Fire department gets ‘cost-of-living’ adjustment
The wage hike averaged 2.6 percent across the board depending on a firefighter’s rank, said Phil Sipe, president of International Association of Fire Fighters Local 157 in OKC. “This was basically a cost-of-living adjustment,” he said. “I think the new contract is reasonable. The city is happy with it and we’re happy with it. As…
Resolution
Resembling Wolfman Jack as a hobo, Chris refuses. With the help of a taser and handcuffs that attach to a pipe running along the exposed wall, Michael puts Chris on an involuntary, seven-day detox. As his friend experiences withdrawal, Michael comes across some tweakers and members of a religious fringe group, but these weird people…
All Hallows’ Eve / Chilling Visions: 5 Senses of Fear
Like many a great ‘ween tale, the dirt-cheap All Hallows’ Eve opens with a babysitter and her young charges, one of whom got a little something extra dropped into his sack of candy: an unlabeled VHS tape. Because the household still has a VHS player, the sitter (Katie Maguire) is able to view the cassette’s…
LETTERS
“Many of the products I sell are price-locked in an agreement between retailers and the manufacturers, so no authorized re-seller can offer these products any cheaper than anyone else.” The Minimum Advertised Pricing laws only allow a manufacturer to control the advertised price. You can sell the item for any amount that you want to.…
LETTERS
Your proposed solution to the “bad guy” problem is to a) deceptively rename it a “gun problem” and b) punish the “good guys” with additional gun-control legislation — remember, genius, that only the “good guys” will be affected by your confiscation efforts since the “good guys” are the ones who actually obey laws. Or is…
OKG7 plates of pasta
Avanti Bar & Grill13509 Highland Park Blvd.avantibarandgrill.com254-5200It’s an upscale stop just outside the chaos that is Quail Springs Mall. If carbs are on the menu for the evening, Avanti offers Milanese chicken with artichoke hearts and olives over linguine, marinara and herbed ricotta and Parmesan. A bit lighter is the lemoncello artichoke chicken, a penne…
Blinded with science
Kyle Van Osdol Artists are, by nature, visionaries. They interpret the world around them in their unique way, allowing us a different perspective on things commonplace and extraordinary. The new exhibit at Science Museum Oklahoma’s Satellite Galleries is what happens when the newest, shiniest technology is put in the hands of those who make art.…
13 MORE MUST-SCREAM SIGHTS
With so many wonderful ways to get up to mischief, what’s a busy, spooky fiend to do? Although talented, not even they can accomplish the task of being in more than one place at once. With so many choices, we’ve done some of the legwork for you. Be you a wee hellion, a family of…
PARADE JUDGES
MARY BETH BABCOCKMary Beth Babcock is a Bartlesville native and holds a bachelor’s degree in retail merchandising from OSU. She was Oklahoma Today’s 2011 Oklahoman of the Year. She opened Dwelling Spaces in Tulsa’s Blue Dome District in 2006 and opened her second location in Wayne Coyne’s Womb Gallery in November 2012. Dwelling Spaces is…
LETTERS
They are angry that Barack Obama was elected, twice. They are angry that the Affordable Care Act passed Congress, was signed by the president, was affirmed by the Supreme Court and is being implemented. And they are angry that the American people insist that our government support programs extending hope and opportunity to low-income or…
LIFE
Continuing its 30th Anniversary Season, Carpenter Square Theatre presents Lobby Hero, a dramedy by Kenneth Lonergan that demonstrates how good intentions can be undermined by conscious desires. The production was nominated for three Outer Critics Circle Awards, including Outstanding Off-Broadway Play, the Drama Desk Award and the Olivier Award. Performances are at 8 p.m. Friday…
Breaking ‘Glass’
In the series debut, Alice in Zombieland, Ali was forced to replace the world she thought she knew with one much more extraordinary and deadly. Just when you thought Wonderland couldn’t get any weirder, the zombies are back. In September, Ali returned in Through the Zombie Glass, the next installment in the White Rabbit Chronicles.…
ANNOUNCERS
JEFF GEORGE Jeff George is the Storm Watch chief meteorologist for FOX 25. George recently developed an educational program for local Oklahoma schools called Future Forecasters. His weather team makes soaking up the science of meteorology and breaking down weather safety a blast. Watch George 5-10 p.m. weekdays on FOX 25’s Morning News. WENDY SUARES…
Local eats
Farmers market salad at Local BY: Mark Hancock There are many restaurants in the metro area with a farm-to-fork emphasis, but Local in Norman has taken it to the next level with an aim to create a menu solely based on seasonally available, homegrown produce and meat. Don’t be fooled by its strip mall location;…
Congrats, wanda (belated)
We’re giddy for Jackson and OKCPS for immortalizing such a prodigious musical figure. But really, you’re just now inducting Wanda freaking Jackson, the Queen of Rockabilly? What took so long? Jackson graduated from Capitol Hill High School in 1955 (sorry, Wanda; we have to give the date) and signed to Capitol Records a year later.…
PBS offers a new perspective on Orson Welles’ War of the Worlds
bY Dean Robbins As an Orson Welles fanatic, I thought I knew everything about his infamous radio adaptation of War of the Worlds from 1938. The 23-year-old genius crafted the program as if Martians had actually invaded the U.S., with news bulletins seeming to interrupt regularly scheduled programming. Listeners believed the invasion was real, and…
It’s a bird, it’s a ‘swinging’ UFO …
We’re not sure if it was an epic party or what, but the craft (literally) hung around all night, apparently, just, you know, blinking its colored lights “and swinging back and forth.” Might it have been hanging from an extra-long cosmic string, like in an Ed Wood movie? Even aliens couldn’t find anything else fun…
DUI offenders keep licenses
According to state law, “a sworn report from a law enforcement officer that the officer had reasonable grounds to believe the arrested person” was driving under the influence must accompany bloodalcohol content reports in arrest files. Unfortunately, many documents currently in use don’t meet the standards of the law and cannot be adequately used in…
Treats, no tricks
Haunt the Zoo While trick-or-treating is still a popular mad dash for candy, many families now opt out of the dark city porch crawl one night a year and instead participate in the season all month long. Fortunately, the metro has plenty of options for spooky fun both day and night, with candy and without…
Piece officers? Ewwww. No.
