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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

Because He’s allowed this to be made:

What the heck.

I hope Toby Keith isn’t reading this, or he might put a boot in my…

—Richard Hall, NewsOK.com intern

One of the best scenes from a “Batman” film ever. Enjoy.

—Richard Hall, NewsOK.com intern

In 24 hours I will be sitting in my comfortable reclining auditorium chair at Warren Theaters in Moore, anxiously awaiting “The Dark Knight.” Where will you be at 12:01 a.m. Friday? I hope it’s someplace memorable.

—Richard Hall, NewsOK.com intern

Hello, Readers:

Check out NewsOK’s podcast page to hear the interns reflect on their past six weeks at The Oklahoman!

— Kristen, Adrielle and Nathan, on interning for the City and Business desks and the Data team.

— Monica and Hailey, on interning for Metro and State.

— Mike and Dontay, on interning for Sports.

And now, we’ve got less than two weeks left — Who would believe two months could go by so fast?

~ 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

Doesn’t contain spoilers of any kind, but if you’d rather not see the opening scene, then ignore this post.

—Richard Hall, NewsOK.com intern

Check out what Guillermo del Toro calls the brother to “Pan’s Labyrinth.”

“The Devil’s Backbone” is a haunting, haunting film. It shares a lot with “Pan’s Labyrinth,” but definitely stands on its own two feet. It was released before “Pan’s Labyrinth” and had a limited United States distribution. You can find it on DVD fairly easy.

Del Toro wrote it while he was in college, and it took him about 16 years to see his vision come to life. Besides 1993’s “Cronos,” “The Devil’s Backbone” was del Toro’s first recent gripping cinematic experience, being released in 2001.

In a way, giving a synopsis of the film in less than 500 words is tough, but I’ll do my best:

The film follows Carlos who lives in an orphanage in Spain during the Spanish Civil War. In the orphanage’s courtyard sits an undetonated bomb, and a child named Santi died during the attack. Carlos is given Santi’s old bed, and from the moment Carlos arrives he begins seeing and experiencing odd things. Soon, Santi’s ghost reveals itself to Carlos, and Carlos learns the truth surrounding Santi’s death. Though a war surrounds the school, a war also brews inside its walls as Carlos seeks to avenge Santi.

The Mexican poster:

The American DVD cover:

A screenshot from the film:

—Richard Hall, NewsOK.com intern

Each month in The Oklahoman’s News and Information Center, ”Best of the Month” honors are awarded to the top achievements in news-gathering, reporting or presentation. In June’s “Best of the Month,” members of the 2008 Intern Class were selected for several accomplishments!! 

Here’s what Joe Hight, The Oklahoman’s director of information and development, said about this month’s intern winners:

BEST INTERN ACHIEVEMENT: (an annual category for June/July)

— Jennifer Adams (Graphics) and Nathan Curby (Data), for their work to create an interactive map of all public golf courses in the metro area for the “know it: Golf.”

— Hailey Branson (State), for her 16 stories - including five for Page 1A.

Finalists: Amy Rymer (Photo), Kristen M. Daum (City),

Jason Singer (Sports/Metro) and Mike Jeffries (Sports).

SPECIAL RECOGNITION:

— Hailey Branson, Johnny Johnson, Sheila Stogsdill, Ron Jackson, Julie Bisbee, John Sutter and Henry Dolive, for their online and print coverage of the tragic deaths of two girls in Weleetka.

— The City desk (including Kristen M. Daum and Brian Kimball), Metro, Photo, State and Video departments, online editors, Paul Monies, Steve Maupin and the Data Team deserve special recognition for their work on the election filing period. This year, the work included providing candidate information for the new ElectOK.com.

— The Intern Class of 2008 deserves special recognition for its efforts to write the “Intern Blog” and then promote it. The blog rose to No. 1 or 2 during certain days in June and was No. 6 overall on NewsOK for the month.

Congratulations on your achievements, fellow interns!!

Let’s keep the quality journalism flowing!

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

Owen is like Picasso on guitar. Real name is Mike Kinsella, of Joan of Arc, Cap’n Jazz and American Football fame. Owen is his solo project, and is some of the most honest music I’ve ever listened to. Melancholic and uplifting all at once, this song can speak to a number of different kinds of people. Of course, check out his other videos. And read up on how he writes and records his music. It’s inspiring.

—Richard Hall, NewsOK.com intern