The Village Preschool • 2156 E. Liberty Lane

The scenes were about 20 miles and three hours apart on Thursday, but nonetheless felt much the same.

Joss Bates was dropped off at his Ahwatukee home last weekend to find 114 notes hanging around his front yard, displaying quotes, words of comfort, love and encouragement written on them from friends and family.

With the onslaught of Oscar contenders that debuted last November, there’s a good chance that a little-seen indie gem, “Starlet,” managed to fall off your radar during its short, theatrical run. Winner of the Special Jury Prize at the 2011 SXSW film festival, “Starlet” explores the unlikely friendship between a cheerful, aspiring actress (played by the winsome Dree Hemingway) and a cantankerous, elderly widow (the late Besedka Johnson).

It’s not often art lovers get to see a work in progress let alone contribute to it, but Arizona Opera gives fans the opportunity to do just that this weekend when they present the first reading of “Riders of the Purple Sage” — an original opera based on Zane Grey’s western novel, set on the Arizona-Utah border.

Along with Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight Rises,” “Iron Man 3” is one of the rare superhero threequels that doesn’t disappoint. While Jon Favreau remains an executive producer and co-star, he passes on the directorial duties to Shane Black of “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.” Black maintains all the action, humor, and character development that made Faverau’s first two films so enjoyable, while also incorporating his own unique signature. His film continues to raise the stakes and pushes its characters to their critical limits. In addition, “Iron Man 3” makes some hilarious commentary on the media’s role in terrorism with several inspired twist. The result is the darkest of the “Iron Man” trilogy and, ironically, the funniest.

I did it. Even though it might make me the last person in Ahwatukee over the age of 9 to do so, I have a smartphone. It was not a case of desire; the screen on my “vintage” phone was so scratched I couldn’t see it, and it turned out I could get the smartphone and pay $10 less per month. I suspect the kid that sold it to me was like a seedy, back alley pusher — “come on, its even cheaper” — and that a smartphone is gateway technology.

If you weren’t convinced of his talent by James Blake’s debut album, his sophomore release, “Overgrown,” will do the trick.

At the time it was hard to imagine anyone at Opus Field on Saturday being more stunned then Austin “Crash” Hicks.

On April 17, a bi-partisan piece of legislation, which included “common sense reforms” to help address gun violence, was defeated in the U.S. Senate.

As the gun debate stirs and emotions rise higher and higher, we tend to leave ration and logic out of the subsequent efforts to address what is an important public issue. Emotionally charged solutions seldom fix anything. They simply make a lot of people feel like something positive is being done but they truly accomplish nothing. And marching out victims to use as props for your initiative is a shameless political ploy. Politicians are great at using emotional issues to push their pet plans. Most of the efforts currently in flight to answer the recent tragedies in Colorado, Arizona, Connecticut (all very liberal enclaves I might add) are labeled as “Gun Safety” and “Gun Violence” initiatives. Looking at those terms, who is not for Gun Safety? And who is not for ending Gun Violence?

The Desert Vista volleyball team should be entering the state tournament as the No. 1 seed.

Student actors at Horizon Community Learning Center in Ahwatukee are presenting audience members with a different kind of play through next weekend.

Their stories are nowhere near as harrowing.

Ahwatukee Foothills resident Barbara Cude dreams about giving public speeches — or at least she did once.

Debbie Groff remembers her daughter’s first basketball game as a member on the JV cheerleading team.

Robert Redford does his most compelling work in some time as both actor and director in "The Company You Keep," a tense yet admirably restrained thriller about a fugitive forced out of hiding after 30 years to prove his innocence. Adapted with clarity and intelligence by Lem Dobbs from Neil Gordon's novel, and lent distinguishing heft by its roster of screen veterans, this gripping drama provides an absorbing reflection on the courage and cost of dissent.

The United States has seen a deluge of much-needed attention to the issue of bullying in the last decade. Horrific examples of young people harassing and abusing their peers — sometimes to the point that the victims commit suicide — have forced parents and educators to begin thinking about the issue and to initiate or expand bully prevention efforts. What is often missed in these discussions, however, is the problem of adults who bully young people.

You may better know her sister, Dakota, from box-office smashes like “War of the Worlds” and “The Twilight Saga,” but 14-year-old Elle Fanning has already made quite a name for herself among the arthouse set, appearing in such acclaimed works as “Babel,” “Somewhere” and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.” This month, she takes center stage in a new drama from writer/director Sally Potter entitled “Ginger & Rosa” – a coming-of-age tale set in 1962 London as the threat of the Cuban missile crisis looms overhead.

Making important transitions in life can be challenging, but Ahwatukee Foothills resident Merry Randolph is committed to making the transition easier for women from the outside in.

The media loosely throws around the word “sociopath.” Many people don’t understand what being a sociopath means. But, if recent studies are correct, 1 in 25 people are considered to be sociopathic. That tells us that most of us will meet several sociopaths in our lifetime. The goal is meet them, work with them, pray with them, but do not get into a relationship with them. Attempting to have a relationship with an emotionally unavailable person will ultimately be psychologically destructive.

Don't be surprised if you find yourself sitting near a horse the next time you dine out.

Riveting, intelligent and a masterclass in acting, “Beyond the Hills” is likely to be the best film you’ll see this spring or maybe even this year.

Just over Interstate 10, Orange Theory Fitness is hosting its third fitness challenge this month since opening, where Ahwatukee residents have proven the challenge’s big-time results.