Responsible gun control
Australian public support exceeded 90 percent for their new gun laws, which prohibited private sales, required individual registration of weapons to their owners and a reason why gun buyers needed each weapon at the time of purchase. What happened? Hostile takeover by the government? No. Increase in home invasions? No. End of personal freedom? No.…
Same ol’, same ol’
How does that work? Both bills claim to support teachers’ freedom to address scientific strengths and weaknesses of scientific issues (House Bill 1674 cites evolution specifically, Senate Bill 758 doesn’t). The most obvious problem is that we do not need new laws to free science teachers to do that: such discussions are always part of…
The biggest problem with guns
The letter from Vance Armor (”Beware a well-armed government, Jan. 16, Oklahoma Gazette) indicates that he learned neither of those lessons, nor the ones taught in what was once called “civics.” I served on the committee for examining the “active shooter” issue for the American College of Forensic Examiners. Our conclusion was that the greatest…
School choice is the answer
You say these schools serve intense concentrations of poverty and trauma. A primary cause of such concentrations of poverty and trauma has been our public city schools. That is what happens when generation after generation of caring parents escape to the suburbs as fast as possible because well-intentioned liberals like yourself refuse them the choice…
Mumford’s the word!
Guthrie is one of only five cities in the world — three in the United States — that will host the tour. The mini-festival will span two nights, with Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros performing Friday, Sept. 6. Other confirmed featured guests are Alabama Shakes, The Vaccines, Willy Mason, Bear’s Den and Half Moon…
Mimesis
Look, at least it’s not the new Night of the Living Dead 3D: Re-Animation, but that’s another review. There’s not much to Mimesis beyond the one-line summary above. Various attendees at a horror convention are invited to an exclusive, super-secret party that turns out to be the “game” — one in which they are stuck…
In a ‘Huff’
Photo: Nathan Poppe A band’s first tour is a necessary evil. The drives are long; the rides … uncomfortable. It’s cheap beer and cheaper food with little to no sleep, just to play for maybe a couple of handfuls of people, returning home with not a dime in the members’ collective pockets. Oklahoma City outfit…
The shy, retiring type?
Aubrey McClendon Credit: Shannon Cornman Chesapeake did not offer details about why its co-founder was stepping down, but an email and statement from McClendon point toward clashes with the company’s new board of directors. In an email to Chesapeake employees, McClendon said the action was mutually agreed upon by him and the board. “Although this…
’Wood burning
A lot rides on a debut album: It’s the first — and sometimes only — chance to tell the world what you’re all about. Ramsay Midwood did just that with 2002’s spectacularly named Shoot Out at the OK Chinese Restaurant. “There were a lot of gunfights in Chinese restaurants in California … too much MSG…
How the West was yum
4U Cafe Credit: Shannon Cornman There’s good reason for that. Since 1910, the icon of Stockyards City has been feeding hungry cowboys and ranchers, from the real-life variety to those who just like boots and cowboy hats. But listen up, cowpokes. There’s room in town for more than one eatery that stokes the Okie stereotype.…
Sweet 16
Celebrating its sweet 16 this year, Chocolate Decadence is sure to be love at first bite as more than two dozen restaurants unite to present chocolate treats and gourmet coffees, alongside live jazz and silent and live auctions. “It’s a long-standing event in Automobile Alley,” said Mickey Clagg, chairman of the board of directors for…
Once you go Black …
Joe Lewis couldn’t have known that picking up a guitar to kill some time during a particularly boring shift at a pawn shop would make his life calling clear. In retrospect, however, it feels like fate. “It was just being bored. You start messing around with stuff, and it was pure chance,” he said. “I…
A night in Paris
