'Fearless Freaks' screened in Norman

By Andrew W. Griffin
Pop writer
The Norman Transcript
Posted: May 11, 2007

The sun had already set by the time folks began gathering behind the Dreamer Concept Studio and Foundation at 324 E. Main St., last Friday night. This was in anticipation of Norman’s first screening of “Fearless Freaks,” a documentary about Oklahoma art-rockers The Flaming Lips, a band with ties to Norman.
Amber Clour, founder and executive director of Dreamer, was busy talking to guests who were looking at the eclectic art hanging from the walls of her studio. Nearby, a blonde-headed moppet sold “Fearless Freaks” T-shirts and copies of “Okie Noodling,” another documentary by “Fearless Freaks” creator and Cleveland County native Bradley Beesley.
Asked about the decision to show “Fearless Freaks” during the Downtown Art Walk, Clour said she is a longtime resident of Norman and over the years had come to know Beesley and members of the Flaming Lips. When she approached Beesley to allow her to screen the movie as part of a new series of art and documentary film screenings, Beesley accepted.
“Right now Norman has a great opportunity to grow its arts community,” Clour said. “And I chose to show this film because it was a good opportunity to showcase an Oklahoma filmmaker and a successful band from this area.”
The weather was cooperating this particular night and people began unfolding lawn chairs or finding choice spots to place their blankets in the alley/parking area. Others stood, talking, sharing a beer or simply taking in the entire scene.
Beesley, meanwhile, took the opportunity to show up for the screening of his unique film about the life of the Lips, guys who have become good friends with him over the years, allowing him full access into their homes and lives.
Looking at the dirty tarp acting as a screen hanging from the brick wall near Dreamer’s rear entrance, Beesley smiled and said, “It fits the Flaming Lips aesthetic. It’s definitely appropriate.”
Beesley, who was an art media student at OU said he first met the Lips “about two blocks from here” back in 1990. Befriending the quirky, unclassifiable rock act, Beesley began filming their music videos and by the time of the recording of “Clouds Taste Metallic” in 1994, he was asking documentary-styled questions and doing video not unlike the Beatles’ famous “Let It Be” sessions from 1969.
“At the time I didn’t know I was doing a documentary,” Beesley said. “But filming them that way got me more interested in documentary-style filmmaking.”
Throughout the 1990’s and into the 2000’s, Beesley began amassing plenty of Flaming Lips footage, 400 hours worth.
“It was kind of overwhelming,” Beesley said, talking about the project that would be “Fearless Freaks.” “Wayne (Coyne, the lead singer) is just so open, open to me,he free in front of the camera and will talk about anything possible.”
In 2002, he said, he got funding to put together a documentary feature, cutting down the film from 400 hours of footage to a tight and tidy two hours. And when it was finally released in 2005, it received critical acclaim at film festivals both domestically and internationally.
“We’ve sold about 28,000 DVD’s in the past year. I’ve screened it in about 15 different countries,” Beesley said.
Talking about the night’s screening, Beesley said this isn’t the first request he’s had.
“I probably get one email a week asking for permission to show it her or in Denmark … and knowing we’d never screened it here in Norman, thought it would be cool.”
Asked about the sorts of questions he receives from viewers, particularly in Europe, he said they often ask about Wayne Coyne’s time working at the old Long John Silver’s at 30th and Classen in Oklahoma City. Oh, and the other one? The brutally real scene of multi-instrumentalist Steven Drozd shooting up heroin.
“In fact, Steven (who has since kicked his heroin habit) has gotten so many accolades from people and guys in bands like The Strokes, who’ve said they never knew he was a heroin addict and are glad he’s over it. Steven’s really happy that he got that across.”
Beesley’s labor of love is quite a rollercoaster ride of inside dirt about The Flaming Lips. From the Coyne brothers early 1970’s gang-like football club called the Fearless Freaks, to the creation of the Flaming Lips and their crazy ride to stardom and critical acclaim.
When asked about his thoughts about covering this Grammy-winning band, Beesley said he has no perspective. He simply knows Wayne Coyne, Steven Drozd and Michael Ivins as his friends who happen to play music – creatively.
And where were Wayne and the guys? Well, the word was that Wayne would be there, but this reporter never caught a glimpse of the white-suit-wearing rocker.
As for Beesley, he said his latest project is a live DVD of the Lips’ 2006 show the Oklahoma City Zoo Amphitheater. He is also working on various TV shows and documentaries including a second installment of his popular “Okie Noodling” documentary.
The film was well-received by the crowd and they had a chance to ask Beesley questions afterward.
“I think it’s great that Brad Beesley came to Norman to show his film and connect with young artists,” said Lisa Morales of Norman.
“I was pleasantly surprised. I didn’t have any expectations since we’d never done anything like this,” Clour said. “Question and answer session was awesome.”
As for future showings at the Dreamer gallery, Clour said on June 1, she will be screening Ken Cole’s storm chaser documentary called “Tornado Glory.” Dreamer 4 art opening will also be featured that day, featuring four new artists. This will begin at 7 p.m.
For more information go online to www.dreamerconcepts.org or call 701-0048.

