Least Competent Criminals
Better Planning Needed: Brier Cutlip, 22, and Paul Bragg, 25, who were on parole and prohibited from possessing firearms, were re-arrested in December in Elkins, W.Va., when they showed up for a parole appointment. However, they had just come in from a day of hunting and were still wearing orange vests, alerting the parole officer…
Youth Group – The Night is Ours
Youth Group’s “The Night Is Ours” starts off with the dreamy, woozy “Good Time,” which sets the stage for the entire indie-rock album by repeatedly claiming “I had myself a good time, and now I don’t feel like myself.” The album rarely strays from the area right between the positive feeling of dreaminess and the…
People With Too Much Money
After Nicolas Cage filed a lawsuit against him for mismanaging the actor’s money, Cage’s former business manager Samuel Levin filed his defense in November, charging Cage with creating his own problems by disregarding Levin’s budgetary advice. According to Levin, Cage’s 2007 purchases included three houses (costing $33 million), 22 cars (including nine Rolls-Royces) and 47…
Must Be Something About Septic Systems
After six years of total obstinacy, Janet and Lowell Carlson finally agreed in October to upgrade their farm’s septic system in Camden Township, Minn. Until then, the couple had ignored numerous inspections, sheriff’s visits and court orders even though a new system had already been paid for (by escrow funds left by the owner who…
The Science of Sex
Wake Forest University’s Institute of Regenerative Medicine, which has successfully grown human bladders in the lab using only a few extracted cells sprayed onto a chemical frame that mimics the body’s tissues, has so far been unsuccessful at regenerating penises because of the organ’s complexity. However, it announced in a November journal article a success…
Common Sense Takes a Vacation
Three men were convicted in August in Kansas City, Mo., of having convinced “numerous” customers to buy 3-inch-by-4-inch laminated “diplomat” cards that, promoters said, would legally free them from ever having to pay taxes or being arrested for any crime. According to the FBI, customers ponied up fees ranging from $450 to $2,000 to get…
GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
When I was 19, I read Alan Watts’ The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are. After that, I was sure there was nothing else I needed to know in order to live intelligently. It was, I thought, a compendium of the best insights worth knowing. My certainty eventually faded, thank Goddess. In…
Lou Barlow – Goodnight Unknown
Lou Barlow is the sort of character who is legendary because he is legendary. It’s right and good to hold him in high esteem, because he’s important. But this is the first time I’ve ever sat down to review a Lou Barlow project (be it a Dinosaur Jr., Sebadoh, Folk Implosion, or solo project release),…
Systemic poverty
Reducing poverty remains one of Oklahoma’s greatest challenges in the early 21st century.Poverty, in the state’s historical context, is systemic and has gut-wrenching realities, such as basic hunger. It’s also a major part of the state’s mythology. Oklahoma’s image as a “poor state” has endured ” fairly or not ” since the Great Depression and…
Common sense takes a vacation
Three men were convicted in August in Kansas City, Mo., of having convinced “numerous” customers to buy 3-by-4-inch laminated “diplomat” cards that, promoters said, would legally free them from ever having to pay taxes or being arrested for any crime. According to the FBI, customers ponied up fees ranging from $450 to $2,000 to get…
Least Competent Criminals
Brier Cutlip, 22, and Paul Bragg, 25, who were on parole and prohibited from possessing firearms, were rearrested in December in Elkins, W.Va., when they showed up for a parole appointment. However, they had just come in from a day of hunting and were still wearing orange vests, alerting the parole officer to the fact…
OKG gives awards to its favorite (and not-so-favorite) Christmas cards
Now that the most holy of holidays is over and we’re back at work ” bah, humbug ” it’s time to clear our offices of the multitude of Christmas cards. We appreciate the Hallmark moments, everyone, but clutter is clutter, especially non-seasonal. But before the well wishes are totally trashed, CFN would like to bestow…
Metro teens teach crafts to kids in ‘craft rave’
Metro teens will help kids express their crafty creativity during a workshop 2-4 p.m. Sunday at Southern Oaks Library, 6900 S. Walker. The Craft Rave was created and organized by the Metropolitan Library System’s teen advisory board, said John Hilbert, young adult services librarian. The teens will teach kids age 10 and older how to…
Art in the Aughts
Zeroing in on the ’00s, Oklahoma Gazette offers up an eclectic review of the decade’s exhibits, stagings and screenings. VISUAL ARTS CREATING CONTROVERSYBy Joe Wertz Revisiting some of their most stirring, controversial and discussion-provoking moments, a handful of metro arts organizations look back at the exhibits and efforts that incited dialogue and helped define a…
