College Road Trip
2008 Usually, the comparatives “bad,” “worse” and “worst” are enough. But “College Road Trip,” the new farce from Disney starring Martin Lawrence and Raven-Symon
Til Death Do Us Part: The Complete First Season
2006 Shock director John Waters plays the pun-heavy host in the cable anthology series “‘Til Death Do Us Part,” whose first season is now collected in a three-disc box set. Other than his quip-filled intros and outros (think The Cryptkeeper, minus all the makeup), Waters has no creative involvement. The show dramatizes actual cases of…
OKCPS hires new superintendent
Oklahoma City Public Schools announced today the board has selected Karl Springer to be the next superintendent. “We are excited about the leadership and vision Karl will provide for the district and for the vision of making Oklahoma City Public Schools a premier school district in the United States,” Oklahoma City Public Schools Vice Chairman…
Step Up 2 the Streets
2008 “Step Up 2 the Streets” is, when the dancing pauses, about as interesting as a photo snapped with the lens cap still on. Andie (attractive Briana Evigan) is a Baltimore high school student who keeps going by her membership in a dance crew that lives to compete in “The Streets,” an impromptu competition. At…
Least Competent Criminals
Not Ready for Prime Time: Sharon Platt allegedly stole about $5,000 from her employer, Murphy Motors of Williston, N.D., recently and left town. She was apprehended in Pittsburgh in May after she applied for a job and listed Murphy Motors as a reference, and her old employer alerted Pittsburgh police. Charles Ray Fuller, 21, was…
Update
Methane’s longstanding menace as a climate-altering greenhouse gas is closer than ever to being controlled, said New Zealand scientists in June after genome-mapping found the source of flatulence in ruminant animals, and the researchers said they thought they could vaccinate against it. While livestock accounts for only 2 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas, it causes…
News That Sounds Like a Joke
When a big storm came through Alma, Ark., on the evening of May 7, residents rushed out to secure themselves inside the brand-new community shelter the town had just built with great fanfare. However, as the winds raged, the 20 people who showed up had to sprawl on the ground because the shelter was locked,…
Coaches Gone Wild
High school soccer coach Sanford Kaplan, 57, was arrested in Lincoln, Neb., in May and charged with having imprisoned several underage boys in sessions in his garage in which they were bound, gagged and suspended from the rafters. Track coach Lawrence “Poppy” Vincent, 74, of Bracken Christian School in Bulverde, Texas, was arrested in May…
District of Calamity (continued)
Washington, D.C., police chief Cathy Lanier decided in May to rehire 17 cops who had been fired for misconduct. The cases against the officers were solid, she noted, except that their hearings before a police trial board had not been held within the required 55 days after the charges were filed. D.C. courts and arbitrators…
Animals Amok
BBC filmmakers announced in June that they had captured, for perhaps the first time ever, an episode of pandas mating in the wild, for the “Wild China” TV series. A male is shown fighting off other males to coax a female down from a tree. What follows that, said producer Glenn Maxwell, are “loud calls…
Fetishes on Parade
“There’s really no way to explain people’s fetishes,” said University of Cincinnati campus police Capt. Karen Patterson, describing the arrest of Dwight Pannell, 43, for allegedly crawling under a library table, squirting liquid from a syringe on a female student’s shoe, and photographing it. Pannell told police he was just trying out his new camera.…
Code Monkeys: Season One
2007 Although it airs on a cable channel devoted to the latest and greatest in video games, the TV series “Code Monkeys” will most find favor with those who grew up with the joystick of an Atari 2600 in their sweaty little hands. Adam de la Pe
Fastlane: The Complete Series
ash, but yet acutely aware of it, taking the viewer along for the ride instead of running them over. The best way to describe it is an hour-long version of “The Fast and the Furious,” only with a tangible sense of humor “? even if that humor may consist of a street-smart black guy donning…
Tragic Italian opera comes to Oklahoma City Museum of Art
Gaetano Donizetti’s tragic 1835 opera, “Maria Stuarda,” is coming to Oklahoma City in a way few American fans have seen: in high-definition, shot at the famed La Scala opera house in Milan, Italy. Experiencing a true Italian opera in person is tough to beat, but the built-in limitations of a theater ” especially problems with…
Panic in Level 4: Cannibals, Killer Viruses, and Other Journeys to the Edge of Science – Richard Preston
