2015-04 5enses

Celebrating art & science in Greater Prescott

Alan Dean Foster

dresses down dress-up weathercasters P. 10

Ty Fitzmorris

springs to life & celebrates wild lives P. 14

Jacy Lee

mails a postcard from vintage-ville P. 7

Gene Twaronite narrates novel naval narratives P. 20

And much2 more

AMPERSAND:

Matt Santos rocks the ‘Mile High Show’ mic.

APRIL 2015 | VOLUME 3, ISSUE 4 | 5ENSESMAG.COM

P. 18

Open Monday thru Saturday 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

928-778-1223 802 Valley Street Prescott, Arizona 86305 RusticPieCompany.com

5enses In which:

Mara Kack

4 5 6 7 10 11

Karen O’Neil

springs forth with knowledge of the bountiful bounty of nature that’s just around the corner.

Helen Stephenson

pines for a songbird who woos potential mates with a singsong tune that carries the day.

leaps at the opportunity to volunteer info about ways to get involved with the Prescott Film Festival.

Peregrine Book Co.

Markoff Chaney

Jacy Lee

James Dungeon

enjoys the likes of Raymond Chandler, Anthony Doerr, Nancy Farmer, Alethea Harampolia, Jill Rizzo, & James Sallis.

Flip Photo

A visual puzzle from the Highlands Center for Natural History

Left Brain/ Right Brain

Find out what’s going on in Greater Prescott

22 22

Oddly Enough Smart, quirky comics by Russell Miller

Not-as-holy-days

Enjoy some alternative reasons for the season(s)

plays telephone with an assortment of phrases that ring true despite some details lost in translation.

posts cards from far-flung locales and takes home genuine articles that prove he’s been there, done that.

talks interviews, stories, and community with Matt Santos, host of “The Mile High” podcast.

Alan Dean Foster

Gene Twaronite

is overtaken by under-the-weatherradar forecasters whose HD talents are broad-casted in large mediums.

Robert Blood

Plus

14 5/6 16 8 17 18 20

Ty Fitzmorris

waxes poetic about a springtime faux bloomer that’s not quite as foolish as it currently appears.

April 2015 • Volume 3, Issue 4

Copyright © 2015 5enses Inc. unless otherwise noted.

Publisher & Editor: Nicholas DeMarino Copy Editor: Susan Smart Sales Rep: Erica Ryberg Read a new 5enses the first weekend of every month.

Visit 5ensesMag.Com, Facebook, & Twitter for more.

Contact us at 5ensesMag@Gmail.Com & 928-613-2076.

explores the insies and outsies of a biological salesman who would make Willy Loman blush, naturally.

COVER: Chalk it Up! photos from 2012, 2013, and 2014.

Giraffe chalk image by Dana Cohn.

Photos by Tim Adams, David Cottle, Gayle Lucci, and others.

talks about family, community, and art with Chalk It Up! organizers and multi-generational patrons.

Multiple generations enjoy street art at Chalk it Up! in 2013. Courtesy photo. See Page 11 for more.

Adorn Your Lifestyle

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5ENSESMAG.COM • APRIL 2015 • CONTENTS • 3

flowers, and bright red fruits. Get close and see that the leaves are sticky with three to five lobes rounding the top. Then, look with a loop or a hand lens to find small white dots and glandular hairs creating a complex surface adapted to retain water and discourage animals looking for lunch. The flowers come in early spring, but can be difficult to spot unless you know what to look for.

Plant of the Month

Wax Current The Wax Current. Photo by Doug McMillan.

By Mara Kack

Spring

can be a confusing time in Prescott. One day it’s bitter cold, and the next is warm and soothing. Even some plants can get confused — like the fruit trees in full bloom — but, as we know, spring has not arrived.

Native plants aren’t tricked quite so

easily; most remain dormant, waiting for the true spring to come. Some native plants though, like the Wax Current, are not being tricked but have a natural early flowering period.

The Wax Current (Ribes cereum) is a bush that grows in the forest and is especially common near riparian areas. This bush can be identified by its small, unique leaves, fragrant

Nature Based Wellness Develop Inner Resources to Navigate Life Transitions

These

inconspicuous flowers come in hues of white to pink, are long and tubular, and have a potency which may be smelled even before the flowers are noticed. Beware, though: The fragrance may not be a welcome spring smell, but rather a strong, somewhat smelly odor.

Though this aroma may not attract the average wildflower enthusiast, it does attract other patrons. Once you find the bush, stop, listen, and wait for Anna’s Hummingbird.

The Anna’s Hummingbird receives delicious nectar from the plant while also providing the plant with a wonderful service itself, pollination.

Pollinators such as hummingbirds and insects assist in plant fertilization to initiate the process of seed development. Once fertilized, the flower petals of the Wax Current begin to shrivel and fall leaving behind a plump capsule. The capsule takes several weeks to develop into a bright red, sticky fruit about the size of your pinky nail. These berries become an important food source for birds, deer, and any other woodland critters.

This weekend, get out and take a moment to locate the subtle signs of spring beginning to surround you, and see if you can find this miraculous plant. ***** Mara Kack, education director at the Highlands Center for Natural History, grew up in Prescott surrounded by its natural wonder and now teaches through science and nature to inspire new wonder in current and future generations.

Visit the Highlands Center for Natural History at 1375 Walker Road, 928776-9550, or HighlandsCenter.Org.

“Tell me ... what is it that you plan on doing with your One Wild and Precious Life?”

- Mary Oliver

Experience Balance, Mindfulness, and Serenity

Discover Your Unique, Soulful Place in the World

Nature Based Wellness is a healing approach that takes individuals into the wilderness to connect with their authentic selves in order to grow. Our sessions take place in the wild places surrounding the beautiful city of Prescott, Arizona.

Joseph Paul McCaffrey 970-217-8698

Ecotherapist

4 • FEATURE • APRIL 2015 • 5ENSESMAG.COM

www.josephpaulmccaffrey.me

Bird of the Month

Painted Redstart A Painted Redstart. Photo by Dominic Sherony, Creative Commons 2.0.

By Karen O’Neil

The

Painted Redstart is arguably one of the most beautiful birds found in the U.S. It is one of 51 wood-warblers found in the country, and its range here is restricted to the Pine-oak forests in the mountains of Arizona, New Mexico, and southwestern Texas. In the U.S., it is a migrant (meaning it comes here to breed), but it is a resident in similar habitat in the mountains of Mexico. It usually arrives in early April and returns to Mexico by early September.

The Painted Redstart is 5.5 inches long, black with a bright red breast and belly, large white wing-patches, and white under-tail feathers. It also has white lower-eye crescents. Both sexes look the same, but the juveniles have black, not red, breasts and bellies.

You

could call the Painted Redstart a show-off. While foraging for insects through pine and oak trees, it constantly turns this way and that, flashing it white wing and tail patches. And, it forages from the ground to the tree-tops. It may also hover briefly. They have also been reported at hummingbird feeders.

During courtship (from late April into May), both males and females sing an unusually loud song that can ring through the forest. Roger

Tory Peterson described it as “weeta, weeta, weeta, chilp, chilp, chilp” (or sometimes a shorter version of same). Its nest is hidden on slopes on the ground often near a stream (even an intermittent stream). The female builds an open cup nest and lays three to four creamy-white eggs which she incubates for about 14 days. Both parents feed the young which leave the nest about 13 days after hatching. Young continue to be fed while learning to forage for themselves.

Watch and listen for this incredibly beautiful songbird while out walking in the Pine-oak forests around Prescott. ***** Karen O’Neil, Important Bird Area coordinator for Prescott Audubon Society, has been birding for 32 years — especially in Arizona, but also throughout much of the U.S. and parts of Canada and Central and South America. She has served in many capacities for Prescott Audubon Society, including president, and has been president of the Arizona Audubon Council. She has lived in Prescott for 32-plus years, and retired from Yavapai College in 2003 where she worked as a Mental Health/Psychiatric Nursing instructor for 21 years.

Visit Prescott Audubon Society at PrescottAudubon.Org. Contact them at Contact@PrescottAudubon.Org.

Bringing Wild Birds To Your Backyard!

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(928) 443-5900

Highlands Center for Natural History’s

pilF Photo

Spring sprigs synthesize sensational ...

5ENSESMAG.COM • APRIL 2015 • FEATURES • 5

Peregrine Book Co.

Staff picks

By Peregrine Book Company staff

“Farewell, My Lovely”

By Raymond Chandler Quite possibly Chandler’s best effort. Each time you read one of his expertly written works of detective fiction, you’re submerged in the world of Philip Marlowe, private eye.

—Jeremy

“The Flower Recipe Book”

By Alethea Harampolia & Jill Rizzo Elegant, beautiful, and inspiring.

It’s perfect. —Lacey

“All the Light We Cannot See”

By Anthony Doerr Ten years in the writing, Anthony Doerr’s new novel, “All the Light We Cannot See,” is at once intimate and generous, historical and magical, thrilling and gorgeous. It is one of those books I savored, the way I do great poetry. — Michaela

Highlands Center for Natural History’s

Flip otohP

... sneezing.

