Going Beyond

free every wednesday | Metro OKC’s Independent Weekly | SEPTEMBER 12, 2018

going beyond Factory Obscura unveils its secret new exhibit.

By Nazarene Harris, P. 20

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inside COVER P. 20 Factory Obscura’s new interactive

walk-through installation, Beyond, expands on the collective’s hyper-sensory work and seeks to evolve Oklahoma City residents’ perception of art.

By Nazarene Harris Cover by Tiffany McKnight Photos by Alexa Ace

NEWS 4 State Bob Anthony and Oklahoma

Corporation Commission

6 Marijuana what to know when

buying marijuana and CBD products

Del City police

8 Metro community concerns with 10 Chicken-Fried News

EAT & DRINK 13 Review Shawn’s Sushi 14 Feature Good Times

16 Feature Speedy Spoons

18 Gazedibles chicken (not fried)

ARTS & CULTURE 20 Cover Beyond at Factory Obscura

22 Art Welcome to the Traffic Jam at

OCCC

at St. Paul’s Cathedral

Philharmonic’s 2018-19 season

Tuohy

24 Theater Brightmusic’s Voilà: Viola!

25 Theater Oklahoma City 26 Books Flying Jenny by Theasa 28 Active YogaFest OKC 29 Calendar

MUSIC

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31 Event Guestroom Records’ 15th

anniversary

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32 Event Travis Meadows at The Blue 33 Live music

FUN 34 Puzzles sudoku | crossword 35 Astrology OKG Classifieds 35

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BILLY ocean NOVEMBER 17

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NEWS

Corporate intimidation Oklahoma Corporation Commission employees claim Bob Anthony used intimidation to maintain his position. By Nazarene Harris

There’s a common adage that where there’s smoke there’s fire. The claims of nearly three dozen current and former employees of Oklahoma Corporation Commission lie within a more than 50-page report and range from harassment and physical intimidation to bigotry and a toxic work environment, all of which suggest that a fire has been burning at the commission for years.

In 2011, Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC) paid Oklahoma City law firm The Fidelis Group, LLC $5,000 to conduct an investigation into allegations made against commissioner Bob Anthony’s former aide, Joe Briley.

The report sheds light on Briley’s personality and workplace demeanor, stating that employees went to great lengths to avoid him. Nearly every employee interviewed shared a story of fear or discomfort.

Briley worked at the commission for 12 years, from 2006 until 2018. He died in August of this year. Weeks before his death, he could not be reached for comment.

“He made me feel uncomfortable,” a current employee who wished to remain anonymous said of Briley in a phone interview with Oklahoma Gazette. “He would look me up and down and undress me with his eyes. He had no regard for my personal space and would come too close.”

The inappropriate behavior was so obvious that other employees began to take notice and made plans to watch out for one another.

“Not being alone with Briley has become somewhat of an issue with the women in the office, and they sort of protect one another by being in the area when Mr. Briley is around,” the Fidelis Group report stated.

The report describes Briley as a man who had no tolerance for women in management or for male employees he suspected were homosexual. According to the report, Briley’s office behavior was unpredictable and unstable. He yelled, cursed, made sexually suggestive and homophobic remarks, invaded employees’ personal boundaries and threatened them with their jobs.

In his interview with Fidelis Group, Briley denied all allegations and wrongdoing and claimed that the employees who made accusations against him were doing so to damage the commissioner’s reputation, a belief shared by Anthony.

“He believes some of the issues that have been raised by OCC employees relative to him are political in nature. He feels that he is being used by certain po4

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litical enemies of Commissioner Anthony for their own personal advantage,” a representative of Fidelis Group stated when summarizing his interview with Briley during the internal investigation.

A Fidelis Group representative stated the following in the report regarding similar sentiments that Anthony held: “He believes the allegations … to be politically motivated for the purpose of attacking him through Briley.”

Toxic environment

Former OCC employee Sandra Fendrych said it’s what’s not stated in the report that matters most.

“You have to ask yourself, Why weren’t the claims of the commissioner’s employees reason enough for him to terminate Briley? Why insist on paying an outside party thousands of taxpayer dollars to determine whether or not we were telling the truth? That right there tells you that Bob Anthony didn’t value his employees as much as he valued himself,” Fendrych said.

“When you disregard the concerns your staff has about their safety and their wellbeing, it says a lot about you.”

A former high-level employee of the commissioner who requested to remain anonymous said she believes Briley was socially awkward but not a sexual harasser. Instead, she said, Briley appeared aggressive because Commissioner Anthony used him to gather information for the commissioner that would otherwise be restricted from him.

“If he needed information from a

female employee, he would block her way out of her office. To someone who doesn’t know better, that may appear to be sexual harassment. But from an upper-level management perspective, I know that was Joe’s way of getting information from that person whether they wanted to share or not,” she said.

The employee said Briley was not pleasant to work with and would have been fired had he worked anywhere else.

“He was moved at least four times to different departments because he couldn’t get along with anyone,” she said. “To this day, I think Joe has dirt on the commissioner. Why else would the commissioner keep him there?”

The report was published in 2011 and while prior claims of harassment made against Briley are mentioned within it, the employee interviews collected during the investigation were not substantial enough for Fidelis Group to condemn Briley for sexual harassment in 2011.

Oklahoma Corporation Commission released a statement to Oklahoma Gazette that OCC has a zero tolerance policy regarding sexual harassment. An email reiterating the zero tolerance policy was sent to employees in February of this year, OCC spokesman Matt Skinner said.

During Anthony’s interview with Fidelis Group, the commissioner said he doesn’t believe Briley violated the law but that he might have benefitted from sensitivity training.

Anthony allowed Briley to continue working for him for an additional seven years after Fidelis Group released its report. In March of this year, one month before Anthony filed for re-election, Briley retired from the commission.

Anthony will run for re-election against democratic candidate Ashley Nicole McCray on Nov. 6. Anthony is the longest-serving utility commissioner in the country, having held the position for 30 years. Due to term restrictions, he can serve only one more six-year term.

“I still get a little sick when I think of my time there,” the former employee said. “The commissioner caused a lot of

hurt in a lot of people.”

When asked how a commissioner whose tenure was marked with such interoffice strife could maintain his position for three decades, the employee pointed to Anthony’s family’s success, money and name.

“He is C.R. Anthony, after all,” she said, referring to the department store chain that Anthony’s grandfather launched in Cushing in the 1920s. “Status can get you pretty far in politics.”

Intimidation, she said, is an effective way of maintaining that status.

“This is how intimidation worked at the commission,” she said. “All Bob Anthony had to do was intimidate you once. After he intimidated you once, he didn’t have to do it again because after that first time, you weren’t afraid of him anymore, you were just afraid of being intimidated again … by anyone. If you’re really good at intimidating others, you don’t even have to do it yourself. You can get someone else to do it for you.”

Fendrych said Briley and Anthony used scare tactics against her. “[Anthony] would go around telling us that if we talked to the media we would be fired,” she said.

When Fendrych was diagnosed with bladder cancer, her supervisor allowed her to work from home. It was a decision, she said, that Briley loathed.

“He’d call me and ask when I was coming back to work. The day I was diagnosed, he asked me to come back to the office from my doctor’s appointment so that I could attend a staff meeting,” she said. “I always felt like my job was on the line.”

Current employees at the commission cited a fear of losing their jobs as reason for their quotes to not be attributed with Oklahoma Gazette.

Other than offering Gazette his office’s zero tolerance police regarding sexual harassment, Anthony declined to comment.

Oklahoma Corporation Commission | Photo Nazarene Harris

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Buyer beware

With few regulations surrounding the safety of medical marijuana in Oklahoma, business insiders advise buyers to use discretion. By Nazarene Harris

Medical marijuana regulations rolled out by the state health department in July were met with heavy pushback from the community at large and caused Gov. Mary Fallin to call for revisions and set forth emergency rules on Aug. 1. The new regulations govern the growth, sale and purchase of medical marijuana but don’t address testing, labeling and possible recall needs. That lack of testing, business insiders said, is cause for worry.

“There certainly exists the chance that marijuana containing mold, pesticides and harmful toxins could be sold to Oklahomans,” said Hector Najar, owner of cannabidiol (CBD) and hemp supply store Herban Mother.

Because marijuana is still federally illegal, federal authorities like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) do not offer consumers any legal protection in the event that they are sold a bad product. Safety is, t herefore, maintained either by state mandate or by retailers, should they choose to provide it.

The CBD business is a good example of how federally unregulated goods can have beneficial, harmful or neutral effects on consumers, CBD Plus franchisee Wendy Hampton said.

“Just because something is labeled as safe doesn’t mean that’s the case,” Hampton said.

“There’s no telling what’s in some of the stuff out there.”

Consumers should also know, Hampton said, that a doctor’s go-ahead to use medical marijuana is not a guarantee that the marijuana they buy is safe.

Under current law, a doctor needs only to fill out a form with reasons medical marijuana would be beneficial for the patient. The patient would then use the form to apply for a medical marijuana card they could use at the dispensary of their choice.

Last month, Oklahoma health commissioner Tom Bates voiced his concerns over the lack of testing requirements to the legislative Medical Marijuana Working Group, which is co-chaired by Sen. Greg McCortney (R-Ada) and Rep. Jon Echols (R-Oklahoma City).

“I think it’s important to remember these are things that people will be ingesting into their body,” Bates said. “We want to do all we can to make sure that product is safe for human c on s u mp t i on and that its not adulterated or contaminated in any way.

The only way to do that is to have Third-party laboratory test results show buyers that CBD products at Herban Mother in Oklahoma City are safe to use. | Photo Nazarene Harris

Gazette School1.8(4).pdf

Can-Tek Labs laboratory employees create CBD products from hemp. | Photo Nazarene Harris

some kind of testing structure.”

Adding a mandate that medical marijuana sold in Oklahoma be tested to ensure purity could mean another round of regulations set forth to Oklahomans who have already seen their share of back-and-forth by state government on the issue.

If they don’t take the time to educate you about the product, don’t take a chance in buying anything from them.

Hector Najar Other states have considered such mandates with mixed results. In May, the Arizona Legislature voted on Senate Bill 1420, which would have required safety testing for both mold and pesticides, but it failed to meet a required three-fourths majority. Michigan currently has testing for both types of contaminants, but Massachusetts is currently embroiled in a dispute over cannabis providers “shopping” between the state’s four testing facilities for the most favorable results.

According to FDA guidelines, foods sold in grocery stores across the nation can contain minimal amounts of pesticides as long as labeling conveys such content to the consumer. Medications sold to consumers must also reveal ingredients and possible side effects.

“We get this long list of possible side effects when we get our medicine from the pharmacy,” Najar said. “Right now, with medical marijuana, there’s no long list of side effects, there’s no labeling requirements, no testing guarantee.”

Najar said consumers of medical marijuana who seek pain relief associated with illnesses like multiple sclerosis, fibromy-

algia and cancer have compromised immune systems that will not tolerate pesticides, mold or harmful chemicals.

“Introducing a potentially harmful substance to a person with a weak immune system would be disastrous,” Najar said.

Bates said lawmakers might incorporate testing and labeling requirements into the already-existing regulations when the Legislature returns to session in January.

While medical marijuana is currently legal in Oklahoma, experts estimate that it will not be introduced into the market until early 2019 since all marijuana must be grown within the state and farming cannot technically begin until licensing is underway.

According to Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority, as of Sept. 7, a total of 4,717 applications have been received from patients, caregivers, dispensaries, growers and processors and licenses are currently being mailed to successful applicants.

Marijuana growth, Najar said, takes at least 90 days.

Should medical marijuana become available to consumers before testing and labeling requirements are mandated, Najar said consumers should use the same discretion they use when buying CBD products today.

Questions consumers should ask retailers or dispensaries, Najar said, include whether or not the product is full-spectrum and the company uses a third-party laboratory to ensure that there are no traces of mold, yeast, pesticides or harmful chemicals.

“If they say they test their products, ask to see the results, “ Najar said. “If they don’t take the time to educate you about the product, don’t take a chance in buying anything from them.”

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Tensions overflow Del City community members organized a press conference to address concerns of racial profiling, excessive force and misrepresentation.

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Oklahoma City Black Lives Matter president Sheri Dickerson said it was ironic but not coincidental that she was pulled over by Del City Police while en route to protest the swearing in of the department’s chief, Steve Robinson, on Sept. 4.

“I wasn’t ticketed,” Dickerson said.

“They pulled me over and just took up my time. This happens to me a lot.”

When Dickerson arrived at the Del City County Chambers, protestors of Robinson’s promotion from interim to permanent police chief were wrapping up a press conference they organized to present their concerns to the media.

She missed her chance to be part of the conference, Dickerson said, but she was happy to be in the company of friends Garland Pruitt, president of Oklahoma City’s NAACP chapter, and Sara Bana, director of nonprofit organization Ending Violence Everywhere.

Bana organized the press conference on behalf of community members she said are afraid of Del City police due to their use of racial discrimination and excessive force.

“People in Del City are literally afraid to pull into the parking lot of this police department,” Bana said.

Tension between Del City police and the community they are hired to protect has been brewing for years, Bana said, but peaked in 2012 when former Del City police officer Randy Harrison killed an unarmed 18-yearold black man after a police chase. Dane Scott Jr. was running away from police when Harrison shot him four times in the back. The last shot punctured his lungs and aorta and proved fatal.

Harrison was convicted of man-

slaughter and is currently serving a four-year prison sentence.

Oklahoma County Democratic Party chair and former Occupy OKC member Mark Faulk said Scott’s murder was foreseeable and preventable.

“If you look at the records of officers who use excessive force, you will find a history of aggressive behavior,” Faulk said. “Dane Scott’s killing didn’t come out of the blue.”

This is the Ferguson of Oklahoma.

Mark Faulk Faulk said on Black Friday in 2011, he and other members of Occupy OKC visited two Walmarts in OKC and one in Del City to protest the low wages Walmart employees were earning. In the OKC stores, Faulk said, protestors left as soon as they were asked to by police and did so without incident.

However, in the Del City Walmart, protestors were tackled and arrested while attempting to leave.

Once they were brought into the Del City jail, Faulk said they were handcuffed to chairs in the lobby because cells were full.

Faulk filed a lawsuit against the police department, whose response, he said, was unexpected.

“They were very quick to settle,” Oklahoma City NAACP president Garland Pruitt speaks at a press conference regarding accusations of misrepresentation and racism with the Del City Police department. | Photo Nazarene Harris

Protesters watch as Del City interim police chief Steve Robinson is promoted to permanent police chief on Sept. 4. | Photo Nazarene Harris

Faulk said. “Everything was settled outside of court. They were willing to pay us but not to hear us.”

Faulk said one of the officers who tackled him to the ground on Black Friday was Randy Harrison. Had the police department listened to Faulk’s concerns about the officers’ use of excessive force then, he said, Dane Scott Jr. would still be alive today.

“This is the Ferguson of Oklahoma.

There is a history of aggression in Del City, and not dealing with it has fatal consequences. What I know for sure is that there were two cops who tackled a handful of peaceful protestors to the ground in 2011. One went on to kill Dane Scott Jr. and one went on to become police chief,” Faulk said, referring to Robinson.

Robinson said neither he nor fellow members of the police department use excessive force or racial discrimination and that they take those accusations seriously.

“If there are concerns over how we interact with the community, then we are certainly open to hearing and addressing those concerns,” Robinson said.

“Good cops”

Bana said the majority of police in Del City are “good cops.”

“We know that there are many good, hardworking officers in Del City,” Bana

said. “The integrity they show to the community they serve is undeniable, and we want them to know that we stand with them. This press conference is about creating a culture within the city government and police department that supports people like our good officers.”

One way Del City leaders can better represent their community, Bana said, is to hire minorities.

“In the entirety of Del City’s history, we cannot find even one person of color in an administrative position,” Bana said.

“There are 29 police officers in Del City and not one of them is a person of color.”

Del City’s minority population is growing, Bana said, and with 39 percent of residents currently belonging to a minority race or ethnicity, city government and police need to better reflect and represent them.

There are currently four positions open within the Del City Police Department that Robinson said will go to the most qualified candidates who apply.

“With almost 40 percent of our community being minorities, I am sure that there is a guy who looks like me who is qualified for the position,” Pruitt said.

Pruitt said Robinson spoke with him after Tuesday’s press conference and the two arranged to meet and discuss changes the department can make to satisfy concerns of misrepresentation and excessive force.