The Oklahoma City Ballet revisits the Paris of the early 1900s in Paris Rouge, a triple bill choreographed by the troupe’s artistic director, Robert Mills. While the three pieces differ greatly, he said they are tied together by a “European sensibility.” Set in a sultry Parisian nightclub, Mills’ Paris Rouge was inspired largely by Gaîté…
Wig out
Ruth Lampi Credit: Mark Hancock In the 11 years since Shawnee resident Ruth Lampi co-founded Five Wits, the business has grown to rank among the top companies in cosplay wig sales. In just the past several months, Five Wits sold several hundred colorful and distinctive wigs at conventions from New York to Midwest City. Lampi…
Civics lesson
Angela Monson Credit: Shannon Cornman Incumbent board chairwoman Angela Monson, an employee of the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and a former state senator, faces challenger Lynne Hardin. First elected four years ago, Monson said she chose to run the first time because, in part, she saw bright children, including her own daughter, “not…
Shack up
Credit: Mark Hancock Take away the mustard and the mayo and the lettuce and the onion and tomato. Forget the cheese. At the most basic, a hamburger is a patty of cooked ground beef on a bun. That is not the way I prefer to eat a burger, generally, yet I did. Twice. Side-by-side. To…
Reigning cats and dogs
Credit: Brad Gregg According to a recent study by the American Veterinary Medical Association, the state ranks 10th in the nation for dog ownership and 18th for cat ownership. According to the report, 43 percent of Oklahomans own dogs and almost 33 percent have cats. The national average is 36.5 percent for dogs and 30.4…
LETTERS
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal;mso-outline-level:1″><span style=" Times New Roman”,”serif”;mso-fareast-Times New Roman”; mso-font-kerning:18.0pt;mso-fareast-language:ES”> Oklahoma Gazette provides an open forum for the discussion of all points of view in its Letters to the Editor section. The Gazette reserves the right to edit letters for length and clarity. Letters can be mailed, faxed, emailed to pbacharach@ okgazette.com or sent…
LETTERS
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal;mso-outline-level:1″><span style=" Times New Roman”,”serif”;mso-fareast-Times New Roman”; mso-font-kerning:18.0pt;mso-fareast-language:ES”> Oklahoma Gazette provides an open forum for the discussion of all points of view in its Letters to the Editor section. The Gazette reserves the right to edit letters for length and clarity. Letters can be mailed, faxed, emailed to pbacharach@ okgazette.com or sent…
Blake not-so-placid
Credit: Brad Gregg Nope, it was because Shelton dared suggest that today’s young listener doesn’t want to listen to old records. Gasp! Shock! Heresy! Sayeth the Shelton on the Great American Country network’s Backstory documentary TV series, “Country music has to evolve in order to survive. Nobody wants to listen to their grandpa’s music. And…
Neiman seed
Stanley Marcus’ Self-Portrait at a Flea Market, March 1966, Paris, France People likely know Stanley Marcus as the trailblazing former president of high-end retailer Neiman Marcus, not an accomplished photographer. His granddaughter, Allison V. Smith, fully understands. “He always had a camera with him, but he never really shared his images,” she said. “Maybe he…
Water woes
Lake Thunderbird credit: Chris Street Norman, Del City and Midwest City are looking to augment water in Lake Thunderbird, after President Obama last month signed into law the Lake Thunderbird Efficient Use Act. It allows the Central Oklahoma Master Conservancy District, which manages the lake for the three cities, to purchase raw water from the…
Enchanted anniversary
With Lyric Theatre celebrating its golden anniversary this year, it marks the occasion by looking back with the musical revue Some Enchanted Evening, a compilation of more than 50 songs from Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II musicals. The Rodgers and Hammerstein link bears historical significance: Lyric’s first show, in 1963, was Oklahoma! When Some…
The next move
Rep. Randy Grau To some, it’s a sad day. For others, it’s a celebration of a woman’s reproductive rights. Regardless, some state legislators are counting on another try at placing restrictions on the law in Oklahoma after suffering a legal defeat by the state Supreme Court. Rep. Randy Grau, R-Edmond, is one of those lawmakers.…
