Fine Points of the Law
At a special session of Arizona’s Court of Appeals in April, judges heard arguments on whether a bag of methamphetamine had been legally seized by police, who had a search warrant but not the authority to inspect body “cavities.” The bag had been partially protruding from a certain cavity, and an officer pulled it out.…
Names in the News
The Des Moines, Iowa, woman who was the victim in December of an Iowa Methodist Medical Center policy on disposal of amputated body parts (the woman wanted to take her toe with her): Gladys Goose. The 41-year-old woman charged with assault in February, in a suburb of Tampa, Fla., after she allegedly grabbed a high-heeled…
Creme de la Weird
New York Mets baseball fan Frank Martinez, 40, was ejected and then arrested at Shea Stadium in April after he allegedly shone a high-beam flashlight into the eyes of Atlanta Braves player Edgar Renteria during a game. A former neighbor, interviewed by the New York Post, said Martinez was once evicted from his apartment because…
Into Great Silence
Reviewer’s grade: B+ Less documentary and more atmospheric experience, Philip Gröning’s “Into Great Silence” ventures into the quiet of the French Alps’ Grande Chartreuse monastery. The work – for which Gröning waited 16 years for permission to make – immerses viewers in the minutiae of the monks’ daily life without score or voice-over. It’s…
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
Reviewer’s grade: A Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Geoffrey Rush and more pirates than you can shake a cutlass at weigh anchor for box-office heaven in this final chapter in the “Pirates” trilogy – yeah, right. Our gang of soft-core cutthroats sets sail to rescue Depp’s Capt. Jack Sparrow from the Land of…
Waitress
Reviewer’s grade: B+ A quirky cross between Jennifer Aniston’s “The Good Girl” and Renée Zellweger’s “Nurse Betty,” “Waitress” tells the story of working-class wife Keri Russell in an unhappy marriage. Featuring relatable themes and recognizable characters, the independent film’s strong cast and solid performances are a recipe for an enjoyable cinematic experience. Russell leads…
Least Competent Criminals
Not Ready for Prime Time: Eric Cunningham, 18, was arrested and charged with robbing a Hess gas station at gunpoint in Orlando in April, done in by his forgetting to take his gun case with him as he fled; inside was the receipt for his gun, made out to “Eric Cunningham.” Jazrahel King, 29, was…
Update
Last year, a BBC News correspondent in Sudan reported that village elders in the Upper Nile state had punished Charles Tombe, who had been caught being amorous with a goat, by requiring him to pay a dowry to the goat’s owner, to endure a “wedding” to the goat, and to treat the goat as his…
Psych-rock Willowz bringing harder edge to shows
For better or worse, the garage-rock act The Willowz has been lumped in with the California psychedelic scene. “I think it’s heavily related to the way we look,” said vocalist and guitarist Richie James Follin. “We do occasionally do drugs, but we’re trying to make music we like to listen to and that’s not boring…
Bricktown U?
Why not establish a public university in the Bricktown area of Oklahoma City? This university would secure the financial viability of the entertainment area, offer conveniently located classes and become a model for new urban universities in the country. It’s an idea that deserves real consideration. Oklahoma consistently ranks under the national average…
Gelato offers less fattening alternative to ice cream
One low-fat, upscale option to ice cream is gelato, which has less than 35 percent air and has 4 percent to 8 percent butterfat. Gelato stores ” called gelaterias in Italy ” combine milk, sugar, butterfat and a variety of other ingredients for a less-fattening treat than regular ice cream. Gelato melts very easily, so…
Drag boat races zooming into downtown
On July 13-16, start your engines or pick a good spot on the banks of the Oklahoma River because one of the largest drag boat races in the United States is headed here for the third year in a row. Ozarka Bricktown Nationals is the largest motor event in downtown OKC and brought out about…
Arts camp offers full summer schedule for kids
City Arts Center at Fair Park’s “Summer Camp 2007” kicks off Tuesday and will continue on through the middle of August. This year’s theme is about art and culture from around the world. “We’re offering everything from puppetry, to film, to pottery, to natural dyes and fiber,” said education director Jackie Mania. TOPICS Located at…
Paseo gears up for arts festival
Local artists are taking to the streets Saturday through Monday for the 31st Annual Paseo Arts Festival. Held by the Paseo Artists Association, the festival will feature 75 artists from Oklahoma. The festival allows artists to sell their artwork, as well as allows the association to raise money for area events. “When you have an…
Jazz festival honoring musicians of past, present
The Charlie Christian International Jazz Festival has been around for 22 years, honoring former and current jazz artists. “We have every reason to have the festival in this area. It is where it should be because this is where our roots are,” said Anita Arnold, executive director for Black Liberated Arts Center Inc., producer of…
