Update
Franciscan monk Cesare Bonizzi, 63, who 15 years ago turned from spiritual new age music to heavy metal (inspired, he said, by the groups Metallica and Megadeth) and who has spent the last several years as the robe-clad lead singer of his own band, Fratello Metallo, announced his retirement in November after realizing, he said,…
The Chill – Jason Starr and Mick Bertilorenzi
nd, but it turns out it holds the key to cracking a series of bizarre dismemberings and murders. Based upon their ritualistic nature and reports of the victims last being seen with one smokin’ hot woman, he believes the crimes to be the work of his childhood sweetheart, Arlana Flaherty. Four decades ago, when Martin…
Undignified Deaths
William Evans, 57, on trial in St. Augustine, Fla., in August for a sex crime that occurred nearly 30 years ago (but not erased by the statute of limitations), committed suicide while away from the courthouse, awaiting the jury’s decision. Without knowing that, the jury came back and declared him not guilty. Engineering student Ken…
Democracy in Action
When the DRP party candidate for president of Mexico City’s most populous borough lost in the primary this year, party officials hatched a plot to elevate a street peddler, “Juanito” Angeles, to run in the general election, with the “understanding” that he would step aside if victorious, in favor of the original candidate, Clara Brugada.…
Government In Action
Google 1, FBI 0: In September, Nebraska prison guard Michal Preclik, 32 (who had been on the job for a year and had just been promoted), was discovered to be on the lam from Interpol for drug and fraud crimes in the Czech Republic. The Corrections Department’s background check, on the FBI’s National Criminal Information…
Seasoned downtown residents who took chance on area are glad they took plunge
At the recent Urban Neighbors monthly social, both the young and the young-at-heart mingled and laughed. No one complained about living downtown or the national economy that has ground to a halt construction of additional downtown housing. LIVELY, URBAN AREA SPOT-ON RESEARCH DOWNTOWN GROCERY STORE And while many in attendance have about two years under…
Gas problems
Two recent articles in the city’s daily newspaper (“Shale speculation off base,” Oct. 19, 2009, and “Oklahoma choir for gas gets bigger,” Oct. 22, 2009, The Oklahoman) promoted the financial advantages of harvesting natural gas from the vast shale reserves in the continental United States. For an informed public, other issues need to be discussed:…
Oklahoma man molds his love for Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie
From the blog dlisted.com comes the story of one man and his love for Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, or Brangelina. Sculptor Daniel Edwards, the man behinds such refined works as Britney Spears giving birth on a bearskin rug and the bronzed baby poo of Suri Cruise (daughter of couch-jumper Tom), comes his latest work,…
Two high school teachers explore world with works that reinterpret surroundings
Early landscape artists would paint realistic vistas to transport viewers to distant and exotic places. Contemporary artists like Audra Urquhart and Kevin Kelly, both exhibiting at the Individual Artists of Oklahoma Gallery through Jan. 10, 2010, use landscapes to represent mental terrain from dreams and consciousness. ETHEREAL VISIONS FREE-FLOWING LANDSCAPE Urquhart, an art teacher at…
Robert Mills assembles classic Christmas ballet with ‘Nutcracker’
now; and the rich, colorful Kingdom of Sweets. As part of the company’s ongoing effort to replace older sets and costumes, some of which date back two decades, the production features new additions to the snow scene, a favorite of Mills’. “Tchaikovsky’s music is just incredible in this section and I always loved dancing with…
Screw the Eggnog’ proves ’tis the season for songs, sketch comedy, sauce
Last weekend, Ghostlight Theatre Club put on a variety show under the rather grandiose title “Screw the Eggnog, Pass the Rum: A Christmas Spectacular!” The show ran for two performances and was billed as a “Nontraditional-Nonfamily Ghostlight Style Christmas.” Non-family: Now that’s a novel “? and welcome “? concept for audiences. The show was comprised…
I think I love you’
Phil Busey Sr., I think I love you. Your Commentary (“Do not sacrifice public education”) in the Nov. 25, 2009, Gazette was spot-on. If we’re spending big bucks to create a world-class boating river, will we staff ancillary concessions with kids who can’t make change or spell the stuff they’re selling correctly? If we’re spending…
