Aroused
For the film, Anderson interviews 16 female porn stars — including Alexis Texas, Asphyxia Noir and other obviously invented names — about what got them into the business, what they get from it, and what misconceptions they’d like to clear up. In other words, she gives them the opportunity to appear human. In doing so,…
dead again
Computer ChessJust in case there was any doubt that fashions and haircuts of the early 1980s were mighty ugly, the time capsule Computer Chess is a solid reminder. Writer-director Andrew Bujalski, in his use of antiquated cameras and technology that could make a TRS-80 look cutting-edge, evokes the period in gloriously fuzzy black and white.…
Manna of Morocco
The first time I drove by Shawarma Vite, I knew I had to stop in soon, if only for the possibility that maybe The Avengers would stop in after saving the world (you’ve seen the movie, right?). Located in Norman’s Stubbeman Village shopping center, this unassuming corner of the University of Oklahoma campus boasts the…
LETTERS
Oklahoma Gazette provides an open forum for the discussion of all points of view in its Letters 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…
OKG7 late-night nomz
Banana Island1117 N.W. 25thbananaislandokc602-1188 This Malaysian joint rocks a menu featuring coconut milk-based curries and spicy, delicious fare. Start with the Indian pancake no matter what, and try the mango salad or pineapple fried rice, which comes in a hollowed-out pineapple husk. The Mont1300 Classen Blvd., Normanthemont.com329-3330 If you’ve never tried this iconic Norman hot…
LETTERS
Oklahoma Gazette provides an open forum for the discussion of all points of view in its Letters 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…
Hooray for rosé
Liquid Geography at Edmond Wine Shop By: Mark Hancock So says a famous bumper sticker by winemakers Charles Bieler and Charles Smith. Bieler is credited with helping bring about a rosé revolution in the U.S., and its popularity is growing in Oklahoma City as well. Many metro restaurants — including La Baguette Bistro, 7408 N.…
Texas ‘Tuna’
Oklahoma City Repertory Theatre ends its season with the countrified comedy Greater Tuna. CityRep had success with runs of A Tuna Christmas for a few seasons some years ago, and Greater Tuna is the original play in the franchise. In case you hadn’t heard, Greater Tuna concerns the citizens — oddballs and yahoos all —…
Death by a thousand cuts
Oh, but it can. The state Legislature this session passed House Bill 2032 to decrease the maximum Oklahoma personal income tax rate from 5.25 percent to 5 percent in 2015 and then again to 4.85 percent in 2016 if there is sufficient revenue growth. When fully implemented, the Oklahoma Tax Commission estimates the measure will…
‘Mohicans’ by the numbers
0 Hollywood studio productions star Daniel Day-Lewis had appeared in previously 1 Academy Award win: Best Sound $10,976,661: its opening weekend box-office gross 4 words of dialogue that landed on Entertainment Weekly’s list of the best romantic movie lines of all time: “I will find you!” 3 actors who played a totally different Hawkeye: Alan…
Act mature
Credit: Brad Gregg The tattoo features an angel clutching a basketball hovering over a portrait of Jesus. Accompanying it is a lengthy Bible verse that reads, “Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and…
Stormy weather
Credit: Brad Gregg And it’s also not news that unity borne from tragedy eventually becomes political. Still, the suggestion that climate change could have been a factor in the May 20 disaster certainly came as news to Inhofe. And bad news at that. “The liberal media is trying to exploit a tragedy to advance and…
Atheists, assemble!
Credit: Brad Gregg Stand-up comic Doug Stanhope started an Indiegogo campaign called Atheists Unite for Vitsmun and hoped to raise $50,000 in rebuilding funds over a 60-day period. The campaign goal was met in less than 24 hours. A week later, $107,566 had been raised. “Let’s show the world that you don’t need to believe…
Skirting the law?
