Shop. Eat. Play.
Summer Of Nostalgia
Table Of Contents
Vol. 8 2016 Issue 06
Publishers/Editorial/ Photography Sherri Hultner Trevor Hultner
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4. Around Edmond 6. Local Flavor 7. Social Edmond 8. Summer of Nostalgia
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16. Dining Review
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AROUND EDMOND By and large, being a grownup is better than being a kid. It’s been a few years since I crossed the teen/ adult threshold, and, barring a couple of gripes about bills and debt and work, I’m fairly happy about being on the other side of that equation. Every once in a while, though, it’s nice to remind myself what being a kid was like (aside from maybe a lack of responsibilities): constantly learning new things, experiencing the world in different ways, and using my imagination to enhance my surroundings and think up new realities, just for fun. Also jumping in mud puddles. That was always a blast. Being outside and exploring nature - at places like Vasquez Rocks or Mammoth Lakes in California were formative experiences for me growing up. Just as vital to my growth was the pop culture I ingested. I was lucky enough to be raised on a steady diet of new wave, goofy 80s comedies, and the final wave of Saturday Morning Cartoons. Pokemon, in particular, provided me with my first cultural obsession; from third to fifth grade, my Pokéfanaticism fueled marathon sessions in front of a Game Boy Color, days spent traipsing down to a friend’s house to trade and battle with the trading cards, and even a campaign I started to make my elementary school allow the franchise on campus. As with all fads, the intensity of my interest in Pokemon faded in time. Not completely, however; over the course of my life I’ve been able to revisit it and feel a fraction of what I felt then. Completely coming back to Pokemon this month, with the release of Pokemon GO, has fully transported me into my childhood, evoking the most intense nostalgia I’ve felt in my life. And it’s not just me. As of this moment, 75 million people are playing Pokemon GO, worldwide. It’s one of the biggest mobile apps ever made. While it isn’t without its problems, Pokemon GO has created a space for adults to be kids again, and that deserves some accolades. But Pokemon isn’t the only thing coming back in style these days, and Issue 6 of Edmond Active is taking a look at some of the hottest nostalgiainducing items of the summer.
In Local Flavor, we made up some delicious frozen ombre granitas to quench our thirsts. Social Edmond, as always explores what’s new on our local social networks - including some more Pokefun. The main feature of Issue 6, “Summer of Nostalgia,” takes an in-depth look at the sensation that is Pokemon GO, as well as reviews the new Ghostbusters film. For some culinary nostalgia, we visited Sunnyside Diner in Oklahoma City for some amazing omelettes in a classic diner setting. Finally, Edmond Family Counseling implores you to get up and go make some lasting summer memories with your family - so that your kids can have something to be nostalgic for, too! Thanks for reading, --Trevor
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Advertise your business affordably this summer, and be a part of Edmond’s largest online network! Call Sherri at 315-7325
Local Flavor Ombre Summer Wine Granita as seen at Cosmo Bites FB Page With the heat turning up this year, I thought it would be great to test out one specific drink recipe, and of course create a non alcoholic version for families, and those who don’t drink. This recipe was done with red, rose and white wine, and the same for the non alcoholic version, using red grape juice and white grape juice.
It was easy to assemble, and you’ll want to be sure to prepare a day or two before you serve. This recipe makes a great frozen treat for the upcoming dog days of summer while you’re enjoying upcoming weekends at the lake or spending hot evenings enjoying friends and family on the patio.
Ingredients
* Whipped Cream * Garnish - optional Combine ingredients into 3 separate containers and stir until sugar dissolves. Freeze overnight. When ready to serve, break up the frozen wine or juice, and then scoop the frozen granita into your glass from light to dark. Top with whipped cream and optional mint or like garnish and enjoy!
* 1 cup each of Rose, Red Wine and White Wine (or grape juices) * 3 tbsp of sugar in each container * ¼ cup water in each container
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SOCIAL EDMOND REACTION TWITTER
We decided to poll Twitter & Facebook and ask how prepared everyone was for school. Twitter had over 21 comments in its first hour with a resounding NO! 3 weeks left! You can vote @EdmondActive!
Our Facebook readers at @EdmondActive and the Edmond Community Forum seemed a little more organized with a 6-5 vote, with the NO’s clearly in the lead! Parents are procrastinating while enjoying the last of summer.
What’s New
This month there are several new places opening, and I decided to make a list for all of you! If you have any new places you’d like us to announce, join our discussion group @EdmondCommunityForum at Facebook! Top left - Rocket Fizz Edmond is finally open in North Downtown Edmond at Broadway and Campbell. It’s such a fun store with equally fun owners! Stop in to check out the cool retro candy, gifts and Rocket Fizz’s own brand of soda pop! Middle - Katiebug’s Trailerpark is located at Hurd & Broadway and has been busier than we could have ever imagined! You must follow @Katiebug’s Shaved Ice and Hot Chocolate at Facebook to find out what fun events are happening during the week! Top Right - Emory Anne’s Interiors is building a stand alone furniture store and design center at 150th Street and Santa Fe. I am so excited to see this finished! Keep your eye out for updates!
Pikachu Spotting Enrique at Statewide Insurance Agency at Broadway and Hurd found a Pikachu at the 32 N. Broadway location of Citizen’s Bank of Edmond in late July!!! After searching for this certain Pokemon for a month, Enrique, trying to level up on his work breaks, got the holy grail of Pokemon! The best places to find unique Pokemon are on Broadway, Boulevard, at Mitch Park, and at UCO, and the same for Pokestop’s and Gyms.
FOLLOW #SHOPEDMOND Be sure to follow #ShopEdmond at Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to find the latest from our retail advertisers this summer!
THANKS FOR FOLLOWING! I just want to thank all of you for your continued support of EdmondActive at Facebook, Instagram and Twitter since 2009! Send suggestions or ideas to me at Sherrih@Edmondactive.com.