OKC mayor not signing off on greenery
Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett says he won’t sign a national pledge to curtail greenhouse gas emissions because he doesn’t believe the science regarding global warming is solid, according to The Oklahoman. Tulsa became the 500th city to make the list last week after Mayor Kathy Taylor signed her John Hancock, joining Norman, which…
Lindsay establishing city skate park
With skate parks popping up around the metro, the city of Lindsay is establishing one of its own. “The idea started one Sunday when there weren’t many people in my Sunday school class,” Lisa Burch said. “We didn’t have a lesson, so we were just drinking coffee and talking. I’d asked if they’d seen the…
Gov. Henry allows SB 139 to become law
A bill that will outlaw abortions using any state funding became law on midnight Wednesday, Governor Brad Henry announced. The bill states: “It shall be unlawful for any funds received or controlled by this state or any agency or political subdivision thereof, including, but not limited to, funds derived from federal, state or…
Cheyenne returns to Norman to finish new album
Indie-folk act Cheyenne had recorded some tracks in New York that the members weren’t satisfied with, so front man Jennings came back to Norman to fill out the rest of the album. Here, he tapped the talents of musician friends, including former bandmate Ryan Lindsey, and to record at Chad Copeland’s Black Watch Studios. “It’s…
Alligator snapping turtles released into Oklahoma waters
Move over Ninja Turtles. When it comes to mutant-esque reptiles, Oklahoma has you beat. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently released 277 alligator snapping turtles, which had nearly disappeared from the state, into Oklahoma’s southeastern waters, The Associated Press reported. Which means CFN intern Bucky is going to give said area a…
Yukon boy among national geography bee finalists
A Yukon eighth-grader joined the ranks of geography gurus this week, making it among the top 10 finalists in the National Geographic Bee in Washington, D.C. Lakeview Middle School student Tyler Bowen, 14, advanced to Wednesday’s final round of the annual bee after acing a preliminary contest Tuesday against 54 other state- and territory-level…
OU adding women’s rowing as new sport
Having announced plans for a women’s rowing program, the University of Oklahoma will join more than 80 other Division I schools already competing in varsity rowing, a sport traditionally limited to the East Coast. Currently, the only other Big 12 schools with Division I rowing programs are:” Texas, ” Kansas and ” Kansas State. OU…
Tort deform?
At a time when Tulsa and Oklahoma City are enjoying an economic renaissance, the state’s business climate and reputation took a blow to the head, thanks to a tort-reform veto by the governor. What could possibly be worse for Oklahoma’s economic development than a Wall Street Journal editorial page lambasting of the governor over tort…
OKC elementary student wins prize for pizza story
An 8-year-old ClevelandElementary School student won the top prize among third-graders in a short-story contest sponsored by PBS. According to a press release, for the “Reading Rainbow Young Writers Contest,” Hannah Carlson entered her tale about “a pizza family living at CiCi’s Pizza. “¦ Her story features five family members representing different slices of…
Roth’s new job marks a state first
When Gov. Brad Henry appointed Jim Roth to fill in the vacant Oklahoma Corporation Commission board seat, both the governor and Roth were making history. For the first time in state history, an openly gay public official is in charge of a statewide office. However, Roth feels that aspect to his appointment is insignificant. “I…
The Book of Fate
Brad MeltzerWarner Vision Warning: One of the worst books of 2006 is now out in paperback. It’s Brad Meltzer’s “The Book of Fate,” a “Da Vinci Code” wannabe involving a facially disfigured presidential aide, a presidential assassin and a presidential crossword puzzle. Lapses of logic are the least of its problems; an utterly unlikable protagonist,…
McAlester rodeo features prisoners
Founded in 1940, the Oklahoma State Prison Rodeo is the only one of its kind in the world. Annually, it gives more than 13,000 spectators a peek behind prison walls and a chance to see convict cowboys battle bulls, and each other, for the top prize, according to Helen Wheeler, executive director of the McAlester…
Wineries booming across state
With almost 50 vineyards and wineries across the state, you can turn a few glasses of your favorite Merlot into a wine-soaked weekend of full-bellied fun. While out-of-state wine snobs may pooh-pooh Oklahoma’s fledgling wine industry, Don Neal, co-owner of StableRidge Vineyards in Stroud, said this still-tiny business was once more full-bodied (with a rich…
Japan band Melt-Banana out to make noise
“We are Melt-Banana from Tokyo, Japan!” Now imagine that phrase being yelled at you by a tiny Japanese woman fronting one of the heaviest, loudest and most pugnacious rock bands you’ve ever seen. That’s the way every Melt-Banana show starts. “I think it is a normal way to introduce ourselves as a band, isn’t it?” asked…
Police Blotter