According to a report by Oklahoma Watch, 18 of the 66 Oklahoma peace officers who had certifications revoked or suspended were reprimanded or flat-out surrendered their certification from 2010 to 2012 after they were convicted of or pleaded guilty to sex crimes. That includes rape, indecent exposure, indecent liberties with children — you know, your…
The n-word and politics
Trustee Gregg Atkinson reportedly said, “What is this town coming to today? We got a n—— mayor, n—— chief of police,” reported Fox 25. Doesn’t Atkinson know that cafes are where the daily news starts and stops, where rumors and drama flourish? In this case, it’s also where hate flourished. Residents of Luther, northeast of…
Pervy lawyer, bondsman busted
According to newsok.com, Oklahoma City attorney Michael Dean Billings — accompanied by Ada bail bondsman Robert Pierce on his most recent trip — engaged in illicit behavior in Iquitos, a city located smack in the middle of the Peruvian rain forest. We don’t mean they drunkenly puked in a cabana or woke up with a…
I wanna lock you up
A February warrant is outstanding regarding a probation violation from an October 2011 domestic assault case, reported NewsOK.com. A probable cause affidavit filed in February 2012 states Abrams has “12 prior domestic cases dating back to 2005.” NewsOK also reported he’s in violation of his probation for not paying court fees or staying in contact…
Slaid, Slaid songs
Roots rocker Slaid Cleaves’ influences are all of the usual suspects expected from someone of his songwriting ilk: Jimmie Rodgers, Johnny Cash and Bruce Springsteen. But it was a youthful listen to one of his father’s Hank Williams albums that set Cleaves on his songwriting path. “I listened to those lonesome, sad songs, and it…
‘Medea’’s house
Medea, presented by the Oklahoma City Theatre Company at CitySpace, is a perfect demonstration that no matter how much things change, they stay the same. The play is a box-office smash from 431 B.C. and one of the most famous Greek myths, written by Euripides. Medea’s plight could be ripped, as they say, from today’s…
LIFE
Featured Selections from Prix de West, selections from the museum’s most prestigious collection. National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd St., 478-2250, nationalcowboymuseum.org. Fuego Friday, this year’s annual event will feature ceramic work and kiln firing techniques as a departure from the annual iron pour, 7-10 p.m., Oct. 25. OU Ceramics Facility, 401…
SCARY DVD REVIEWS
Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th (2013) How appropriate a history of the Friday the 13th franchise fits into a snug 13 chapters on Blu-ray and DVD. It makes me wonder if its running time of 6.66 hours also is intentional. Crystal Lake Memories runs a punishing 400 minutes, which signals…
Cafe I can
Cafe Icon black lava stone BY: Shannon Cornman The friendly husband-and-wife team’s eatery is just south of the University of Central Oklahoma campus and aims to provide an interactive dining experience with a heavy emphasis on fusion of international cultures. One of the inspirations comes from a large black lava rock that has been heated…
Preach it
Photo by Mark Hancock Meyers is a well-known pastor and best-selling writer, as well as a commentator for National Public Radio and Oklahoma Gazette. Meyers also is a distinguished professor of social justice at Oklahoma City University. The Lyman Beecher Lectures series has been an annual tradition since 1871 and is held in conjunction with…
LIST OF ENTRIES
1. Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Department 2. OKC Barons 3. A Mirage Dance Company 4. Arts Council of Oklahoma City 5. Starlite Salon 6. Crossfit 405 7. Oklahoma Atheists 8. Red Dirt Jeeps 9. Cultrix 10. Central Oklahoma Humane Society 11. Rock ‘n’ Roll Camp for Girls OKC 12. Jewel Box Theatre/Forever After Parties 13. Graham’s…
Hogan’s Fable
Hogan, a 2008 music composition graduate of Oklahoma City University, has presented several of his short films in deadCENTER Film Festival and has also worked on television projects. But he wanted The Fable of Shannon Cable to serve as his feature film debut because it marries unlikely genres, includes a music video, sports his “awkward…
Queerbait
Of all things, the VHS tape is in the midst of a nostalgic resurgence. Not only does the dead medium of the 1980s enjoy having a horror-anthology franchise named after it, but no fewer than three new documentaries celebrate its heyday, and a few indie labels have issued limited-edition releases on bulky cassettes rather than…
Deportation is too steep a penalty
