Thunder framed
We’ll give this to OKC’s Northwest Vision Center: We had no idea folks were clamoring to replicate the Russell Westbrook eyeglasses look.
It’s time for medical marijuana
Seventeen states and the District of Columbia currently allow for the limited legalization of cannabis, when recommended by a physician. At a minimum, it is time for Oklahoma lawmakers to allow for an honest and open debate of the issue. Marijuana and its organic constituents are some of the most investigated therapeutically active substances in…
Deal on a Dozen
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US” lang=”EN-US”> Donuts and eggs are just a couple of items that come by the dozen; sometimes children even make their way onto that list, too. Having 12 kids can be, um, chaotic, but The Stage Door’s production of Cheaper by the Dozen proves it also can be entertaining. Director Frieda Penn said…
The way back home
Even superstars of country music need to find good excuses to come home. Trouble is, Norman-born Vince Gill can’t find enough of them. “My mom would probably echo that sentiment,” he said. “But you know, life’s busy: five kids and a career and life and all of that. It is hard to get back as…
How cheesy
Bread, butter, cheese and heat. And when you combine them just right, what you have is soft, crunchy and hits every note between simple satisfaction and delirious delight. John Harris, Joe Morris and Cody Rowan are veterans of the local restaurant business. For their first joint venture, The Mule, with longtime friend Roger Eleftherakis, they…
Killer Joe
The second collaboration between director William Friedkin (The Exorcist, The French Connection) and Tulsa-born playwright Tracy Letts — their first being 2006’s Bug — this work serves up trailer-trash noir as savage as it is savagely funny. Not that all audiences will get the joke. Letts’ first play rolls around in the muck, and Friedkin…
Oh, yeah
This fall’s co-headlining tour between Ty Segall and Thee Oh Sees finds both acts in new territory. Longtime favorites of the underground garage-rock scene, the groups are far more used to playing in venues that double as closet-sized dive bars or warehouse backrooms, but as they begin to command more sizable crowds, they find themselves…
The R-word
Erin Taylor and her son Henry Credit: Mark Hancock It was just another word she or her family may have used or heard. Today, as she raises a 10-year-old son with a cognitive disability, she’s teaching her four other children — and herself — just how much the word means. “Was I always that mother?…
Shutter to think
Cathleen Faubert’s If a picture is worth the proverbial thousand words, why must these 22 exist: “Surprisingly, even after almost 190 years since its introduction, photography is still often viewed as inferior in the hierarchy of fine art.” Those words are from Joy Reed Belt, director of JRB Art at The Elms, which currently hosts…
Have a Ball
Most artists, teachers, and parents believe that children should be encouraged to embrace their imaginations, something they hopefully continue to do into adulthood. For more than a decade, Oklahoma City’s historic Paseo Arts District has promoted the use of imagination by way of Saturday’s annual Fairy Ball. The event is the brainchild of Lorrie Keller,…
Good vibrations
In fact, we’re ranked 48th in the U.S., just ahead of only Louisiana and Mississippi. Fortunately, Oklahoma is also an innovative state — and there are some alternative ways to slim down in OKC that don’t involve hours at a gym. The first alternative road to health is by way of Goga Studios. The studios…
Depth test
Photo: Laura Raczkowski Owning a recording studio and heading a small, Oklahoma record label gives Chris Harris, front man of local shoegaze three-piece Depth & Current, a certain perspective on what it takes to survive in the world of independent music: Namely, adapt or die. To that end, the Norman-based “nightmare-pop” band decided to include…
We’ve been had
Coming up in the New York garage-rock revival of the early 2000s with bands like The Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Interpol, The Walkmen have stepped out of the past decade looking no worse for the wear. Unlike most of their peers, the group has put out one critically acclaimed album after another, emerging as…
DHS needs meaningful oversight
SQ 765 is aimed at bringing long-overdue reforms at the Department of Human Services, which impacts more lives than almost any other agency. In the last decade, news headlines have exposed case after case of tragedy and failure by DHS. It’s clear that change is needed. Every department, program, and employee needs to be scrutinized…
Tucker up
