Steve Hill named new chief of staff for mayor
The City of Oklahoma City has hired Steve Hill as new chief of staff to Mayor Mick Cornett. Hill, who has more than 20 years’ experience in media relations in political, corporate and agency settings, starts Nov. 4. David Holt, who served as Cornett’s chief of staff since 2006, leaves the position after winning the…
The Doberman Gang / The Daring Dobermans
I can’t believe a film franchise existed that I had never heard of, but that’s “The Doberman Gang” in a pinch. The 1972 independent crime film was successful enough to spawn three sequels. The original and its immediate 1973 follow-up, “The Daring Dobermans,” arrive on DVD in a star-free double feature from the burn-to-order Warner…
Being Human: Season Two
the problem was with “True Blood” this past season? Way too damn many characters “? so many that it was difficult to get into any of the several kajillion ongoing story lines. My allegiance has swung to another monster hit, if only on the other side of the Atlantic: “Being Human.” It’s on BBC, not…
Colin
<iframe marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" style="width: 120px; height: 240px;" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=oklahgazet-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B003W81H7W&fc1=000000&IS2=1 Every penny poured into the zombie film “Colin” appears onscreen. Too bad it only cost $75. Actually, that’s all it needed. Imagination is free, and writer/director/producer/editor/DP/sound designer Marc Price exhibits plenty in his DIY feature debut, which is about a zombie apocalypse. That’s nothing new, except that…
Doghouse
<iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=oklahgazet-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B003Y7F1JQ&fc1=000000&IS2=1 “Shaun of the Dead,” what have ye wrought? A slew of inferior imitations, that’s what — one of the latest of which is the 2009 zom-com “Doghouse.” A bunch of blokes in the UK escape their nagging wives/girlfriends/one-night stands for a guys’ getaway weekend in a faraway village so they can help one…
The Last Day of Summer
“Last Day of Summer” is like no other movie you’ll see all year! That’s not a compliment, because the film is annoying, aggravatingly pointless. DJ Qualls stars (and that should be the first red flag, as he is only effective in supporting roles) as Joe, a miserable Burger Haven employee made to scrub toilets by…
Discount card company partners with Regional Food Bank for fundraiser
Want to be stingy and charitable at the same time? The Dealio Card gives diners the rare opportunity to be both sides of Scrooge at the same time. From now through Dec. 31, a $5 donation will be made to the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma for every $20 Dealio card purchased at select retailers…
Agatha Christie: Poirot: Murder on the Orient Express
<iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=oklahgazet-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B003L80FLC&fc1=000000&IS2=1 Agatha Christie’s novel “Murder On The Orient Express” has been filmed a couple times before —? most famously in Sidney Lumet’s 1974 Oscar winner — but none as emotionally affecting as this recent episode from PBS’ “Poirot” series starring David Suchet as detective Hercule Poirot. The story remains the same: Called back home…
They Came to Rob Las Vegas
When well-executed, few cinematic experiences can be as pleasurable as the heist film. Consider “The Getaway” (the original), “The Italian Job” (the remake) and this year’s “Inception.” Hell, I even harbor a soft spot for the poorly dubbed Italian productions from the 1960s and ’70s. One that stands out is 1972’s “The Master Touch,” which…
The Bionic Woman: Season 1
Until that long-awaited “Six Million Dollar Man” megaset hits streets and shelves later this Thanksgiving, fans will have to make do with “The Bionic Woman: Season 1.” That’s not a problem. For one thing, the 1976 spin-off gets a four-disc set, the first of which is comprised of five “SM$M” episodes on which Jamie Sommers…
House of Mystery Halloween Annual #2
With “House of Mystery Halloween Annual #2” now out, we hope the title makes good on that whole “annual” claim, because here’s one Halloween tradition-in-the-making I can get behind. As a more lighthearted spin-off of Matthew Sturges’ excellent, ongoing Vertigo monthly ” now still going strong at #30, and a revival of DC Comics’ much-loved,…
Oklahoma experiences 4.3 magnitude quake
Yes, you did just feel that. Oklahoma City experienced a magnitude 4.3 earthquake around 9:06 a.m. Oct. 13, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. No damage or injuries have been reported to the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management. Activity was reported in Bryan, Caddo, Canadian, Cleveland, Coal, Comanche, Garvin, Johnston, Muskogee, Oklahoma, Pontotoc, Stephens and…
Comedy icon Bill Cosby is in town on Sunday, not that you’d have a hard time finding him just about everywhere else
