NEW SITE: RedDirtReport.com

My new site is: WWW.REDDIRTREPORT.COM.

Hope to see you over there!

-Andrew in OKC

OK Gazette asks: Are giant octopi eating swimmers in Oklahoma lakes?

This had to be one of the more bizarre non-stories to grace the cover of the tried-and-true Oklahoma Gazette.

Giant octopi? What about real investigative pieces? How about a story looking into the murder of Oklahoma City Police Officer Terry Yeakey following the Oklahoma City bombing? C'mon Gaz, we expect more from y'all!

LAST MAN OUT: William Rodriguez takes '9-11 Hero Tour' to Tulsa

By Andrew W. Griffin
Red Dirt Report
Posted: August 13, 2007

TULSA, Okla. – Amidst the chaos, death and destruction of the attacks on the World Trade Center on Sept.11, 2001, one man was able to save many people and get out alive himself – just barely.
That man is William Rodriguez, a native Puerto Rican who worked as a janitor in the North Tower of the World Trade Center for 20 years. Traveling around the world, Rodriguez brought his compelling and harrowing tale of strength and heroism to a group of 200 at the Renaissance Tulsa Convention Center on Aug. 8, sponsored by TulsaTruth.org. This visit is part of his “Last Man Out” 9-11 Hero Tour which has taken him to Britain, Malaysia, Venezuela and many other countries.
Rodriguez, as it turns out, is a very engaging and interesting guy. He breaks the ice by joking about how he resembles and sounds like Desi Arnaz of “I Love Lucy” fame. But it isn’t long before Rodriguez is telling the crowd how he almost didn’t come to work on that fateful morning, telling his boss he just didn’t feel up to it, mainly because his task includes being in charge of cleaning 110 floors of stairwells.
But his boss convinced him to do otherwise, and Rodriguez came in – late. As he later notes, his tardiness saved his life and the lives of others, as it turns out.
“I went to the North Tower basement where our office was located and it was at 8:46 that there was an explosion that was so loud. BOOM!! That came from below us.”
There were five more basement levels below where he was with the other workers.
“I suspected the generator blew out,” Rodriguez said. “I had the sensation of being pushed up.”
Seconds later, as he was getting his bearings, Rodriguez said there was another explosion, this time far above them. This was the first airliner striking the tower many floors above them.
“There were two different events separated by seven seconds,” Rodriguez said, adding that someone was screaming ‘It’s a bomb, it’s a bomb.’ Rodriguez, it should be noted, survived the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center.
Meanwhile, his fellow workers are screaming in terror not sure what to do. It’s then that an Aramark vending machine worker named Felipe David makes his way into their office, his burned skin hanging off of him.
“He was crying ‘Help! Help!’” Rodriguez said. “I put a towel around Mr. Felipe and told him we’re going to get out.”
And they made their way out of the basement area and up to the street, finding an ambulance for David.
At this point, emergency vehicles were arriving and he’s beginning to get a better sense of what is going on. Looking up, he sees the top of the tower on fire, where the plane had struck it. Immediately he thought of all his friends on the 106th and 107th floor where the Windows of the World restaurant is located. In fact, on a normal day, he’d be up there having his free breakfast and working his way down to the bottom floor. But, since he came in late, that wasn’t the case. In all, he said he lost 200 friends on 9/11.
Going back inside to his office, the sprinklers are flooding the offices and it’s then that he hears screams. It is two men trapped in a freight elevator which is also filling up with water.
Not sure how to get them out, Rodriguez says he was able to find an unsecure mop and is able to use it to help the two trapped workers make their way to freedom.
Around this time, the firemen are figuring out how to go in and save people still inside the tower. Because Rodriguez carries the coveted master key, which opens all floors and offices, he tells the firemen that he will lead them in there, opening each door.
“These guys are my heroes,” Rodriguez said of the fire fighters. “They had between 55 to 125 pounds of equipment on their backs, not to mention their protective suits and boots. I mean, they were just struggling to get up the stairwell.”
As Rodriguez was leading them up those first dozen-or-so floors, opening doors and checking offices for people, three more loud explosions could be heard coming from below. While one fireman suggested it was gas tanks in the kitchens blowing up, Rodriguez said building codes don’t allow gas in skyscrapers like the WTC 1. They’re all electric.
