You now have thirty-six hours to submit a presentation to Ignite Phoenix After Hours 2. If you weren’t aware of this, where have you been? It’s time to think. Think! What do you have to share with your fellow Phoenician? What amazingly crazy thing happened to you that one time? What creepy coincidence changed your whole life? Or hey, why think so grandly? Think small, if you gotta.

Here’s a list of words to get your brain in overdrive …

Road Rage
Capital Punishment
Prayer in Public Schools (including the Pledge of Allegiance)
Literary Censorship
Marijuana
Social Ethics (or the lack thereof)
Political Correctness
Sex Education in Schools

Seriously, there are so many controversial issues out there that deserve discussion. Have a personal feeling about one of them that you’d like to share? Then get to it today!!! Thirty-six hours are left; after that, your chance at IPAH greatness will have passed until IPAH #3. You don’t want to wait that long for your next chance, do you?

You know the drill. We need:
Your name (or pseudonym)
Your bio
Your presentation description

Remember the rules:
You must be 21 and over to present AND attend.
Your presentation cannot incite hate.
Your presentation description should be safe for general consumption; your presentation can be anything but.

Now get your thinking cap on and head to the Speak page to submit your presentation. (Presenters for IPAH #2 will be announced Friday, July 8.) Thirty-six hours left! Tell your friends! AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

Tickets for the first IPAH sold out in record time. We didn’t really expect the speedy sell-out; maybe we didn’t expect so many freaky Phoenicians to be so freaky and proud. We do expect tickets to disappear quickly this time, so we’re giving you plenty of time to prepare yourself to click that “BUY” button as many times as you like.

The official Ignite Phoenix After Hours #2 ticket sales begin Saturday, July 9th, at NOON. Bookmark our Eventbrite site so you’re ready. Tickets cost $10 each.

I’ve said it once. (Actually, I’ve said it several times.) No one beneath the age of twenty-one can buy tickets or attend IPAH #2. We don’t feel comfortable filling your innocent heads with whatever the presenters might say. Plus—the more legal reason—we’ll be in a bar. So if you’re under the age of twenty-one, don’t even think about it. I’m serious. If you even think about it, we will find you and take your computer.

Anyway … for those of you twenty-one and up, mark your calendars. I will repeat myself: tickets for IPAH #2 go on sale Saturday, July 9th, at NOON AM on Eventbrite. If you missed the first IPAH, you don’t want to be the Very Sad Person who also misses the second one.

Ignite Phoenix After Hours #2 will happen Friday, July 29th, from 7 to 9 PM at Radius Nightclub in Scottsdale. We look forward to seeing you there!

We all remember Shanna Katz’s presentation from Ignite Phoenix After Hours #1. Don’t deny it; she talked about vaginal fisting. I KNOW you remember, okay? So what were the presentation after-effects? Read on …

Ignite Phoenix After Hours was my first experience with the whole concept of Ignite. I had a local ASU student email me, telling me she was super excited about the After Hours edition and wanted me to shake it up with some sex positive something-or-rather. As I come from a background of both theatre and creative education, I decided to take up the challenge of submitting a presentation idea … on Vaginal Fisting. In five minutes.

I cannot express how glad I am that I made that plunge. The experience of re-thinking my ninety minute class into only five was a great challenge for an educator, as well as an awesome reminder about what I really wanted to get across to my audience.

The night of, I was nervous. Most people have a skewed idea of what fisting is, and I was worried I was going to be booed off the stage or have some people making rude and crude jokes. Let me tell you; there is nothing in the world like the feeling of having a room full of tipsy people hold up “good fists” and “bad fists” when you tell them. Having watched my video, I loved the crowd’s energy and inter-activity.

IPAH was definitely a different experience than presenting on college campuses or in kink spaces. However, it was one that challenged me as an educator and gave me quite an emotional rush as it happened. I’d absolutely do it again!