Oklahoma Film Critics’ Circle releases their picks and pans for the year
Iraq War thriller “The Hurt Locker” was named the Best Movie of 2009 by the Oklahoma Film Critics Circle. Kathryn Bigelow was also named Best Director for her role in steering the war drama, which follows an elite team of bomb-disarming soldiers. George Clooney was picked as Best Actor for his “Up in the Air”…
Carrie Underwood tarnishes downhome image by marrying a Canadian
Checotah native and “American Idol” victor Carrie Underwood’s recent Christmas special on Fox was bad enough, but the news that she’s now engaged to Canadian hockey star Mike Fisher is like pouring salt (or whatever spice of your liking) in the proverbial wound. What the puck, Carrie? We fellow Oklahomans aren’t good enough for you?…
Smacking down in Norman, Auguste Rodin’s ‘The Kiss’ pays lip service to doomed lovers
Auguste Rodin’s “The Kiss”Through March 15, 2010Fred Jones Museum of Art555 Elm, Normanwww.ou.edu/fjjma325-3272$5 adults, $4 seniors, $3 children 6-17 When Dante descends to the second level of hell in his 14th-century allegorical poem “Inferno,” he speaks to a woman caught in the vortex of swirling lovers condemned by lust. Trapped in an embrace with the…
Norse code
I just wanted to express my thanks for the article you published about Asatru (News, Greg Horton, “Okies and Odinism,” Dec. 23, 2009, Gazette). As a member of the Oklahoma Great Plains Kindred (along with the Asatru Alliance, and the Odinic Rite), Aundrea Grooms is my kinswoman. I’ve known for a bit now that she’d…
It’s Complicated
I don’t have a prejudice against movies like this “It’s Complicated””? writer/director Nancy Meyers likes making romantic comedies with a sharper than usual edge “? but I do have a small prejudice against the characters in them. I’m just making that clear up front. Jane (Meryl Streep, “Doubt”) and Jake (Alec Baldwin, TV’s “30 Rock”)…
Opponents of House Bill 1595 expect abortion-report legislation to be re-introduced
Oklahoma House Bill 1595, aka the Statistical Reporting of Abortion Act, suffered another setback on Dec. 18 when Oklahoma County District Judge Daniel Owens extended a temporary restraining order until Feb. 19, 2010. The order prevents the state from demanding women who are seeking an abortion fill out a 10-page questionnaire, and prevents the state…
GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
“We should not think of our past as definitely settled, for we are not a stone or a tree,” wrote poet Czeslaw Milosz. “My past changes every minute according to the meaning given it now, in this moment.” I suggest you make abundant use of this wisdom in 2010. According to my reading of the…
MAPS 3 needs a spanking
I didn’t vote for or against MAPS 3. I believe we need to grow our city, but not at the expense of others. Others that can’t afford health care, elderly care programs, counseling for a drug-dependent loved one, and a meal on the table or a house to have a meal. Somehow, MAPS 3 will…
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
Your limitations will be among your greatest assets in 2010. Yes, you heard me right, Libra; I’m not speaking ironically or sarcastically. During the coming months, you will be able to benefit from circumstances that you might otherwise imagine would prevent you from operating with maximum freedom. It might require you to look at the…
Save it for Sunday school
I have to respond to a couple of letters in the Dec. 16 Gazette. Joan Stirlen (“Wealthiest already keeping crisis at bay”) claims that the wealthy have kept us from economic disaster by spending and filling the tax coffers, but she may be unaware of the nifty little tax dodge that allows Oklahomans to purchase…
Edge of the Abyss
As the national recession drags on, it has become abundantly clear that Oklahoma cannot avoid a financial disaster. Golden opportunities to invest in our future were lost when revenues were high. Without long-term vision, we failed to properly fund our “best” education system or improve our workforce development. Our state further failed to shrink government…
The Cribs – Ignore the Ignorant
The Cribs were originally so passionate and earnest about their rock that they injured themselves during live shows. While seeing them open for Death Cab for Cutie I saw the lead singer rush back to his microphone stand, overshoot the entry and split his lip wide open on the microphone. He didn’t flinch and continued…
The Flaming Lips unveil Dark Side, Mirror Ball in New Year’s Eve Concert
New Year’s Eve Freakout!!with The Flaming Lips andStardeath and White Dwarfs8:30 p.m. ThursdayCox Con vention Center1 Myriad Gardenswww.coxconventioncenter.com(800) 745-3000$10-$25 For most people, celebrating New Year’s Eve means looking forward to what will come and making resolutions to ensure the impending year far exceeds the last. For local and traveling fans of The Flaming Lips, recent…
A Decade on Stage: Best of Oklahoma Theatre in the ’00s
