Move school board elections
When one looks at the Oklahoma City Council races and the untraceable funds that poured into them — and, the fact that so few voters vote in these types of races — it is easier to “stack the deck” against the larger sample of voters who vote in general elections. School boards are controlled by…
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation — Grave Danger
He’s played an Elvis impersonator on an episode of “The Golden Girls,” parodied himself on Margaret Cho’s “All-American Girl” sitcom, and served as a guest judge on that taste vacuum known as “American Idol.” Under the column marked “mitigating factors,” however, was choosing to direct a Very Special Episode of “CSI” in 2005, when the…
The Dead
Your expectations for greatness, however, should be tempered. Despite a few surface tweaks, “The Dead” is just zom-business as usual. Shot and set in the West African desert, the film’s hero is U.S. Air Force Lt. Murphy (Rob Freeman, “Saving Private Ryan”), the lone survivor of a plane crash now stranded in a wasteland that’s…
Land of the Lost
Lost Lander founder Matt Sheehy spends a lot of time alone, out in the wild. It’s his job, actually. The Alaska native is employed as a forester in his newly adopted home of Oregon, and it gives him a lot of time to think. Consequently, his music is similarly cerebral, if not also romantic, in…
‘Morrie’ or less
Based on Mitch Albom’s best-selling nonfiction book, “Tuesdays with Morrie” explores the friendship of Albom, an accomplished journalist driven solely by his career, and Morrie Schwartz, his former college professor. Sixteen years after graduation, Mitch had forgotten all about his college experience until he caught a random episode of television’s “Nightline” featuring an interview with…
Carter Sampson — Mockingbird Sing
The album’s 12 tunes brim with crystal-clear, country guitars celebrating all the joys of rural life — and not necessarily just the whiskey-related ones. It’s a dusty gem of an Okie-born album (Sampson’s now based in Fayetteville, Ark.), spiked with the occasional blast of organ and glimmering pedal steel from Chris Moore. Wanda Jackson and…
Cupid-approved
An amorous atmosphere is often as important as the food and service when choosing that perfect spot to treat your adored one. Thankfully, there are some choice establishments that will cater to those starry-eyed couples next week. “We’re the place to come because we have the intimate setting, roses on the table, crimson color scheme…
Love, Oklahoma Gazette style
The next day I placed the ad in the newspaper. I received nearly 100 responses that varied from the farmer who mailed me a sweet marriage proposal to the surgeon who bought me dinner at Junior’s restaurant. Most left a recorded message; unless they sounded psychotic on the recording, I returned their calls. If we…
Well, what’s ‘Tulsa’ backward?
As of press time, user 77Kittycole’s YouTube video “Alyssa talking backwards. Poteau Oklahoma” had notched more than 2.25 million views, thanks to 14-year-old Alyssa Kramer’s awesomely weird ability to instantly speak any word backward. So either every single one of Poteau’s 8,520 inhabitants has watched the thing 266.2 times, or we’ve got one o’ them…
Brief encounters
ANIMATED “A Morning Stroll” It sounds like the setup to a simple joke: Why did the chicken knock on the apartment door? This clever ditty answers it thrice, each with animation appropriate to the 1959, 2009 and 2059 time periods it depicts. Thus, we move from simple line drawings to today’s CGI, and ending with…
Young restless
Since winning “Nashville Star” in 2006, Chris Young has been on a hot streak: three smash albums, high-profile tours and two American Country Awards. It’s all a far cry from his start at a certain Tex-Mex restaurant chain, competing with sizzling fajitas for the crowd’s attention. “I had a standing gig at an El Chico…
Revolt!-ing
“Fuck, yeah, we’re garish!” Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt! singer Neil Fridd shouted on the phone, from somewhere in Minnesota. If nothing else, the man’s concise. “There are a million bands I can go see. We’re gonna do the opposite of that,” he said. “It’s only garish because there’s a ton of really boring bands.” “Overt”…
My funky valentine
Not everyone is entrenched in coupledom. The downtown Metropolitan Library, 300 Park Ave., hosts Book of Love, a free, speed-dating social for ages 25 to 45, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday. Guys will be seated at stations while ladies rotate through every five minutes. At the end of the night, cards will be turned…
Core issues
ADG, the lead consulting firm hired by the city for MAPS 3, joined with Hargreaves Associates and Jonathan Rose Companies for the limited study after some city officials questioned whether Core to Shore was still valid amid the changes that have taken place in the city and with the MAPS 3 program. ADG’s Mike Mize…
Bite Size: 2-07-12
