Here’s a tip to all you aspiring Yoga teachers. Generally, being told to “relax” is not exactly a calming or helpful suggestion, especially when you’re all cool and collected and we’re shaking and sweating through some impossible position. That said, there are two words that give us an instant sense of Zen: Free Yoga.

Clear your calendars Thursday nights starting this April 7, because the W Scottsdale is rolling out a free eight-week Yoga series hosting on the poolside WET deck. And since this is the W, you know there’s going to be some scenester sipping involved.

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Have you ever found yourself saying, this food is just a little too dead for me? I’d prefer something completely uncooked, and preferably still trying to flop right off my plate. Well, this trend is for you.

Not content with the usual raw-meat suspects (beef tartare, tuna sashimi) one enterprising food blogger went all in by gobbling up raw beef heart, chicken sashimi and even live lobster.

Yes, New York based food blogger, Sarah Spigelman, brought her cast-iron stomach (and shaky camera skills) to take on some of the world’s rawest meats and seafoods.

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Coming This Weekend to Tempe, 27th Annual Salsa Challenge [AZ Central]

Maricopa Woman in Final 8 for $1M Macy’s Makeover [In Maricopa]

Rising Costs of Food Kept Hidden Inside Ever-Shrinking Bags [NY Times]

Recently, baseball’s all-time homerun king, Barry Bonds, went on trial in San Francisco for lying to Feds investigators about his alleged use of steroids. Shocking we know, that an athlete’s whose hat size expanded noticeably in his late 30s might have been on the juice. However, what is  surprising is that the star of the show hasn’t been the famously-prickly slugger, or even Bonds’ personal trainer, a lifelong pal who’s literally spent years in jail for refusing to throw Bonds under the bus.

No, the real star of this sordid show has been Kimberly Bell, Bonds’ longtime mistress and Scottsdale resident who claimed that the baseball star threatened “to cut my head off and leave me in a ditch,” as well as cut off the breast implants that he paid for. Aye aye aye.

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Is Exercising in Your Genes? [Daily Beast]

Lady Gaga After-Party: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly [Phx New Times]

The 140 Best Twitter Feeds [Time]

Any just when you thought AZ’s crazy guns-inside-bars law would kill you, comes this report. Yes, our fat fair state ranks 9th in the nation in terms of “Deadliest Eating Habits,” according to a Wall Street Journal write-up. Aside from the fact that a full 25% of Arizonans are obese, what’s surprising is why AZ in particular is such an unhealthy place to eat. Read the stomach-stretching results (60 gallons of soda, anyone?) after the jump.

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Every once in a while, we like to put the spotlight on some fellow local writers and mom-and-pop publications. Whether it’s a super-snarky food blogger, a passionate preservationist, or just a well-crafted design journal, these people all add a little bit of fun to the Valley of the Sun. Now, we’ve discovered a new gem that offers a little taste of all of the above.

Meet Locallilly.com, a daily arts, food and lifestyle journal that’s utterly abloom with the best local businesses, culture and events around Arizona. »READ MORE

Japan Fears Water is Leaking From Reactor [NY Times]

Shopping Drunk is the New Shopping [Gawker]

Valley Brewmaster Makes Shift from Beer to Soda [AZ Central]

Because you can never get too much good food (or snark), we’re re-running this Q&A with feared blogger and man of mystery, Eric Eats Out. Read on as he dishes on his fav restaurants, the difference between himself and ‘professional’ food reviewers and why he became a blogger in the first place (hint: flying airplanes and fatherhood don’t mix).

When did you launch Eric Eats Out?
About a year and a half ago. My passion had been flying airplanes, but after my wife and I started having children, I realized I needed a new hobby. And, the only other thing I knew how to do was eat. I’d been doing it my whole life, several times a day.

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Just because the Wildcats are out of the big basketball tourney, doesn’t mean it’s the end of March Madness. Get out and enjoy the wonderful Spring weather with these funky, floral and film-focused events. (Meanwhile, UofA fans can drown your sorrows by watching this clip of a coach Sean Miller appearing on the Johnny Carson show as a 12-year-old dribbling phenom.)

Riding into town later this week, get your fill of badass bikes (and 1980s hair bands) at the 15th annual Arizona Bike Week. Officially kick-starting on Wednesday, March 30, (pre-party events are going on now) if you’ve ever pictured yourself cruisin’ down Route 66 in a Harley while everyone around you drools with envy, Bike Week is for you. (Besides, any event sponsored by Jägermeister and featuring performances by 80s rockers, Warrant & Skid Row has got to be a good time.) Burn rubber at WestWorld of Scottsdale and events Valley-wide March 30 – April 3.

