Getting to Know AZ

Everyone loves a good festival and this weekend The Great Arizona Beer Festival will be held from 2-6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Tempe Town Lake. The price for admission is steep at $40 for general admission and $80 for VIP’s but the ticket includes over 20, 3 ounce samples of beers and a mug to enjoy them out of. All the proceeds from the event will benefit Sun Sounds of Arizona, a non-profit organization assisting legally blind and visually impaired people of Arizona. The festival will also feature live music, food vendors, and give-aways. The event is closed to persons under the age of 21 but festival organizers encourage designated drivers to attend. Tickets for designated drivers run $30 and include samples of non-alcoholic beers and soft drinks.  There are over 176 brews registered to be sampled at the event. Tickets can be purchased at the door or online at etix.

Overlooked by many, the Chinese Cultural Center in Phoenix is an ideal place to experience rich Chinese culture. They have authentic restaurants, retail shops, and a large market featuring products native to China. In the retail shops customers can purchase authentic Chinese clothing, jewelery, and other small trinkets. Personally I go to the market for all the essentials to make sushi. The workers are very friendly and helpful in educating about unfamiliar products. The highlight of the center is the traditional Chinese gardens. They house lifelike replicas of Chinese landmarks from 5 different cities. The area was created by architect Madame Ye to give visitors the illusion that they are in a foreign land. The Chinese Cultural Center also puts on a number of events to educate the public and celebrate Chinese heritage. The most popular events being a new year’s celebration and summer dragon boat races. 

Now I know what you’re thinking, “Isn’t this a blog about Arizona?!” Yes, it is, you’re right. But this weekend I took a trip up to Seattle and felt I should share a little of my adventure. I actually traveled to the rainy state for a meet with the ASU track team. We competed at the University of Washington for the MPSF Indoor Championships. (and I’d like to mention we won!)

On Saturday I was able to sneak away from the team and explore Seattle’s downtown area. They have great coffee shops on literally every corner, as well as the freshest seafood you could imagine. The weather was cold, damp, and slightly overcast. Perfect for an Arizona native.

There are a number of exciting things to do in Seattle (this wasn’t my first visit) but with limited time I was only able to hit a few. I’d definitely recommend going to Pike Place Market. This is a tourist hot spot but it’s a must to see the flying fish, fresh produce, and original art crafts. Second would be the Space Needle, the view is spectacular and unlike any other. Plus while you’re there you can visit the hip, music museum next door. Finally take time to enjoy a latte out on the pier. My fascination with water may come from my upbringing in Arizona but there’s something relaxing and serene about watching the waves break…

As of late I’ve noticed quite a few food preparation companies sprouting up around the Valley. With kitschy names like Super Suppers and Dream Dinners they market themselves to busy moms who need help getting a nutritious, fresh meal on the table for their family. I decided to see what all the hype was about and visited one such business called My Girlfriend’s Kitchen. It’s actually a franchise with 5 locations around the state and over 60 across the country. I stopped by the east Mesa location at Greenfield and Brown and sat down with manager Jen Siever to get the low down on what happens at these new, hip, dinner assembly stations.

Getting to Know AZ: So what’s the process here all about?

Jen: It’s a dinner store, people come in, they assemble meals here then they cook them at home. Otherwise we can assemble them for them. All the meals come with the cooking instructions on the top of them and we provide all the containers for them. So then basically all they need to do is take it out of their freezer, follow the instructions, and they have a whole meal for that night. And they can get as many as they want they can come in and order one or order twenty if they have enough room in their freezer.

GKAZ: What makes creating meals at My Girlfriend’s Kitchen better than doing it at home?

Jen: Well, you still do it at home, but you don’t have to do any of the shopping, you don’t have to do any of the prep work, you don’t have to do any of your recipe planning, its already there for you to go. And I mean if you come in here you can make six meals for all week in one hour when it would normally take you, who knows how long if you’re going to cook six nights in a row.

GKAZ: Can you describe what your average customer looks like?

Jen: I would say most of our cliental is young families or just moms with not a whole lot of time on their hands. And also we get a lot of senior citizens. Its really convenient for them to not have to worry about their shopping, and meal planning and dicing and chopping and all that.

GKAZ: Do you think this could work for college kids who are cooking for one person vs. a whole family?

