A dangerous farm bill
As an example, numerous states have passed laws protecting mother dogs trapped inside puppy mills, yet this would be repealed by King’s amendment. Thankfully, the Senate doesn’t have this dangerous language in its version of the farm bill. Oklahoma Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Cheyenne, who is likely to be in the bill’s conference committee, must work…
Hail Cale
If you’re an Oklahoma Gazette reader unfamiliar with the name J.J. Cale, do your soul a solid favor and learn about this man and his music. —Ivan Smason, Santa Monica, Ca.
For the unauthorized
The argument is that people who have not respected our immigration laws should not be rewarded with normalization, that it is not fair to potential immigrants who are waiting in line and that this kind of measure would undermine the rule of law. It is a simple, attractive argument. It is also dead wrong. There…
No bull’s-eye
I wrote to Amber Sharples, OAC executive director, and asked what study or report backs up that statistic. She didn’t reply, so I suspect it is one of those things “everyone knows” for which there is no proof. —Carl Hall, Edmond Editor’s note: The statistic comes from a 2008 Oklahoma economic impact study conducted by…
The Canyons
Available on VOD beginning Friday, the IFC Films release casts a voyeuristic eye on Los Angeles couple Tara (tabloid fixture Lindsay Lohan, Liz & Dick) and Christian (porn star James Deen, Anal Buffet 8). They’ve been together for one year, but their bedroom — and other areas of their pleasure pad — often plays host…
The Canyons
Available on VOD beginning Friday, the IFC Films release casts a voyeuristic eye on Los Angeles couple Tara (tabloid fixture Lindsay Lohan, Liz & Dick) and Christian (porn star James Deen, Anal Buffet 8). They’ve been together for one year, but their bedroom — and other areas of their pleasure pad — often plays host…
Brake dancing with facts
State employees, including the corrections officers and state troopers who protect us, haven’t received a pay raise since 2006, but our country-club Republicans allocated $7 million to needlessly remodel Capitol legislative offices, including a conference room “complete with a catering area and offices.” We incarcerate over 26,000 people (27 percent for drug offenses), costing hundreds…
Starbuck
The equally shlubby Patrick Huard plays David, a middle-aged man with no ambition who seems perfectly content delivering meat for his family’s butcher shop, even if he’s not very good at it. He’s $80,000 in debt; his ex-girlfriend (Julie LeBreton) has announced she’s pregnant with his child; and, worst of all, his past years of…
An innocence question
Karl Fontenot Two separate Pontotoc County juries sentenced Fontenot to death for the April 1984 slaying of Ada convenience store clerk Denice Haraway, although his sentence was later commuted to life in prison without parole because of an improper jury instruction. OIP director Tiffany Murphy said the group’s request was filed after a lengthy investigation…
Hoofers helping
Ten metro celebrities and their professional partners will cut a rug for children who can’t in a Saturday charity dance competition. Now in its sixth year, the Dancing for a Miracle Gala takes the lead as the Children’s Miracle Network’s largest donation event, said Evelyn Bollenbach, communications director for Children’s Hospital Foundation. Last year’s event…
Prana power
If you’ve been looking for a good excuse to take up yoga, you might check out Hidden Dragon Yoga on Saturday for a kick-asana experience. The American Lung Association (ALA) is teaming up with Hidden Dragon for “Breathe In, Help Out,” which aims to combat lung disease and other associated issues through the practice of…
Packed up
There are most certainly perks. Cereal for dinner, for example. Not having a bedtime is a selling point, for sure. Having a bank account is cool, especially when it has money in it. During school days of yesteryear, early rising and mandatory classes got in the way for me a lot. But something that couldn’t…
It’s showtime!
Michael Baron of Lyric Theatre, 1727 N.W. 16th, picked the musicals Cabaret (Reduxion Theatre Company, 1613 N. Broadway) and In the Heights (Pollard Theatre Company, 120 W. Harrison in Guthrie). Cabaret “is one of my favorite musicals, and I’m interested to see what director Matthew Sipress does with it,” Baron said about Reduxion’s in-the-round Broadway…
Do it yourself
In the metro, current projects on Kickstarter and Indiegogo include post-tornado documentaries, a web series produced in the comfort of a traveling RV, EPs galore, a beef jerky food truck and a silo-sized mural. Local synthpop band Kite Flying Robot set up its Kickstarter campaign June 4 to fund its new, full-length album. The $3,500…
OKG7 places to treat yo’self!
