Recurring Themes
“Spitting Contests”: A man was almost killed in Rodgau, Germany, in July when, attempting to show friends he could spit a cherry pit the farthest off of a balcony, made a running start but accidentally toppled over the railing. He was hospitalized with hip injuries. “Assistance Monkeys”: Evidence of the dexterity and usefulness of monkeys…
Undignified Deaths
Two 22-year-old men were accidentally killed in Mattoon, Ill., in May during an outing in which an open-top double-decker bus was used to transport guests. Several people were standing in the top tier, but investigators said only the two tallest men were accidentally hit when the bus passed under Interstate 57. A 23-year-old man drowned…
Undignified Deaths
Two 22-year-old men were accidentally killed in Mattoon, Ill., in May during an outing in which an open-top double-decker bus was used to transport guests. Several people were standing in the top tier, but investigators said only the two tallest men were accidentally hit when the bus passed under Interstate 57. A 23-year-old man drowned…
Recurring Themes
“Spitting Contests”: A man was almost killed in Rodgau, Germany, in July when, attempting to show friends he could spit a cherry pit the farthest off of a balcony, made a running start but accidentally toppled over the railing. He was hospitalized with hip injuries. “Assistance Monkeys”: Evidence of the dexterity and usefulness of monkeys…
Least Competent Cops
The Supreme Court of Spain tossed out assault charges against Henry Osagiede in August because of unfairness by Madrid police. Osagiede, a black man, was convicted after the victim identified him as her attacker, in a lineup in which he was the only black man. Six Ormond Beach, Fla., motorcycle officers, detailed to chaperone the…
Least Competent Cops
The Supreme Court of Spain tossed out assault charges against Henry Osagiede in August because of unfairness by Madrid police. Osagiede, a black man, was convicted after the victim identified him as her attacker, in a lineup in which he was the only black man. Six Ormond Beach, Fla., motorcycle officers, detailed to chaperone the…
Questionable Judgments
They Took It Too Far: Maryland corrections officials, hoping to improve juvenile rehabilitation by a kinder, gentler approach to incarceration, opened its New Beginnings Youth Center in May. The lockdown facility had declined to use razor wire, instead merely landscaping its chain-link fences with thorny rose bushes. After one inmate easily escaped on the second…
Latest Religious Messages
The director of a child advocacy group told The Associated Press in June that, since 1975, at least 274 children have died following the withholding of medical treatment based on religious doctrine. In one high-profile case this year, the father of a girl said turning her over to doctors would violate God’s word (she died),…
Questionable Judgments
They Took It Too Far: Maryland corrections officials, hoping to improve juvenile rehabilitation by a kinder, gentler approach to incarceration, opened its New Beginnings Youth Center in May. The lockdown facility had declined to use razor wire, instead merely landscaping its chain-link fences with thorny rose bushes. After one inmate easily escaped on the second…
Latest Religious Messages
The director of a child advocacy group told The Associated Press in June that, since 1975, at least 274 children have died following the withholding of medical treatment based on religious doctrine. In one high-profile case this year, the father of a girl said turning her over to doctors would violate God’s word (she died),…
Teenage black belt champion teaches taekwando in Norman
Amber LaValley is helping people channel their inner Jackie Chan one class at a time. “Many of my students have played a lot of martial arts video games,” LaValley said at her spacious Vision Martial Arts Academy, 3750 W. Robinson in Norman. “The fun part is showing them real life taekwondo.” IMPROVING SKILLSLAW ENFORCEMENT LaValley,…
The Dandy Warhols know working for fans, themselves is best job ever
Rock stardom used to be so linear: Start band. Get signed. Meet girls. Make money. Buy drugs. Crash. Burn. Maintain a mystique, and live legendarily in the hearts and minds of your legions of fans. SUCCESSFUL SLEW MICROMANAGED MONTH-LONG JAUNT Somewhere in the last decade or so, however, a few distractions have curbed that dream.…
CFN Mailbag
Dear Chicken-Fried News fans and editor, Just a little clarification regarding Garth and Reba not being in the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame (“‘Sex You Up’ ” yes; Garth ” no,” Chicken-Fried News, Aug. 19, Gazette). They have both been nominated, selected and invited to be inducted into the OMHOF. This honor does include a…
GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
I won’t protest if you try to conceal yourself from bullies or gossips or critics or narcissists. You have cosmic permission to hunker down and keep a low profile. But please don’t hide from yourself. In fact, I encourage you to make yourself extra available to yourself. Listen respectfully to the questions and comments that…
