Sour note
So, now, instead of our beloved Zoo, we are being offered the Downtown Airpark; what the heck is that? Maybe they will drag out their rickety, worn-out Ferris wheel to attract attendees. Shame on the zoo trustees for turning this over to casino promoters, who could not compete with the Zoo Amp, so they bought…
Train kept a-rollin’
It could be said that men my age have fleeting, and sometimes inaccurate, memories of themselves at those ages. But I remember with complete clarity the nights in those homes when a haunting, mournful, yet beautifully rich sound issued across the dark night skies of Oklahoma City. The one I remember most clearly occurred at…
Pedal power
Trek Bicycle employees of Waterloo, Wis., finished the mass build Monday to ship bikes of various sizes to its metro shop, Schlegel Bicycles. Steve Schlegel, who owns the store at 900 N. Broadway, had contacted the Waterloo, Wis., company shortly after the storms to inquire about a sizable bike donation for kids. Trek bikes are…
Kanye West — Yeezus
Ego alone isn’t what makes Mr. West such a fascinating figure; any other schmo with a head his size would be scoffed and discarded as parody. There’s actually a certain degree of legitimacy that keeps his maniacal sense of self-importance from devolving into full-scale megalomania: that Kanye’s vision and production chops are currently unmatched in…
Bathing beauties
Sun & Ski Sport By: Heather Brown If not, rectify that and schedule some right now. Take it from me: An entire Oklahoma summer sans a dip in an ocean, lake or pool is enough to drive a person a little mad. First, it’s time to get your paws on some swimwear. Because unless your…
PR BS
Credit: Brad Gregg —“Hose that fits in a pocket but grows to full size” —“Drummer Paul Bostaph Returns to Slayer” —“EDT introduces Type E Solution® bearings that are grease-less, non-corrosive and available fully split” —“Celebrity Psychic Thomas John Accurately Predicted ‘Iron Man 3’ as Top 5 Grossing Film, Oklahoma Tornado Outbreaks, Philadelphia Building Collapse and…
Hard rain’s a-gonna fall
Credit: Brad Gregg The U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals cleared the way last week for Cressman to proceed with a lawsuit concerning Oklahoma’s pesky state plates. In 2011, he filed suit against state officials because he does not want to be forced to advertise “images, messages and practices that he cannot endorse or accept.”…
OKG7 kid-friendly food stops
Hideaway Pizza901 N. Broadwayhideawaypizza.com796-7777 Start with the famous fried mushrooms; they’re always served piping hot with ranch for dipping. The pesto bruschetta is a delicious blend of tomatoes, onions, fresh basil and olive oil. If you mean business, attempt The Mob Boss pizza loaded with sausage, pepperoni, salami and smoked bacon. Chelino’s Mexican Restaurant1331 Alameda,…
CFN Quote (and Possibly Advertisement) of the Week
Credit: Brad Gregg —Chip Legett, whose Ford truck was tossed more than 100 yards by the storm while he and three friends were in it
Kitchen aid
Chef Rick Bayless By: Shannon Cornman Growing up in Oklahoma City, Rick Bayless never thought much about twisters. “I was very accustomed to tornadoes,” said the renowned chef. “As a kid, we thought of them as sort of funny things, where there would be some sort of big storm that came through this time every…
PR BS
Credit: Brad Gregg —“Hose that fits in a pocket but grows to full size” —“Drummer Paul Bostaph Returns to Slayer” —“EDT introduces Type E Solution® bearings that are grease-less, non-corrosive and available fully split” —“Celebrity Psychic Thomas John Accurately Predicted ‘Iron Man 3’ as Top 5 Grossing Film, Oklahoma Tornado Outbreaks, Philadelphia Building Collapse and…
Judging the judges
Credit: Brad Gregg The State Chamber of Oklahoma, a key backer of tort reform, quickly fired off an outraged news release. “Regrettably, the activist judges on this court have shown they will continue to anoint themselves the ultimate arbiter of the state’s social, moral and legal values,” said Fred Morgan, chamber president and CEO. “It…
Bricktown living
Credit: Mark Hancock The $70 million development, located along Sheridan Avenue between Russell M. Perry Avenue and Lincoln Boulevard, will encompass quality and affordable housing, retail stores and a four-story private parking garage. Because the developers received $5 million in federal stimulus money, they have promised monthly rent for 39 of the 250 apartments will…
The East
If you’ve seen one, you haven’t seen them all. But you should, and The East opens Friday exclusively at AMC Quail Springs Mall 24, 2501 W. Memorial. The title refers to an underground group of ecological terrorists led by the scruffy Benji (Alexander Skarsgård, TV’s True Blood). He and his followers — most notably Izzy…
Be reasonable
