State to sue feds over health care overhaul
Oklahoma is joining more than 10 other states suing the federal government. Less than 24 hours after the U.S. House of Representatives passed a national overhaul of health care, Oklahoma’s Speaker of the House and Senate President Pro Tem asked the state attorney general to file a suit against the federal government and challenge the…
Brief Interviews with Hideous Men
For his directorial debut, “The Office” star John Krasinski adapted David Foster Wallace’s short-story collection “Brief Interviews With Hideous Men.” While slogging through the 80-minute exercise in pretentiousness, I was reminded of another Wallace title: “A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again.” Krasinski is one of the titular hideous men interviewed by Sara (a…
C.O.P.S.: Volume Two
Despite the name, “C.O.P.S.” is not an animated spin-off of the Fox reality series. Rather, like virtually every cartoon of the late 1980s, its source material is a line of toys. Neither really caught on. The acronym stands for Central Organization of Police Specialists, which is an overly detailed way of just saying “police.” The…
Small Wonder: The Complete First Season
If memory serves correct, “Small Wonder” was one of the first sitcoms to premiere on syndication “? that is, not home to any network. In 1985, my brothers and I watched it regularly. Now that its first season has hit DVD, I have to wonder, “What were we thinking?” Like many shows of our childhood,…
American Vampire #1 – Scott Snyder and Stephen King
Vampire Vol. 1″ marks his first time at bat as an original scripter. The series is a quasi-anthology one, telling two tales of different time periods, but linked thematically and by character crossover. The first is Scott Snyder’s, set in 1925 Hollywood, when talkies threatened to put silents out to pasture. A struggling actress “?…
Ghostlight’s ‘The Real Thing’ has all the right stuff: sound script, great acting and confident directing
The Real Thing8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, through March 27, 8 p.m. Thursday, March 25Ghostlight Theatre Club3110 N. Walkerwww.ghostlighttheatreclub.com286-9412$15 adults, $10 students Attention, city theater lovers: Here’s a rare opportunity to see two of our finest actors onstage together, albeit briefly, in a play worthy of their talents, as Ben Hall and Mark Loftis duke it out…
Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day by listening to live music all day and all night
Pubs serve up drinks and patrons wear green to celebrate the life of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. Legend says around the year 350, he banished snakes from the island while teaching Christianity to pagans. In addition to the festivities, local pubs will host an assortment of musicians who bring the culture of…
A simple ‘Maid’ is a complex character in a Chilean film that’s won international acclaim
In two of the many fine 2009 films that didn’t earn Academy Award attention this year, a pair of women give two performances that make Sandra Bullock’s serviceable, Southern-fried turn as Leigh Anne Tuohy in “The Blind Side” look damn puny. The pretty pat film surrounding that Oscar-winning performance has, so far, earned $252,692,000 in…
Thrifty Thunder
With the second youngest team in the NBA, the fifth seed in the Western Conference, and home of the talk-of-the-league star Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City is a great place to be a fan. However, the best thing the Thunder has going for it has nothing to do with what happens on the court. The Thunder…
Seattle indie folksters The Cave Singers are happy to ‘Welcome Joy’
The Cave Singers with Michael Loveland 9 p.m. Monday Opolis113 N. Crawford, Norman www.opolis.org447-3417 $8 advance, $10 door$10 advance, $12 door under 21 For some, Derek Fudesco’s transition as bassist for indie rockers Murder City Devils and Pretty Girls Make Graves to acoustic guitarist in burbling folksters The Cave Singers was a shocking departure. But…
Poteet Theatre stages spirited musical adaptation of literary classic “Little Women”
Little Women8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday, through March 21Poteet TheatreSt. Luke’s United Methodist Church222 N.W. 15thwww.poteettheatre.com609-1023$18 For its opening production of the season, Poteet Theater has brought the 2005 Broadway version of Louisa May Alcott’s “Little Women” to the metro. Based on her own family experiences, “Little Women” follows the March family during and…
