It’s a gas, gas, Gassaway
Mike Gassaway, one of the most colorful and controversial defense attorneys ever to dominate an Oklahoma County courtroom (he last made a CFN appearance three and a half years ago, when he was disbarred by the Oklahoma Bar Association for, among other things, accepting sexual favors as payment for representation), plays the part of the…
Warrior
In Philadelphia, his estranged brother, high school physics teacher Brendan (Joel Edgerton, “Animal Kingdom”), is a family man upside-down on his mortgage. Dire circumstances force the two independently to enter a winners-take-all, mixed-martial-arts tournament in Atlantic City, with “all” equating to a prize of $5 million. For Tommy, it’s a chance to move away from…
Shark Night
If that’s your thing — and as a member of the “Jaws” generation, I have no shame in admitting it is — you’re going to have a blast. Where else will you see underwear-clad “American Idol” alum Katharine McPhee getting ripped to shreds? Now on Blu-ray minus the 3-D effects its slim audience had in…
Contagion
Propelled by Cliff Martinez’s other terrific score of 2011 (“Drive” being the other), “Contagion” starts there, on day two of a new, highly lethal virus’ outbreak. Why not day one? There’s a valid reason for that. With the skill of a circus veteran, Soderbergh and writer Scott Z. Burns (“The Informant!”) keep many plates spinning,…
Bright light, big sound
The story behind Austin’s four-piece The Bright Light Social Hour reads something like that of the fictitious band Spinal Tap. Consider this: Three of the four Bright Light Social Hour members boast impressive facial hair, with front man Jack O’Brien’s comically large vaudevillian mustache topping them all. The drummer was plucked out of a high…
Peer review
Zach Winters, solo singer-songwriter: Brian Payne — “Pingree Park Sessions” EPPayne’s new EP descends from the Colorado mountains with freshness and the scent of aspens. His folky textures and words brood and whisper the familiar longings of man. In “Winter Has No Room” and “Yet I Remain,” Payne carves out rivers, roots and seasons with…
Artful prairies
A visual and performance artist, as well as owner of Standing Buffalo Indian Art Gallery & Gifts, 106 E. Main in Norman, Farris has developed a unique signature style that blends American Indian culture with pop art. “I try to give a Native perspective to visual elements that people wouldn’t normally associate with American Indians,”…
How to date your dragon
After a helpful quiz in “Dating the Undead: Loving the immortal man,” authored by a pair of Oklahoma City writers, you just might decide you’re better suited for zombies, vampires, dragons, shifters, angels or demons. Move over Cosmo. This new, tongue-in-cheek book adopts the picture-friendly medium usually reserved for glossy magazines to create the ultimate…
Powwow highway
Spotted Bird PowwowApril 6-8Elk City Convention Center Symposium of the American Indian Powwow April 13-14Northeastern State University Tahlequah Azalea Powwow April 14 Muskogee Convention Center Talihina Indian Festival PowwowApril 14 Talihina Public School Gym Miami Nation Tribal Powwow June 1-2Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College Arena Miami Red Earth Native American Cultural FestivalJune 8-10 Cox Convention Center…
Toasty tootsies
The holidays have come and gone once again, and if you’re anything like me, you’re doing like the bears do and hibernating a little bit for some much-needed R&R after a very busy holiday season. Curl up on the couch in front of the fire with a good book or some vinyl playing in the…
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
As played by human chameleon Gary Oldman (“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2”), British intelligence officer George Smiley is as tightly wound as they come, revealing precious little but taking in everything through his big, Swifty Lazar-styled specs. Based on the acclaimed 1974 spy novel by John le Carré, “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”…
Jackpot jukebox
“It amazes me just how many people are still into Elvis,” said Mike Black, an Elvis Presley impersonator. Black has donned the ’70s-era Elvis wardrobe for years, crooning for poker players as a side gig to his band, Mike Black and the Stingrays. “It’s not just the old people, but also the younger people,” he…
Noisy Baby
History doesn’t foretell too much in the case of Baby Tears. The noise-rock trio from Omaha, Neb., possesses an unpredictable track record of gigs that makes it impossible to pinpoint exactly where the next one will go. “There is no typical show with us,” said guitarist/vocalist Todd VonStup. “It’s unstructured in a good sense. Sometimes…
Swap meet
It’s rare to witness six high-caliber performers share the stage on a given night, even more so at the exact same time. But Opolis’ Saturday Song Swap features six standout Oklahoma musical artists collaborating on one another’s songs, with the performers delicately adding their own little flourish to their colleagues’ ditties. “Everybody’s mic and guitar…
