Oklahoma Gazette 12-31-14

free every wednesday Metro oKC’s KC’s Independent weeKly vol. XXXvI no. 53 deCeMber ber 31, 2014

ARTS: ICONIC APRIL MARCH JOINS NYE BURLESQUE SHOW. P.27 ARTS: OK BLOCKHEADS CELEBRATES RETURN OF THE ‘ZINE. P.26

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12/17/14 10:51 AM

CONTENTS 17

7

ON THE COVER

Chicken-Fried News takes overwhelming pride in its sensitivity and thoughtful analysis of the news that matters most to you. (Or, you know, crap that cracks us up.) With that in mind, this week’s cover story features our favorite CFN news stories of 2014, followed by our predictions of where those stories might take us in 2015. Cheers. P. 4.

NEWS 4

Cover: Chicken-Fried News review and predictions

7

Election: tax incentives

8

34

24

LIFE

LIFE

12

OKG picks

28

Books: Adam Davies

17

Food & Drink: hot pots, La Cueva Grill, chili, OKG eat: hangover eats

29

Active: Marie Ramsey-Hirst

Metro briefs

Health: dog therapy

30

Sudoku / Crossword

24

Commentary

25

Health: influenza and lung disease

32

10 10

Letters

26

Visual Arts: OK Blockheads

Music: Aaron Pierce, Cherry Death, American Aquarium, event listings

Performing Arts: Adèle Wolf’s Burlesque & Variety Show New Year’s Eve Bash, year-end review

36

26

Film: Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, screenwriting MFA

38

Astrology

38

Classifieds

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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NEWS COVER

Half-fried headlines It’s time again for Oklahoma Gazette’s annual, super-duper official Chicken-Fried News year in review and predictions!

BY GAZETTE STAFF

Chicken-Fried News takes overwhelming pride in its sensitivity and thoughtful analysis of the news that matters most to you. (Or, you know, it’s crap that cracks us up. Both ways equal win.)

With that in mind, here are our favorite CFN news stories of 2014, followed by our predictions of where those stories might take us in 2015.

Cheers.

Oklahoma joined the majority of states in the union with the legalization of same-sex marriage, proof that America is well on its way to becoming a place where marriage equality is the law of the land.

“It’s been a long, hard wait and a long, hard fight,” said Kenny Wright, who married his partner, Barry Bass, on the first day of legal marriages in the state.

The U.S. Supreme Court could still hear a same-sex marriage case next year, but it is expected that any decision from the court would favor gay marriage.

The granting of marriage licenses to same-sex couples was historic in 2014, coming a decade after Oklahoma voters overwhelmingly banned same-sex marriage in the state constitution.

Prediction: State lawmakers won’t give up looking for a way to ban samesex marriage. Another shot at banning all marriages — which was proposed by one lawmaker in 2014 — might be floated, or maybe Oklahoma will offer “Marriage Prime.” Like the subscription service to Amazon, Marriage Prime would offer heterosexual couples a higher level of service, including discounts at Hobby Lobby and a vanity license plate that asks, “Who Would Jesus Marry?”

from taxicab companies that were probably upset they hadn’t come up with connecting riders and drivers via apps themselves. When City Hall considered ways to regulate rideshare companies that were practically shuttling people around without abiding by the rule of law, Uber and Lyft cried government intrusion and pretended they were just a mobile app company that had nothing to do with cars and drivers.

The Oklahoma City Council eventually passed laws requiring the companies to apply for licenses and drivers to pass medical physicals and background checks, along with inspections of their vehicles.

“The assumption that we shouldn’t do anything is faulty because right now, we have an industry that is operating unregulated,” said Ward 1 Councilman James Greiner.

Prediction: In typical Oklahoma Legislature fashion, state lawmakers will impose some sort of law that prevents cities from setting regulations on rideshare companies.

When OKC passed its own abandoned building registry this year, the state quickly stepped in and said, “You can’t do that.” When cities across the country began considering minimum wage increases, the state passed laws banning municipalities from setting their own wage levels. For a statehouse that loves to criticize Washington for its government intrusion, Oklahoma lawmakers do a good job of impersonating the federal government.

Along for the ride

Monumental task

‘I do’

Rideshare companies like Uber and Lyft arrived on the scene in Oklahoma City this past year, which sparked opposition

The Ten Commandments monument at the Oklahoma State Capitol was destroyed after a man drove his car onto

4 | DECEMBER 31, 2014 | OKLAHOMA GAZETTE

the Capitol lawn, rearranged a ramp, drove up it and then crashed into the monument. The driver’s family said he deals with mental illness, treatment of which is woefully underfunded across the state. Maybe lawmakers will address that problem, but first there was the matter of replacing the monument and proclaiming God’s law for all to see. Wait. Aren’t the Ten Commandments an example of God intruding on state rights?

Prediction: The Guardian statue at the top of the Capitol dome will be replaced with a statue of Jesus and legislators will be divided by gender on the House and Senate floor and it will feel more like a Baptist church camp. Christian values will continue to be proclaimed at the statehouse, drawing attention to the way God has blessed the great state of Oklahoma. Those blessings don’t include strong academic performance, low obesity rates or well-built roads.

But Oklahoma’s sunsets sure prove God loves us.

Winning

Mayor Mick Cornett cruised to reelection in 2014, setting him up to become OKC’s longest serving mayor.

Even though Cornett faced a stiffer challenge than his last race in 2010, the mayor won convincingly after reminding people that OKC is a place built on rainbows and sunshine.

“It just felt like there was so much riding on this campaign,” Cornett said following his victory.

Add in the fact that Cornett married Tulsan Terri Walker and it has been a pretty sweet year for the mayor.

Prediction: What goes up always comes down. OKC is riding a hot streak, but how will voters handle potential

challenges? If falling oil prices trip up the local economy, controversy builds over projects like the convention center and the Thunder miss the playoffs, Cornett’s approval rating might take a dip in 2015. Then again, he can rebound with promises of what the next MAPS vote in just a few years will bring: a dome over downtown to protect it from the elements, extending the streetcar to Byron’s Liquor Warehouse and giving every citizen his or her own Segway.

Food for thought

H&8th Night Market food truck festival hit its stride in 2014. More food trucks, more people and more bands turned what was once a mild block party into a monthly state fair for hipsters. We’ve all heard that H&8th is the largest food truck festival in the country, and since there is no way to disprove that, we can all just take pride in it. H&8th does have its drawbacks, like having to wait in line for a burrito or the fact that even the most outgoing person develops claustrophobia by the end of the night.

But it’s still a fun event that will only get better.

Prediction: The largest food truck festival in America will become the largest on planet Earth. That means even more people from beyond Oklahoma City will come to next year’s H&8th festivals. More Edmondites will come. Guests from the small towns of western Oklahoma might also travel in to see those “fancy kitchen vans” and prove that it is possible to buy food that has fewer than 1,000 calories from a truck.

Thunder down

The Thunder had another deep playoff run in 2014, and Kevin Durant was named the league’s Most Valuable Player.

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NEWS REVIEW CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

with an HBO documentary and a new endorsement deal with Sonic Drive-In — he will work with the fast-food chain to develop healthier items for its menu.

Prediction: Not to be outdone, other Thunder players will sign their own endorsement deals with fast-food chains.

Russell Westbrook will join Burger King and agree to wear one of their cardboard crowns from the 1990s during games for an extra million dollars. Nick Collison will be signed by Chick-fil-A and, like the restaurant, will refuse to play on Sundays.

Taco Bell will offer the Scott Brooks Value Meal, which features a combination of hot sauces that don’t make any sense and a taco topped with hair gel.

Booze and bullets

OKC welcomed Wilshire Gun, a stateof-the-art shooting range and gun shop that also features a bar, this year.

“Alcohol is legal in Oklahoma.

Guns are legal in Oklahoma,” Ward 3 Councilman Larry McAtee said. “[But] I have a real problem with mixing the two.”

Many gun control advocates raised their eyebrows when the city council granted Wilshire an alcohol permit, but locals aren’t surprised. This is Oklahoma, the land of family values, and nothing says family values like firing off a round or two and then chugging back a cold one.

Prediction: Some people are predicting disaster, but because Wilshire Gun has a lot invested in its new range and bar, you can bet owners will do everything possible to avoid catastrophe.

After its success, other establishments — a shooting range at the Oklahoma City Zoo, or maybe a bar at the downtown library — will follow. Booze and bullets will prove to be a great way to inject a little life into any business looking to attract more customers.

This land is our land

Immigration was a hot-button issue in the United States this past year, as a wave of unaccompanied minors crossed the border. President Obama took executive action to prevent nearly 5 million undocumented residents from being deported.

Minorities don’t always relate to Republican platforms, but that didn’t stop Gov. Mary Fallin from criticizing President Obama for using a Fort Sill base for emergency housing of some Central American minors. She also

criticized the federal government for not doing a better job of protecting the border. Even so, the border is more secure now than it has been in the past 20 years.

Prediction: Oklahoma voters will be asked to approve construction of a 15-foot-tall electrical fence around our own state border, preventing any more undocumented residents from coming into the state.

However, after receiving 75 percent voter approval, the courts will overturn the election results, continuing the trend of statewide ballots that would become law if not for that pesky Constitution.

Democratic blues

Oklahoma’s slow shift toward becoming a red state accelerated over the past several years as statewide races, presidential contests and issue votes all seemed to go the Republicans’ way. Until this year, Democrats could at least lay claim to more registered voters, which was at best a sad relic of years past for the liberal party. This month, however, Republicans took over the registered voter lead for the first time in state history, putting an exclamation mark on a 2014 that saw more GOP dominance at the polls.

Prediction: 2015 won’t be any easier for Democrats. There are no elections, but Democrats will be helpless to do much at the state Capitol and will see continued dominance of conservative policies. The remaining Democratic lawmakers will be relocated to the basement of the Capitol. However, it won’t be all bad for Democrats. Close proximity to the rarely used fitness center and barber shop will help the Democratic caucus become the bestlooking group of legislators up there.

Forever Fallin

Gov. Mary Fallin was reelected governor, proving in 2014 she might have had 99 problems but a Democratic opponent wasn’t one. When she wasn’t blaming President Barack Obama for stuff, Fallin was firing semi-automatic guns, adopting puppies and zip-lining across the Oklahoma River, proving she’s an all-American woman who is always ready for an adventure.

Prediction: Without any more elections, Fallin is free to tackle the most important issues facing Oklahoma in 2015, such as lowering tax breaks for oil companies to the point that the state actually pays for corporations to drill on our land.

6 | DECEMBER 31, 2014 | OKLAHOMA GAZETTE

Weatherman

Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma is one of the biggest climate change deniers there is. So it makes sense that he would become the new chair of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works following the GOP’s take-back of the U.S. Senate in 2014.

Prediction: State Rep. John Bennett will be appointed leader of Oklahoma’s committee on Islamic relations.

Public art

The new SkyDance Bridge over Interstate 40 added some color to the downtown skyline, the Terra sculpture catches the attention of motorists in Automobile Alley, and even the city’s new parking garage next to City Hall is considered a work of art. It’s possible that 2014 was the year when public art officially became a thing in OKC. There are still those in the city who view public art as a waste of space and money, but it seems more and more residents realize the unique flavor these magnificent pieces can bring.

Prediction: Residents will appreciate public art, the chamber and city will display new pieces in promotional materials and OKC will just feel like a more beautiful place. However, state lawmakers will still look for ways to defund any state-sanctioned public arts program.

Class act

Robert Neu became the new superintendent of the Oklahoma City Public School District. In his first few months, he has already announced aggressive plans to provide every student with a tablet or computer, repay tuition for OKC grads who come back to teach and provide higher salaries for teachers.

Prediction: In an effort to fill teacher shortages, Neu will announce new benefit packages never seen by Oklahoma teachers before, such as free access to printer paper and salaries above $40,000.

Ticket to ride

OKC’s transit system adopted a new name: Embark. The city council also approved increased funding to help the system expand service, including some routes riding on Sundays. Most OKC

residents remain skeptical of public transit, but 2014 was a year when city and business leaders expressed their support for expanded transit options.

The city also continued to move closer to beginning construction on a downtown streetcar line that will bring rail-based transit back to OKC for the first time in more than 50 years.

Prediction: Because the use of goats to control grass levels at the Hefner canal have been so successful this year, city leaders will experiment with goats at the downtown transit center as a way to control litter and distract riders from their 115-minute wait for the next bus.

Final act

Stage Center theater in downtown was demolished in 2014 after years of vacancy. The uniquely built theater had its detractors and was reduced to rubble to make way for OG&E’s new headquarters.

Prediction: Construction on OG&E’s new building will be halted after construction crews discover the site is haunted by the spirits of past play actors. Muppetlike creatures will be seen sabotaging construction equipment, leading the city to rebuild Stage Center to its original state.

Nonstop

Will Rogers World Airport, an airport named after a plane crash victim that actually doesn’t have any flights to the world beyond America’s borders, began new nonstop flights to Charlotte in 2014 and announced the addition of service to Seattle in 2015. Without frequent direct flights to places like New York and Miami — you know, places people actually want to travel to — it has been hard to consider our local airpark a Big League airport. But that is changing, and it’s becoming less necessary to drive to Dallas in an effort to get a direct flight at a cheaper cost.

Prediction: Will Rogers will see nonstop service to Canada, but not for passengers. The continued delay of the Keystone Pipeline will cause Canadian oil companies to ship their oil to America through the air.

NEWS ELECTION

Taxing campaign?

How city funds are used could become a major election issue for Ward 2 candidates and voters.

Phone polls

It’s unknown how Shadid’s stance on tax breaks will motivate his only announced challenger, James Cooper, but some believe it has motivated the business community to look for a challenger.

In recent weeks, Ward 2 registered voters received phone polls by Promark Research Corporation. In them,

participants were asked whether they believed Major Lewis Jemison was a viable candidate against Shadid. Jemison is pastor of St. John Missionary Baptist Church, and Promark’s poll questions implied Shadid is the more anti-business candidate compared to Jemison’s probusiness policies. “[Shadid] has been a vocal opponent of Mayor Cornett and opposed his programs and policies, which have grown Oklahoma City,” said a Ward 2 constituent participating in the poll this month.

Another opponent?

Shadid supporters have wondered if the push for Jemison in Ward 2 is possibly from the chamber or even OK United. The latter backed candidates in this year’s midterm elections without submitting campaign finance records to the state.

During the last mayoral election, an OK United campaign also painted Shadid as anti-growth, also a theme in the most recent phone polls.