Hey there, pussycat
Tishomingo was serving up fried feline last week when OG&E announced that a power outage in the area was blamed on a bobcat, according to a report from The Associated Press. The power-line pussy apparently climbed a utility pole in Johnson County and must have accidentally touched two lines simultaneously, according to Brian Alford, OG&E…
Everybody cut
Jack, get back! The 30th anniversary of Elmore City’s first prom will be held April 17 in the tiny South Oklahoma town. That’s really not news until you consider all that Elmore City students had to do to have a school dance. Their fight for their right to party served as the basis for the…
Country artist Jimmy Wayne walks halfway across the country (literally)
Country artist Jimmy Wayne began 2010 by announcing his plans to walk halfway across the country to raise awareness and funding for teens who “age out” of the foster-home system. Inspiration for his “Meet Me Halfway” campaign came to him last year. After a big opportunity ” an opening slot on Brad Paisley and Dierks…
‘License’ to ill
After reading Oklahoma Gazette’s recent article titled “Without license” (News, Scott Cooper, March 3, 2010), I couldn’t overcome the feeling of nausea I had regarding Slaton Anthony and others who sympathize or share in his plight. Here is a man who deserted his family, state and country on behalf of the lack of acceptance of…
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)
The Hebrew word chalom means “dream.” In his book Healing Dreams, Marc Ian Barasch notes that it’s derived from the verb “to be made healthy and strong.” Linguist Joseph Jastrow says that chalom is related to the Hebrew word hachlama, which means “recovery, recuperation.” Extrapolating from these poetic hints and riffing on your astrological omens,…
Jewel Box’s ‘Born Yesterday’ boasts strong performances and some laughs, but also schizophrenia
Born Yesterday8 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday, 2:30 p.m. Sunday, through March 28Jewel Box TheatreFirst Christian Church3700 N. Walkerwww.jewelboxtheatre.org521-1786$15 adults, $10 students In its second play in a row focusing on the value of intelligence and the freedom, power and responsibility that come with knowledge, Jewel Box tackles the world of ambitious tycoons, corrupt politicians and those who…
Korean audiences have been giggling madly over So Cow, a noisy indie-pop act with Irish roots
So Cow with Sisters, Golden Triangle and O Fidelis8 p.m. Mondaythe Conservatory8911 N. Westernwww.conservatoryokc.com879-9778$8 The best thing about falling in love with So Cow is that there’s so much to love. The band is the brainchild of bespectacled Irishman Brian Kelly, who writes and records all the music when not flogging the material as a…
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)
In my astrological opinion, you don’t need anything that shrinks you or deflates you or tames you. Influences that pinch your imagination should be taboo, as should anything that squashes your hope or crimps your life force. To make proper use of the vibrations circulating in your vicinity, Pisces, you should gravitate toward situations that…
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)
Have you ever heard about how some all-night convenience stores blast loud classical music out into the parking lot in order to discourage drug dealers from loitering? In the coming days, use that principle whenever you need to drive home a point or make a strong impression. Your aggressive expressions will be more effective if…
Reader likes statewide calling plan
Look at the facts, and you will be in favor of the statewide calling plan. AT&T and other big cell phone companies are against it. The cell phone companies and the VOIP phone companies already use the landline networks without paying their fair part of the transport line cost. People in urban areas that have…
Science and slumber are on tap at a Science Museum Oklahoma sleepover