“I wish it didn’t have to take us organizing a press conference to make that happen,” Pruitt said, “but I am glad that it’s happening. We are hoping for a productive meeting from which progress can be made. There’s a lot of work to be done here.”

Bana said the group scheduled to meet with Robinson will address the possibility of creating a citizens’ advisory board to work with the police department and a recruiting initiative that will focus on the hiring of minority police officers.

The group also hopes to equip Del City police officers with body cameras, a step toward transparency and community trust already taken by police in OKC.

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friedNEWS

‘Mainstream’ fundraising

After country singer and The Voice judge/coach Blake Shelton spent the spring as an accidental mascot of the Oklahoma teacher walkout, Shelton will become an actual fundraising mascot for the state’s wildlife conservation effort.

In April, an Ada elementary school student gained attention for finding that she shared a textbook that was used by Shelton in 1982. The textbook became a symbol for educators’ fight for increased school funding following a teacher pay raise.

The textbook story garnered national headlines on every conceivable platform, but Shelton never actually made a public statement about Oklahoma’s education crisis — given his mass appeal, we at Chicken-Fried News understand not wanting to wade into the muddy waters of Oklahoma politics.

Imagine our surprise last week when Shelton was appointed to the board of a foundation that will raise money for Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation.

In a vacuum, bringing Shelton’s cache to help the state’s nature preserves and wildlife population fend off some of the complications that come from encroaching human life is an important endeavor.

The state agency doesn’t receive appropriated money from the Legislature, instead using revenue from hunting and fishing licenses and federal excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment. A spokesperson with Oklahoma department of Wildlife Conservation told the Associated Press that Shelton’s status will allow people to see hunting and fishing as “mainstream.”

The nonprofit foundation is still awaiting approval from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

If only Shelton could help make sure that in the future, the state receives at least adequate funding so school districts operating with four-day school weeks isn’t as “mainstream” as hunting or fishing.

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Ol’ Nelly

Remember the time that one Yankee asked if you rode your horse to school when you told him you were from Oklahoma?

You laughed it off, rolled your eyes and secretly dubbed him an idiot for so willingly accepting stereotypes as truth. Well, Chicken-Fried News just met the guy who gave that guy something to talk about.

A handsome older gentleman clad in chaps and a cowboy hat walked into a tractor supply store in Elk City recently and asked store employees if he could bring his horse inside. After management gave the cowboy the goahead, he proceeded to find horse feed for the animal and allowed Ol’ Nelly to carry it on her back to the checkout line.

According to an employees’ Facebook post, which has since gone viral, the cowboy confessed to store workers that both he and the horse were seniors.

“I’m a senior here to buy senior

horse feed for my senior horse. Can he come in?” the cowboy asked upon entering the store.

Okies know that’s proper gentlemen talk for “It’s hot as hell out here and our old asses need some AC and food.”

Under an Oklahoma sun in the dead of summer, we know that not many can stay outside for long, so in all honesty, we applaud the cowboy for taking himself in and lovingly considering the health and wellbeing of his animal.

In our opinion, instances like these are few and far between these days in the Sooner state and any reminders of past glory days are welcome.

Facebook users agreed and responded to the employees’ post with words of praise, encouragement and approval.

“I love the sound of those hooves on that floor!” said one commenter.

“Good for him! They don’t make ’em like that anymore!” said another.

One commenter said the nostalgia she felt watching the video the employee captured of horse and cowboy caused her to rethink her living situation.

“It looks like a pretty nice town and I also like the population,” she said.

“I’ll be thinking about this for later in a few years.”

With the stress, heat and construction all around this state, it’s no

wonder that more of us don’t get comfortable and strip down to our boots … and our roots for that matter.

Since fall is just around the corner, CFN proposes a gathering of folks and their horses at Edna’s Bar near nightfall this weekend.

We can tie our horses up out back so they can catch some cool breezes while we rightfully sip on whiskey and Lunchboxes like our ancestors did after a hard day’s work on the farm. We’ll take a group photo and send it to every Yankee we know.

On behalf of us all, thank you, Lone Ranger, for reminding us of the good old days.

Exotic plot

It all makes sense now.

Joe Exotic ran for governor of Oklahoma as a Libertarian, and while that political doctrine is oriented toward maximizing individual rights and minimizing the role of government in people’s lives, it has its limits.

According to David Boaz’ Libertarianism: A Primer, a true libertarian believes that “each person has the right to live his life in any way he chooses so long as he respects the equal rights of others.”

Well, if a federal indictment handed down against Joseph “Joe Exotic” Maldonado-Passage is a true indicator of Exotic’s Libertarian viewpoint, he missed the “equal rights of others” part on his way to allegedly hiring someone to kill a woman in Florida.

The indictment reports than Exotic, who formerly operated the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park and collects facial piercings and vivid bleach jobs in his spare time, paid an unnamed person $3,000 to go to Texas and obtain a fake ID before traveling to Florida to kill the woman in question.

Before we go farther with this, let’s be clear that the “unnamed” person indeed has a name and isn’t like a horse in a crappy old America song from the ’70s.

This person is probably not named because she or he is a cooperating witness, which is something the CFN team learned from living in the United States for the past two years.

The target of Exotic’s alleged murder-for-hire ire is not named in the indictment, but NewsOK reported that Carole Baskin, operator of Big Cat Rescue in Tampa, Florida, believes she was the target. Baskin and Exotic have sparred for years over the proper care of wild animals, a recurring problem for Exotic, but also because Baskin successfully sued Exotic in 2013 for $1 million for infringing on Baskin’s logo and image designs. So, if you’ve ever been driving down Interstate 35 and a Joe Exotic billboard made you want to get sauced and play with 100 jungle cats in Garvin County, Baskin gets some of the credit thanks to purloined iconography.

Exotic was arrested in — we kid you not — Gulf Breeze, Florida, on the two counts of murder-for-hire. One was for an alleged attempt in July 2016, so he’s allegedly been working this angle for a while. CFN has yet to confirm whether Exotic was arrested while wearing a zebra-patterned G-string and riding a Bengal tiger through a local Bubba Gump franchise, but that’s how we picture it.

“Jeez,” said the lead moderator of Chicken-Fried News’ monthly book club. “This sounded like the plot of a Carl Hiassen novel even before the indictment mentioned Florida.”

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review

EAT & DRINK

Fishing expedition As Oklahoma City diversifies its Japanese offerings, Shawn’s Sushi struggles to keep up.

By Jacob Threadgill

Shawn’s Sushi 5612 Northwest Expressway shawnssushi.com | 405-792-2211 What works: The service is prompt.

What needs work: The overall quality of the fish is lacking.

Tip: It offers a good happy hour at its bar most evenings.

It might come as a surprise, but the case can be made that sushi is now more popular in the United States than it is in Japan. Of course, what qualifies as sushi in the States has become an Americanized version compared to the original, much like pizza and Chinese food.

Still, it’s hard to deny its popularity when even the Homeland grocery store on Classen Avenue is now serving freshly prepared rolls in plastic takeout containers. Especially if you include the ever-increasing sushi-by-way-ofHawaii poke scene, I’m willing to bet you have more than a few people in your office that eat either sushi or poke multiple times per week.

Sushi has developed to become a catchall term. It refers to short-grained rice cooked with vinegar. Maki sushi rolls are the precursor to the giant and overstuffed pinroll-looking rolls that have become so popular in the states.

Traditional maki rolls don’t even usually have raw fish along with rice wrapped in dried seaweed, using ingredients like egg or shitake mushrooms, and the American rolls often get constructed inside-out, rolling the rice Yellowtail nigiri arrived uneven and with palateobscuring Sriracha. | Photo Jacob Threadgill

outside the seaweed.

It’s amazing to me how quickly sushi caught on in the United States following World War II. By the 1960s, Japanese restaurants serving tempura and teriyaki began experimenting with raw fish, serving sashimi and rolls as early as 1963, according to a report from food critic Craig Claiborne in The New York Times.

The first dedicated sushi bar in the country popped up in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo in 1966, according to The Story of Sushi: An Unlikely Saga of Raw Fish and Rice by Trevor Corson. Sushi caught on with Hollywood celebrities after a restaurant opened next to the 20th Century Fox Studio in 1970, and it began to be promoted for its health benefits, especially after the U.S. Senate released a report urging the country to eat more fish.

The longest continuously open sushi restaurant in Oklahoma City is Tokyo Japanese Restaurant, which opened in 1987. The city has embraced long-standing favorites like Sushi Neko and newer concepts like Yokozuna, while the metro area has expanded its Japanese offerings to include excellent ramen shops (Gorō Ramen and Tamashii Ramen House), fusion Yuzo Sushi Tapas and Edmond’s Muu Shabu, which offers shabu-shabu, thin slices of meat cooked in front of guests by dragging it through hot broth.

With such a wide selection of Japanese cuisine available in the metro area, I thought it might be interesting to check in on a restaurant that has caught my attention every time I’ve made the trek westward on Northwest Expressway: Shawn’s Sushi, 5612 Northwest Expressway.

I noticed the restaurant the first time I ever visited OKC in early 2017. “That’s an interesting name for a sushi place; it

doesn’t connote authenticity,” I thought to myself.

As I’ve mentioned several times in recent reviews, the search for “authenticity” is as fruitful as Ponce De León’s quest for the Fountain of Youth. I’ve been guilty of it in the past.

First and foremost, diners should be concerned with whether or not the food is of good quality and tastes good rather than if it is truly “authentic” because often, we’re looking for a version of history that has been whitewashed or exaggerated through nostalgia. It’s like how 1950s-style American diners or Lost Cause Southerners yearn for piece of history that never actually existed.

Robert E. Lee wasn’t an honorable man conflicted in his fight for slave-holding states. The period in which America was “great” came while vast swaths of the population lived under de facto and de jure segregation and the nation’s corporate tax rate was more than twice what it is now.

Only a small percentage of the country’s more than 4,000 sushi restaurants are Japanese-owned. While it takes on average three to four years to rise through Japan’s male-dominated sushi chef ranks, most sushi courses in the

from left Rainbow rolls, spicy yellowtail, spider rolls and a spicy tuna hand roll at Shawn’s Sushi | Photo Jacob Threadgill

United States award certificates within a few months. It has allowed people of all different backgrounds to open up successful sushi and Japanese restaurants across the country, which is the most American story possible.

Shawn’s Sushi is a small and affordable spot, but the savings on the price rear their heads in the final product. I was hopeful that it would be a no-frills place that eschewed presentation and amenities for a quality product and was disappointed.

The hallmark of lower-quality fish is an abundance of the alarmingly pink spicy Japanese mayo, which can often obscure the palate. I couldn’t find a yellowtail or tuna — my two go-to sushi orders — without a spicy option. I enjoyed the spicy yellowtail roll enough that I ordered an additional two pieces of yellowtail nigiri (fish placed on rice) but was disappointed to find the fish unevenly cut and with a large dollop of Sriracha in the center. What little I could taste of the fish that wasn’t obscured by the sugar-filled hot sauce wasn’t as good as the roll. I was hoping for a better cut since my dinner guest and I were the only table at 7 p.m. on a Tuesday evening, which is traditionally the best day The lack of a dinner crowd should’ve been my first warning. I’ve seen a few comments on various Internet reviews of Shawn’s Sushi from loyal customers that there as been a noticeable dip in quality over the years. I wish I could’ve tried that earlier version of Shawn’s Sushi. No matter how much ginger I ate as a palate cleanser, I couldn’t get the taste of spicy mayo out of my mouth.

Shawn’s Sushi can fill a craving if you’re in a pinch and live in the neighborhood, but it’s not worth its own trip.

O kg a z e t t e . c o m | s e p t e m b e r 1 2 , 2 0 1 8

13

EAT & DRINK

Events are encore presentations prerecorded at London’s West End in High Definition (HD), shown in the OCCC Visual and Performing Arts Center Theater, 7777 S. May Ave. All screenings are at 6:00 pm.

and

present

Young Marx • September 16, 2018 1850, and Europe’s most feared terrorist is hiding in Dean Street, Soho. As his life spirals downward, his only hope is a job on the railway. But there’s still no one in the capital who can show you a better night than Karl Heinrich Marx.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time • October. 21, 2018 Under suspicion for the death of a neighbor’s dog, Christopher, with his sharp deduction skills, attempts to solve the mystery. His detective work, forbidden by his father, takes him on a frightening journey that upturns his world.

Frankenstein • November 18, 2018 Frankenstein features Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller alternating between the roles of Victor Frankenstein and his creation. Scientific responsibility, parental neglect, cognitive development and the nature of good and evil, are embedded within this thrilling and deeply disturbing classic tale.

Macbeth • December 2, 2018 Shakespeare’s most intense and terrifying tragedy will see Rory Kinnear and Anne-Marie Duff return to the National Theatre to play Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. The ruined aftermath of a bloody civil war. Ruthlessly fighting to survive, the Macbeths are propelled towards the crown by forces of elemental darkness.

Julie • January 20, 2019 Wild and newly single, Julie throws a late night party. In the kitchen, Jean and Kristina clean up as the celebration heaves above them. Crossing the threshold, Julie initiates a power game with Jean – which rapidly descends into a savage fight for survival.

The Madness of George III • February 3, 2019 It’s 1786 and King George III is the most powerful man in the world. With the King’s mind unraveling (at a dramatic pace), ambitious politicians and the scheming Prince of Wales threaten to undermine the power of the Crown.

King Lear • March 10, 2019 Starring Ian McKellen, King Lear is considered by many to be the greatest tragedy ever written. This story sees two aging fathers – one a King, one his courtier – reject the children who truly love them. Their blindness unleashes a tornado of pitiless ambition and treachery, as family and state are plunged into a violent power struggle with bitter ends.

I’m Not Running • April 28, 2019 Download the VPAC at OCCC Mobile App Now!

f e at u r e

Pauline Gibson has spent her life as a doctor and the inspiring leader of a local health campaign. When she crosses paths with her old boyfriend, a stalwart loyalist in Labour Party politics, she’s faced with an agonizing decision. What’s involved in sacrificing your private life and your piece of mind for something more than a single issue?

Thanks for voting

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Upscale dive With a large patio and inventive drinks, Good Times draws crowds. By Jacob Threadgill

Prior to the opening of Good Times, 1234 N. Western Ave., in June, co-owner Claire Hampton admitted that she had some apprehension about its location, which was previously Fat Dog and changed concepts a few times over the years.

“The location scared me the most, not if we could execute it well,” Hampton said. “I think we have good ideas, but the location kind of worried me. Sometimes locations are cursed, but so far, it has not been an issue.”

Not only has Good Times, armed with a spacious patio and inventive drinks like frozen cocktails and alcohol-filled pouches that essentially become adult versions of Capri Suns debuted to lively crowds, but the area will be bolstered as the ownership group is reviving Drunken Fry across the street later this year.

Rod Meyer of Deep Fork Restaurant Group and previous Drunken Fry proprietor is partnering with Shyon Keoppel, who owns the former Beauty’s Cafe at 1244 N. Western Ave., to revive the Drunken Fry, which left the Donnay Building in early August as the historic building began undergoing renovations.

Hampton and Zack Moore will help update the Drunken Fry’s food and bar menu, much like they did together for Good Times, where they are co-owners.

“It’ll be the same old Drunken Fry, and we will try to stick to its roots,” Hampton said. “I love Drunken Fry, and it was one of the first bars I went to in Oklahoma City, and it will always be special to me. It is crazy that this is happening. I want to keep its integrity and for it to be the same dirty dive bar that it’s always has been.”

Drunken Fry is tentatively scheduled to open before the end of 2018.

The addition of the Drunken Fry will hopefully turn the area into a destination, where customers flow from one establishment to another.

“That’s what is most exciting,” Hampton said.

Good Times operates as what Hampton and Moore refer to as an “upscale dive” in which prices are affordable (imported Victoria beer is $2 every day) and the walls are bright and clean, but artful graffiti is encouraged in the bathroom in an attempt to promote happiness for something that will happen anyway.

“I’ve had a few friends that do graffiti, and they said they’ve never walked into a bar and had someone hand them a marker,” Moore said.

Moore and Hampton are both veterGraffiti is encouraged and beer is cheap at Good Times.| Photo Alexa Ace

Claire Hampton and Zack Moore enjoy Good Times’ unique liquor offerings on the patio. | Photo Alexa Ace

ans of the bar and restaurant industry — Hampton serving as a craft cocktail mixologist and Moore working both in the kitchen and front of the house. They were both adamant that they wanted an unpretentious atmosphere where people can feel like themselves.

