Velociraptoring Example

So everyone has heard of planking and probably to a lesser extent owling.  This past weekend as I enjoyed a short vacation with my family, I tried to explain these things to my sister.  She didn’t understand the reasoning behind laying face down on the ground with your arms held tightly to your side – in fact neither do I.  These odd past times are sweeping twitter feeds and will soon even be featured on pages of The Oklahoman (Krystle Wagner is working on the story as I type).  So as my sister and I discussed this cool new trend we decided we’re not going to follow the crowd.  Rather, we’re starting our own – Velociraptoring.

‘What is velociraptoring,’ you might ask.  Well it is much like owling and planking in which you pose for pictures in a particular and recognizable stance.  In this case you hold your middle three fingers in a claw like position and look like you are stalking prey.  The last bit is very important because, as the pose’s name suggests, you are trying to resemble a prehistoric carnivorous dinosaur.  The rest of the weekend was filled with impromptu velociraptor poses.  We even got my parents to join in.

Here are a few reasons why I think it should work.  First, who doesn’t love dinosaurs?  Second, it doesn’t involve laying on the floor or standing on furniture – so you can remain looking fairly normal and may not draw so many glances of curiosity and disdain.

I am aware that anatomically speaking the three middle fingers pose is incorrect because velociraptor‘s claws more closely resembled the thumb, pointer and middle fingers.  So despite that small inaccuracy who’s on board for making velociraptoring the next big thing???  Come on, I know you want to!  And if you do… add your pictures to the Facebook fan page.  You can find it here.

The Oklahoman broke the news to the world this morning that the now defunct Oklahoma City Arena now has a new name.

Chesapeake Energy Arena will be the newly named home to the Oklahoma City Thunder and its fans and quite frankly, OKCitians should be delighted with this outcome.

With arenas and stadiums all over the succumbing to big business names such as PETCO Park where the San Diego Padres play, the Jobing.com Arena for the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes, EnergySolutions Arena for The Utah Jazz in the NBA and probably the worst the KFC Yum! Center for University of Louisville basketball; Thunder fans and fans of Oklahoma in general should be happy that the name is as plain as it is.

So I wanted to brainstorm a few ideas that could have been a lot worse than the Chesapeake Energy Arena.

In no particular order, here are your top 5 worst possible names for the Thunderdome!

1. Knippelmier Chevrolet Arena
Really can’t think of much that would be worse than this, especially because all the visitors to our city asking way to many questions about how to get the “Knipple” and where is the best place to park around the “Knipple”? My dad would blush so hard each time that happened that you would think it was 100 + degrees all years round.

2. Mutts Amazing Hot Dogs Arena
Though the food inside would definitely be an improvement… wait this would only be bad because we would be the Mutts Arena. I’m totally for this one actually, bring on the Tatonka dog!!!

3. Toby Keith’s I love This Basketball Arena
I can hear the lyrics now!

“We got winners, you got losers
Kevin Durant beats Carlos Boozers
And we got Rumble, we got drummers
We got overpriced beer and water
And the girls next door dress up like Gov. Fallin’s daughter
Hmm, hmm, hmm I love this basketball Arena”

4. 1-800-2 Sell Homes Arena
I just have this awful vision of the lady from those commercials blasted up on the side of the arena reading cue cards… OH THE HUMANITY!!!

5. CityWalk Presents Up in the Club Basketball Arena
Seriously… I don’t know if there is a worse place in the city. But if you have doubts in CityWalk’s evil, try their website out. http://www.citybrickwalk.com/

PARTY ON KD!

I remember reading a story about Kevin Durant once.

Someone asked him, ‘What do you like to do for fun?’

KD’s answer came back quicker than one of his crossovers, ‘I play basketball.’

If that doesn’t make you miss Durant and the rest of your favorite Thunderers then I don’t know what will.

With the NBA lockout ongoing and not appearing like it will reach an end within the next few months, OKC fans might be feeling a pain of longing for their favorite basketball stars.

But have no fear… Kevin Durant and James Harden will be playing basketball again soon and you can watch it… for free!

Kevin Durant, who has been playing for the Goodman league, a DC basketball pro am league, will take on the Drew league, an LA pro am league which features fellow Thunder teammate James Harden.

The game is set for Aug. 20 in DC at Georgetown University.

The rosters are filled with a whose who of NBA talent:

Durant will be teamed up with John Wall (Wizards), Ty Lawson (Nuggets), Gary Neal (Spurs), Tyreke Evans (Kings), Michael Beasley (Timberwolves), DeMarcus Cousins (Kings), Josh Selby (Grizzlies), Sam Young (Grizzlies), Donte Green(Kings), Hugh “Baby Shaq” Jones (AND1 Tour), Emanuel “Duce” Jones and Warren “D-Nice” Jefferson

While Harden will have DeMar DeRozan (Raptors), Nick Young (Wizards), Dorrell Wright (Warriors), Brandon Jennings (Bucks), JaVale McGee (Wizards), Craig Smith (Clippers), Pooh Jeter (Kings), Bobby Brown (Aris BC), Marcus Williams (Grizzlies) and three more players yet to be named.