Bright Night of FlightScience Museum Oklahoma, 2100 N.E. 52nd6 p.m. Friday-8 a.m. Saturday$45 per participant602-6664, www.sciencemuseumok.org Kids, bring your sleeping bags and gaze at the stars. Science Museum Oklahoma hosts “Bright Night of Flight” at 6 p.m. Friday at the museum, 2100 N.E. 52nd, and ends the next morning at 8 a.m. Spending the night…
New exhibition is flavored by rich, exotic colors and sweetness of cake confections
press to build up colors on his can-vases before he even starts painting. Linda Warren’s installation, “Bakery,” creates a visual story of her life through her art and personal artifacts. There is an emphasis on cakes, which the Oklahoma City artist believes are the perfect symbols for celebration and happiness. The beginning of her exhibit…
CFN Quote of the Week
“I think black people would say he (Barack Obama) don’t talk, act or carry himself as a black person. “¦ Even though the black society would pull for him, I still think that they think in the back of their mind that the only reason that he is in is because he talks, acts and…
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)
You are hereby excused from having to know a single nuance about the inside story of Angelina Jolie’s secret love tryst with Lady Gaga, or the addictions of conspiracy theorists who lose huge sums of money gambling on the end of the world, or the agony that millionaires suffer from having to support social services…
GEMINI (May 21-June 20)
Being a paragon of moral behavior can be fun and rewarding. It’s amazing how many interesting people want to play with me just because they think I’m so #%&@ high-minded. But I’ve got to confess that my commitment to discipline and righteousness is sometimes at odds with my rebellious itch to give you mischievous nudges…
Why is Robert Henry leaving his judge’s bench to become Oklahoma City University’s new president?
On a coffee table in Judge Robert Henry’s offices in downtown Oklahoma City, underneath a copy of the “centennial Quran” that made rounds through the state Legislature in 2007, lies an inconspicuous wood and glass case housing an array of letter openers ” gifts from friends and colleagues over the years.Paradigm shifts’Renaissance Man”To the next…
A toast to the Senate
It’s interesting what goes through reporters’ minds as they witness yet another day of the oft-mundane. Consider the perils of government journalists, perched inside their glass cage listening to the state Senate discuss and debate the great issues of our time, like renaming the state lottery fund to the “education” lottery fund. It was during…
Glenn and Woody
Count Fox News commentator Glenn Beck among the latest in a long line of name-callers to label Woody Guthrie a Communist. Beck called the Okemah native the C-word on March 10 during a wide-ranging rant titled “Land Grab by the Federal Government?” Beck referenced a map showing how 30 percent of America’s land mass is…
Core to Shore places new convention center next to central park, but others don’t agree
If getting voters to agree to a new convention center was a tough sell, finding the right location could prove even tougher. A new study suggests putting the convention center closer to Bricktown is a better idea than closer to the proposed central park, which is where the city’s Core to Shore master plan had…
Hold the phone proposal
In response to Gazette’s article (News, LeighAnne Manwarren, “Toll-free fee”) on March 10, I am writing to address the Oklahoma Corporation Commission’s vote to table the toll-free calling proposal until Jan. 19, 2011. The Oklahoma chapter of Americans for Prosperity and others successfully rallied Oklahomans to ward off adding more fees to your phone bill,…
Green Zone
About 3.8 square miles, the Green Zone was an area in the center of Baghdad that was HQ for the Coalition Provisional Authority. In other words, it’s where the invading nations hung out, sipping drinks, sunning by the pool and, in back rooms, falsifying reports to be spoon-fed to select journalists for media consumption back…
‘The Biggest Loser’ looking for a new cast, makes a stop in Oklahoma
Casting call for “The Biggest Loser”Coca-Cola Bricktown Events Center 425 E. California 10 a.m. Saturday Want to see the dial on the scale go down, but need the extra push? NBC casting producers return to Oklahoma to interview potential contenders for the 10th season of reality series “The Biggest Loser,” starting at 10 a.m. Saturday at…
O Brother Russell, where art thou?
