‘Welfare queens’ a myth
Clearly he thinks either that welfare pays far more than it really does, or that black women are abysmally stupid. Contrary to the “welfare queen” myth, welfare benefits, including both Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and food stamps in 2010, was only 54 percent of the poverty level in Oklahoma. It was 81 percent in…
Tucker and Dale vs Evil
Still, even with the trailer freshly consumed and digested, you shouldn’t miss the movie. Putting a spin on a staple of slasher films — if not all of cinema, post-“Deliverance” — rednecks Tucker (Alan Tudyk, “Dodgeball”) and Dale (Tyler Labine, “A Good Old Fashioned Orgy”) aren’t actually trying to kill, maim or otherwise harm the…
Local treasure
The dishes are straightforward and impressive. Michael Sills is the kind of chef who cooks with a lot of soul and intellect. The guy just loves interaction with his diners. “We’re pretty blessed. After some 16 years, every night here is a party; I just never know who’s coming,” said the 62-year-old Sills. The menu…
The Man Nobody Knew
It’s a life explored, as much as one can explore a life mired in obfuscation, by Colby’s son, Carl Colby, in “The Man Nobody Knew: In Search of My Father, CIA Spymaster William Colby.” The documentary screens Thursday night at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. Despite the familial connection between documentarian and subject matter,…
Monkey saved, monkey do
It had been a days-long trip for the two Japanese macaques, rescued from a roadside zoo in upstate New York. Their journey finally had ended on the outskirts of Newcastle, at a remote location called Mindy’s Memory Primate Sanctuary. Bob Ingersoll, the sanctuary’s board president, greeted the monkeys. “Hiya, buddies!” he said. “You’re about to…
Nurse registers
When indie rock’s Nurses released its sophomore album in 2009, critics compared the Portland, Ore.-based trio to Animal Collective and Grizzly Bear. When it came time to follow up that acclaimed effort, Nurses decided the only way to improve that formula was to add a little Prince and Michael Jordan into the mix. “We were…
Day One — Art by Death
On one lyric of the song “Dream Circus,” Chris Wallace raps about “Robert Frost poems read from the mouth of a deer”; the next, he’s name-checking former Thunder point guard and comically small dunker Nate Robinson. It’s weird stuff, for sure, but the ACM@UCO student, who comprises art-rap duo Day One with moody musician Logan…
Carnage
That’s not to say “Carnage,” scheduled to open Friday at AMC Quail Springs Mall 24, 2501 W. Memorial, will split moviegoers’ sides. As befitting of a film spawned from a Tony-winning play about four bickering New Yorkers in one room, most of its wit operates on a cerebral level. Stemming from a disagreement between their…
Frac action
Born to Italian immigrants who cooked massive family meals and bottled their own wine, singer-songwriter Michael Fracasso said food has played a big role in his life. Even after he fell in love with music, he couldn’t give cooking up entirely. Instead, he’s found a way to combine his two loves, performing at private dinner…
Girl grows up
Given the silly name and bright, Simon & Garfunkel-inspired harmonies, Brooklyn folk-rock act Girlyman sounds like it was born out of a happy place. The thing is, it wasn’t. “Our first rehearsal was scheduled for Sept. 11. We were putting together press kits and complaining about how crappy doing it was … what an upstream…
‘Family’ matters
Cortney Wolfson had no idea that one day, she’d become altogether ooky. But here she is, playing gloomy girl Wednesday Addams in the national tour of “The Addams Family” stage musical, based upon Charles Addams’ creepy cartoon clan that spawned a popular television series in the mid- 1960s and, in the early 1990s, two feature…
Bud light
Bud Wilkinson engineered a 47-game winning streak as the legendary football coach at the University of Oklahoma. Now, more than 50 years later, 47 of his personal letters to his son are bound together in Jay Wilkinson’s new book, “Dear Jay, Love Dad: Bud Wilkinson’s Letters to His Son.” Bud Wilkinson penned dozens of letters…
Pairadime shift
In early 2010, brothers Gray and Baylor Thomas, along with friend Dan Sewell, started Pairadime as a music blog, which they still operate. The idea was to have an outlet for the music they liked, not imagining the growth it’s seen. “It’s been an absolute trip. We did not start out with this in mind,”…
Let’s hear it for the boys!