Smag 7: New year, new fare
Blue Nile Ethiopian Restaurant3209 S. Broadway, Edmond 330-9988 Blue Nile had its soft opening a few weeks ago and is now open to diners looking to travel the world via their taste buds. All of its main entrees are presented with injera, a yeast-risen flatbread. Doro wat, the national dish of Ethiopia, is an especially…
Save the stage
Interviews with several theatrical professionals and academics reveal that its unique and artistically exceptional performance spaces — the 210-seat, in-the-round Arena Theatre and the 580-seat Mary Noble Tolbert Theatre — will be a major loss if razed or altered for other uses. “The building itself is an architectural marvel that encourages people to dream boldly…
Bite size: 1-4-11
Circle of life In 2011, we saw them come and go, and Oklahoma Gazette has been there along the way. Among them to go were Perri’s Pizza & Cafe at 2104 W. Britton; the kids at Casady School sure miss the pizza! Also shutting down was Market C, 401 N.W. 23rd, under the umbrella of…
Creole royale
A native of Ghana, Mills attended culinary school in the British coastal city of Brighton. He sharpened his cooking and management skills for 23 years in some of New Orleans’ finest establishments before coming here and partnering with Simeon Adda. Mills’ revelation for Cajun food in Oklahoma may have had some spiritual inspiration. His minister…
Lucky 7s
Which is why restaurants need concepts. And it’s part of why Cafe 7 has lots of loyal customers. The gimmick, if you will, of Cafe 7 is that all of the entrees are $7. And, honestly, that’s what ties everything together. There’s no common thread running through the dishes, no national cuisine they’re presenting or…
Wine, don’t whine
Fortunately, the wine brokers in Oklahoma are making it easy for you to increase your exposure to wine, as 2012 is beginning with a spate of new (and new again) wines hitting metro shelves and restaurants. About six years ago, a line of Spanish wines came and went with scant notice. But Oklahoma Gazette noticed.…
PR BS
—“Lenny Kravitz Announces 2012 American Tour Dates” —“Susser Holdings Announces Exercise of Underwriters’ Overallotment Option” —“Jolly Blast: Soccer Available Now in Spanish!” —“THE SECRET: What Mickey Mouse & Adolf Hitler Have in Common” —“Oregon Truffle Festival Announces Grand Truffle Dinner Menu” —“Çinden ithalat yapmak istiyenlere”
PR BS
—“Lenny Kravitz Announces 2012 American Tour Dates” —“Susser Holdings Announces Exercise of Underwriters’ Overallotment Option” —“Jolly Blast: Soccer Available Now in Spanish!” —“THE SECRET: What Mickey Mouse & Adolf Hitler Have in Common” —“Oregon Truffle Festival Announces Grand Truffle Dinner Menu” —“Çinden ithalat yapmak istiyenlere”
The buffalo: mighty, majestic, proud.
But for an animal that seems to represent the wide-open plains of Oklahoma to so many, buffalo is far from ubiquitous on most restaurants’ menus. If anything, diners are much more likely to find buffalo wings coming out of a kitchen than bison. Partially, that’s due to costs, said Kaiser’s American Bistro, 1039 N. Walker,…
CFN Tweet of the Week
“My favorite part about home games is how loud the arena be it seem like it be sold out every night I love it, it give me chills.” —Oklahoma City Thunder center, Kendrick Perkins, Dec. 27.
iBabysitter
There’s an app that will gauge your performance based on pitch and such (if you actually download this and remember to switch it on before sexy time, our guess is that your score ain’t gonna be too impressive, sport). But we digress. Anyhoo, apparently there’s even an app for baby-sitting. (Obviously for after you’ve seduced…
Blog up
His first post focused less on how he keeps Orlando Magic’s Dwight Howard from getting too low in the post, and more about the actual profession of a workhorse-type mid-level NBA player. Included were some of the basic mechanics of his financial preparation for the recent NBA lockout and some ruminations on the “should-I-stay-or-should-I-go?” conflict…
State of nations
Since before statehood in 1907, the area that would become Oklahoma has been deeply influenced by the American Indian tribes indigenous to the region or relocated to it by the U.S. government. The state is home to nearly 40 federally recognized tribes that are collectively one of the largest employers in Oklahoma. For some of…
Art pays
What if that same amount also covered you annually for most other arts festivals, theater and dance performances, and art exhibits throughout the state? What if your annual 105 pennies were also the catalyst for a $314 million economic impact on Oklahoma? If you divided the amount of state-appropriated funds given to the Oklahoma Arts…
For the payroll tax cut
Thankfully, once Congress realized that it was political suicide to do so, it extended the existing payroll tax cut for a measly two months. I hope they don’t break their arms patting themselves on the back. Forgive my sarcasm, but there are a lot of people in these rough times who probably need to maintain…
The Del Toros — Young Blood Rising