By the time he reached the 33rd floor, he had managed to call his worried mother in Puerto Rico and assure him he was all right. While on the 33rd floor, Rodriguez got spooked by the sound of something huge being scraped along the floor of the 34th floor just above him.
“I knew that was an empty floor,” Rodriguez said. “What I heard sounded like a metal dumpster with metal wheels scraping across the floor.”
What this was, Rodriguez wouldn’t speculate. However, he did say this was the only floor he didn’t enter.
About this time, Rodriguez hears another explosion, this time coming from the South Tower. The second plane had hit. The force shook the North Tower as well.
Realizing he’s never going to make it to the top floor to save his trapped friends, Rodriguez begins making his way back down towards the main floor.
Along the way, he hears the screams of people trapped in elevators. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the tools to get them out and had to move on.
In the main lobby, Rodriguez said he was stunned by the destruction. The elevator doors were blown upward as if something blew up from below. The marble tiles on the walls were blown off and the glass blown outward. It was utter chaos. Going outside, Rodriguez sees cops nearby screaming at him to not look back. Of course he does look back and sees the remains of people who had been forced to jump from the higher floors.
“I started screaming in total shock and crying,” he said, adding that he thought he recognized the clothing of a friend of his from Windows of the World.
He also saw a woman he had saved earlier who had been cut in half by a piece of glass.
This horrifying scene was overwhelming, he said. It was then that the cops began running away and chunks of the building began coming down as the earthquake-like destruction of the complex began to take place.
He knew he had seconds to find safety, and as he made his way to a nearby fire truck, Rodriguez prayed to God that if they found his body that it would be intact for the sake of his mother.
The building fell all around him, burying him under the debris as the firetruck held up under the strain. He mentioned that his training as a magician (by the Amazing Randi, interestingly enough) helped him survive.
The dust burned his lungs and skin, but incredibly he was pulled out of the rubble – alive and no bones broken.
Rodriguez said he shared his harrowing tale of survival on CNN and other networks and talked about bombs going off in the building, particularly on the sub floors. This was broadcast for about three days until it was finally stopped. Apparently, he said, his story wasn’t fitting in with the official story. Bombs going off everywhere? It was only a plane that caused the building to come down into its own footprint.
Rodriguez said that over time he fought for legislation to be passed to help the children of 9/11 victims. He also spoke to the 9/11 Commission but his testimony was never used. The rest of his friends’ testimony was ignored by the Commission.
Rodriguez said there are so many things that are clearly wrong with everything related to this attack on the World Trade Center. The Giuliani administration did little to adequately protect first responders – 160 of which that have died, along with all the rescue dogs.
“We have 62,000 people are sick in New York City due to the toxic dust from that day,” he said.
Why? He said the Environmental Protection Agency didn’t warn people about the toxicity of the Ground Zero environment because they wanted Wall Street to reopen.
Rodriguez is totally disgusted with the way they’ve treated the regular folks, survivors, first responders and others connected to the tragedy.
“They’ve used this tragedy to push their international political agenda,” he said. “And now we live in a quasi-dictatorship. We keep losing our rights.”
Rodriguez said the only ‘conspiracy theory’ out there is the one told to us by our own government.
“We owe the truth to the victims, survivors and those affected by 9/11,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez, in the intervening years, has lived under a bridge – broke – and has traveled the world. In Venezuela, he was being tailed by an FBI agent and was ultimately given protection by the Chavez government. He knows the U.S. government is not happy with him spreading the word of 9/11 truth around the world via his “Last Man Out” speaking tour.
“I suffer every time I relive my story. I feel those souls on my shoulders, still waiting for answers,” he said.
For more information on William Rodriguez, go to www.911keymaster.com.