OKG7 breakfast stops
Good Gravy Diner8014 N. Western842-6200 This mom-and-pop diner serves up breakfast food with your choice of more than 40 types of gravy ranging from chocolate to jalepeño chorizo. Grab the Breakfast at Large, which includes two eggs, hash browns, ham, one sausage patty, two strips of bacon and two biscuits with your choice of gravy.…
Pr bs Lots of press releases cross our…
Pr bs Lots of press releases cross our desk. Recently, these titles least screamed “Stop the presses!” —“Nail Expert Katie Saxton Has The Scoop On The Hottest Nail Trends of 2013” —“OpenX news: Samsung Venture Investment Corporation Leads New $22.5M OpenX Funding Round” —“Join Thomas and the Steam Team for Messy New Adventures in ‘Thomas…
Tiger beat
Photo: Nathan Poppe It doesn’t take long following in someone else’s footsteps to want to step out on your own again. Oklahoma’s Beau Jennings literally has been retracing the footsteps of famed Okie humorist Will Rogers over the past few years for his passion project, the film The Verdigris: In Search of Will Rogers, all…
The sounds of Science
Jerrod Smith and Phil Danner’s Contextual Relations As director of Science Museum Oklahoma’s Satellite Galleries, Scott Henderson wants to take art in Oklahoma City into a whole new dimension. Eschewing the typical “pictures on the wall” or “sculpture on the floor” style of exhibition, he wanted to create something that would be a total sensory…
Funny talk
University of Oklahoma professor Andrew Horton has a simple rule for students of his new course, The Nature of Laughter: Laugh, or you’ll fail. “It’s a joke,” Horton said. “But it is important for students to learn to laugh. We can all be too serious.” Which is why he and his course co-creator, OU English…
Black Canyon — Black Canyon
Now, with Morisse joined by Riley Jantzen (ex-Mayola), Tyler Hopkins (The Nghiems) and Kurt Freudenberger (The Pretty Black Chains), a much louder Black Canyon comes across more like an Oklahoma-bred Gaslight Anthem. It’s a whiskey-chugging, cow-tipping rock record that wears its heart on its tattoo sleeve, and it’s a damn good one at that. Morisse’s…
Voices Kerry
Credit: Brad Gregg There were only three dissenting votes, one of them being Sen. James Inhofe, R-Tulsa. Oklahoma’s senior senator cited Kerry’s support for treaties to reduce nuclear proliferation, his 1985 meeting with then-Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and — of course — Kerry’s support of U.S. action on climate change. “In this dangerous world filled…
Crab nab
Credit: Brad Gregg On Jan. 15, a mystery shopper successfully pulled off a crab-leg heist. Officials estimated that $1,500 worth of crab legs and steak were stolen from a Homeland grocery store on N. Bryant. According to police, the shoplifter was a Hispanic or American Indian man wearing jeans, a gray jacket and a ball…
New roosts
If you’ve been caught on N. Western Avenue during rush hour recently, you’ve likely had plenty of time in bumper-to-bumper traffic to survey your surroundings. Next time, take note of a new shop called Take-out Treasures (4335 N. Western; 408-6386). From the window, one might surmise it’s a regular gift shop, with its display donning…
Water from Canton
Canton Lake credit: Tony Adams The city requested that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers begin releasing 30,000 acre feet of water from the reservoir to flow into Lake Hefner, one of OKC’s municipal water reservoirs. The corps opened the gates Jan. 30, with the water expected to arrive in the metro in the next…
Who our schoolchildren need
Since most of us in Oklahoma City are no doubt disgusted with the generally dismal performance of our school district, our inclination may be to conclude that our votes make little difference. Hopefully, however, they might make a difference for thousands of young people grossly underserved with the education provided to them by the district.…
Looking ahead
Speaking before a joint session of the Legislature, Fallin touched on both accomplishments over the past few years as well as some of the initiatives and measures she hopes to implement over the coming year. Among the issues she hopes to see movement on this legislative session are:• a cut of the top state income…
