Update
In July in Brisbane, the Indian-born surgeon known in Australia as “Dr. Death,” Jayant Patel, was freed on bail on manslaughter charges, which seems inexplicable since he had fled to the U.S. in 2005 to avoid the charges and only recently had been extradited. Patel’s medical license had been revoked in New York and Oregon…
Least Competent Criminals
In the course of burglarizing Yaakov Kanelsky’s apartment in Brooklyn, N.Y., in July, Victor Marin, 20, accidentally left his wallet (containing ID, credit cards and photos) on the bed. After Kanelsky arrived home and called 911, Marin returned and knocked on the front door. From the hallway, he begged for his billfold back and began…
Things You Thought Didn’t Happen
People would hardly expect a brawl at the Guilford (Maine) Historical Society, but in May, member Al Hunt, who was irate that rare photographs of the town had been loaned to a local restaurant, might have bumped against the society’s secretary, Zarvin Shaffer. According to witnesses, Shaffer then punched Hunt in the face, Hunt’s wife…
Ironies
In July, the new smoking ban for bars and restaurants in the Netherlands took effect, but it won’t curtail patrons’ right to smoke marijuana in Amsterdam’s coffee shops (where they can buy up to 5 grams a day to smoke on the premises). And, just as the ban became law, the Dutch special-effects company Rain…
Virgin Territory
2007 “Star Wars” prequel star Hayden Christensen trades in his lightsaber for a sword (or two) in “Virgin Territory,” which takes place not in a galaxy far, far away, from a time long, long ago: the 14th century, to be exact. While the Black Plague virus spreads across Italy, Christensen’s Lorenzo di Lamberti spreads his…
Judge orders reopening of Terrill’s bankruptcy case
A federal bankruptcy judge has ordered state Rep. Randy Terrill’s 2005 bankruptcy case be reopened. U.S. District Judge T.M. Weaver handed down his order on Thursday. The ruling comes after Terrill’s bankruptcy trustee made the request back in July. The trustee ” John D. Mashburn “alleges an $11,301 loan Terrill made to his 2004 election…
Masters of Science Fiction: The Complete Series
2007 Not only did ABC have so little faith in “Masters of Science Fiction” that the network aired it in the ratings-starved summer, but also pulled it before two of its six episodes ever aired. It did us all a favor. A quasi-companion series to producer Mick Garris’ “Masters of Horror,” this show adapted sci-fi…
I Demand My Rights!
Murder suspect Broderick Laswell, 19, filed a lawsuit in federal court in April against the Benton County (Ark.) Jail, alleging that he was being “literally” “starved to death” while awaiting trial, and complaining of “blurry” vision and of almost passing out. As evidence of his plight, Laswell pointed out that, in eight months behind bars,…
People With Issues
At the time that Alan Patton, 56, of Columbus, Ohio, made News of the Weird in 2006, he had already been consuming boys’ urine for 40 years, he said, and a 2007 jail sentence has had no apparent deterrent effect. He was arrested in June 2008 (and twice since then), accused of turning off the…
Heathers: 20th High School Reunion Edition
1989 “What’s your damage?” “I love my dead gay son!” “Oh, the humanity!” “CornNuts!” Is there any movie more quotable than “Heathers”? (That’s rhetorical, Monty Python fans.) One of those films that found an audience after its initial run, yet could never be made today, Michael Lehmann’s “Heathers” remains a landmark teen comedy, whether you’re…
Compelling Explanations
Edward Defreitas, 36, was arrested in Toms River, N.J., in June and accused of causing a three-vehicle collision that injured two men in a car and sent two others (paramedics riding in an ambulance) to the hospital. Defreitas told police that he had been drinking and had decided to drive around until he sobered up:…
Former Sonics’ fan weighs in on Oklahoma City
Now that the smoke has cleared from the settlement to relocate Seattle’s NBA franchise to Oklahoma City, “Smoke Signals” screenwriter Sherman Alexie is sounding off on “Sixty-One Things I Learned During the Sonics Trial.” The National Book Award winner, American Indian poet and rabid SuperSonics fan was writing for The Stranger, Seattle’s alt-weekly. While pondering…
OKC’s Hinder releases new song
It started three years ago. Airwave audiences eager to “Get Stoned” are largely responsible for morphing Oklahoma City party-rock band Hinder into the world-touring, album- and ringtone-selling juggernaut it is today. The beast is back. Armed with a new single, Hinder has trained the crosshairs on radio stations, and program directors already have been slain.…
Chris & Don. A Love Story
Imagine a documentary about a love story pertaining to a middle to upper class couple in Fifties-era America. Short of potential historical value, it probably wouldn’t be too engaging. Add a twist “? one man in the relationship is a 48-year-old author whose work inspired the German cabaret movement, and the other man is an…
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles ” The Complete First Season
2008 With the exception of “Terminator 2,” I’m no fan of the “Terminator” franchise. But I may have to rethink that stance after consuming of the first season of Fox’s “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.” It’s what “Terminator 3” should have been. Over nine episodes (damn you, writers’ strike!), Sarah (Lena Headey, “300”) moves her…
Wind-power customers enjoy price break
For electricity customers in Oklahoma City and Edmond looking for a break in prices, the answer is blowing in the wind. Charlie Burgett, the director of Edmond Electric, said the utility wasn’t necessarily intending for its wind power option to be a bargain, it just worked out that way. “We recognize there is a cost…
Science Museum Oklahoma exhibit blends amusement with education
With the start of school quickly approaching, it’s probably a good idea to start warming kids back up to the idea of learning. Visiting Science Museum Oklahoma’s newest exhibit, “Destination Space,” is a great way to blend amusement with education, leaving kids ever the wiser on all things intergalactic. The exhibit takes a close look at…
NY museum selects OKC architect’s work for exhibit
uto 0in”>”We bounced ideas off of each other and really tried to get this concept to work,” he said. MODERN-LIVING ISSUES More than 300 artists from 11 countries submitted works for Neuberger’s “Multiplicity” exhibit, which was pared down to 22 selections. Like other prototypes in the show, “Drumstick Dinette” tackles modern living issues and offers…
Journey to 10,000 B.C.
