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FREE EVERY WEDNESDAY METRO OKC’S INDEPENDENT WEEKLY VOL. XXXVI NO. 38 SEPTEMBER 17, 2014

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CONTENTS 37

29

50

24

ON THE COVER

NEWS

LIFE

LIFE

From wiener-slingers to carnival ride operators and from guests celebrating 30 years of Oklahoma State Fair opening days to sweater-eating goats, the Oklahoma Gazette staff rounds up some of the quirkier highlights of this year’s fair, which runs through Sept.

21. See story on P.29.

4

Election: democratic candidates

16

OKG picks

6

Education: Little Light Christian School

20

Food & Drink: Creperie & European Cafe, Anthem Brewing Company, food briefs, Ethiopian food, OKG eat: cheeseburgers

42

Books: Marian Wright Edelman, My Prairie Cookbook

44

Sudoku / Crossword

46

Sports: Top Golf

47

Music: Tyler Hopkins, Denver Duncan, Gum, event listings, Broncho

53

Film: Okahoma Film & Music Office director, The Drop, Mood Indigo

— Jennifer Chancellor, editor-in-chief

8

Metro briefs

12

Chicken-Fried News

29

Cover: Oklahoma State Fair

14

Commentary

33

Community: climate march

14

Letters

34

Community: Medal of Honor

36

Community: Beads of Good

37

Youth: Coat-A-Kid

57

Astrology

38

Visual Arts: Fall Art Show

57

Classifieds

39

Performing Arts: “Poetic Portraits,” Carrie: The Musical, Macbeth

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

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O K L A H O M A G A Z E T T E | S E P T E M B E R 1 7, 2 0 1 4 | 3

M A R K HA N COC K

NEWS ELECTION

Close races Local Democrats see potential in NW OKC districts in November

BY BEN FELDER

Oklahoma Republicans are at no risk of losing power of the Legislature this November, in part because of a lack of Democratic challengers and electoral math that remains stacked in the GOP’s favor.

While winning any of the statewide seats (governor and superintendent, among others) might be viewed as the biggest potential victory for Democrats, a more realistic achievement might be found in a handful of districts in the inner-ring suburban communities of Oklahoma City.

Between the bright red of the suburbs and the deep blue of the inner city, there might be just enough purple for Democrats to have a shot.

“I think there are many voters who are flippable,” Collin Walke, a Democratic candidate in House District 87, said about his ability to sway some Republicans to vote for him in November.

House District 87

District 87, which includes portions of northwest OKC, is a seat Democrats have come close to winning in recent years. The Democratic candidate received 46 percent of the vote in 2004, followed by 48 percent in 2006 and 49 percent in 2008. Rep. Jason Nelson, the current Republican holding the seat, won reelection in 2010 and 2012 by about 10 points each time, widening the distance between the parties. But Walke says history shows the seat is up for grabs.

“Education is the No. 1 issue for people [in the district],” Walke said. “I think it’s something I have been able to relate to a lot of voters on.”

Nelson is no stranger to education.

He has authored or helped support bills aimed at school choice, education savings accounts and local control of curriculum. Viewed as one of the more policy-minded legislators, Nelson also helped spearhead reforms of the Department of Human Services.

However, Walke believes the growing dissatisfaction with education policy in Oklahoma plays to his advantage, including the recent announcement that the Legislature’s repeal of Common Core, which was supported by Nelson, has cost the state its No Child Left Behind waiver.

Even though many [voters] may not like Common Core, they are realizing the results of not thinking two steps ahead.

— Collin Walke “Even though many [voters] may not like Common Core, they are realizing the results of not thinking two steps ahead,” Walke said. “Voters want reasonable solutions that they aren’t currently getting.”

Nelson has downplayed the impact the loss of the waiver will mean for the state and said his support of Common Core repeal shows he is in lockstep with his constituents.

“What I did see [this year] was a lot of energy on the part of teachers and parents against Common Core and to get rid of it,” Nelson said. “I think it actually gives me an advantage because it shows that I have been responsive to the will of the voters.”

House District 85

In House District 85, which sits just north of District 87, challenger Cyndi Munson is looking to not only take the seat from Republicans but from the Dank family that has represented this northwest OKC district for 20 years.

Represented by the late Odilia Dank from 1994 to 2006, her husband, Rep. David Dank, won the seat in 2006 by less than one percent. However, since that narrow victory, Dank has increased his margin each election and, in 2012, won the seat without a challenger.

Name recognition and six-figure funding might make Dank hard to beat, but Munson believes there are plenty of voters in the district who are ready for a change.

“Residents [in District 87] are phasing out and new ones are coming in, like me,” said Munson, who has called the district home for three years.

“Dank is an established name, but there are a lot of new residents.”

Senate District 40

While Districts 85 and 87 feature young

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Democratic candidates John Handy Edwards, Cyndi Munson and Collin Walke

Democrats challenging multiple winning incumbents, Senate District 40, another northwest OKC district that includes portions of both 85 and 87, features two new candidates. Republican Ervin Yen advanced past a June primary and August runoff, and John Handy Edwards was the lone Democrat to file. Senate District 40 appears even more Republican than either House District 85 or 87, but recent redistricting has added some Democraticleaning precincts — even if it also added a few Republican ones.

“The conventional wisdom is it’s a Republican-leaning district,” Edwards said. “I could have the underdog tone because of the big money and big power that has lined up behind him. However, we are going into the general election with about the same amount of money.”

Yen has raised nearly a quarter million dollars, double that of Edwards.

But Yen has also spent a lot in his primary battle, and the two candidates enter the fall with similar levels of campaign funds (Yen: $82,000, Edwards: $66,000), according to August campaign finance reports.

Yen has been backed by dozens of political action committees, a fact Edwards says will limit Yen’s ability to legislate independently if elected.

“If Yen is elected, he will be another Republican lost in a sea of Republicans,” Edwards said. “It’s good to have a counteractive voice in there. We should talk about ideas. We should see what the best choice for Oklahoma is.”

District 40 has trended more Democratic over the past 20 years, but Republicans have never experienced a real threat of losing the seat. Republican Brooks Douglas was elected in 1994 with 70 percent of the vote and won reelection unopposed in 1998. Sen. Cliff Branan,

Results House District 85 election 2012: Republican won unopposed 2010: Republican won with 58 percent 2008: Republican won with 55 percent 2006: Republican won with 50.5 percent

House District 87 election 2012: Republican won with 55 percent 2010: Republican won with 54 percent 2008: Republican won with 50.6 percent 2006: Republican won with 51 percent

who reaches term limits this year, won election in 2002 and 2006 by at least nine points and was unopposed in 2010.

State Democratic leaders have said over the past few years that the party’s path back to strength will most likely come from the changing urban districts of OKC and Tulsa as suburban and rural districts have turned even redder in recent years. A win in either House District 85 or 87 or Senate District 40 would not only validate that belief but also steal a seat from Republicans.

On the flipside, a Republican victory, especially a sweep of the three seats, would further solidify the party’s strength in northwest OKC and show that, while the region might be trending more Democratic, it isn’t ready to turn blue.

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M A RK HA N COC K

Breaking the cycle A school established to help the children of imprisoned parents seeks to offer new paths and new hope.

BY BEN FELDER

As a young boy clumsily reads aloud words from The Ugly Duckling, he gains confidence with each line. A teacher’s assistance is needed less with each new page, and the boy looks up with a wide smile when he reaches the end.

It’s a small yet significant moment at a school that is small itself yet is making an impact that could make a significant difference for generations to come.

Little Light Christian School is a tuition-free school for children of incarcerated parents. With the stark reality that children of parents in prison are 70 percent more likely to end up behind bars before the age of 25, offering those kids education, mentorship and structure at an early age could be the only shot they have at breaking the cycle.

“We want to break that intergenerational cycle of prison,” said Justin Jones, former director of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections and chairman of the board at Little Light.

“These children start off with a pathway to prison, but education is the key.”

Robin Khoury, founder and principal of Little Light, said the seed for the school was planted almost 20 years ago.

“God had given me a vision a long time ago that someday I would have a school for poor kids,” Khoury said.

Over the next several years, Khoury home-schooled her own children and became involved in prison ministries.

“As I became an empty-nester, the vision for the school become more clear,” she said. “I was at a conference on women’s incarceration and they were talking about children of incarcerated mothers ... something overwhelmed me at that conference.”

In 2009, she incorporated Little Light Ministries and began working with women in prison. Three years later, the school was launched with six students, many of whom Khoury had come across at various camps she volunteered with that worked with children of incarcerated parents.

Housed in a church in northwest Oklahoma City, Little Light started the new school year with seven students of elementary school age. Students participate in regular academic classes that are often individualized, along with lessons in art, music and gardening. Life and coping skills are also part of the daily schedule.

“We build therapy into our day-today programs, and we also have a heavy dose of love and understanding,” Khoury said.

The school also provides a support system to caregivers and parents. It’s a relationship that motivates many families to keep their children in the school.

“We are a big support to their caregivers, and we always have our ear to the ground on what needs they might have,” Khoury said. “We are very tight with our students, and once they come here, they don’t want to leave. We had a student whose mom was considering a job in another town but reconsidered based on what her daughter would be losing.”

Besides the fact that many children of incarcerated parents struggle academically, there are many emotional issues that can be hard to address in a traditional school.

“The first thing these kids begin to experience is depression, and that leads to all types of problems with their school work,” Khoury said.

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Many students struggle with anxiety, anger and fear and are often compared to victims of post-traumatic stress disorder.

“You take a child that is disenfranchised, has the stigma of a parent being incarcerated, and you put them in a public school system with overcrowded classrooms, and they struggle,” Jones said. “But here, they get very individualized attention, and I think it makes a big difference.”

Jones’ experience as director of corrections involved working with individuals who had already entered the prison system. But he had a chance to glimpse the impact that had on families.

“Watching the children [of inmates] during visitations and seeing how despondent they can be was eye-opening,” Jones said. “You can see a major difference with these children at Little Light.”

Jones said it’s too late to stem the tide of rising incarceration rates working within the prison system. Instead, the real impact is made in working with children who are statistically more likely to go to prison simply because of who their parents are and where they live.

“If we are ever really going to reduce the prison rate in Oklahoma, we have to shut off the supply,” Jones said. “The key is prevention as early as possible.”

Little Light hopes to expand by adding more grade levels in the coming years, which would also mean moving into a larger facility.

“We want to add a pre-school to feed our elementary school,” Khoury said.

“We also want to add a year to the top side of the school to care for the older elementary students. We are planning on walking with those students to college

left Carla Belisle teaches Timothy while Mira Moaning instructs Semaj at Little Light Christian School. or trade school. We plan to continue our individualized education as long as they need us and want us.”

Little Light hopes to offer its students an alternative path from the one they are statistically likely to travel. If successful, it could mean a real chance at freedom for the students.

“Freedom for these children is education,” Jones said. “Our goal is to keep these children from ever getting engaged in the prison system.”

By the numbers: Children of the incarcerated • More than 2.7 million children in the U.S. have an incarcerated parent, and approximately 10 million children have experienced parental incarceration at some point in their lives.* • One in 9 African-American children (11.4 percent), 1 in 28 Hispanic children (3.5 percent), and 1 in 57 white children (1.8 percent) in the United States have an incarcerated parent.* • Nationally, there are more than 120,000 incarcerated mothers and 1.1 million incarcerated fathers who are parents with minor children (ages 0-17).* • Between 1991 and 2007, parents held in state and federal prison increased by 79 percent.+ Sources: * Statistics from The Osborne Association + Statistics from the United States Department of Justice

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Construction starts soon on more than 8 miles of bike and walking trails that will cost $13.8 million as part of MAPS 3.

Phase 2 of the Interstate 44 West bike and walking trail that would offer a dedicated bike path from Lake Hefner to the Oklahoma River could be open in less than two years.

“Construction will take a year total once it begins,” said David Todd, Oklahoma City’s MAPS director. “I think it will be a little short of [two years] from now for this to finish.”

The $13.8 million trail is a part of Metropolitan Area Projects (MAPS) 3 and would run 8.15 miles through west OKC. The Oklahoma City Council heard a presentation last week on the exact path of the trail, which would run west of I-44 before crossing the highway near the state fairgrounds. Will Rogers Gardens, Girvin Park, Baptist Medical Center, Deaconess Hospital and two elementary schools would be points of interest along the trail.

The trail will be 12 feet wide in most places, but dedicated bike lanes would be used at some street crossings.

Engineers will spend the next several months designing sections of the trail, and city officials believe construction could begin next spring.

The city council also awarded a contract to build a new expo building at State Fair Park, which is another MAPS 3 project.

The 279,000-square-foot building will become the largest event space in the city, and construction is scheduled to begin later this year.

The MAPS 3 budget for the expo building is $54 million, allowing $44 million for actual construction. An additional $4.7 million in MAPS 3 funds are being invested in new parking lots and other improvements. The expo building is one of many improvements being made to State Fair Park.

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MA RK HA N COC K / FI LE

BY BEN FELDER

David Greenwell

Council votes down sexual orientation protection in taxi ordinance

The city council made recommendations for a proposed rideshare ordinance and has sent it back to the traffic commission for further review.

The city has looked for a new ordinance to regulate companies like Uber and Lyft that use mobile apps to connect drivers and riders. Taxi companies have complained those services have unfair advantages because they are not required to meet the strict laws that are in place for traditional cabs.

The council voted on various amendments to the ordinance last week, which included voting down an amendment that would prevent companies from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation.

Councilmembers James Greiner,

Larry McAtee, David Greenwell and Patrick Ryan voted against the ordinance. Ed Shadid, Pete White and John Pettis were the lone votes in favor. Mayor Mick Cornett and Councilwoman Meg Salyer were absent for Tuesday’s meeting.

Shadid and Greenwell discussed the issue before the vote, and Greenwell said he did not feel the amendment was necessary. When Shadid asked if race and gender nondiscrimination laws should be removed, Greenwell said he would be OK with that.

The council made some changes to a proposed ordinance regulating ride service companies like Uber and Lyft, and the ordinance will go back to the city’s traffic commission before being brought back to the council for final approval.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

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Artsy Fartsy

An Invitation to Catholics to Come Home

METRO BRIEFS

Begins Tuesday, Sept. 30th• 6 pm

Art | Film | music | theAter in this issue

M A RK HA N COC K / FI L E

read

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8 M A RK HA N COC K / FI L E

We welcome Catholics who no longer attend Mass regularly.

Do you have issues with the Church you would like to discuss? Do you want to come home to the Church?

Please join us for five informal group discussions on Tuesdays, Sept. 30th, to Oct. 28th from 6-7 pm at 5024 N. Grove, in the Kastner Room.

For more information call St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church at 789-2595

Mick Cornett

Say what?

Jennifer Day

Grant will help OKC organize its archives

A $185,000 grant will allow OKC to organize historic documents dating back to 1890 and create an online catalog.

The process is expected to take two years and will result in a website on which the public will be able to discover what documents the city has and request additional information.

