Archive for the 'Brad Henry' Category

Oklahoma is Having a Barack Attack

Published by
Clark Matthews
 on April 23, 2008

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjXyqcx-mYY

To be fair, I was one of the early converts.  Back in 2004, even before his glorious speech at the Democratic National Convention, my wife brought him to my attention.  I remember the moment clearly.  It was a Thursday evening and I was headed to play flag football in the worst flag football league ever assembled by man.  After picking up one of my teammates, my cell phone rang and upon answering, my wife immediately began recounting a speech she had just seen.  It was hard to understand her since she kind of sounded like one of those girls you see screaming in the background whenever they show The Beatles first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.  She was sure he was going to be President.   As I hung up the phone my friend asked what that was all about.  “My wife is about to leave me for some dude named Obama something-or-other,” I told him.

“Osama who?” he asked.

And so it went in this state for four years.  Barack Obama became a rising star in American politics, was elected to the Senate by an astounding margin for a first time candidate, and by the Iowa caucuses of 2008, he looked like the only chance of slaying the Clinton juggernaut.  Meanwhile, Oklahomans generally thought of him as that black guy running for President.  Or, if they were anything like my Grandpa, they thought he was Arab.

It seems like the state is coming around.  (Not in time for our Super Tuesday primary, mind you, in which Hillary got something like 75% of the vote.)  In the past few weeks, while Obama was dealing with Clinton’s “kitchen sink” strategy in the run up to the Pennsylvania primary, the news out of Oklahoma has been all good for him. Continue reading ‘Oklahoma is Having a Barack Attack’

Category: Brad Henry and Oklahoma Politics. 14 Comments

New Year’s Resolutions

Published by
Clark Matthews
 on January 1, 2008

Now that the ball has dropped and 2007 is gone, it is time for the New Year’s traditions. Growing up, my dad would always make us eat black eyed peas on January 1st because it supposedly brought forth good luck. Considering that they taste like something found in the cup seen in the video these people are watching, they damn well better bring some good fortune. Otherwise, I’d almost rather do as the Coney Island Polar Bear Club does for good luck and swim in freezing ocean water.

Of course the most common New Year’s tradition is the New Year’s Resolution. That’s where everyone makes a promise to give up a vice or improve their lifestyle in a way that will make this year better than the last…kind of like lent without the religion. And like lent, these resolutions are rarely followed up on for more than forty days.

Being slaves to tradition, we at TheLostOgle have resolved to be better people in 2008. I tried to think of something funnier than staying on top of housework, but seriously, my house is a pigsty. My son ambled out of the living room last night, and it took me a couple of minutes to find him. In order to avoid an Amber Alert narrowed down to Matthews’ Manor, I’m going to stick with that one.

I checked with Patrick, and his goal for 2008 is to create a drinking game for the Oklahoma Lottery Gameshow. Meanwhile, Tony plans to leave his apartment at some point during the year. After the jump, I have assigned some resolutions to a few other people, and in the comments section, you can provide your own plans for a better you. Continue reading ‘New Year’s Resolutions’

Category: Amy McRee, Brad Henry, Gary England, Jenni Carlson, Jim Traber, Oklahoma Politics and Toby Keith. 12 Comments

Bowl Season

Published by
Clark Matthews
 on December 5, 2007

It is bowl season and as a result, I, as an OSU fan, will be subjected to countless jabs from Sooner fans deriding the Cowboys invitation to the “WhoCares.com Bowl”. The jokes hurt because they are true. While Insight, thankfully, dropped the “.com” from their bowl sponsorship title, my beloved Cowboys who lost just as many games as they won (including a blowout at the hands of the mighty Troy Trojans) are on their way to a stupidly named bowl “classic” against another .500 team.

While the NCAA clings to the archaic BCS status quo as every rational fan and member of the media clamors for a playoff plan, the system is already broken. There is little glory in winning a bowl these days. In the days of yore, your school might have gone to something with a girly name such as the Bluebonnet Bowl, but at least it had a name and there were only a few bowls to which teams could be invited.

Now, any school who can win six games (even if some of those wins are versus lower division teams) get invited to a bowl which is named after any company who can pony up a couple million dollars.   Legitimate powers like Auburn and Clemson end up at things called the Chick-Fil-A Bowl.  There are 32 bowl games that will be played this season. That means more than half of Division-IA schools get an invite.  Of the teams that qualified with the minimum of six wins, only seven are not playing in the post season.