Aimee Breeze Credit: Mark Hancock Freethinkers statewide will meet Saturday at the Cox Convention Center for FreeOK, their largest gathering. Freethought describes a philosophical position that asserts that beliefs and opinions ought to be based on reason, evidence and science, rather than faith, dogma or revelation. While freethought tends to attract atheists, agnostics and skeptics,…
Fox news
Having made a name for themselves in Fort Worth, Texas — first as a duo and now as a five-piece — blues rockers Foxtrot Uniform are all set for their Oklahoma debut, Friday at Blue Note Lounge, followed by Saturday at Grady’s 66 Pub. According to lead guitarist Kenny Uptain, the short trip north has…
Superior sound
A five-piece of former “Motherbitches” gathered around its communal kitchen table on a Monday afternoon, indulging in stories of drunken fan squabbles, Oklahoma City’s finicky music scene and the romance that started it all six years ago. Now known as Em and the MotherSuperiors, the psychedelic soul outlet opted to drop “Motherbitches” from its name…
It might get loud
Copperheads Photo: Doug Schwarz To paraphrase Kiss, Oklahoma City loves it loud. It loves it so much so that the Okie Noise Fest, a free, nine-hour tribute to turning it up to 11, returns Saturday, this time to OKC, after a successful launch at Norman’s Opolis a year ago. Fest co-founder Robert Layton, front man…
News to clues
For nine weeks, 13 amateur sleuths from across the country will use techniques of crime-scene investigation to uncover evidence in a staged murder. They must solve a new crime each week to advance; if they don’t, they’re out. It all leads to a season finale in which the killer among them is unmasked and someone…
Beau bridges
Beau Mansfield Photo: Kianoosh Moeini Beau Mansfield is a lot of things, but at his heart, he’s a piano man. The Norman native has toured in comedy improv groups, directed music for theatrical productions and become a momentary viral star in Holland, but at the core of everything is Mansfield’s lifelong love affair with the…
Sweet slumber
Adam Miller, the brains behind the Oklahoma City-based project This Is Sleep, doesn’t just embrace the oncedormant science of computer-based production; he revels in it. “There is a magic, no doubt, that comes with bands,” Miller said. “But as technology rises, the evolution of music and new kinds of music go along with that, it’s…
Meaty reading
As the nation’s only full-time “barbecue editor,” Daniel Vaughn of Texas Monthly has penned The Prophets of Smoked Meat: A Journey Through Texas Barbecue, a handy guide for serious meat lovers in the Lone Star State. The title derives, in part, from the blog that helped launch his relatively new career, Full Custom Gospel BBQ,…
Pinch of humor
By: Barry Burris Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park opened its 29th season (where did the years go?) with Measure for Measure at Water Stage in Myriad Botanical Gardens. This is only the second time OSP has staged this comedy, and the production may show why that is: It’s practically devoid of humor. Measure for Measure…
Weighing what’s important downtown
Credit: Brad Gregg Instead, the council wants to see the results of an ongoing market study to show if OKC even needs a hotel for the convention center, which will be funded through the MAPS 3 sales tax. The hotel is an independent project with no financing at this point. The hotel market analysis is…
Trashed
Credit: Brad Gregg Monthly active users of Facebook numbered 1.1 billion in May. In only its seventh year of existence, Twitter boasts 640 million accounts and more than 400 million tweets per day. No doubt people are talking. What they have to say and the conversation they create are of supreme importance to businesses. What…
Letters
Oklahoma Gazette provides an open forum for the discussion of all points of view in its 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 online at okgazette.com, but include a city of residence and contact number…
This is 40
Credit: Shannon Cornman FBI figures show violent crime in the city increased 7 percent last year compared to 2011. OKC police reported 5,474 violent crimes in 2012 and 5,108 in 2011. “Obviously, you add officers to do a better job, and we need to eventually put the new officers in those areas where most of…
A finer diner
By: Mark Hancock I saw many sights in Paris — ancient churches and modern art and entire shops that only sold cheese. But one of the best things I did was sit at an outdoor cafe, order a Coke and just watch the world walk by. Oklahoma City, I tell you now that you don’t…
KD to the Izzo
Credit: Brad Gregg Not impressed yet? OK, how about a sports-management agency on the cusp of signing one of the NBA’s elite superstars? Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant is leaving Landmark Sports, his representation for the last year or so, to join Mr. Z’s Roc Nation Sports. The move would come as quite the…
More powerful than a locomotive (and sounding like one, too)