As

the days warm, plants begin to respond with new growth — the favorite, flowers, and the not-so-favorite, pollen. Most flowering plants are still dormant or have not even begun to grow. The pollen inundating your senses is coming from tiny grass flowers and the male cones from various Juniper trees. Though pollen may not be welcome, it serves the important job of helping plants to produce new seeds.

6 • FEATURE • APRIL 2015 • 5ENSESMAG.COM

The Ear, the Eye, & the Arm

By Nancy Farmer In a riotously dystopic future Zimbabwe, three privileged siblings tumble into an adventure involving a criminal talking monkey, trash-people, a traditional village preserved against time, and Soul Stealers. Hot on their trail are Ear, Eye and Arm, detectives whose qualifications include mutation-enhanced senses and a gift certificate to Mr. Thirsty’s Beer Hall masquerading as a diploma.

Hilarious, intricate, outrageously imagined, and truly creepy — a winner. —Reva

“Others of My Kind”

By James Sallis James Sallis’s new novel, “Others of My Kind,” is a compelling read, and hard to put down. Jenny Rowan, the novel’s protagonist, had been abducted at age 8 and kept in a box under her captor’s bed when he wasn’t home. ... Now Jenny works as a respected production editor for a local public TV station. ... Then one day she finds a detective at her door who wants her to help with another of her kind, a young woman who’d been abducted as a girl and held captive for years. Her gradual acceptance of this duty to another begins a journey into her own hidden memories that will change her life forever. —Susan

***** Visit Peregrine Book Company at PeregrineBookCompany.Com and 219A N. Cortez St., Prescott, 928-445-9000.

Been there, done that

Postcards from the 1930s. Photo by Russavia, Creative Commons 2.0.

History sorts through souvenirs

The

golden age of postcards was in the early 20th century, and they remained strong until the 1970s. The genre of postcards that deals with traveling and vacations was completely distinct from holiday postcards and the silly, inane postcards meant to just say hello.

Travel postcards documented where a family had been and captured a picture — whether a copy of a photo or a copy of a painting — of a memorable sight that the family had witnessed. In the early 1900s, most of the sites depicted were east of the Rockies due to the fact most of the American population was, in fact, east of the Rockies. Western travel was difficult — particularly to the Southwest, which still had territories instead of states.

Some natural wonders such as Ausable Chasm, in New York, and Mt. Washington, in New Hampshire, were considered amazingly rugged in the 1910s and 1920s.

These scenes would

The

other major form of travel memorabilia was souvenirs. They range from little silver spoons and plates, to rugs and even small pieces of furniture. Most souvenirs had little practical use, but they doubled as a form of advertising for the places that distributed them.

They became very popular with merchants because they represented advertising that customers paid for.

Although the Great Depression spurred countless people to emigrate to the West, these people weren’t in the financial position to buy wood bowls from Yukon, Okla. or pottery from Tucumcari, N.M. However, with the end of World War II, the mother lode of souvenirs from the Mother Road was about to deluge America.

Think of all the stuff you still see today that’s related to Route 66.

Plastic tomahawks, cowboy hats, plastic cacti, rubber snakes, coffee mugs, glass cups, real pieces of petrified wood, stereo viewers — all of these were for sale with the name of the little towns where they were purchased

Postcards from the 1930s. Photo by Russavia, Creative Commons 2.0. proudly decaled upon them.

Golly, we went to Gallup, N.M., and here’s a small plastic Indian doll to prove it!

By the way, for those of you who don’t know what Gatorland is, I can help: It’s near Kissimmee, Fla. For those of you who don’t know where

the Grand Canyon is, well … ***** Longtime Prescott resident Jacy Lee has been in the auction business for 37 years and is directly responsible for a fraction of a million pounds of minimally processed recycling each year.

4 Prescott’s 4th Friday

ART WALKS

4FRIDAY ’S

Grand Canyon. The empire State Building.

Caesar’s Palace. Gatorland. I’ve been to them all. Mt. Rushmore. Disneyland. The Mall of America. Pikes Peak. I haven’t been to any of those.

But somebody I know —a friend, a relative, or maybe nobody I know — has been there.

But how can I prove that?

These days, you can prove things by taking countless pictures with your digital camera or smart phone.

But, 100 years ago, 50 years ago, or even 20 years ago, Americans didn’t have those options. Indeed, 100 years ago, many Americans didn’t have a camera. So what did people do? How did they record and captures and share memories of the amazing places they visited? They had postcards and souvenirs.

COT T

The

later appear tame compared to the Grand Canyon and Pikes Peak. Even when the Mountain States became more accessible in the ’30s and ’40s, the deeper, harder-to-reach areas went unnoticed. Pikes Peak was much easier to reach than the heart of the Rockies, and so it was considered the highest point in Colorado for some time. Now there are a dozen known peaks that outrank it.

Other travel genre postcards gave witness to fascinating events which occurred right here in America. Navajo Indians weaving rugs or tending sheep, large citrus groves in broad flat valleys, and huge trees large enough for automobiles to drive through were all common postcard scenes from the 1920s through the ’40s — even up until the 1960s, really.

PRE S

By Jacy Lee

EVERY

TH

2015 January 23 February 27 March 27 April 24 Beginning at 5 PM May 22 June 26 July 24 August 28 September 25 October 23 November 27

See Special Events

www.ArtThe4th.com

5ENSESMAG.COM • APRIL 2015 • FEATURE • 7

Left Brain: April’s mind-full events Events

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Lynx Lake bird walk • 7 a.m. Friday, April 3: Local, guided bird walk at Lynx Lake with Micah Riegner. (Jay’s Bird Barn, No. 113, 1046 Willow Creek Road, 928-443-5900, RSVP) LAN party • Noon Saturday, April 4: Play multiplayer computer games like “Quake,” “Counterstrike,” and “Tribes.” A monthly Local Area Network party via Western Sky PC. (Game On, 1957 Commerce Center Circle Suite C, Prescott, PPCGG.Com)

Star Party at the Highlands Center • 6:30 p.m. Saturday, April 4: Jeff Stillman, Prescott Astronomy Club president, discusses astronomy then introduces a star party. A Prescott Astronomy Club Star Party.

(Highlands Center for Natural History, 1375 S. Walker Road, 928-776-9550)

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“Deadbeat Dams” • 7 p.m. Monday, April 6: Daniel P. Beard, former commissioner of the U.S. Bureau Reclamation, discusses water in the West.

(Prescott College Crossroads Center, 215 Garden St., 877-350-2100)

“The Evolution of Binary Star Systems” • 12:10 p.m. Tuesday, April 7: Dr. Lisa Prato, astronomer at Lowell Observatory, discusses the evolution of young binary star systems.

(ERAU AC1-107, 3700 Willow Creek Road, 928-777-6723)

“Grand Canyon Geology” • 5:30 p.m. Thursday, April 9: George Billingsley, retired U.S. Geological Survey, discusses Grand Canyon geology. A monthly Central Arizona Geology Club meeting. (Prescott Public Library, 215 E. Goodwin St., 928-778-6324) “Liking Lichens” • 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 9: Garry Neil, whose master's research includes lichen physiology, discusses lichens and lichen identification. (Highlands Center for Natural History, 1375 S. Walker Road, 928-776-9550)

11

Evening forest walk • 7 p.m. Friday, April 11: A family-friendly adventure in the evening forest. (Highlands Center for Natural History, 1375 S. Walker Road, 928-776-9550)

Granite Basin bird walk • 7 a.m. Saturday, April 11: Local, guided bird walk at Granite Basin with Micah Riegner.

(Jay’s Bird Barn, No. 113, 1046 Willow Creek Road, 928-443-5900, RSVP) Prescott Audubon bird walk • 8:30 a.m. Saturday, April 11: Monthly Audubon bird walk. (Highlands Center for Natural History, 1375 S. Walker Road, 928-776-9550) “A Day in the Life” • 10 a.m. Saturday, April 11: A spring-full day with gardening, house cleaning, and cast iron

18 19

“Cali-zona: Writing the Post/modern West” • 2 p.m. Saturday, April 18: Authors Michaela Carter, Jim Natal, Bruce Ferber, and David Kukoff discuss their books and their L.A. connections. (Peregrine Book Co., 219A N. Cortez St., 928-445-9000) “Collecting the West” • 2 p.m. Sunday, April 19: David and Alice Johnson, celebrated art collectors, discuss the art of art collection. (Phippen Museum, 4701 Arizona 89, 928-778-1385)

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Prescott Regional SciTech Fest • 9 a.m.- 5 p.m. Saturday, April 18: Enjoy interactive activities focused on the sciences and the arts in a festival-style atmosphere that embraces education, research, collaboration, innovation, and economic growth related to science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and the arts. (Prescott Gateway Mall, AZSciTechFest.Org) PHOTO: Arizona SciTech Festival logo. Courtesy image. range cooking. An Arizona History Adventure. (Sharlot Hall Museum, 415 W. Gurley St., 928-445-2133, $7) “Is Desalination the Solution to Arizona's Water Challenges” • 10 a.m. Saturday, April 11: Tom Buschatzke, director of Arizona Dept. of Water Resources, discusses desalination. A monthly Citizens Water Advocacy Group meeting. (Granite Peak Unitarian Universalist Church, 882 Sunset Ave., 928-445-4218) “Cowboys & Cowgirls: Icons of the West” • 1 p.m. Saturday, April 11: Prof. Betsy Fahlman discusses the populist figures of cowboys and cowgirls. (Phippen Museum, 4701 Arizona 89, 928-778-1385, $5-$7) “How Wild Was it?”

