LETTERS
The Supreme Court, in that very building, promoted equal justice when it recently struck down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) — an act which barred the spouse in a same-sex marriage from receiving federal marriage benefits such as Social Security survivors’ benefits. Therefore, Chuck Hagel, Department of Defense Secretary, ordered states to provide same-sex…
Narco Cultura
Consider the city’s four-year homicide statistics, as shared in the opening minutes of the documentary Narco Cultura: In 2007, “just” 320 murders were committed there. In 2008, 1,623; in 2009, 2,754; and in 2010, 3,622. For perspective, that last year, the city with which Juárez literally shares a border — El Paso, Texas — had…
Blackfish
With a month to go, the year in cinema has seen no shortage of memorable screen villains. Loki returned for Thor: The Dark World while Gen. Zod battled it out with our Man of Steel. Consider Khan of Star Trek Into Darkness and the Wicked Witch of the West in Oz the Great and Powerful.…
Green Corn Revival — Bound for Glory
It has all shaken out as it should have, though, and the current lineup — led by husband and wife Jared and Jacy Deck — has created the band’s best work to date. Bound for Glory is an undeniably Southern-sounding record, laying tracks across dusty plain romances (“Pyre in the Blood”), swampy pop ballads (“Hall…
music
Sleaze Dizeaze Mont Lyons/Other Lovers/Did You See Those Bats, VZD’s Restaurant & Club. ROcK John Wayne’s Bitches/Red cities/Your Mom, Opolis, Norman. ROcK Sleaze Dizeaze/Unrelenting Butchery, The Chameleon Room. ROcK The Recliners, Riverwind Casino, Norman. ROcK Uninvited Guest, Baker St. Pub & Grill. ROcK Zack Merrill, Chips ‘N Ales at Riverwind Casino, Norman. SINGeR/SONGWRITeR SuNDAY, DEC.…
Do you hear what we hear?
“Christmas (Baby Please Come Home),” Darlene Love (1963) OK, the Phil Spector-produced classic is hardly obscure, but a song so rich, soulful and downright stirring can’t be excluded. Plus, it features Oklahoma’s own Leon Russell on piano (back in his studio session days) with a performance that was good enough for Spector to toss him…
Bitchin’
“Bitch” might have started out as a negative term, but the women (and man) behind Norman punk act John Wayne’s Bitches are hell-bent on making it a positive one. “Women are called bitches all the time because they don’t do what society wants them to do,” guitarist Katie Hawkins said. “If a girl has an…
Depression-era criminals get glamorous treatment in a new TV movie
bY Dean robbins The real Bonnie and Clyde were grotesque killers with no redeeming qualities. But the new TV movie Bonnie & Clyde (8 p.m. Sunday and Monday, A&E, Lifetime and History) swathes them in glamour. As played by Emile Hirsch and Holliday Grainger, they’re Depression-era hotties who look fabulous while robbing banks and breaking…
New hue
Photo: Zayra Alvarez Justin Furstenfeld — frontman for alternative rock band Blue October — has lived in the darkness long enough that his eyes have adjusted. Even the bright spots, like the platinum-selling Foiled, sold-out tours and performances on late-night talk shows were channeled from the torment of his most hopeless moments. But with this…
BOOKS
Polar Express Storytime, a reading of The Polar Express as well as fun activities and holiday treats, 7 p.m., Dec. 6. Barnes & Noble Quail Springs, 13800 N. May Ave., 755-1155, barnesandnoble.com. FRI Carolyn Macy Book Signing, author will be in the store to talk about and sign her book The Oklahoma Night Before Christmas,…
Funny fest
For the uninitiated, improv, or improvisational theater, is a form of live performance, usually comedic, in which everything is made up on the spot, often inspired by an audience suggestion. Clint Vrazel, OKC Improv cofounder and artistic director, said that when the organization began, only about five troupes were performing in the metro. “That number…
Fifties Ethnicities: The Ethnic Novel and Mass Culture at Midcentury
At one point in time, Italians, Jews and other lighter-skinned immigrants were not considered “white” strictly because of their heritage. Floreani takes on color and gender through the lens of the 1950s in her new academic book, Fifties Ethnicities: The Ethnic Novel and Mass Culture at Midcentury, released this month by SUNY Press. “When you…
Jingle spurs
