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contents 30

ON THE COVER

NEWS

Food & Drink

ARTS & CULTURE

The state is dealing with regressive alcohol laws, but bar business is booming and new taverns open at a shocking clip. On the cover, The Pump Bar serves up a rainbow of cocktails and is open seven days a week. How far have we come? By Ben Luschen and Greg Elwell, P.16. Cover photo by Garett Fisbeck. In this issue: In our annual Alcoholmanac, learn more about local drinking and venues in our expanded Food & Drink coverage. Plus! We kick off our Booze and brews series examining state alcohol laws.

State: nonprofits

Cover: drinking in OKC

Arts & Culture calendar

City: Vietnam War public art

51st Street Speakeasy, alcohol laws, Heard on Hurd, local vodka, food briefs, Florence’s Restaurant, OKG eat: bars

Home & Garden

City: tornado sirens

Health: student veterans

Chicken-Fried News

ARTS & CULTURE

In memoriam

Visual Arts: Relativism & Relics

Letters

Performing Arts: Cinderella

Youth: Science Museum Oklahoma

Active: skydiving

Film: London Has Fallen, Zootopia

Music 40

Cullen Omori, Via the Verge, Castle Row Studios, calendar

Gazette Music Awards ballot

Sudoku / Crossword

Astrology

Classifieds

Congratulations Jill Vessels

Mission statement Oklahoma Gazette’s mission is to stimulate, examine and inform the public on local quality of life issues and social needs, to recognize community accomplishments, and to provide a forum for inspiration, participation and interaction across all media.

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I-40 EXIT 178 | SHAWNEE, OK | 405-964-7263 Oklahoma Gazette | march 9, 2016 | 3

l aur a e ast e s

news state

Domino effect Nonprofits feel the burdens of state budget cuts and our economic downturn.

Summer King and Jeanette Moore

By Laura Eastes

“Will I continue to receive services?” is the single most dreaded question for the staff at Hope Community Services Inc., a community mental health center in south Oklahoma City. Last month, state leaders announced the budget shortfall for the coming fiscal year had swelled to $1.3 billion. Exactly how the revenue crisis impacts the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS), its 15 community mental health centers and patients is a guess until lawmakers vote on the final budget in May. Hope staff predicted cuts are coming and that’s what makes client questions so difficult, said Jeanette Moore, Hope executive director. “I can’t even image what it will look like,” Moore said. “We’ve been able to write grants for specialty services and were awarded federal grants, but core services continue to be cut.” Hope is a nonprofit that provides counseling, psychiatric rehabilitation services, substance abuse services along with a dozen more wellness services. Partially funded by the ODMHSAS, Hope leaders believe with the state revenue crisis the organization will see rate cuts, caps on services or elimination of some services. “We see individuals less often,” Moore said of past cuts to community mental health centers. “We have individuals coming to group counseling, because we cut their individual counseling. We cut the amount of times they visit Hope.” Summer King, Hope clinical director, said she sees tears in her clients’ eyes after sharing service changes. Last year, the nonprofit served more than 7,400 clients, including children and adults. King and Moore see a great need for the organization’s services. For so many of their clients, Hope is the only care option. Without referrals, eliminating services means countless residents have nowhere else to turn. “We would love to see the community come together and work together,” Moore said. “We have a shared goal of these lives matter.”

4 | march 9, 2016 | Oklahoma Gazette

Nonprofit role

Money for social services is drying up as Capitol leadership cuts state spending by 7 percent for the final third of this fiscal year. It comes on the heels of a billion-plus-dollar budget hole for the fiscal year starting July 1. Charitable and nonprofit organizations have long served as bridges between those in need and what social services the government provides. With a state revenue crisis, nonprofits play even greater roles, said Daniel Billingsley of Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits. “Right now, the nonprofits that exist in Oklahoma are at a point where they are at full and total capacity for offering services,” said Billingsley, vice president of external affairs. The statewide organization provides training and consulting for nonprofits. Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits reports there are more than 19,000 recognized nonprofits across the state, which offer services such as education, housing, meals, entertainment, health, leadership training and more. Additionally, the groups serve infants, children, seniors, veterans, low-income people and the disabled. “When we have a state budget crisis of $1.3 billion, the nonprofit sector will continue to pick up those who were lost by that crisis,” Billingsley said. “If someone loses Medicaid or food benefits, we will see lines at free community health care clinics and food pantries. It creates a domino effect.”

MHAO efforts

Oklahoma consistently records some of the highest numbers of mental illness in the nation and troubling figures when it comes to adults and children who go without care. An estimated six out of 10 adults do not receive the care they need, according to The State of Mental Health in America, a report released by a national communitybased mental health advocacy group. Michael Brose, executive director of The Mental Health Association Oklahoma (MHAO), doesn’t have to read the statistics or funding numbers to know there are problems. As the leader of a nonprofit working with Oklahomans dealing with mental illness, he knows firsthand how budget cuts impact residents. MHAO runs OKC’s

Lottie House, an adult drop-in center. “We are not taking the initiative to fund these community based programs that are proven to work,” Brose said. “We are not funding them appropriately. You either pay now or pay later. We are a state that said, ‘No, let’s pay later.’ Sometimes, you have to spend money to save money.” A consequence of nontreatment includes the burden shifting to police stations, courtrooms and state prisons. People with untreated psychiatric illnesses are reported to spend twice as much time in jail as non-ill individuals, according to Treatment Advocacy Center, a nonprofit dedicated to educating about mental illness.

Sometimes, you have to spend money to save money. — Michael Brose The revenue crisis lead MHAO officials to take a second look at their advocacy efforts. Recently, the organization began working with criminal justice leaders. Research shows housing mentally ill inmates in county and state corrections facilities costs more than housing non-mentally ill inmates. Changes to criminal justice policies could shift savings back into mental health treatment. “We do need more money, but we can’t be afraid to step back, like any good business does, and think how can we reinvent ourselves and reorganize,” Brose said.

Sunbeam steps up

When Jim Priest, Sunbeam Family Services CEO, visited Oklahoma City’s KidZone Learning Center to read Dr. Seuss books to youths, he wasn’t thinking about the state budget or downturn in the oil and natural gas industry. Instead, he admired the bright environment with new books and learning toys furnished by Sunbeam through its mission to provide care to the youngest community members. As

the recipient of the federal Early Head Start Child Care Partnership Grant, Sunbeam employees work with more than a dozen local child care centers to provide learning areas designed to capture children’s interests and eagerness to learn. “The transformation that has taken place is not only physical, but an emotional transformation,” Priest said. “I asked the [director] to describe in a word or two what’s been happening. She said, ‘It has been a blessing, like a dream come true.’” The Early Head Start program reaches more than 500 Oklahoma City youths from infancy to age 5. It is one of two early childhood programs housed at Sunbeam, a nonprofit that also provides services to low-income families through established senior services, counseling and foster care programs. Sunbeam just scratches the surface, as more than 14,000 OKC children qualify for the early childhood programs. “I told our board this is the time we’ve got to step up and make sure our service delivery is as robust as possible to meet the raising tide of needs,” Priest said. “We can’t be concerned with finances to the point we’ve got to start constricting our services.” Priest said the nonprofit is prudent and careful with their operations costs. The group relies on donations, as well as some state and federal government contributions. “We’ve got this up and down,” he said. “The revenues go down, but the needs go up. I am sure that is the case in nearly all nonprofits.” The simple explanation is exact. Billingsley described the impact of government cuts on a variety of nonprofits, including historic preservation organizations, arts councils, prison ministries, parent teacher associations and foundations maintained by state colleges and universities. “Now is the time to nurture the nonprofits. There is no better time to give,” Billingsley said. “We, as individuals and businesses, are going to need to dig deep and keep supporting those initiatives. The last thing we want to see is really good charities closing and shutting doors. We can’t afford not to take care of Oklahoma.”

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Oklahoma Gazette | march 9, 2016 | 5 2/29/16 10:17 AM

6 | march 9, 2016 | Oklahoma Gazette

news city

Diverse partnership Oklahoma City and Vietnamese communities will bring a war monument to Military Park.

More than 40 years ago, Vinh Nguyen and his family escaped their native Vietnam by boarding a small boat headed for the South China Sea. They spent 36 hours in the ocean before encountering the U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet, a task force supporting the evacuation of South Vietnamese people after the fall of Saigon — the end of the Vietnam War. “We didn’t know where we would go,” said Nguyen, who served as a lieutenant colonel in the South Vietnamese army during the war. “Finally, we see a fleet. They rescue us,” he said. “I could not stay over there. I would’ve been killed. I helped the Americans.” Nguyen and his family were rescued by U.S. naval forces on April 30, 1975. Four months later, the couple and their children arrived as refugees in Oklahoma City on the advice of a U.S. Embassy worker originally from Lawton.

‘My homeland’

At that time, like many South Vietnamese refugees to arrive in Oklahoma City, the area along Classen Boulevard from NW 23rd Street to NW 34th Street became home. In time, the new residents transformed the area with an influx of pan-Asian businesses, like restaurants, grocery stores and shops. Today, those businesses are no longer mainly momand-pop storefronts, but house dentists, optometrists and insurance and real estate agents. As he stood near the entrance of the city’s Asian District, Nguyen spoke with pride as he discussed OKC and the United States, his second home. A graduate of the University of Central Oklahoma, Nguyen retired from the Internal Revenue Service and raised his children in OKC. “It is my homeland here,” said Nguyen while he walked in Military Park, located at NW 24th Street and Classen Boulevard. “I call myself an Okie.” Nguyen chairs the VietnameseAmerican Community Oklahoma City and Metropolitan Area. Over the past seven years, he has worked to dedicate a monument here to stand as a symbol of American and South Vietnamese

Ga rett fi s bec k

By Laura Eastes

Vinh Nguyen poses with a rendering of the proposed American Community Vietnam Monument at Military Park. sacrifices for freedom in Vietnam. The Military Park project would mark the first Vietnam memorial in an OKC park. “Two statues,” Nguyen said as he viewed a rendering of the proposed monument. “One is an American solider and the second is a South Vietnamese solider. They will be side by side for friendship.” He said he envisions a bronze memorial in front of three flags: an Oklahoma flag, an American flag and the flag for South Vietnam, three red stripes over a solid yellow background. “Almost 2 million South Vietnamese died for the country and 58,000 U.S. troops, including 987 Oklahomans, died for freedom in Vietnam,” he said. “This will honor those who served.”

A joint effort

In 2009, Nguyen, representing the Vietnamese-American Community, proposed the monument and flag plaza to the City of Oklahoma City. He spoke of an idea and showed photos of similar memorials, such as the Vietnam War Memorial in Westminster, California. With help from the city’s Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs, created

about three years ago, Nguyen’s dream became an official proposal, submitted in September 2013. The VietnameseAmerican Community agreed to pay for design, installation and memorial maintenance. Robbie Kienzle, office liaison, worked closely with Nguyen on the proposal. “We gained, like in so many cities, with this very unique population of hardworking people,” Kienzle said of Oklahoma City’s large population of Vietnamese residents residing near the vibrant Asian District. “They are constantly thanking us for our generosity by investing in our community with their businesses and contributions,” Kienzle said. “Here is the final thank you, a commissioned piece of art for Military Park, which is in the heart of their community. Through this effort, the monument will show a Vietnamese solider working alongside an American solider.” In 2014, the Oklahoma City Council passed a resolution supporting the memorial at Military Park and efforts by the Vietnamese-American Community to work with the city on the project. March 1, Nguyen and Kienzel again approached the council with a joint

public art agreement between the city and Vietnamese-American Community. It was unanimously approved, allowing the project to move forward once again. The next step is a call to artists, followed by applicant review by a selection committee and selection of an artist to create the monument, Kienzle said. The city’s Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs will administer the art selection process, which could take nine to 12 months. City leaders pledged $10,000 toward a conceptual master plan to incorporate the monument into Military Park, which will undergo renovations and improvements over the next few years. The park’s construction costs will be paid with funds from the 2007 general obligation bond. Nguyen will serve on the selection committee. The monument will be visible by motorists traveling on Classen Boulevard and easy for visitors to find. “You know how many cars pass by here each day?” Nguyen asked. “About 70,000 cars. People will see it every day when they drive by.” It is estimated to cost $210,000. The Vietnamese-American Community has raised $150,000 and expects to raise the final $60,000 this spring with a special Vietnamese music concert. With recent council approval, Nguyen knows his vision will become a reality: Oklahoma City will house a memorial to capture the tremendous sacrifice of service members in Vietnam. A monument for all Americans, Nguyen sees the park as a spot for Americans and Vietnamese Americans to come, remember, reflect, honor and hopefully heal.

How to help

The Vietnamese American Community hosts a fundraising concert 7 p.m. May 7 at The Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, 3214 N. Lake Ave. Saint Andrew Dung-Lac Church also sponsors the concert. Donations can be mailed to the Vietnamese-American Community, P.O. Box 60394 Oklahoma City, OK 73146.

Oklahoma Gazette | march 9, 2016 | 7

news city

Franklin Barnes speaks during The Tornado Summit in Oklahoma City.

Site specific 97˚30'0"W

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OKC dispatchers can sound the sirens after NWS issues a tornado warning, on the recommendation of the emergency manager, sightings from public safety personnel or other credible evidence. Under the former policy, NWS warnings promoted the sirens activation. Now, the sirens will give residents more warning time. OKC will continue to test at noon on Saturdays. Like the county-based approach, there is no all-clear siren sound. Sirens are reactivated each time another

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Under the threat-based policy, the city is divided into nine sectors. Officials numbered the sectors and assigned matching cardinal directions to the sectors. For example, sectors No. 2, No. 3 and No. 5 are southwest sectors. No. 2 is southwest Canadian County, No. 3 is southwest Cleveland County and No. 5 is southwest Oklahoma County. (See map, above.) Sector No. 7 is home to downtown and a majority of the northwest portion of OKC in Oklahoma County. Neighboring sector is No.1 is northwest Canadian County, above Yukon. Sector No. 9 is far north and represents neighborhoods in far Oklahoma City. On the eastside, Sector No. 8 represents northeast OKC. Southeastern OKC in Oklahoma County is in Sector No. 6. Below that sector is No. 4, home to southeastern OKC residents in Cleveland County.

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including emergency managers and weather experts, attended the event organized by the Oklahoma Insurance Department.

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8 | march 9, 2016 | Oklahoma Gazette

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When officials at the National Weather Service (NWS) in Norman issued a tornado warning for Cleveland County, Oklahoma City dispatchers flipped the switch to activate all 32 outdoor warning sirens maintained by the city in northern Cleveland County. At times, that was the right move, but not always, explained Oklahoma City police Lt. Franklin Barnes. He cited a 2015 storm when a warning was issued for Cleveland County, but there was no immediate danger to south OKC neighborhoods. Barnes attempted to reach dispatchers, but was too late. The sirens blared, but residents had no reason to seek shelter. In December, the Oklahoma City Council adopted a new threatbased approach to operating the city’s outdoor warning sirens. Now, they only will sound in specific areas of the city threatened by a storm. The NWS estimates the new approach will reduce false warnings by 68 percent, said Barnes, who serves as the city’s emergency manager. No longer will residents hear a tornado siren blaring only to find sunshine and a blue sky. “Now when you hear the sirens, it means there is a threat approaching you or in close proximity to you,” Barnes said. “You need to take the sirens seriously. You need to take shelter and get more information.” NWS officials collaborated with city officials to create a new policy that ends warning parts of the city under no threat. Officials believed false warnings caused confusion and anxiety, often leading residents to disregard warnings even when there was real threats. The new policy matches polygon warnings issued by NWS forecasters. Depending on the storm, sirens will sound in multiple areas of the city. Rick Smith, a NWS meteorologist, said the new policy doesn’t completely eliminate over warning. “There is nothing wrong with that,” Smith said. “We can’t always tell which streets the tornado is going down, but this will greatly reduce the number of people over warned.” Smith and Barnes presented the city’s new policy earlier this month during a session at the National Tornado Summit in Oklahoma City. More than 800 professionals,

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Military, might Student veterans find strength and support in numbers as they return home and head to college.

By Christine Eddington

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In 2008, Student Veterans of America was formed with a scant 20 chapters across the country. By 2013, there were 600. Today, 1,300 chapters dot campuses across the nation. For the more than 1 million veterans who returned to civilian life and pursued higher education since 2008, the organization has been a godsend. Leona Noe, a 30-year-old political science major at Oklahoma Christian University (OC), served three tours in Iraq. From 2002 to 2015, she served as a truck driver, or 88M, for the Army. Her deployments ran 2003-2005, 2006-2007 and 2010-2011. “When you first get out of the military, you feel a sense of loss. There exists in the military a brotherhood that bonds us all together, and when you leave that, there is an emptiness left,” Noe said. “Many veterans will adjust and make friends and become involved, but there is still a hole there that needs to be filled. My hope for this organization is to bring veterans — both students and faculty — together to help ease the burden of having to fit into civilian student life.” In 2006, an improvised explosive device hit Noe’s vehicle. “I suffered a traumatic brain injury and a few other minor injuries.