Jemison did not return request for comment by deadline.

However, Oklahoma Gazette conversations with local business leaders indicated that some do believe Shadid’s questions could stall developments like the convention center hotel and other tax-funded projects.

“There are a lot of high-ranking business leaders who would feel more comfortable if Shadid were gone,” said one City Hall official who refused to be named due to their department’s views on addressing politics and campaigns.

Cautious candidates

While it remains to be seen if a candidate like the one described in the poll will enter the Ward 2 race, voters will definitely choose between Shadid and Cooper.

While he isn’t as critical toward tax incentives as Shadid, Cooper has stressed caution regarding public funding.

“I’m impressed with what we have been able to do with it so far,” Cooper said about the use of TIF funds for street improvements downtown and other large urban projects.

Ed Shadid

I’m not against progress. I’m for spending the money of taxpayers in the best way for our taxpayers.

— Ed Shadid However, when it comes to funding a potential convention center hotel, Cooper said he would have a high standard before voting for the use of public dollars.

“When that [convention center] project first came before the council, they did not propose it as the hotel had to go along with the convention center for the convention center to do what is was supposed to,” Cooper said. “I prefer a free-market solution to this. [For me to vote for it,] it would have to offer something that somehow the free market just doesn’t.”

Shadid said he has learned to fight the preconception some might have of him as Mr. Negativity.

“I’m not against progress,” Shadid said. “I’m for spending the money of taxpayers in the best way for our taxpayers.”

‘Poor at risk’

Shadid also has been critical of the city’s use of Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) to back loans to private developers. Cities across the country offer CDBG funds as collateral for economic development projects. OKC has used grants to help fund the Skirvin Hilton Hotel redevelopment and Gold Dome rehabilitation.

However, because CDBG funds

MARK H ANCOCK

Ward 2 Councilman Ed Shadid regularly questions public funding for economic development. His focus will likely increase and intensify in coming months as the city discusses several publicly financed projects. It also will likely become a critical election topic in his ward as he runs for re-election.

“We seem to just hand out money [to developers], and I think we will be asked to do much more of it in the near future,” Shadid said.

The probability of a convention center hotel needing public assistance, along with recent reports that Clayco, the developer of a proposed luxury apartment building downtown, is asking the city for its largest tax increment financing (TIF) investment to date, are issues Shadid says need much more scrutiny than has been given in years past.

Shadid has also been critical of the council’s reliance on the Alliance for Economic Development of Oklahoma City and the Urban Renewal Authority, which vets projects before reaching the council. “[These groups] come to us and they say, ‘We have been negotiating for 12 months, and this is the deal,’” Shadid said. “But 12 months later is not the time for the council to get involved. It’s our responsibility to make policy, and I don’t think we do that when it comes to [public assistance].”

It’s common for Shadid to be in the minority on the council with his criticism, and he failed to develop much City Hall support last year, when he ran for mayor against Mick Cornett. But conversations with some at City Hall reveal that there is a little more hesitation about some of the proposed projects because of their large price tag.

OKLA HOM A GA ZETTE / FI LE

BY BEN FELDER

The Fred Jones Manufacturing Company building at 900 W. Main St. could soon be the 21C Hotel.

often are used for programs that assist low-income residents, Shadid believes the city might be de-prioritizing our city’s most in-need residents and programs.

“We are essentially putting the city’s programs for the poor at risk to help a private developer,” Shadid said. “I’m not sure how much of a risk we are willing to take with this because I don’t see a public discussion taking place.”

If developers fail to pay back CDBGbacked loans, the city might have to transfer funds from other programs to cover costs. Shadid said that’s what happened several years ago, when nearly all of a $1 million loan to revitalize the Gold Dome failed.

He worries it could happen again with other projects — such as the new 21C Hotel (located where the Fred Jones Manufacturing Company building now stands) or a convention center hotel — if CDBG funds are used.

“We have a lot of big decisions coming up,” Shadid said.

OKLAHOMA GAZETTE | DECEMBER 31, 2014 | 7

M A R K HA N COC K

METRO BRIEFS

Run, OKC, run Anyone interested in running for Oklahoma City Council can do so Jan. 28-30 if they meet proper guidelines.

There is still time to get onto the ballot as an Oklahoma City Council candidate.

BY BEN FELDER

policies.

Many of Pruitt’s political opponents were surprised this month after he joined Nebraska in a lawsuit against Colorado’s marijuana legalization law, which went into effect this year.

“This is not about whether a state can legalize for state law purpose,” Pruitt said in an interview last week with The Oklahoman. “This is about whether a state can engage in commercial enterprise in marijuana at the expense of another state.”

Oklahoma Democratic chairman Wallace Collins said Pruitt was serving special interests and politics with his latest lawsuit.

“It is ironic that Mr. Pruitt is the crusader against frivolous lawsuits but he personally files a significant number of them,” Collins said in a statement. “Also, I thought Mr. Pruitt campaigned on home rule and local control, but he is the first to fight local control and home rule.

Did the pharmaceutical industry write this lawsuit for him?”

Pruitt contends that legalized marijuana in Colorado is spilling over into Oklahoma, where marijuana use and sale is illegal.

Scott Pruitt

Pot lawsuit

Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt has made a habit of suing the federal government, regularly pleading the case that states have the right to set their own

PROVIDED

African officials

Elected officials from East Kenya recently visited the E (Kika) de la Garza American Institute for Goat Research at Langston University in hopes that the university will consider investing in various projects in East Kenya.

Kenyan government officials sent members of Mombasa County’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries to the U.S. to cultivate relationships and further the mission to enhance food security and plant and animal health as well as reduce poverty through creation of agribusiness opportunities that result in improved livelihoods.

8 | DECEMBER 31, 2014 | OKLAHOMA GAZETTE

This opinion is nonetheless a practical victory for transparency and accountability.

“Our governor sent us specifically to come back with something,” Mombasa County Minister of Agriculture Anthony Njaramba said.

The E (Kika) de la Garza American Institute for Goat Research has been involved in research, training and development projects in West Africa for two years.

“We have not come to beg for help; we have come to request a partnership because we understand what Langston University can do for us. These areas have been neglected because of the harsh climate. We believe that goat farming can turn our economy around and Langston University can help us do that,” Njaramba said.

Brady Henderson

Say what?

“While we are disappointed that the [Oklahoma Supreme] Court recognized a governmental privilege that is not set forth in the Oklahoma Open Records Act, this opinion is nonetheless a practical victory for transparency and accountability,” said Brady Henderson, legal director of ACLU of Oklahoma, following a court ruling that Oklahoma’s governor can withhold certain documents

— Brady Henderson related to discussions between her and her advisors.

“This decision limits any claim of executive privilege to a very narrow set of confidential communications between the governor and senior officials.

More importantly, it places the burden on the governor to prove in court that any disputed claim of privilege is valid, guaranteeing judicial oversight and scrutiny of the governor’s claim.

Because of this, our rights to government transparency and accountability are now stronger than they were before this decision was issued.”

GARETT FISBECK / FILE

City residents living in wards 2, 5, 6 and 8 who are interested in running for a seat on the Oklahoma City Council can file Jan. 28-30 at the Oklahoma County Election Board. The primary election is March 3, and the general election, if needed, is April 7.

The qualifications for city council: · Must be a United States citizen · Must be at least 21 years old · Must be a three-year resident of OKC · Must be a registered voter of the ward for six months before filing a declaration of candidacy · Must be a qualified voter in OKC Council members serve four-year terms with an annual salary of $12,000 The filing fee is $200. In lieu of the fee, candidates may present a petition signed by 500 registered, eligible voters.

By the numbers

$101,000. That’s how much was donated to Operation Warm, a program that partners with the Oklahoma City Public School District to provide new coats to students in need this winter. More than 5,000 new winter coats were distributed to children in need throughout the district as part of the Coat-A-Kid campaign, according to the district.

“I am overwhelmed with the amount of winter coats that were donated to Martin Luther King Elementary students,” said Principal Cherron Ukpaka. “Our goal is to make sure every student stays warm during our cold winter months. Because of the Coat-A-Kid campaign, we are reassured that we are meeting our goal this season.”

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COMMENTARY

Hazy shade of rivalry

BY WHITNEY PEARSON

Between Oklahoma and Texas, we have a healthy tradition of rivalry and competition. Any football fan in this state knows it takes a strong defense to keep rivals like the Longhorns on their half of the field.

Taking a cue from our football team, Oklahoma also needs a strong defense against dirty Texas air pollution.

Despite years of rivalry, clean air is one thing that Texans and Oklahomans can agree on. A new, potentially lifesaving regional haze plan for Texas, introduced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), will help us make that a reality.

Studies show that coal-fired power plants in Texas emit more pollution than coal-fired power plants in any other state.

This pollution drifts across our state line, marring Oklahoma’s iconic

national parks and wildlife refuges.

Generations of families enjoy visiting the rugged terrain and wild beauty of Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge near Lawton. Unfortunately, the skies above this treasured area are hazy from decades of sulfur dioxide pollution from coal-fired plants in both Texas and Oklahoma.

In addition to impairing visibility, sulfur dioxide pollution harms people’s health. Sulfur dioxide reacts with other compounds in the air to form fine particles that penetrate sensitive parts of the lungs and can aggravate respiratory and heart diseases. Airborne fine particles are linked to increased hospital admissions, missed work and school and premature death.

Toxic pollution in national parks and wilderness areas does more than choke up vacation-goers looking for clean air outside the city.

National parks and wilderness areas are major economic engines to rural communities.

According to a report by the National Park Service (NPS), the National Park System received over 273 million recreation visits in 2013.

Also, visitors spent $14.6 billion in local gateway regions (communities within 60 miles of a park).

If we allow the degradation of Oklahoma’s treasured places to continue, tourism will dry up and so will the local economies of small towns that depend on it.

That’s why the EPA took action.

Under the Regional Haze Rule, a protection of the Clean Air Act, states must develop plans to clean up pollution and improve air quality at national parks and wilderness areas.

The do-nothing plan put forward in 2009 by the Texas Commission on

Opinions expressed on the commentary page, in letters to the editor and elsewhere in this newspaper are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of ownership or management.

Environmental Quality — now rejected by the EPA — did not require a single coal plant to reduce air pollution that blows across state lines.

Fortunately, the EPA strengthened its plan in November. Now, Texas coal plants must clean up this toxic pollution.

To be clear, this effort to clean up Texas’ dirty coal plants does not let large Oklahoma coal plants off the hook. Those utilities must comply with Oklahoma’s own haze plan to keep our air safe and clean.

On Jan. 15, the EPA will be in Oklahoma City to hear comments on the proposed regional haze plan for Texas.

It is more important than ever to stand up for these vital clean air protections, especially at a time when our state leaders won’t.

Whitney Pearson is a regional coal organizer for the Oklahoma chapter of the Sierra Club.

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.

American Islam and Christianity

The Oct. 8 article “Faith and fear” (News, Ben Felder, Oklahoma Gazette) at first struck me as more Islamic faith propaganda, but as I read, I realized that some of it might be true, or at least honest.

What should we expect from author Ben Felder, who is most likely not Muslim and probably a nominal Christian, if Christian at all?

That many American Muslims have allowed their faith to be diluted by the American flower-power philosophies of imaginary fairness, equality and coexistence is almost humorous but tragic.

If true Eastern national Muslim leaders could control our American

culture through the enforcement of Sharia law, guess who would be on their hit list next after the evil Christians, homosexuals, pedophiles and women’s rights groups were all executed or “re-educated.”

You guess right: the nominal Muslims.

What is a nominal Muslim?

The same thing as a nominal Christian: a person called religious in name only, not completely (or remotely) obedient to their god/God or religious teachings.

Like American Christians, American Muslims water down their scriptural teaching to fit the American Dream culture so that all ungodliness or sin is permissible in their hedonistic American lifestyles.

Just to remind everyone, all gods seem to consider these sins: murder, adultery, theft, false witness, taking god’s name in vain or worshipping another god, pornography, rape, homosexual and other perverted acts, pedophilia and human-animal sex.

Most religions, especially Christians, also should consider drunkenness, gambling of all types, narcotics abuse and slavery to be sins.

True Jesus Christians also consider

10 | DECEMBER 31, 2014 | OKLAHOMA GAZETTE

anger, pride, lust, envy, violence, discrimination and even materialism and laziness to be sins.

But this is all the good stuff of the American Dream culture and progressivism, at least since the 1960s.

The Muslim will never be allowed to trump the power of the corporation, the rich and the powerful.

If Muslims are hoping for an America where they can fully exercise and enjoy their permissive redefined Muslim lifestyles, they are really dreaming.

If the hedonistic American cultural/legal system ever allows that dual system to exist (coexist), America

will have to assume a third-world status, and there will be no more “free market” or “free exercise” of anything.

Between the polarization of the Democratic and Republican parties/ philosophies — both of which are seriously flawed — and the successful efforts of our Muslim-minded “progressive” President Obama, we will get to that third-world, violent, tribal status sooner rather than later.

— Michael Moberly Mustang

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OKG picks are events

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BOOKS Story Time With Julie, kid friendly story time with the latest children’s books, 10:15 -11 a.m., Dec. 27. Full Circle Bookstore, 1900 Northwest Expressway, 842-2900, fullcirclebooks.com. SAT Literary Readings, faculty of The Red Earth Creative writing program at OCU will share pieces of their work, 7 p.m., Jan. 6. District House, 1755 NW 16th St., 633-1775, districthouseokc.com. TUE

FOOD Weekly Farmers Market, shop goods from local produce, bakers and artisans, 9 a.m.- 2 p.m., Jan. 3.

Farmers Public Market, 311 S. Klein Ave., 232-6506, okcfarmersmarket.com. SAT

PERMANENT MAKEUP

The Dinner Detective, interactive murder-mystery dinner show, 6:15-9:30 p.m., Jan. 3. Sheraton Hotel, 1 N Broadway Ave., 235-2780, sheratonokc.com. SAT

JUVEDERM • RADIESSE

Benefits of Detoxificantion, learn about the benefits and the right steps to take to have a successful detox experience, 6-7:30 p.m., Jan. 6. Natural Grocers, 16425 N. Western Ave., Edmond, 330-1405. TUE

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YOUTH Building Buddies, interactive village where children can play; build, decorate, paint, construct and tile. Science Museum Oklahoma, 2100 N.E. 52nd St., 602-6664, sciencemuseumok.org. WED-WED New Year’s Kickoff Snooze, overnight family event with a guided night hike with zoo animals; end the night with hot cocoa and popcorn and rise to a light breakfast and another guided hike, 7 p.m., Jan 2-9 a.m., Jan. 3.