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Remember that little rain storm last week? Well, the water may be long gone from the Valley streets, but there’s still a dusting of fresh powder up on the San Francisco Peaks outside of Flagstaff. In fact, Arizona Snowbowl has decided to extend its season through April 3 daily, with a special bonus weekend of April 8 – 10. Which is not as good as last year, when the particularly wet winter extended the ski season thorough mid-April. But still pretty boss considering a few years back when the ongoing AZ drought kept the ski resort closed for all but four days.

More important, it looks like this will be the last season Snowbowl has to rely entirely on Mother Nature, as the owners have won another battle in their longstanding battle to add snowmaking machines to the resort as early as next November.

Image via

Get Tips from Tiger with Scottsdale Firm’s iPhone App [AZ Central]

Deadly Egyptian Cobra Missing from Bronx Zoo [CNN]

Japan says High Radiation Due to Partial Meltdown After Quake [Reuters]

As chosen by you, here are the most popular stories OF ALL TIME (aka last week). Just in case you missed it.

Oh Sheriff Joe, you are truly the gift that keeps on giving (and spending tax dollars in stupid, self-promotional ways). First you dug up a bunch of washed up Hollywood stars to join your illegal immigration posse. Then you teamed up with one of those aging actors, Steven Seagal, to film a ‘Reality TV’ series here in the Valley. (After Seagal abandoned his former filming location in Mississippi when sleazy sex allegations surfaced.)

And now Sheriff & Seagal are rolling through the Valley’s streets, and knocking over houses, in a tank armed with a camera crew to film it all.

In case you missed it, Arpaio recently sent out the entire SWAT team to bust one guy on suspicion of raising birds for cockfighting. But what didn’t come out until now, was that Sheriff & Seagal sent in the heavy artillery, literally, to free those poor chickens.

Get the full story, including video, after the jump.

Image via Brad Reed Photography

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As chosen by you, here are the most popular stories OF ALL TIME (aka last week). Just in case you missed it.

Well this story just keeps on getting worse better. Remember that little wedding reception backyard brawl out in Gilbert? (Click here if you need a refresher.) Well it turns out the 28-year-old person arrested for fighting with wedding guests and kicking a police officer was actually the blushing (and pregnant) bride. According AZ Central, Angela Davito of Mesa (pictured) was tackled, white wedding dress and cowboy boots and all, by the police after she got angry and aggressive toward the officers, charged at a female partygoer and then kicked a cop “in the groin with her left foot.”

Needless to say, Davito been charged with assault and obstructing governmental operations. Cue Lifetime’s new TV series on brawling brides in 3, 2, 1 …

So what set off this wedding wrestlemania in the first place?

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As chosen by you, here are the most popular stories OF ALL TIME (aka last week). Just in case you missed it.

Do you like bottomless plates of world-class, hand-rubbed and slow-smoked BBQ? Of course you do. That’s a silly question. What about an open bar to help wash it all down? Duh, as the inimitable Mr. Charlie Sheen might say. OK, one last question. Do you like getting pampered VIP-style, including being whisked away via a private entrance right into a special tent where you can enjoy all of the above?

Not really your thing, you say? Well, then you’ll probably want to skip this story, because that’s exactly what we’re offering to one lucky reader.

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As chosen by you, here are the most popular stories OF ALL TIME (aka last week). Just in case you missed it.

For the latest details on this story, click here.

Think your relatives got a little sloppy at your wedding reception? At least the cops weren’t called in to break up a backyard brawl like they were at a wedding reception held in Gilbert this weekend. Even sadder/funnier, the bride was charged with assault after kicking a cop with her cowboy boots. Classy.

According to AZ Central, an officer was called out a home near Pecos and Lindsay Roads, where he was told upon arrival that partygoers were “killing each other” in the backyard. After the crowd ignored his attempts to break up the donnybrook, he started spraying the participants with pepper spray. Needless to say, that caused “‘the guests to become angry and aggressive,’ police said.”

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Kiss spring goodbye with this summertime sipper, available pool-side at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort in North Phoenix.