Students attend a recent Student Veterans of America group meeting in Edmond. A new group was recently founded at Oklahoma City University, and chapters exist in cities surrounding the OKC metro area. I have had to deal with my brain not functioning correctly at times. I struggle a lot more than I used to struggle in order to complete some tasks,” Noe said. “It makes studying and getting schoolwork finished difficult, but I do it.” Priscilla Marquez Cisneros, 25, also an OC political science major, joined the delayed entry program in 2009 when she was 17 and shipped off to boot camp. After that, she attended Marine Combat Training and then graduated second in her class from job school. She was stationed at Cherry Point, and later Camp Lejeune, in North Carolina. She met her husband in her unit and married in 2012. Her active duty contract ended in 2013. “He’s from Oklahoma City, which brought me here,” Cisneros said.

Honor, commitment

Both women are determined to earn college degrees, speak about the challenges they face as veterans and underscore the importance of establishing their school’s recently established chapter of Student Veterans of America. Currently, Oklahoma chapters exist in Edmond, Moore, Norman, Stillwater, Okmulgee, Tulsa, Lawton, Ardmore, Ada, Tahlequah and Claremore. The OC group is the first in Oklahoma City. Cisneros and Noe want student veterans to feel as comfortable as possible while getting the hang of their academic tour of duty and head off more serious issues if they can. Noe said she will hold a leadership role in the chapter and will be on the president’s board as an adviser once officers are elected. “We will be involved in helping elderly veterans and their spouses, as well as some widowed veteran spouses, around town,” Noe said. “I really want to shine a spotlight on veteran suicides. The rate is too high, and something needs to be done to stop it.”

There exists in the military a brotherhood that bonds us all together, and when you leave that, there is an emptiness left. — Leona Noe

Student veterans are a different population with a unique set of challenges, said Walter Tillman, vice president of programs for Student Veterans of America’s national nonprofit organization, headquartered in Washington, D.C. “They may be older than their classmates by four, six, 10 or 20 years, having given multiple years to serving our country. More than half of them are married. Half have children and are dealing with things like paying bills [and] maintaining their families, and that’s not even getting into issues they may be dealing with as a result of their service,” he said. “That’s very

different from their classmates, whose biggest focus and challenge is just being a college student with none of those other things in play.” Tillman began his involvement with SVA as a student and knows the value of that community firsthand. “We’re about the individual student vet who is unsure. They get to campus, they’re taking a few classes, but they feel lost. They feel like they just don’t belong,” Tillman said. “Student Veterans of America is a safe place for that individual, a place where he or she can feel comfortable and feel like they belong. Then they can reach their academic dreams.” After serving six years in the Army National Guard, including a 2008-’09 deployment in Iraq, Tillman enrolled at Arizona State University and earned a political science degree. “The flipside of those challenges is the amazing attributes student veterans bring to their universities as a result of having served in the military,” Tillman said, “things like discipline, tenacity, leadership and the ability to place the mission before the individual.”

Easing transitions

Noe and Cisneros have worked hard to feel comfortable in their new setting. “When I first came to OC, I was still very much in military mode. I would go to class and go home immediately after. I felt disconnected to the people here and campus,” Cisneros said. “I think getting involved could pose an obstacle because veterans like me can’t really relate to others. I’ve gotten better and I’ve also made friends who are veterans and who are not veterans. It takes time, and I think the OC [Student Veterans of America] chapter will ease the transition and speed it up.” Noe explained it in a different way. “When you first get out of the military, you feel a sense of loss,” she said. “There exists in the military a brotherhood that bonds us all together and when you leave that, there is an emptiness left. Many veterans will adjust and make friends and become involved, but there is still a hole there that needs to be filled. My hope for this organization is to bring veterans — both students and faculty — together to help ease the burden of having to fit into civilian student life.” Learn more about Student Veterans of America and find metro area groups at studentveterans.org.

Oklahoma Gazette | march 9, 2016 | 11

Chicken

Fried news

Sex ed dead?

It’s a question every parent dreads: “Where do babies come from?” But if House Bill 2797 becomes law, it might be replaced by a more alarming question: “Where did this baby come from?” Because Lawton Rep. Ann Coody’s bill, also known as the Humanity of the Unborn Child bill, would ban all public money for sex education. Oklahoman teens seem to know a lot about how to have sex, as evidenced by the state’s rank as No. 2 in the nation for teen births, they’re just a little fuzzy on how to avoid pregnancy. Oddly enough, Coody’s bill would also mandate schools to teach antiabortion curriculum to students. Which, considering how often sex is involved in pregnancy, seems like it would qualify as sex education. If you’re thinking, “Oh, don’t worry, this is one of those bills that people make a big fuss about, but it never makes it out of committee,” here’s the bad news: It did make it out of committee, and the House of Representatives and is now its on the way to the Senate.

Remember that Blood on the Highway film we watched in high school drivers ed class? We imagine this would be like showing students that movie, then neglecting to instruct them in basics like defensive driving or how to operate a vehicle. Things won’t end well once they get out into realworld situations.

We’re No. 19!

Oklahoma City is the 19th most productive large city in the nation, according to personal finance website WalletHub, which examined 116 of the nation’s largest cities for its 2016 list of “Hardest Working Cities in America.” Metrics featured “labor force participation rate,” “average hours worked per week,” and “number of workers with other jobs.” Anchorage, Alaska, ranked No. 1. Tulsa ranked No. 33.

Americans are 400 percent more productive today than in 1950, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Not to say we were lazy back then, because Federal Reserve Economic Data shows we toiled about 200 more hours annually than we did in 2011. Technology just made us more efficient.

Snap, send, regret

Taking selfies is awesome. Position the phone just right, fix a few strands of hair, and make the duck face or fish gape. Then, listen for the shutter sound. Post that pic to Facebook and watch the likes roll in. However, not all selfies are created equal, and some can pose problems later. That’s the concept behind

“revenge porn.” Snap a sexy selfie and send it off to an admirer only to later have it used as a weapon. Thanks to Sen. David Holt, R-Oklahoma City, the Sooner State could be cracking down on revenge porn perpetrators. Holt’s Senate Bill 1257 passed a Senate committee in late February, according to Tulsa World. Under the bill, it would be illegal to intentionally distribute a private photo of a person nude or engaged in a sexual act. If the bill makes it through the Capitol process, revenge porn and nonconsensual pornography would be a misdemeanor on the first offense. A violator caught for a second offense faces a felony charge, which could spend them to prison, and a fine, the Tulsa newspaper reported.

Best baller

In the same way Golden State’s Steph Curry has far and away established himself as basketball’s best player this NBA season, Oklahoma City Thunder’s Russell Westbrook seems to be pulling away as the league’s coolest person.

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Before the point guard’s stomachchurning battle with Curry’s Warriors in Oklahoma City, Westbrook arrived to the arena wearing a Tournament Shoot Out jersey from 1994’s Above the Rim. The quality of that movie on its own is questionable, but wearing a ’90s film replica of any kind, especially one featuring one of Tupac Shakur’s most memorable roles, is always a coolness trump card. That power move would be enough for most players, but Westbrook never turns off his cool switch. A couple of nights earlier during a game in New Orleans, the triple-double king made statements with his actions instead of his outfits. In the process of sinking a shot from the left elbow, he was knocked down by a hard foul, only to

immediately turn his roll on the floor into a celebratory handstand. Maybe that infectious energy caught the eye of Kendrick Perkins, the New Orleans player who once acted as the Thunder’s own version of Friday’s Deebo. Later in the same game, when Perk was forced to foul Westbrook, he wrapped his former teammate of five years in a tight bear hug and even kissed him on the head. You know your cool quotient is off the charts when you can squeeze affection from The Big Scowl.

Handy harmonizer

Reba McEntire is a lucky lady. Her legendary career is the envy of wouldbe singers all over the world. Plus, she’s a super nice person. Online country news source Taste of

Country reported that soon, thanks to fellow musician Ronnie Dunn, she will have a renovated vintage Airstream travel trailer. Half of famous act Brooks & Dunn, Dunn moved to Tulsa after college to pursue a career in music. He has known Chockie native McEntire since their early days in the business, when they toured together. Dunn posted two photos of ongoing trailer construction on Facebook Jan. 29 and announced his intentions for the project. “Greg Vaughn and I are renovating a vintage Airstream for Reba,” he wrote. “Step 1…strip ’er down to the basics. She’s gonna freak!!” McEntire recently divorced her husband of 26 years and sold her $22.5 million

Beverly Hills mansion. She’s lucky to have great friends like Dunn and Vaughn who do nice things for her when she needs cheering up. In a Feb. 18 comment about the Airstream, Dunn said “probably need to keep it under wraps for now,” and posted a picture showing wires hanging from the ceiling and exposed insulation. If you wanted it to be a surprise, you probably shouldn’t be sharing your progress on social media, Dunn! We forgive you though, and we’re sure McEntire will still love it. Maybe we should become good friends with Dunn; he could remodel another Airstream. We could go on an Airstream caravan road trip and sing “Red Dirt Road” and “Fancy” so much we get sick of them — or each other.

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Oklahoma Gazette | march 9, 2016 | 13

Commentary AUBR EY McClendon visionary (July 14, 1959 - March 2, 2016)

LETTERS Oklahoma Gazette provides an open forum for the discussion of all points of view in its Letters to the Editor section. The Gazette reserves the right to edit letters for length and clarity. Letters can be mailed, faxed, emailed to jchancellor@ okgazette.com or sent online at okgazette. com. Include a city of residence and contact number for verification. Tax hike

When voters approved the Oklahoma lottery, they did so because the money was to go toward education. When the governor and legislators cut the education budget instead of other budget areas, they effectively use lottery money. How am I wrong about this? We count on our lawmakers to be smart enough to plan ahead. The oil and gas industry has always had ups and downs. Previous tax cuts were done with no regard for future needs. And now we are proposing one of the highest sales taxes in the U.S.? Please! — Ellen Jonsson Norman Teacher raises

How is it that a teacher’s beginning salary is $31,000 when that amount can easily be made by other positions that hold much less value when it comes to forming the minds of our youth? They are our tomorrow and somehow

14 | march 9, 2016 | Oklahoma Gazette

education is falling by the wayside. In addressing the issue among state leaders, raises for teachers are among one of the addressed issues. According to what I read on okgazette.com, it says that the Senate president and the governor have expressed their support for paying teachers more, “but any talk about boosting teacher pay is followed with talk about an expected budget shortfall and limited funds” (News, “Top 10,” Ben Felder, Jan. 28, 2015, Oklahoma Gazette). As a parent, I have personally experienced the backlash of the budget cuts we are undergoing. I am desperately trying to move my child into a new school (not even a different school district) so that she has a better chance of not being bullied by the children at her particular school. Every school I have spoken with so far has said they absolutely are not taking any more children because they are at their maximum capacity due to budget cuts. How can our educators continue to educate our youth with minimal support? — Kylie Edwards Oklahoma City Sen. ‘Stupid’

I’ve never been to Oklahoma, but I’ve seen pictures. It looks like a nice place. I’m sure the state has plenty of smart, thoughtful people living there.

That’s why I have to scratch my head about how you folks keep electing Jim Inhofe your U.S. Senator, a man who bases his denial of climate change on the breathtakingly stupid premise that the activities of man can’t change the climate. Based on that comfortable notion, we could all just spew whatever we want into the air and dump whatever we want in the water, because, after all, nothing we can do will have any ill effect. That’s almost as stupid as the idea that each person’s vote won’t have any effect on the outcome of an election. Or that one person can’t make an entire state look foolish. — W.S. Wilson Wilmington, North Carolina Land of Oz

I have long classified Republicans’ actions under the title of The Land of Oz Three: No Heart, No Brains and No Courage. So it was a surprise to see reports in the Gazette about Republican proposals to eliminate some of the over 500 highly paid superintendents and roll back the 0.25 percent tax reduction. Likely, neither will come to be, but maybe it’s the thought that counts. Now if we could just get Gov. Mary Fallin to click her diamond-studded, platinum slippers and return to reality about health care funding and such. — John R. Hill Guthrie

Clarifying culture

I don’t understand what Joe Craven was getting at in his Jan. 27 letter “Clarifying Carson” (Opinion, Letters to the Editor, Gazette) but didn’t know that “our Constitution says that no one shall be denied the office of president because of his religion.” I’ll have to look that up. I do know that the people have to accept the candidate and if enough people don’t like a candidate’s religion, they will not vote for him. It is true that no candidate can or should try to promote any kind of theocracy in the name of any god or belief system (including humanist socialism, Sharia or Satanism for you Okie Satanists) that would replace our Judeo-Christian constitutional government. Excuse me; I take that back. You are, as a president or member of one of our governing branches of government or the media, welcome to pervert or just ignore our founders’ unique, fair and just recipe for governing America. Want to see some interesting history? Read about the theocracies of Israel and Judah in the Bible to see where our brave new world is headed. — Michael Moberly Oklahoma City

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m a rk ha n coc k

Cover food & drink

m a rk ha n coc k

From left Kyle Pierce, Zack Martin and Andy Rothfusz socialize and watch Thunder basketball at Oak & Ore.

City sippers

Jordan Cram and Olivia Reid drink at The Pump Bar.

Guests enjoy cocktails and beer at Nancy’s 57th Street Lighthouse.

By Ben Luschen and Greg Elwell

Oklahoma’s bar scene is a late bloomer. Today’s patrons might not remember, but in the not-sodistant past of 1985, it was illegal to sell liquor by the drink. Laws back then required boozehounds to be members of clubs, bring their own bottle and then pay to have it poured for them. Bars that skirted the law were said to serve “liquor by the wink.” So it’s not that surrounding states’ bar scenes are so much better; it’s that the Sooner State was the Later State when it came to letting residents enjoy cocktails. Decades later, the state is still dealing with regressive alcohol laws, but bar businesses are booming and new taverns open at a shocking clip. How far have we come?

The Pump Bar

Working in advertising isn’t really like Mad Men, but there is a lot of drinking, Jordan Cram said. Sitting across from Olivia Reid at The Pump Bar, 2425 N. Walker Ave., he estimated that he’s out for drinks at least three or four times a week. “It’s the culture at my work,” he said. The same is true for Reid, a social worker who said job stress sends many coworkers out after hours to blow off steam. How much she drinks really depends on what the next day holds. “I get really bad hangovers, so I try to end it after a drink or two,” she said. “And I know to steer clear of really hoppy beers

Garett fi s bec k

Our city’s bar culture is still evolving.

or dry red wines. But I can have a couple of whiskeys.” Cram is a little less concerned with intake and more with outtake. On a weekday, he might have as many as four drinks. Weekends are a little looser, with up to six drinks and maybe shots if the occasion calls for it. “You know that [budget tracking] app, Mint?” he asked. “It scares the hell out of me. I don’t usually worry about what I’m spending up front, but I worry afterward.” They have a few regular spots, depending on the mood. The Pump always feels like a party, even when it’s half-full. Cram prefers WSKY Lounge for cocktails and Oak & Ore or James E. McNellie’s Public House for beer. He also tries to drink local when he can, favoring Tulsa’s Prairie Artisan Ales and COOP Ale Works beers. Despite the rise in local liquor distilleries, Reid reaches for a few midrange whiskeys from out of state. “I’m not trying to get drunk,” she said. “I just want to drink something I’ll enjoy.”

Oak & Ore

Oklahoma City Thunder game nights are good nights for Oak & Ore, 1732 NW 16th St., the craft beer-focused bar in Plaza District. They’re also good nights for Kyle Pierce, Zach Martin and Andy Rothfusz to indulge in food and drink. It’s hard to tell how many beers the

As I affectionately say, it’s within staggering distance, so if I have an issue, I can just go home.

— Matt Meinke

group has had because the waitresses are so diligent about clearing off barware, but Martin said it’s variety that brought them in. “It’s about quality over quantity,” he said. Their jobs as programmers move them across the country, so each new city brings a search for the best drinks and eats. In OKC, Martin loves Oak & Ore. He said other venues don’t have the variety or take the same care with their taps. Quality costs, though. It’s not uncommon to spend $30-$50 on a night out, and more on the weekends, Pierce said. That’s the price of a social life. And the price of their nomadic lifestyle means they’ll be saying goodbye to some Oklahoma favorites when they depart. Unless COOP and Anthem Brewing find wider distribution, Martin said he will miss them.