Shanna, we would NEVER boo you off stage. That’s just how IPAH people are. We love to support each other, and we love to learn new things. What do you have to share with the IPAH #2 audience? Don’t forget: presentation submissions are due July 1st!

Remember that IPAH #1 presentation about having sex with an asthma sufferer? Would you believe that presenter is actually … shy? Read on for “What Debbie Walker learned from Ignite Phoenix After Hours,” also known as “Trial of a Timid Person.”

I’m a fairly timid person. Sure, once I get to know people I’m Queen of the TMI but deep down I’m more the hanger-on and not the star. Though when my friends started to push me (seriously, I had permanent hand prints on my back), I started to think about presenting at an Ignite Phoenix event. It’s in my nature to be a bit raunchy, so when Ignite Phoenix After Hours came along I felt it was the better fit.

I had a dozen reasons NOT to present. Because of medical issues I knew I’d have trouble memorizing what I wanted to say. Because I’m chicken I wasn’t sure I could even make myself get up there and speak at all. Because of my low self-esteem I just knew nobody would be interested and they’d all hit the bathroom when it was my turn. The list goes on. But I knew I just had to do this.

My presentation was “Fuckin’ Asthma” where I skimmed over the issues and limitations a person with severe asthma has when planning … sex. Honestly, it went great. I was nervous before it was my turn, but I bulldozed over that fear and moved on stage without letting myself over-think it. I remember having a bit of a panic when I did forget a portion of my presentation, but the audience was supportive and I ad-libbed through it. People laughed when they were supposed to and didn’t laugh at me. I walked off that little stage with relief, but also pride and joy. I did it!

The ideas keep popping up in my head for my next presentation. Now that I know I can do it, I need to work on doing it better! Plus I find I’m not as timid about speaking up in other situations anymore. Ignite may have created a monster.

To hear more from Debbie, be sure to follow her on Twitter and check out her blog. Now, submit a presentation for IPAH #2, and let us make a monster of you, too.

If you think Phoenix is kinda white bread, you’ve never seen Meetup. Meetup is the grand-daddy of local group networking. The gist of it: if you’re new to an area (say, “Phoenix”), you can sign up for Meetup and see what’s happening in relation to your personal interests. Whether you’re into hiking, biking, drinking, or nudity, there’s a group for you! (I once saw one about nude fortune-telling. I’m serious.)

Recently, the Ignite Phoenix After Hours crew was given an assignment. We had to think of new demographics to approach for IPAH #2. There was plenty of sex at IPAH #1, and damn, it was interesting. However, there are other edgy things out there that don’t have to do with sex. I decided to take a close look at Meetup, Phoenix-style, and here are some of the groups I found …

Vegan Zombie Beer Club. What do vegan zombies eat? Grains, of course.

Phoenix Red Sox Nation. If being a Boston fan isn’t edgy in Phoenix, I don’t know what is. (Go DIAMONDBACKS!)

West Phoenix Witches and Pagans. There are 130 members in this group! These chicks get together to prove that witches don’t wear pointy hats and ride flying broomsticks … although that’s pretty cool stuff, if you ask me.

Phoenix Tantra. I know when you think “tantra,” you think about Sting and 24-hour-long sex marathons. (Well, I do, at least.) But tantra is a lot more than sex. It’s a spiritual experience, dude …

Phoenix Dodgeball. We’re adults, and yet, it’s totally acceptable for us to play children’s games. Also, best line on their profile: “Meet people and hit them with balls.”

Save the Sweater-vest! With the resignation of Ohio State’s football coach, concerned Phoenicians are choosing to wear sweater-vests before the niche clothing industry goes into a tailspin. … Ha, kidding. I made that one up. (Go WOLVERINES!)

Anyway, there are several awesome, weird, and wild groups in Phoenix. There are several strong-willed individuals who do what they love—even if some people might think they’re “strange” (ah-hem, Red Sox fans).

Who else has enviable strangeness in the Valley of the Sun?
Who else should we know more about??
What about YOU?