Heavy Mental

In case you missed it, the latest issue of the state magazine Oklahoma Today, has a terrific article, by Enid News & Eagle reporter Scott Fitzgerald, about the life of Enid native and "heavy mental" New Age guitarist Michael Hedges, one of my all-time favorite Okies and artists.

Hedges received worldwide acclaim for his albums "Aerial Boundaries," "Taproot" and others, in the 1980's and 1990's. I personally became a fan when I helped run a program in college at John Brown University called "Reflections," on KLRC. Hedges' beautiful acoustic music was a staple on the program.

Tragically, Hedges died in the fall of 1997 - nearly 10 years ago - in an auto accident in California. During this same period, several other great singer-songwriters - Rich Mullins and John Denver - died in accidents involving forms of transportation. Denver in an experimental plane and Mullins in a car. Very sad time.

But Hedges left behind a great collection of music which is widely available via the terrific Windham Hill record label.

And on this subject, check out Enid Buzz's blog post "A Moment in Time," which is about Hedges' home in Enid and a recent gathering of some of the Hedges family.

They've looked at clouds from both sides now

Here's a link to my Norman Transcript story about a cloud study performed by OU scientists and feds, including NASA.

And when I inquired about "jet trails" (i.e. contrails or chemtrails), Dr. Pete Lamb said he wrote a paper on contrails. He didn't take it any further.

Israeli counterterrorism expert warns of multiple terror attacks 'within 90 days'

Israeli counterterrorism expert Juval Aviv said an "Al Qaeda" attack could strike up to seven U.S. cities within the next 90 days.

Read the report here.

Pet deaths concern neighbors

Rather disturbing report comes out of Edmond involving a mutilated cat.
http://www.edmondsun.com/local/local_story_206110249.html

Two reviews: Keller Williams and Brandon Pruitt

By Andrew Griffin
Pop Writer
The Norman Transcript
Posted: July 13 & 20, 2007

Keller Williams – “Dream” (SCI Fidelity)
Popular among jam band aficionados, singer-guitarist Keller Williams made his way into that scene via support from String Cheese Incident. And clearly the cats in the Incident had good taste because Keller Williams is by far one of the most exciting and creative artists working today.
Just check out “Dream,” Williams’ latest project that is just chock full o’songs (and famous friends) ranging from the tricky, reggae-tinged “Ninja of Love” (featuring Michael Franti of Spearhead), or the lyrically-hilarious, instrumentally-amazing song “Cadillac,” featuring guest guitarist Bob Weir of Grateful Dead fame.
One of the most sublime tracks is the Windham Hill-styled instrumental “Cookies,” which features guest guitarist Fareed Haque playing a hybrid guitar-sitar instrument.
What one senses when listening to “Dream,” is that Williams is having an absolute ball playing and performing these songs. It’s no wonder that he was able to get so many friends and peers to make guest appearances on this record.
For more information go to www.kellerwilliams.net.

Brandon Pruitt Band – “Red Dirt Blue Country” (Bonfire Entertainment)
Honestly, before hearing Brandon Pruitt Band’s “Red Dirt Blue Country,” I was entirely oblivious to their music. But when I received the album and gave it a spin, I kept playing it again and again, each song sinking into the inner reaches of my brain.
One thing’s for sure, Oklahoma native Pruitt and his crack team of Red Dirt-loving band members know this genre and how to keep it pure.
In fact, I found “He’s a Cowboy,” a Western song if there ever was one, refreshing and entirely authentic, both instrumentally and lyrically.

Garth Brooks to headline surprise Live Earth gig in D.C.

It's great to see that Yukon native Garth Brooks and his wife Trisha Yearwood will be headlining a surprise Live Earth concert in Washington D.C. singing his early '90s hit "We Shall Be Free."
They will join Bon Jovi, Kelly Clarkson, John Mayer and Keith Urban for the performance, hosted by environmental spokesman Al Gore.

Former 'Idol' finalist releases stellar country album

By Andrew W. Griffin
Pop Writer
The Norman Transcript
Posted: July 6, 2007

Bucky Covington
“Bucky Covington”
(Lyric Street Records)

When North Carolina native Bucky Covington made became a Top 10 finalist on “American Idol” last year, little did anyone know that the following year he’d become an idol of in his own right in the country music world scoring a number one debut album and a hit song, “A Different World.” I mean, this guy just screams “Americana.”
Why do I say that? Listen to the stomping country-rocker “American Friday Night” and tell me I’m wrong.
Hot rods, prom night, going off to college, getting shipped off to war, learning to respect your elders or missing a girl so bad it hurts. These and many other slice of life themes, already covered by Springsteen, Mellencamp and a score of other country artists and roots rockers, pepper this very appealing debut from the former “Idol” contestant.
If this album is any indication, I’d say Bucky Covington has a solid career ahead of him.
For more information, go to www.buckycovington.com.

Randy Rogers and Wade Bowen take 'Beer' tour to OKC

By Andrew W. Griffin
Pop Writer
Norman Transcript
Posted: June 29, 2007

OKLAHOMA CITY – First off, I give Texas music superstars Randy Rogers and Wade Bowen high marks for the name of their acoustic tour – the “Hold My Beer and Watch This” acoustic tour 2007. I love it because it reminds me of the old joke about rednecks that say that very phrase before doing something incredibly stupid.

But there was nothing stupid about Rogers and Bowen hitting the hallowed stage at Bricktown’s Wormy Dog Saloon in Oklahoma City and singing their best material in front of what appeared to be a sold-out crowd last week.

Rogers, with his trademark backwards baseball cap and Bowen with a strangely innocent expression on his face, stood side-by-side on the stage cradling their acoustic guitars, while beers and various adult beverages awaited them on a stand directly behind the duo.