“This will help us organize collections that have previously not been available for researchers,” said Jennifer Day, who was hired as the city’s first archivist in 2012.

Day said the grant will be used to hire a full-time and part-time employee and purchase archival supplies.

While this project will not digitize historic documents for review online, it will create an online database that will make searching for historic documents much easier. The records inventory will include documents such as city council’s journal of proceedings, resolutions, deeds and abstracts and building plans for city projects such as pipelines, bridges and public use facilities.

The grant was provided by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

“At the end of this process, we will then have an OKC archives website and a place to learn more about what we have,” Day said. “It will establish a jumping-off point.”

1 0 | S E P T E M B E R 1 7, 2 0 1 4 | O K L A H O M A G A Z E T T E

“I think the citizens of Oklahoma City have begun to differentiate between the type of government they don’t mind paying for and the type of government they don’t like to pay for. I think they like capital projects they can go up and touch and they know are going to be long-lasting.”

That was OKC Mayor Mick Cornett talking to Chuck Todd on a Sept. 7 episode of Meet the Press.

Oklahoma City’s reinvention from a sleepy Midwestern town into an energetic urban engine has gained national headlines for years, but it was the city’s ability to solve problems during an era of Washington gridlock that was highlighted on the nationally televised Sunday talk show. In his first episode as a moderator, Todd also interviewed President Barack Obama on the continued partisan struggles that seem to disable the federal government’s ability to make progress on several important issues.

The Obama interview was followed by a story of OKC’s success in passing multiple sales tax increases for capital improvements and an in-studio interview with Cornett. Cornett said the Republican and Democratic divide that is featured in Washington, D.C., is not an issue at the municipal level and that political disagreements that do take place don’t overtake the goals of the city.

By the numbers

32.5. That’s the percentage of adults in Oklahoma who were obese in 2013, according to a federal survey.

That percentage ranks the state as the seventh highest in the nation.

“Magnificent!”

—The Wall Street Journal

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O K L A H O M A G A Z E T T E | S E P T E M B E R 1 7, 2 0 1 4 | 1 1 9/11/14 9:48 AM

CHiCKEN CKEN Be wary of Rep. Bennett

In classic Oklahoma Islamophobia fashion, Rep. John Bennett, R-Sallisaw, took to Facebook last week to offer a word of warning to his fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

“The Quran clearly states that non-Muslims should be killed,” Bennett wrote. “Be wary of individuals who claim to be Muslim American, be especially wary if you’re Christian.”

Bennett stood by his words following criticism from a local Islamic advocacy group, and the chairman of the state GOP said he saw nothing wrong with those words.

Bennett was probably referencing the part of the Quran that says, “Whoever sacrifices to any god other than the lord must be destroyed,” and, “Whoever would not seek the lord ... should be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman.” Actually, those aren’t verses from the Quran at all. Those are verses from Exodus 22 and 2 Chronicles 15 in the

FR FRiED NEWS Christian Bible. Maybe we all should be wary of Bennett?

Goat social

What do you get when you hire goats to work for the city? A really great social media campaign.

The Water Utilities Trust needed a way to take care of the out-ofcontrol vegetation at the Hefner Canal and #FREELABOR Langston University’s Goat Research Extension Program needed to watch its goats doing goat stuff, like eating overgrown grass. It was a match made in Twitter heaven. The goats arrived at the canal on Aug. 12 and sent their first tweet from @hefner_goats on Aug. 18: “Hey @BaphometOKC, could you help a brother out and stop the lightning?

First day on the job, and we’re kind of freaking out.”

They have over 900 followers and interact with restaurants and shops around the metro, news anchors, meteorologists,

1 2 | S E P T E M B E R 1 7, 2 0 1 4 | O K L A H O M A G A Z E T T E

the Oklahoma City Zoo, district accounts like @plazadistrict and even their bosses at City Hall.

They also tweet about their pay (Sept.9: “Yeah right. Like you were really going to pay us $9/hour.”) and negotiating their contracts (Aug. 18: “We get dental, right?”); make goat jokes (Sept. 8: “We’ve got 2 goats locking horns. Anderson says Ella’s Gershwin Songbook was her best. Cimarron says the Porter Songbook was far superior.”); send out selfies; and interact with their guard dog, Otto, who also has his own Twitter account @OttoTheGreatP.

Don’t pet the striped kitty

“Right in front of the steps and there’s a skunk there. I just froze,” said Dave McCarthy, a resident of The Village.

Skunk populations in the city of The Village have “skyrocketed” in recent months due to a cooler summer, reported KOCO.com.

Officials from the Department of Wildlife said a dozen of the stink-spewing mammals have already been captured.

“I didn’t expect to come across a bunch of skunks. I didn’t know skunks travel in packs, but I guess The Village skunks do,” McCarthy said.

Now, if they don leather jackets and start singing “Jet Song” from West Side Story — run.

Stop that racket!

Note to those who cherish peace and quiet: Do not move anywhere close to OKC Downtown Airpark.

Nearby residents are once again complaining about the concert venue’s noise pollution/racket, which was presumably being enjoyed by America’s degenerate youth at the Mystik Sanctuary electronic dance music festival THE VILLAGE earlier this month.

Said residents — apparently treble enthusiasts — are mostly

complaining about the bass … and how they can feel it in weird places.

“Just the bass,” neighbor Dale Steele told KOCO. “There’s no way they need bass that vibrates my belly down there.”

But dude, Dale. Did you hear that drop? If you had listened to the buildup before that dope-ass bass dropped, you’d be dancing in circles around your living room.

Trust us. Just dim the lights, maybe get a strobe and roll with it, man.

Meanwhile, OKC Downtown Airpark’s Rebeka Morales said the venue is mindful of its neighbors and complying with city ordinances.

“We do respect the neighbors,” she said. “We respect the curfews. We know they’re there, and we get permission for when we do have noise.”

Morales also said the venue has only received a handful of complaints, so either most of the neighbors are super chill or those complaining are super unchill.

We’re No. 4!

Chicago-based moving company Golan’s Moving and Storage knows a thing or two about moving. But where to live?

USA Today reported the business estimated that about 43 million people move each year.

With some help from online real estate database Zillow and user-sourced database Numbeo, the paper rounded up the “least expensive states to live in the U.S.” Oklahoma is the fourth cheapest, with home rental at a median of $950 and home sale cost at a median $109,000. The average cost of dinner and a movie: $60.

The “cheapest” states were Kentucky at No. 3 (a meal there averages eight bucks), Tennessee at No. 2 — no fancy dinner estimate came with that listing; maybe they don’t eat in Tennessee, so consider yourself forewarned if you’re traveling — and Mississippi at No. 1 (dinner and a movie is about $60).

Westbrook put a ring on it

Sorry ladies and gentlemen, but our sources tell us that Russell Westbrook is engaged to his longtime girlfriend Nina Earl.

Not only did he pop the question, but he backed it up with a “six-piece elongated cushion cut ring with VVS clarity ... and in total, the whole thing is worth $700k.”

Most of that quote might not mean a lot to you, but let’s focus on the important stuff. It cost $700,000. A ring. For something that could cost him millions more if he isn’t careful.

Thankfully, the man is a god on the basketball court because off it, he seems to have nothing going for him except his fashion sense. I’m sure it doesn’t hurt his wallet considering he makes millions, but still, $700,000.

For a ring. Congratulations to the two. We at Oklahoma Gazette are happy for you, even if we are slightly embarrassed at the same time.

We need more women in power

A group of politicians recently gathered to state the obvious with a round-table-like discussion comprised of toothless actions and comments. Business as usual, right?

Well, this time, the panel was comprised of women who have held public office in the state discussing the need for more women in politics.

In 2013, a record number of women headed to Congress, making up 18 percent of the body. However, our state ranks among the lowest for female legislators at 13.4 percent, despite females making up 51 percent of the state’s population.

Also, just two out of nine Oklahoma state Supreme Court justices are women.

Meanwhile, Oklahoma incarcerates more women per capita than any other place on Earth and our state ranks third in the nation for the number of women killed by men per capita. But, hey, at least we have a female governor, right?

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COMMENTARY

Are college grads workforce-ready?

BY ALLEN HUTSON

Graduating college is a rite of passage.

College graduates have spent the last four to seven years (depending on the patience of their parents) of their lives diligently studying, cultivating relationships and preparing for their bright futures. This is what college graduates tell themselves and, in most cases, their parents. But are they really ready for the next step? Are they ready for the responsibility, demanding bosses and endless hours of tedious work, making what will almost certainly feel like pennies on the dollar?

A recent survey by Chegg studies and textbook company suggests that 50 percent of college students feel they are very/completely prepared for a job, meaning only half believe they are ready to dominate their future job.

But how do hiring employers rate the preparedness of college students entering the workforce? Employers

completing the same survey believe only 39 percent of college students are very/completely prepared for a job in their field of study, a stark contrast to the quasi-confidence college students exhibited in answering the same question.

Why is there such a disconnect between the views of employers and the college students soon to enter the workforce? More importantly, what can be done to diminish this disconnect?

There is certainly blame to go around: college students, universities and employers have each attributed to the perceived (or real) lack of preparedness of college graduates for the workforce.

Everyone has heard a former college graduate from years past claim, “When I was in college, the classes were hard,” “When I was in college, everyone went to class and studied eight hours a day” or “When I was in college, I

had no time for fun.” Not to sound like a curmudgeon, but there is likely a smidge of truth to those sentiments.

Most college students do not treat college like they are preparing for an 8-to-5 job. But that is the purpose of college. College students who put in the time to really learn — not learn enough just to pass some test — the subjects covered in their college courses are generally more prepared for the workforce.

That isn’t to suggest every class a college student takes in college will be applicable to his/her real-life job, but the college students who put real effort into their classes are likely prepared to put the same effort into their jobs.

Universities, on the other hand, need to do a better job keeping up with advancements in industries and adapting course materials to provide college students with hands-on

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

experience.

The only way to adequately prepare to perform a job is to actually do it.

Universities should focus on working with employers in Oklahoma to provide these practical experiences to their students. Employers need to do a better job of communicating their expectations of a college graduate’s skill set to universities and offer more internship programs to college students.

Employers’ failure to do so only widens the gap between the perceived readiness of college students entering the workforce.

College students, universities and employers need to continue to adapt to ensure that Oklahoma’s workforce stays strong and continues to attract top talent. Ready-to-work college graduates strengthen both Oklahoma’s economy and its universities.

Allen Hutson is a labor and employment attorney at Crowe & Dunlevy.

LETTERS Oklahoma Gazette provides an open forum for the discussion of all points of view in its Letters to the Editor section. The Gazette reserves the right to edit letters for length and clarity.

Letters can be mailed, faxed, emailed to jchancellor@okgazette.com or sent online at okgazette.com. Include a city of residence and contact number for verification.

ISIS doesn’t represent Muslim faith

To suggest the actions of ISIS represent the views of all Muslims is like suggesting Westboro Baptist Church speaks for all Christians or that the KKK represents all white people. It’s simply untrue.

Rep. John Bennett (R-Sallisaw) did more than take the Quran out of context.

He completely twisted a passage in order to support his own sick narrative: To stir up fear, hatred and paranoia with the hope of gaining political points.

Earlier this week, I spoke to an Oklahoma Muslim woman who, like so many Muslims, is heartsick over the actions in the Middle East.

Understandably, she was also hurt by Bennett’s statements.

“Hate me and my religion if you must,” she said. “But at least have the decency to not lie about my faith, my Quran and what I believe.”

Like other fringe extremists, ISIS has hijacked the name of a religion and tried to convince the rest of the world that it represents that faith. It’s sad — and scary and dangerous — that Bennett has fallen for it. Creating fear, terror and hatred is the extremists’ goal. Thanks to people like Rep. Bennett, they are succeeding.

As long as bigotry and hate exists, The Oklahoma Center for Community and Justice will be there to stand up for those who are discriminated against. We invite other just-minded groups to join us.

— Russ Florence Oklahoma City Florence is board chairman of The Oklahoma Center for Community & Justice.

A letter from OKC Energy FC

It’s been just under a year, and who would have thought we’d be sitting here after our inaugural OKC Energy FC season, celebrating playing to over 100 percent capacity and talking about how we can continue that success as we prepare to move to Taft Stadium for the 2015

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season? We did!

Playing at Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School presented the Energy FC with an opportunity to play in the Oklahoma City metro and gauge interest for professional soccer here. We appreciate the support we’ve received from the McGuinness administration.

We are proud to have contributed a new field and 900 additional seats for students and supporters. Next season, Energy FC will play its home games at the renovated OKC landmark Taft Stadium. Originally built for $88,000 in the 1930s as a WPA Project, Taft has served as a dirt track, a concert venue, a football stadium — and futbol stadium — during its storied

history. Taft is undergoing a $12 million rebuild and will be ready for the 2015 season. Then there’s the community benefit: For every ticket sold, $2 is donated back to Fields & Futures, which gives needed financial support to the OKC Public Schools athletic department.

Thank you for the support of OKC Energy FC during the team’s first season of play.

— Tim McLaughlin and Bob Funk Jr. Oklahoma City Tim McLaughlin is principal owner of Oklahoma City Energy Football Club, and Bob Funk Jr. is a team partner.

O K L A H O M A G A Z E T T E | S E P T E M B E R 1 7, 2 0 1 4 | 1 5

ANNA LEE

OKG picks are events

recommended by Oklahoma Gazette editorial staff members.

For full calendar listings, go to okgazette.com.

BOOKS VALID ON DINNERS UP TO $1099 ONLY. DISCOUNT TAKEN OFF EQUAL OR LESSER PURCHASE. LIMIT 2 COUPONS PER PERSON. NOT VALID WITH ANY OTHER OFFERS. EXPIRES 9/17/14.

Women’s Book Club, this month’s featured book is Crusoe’s Daughter by Jane Gardam, 7-9 p.m., Sept. 18.

Full Circle Bookstore, 1900 Northwest Expressway, 8422900, fullcirclebooks.com. THU Story Time with Julie, Come hear the best and newest children’s books, 10:15-11 a.m., Sept. 20. 1900 Northwest Expressway, 842-2900, fullcirclebooks.com. SAT New Ink!, discover new and upcoming best seller books, 3-5 p.m., Sept. 20. Full Circle Bookstore, 1900 Northwest Expressway, 842-2900, fullcirclebooks.com. SAT Melissa Gilbert Book Signing, Little House on the Prairie actress and author of My Prairie Cookbook will be signing copies of her latest cookbook, 1-5 p.m., Sept.

21. Full Circle Bookstore, 1900 Northwest Expressway, 842-2900, fullcirclebooks.com. SUN

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Let’s Talk About It, book discussion over the mystery novel, Letter from Home by Carolyn Hart, 7 p.m., Sept.

23. Oklahoma City University, 2501 N. Blackwelder, 2085000, okcu.edu. TUE

Heard on Hurd

FILM

Food trucks, live music, pop-up shops — no, it’s not H&8th Night Market. It’s Heard on Hurd, a brand-spankin’-new street festival in the heart of downtown Edmond.