Nancy’s 57th Street Lighthouse

Matt Meinke knows his neighborhood bar is a karaoke spot. He’s just not a karaoke guy. Singing usually cranks up sometime after 9 p.m. at Nancy’s 57th Street Lighthouse, 5708 N. May Ave., but Meinke doesn’t stick around for a rousing rendition of John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads.” What does bring him back, however, is the cooking. “This is the best chicken-fried steak in town,” he said. “And the gourmet mashed potatoes, they’re serving them in heaven.” Nancy also runs a catering business, so Meinke said the food is always fresh. He longingly described the bacon, cheese and onions that make the mashed potatoes unbeatable. Meinke makes his way from home to nearby Nancy’s about twice a week, usually dragging a friend along. Thursday nights are best for him because he doesn’t work Fridays. He has been going there for two or three years. “As I affectionately say, it’s within staggering distance, so if I have an issue, I can just go home,” he said. A crowd of regulars gathered around the venue’s long, unique, vintage bar. Meinke estimated that many of the people he shared the space with visited at least three times a week — many of them, unlike himself, are karaoke devotees. “I’m kind of an oddball,” he said. continued on next page

Oklahoma Gazette | march 9, 2016 | 17

Ga rett fi s bec k

cover food & Drink

From left John Vu, Andrew Trinner, Dominic Williams and Laura Talbert at Sipango Lounge

social outlet for Williams, who has lived in OKC for a couple of years. Though Williams said he’d like to see all local bars go smoke-free, Vu said there are some venues with atmospheres that should keep that kind of vibe. Talbert and Vu became friends in high school. Her parents own Hideaway Club, 4418 NW 39th St. They agreed that while the city’s bar scene has significantly improved over the last few years, they’d like more variety in the types of venues — more outdoor and local music venues would be improvements. “A lot of people are looking for different types of things when they’re looking to go out,” Vu said. Last year, Vu said, he would go out almost every other night to partake in heavy drinking. He has scaled back since then but still enjoys himself on weekends. “I just like going out; I like eating and drinking,” he said. “It’s a part of life.” Plenty of bars have popped up across the metro in the last several years, but Vu said there’s always room for more. “I feel like it brings the community together,” he said. “In a cheesy way, that’s part of the culture that I was raised in.”

mark hancock

O Bar

Kyle Hunter and Buddy St. Charles tell drinking stories at O Bar.

Cousins Bar & Grill

Liquor by the drink became legal in 1985. Cousins Bar & Grill, 6509 N. May Ave., joined the party just two years later. Inside, it’s a bit of a throwback. Dartboards and shuffleboard are popular attractions. So, too, are the jukebox and the cigarette machine. Longtime manager Stacy Ryan said it’s an unapologetically old-school place. “It’s kind of like Cheers,” she said. “I could walk out there and name everybody sitting at the bar and half the people in the dining room.” There are faces she sees every day, diners and drinkers who have been coming to Cousins since the beginning. Ryan credits the bar’s enduring popularity to good food (she’s insulted when people refer to the menu as “bar food”), fair prices and a staff in which turnover is rare. “We’ve put a few girls through

18 | march 9, 2016 | Oklahoma Gazette

college, but there are plenty that view this as their home,” she said. “You come in and you’re going to see your favorite bartender or server.” Even the kitchen, a notoriously volatile place in many businesses, has retained the same staff for nearly 15 years. It cooks up corned beef and turkey breast and cuts fresh fries twice daily.

I feel like it brings the community together. — John Vu Since she started in 1990, Ryan has seen a steady evolution of the crowd from overwhelmingly male to a comfortable mix and has seen the venue become a safe environment for everyone. She said the

bar also evolves on a nightly basis. “At lunch, we’re more of a restaurant. Then happy hour is a different age group,” she said. “The later it gets, the younger it gets. It’s unique that way.”

Sipango Lounge

Frequently, John Vu can be found checking out a bar somewhere in the metro area. He’s in the restaurant business, so it passes as research. Vu, who owns Kaiteki Ramen, a popular food truck, spent his Thursday night with friends Dominic Williams, Laura Talbert and Andrew Trinner at Sipango Lounge, 4301 N. Western Ave. They make their way there about once a month. More often, the friends visit Rockford Cocktail Den, 317 NW 23rd St., or Power House, 1228 SW Second St. With a lack of outdoor activity options in the area that appeal to him, the weekend bar scene is usually the main

It was Thursday night, and Buddy St. Charles can’t believe how dead it was. St. Charles, a libertarian, said he wasn’t comfortable providing his real name to a “liberal rag” like Oklahoma Gazette, so he pulled the obviously fake name from thin air. He was on a date with lady friend Kyle Hunter at O Bar, 1200 N. Walker Ave., located at the top of Ambassador Hotel. It was a slow night, especially after the packed house the evening prior, for Wine Down Wednesday. Couples mingled on couches and plush leather chairs, sipping glasses of white wine and immaculately mixed cocktails. When he’s not cooking for her, St. Charles and Hunter go out — not just to drink, but to enjoy the ambiance. It was their first time together at O Bar, but likely not their last. “This place is awesome,” he said. “[It] rivals bars I’ve been to in Chicago and Boston and California, but there’s no one in here.” He said the atmosphere at O Bar, as well as the intimate, old-school feel of The R&J Lounge and Supper Club, 320 NW 10th St., are alluring. Oklahomans just don’t realize what they have. In other cities where he has lived, St. Charles said Thursday nights are “crazy” at bars and restaurants. The drinking culture here is underground, suppressed by antiquated laws that keep liquor stores from selling things like corkscrews. “I could walk into Kroger’s in Atlanta and they have a better wine selection than I can get in the best liquor stores in Oklahoma City,” he said.

food & Drink

INTEGRIS AND

‘Easy’ Street

MAYO CLINIC.

Ga rett fi s bec k

Three employees stepped up to save 51st Street Speakeasy when it faced closure. By Brett Fieldcamp

Oklahoma City is a bar town. The past few years have seen an explosion in the number of local pubs, beer joints, dives and especially trendy craft bars. The establishments shape the city’s culture and identity. One of the most distinctive and interesting of these hangouts is undoubtedly 51st Street Speakeasy, the large, segmented, multibar pub built inside of a historic, turn-of-the-century house inconspicuously nestled off Western Avenue. The Speakeasy opened its doors in 2008, the product of owner and founder Kevin Sine’s vision and planning. Unfortunately, with the recent bar and restaurant boom drawing attention away from established venues, Speakeasy spent the past couple years floundering as it searched for a larger customer base and tried to further define its character. Finally, after some speculation, ownership announced the venue would close by the end of 2015. Soon after, rumors circulated that it wouldn’t close after all. Three employees offered to save Speakeasy.

Business plan

Bartender Henri Bailey and twin brothers Greg and Mike Bustamante (Greg was bar manager and Mike tended bar) purchased Speakeasy. They keep it open with the same crew but have made major renovations to the venue and its identity. After closing temporarily for 11 days in early January, 51st Street Speakeasy reopened with a focus on reestablishing itself as one of the prime spots in OKC for culture, conversation and great drinks. “For us, and I think for anyone, it’s about making a place that is everyone’s favorite local bar where they’re comfortable and they know people and they can get a reasonably priced drink,” Mike Bustamante said. “We grew up mostly in Guthrie, and I first started tending bar at the Blue Belle Saloon, and you got that sense when you walked

in. You knew all the people on different levels, but there’s just a comfort factor of, ‘That’s where I belong.’ And I think it says a lot about the local industry and this city that so many young people have opened places. There’s just a lot of really good, genuine people.” Greg Bustamante added that these young entrepreneurs are hard workers. “And they’re hands-on. They’re not all just guys with money to spend that want to make a bunch of money in the bar industry,” he said. “It’s hard to make money in the bar world, especially in Oklahoma.” They said the initial closure announcement was as shocking to them as to the public. “It seemed positive, positive, positive that we’re going to stay open,” Bailey said, “Then it was just, ‘No, we’re not doing it.’” Mike Bustamante expounded on the factors that resulted in Speakeasy nearly closing and continue to affect venues around the city. “It was a perfect storm of the place kind of being stagnant for a while, but also obviously a hundred new bars opening in the area,” he said. According to Greg Bustamante, established bars and restaurants along Western Avenue especially felt the freshfaced competition. “If you think just three years ago, there was no Midtown scene, there was no 16th Street scene,” he said. “So all of Western for the past year has felt that. … People around here, especially, when a new place opens, they just flock to it. Everyone wants to check it out, and understandably so, but then it starts to even out. People find where they’re more comfortable.”

A community

Many Speakeasy fans and regulars had grown very comfortable in the space, as had the loyal staff, who stared down the specter of unemployment. So the trio discussed it and decided to see what could

GREAT MINDS THINK ALIKE. GREATER MINDS THINK TOGETHER.

From left Greg Bustamante, Henri Bailey and Mike Bustamante take a break as they contemplate being the new owners of 51st Street Speakeasy. be done and if they could pull it off. The Bustamantes said they built a lot of respect for owners Bob and Patsy Sine, as well as for their son Kevin, the venue’s former owner, over the years. “So the three of us sat down with Bob, and he laid out some guidelines and told us what he expected and what he’d want for a partnership. And it was within our reach,” Greg Bustamante said. “The meeting was five minutes. Bob said, ‘I want someone to keep it going, and if you guys can reinvent it and make it your own, then I want to make it so you can.’” As for reinvention, the entire first floor is now nonsmoking, and they scrubbed off nearly a decade’s worth of grime from the gorgeous, art deco copper ceiling and added new, high-end furniture and lighting to highlight the beauty of the space. They’re also rolling out a new craft cocktail list, redesigning the full patio area and working to open up a full kitchen. Popular events remain, like Tuesday night trivia, Thursday karaoke and live music on weekends. The biggest impact they hope to make, though, is interpersonal. They want to be part of the community, something they all say has always been their goal. “I was always enamored as a kid with the idea that you could go to a market and the people that owned the market ran it,” Bailey said. “They might live upstairs and their kids might be working there.” Greg Bustamante agreed. “It was the same for us growing up in Guthrie,” he said. “But you know you can’t just talk about it. You really have to get out and support those locals.”

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When INTEGRIS doctors work with Mayo Clinic doctors, we call it

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Oklahoma Gazette | march 9, 2016 | 19 UNI_15-IN-271_Working_Together_Strip_Vertical.indd 33/4/16 5:04 PM

food & Drink

Booze and brews

Logan County overturned an outdated law on March 1 when residents voted to lift the county’s restriction on liquorby-the-drink sales on Sundays. The county question, which 61 percent of the electorate approved, also allows drink sales on July 4, Labor Day, Memorial Day and Thanksgiving. It is still illegal to sell liquor drinks on Easter and Christmas.

This could be the year for alcohol reform in Oklahoma, but nothing is certain yet.

By Greg Elwell and Ben Luschen

Editor’s note: Booze and brews is an Oklahoma Gazette series examining our state’s beer and liquor laws. Change is coming. Maybe. After countless efforts over the years, it looks like 2016 might be the year for serious reforms to Oklahoma’s archaic wine and beer laws. Senate Joint Resolution 68 (SJR68), authored by Sen. Clark Jolley, R-Edmond, passed the Senate March 1 by a vote of 28-16. Now awaiting debate in the House of Representatives, the resolution would put to the people a state question that could repeal parts of the state constitution — sections 1-10 of Article XXVIII — that mandate 3.2 beer and prohibit strong beer and wine sales in grocery and convenience stores. Retail Liquor Association of Oklahoma and the Wal-Mart-funded Oklahomans for Consumer Freedom coalition each have put forward competing initiative petitions to put state questions before voters in November. But Shawn Ashley, news director for eCapitol legislative tracking service, said change is far from a sure thing. While buzz for a change to the state’s alcohol sales laws has not been this strong since Prohibition, legislative attempts at reform are not new. Ashley said bills allowing for grocery and convenience store salers of strong beer and wine pop up over the years but never make it very far. Often, these bills are not even granted hearings. “Wherever there was an opportunity for a bill to die, it has died there and never made it to the governor’s desk or the public for a vote of the people,” he said. Instead, piecemeal reform has come in recent years in the form of laws allowing breweries and wineries to offer tastings and sell their products on-site. Less than 20 years ago, those things were prohibited. Current reform efforts are backed by some of the state’s younger legislators, and in addition to new perspective, Ashley pointed out that natural development in the state’s alcohol industry has prompted a

20 | march 9, 2016 | Oklahoma Gazette

If lawmaker and advocate efforts succeed, high-point beer could soon be available in grocery stores across the state.

stronger call for change. A rise of people moving here from out of state brings a rise in expectations for Oklahoma’s laws to match standards in other states. Ashley acknowledged that reform efforts from Jolley and Sen. Stephanie Bice, R-Oklahoma City, would be big changes and any outcome will result in winners and losers. “The thing about lawmaking is that if it really doesn’t work, if it really hurts someone and their business, there are ways to fix it in the future,” he said. What SJR68 seeks to repeal, Senate Bill 383 (SB383), authored by Bice, would replace in state statute, which also would make the laws easier to amend by legislators without a vote of the people. “The challenge is that 3.2 beer is part of our Constitution,” Bice said. “That was written in 1959. Because of that, if we want to make any changes, it can’t just be legislative; it has to go to a vote of the people.” SJR68 would put it on the ballot. Bice said SB383 is the nuts and bolts and is currently working its way through the Senate.

If approved, the new laws would: allow strong beer and wine sales in grocery and convenience stores. >> allow liquor, grocery and convenience stores to sell chilled strong beer and wine. >> give Oklahoma’s small breweries the right to distribute their products on their premises and to stores without going through a distributor. >> allow retail liquor stores to sell items that a grocery store would carry as long as the other items don’t make up more than 20 percent of the store’s total sales. >> outlaw common ownership of alcohol manufacturing, wholesale and retail operations in the state for larger breweries, except for Anheuser-Busch, which could keep distribution centers in Oklahoma City and Tulsa. >>

Initiative petitions

Initiative petitions are complicating matters. Oklahomans for Consumer Freedom (OCF) put forth a petition that would “backstop,” or reinforce, the efforts of SJR68 and SB383 in case the bills fail to make it through the

Legislature. OCF’s language does vary slightly, dropping the amount of sales allowed to be grocery or convenience items in liquor stores from 20 percent to 10 percent. Retail Liquor Association of Oklahoma’s proposal would retain the ability for grocery and convenience stores to sell strong beer and wine and for local breweries to distribute their products, but also would allow liquor stores to sell nonalcoholic items without an income restriction and would end the prohibition on liquor store sales on Sundays and holidays (excluding Thanksgiving and Christmas). It would also provide funding for the Alcoholic Beverage Laws Enforcement Commission (ABLE) and the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. Next week, part two of Oklahoma Gazette’s Booze and brews series focuses on stakeholders at breweries, wineries, liquor stores and distributors and how proposed laws could impact jobs, prices and selection.

p hotos by BI GSTOCK .COM

More change

food & Drink

HEAR D ON HUR D / PROVIDED

Hearing aid Edmond’s street festival returns for a second season of food, music and community.

By Greg Elwell

Heard on Hurd, the somewhat improbable monthly music and food truck festival returning to downtown Edmond March 19, is not H&8th Night Market, said Citizens Bank of Edmond president and CEO Jill Castilla. “H&8th was a whole different animal,” she said of the Midtown street festival that stopped its monthly calendar last year. “Heard on Hurd is more family-focused and intimate.” It is also growing. In 2015, the event brought more than 100,000 to the area, generating a new interest in an area that had been flagging. While the current location, from First Street to Hurd Street on Broadway in Edmond, has room for growth, Castilla said the event isn’t trying to

break any records. “It’s about the vibe, the feeling,” she said. “It’s a fun, safe environment.” Civic-minded Castilla is still businessminded, too. As the lynchpin, her bank has become a symbol of progress in a city many dismiss as “the ’burbs.” “Heard on Hurd has also helped unite new businesses owners with older businesses,” she said. The new generation of entrepreneurs choosing to locate in downtown Edmond — including The Patriarch, Café Evoke, Nominee Design — brought new leadership and focus to the area more quickly than she had envisioned. Not to minimize the work of the event planners, but many of the pieces making Heard on Hurd possible seemed to fall into place, Castilla said. Parking,

which was a perennial pain for H&8th, has been easy with many public lots in the area. “It doesn’t happen a whole lot that you can just park across the street from a big event and walk in,” she said. “As citizens, we’re trying to improve the walkability of the area. The more we give people to do, the more easy and enjoyable we can make it — people will be outside for hours if you give them that vibe. And that’s achievable.” The payoff has been a new interest and appreciation of Edmond from visitors. “We are seeing citizens from all over the metro community discovering Edmond,” she said. “It opens us up, out of our bubble. It’s been fun to let Heard on Hurd be the avenue for people discovering

our city.” The event is 6-10 p.m. March 19. Featured musicians are singer-songwriter Daniel Walcher, indie-folk sister duo Willow Way and singer-songwriter Graham Colton. More than 30 food trucks, including newcomers A Latte Love Coffee House, Back Door Barbecue, Pitchfork Kitchen and Bakery, PLP Food Truck, Sizzle n Spice and Trevino’s Mexican Street Beast, are scheduled to appear. “We’ve been mindful to let it grow organically, expanding the number of food trucks and, this year, including nonprofits,” she said. “We’re only trying to create a sense of community. If we have that, we deem it successful.”