Donna Howell Sickles Christmas comes early this year to the Adelante! Gallery. There are a few slight changes, however: the reindeers are being replaced with horses and the Santa suits with cowboy hats, and the toys are being left behind in favor of handmade saddles, bronze statues and Southwestern landscapes. It’s all part of Adelante!’s…
Fisher’s kings
“There are great stories behind each of those people,” said Fisher, the newest member of the Capitol Preservation Commission. “There’s just not enough interpretation. You see the piece there, but you don’t know why it’s there. Every piece there has a historical significance. It’s not just art for art’s sake.” Chief Justice Tom Colbert of…
Sharing is caring
HiLo bartender Topher Sauceda Photo: Mark Hancock One such event is Saturday’s annual chili cook-off at HiLo Club, 1221 NW 50th St., to benefit Other Options Inc. “[It] was originally put together by longtime patrons and friends of the HiLo, Kendall Simpkins and Tracy Lansing,” said bartender Topher Sauceda. “For four years now, we have…
LIFE
The University of Central Oklahoma’s 12th annual holiday musical revue, titled Holidays at Home, features student vocalists from UCO’s Musical Theatre Division performing a variety of holiday-themed songs. See the performances 8 p.m. Thursday-Sunday, with encore performances Dec. 12-14, at the UCO Jazz Lab, 100 E. Fifth St. in Edmond. Tickets are $20. For more…
Men, get dapper this season
Sure, all your mister has to do to get ready for a party is run a comb through his hair and throw on a suit jacket, but men like to get all spiffied up too, or they pretend they do anyway. Trade Men’s Wares (trademenswares.com; 822 N. Broadway Ave.; 371-2574) is a new pop-up shop…
OKG7 inventive breakfasts
The Wedge Pizzeria 4709 N. Western Ave. thewedgeokc.com 602-3477 For the last two years, The Wedge has offered a grab-and-go breakfast for $5. It’s faster than a drive-thru, and way better. One of the most popular items is the meat horn with pepperoni, sausage and mozzarella cheese, and it’s a favorite nontraditional breakfast. Can you…
LIFE FOOD & DRINK
LIFE FOOD & DRINK The Melting Pot will host a charity night benefitting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, featuring local patients and their family members sharing their personal stories and gratitude. A four-course fondue meal will be served for $45 per person with an optional wine flight for $30. According to a news release, The…
FOOD
First Wednesday Wine Tastings, four glasses of wine and specially paired food, reservations required, 7 p.m., Dec. 4. Bin73, 7312 N. Western Ave., 843-0073, bin73.com. WED Paint N’ Cheers, creative social art classes, 6:30 p.m., Dec. 5-6; 1, 6 p.m., Dec. 7; 2 p.m., Dec. 8. Paint N Cheers, 1614 N. Gatewood, 524-4155, paintncheers.com. THU–SUN…
Kiss my political buns
Mike Laham, Mike’s Hamburgers Photo: Mark Hancock On the national front, Chick-fil-A and Oklahoma-based Hobby Lobby got their conservative feathers ruffled when it came to social issues that opposed their owners’ personal views: same-sex marriage and birth control, respectively. In both cases, the controversies stirred up sales and customer support. Yet what happens when the…
Rule Britannia
Even if you’re not a gambler — or “gamer,” as the industry prefers — visiting is a lively experience. It’s not a James Bond-style casino with people in tuxedos and evening gowns, but on any given day, you will discover a highly diverse set of patrons. The enormous place is well-lit and clean, with well-appointed…
LETTERS
The Supreme Court, in that very building, promoted equal justice when it recently struck down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) — an act which barred the spouse in a same-sex marriage from receiving federal marriage benefits such as Social Security survivors’ benefits. Therefore, Chuck Hagel, Department of Defense Secretary, ordered states to provide same-sex…
NEWS OF THE WEIRD
Family of man The marvels of science: The notorious white separatist Craig Cobb is currently soliciting like-skinned people to move to his tiny town of Leith, N.D. (pop. 16), to create a deluxe Caucasian enclave, but at the urging of a black TV host submitted to a DNA test in November to “prove” his lineage…
Drum right
No one is disputing that Eischen’s Bar has good fried chicken. Some people love driving out to Okarche, fighting for a table and trying to get a waitress’ attention. But in Oklahoma City, just a short drive from Interstate 44, you can find The Drum Room, 4309 N. Western Ave., a rock ’n’ roll fried…
Fracking: Good or bad? Is it that easy?