Dozens of local food and beverage vendors will be present, as will local acts Sherree Chamberlain, Denver Duncan and Elms. The all-ages fest is from 7 to 11 p.m. Saturday at the corner of Broadway Avenue and Hurd Street in Edmond. Admission is free. Visit twitter.com/heardonhurd.

Heathers, (U.S., 1988, dir. Michael Lehmann) a highschool girl tries to fit in with the in-crowd but befriends a rebel who has other ideas, 7 p.m., Sept. 23. Harkins Theatre, 150 E. Reno, 231-4747, harkinstheatres.com.

TUE Jane Goodall’s Wild Chimpanzees, (CA, 2002, dir.

David Lickley) the story of zoologist Dr. Jane Goodall and the bond she built with the chimpanzees she studied.

Oklahoma Science Museum, 2100 Northeast 52nd Street, 602-3760, sciencemuseumok.org. WED-WED Pandas: The Journey Home, (U.S, 2014, dir. Nicolas Brown) gives viewers a look into one of the most incredible conservation efforts in human history and a look into the Wolong National Nature Reserve in the People’s Republic of China where the giant pandas are living. Oklahoma Science Museum, 2100 Northeast 52nd Street, 602-3760, sciencemuseumok.org. WED-WED

Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 2363100, okcmoa.com. THU-SUN

HAPPENINGS

Jealousy, (U.S., 2013, dir. Philippe Garrel) Louis leaves his wife and daughter and falls in love; tells the story of his relationships with each and how his choices impact them, 8 p.m., Sept. 19; 5:30 p.m., Sept. 20. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 236-3100, okcmoa. com. FRI

Shop Hop, explore all that Automobile Alley has to offer; open house events at shops, live music, street artists, discounts at local restaurants and more, 6-9 p.m., Sept.

18. Automobile Alley, 1015 N Broadway Ave., 488-2555, automobilealley.org. THU Red Silo Productions at Reding Farm, experience Oklahoma’s largest corn maize along with hayrides, 6-10 p.m., Sept. 19; 10 a.m.-10 p.m., Sept. 20; 1-6 p.m., Sept.

21. Reding Farm, 614 Reding Road, Chickasha, 222-0624, redsiloproductions.com/home.html. FRI-SUN PROVID ED

Mood Indigo, (FRA, 2013, dir. Michel Gondry) Colin, a bachelor, falls in love with Chloe who is diagnosed with an unusual illness; Colin seeks to find a cure, 7:30, Sept. 18; 5:30, Sept. 19; 8 p.m., Sept. 20; 2 p.m., Sept. 21.

Saturday

Bluegrass River Cruise, live entertainment from Bold McCoy and a cruise along the river, 7 p.m., Sept. 19.

Oklahoma River Cruises, 1503 Exchange, 702-7755, okrivercruises.com. FRI Fall Container Workshop, join Elizabeth Richardson, owner of Adorn, as she talks about which plants you should plant for the upcoming fall weather, 10 a.m.noon, Sept. 20. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 445-7080, oklahomacitybotanicalgardens.com/ events. SAT Jewelry 101, learn all you need .to know to make your own jewelry, 6-8 p.m., Sept. 23. Michaels, 5012 N. MayOklahoma, 942-8920, michaels.com. TUE

FOOD Put a Cork in the River, wine tasting river cruise along the Oklahoma River, 6:30 p.m., Sept. 18. Oklahoma River Cruises, 1503 Exchange, 702-7755, okrivercruises. com. THU

Mustache Bash A good mustache deserves our appreciation, as do charitable events benefitting causes like ReMerge, a program designed to help support mothers and pregnant women facing incarceration in Oklahoma County. The fifth annual Mustache Bash — an outdoor block party featuring live music, meals on wheels and some great facial hair — has both of these things. It all goes down 6 p.m.-midnight Thursday at Shop Good, 3 NW Ninth St. Admission is free. Call 702-0517 or visit shopgoodokc.com.

Thursday

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Midtown Market at Saints, Midtown Market at Saints has fresh, Oklahoma-grown produce, meats, dairy, baked goods, honey and prepared foods such as salsa, jam, jelly and relish. Midtown Market, NW 9th St. and Walker Ave. FRI Oktoberfest, live music from local bands, Oktoberfest tents with brats, and more, 11 a.m.-midnight, Sept. 20.

Skinny Slim’s Public House, 201 E Main St-Oklahoma City, facebook.com/SkinnySlimsOkc. SAT Evening Cooking Class, learn to make chicken soup for the whole family to enjoy, 6:30-9:30 p.m., Sept. 22.

Francis Tuttle Technology Center-Rockwell Campus, 12777 N. Rockwell Ave., 717-4900, francistuttle.edu.

MON

Diabetes: Create Your Plate, learn about diabetes, risk factors, and how to eat healthier to help prevent diabetes, 10-11 a.m., Sept. 23.

Uptown Grocery Co., 1230 W. Covell Rd., Edmond, 509-2700, uptowngroceryco.com. TUE

YOUTH Third Thursday at the Gaylord-Pickens Museum, reading of The Wild Adventure of Oklahoma Joe’s 10-gallon Hat by Dr. D followed by a craft, 10 a.m., Sept. 18. Gaylord-Pickens Oklahoma Heritage Museum, 1400 Classen, 235-4458, oklahomaheritage.com. THU

LIKE US!

Professor Spillsby Goes to the Festival, interactive children’s plays based on classics by William Shakespeare; ages 3-10, 11 a.m., Sept. 20.

Reduxion Theatre Company, 1613 N Broadway, 651-3191, reduxiontheatre.com. SAT It’s Cider Time! All About Apples, learn all about apples and learn how to make apple cider, 2-3:30 p.m., Sept. 20. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 445-7080, oklahomacitybotanicalgardens.com/events. SAT Little Big Chefs, cooking fun for parents and kids; this week’s recipe is crab cakes, 2-4:30 p.m., Sept. 21. Uptown Grocery Co., 1230 W. Covell Rd., Edmond, 509-2700, uptowngroceryco.com. SUN Punt, Pass & Kick, football skills competition, 6-7 p.m., Sept. 22. Yukon High School, 1777 S. Yukon, Yukon, 354-6692, yukonps.com. MON

PERFORMING ARTS Skip Clark, Stand-up comedy, 8 p.m., Sept.

17-18; 8 & 10:30 p.m., Sept. 19-20. Loony Bin Comedy Club, 8503 N. Rockwell Ave., 239-4242, loonybincomedy.com. WED-SAT

PROVIDED

Detroit, comedy of a couple that befriends their new neighbors who encourage them to try new adventures, 7:30, Sept. 18; 8 p.m., Sept. 19-20, 2 p.m., Sept. 21. Carpenter Square Theatre, 806 W. Main St., 232-6500, carpentersquare.com.

THU-SUN

Fairy Ball For 14 years now, the Fairy Ball on Paseo has adorned the arts district’s streets with fairy frocks and pixie dust as children live out their most fantastical dreams. Dress your little ones up for an evening of music, dance and visual magic from 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday at the corner of NW 28th Street and N. Dewey Avenue.

Admission is free, and donations are accepted to cover the cost of the event. Call 525-2688 or visit thepaseo.com.

Saturday

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P ROVI DE D

continued

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We all know the story of Carrie, a teenage outcast with a secret power pushed to the brink. But do you know the story of Carrie: The Musical? Stephen King’s best-selling novel gets the song-and-dance treatment from the University of Oklahoma’s University Theatre, with performances at 8 p.m. Friday, 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday in Weitzenhoffer Theatre, 563 Elm St., in Norman. Tickets are $25-$40. Call 325-4101 or visit musicaltheatre.ou.edu.

Friday–Sunday Macbeth, production written by Shakespeare; presented by Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park, 8 p.m., Sept. 18-20. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 445-7080, oklahomacitybotanicalgardens. com/events. THU-SAT

Diagnostics, improv workshop focusing on developing new ways of working on-stage; taught by Rob Belushi & Jon Barinholtz, 2:30-5:30 p.m., Sept. 20.

Actor’s Casting and Talent Services, 30 NE 52nd St., 702-0400, actorscasting.com. SAT

Brandon Da Boywonder Smith/Amanda Kerri/Lenny Vanhorn, Stand-up comedy, Sept. 19. Opolis, 113 N. Crawford, Norman, opolis.org. FRI

ACTIVE Meditation Class, relieve your discontented mind and find the peace within; meditation and a lecture COLLIN LAMB ERT

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BANQUET ROOMS • CATERING 1 8 | S E P T E M B E R 1 7, 2 0 1 4 | O K L A H O M A G A Z E T T E

Bike MS: The Mother Road Ride Multiple sclerosis (MS) is as prevalent and debilitating as any other disease known to man. Its cause is still unknown, and over 2 million people are affected by it globally.

Bike MS: The Mother Road Ride has supported MS awareness and research for 29 years. So if you like both biking and supporting good causes, this is the ride for you.

The race is Saturday and Sunday at the Lincoln County Agri-Civic Center, 1179 W. 15th Street in Chandler. Team registration is $50, and a minimum $300 fundraising requirement is due by the day of the race. Visit bikemsok.org.

Saturday–Sunday

on Buddhist principles, 7-9 p.m., Sept. 18. Buddha Mind Monastery, 5916 S. Anderson, 869-0501, ctbuddhamind.org. THU Live Horse Racing, 28 days of AQHA, Appaloosa & Paint horse races, noon, Sept. 19-21. Cherokee Nation Casino & Resort, 777 W. Cherokee, Catoosa, 800-7606700. FRI-SUN Roller Skating Lessons, have fun and learn to skate, noon-12:45 p.m., Sept. 20. Skate Galaxy, 5800 NW 36th St., 605-2758, skategalaxyokc.com. SAT Eras of Dance: Hip-hop from Yesterday and Today, travel through different eras and learn various types of hip-hop, 6:30-7:30 p.m., Sept. 21-24. University of Central Oklahoma, 100 N. University, Edmond, 9742000, uco.edu. SUN-WED Yoga with Alex Persico, all-levels Vinyasa class, 5:456:45 p.m., Sept. 23. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 445-7080, oklahomacitybotanicalgardens. com/events. TUE

VISUAL ARTS A Pair of Shortts, an exploration in photography; father and son, Carl Shortt, Jr. & Carl Shortt, II. In Your Eye Studio & Gallery, 3005-A Paseo, 525-2161, inyoureyegallery.com.

must move forward including paintings, jewelry, & sculpture.

The Project Box, 3003 Paseo, 609-3969, theprojectboxokc.com.

Concepts & Models, a variety of experiential pieces being created for furture exhibits which will evolve with each showing. Firehouse Art Center, 444 S. Flood, Norman, 329-4523, normanfirehouse.com.

Connection, a collaborative exhibit of thought provoking artwork by Nathan Lee, Samia Allaw Dempsey, Behnaz Sohrabian, and Paul Medina.

Gaylord-Pickens Oklahoma Heritage Museum, 1400 Classen, 235-4458, oklahomaheritage.com.

Fettered-Unfettered Exhibition, contemporary works and installations by Heather Clark Hilliard. Nona Jean Hulsey Gallery, NW 27th and Blackwelder Ave.

LIFETILES: The Optically Animated Art of Rufus Butler Seder, an exhibit of wall art that seems to move and come to life as the viewer passes by. Science Museum Oklahoma, 2100 N.E. 52nd, 602-6664, sciencemuseumok.org.

Aquaticus: An Ocean on the Prairie, exhibit includes information on the building of the Midwest’s only major aquarium in the 1980s. Oklahoma City Zoo, 2000 Remington, 424-3344, okczoo.com.

RARE: Portraits of America’s Endangered Species, well-known endangered species like bald eagles and sea turtles are showcased alongside more unfamiliar species; the exhibit also gives light to those species that are making a comeback such as the American alligator. Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, 2401 Chautauqua, Norman, 325-4712, snomnh.ou.edu.

Art in the Avalon, showcase of contemporary work by MaryAnn Ceballos, Jerry Piper, & Brad Crawford. The Purple Loft Art Gallery, 514 NW 28th St., Suite 400.

Shane Cox, realist oil painter from Oklahoma. Red Dirt Gallery, 13100 N Colony Pointe Blvd., Piedmont, 657-6207, reddirtartists.com.

Art of the Brick: Permission to Play, sculptures created from LEGO’s by Nathan Sawaya; interactive exhibit where you can play, build, and create your own sculptures. Science Museum Oklahoma, 2100 N.E. 52nd, 602-6664, sciencemuseumok.org.

Something Blue, mixed media paintings and collectors items representing something old, something blue, and something new. Jann Jeffrey Gallery, 3018 Paseo, 607-0406, jannjeffrey.com.

Autocatalysis, exhibit showcasing OU students works of art that incorporate nontraditional media and emerging technologies. The Lightwell Gallery, 520 Parrington Oval, Rm. 202, Norman, 325-2691, ou.edu.

Best in the West

Istvan Gallery Fall Art Show, art installation featuring internationally recognized artist E.K. Jeong and Tulsa artist Jesse Whittle. Verbode, 415 N Broadway Ave.

Wax On, Wax Off, artist Gayle Curry explores the ancient technique of encaustic (wax) painting. Fine Arts Institute of Edmond, 27 E. Edwards, Edmond, 340-4481, edmondfinearts.com.

Backwards Forwards, featuring artist and co-owner of FRINGE, Christie Owen; her artwork reflects past and how we

PROVIDED

U.S. News and World Report has ranked Central as the top public regional university in Oklahoma on its Regional Universities: West category in its just-released Best Colleges 2015 list, labeling Central as a Tier One institution.

12x12 Art Fundraiser Local art fundraisers don’t get much bigger than 12x12. In fact, the next biggest we have seen is 11x11. Anyway, the event unites 150 Oklahoma artists with live bands and local restaurants for a one-night opportunity to bid on art (12 inches by 12 inches, of course) and fund future artistic endeavors.

This year’s event is 7 p.m. Friday at Science Museum Oklahoma, 2100 NE 52nd St. Visit 12x12okc.org.

Friday

We’re proud to be Oklahoma’s metropolitan university, serving as a smart investment for students looking for an innovative learning community rich with opportunities to transform their lives.

Learn why more and more students are choosing to Live Central – schedule a tour today!

Live Central

For OKG music picks see page 51

UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA Edmond, OK • (405) 974-2000 • www.uco.edu TM

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LIFE FOOD & DRINK You will almost certainly want to use a knife and fork, just for the sake of cleanliness.

A strawberry Nutella crêpe.

Going crêpe From sweet to savory, Creperie & European Cafe stuffs its specialty with just about anything imaginable.

For lunch options, the broccoli and cheese ($4.50) savory crêpe had nice, tender broccoli hidden inside.

But the BBQ chicken with smoked Gouda cheese and sautéed onion ($6) is another very good choice, especially if you’re looking to fill up.

Before we get to desserts, I should tell you that Creperie also serves shepherd’s pie ($6.99) with a small salad and bread. The pie is exceptional, especially if you love the taste of buttery mashed potatoes.

