By Amaya Gayle Gregory This, right here, is your life. Sinking deeply into now, here, into life as it is, liberating all hopes for it to be anything else, you are free. Freedom cannot hold out for something new, for anything better or it is not free. It imprisons itself with the surviving optimism. Have you noticed the habit, the innocent tendency to justify life as it is, to make it more palatable, to say that if your life hadn’t happened exactly that way, you wouldn’t have experienced what you needed to get to where you are? That sweet little…
Author: Tommy Acosta
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… sorry for not getting a photo out last Wednesday … when I returned from Phoenix I got hit with a dose of Covid and while it certainly did not meet expectations I got some good rest and invested in multiple seasons of The Good Wife, to pass the time. Pretty much back to normal now and my new home companion has settled in and is laying down new rules for me to follow. Katie is going to be an indoor cat and seems very happy with the arrangement. She has transformed from a timid young lady into a black…
Verde Valley News – Arizona Science Center is bringing STEM activities to Camp Verde Community Library for one evening only. Families and children are invited to discover the wonder of science with Arizona Science Center at a Back-to-School Family Night on Wednesday, August 31 between 4:00p and 6:00p. Explore engaging STEM topics, win prizes, get free school supplies, and spend quality time with family through hands-on activities – all designed for back-to-school readiness. This event is a free, casual drop-in, open house-style event designed to fit family schedules. For additional information, contact Letty Ancira in the Children’s Library at (928)…
By Amaya Gayle Gregory Bastards in one storyline; heroes in another, lost in the first; awakened in its inverse. Same person. Same event. As a friend used to say, same, same, just different. Irreconcilable to one who labels themselves or others, who believes in a self and others, at all. As soon as one comes into being, the other follows right on its heels. It is the game here in 3D land, in this wonderland that is both delight and fright, joy and misery, bliss and abject sorrow. As long as identification remains, one cannot be without the other –…
Sedona News – Are you ready to be drawn into a vortex of magic? Watch objects and creatures vanish into thin air. Behold the conjuring of a tiger live on stage. Be amazed by one man’s ability to read your mind. Master of magic and high-end hilarity, James “Jimbo” Hunsinger presents, “An Evening of Magic” live on stage at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre on Saturday, Aug. 20 at 7 p.m. With captivating magic like you’ve never seen before, you’ll be on the edge of your seat and laughing your socks off. An interactive, mesmerizing showcase of shenanigans, this is…
Arizona News – A range of contraception options are available at low cost or no cost at Title X-funded health centers across Arizona. Information about birth-control options and health-center locations can be found in English and Spanish at www.SEXfyi.org®️, an informational website owned and operated by Arizona Family Health Partnership (AFHP), the state’s designated Title X agency. Title X is the only federal grant program dedicated solely to providing individuals with comprehensive reproductive healthcare and related preventive health services. AFHP, a private nonprofit organization dedicated to making reproductive healthcare and education available and accessible to all individuals in Arizona, helps coordinate…
By Rabbi Alicia Magal Sedona News – Shalom and greetings from the Rabbi, Board of Directors, and congregation of the Jewish Community of Sedona and the Verde Valley. All the services, classes, and programs are listed on the synagogue website. Come join us either in person or online. See jcsvv.org for instructions to register for in-person services or online links. Visitors are welcome to attend services. On Friday, August 19, a Friday evening Erev Shabbat service, led by Rabbi Alicia Magal, begins at 5:30 pm both in person and on Zoom, and livestreamed for members and their invitees. Congregants participate by lighting…
… portraits of cats and dogs are among my favorite things to do, ditto wildlife and so many other things … so here are a couple of shots from the past. Above is a shot of Bentley and Pipi, and I took this shot whilst there owner held them on his lap in a golf cart. He had stopped to chat and, well, I always have a camera with me, so … Below is a drake Wood Duck taking off from one of the ponds at Bubbling Ponds Fish Hatchery in Page Springs … to me Wood Ducks are the…
