The Weirdo-American Community
A wave of motorists fondling themselves in drive-thru lanes of Seattle-area espresso stands continues, police said, despite a recent arrest. In August, an employee of Java Girls in Parkland, Wash., disgusted with a bra-wearing man, tossed boiling water in his face (to which he reportedly responded, “Oooh, yeah” and drove off). In September, a 20-year-old…
Readers’ Choice
Mr. Angel Medina, 24, was found dead underneath a bridge in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in August, and in accordance with what his brother said were his longstanding wishes, he was embalmed in a standing position, in a corner of his mother’s living room, for a three-day wake (wearing his Yankees cap and sunglasses). As…
Least Competent Criminals
An unidentified man smashed a 6-foot hole in the wall of the Name Brand Clothing Store in Tulsa, Okla., in August and labored through the night to bust open the safe, but according to the surveillance video, he finally gave up six hours later after making only a small hole in the safe. However, when…
Recurring Themes
Drivers recently hit by their own cars: A woman parking her car in Athens, Ga., in July, opened the door to tell another driver that she was not leaving her space when she fell out and was run over. A man in his 60s was pushing his car out of a ditch in July in…
Leading Economic Indicators
Some dermatologists have created significant divides between their “medical” patients (acne, cancer) and their beauty-treatment patients (plastic surgery, Botox), with the latter offered luxurious waiting rooms, frequent telephone contacts and more personalization of treatment. One doctor told The New York Times in July, “You have to class it up for those patients,” who pay their…
Recent Alarming Headlines
“Elephant beats heroin habit with detox” (Reuters, 9-4-08) (Chinese poachers had spiked his bananas with heroin to control him). “Court grants injunction to stop woman cutting off man’s penis” (Daily Telegraph, Sydney, 8-15-08) (He told the judge in Darwin, Australia, that to escape her pursuit recently, he had to hide in tall grass). “Police: Chihuahuas…
It’s Good to Be a British Prisoner (continued)
Ian Brady, now age 70 and perhaps the most famous British murderer of the 20th century, complained recently that the psychiatric inmates housed with him in Ashworth Hospital still qualify for government allowances up to the equivalent of about $200 per week whereas prison transfers like him receive “only” one-fourth that amount. After completing a…
Anatomy of Gray’ promises to take audiences on life-affirming journey
=”MARGIN: auto 0in”>SMALL INDIANA TOWNFrom that starting place, Leonard chose to set the play in a small Indiana town in the late 1800s and to tell the story through the eyes of a 15-year-old girl who prays for a healer to come. The healer, Dr. Gray, arrives, but only just before a new, mysterious plague…
Shieldless
Now the Senate is likely to put the bill on its calendar again this month, but its future remains uncertain. And even if it can pass the Senate, the Bush administration might veto it over national security concerns. The shield law would cover anyone who “regularly gathers, prepares, collects, photographs, records, writes, edits, reports or…
Weird Science
In July, microbiologists writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reported that the Malaysian pen-tailed tree shrew subsists on a diet of fermented palm nectar that is roughly the equivalent of 100 percent beer. “They seem to have developed some type of mechanism to deal with that high level of alcohol and…
Ghost Town
Reviewer’s grade: B For things that don’t exist, ghosts sure get a lot of screen time. From “Topper” in the late Thirties to the silly afterlife romance “Ghost” to M. Night Shyamalan’s only good movie “The Sixth Sense,” the dead walk large in the world of make-believe. “Ghost Town,” the latest entry in this venerable…
The Entrepreneurial Spirit
The New York Post spotted several Manhattan businesses that tried to appeal to nudists this summer with special events. Among the most challenging were John Ordover’s monthly dinners at selected restaurants (such as the Mercantile Grill), where about 50 diners eat and drink naked (served by the restaurant’s regular, clothed staff), and the Naked Comedy…
Oklahoma ‘wheelie’ perfect for fall riding adventure
Hit the red dirt “¦ or the sandy dirt, or the rocky dirt, or the hard-pack clay dirt, the mud or a mixture of them all. In this Red Dirt state, one can even get a taste of desert dunes in Little Sahara State Park, ride in the extraordinary wooded lands of Eastern Oklahoma, or…
Frozen River
Reviewer’s grade: A This election year, you hear a lot about the middle-class, but not so much about the poor “? certainly not the kind of marginalized folks who comprise the universe of “Frozen River,” an astounding first feature from writer-director Courtney Hunt. Melissa Leo is one of those character actresses whose name you probably…
Haunting and evocative, country noir chanteuse does things her way
It is nearly impossible to resist the voice of Neko Case. The flame-haired beauty is blessed with a full-throated, powerful croon that channels Patsy Cline through a Southern Gothic prism; her vocals are among the most evocative in pop. But the last time Case had a gig in Oklahoma City, she found herself surprisingly silenced.…
HOPE for schools