There are also sandwiches, which are OK but not crêpe-level great. The best of the ones I had was the prime rib with cheese and caramelized onions ($7.50). It was tasty but kind of plain.

If you’re dead set against getting a crêpe, you’re a moron. Or you’re a genius who heard about the pelmeni ($6.50) and the pierogi ($6), because oh my goodness. Pelmeni are meat-filled dumplings. Pierogi are potato-filled dumplings covered in butter and sour cream and bacon. They are unreasonably good, especially if you have a personal vendetta against your heart.

I have a soft spot in my heart (metaphorical and physical, I’m sure) for dumplings. Potstickers and gyoza and pierogis. I love them all. And these are like mini-crêpes, but they are absolutely bursting with flavor. I highly recommend them, though I warn you they do sell out.

Once you have had your fill — and you will be stretching your stomach to do so — you’ll get dessert. Because why not? Peanut butter and jelly in a crepe? $3.25. Strawberries, whipped cream and chocolate syrup? $4. Knowing this place is in Midwest City just waiting for you to visit? Priceless. Because the Creperie & European Cafe is a little treasure in a strip mall in the weirdest place you’d expect.

It is Paris, by way of Ukraine, in Midwest City, and it’s a delight. below left Victoria Spence serves a shepherd’s pie. below right Chelsea Larsen presents a chorizo, egg, bell pepper, onion and jack cheese crêpe at Creperie & European Cafe.

Creperie & European Cafe 2839 S. DOUGLAS BLVD., MIDWEST CITY 455-1474 WHAT WORKS: CHEAP, DELICIOUS CRÉPES, SHEPHERD’S PIE AND PIEROGI. WHAT NEEDS WORK: THE COLD SANDWICH SELECTION IS NOTHING SPECIAL. TIP: CALL AHEAD IF YOU’RE SET ON THE PIEROGI AND PELMENI.

Do yourself a favor and just order one.

It will be difficult, looking at the menu at the Creperie & European Cafe, 2839 S. Douglas Blvd. in Midwest City, to do that. There are so many delicious options, and they are all so cheap.

You might say to yourself, “These must be pretty small.” You will be wrong. “I bet I can eat three of these, easy,” you will continue. And you will continue to be wrong. They are big crêpes. Filled with delicious stuff. And you will spend a paltry $15 to fill your table with food you are honor-bound to devour, no matter how full you are.

What is a crêpe? It’s like a thin French pancake. It can be eaten plain,

with a bit of butter and syrup or filled with all sorts of amazing things.

At Creperie, you can choose from breakfast food-stuffed crêpes or lunch food-stuffed crêpes or decadent dessert crêpes. And with prices ranging from $4 to $7, it’s kind of a ridiculous deal.

If you go early, and you should, the ham, egg and cheese crêpe ($4.50) is huge and so good. You can probably split this one with a friend. Or an enemy. Or a stranger. Look, whomever you choose to share or not share this crêpe with is up to you. It’s just a lot of food is all. It’s good! The crêpes are tender and just a bit pliable. You will almost certainly want to use a knife and fork, just for the sake of cleanliness.

If you’re a fan of heat, the chorizo, egg, bell pepper, onion and jack cheese ($5) is another winner. And you will also be a winner for ordering it. Congratulations! We all knew you could do it!

You could also go the sweet route and get the French toast crêpe ($3.50) with brown sugar, butter and cinnamon. It’s kind of ridiculous.

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PHOTOS BY MARK HANCOCK

BY GREG ELWELL

For more information on our organic growing programs, visit www.sfntc.com

CIGARETTES Š SFNTC 3 2014

Oklahoma Gazette 09-17-14.indd 1

O K L A H O M A G A Z E T T E | S E P T E M B E R 1 7, 2 0 1 4 | 2 1 8/21/14 10:29 AM

LIFE FOOD & DRINK

Brewmeister

Matt Anthony, founder, pours hops into a brewing vat at Anthem Brewing Company.

Anthem Brewing Company owner Matt Anthony creates his own craft beers at his own place in downtown Oklahoma City.

BY DEVON GREEN

Now, Anthem produces three beers year-round: Golden One, a Belgian blonde; Arjuna, a Belgian-style white beer; and Uroboros, a stout.

They each have names that Anthony chose based on their personalities — similar to how he named his brewery.

“These beers are our anthem to the world; it’s a representation of our individualism expressed,” he said.

The uroboros, or an image of a snake eating its own tail, is a symbol of immortality and renewal. “[It’s] the whole idea of rebirth and renewal and the idea of people taking a stout and making it their own. We wanted to do a Belgian influence with the candy sugar and the oak,” he said.

The brewery ages some of its beers in oak casks, which are more often found in wineries.

Anthony said that oak barrels were

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We’ve got the Uroboros aging in bourbon barrels; [they’re] really neat because they impart this vanilla and coconut flavor along with the oak.

— Matt Anthony

once the standard for aging beer until stainless steel arrived as a cheaper and easier-to-clean alternative. But a beer’s flavor isn’t as nuanced when aged in stainless steel — Anthony said the oak Brewing vats of wood and steel ready Anthem beers for drinking.

Anthem Brewing Company, 908 SW Fourth St.

PHOTOS BY MARK HANCOCK

When you pull up to Anthem Brewing Company, 908 SW Fourth St., there’s no mistaking what’s happening inside. The warm, yeasty smell reaches you before you know you’ve arrived.

The unassuming white building could be mistaken for a traditional warehouse if it wasn’t for a guy walking out the door carrying a vat of what looks like chewed oats rather than boxes. It’s steaming hot and will sit outside until the grains are cooled.

Anthem founder and brewmaster Matt Anthony explained that this used grain will go to a local pig farmer.

Since the protein in it doesn’t benefit the brewing process or his beer, it will supplement the pigs’ diets. Little in Anthony’s beer-making process goes to waste.

This type of cooperative attitude is the rule rather than the exception with local microbreweries.

“It’s great. If we have a problem, I just call up Tony [Tielli] at Roughtail [Brewing Company] or Blake [Jarolim] or Patrick [Lively] at COOP Ale Works, and they’ll help me out,” Anthony said.

Anthony came by his trade through his interest in making beer and a gift. He got started home brewing with a Mr. Beer home brewing kit from his girlfriend, who is now his wife.

“The hobby just became more and more involved until, in 2008, I decided that it’s what I wanted to do,” he said.

He spent several years traveling around the United States and Europe learning the craft.

“I worked for years and then wrote up a business plan,” he said.

adds special characteristics.

When he started his company, he was one of few who used old whiskey and wine barrels as his aging vessels. The idea caught on, and now there is a shortage of such barrels industry-wide. The barrels impart those characteristics into the beer.

“We’ve got the Uroboros aging in bourbon barrels; [they’re] really neat because they impart this vanilla and coconut flavor along with the oak,” Anthony sad.

Inside the brewery, there are impressive foudres (pronounced “fooders”), oversized oak casks that look like King Kong-sized barrels. The brewery uses these primarily to age the sours, which can take up to two years to make from start to finish. Sour beers, in all their time-consuming glory, are a passion for Anthony. He’s also excited about combining new ingredients to come up with new taste nuances for his beers.

“The one that we’ve made recently, a saison, it’s with Earl Grey Tea,” he said.

“It tastes nothing like the tea, of course, but there’s this completely other flavor in the beer.”

He has a deep affection for a good white beer and feels that most are overly hoppy or not spiced enough, that is not the case with Anthem’s Arjuna beer.

Anthony and brewing partner Will Perry frequently work on new, limitededition beers to unleash on the public.

“Ultimately, we want to end up with six year-round beers and then keep coming up with one-offs. We come up with them pretty quickly. We’ll put out about one or two specialty beers a month,” Anthony said.

The brewery will soon begin giving tours, complete with samples. In the meantime, Anthem Brewing Company beers can be found on tap at about 50 locations across the state. Visit anthembrewing.com for the “tap finder” map.

Around 120 retail liquor stores also carry Anthem bottled beers.

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BACON CHEESE FRIES

The changing spaces around OKC Farmers Public Market make some of us want to drink — and that’s a good thing.

BY DEVON GREEN

Fall flavor

Myriad Botanical Gardens is celebrating the change of seasons. With that in mind, it’s hosting two events centered on fall’s bounty. Register in advance by visiting myriadbotanicalgardens.org or calling 445-7080.

• 6-8 p.m. Friday: The Summer’s End Dinner on the Terrace is a sumptuous dinner that highlights the season. A four-course meal cooked by Chef Jeffrey Holloway is paired with wine or seasonal beer, and the setting is Meinders Garden and Terrace, 301 W. Sheridan Ave. • 2-2:30 p.m. Saturday: Apples are inseparable from autumn, and the It’s Cider Time! All About Apples class offers everyone age 5 and older a chance to learn about the fruit. You can also learn a craft project and make your own cider. The class is in the Terrace Room, 301 W. Reno Ave. Short secret

HIGHWAY 77 & MAIN ST., MULHALL, OK

above Clay Berkes pauses while working on his new bar, Power House, located near OKC Farmers Public Market.

Fried lake smelt with namazu roe.

doesn’t have a title that adequately describes him, we’re making one up.

Foodanista has a nice ring — think fashionista and apply it to food, but also think of Sandinista as it applies to revolution and bucking the status quo.

Oklahoma Gazette has covered Whitehorn and his restaurant concept, Nani, as it progressed from an idea and fundraising dinners to a full-blown dinner club.

There’s now a brick-andmortar location, but it operates like a speakeasy — you must make reservations before you get an address (psst … it’s near NW 15th Street and Classen Boulevard).

Nani’s cuisine blends comfort food from Native American and Japanese traditions into some of the most wholesome, inspired food in Oklahoma City. The word nani means both “what” in Japanese and “fish” in Choctaw and Chickasaw.

Whitehorn is a master at cleverly presenting things that might otherwise be outside of your comfort zone.

Nani is now open for dinner Wednesday through Saturday. All dinners start at 7 p.m. and are $45 per seat.

The meal is eight to 10 courses and begins with complimentary amusebouche. A coffee program also is included at either the beginning or the end of dinner. Nani donates 5 percent of its proceeds to charities that focus on social outreach programs in the local community.

For reservations, visit naniokc.com.

649-2229 WWW.LUCILLESOK.COM

SHANNON CORNMAN

You know what this place needs?

If you were going to say, “A bar,” you’re in luck.

Clay Berkes thought the same thing about the area near OKC Farmers Public Market at Second Street and Klein Avenue (informally called the Farmers Market District), and he’s going to fix that. Power House, a former power station at 1228 SW Second St., will soon be the new neighborhood watering hole. While it will have all the necessities of a great bar, Berkes said that it also was important to maintain the integrity of the interesting old building.

Berkes said he plans to have Power House open this fall, though no formal opening date has been set.

Construction is coming along, and you can get a peek at the progress and a historical photo tour of the district and the surrounding area at powerhouseokc .com and follow its progress on Twitter at @powerhousebar.

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LIFE FOOD & DRINK

Family Free Friday until 5pm

St. George Greek Orthodox Church 2101 NW 145th Street 751.1885

Visitors will have a chance to taste Greek food favorites, including a full dinner menu featuring a choice of a Greek-style roasted chicken or pastichio (Greek lasagna) or our newest addition — GRECIANSTYLE ROASTED LAMB! There will be many a la carte choices as well, including always-popular Greek sweets in the Festival bakery.

Artists, vendors and a Greek-style grocery are on hand.

Exotic Ethiopian

The Greek band, “To Kefi,” will be performing live music all weekend and Greek folk dancing groups will perform traditional dances.

Ethiopian cuisine is spicy, communal eating, delightfully different and comforting.

Festival goers will be able to tour the beautiful Byzantine church and learn about the Greek Orthodox faith.

BY ANGELA BOTZER

Bring the kids for our 1st Kids area!

• Huge Inflatables • Zorba Sundaes • Charicatures by Patrick Riley

TENT HOURS Fri-Sat 10-10 • Sun 11-3 DINNER HOURS Fri-Sat 11-9 Sun 11-2 benefitting

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To describe Ethiopian cuisine, one first needs to look at geography: the highlands of Northeast Africa, running through most of Ethiopia, have a temperate climate, and the region was one of the earliest stops in the spice trade for Arabian and Persian traders.

With the mountains creating a natural isolation barrier to outside influences, Ethiopian cuisine became quite unique. The region is one of the few places worldwide where teff grain — the main ingredient in injera bread, an important part of almost every meal — is grown.

The most beloved dishes in Ethiopian cuisine are wots and tibs.

Wots are spicy meat or vegetable stews, and not all are necessarily fiery. Tibs are bite-sized bits of stewed meat sautéed in clarified butter with vegetables.

Commonly, the injera is served on a large platter, and the selected wots, usually four to eight, are placed on top of the injera. This meal is served on a mesob, a colorful, woven basketlike table people sit around on low stools for the communal meal.

Eating without utensils is the proper way of Ethiopian dining.

Using your right hand, fold a small piece of injera around bits of stew and eat it without touching your fingers to the stew or to your mouth.

Haiget Yosef brings Ethiopian and Kenyan chicken tibs with three sides (mango salad, gomen/ sukamawiki and yedenich wot) to the mesob woven serving table at Haiget’s Restaurant.

Friends and family

An endearing act of friendship and love in Ethiopian culture is gursha, which involves the custom of feeding others, usually twice, at a meal. The larger the gursha (injera wrapped around stew), the deeper the love or bond.

You can feel the relaxed familial warmth as soon as you enter Haiget’s Restaurant, 308 W. Edmond Road, in Edmond.

“In Ethiopian culture, we often work together and help each other as a family, so when we have our evening meal, it’s our time to come together and relax,” said owner Haiget Yosef.

Haiget’s is a family affair; Haiget’s mother makes the injera daily.

Sit at the traditional mesob table, and start with the Ethiopian shai tea ($2.50) spiced with cloves and cardamom and served with accompanying mandazi sweet fried bread. Then it’s on to the black pepper spiced chicken tibs ($11.99) with three

You can feel the relaxed family warmth as soon as you enter Haiget’s Restaurant. vegetarian sides (there are 17 to choose from). The refreshing mango salad is mixed with cilantro, diced red pepper and a dusting of chili powder. Savory gomen wot is a homestyle dish of kale sautéed with onions, tomatoes and garlic. Paired with all of this, select the yedenich wot — carrots and potatoes cooked with onions, ginger and garlic — to round out a traditional dinner.

When you walk in and see artwork depicting the last emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie, you know you are at Queen of Sheba, 2308 N. MacArthur Blvd. After being greeted with a hot

towel to freshen your hands, start with a traditional appetizer of sinigg karia ($1.49), a chili pepper stuffed with seasoned tomato, onion and herbs.

Then choose the Queen of Sheba Mesob ($14.95). You won’t be disappointed with the stunning sampling: beef, chicken and lamb wots and tibs with an array of chickpea, potato and carrot and green bean wots.

Order the fragrant vegetarian sambusas ($4.50), fried pastry with lentils and green chilies, to-go for later. You won’t have room for it at the restaurant — trust me.

