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The American Red Cross has been collecting blood from donors since the 1940s. Blood donations are consistently needed throughout the world, not only in times of disaster. 38,000 blood donations are needed daily to fulfill the needs of hospitals around the United States. A person is in need of blood every two seconds across the country, and the demand for blood transfusions are growing faster than donations. Cancer is a major cause of the need for blood donations. Annually more than 1 million people are diagnosed with cancer, in addition to those already battling it. Many of these patients need blood, sometimes daily, when going through Chemotherapy. Other conditions, such as Sickle cell disease, which affects more than 80,000 people in our country, also demand frequent blood transfusions for its patients. It is essential that these patients get blood donations, in order to survive.

 

 

May is Geeking Out month at Bookmans because no one does it better than us! As part of the month-long celebration Bookmans Speedway is holding video game competitions and parties. The First was Saturday, May 18 and was totally geektastic. You can catch the next one from noon to 2 p.m. with sign up starting at 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 25. There will be a video game competition for the first hour and then everyone can relax and watch a comic book-themed movie to be chosen by the players. Snacks will be provided and everyone is welcome. As always at Bookmans, this event is free. Read on about what happened last Saturday to see why you must come see us this Saturday.

 

Video Game Competition

 

The "Signature Pop Culture Experience of the Southwest", Phoenix Comicon 2013 takes place from Thursday, May 23 through Sunday, May 26 in Downtown Phoenix at the Phoenix Convention Center, The Hyatt Regency and The Renaissance Hotel. Bookmans will be onsite with an interactive booth that includes original T-shirts, brand new "Steam Punk-Inspired" items and our popular photo booth. Stop by to chat with friendly Bookmans staff, check out the fun merchandise, pose with themed props and take a complimentary photo home with you.

 


All that is mundane becomes fantastic at the Phoenix Comicon Bookmans Booth!

 

Recorded under the auspices of pioneering producer Brian Eno, 1978's Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! was seen as a call to arms by some and became an underground hit. Others found DEVO's sound, imagery and material threatening; Rolling Stone, for example, called the group fascists. Such criticism missed the point: DEVO dramatized conformity, emotional repression and dehumanization in order to attack them, not to pay tribute to them. The Rialto is giving a Bookmans.com reader two passes to see Devo at 8 p.m. on Friday, May 24 at The Rialto.

 

 

Firebase Gaming, a casual gaming group based out of Phoenix, comprised of gaming fans, artists, creators, journalists and others are gathering to share their love of gaming and social engagement. They've created an after-hours event from 9 p.m. to midnight on Friday, May 24 in which costumed bowlers are encouraged to attend. Lucky Strike hosts the event for Phoenix Comicon attendees, costumers and gamers during our fundraiser for the unique children's charity PeppedUp.

 

Oh frabjous day! Literary delight is on its way to Bookmans Phoenix this weekend. Local poets, Sarah Anderson and Alisha Allston will be joining us at 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 18 to host "Jabberwockies: Young Poets of Phoenix." Back by popular demand, this workshop in verse is tailored for kids ages 5-12. Children will unleash their inner poet, have fun with great works and even pen their own original poem.

 

Jabberwockies - May

The 16th Annual Northern Arizona Book Festival is Saturday, May 18 at the Coconino Center for the Arts in Flagstaff. Founded in 1998, the Northern Arizona Book Festival has enjoyed years of success and become one of Flagstaff's premier cultural events. The Festival has an active board of directors who partner with many organizations in the area including the Flagstaff Public Library, Northern Arizona University, Bookmans and other local organizations. The goal of the festival is to promote the value of good literature and to provide residents of Northern Arizona direct contact with both local and nationally-renowned authors and their work.

Ever wonder what a child's story coming to life would look like? Well wonder no further because the lovers of children's books and imagination from Stories That Soar do just that. All kids have a chance to apply to have their stories turned from the second to third dimension using props and professional performers on stage before their very own eyes. This event celebrates the best of 2012-2013 at the either the 4 or 6:30 p.m. showings on Sunday, May 19 at the Temple of Music and Art. Inspiration is powerful and especially for this program, which started out as an event at a single school and turned into a eight-plus year program traveling to over 14 schools and performing over 350 original stories last year alone. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children under 12 and can be purchased online or at the door.

