Now, Which One Is the Brake? (all-new)
Elderly drivers’ recent lapses of concentration, confusing the brake pedal with the gas (or “drive” with “reverse”): An 89-year-old man accidentally crashed into his wife in a parking lot in Greenville, S.C. (April). An 88-year-old man accidentally drove through the front window of a restaurant in Redondo Beach, Calif., injuring five (March). An 85-year-old woman,…
Least Competent Criminals
Questionable Judgments: Remo Spencer, who works at the Wal-Mart in Great Falls, Mont., was arrested in April and charged with stealing eight laptop computers and seven iPods from the store’s inventory. He aroused suspicion when he offered those items for sale on Wal-Mart’s employee bulletin board. A 22-year-old man was hospitalized in Wilmington, N.C., in…
Recurring Themes
Victor Harris was pouring an additive into his SUV’s fuel tank in March in Saginaw, Mich., when he got his index finger stuck. These situations are often inexplicably difficult, and it took firefighters four hours to remove a section of the tank and transport Harris to a doctor, who pried his finger loose and stitched…
Terminator Salvation
John Connor is still at it, trying to save the world from pesky robots and a bleak timeline that promises to render the planet a cratered-out wasteland unfit for human life. In the not-so-distant future, we meet Connor (Christian Bale, “The Dark Knight”) the unofficial leader of The Resistance. Although he takes his orders from…
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
In 2006, it was the coolest idea ever squandered by Hollywood: The American Museum of Natural History comes alive … at night! But audiences can only experience it via an emotionally phony father-son sitcom “? one that misses the real magic of the museum. As is always the case with sequels, the filmmakers clearly felt…
Police Report
East St. Louis, Ill., policeman Kristopher Weston apprehended a murder suspect about 20 minutes after the crime in April, which was such a nice piece of police work that the mayor called Weston before the city council to commend him. Five minutes after Weston left the room, the council got down to regular business, the…
Creme de la Weird
Shreepriya Gopalan filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in San Diego in April against Microsoft, Google, Apple, Saks Fifth Avenue, McDonalds, Starbucks, Subway, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Chase Bank, Verizon, AT&T and 47 other U.S. corporations, claiming that he actually owns the companies based on the Chinese divination system I Ching, which he said he invented…
Just Can’t Stop Themselves
In March, a judge in Jefferson County, Texas, probated the 90-day DUI sentence for Jeffrey Latham, 37, on condition that he not drink alcohol, and he ordered Latham to report to the probation office. Two hours later, Latham showed up as scheduled, drunk, and was promptly shuttled back to court. A man and woman in…
Look
2007 Love it or hate it, there’s no denying writer/director Adam Rifkin’s “Look” is unlike everything else. I happened to love it. It’s a multi-narrative exercise told entirely through footage captured via security cameras “? in the mall, at the ATM, even via police cars and bomb-squad robots. That’d be a mere gimmick if the…
Great Art!
