“RIP Vine.” That was the proclamation across social media last month when everyone’s favorite photo app, Instagram, unleashed its new, fancy video feature. Loaded with fifteen seconds to fill, thirteen filters, and editing capabilities, what’s not to love? Why would anyone want to keep Vine, the hipster-friendly, no-filter, six-second video…
It’s now illegal not to visit or send a message to your old Chinese parents on a routine basis. Some people think the new law is ridiculous. Really? If you’re going to protest a Chinese law, get your priorities straightened out. A culture that traditionally respects, honors, and cares for…
Sometimes a little retail therapy goes a long way. Lucky for us (and you), Local First Arizona’s 11th annual Independents Week is underway. The coalition has brought hundreds of businesses together to offer Arizonans a nice incentive to shop small and local statewide. Through Sunday, July 7, participating retailers will…
There are Internet cat stories, and then there are Internet cat stories. Big cat = big story. The last time any human was aware of a jaguar north of the U.S.-Mexico border was 2009, when a series of total fuckups by allegedly well-intentioned people led to the death of Macho…
Eclectic Monkey Emporium on Main Street in Mesa is keeping its name but changing just about everything else. Mum’s the word right now, but big things are in store for the business, which is as interesting as its name suggests. Owner Glenn Blackmore plans to transform the Emporium into a…
It’s no Nancy-Grace-in-a-parking-lot level of suspense, but the fine Wisconsin judicial system has determined the fate of Gerard Streator, who might have gotten away with al fresco furniture-humpin’ last fall if an off-duty cop hadn’t been walking past at the time and seen the thrusting. Officer Ryan Edwards initially thought…
All right sci-fi nerds, the Phoenix Center for the Arts has your entertainment quadrant covered for the next two weeks. Scandalesque will present Sexy Sci-Fi in an eight-show run at the venue, where you can catch your favorite sci-fi ladies sexed up in an action packed burlesque show. “Sexy Sci-Fi…
Since our solar system itself is part of the Milky Way galaxy, you are technically viewing it when you see a toaster waffle, your own thumb, or dog poop on the street. But we usually think of it as that pretty, cloudy white streak of light in the night sky,…
Gem features one standout piece from a local shop. Whether it’s a jacket, necklace, or handbag, it’s on our have-to-have list. What: With a mod look in a current color scheme, this geometric wood-bead necklace combines summery tones of mint and coral with tetrahedronic angles, making a wearable, chic adornment…
Who says cement is only for sidewalks? Nobody did, really. But Mesa concrete artist Yolanda Esquer certainly proves such a statement wrong. Esquer creates and sells unique concrete blocks, among other things, and she showed us a do-it-yourself way to make address number plates. They’re a great way to personalize…
If you’re single and more or less looking, there’s the total stranger, who isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, and then there’s the adorable person you know and are too shy to approach. Or you could really use some 411 on whether that person is also officially single. (This kind of…
Meat Market Vintage is closing up up shop. Fans of the punky-funky Tempe boutique needn’t worry, though. The boutique will shutter during July, owners announce via Facebook, and during that month they will embark on shopping excursions to restock the shop with fresh duds come August. Call it a summer…
We guess it’s no weirder than suggesting that fake hairy legs will deter sexual predators. A lot of courage, creativity, and just plain hair went into this WTF online sensation: a jacket made of human chest hair that took four designers 200 hours to craft and is priced at £2,499…
Back in the late 1980s, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles kinda ruled the world. Or at least it seemed that way, considering the colorful cartoon adventures of the four “Heroes in a Half-Shell” were on the boob tube every weekday afternoon, cutesy toy versions of the pizza-eating and ass-kicking reptiles…
The next stop on our neighborhood-by-neighborhood tour of vintage shops is the East Valley. Mesa, Tempe, and Chandler are three cities connected by, among other things, their vintage and antique shops. The outlying neighborhoods are about 30 minutes away from Seventh Avenue (a.k.a. the vintage capital of Phoenix), but they…
As many women can attest, planning your big day is usually a big deal — there’s the venue, the menu, the flowers, and, of course, the dress. We’ve seen our fair share of traditional white-gown rule-breakers, but thanks to Japanese scientists designer Yumi Katsura has made a dress that does…
Most kids wish they had parents as cool as Zack Thornberg’s mom and dad. Like most kids his age, the 14-year-old Coolidge resident has a serious video gaming habit, playing upwards of seven hours per week on his Nintendo DS and other systems. And his parents are nothing but supportive,…
Call your inner child because it’s finally happening. The biggest thing to hit the bike since making both wheels the same size is currently in development in Prague — and, yes, it’s better than adding videos to Instagram. See also: Human Doll Cloning: 3D Printing a Mini You Costs $1,300…
If any local geeks out there are still suffering from a case of post-Phoenix Comicon funk, the following news might help cheer them up: Organizers have already started the countdown to next year’s event. A post on Phoenix Comicon’s Facebook page this morning announced exactly when the 2014 edition of…
Video games are art. That is the unwavering stance of Java innovator and noted game aficionado Chris Melissinos. When he talks about writing gaming code, he compares it to writing poetry. These games are more than digitized pastimes — they’re an amalgam of all forms of traditional art, he says…
Oh, Pinterest. Our love affair with you was hard-felt, but unfortunately short-lived. Pinned beauty trends quickly turned into cosmetic fails, workout regimes became work out dreams, and the disappointment in recreating your “simple” recipes had taken its toll. We had all but given up on you… …Until we discovered the…
Gem features one standout piece from a local shop. Whether it’s a jacket, necklace, or handbag, it’s on our have-to-have list. What: Streetwear company Medium Apparel was named one of Phoenix Fashion Week’s emerging designers for 2013. But the brand (with former New Times assistant art director Zac McDonald at…