With white women converting, OKC area now houses five mosques
As Oklahoma’s Muslim community observes the fast of Ramadan this month, they are also taking time to reflect on the growth of their community statewide. There are currently five mosques in the Oklahoma City metro area, including one in Norman and one in Edmond. Some of the growth has come from immigrants from south and…
OKC planners work with consultant to conduct sanctioned survey
Psst. It might be happening right in front of you, without you ever realizing it. Oklahoma City is once again taking stock of its historic buildings. REGISTRY ASSISTANCE CRITERIA FREE MONEY City planners are working with a consultant to conduct a federally sanctioned survey of more than 1,300 buildings in an area bordered roughly by…
Oklahoma City Community College campus hosts Arts Festival Oklahoma
Imagine 40,000 people gathering for an Oklahoma tradition that has lasted 31 years. Dads walk around with corn dogs and goofy hats, mothers gaze wide-eyed at mountains of artwork, and little kids attempt to shake sand out of their shoes as they build their own masterpieces. At Arts Festival Oklahoma, this surreal scene comes to…
S
The myth of the lone, misunderstood, genius artist toiling away in obscurity is a narrative that has come to overshadow ” or at least dominate ” the value we put on artists. That is, one has a tendency to view an artist’s work based on the tragedy of his or her life story, and the…
Cultural Diversity
Thousands of Koreans, and some tourists, uninhibitedly joined in the messy events of July’s Byryeong City Mud Festival, which glorifies the joys of an activity usually limited to pigs. Mud wrestling, mud-sliding, a “mud prison” and colored mud baths dominated the week’s activities, but so unfortunately did dermatological maladies, which hospitalized 200 celebrants. National Specialties:…
CFN Mailbag
Dear Chicken-Fried News fans and editor, Just a little clarification regarding Garth and Reba not being in the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame (“‘Sex You Up’ ” yes; Garth ” no,” Chicken-Fried News, Aug. 19, Gazette). They have both been nominated, selected and invited to be inducted into the OMHOF. This honor does include a…
As Tall as Lions roars with new self-confidence, introverted new album
Although some bands do emerge fully realized with a debut release, most need time to find and refine the sound. The members of Long Island quartet As Tall as Lions have endured some growing pains while discovering their way, but in the course of 2006’s self-titled second album and the act’s latest, last month’s “You…
CANCER (June 21-July 22):
I have tuned in to your yearning for resolution, O Seeker. I know that your heart fervently wants the riddles to run their course, the mysteries to be revealed, the uncertainties to be quelled. And I have ransacked my imagination in search of what consolation I might provide to appease your quest for neat, simple…
Government barking at the door of free speech
Back when I was a babe in the woods, the Oklahoma Press Association asked a few of us journalism professors to visit the state’s newsrooms. We offered help ” if the editor wanted it, of course. It was a time when anonymous columns ” because they were so well read ” were popping up in…
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
Before she became a rock goddess, Gwen Stefani cleaned the floors at an ice cream parlor. Prior to ascending to stardom, Ellen DeGeneres was an oyster shucker, Keanu Reeves worked a janitor, and Brad Pitt performed as a giant chicken mascot. As for me, my gig as an internationally syndicated astrologer was not my first.…
Oklahoma’s Brooks & Dunn announces split
Shaking harder than the 3.4 earthquake in Pontotoc County last week was the country music industry’s reaction to the breakup of Brooks & Dunn. On Aug. 10, the Grammy winning duo ” comprised of Kix Brooks and former Tulsan Ronnie Dunn ” announced it will split in 2010, after 20 years of making hits and…
S
The myth of the lone, misunderstood, genius artist toiling away in obscurity is a narrative that has come to overshadow ” or at least dominate ” the value we put on artists. That is, one has a tendency to view an artist’s work based on the tragedy of his or her life story, and the…
GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
I won’t protest if you try to conceal yourself from bullies or gossips or critics or narcissists. You have cosmic permission to hunker down and keep a low profile. But please don’t hide from yourself. In fact, I encourage you to make yourself extra available to yourself. Listen respectfully to the questions and comments that…
Talented OU recruiter Stoops has never been to Sooner football game