A Good Egg (AGE) Dining Group’s popular burger joint will have twice the seating capacity of the original location on N.W. 23rd. Keith Paul, co-founder and co-owner of AGE, said he’s been happy with the success of the group’s Republic Gastropub in Classen Curve and thought the location would be perfect for another Tucker’s. “We…
New brew
Both Coop Ale Works and Mustang Brewing Company have released limited-production seasonal beers. Oklahoma City-based Coop is releasing a barley wine for the first time. The Territorial Reserve Barley Wine was aged in second-run Jack Daniels barrels for seven months. The alcohol came in at just over 11 percent by volume, which is high for…
Southern special
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US” lang=”EN-US”> Signs of days past, including Coca-Cola and Phillips 66, hang over Red’s Southern Diner in Edmond. It makes for a cool visual and also hints at the items on the menu. Vegetarians, be prepared. Almost everything at Red’s features chicken, although there is one beef or fish option. Served family-style, only…
Bad teacher
Credit: Brad Gregg A former Western Heights High School coach, the 33-year-old Nash faces five counts of second-degree rape and forcible oral sodomy after a 16-year-old student told police she had been having sex with him. The age of consent is 16 in Oklahoma unless it involves teachers and other school employees, an exception that…
‘Sordid’ stand-up
A few years ago, a small, independent film came out in a limited run in U.S. theaters. It starred some big names like Olivia Newton-John, Beau Bridges and Delta Burke. But it never achieved blockbuster status. That is, until its afterlife. Sordid Lives has become a cult classic. LGBT audiences in particular embraced the quirky…
Beauty school bribery
Credit: Brad Gregg An investigator for the state cosmetology board and another woman who was hoping to get a beauty instructor’s license were indicted by a multi-county grand jury Sept. 6 in Oklahoma City on bribery charges. The Oklahoma State Board of Cosmetology regulates beauty schools and salons. A board investigator, Patricia Migliaccio, was accused…
Maybe I’m corn-mazed
Credit: Brad Gregg The 35-acre corn maze at Reding Farm, which opens Sept. 28, is the largest in the state. This year it honors the OKC Thunder with images of the NBA Jumpman and Thunder logos, Durant’s No. 35 jersey, Rumble the Bison, a basketball and a hoop — just about everything except James Harden’s…
Wizard of health
Steve Leim works on the fruit bar at ASTEC. Credit: Mark Hancock Oz started the HealthCorps program in 2002 to help empower kids to make healthier lifestyle choices. The two-year program involves in-school placement of a peer-mentor coordinator who focuses part of the curriculum on nutrition, fitness, and mental resilience. ASTEC is the first in…
Autumn scenes
View from a new overlook at Will Rogers Park OKC Parks & Recreation Wendel Whisenhunt, Oklahoma City Parks and Recreation Department director, said drought, hot winds and high temperatures are causing the browning and making some trees go dormant early. Even if the greater Oklahoma City area receives more rain before the late October and…
Nip and tuck
Cathy O’Connor Credit: Mark Hancock While few of the changes are major, they will update and better spell out what the city can do as part of its incentive program, said Cathy O’Connor, president of the nonprofit organization Alliance for Economic Development. The program funds come from the 2007 general obligation limited tax (GOLT) bond.…
Taking refuge
Yassir Kori Credit: Mark Hancock She spent years in a Thai refugee camp. He was tortured by Myanmar police for a crime he did not commit. These aren’t headlines scrolling across a ticker; they are the stories of three Oklahoma City residents, and they are just a small sample of a larger population. A substantial…
Take a break
Disney Fall Break Camps8 a.m.-5 p.m. Oct. 15-16ArtzPlace Oklahoma1730 Center Drive, Midwest Cityartzplaceok.com732-4278 ArtzPlace Oklahoma is offering three different camps, all with a Disney theme. Try out the pop show choir with Alyssa Burnett, ceramics with Matthew Murray and graphic arts with Pamela Bradford. The camps are open to students from kindergarten through sixth grade.…
Of course
For those looking to learn from a nontraditional classroom setting or a more accessible location, the OKC Downtown College may be just the place. The college is a consortium of five area schools that offer classes — both for and without credit — primarily within the Ronald J. Norick Library at 300 Park Ave. “We…
Friday night frustration
In 2010, U.S. Grant lost to Del City 49-0, a trouncing that OKC school officials say could have been averted under a new proposal. Credit: Mark Hancock The 19-year-old University of Central Oklahoma football walk-on told coaches that if they wanted him off the team, they’d have to cut him — he would not quit…
To bang or not to bang?
