City Council to vote on grand prix race Tuesday
Think driving in Oklahoma City is difficult? If the City Council approves, a whole new class of drivers will test just how difficult the OKC streets are: grand prix drivers. The City Council will vote on a measure Tuesday, Aug. 31, to bring a grand prix race to Oklahoma City in 2011. Oklahoma City Grand…
Parenthood: Season 1
Ron Howard’s 1989 smash comedy “Parenthood” didn’t work as a TV series in 1990, and while it fares better in 2010, it still is a far cry from appointment viewing. The Buckmans no more, the family of this “Parenthood” is known as the Bravermans, headed by old pros Craig T. Nelson and Bonnie Bedelia. The…
The Norm Show: The Complete Series
As much as I’ve always liked Norm Macdonald, I’d never seen “The Norm Show,” his first sitcom, which aired from 1999 to 2001. On the basis of the rather weak first episode in Shout! Factory’s eight-disc set, I was ready to call it quits. Then a funny thing happened: the second episode. And the third.…
The Last Exorcism
Following in the flour-captured footsteps of “Paranormal Activity,” “Quarantine” and “The Blair Witch Project” is “The Last Exorcism,” another horror film made to look like a documentary. It’s a hair better than any of them. I don’t think that anyone will be tricked into thinking it’s real, although the cast certainly is more convincing than…
Citizens sought for planOKC planning groups
Citizens can participate in one of nine stakeholder groups contributing to the city’s new comprehensive plan, planOKC. The completed plan will be used by city leaders, citizens and developers when making decisions about growth and development. “Stakeholder groups are being formed to identify issues and make recommendations about various topics, from transportation and community appearance…
Solitary Man
If there weren’t already a “Wall Street” sequel coming out, “Solitary Man” could serve as a stand-in. In this bleak drama, Michael Douglas plays a once-
Necromentia
t-20&l=as2&o=1&a=6305972001″ style=”border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important;” />’ but better than both.” I can get onboard with everything before the word “but.” Pearry Teo’s gruesome horror indie is full of good ideas, but also a fractured, confusing narrative that fails to provide a solid framework for them to thrive. The story jumps…
Soundtracker
Nicholas Sherman’s documentary “Soundtracker” is quiet and unassuming, much like its subject, Gordon Hempton. Perhaps you have all 53 of Hempton’s albums? Not likely, unlike you’re a nut for nature sounds. For three decades, Hempton has spent weeks and sometimes months away from home, recording Mother Nature’s “basic, simple, rhythmic textures” for audio preservation, before…
Thunder seeking new naming rights partner for arena
The Oklahoma City Thunder has begun negotiating with potential naming rights partners for the Ford Center arena, team officials announced Aug. 26. The Thunder officially has terminated the existing naming rights agreement with the Oklahoma Ford Dealers, as a new agreement could not be reached. The original contract allowed the team to terminate the existing…
Alt-rock’s Ben Kweller returns to town for a sweet solo gig at OU
Ben Kweller 8 p.m. tonight East Lawn, Oklahoma Memorial Union University of Oklahoma 900 Asp, Norman Free The last time Ben Kweller came through the Oklahoma City metro, he went on a walk with his then-4-year-old son, Dorian, who delighted at the discovery of sprinklers, water and gushing fun at Bricktown’s outdoor sprayground. Then, along…
Pig Hunt
There’s a scene in 1986’s “Friday the 13th, Part VI: Jason Lives” in which Jason Voorhees dispatches a few paintballers in the woods. It’s one of the best examples of humor in that entire franchise. So is 2001’s “Jason X.” Well, “Jason X” director James Isaac must’ve paid attention to “Jason Lives,” because in “Pig…
Rocky’s to host fundraiser for cancer-stricken former chef
Rocky’s in Bricktown will host a fundraiser from 7 p.m. to midnight Aug. 27 to help former Oklahoma City chef John DiGiovanni and his family with his mounting health care bills. Diagnosed with throat cancer in May, DiGiovanni has been given less than six months to live. Karaoke, a deluxe hors d’oeuvres buffet, beverages and…
OCU’s Islam Day to spotlight role of women in the religion
A panel discussion titled “Women in Islam: Issues of Identity and Empowerment” will be held as part of Oklahoma City University’s second annual Islam Day, Sept. 2. The free, public event will be held at 4:30 p.m. in the Kerr-McGee Auditorium in the Meinders School of Business, N.W. 27th Street and McKinley Avenue. The discussion…
ARIES (March 21-April 19)
Why should you work harder than everyone else? Why is it up to you to pick up the slack when others are suffering from outbreaks of laziness and incompetence? And why should you be the fearless leader who is focused on fixing the glitches and smoothing over the rough patches when no one else seems…
TAURUS (April 20-May 20)