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
Imagine that money is not just the literal cash and checks you give and receive, but that it is also an invisible force of nature like gravity or electromagnetism. Then imagine that it’s possible for this primal energy to be favorably disposed toward you — that on some occasions its rhythms may be more closely…
Table tennis finds permanent home in metro as migrating enthusiasts settle near downtown
Table tennis is a sport indiscriminate of age, gender or background. Take a recent example seen at the Oklahoma City Table Tennis Club’s new facility at 1604 N.E. Eighth: An aged man breathlessly hobbled to one side of a table, paddle in hand, and looked across to his opponent, a lithe and athletic young man.…
TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
Scientists say that pretty much everywhere you go on this planet, you are always within three feet of a spider. That will be an especially useful and colorful truth for you to keep in mind during 2010. Hopefully it’ll inspire you to take maximum advantage of your own spider-like potentials. It’s going to be web-spinning…
Museum hosts Michael Martin Murphey’s Cowboy Christmas Ball
Although it’s a joyous season, Christmas can also be a stressful time of the year. Take time to relax with the family and enjoy the simplicity of the holiday at Michael Martin Murphey’s Cowboy Christmas Ball. The 15th annual Western celebration begins at 7 p.m. Friday at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700…
Glad Maps 3 barrage is over
Thank goodness the MAPS 3 campaign is history. One remarkable item is that for the first time, I found myself in agreement with Nathaniel Batchelder. An old saying: “A fool and his money are soon parted” ” but an entire city? I cannot think of any proposed project that is needed, and there is no…
City Arts Center offers winter classes
Kids are invited to come in from the cold and warm up indoors at City Arts Center, 3000 General Pershing, and enroll for winter classes and a youth workshop day on Feb. 6, 2010. Enrollment for the art classes began Monday. Children between 5 and 7 can sign up with Ms. Debbie, who teaches “Wonderful…
City Arts Center unveils Art-O-Mat
“>”I’m a capitalist, but I’m not a very good one,” he said. “If we were to stick to normal business practices, the pieces would be a minimum $15 each, and no one would be buying them, and artists wouldn’t be getting their name around the country and making contacts.” The participating artists include emerging talents…
Riff raff
With special guest “Weird Al” Yankovic, the two-hour show will broadcast live at 7 p.m. tonight to theaters nationwide, including AMC Quail Springs Mall 24, Cinemark Tinseltown USA and Norman’s Hollywood Theaters Spotlight 14. An encore performance beams 7 p.m. Thursday. “Shorts-Stravaganza!” marks the second such big-screen event for the RiffTrax gang, following August’s successful…
George Orwell would understand
This MAPS 3 tax campaign that was just passed in Oklahoma City was not about anything progressive in the generally understood meaning of the word. Despite some public e-mails and statements made by prominent people and then echoed by those who should know better, using the word “progressive” to describe the use of tax money…
Kids deserve better
If you think the biggest scientific hoax is climate change or global warming, examine this: Government spends billions of dollars every year promoting evolution. The number of renowned scientists that have publicly expressed doubt concerning Darwin’s theory of evolution is on the rise. The Discovery Institute’s Dr. David Berlinski writes about this hoax in his…
ARIES (March 21-April 19):
I don’t understand why the astronomers responsible for naming new-found objects are so devoid of flair. Here’s a prime example: They found a blazar, or blazing quasi-stellar object, in a faraway galaxy. It’s powered by a supermassive black hole that’s 10 billion times larger than our sun. Why did they give this fantastic oddity the…
Every move monitored by rock radio radicals, different kind of Spy re-emerges
With expectations stoked by more than five years of public anticipation, months of tedious planning and a handful of vocal skeptics, The Spy’s studio was awash with frenzy and panic Sunday, Nov. 22. AGENT TRAINING FAMILY OF SPIES MISSION-MINDED The countdown was relentless; nothing was working. Toiling for months at his Northwest Oklahoma City home,…