After the whoops and hollers lessened after the two hit the stage, Rogers kicked things off with “Rollercoaster,” introducing it by simply saying, “This is a true story.”
Well, maybe. After Bowen got a chance to sing a song he co-wrote with Rogers, Rogers takes to the mic again and says: “Forty percent of the song lyrics are full of (expletive) and the rest are true. It’s up to you to decide which ones are true.”

They gave the crowd the songs they wanted to hear from their hits “Kiss Me In the Dark” (Rogers) and “God Bless This Town” (Bowen) to interesting covers like the Dave Loggins song “Please Come to Boston,” which Bowen tackled admirably.

And that’s what the crowd got this humid night. In fact, in the 75-year old, two-story building that houses the Wormy Dog, the original elevator, installed in the early 1930’s, had malfunctioned, according to Wormy Dog bouncer Johnny Five.
As a result the employees were having to haul in case after case of beer on their shoulders in order to slake the thirst of the crowd.
“Knowing that, three dollars a beer doesn’t seem too expensive, does it?” Johnny Five said.

All the while, Rogers and Bowen played their songs, kicked back, drank beer after beer and swapped stories. Rogers even played a new song titled “Long Enough to Leave,” which he’d co-written a few weeks earlier with Micky Braun of Micky & The Motorcars.

At one point, the two had a contest: who wrote the worst song, a song, they suggested, could be offered to macho country singer Trace “Honkytonk Badonkadonk” Adkins.
“We want you to vote for the worst song,” Rogers said. “And the loser has to buy the winner a … taquito.”
Rogers’ bad tune, a love song of sorts on the level of sub-standard seventh-grade poetry, was pretty poor. But it was Bowen who got the attention of the crowd with his song that elicited every country cliché, from trucks to working in the “West Texas sun,” and an absurd refrain, “She said, ‘Hell yeah, boy!’” Or was it ‘Hell yeah, Bowen.”? Who knows, the sound was so bad in the Dog that night it was hard to tell.

In any event, it was Rogers who owed Bowen a taquito.

Strumming up business / Norman Transcript

Strumming up business

The Norman Transcript
By Andrew W. Griffin
For the Transcript
Posted: June 24, 2007

Wess McMichael loves music.
So do the dozens of teachers and hundreds of students learning various instruments at his Norman-based business, McMichael Music, 1005 N. Flood Ave. Suite 100.

Since 2000 the guitarist-businessman has operated a business in Norman, McMichael Music, and in that time, other music-lovers have come to learn under McMichael and his growing roster of music teachers.

In fact, McMichael said, his music classes, including private lessons and group clinics, has garnered a positive reputation resulting in more and more students signing up to take music lessons in percussion, woodwinds, guitar, piano, bass, violin and voice.

It was simply getting too crowded for his students and teachers at the original McMichael Music in the Elite Plaza shopping center.

“I was having trouble finding places for people to practice and play,” McMichael said. So, McMichael found an available space — a former daycare center — across the Elite Plaza parking lot, and was able to build and expand his business.For McMichael and his students and teachers, the expansion was music to their ears.

“We’re a third bigger now,” McMichael said, adding there are 16 teaching rooms.

On a recent afternoon, McMichael was sitting in the new break room with several of his teachers. All spoke highly of McMichael and the fact that the expanding business is exciting and how they all love working at McMichael Music.

“I have students who range in age from 8 to 70,” said guitar teacher Terry Ware, a seasoned musician who used to tour with Texas musician Ray Wylie Hubbard. “We have every skill level imaginable.” Ware jokingly said in his many years on the road, he’s learned a lot and thinks someone at McMichael Music needs to offer “road and music business advice” to these up-and-coming musicians who may be naïve about the realities of touring and the music business.

McMichael heard this and nodded in agreement, saying that down the road offering such legal advice might be a possibility. One teacher, Chris Wray, has his own jazz group, the Christopher Wray Quartet, and said he was once a student under McMichael and is excited to be working for his former teacher.“I’ve grown musically in this place,” Wray said. “We all really like our jobs.”
In fact, Wray talked about how McMichael hires well-trained teachers and allows them to teach in a style that works best for them.

As the teachers talked, several brought up the fact that they will go the extra mile with their students by offering to show up at local music stores or pawn shops in order to help students pick out an appropriate instrument.

“We help them by showing them what to get and what not to get,” Ware said.

Two guitar teachers, Thomas Anderson and James Spake, offer a rock clinic to students interested in forming rock bands. The teaching duo instructs students on how to do everything from developing a stage presence to maintaining eye contact with a crowd. The latest rock clinic session will conclude in late July with a rock show featuring the new bands at Andrews Park July 29.“There will be eight bands playing three songs each,” Spake said.