Bill Cosby 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. Sunday Civic Center Music Hall 201 N. Walker www.okcciviccenter.org 297-2264 $25-$50 The legendary Bill Cosby has nearly every credit imaginable. There’s books, like the best-selling “Fatherhood” and 2007’s “Come on People!: On the Path from Victims to Victors,” an exploration and commentary on race and culture in America;…
Kids can hone their fine motor skills and learn art fundamentals at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art’s ‘Tiny Tuesdays’
“Tiny Tuesdays” The Oklahoma City Museum of Art 415 Couch 10 a.m. to noon Tuesday $12, adults; $10, seniors and students; free for children under 5. 236-3100, www.okcmoa.com Tuesdays just got more creative and quite a bit smaller. The Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch, presents “Tiny Tuesdays” the third Tuesday of every month.…
Sunni Mercer’s sculptures accompany photos by Erik and Bridget Pipkin for exhibit “The Measure of My Strength”
and Bridget Pipkin, have teamed up to create the mixed-media exhibit “The Measure of my Strength: Lizinga Lemandla Ami,” which opens Saturday at the Individual Artists of Oklahoma Gallery, 706. W Sheridan. “We are very excited to have this exhibit in the gallery, because it’s bringing attention to an issue that really deserves it, but…
The Killing Machine
Confession: I love me some Dolph Lundgren movies. While it was nice seeing him back on the big screen in this summer’s “The Expendables,” I remember a period in the late 1980s and early 1990s when he was a go-to presence for reliable trash that I still enjoy today “? and free of irony “?…
Media check-in apps make an antisocial activity like watching TV a social event
While Facebook’s new Places feature dukes it out with Foursquare, Gowalla and Yelp to corner the market in location-based social media apps, another kind of check-in is catching on quietly among smartphone users. With this one, people don’t populate status updates with where they are, but what films and television programs they’re watching. And don’t…
State Question 752 would add two laypeople to the Judicial Nominating Commission
Want to weigh in on the nomination of judges statewide? If State Question 752 passes on Nov. 2, and you cozy up to the Senate president pro tempore or the speaker of the House of Representatives, you could do just that as a lay member of the Oklahoma Judicial Nominating Commission. As the Oklahoma Constitution…
Carpenter Square Theatre revives its biggest hit, ‘Sordid Lives,’ and hosts playwright Del Shores’ one-man show
Sordid Lives 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, through Nov. 6 Carpenter Square Theatre Bricktown Hotel & Convention Center 2001 E. Reno www.carpentersquare.com 232-6500 $16-$19 Del Shores: My Sordid Life 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 20 Angles Club 2117 N.W. 39th www.carpentersquare.com 232-6500 $30 Over the last three years, one of the most-asked questions of Carpenter Square Theatre has…
Finding common ground
In response to Sara Ferguson’s letter (“Bicyclists vs. everyone else,” Sept. 29, Gazette), I will help explain the sudden increase in “avid” cyclists around Lake Hefner. In the past few years, there have been several deaths of cyclists in the Tulsa and OKC Metro areas due to motor vehicles. These deaths, compounded with a rash…
Stage and screen star Kristin Chenoweth remains an Oklahoman at heart
The Oklahoma City Philharmonic featuring Kristin Chenoweth 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday Civic Center Music Hall 201 N. Walker www.okcphilharmonic.com 297-2264 Sold out Kristin Chenoweth’s triumphs stretch from Hollywood to the Great White Way. She received a Tony Award only two years after debuting on Broadway, and last year snagged an Emmy for the critically lauded but…
Oklahoma’s Emergency Medical Services Authority is top-notch, according to a national accreditation group
Heart attacks, a leading cause of death for men and women worldwide, usually start with acute chest pain radiating to the left side of a person’s neck or side, and can include sweating, nausea, vomiting, shortness of breath and anxiety. If untreated for a long enough time, a heart attack causes death of heart muscle…
Candidates tout credentials and views on State Question 744 to become the new state superintendent of public instruction
With less than a month until the Nov. 2 general election, the remaining three candidates for state superintendent of public instruction haven’t changed the tune of their messages ” for the most part. Since much of the media and public’s attention is focused on State Question 744, it can be easy to forget the next…
It’s Kind of a Funny Story
In the first place, it isn’t. “It’s Kind of a Funny Story,” that is. Most of what is supposed to pass for humor in this picture comes from the patients in a New York City psych ward. Look at the funny old schizophrenic shouting out non sequiturs at inopportune moments. See the two patients get…
Oklahoma native Johnny Elkins returns from California with the roots-rock of The Muddy Reds