He’s from Ohio, went to school at the University of Iowa and now is at the University of Oklahoma. Nationally known. Locally admired. A name synonymous with the university. TWO STOOPS STOOPS ON BASS OHIO NATIVE ‘ARE YOU RELATED?’ It’s a good thing Anthony Stoops carries I.D. It’s a better thing that he carries a…
Federal funding has been directed to arts nonprofits struggling with ebbing economy
In February, President Barack Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, in an effort to re-ignite the American economy. Included in the $787 billion stimulus package of federal tax cuts, measures and appropriations was a $50 million allotment for support of the arts. FIVE DISTRICTS STIMULUS MONEY CUTTING PROGRAMMING “The American Recovery…
TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
Are you having intense cravings for candy? Do you find yourself leaning in the direction of sappy emotions and syrupy words? That’s what my astrological projections suggest. And if that’s indeed the case, I’d like to steer you in a different direction. It’s not that an extravagant involvement in chocolate and sentimentality is wrong or…
Taking Woodstock
Among the landmark events of the 1960s, the Woodstock Music and Art Festival seems ripe for big-screen mythologizing “? particularly while baby boomers are celebrating its 40th anniversary. But “Taking Woodstock,” a coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of how the three-day concert came to be, never truly finds its footing. A handful of lyrical…
CANCER (June 21-July 22):
I have tuned in to your yearning for resolution, O Seeker. I know that your heart fervently wants the riddles to run their course, the mysteries to be revealed, the uncertainties to be quelled. And I have ransacked my imagination in search of what consolation I might provide to appease your quest for neat, simple…
Cultural Diversity
Thousands of Koreans, and some tourists, uninhibitedly joined in the messy events of July’s Byryeong City Mud Festival, which glorifies the joys of an activity usually limited to pigs. Mud wrestling, mud-sliding, a “mud prison” and colored mud baths dominated the week’s activities, but so unfortunately did dermatological maladies, which hospitalized 200 celebrants. National Specialties:…
Oklahoma’s Brooks & Dunn announces split
Shaking harder than the 3.4 earthquake in Pontotoc County last week was the country music industry’s reaction to the breakup of Brooks & Dunn. On Aug. 10, the Grammy winning duo ” comprised of Kix Brooks and former Tulsan Ronnie Dunn ” announced it will split in 2010, after 20 years of making hits and…
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
No one knew there was coal in the United States until 1790. A hunter who was wandering near Pennsylvania’s Broad Mountain stumbled upon it accidentally when his campfire lit up an outcropping of pure anthracite. That discovery was both a blessing and a curse; since then, the mining of coal has yielded abundant energy but…
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
No one knew there was coal in the United States until 1790. A hunter who was wandering near Pennsylvania’s Broad Mountain stumbled upon it accidentally when his campfire lit up an outcropping of pure anthracite. That discovery was both a blessing and a curse; since then, the mining of coal has yielded abundant energy but…
NYC poet wants to bring workshops of Manhattan to Oklahoma City
Everyone needs community. Even the most morose, dour or individualistic poets need the help of their peers to grow. University of Central Oklahoma poet-in-residence Douglas Goetsch is hoping to inject some of the communal spirit of his hometown, New York City, into Oklahoma City with poetry workshops. Goetsch has published six collections of poems, received…
Government and the private sector
At a time when many Americans are mad at big business, perhaps it’s time to take a step back and get a longer view of what made our nation the only superpower on earth. Capitalism is now a dirty word. No doubt there’s a role for government to play in our economy. We want our…
Photography, sports make for harmonious fit
Tap into Andy Chasteen’s life at any given moment and discover a man who lives for the next adventure. Whether he is perilously scaling the face of a mountain, grinding his way through a double marathon, or cycling in a 100-mile road race ” Chasteen is in his element. The 32-year-old Oklahoma City resident has…
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
I know a 19-year-old woman who has been going through an especially vivid phase of living on the edge between yes and no. She told me that yesterday morning she woke up with the feeling that in the next 12 hours she could either commit suicide or else perform some epic deed in which she…
Fine Arts Institute offers after-school classes
School is back in session, and summer seems to be slipping away as fast as it came. But after-school art classes at the Fine Arts Institute are sure to keep kids’ attention. From painting and pottery to theater and choir, the institute offers various programs to spark children’s creativity and help them flourish. For nearly…