In April at a gallery in London, Mexican artist Raul Ortega Ayala’s exhibit opened with the customary hors d’oeuvres for visitors. However, since Ayala’s work specializes in the roles that food play in our lives, he served cheese made from human breast milk, to “explor(e) our first encounter with food emphasizing its territoriality and boundaries.”…
Second Amendment economics
While recession rages around us and now encroaches upon our borders, according to the latest tax revenue numbers from Oklahoma State Treasurer Scott Meacham, one corner of the state’s economy is booming. Sales tax revenue was up $14.6 million from last year, according to the April report. Second Amendment merchandise and accessories may be part…
Robert Gomez steals spotlight in wild circus
Ask anyone who’s been in the music business for a while, and they’ll tell you it’s a three-ring circus filled with clowns, magicians, high-wire acts and animals that have no problem biting the hand that feeds them. Fortunately for Robert Gomez, he’s seen the real thing up close, preparing him for all the travel and…
Sierra Club volunteers seek to minimize environmental impact of Paseo Arts Festival
Art festivals might be fun, but the events can be a filthy affair. Wrappers scatter and roll across the streets like tumbleweeds, swarms of flies attack dropped hot dogs, discarded aluminum cans and plastic bottles overflow at every trash can, and an otherwise eco-friendly art community seems to forget about the needs of the planet…
Chicago playwright uses Oklahoma family’s journal to write play
Warning: Your journals today could be turned into a stage play tomorrow. Playwright Allen Frantzen found the papers of a Vinita family in an antique store, bought them, and has woven them into his new work, “A Son at the Front,” making its debut in June in Chicago. Although based on the Edith Wharton novel,…
The B-52s still dancing ‘Rock Lobster’ around
When The B-52s began work on their first studio album in more than 15 years, the bandmates expected to whip up their singular brand of vibrant, dance-happy kitsch. What they didn’t anticipate was how, well, horny the songs would sound. And the resulting album, last year’s “Funplex,” is chock full of references to belly-licking, G-spots…
Paris 36
In highly politicized times, the concerns of the individual tend to go by the wayside. People talk only about taking sides and “standing for something” in the interest of the future, as the past seems headed for destruction and obscurity. “Paris 36” examines the effects of a highly politicized time “? the period just before…
Local venues offer free family fun
School’s almost out, which means more chances for parents to spend time with the kids. That is, until reality sets in and parents realize keeping those kids entertained can be tough. Couple that with skinnier pocketbooks, and it seems impossible to have a fun-filled summer. A SPLASHIN’ GOOD TIME FISHIN’ FOR FUN CHILLIN’ WITH ANIMALS…
Kitchen gardens enjoy renaissance, from White House on down
This year is the year. No more paying $3 for a small packet of “fresh” herbs at the grocery store. Instead, invest that same amount of money into a few rosemary plants, stick them in the ground, and you’ll be snipping fresh sprigs of the fragrant herb all summer long. Not a gardener? No problem.…
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
“All the problems we face in the United States today,” said comedian and presidential candidate Pat Paulsen, “can be traced to an unenlightened immigration policy on the part of the American Indian.” With that as your inspiration, Pisces, I urge you to take inventory of your own “immigration policy.” It’s an excellent time to do…
Angels & Demons
People have been coming up to me for days with big grins on their faces to ask me what I thought of “Angels & Demons,” director Ron Howard’s sequel to the inexplicably successful “The Da Vinci Code” of 2006. I figure they expect an attack on the picture. Despite its box-office clout, not many of…
The Prehistoric Collection: From Dinosaurs to the Dawn of Man
2009 With “Land of the Lost” primed to burn up some summer box office, dinosaurs will be once again “in” … assuming they were ever “out” in the first place. A&E Home Video responds with “The Prehistoric Collection,” an eight-disc of previously released series and specials in one nifty package. The first two discs may…
Midwest City’s ArtzPlace offers 20 camps for summer
Kids can battle boredom this summer with 20 different art camps offered by ArtzPlace Oklahoma, 1730 Center Drive in Midwest City. “Every single one of them is different,” said Nancy Nortz, the center’s executive director. “They can enroll in all 20 camps and never repeat any activity.” Kids can learn to hand-build with clay 9…
Museum hosts family chuck wagon event
Enjoy a Memorial Day weekend of family-friendly Western entertainment and authentic chuck wagon cooking at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum’s 19th annual Chuck Wagon Gathering and Children’s Cowboy Festival. Chuck wagon crews will prepare cowboy favorites like beef stew, beans, cobbler and biscuits for guests to eat. The festival features 10 chuck wagons…
Government in Action!