The Muddy Reds with Pidgin Band 9 p.m. Thursday The Deli 309 White, Norman www.thedeli.us 329-3534 It wasn’t a drought that sent lifelong Oklahoman Johnny Elkins to California, but he did seek greener pastures. He grew up in Lawton, attended the University of Oklahoma and had been performing around Norman for a few years.…
Hot news
It was an abnormal September for Oklahoma, in case your perspiring pits didn’t tell you that already. According to Gary McManus, associate state climatologist with the Oklahoma Climatological Survey, the average statewide temperature was 74.5 degrees. That’s 2.1 degrees above normal, and the 29th warmest September since 1895. “The warmth during the month was much…
Instead of keeling over, Cleveland’s Keelhaul pulls out of dry docks to motor through more metal sludge
Keelhaul with Russian Circles and Call Me Lightning 9 p.m. Sunday the Conservatory 8911 N. Western www.conservatoryokc.com 607-4805 $10 No matter how unfashionable your music is, if you hang around long enough, you’re likely to see it come into style. Cleveland sludge- and stoner-metal band Keelhaul is a prime example. It toured voraciously in the…
After years of dithering, Indiana singer/songwriter Krista Detor finds her career’s on the right track
Krista Detor 8 p.m. Friday the Blue Door 2805 N. McKinley www.bluedoorokc.com 524-0738 $15 What an odd, strange trip it’s been for singer/songwriter Krista Detor. An artist of growing stature who’s already found a following in Europe, the 41-year-old spent much of her life pursuing everything but her calling. “(Music) sort of felt like a…
Sad sack
A civil lawsuit against a University of Oklahoma football fan accused of grabbing a Texas fan’s junk was dropped Oct. 7, according to KFOR-TV. CFN won’t drop the ball on coverage of the 2007 incident at Henry Hudson’s Pub that made nationwide news. According to The Associated Press, Texas fan Brian Christopher Thomas walked into…
Always unconventional, many of Bruce Goff’s architectural visions have gone unseen … until now
Bruce Goff: A Creative Mind On display through Jan. 2, 2011 Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art 555 Elm, Norman 325-3272 www.ou.edu/fjjma $5 adults, $4 seniors, $3 children Architecture was merely the center of Bruce Goff’s imagination. He was a painter, a musician and, above all, a collector. Like the spire positioned in the middle…
When worlds (almost) collide
A recent, and long overdue, letter (Sara Ferguson, “Bicyclists vs. everyone else,” Sept. 29, Gazette) effectively documented the rudeness, idiocy and presumption of far too many members of “The Bicycle Bozohood.” The writer referenced events occurring near Lake Hefner that apparently gored her personal ox. However, the type of behavior she so aptly described is,…
Fans and bands to raise funds for local blues musician Gary West
Fans and bands are gathering Friday night to raise funds for Gary “Speedy” West, a local musician who fronts blues-rock outfit The Clique. The 7 p.m. concert will be held at the Blues Saloon, 2525 N.W. 10th, where West has led a Sunday-night blues jam for more than 10 years. His friend Tim Stanford said…
Are you trying to kill me?
Here’s a breakdown of a recent lunch break: Leave office. Head toward the Midtown area for sustenance. At N.W. 18th and Classen, narrowly avoid being sideswiped by a driver going 10 miles per hour over the speed limit and not watching where he’s going; his eyes are focused somewhere below his steering wheel. Perhaps he…
What does Mary Fallin’s congressional record mean for Oklahoma if she’s elected governor?
If Mary Fallin takes the podium Nov. 2 as Oklahoma’s governor-elect, she would cement her status as the most successful female politician the state has ever known. It won’t exactly be history in the making for the two-term congresswoman, since it’s a title she already holds, but it will cap a 20-year rise for the…
PR BS
Lots of press releases related to the Sooner State cross our desk. This week, these titles least screamed “Stop the presses!” “”Deputy Chief Cecil Clay out of town” “”Balloons Fly Over Poteau, OK’s Highest Hill (In The U. S.)” “”Michael B. Maloney, II Recognized by Strathmore’s Who’s Who Worldwide Publication” “”Char-Broil Asks Consumers to Share…
Philanthropists wanting more fun and excitement for their fundraising dollars will step off a 30-story building
Over the Edge for Special Olympics Oklahoma Thursday SandRidge Energy building 123 Robert S. Kerr specialolympicsoklahoma.org Bake sales don’t have much sizzle. 5K runs aren’t exactly extreme. Golf tournaments rarely qualify as death-defying. But Special Olympics Oklahoma organizers believe thrill-seeking philanthropists should be able to feed their adrenaline jones while doing good work for the…
A dynamic cast and a great band make Sooner Theatre’s ‘The Goodbye Girl’
The Goodbye Girl 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday Sooner Theatre 101 E. Main, Norman www.soonertheatre.org 321-9600 $20-$25 Norman’s Sooner Theatre has made a strong start to its season with a production of “The Goodbye Girl.” Adapted from the 1977 Neil Simon film of the same name, with a score by Marvin Hamlisch, the lighthearted…
