Blogs

By Joseph Golfen

Art is all about trying new things. Artists at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art on Thursday stuck to that concept as they explored the relatively untapped potential of magnets. Local art groups such as Alpha Monster Art Collective, Spraygraphics and Consp!re turned out for the launch party of May Magnet Month at SMoCA. Also in attendance was the Denver-based Magnet Mafia, which deals primarily in the medium of magnetism.

Click to see more photos from the event in our slide show: May Magnet Month at SMoCA

The beginning of May has been marked before by the arrival of guest-created magnets lining the metal outside of the SMoCA building, but this is the first year that an official “launch party” kicked off the festivities.

“We’ve done the magnets in May for the past couple of years, but this year I’m putting a little life into it,” says Kenny Barrett, community outreach assistant for the museum and the primary coordinator of the event.

“People have been very receptive to it. We’re getting artists in from other cities now, and the whole thing is continuing to grow,” Barrett says. “I think this could be the start of a big thing.”

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By Aja Viafora

Bare chested and booty-short wearing students flocked to the first-ever Arizona State University Undie Run. About 1000 half-naked Sun Devils gathered at College and University Tuesday just after 11 p.m. There were live bands, wild hair and hats, Speedos, lingerie and plenty of Sun Devil pride.

Watch a slideshow from the event.

“We'll take our clothes off and have a wild party,” Rubin Green, ASU junior and event organizer said.

Students took this opportunity, which was advertised through a Facebook invite, to celebrate the last day of classes for the Spring 2008 semester.

“I was a little disappointed that a fight broke out... other than that, great event,” said Green, who didn't get to run in his own event because of the altercation. He stayed behind to talk to the cops and almost got arrested, he said.

The event drew a mob of wildly enthusiastic runners. They seemed too sloshed for their own good, despite the slogan for the event, “Say no to drugs. Say yes to Undie Run.”

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By Jonathan McNamara

If you haven't been round to see HoodRide Bodega tackle a sticky subject, tonight is your last chance. The exhibit, Sticker Phiends, features all types of adhesive art. Some pieces are actual stickers while others are adhesive material that has been drawn on.

Catch a sneak peek of the exhibit in our slideshow: Sticker Phiends at Hoodride Bodega.

By Jonathan McNamara

Halfway through "Comedy Draft" on Sunday, MC Bryan Ricci got up on the small stage in the cabaret lounge at Tempe Improv and said something I wasn't expecting.

The audience had already been assaulted by a few local comics including Steve "The Short Bus" Krause, who made light of his disability by pointing out that he risked his life getting his wheelchair onstage.

"If there's a fire, I'm fucked," he said. "You people aren't going to save me."

There was also Stevie Ray Fromstein, who ended his set with this zinger:

"Have you ever started dating someone, you think they're normal, and then they freak out on you?"

A murmur of agreement floated up from the audience.

"Next thing you know, they're all, 'Untie me! Untie me!'"

It was at that moment, as Fromstein left the stage, that Ricci made his announcement: Norm McDonald was headed for the stage.

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By Joseph Golfen

One of the rinks at the Alltel Ice Den wasn’t full of the usual sounds of pee-wee hockey last weekend. There wasn’t the scrape of blades against ice, the smack of sticks cracking against the puck, or the thudding of players careening into each other. Instead, the rink rumbled with the sound of 40 pound rocks gliding across the ice; the cheerful sounds of Curling being played.

The fifth annual Desert Ice Bonspiel brought 23 teams from around the U.S. and Canada to this unlikely climate for a good natured curling championship. Eight of those teams were from Arizona’s own Coyotes Curling Club, a group that meets up every Saturday night at the Ice Den to play the game.

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By Jillian Sloan

The Chandler Cinemas doesn't quite carry the clout of the Moulin Rouge, but the half-dressed ladies and men in tails in attendance on Saturday night did smack of the dance club brothel. It took an audience with a passion for low budget productions and a true love for the musical film, The Moulin Rouge, to appreciate this event.

Click to see a few additional photos from Moulin Rouge at Chandler Cinemas.

Remember when you were younger and you and your buddies would pretend to be characters from your favorite movie or Tv show? The film played on the screen while directly in front of it players lit with stage lights acted along with the movie, lip syncing the entire time. They mimic the action, try to replicate the dance scenes (try), and you never hear their voices.

