Street Hawk: The Complete Series
The driving success of “Knight Rider” unwittingly spawned a shows involving high-tech vehicles into the networks’ prime-time lineup of the early ’80s, including “Airwolf,” “Blue Thunder,” “Automan” and “Street Hawk.” None packed quite the punch; “Street Hawk” lasted a mere 13 episodes before being sent to the scrap heap. One can see why, now that…
Operation: Endgame
It’s rare, but a couple times a year, I’ll be caught by surprise by a film that went straight to DVD, and wonder how it skipped theaters. “Operation: Endgame” is one of them. With an all-star cast and a rat-a-tat delivery of action and comedy similar to “Smokin’ Aces,” the flick is nothing if not…
Don’t Look Up
n baby hanging out of its mom by the umbilical cord. Hey, I never said it was tasteful. Sad that Henry Thomas went from the heights of “E.T.” to the lows of this. Kevin Corrigan is also too good for this material, although he plays way over-the-top here. “Hostel” helmer Eli Roth took a brief…
Restaurant event benefits Yukon man’s double lung transplant
It’s not often that something as small as eating out can help save someone’s life. This Tuesday, getting a burger at Shorty Small’s will help Cody Sheets get a double lung transplant. The restaurant, 4500 W. Reno, will hold a fundraiser from 5-9 p.m. Tuesday, July 20, for Sheets. The 23-year-old Yukon man’s lifelong cystic…
Oklahoma City University School of Law to remain on current campus
Plans to move OCU’s law school downtown to 900 W. Main will not move forward. Fred Jones Companies owns the 189,000-square-foot former manufacturing building, which was the subject of a letter of intent signed by the owner and OCU in November 2009. The cost of the extensive renovations needed before OCU Law could move in…
Local nonprofit launches contest for funniest baby video
Do you have a cute baby video or photo? Do you think it’s the cutest baby video ever (at least, in Oklahoma City)? Want to prove it? Infant Crisis Services wants parents to be part of the award-winning “10 Dollars in 10 Days” fundraising campaign by sending in their child’s funniest photo or video. Last…
Psych: The Complete Fourth Season
Perhaps the greatest thing about DVD: preserving the tube! Collecting TV shows “? both current faves and lost obscurities “? can be a weekly hobby. USA Network has been delivering several series of quality lately, including “Burn Notice,” “In Plain Sight,” “Royal Pains” and the recent casualty “Monk.” One of its bright spots on the…
Revolver – Matt Kindt
Matt Kindt’s “Revolver” is a graphic novel that has Something to Say. But it’s not going to make its message easy, and really, should works of fiction with end-of-the-world themes deliver it any other way? The protagonist is Sam, who soullessly works a crap job editing party photos for a Seattle newspaper. His boss hates…
Japanese Game Show’s strangest element isn’t zaniness, but unexpected, mathematic indie rock
Japanese Game Show with Glister and Kite Flying Robot 10 p.m. TuesdayHi-Lo Club1221 N.W. 50thwww.myspace.com/hiloclub843-1722$4 Japanese game shows are beloved throughout the world for their hodgepodge of violence, color, noise, embarrassment, confusing objectives and the overpowering sense of craziness that combining it all entails. Naturally, the term could be used as a band name “…
Before the new season starts, Gazette theater critic Larry Laneer issues a decalogue of plays that he’d like to see in Oklahoma City
The new theater season begins in August, so while we’re waiting, let’s take a flight of fancy and muse over 10 plays that should hit the local stage. In chronological order, here’s to hoping: “Salom
Shaken by ultrasound
I would like to thank Dr. Edward Shadid for running for House District 85 and for the Page 20 ad he placed in the July 7 Gazette last week giving voice to women and their doctors concerning the shameful law recently passed by Republican legislators. I recently underwent a vaginal ultrasound to check for kidney…
CFN Headline of the Week
“Multiple Lyle Lovett Sightings in Oklahoma”“That headline, which equates country singer Lyle Lovett with other mythical beasts like Big Foot or El Chupacabra, was on the website of Tulsa’s KTUL-TV. It wasn’t reported if these sightings were accompanied by grainy video and collected hair samples.
ARIES (March 21-April 19)
Thou shalt not kill is a crucial rule for you to follow, and not just in the literal sense. According to my reading of the astrological omens, you should also be extra vigilant as you avoid more metaphorical kinds of destruction. Please be careful not to unleash ill-chosen words that would crush someone’s spirit (including…
Who loves Jesus most?
