En La Cama
2005 At least one can’t accuse the Spanish-language film “En La Cama” (translation: “In Bed”) of fiscal irresponsibility. All of its 85 minutes take place in a hotel room (and adjoining bathroom) with a total cast of two. That duo is Daniela and Bruno “? played by Blanca Lewin and Gonzalo Valenzuela, respectively “? who,…
Shoot ‘Em Up
2007 Writer/director Michael Davis’ apoplectic “Shoot ‘Em Up” plays better at home than it did in theaters. Perhaps its over-the-topness is just easier to swallow on the smaller screen, where you’re more in tune with cartoony shenanigans. Clive Owen is a Good Samaritan who saves a newborn baby from a sniveling Paul Giamatti and his…
Least Competent People
It is apparently becoming more difficult to recruit competent suicide bombers in Afghanistan because twice in a two-day period in January, clumsy bombers accidentally blew themselves up before they ever had the chance to take their targets out. One fell down a flight of stairs while on his way to an attack in the town…
Undignified Deaths
More Ironies: A 66-year-old millionaire roofing company founder was killed at his home in Rock, Wis., in December when he accidentally fell through the roof of his garage. An 18-year-old Amish man was killed in Hustisford, Wis., in October when, working on a construction crew, he came into contact with a high-voltage wire and was…
Recurring Themes
At least one collector spent the equivalent of $40 on an original “Freddie W.R. Linsky” abstract expressionist painting, praising its “flow” and “energy,” according to a December report in London’s Daily Mail, and a gallery in Berlin was said to have made an inquiry about Linsky’s other works. Linsky, as longtime News of the Weird…
Jumper
Reviewer’s grade: C- Might as well jump … to whatever’s playing next door at the multiplex, should your ticket stub read “Jumper.” Although this problem-plagued production (its leads were replaced two months into filming) isn’t a disaster, a mess is still a mess. Anti-actor Hayden Christensen (“Awake”) plays a young man who can teleport…
Ironies
California’s Solar Shade Control Act protects solar panels from obstructions from sunlight, and in January, Santa Clara County officials sought to enforce the law against homeowners who themselves are staunch environmentalists. Since the back yard of Prius-owners Richard Treanor and Carolynn Bissett contains lush redwood trees that block their neighbor’s panels, the county ordered that…
Compelling Explanations
As the home-mortgage industry continued to reel in January from the Countrywide Financial Corp. debacle, a federal bankruptcy judge learned that the company, in at least one case (with others suspected), had not only backdated crucial documents but fabricated them altogether and then told the judge the company was merely trying to be “efficient.” A…
Definitely, Maybe
Reviewer’s grade: A- For a season when movie studios typically unload their crummiest fare, “Definitely, Maybe” is a rare gem “? a romantic comedy that delivers the goods for romcom devotees without sacrificing intelligence and poignancy. Writer-director Adam Brooks, whose scripting credits include “French Kiss” and “Wimbledon,” sets up his tale as a…
University of Oklahoma supporter’s day in court postponed
A court hearing for the man accused of ripping another man’s scrotum has been delayed until March, according to The Oklahoman. Allen Michael Beckett, a 53-year-old University of Oklahoma fan and church deacon, was charged with aggravated assault and battery, a felony, after a brouhaha at a Henry Hudsons Pub with Brian Thomas, a…
China’s cricket fascination
China’s historical fascination with crickets has recently been exhibited in cricket beauty contests, singing competitions and prize fights, according to a January Los Angeles Times dispatch, and has led even to increasing vigilance about crickets cheating with performance-enhancing drugs. The fighters duel in terrarium-sized containers, and, according to the Times, “Overhead cameras (project) the action…
Downtown OKC once played home to brothels
If she wasn’t the first to run a whorehouse in Oklahoma City, Big Anne was certainly one of the most successful. She was a shrewd businesswoman who controlled and colluded with the city’s thieves, gamblers, drunkards, prostitutes and shady dealmakers. Big Anne was also popular with important businessmen and civic leaders, and her fat pocketbook…
Anything for a Vote: Dirty Tricks, Cheap Shots, and October Surprises in U.S. Presidential Campaigns – Joseph Cummins
Quirk All this ugliness heating up between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama? Par for the course. Joseph Cummins should know. He’s written the book “? literally “? on all the trash-talking and backstabbing that would-be commanders-in-chief have done on their way to the White House (or, in the losers’ case, unemployment), in “Anything for a…
Stock Market Crash giving away CD valentines at gig
Metro pop-rockers The Stock Market Crash have a major crush on their Oklahoma City audience. To show their love, band members are giving away hand-painted valentines Friday night in the form of a limited-edition single containing five new songs. Friday’s show at The Conservatory, 8911 N. Western, will be the band’s first in six months,…
No End in Sight
Reviewer’s grade: B- First-time filmmaker Charles Ferguson writes, directs and produces this documentary about the role bureaucratic mistakes played in creating the Middle Eastern military swamp the U.S. is mired in today. Narrated by actor Campbell Scott, “No End” features a lot of archival footage of Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, George W. Bush, Condoleezza…
Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins
Reviewer’s grade: C Quick, roll up the welcome mat. Martin Lawrence, the star of “Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins,” is a talented comic actor, but neither he nor his first-rate supporting cast “? including Mike Epps, Cedric the Entertainer, Michael Clarke Duncan, Mo’Nique, James Earl Jones and Joy Bryant “? are done any favors in…
Harding students produce arts festival
Warm up with a free art festival “? brimming with dancing, food and an altogether enriching atmosphere “? at Winter ArtsFest, to be held from 2-5 p.m. Saturday at Harding Fine Arts Academy, a charter high school in the historic Harding building, 3333 N. Shartel. The festival will feature Harding Fine Arts students’ paintings, drawings…
Oklahoma presidential supporters celebrate Super Tuesday at same establishment
Politics makes strange bedfellows, but primaries make strange watch parties in this era when “bipartisanship” is the buzzword. Republicans and Democrats imbibed elixirs derived from malt and barley under the same roof during the Feb. 5 Oklahoma primary, according to Wade Goodwyn’s NPR report, “McCain, Obama share celebration space,” on the Feb. 6, 2008, “Morning…
Tackle show hits fairgrounds
With fishing time right around the corner, the 29th Annual Oklahoma Tackle Show has more than 150 exhibitors ready to get you “hooked” up. From Thursday to Sunday, the biggest tackle show of its kind in the Southwest will be held in the Travel & Transportation Building at State Fair Park, 333 Gordon Cooper. At…
Animals shown love at zoo’s Valentine’s safari
Saturday’s Valentine’s Day Zoo Safari will include making valentine treats ” not for humans, but for the animals of the zoo, 2101 N.E. 50th. Candice Rennels, manager of marketing and public relations, said the annual safari is a unique way to celebrate Valentine’s Day, as well as one’s love for animals. “It’s a fun, unique…
The Litigious Society
In October, Korie Hoke filed a $1.6 million lawsuit against the Tempe, Ariz., police, claiming that it was actually an officer’s fault that she, after a New Year’s Eve bender, crashed into a cement wall and suffered serious injuries. Hoke had called police to a party, distraught that she had caught her boyfriend cheating on…
General Hospital: Night Shift ” Complete First Season
2007 Disclaimer: I don’t just hate soap operas “? I loathe them. But “General Hospital: Night Shift” “? a spin-off of ABC’s daytime powerhouse “General Hospital” “? promises something different. It’s right there on the box: “More drama, more sex, more soap, more story.” More boring. This is the same old…
Oklahoma governor encourages to applaud, y’all
Gov. Brad Henry will not go down in history as Oklahoma’s oratorical governor. For those who have followed him from the beginning of his gubernatorial campaign in 2002, listening to Henry deliver one of his speeches is like hearing whales mate: sort of intriguing and excruciating at the same time. But Henry’s latest State-of-the-State…
Fool’s Gold
Reviewer’s grade: D+ With a title like “Fool’s Gold” to work with, letting you know that this flick ain’t the real thing is just too easy. This iron pyrite of the Caribbean almost looks like a treasure, but the gold coins are just tasteless chocolate wrapped in stamped foil, and the whole thing founders…
Dedication
2007 I can’t figure out why a good actress like Mandy Moore isn’t forever minted as America’s sweetheart. Wait, yes, I can: It’s because she picks the lamest movies in which to waste her talents. From “License to Wed” to “Because I Said So,” 2007 was not a kind year for Moore at the…
99 Questions You Must Ask a Man Before Sleeping with Him & Definitely Before Having Sex – Armani Valentino
According to Armani Valentino, author of the book “99 Questions You Must Ask a Man Before Sleeping with Him & Definitely Before Having Sex,” common sense “is not that common” nowadays. The 27-year-old entrepreneur’s self-published book aims to help young women know their mates in the literal sense before knowing them in the biblical sense.…
Primary solution
This column will appear more than a week after Super Tuesday, when Oklahomans voted for president in a closed primary. I am glad my preferred candidate (John McCain) won, if for no other reason than because my position cannot be cited as sour grapes: It would be a wise decision for Oklahoma Republicans to make…
On Second Thought
In August 2004, business executive Tomas Delgado, driving 100 mph in a 55 mph zone, fatally smashed into a 17-year-old bicyclist near Haro, Spain. In 2006, Delgado sued the boy’s family for the equivalent of about $29,000 for damage to his car, and the lawsuit languished until January 2008, when, perhaps shamed by worldwide publicity,…
Indie Sex
2007 The Independent Film Channel explores the history of sexuality in cinema in “Indie Sex,” a compilation of three related one-hour documentaries, each tackling a different aspect. “Censorship” details society’s efforts throughout history to suppress sex on screen. Vintage film clips demonstrate that whereas we picture the Thirties and Forties as the “good…
Funding issues could stall completion of American Indian museum
