Urban Legends Come to Life
In Bayonne, N.J., in October, Lindsey Millar’s car burned up after a squirrel, chewing on an electric line, caught fire, and its flaming carcass fell down beside the car and rolled underneath it. Jacqui Dean, a member of the New Zealand Parliament, apparently became the latest prominent person to publicly fall for the H2O hoax.…
Political panel calls for renewed bipartisan spirit
Fed up with “politics as usual,” a group of distinguished politicians laid out a criteria Monday to resurrect national bipartisanship. Speaking before a packed house on the campus of the University of Oklahoma, group co-chairman and OU President David Boren said the time is now to bring a change in politics. “We come together…
Revenge Diet’ not so simple, says local doctor
“The Revenge Diet” ” heralded by a book of the same name by author Monica Grenfell ” promises its adherents will lose 15 pounds in a month on a daily intake of 1,200 calories. Maybe, said Dr. Brendon McCollom with St. Anthony Hospital. But a loss of 15 pounds in a month is stretching it,…
Audit deems corrections department ‘cost-efficient’
An audit on the state Department of Corrections found budget problems do not lie within the department, but with the Legislature. After conducting a nearly six-month audit of DOC, for which the Legislature appropriated nearly $1 million, the report concluded better cost savings could derive from public policy changes. The authors of the report…
Armed and Clumsy (all-new)
More people who accidentally shot themselves recently: Opherro Jones, 32, shot himself in the stomach while allegedly pistol-whipping a man (Honolulu, June). A 23-year-old San Francisco police officer accidentally shot himself to death while demonstrating police training techniques to friends at a party (August). A 24-year-old man accidentally shot himself in the foot while aiming…
ACOG executive director dies
dline phones in 1987 and later with wireless phones in 2005. “He was actively involved in environmental issues “? everything from water planning and air quality to legislative and policy issues that impact the greater metropolitan area,” Church said. Among his many involvements, recognitions and contributions to the community over the years, Taylor served on the…
National Treasure: 2-Disc Collector’s Edition
2004/2007 I’m not of the camp that finds 2004’s blockbuster “National Treasure” to be a bad film. Oh, it’s not great by any means, but its inoffensive mix of high-tech action and “Da Vinci Code”-lite adventure makes for a decent diversion. Nicolas Cage stars as Ben Gates, on a treasure hunt for supposed millions, when…
The Heartbreak Kid
2007 Last time Ben Stiller played victim to the gross-out shenanigans of the Farrelly brothers, the result was a 1998 critically acclaimed box-office smash called “There’s Something About Mary.” Nearly a decade later, the same ingredients fortune with neither critics nor audiences. To be honest, it got a bad rap. As Eddie, Stiller stars in…
Oklahoma astronaut resigns from Rocketplane
Oklahoma’s Cmdr. John Herrington, a former NASA astronaut who joined the state’s Rocketplane Global Inc. aerospace company to fly tourists into space, resigned from the company Dec. 21, according to a news release. Herrington, a former U.S. Navy test pilot who flew into space in 2002 as a mission specialist aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour,…
Students sought for free transportation industry program
The application deadline is approaching for Oklahoma high school students interested in participating in a free summer program highlighting the transportation industry, June 1-26. Hosted by Langston University, the four-week, residential Summer Transportation Institute will introduce students to transportation modes and careers through:” field trips, ” hands-on activities and ” presentations. The application deadline is…
Robin-B-Hood
2006 With Jackie Chan not as young as he used to be, his vehicles are relying less on action and more on comedy, yet still try to find a healthy balance between the two. “Robin-B-Hood” —? or “Bo bui gai wak” to those of you in Hong Kong — mostly fits the bill. Directed by…
Mitt, you’re no Jack Kennedy
Mitt Romney is running for president, and the Christian right runs the country. The result is that a Mormon felt compelled to make a speech in which he pretended to defend the separation of church and state, and the freedom of religion. What he was doing, in fact, was pandering to a crucial voting block…
Unsigned metal band Novella writes own ticket across country
In the downtime between national tours with his metal band, singer Tyler Konersman can be found delivering pizzas in St. Louis. The other members of the ferocious Missouri five-piece each do what they can to pad their bank accounts before climbing back in the van for weeks of shows at clubs in Kansas, New Mexico,…
Least Competent Criminals
Failed to Master the Art of the Getaway: Robert Hickey Jr., running from a Hamilton County (Tenn.) sheriff’s deputy in October, dashed into nearby woods, fell into a well and had to be rescued. Rudy Aguas, 25, running from a Reno, Nev., police officer in November after a failed carjacking, ducked into a building but…
Update
What was an edgy, unconventional treatment of a severe diarrhea when News of the Weird mentioned it in 2000 is now catching on as a remedy for the potentially deadly C. difficile bacteria infection, according to a November report by the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. “Good” bacteria in the stomach are often depleted by the antibiotics…
Oklahoma town suffers goats gone wild
You think you’ve heard of “baaaad” laws, huh? It seems to Chicken-Fried News that Oklahoma abounds with them, but then there’s the one in Dibble that really gets our goat. According to KFOR-TV Channel 4’s intrepid Scott Hines, a woman down there, Carol Mendenhall, was ticketed recently when a neighbor turned her in because…
Trio of artists showcased in JRB’s ‘Next’ exhibit
When it comes to local art in this new year, what’s next? “Next,” to be exact. “Next,” which opened Jan. 1 with a reception serving black-eyed peas, is JRB Art at The Elms’ annual New Year’s exhibit, described as a vision of Oklahoma’s contemporary artistic trends. The show runs through Jan. 26. “Following Oklahoma’s centennial…
Creme de la Weird