Did you know that you can buy Christian breath mints? If you don’t find that at least mildly amusing, it might be time to check yourself in to the “Home for People Who Take Life Too Seriously.” Christian breath mints. Like slapping a Bible verse on something and selling it in the church bookstore makes…
CFN Quote of the Week
“Barack Obama, it’s no secret, he and I are good friends and I talk to him every couple of weeks on the phone.” “From Sen. Tom Coburn’s town hall meeting on July 7 at Francis Tuttle Technology Center
[Artspace] at Untitled invited artists to help author ‘Altered Books,’ a page-turning exhibit that takes the textual and makes it conceptual
at there is an irreplaceable presence to books that the downloaded, pixilated text of a Kindle just can’t match. “There’s just this certain bookness to a hardcover book,” he said. “Bookness isn’t about the content, but rather the physicality of the book. Books will act as a medium regardless of whether I manipulate it. You…
Local kids affected by juvenile arthritis get relief with a summer camp designed just for them
Summer means camp, and camp equals swimming, fishing and laughing with friends. That’s the goal of Camp J.A.M., which stands for “Juvenile Arthritis and Me,” a program enabling kids and teens with arthritis to enjoy summer activities, enhance their coping strategies and make lifelong friends. The five-day camp, which starts July 26, will be held…
A dedicated journalist
Many Oklahomans may not remember the name Brian Jay Walke at first mention, but the state is better off because of him. Walke, a Norman resident, died July 5 after a fierce battle with cancer. A journalist at heart and by trade, Walke is a legend in the world of radio news. He won numerous…
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)
Here’s a thought from Piscean poet W.H. Auden: “The image of myself which I try to create in my own mind in order that I may love myself is very different from the image which I try to create in the minds of others in order that they may love me.” If what Auden describes…
Damaged by flooding, the lights dim at Stage Center, home to a half-dozen community arts nonprofits
If a playwright were to pen a stage drama inspired by Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park’s history, the technical crew’s cue sheet might have more ink than the script. Stagehands would have to prepare several scene changes and cue multiple volleys of pyrotechnics. And now, at least one act would require a water tank. “With…
Despite a few moments of inspiration, ‘Despicable Me’ is disposable stuff
Among the pop-culture treasures of Mad magazine is its venerable “Spy vs. Spy” series. With its two saboteurs hell-bent on doing each other in, the comic strip is a wry send-up of dastardly high-tech espionage. “Despicable Me,” a new computer-generated, 3-D animated movie that involves a pair of adversarial supervillains, is at its best when…
The city and the future
In May 2010, the Oklahoma City Planning Department kicked-off “planOKC,” a comprehensive planning process that will provide a new long-term vision for Oklahoma City’s growth and development. This is only our city’s fourth comprehensive plan in its more than 120-year history, and thus offers a unique opportunity to collectively envision the city we wish to…
The good stuff
A burglar must have thought he had hit the jackpot July 4 when he broke into Clinic Pharmacy in Edmond, according to a report from The Edmond Sun. The unidentified person ” actually, it’s not clear if it was a man or a woman, it could have been a band of feral cats for all…
‘Slide’ show
Given her recent sex tape “scandal,” Chicken-Fried News finds it ironic that former Playboy Mansion plaything/current reality TV star Kendra Wilkinson would name her memoir “Sliding into Home.” Some things are just too easy! You can ask her if she gets the irony when she bounces into town to sign copies of the book at…
Sick and tired of ‘negative naysayers’
Referring to the “Sick of it” letter of J. Simms in the June 30 issue, I would like to say I’m also “sick of it” ” sick of people like J. Simms who are the negative naysayers about one’s right to be who one is. Enlightenment of any kind doesn’t work with people who are…
Many legislators paid lip service to going ‘green,’ but did they actually do anything?
