Least Competent Criminals
Should’ve Left Well Enough Alone: Eric Livers, 20, a wanted man in Cheyenne, Wyo., fled apparently scot-free to Portsmouth, N.H., but could not resist calling his former Wyoming employer to ask that his final paycheck be mailed to his New Hampshire address. The employer called authorities, and Portsmouth police picked up Livers in February. Jeremy…
Armed and Clumsy (all-new)
More people who accidentally shot themselves recently: A man, 20, showing off to friends after miscounting bullets, fatally shot himself in the head (Dallas, January). A man who said he didn’t feel safe walking his dog unless he had his gun with him, wounded himself on a walk (Palm Bay, Fla., February). A convenience-store robber,…
Kern gains opponent in House race
In the wake of recent controversial comments made by state Rep. Sally Kern, one of her constituents has decided to run against her. Ron Marlett, 59, announced his candidacy for House District 84 this morning during a news conference at the state Capitol. Kern is currently representing the district which encompasses parts of northwest…
Recurring Themes
Many inmates file lawsuits over the allegedly poor quality of prison food, but noteworthy was the one recently filed by Missouri inmate Norman Lee Toler (serving 10 years for statutory rape), demanding kosher food as required by his devout Judaism, even though, in a previous prison stint, he was a notorious Adolf Hitler sympathizer with…
People Different From Us
James Bowring, 45, told a court in Tauranga, New Zealand, in February that he wants to reconcile with his son, Jacob, 18, despite James’ recent conviction for trying to run Jacob over in his car at 50 mph (after making a U-turn and jumping a curb to get at him). James admitted he was upset…
Great Art!
In December, Edmonton, Alberta, tattoo artist Lane Jensen augmented the inked caricature of a buxom cowgirl on his own left calf with silicone “implants” in the skin under where the woman’s breasts are. However, within two weeks, the fluid went astray and had to be drained. Jensen said some bodies just reject breast implants. “I…
Police Blotter
Arrest Sheet: A 17-year-old man was arrested in January and charged with burglary in Tempe, Ariz., based on a victim’s description, which included the observation that the man was wearing “monkey-printed pajamas” during the crime. William Torres, 21, was arrested in Allentown, Pa., and charged in connection with two homicides; he was taken into custody…
Counterpoint: Feigned tolerance
How would you feel if someone in your family were called a “little fruitcake?” If you were black, how would you feel if someone said publicly that “all of your children were born out of wedlock”? Or if you’re a veteran, and were facetiously called a “goddamn hero?” If you were one of the…
Horton Hears a Who!
Movies adapted from books and movies with a lot of special effects each have their own built-in problems for filmmakers to deal with. Book adaptations can come off feeling incomplete, and special-effects movies can feel empty if all the emphasis goes toward the visuals. It’s impressive that the makers of the computer-animated “Horton Hears a…
Mascot from Oklahoma’s Oral Roberts University gets tossed from championship game
One of the student mascots for the Oral Roberts University Golden Eagles will no longer be flying during basketball games. Seems one of the students who wears the oversized eagle costume, with a head the size of a Mini Cooper, got into a tussle with an opposing team’s mascot and wound up getting his feathers…
State Democratic Party responds to Kern’s anti-gay comments
Nearly two weeks after a Republican state House representative made controversial remarks concerning gays and terrorism, the Oklahoma Democratic Party issued a statement condemning the remarks. Rep. Sally Kern, R-Oklahoma City, said at a GOP meeting in January that the “homosexual agenda” was more of a threat to America that terrorism. Kern’s comments were…
Oscar-nominated director to heading state film conference
Oklahoma City University will host the Oklahoma Film and Video Studies Society state conference from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on March 29, but the registration deadline is Monday. The conference will feature keynote speaker Jeffrey Blitz, Oscar-nominated independent filmmaker and brother of OCU law professor Marc Blitz. Blitz is perhaps best known for directing…
India becomes brand aware