In your Face
You talk, we listen! Here’s what readers said on some of last week’s Oklahoma Gazette stories, via unedited comments left on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/okgazette: On State Question 755, on barring Islamic Sharia law from courts: “”Asinine xenophobic nonsense appealing to the most base elements of human nature.” “Michael Speck “”do we not have…
Loving government
Kurt Hochenauer’s editorial (Oct. 6, Oklahoma Gazette) asked “What’s the point?” of State Questions 751, 755 and 756 that will appear on our ballots in the election Tuesday, Nov. 2. (Question 751 would make English the “official language” in Oklahoma, 755 would prohibit Oklahoma courts from following “Sharia Law” and 756 would prohibit “making a…
Red
“Red” coasts by on a lunkheaded charm that earns goodwill, even for an action-comedy that skimps on both serious thrills and big laughs. Still, its cast of old pros “? including Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich and a machine gun-toting Helen Mirren “? is having such a fun time playing dress-up and waving weapons…
The only disappointment with CityRep’s ‘August: Osage County’ was its limited appearance
Oklahoma City Repertory Theatre opened its season last week with a brief run of “August: Osage County” by Tulsa-born, Durant-reared Tracy Letts. If you were lucky enough to get a ticket, you really saw something. This work is to actors what a Paganini violin concerto is to violinists: If you have the chops to hack…
Arts Council of Oklahoma City’s ‘Out of the Box’ series stages concerts on the streets of Bricktown
Out of the Box 5-7 p.m. Friday, ongoing Bricktown Street corners in downtown Oklahoma City are more than slabs of concrete and stoplights “? they’re potential stages. “Out of the Box” is a program organized the Arts Council of Oklahoma City that includes free outdoor performances throughout Bricktown and downtown, by more than 50 individuals…
Text crimes
Oklahoma is not serious about the education of youth. The Legislature, Chamber of Commerce and the business community all endorse Oklahoma’s child labor laws, which allow 14 year olds to work up to 30 hours per week. Thirty hours is considered full-time by our labor laws. Also, 16 year olds can work any shift up…
The Oklahoma City Jazz Orchestra counts off its second season
The Oklahoma City Jazz Orchestra The Petroleum Club, 100 N. Broadway 7 p.m. Tuesday $20 adults, $5 for students The Oklahoma City Jazz Orchestra kicks off its second season Tuesday with a concert high above the city skyline. The 7 p.m. show at the Petroleum Club, 100 N. Broadway, will feature a diverse lineup of…
Mail call
From KFOR-TV comes this report of envelope thievery, and it curiously involves sportscaster Van Shea Iven. “I can hear when the mailman comes by every day,” Iven told KFOR. “Every day when he comes by, I’ll come out immediately and get my mail.” Erm “¦ we love to get mail, too, Mr. Iven, but we’re…
Reader wishes bicyclist would obey signs
I just wanted to respond to Ben Anderson’s letter (“Bicycle races are coming your way,” Oct. 6, Gazette) about pedestrians using the bike trail. I wish that the bicyclist would obey the traffic signs. Entering Stars & Stripes Park, there is a stop sign for the path, and I don’t know how many times I…
Secretariat
A “sure thing” in horse racing might be great for gamblers, but not so much for moviegoers. “Secretariat,” a Disney flick about the thoroughbred that won the Triple Crown in 1973, is saddled with the challenge of dramatizing a sports story in which the ending is a matter of history. The filmmakers try wringing suspense…
Can’t stop the rock
Chesapeake Energy has tapped into a different kind of rock formation. The Oklahoma City company’s band, Shaleplay, was awarded the highest honor among boardroom-approved musical groups. On Oct. 2, the band took home first place in the 10th annual Fortune Battle of the Corporate Bands, according to press releases from Chesapeake and the National Association…
Life’s a drag for a local jewelry designer
This week, jewelry creations by Sarah Lewis will be seen by people all over the country at the Miss Gay America pageant in Ohio. Next year, her creations could be seen by people all over the world adorning the gown of Oklahoma’s entry to the Miss America pageant. Lewis, owner of Sarah Lewis Designs, painstakingly…
Forbidden Lie$
mp;o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B003VSM4QQ&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr” style=”width: 120px; height: 240px;” marginwidth=”0″ marginheight=”0″> From Janet Cooke to Jayson Blair and James Frey, we’ve learned time and time again that just because it’s in print doesn’t make it true. To my knowledge, this lesson has never been depicted as fascinating as in “Forbidden Lie$,” a 2007 documentary just now making its way…
The Private Eyes
udget flick of the era. The Blu-ray includes a commentary with Conway and director Lang Elliott, a photo gallery and the trailer, but any deleted scenes from previous editions are mysteriously missing. “?Rob Collins