Gov't accused of engaging in post-OKC bombing cover-up

I applaud Salt Lake City, Utah lawyer Jesse Trentadue for pressing on with his investigation of his brother Kenneth Trentadue, whom he believes was killed while in federal custody following the April 19, 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah federal building here in Oklahoma City.

Reports Deseret News reporter Geoffrey Fatah from Denver: A Salt Lake City attorney's quest to prove his brother was murdered while in federal custody received a boost from judges in the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, who expressed serious concern over an alleged government cover-up of the case.
"This is a terrible case," said 10th Circuit Judge Robert Henry during oral arguments Wednesday. "The federal government doesn't look well for it."
--END--
But in the end, will anyone face any reprimands, firings, trials or consequences of any sort? With the government's track record these days, don't bet on it. I mean they redact, black out and cover up all sorts of damning information, just check out this nugget midway through the story:
Justice Department attorney Peter Maier said that report (regarding Trentadue's complaint) was part of the council's deliberative process and should not be made public. Maier said government officials need protection from the public domain in order to allow them to be candid. Making such information public would only discourage the free flow of
information.

If that isn't Orwellian, I don't know what is. And we're asked to TRUST our government.

White lines

I don't know how many of you were able to make it to Oklahoma City's Festival of the Arts. I certainly did and had a terrific time. And while the weather was perfect (it's been cloudy and rainy here for days), I couldn't help but notice the jet trails crisscrossing the skies.

Of course these "jet trails" are better known as chemtrails, rather than the innocuous contrails of yore. These new lines-in-the-sky typically start out with these thin lines with little nodule-shaped poofs coming on the edges and within the hour have billowed out and spread across the sky, often merging with other, similar trails.

I've noticed these things across the country and have tried to get meteorologists to talk to me about why they are different from normal contrails which dissipate after 20 minutes or so. These trails have become so prevalent that Disney/Pixar films feature them in animated features like "Cars" and "Over the Hedge." Why would they do that, unless there is a concerted effort to keep the people in the dark about these high altitude aerosol activities.

If you have some pictures in your area you'd like to send to me, email me at: aw_griffin@yahoo.com.

Recycle bins and feel-good propositions

While I initially wanted to vote "yes" on the curbside recycling proposition on the ballot here in Norman, I was convinced, by the time I reached the voting booth, that the $3 fee added to resident's water bills would be unfair. I mean, there are a number of places to go around town where folks can rid themselves of recyclables.

As noted in The Oklahoman, "more than 71 percent of voters said yes to adding" the fee while low-income residents will pay $2.40 a month.

Where's the freedom of choice, city of Norman? This was simply a push by eco activists playing on the fears of folks who believe that global warming is a manmade crisis.