Interestingly, members of more established bands are teachers as well, including Norman-based singer-songwriter-guitarist Mike Hosty and Alan Orebaugh, lead guitarist of local Red Dirt rock band Mama Sweet. On this particular afternoon, Orebaugh was giving a guitar lesson to 17-year-old Justin Suman. He has been playing guitar for a couple of years.

“I’ve learned a lot (from Orebaugh) than I’ve ever learned on my own.”

This brings a smile to Orebaugh’s face as he sits across from his student, cradling an electric guitar. Adds Suman: “I’d like to be able to make a living playing guitar or teaching guitar.”

For more information, go online to www.mcmichaelmusic.com or call 360-1199.

Norman company completes rocket test firing

Norman company completes rocket test firing

The Norman Transcript
By Andrew W. Griffin
For The Transcript
Posted: June 17, 2007

Norman may not be known as a hotbed of aerospace innovation, but one small firm in the city is beginning to change that perception as they develop and promote economical sub-orbital rockets that could be used in a variety of ways.

TGV Rockets Inc., a 10-year-old Norman-based company, recently completed critical and successful test firings of a rocket engine at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in southern Mississippi, according to TGV Rocket’s founder and CEO Pat Bahn.

Bahn showed The Transcript a video of the TGV demonstration recently filmed at Stennis which showed the company’s 30,000 pound engine, using JP-8 military-grade jet fuel.
Bahn said the first test was a success, which is unusual in the rocket business.Bahn said that the company hopes in the near future, they will be able to provide clients with affordable rockets that will be able to launch, go to the edge of space, perform thier duties and return to earth via a soft landing near the launch site.

This would be done using a low-operational cost.

“When we started the firm, our interest was very broadly focused, but as we developed the ideas, we realized we could replace a multi-billion dollar imaging satellite with a $10 million-class rocketship.”

Bahn said his company is hoping to tap into a new, $800 million U.S. Air Force project that deals with the kind of rocket technology that his company specializes in. Landing that could be a real boon for TGV.

And while the military is an obvious client for TGV Rockets, Bahn said he hopes to get the attention of industrial farming operations looking to lower production costs by showing them that TGV Rockets’ cameras can take high-speed photos of a large agricultural area at the edge of space.
This, he said, could then be used to show the agricultural outfit areas where chemicals are needed or not needed, thereby lessening spray costs among other issues.

“We basically want to create a low-cost way to produce satellite photography better, cheaper and faster,” Bahn said. As for future clients, Bahn’s lips are sealed. He said it wouldn’t be appropriate to reveal any names before anything actually got off the ground. Bahn is hoping the state’s Department of Transportation will begin supporting his company and future tests at the spaceport site at the former Clinton-Sherman Air Force Base near Burns Flat.

He was disappointed the state didn’t seek him out regarding his rocket engine tests and that state officials seem more interested in rubbing shoulders with NASA officials and watching shuttle launches in Florida.“One million dollars was spent in Mississippi,” Bahn said of his successful engine test. “I’m sorry that money couldn’t have been spent here.”

In the meantime, Bahn is talking with state and federal agencies hoping to get some increased attention for TGV Rockets.“We’re trying to take the science out of rocket science,” Bahn said, adding, “and taking it from being a science project to a transportation mode.”

More information on TGV Rockets is available at www.tgv-rockets.com.

Review of Toby Keith's "Big Dog Daddy"

He's not only a country music superstar, he's also runs a record label (Show Dog Nashville) is a restauranteur, a developer, an actor and more. I'm talking about Norman resident Toby Keith and he's got a great new album out called "Big Dog Daddy." Check out my review that ran in The Norman Transcript today ...