Sure, I’ve dabbled with vintage skinny ties and waistcoats, but I’ve never had the courage to pursue the depths of bow ties, pocket squares and tailored suits. So, how did a dapper savant like myself decide to visit the dandy side of things? It began with a national nod from esteemed Esquire magazine listing Oklahoma…
Black walls
Visual artist Ronna Pernell uses two colors in her work. “I do black and white because it’s nostalgic,” she said. “I relate to black and white.” Her catalog, stored at a home studio in south Oklahoma City, is comprised of a lot of commissioned portraiture, from aging Caucasian couples to Commodores drummer Walter “Clyde” Orange,…
Smag 7: Up and running
Tokyo Moon 1600 Garth Brooks, Yukon 494-7111 Open since November, this unique stop is doing Japanese sushi and hibachi cooking. Enjoy the Yukon sushi roll made with lobster tempura, cucumber and avocado, or try the filet mignon roll. Don’t worry, you’ll still find all the classics, like California, cucumber and asparagus rolls. For dessert, try…
Meat in the middle
I’m an old-fashioned guy. I believe in the small of a woman’s back, the hanging curve ball, high fiber, good scotch and gyros that are shaved from a rotating spit. And, personally, since gyros are just as healthy as greasy burgers and tacos, I have no desire for them to be walked from a fancy…
PR BS
—“iCarly iSoundtrack II (Columbia) Out Jan 24” —“Summer-Fresh Blueberries from Chile + Oatmeal = Breakfast Power Duo” —“Story idea: Ireland Reports Uptick in Job Creation, Exports and FDI in 2011” —“DARYL HALL AND JOHN OATES SET TO TOUR DOWN UNDER”
PR BS
—“iCarly iSoundtrack II (Columbia) Out Jan 24” —“Summer-Fresh Blueberries from Chile + Oatmeal = Breakfast Power Duo” —“Story idea: Ireland Reports Uptick in Job Creation, Exports and FDI in 2011” —“DARYL HALL AND JOHN OATES SET TO TOUR DOWN UNDER”
Go back to iSchool
New to town and not sure where the school is located? Don’t panic: The app comes complete with GPS mapping. Is your kiddo not great about bringing home information on upcoming events? Say goodbye to those days of missed PTA meetings, last-minute science projects and cranking out two dozen cupcakes the night before a school…
Basic instinct
How could it not? A recently widowed 18-year-old mother in Blanchard shot a man dead after he broke into her house. On New Year’s Eve, Sarah McKinley called 911 after a Blanchard man, Justin Shane Martin, allegedly tried breaking down the front door. McKinley, who was in the trailer home with her 3-month-old son, had…
Time out
Misty Kimbrough was the subject of the state Department of Education-sanctioned audit, released Jan. 4. The report alleged that Kimbrough, whom the department let go in June, falsified travel expenses and was reimbursed for charges she did not incur. The audit revealed that she was reimbursed for a hotel stay and travel expenses in Oklahoma…
Rejects’ rebound
While we’ve since matured, the “Swing, Swing”-ing All-American Rejects have showed no sign of the same. Most recently, the world saw the band coasting on the success of their last big hit, 2009’s “Gives You Hell,” which spent four weeks at No. 1, despite being more obnoxious than a Kern family reunion. But the band’s…
Falling down
Falling chunks of limestone on the building’s southeast side have forced workers to set up scaffolding and fencing. That exterior damage, coupled with needed electrical wiring and plumbing repairs, has an estimated price tag of $130 million, according to state Department of Central Services officials. Gov. Mary Fallin, for one, has floated the idea of…
Breaking fast
Rather than slurping down soggy cereal or a heavily processed food-type product, metro eateries offer nourishing options for your morning meal. The Diner, 213 Main in Norman, has become a tradition among the go-to stops for breakfast munchies. Packed with classic American fare, the menu even attracted Guy Fieri of Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-ins and…
Spin city
Once the home to posh joints such as The Eagle’s Nest and Nikz at the Top back when the building was called the United Founders Tower (those idyllic days when we were all united), the location at 5900 Mosteller Drive has been empty since 2007. But good times might be ahead for that storied 20th…
Bite size: 1-11-11
New in town Kabsa House, owned by Abraham Ahmed, is a casual cafe inside Sahara International Food & Deli at 3800 N. MacArthur. Manning the stoves are chefs Fatin Hadi and Alina Hassan, who are producing specialty dishes from Iraq. Skillfully cooked to emphasize Middle Eastern flavors, the dishes are already drawing regulars. Be sure…
All-Star-struck
Oklahoma City fans have until Jan. 31 to vote for Kevin Durant, James Harden, Serge Ibaka, Kendrick Perkins and Russell Westbrook via text message or online at nba.com. Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal will be on hand for the starter selection broadcast by TNT on Feb. 2, ostensibly because the network execs figured their viewing…
Parents behind bars
