By Amaya Gayle Gregory Life is a wondrous adventure, a daring escapade, the preciousness of a seemingly separate being, struggling for connectedness amid the vacillating yet compelling uncertainty of letting go in full surrender to our interdependency, our inherent and abundant symbioses. The separate self screams its denial, its holy terror, clutched in outrage, spewing out its abject rejection of such a selfless reality, unwilling to admit even the tiniest hint of possibility, all the while crying for release, praying to be absorbed, beseeching life for absolution, for utter and complete dissolution of the felt sense of disunion. Aren’t we…
Author: Tommy Acosta
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… last week, One, was beset with a sudden and fatal illness and died in my arms early Friday evening. She joined our family in May of 2013 after Q, her predecessor passed from a Lymphoma. One’s first contribution was the love that she gave to Corky who had just been placed on hospice and continued for the next nine plus years as my friend and co-conspirator in planning various situations wherein, and with the aid of Photoshop, she hijacked planes, slept on clouds and morphed into a hawk or something else. She brought a great deal of joy into…
Sedona News – The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present the festival flashback of the delightful romantic comedy “Populaire” showing Aug. 19-24 at the Alice Gill-Sheldon Theatre. Rose Pamphyle (Déborah François) aspires to become a secretary, but she’s clumsy and helplessly disorganized, meaning she’s a disaster in the office. When she starts working for insurance man Louis Échard (Romain Duris), her one true talent starts to shine through. Rose reveals a special gift: she can type at extraordinary speed. Unwittingly, the young woman awakens the dormant sports fan in Louis. If she wants the job she’ll have to…
Verde Valley News – During the first week of August, Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office K-9 unit, with the help of Partners Against Narcotics Trafficking (PANT) taskforce, conducted two traffic stops within an hour of each other in Camp Verde. The first stop resulted in the seizure of 8 pounds of meth and 10 pounds (40,000 pills) of fentanyl pills, following a consent search of the vehicle. The driver, identified as Marco Ceja-Partida (35) from Ontario, CA., was booked into the Camp Verde jail for transportation of dangerous and narcotic drugs for sale. The second stop, merely 30 minutes later, lead…
Sedona News – The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present the “Festival Flashback” encore return of “Grandma” showing Aug. 20-25 at the Alice Gill-Sheldon Theatre. “Grandma” features an all-star ensemble cast led by Lily Tomlin and including Julia Garner, Marcia Gay Harden, Judy Greer, Laverne Cox and Sam Elliott. A misanthropic poet, estranged from her daughter and recovering from a breakup, agrees to take her granddaughter across Los Angeles and help her find the money she desperately needs. Lily Tomlin is Elle Reid. Elle has just gotten through breaking up with her girlfriend when Elle’s granddaughter Sage unexpectedly…
Verde Valley News – Registration is open for the Sept. 14 Holes for Health Golf Tournament at the premier Seven Canyons Golf Club in Sedona. Proceeds benefit Health First Foundation’s efforts to improve health and well-being in communities throughout northern Arizona. The annual tournament features a foursome shamble format on Seven Canyon’s private 18-hole, par-72 course. Registration includes golf fees, breakfast, lunch, and tee prizes. A silent auction with hospitality, golf, art, and other curated offerings will be open to tournament players. The cost for a standard foursome is $1,200; corporate-sponsored foursome, $2,000; an individual golfer, $300. For more information…
Sedona News – Celebrate the Nation’s best female songwriters with “Songbirds on Tour” live on stage on Sunday, Aug. 14 at 7 p.m. at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre, presented by the Sedona International Film Festival. “Songbirds” features the Nation’s best Female Songwriters in a Nashville style round-robin format, now on tour! Why only women? Because less than 20% of the billboard charts are female songwriters, year after year. It’s time to make a change. Come experience this empowered show that showcases the beauty of songwriting, the stories behind the songs, and the respect the ladies on stage feel for…
