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For those of us who wait for the solstice before they label their movies “summer blockbusters”
Oddly enough, the two biggest summer blockbusters (for him and her) have both been released well in advance of the season’s start. For him, we have the much-anticipated sequel in the story of an overaged womanizing intellectual and his illegitimate son and their adventures in the lands where immigrants come from (Harrison Ford and Shia LaBeouf in the eponymous Indy saga). For her, of course, there is the whiny follow-up in the story of four spoiled near-spinsters and their continued journey towards spiritual enlightenment, aided by the gods Chanel, Marc Jacobs and Balenciaga (that would be Sex and the City, of course).
For those of us waiting for the solstice before applying the term “summer blockbuster,” there are plenty of upcoming flicks to satisfy both movie lovers and sticklers for technicalities - with the exception of The Incredible Hulk, which misses the mark by about a week, released as it will be on June 13. The second stab at bringing the green giant to the big screen will focus more on good old-fashioned action scenes, as opposed to the “boring,” cerebral stuff brought to the fore by artsy director Ang Lee. The new Hulk, directed by Louis Leterrier, stars Edward Norton (who also gets a co-screenwriting credit), Liv Tyler and Tim Roth, and promises lots of explosions and sure-fire (ha ha) mass destruction.
On July 11, Hellboy II: The Golden Army smashes into screens, with both Ron Perlman and Selma Blair reprising their roles in Guillermo del Toro’s follow-up
to 2004’s much-loved first Hellboy film.
Poor Heath Ledger will assume his last role as the Joker in Christopher Nolan’s (Memento, Batman Begins) The Dark Knight, set for release on July 18. This Batman flick boasts a seriously all-star cast, which also includes Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman and Cillian Murphy. After Indiana Jones, this is surely the summer’s most desperately, heart-flutteringly awaited film.

hour.ca

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Some people are cheap, some people are fabulous, and some people are a little of both. For those of us in the latter category, thankfully Center City Sips starts up again today.
The city-sponsored Wednesday happy hours take place in 65 bars and restaurants in the area. Each place offers a $2 beer, a $3 wine, and a special $4 cocktail, in addition to half-off appetizers. Last year, we found ourselves regularly annoyed with the long lines and lack of seating at many of these places (ahem, Alma de Cuba) but if you can get to a place a little early and stake out a spot, the rest of the night should go down pretty smooth.
Forget universal health care. We want a universal bar tab. Thanks, Philly!

phillyist.com

MUMBAI:Radio City has completed the launch of 20 stations in India with the latest additionin Jalgaon and Nanded.
Radio City acquired licence for 20 stations in the second phase of bidding.
Bangalorebeing its first station, Radio City is positioned as a ‘Whatte Fun’station which plays only adult contemporary (AC) music of the last two decades.
RadioCity is available in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Pune, Hyderabad,Lucknow, Jaipur, Vadodara, Surat, Sholapur, Nagpur, Sangli, Coimbatore, Vizag,Ahmednagar, Akola, Nanded and Jalgaon.
RadioCity CEO Apurva Purohit said, “With all our 20 stations set up and a focused,crystal clear strategy, 2008 is the year of growth for us. We are looking at aggressivegrowth based on the pillars of some outstanding entertaining content, differentiatedand melodious music, ability to provide extremely creative and innovative solutionsto advertisers and a unique brand positioning.”
RadioMirchi has also completed the launch of all the 32 stations. Reliance ADAG’s BigFM has 44 running stations, needing one to complete its presence in 45 towns acrossIndia.
Throughits subsidiary Kal Radio and South Asia FM, Sun Network’s SFM is presently in38 stations. SFM needs to launch in seven more towns as it holds licence for 45stations.

indiantelevision.com

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At least five tornadoes have touched down in Kingfisher and Garfield Counties, the National Weather Service confirmed.
A “large, violent, multiple-vortex tornado” was reported about 4:40 p.m. by spotters two miles southeast of Douglas, the National Weather Service said.
That storm destroyed a home on Bison Road a mile east of State Highway 74, a Garfield County Sheriff’s dispatcher said.
Enmergency workers freed a family that was briefly trapped in the house, which was a total loss, officials said. No one in the home was injured.
An office trailer that was unoccupied was also thrown into the middle of the road at State Highway 74 and Bison Road, officials said. Power lines and trees were also down in the area.
Other tornadoes touched down two miles west of Lacey, two miles northeast of Lacey and four miles southwest of Bison, he said. The fourth hit about 8 miles southwest of Douglas.
The tornado near Lacey destroyed several buildings at Seaboard Foods Farm No. 62, a pig farm.

