Ahmed Alsoudani says that America is a dreamland. Yet, his complex paintings of violence and warfare are very much influenced by his upbringing.

"Impactful, rowdy and rewarding” (and maybe a little tiring) is how I would describe the experience I had last year serving as a team captain for the 2012 Ahwatukee Foothills Family YMCA “Frames for Families” initiative. That’s a fancy way of saying “fundraising event,” which translates to “bowl-a-thon!” I was so impressed by the event and the result that I agreed to chair the event this year, along with my friend and fellow YMCA board member, Jim Hunt, local Farmers Insurance agent and all around Renaissance Man. In all seriousness, I am passionate about it because I have seen and heard the testimonials of families, kids and seniors in this community who have benefitted from the proceeds of this event.

EastValleyTribune.com/Get Out's Mandy Zajac and Stephanie Perrault share ideas on weekend fun in the Valley of the Sun!

Twenty-three students at Horizon Honors High School performed rehearsed pieces for their peers, staff and parents this week, all historical icons from the Harlem Renaissance.

The tale of two Americas. We have the America which is comfortable with the collective government control of production through socialism or communism, plus all of the misery which goes with collectivism. On the other hand, we have the America which wants liberty for the individual to control the means of production and all of the benefits which derive from the spirit of the free man.

Mention the name Leonardo da Vinci and what comes to mind? The “Mona Lisa” or “The Last Supper” most likely. While it is for these works the Renaissance artist and inventor is best known, his portfolio of brilliance is much broader, as the Arizona Science Center portrays in its new exhibit “Da Vinci — The Genius.”

It’s ba-aaack: The Arizona Renaissance Festival opens this weekend in Gold Canyon, and it’s celebrating 25 years of transporting modern Valley dwellers to a 16th-century English village.

Naming herself after the provincial flower of Alberta, Canada, Loca Rosa is a performer with international flair.

Phoenix has Stand Up Live Comedy Theater. Jester’Z is in Scottsdale. And Mesa’s home to the National Comedy Theater.

In its second year, Mountain View Lutheran Church is aiming to kick off the Christmas season with a Renaissance-style “feaste.”

“That movie would have been infinitely better if it had been shown in 3-D.” I cannot speak for the rest of the movie going population, but this is one sentence I will never utter walking out of a cineplex. That is not to say 3-D technology is completely expendable. With the right movie, 3-D can be effectively exploited and have an enriching impact on a cinematic experience. In a majority of cases though, 3-D merely acts as a shameful method for the studio to increase the ticket price. Some people buy into the assumption that 3-D makes a movie appear more realistic and integrates the audience into the action. When not properly executed, however, 3-D can have dark, dreary and distracting consequences on a film originally shot in 2-D. In that sense, 3-D not only robs the audience of an extra $3, but also takes them out of the motion picture.