CoCo closed
A gag order requested by U.S. Fleet Tracking was approved by a judge shortly after OKCCoCo issued a news release on the matter. Since its founding in 2009, OKCCoCo has provided a professional work environment for freelancers, students and telecommuters who do not have a conventional workplace but don’t want to work from home, while…
Passing grade
Walker Center Credit: Mark Hancock “We have heard nothing but positive things,” said Diane Brittingham, associate director of OU housing and food services and director of residence life. More than 400 freshman applied to live on the coed floor after the opportunity was made available in mid-June; about 60 were selected. The students live in…
Getting rid of a hurtful word
As the director of a small agency, the Oklahoma Developmental Disabilities Council, I know words and language have great significance. We write contracts using specific language to ensure we get what we pay for. We base eligibility for services on very specific words — the right words on applications for services. There is other language…
Rise up
Rendering of The Rise More specifically, a project called The Rise is set to move into the ailing building at the northwest corner of N.W. 23rd and Walker Avenue that has been home to the Hotel & Motel Liquidation store for more than two decades. Johnathan Russell, president of Land Run Commercial Real Estate, plans…
Go ahead and blaspheme
Credit: Brad Gregg And you really wouldn’t think there’d be much of an appetite to do that here in the God-lovin’ buckle of the Bible belt. But Rep. Randy Grau wants to blow your mind. The Edmond Republican says he will work next legislative session to repeal a 112-year-old state law that makes blasphemy a…
Indian bummer
Credit: Brad Gregg He remarks on it so much, in fact, you might assume he lacks substantive policy positions to discuss. Brown’s fans, including some of his own staffers, have latched on to the “controversy,” chanting “Indian war whoops” and making “tomahawk chop gestures” at more than one campaign rally. Even after Principal Chief of…
Conventional thought
A MAPS 3 subcommittee selects the designer for the planned convention center and sticks with the facility’s planned location. BY CLIFTON ADCOCK The MAPS 3 Convention Center Subcommittee voted last week to recommend that the companies responsible for selecting the site of the $252 million building also be hired to design it. The recommendation to…
Up with young people
Credit: Brad Gregg So it’s notable that teens in the metro are taking an active role to ease the stress of high school. America’s Promise Alliance recently designated Oklahoma City on its annual 100 Best Communities for Young People list based on the city’s work to increase high school graduation rates, reduce dropouts and cultivate…
Sir Toby
Credit: Brad Gregg Didn’t know that. We thought the Brits were a snobby group when it comes to music. Heck, they worshipped The Flaming Lips well before these United States — not to mention li’l ol’ Oklahoma — got around to it. We bring this up because Toby Keith looks well-prepared to conquer England. Last…
Flaming bingo
Credit: Brad Gregg The Riverfront Times, St. Louis’s altweekly, said that the cards were created with images one is likely to see at a Lips show. They debuted in conjunction with the group’s closing out the LouFest, held there on Aug. 25-26. The paper said the Lips have always treated St. Louis well, and the…
Turnabout’s fair play in the NBA
Credit: Brad Gregg Four years after the SuperSonics departed the city to become the Oklahoma City Thunder, Seattle’s city council appears poised to spend some money to secure a proper venue to entice an NBA franchise. With huge backing from a hedge fund manager named Chris Hansen, Rain City has agreed to build a $490…
On the side
Patrick Ryan Credit: Mark Hancock In August, the MAPS 3 Trails and Sidewalks Subcommittee sent a sidewalks master plan to the MAPS 3 Citizens Advisory Board. Out of 131 total alignments identified as in need of sidewalks, the plan prioritized around 31 of them. In the master plan, of the more than $9 million set…
‘Pumpken’ head
Artist — and now, filmmaker — Felix Matos wants you to know that the main impetus behind his debut feature, the psychological horror film Pumpken, was that he wanted to scare his wife. “My wife, she gets scared very easily. She saw Hocus Pocus [the 1993 Bette Midler family-friendly witch comedy] and she jumped from…
An embarrassment of a senator
Traveling around the county I hear two things about Oklahoma: “Love the Thunder” and “Who is that idiot who thinks global climate change is a myth?” What would it take to change his mind? Some 26,000 heat records broken this year, epic droughts and deadly wildfires? Or perhaps that dramatic photograph from space recently published…
Degree of disappointment
Beth Adele credit: Jordan Ensminger Graduation evokes a mix of emotions for college students: elation because the battle is finally won, and nervousness for what lies ahead. Some graduates already have jobs lined up, while others are chewing their fingernails, wondering how they’ll ever get hired in this economy. Seniors like Annika Larson, a professional…
Mustang ‘Brandy’
