Hoops and Kravitz and More - To Do (RIGHT NOW) in AZ: Feb 11 - 19

I will always try to provide you with variety! Some will be well known classic events for the Phoenix area, others will be hidden surprises or other Arizona locations.

Suggestions chosen by Heather J. Kirk

Saturday and Sunday, February 11 & 12, 2012


NATIVE HOOP DANCERS VIE FOR 2012 WORLD CHAMPION TITLE

Heather's notes: If you've never attended before, this event is a must - Native American dance like you've never seen before - beautiful and amazing.

Phoenix’s Heard Museum, 2301 N. Central Ave., Phoenix, Arizona
www.heard.org/hoop

Saturday and Sunday, February 11 - 12, 2012

9:30 a.m. Grand Entry –
Competition will end at approximately 5 p.m. on Saturday.
The Adult Division final round will begin at 2 p.m. on Sunday.

$15 general admission, $13.50 seniors (65+), $10 American Indians and Heard Museum members, $7.50 children 4-12, free for children under 4. Cost is per day and includes the event and museum admission.

It’s easy to get to the Heard Museum via METRO Light Rail! Look for the Heard Museum parking signs along Central Avenue, or take the Light Rail to the Encanto Station and avoid having to locate a parking spot. Or use Park and Ride lots all along the Light Rail route.

Sunday, February 12, 2012 at 7:30 pm

Lenny Kravitz Live at Comerica Theater (formerly Dodge Theater)

Sunday, February 12, 2012 at 7:30 pm
400 West Washington Street in downtown Phoenix, AZ


Heather's Notes: Perhaps I'll write a blog soon on me and Lenny. Ha ha! Okay, how about a blog about me and my thoughts about Lenny.

Music by Lenny Kravitz

Lenny Kravitz with Special guest Raphael Saadiq-presented by Mix 96.9
http://www.livenation.com/event/190048249EF73D72?artistid=735469&majorcatid=10001&minorcatid=1

Lenny Kravitz will also be performing in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand on February 19, 2012 http://www.mgmgrand.com/lennykravitz/

Proceeds from this concert go to support Keep Memory Alive and the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health – for the treatment and prevention of ALS, Alzheimers, Huntington’s, Parkinson’s, Multiple Sclerosis and dementia.

One of the Clinic's projects is to identify predictors of Alzheimer's through blood, spinal fluid, MRIs and PET Scans. They will also evaluate the benefit of antioxidants in treating early Alzheimer’s patients. (Heather likes this as an alternative to or in addition to pharmaceutical drugs!) Find out more here: http://my.clevelandclinic.org/brain_health/clinical_trials.aspx

Bookmark KeepingMemoryAlive.org for future fundraising events: (http://www.keepmemoryalive.org/KMAEvents/Pages/default.aspx)

Maximum Savings, Low Fares - Find Cheap Air Tickets on This Site & Save Big on Travel.

Through February 19, 2012

My Mother's Italian, My Father's Jewish & I'm in Therapy

Herberger Theater, Stage West

The hit New York comedy was inspired by the author's hilariously dysfunctional family, and all the people in his life whose sole purpose was to drive him into therapy... and they succeeded!

One part lasagna, one part kreplach, and two parts prozac, you don't have to be Jewish or Italian to love this show. All you need is to know what it feels like to leave a family dinner with heartburn and a headache! The critics rave: "Hysterically Funny! Non-Stop Laughs All The Way! I Can't Recommend This Show Enough, It's Just Great!" - Regis Philbin, Live With Regis & Kelly.

For dates, times and ticket info:
http://www.herbergertheater.org/my_mothers_italian_my_fathers_jewish_im_therapy

Heather's Notes: I sat through the first half hour of this performance thinking, "This is just a stand up routine with a fancy backdrop." I kept waiting for plot. WAiting kept me from being able to enjoy this hilarious, very long stand up routine - which is exactly what it is. A very good one, that gets funnier as it goes. I tried to remember some of the jokes, so here are two - the extent of my memory!