Recently the Washington Supreme Court ruled that Seattle had for two years improperly charged water customers for servicing hydrants when the city should have covered the service from general tax funds, and it ordered customer refunds averaging $45. However, Seattle then discovered it had insufficient general funds to pay for hydrant service and thus imposed…
OKC’s Wayne Coyne issues apology
The Lips have kissed, and the Fire is quenched. Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne apologized in early May for disparaging comments he made a few months ago about Canadian indie outfit Arcade Fire. To refresh, Coyne griped to Rolling Stone’s Andy Greene in a telephone interview for a March 4 post on the magazine’s Smoking…
Xeriscaping creates low-maintenance landscape easy on environment
Cactus and gravel, rocks and yucca. Xeriscaping, or quality landscaping to conserve water, doesn’t have to mean a dry, lifeless landscape with driftwood surrounded by gravel. SITE ANALYSIS LARGE TREES Casey Sharber, Oklahoma State University-Canadian County Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service horticultural educator, taught a landscaping for water conservation class at several OSU county extension centers.…
Hang gliders say it’s the simplest way to fly
Sitting in a tiny seat behind a pilot who is in an equally tiny seat under a 32-foot wing, flying seems nearly impossible and downright foolhardy. IN THE VOID BAMBOO AND PLASTIC RELATIVELY UNDISCOVERED The “trike,” a hang glider with seats and a motor in back, can carry two people thousands of feet in the…
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
The Tower of Terror is a thrill ride at Disney World. Riders are yanked up and down as they travel along a 199-foot pillar. A Florida woman named Denise Mooty believes this form of amusement is essential to her health. She says the extreme G-forces she’s exposed to on the ride help dissipate the fibrous…
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
The planets are conspiring to unleash energies that will touch you in ways you didn’t realize you needed to be touched. Any minute now you may begin to feel a pleasurable burning sensation in your soft underbelly, or a prickly wake-up call in your willpower, or a ticklish electricity running through your funny bone. What…
Kite boarding addicts get fix at Lake Hefner
On an unusually warm April afternoon, with the wind blowing both angrily and calm as it does at Lake Hefner, Morocco native and Oklahoma City resident Ali Abdelali lounged in a camp chair to watch wet-suit clad men attached to kites speed across the rocky waves. LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT DREAM LIFESTYLE “It’s called kite…
ARIES (March 21-April 19):
The fleas infesting dogs’ skin have greater leaping power than the fleas on cats. Why do you think that is, Aries? Maybe you should use your waxing brainpower to get to the bottom of this great mystery. Just kidding! While it is true that in the coming weeks you will have unusual skill in deciphering…
TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
Studies show that when most people take a shower, they lather the upper part of their bodies first and make their way down. I recommend that you take the opposite approach this week, Taurus. In fact, I think a similar strategy would be wise in just about everything you do. Start at the bottom and…
Oklahoma City has no shortage of skateboard talent
Skate parks across the metro will be buzzing with activity as kids of all ages grind down hubbas, sail high above vert ramps, and zip around bowls while crashing and ditching over and over again as they try to land one more big trick before calling it a day. AMATEUR CIRCUIT MAINSTREAM SKATING WHERE TO…
Supermax prisoner reuqests
Convicted Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols, now serving a life sentence in the Florence, Colo., “Supermax” prison, filed a 39-page federal lawsuit in March alleging unconstitutional “cruel and unusual punishment” because the refined-food, low-fiber meals give him “chronic constipation (and) bleeding hemorrhoids.” He demanded fresh raw vegetables and other high-fiber foods, necessary to “keep…
Oklahoma State professor questions science behind collecting Viagra data
This has to be the quote of the year. It comes from Dr. Raji Gill, a urologist from the Oklahoma State University Medical Center, according to a story in the Tulsa World. Are you ready for it? “I don’t know how scientific it was. They were sort of using erections as a barometer for how…
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
A long-time Capricorn reader named Allison wrote me an apologetic e-mail. She said that she has always loved my horoscopes, and still loves them, but for the foreseeable future she’s got to stop reading them. “Please don’t take it as an insult, because it’s not,” she wrote. “I just need to be less subject to…
Red City Radio – To the Sons and Daughters of Woody Guthrie
Red City Radio’s latest, “To the Sons and Daughters of Woody Guthrie,” treads almost no uncharted sonic territory. The elements are well-worn: vocals that ride atop a pop-punk mix of distorted guitars; trenchant bass lines; and punctual, upbeat drumming. There’s nothing new here, but that makes the Oklahoma City foursome’s five-song EP bolder and ever…
Community gardens grow in popularity around metro
Gardening may be the oldest revolution, but urban community gardening is finally arriving on the scene in Oklahoma. Locals involved in the urban garden movement say the growing popularity is partly due to the economy, but also an increasing desire to be more connected to the path food takes before it ends up on the…
Is Anybody There?