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Summer of Nostalgia
To Be The Very Best: A Brief and Personal History of Pokemon GO
To say that Pokémon GO, the latest entry in the multibillion-dollar Pokémon entertainment franchise from mobile developer Niantic Inc. and The Pokémon Company, has taken the world by storm is a massive understatement. In the space of two weeks, Pokémon GO broke the alltime sales/download records of any prior game in a series that spans two decades; raised the stock market value of its parent company, Nintendo Corporation, by 25 percent; and has become one of the mostused mobile apps on the planet in the iOS and the Android markets. While it may be fair to say that a chunk of the game’s success comes from cashing in on nostalgia in the franchise’s 20th anniversary year, allowing Pokémon’s original fans from the late 1990s and early 2000s to live their childhood dreams of becoming a Pokémon Trainer, Pokémon GO also benefits from what the franchise has always benefited from: cute and colorful monsters, the spirit of exploration and a basic desire to “Catch ‘Em All,” as
the saying goes. However, the simplest explanation for the game’s success is probably also the best one: the experience of joy one gets from playing GO is what Pokémon creator Satoshi Tajiri, and the late former Nintendo boss Satoru Iwata, wanted with Pokémon all along. It’s early September, 2015. The Electronics Entertainment Exposition, the video game industry’s cardinal press gathering, has come and gone. The gaming community is still reeling from Satoru Iwata’s sudden death in July; aside from attempting to steer Nintendo’s slowlysinking ship from the brink of financial disaster and creating entertaining product announcements through the company’s “Nintendo Direct” platform, Iwata was a veteran game designer partially responsible for franchises like the Mother series, Super Smash Bros., and Kirby. His creations formed the foundation of many video game enthusiasts’ experiences
with gaming, and the eulogies and retrospectives lasted into the new year. Meanwhile, aside from the usual announcements from Triple-A video game developers about new additions to existing franchises, things are pretty quiet in the video game world. And then, this trailer gets released to YouTube. At, like, two in the morning on Sept. 10. I know this, because I was at a Taco Bell in OKC when it got released. I will accept all judgments of my character and life choices. The trailer starts with an image of the Earth at night from space, quickly zooming into some fancy cuts of different people getting ready to leave their homes mixed in with airborne footage from urban areas all over the world. In bold, white lettering, the video asks the viewer to do one thing: “IMAGINE POKÉMON… IN THE REAL WORLD.” As an adult in the Millennial generation,
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Summer of Nostalgia I’ve come to accept some brutal truths about the world. I understand that, on some level, we have to give up our dreams in order to survive. I understand that we’ve probably got a rough climate situation to reckon with on the horizon. I understand that the tradeoff for a college education at this point is to incur a steep mountain of student loan debt, or work myself into the ground between classes for the next six years. A lot of my friends and colleagues are doing that. But there’s still a part of me that resides in 1999. There’s still a part of me that sits enamored with this other world, filled with wondrous, powerful monsters and challenges that can be overcome with the power of friendship and a good Pokémon team alone. For 16 years, this desire to participate in the world of Pokémon sat dormant. And unless this video is a joke, it’s promising to bring this desire into fruition. The next three minutes depict several groups of people, including a Japanese businessman, a father with his daughter, and some teenagers at a skate park, catching, trading and battling Pokémon in real-world locations. It culminates with a girl standing in Times Square, watching as all the video billboards turn into countdown clocks. People are running into the square. Everything is silent, and then a legendary Pokémon, Mewtwo, appears. The gathered Trainers all throw their best monsters at it, whittling its hit points down as it zooms around Midtown Manhattan in a flashy, overly-CG battle sequence. Throughout the trailer, short slogans have been appearing on-screen periodically. “Go catch.” “Go trade.” “Go battle.” “Go play together.” “Go unite.” When the trailer gets to the climax of the fight with Mewtwo, and the dust has settled, another moment of quiet has draped over the gathered players. Then, the biggest billboard in Times Square flashes the trademark “Gotcha!” exclamatory, signifying that everyone has beaten the
A wild Snorlax appears on the in-game map. As you walk around, your proximity to randomly-generated hidden Pokemon determines what pops out of the “tall grass.”
legendary monster and caught him as their reward. The final slogan appears: “Gotta Catch Em All.” The trainers all cheer in tandem. I’m shedding tears. This has been the dream, ever since I was a kid. But more importantly, it’s a chance for folks my age and a bit older, who may now have kids of their own, to pass their love of Pokémon down to them. The conceit behind Pokémon was initially formed in 1990, following a demonstration of two new pieces of Nintendo technology, the Game Boy and its peripheral Link Cable system, and inspired by bug-catching. Satoshi Tajiri, the creator of Pokémon (known in Japan as “Pocket Monsters” or “Poketto Monsut”), was an avid bug collector in his childhood. According to
some accounts, Tajiri was so engrossed by the activity of finding and researching insects that his childhood friends called him “Dr. Bug.” As Tajiri grew older and more interested in computer programming and arcade games, he began looking for ways to bring his childhood love into the virtual space. With the advent of the Game Boy, Tajiri found the perfect medium. He pitched the idea to Nintendo, who decided to gamble on the odd premise and its focus on collaboration via the Link Cable, and offered financial and intellectual support. Six years later the first Pokémon games, Pokémon Red and Green, were released in Japan, becoming a sleeper success. Pokémon officially came to North America with the release of Red and Blue in 1998, sparking off a veritable firestorm of catch-em-all fervor from kids across the continent. Followed in quick succession by a Pokémon anime and a Game Boy Color Red and Blue reiteration, Pokémon Yellow, the franchise quickly ballooned into a pop-culture juggernaut. But it almost didn’t happen this way. According to an interview with current The Pokémon Company CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara in late 2015, Tajiri’s production company, Game Freak, wasn’t focused on international localization (the translation of their games into other languages) at all. “At the time, Game Freak was moving onto the production of the next title with Pokémon Gold and Silver, and we didn’t even have any people to spare to even do any kind of port,” Ishihara said in an interview with Japanese publication 4gamer. “For starters, when we made Pokémon Red and Green, the thought of bringing it to countries outside of Japan didn’t even occur to us in the first place.” Despite pressure from higher-ups within Nintendo to localize, Ishihara said the Pokémon team considered it an impossible task, given their tight production schedule on the next two installments in the franchise.