The group’s second effort, “Young Blood Rising,” rekindles that handsome, blue-eyed pop-blues-rock storytelling that singer Dave Rumsey’s good for; and the band steps forward with a confident swagger of knowing it has a couple of great anthemic lyrics and badass guitar solos stashed away for later. The Del Toros spread that good, hooky stuff nice…
No womb at the inn
The Womb Room, located at 25 NW Ninth St. and co-owned by Flaming Lips front man Wayne Coyne, received a cease-and-desist order Dec. 29 from the Oklahoma City Fire Marshal’s Office, which cited occupancy code violations. The gallery was slated to host the Plastic Ono Band, the reincarnation of the avant-garde rock group formed by…
No womb at the inn
The Womb Room, located at 25 NW Ninth St. and co-owned by Flaming Lips front man Wayne Coyne, received a cease-and-desist order Dec. 29 from the Oklahoma City Fire Marshal’s Office, which cited occupancy code violations. The gallery was slated to host the Plastic Ono Band, the reincarnation of the avant-garde rock group formed by…
A Good Old Fashioned Orgy
To send it out in style, Eric decides “A Good Old Fashioned Orgy” is the only proper end to such a long ride. The problem is simply convincing his small circle to join him. Uninhibited and (naturally) obese best bud (Tyler Labine, “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”) is in, but the uptight, BlackBerry-addicted…
A Good Old Fashioned Orgy
To send it out in style, Eric decides “A Good Old Fashioned Orgy” is the only proper end to such a long ride. The problem is simply convincing his small circle to join him. Uninhibited and (naturally) obese best bud (Tyler Labine, “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”) is in, but the uptight, BlackBerry-addicted…
The ol’ shell game?
Chesapeake Energy Corp. CEO Aubrey McClendon may be learning that lesson, as well. According to a Reuters investigative report, Chesapeake has been setting up shell companies — businesses with no real operations and which exist only on paper — to secure leases from landowners in Michigan. The tactic keeps competitors from sniffing around on potentially…
The ol’ shell game?
Chesapeake Energy Corp. CEO Aubrey McClendon may be learning that lesson, as well. According to a Reuters investigative report, Chesapeake has been setting up shell companies — businesses with no real operations and which exist only on paper — to secure leases from landowners in Michigan. The tactic keeps competitors from sniffing around on potentially…
Gurozuka
While 2005’s “Gurozuka” isn’t a carbon copy of “The Ring,” I doubt there will be many American reviews that fail to drop the name. Uh, including this one. The females-only film follows two high school groups — the do-gooder, two-member Movie Club and the snooty, three-member Drama Club — as they venture deep into the…
Gurozuka
While 2005’s “Gurozuka” isn’t a carbon copy of “The Ring,” I doubt there will be many American reviews that fail to drop the name. Uh, including this one. The females-only film follows two high school groups — the do-gooder, two-member Movie Club and the snooty, three-member Drama Club — as they venture deep into the…
Ho, ho … huh?
CFN found itself instantly intrigued by this alleged movie playing at AMC Quail Springs Mall 24. A serial-killing Santa? A David Lynch-directed remake of “Pretty Woman”? The mind boggles at the possibilities.
Ho, ho … huh?
CFN found itself instantly intrigued by this alleged movie playing at AMC Quail Springs Mall 24. A serial-killing Santa? A David Lynch-directed remake of “Pretty Woman”? The mind boggles at the possibilities.
Home in the ‘Oklahoma Hills’
The George Kaiser Family Foundation intends to open the Woody Guthrie Center in Tulsa’s Brady District by the end of 2012. The foundation has purchased the folk singer and activist’s comprehensive archives — including hundreds of notebooks, diaries and scrapbooks containing letters, 581 artworks, novels, essays, unpublished short stories and lyrics to some 3,000-plus songs…
Home in the ‘Oklahoma Hills’
The George Kaiser Family Foundation intends to open the Woody Guthrie Center in Tulsa’s Brady District by the end of 2012. The foundation has purchased the folk singer and activist’s comprehensive archives — including hundreds of notebooks, diaries and scrapbooks containing letters, 581 artworks, novels, essays, unpublished short stories and lyrics to some 3,000-plus songs…
The Expendables: Extended Director’s Cut
Running 11 minutes longer, it’s superior, Sly says, to what we saw in theaters. I’ve gotta be honest: This is my third viewing of “The Expendables,” and other than the awful power ballad that now hangs atop the opening credits, I can’t say I noticed marked differences. (Then again, I’m not a movie memorizer. I…
The Expendables: Extended Director’s Cut
Running 11 minutes longer, it’s superior, Sly says, to what we saw in theaters. I’ve gotta be honest: This is my third viewing of “The Expendables,” and other than the awful power ballad that now hangs atop the opening credits, I can’t say I noticed marked differences. (Then again, I’m not a movie memorizer. I…