Cops Getting No Respect: Taryn McCarthy, 21, in the course of a contentious January arrest for DUI in Portsmouth, N.H., was further charged with five counts of simple assault, including four separate incidents of grabbing a state trooper’s genitals. Felicha Marin, 18, was charged with shoplifting shoes from a store in Richmond, England, in March,…
Students document Katrina damage in photos
Proof that something good came out of the Hurricane Katrina tragedy of 2005 currently resides on the walls at the International Photography Hall of Fame & Museum. On display through May 31, “Eyes of the Storm: A Community Survives After Katrina” is comprised of 50 black-and-white images taken by students of Alba Middle School in…
State politicians put words behind them and agree on budget
The Woodstock moment arrived just in time at the state Capitol. After weeks of throwing dirty-mouth-filled balloons at each other, the governor and Legislature came to an agreement on the state budget. While all the major players involved in the budget negotiations praised each other for their bipartisan efforts in reaching a budget, we at…
State senate argues about proposed abortion measure
A new anti-abortion measure that passed the Senate recently prompted at least one senator to suggest that other lawmakers think outside the box. Among other restrictions, Senate Bill 139 would require doctors track the women on whom they performed the procedure. While state bureaucrats will be given statistics on all those involved, they…
Your Government in Action
Among the long-term disabilities that have been drawing compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs (at a time when the returning wounded from Iraq and Afghanistan are meeting bureaucratic delays in getting their own disabilities properly compensated): 124,000 veterans receiving monthly checks because of hemorrhoids (according to a March Scripps Howard News Service report) and…
Cargill’s 100 Ideas to disclose donor list
A privately funded organization to be used to lobby for new laws will disclose its list of donors early in June, its executive director said last week. Former Republican state Rep. Thad Balkman, executive director for Republican House Speaker Lance Cargill’s 100 Ideas initiative, said the disclosure would put aside any ethical doubts about the…
Chuck wagon feast rolling onto cowboy museum grounds
The 17th annual Chuck Wagon Gathering and Children’s Cowboy Festival will be rolling into town Saturday and Sunday at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. The event will feature 11 different chuck wagons from ranches all over Oklahoma and Texas, cooking different kinds of Western food such as:” cornbread, ” chili, ” beans and…
Signs of the Times
The University of Minnesota campus newspaper reported in February that some students are combining trips to the blood bank to make donations with quick trips to local bars for a drink or two, because they report a quicker and more powerful “high” immediately after blood loss. Said one, “As soon as the needle’s out of…
Bela Lugosi: Dreams and Nightmares
Gary D. Rhodes with Richard SheffieldCollectables Press Gary D. Rhodes, the premier Bela Lugosi scholar, already has published two books on the world’s most popular Dracula. This new biography concentrates on the last period of Lugosi’s life, the “Ed Wood years.” After his identification with the horror genre became set in stone, Lugosi’s film career…
The White Giraffe
Lauren St. JohnDial Her father had just asserted that things happen for a reason when a house fire kills 11-year-old Martine’s parents. Shipped to a South African game preserve, Martine moves in with an unknown grandmother who reluctantly welcomes her. In this strange, new world, Martine is cut off “? from her grandmother, the cliquish…
Norman boathouse teaches sailing to kids
Norman’s Lake Thunderbird BoatHouse quietly passed its fifth year last month. With the help of many partners, the nonprofit provides programs ranging from an annual fishing derby for disabled children to first-aid certification and a regatta for kids. But, perhaps most visibly, programming has taken the form of sailing classes, including those for children. “(We)…
The Wind That Shakes the Barley
Reviewer’s grade: A The British/Irish “troubles” of 1916-21 and the civil war that followed the peace treaty provide the backdrop to this tale of the loss of humanity war requires. Cillian Murphy stars as Damien, a young Irishman who joins the guerilla movement to chase the English back to their own country and never realizes…
Local stages offering mix of summer productions
Summer theater in Oklahoma City is gearing up for the state’s 100th birthday with a slew of big, crowd-pleasing musicals; a newly located Shakespearean stage; and a handful of plays ranging from historical classics to the downright goofy. Lyric Theatre at the Civic Center Music Hall: ” “Oklahoma!,” June 26-30″ “Evita,” July 10-14″ “Singin’ in…
Urban League of OKC gets $65K gift
The Urban League of Greater Oklahoma City Inc. received a $65,000 gift from Love’s Travel Stops and Country Stores today to benefit the organization’s facilities and programming. The three-year pledge includes funds that will match a gift from the Kirkpatrick Family Fund to construct client intake and counseling rooms ” part of the Urban…
