The Day
The film from director Douglas Aarniokoski (Highlander: Endgame) follows a group of young people wandering the country on foot several years after an event of catastrophic proportions. They include Shawn Ashmore (Frozen), Ashley Bell (The Last Exorcism), Dominic Monaghan (TV’s Lost) and Shannyn Sossamon (One Missed Call), and they spend much of the movie in…
Saving oil
This tells me that McVay, while he may have a background in environmental studies, also has a predisposition to defend an industry that is his livelihood. This makes his perspective about as reliable as an asbestos salesman telling me that all those cancer studies are taken out of context. Of course, to his credit, the…
Go ahead, secede
Becoming two separate nations would reduce political tensions and permit Southern states to govern themselves as they prefer. It would also reduce the U.S. budget, as half the spending in some of those states is federal money, and most are home to U.S. military bases. —Nathaniel Batchelder, Oklahoma City
Judicious info for voters
We should remember that our current system of judicial retention was adopted by Oklahomans in response to attorney bribery scandals involving the state Supreme Court. Oklahomans overwhelmingly voted to restore the integrity of the court through accountability by judicial retention elections. Since then, no justice or judge up for retention has been defeated, despite countless…
Thou shalt erect it
Credit: Brad Gregg The county in far eastern Oklahoma approved the original request, made by former Poteau mayor Don Barnes, in April 2009. The plan was scrapped a couple months later when a federal appeals court ruled that a similar monument, at Haskell County’s courthouse in nearby Stigler, amounted to a government endorsement of religion.…
Sour shareholders
Credit: Brad Gregg TPG-Axon, which holds a 4.5 percent stake in SandRidge, charged in a Nov. 8 letter to SandRidge’s board that the company had engaged in reckless spending and that shareholders had experienced a 76-percent decline in stock price. TPG-Axon requested that the company be sold, Tom Ward replaced as CEO and board members…
‘Thunderstruck”s strike two
Credit: Brad Gregg In the case of the Aug. 24 release, however, “theatrical experience” was nearly nonexistent. On an unreported production budget, its total domestic gross was a paltry $587,211, showing in only 250 theaters nationwide at its peak. At Rotten Tomatoes, the online barometer of critical favor (or lack thereof, as the case may…
Nhinja star
There’s just something happy about Nhinja Sushi & Wok. Maybe it’s the way the colors of the employees’ T-shirts pop against the clean, white space inside. Maybe it’s the modern design that puts soy sauce, Sriracha and Chinese mustard on display. In my case, it was the look of joy on my toddler’s face as…
Quality costs
The Chesapeake campus Energy companies comprised the bulk of the 10 companies receiving the most in state Quality Jobs funds. Chesapeake Energy Corp. received the most, at nearly $7.2 million, followed by SandRidge at around $6.6 million and ConocoPhillips at $4.8 million. Only three non-energy companies are on the top-10 list: Dell, Spirit AeroSystems and…
Capitol commandments
With little fanfare, a Ten Commandments monument is erected at the state Capitol. BY CLIFTON ADCOCK A large granite monument of the Ten Commandments now stands outside the state Capitol building. The monument is the result of a measure introduced by state Rep. Mike Ritze, R-Broken Arrow, and passed by the Legislature in 2009 allowing…
Ease the pain
Dr. Hal Vorse Credit: Mark Hancock In 2009, 83 percent of drug overdose deaths in Oklahoma were attributed to prescription drugs as compared to 17 percent of the overdoses related to street drugs. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 1.2 million emergency room visits in Oklahoma that year were related to…
Oklahoma’s post election rise
Why and how are we Okies different, and what does that mean for the future? It might help to look at California, which is where four more years of Obama-style tax increases, hyper-regulation and deficits will take us. California just doubled down on liberal policies, electing veto-proof Democratic majorities in its legislature and approving draconian…
Spice world
It’s a bold spice — dangerously bold to those who have never had fresh, high-quality paprika. It’s not mild. It grabs the taste buds and stains everything a feisty orange. Nothing is demure at Savory Spice Shop, 4400 N. Western. Shelves are filled with exotic tastes from exotic countries. Even the salt wall displays more…
The rest of the story
As he sat down at a computer terminal in the Social Security Administration office of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, he did not hear the boom of the explosion. He could not know that its origin was a Ryder rental truck parked just feet from the office’s reception area. “Different people have different experiences…
The land of Bibles and bigots
I saw a highway billboard in Colorado Springs, Colo. (an extremely Christian area), showing Obama in knickers and holding a golf club (elite snob) beside this caption: “Obama holds key to your next colonoscopy! Grab your gators!” Next to this warning was a pair of Americans who are shown bending over to receive their “reward”…
They like us! They really like us!