Oklahoma legislators may talk a “green” game, but when it came to passing legislation, it was a mixed bag. Bud Scott, executive director and lobbyist for the Oklahoma chapter of Sierra Club, said the irony is that the last two sessions, there was a constant drumbeat in the Legislature that the state needed to be…
PR BS
Lots of press releases related to the Sooner State cross our desk. This week, these titles least screamed “Stop the presses!” “”Tronox Files Plan of Reorganization and Accompanying Disclosure Statement”””120 Shows and Nearly 2 Million Tickets Sold and Counting as Nickelback’s Global Smash ‘Dark Horse World Tour’ Returns by Popular Demand to the US!”””Whiting Petroleum…
From music to museums, Quintron and Miss Pussycat prove puppets and weird instruments make great art
Quintron and Miss Pussycat with Gangstarr Museum9 p.m. Wednesday, July 21Opolis113 N. Crawford, normanwww.opolis.org447-3417$10 advance, $12 door$12 advance, $14 door under 21 Some artists are bound for the pop charts; others ” with a less disposable bent ” are bound for a museum. But in Quintron and Miss Pussycat’s case, it’s not Cleveland’s Rock and…
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)
A few single friends of mine use the dating site OkCupid to meet potential lovers. One woman got the following notice: “We are pleased to report that you are in the top half of OkCupid’s most attractive users. How can we say this with confidence? Because we’ve tracked click-thrus on your photo and analyzed other…
TAURUS (April 20-May 20)
The baseball game was over. TV announcer Mike Krukow was describing the “ugly victory” that the San Francisco Giants had just achieved. The team’s efforts were sloppy and chaotic, he said, and yet the win counted just as much as a more elegant triumph. He ended with a flourish: “No one wants to hear about…
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)
The liberation movement kindled in the 1960s wasn’t all fun and games. It ushered in expansive new ways of thinking about gender, race, sexuality, spirituality, music, and consciousness itself, but it was fueled by anger as well as by the longing for pleasure and meaning and transcendence. A key focus of the rage was opposition…
Cyrus
As played by Jonah Hill (“Get Him to the Greek”) in the new dramedy by writer/director siblings Jay and Mark Duplass, the 21-year-old Cyrus lives at home with his single mom, eschews things like “school” and “work,” and spends his time composing techno tunes on his cache of synthesizers. That all adds up to trouble…
‘Oklahoma education is not underfunded’
Kurt Hochenauer (Commentary, “At what price?”) continues to spout the liberal talking points about Oklahoma not spending enough on education. Oklahoma ranks 14th nationally with regard to the amount of money spent on education as a ratio to personal income. Oklahoma education is not underfunded. He complains about per-pupil spending and cites the Oklahoma…
Having to heave
I wanted to vomit halfway through the June 23 special queer edition of the Okla-homo Gay-zette. I have been reading your paper for about five years now, and this has got to be the worst edition ever! I would never have suspected you were a bunch of closet queens, but evidently that is where you…
Brand new, high-class Armstrong Auditorium hopes to be cultural jewel in Edmond
The Armstrong Auditorium has one main goal for its new $20 million luxury concert hall: Make the experience equally as enjoyable for the patrons coming through the front door, as the performers entering from the back. The 823-seat performing arts center is slated to open Sept. 5 near the intersection of Waterloo Road and Bryant…
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
The Italian word terribilità was originally used by art critics to describe the sculptures and paintings of Michelangelo. According to various dictionaries, it refers to “a sense of awe-inspiring grandeur,” “the sublime mixed with amazement,” or “an astonishing creation that provokes reverent humility.” In my astrological opinion, terribilità is a prerequisite for the next chapter…
Radar Bros. lock in on a new lineup without plotting a different course to ‘The Illustrated Garden’
Radar Bros. with the Nghiems, Matthew and the Arrogant Sea 9 p.m. MondayOpolis 113 N. Crawford, Normanwww.opolis.org447-3417$8 advance, $10 door$10 advance, $12 door under 21 The pretty, languid melodies drift dreamlike through a summery shimmer, recalling the halcyon days of Pink Floyd’s “San Tropez.” Picking up that psych-pop mantle, California’s Radar Bros. have been fashioning…
Touching Evil: The Complete Collection
Admit it: When you hear the words “PBS,” “British” and “mystery,” you think of old men in bowler hats and older women in tweed, solving crimes when not taking time out for tea. And that often may be the case, but not when the cases belong to Detective Inspector Dave Creegan, in “Touching Evil.” From…
