Jack Kirby’s Fourth World Omnibus: Vol. 1 – Jack Kirby
DC Comics For those of us too young to experience what Jack Kirby did after leaving Marvel Comics “? where he created The Fantastic Four, among others “? for rival DC, the hardcover “Fourth World Omnibus” fills in the blanks with mind-boggling style. Put simply, this is one of the craziest mainstream comics you’ll ever…
Downtown Oklahoma City Inc. wins national awards
The International Downtown Association awarded Downtown Oklahoma City Inc. a Special Achievement Award in Public Spaces Sept. 17 at their annual conference in New York City. Downtown Oklahoma City Inc. received the award for the Downtown tunnel system, The Underground, at the IDA 53rd Annual Conference & World Congress. IDA also recognized former…
Documents reveal state GOP work billed to county party
The Oklahoma County Republican Party, under investigation for questionable 2004 campaign contributions, was billed thousands of dollars for candidates in districts well outside of Oklahoma County during that election cycle. In documents obtained by Oklahoma Gazette, various political and survey consulting firms conducted work for nine Republican state House candidates in the fall of 2004,…
The Classic Middle Name (All New!)
Arrested recently for murder and awaiting trial: Earl Wayne Reynolds (Spotsylvania County, Va., August); Donald Wayne Booth (Austin, Texas, August); Dustin Wayne Nall (Arlington, Texas, August); Christopher Wayne Hudson (Melbourne, Australia, June); Earl Wayne Flowers (Taylorsville, N.C., April); Randall Wayne Mays (Payne Springs, Texas, May). Suspected by police of murder but still on the loose…
Brand-New Fetishes
Verle Dills, 60, was arrested in Sioux Falls, S.D., in July after police found numerous homemade videos of Dills having sex in public with “traffic signs.” And Jeff Doland of Uniontown, Ohio, was arrested in July, caught in an Internet sting after he flew to Miami thinking he had arranged to pay a “mother” to…
Least Competent Criminals
Jazmine Roberts, 19, was apprehended by a Neiman Marcus security guard in White Plains, N.Y., in August and held for police after she allegedly walked out of the store with a $250 pair of jeans and raged against the guard. According to a police report, Roberts was under the impression that once she walked out…
Eastern Promises
> In many respects, this is an old-fashioned crime drama, but Cronenberg imbues it with a violent, brooding intensity that eludes most directors. R “?Phil BacharachView trailer
The Continuing Crisis
Just before Patricia Nilsen committed suicide last year, she cashed out her estate and left the money (about $300,000 in CDs) to famous 1960s singer Connie Francis, a move that was, said Nilsen’s relatives, an abrupt departure from her previous plans. The relatives accuse Francis of manipulating Nilsen, but Francis said she hardly ever spoke…
Cowboy & Octopus – Jon Scieszka & Lane Smith
Viking “Cowboy & Octopus” is a cool title. The only thing that could make it cooler is replacing that ampersand with a “vs.” But you know what? This kids’ book itself is cool, too. Anyone familiar with the duo’s “The Stinky Cheese Man” (or Smith’s solo “The Happy Hocky Family”) knows what to expect: short,…
Resident Evil: Extinction
Revewier’s grade: D+ Throughout director Russell Mulcahy’s inexplicable three-decades-strong film career, there’s only one entry on his filmography worth seeing “¦ and it’s certainly not “Resident Evil: Extinction.” (For the record, it’s the one with the self-indulgent title of “Russell Mulchay’s Tale of the Mummy.”) I loved Paul W.S. Anderson’ s first “Resident…
District B13
2006 Who needs bleeding-edge special effects when I keep seeing films that blow my mind without the aid of a single computer, wire rig or stunt person? Relying on the dexterous, building-bounding art of parkour, this French import moves with blinding speed and narrative economy to deliver a feather-light action flick that nevertheless hits harder…
Tuskegee Airman honored
Members of the Tuskegee Airmen were on hand as the Oklahoma History Center honored an Oklahoma member of the famed air fighters. A life-size statue of Air Force Maj. Charles B. Hall is being unveiled at the center, 2401 N. Laird. Hall was the first Tuskegee Airman to shoot down an enemy plane in…
United 93
2006 A testament to the bruising power of cinema, “United 93″ takes viewers back to the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, and its storm of terror, confusion and panic that ensued. Writer”?director Paul Greengrass has created a work as brilliant as it is visceral “? and one that the faint”?of”?heart might want to bypass.…
Gojira/Godzilla
1954/1956/2006 Finally, here comes Ishir
Mr. Woodcock
e” /> Never was the Oedipal more complex, and director Craig Gillespie could have taken Thornton and run to daylight with this material. Billy Wilder would have. Even Ben Stiller could have mined the mean-spiritedness in a plot like this, but Gillespie wastes Thornton’s gift for cinematic hatefulness. Thornton gets some laughs out of…
Pinback set to storm Bricktown from ‘The O.C.’