Etiquette: How to eat Ethiopian food 1. Clean your hands before eating, as food is served communally.

2. If you’re visiting somebody’s home for dinner, follow his or her lead. If they remove their shoes, remove yours as well.

3. Greet guests individually, moving from oldest to youngest.

4. If there are elders, allow them to begin eating first.

5. It’s OK; eat with your hands.

6. Using your right hand, scoop the stew from the dishes using pieces of injera bread instead of

using silverware.

7. You may also use your cupped right hand to serve yourself directly from the shared dishes.

8. As in America, it is considered rude in Ethiopian culture to reach across the table. You can share the dishes closest to you.

9. If you’re with someone you care about, it’s a sign of friendship and love to feed them bites of food.

10. If you’re at somebody’s home, it’s polite to leave a bit of food on the plate to let your host know you’re full.

PHOTOS BY SHANNON CORNMAN

Queen of Sheba co-owner Mimi Younis holds the Queen of Sheba Mesob dish while sitting in the traditional Ethiopian dining room.

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I can has cheezburger?

There is something so satisfying and American about a good, old-fashioned cheeseburger — even Internet cats love them.

You can dress it up all you like, handcraft it with fancy ingredients, but sometimes you just want a good, juicy burger with melted cheese on a toasted bun. We’ve just made your search a whole lot easier.

Hamburger King

Flatire Burgers

322 E. Main Street, Shawnee 878-0488

318 E. Ayers St., Edmond flatireburgers.com 359-2006

Hamburger King has been a Shawnee staple for a long time, and with good reason. It serves thick, juicy burgers on buttered and toasted buns without an ounce of fanfare. The lack of pretension and the perfect amount of grease on the bag is a sign that the King is doing something very right. It’s worth the drive.

The reasons for driving to Edmond for dinner involve some of the best burgers in town. With a menu that covers classic burgers and exciting flavor pairings on specialty burgers, Flatire should be on your “where to eat” list. It also offers a variety of other menu items, including fresh salads and fish tacos. The loaded fries are just about a perfect match for any burger. Can you really have too much cheese? We don’t think so.

— by Devon Green, photos by Mark Hancock, Shannon Cornman

Abraham’s Western Cafe 4716 N. Western Ave. 528-5152

This quiet joint on N. Western Avenue sits just south of the strip and sometimes gets overlooked for newer, fancier places. The constant presence of regular customers and the fact that it has been going strong while other restaurants have come and gone tells you a lot about it. Get the friedonion double cheeseburger with the crispy fries. You won’t regret it. Also, Abraham’s has a great breakfast menu with all the staples at great prices.

COMING THIS FALL TO MIDTOWN OKC

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421 NW 10TH STREET 2 6 | S E P T E M B E R 1 7, 2 0 1 4 | O K L A H O M A G A Z E T T E

Geronimo Bakery

1817 N. Martin Luther King Ave. 427-5893

With perfectly seasoned meat, freshly baked buns that are buttery and toasted and perfect house-made onion rings and fries, you can’t go wrong. The folks at Geronimo are old-school, and these are oldfashioned burgers. As a super-special bonus, the restaurant also makes donuts, and they are some of the biggest we have ever seen.

Ron’s Hamburgers and Chili 4723 N. May Ave. ronschili.com 943-7667

The sausage burger at Ron’s, made of part Oklahoma-made Blue & Gold sausage and part beef, is one of the most tender and flavorful burgers that we have ever had the pleasure of eating. Combine that with Ron’s award-winning chili and you have the lunch or dinner of champions. You might, however, need a nap afterward. If burgers aren’t your style, then we question your style, but there are some fine hot dogs, chili and even lighter fare like salads and sandwiches on the menu as well.

The Patty Wagon

Chester’s Billiards & Grill

3600 N. May Ave. 917-1711

2733 NW 50th St. 942-5944

What can we say about The Patty Wagon?

To know it is to love it. The eats include local, natural, grass-fed beef seasoned to perfection and grilled on a bun that could stand alone. The Belgian-style french fries are always fresh out of the fryer.

We haven’t had anything here that isn’t jaw-droppingly good. Before you add the condiments, taste the burger as it comes — this isn’t your typical “drown it with ketchup” burger. One bite and you’ll be planning your next visit.

Yes, it’s in a pool hall. Yes, the lighting is dim, and it’s generally full of serious pool-players. Do not let this dissuade you from getting to know one of the finest burgers in the metro. Belly up to the bar and order a classic cheeseburger. Watch it grilled on a flattop griddle right in front of your eyes, and then taste perfection.

Pair it with an order of hot, fresh onion rings and an ice-cold brew and you’ll be thankful we told you about it.

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LIFE COVER

Something for everyone Here’s your guide to the cultural quirk of this year’s Oklahoma State Fair.

BY GAZETTE STAFF | PHOTOS BY MARK HANCOCK AND SHANNON CORNMAN

F

or many, the Oklahoma State Fair is a judgment-free zone.

“It’s a really good opportunity to eat terrible things surrounded by people who don’t make you feel bad about eating terrible things,” said Chelsea Spence, who attended the fair on opening day.

With hundreds of vendors serving up food creations like deep-fried gummy bear on a stick and creamy cran-n-turkey on a croissant, the fair isn’t the place to count calories.

For over a century, the Oklahoma State Fair has offered a uniquely American experience of fatty foods,

seemingly unwinnable carnival games, cultural exhibits and thrill rides that rock back and forth on the chipped pavement.

“As a kid, the rides were more exciting,” said Jon Spence. “But as you get older, the rides kind of lose their luster and it’s more about the food.”

In a city that has spent the past several years trying to reinvent itself, the state fair offers a more familiar experience that can evoke memories from years past for even those who are new to the area.

“I used to always go to my state fair back home,” said Alicia Graves,

a Lawton resident who grew up in Indiana. “I remember eating all the food and petting animals.”

Graves said she was seeking a pineapple whip, a sorbetlike treat she remembers enjoying when she was younger. Graves’ husband, Cody, was looking for pizza on a stick.

“That looks pretty good to me,” he said.

Running until Sept. 21, fair officials claim they will welcome over one million visitors. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children, with those under 5 years old granted free admission.

The fair’s website, okstatefair.com, offers a complete guide to the events, contests and attractions that are offered each day. The website also includes an interactive food finder, allowing guests to quickly find the unique culinary creation their hearts desire.

In this Oklahoma Gazette guide, we offer a closer look at some of the cultural oddities that make the Oklahoma State Fair such a unique experience. Our guide offers tips on how to relax after walking up and down the midway, unique food items worth a try and an inside look at the life of a carny. >>>

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LIFE COVER Express yourself

Standing out at the Oklahoma State Fair is no easy task, but various t-shirt vendors offer the chance to express your witty thoughts or deeply held political beliefs. There’s a shirt reading “The Second Amendment” over a picture of George Washington holding an AK-47. Another will identify you as the “Twerk Queen.” Then there is the shirt that says “I’d tap that,” referring instead to a keg of beer.

Charles Bennett was working one t-shirt stand on opening day and said the Oklahoma State Fair crowd featured a different taste than other events across the country.

“We do have a pretty intelligent crowd here, so historically, we are going to sell more wordy shirts, ones that have more thought to them,” Bennett said.

When asked for an example of a shirt that appeals to a more “intelligent” state fair guest, Bennett pointed to a bright pink shirt that read, “Classy, sassy and a bit smart-assy.”

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Hitting the road

There are a lot of sights and events to see at the state fair. Across the U.S., each state fair has its own unique take on things, but they also offer similar events and experiences.

Chances are Jimmy Thompson has seen most of them, including the ones in Oklahoma. He has been working the carnival and fair circuit longer than many patrons have been alive.

“Forty-nine years,” Thomson said.

“Ever since I was 15 years old. I didn’t like going to school. I told my dad I wanted to quit school, and he said, ‘As long as you got a job,’ so the fair came to my hometown and I left.”

Thompson works the games by the rides. The Wacky Wire and the Gun Ball are his favorites to work, but they don’t set up the Gun Ball at the Oklahoma State Fair. The Block Buster is also one he likes.

The objective of the game is to knock over three bottles with a ball, but it is rarely as easy as it seems.

Deep-fried gummy bears

Jealousy

Friday, 8 p.m.

Saturday, 5:30 p.m.

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If you love sugar and you sort of like strange fried things, you should try the deep-fried gummy bear from the Sweet Shop booth. It was 90 percent sweet and 10 percent just plain weird, but it was definitely worth the experience you won’t find anywhere but the fair.

Whatever you do, make sure you eat the entire thing in bites that include both the powdered-sugar-sprinkled breading and the hot gummy bear inside before it cools though.

It gets a bit chewy if you let it cool off.

Sweet Shop is based in Columbus, Ohio.

Fair of the heart

John and Linda Bennett of Edmond have made opening day of the Oklahoma State Fair for 30 years. As they celebrated their upcoming 37th wedding anniversary, John bought Linda the one thing she looks for each year while here: a caramel apple.

The couple estimates that they spend $200-$300 each year, including tickets, car shows, tech gadgets and more. This year, they also hope to take their granddaughter to see Disney on Ice. As John and Linda walk away from the pink-hued fancy apple stand — it’s hard to miss — owner Lisa Albers talked about the seven years that she has been serving her award-winning treats.

She and husband Rodney, from Newcastle, have made this stand their bread and butter and travel the country full-time, selling their Caramel Apple Pie fancy apple and countless other varieties.

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27 • 11 a.m.

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Sew much fun

The Oklahoma City chapter of the American Sewing Guild was on hand to answer sewing questions and invite sewers, both novice and expert, to join them at their monthly meetings. While at the fair, the guild was sewing Christmas stockings for U R Special Ministries in Edmond.

Each year, members of the guild sew more than 600 stockings to be filled with special items for needy and at-risk children. Other charities they sew for include Bethel Foundation, Hope Pregnancy Center, ConKerr Cancer and The Children’s Center Rehabilitation Hospital in Bethany.

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LIFE COVER Wiener slingers Salty and sweet is the cornerstone of quality cuisine, and many of the fair food slingers have been known to take it to extremes.

Diamond Dawgs are the new guys on the food block at the state fair, and they’ve got a take on the combo that may seem risky but makes perfect sense once you try it.

The Wonderboy ($6) is fried to a perfect crisp that makes the sweetened gold Cap’n Crunch batter shimmer but leaves the inside gooey, salty and hot. This thing, the “golden rod of goodness,” will make a devout vegetarian eat meat for the first time in years.

The food trailer can be found across from the Jim Norick Arena.

All the small things When you go to the fair, you probably expect things to be bigger — rides, stuffed animals and calorie counts not the least among them.

But Oklahoma State Fair also has two of the smallest things of their kind: The World’s Smallest Woman and The World’s Smallest Horse.

You can catch a glimpse for only $1 (50 cents for the kiddos) each.

We weren’t able to confirm if the woman rides the horse outside work hours. We’re just going to pretend that she does.

Good vibrations That you will have to walk at the fair is a selfevident truth (it might have actually been in the Declaration of Independence), but all that leisurely strolling can take a toll on your tootsies (er, your feet). If only there were a remedy to keep your feet feeling fresh …

Oh, hey. There is! Do enough walking and you’ll stumble upon an automatic foot-massager.

The concept is simple: You sit down, insert a quarter into the deposit and put your feet on the metal plate. Then the magic happens. Fair warning, though: These things are intense. It’ll make your feet feel like they popped a dozen muscle relaxers — which is pretty awesome if you ask us.

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Mom! The goat is eating my sweater!

And the alpaca keeps photo-bombing!

Just another day at the Great American Petting Zoo — one of the top five attractions at the fair. Stocked with a menagerie ranging from farm chickens to fallow deer, it boasts 50 animals, and every one of them wants your attention.

“These are our pets,” said Sarah Kupelian, the manager of the zoo. “They’re never mistreated, and that’s why they’re naturally sweet and never aggressive.”

They travel the circuit with the managers and handlers, one big family on the road.

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Climate challenge

33 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE

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A planned march is intended to challenge climate denial.

BY JOSH HUTTON

Environmentalists will gather for the People’s Climate March at the Oklahoma City Municipal Building on Sunday at 1:30 p.m.

The march is intended to negate what Peace House director and event organizer Nathaniel Batchelder calls the majority of state politicians’ “climate denial.”

“There are virtually no scientists today that disagree with the premise that global climate change is happening,” Batchelder said.

But for every sentence in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s annual report that argues mankind’s behavior affects global warming, there’s a politician who dismisses the whole premise as fiction, including Sen. James Inhofe (R-Oklahoma).

He published The Greatest Hoax: How the Global Warming Conspiracy Threatens Your Future in 2012. In support of the book’s release, he said only God could change climate in a radio interview with Voice of Christian Youth America.

“Global warming and climate change are real,” Batchelder said. “It’s predominately caused by human activities, and all humanity must participate in solutions. I don’t think that’s a radical position.”

It might be a difficult position for many Oklahomans to make, given that the oil and natural gas industry employs more than 83,000 people across the state. The industry is also vital to state infrastructure, paying nearly $1 billion in gross production taxes annually.

Public education benefits too. Since 1996, the Oklahoma Energy Resources Board (OERB) has donated $25 million to education. OERB offers teachers and students free field trips on the condition the class completes an agespecific curriculum. Curricula ranges from kindergarten to high school and

Nathaniel Batchelder organized the People’s Climate March to bring attention to climate change. covers topics like well site safety and the formation and recovery of fossil fuels.

Stefan Warner, another Climate March organizer, said while the industry permeates political, commercial and educational spheres, Oklahomans notice many unique environmental problems, from water shortages to earthquakes that might be induced by fracking.

A simple rise in average temperatures during the summer months could be detrimental to low-income individuals who cannot afford to run the air conditioner in their homes, he said.

Average temperatures have increased over the last 50 years and will continue to increase throughout the 21st century, according to a 2013 Oklahoma Climatological Survey. The statement concluded that if the state failed to address global warming, the warm season would last longer, drought frequency and severity would increase and rain-free periods would become more common, but individual rainfall events would intensify.

Each speaker chosen for the opening ceremony at the march has been affected by climate change, Warner said.

Following the speeches, the group will begin its march at 2:30 p.m.

A wide berth of interest groups support the event. Co-sponsoring alongside The Peace House are Turtle Rock Farm, Interfaith Power and Light OKC, Peace Education Institute, Oklahoma Sierra Club and Oklahoma United Methodist Coalition.

Batchelder expects between 200 and 600 people to attend the march.

The public is welcome.

O K L A H O M A G A Z E T T E | S E P T E M B E R 1 7, 2 0 1 4 | 3 3

LIFE COMMUNITY

Man of honor A young man from Coweta, Oklahoma, is awarded the Medal of Honor 44 years after his death.

BY JOSH HUTTON

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In the middle of his advanced training at Fort Polk in Louisiana, awaiting deployment to Vietnam, Stanley Beesley received a letter from his former college football teammate Don Sloat shortly before he was killed. Attached to the letter was a photograph of Sloat holding an M60 machine gun.

