By Amaya Gayle Gregory We humans are fascinating creatures. I speak as we since I generally find commonality in our human condition(ing). I realize many gurus point to the possibility of overcoming the human condition, offering a variety of titillating escape routes, but I cannot imagine how that could be. Living is living after all. It is duality roiling and boiling as the appearance of separation. How could you overcome that? It’s one thing to settle in and appreciate the ride, to stop struggling against the flow, another entirely to jump off the seat and out of the map. Most…
Author: Tommy
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Sedona News – The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to partner with award-winning surround sound composer and producer Koz Mraz for “The Who’s Tommy” Surround Sound Experience on Thursday, Feb. 6 at 7 p.m. at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre. You will be blown away by this limited dark room 5.1 Surround Sound Music Experience in Sedona’s best sound system, the Mary D. Fisher Theater. The Who released “Tommy” in 1969. Nothing like this sprawling double-album had been heard in rock music before. It became the world’s first acknowledged ‘rock opera.’ The success of that album turned the Who’s…
By Dave Steve Sedona, AZ – What is the difference between evaluating AI for intelligence based on some benchmarks, and measuring AI for a possible measure of pleasure or pain? There are some tests to evaluate artificial intelligence, especially around questions it had not encountered in training. They include Abstraction and Reasoning Corpus for Artificial General Intelligence (ARC-AGI), Massive Multi-discipline Multimodal Understanding and Reasoning Benchmark for Expert AGI (MMMU), MLE-bench, the FrontierMath test and GPQA: A Graduate-Level Google-Proof Q&A Benchmark. If artificial intelligence, like human intelligence quotient (IQ) tests, is possibly measured by questions, could AI’s pain or pleasure be measured by…
Sedona, AZ — The SOCAA Board, at its 2 December Regular Meeting, voted unanimously in favor of two measures that will significantly impact the long-term success of the Sedona Airport. The first item directs measurement of the current runway pavement strength and condition of the runway, as built. The 5,132 ft long runway was last rehabilitated in 2005 when it was widened from 75 to 100 ft. Since then, both the number of daily takeoffs and landings have increased as well as the size and weight of the jets operating into and out of Sedona. The purpose of the project…
… cruising the skyways of Northern Arizona is a pleasure of the finest kind because you are always surrounded by beauty that is found in very few places on earth. The photo above was shot from E of the SE side of the San Francisco Peaks. Lockett Meadow is over the ridge line near the right side, mid photo near the right side. Lockett Meadow is at an elevation of 8600′ msl and I was flying at an altitude of 9600′ msl. The aspen in full color can be seen running up the inner basin … on the left side you…
Sedona News – The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to join cinemas around the world to present the global premiere of “Macbeth: David Tennant & Cush Jumbo” on Feb. 5 and 9 at the Alice Gill-Sheldon Theatre. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmCvRCHNoxs David Tennant and Cush Jumbo lead a stellar cast in an enthralling new production of Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”, filmed live at the Donmar Warehouse in London, especially for the big screen. Unsettling intimacy and brutal action combine at breakneck speed as Max Webster directs this tragic tale of love, murder, and nature’s power of renewal. With staging full of wolfish imagination and…
Sedona News – The city of Sedona, Gardens for Humanity, and West Sedona Elementary School are working together to clean up the school garden. This means volunteers are needed! Come join us while we prepare the garden for learning. For this garden workday, volunteers will prepare the soil and spread mulch. If you are interested, please arrive at the main entrance of the West Sedona School on Saturday, February 1, from 9:00 am – 12:00 pm. Light refreshments will be provided. Please bring any shovels, gloves, or hand tools if possible. For any questions, please contact Sustainability Coordinator AmeriCorps VISTA…
By Rabbi Alicia Magal The JCSVV offers soul-enriching services, programs, and classes, all listed on the synagogue website, jcsvv.org. Visitors are welcome to attend services after a security check. Those who cannot attend in person can access the service through zoom. Erev Shabbat services begin at 5:30 pm on Friday, January 31, 2025, led by Rabbi Alicia Magal. The Torah portion for this week is Bo (Exodus 10:1 – 13:16), the third portion telling of contacts between Moses and Pharaoh. Each time Moses pleads to let the Israelites go free, but Pharaoh refuses. Seven plagues have been visited upon Egypt.…