The Oklahoma conservative bastion and corporate media can attempt to rationalize it, but state government continues to inadequately fund public education. This has caused incalculable harm through the decades. It limits economic development because the state lacks a substantial educated workforce. It has led to high rates of cyclical poverty and hungry families. When people…
Amnesty International’s biannual music fest champions change
The 2008 presidential election is just around the corner and politics are saturating the culture, so it would stand to reason that musicians performing at Sunday’s Groovefest might be tempted to use stage time to voice their personal political grievances. Tulsa funk/rock/rap fusion band HipHopotamus and Norman’s indie-pop crooner and part-time Starlight Mint Ryan Lindsey…
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: A Pop-Up Book – Sam Ita
Sterling Not since Walt Disney cast James Mason as Captain Nemo in the 1954 film version of “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” has Jules Verne’s classic 1870 adventure novel undergone such a radical adaptation like the one from artist Sam Ita. He’s turned the work into not only a comic book, but a pop-up one…
Fall into fashion with this guide to the season’s top trends
Ready or not, it’s time to pull on your boots and denim ” and switch gears. There’s just something about this season’s fashion. Maybe it’s the craze of back-to-school shopping or just the relief from the summer heat wave. Or maybe because it’s one of fashion’s biggest and busiest times of the year, flaunting new…
Latest Ryder Cup conclusion swayed by Oklahoma influences
As expected, Tiger Woods was absent from Valhalla over the weekend. And without the services of the world’s No. 1-ranked player, most experts figured the outcome of the 2008 Ryder Cup was a forgone conclusion. After all, the Europeans had defeated the Americans soundly in their last two meetings on the world stage ” and…
Ali Harter returns to Oklahoma City after European tour
As one of Oklahoma City’s premier songbirds, Ali Harter’s migration back home signals a refreshing change in seasons ” the summer of the so-called “staycation” is over and the fall of free acoustic concerts has started. On Thursday, singer-songwriter Harter will be the first performer in the opening season of “The Helium Project: Acoustic Sessions,”…
The Timewaster Letters – Robin Cooper
Chicago Review Press The “fake letter” book arguably began in the Seventies when Don Novello “? aka Father Guido Sarducci “? adopted the pen name of Lazlo Toth and typed out the strangest, funniest and most absurd correspondence with celebrities, corporations and other organizations that took his inane queries seriously. “The Lazlo Letters” was the…
Three members vote for Chamber’s new home
Plans for the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce’s new home have been officially approved, but not by many. Oklahoma City’s Downtown Design Review Committee last week approved the silvery, football-shaped design with only three of the seven-member committee voting. Two members resigned after confronted with a recently discovered state law that dealt with conflict…
Paseo Artists Association honors four state artists
Four state artists will be honored Friday at the Paseo Artists Association’sannual Oklahoma Artists of the Year Award ceremony. Awards will be issued 6 p.m. Friday at the Oklahoma City Community Foundation, 1000 N. Broadway. The association has named Sue Clancy of Norman and Mark Lewis of Tulsa as Artists of the Year. The pair…
Spencer Krug brings starkly sincere side project to Norman
There’s something about what Spencer Krug does that leaves a small habitable gulf between loving and ignoring his music. Throughout obscure projects like Sunset Rubdown, Frog Eyes, Swan Lake, and his most known venture, Wolf Parade, his voice carries shreds of the preternatural, his mad Warhol carnival pop arrangements follow a manic pace and mood…
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)
Aquarian hockey mom and Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin is a “cocky wacko,” according to former Republican Senator Lincoln Chafee. While it’s no surprise that a member of your tribe would be referred to as a wacko, the “cocky” designation is atypical. Many Aquarians never build a strong enough ego structure to feel as confident as…
Deja Vu
The two states whose electoral votes decided the presidential races in 2000 (Florida) and 2004 (Ohio) are provoking anxiety this time around, also. In Palm Beach County, Fla. (home of the “butterfly ballot” in 2000), 3,478 optical-scan votes disappeared between primary-night counting on Aug. 26 and the official recount a few days later (flipping the…
Oklahoma state representative spends campaign money on football tickets
What did we say last week at CFN? The hits keep on coming with Randy Terrill, that’s what we said. Well, this story is no different regarding Terrill. The Moore Republican state rep.’s recent bankruptcy filings report that he spent more than $2,000 in campaign money for University of Oklahoma football tickets. The expenditures surfaced…
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)
Norepinephrine is a hormone that can make you feel good even when it’s generated by stress. According to a study by the Positive Health Center in London, successful women produce that hormone in abundance. I have no medical research, just astrological guesswork, to back up my claim that you Capricorns will have a special relationship…