2008 This feature-length History Channel documentary is everything Roland Emmerich’s recent “10,000 B.C.” was not: low-budget, interesting, informative, entertaining and occasionally exciting. Unless you were lucky enough to not see it, you know in Emmerich’s movie how laughable the effects were when people were running from prehistoric beasts? Well, “Journey” manages to do more with…
Meadowbrook Acres aims to preserve quirky, eclectic neighborhood
Driving north on Western Avenue, it’s all too easy for your eyes to slide straight from the Sonic on the corner of N.W. 56th to Grand Boulevard, missing the miniscule neighborhood nestled directly in between. Meadowbrook Acres, at just six square blocks, is quirky, eclectic and, thanks to the dedication of its neighborhood association, staying…
Ch-ch-changes
Politicos are salivating after the first round of the 2008 elections, but judging by voter turnout statewide, they are the only ones. According to the Oklahoma State Election Board, voter turnout for the recent July primary capped at a whopping 18 percent ” not exactly record breaking. But, there is change in the air “…
Generational shift
Some of you may be old enough to have experienced the moment you realized you were becoming your parents. We find ourselves saying to our kids the things our parents said to us. Here’s where I really start sounding like my parents: They have never had to sacrifice or do without. Most prefer to use…
The Wackness
Reviewer’s Grade: D+ This isn’t the worst movie of the year, but it may be the dullest. Josh Peck (“Drillbit Taylor”) stars in The Wackness as Luke Shapiro, a kid who sells drugs on the streets of New York to save up some cash for college. He sees psychologist Dr. Squires (Ben Kingsley) on a regular…
Brideshead Revisited
Reviewer’s Grade: A- Directed by Julian Jarrold (“Becoming Jane”), this new adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s elegiac novel of faith, Brideshead Revisited, recovered is sharp and touching. Charles Ryder (Matthew Goode, “Match Point” can’t decide with which of the Flyte siblings he is most in love”?Sebastian or Julia. Sebastian’s homosexuality offends his Catholic faith, and Julia…
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
Reviewer’s Grade: C+ Brendan Fraser (“Journey to the Center of the Earth”) returns as Rick O’Connell, the dig-’em-up adventurer who once tangled with Imhotep and The Rock in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. This time he’s accompanied by a new wife (Maria Bello, “The Jane Austen Book Club,” taking over the part for…
Wichita’s Museum of World Treasures features fun, facts
If a weekend routine of summer blockbusters has drained your brain, consider feeding your noodle with a visual feast at the Museum of World Treasures in Wichita, Kan., just two hours north off Interstate 135, at 835 E. First. The Discovery Channel has nothing on this place. Really, the big to-do list before you die…
Pineapple Express
Reviewer’s Grade: C+ In “Pineapple Express,” Seth Rogen and James Franco star as, respectively, Dale Denton and Saul Silver, a couple of 20-something stoners suddenly on the lam after Dale witnesses a gangland murder. The movie is the latest production from comedy powerhouse Judd Apatow (“Knocked Up,” “Superbad”), which means it is defiantly foul-mouthed and…
Lyric Theatre performance marks its territory
“Why not?” said director Nick Demos. “First of all, it’s a show that Lyric has never done. It’s a fairly new piece and I think it’s even more timely now than when it came out in 2001. I think that the last seven or eight years, we’ve gone to a place politically that is even…
Rockabilly acts join gearheads, rat rodders for Okie Twist-Off
Grease under their fingernails, beer on their breath and lust in their heart ” that is how Jeff Beck described the culture he fell for decades ago, a metal motor romance that blossomed the moment he laid eyes on a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air with a four-speed transmission and Cragar mag wheels. His love extends…
Oklahoma legislator proposes making gangs illegal
Now here’s a gem of an idea: make certain groups of people who hang out together against the law so that way, people who break the law can’t hang out together. Wow. Well, that’s the plan of State Rep. Paul Wesselhoft, R-Moore, according to a press release. Wesselhoft, a state rep who represents half of…
NY Times’ writer considers what the Oklahoma City NBA team should be called
No less than The New York Times weighed in on the name game surrounding Oklahoma City’s first NBA team. In a July 29 blog post, “Freakonomics” author Stephen J. Dubner suggested that because of the metro’s relatively low housing prices and conservative banking industry, Prudents might make a better name than Thunder, Energy, Wind or…
Automobile Alley hosts graffiti art show