Although many might recognize the California-based indie-rock band Pinback because of a song they did for Fox network’s teen television drama “The O.C,” the themes the band explores in other tunes might take more than a prime-time slot to fully understand. Pinback co-founder Rob Crow said being an endorsement for a large corporate entity isn’t…
Weighty works of Botero comes to Oklahoma City Museum of Art
The figures in Fernando Botero’s sculptures and paintings are fat. In Botero’s world, big is absolutely beautiful and it’s coming to the Oklahoma City Museum of Art on Saturday with the unveiling of “The Baroque World of Fernando Botero.” The traveling exhibit of nearly 100 pieces will run through Dec. 2 as it sheds light…
Dragon Wars: D-War
/Imported/Movie%20review%20thumbnails/dragonwars.jpg” width=150 align=right vspace=10 border=0>Reviewer’s grade: B It’s nice to see a monster-movie director who has his priorities straight: A kooky, nonsensical plot; a cute girl and her hero; giant snakes; fire-breathing pterodactyls; and an evil army working like they’re on commission to destroy Los Angeles. Director Hyung-rae Shim frames his monster madness with…
Somerset West – The New Ocean Sound EP
KRL Records These days, it’s hard for rock bands to resist the urge to make sure everything is over-the-top and extreme in one way or another. To set themselves apart from the usual indie-rock flair, most current acts come in two varieties: those that boast the loudest, heaviest or fastest music out there, or…
Bethany martial arts academy boasts two world jujitsu champs
On Aug. 28, two Oklahomans fought for a piece of history in Brazilian jujitsu’s biggest tournament, the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship in Long Beach, Calif. Rafael Lovato Jr. was trying to become only the second non-Brazilian in history to win a championship as a black belt. He wasn’t alone, either: His training partner, Norman’s Justin Rader,…
Eat My Dust: Supercharged Edition
1976/2007 One of skinflint producer Roger Corman’s most profitable pictures, “Eat My Dust” might be forgotten today, if not for its fresh-faced star, former Okie/Opie Ron Howard, then enjoying “Happy Days” success. Howard plays Hoover Niebold, a small-town, high-school gearhead with two things on his mind: fast cars and a fast girl named…
Photographer captures childhood innocence in Paseo exhibit
Oklahoma City photographer E. Marissa Lane captured the innocence, beauty and magic of Oklahoma City children and created a collage that will be on display all month at Sauced, 2912 Paseo. Lane took most of the photographs during Paseo’s annual Midsummer Fairie Ball, but other images capture the children around her home and church. She’s…
The Brave One
Reviewer’s grade: D In “The Brave One,” director Neil Jordan nominates Erica Bain (Jodie Foster) to the Women’s Revenge Film Hall of Fame, where The Bride (Uma Thurman in Quentin Tarantino’s “Kill Bill”), Alex Forrest (Glenn Close in Adrian Lyne’s “Fatal Attraction”), Bridget Gregory/Wendy Kroy (Linda Fiorentino in John Dahl’s “The Last Seduction”) and…
Recurring Themes
Occasionally, motorists who are involved in collisions (especially inebriated ones) continue to drive on, claiming not to have realized for a while that their victim is dead and stuck in the car’s windshield. In July in Green Bay, Wis., Steve Warrichaiet, 50, was arrested on several charges in the injuring of one pedestrian (found on…
Horticultural therapy program offers hope to disabled children
The Children’s Center in Bethany recently established a horticulture therapy program, which isn’t about playing in the dirt, but healing the young patients’ bodies and minds. “It helps them see that, even though they have a disability, and things are going wrong, they can still do something functional, something that can give back to the…
The Brunettes use tour as a mission: Find Wayne Coyne