Many such lateral lines can be drilled from a single platform, and they sometimes extend up to two miles from the drill site. Harold Hamm, chairman and president of Continental Resources headquartered in Oklahoma City, was an early pioneer of these expensive, challenging and sometimes controversial techniques. I’m proud to say that Harold, now Oklahoma’s…
Saaaaaa-lute!
For the second consecutive year, the OKC-based company earned a spot on the list of 100 companies considered military-friendly by G.I. Jobs magazine. Devon ranked No. 36 for 2014 after being listed at No. 57 in 2013. More than 5,000 companies applied for inclusion in the magazine. Criteria included strength of company military recruiting efforts,…
Onward and upward
Oklahoma Gazette will no longer organize the annual Halloween Parade, which began in 2007 as a way to promote artistry, creativity and diversity among the city’s arts and cultural organizations, said Gazette Publisher Bill Bleakley. When the event began seven years ago, an estimated 14,000 people came out to witness the inaugural parade. The next…
Don’t get your gay all over our military
The gov announced that she will not follow the federal government’s order to process spousal benefits for same-sex members of the National Guard. “Governor Fallin is setting a great precedent here,” the comedian and faux-news host prodded. “Because once a gay person gets something, [they get] their gay all over it. That’s why I think…
Debtor’s prison, sort of
Here’s how it works. Get arrested and booked into jail. Stay one night and you’re billed $117 for that wonderful room and guest service provided by the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Department, which provides questionable accommodations to all those folks arrested by OKC’s finest. As the guests check out, or bond out, they’re told about the…
The Slimmest Girl in Town
According to British tabloid The Daily Mail, , Lambert told US Weekly she lost an entire dress size by drinking low-calorie cocktails; laying off junk food, like “beer and Cheetos”; eating smaller portions and — wait for it — actually exercising. Shocking, right? She must be having her healthy food shipped through the postal service…
Preaching relief
The state Baptist General Convention recently celebrated 40 years of its disaster-relief program that has assisted people from coast to coast in almost every type of tragedy, including hurricanes, floods, wildfires and tornadoes. In 2013, disaster-relief volunteers were spread thin as they helped clean up flooded homes in Colorado, provided assistance to superstorm Sandy victims…
Crushed plans
The council approved a rezoning request Nov. 5 that will allow USA Metal Recycling to set up shop at 100 N. Morgan Road near Interstate 40. The approval changes the area’s rezoning from moderate industrial to a 23.5- acre planned unit development (PUD). The unanimous decision was reached despite written and verbal protests from area…
Five-oh
During the last five decades, Howell, now 79, has accepted almost every type of legal case imaginable, but now his practice focuses on injury law. When he talked about possibly ending his long, illustrious career, the attorney and former state legislator joked, “Old lawyers don’t retire; they just lose their appeal.” That’s not the case…
Pop goes the shop
Brown will bring his mid-century modern wares to a new audience hopefully ready to shop for the holidays. “We wanted to do something different,” he said. “It was affordable, so we thought we’d give it a shot and thought it would be fun to be a part of, too.” RetrOKC is one of 30 vendors…
The Seasoning House
Angel is taken to the dingiest of filthy brothels imaginable and watches other young women forced into prostitution with military men who act like boys. She’s saved from that level of horror when Viktor (Kevin Howarth, Gallowwalkers), the pimp of the place, takes a shine to her and keeps her for himself. However, she’s still…
The Canyons
New to Blu-ray following a much-buzzed-about VOD and limited theatrical run, the IFC Films release casts a voyeuristic eye on Los Angeles couple Tara (tabloid fixture Lindsay Lohan, Liz & Dick) and Christian (porn star James Deen, Anal Buffet 8). They’ve been together for one year, but their bedroom — and other areas of their…
Saturn 3
The 1980 box-office bomb takes place on an experimental research station on a moon of the title’s ringed planet. For three years, scientist Adam (ol’ butt-chinned Kirk Douglas) has worked there to solve Earth’s hunger problem hydroponically, alongside Alex (Farrah Fawcett, The Cannonball Run), his much younger partner — in the lab and the space-disco…
