Hunger
Combining elements of “Cube” and “Saw,” the thriller “Hunger” manages to leave audiences wanting more “? not in a way of “wow, I wish that kept going,” but “wow, that never really went anywhere, did it?” Too bad, because of all eight initial “Fangoria FrightFest” offerings, this one has the most intriguing-on-paper premise, with five…
Newly freed death row inmate must leave Oklahoma
A man who has been on Oklahoma’s death row for 27 years is out of jail. This morning in Oklahoma County District Judge Kenneth Watson’s courtroom, James T. Fisher Jr. accepted a plea deal with prosecutors, releasing him from prison. Fisher was first convicted and given a sentence of death in 1983 for killing Terry…
Dark House
have you believe. “Re-Animator” ringleader Jeffrey Combs stars as Walston Ray (get it, “My Favorite Martian” fans?), the nation’s premier haunted-house showman. This season, he’s looking to set up shop in an abandoned foster home where the headmistress (Diane Salinger) went nuts years ago and killed seven kids, before sticking her hands down the whirring…
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
Chris Columbus, the director responsible for “Home Alone” and “Mrs. Doubtfire,” has been called a hack, but he enjoyed success with his faithful yet relatively bland adaptations in the first two “Harry Potter” films. He’s in familiar kiddo territory taking on the first adaptation of Rick Riordan’s “Percy Jackson” book series. The result is a…
Beautiful
77HRA?ie=UTF8&tag=oklahgazet-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000777HRA”>La Femme Nikita” star Peta Wilson, who’s terrific as Danny’s stepmom) can be to viewers’ benefit, because you have no preconceived notions of who’s good or bad, so unpredictability may reign. “Beautiful” also demands introspection after the credits roll; you’ll talk about it immediately and even think about it the next day. In this year…
Brooklyn’s Finest
4G4OSG&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″> Director Antoine Fuqua (“Shooter”) attempts to make a silk purse out of three sows’ ears with this overly long look at the final days of three Brooklyn cops. The picture follows the trio as they head toward a rendezvous with fate. One is Eddie (Richard Gere),…
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)
So it turns out that the “blemish” is actually essential to the beauty. The “deviation” is at the core of the strength. The “wrong turn” was crucial to you getting you back on the path with heart. I have rarely seen a better example of happy accidents, Capricorn. You may not realize it quite yet…
Mad Science Camp hopes to (figuratively) blind kids with science
Mad Science CampMonday-Wednesday, ongoingMultipurpose Activity Center130 W. Covell$130, ages 3-6285-9643 If you can’t keep your kids from watching one of the numerous crime shows on TV, then why not put that interest to use? The Multipurpose Activity Center at Edmond’s Mitch Park, 130 W. Covell, will host the Mad Science Camp, a hands-on learning lab.…
ARIES (March 21-April 19)
Have you added some bulk and stability to your foundation any time recently, Aries? Have you grown your roots deeper and asked for more from your traditional sources and recommitted yourself to your primal vows? I hope so, because this is a perfect time, astrologically speaking, to strengthen your link to everything that sustains you.…
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)
Your anger is potentially a valuable resource. At least in theory, it can be a motivating force that gives you the clarity and stamina you need to make constructive changes. But how can you make sure that your anger serves your generous urges? What should you do to keep it from being just a self-indulgent…
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)
For the foreseeable future, it’s fine with God (and with Nature, too) if you put all your eggs in one basket ” as long as the basket is well-woven and beautiful to behold. You’ve also got cosmic permission to forget about all but one of the tempting targets in your field of vision ” as…
A moment of clarity
Oklahoma politicians always tout “our conservative values.” Since they rarely explain further, I’ve often wondered what exactly these were. Now, thanks to J. Simms’ June 30 “Sick of it” letter to the Gazette, there is finally clarity. Wow! Scary! “Harry MitchellEdmond
Rocketplane, which received $18 million in Oklahoma tax credits, filed for bankruptcy last month