The Princess and the Frog
ng realism is suffering from delusions that make kissing a frog seem comparatively normal. “?Phil Bacharach
Rollergirls skating their way to success
By day, she’s a mild-mannered graphic designer. By night, she’s an elbow-throwin'”
Police Report
In the past three years, at least 39 drivers in Dallas have been ticketed by police officers for the “offense” of being “a non-English speaking driver,” according to a Dallas Morning News investigation in October. The software for officers’ in-car computers features a check-off box with the phrase, perhaps leading officers (and their sergeants) to…
Starlight Mints assemble some mutated Christmas jingles to deck halls in Tulsa, Norman
Children are potent propaganda machines for the pro-holiday spirit lobby. Whether it is Charles Dickens, Dr. Seuss or seasonal elementary school plays across the country, rosy-cheeked tykes are always at the forefront of Christmas tidings, and it looks like kids have candy-cane-hooked Norman’s own experimental indie-pop group, the Starlight Mints. This newfound cheer induced the…
Francis Ford Coppola cares about semi-autobiographical ‘Tetro,’ even if no one else does
Francis Ford Coppola is an odd duck. Insofar as he has the same type of name recognition and public persona as Martin Scorsese, Oliver Stone, Steven Spielberg and many other directors of his generation, one tends to think of him as being the same type of auteur. But while Coppola is responsible for landmark films…
Back to the public space
MAPS 3 passed. Now, what does this vote tell us about Oklahoma City? The first lesson is that voting majorities in Oklahoma City continue to be willing to invest in the public space. If you look at the list of projects in the MAPS 3 proposal, they are largely what are called “public good” or…
GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
I don’t normally recommend that you worry too much about what others think of you. In 2010, however, you could benefit from thinking about that subject more than usual. Judging from the astrological omens, I suspect that you’ll be able to correct misunderstandings that have negatively affected your reputation. You might even have the power…
Invictus
It’s clear that “Invictus” aims at being more than just the average inspirational sports movie. I can’t imagine director Clint Eastwood (“Gran Torino”), who never makes the same film twice, at age 79, being satisfied with such lightweight fare. But his new movie is so concerned with rugby as a game, not as a metaphor,…
OKC’s The Flaming Lips offer Silver Trembling Fetus ornament
We don’t know about you, but we get so sick of throwing the same ornaments on the tree every year: gold stars, glittery Santas, blah, blah, blah. What we really need is a silver fetus on our tree. Thankfully, The Flaming Lips are to the holiday decor rescue. Pitchfork, the indie music Web site popular…
Justifiable Felonies?
Five people were arrested in Los Angeles in October and charged with kidnapping and “torturing” two “loan modification” agents who had taken fees while promising to save their home from foreclosure but had allegedly failed to help. Daniel Adler, 61, was arrested in October in Stony Point, N.Y., and charged with assault. Police said Adler…
Distinguishing between journalism, message board yammering
The yearly rumor mill stating that Bob Stoops is leaving the University of Oklahoma ” this time for the Notre Dame head coaching job ” is exactly why news media should not publish rumors. Stoops was forced, once again, to deny a report that had him packing his bags for South Bend, Ind. Obviously, the…
Remember when
Is something inherently wrong with the state of Oklahoma’s economic experts? Why is it everyone in the entire civilized world understands we’re going through a downturn in the economy and that unemployment is at 10 percent nationwide? In our state, those in charge of putting together the budget missed the boat. Why are they calling…
Ricky Skaggs steers family sleigh to Riverwind Casino for festive concert with The Whites
What started as something every touring musicians fears ” a tour-bus breakdown between stops ” led to what’s become a six-year holiday tradition for country and bluegrass star Ricky Skaggs: an annual series of acoustic Christmas concerts performed with his family. Skaggs and his band, Kentucky Thunder, were scheduled for a concert with The Chieftains…
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