Oklahoma City Zoo, 2000 Remington Pl., 424-3344, okczoo.com. FRI-SAT

UFC 182: Jones vs. Cormier You’ve shaken the confetti out of your hair and gotten over your hangover. You’re once again hungry with excitement. Get your fix from a highly anticipated fight. Saturday, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight champ Jon Jones squares off against Daniel Cormier live at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Thanks to Fathom Events, you can watch this larger-than-life bout on the big screen at two metro theaters: AMC Quail Springs Mall 24, 2501 W. Memorial Road, and Cinemark Tinseltown and XD, 6001 N. Martin Luther King Ave. Showtime is 9 p.m. Visit fathomevents.com.

Saturday

PERFORMING ARTS

Drop-In Art: Winter Owl Puppets, guest artists as they interact with families to create extraordinary works of art inspired by the Museum’s collection, exhibitions and special occasions, 1-4 p.m., Jan. 3. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 236-3100, okcmoa. com. SAT

Burlesque Legend, burlesque, vaudeville, belly dancing, and cabaret style performances in addition to audience participation games, door prizes, and more. Oklahoma Contemporary, 3000 General Pershing Blvd., 951-0000, oklahomacontemporary.org. WED PROVID ED

Free Crafts for Kids, make your own ‘Beary Warm Earmuff’ to keep your ears warm during the cold months ahead. 11 a.m.-3 p.m, Jan. 3. Lakeshore Learning Store, 6300 N. May Ave., 858-8778, lakeshorelearning.com.

SAT

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Todd Yohn, a mash up of stand-up, improv, and music, 7:30 & 10 p.m., Dec. 31; 8 & 10:30 p.m., Jan. 2-3. Loony Bin Comedy Club, 8503 N. Rockwell Ave., 239-4242, loonybincomedy.com. WED/FRI-SAT Drunk Spelling Bee 4.0, presented by OKC Comedy and hosted by Cameron Buchholtz and special guest, 8 p.m., Jan. 3. Opolis, 113 N. Crawford Ave., Norman, opolis. org. SAT The Book of Isaiah, the poetry of the Hebrews most revered prophet tells the riveting account of Jerusalem’s darkest hour and its most miraculous liberation; stepdancing choreography and largest sets ever to grace Armstrong Auditorium’s stage, a 100-strong cast brings this adventure to life in dramatic detail, 7:30 p.m., Jan. 1 & 3; 2 p.m., Jan. 4. Armstrong Auditorium, 14400 S. Bryant Road, Edmond, 285-1010, armstrongauditorium. org. THU-FRI/SUN

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In a musical production that explores one of the Bible’s most important figures, Ryan Malone, music director of Herbert W. Armstrong College, brings to life the unique story of Isaiah. The show features an original score and the largest sets ever created for Armstrong Auditorium, located at 14400 S. Bryant Road in Edmond. Isaiah tells the story of a prophet and his dramatic journey, including a miraculous military victory and the years that followed. Malone paired school actors with Imperial Academy and its Irish dance troupe. Imperial is a private, K-12 online learning school in north OKC. Tickets are $8. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Visit armstrongauditorium.org or call 285-1010.

Thursday, Saturday-Sunday

Intro to Improv Workshop, improvisation workshop, 2-4 p.m., Jan. 4. ACTS Studio, 30 NE 52nd St., 286-9412, ghostlightokc.com. SUN

ACTIVE Devon Ice Rink, bundle up and gather friends for some ice skating fun, Dec. 31- Jan 7. Devon Ice Rink, 100 N. Robinson Ave. WED-WED Santa’s Adventure on the Oklahoma River, be like Santa down the Santa Zip dropping presents into chimney targets, experience the Rumble Drop and fall faster than a snowflake, climb to the North Pole on the SandRidge Sky Trail along with many other adventures, 1-8 p.m., Jan. 3-4 Boathouse District, 725 S. Lincoln Blvd., 552-4040, boathousedistrict.org. SAT-SUN Chesapeake Energy Snow Tubing, the Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark is transformed into a winter wonderland; slide down a giant slope of snow, noon, 2 p.m., 4 p.m., 6 p.m., 8 p.m., Dec. 31-Jan. 4. Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, 2 S. Mickey Mantle Drive, 218-1000,

OKLA HOM A GA ZETTE / FI LE

Opening Night 2015 Boom! Pow! Happy New Year! Now in its 27th year, Opening Night runs 7 p.m.-midnight Wednesday in and around various downtown venues, including a grand finale countdown at Bicentennial Park. The night’s live entertainment spans 16 stages and more than 20 acts, including everything from comedy from OKC Improv to live R&B-jazz fusion

by Shortt Dogg. It’s a safe, familyfriendly event where everyone can enjoy something, whether it’s fine dining, dancing or youth activities.

Admission wristbands are $8-$10, and children under 5 are admitted free. Find parking maps, schedules, wristband information and more at artscouncilokc.com.

Wednesday, Dec. 31

bricktownokc.com. WED-SUN Get Fit Expo 2015, start off the New Year by getting fit and motivated with popular and fun workouts; features workouts every hour, prize drawings, samples of health products and more, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Jan. 3. Crosspointe Community Center, 2601 24th Ave. S.E., Norman, 329-0823.

SAT Yoga ‘Fun’damentals Workshop, workshop for all levels; break down and tune up poses while exploring how the breath can support your practice, 2-4 p.m., Jan. 4. Yoga Home of Therapeutics, 5801 W. Britton Road, 470-8180, yogaokc-hub.com. SUN

VISUAL ARTS 4th Anniversary Group Show, a variety of bells in different shapes and sizes are distributed and artsts do with them what they want to create their own works of art, 6-10 p.m., Jan. 3-4. Brass Bell Studios, 2500 NW 33rd St., 361-3481, facebook. com/brassbellstudios. SAT-SUN Andre Tutak Exhibition, exhibit of Polish born artist now living in Yukon; produces works in CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

1 8 9 0 - 2 0 1 5 UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA w w w. u c o . e d u / 1 2 5 • ( 4 0 5 ) 9 7 4 - 2 0 0 0 OKLAHOMA GAZETTE | DECEMBER 31, 2014 | 13

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The Book of Mormon Straighten your tie, look sharp and enjoy the national tour of nine-time Tony Award-winning musical The Book of Mormon at Oklahoma City’s Civic Center Music Hall. The musical takes an outrageously funny look at faith, optimism and overcoming adversity as two fish-out-of-water Mormon missionaries try to spread their faith in war-torn, poverty and disease-ridden Africa. Rather than spend its time poking fun at an easily misunderstood sect of Christianity, the play shines a light on the absurdist elements of all faiths. Tickets are $35-$135. Visit okcciviccenter.com or call 297-2264 for tickets and showtimes.

Wednesday, Dec. 31-Sunday oil and acrylic that are sold in galleries all over the world. Oklahoma State Capitol, 2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., 521-3356, ok.gov.

Billy Hensley Exhibition, Oklahoma artist who incorporates native Chickasaw culture in his paintings using unique techniques. Exhibit C, 1 East Sheridan Ave., Ste. 100, 767-8900, chickasawcountry.com/ explore/view/exhibit-c.

Cowboy Artists of America Expo, showcase of art from the Cowboy Artists of America and the Traditional Cowboy Arts Association. National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd St., 4782250, nationalcowboymuseum.org.

My Generation: Young Chinese Artists, the new generations of artists examine their homeland from a global perspective; painters, video artists, installation artists and more. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 236-3100, okcmoa.com.

Natural Penomena, artist Linda Hiller creates Natural Penomena in art; nebulas, oceanography and ions. The Summer Wine Art Gallery, 2928 B Paseo St., 831-3279, summerwinegallery.com.

Drama, Death, Dirge: Fredric Remington’s American West, dramatic portrayals of the American West inspired by the media and entertainment. Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, 555 Elm Ave., Norman, 325-3272, ou.edu/fjjma.

OKC125, 125 artists were given a disposable camera and 125 minutes to make photos of anything they wanted within the boundaries of downtown Oklahoma City. The Underground, 101 Park Ave., 235-3500, downtownokc.com.

espongo i miei sentimenti, exhibition of new work

by Oklahoma City based artist, designer, architect, and builder Larry Dean Pickering. Nona Jean Hulsey Gallery, NW 27th and Blackwelder Ave., 208-5229.

Re-Action Painting, exhibit of local artist Don Holladay; printmaker who experiments with alternative materials for his artwork surfaces and uses non-traditional objects to create texture. Mainsite Contemporary Art, 122 E. Main St., Norman, 360-1162, mainsite-art.com.

Formed in Stone, the natural beauty of fossils. Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, 2401 Chautauqua Ave., Norman, 325-4712, snomnh.ou.edu.

Goddess/Anti-Goddess, artists Deborah Brackenbury, Elyse Bogart, Douglas Shaw Elder & Karyn Gilman explore the history of deification and vilification the female form and psyche have faced. IAO Art Gallery, 706 W. Sheridan Ave., 232-6060, iaogallery.org.

14 | DECEMBER 31, 2014 | OKLAHOMA GAZETTE

Macrocosm/Microcosm, Abstract Expressionism in the American Southwest. Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, 555 Elm Ave., Norman, 325-3272, ou.edu/fjjma.

Satellite Space: Morgan Robinson, three-dimensional sculptures by visual artist Morgan Robinson. Kasum Contemporary Fine Arts, 1706 NW 16th St., 604-6602, kasumcontemporary.com.

The Hub of Creativity, local artists and car lovers created their own works of art using old hubcaps.

OKLA HOM A GA ZE TTE / FI L E

OKC Thunder vs. Phoenix Suns Before you go watch the big ball drop Wednesday night, watch a different one when the Oklahoma City Thunder squares off against Phoenix. The last time these two teams met, the Thunder unleashed a 112-88 victory. Let’s celebrate a rematch. The game starts 7 p.m. at Chesapeake Energy Arena, 100 W. Reno Ave., which leaves you with plenty of time to kiss the night — and this year — goodbye.

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The Hub of Creativity, 800 N. Broadway Ave., downtownokc.com/hub-creativity.

The Nature of Man: Paintings and Drawings by Harold Stevenson, exhibit honoring Mark White, the interim director and Eugene B. Adkins Curator at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art; explores Stevenson’s investigation of masculinity from his early career in the 1960s to more recent works from the 1990s. Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, 555 Elm Ave., Norman, 3253272, ou.edu/fjjma.

Wanderlust: Nomadic Interpretations of Contemporary Africa, a group art show highlighting the diversity of Africa through eyes in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Somaliland/Somalia and the United States of America. The Project Box, 3003 Paseo St., 609-3969, theprojectboxokc.com.

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Watch Out for the Under Toad, artist Romy Owens has created a series of work inspired by the crashing of water on land. AKA Gallery, 3001 Paseo St., 606-2522, akagallery.net.

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Black and White Opposites attract. In this year’s Black and White art exhibit at In Your Eye Studio & Gallery, artists explored the stark impact of color (and lack of it) by using paint, photography, metal, jewelry and ceramics to build complex pieces from the simplest of palettes. In Your Eye’s opening reception for Black and White is 6-10 p.m. Friday at 3005-A Paseo St. and coincides with the Paseo Arts District’s First Friday gallery walk.

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P HOTOS BY M A RK HA N COC K

LIFE FOOD & DRINK

Hot pots, cold nights

left The seafood and tofu hot pot at QQ China. right A hot pot with spare ribs with black mushrooms at Chow’s Chinese Restaurant.

Family-style Chinese hot pots warm your insides and your soul.

BY ANGELA BOTZER

Originally known as the fire pot (huo guo), hot pots are a popular winter dish in China. Legend has it that Mongol warriors in the 13th and 14th centuries rode across frigid Asia using their upturned shields and helmets to boil water and broth to cook meat, soup and vegetables. As the dish spread to other parts of China, it picked up local ingredients such as seafood in China’s southern regions.

Families would gather around the steaming hot pot to escape the chill of winter and just be together.

Today, it is a pleasant way to experience communal eating and socializing. Despite the prominence of Chinese restaurants across the country, this particular dish is still very difficult to find.

When it appears on menus, it is commonly cooked in the restaurant’s kitchen and brought out to the table.

More authentically, however, hot pots are served at the table as a broth with a gas burner underneath and an array of raw meat, fish and vegetables on platters for communal table cooking.

There is a proper way to cook with a hot pot. First, allow more cooking time for fish and meat than vegetables. Thinly sliced meat and fish usually need three to five minutes, with vegetables needing only about 30 seconds or a bit more.

Remove the individual fish, meat and vegetables onto personal plates and add dipping sauces, noodles and rice.

The three Mandarin characters on the sign of Chow’s Chinese Restaurant, 3033 N. May Ave.,

translate to “large restaurant” and are typically used to suggest the restaurant is big and has a wide variety of fancy dishes. Chow’s does have an impressive, authentic Cantonese-based menu, including the elusive hot pot, with no less than seven tasty varieties.

Its beef tendon hot pot ($9.95) is a full meal in a bowl with chunks of beef, beef tendon, scallions, onions, carrots, crunchy sliced Napa cabbage and fresh cilantro. One might be perfectly content just to eat a bowl of the broth alone. It is rich and aromatic, and rice absorbs all of its delicious goodness. Tendon is not a beef item that finds its way to grocery carts. It’s extremely tough and chewy, but when cooked for hours and hours in this time-honored way, it becomes more tender.

There also are daily specials that include savory salt-and-pepper soft shell crabs for $14.95 and a seafood udon hot plate for $12.95.

With decor a bit on the plain side, the food at QQ China, 9521 N. Council Road, is sheer elegance. The yi pin pot ($11.95) is a seafood and tofu delight. Served in a boiling hot pot, it includes breaded and steamed whitefish fillets, crab, shrimp, scallops, Chinese cabbage and pan-seared tofu in neat, bite-sized triangles topped with cilantro.

For the ultimate golden hot pot experience, Golden Phoenix, 2728 N. Classen Blvd., rises to the occasion.

You know you are in an authentic Asian District restaurant when you

see smoked duck, chicken and pork hanging in a glass case, just like on every street corner in Chinatown, New York City. Here, you can have hot pots for one person ($10.95) or the more traditional hot pot presentations serving two, four or more people served communal style for prices ranging from $32.95 to $48.95.

