The Arizona International Film Festival's philosophy lies in its commitment to promote independent filmmaking

For many people, cinema is a form of escapism ÷ a reclining chair in a dark air-conditioned room, which, with the Tucson heat kicking in, doesn't sound like a bad idea. Yet for many serious fans of cinema, the idea of escaping life is a wimpy excuse for going to the movies. Their ideology is quite the opposite. They believe that going to the movies is a quest for enlightenment, not diversion. [Read article]

If you'd rather do spring shopping than spring cleaning, put the Tucson Museum of Art's annual Spring Artisans market on your to-do list this weekend.

A juried arts and crafts show, the Artisans market begins tomorrow and runs through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the TMA courtyards, 140 N. Main Ave.

"All booths are offering hand-made art, like glass art, ceramics, jewelry, photography, paintings, food and music," said Sherry Stepleton, TMA's director of marketing. "It's very, very different. It's really a fun day." [Read article]

More people read genre books than would like to admit. They can be bought in the literary aisle at Safeway, have bumpy covers and can be read in one afternoon (after the soaps, of course). And with the way our economy and country is advancing, who wouldn't enjoy a good escapist novel?

Julia Spencer-Fleming just published her second book in the series Millers Kill called "A Fountain Filled With Blood." Tucson is on her list of places to promote the book. She will be appearing at Clues Unlimited, located at 123 South Eastbourne Ave. [Read article]

Yonder Mountain String Band makes bluegrass music the same way companies make their bottled water: pure, fresh and straight from the snow-covered hills of Colorado.

Not bad for four guys from the suburbs. In fact, the members of Yonder Mountain String Band are probably the last people you'd ever expect to be making bluegrass music. Adam Aijala, who plays acoustic guitar, went to the University of Massachusetts and grew up listening to the Dead Kennedys. Mandolin player Jeff Austin studied dance and musical theater at the University of Cincinnati. Dave Johnston, who plays banjo, went to the University of Illinois. Ben Kaufmann, Yonder's upright bass player, moved to Colorado, where he met the rest of the band ÷ after studying film at New York University. [Read article]

There's something exhilarating about the first day of production on the set of "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote." The costumes are ready, the set pieces built. The cast and crew are on site, ready to perform. Director Terry Gilliam arrives on the scene and beams with excitement and pride, ready to put years of painstaking planning behind him, and believing with all his heart that things are going to be great from here on in. Poor bastard. [Read article]

A year ago I was sharing an apartment in Spain with three British girls. One of my roommates was born in India but grew up in London, in a culture drastically different from her parent's homeland, yet they remained adamant that Indian values and traditions, especially those concerning family and marriage, be respected.

She was torn, as many of the young Indian/British generation are today, between the cherished past and the inevitable future, between living with her parents' traditions and surrendering to their own desires for freedom. [Read article]

The Tucson Poetry Festival has inspired a book review on one of the greatest American poets of the 20th century. W.S Merwin recently published over 80 poems in "The Pupil." However, for readers that are familiar with his other works such as "The Rain in the Trees" or "Flower in Hand," this collection is neither reminiscent of earlier glories or contemplative writing.

Since the 1950s Merwin has produced a library of poems, essays, and translations in a pocket-full of languages . He is a poet of nature ÷ speaking for the rainforests and of indigenous peoples. His poems are photographs, capturing objects in the time and light of memory. But at some time or another, memory begins to fail everyone. With Merwin, he seems to forget that he writes about the same topic every page. Reappearing the most frequent are the themes of spring, night and words. In some cases, they occur simultaneously. These subjects are vague to begin with and more boring as the book suffers on. [Read article]

(Tommy Boy)

If you have ever muted a TV show/movie and reinvented the dialogue with your friends to make it funnier, you could have had your own cable show.

Somewhere in between "South Park," "Jackass" and a Method Man and Redman album is Much Music USA's new television program and DVD "Kung Faux." The creators consist of graphic designers, graffiti artists, video editors and rappers. [Read article]