Constituent quandary
Linda C. Wade’s June 23 letter of disgust expressed against Sen. James Inhofe was interesting. I do not disagree with the writer’s comments but need to add. Most disappointments experienced from our congressional representatives should be focused at their D.C. legislative assistants. They are notoriously inept in most matters that are close to Oklahoma constituents…
Graduate students in OU’s psychology program connect with patients in free service program
Sometimes, all it takes is one phone call. One phone call was enough to get Dr. Lisa Frey thinking about what she could do to help those seeking mental health services but are unable to afford them. “It was a pretty heartrending story about having children to support and nowhere to live “¦ and having…
An action-packed franchise film with all the right parts, ‘Predators’ works for the most part
If it’s not the best formula ever devised for suspense films, it surely must be in the top three: A group of strangers are gathered together for an unknown reason and then are killed off one at a time by an invisible presence. They figure out what they have in common ” in this case,…
Okemah’s annual Woody Guthrie Folk Festival allows fans to celebrate the legacy of the Okie icon
Woody Guthrie Folk Festival Wednesday-SundayOkemahwww.woodyguthrie.com918-623-2440Free David Amram first met Woody Guthrie in 1956. Now a legendary classical composer, Amram was just a 26-year-old jazz musician who, when a friend asked, “Do you want to meet Woody?” Amram assumed his pal meant jazz great Woody Herman. Sound and spiritWoody’s legacy “He was this little guy with…
Martin Park Nature Center brings the wild to town, with miles of trails through forests and meadows
Hikers, joggers, walkers and families can commune with nature without leaving the shadow of the city’s hustle and bustle with a visit to Martin Park Nature Center, 5000 W. Memorial. Visitors and wildlife share four trails that wind through the tall trees and patches of prairie comprising the 141-acre city park. Guiding attendees to the…
The X-Files / 30 Days of Night #1
Marry “The X-Files” with “30 Days of Night”? The concept is so “duh,” one wonders why it didn’t happen sooner. Horror scribe extraordinaire Steve Niles, the creator of “30 Days,” guides this six-issue miniseries for WildStorm, with art by Tom Mandrake. In the first issue, naturally, FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully travel to…
Tracey Harris’ oil-based paintings of women display their many roles
“Contemporary Realism”JRB Art at The Elms2810 N. Walker 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, 1 to 5 p.m. on Sundays Through July528-6336, www.jrbartgallery.comDaily, ongoing Tracey Harris left Oklahoma as soon as she could. She was fed up with what she thought was a backward state with a lackluster art scene. But she quickly…
Oklahoma improv comedy growing by leaps and bounds
OKC Improv8 p.m., 10 p.m. Saturday at the Ghostlight Theatre Club3110 N. WalkerThrough July343-1570, okcimprov@gmail.com www.okcimprov.com$10 Raychel Winstead calls OKC Improv the Baskin-Robbins of comedy, with 1,000 different flavors and still growing. Winstead performs with three OKC Improv troupes “? The MiDolls, The Ones Your Mother Warned You About and Villain: The Musical “? and…
OKC’s new hockey franchise bound to forge a few rivalries
Sharks and Tigers and Bears ” oh, my! By the looks of it, the ice at the 29 destinations around the American Hockey League ” outside the friendly confines of Oklahoma City ” is infested with all sorts of unseemly critters and ruffians, including Pirates and even some monsters. So as the league’s newest franchise…
ESPN ranks Thunder fifth in NBA for fan satisfaction
The Oklahoma City Thunder ranks No. 25 out of 122 NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL franchises, according to ESPN the Magazine. Its annual “Ultimate Standings” survey measures how much major-league teams give back to their fans. Jumping from last year’s No. 57 ranking, the Thunder stand as the fifth-best NBA team in the current ratings.…
Four candidates seek party nomination to be next Oklahoma superintendent of public instruction
The upcoming July 27 primary will whittle the five candidates for state superintendent of public instruction down to three people. More surprisingly, perhaps, is that the four primary candidates vying for the job can agree about something: The state Legislature is not helping. Elephant huntDonkey duelBiographical sketches Whether they cite bare-bones funding levels, out-of-touch priorities,…
Can Randy Brogdon’s constitutionalist bravado trump the popularity of Mary Fallin?