A movement is afoot within the Republican Party in Oklahoma to create an invisible force field around the state. That force field would mean we in Oklahoma could pretty much snub our nose at anything we find distasteful oozing from the cesspool that is our nation’s capital. The Oklahoma Legislature has drifted hard to the…
Social activist Paul Thompson remembered for dedication to equality
Paul Thompson, a social activist for 40 years in the metro area, died March 4 after what is described by friends as a “brief and unexpected illness.” Thompson was admitted to Mercy Hospital following a stroke, and passed away days later from a heart attack. Memorial services were held on Sunday, March 14. Thompson, 70,…
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)
Here’s your mantra for the coming week: “I disappear my fear. I resurrect my audacity.” Say it and sing it and murmur it at least 100 times a day. Let it flow out of you after you’ve awoken each morning and are still lying in bed. Let it be the last sound on your lips…
SandRidge downtown campus plan faces opposition
Rob Rogers has a history restoring and preserving historic properties in New York, but his plans for SandRidge Energy Corp.’s downtown campus are facing opposition from individuals and preservationists who feel the plan is too suburban for downtown and will take away several of the city’s oldest buildings. Wide openHurdlesRead the submitted plan Rogers, principal…
TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
Some people are here on the planet to find success, while others are here to find themselves. In the big scheme of things, I’m not sure which category you fit into, Taurus. But I’m pretty sure that for the next few weeks you’ll be best served by acting as if you’re the latter. Even if…
Breaking Bad: The Complete Second Season
B0030T1NAO” alt=”” style=”border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important;” border=”0″ height=”1″ width=”1″ />” could possibly enter a second season without repeating the events of its first. Well, not only did it succeed in its sophomore outing, but it amped events up even more, with the story getting richer and deadlier. The show’s basic…
Quasi adds a member and hits the rock with ‘American Gong’
Quasi with Explode into Colors9 p.m. SundayOpolis113 N. Crawford, Normanwww.opolis.org447-3417$10 advance, $12 door$12 advance, $14 door under 21 After seven albums, a group certainly has staked out the boundaries of its sound, so Quasi drummer Janet Weiss is a little confused by reviewers’ complaints that the band’s latest, “American Gong,” doesn’t “reinvent the wheel.” “We’re…
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)
I just found out the American shipping company UPS has legally trademarked the color brown. The grass-roots activist in me is incredulous and appalled. But the poet in me doesn’t really care; it’s fine if UPS owns drab, prosaic brown. I’ve still got mahogany at my command, as well as tawny, sepia, taupe, burnt umber,…
ARIES (March 21-April 19)
From what I can tell, your excursion to Fake Paradise didn’t exact too serious a toll. The accidental detour may have seemed inopportune in the moment, but you know what? I think it slowed you down enough to keep you from doing something rash that you would have regretted later. And are you really sorry…
Expressionistic Oklahoma landscapes on display at State Capitol
“Grasslands and Waterways”Daily, ongoing 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday, through April 4 State Capitol, 2300 N. Lincolnfree 521-2931 Sapulpa artist Julie Miller likes to tell stories with paint. Her exhibit, “Grasslands and Waterways,” is on display through April 4 in the second-floor Governor’s Gallery of the state Capitol. Each painting in the collection portrays an Oklahoma…
She’s Out of My League
As we have pointed out many times before, romantic comedies require very specific ingredients. Most importantly, you need mismatched leading players and a supporting group of wacky friends/neighbors/townspeople to offer advice, difficulty and atmosphere. As we’ve also pointed out many times before, rom-com plot elements have become so predictable and well-defined that their success lies…
Same-gender marriage violates God’s standard
I saw an invitation to an open forum in the Bethany Tribune led by the national president of the Interfaith Alliance on March 23 at the Will Rogers Theater on North Western. The title of the article stated, “Same-sex marriage forum to focus on law, not religion.” One of the guests that was to be…
The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes: Set 2
Anyone who watched anything on PBS in the 1970s will receive an immediate jolt of nostalgia for the Thames title screen that prefaces every episode of “Rivals of Sherlock Holmes.” You know what I’m talking about, don’t you? I was not, however, familiar with this particular public-television series from 1971-1973, probably because it would hold…