NYC poet wants to bring workshops of Manhattan to Oklahoma City
Everyone needs community. Even the most morose, dour or individualistic poets need the help of their peers to grow. University of Central Oklahoma poet-in-residence Douglas Goetsch is hoping to inject some of the communal spirit of his hometown, New York City, into Oklahoma City with poetry workshops. Goetsch has published six collections of poems, received…
OKC planners work with consultant to conduct sanctioned survey
Psst. It might be happening right in front of you, without you ever realizing it. Oklahoma City is once again taking stock of its historic buildings. REGISTRY ASSISTANCE CRITERIA FREE MONEY City planners are working with a consultant to conduct a federally sanctioned survey of more than 1,300 buildings in an area bordered roughly by…
Ian Moore stakes out new territory, returning to electrified Austin roots
Ian Moore came out of the box swinging. He emerged from Austin as a young blues prodigy in the early ’90s heyday of Stevie Ray Vaughan, later playing guitar for Joe Ely’s band and opening for the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan early on. But ever since his auspicious debut, Moore’s been moving away from…
Ian Moore stakes out new territory, returning to electrified Austin roots
Ian Moore came out of the box swinging. He emerged from Austin as a young blues prodigy in the early ’90s heyday of Stevie Ray Vaughan, later playing guitar for Joe Ely’s band and opening for the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan early on. But ever since his auspicious debut, Moore’s been moving away from…
Fine Arts Institute offers after-school classes
School is back in session, and summer seems to be slipping away as fast as it came. But after-school art classes at the Fine Arts Institute are sure to keep kids’ attention. From painting and pottery to theater and choir, the institute offers various programs to spark children’s creativity and help them flourish. For nearly…
CFN Quote of the Week
“I don’t have to read it, or know what’s in it. I’m going to oppose it anyways.” “Sen. Jim Inhofe at a health care town hall meeting in Chickasha as reported by The Express-Star. The Republican representing Oklahoma in the U.S. Senate said he doesn’t need to read the 1,000-page health care reform bill because…
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
Before she became a rock goddess, Gwen Stefani cleaned the floors at an ice cream parlor. Prior to ascending to stardom, Ellen DeGeneres was an oyster shucker, Keanu Reeves worked a janitor, and Brad Pitt performed as a giant chicken mascot. As for me, my gig as an internationally syndicated astrologer was not my first.…
Rock People
Chicago police arrested motorist Daniel Phelan, 27, in August and charged him in connection with a three-week spree of drive-by rock-throwing at other cars. Officers discounted ordinary road rage as a cause, in that Phelan appeared to have been driving around during that time with an arsenal of rocks in the passenger seat. A 22-year-old…
Oklahoma City University grad lands Idol gig
Actor, singer, author and all-around Okie cutie Kristin Chenoweth sat in on “American Idol” auditions taped in Orlando, Fla., last week. On Aug. 27, the Tony Award-winning “Wicked” lead and “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” star was unveiled as one of the television show’s mystery guest judges, a temporary slot that has replaced Paula…
Twelfth Night’ presents misguided rendering of Shakespeare’s signature comedy
Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park concludes its silver-anniversary season with “Twelfth Night, or What You Will,” the first play ever staged by the company. This likable comedy is a safe choice for a startup theater company and is the nostalgic option for a company in its prime. “Twelfth Night” is the quintessential Shakespearean comedy with…
Medicine Park hosts three-day musical event
More than a dozen local and national blues acts join this weekend for the three-day Mayor’s Blues Ball in Medicine Park, 85 miles southwest of the metro. The free event begins 9 p.m. Friday with a barbecue at AP’s club, featuring performances from Delta Paul and The Soul Survivors. Blues bands and solo acts will…
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
Let’s take inventory of your harvest, Scorpio. What blossomed for you these past months? Which of the seeds you planted last March and April sprouted into ripe, succulent blossoms? Which seeds grew into hard, spiky clumps? And what about weeds, pests, and predators? Were you tireless about keeping them away from your beauties? Finally, what…
Government and the private sector
At a time when many Americans are mad at big business, perhaps it’s time to take a step back and get a longer view of what made our nation the only superpower on earth. Capitalism is now a dirty word. No doubt there’s a role for government to play in our economy. We want our…