Random House Fourteen years after “The Hot Zone” catapulted him to the top of the best-seller lists, science journalist Richard Preston returns to the biohazard lab in “Panic in Level 4: Cannibals, Killer Viruses, and Other Journeys to the Edge of Science.” Rather than telling a single story, Preston offers a collection of them, culled…
The Gunship plans voter-registration drive
Drinking songs and civic pride aren’t known to walk hand in hand, but local barroom rockers The Gunship are marrying their raucous and zombie-infested anthems with an Independence Day voter registration drive at The Deli in Norman. Lead singer David McDaniel said the idea emerged as the band’s members considered ways to turn performances into…
New York man begins biking journey in OKC
Age is just another number to 76-year-old Demetri Kolokotronis, who’s riding his bicycle from Oklahoma City to New York. Now 76, Demetri Kolokotronis lives alone on 19 acres near Woodstock in New York. A certified professional ski instructor and former rock-climbing instructor, as well as a descendant of Theodoros Kolokotronis (read up on your 19th-century…
Bright Ideas
Minor league pitcher John Odom was traded in May by the Calgary Vipers of the independent Golden Baseball League to the Laredo Broncos of the independent United League, but his exchanged counterpart balked at leaving the U.S. for the Canadian team. The clubs huddled and announced that Odom would still report to Laredo, which would…
Oklahoma History Center combing through Kerr-McGee collection
It has taken several months to complete, but the Oklahoma History Center has put together a collection of one of the state’s giant enterprises. The Kerr-McGee collection, which took several moving truckloads to acquire, features everything from the rare to the eccentric. It is a collection that not only tells the story one of Oklahoma’s…
Branson’s Silver Dollar City, Celebration City offer family fun
Back-to-back theme parks in Branson, Mo. offer fun in the sun. Silver Dollar City and Celebration City are owned by the same corporation, and judging strictly from their Web sites, the main difference between them seems in opening times only. However, one can only appreciate the open space and variety offered by Celebration City after…
OKC’s Jabee juggles rapper, youth director hats
If every tattoo on a man’s arm tells a story, then one particular tattoo on the arm of Oklahoma City rapper Jabee tells us he is definitely old-school. NEW ALBUMHOMAGEDAY JOB The tattoo is of a cassette tape. Ribbons of its magnetic contents stream from the media relic, up the arm of the 24-year-old rapper…
Jeremy Jay plans performance at The Conservatory
While the rest of Los Angeles has seemingly become overrun with prepackaged pop starlets and post-post-punk bands, young singer/songwriter Jeremy Jay has emerged from his hometown’s music scene with a refreshingly lo-fi, indie-pop sound that is more influenced by Fifties rock ‘n ‘roll idols than television’s “American Idol.” Jeremy Jay and We Are Good Friends…
Oklahoma law-enforcement vehicle brings new meaning to auto pilot
Are county law enforcement cars really that well-maintained? Ask Cherokee County. According to a story in the Tahlequah Daily Press, a Cherokee County sheriff’s deputy got caught along with an alleged speeder ” by his own car. The story, based on an incident report filed by Tahlequah police, states a department shift supervisor had to…
Oklahoma native’s Brazilian following votes his songs to state’s best list
A panel to determine the state’s official rock song was recently announced. Although the selection of the governor’s press secretary and Oklahoma Gazette film reviewer Phil Bacharach to the panel did pique Chicken-Fried News’ interest, we’re not sure what the qualifications are for the panel. If his taste in music is the same as his…
U.S. to hear about Oklahoma’s separate sexual-offender, long-term care facility
With the ink from the governor’s signature barely dry on a bill to create a separate long-term care facility for registered sex offenders in Oklahoma, the issue is now going before the federal government. MISSIONGAO REPORT Officials with U.S. Rep. Mary Fallin’s office confirmed to Oklahoma Gazette a hearing will take place later this month…
Some Catholics propose opening ordination to women, the married
As of June 17, the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City’s closing or reassigning seven churches in rural Oklahoma towns became effective. Churches in Grandfield, Maud and Rush Springs are shutting their doors, while churches in McLoud, Walters and Frederick are being reassigned as missions. St. Joseph Church in Wewoka is being designated a chapel. SACRAMENTS ‘WHY…
Oklahoma zoos hope to mate elephants