Nader calls Oklahoma ‘corporate colony’
Ah, Oklahoma. It’s a place where the wind comes sweepin’ down the plain. Its name means “red people” in Choctaw. And it’s a land where petroleum-saturated politicians are orchestrating our every move. Do what now? Could you repeat that? “Oklahoma is now a corporate colony run by oil-marinated politicians,” independent candidate Ralph Nader said during…
Corn and sorghum mazes draw city dwellers
When Jerry Reding looked out across his vast farm in Chickasha, he saw possibility. Not for a standard cash crop or livestock, but a puzzle. Less than a year later, sprawled across 20 acres of rich soil was a giant maze. When seen from the air, the maze depicts six characters of “The Wizard of…
Weekend outings spread out to all corners of state this fall
Wedged between the brutal heat of summer and the vicious cold of winter is the sweet relief of fall, and festival organizers will make the most of the temperate weather to lure Oklahomans away from college football and out into the community. Following is a brief rundown of some highlights of the fall festival season.…
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)
Here’s one way to reduce global warming: inject huge amounts of sulfur into the atmosphere. So says Professor Tim Flannery, an Australian sustainability activist. What’s the best way to accomplish that? Add sulfur to jet fuel. The atmosphere would then repel a portion of the sun’s rays, leading to an effect called “solar dimming.” Oh,…
Oklahoma Rising?: Part four, Oil dependence
r, according to 2004 National Transit Database figures, provided by a dedicated penny sales tax. Oklahoma City gets $10.85 per person a year to fund its buses ” and no dedicated funding. One aspect of the presentation caught the attention of Ward 4 council member Pete White. A chart showing concentric circles of bus service…
OKC attorney’s Whataburger visit goes awry
Poor Lewis Moon. After a late-night attempt to score some tasty Whataburger went awry, the attorney flashed his “eagle badge” but did not avoid arrest recently, according to a story that ran in The Oklahoman. Moon and public defender David James Bedford were arrested in Warr Acres after a Whataburger employee alerted cops that the…
Oklahoma Railway Museum presents Thomas the Tank Engine rides
Thomas the Tank Engine has left the Island of Sodor to greet the children of Oklahoma City. Meet Thomas and Sir Topham Hatt, the “Fat Controller” of the railway, with a 25-minute train ride Friday through Sunday, at the Oklahoma Railway Museum, 3400 N.E. Grand. The museum’s “Day Out with Thomas” welcomes passengers of all…
Congress honors Oklahoma’s Toby Keith
It’s not every week a celebrity receives an honor from Congress while getting panned by entertainment critics at the same time. Somehow, you just knew it would involve Toby Keith. The testosterone-pumped country music star from Moore was the recipient last week of one of the highest rewards Congress can bestow upon the common folk.…
OCU kicks off 57th season with ‘Footloose’
Oklahoma City University kicks off its Sunday shoes “? and its 57th season of opera and music theater “? by staging the dance musical “Footloose” this weekend. Performances are scheduled for 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 3 p.m. Sunday, at OCU’s Kirkpatrick Fine Arts Center, 2501 N. Blackwelder. The two-hour musical, directed by David…
Lakeview Terrace
Reviewer’s grade: B- “Lakeview Terrace” is just good enough to be disappointing because it isn’t better. It makes your socks slide down your ankles, but it doesn’t knock them off. Samuel L. Jackson stars as Abel Turner, a 28-year veteran of the LAPD whose career, personal life, and psyche are beginning to fray around the…
Oklahoma Children’s Theatre continues its 20-year mission
ir mouth, but are so into it that the separation between performance and the audience no longer exists.” “?Charles Martin
Doing the right thing
Mason was, and is, very much like every other 12-year-old. He thinks Tony Hawk invented the Internet, that PlayStation is a portal to another dimension and that his parents were created by God for the express purpose of dreaming up chores that keep him from that precious PlayStation. When the autism bill came to a…
Fringe No. 1
WildStorm New to the tube this fall is producer J.J. Abrams’ highly hyped “Fringe,” a strange-science series which desperately wants to become the next “X-Files.” It hasn’t comes close yet, but mythology-expanding moves like this tie-in comic book may help. As the first of a six-part series, the premiere issue of “Fringe” is an anthology…
Simple changes can help people go green, save money
Even though the leaves are changing to orange and it may feel cool, green is still hot. And with the change of season, there is a plethora of things you can do to help out Mother Earth and your wallet. Sounds crazy, right? Most everything you do, from recycling to trading out your appliances, will…
City council votes to implement use tax
The Oklahoma City Council approved implementing a use tax to coincide with the sales tax extension for the Ford Center renovations. The council approved the use tax measure by a 6-1 vote. Ward 5 Councilman Brian Walters voted against the measure. The use tax will be a one-cent tax assessed on businesses. It…