Hailing from New Zealand, The Brunettes are a duo led by Jonathan Bree and Heather Mansfield, neither of whom are tinny, disposable pop-rockers or shoe-gazing intellectuals. Their music is upbeat, but it is also complex, with swelling instrumentation and harmonies as thickly layered as Texas’ The Polyphonic Spree. They also could be smirking at their…
R.L. Stine’s Haunting Hour: Don’t Think About It
2007 Your kids not ready to make the leap to “Hostel II” or “Saw III”? They can make do this Halloween season with “R.L. Stine’s Haunting Hour: Don’t Think About It,” a feature-length, family-friendly fright flick premiering on DVD. “Hannah Montana” co-star Emily Osment headlines the movie as Cassie, who visits a Halloween…
Art and soul
Francis Schaeffer is well-known for his book and video series “How Should We Then Live,” in which he describes the ebb and flow of culture over the centuries. And, 30 years later, it is still a profound work of literature. Some would argue that Schaeffer was prophetic in his presuppositional theological treatise, pointing to the…
State treasurer draws fire for involvement in coal plant ad
Oklahoma State Treasurer Scott Meacham said he studied the coal vs. gas argument for several months after he first heard about Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co.’s proposal to build a massive coal-fired plant near Red Rock. Finally, he gave Chesapeake Energy Corp. a call. “I “¦ said, ‘I think you guys are on the right…
Quartet of artists collaborate for one-painting-a-day project
Producing 100 paintings in 100 days is a daunting task, no matter how prolific an artist might be. So a quartet of painters has taken up the challenge, divvying up the labor to produce 25 apiece over a 100-day span. “All of our lives are very full, and we’re all artists,” Cynthia Wolf said. “I…
Pollard’s ‘Elephant Man’ makes for elegant drama
We are drawn to stories about scary creatures that turn out to be beautiful inside. But, rarely does such a tale arise from real life. “The Elephant Man” does. John Merrick was born in 19th-century England with a hereditary deformity so disfiguring he was dubbed “elephant man.” Abandoned by his parents as a child, his…
Here’s the dish
Brian Blair, now a county commissioner in Tampa, Fla., asserted in a 2002 lawsuit that he had been forced into retirement from his previous career as a professional wrestler after he tripped over a tray of dishes and hurt himself at a Carrabba’s restaurant. Blair announced in August 2007 that a settlement had been reached…
Theater of the absurd
With all due respect to Gen. David Petraeus, the American people should not be fooled by one more staged event that requires us to believe the unbelievable. It is no accident that the testimony of Petraeus and Ryan Crocker, the American ambassador to Iraq, coincided with the sixth anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001. Once more,…
The Good German
consistently innovative as Steven Soderbergh (“Traffic,” “Erin Brockovich,” “Solaris”). Allow the guy the occasional “Ocean’s” franchise trifle; at least half the time, the director is exploring the more interesting recesses of cinema. In “The Good German,” Soderbergh sets out to disprove the notion that they don’t make ’em like they used to. Set in…
Legendary soul singer Al Green still preaching good music
The Rev. Al Green hasn’t lost his reputation for putting on a stellar show. Looking toward Friday’s concert at Riverwind Casino in Norman, he recounted his last visit to Oklahoma. “Well, I did Tulsa, Okla., last year. And the crowd is downright rowdy,” he said. “You know how Oklahoma is: They like to get out…
Peace day to be celebrated at Gold Dome
Make pinwheels, not war, and celebrate the United Nations’ International Day of Peace from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Friday with students, teachers, Oklahoma leaders and other community members from across the city. A giant peace dove puppet will welcome event-goers to the Gold Dome Multicultural Society at N.W. 23rd Street and N. Classen Boulevard, where…
Switzer teams up with Ronald McDonald House to auction red shoes