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
I love the new neighborhood I just moved to. It’s insanely eclectic. Modern suburban-like homes with impeccable emerald-green lawns stand right next door to bedraggled 1950s-style ranch houses with unfinished plywood for garage doors and high brown weeds blanketing the front yards. A rusty mustard-yellow 1977 Cadillac Seville sporting a McCain-Palin bumper sticker is parked…
Oklahoma museum honors legendary ‘Singing Cowboy,’ Gene Autry
You probably know Gene Autry best because of Christmas. Every year around the holidays, his classic renditions of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “Frosty the Snowman” and his original “Here Comes Santa Claus” are audio staples of the holiday machine ” the soundtrack to frenetic shopping, tree assembly and eggnog-fueled bacchanalia. SHRINE BEVERLY HILLBILLY Of course,…
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
The month of August brought you some peculiar advances. You got a reward that didn’t mean as much to you as it might have had you received it earlier. You outgrew an enigma that had puzzled and frustrated you forever. And you finally wriggled free of a shadowy game that you had been attached to…
As Tall as Lions roars with new self-confidence, introverted new album
Although some bands do emerge fully realized with a debut release, most need time to find and refine the sound. The members of Long Island quartet As Tall as Lions have endured some growing pains while discovering their way, but in the course of 2006’s self-titled second album and the act’s latest, last month’s “You…
Adam
ase-of-the-week TV movie level instead of elevating it into something memorable. Adam Raki (Hugh Dancy, “The Jane Austen Book Club”) is a 29-year old man who’s lived with his dad since his mother died 20 years ago. The two have been best friends “? in fact, with the exception of Harlan (Frankie Faison, “Nick &…
Government barking at the door of free speech
Back when I was a babe in the woods, the Oklahoma Press Association asked a few of us journalism professors to visit the state’s newsrooms. We offered help ” if the editor wanted it, of course. It was a time when anonymous columns ” because they were so well read ” were popping up in…
TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
Are you having intense cravings for candy? Do you find yourself leaning in the direction of sappy emotions and syrupy words? That’s what my astrological projections suggest. And if that’s indeed the case, I’d like to steer you in a different direction. It’s not that an extravagant involvement in chocolate and sentimentality is wrong or…
Rock People
Chicago police arrested motorist Daniel Phelan, 27, in August and charged him in connection with a three-week spree of drive-by rock-throwing at other cars. Officers discounted ordinary road rage as a cause, in that Phelan appeared to have been driving around during that time with an arsenal of rocks in the passenger seat. A 22-year-old…
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
Let’s take inventory of your harvest, Scorpio. What blossomed for you these past months? Which of the seeds you planted last March and April sprouted into ripe, succulent blossoms? Which seeds grew into hard, spiky clumps? And what about weeds, pests, and predators? Were you tireless about keeping them away from your beauties? Finally, what…
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
I know some brave pioneers who make responsible use of psychotropic drugs as they map out the borderlands of consciousness. I’m glad they’re doing that work, but my path is different. I don’t indulge in marijuana, LSD, ayahuasca, or psilocybin. However, my many years of doing meditation, dream work, and various spiritual practices have nevertheless…
John Cleese’s wife, Oklahoma State grad, files for divorce
One Oklahoma State University alum has certainly hit it big, thanks to the success of Monty Python, “Fawlty Towers” and divorce lawyers. Alyce Faye Eichelberger is a 64-year-old American-born psychotherapist with degrees and qualifications from OSU, plus Baylor and London universities. More than 15 years ago, Eichelberger married maybe the most famous British comedian of…
Desperately needing oversight
Consider this: $18 million for a Rocketplane that never took off; $27 million for Great Plains Airlines that went bankrupt. Where is the outrage? Where is the oversight? Regardless of what party is in control, wasteful projects are not using our money for its intended purpose, and needed services are cut because we have a…
Lonely Japanese
Lonely Japanese men (and a few women) with rich imaginations have created a thriving subculture (“otaku”) in which they have all-consuming relationships with figurines that are based on popular anime characters. “The less extreme,” reported a New York Times writer in July, obsessively collect the dolls. The hardcore otaku “actually believes that a lumpy pillow…