India’s middle class is humming with “brand freaks” obsessed with luxury labels like Prada and Louis Vuitton, according to a February Washington Post dispatch, even though more than half the country lives in “abject poverty” (and even though Gandhi got along fine with just a loincloth!). Said one super-consumer, “I’ll spend my whole salary for…
Doomsday
Reviewer’s grade: B- It’s 2035 and a virus that turns people into pustule-covered ground chuck “? or ground bob or ground louise “? is spreading throughout London so Brit Army Major Sinclair (Rhona Mitra, “Shooter”), with a small team of expendable bit players, is sent by copper Bob Hoskins (“Hollywoodland”) into Glasgow to find…
Funny Games
Reviewer’s grade: D You know, there’s nothing quite like going to the movies, paying for your ticket, and then being assaulted for 107 minutes by a film — the message of which is American moviegoers are morons for liking the movies they do. Actually, there is something like it. They do it at Abu…
Government in Action
Generous Public Servants: Two Atlanta-area schools began a pilot program in January paying students $8 an hour, plus a possible performance bonus, to study math and science harder in special study halls (as an alternative for students whose financial need forces them into after-school jobs). The Times of London reported in January that the British…
New ruling strictly limits public access to online court records
The Oklahoma State Supreme Court handed down county courthouse guidelines March 11 dealing with the availability of court documents to the public, and the type of information the public can see on those documents. In a ruling in which three justices disagreed, the court said private information listed on documents ” such as Social Security…
News That Sounds Like a Joke
Toronto police announced in February that they had arrested the man who had stolen a backhoe with the intention of driving it to a car wash in order to break down a wall and get at the facility’s coin machine. The call to police came from a snow plow that was hot on the backhoe’s…
No One Left to Tell
Every day over breakfast in their Edmond home, Jordan Dane and her husband map out plans for her to kill people. And because her spouse is an enthusiast of crime-oriented entertainment, Dane said, “He’s able to contribute quite a lot.” Luckily for the general populace, the murders Dane commits are relegated to paper, committed against…
Unique improv concert series brings together atypical instruments
No instrument or device is off limits to “sound artist” Jon Mooneyham, the one-time KGOU-FM DJ and Flaming Lips drummer who began organizing the abnormal “White Walls” concert series last year. Disenchanted with the rock club scene, he contacted Norman’s Mainsite Contemporary Art gallery and proposed a regular improvisational music series utilizing a rotating collective…
Timing’ is good for Ghostlight’s collection of one-act plays
In David Ives’ seven short, one-act plays currently performed by the Ghostlight Theatre Club, timing is indeed everything. Whether it’s skewing time to repeat conversations, performing words like musical notes, or waiting for monkeys to write Shakespeare, the evening is “All in the Timing.” Director Lance Garrett moves the evening along nicely, with quick, fluid…
Oklahoma judges allow for skirt-wearing women’s legs to be photographed against their consent
There’s strange stuff coming out of Oklahoma’s higher courts these days: for instance, the ruling stating that it’s OK to stick a camera into a female’s business. Oh, yeah. A recent ruling by the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals tossed out the case against Riccardo Gino Ferrante, charged in 2006 of taking photographs up…
Art 365′ exhibit result of seven artists, one year and $10,000
A year-long art idea has given seven local artists the time, money and freedom to create ambitious projects for a collective exhibit about the American identity. The seven finalists for “Art 365” were notified last March and each given a $10,000 “honorarium” and a full year to create projects for an exhibit which debuted last…
Never Back Down
ground mixed martial arts fight club by Ryan (Cam Gigandet, “The O.C.”) the local MMA champ and sociopath. After Ryan beats him up for fun, Jake seeks an exotic, older man named Jean Roque (Djimon Hounsou) to teach him the mythical path to ass-kicking enlightenment. Roque takes the impetuous Jake under his proverbial wing,…