Jen: I think it could work for anybody. The small sizes contain servings for about 2-3 people. But if its just you can always have that for leftovers or lunch the next day. So you’re saving money on that and you’d have another meal for that night. So I mean it could work for anybody.

My Girlfriend’s Kitchen offers a whole host of menu options that rotate out monthly. Here’s a sample of what customers can choose from…

Smothered with Love Burritos

GIRLFRIEND RATING
	(4.32 out of 231)

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

If fresh, use in two to three days. If frozen, defrost completely in the refrigerator.

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. If covered with plastic dome, remove before baking and cover lightly with foil. Place pan on a standard cookie sheet and bake on center rack for 35 to 40 minutes, or until hot in center (minimum internal temperature of 155°F). Remove foil. Bake uncovered 10 minutes longer, or until cheese is melted.

2. Salt and pepper to taste.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Amounts per serving based on exact recipe quantities and 6 servings per recipe.

Weight Watchers® POINTS: Total: 11 Weight Watchers® and Winning Points® are registered trademarks of Weight Watchers International, Inc. The number of Weight Watchers Winning Points® provided here was calculated by MGFK, Inc. based on published Weight Watchers International, Inc., information and do not imply sponsorship or endorsement of such number of Winning Points or of My Girlfriend’s Kitchen® products by Weight Watchers International, Inc. (Amounts per serving based on exact recipe quantities and 6 servings per recipe.)

Mmmm, sounds tasty enough to try! Check out My Girlfriend’s Kitchen and give yourself a little break from dinnertime woes.

For my Digital Media Entrepreneurship class I’m learning not only to master blogging software (through this fabulous blog!) but am also being exposed to innovative entrepreneurial projects on the web. This week we were introduced to a site, newstrust.net. The site is based off of the idea that people will come and rate the trustworthiness of various articles that have been submitted. Unlike other news sites where people can comment, or rate articles, NewsTrust guides you through a set of questions about the article you’ve just read. Readers can rate from 1-5 on a number of items such as trustworthiness, sourcing, overall content, fairness and how informative it was. This seems to be a great site to further the trend of citizen journalism. Although readers aren’t creating the articles themselves they are able to dictate what is put on the site and how it highly it is reviewed.

About a week ago I got a call from my step-mom who was ecstatic to tell me about a new juice bar for dogs that opened up near her house. In the Raw, a locally owned hot spot for dog owners considers itself to be part dog bar, part juice bar, and part coffee bar. Sounds interesting right? I stopped by their Gilbert location on Higley and Elliot to see what all the fuss was about. Naturally I brought my pooch Tucker so he could enjoy the atmosphere as dogs are also allowed in the cafe. The menu lived up to it’s claims, somewhat of a Jamba Juice/Starbucks/PetsMart. They have a large selection of smoothies, you can choose from one of their concoctions or create one of your own. There is a dog bakery where furry friends can get healthy, natural treats. They also host doggie birthday parties where the offerings include doggie hors d’oeuvres, dipped biscuits, yappy yogurt and pup-cakes. MMMM!

Recently named America’s best dog park by dogchannel.com, the Cosmo dog park in Gilbert provides all the amenities for you and your four legged friend. Located off of Ray and San Tan Village Cosmo has has three different fenced areas for dogs to be dogs. The first section is the largest and usually where most dogs go. Inside are picnic tables, a watering area, and numerous concrete obstacles for dogs to play in.

Another section of the park has a “doggie” lake and ramp for those furry friends that like to swim. And the final section is reserved for timid dogs who are still getting used to the social scene. On weekends the park is full of families and various breeds of dogs. Across from the “doggie” lake there’s also a children’s playground so be sure to bring the whole family. Watch out for the Great Dane club who hold regular meetings at the park, enough of those big guys running around and it’s like a herd of horses!

A great way to get to know a new area is to experience it through nature. Arizona’s desert landscape provides hundreds of opportunities to explore through hikes and trails. An easy local hike up “A” Mountain, also known as the Leonard Monti trail, provides scenic views of the city of Tempe below.

The trail is commonly referred to as “A” Mountain due to the 60 ft. “A” that lay at the summit. The mountain was nick-named by Arizona State University students who claim it as their school territory. The “guarding of the ‘A’” is a school tradition where Arizona State students camp out atop the mountain to ensure University of Arizona Students don’t deface the “A” with their school colors.