“Hot pots are found in all Asian cultures, and here in this Chinese-Vietnamese restaurant, it is traditionally Chinese,” said Vietnamese waiter Andrew Cao. Golden Phoenix’s hot pots are served with two types of broth — one spicy, one mild — and are heated at the table with a gas burner. The seafood hot pot ($32.95 for two) includes shrimp, fish fillets, squid and mussels plus vegetables for cooking directly into the hot pot and is accompanied by yellow vermicelli noodles and steamed rice. You can also order extra sides, beef and chicken for an additional $6.95 each.

The bean curd with assorted meat hot pot ($10.95) has delectable ingredients that read like an Asian feast shopping list. Served in a large clay pot, it included bamboo shoots, shrimp, deep-fried tofu, spinach, succulent shitake mushrooms, broccoli, carrots, scallions, chicken and squid in a mellow brown broth with sesame seeds. This is a great date-night place.

Hot pots can also be found at Bashu Legends, 1522 W. Lindsey St., in Norman. As a special order (there is a separate hot pot menu), the hot

There is a proper way to cook with a hot pot.

pot setup is $4.98. Then you choose what you would like to cook in the hot pot: Vegetables such as bok choy, green onions or potato are $2.50 each; a variety of tofu is $2.98 each; and selections of chicken, pork, beef, fish and seafood are $4.98-$5.98 each.

Lastly, select a dipping sauce of hoisin, chili oil, garlic sauce, bean paste or mixed sesame sauce ($1 each). Choose regular or spicy broth and you’re ready for tabletop cooking.

For just one order, the harmonious clay pot is $14.98 and is chock-full of healthy meat and vegetable goodness.

The Bashu hot-and-spicy clay pot ($14.95) is not for the fainthearted.

It’s fiery, and it’s fabulously delicious.

Jam-packed in an individual clay pot are shitake mushrooms, potatoes, scallions, Chinese sausage slices, tofu, bite-size light chicken-pork meatballs, cabbage, dried lily buds and cellophane noodles in a minced hot pepper broth.

Rose Wolfberry Tea ($2.58) is a perfect pairing for this dish.

Wolfberries (also known as goji berries) are full of nutrients and phytochemicals and taste slightly sweet. The addition of small rosebuds in the tea gives an overall light floral taste.

OKLAHOMA GAZETTE | DECEMBER 31, 2014 | 17

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LIFE FOOD & DRINK

Lord of the tacos True Mexican taco fans should join me at the altar of La Cueva Grill.

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Start the New Year Right!

come in for lunch, wine & cheese, coffee & pie, enjoy it in the cafe or take it in the theatre.

Saturday OPEN MIC NIGHT

Friday MUSIC OF GARY REID

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BY GREG ELWELL

La Cueva Grill 409 N. WALKER AVE. LACUEVAGRILL.COM 604-0523 WHAT WORKS: OLD-SCHOOL MEXICAN RESTAURANT FAVORITES DONE WELL. WHAT NEEDS WORK: CLOSED ON SUNDAY? NO BUENO. TIP: BREAKFAST RUNS 11 A.M. TO 3 P.M., SO TAKE YOUR TIME.

Sometimes, a man wants a crispy taco.

Oklahoma City has been blessed from on high by the Lord of Taquerias. Yea verily, he came down with his divine feet and walked among the suburbs, a new truck or storefront opening ’ere his holy toes touched the earth.

You want carnitas or asada or pollo in a pair of tiny corn tortillas with a sprinkling of onion and cilantro on top? OKC has you covered.

But as heavenly as taqueria food is, I cannot deny the mortal appeal of an enchilada covered in sour cream sauce or the human delight of beef, lettuce and cheese inside a fried shell.

If you sometimes crave these earthly treasures, then I invite you to worship with me in La Cueva Grill, 409 N. Walker Ave. Nestled near one of my favorite sandwich shops (Hobby’s Hoagies) in the fertile crescent of the Arts District is a little restaurant making pleasantly simple renditions of all your old Mexican food favorites.

18 | DECEMBER 31, 2014 | OKLAHOMA GAZETTE

If you are in a mind for breakfast, then the huevos rancheros ($8.95) are a solid bet. Two eggs over easy, tortillas, beans and a hefty dose of flavorful sauce will make you think twice about even needing lunch. And for gluttons like me, $2.75 adds a healthy dollop of carne asada steak, which is both tender and filling.

How do you feel about melted cheese? That’s what I thought. Then you, my friend, will be pleased to learn that La Cueva cooks up the kind of nachos ($6.25) you wish your mom knew how to make. A big plate of tortilla chips is covered with refried beans and a pile of Monterrey Jack cheese before going under the broiler. The result is gooey, stretchy, cheesy bliss.

The addition of fajita chicken ($2.75) transforms this appetizer into a meal — one I intend to enjoy on a regular basis.

What is there to say about chicken enchiladas ($8.95) that hasn’t been said multiple times through my friend’s stuffed-full mouth?

“Mmmlfllff. Mmyou triefld thleesem? Smmoo goold.”

The shredded beef is another solid option, though it comes covered in a spicy chili sauce. And both options come with rice and refried beans, because of course they do, because you wouldn’t accept anything less.

That same seasoned, shredded beef is the centerpiece of one of my favorite dishes: Cueva’s Old

Fashion Tacos ($9.95). What kind of outdated clothes is this trio of tacos wearing? you might wonder. Why, the most glorious coat of freshly fried corn tortillas, of course.

There are few things more lovely than seeing a taco that has just been fried closed around a mound of shredded beef. It is also a dangerous invitation to a burnt mouth, since that beef tends to soak up the lavahot oil, waiting to erupt on your unsuspecting lips.

(The trick is to cut them in half, let the grease run out or cool down and then add pico de gallo, guacamole and sour cream. You’re welcome.)

For something that’ll take you back to your childhood, the crispy tacos ($9.95) come to you as a plate of four with seasoned ground beef, lettuce, tomatoes and cheese. It is a struggle not

La Cueva cooks up the kind of nachos you wish your mom knew how to make.

to get these on a daily basis.

There is a right way and a wrong way to make tacos. The wrong way is to not make them. The right way is when someone says, “You want tacos?” and you’re already waiting in the car, with your seatbelt on, because even if you get in a wreck on the way there, you’ll survive and then ... tacos.

PHOTOS BY GA RETT FI S BEC K

Old Fashion Tacos at La Cueva Grill

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Loss Mitigation Follow Up Associates Loss Mitigation Plan Administrators Loan Counselors Customer Service Representatives We are looking for individuals who possess strong communications skills, a positive attitude and a desire to help others. These positions require extensive phone contact (inbound/outbound calls) with mortgagors and require someone who has excellent multi-tasking skills to assist with file documentation.

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La Cueva Grill’s chicken enchiladas

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OKLAHOMA GAZETTE | DECEMBER 31, 2014 | 19

LIFE FOOD & DRINK

Chili outside and in From all-meat to vegan delights, local eateries offer hearty, distinctive takes on a seasonal favorite.

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BY GREG ELWELL

It’s too hot in the summer, too humid in the spring, autumn lasts from 2 a.m. Oct. 29 to 4:30 p.m. Nov. 2 and we’re officially in the throes of winter.

You need chili.

And a dire wolf.

But first, chili.

The problem is finding a reliable source of chili. We can’t all be scouring Twitter and Facebook every day to track down restaurants with chili specials. And what if they put something weird in it, like pineapple and cashews? There’s no coming back from that.

Palate kick

For a bowl with a barbecue kick, the Range Chili ($4 for a cup, $5.95 for a bowl) never leaves the menu at Iron Starr Urban Barbeque, 3700 N. Shartel Ave. That’s because it has been a favorite from the beginning, chock-full of tender brisket for a big beef flavor. Crumble cornbread in there and make sure to enjoy the zing of the red chile créme fraiche, which brings a tangy heat to the dish.

Buffalo pals

Nothing says Oklahoma like a range full of bison, so it’s little wonder that the buffalo chili with jalapeño hush

puppies ($7 for a cup, $9 for a bowl) at Flint, 15 N. Robinson Ave., is such a hit.

The meat in this chili is ground, so the texture is consistent, but the buffalo — a lean animal with a rich taste — takes the dish to another level.

“We try to keep our menu pretty seasonal, but we’d never take the chili off our menu,” said Flint Assistant Manager Jason Partee. “Too many people ask for it to let it go.”

Vegan chili pie

If meat’s not your thing, then I don’t know. I don’t know, man. But The Red Cup, 3122 N. Classen Blvd., does because it has been slinging a vegetarian Frito chili pie for years, much to the delight of patrons.

The mix of beans, vegetables and spices creates a delightfully filling and hearty stew made even more irresistible by the inclusion of crunchy corn chips. Feel free to push this on the meat-lovers in your life — they won’t know the difference.

Family recipe

If you’re feeling a seasonal chill on the southside, pull into Sherri’s Diner, 704 SW 59th St., for a beautiful bargain. At $2.29 for a cup or $5.29

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Buffalo chili with jalapeño cornbread at Flint.

for a bowl, this staple menu item is one of owner Annie Cox’s favorites.

“This chili recipe goes five generations deep,” said Cox. “It’s not too tomato-ey or spicy, but it’s a really good, hearty chili.”

It’s thick enough to stick to your ribs, and Cox also recommends you get it on a burger or a plate of fries (but it’s good with cornbread, too).

Watch your waist

If you want the heat but red meat is too heavy, then Coolgreens’ white chicken chili ($3 for a cup, $5 for a bowl) has plenty of kick to keep your taste buds tingling. Best of all, you can pair it with a salad for a lunch that won’t leave you looking like a lonely, post-holiday Santa. Find a location near you at coolgreens.com.

Chili combos

I’m so grateful for local chili impresario Glen Franklin of G’s Chili Company, who sees no need to take delicious, beefy chili off the menu.

Using a recipe he learned from his mother, Franklin grinds his own spices to create a spicy (but not-toospicy) beef-and-bean chili that can be served plain or with spaghetti, macaroni or a frankfurter, just like he

grew up eating.

“My friends in Oklahoma were always asking me when I was going to make that chili again,” he said.

So, when food truck fever hit OKC, he wisely joined the movement.

This chili recipe goes five generations deep.

— Annie Cox

Though he likes his hotter, Franklin said G’s Chili is full of flavor, not heat. A serving of his 1962 original recipe chili comes with beans, cheddar and onions for $7, but it’s also available over pasta and on chilidogs.

For winter catering options, call 919-2125. Check out its menu and find the truck’s location during warmer months at gschilicompany .com.

MARK HANCOCK

LIKE US ON

CELEBRATE WITH US STOP IN AND GRAB A BITE!

Happy Holidays 1ST FRIDAY GALLERY WALK FRIDAY • JANUARY 2ND

OKLAHOMA GAZETTE | DECEMBER 31, 2014 | 21

Hangover hankerings “Ugh. What did I do last night?” Sound familiar?

The holidays are one of the biggest reasons to party harder, leading many a jolly old elf to find himself waking up in a bathtub, dazed, confused and usually missing shoes or, even worse, a kidney. Drive away those morning-after blues with these delicious ways to start off the New Year.

— By Louis Fowler Photos by Mark Hancock

RedPin Restaurant & Bowling Lounge

James E. McNellie’s Public House

200 S. Oklahoma Ave. bowlredpin.com 702-8880

1100 Classen Drive mcnelliesokc.com 601-7468

Like a dip in an icy tub, bowling could be just the ticket to reinvigorate and renew the first day of anyone’s resolutions.

Knock down a few pins at RedPin before knocking back a few of its specialty spiked milkshakes. We recommend the vanilla bean malt with vodka (pictured).

While there, also try the baked mac and cheese or red onion rings and wings tossed in signature Buffalo sauce.

An old-school Irish pub in the heart of Midtown, McNellie’s was practically born to cater to the morning-after crowd. The fish and chips, featuring a plateful of golden brown hand-battered cod fillets and thickcut pub fries, or the Landlord’s cottage pie, a casserole dish of chipped beef and veggies packed with mashed potatoes and gravy, are real workingmen’s meals, even if you’re a lazy American calling in sick.

22 | DECEMBER 31, 2014 | OKLAHOMA GAZETTE

Irma’s Burger Shack 1035 N.W. 63rd St. irmasburgershack.com 840-4762

Forget the hair of the dog and go for a pair of hot dogs. The Irma Dog with chili comes drenched in, of course, chili, cheddar and onions. For those needing something a little edgier, a hot link can even be substituted. A bit lighter is Nannie’s Famous Slaw Dog, also paired with chili. A generous portion of sweetand-spicy mustard slaw is topped on it.

Ingrid’s Kitchen

3701 N. Youngs Blvd. ingridskitchen.com 946-8444

Empire Slice House

Tucker’s Onion Burgers

4621 N. May Ave. sheeshmahaloklahomacity.com 778-8469

Curry — if it’s not already, it should be the new breakfast of champions. What better way to clear your head and start the day than with a big bowl of zesty chicken achari cooked in pickle spices or aloo gosht, a heavier meat-and-potato curry, two of Sheesh Mahal’s signature dishes?

Order one of its 12 varieties of bread, including potato naan, roti and chapatti, to soak up those unabsorbed spirits.

Put down the stein and step away from the pilsner. After a night of downing fine German-crafted ales, it’s probably best to enjoy some exceptional German food from Ingrid’s Kitchen. Breakfast is served until 11 a.m., and a full order of wiener schnitzel featuring a breaded pork cutlet, two eggs, oven-roasted potatoes and a biscuit with sausage gravy will send any mid-morning withdrawal symptoms straight to the Black Forest.

From drunken depressions to drinking celebrations, there is no better compliment to a night of total rabble-rousing than a slice or two of pizza. Empire Slice House is open late, so it’s easy as pie to have an Uber driver run you there before heading home to sleep it off. Just think how awesome it will be when you wake up in the morning to find an extra-large Notorious P.I.G. — loaded with bacon, pepperoni, sausage, capicola and Canadian bacon — waiting for you.

Breathe it in deep. Feel the fried onions on that Mother Tucker cleanse every pore of that demon alcohol. It’s one pound of meat cooked to greasy perfection, cheese melting over the sides, with a pile of fresh-cut jalapeños that work overtime on the taste buds.

When paired with a heap of fresh-cut fries, you can drop the bottle in favor of this newfound addiction.

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MON - SAT 11-8:30 OKLAHOMA GAZETTE | DECEMBER 31, 2014 | 23

P HOTOS BY GA RETT FI S BEC K

LIFE

Paw power Animal-assisted therapy is becoming more popular, and there are organizations that help those in need of therapy dogs.