The Ronald McDonald House Charities of Oklahoma City will host its fifth annual “Red Shoe Gala” Friday, Oct. 12, at the newly renovated Skirvin Hilton Hotel. Honorary co-chairs of the event, Becky and Barry Switzer (pictured) and Ronald McDonald himself, will be present to celebrate the charity’s primary fund-raiser. One special community member will receive the “Red Shoe…
Potential lawsuit gives Rocketplane another headache
Rocketplane, the aerospace company that claimed it would bring jobs and millions of dollars to Oklahoma, is facing more challenges. The past few weeks have brought a string of bad news for Rocketplane, beginning with Rocketplane Kistler, an orbital subsidiary of the Oklahoma City-based company, was informed its multimillion-dollar contract with NASA is in jeopardy…
Not everyone cheering Hinder’s return to OKC
They have sold millions of albums worldwide and have played to huge crowds all over the United States and overseas. So why do so many Oklahomans shudder when they hear the name Hinder? An Internet search of the band’s name pulls up scores of rants and negative reviews of everything the band does. All Music…
Oklahoma football fan faces day in court
Whatever happened to that Oklahoma football fan accused of tearing the scrotum of the guy wearing a Longhorns shirt? The Associated Press reports Allen Michael Beckett, a 53-year-old Sooner fan, will appear in court Oct. 4 ” only days before the Red River Rivalry between the Sooners and the Longhorns. Beckett, a federal auditor,…
At-risk youth lured away from crime by art
Youth Cornerstone’s “After School Cool” program targets youth from neighborhoods at risk for juvenile crime, substance abuse, gangs and teen pregnancy, and engages them in art projects all over the metro area. “We are not an art-for-art’s-sake program,” said Paul Medina, director of ASC. “We use the arts as a vehicle to develop rapport and…
Urban forestry important to Oklahoma’s vitality
You might have heard of tree huggers, but urban forester Mark Bays embraces them in more ways than one. Bays has been an arborist, forester and tree care provider for more than 15 years. “I hug a lot of trees,” admitted Bays, state urban forestry coordinator for the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry.…
U.S. Air Force runs off British men who like to take pictures of airplanes at Vance AFB
The U.S. Air Force wants a bit of a word with two British chaps, who ” how do the Americans say it? ” got the hell out of Dodge after security caught them with a telephoto lens looking at military aircraft near Enid’s Vance Air Force Base. As reported in The Enid News &…
Pather Panchali
The award-winning Indian film “Pather Panchali” is playing Thursday night at the Fred Jones Jr. Art Museum on the University of Oklahoma campus in Norman. Directed and co-written by legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray in 1955, the film, follows the life and struggle of a young boy born to a poor family in a village in…
Military anthrax vaccine leaves OKC woman impaired
After serving as chief of administrative and environmental law at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona, Capt. Kelli Donley was sent to Korea in 2000. Right before her deployment, she received her first anthrax vaccination. Her second shot came immediately after she arrived in Korea, and her third, a couple weeks later. Then, the vaccine…
OKC band Freshsunday enjoying wave of success
Lounging at Starbucks while enjoying a warm coffee and a cheesecake-topped pumpkin muffin, Matt Kendrick looks like the average 24-year-old guy, right down to his eBay-purchased Billy Joel T-shirt and 5 o’clock shadow. Onlookers would never know these four friends comprise a band that has more than 30,000 MySpace users who call themselves Freshsunday fans.…
Gazette Halloween parade seeking entrants
The first annual Ghouls Gone Wild parade, sponsored by Oklahoma Gazette, is the first of its kind in Oklahoma. Flaming Lips front man Wayne Coyne will serve as grand marshal, marching in his plastic bubble from the corner of N.W. Eighth Street and N. Broadway Avenue into Bricktown Saturday, Oct. 27. Gazette Marketing Director Jill…