ntroduces Brogdon at a rally: “He is a friend to the Tea Party.” And with that support, Brogdon pins a great deal of his campaign hopes. It was vital for him to get the endorsement of the state Tea Party organizations, especially since Gerhart’s group is going to spend most of its time working against,…
Epic fail for Doc Hoc
English professor Kurt Hochenauer presumably grades student essays on the basis of both style and logic. By those criteria, his July 7 Commentary (“At what price?”) calling for more school spending is stylistically fine, while rating a D-minus on common sense. Hochenauer is mistaken on at least three key points. First, he equates per-pupil spending…
Three Democrats seek nomination in House District 93, with winner facing Republican incumbent
Three candidates will make up the ballot for the Democratic primary race for District 93 state representative. Jeff PackhamWanda Jo PeltierWilfredo Santos-RiveraWho can vote Voters will choose between Jeff Packham, Wanda Jo Peltier and Wilfredo Santos-Rivera. The winner of the primary will advance to the main election against Republican incumbent Mike Christian. Jeff PackhamJeff Packham,…
In your Face
You talk, we listen! Here’s what readers said on some of last week’s Oklahoma Gazette stories, via unedited comments left on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/okgazette: On the anti-gay and anti-Muslim letter to the editor from J. Smith of Oklahoma:””Kudos to the Gazette for printing the letter from the bigot who renamed the paper ‘The…
From a meth habit to Playboy fame, Kendra Wilkinson bares her life in memoir
As Kendra Wilkinson puts it, she is “a real person that comes from real stuff.” That real stuff includes her very public life of being a Playboy Mansion resident and star of reality TV shows like “The Girls Next Door” and “Kendra.” But Wilkinson said she wants her fans to know about her private life…
Poteet Theatre gets back to class with ‘High School Musical,’ a production that showcases young, local performers
align=”right” border=”0″ height=”137″ hspace=”10″ vspace=”10″ width=”200″ />High School Musical8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday through Aug. 8Poteet TheatreSt. Luke’s United Methodist Church222 N.W. 15thwww.poteettheatre.com 609-1023$18 With a plot lifted from “Romeo and Juliet,” minus the tragedy, “High School Musical,” based on the stage version of the hugely popular 2006 Disney telefilm, tells the story of…
If Oklahoma is one of the country’s most religious states, why preach to the choir?
A common thread united the latest rally in the culture war, the Reclaiming America for Christ Conference held last week at Trinity Baptist Church in Yukon. While reclaiming the culture of America was the theme, some of the participants eschew the political label and simply focus on “worldview education.” No ‘rest’ for conservativesRally for Sally…
Bright Night at the Movies event will teach kids about the behind-the-scenes science that makes onscreen magic
“Bright Night at the Movies”Science Museum Oklahoma 6 p.m. Friday-8:30 a.m. Saturday2100 N.E. 52nd $35 for museum members, $45 for nonmembers 602-3760, www.sciencemuseumok.org In most school science classes, kids learn by dissecting frogs or from building a baking soda volcano. But at “Bright Night at the Movies,” they learn with lightsabers. Science Museum Oklahoma continues…
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)
In a favorable review of Badger Mountain Riesling wine, Winelibrary.com said, “The sweet succulent aromas of bosc pears are woven with lilacs and just a hint of petrol.” Meanwhile, Allure magazine named Sécrétions Magnifique as one of the top five sexiest perfumes in the world, even though its fragrance is like “floral bilge.” Petrol? Bilge?…
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)
During the grace period you’re currently enjoying, you have a talent for tuning in to the raw potential of whatever situation is right in front of you; you just naturally know how to establish rapport with circumstances you’ve never seen before. That’s why your spontaneous urges are likely to generate fun learning experiences, not awkward…
GEMINI (May 21-June 20)
Here’s the really good news: CIA director Leon Panetta says there are fewer than 100 Al-Qaeda combatants in Afghanistan. Here’s the utterly confusing news: The U.S has over 94,000 highly trained human beings in Afghanistan whose express purpose is to destroy Al-Qaeda. I bring this up as a prod to get you to question your…
Blackest Night: Rise of the Black Lanterns
klahgazet-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=1401227899&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr” style=”width: 120px; height: 240px;” marginwidth=”0″ marginheight=”0″ scrolling=”no” frameborder=”0″> DC’s recent “Blackest Night” event put a sci-fi spin on the zombie trend, having the dead rise as Black Lanterns “? think evil Green Lanterns “? across thousands of worlds. Although much of the story took place in the nine-issue “Blackest Night” miniseries, one uncanny move…