• 2 p.m. Saturday, April 11: Paul T. Heiter discusses Arizona Territory's reputation as a violent, crime-ridden place, which he attempts to disprove through data from court cases and newspapers. (Sharlot Hall Museum, 415 W. Gurley St., 928-445-2133) “The Orion Zone” • 2 p.m. Saturday, April 11: Gary David, author and archaeoastronomer, discusses ancient star cities of the American Southwest. (Peregrine Book Co., 219A N. Cortez St., 928-445-9000) “Starry Nights at Vista Park” • 8 p.m. Saturday, April 11: See Jupiter, Beehive Cluster, Black Eye Galaxy, and the Crab Nebula at Vista Park, via Prescott Astronomy Club. (Vista Park, 1684 Sarafina Drive, PrescottAstronomyClub.Org)

14

“Schenck in the 21st Century: The Myth of the Hero & the Truth of America” • 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 14: Amy Abrams, novelist and journalist, discusses her book about pop artist Bill Schenck. (Prescott Public

8 • EVENTS • APRIL 2015 • 5ENSESMAG.COM

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Library, 215 E. Goodwin St., 928-778-6324)

“Oak Apples & Other Curious Plant Growths” • 1 p.m. Wednesday, April 15: Charlie DeMarco, of Pinecrest Gail Research Station, discusses Oak apples and other curious plant growths. (Prescott College Natural History Institute, 312 Grove Ave., 928-350-2280, $5)

“The Pluto Vote: One Astronomer's Story” • 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 16: Dr. Gerad Van Belle, of Lowell Observatory, talks about his accidental involvement in the infamous 2006 vote that dethroned Pluto. A Prescott Astronomy Club’s Third Thursday Star Talk.

(Prescott Public Library, 215 E. Goodwin St., 928-778-6324) “Natural History & Aesthetics” • 7 p.m. Thursday, April 16: Harry Greene, herpetologist and professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at Cornell University, discusses why we should care about nature.

(Prescott College Natural History Institute, 312 Grove Ave., 928-350-2280) “Report on a 2014 Scientific Birding Expedition to the Amazon” • 7 p.m. Thursday, April 16: Micah Riegner discuses his latest scientific expedition to the Amazon. A monthly Prescott Audubon meeting. (Trinity Presbyterian Church, 630 Park Ave., PrescottAudubon.Org)

17

Williamson Valley Trail bird walk • 7 a.m. Friday, April 17: Local, guided bird walk at Williamson Valley Trail with Ryan Crouse. (Jay’s Bird Barn, No. 113, 1046 Willow Creek Road, 928-443-5900, RSVP)

C.J. Box • 7 p.m. Friday, April 17: C.J. Box, Edgar Award-winning novelist of the Joe Pickett novels, reads from his books, via Yavapai College Southwest Literary Series. (Yavapai College Library, Room 147)

“Epitaph” • 2 p.m. Sunday, April 19: Mary Doria Russell discusses the sequel to her acclaimed novel, “Doc.” (Prescott Public Library, 215 E. Goodwin St., 928-778-6324)

22 25

“Grass ID for the Rest of Us” • 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 22: Bill Litzinger, professor emeritus of biology at Prescott College, discusses grass identification.

(Prescott College Natural History Institute, 312 Grove Ave., 928-350-2280, $5) “Insights to the Outdoors: Fascinating Geological Formations” • 9 a.m. Saturday, April 25: Beth Boyd, Ph.D. Geology professor at Yavapai College, discusses Prescott's fascinating geology as well as formations at the Highlands Center.

(Highlands Center for Natural History, 1375 S. Walker Road, 928-776-9550, $17, RSVP)

“Chasing Arizona” • 2 p.m. Saturday, April 25: Ken Lamberton discusses his travel book which catalogs visits to 52 places in 52 weeks. (Peregrine Book Co., 219A N. Cortez St., 928-445-9000)

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“The JFK Assassination: A Fresh Look” • 4 p.m. Wednesday, April 29: Bill Weiss discusses controversies surrounding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

(Prescott Public Library, 215 E. Goodwin St., 928-778-6324)

Multi-day Prescott Area Boardgamers • 5 p.m. Wednesdays, April 1, 15 & 29: Play board games. (Prescott Public Library, 215 E. Goodwin St., 928-777-1500) Naturalist Field Walks • 10 a.m. Saturdays: Discover more about local insects, birds, geology, plants, and more.

(Highlands Center for Natural History, 1375 S. Walker Road, 928-776-9550) Drop in chess • 2 p.m. Saturdays: Play chess, all ages and skill levels welcome. (Prescott Public Library, 215 E. Goodwin St., 928-777-1500)

April’s art-full events :niarB thgiR

9

Events

Tuesdays: Open meditation group followed by optional discussion. (First Congregational Church, 216 E. Gurley St., PrescottVipassana.Org)

YC creative writing students • 5 p.m. Thursday, April 9: Yavapai College creative writing students read poetry and prose, with Laraine Herring, Creative Writing program director at Yavapai College.

(Peregrine Book Co., 219A N. Cortez St., 928-445-9000)

Art

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“Black & White With a Splash of Color” • From April 1: Artwork set in black and white with a splash of color. (Mountain Artists Guild & Gallery, 228 Alarcon St., 928-445-2510)

Robert Wiltsey & Megan Merchant • 6 p.m. Friday, April 10: Spoken word poetry with Robert Wiltsey and Megan Merchant, as part of National Poetry Month.

(Peregrine Book Co., 219A N. Cortez St., 928-445-9000)

Youth scholarship exhibit • From April 6: Annual show featuring art from visual art students vying for scholarship awards in visual, musical, and dramatic arts. (Prescott Center for the Arts Gallery, 208 N. Marina St., 928-445-3286)

“The Spouse Whisperer” • 7 p.m. Saturday, April 11: Comedian Mark Cordes takes you on a journey from “love at first sight” through “‘til death do us part.”

(Elks Theatre, 117 E. Gurley St., 928-7771367, $22-$25)

The Improvitionians • 8:30 p.m. Saturday, April 11: Improv comedy at 5,000 feet. (ERAU Davis Learning Center, 3700 Willow Creek Road, 928-7776985, $5)

12 16

Mad Women Poets • 2 p.m. Sunday, April 12: Ninth annual round robin poetry to kickoff National Library Week. (Prescott Public Library, 215 E. Goodwin St., 928-778-6324)

“The Hard Problem” • 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 16: Via satellite, The National Theatre Live’s presentation of acclaimed playwright Tom Stoppard’s story about Hilary, a young psychology researcher at a brain science institute who’s nursing a private sorrow and a troubling question at work where psychology and biology meet.

(Yavapai College Performing Arts Center, 1100 E. Sheldon St., 928-776-2000, $15)

21 22

ERAU creative writing students • 11 a.m. Tuesday, April 21: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University creative writing students share poems, short stories, creative nonfiction, and plays. (Peregrine Book Co., 219A N. Cortez St., 928-445-9000) Open mic poetry • 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 22: Poet Dan Seaman emcees monthly open mic poetry.

(Peregrine Book Co., 219A N. Cortez St., 928-445-9000)

24

4th Friday Art Walk • 5 p.m. Friday, April 24: Monthly art walk including more than 18 galleries, artist receptions, openings, and demonstrations.

(ArtThe4th.Com)

Dan Seaman & Christopher Fox Graham • 7 p.m. Friday, April 24: Spoken word poetry with Dan Seaman and Christopher Fox Graham. (Peregrine Book Co., 219A N. Cortez St., 928-445-9000)

Student art exhibition • From April 10: Juried work from current Yavapai College art students. (Yavapai College Art Gallery, 1100 E. Sheldon St., 928-776-2031)

11

“An Evening with Paula Poundstone” • 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 11: A performance by Emmy Award-winning comedian, author, and humorist Paula Poundstone, who’s amassed a list of awards and accolades that stretch the length of a great big tall guy’s arm. (Yavapai College Performing Arts Center, 1100 E. Sheldon St., 928-776-2000, $28-$38)

PHOTO: Paula Poundstone. Courtesy image, PaulaPoundstone.Com.

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“Cavalleria Rusticana”/“Pagliacci” • 9:55 a.m. Saturday, April 25: Via satellite, The Metropolitan Opera’s presentation of Mascagni and Leoncavallo’s tragic double bill. (Yavapai College Performing Arts Center, 1100 E. Sheldon St., 928-776-2000, $12-$30) Contra Dance • 7 p.m. lesson, 7:30 p.m. dance Saturday, April 25: Contra dancing, via Folk Happens.