Mr. Sandy Wong, 45, was sentenced in November in Edmonton, Alberta, to 90 days in jail for three counts of indecent exposure, including masturbating with his pants down while sitting on the roof of a BMW at a local agriculture fair. According to a psychiatrist, Wong said he is sexually attracted to the BMW’s roof…
Former Norman High coach deserves field named after him
One New Year’s wish involves the late Gene Corrotto, who passed away in November at age 93. The Arkansas native and former OU football captain helped establish Norman High as a prep football power during his time as head coach there from 1958-73. Like most coaches from his era, Corrotto did everything from call offensive…
National Treasure: Book of Secrets
Reviewer’s grade: B- More comic-booky than most comic-book movies is this junior “Treasure Island” of a quest for Cibolo, the legendary lost City of Gold. Returning for this sequel are Nicolas Cage, Diane Kruger, Justin Bartha, Jon Voight and Harvey Keitel, and they are joined by Ed Harris, Helen Mirren and Bruce Greenwood as…
Update: Sooner fan will face February trial in Longhorn case
Remember the University of Oklahoma fan accused of tearing the scrotum of a man wearing a Texas Longhorns shirt in an Oklahoma City bar? How could you forget? Well, United Press International reported that Allen Michael Beckett is scheduled to appear at a preliminary hearing on assault charges on Feb. 6, ensuring that this…
Charlie Wilson’s War
Reviewer’s grade: A- In a movie made by A-list filmmakers and starring A-list actors, everyone is at the top of their game in “Charlie Wilson’s War.” The movie tells the true-life story of little-known Texas congressman Charlie Wilson (Tom Hanks), who spearheaded covert CIA funding of Afghan guerrillas defending that country against the 1979…
Former Oklahoma football coach recalls not-so-happy Sooner sideline days
Just when Sooner football fans think the name Howard Schnellenberger can be fully erased from the mind, the gravelly voiced walrus of college football still haunts the Sooner Nation. In a story posted on ESPN.com, Schnellenberger unaffectionately recalls his days of roaming the sidelines in Norman. Sorry to remind you of this Sooner…
Ghostlight Theatre hopes to make mark by taking creative risks
From his first fourth-grade play to working with the Orlando Theatre Project in Florida, Lance Garrett had always wanted to start a theater. A couple of years ago, he and wife Emily Etherton, an actress and former Carpenter Square board member, began exploring the idea of a new theater group. While working on a local…
Once testy with the press, Stoops seems to be lightening up
Now in his ninth year as head coach of the University of Oklahoma football team, Bob Stoops is not known to go off record with reporters or get chummy with the press. “I would never say I enjoy it, but I wouldn’t say it’s a necessary evil,” Stoops said of dealing with the media two…
Meth-addicted mother sentenced to prison for second-degree murder of unborn child
Theresa Hernandez, 31, wept in Oklahoma County Court as she pleaded guilty to second-degree murder of her stillborn baby last month. She should spend the rest of her childbearing years in prison, said Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater. “Unfortunately for Mrs. Hernandez, she has experienced 10 pregnancies of her own. She has five children…
Hunt deer antlers for prizes at Martin Park Nature Center
Families can horn in on some fun this weekend during a hunt for unburied treasure: discarded deer antlers! At 3 p.m. Saturday, Martin Park Nature Center at 5000 W. Memorial will host its periodic “Winter Treasure Hunt” for all ages. “There’s a certain time of the year when white-tailed deer drop their antlers, so by…
Alien vs. Predator: Requiem
Reviewer’s grade: B A major disappointment in 2004’s “Alien vs. Predator” was the climactic dust-up between the two title characters. It didn’t have that old “Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla” cachet that comes with otherworldly monsters whaling the crap out of each other. This time around, directors Colin and Greg Strause bring on the main event after…
Council approves Ford Center vote
By unanimous consent, the Oklahoma City council voted Tuesday for a special election for voters to choose or reject a proposed penny sales tax to spend millions of dollars in improvements to the Ford Center. Citizens will vote March 4 to decide if more than $120 million in improvements to Oklahoma City’s Ford Center…
Former Oklahoma football player turned professional relies on fast food
We’re continuing the college football theme for this next CFN. Sorry, but we can’t help it. Bucky, CFN’s intern, is glued to wall-to-wall bowl coverage on the newsroom television. We were trying to pry him away from watching the Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl at press time. Back to the gridiron, namely Mark Clayton.…
Who should pay the bill?
It was a Thursday evening and my lovely wife, Suzanne, and I were sitting in the living room watching the news, and there he was: Mayor Mick Cornett, discussing an extension of the existing MAPS tax to make improvements to the Ford Center so we can lure the Seattle SuperSonics or perhaps even a…
Undignified Deaths
A 32-year-old man was found dead, stuck in the cat door of his girlfriend’s St. Augustine, Fla., house after she had kicked him out. Said a friend, “(H)is head was caught … like he was (trying) to reach up and unlock the door …” (A 46-year-old construction worker fell to his death in November in…
Nonprofit helps couples learn basics of having a baby while building relationship
Family Expectations is a free program for expecting couples and new parents to teach life skills to make their relationships stronger. FE staffers believe that the most fundamental relationship for a growing child is the relationship of his or her parents. Through a series of workshops, participating couples learn how to:” talk to each other,…
CFN Quote of the Year
“I bet I can stay up longer than they can.” “U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Oklahoma, making the Chicago Tribune’s list of 2007’s best quotes with his comment on Senate Democrats staging an all-night debate on the Iraq war
Book series at OCU focuses on Gothic classics
Gothic novels old and new will be discussed at “Mysterious Fears and Ghastly Longings,” a four-part series beginning Tuesday at Oklahoma City University. According to Harbour Winn, director of OCU’s Center for Interpersonal Studies Through Film and Literature, in a press release, “The Gothic or horror novel remains one of the most popular forms of…