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Summer of Nostalgia
Pokemon GO allows trainers to capture rare and interesting Pokemon in real life - but sometimes they get away. This Wartortle resisted my attempts to confine it to a Poke-Ball. Luckily, I was able to take a picture before it ran.
My experience with the Pokémon franchise started with Pokémon Yellow, on the Game Boy Color. I got it as a birthday gift in November, 1999, and had no idea how it worked or how to play it successfully. All the same, I was enthralled. The game, coupled with the anime and the trading cards, essentially swallowed up my life for the next couple of years. I battled and traded with other kids in my neighborhood, kept up on all the latest Pokémon news, and even astoundingly - helped organize a group at my elementary school to “legalize” Pokémon cards on school grounds. If memory serves, we actually got them to do it, too. As I grew older and my own interests changed, I stopped following the franchise as closely. However, the feelings I’d
associated with the series never went away, and as the years went by, the visceral excitement it once generated turned into intense nostalgia. Even now, as a bills-paying, job-having Adult, Pokémon has a certain pull over me. A couple of years ago, I picked up Pokémon Omega Ruby, a Nintendo 3DS remake of Generation III’s Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire series, and had an incredible time indulging in the memories. I will occasionally drop $5 on a pack of the new trading cards. I know I’m not alone in my continued enjoyment of this childhood cultural touchstone, either. To this day, Pokémon is still a heavilyplayed, heavily-watched and heavilyenjoyed franchise among people of just about any age. The last main game set, Pokémon X and Y, has sold over 14 million copies worldwide since its release in October 2013. The trading card game maintains a large enough professional player-base to maintain the Pokémon World Championships, a yearly competition among the best players of all ages for scholarship and cash prizes up to $25,000. Even the cartoon, which has backslid a bit since being a Saturday morning staple, entered its 19th season in December, 2015. With all of this latent potential, it’s no wonder that Pokémon GO has reignited a fever for the franchise. If it hadn’t been for Satoru Iwata, Pokémon likely wouldn’t have made it to North America when it did, if at all. According to Tsunekazu Ishihara, Iwata took the game’s original source code and performed an in-depth analysis to see how best to port it over to American audiences. When he made these recommendations, Iwata was the president of another game production company, HAL Laboratory already famous for its Kirby and Mother game franchises. Put simply, he had his own games to make, and his own company
Pokemon Gyms have been established at major landmarks all over Oklahoma. As of now, the gyms are the only places for trainers to battle each other, whether as friendly sparring matches between players on the same team or full-on brawls between rival team members. to run. However, it was this collaboration that not only opened the door for Pokémon to come to America, but for Iwata to come to Nintendo. Iwata gets special thanks on the credits of both Red and Blue and Gold and Silver, the second generation of games. Starting with the special Generation II spinoff, Iwata began taking on a producer’s role. Eventually, he became Executive Producer of just about every Pokémon game, as well as the Super Smash Bros. series, where iconic characters from across Nintendo’s catalog battle it out for virtual supremacy. In 2002, he became CEO of Nintendo Corporation, tasked with bringing the company out of financial and competitive decline. He helped release the Wii gaming console system, helped develop the Nintendo DS handheld system
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Summer of Nostalgia planning Pokémon GO in 2013 with the idea to “bring Pokémon into the real world.” Pokémon GO was one of the last projects Iwata worked on before he lost a fight with cholangiocarcinoma, or bile duct cancer, in July 2015. He was 55. How do you make Pokémon exist in the real world? Short of genetic engineering, the feat seems impossible. Virtual reality is nearly out of the question, as the current hot peripherals in that field, devices like the HTC Vive and the Oculus Rift, are prohibitively expensive and limit player movement in vital ways. A standard mobile game with puzzle or role-playing elements would be fun, but nothing would separate such a game from fare like Candy Crush.
Despite the simplistic gameplay, there is a surprising amount of information packed into Pokemon GO. Each individual monster has its own moveset, combat power (CP), type and hit points (HP), all of which matter in a gym battle.
and constantly tried to inject a sense of fun into otherwise-bog-standard corporate announcements and press conferences through his quirky “Iwata Ask” page at Nintendo’s website and the Nintendo Direct programming he helped spearhead. He was popular for his unique communication style, reminiscent of other tech industry luminaries like Steve jobs, and his penchant for performance art. He once spent a good chunk of a Nintendo Direct video staring at a bunch of bananas, for example. Iwata was responsible for the company’s excursion into the mobile phone space, brokering the deal with mobile developer DeNA in early 2015 to make MiiTomo, a social network trivia game based around Nintendo’s existing “Mii” avatars. He and The Pokémon Company’s Ishihara began
BUT WHAT ABOUT AUGMENTED REALITY? Right now, no one has augmented reality gaming down like former Google experimentation hub Niantic Labs. They started in 2012 with a little number called Field Trip, an app that uses Google Maps geolocation data to find interesting landmarks and “cool, hidden, and unique things in the world around you.” The app shows historical information based on your area, gathered by several sources such as Arcadia Publishing and Go Trippin. One such historical tidbit in our area is a snapshot of an Edmond School Board meeting from the 1950s; another is a portrait of John Mitch, founder of The People’s Bank of Edmond and one of the developers of the “Central Normal School,” later renamed the University of Central Oklahoma. Niantic’s second app, released in 2014, took that same landmark data and added a science fiction backstory and capturethe-flag gameplay into the mix. This app, coined Ingress, became one of the most popular AR-centric mobile games, bringing in over a million players at its peak. In Ingress, players are divided
Your overworld map also features a handy display of the Pokemon you may find nearby. This feature has been the cause of a few of the game’s bugs, and is currently under development.