Since 2006, when construction began for the American Indian Cultural Center & Museum, progress has been slowed by the course of the Oklahoma River and the prospect of dammed-up state and federal funds. Officials say AICCM construction could be delayed or even halted if more funds do not begin to flow in soon. The project…
Two Buddhist nuns from Britain bringing enlightenment to metro
Two Western Theravadan Buddhist nuns will be visiting Oklahoma City and Norman on Thursday through Saturday for informal gatherings and a one-day spiritual retreat. The nuns are from Amaravati Buddhist Monastery near Great Gaddesden in England. Edmond resident Arpita Brown, a member of event sponsor Saranaloka Foundation, said the theme of Saturday’s all-day retreat is…
Metro’s smaller rock clubs still offer loud music, eager crowds
Although high-capacity venues in Bricktown and celebrated clubs throughout the metro have long attracted popular touring bands and established local acts, many musicians and fans have started a sonic siege of the metro’s smaller and lesser-known rock clubs. Success often doesn’t come as dollar signs, and what unites these smaller clubs is their owners’ belief…
45th infantry faces menace in Baghdad missions
BAGHDAD ” A recent explosion did not kill or injure any of Oklahoma’s 45th Infantry Brigade, the Thunderbirds, but instead underscored the nature of the menace that lies outside the U.S. Embassy Annex compound where many of them reside. Oklahoma’s Thunderbirds will preside over a complex of forward operating bases, or FOBs, in the sprawling…
Creme de la Weird
Energetic Perverts: Elementary school principal John Stelmack, 60, was arrested in Bartow, Fla., in December and accused by prosecutors of innocently photographing young girls but then using a computer software program to place their heads on photos of nude women (which may not even be illegal, according to a 2002 U.S. Supreme Court decision). Kazuo…
Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’ comes to CitySpace
Throughout time, men and women have plotted their paths to power “? in smoky rooms and back alleys, as clich
Oklahoma Senate finally formally denounces Crow laws
It took 100 years to do it, but the Oklahoma Senate finally formally denounced the first piece of legislation the body ever created: “Jim Crow” laws. You read that right: the first. In 1908, the fledgling state that once had been considered a potential haven for black people turned around and slapped segregation on…
Women’s a cappella group delivers musical valentines
For more than a decade, members of the Oklahoma City chapter of Sweet Adelines, an international women’s organization dedicated to four-part a cappella harmony have called in sick to work on Feb. 14 and warmed up their vocal cords to serenade unsuspecting significant others at their homes and offices with singing valentines. “I think it…
Oklahoma City attorney and gun-range instructor faces arms charges
What happens when an instructor doesn’t follow the rules he is trying to teach others? Well, as one local attorney found out, you can get indicted. KTOK-AM 1000 recently reported a federal grand jury returned indictments against Oklahoma City attorney Doug Friesen of allegedly lying to federal agents and illegally possessing a machine gun.…
Do you want change?
The wisdom of the “Tao Te Ching” captures the chaos and the energy of this remarkable political season: When you think you know, that is when you do not know. But when you know that you do not know, that is when you know. Pollsters and pundits beware. All the high-tech touch-screen maps and scientific…
Full House – Pete Hautman, editor
Putnam The poker craze may have hit its peak already, but apparently no one notified the book industry, because the past year has seen a rash of fiction set in its 52-card world. Among the most notable are “The Picasso Flop,” a “Texas Hold ‘Em mystery” by bad-actor-turned-bad-novelist Vince Van Patten, and “Dead Man’s Hand,”…
Delaying sex gives teen opportunity to succeed, claims abstinence administrator
The message rang loud and clear from the Pauls Valley church: Teens, abstain from sex. Bethlehem Baptist Church’s Rev. Michael Eaton’s words during the recent “youth Sunday” sermon echo a stand Oklahoma and the nation’s Christian community has taken for years. But the emphasis among youth workers, nonsecular and otherwise, these days seems to be…
Sales of Plan B pill not slowed by debate
The controversy surrounding the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the so-called “morning-after pill” for nonprescription distribution has not slowed the rate of use of the emergency contraceptive. The morning-after pill (levonorgestrel) is manufactured by Barr Pharmaceuticals and sold under the registered trade name Plan B. Barr reported that projected sales for 2007 would total…
Peterson caps magic rookie season with MVP honors
Adrian Peterson got hurt this season, just like some members of the NFL brass feared he might. That was the knock on the former University of Oklahoma running back going into the NFL draft last spring. That was the reason teams like Detroit, Cleveland, Tampa Bay, Arizona and Washington all passed on the one-time Heisman…
City Council approves TIF funds, defers school district decision
The Oklahoma City Council today unanimously approved an allocation of a little more than $1 million of Downtown/MAPS Economic Development Project Plan TIF No. 2 Funds for “residential development costs” for the Midtown Renaissance mixed-use development project. The city council today also approved an allocation of $1.75 million of Downtown/MAPS Economic Development Project Plan…