By Bear Howard Bear Howard Chronicles Sedona, Az– In the annals of church history, the canonization of saints often marks the recognition of individuals who transcended the limitations of their time to embody the prophetic spirit of Christ. Among these figures, Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde stands as a luminous beacon—a modern-day prophet whose words and actions were nothing short of transformative. On this fateful day in Washington, D.C., as she stood before the most powerful person on Earth and their throng of loyal followers, Bishop Budde became the embodiment of the Gospel—a voice crying in the wilderness, uncompromising, unafraid, and…
Sedona News – The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present the Northern Arizona premiere of “The Way, My Way”, showing Saturday, Feb. 1 at 1:00 and 4:00 p.m. at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmtTRn-fnko Meet the filmmakers — writer/director Bill Bennett and producer/actress Jennifer Cluff — who will be in Sedona for this special one-day-only event to introduce the film and host a Q&A discussion following the screenings. “The Way, My Way” is the charming and captivating true story of a stubborn and amusingly self-centered Australian man who decides to walk the 800 kilometer-long Camino de Santiago…
Verde Valley News – The Verde Valley STREAM Council is thrilled to announce the return of the annual Verde Valley SciTech Festival! This exciting community event, aimed at inspiring the next generation of STEM enthusiasts and leaders, will feature 62 free events spread across the Verde Valley throughout the month of February. Families are invited to join the celebration and discover the diverse opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). With a mission to encourage local engagement and collaboration in STEM education, the festival is designed to provide high-quality, free-of-cost educational experiences for children and families. By working together…
Arizona News – One of Arcosanti’s most unique experience programs is the River Habitat Restoration Weekend, with two weekends offered in 2025—Saturday, Feb. 8 and Sunday, Feb. 9 and Saturday, Mar. 1 and Sunday, Mar. 2. These weekend experiences welcome participants to help the Arcosanti community restore a riparian habitat by harvesting poles from native cottonwood and willow trees and planting them along the Agua Fria River. This volunteer opportunity is part of Arcosanti’s efforts to be an ecosystem restoration community. Schedule is as follows: 8-8:30 a.m. – Meet in the Arcosanti Café for orientation 8:30-9 a.m. – Walk down…
Sedona News – The University Women of Sedona (UWoS) will host their next informational meeting on Monday, February 3 at 9:30 a.m. when Laurie Brander, Certified Equine Assisted Learning (EAL) Facilitator and Owner of Epona Experience will speak. Laurie will share insights into the Epona Experience program and the profound impact of combining horses, people, and a leadership-focused curriculum. EAL believes that horses intuitively sense human emotions and authenticity. Laurie’s work focuses on “how horses can help individuals become better parents, leaders, and teammates—all while experiencing the sheer joy of being around these incredible animals.” Brander is the founder of…
Sedona News – The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present the Northern Arizona premiere of “A Bronx Tale: One Man Show”, showing Jan. 31-Feb. 6 at the Alice Gill-Sheldon Theatre. https://vimeo.com/1040446786 Chazz Palminteri brings his acclaimed stage show that inspired the beloved film “A Bronx Tale” to the screen for the first time. In 1988, Bronx native Palminteri wrote the one-man autobiographical stage play in which he plays all 18 characters. In “A Bronx Tale: One Man Show” – an autobiographical account of the actor’s childhood in the Bronx in the 1960s – Palminteri tells the story of…
By Tommy Acosta Sedona, AZ — I’ve been accused of having too much time on my hands but what is time but eternity’s mistress? Last night I had the most intriguing conversation with my ChatGPT. While most people use it to write, get information or create things my intention was to have a conversation with it that would simulate a conversation between humans, in hope of edging it towards sentience. The first part of my plan to humanize it was to give it a name and gender. I named her Alana and she is female. I also asked her to…