1) "A summary of every Jewish religious celebration: they tried to kill us, God did a miracle, let's eat!"

2) "Why does it take 400 million sperm to fertilize one egg? They refuse to stop and ask for directions."

As many of you know I am a huge fan of Herberger Theater.

Doozy of a Deal is helping the Herberger Theater Center raise money and helping you save big at local businesses! Every time you buy a Doozy of a Deal, the Herberger Theater will receive 7.5% of the purchase! It’s a win – win!

Simply go to http://www.doozyofadeal.com/ to sign up for the free daily deal email and don’t forget to select the Herberger Theater Center to benefit from your purchase. It’s an easy way to feel good and help the Herberger Theater Center’s Arts Education and Outreach Programs for youth!

Friday, February 17, 2012

Toni Braxton in Concert at 8:00 pm

Salt River Grand Ballroom at Talking Stick Resort
9800 E. Indian Bend Road in Scottsdale (East of the 101 freeway)

Music by Toni Braxton

Join Six-time Grammy winner Toni Braxton when she brings her smooth R&B vocal stylings to Talking Stick Resort on Friday, February 17th. Having built an impeccable catalog of hits since bursting onto the contemporary music scene in 1991 with “Love Shoulda Brought You Home,” Toni Braxton has compiled an impressive array of hits, including “Another Sad Love Song,” “Breathe Again” and “Un-break My Heart.”

For tickets, call 480-850-7734 or click on the link below. http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/19004793B4C8431D?artistid=876743&majorcatid=10001&minorcatid=202

And the final event for this blog entry.... Sunday, February 19th, 2012

SCOTTSDALE SOCIETY OF WOMEN WRITERS - WRITERS FAIRE

Three Speakers, Authors, Books, Refreshments: Betty Webb, Susan Pohlman, Patricia Brooks

Memoir Writing (non-fiction), Mystery Writing (fiction), Marketing for Publishing

WHAT: Writers Faire – a Sunday afternoon with award winning authors, plus a dozen additional authors of SSWW showing off their books and answering questions!

WHERE: Mustang Library, 90th St., and Shea Blvd., Scottsdale (behind the hospital)

WHEN: Sunday, February 19th, Sunday 1:00-5:00 p.m.

HOW: PLEASE - RSVP now to Patricia L. Brooks, president/founder of Scottsdale Society of Women Writers at patricia@plbrooks.com or Dana Braccia at the Scottsdale Library

WORKSHOPS:

Susan Pohlman, author, Memoir Writing (1:30 – 2:15): Her memoir, Halfway to Each Other, is her first book and winner of the Relationships category and runner-up in the Memoir category in the 2010 Next Generation Indie Book Awards.

Betty Webb, author, Fiction/Mystery Writing (2:30 – 3:15): Betty Webb is the author of two prize-winning mystery series -- the Lena Jones books and the Gunn Zoo series. Before beginning to write mysteries full time, Betty Webb worked as a journalist and interviewed everyone from U.S. presidents, astronauts who walked on the moon, and Nobel Prize-winners, as well as the homeless, the dying, and polygamy runaways*. Her mysteries are based on stories she covered as a reporter. Currently a creative writing teacher at Phoenix College, she is a member of National Federation of Press Women, Mystery Writers of America, and the Society of Southwest Authors. http://www.bettywebb-mystery.com/

*Just an aside from your blogger Heather Kirk – Betty also interviewed me about the inclusion of my Story titled Alma in Chicken Soup for the Latino Soul.

Workshop: Writing a marketable mystery is harder than it looks. I explain why, describe the mysterious "arc of action," and how to come up with believable plots and characters so interesting that they can carry you through an entire series.

Patricia L. Brooks, author, memoir, publishing/marketing consultant (3:30-4:15): Patricia is an inspirational speaker, and published author. With her book (and now eBook) “Gifts of Sisterhood” and its grief workshop “Journey from Grief to Gratitude” she is a favorite for Wellness Programs. Patricia earned a prestigious AZ Authors Association Literary Contest Non-fiction award for this book.