If this were the Sports Animal and I were Craig Humphreys, this is the part where I would explain how to fix the system. Instead, I intend to exploit it. Those seven teams were shafted and Oklahoma needs to get in the game of hosting bowls to correct this injustice. After the jump, see our proposals. Continue reading ‘Bowl Season’

Category: Brad Henry, Lauren Richardson, Mathis Brothers, OKC Advertising, OSU Football, Oklahoma Blog Awards, Oklahoma City Alumni, Sports, The Lost Ogle, The Sports Animal and Toby Keith. 10 Comments

What Are We Thankful For?

Published by
Clark Matthews
 on November 21, 2007

 

For those who have not heard, tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day.  One tradition at the Matthews household is that everyone at the dinner table must give a reason to be thankful before getting an turkey.  So, I thought I’d bring that tradition to TheLostOgle.  I’ll start:

Clark Matthews:  I am thankful , of course, for my loving wife and one year old son…but also, having Tom Coburn and Jim Inhofe to provide me with material for articles.

Patrick Nelson is thankful amendments have been made to the Constitution of Oklahoma.

Tony Hanadarko says he is thankful for “his pet turtle“, but what he really gives thanks for is that he gets to walk on the same Earth as David Beckham.

Now, wasn’t that nice.  As successful as this exercise was, I thought I’d extend it to some of Oklahoma’s more famous citizens.  After the jump you will find out how some of your favorite Oklahomans answered this question:

What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving? Continue reading ‘What Are We Thankful For?’

Category: Amy McRee, Basketball in OKC, Brad Henry, Dean Blevins, Gan Matthews, Gary England, Hinder, Jenni Carlson, Jim Inhofe, Jim Traber, Lauren Richardson, Mick Cornett, Mike Gundy, Oklahoma City Media, Oklahoma Politics, The Lost Ogle, The Sports Animal and Toby Keith. 19 Comments

How to know you are home.

Published by
Tony
 on June 7, 2007

This post is intended for people who have, for whatever reason, been forced to leave Oklahoma City and are coming home. Most likely, things will not have changed much, and this guide will assure you that you are Home, Sweet, Home.

1. On your way into the city, you notice that I-35 is under construction somewhere between OKC and Norman.

In the Morningside Heights neighborhood of New York City, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine has been under construction since 1892. As I am not quite old enough to remember back that far, I’m not sure that I-35 has been under construction that long, but I’m fairly certain it’s pretty close.

2. When you go out to eat, you have this conversation:

Waiter: And what can I get you to drink?
You: Coke, please.
Waiter: What kind?
You: Dr. Pepper

There is some so-called research on this issue that claims the 405 area code is not the only place where this conversations might occur. I did my own survey (sample size: me) that indicates this is not the case. I have ordered drinks in many different states, and have only received looks of bewilderment after telling people that the word “coke” is simple a catch-all term for all soft drinks.

3. You decide that you want to play a round of golf. You check the weather report, and it says 90 degrees and sunny. By the time you reach the golf course 15 minutes later, a thunderstorm has closed the course.

Brad Henry claims that he wanted to start the lottery to help education in the state, but I’m fairly certain the actual reason was that he wanted there to be at least one thing that was less predictable than the weather in Oklahoma. I’m not even sure that is the case.

4. You turn your radio to the local sports radio station between the hours of 4 and 7 P.M., and you hear no actual discussion of sports the entire time you listen.

I’m told that once, sometime around July of 1982, Al Eschbach mentioned something about sports on his radio show. This is what qualifies him to work on a station strangely titled “The Sports Animal.” His actual specialty is in The Sopranos, Italian food, and misogynistic comments.

5. You see a furniture commercial on television featuring two middle-aged metrosexuals inexplicably holding either a small child or a small dog, and you think nothing of it.

I’m not saying the ads for a certain business located at 3434 W. Reno make no sense, but can someone explain to me why these two brothers are perpetually holding babies and dogs? Do they have children that simply don’t age? Is the furniture dog-proof? What is the deal here?

Category: Brad Henry, Mathis Brothers, Oklahoma City Media and The Sports Animal. 3 Comments