“It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)” is a jazz tune composed in 1931 by Duke Ellington and Irving Mills. In accordance with your long-term astrological omens, I propose that we make that song title your motto in 2010 — the standard you’ll keep referring to as you evaluate which experiences…
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
Even if you don’t plan to go to school in 2010, I suggest you make plans to further your education. Your current levels of knowledge and skill may be quite impressive, but they simply won’t be enough to keep you growing and adapting forever. Eventually, you’re going to need to learn more. And the coming…
Cutting spending a ‘no-brainer’
What happens around your house when the salary doesn’t match the spending? Right: You cut the spending! Not according to the University of Central Oklahoma liberal, cardigan-clad academe Kurt Hochenauer (Commentary, “Counterpoint: Reactive response,” Dec. 9, 2009, Gazette). He thinks we should tax the rich! Yeah, tax the very people who provide jobs. I would…
Shot in Oklahoma movie features Alba’s butt double, or not
In the movie, based upon the book from Okie cult crime novelist Jim Thompson, Casey Affleck plays a psychotic deputy sheriff. How psychotic? Well, in the viral clip, he takes off his belt and spanks Jessica Alba’s bare bottom into a bruised behind while she screams and winces in pain. But get this: She likes…
Wealthy are ‘easy targets’
Kurt Hochenauer would have us believe the economic impact of the last two years has only affected the poor and middle class, hence his support of taxing the state’s wealthiest citizens (Commentary, “Counterpoint: Reactive response,” Dec. 9, 2009, Oklahoma Gazette). In fact, it has affected everyone. The state’s wealthiest have been the ones who have…
Exhibition finds four area artists experimenting with found objects, pop culture, collage
rking in a cubicle. “It took me 23 years of graphic design to realize I’m a sculptor,” he said. “I’m about a year and a half since I walked away from the work world in May 2008.” Now a full-time artist, Wright’s assemblage of sculptures in “Emergent Artists” include characters that maneuver on wheels, and…
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
I’m hoping that 2010 will be the year you do whatever it takes to fall more deeply in love with the work you do. I’d like to see you reshape the job you have so that it better suits your soul’s imperatives. If that’s not possible, consider looking for or even creating a new job.…
High-achiever public kindergartens
Commercial test-preparation courses are already popular for applicants to top colleges and graduate schools, and recently also for admission to prestigious private high schools and grade schools. Now, according to a November New York Times report, such courses and private coaching are increasingly important for admission to New York City’s high-achiever public kindergartens, even though…
CFN Quote of the Week
“We do have disco girls in the jail.” ” Oklahoma County Sheriff John Whetsel, responding to an earlier comment from Oklahoma County Commissioner Willa Johnson after she mentioned the term “disco girls” during a meeting about building a new county jail
Seattle film festival screens ‘Sonicsgate’ about team’s arrival in OKC
What Christmas gift can you get that naughty Oklahoma City resident deserving of a lump of coal? If you can’t find that cassingle of Color Me Badd’s “All 4 Love,” a DVD of a new documentary from the Emerald City might be the right stocking stuffer. The feature-length film “Sonicsgate,” which is directed by fan-filmmaker…
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
I hope you will get more sleep in 2010. And eat better food, too. And embark on some regimen like meditation that will reduce your stress levels. In general, Sagittarius, I hope you will learn a lot more about what makes your body function at optimum levels, and I hope you will diligently apply what…
Hawthorne Heights returns to road that’s carried band through death, near demise
After grinding it out for years like many successful young acts, Hawthorne Heights endured and emerged from significant lineup changes and a name swap to score a record deal. The then-quintet’s 2004 debut, “The Silence in Black and White,” became Victory Records’ biggest seller ever, outdistancing trailblazing screamo peers like Taking Back Sunday, Thursday and…
Light fare with light touch, ‘My Three Angels’ aspires only to be entertainment, succeeds
