The Classic Middle Name (all new)
Arrested recently, and awaiting trial for murder: Cody Wayne Moore, Rockford, Ill. (April) Larry Wayne Rubin, Decatur, Ga. (April) Darrell Wayne Buchanan, Burke County, N.C. (February). Pleaded guilty to murder: Christopher Wayne Hudson, Melbourne, Australia (May) Fred Wayne Douty II, Martinsburg, W.Va. (June). Committed suicide while a suspect in the murder of a state trooper:…
Update
In March, News of the Weird reported the bratty behavior of two Boynton Beach, Fla., high school girls who not only swiped money from a Girl Scout selling cookies at a supermarket, but then told a TV station on camera that they were “pissed” because they got caught and had to give the money back.…
Fetishes on Parade
Martin Turner, 39, of Blackpool, England, pleaded guilty to four counts of harassment in May, specifically, pestering several workmen by telephone over a three-year period to please come by and stand on his face, his fingers and his genitals while wearing their heavy boots. His lawyer said it had something to do with “domination.” Jeremy…
Definitely, Maybe
2008 “Definitely, Maybe” isn’t your run-of-the-mill romantic comedy, which in itself is no small feat for a genre that celebrates the run-of-the-mill. The film isn’t exactly subversive, but its characters are relatable and interesting, and its take on love is refreshingly realistic. We are introduced to Will Hayes (Ryan Reynolds), a New York public relations…
Least Competent Criminals
Police in Mesa, Ariz., chased driver Christopher Psomas, 38, in May after his companion, Ashley Strahan, 20, allegedly tried to pass a forged check at a business. The pair’s car ran red lights at high speeds to get out of town, then left the road near the Salt River Reservation, and when the car became…
The Continuing Crisis
In May, eighth-grader Michael Avery of Thousand Oaks, Calif., told the hometown newspaper The Acorn that he was undecided which area high school he would attend next fall. This was a matter of interest in that Avery, 15, is a basketball prodigy and, though undecided on high school, he knows exactly where he will go…
The Andromeda Strain
2008 Anyone who spent Memorial Day weekend not glued to A&E’s two-night premiere of the miniseries “The Andromeda Strain,” worry not: The “epic television event” is now available in DVD, in an easier-to-digest three hours, shorn of 60 minutes’ worth of commercial interruptions. But it’s still too long. Adapted from the Michael Crichton novel, “Strain”…
Female basketball players have a semipro outlet
Women’s semipro basketball now has an in-state stop as the metro’s newest team, the Oklahoma Angels, made its season debut on June 7 against the North Texas Flash. The Angels recently made the leap from a roving exhibition team to a member of the Women’s Blue Chip Basketball League. Center Shannon Mayberry played high school…
Go Girl!: Sleepover! – Rowan McAuley
Feiwel and Friends Like The Powerpuff Girls minus the superpowers, the “Go Girl!” novels comprise a girl-empowerment series for ages 7-10. Each title features a different lead character and is penned by one of a rotating stable of authors, but all purport to impart light life lessons “? such as the importance of friendship or…
True Colors’ music tour comes to town to fight gay discrimination
Affirmation and approval are at the heart of Cyndi Lauper’s 1986 hit “True Colors,” a song that’s since gone on to be an anthem of struggle for many in the gay community. Lauper formed the “True Colors Tour” in 2007 to help raise awareness of the discrimination faced by that group. STINTUNIQUE San Antonio’s Girl…
Much ado about nothing
Almost a decade ago, when my beloved Mayflower Congregational Church voted to become “open and affirming” (a United Church of Christ congregation that publicly and prayerfully welcomes lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people into the full sacramental hospitality of the church), it was by unanimous decision. Not a single member of this predominately straight congregation…
Weezer – Weezer (The Red Album)
Geffen If you don’t count 2007’s “Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo,” (and you shouldn’t) it’s been almost three years since we have heard anything new from indie favorite Weezer. The band’s sixth studio album is more of a collective effort, with Cuomo ceding and sharing songwriting duties on a handful of songs on…
Snuff – Chuck Palahniuk
Doubleday It seems absurd today, but when Bret Easton Ellis’ “American Psycho” was published in 1991, some stores kept it behind the registers, what with the novel’s unique uses of a Habitrail and all. Yet there’s been nary a peep over Chuck Palahniuk’s “Snuff,” which also is a good candidate for brown-bagging, and elicits the…
Much Ado About Nothing’ turns out to be a fresh take on the Bard
Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park made an excellent choice when it hired Steve Knight to direct its opening production of the 2008 season. Knight is an intelligent and imaginative interpreter of Shakespeare, and his “Much Ado About Nothing,” now at the congenial Water Stage in downtown Oklahoma City, is the freshest OSP production in years.…
A paranormal team hosts a night of investigation
INsight Paranormal Investigations is planning an event at a mansion in Lindsay. With tall Grecian columns guarding the front entry of its three-story frame, the Murray-Lindsay Mansion is quite a sight. It’s also reputed to be haunted. Fully restored by the Lindsay Community Historical Society since the Sixties, the 1879-built mansion has a rich history,…
Football fanatics count down
University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University football fans circled Aug. 30 on their respective calendars months ago and are already chomping at the bit in anticipation of the arrival of the 2008 college football season. So as we sit here waiting for Oklahoma State’s season-opening trip to Washington State, and the Sooners’ 2008 opener…
Jakob Dylan – Seeing Things
Sony No longer content only leading other Wallflowers, Jakob Dylan has stepped out for his solo dance with his new album, “Seeing Things.” The “Seeing” songs are a mostly low-key, acoustic affair, which suits the soft, smoky singer quite nicely. With just enough of his father Bob Dylan’s gravelly delivery, songs like “Valley of the…
The Invaders: The First Season
1967 There’s something extremely charming about seeing a show with opening narration that proudly heralds what you’re about to see is “in color!” That proclamation was a staple of the Quinn Martin production, of which “The Invaders” remains a cult favorite. Now that the first season of the late-Sixties sci-fi series is available on DVD,…
Man who confessed to Oklahoma murder dies
It’s not often one gets to call a murderer a murderer. But in the case of Oklahoma City murderer Benjamin Harry Crider II, the penalties are waived. Crider died recently in Marion, Ky. He was 49. According to scuttle around the Crittenden Free Press, he died of a heart attack. In 1996, Crider was arrested…
Paseo gallery features paintings of the West
MG height=118 alt=CLIVE-LonghornLeft.jpg hspace=10 src=”/Images/Imported/Fine%20Art/CLIVE-LonghornLeft.jpg” width=150 align=right vspace=10 border=0>Capturing the colors and essence of the West in a new collection of paintings, artist Clive R. Tyler showcases his “Landscapes of the West” at Adelante! Gallery, 3003 Paseo in The Paseo Arts District. A national award-winning artist, Tyler returns to Adelante! for his third exhibit with…
The Happening
Reviewer’s grade: D Random people in New York City are acting weird and start killing themselves by jumping off buildings and stabbing themselves in the neck. The media whips up the panic and confusion by speculating that some sort of chemical or biological weapon and a terrorist plot are to blame for the phenomenon, which…
Legislator envisions Paris, Oklahoma
Believe it or not, good ideas and hard work do take place inside the state Legislature. There certainly are some “oil”-riginal ideas floating out of 23rd Street and N. Lincoln Boulevard. Rep. Shane Jett, R-Tecumseh, has an ingenious idea for bringing more tourism dollars to Central Oklahoma. The Republican legislator wants to build an oil…
In Bruges
2008 The professional hit men who turn up in independent films tend to be an iconoclastic bunch: brooding but quick-witted guys who don ‘t let the drudgery of homicide keep them from engaging in friendly pop-culture banter. But “In Bruges,” written and directed by playwright Martin McDonagh, is no Quentin Tarantino or Guy Ritchie knockoff.…
The Incredible Hulk
Reviewer’s grade: B It’s going to gall a lot of people, but it took a French director, Louis Leterrier (“Transporter 2”) to make a good movie out of the Hulk comic books. Edward Norton (“The Illusionist”) stars as Bruce Banner, who becomes the angry Hulk when his emotions are aroused, and the CGI department stars…
City Arts Center offers art exhibit
City Arts Center is offering children the opportunity to experience life under the big top at State Fair Park, 3000 General Pershing, with “Hands On ’08: Le Cirque d’Art.” The exhibit opened June 13 and will run through Aug. 16. With free admission and open to children of all ages, “Le Cirque d’Art” features an…
My Brother Is an Only Child
Reviewer’s grade: B Accio (Elio Germano) is a pubescent Italian boy living in the early Sixties with his parents, sister and his older brother Manrico (Riccardo Scamarcio). After leaving seminary because of a “conflict of conscience,” Accio has a hard time readjusting to family life. Manrico has become very active in the local Communist party,…
Great Art!