Dancing with the BronchosOn Friday, support University of Central Oklahoma athletes with a dinner, auction and plenty of reasons to dance from 5:30 to 11 p.m. at Hamilton Field House, 100 N. University Drive in Edmond. The night will include a cash bar, ballroom dance lessons, as well as a dance contest among the UCO…
Heavy PETAing
At least what’s what we’ve been told. Actually, we’ve been told that by the folks of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the media-savvy advocacy group that knows how to bring the sexy back to photo ops (assuming photo ops used to be sexy). On Thursday in downtown Oklahoma City, PETA is slated to…
Laura Massenat: involved and independent
In urban public school districts such as ours, where challenges are many and resources are limited, the importance of electing qualified, engaged board members cannot be underestimated. Change for the better can only occur with great effort and commitment to the future of the children growing up in our city. We’re fortunate to have three…
Super PACs pack it in
Following that U.S. Supreme Court decision, there arose political action committees known as “super PACs,” which can make independent expenditures on behalf of or against a candidate. Super PACs are allowed to take unlimited contributions from corporations or individuals, although they do not (wink, wink) “coordinate” with the candidates they’re supporting. Several Oklahoma names were…
Going green
The show doesn’t stop when comedian Erik Sprague exits stage left. The full-body tattoos, forked tongue, Teflon horns and sharpened fangs make sure of that. Aka “The Lizardman,” Sprague has undergone a series of body modifications to help him become, by most appearances, a lizard, and the crowd’s attention is always on him. “My body…
Cool cup o’ joe
The January article extols the virtues of the atmosphere. “Formerly a car dealership, the downtown space used re-claimed lumber from the old floor for the front bar, tables, and roasting space,” writes the author. “It feels open and airy, with streaming sunlight that provides a natural pick-me-up.” Oh, and the coffee is pretty damn good,…
Bueller? … Bueller? … Balkman?
While the ad certainly conjures up fond memories for GenXers who grew up quoting “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” the memories are particularly personal for former state Rep. Thad Balkman. His childhood house in Long Beach, Calif., served as the onscreen home for Bueller. “Location scouts liked our house because it’s not in the Spanish style…
Silly love songs
Will Muir, Shitty/Awesome vocalist/guitarist The Smiths, “Hand in Glove” It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks when you’re in love. It’s about the proximity, protection and acceptance of the person you absolutely need to be near. Who cares if the “good people laugh”? Not me. Prince, all of “Lovesexy” It’s one long track with no…
Telling his side
Former Oklahoma Gov. David Hall, who served time in prison after his term in office, has penned a new memoir of his life. Although he writes in “Twisted Justice: A Memoir of Conspiracy and Personal Politics” that he’s forgiven his supposed tormentors — the former U.S. attorney who prosecuted him, several reporters for The Daily…
‘Live from …’
Danielle Mahoney, a 2009 graduate of Classen School of Advanced Studies, recently completed an internship in the costume department of NBC’s long-running sketch-comedy show. She is in her third year studying production and costume design at New York University. “It was so fun to see things like a cardboard box labeled ‘Gaga Dress’ stacked in…
Smag 7: Love your food
Shawn’s Sushi 5612 Northwest Expressway, Warr Acres 792-2211 <br> Owner Shawn Zhang came to Oklahoma from the northwest part of China, but he specializes in irresistible Japanese sushi. Some of his best-sellers are the aptly named “Spicy Cowboy” and another called “Lifesaver,” which is tuna and salmon with lemon, cucumber and avocado. Sweeten the celebration…
Birrieria Diaz
The growth of Oklahoma City’s restaurant scene doesn’t just include swanky, expensive eateries. Luckily, we have also had an explosion in local treasures offering scrumptious food at reasonable prices. Among them is Birrieria Diaz. It specializes in serving up big plates of delicious Mexican food. It’s important to note the fare is not the typical…
Moon Thai
It’s hard to be the first one in a restaurant. You look around at all those empty tables and you begin to wonder, “What do other people know that I don’t?” I have eaten in empty restaurants and regretted it. Sometimes, those places have no business because they don’t have any business being in business.…
Kiss my assets
According to the nonprofit Corporation for Enterprise Development, the state ranks 33rd in the U.S. for financial security, which determines if people have enough savings to handle a job loss, a medical emergency or a similar money-draining crisis. CFED’s 2012 Assets & Opportunity Scorecard found that nearly 27 percent of Oklahomans are “asset poor.” More…
Taxes got your goat?