BY ANYA ALVAREZ

The fight to provide care for those who suffer from mental illnesses in Oklahoma has been an ongoing battle.

The U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Agency found in 2013 that 21.6 percent of Oklahomans struggle with mental disorders. The Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services reports that Oklahoma ranks 46th lowest in the nation for spending per capita to treat mental illnesses. The same study shows that 1 in 4 people in our state will need treatment for mental illness or substance abuse issues in their lifetime.

Often, dog therapy is an effective, lower-cost form of treatment. People love dogs, and for good reason: They have been scientifically proven to love us back.

Returning love

Recently, scientists scanned dogs’ brains, finding in the caudate nucleus — the area of the brain where emotions can be measured in dogs and humans — that activity in that part of the brain increased when around a familiar human.

Barbara Lewis, director of A New Leash on Life Inc, an Oklahoma City nonprofit dedicated to training therapy dogs, believes people love dogs because they don’t judge.

“They don’t care what race you are, what you have, if you’re sick, how you smell, if you’re homeless, male or female,” she said. “Dogs just want a little bit of the love they give you back in return.”

Lewis said that use of therapy dogs to treat people with mental illness is on the rise.

Service dogs and therapy dogs serve quite different roles. They are trained for specific patient needs, including visual assistance, seizure alerts and allergen

Lewis agreed that dogs are great therapy tools because often, mental health patients are uncomfortable talking to therapists in clinical settings.

“As soon as a therapy dog is present though, oftentimes, that patient will start opening up and feel a sense of safety ... in talking about whatever it is they are dealing with,” she said.

Emotional bridges

Snapple, a therapy dog at A New Leash on Life. awareness. Service dogs are protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), so they can travel almost anywhere with their handlers. Therapy dogs provide emotional support, comfort, companionship and affection in places ranging from retirement homes to disaster areas. However, while they are highly trained dogs — much like their service dog peers — therapy dogs are not protected under ADA guidelines.

“Everyone has distinct wiring within.

Some people respond to various therapies differently, and it’s important to find one that suits each individual,” said Paul Williams, clinical director of Adult and Family Outpatient Services at NorthCare, a nonprofit mental health care facility in Midtown.

Williams believes our state needs better mental health funding, and there are low-cost alternative therapies available, including art, dance and dog therapy.

24 | DECEMBER 31, 2014 | OKLAHOMA GAZETTE

Shanda Vidal, a therapist at NorthCare, has seen her therapy dog, Denver, relax and soothe people in emotional distress.

“And in tough cases, I have seen how my therapy dog can often make that personal connection with those who are hurting or largely distrustful of people,” Vidal said. “In many instances, my therapy dog has been the bridge for building that relationship between me and my client, in addition to serving as the bridge between where they are at and moving towards healing.”

Lewis estimated that the cost of training a therapy dog runs around $250.

However, public donations allow organizations like A New Leash to cover costs including staffing and caring for dogs during the training process. As popularity grows for therapy alternatives, Lewis said she worries about the long-term survival of organizations like hers.

She said donations also help fund therapy dog visits to mental health facilities, hospitals, low-income families, the mentally ill and the homeless.

Wonder drug?

In the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder in war veterans, therapists and doctors also write “prescriptions” to encourage the use of therapy dogs. United

above Barbara Lewis and Elizabeth Maupin pose for a photo with Snapple, a therapy dog at A New Leash on Life.

States Department of Veteran Affairs research shows that each day, an average of 22 veterans commit suicide.

Therapy dogs not only help reduce suicide risk, but Lewis said patients who use them often reduce prescription drug needs by 50 percent.

Scientific research shows that humananimal bonding improves biological function; elevates oxytocin, a hormone often called the “love hormone”; and reduces anxiety and paranoia.

Vidal believes the state would greatly benefit by better funding animal therapy programs.

“Animals are a widely available and low-cost resource,” she said. “Animalassisted therapy is a fast-growing field with more and more research coming out revealing a wide array of benefits.”

In fact, Oklahoma is a leader when using therapy dogs to aid traumatized children required to testify in court.

In April, Gov. Mary Fallin signed a bill requiring judges to allow therapy dogs in courts if requested.

For more information or to donate to A New Leash on Life, visit newleashinc. org.

’Tis the (flu) season P ROVI DED

Sufferers of asthma and other lung diseases should be extra cautious during flu season.

BY ZACH JACOBS

The turning of the leaves and the briskness of the air usually mean the commencement of autumn or the approach of winter.

However, there is a much less pleasant meaning for people with asthma: the beginning of the cold and flu season.

Tanya Keck-Smith, an Oklahoma City-based physician’s assistant, said influenza, like other illnesses that affect the respiratory system, is a trigger for an asthma attack, which leads her and other medical professionals to treat more asthma patients during this time of the year.

“It’s not that asthmatics are more susceptible to flu,” said Keck-Smith, “but rather, when affected, their cases tend to be more severe. This is because asthmatics have hyper-responsive airways.”

Keck-Smith said airway irritants — including allergens, cold air and chemicals (like smoke or vapors) — and illnesses like the flu can cause an exaggerated response.

“Imagine what you’d feel like as a nonsmoker walking into a smoky bar,” Keck-Smith said. “You may cough, get a sore throat, have a little difficulty breathing. Now imagine that response exaggerated.”

While seasonal flu activity, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, can begin as early as October, it most commonly peaks in the U.S. between December and February. And the CDC said that as of Dec. 6, Oklahoma and 13 other states reported regional geographic influenza activity.

Keck-Smith said this year’s flu season isn’t any worse than last year’s but attributed the similar starts in those two seasons a common cause.

Even though one strain of flu has mutated and isn’t covered well by the vaccine, it still affords people protection against the other strains of flu.

— Tanya Keck-Smith

“This year’s flu season is starting off the same way [as last year’s],” she said, “mostly due to the one strain of Influenza A that’s mutated, so now the vaccine isn’t as effective.”

And flu-induced asthma attacks are not limited to just adults. Keck-Smith said she recently treated a 5-year-old patient in her clinic who was drawing more than 60 breaths per minute.

“She was retracting. This means she was using accessory muscles of the chest and belly to breathe,” said Keck-Smith.

“She was ... leaning forward, trying to breathe and unable to talk because all of her energy was going towards breathing.”

Keck-Smith said she and her staff stabilized the patient and called an ambulance to transport her to the emergency room but found out that the child was being cared for by a relative and had left her rescue inhalers and asthma medicine at her mother’s house.

Keck-Smith said this case was a prime example of how quickly someone can come down with the flu.

“Symptoms usually hit hard and progress fast,” Keck-Smith said. “Being prepared during flu season is key to minimizing your risk. Make sure you have your rescue inhaler available.”

She gave several recommendations for asthmatics and others with chronic lung disease to help them get through the cold and flu season, including washing their hands, not sharing food or drinks, consciously avoiding touching their faces, staying healthy

overall and — the standard means of prevention for most of us — getting the flu shot.

“Even though one strain of flu has mutated and isn’t covered well by the vaccine,” Keck-Smith said, “it still affords people protection against the other strains of flu.”

For more information on this year’s cold and flu season or the current strain of the influenza vaccine, visit the CDC’s main website at cdc.gov.

So far this year in Oklahoma, there have been six deaths related to the flu. According to the Oklahoma State Department of Health, there have been 143 hospitalizations across the state related to the flu.

The Oklahoma City-County Health Department has a list of ways to protect yourself and children from getting the flu.

Practice good hygiene by washing your hands often with soap and water, especially after coughing or sneezing.

Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective.

Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze.

If you don’t have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your elbow or shoulder, not into your hands.

Stay home for at least 24 hours after there is no longer a fever or signs of a fever (without the use of feverreducing medicine). Keeping sick children and teens at home means that they keep their viruses to themselves rather than spreading them.

Get vaccinated against the flu.

The flu vaccine is recommended for everyone 6 months of age or older.

Educate students, parents and

staff on what to do if someone gets sick, including emergency warning signs and high risk groups.

Plan for child care at home if your child gets sick or their school is dismissed.

Plan to monitor the health of the sick child and any other children in the household by checking for fever and other symptoms of flu.

Identify a separate room in the house for the care of sick family members.

Identify children who are at a higher risk of serious disease from the flu and talk to your healthcare provider about a plan to protect them during the flu season. Children at high risk of serious disease from the flu include children under 5 years of age and those with chronic medical conditions, such as asthma and diabetes.

Collect games, books, DVDs and other items to keep your family entertained if schools are dismissed or your child is sick and must stay home.

For further information, contact the Oklahoma City-County Health Department at 425-4362 and learn more at occhd.org/health/flu.

OKLAHOMA GAZETTE | DECEMBER 31, 2014 | 25

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P HOTOS BY GA R E T T FI S B E C K

Gazette 1-4 Pg.pdf

LIFE ART

C

Building Blocks

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

Clint Williams’ OK Blockheads brings zine culture back to the metro.

K

BY LOUIS FOWLER

OK Blockheads 5 p.m., Sunday Tall Hill Creative 3421 N. Villa Ave. 249-5345

oking for a discerning lo is te et az G a om ah kl O lectic pop tastes, A&E journalist with ecent news and an a nose for entertainmeye. experienced editing who’s ready to We’re hiring someone rforming art, visual art, coordinate diverse pecoverage for central local music and film independent arts Oklahoma’s fiercely thority. and entertainment au urnalism experience At least two years joex perience a plus. preferred. InDesign

Please send a cover letter, resume, clips and references via email to jchancellor@okgazette.com.

26 | DECEMBER 31, 2014 | OKLAHOMA GAZETTE

Two decades ago, Oklahoma City was a hotspot of independent magazine publishing.

These do-it-yourself zines — often photocopies of cut-and-tape pages filled with hand-drawn illustrations stapled together by hand — were found on shelves of nearly every indie music and book retailer in town. Titles like Hitch, Damaged or Goin’ Sane gave hungry readers alternative and counterculture viewpoints on everything from politics and pop culture to pregnancy and pride.

It was a creatively fruitful time, but as the Internet flourished, feelings and opinions spewed forth on blogs for everyone to see.

The Internet age also ushered in the death of local zines.

A real blockhead

At 28 years old, local artist Clint Williams misses those days.

He’s bringing zines back with the creation of a stylized publication that outdoes the cut-and-paste chore of yore.

His work debuts 5 p.m. Sunday at his OK Blockheads art show at Tall Hill Creative, 3421 N. Villa Ave. “The stuff for this show is all block prints — a really, really primitive form of printmaking,” Williams said. “I’m essentially making stamps.”

His prints are based on images from his zine, which also debuts at Sunday’s show. His mixed media prints start with watercolor and spray-paint bases, which are then block-printed over. The process lends his works unique depth and texture.

The larger pieces highlight his zine

Clint Williams poses with his OK Blockheads art, which will premiere Sunday at Tall Hill Creative.

creation, as it’s crafted entirely with block lettering and filled with work from different Oklahoma artists, including Amiko Lester, Tafv Tahdooahnippah and Dylan Eubanks.

“Maybe a year, year and a half ago, I was at an art supply store and wanted to try doing something new,” Williams said.

“I like printmaking and screen printing, but it’s time-consuming and expensive — you have to have more of a setup to it. The block printing is something I’m able to do in my living room on a smaller-scale process.”

Sunday, Williams also will sell t-shirts and stickers featuring his block printing artwork, as well as what he has dubbed “zine packs” that include swag and assorted goodies that tie in with the show and participating artists.

“I have a few other friends locally that have been making zines for a year or two. The art form may be a little dated, but I hope it catches on again,” he added. “It’s a fun way to self-publish and write about whatever you want.”

Each issue of OK Blockheads is $5, and Williams said the best place to pick up a copy is at his show.

Right now, local distribution points are still being decided, but they could soon be available “somewhere in the Plaza District” as early as Monday.

“I don’t know anyone else that’s really doing any block printing locally right now, so to see something different, this is a great show,” Williams said. “Buying a copy of OK Blockheads is an easy way to support and take part in the larger part of the art show, with art that is easier to take home. It makes what I do more accessible to more people.”

LIFE PERFORMING ARTS

Burlesque March

BY ERIC WEBB

Adèle Wolf’s Burlesque & Variety Show New Year’s Eve Bash 10 p.m. Wednesday Oklahoma Contemporary 3000 General Pershing Blvd. adelewolf.com 951-0000 $25-$40

Adèle Wolf brings her Burlesque & Variety Show back for another New Year’s Eve blowout.

Along with local burlesque acts like Wolf, music theater star Renee Anderson and belly dancer Aini Amar, tonight’s 10 p.m. show at Oklahoma Contemporary includes internationally acclaimed performers including Iris Le’mour, the 2014 Italy Queen of Burlesque, and awardwinning aerialist Skye Starling.

Attendees should dress to impress.

The star of the show is burlesque

superstar and Oklahoman April March, who performs in her home state for the first time in more than half a century.

Dubbed the The First Lady of Burlesque because of her resemblance to Jacqueline Kennedy and her ladylike striptease routines, March’s storied career spanned two continents and three decades Born Velma Fern Worden, March was first introduced to burlesque while working as a cigarette girl at The Derby Club on NE 23rd Street. Seventeen-year-old March lied about her age to get the gig. There, she bumped into a man by the name of Barney Weinstein. He asked when she was performing.

“I said that I was just a cigarette girl,” March recalled. “He said that I was too beautiful for that and that I needed to be on that stage. I said, ‘Oh no. I could never take my clothes off.’”

Weinstein gave March his card and offered her a job as a performer at The

Adèle Wolf hosts a New Year’s Eve party at Oklahoma Contemporary.

April March

Theater Lounge, his Dallas club. When she showed up at Weinstein’s office a few months later, he said, “Well, well, Oklahoma. I knew I’d see you someday.”

From Dallas, March launched a career that took her to clubs around the country and onto the theater circuit, including the U.S., Canada, Mexico and England. Not happy with the direction burlesque was taking, March eventually retired in 1978.

“I quit, thinking burlesque would never make a comeback, but it surely has,” March said.

The neo-burlesque movement exploded again in the last two decades, sparking fresh interest from a new generation. Inspired by the dedication of contemporary performers, March rejoined the community and quickly was welcomed

P HOTOS P ROVI DE D

After a half-century hiatus, legendary burlesque performer April March returns with a New Year’s Eve show.

back as a living legend.

Over the last 8 years, she has made appearances, delivered lectures and taught classes focusing on what she calls the “elegant striptease.” She has also appeared in the documentaries Behind the Burly Q and Burlesque Undressed.