“We took everything we ever wanted in a bar that didn’t exist and put it in this one, and it’s worked out pretty well so far,” Hampton said.

Hampton’s sister was in Washington D.C., drinking a wine cooler from a pouch, and it gave her the idea to do something similar at Good Times, but make it a cocktail. The pouches sell for $10 and are equivalent to two drinks. They are available in blue margarita, rum punch and vodka cranberry lemonade.

“We thought it would be perfect for the patio,” Hampton said. “We were heavily

inspired by Austin [Texas] patio bars.”

As the winter gets cooler, the patio — which is surrounded in colorful murals by local artists — will be heated.

In addition to fun adult Capri Suns, Good Times offers monthly selections of frozen drinks for $7. September includes frozen versions of the famous Oklahoma-native club special (vodka, sweet and sour, Sprite) and a frozen Painkiller (coconut cream, spiced rum, orange and pineapple juice topped with fresh nutmeg).

“It’s amazing and done so well that we had to keep it on the menu,” Hampton said of the Painkiller.

“The nutmeg is crucial; it brings it all together,” Moore said.

The kitchen at Good Times stays open until midnight. Everything on the menu can be prepared vegetarian, and a majority of items can be served vegan. The menu is what Moore and Hampton refer to as “stoner food.”

The restaurant serves a nacho cheese Dorito-crusted fried chicken, which is available as a sandwich, inside a French fry burrito or a quesadilla. It offers two types of chili: one standard and a vegan variety made with Beyond Meat crumbles. Stoner nachos have been another big hit, which are glutenfree and vegetarian-friendly.

“I don’t eat meat, so it was important to me,” Hampton said. “Oklahoma City is kind of lacking in that department when it comes to bars. There’s definitely nothing I want to eat open after 10 p.m., so hopefully this can be a destination.”

Polaroid photos line the wall at the front of Good Times after guests walk through the entryway with work from artist Kris Kanaly and through a converted retro refrigerator door.

The idea is for photos of guests to cover the entire main seating area of the bar and restaurant.

Good Times is open 4 p.m.-2 a.m.

Sunday-Friday and opens at 2 p.m. on Saturdays.

green masala rice and green masala chicken 4621 N. May | OKC | 778-8469

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f e at u r e

EAT & DRINK

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Speedy food Edmond-based meal pickup wants to take planning and prep out of your busy hands. By Jacob Threadgill

A driveway conversation between friends has developed into a business designed to help families and single people cut out the meal planning and prep time associated with cooking at home.

Ashley Myers and Christy Stearns met in graduate school classes in the child development program at University of Central Oklahoma and strengthened their bond while swapping stories of the challenges of raising a large family.

“We always had an ongoing conversation on how difficult it is to feed children because they’re so picky,” Stearns said. “We’d call each other to have one of us watch the other’s kids while we go grocery shopping because going to the grocery store has gotten to be the most tedious thing that can happen.”

One evening when Myers brought a meal over to the Stearns’ house — where meal planning around the schedule of five children can be difficult — the two friends hatched the idea for Speedy Spoons, a monthly meal prep service based in Edmond that launched in January.

How it works: Customers choose meal bundle kits that are 5 for $45.99, 10 for $69.99 and 15 for $99.99 that includes produce, sauces and seasonings that are washed, diced and prepared in a health department-approved kitchen.

Meal bundles can be stored in the freezer and include step-bystep instruc-

FOOD & DRINKS AVAILABLE THROUGH THE GRANDSTAND. FOOD AND DRINKS NOT INCLUDED IN THE TICKET PRICE. MUST BE 21 YEARS OR OLDER TO ATTEND.

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Asian lettuce wraps from Speedy Spoons’ April menu | Photo provided

tions and nutritional information.

The meal kits do not include protein or an occasional extra ingredient like butter or sour cream, but leaving those items out allows them to be customizable around vegan, vegetarian and glutenfree diets.

“We know there are other things out there similar to this, and we wanted a different spin,” Myers said. “No one else offers many vegetarian meals, and I’m a vegetarian for 13 years.”

Speedy Spoons offers 10 “speedy suppers” each month that change based on the season and available ingredients, in addition to add-ons ($9.99) like fresh tomato salsa, pumpkin pie overnight oats or energy balls packed with peanut butter, chocolate and flaxseed.

“We think the energy balls are a fun side, but we pack it with flaxseed because we don’t want it just it to be empty calories,” Stearns said. “We research all of the food for nutritional value and health benefits. We try it out on our kids, and they’ve been excited.”

Orders must be made by the second Tuesday of the month and are picked up the following Sunday at Coffee Café, 3700 N. 206th St., Suite D, at the intersection of Covell Road and Portland Avenue in Edmond. All meals are prepared in Coffee Café’s health d e p a r t m e n t- a p p r o v e d kitchen and can be

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Nic’s Place picked up through its drive-thru window between 4 and 5 p.m.

“I love the community that we’re gathering,” Myers said. “A lot of customers have become friends, and at the start of each month, each customer has the opportunity to nominate a family for a free half bundle. We’re big in trying to serve the community and give back. Everyone has been generous.”

Stearns was attracted to the idea of using Speedy Spoons because it cuts out meal planning and prep time at home. As she juggles her schedule around soccer practice and time in the carpool lane, the service makes it easier to ensure her family sits down for a healthy meal together.

“Sometimes my sad joke is that if it weren’t for Speedy Spoons, we would have a frozen pizza every night,” she said. “I feel like Speedy Spoons is the only way we eat healthy, home-cooked meals. In between soccer practice and picking up kids from school, there is no time left. It’s important that we sit down at the end of the day with our family and our children so that we can share and hear. Establishing good relationships and open conversation when they’re young is so important so that when they get older, they feel comfortable. I don’t want to feed my kids processed food; it makes me cringe.

Sometimes it is inevitable that you’re going to make a run to fast food.”

Myers — who does most of the shopping and meal planning while Stearns handles packaging labels and website management — is a customer of Speedy Spoons herself. Each meal is portioned for 5-6 servings, which averages to $6 per bag and about $15 when factoring in additional protein.

Tomato bow tie pasta from Speedy Spoons’ April menu | Photo provided

“Every time our family goes out to eat, it’s at least $50 or $60,” Myers said.

“It’s made a big different in amount of money we’ve saved in the pocketbook.”

She said that the service is good even for people without a large family. Some meal kits can be prepared in the oven and others on the stovetop, but a lot of them are designed for the slow cooker.

Myers said there are plenty of single customers that use the bundles as meal prep for lunches over a week.

Speedy Spoons’ partnership with Coffee Café was important for Stearns to signal boost another locally owned business, in addition to providing approved kitchen space. Coffee Café owner Sabrina Poindexter said that Coffee Café customers have joined Speedy Spoons and vice versa.

“There is overlap for both us,” Poindexter said. “It gives them publicity when people come in and gives us publicity when people come to pick up.

It’s a win-win. There are people that do something similar, but it’s out of their house and it’s not a health department-approved kitchen. It’s nice to know the health department check on all their stuff. For me as a mom, that is an important thing. It also helps my home life easier.”

Visit speedyspoons.com.

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17

g a z e di b l e s

eat & DRINK

Tasty bird

Chicken outside the fried variety doesn’t hold a high enough position in the U.S. protein power rankings, but it can be much more flavorful than the sad, dried-out chicken breast that sometimes tops an uninspired salad. We pay tribute to the best non-fried chicken dishes the city has to offer.

Upper Crust Wood Fired Pizza 5860 N. Classen Ave. ucpizza.com | 405-842-7743

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The process for the namesake dish at La Brasa, pollo al la brasa, begins days before it arrives at your table. The chicken is marinated for over 36 hours in a spice mixture that has over 20 spices before it hits the special charcoal rotisserie. The crispy chicken skin will make you forget the deep-fried version, and the marinade provides memorable depth of flavor.

Florence’s certainly has fried chicken on lockdown with its smothered and sweet potato versions, but for the purposes of this collection of non-fried chicken, do not sleep on its classic chicken and dumplings. There might not be a better meal for sticking to your bones and keeping you full with its hearty gravy and thick but not chewy dumplings.

1437 NE 23rd St. florences.restaurant | 405-427-3663

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At a restaurant known for its freshly fired pizza, the bricked chicken steals the show. If you’ve ever tried to pan-roast a chicken breast and didn’t get the skin crispy enough, add more pressure.

Whether it’s a tinfoil-covered brick or a weighted cast-iron pan, don’t be afraid of the Maillard reaction; it’s where the flavor is created. Upper Crust’s version is marinated in garlic and herbs and cooked to perfection.

Florence’s Restaurant

1310 NW 25th St. labrasaokc.com | 405-524-2251

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By Jacob Threadgill Photos by Jacob Threadgill and Gazette / file

La Brasa

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s e p t e m b e r 1 2 , 2 0 1 8 | O kg a z e t t e . c o m

Bill Glass Jr. - “The Discussion Revolves” (sculpture) Best of Class

Carican Flavors

Cous Cous Cafe

Tandoor

Patrono

Whether the marinade is wet or dry or whether you refer to them as Scotch bonnets or habaneros, the spicy pepper is the key to the Jamaican jerk dry rub or sauce. Carican Flavors serves up the famous jerk chicken in entree portion or as a jerk-seasoned chicken wing. If you want something a little less spicy but just as flavorful, go with the curried chicken.

When it comes to the delectable and tender chicken slow-cooked in a tagine — a heavy clay pot — the choice is a tough one. Do you want sweet or savory?

Customers have the choice of getting the fork-tender chicken with either raisins and sweet onions or mixed vegetables with olives. No matter the choice, you can’t go wrong.

Cooking meat inside of a tandoor — traditionally a cylindrical clay oven with charcoal or wood — allows for unique preparation of protein, particularly chicken. The high-temperature convection process allows the chicken to retain moisture while getting extra flavor from charred edges. Try the marinated chicken at this flavorful gem hidden inside a gas station.

Chicken al Mattone is another version of “chicken under a brick,” but lovable Arts District neighborhood rustic Italian restaurant Patrono takes its version up a notch by topping the crispy bird with salsa verde that is traditionally made with plenty of lemon, vinegar and capers along with fresh herbs for a flavorful punch. Pistachio farro, charred tomatoes and fresh ricotta round out the tasty dish.

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19

ART

ARTS & CULTURE

Fun factor

Factory Obscura is Oklahoma’s first collaborative art experience and promises visitors a second immersive experience with Beyond. By Nazarene Harris

A multitalented artist is currently seeking a home in Oklahoma City. She has many parents who continue to nurture her, and she overflows with creativity, artistic skill and diplomacy.

She excels in networking, logistics and politics. One thing is for sure: She never meets a stranger.

If the collaborative art group Factory Obscura could be personified as one person, this is how cofounders and husband and wife Laura and Laurent Massenat would describe it.

“It takes a lot of different kinds of people coming together to create these exhibits,” Laura said of the group’s first exhibit, Shift and its latest, Beyond, which will run Sept. 22-Dec. 21 at 1522 S. Robinson Ave. Beyond, the group’s artists said, will turn their temporary studio (which used to be a tire shop), into an immersive artistic experience where visitors will be engulfed by themes of darkness, space and mystery handcrafted by local artists and community volunteers.

If the idea sounds foreign, Laurent 20

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said that’s because it is.

There are only a handful of art collective experiences in the nation, and Factory Obscura is the first of its kind in Oklahoma.

“To make Factory Obscura work, you have to have entrepreneurs and logical thinkers, networkers and communicators, artists and creators,” Laurent said.

“You have to have people who will create a magical experience and people who can secure a home and a business for that experience.”

With inspiration from their yoga instructor Thomas Thompson, Laura and Laurent initiated the creation of Factory Obscura in early 2017 after visiting highly acclaimed City Museum in St. Louis.

“It was basically a playground for adults,” Laura said. “We had so much fun and wondered why Oklahoma didn’t have something similar.”

Laura was born and raised in Oklahoma and met Laurent, who was born and raised in France, while the two were studying at University of Oklahoma

in 1991. Laura was working on a degree in education and studying French while Laurent was a foreign exchange student studying engineering. The two married and lived for a few years in France before returning to Oklahoma.

“It wasn’t our first choice,” Laura said.

“But my family was here and we knew we could have a solid foundation here.”

“You cannot beat the economic opportunity that America has to offer,” Laurent added. “The ability to earn a degree and start a business with a minimal amount of money and a connection or two does not happen in France.”

“The belief that you can do anything and the reality that you really can … that’s very American,” Laura said.

The couple returned to Oklahoma for the same reasons Laura’s ancestors settled in the state in late 19th century: They saw potential.

The couple admitted that settling down in the Sooner state was an idea that took some getting used to.

“This is a great place to raise kids,” Laura said. “But there wasn’t much for adults to do when we first started out.”

The couple went on to buy a home in Mesta Park, have four children and invest in their community.

Laurent started the OKC-based engineering firm Obelisk Engineering, Laura joined her children’s school board Photo Tiffany McKnight

A large number of Factory Obscura artists showed up for the artist collective’s public volunteer nights. | Photo Alexa Ace

and together the couple co-founded Elemental Coffee Roasters in 2011 and then Factory Obscura in 2017.

“We put our hearts and our work into our community, and one day we realized it didn’t feel like work,” Laurent said.

“It felt like home.”

Bon vivant

Factory Obscura, Laurent said, is a way to offer Oklahomans bon vivant, French for a social and lively way of enjoying

life. It’s also a way to support the art community in Oklahoma by employing local artists and a way to strengthen the community at large by encouraging volunteers to help artists create exhibit features.

It was basically a playground for adults.

We wondered why Oklahoma didn’t have something similar.

Laura Massenat “We want anyone and everyone to come work with us,” co-founder Kelsey Karper said. “The idea is for these exhibits to be for the people and from the people of Oklahoma.”

Five founders, including the Massenats and Karper, collaborate to produce exhibits created by over three dozen artists and designers. Additional founders include Tammy Greenman and Hugh Meade. While the artists are paid on a contractual basis for now, Karper hopes to offer salary and fulltime employment in the future.

“I have always been interested in the business behind art,” Karper said.

“In order to be economically successful, artists have always been told to create art that is ‘sellable.’ I am interested in creating a business model for artists that allows for artists to experience creative freedom while still earning a profit.”

The first step toward that model, Karper said, is to eliminate the notion of being a nonprofit organization.

Karper helped Factory Obscura become what is known as a “B corporation,” or one that is for profit but also contributes to the community at large.

The company’s status is helping pave the way for its artists to earn decent wages while also contributing to charities of their choice.

After Shift, Factory Obscura was able to donate $1 thousand to an art mentorship program for Oklahoma City high school students. This year, they hope to create a mobile art experience for younger children who attend Oklahoma City public schools.

“Due to budget constraints, some

schools have to choose between offering children music classes or art classes. A lot of people view art as an optional pastime, but we know it’s vital,” Karper said. “How cool would it be to drive a bus to schools and provide kids with art classes and supplies? That’s something we’re working on.”

Homeschool moms Alena Snyder, Kaylyn Cavett and Kaalen O’Bannon take their children to volunteer at Factory Obscura because they believe in the power of art as well.

One rainy weekday night about two weeks before Beyond’s opening night, however, the moms gathered at Factory

from left Factory Obscura volunteers Kaalen O’Bannon, Alena Snyder and Kaylyn Cavett work together to create felt art leaves. | Photo Alexa Ace

Obscura to busy their hands while their kids finished schoolwork at home.

“This makes me think of how women used to gather together and knit,” Cavett said as she cut out shapes of leaves from green felt. “It just feels good to be in good company and not think about all the stresses of life.”

“And you’re not with the same people day in and day out,” O’Bannon said. “I’ve met a lot of friends here.”

Karper said she has seen volunteers from all walks of life enter the doors of Factory Obscura. Homeschool parents and their children, aspiring artists, professionals who work downtown and motorcycle bike groups have all lent a hand to the art projects that will be a part of Beyond.

Founders are searching for investors and a permanent home for Factory Obscura, Karper said. While Shift was free to attend with donations encouraged, a $10 admission fee is required to attend Beyond. There are four doors to the exhibit, Karper said, with each door providing visitors a different path and experience. Season passes can also be purchased for $25.

Visit factoryobscura.com.