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1221 nw 50th st 405.843.1722 Oklahoma Gazette | march 9, 2016 | 21

Pioneer spirit Mix up your home bar with a few Oklahoma-centric cocktails. Oklahoma Bulldog

By Greg Elwell

Drinking local gets easier by the day as Oklahoma beers find purchase on taps across the city. It’s no longer a surprise to find brews from Roughtail Brewing Co., COOP Ale Works and Anthem Brewing Company being poured in restaurants and bars. Less common are establishments that focus on Oklahoma’s burgeoning spirits industry, so we asked distillers for their best cocktail recipes. Find a bottle and get to work. Success Shake Up

Prairie Wolf Spirits

Guthrie-based distiller Prairie Wolf Spirits is one of the most visible liquor makers in the state with its signature vodka, Loyal gin and delectable coffee liqueur Prairie Wolf Dark. Now, founder Hunter Merritt said, the company is adding another something dark to the catalog. Prairie Wolf is aging whiskey, which should be available later this year.

Oklahoma Bulldog

(by bartender Benny Jacobs) 1 ½ oz. Prairie Wolf Vodka 1 ½ oz. Prairie Wolf Dark 1 oz. heavy cream Splash of cola Mix ingredients and serve over ice. Soda Run

Success Vodka

After helping start Tito’s Handmade Vodka in Texas, Jeff Thurmon came to Oklahoma and went into business for himself. His creation is Success Vodka, a wheat-based liquor that’s kosher, organic and gluten-free. “Some will buy it just because it’s organic, but the bottom line for me is smoothness,” he said. “It’s got a nice finish. You should be able to drink it straight without getting slapped in the face.” Because it starts with wheat, Thurmon said Success pairs well with citrus fruits, as it does in the Success Shake Up cocktail.

Success Shake Up

1 oz. Success Vodka 1 oz. simple syrup 1 oz. sweet and sour mix Juice from half a lemon Mix ingredients and pour over ice. Shake, strain and serve with twist of lemon garnish.

22 | march 9, 2016 | Oklahoma Gazette

Scissortail Distillery

Honestly, Garrett Janko isn’t wild about mixed drinks. As owner of Scissortail Distillery in Moore, he’s much more inclined to take his liquor straight or on the rocks. He prefers to taste his Scissortail Bourbon instead of covering it up. His cinnamon whiskey, Napalm, is a better mixer, but if he had to choose, he said his favorite might seem a little odd. Scissortail makes a white rum called Oklahoma Land Run, and Janko said there’s nothing that goes better with it than cream soda.

Soda Run

1 oz. Oklahoma Land Run white rum 4 oz. cream soda Mix ingredients and serve over ice.

PHOTOS BY G ARETT FISBECK

food & Drink

food briefs by Greg Elwell

Reality calls

Bites and Brews

Oklahoma City is one of the first stops as Fox reality cooking show MasterChef begins casting for its eighth season. Open casting calls are being held across the country and visit Oklahoma for the first time Saturday at Aloft Oklahoma City DowntownBricktown, 209 N. Walnut Ave. Home cooks are encouraged to register for the call at masterchefcasting.com. Those who can’t make it to the casting call may submit home video through the casting website. Competition instructions include curious notes: There will not be a kitchen in which to cook or warm up dishes. The show also will not supply contestants with dishes or utensils.

Those looking for a bite to eat and a chance to help might be interested in Bites and Brews, a new tasting event benefiting Youth Services for Oklahoma County (YSOC). The event is 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Chesapeake Boathouse, 725 S. Lincoln Blvd. The event includes sample bites from Oklahoma City restaurants and local beers in support of YSOC, a not-for-profit organization providing professional counseling and innovative behavioral and educational services to at-risk OKC youth. In addition to food and drink, Bites and Brews will have a drawing for an autographed Thunder basketball, Kendra Scott jewelry and two all-session tickets to the 2016 Big 12 Baseball Championship. Tickets are $30-$50, available at ysoc.org.

GARETT FISBECK / fi le

Revolucion-ary Joining Sunnyside Diner at the suddenly exciting corner of NW Sixth Street and Classen Boulevard is taco concept Revolucion Taqueria + Cantina. Owner Rachel Cope, (pictured, below left) already busy with popular Empire Slice House and upcoming Goro Ramen in the Plaza District, said the idea is simple: a revolution against Tex-Mex. “No fajitas, no enchiladas,” she said. “We’re doing authentic, cool, shareable plates and tacos.” The menu will stay true to Mexican preparations and flavors, including al pastor sliced off rotating spits and barbacoa. The space will feature a large patio and a nanowall system that opens the restaurant to the outdoors for an accessible taqueria atmosphere with a full bar and late-night dining. “Our hope is to open July 1,” Cope said.

Heads and Tails “We work with a guy who raises some of the best beef I’ve ever had anywhere,” said Ludivine chef and co-owner Jonathon Stranger (pictured). “We just want to show off the beef.” That’s the idea behind the seven-course Head to Tail Dining event March 21 at the restaurant, 805 N. Hudson Ave. Chefs will use a whole black wagyu steer raised and finished in Shawnee to showcase a variety of cuts and cooking techniques. “The dishes are very simple, not overcomposed,” Stranger said. “We’re highlighting the taste of each cut as we work through the animal.” Strip steak is likely the best-known cut on the menu, but diners will get to taste tongue, cheek, tail, liver and heart. “The heart will look like a very thin steak. The flavor is very beefy, very intense,” he said. “Of course, it will be well-cleaned and brined so it doesn’t have that iron flavor.” Stranger said he likes using high-quality organ meats because they can stand up to strong flavor that might otherwise overpower the meat. Tickets are $80, and a wine pairing is an additional $40. Call 778-6800 for reservations.

GARETT FISBECK / file

Heartland spirit While locally made vodkas by Prairie Wolf Spirits and Success Vodkas are growing in popularity (see P.22 for local cocktail recipes), a new contender enters the market promising a taste of the heartland. Made with corn from Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri and water from Arkansas, Smithworks American Made Vodka is a triple-distilled, charcoalfiltered spirit. “Blending our expertise in vodka with the passion and pride of our Smithworks plant in Fort Smith, Arkansas, we’re excited to bring consumers a new American vodka,” said Kate Pomeroy, Pernod Ricard USA vice president. Ada native and country music star Blake Shelton was involved with brand development. “I’m excited for everyone to finally taste what we’ve been crafting,” Shelton said in a media release. It became available March 1 in Oklahoma.

Oklahoma Gazette | march 9, 2016 | 23

food & Drink

PHOTOS BY G ARETT FISBECK

Hustlin’ Flo Florence’s Restaurant served Boley home-cooking to Oklahoma City since 1952.

Chicken and dumplings

By Greg Elwell

Pinkie Pie is my daughter’s favorite favorite favorite. At 2 years old, Amelia has amassed a number of things that are her favorite: Hello Kitty, George Monkey, My Little Pony, puppies. But none of them fall below the rank of favorite. They’re just favorite favorite or favorite favorite favorite. It’s a system that didn’t make a lot of sense to me until I sat down at Florence’s Restaurant, 1437 NE 23rd St., and tried to pick out my lunch. Smothered fried chicken? Steak tips? Salmon croquettes? Chicken and dumplings? Favorites, each one, and choosing among them is a special kind of torture. That is why we will start at breakfast. Owner and chef Florence Jones, who still pops out of the kitchen to talk up the guests on occasion, was raised on a farm in Boley, Oklahoma. Her restaurant, opened in 1952, was dedicated to serving those homestyle country classics to us disadvantaged city folk. Enter the Big Boley Breakfast ($15.75) and the waitress who kindly asked, “Are you going to be able to finish all that?” I am a large man. I eat food for a living. Of course I couldn’t finish the Big Boley. No one can. The version I got had bacon, ham, sausage, rice, a stack of the fluffiest pancakes you’ve ever seen, two eggs, potatoes and a little fruit for garnish. At almost $16, it’s not the cheapest meal around. But everything is cooked just right. The sausage patties were crisp, but still juicy. The ham was grilled, but

Beef tips

Florence’s Restaurant 1437 NE 23rd St. | 427-3663 florencesfoods.com What works: Smothered fried chicken is a must. The chicken and dumplings might be the best in OKC. What needs work: Service is friendly, but not terribly fast. Plan for a leisurely meal.

tender. The bacon had a little chew and a little crunch — a perfect balance. The pancakes were so light, I had to use extra butter and syrup to weigh them down. The Big Boley is a breakfast that doesn’t ask you to decide, unless you count the decision to take a nap right after you eat. Chicken is not a sexy meat. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts and dinosaurshaped chicken nuggets have drained all of our nation’s enthusiasm for the yard bird. But there has been an awakening, and it starts with Florence’s smothered chicken ($9, including three sides). Marinated and cooked to Mac and cheese, candied yams and beef tips

24 | march 9, 2016 | Oklahoma Gazette

perfection, this chicken has bathed in its own gravy for a silky, succulent bite that makes my heart go pitter-patter. Peel away the chicken skin if you must (though there’s plenty of flavor in that fat); it won’t put a dent in your enjoyment of this dish. Monday through Saturday, Florence’s has out-of-this-world specials, like Thursday’s beef tips ($9.75). Tender chunks of steak soak in a beautiful, dark beef gravy seasoned to perfection. Order sides of mashed potatoes and spinach, all the better to sop up that intensely flavored sauce. On Friday, you better take a friend, because choosing between chicken and dumplings ($8.50) and salmon croquettes ($8.75) is a dilemma even King Solomon couldn’t cut in half. Chicken and dumplings should be able to sue most restaurants for making them look so bad — dumplings that are too floury, flavorless and gluey. Not so at Florence’s. The big chunks of chicken were crowded into a bowl with the dumplings of my dreams. The seasoning was spot-on and the mix of meat and dumpling created a smooth, full gravy that carried a hint of pepper to the tongue with each bite. The croquettes, though, were held together by magic. The crispy, crackery

Tip: There are two doors on the south side of the building. The west door goes into the restaurant. The east door is for the barber shop.

crust barely contained the mélange of seasoned salmon inside. If the salmon croquettes of your youth were flat, greasy patties, these will be a revelation with their slightly sweet taste and solid, yet airy texture. Some of you will order a burger. I understand. This is Oklahoma. If you must forgo these other countryside miracles of flavor, then at least get yourself the steak burger ($7, including mashed potatoes). It’s a gorgeous, thick burger, topped with sweet grilled onions and beef gravy. It’s a favorite, in the parlance of my daughter, but pales in comparison to chicken and dumplings or beef tips. The sides at Florence’s are ridiculous. Country cabbage, mac and cheese, buttered corn, candied yams — you can’t go wrong. That’s just as true of Florence’s Restaurant as a whole. The only way to go wrong is to not go in the first place. Unless you’re afraid of finding a new favorite favorite favorite, this spot needs to be next on your list.

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Bar fun For a depressant, alcohol sure shows up at all the best parties. There are plenty of tear-inyour-beer bars around for the sad, solitary drinker, but if you’re going out for a good time, Oklahoma City has you covered with an array of spirited watering holes where they don’t water down the spirits. — By Greg Elwell Photos by Garett Fisbeck and Mark Hancock

Room 222

Flashback RetroPub

The Boom

222 E. Sheridan Ave. brick222.com | 605-5223

814 W. Sheridan Ave. 633-3604

2218 NW 39th St. theboomokc.com | 601-7200

An undiscovered gem in Bricktown, Room 222 is the perfect place for happy hours that turn into nightcaps. Decked out as a plush, modern lounge with plenty of TVs for all different kinds of sports (and whatever else you want to watch), Room 222 can be a quiet little hideaway from the bustle of downtown streets. But as the evening wears on and the drinks keep flowing, don’t be surprised to hear an eruption of laughter from the next couch over.

Where can you get a stiff drink, bodyslam The Ultimate Warrior, eat fruit while being chased by ghosts, go flying off Rainbow Road and fight your way through an army of Sentinels to beat up Magneto? Oklahoma City’s coolest video game bar, of course. Flashback RetroPub has alcohol and arcade games aplenty for the ultimate intersection of your child and adult sides. And if you get tired of the games, you can also bust several moves on the dance floor.

Let us all pray that The Boom never goes bust, because this is one of OKC’s craziest bars with entertainment of all sorts. The drag shows are expertly done, and Trashy Thursday’s open talent showcase packs the crowds in. But one of the biggest draws is the hilarious Sunday Gospel Brunch hosted by Kitty and Norma. It features breakfast, $2 mimosas and a lot of audience interaction.

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26 | march 9, 2016 | Oklahoma Gazette

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Cookie’s 2304 N. Western Ave. 521-9004

Dance like no one is watching. Sing like no one can hear you. Or go to Cookie’s and let everyone see and hear you when you take the stage for some of the city’s most energetic karaoke performances. The drinks are strong, the tables fill up fast and smoking is allowed. But if you’re looking for a fun way to pass an evening, few things are quite so enjoyable as singing Bell Biv DeVoe extremely off-key.

10601 S. Western • OKC 703-1119

TapWerks Ale House 121 E. Sheridan Ave. tapwerks.com | 319-9599

TapWerks is a Bricktown staple known for its extensive lineup of beers on tap. Local brewers often drop a few kegs of special edition and one-off batches. So if you’re looking to hoist pints with friends but you don’t just want any old beer, TapWerks is a solid choice. And with live music three nights a week and pub trivia on Tuesdays, there’s almost always something to do while you’re enjoying another glass.

51st Street Speakeasy

Edna’s

1114 NW 51st St. 51stspeakeasy.com | 463-0470

5137 N. Classen Circle ednasokc.com | 840-3339

Tuesday night trivia by The Lost Ogle is a fun way to test your knowledge against other local booze enthusiasts, but with a trio of new owners, The Speak is bringing in a lot of new live entertainment. Comedy nights, DJs and bands are filling out the calendar and giving the building new life. Best of all, if you’re just looking to hang out with friends, there are private rooms and large patio areas for more privacy. (See our related story on P.19.)

Lunchboxes are some of the sneakiest drinks around. Once you find your way into Edna’s and get a frosty mug of that famous libation in your hand — an inevitability — you’ll look down and see that it’s empty. Smooth and satisfying, Lunchboxes tend to disappear quickly, leaving behind only a burning desire to get up and order another one. Beware: Edna’s drinks have been known to cause excessive dancing and booming laughter.

Open 12pm-2am St. Patty’s Day Oklahoma Gazette | march 9, 2016 | 27

ST. PATRICK’S DAY

THURS. MARCH 17 OPEN AT 9AM

GREEN BEER LUCKY CHARMS ‘N GUINNESS OUTDOOR BASH NO COVER

live music by

VOODOO 2AM & DRIVE

starting at 4pm 28 | march 9, 2016 | Oklahoma Gazette

IRISH I WAS AT BAKER STREET BAKER STREET PUB – OKLAHOMA CITY 2701 W. Memorial • 405.751.1547 bakerstreetpub.com

Arts & culture visual arts

Ga rett fi s bec k

“Austin” by Erin Cooper

Relatively speaking

Tim and Erin Cooper’s art exhibit, Relativism & Relics, runs through March 26 at The Project Box, 3003 Paseo St.

“Plasma Corona” by Tim Cooper

Husband-and-wife duo blend the past, present and future in a new art exhibit.

by jack fowler

11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays through March 26 Artist demos 1-4 p.m. Saturday The Project Box 3003 Paseo St. theprojectboxokc.com 609-3969 Free

What makes an object valuable? A lock of hair can be auctioned for millions if it belonged to the right celebrity. A clay rice bowl morphs into a priceless artifact if it stays buried long enough. A canteen is worth more than a diamond if you’re lost in the desert. It’s a theme Oklahoma City sculptor Tim Cooper explores in Relativism & Relics, the new art show he and wife Erin premiered last week at The Project Box gallery in The Paseo Arts District. It runs through March 26. Tim’s “relics” — stone sculptures of cassette tapes, an Atari joystick and a rotary phone — are more than hipster throwbacks or quaint reminders of days

gone by. They’re artifacts from his past. “All of those things were originally made of plastic,” Tim said. “They were common and not super valuable, but they were extremely valuable to me as a child. What’s here are tangible memories: the first gaming system that meant everything to a young boy; the tapes his sister loaned him when he went upstairs, lit a candle and listened to Dark Side of the Moon; the hand-me-down phone from his bedroom and all those nights he stayed up late, hid in a corner and talked to girls. “They may have been made of cheap plastic, but they carried so much meaning for me,” Tim explained. “I thought it would be interesting to juxtapose the permanence of a stone sculpture with the fleeting existence of those objects that have fallen out of favor.” In addition to his relics, Tim also displays several of his abstract pieces, work he described as “all about the curves.” Simple and elegant, with strong, clean lines, Tim’s figures represent the

latest in a progression that has led him through different genres, themes and materials. A ceramicist in high school, Tim eventually graduated to clay and then stone. Working with exotic stones from all over the world hooked him, though. “I really think the Zen aspect of polishing and sanding these rocks is one thing I love about it,” said Tim, who has been working with stone for two years. “It’s been a real process, learning how it works, but I’m making things that I’m really proud of.” His pieces complement Erin’s new work. She said she’s also growing as an artist, and this is the first show in which she blends figurative imagery into her breezy abstracts. “I’ve been working for four months on a really large painting that’s a combination of abstract and figurative,” Erin said. “I’ve only recently started working on figures, and I wanted to figure out a way to bring that into what I wanted to say, to make some work that

“Destruction Before Creation” by Erin Cooper

“Rotary Phone” by Tim Cooper

was more personal.” In an effort to do just that, she painted several portraits of OKC that she knows and admires, combining her new phase with her trademark abstracts. “All of the abstracts are inspired by armor, branches, leaves,” Erin said of her new works. “It’s unlike anything I’ve ever done. It’s a little bit weird, but it’s very much what I’m interested in right now.”