Calls by JP Thom Gronachan, music by Wild Thyme. (First Congregation Church, 216 E. Gurley St., 928-925-5210, $4-$8)

Multi-day Modern-day meditation • 7:20 p.m. April 1 & 15: Open. Calm. Think.

Act. An active, four-part practice. (Blackbird Yoga 332 W. Gurley St., 303-903-2630) “Good People” • 7:30 p.m. April 2-4 & 2 p.m. April 4: An exploration of the shifting loyalties and unshakable hopes that come with having next to nothing in America. (Stage Too, North Cortez Street alley between Willis and Sheldon streets, 928-445-3286, $15)

“Steel Magnolias” • 7:30 p.m. April 9-11 & 16-18, 2 p.m. April 12 & 18: Set in Truvy’s beauty salon, where all the Southern ladies who are anybody come to get their hair done and are given wisecracking advice. Directed by Layla Tenney.

(Prescott Center for the Arts, 205 N. Marina St., 928-445-3286, $12-$20)

“A Tapestry of Feelings” • From April 13: New art by Donna Bobadilla with opening reception at 5 p.m. on Thursday, April 16. (Raven Café, 142 N. Cortez St., 928-717-0009) “Hand & Eye” • Through April 14: Photography by George Lewis and ceramics by Victoria Page. (’Tis Art Center & Gallery, 105 S. Cortez St., 928775-0223) Robert Goldman • Through April 15: Oil paintings by Robert Goldman. (Mountain Artists Guild & Gallery, 228 Alarcon St., 928-445-2510) “Synergy of II” • From April 16: Nature-inspired and Asianinfluenced paintings and prints by Donna Carver and sculptural fused and slumped glass by Patty Lindsey. (’Tis Art Center & Gallery, 105 S. Cortez St., 928-775-0223)

“Life Nude(Plant)s” • Noon Fridays, April 10 & 24: Open drawing hour featuring an assortment of living and preserved plants as well as insects and bird specimens. Bring your own supplies.

(Prescott College Natural History Institute, 312 Grove Ave.928-350-2280, $5 donation)

“One Man’s Treasure” preview • From April 16 through April 21: Sneak peek at recycled and up-cycled art going up for sale in May. (’Tis Art Center & Gallery, 105 S. Cortez St., 928-775-0223)

Mata Ortiz Pottery • 10 a.m. April 11 & 12: Annual Mata Ortiz pottery demo, show, and sale. (Smoki Museum, 147 N. Arizona Ave., 928-445-1230)

AZ Plein Air Painters • From April 17: Group show by the AZ Plein Air Painters. (Mountain Artists Guild & Gallery, 228 Alarcon St., 928-445-2510)

Community Yoga • 5:15 p.m. Tuesdays & Thursdays, 10 a.m.

Saturdays: Free community all-levels yoga class. No experience necessary. (Deva Healing Center, 520 Sheldon St., DevaHealingCenter.Org)

“The Eyes Have It” • Through April 21: Annual art show featuring photography. (’Tis Art Center & Gallery, 105 S. Cortez St., 928-775-0223)

Mindfulness meditation • 6:30 p.m. informal sit, 7 p.m. formal sit

Anne Legge • Through April 22: Multimedia and wood art by Anne Legge. (Arts Prescott Gallery, 134 S. Montezuma St., 928-776-7717)

9

Weather or not

Alan Dean Foster’s

Perceivings

deal with every day, an aspect of science we not only cannot avoid, but often look forward to discussing. Meteorology being a science, we expect it to be presented to us by a scientist; a meteorologist.

Well, sometimes. Because delivering your daily dose of weather prediction to you is about ratings, or selling papers, or accumulating clicks, far more than it is about the weather itself.

As

By Alan Dean Foster Major networks, online specialty sites, radio, print — all compete with one another to present the news in ways that they hope are sufficiently individualistic and compelling enough to induce watchers and listeners to choose them as their information source.

With general news there isn’t much they can do beyond varying video and images. That’s one reason why TV news broadcasting is such a game of musical chairs. New anchors don’t have much of an anchor, which must lead them to dwell in a constant state of paranoia as they obsessively consult their Q scores. There’s only so much a news presenter can do; ranging from reading copy in a stately and steady manner à laWalter Cronkite, to Phoenix channel 3’s energetic Brandon Lee, who reports every fender-bender and car chase as if he’s describing the downing of the Hindenburg.

Such newscasting is often at its worst and most excessive when reporting on matters of science.

It’s hard to generate viewer or reader interest when describing yet another government revision of dietary guidelines. (Personally, I distill these to a single line from Woody Allen’s “Sleeper”: “What!? You had no chocolate cream pies?”) But there’s one bit of science that’s in the news every day, in every format, be it in print, on the air, or online.

I refer, of course, to meteorology.

When

I was a kid, I briefly considered making it a career, until I found out it had nothing to do with studying or forecasting the presence of meteors. It’s all about the weather, of course. Something each of us has to

I said at the beginning, there’s only so much a news organization can do to differentiate its presentation from that of its competitors. That holds doubly true for anything related to science, and triply so when we’re referencing the weather. As a consequence, daily meteorological science is therefore very often not passed along to us by meteorologists. This is a tough call for producers of television and the internet. On the one hand, each company wants to present the weather with the gravity it deserves. On the other hand, there are those irritatingly critical ratings and clicks to worry about.

So you have stations like channel 5 out of Dallas-Ft. Worth, whose entire weathercasting staff is composed of qualified meteorologists. There’s even a certificate for such: “Certified Broadcast Meteorologist,” conferred by the American Meteorological Society (yes, that’s a bonafide scientific organization).

And then, and then … you have weathercasters.

live or where you’re traveling. You don’t need an interlocutor to explain next week’s temperature in Topeka if you happen to be headed that direction.

Which is why weathercasting is one aspect of science reporting that relies more than any other on personal appearance, and why there are more attractive blondes reporting the weather in the U.S. than there are in Oslo. Nor is this phenomenon confined to the United States. It’s the same across the globe: More than any other aspect of the news, when it comes to reporting the weather, looks trump knowledge every time. Nobody much pays attention to the appearance of the broadcaster reporting on a drop in the sheep population in New Zealand, but when it comes to the weather. …

There’s a reason the internet has multiple sites devoted to every city’s “Ten Hottest Weathergirls,” and for better or worse, it has nothing to do with meteorology and everything to do with science of an entirely different persuasion. ***** Alan Dean Foster is author of more than 120 books, visitor to more than 100 countries, and still frustrated by the human species. Follow him at AlanDeanFoster.Com.

Weathercasters

are chosen for the job not because of their degrees in meteorology, not for their general scientific knowledge, but for … dare I say it … their looks. Usually, though not always, these tend to be of the female persuasion.

Because, in the final analysis, how many viewers actually care whether (okay, had to get that one pun in there) the presenter delivering the weather update actually knows something about isobars, and cloud formation, and why we don’t hardly ever get to see the aurora borealis in places like Arizona?

Weathercasting isn’t about science … it’s about ratings and clicks.

I suppose, in the end, it doesn’t really matter. Do you think the casters at local channels are making daily trips to the Colorado River to take on-site humidity and wind measurements? Hail no; they’re all using the official forecasts from the National Weather Service customized via their local TV or internet or print graphics. You can do exactly the same as they do anytime you wish: Just go to Weather.Gov and winkle out the details that relate to where you

10 • COLUMN • APRIL 2015 • 5ENSESMAG.COM

There‛s, um, weather and stuff.

“Weathercasting 101.”

Components public domain.

Illustration by 5enses.

Families Chalk It Up! bridges generations through street art

The Anderson family works on a 3D chalk art piece in the National Bank of Arizona parking lot during Chalk It Up! 2013.

Chalk It Up! courtesy photo.

By Robert Blood Trisha Anderson was running errands with her daughters maybe three years ago in Prescott when it happened.

“I saw all these people in a parking lot,” Anderson said. “It was fascinating. It was amazing. We ended up hanging out for a couple of hours.”

They discovered legion people huddled over a sprawling pavement canvas. They discovered perfect strangers of all ages exercising art and community with chalk. They discovered good ol’ fashioned family fun.

“We’re lucky to have this here,” said Anderson, who previously taught art to area home school students.

She was instantly hooked on Chalk it Up!, Prescott’s premier public street art festival. She’s gone every year since. And so have her children.

“It’s really cool,” Kayla Champlin said. “Every year you see something different, and you can draw something different.”

Her sister Shae Champlin, a prolific doodler, agreed.

“There are a lot of different people, and everyone’s really nice,” she said. “It’s fun.”

And — despite the updates, anecdotes, and details to follow — that’s probably the bottom line when it comes to Chalk It Up!

The seventh annual Chalk It Up! festival is 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, April 18 and 19 at the National Bank of Arizona parking lot, 201 N. Montezuma St., Prescott.

Chalk, full of fun

Yes, the chalk’s free and, yes, you can take it home.

“Our whole neighborhood was covered in chalk for a week after the festival,” said Tina Blake, who, after taking her children and a now defunct Girl Scout troops to Chalk It Up! in 2013, brought back some neighborhood kids to enjoy the merriment.

“That free chalk, it’s the best.”