Editor’s note: Oklahoma Gazette graphic designer Tiffany McKnight is a member of Factory Obscura. from left Hugh Meade, Laura Massenat, Kelsey Karper, Tammy Greenman and Laurent Massenat are the founders of Factory Obscura. | Photo Alexa Ace

Beyond Sept. 22-Dec. 21 Factory Obscura 1522 S. Robinson Ave. factoryobscura.com $10-$25

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21

ART

ARTS & CULTURE

Brain traffic

Alexis Austin’s exhibit at OCCC was inspired by things in everyday life. By Jeremy Martin

Alexis Austin stood in a gallery filled with her paintings, looking at them.

“It’s just me doing all this,” she said.

Welcome to the Traffic Jam, an exhibition of Austin’s recent mixed-media works, is on display at the Inasmuch Foundation Gallery inside Oklahoma City Community College’s Visual and Performing Arts Center, 7777 S. May Ave., through Oct. 31. Many of the paintings were created using similar materials and methods — fabric dye and paint on tulle, silk and other nontraditional textiles, in some cases discolored with bleach — but stylistically, they differ so dramatically a viewer might not realize they were all made by the same artist.

“I’m always changing,” Austin said.

“If you go and look at everything, you’ll see that nothing stays the same for too long. ...That can be a negative for people.

You usually go to a show, and if it’s one person, you’re going to see all the same, cohesive, but I don’t really care about that. That’s boring to me. When I started this, it was one thing, then basically I would learn something from it and take that to the next piece and so on and so forth.”

Austin, who also has two works on display in Take a Seat: A Group Exhibition of Feminist Art at the Oklahoma City University School of Visual Arts and has another show scheduled for November at IAO Gallery, said she painted all of Traffic Jam in the past couple years after taking a decadelong break from art.

“I hadn’t done anything in, like, 10 years,” Austin said. “It was a major break in my brain. … My husband built me a canvas, and I painted one and was like, ‘That was good.’ And I wanted 22

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another one, so I did another one, and then I just didn’t stop. I was pretty obsessive for six months or so. I work, I have a job, but I would come home and just do this. I would stay up until 4 in the morning doing this, and it was all I wanted to do. I was an art major in college, and it’s always what I wanted to do. I just didn’t have any direction.”

However, she quickly decided she didn’t want to keep painting on canvas.

“The one that I did that was canvas got all fucked up, so I definitely didn’t want to do canvas anymore; none of these are canvas,” Austin said, motioning toward several paintings on the wall. “I was always really experimental, and that’s how I am still. I use a lot of bleach and different fabrics. Those are all tulle, like what tutus are made of, so that’s kind of different.”

Changing her mind about methods mid-painting inspired her to use the caustic cleaning product on some of her work.

“In my first painting, I was using fabric dye instead of paint,” Austin said, “and I was like, ‘I don’t like that,’ so I thought I could use bleach to erase it, and I did and that had a lasting impact on me, But it’s a learning process because you can’t use bleach on everything. It does different things to different fabrics, and I just love it.”

Several of the works created through intentional discoloration were inspired by drawings made by Austin’s daughter, who is very excited to be involved in the art-making process.

“She loves it,” Austin said. “She’s really sensitive to everything I do; if I sell something, she cries. They’re all her favorite. She’s just a magical person.

Alexis Austin’s Welcome to the Traffic Jam is on display at Oklahoma City Community College through Oct. 31. | Photo Alexa Ace

My son is amazing, too.”

Austin said her son is disappointed that he hasn’t so far inspired a painting of his own, but he is busy working on his own stop-motion film. Before Austin returned to painting in October of 2016, she and her husband, an artist and musician, didn’t think of art as a family affair.

“For years, we didn’t promote it with the kids,” Austin said. “It’s really hard to live and be people and then to be pushing this shit on your kids; it takes so much energy. Now that I’ve been getting more into it, they are too.”

Complete art

The exhibit’s title comes from the jumble of ideas and varying styles on display.

“I was having all of my shit up from the last couple of years, and it is such a mix of stuff, I thought it was kind of fitting since you’re in the traffic jam of my mind,” Austin said.

Titles are important to Austin, even if their meaning is sometimes hard to explain.

“I don’t have patience for poorly thought-out names,” Austin said.

“There’s so much going on in your mind when you’re doing this type of thing.

There’s a lot of words that don’t have words, that’s why you’re painting,” The title for the painting “Cry Water” was also inspired by her daughter.

“That’s what she called tears one time,” Austin said. “I thought that was really amazing.”

In every art form, Austin, who also has a background in fashion design and photography and works as a personal chef, is concerned about delivering a completed picture.

“I love composition,” Austin said.

“My photos and my food, the way I put it out there, that’s everything to me. …

Color is so important to me. If I cook a dish for someone that doesn’t have all the right colors in it, if it doesn’t have

A special section devoted to wedding & event planning

green or red or all the right colors, I’ll go home thinking, ‘I didn’t put all the colors; I didn’t do it.’”

While some of the colorful objects in Austin’s paintings appear at first to be abstract figures, she said most of her subjects are everyday objects and scenes from her home.

“To me, that’s a pile of laundry on the bed,” Austin said. “This is domestic life.

Some of those are dishes in an overflowing sink.”

Austin later elaborated in a followup email.

“Most of my stuff is kind of a social commentary,” she wrote. “On my own society on my own bubble. About my own anxieties and insecurities. It is darkness and lightness and negative and positive too. That’s my life. Trying to operate or navigate through the world with my own thoughts and feelings. And a lot of the time, my thoughts are negative and my feelings are hesitant or scared or nervous. … it all comes out of anxiety. … I think. Don’t quote me. Hah. Jk. Quote whatever. Or don’t. I’ll change my mind later tonight I’m sure.”

Visit occc.edu.

Publishing

September 26 & October 3

Call 528.6000 or email advertising@okgazette.com today to reserve your space!

“From spindled to spindling, a spindle”

by Alexis Austin | Photo Alexa Ace

PRESENTED BY:

Welcome to the Traffic Jam

PLATINUM SPONSORS:

1-5 p.m. Mondays-Fridays through Oct. 31 Inasmuch Foundation Gallery Visual and Performing Arts Center Oklahoma City Community College 7777 S. May Ave. occc.edu Free

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23

ARTS & CULTURE

T h eater

Jesus Castro-Bilbi performs with the Brightmusic Chamber ensemble, which begins its 2018-2019 season on Sept. 25 | Photo Michael Anderson / Performing Arts Photography / provided

Added texture

Brightmusic Chamber Ensemble’s first performance of the season focuses on an often-ignored instrument. By Jeremy Martin

What’s the difference between a radio and a viola?

A radio plays music.

How do you know there’s violist at the door?

They can’t find the key and don’t know when to come in.

What’s the definition of “perfect pitch”?

Throwing a viola in the dumpster without hitting the rim.

“There are more viola jokes than for other instruments,” said Amy I-Lin Cheng, pianist and co-artistic director at Brightmusic Chamber Ensemble.

“Oftentimes, the viola is overshadowed.

Usually it’s the inner voice. The violin is the soloist, the cello is the bass, the piano usually gets a feature, but the viola isn’t usually a soloist.”

The underappreciated instrument takes center stage in Voilà: Viola!, Brightmusic’s first concert of the season, scheduled to begin 7:30 p.m.

Sept. 25 at St. Paul’s Cathedral, 127 NW Seventh St. Guest violist Miles Hoffman, founder of American Chamber Players and host of NPR’s “A Minute With Miles” segments about classical music.

“He is really well-spoken and at the same time a wonderful, wonderful 24

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violist,” Cheng said.

On a recent “Minute With Miles” segment, Yale and Juilliard graduate Hoffman discussed his role as a violist in the rich tradition of classical music.

“I’m always aware that when I’m playing a concert, the quality of my performance is of great importance in bringing the music to life for the people who are in that particular audience,” Hoffman told listeners. “So yes, in the limited sphere of my performances and my audiences, my role is critical, and if I play Mozart well, or Brahms, or Beethoven, I’m playing at least a small part in sustaining a vital and beautiful tradition.”

When Mozart added an extra viola, it added a richness, a texture.

Amy I-Lin Cheng Hoffman will join Mark Neumann, Brightmusic’s regular viola player and University of Oklahoma music professor, to perform three works heavily featuring the viola alongside the clarinet, the piano and the cello.

While the importance of the viola in classical music has been frequently downplayed, the string instrument has

had some important champions throughout history.

“Mozart, he wrote six viola quintets,” Cheng said. “He was a violist himself.

He was able to play multiple instruments, but he did like viola quite a bit.

For him, the string quintet, the fact that the viola is the string instrument he chose to double, shows how fond he was of this instrument.”

The composer’s String Quintet in G Minor, K.516, for two violins, two violas, and a cello, will conclude the concert.

“A lot of times Mozart composed in a major key, but this one in G minor is somewhat dark,” Cheng said. “It’s extra dramatic. So this piece is in four movements starting with an elegant yet dark, fast movement. Then it goes on to a minuet, a dance. The third movement goes to a major key, and the closing movement starts in a slow, large-scale cello work and that builds to a fast closing movement to provide a form of relief. It’s a very satisfying piece to listen to.”

The two violas play an important role in the piece, written in 1787 by the Viennese composer.

“When Mozart added an extra viola, it added a richness, a texture,” Cheng said. “It’s warm. The register is lower than the violin, but not as low as the cello. It has almost a human vocal range, and that’s why it matches so well with clarinet. It enriches the inner voice in a quintet; it’s a really warm core.”

String Quintet in G Minor doesn’t feature a clarinet, but the two other pieces on the program will. Lowell Liebermann’s Trio for Clarinet, Viola and Piano, Op. 128 is a contemporary piece written in 2015. Born in 1961, Liebermann made his performing debut playing an original composition at Carnegie Hall at

the age of 16. He currently teaches composition at the Mannes School of Music in New York City.

“The first movement has a serious and nocturne like quality,” Cheng said.

“It’s melodic and dreamy. He alternates that with a jazzy style that also has special effects from the viola. His storytelling is quite wonderful. He contrasts these sections by juxtaposing these characters of dreamy and jazzy styles. Then he has a very slow and pensive second movement, where he dives into his fears. You hear more dissonant intervals, repetitive and consistent drive that brings us to a very exciting end.”

The program’s centerpiece will be a selection of five of Max Bruch’s Eight Pieces for Clarinet, Viola and Piano, written in 1909.

“Bruch is very tonal and very romantic,” Cheng said. “This whole cycle is known for their melodic writing and their rich harmony, the rich interwoven lines between all the musical colors and parts. Bruch composed this piece about 10 years before he passed, and it’s a very mature work.”

The German composer, who died in 1920, is largely remembered today for his virtuoso pieces written for the violin, which, although smaller in size, typically receives more attention than its bigger sibling the viola. The viola’s reputation for getting lost in the mix and the small number of solos it typically receives has caused some to unfairly label viola players as less talented than violinists and to consider the viola as less essential to an ensemble, but Cheng said Brightchamber intentionally selected the program for Voilà: Viola! to showcase the considerable range and depth the instrument has to offer those who listen closely.

“Our program is very diverse,” Cheng said, “and we encourage everyone to come with open ears.”

Voilà: Viola! will kick off Brightmusic’s 2018-2019 season, which also includes Beethoven’s Vienna, featuring University of Michigan professor Aaron Berofsky on violin, on Oct. 30; Russian Romantics, featuring works by Sergei Rachmaninoff and Sergei Taneyev, on Jan. 15; Reeds A-Plenty, featuring works for flute, oboe, clarinet and bassoon, on March 19; Mozart: From Salzburg to Vienna on April 16; and Summer Festival VIII, including the ensemble’s annual Mae Ruth Swanson Memorial Concert, June 10.

Visit brightmusic.org.

Voilà: Viola!

7:30 p.m. Sept. 25 St. Paul’s Cathedral 127 NW Seventh St. brightmusic.org Free-$20

T h eater

ARTS & CULTURE

Heat conductor

Alexander Mickelthwate announces his first full season as Oklahoma City Philharmonic’s music director. By Krystal Yoseph

Oklahoma City Philharmonic’s 2018-19 season sounds off Saturday with a classic selection featuring Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D minor conducted by a new leader in music director Alexander Mickelthwate.

Though the baton was officially passed to Mickelthwate in May 2017, the German-born maestro has spent the last year acclimating to OKC, diving headfirst into its accelerating worldclass amenities and getting to know an array of locals, hotspots and possibly future collaborators as he settles into the establishment’s 31st season of programming.

As Mickelthwate shared the classics programming in 2017-18 with Oklahoma City Philharmonic’s Joel Levine in his 30th and final season, he prioritized setting the stage to get to know his future home in and outside Civic Center Music Hall with sights set for pairings that will be music to all ears.

Wake the dead

“The thing with classical composers is that they’re all dead,” Mickelthwate said. “They aren’t around anymore. These are pieces that are all exciting, but I think of it as they are, in a way, a living museum somehow. I love to figure out a way to put [them] into a real contex t , take

something that was written 200 years ago and then pair it with something contemporary by a living composer hopefully to kind of make it current as much as I can.”

This season opens with The Rebels, a compilation of composers enlightened by revolutionary transitions of t heir respective generations.

Mickelthwate explained the process behind selecting the pieces in the Classics 1 collection of 2018, calling the chosen Beethoven piece (Symphony No. 9) the mastermind’s most famous work, with the “rebellious” factor being that was the first time that any composer added a big chorus and four soloists to the orchestra.

“So that was new,” Mickelthwate said. “That was revolutionary at that time. And also the size of the orchestra itself and the length of the piece was revolutionary. There was never a work written that was so long for symphony orchestra.

So it was beyond at that time, it was crazy to write something like that.”

The Rebels pairs Beethoven with modern-day artist Tan Dun, a living Chinese composer who wrote the film music for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Tan’s Secret of Wind and Birds incorporates the “newest instrument,” Mickelthwate calls it, a cellphone, and then creates a dialog of sorts by using audience participation — something that, in any other performance, could be seen as revolutionary, but not in the best way. Really, don’t do it unless you’re a preselected audience member — the only acceptable usage per Tan’s original intention. Wild Individualism, Classics 2, will feature Sergei Prokofiev’s Concerto No. 1 for Violin in D major and Gustav Holst’s The Planets Oct. 6 with solo violinist Simone Porter.

The new year will bring an air of Independent Creativity Jan. 26 as an ode to the Frankfurt, Germany, native’s German and American influences, incorporating stateside composers including a lauded, contemporary female composer and work from a classical European genius. This piece, Classics 3, will bring an Oklahoman back home for a night to remember. Jennifer Higdon’s present-day Concerto for Harp and Orchestra was commissioned for harpist and Norman native Yolanda Kondonassis and premiered in Rochester, New York, earlier this year.

Also included are performances of Brian Eno’s An Ending (Ascent), Leonard Bernstein’s On the Town: Three Dance Episodes and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Symphony No. 41 in C major (Jupiter).

“This selection is important to me because if you look at it [over centuries,] there are many male composers,” Mickelthwate said of Higdon’s work.

“But things are changing now and I hope to bring more female composers and she is one of them. And Yolanda is from Oklahoma. So this is awesome for me.”

February continues to highlight Mickelthwate’s love of Oklahoma.

Native American history and culture find a home in Impressionist Variations on the Feb. 16, with Chickasaw composer and Norman native Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate’s Fire and Light accompanying Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel from the French Impressionist era along with Argentinian composer Astor Piazzolla.

“One of the things I’m trying to do is to connect with American Indian culture and their rich history,” Mickelthwate said. “And find, in this case, a composer and reflect that when I can. Build a relationship through music and create new ways to come together in a way.”

The classical schedule also includes

Classics 5: Grand Romanticism March 16, featuring guest conductor James Feddeck and pianist Stewart Goodyear performing Franz Schubert’s Symphony No. 9 in C major and Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor; Classics 6: Fantastic Contrasts April 6 featuring works by Dmitri Shostakovich and George Gershwin; Classics 7: Deep German Romanticism May 11 including compositions by Franz Liszt and Johann and Richard Strauss; and Classics 8: Dance of the Seasons June 1, featuring Antonio Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons and Johannes Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 in C minor.

These are pieces that are all exciting, but I think of it as they are, in a way, a living museum somehow.

Alexander Mickelthwate

Pops stars

The Pops program keeps it local by kicking off in mid-Octob er with season six American Idol alum Melinda Doolittle, the former Tulsan whose vocals cross genres from Broadway to soul. Fans of the petite powerhouse can mark Oct. 12-13 in their calendars to see this star in action.

Nov. 29-Dec. 1 might be the catalyst for many holiday traditions this year, as the Philharmonic presents The Christmas Show, complete with Broadway star Nikki Renée Daniels, The Philharmonic Pops Chorale, The Mistletoes and Santa himself.