“Who wouldn’t like to get that kind of adulation? I mean, damn! Not bad for an old broad,” March said.

More recently, March also started performing again.

“Coming back to Oklahoma is like coming full circle,” March said.

March also will teach a striptease workshop Sunday at the Oklahoma School of Burlesque. Visit oklahomaschoolofburlesque.com or call 445-1696 for more information.

Theater in review Though local theater flourishes, its 2014 productions could have been better. Things are looking up for 2015.

These 12 months will go down in the annals of Oklahoma City theater history as a weak year, and that’s not even counting the razing of Stage Center. This was a dreadful year for plays, but it was a little better for musicals, so let’s look back on things worth remembering.

Pollard Theatre Company’s In the Heights gets the grand prize for best musical, no questions asked. W. Jerome Stevenson’s excellent direction of a large cast and Hui Cha Poos’ exuberant choreography brought New York City’s Washington Heights neighborhood to downtown Guthrie on Jon Young’s terrific scenic design. The production deserves reviving in a future season.

Lyric Theatre presented the premiere of Triangle, a musical inspired by a most unlikely subject: the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in 1911. This musical would be a good show for any professional or collegiate theater company. But, more importantly, Triangle represented Lyric’s commitment to producing new work,

something all theater companies should be doing. Kudos go to Lyric’s artistic director, Michael Baron, and especially the company’s board of directors and management.

Flipside: The Patti Page Story by Greg White was first staged at the University of Central Oklahoma in 2011 but received a professional production here this year.

It’s an appealing jukebox musical about the highly influential Oklahoma-born recording artist.

Flipside had a brief run at Oklahoma City Community College’s new, 1,049-seat theater. The venue still has to prove itself acoustically and for sightlines, but it could be welcome relief from the city’s severe shortage of theater space.

Oklahoma City Repertory Theatre’s Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike wins best play practically by default, although it would be a welcome production any year.

Michael Jones has a knack for staging plays in the tiny CitySpace, and he was spot on with this Christopher Durang comedy. The

PH OTOS PROVIDED

BY LARRY LANEER

Clockwise from top Sweeney Todd, The Vagina Monologues, Triangle, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike show featured a fine cast highlighted by newcomer Kyra Wharton, whose all-out performance raised the production to a higher level.

Close behind Vanya was Pollard’s production of Eve Ensler’s 1999 piece The Vagina Monologues.

This provocative work has received many amateur readings, but Pollard gave it a well-deserved professional staging.

Director Timothy Stewart chose wisely when he cast Elin Bhaird, Brenda Williams and Megan Montgomery in the show.

Before we pop the champagne corks and sing “Auld Lang Syne,” we should

take note of Reduxion Theatre Company’s Sweeney Todd. This was one of the year’s most anticipated shows because it was staged by director Matthew Sipress and music director Brian Osborne, who helmed Reduxion’s wildly successful Cabaret last year. Sweeney featured strong performances

by W. Jerome Stevenson in the title role and Elin Bhaird as his manically comic accomplice in crime, Mrs. Lovett, along with an excellent supporting cast.

Considering Reduxion’s success with Cabaret and Sweeney, theatergoers will wonder what the company plans for next season. Let’s hope for a better 2015.

OKLAHOMA GAZETTE | DECEMBER 31, 2014 | 27

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Writer in residence Novelist Adam Davies has done and seen a lot, but nothing prepared him for how much he would love Oklahoma.

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He has written three novels. Katherine Hepburn was his grandmother by marriage. Beginning in 1994, he lived in New York and spent his evenings at Elaine’s, the legendary restaurant dedicated to writers in the Upper East Side. On one occasion, he protected his plate from the grubby hands of “that hobgoblin” — and Pulitzer Prize-winning author — Norman Mailer.

On New Year’s Day, Elaine kicked him out of the restaurant when his date slipped and sprained her ankle while flirting with Charlie Rose. He has a tattoo of a star on his right arm, inspired by an intricate dream involving the wishgranting Zoltar machine from the 1988 movie Big and floating stars as currency.

He’s Adam Davies, and earlier this year he moved to Oklahoma City.

On a Sunday night, the charismatic novelist and journalist related these stories at The Other Room, 3009 Paseo St. The bar was crowded. Two young women seated in the booth behind him sang along to ’90s pop hits blaring through the speakers. A football game was on the plasma screen televisions along the walls, and most of the patrons vocalized, without hesitance, their opinions of each big play.

It did not bother Davies. Rather, he thrived on the noise, on the energy of it all, laughing loud and often, shifting from story to story. Between drinks of Famous Grouse Scotch whisky, he explained how he ended up in Oklahoma and how he fell in love with the state.

The University of Central Oklahoma’s College of Liberal Arts selected Davies as its writer-in-residence for the Fall 2014-Spring 2015 school year. Despite his interim position, he bought the first house he has ever owned after a short time renting an apartment.

“I moved here with nothing. I can’t imagine leaving it or not being a part of it. Sure, there are some things I don’t like ... but nothing is more important than people. The people here are kind,” he said.

Although he has lived in cities noted for their art — New York, London, San Francisco — he said he was blown away by the art in Oklahoma City.

Settling down was hard-earned for Davies. He has worked several odd jobs to make ends meet. At one point he smashed eggs over his head for money.

28 | DECEMBER 31, 2014 | OKLAHOMA GAZETTE

OKLAHOMA GA ZETTE / FI LE

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Adam Davies sits at his desk in his newly purchased home in OKC. As the writer-in-residence at UCO, Davies says the literary scene rivals other cities known for their writing prowess.

“I’d wait outside of bars, and drunkards would come out. For one dollar, I’d break an egg over my head. For two, they could do it,” Davies said.

Then he fought professionally.

“It was called Knockdown Fighting.

It was much like MMA, except there was no grappling, but there was no protective gear. So it was elbow to the face, knee to the face, mouthpiece and cup,” Davies said.

Then he wrote papers for unmotivated teenagers.

“I had business cards made up. I called it Tony’s Writing Service. I went to the local high schools and colleges and passed out my cards in the parking lots and hallways. Then I worked as a book editor at Random House. That was my first honest job,” he said.

When Davies was a senior in college, he realized he wasn’t a good waiter and needed to put forth extra effort to land a literary career. He read each book Random House published while standing in the aisle at a bookstore. He sent two reader reviews per week for eight months to an editor at the company. Eventually, the editor contacted Davies.

“He said, ‘Kid, what do you want from me?’ And I said, ‘Ten minutes,’”

Davies said.

He worked as an editor’s assistant at Random House for three years. He edited George Saunders, Colin Powell and Primary Colors by Anonymous (who was later unveiled as political columnist Joe Klein).

His first novel, The Frog King, published in 2002, captured his experience in the publishing industry.

The novel received mass critical praise and became an international bestseller. Bret Easton Ellis adapted a screenplay from the novel, and a production company is moving forward with the project.

Davies followed The Frog King with Goodbye Lemon in 2006 and Mine All Mine in 2008. He has also won several awards for his magazine writing. He has been published in The New York Times and Popular Mechanics.

After a vague number of Scotch whiskies, Davies switched to water. It was late; the crowd waned. He said Oklahoma had been good to him creatively. He felt strong about his writing.

“Now that my house is done, everything unpacked, I might just sit in my chair for a while,” Davies said.

LIFE ACTIVE

Deer hunter

Canadian Country Court Clerk Marie Ramsey-Hirst shares insight into her lifelong love of hunting.

M A RK HA N COC K

BY DEVON GREEN

Don’t tell Marie Ramsey-Hirst that she can’t or shouldn’t do something. She’s the court clerk for Canadian County and has been a trailblazer since her rise from airplane mechanic through the ranks of the county court clerk’s office. She is entirely a self-made woman.

“I was working as a mechanic and parts person out at El Reno Aviation, and I decided I was tired of having grease under my nails and being in the hot sun all the time,” she said.

She knew Sharon Dill, the court clerk at the time, from daily visits to the post office, and she had her sights set on a job in that office. Each day, when she saw Dill, she would ask for a job in her office.

“I went to secretarial school and started learning working on mainframes [computers]. I got my A+ certification and started learning how to build computers,” Ramsey-Hirst said.

After an opening at the court clerk’s office presented itself, she finally got in and worked her way through every job there.

She was sworn in as court clerk in 2009 and is the person in the office who has worked there the longest. She’s proud of her progress and the fact that, due to her varied experience, she has an intimate understanding of how the entire process works.

Family tradition

What is even more interesting is what she does to relax.

“I’ve been hunting since I was four years old. All my cousins and dad used to squirrel and raccoon hunt, and I got my first rifle when I was seven,” she said.

It was a gift from her father, who recently passed away. It’s a .22-caliber rifle and a treasured possession.

As you can imagine, squirrels are not the easiest animals to hit with a rifle. She graduated to hunting deer in 1978, when she moved to Oklahoma with her first husband. She has been hunting deer with rifles, bows and crossbows ever since.

Though she was married, she often found herself hunting alone, and that was when she rediscovered her love for it and the outdoors.

The peace and quiet and the chance to see things that many do not get to experience in their everyday lives is what she loves.

Marie Ramsey-Hirst at her El Reno home with a bobcat-quail trophy and her Barnett Quad 400 Crossbow.

‘Up close and personal’

But she also got a lot of criticism for hunting because it is considered a man’s domain.

“Years ago, I was always the odd one out. I was a serious tomboy, and ... I was the only one hunting with all the guys, and it wasn’t cool. People would tell me that it wasn’t something for ladies and that I was supposed to act more like a girl,” she said.

The criticism just made her more determined to be as good, or better, than any man. It also made her consider that not long ago, women were just as proficient at these things as men.

“The women who settled this place, they went out and shot rabbits and squirrels for dinner. What else were they supposed to eat?” she said.

Ramsey-Hirst hunts for meat, not for trophies. She reloads her own ammunition

and can clean and dress her own deer.

“When I was a kid, I skinned my own squirrels to get them ready for Grandma to cook, and doing deer is just that on a larger scale,” she said.

Typical of her do-it-yourself approach, she bought a video on how to process deer. She knew the general principle; she just wanted to make sure she was getting the details right. Gutting the game in the field and doing the remaining work back at her house, she turns a deer into cuts like roast or back strap or grinds it for sausage or chili. Her favorite recipe is venison piccata. It calls for the back strap, and she got it from a hunting magazine years ago.

The dish originated in Italy and originally used veal. It calls for the meat to be sliced, coated, sautéed and served in a sauce.

She’s passing on her knowledge and the legacy of hunting to anyone who wants to learn, especially those in her family. And she can tell pretty quickly if it’s going to be something they enjoy and excel at.

“You have to look through the trees. I know it sounds strange, but a lot of people look at the trees, and that’s not where you’re going to see what you need to see,” she said.

It is also where she feels closest to her father. She has been spending a lot of time in the woods, where they made so many memories.

Ramsey-Hirst enjoys bow hunting more than the other methods.

“You have to get so up close and personal, and it’s a real test of your skills,” she said.

She dismisses those who are critical of hunting in general.

“I’m not hunting Bambi, and you can take a pair of binoculars and a camera and you can hunt with those. Where else can you see a bobcat play with an armadillo like it’s a toy? You see things you would never see otherwise,” she said.

Being in nature, away from the hustle of everyday life, is where she finds her peace.

“There is nothing like going to the woods to get your mind out of the gutter.

Being out in nature is where I feel closest to God,” she said.

Deer archery season runs through Jan. 15. Find more information about hunting season at wildlifedepartment.com.

OKLAHOMA GAZETTE | DECEMBER 31, 2014 | 29

SUDOKU/CROSSWORD SUDOKU PUZZLE HARD

WWW.S UDOKU-P UZZLES .N ET

Fill in the grid so that every row, column and 3-by-3 box contains the numbers 1 through 9.

NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD PUZZLE ANSWERS Puzzle No. 1221, which appeared in the December 24 issue.

L O K I

I M I N

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KICKAPOO-CASINO.COM 30 | DECEMBER 31, 2014 | OKLAHOMA GAZETTE

A M I G R M O O E S S E S K

N U S N Y L I N E C A N L A O C D A L E R O T A N I E S O D A N I N A A L O V A P E R E R I N T D E E E D D

P A T T I P A G E

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D O G L I K R E E A D I E R K E A D E I P O U U N C O H P E P R

S K Y V A N E S R U M B A G O D N O

A N N A

T O E N A A N J I T A L E L A V E P I E A C R I I T E E G S T O T R O A P N G A R J T A D E M S

O T T A W A

M A I L O R D H E E R C T I A C R E E E S T O P B E E E L S

D R Z E O G L T I A N N S T D I O N O C D T L I E V R E S L A W

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ACROSS 1 Something put on the spot?

7 Without a mixer 11 Likely feature of a college town 19 One may be removed 20 ___-American 21 Red or white sticker?

22 Homer that leaves people yawning?

24 ‘‘Shucks!’’ or ‘‘Pshaw!’’?

25 Go astray 26 Father-son activity 27 They can be fertilized 29 Pale ___ 30 Majors in acting 31 Domineering 32 Give rise to 34 ‘‘The less you wear, the more you need ___’’ (slogan) 35 ‘‘Pick me, pick me!’’

38 Sauce with a name derived from the Italian for ‘‘pounded’’ 40 Risky chess move, informally 41 Some briefs 42 Southwest tribe after a fistfight?

45 Pad ___ (noodle dish) 47 Part of E.T.S.: Abbr.

48 Piano sonatas, e.g.

49 ___ generis 51 World of Warcraft creatures 54 Navratilova rival 56 Starts recycling, say 60 First lady from Texas 61 Nav. rank 62 War stat 64 Bleacher feature 65 Where a director directs 67 Backstabbing pal?

70 Soon gonna 73 ‘‘Dedicated to the ___ Love’’ 74 Siouan speaker 75 Filch 78 Around 79 Zion National Park material 82 Coast along, with ‘‘by’’ 84 Reader of the Deseret News 85 Break off 86 They’re above abs 88 ‘‘It Came ___ a Midnight Clear’’

89 ___ tide 91 Barn dance that’s free to attend?

96 Seeks change?

98 Hematite, e.g.

100 Together 101 Actress Strahovski of 2000s TV 102 What vinegar has a lot of 103 Proctor’s charge 105 Gawks at 107 Computer addresses: Abbr.