Illegal alien bill signed by Henry

The boy governor appears to have a spine after all. He actually signed the bill that would crack down on illegal immigration in our state. Gov. Henry, you deserve a hearty pat on the back. You stood up for the working class in Oklahoma.

And to you, Rep. Randy Terrill, R-Moore, you stood up for something that stirs up lots of feelings both positive and negative and you persevered. Congrats!

Braum's: 100 years & 100 ice cream flavors

Received this creamy press release from the State Legislature. While I love Braum's ice cream, they tend to be somewhat dirty places. I used to live near one in Wichita when I was a teen and it was a treat to go get a cone or a burger. And I love the crinkle fries.

One Hundred Years and One Hundred Ice Cream Flavors

OKLAHOMA CITY- With less than three weeks left to make final state budget decisions, the Tuttle Chamber of Commerce today offered lawmakers a little stress relief - bowls of ice cream produced by a company that has played an important role in Oklahoma's history.

Today is "Braum's Day" at the State Capitol, giving Capitol employees the chance to partake in some of the state's best ice cream and recognize the Braum family for their significant contribution to Oklahoma's economy and history.

Bill and Mary Braum opened their first Braum's store in Oklahoma City in 1968. The heart of the Braum operation is their family farm in Tuttle, which is home to a private dairy herd of 10,000 cows and a processing plant.

In Tuttle, the Braum family works the land to grow corn, wheat, barley,alfalfa hay and other natural ingredients to feed their dairy herd. Their cows provide the milk that's used to make ice cream, milk andother dairy products.

Bill and Mary Braum, along with their sons and daughters, own and operate 276 Braum's Ice Cream and Dairy Stores in five states: Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Missouri and Arkansas. The company employs around 7,500 people, with 3,900 employees in Oklahoma alone.

Braum's, a State Centennial Sponsor, will introduce two new flavors thisyear celebrating the Centennial. The two new flavors were "tested" by the cone in stores and were so popular that they decided to offer them by the half gallon.

The two new flavors are Premium Fried Ice Cream,made with cinnamon, honey, brown sugar, a caramel ribbon and lots offried cinnamon tostada pieces, and Premium Cake Batter, a cake batter ice cream with pieces of yellow cake with fudge frosting mixed throughout.

"There's no better time to recognize such an important business than when Oklahoma is celebrating 100 years of statehood and Braum's is celebrating over 100 flavors of ice cream," said Winchester,(R-Chickasha). "The Braum family contributes to Oklahoma's economy,health and enjoyment by providing us with delicious yet healthy dairy products that will hopefully be a part of Oklahoma history through ournext 100 years."

"The Braums have proven that Oklahomans can excel in a competitive national marketplace," said state Rep. Phil Richardson, R-Minco.

"Theirsuccess is a tribute to Oklahoma's pioneering spirit.The Braum family continues to play an active role in charitable andcivic affairs in Oklahoma, and it's fitting that we recognize theirachievements," said state Sen. Ron Justice, R-Chickasha. "And if we can eat a little ice cream in the process, I'm certainly not going to complain."