“It’s beautiful,” Mickelthwate said.

“It looks like, for me … a New York [Radio] City Music Hall-type production.”

Pops will revel in nostalgia in 2019.

Revolution: The Beatles Symphonic Experience Jan. 4-5 pairs fab classics with rare photos of the band. New Yorkbased The Hot Sardines turn Civic Center Music Hall into a speakeasy Feb. 1-2 with period jazz from the 1920s, and Paul Simon’s 1960s classics receive the symphonic treatment March 1-2 with The Sounds of Simon and Garfunkel. The final Pops performance of the 2018-19 season, E.T. The Extra Terrestrial in Concert, features the magic of John Williams’ Academy Award-winning score as performed by the full orchestra and set to an HD projection of the feature film. Mickelthwate said the result is an intense, powerful experience.

Tickets are on sale for the 2018-19 season. Visit okcphil.org.

Oklahoma City Philharmonic music director Alexander Mickelthwate | Photo provided

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ARTS & CULTURE SEPTEMBER 13-23

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7/20/18 1:53 PM

Flying high

Theasa Tuohy honors the memory of her aviatrix mother in her novel Flying Jenny. By Jo Light

Late 1920s America is brought to vivid life on the pages of Flying Jenny, a historical novel by Oklahoma-born writer Theasa Tuohy.

The book, published in May, captures both the exhilaration of early flight and the rough-and-tumble world of New York journalists, through the eyes of two young female protagonists.

The women embark on a barnstorming adventure across the U.S., which lands them eventually in Oklahoma.

One character is Laura Bailey, a tough, quick-witted journalist at a New York City newspaper. The other is Jenny Flynn, a small but spunky Oklahoma City pilot whose high-flying stunts are drawn from the real-life exploits of female pilots of the era, including Theasa Tuohy’s own mother, Theasa Logan Tuohy.

“A lot of the stories I heard as a child are in there in one way or another,” Theasa Tuohy said.

Born in Texas but raised in Oklahoma City, Theasa Logan Tuohy learned to fly from Roy Hunt, a wellknown Oklahoma stunt pilot. Theasa Tuohy said her parents were friends with many other postwar pilots, and her mother got her pilot’s license mostly “for the fun of it.”

Hunt tried to teach Theasa Logan Tuohy flying tricks, but she was reluctant.

“She was so tiny that she had to fly with a pillow behind her,” Theasa Tuohy said. “And she always said she worried that she would fall out when they were flying upside down.”

Like Theasa Tuohy’s mother, the character Jenny Flynn uses a pillow to keep herself inside the cockpit during her stunts. The character (named after an aunt in her family) also wears pants,

just as Theasa Logan Tuohy wore Jodhpur breeches and boots, which was unconventional for the period. And the World War I-era plane Jenny Flynn flies in the book is a Curtiss JN-4 — colloquially known as the “Jenny.”

Other moments of aviation history also make their way into Flying Jenny.

For instance, in the novel’s opening chapter, Jenny Flynn impresses Laura Bailey and other New York City onlookers with a dangerous stunt, flying under all the East River bridges.

The real-life inspiration for this sequence was young pilot Elinor Smith, who pulled off the same flight in 1928.

Smith was 17 years old, and she later told The New York Times in an Oct. 22, 1928, interview that the stunt was “easy.”

A lot of the stories I heard as a child are in there in one way or another.

Theasa Tuohy Theasa Tuohy said she set her book in 1929 because that was the year of the first women’s transcontinental air derby, a race humorist Will Rogers jokingly called the “Powder Puff Derby.”

It was an exciting time full of new opportunities for female pilots.

In fact, after the derby, pilots Amelia Earhart and Louise Thaden decided to form a professional aviator organization, inviting all female flyers at the time to join. After 99 members signed up, the group named themselves the “Ninety-Nines.” Today, the NinetyNines has its international headquarters in Oklahoma City.

Flying Jenny was partly inspired by Theasa Logan Tuohy, the author’s mother. | Photo provided

As one of the few female pilots of the era, Theasa Logan Tuohy was invited to join, but she declined. Theasa Tuohy said her mother remained proud of her accomplishments and joined the organization later in life. She was buried with her Ninety-Nines pin.

Inspired women

If these two female pilots inspired the character Jenny Flynn, then Theasa Tuohy’s own background as a reporter and editor certainly informed the creation of Laura Bailey.

Theasa Tuohy spent several decades working at various news publications, including The Star-Ledger in Newark, New Jersey (where she was the first woman on the copy desk); The Detroit News (where she was the first female assistant city editor); and the Associated Press.

She said, much like Laura Bailey, she often faced setbacks and criticism as a woman in a male-dominated field.

“Well, when I was hired, for example, at Newark,” Theasa Tuohy said, “the only reason I got the job was the guy was desperate. Somebody had just quit, and he didn’t have someone to fill a spot on the copy desk. And they’d never had a woman there. So when I interviewed, he was like, ‘Well, I don’t know. I’ll let you try for a week and see if you can do it.’”

Journalism is a strong foundation of Theasa Tuohy’s fiction work. Her first novel, The Five O’Clock Follies, also follows a female reporter working as a war correspondent in Vietnam.

The period setting in Flying Jenny required exhaustive research, which Theasa Tuohy said she enjoyed as much as the writing process. Her digging led to fascinating discoveries of oftenoverlooked historical facts.

For instance, research into Ponca City and Pawhuska history took her to the famous 101 Ranch, where popular Wild West shows were staged, as well as to the Reign of Terror murders in

OCCC 2018-2019 Performing Arts Series Oklahoma City Community College and CityRep Theatre present the Osage Nation in the 1920s. One character in Flying Jenny even learns they might have some connection to this part of Oklahoma history.

Theasa Tuohy declined to discuss that particular plot point, not wanting to spoil one of the book’s surprises for readers.

She said she was also delighted to learn about a Ponca City stunt performer at the 101 Ranch who, in 1928, attempted to climb out of an airplane, down a rope ladder and onto the back of a running Brahma bull. The plane crashed in a field, but the pilot and performer survived. A similar scene made it into Flying Jenny.

“There’s crazy stuff throughout the whole book like that,” Theasa Tuohy said.

“And it’s all true; it’s all based on fact.”

Despite her career taking her around the country, Theasa Tuohy sometimes travels back to her native Oklahoma City. She held a book signing at the Ninety-Nines’ Museum of Women Pilots on Aug. 25.

Museum manager William Long acknowledged the depth and influence of Theasa Tuohy’s writing.

“Ms. Tuohy’s book is impactful for this generation to see what life for an aviatrix was like back in the 1920s and 1930s,” Long said. “While the characters are fictitious, the events are real.

These stories are an inspiration for future women pilots.”

Theasa Tuohy said she believes her readers have “a lot of fun” with her work and hopefully experience the same amazement she felt while learning about and researching aviation history. The spirit of the work, she said, comes from a personal place and grew out of the relationship she had with her mother.

“And the characters are very real because they’re very real people to me,” Theasa Tuohy said. “Me and my mom, in some ways.”

Visit theasatuohy.com.

Don’t miss the 60th anniversary celebration of Meredith Willson’s The Music Man with a concert adaptation of the beloved Broadway classic. Starring Oklahoma favorite Jonathan Beck Reed and Oklahoma native and Broadway leading lady Teri Bibb (Christine – The Phantom of the Opera, She Loves Me), and featuring the talents of performers from arts organizations the city over, this unique concert version will be a hit with the entire family!

Friday, September 28 • 7:30 pm Saturday, September 29 • 7:30 pm Sunday, September 30 • 1:30 pm tickets.occc.edu • Box Office: 682-7579 • www.occc.edu/pas OCCC Visual and Performing Arts Center Theater 7777 South May Avenue

Download the VPAC at OCCC Mobile App Now!

Author Theasa Tuohy was inspired by her aviator mother Theasa Logan Touhy and trick aviator Elinor Smith. | Photo provided

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ARTS & CULTURE

List your event in

YogaFest 2018 features classes focused on mindfulness. | Photo provided

Peltier Hall, longtime yogi and founder of The Yoga Room in Tulsa. Additionally, Shanna Teel, CEO of Dr. Shanna Teel & Co., a leadership and organizational development firm, will discuss how yoga has influenced her wellbeing and career over the course of two decades.

Act i v e

Unique experience

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.

Submit your listings online at okgazette.com or e-mail them to listings@okgazette.com.

Sorry, but phone submissions cannot be accepted.

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Mindful stretching

YogaFest OKC returns for a fifth year.

By Daniel Bokemper

2018 is shaping up to be the year of the stretch as the fifth annual YogaFest helps downtown OKC find its inner peace Saturday-Sunday. Encompassing Civic Center Music Hall, 21c Museum Hotel, and Bicentennial Park, the festival is welcoming to seasoned yogis and the yoga-curious alike. This year’s event draws its focus on the notion of mindfulness, bringing together classes, workshops and vendors built around the idea.

Though initially a relatively small, humble gathering, 2018’s YogaFest OKC takes an unprecedented bound toward something larger. Founded in 2014 by Martha McQuaid and Christina Forth, the outing has cascaded into a full weekend of far more than just the practice itself. Despite this shift in size, YogaFest OKC has never strayed from the grassroots efforts it’s founded upon.

Much of the current growth can be attributed to the inclusion of co-directors Alexis Persico Ramsey and Shannon Stephens. Stephens considered a few ways she and her colleague sought expansion of the festival.

“The location downtown allowed us to have space indoors and outdoors,” she said. “We also moved it from one to two days and added a lot of classes that run simultaneously. Additionally, we’re holding more lectures and hosting more vendors and food trucks. Adding these components gives people the chance to choose their own experience.”

Though this year’s YogaFest OKC offers a high amount of options, each piece is still tethered to this year’s theme. An idea that carries a profound gravity within the yoga community, mindfulness entails self-actualization, awareness and the promotion of present-moment living. In this way, yoga is

the vehicle to finding value within each passing breath and minute action.

“Mindfulness felt appropriate this year since we’re adding more than just yoga,” Stephens said. “There’s also going to be meditation, art-making and discussions. We wanted to give our guests, speakers and instructors something to connect with. This theme seemed very relevant, especially now.”

Expanding practice

The expansion of YogaFest OKC not only involves an inclusion of different activities, but also schools of thought. This year, the event welcomes its most-recognizable and high-profile guests to date.

The first headliner Gina Caputo, Yogini on the Loose and founder and director of Colorado School of Yoga in Boulder. Creator of Integrated Vinyasa, Caputo is a reformed workaholic emphasizing alignment and flow, anatomy and energetics and the desperate need to break the office chair-bound routine one often finds themselves lost in. Her work posits the importance of clear thinking and happiness as well as higher quality of life through yoga, meditation and empathy. Caputo will lead a session 9-10:30 a.m. Saturday and 10:15-11:45 a.m. Sunday.

This year’s keynote speaker, Sara Lazar, is a neuroscientist at Harvard Medical School. Through her research, she has examined the underlying mechanisms and beneficial effects of yoga and meditation in clinical settings and within healthy individuals. Her work has been featured in The New Yorks Times and USA Today, on CNN and in the Boston Museum of Science. Lazar’s presentation, How Yoga & Meditation Reshapes the Brain, is 10:45 a.m.-noon Saturday.

The festival will also feature Nicole

Above all else, YogaFest OKC exists to illuminate the burgeoning community within OKC. Despite Stephens’ relatively recent arrival to the state, she has taken note of the momentum it continues to gain.

“One of our goals is to highlight local studios,” Stephens said. “Since I moved here in 2012, I’ve seen several new studios open. YogaFest is a way to bring all of us together. We might teach different styles and different classes, but we’re all working towards a common, local goal.”

Even since last year, the sheer amount of participating studios and instructors has multiplied exponentially. The arrival of more studios also parleys into the inclusion of related fields, like holistic practices and even jujitsu.

“We want to make this a weekend full of different and unique experiences,” Stephens said. “Typically, when you practice yoga or go to a class, you only set aside about an hour to do so.

YogaFest is a complete emersion of activities and classes that not only cause you to be more present but also to connect with others on the same path and discover the different, amazing studios we have in this community.”

Though YogaFest OKC continues to grow, it is at its core an event inseparably tethered to its surrounding community. It is a gathering founded, maintained and attended by people looking to better themselves and each other through one of humanity’s most ancient and timeless practices.

“Yoga makes us calmer, less reactive,” Stephens said. “It makes us feel more connected to ourselves and to each other. It’s beautifully simplistic.

It’s simple, but it changes the way we feel, the way we respond to others and the way we think. This one-hour practice has a profound effect that truly flows into the rest of our day.”

YogaFest OKC is open to all ages and includes events for everyone regardless of skill level, including classes geared toward children. Single-day and weekend passes are available for $75-$150.

Children age 12 and under get in free.

Visit yogafestokc.com.

YogaFest OKC 9 a.m. Saturday – 2:15 p.m. Sunday Civic Center Music Hall, 201 N. Walker Ave. 21c Museum Hotel, 900 W. Main St. Bicentennial Park, 201 N. Walker Ave. yogafestokc.com Free – $150

calendar are events recommended

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

Books

Let’s Get Weird viewers will see random and strange videos and are invited to bring their own tapes to this screening presented by VHS & Chill, 8-10 p.m. Sept. 13. 51st Street Speakeasy, 1114 NW 51st St., 405-463-0470, 51stspeakeasy.com. THU Moses a filmed version of a live stage production about the Biblical leader’s life, Sept. 13 and 15. Cinemark Tinseltown, 6001 N. Martin Luther King Ave., 405-424-0461, cinemark.com. THU-SAT

Brunching with Books a book club meeting every other week, with reading selections chosen by group preference, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays.

Buttermilk Paseo, 605 NW 28th St., 405-605-6660, buttermilkokc.com. SAT

The Sound of Music (1965, USA, Robert Wise) the film adaptation of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s classic musical about the von Trapp family’s escape from Nazi-occupied Austria, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sept. 12.

AMC Quail Springs Mall 24, 2501 W. Memorial Road, 405-755-2406, amctheatres.com. SUN-WED

Comic Book Club meetup to discuss Saga Vol 1

by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples, 2-3:30 p.m.

Sept. 15. Literati Press Comics & Novels, 3010 Paseo St., 405-882-7032, literatipressok.com. SAT

Happenings

Mid-Oklahoma Writers a meetup for local writers featuring guest speakers and literary discussions, 7-9 p.m. Eastside Church of Christ, 916 S. Douglas Blvd., 405-732-0393. WED

Film 3:10 to Yuma (1957, USA, Delmer Daves) a rancher accepts an assignment to put a captured outlaw on a train but his gang stages an escape attempt, 1 p.m. Sept. 19. National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd St., 405-478-2250, nationalcowboymuseum.org. WED The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975, USA, Jim Sharman) an interactive screening of this cult-classic sci-fi musical sex comedy, 8-10 p.m. Sept. 14-15. The Boom, 2218 NW 39th St., 405-601-7200, theboomokc.com.

FRI-SAT

A Boy, A Girl, A Dream (2018, USA, Qasim Basir) a club promoter and a tourist find a connection on the night of the 2016 presidential election, Sept.