Oklahoma Gazette | march 9, 2016 | 29

artwork photos provid ed

Relativism & Relics

CAR OL ROS E GG / P ROVI DE D

ARTS & CULTURE performing arts

Home star Cinderella’s stop at Civic Center Music Hall includes contributions from OCU alumni. By Ben Luschen

Cinderella 7:30 p.m. March 22-24; 8 p.m. March 25-26; 2 p.m. March 26-27; 7 p.m. March 27 Thelma Gaylord Performing Arts Theatre Civic Center Music Hall 201 N. Walker Ave. okcciviccenter.com 297-2264 $25-$65

For at least one night, the three Oklahoma City University (OCU) graduates in the touring Broadway production of Cinderella will have their own small cheering section when their show comes to town. Ben Lanham, a Cincinnati native who has had a role in Cinderella’s ensemble cast since the tour began 18 months ago, said he will be onstage March 27, when OCU dance and theater faculty are in the crowd to see him and the two other OCU graduates in the cast.

$3 Off Family Pack or

$5 Off Xl Family Pack

30 | march 9, 2016 | Oklahoma Gazette

The Rodgers and Hammerstein musical stops in Oklahoma City March 22-27 at Civic Center Music Hall, 201 N. Walker Ave. Other grads joining Lanham include Kim Fauré, who plays stepsister Gabrielle, and Chip Abbott, the raccoon/carriage driver. Lanham said he first auditioned for the show as a replacement when it was still on Broadway. He did not end up getting the gig but was able to go on tour. Lanham is one of the few original members of the tour cast still with that production. They’ve done more than 500 shows since he began. In Cinderella, Lanham is a swing, meaning he understudies the entire ensemble cast. Its men’s ensemble cast includes seven people. When one of the members of that ensemble cast goes on to the lead cast or is sick or injured, Lanham fills in for him. “I explain it to people as I’m like the

insurance of the company,” he said. “I’m there to fill the holes when needed.”

Modern mettle

This version of Cinderella was updated by playwright Douglas Carter Beane from the Rodgers and Hammerstein original to modernize the story and make it more relevant. Lanham said he loves the story’s message and added that it is not “just your Disneyfied Cinderella.” “It’s really about Cinderella empowering herself as a young girl and bringing kindness to a kingdom that is full of ridicule and animosity,” he said. Before Cinderella, Lanham performed West Side Story in Europe for a year. The cast left work at work, but constantly going through gang and violence themes no doubt affected the cast’s mood. This time around, Lanham said it’s good to be involved in a

Eric Anthony Johnson, Kaitlyn Davidson and Chip Abbott in the touring production of Rogers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella production with a more positive energy. “It’s very lighthearted and fun,” he said. “It’s something I look forward to doing every night.” Though this is not the Disney version of Cinderella’s story, Lanham said he welcomes the association with the classic animated film. Being in a big-name production always brings out different kinds of theatergoers. He said he loves looking out into the audience and seeing the little girls — and sometimes grown women — in their Cinderella dresses. “It opens up the doors, especially to kids, which I think is amazing,” he said. “They’re the future. I was once that kid, too.”

S C I E N CE M US E U M OKL AH OMA / P ROVI DE D

arts & culture YOUTH

56,000 OK KIDS ARE CURRENT TOBACCO USERS.

56.6% OF OK TEEN SMOKERS HAVE TRIED TO QUIT.

Education break Children get an extra dose of learning during spring break at Science Museum Oklahoma.

ULTIMATELY, 88,000 CURRENT OK KIDS WILL DIE FROM SMOKING.

By Mark Beutler

Power Up! Spring Break Science Camps 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through March 18 Science Museum Oklahoma 2100 NE 52nd St. sciencemuseumok.org 602-3760 $225-$250

Spring break is a great time to explore and have new experiences outside of everyday classrooms. Science Museum Oklahoma (SMO) again offers spring break camps 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through March 18. Youth in grades one through six can attend. “We have been doing the spring break camps for about six years,” said Clint Stone, SMO director of education and training. “We try to make sure it’s a different experience for campers each time. With our resources and a staff of trained science educators, we can offer kids an amazing camp full of experiences they can only have here.” SMO is one of the nation’s largest science museums, with more than 350,000 square feet. Stone said its mission is to enrich people’s lives by revealing the wonder and relevance of science, a mission it has extended to Oklahomans since the 1960s. The camps get kids to look away from their video games and learn new things in a fun, exciting atmosphere. Stone said the world is a classroom and these events give youths opportunities to explore what’s going on around them. “I think every child already has an affinity for science,” he said. “When kids play, there’s a lot of creativity and trial and error. Play is really all about experimentation and learning more about the world around us, just like science. These camps will appeal to

Children participate in Chemistry Day at Science Museum Oklahoma. kids with all kinds of interests because all you really need to enjoy them is a curious mind.” Spring breakers are split into two camps — one for kids in first through third grades, and another for fourth- through sixth-graders. Stone said the camp for younger kids is full, but additional ones are planned this summer. Spaces are available in the older group. Activities vary by age. “On Monday, we’ll explore flight by learning about and designing slingshots, gliders, hovercrafts and more,” Stone said. “Tuesday is a little messier as we make slime and learn about bugs and some other gooey science. We’ll dive into the properties of water on Wednesday by making rivers and designing boats, investigating steam power and learning all about ice.” The final two days, youths perform experiments in wind energy and examine recycling, pollination and the science of environmental cleanup. Friday, they look at the inner workings of electronics, drop objects from the roof and destroy things with liquid nitrogen. Cost is $225 for museum members and $250 for nonmembers, and each child is asked to bring a sack lunch and a snack every day. “There’s always a lot going on, so anyone who’s interested in our camps or special events should check out our website,” Stone said. “This is a fun, exciting experience that kids will only get at Science Museum Oklahoma.” Visit sciencemuseumok.org or call 602-3760 to register or for more information.

Tobacco is still a problem in Oklahoma.

Oklahoma Gazette | march 9, 2016 | 31

P hotos by CHR I S MI L L E R / P ROVI DE D

life Active

Hands-free fun A gigantic, indoor facility trains adrenaline junkies how to skydive. By Kerry Myers

Last month, the city welcomed iFly, the world’s largest indoor skydiving operation, to the new Chisholm Creek Trail Shopping Center, 13600 Pawnee Drive. It’s the 17th facility of its kind to open in the U.S. iFly developed a patented technology that allows people of all ages and abilities to experience human flight in a comfortable environment. The iFly experience is easy to achieve. Guests show valid identification and wear closed-toe shoes, and the trained staff prepares them for flight. Participants watch a short instructional video and then suit up (helmet, goggles and earplugs included). The Chisholm Creek development is growing rapidly, and iFly is happy to call Oklahoma City its newest home. “iFly has identified over 800 possible locations worldwide,” said Evan Comer, sales manager. “The Chisholm Creek area in north Oklahoma City will soon prove to be the entertainment district in the metro. iFly is excited to set that tone with our newest wind tunnel design.” The indoor skydiving experience

Guests work with trained instructors as they learn how to skydive at iFly, an indoor skydiving business at Chisholm Creek Trail Shopping Center in Oklahoma City.

32 | march 9, 2016 | Oklahoma Gazette

is something not of this world. Once properly suited in safety gear, guests enter a clear tunnel 12 feet in diameter. Winds greater than 100 mph blow upward and hold them afloat. They grab the “doorway,” lift up their chins and lean into the air as if preparing to free-fall from an airplane. Guests first iFly experience is not made alone, Comer said. The instructor enters the tunnel and helps stabilize fliers to prevent them from losing control (or hitting the wall). There are many levels of flight status to achieve. A first flight is simply learning how to maneuver body weight against massive wind speeds. The instructor teaches three body positions that are conveyed via hand signal: arms out, legs straight to fly high, legs bent to lower toward the earth. A standard visit includes two oneminute flights. The first is a warmup in which participants learn how to position their bodies against the wind to achieve a steady flight. The second brings in the “high fly” — the instructor flies guests high up into the tunnel. The iFly experience might be the closest anyone can get to feeling what it’s like to be a super hero. The company offers a tiered pricing system that rewards return fliers. A first-time visitor pays $69.95 for two one-minute flights. A return visit within three months earns two one-minute flights for $54.95, Comer said. The more often fliers return, the lower the price. Oklahoma City’s iFly center specializes in custom events for groups of all sizes, Comer said. The company also works closely with STEM programs and offers a STEM curriculum to correlate with classroom learning. Editor’s note: Oklahoma Gazette contributor Kerry Myers bravely volunteered to take the course and write about her experience.

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GRAM E RCY P I CTURE S / P ROVI DE D

arts & culture film

London Has Fallen

Jingoistic death London Has Fallen is a bloodthirsty and pointless takedown of American values. BY JACOB OLLER

To think, Gerard Butler is in two movies released in the last month and the better, less offensive one is the whitewashed and asinine Gods of Egypt. Unapologetically jingoistic, London Has Fallen is a cinematic explanation for how Donald Trump has garnered any political support. The shoddily made film follows Butler’s (also a producer of the film, if you wondered about his personal politics) presidential bodyguard Mike Banning as he accompanies President Benjamin Asher (Aaron Eckhart, laughably earnest) to the funeral of England’s prime minister. The gathering of world leaders — gasp! — doesn’t go smoothly. A group of vaguely Middle Eastern arms dealers have a bone to pick with America after a drone strike kills everyone at their family’s wedding except, apparently, any of the bad guys. The patriarch (Alon Aboutboul) escaped the compound-filling explosion with nothing more than a limp, while one of his sons is now wheelchair-bound. You think we might be in for a lesson about drone strikes and the desensitization to violence that goes along with raining death with a joystick. You would be wrong. The lesson this film preaches is that the drone strike should have been more accurate. Asher and Banning run around London, blasting people down, while the camera swirls and cuts as rapidly as possible. If the film can’t be exciting, it might as well give you whiplash. Secondary characters, despite their onscreen caption introductions, are superfluous. Morgan Freeman shows up to get paid while Angela Bassett — as Lynne Jacobs, the head of the Secret Service — is immediately reduced to a shrieking housewife, wailing and crying at the first sign of danger. The writers of

34 | march 9, 2016 | Oklahoma Gazette

this hypermacho piece of filmed NRA masturbation don’t think much of women or immigrants or anyone other than tough, beard-sporting white men who drink whiskey. After an hour of running around, killing henchmen and spouting sloppily accented one-liners, one wonders how long the film can keep this up. Boring governmental conversations ripped from The Big Book of Thriller Cliches cut right back to action so erratically shot it makes Michael Bay seem like a meticulous military historian. The plot is nothing more than a running excuse for masochism, with Banning — the same man we’re asked to believe is a loving, caring father later in the film — taking perverse, almost sexual pleasure in knifing his victims. Any nuance of this juxtaposition between sociopathic killer and parenthood is lost on this film and plays almost like an unintentional parody of American Sniper. London Has Fallen ends much like you’d expect a movie like this to end. The brown, bearded men are dead — either in their bunker or their London hideout — while Banning and the president are fished up by the military. America wins once again. Freeman delivers a speech about the importance of military activism, as if that’s not literally the reason the villain gives for his motive, and everyone waves the stars-and-stripes. Iranian director Babak Najafi must not think much of Americans. Either that or he sees us far better than I can. He has made a technically incompetent film highlighting an America that is dumb, toxic, bloodthirsty and just as despicable as any jihadi might have you believe. That some people will truly enjoy this movie is as damning a cultural signifier as anything.

WALT DI S N E Y ST UDI OS / PROVI DE D

Exciting utopia The upbeat energy of an ambitious bunny cop drags along the latest Disney film.

Judy Hopps (voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin) in Disney’s Zootopia

By Jacob Oller

Zootopia feels amazingly ’90s for a movie released in 2016. From its snarky, flat sitcom jokes that harken to the days of The Emperor’s New Groove (Remember when David Spade was a leading man?), its celebratory concert ending, and its ex machina-solving mystery plot, the film’s a flashback to some of the weakest points of generic animation. But luckily, none of that really matters because Zootopia milks it all for everything it’s worth and then some. Imaginatively dense, vibrant and utterly joyous, the world of peaceful anthropomorphic animals is as inviting and real as the wildest crayon drawings. The city of Zootopia, sectioned off into climate-appropriate boroughs, is home to predator and prey alike living in a metropolis together. We reach it through the eyes of Judy

Hopps, a rabbit whose ride into the city on its robust public transportation system could fuel an entire amusement park. If that had stretched on for an hour, I’d probably still have been delighted by each new invention, whether they were giant snowblowers to keep the tundra cold or miniature elevators made from gerbil tubes. Hopps is voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin, whose peppy enthusiasm magnetizes us to her. She dreams of being the first bunny cop; they (read: female) are normally deemed too “cute” to succeed in that line of work. Along the way, she teams up with a street-hustling fox named Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) and romps through a parodic Chinatown adventure as the plot becomes more and more sinister. Bateman is great with what he’s given and maintains a snide deadpan

that never feels completely uncaring, though we tend to wish his writers hadn’t scraped up the collective hacky jokes cut from every Disney picture in the last 15 years. The supporting cast is also delightful and provides nice reprieves from the sometimestiring banter between leads. Idris Elba as a police chief, Jenny Slate as an unassuming assistant mayor, Tommy Chong as a hippie and Shakira as the gazelle version of Shakira all prove memorable and fun additions to an already-colorful world. The film also has its lessons — undercurrents about racial profiling and sexism — roped under the encompassing and parsable roof of “anyone can be anything.” You can’t get more universal than that, and it’s given to us so kids will grasp it (though the insistence on “biology” as

a misleading root cause for predators’ latent savagery blurs the allegorical lines into uncomfortable territory). Whether they’re riffing on The Godfather or leading an inspired chase of a shoplifter through a tiny rodent neighborhood, co-directors Byron Howard, Rich Moore and Jared Bush, along with their visual effects team and whichever of the 10 (10!) credited writers was in charge of visual gags and action choreography, you’re overwhelmed by excitement. Goodwin’s bunny cop has a contagious hustle that hurtles the entire movie forward despite its flaws, which is good for you parents because your kids will want to watch it over and over and over again. Luckily, there are way fewer songs than Frozen.

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TICKETS & INfO: caiNsballrOOM.cOM Oklahoma Gazette | march 9, 2016 | 35

CALENDAR P R OVI DE D

are events recommended by Oklahoma Gazette editorial staff members. For full calendar listings, go to okgazette.com.

BOOKS Book Signing, R. Murali Krishna, psychiatric expert and author, promotes his debut book, Vibrant: To Heal and Be Whole: From India to klahoma City; he discusses how his study of the brain gives him insight into the why of mental health and the how of living a healthy, vibrant life, 6 p.m., March 10. Best of Books, 1313 E. Danforth Road, Edmond, 340-9202, bestofbooksok. com. THU David Levy Book Signing, author of The University of Oklahoma: A History, Volume II: 1917-1950 weaves together human and institutional history as he describes the school's remarkable development in response to factors such as two world wars and the Dust Bowl, 6:30 p.m., March 10. Full Circle Bookstore, 1900 Northwest Expressway, 842-2900, fullcirclebooks.com. THU Dale Lewis Book Signing, author of The Original Buffalo Dale signs and talks about his Oklahoma book Footprints in the Dew, 3 p.m., March 12. Best of Books, 1313 E. Danforth Road, Edmond, 340-9202, bestofbooksok.com. SAT

FILM

Book Signing, Alonzo Cannon signs and discusses That Medicine I will not Take, 11 a.m., March 12. Full Circle Bookstore, 1900 Northwest Expressway, 842-2900, fullcirclebooks. com. SAT

Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, (US, 1983, dir. Nagisa Oshima) film staring David Bowie as Major Jack Celliers, a tormented and rebellious military officer imprisoned in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp, 5:30 & 8:30 p.m., March 10. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 236-3100, okcmoa.com.