Credit: Brad Gregg Chicken-Fried News isn’t certain we agree, since we’re mighty fond of a 1984 Psychology Today story on the duality of the human psyche as reflected by Butch and Ben McCain, but the Times piece was unequivocally a lovely paean to our hometown. In “A Basketball Fairy Tale in Middle America,” writer Sam…
Fred Won’t Move Out
Old age, a spouse suffering with dementia, grown children in the position of caring for their parents — these are tough, complicated themes in Fred Won’t Move Out, which screens Friday through Sunday at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. That might sound like emotionally exhausting stuff, but this small indie has a surprisingly light…
Poo-pooing Planned Parenthood
Credit: Brad Gregg Of course, the Health Department said it has the right to choose … who receives a contract. In September, the agency chose not to renew the Planned Parenthood contract, citing the program’s relatively high cost per participant, a decrease in case loads and faulty billing practices. But Planned Parenthood of the Heartland…
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…
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…
Smashed
Opening today exclusively at AMC Quail Springs Mall 24, 2501 W. Memorial, the indie drama is reminiscent of 1988’s Clean and Sober, also a sturdy-enough addiction movie that lives and dies on its central performance — in other words, one actor shoulders the entire burden, elevating what is otherwise unremarkable (but not incompetent) material. He…
Trashterpieces
Beatriz Myorca It’s been said that “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” But OKC Beautiful is determined to show that all of our trash could be transformed into real treasures … of art. OKC Beautiful’s A.R.T. Show: Art in Recycled Trash opened last week at Science Museum Oklahoma. Because last year’s A.R.T. Show proved…
Graham crackin’
Life on a major record label was full of high highs and low lows for Oklahoma City singer-songwriter Graham Colton. Forging his own path as an independent artist the past few years has proven to be more his speed. “To be honest, it’s equally liberating and terrifying. When you have a success, there’s nothing like…
Tusk’s task
Photo: Geoff L. Johnson Savannah, Ga., has proven to be something of a breeding ground for metal bands, giving rise to Kylesa, Baroness, Black Tusk and others in the past decade or so. You might think something is in the water. It’s actually in the air. “It’s just hot — really, really hot,” guitarist Andrew…
What’s in a name?
At odds are Bud and Barbara Elder, owners of Custino’s Italian Kitchen; and Angelo and Philip Custino, owners of Custino’s Restaurant and Bar. In August, District Judge Lisa Davis rejected an injunction filed by the Custinos seeking to stop the Elders from using the Custino name for their restaurant. The four originally were partners in…
OKG7 spots to eat between shopping
Sweis Pita Bakery2115 N. May943-8923 May Avenue boasts a collection of fantastic shopping and delicious food. Among its gems is Sweis Bakery, serving all the things one might need for a traditional Mediterranean feast. There’s a lunch special that includes a fresh gyro, a gyro salad and house-made pita bread and chips. Make sure to…
Forever at last
Photo: Trevor Henrich Ten years back or so, it was nearly impossible to get away from the pop-punk craze. Just a half-decade later, it was just as hard to find it. Then came along bands like The Wonder Years, The Swellers, Handguns and Forever Came Calling, and a revival was born. “We’ve been touring for…
Happy Record Store Day Black Friday!
But they, too, can participate in the nation’s annual orgy of mass consumerism by heading to their local indie record store Friday for extremely exclusive musical goodies that will probably go for three times as much on eBay the next day. An offshoot of the popular Record Store Day event, this Black Friday addendum includes…
Wheelin’ and dealin’
Not only are our brick-and-mortars abundant with treasures, but now the lovely creatives of our fair town have taken to the streets. You didn’t think food trucks would be the only ones having mobile fun, did you? With a forward-looking state of mind, Ashley Sellers isn’t just on a trend — she’s starting one. Her…
Got milk?
Donor milk provides a critical resource to hospitals charged with keeping preterm and other vulnerable infants alive. Maintaining sufficient nutrition for a baby with an underdeveloped or compromised digestive system can be a delicate endeavor, and human milk has proven to be the safest and least disruptive source of nourishment. Premies, who often can’t coordinate…
Lincoln
As if the subject alone isn’t worthy of adulation, it comes with a towering pedigree: Oscar-winning director Steven Spielberg (Saving Private Ryan), Oscar-winning actor Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood) and a script by Pulitzer-winning playwright Tony Kushner. To its credit, Lincoln has lengthy stretches in which it’s as absorbing as it wants to be.…
Felt up
Rock bands and puppets: two peas in a pod, right? Sure, these art forms might seem contradictory on the surface. But on Friday at Opolis, the spectacle of Quintron and Miss Pussycat — half puppet show, half concert — will take this notion and obliterate it. The New Orleans-based husband and wife bear a unique…
Capitol commandments
The monument is the result of a measure introduced by state Rep. Mike Ritze, R-Broken Arrow, and passed by the Legislature in 2009 allowing for a privately paid-for monument to be placed on public property outside the Capitol. Little fanfare accompanied the installation on the north side of the building, with about a dozen non-workers…
Frankenstein
And, in the early ’90s, he starred as the mad doctor in Frankenstein … for TNT, not Kenneth Branagh. Provided you missed it on during its CableACE Award-nominated broadcast, the better-than-average production is now alive — alive! — on MOD DVD from Warner Archive. Bergin’s Dr. Frankenstein is even more enterprising than in the Mary Shelley…
The Expendables 2
The remainder isn’t bad, either; in fact, it’s more fun than the 2010 original, while remaining every bit as big and dumb. Barney (Sylvester Stallone), Christmas (Jason Statham, Safe) and the rest of the Expendables are hired by Church (Bruce Willis) to retrieve a case from a downed plane in Russia. After doing so, they…
Magic Mike
To play the titular male stripper nicknamed Magic Mike, Channing Tatum drew upon his own pre-fame experiences as a exotic dancer, and it shows. To put it bluntly, the guy thrusts his pelvis like a pure professional, like a wave lapping the shore. No wonder female audiences ate this movie up. Too bad eye candy…