14-22, Sept. 14-22. Harkins Theatre, 150 E. Reno Ave., 405-231-4747, harkinstheatres.com. FRI-SAT Deep Deuce Director’s Cut: The Breakfast Club (1985, USA, John Hughes) the classic 1980s teen dramedy will be screened outdoors with costumes representing the stereotypes from the film highly encouraged, 8 p.m. Sept. 14. Deep Deuce Grill, 307 NE Second St., 405-235-9100, deepdeucegrill.com. FRI Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957, USA, John Sturges) Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday take on the outlaw Clanton Gang in this classic Western film, 1 p.m. Sept. 12. National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd St., 405-478-2250, nationalcowboymuseum.org. WED The Insult (2017, Lebanon, Ziad Doueiri) an intense interaction between a Lebanese Christian and a Palestinian refugee becomes a nationally discussed court case, 2 p.m. Sept. 16. Meinders School of Business, NW 27th St. and McKinley Avenue, 405-2085351, okcu.edu. SUN

African Drumming Class try playing the drums or get a chance to show your skills; drums provided for those without, 7-8:30 p.m. Sept. 19. Norman Cultural Connection, 1017 Elm Ave., 405-201-9991. WED All About Trees: OKC’s Urban Forest guest speaker Brian Dougherty from the Oklahoma City Community Foundation will discuss the results of the recent citywide inventory of trees in parks and public spaces, 6 p.m. Sept. 12. Will Rogers Garden Center, 3400 NW 36th St., 405-943-0827, okc.gov. WED Cattle Baron’s Ball an evening of live country music, games, auctions and food benefitting the American Cancer Society, 6-11 p.m. Sept. 15. Farmers Public Market, 311 S. Klein Ave., 405-232-6506, okcfarmersmarket.com. SAT Drag Bingo guest hosts Roxie Hart and Maria Bell join MC Luxx Bentley to present an evening of bingo to raise funds for Other Options, Inc. and Great Plains Rodeo Association, 7 p.m. Sept. 16. The Boom, 2218 NW 39th St., 405-601-7200, theboomokc.com. SUN Fiestas Patrias celebrate Mexican Independence Day with food, drinks, live music, children’s activities and more, 1-10 p.m. Sept. 16. Wiley Post Park, 2021 S. Robinson Ave., 405-297-2756, okc.gov. SUN Foodie Friday Latin Food and Mariachi Fest listen to live music and enjoy food and drinks and lawn games at this kickoff event for Hispanic Heritage Month, 7-11 p.m. Sept. 14. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 405-445-7080, myriadgardens.com. FRI Football & Fashion Oklahoma see how the latest game day fashions from several vendors look on the runway, 1 p.m. Sept. 16. Main Street Event Center, 300 E Main St., 405-420-9912, themainstreeteventcenter.com. SUN The Golden Girls Party dress as Dorothy, Rose, Blanche or Sophia at this celebration of the ever-popular sitcom about retired roommates, 8 p.m.-2 a.m.

Sept. 15. FlashBack RetroPub, 814 W. Sheridan Ave., 405-633-3604, flashbackretropub.com. SAT Heartland Husky Rescue Adoption meet puppies and adult dogs in need of homes at this

fundraising event sponsored by Tito’s Vodka, 5-8 p.m. Sept. 15. The Bleu Garten, 301 NW 10th St., 405879-3808, bleugarten.com. SAT Indie Bride: Bridal Show & Market shop for wedding accessories, entertainment, gifts, decor and more from local vendors, noon-4 p.m. Sept. 16. Farmers Public Market, 311 S. Klein Ave., 405-232-6506, okcfarmersmarket.com. SUN Inspiring Conversations with Jeff Krisman the podcast host will interview OkSessions CEO Christian Pearson and communications strategist Daniela Pearson, 6-8 p.m. Sept. 13. [Artspace] at Untitled, 1 NE Third St., 405-815-6665, 1ne3.org. THU International Day of Peace Community Culture Potluck bring a dish to share to celebrate culture and community at this event hosted by the United Nations Association of Oklahoma, 6-8:30 p.m.

Sept. 18. Nappy Roots, 3705 Springlake Drive, 405896-0203, facebook.com/pg/nappyrootsbooks. TUE Mental Health Support Group for LGBTQ a peer support group for people suffering from anxiety, depression and other issues, 6:30-7:30 p.m.

Sept. 5 and 12. The Diversity Center, 2242 NW 39th Street, 405-252-0372. WED Mushrooms and Gnomes in the Gardens learn about mushrooms and make gnomes out of recycled materials at this family-friendly workshop, 1-2 p.m.

Sept. 15. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 405-445-7080, myriadgardens.com. SAT Native American Art Studies Symposium a series of paper presentations from nationally selected undergraduate and graduate students, 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Sept. 15. Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, 555 Elm Ave. Norman, 405-325-3272, ou.edu/fjjma. SAT OKC Spirit Fair learn about crystals, past lives, reiki, auras and more topics of a metaphysical nature, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sept. 15-16. Wyndham Garden Oklahoma City Airport, 2101 S Meridian Ave, 405685-4000. SAT-SUN OKC Vintage Flea Market get your shopping done at the flea market with antiques, collectibles, vintage, crafts and more, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturdays, through Dec. 9. Crossroads Event Center, 7000 Crossroads Blvd. SAT Oklahoma State Fair enjoy carnival games and rides, live music, bull riding, stage shows and more, Sept. 13-23. Oklahoma State Fair Park, 3220 Great Plains Walk, 405-948-6700, okstatefair.com. THU-SUN Oklahoma Women’s Coalition’s 2018 Legislative Summit citizens, advocates, legislators and experts will gather at a working conference to learn about issues effecting women and girls and develop a plan of action for the state’s progress, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Sept. 18. Girl Scouts Western Oklahoma, 6100 N. Robinson Ave., 405-528-4475, gswestok.org. TUE Questionable Trivia compete for prizes by testing your knowledge of various topics, 6-9 p.m. Sept. 18.

The Paramount Room, 701 W. Sheridan Ave., 405887-3327, theparamountroom.com. TUE Wardstock celebrate the second anniversary of Vices bar and venue with live music, henna tattoos, food, drinks and more, 3 p.m.-midnight Sept. 15.

Vices, 1701 E. Highway 66, 405-295-6426, facebook. com/vicesbar. SAT Wood Window Restoration Workshop learn to clean and repair vintage windows in a historic home at this two-day hands-on class, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Sept.

15-16. Overholser Mansion, 405 NW 15th St., 405525-5325, overholsermansion.org. SAT-SUN WWE Live! watch World Wrestling Entertainment matches including AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe, Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Randy Orton and more, 7:30 p.m. Sept. 17. Chesapeake Energy Arena, 100 W. Reno Ave., 405-602-8700, chesapeakearena.com. MON

Food Edmond Farmers Market buy fresh food from local vendors, 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays. Edmond Farmers Market, 24 W. First St., 405-359-4630, edmondparks.com. SAT Food Truck Fridays eat lunch at a variety of food trucks on Friday afternoons and hear live music, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Fridays. Moore Central Park, 700 S. Broadway St., 405-793-5090, centralpark.cityofmoore.com. FRI My Voyage Through Russia observe as chef Ahmad Farnia prepares traditional Russian cuisine, 6:30 p.m. Sept. 17. International Pantry, 1618 W. Lindsey St. Norman, 405-360-0765, intipantry.com. MON

Norman Film Fest Presenting feature films, documentaries, shorts, animated films, music videos, panel discussions and workshops at 10 different venues in downtown Norman, this festival offers something for filmmakers and fans of all ages and tastes. Highlights include Australian adolescent surfing drama Breath, performance-art oddity White Rabbit, feminist tech-startup comedy Freelancers Anonymous (pictured) and Laron Chapman’s locally produced You People. The kickoff party starts 6 p.m. Friday at Whispering Willows Art Gallery, 226 E. Main St., in Norman, and the festival runs noon-midnight Saturday at several locations. Tickets are $10-$100. Visit normanfilmfest.com.

FRIDAY-SATURDAY Photo provided

Paseo Farmers Market shop for fresh food from local vendors at this weekly outdoor event, 9 a.m.-noon Saturdays. SixTwelve, 612 NW 29th St., 405-208-8291, sixtwelve.org. SAT

Youth Art Series: Decoupage Box children will learn about the paper cutting art at this hands-on workshop, 6-8 p.m. Sept. 14. Mustang Parks & Recreation, 1201 N. Mustang Road, Mustang, 405-376-3411, cityofmustang.org. FRI College JumpStart Workshop a training session offering high school students tips on transitioning to college with information about prerequisite classes,

go to okgazette.com for full listings!

She Builds OKC Community construction project Rebuilding Together and partner organization Women Lead Oklahoma have joined with the city’s Strong Neighborhoods Initiative to restore two women’s homes while giving many more women the opportunity to learn repair skills on a real-life job site.

After starting the day with doughnuts and coffee at 7:30 a.m.

Saturday, three volunteer shifts are available. Join the kickoff crew 8 a.m.-noon, the wrap-up crew noon-4 p.m. or the cleanup crew 4-6 p.m. at one of two sites in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. Volunteers are asked to raise $200 through the fundraising site crowdrise.com to cover costs. Call 405-607-0464 or visit rebuildingtogetherokc.org.

SATURDAY Photo bigstock.com

scholarships and more, noon-3 p.m. Sept. 15, Oct. 13 and Oct. 27. Innovation Station, 133 W. Main St., 405733-7333, rose.edu/innovationstation. SAT Disney on Ice presents Dare To Dream several Disney heroines including Belle, Moana, Cinderella and Minnie Mouse find the courage to fulfill their fantasies in this ice skating adventure, Sept. 13-15.

Oklahoma State Fair Park, 3220 Great Plains Walk, 405-948-6700, okstatefair.com. THU-SAT Mac Barnett book signing the author will autograph copies of Mac B., Kid Spy, a children’s chapter book based on historical events, 6-7:30 p.m. Sept, 13.

Best of Books, 1313 E. Danforth Road, 405-340-9202, bestofbooksok.com. WED Movie in the Park: Coco (2017, USA, Lee Unkrich and Adrian Molina) an aspiring musician travels to the afterlife to meet a legendary ancestor, 6-11 p.m. Sept.

15. Mustang Parks & Recreation, 1201 N. Mustang Road Mustang, 405-376-3411, cityofmustang.org. SAT Princess Tea Party an afternoon of fun featuring light snacks, lemonade, games, crafts and indoor activities, 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. Sept. 14. Mustang Parks & Recreation, 1201 N. Mustang Road Mustang, 405376-3411, cityofmustang.org. FRI Scott Westerfeld book signing the author will autograph copies of his new book, Imposters, the latest entry in his best-selling Uglies series, 6-7:30 p.m. Sept. 13. Best of Books, 1313 E. Danforth Road, 405-340-9202, bestofbooksok.com. THU Teen Life-Sized Clue play a giant version of the popular murder-mystery board game, 6-8 p.m. Sept. 13.

Guthrie Public Library, 2701 NW 110th St. Guthrie. THU Wiggle Out Loud dance and sing along to kid-friendly acts including Sugar Free Allstars, Lucky Diaz & the Family Band and more, 10:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Sept. 16 Free.

Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 405-445-7080, wiggleoutloud.com. SUN

Performing Arts American Voices the Richard Zielinski Singers perform “A Change Is Gonna Come,” This Land Is Your Land,” and several other standards from the American

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calendar OKCU PRESENTS

FILM SERIES

c a l e n da r

2018-19

continued from page 29 songbook, 3 p.m. Sept. 16. McFarlin United Methodist Church, 419 S University Drive, (623) 810-0295. SUN Elvis Extravaganza see Elvis Presley impersonators face off to determine who can best imitate “The King,” 7:30-9:30 p.m. Sept.

19. Oklahoma State Fair Park, 3220 Great Plains Walk, 405-948-6700, okstatefair. com. WED

The Foreigner directed by Chuck Tweed, this play is a two-act comedy by American playwright Larry Shue, through Sept. 16.

Jewel Box Theatre, 3700 N. Walker Ave. THU-SUN Hannibal Buress the standup comic, known for Broad City and The Eric Andre Show, will perform, 10 p.m. Sept. 12. Tower Theatre, 425 NW 23rd St., 405708-6937, towertheatreokc.com. WED Humble Vibes an evening of live music and poetry presented by the Guerrilla Breed Collective and Poetry & Chill, 8 p.m. Sept. 14. The Queen Lounge, 2306 N. MacArthur Blvd., 405-606-8616. FRI

The InsulT (2017)

KOSU Live Oklahoma Rock Show Fundraiser Concert musicians including Abbigale Dawn, Erik Oftedahl, Cedar House and more will perform at this show benefiting the public radio station, 7-9 p.m.

Sept. 14. KOSU Radio, 726 W. Sheridan Ave., 855808-5678, kosu.org. FRI

dIrecTed by ZIad doueIrI, lebanon

Richard III the violent downfall of the notorious king during England’s War of the Roses, Sept. 13-28., Sept. 13-28. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 405-445-7080, myriadgardens.com. THU-FRI

Sept. 16, 2:00 PM Kerr-McGee Auditorium

Rigoletto Painted Sky Opera presents Verdi’s classic tragedy about love and betrayal, through Sept. 21. Civic Center Music Hall, 201 N. Walker Ave., 405-297-2264, okcciviccenter.com. FRI

Meinders School of Business NW 27th & N. McKinley

free and open to the public

www.okcufilmlit.org

Starr Lit Night an evening of drag performances hosted by Hemi Starr and Lucie Vuitton and featuring Miley Tucker, Krystal Naomi and London D. Raine, 10 p.m.-1:30 a.m. Sept. 14. The Root, 3012 N. Walker Ave., 405-655-5889, therootokc.com. FRI A Story of Three Teas performance art collective The Prairie Rebellion creates art and costumes from recycled materials accompanied by live music, 8 p.m.

Sept. 14. Bad Granny’s Bazaar, 1759 NW 16th St., 405528-4585, facebook.com/badgrannysbazaar. FRI Young Marx view a live broadcast of this comedy about the early life of revolutionary theorist Karl Marx, presented by the British National Theatre, 6 p.m. Sept. 16. OCCC Visual and Performing Arts Center Theater, 7777 S. May Ave., 405-682-7579, tickets.occc.edu. SUN

Active

September 12 HANNIBAL BURESS September 13

JOHN MARK MCMILLAN September 15 PUNCH BROTHERS September 18 JJ GREY & MOFRO September 22

ALEJANDRO ESCOVEDO September 24 FRANKIE COSMOS September 25

GET THE LED OUT: THE AMERICAN LED ZEPPELIN September 26

COOP SHOWCASE September 27 TODD RUNDGREN Tickets and Info TOWERTHEATREOKC.COM @towertheaterokc 405-70-TOWER | 425 NW 23rd St. OKC 30

s e p t e m b e r 1 2 , 2 0 1 8 | O kg a z e t t e . c o m

Dr. Dennis L. Portis, III Memorial Golf Tournament a four-player golf scramble with proceeds providing financial support for students at Metro Tech, 8 a.m. Sept. 14. Lincoln Park Golf Course, 4001 NE Grand Blvd., 405-424-1421, okcgolf.com/lincoln. FRI Gusto! Family Fun Ride a social group ride for all levels; with pizza, 6:30-8 p.m. Aug. 13. Celestial Cycles, 2929 W. Hefner Road, 405-751-8809, celestialcycles.com. MON

Prairie Dinner Gone Urban Environmentally minded educational nonprofit Green Connection’s 10th annual Prairie Dinner moves to Film Row this year.

Featuring a multi-course dinner provided by locally sourced slow food advocate Kam’s Kookery, wine from Anadarko’s Woods & Waters Winery & Vineyard and music from duo Miss Brown to You, the fundraiser offers a chance to reconnect with nature without leaving the city limits. The dinner begins 6 p.m. Saturday at Dunlap Codding, 609 W. Sheridan Ave. Tickets are $50-$75. Visit greenconnectionsok.org.

SATURDAY Photo provided

Carol Beesley, Bob Nunn, and Alan Atkinson view paintings from the three artists including large landscapes and works inspired by Chinese and Japanese art, through Sept. 30. JRB Art at The Elms, 2810 N. Walker Ave., 405-528-6336, jrbartgallery. com. FRI-SUN Fall 2018 Group Exhibition an exhibition of works from local artists including Kjelshus Collins, John Davidson, Shanina Graves and more, through Nov. 30. The Art Hall, 519 NW 23rd St., 405-2315700, art.theriseokc.com. FRI The Garden Chronicles Plus an exhibition of paintings by artist George Bogart, Sept. 14-Nov. 2.

Norman Santa Fe Depot, 200 S. Jones Ave., Norman, 405-307-9320, pasnorman.org. FRI Glitter & Glam an exhibition of wearable jewelry curated by Jennifer Woods and Erin Merryweather, through Sept. 30. The Paseo Plunge, 3010 Paseo Plunge, 405-315-6224, paseoplunge.org. FRI-SUN HBart Show hosted by Sativa Prophets’ HuckWheat, this biweekly show gives local artists a chance to show-off their talents, 9-11:30 p.m. Sundays. Hubbly Bubbly Hookah & Café, 2900 N Classen Blvd. Ste K, 405-609-2930. SUN Into the Fold: The Art and Science of Origami features origami artists from around the world and displays the techniques of artful paper folding and other unique applications of origami, through Jan. 13, 2019. Science Museum Oklahoma, 2100 NE 52nd St., 405-602-6664, sciencemuseumok.org.

FRI-MON

OKC Wednesday Worlds a fast-paced 30-35 mile ride heading east out of OKC at 20-25 miles per hour, 6 p.m. Wednesdays. The Bike Lab OKC, 2200 W. Hefner Rd., 405-603-7655. WED

Jerry Piper Exhibition the artist’s BoHo Blessing sticks, mixed-media painted wood pieces, will be on display, through Sept. 30. The Purple Loft Art Gallery, 514 NW 28th St., 405-412-7066, thepaseo.org. FRI-SUN

Outpace Cancer Race a 10/5K race and 1 mile walk to raise funds for cancer research and to give aid to patients and their families, 8-11 a.m. Sept. 15.