newsok.com

    The new Greensburg City Council members will take their seats for the first time Monday. The Daily Globe sat down with the council members recently to get an idea of what they have in mind for Greensburg’s future.
Mayor Bob Dixson
    Daily Globe: Why did you decide to run for office?
    Bob Dixson: I had been asked many times to run. I took some time to reflect and number one, I’m very tied to this town. This is home. This where my kids were raised.
    And it goes back to leaving things better than you found them. Those who supported me told me they felt I had the skills to be mayor and continue the great things the previous council had started.
    I don’t have any agenda. I just want to see Greensburg continue to grow.
    DG: What challenges do you see still lie ahead for Greensburg?
    BD: Not just Greensburg, but Kiowa County — all of us — have to rebuild our infrastructure. Even after insurance and FEMA giving us help, there’s still a long road ahead of us.
    Although a lot has been cleaned up, there are still some properties that need to have the trash from the tornado cleared out. Not just for the aesthetics, but for the safety and health of our citizens.
    DG: What do you hope to achieve during your tenure on the council?
    BD: With my past in management, I’ve always been a consensus builder. I always keep the best interests of Greensburg’s residents in mind. I don’t have any specific goals except to put one foot in front of the other.
    Great things happen when people disregard who gets credit for what. I don’t want us to make a stressful situation any worse.

dodgeglobe.com

SEATTLE — With comic book superhero movies of recent years creating big paydays at the box office, including last weekend’s $100 million opening for "Iron Man," you’d think that it would mean a huge influx of comic book newcomers to this weekend’s sixth annual Emerald City Comicon.
While there may be some newbies, it’s clear that most of the people showing up this weekend know their stuff, from the names of comic book illustrators who have been in the business for decades, to the best value for vintage comics and memorabilia. It’s a place where fans of Superman, Batman, "Star Wars," "Star Trek" and more can come together in peace and harmony.
You might expect to see wall-to-wall superheroes – fans decked out as their favorite character from comics and movies - but there are really only a handful.
Some, like self-described costumers Eric and Joanna Lyhn, went all-out in their Rogue and Gambit costumes from the X-Men comics.
"It’s an obsession," said Eric.
There’s also your fair share of "Star Wars" and "Battlestar Galactica" getups. For those of you who might laugh at them for their attire, John Lindsey, dressed as a Viper pilot from "Battlestar Galactica," says look in the mirror.
"Here I am dressed up for a science fiction convention, when people dress up more for Seahawks games and spend much more money for their clothes to go to a football game than I would to go here, so I’m not really feeling like a freak right now," said Lindsey.
The most elaborate costumes are by the local "Star Wars" fan group "501st Legion," which has a booth set up for other fans to get an action shot with Darth Vader, Boba Fett, or a Stormtrooper. The suggested donation is five dollars with all proceeds going to the Children’s Therapy Center in Kent. Comicon matches the donations.

king5.com

Robison Medical Resource Group has received the Gold Seal of Approval for health care staffing services from The Joint Commission, an organization that provides health care accreditation and related services that support performance improvement in health care groups.
The Oologah-based company is one of only five staffing agencies in the state that are certified,
The company has about 20 employees staffing the corporate and branch offices, and a nursing pool of about 2,000 to draw from when they need help, according to Michelle R. Logan, quality assurance manager.
Chief executive officer of the company is Carol Robison, also a registered nurse.
The Joint Commission is generally known for its accreditation of hospitals. Its health care staffing certification program, launched in October 2004, offers an independent, comprehensive evaluation of a company’s abilities to provide competent staffing services.
Drew Edmondson, Oklahoma Securities Commission’s Irving Faught, Rogers County Judge Sheila Condren and Commissioner Holland. Topics will include Medicare fraud, securities fraud and identity theft, as well as information on living wills and advanced medical directives.
The summit will be held at the Career Services Center on Tulsa Technology Center’s Lemley campus, 3420 S. Memorial Drive. Registration for the first session begins at 7:45 a.m.; the afternoon session begins at 12:30 p.m.
There is no cost to attend, but reservations are required by calling (800) 728-2906. Details and costs for continuing education credits are available online atwww.tulsaworld.com/oidstateok .
The state’s first executive MBA program focused on ethical leadership will be offered when the Zig Ziglar Center for Ethical Leadership, honoring the life and legacy of author, salesperson and motivational speaker Zig Ziglar, opens this summer in Bethany to promote leadership development, character formation, ethical business practices and positive, faith-based life skills.
The center is on the campus of Southern Nazarene University, and is supported by Ziglar Inc., an international training and business improvement company based in Addison, Texas.

tulsaworld.com

Participants in The Times-Picayune’s Crescent City Classic first hit the streets of New Orleans in 1979, and the event in its subsequent years has delivered great times — over 6.2 miles and at the post-race parties:
Mac DeVaughn’s idea becomes the Crescent City Classic, with 912 participants turning out for the inaugural race Sept. 23. The course begins at Jackson Square and heads to Audubon Park along Prytania Street. Frank Shorter, the 1972 Olympic gold medalist in the marathon in Munich, Germany, wins the 10K in 29 minutes, 47 seconds. New Orleanian Alicia Reese wins the women’s race in 37:40. Reese is the only local participant to take first place in the event.
The field grows to 3,695. Three-time Olympian Craig Virgin outduels Bill Rodgers to win in 28:36. To add local flavor, the event has its first post-race party, with beer, jambalaya and music.
The field of 7,120 runners is led by Kenyan Michael Musyoki, who runs 27:55 to set a world record.
In an epic duel, Musyoki edges Nick Rose at the finish, again setting a world record. Musyoki runs 27:49, and Rose finishes in 27:50. Mary Slaney wins the women’s competition in 32:51.

nola.com