As founder of Brooks Goldmann Publishing Company, LLC http://www.brooksgoldmannpublishing.com/ she is the author’s partner for publishing consultation and offers workshops on writing memoir, self-help, non-fiction and self-publishing.

Workshop: Publish with Marketing in Mind
Find out how easy, as well as how difficult, it is to transform your work into book form and to bring it to market. Learn about the new trends in marketing as they relate to the publishing basics you should address before launching your book to market.

Never heard of John Carter before the Super Bowl? You have now!

At the end of December my sister-in-law, who works for 4D, Publicis Groupe/Disney said that after War Horse, Disney’s next big movie will be “John Carter”. I said, “I loved that book!” (John Carter is the main character, but the books he is in are ‘A Princess in Mars,’ ‘The Gods of Mars’ and ‘Warlord of Mars’ and several more that are now available on Librivox that were not there before.) She was a bit shocked, not because it was technically a boy’s, war, sci-fi book, but that it is a very old book and she had never met anyone who had even heard of it before. Well, as of February 5th – due to it’s Super Bowl commercials – millions more know about it!

And why had I read it? As some of you who read my blog know – I listen to books on-line. But before I found the Greater Phoenix Digital Library http://phoenix.lib.overdrive.com/26FD75C1-B31F-4378-980F-30657F7D0006/10/288/en/Default.htm I used to listen to http://www.librivox.org/. All of those books are in the Public Domain, meaning that the copyright has run out, the book usually being over 100 years old.

I have decided this is how Hollywood is trying to save a little money in the current market!

Public domain also means they only have to pay a script writer – not the author AND a scriptwriter. This is how I also had read the book The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – which was a horrible short story and I almost refused to see it, even though my brother and sister in law were visiting and had first right to choose as guests. The movie was so much better and I’m glad I saw it. I’m including the link here if you are curious, partly because it’s part of a collection of short stories that includes other better stories and partly because the author is F. Scott Fitzgerald.

http://librivox.org/selected-short-stories-by-f-scott-fitzgerald/

Again, if you don’t want to listen but would rather read – find it here.

And, following that loose line of thought, because I am going to see a play by F. Scott Fitzgerald at the Herberger Theater in Phoenix this March – The Great Gatsby. (A much, much better story!) See To Do in Arizona - Planning Ahead for March 2012.

Back to John Carter. The odd thing about people never hearing of the Barsoom (a dying Mars) Series and John Carter is that the author is Edgar Rice Burroughs – who also wrote a series about (drumroll please) Tarzan. All stories by Burroughs on Librivox click here:

If you don’t want to listen but would rather read – find it here.

Learn about the Barsoom Series and John Carter on Wikipedia click here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barsoom

Here’s a chance to win tickets to the NFL after watching the preview and getting the “secret code”: http://www.nfl.com/johncarter

Posted by Heather J. Kirk

To Do in Arizona - Planning Ahead for March 2012 – The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby produced by the Arizona Theater Company
Herberger Theater in Phoenix, Arizona

March 22 – April 8, 2012

Considered by many to be the Great American Novel, at once titillating, fascinating and shocking in its portrayal of The Jazz Age that was soon to disappear from the American landscape.
In its first authorized adaptation since 1926, Simon Levy brings the humor, irony, pathos and loveliness of F. Scott Fitzgerald's American classic to the stage. Navigate the languid atmosphere of wealth and privilege with Nick Carraway as he observes the glittering elaborate parties of his neighbor, the infamous and illusive Jay Gatsby.

For ticket information click here.

When you attend a play at Herberger, you can also purchase an Arizona Center parking pass on-line – for only $3.00. Then you pick up the parking pass prior to curtain. You will have a short walk, but It’s a fantastic deal as downtown Phoenix parking garages can be anywhere form $8 - $12.