Stephenson Cancer Center, 800 NE 10th St., 855750-2273, stephensoncancercenter.org. SAT

MFA Inclusive Exhibition view works created by master of fine arts students at the University of Oklahoma, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday through Sept. 17. The Lightwell Gallery, 520 Parrington Oval, Norman, 405-325-2691, art.ou.edu. TUE-FRI

Yoga With Art a one-hour yoga class accompanied with a complimentary mimosa in a gallery of contemporary art, 10:30-11:30 a.m. Saturdays, through Sept. 15. 21c Museum Hotel, 900 W. Main St., 405-982-6900, 21cmuseumhotels.com. SAT

OKC Sketch Crawl using a variety of skeletons as reference, practice drawing animals and humans at this event sponsored by the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sept.

15. Museum of Osteology, 10301 S. Sunnylane Road, 405-814-0006, museumofosteology.org. SAT

Visual Arts American Indian Artists: 20th Century Masters an exhibition of Native art from the Kiowa Six, Harrison Begay, Tonita Peña and more, through May 12, 2019. National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd St., 405-478-2250, nationalcowboymuseum.org. SAT-MON Artist Perspective From Two Views view paintings by Diane Goldschmidt and Diana Robinson, through Sept. 27. Edmond Fine Arts Institute, 27 E. Edwards St., 405-340-4481, edmondfinearts.com. THU Autumn Pop-Up view new work from the studios of Anthony Dyke, Susan Morrison-Dyke, Suzanne Mears and Christie Owen, Sept. 14-Nov. 9. Nault Gallery, Midtown, 816 N. Walker Ave., 405-604-7947. FRI Blurring the Lines of Possibilities wood and metal sculptor Morgan Robinson will deliver an interactive presentation about distortion and its impact on the world, 5-8 p.m. Sept. 13. Oklahoma City University School of Visual Arts, 1601 NW 26th St., 405-2085226, okcu.edu/artsci/departments/visualart. THU

One Thousand Tears multimedia artist Janet O’Neal combines photography, sculpture printmaking and painting in an exhibition of works exploring loss, grief and the healing process, through Oct. 13. [Artspace] at Untitled, 1 NE Third St., 405-815-6665, 1ne3.org.

THU-SAT

The Pancakes & Booze Art Show a pop-up exhibition featuring works by more than 60 local artists as well as body painting, live art creation, cocktails and pancakes, 8 p.m. -2 a.m. Sept. 14.

Farmers Public Market, 311 S. Klein Ave., 405-2326506, okcfarmersmarket.com. FRI Paseo Photofest a juried exhibition of photography and related artworks including film and mixed media creations, through Sept. 29. Paseo Art Space, 3022 Paseo St., 405-525-2688, thepaseo.com. FRI-SAT

Still Looking Gallery Talk join Carol Beesley Hennagin as she leads a gallery talk about the works in her photography exhibit, 1 p.m. Sept. 18. Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, 555 Elm Ave., Norman, 405-3253272, ou.edu/fjjma/exhibitions1/still-looking. TUE Still Looking: The Photography Collection of Carol Beesley Hennagin an exhibition of selections from Hennagin’s extensive collection, including works by Edward Weston, Frederick Sommer and more, through Dec. 30, Through Dec. 30. Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, 555 Elm Ave., 405-325-3272, ou.edu/fjjma. TUE-SUN Studio Gallery’s Featured Show an exhibition featuring paintings, photography and handmade jewelry created by a variety of artists, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, through Oct. 31. The Studio Gallery, 2642 W. Britton Road, 405-752-2642, thestudiogallery.org. THU-WED Take a Seat: A Group Exhibition of Feminist Art view works created by women curated by Jarica Walsh, Trina Kopacka and Cayla Lewis, through Oct. 3. Oklahoma City University School of Visual Arts, 1601 NW 26th St., 405-208-5226, okcu.edu/artsci/ departments/visualart. THU-WED Ticket to Ride Pop-Up view a temporary installation celebrating Ticket to Ride: Artists, Designers, and Western Railways, at Norman’s Santa Fe Depot featuring live music, railroad artifacts and more, 6-10 p.m. Sept. 14. Norman Santa Fe Depot, 200 S. Jones Ave. Norman, 405-307-9320, pasnorman.org. FRI What Legacy Had Wrought conceptual artist Summer Zah’s collage art examines misconceptions about Native culture, through Sep. 14. IAO Gallery, 706 W. Sheridan Ave., 405-232-6060, iaogallery.org. FRI

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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.

Seeds of Being curated by students enrolled in the university’s Native American Art & Museum Studies Seminar, this exhibition examines the impact of art in indigenous communities, through Dec. 30.

Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, 555 Elm Ave., Norman, 405-325-3272, ou.edu/fjjma. TUE-SUN

go to okgazette.com for full listings!

For okg live music

see page 33

event

MUSIC

Track record

Guestroom Records celebrates 15 years of against-the-odds success. By Jo Light

If you’re a fan of vinyl in the Oklahoma City area, chances are you’ve stepped into Guestroom Records at some point.

Maybe it was the Norman location, 125 E. Main St., with its concrete floors and industrial brick wall. Or perhaps you stopped by the newer, bigger Oklahoma City location at 3701 N. Western Ave., which features a limegreen interior and lots of classic album paintings for sale by Steve Keene, the artist who designed Pavement’s Wowee Zowee album cover. There might have been a Klaus Schulze album playing at the time, the store filled with dreamy orchestral music.

Both locations, of course, carry thousands of new and used records and CDs. The story of Guestroom Records begins in Norman, with Justin Sowers and Travis Searle. While attending the University of Oklahoma in 2000, the two students lived in the same dorm, had mutual friends and worked at Pizza Shuttle together. And both loved music.

“I’ve just been into music for a long time, ever since I was little,” Sowers said.

“I started collecting records when I was probably 12 or so.”

Sowers admitted that the 1995 cult classic Empire Records served as a big influence on his aspirations. At the age of 15, he decided he wanted to open a store, too. Sowers said he and Searle “fell into” the idea of opening a place together.

“I don’t know that there was an exact moment,” Sowers said. “We talked about what we would want to do in a record store.

Then it just became talking about what we would want to do in our record store.”

Guestroom Records carries thousands of new and used vinyl releases at its three locations. | Photo Alexa Ace

Vinyl solution

Their first endeavor in 2002 was a kind of door-to-door record delivery service.

“We bought some used records, took some records out of our collection and then also opened up deals with distribution companies and sort of had like a little distro in a Rubbermaid tub,” he said. “We had a pad of phone numbers and just, once a month or so, we would call up and ask, ‘Hey, do you have any money? We’re taking the tub around tonight.’”

If someone said yes, they would take the tub to the customer’s house for them to peruse. They did this, Sowers said, for about six to eight months.

It’s not two guys in a garage anymore.

Justin Sowers Then Sowers and Searle bought a large personal collection from a collector in Norman. Their inventory outgrew the tub, so they began selling out of Sowers’ garage. After about half a year, they got a call.

Suzy Thompson, who helped establish the Opolis music venue in Norman, spotted an available property on Crawford Avenue. Sowers and Searle went for it.

They were both in their early 20s.

“It was terrible,” Sowers said with a laugh. “It had been an auto garage, but then it’d been vacant for, like, eight months or something. But it was super cheap and a pretty decent location.”

With some help from Sowers’ father, they got set up and moved in by 2003. Both friends chipped in savings and large portions of their personal music collections,

totaling about 5,000 CDs and records.

“I went from 2,000 records to — I think I kept 40,” Sowers said. “It was like breaking up with a girlfriend. It was pretty rough. But my record collection is vastly superior these days.”

They happened to open their store long before the widespread resurgence in vinyl’s popularity. At the time, Napster and iTunes were going strong and chains like Tower Records were dying. Sowers called it a “dark day” for record stores.

In Norman, the local Hastings, Borders and Barnes & Noble were still selling music. But Guestroom Records found quick success as the only shop in the area selling vinyl.

“It had been a long time since Norman had seen a really dedicated indie record store,” Sowers said.

The store at 119 N. Crawford Ave. was a bit rough around the edges, but its proximity to Opolis meant bands would stop by often and Sowers and Searle could see shows once a week. Still, they got too big for the former garage and moved onto Main Street in 2005. The move gave the store a higher profile, Sowers said, and made them “a little more serious.”

“We’ll never move from there,” he promised.

Western migration

In 2007, they began planning to open another location in Oklahoma City.

Sowers lived in the area around NW 36th Street and Western Avenue, but Searle actually spotted the storefront for rent on the corner. It was within their budget, so again, they went for it.

Their friend Will Muir joined them.

“There were, conservatively, 400 hooks in the ceiling,” Sowers said. “It was a vintage clothing store that had stuff hung everywhere.”

Currently, the OKC location carries around 5,000 CDs and 40,000 records.

Sowers said it’s busier than the Norman location and has a different personality.

“With Norman, there’s the transient student population,” he said. “Every year, you’ve got an entire new set of people that has to find out about you and an entire set of people that moves away.”

They now have a third store in Louisville, Kentucky, the result of Searle moving away and taking the inventory of a former Bricktown store with him.

Guestroom Records, which is celebrating its 15th anniversary, has thrived in the digital era. | Photo Alexa Ace

The Bricktown location didn’t work out around the same time Searle and his partner Lisa were looking to move. They opened the Kentucky store in 2013. Muir now manages the Norman location.

Stacks of wax

The three friends also started a record label together, Guestroom Records Records, which puts out intermittent releases.

Recently, Sowers secured a rerelease of Soulful Proclamation by Messengers Incorporated for Guestroom’s label. It’s a 1972 album by an OKC soul/funk group. The store gave out the limited reissue during Record Store Day in 2018.

Guestroom Records Records also just reissued Can’t Get Past the Lips, the first album by Oklahoma indie rock band Broncho.

For the store’s birthday celebration Friday-Saturday, Guestroom will have a 15 percent off sale in both locations, free beer from COOP Ale Works and giveaways. Live acts, including the Oh Johnny!

Girls, Tyson Meade, Locust Avenue, Net and LCG & the X, will perform at the Norman location. Sowers said they want to show appreciation for the support the Oklahoma City and Norman communities have given them over the years.

Sowers is proud Guestroom is a place for local artists to hang posters, play gigs or have a place to “meet somebody [from] Craigslist so you can buy a guitar.”

“It’s not two guys in a garage anymore,” Sowers said. “And then two guys in a glorified garage after that on Crawford Street. We’re bringing a lot of new product in, and we have a lot of customers that depend on us and a community that depends on us as a center. We know that’s important. And it’s rare. And we don’t take it lightly.”

Visit guestroomrecords.com.

Guestroom Records Turns 15 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday-Saturday Guestroom Records 125 E. Main St., Norman guestroomrecords.com | 405-701-5974 Free

O kg a z e t t e . c o m | s e p t e m b e r 1 2 , 2 0 1 8

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event

MUSIC

Lighter lyrics

Singer-songwriter Travis Meadows finds hope on his most recent album, First Cigarette.

By Jeremy Martin

If you went to see Travis Meadows in Oklahoma City in the ’90s, he was probably delivering a sermon.

“Way back in the preacher days,” Meadows said, “I used to speak at some churches out that way, but it’s been a long time ago in a life far, far away.”

The Mississippi-raised, Nashvillebased singer-songwriter has co-authored songs recorded by Dierks Bentley (“Riser”) Eric Church (“Dark Side,” “Knives of New Orleans”) and Jake Owen (“What We Ain’t Got”), but he spent 17 years traveling the South as a preacher after converting to Christianity in his 20s. He said he learned at least one important thing from praise and worship music.

“Melodies,” Meadows said. “Christian melodies and hymns, when I was coming up, was in that w or sh ip c r a z e where a ll t he c hu rc hes were making that move from the old hymns to worship music. The lyrical content was atrocious, but the gorgeous, beautiful melodies are easy for people to sing along and remember easily. Everything I was working on when I was writing back then was kind of more tools for the woodshed. If you do a ny t hing long enough, you begin to get good at it.

I had written way before then, but that kind of helped solidify the w r it i ng process, really helped with melodies, and I think there is something to be said for easy, catchy melodies.”

Meadows b e g a n play ing in bands before he was old enough to enter the bars legally.

Traditional employment options were limited after he was diagnosed with bone cancer at 32

s e p t e m b e r 1 2 , 2 0 1 8 | O kg a z e t t e . c o m

the age of 14 and lost his lower right leg to the disease.

“I actually took a test in the state of Mississippi one time, to help you sort out what you want to be careerwise, and every single thing was something that, it wasn’t that I couldn’t do it, but that they wouldn’t hire me because I was missing a leg,” Meadows said. “Highway patrolman, game warden, soldier — all of these things I was immediately disqualified. I was turned down for a job in the meat department at a grocery store where my friend was working. I applied and I thought it was a shoo-in, then he called me and told me that the job wasn’t available and something about insurance, and I hear his boss in the backg r o u n d yelling, ‘Dammit, don’t say t h at ! We can’t let him know that!

T h a t ’s

illegal! Just tell him the job’s filled.’

I had a family doctor at 21 tell me, basically, ‘Buddy, you’re a liability.

You get over there on the ice and fall down and you could sue the store.

So just swallow that jagged pill.’ So that, in a roundabout way, pushed me to pursue music. Most of the good things that happened in my life were accidental.”

When he began writing songs for his 2011 breakthrough Killin’ Uncle Buzzy, Meadows, undergoing rehab for drug and alcohol addiction, wasn’t sure he’d even want anyone else to hear them.

“I was in a really bad place, and one of my counselors suggested I make the record,” Meadows said. “So it was basically survival just trying to figure out a way to get my head clear and try to get my head out of my ass and move forward without dying.”

Though songs “Davidson County Police,” “It Ain’t Fun No More,” and “What We Ain’t Got” contain catchy, memorable hooks and melodies, nothing about the stories they tell and truths they reveal seems easy.

“This record documents almost seven months of me climbing out of a hole that I dug for myself,” read the liner notes for Uncle Buzzy, “a glimpse into the thoughts and honest emotions found in their struggle.”

Though the album and follow-up Old Ghosts & Unfinished Business generated buzz from musicians and critics, Meadows said he wanted 2017’s First Cigarette to offer his audience something more than recollections from his “painful past.”

“I had been singing these extremely painful songs for several years, and First Cigarette was the first time I looked and put myself in the listener’s chair and went, ‘You know, if I had to sit here for 90 minutes listening to these depressing songs, I’d want to shoot myself in the face,’” Meadows said. “So I intentiona l ly st a r ted writing and thinking about some levity, some light and some hope that would fit strategically through some of the heavier content on the record and still not move too far away from what my fans have grown to expect: intelligent and slightly depressing music.”

Though he said opener “Sideways,” which warns about the dangers of repressing painful memories and emotions, is “as dark and deep and as powerful” as anything he’s ever written, more upbeat songs such as “Underdogs,” “Guy Like Me” and the Springsteen-referencing “Pray for Travis Meadows plays The Blue Door Sept. 19. | Photo Joshua Black Wilkins

Meadows’ most recent album, First Cigarette, was released in 2017. | Image provided

Jungleland” are intentionally placed to keep the album from feeling too heavy.

“Some of those are a little lighter to give you a minute to catch your breath,” Meadows said. “It’s like a little bit of comedy in the middle of a horror flick; you just get a break for a minute, a little reprieve if you will.”

He continues to draw inspiration from the ongoing rehabilitation process.

“I get some of my best ideas from recovery meetings and conversations with likeminded people that are as fucked up as I am,” Meadows said.

“There are some very creative people in the circles of the recovery community. Drug addicts and alcoholics are some of the smartest, cleverest, wittiest people alive. Some of them just happen to kill themselves in the process, but you can learn a lot from them.”

First Cigarette’s title track states, “I’m a little more content with who I am than who I was.” The lyric reflects Meadows’ present mindset, he said, simply because he’s never been able to relate anything but his own perspective and experience.

“I’m going to admit something to you,” Meadows said. “I don’t know how to write any other way. … The songs come from living. Some of the better ones come from going through really difficult, challenging situations, and I wish there was a different plan, but sometimes that’s the way it works. …

Life will treat you like a pinball, and you get bumped around and stumble into something that makes sense and you embrace it and start being what that is, and that’s the way music is for me.”