It's a good time if you've seen the movie before because 100 other people in the theatre have seen it at least 100 times and can (and will) recite every word of every moment and every line of every song. Oh, and if you have a friend you just can't take to the movies because they never shut up during the flick, this is the perfect gig for you! Because throughout the movie, whether the scene is tragic and mushy, audience members shout out whatever they damn well feel like saying and are in fact encouraged to make jokes and comments. Even when Satine and Christian have just experienced an epiphany of their love and are about to engage in the most romantic smooch of the movie, shutting their eyes to cruel realities and enveloping themselves in the truth and beauty of the bohemian revolution, acting upon the greatest thing they'll ever learn...okay, too much.

In truth, it's really just a group of misfits working together to share a common joy. Oh yes, and to have an excuse to dress like a bunch of whores.

If maybe you're curious about this whole movie-watching-lip-synching-acting thing and want to check it out, the crew has promised an encore next year, right around Valentine's Day. Ah, the perfect date for that loud-mouth, floozy looking girlfriend who's really a romantic at heart.

By Brian Bujdos

I was fully prepared to fill this space with a rant about $10 beers and $9 Philly cheesesteaks, but then she appeared on the scoreboard. It figures. I had just left section 329 to head downstairs to see if I could find a $50 beer near the good seats.

As a side note, I knew the hottest team in baseball would lose no matter what day I decided to go (and they did) but I was set on finding this woman nonetheless. Maybe you've seen her, the older lady with all the flags, the one who dances and gyrates around upstairs in the cheap seats, occasionally throwing a pom-pom or two into the routine, but mostly it's the flags. I've always just thought of her as "the flag lady."

When I see someone like this, I wonder what would possess someone to be such a fanatic. What would I find if I spoke with this lady? How weird could she be?

Her name is Cindy M. but her stash of flags and other memorabilia takes up enough room for Cindy A. through Cindy M. There are, seriously, 13 seats' worth of stuff spread all around in two different rows. I mean, there were more flags than at the United Nations.

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By Sarah Ventre

This year the city of Tempe decided to celebrate Earth Day in a new way. The city wanted to celebrate Earth Day in style and they did so by holding a 5K race around a man-made lake in the middle of the desert in which participants were asked to dress up in a manner that encourages Earth-friendly behavior. Think running recycled cans.

What is so wrong with having an Earth Day event such as this one you may ask? Well, to be in this costume contest you’d have to make or buy a costume. This means that you’d have to utilize some kind of material that you likely didn’t already have. On top of this, not only is there a lake at Tempe Beach Park, but that lake is surrounded by picturesque grass. Grass. In a desert. This requires lots of water to grow, and for urban and suburban dwellers, only aesthetic value.

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By Joseph Golfen

It’s not often that you see something truly unique. Most things in life feel familiar, more of a variation on a theme then an actual new experience. But the night Philip Huber and his marionette show performed at the Great Arizona Puppet Theater was like nothing I’d ever seen before. This soft-spoken master puppeteer has traveled the world showing off his amazing skills, making his wood and cloth characters come to life at the end off the strings he dangles from his fingers.

In addition to his one-man performances, Huber has worked on a number of film and stage productions, most notably as the head puppeteer for the amazing scenes in the movie Being John Malkovich. He’s traveled the world performing his act in Broadway productions, on the Tonight Show, for royalty in Europe and in grandiose settings such as the Casino de Monte-Carlo and the Lido in Paris.

“I’ve been doing puppets all my life,” says Huber, who speaks quietly and affectionately. “My mom bought me a puppet when I was just three years old because I was so shy. She thought it would help me express myself and I expressed myself right into a career.”

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By Sarah Ventre

The story goes that Albert Einstein passed away when Dr. Michio Kaku was growing up. That event caused him to dedicate his life to finishing what Einstein began and was unable to finish.

Since that time, Dr. Kaku has become one of the leading physicists in the entire world, and has indeed begun to fulfill his childhood ambition. A co-founder of the ever-popular string theory, Dr. Kaku also researches teleportation, ray guns, telepathy, time machines, worm holes and invisibility. Believe it or not, according to Kaku, most of these concepts, which sound like science fiction are actually becoming science fact.