What is the source of our first suffering? wrote philosopher Gaston Bachelard. “It lies in the fact that we hesitated to speak. It was born in the moment when we accumulated silent things within us.” Luckily for you, Taurus, the cosmic rhythms are aligned in such a way as to free you from at least…
GEMINI (May 21-June 20)
More than 2,000 people have climbed to the top of Mt. Everest, and 12 men have walked on the moon. But only two humans have ever ventured to the lowest spot on our planet. In 1960, Jacques Piccard and Donald Walsh rode in a bathyscaphe all the way down to the Mariana Trench, which is…
It’s a Small World
a way that reinforces the stereotypes. A true oddity, “It’s a Small World” isn’t as dismissive as, say, Tod Browning’s “Freaks,” but it’s certainly exploitation, if fairly inoffensive. You can be forgiven for laughing; after all, the end shot must be seen to be believed. At barely more than an hour, the picture is as…
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)
The odometer will turn over soon, metaphorically speaking. The big supply of the stuff you stocked up on a while back is about to run out. The lessons you began studying a year ago have been completed, at least for now, and you’re not yet ready for the next round of teachings. These are just…
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)
Most discussions on TV news shows involve so-called experts shouting simplistic opinions at each other. They may provide some meager entertainment value, but are rarely enlightening. In contrast to these paltry spectacles were the salons at Paris’s Cafe Guerbois in 1869. A group of hard-working artists and writers gathered there to inspire each other. The…
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)
In the movies I’ve seen that depict battle scenes from hundreds of years ago, every army has numerous soldiers whose job it is to carry festive flags and pennants. If this is an accurate depiction of history, what does it mean? That powerful symbols were crucial to inspiring the troops’ heroic efforts? That touches of…
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)
Using a radio telescope, astronomers at Germany’s Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy have been scanning the center of the galaxy. They’re looking for evidence of amino acids that could be the building blocks of life. So far their hunt has been inconclusive. In my opinion, though, they’ve stumbled upon an even more appealing discovery:…
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)
Each one of us is a blend of life and death. In the most literal sense, our bodies always contain old cells that are dying and new cells that are emerging as replacements. From a more metaphorical perspective, our familiar ways of seeing and thinking and feeling are constantly atrophying, even as fresh modes emerge.…
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)
Allure magazine sought out Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez, the women who wrote the book Perfumes: The A to Z Guide. “What are the sexiest-smelling perfumes of all time?” they asked. Turin and Sanchez said Chinatown was at the top of their list. Their explanation: “If wearing Opium is like walking around with a bullhorn…
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)
Last June, comedian Stephen Colbert reported that President Obama’s big TV address to Americans about the Gulf catastrophe was a failure because it went over the heads of too many people. Language experts who analyzed Obama’s speech determined that it was written at a tenth-grade level ” too professorial, scolded Colbert. I wonder what he…
Local project about ‘hardworking families’
What’s that cool sensation I’m noticing today? Wait! I think it’s the breath of fresh air ushered in by the Oklahoma Gazette’s spot-on story (News, Greg Horton, “Organizing controversy”) about the Oklahoma Sponsoring Committee (OSC) on Aug. 18. Your accuracy and level, fair-minded reporting are greatly appreciated. I would like to clarify one point: You…
Traveling tool
Seems like it was just yesterday when we ran an article about 17-year-old Putnam City High School student Morgan Tepsic’s plan to win over the hearts of Asia one stuffed animal at a time, but in reality, it was June 13, 2007. How quickly they grow up! Today, he’s moved from plush toys to naked…
Size matters with the big sound of Denver’s indie-rock quartet Flashbulb Fires
Flashbulb Fires with The Non and Coney Island 9 p.m. Friday VZD’s Restaurant & Club 4200 N. Western www.vzds.com 601-5244 If the music of Flashbulb Fires sounds like it belongs in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, it’s probably because that’s where it is conceived. “The ability to get up in the mountains and isolate…
In your Face
You talk, we listen! Here’s what readers said on some of last week’s Oklahoma Gazette stories in print and online at www.okgazette.com, via unedited comments left on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/okgazette: On Rep. Sally Kern’s statement that “homosexual millionaires” have been working secretly for years “to change the society of America, the political side…
Oklahoma’s labor tradition celebrated at Oklahoma Laborfest