ARIES (March 21-April 19):
Your assignment is to get angry in the most unique, brilliant, and constructive way possible. Merely being annoyed and muttering generic curses will definitely not be sufficient. Nor will it work for you to get consumed in knee-jerk rage or to be peeved about the same old boring targets that everyone reacts to. What the…
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
I know some brave pioneers who make responsible use of psychotropic drugs as they map out the borderlands of consciousness. I’m glad they’re doing that work, but my path is different. I don’t indulge in marijuana, LSD, ayahuasca, or psilocybin. However, my many years of doing meditation, dream work, and various spiritual practices have nevertheless…
Desperately needing oversight
Consider this: $18 million for a Rocketplane that never took off; $27 million for Great Plains Airlines that went bankrupt. Where is the outrage? Where is the oversight? Regardless of what party is in control, wasteful projects are not using our money for its intended purpose, and needed services are cut because we have a…
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
The month of August brought you some peculiar advances. You got a reward that didn’t mean as much to you as it might have had you received it earlier. You outgrew an enigma that had puzzled and frustrated you forever. And you finally wriggled free of a shadowy game that you had been attached to…
CFN Quote of the Week
“I don’t have to read it, or know what’s in it. I’m going to oppose it anyways.” “Sen. Jim Inhofe at a health care town hall meeting in Chickasha as reported by The Express-Star. The Republican representing Oklahoma in the U.S. Senate said he doesn’t need to read the 1,000-page health care reform bill because…
Sidelined by fickle finances, rehab, Yourself and the Air figure out things
The life story of textured indie-popsters Yourself and the Air would make a great coming-of-age flick ” maybe a low-budget, art-house romp about a couple of buddies who gather their friends into a band, then beg, borrow and steal their way to success. The Chicago quartet’s first lesson was on the DIY art of grifting.…
Sidelined by fickle finances, rehab, Yourself and the Air figure out things
The life story of textured indie-popsters Yourself and the Air would make a great coming-of-age flick ” maybe a low-budget, art-house romp about a couple of buddies who gather their friends into a band, then beg, borrow and steal their way to success. The Chicago quartet’s first lesson was on the DIY art of grifting.…
Lonely Japanese
Lonely Japanese men (and a few women) with rich imaginations have created a thriving subculture (“otaku”) in which they have all-consuming relationships with figurines that are based on popular anime characters. “The less extreme,” reported a New York Times writer in July, obsessively collect the dolls. The hardcore otaku “actually believes that a lumpy pillow…
The Dandy Warhols know working for fans, themselves is best job ever
Rock stardom used to be so linear: Start band. Get signed. Meet girls. Make money. Buy drugs. Crash. Burn. Maintain a mystique, and live legendarily in the hearts and minds of your legions of fans. SUCCESSFUL SLEW MICROMANAGED MONTH-LONG JAUNT Somewhere in the last decade or so, however, a few distractions have curbed that dream.…
ARIES (March 21-April 19):
Your assignment is to get angry in the most unique, brilliant, and constructive way possible. Merely being annoyed and muttering generic curses will definitely not be sufficient. Nor will it work for you to get consumed in knee-jerk rage or to be peeved about the same old boring targets that everyone reacts to. What the…
Medicine Park hosts three-day musical event
More than a dozen local and national blues acts join this weekend for the three-day Mayor’s Blues Ball in Medicine Park, 85 miles southwest of the metro. The free event begins 9 p.m. Friday with a barbecue at AP’s club, featuring performances from Delta Paul and The Soul Survivors. Blues bands and solo acts will…
Texas troubadour Wayne Hancock wanders into metro with classic country sound
Despite all the permutations and possibilities of what is dubbed country music, the wrong hands just can’t make it work. For Texas native Wayne “The Train” Hancock, being the real deal while not sitting still is what it’s about. At times a dead ringer for Hank Williams vocally, Hancock could parlay a novelty act at…
Oklahoma City University grad lands Idol gig
Actor, singer, author and all-around Okie cutie Kristin Chenoweth sat in on “American Idol” auditions taped in Orlando, Fla., last week. On Aug. 27, the Tony Award-winning “Wicked” lead and “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” star was unveiled as one of the television show’s mystery guest judges, a temporary slot that has replaced Paula…
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