Brandy’s Imperial Sundae is an oak-aged imperial porter. Brewmaster Gary Shellman said the name was chosen because of an associated word picture. “Imagine sitting down to a big bowl of ice cream,” Shellman said. “You get a big scoop of vanilla, a big scoop of chocolate and then a brandy topping. That’s the best way…
Owens’ field
Yet, in partnership with the Paseo Arts Association, the Skirvin announced last week that local artist Romy Owens is to be its first artist in residence. As such, she will work and exhibit at the downtown hotel for the next year. Her studio space is already created and accessible from within the Skirvin, open to…
‘Modern’ art
Francis Criss’ “City Landscape,” 1934 No single style encapsulates the 57 pieces of American Moderns, the Oklahoma City Museum of Art’s latest exhibition. “It’s not a linear, chronological survey, but a nice sampling in a 50-year span,” said Alison Amick, curator of collections. “We have a number of different artists addressing ideas of what it…
OKG7 off-campus diners
Padthai 119 W. Boyd, Norman 360-5551 If you’re running around campus in Norman and only have time for a quick meal, then Padthai should be at the top of your list. It’s a casual Thai house that consistently serves up tasty food. Try the red curry chicken or the basil beef. And of course you…
Pizza pyre
“The goal is four to six months,” said Hideaway spokesperson Janie Harris. “The adjustors have been in, so we can begin the cleanup, but we’re still waiting to hear from the structural engineers about how much will have to be rebuilt.” Nothing can be salvaged of the kitchen. The early morning fire, which was started…
Chicken run
On Sept. 20, the new Edmond store opened at 1225 E. Second. The other three Oklahoma locations are in Moore, Norman and Quail Springs Mall. Moreover, the company is planning to open three additional stores in the near future. Among them is a Raising Cane’s planned for Adams Tower on the University of Oklahoma campus.…
Help wanted
The Classen School of Advanced Studies valedictorian credits her Whiz Kids mentor, a woman named Dolores, with helping her succeed. “Before fifth grade, I had never even thought about high school, much less college,” said Ramirez, who now lives and works in Boston. “Talking to Dolores about what it took to get where she was…
Ode to bacon
And, frankly, I know some vegetarians who love the stuff. (There are people who don’t eat bacon for religious reasons, of course, but for the purposes of my riff, work with me here.) So, to all you unicorns and wood nymphs and the girls my mom assured me would be interested in me when I…
Sideline socials
Just in time for kickoff, Jen Elsner has released The University of Oklahoma Cookbook, which offers recipes for game day and more. You can pick it up at Full Circle Bookstore, 1900 Northwest Expressway; the University of Oklahoma Bookstore, 1185 Asp in Norman; and metro-area Barnes & Noble locations. The full-color cookbook is organized by…
From movie to measure
Viola Davis and Maggie Gyllenhaal in \”Won\’t Back Down\” California, Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana have already passed such laws. Groups that write model legislation, such as the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), have drafted model bills for legislators to introduce in their home states. Parent trigger laws allow for dramatic changes at a school if…
LETTERS
Oklahoma Gazette provides an open forum for the discussion of all points of view in its Letters to the Editor section. The Gazette reserves the right to edit letters for length and clarity. Letters can be mailed, faxed, emailed to pbacharach@okgazette. com or sent online at okgazette.com, but include a city of residence and contact…
LETTERS
Oklahoma Gazette provides an open forum for the discussion of all points of view in its Letters to the Editor section. The Gazette reserves the right to edit letters for length and clarity. Letters can be mailed, faxed, emailed to pbacharach@okgazette. com or sent online at okgazette.com, but include a city of residence and contact…
Looper
But then something remarkable happens: Looper plays fair with its own mind-bending construct. Balancing muscular action with the intellectual approximation of an M.C. Escher drawing, Johnson delivers on the considerable promise of his previous films, Brick and The Brothers Bloom. We start in 2044, where time travel is about 30 years away, but still figures…
Searching for Sugar Man
Take, for example, Searching for Sugar Man. Opening Friday at AMC Quail Springs Mall 24, 2501 W. Memorial, the doc introduces us to the saga of the one-named Rodriguez, a criminally unknown singer-songwriter from the early 1970s whose career sank into obscurity in his native United States, but whose influence proved monumental in, of all…
Good Grammer
Folksinger Tracy Grammer has lots of reasons to look forward to Saturday’s show at The Blue Door. Some are small. “I hope the ‘other’ Tracey Grammer will show,” she said. “There’s someone in Oklahoma City who has my same name and we have so many things in common, it’s not even funny. It’s like we…
The Hills have eyes
To promote historic preservation within Oklahoma City, what better way than to see some examples firsthand? For more than four decades, Heritage Hills has held a self-guided tour of some of the historic neighborhood’s homes and gardens to do just that. Its 46th annual tour takes place Saturday and Sunday, featuring five private homes, as…
Seniority rules