Credit: Brad Gregg The allegations arose when Zeke Campfield, state Capitol reporter for the Oklahoma City daily, turned up at the Moore High School graduation at the Cox Convention Center. Several witnesses said they saw Campfield repeatedly bumping into girls between the ages of 13 and 21 — despite the area not being crowded —…
Out of shape
Credit: Brad Gregg According to the American Fitness Index compiled by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), OKC is the least fit city in the U.S. The. Least. Fit. According to the annual survey, Minneapolis is the healthiest city, based on the overall general wellness of its people and a wealth of other factors,…
CFn wherewas-I Quote of the week
“You can count on the fact that you won’t be alone. Your fellow citizens will be there for you. Just like we’ll be there for folks in Breezy Point and Staten Island, and obviously we’re going to be there for folks in Monroe, Okla.” —President Barack Obama, in a May 28 address to Hurricane Sandy…
In and out and in
Credit: Brad Gregg Dozens of out-of-district school students had been accepted and enrolled at Classen School of Advanced Studies in the Oklahoma City district, only to later receive an “oops” notification. The reason? Students and parents were told the district’s school board was trying to limit the number of out-of-district transfers to Classen SAS. Thus,…
Outlaw attitude
Minor league football returns to town with the Bounty Hunters’ arrival. BY DEAN ANDERSON By day, Oklahoma City bail bondsman Tom Trepagnier is responsible for making sure local outlaws follow the rules. On the weekends, he lets them run free. Trepagnier, who owns Trep’s 2Blondes Bail Bonds, has invested his time and money into the…
Teen ghost
Ghost stories are perfect for summertime. Whether told at sleepovers by someone dramatically illuminated by flashlight or at campfire huddles in the middle of the woods, the chills of a spooky tale are wonderful relief from Oklahoma’s scorching heat. The Hereafter book series by Oklahoma author Tara Hudson provides a new take on classic ghost…
Ice, ice baby
Ideas on Ice By: Shannon Cornman Such frozen works once might have been something that only the most well-to-do could afford, but Ideas in Ice Inc., the only business of its kind in the metro, makes ice sculptures something anyone can use to impress guests. Ken Burkemper started Ideas in Ice more than 25 years…
Shady business
Sure, sunglasses look cool. But it’s imperative to have a good pair that blocks out UVB rays and guards your eyes against the harsh shift from indoor to outdoor lighting. Who likes to squint? I don’t. Plus, it can give you wrinkles around your eyes. So just wear sunglasses. Most optometrists carry shades. That’s the…
Sweet, no wheat
These delightful treats contain extra calories, sure. For some, however, the caveat of extra caloric intake is only a small issue in comparison to the presence of wheat in a product. For those who suffer from celiac disease, consuming wheat isn’t an option — even for a one-time splurge. The National Foundation for Celiac Awareness…
Migration formation
The Blue Door is hallowed ground for most folk artists, but The Stray Birds’ recent fixation on one of the listening room’s more recent products has the bluegrass trio that much more eager to make its debut there Thursday. “We got to meet and open for John Fullbright in Tulsa last summer. We are obsessed…
Good grief
Cory Chisel is a good man. The Wisconsin native committed to joining fellow folk heavyweights John Fullbright and Tony Lucca (among many others) at Saturday’s “Peace Love and Goodwill” show months ago, but when the tornadoes of May 19 and 20 touched down, the benefit turned its focus to supporting those whose lives were devastated,…
Various artists — Reaching Out
Much in the same vein, Reaching Out is a $7 compilation of 22 Oklahoma artists available on Bandcamp, with all proceeds going directly to the American Red Cross tornado-relief fund. The music itself could easily be overlooked with an undertaking this significant, yet the diverse cast of musicians is more than enough to satisfy. Songs…
Progress in Color — Get Well
The trio has gone from emo poppers with New Wave underpinnings to the inverse, and it suits the band well, as evidenced by the slick Get Well EP. The cover of Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart,” the quintessential post-punk ballad, is a good clue as to the direction in which Progress in Color…
Outlaw attitude
By day, Oklahoma City bail bondsman Tom Trepagnier is responsible for making sure local outlaws follow the rules. On the weekends, he lets them run free. Trepagnier, who owns Trep’s 2Blondes Bail Bonds, has invested his time and money into the minor-league football franchise Oklahoma City Bounty Hunters. “Football has always been a love,” he…
Joe Average — The Lullaby Goodbye
The latest evidence of that is The Lullaby Goodbye. The newest project from OKC-by-way-of-Arkansas rapper Joe Average reads like the offspring of Kid Cudi and Citizen Cope, a soulful record that recalls Belize as much as Brooklyn. “The Reaching,” an assured bonfire ballad that sounds like the few moments before falling asleep, is bookended by…
Limber Limbs — Limber Limbs
The Oklahoma City indie-rock trio of Ben Bowlware, Derek Moore and Robert Riggs went by People, People back in 2010 when it released a full-length album of heady, orchestrated material. Although still texturally rich and sonically complex, this self-titled, four-track EP aims at your heart as much as it does your cranium. “Golden Rust” —…