As the adage goes, an elephant never forgets. And there’s another starts-with-F verb that Tulsa Zoo officials hope will remain top-of-mind for their resident pachyderm, Sneezy. Saucy! According to an Associated Press report, the zoo recently borrowed two female Asian elephants from the Oklahoma City Zoo, in hopes they will mate with Sneezy. Dwight Scott,…
Artscape’ project sculptures may become permanent
Five sculptures currently on display outside City Hall represent the start of a citywide installation of public art. “Artscape,” a project organized by the Oklahoma City Arts Commission, held its first call for sculptures in 2007 and selected a quintet of pieces to be installed outside of City Hall, 200 N. Walker, through September. The…
Three 6 Mafia – Last 2 Walk
Columbia Luckily, an Academy Award, multiplatinum sales success and a reality TV series haven’t wiped any discernible grime off Three 6 Mafia or “Last 2 Walk,” its latest release. The album swells from the signature grit invented and perfected by the group, well-known for sinister synthesizers and lyrical growl. “Trap Boom” is explosive, as is…
Rocketplane adds employees after staff departures, ditching the Learjet fuselage
When Rocketplane’s program manager, David Faulkner, went before the Oklahoma Space Industrial Development Authority recently, he told the group business wasn’t exactly entering orbit. FUNDING DIRECT Q&AINNUENDOS FUSELAGE In the past 14 months, Rocketplane lost a $207 million orbital NASA contract, let go of its suborbital space plane’s chief engineer and junked its Learjet fuselage.…
Oklahoma State raising curtain on ‘new era’ of Cowboy football
If you build it, will they come? Oklahoma State University officials figure to get an early answer to that question this fall when Boone Pickens Stadium opens its gates for the 2008 collegiate football season. The Cowboys are scheduled to play Houston on Sept. 6 in what will be their first game inside the newly…
Ghostlight Theatre Club tackles ‘The Shape of Things’
Staging a Neil LaBute play is a statement unto itself, with the brutal and controversial writer serving as a badge announcing the company is far from ordinary. For the third play in Ghostlight Theatre Club’s brief existence, the small company chose LaBute’s “The Shape of Things,” which debuts this Saturday and then will run each…
Chicago glam band Kill Hannah wins fans with earnest alt-rock songs
Grateful Dead has Deadheads, Kiss has its Army, The Cure has shoegazers, and glam rockers Kill Hannah are steadily growing its own base of diehards. “They give you security against any possible collapse of the music industry because they are there for you. They believe in you,” said lead singer Mat Devine. Kill Hannah will…
Principal Financial Group Family Fun Fest celebrates anniversary
Hitting a home run with baseball fans since 2004, Principal Financial Group Family Fun Fest will celebrate its fifth anniversary starting at 4:05 p.m. Sunday at AT&T Bricktown Ballpark, 2 S. Mickey Mantle. The day-long festival celebrates the good ol’ American pastime of baseball, and is the first and most extensive traveling festival of its…
Fake bus stop
Faced with its Alzheimer’s residents’ tendency to wander away, the Benrath Senior Centre in Dusseldorf, Germany, came up with a novel approach: a fake bus stop (an exact replica of a real one) out front. Straying residents might be attracted to the familiar colors and design of the kiosk (because long-term memory is typically still…
Gallery exhibits landscape paintings, mixed-media pieces
JRB Art at The Elms will welcome Karl Brenner’s landscape paintings and Paula Willis Jones’ mixed-media pieces with an opening reception at 6 p.m. Friday. Debuting during the Paseo Arts District’s monthly First Friday Gallery Walk, these exhibits bring a fresh start to the gallery, 2810 N. Walker, for the month of July. Brenner’s work…
Wanted
grade: F “Wanted” centers around nebbish Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy, “Atonement,” “Becoming Jane”), an accountant who’s closed in by his cubicle walls, beat down by his insecurities and castrated by his timidity, boss and girlfriend, who, when not berating the depressive loser, is having kitchen-counter sex with his best friend and co-worker. This all changes…
Beating around the ethics bush
The legislative session is behind us and sadly, the Oklahoma Legislature failed to pass meaningful ethics reform. Regardless of what you may have heard, the so-called ethics reform that passed and received the autograph of the governor was little more than window dressing. It failed to accomplish that which Oklahomans deserve and demand. The constitutionally…
Weird Science
Technically, Macie McCartney was born on May 3 of this year in Laredo, Texas, but that appearance outside the womb was actually her second. When a large tumor showed up on Macie six months into her mother’s pregnancy, surgeons actually pulled the fetus almost completely out of the uterus so they could excise the growth…