Sweete Memories Specialty Bakery6501 N. Maysweetememories.com842-4799 You’re familiar with its signature box. You know the one — white with cellophane wrapping and a gold sticker. Inside, it’s the perfect frosting-to-cookie ratio. Cookies aside, Sweete Memories also lets you indulge in lemon bars and chocolate chews, as well as special orders. 1 Smart Cookie12100 N. Rockwell1smartcookie.com721-5959…
Shackin’ up
Seafood court-bouillon BY: Shannon Cornman From the outside, there’s probably no name more apt for The Shack Seafood & Oyster Bar than the one it has. But once inside, you’d be forgiven for wondering if this was some kind of national chain you’d just never heard of before. Because The Shack is polished. Not in…
The culinary cutting edge
Chef Russ Johnson of Ludivine BY: Shannon Cornman New business concepts are popping up daily, and just as the city has undergone a rebirth, so, too, have its culinary offerings. Restaurants such as Ludivine, 805 N. Hudson, and Tamazul, 5820 N. Classen Blvd., in Oklahoma City and Local, 2262 W. Main, in Norman are changing…
Growing pains
Stage Center Credit: Shannon Cornman The office tower will be at least 20 stories and incorporate one major tenant combined with additional retail shops, offices and restaurants, said Rainey Williams, president of Kestrel Investments. Plans for the 3.15-acre site, located between Sheridan and California avenues and Dewey and Walker avenues, include a parking garage and…
Fast-food fanatics
Credit: Brad Gregg And now? You’re no longer No. 8 — you’re No. 1, and a super-sized No. 1, at that. A study by the Intuit Consumer Spending Index — which collects credit and debit purchasing data from its popular budget management tool, Mint.com — found that Oklahomans spent, on average, a Whoppering $101 per…
Oh, what a beautiful moaning
Credit: Brad Gregg In her new memoir, the actress — who starred in the movie and even sang its title tune at Oklahoma’s Centennial Spectacular in 2007 — reveals that she can orgasm with the frequency of wind sweepin’ down the plain. Jones dishes on her late husband, actor Jack Cassidy, whose manhood, she suggests,…
Marking 40 years of God’s work
Each day, most of us wake up in the comforts of our homes and know there will be food on the table and an ability to plan ahead. For many Oklahomans, however, just getting through the day is a struggle. At Jesus House, we have the opportunity to make a positive impact in the lives…
Aisha Eustache — Love & Addiction
Where are the chanteuses who once graced the charts, like Betty Wright, Roberta Flack or The Three Degrees? Where are the beautiful declarations of love and fidelity? The soul-stirring rock-bottoms of heartache and loneliness? A return to honest, resonant emotion? Those questions are answered with the five songs of Love & Addiction, the debut EP…
Smith and lesson
Who is Frank Smith? According to Wikipedia, there are dozens of them, ranging from English footballers to daytime soap characters. In musical terms, however, Frank Smith isn’t any one person; he’s five of them. The Austin, Texas-based alt-country project — fronted by Aaron Sinclair — was, in a past life, a band out of Boston…
Look who’s Tonking
Like a local Zelig, Friedman — whose father owned Horn Trader Music, where many local musicians got their start — was the mastermind behind Inner State Studio, which produced such acts as The Reverb Brothers, as well as being the brains behind the Acoustic Oklahoma online series. But at the height of his success, he…
CFN Quote of the Week
Credit: Brad Gregg —actor Gary Busey, a former Oklahoman, discussing his dreams with World Entertainment News Network
Brady bigot
Credit: Brad Gregg Wyatt Tate Brady was one of Tulsa’s major developers in the early 20th century. Citizens recognized his prominence, primarily because his name was (and still is … we’re getting there) on everything. Brady Heights neighborhood, Brady Street, Brady Theater and the entire Brady District bear his name as a symbol of prosperity,…
Google-eyed for Inhofe
Credit: Brad Gregg Protesters gathered at Google’s Mountain View, Calif., headquarters last week to present a 50,000-signature petition opposing the company’s cozy relationship with Inhofe, who calls manmade climate change “the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people.” (We think he’s letting Justin Bieber off the hook with that one, but whatev.) A Google…
Jump back, Loretta!
