Oklahoman interns NewsOK.com Blogging Community

When today closes, the summer 2008 internship class at The Oklahoman officially graduates. It’s been about two months since the class first met at that oh-so-long one-two punch called orientation. I think it’s safe for me to speak for everyone when I say these two months have flown by. I also think it’s safe of me to speak for everyone when I say we’ll be walking out of here with a tighter grip on our craft. After all, that was the point of this internship.

As I sit in the newsroom at 7:50 a.m. this fine Friday, I find myself wondering “what if?” What if I never talked to Joe Hight, who mentioned an internship to me? What if I never acted on it? What if I went to college to study chemisty like I had planned? Oh, what ifs are fun to think about. But sometimes I’d rather not ask that question; I’d rather just relish in the moment.

This two-month period has been one gigantic moment, and I’ve relished it to the point of exhaustion.

There are no regrets from this intern. And to quote Bilbo Baggins: “I don’t know half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.” Kidding about the second part.

So, fellow interns, and even you, bosses and bigwigs: it’s been good. (And feel free to hire me at any time.)

-Richard Hall, NewsOK.com

Since this was our last weekend as Oklahoman interns, it was a chance for many of us to make some lasting memories with the friends we’ve made this summer.

Friday night was a night out at the Oklahoma Redhawks game - courtesy of OPUBCO/The Oklahoman, which provided us with free suite tickets and an all-you-can-eat promotion pass (Thank you, OPUBCO!).

Some interns brought family members or friends to share the night with, while the rest of us made use of each other’s company to share in America’s past-time. But either way, good times were had by all!

Ironically, rather than watching the ballgame, many of us spent the night chatting together with the other Oklahoman employees who joined us: Joe Hight (director of information and development), Patti Shubert (executive assistant) and Jim Beckel (photographer).

I’m sure we provided them with some added entertainment with our intern cameraderie and antics — and maybe a little terror too, in Jason’s case…

The evening passed much too quickly, and before we knew it, the ballgame ended. Even though the Redhawks lost at the bitter end, the night still closed with a bang…

 Then on Saturday, a few of us met up again for an ol’ fashioned board-game night.

Jason and I faced off in a game of Scrabble - since I wasn’t fully convinced of his mastery over the game. He soon put my doubts to shame as he won with more than twice the score of mine. That put me in my place.

When Amy, Jenn and Dontay joined us, we switched to Scattergories, which led to much laughter as we began to question the worth of each other’s answers during the numerous rounds we played.

Some of the best moments?

– Dontay fast becoming the underdog and likely winning more rounds than all of us.

– Amy calling me out on “flakes” actually being “snowflakes,” so I couldn’t use it as an answer for “F” under “Things that are cold.

– Jason and I having some kind of telekinetic link and coming up with the exact same obscure answers as one another.

– Jenn being constantly distracted by my playful kitten and coming up with random answers.

So, as you might tell, it was an exciting and fun-filled weekend with some great friends. It’s amazing how fast you can get used to being around the same friends all the time, and before you know it - that time is up.

One more week of memories, my friends… Let’s make ‘em worth it.

~ Kristen M. Daum, City Desk intern at The Oklahoman.

This might seem petty and it might seem sarcastic, but the following bit of information is the worst news I’ve had all summer.

Rumors are Rob Cohen is planning to remake “The Monster Squad.” This is bad for several reasons:

1) Cohen was the executive producer of the original “The Monster Squad,” and if something ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

2) Cohen’s most current resume includes films like “The Fast and the Furious,” “xXx” and “Stealth.” Shudder.

3) “The Monster Squad” is one of the greatest children adventure movies of all time. I will stand by that statement 130,000 percent. It’s”The Goonies” mixed with a horror theme. Excellent.

4) Remakes are never as good as the originals.

“The Monster Squad” is one of my favorite movies of all time. It was released in 1987 and tells the story of a motley crew of kids that have to battle the forces of horror movie evil. The kids find ways to battle the Wolfman, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, the Mummy, Frankenstein’s Monster and Dracula himself. Holy cow, awesome!

I was about 4 or so when my folks began getting me into films. You know, the Disney and Pooh Bear types. Then one day, while with my dad at the local video rental store, I stumbled across “The Monster Squad” in all its VHS glory. A little scared at first, I picked it up, looked at the neat and (then) terrifying pictures, and decided I had to see it. I fell immediately in love. Of course, I was 4, and 4 year olds don’t typically have taste. But aside from being infatuated with “Star Wars,” I think this was the first time in my childhood life when I made a supreme decision, and it has stuck with me all these years.

That trip back to my abode with “The Monster Squad” in hand was the first of many. I am not lying when I tell you my dad rented the film for me at least three times a month, for a very long stretch of time. Keep in mind, this was way back when rentals - new releases or not - were for one, maybe two, days. Weekends were a blast, and I began quoting the film, and also pretended to be an honorary member of the Squad.

But then I began growing up, and my love for films grew. I own a copy of “The Monster Squad” on VHS, and it doesn’t work anymore. And for the longest time I yearned to watch it again, but I could never find a copy close to home, and once high school hit, I no longer had a VHS player.

And it was several years ago that I began Googling about the film, and I found there were quite a few online petitions to get “The Monster Squad” released on DVD. And almost one year ago to the day, on July 24, 2007, the prayers were answered. While on my way to work, I stopped by Wal-Mart and grabbed my copy. I was the happiest man alive that day, because it brought back so many memories. Looking at the now not-so-scary photos on the DVD cover, I remembered holding my dad’s hand while perusing the video rental store. I remembered wearing myself out with laughter because the Squad finally settled the debate: Wolfman, does indeed, have nards. I remembered being a kid.

There aren’t many times that happens these days.

So while the title of this post is a bit sarcastic, I will admit a huge chunk of me would be disappointed if “The Monster Squad” is remade. It’s a cult classic, a childhood favorite and an all-around great movie. It’s fun, inventive and comical. It’s memorable. It’s “The Monster Squad.”

If you haven’t seen this movie yet, please do.

And please, Mr. Cohen - don’t deface a good thing.

-Richard Hall, NewsOK.com intern