into two factions, “Enlightened” and “Resistance,” and they have to travel around their environment to find different “portals” to take over for their teams. If a team captures a certain number of portals in a given area, they gain control over the entire region. Ingress is where many of the teambased elements of Pokémon GO came from, though there are enough gameplay differences and additions to distinguish the two properties. In GO, as opposed to Ingress, the monsters you collect are more than mere resources players use to establish supremacy over other teams. Individual monsters can be powered up and evolved, you can give them nicknames, and the tap of a star icon in the display of a given Pokemon adds it to a “favorites” list. While it’s no Tamagotchi
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Summer of Nostalgia
Poke-Stops provide necessary items and Poke-Balls to players for free. With a five-minute cooldown time and the ability to place modules with different effects on them (right now, we’ve only got lures), Poke-Stops have become more popular places to visit than gyms. in terms of how you can interact with your Pokemon, it definitely doesn’t feel like a cold, calculated resource management game, either. Additionally, while there are realworld rivalries between the three teams in Pokemon GO - Team Instinct, Team Mystic and Team Valor - the game encourages collaboration and camaraderie on an individual basis. Poke-Stops -small checkpoints that dot the landscape at small-scale landmarks -- cannot be claimed by teams, and “lure modules,” items that bring different Pokemon to a Poke-Stop, can be placed by anyone regardless of their team affiliation. This leads to amusing and heartening scenes of mass gatherings at all hours of the day and night, where people of all ages flock to
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different Poke-Stops to farm items, drop lures and potentially even collect rare Pokemon. In my experience, players have been very good about alerting their fellowtrainers about rare Pokemon in their area, both online and in-person. I was at Will Rogers Park the other evening with a friend, and several folks came up to us and let us know about the Kabuto (a rare fossiltype monster that looks like a horseshoe crab crossed with a trilobite) stalking the park’s interior. Several groups on social media sites like Facebook have popped up for the sole purpose of telling members where Pokemon hotspots are. Software developers have even made tools to assist in finding Pokemon -- all of this within the space of a few weeks. The collaborative and competitive nature of the game definitely lends to a sense of fun. But how good is the game at actually immersing the player and making us feel like we’re catching and training Pokemon in the real world? When Pokemon GO came out in the United States, I was at work. I was barely out to the parking lot after my shift as I was downloading the app and booting it up - and it immediately crashed on me. Force-quit the app. Re-open. Sign in with my Gmail account. App crashes. Wash, rinse and repeat several times in five minutes. Finally get to the introduction screen. Professor Willow welcomes me to the world of Pokemon! I customize my character, adding red hair, brown eyes and an orange track jacket to my avatar’s look. Willow asks for my nickname, which I put in. APP CRASHES. After wrestling with the app a few more times, I’m finally able to give my character a nickname and catch a Charmander, one of the original game’s starting monsters. After Willow is done explaining the world
A major component of Pokemon GO is its augmented reality feature. This uses your phone’s camera to superimpose monsters onto the real world - often with convincing results. (I did not catch this Pidgey.)
and user interface to me, I’m ready to jump in: a Rattata has shown up next to me. So I tap on it, and my phone’s camera activates, projecting the little rat Pokemon onto my car’s steering wheel! It’s right there, so close I could touch it -- except, you know, not. I swipe a Poke Ball at the Rattata; it opens, sucking the Pokemon inside. It lands on the “ground.” There’s no further movement. No indication that I’ve caught anything. So I force-quit the app again, re-open it, and wait for the servers to reconnect me. The map of my location pops up, as does the Rattata I attempted to catch. I go through this a few more times before I eventually just force-restart my entire phone and let it cool down a bit,
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Summer of Nostalgia but that’s not the end of my troubles. Over the next week or so, Pokemon GO was all but unusable during the day, thanks to overloaded servers. Nearly a month out, the app still experiences bugs that require me to occasionally force-restart it. Things have definitely gotten better, but it’s been a long slog. Overall, though: the Pokemon GO app is merely a facilitator of a larger experience fueled at least in part by nostalgia and wholly designed to bring people together - and outside - in order to catch em all. The effect it’s already had on millions of people is very real. Trainers are invading public parks and downtown areas in droves. They’re connecting with their neighbors, meeting new friends, and stepping out of their comfort zones. “I’ve been socializing with friends more, been more active posting/reading on social media about it, and also been more active outdoors,” a local trainer, Deviney Luchsinger, said. “I hardly ever exercise or go outside without a pressing reason.
It’s nice to walk 5k and not even notice it.” Perhaps the most striking effect the game has had is on people who suffer from depression and anxiety; Pokémon GO has even gotten them to get up and get outside. Businesses - including more than a few in Downtown Edmond and Oklahoma City - are using the game to bring in new customers and plan special events that cater to them. In a handful of weeks, Pokémon GO has gotten people together in previously unimaginable ways. And as things improve with time, it looks like Pokémon GO will continue to have that effect for a long time to come.
Gym battles are in their early stages, but provide heaps of fun regardless. Trainers currently tap their way to victory. Despite summer vacation in full swing at the University of Central Oklahoma, Pokemon GO has given these students and other players of the game reasons to stick around campus.
