Recurring Themes
Recurring Themes Poor at Multitasking: In Britain’s Manchester Crown Court in December, Imran Hussain, 32, was sentenced to eight years in prison for his DUI-related crash that killed two people in August. (Hussain was also masturbating at the time.) Louise Light, 21, was not hurt when she crashed into guideposts in Woodstock, Ontario, in November,…
Council members plan to run again
Oklahoma City council members Pete White and Ronald “Skip” Kelly announced they intend to seek re-election to the City Council March 3. White was appointed to the council in 2005 after former council member Brent Rinehart was elected to the Oklahoma County Commission. He was elected to a full four-year term a few months later. Kelly…
The Joys of Air Travel
In December, a Flybe Airline flight from Cardiff, Wales, was preparing to land as scheduled at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris when the pilot announced that they had to return to Cardiff because, he said, “Unfortunately, I’m not qualified to land the plane in Paris.” Because of the heavy fog, the plane would have…
Least Competent Criminals
Questionable M.O.s: Jessica Cohen, 20, was re-arrested in Cincinnati in December. She had gone to the local Public Defender’s Office seeking a lawyer to represent her on a theft charge, and while there, according to police, stole an employee’s cell phone. (However, she had already filled out paperwork with her name and address.) Robert Dendy,…
Genetic modification
Genetic modification sounds like frighteningly complicated lab work, but amateurs are routinely doing it in garages and dining rooms across the country, according to a December Associated Press report. Hobbyists (some terming themselves “biohackers”) are busy creating new life forms and someday, observers say, may turn up a cure for cancer or an accidental environmental…
Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume XIV
1989-1999 On the heels of its impressive “20th Anniversary Edition,” Shout! Factory delivers its second box set of everyone’s favorite movie-riffing robots with “Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume XIV.” While the four episodes comprising this installment aren’t top-of-mind series classics, “MST” is like pizza and sex: never, ever bad. Your best hour-and-a-half bet here is…
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
Once every few years, a panel of Hindu and Buddhist judges in Nepal chooses a new “living goddess,” a young girl who serves, until she reaches puberty, as an incarnation of the deity Taleju. One of the tests each candidate must pass in order to be eligible for the role is this: She must show…
Former Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner joins OKC law firm
Former Oklahoma Corporation Commission Jim Roth has signed on with Oklahoma City-based law firm Phillips Murrah. The firm announced that Roth will handle energy and regulation issues. “I am thrilled to join the Phillips Murrah team and help lead our State and its businesses to their full promise; be it wind, natural gas, conservation or…
Friday the 13th Part 2: Deluxe Edition
1981 Avenging the beheading of his loving mother, Jason Voorhees embarks on his first killing spree in “Friday the 13th Part 2,” the instant sequel to the slasher classic. Unlike its big brother, this one isn’t being re-released uncut, but it comes with several new special features. As sequels go, this one’s pretty good. The…
Hulk Vs
2009 Hulk smash “? and smash again “? in “Hulk Vs,” a two-disc pair of animated features from Marvel Comics pitting the green giant against one mad mutant and one Norse god. “Hulk vs. Wolverine” comprises the first disc. After an exceedingly slick title sequence, the fun gets immediately underway, making good on its title…
Fight fans converge to raise funds for Police Athletic League
Police officers are winning the hearts and minds of inner-city youth by introducing them to athletics through the Police Athletic League national initiative. With cops as mentors, the program hopes to buffer impressionable teens from negative influences in their lives. SILVER MEDALISTADVOCATE OF CHARITIESVIE FOR A TITLE To honor their work, the OKC Charity Fight…
Oklahoma newspaper informs it is illegal to warm up driverless vehicle
OK, here’s a logic quiz. We hope you’re ready. Say you want to warm your car up in the morning. You start the car ” obviously, the keys are in the ignition ” and you run back inside. Fine. But, if you don’t lock those car doors, you could find a $126 ticket greeting you…
The Wrestler
Mickey Rourke (“Sin City,” “Domino”) stars in “The Wrestler” as Randy “The Ram” Robinson, a lumpy, trailer-dwelling professional wrestler who performs in church halls and recreation centers to augment the meager income he earns working in a grocery store stockroom. Randy’s body is a 50-something mass of scars and torn soft-tissue injuries, but he doggedly…
Moonlight: The Complete Series
2007-2008 Were it hitting air now, following the smash success of the film “Twilight,” instead of a year before it, CBS’ “Moonlight” might have been a bigger hit. Regardless of timing, however, it’d still be an awfully weak show. Alex O’Loughlin (“August Rush,” TV’s “The Shield”) stars as Mick St. John, which is just about…
Friday the 13th: Uncut
1980 Ever since “Friday the 13th” forever changed the face of horror as a sleeper hit in 1980, fans have been wanting to see the slasher classic in its original, unedited form. It may have taken the upcoming remake to make that happen, but Paramount finally has relented. And you know what? I can’t tell…