In the months leading up to this session, two separate task forces recommended reducing Oklahoma’s personal income tax beginning this session, with the goal of ultimately scrapping the tax. The panels — Gov. Mary Fallin’s Task Force on Economic Development and Job Creation and the legislative Task Force on Comprehensive Tax Reform — differed in…
‘Pride’ and joy
The Oklahoma Children’s Theatre and Oklahoma City University’s School of Theatre have teamed up to bring the beloved Jane Austen novel “Pride and Prejudice” to the stage. The OCT has performed plays based on literary works before, like Mary Shelley’s “Frankestein,” but this will be its first time performing an Austen adaptation. OCU students and…
PR BS
—“Say ‘Cheese’ When You Say ‘I Love You’ on Valentine’s Day” —“Chicken Parm Deli Meat – Samples” —“World’s 1st Internet Connected Baby Scale” —“STYX Set To Take Over TV Airwaves All This Month As U.S. Tour Continues” —“Neon Hitch can ‘F*ck U Betta’”
The gap trap
While city revenue is expected to grow at a rate of around 3 percent, city Budget Director Doug Dowler told the council on Jan. 31, forecasts show overall expenditures are likely to increase at a rate of around 4.4 percent over the next five years. The biggest anticipated expenditure growth lies in personnel services and…
PR BS
—“Say ‘Cheese’ When You Say ‘I Love You’ on Valentine’s Day” —“Chicken Parm Deli Meat – Samples” —“World’s 1st Internet Connected Baby Scale” —“STYX Set To Take Over TV Airwaves All This Month As U.S. Tour Continues” —“Neon Hitch can ‘F*ck U Betta’”
Sicilian nose
Maybe you like Syrah, and not the overly jammy Australian variety, but a subtle, yet powerful Rhone style. The red fruit, earth and smoke give the wine a brooding quality. When wine lovers are asked to describe their first encounter with Nero d’Avola, the main varietal grown in Sicily, those are the two most common…
Love is in the web
Blind dates and setups aside, there’s hope out there these days by way of the Internet. Online dating once came with a stigma that nearly outweighed the benefits of actually finding a partner in the first place. Most assumed the sites to be the equivalent of a dark alley: full of smelly trash and frequented…
After Rice
Even so, Democratic state Rep. Al McAffrey and Republican attorney Jason Reese, the candidates squaring off in Tuesday’s special election, both said they’re confident in the race for Senate District 46. McAffrey, the son of a Baptist minister, runs several businesses, including a funeral home. He has spent the last five years representing House District…
Picture this
Described by wired.com as “the repository of some of the best snapshots on the net,” Instagram topped 10 million users even before celebrating its first birthday. That popularity is reflected in Oklahoma City, with more than 5,400 photos given the hashtag #okc. The #igersokc community got together early this year for its first “insta-meet,” taking…
CFN Headline of the Week
“Kevin Durant is the best combination of talent and personality in sports today.” —the February issue of Esquire
CFN Headline of the Week
“Kevin Durant is the best combination of talent and personality in sports today.” —the February issue of Esquire
Flower power
If you’ve got a special someone or a whole batch of special someones, sending and receiving flowers is one of life’s decadent treats. The receiver feels like the most special person, and the giver gets to bask in the joy of a companion or friend. You know, maybe you just want some fresh flowers for…
Nude Nuns with Big Guns
Make that a sacrilegious twist. And as with the also new-to-DVD “Dead Hooker in a Trunk,” you need not proceed beyond reading the title. On a smack trip after being beaten up within an inch of her life, nun Sister Sarah (Asun Ortega) awakens with new purpose: doing the Lord’s work. She already does, but…
Metal Shifters
Two brothers (Kavan Smith, TV’s “Eureka,” and Colby Johannson, “Final Destination 3”) who work in construction in the depressed small town of Redeemer, Idaho, see a downed Russian satellite crash into a nearby field. The object’s pieces are covered in some sort of green alien slime that looks like Silly String and moves like The…
Norman Music Festival headliners announced
