and I see . . . Richard Nixon. Not the man but the muse: Has any president since Lincoln inspired more movies, TV mini-series, and operas? As Nixon’s beetle brows, ski nose, and mirthless grin were made for caricature, so his rampant pathology was a gift…
Back in the early 1980s, when I was a graduate student in Boston, a prominent professor I knew was accused of sexually harassing a female colleague. This man was a compulsive flirt who couldn’t get within feet of a woman without coming on to her, so I wasn’t altogether surprised…
Flying saucers just aren’t that scary anymore. Especially after Ed Wood and Mars Attacks, it’s hard to take a threat from a giant Frisbee all that seriously. So what’s an update of the iconic 1951 sci-fi flick, The Day the Earth Stood Still, to do? In an extremely bold move,…
When it comes to constructing things, I’m not the most capable person. I rely heavily on safety pins rather than sewing machines. I seem to believe that a nail into drywall can hold up any size picture frame. Oh, and spackle is the perfect material to use when filling huge,…
You can’t walk across a college campus today without hearing the word “interdisciplinary.” So it only makes sense that Hoodlums, an indie music store with roots at Arizona State, would follow suit. Since 1998, Hoodlums has kept a steady foothold in the Tempe music scene. It was located in the…
We can add Blaine Drake’s glorious, curvilinear Scoville House to that long list of Beautiful Buildings That Have Been Obliterated from the Local Landscape. The house, the second mid-century Drake in the Biltmore neighborhood to be demolished in recent years, was significant for a number of reasons, not the least…
After eight games, the 6-2 Lady Devils have a half-dozen blowouts (including a 75-23 bell-ringing of UC Irvine) and a couple of squeaker losses to Oklahoma (in Norman) and Florida (in the Bahamas). Next up: the Highlanders of UCR. Sun., Dec. 14, 7:30 p.m., 2008…
There’s hope for Yule fans who are too cool for A Christmas Carol, The Nutcracker, and the other holiday-centric fare that fills every theatrical nook and cranny each December. It comes in the form of American Pastorela: The Road to the White House, a satirical take on the Nativity story…
This techno trio will make you want to dance, even when singer Chris Donathen isn’t shouting stuff like “Get down girl, shake it, shake it!” over bumping beats and synthesized programming on songs like “Fscene8,” which sounds like the sonic stepchild of Cher’s “Believe.” The crux of every Medic Droid…
You’ve been really, really bad this year, and you should be spanked hard and ball-gagged. But since we don’t have a dick big enough for the collective you, we’ll have to suffice with torturing your psyche. Meet us at Space 55 Theatre for 7 Minutes Under the Mistletoe, in which…
If you’re a regular reader of New Times, you know that the Phoenix Coyotes don’t get too much ink (okay, no ink whatsoever). Nothing personal, Coyotes. We actually like ice hockey and stuff. It’s just that y’all are so forgettable, like post-Matrix Keanu Reeves. It also doesn’t help that you…
What if you could do anything you wanted to with a local strip mall — the ugliest one, that nasty pile of brick and macadam that blights your vision as you pass it on your way to work every morning? That was the idea behind the “Flip a Strip” design…
So, will you boo Mike D’Antoni or will you cheer him? What’s the etiquette for a man abandoning a listing ship? Yes, the former head coach of the Phoenix Suns did bail in favor of the New York Knicks, but he did it nicely enough. He asked first, in an…
Amar’e Stoudemire (here we go with the name thing again) is constantly bemoaning the fact that he’s not considered in the same league as All-Everything Magic center Dwight Howard. Hey, Amar’e: Here’s another chance to see why you’re not, though it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the…
The Arizona Cardinals won their division. Something’s very wrong with that. Or very right. We can’t decide. Whatever else it is, it’s something the Cards haven’t accomplished since International Women’s Year. That would be 1975 for those not up on your feminist history. Speaking of the fairer sex, the team…
4 p.m.: 5A Division II (Centennial vs. Westview); 8 p.m.: 5A Division I (Hamilton vs. Brophy). Fri., Dec. 12, 2008…