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Summer of Nostalgia
Ghostbusters (2016) Director: Paul Feig Starring: Kate McKinnon Melissa McCarthy Kristen Wiig Leslie Jones Studio: Sony Pictures When it comes to remakes, reboots and conspicuously vague “sequels” to classic movie properties from the 80s and 90s, quality isn’t always a top concern for studios. Often, the cynical raison d’etre for these rehashed titles is to cash in on audiences’ nostalgia for the originals. Films like Total Recall and Robocop receive the big budget, big-name actor makeover treatment only to flop at the box office - because the audience isn’t that stupid. Set against this context and coupled with an uncharacteristically tepid marketing campaign from Sony Pictures, this year’s Ghostbusters offering could very well have fallen into the “shiny but terrible” reboot category. Add to the mix a dollop of vitriolic misogyny from the dark recesses of the Internet over the film’s all-woman main cast, and you’ve got a veritable recipe for disaster.
Luckily, what we get instead is a wellmade and hilariously self-aware ghostbusting romp through New York that’s well worth spending two hours - and $10 - in a theater this summer. Overall, the acting is spot-on; Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy, regulars in director Paul Feig’s films, turn in work that, if it doesn’t exactly shine, doesn’t disappoint. SNL veterans Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones, both relative newcomers to the silver screen, put in stand-out performances as Dr. Jillian Holtzmann and Patty Tolan, respectively. McKinnon in particular oozes charisma and nails some of the funniest - and most awesome - lines and moments in the film. Chris Hemsworth, best known for his portrayal of the super-serious Asgardian Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, knocks his portrayal of the Ghostbusters’ dimwit secretary, Kevin, out of the park.
As a cherry on top, all of the original Ghostbusters and Sigourney Weaver make cameo appearances in delightful moments throughout the movie. Plot-wise, this iteration of Ghostbusters follows the 1984 original pretty closely in terms of pacing and progression. After our main characters get kicked out of their respective “institutions of higher learning” for studying the paranormal, they “acquire” some unlicensed particle accelerators and go into business busting ghosts. Initially, their only goal is to legitimize the study of the paranormal, but as ghost sightings become more common - and more intense - around New York, they begin to embrace their label as supernatural exterminators. Here’s where the original and the reboot part ways, somewhat. In the original rendition of Ghostbusters, NYC’s ghost problem is caused by a human villain we
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never see: Evo Shandor, a mad architect hell-bent on bringing an ancient Sumerian god, Gozer, down on 20th-century Central Park West. In the current version, the Ghostbusters are able to catch, and very nearly stop, the movie’s mortal mayhemmaker (played deftly by Neil Casey) in the act. If there’s one legitimate complaint to be made about Ghostbusters it’s that the special effects start to fall apart near the end. Specifically, the final battle between the ‘Busters and the film’s big bad looks so jarringly computer generated that you can almost tell where the green screen is behind all the spectral smoke. However, when the dust clears and all the ghosts have been busted, one thing is apparent: Ghostbusters has the tools, and it has the talent, to be one of the best comedies of the summer.
Summer of Nostalgia
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Dining Review
Review: Sunnyside Diner Location: Downtown OKC, NW 6th and Classen Primarily serves: Breakfast, Lunch Hours: 6:00 AM - 3:00 PM every day Going to a diner for breakfast is a touch-and-go affair. Sometimes, you go to a diner and everything looks - and tastes - like it’s stuck in the 1970s. Sometimes, you go to a place like Sunnyside Diner on NW 6th and Classen, and your entire paradigm on dining shifts. Don’t get me wrong; there’s a proper time and place for the 1970s-era diners. But if you’re looking for delicious food, a bright atmosphere and excellent service, then Sunnyside Diner is the place for you. The first thing you notice about Sunnyside is just how open it is. From the street, the restaurant looks small; inside, however, is a different story. The dining room is spacious and inviting, and customers are encouraged to sit wherever they like. The bar is low and wide and offers just a hint of the diner’s huge kitchen. Light streams in through the wraparound
windows, illuminating the space more than the indoor lighting. This sets the mood of the whole place and allows for maximum enjoyment of the thing everyone comes to Sunnyside for: the food. Well, that and the cocktails. But mostly the food. The first time I ate at Sunnyside, I had a short stack with a separate side of biscuits and sausage gravy. Having had biscuits and gravy before, and expecting two Pillsbury-brand biscuits covered in white sauce to be plopped down in front of me based on that prior biscuit-having knowledge, I was utterly shocked to receive what amounted to a half a loaf of cornbread covered in the richest gravy I’ve eaten in my life. I was supposed to be having pancakes, but in front of me was basically a mountain of deliciousness. The biscuits were sweet and balanced out the slight kick of the gravy nicely. When the short stack arrived, I was
already on my way to being full. Never one to shy away from a challenge (or a breakfast), I dug in. I was met with heaven in fried batter form. Listen, I’ve already crammed a lot of hyperbole into this review. And there will be more to come. But hashtag realtalk: I am not kidding when I tell you that these pancakes were the best I’ve ever had. Maybe this is my fault; maybe I’ve settled for sub-par pancakes in the past and just didn’t know what a proper cake was supposed to taste like. I’ll fully fess up to being less-than-refined when it comes to my breakfast choices. But at this point, I will set my watch and warrant to that short stack. I just couldn’t finish it. The amount of bread I consumed that morning far outstripped my holding capacity, and I had to throw in the towel. Luckily, they have giant short-stack-sized to-go boxes. And
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Dining Review
even more luckily - the pancakes were just as good later. ROUND 2 - FIGHT! The second time I dined at Sunnyside Diner, I had a plan. You can really get to know a restaurant by the quality of their omelette, and one Sunnyside omelette offering stuck out to me above the others: a western-style omelette filled with spicy chorizo sausage, bell peppers, tomatoes, onions and pepper jack cheese, and topped with avocado slices, pico de gallo and a drizzle of sour cream. This style of omelette is a popular mainstay at breakfast eateries around town, but there’s usually
something in the execution that falls flat. There was no contest. Sunnyside’s Western Omelette was a work of art. Everything from the filling to the garnish was crafted immaculately, and eating it was a dream. The eggs had the perfect, fluffy consistency; the onions, tomatoes and bell peppers were lightly grilled and mixed well with the melted pepper jack. The chorizo started off with a savory flavor before the spices kicked in and laid down an assault on my mouth. Unlike my experience with the indomitable short stack, I was able to devour every bite of this plate of perfection. Now normally, the tradeoff of receiving
excellent food is paying more for it. It’s just sort of accepted that inexpensive food is lacking in the quality department somewhere. With Sunnyside Diner, that’s just not the case. For my omelette masterpiece and a glass of orange juice, I only paid $12 before tip. This is about par for the other options on the menu. In other words, if you’re looking for high quality, inexpensive, delicious food for breakfast, brunch or lunch, Sunnyside Diner is your best bet. Check out their menu and start salivating at http://eatatsunnyside.com.