Since launching in 2009, Chalk It Up! has offered patrons the chance to watch professional

artists and amateurs alike create chalky masterpieces and, furthermore, create their own.

“Last year, we had more than 4,000 people — the highest attendance yet,” said Blake, who joined the board governing Chalk It Up! prior to its 2014 iteration. “It’s grown, it’s growing, and it’s getting better and better.”

This year’s featured artists are Lisa Bernal Brethour, of Tempe, and Lori Antionette Williams, from California. Many of the eight guest artists are past attendees.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 12 >>>

5ENSESMAG.COM • APRIL 2015 • PORTFOLIO • 11

IF YO

Chalk

10 a.m.

Saturday April 1

National Bank of A 201 N. Mon

PrescottCh ... FROM PAGE 11 From the patron’s perspective, 2015’s biggest change is the awards.

Previously there was a public vote that culminated in best-of-show prizes in three categories — adult, youth, and child, each of which came with a small cash sum. This year, sponsors will award an adult, youth, and child prize — some of which may be gift certificates and similar fare — every couple of hours, resulting in a couple dozenplus total awards.

“Before, we gave out awards on the last day when no one was there,” Blake said. “This way is going to be something more lively and exciting.”

Blake has a more dynamic role in the proceedings this year as her day-job employer — the West Yavapai Guidance Clinic Foundation — is now in charge of the event.

Behind the scenes, this has entailed major administrative changes, though the transition should appear seamless.

Taking the reins

Originally, Blake thought another group she’s involved with would take charge of Chalk It Up! — namely, The Launch Pad, a local teen center startup.

“They didn’t want it, though, so I got to thinking,” said Blake, who’s the West Yavapai Guidance Clinic Foundation’s development coordinator. “Chalk It Up! is all about creativity, which is integral to mental well-being, so it’s a

COUNTER CLOCKWISE, FRO courtesy photo; “Madagasca photo; a chalk art frog by th Anders

12 • PORTFOLIO • APRIL 2015 • 5ENSESMAG.COM

OU GO

It Up!

- 4 p.m.

& Sunday 18 & 19

Arizona parking lot ntezuma St.

halkArt.Com natural fit for WYGC.” Along with fellow extant Chalk It Up! board member Susan Crutcher, Blake pitched the idea to the clinic’s foundation board, which voted unanimously to adopt it as a signature event and fundraiser. (Incidentally, the foundation is also behind the annual “Ghost Talk” series.)

“There are a lot of other similarities between the two groups,” Blake said.

“You know, when the West Yavapai Guidance clinic started in the 1960s, it was a grassroots effort and was built up by the community, which is the same progression as Chalk It Up!” Proceeds beyond the festival’s costs will fund mental health programs. The goal, Blake said, is for Chalk It Up! to pull $20,000-$30,000. As of February, the West Yavapai Guidance Clinic had already more than doubled 2014’s roughly $6,000 fundraisingg efforts.

Little about Chalk It Up! is likely to change, save for the availability of information about area mental health programs. The event itself, she said, is a program of sorts.

“Hope comes in many different forms,” Blake said. “Sometimes it’s having the proper medication or mediation to feel better; sometimes it’s having a good therapy session; and sometimes it’s fining joy in the little things.

“Having a box of chalk and drawing on the street is one way of doing that.”

Opportunities for inter-generational cooperation are especially important,

she added.

“We love that idea, and not just with blood families,” Blake said. “We have a lot of seniors here who don’t live close by families, and we’d like to see more interactions between seniors and kids in the community.”

Families

Anderson, Kayla, and Shae aren’t the only members of her clan who regularly attend Chalk It Up! “I pretty much got the idea of what it’d be like on the internet,” said Linda, Anderson’ mother and an artist who’s a member of Chino Valley’s High Desert Artists. “It’s loads of fun and you get to see all these different techniques.”

“We’ve always done a lot of things together as a family, but this is a special opportunity,” said Dale, Anderson father.

Sometimes they work on the same pieces, other times not. To date, they’ve done the penguins from “Madagascar,” a 3D fish, a frog, and, more than two months before the 2015 event, had already planned their next chalk piece.

“It’s a secret, well, at least for now,” Anderson said. “It’s another cartoon.”

“I thought I vetoed that,” Dale said with a laugh.

Aside form an above-average penchant for art, Anderson’s family story isn’t unusual at Chalk It Up! Many others have stumbled upon the event through chance or by reputation, and having caught the bug, roped in friends, family, and loved ones.

In fact, Blake’s mother, Joyce Boden, her children, Cassidy and Shelby, and her husband, Kevin Blake, are Chalk It Up! will be there as another threegenerations family.

“It’s not unusual for us to get whole families who volunteer and participate,” Blake said. “That’s what kind of event Chalk It Up! is.” ***** Chalk It Up! is 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, April 18 & 19. Find out more at PrescottChalkArt.Com. The West Yavapai Guidance Clinic is at 3343 N. Windsong Drive Prescott Valley, AZ 86314, 928-445-5211. Find out more at WYGC.Org.

OM LEFT: Patrons enjoys a corridor of chalk art at Chalk It Up! 2013, ar” chalk art by the Anderson family from Chalk It Up! 2012, courtesy he Anderson family, courtesy photo; Dale and Linda Anderson, Trisha son, and her daughters, Shae and Kayla Champlin, photo by 5enses.

13

News From the Wilds April weather Average high temperature: 67 F, +/-4 Average low temperature: 34.2 F, +/-3.1 Record high temperature: 88 F, 2012 Record low temperature: 11 F, 1899 Average precipitation: 0.91”, +/-1.12” Record high precipitation: 6.9”, 1926 Record high snowfall: 9.8”, 1965 Record low precipitation: 0”, 8 percent of years on record Max daily precipitation: 3.4”, April 17, 1971

Black Hawks, one of the rarest hawks in North America, have returned to the Mogollon Highlands from their wintering grounds in Mexico and Central America. Photo by Ty Fitzmorris.

By Ty Fitzmorris

April

arrives in a thunderous proliferation of life, a raucous, enlivening yawp in the wilds after the long quiet of winter. While snowstorms are still a remote possibility, the majority of the month is sunny and warm, with butterflies, returning migratory birds, native bees, growing and flowering plants, and mammals in the thrall of mating and bearing young. There is more activity in the natural world than can be easily followed, and the flowering of plants, emergence of insects, return of migrant birds and bats, and the appearance of mammalian young all typically follow a somewhat regular schedule.

This year, however, that schedule is moved somewhat earlier.

This

past winter was the single warmest in Prescott’s recorded history, and this meant that the roughly 7” of precipitation that fell came in the form of rain, some of which ran off

in the largest floods that our rivers and creeks have seen in over a decade. On March 3, Oak Creek ran at over 8,000 cubic feet per second, or 240 times its base flow, while the Verde River near Camp Verde ran at over 20,000 cfs, 120 times its base flow. When water moves through our landscape this rapidly, and in these types of torrents, much of it is essentially useless to plants and animals, and doesn’t recharge aquifers, so it is only the smallest percentage of this precipitation that remains to fuel plant growth. But in combination with our record warm temperature the effects of that water has been magnified into a lush, verdant spring, resplendent with flowers, migrant birds, and an explosive diversity of butterflies.

The effects of these types of climatic fluctuation are dramatic — many birds and mammals are bearing their young earlier than usual, plants are flowering early, and the lack of killing frosts has allowed pest insects, such as aphids, to flourish.

In many years, freezing tempera-

14 • FEATURE • APRIL 2015 • 5ENSESMAG.COM

tures to the north drive bird species into our region. But, this year, many species from the lowland deserts to the south have tentatively pushed into the Mogollon Highlands. Cactus Wrens, Verdins, Broad-billed Hummingbirds, and Olive Warblers, all denizens of the deserts, were seen well into the Mogollon Highlands this winter, testing the limits of their historical range.

In

years with this sort of early spring, the first flowers provide food sources for insects that are hurrying to find mates and lay eggs.

While many species of mammals are giving birth, as are the Beavers, the young of other species, such as the Black Bears, are emerging from their dens, and beginning the long process of learning to forage and navigate their landscapes, preying on the early insects and plants.

Butterflies, the real vanguard of spring, fly in amazing diversity, mating and laying eggs. Look especially for orange and black checkerspots, commas, and question-marks,

Source: Western Regional Climate Center

yellow and sometimes blue swallowtails, dark, low-flying iridescent skippers, and soaring, gold-tinged Mourning Cloaks. In some areas without flowers many of these species can be seen drinking the sap of tree wounds, and damp patches of mud along riversides can provide amazing observation spots. ***** Ty Fitzmorris is an itinerant and often distractible naturalist who lives in Prescott and is proprietor of the Peregrine Book Company, Raven Café, Gray Dog Guitars, and is a founder of Milagro Arts, a community arts nexus, all as a sideline to his natural history pursuits. He is also the Curator of Insects at the new Natural History Institute at Prescott College. He can be reached at Ty@ PeregrineBookCompany.com with questions or comments.

News From the Wilds, too A very brief survey of what’s happening in the wilds ...