Bobby Entaker is a plumber by day and an artist by night. After a long day at work, he trades in his toolbox for spray paint and sits in front of a blank canvas. He shakes the can, the metal ball inside slamming from top to bottom, while his mind fills with ideas. His finger…
JRB Art at The Elms features triple-bill exhibit
With something to suit everyone’s artistic tastes, JRB Art at The Elms, 2810 N. Walker, has a triple-bill exhibit this month that includes still-life paintings, layered sculptures and whimsical mixed-media paintings. Featuring Dorothy Norris Moses, Bill Rabon and Barbara Broadwell, JRB Art’s gallery is filled with a diverse collection of works. With Moses’ art being…
Portland’s Horse Feathers play minimalist American
The Horse Feathers may tour with a saw player, but the chamber folk group is not likely to be mistaken for lumberjacks. Still, the act is undeniably effective in its ability to distill gorgeous songs from the emotional timbre, rustic atmosphere and sense of sorrow hidden deep within the forested landscapes of the Pacific Northwest.…
The Litigious Society
School custodian Anthony Gower-Smith, 73, was awarded the equivalent of about $75,000 in June in London’s High Court after suing Britain’s Hampshire County government when he hurt himself falling off a 6-foot stepladder. Gower-Smith claimed that he had not been properly “trained” on how to use it, despite his long-time experience with such ladders, and…
Fifty years ago, Oklahoma City activists stood up by sitting down
On a sweltering summer night, Clara Luper was preparing grape Kool-Aid and cold-cut sandwiches in her un-air-conditioned Oklahoma City home when one of the children there changed an inauspicious NAACP Youth Council meeting into history in the making. “Anyplace we can go downtown and eat and get a Coke? Why don’t we go downtown and…
OU’s Courtney Paris spent summer gathering news, not making it
Interview requests are nothing new to Courtney Paris. Recently, however, she gained an entirely different perspective on the process. Instead of giving interviews on an almost daily basis like she does during basketball season, the University of Oklahoma senior found herself on the other side of the microphone, so to speak. For eight weeks this…
Trapped Ashes
2006 On a Hollywood studio tour, seven tourists are taken inside a “Psycho”-like house, in which they get trapped. To get out, they have to share their stories of struggle, all of which are wonderfully sick and twisted. That’s the structure of “Trapped Ashes,” an homage to the Amicus-style horror anthology film. It’s the kind…
Trimming the Government
Among President Sarkozy’s recent moves to trim the size of the French government was the layoff of half of the 165 physiotherapists at the taxpayer-funded National Baths of Aix-les-Bains. The pink-slipped masseurs warn that the country’s health will be at risk if people are unable to get the mud wraps, thermal baths and deep-tissue massages…
OKC’s National Basketball Association team releases 2008-09 schedule
The yet-to-be-named Oklahoma City National Basketball Association team announced its schedule today. The team’s first home game will be Oct. 29 against the Milwaukee Bucks at the Ford Center where the team will play 41 of its 82-regular season games. The Ford Center schedule: ” Oct. 29, Milwaukee ” Nov. 2, Minnesota ” Nov. 5,…
Sooner Theatre’s second space will offer year-round training classes
For nearly eight decades, Norman’s nonprofit Sooner Theatre has set the stage for community entertainment. During the Great Depression, a movie theater in Norman opened and whisked patrons away from their woes. Sooner Theatre, 101 E. Main, opened in 1929 and was the first theater in the region to show talking pictures. It even had…
The Big Bang Theory: The Complete First Season
2007-2008 Two nerdy scientists obsessed with video games and fantasy films live together in an apartment. Moving in across the hall is a foxy blonde. Hilarity ensues, right? Well, actually, yeah. “The Big Bang Theory” rises above its rather formulaic setup, thanks to terrific writing and utterly likable leads. After a shaky start, it took…
The Mummy / The Mummy Returns: 2-Disc Deluxe Edition
1999 / 2001 With “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor” now in theaters, there’s no better way to reacquaint yourself with the adventurous O’Connell family than the films that kick-started the franchise: “The Mummy” and its sequel, “The Mummy Returns.” Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz make a cute couple (if an improbable pairing) in…
Former primary competitors endorse Russell
Exactly one week after the primary election, state Senate candidate Steve Russell received endorsements from three of his primary opponents. The three primary opponents ” Jerry Foshee, Melinda Daugherty and Marty Gormley ” joined Russell for a Tuesday morning press conference at the state capitol. Russell is locked in a runoff battle for the Senate…
