Least Competent Criminals
According to police in Warsaw, Poland, novelist Krystian Bala might have gotten away with torturing and murdering a businessman in 2000 if only he had resisted writing about his crime in his 2003 novel, “Amok.” The trail for the killer had been cold for several years until a tipster informed police of the book. In…
Undignified Deaths
Tall Buildings Claim Three More: A 27-year-old man who idolized the late singer Jim Morrison accidentally fell to his death from a New York City apartment building in July. (Morrison himself was known as a daredevil, with a fondness of walking on the ledges of buildings.) And in June, a man and a woman in…
Recurring Themes
Wrong Place, Wrong Time: Small-time drug operators, thinking they are keeping a low profile, continue to have their hideouts inadvertently discovered by police. In June, a single-engine plane crash-landed outside a home near Baton Rouge, La., and responding police discovered marijuana plants in the yard. In September in Escatawpa, Miss., Curtiss Coleman, 53, attempting to…
Fine Points of the Law
Frederick Cronin is challenging the suspension of his New Hampshire driver’s license, claiming that his blood-alcohol reading (0.13) was not properly obtained. State law calls for two readings, with the second 20 minutes after the first, and Cronin claims that his second test was administered too soon. During the 20-minute period, he said, he had…
Leading Economic Indicators
Contrary Thinking: Three U.S. finance professors, working with business data provided to the government of Denmark, concluded that a company’s profitability usually falls following a death in the CEO’s immediate family. However, the professors found (according to a September Wall Street Journal report), that profitability slightly increased if the family death was that of the…
Britain’s Housing Crises
Alex Baker, 96, told London’s Daily Mail in May that he is very happy to have lived all his life in the same Portsmouth house in which he was born (although the neighborhood has certainly changed a lot since 1911). David and Jean Davidson, who are retired and own an apartment in Sheffield, told the…
People With Issues
Convicted sex offender Paul D. Brunelle-Apley, 26, was arrested again, in Madison Township, Ohio, in September, when his attempt to make up with his 14-year-old girlfriend came to public attention. According to police, Brunelle-Apley was seeing another girl on the side (age 15), and in a display of remorse, he delivered flowers and a teddy…
Mayor presents city keys to ‘Saving Grace’ creator, actress
Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett presented “Saving Grace” star Holly Hunter and Oklahoma City native and series creator Nancy Miller with keys to the city today. The Turner Network Television series — based around Hunter’s Oklahoma City Police Detective Grace Hanadarko character “? debuted in July and became the summer’s highest rated debuting television…
Oklahoma Corporation Commission officially denies power plant
The Oklahoma Corporation Commission voted 2-1 today to officially deny the application for the proposed Red Rock Power Plant. OG&E Electric Services announced earlier this year they signed an agreement with Red Rock Power Partners to build the plant pending regulatory approval from the Oklahoma Corporation Commission. Others signing the agreement included Public Service…
Nine comedians step into spotlight for ‘OKC Comedy Night’
Local stand-up vets Jason Black and Joel Decker have assembled a showcase of some of the best comedians from Oklahoma for “OKC Comedy Night 2007,” a Friday-evening lineup of nine comics to be headlined by Nathan Anderson, who was featured on Comedy Central’s “Open Mic Fight” competition. “He’s a guy that, from the first time…
Oklahoma City woman awarded with “The Melting Pot” fondue for a year
Among Bricktown restaurants, everyone has a favorite. Sports nuts go to The Varsity Sports Grill. Spice lovers head for Chelino’s Mexican Restaurant. Coma patients dig The Melting Pot. In June, Oklahoma City resident Jill Finley, 32, emerged from a two-week coma as the plug was pulled and told her husband, Ryan, “Get me out…
Makeup expert to transform kids into monsters
It’s that time of year again when your perfect little angels transform into gory, grotesque monsters before your eyes. It’s Halloween, and this year, let your kids go all out. The Ronald J. Norick Downtown Library will host its first “Monster Makeup for Kids” session from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday. Professional special effects makeup…
NAFTA Superhighway’ remains a controversial concept
Oklahoma forms the low-slung buckle on the proposed “NAFTA Superhighway,” a vast interstate transportation and communications belt that would cut through America’s midsection and connect Mexico with Canada. The superhighway could include automobile, trucking and rail traffic, along with oil and gas pipelines and power and electronic data transmission lines to increase the flow of…
Edmond Planning Commission turns down Falcone’s location plan
Edmond residents expecting to enjoy a third Falcone’s Pizzeria and Deli store can fuggedaboutit, according to a report in The Edmond Sun. Italian food connoisseurs know the popular restaurant as the place to “put some bada bing on that thing.” Falcone’s, which serves up Old World specialties in an atmosphere that includes “Godfather” movie…
Heritage Hills tour highlights historic homes