Oklahoma Laborfest The Plaza District Thursday-Saturday 634-4030, www.oklahomarevelator.com/laborfest Oklahoma’s state motto, “Labor omnia vincit” (which translates to “labor conquers all things”), points to a state that was founded on the principles of hard work and virtues of the working class. But Tim O’Connor, president of the Central Oklahoma Labor Federation, feels that Oklahoma citizens might…
Deadpan-comedy dynamo and new movie vampire Todd Barry returns to the metro to star as his wry, witty self
Todd Barry with Cameron Buchholtz and James Nghiem 7:30 p.m. Monday City Arts Center 3000 General Pershing www.okccomedy.com 866-966-1777 $20 advance, $25 door Todd Barry is downright sedate when compared to the fiery rants of his popular comedic brethren. He speaks softly and slowly, and you can’t help but hang on every word. A well-known…
Two rarely-used art processes create a unique visual art show
“Write Me an Art Show” Istvan Gallery, 1218 N. Western through Oct. 31. 1:30-5 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday, 1-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, by appointment 831-2874, www.istvangallery.com If a picture’s worth a thousand words, Istvan Gallery’s newest exhibit is like a hefty novel. “Write Me an Art Show” “? on display now at the gallery,…
Pausing to ponder
The Commentary of Phil G. Busey Sr., “What would they say today?” (June 16, Gazette), gave me a pause to ponder about our country’s direction in the current time capsule. Sentimentality aside, when one looks at the pictures of early settlers who cleared Ellis Island, they arrived with almost nothing ” what they had is…
A grape idea
I drive down Grand Boulevard to get to church and work and smile a bit to myself when I see the construction site for Whole Foods Market. I was raised by a single father, so cooking has never been foreign to me, but only in the past couple of years have I learned that food…
Extinct no longer
Here is a newspaper headline you don’t see too often: “Dino’s head returns.” It was quite an adventurous week for the owner of a Norman gas station and his beloved dinosaur mascot. From stories gathered by The Norman Transcript, here is a recount of what can only be described as a head-scratching tale. Jerry Masters…
Putt-putt tournament to raise money for Edmond-based kids charity
Putt-putt Tournament benefiting The Kids’ Place Putt-A-Round 601 S. Bryant in Edmond 9 a.m., Saturday $10 Everyone loves to play putt-putt, Natasha Baird thought, so why not find a way to do so for a good cause? “We wanted to do something that made a huge impact on the community, and we wanted it to…
CFN Quote of the Week
“He’d walk into every meeting clutching books, trying to send a signal of intellectual gravitas.” “former Oklahoma Congressman Mickey Edwards on Newt Gingrich, in the Sept. issue of Esquire
‘Not the Christians they claim to be’
Recently, I read a letter called “What the hell?” (John A. Murphy, Gazette, Aug. 11). It spoke of re-establishment of Christian values in our society. The Christian beliefs are why I relocated to Oklahoma in the first place. When I first arrived in the Tulsa area, I was not adjusting well to the tragic death…
Last Call
CFN would like a moment of silence for the loss of The Call’s vocalist/guitarist Michael Been, an Oklahoma City native. The 60-year-old rocker suffered a heart attack Aug. 19 backstage at the Pukkelpop Festival in Belgium. The Call’s 1986 song “Oklahoma” lost to The Flaming Lips’ “Do You Realize??” as the Official Oklahoma Rock Song,…
A DIY philosophy proves fruitful for the alt-country Green Corn Revival
Green Corn Revival with Fiawna Forté 10 p.m. Thursday The Deli 309 White, Norman www.thedeli.us 329-3534 A year ago, Green Corn Revival was relatively unknown, having played a few shows around its Weatherford home base and recorded a three-track EP. Fast-forward to the present: The alt-country group has performed across the Southwest, opened for acts…
State questions 744 and 754 offer two sides of the same coin
Across the state this month, kindergarten through 12th-grade students and their teachers are returning to classrooms ” places, like elsewhere in state government, feeling the sting of decreased funding as a result of the recession. The 411 on 744 Show me the money Questioning a question According to Shelly Hickman, public affairs director for the…
Deadstring Brothers relocate and recharge their engines with renewed touring vigor
Deadstring Brothers 9 p.m. Friday The Blue Door 2805 N. McKinley $10 www.bluedoor.com Those who like rawk with a serving of twang will appreciate the Deadstring Brothers. Singer/guitarist Kurt Marschke has led the quintet through eight years, four albums and plenty of lineup changes, while delivering hard-hewn country-rock with needle-pegging bite. There are echoes of…
The Switch
e, Jennifer Aniston (“The Bounty Hunter”) stars as Kassie Larson, an unmarried career woman, in, where else, New York. Her best guy-friend is Wally Mars (Jason Bateman, “Couples Retreat”), a decent, if neurotic guy. We know Wally loves Kassie from the get-go, but he doesn’t find out until the last reel. Kassie decides that she…
What the heck is going on with the new convention center?