That could mean a number of things for you. Likely, however, it means you’re gearing up for cooler temps (if and when they finally arrive) by revamping your wardrobe. It would make sense that you’ll establish your “fall look,” from head to toe. For me, my toes will be covered with a variety of boots,…
Deceitful dentistry
Credit: Brad Gregg Oklahoma has seen its share of great impostors over the years, ranging from Frank Abagnale— the Tulsa con man who inspired the book and movie Catch Me If You Can — to half of the state Legislature, who still pretend the year is 1952. If Oklahoma County prosecutors are to be believed,…
OKG7 comfort-food fixes
Yukon Super Buffet 1105 Garth Brooks, Yukon 354-2088 It’s not hard to find comfort in an all-you-can-eat buffet. Yukon Super Buffet offers mostly Chinese dishes, with a few Japanese and American side items. Get your grub on with seafood, crab legs, salmon, salads and fresh fruit. The Mongolian grill is fun, too; the customer chooses…
Glam wheels
Among them was a contestant representing the Sooner State, Jesa Lopez. She participated in a leadership institute and mentoring events. The contestants were judged on platform speech presentations, interviews and onstage questions. Although she didn’t win the title and sparkly crown, the Oklahoma City resident did not return empty-handed. Lopez received the Nicki Ard Achievement…
Thunder-yuck
Credit: Brad Gregg The Thunder’s former public address announcer, Jim Miller, is facing multiple counts of child sex abuse and committing lewd acts in front of a child. The Thunder organization immediately booted Miller when the allegations surfaced, but the dismissal didn’t come early enough to avoid his brief role in Thunderstruck. In one of…
Feeling thirsty?
What better way to welcome fall than with a toast? Representatives of 35 premium wineries will gather next Wednesday for the fourth annual Thirst for a Cause. Several area restaurants and clubs will provide food for the evening, which will include about 200 wines. The fundraiser is sponsored by Thirst Wine Merchants, an Oklahoma brokerage…
Hug it out
Credit: Brad Gregg Make love, not war? Sure. Hugs, not drugs? We can get on board with that. But hugging complete strangers? It’s OU, people, not UC-Berkeley. Of course the Paul Mitchell folks will also be rocking the latest hair and makeup fashions, as well as answering questions about personal styling. The Hugs campaign and…
Fight club
James Head Nate Gomez When not out in the oil fields, he is a contracted fighter for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, better known as the UFC. “It’s busy. I really like it, it’s a mental challenge,” Head said of his work as an engineer. “Just like martial arts, there is so much to learn. It’s…
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…
Naked Angels
The 1969 picture arrived at the crest of the biker-film craze, yet is so dull, it could’ve killed the genre. The plot concerns gang leader Mother (Michael Greene, The Harrad Experiment) being freshly discharged from the hospital, but in danger of going right back in as he seeks revenge on his rivals who put him…
Karate-Robo Zaborgar
As silly as it is satisfying, the Sushi Typhoon serving is both an update and a spoof of a live-action kiddie series from the 1970s, à la Ultraman, so the approach is both reverent and respectfully raunchy (think The Brady Bunch Movie). It’s about the love story between a man named Daimon (Yasuhisa Furuhara) and…
Grimm: Season One
The gist is that young Portland police detective Nick Burkhardt (David Giuntoli) finds his world of working homicide turned topsy-turvy when his librarian aunt informs him that his parents didn’t really die in a car accident, but were murdered. And not only that, but they were descendants of the brothers Grimm, whose stories weren’t fictional…
Privaledge — JoeWorld
Having listened to Priv’s first two projects, Itz a Privaledge and The Playbook, I could immediately tell from JoeWorld that he’s grown as an artist. He seems more mature and much more comfortable on each track. He is able to match his smooth, laid-back flow with each beat, regardless of the sound. His lyrical technique…
Mother’s Day
My younger brother picked up the box and asked to rent it; my mom refused, as a responsible parent should when presented with such an inquiry by a 9-year-old. I’m unsure what appealed to him: the disembodied head in a gift box or the recipient’s half-skull head? Whatever it was, it must’ve worked for a…
No need to be ‘Angry’
Matthew Alvin Brown first played the title role in Hedwig and the Angry Inch in 2002, and he’s appearing again as the bewigged belter under the auspices of Oklahoma City Theatre Company at Civic Center Music Hall’s Freede Little Theatre. This is the fourth time I’ve seen him in the role. Directed by Christopher Castleberry,…
Vile
So, yeah: It’s aptly titled. When two camping couples agree to give a ride to a stranded cougar (soap actress McKenzie Westmore) they meet at a gas station, they are gassed and awaken trapped in a house with five others. As explained by a helpful video, “Pain will be your only way out of this…