Today, NMF confirmed via their website that the band and Hayes Carll would be closing out the festivities on the Main Stage and Jack Daniels Stage, respectively. Currently signed to Atlantic Records, Portugal. The Man is a psychedelic rock band that has released seven albums, most recently last year’s “In the Mountain in the Cloud.”…
The Devil’s Rock
The structure is “The Devil’s Rock” of this New Zealand fantasy’s title. Inside, they meet a representative of their Nazi enemy, Col. Meyer (Matthew Sunderland) who warns them of the shrieking woman’s voice they hear. Halfway into the film, when we finally see why: She’s hot! See, the imprisoned woman looks just like Capt. Grogan’s…
A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas
I’m not the target for these movies, as I do not find the mere sight and/or mention of someone toking up to be funny. Nor do I get why it’s supposed to be. As with any joke, there’s got to be a payoff. Perhaps the sky-high are much forgiving. I thought the first movie, 2004’s…
Laura Gibson — La Grande
It’s called “listening to Laura Gibson’s new album,” because this eerie, simple singer from Portland is everything the plastic-lipped Hollywood pop/sadcore (note: these are tags that have been following Ms. Del Ray around every corner, but what the heck do they mean?) isn’t, and then some. For one thing, Gibson knows how to gently arrange…
Shake, rattle and roll
At 10:15 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 7, Oklahomans are asked to drop to the ground, roll under a desk (or another sturdy object) and hang on for 60 seconds. The exercise — sponsored by the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management and the Oklahoma Geological Survey — is part of the Great Central U.S. ShakeOut, in…
Whitechapel: The Ripper Returns
That’s a tough case to crack, especially when Chandler’s fellow squad members — who heavily resent his promotion in the first place — don’t buy in to his theory. But this BBC tale being titled “Whitechapel,” after all, we know that Chandler is correct. And that revelation — strengthened with the discovery of each subsequent…
30 Rock: Season 5
Now that “Season 5” is here — all 22 episodes, all three discs — I realize how much I genuinely missed its regular presence. While no longer the award-hogging “it” comedy it once was, it’s still scene-to-scene hilarious. The start of the season finds the gang at “TGS” in flux. Overeager former NBC page Kenneth…
‘Xana’-boo
One can see how it might have been a good idea: Adapt the notoriously bad Olivia Newton-John 1980 movie musical, “Xanadu,” for the stage. Embrace the movie’s badness by doing much of the show on roller skates, and you could have a high-camp frolic. But Lyric’s tepid production, directed by Alan Muraoka, is less than…
Dark humour
A one act by Peter Shaffer (“Equus,” “Amadeus”) set during the mid-1960s in London, “Black Comedy” focuses on a momentous night in the life of struggling artist Brindsley Miller. He’s due to meet a prospective buyer for his work in the presence of his fiancé’s disapproving father. Things go off the rails when a fuse…
Point Blank
As its title suggests, the “Fugitive”-esque “Point Blank” begins at rapid fire, with our protagonist, Samuel (Gilles Lellouche, “Mesrine: Killer Instinct”), literally running for his life, not to mention that of his wife. A quick flashback reveals the reason why: Witnessing a car crash, Samuel swoops in and puts his nursing skills to good use…
Snow Patrol — Fallen Empires
The resulting album optimistically handles maturation and the journey from regret to embracing imperfection, only to be set back by the occasional self-indulgent, plodding love note from vocalist/songwriter Gary Lightbody. Fortunately, the incorporation of playful melodies and eccentric synths leave impression enough to warm even the coldest heart. Jacknife Lee returns for the fourth time…
King Kearn
Singer-songwriter Mat Kearney has come a long way from his rebellious, skate-punk roots, but his love for hip-hop — the music and culture — remains. That juxtaposition with his folky beginning has made Kearney the performer he is. “That in-the-moment thing that hip-hop brings is something that I love. It’s unfolding before your eyes, and…
Take Shelter
Right out of the gate, this act of weird weather alerts audience that something bad is going to happen, and the calm before the storm will be anything but serene. Strangely, Curtis (Michael Shannon, TV’s “Boardwalk Empire”), a blue-collar worker in a small town in Ohio, is the only one who notices how different the…