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 12, 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…
Sedona News – The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present the summer encore of the Met Opera’s “La Fille du Régiment” (from the 2007/2008 season) on Saturday, Aug. 13 at 1 p.m. at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre. Madcap physical comedy and impeccable coloratura come together in soprano Natalie Dessay’s indelible portrayal of the feisty tomboy raised by a regiment of French soldiers. Tenor Juan Diego Flórez is the young Swiss villager who conquers her heart—and a slew of high Cs. Also featuring uproarious performances by mezzo-soprano Felicity Palmer and baritone Alessandro Corbelli, as well as a…
By Amaya Gayle Gregory Akashic records, The Pleiades, Jesus, Mohammed, solar flares, the Schumann resonance, me and you, spirituality, love (yes, love too), the fifth dimension, ascension, death, enlightenment, ignorance … same, same just different: ideas that attempt to make the inexplicable explicable. We want our truths to be true. That’s the way we humans roll. We want there to be a truth, one with teeth and guts, that sticks around when all else falls away. We want to know, to understand, to figure it out. We want to have the answer, to finally get it, to open the locked…
Sedona News – The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present the Northern Arizona premiere of “We Are As Gods” showing Aug. 13-18 at the Alice Gill-Sheldon Theatre. “We Are As Gods” offers a deep dive into the many sides of Stewart Brand – the Zelig-like creator of The Whole Earth Catalog, an influential member of Ken Kesey’s “The Merry Pranksters,” and an early activist in the modern environmental movement. Brand, in his guise as cyber-utopian, coined the phrase “personal computer” and influenced many in Silicon Valley, including Steve Jobs, who have gone on to shape our modern world.…
Sedona News – The City of Sedona provides the following locations for residents to fill sandbags: City Maintenance Yard (by appointment only call 928-203-5063), 2070 Contractors Road City lot adjacent to Sedona Red Rock High School, 935 Upper Red Rock Loop Road Uptown Public Parking Lot, 260 Schnebly Road Sedona United Methodist Church, 110 Indian Cliffs Road (State Route 179) It is suggested to bring a shovel for filling the sandbags. In addition, the city encourages residents to sign up to receive emergency alerts from the city and Coconino or Yavapai County. To sign up, visit www.sedonaaz.gov/emergencymanagement. Located at that…
Sedona News – The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present the “Festival Flashback” encore return of “Ladies in Black” showing Aug. 12-18 at the Alice Gill-Sheldon Theatre. Adapted from the bestselling novel by Madeleine St John and directed by Academy Award-nominated director Bruce Beresford, “Ladies in Black” is an alluring and tender-hearted comedy drama about the lives of a group of department store employees in 1959 Sydney — against the backdrop of Australia’s cultural awakening, breakdown of class structures, and liberation of women. “Ladies in Black” tells the coming-of-age story of suburban schoolgirl Lisa, who while waiting for…
Camp Verde News – Music in the Stacks returns on Thursday, August 11th at 5:30 pm in Camp Verde Community Library’s Fireside Room. Music in the Stacks is a showcase of local and national musicians who entertain regularly in Northern Arizona. There are 3-5 different performers during the show, with a rotating variety each month. August’s concert features Michael Peters, Ed Cooper, and Spencer Vandevier. Micheal Peters’s soul-soothing mix of Classic Rock, Country, and Blues can be heard at various venues around the Verde Valley. Ed Cooper performs great solo acoustic rock & roll at venues and parties all around the Verde Valley and Northern Arizona. Singer-Songwriter Spencer Vandevier’s music has been described as dark…
… it was wonderful to be back on the lake this morning … something special is brought back into the soul. The water level is down almost 20′ from my last visit in early July and the propeller was exploring forgotten contours of the lake bed whilst we plied shallow waters of a diminished lake. Backgrounds for the birds were rather uninteresting so like the cattle ponds where I shoot blue birds, a little creative work was necessary to emphasize the beauty of the creatures. Above is a Great Blue Heron seemingly asking for a little favor … perhaps a…