 

This month's installment of the Flagstaff Tech Talks is at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, May 15 at Bookmans Flagstaff Cafe. It will be presented by Joe Bodin of Reliable Web Designs.

 

 

Primus has created some of the most original and inventive music in existence and has collaborated with everyone from Tom Waits to Tom Morello in the process. However nothing could properly prepare listeners for Green Naugahyde featuring the line-up of bassist/singer Les Claypool, guitarist Larry LaLonde and drummer Jay Lane. If you think you are prepared, Bookmans and The Rialto want you to see them live for their George Lucas-inspired new 3D-enhanced tour, the first of its kind (see embeded video), at 8 p.m. on Saturday, May 18 at The Rialto in Tucson.

 

 

A 20-year career as a Hip Hop artist is rare. A 20-year career as a Hip Hop artist who gets better with every album is unheard of. In the case of Antwan "Big Boi" Patton, it's no surprise. This Ticket Tuesday, Bookmans and The Rialto want you to see the Shoes for Running 2013 World Tour with special guest Killer Mike (Hip Hop) with Big Meridox, Diversity Higher at 8 p.m. on Monday, May 20 at The Rialto.

 

 

We're proud to host two of our own in a one-time-only performance. Michael Cejka and Robert Sharpe perform for us at 6 p.m. tonight in the Bookmans Flagstaff Cafe. "Desert and Space" is a greatly anticipated evening of ambient and experimental music with songs composed for instruments most of us don't hear every day such as djembe and tabla drums and the berimbau, accompanied by guitar and bass. Please join our Bookmans family for this exciting night!

 

 

Who says teenagers get to have all the fun? According to the newest book club at Bookmans Phoenix, grown-ups can still enjoy the perks of being young at heart. "A Novel Idea" Young Adult Lit Book Club focuses on all of the exciting, imaginative, mysterious and adventurous novels written with young people in mind, yet contain universal themes. The group meets at 7:30 p.m. on the last Wednesday of every month at Bookmans Phoenix. New members and new ideas are always welcome!

Every bookstore should secure Stephen Chbosky for a signing. Not only is he a super nice guy but also Chbosky fandom runs deep, especially in Tucson where Bookmans Grant played host to over a hundred people, some arriving hours before the event. Chbosky noticed saying, "I'm blown away there are so many people here. It's amazing." We were lucky enough to have the Perks of Being a Wallflower author and director visit our store and sign copies of his book and movie, but he took it one step further giving us the opportunity to pick his brain about character development, advice for aspiring authors and his search for the film's quintessential music.

 

 

Level up from 3 to 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 11 as the annual Controllers and Canvas returns to Bookmans Mesa. Created with the local video game community in mind, we take our love of video games to the next level with local artists, costumers and charitable organizations as they cross over into video games.

 

That's right ya'll, we're giving away a pair of full event passes (a $100 value) to Phoenix Comicon for Memorial Day weekend. We recevied these passes from some powerful Jedis at the May the 4th Be With You party in Tucson. We want you to have them ASAP so you have plenty of time to get your costume ready for a weekend of celebrity sightings, parties, contests, panels and more. The lucky winner will have to stop by our mega-booth for a chance to win specially designed top secret Bookmans swag, including our signature T-shirt.

 

Bookmans Speedway has many stories. Some are written in novels or produced in movies we sell, some are shared with us by customers, and some are our own accounts. Some tales are of a different kind and told in their own way. Bookmans is a heartfelt supporter of animal welfare, hosting a wide variety of rescue groups and animal rights organizations in our stores. Each weekend Bookmans Speedway makes space for a different organization host an event. These events almost always include some of the most adorable 'tails' you can imagine.

 

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Bookmans officially geeks out this May and we have plenty to geek out about at Bookmans Speedway. Join us all month-long for geeky activities. Our celebrations begin with a May the Fourth Be with You extravaganza as Bookmans joins Hotel Congress in hosting this Star Wars celebration and continues throughout the month in our store.

 

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We set our jocular, cool or otherwise collected personas aside this month to let our geek flags fly. Geeking out is half the fun when we are alone, but all the fun when we honor everything that we unashamedly love in true geek style. Set your phasors from stun to fun and teleport to our stores or in the community as we celebrate all things geektacular. We do the Pee Wee Herman dance for wizards, Jedis, all things binary and any individual who would fit in with the Tri-Lambs.