Ingredients
3/4 oz Captain Morgan’s Parrot Bay coconut rum
3/4 oz Cabana Bay vanilla spice rum
1/2 oz Myer’s dark rum
8 oz Island Oasis pina colada frozen drink mix
6 oz crushed ice
1 tbs honey
1/4 C toasted coconut

Prep
Dip the rim of a tall glass in honey and coat with toasted coconut. Blend ingredients, pour into glass and enjoy.

Or let the pros at JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa‘s Just a Splash poolside grill whip one up for you. (5350 E. Marriott Dr., 480-293-5000)

Spring Break may be over, but the Ultra Music Festival in Miami is this weekend and Coachella is so close we can taste it. So, in the interest of keeping the party going all spring long, here is a mix tapes full of tracks sure to keep you in the mood and tide you over until it’s appropriate to start blasting “Summertime” D.J. Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. Get it all after the jump. Drums, Please. »READ MORE

NATO Set to Take Full Command of Libya Campaign [NY Times]

The Greatest Fake Girlfriend Story Ever Told [Gawker]

AZ Barbecue Fest Returns to Scottsdale [AZ Central]

Speaking of fun (and free) screenings, drop by the posh InterContinental Montelucia Resort in Paradise Valley this Sunday for a sunset showing of the Audrey Hepburn classic, Roman Holiday. Hosted inside a spacious Spanish-style courtyard, the resort’s new monthly Sunset Cinema series will feature classic and contemporary films such as Casablanca and Chocolat, that are all set in the same exotic destinations that inspired the property’s stunning Mediterranean design and architecture.

Seating is available on a first-come, first-serve basis, so get there early and enjoy a European-inspired menu of cheeses, cured meats, wine, chocolate, Italian coffee, house-made gelato and more. Picnic baskets are also available for purchase.

See a full film series schedule after the jump.

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They say there’s no such thing as a free lunch, but what about a free opera in the park? Well grab your picnic blanket and your opera glasses because this Saturday, March 26, the Arizona Opera company presents a complimentary screening  of La bohème at the outdoor Scottsdale Civic Center Amphitheater. Filmed live in 2010 at Phoenix Symphony Hall, Arizona Opera’s production of La bohème starts at 7:30 pm with a live performance by AZ Opera singers, followed by the film on the big screen.

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Just when you want to give AZ’s Legislature a little credit for finally easing the statewide ban on fireworks, comes this sparkler shocker. Yes, ‘the man’ has decided these kiddy-party staples are just be too dangerous for us average schmoes, and is working to ban them completely except for a brief window around both the Fourth of July and New Year’s Eve. (Meanwhile, AZ politicians have immunity from arrest so they could presumably set off cherry bombs in the state capital if they so choose.)

Oh, and AZ would go back to banning outright anything remotely fun, such as M-80s and bottlerockets. In short, if this new law passes the only acceptable fireworks would be “fountains and wheels that shoot off sparklers and toy smoke devices,” the AZ Daily Star reports.

To which we say, they can have our fireworks when they take them out of our cold, three-fingered hands!

Sharp-Shooting UA Stuns Duke in Sweet 16 [AZ Central]

RADIATION 10,000 TIMES NORMAL IN NUCLEAR POOL [MSNBC]

‘Pretty Good Chance’ Gabby Giffords will be at Shuttle Launch, Husband Says [AZ Daily Star]

Bill Gates recently invested in these ocean-based cloud machines in hopes of combating Global Warming

Living here in the Valley of the Sun, who doesn’t appreciate the stray cloud or two? Well soon you might be able to summon one with the push of a button. At least that’s the goal of a couple of the world’s wealthiest people, if for very different reasons.

First the fun stuff. When Qatar (the teeny-tiny but crazy-rich Middle Eastern nation) landed the 2022 World Cup, many wondered how smart it was to hold a summertime soccer tournament in the heart of a sizzling desert. Enter the scientists at Qatar University, who say they will cool the stadium via man-made artificial clouds, aka super-light carbon structures that are kept afloat by helium gas. (Finally, a positive use for our estimated $1.34 billion a day gasoline addiction.*)

And speaking of fossil fuels, everybody’s fav billionaire, Bill Gates is also investing in artificial clouds, hoping to ‘white-out’ the effects of Global Warming.

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Which Valley Brewers Made Beer Advocate’s Top 100 SW Beers List? [Phx New Times]

Detectives: AZ’s ‘Un-Arrestable’ Senator Should Be Charged [CBS 5]

Behind Japan Reactor Battle, a Legion of Grunts [WSJ]