What started out as a dream of rockets in the Oklahoma sky and money flowing from space enthusiasts has finally ended. George French Jr., owner of Rocketplane Global, decided a mountain of debt and expectations of the same altitude were too much to burden and filed for bankruptcy. He filed the Chapter 7 bankruptcy papers…
Angry no more, Local H’s Scott Lucas stretches his humility with his married musical brethren
Scott Lucas & the Married Men with Hotel Love and Western Residents9 p.m. Sundaythe Conservatory 8911 N. Westernwww.conservatoryokc.com607-4805$7 Most people know Scott Lucas as the fiery, guitar-slinging belter fronting hard-rock outfit Local H, which just wrapped a tour where, each night, the duo played a different disc from its catalog in its entirety. A bunch…
GEMINI (May 21-June 20)
We’re all in ‘sales,’ selling our personalities, our accomplishments, our charms. That’s a quote from Richard Grossinger’s new book 2013. I share his view of human nature. Is there any interaction between people that doesn’t involve a bit of hustling? The subtext of every encounter includes at least one of the following: 1. “I want…
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)
In the next few weeks, the odds are higher than usual that you’ll inherit an amusement park or a tropical island or a profitable pig farm. There’s also a slight chance that you will win a Dutch lottery, find a diamond ring on the sidewalk, or be picked to star in a new reality TV…
Corporate questions
David Stringer became publisher of The Norman Transcript in 1997, and his resignation was announced in a very brief article on April 29. Another article, also notable for its lack of significant background information, appeared in the Oklahoma Gazette, authored by Jack Willis (Commentary, “Corporate America, take heed: Publishers should be local”), on May 12.…
Local singer/songwriter John Calvin adresses world problems, sees unifying power in music
It took a little time for singer/songwriter John Calvin to fall in love with music, but when he did, he fell hard. “It was about five years after I got my guitar that I felt that life-changing, earth-shattering effect that music can manifest,” he said. “I felt something for music. I was channeling myself through…
The Whigs find power and thick texture ‘In the Dark’ corner of their Georgia garage
The Whigs with The Hold Steady8 p.m. FridayDiamond Ballroom8001 S. Easternwww.diamondballroom.net866-966-1777$16 advance, $19 door Recently, before returning to the United States for its current tour supporting The Hold Steady, The Whigs played for 65,000 in London’s Hyde Park. The Georgia trio isn’t an act whose popularity overseas far outstrips its success in America; the musicians…
Bubbles & Beauty exhibit tracks techniques and technology used by housewives throughout history
“Bubbles and Beauty: The History of Housewives”Edmond Historical Society & Museum431 S. Boulevard, Edmond10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, 1-4 p.m. Saturdays 340-0078, www.edmondhistory.orgDaily, ongoing As long as there have been homes, there have been housewives. Their role in the home has progressed as the years have gone by, and this evolution is…
Reporting the truth with sensitivity and compassion
Between 140 and 160 law enforcement officers are killed in the line of duty in the United States every year, according to the group Concerns of Police Survivors (or C.O.P.S.). C.O.P.S. is a national nonprofit that provides resources for the surviving family and affected co-workers of a fallen police officer. My daughter, Stephanie, a licensed…
Just the ticket
With his convincing delivery of the line, “Sorry, officer, I’m unfamiliar with this area of town and got lost,” CFN intern Bucky has never gotten a speeding ticket. (His uncanny skill at eyelash-batting also may have something to do with that.) Other Oklahomans aren’t nearly as lucky. And now we have proof. According to the…
Thanks for sharing
I wanted to take a moment and thank you, Gazette, for sharing the J. Simms letter in the June 30 issue. Not because I agree with anything that was said in the letter, but because it is easy to forget just how far the LGBT community has to go to achieve equal rights in this…
Bomb scare
Why does the Gazette use the f-bomb in its articles? I am offended by the use of profanity in print. We hear enough of that in public and private conversations. Why add to the deterioration of our own language by printing curse words? To make society better, you use self-control. I hope the Gazette will…