One wouldn’t normally think of a Christmas play in a 105-degree setting, but that is the temperature in Cayenne, French Guiana, in December, 1910, where “My Three Angels” is set. Actually, a century-plus Fahrenheit Christmastime sounds pretty good right now. Felix Ducotel (Shawn Hicks) and his wife, Emilie (Kris Schinske), run a shop owned by…
MAPS 3 has just passed, but new sales tax for Oklahoma County jail is already being discussed
If local residents thought the battle is over concerning votes for a sales tax, get ready for a new campaign come springtime. That is when Oklahoma County is expected to bring forth an election to impose a new tax on the sales of goods and services. INTERVENTION NO OPINION Just three days after Oklahoma City…
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
Have you been toiling away earnestly at the exhausting homework that life has dumped on you this past year? Have you kept the faith even when you’ve been fooled and confused? Have you applied yourself with a pure heart to the maddening details and puzzling riddles you’ve been asked to master? If you’ve been less…
Aqueduct plans performance in Tulsa with Starlight Mints, Deerpeople
It’s easy to appreciate what Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard saw in David Terry’s keyboard-driven, indie-pop act, Aqueduct. FAMOUS TRACK ENDEARING RESULTS NEW ALBUM With rattling beats over dreamy washes of synth and other lilting synthetic instrumentation, it’s not dissimilar to Gibbard’s own side project, Postal Service, although Terry’s wry smile distinguishes him from…
Dewey Binns — Spare Tires Vol. 1
Stepping up front to steer a more personal project, 8Bit Cynics emcee Dewey Binns recently dropped “Spare Tires Vol. 1,” a rangy disc that dips between dark, confessional hip-hop and light, snappier anthems issued with witty observation. The album was mixed and produced alongside Norman’s DJ Chips, who helped the metro rapper assemble a framework…
MC Lars mixes punk rock, hip-hop for raucous show
While commercial hip-hop’s fascination with gold, gats, drugs and ass is by now as fresh as a “Married “¦ with Children” episode, some artists live up to the form’s fine heritage. EMO PARODY ‘SINGLE AND FAMOUS’ Since hip-hop made its bones selling an urban fantasy to suburban kids, perhaps it’s fitting that one of the…
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
2009 The “Harry Potter” franchise is a rare cinematic creature: one that actually improves the longer it gets in the tooth. For “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” the sixth installment, the filmmakers strike a pitch-perfect balance of faithfulness to the J.K. Rowling novel without being too oblique for neophytes. Here, director David Yates displays…
DVD boxed sets make gift-giving easy
Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza or just non-denominational seasonal goodwill, DVDs remain a can’ t-miss gift. And the more, the merrier, which is why we’ve highlighted 11 recently released boxed sets for the couch potato on your list. Set hut! The Barbara Stanwyck Show: Volume 1DISCS: 3DISH: After blowing up on the big screen,…
G-Force
2009 There are worse ways to spend an hour and a half than with “G-Force,” a partially animated adventure-lite from Disney. Director Hoyt Yeatman, who’s worked special effects on everything from “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure” to “A Nightmare on Elm Street 4,” uses the technology well, and not just as a gimmick. The story begins in…
The Hangover
all over town trying to piece together the debauchery. Not to ruin the surprises, but they involve a stripper, a naked Asian man, a tiger, a Taser and Mike Tyson. It’s like “After Hours” on laughing gas. All three leads get their fare share of funny moments, but make no mistake: Galifianakis is the breakout…
Extract
2009 With movie comedies increasingly dominated by loser men-children, scatological stunts and more F-bombs than shore leave, you’ve got to appreciate the comparatively gentle humor of Mike Judge. The writer/director’s latest offering, “Extract,” doesn’t pummel viewers for laughs, eliciting guffaws “? well, smiles, at any rate “? from character-driven situations. If only it were funnier.…
The Skeptic
2009 Despite initial promise upon a well-cut trailer, Tennyson Bardwell’ s “The Skeptic” never quite takes shape. Tim Daly stars as Bryan Becket, an emotionally distant workaholic who neglects his family “? so much so that when he receives the call his aunt has died, his only reaction is that he inherits her house. And…