Red Dirt music story rejected by Texas Music Times

By A.W. Griffin
Red Dirt Reporter

WICHITA FALLS, Texas – If you’re a serious fan of the Texas and Red Dirt music scene, the idea of having some popular singer/musicians populating the genre coming to play at your birthday party.
That was the case for Texas/Red Dirt concert promoter Woody Hodges, a 36-year-old Texan who has been promoting the scene via his company, Sold Out Productions, based in Denton.
For his December 5th birthday, Hodges arranged for three artists – Toby Wayne, Johnny Cooper and Mike McClure – to perform an acoustic show at Stage West in Wichita Falls.
For a Wednesday night, there was a good crowd for the gig.
And Hodges, whose seen or worked with just about everyone in the Texas/Red Dirt scene said “it’s kind of a been a tradition to have McClure play on my birthday.”
And Hodges said he is becoming a big fan of Red Dirt outlaw Jackson Taylor. Taylor, a rockabilly fan who performed an acoustic version of Social Distortion’s “Ball and Chain,” took the time to make Woody’s birthday party and play a few songs between Cooper and McClure.
“Jackson wasn’t hired and just showed up to celebrate the occasion,” Hodges said. “We have really developed a good relationship over the last few months and I was very pleased to see him walk in.”
He added that Jackson Taylor is one of his top five favorites on the scene.
And the thing about Woody Hodges, a former disc jockey and drummer, is that he has a real ear for good Texas/Red Dirt music and is always bringing good artists to perform at Stage West for “Woody’s Acoustic Chaos” each Wednesday night.
For instance, Johnny Cooper has been one of Woody’s favorite artist to hire. Cooper is young, enthusiastic and talented. Plus, he has a growing audience and that’s good for business.
Cooper looks up to fellow performer Mike McClure and said as much, noting that tonight’s gig was a “serious thing” and that it had been a while since the two had performed together.
The plan was to have Johnny Cooper play with Mike McClure, along with Cooper’s lead guitar player, Jason Brown, backing them up. However, Brown had an emergency and had to leave.
Cooper seemed a little bummed about not playing with McClure this night. Still, Cooper said he was content to “sit back and watch” the unpredictable, prolific and eccentric Mike McClure.
And McClure was, well, McClure. Looking like a grad student from Cornell, McClure breezed drunkenly through a scattershot set of originals (“Lay Your Head Down,” “North Platte Blues”) and the occasional cover (“Into the Mystic”).
And as a fan myself, it is fun to see the artists at Stage West (or Duvallz in Lawton, Oklahoma) performing acoustic shows and in a more intimate environment.
A week later, Woody, still pumped after last week’s show, hosted another solid gig, featuring Brandon Rhyder and singer-guitarists Lance Burnett and Jeremy Jowers from Seymour, Texas-based Under the Influence Band. This was somewhat of an extension of his post-birthday acoustic chaos gigs. And those in attendance for this latest show were excited to share it with their friend Woody.
Rhyder, who arrived with his guitar and little else, took time to talk to a serious fan who is stationed at a local Air Force base.
“All of his music is awesome,” said Steven Sheeley, a native of Midlothian, Texas.
Jowers and Burnett, who play a Texas music style that has a rock and blues influence, admiring everyone from Michael Nesmith to Chris Knight, put on a good show for the nice, Wednesday night crowd.
In the crowd this night was P.J. Berry, a super-fan from nearby Iowa Park, Texas. Sporting a red Shooter Jennings T-shirt and wielding a digital camera, this 55-year-old was having the time of her life snapping pictures of the artists over the course of the evening.
She talked about suffering from an illness a few years back and being confined to a wheelchair – until she was introduced to Texas and Red Dirt music – music she says saved her life.
“It got me out of that wheelchair,” she said with a winning smile.
Berry, who goes to Texas and Red Dirt shows all over with her husband Ron Berry, said after spending time with her bartending son down in Austin back in the late 1990’s, she took a liking to the music.And for Woody, what did he think of the turnout and the party with McClure and Cooper?
Said Hodges, “I was very pleased with the turnout. It is hard to have a bad show with Mike & Johnny. Then throw in some Jackson Taylor and Toby Wayne, that equals a great party and some of the best talent around. It was one of the best Birthday parties I have had and know I will have a hard time beating it next year. I better start working on that right now!”
--END--

Boren & Tenet & unanswered questions

Interesting blog post from The Oklahoman's Washington bureau correspondent Chris Casteel, who discusses George Tenet's new book, "At the Center of the Storm," and Tenet's connection to current OU President and former US Sen. David Boren, a man with close ties to intelligence agencies and the so-called "black world" of covert ops.

Writes Casteel:
Seven years ago this week, University of Oklahoma President David Boren came to Washington to make an important point about George Tenet: that he was independent and would tell the President of the United States what he needed _ not what he wanted _ to hear.
There is no doubt Boren, a former U.S. senator who served as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee during the first Gulf War and is close to many people in the military and intelligence communities, thought this was a critical characteristic for a CIA director.
There is some doubt now that Tenet lived up to Boren's depiction of him, made at the Senate confirmation hearings for Tenet.