Credit: Brad Gregg After more than 40 years on KWTV Channel 9, the longtime meteorologist will trade in his Doppler for a spiffy corporate role with Griffin Communications, the station’s parent company. England’s final broadcast on Aug. 30 will be a Friday (night in the big town) for the ages. “The impact that he has…
Freshman class
OKC City Council Credit: Mark Hancock Their approaches James Greiner represents northwest OKC’s Ward 1 while John Pettis Jr. leads the residents of Ward 7, primarily in the city’s northeast section. Both enjoyed landslide victories against incumbents. The two possess some innocuous similarities. This is their first time to hold public office, both are young…
Winning wines
Opus Prime Steakhouse, 800 W. Memorial; Boulevard Steakhouse, 505 S. Boulevard, Edmond; Mickey Mantle’s Steakhouse, 7 S. Mickey Mantle Drive; and Museum Cafe, 415 Couch Drive, were all recognized for their quality of wine lists. The magazine started the awards program in 1981 to encourage restaurants to feature higher-quality wines. The awards are broken down…
CFN Quote of the Week
Credit: Brad Gregg —actor Gary Busey, a former Oklahoman, discussing his dreams with World Entertainment News Network
Good to be the king
Credit: Brad Gregg Although terms of the new deal were not disclosed, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that King Bob’s compensation will be more than a peasant’s penance. His contract was extended in September 2011 when a new seven-year deal worth $34.3 million before bonuses was agreed upon. He will earn…
Unlikely allies
Al Gerhart Credit: Mark Hancock “For us, it’s the concern we have any time we see a prosecutorial process or law enforcement being used to potentially chill speech that is, in our mind, protected political speech,” said Brady Henderson, legal director of ACLU of Oklahoma. “It may not be pleasant speech, it may not be…
LETTERS
Oklahoma Gazette provides an open forum for the discussion of all points of view in its Letters to the Editor section. The Gazette reserves the right to edit letters for length and clarity. Letters can be mailed, faxed, emailed to pbacharach@okgazette.com or sent online at okgazette.com, but include a city of residence and contact number…
LETTERS
Oklahoma Gazette provides an open forum for the discussion of all points of view in its Letters to the Editor section. The Gazette reserves the right to edit letters for length and clarity. Letters can be mailed, faxed, emailed to pbacharach@okgazette.com or sent online at okgazette.com, but include a city of residence and contact number…
Time to inform, not denounce
Attorney General Scott Pruitt continues his futile attempt to have it declared unconstitutional. Gov. Mary Fallin refuses to accept our tax dollars back from Washington, D.C., to cover Oklahomans most in need of health coverage. Insurance Commissioner John Doak calls the ACA a “disaster,” and although his agency has received a federal grant to inform…
Musicals on the Silver Screen: A Guide to the Must-See Movie Musicals — Leonard Kniffel
So comprehensive is the book by Huron Street Press (publisher of the terrific Queue Tips) that in the introduction, Gregg Opelka writes, “It’s hard to imagine what fell through the floorboards.” Well, The Apple, for one, but I’m just being nitpicky. Noting that the musicals in cinema’s infancy were merely filmed variety shows of the…
The To Do List
Among her high school’s class of 1993, Brandy Klark (Aubrey Plaza, Safety Not Guaranteed) has less merit as valedictorian and more notoriety as the uptight virgin. Everyone knows, and no one lets her forget. Brandy seems to have accomplished everything, from her full-ride scholarship to Georgetown University to her self-published feminist magazine. Despite her penchant…
The Fog
The picture depicts a supernatural takeover of the sleepy California coastal town of Antonio Bay by a band of ghost pirates seeking revenge for their deaths 100 years prior. They menace the entire populace, but for the purposes of this story, Carpenter focuses primarily on the DJ of the lighthouse radio station (Adrienne Barbeau, Swamp…
Gallowwalkers
And Snipes’ signature character of Blade will come to mind. As that Marvel Comics hero was cursed with vampirism, this film’s hero harbors a curse that turns the dead into the undead. Therefore, High Noon of the Living Dead would not be an inaccurate title for Gallowwalkers. Not to overpraise the film, but with its…
42
And that’s fine with me. 42 — the number Robinson wore on his uniform — tells an important story that, almost inconceivably, has eluded big-screen treatment since Robinson himself starred in 1950’s The Jackie Robinson Story. Relative unknown Chadwick Boseman (TV’s Persons Unknown) gives a stirring, if uncomplicated, performance as the supremely gifted ballplayer who…
Women Who Kill
As anyone who’s seen the last couple of Comedy Central roasts knows, Schumer is a fearless comedian, and no topic is too potentially offensive for her to tackle without apology. Here, that includes Jewish concentration camps, choking your grandmother, peeing in the ocean, giving your boyfriend HPV, volunteering for the Special Olympics, and on and…
The Jeffrey Dahmer Files
Now available on the IFC Midnight label, The Jeffrey Dahmer Files is built largely on interviews with three people tied directly to the notorious serial killer who confessed to 17 murders: apartment neighbor Pamela Bass, police detective Pat Kennedy and medical examiner Dr. Jeffrey Jentzen. Each grabs your attention and holds it with his or…
Under the Bed
After living with his aunt for two years, teenager Neal Hasuman (Jonny Weston, John Dies at the End) returns home. He was sent away following a fire that accidentally killed his mother; the blaze was set by him in an attempt to kill the creature lurking in his room. Naturally, Neal’s high-strung and short-fused father…
Kiss of the Damned
Ushered into that world is Paolo (Milo Ventimiglia, That’s My Boy), a screenwriter who meets the mysterious, gorgeous Djuna (Joséphine de La Baume, Johnny English Reborn). Because of her “skin condition,” she’s a night owl who spends much of her time holed up in an isolated mansion watching old movies by Buñuel and Di Sica.…