These were among the findings of the Children of Incarcerated Parents Task Force. Formed last year by the state Legislature, the 21-member panel was tasked with determining the needs and issues surrounding children of incarcerated parents. It released its report last week. Oklahoma has the nation’s highest percentage of incarcerated women — and isn’t far…
Off the grid, on the mark
They lovingly demonstrate that being “off the grid” means more than just generating one’s own electricity. We are all totally dependent on the food grid, sewer grid, water grid, fuel grid and all other services used in our daily lives. We take it for granted that all those services will reliably perform upon demand. Bruce…
A senator’s parting thoughts
To the Republicans at the Capitol: Being entirely dismissive of the minority party’s views is just as toxic to good government as it was when the ruling Democrats did it. Little good comes from single-party rule — regardless of which party is in charge. Don’t become what you used to abhor. To Republican voters in…
‘Something has to change’
The database would include people credibly accused or convicted of child sexual abuse who have worked in SBC churches, of which his church is a part. In the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal at Penn State University, Burleson (pictured) and many other Southern Baptists have capitalized on the moment to get the word out.…
Delocated! Seasons 1 & 2
“Delocated!” is the latest of such series. Its premise is that a married couple and their one son are moved from Small Town, USA, to New York City, because they’re in the Witness Protection Program. “Delocated!” is their presumed reality show. The gag is that they all wear black ski masks. If this sounds more…
Make like a tree and …
“Oklahoma pretty much got hammered,” said state Forester and Forestry Services Director George Geissler. “Even what you would call drought-tolerant trees — and by that I mean primarily the Eastern red cedar — have succumbed to the drought. It’s been a bad year.” In urban areas, he said, most of the lost trees are small-needle…
Cowboy for a Cure
En route from California to New York, horseman Johnny Warnshuis and his two horses currently are in Oklahoma City, on their way to Arkansas. He’s traveling the country to raise awareness for GBS/CIDP, a rare disorder of the immune system that attacks the peripheral nerves. Warnshuis said although the condition only attacks one person out…
Answer This!
Answer: “Answer This,” a harmless, but forgettable romantic comedy not worthy of the exclamation point in its title. Caterpillar-eyebrowed Christopher Gorham (TV’s “Covert Affairs”) plays Paul Tarson, a TA of a “Bible as Literature” college class, and son of the esteemed English professor Dr. Elliot Tarson (Ralph Williams, in his first feature). Living in his…
Redline
While director Takeshi Koike’s (“The Animatrix,” TV’s “Iron Man”) animated extravaganza depicts a world where aliens and animals walk and talk and dine on Hexagonal Worm Spaghetti Soup, our hero is an old-school human named JP, who’s cast in 1950s Elvis Presley mode, complete with Johnny Bravo pompadour. With a Patrick Warburton-esque delivery in the…
The Weeknd — Echoes of Silence
Not so fast! “Echoes of Silence” continues with the cadre of really sad characters (such as the poor girl working “for your face-lift” on “XO/The Host”) in really sad, sexually exploitive situations spelled out on The Weeknd’s first two mixtapes, without adding many new elements to that signature hazy, narcotized atmosphere of industrial beats and…
Insane in the Kinane
For the past 12 years, he’s worked his way up the ladder, moving from Chicago to Los Angeles and leaving behind an office job selling gourmet cake decorations over the phone (which he likened to being a “toothless cog” spinning freely) and opening for comedy juggernaut Patton Oswalt. His debut record, “Death of the Party,”…
Sinners and Saints
In the latest from director William Kaufman (whose 2011 Cuba Gooding Jr. vehicle, “The Hit List,” currently floats in the $5 DVD bargain bin at Walmart), authorities are after whomever keeps igniting various members of the criminal underbelly, turning them into extra-crispy meat. And everybody — and I mean everybody — carries automatic weapons, because…
In the Name of the King 2: Two Worlds
Then, inexplicably, he’s warped from the “Time Beyond” to centuries ago, where he’s told by the king (Lochlyn Munro, “Daddy Day Camp”) to serve as the “Chosen One” and help his village battle the “Dark Ones.” Bearing a bejeweled crown atop a fright wig, Munro looks less like a king and more like a waiter…
Division III: Football’s Finest
Once a reliably hilarious star on the rise on TV’s “The Ben Stiller Show” and “NewsRadio,” Dick’s substance abuse, aberrant public behavior and resulting legal woes have lowered him to one rung above unemployable, headlining the sports comedy “Division III: Football’s Finest.” Its basic structure mirrors the actor’s own story of trying to make a…