By Andrew W. Griffin
Pop Writer

The Norman Transcript

Posted: June 22, 2007

Listening to Toby Keith’s latest album, “Big Dog Daddy,” I’m reminded why I’ve always enjoyed this shrewd, cornball Cleveland County resident for so many years.
First, he’s got charisma. He knows what his listeners like and he keeps on giving it to them. He’s got a wicked sense of humor as well as a golden ear when it comes to writing and performing. Remember last year’s “A Little Too Late”? That was one of the best country-pop tunes I’ve heard in years.
Another reason I’ve admired this Oklahoma native is that he’s a man of serious convictions. In fact, that aspect of his personality plays a major role in one of “Big Dog Daddy”’s strongest tracks; “Love Me If You Can.”
Not one to beat around the bush, Keith kicks off the song, framed as a country ballad in the vein of “My List,” with this:
“Sometimes think that war is necessary / Every night I pray peace on Earth / I hand out my dollars to the homeless / But believe that every able soul should work.”
Continuing, into the chorus, he sings:
“I’m a man of my convictions / Call me wrong, call me right / But I bring my better angels to every fight / You may not like where I’m goin’ / But you sure know where I stand / Hate me if you want to, Love me if you can.”
So, Keith, vilified on the left for his patriotic, outspoken nature and stance on the military response to 9/11 is also bugged by the right for not totally towing the GOP line. Keith wants to send the message that when it comes to taking a stand, he won’t be sticking his finger in the wind to see which way it’s blowin’.
He still knows a good country ballad when he sees it, as is evidenced in the Keith and Scotty Emerick-penned track “I Know She Hung the Moon.” A strong contender for a radio single, if you ask me.
One of Keith’s best performances on the new album is his cover of “White Rose,” written by Canadian alt-country singer-songwriter Fred Eaglesmith.
With it’s melancholy, train song feel, “White Rose” is about a filling station in a small town that falls prey to time, the elements and that tricky thing known as “progress.” Keith really sinks his teeth into this tune and shows listeners that he is capable of singing songs that fans of alt-country and Americana music can appreciate.
Everyone from big-money oilmen to self-proclaimed “oil-field trash” such as Keith himself are bound to dig the insanely catchy and almost child-like track “Pump Jack.”
Sure, there are plenty of hook-laden-yet-lightweight country-pop fare here. “High Maintenance Woman” will stay in your ear for days on end, while “Get My Drink On” is “Get Drunk and Be Somebody” Pt. II. And then there’s the silly title track, with the 1977-era female backup singers. I thought I was listening to Jerry Reed or something.
All in all, “Big Dog Daddy” is pretty consistent and musically appealing. It seems as though Toby Keith, who produced the album, is getting comfortable in his new role leading a record label (Show Dog Nashville), running a restaurant chain ( I Love This Bar & Grill) and acting in movies on the side (“Broken Bridges”). The man is amazing and still manages to make great music. Here’s to hoping he brings himself and the band to the Ford Center for a proper concert before the end of the year.
B+

NAFTA Superhighway to come through Oklahoma?

It appears that globalist interests (i.e. Cintra/Zachry, etc.) are looking forward to bring their monstrous superhighway through the Sooner State, sooner rather than later, according to a new article by WorldNetDaily reporter Jerome Corsi.

Of course there are those who pooh-pooh the whole idea that the United States is about to be subjected to a globalist plan where our sovereignty is abolished, our borders disappear and our way of life goes the way of the snows of Kilimanjaro.

Notes Adam Rott, of OklahomaCorridorWatch.com:
Earlier this year in May the Oklahoma Department of Transportation released the "Draft Public Participation Plan," which is a portion of the Statewide Inter-modal Transportation Plan; they are asking the public for their thoughts and opinions on the Public Participation Plan, and it will only be open to public commentary for another 10 days, until June 30th, 2007.
You might want to send your thoughts to ODOT, and ask them how they plan to deal with ideas or opinions once they have been received. I got an email with a letter that a gentlemen, a Mr. Edwin Kessler, sent to ODOT saying just this...here is part of it:
"My comment, in part, is that the PPP seems to me to be a very inclusive plan. While I am not at all an authority on the various ways and means for soliciting public input, I can hardly imagine what might be omitted in the PPP as your office has presented it.
However, there is a vital dimension to this beyond the solicitation and receipt of public views. This dimension is the treatment of those views after they are received. This must pose a difficult problem, because some opinions are grossly uninformed or misdirected, and yet a concerned citizen who posts his opinions and concerns in good faith should not be ignored nor otherwise made to feel that he/she is of a lower class. And recognition of the resultant problem is not alone enough for achievement of a solution to it, though recognition of the problem is clearly the beginning of a solution. Another part is existence of funds and appropriately sensitive and knowledgeable staff to enable proper response to citizen input. And, of course, this represents an important political problem whose resolution lies with all of us."
This guy has raised an excellent point that we need to get a clear answer from ODOT on...because if we turn our attention to Texas for a while, one of the chief complaints from the Texans about TxDOT has been that, even though TxDOT is going around holding these meetings to get the input of the people, they don't care what the people are unanimously saying: we don't want toll roads, and we don't want the TTC-35. The period for public commentary on the PPP is drawing to a close, write a letter to ODOT simply expressing a concern about what will happen with the opinions once received by the the PPP.
--END--

Is it me or have our public servants taken on a role where they think they are our masters? They are increasingly arrogant and condescending when it comes to dealing with We the People. It's very troubling and appears to be a growing trend. On the other hand, people are beginning to wake up to the reality of what is going on. Just listen to any talk radio show and they are up-in-arms over our representatives' behavior regarding the illegal aliens amnesty bill. And with this proposed superhighway, it's guaranteed that more illegals will flood across our once sovereign border. It sickens me to see America being destroyed by design.

Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert release new albums

Thought I'd include a write-up I did in the Transcript on the new albums from Oklahoma native Blake Shelton and his gal pal Miranda Lambert, a Texan.

By Andrew W. Griffin
Pop Writer
The Norman Transcript
Posted: June 15, 2007

I’m not sure if it was coincidental or not but two of the best new country albums to be released in the past month or so happen to be by artists that also happen to be going steady.

The two stars I’m talking about Ada native Blake Shelton and Lindale, Texas singer Miranda Lambert. And yes, it’s official. They are a couple, according to a number of reports I’ve come across. Good for them. I happen to be big fan of both of these young stars.

So, I’m checking the Billboard country charts and for the past five weeks that their albums – Shelton’s “Pure BS” and Lambert’s “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” respectively – have been riding high with Lambert sitting pretty at #9 and Shelton looking sharp at #12. Not too shabby. I wonder how many couples (well, maybe Faith Hill and Tim McGraw) have had Top 20 albums at the same time.

And listening to the two discs, I have to say that they’re both solid, tuneful and even exciting recordings. That’s always refreshing.

Let’s start with Blake Shelton first. His previous album, 2004’s “Blake Shelton’s Barn & Grill,” Shelton was on top of his game with a varied and cool collection of country music. Now, with “Pure BS,” we get Shelton continuing that tradition, but it seems slightly more heartfelt. There are very emotional songs mixed with a few where Shelton is sticking his tongue firmly in cheek, which is fine with this fan.
Always a solid balladeer, Shelton strikes pure, country-pop gold with “Don’t Make Me.” The rollicking “The More I Drink,” is a honky-tonker with a chorus that sticks in your head for at least an hour or so.

The album closer, “The Last Country Song,” is a real winner, with brief cameos from John Anderson and George Jones.

The song I happen to prefer over all others on “Pure BS” is the opening track, “Can’t Be Good.” This is reminiscent of his prison breakout tune “Ol’ Red.” Shelton’s still got it, that’s for darn sure.

Meanwhile, Shelton’s gal pal, Miranda Lambert is hot on the heels of her smokin’ debut from 2005, “Kerosene,” with the slightly less fiery “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.

And while the album may not spark as much interest as her debut, there are still some terrific songs here. First, she kicks off the disc with the “Goodbye Earl”-esque “Gunpowder & Lead,” ingredients, Lambert says, that “little girls are made of.” Whoa! Better watch it, fellas! That includes you, Blake Shelton.

The two “town” songs – the Gillian Welch/David Rawlings-penned “Dry Town” and Lambert’s own “Famous In a Small Town” - are both solid efforts from the feisty Texan. And then there’s the bluesy folk-rocker “Down.” You can almost feel the humidity increasing as storm clouds gather out over the Gulf.

Much of the material, framed largely with a classy, Americana vibe, has Lambert addressing subjects relating to love won and lost. From the melancholy “Desperation” to Patty Griffin’s “Getting Ready.” The listener senses that Ms. Lambert is thinking a lot about the subject.
Can’t blame her.
--END--

If you've heard any good music lately, send me a note. Am always wanting to hear something new, exciting or just plain interesting.

Thirty years since Camp Scott Girl Scouts murders

Until last year, I had never heard of the Oklahoma 1977 'Girl Scout camp murders.' But after coming across an eerie site on the web (which I can no longer find) detailing this horrific and disturbing tale of how three Girl Scouts were murdered in their tents 30 years ago this week at the now-abandoned Camp Scott near the Mayes County town of Locust Grove.

Well, the Oklahoman's Ron Jackson just did a front-page story on this case for today's edition, mostly focusing on the family of victim Lori Lee Farmer, whose folks still live in Tulsa.

Read the Oklahoman story here.

And see the images from the overgrown and abandoned camp site along with Jackson's commentary here.

It gives me a creepy, 'Blair Witch Project' sort of feeling when I read or think about it. And to think that it's never been solved ...

'UFOs' in downtown OKC

The deadCENTER film festival has been going on since mid-week and I didn't catch as many films as I had hoped. I did catch one at the Harkins called "Strictly Background" which was about seven different film extras trying to get work in Hollywood. It was actually pretty clever and fun to watch.