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
If you use a cell phone, you have in your possession a metal called coltan, a component that’s essential to the phone’s function. Most of the world’s coltan comes from the Congo, and is mined by Rwandans who survived their country’s genocide in the 1990s. They often work for militias that sell coltan illegally to…
The Stewardesses
1969 Coffee, tea or “¦ sex? The answer is obvious for the cast of “The Stewardesses,” a 1969 softcore cheapie that would’ve crashed and burned had it not been the first sex film shot in 3-D. Unless you frequented Times Square grindhouse theaters at the time, it’s unlikely you’ve ever seen these sexy stews, although…
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
For the citizens of Switzerland, it’s immoral to absentmindedly pluck wildflowers out of the ground and throw them aside. That’s because this enlightened country has a Bill of Rights for plants. The 22-page document, drawn up by a panel of theologians, philosophers, geneticists, and lawyers, strongly urges respect for the feelings and dignity of all…
Point: What ‘pro-life’ really means
What we should really be afraid of is those who support governmental control of our bodies. Don’t be fooled, because that’s what many of the falsely called “pro-life” members of our Legislature are after. It is their ideology that government can dictate to a person what they can and cannot do in matters of their…
Blazers hoping continued success will overcome Thunder’s arrival
When Doug Sauter looks into the Ford Center stands on game nights lately, he sees a lot of familiar faces. After all, his Oklahoma City Blazers led the Central Hockey League in both average and overall attendance. That’s nothing unusual for the Blazers, who have built a faithful following since their 1992 reincarnation, thanks mainly…
Revolutionary Road
rdo DiCaprio, “Body of Lies”) “? fresh, engaging, handsome “? meets his distaff equivalent at a party and soon she becomes Mrs. April Wheeler (Kate Winslet, “The Reader”). He’s going to become a big-shot copywriter and she’s a would-be actress. But his job stalls out and she can barely manage community theater talent. He becomes…
University of Oklahoma plans a Darwin celebration
Amidst all the opinion about Charles Darwin’s famous “On the Origin of the Species,” the book that gave us the concepts of natural selection and evolution, there’s a little-known fact. It doesn’t mention apes. The book discusses pigeons, ostriches, ants, bees, whales, even monkeys ” peripherally ” five times. While each line is rife with…
Tulsa rockers mint straightforward, high-volume rock currency set for OKC circulation
Moreland, Wayne Wedge, Nick Flores and Clay Flores — collectively Tulsa’s The Black Gold Band — are breathing a little fresh, Midwestern, rock ‘n’ roll air into some of the danker establishments around the state. “When I was little, my dad listened to John Mellencamp, Tom Petty, Neil Young and Waylon Jennings,” Moreland said. “When…
Officials detain man at Oklahoma City federal building
Federal officials arrested a man Wednesday after he walked into the Oklahoma City federal building claiming he was carrying bombs. The new federal building, where the incident occurred, is not far from the site of the 1995 Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building bombing, which killed 168 and wounded hundreds. According to Federal Bureau of Investigation…
Oklahoma Christian hosts 2009 National Engineers Week Future City competition
Move over and make way ” the engineers of tomorrow are here. About 300 middle school students from across the state will compete Saturday in the 2009 National Engineers Week Future City competition, an annual national contest that brings together kids eager to learn about engineering. Participating students will be judged on a model city…
Eagle Eye
2008 There’s nothing inherently wrong with wildly implausible thrillers. But cinematic goofiness is tough to pull off without the commensurate amount of winking at the audience, and “Eagle Eye” is one eye desperately in need of a few winks. In this mishmash of “WarGames,” “Enemy of the State” and post-9/11 paranoia, Shia LaBeouf plays Jerry,…
Commentary: Counterpoint: The value of life
The Oklahoma Legislature is poised to once again address a number of abortion-related issues this spring. And, while no issue has defined the two major political parties in this country over the last 30 years more so than abortion rights, many Oklahomans remain “pro-life” in their views. This issue continues to create an emotional, theological…
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
Most art critics long regarded Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) as a second-tier modern painter, writes Don Thompson in his book The $12 Million Stuffed Shark. But that estimation got upgraded in 2006, when one of Klimt’s paintings sold for $135 million. Art history was rewritten with a checkbook, says Thompson. According to my reading of the…
CFN mailbag sets the record straight
When we’re not responding to e-mails about cable descrambler kits and choice telecommuting opportunities, Chicken-Fried News gets an occasional electronic correspondence from our readers. (We’ve found they’re usually smarter than us.) The latest came from University of Oklahoma student Vinay Joseph regarding a Jan. 14 CFN about a certain spiritual and political leader from India.…