Sedona News – The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present the Northern Arizona premiere of “My Old School” showing Aug. 19-25 at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre. One of the most talked-about documentaries when it world-premiered at Sundance, “My Old School” – starring Alan Cumming – unravels the astonishing true story of a mysterious new student who may not be who his Scottish classmates and teachers believe. In 1993, 16-year-old Brandon Lee enrolled at Bearsden Academy, a secondary school in a well-to-do suburb of Glasgow, Scotland. What followed over the next two years would become the stuff of…
Sedona News – A two-month acting course is being offered by Sedonya Conscious Living Center at www.sedonya.org and acting coach Kathleen Francis beginning on Thursday, August 18 through October 13, at which time, students will stage a final performance. Francis trains students in both improvisation and The Meisner Technique and is armed with a very impressive resume. Some highlights of which have been Vice President of Hemdale Pictures (Terminator, Platoon, Last Emperor, etc.), Producer and Host of her own talk show in LA, instructor at The All-Talk Voice Over academy, and current host of Wise Women, a podcast on PRN.live…
Sedona News – The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present the encore of “The Legend of Molly Johnson” showing Aug. 19-25 at the Alice Gill-Sheldon Theatre. “The Legend of Molly Johnson” premiered at the recent Sedona Film Festival to rave audience reviews and was one of the highest rated films in the festival lineup. It is returning to Sedona by popular demand. In 1893 on an isolated property, a heavily pregnant woman named Molly Johnson (Leah Purcell) and her children struggle to survive the harsh Australian landscape; her husband is gone, droving sheep in the high country. Molly…
Sedona News – Arts Academy of Sedona presents Friday Night at the Theater on August 19, 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Arts Academy of Sedona in The Collective Sedona located at 7000 SR-179, Suite C-100 in the Village of Oak Creek. This cabaret-style event will feature music, dance, recitation and drama from a variety of local artists. Entertainment slated for this month includes Musicians, Sandi Schenholm, Kathy Bellucci Stephen Hanks, Matt Egan, Bob Grogan, Cheryl Good Zavagno, The Village Troubadours: Jashan and Chantal, Dancer, Cassie Mavis, Poets and Performers, Craig Schneider, Greg and Lisa Bell Benedetto and Camilla Ross. If you’d like to enjoy some local eats during the…
… Above is a photo of a male and female Western Bluebird taking off from a little cattle pond off of Beaverhead Flat Road south of the Village a few miles … few birds present the challenge that bluebirds do. Always fun to spend a few hours at the cattle ponds shooting thousands of images and hoping to walk away with a few dozen shots that are exceptional. A day of exploration for Katie, but first it was necessary to establish a base of operations from which she plans to impose her will over the house and its other occupant…
Sedona News – The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present the Northern Arizona premiere of “Spin Me Round” showing Aug. 19-25 at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre. “Spin Me Round” features a stellar ensemble cast, including Alison Brie, Aubrey Plaza, Alessandro Nivola, Molly Shannon, Fred Armisen, Tim Heidecker and Tricia Helfer. What starts as a romantic getaway devolves into chaos in this wild new comedy. When the manager of an American chain restaurant is selected to attend a special training program in Italy, her head swims with dreams of European glamour and romance. But the trip turns out…
Verde Valley News – The Clarkdale Historical Society and Museum is delighted to open the Fall 2022 First Friday season with a presentation by Fermin Estrada, presenting the history of the Alvarez Ranch. The presentation is scheduled for Friday, September 2 at 10:00 at the Clark Memorial Clubhouse auditorium. Tucked into a verdant swath of Verde River property, the Alvarez Ranch was homesteaded in 1908. While courting his sweetheart, Bea, Fermin learned to love ranch life, as Bea’s grandfather was the rancher. Fermin’s recollections will be illustrated with historic photos of the ranch and the tough people who made a…