Smiley
As presented to us in an effective Scream-like prologue (watch for a blatant error), urban legend has it that if online vid-chatters type “i did it for the lulz” three times, the poor bastard on the other end of the chat window will be murdered by Smiley, a stab-happy serial killer who immediately pops up…
Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai
In other words, if it’s all-out action you seek, stick to 13 Assassins. You won’t get that until about the last 20 minutes of Hara-Kiri, but I’d argue the wait makes the clash of swords sounding all the more sweet. I’d also encourage viewers to consider them companion pieces, and to consume both. Set in…
A new chapter
Located at 2914 S.W. 59th, the site previously served as a temporary location last year while the Southern Oaks Library, 6900 S. Walker, was undergoing renovations. Books and furniture had been moved to a former department store location in the Almonte Shopping Center. But library officials soon noticed that patrons were flocking to the temporary…
The Protector / Crime Story
Glickenhaus’ The Protector casts Chan in one of the Asian superstar’s three mid-’80s, ill-fated attempts at conquering American cinema, with the other two being The Big Brawl and The Cannonball Run. While this 1985 film is nowhere near the greatness of the product Chan churned out back home, it’s worth the while. It’s also now…
Black’s Game
1. Among its producers is Nicolas Winding Refn, the filmmaker who steered Drive straight to the top of my list of 2011’s best films. 2. It opens with a title card that translates to “BASED ON REAL HARDCORE SHIT.” 3. See No. 2; repeat as necessary. Based on a novel based on a true story,…
Rebel with a cause
Thin and full of nervous energy. James Dean cool in a white T-shirt, leather jacket and boots. Tats on his forearms before everyone had a tattoo. A hurricane of black hair on his head and a cigarette dangling from his lips. He even came with a mysterious and somewhat menacing accent, courtesy of his native…
Paul Williams: Still Alive
Both documentaries deal with a musician wrongly presumed to be dead; the difference here is that the love comes straight from the director, Stephen Kessler (Vegas Vacation), whose impetus for the project is purely, deeply personal. With all the extra layers removed, I began to feel it, too; his adoration for his subject is infectious.…
Funny or Die Presents: The Complete Second Season
Played with flawless deadpan by Steve Tom as an ersatz Leslie Nielsen, Haligan is the host of Funny or Die Presents, but also the Head of West Coast Sales & Marketing for the fictional Funny or Die Network, programming from which this sketch series is built. For season two, Haligan may have traded his sterile-white…
Method to the Madness of Jerry Lewis
While undeniably watchable, the project is a pure puff piece. After all, it counts Lewis among its producers, so no way he’s getting treated with anything with less than kid gloves. Anything in his life that might be considered a boat rocker is absent: divorce, bankruptcy, Hardly Working, The Day the Clown Cried, etc. I…
Artful dodge
State appropriations are vital to the agency, which funds more than 300 organizations and programs throughout Oklahoma. House Bill 1895, by Rep. Josh Cockroft, R-Tecumseh, would have cut funding to the arts council by 25 percent each fiscal year until 2017. Cockroft placed HB 1895 as his ninth priority bill, he said. In the House,…
Femme Fatales: The Complete First Season
For the anthology series, Tanit Phoenix (Death Race 2) serves as its comely Cryptkeeper, introducing tales of double crosses and couplings. Eye candy, aside, what makes this approach interesting is that the episodes span a wide range of genres. For example, “Behind Locked Doors,” which concerns a Lindsay Lohan-esque paparazzi magnet, pays homage to the…
New shift
“I really like the Oklahoma film and comedy scene,” Nghiem said. “I wanted to do a project that wasn’t too heavy and involved a lot of local people.” Clerks Too, which debuted today on YouTube, was in part inspired by an unauthorized remake of Star Wars that he and his friends saw online. “I was…