By Ty Fitzmorris High mountains • Black Bear cubs cautiously emerge from dens with their mothers and begin learning to forage for grubs, leaves, and roots.

• Leaf-buds of Gambel Oak and Aspen swell nearly to opening.

• Porcupines give birth late in the month, usually to one baby, and will spend more time than usual on the ground. Porcupines feed on the inner bark of conifers, including Douglas Fir and Ponderosa Pine, and can live up to 10 years. Their babies are born with their eyes open, their teeth already erupted, and their spines harden within hours.

• Long-tailed Weasels give birth to four or five young.

Visit: Maverick Mountain Trail, No. 65.

Ponderosa Pine forests • Ponderosas “weep” sap from their branch-tips, creating a slight daytime rain of small, watery sap drops.

Pines may release sap for several reasons, including the movement of water and sap into their growing branchtips, defense against insect pests, notably bark beetles, and most unusually, to communicate with other trees.

• Bark beetles, including the infamous Ips beetles, emerge from soil and begin excavating nuptial chambers in Ponderosas. Healthy Ponderosas can fight off a beetle infestation, but in drought years, which are worsened by the overcrowding of trees that has resulted from the last century of fire-suppression, beetles may overwhelm tree defenses and kill many trees. Interestingly, though, it is not the beetles themselves that kill the trees, but rather fungi that the beetles carry that infects the living wood of the tree, making it digestible for the beetles.

Visit: Miller Creek Trail, No. 367.

Pine-Oak woodlands • Acorn Woodpeckers continue breeding and tending young. These woodpeckers are unusual in that they nest in colonies, and tend the young of other, often related, nest mates.

Beavers are now giving birth to kits and can sometimes be seen in the dusk swimming near their creek-side dens. Photo by Ty Fitzmorris.

• Coyote pups emerge from their dens, though the group of siblings will remain together for up to a year before pairing off with members of other families and establishing their own packs.

• Valerian begins flowering. This plant is extensively used as a muscle relaxant, sedative, and soporific.* • Black, Gray, and Arizona Oaks change color and drop last year’s leaves as they grow soft, lighter-colored ones.

Visit: Little Granite Mountain, No. 37.

Pinyon-Juniper woodlands • Lemonadeberry (Rhus trilobata) flowering. This species gets its name from its tasty, though sour, berries, which can be used to make a lemonade-type drink.* • Cliff-rose (Purshia stansburiana) begins flowering, drawing flies and small halictid bees to its blooms.

• Juniper pollen noticeably declines.

• White-tailed and Mule Deer shed their antlers.

• Ringtails, cat-like relatives of Raccoons, begin mating.

Visit: Tin Trough Trail, No. 308.

Grasslands • Spring butterflies fly in dazzling diversity. Look for fritillaries, sulphurs, blues, duskywings, grassskippers and swallowtails.

• Many flowers blooming, especially in low and mid elevations. Look for the small yellow flowers of Barberry (Berberis haematocarpa), visited by native bees, and the fragile white flowers of Evening Primrose (Camisso-

nia brevipes), visited by evening moths.

• Parry’s Agave begins growing its long, asparagus-like flowering stalk.

Though these agaves flower only once, the plant itself does not die, but resprouts a new rosette of leaves from its base after flowering. The flowers are visited by many species of insects, birds, and bats.

Visit: Mint Wash Trail, No. 345.

Riparian areas • Creeks running feebly, with spring algae growth, while water-striders reach full size, hunting for other insects on the surface of the water.

• Black Hawks, arrived this last month from their wintering grounds in Central America and Southern Mexico, are fortifying their streamside nests and courting mates.

• Beavers give birth to their kits in their stream-side dens, who will remain with their parents for up to two-and-a-half years. Beavers are keystone species in our riparian ecosystems, shaping everything from the flow of rivers to their overall diversity. They have been known to live 20 years in the wild.

• Damselflies, including indigo bluets and iridescent rubyspots, emerge from their aquatic pupae in the lower riparian areas. Dragonflies also appear.

• Riparian trees sprout leaves, including Velvet Ash, Arizona Sycamore, Fremont Cottonwood, and Boxelder.

• River Otter young open their eyes for the first time.

Visit: Willow Lake Loop Trail.

Deserts/Chaparral • Sugar Sumac (Rhus glabra) flowering. It is named for its sugary sap, which has been used as a sweetener.

The berries, though edible, are sour.* • Iridescent tiger beetles (subfamily Cicindelinae) emerge from their pupae, and begin hunting for flies and other insects. These beetles are iridescent green and purple with cream-colored spots, though they are difficult to see. They often fly ahead of hikers on trails, landing and running quickly, and can sometimes be seen with binoculars.

• Eastern Collared Lizards (Crotophytus collaris) can be seen sunning on rocks in riparian uplands. These brightly colored lizards are predators of small insects, mammals, and reptiles.

• False Mock-orange (Fendlera rupicola) begins flowering and is visited by bumblebees and carpenter bees.

• Ocotillos, paloverdes, Creosotebush, Mammilaria and Echinocereus, and Velvet Mesquite flower, drawing an extraordinary diversity of native bees.

Visit: Agua Fria National Monument. *Always consult with a trained professional before ingesting wild plants.

Skyward • April 4: Full Moon at 5:05 a.m.

• April 4: Total Lunar Eclipse from 11:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. Arizona is, for the second year in a row, in the direct path of this rare event, as the moon moves through the center of the Earth’s shadow. The moon will darken initially, then turn to a dark red from 3:15 a.m. until moonset, which is, at the time of Full Moon, close to the moment of sunrise, at 6:13 a.m. Please note that these times refer to early morning on April 4, not on April 5.

• April 18: New Moon at 11:56 a.m.

• April 22: Lyrid Meteor Shower Peak. This moderate shower will peak after midnight, but once the waxing first-quarter moon sets, it should produce a number of bright meteors with luminescent tails.

15

Prescott Film Festival’s SCRIPT NOTES

Opportunities

For indie films, filmmakers

By Helen Stephenson

As $1 TACOS all day on

Taco Tuesdays @

224 N. Cortez St. only 2 blocks from the Courthouse Square Open Mon.-Sat. 11 a.m.-9 p.m.

the Prescott Film Festival moves closer to its sixth annual event, things are gearing up on all fronts: programming, event planning for parties, special events, and a few surprises. At the core of the activity is coordinating volunteer needs, including new volunteer opportunities.

At 2 p.m. Saturday, April 25 come join the folks at the Prescott Film Festival as they appreciate last year’s volunteers and welcome new friends to help support and celebrate the art of independent film. There will be snacks plus a few great short films.

(Want to know what they are? Attend and find out for yourself!)

Prescott Film Festival submissions for all filmmakers are open through April 15.

Submissions

16 • FEATURE • APRIL 2015 • 5ENSESMAG.COM

for the High School Film Competition are open through May 19th. If you know of a high school student who’s a budding filmmaker, please urge them to submit. The High School Student Film Competition is a new part of the annual festival. The film fest is held on the campus of Yavapai College. One of the reasons it was created was to bring students onto a college campus in a fun, engaging, and positive environment.

This exposure could open their minds to higher education, and may just encourage them to attend college themselves.

Students are housed in the dorms and eat in the cafeteria, giving them the full campus experience. Arizona ranked 40th in the nation in students continuing to college, and the Prescott Film Festival board felt that was quite a negative placement.

Many studies show that higher education benefits students the rest

of their lives. This is the festival’s small way of contributing to the future of these students.

Submission fees are $10 and the selected films’ filmmakers will have rooms during the festival in the student housing, breakfast and lunch, a filmmaker pass that allows them into all films, access to the VIP greenroom, and all workshops and special events.

For

our volunteer event, please come to sign up, enjoy snacks, and meet new and old friends. The event is in the Yavapai College Community Room.

Volunteer opportunities include: Movie reviewers Ushers/greeters Workshop assistants Green room support Green room coordinator Tech team Food coordinator Food team members Box office team members Filmmaker liaison assistants Volunteer coordinator Concierge/guest services team After-party coordinator Visit PrescottFilm Festival.Com and click the “Volunteer” tab for more details.

Oh, and see you at the movies. ***** Helen Stephenson is the founder and executive director of the Prescott Film Festival and the director of the Sedona Film School at Yavapai College.

Found in translation

Experience Prescott through the eyes of robot translators

By Markoff Chaney

It’s

in poor taste to patronize free services. Still, any product that touts its efficacy and authority is probably fair game for satire. That’s doubly true when the company behind the service unabashedly mines your inputs for every cent they’re worth.

Given that flimsy rationalization, let’s have some fun with Google Translate. … ***** Source material: “Prescott: Everyone’s Hometown.”

Process: English to Arabic, Arabic to Yiddish, Yiddish to English.

Result: “Preskott: Muscat everyone.” *****

Source material: “Prescott: True West, Real Adventure.”

Process: English to Bengali, Bengali to Zulu, Zulu to Dutch, Dutch to Gujarati, Gujarati to Icelandic, Icelandic to English.

Result: “Prescott: West course Adventure Time.”