 

 

Join or fight the dark side at Tucson's first May the 4th Be With You Force-tival with Bookmans, Hotel Congress, Pima County Public Library and Cinema La Placita. Members of the Empire and Rebel Alliance are encouraged to come in costume to an event of Wookie-sized proportions. Fans of all levels are welcome to party their spacesuits off at either the family-friendly event from 1 to 5 p.m. or from 8 p.m. to midnight for the 21+ crowd on Saturday, May 4 at Hotel Congress, 311 E. Congress St.

 

 

The Valley of the Sun welcomes back the best talents in comics for the Arizona Comic Mini Expo on May 4. ACME is a one-day event held in conjunction with Free Comic Book Day at the Samurai Comics location on Country Club and Southern in Mesa.

The kids are almost out of school so hurry up and get some prizes before they do. We're giving you the chance collect some treasure before you sweat your pants off. This month we dish up a prize package worth $50 but as always there is work involved. Get ready to crank those gears but be aware that only an adventurous attitude and local know-how will land you this grand treasure.

 

We are looking for the right person to become our Event Liaison for Bookmans Flagstaff. The Event Liaison is responsible for creating and maintaining the community-based vibe in a store by making local contacts and using his/her creative ideas to design and carry out a wide range of activities for kids, adults and families. The Liaison is responsible for social media for his/her store's market, including weekly website content and maintaining the @BookmansFlag Twitter feed. The Liaison is also expected to work closely with the Community Relations Manager and the Bookmans Corporate Office. Additional duties include regular shifts in the retail store and cafe.

 

 

We do our best to be green all year around and not just by giving new life to items that would otherwise have made it to the landfill. We've installed electric vehicle chargers at our stores, we have energy management systems for our HVAC that ensure we maintain equipment for maximum efficiency and use as many environmentally-friendly cleaning products as we can. Bookmans Sports Exchange has given us a chance to open a new store that is as in-line with our core value on the environment as possible.

 

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Celebrate this beautiful weather by joining us from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 27 at Kino Stadium for the Bookmans Sports Exchange Outdoor and Fitness Expo. Now that the temperature is rising it's the optimal time to go outside and play. This free event features some of the fun things you can do outdoors to stay active and healthy. We'll be there with free giveaways, balloons, Book Man, our beloved prize wheel and displays of the products we will sell at Bookmans Sports Exchange.

Beyond An Inconvenient Truth and Forks Over Knives, we take a look at 15 fun and lesser-known enviro-docs. Read on to see if we've hit on one of your favorite edutainment flicks.

 

 

Catorce, fjorten, 십사, mười bốn or fourteen. No matter what language you speak, fourteen is a lot of Ignite under our belt. Ignite Phoenix returns at 6:30 p.m. this Friday, April 26 to the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts. We can all agree that no two Ignite events are the same. For those of you who slept through your reminders and missed out on tickets no fear. Bookmans' Ticket Tuesday is here to rescue you with two tickets to the sold out Ignite Phoenix #14.

 

There's no need to drink the vial labeled "Drink Me" to gain entrance to the The Mini-Time Machine Museum of Miniatures. Since its inception in 2009 the unconventional museum has hosted over 134,000 visitors including 42,000 children. Even though the foundation was created in 2006 by Pat and Walter Arnell as a way to display over 260 miniature houses and roomboxes, the 15,560 square-foot building is comprised of three different galleries built to make a Chihuahua feel like a giant.

 

From electric car charging stations to eco-friendly lighting, from recycling to reusing, from partnering with environmentally active community agencies to sponsoring climate-friendly events, Bookmans strives to do right by the big blue ball we call Earth. That's what you do when environmentalism is one of your core values. Another thing you do is to read up on how to continue progressing in green ways. We've unscientifically collected the top enviro-blogs based on web metrics we made up and subjective determinations of strength of content. In other words, here's some blogs we like to read.

 

 

Bookmans Phoenix partners with the Phoenix Conservatory of Music (PCM) to bring free Ukulele Lessons to one and all. Lessons take place from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. beginning Tuesday, April 23 in the new Community Space at Bookmans Phoenix. Instructor Laura Meador is our resident ukulele artist for the first round of lessons, which will last six weeks. Guests are welcome to bring a uke from home or buy one in our Musical Instrument Department.

 


The ukuleles at Bookmans Phoenix are just waiting to rock and roll.