Pet rescue
Known for being animal lovers and founders of an animal-rescue nonprofit called MuttNation, the Lamberts arranged for out-of-state help in the pet recovery process. As a result, two mobile pet-rescue units from New York-based North Shore Animal League America and Red Star Rescue, which is an arm of American Humane Association, came to the tornado-ravaged…
How to parent
In 2010, Oklahoma was ranked fifth in the nation for births to teens, with 6,597 babies. Even in a state with such high numbers, however, Roberts’ situation is rare, as girls under 15 accounted for only 1.5 percent of teenage births. Family Builders’ mission is the prevention and treatment of child abuse and domestic violence.…
Taking cover
“Had we had a safe room, it would have been our procedure for our students to be there,” said Amy Simpson, Plaza Towers’ principal, at a tearful May 24 news conference. “My school will have a safe room when it’s rebuilt.” Her sentiments were echoed by Briarwood Principal Shelley McMillin. “What we normally do is…
School’s out, and over
“They were second from the bottom in terms of academic performance,” said state Superintendent of Public Instruction Janet Barresi. “If I had a student there, I would be thrilled to have my child out of that school. This should not be a surprise to them. There were several parents who expressed concern.” Located at 537…
Quiet, please
City planners, property owners and business leaders in the area have been working on the project, commonly known as the “Quiet Zone,” since 2009. Discussion surrounding it has been ongoing for the last decade, noted City Manager Jim Couch. Four years ago, Oklahoma City Council approved a measure calling for a quiet zone east and…
In cars
His frustration stems from TV coverage of the EF3 tornado that swept through sections of Central Oklahoma on May 31. That’s when Morgan urged viewers who couldn’t get underground to a shelter to “leave south Oklahoma City and go south. Do it right now.” A little later, Morgan repeated that a tornado warning was in…
The Numbers Station
In the latter, he again dons gun and badge as Emerson, a black-ops agent for the CIA. When his latest assignment messes with his head (it involved multiple shooting deaths, including one kid), he’s temporarily reassigned to a new, less stressful gig: playing babysitter at Blackleg Minor, an unofficial Army base in England. There, Katherine…
Fred Won’t Move Out
That might sound like emotionally exhausting stuff, but this small indie has a surprisingly light touch. Writer-director Richard Ledes is more interested in capturing the stirring moments of family life than he is in heavy-handed exploration. The elderly couple at the center, Fred and Susan (Ruby Sparks’ Elliott Gould and Choke’s Judith Roberts), reside in…
Stripped / Nailbiter / American Mary
First, in Stripped, debuting feature director J.M.R. Luna updates the been-there scenario of college-age assholes on a holiday of hell by applying a coat of found footage to it. In this case, four friends gather to make the 21st birthday of one of them memorable, beginning with 8 a.m. bowl smoking before heading to Vegas,…
Rolling Thunder
Now available in a Blu-ray from Shout! Factory that puts MGM’s 2011 burn-on-demand release to utter shame, the film stars William Devane (the POTUS of last summer’s The Dark Knight Rises) as Maj. Charles Rane. After spending a grueling seven years as a prisoner of war, he returns home to San Antonio, Texas, to a…
Sadako 3D
This time, that creepy, crawling girl with the stringy black hair known as Sadako (Ai Hashimoto) comes not through TV sets, but computer and smartphone screens. The cursed VHS tape is now a cursed video clip of a live suicide, and anyone who views it immediately kills himself or herself. Well, anyone except pretty, young…
Dark Skies
The first sci-fi-heavy effort from Blumhouse Productions, that mighty machine of menace that brought you the Paranormal Activity pictures, the film focuses on the Barrett family. Lacy (Keri Russell, TV’s The Americans) is a Realtor; Daniel (Josh Hamilton, J. Edgar) is an architect, but currently unemployed in the midst of the Great Recession. Because of…
Identity Thief
Yes, it’s stupid. But it stars Jason Bateman, one of the scant few actors currently working who can turn the otherwise throwaway line “The fuck you are” into a genuine laugh. Recently seen showing his dramatic side in Disconnect, Bateman reunites with Horrible Bosses director Seth Gordon as Sandy Patterson, a Denver family man whose…
The Howling
Reunited with his Piranha screenwriter John Sayles, Dante spins a suspenseful, spooky and spoofy tale of TV anchorman Karen White (E.T. mom Dee Wallace in her best role), ordered by her psychiatrist (Patrick Macnee, TV’s The Avengers) to take some time off following a traumatic, near-death experience that has left her with amnesia. Said sojourn…
Electra Glide in Blue
That Guercio never made another movie is a shame, because so much of Electra Glide in Blue — an opening shot of the highway cutting through the Arizona desert, the introduction of the motorcycle-cop protagonist in full uniform, the haunting final minutes — reveal a keen eye for composition. Two years away from TV’s Baretta,…
Music 4 Moore
The event is $25 to attend (although a free stage will be set up outside), with 100 percent of proceeds benefiting the Red Cross of Central & Western Oklahoma. Artists range from the up-and-coming to the highly revered (Wanda Jackson!) — an array of performers so strong that you needn’t anguish over Blake and Miranda.…