108 Believe it!

109 R.S.V.P., e.g.: Abbr.

110 Where the big buoys are?

111 Makeshift wig, maybe 114 Vagrant after getting kicked off a train, say?

117 Stuff your dad finds ridiculous?

120 Gentle treatment, metaphorically 121 Temple University’s team 122 Saharan nomad 123 The Shawshank Redemption setting 124 Nursing need 125 Charles Schwab competitor DOWN Feel deep compassion Way out Germany’s ___ Basin Pac-12 team, for short Steve Jobs’s successor at Apple Minuses, basically House speaker after Dennis Hastert 8 I will follow it 9 ‘‘___ we done?’’

10 Hockey Hall of Fame locale 11 Playbill info 12 World capital once conquered by Augustus 13 Return to one’s seat?

14 Roy Rogers’s real last name 15 Raven’s cry 16 Cause for a quarantine 17 Moon of Neptune 18 Church leaders 21 Sound of a fly swatter 23 ‘‘___ no biggie’’ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1

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Bear Put-downs Like used cigars, maybe Suffix with social ‘‘Personally, I think .?.?. ,’’ in texts Kate Middleton, e.g.

Complex thing?

Tree whose pods have sweet pulp Lead-in to pressure Was gullible Crush, e.g.

Fattened fowl Nickname for Orlando Pasta with a name derived from the Italian for ‘‘quills’’ Auntie ___ (pretzel chain) German auto ‘‘Good job by you!’’

Stumped? Call 1-900-285-5656 to get the answers to any three clues by phone ($1.20 a minute). The answers to the New York Times Magazine Crossword Puzzle that appeared in the December 24 issue of Oklahoma Gazette are shown at left.

Oklahoma Gazette

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Cognac bottle letters Lawn game ‘‘Or so’’ Bone to pick Celtic battle, say Like President Taft Bygone Trucks, maybe Sedgwick in Warhol films Warrior or downward dog Rhone tributary Some Christmas decorations Computerdom, informally ’Fore Got the chair?

Composer whose name is an anagram of SANTA + ME

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NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE CROSSWORD PUZZLE SEASON’S GREETINGS’ By Joel Fagliano / Edited by Will Shortz

87 90 92 93

Trendy coffee order Joint business venture?

Look Special newsstand offering 94 Illmatic rapper 95 Balance 96 Regal and Encore 97 Lively intelligence 99 Take off 104 Ski resort near Santa Fe 106 Beauty 108 ___ of Man 110 Stillwater’s home: Abbr.

111 ___ Liasson, NPR political correspondent 112 & 113 It’s full of opinions 115 Mil. rank 116 Son of, in Hebrew names 118 Get behind 119 It’s hard to shoot

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OKLAHOMA GAZETTE | DECEMBER 31, 2014 | 31

P ROVI DE D/ B R I T TA N Y P HI L L I P S

LIFE MUSIC

Yesterday’s Yule Singer-songwriter Aaron Pierce welcomes the changes a new year brings.

BY JOSHUA BOYDSTON

Aaron Pierce with Deerpeople and Z Trio 9 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 31 Blue Note Lounge 2408 N. Robinson Ave. thebluenotelounge.com 600-1166 $3

New Year’s Eve is as much a time for reflection as it is a time for looking forward, a date to address the growth and changes you’ve undergone throughout the year before as a means to decide where you want to be a year late. Few Oklahoma artists have utilized 2014 the way that singer-songwriter Aaron Pierce has — he went from an almost total unknown to a standout supporting act and on to something even bigger and better.

Sitting on the cusp of 2015, he has a smile on his face as he imagines where he might go from here.

“It was the year that I came out in the Oklahoma music scene,” Pierce said. “No one knew who I was or anything about me. I felt like I established myself as an Oklahoma artist. Now, the plan is to broaden

my scope and take my music to new places.”

Pierce’s journey isn’t unlike most.

The Kansas-born, Oklahoma-bred musician started out as a hobbyist heavily under the influence of his parents’ record collection, which included Eagles, Jackson Browne and Tom Petty. That was levied with a penchant for tried-and-true blues from the greats — Albert King, Robert Johnson, Stevie Ray Vaughn — and he found himself taking lessons to refine his craft.

“That was the music that, even before I wrote songs, I was attracted to,” Pierce said. “It is roots. As a guitar player, I was attracted to blues music.

There’s not much to it — it’s like three chords — but what it’s actually about is the soul behind it.”

Like turned to love, and soon, an education at ACM@UCO beckoned, but after a few years, he realized that he felt a little creatively stifled and he might actually try writing songs and singing himself.

“When I was 20, I realized that I wanted to be more than a musician. I wanted to write them. Everything just led up to that,” Pierce said. “Not even on purpose, I found myself writing songs. I

32 | DECEMBER 31, 2014 | OKLAHOMA GAZETTE

gave it a go, and the ball has been rolling ever since.”

As a songwriter, his modern voice and sensibilities — he voices a love of Frank Ocean and D’Angelo, amongst others — rest against his classically trained background and taste in all things vintage American. That forwardthinking look back — in the vein of genre-defying indie acts The War on Drugs, Kurt Vile and Oklahoma’s own Horse Thief — makes him a perfect bridge between the Sooner State’s past and future.

“Roots rock and Americana, it’s what I responded to,” Pierce said. “When I was writing, I didn’t set out to have that sound. That’s just what came out. It’s simple structures and song forms that have a groove and some soul.”

That’s all heard on Yesterday’s Changes, the young artists’ new EP (recorded with Trent Bell at Bell Labs in Norman) released in November. It comes only a year after his concerted effort toward becoming an artist of his very own, and songs like “Want to Want” and “Moving Town” are fitting statements of not only who he is but what many his age are up against.

“The undertone of the whole thing

is being 21 and kind of having to see reality,” Pierce said. “There are songs where you’re coming to terms with adulthood but holding on to your innocence … and your optimism. When you’re older, the worries start creeping in, but you don’t want that to stop you from doing what you want to pursue, be it music, love, life or passion.”

Playing New Year’s Eve at Blue Note Lounge with Deerpeople and Z Trio, Pierce doesn’t plan on letting the worries get the best of him; he’s convinced that all the growth he has shown in such a short amount of time bodes well for the long and winding journey ahead of him. Call it his resolution for the foreseeable future.

“I came up with the name with the idea of constantly evolving, constantly trying to find my place as a songwriter and seeing, within the past year, the ups and downs I’ve seen not only in my life but in music,” Pierce said of the EP’s title. “I’ve had a lot of positive things happen as an artist this past year, but it’s about never getting too content and settled into one place. As much as I love what I’m doing, I don’t want to stick around in anything or anywhere too long.”

LIFE MUSIC REVIEWS

Sweet death

BY JOSHUA BOYDSTON

Tim Buchanan would have been forgiven for simply biding his time while awaiting the future of Glow God, one that is on pause at the moment with a member doing research in Germany.

Instead, the singer and guitarist behind that promising Oklahoma City project decided to go J. Mascis on everyone and make a solo album as Cherry Death instead. And just like the Dinosaur Jr. figurehead, Buchanan made an album that breathes the same air as his flagship gig without suffocating in it, producing a distinct addition to that universe that goes to show that the blooming rock songwriter — one of the better Oklahoma has to offer out of that world — is just as formidable on his lonesome as he is with his loyal compatriots in tow.

Brain into Blue Skies is a beanbag chair of a record, a collection of relaxed and sweetly humble song forms of subtly enveloping noise and fuzz. It’s also something of a crate-digger’s paradise, an amalgam of all the finest obscure, deep-stack finds pillaged from a lifetime: ’60s psychedelia, ’70s outsider pop, early ’90s college rock deep cuts and contemporary scuzzy garage punk.

Decidedly somber and toned down, especially in comparison to Glow God’s excellent House of Distractions, the record is carved out a lot of the sonic animal that made House of Distractions so great, but choice cuts from the soft, pink underbelly in lieu of the bristled hair and gnarly fangs of that beast.

Think of it as the migraine-melting, hangover-soothing answer to the unholy night of terror you subjected your body to the night before, and a good one at that.

Buchanan finds his off-kilter answer to easy listening quickly in the blushing “Hole in My Gaze.” A purposefully muddled cocktail of oceanic guitar effects (nettlesome distortion and woolly ringing) becomes a garage soul ballad — think the sweetest side of Ty Segall —heard creeping out of a music box hidden deep in the attic.

Similarly spectral jams “Stay Inside,” “Grapes and Steel” and “Master of the Age” spill and bleed through Brain into Blue Skies like a melted box of crayons, richly colorful puddles that swirl into a messy little gem of a record.

That changes with an ampedup “Take Me Over,” a bridge back to Buchanan’s more unhinged and unruly persona handled deftly enough to forgo any whiplash.

That’s true, too, of “Strange,” a house party anthem with a particularly lethal string of guitar solos — dude can shred — strapped to his back like Rambo ready to take on an entire village. But then it cuts the noise to reveal some tender “oohs” — straight out of the Dolittle playbook of alt-rock romanticism.

Assured and measured every step of the way, Brain into Blue Skies is studied without the stodginess, reverential without the indoctrination, contained without closing off, and Buchanan shows that his talents will shine no matter who is by his side, even if it’s no one at all.

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night Friday, 5:30 & 8 p.m.

Saturday, 5:30 & 8 p.m.

Winter Sleep Sunday, 2 p.m.

Cherry Death Album: Brain into Blue Skies | Available now | cherrydeath.bandcamp.com For movie descriptions and ticket sales visit okcmoa.com OKLAHOMA GAZETTE | DECEMBER 31, 2014 | 33

P ROVI DE D / A L I S E GA FKJE N

LIFE MUSIC

Working men American Aquarium rises from its death bed with a new album and newfound success.

BY JOSHUA BOYDSTON

American Aquarium with Mike and the Moonpies 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 31 Wormy Dog Saloon 311 E. Sheridan Ave. wormydog.com 601-6276 $15

Burn. Flicker. Die. was supposed to be the end for American Aquarium. It was all right there in the title, even as the clock struck zero and time for this hardworking, alt-country band’s flame to be extinguished finally came. The record — made with lauded songwriter Jason Isbell — wasn’t a last grasp at fame but a fond farewell to all those who had stuck along since American Aquarium’s 2006 formation.

But it wasn’t. In fact, quite the opposite happened when the album broke out further than anything they had done before. All of a sudden, the fire under their asses started burning harder than ever with album sales spiking and shows suddenly selling out.

The irony isn’t lost on the guys.

“How funny is it that the record about us not making it is the one that allowed us to make it?” frontman and songwriter BJ Barham said. “Go figure.”

It theoretically could have been

anything — maybe the ceaseless touring schedule finally paying off, luck or some other factor not even on the band’s collective radar. The most likely culprit, though, was the hard-to-swallow subject at the album’s very core.

“Your biggest fear is being a failure,” Barham said of Burn. Flicker. Die.’s fixation on defeat. “Getting out of college and having to stare the real world down smack-dab in the eyes, it’s like ‘Shit. I was never prepared for this.’”

The band’s fifth studio album was all about that disillusionment and disappointment with reality. They wanted nothing more than to spend every day for the rest of their existence playing music for a living, and after years of touring the country to play to as few as handfuls of people, that dream was destined for death. So Barham shared all those frustrations of working toward what felt like nothing and found a crowd of listeners who identified deeply with those same feelings.

“It resonated with people,” Barham said. “It’s a record about failure and working hard, not getting anywhere and having to give up on it. It hit our fans, and hit them hard.”

Roots in North Carolina means hard work runs in Barham’s veins, and he has witnessed his fair share of friends and family struggle hard for something

34 | DECEMBER 31, 2014 | OKLAHOMA GAZETTE

and fail all the same … a fate he was prepared to accept.

“I come from a super blue-collar family,” Barham said. “Needless to say, I was taught from an early age that if you want something, you’ve got to work hard for it. No one’s going to hand it to you.”

That’s what pushed him in even those darkest of times, when success in music felt furthest out of reach.

“There are plenty of bands that make great records who just wait for something to come to them,” Barham said. “I don’t think that happens anymore. You’ve got to earn it.”

That’s a feeling that bonds all the artists that hail from the alt-country wellspring that is Raleigh, North Carolina, the town responsible for Ryan Adams, Whiskeytown and Tift Merrit with The Avett Brothers coming from just down the road a ways (Concord).

“It’s the hotbed for that music,” Barham said. “It’s these punk rock kids who play country music. It’s the idea of working for what you got. It’s the music of the working man.”

And boy is Barham glad that all the blood, sweat, tears and miles out on the road have given him the future he has now. The freshly married frontman is on top of the world and living a dream, and it made the previously impossible seventh studio album Wolves a breeze to create.

“I’ve never been able to write about happy,” he said. “I’ve only ever been able to write about sad, about breaking up, about girls walking away. I’m 100 days sober, and it’s about getting away from all those things that had really held me down for all those years.”

The album also broadens the horizons from American Aquarium’s previous few “earthy” records to include a more heavily alt-rock indebted sound, tipping the scales in the direction of Dawes or Shovels & Rope.

“You can’t make the same record over and over again,” Barham said.

“That gets boring. We made several more traditionally country-sounding records, so we wanted to go with a slightly different style of music. It’s still in that realm, but it’s pushing where that realm could be.”

Where Flicker. Burn. Die. centered on failure, Wolves is centered on success and happiness, and Barham won’t soon forget that its his loyal bandmates that kept him and American Aquarium — playing New Year’s Eve at Wormy Dog Saloon — moving even at the weakest points.

“That’s who we are. It’s about being a pack,” Barham said of the album’s title. “We eat together, we stay together, we travel together … and we look out for each other. This record is the culmination of that.”

2AM, Baker St. Pub & Grill. ROCK American Aquarium, Wormy Dog Saloon. ROCK Aranda, Remington Park. ROCK Avenue, Tapwerks Ale House & Cafe. COVER BAT, Nonna’s Purple Bar. ROCK Bradio/The Fabulous Mid Life Crisis Band/Imzadi, Brady Theater. COVER DEERPEOPLE/Ztrio/Aaron Pierce, Blue Note Lounge.

VARIOUS Gentry, Kendell’s Bar. VARIOUS Hi-Def Howlers, Bricktown Brewery. ROCK Hosty Duo, The Deli, Norman. ROCK Jared Sutton/Jarrod Baker, Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill. ROCK John Legend, WinStar World Casino, Thackerville.