But the highlight of the festival was the outdoor screening of "UFOs At the Zoo," a concert video of The Flaming Lips' show filmed at the Oklahoma City Zoo Amphitheater last September.

I've got to say that the film was actually pretty good. I loved the UFO descending at the beginning of the show and the guys coming out of it, and Wayne Coyne doing his bubble man walk over the crowd.

The only distraction was when the filmmakers blurred out logos and even faces like the mid-90's rap videos where sports team logos and such were blurred out, making it seem less realistic.

But the music was tops! And Wayne Coyne was actually there tonight, introducing the film which he hadn't even seen yet. Of course during the screening Wayne was busy shooting confetti out of a hand-held cannon. That was pretty nifty.

Dean, who was with me, said he had seen the Lips up in Stillwater back in '86 and said they were more of a thrash band back then. I remember that they used to play in Wichita in my high school days. It's amazing that they're still cranking out simply amazing music. And I love that they filmed the concert show in Oklahoma City. Good choice.

Globalists ratcheting up plans for North American superhighway and integrated economies

This Trans-Texas Corridor/North American Super-Corridor Coalition is something we here at the Red Dirt Reporter are keeping a close eye on. We are fortunate to have Adam Rott keeping tabs and reporting on this via his Oklahoma Corridor Watch site. Thanks Adam for keeping us posted. Below is his latest dispatch:

Oklahoma Corridor Watch Weekly Update
By Adam Rott
Posted: June 5, 2007

This week has been very interesting, as the North American Super-Corridor Coalition (NASCO) held their annual meeting in Ft. Worth, which I had the opportunity to attend. It was very enlightening as to what the true goals and aims of NASCO are. Earlier this year NASCO Executive Directory Tiffany Melvin had a meeting with a couple of Oklahoma legislators, (we have the audio of that meeting on our website) and she stated multiple times that the goal of NASCO is not the creation of a new highways, nor the merger of the three nations, but rather the improvement of existing infrastructure and closer collaboration amongst the nations for improved trade and transportation. However this position as exposed this past week, as much of the second day of the conference was devoted to the "integration of Mexico, Canada, and the US."

The first day was primarily about the necessity of developing the Public-Private Partnerships to create economic development, and cited as an example was the Alliance Group 17,000 acre development project. Many of the speakers made it clear that without the public sector partnering with the private sector, North America and our regions will not be able to compete in the global marketplace. What must be kept in mind regarding Public Private Partnerships (PPP) is that it is the merging of the two areas, and, interestingly enough, Benito Mussolini said that fascism is the marriage of the corporation and the state. An excellent example of PPP in action is the Trans-Texas Corridor and the Alliance Inter-modal facility in Ft. Worth. For a very interesting explanation about Public-Private Partnerships, written by Steven Yates of Freedom21 Santa Cruz.

Among one of the more notable speakers on the second day was Michael Gallis of Charlotte, NC; he gave a presentation (which hopefully will be put on-line in the near future) wherein he stressed the absolute necessity of creating a "trading bloc" like the European Union, in order to maintain competitiveness with China and the other trading blocs across the world. He stressed that without the integration of North America, the US will fall behind China in just four years, according to projections.

Even more blatant was the how he compared North America to Europe, in that he said that Germans, English, French, etc, don't think of themselves as German, French or English, but rather as Europeans...as a part of a greater whole. This, Gallis said, is what we lack in North America...Canadian still view themselves as Canadians, and not North Americans, and this nationalist reality represents a "trade barrier" for North America, and we must work to eliminate it. The reception these ideas received was not horror or outrage, but complete affirmation, by attendees from all areas.

The integration of North America into a trading bloc was the general tenor, and as pointed out above, the actual thesis of some speakers, at the NASCO conference. This represents a clear and present danger to the sovereignty of the United States and Oklahoma, the "integration of North America" into a North American Union (NAU) could not be expressed in clearer terms. Yet, even now, you can find people who insist that the NAU is just an elaborate conspiracy theory of lone Internet wackos; newspapers who publish op-eds insisting that there is no NAFTA Superhighway, and that it is only existing infrastructure. That this is deception is revealed in the fact that the I-35 Trade Corridor Study, performed by Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, and other DOTs (all members of NASCO), explicitly says that there needs to be new lanes and infrastructure built to handle the NAFTA traffic...10 lanes in the Oklahoma City urban area.
Over the next week or so, we'll be adding articles specific to the areas that the conference addressed, so check back soon.

To reach Adam Rott, email him at:
adam@oklahomacorridorwatch.com

'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.