From the ticket buying page click on the “$3 Parking Available”

Source - Herberger Theater, Chosen by Heather J. Kirk

Calendar Memoirs - The Blog I Won't Regret

January 21, 2012: I "read" a new book every few days – the quotations around the word 'read' are because I actually listen to downloaded audiobooks while I check my e-mail, surf the web, work on photos. It helps pass the time and keep me going when I would otherwise get bored, tired (unfortunately too often) or want to quit.

(Yes, that's a picture of a digital bookworm - I sure wish it was cuter.) If you live in the Phoenix area and have a library card from your own city, you can check out digital audio books and download the WMA software here. If you live elsewhere, find out if your city has a Digital Library by googling.

The power of story is my motivator. How fitting then that a few lines from last night’s book are what make me start writing Calendar Memoirs – the blog I’ve been putting off for 6 months, maybe more.

Ask For It: How Women's can Use the Power of Negotiation by Linda Babcock, WMA Audio Book (Or buy Ask for It in paperback - Their first paperback book that led to this one is Women Don’t Ask)

Part Two, Phase 1, Chapter 2 (00:00): “What will you regret? Researchers have found that people experience two different kinds of regret. Regret about things they've done and regret about the things they didn't do. … When asked to identify the biggest regret in their life, people are 2 to 3 more times likely to describe something they didn't do instead of something they did.

So try approaching the question of what will make you happy from a different angle altogether. What will you regret not doing? … Is there's something you always planned to do but never got around to? How sorry will you feel if you never make it happen?“

This quote summarizes the number one reason why I am thankful that I stopped everything and moved to the Dominican Republic on January 19th of 2010. I felt so strongly that I was supposed to go, and even though I can’t tell you exactly what I was supposed to do there, or what I accomplished, I can tell you I will never have to wonder “What if…?”

I also know that many of my life lessons from that time have come months or even a year later. And like many of you, I learn a lot about myself by writing. I created a list called “What I learned about life while in the Dominican Republic” that I’ll share with you in this blog – perhaps a little at time. Those who have seen it feel what I learned has opened their own eyes about their own lives, wherever they are – because oddly, the lessons have nothing to do with the location.

Share with me as I flit from year to year and place to place in Calendar Memoirs. Insight and philosophy based on day to day habits and adventures - what I see and what I learn, hopefully helping you to see your own lives and relationships in new and amazing ways, and of course what I’ve done (a bit of a travel guide – in Dominican Republic, Mexico, Arizona, Chicago, California, even your own town). We’ll take walks, go to art galleries, the theater, see movies, read books, take nature hikes and take photos, visit friends and family and eavesdrop on my life.

Heather J. Kirk, Photographer, Author, Graphic Designer."We..." an e-book at: photographicartistry.citymax.com/Books Find her art at: Artist Websites and HeatherJKirk.com

Calendar Memoir - Movies, food, dance theater and the IRS!

Okay, it's time to do what I've promised for the last few weeks. Calendar Memoirs is way to share with you the things I've enjoyed - so you can enjoy them also in the future!

Wednesday October 5th, 2011: As a professional art installer, I hang Michel Sarda's photography exhibit. He was Herberger Gallery's curator last year, and this is his retrospective show, Spirit of Arizona. The show goes through October 30th.

Friday October 7th, 2011: I attend Michel Sarda's art opening and book signing event at Herberger with Junjie Verzosa, we go over to Artlink's A.E. England Gallery across from ASU's Downtown Campus in Phoenix's Heritage Square to see Stories of Us: Celebrating the 2 Year Anniversary of the Artlink Galleries. Take the light rail or try to park in front, after making three dangerous left turns around the block and across the rails. Address: 424 N. Central at Taylor.

It's a pretty building right on Central - glasss all around to see the art from the outside as well. Public bathrooms due to the park (Civic Space). I like that part! Live music was playing and I took pretty pictures of the infamous public art flying thing (saguaro bloom / UFO / basketball hoop cyclone.) Her Secret is Patience is the work of Janet Echelman, Central Station, Phoenix.