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THURSDAY, JAN. 1 Brent Saulsbury/Will Galbraith/Wayne Duncan, Friends Restaurant & Club. ROCK Cody Canada/Wade Bowen/Jason Boland, Cain’s Ballroom, Tulsa. VARIOUS Edgar Cruz, Skirvin Hilton Hotel. ACOUSTIC Martha Stallings, Jazmo’z Bourbon St. Cafe. PIANO Reese Wilson/Michael Summers, Kendell’s Bar. SINGER/ SONGWRITER The Weathermen, Baker St. Pub & Grill. COVER

FRIDAY, JAN. 2 Aaron Newman Band, Tapwerks Ale House & Cafe. FOLK Bear Costello, Blue Note Lounge. ROCK Brittany Roe, Remington Park. COUNTRY Gentry, Kendell’s Bar. VARIOUS Heart To Heart/I Was Afraid/Headcold/Mourning, The Conservatory. ROCK P ROVI DED

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Laura Leighe, IAO Art Gallery. POP Lower 40, Moonshiners Music House. COVER Pearson Jazz Trio/Mike Turner, Skirvin Hilton Hotel. JAZZ

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COUNTRY Karen Khoury, Legend’s Restaurant, Norman. PIANO Kristen Stehr, Riverwind Casino, Norman. SINGER/ SONGWRITER

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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.

OKLAHOMA GAZETTE | DECEMBER 31, 2014 | 35

Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb

Monkeying around The final chapter of the Night at the Museum franchise is cute, funny and unintentionally poignant.

BY DEVON GREEN

The Night at the Museum franchise is a heck of a lot of fun, and the final chapter comports itself well in that department. The series’ imaginative pretense, combined with great visuals, make it a fun addition to the holiday lineup. Kids will especially enjoy the sillier gags, while adults aren’t left squirming for the credits. That said, the experience isn’t a unique one.

In Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, the familiar cast — Attila the Hun, Sacajawea, Teddy Roosevelt, tiny Octavius and Jedediah and, of course, Dexter the capuchin monkey — is present and accounted for.

There’s a new addition to the team in the form of Laaa, a Neanderthal who, thanks to the exhibit makers at the museum, uncannily resembles Larry (Ben Stiller), whom Laaa calls dad.

On the night of the annual Night at the Museum fundraiser, things go awry with what the public believes is special effects. In truth, something has gone wrong with the magic at the museum.

To save it, Larry must travel to London to save the magic or lose it forever.

The cast is delightful, with new

characters including Rebel Wilson (Pitch Perfect) as Tilly, the British Museum’s night guard who harbors some fanciful ideas of what night guards must be like in America.

The gags are funny, and some of the humor is sophisticated enough to elicit a laugh from only adults.

Sir Ben Kingsley (Exodus: Gods and Kings) is perfect as the regal Pharaoh Merenkahre. Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey) plays a befuddled yet wellmeaning Sir Lancelot.

He grows tiresome in about ten

36 | DECEMBER 31, 2014 | OKLAHOMA GAZETTE

minutes, but, as the characters point out, he did just wake up for the first time.

The absolute best cameo is worth not spoiling, but here’s a hint: It involves one of the Uncanny X-Men and results in one of the best jokes in the movie.

The action moves along at a rapid pace to keep up the suspense. The gags are funny, and some of the humor is sophisticated enough to elicit a laugh from only adults.

The film falls short with the emotional element. Although it is supposedly the finale of the trilogy, the movie tries a little too hard to jerk at the heartstrings of the audience. In most cases, it misses the mark.

Young ones might be affected — not in any traumatic way — but the adults in the audience might feel a tad manipulated.

There are points of high drama.

There are also several particularly funny scenes, but nothing that hits the point of hilarity that most of the actors are capable of.

Stiller seems particularly subdued, especially since we know he is capable of brilliant performances (like last year’s

breathtaking The Secret Life of Walter Mitty). He leaves us wanting so much more.

It feels like he’s phoning it in while Dexter the monkey steals many of the scenes, although he has been doing that since the first film.

For adults in the audience, the poignancy of the film comes from a surprising and unintentional place. The film features both Mickey Rooney and Robin Williams, and seeing them on the big screen has a powerful emotional effect.

This is especially true with Williams. His eyes seem haunted and sad through most of the story; they seem to have lost the spark that was once there. The scenes calculated to evoke the right emotions only work because of the actor’s death.

In one of the high points of the film, Dick Van Dyke is ageless and buoyant — and, boy, does he still have it.

His screen time is all too brief, but it tempers the loss of the other two actors.

Overall, the movie is typical holiday fodder, a lot like popcorn — filling but not particularly nourishing.

P ROVI DED

LIFE FILM

Big-screen writing

BY DANIEL BOKEMPER

As the current academic term ends, one of Oklahoma’s oldest institutions is set to cultivate the metro’s blossoming creative outlet. In the spring semester of 2015, Oklahoma City University (OCU) will introduce an MFA unique within the state: screenwriting.

Orchestrated by program director Fritz Kiersch, the program will be led by the prominent veterans within the field: Richard Wenk, David Simkins and David Golden, all of whom have written madefor-television and studio pictures. Kiersch and Golden shed light upon the new major, including its origins, curriculum and the impact it might have upon the heartland.

In 2000, Kiersch came to Oklahoma City Community College (OCCC) to instruct on the technical aspects of

David Golden

filmmaking. At the time, the Oklahoman film industry was nonexistent.

When Kiersch was added to OCU’s faculty in 2005, he discovered a pressing need for more career opportunities for performing arts students.

“We eventually made film courses for undergraduates and graduates,” Kiersch explained. “Eventually, we started a department, the School of Visual Arts, as well as a minor.”

Last year, the university sought to create a new major to increase graduate study, one that Kiersch said “required significantly less resources than others.”

In time, they created a “low residency” form that allows students to check in with their mentors periodically, culminating in several weeklong residencies of a much higher intensity.

While the initial three residencies will take place in Oklahoma City, the final period will be spent in Los Angeles, where the students’ work will be shared with working professionals. That notion, compounded by the connections already held by the advisors, will yield networking opportunities for the attendees.

When asked if the MFA would be particularly broad in its approach, Kiersch contended that it is a focused approach designed for working professionals who would like to change careers and perhaps see inside the industry.

The three aforementioned mentors fuel the program. To diversify the scholastic concoction, Kiersch focused on “where people find most success in writing,” ultimately determining the curriculum as well as the kind of mentors

he wished to pursue.

Golden, a wizened screenwriter and professor, elaborated in depth upon what the students might come to expect.

“The students will have a chance to work with all three of us,” Golden explained. “They’ll first work together while refining their skills and focuses, while in their second year, they’ll begin to develop something specific.”

Golden insisted upon a method rooted in the reality of the field.

“The way I approach my classes is that I walk into the room with the experiences I have. I attempt to use that experience — good, bad and indifferent — to give the students an idea of both sides of how the business, show business, works. You can only function as a screenwriter if you understand that,” he said.

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P ROVI DE D

A new MFA at Oklahoma City University allows students to work toward a degree in screenwriting.

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY Homework: Send me a list of your top five New Year’s resolutions. I’m at Truthrooster@gmail.com.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) Most salamanders reproduce by laying eggs, but the alpine salamander doesn’t. Females of that species give birth to live young after long pregnancies that may last three years. What does this have to do with you? Well, I expect you to experience a metaphorical pregnancy in the coming months. Even if you’re male, you will be gestating a project or creation or inspiration.

And it’s important that you don’t let your the incubation period drag on and on and on, as the alpine salamanders do. I suggest you give birth no later than July.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Maybe you have had a dream like this: You’re wandering around a house you live in, and at the end of a long hallway you come to a door you’ve never seen before. How could you have missed it in the past? It must have been there the whole time. You turn the knob, open the door, and slip inside. Amazing! The room is full of interesting things that excite your imagination.

What’s more, on the opposite wall there’s another door that leads to further rooms. In fact, you realize there’s an additional section of the house you have never known about or explored. Whether or not you have had a dream like that, Taurus, I’m betting that in 2015, you will experience a symbolically similar series of events in your waking life.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): The Greek god Zeus had seven wives. Themis, Leto, Eurynome, and Hera were among them. Another was his older sister Demeter, and a sixth was his aunt Mnemosyne.

Then there was the sea nymph Metis. Unfortunately, he ate Metis -- literally devoured her -- which effectively ended their marriage. In 2015, Gemini, I encourage you to avoid Zeus’s jumbled, complicated approach to love and intimacy. Favor quality over quantity. Deepen your focus rather than expanding your options. Most importantly, make sure your romantic adventures never lead to you feeling fragmented or divided against yourself. This is the year you learn more than ever before about what it’s

like for all the different parts of you to be united.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Here are three of my top wishes for you in 2105: You will have a clear, precise sense of what’s yours and what’s not yours . . . of what’s possible to accomplish and what’s impossible . . . of what will be a good influence on you and what won’t be. To help ensure that these wishes come true, refer regularly to the following advice from Cancerian author Elizabeth Gilbert: “You need to learn how to select your thoughts just the same way you select your clothes every day. That’s a power you can cultivate. If you want to control things in your life so bad, work on the mind. That’s the only thing you should be trying to control.”

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Author Robert Moss has published 27 books. When he talks about the art of launching and completing big projects, I listen attentively. There’s one piece of advice he offers that would be particularly helpful for you to keep in mind throughout the first half of 2015. “If we wait until we are fully prepared in order to do something, we may never get it done,” he says. “It’s important to do things before we think we are ready.” Can you handle that, Leo? Are you willing to give up your fantasies about being perfectly qualified and perfectly trained and perfectly primed before you dive in?

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): The fish known as the coelacanths were thought to have become extinct 66 million years ago. That was when they disappeared from the fossil record. But in 1938 a fisherman in South Africa caught a live coelacanth. Eventually, whole colonies were discovered in the Indian Ocean off the east coast of Africa and near Indonesia. I foresee a comparable phenomenon happening in your life during the coming months, Virgo. An influence you believed to have disappeared from your life will resurface. Should you welcome and embrace it? Here’s what I think: Only if you’re interested in its potential role in your future, not because of a nostalgic attachment.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): “Nothing brings

people closer than business,” said composer Arnold Schoenberg. You could be living proof of that hypothesis in 2015, Libra. Your drive to engage in profitable activities will be at a peak, and so will your knack for making good decisions about profitable activities. If you cash in on these potentials, your social life will flourish. Your web of connections will expand and deepen. You will generate high levels of camaraderie by collaborating with allies on productive projects.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Deathwatch beetles have a peculiar approach to the mating game. Their seduction technique consists of smacking their heads against a hard object over and over again. This generates a tapping sound that is apparently sexy to potential partners. I discourage you from similar behaviors as you seek the kind of love you want in 2015. The first rule of romantic engagement is this: Sacrificing or diminishing yourself may seem to work in the short run, but it can’t possibly lead to lasting good. If you want to stir up the best results, treat yourself with tenderness and respect.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Dieterich Buxtehude (1637-1707) was a German composer whose organ music is still played today. He was a major influence on a far more famous German composer, Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750).

When Bach was a young man, he decided it was crucial for him to experience Buxtehude’s music first-hand. He took a leave of absence from his job and walked over 250 miles to the town where Buxtehude lived. There he received the guidance and inspiration he sought. In 2015, Sagittarius, I’d love to see you summon Bach’s determination as you go in quest of the teaching you want and need.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Even in normal times, you are a fount of regeneration. Your evergrowing hair and fingernails are visible signs of your nonstop renewal. A lot of other action happens without your conscious awareness. For example, your tastebuds replace themselves every two weeks.

You produce 200 billion red blood cells and 10 billion white blood cells every day. Every month

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the epidermis of your skin is completely replaced, and every 12 months your lungs are composed of a fresh set of cells. In 2015, you will continue to revitalize yourself in all these ways, but will also undergo a comparable regeneration of your mind and soul. Here’s my prediction: This will be a year of renaissance, rejuvenation, and reinvention.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): “Sometimes I can feel my bones straining under the weight of all the lives I’m not living,” says a character in Jonathan Safran Foer’s novel *Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.* If you have ever felt that way, Aquarius, I predict that you will get some relief in 2015. Your bones won’t be straining as much as they have in the past because you will be living at least one of the lives you have wanted to live but haven’t been able to before. How you will handle all the new lightness that will be available?

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): “Erotomania” is a word for the erroneous fantasies people entertain when they imagine that a celebrity is in love with them. Laughable, right? Just because I have dreams of *Game of Thrones* actress Lena Headey texting me seductive notes doesn’t mean that she genuinely yearns for my companionship. And yet most of us, including you and me, harbor almost equally outlandish beliefs and misapprehensions about all kinds of things. They may not be as far-fetched as those that arise from erotomania, but they are still out of sync with reality. The good news, Pisces, is that in 2015 you will have the best chance ever to become aware of and shed your delusions -- even the long-running, deeply-rooted kinds.

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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*

Lease for 24 months.

*Lease financing available on 2015 BMW 528i Sedan vehicles, only at participating BMW centers on leases assigned to BMW Financial Services NA, LLC/Financial Services Vehicle Trust through December 31, 2014. Monthly Lease payments of $499.00 for 39 months based on MSRP of $52,700.00.

*Lease financing available on 2015 BMW 640i Coupe vehicles, only at participating BMW centers on leases assigned to BMW Financial Services NA, LLC/Financial Services Vehicle Trust through December 31, 2014. Monthly Lease payments of $839.00 for 39 months based on MSRP of $81,850.00.

*Lease financing available on 2015 BMW 740Li Sedan vehicles, only at participating BMW centers on leases assigned to BMW Financial Services NA, LLC/Financial Services Vehicle Trust through December 31, 2014. Monthly Lease payments of $839.00 for 24 months based on MSRP of $82,950.00.

2015 X1 sDrive28i

2015 X3 sDrive28i

2015 X5 xDrive35i

$

279

*

Lease for 39 months.

*Lease financing available on 2015 BMW X1 sDrive 28i vehicles, only at participating BMW centers on leases assigned to BMW Financial Services NA, LLC/Financial Services Vehicle Trust through December 31, 2014. Monthly Lease payments of $279.00 for 39 months based on MSRP of $35,250.00.

$

469

*

Lease for 36 months.

*Lease financing available on 2015 BMW X3 sDrive28i vehicles, only at participating BMW centers on leases assigned to BMW Financial Services NA, LLC/Financial Services Vehicle Trust through December 31, 2014. Monthly Lease payments of $469.00 for 36 months based on MSRP of $42,400.00.

$

669

*

Lease for 36 months.

*Lease financing available on 2015 BMW X5 xDrive35i vehicles, only at participating BMW centers on leases assigned to BMW Financial Services NA, LLC/Financial Services Vehicle Trust through December 31, 2014. Monthly Lease payments of $669.00 for 36 months based on MSRP of $61,450.00.