“He said, ‘Bees when you get over here they’re going to give you one of these. They give all the big athletic guys M60s,’” Beesley, author of Vietnam: The Heartland Remembers, said.

And they did, but by that time, Sloat had sacrificed himself to save three of his squad mates.

The resourceful Viet Cong placed booby traps amid the dense underbrush and “wait-a-minute vines” — vines that would seemingly grab soldiers and their guns out of nowhere. When an American point man’s boot triggered a trap, he was trained to holler, “Wire!” and run as fast as he could. The soldiers behind would often dive off the trail and take cover. However, after a trap was triggered and a grenade rolled toward Specialist Four Sloat on January 17, 1970, he realized he only had milliseconds before detonation. To save his squad mates, Sloat hugged the grenade, absorbing the full impact.

He died a month before his 21st birthday.

“That was him. He always put others first. He was just a humble, selfeffacing guy,” Beesley said. “One of my comrades said it best about Don. He said, ‘You can’t train for that.’”

Forty-four years after his act of selflessness, President Barack Obama posthumously awarded Sloat the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military honor, on Sept. 15 in Washington D.C. Sloat’s brother, William, of Enid, accepted the award on his behalf.

Family

On Aug. 29, the Oklahoma National Guard held a press conference with Sloat’s three siblings at Vance Air Force Base in Enid. William Sloat spoke about his brother’s generosity; the circumstances when his brother

enlisted; and his telephone conversation with President Obama, during which the president thanked him for his brother’s character.

“In the process of choosing to enter the Army, he was turned down because of high blood pressure. He reapplied several times,” William Sloat said. “I think four to seven times. He eventually got in, and [the Army] became his new family.”

Don Sloat wrote concise letters to his mother, Evelyn, during his tour of duty. Many of these were published in Beesley’s book with her permission.

She spent years contacting everyone she could, pushing for her son’s sacrifice to get the attention it deserved. She did not live to see her son nominated for the award.

Sloat rarely elaborated on the details of war. Instead, his letters are filled with questions about his brother and two sisters, and, often, he attempted to alleviate her concern.

“Mom, you said that you could take it a lot easier if I was taking it ok.

Well I don’t know who told you I was taking it hard but this is not bothering me at all. So don’t worry about it,” he wrote in a letter dated Dec. 18, 1969.

He signed all of his letters simply, “Love, Son.” “It’s Don’s award, but we feel it’s Mom’s story,” William Sloat said.

Evelyn Sloat didn’t know the specifics of how her son lost his life until the early 2000s. The family discovered a post online from one of her son’s squad mates, who wrote of Sloat’s heroism. Evelyn spent years contacting everyone she could,

GUTHRIE

Don Sloat volunteered for the draft during the Vietnam War.

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pushing for her son’s sacrifice to get the attention it deserved. She did not live to see her son nominated for the award — she died in 2011.

Early Life

Sloat grew up in Coweta. While the city is now a sprawling suburb of Tulsa, in Sloat’s lifetime, it was a modest country town of around 2,000 people.

“Everybody knew what everybody else was up to,” Beesley said.

Sloat graduated in 1967 and then attended Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College (NEO) in Miami, Oklahoma. There, he played tackle.

NEO won the NCJAA football national championship that fall.

Although Sloat did not see a lot of playing time, Beesley said he remained a popular person around campus.

“He wasn’t the most fortunate guy or a scholar or the best football player; he was just a good ol’ boy, a real funny guy,” Beesley said.

During his second year at the junior college, he decided to volunteer for the draft with another young man from Coweta’s class of ’67, Mark Hatfield. At the time, the tiny town of Coweta had already borne the loss of six men in combat.

“It hung over their heads. Six of their friends had been killed. They knew all of them. They thought, ‘What am I doing?’ There was pressure. These are guys from Small Town, Oklahoma.

They grew up on John Wayne movies.

It may sound corny, but patriotism was real. Don felt it,” Beesley said.

Combat

Sloat had an admirable service record in the Army, receiving two Bronze Star medals for valor. The Sloat family isn’t sure what acts earned the medals.

When Sloat found out he was being awarded the first, he wrote succinctly, “Some guys came out last night and told me that I was going to get the Bronze Star medal.” Nothing more.

Beesley supposes his friend earned the medals by protecting his squad mates.

“Next to the squad leader, the guy carrying the M60 is the most important. He lays down, covering fire so his buddies can move,” Beesley said.

Those carrying the M60 also carried additional risk.

The North Vietnamese often targeted the machine gunners. The enemy would discern the direction the heaviest fire was coming from and concentrate their attack.

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Coweta Eight

The town of Coweta got used to seeing a drab olive green sedan. One visited the town eight times, delivering the news of another lost soldier. Of the eight, four graduated from the town’s high school in 1967.

Sloat was the final man from Coweta to be killed in action. Due to the size of the population, Coweta suffered more deaths per capita than any other city in the United States.

For a town that lost eight young men, for a mother who sought meaning in her son’s death, Sloat’s nomination for the Medal of Honor has been long overdue.

On Jan. 14, 1970, three days before his death, Sloat penned his final letter to his mother. He told her he had some “R and R” coming up and he might get to come home soon. He concluded the letter the way he finished many, talking about the people he loved: “I got your package yesterday with the pecan pie and cigars. All the guys said to tell you it was real good and that they could eat some more of it. (Hint hint.)

“From the way your letters sound you are getting a lot of snow. I bet the kids really love it. Well Mom I guess I’ll close for now. I’ll write again real soon.

Love, Son.”

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LIFE COMMUNITY

S HA N N ON CORN M A N

Creating Good Two local sisters are working to make a difference in Africa.ca..

BY ALISSA LINDSEY

When Oklahoma City sisters Elizabeth, 12, and Allison Grantham, 9, learned about poverty, they discovered their passion and knew they wanted to help make a difference.

Their solution is Beads of Good, a nonprofit that raises funds to provide shelter, education, vocational training, mentors and a sustainable income to young girls in Warri, Nigeria, who have run away from abusive families who forced them into prostitution or to become child brides.

“I have been challenged to act on behalf of those that have no voice and have even been forgotten,” Elizabeth said. “We live in a world that tells young girls they are an item to be possessed. My sister and I are not okay with that message.”

The vision for the girls in Nigeria is that they will use Ankara fabric native to their country to roll beads and create jewelry. Through this, they will generate an income that they can use to help pay for their schooling.

Level of education is an important factor in predicting whether girls will marry as children. Of women ages 20 to 24 in Nigeria with no education, 82 percent were married by the time they were 18, according to the girlsnotbrides. org website. But only 13 percent of women with a secondary education were married at such a young age.

Child brides are often forced to drop out of school and get married.

They are at a greater risk of living in poverty, suffering life-threatening pregnancy complications, contracting HIV/AIDS and being sexually abused.

Elizabeth has been able to come to terms with issues like violence, abuse and choices at an early age, and her mother, Hillary Grantham, has learned

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Allison and Elizabeth Grantham with jewelry made of beads from Africa. to help her process her feelings of anger at the situation in Nigeria.

While attending a seminar about privilege, Elizabeth realized that because she has her basic needs like food, clothes and shelter met every day, she can focus her efforts on helping people who are less fortunate.

“Doing well and excelling doesn’t give you the right to be ignorant of injustice,” Elizabeth said.

Elizabeth plays a major role in the day-to-day workings of the nonprofit.

She attends meetings with her mother, pitches creative product ideas and helps fine-tune messages to make them relevant to kids her age.

While the idea for Beads of Good began in 2009, the nonprofit only began fundraising about 9 months ago, and it has raised almost $10,000.

Registered as an NGO and with the Nigerian government, Beads of Good has the legal right to provide social services to 16 Nigerian girls in their care. The organization is using $3,500 of the funds raised to build a safe house and furnish it for the girls.

“Not only are we helping girls in Africa, but we’re also encouraging girls here,” Hillary said.

Beads of Good is working with a local illustrator to create a children’s book to facilitate discussions between parents and girls about self-worth.

Hillary expects that the Ankara jewelry will be available for purchase in either late 2014 or early 2015.

For more information, visit beadsofgood.org

P ROVI DE D

LIFE YOUTH

Warmth for winter

Many kids in the Oklahoma City school district do not have coats for winter.

BY ALISSA LINDSEY

Picture a young boy, little Tommy, as he clutches his bare arms to his chest, wearing only a thin Spider-Man T-shirt, shivering on his way to school.

The bitter winter wind whips past him, chilling the air to below-zero temperatures. His teeth chatter loudly, and his ears turn red with numbness.

A $20 winter coat could make a difference in Tommy’s life. Though Tommy is fictional, his story is real.

To combat the problem of a lack of winter coats, the Oklahoma City Public Schools District (OKCPS) is partnering with the nonprofit Operation Warm to raise funds to keep kids warm this winter. The result of this partnership is Coat-A-Kid, a grassroots initiative to provide new coats to an estimated 6,500 kids who go without them.

Last winter, OKCPS had to cancel school on six separate occasions because children without coats couldn’t walk to school or wait at bus stops in freezing weather.

About 35,676 OKCPS kids, or 89.5 percent, live at or below the poverty level, and their families often cannot provide them with warm coats. A family of four living on about $30,000 a year is living near the poverty level, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.

To reach their $130,000 fundraising goal, OKCPS is promoting different fundraising levels. For $20, sponsors can “Coat-A-Kid,” and with a donation of $500, they can “Coat-A-Class.”

“My vision for this project is that through the community, we can spread the word … that the community will wrap around our kids and just make this happen for them,” OKCPS Community Engagement Coordinator Kathryn Douglas said.

About 35,676 Oklahoma City students live at or below the poverty level.

And that’s exactly what’s happening.

Access Midstream Partners, L.P., a local natural gas services provider, donated $10,000 at the Coat-ACommunity level, and other local businesses like American Energy Partners, LP; OnCue Express and the OKC branch of First National Bank of Oklahoma have made donations as well.

These contributions are adding up quickly for a total of $17,050 raised, which is enough money to put coats on 852 OKC children.

“What we hope by this is that with a new coat… [the kids] will really have a sense of self-esteem, joy and pride of wearing something new. These kids hardly ever receive anything new, and so we just hope that we can make their lives better,” Douglas said.

The Coat-A-Kid initiative has launched, and donations can be made through September 30. Sponsors can even choose to contribute to a specific OKC public school.

OKCPS plans to distribute the brand-new coats to children who have a need for them in early to mid-October.

To set a fundraising goal, school principals made observations about the kids they saw coming to school cold and then added 10 percent to their estimations to account for new students or those overlooked.

While OKCPS appreciates all monetary donations made, they cannot take coat donations.

To learn more about Operation Warm or to donate to Coat-A-Kid, visit operationwarm.org/okcps.

O K L A H O M A G A Z E T T E | S E P T E M B E R 1 7, 2 0 1 4 | 3 7

LIFE VISUAL ARTS

Double-edged show Felted Wool Leaf

by EK Jeong

BY DEVON GREEN

Istvan Gallery and Verbode are ready to help you take the plunge into the sweater-wearing, cider-drinking nights of fall. To coincide with the one-year anniversary of the Auto Alley Shop Hop, real estate company Verbode partnered with Istvan owner Stephen Kovash to showcase two Oklahoma artists. The office could be considered an unexpected venue until you see the space.

“Verbode looks more like a gallery than a real estate office,” Verbode founder Sarah Bytyqi said in a press release. “It’s laid out for work [and] creative incubation.”

One of the two artists in the fall show is Dr. EunKyung (EK) Jeong, a fabric artist whose love of the tactile side of art — paper and fiber — led her on a journey

P ROVI DE D

The works of two uniquely forward-thinking artists collide in Istvan Gallery and Verbode’s Fall Art Show.

to surprising places for herself and her audience. Jeong’s mixed-media creations are appealing to the eyes and touch.

Her leaf series has been a labor of love, something she has been drawn to since she was young.

“When I try to get away from it, I always find myself drawn back in,” Jeong said. “Ever since I was a little girl, I have been fascinated by leaves — the texture, so many different colors. You might say that I am obsessed.”

It wouldn’t be the first time she has been accused of it, but Jeong finds that they resound with viewers as well.

“I don’t really make my art to sell,” she said. “But there was this one customer, he took one look at one of my leaf pieces and he bought the whole

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collection.”

For her day job, Jeong teaches a variety of art courses at Southwestern Oklahoma State University, all in — you guessed it — the art department. She has shown her work all over the world, including the prestigious International Fiber Art Biennial in 2006 and 2008, and won numerous international awards.

In what seems like complete juxtaposition, the other artist in the show, Jesse Whittle, does semiabstract portraits of mundane objects with acrylic paint. His work is on display in several places, including the Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art in Shawnee.

Kovash was happy to elaborate on why he selected these two artists and how they go together.

“While both EK and Jesse are art educators, I really put them together for this show because I love their work and it really felt like a good combination for fall,” Kovash said. “I’ve always admired EK’s fiber-based work and was delighted to have the chance to put up this show of felted wool leaves. The colors and shapes are just gorgeous.”

Istvan Gallery, 1218 N. Western Ave., has established a reputation for exposing OKC residents to cutting-edge and nontraditional art forms and artists. This month’s show at Verbode is no exception.

Thursday’s reception — which includes light refreshments and entertainment — is free to attend, and the show runs through October.

LIFE PERFORMING ARTS

Bright spots With a pair of performances featuring a world-renowned vocalist, the Brightmusic Chamber Ensemble launches its 12th season with no strings attached.

P ROVI DE D

BY ERIC WEBB

“Poetic Portraits” Brightmusic Chamber Ensemble 7:30 p.m. Monday All Souls’ Episcopal Church 6400 N. Pennsylvania Ave. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday St. Paul’s Cathedral 127 NW Seventh St. brightmusic.org Free-$15

Brightmusic Chamber Ensemble heralds the beginning of its 12th season with a little help from world-renowned baritone Randall Scarlata for a program titled “Poetic Portraits.”

The group will give two performances of each concert: Monday night in northwest Oklahoma City at All Souls’ Episcopal Church and Tuesday night downtown at St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral.

In keeping with the concert’s theme, four of the pieces being performed feature poetic texts from major literary figures. Scarlata will join six talented musicians from the Brightmusic ensemble: Gregory Lee and Katrin Stamatis on violin, Mark Neumann on viola, Jonathan Ruck on cello, Chad Burrow on clarinet and Amy I-Lin Cheng on piano.

Brightmusic Artistic Director Chad Burrow said Sergei Prokofiev’s “Overture on Hebrew Themes,” the only nonvocal piece in the lineup, will serve as a gateway to the riches that follow.

“The idea of incorporating the voice with instruments is a long love affair for composers,” Burrow said. “Some of the finest works ever written combine the voice with various combinations of instruments.”

Burrow and Scarlata perform and teach together every summer at Austria’s Alpenkammermusik festival. They first discussed the idea of Scarlata performing in Oklahoma City two years ago.

“I had heard him sing the Schumann cycle and ‘Dover Beach,’ and I was anxious to have a performer of his artistry in the city to present some of the gems of the vocal chamber music repertoire,” Burrow said.