Local artist fills salon for hair with Fifties-inspired flair
“Rockabilly Vacation,” a mixed-media series will open 8 p.m. July 19 at the hair salon Velvet Monkey Too, 3003 N.W. 63rd. The show, which runs through August, will feature works by Tiffany Michelle, who will exhibit shrines of “sun-aged souvenirs from a journey of iconic relationships, road trips and rock ‘n’ roll.” The old, distressed…
Sonic owners to pay $45 million out-of-pocket in Seattle settlement
The owners of the Seattle SuperSonics will pay a $45 million out-of-court settlement in the lawsuit over the NBA team’s move to Oklahoma. Managing owner Clay Bennett, at a press conference Wednesday evening at Skirvin Hotel, said the sum would be substantial for his group. “It’s not pocket change. But it will come from the…
Hell on Wheels
Reviewer’s grade: B “Hell on Wheels” is an ambitious documentary about the an Austin all-female roller derby league, its inception, initial successes and the inevitable growing pains associated with large-scale group activity. Scores of women sign up to skate, but the original organizer loses the money and the league is turned over to the female…
Speak ‘Fourth’
The Fourth of July is a special day for many of us: families, friends and loved ones; for veterans, for active and reserve duty soldiers; for those who aspire to be Americans and for young and for older alike. We are fortunate in Central Oklahoma to have several holiday celebrations available. Festivities at Tinker Air…
Oklahoma City Astronomy Club has a place to call its own
In early 1958, 200 people turned out near a dark field outside town to get a glimpse of Sputnik as it crossed the metro’s skies. Thirty amateur astronomers officially keeping track of the craft’s progress as part of the national “Moonwatch” program aimed 10 telescopes at the sky to spot it. Then someone pulled in…
County Commissioner race could be a brutal primary battle
If Brent Rinehart survives what could be a brutal primary battle for Oklahoma County commissioner this summer, he should not expect any help from his fellow Republican candidates in the fall. FELONY COUNTS OPINIONJOHNSON’S GOAL Rinehart, who currently represents District 2 on the Oklahoma County Board of County Commissioners, faces two GOP challengers who badly…
Former Oklahoma basketball coach’s boss plans resignation
Amid allegations that Rick Greenspan failed to monitor Kelvin Sampson’s program at Indiana University, the Hoosier athletic director announced he’ll resign at the end of the year, according to The Associated Press. The NCAA, which originally alleged the former University of Oklahoma basketball coach committed five major violations during his Indiana tenure, recently accused the…
WALL-E
Reviewer’s grade: A+ Pixar scores again with this funny/sad/exciting animated tale of a lonely robot left behind on a totally trashed-out planet Earth whose job it is to compact the garbage humans left behind and stack it into towers of rubbish. When another robot, sent by humans back to Earth to check for possible plant…
OKC Walking Club provides free fitness program around Lake Hefner
With the start of the OKC Walking Club, everyone in the metro and surrounding communities can reap the benefits of starting a walking regimen. The club had its first meeting June 2, and since then, has grown to include 11 members. Kevin Jaeger is the founder of this free, fitness-concentrated group. He owns Foot Solutions,…
Frank Zappa – Wazoo
Vaulternative How immense was Frank Zappa’s “electric orchestra” experimentation circa 1972? The first track on a vintage live recording takes a mind-numbing three minutes and 47 seconds to introduce the band. The 20-piece symphony bore little resemblance to previous incarnations of traditional rock acts. Maybe it was the euphonium and contrabass sarrusophone? Zappa, then 31,…
Greasy Elementary School District faces Oklahoma audit
Here’s a new subject to add to the reading, ‘riting and ‘rithmetic going on in one Adair County school district: ‘rony. According to The Associated Press, an audit released last week by the state auditor and inspector’s office uncovered some funky math in the ” apparently too aptly named ” Greasy Elementary School District in…
The Offspring – Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace
Columbia It’s been more than four years since the release of “Splinter,” a lackluster offering from The Offspring that didn’t bring any of the California band’s typical catchy punk-inspired wit. “Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace,” is graceful in the delivery of brisk guitar-driven rock songs and sometimes funny lyrics from Dexter Holland, but falls…