Experience Oklahoma homes as they were a century ago with the Heritage Hills Centennial Historic Homes and Gardens Tour from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday in the Heritage Hills neighborhood, located at N.W. 14th and 15th streets between N. Shartel and Walker avenues, in Oklahoma City’s oldest historic preservation district. “We’re really excited…
Oklahoma legislator should have done his Web homework
Should it be a prerequisite for Oklahoma’s legislators to be able to at least Google someone they choose to be a speaker? We wonder. Take the recent guest lauded by state Rep. Randy Terrill as a high-powered analyst who can point the way to prosperity in Oklahoma, a think-tanker out of Washington named Phil…
This Is England
es in “This Is England.” Shaun’s dad died in the Falklands, and he has trouble making friends, so when a band of punk kids led by nice guy Woody befriend him, we are all worried. But Woody and the other outsiders actually care about Shaun and help him fit in by helping him dress cooler,…
Bookstore arrests of the Forties presaged communist scare
In their new book, “Books on Trial: Red Scare in the Heartland” from the University of Oklahoma Press, professors Shirley and Wayne Wiegand recount the 1940 arrest and trial of four people for their activities involving communist books. “The social and economic instability of the 1930s ” the Great Depression ” caused the down-and-out to…
Childhood move forced alt-country’s Votolato to pursue music
But singer/songwriter and guitarist Rocky Votolato moved to Seattle from Dallas when he was 15, thrusting him into an “entirely different world” that made an impression in his voice and his songs that one still can hear more than a decade later. “Oh, I put up a fight,” Votolato, now 30, said about the forced…
State’s 11 charter schools not unconstitutional, says AG
While debate over charter schools continues nationwide, a recent attorney general’s opinion appears to affirm their place here. Rep. Al McAffrey, D-Oklahoma City, requested the opinion last spring on whether requirement differences between charter and traditional public schools laid out in the state’s 1999 Oklahoma Charter Schools Act constitute breaks with state and federal law.…
Damned Democrats
I thought this might get your attention. We elected them to end the war, and they have failed us. We sent them to Washington to slow down the train wreck that is the worst administration in U.S. history, and they have enabled it. We gave them control of both houses of Congress, and it’s business…
Jewel Box’s ‘Deathtrap’ retains the thriller’s devilish twists
Believe it or not, to say much about “Deathtrap” would be playing with spoilers that uninitiated viewers never would forgive. The longest-running comedy/mystery thriller on Broadway, “Deathtrap” was one of the early examples of scripts in which the plot crisscrosses with itself so many times, it’s like playing a crazy board game. Playwright Ira Levin…
Crediting Coburn
By any definition, Sen. Tom Coburn is very conservative. Some of his social positions have made him the subject of ridicule. On the other hand, he has distinguished himself as one of the most honest members of Congress when it comes to government spending. The ranking member of the federal financial management subcommittee, Coburn has…
Jake Stays Awake – Michael Wright
Feiwel and Friends$16.95 As a parent of stubborn and often close-minded 2-year-old, I can sadly relate to the dilemma facing the mother and father of the title character in “Jake Stays Awake.” He’s a boy who thinks he can’t get to sleep without being in their bed. “This drove his parents straight up a tree.…
Stint as a nanny fuels singer/songwriter’s new record
The eclectic, roots-rock-flavored music of Derek James takes style notes from singer/songwriters like Jack Johnson and John Mayer, and rings of rock ‘n’ roll bands like Coldplay. Interestingly enough, most of his new album “Stray” was written in the basement of a family’s home in a New York City suburb, where James worked as a…
Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey exploring new musical frontiers
In the last 15 years or so, an ever-growing contingent of authentically creative, forward-thinking artists has been dragging jazz out of the doldrums, often fusing traditional elements of the genre with funk, rock and electronica. A point of pride for Oklahoma is that Tulsa-based jazz outfit Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey ” an atypical piano trio…
Girlie Show’ poised to be biggest ever
A few years ago, a few Oklahoma City women decided the metro needed a different art show venue “? one that showed work that wasn’t recognized by the art community: “The Girlie Show.” “It’s not all necessarily gallery material, but it’s more than a craft show,” said show organizer Dawn Harth. “We just looked around…
Voters OK public school bond issues
A handful of Oklahoma County voters overwhelmingly approved issuing bonds Tuesday to provide for school improvements beyond MAPS for Kids. Each of the four propositions, which required a 60 percent majority to pass, were approved, garnering 77 percent or 78 percent favor. Mayor Mick Cornett said with momentum happening throughout the city, and…
Folk singer Gilkyson comfortable with being an outsider
As the third generation of a musical family with a lifelong close-up view of the music business, Eliza Gilkyson said she’s quite comfortable with being a relative industry outsider. “I’ve always lived outside the music industry. The industry has never wanted what I have, even when I was young and pliable,” she said. “I’ve lived…
Feel the Noise
Reviewer’s grade: C If you know what the musical style called “reggaeton” is and like it, this picture is full of it. It’s a blend of Caribbean, Latin and hip-hop rhythms, and it’s pretty bouncy stuff that goes well with sinuous dance moves, with which the picture is also well-endowed. The film’s plot…