Burrow said that while reviews of performers can be misleading, the critics’ praise of Scarlata has a clarion ring, extolling him as an eminent performer with an inexplicable ability to communicate to an audience.

The diverse musical selection of

Randall Scarlata

“Poetic Portraits” is a musical greatest hits of sorts, including works like Franz Schubert’s “Selected Lieder,” Thea Musgrave’s “Four Portraits” and Samuel Barber’s “Dover Beach.”

The concert will climax with a performance of Robert Schumann’s “Dichterliebe.” Translated as “A Poet’s Love,” Burrow described it as one of the most famous and beautiful song cycles ever penned.

“The depth of feeling and emotional conviction required for the Schumann is extensive and very challenging,” he said.

The second concert of Brightmusic’s season, “Austrian and German Masterworks for Winds,” will take place November 17-18 and feature works by Bach, Hindemith, Karg-Elert, Zemlinsky and Beethoven.

On January 12-13, Brightmusic will be joined by guest violinist Cyrus Beroukhim, concertmaster of the American Ballet Theatre orchestra, for “World Traveling Violin.” The performance will include trios by Mozart and Khachaturian as well as works by Sheng, Ravel and Schoenfield.

“Music of War and Remembrance” on March 16-17 will feature pieces by Stravinsky, Elgar and Schoenfield. “The Piano Quartet” will close the regular season on April 20-21 with works of Mozart, Turina and Brahms, followed in June by the Spring Festival, “America, the Beautiful,” a celebration of American composers.

Burros said that with any Brightmusic concert, he wants audiences to have a transcendent moment in which the music speaks directly to their souls in a way that words never could.

“I want our audience to be moved to find a deeper love of great music,” he said.

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LIFE PERFORMING ARTS

Carrie the weight Stephen King’s classic about teen angst, bullying and murder makes for a tricky — and rewarding — musical.

Carrie: The Musical Weitzenhoffer Theatre 540 Parrington Oval, Suite 122, Norman ou.edu/finearts/universitytheatre 325-4101 Note: This play is rated R, and there is heavy gore.

There are those who must have been at least a little trepidatious about the idea of Stephen King’s first novel being made into a musical. There must have been jokes comparing it to Silence of the Lambs the musical, those imagining Hellraiser with dance numbers.

The story of a teenage girl with an incredible psychic power and a domineering and hyper-religious mother getting her ultimate revenge is not exactly the kind of material that Rogers and Hammerstein would have been chomping at the bit to adapt.

However, while on the surface the book is about these subjects, it’s an allegorical cautionary tale. When you take this into account, it becomes clear why Lawrence D. Cohen would want to adapt into a musical.

The Weitzenhoffer School of Musical Theatre and University Theatre (both at the University of Oklahoma, OU) are collaborating to bring the show to Norman.

“The world is finally ready to be receptive to this cautionary tale of the dangers of insensitivity and ambivalence,” director Jonathan Beck Reed said.

With the universal idea that all people essentially want love and acceptance for who and what they are, this is a story that could be ripped from today’s headlines.

“Carrie: The Musical explores the debilitating dangers of untreated mental illness, religious fanaticism and aggressive, unrelenting bullying,” Reed said.

Playing the part

Nancy Ross plays Margaret White, Carrie’s domineering, religiously fanatical mother.

This role is a challenging departure for her, as she most often plays more

comedic, lighthearted roles. She did a lot of homework to pin down Margaret, who is one of the more nasty antagonists in theater. Ross’ challenge was finding some way to relate to her and make the audience sympathize with her cruel treatment of her daughter, or at least her motivation.

“My role is tricky,” she said. “You learn that in theater — villains are most often not villains in their minds.

I had to focus on her not as a villain.”

She instead sought out stories about mothers who have done horrible things out of religious insanity. Andrea Yates, a young mother from Houston, heard voices in her head that told her to kill her children. In 2001, she did.

“I went through a process of … finding ways to justify making her a real person, making someone that mothers can relate to,” Ross said.

It was harrowing work. Early in the process, Ross described “just going numb” in order to get through the grueling emotions that Margaret goes through.

“I’ve only ever played super, super goofy roles — over-the-top, so happy about life, so emotional,” she said. “[But with] this show, that’s what makes this a musical, too. The space is so intimate, and everything is real and relatable.”

Developing the characters

Thankfully, the cast had each other for support.

Reed, who more often takes his place on the stage rather than behind it, made every effort to cast the play based on chemistry between the actors.

“He gave us a lot of freedom in how we approach our characters and how we built the story,” Ross said.

She also stressed how helpful it was to have the books on hand, as the musical pulls more from the book version than the 1976 film directed by Brian De Palma. The film, with Sissy Spacek in the iconic role of Carrie and Piper Laurie as the hateful Margaret, has almost no emotional subtlety, especially between the mother and daughter. There is also very little in the way of metaphor.

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P HOTOS P ROVI DED

BY DEVON GREEN

He gave us a lot of freedom in how we approach our characters and how we built the story.

— Nancy Ross

Mattie Joyner

The musical is much more about the themes in the book.

While King gets criticism for generally writing about the boogeyman, he’s more often writing about spiritual struggle or how humans can be the ultimate boogeyman with no help from the spirit world.

The lead role

For her take on the tortured and lonely Carrie, Audra Bryant struggled with getting into her role as well, but for completely different reasons. She was really afraid of taking on this iconic role and making it hokey or overthe-top, so she approached it from a different angle.

“I started with reading the book, and I really tried to understand I’m playing a real person, and while there are crazy circumstances, just like in real life, there are different sides to her that they may not show all the time because they’re nervous and scared.

But she’s funny and compassionate and smart. I really tried to look at her like I would a friend,” Bryant said.

“To be honest, we always joke that every musical is about love, but it really is the story of a girl who is struggling to find a source of love and compassion from somebody, who it should come from … for some reason, she can’t find it. To put it simply, that’s all [this story] is.”

Gray Randolph

Sarah Quinn

Jordan Barron

?

Toil and trouble Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park’s Macbeth hits a few snags on the way to its bloody ending.

WOMEN’S HEALTH FORUM SEPTEMBER 28-OCTOBER 10

BY LARRY LANEER

Macbeth Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays, Sept. 18-27 Myriad Botanical Gardens Water Stage 301 W. Reno Ave. $10-$15 235-3700

Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park (OSP) wraps up its 30th season with Macbeth, one of the company’s favorite plays, according to Kathryn McGill, OSP artistic director. One might think a work held in such esteem would get better treatment than what’s seen in this production.

The show gets off to a halting start.

First, a funeral procession bearing a child-sized coffin crosses the stage. Next, three scantily clad witches enter in all their feminine pulchritude. These Weird Sisters look more like sorority sisters, but when they open their mouths, they sound like Betty Boop crossed with a screech owl. Finally, several armed knights invade the stage and engage in some swordplay, accompanied by ominous-sounding, recorded music.

Director D. Lance Marsh seems to be staging the theatrical version of a movie trailer for the production. With that folderol out of the way, the play begins.

But over the next two and a half hours, this OSP production doesn’t expand much on what we’ve seen in the first few minutes. For some reason, Macbeth is a difficult play to stage.

Maybe it’s like Mozart’s music, so finely wrought with such close tolerances that it takes the best experts to execute it to a satisfying degree. Or maybe it’s just the curse of the “Scottish play.” (Show people are as superstitious as baseball players; they consider uttering the play’s

title to be bad luck.)

Much of this play’s success depends on the collaboration between the director and the actors playing Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. David Chrzanowski takes the title role and plays it as if Macbeth were trying to avoid offending anyone.

The character needs the pathological ambition to carry out some horrible deeds, but here, his niceness keeps bubbling to the top. One wonders if this amiable Scotsman could handle the job of thane of Cawdor, a title he’s granted

by King Duncan (the avuncular James Tyra), whom he will soon assassinate, much less rule as king of Scotland, a title Macbeth steals on his own, abetted by his wife. Macbeth’s motivation often appears to come from some strange power his wife has over him.

As Lady Macbeth, Mandee Chapman-Roach charms when she needs to, but more seething ruthlessness from her at other times would be welcome.

After all, when Macbeth expresses doubt about their plot to kill Duncan, the Lady shames him back into their sanguinary scheme.

Marsh, a drama professor, fills the cast largely with his Oklahoma City University students. Tanner Bradshaw gives Malcolm the right heft, especially later in the play, when he’s fighting for the Scottish crown.

The Devon Energy Tower plays its part, too, looming over the Water Stage striped in blood red.

Marsh tries to give the production a provocative ending not envisioned

by Shakespeare (as far as we know).

Surrounded by the Weird Sisters, Donalbain (Trevor Strahan) glares menacingly, sword in hand, as his brother, Malcolm, exits as king of Scotland. Bring on the fratricide.

There’s nothing as powerful and healing as a good laugh, and that’s the theme of this year’s INTEGRIS Women’s Health Forum: Laughter is the Best Medicine, with 20+ events at some of the metro’s hippest venues – and many are free. Good health is no joke, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have some fun talking about it.

PREPARING FOR CHILDBIRTH AND BEYOND Wednesday, Oct. 1 – 6:30 p.m. · Hensley’s Top Shelf Grill, Yukon · Whether you’re just starting to think about having children or already have one on the way, Dr. Mitro has answers to your questions.

CHOICES FOR BIRTH CONTROL AND A HEALTHY HEART Friday, Oct. 3 – 11:30 a.m. · Café do Brasil, OKC · INTEGRIS cardiologist Dr. Mack discusses keeping your heart healthy and gynecologist Dr. Stone brings the facts on birth control.

PART OF THE FAMILY Wednesday, Oct. 8 – 11:30 a.m. · Bellini’s Ristorante, OKC · Choosing a pediatrician is one of the most important decisions you’ll make for your child. Hear from pediatrician Dr. Burget and pediatric neurologist Dr. Stocco on how to make the right choices for your family.

That’s just a small sample of what’s to come. See the full lineup and register at integrisok.com/whf.

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LIFE BOOKS Although we’ve come far, our work is far from complete.

— Marian Wright Edelman

Rule breaker

Armed with an education and her father’s advice, Marian Wright Edelman has made the world a better place.

BY DEVON GREEN

Distinguished Speakers Series at Oklahoma City University Marian Wright Edelman 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 24 Henry J. Freede Wellness and Activity Center 2701 N. Florida Ave. okcu.edu/speakers 208-4596

Marian Wright Edelman doesn’t understand barriers. You could say the same for her relationship with obstacles. Throughout her career as an activist and advocate, she has refused to be kept in her place.

With her calm demeanor and her quiet yet authoritative voice, she has

Marian Wright Edelman, a civil rights activist, will speak in the Distinguished Speakers Series for Oklahoma City University. earned her place among the greats as a champion of the underprivileged and a voice for those who cannot speak for themselves.

Her dreams were big, and her accomplishments were even greater than she expected.

“My father believed in God, in serving others and in education,” she said.

Her father died when she was 14.

Sadly, he missed the landmark Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court decision that started the process of integrating

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schools, by one week. He emphasized how strongly he felt that education would lift her up to be anything she wished to be. He told her, “Never let anything get in the way of your education.” She took those words and her father’s legacy of helping others as her mission.

“We were taught that the world had a lot of problems but that we could change them, those of us who were given much had a responsibility to give back and service is the rent we pay for living,” she said.

She graduated from Yale with a law degree in 1963 and became the first black woman to be admitted to the Mississippi state bar. She went on to become a successful attorney in Mississippi, never failing to remember her “rent,” working with poor communities and advocating for those most often overlooked. She was a visible participant in the civil rights movement and even advised Martin Luther King, Jr. She caught his attention as director of the NAACP’s Legal Defense and Educational Fund, helping countless people obtain equality and justice regardless of their race, education or income.

After the heady days at the center of the civil rights movement, Wright was not content to rest. She admits that we have come a long way since the days of segregated schools and color-specific drinking fountains, but we still have a way to go.

“Although we’ve come far, our work is far from complete,” she said. “What keeps me going every day is my belief that we can and will win the fight to make America live up to the ideals in the Declaration of Independence and realize the dream of a level playing field for all.”

In the 1970s, she founded the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF), a national advocacy group for children and families.

“Growing up, I was richly blessed with parents and a black community who nurtured me and other children so that we could realize our Godgiven potential despite many negative messages of the outside segregated world,” she said.

She gives back this nurturing in many ways. Edelman, who is now in her 70s, lectures extensively and continues to be an inspiration for all generations.

Dr. Harbour Winn is the co-chair of the board that organizes the Distinguished Speakers Series for Oklahoma City University (OCU).

Edelman has been on the board’s speaker wish list for several years. The series, now in its 12th year, has hosted luminaries from various disciplines, including Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Jane Goodall and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

The most impressive thing about the series, besides the people who come and speak, is that it is free and open to the public. Winn emphasized that this is part of the university’s mission as part of the community.

The speakers are chosen by a committee that consists of faculty, staff and students.

“I’ve been on the committee since its inception,” Winn said. “We meet regularly to decide who to invite … it’s a committee out of the provost, Susan Barber’s office, and part of the success, I think, has been the continuity and the variety [of the committee]. We try to get a broad representation from the balance of students and staff.”

Winn cited Edelman’s staggering resume as only part of the reason the committee desired her to visit.

“She’s absolutely committed to the CDF in Washington, D.C., one of the largest groups of advocates for the rights of children,” he said. “She has such a broad range of experience for advocacy and activism.”

“Although we’ve come far, our work isn’t finished,” Edelman said when asked about the future of civil rights now that we are moving into a new era of equality for all. “The greatest threat to America’s national security comes from no enemy without but from our own failure to invest adequately and fairly in the health, education and sound development of all of our children.”

Prairie kitchen

Melissa Gilbert has come a long way from Little House on the Prairie and has even published a new cookbook.

BY DEVON GREEN

Melissa Gilbert

Melissa Gilbert book signing 1 p.m. Sunday Full Circle Bookstore 1900 Northwest Expressway fullcirclebooks.com 842-2900

It’s hard to listen to Melissa Gilbert on the phone and not immediately picture that pigtailed girl with the wise smile from Little House on the Prairie on the other end. It can be disconcerting to discover that she has four grown children of her own. Gilbert has a successful film and television career, and she has also published two books.

She took time away from shooting her new show, an action thrill ride with Ryan Phillippe, to talk about her new cookbook, My Prairie Cookbook, her memories of Oklahoma and her love of food. She’d had a day of heavy stunts the previous day — it had her reaching for the ibuprofen — but she broke her back during the tour of Little House on the Prairie: The Musical and said she feels better now than she ever has. She didn’t even know she had broken her back until she went in to get it checked out after the tour was over. What she thought would be a minor injury turned into an ordeal that took several years to fully repair.

“You know, of all the things that hurt [from stunt work yesterday], my back is not one of them,” she said.

Gilbert admits that no matter

what she does with her career, she will always be Laura from Little House on the Prairie, and she’s fine with that. She wrote her first book, an autobiography, Prairie Tale: A Memoir, in 2009. And fans clamored for more.