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Edmond Events August 2016 Swim Lessons: Session 5 August 1 @ 8:00 am - August 11 @ 8:00 pm Pelican Bay Aquatic Center Edmond Tedeschi Trucks Band – Aug. 2 – Tulsa, OK August 2 @ 7:30 pm Brady Theater, Tulsa Oklahoma City Dodgers vs. Round Rock Express August 3 @ 7:05 pm Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, Oklahoma City SONIC SUMMER MOVIES: Raiders of the Lost Ark August 3 @ 8:00 pm Myriad Botanical Gardens, Oklahoma City Faith Night with Finding Favour August 4 @ 5:00 pm - 10:00 pm Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, Oklahoma City First Thursdays–Evening at the Museum August 4 @ 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm Edmond Historical Society & Museum Edmond Free Summer Concert Series August 4 @ 6:15 pm - 9:15 pm Hafer Park Edmond Dancing in the Gardens Dance Lesson: Tango! August 4 @ 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm Myriad Botanical Gardens, Oklahoma City Oklahoma City Dodgers vs. Round Rock Express August 4 @ 7:05 pm Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, Oklahoma City Kurt Braunohler August 4 @ 8:00 pm ACM@UCO Performance Lab
TURN Opening Reception :: AK Westerman & Nancy Jackson August 5 @ 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm The Project Box Oklahoma City Raiders!: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made August 5 @ 6:30 pm Oklahoma City Museum of Art, Oklahoma City Cody Jinks / Whitey Morgan – FRI 8/5 – OKC August 5 @ 7:00 pm Diamond Ballroom, Oklahoma City Dancing in the Gardens: Tango! August 5 @ 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm Myriad Botanical Gardens, Oklahoma City Oklahoma City Dodgers vs. Round Rock Express August 5 @ 7:05 pm Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, Oklahoma City Mike Ryan Band with Parker McCollum August 5 @ 7:30 pm Cain’s Ballroom Tulsa Old Bulldog Band August 5 @ 7:30 pm The University of Central Oklahoma Jazz Lab Edmond Internet Cat Video Fest August 6 @ 5:00 pm Myriad Botanical Gardens, Oklahoma City Oklahoma City Dodgers vs. Round Rock Express August 6 @ 7:05 pm Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark Oklahoma City Smilin’ Vic August 6 @ 8:00 pm - August 7 @ 11:00 pm The University of Central Oklahoma Jazz Lab Edmond Chess Sundays in the Garden August 7 @ 9:00 am - 12:00 pm Myriad Botanical Gardens, Oklahoma City Soulful, Soul Music
August 7 @ 7:00 pm The University of Central Oklahoma Jazz Lab, Edmond Dirty Heads – Aug. 10 – OKC August 10 @ 8:00 pm - August 11 @ 12:00 am Diamond Ballroom, Oklahoma City SONIC Summer Movies: “Spider-man” Rain Date August 10 @ 8:00 pm Myriad Botanical Gardens Oklahoma City Kattfest 2016 – Disturbed + Breaking Benjamin & More August 11 @ 3:00 pm The Official Zoo Amphitheatre Oklahoma City Make America Rock Again August 11 @ 7:00 pm The Criterion Oklahoma City Oklahoma City Dodgers vs. El Paso Chihuahuas August 12 @ 7:05 pm Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark Oklahoma City Jon Wolfe with Bo Phillips August 12 @ 7:30 pm Cain’s Ballroom Tulsa Shortt Dogg August 12 @ 8:00 pm The University of Central Oklahoma Jazz Lab, Edmond Pizza Pie Party August 13 @ 10:00 am 12:00 pm Myriad Botanical Gardens Oklahoma City Guided By Voices August 13 @ 7:00 pm Cain’s Ballroom Tulsa Jabee’s Black Future Release Party August 13 @ 7:00 pm The Criterion, Oklahoma City Oklahoma City Dodgers vs. El Paso Chihuahuas August 13 @ 7:05 pm Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark,
Oklahoma City Miss Brown To You August 13 @ 8:00 pm The University of Central Oklahoma Jazz Lab, Edmond Back to School Bash! August 14 @ 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm Pelican Bay Aquatic Center Edmond Oklahoma City Dodgers vs. El Paso Chihuahuas August 14 @ 6:05 pm Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, Oklahoma City In This Moment – 8/14/16 August 14 @ 8:00 pm Brady Theater, Tulsa Volbeat 8/15 Tulsa August 15 @ 7:00 pm 11:00 pm Brady Theater, Tulsa Oklahoma City Dodgers vs. El Paso Chihuahuas August 15 @ 7:05 pm Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark Oklahoma City, Oklahoma City Dodgers vs. Albuquerque Isotopes August 16 @ 7:05 pm Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark Oklahoma City Oklahoma City Dodgers vs. Albuquerque Isotopes August 17 @ 7:05 pm Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark Oklahoma City Oklahoma City Dodgers vs. Albuquerque Isotopes August 18 @ 7:05 pm Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark Oklahoma City Deftones August 18 @ 8:00 pm Brady Theater Tulsa Full Moon OKC Bike Ride and Run August 18 @ 8:00 pm 10:00 pm Myriad Botanical Gardens Oklahoma City Oklahoma City Dodgers vs. Albuquerque Isotopes