Credit: Brad Gregg No, it’s a blog post giving tornado tips on Superman’s behalf. The Dallas Morning News’ “Guide Live Pop Culture” blog last week reaffirmed to readers — particularly those who experienced May’s tornadoes in North Texas and Oklahoma — that Kevin Costner has no idea what he’s talking about (as if we didn’t…
Monsters University
But that’s not college — that’s high school. Whatever it is, Monsters University, which opens Friday, certainly isn’t the overachiever that its predecessor was. While not on the failure level of, say, Cars 2, this disappointing effort is mildly redeemed by an involving third act — at just about the time pint-sized viewers are apt…
Meet the eats
Hillbillies By: Shannon Cornman New restaurants in the metro are expanding Oklahoma City’s collective palate with eclectic dining options, as well as such classic favorites as burgers and tacos. Hillbillies Po Boy & Oyster Bar, 1 N.W. Ninth, which occupies the old Pachinko Parlor building, opened earlier this month. The concept from S&B’s Burger Joint…
John Moreland — In the Throes
He moves through the 10-song collection with The Boss’ swagger, too, effortlessly swaying between fully fleshed folk-rock anthems and quiet, dirt-road ditties. “Nobody Gives a Damn About Songs” anymore marries a lament of the loss of substance with an impossibly catchy — and classically American — melody. “Blacklist” is just as powerful in its heartbreak,…
Much Ado About Nothing
The West Coast is audible in the characters’ accents, making the Bard’s vernacular sound 21st-century. Well-tailored suits and smartphones replace hosiery and swords, and the noble men returning from war are now WASPs, ostensibly government dignitaries. Following two couples’ parallel romantic ordeals, Whedon draws out the rom-com elements inherent in the original play, not straying…
Kick-brass
Dirty Dozen Brass Band Celebrating its 30th birthday this year, Norman’s annual Jazz in June concert series showcases some of the best jazz and blues musicians in the country. The free event runs Thursday through Saturday. This year’s lineup includes: • bluesman Duke Robillard; • the Herb Alpert tribute band, A Taste of Herb; •…
Southwest’s best
Jim Keffer’s Food for Thought Using sculpture, photography, painting and cardboard, four artists created works to portray their individual perspectives of the American Southwest for JRB Art at The Elms’ current exhibition. Joy Reed Belt, gallery owner and curator, selected artists Shirley Thomson-Smith, Jim Keffer, Jenny Gummersall and Jason Cytacki for the Art of the…
Seeking shelter for students
Now a discussion is under way to decide how to handle state assistance for shelter space. Like many Oklahomans, I knew many who were trapped in at least one of the major tornadoes that struck Oklahoma last month. One of my cousins is a student at Briarwood Elementary in Moore, where his mother, a schoolteacher,…
Rodeo clown
Unlike the other exhibitions currently housed at Oklahoma City Museum of Art — the Chihuly glass, the Herb Ritts photos — one can touch the works of Halo Amok without fear of being thrown out. That’s what they’re for, according to their creator. “This is art you can literally walk into,” said nationally renowned artist…
Skull World
Greg Sommer is a grown adult, yet lives in the basement of his mom’s house with his girlfriend, a blow-up doll. Since high school, he’s operated under the pseudonym of Skull Man, so named for the full mask he dons. His passion appears to be turning cardboard into homemade armor for the ongoing “box wars”…
Pet project
The estimated 140 animals have been spayed or neutered and vaccinated, and most have received microchip implants that help reunite owners with their pets, said volunteer Tiffany Chancellor-Pacheco. The adoption fee is $70 with proceeds going to the Moore Animal Shelter. About 80 dogs and 60 cats remain from the pets initially aken to the…
Ninja III: The Domination
I sure did. Never have I seen a ninja movie as entertaining as Cannon Films’ 1984 epic. And I’ve literally had to wait 29 years to see it. I recall the 13-year-old more being intrigued by the black-and-white ads for it in the daily newspaper; remarkably, this Shout! Factory Blu-ray/DVD combo marks its first North…
This Is the End
I wasted so much of my 20s hanging out with these 420-types, sitting bored in their thrift-store-furnished living rooms, desperately looking at my watch while the person who was usually my ride sank deeper and deeper into the couch as the thick whiffs of chronic sunk deeper and deeper into their lungs. They were all…
Lifeforce
Time may heal all wounds, but it can’t repair damaged careers. It does, however, prove Hooper was in the right all along, especially judging by Shout! Factory’s Blu-ray edition, which allows American viewers to see the longer international cut while also giving them Cannon’s trimmed theatrical version. Whether you watch one, the other or both,…