Continuing ...

Tenet essentially claims in the book that he was made the scapegoat by some in the Bush administration for the fact that no weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq. Tenet devotes a whole chapter in his book to his use of the phrase "slam dunk'' during an Oval Office meeting about making the public case that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.
In an interview this week, Boren said he repeatedly urged Tenet to resign, or at least threaten to resign, because of the administration's determination to invade Iraq, without conclusive intelligence about weapons of mass destruction.

Finally ...

Boren, who is still a good friend and strong supporter of Tenet, said he accomplished much at the CIA. But, after listing his achievements, Boren asked, "Did he vigorously enough try to convince the president that there was insufficient evidence of WMD before going into Iraq?"
Tenet's book clearly shows that he's been asking that question of himself for years.
--END--

Read the full piece here.

And I have to say that it still leaves some big questions open. Boren and Tenet were having a "leisurely breakfast"together in Washington on 9/11. Click here to read Michael P. Wright's comments and links to articles that point to Tenet (and Boren indirectly) as missing some serious clues that would point to a terrorist attack taking place in 2001. Of course we know Zacarias Moussaoui was in Norman, Boren's backyard, for a while in 2001 and we also know Nick Berg, the young Pennsylvania businessman beheaded in Iraq in 2004, was lurking around OU campus around the time Moussaoui had been in Norman. What does Boren, or Tenet for that matter, know about this?

Henry needs to sign immigration reform bill into law

Hopefully Brad Henry, boy governor, will get with the program and sign the immigration reform bill into law. Sure, the corrupt, unethical businesses in our state may be crying in pain (particularly Seaboard out in the Panhandle, I reckon) as are the pro-illegals activist groups. But our boy governor should think of the hardworking, LEGAL residents first and foremost. He fell down in regards to the abortion bill a few weeks back and lost a lot of respect from those of us in the pro-life movement. So, Gov. Henry, do something right this time and send a message that the state of Oklahoma takes illegal immigration seriously and will no longer tolerate the coddling of lawbreakers.

Terror war plate for sale

So, what to make of this Oklahoma "Global War on Terrorism" license plate? Well, you've got the eagle. Very American. You've got the Twin Towers from the demolished World Trade Center and a ribbon reading "9/11." Hmm. Curious. It's also got that new-style desert camo look. If I wasn't so cynical about the whole affair, I'd think it was kind of cool. But when your eyes are opened and you know something to be completely false, then it's just kind of a bummer. So, if you're interested in picking up one of these plates for your Hummer or whatever, go to http://www.tax.ok.gov/plates/sp145.html. But hurry, supplies are limited.

Inhofe clearly confused as to why we invaded Iraq

Saw this little nugget via ThinkProgress today. Sen. Jimmy is clearly confused once again.

Inhofe: Media invented WMD excuse for Iraq invasion.

Inhofe, speaking to the press before Cheney’s arrival (in Tulsa), lambasted Democrats for Thursday’s Senate vote to begin withdrawal from Iraq by Oct. 1 and the press for “mischaracterizing” the reasons for U.S. involvement.

“The whole idea of weapons of mass destruction was never the issue, yet they keep trying to bring this up,” Inhofe said. […]
Pressed for an explanation, Inhofe said weapons of mass destruction were “incidental” to the decision to invade Iraq.
“The media made that the issue because they knew Saddam Hussein had used weapons of mass destruction.”
(Then we find out what Jimmy said back in August 2002 ...)

Our intelligence system has said that we know that Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction — I believe including nuclear. There’s not one person on this panel who would tell you unequivocally that he doesn’t have the missile means now, or is nearly getting the missile means to deliver a weapon of mass destruction. And I for one am not willing to wait for that to happen.
--END--

You've embarrassed us enough, Senator.