2nd Sunday Poetry Reading, Hardy Jones has been director of creative writing at Cameron University, where he created the student art and literary journal The Gold Mine; an associate professor of English, he published a novel, Every Bitter Thing, and a memoir, People of the Good God, 2 p.m., March 13. The Depot, 200 S. Jones Ave., Norman, 307-9320, pasnorman. org. SUN

THU

Embrace the Serpent, (CO, 2015, dir. Ciro Guerra) in the Colombian Amazon, shaman Karamakate builds relationships with two Western scientists over the course of 40 years, 8 p.m., March 11; 5:30 & 8 p.m., March 12; 2 & 5:30 p.m., March 13. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 236-3100, okcmoa.com. FRI-SUN

g ary bas e man / P ROVID ED

Book Signing, James Stewart signs The Civil Savage, a collection of poems spanning 60 years expressing a man's emotions as he passes through the stages of his life, 3 p.m., March 12. Full Circle Bookstore, 1900 Northwest Expressway, 842-2900, fullcirclebooks. com. SAT

Todd Beats Art Show Local artist Todd Beats is obsessed with discovering who he is as a person and how that has changed over time. That’s deep and personal, but according to his artist statement, he also “just likes to make stuff that he thinks looks dope.” An opening reception is 6 p.m. Friday at 1219 Creative, 1219 N. Classen Blvd. The show runs through April 1. Admission is free. Visit revolve-productions.com or call 810-6977. Friday, ongoing

HAPPENINGS Deceptive Orchids: Survival of the Trickiest, one-of-a-kind show of orchids displayed in a number of clever and whimsical ways that help illustrate their deceptive nature. Crystal Bridge Tropical Conservatory, 301 W. Reno Ave., 297-3995, myriadgardens.com. WED -WED Art After 5, enjoy the Oklahoma City skyline along with live music, friends and cocktails on top of OKCMOA, 5-11 p.m., Mar 10. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 236-3100, okcmoa.com. THU The Sweet Return of Gary Baseman, Gary explores the “beauty of the bittersweetness of life” through painting, performance, film and fashion, 6:30 p.m., March 10. Transmission Shared Space, 24 W. Park Place, Ste. B. THU 2nd Friday Norman Art Walk, come early if you come at all; monthly event features free snacks, wine, live music and local vendors, Art Walk is the best Norman has to offer all in one place, 6-9 p.m., March 11. Downtown Norman, 122 E. Main St., Norman. FRI

The Sweet Return of Gary Baseman Local design group AIGA Oklahoma hosts illustrator Gary Baseman for a discussion on the “beauty of the bittersweetness of life.” His past clients include The New York Times, Rolling Stone and The Wall Street Journal. It happens 7 p.m. Thursday at Transmission Shared Space, 24B West Park Place. Admission is free for AIGA members and $25 for nonmembers. Visit oklahoma.aiga.org. Thursday

36 | march 9, 2016 | Oklahoma Gazette

Live! On the Plaza, Plaza District is a good place to eat, drink and shop, as well as a great place to be active and healthy, from exercise classes and personal health tips to healthy cooking demonstrations, there is something for everyone to enjoy at this month’s Live, 7 p.m., March 11. Plaza District, 1618 N. Gatewood Ave., 367-9403, plazadistrict.org. FRI

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Bricktown St. Patrick’s Day Block Party Don your green and head to Bricktown on St. Patrick’s Day to partake in a legendary annual block party. The Oklahoma Chevy team organized an event with entertainment by Rocky Kanaga, Empire Grey, Denver Duncan, Bowlsey, Squadlive, Josh Sallee and My So Called Band. The Saucee Sicilian, Phill Me Up Cheesesteaks, Oklahoma Czech Delights and Truck Burger food trucks serve up delicious eats, and the party features a bevy of beers and free beer samples 3-5 p.m. Bricktown St. Patrick’s Day Block Party is 2 p.m.-midnight March 17 on Oklahoma Avenue at the Bricktown canal. Admission is free. Learn more on Bricktown OKC’s Facebook page.

March 17

Oklahoma City Spring Remodel & Landscape Show 2016, expansive home show brings together homeowners and experienced remodeling and building experts; professionals are on hand to share their knowledge and bring your ideas to life or inspire new ones, 2-7 p.m., March 11; 10 a.m.-7 p.m., March 12; 11 a.m.-5 p.m., March 13. Cox Convention Center, 1 Myriad Gardens, 602-8500, coxconventioncenter. com. FRI-SUN

OrGaNicSOKc.cOm

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ph: 558-1069

Oklahoma Gardening School: The New American Prairie Garden, style created by Wolfgang Oehme and James van Sweden, characterized by an abundance of ornamental grasses and perennials, the plants that make up the Oklahoma prairie and incorporating sustainability, ecology and beauty; explore this unique style and learn how to incorporate it into your own garden, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., March 12. Devon Tower, 333 W. Sheridan Ave. SAT Beginning Soap Making Class, in this handson class, participants explore the art of making handcrafted soap using both historic and modern methods; learn how to make old-fashioned lye soap, discuss the history of making soap, and craft your own to take home, noon-3 p.m., March 12. Oklahoma History Center, 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive, 5212491, okhistory.org/historycenter. SAT

FOOD Chefs Feast 2016, enjoy mouthwatering dishes, which are designed to follow this year’s sports theme, from some of the metro’s best restaurants; the event also features a variety of fine wines, beer and spirits, 6-9 p.m., March 10. National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd St, 4782250, nationalcowboymuseum.org. THU Whiskey, Beer, & Cheese, beer and cheese are natural companions, add whiskey to that mix and you’re in for one of an exciting night of pairing, 6:45 p.m., March 11. Forward Foods, 2001 W. Main St., Norman, 321-1007, forwardfoods.com. FRI

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Oklahoma Gazette | march 9, 2016 | 37

Peppa Pig Live! The lovable, pink, preschool Peppa Pig jumps off the television screen and into Oklahoma City with a show 6 p.m. Friday at Hudson Performance Hall, 2820 N. May Ave. There also is a 5 p.m. show Saturday at Brady Theater, 105 W. M.B. Brady St., in Tulsa. Tickets are $29.50-$49.50, available at Reasor’s or Buy For Less or by calling 866-9776849. Visit dcfconcerts.com. Friday

Cooking Demo, learn how to make stuffed cabbage rolls, 1 p.m., March 12. Uptown Grocery Co., 1230 W. Covell Road, Edmond, 509-2700, uptowngroceryco.com. SAT Saturday Cooking Class, this week's lesson is over porchetta, 1 p.m., March 12. Buy For Less, 3501 Northwest Expressway, 946-6342, buyforlessok.com. SAT

The ABC’s of What You Eat: Romaine, learn the facts about romaine hearts including nutritional benefits, how to select, store and ideas to serve them in this class; prepare and enjoy a healthy and delicious Romaine & Orange Salad, 9:30 a.m., March 15. Uptown Grocery Co., 9515 N. May Ave., 242-6080, uptowngroceryco. com. TUE Bites & Brews, an evening of sampling the best food and beer OKC has to offer, all while supporting a great cause; there also are drawings for many prizes, 6:30-8:30 p.m., March 15. Chesapeake Boathouse, 725 S. Lincoln Blvd. TUE

YOUTH Be the Dinosaur, exhibit features video game stations that require each player to decide — do they want to be an herbivore or a carnivore? The decision leads them on a virtual adventure for survival, deciding to eat the wrong plant or turning the wrong corner could spell the end of the game, which is set in an immersive recreation of the Cretaceous period. Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, 2401 Chautauqua Ave., Norman, 3254712, snomnh.ou.edu. WED -WED Spring Break Pop-Ins, participate in one of the rotating activities such as creating garden crafts, planting seeds, or going on scavenger hunts, 10 a.m.-noon, March 10 & 15. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 445-7080, oklahomacitybotanicalgardens. com/events. THU/ TUE Night at the ZooZeum: Memories of Bob Jenni, learn about this well-known reptile naturalist and his zoo ties;

sleep in the ZooZeum and then enjoy a morning hike to the Herpetarium and a keeper’s chat, 7 p.m.-9 a.m., March 11-12. Oklahoma City Zoo, 2000 Remington Pl., 424-3344, okczoo.com. FRI Story Time With Julie, kidfriendly storytime with the latest children’s books, 10:15 -11 a.m., March 12. Full Circle Bookstore, 1900 Northwest Expressway, 842-2900, fullcirclebooks.com. SAT Dungeons and Dragons, learn about and play the popular fantasy game powered by imagination that has been around for 42 years, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., March 12. Southern Oaks Library, 6900 S. Walker Ave., 631-4468, metrolibary.org. SAT Leprechaun Handprints, in the spirit of St. Patrick’s Day, guests use fun papers, paint, and other embellishments to create unique leprechaun handprints; ages 15-36 months, 10 a.m., March 12. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 236-3100, okcmoa.com. SAT Make + Take: Faux StainedGlass, inspired by exhibiting artist Summer Wheat, kids create faux stained-glass art pieces like the one in the gallery; using tissue paper, wax paper, stamps, ink and help from the sun to bring color in their homes, 1-4 p.m., March 12. Oklahoma Contemporary, 3000 General Pershing Blvd., 9510000, oklahomacontemporary. org. SAT

Tood Yohn, because of his quirky physicality, his uncanny sense of timing, and his happy-go-lucky attitude, Todd Yohn is a cartoon character that has come to life; his show is an amalgamation of stand-up, improv and music, 8 p.m., March 9-10; 8 & 10:30 p.m., March 11-12. Loony Bin Comedy Club, 8503 N. Rockwell Ave., 239-4242, loonybincomedy.com. WED -SAT Crank It Up For The Korral, battle of the bands presented by The Toby Keith Foundation Inaugural Teen Board; silent auction pieces include paintings with lyrics from Keith’s songs, autographed items and more with proceeds benefiting OK Kids Korral, 5-8 p.m., March 10. Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill, 310 Johnny Bench Drive, 231-0254, tobykeithsbar.com. THU

Natural Impressions-Evolved, by OKC artist Stacey Dianne Miller who creates mixed media artwork with a primary focus in printmaking. The Depot, 200 S. Jones Ave., Norman, 307-9320, pasnorman.org. New Blooms, debuting works by Brook Rowlands; displays aggressive expressive strokes, in often lush juxtaposition of vivid color, which creates the initial perspective plane of her

wall” of Johannes Vermeer’s The Milkmaid; depicting the four rooms of the maid’s personal chambers and includes a variety of 2-D and 3-D media, from faux stained-glass panels made of mylar and mesh to silhouetted dishes and a peek inside imagined dresser drawers. Oklahoma Contemporary, 3000 General Pershing Blvd., 951-0000, oklahomacontemporary.org. Skip Hill: Works on Paper, demonstrates contemporary drawing and mixed media practices of the work and creative process of local artist Skip Hill. Firehouse Art Center, 444 S. Flood Ave., Norman, 329-4523, normanfirehouse.com. Public Narrative: Story of Self, Us & Now, three-part exhibit

OKC Blue VS Reno Bighorns, OKC Thunder’s NBA D-League affiliate vs. Raptors 905, 11 a.m., March 10. Cox Convention Center, 1 Myriad Gardens, 6028500, coxconventioncenter. com. THU Drop-In Yoga, yoga class in the museum’s galleries, 5:45-6:45 p.m., March 10. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 236-3100, okcmoa.com. THU OKC Thunder vs Minnesota Timberwoles, NBA basketball game, 7 p.m., March 11. Chesapeake Energy Arena, 100 W. Reno Ave., 602-8700, chesapeakearena.com. FRI St. Paddy’s Day Dash, 5K in the spirit of St. Patrick’s Day, 2 p.m., March 12. Mitch Park, 1501 W. Covell Road, Edmond, 359-4630, edmondok.com/ parks. SAT

Striptease Sabotage, a show where the audience and the performers bid on various sabotages to the performances and proceeds benefit the Burlesque Hall of Fame Legends Challenge, 8 p.m., March 12-11. The Boom, 2218 NW 39th St., 601-7200, theboomokc.com. FRI -SAT

OKC Thunder vs Portland Trail Blazers, NBA basketball game, 7 p.m., March 14. Chesapeake Energy Arena, 100 W. Reno Ave., 602-8700, chesapeakearena. com. MON

Oleanna, play written by Pulitzer Prize-winning David Mamet; an edge-of-your-seat drama covers the themes of power, manipulation, spin and human perception, 8 p.m., March 11-12. The Paramount Room, 701 W. Sheridan Ave., 637-9389, theparamountokc.com. FRI -SAT

VISUAL ARTS Affinity Works: Home Lands, Michael Nicholson uses a technique combining onsite plein air painting with tradional studio painting. Oklahoma State Capitol, 2300 N. Lincoln Blvd.

Medea on the Run, Tyler Perry’s outrageously funny stage play; Madea is on the run from the

Beloved, a student-curated exhibit shines a spotlight on the horror of human trafficking and gives a voice to its victims. The Lightwell Gallery, 520 Parrington Oval, Rm. 202, Norman, 325-2691, art.ou.edu. Beth Hammack and Pat Edwards, oil, watercolor, acrylic and mixed media, The Studio Gallery, 2642 W. Britton Road, 752-2642, thestudiogallery.org. MON Ceramic Sculpture, Jean Keil, resident artist at In Your Eye Gallery, unveils her latest collection of ceramic pottery; an exploration of surface using texture highlighted with color on forms made with hand-building techniques. In Your Eye Gallery, 3005 Paseo St., #A.

O’City St. Patrick’s Parade It’s March again, and that means it’s time for the O’City St. Patrick’s Parade. The event features bands, floats, pipers and lots and lots of green. It starts 10 a.m. Saturday at Sheridan and Oklahoma avenues and ends in Bricktown. Visit ocityparade.com. Saturday

Euphoria Artistry IV: Retro Pinup, a pinup-themed event that showcases many of Oklahoma’s beautiful and talented models for a unique runway show and performances; also features visual art and dance performances, 7 p.m., March 12. Loves Studio & Event Center, 1309 24th Ave. SW, Norman. SAT

OKC Thunder vs Los Angeles Clippers, NBA basketball game, 8:30 p.m., March9. Chesapeake Energy Arena, 100 W. Reno Ave., 602-8700, chesapeakearena. com. WED

On Golden Pond, a love story about Ethel and Norman Thayer as they return to their summer home for their 44th year on Golden Pond; a beautiful reminder that life is good, 8 p.m., March 10-12; 2:30 p.m., March 13. Jewel Box Theatre, 3700 N. Walker Ave., 521-1786, jewelboxtheatre.org. THU -SUN

Art Adventures, children experience the world of art through stories and projects in this event series; this week’s story is The Book with No Pictures by B.J. Novak, 10:30 a.m., March 15. Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, 555 Elm Ave., Norman, 325-3272, ou.edu/ fjjma. TUE

38 | march 9, 2016 | Oklahoma Gazette

ACTIVE

37 Postcards, a zany family comedy by Michael McKeever; comedy centers on the wellto-do, but daffy, Sutton family; after years of traveling abroad Avery Sutton returns home with his fiancee but his home has turned into a madhouse, 7:30 p.m., March 10; 8 p.m., March 11-12. Carpenter Square Theatre, 806 W. Main St., 232-6500, carpentersquare.com. THU -SAT

Spring Break Day Camps, it’s Spring Bake Camp; help make tasty treats and deliver them each day for the animals to enjoy, 8 a.m.-5:15 p.m., March 14-18. Oklahoma City Zoo, 2000 Remington Pl., 424-3344, okczoo.com. MON - FRI

Whole Kids Club Story Time, a children’s librarian from the Metropolitan Library System leads your kids through a funfilled journey of stories, crafts and snacks, 10 a.m., March 15. Whole Foods Market, 6001 N. Western Ave., 879-3500, wholefoodsmarket.com. TUE

Three Colorful Trios, features Emil Hartmann’s "Serenade for Clarinet, Cello and Piano in A major, Op. 24," Aaron Jay Kernis’ "Trio in Red for Cello, Clarinet and Piano" and Johannes Brahms’ "Piano Trio No. 1 in B Major, Op. 8 for Piano, Violin and Cello," 7:30 p.m., March 15. St. Paul’s Cathedral, 127 NW Seventh St. TUE

BI GSTOCK.COM

Farmers Market, public market featuring locally produced fruits, vegetables, wines, meats, baked goods, clothing and more, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., March 12. OKC Farmers Public Market, 311 S. Klein Ave., 232-6506, okcfarmersmarket.com. SAT

law and no place to go so she volunteers to move in with her friend Bam and helps nurse her back to health; staring Tyler Perry as Madea and Cassi Davis as Aunt Bam, 3 & 7:30 p.m., March 13. Civic Center Music Hall, 201 N. Walker Ave., 297-2584, okcciviccenter.com. SUN

PERFORMING ARTS

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arts & Culture calendar

Crossroads of Commerce, showcasing the growth and development of Oklahoma’s economy from 1716 to statehood, the Dust Bowl, the depression, to present day. Oklahoma History Center, 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive, 521-2491, okhistory.org/ historycenter.