Process: English to Haitian, Haitian to Hausa, Hausa to Hebrew, Hebrew to Hindi, Hindi to Hmong, Hmong to Hungarian, Hungarian to English.

Result: “Beautiful sentences, such as, the best of several such things in a professional translator, right?”

Result: “Prescott generally good time.”

Process: English to Serbian, Serbian to Catalan, Catalan to English.

*****

***** Source material: “Prescott usually has unusually pleasant weather.”

Source material: “Some things, such as this nifty sentence, are best left to professional translators, right?”

Process: English to Chinese, Chinese to Korean, Korean to Japanese, Japanese to English.

***** Source material: “I trust Google for accurate, nuanced translations.”

Result: “I think Google needs interpretation, nuanced.” ***** Markoff Chaney is an Earth-based whodunit pundit and (Fnord) Discordian Pope. He has lotsa bills and no sense. Contact him at Noisy NoiseIsNoisome@Gmail.Com.

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17

‘Tell me a story’

anybody who’d be a good story. I got a couple dozen right away. I probably get 10 to 12 a week now. Some of them are very good suggestions.

Some are just, “I’m interesting.

Come interview me.” It’s always really fun. We’re not limited by time, but we try to do 45 minutes to an hour. I don’t want people to see a two-hour show and think they don’t have time to listen to it. Then again, those are the kinds of shows I like.

Matt Santos talks art, culture on ‘The Mile High Show’

Matt Santos interviews a subject for “The Mile High Show.” Courtesy image.

By Markoff Chaney [Editor’s note: The following interview was culled from conversations between the reporter and Matt Santos, host of “The Mile High Show.”

Connect with “The Mile High Show” at MileHighShow.Com and Facebook.Com/MileHighShow. Contact Santos at MileHighShow@Gmail.Com.] From photography to newspaper columns, you’ve done a lot of media in the area. Why launch a podcast?

Everywhere I go, I’m always listening to podcasts. I really enjoy them.

I like Jessy Thorn’s show on NPR, some national comics, and all kinds of things really. I just enjoy listening to things that are in-depth, not 30- to 45-second news stories. I’ve worked for everything from print to broadcasting, and I thought a podcast would be fun.

I like stories, basically. I look for them when I’m doing photography, when I’m writing, when I’m doing

anything. I was doing a show, “Chino Valley Talk of the Town” for Prescott Valley Broadcasting once a week, and I really enjoyed that. I’d talk to people for these little stories that were 10- to 12-minute blocks, but I’d want to sit down for a whole hour with these people. The show was for the Chamber (of Commerce) here in Chino, these little spots with chamber members. It was quick: just folks come in say their website, hours, contact info, services, and thank you. I’d burn through that in three to four minutes and get to some real questions. “Where’d you grow up?”

“Why’d you choose plumbing?” and before I knew it, an hour was gone.

It was fun. I wasn’t expecting it to be a good time, but it was. After getting some feedback, I saw what I thought was more interesting was more interesting.

A local businessman contacted me, told me he liked the way I did interviews — more of a conversation

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18 • FEATURE • APRIL 2015 • 5ENSESMAG.COM

than a Q&A — and asked me to come over and meet his business partner.

The idea was to do a kind of financial, industrial, entrepreneurial show. And I have no knowledge or interest in these topics, but I’m interested in talking to people, in having conversations. So we dummied up some podcasts and a few weeks later they got back to me and said, “We don’t have time to do this. It’s a little more work than we thought, but boy, you’re good at this. Why don’t you run with this and see if you can succeed.” They bought me an H6 (field recorder) and a microphone. I came up with the business plan for it in September or October of 2014 and got going. They said, “We’ll see what you can do and get back to you in a year.” They had to be sure I wouldn’t just interview strippers, right?

So, anyway, around that time, I had a Chino Valley musician and businessman on the chamber radio show, Dany Romero. I knew some of his story, but was just going to do his 10-minute spot and play a song.

But he’s got this amazing back story.

He’s a cowboy who lost his leg, and he discussed how that’s affected his life. That’s a huge change for such an active guy. It’s a complete change in lifestyle. We talked in depth about that and he became the debut episode of “The Mile High Show.” Actually, we started working together on a documentary about amputees as a result of that — the struggles and vulnerabilities.

So, I got a website dirt-cheap on GoDaddy, set up a Facebook page, and asked people if they knew

The kind of podcasts you take on trips with you.

They are. Some of that stuff, I don’t catch up on it until I’m on a road trip. And I’ll find new shows, click on them, and save them for later. I was thinking about when I first really started down this path. It was about 15 years ago. I worked for a guy, the VP of a security company, and I was the branch manager. We were the only two guys in the company who didn’t have a law enforcement or military background and kind of felt out of place. My background was more in the customer service industry. My boss, Bill Fox, was this interesting guy. He and I had a lot in common including pretty similar backgrounds. I confided in him one day that I didn’t feel competent in my job, that I showed up to work every day and assumed it was going to be my last day. He told me something interesting. It’s all about communication.

If someone can communicate with people, they’ll be good managers.

Then he showed me a trick he does in interviews, a trick I use to this day. In any interview, he stops and asks the person and says, “Tell me a story. I don’t care if it’s made up. Tell me anything.” You should see the look on people’s faces. Some of them will choke. Some will say OK and go with it. You get some really wild stuff that way. I’ve used that to hire people in business and in management. You learn a lot about a person that way. And, if you do that, you’re going to hear some really wild stuff.

You can’t just tease that. Would you share a couple stories?

The security business is a business where you get a lot of immigrants and students who’re looking to get graveyard shifts where they can do other things. One kid, probably 22 or 23-years-old, barely spoke English.

And (during the interview) he told me this story which, as far as I know, is a true story. He was from Kenya, and he told me this story about getting chased by a big cat — not a house cat, like a leopard — when he was like 12. He’s in a village, but it’s on the outskirts, and he’s going to get a Coke, and this cat chases him.

It chases him through the street, through this store, through the kitchen of a restaurant. It’s this big 15-minute story, and he’s acting it out with facial expressions. Yeah, I hired him after that. … A lot of folks, when you ask them for a story, end up telling really inappropriate stories. Funny, but inappropriate for a job interview. I used it when I worked for the newspaper, too. … I like to hear people’s stories. That’s why “The Mile High Show” is the way it is.

What are your goals for “The Mile High Show”?

I’d like to get to the point where we have folks wanting to listen every week. We have a new episode every Monday, I’d like people to look forward to that, to having something interesting to listen to. We record on location; I don’t have a studio or an office in my home for this, which would be kind of boring. We go to a lot of local places in the area like Brick ’N’ Bones and The Palace in Prescott and some bars and grills in P.V. I go to where musicians and comedians are entertaining, where people can see them. I’d like to record a show live with an audience in some of these places. There are some folks interested in doing that now, with a group being interviewed — almost like a talk show format — then performing, but I can’t say who, yet. We’re still hammering out details, but it looks like it may happen as soon as April.

Any subjects in particular that you want to tackle?

I don’t know. Again, there’s no structure. It’s whoever and whatever interests me. I like to introduce guests and just let them talk. It’s all about curiosity. One person I interviewed, Dan (Nightingale), is a doctor who talked about the therapeutic value of comedy. Dan works with people with emotional and mental disorders and uses comedy as part of his therapy in dealing with them.

Now that’s a topic. If it entertains me, I assume it’ll entertain others. I try not to have any preconceived notions of what we’ll do, but obviously we’re coming into spring and summer and there are some musical days and art shows. Maybe I’ll sit on the steps at the (Yavapai County) Courthouse and just interview whoever comes by. “Why are you in Prescott today?” Some things like that might be bonus features for the podcast but not whole episodes.

You’ve had a front-row seat for changes in Greater Prescott during these past few years.

What do you see as the current major changes in the area?

Well, I’ve been here for 10 years working with media outlets for most of that. In 2005, I got a media job to get to know the community. What I’ve noticed — and myself is included — is that people come here because they like the area, the small-town feel, and the weather. I came from southern California, like a lot of people here, and really enjoy the smalltown feel. The trick is for us to adapt to it rather than trying to adapt the area to us. In recent years, the county and the local communities have been trying to attract economic development, to lure new businesses

Matt Santos. Courtesy image. into the community. There are lots of different partners involved in this process, lots of groups. And people are asking the right question: How do you do this without turning us into another California strip mall town. There’s definitely an old guard that doesn’t want anything to change whatsoever, but they’re slowly being replaced by a younger generation. You know, you can’t keep everyone happy.

I see this younger demographic, though, starting to take over leadership positions, which is something I didn’t see when I first got here.

Someone like Charlie Arnold comes from a family with deep roots here and has some really interesting ideas for the community. Whether they take root on a grand scale or not has yet to be seen. I think people are finally recognizing that new ideas

can help the community without changing it too much, or at least less than it would change otherwise. We can’t survive with just what’s worked before. I don’t know if that makes sense, but I think we have to change to survive. And I think that’s happening. Anyway, I may be rambling or on a rant now — I’m not sure — but hopefully that’s a good story. ***** Connect with Matt Santos, host of “The Mile High Show,” at MileHighsSow.Com, Facebook.Com/ MileHighShow or MileHighShow@ Gmail.Com. James Dungeon is a figment of his own imagination. And he likes cats.

