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The slim volume is a compilation of writings by regular Arizona Highways contributors, and makes excellent light reading for Western history buffs and newcomers to the region. The magazine-article format keeps each of the 16 pieces fairly short and easy to read. Weekly contributors Leo Banks and Tim Vanderpool are among the featured authors, the former for profiles on the infamous Sieber and Tombstone's gunshot wound expert, Dr. George Emery Goodfellow; the latter for a glimpse into Mowry's colorful history as a smoking-gun Renaissance man of the West. Call us biased, but we think their contributions are among the book's best offerings. Heroes and Rogues is hot off the presses, though the ongoing U.P.S. strike has delayed distribution to local bookstores. Where's that Pony Express when you need it? Anyway, you'll find it on the shelves of The Book Mark, which specializes in regional literature by Arizona authors, in the coming weeks. Call 881-6350 for details. A GAY OLD TIME: There was a time when gay cinema seemed singularly focused on celebrating its right to raise sexual intimacy to an art form...or at least vie for greater commercial appeal. That's what happens with censorship--people naturally want to reveal the forbidden. This is not a divisive issue: Sex sells mainstream cinema as well, which is why we've evolved from those silly '50s when even married couples slept in separate twin beds on the silver screen (yeah, right), on into the gratuitous sex-and-violence riddled '90s--scenes thrown in uniformly to secure the more lucrative "R" rating. True story. But we digress.
The Gay and Lesbian Spirituality Group of St. Philip's presents a series of films "depicting gays and lesbians in a positive light," starting at 5:45 p.m. Friday, August 15, with The Celluloid Closet, a documentary relying mostly on archival footage of some of Hollywood's most glamorous sexual minorities. The sweet, romantic comedy of first love, The Incredible True Story of Two Girls in Love, follows at 8 p.m. And on Saturday, August 16, The Sum of Us screens at 5:45 p.m.; followed by Beautiful Thing at 8 p.m. All screenings are at St. Philip's In the Hills Episcopal Church, 4444 N. Campbell Ave. Admission is free, but a suggested donation of $5 would be appreciated. Proceeds benefit both the Wingspan Gallery, and St. Philip's. Call 326-1286 for information.
RETURN OF COMET HALE-BOPP: A few months back, Flandrau
Science Center astronomer Michael Terenzoni was regularly getting
himself lost out in the desert. Lost, that is, from the glaring
lights and crowded telescopes of the city. Instead, as dusk settled
over the Old Pueblo, you'd likely find him preparing for another
cosmic adventure by loading various tripods, telescopes and cameras
into the back of his minivan, and making tracks for Saguaro Monument
West. You might've already seen some of his images of Comet Hale-Bopp
last spring on the nightly news, or in Time magazine. Now
you can see them up close at the Framed To Perfection Gallery
in Park Mall, 5870 E. Broadway (another phenomenon of our
times, though a far less stellar one). Also on display are wall
sculptures by Syd Clayton-Seeber, and landscape photography by
Bill Lesch. Gallery hours are from 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday
through Saturday, and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday.
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THE DUSTY TRAIL: Here in the latter half of the 20th century,
seems we're consigned to history repeating itself. That is to
say, these days every new tale of heroic military service, pioneering
environmentalism or visionless real estate development is just
a retelling of one that came before, if we're either astute enough
(readers) or unfortunate enough (writers) to find its antecedent
source.
Such stories have been piling up over the years in the archives
of 
The problem with making gay films a genre unto themselves is
that the distinction discourages our narrowly trained cultural
antennae to differentiate. Gays are gays because of their sexual
identities; therefore gay films must be about sex, right? Wrong.
They're about life: love, career, family, the works.