Lynn Institute 11th Annual St. Paddy’s Day Race Quick. Grab your green running gear. What do you mean you don’t have any green gear? Don’t you know it’s St. Patrick’s Day and it’s time to hit the pavement and raise some money for health care research?! Lynn Institute’s annual race stars and finishes at Lake Hefner East Wharf near 9101 Lake Hefner Parkway. Proceeds benefit Lynn Institute for Healthcare Research, a nonprofit that works to improve the health of communities. The 8k and 5k runs start at 10:15 a.m., and the one-mile run starts at 11 a.m. Registration is $20-$30. Learn more and register at LHSI.net. Saturday

compositions and transforms into floral forms. Kasum Contemporary Fine Arts, 1706 NW 16th St., 604-6602, kasumcontemporary.com. Our City, Our Collection: Building the Museum’s Lasting Legacy, tells the story of the museum’s history as a series of transformative gifts, bequests and acquisitions; including artists such as Georgia O’Keefe, Rembrandt van Rijn, Gustave Courbet and many more. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 236-3100, okcmoa.com. PASS, showcases artwork by Mandy Messina. Artspace at Untitled, 1 NE Third St., 815-9995, artspaceatuntitled.org. Pat Edwards and Beth Hammack, artwork in various mediums and subjects. The Studio Gallery, 2642 W. Britton Road, 752-2642, thestudiogallery.org. Philip R. Goodwin: America’s Sporting & Wildlife Artist, A Private Collection, Philip R. Goodwin’s art; he illustrated Jack London’s Call of the Wild and later Theodore Roosevelt’s African Game Trails as well as posters, calendars and other advertisements. National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd St., 478-2250, nationalcowboymuseum.org. Photography Exhibit, works by Ron Brandon. 50 Penn Place Gallery, 1900 Northwest Expressway, Suite 113-R , 8485567, 50pennplacegallery.com. Pry the Lid Off, Summer Wheat explores history, revealing “the world behind the white kitchen

focuses on public narrative and its movement from our psyche, to the collective, to the present and future of our communities. Mainsite Contemporary Art, 122 E. Main St., Norman, 360-1162, mainsite-art.com. UNDERTONES, textile vignettes capturing the changing landscape of Oklahoma City, and the unexpected beauty that accompanies the destruction of buildings and places. IAO Gallery, 706 W. Sheridan Ave., 232-6060, iaogallery.org. Wednesday Wax & Wine, a unique evening of fun, friends and relaxation where guests sip on their favorite beverages while learning how to paint with beeswax; two-hour workshop shows how to create encaustics monotypes by melting wax on a hot plate and pulling paper prints of luminous colors and bold shapes, 6-8 p.m., March 9. Skirvin Hilton Hotel, 1 Park Ave., 2723040, skirvinhilton.com. WED Western Skies, artist Gene Dougherty; watercolors of cattle, horses, Native Americans and things that typify Oklahoma and the American West, painted in his unique, realistic style. Paseo Gallery One, 2927 Paseo St., 524-4544, facebook.com/ paseogalleryone. Willard Stone Centennial: A Legacy of Art Through Family, multi-media exhibit with artwork by the late Willard Stone and his family. Oklahoma CountryWestern Museum & Hall of Fame, For music 3929 SE 29th St., calendar 677-3174. see page 44

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Oklahoma Gazette | march 9, 2016 | 39

Al e xa Lop e z / S ub Pop Re cor ds / PROVI DED

arts & culture music

Making Misery From the fallout of Smith Westerns, Cullen Omori finds himself again.

Cullen Omori

By Ben Luschen

9 p.m. Tuesday Opolis 113 N. Crawford Ave., Norman opolis.org 673-4931 $10 21+

In the aftermath of Smith Westerns, Cullen Omori has learned to seize his moments. Omori is best known as the longhaired lead vocalist for the former Chicago indie rock act in which he performed with his brother and another member. Smith Westerns, once one of the nation’s fastest rising guitar bands, announced its breakup in late 2014, citing creative differences. Omori last spoke with Oklahoma Gazette in 2011. The band played Norman en route to Austin City Limits. Almost five years later, the new solo act sits in a dealership parking lot. He’s negotiating a van purchase, which he’ll use on his upcoming U.S. tour promoting his post-band debut. New Misery hits streets March 18. On that tour, Omori plays 8 p.m. Tuesday at Opolis, 113 N. Crawford

40 | march 9, 2016 | Oklahoma Gazette

Ave., in Norman. Half a decade ago, Omori was so enmeshed in the rise of Smith Westerns that he now thinks he failed to appreciate what a special time that was. “I know that now,” he said, “but when I was younger, I would just get too caught up with getting to the next step.” There’s a fine line between satisfaction and ambition. It’s a line Omori now toes. It’s good to want more; he said that desire can drive a creative force within. However, those accomplishments are hollow victories if he cannot step back and enjoy them.

New project

Including Smith Westerns projects, New Misery marks the third album release Omori has planned and executed. He said each new one is nerve-wracking because something he spends a year or two writing is suddenly open for public comment and interpretation. He anticipates the public’s reception of New Misery will be particularly straining. For the first time, his name alone is on its cover. “It only takes a writer or a PRO VIDED

Cullen Omori

Cullen Omori’s solo debut, New Misery, comes out March 18.

site an hour or whatever to write their 400-word article and tear you apart,” he said. “You’re opening yourself up for criticism but also praise.” Still, Omori said he has a lot to be optimistic about. Smith Westerns’ records were largely well received by critics. Feedback for his solo debut so far been positive. Omori trusts his new label, Sub Pop Records, will perform well and get his music in front of the right people. New Misery is an album informed by, but not aspiring to be, today’s Top 40 hits. After Smith Westerns ended, the musician found himself in a menial job at a medical supply company. Workdays, all he listened to were the biggest pop songs on the office radio. He became intrigued with the idea of pairing new and interesting chords with conventional pop song structure. After hours on the job, he headed home to interpret what he heard. “I’m not the best musician in the world, and I’m not the best singer,” he said. “I can’t immediately recreate what I hear. When I try to copy what I think is great, somewhere along the way, I create something that is influenced by that, but my own.” While Smith Westerns’ influences were clear in its songs, Omori said his new project does a better job of putting those influences — David Bowie, Oasis, The Strokes — on full display while avoiding cutesy nods that can overshadow his uniqueness. New Misery is simultaneously all those influences and none of them.

I got punched in the face, and I’m back here again. — Cullen Omori

New perspective

Omori said he likes that people are still interested in his music. The experience of seeing his old band burn bright and then publicly flicker out was not fun. During most of its run, Omori believed Smith Westerns would last forever and had nowhere to go but up. Now, he said he’s focused on being happy as a musician. “It’s not like I have to be the biggest band in the world, nor do I want to be the biggest band in the world,” he said. Writing New Misery was therapeutic. It allowed him to work out fears that he somehow failed or lost his identity. For so long, he thought of himself as the frontman of Smith Westerns. He is now OK being Cullen Omori, independent artist. “I got punched in the face, and I’m back here again,” he said. “I’m doubling down, you know? I just want to play music, and that’s all I want to do.”

11. Best Red Dirt / Rockabilly 12. Best Rock 13. Best Cover 14. Best Overall

Music created in Oklahoma has circled the globe — setting records, reaping awards and climbing the charts — continuing to prove that Sooner State bands and musicians are a presence to which attention is worth paying. The world knows that Okies rock, so it’s once again time for Oklahoma Gazette readers to vote for their favorite bands and industry businesses in the Gazette Music Awards. Winners of the Gazette Music Awards will receive a coveted “Woody Award” honoring the late Oklahoma music legend, Woody Guthrie. The “Woodys” will be announced in our April 6, 2016 Soundcheck issue as well as the Gazette Music Awards event. Stay tuned for the event information.

1. Best Acoustic

15. Best Other Genre. Name Genre and Band

2. Best Americana / Folk

16. Best Singer-Songwriter

3. Best Country

17. Best Underage Band (Members under 21)

4. Best Electronic / DJ

18. Best Record Store

5. Best Jazz

19. best music gear store

6. Best Latin

20. Best Place to Dance

7. Best Metal

21. Best Place for Karaoke

8. Best Punk

22. Best Music Festival in Oklahoma

9. Best R&B

23. Best Live Music Venue (Small)

10. Best Rap / Hip-Hop

24. Best Live Music Venue (Large)

For your ballot to be counted:

Fill out at least 12 categories. Oklahoma Gazette must receive your ballot (one per envelope) by mail no later than March 15, 2016. Ballot may not be typewritten, photocopied or hand-delivered. There cannot be multiple handwritings on the ballot. Make sure your selections are local and that your choices do not appear on the ballot more than three times. All contact information must be completed.

Vote online march 2 – 15 • okgazette.com/GMA2016 Contact information * (required for your votes to be counted) NAME:

Email:

phone:

Mail your ballot to: Oklahoma Gazette’s Gazette Music awards P.O. Box 54649 • Oklahoma City, OK 73154

* We use this information for verification and keep it confidential.

Okl ahoma Gaz ette | march 9, 2016 | 41

m a r k ha n coc k

arts & culture music

Year-old Vergens Via the Verge hopes to rebuild a scene as it forges its own future.

Via the Verge

By Ben Luschen

Between verses, vocalist Joseph Kelm let out wisps of hot air visible in the frigid air inside the large garage that houses Industrial Skate Park, 18 SW Sixth St. It was the coldest show played by Via the Verge, an ambitious five-piece that hopes to bridge a gap between progressive rock and metalcore. With raw fingers and chilled faces, bandmates gathered outside the venue in good spirits, joking the gig would be a good memory several years down the road when they’re riding across the country on their own, warm tour bus. Despite the laughs, their dreams of climbing the music ladder couldn’t be more sincere. “We all have intentions to go as far as possible with our means,” Kelm said. “We’ve already invested a lot of our time, a lot of our money to get to where we are now. We’re really just putting all of our dice in to just get as far as it goes.” The band affectionately refers to fans as “Vergens.” It recorded its selftitled debut EP in April and released the project with a full roster Oct. 20. Via the Verge is comprised of Kelm, guitarists Zack Arvieux and Hutton Weaver, bassist Charles Gafford and drummer Bill Boyd. Via the Verge is a young act celebrating its first anniversary. Arvieux and Gafford first joined forces in a separate group that eventually fell apart. The two then used their connections to pull together the current lineup. “It was like we all met through friends,” Kelm said. “It all kind of formed together.” Their chemistry has been strong from day one, Kelm said. It’s necessary that members to have natural chemistry

42 | march 9, 2016 | Oklahoma Gazette

because the biggest obstacle they currently face is their distance from each other. Gafford is from Oklahoma City. Kelm and Weaver live in Tulsa. Boyd is based in Mustang. Being that spread out makes in-person practice time hard to come by, especially when each also has a day job. They meet once or twice a month at Downtown Music Box, 535 N. Ann Arbor Ave. Weaver said they often develop songs on their own time and share files between bandmates to collaborate. They spend a lot of time working alone, he said, which adds an extra level of dedication. Having scattered members can also make finding agreeable gig dates a challenge. “We have to pick and choose because of our day jobs and stuff like that,” Kelm said. “We’ve had to say no to some really big shows and say yes to some really small shows.”

‘Best shot’

The quintet hopes its sound helps revitalize a metalcore scene they say seems to have lost some local traction in recent years. “We have our influences, and they’re all a little different,” Gafford said. “We throw it all into a bowl and mix it up and serve it.” Oklahoma’s metalcore scene used to be about twice as large as it is now, Kelm estimated. Local music has shifted to an indie-rock, indie-folk focus at a time when metalcore is gaining listeners elsewhere. “If you look across the United States, this music is rising in popularity, in the world even,” he said. “In Australia, this

We’ve had to say no to some really big shows and say yes to some really small shows. — Joseph Kelm

scene is massive right now.” To help re-establish the genre here, the five men agreed promoters need to do a better job and fans should to try to make it out to more shows. “There needs to be a transition from everything being based off social media to more face-to-face,” Gafford said. Via the Verge also finds creative ways to share its craft. In December, it released a refreshing post-punk cover of the popular Ellie Goulding song “On My Mind.” The act also recently shot a music video with Sam Link, director of Collapse Entertainment, set for release on Friday. Link has worked with artists like Sleeping With Sirens and Machine Gun Kelly. Currently, Via the Verge is putting its energy into readying an April showcase gig for indie rock and metal music label Standby Records. Arvieux said he is excited about what the show could mean for the band. He also said the group assembled now has a lot of promise. “There’s a ton of talent in this band, and if we don’t pursue it, it’ll totally be a waste,” he said. “We have to make the best with what we have.”

Ga r e t t fi s b e c k

Castle crooners Sleek, new Castle Row Studios searches for worthy rising talent.

By Ben Luschen

Garrett and Ashton Starks spent the last two years putting together a first-rate recording space they hope can elevate Oklahoma’s reputation as a musical state. Now they hope to share their creation with a worthy hometown artist. The couple opened Castle Row Studios, 2908 Epperly Drive, in Del City seven months ago after months scavenging for high-dollar soundboards and equipment. The three-studio site is state-ofthe-art, and the interior is as chic and spacious as a fancy Nashville recording spot. The Starkses, tired of artists thinking it’s necessary to leave the state to make and record quality music, modeled the place to compete with the best. To show they’re serious about local talent, the couple launched a search for a rising artist or band to lend their services free of charge. The Castle Row Discovers contest, open for submissions through April 1, allows artists to record a “personable” video featuring their music and story for the opportunity to have a song recorded in the new digs. Ashton said there are many artists who have the financial support to land them in a studio like this, but they want to grant access to a worthy talent without that kind of backing. “I just would like somebody genuine,” she said, “someone that really is passionate about their music.” Artists can enter by uploading submissions on YouTube with the title format: “artist name – song title – Castle Row Discovers” and then include the URL in the submission form found at castlerowstudios.com. One winner will be selected to have a song recorded, mixed and mastered. They also will be featured

Garrett and Ashton Starks at Castle Row Studios. in a commercial video documenting the process, filmed by award-winning, in-house videographer Keaton Nye.

Distinctive digs

An opportunity to record at Castle Row gives the winner the chance to work with equipment once used by some of music’s biggest names. The main studio’s soundboard has been used to mix music by Carrie Underwood and Dave Matthews Band. Another was used to record R.E.M.’s first two albums. An organ was previously used by Bruno Mars. Castle Row takes over a building that housed Del City’s movie theater after its construction in the 1940s. It later became home to Del City Music and Woodside Studios, where artists like Reba McIntire and Vince Gill once recorded. The Starkses enlisted Steven Durr to help them redesign the space. He has designed studios for Mars, Mark Ronson and Zac Brown Band. Ashton said artists who have come through the venue so far left impressed. The couple said finding a way to benefit those using the space is the most rewarding part of owning Castle Row. “The whole reason we got into any of it (building a studio) was because you would go into a studio and see something like that and it blows your mind to where you like, ‘Oh, I’ve got to do that thing,’” Garrett said. “So to be able to do it — you can’t match it.” To learn more about Castle Row or the Castle Row Discovers contest, visit castlerowstudios.com.

Oklahoma Gazette | march 9, 2016 | 43

music calendar troy p e tty m u si c .com / p rovide d

WEDNESDAY 3.9 Grant Wells, Skirvin Hilton Hotel. PIANO Lyle Lovett & Robert Earl Keen, Civic Center Music Hall. SINGER/SONGWRITER

UZ/Subset, Kamps 1310 Lounge. ELECTRONIC

THURSDAY 3.10 Brent Saulsbury/Will Galbraith/Wayne Duncan, Friends Restaurant & Club. ROCK David Morris, Skirvin Hilton Hotel. PIANO Dirty Dishes/Klamz, Blue Note Lounge. ROCK Eric Dunkin, Baker Street Pub & Grill. ROCK Oliver Heldens, OKC Farmers Public Market. VARIOUS Ron Pope/The Nighthawks, ACM@UCO Performance Lab. SINGER/SONGWRITER

Walter Salas Humara & The Silos, The Blue Door. ROCK

FRIDAY 3.11

Troy Petty Native Chicagoan and Columbus, Ohio, transplant Troy Petty plays Norman for his first time this week. Petty makes the stop on his way to Austin’s South By Southwest festival. The indie alternative artist also celebrates the release of his music video for “Motor Mind.” Music begins 8 p.m. Sunday at Red Brick Bar, 311 E. Main Street, in Norman. Cover is free. Guests must be at least 21 years old. Visit troypettymusic.com. Sunday

Electric Avenue, Riverwind Casino. POP Grant Stevens, Skirvin Hilton Hotel. PIANO Jim the Elephant, Baker Street Pub & Grill. ROCK Josh Sallee, The Deli, Norman.

HIP-HOP

Aaron Woods Band/Redland, Remington Park. COUNTRY

Larry Chin, Blue Note Lounge.

Banana Seat, Riverwind Casino. VARIOUS

Michael Kleid, Fuze Buffet & Bar. VARIOUS

Beach Language/Admirals, 51st Street Speakeasy. ROCK

Michael Updegrove Band/ Redland, Remington Park.