It was the least popular, most expensive, but heaviest emphasized project in MAPS 3. And now, it is becoming a controversial aspect of the city’s future. Last December, Oklahoma City voters approved sending 1 cent for every dollar of purchases into a special coffer for projects city leaders said would continue to move the community…
‘Why bother?’
I read (with horror) Joe Wertz’ review of Hayden Miller’s self-titled release (Aug. 18, Gazette). Although I am sure that Mr. Wertz thought that he was just doing his job and writing an honest review, it occurs to me to ask, “Why bother?” Week after week, I see full two-page articles in the Gazette that…
A call for nonviolent civil disobedience
Muslims, radical and many moderate, are proposing a giant, 13-story mega-mosque to be built in the shadow of Ground Zero that will rise above the sacred innocent ashes of those maliciously killed by Islamic terrorists on Sept. 11, 2001. If this ill-advised dagger in our soul project proceeds, then I call for nonviolent, civil disobedience.…
State Rep. Sally Kern clarifies statements she made about ‘homosexual millionaires’ working clandestinely to change American society
State Rep. Sally Kern, R-Oklahoma City, clarified statements she made about homosexuals and equal rights at an Aug. 7 conference in Oklahoma City. Speaking at the Wake Up, America! Conference, Kern told her audience about a group of “homosexual millionaires” who “for years have been working secretly to change the society of America, the political…
After a month of sweltering shoots and perspiring celebs, filming for ‘Bringing Up Bobby’ wraps in Oklahoma City
Umbrellas and frequent shade breaks offered temporary relief to a busy crew and celebrity cast during the final day of filming on “Bringing Up Bobby.” The shoot wrapped on Aug. 13 in Oklahoma City, said Sofia Sondervan-Bild (“Cadillac Records”), one of the film’s producers. Many of the movie’s stars had scenes during the final day…
Paul Skinner shakes up his pop-country sound for a grimier approach
He tried, but Paul Skinner “just isn’t pop-country.” The Edmond musician’s 2006 debut, “Gettin’ With It,” was a great album, and has probably sold close to 10,000 copies, Skinner said. While writing, recording and promoting the 13-song release was a “great learning experience,” it wasn’t a sound or style he felt like sticking with. “I…
The Riversport Challenge is fun to watch and even better to do
Riversport Challenge Noon for children, 6 p.m. for adults Saturday Chesapeake Boathouse 725 S. Lincoln www.riversportokc.org 552-4040 $35 Most Oklahomans would have no clue just a few years ago that the river just south of downtown Oklahoma City would one day be the site of health and prosperity for youth and adults in the state.…
With serviceable acting in a contemporary setting, Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is pretty attractive
Romeo and Juliet 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday Through Sept. 4 Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park Bicentennial Park 500 Couch www.oklahomashakespeare.com 235-3700 $10, $8 students/seniors Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park has not had a bad season this summer, considering that construction uprooted the company from its nifty Water Stage at the Myriad Botanical Gardens and for a…
Let’s Talk Transit public meetings continue Thursday
The Central Oklahoma Transportation and Parking Authority continues its “Let’s Talk Transit” series with two public meetings on Aug. 26 at the Ronald J. Norick Downtown Library Auditorium, 300 Park Ave. At the meetings, COTPA will seek public input on the proposed public transportation routes in downtown Oklahoma City. Covering the same agenda, the meetings…
A Quiet Little Marriage
True to its name, “A Quiet Little Marriage” is a quite little drama. The low-budget indie stars non-stars Mary Elizabeth Ellis and Cy Carter as a happily married couple with the only-in-the-movies names of Olive and Dax. She’s a shop owner with virtually no customers; he’s an elementary schoolteacher. With a home, good friends and…