I don’t even care that this isn’t real NBA basketball or that the Goodman squad should win by 40 every game! This is probably as close as people will get to the NBA for months because of the lockout, and you can stream it for free on your computer! http://thebasketballchannel.net./

You’d be crazy not to watch! Right James Harden?

Let’s just hope Harden goes off and scores 50+ like he did a few weeks ago and maybe Durant can treat us all with another one of these:

Listen to the song below and if you like it, you can buy it on iTunes!
For more info or to hear more sultry goodness by Ali, visit her website http://www.aliharter.com.

LOSING MY RELIGION feat ALI HARTER by INABEATHEAD (R.E.M. Cover) by Inabeathead

We were supposed to meet at 8 a.m., but my GPS and I got into a fight on my way to pick up Tiffany. Thankfully, Annelise and Whitney understood as we rolled out of the city at 8:30 a.m. for the third part of the road trip series.

Near the top of Mt. Scott in the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. Photo by Krystle Wagner, The Oklahoman

After the hour and a half drive, our first stop was Mt. Scott in the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge.

The drive up Mt. Scott was nerve-wracking. I feared driving off the edge of the mountain, so I gripped the steering wheel and avoided looking at the beautiful view until we reached the top.

The scenery was magnificent. After a few moments of admiring our surroundings, we walked down part of the mountain before driving through the rest of the park.

I wasn’t prepared for all the rocks and boulders. Walking down the side of the mountain was fun, though slightly worrisome when rocks shifted under my feet. I didn’t want to end up like the popular YouTube video “Scarlet takes a tumble.”

Tiffany and Whitney explored and climbed the large boulders while Annelise and I were perfectly content staying safely on the ground.

A herd of buffalo slows its roll on a hot summer day in the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. Photo by Krystle Wagner, The Oklahoman

As we drove further into the park, it was exactly what I expected, and hoped, it would be – vast lands and wildlife I’m not accustomed to seeing.

Out of everyone, I think I was the most excited to see buffalo. On a family vacation through a national park, we saw buffalo and other wildlife but that was about 10 years ago.

Our next destination was another trail we could walk.

We thought we beat the extreme summer heat, but we were wrong. The temperature gauge on the vehicle was 107 degrees when we prepared to walk on the Dog Run Hallow National Recreation Trail.

If the trail needs one thing, it would be more signs. The path was so poorly marked that we weren’t sure which path we were on, or if we were even following a path.

A canyon along a trail in the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. Photo by Krystle Wagner, The Oklahoman

It was a beautiful walk, but the excruciating heat quickly wore us down; however, it helped us build up a thirst and an appetite.

From the outside, Meers Store and Restaurant in Meers near Lawton, doesn’t seem like a good choice for food.

The long wait for a table and our meals created anticipation for the food. If it didn’t compare to the great things I heard, it would have put a damper on the trip.

The Meerscheesburger was delicious and completely worth the wait. According to the website, Meers makes their burgers from Longhorn beef.

A downside to the restaurant is they only accept cash.

I hate to play favorites, but this was my favorite trip thus far. The park was wonderful and the food was fantastic.

I am currently working on a story about public transportation in Oklahoma City and the surrounding areas (primarily Norman and Edmond).  Twice last week I experienced first hand what it’s like to be a commuter.  I traveled once from Edmond to the office and another time from Norman to the office.  Both trips took two hours.  This made no sense to me as it takes 45 minutes to drive all the way from Norman and 15 to drive from Edmond to work.

The issue is the spoke and hub system that OKC’s Metro Transit currently uses.  This system has been in place since Metro Transit was established in 1966.  While routes have been added extended and moved around the system has stayed basically the same.  Michael Scroggins of Metro Transit says the company is well aware that the system is outdated.

While Metro Transit can do research and propose different options it is up to the city to vote upon and fund them.  Unfortunately, it seems this is unlikely to happen.  The cities funding is not a dedicated annual amount.  Metro Transit received almost $2 million more in funding in 2011 than 2010.  When the budget surpasses expectations you won’t hear many complaining but it’s a different story when it’s below.

The service has had to raise fees in the past year by a quarter but it can’t raise them by much more.  But raising passenger fees anymore could result in the decrease of federal funding.

But the company and service is in a pickle.  Metro Transit would love to increase their coverage and regularity and the public demand is there yet they cannot do this without funding.  However the city will not allocate more funding until they can see the benefits of it.  It’s an egg before the chicken or chicken before the egg puzzle.