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August 19 @ 7:05 pm Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, Oklahoma City Alice Cooper August 19 @ 8:00 pm The Criterion, Oklahoma City Souled Out August 19 @ 8:00 pm The University of Central Oklahoma Jazz Lab, Edmond CBE’s Heard on Hurd August 20 @ 6:00 pm 10:00 pm Downtown Edmond Blues Challenge 2016 August 20 @ 6:00 pm Cain’s Ballroom, Tulsa Taste of Oklahoma: Mixology Class presented by Nabholz Corp. August 20 @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm Myriad Botanical Gardens, Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City Oklahoma City Dodgers vs. Colorado Springs Sky Sox August 27 @ 7:05 pm Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, Oklahoma City Oklahoma City Dodgers vs. Colorado Springs Sky Sox August 28 @ 6:05 pm Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, Oklahoma City Cameron Esposito August 28 @ 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm ACM@UCO Performance Lab Oklahoma City Oklahoma City Dodgers vs. Memphis Redbirds August 29 @ 7:05 pm Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark Oklahoma City Gaelic Storm August 30 @ 7:00 pm Cain’s Ballroom Tulsa
Equilibrium August 20 @ 8:00 pm The University of Central Oklahoma Jazz Lab, Edmond
Oklahoma City Dodgers vs. Memphis Redbirds August 30 @ 7:05 pm Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark Oklahoma City
Grow Great Grub Fall Gardening Workshop August 21 @ 1:00 pm - August 27 @ 9:00 pm Providence Farms, Edmond
Oklahoma City Dodgers vs. Memphis Redbirds August 31 @ 7:05 pm Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, Oklahoma City
Eric Johnson August 21 @ 8:00 pm - 11:00 pm ACM@UCO Performance Lab Oklahoma City Oklahoma City Dodgers vs. Colorado Springs Sky Sox August 24 @ 7:05 pm Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, Oklahoma City Oklahoma City Dodgers vs. Colorado Springs Sky Sox August 25 @ 7:05 pm Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, Oklahoma City Oklahoma City Dodgers vs. Colorado Springs Sky Sox August 26 @ 7:05 pm Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark
September 10 @ 12:00 am Oklahoma City Museum of Art Oklahoma City
4:00 pm Oklahoma City Museum of Art Oklahoma City
Bad Company w/ Blue Öyster Cult September 11 @ 7:00 pm 11:00 pm The Official Zoo Amphitheatre, Oklahoma City
Tiny Tuesdays (Ages 2-5) Tissue Paper Collages September 20 @ 10:00 am 12:00 pm Oklahoma City Museum of Art, Oklahoma City
Jason Isbell September 12 @ 8:00 pm The Criterion Oklahoma City
Cavalera – Return to Roots – OKC September 22 @ 6:30 pm Diamond Ballroom Oklahoma City
Labor Day Bash! September 14 @ 9:00 am September 15 @ 12:00 pm Pelican Bay Aquatic Center Edmond The Melvins September 15 @ 8:00 pm ACM@UCO Performance Lab Oklahoma City Drop-in Art: Matisse-inspired kaleidoscopes September 17 @ 10:00 am -
ARTonTAP 2016 September 23 @ 7:00 pm 10:00 pm Oklahoma City Museum of Art Oklahoma City Coheed and Cambria – Saturday, Sept. 24 – OKC September 24 @ 7:00 pm 11:00 pm Diamond Ballroom Oklahoma City
September 2016 Oklahoma City Dodgers vs. Memphis Redbirds September 1 @ 7:05 pm Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark Oklahoma City Slide Outta Summer September 3 @ 11:00 am - 4:00 pm Mitch Park Edmond Movie in the Park – Max September 9 @ 8:00 pm Hafer Park Edmond Renaissance Ball Late Night September 9 @ 9:30 pm -
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Shop.Edmond. Why Buy A Card? Say It In The Yard! Vsit our website for ideas on the use of our signs, and to book a greeting for someone special in your life. New inventory is being added regularly and each greeting will include stars, balloons and two special enhancement signs. We are already booking a few months out so do not wait! We look forward to helping you make someone smile! Find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest @ Oklahoma Yard Greetings! Mackenzie Howard www.OklahomaYardGreetings.com (405) 474-0093 We offer affordable & stylish accents, re-styled furniture, fun jewelry, unique holiday and home decor & gifts and we have an Etsy like atmosphere! Stop in now to see all of the latest decor & gifts and accessories for you and your home. Find Serendipity Market at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest! Our Location: 917 E Danforth Rd, Edmond (Across from Ted’s Cafe Escondido) and you can call us at 405-340-8869
Emory Anne Interiors is one of the trendiest stores in Edmond, with a fantastic selection of new high end to affordable pieces for your entire home, very unique home accessories, full line of Company C, Lenny & Eva and Waxing Poetic Jewelry, Thibaut fine fabrics, wallpaper and custom furniture. Emory Anne’s also offers fabric by the yard and design services in store. Be sure to stop by to visit this store first when redecorating on any
budget. You can find Emory Anne Interiors at 15020 Bristol Blvd, on 33rd between Kelly and Santa Fe Open M-F 10 am to 6 pm and Sat. 10-5 pm. Be sure to follow at Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest for sales & inspiration and online at www.Emoryanneinteriors.com! If you have any questions, you can call the store at 405753-4466.