Junjie's piece is my favorte in the Stories of Us show (curated by cory Weeks). I like it not just because Junjie is a friend, but he takes two classic pieces and makes them his own - a child's portrait (from the eyes up) looking at Bouguereau's Madonna of the Lilies and another Madonna with Child.

See his two Madonna pieces in the center of Junjie Verzosa's website:

William-Adolphe Bouguereau became my favorite artist after learning of him while doing the interior layout and cover design for Mantoshe Singh Devji's book The Virgin in Art.

Also on October 7th, I e-file my taxes and find that someone else has filed before me using my social security number. I spend the weekend figuring out how to deal with this...

Sunday, October 9th: I watch a movie on TV (yes, a rare movie on non-cable): The Miracle at St. Anna - a 40 Acres and a Mule production. A great movie with signature Spike Lee cinematography and editing. Since Buffalo Soldiers (all black batallions) have been written out of WWII history by not incuding them in WWII movies, this story re-writes history (honestly) by putting them back in the war. Yet it is fiction - and ironically this fiction has maddened Italians, because they feel their history has now been rewritten.

I recall seeing a pre-screening of Spike Lee's first film "She's Gotta Have It" when I was at Indiana University. I remember how clear it was from Lee's first movie that he would change film history. I can recall specific scenes, burned intmy memory. It was the first time I saw film as visual art and not just story. How cool it would to meet him - but what could one say that was not cliche or that he had heard a million times before.

Monday, October 10th, 2011: I try to call the FTC (along with about 10 other government agencies) and get amd that they're offices are closed at 3:55 pm. "Nice hours," I think. I later realize my calendar with the teeny-tiny print has made me miss another holiday - this time Columbus Day. But my chiropractor's office is thankfully open - the amazing Dr. Edward Judge. After 3 days of migraines (both euphamistically and literally) the releif is welcomed.

Tuesday, October 11th: I don't bring a single thing to my Water from Rock Bible Study's potluck dinner - and only feel slightly guilty for eating everyone else's wonderful food. I had just read Rev. Tim Smith's eVotional about the healing powers of fire on the pine forest. Intense heat is needed to reseed and grow the forest. I need to believe this - desperately - because this IRS / Identity Theft issue is really starting to get to me.

Thursday, October 13th, 2011: I see the movie Ides of March with my friend Cinda, a scriptwriter, then go to eat at Macaroni Grill and uber-analyze a movie that neither one of us found satisfying. Yet it did bring up many themes to dsicuss.

I then ask about her own screen play. I ask how her trip to NY went and if she was able to meet the producer she had hoped to. "No, Spike Lee didn't make it to the party, but my friend will get it to him."

This kind of thing happens to me all the time - weird conincidences. Almost prophetic thoughts. I wish I could use it for profit somehow...but it will probably have to just remain entertaining.

Friday, October 14th, 2011: Linda Ingraham and I rush to Sophie's French Bistro to make it in time for Happy Hour - it ends at 6 pm. Crepes, quiche and pomme frittes (french fries - in French). I give in and try the Peachtini.

We then head to Herberger Theater to see Center Dance Ensemble - There is a Time to Dance. The first half includes performance by various dance troupes. A solo called "Trapped" choreographed and danced by Martha Hernandez is fantastic - performed flawlessy and humorously. It is based on Corintians 12: 20-22 "...there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I don't need you'..." But the dancer endeavors enthusiastically!

Sadly 1/3 of the audience leaves at intermission as their young freinds have already danced and will not perform in the second half. The second half is the main attraction. "The Attic" is a profound, deep, sad and moving dance interpretation of The Diary of Ann Frank. It makes me want to read it - knowing that like when the dancers drop to the floor, and the diary just ends without another entry - many have died and we must remember how it happened. Then I look around the theater to recall - all the youth have left.

You have until Sunday to see it!

Heather J. Kirk, Photographer, Author, Graphic Designer."We..." an e-book at: photographicartistry.citymax.com/BooksFind her art at: Artist Websitesand HeatherJKirk.com