The trail was named after Leonard Monti, the owner of Monti’s La Casa Vieja steakhouse in Tempe. Monti was a longtime resident of Tempe and volunteer advocate.

Hiking the Leonard Monti trail in through the Hayden Butte preserve has been a longstanding tradition with Arizona State University students. The trailhead is off of 5^th street and College in Tempe, near the ICA Athletic building at ASU. The hike is fairly easy and suited well for beginners. The climb takes roughly 15-25 minutes each way and does include stairs.

At the top of the trail there are clear views below of downtown Tempe and the surrounding area.

Undoubtedly the largest event of the year, the 2008 Super Bowl was held this past weekend in Glendale. Arizona played host to the XLII Super Bowl at the University of Phoenix Stadium where the New York Giants faced the undefeated New England Patriots. The last time the Super Bowl was played in Arizona was 1996 in Tempe.

The recently built stadium was designed to be a venue for not just football, but basketball, soccer, consumer shows, concerts etc. It took three years to build the stadium that’s equipped with a retractable roof and grass field. The official opening was on August 1, 2006 and is now the home of the Arizona Cardinals and Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. The stadium can seat over 63,000 people regularly but can be expanded to seat over 73,000.

The venue is quite a sight to see and according to the stadiums website, has also been heralded with numerous awards.

“In 2006 Business Week voted University of Phoenix Stadium one of the top ten sports facilities in the world.

Named one of the seven wonders of Arizona by The Arizona Republic in 2007.

In 2007 the complex was named Event Site of the Year by Event Solutions Magazine.

The Phoenix Business Journal named University of Phoenix Stadium the #1 meeting venue in 2007.

In December 2006 & 2007 the facility was voted “Best NFL Facility” by Street & Smith’s Sports Business Journal and Sports Business Daily.”

*taken from universityofphoenixstadium.com

The stadium was designed by the famed architect Peter Eisenman and was made to resemble a barrel cactus.

Fun Facts about the University of Phoenix Stadium…

• The stadium seats, if set in a straight line, would stretch for approximately eighteen (18) miles. That’s a lot of football fields.
• The amount of concrete used on the stadium is equal to 900 miles of sidewalk, the distance between Phoenix and San Francisco.
• The stadium air-conditioning system will generate 8,000 tons of cooling capacity, enough to cool 2,300 residential homes in the Phoenix area.

*taken from universityofphoenixstadium.com

Upcoming events at the stadium include Arizona Travel Show, LA Mesa RV Sale, the International Sportsman’s Exposition, and the Men’s Luxury Toy Expo and Auction.

To say that online news and/or conversational media has merely affected the journalism that reaches our generation would be a huge understatement. Conversational media, specifically through online sources has completely and utterly shaped the way I get my news. Now to find out what’s happening in the world people no longer have to read a paper or wait to watch a local newscast. People can receive the information they want on demand through websites, search engines, view created videos etc. Our society is always on-the-go and you can see how the media is shifting to accommodate this.

Personally I like to receive news via the WWW. If I am searching for top news I’ll head to some local sites but turn to the Associate Press or BBC for international news.

www.azcentral.com

www.eastvalleytribune.com

www.ap.org

www.bbc.co.uk

Those news outlets are pretty standard and always cover the hard news of the day. But when I’d like to just peruse news and see what’s happening and where, the best sites to turn to are viewer created. My favorite is Current TV. This is a completely viewer created television channel where the viewers decide what’s important and subsequently make it their news. To get a sense of what it’s all about, here’s Current TV segment on a humanitarian and his process of creating “Charity.”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9Hx3naIKgU]

In a keynote speech, Tom Curley, the President and CEO of The Associated Press talked of the shift from the former coverage of media to the present, specifically touching on conversational media.

“…consumers will want to use the two-way nature of the Internet to become active participants themselves in the exchange of news and ideas. The news, as “lecture,” is giving way to the news as a “conversation,” he said.

I whole heartedly agree and with him that consumers now want to actively participate in the news they’re receiving. I also see the media recognizing this and giving viewers/readers the opportunity to take a hold what they consume. Another example of this would be www.digg.com where readers rate articles based on how news worthy they are. Journalism is evolving in a huge way right now and conversational media is definitely leading the way.