I love the new neighborhood I just moved to. It’s insanely eclectic. Modern suburban-like homes with impeccable emerald-green lawns stand right next door to bedraggled 1950s-style ranch houses with unfinished plywood for garage doors and high brown weeds blanketing the front yards. A rusty mustard-yellow 1977 Cadillac Seville sporting a McCain-Palin bumper sticker is parked…
Don Emrick transforms paint splatters, decaying urban surfaces into compositions
The layers of spilled paint dripped from brushes and canvases, hardened over surfaces into dry veils of pigment, are usually stripped or scraped away. In the randomness, serendipitous areas of beauty are found and captured by photographer Don Emrick. ABSTRACT PHOTOGRAPHY FADING OF THE SUN “What initially happened is when I was teaching a photography…
The Final Destination
n of a deadly disaster, and gets out of harm’s way. The disaster occurs exactly as predicted, but then death comes to take all the survivors, anyway “? one by one, via complex, Mouse Trap-style situations that are the hallmark of this series. Whereas previous installments keyed off an airplane explosion, a highway collision and…
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
I know a 19-year-old woman who has been going through an especially vivid phase of living on the edge between yes and no. She told me that yesterday morning she woke up with the feeling that in the next 12 hours she could either commit suicide or else perform some epic deed in which she…
John Cleese’s wife, Oklahoma State grad, files for divorce
One Oklahoma State University alum has certainly hit it big, thanks to the success of Monty Python, “Fawlty Towers” and divorce lawyers. Alyce Faye Eichelberger is a 64-year-old American-born psychotherapist with degrees and qualifications from OSU, plus Baylor and London universities. More than 15 years ago, Eichelberger married maybe the most famous British comedian of…
Harper’s Island: The DVD Edition
2009 My theory: Had “Harper’s Island” been on cable instead of CBS, it would’ve caught fire, because despite a terrific premise, network restraints presumably prevent it from going all-out to meet that potential. Heavily hyped as a “mystery event,” spring’s 13-episode limited series follows a wedding party on a coastal island, where happily ever after…
Engine Orchestra – Become My Army
A visual inspection of the Engine Orchestra doesn’t reveal an influence that’s readily apparent in its new album. Written and recorded this winter with Trent Bell at his Norman studio, “Become My Army” is the first full-length effort from the Oklahoma City band, which is singer/guitarist Garrett Balch, drummer Ross Lewis and bassist Drew Luper.…
Teenage black belt champion teaches taekwando in Norman
Amber LaValley is helping people channel their inner Jackie Chan one class at a time. “Many of my students have played a lot of martial arts video games,” LaValley said at her spacious Vision Martial Arts Academy, 3750 W. Robinson in Norman. “The fun part is showing them real life taekwondo.” IMPROVING SKILLSLAW ENFORCEMENT LaValley,…
With white women converting, OKC area now houses five mosques
As Oklahoma’s Muslim community observes the fast of Ramadan this month, they are also taking time to reflect on the growth of their community statewide. There are currently five mosques in the Oklahoma City metro area, including one in Norman and one in Edmond. Some of the growth has come from immigrants from south and…
Oklahoma museum honors legendary ‘Singing Cowboy,’ Gene Autry
You probably know Gene Autry best because of Christmas. Every year around the holidays, his classic renditions of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “Frosty the Snowman” and his original “Here Comes Santa Claus” are audio staples of the holiday machine ” the soundtrack to frenetic shopping, tree assembly and eggnog-fueled bacchanalia. SHRINE BEVERLY HILLBILLY Of course,…
Texas troubadour Wayne Hancock wanders into metro with classic country sound
Despite all the permutations and possibilities of what is dubbed country music, the wrong hands just can’t make it work. For Texas native Wayne “The Train” Hancock, being the real deal while not sitting still is what it’s about. At times a dead ringer for Hank Williams vocally, Hancock could parlay a novelty act at…
Earth
2009 Sixty years ago, Disney blazed the trail for nature filmmaking. It seems kind of unfair that today, the company seems like it’s bringing up the rear. While the documentary “Earth ” marks the launch of the new DisneyNature specialty division, nature footage has become the province of cable networks like Discovery and Animal Planet.…
Supernatural: The Complete Fourth Season
2008-2009 Once you go to Hell, what do you do for a follow-up? If you’re Sam and Dean Winchester (Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles), the sibling stars of TV’s “Supernatural,” you use that second chance for the good of all mankind by trying to prevent an upcoming apocalypse. That’s the crux for “Supernatural”‘s fourth-season story…
