By Andrew W. Griffin

Red Dirt Report, editor

Posted: July 6, 2012

reddirtreporter@gmail.com

OKLAHOMA CITY – After our assignment in Hawaii, your Red Dirt Reporter is safely back in good ol’ Oklahoma. Sure, it’s hot as blazes, but after a few days one gets to missing the heat, bugs and outdoor grilling sessions.

Did you hear that in OKC’s Putnam City area a five-foot gator was spotted by a passerby? The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife figures it was a pet (illegal) and was likely turned loose. Read more about it here.

Any of you fascinated with Earth’s ancient past? Just really how old is this planet and where did we come from? It’s a question that has been on the minds of many people in recent months, with help from shows like Ancient Aliens and films like Ridley Scott’s Prometheus. Well, if you pay attention to this website, you know we are keen on this story out of Sweden – particularly on the bottom of the chilly Baltic Sea – where a strange and perplexing discovery has been made, something they are calling the “Baltic Sea UFO” or “Baltic Anomaly.” No one is really sure what this strange, roughly rounded structure is. There are holes in it. Where it leads, no one really knows. Divers plan to return soon.

And along with that, we see a story about a huge area of now-submerged land, called Doggerland, that made up much of the area now covered by the North Sea in Europe. The BBC has a fascinating article on the lost land of Doggerland – submerged somewhere between 18,000 BC and 5,500 BC. It talks of human burial sites, intriguing standing stones (like Stonehenge, perhaps?) and “a mass mammoth grave.” Isn’t this a fascinating planet? There’s still so much we just don’t know.

While Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Stillwater and Norman get the lion’s share of attention when it comes to live music, one has to give some credit to the city of Lawton as well. Our fearless, roving Lawton Constitution reporter Scott Rains is on the music beat down there and has been keeping readers up-to-date on all the musical goings-on in that corner of the state. This weekend, in his “Soundemonium” column, Rains focuses on offering live music in an all-ages venue. Here’s the link.

Oh, and did you hear that Gov. Fallin's daughter Christina remarried in Eureka Springs, Arkansas to a chap named Eric Smith? It's true. Here's the story to prove it. 

Have a good weekend. Try and keep cool. And please send tips, columns, reviews and recipes to reddirtreporter@gmail.com.

Copyright 2012 Red Dirt Report