Mississippi-born blues-folk favorite sweeps into OKC with rambling, rootsy songs
Some artists are crafted by outside forces, while others wind upward, vine-like, working their way slowly into the light, supported by the traditions that came before them. Rootsy singer/songwriter Jason Eady chose vine over product after being cured of his musical disillusionment by such artists as Steve Earle, John Prine and Townes Van Zandt. Although…
Red dirt rocker, state chart-topper gives audiences some Texas country flavor
Reared in rock with folk singer roots, red dirt music is often disparagingly referred to as “college country” in music towns outside Oklahoma and Texas. But that’s fine with Josh Abbott, a singer/songwriter and band leader from Texas. For Abbott and the rest of his band ” fiddle player and guitarist Preston Wait, drummer Edward…
A Comics Studies Reader – Jeet Heer and Kent Worcester, editors
University Press of Mississippi I’m more than a bit jealous of anyone who got to take a college course on graphic novels, because that sounds like one fun elective. The coolest class I ever got to take at the University of Oklahoma was on Alfred Hitchcock. As much as I admire the master of suspense,…
The Litigious Society
Elizabeth Shelton, 21, filed a lawsuit in Houston in December against the truck driver that she accidentally rear-ended in a 2007 crash, while she was intoxicated, and in which her boyfriend was killed. Though she was convicted of manslaughter, she is now suing for $20,000 damage to her Lexus SUV and for “pain and suffering,”…
Oklahoma artists show off chops with staple discipline of art world: portraiture
ARGIN: auto 0in”>”I’m dealing with the emotion of the sitter and trying to pull out their emotions, rather than dealing with the background,” she said, adding that portraits are her favorite pieces. “With a portrait, you can convey the human condition. You can feel the emotion of the sitter, and there is an instant connection,”…
Oklahoma senator sings after losing football bet
The U.S. Senate ain’t the kind of place to raise your singing voice, as Oklahoma’s Sen. Tom Coburn, a CFN favorite this week, recently discovered. Like a lot of us, Coburn apparently thought this time the OU Sooners might break their bowl curse and win the BCS Championship Game. Ol’ Tom was so heady with…
Oklahoma City Museum of Art screens ‘Beautiful Losers’
New York City has seen hundreds of art movements come and go, but none quite like the skateboard/graffiti/punk/DIY scene in the 1990s when street-level outsider art began infiltrating mainstream galleries and museums. “Beautiful Losers” is a documentary about the cultural epicenter that fed off an assortment of artists collectively pushing the medium into mainstream pop…
Dinosaurs return to life in a groundbreaking theatrical production roaring to life
represented, including the three-horned Torosaurus; the back-plated, spike-tiled Stegosaurus; the long-necked, three-story-tall Brachiosaurus; vicious Raptors; and, of course, the king of the dinosaurs and one of the largest predators to ever walk the earth, Tyrannosaurus Rex. In addition to showing how they lived, the production also tells the story of the earth and the many…
U.S. senate tailors ‘Tomnibus’ bill for Oklahoma’s Coburn
It probably takes a lot to provoke two-thirds of the senators in the United States, but it appears that our own Tom Coburn managed to do it. Shocked, are you, dear reader? Well, the news comes from a spate of 1,200 or so stories written about the subject (according to Google), appearing apparently everywhere but…
Plentiful festival opportunities keep social calendar lively
Harsh winter weather might tempt metro dwellers to huddle up in their caves until the frost thaws, but there are too many top-notch events going on this season to suspend extracurricular activities completely. Valentine’s Day will inspire thousands of couples to sweep out across the city’s restaurants and night clubs. St. Patrick’s Day has its…
OKC piano rock teaches ‘Science’ education
Oklahoma City piano-rocker Benji Kay has released “The Science of Sound,” a 10-song album from his electronic pop-project Love Is a Story. The upbeat album is peppered with vocoder-laced vocals, dance-pop electronic drums and peppy, catchy lyrical hooks. “If We Get Out, Let’s Make Out,” with its record-scratch background music and acoustic guitar is slower…
GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
Kenneth Koch wrote the poem “The Boiling Water.” Read this excerpt: “A serious moment for the water is when it boils / And though one usually regards it merely as a convenience / To have the boiling water available for bath or table / Occasionally there is someone around who understands / The importance of…
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
Ninety-seven percent of all youth play video games, dwarfing the number of kids who participate in activities like basketball, track, and javelin throwing. That’s why I’m an advocate of making video games an Olympic sport. We should recognize where the real future of competitive sports lies. I mention this, Sagittarius, because it would be a…
House of Mystery: Room & Boredom – Matthew Sturges and Bill Willingham
Bill Willingham have a good thing going in their revival of the “House of Mystery” series: staying true to the original’s spirit while reworking it into something uniquely their own. Were a real-estate ad for the abode to exist, it might read something like: “Infinite bed/bath, renters must sign contract for eternity.” As explained in…
Get a ‘Clue!’