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19

The bellybutton man

Gene Twaronite’s

A business fable

The

The Absurd Naturalist

By Gene Twaronite His only dream was to sell belly buttons. Admittedly, it was a difficult sell when there was no demand for the product. It was a long time ago, when people still came into the world with no belly buttons. Indeed, so long ago was it that people had not even learned to laugh. The only laughter in the land was from the hyena and the mocking call of the jubal bird.

People still cried, however, and there was plenty to cry about. But you don’t need a belly button for crying.

The world was filled with stony faces, streaked with tears. People went about their lives each day, performing their duties, and that was that. Things were either sad or not sad, with no in between.

salesman first heard about the invention from a sailor in the Weeping Dragon Tavern. With many drinks under his belt, the sailor slumped over the bar. Suddenly his shoulders began to convulse. He raised his head and looked at the salesman. The sailor’s mouth started to upturn in a most peculiar fashion. Then he broke out into a strange cry. It started with a series of high-pitched twitters that slowly rose in volume to something that sounded more like the grunts, howls, and choking sounds of some great beast. No one in the tavern had ever heard such a sound before.

The sailor began shaking so hard he looked as if he might die. But he just shook his head and pulled up his shirt, pointing to a little spot in the middle of his belly that looked like a button. Then he passed out.

For a long while, the salesman sat and pondered what he had seen. There was something about that sound. It all had to do with the button — a strange-looking thing, though not unattractive. Maybe other people would want one, too. From that moment on, the salesman knew exactly what he must do.

Relentlessly,

he traveled the world, knocking on one door after another.

To the sobbing or stony-faced person who opened the door he would say, “Good day, my sad fellow. May I interest you

20 • COLUMN • APRIL 2015 • 5ENSESMAG.COM

The

salesman tried everything. He offered free home trials. He offered big discounts. He gave out coupons.

But not a one could he sell.

He tried repackaging the belly buttons to make them seem more attractive. He offered them, both innies and outies, by the dozen, in assorted sizes and colors, and gave away a free belly button brush with each box. On his very best models he promised a lifetime guarantee. Still no sales.

Then he thought, maybe he needed to change the way he looked. So he dressed up in a clown suit, put on an orange wig and funny hat, and painted his face with purple polka dots. When someone opened the door, he threw confetti in the air and, while squeezing a bicycle horn, shouted, “The salesman.”

“Hooray, the belly button man is here!” Still nothing. llustration retouched by The salesman, now desperThe Graphics Fairy. ate, changed his whole sales pitch in ways that would

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in a bright new belly button?” And then he would open his large black carrying case to show off the hundreds of different kinds of belly buttons he offered.

But, even though the salesman promised free installation and a ninety-day guarantee, and even though his brand of belly buttons were the finest made, not one of the sad people ever bought one.

For the reason belly buttons had been invented was to hold a person’s belly in place while laughing; otherwise, during a belly laugh, or even a hard chuckle, people’s bellies would start to come undone, with regrettable consequences. But because people had not yet learned how to laugh, there was still no need for such buttons.

LiterallyinBaskets.Bandcamp.Com

have raised a few eyebrows back at corporate headquarters. Instead of just opening his case and showing off his belly buttons, he tried juggling them — sometimes 30 or 40 at a time — while riding a pink unicycle. Still nothing.

faw, until from deep inside him there erupted a laugh like a geyser that quite nearly blew his belly apart.

“Quick!” he yelled to the salesman.

“Give me a dozen of your best belly buttons. I’ll give you anything you want!”

Finally,

From

the salesman got so depressed over not making any sales that at the next house he rang the bell and just stood there not knowing what to do. When another stonyfaced person answered the door, the salesman broke into a sob, relating every miserable detail of his story while displaying his useless merchandise.

The stony-faced person listened without saying a word. Something about the salesman’s story touched him in a new way. It was more than sad. It was pathetic. Trying to sell something for which there was no need, well, it was absurd. For a moment he thought he was going to cry.

But he felt different somehow. Suddenly his mouth began to do strange things. Slowly it turned upward like a crescent moon and began to open.

His eyes gleamed with an inner light. Then the man felt a strange twinge. It gurgled up his throat like a trickling spring and came out as a chuckle. He started to laugh and guf-

that day forward, people started laughing at all kinds of things, sometimes so hard that they felt their bellies might burst. So, of course, they all suddenly needed belly buttons to hold themselves in place, for matters of both safety and public decorum.

The salesman, who later became a great motivational speaker, had no more trouble selling them. He sold so many to people all over the world, in fact, that today belly buttons are far more common in households than encyclopedias or vacuum cleaners, and need no longer be sold door to door.

November 8 – April 25 10am – 2pm Walgreens, Willow Creek Road

SATURDAYS May 9 – October 31 7:30am – Noon Yavapai College Parking Lot D

Column ©Gene Twaronite 2015 ***** Gene Twaronite’s latest book is “The Absurd Naturalist. Irreverent Musings on Nature,” available from Amazon or your local bookstore.

Follow Gene’s writing at his blog, TheTwaroniteZone.Com.

www.prescottfarmersmarket.org 928.713.1227

Editor’s Note: Sadly, this is Gene Twaronite’s last column for 5enses — well, at least for now.

We wish him and his the best of luck in Tucson.

Gene is one of the handful of founding contributors who’s still with us after two-plus years. He’s helped shaped this publication and raised our collective level of intellectual discourse.

Satire is not an easy literary genre — let alone when espousing the fickle mistress of absurdism — but Gene executes it with tremendous style.

Thank you, Gene, for your wit and dedication.

You’ll be sorely missed. ~ Nicholas DeMarino

Highlands Centerforfor Natural History Highlands Center Natural History

Nestled in the Lynx Lake Recreation Area, two minutes from Costco, The Highlands Center for Natural History invites you to experience the wonder of the Central Arizona Highlands.

Don’t miss these upcoming events

April 11, Hassayampa Preserve Trip, 8:00AM to 4:00PM, register online Grow Native Plant Sale and Art Festival – only native plant sale

benefiting nature-based education for children May 1, Members only pre-sale party May 2-3, Plant sale (art Saturday only)

May 1-June 30 - Dual Membership Drive with the Heritage Park Zoo. Special tours and benefits for new annual family memberships, discounted from $135 to $90 and matched by the James Family Trust.

June 26, 27 - Shakespeare in the Pines, As You Like It Check highlandscenter.org for details. Online registration up and running!

928-776-9550 • highlandscenter.org

Wonder

•

explore

•

discover

21

Not-asholy days There’s

a preponderance of holy and hippie days this month. But what if the Eulerian circles that comprise your circle of friends don’t encompass those? Consider celebrating ...

April 3: Don’t Go to Work Unless It’s Fun Day • Tell ’em 5enses said so.

April 4: Hug a Newsman Day • Again, tell ’em 5enses said so.

April 8: Draw a Bird Day • They don’t have hands.

Frog-eating

bats are found throughout Central and South America. Their primary targets are the Tungara frogs found in ponds and the still waters of rivers and creeks. Hunting in the dark, these bats hone in on the mating calls of the Tungaras. Even if the frog senses the bat is near, and stops his courtship crooning, the bats can still locate the frogs by picking up on the ripples created on the surface of the water through echolocation.

ODDLY ENOUGH ... Some Tungara frogs deliberately clutter their ponds with debris disrupting the surface ripple effect which confuses the bat’s biosonar. *****

April 13: Scrabble Day • Za never tasted so good.

April 16: Stress Awareness Day • Another thing to remember?!

April 17: Bat Appreciation Day • No, we’re not guano-ing you.

April 23: Laboratory Day • Frankenstein was the doctor.

April 26: Richter Scale Day • Happy 80th birthday, Richter Scale.

April 27: Tell a Story Day • Once upon a time ...

April 28: Astronomy Day • The sky’s not the limit. *****

Bellydance Classes with of New Moon Tribal Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced classes held at Lotus Bloom Yoga Studio

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22 • FEATURES • APRIL 2015 • 5ENSESMAG.COM

Sponges

grow into the shape of bowls, flaps, antlers, ropes, baskets, bushes, sheep’s wool, and velvety arabesque contours.

They can be green, gray, black, brown, beige, or even startlingly bright red, blue, purple, or yellow. They live in both salt and fresh water and filter feed by pumping water through a porous frame. They have no internal organs. Amazingly, the sponge is one huge complex of mouths.

ODDLY ENOUGH ... A recently discovered cavedwelling sponge was found to be a carnivore. It has external filaments armed with hooks (like Velcro) that snare nearby fish or crustaceans. Once it’s captured its prey, the sponge grows around it and eventually absorbs it. ***** Russell Miller is an illustrator, cartoonist, writer, bagpiper, motorcycle enthusiast, and reference librarian.

Currently, he illustrates books for Cody Lundin and Bart King.

Huckeba Art Gallery 227 W. Gurley St. Prescott, AZ 86301 928-445-3848

www.huckeba-art-quest.com charlesnjill@yahoo.com

Where ancient meets abstract