Millies is the place to go for weekly prepared meals, catering for your wedding or special event and for your Graduate! Millie’s also has new healthy items available for pick up in their Meals to Go freezer! Give Millie’s a call at 330-9156 or visit her website for more information! Located at 1333 W. Danforth Rd in Edmond! For more information, visit her website at www.MilliesTable.com
2 Doors Down Furniture Consignment is now accepting select gently used brand name quality furniture and accessories. If you’re looking to make a change in your home, this store is the place to check first as their stock is unique, trendy, and affordable, but you have to check in often as their inventory changes daily. Be sure to stop in to 2 Doors Down, located at 15020 Bristol Park Blvd Ste 400, off 33rd
Street, between Kelly & Santa Fe, and take a look around, great owners and great pieces! You can also find them at Facebook & Instagram at 2DoorsDownEdmond or by calling them at 405-254-5175 if you see something you’d like to place on hold! If you’d like to consign your gently used pieces, send your email to twodoorsdown.edmond@yahoo.com Store hours are M-F 10-6 and Sat. 10-5
It’s almost Mother’s Day, time for Spring Weddings, and Graduations! Now is a great time to save on something new with Edmond Wine Shop’s Employee Picks! Cases are discounted, too! Be sure to follow Edmond Wine Shop on social networks at Twitter, Instagram & Facebook @EdmondWineShop! Located on 15th & Boulevard and open Mon– Sat. from 10 am until 9 pm! You can also call in any order at 405-341-3122 for a later pick up, visit Edmond Wine Shop online at EdmondWine.com.
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Shop.Edmond. Enjoy the country at any one of the 5 cozy cottages at Aaron’s Gate Country Cottages, in Guthrie, just in time for Romantic Spring Getaways! Located just a few minutes north of Edmond, on a beautiful wooded 10 acre property, you can relax with the outdoor jacuzzi’s or just relax indoors in front of the fireplace and wake up to a beautiful candlelit breakfast. Be sure to check out the 4 and 7 day packages online at www. Aaronsgate.com to discover the cottages & to reserve your getaway, or call 405-282-0613. Roost Interior Design is Designer owned, offering interior design services metro wide. Previously Roost Oklahoma, Andrea and Lauren are focusing their energy and talents on the interior design aspect of Roost for 2016! If you are interested in their services, you can find them online at Facebook and Instagram at @RoostOklahoma.
Paper Arts is a scrapbook and art boutique that provides top of the line supplies for scrapbooking, card making and other fun projects, classes and one-on-one instruction, as well as, ready to buy gifts. We love scrapbooking, card making and all things paper crafting. We also love to share our creations and the products that we find with our customers. There is nothing more satisfying to us than to hear the joy in a customer’s voice as they learn a new technique or find the perfect product for their projects. Paper Arts 632 W. Edmond Rd. Edmond, OK 73003 (405) 330-2055
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Life Happens Have You Made Your Summer Memories Yet? By Amanda Percival, Staff Therapist, Edmond Family Counseling
As I’m writing this article, I am counting the
together. A great place to start is by going to
days until school begins again. Didn’t school
www.travelok.com. This website gives many
just let out? I remember being so ready for
suggestions for activities and events. There is
summer time when my children were little. Of
even a section of free attractions.
course, I also remember being equally ready
You may have 18 years before little Johnny
for school to begin again; to occupy them and
or Sally will be grown, but there is only one
give us back our structure. I write this from the
summer between 3rd and 4th grades or between
perspective of a parent that just graduated her
middle school and high school. What will your
youngest child. My summer school breaks with
child remember about that summer? Will they
my kiddos are finished, over, in the books.
have fond memories of family spending time
As I reflect back, I wonder what my kids
together or will that be the summer of Netflix?
would say about our summer time adventures.
Get up. Be active. Set an example that your
Some of those summers were spent with me at
children will follow with their children. There
home, some were spent with me as a full time
is still enough time left this summer to make
college student, and others were spent with me
those memories, have that fun. Don’t let such a
working full time. But the common thread was
precious resource pass without using it wisely.
an increased focus on fun times together during those summer breaks.
How many of you regret time you have spent with loved ones? I have never regretted time
I know there are many demands on our time
with my family, but I can think of a movie or
and resources as parents, but I would challenge
two that I would like to “unwatch”. Get out
parents with this question, “What kind of Mom
there and seize the summer!
or Dad do you want to be remembered as?” Most parents I know make a genuine effort to be “good” parents. However, if we are not intentional with our goals and plans, it is easy for time to just slip away. What have you done with your kids this summer? Have you made memories?
Edmond Family Counseling is committed to providing counseling and educational programs to individuals, families, and groups in Edmond and surrounding communities. We serve as a professional referral source for Edmond schools, churches, Edmond Juvenile Court, area health clinics, hospitals, and other… edmondfamily.org
Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying that you have to take the family on a grand vacation. That may or may not be feasible. There are many free or inexpensive activities for families. I frequently ask my clients about family time. All too often, the response I get is that the family is together often, but not engaging in any communication or activity. For example, the whole family is in the living room in the evenings, but each of them are on a separate electronic device and no interaction is taking place. How do we break that monotonous cycle? Make a plan. Take a step towards being a family that interacts and spends quality time
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Stop by Emory Anne Interiors to see whats in store for Fall! New Kate Spade Home & Outdoor Furniture!,
Company C offers colorful pillows, throws & accessories to brighten up your spaces! Emory Anne Interiors has a full Bridal Registry!
HOURS: Mon-Fri 10am-6pm Saturday 10am-5pm 405.753.4466 www.emoryanneinteriors.com
15020 Bristol Park Place, Edmond (on 33rd, between Santa Fe & Kelly)
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