Austrian director Johann Kresnik’s re-interpretation of the classic Verdi opera “A Masked Ball” opened for a limited engagement in Berlin in April, aimed at America’s “war and the excesses of American society today,” he said. In one scene, against a backdrop of the ruins of the World Trade Center, 35 naked senior citizens danced, wearing…
Open-meeting law causes challenge in Oklahoma town
Those pesky open meetings laws. They just clog up everything. The Kiowa City Council had trouble at its last meeting approving anything ” it was short a quorum. Yvonne Miller with The Alva Review-Courier reported four of the six council members were present, including Mayor Ronnie Domnick. One council member had told his fellow councilors…
Radiohead – The Best Of
Capitol To the band’s protest, a two-disc collection of Radiohead songs has been issued by Capitol Records, which released all of the band’s albums until “In Rainbows” came out last year. The first disc has 17 of the group’s most well-known and commercially successful songs, including early hits like “Creep”; “The Bends” favorites “High and…
The Grand
2007 A high-stakes televised poker championship in Las Vegas serves as the milieu for “The Grand,” a mostly winning mockumentary boasting a terrific cast of actors who improvised a majority of the proceedings. Director Zak Penn’s comedy focuses on six contestants hoping to take the top spot, including a not-so-recovering drug addict (Woody Harrelson), a…
OKCPS board chairman-elect talks about MAPS for Kids
Former Oklahoma City Mayor Kirk Humphreys likes to quote a saying he gleaned from another metro mover and shaker: “Never climb a ladder leaning toward you; never kiss a girl leaning away from you; and never run for school board.” JOINING THE BOARD CUSTOMERS MAPS FOR KIDS It is, of course, advice the one-time Putnam…
Roman art on loan from the Louvre makes OKC stop
From the first view of the giant marble “Portrait of Lucilla” to the final statue of Polymnia, “Roman Art from the Louvre” revels in the beauty and power of a once colossal empire. Oklahoma City is the final North American stop for the exhibit, opening Thursday at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. With works…
Government in Action
The Los Angeles Police Department announced in April that it had investigated 320 complaints against its officers last year for alleged “racial profiling” and found that not a single one was valid. The Los Angeles Times reported that that was at least the sixth consecutive year that LAPD reported a perfect record on racial profiling.…
Oklahoma senate campaigns use YouTube
The Senate race between Andrew Rice and incumbent James Inhofe seemingly pits new against old. But both campaigns are working to use the new media application YouTube to release campaign messages at the pace the “blogosphere” demands. ‘QUIRKY’ GOES MAINSTREAM’A YOUTUBE MOMENT’CROWDING OUT ON COMMON GROUND It speeds up the dialogue,” said Karina Henderson, new…
Longhorn football follower files suit against restaurant
What’s the latest between the Longhorn T-shirt guy claiming the Sooners fan grabbed his cojones? The Texas fan is suing the alleged perpetrator and site of the incident for more than $100,000, The Associated Press reports. Chicken-Fried News readers may remember that Brian Thomas claims his scrotum was torn last year by Allen Michael Beckett…
Sunday Twilight Concert Series relocates for 2008
Eclectic music fans, listen up: The Arts Council of Oklahoma City is presenting a new performer every Sunday through August at the Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno. As part of the 28th annual Sunday Twilight Concert Series, the performances began June 1, but don’t fret ” there’s plenty of country, rock, alternative, experimental and…
Johnny Hootrock show comes to OKC
Beer-drenched growls, manic psychobilly guitar solos, walloping drums and the occasional burlesque dancer populate a typical Johnny Hootrock show. Lead singer Clem Hoot comes from good stock, having been a founding member of fellow Austin acid-tripping roots rockers The Flametrick Subs. So, is it a surprise that Hoot is also a strident soldier in the Kiss…
Murders linked Osage Nation, FBI in the Twenties