No need to go out in the cold this time of year. When the temperature drops, brighten the mood with a fun, cozy night in. Better yet, host a fun-filled game night theme party, complete with comfort food, your favorite board games and, of course, good company. You’re sure to bring back childhood memories with…
Compelling Explanations
As the British government was poised in November to re-classify lap-dancing clubs from “entertainment” to “sexual encounter establishments” (thus imposing tougher licensing standards), the industry’s trade association insisted to a Parliamentary committee that the clubs are not sexual. “(T)he entertainment may be in the form of nude … performers, but it’s not sexually stimulating,” said…
Figure skating gains recognition as it attracts new skaters by the busload
Don’t let the frilly, sequined costumes fool you. Figure skaters are some of the most resilient athletes in sports as they match the grueling practice regimes of gymnastics, all while braving the relentless cold of ice rinks. Despite the challenges, a growing number of children are hitting the ice in Oklahoma with Olympic aspirations. HERDS…
Ironies
Karma: A few animals were rescued from an early morning fire at a Humane Society shelter in Oshawa, Ontario, in December, but cats suffered heavy casualties, with nearly 100 perishing. The Fire Marshal’s office said the blaze was probably started by mice chewing through electrical wires. Drunk-Driving News: Kathleen Cherry, 53, was arrested for DUI…
Gallery presents event highlighting audio, aural art
Listeners can hear a variety of documentary audio and aural art at a public listening room event filled with locally produced radio and sounds from around the world. The Friday event, hosted by KGOU public radio and Untitled [ArtSpace],will feature work by former station news director Scott Gurian, among others. Gurian will speak to the…
Getting, keeping soft and supple skin, even in the skin-drying months of winter
Skin: It’s out largest organ, comes in all colors, is popular with psychopaths the world over and needs help in winter. Cold temperatures and driving winds mix with moisture-sapping home heating to equal quite a conundrum for healthy skin in the winter months. It leaves most of us resembling a hybrid of dried-out King Tut…
Rob Gallavan heads up stellar cast in stirring production of ‘Julius Caesar’
cause he believes it to be in the best interest of Rome. It’s really Brutus’ play, and actor Rob Gallavan completely owns the role and the stage in every scene he’s in. Gallavan takes a more naturalistic approach to the role making Brutus instantly relatable. He manages to convey the strength and moral conviction of…
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
While working on his first draft of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson hung out at a tavern in Philadelphia and drank beer. While contemplating how best to motivate you Libras to seek more autonomy and self-determination, I was strolling along a California beach sipping a piña colada and watching windsurfers. In the grand tradition…
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
In the ancient Chinese book Poets’ Jade Splinters, Lu Ji says: “Avoid the morning flower in full blossom and gather instead evening buds which are not yet open.” He’s telling his fellow poets not to rely on what has already ripened, but rather to concentrate on what’s still in embryonic form. Lu Ji’s colleague Song…
ARIES (March 21-April 19):
In The Devil’s Dictionary, Ambrose Bierce defines history as follows: “an account mostly false, of events mostly unimportant, which are brought about by rulers, mostly knaves, and soldiers, mostly fools.” Bear that in mind as you interpret what I mean by the following: You won’t make history in the coming weeks. Instead, you will help…
The Oklahoma Ethics Commission considers more limits on lobbyists
Another Oklahoma Ethics Commission meeting is slated in the coming days, and another round of verbal barbs over free speech and public integrity is expected. But this time, the commissioners will have the final say. DOZEN AMENDMENTSFULL DISCLOSUREAGENCY’S BUDGET The group of five commissioners is scheduled to vote on a host of ethics rules changes…