Edward (Bill Milner, “Son of Rambow”) is a young boy obsessed with death. His bedroom, once covered in Paddington Bear wallpaper, has been commandeered to make extra space for paying tenants in the old-folks home “? a parental business venture that has filled the boy’s abode with strange and often surly seniors. Edward’s kind, caring…
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
Rolling Stone magazine has said that sixties folk singer Tom Rush (born February 8) was a major force in launching the era of the singer-songwriter. He’s been lying low for a while, though. Recently he came out with his first new studio album in 35 years. I’m guessing that, like him, quite a lot of…
Report says Oklahoma River is ‘impaired’
Who doesn’t like a little fecal coliform in their water, eh? As reported by The Associated Press, fecal coliform levels are a little high along the stretch of Oklahoma River that winds past OKC, making it rated as an “impaired” waterway. Derek Smithee, the Oklahoma Water Resources Board’s water quality division chief, said the bad…
GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
A couple I know planned to have their second baby delivered at home with a midwife’s help. The father is a physician who assisted with childbirths during his residency, so he and his partner felt confident about conducting their rite of passage outside of the hospital. But once the mom’s water broke and labor began,…
Oklahoma horticulture experts share lawn water-conservation tips
Las Vegas has long been the poster child for excess, particularly with regard to water. Huge water features adorn its glittery casinos, including pirate lagoons and expansive, computerized fountains. Excessive use of water is catching up with Sin City, however, which finds it increasingly difficult to meet its water needs. And lawns are one of…
Big companies aren’t the only ones soaking up the city’s water
Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett recently said he is not worried about the future of the city’s water supply as the metro area continues to grow. Hope he is right, because some residents and surrounding communities are slurping up the H2O in record amounts. POOLS AND PONDS LESS IS MORE TOP RESIDENTIAL USERS TOP COMMERCIAL…
Guthrie exhibition highlights multilayered works
A month-long art exhibition in Guthrie highlights the multilayered works of Mary Lou and Jeff Stokes, the executive director of the Individual Artists of Oklahoma gallery in Oklahoma City. The exhibit opened last week and is on display through June 16 at the Grazioso Gallery. Jeff’s exhibit pieces are made from layers of acrylic paints,…
Telekinesis! journeys to Norman with vivid visions of trips, travels
One of the most intriguing discoveries of the year is Michael Benjamin Lerner, the 22-year-old pop genius behind Telekinesis!, which released its self-titled debut last month. SUNDAY SHOW FULL-FLEDGED BAND Lerner was birthed on The Beatles. The debut’s 11 tracks are steeped in hooky, ringing guitars that call to mind Big Star, songs flavored with…
Subatomic Pieces reform for a fresh collaboration, clear vision
A veritable Kevin Bacon of Oklahoma music, it likely takes only a few steps to trace Chris Harris to any other local performer. As owner and recording engineer of Hook Echo Sound, behind the board working sound at The Conservatory or in a producer role at Bell Labs in Norman, Harris has seen bands come…
Comedy ‘The Clean House’ scrubbed fairly dull
Sarah Ruhl won the 2004 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, given annually for the best play in English by a woman, for “The Clean House,” now being presented locally by Carpenter Square Theatre. It is good to see the work of this critically acclaimed playwright. The acting in this CST production is fine, but the script…
