Tag: Phoenix

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Grandma’s Sunburn Remedy

Sunset

 
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I sunburn easily.

I blame my genes. Basically, I descend from a mélange of peoples, who, I assume, just kept walking north until they got to the regions of Europe that were cold and cloudy enough not to punish their pallid skin.

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Generations later, I was born in sunny Phoenix, Arizona, wearing the maladapted melanin of my kin. Here, summer rays can be intense enough to burn a Celtic lass like me within 10 minutes.

My grandma used to tell me to put vinegar on sunburns. “The sooner the better,” she’d say. Being a teenager, I’d roll my eyes and/or ignore her advice.

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Then, after one sunburn that left my skin ablaze like a village after a Viking* raid, I finally gave in and tried it. The pain was gone almost instantly. I did smell like vinegar, but I had no intentions of going back outside anytime soon anyway.

Now I wear a moisturizer with sunscreen in it daily. If I do get a sunburn, I have no problem reaching for the vinegar and gently daubing some on. Totally worth smelling like a salad dressing (or maybe a jar of pickles) for a few hours.

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*I also have Viking ancestors. I like to think of them as not the village-destroying type, though. Maybe horned-hat-wearing and fierce – like you wouldn’t want to mess with them – yet somehow kind hearted. (This may not be historically accurate.)

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Phoenix Classic Movie Nights

It’s not too late for summer movies! In fact, there are some interesting movie events coming up in the Phoenix/Tempe area this week that I thought I’d share.

Since the current temperature outside is officially hothothot, 2 out of 3 are indoors – the other one includes snow imported to cool things down. More of the traditional “movies in the park” nights around here happen in the spring, so I’ve listed those, as well.

Screenings Starting This Week

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1. Heist film series at FilmBar

Today through 9/3

  • Series includes True Romance, The Italian Job, The Usual Suspects
  • FilmBar also features a monthly Arizona Filmmaker Showcase (next one: 9/5) and wine tastings the 3rd Friday of every month.
  • Light rail stop: Roosevelt/Central
  • FilmBar and CityScape (see #2) are each about .5 mile from Civic Space Park and its suspended sculpture, Her Secret is Patience.

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2. Grease at CityScape

8/20 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. (Movie at 7:40 p.m.)

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3. The Last Starfighter at Pollack Tempe Cinemas

8/22 9:30pm

  • Cult Classics hosts a monthly screening of classic films year-round with giveaways and commemorative merch.
  • Each screening is announced the month before.
  • VIP ticket packages that include prints, t-shirts, etc. are also available.

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Spring events

Phoenix Film Festival (April 7-14, 2016)

Movies in the park (approximate dates based on past year):

What kind of movie events do you enjoy (in Phoenix or elsewhere)?

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A Mural for the Missing

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A community art project that was too controversial for New York city has found a home in Phoenix’s Grand Avenue arts district.

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The mural was nearly finished when I stopped by last week. Half a dozen artists were there painting or standing back to Instagram the process – which, really, is also part of spreading a message. In fact, I only heard about the piece because one of the artists from the Frida Kahlo exhibit, Monique Mata, had shared it there.

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The Mission

The inspiration came from the film Who is Dayani Cristal?, a documentary that retraces the steps of the migrant trail in Central America in an effort to identify a body discovered in the Sonoran desert.

This work of helping families find the bodies of missing migrants is exactly what the nonprofit Colibrí Center for Human Rights in Tucson does, as well as providing counseling and advocacy services. Their Missing Migrant Project has the goal of “working to end migrant death and related suffering on the U.S.-Mexico border.”

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Mata Ruda, the New York/New Jersey artist who designed the mural, believes awareness and prevention are key to this. If migrants are invisible to society, their deaths will go unnoticed, the problem unsolved.

The mural is one way to tell their story, make them visible.

While taking a popsicle break, he filled me in on the history of the project – that it been approved then later blocked at 5 different sites from a musuem in New York City to a garage in downtown Phoenix, apparently due to its subject matter. Finally, the Colibrí Center connected them with the spot at La Melgrosa art space.

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The Mural

The mural is also called “Colibrí,” named for Colibrí Center and for the hummingbird, which migrates throughout the Americas. It was created to bring awareness of the often-overlooked migrant community.

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At least 7 artists collaborated on the piece, mostly from Arizona (with one traveling across the state from the Navajo reservation).

 

 

You can see the finished mural outside Creation Station at La Melgosa, 1023 W. Grand Avenue in Phoenix.

Mata Ruda’s hope is that Colibrí remains a permanent piece of public art and that it makes people aware of the migrants who often are invisible to society.

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Like the community it represents, the project has been on a long journey to finally be seen.

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Craft Camp is coming!

The awesomeness of our monthly CraftHack meetups could not be contained. One of the organizers, Anne Watson Barber, has planned an entire day for the same kind of learning, crafting, and connecting that happens there. And you’re definitely invited!

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Craft Camp is happening Saturday, August 8 at TechShop Chandler. The morning will be filled with talks and workshops to help artists, makers, and crafters learn how to turn their craft into a passion project or business.

I will be part of a blogging panel at 11:15, along with Kitty Carlisle of the Grammatical Activist and Kelli Donley of AfricanKelli. We’ll be sharing strategies and tools to help you get the word out about your craft blog and build your community.

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There will also be panels on photographing your creations, crafting for charity, and how to sell via ecommerce and retail.

The afternoon will be a time to craft and meet other crafters.

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Registration is $20. Proceeds go to Refugee Focus, an organization that helps refugees in Arizona. Several of our CraftHack-ers volunteer with them, teaching refugee women sewing and other job skills.

I think it’s going to be a really great day! Please tell your artsy-crafty friends and register via the CraftHack Facebook page.

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– More info –

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Honey Bear’s BBQ

honeybears bbq sliders

[UPDATE March 2022: Since writing this, Honey Bear’s has remodeled their original restaurant on Van Buren, and (I believe) closed their additional locations. I don’t get to Phoenix as often these days, but, from what I hear, their food remains delicious!]

In Phoenix, summer barbecue season means feeling like you’re on the grill whenever you step outside.

When I was looking through photos for pre-Independence Day post ideas, I came across some from Honey Bear’s BBQ, and I thought, “well, that beats standing in the sun in triple-digit temps!”

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Inside a building with a charmingly ramshackle facade on Van Buren in Phoenix, two families have been serving slow-cooked Tenessee-style barbecue since 1986. They regularly win New Times Best of Phoenix awards.

If you can’t decide between a barbecue pork, beef, or chicken sandwich, you can get sliders and try them all. They also have really good sides – classics like cole slaw and mac + cheese.

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The original Van Buren location is not far from Papago Park. In fact, the last time we visited was right after a trip to the Phoenix Zoo. They also have a restaurant on Central. And you’ll be able to find them at several events around the Valley of the Sun 4th of July weekend.

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