The softcore vampiric tryst heats up for ‘The Twilight Saga: Eclipse,’ overshadowing its predecessor
Every now and then, a pop culture phenomenon comes along that forces us to either love to hate it, or hate ourselves for loving it. “The Real Housewives of New Jersey.” Boy bands. The 1980s. Undoubtedly, “The Twilight Saga” and its glittery, brooding vampire heroes outshine them all. (The more than $30 million it took…
As the one castaway remaining on Islands, leader Nicholas Thorburn has a constant companion: change
Islands with Active Child and Steel Phantoms9 p.m. ThursdayOpoliswww.opolis.org113 N. Crawford, Norman447-3417$10 advance, $12 door$12 advance, $14 door under 21 Soft-spoken and assured, Islands’ frontman Nicholas Thorburn, who intermittently goes by the stage name Nick Diamonds, shared why all his hard work with the band is worth it. “I feel so blessed that I get…
Combining an affinity for toys and taxidermy, a Norman artist creates one-of-a-kind playmates for the grim at heart
Darien Goldman’s Snuff Stuffies7 p.m. FridayJuju Gallery1612 Gatewoodwww.customcranium.com Animal bones in clear plastic bags were piled in a large cardboard box, like evidence collected from a catastrophic crime scene. Darien Goldman called it her “pathology” collection, and she dug through the bones, finding a white, fist-sized skull of a dog. “This is the best argument…
Local artwork and live music will fill the Midsummer Night’s Fair on Friday and Saturday in Norman
Firehouse Art Center’s 33rd annual Midsummer Night’s FairLions Park, 450 S. Flood, Norman6-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday329-4523, normanfirehouse.moonfruit.com Neither mischievous fairies nor a scheming Puck will appear in Norman this weekend. There will, however, be enough arts and entertainment to please even Billy Shakespeare himself. Firehouse Art Center’s 33rd annual Midsummer Night’s Fair is Friday…
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)
Have you fallen in omnidirectional love these past few weeks? Are you swooning with such reckless splendor that at times you feel like you’re swimming in mid-air? By my reckoning, you have an urgent need to be caught up in a vortex of free-form affection. Your receptivity to being tickled and spun around by an…
Old-school noir in a modern way, ‘The Square’ cuts a dark, twisted path through betrayal and revenge
Back in the day, filmmakers were careful to maintain a certain moral hierarchy, making sure that the bad people got what they deserved, and the good people walked off with maybe a scratch or two, but no real damage. It was just an understood thing, a product of the studio system in which content “…
PR BS
Lots of press releases related to the Sooner State cross our desk. This week, these titles least screamed “Stop the presses!” “”Board Approves Additional DMAP Permits”””PetroQuest Energy Updates Operating Activities, Second Quarter Production Guidance and Hedging”””Euthymics Bioscience, Inc. and DOV Pharmaceutical, Inc. Announce Merger Agreement”””ITC Great Plains Receives Siting Approval for Phase II of the…
Oklahoma’s military past comes to life at historic Fort Reno
Our state’s history is flavored with tales of land runs, cattle drives and Buffalo Soldiers. But the story of Oklahoma’s Fort Reno, 7107 W. Cheyenne, four miles west of El Reno, can’t be told without also talking of German prisoners of war and a renowned Western artist. First established in 1874 as a military camp…
Amputee Katie Holloway hopes to inspire youth to play adaptive sports like sitting volleyball
Katie Holloway personifies resilience. The 24-year-old Washington native has always believed in working hard to achieve her goals. Her tenacity has garnered quite the trophy case: medals from world championships, a place on the All Big West Conference Freshman Team, two-time Big West Sixth Woman of the Year and an appearance in Sports Illustrated. Separate…
Forty-two children, one dog and a flying car drive Lyric’s ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’ to greatness
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang8 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday, 2 p.m. SaturdayLyric TheatreCivic Center Music Hall201 N. Walkerwww.lyrictheatreokc.com 524-9312$29-$66 Lyric Theatre continues its season with the Oklahoma premiere of the musical “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,” based on the book by Ian Fleming and the 1968 film starring Dick Van Dyke as Caractacus Potts, the eccentric inventor who creates…
Science!