Late artist celebrated in Paseo exhibit
Local artist Jack Hill had a personality and lived a life that matched the vibrant colors he spilled onto canvases for more than 40 years. Hill died on Jan. 18 at the age of 77, after battling a long-term illness. For the entire month of March, the life and work of the beloved Paseo artist…
Edmond Taco Bell experiences another marijuana complaint
A Taco Bell in Edmond is making headlines after police busted a couple of employees for allegedly lighting up a couple of hooters. According to The Edmond Sun, an anonymous caller who had driven through the drive-through (!) smelled a strong odor of marijuana wafting out from inside the restaurant. (Dude, did you hear…
Fan fiction, art contest winners to be announced at party
Tomorrow’s great fiction writers and artists may be located right here in Oklahoma City. Judge for yourself by browsing the winning entries of the fan fiction and art contest on Saturday at Southern Oaks Library, 6900 S. Walker. Co-sponsored by the Scarlet Kitsune Anime Club, the contest allowed kids and teens ” and even adults…
Spring marks busy time for sports fans
We are on the eve of tipping off three fortnights of phenomenal sports entertainment, with a little something for everyone. That’s heaven for sports fans, crammed into 45 magnificent, fun-filled days. Holy cow! March 20The 2008 Men’s NCAA Basketball Championship gets underway in all of its glory. It all wraps up with the Final Four…
Oklahoma soldiers charged with guarding Iraq’s largest detainee facility
CAMP BUCCA, IRAQ ” When Steven Turner, 24, of Stillwater, got to Iraq, he wanted to kill as many Iraqis as possible. He wanted to kill them for his high school buddy back in Indiana, Marine Lance Thompson. “I didn’t want to be the one who watched everybody pass me up, and knowing that they…
George A. Romero’s Diary of the Dead
e not-so-subtle meditations on the deadening properties of technology in the information age. Welcome back, George. R “?Phil Bacharach
City of Men
Reviewer’s grade: C+ This feature version of a popular Brazilian television series is set in the favelas “? the hillside slums “? of Rio de Janeiro. It follows the adventures of two fatherless 18-year old young men as they learn what being a father is all about. Ace (Douglas Silva) is a dad…
Point: Sally knows hate speech
When someone recorded Rep. Sally Kern, R-Oklahoma City, making vile, homophobic comments, she thought no one would hear them but the hard-core faithful. Now it’s another national embarrassment for Oklahoma. Her defense is almost as ludicrous as her tactics are shameful: that she is entitled to her opinion and that any and all anti-gay rhetoric…
Roger Lienke – Snake in the Grass
n the Grass” overthinks the most interesting song parts and buries some of Lienke’s best musical moments with reckless, uncomplimentary ideas. “?Joe Wertz
Horses help at-risk youth develop life skills
At the Equine Therapy Center in Edmond, retired American quarter horses assist at-risk youth in developing positive life skills and choices. Through grooming, feeding and riding the horses, the kids learn a variety of valuable lessons like:” self-control, ” kindness and ” patience. The goal of the ETC is to help participants:” gain motivation, “…
Kern’s comments spark debate
Recent comments made by state Rep. Sally Kern, R-Oklahoma City, regarding homosexuals flared a nationwide response. When the legislator was speaking before a Republican group back in January, a member of the audience secretly recorded her remarks. The audio was posted on YouTube. “The homosexual agenda is destroying this nation; it’s just a fact,” Kern…
Advocates for care facility for sex offenders gain momentum with House vote
During an all-night state House session last week, representatives unanimously passed a bill that would create a separate facility for sex offenders in need of long-term care. Nursing home advocate Wes Bledsoe was more than pleased. “I cannot express in words how proud I am of our representatives and all of the supporters who made…
Oklahoma City-filmed movie starring some performers you might recognize set for DVD release
What new release will you be taking home from the DVD store next Tuesday? The Disney family hit “Enchanted”? Will Smith’s post-apocalyptic blockbuster “I Am Legend”? Or will it be “Fingerprints”? Yeah, “Fingerprints.” You know, the horror thriller about the ghosts of dead kids who push cars across railroad tracks? No? Stars Lou Diamond…