Meadows plays at The Blue Door, 2805 N. McKinley Ave., Sept. 19. Tickets are $20. Call 405-524-0738 or visit bluedoorokc.com.

Travis Meadows 8 p.m. Sept. 19 The Blue Door 2805 N. McKinley Ave. bluedoorokc.com | 405-524-0738 $20

LIVE MUSIC These are events recommended

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

Wednesday, SepT. 12 Adam Aguilar Band, Sidecar Barley & Wine Bar. ROCK

Ravens Three, Full Circle Bookstore. FOLK

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Spinster/Mad Honey/Abbigale Dawn, 51st Street Speakeasy. ROCK Steve Crossley, Louie’s Grill & Bar. R&B

Saturday, SepT. 15 Buddy South, McClintock Saloon & Chop House.

ROCK

at we are

to see wh

out!

ab tweeting

Crimson Devils/The Killings, Blue Note Lounge.

Mom Jeans/Just Friends/Shortly, 89th Street-OKC. POP

ROCK

Howard Brady, Full Circle Bookstore. SINGER/

Neck Deep/Trophy Eyes, Diamond Ballroom. PUNK

Thursday, SepT. 13 51 Junction, Oklahoma State Fair Park. COUNTRY

SONGWRITER

Janet Gardner, Oklahoma City Limits. ROCK

Colt Ford, Oklahoma State Fair Park. COUNTRY

Mickey Gilley & the Urban Cowboy Band, Thunderbird Casino. COUNTRY

Crushed, Resonator. ROCK

Mojo Thief, Oklahoma State Fair Park. ROCK

Felina & the Feels/Alvin James, Lost Highway.

Owen Pickard/Marty Summers/James Townsend, Rodeo Opry. COUNTRY

ROCK

Koolie High & the Tap Band, Ice Event Center & Grill. JAZZ

Roy Book Binder, The Blue Door. BLUES Sunday Flyers, Bedlam Bar-B-Q. ROCK The Sweettalkers/Dresden Bombers, The Deli.

Oneton-Wonton, The Root. JAZZ

ROCK

Schat & the Skeleton Trees/Tribesmen, Red Brick Bar. ROCK

Upon A Burning Body/Nekrogoblikon, 89th StreetOKC. METAL

Friday, SepT. 14

Useless Randy/Pax, The Root. ROCK

Aaron Newman Duo, Newcastle Casino. FOLK

Sunday, SepT. 16

Black Out Bob, Oklahoma City Limits. ROCK

Adam Ledbetter Ensemble, UCO Jazz Lab. JAZZ

Chase Kerby/Paxton Pennington, Opolis. SINGER/

Metro Strings Quartet, Full Circle Bookstore. CLAS-

SONGWRITER

SICAL

Chris Trapper, The Blue Door. POP

Monday, Sep. 17

Honey Blue/Wight Lighters, Bluebonnet Bar. ROCK

Jason Hunt, Sean Cumming’s Irish Restaurant. FOLK

Marty McIntosh, VZD’s Restaurant & Bar. SINGER/

Lead Pony, Blue Note Lounge. ROCK

SONGWRITER

Naturalist/Downward/Overcast, 89th Street-OKC. ROCK Perdido, Rococo. JAZZ

@okgazette

Punch Brothers/Madison Cunningham, Tower Theatre. BLUEGRASS

Garrett Jacobson Organ Trio, Saints. JAZZ John Mark McMillan/Mike Mains & The Branches, Tower Theatre. ROCK

OKG

Jay Statham & The Tokie Show, Brewskey’s. ROCK

Pax, Oklahoma State Fair Park. ROCK

Tuesday, SepT. 18 Country Clique, Friends Restaurant & Club.

COUNTRY

7p.m. Friday, Oct. 05 · $10

TWIN SHADOW WITH

THE IVY

Tickets on sale now at eventbrite.com

Dustin Cooper, Sean Cumming’s Irish Restaurant.

FOLK

JJ Grey & Mofro, Tower Theatre. ROCK Kyle Reid, Scratch Kitchen & Cocktails. SINGER/

SONGWRITER

Mark Edgar Stuart, Blue Note Lounge. SINGER/

SONGWRITER

Will Sexton, Jed Zimmerman, The Blue Door.

SINGER/SONGWRITER

Wednesday, Sep. 19 Community Center, Red Brick Bar. ROCK

Montu Using electronica as a launching pad for jazz-funk-fusion jamming, Norman-based four-piece Montu tours nationally, playing festivals such as Austin’s Waterloo, Denton’s Hot Damn! and Missouri’s Darkening of the Sun and supporting major players Umphrey’s McGee, The Disco Biscuits and George Clinton’s Parliament-Funkadelic. The band will stop in the metro just long enough to lay down some live grooves at one of its usual haunts before hitting the road once more. The show starts 10 p.m. Saturday at Fassler Hall, 421 NW 10th St. Admission is free. Call 405-609-3300 or visit fasslerhall.com.

Derek Harris, Sidecar Barley & Wine Bar. ROCK

7p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 10 · $10

HUNNY/Hot Flash Heatwave, 89th Street-OKC. ROCK

Saintseneca/Black Belt Eagle Scout, Opolis. FOLK

WITH

MIPSO

JASON SCOTT

Tickets on sale now at eventbrite.com Live music 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 to listings@okgazette.com.

Sorry, but phone submissions cannot be accepted.

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329 E Sheridan Ave, Oklahoma City, OK 73104 (405) 974-4711 | acm-uco.com sponsored ponsored by

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O kg a z e t t e . c o m | s e p t e m b e r 1 2 , 2 0 1 8

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puzzles 1

New York Times Magazine Crossword Puzzle MIXED FEELINGS

By Hal Moore | Puzzles Edited by Will Shortz | 0916

ACROSS

83 Option for moving an investment 1 No-goodnik 87 Neighborhood 4 “So long, dear boy” 88 Parts of many law firm names 8 Soap scent 91 Camera setting 13 Test for purity 18 Bullet ____ (1950s fashion 92 “____ out!” (ump’s cry) 93 Hello or goodbye fad) 94 ____ long way 19 Hiding, with “up” 95 Dukes 20 TD Garden, for one 21 Jordan who directed Get Out 96 O’er and o’er 97 Folkie Guthrie 22 Overwhelm 98 Chocolate-chip- cookie 24 Result of a photographic starters? memory 100 One of the Corleones in 26 Neighbor of Hungary

The Godfather 27 Harbinger 102 Symbol of luck 29 Whopper inventor 105 Public nudity or foul language 30 Tierra ____ Fuego 109 Place to chat 31 Minor’s opposite 33 Where the U.S. won its 1,000th 110 “Princess ____ Theme” (John

Williams composition)

Summer Olympic gold 111 Chocolatier since 1845 34 Chooses 112 Stooge with a bowl cut 35 Id restrainer 113 Checks 36 Sangfroid 114 Certain break point 37 Pair of diamonds?

115 Cries of approval 41 Swear 42 Robin Williams role in a 1991 116 Division in geology

blockbuster DOWN 44 Reasons to hold one’s nose 1 Small balls 45 Fan sounds 2 Graveside container 46 Horror assistant 3 Attire for the Bond villain Ernst 47 Big name in water filters

Stavro Blofeld 48 “I wish!”

4 Author Morrison 50 Black brew 53 Item at the end of a wizard’s 5 Director of the M*A*S*H finale staff 6 Simple top 54 Man just after kneeling?

7 Skillful 55 Uncompromisingly direct 8 Delayed 56 Classic Chevy 9 Weights, informally 58 Bunker 63 They involve mixed feelings 10 Court do-over

… or a hint to four squares in 11 Parallels 12 Islamic state

this completed puzzle 13 Copycats 67 2008 campaign slogan 14 Short time, for short 68 Major fashion capital 15 Manta ray, by another name 69 Actress Thompson of Thor: 16 The Crucible, for Ragnarok 70 ____ league (amateur sports McCarthyism 17 Mustard and saffron group) 19 One living off the land 71 Efficiency stat 23 “Why am I not surprised?”

72 Payment to a building board 25 “Darn!”

75 Dance in 3/4 time 28 Drive 78 Set of values 31 ____ Store 80 “____ bien” 32 Mate for Bambi 81 One smoothing the way?

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60 Climb 61 View from a pew 62 Free TV spot, for short 64 Taiwanese computer giant 65 It might be topped with guacamole 66 Tic ____ (mints) 71 Give (out) 73 Modernists, for short 74 Internet connection inits.

75 Sandal-less, say 76 Score starter 77 Shepherd’s scene 79 Great Plains tribe 81 Bribes 82 Sent up 83 Nutrition fig.

84 “I’ll cover this”

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37 Milhouse’s toon friend 38 Dashboard warnings, informally 39 Imaginary 40 Partner of smash 41 Kung Fu actor Philip 43 Fruit-juice brand 45 Basically what was said 47 Boxer upset in the biopic

Cinderella Man 48 Golfer Aoki 49 Nordic native 50 Soothing succulent 51 Explorers and Expeditions 52 Fair 55 Journalist Nellie 57 The Great ____ (Satan) 58 ____-Soviet 59 Cartoon in which one cow says

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marketing Assistant Kendall Bleakley

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publisher Peter J. Brzycki

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for short 101 N.L. Central squad 103 Ingredient in a Bali Hai cocktail 104 Certain tech exec 106 Actress Long 107 Tender sound 108 Currency with denominations

of 1,000, 5,000 and 10,000

Account EXECUTIVES Saundra Rinearson Godwin Christy Duane Philip Rodriguez EDITOR-in-chief George Lang glang@okgazette.com Assistant EDITOR Brittany Pickering Staff reporters Jacob Threadgill Jeremy Martin Nazarene Harris Photographer/videographer Alexa Ace contributors Daniel Bokemper, Jo Light Krystal Yoseph creative director Kimberly Lynch Graphic Designers Ingvard Ashby Tiffany McKnight

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Sudoku very hard | n° 30239 Fill in the grid so that every row, column and 3-by-3 box contains the numbers 1 through 9. www.printmysudoku.com

New York Times Crossword Puzzle answers Puzzle No. 0909, which appeared in the September 5 issue.

S A S S

T R U E

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free will astrology Homework: Make two fresh promises to yourself: one that’s easy to keep and one that’s at the edge of your capacity to live up to. Testify at Freewillastrology.com.

ARIES (March 21-April 19)

Author Anne Carson describes part of her creative process in this way: “Sometimes I dream a sentence and write it down. It’s usually nonsense, but sometimes it seems a key to another world.” I suspect you might be able to benefit from using a comparable trick in the coming days.

That’s why you should monitor any odd dreams, seemingly irrational impulses, or weird fantasies that arise in you. Although they may not be of any practical value in themselves, they could spur a train of thought that leads you to interesting breakthroughs.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)

“The idea of liberation through the suppression of desire is the greatest foolishness ever conceived by the human mind,” wrote philosopher E. M. Cioran. I agree that trying to deny or stifle or ignore our desires can’t emancipate us. In fact, I’m inclined to believe that freedom is only possible if we celebrate and honor our desires, marvel at their enigmas, and respect their power. Only then can we hope to refine them. Only then can we craft them into beautiful, useful forces that serve us rather than confuse and undermine us. The coming weeks will be an excellent time for you to engage in this spiritual practice, Taurus.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20)

“Remember that sometimes not getting what you want is a wonderful stroke of luck,” says the Dalai Lama. Ain’t that the truth! When I was 22 years old, there were two different women I desperately yearned for as if they were the Muse Queens of Heaven who would transform me into a great artist and quench my infinite passion.

Fortunately, they both rejected me. They decisively set me free of my bondage to them. Later, when I was older and wiser, I realized that blending my fortunes with either of them would have led me away from my true destiny. I got lucky! In a similar but less melodramatic way, Gemini, I suspect you will also get lucky sometime soon.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) Don’ts for Boys or Errors of Conduct Corrected was an advice book for boys published in 1902. Among many other strictures and warnings, it offered this advice: “Don’t giggle. For the love of decency, never giggle.” There was additional counsel in the same vein: “Don’t be noisy.

The guffaw evinces less enjoyment than the quiet smile.”

Another exhortation: “Don’t tease. Be witty, but impersonal.” In accordance with astrological omens, I hereby proclaim that all those instructions are utterly wrong for you right now. To sweetly align yourself with cosmic rhythms, you should giggle and guffaw and tease freely. If you’re witty—and I hope you will be—it’ll serve you well to be affectionate and personable.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22)

“Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious and adding the meaningful,” writes designer John Maeda. “The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak up,” says artist Hans Hofmann. “Simplicity strips away the superfluous to reveal the essence,” declares a blogger named Cheo. I hope these quotes provide you with helpful pointers, Leo. You now have the opportunity to cultivate a masterful version of simplicity.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

Your keynote is the Japanese word shizuka. According to photographer Masao Yamamoto, it means “cleansed, pure, clear, and untainted.” One of his artistic practices is to wander around forests looking in the soil for “treasures” that emanate shizuka. So in his definition, the term isn’t about being scrubbed or sanitized. Rather, he’s interested in pristine natural phenomena that are unspoiled by civilization. He regards them as food for his soul. I mention this, Virgo, because now is an excellent time for you to get big doses of people and places and things that are cleansed, pure, clear, and untainted.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)

Libran blogger Ana-Sofia Cardelle writes candidly about her relationship with herself. She keeps us up to date with the ever-shifting self-images that float through her awareness. Here’s one of her bulletins: “Stage 1. me: I’m

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the cutest thing in the world. Stage 2. me, two seconds later: no, I’m a freaking goblin. Stage 3. me, two seconds after that: I’m the cutest goblin in the world.” I’m guessing that many of you Libras have reached the end of your own personal version of Stage 2. You’ve either already slipped into Stage 3, or soon will. No later than October 1, you’ll be preparing to glide back into Stage 1 again.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)

“There’s no such thing as love,” said Scorpio painter Pablo Picasso, “there are only proofs of love.” I’m tempted to believe that’s true, especially as I contemplate the current chapter of your life story. The evidence seems clear: you will thrive by engaging in practical demonstrations of how much you care. You’ll be wise to tangibly help and support and encourage and inspire everyone and everything you love. To do so will make you eligible for blessings that are, as of this moment, still hidden or unavailable.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)

According to a Pew Research Study, nearly 75 percent of Americans say they talk to God, but only 30 percent get a reply. I’m guessing the latter figure will rise dramatically for Sagittarian Americans in the next three weeks, however. Why? Because the astrological indicators suggest that authorities of all kinds will be more responsive than usual to Sagittarians of all nationalities. Help from higher powers is likely to be both more palpable and more forthcoming. Any communications you initiate with honchos, directors, and leaders have a better-thannormal chance of being well-received.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)

Anthropologist Margaret Mead had definite ideas about “the ways to get insight.” She named them as follows: “to study infants; to study animals; to study indigenous people; to be psychoanalyzed; to have a religious conversion and get over it; to have a psychotic episode and get over it.” I have my own list of ways to spur insight and inspiration, which includes: to do walking meditations in the woods on a regular basis, no matter what the weather; to engage in long, slow sex with a person you love; to spend a few hours reviewing in detail your entire life history; to dance to music you adore for as long as you can before you collapse from delighted exhaustion.

What about you, Aquarius? What are your reliable ways to get insight? I suggest you engage in some of them, and also discover a new one. You’re in the Flood of Radical Fresh Insights Phase of your astrological cycle.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)

Stanley Kubrick made masterful films, but most of them bore me. I regard John Ashbery as a clever and innovative poet, but I’ve never been excited by his work. As for painter Mark Rothko, I recognize his talent and intelligence, but his art leaves me empty. The music of Nora Jones is pretty and technically impeccable, but it doesn’t move me. In the coming weeks, Pisces, I invite you to make the kinds of fine distinctions I’m describing here. It will be important for you to be faithful to your subjective responses to things, even as you maintain an objective perspective about them and treat them with respect.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

One day in October 1926, author Virginia Woolf inscribed in her diary, “I am the usual battlefield of emotions.” It was a complaint, but also a brag. In fact, she drew on this constant turmoil to fuel her substantial output of creative writing. But the fact is that not all of us thrive on such ongoing uproar. As perversely glamorous and appealing as it might seem to certain people, many of us can do fine without it. According to my analysis, that will be true for you in the coming weeks. If you have a diary, you might justifiably write, “Hallelujah! I am NOT a battlefield of emotions right now!”

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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