Cripple of Inishmaan” by Carpenter Square Theatre 2005 Musical: “Little Me”by Oklahoma City Repertory Theater Play: “Enchanted April” by OU 2006 Musical: “Cabaret”by Lyric TheatrePlay: “Noises Off” by OU 2007 Musical: “Company”by OU Play: “Amadeus” by Oklahoma City Theatre Company 2008 Musical: “Chicago”by OUPlay: “The Laramie Project”by Oklahoma City Repertory Theatre and Pollard Theatre 2009Musical:…
The Young Victoria
You probably know Queen Victoria best by those 19th-century photographs of her, that stout and gloomy dowager draped in black. “The Young Victoria,” a ravishing docudrama, goes beyond those enduring images, presenting a youthful and spirited Victoria long before she put the Victorian in the Victorian Era. Emily Blunt (“The Devil Wears Prada”) portrays our…
Jailhouse crock
I am baffled that a jail roughly 20 years old must be replaced at a cost of $350,000,000 to taxpayers (News, Scott Cooper, “Go directly to jail,” Dec. 16, 2009, Oklahoma Gazette). The basis for the need to build the jail is last year’s U.S. Department of Justice report, which confirmed the deplorable conditions and…
Oklahoma model/host Olivia Munn releases an autobiography
So Oklahoma’s own Olivia Munn is writing a book. Who’s Olivia Munn, you ask? Pull your teenager away from his “Space Invaders” or “Yars’ Revenge” or whatever video game these kids today play, and he’ll fill you in. Most likely after he drools. She’s the photogenic model, lad-mag mainstay and occasional actress who’s best-known as…
Oklahoma County residents not supportive of sales tax increase for new jail
What are the chances local voters will approve a second sales tax vote for another public improvement? Some previous polling data might give insight. Oklahoma County officials are expected to send the proposal to a vote sometime between May and July of next year. The proposed county sales tax to fund construction of a new…
60-pound beaver killed in attack on 42-pound child
Despite what the snickering of horny teens on the school yard might have you believe, no, you do not want to have a face-to-face encounter with a beaver. Just ask the 5-year-old Durant boy who was bitten by one on Dec. 19. According to KOCO-TV 5’s Web site, which filed the story under “Irresistible,” the…
Sherlock Holmes
First, let’s address the proverbial white elephant in the room: Just because Peter Cushing and Basil Rathbone’s Sherlock Holmes never were seen boxing or performing martial arts doesn’t mean the great detective didn’t do it. Those skills are right there in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s original stories and novels, so quit your whining. As a…
Evolutionary War
More disturbing than her ignorance of evolution is Judy Wesselhoft’s insistence that our children deserve to be kept ignorant, especially in a state whose science standards have routinely garnered an “F,” on par with Arkansas and Alabama, for not even mentioning the word evolution. Wesselhoft might just as well question why the U.S. government spends…
Local favorite Little League Hero re-unites with songs old and new
Little League Hero8 p.m. ThursdayThe 51st Street Speakeasy1114 N.W. 51stwww.myspace.com/51speakeasy463-0470 Little League Hero’s Kyle Caldwell admits he might be little bit out of touch with the area’s music scene. Since the band disbanded in January 2008, he said that while he’s noticed some changes among venues and crowds, it’s been only from afar. “I’ve been…
Oklahoma Tax Commission’s credit for electric cars generates dropping sales and confusion
When Roger Gaddis heard about the 50 percent tax credit the state of Oklahoma offered to people who purchase electric cars, he literally couldn’t believe it. He called the Oklahoma Tax Commission to make sure the credit actually existed and was told it did. But that wasn’t enough for him. “I still was somewhat in…
Ghost Machine
things up, you may want to consider a rental, rather than a purchase. It looks great for its budget, however, and may best be appreciated with a group of gamer friends. Drugs optional (and certainly not condoned by this newspaper). “?Rod Lott
We Shot the Moon – A Silver Lining
We Shot the Moon’s “A Silver Lining” suffers not from bad songwriting, but from a lack of identity. The band’s songwriting talent peeks through in several songs, but the band takes the majority of its cues from similar, more-established artists. This results in an altogether average pop-punk album that is not their best effort. “A…
A look back at the controversies surrounding Oklahoma last decade of visual arts
Revisiting some of their most stirring, controversial and discussion-provoking moments, a handful of metro arts organizations look back at the exhibits and efforts that incited dialogue and helped define a decade on display. Oklahoma Arts CouncilState Capitol Dome, 2002An art installation on a grand scale, the addition of a dome atop the State Capitol in…
The public does not need these releases
Lots of press releases cross our desk. This week, these titles least screamed “Stop the presses!”“”Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma Redesigns Web Site to Help Visitors Better Understand Health Insurance”“”ONEOK Partners Signs NGL Fractionation Capacity Letter of Intent with Targa Resources Partners”“”McCurtain County Tourism Authority Announces All Cabins Are Open and Are Welcoming…