Oklahoma Lottery seeks photogenic pups for game pieces
For the last few days of September, Okies can vie to get man’s best scratchers on, well, lottery “scratchers.” The Oklahoma Lottery is seeking the state’s most “photogenic” pooches to feature on a “Lucky Dog Scratcher” game piece hitting streets in December. Residents can submit a photo of their dog to www.lottery.ok.gov through Sept.…
Can’t Possibly Be True
In July, the Houston School District, citing student privacy laws, declined to release last season’s Bellaire High School baseball statistics (such as batting averages), even though requested by a player’s parent. The Perth, Australia, construction materials company GMA Garnet recently closed a deal to sell sand to Saudi Arabia, and shipments began in June. (Actually,…
Slugger’s path from Stillwater to Colorado no longer rocky
During the 2003 season with the Tulsa Drillers, Matt Holliday found himself struggling against Double-A pitching. The usual pop in his bat was missing, and over one span of 52 games, he managed to hit but one home run. By all accounts, it looked like the Stillwater product was destined to spend a few more…
Unclear on the Concept
The Federal Communications Commission famously imposed heavy fines for “indecency” against CBS for the brief, inadvertent glimpse it offered of Janet Jackson’s right breast during the 2004 Super Bowl. The same “indecency”-concerned agency, however, issued a routine official notice in July listing call letters of TV stations it had recently approved, including, for a proposed…
Wheel of Darkness’ author Douglas Preston visits Norman
A funny thing happened on Douglas Preston’s way to his Oklahoma City book signing last summer: He missed his flight. In July 2006, the New York Times best-selling author was promoting “The Book of the Dead,” his then-new thriller with writing partner Lincoln Child (visit their site), and had his first-ever Oklahoma City event scheduled at…
Untucked shirts present security risk at Tulsa high school
Adults love to remind kids they have no rights, even while they are teaching them about all the rights granted by the U.S. Constitution. Administrators with Tulsa Public Schools seem to have taken the creed one step further by celebrating students’ constitutional void. Dozens of students at Tulsa’s Rogers High School tried to exert…
Little Women’ turned into musical at OCU
Remember Jo, Meg, Amy and Beth March from Louisa May Alcott’s coming-of-age novel, “Little Women”? Well, your children might not. So this weekend, introduce them to the American classic in a way they’ll appreciate. Oklahoma City University will present the state premiere of “Little Women: The Musical.” Students from OCU’s Wanda L. Bass School of…
Ackerman McQueen handled ads for both sides of coal-plant issue
One Oklahoma City advertising agency handled the ads for each side in the coal vs. gas fight over a new state power plant. Oklahoma State Treasurer Scott Meacham said ad agency Ackerman McQueen called him immediately after he told an executive at Chesapeake Energy that he would advocate against a proposed $1.87 billion dollar coal…
MAINSITE spotlights work of two varying female artists
Artists take many different paths on their way to unearthing inspiration for their work, and an upcoming exhibit at MAINSITE Contemporary Art features two differing routes: one obsessive, the other intuitive. DOROTHY MOSESDorothy Moses’ collection, titled “Intuition Inspiration Perspiration,” is a series of portraits and abstracts that started with background and grew organically from there.…
MAPS for Kids eyes North Highland renovation
During a regular board meeting Monday, MAPS for Kids plans moved forward for an Oklahoma City elementary school awaiting improvements, while district officials voiced concern about changing demographic needs. The district is in the process of reviewing demographics, which will help determine whether further changes are necessary in MAPS for Kids efforts at schools, officials…