Finally! Mustachioed hipsters around the world can rest easy knowing that their ironic lip ticklers are, in fact, sexy. Indeed, their bushy mustaches are just reeling in the ladies. Specifically, lady fish, but, hey, not everyone can be choosy. As reported by the website Kotaku, researchers at the University of Oklahoma have concluded that Mexican…
Reacting to the rubber stamp
Regarding Nathan Gunter’s “Leaving Oklahoma” Commentary in the June 9 Gazette:I have been in those so-called community “planning” meetings. They’re only keeping up appearances because they throw all that input away and go with consultants who work backdoor deals. Just look at what happened with the I-40 realignment. We were “told” what was going to…
Coburn: Obama wants to remain ‘in majority forever with illegal votes’
As Sen. Tom Coburn started his address to the crowd at Francis Tuttle Technology Center in Oklahoma City, he made two things crystal clear: People would not like his answers, but things will get better. Before Coburn, R-Okla., opened Wednesday’s town hall meeting to questions from the audience, he addressed the crowd by outlining how…
Get Greasy
Ah, Oklahoma, you somehow always end up on the wrong side of lists. As if the state needed anything else to cement its permanent role as Place Where Ambiguous Newsreel Footage for Stories on Obesity is Shot, we can now thank Reader’s Digest for a reputation that, well, really sticks. The mag’s June/July issue features…
With ‘The Last Airbender,’ M. Night Shyamalan makes what may be his worst film yet
Chunks of “The Last Airbender” are so spellbindingly awful, they approach a perverse kind of majesty. Larded with incomprehensible storytelling, flimsy characterization and dialogue so groan-inducing, it makes George Lucas’ “Star Wars” prequels look like David Mamet, the movie’s missteps brush the heights of what might have been campy appeal. Alas, even those comparatively fun…
TAURUS (April 20-May 20)
I like the way you’ve been contradicting yourself, Taurus. I appreciate your ability to be inconsistent, paradoxical, and upside-down. It has allowed you to wriggle free of the rut you had been stuck in. You’ve stirred the affections of people who had been frustrated about your narrow focus. Yes, it’s true that you have also…
With a budget cut of nearly $1 million, OETA is making some changes
In the course of one day, Gerry Bonds learned her OETA talk show, “OKC Metro,” was up for two Emmy awards and, almost immediately, it would soon end. In addition, she found out she’d anchor her last “Oklahoma News Report” June 30. Bonds, co-anchor George Tomek and weatherman Ross Dixon are the three most…
Taped tunes temper Carpenter Square’s acting highs, bringing buzzkill to ‘Reefer Madness: The Musical’
Reefer Madness: The Musical7:30 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 2 p.m. SundayThrough July 17Carpenter Square TheatreCivic Center Music Hall 201 N. Walkerwww.carpentersquare.com595-9044$18, $15 seniors/military Carpenter Square Theatre might consider shortening its season by one show. Last year, its season finale, “The Little Dog Laughed,” the best play of 2009, decamped to the Freede Little Theatre…
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)
It’s high time to banish the excuses you think you have for not doing your best. There is no longer any valid reason to hide from your true calling or deny yourself more profound happiness. You are ready to see that the supposed “obstacles” to your success are actually instrumental to your success ” prods…
A response to ‘Sick of It’
I have been reading Oklahoma Gazette for as long as I have known about its existence. I am truly appreciative of the stories you provide, the events that you cover, the support that you provide to the community and the open forum that you provide to your readers. Unfortunately, in a June 30 letter, J.…
New Year’s resolution dead
For all those Oklahomans who set a New Year’s resolution goal to lose weight, we think you need to try harder. A new report out claims Oklahoma is one of the fattest states in the country, ranking at the No. 6 spot. “The report suggests most Oklahomans think the only good veggie is a fried…
At what price?
What does it say about a state when it spends far more money on a per-person basis housing its prisoners than it does educating its children? Sadly, that has been the case in Oklahoma for years, and the message from many previous and current state leaders is simple and stark: Oklahoma is more interested in…
And Party Every Day: The Inside Story of Casablanca Records – Larry Harris with Curt Gooch and Jeff Suhs
bable,” according to the book. “I’d attended more concerts that I could possibly catalog, and loud music was hardly new to me, but KISS’s decibel level was so high that standing in the jet intake of the Concorde would have been more restful. I couldn’t hear for two days afterward, and during that time I…
Parasomnia
“Parasomnia” is the medical term for “Sleeping Beauty syndrome,” not to mention for “half a good movie.” Laura Baxter (Cherilyn Wilson) is a young woman afflicted with the condition, making her sleep practically all the time. While visiting a friend in the psych ward, art student Danny (Dylan Purcell) happens upon her room, gazes at…
Forbidden World
Mike Colby, who is rerouted to a planetary research lab, where scientists have created “Subject 20,” although it’s come out not as intended. Shortly before Colby arrives, the genetic fluke has slaughtered all the test animals aboard, and now has cocooned, waiting to evolve. Eventually, it grows to be big, black and toothy, as if…
How to Make Love to a Woman
From the title, premise and execution, one can assume “How to Make Love to a Woman” wants to be the next “The 40-Year-Old Virgin.” It’s not even close. It is, however, the worst kind of romantic comedy: neither romantic nor funny. And that includes the disc’s 25 minutes of deleted scenes. Josh Meyers, the lookalike…
ACOG seeks partners for sustainable communities regional planning program
The Association of Central Oklahoma Governments is seeking regional partners for the HUD Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant program. Announced last week, the program is designed to create economically competitive, healthy, opportunity-rich communities. Grants will be awarded competitively to regional partnerships comprised of state and local governments, metropolitan planning organizations, educational institutions, nonprofit organizations and…