Chuck Cannon, The Blue Door. SINGER/SONGWRITER

Daniel Jordan, Fuze Buffet & Bar. ACOUSTIC DJ SIX, Russell’s, Tower Hotel. VARIOUS

Equilibrium, UCO Jazz Lab, Edmond. JAZZ Horse Thief, Blue Note Lounge. FOLK Ian Moore, Wormy Dog Saloon. COUNTRY Jason Eady, Grady’s 66 Pub, Yukon. ACOUSTIC Jim the Elephant, Baker Street Pub & Grill. ROCK

ROCK

Midas 13, Oklahoma City Limits. ROCK Miss Brown to You, UCO Jazz Lab, Edmond. JAZZ

MAAJR, Belle Isle Restaurant & Brewery. POP REM Tribute, The Deli, Norman. COVER Street Kings, Oklahoma City Limits. ROCK The Wrong Omar, Jazmoz Bourbon St. Cafe. VARIOUS Third Rate Romance, Othello’s Italian Restaurant, Norman. COVER

Too Short, OKC Farmers Public Market. HIP-HOP

SATURDAY 3.12 100 Bones Band2AM/The Weathermen, Tapwerks Ale House & Cafe. ROCK DJ Jason Daniel, Russell’s, Tower Hotel. VARIOUS

MONDAY 3.14 Basia Bulat/The Weather Station/Samantha Crain, Opolis, Norman. SINGER/ SONGWRITER

Colin Ryan, Myriad Botanical Gardens. FOLK Randy Cassimus, JJ’s Alley. ACOUSTIC

The Patron AintS/Alex Culbreth/Tyto Alba/The So Help Me’s, The Deli, Norman. ROCK

Tyler Lee/OKC Limits Sunday Jam, Oklahoma City Limits. SINGER/SONGWRITER

Vacation, 89th Street Collective. ROCK

Punk Overload/Joe Jack Talcum/Michale Graves, The Vanguard. ROCK

TUESDAY 3.15

Read Southall, Wormy Dog Saloon. COUNTRY

Caleb McGee/Travis Linville, The Deli, Norman. VARIOUS

Steve Crossley Solo, Bellini’s Underground. VARIOUS

Citizen & Turnover/Sorority Noise/Milk Teeth, 89th Street Collective. ROCK

The Josh Cruise Band/Chris Hicks, The Barrel. VARIOUS

Cullen Omori/Sports, Opolis, Norman. SINGER/

Travis Linville, Othello’s Italian Restaurant, Norman.

COUNTRY

Winter Jam, Chesapeake Energy Arena. CHRISTIAN Wolfmother/Deap Vally, Diamond Ballroom. ROCK

SUNDAY 3.13 Edgar Cruz, Skirvin Hilton Hotel. ACOUSTIC Living Scars/Radio Restoration/Ultra City/ Kykuit, Blue Note Lounge. ROCK

Logan Russell, Remington Park. COUNTRY Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters, Cain’s Ballroom, Tulsa. ROCK Scott Lowber/Will Galbraith/ Rick Toops, Friends Restaurant & Club. COVER The Red Devils/Mike Hosty One Man Band, The Deli, Norman. ROCK

44 | march 9, 2016 | Oklahoma Gazette

ROCK

Neon Noah/Aluma/The Notionaries, Belle Isle Restaurant & Brewery. ROCK

Justin Joslin, Rodeo Opry. SINGER/SONGWRITER

Trevor Galvin Trio, Othello’s Italian Restaurant, Norman.

SONGWRITER

LUCKY/Shaun Suttle, Skirvin Hilton Hotel. COVER R5/Ryland/MAX, Brady Theater, Tulsa. ROCK

WEDNESDAY 3.16 Grant Wells, Skirvin Hilton Hotel. PIANO Harumph/Empty Bottles/ Hardship Letters, The Deli, Norman. VARIOUS

Submissions must be received by Oklahoma Gazette no later than noon on Wednesday seven days before the desired publication date. Late submissions will not be included in the listings. Submissions run as space allows, although we strive to make the listings as inclusive as possible. Fax your listings to 528-4600 or e-mail them to listings@ okgazette.com. Sorry, but phone submissions cannot be accepted.

sudoku/crossword By Timothy Polin / Edited by Will Shortz

ACROSS

1 Make less dangerous, in a way 7 Sleep-lab study 12 Some school edicts 16 Small invention 19 Eagle constellation 20 Signature Michael Jackson wear 21 Runway model? 23 Fly swatter? 25 “It seems to me …” 26 Attack order 27 Rationale 28 Trickle 30 The Good Wife figures: Abbr. 31 Confer 34 Drool from both sides of the mouth? 38 Screams bloody murder 40 Brought up 41 Narrow lead in baseball 42 Quaker of note? 45 In base 8 47 Sound near a spittoon 50 Brooding music genre 51 Tip of an épée? 53 Sci-fi film with a 2010 sequel 54 Brings in 56 Palindromic girl 57 “ 58 Busted timer? 60 Illicit sum 62 Anderson of WKRP 64 Historic siege site 65 Legendary siege site 66 Desi Arnaz? 70 Unsteady gait 74 Cutting edge 76 Karaoke-bar sight 77 Key of Brahms’s Symphony No. 4 79 Winning an Oscar for Norma Rae? 81 One of the Gabor sisters 84 Prompt 85 Actress Thomas 87 Reclined 88 Acrophobe’s term for a route through the mountains? 90 Encouraging word 91 Fire place? 92 Attended 93 Soothes 94 One of the Furies 97 Asian territory in Risk

DOWN

1 Applies gingerly 2 Outfit 3 World Heritage Site in the Andes 4 Oft-married Taylor 5 Keg contents 6 Archer’s battle weapon 7 Forever 8 Like lumberjack jackets 9 O.K. 10 Time for last-minute planning 11 Oxygen-dependent bacterium 12 Card-table cloth 13 Not fully independent 14 Piece corps, briefly? 15 Almost dislocate 16 Violation of Yom Kippur? 17 Batting .200, maybe 18 Queen ____ (pop-music nickname) 22 Don’t bother 24 Give a tongue-lashing 29 Veteran 32 A question of time 33 Is unacceptable 35 Virtual address 36 Père d’un prince 37 1961 space chimp 39 Improvise, in a way 42 Isolated 43 Echolocator 44 Softly 46 Three Billy Goats Gruff villain 48 Smash up

34 39

101 108

99 104 110

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49 “You win!” 52 Stabilizer of a ship’s compass 53 “Use your head!” 54 CD-____ 55 Ground-beef contaminant 58 Mobile-home resident? 59 Rio Grande city 61 Downton Abbey daughter 63 “Jeez!” 67 Flummox 68 De jure 69 Showroom models 71 Residents of 3-Down 72 Trackpad alternative 73 Lean on 75 Astral lion 78 Achieve success 79 Rug dealer’s special? 80 Prepares for a Mr. Universe competition, say

VP, CORPORATE AFFAIRS Linda Meoli Marketing Manager Kelsey Lowe

Accounting/HR Manager Marian Harrison

103

120 123

109

114

102

publisher Bill Bleakley

Associate Publisher James Bengfort

First-class mail subscriptions are $119 for one year, and most issues at this rate will arrive 1-2 days after publication.

64 69

Please address all unsolicited news items (non-returnable) to the editor.

50 54

Accounts receivable Sue Auld

100 105

106

111

117

118 122

125

126

Receptionist/calendar Arden Biard, Coordinator

107

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121

82 “____ the day!” (cry repeated in Shakespeare) 83 Settled the score 85 Ghostly sound 86 Apportion 88 Say, “When I met the Dalai Lama last year,” say 89 “Qué ____?” 91 Sugar 92 Goth-looking, in a way 95 It’s hard to get across 96 Morsel 98 1994 bomb based on an S.N.L. character 100 Something to boost 102 Bridge whiz 103 Domineering 104 Actress Thompson of Creed 106 River along Avignon

VOL. XXXVIII No. 10 Oklahoma Gazette is circulated at its designated distribution points free of charge to readers for their individual use and by mail to subscribers. The cash value of this copy is $1. Persons taking copies of the Oklahoma Gazette from its distribution points for any reason other than their or others’ individual use for reading purposes are subject to prosecution.

66 74

15 22

25 28

38 43

27 31

99 Round after the quarters 101 Lament from an unlucky shrimper? 105 Devotee 108 Fallout from the 2000 election? 109 “My bad!” 110 Put off 112 Short flight 114 Nougaty treats 116 Writing “30 and single” when it’s really “50 and married,” e.g.? 120 Reduces to smithereens 121 Cropped up 122 Canadian smacker 123 Morning condensate 124 Chichi 125 Cantina appetizers 126 Go through

Advertising Director Christy Duane, cduane@okgazette.com

113

119

Account Executive / Advertising assistant Leah Roberts 0306

New York Times Magazine Crossword Puzzle Court Jesters!

107 “Wanna play?” 111 Anti bodies? 113 Petitioned 114 Whacked 115 Kind of dye 117 The Depression, for one 118 Smoked deli purchase 119 Popinjay

Account EXECUTIVES Stephanie Van Horn, Saundra Rinearson Godwin, Elizabeth Riddle, Sarah Brigance Nathan Ward EDITOR-in-chief Jennifer Palmer Chancellor jchancellor@okgazette.com Assistant EDITOR Brittany Pickering Staff reporters Greg Elwell, Laura Eastes, Ben Luschen

Contributors Mark Beutler, Christine Eddington, Brett Fieldcamp, Jack Fowler, Kerry Myers, Jacob Oller Photographers Garett Fisbeck Mark Hancock Marketing & Editorial Intern Kylie Kallsen Circulation Manager Chad Bleakley

Stumped? Call 1-900-285-5656 to get the answers to any three clues by phone ($1.20 a minute).

ASSISTANT Circulation Manager Duke Fleischer

Sudoku Puzzle Medium

New York Times Crossword Puzzle answers

Art Director Chris Street

Puzzle No. 0228, which appeared in the March 2 issue.

Print Production Coordinator Ashley Parks

Fill inn°2147454829 the grid so that every row, column and 3-by-3 box contains the numbers 1 through 9. Grid medium

6 3

5 9 4 3 7 5 5 4 6 3 7 6 9 4 8 5

www.print mysudoku.co m

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E V I L B L O A B A W D D A Y G O R C A N A U G E Z R A N O V D R E W B A S T A L H E L L O R L O D I S P C A S T E

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A T E L I A I N G G E C O R E D E M P O C A N H U T U S H G E S T R O P A W E G I N U T

S H E R P A S

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P Y C A A I R G X P I A S P A U P E L C P L A C A D L D W O E C A U W O R D D R E S R E C O B A P E O P F U E O F T N U I T E S Q U E U B D E A

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Oklahoma Gazette | March 9, 2016 | 45

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FREE WILL ASTROLOGY by ROB BREZNY

Homework: What’s the single thing you could do right now that would change your life for the better? Freewillastrology.com. ARIES (March 21-April 19) “He in his madness prays for storms, and dreams that storms will bring him peace,” wrote Leo Tolstoy in his novella The Death of Ivan Ilych. The weird thing is, Aries, that this seemingly crazy strategy might actually work for you in the coming days. The storms you pray for, the tempests you activate through the power of your longing, could work marvels. They might clear away the emotional congestion, zap the angst, and usher you into a period of dynamic peace. So I say: Dare to be gusty and blustery and turbulent.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) “I sit before flowers, hoping they will train me in the art of opening up,” says poet Shane Koyczan. “I stand on mountain tops believing that avalanches will teach me to let go.” I recommend his strategy to you in the coming weeks, Cancerian. Put yourself in the presence of natural forces that will inspire you to do what you need to do. Seek the companionship of people and animals whose wisdom and style you want to absorb. Be sufficiently humble to learn from the whole wide world through the art of imitation.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Quoting poet W. H. Auden, author Maura Kelly says there are two kinds of poets: argument-makers and beauty-makers. I think that’s an interesting way to categorize all humans, not just poets. Which are you? Even if you usually tend to be more of an argument-maker, I urge you to be an intense beautymaker in the next few weeks. And if you’re already a pretty good beauty-maker, I challenge you to become, at least temporarily, a great beauty-maker. One more thing: As much as possible, until April 1, choose beauty-makers as your companions.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) The marathon is a long-distance footrace with an official length of over 26 miles. Adults who are physically fit and well-trained can finish the course in five hours. But I want to call your attention to a much longer running event: the Self-Transcendence 3100-Mile Race. It begins every June in Queens, a borough of New York, and lasts until August. Those who participate do 3,100 miles’ worth of laps around a single city block, or about 100 laps per day. I think that this is an apt metaphor for the work you now have ahead of you. You must cover a lot of ground as you accomplish a big project, but without traveling far and wide. Your task is to be dogged and persistent as you do a little at a time, never risking exhaustion, always pacing yourself.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) To have any hope of becoming an expert in your chosen field, you’ve got to labor for at least 10,000 hours to develop the necessary skills — the equivalent of 30 hours a week for six and a half years. But according to author William Deresiewicz, many young graphic designers no longer abide by that rule. They regard it as more essential to cultivate a network of connections than to perfect their artistic mastery. Getting 10,000 contacts is their priority, not working 10,000 hours. But I advise you not to use that approach in the coming months, Gemini. According to my reading of the astrological omens, you will be better served by improving what you do rather than by increasing how many people you know.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) In old Vietnamese folklore, croaking frogs were a negative symbol. They were thought to resemble dull teachers who go on and on with their boring and pointless lectures. But in many other cultures, frogs have been symbols of regeneration and resurrection due to the dramatic transformations they make from egg to tadpole to full-grown adult. In ancient India, choruses of croaks were a sign of winter’s end, when spring rains arrived to fertilize the earth and bestow a promise of the growth to come. I suspect that the frog will be one of your emblems in the coming weeks, Virgo — for all of the above reasons. Your task is to overcome the boring stories and messages so as to accomplish your lively transformations.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) “Your anger is a gift.” So proclaims musician and activist Zack de la Rocha, singer in the band Rage Against the Machine. That statement is true for him on at least two levels. His fury about the systemic corruption that infects American politics has roused him to create many successful songs and enabled him to earn a very good living. I don’t think anger is always a gift for all of us, however. Too often, especially when it’s motivated by petty issues, it’s a self-indulgent waste of energy that can literally make us sick. Having said that, I do suspect that your anger in the coming week will be more like de la Rocha’s: productive, clarifying, healthy. SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) “Even now, all possible feelings do not yet exist,” says novelist Nicole Krauss. In the coming weeks, I suspect you will provide vivid evidence of her declaration, Scorpio. You may generate an unprecedented number of novel emotions — complex flutters and flows and gyrations that have never before been experienced by anyone in the history of civilization. I think it’s important that you acknowledge and celebrate them as being unique — that you refrain from comparing them to feelings you’ve had in the past or feelings that other people have had. To harvest their full blessing, treat them as marvelous mysteries. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) “Look at yourself then,” advised author Ray Bradbury. “Consider everything you have fed yourself over the years. Was it a banquet or a starvation diet?” He wasn’t talking about literal food. He was referring to the experiences you provide yourself with, to the people you bring into your life, to the sights and sounds and ideas you allow to pour into your precious imagination. Now would be an excellent time to take inventory of this essential question, Sagittarius. And if you find there is anything lacking in what you feed yourself, make changes! CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) According to a report in the journal Science, most of us devote half of our waking time to thinking about something besides the activity we’re actually engaged

in. We seem to love to ruminate about what used to be and what might have been and what could possibly be. Would you consider reducing that amount in the next 15 days, Capricorn? If you can manage to cut it down even a little, I bet you will accomplish small feats of magic that stabilize and invigorate your future. Not only that: You will feel stronger and smarter. You’ll have more energy. You’ll have an excellent chance to form an enduring habit of staying more focused on the here and now. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) One of the legal financial scams that shattered the world economy in 2008 was a product called a Collateralized Debt Obligation Squared. It was sold widely, even though noted economist Ha-Joon Chang says that potential buyers had to read a billion pages of documents if they hoped to understand it. In the coming weeks, I think it’s crucial that you Aquarians avoid getting involved with stuff like that — with anything or anyone requiring such vast amounts of homework. If it’s too complex to evaluate accurately, stay uncommitted, at least for now. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) “I wish I knew what I desire,” wrote Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, born under the sign of Pisces. “I wish I knew! I wish I knew!” If he were still alive today, I would have very good news for him, as I do for all of you Pisceans reading this horoscope. The coming weeks will be one of the best times ever — EVER! — for figuring out what exactly it is you desire. Not just what your ego yearns for. Not just what your body longs for. I’m talking about the whole shebang. You now have the power to home in on and identify what your ego, your body, your heart, and your soul want more than anything else in this life.

Go to RealAstrology.com to check out Rob Brezsny’s expanded weekly audio horoscopes /daily text message horoscopes. The audio horoscopes are also available by phone at 1-877-873-4888 or 1-900-950-7700.

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All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968, which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, national origin or an intention to make any such preference, limitation, preference or discrimination. This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of this law. Our readers are hereby informed that all dwellings in . our newspaper are available on an equal housing opportunity basis

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