d come forth. The agents worked under the legal umbrella of the Osage tribal police, but as told in the James Stewart movie “The FBI Story,” they desperately wanted to find a way to make the Osage killings a federal case. Then an agent discovered Roan’s body had been found on federally owned grazing land…
The Onion Movie
2008 Writing funny headlines does not mean you can write a funny film. The folks behind the popular satirical newspaper The Onion have learned that the hard way with “The Onion Movie,” a sketch-based comedy that’s been sitting on the shelf for about four years. It’s not unwatchable as rumored, but Lordy, is it leaden.…
Finding miracles
Nothing is more beautiful than a miracle. I’ve been watching one take place. The night after Christmas, my gentle, beloved greyhound Annie got into a fight with or was attacked by another dog. Whatever sparked the rage is unknown. The aftermath is unforgettable: Annie was missing fur and flesh. She had wounds of varying severity…
Yukon pet shelter rescues dogs, cats
A pet shelter in Yukon rescues dogs and cats slated for euthanasia and preps them for adoption into loving families. At the shelter, donations of dog food, blankets, treats and toys are always needed and appreciated, in addition to monetary contributions. Pets and People Thrift Store at 322 Elm in Yukon welcomes shoppers and donations…
MonsterQuest: The Complete Season One
2008 For all those intrigued by recent rumors of giant killer octopi swimming in Oklahoma lakes, “MonsterQuest” is a television series made just for you. The History Channel production’s debut season of 14 episodes is collected among four DVDs, packaged in a nice tin. Despite the admittedly B-movie title, the show takes its subject seriously,…
Burn Notice: Season One
2007 Missed “Burn Notice” in its premiere season on cable’s USA? Yeah, me, too. And we missed a lot. The title of this remarkably clever series refers to the cut-off order spies receive when their agency decides to terminate their employment. Such a pink slip is received in the pilot by our hero, Michael (Jeffrey…
Leading Economic Indicator
Rising prices of synthetic fertilizers and organic foods have intensified the collection of bird droppings on 20 climatically ideal islands off the coast of Peru where 12-inch-thick seabird guano coats the land. In the 19th century, Spain fought with Peru on the high seas for the right to mine the guano, which at that time…
Before the Rains
tragedy and the melodrama well, never letting the latter obscure the sorrow of the culture clash between east and west. Well worth going to see. PG-13 “?Doug Bentin
Former Clem Snide front man steps into solo spotlight
Israeli native and Nashville, Tenn.-based Eef Barzelay will play Saturday at The Opolis in Norman. When alt-country indie rock band Clem Snide called it quits in 2006 after 10 years of touring and recording, lead singer/songwriter Barzelay seemed to have lost something big. Fortunately, the dissolution of the group ” an outfit Barzelay initially founded…
DJ Chitty shares answers to OKC questions
He landed a coveted slot at the South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas, earlier this year; booked a center-stage show at Tulsa’s Dfest next month; conducts regular parties at Electro Lounge as part of the Dance Robots, Dance! DJ collective; and will spin between sets from The Stock Market Crash and The City…
Board rules railroad company falsified Crosstown Expressway documents
ngs have their own whistles. Hill is now the only air logistics center in the nation with oil-crisis-proof workforce mobility.” But not Oklahoma, he said. “The same guy, while he was funding that, was funding the Crosstown so Union Station would be destroyed ” and don’t ever believe that he had anything other than that…
How many lawyers does it take to get a fair trial?
If James T. Fisher can avoid attorneys having prejudices or harboring a substance-abuse problem, his life might be spared. Twice Fisher has gone on trial in Oklahoma County for a 1982 murder. The first verdict was deleted due to ineffective counsel after a federal court found Fisher’s attorney performed inadequately, due in part to the…