Safety of bridges headlines state transportation forum
Bridge safety, Oklahoma roads and alternative fuels will be the focus of the 2007 Oklahoma Transportation Forum slated Thursday and Friday at the Reed Center in Midwest City. Lt. Gov. Jari Askins will host the event, which will include voices from agency officials across the state and private sectors of transportation. The Oklahoma Good Roads…
College football season rife with crazy upsets
What gives with all the craziness in college football these days? Over the past two weekends, no less than eight ” count ’em, eight! ” top-10 teams have taken it on the chin. That kind of carnage is basically unheard of, but so far in 2007, upsets have been the rule rather than the exception.…
Norman’s Yacht Club! celebrates new CD with show
The Norman indie foursome Yacht Club! will be hosting a CD release party at The Opolis Friday night. With Edmond’s The Neopolitans and OKC band The City Lives opening the show up ” and turntable tunes provided by Dance Robots, Dance! ” the event is sure to provide hours of cool music and dancing. Despite…
Ballerina Dreams – Lauren Thompson
Feiwel and Friends$16.95 Ranging in age from 3 to 7, Nicole, Shekinah, Veronica, Monica and Abbey look like ordinary little girls. With their desire to perform ballet, they seem like ordinary little girls. But they are not; each suffers from a disability that forces things like walkers, wheelchairs and leg braces to be part of…
The Heartbreak Kid
Reviewer’s grade: C Eddie (Ben Stiller) is a lonely sporting goods store owner with commitment issues and bad luck with the fairer sex. Forty and wondering if he’ll ever get married, Eddie takes the plunge with Lila (Malin Akerman), a sweet young thing with a deviated septum and David Bowie underpants, and heads to…
The Entrepreneurial Spirit!
A Japanese clothing manufacturer, Kochou-fuku, announced in August a line of air-conditioned shirts, with two tiny battery-operated fans inside to evaporate perspiration (for the equivalent of about $95). (One drawback: The shirt billows out, suggesting that the wearer is overweight.) Among the recent recipients of Marin County (Calif.) Green Business certificates of environmental awareness was…
The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising
Reviewer’s grade: C “The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising” is a bargain-basement adventure-fantasy that endears itself despite (or maybe because of) its many flaws. It’s derivative, clich
Edmond ‘Indiana Jones’ extra settles suit
It took forever for that currently filming fourth “Indiana Jones” movie to get off the ground, so one can understand why producer George Lucas and director Steven Spielberg were peeved at Edmond native Tyler Nelson. At one point an extra in the film (CFN thinks that’s since gone the way of Greedo shooting second),…
Frontiers of Science
Noted Israeli plastic surgeon Eyal Gur said in August that he expects approval next year for his revolutionary breast-lift procedure (“an internal bra”) in which an actual thin titanium bra-like frame is implanted just under the skin with silicone cups to hold the breasts up. Dr. Gur said the procedure will be quicker (40 minutes…
Not just about breaking boards, karate builds confidence, body
National Karate and Tae Kwon Do in Oklahoma City is celebrating its strong showing in this year’s nationals, which hosted more than a thousand martial arts competitors. The school came home with 13 medals and three national champions, including David Steece. Steece started at National Karate when he was 6. Medals are just a small…
The Jane Austen Book Club
Reviewer’s grade: A- Six people with problems, more or less, create an “all Jane Austen, all the time” club to read, discuss, and learn about life from Aunt Jane’s six novels. Her books were mostly romantic comedies of manners, and so is this smart movie with script and direction by Robin Swicord, based on…
Three stooge move
In September, prominent California cardiologist Maurice Buchbinder had his privileges revoked at Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla after he allegedly roughed up an unruly angioplasty patient during and immediately after the procedure. Buchbinder was so irritated by the patient’s combativeness that he even (according to witnesses interviewed by state medical licensing officials) delivered a…
Reception set for landscape art exhibit in Norman
Whether rain or shine, enjoy the landscape from indoors this month with an exhibit of Patricia Hurst Allen’s artwork entitled “Landscape & Memories.” A variety of Allen’s landscape paintings will adorn the walls of the Norman Arts Council gallery through November. “The memories of people in my life, and my travels, the scenes from the…
Bullying subject of conference at Metro Tech
A conference addressing school bullying aims to tackle taboo topics Thursday at Metro Tech Springlake, providing intervention and prevention tools to:” educators, ” counselors and ” mental health professionals. Statistics suggest a need for this program, according to Randy Tate, chair of the “Stop Hate in the Hallways” event, in a press release. Nationally, he…
Rocketplane president resigns
Another top official with Oklahoma City-based Rocketplane has left the company. Rocketplane president Randy Brinkley resigned and has been replaced by a member of the company’s board of directors, according to a report by Space News, which wrote that Brinkley sent NASA a seven-page letter blaming the space agency for Rocketplane’s financial troubles. …
