John and me

Ah now this is a Friday night. Just John Mayer and me ... and 50,000 skinny people in tight jeans and pointy boots filing into Tulsa's BOK Center. Then there are the middle-aged dads escorting their tween daughters. Cute. I'm hangin' close to them. Spiky hair scares me.

Payne County Fair

Draft horses pulling sleds of salt blocks at the Payne County Fair! This is great! These guys wrangling things are probably normal size - until they stand up next to a ginormous horse.

Hot enough for ya?

In Oklahoma we love to talk about the weather. And we are tough critics.
If it's dry we need rain. If it rains we just want to see some sunshine. The sun comes out and we're sure it's too darned hot.
OK right now it's approaching too darned hot. Fun to joke about, but the heat can be too much for some of our area residents.
Keep an eye on your neighbors, family and friends. Heat takes a greater toll on youngsters and older folks. The economic crunch has most people cutting down and cutting back.
Despite a triple-digit heat index ushering in summer, some people may not be running air conditioning because they feel they can't afford the electric bill.
There is help available. Check with the local Red Cross office. They are aware of programs.
Those who can't afford cool during our hot afternoons can borrow cool elsewhere. Why not choose the hottest part of the day to pick up groceries in a cool supermarket or browse retail shelves?
Stillwater's public library is stocked with books and other resources and can be a cool place to be in summer.
Check out other city services and centers. Get out, cool off and reap the benefit of your tax dollars.
Know someone who needs some cool? Give them a ride.

A star is born

Who knew Oklahomans were so funny?
Fumitoshi Fujimoto and Takahiro Haranishi, members of the Japanese comedy group Fujiwara, were in the Stillwater NewsPress office Wednesday. A Japanese film crew shot a bit of our classified ad representative Melissa Wills as she answered their questions about what they obviously consider our number one Oklahoma pastime – noodling.
Melissa didn’t know what they were saying (far as I know) but good-naturedly took her cues from translator Mugi somethingorother, who lives in California – of course – and who did the advance work and translated the director’s, um, directions.
It all went something like, (Japanese, Japanese, Japanese, Japanese) uproarious laughter, ask Melissa a question, get a straight answer, (something, something, something in Japanese.) More uproarious laughter.
It was all quite interesting and a nice respite from the regular workday. But I warned Melissa if she ever hears a translation of the scene she will more than likely find she played the straight man to the Japanese television personalities’ comic wisecracks.
She handled it well. You can see her breathtaking performance at www.stwnewspress.com.
If you called the NewsPress to place a classified ad around noon Wednesday and didn’t get an answer, sorry. Melissa was pursuing her 15 minutes of fame.

Stillwater Arts Festival holds up to spring rain

It takes more than a little rain to dampen enthusiasm for quality art.
This year's Stillwater Arts Festival has drawn more than 80 artists from across the country - all with art in tow.
Fine art, pottery, jewelry and an eclectic assortment from turned wood to stone scenes fill booths along Main Street downtown. The show is open again Sunday. Show goers will also find food and music. A little rain? Big deal. Beats 100 degrees and sunburn.

It is heartening to hear so many people advocate for the First Amendment as debate swells over public commentary at Stillwater City Council meetings.

As journalists we stand on the First Amendment soapbox at every opportunity and shine light on our right to press freedom.

It is exciting for those outside our field to recognize the weight and value of this guaranteed right as they demand time to exercise their right to free speech.

While we’re sounding the horn for freedom of the press and freedom of speech, what a great opportunity to take a closer look at the First Amendment of our U.S. Constitution.

Amendment 1 - Freedom of Religion, Press, Expression. Ratified 12/15/1791.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the

free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of

the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of

grievances.

Governor says offer ideas with criticism

Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry told Oklahoma editors and publishers today the people criticizing his budget proposal need to offer their own solutions.
"It's not acceptable to simply sit on the sidelines and criticize. ... Lay your ideas on the table also. "
Other points: In spending rainy day fund - or not - Henry said he wants to make sure he is following the agreement he signed regarding use of stimulus funds.
"The crisis we face today is precisely the crisis voters envisioned when they created the Rainy Day Fund."
He says he wants to make sure the spending cuts the state makes now don't "irreparably damage" education, health care delivery and other areas. Economic recovery will come, Henry said, and Oklahoma needs "to be prepared for that recovery."