In the meantime I’m a terrible gas guzzler.  But I’m hoping to move to an area within the city that would make using public transit more sensible.

Some days I blog about something serious. Some days I  attempt to blog about something funny. But, that’s actually who I am. Some days, I am embroiled in a deep conversation giving my opinion on the serious topics of life.Other days you will find me having a ball entertaining friends and family. Today, I feel like entertaining by blogging about the TOP 3: Stage Falls.

1.)    Michelle Williams

2.)    Lady Gaga

3.)    Columbus Shorts Walks off Stage

I see falling stars. I’m just kidding. If I were a celebrity believe me, I would probably in this TOP 3 posts myself considering the fact that I have fallen down numerous times in public places, including while working.  I just hope I don’t fall after writing this post. If I do this post will definitely need an update.

Since  numbers 2 and 3 both have questionable language I won’t post it on this blog, but you can click their names to find out why they made the TOP 3.

My favorite article this week is by Carrie Coppernoll. It combines some of my favorite things: great writing, bizarre subjects and BACON.

The column is about a bacon festival in Enid that benefits the American Heart Association. Such a great idea.

Check it out Carrie’s article.

This is a great photo from the festival by Nate Billings.

For the second installment of the road trip series, fellow intern Whitney joined me.

A view from the Red Rock Canyon State Park in Hinton. Photo by Krystle Wagner

Once again, my GPS wasn’t cooperating with me so we relied on Whitney’s phone to guide us on our journey.

As we drove along, we managed to pass the sign for the Red Rock Canyon State Park in Hinton. This was entirely our fault as we both looked at the sign without it registering that was our destination.

The steep, winding roads into the park led us to the first stop in the park – a green pond with what we assumed was water beneath. There wasn’t much to the park until we started walking the trails.

We took a path that looked less traveled – no pun intended – and it led us going the opposite direction on a path we originally didn’t want to take.

A stream at the Roman Nose State Resort Park in Watonga. Photo by Krystle Wagner

After that hike, we got back into the car for the next destination that was an hour away.

We might have missed another sign welcoming us to Roman Nose State Resort Park in Watonga, but even as we doubled back, the only signs indicating we were in the park were signs for horseback riding.

The park has a variety of activities including paddleboats, horseback riding, mini golf course and tepee rental. If the weather weren’t so hot and we had more time, it would have been fun to try some of the activities.

We could hear the sound of the rushing water even as approached the stream in the Three Springs Area. The stream sounded larger than it is, but it’s still just as beautiful.

The trail leading to the top of a mountain part of the Glass Mountains in Fairview. Photo by Krystle Wagner

Yet again, we passed another park. To our credit, Glass (Gloss) Mountains State Park in Fairview didn’t look like a park but more a look out point area.

There isn’t much to the park other than a parking lot and a trail leading up the side of a mountain.

The view from the trail was wonderful. I wasn’t able to climb all the way to the top as Whitney did, but I still enjoyed it.

As we searched for the Great Salt Plains State Park in Jet, we made an unexpected trip to the Great Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge where the car unexpectedly died. We sat there looking at each other wondering what happened. The brake didn’t even work as we rolled backward down a slight hill. Thankfully, the PT Cruiser rallied with another turn of the ignition and we were on our way again.

A sunset outside behind the cabin at Great Salt Plains Lake in Jet. Photo by Krystle Wagner

After turning around, we realized that had we turned right at the first park we encountered, we would have been in the correct course.

The cabin seemed promising with the appliances and kitchen utensils. The back windows overlooked the Great Salt Plains Lake.

After a long day of driving and hiking in the hot weather, sleep sounded wonderful. Little did we know, there were unexpected visitors about to rear their ugly little heads.

The scorpion with a baby on its back. Photo by Whitney Ortega

Within a 15-minute span, we killed two spiders and a third was just crawling out from under the nightstand. I’m not a fan of spiders, but I can

handle killing them. Scorpions on the other hand … no way.

Whitney found a mother scorpion and her baby hiding among the extra pillows and blankets. At that moment, we decided we couldn’t stay the entire night.

Needless to say, the trip provided some unexpected experiences.

With temperatures in Oklahoma reaching well beyond normal and energy bills going higher and higher each month, what can we do to stay cool without going broke.

First, turn the air conditioner down. Yes, that’s right. Turn it down. Statistics show that running your air conditioner at 76 degrees rather than 72 degrees offers the same relief.

Put those chores off. You don’t have to tell me twice. OG&E warns of washing and drying clothes and dishes during the day. Why? Be cause it heats the house up more. Doing the laundry during the morning and at night can help keep the house cooler and reduce electric bills.