It’s been nearly two months since the cupping of the Olympic torch in London. The athletes, spectators and media have long since migrated back to their home countries. The Olympic spirit has gone cold for many, but competition is just heating up for those participating in the Oklahoma Senior State Games. Opening Saturday and running…
Clear evidence
“We’ve had a tremendous number of applications,” said Robert D. Mather, associate professor of experimental psychology and the forensic psychology graduate program coordinator. “Law enforcement wants graduates that are highly trained in rigorous scientific training, and this forensic psychology degree will help fill a very specific need in the law enforcement community.” UCO’s master’s in…
Dorm daze
For most students, it’s the first place that’s out from under mom, dad or caretaker’s roof. It’s a space of ownership and growth, and it’s imperative that said space reflects personal tastes, fosters a creative and homey environment and shows off just a bit of style. Since the room you’ve got to work with is…
Theater of blood
For those curious about the start of Reduxion Theatre’s fifth-anniversary season, know this: There will be blood. While Shakespeare serves as Reduxion’s bread and butter year in and year out, founders Tyler and Erin Woods — who serve as artistic director and managing director, respectively — wanted to expand beyond their upcoming slate of Richard…
Countdown to health
This October the YMCA and Oklahoma City-County Health Department are teaming up to bring 5-2-1-0 to Oklahoma. A YMCA program to reduce childhood obesity, 5-2-1-0 stands for five servings of fruit or vegetables, two hours or less of television time, one hour or more of physical exercise, and zero sugary drinks per day. To celebrate…
Jimmy LaFave — Depending on the Distance
LaFave, however, has not seen the stardom that fellow Red Dirt pioneers Cross Canadian Ragweed and Stoney LaRue have, if only because the thoughtful performer never quite pandered to the beer-swilling crowds. His latest release, Depending on the Distance, follows suit; its 13 inspiring tracks have all the country flair of the brothers with whom…
Calvinist theory
Photo: Samantha Lamb Album titles can mean anything, really, be it an inside joke, a catchy turn of phrase or nothing in particular. In the case of Norman singer-songwriter John Calvin’s latest EP, Without Wax, the title reveals everything. “The name came from a conversation I had with a very wise acquaintance at a bar…
Italian artistry
You’ll quickly realize that Othello’s in Edmond is meant to be reminiscent of an Italian grandmother’s kitchen. The atmosphere is rustic, with faux-painted murals and dark wooden tables. A roaring fireplace greets you (on chilly nights, that is), and the full bar can be a great place to stop for a quick nightcap We were…
Peace, Love & Misunderstanding
God knows this isn’t the first indie film to fall prey to contrivances, inept predictability and forced quirkiness. But what’s so perplexing is that Peace, now on DVD and Blu-ray after a small theatrical run, is made by such talented people. Its director is the usually dependable Bruce Beresford, whose credits range from Breaker Morant…
The Barrens
The Barrens harkens back to the cryptozoological craze of that decade, rife with mostly rotten pics about Bigfoot and Boggy Creek and the like. This one’s better, following family man Stephen Moyer (TV’s True Blood), his second wife (Mia Kirshner, The Black Dahlia) and their two children on a fun-filled vacation (well, for him, at…
Sudden Death / Live a Little, Steal a Lot
Conrad couldn’t quite crack the code of silver-screen stardom, but it wasn’t for a lack of trying. Proving it is a nifty double-feature DVD from Inception Media Group that pairs 1975’s Live a Little, Steal a Lot with 1977’s Sudden Death. Also known as Murph the Surf — a title retained by this print — Live…
Hostel / Hostel: Part II
From 2005, Hostel drops three collegians into Amsterdam for a debauched vacation of pot and poon, only to accidentally become victims in a bizarre business in which the wealthy pay big bucks to torture the kidnapped in an underground warehouse. Roth spares nothing, leaving viewers to cringe at every slice of the Achilles tendon, snipped…
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1
Christopher Nolan’s recent trilogy, concluding with this summer’s The Dark Knight Rises, owes more to Miller than Tim Burton’s two versions did, and on Rises’ boot heels comes an animated adaptation of Miller’s source material in Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1, directed by Jay Oliva (Green Lantern: Emerald Knights). At an hour and…
Staying the course
The recommendation to hire Populous and GSB to conduct a conceptual study for the convention center will go before the MAPS 3 Citizens Advisory Committee tomorrow. If passed, it then will go before the Oklahoma City Council for approval. Populous and GSB were the firms responsible for weighing and narrowing down the prospective sites. Out…
The Wrath of God
As Father Van Horne, Mitchum is part of a small group of non-natives “recruited” by the local military to kill the ruthless leader Thomas De La Plata (Frank Langella, Unknown) in order to end the senseless killing he orders. For doing so, Father and friends (including burly Victor Buono from TV’s Man from Atlantis) are…