Here Dr. Kaku talks with the New Times about the social implications of his work, and the effect all of this complex research has for the average person, who might not understand the sixth dimension in quite the same way he does.

New Times: A large part of what you do is make science available to the masses. Why is it important for an average person to understand quantum physics or the physics of teleportation, for instance?

Michio Kaku: Our society is not getting any simpler. It’s getting much more complex, and multi-billion dollar decisions will be made by taxpayers. That’s why we scientists have to engage the public about decisions that will affect everyone on planet Earth – the future of the internet, the proliferation of nuclear weapons, global warming, all the future technologies that I talk about in, “Physics of the Impossible.” They’re going to have a direct impact on our lives whether we like it or not. That’s why I write books – so people are aware of what’s coming down the pipe.

I wrote a book called, “Visions: [How Science Will Revolutionize the Twenty-First Century]” years ago where I predicted the next 50 years, for example. All the predictions are coming true like clockwork. Why is that? Because I’m a scientist. I’m not a science fiction writer. I’m not a journalist. I’m a physicist. I work in research. My friends work in research. So the research that my friends are doing will have an impact on everyone’s life. I see these things inevitable. They’re not fiction. They exist in prototype form, and they will change the world.

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By Jonathan McNamara

Artists from around the world and around the block are represented by a few walls full of adhesive art at Hoodride Bodega's "Sticker Phiends" show. Some of the pieces are actual printed stickers like the kind you use to peel off paper backs and slap on your Trapper Keeper. Other pieces are hand-drawn on mailing labels and other adhesive-backed packaging.

Want a sneak peak of the art you'll see if you head out to Hoodride Bodega? Check out our slide show Sticker Phiends at Hoodride Bodega.

For more information about the event, read Sticker Shock by Jose Gonzalez

What's next for Hoodride Bodega? Derrick Pacheco, the gallery owner, says he's working on getting a show together for painted suitcases. After that? Stay tuned for a classic video game console show.

For more images from the event, visit our slide show: Phoenix Pride

By Joseph Golfen

A balloon marked with a rainbow flag flew high above the Steele Indian School Park, Saturday, announcing the arrival of the 28th annual Phoenix Pride Festival. Gays, lesbians and straight supporters from around the valley flooded the normally quite park, to watch live concerts, shop hundreds of booths and get really drunk in the warm weekend sun.

The day kicked off with a ruckus parade up 3rd street, complete with gaudy floats, drag-queens, guys on stilts and lots of classic cars. Over 2000 people walked in the parade and both sides of the streets were buzzing with onlookers.

When the gates of the festival finally opened, crowds poured in eager to get a look at what this year's event held in store.

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By Aja Viafora

There was nothing sleeker than mini-dresses and not-so mini martinis Thursday night at Suede Lounge for the On the Rocks segment of the Scottsdale Culinary Festival. Ladies with long legs and black dresses packed the inside dance floor and luxurious patio for tasty cocktails from Las Vegas mixologist Michael MacDonnell. All drinks made from Absolut 100 came in flavorful concoctions such as Dirty Millionaire, Paradise Martini and Strawberry Mojitos.

For pictures from the event, check out our slide show On the Rocks at Scottsdale Culinary Festival

The event lasted from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. and had everything that defines a night out in Scottsdale: beautiful people, gourmet food and lots of liquor.

“We’re here to have a good time,” Ashley Elrick of Scottsdale said.

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By Jonathan McNamara

It's appropriate that Bill Plympton's latest cartoon is about a murder. He gets away with it all the time.

Where most animators would concentrate on making characters move fluidly, Plympton prefers stick with a bare minimum of frames per second. Often a character walking down a street is just the same three or four frames used repeatedly. The results are a bit jerky yet amazingly endearing. Not bad for an animator working solo.

Where have you seen him? Perhaps as part of The Animation Show, an annual traveling show curated by none other than animating greats Mike Judge of Beavis and Butthead fame and Don Hertzfeldt who is perhaps most famous for the line "my spoon's too big."

You can see Plympton's minimalist magic is his latest called Shuteye Hotel as well as several other short films at ASU's Short Film and Video Festival this Saturday.