Courting Disaster is Jackalope Ranch’s weekly column of dating horror stories, observations, how-tos, and more by Katie Johnson. Names of ex-boyfriends, past hookups, and bad blind dates have been changed to protect the guilty. Sex is all about marketing. Please, understand your audience and choose your words carefully. From “making…
With names like Arrow, North, Blue, and Apple floating around in the modern-day baby ether, expectant parents this year are really going to have to dig deep to bring something new to the table. (There’s one: Table.) Which is why Nameberry is offering up its 14 newest choices for baby…
Patrons of the light rail got a little in-ride entertainment on Sunday afternoon, and not from some excessively loud and outrageous fellow passenger. More like a few men and women kicking it onboard in excessively loud undergarments and equally loud clothing — with the exception of pants. The No Pants…
Cody Grosse is the definition of “suited up.” The 22-year-old musician, model, and marketing pro prides himself on always looking his best, from the streets of downtown to his in-house studio…
From her ill-fitting Golden Globes dress to pretty much every plot move made by her character Hannah Horvath on Girls, Lena Dunham is all about uncomfortable situations. Which is why we secretly wished that Hannah’s upcoming eBook could be real. Revel in another person’s awkwardness at leisure? Yes, please…
If you’ve ever owned cats, then you know that they can be complete dicks — knocking over fine china, biting your toes in the dead of night, using your newly upholstered sofa as their personal cat scratch station. All these actions go without any consequences because, let’s face it, they’re…
Welcome to the Phoenix Bucket List. Robrt Pela and Amy Silverman — two New Times contributors and longtime Phoenicians — have put together a list of 100 things to do in this city before you die. Each week we’re presenting another 10; in March we’ll wrap it all up in…
If you’ve ever used OkCupid, PlentyofFish, or the lazy man’s matchmaker, Tinder, you know that dating is scary. Fortunately, there’s a new app that quells at least one of your many dating fears…
Take heed, superheroes, superheroines, sci-fi cosplayers, and costumed geeks of the Valley — the City of Tempe is in need of your services tomorrow afternoon for a special mission. Just like Commissioner Gordon firing up the Bat-Signal to cajole The Dark Knight into service, Tempe’s city officials have put out…
There were a lot of greats on social media this past year. There was P. Diddy’s cameo on Downton Abbey, My Imaginary Well-Dressed Toddler Daughter on Pinterest, Broken People’s PSA on Bitchy Resting Face, and pretty much everything that George Takei posted on Facebook…
Courting Disaster is Jackalope Ranch’s weekly column of dating horror stories, observations, how-tos, and more by Katie Johnson. Names of ex-boyfriends, past hookups, and bad blind dates have been changed to protect the guilty. If you read the first installment of Courting Disaster, which is about my sexual encounters with…
Congratulations, Gretchen Wieners fans. It looks like you can stop trying to make “fetch” a thing, because it totally has become one, thanks to L.A. jewelry company Stella and Bow. Best part of all, your dad didn’t have to invent Toaster Strudel for you to be able to afford it…
Michelle Vilavanh just wants to make things look nice. The 23-year-old graphic designer and Arizona State University graduate is all about simplicity with a hint of pizzazz. Whether it’s a new design or a new outfit, she’s creating it all on her own terms…
If your only knowledge with anime begins and ends with Pokémon, you’ve obviously got a thing or two to learn. First lesson: Anime is an ultra-diverse and highly respected art form of Japanese-produced animation (hence its name) that was first produced in the Asian nation way back in 1917 and…
Now for a scene the chronically late are all too familiar with: You’re holding your belonging, walking to your car, then realize you forgot your keys. You walk back inside, put down said belongings to look for keys, eventually locate keys, return to the car, only to realize that the…
Say goodbye to your little blazer because winter’s almost over. Replacing the atrocious Muppet coats and slouchy pants of your cold-weather wardrobe are a new batch of totally repulsive fashion options that are set to trend this spring. Here’s what not to wear…
Super Bowl XLVIII airs on Sunday, February 2, and it’s down to just eight teams competing for chance to win the Lombardi Trophy. But for those of us who could not care less about whether or not the Cincinnati Whatsernames or the Kansas City Whocares makes it to MetLife Stadium,…
A funny thing happened in 2013. Both of us — two curmudgeonly writers who between us have lived in Arizona way closer to 100 years than either would like to admit — came to a shared conclusion. We like Phoenix. That’s funny because for years we’ve loved to hate this…
New year, new password. Seriously, guys, your pet’s name and your birthday fall just shy of “1234” and “password” on the list of sad ways to protect your personal information…
If you don’t know Brad Dourif by name, you may recognize his face. After all, the esteemed veteran character actor has made many memorable cinematic appearances, including the evil Grima Wormtongue in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, racist sheriff’s deputy Clinton Pell in Mississippi Burning, the naive Billy Bibbit…
Ah, the thesis. It’s the bane of a soon-to-be college graduate’s existence, falling just behind the sad economy and the poor job market as the top reason to just never ever reach graduation…
Mischief-makers of the Valley, get your shopping carts ready. Oh, and you might want to fire up your brain cells as well and start conjuring up crazy ideas, too. That’s because the Arizona Cacophony Society has set a date for the next Phoenix Idiotarod. And it’s a little over a…