This issue that weighs heavily on my mind and heart is that of immigration reform. As Christians, we are called into relationship. We are called into a relationship of love. This calling is summarized in the two great Commandments that we hear about in the Law and the Prophets: We are called to love God…
LIFE FOOD & DRINK
LIFE FOOD & DRINK It’s the season for trick-or-treating, holiday parties and countless candy bowls filled with sugary treats. Petra Lusche, nutritionist and food coach, presents a healthy option in the midst of the candy rush for kiddos 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Saturday. Fit Kid Chefs is a mommy/daddy and me class for kids 6-18. Its…
FOOD
Mid-Week Market, fresh, delectable local fruits, vegetables and other goods, 4-8 p.m., Oct. 23, 30. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno, 445-7080, myriadgardens.org. WED, WED Farmers Market District Fall Festival, live entertainment with a kids area and vendor booths, 11 a.m.-6 p.m., Oct. 27. Farmers Public Market, 311 S. Klein, 232-6506, okcfarmersmarket.com. SUN Paint N’…
NEWS OF THE WEIRD
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal;mso-outline-level:1″><span style=" Times New Roman”,”serif”;mso-fareast-Times New Roman”; mso-font-kerning:18.0pt;mso-fareast-language:ES-BO”> The bar is always open A 61-year-old Texas man admitted to a hospital not long ago appearing to be falling-down-drunk, even though denying having had even a single drink, was discovered to be unintentionally manufacturing beer in his stomach. With “auto-brewery syndrome,” stomach-based yeast…
Popularity contest
Although voters won’t head to the polls for another four months (the primary is March 4), mayoral candidate and Ward 2 Councilman Ed Shadid received unanimous backing from the OKC police and fire unions. P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } None of Oklahoma City’s neighborhood associations have publicly endorsed Mayor Mick Cornett in his re-election bid.…
Tear it up
The work centers on a new portion of Project 180 streetscape projects that will begin Oct. 24 and focus on a two-block area, as opposed to numerous street closings and detours that occurred with the initial phase in 2010 and 2011. Specifically, crews will begin work on Dean A. McGee Avenue extending from Robinson to…
Standing up for hope
Rickey and Joella Bell Photo by Mark Hancock Bell and his wife, Joella, often find themselves living on the streets of Oklahoma City, but they don’t ask for pity. The 11-year vet knows the mistakes he has made and is working to right his wrongs. “We all put ourselves in these positions, and we have…
Brian Haas / Matt Chamberlain — Frames
That an artist would become enamored with divination after moving to the sprawling, mountain-laden countryside on the outskirts of Santa Fe, N.M., makes perfect sense. So, too, does Frames. While not improvised, per se, the album does toe the line between boundlessness and structure. A methodically composed exercise through the tempered scale, Frames clocks in…
East meets West
Seattle’s Rose Windows cram as much into the music as they do players on stage. The seven-piece psychedelic rock outfit has concocted a wholly unique swirl of American classic rock, British prog and psychedelia with ready dabbles into Persian, Indian and Eastern European sounds, making for a worldly musical experience like few others that came…
Achy, twerky heart
Spirit Halloween BY: Mark Hancock Whether you are team #BANGERZ or team “Jesus, take her wheel,” you know who I’m referencing — the now-infamous Miley Cyrus. Cyrus stomped around during a four-minute VMA performance filled with lots of suggestive booty droppin’, awkward winking and stripping. Post twerking it out, the Internet went wild with screen-grabs…
WHY ATTEND THE PARADE?
Maybe the location of the ghoul-fest is what draws you in. How many times a year does the city shut down entire blocks for a party? Last year more than 60,000 people were in attendance, so arriving before the droves of monsters, zombies and witches is an excellent plan. Come out and start a tradition…
Pacific Rim
I realize this unpopular stance puts me at odds with fervid fanboys nationwide who all but wet their pants over the film this summer, but that’s OK — it’s hardly the first time. I, too, would have loved this movie at the age of 8 … unfortunately, a few decades have passed. A mere seven…
Hunkered down
Kristi Conatzer said the governor has created an unneeded public debate over keeping children safe based on comments she made opposing an initiative petition. Conatzer’s daughter, Emily, was one of the seven children who died at Plaza Towers Elementary School. “There shouldn’t be an argument over this,” she said. “We lost something on May 20…