“Writing a cookbook hadn’t occurred to me, but the fans, [they] are the most loyal, growing population, and they wanted more behind-the scenes information,” she said. “It really grew out of that.”

She had planned to do a Little House on the Prairie scrapbook filled with all the pictures she had taken and collected over the years.

“The content was still a little thin to stand on its own,” she said.

The people helping put the project together knew that cooking was one of Gilbert’s passions, and they asked if she had many recipes that characters from the television show would have made.

She updated them for modern kitchens and, in some cases, added measuring instructions. In most, she used a combination of muscle memory that she had learned at her grandmother and mother’s kitchen counter.

“I found that I had about 200 ... but the thing about those recipes is they were all in my head,” she said. “Only the baked goods had anything like coherent instructions.”

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I love the way food brings people together and the ritual of food and spending time with people I love.

— Melissa Gilbert

With some experimentation and using her family as her tasters — she has a house of five men, four grown sons — she knows when a recipe is a hit.

“There is nothing more satisfying for me than when they sit back and say, ‘Mom, that was so good.’ That means I’ve done something right,” she said. “I love the way food brings people together and the ritual of food and spending time with people I love.”

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

NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD PUZZLE ANSWERS Puzzle No. 907, which appeared in the September 10 issue.

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G N A S H

H A Z E L

I N H A L E

S L A N T S

D R U G L A W S

W A T E R R A T

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S T R A I O W T M I S E N G G A S

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V I V I F Y S Y N E A P P I A N W A Y

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L O R N E M E T R E S

Thursday is Open House at the Paramount Building music from my so called band, kodey prewitt, annie oakley, and tanner miller.

comedy from OKAY CITY TONIGHT Refreshments, prizes, all free! come back friday for premire night with more music and comedy plus an outdoor movie.

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Come in for breakfast, lunch, dinner, wine & cheese, coffee & pie, or just entertainment.

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NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE CROSSWORD PUZZLE ALL-ENCOMPASSING Tracy Gray and Jeff Chen / Edited by Will Shortz 79 80 81 83 86 87 89 93 94 95

Stone of The Help Atomic clock part Flog Hightails it Figure on Argentina’s flag Charge Period of inactivity Last Oldsmobile Took after Org. that implemented the Food Stamp Act 97 Former Mrs. Trump 98 Southern farm concern 100 “No need to worry” 102 “Die Meistersinger” soprano 103 Brio 104 ___ lamp 106 On 107 Wyo. neighbor 108 Kind of scan 110 HBO comedy/drama 112 Way to storm off 114 Begins, as work 115 Marketing news magazine 116 Rattle off, say 117 Dutch Golden Age painter 118 Actress Brandt of Breaking Bad 119 Them, with “the”

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DOWN He walked away with Blaine in Casablanca Type Kicks everyone out, say Yoga variety Synthetic ___ Maria Get several views Big name in auto racing Trendy food regimen Long span Expensive Super Bowl purchase Polished off Cousin of a zucchini Boca Del ___, Fla. Certain bar orders, informally Rounded roof West Coast city where Nike had its start

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20 Aladdin’s adversary 23 Times gone by 26 “___ Mine,” 1984 Steve Perry hit 28 Winter Olympics site after St. Moritz 31 Bonny miss 32 Like lottery winners, typically 34 Gerrymandered, e.g.

35 Verdant 41 Bright light 44 In vogue 46 X or Y supplier 48 Mister, in Mumbai 49 Creative, in a way 50 Karate instructor 51 Joyous song 53 Small flycatcher 55 “___ Satanic Majesties

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Stumped? Call 1-900-285-5656 to get the answers to any three clues by phone ($1.20 a minute). The answers to the New York Times Magazine Crossword Puzzle that appeared in the September 10 issue of Oklahoma Gazette are shown at left.

Oklahoma Gazette

6

Request” (Rolling Stones album) Eggy?

Stretching muscle Court cry E.R. figures Inspect Dodo’s lack Weaponry Bussing on a bus, briefly?

Barber who wrote “Adagio for Strings” To a greater extent Sketch show, briefly Caddy’s choices 1960s sci-fi series Blowout win Discombobulates N.B.A. Hall-of-Famer Monroe “___ Nagila” Light ___

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ACROSS 1 Loaded, in Lyon 6 Hosiery hue 11 Eagles, Falcons and Cardinals 16 Last place 17 “No lie!”

18 Move out 20 Some politicians’ trips 21 Cub Scout leader 22 Salt away 24 Shrinks’ org.

25 What discoveries may yield 27 “Right you ___!”

28 Abbr. not found on most smartphones 29 JFK alternative in N.Y.C. 30 Nasty storm, e.g.

33 Film director who said, “I think an artist has always to be out of step with his time” 36 “___ be praised” 37 Paradoxical figure?

38 Fraternity member or muscle, briefly 39 Mary who introduced the miniskirt 40 Outs, in a way 42 Law & Order spinoff, informally 43 “Yes” 44 Ornery sorts 45 Didn’t take it lying down, say 47 ___ child (playful side) 48 Ayatollah predecessor 49 Indiana Jones menace 52 Lathered (up) 54 Game with falling popularity?

56 Native Oklahoman 59 Hit from behind 61 “Eh, any one is fine” 63 Fan of pop’s One Direction, maybe 64 Veered off course 65 Many Winslow Homer works 70 Some holiday greenery 74 The dark side 75 Kidnapping, e.g.

77 Island in Pacific W.W. II fighting 78 “The cautious seldom ___”: Confucius

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Garlic segments Empathizes P.R. firm’s job Principal Seymour’s girlfriend on The Simpsons 90 Fullness 91 Not going anywhere?

92 Stick on the grill?

94 Where Excalibur was forged 96 Threads 99 Delight 101 Philosopher Kierkegaard 105 Noted Dadaist 109 ___ Technical Institute 110 Yammer 111 Britain’s ___ News 113 Monty Python and the Holy Grail enchanter

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TopGolf is building a new flagship location near Quail Springs Mall.

Top-notch A new entertainment concept coming to Oklahoma City combines the fun of golf with the social aspect of a sports bar.

replaces need for iTunes App! Readers now have access to an improved, responsive, interactive website, removing the need for the iTunes app.

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The new okgazette.com features a smashing flipbook and easier search capability.

All smartphone and tablet users will love how adaptable it is for their on-the-go lifestyle.

So go check out okgazette.com for all your news, arts and entertainment needs.

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Adrienne Chance has heard almost daily from Oklahoma residents begging her company, TopGolf, to build a top-notch golf entertainment facility in Oklahoma City like the ones that operate in Dallas, Houston and other cities.

Those pleas have been heard.

TopGolf is building a new 65,000-square-foot flagship location near Quail Springs Mall in the southwest quadrant of N. Western Avenue and the John Kilpatrick Turnpike. Work began on the $15-$20 million facility, which will combine the fun of golf with the excitement of video games and the social aspect of a sports bar, a few weeks ago.

“We have never seen a market that was so excited about the concept,” said Chance, senior communications manager at TopGolf.

The new facility, expected to open this spring, will feature three levels with 102 hitting bays that can hold six players each. Players hit golf balls equipped with computer microchips that track each shot’s accuracy and distance while awarding points for hitting targets on the outfield. You can bring your own clubs, but clubs are provided in every bay.

An entertainment hub, TopGolf will also feature a full-service restaurant and three bars, indoor gaming areas with billiards and shuffleboard, a rooftop terrace with a fire pit and space for live music, HDTVs in every hitting bay that guests can operate using a smartphone app and 3,000 square feet of private event space.

“It’s a facility that can be enjoyed by all ages, all skill levels all year round,” Chance said. “Even if you don’t play golf, there are so many activities that you can participate in.”

Formed in 2000 by British twins Steve and Dave Jolliffe, the company began a robust expansion about three years ago after the brothers sold out to an ownership group that includes Dallas businessman Tom Dundon and California-based Callaway Golf Co. The Oklahoma City project is funded through TopGolf’s investors and EPR Properties, a $3.4 billion specialty real estate investment trust based in Kansas City, Missouri.

Oklahoma City’s facility will serve approximately 425,000 visitors in its first year of operation, estimates Randy Starr, TopGolf’s chief development officer. Its 10-year total fiscal impact to the community (including sales tax, property tax, business tax, etc.) will exceed $31 million, and the company expects to hire approximately 400450 workers, creating 100 full-time positions.

Growing the game

Nationally, golf is a game in decline.

According to the National Golf Foundation, there were 25.3 million U.S. golfers ages six and older in 2012, down from a peak of 30 million in 2005. Across the country, more golf courses are closing than opening.

TopGolf has taken on the mantle of helping grow the game, Chance said. About 65 percent of TopGolf’s guests are ages 18-34, millennials less likely to take up golf. The company uses a guerilla marketing strategy combining social media and local appearances before a location’s opening. The company is also rolling out a golf instruction program offering guests lessons for $20.

“We just kind of break the barriers that stop a lot of people from getting into traditional golf,” she said.

P ROVI DE D

LIFE SPORTS

LIFE MUSIC

Gospel coalition A new quarterly concert series showcases songwriting talent in the most intimate — and holiest — of settings.

Midtown Songwriter Series featuring Beau Jennings, Chase Kerby and Tyler Hopkins 7 p.m. Friday City Presbyterian Church 829 NW 13th St. twitter.com/OKCSongwriters $10

Oklahoma City singer-songwriter Tyler Hopkins had a problem, and church was the solution — but not for the reasons you might expect.

When not backing a sizable list of Oklahoma musicians (Sherree Chamberlain, Black Canyon, The Nghiems, Ali Harter, Riley Jantzen and more over the years), Hopkins is out at dive bars and rock clubs performing his own solo material, combating clanking beer bottles, hearty conversations, deep laughs and whatever game is on the television for both the crowd’s notice and the room’s available audible airspace.

It’s hard enough to bare your soul; it’s even harder when it feels like no one is really even listening to you do so.

“I’ve been talking with other songwriters for years about the frustration with the ability to play somewhere and for people to actually hear what you’ve been working on without distractions,” Hopkins said, noting the exception of The Blue Door and house shows but little else. “I got tired of playing as an acoustic act with people talking above me. I can’t fault a bar crowd for doing it, because that’s the atmosphere that you’re in. I’m just as guilty as anybody.”

In that way, the inaugural installment of the quarterly Midtown Songwriter Series — planned for Friday at City Presbyterian Church — is as much a public service as passion project

by Hopkins and a group of friends

supporting the endeavor. It’s a chance for songwriters to become more than muddled background noise, an opportunity to deliver a message loud and clear to those who truly wish to hear it. “[The goal of the series] is to give songwriters an outlet in an environment that is conducive to fully appreciating the nuances of songwriting,” Hopkins said. “It’s ideal for a songwriter and an acoustic guitar.”

Though located in a gorgeous sanctuary — built back in 1920 — the Midtown Songwriter Series is not a church-sponsored event (or even really affiliated with it), nor is it much of a religious experience. Modeling itself after Central Presbyterian Church in Austin, Texas (which has hosted the likes of Fiona Apple, Grizzly Bear and St. Vincent over the years), the church is acting more as community space. Though Hopkins won’t lie — the nature of the room has its perks.

Even beyond the beautiful, intimate setting and exceptional acoustics, Hopkins hopes that the respect a congregation shows for its preacher’s sermon will translate to a similar experience between the performer and audience.

“The benefit, I think, in having the show in a setting like that is being in that sort contemplative room,” he said. “Whether they are religious or not, there’s a sense of reverence for the artists performing, or at least that’s my hope.”

Acolytes

There was never much of a question when it came to the inaugural lineup.

Hopkins picked not only some of his closest friends but also some of the Oklahoma artists he admires most: Beau Jennings and Chase Kerby.

“There’s a natural chemistry between us all,” Hopkins said, noting the likelihood of the trio playing a few songs together at the end of the show.

LI SA LEE

BY JOSHUA BOYDSTON

Whether they are religious or not, there’s a sense of reverence for the artists performing.

— Tyler Hopkins “Our musical styles are similar enough to fit together well on a bill but different enough to make it interesting.”

Jennings, of course, is best known for fronting Americana band Cheyenne, striking out solo as the group dissolved and finding a backing band in The Tigers.

Kerby (who happens to play piano for The Tigers) got his start with pop-rockers The City Lives before moving on with Defining Times and solo work. His first EP, Tidal Friction, is due this fall.

“I’ve played with dozens of musicians, and he’s one of the best I know,” Hopkins said of Kerby, going on to praise Jennings’ literary approach balanced with an everyman sensibility. “[Jennings] is the master of doing that, making something high-minded and accessible at the same time.”

The diverse backgrounds of these musicians speak to what Hopkins hopes the series will continue to showcase, pining to get songwriters better known for full-band work to step out into the solo realm.

“There are a lot of songwriters who aren’t known for their songwriting that should be,” Hopkins said. “They play with a band full of great musicians and they focus on that, not necessarily the structure of the songs, the lyrics, the vocal melody. Those are enormous things that

take a lot of time to work on and craft. I’d love to give an outlet to people like that.”

Rockstudy

If the realization of the Midtown Songwriter Series wasn’t momentous enough for Hopkins, the showcase comes just months after he graduated law school and weeks after he passed the bar exam — a reintroduction back into the scene after months of nonstop cramming.

“I have nights and weekends, and that hasn’t been the case for three years,” Hopkins said.

After releasing his debut solo record, Somebody Like You, with his band The Rebellion, Hopkins is already working on the follow-up, noting that — fittingly enough — there are some big changes and a significant growth in the sound and structure. Friday’s show provides a first glimpse into the shift with nothing to distract your ear and eye away from studying it as closely as you desire.

Mission accomplished.

“The songs are a lot more nuanced.

It’s not just hard, driving bar rock anymore. And that’s what you’ll start to hear: some old school R&B influences in the rhythm section,” he said. “The last record was mainly drinking songs. There will still be plenty of that, but there’s more to it, too.”

O K L A H O M A G A Z E T T E • S E P T E M B E R 1 7, 2 0 1 4 • 47

N AT HA N P OP P E

LIFE MUSIC

Duncan difference

THE NEW

Local crooner Denver Duncan is hungry for respect, and he’s on the verge of getting a lot of it.

THURSDAY

WEDNESDAY

CLASSIC ROCK & ROLL 9PM SWING DANCE 7PM

FREE PIZZA

401 S. MERIDIAN

4 8 • S E P T E M B E R 1 7, 2 0 1 4 • O K L A H O M A G A Z E T T E

DANCE LESSONS 7PM

BY NATALIE HOUCK

Heard on Hurd with Denver Duncan, Sherree Chamberlain and Elms 7-11 p.m. Saturday Broadway between Main Street and Hurd Street, Edmond twitter.com/heardonhurd Free

Oklahoma City’s own blue-eyed soul Denver Duncan has more in store for fans this fall and coming in 2015. After a yearlong hiatus following the arrival of his third child, the Rat Pack-inspired crooner is at it again, collaborating with numerous local artists on everything from national ad campaigns to his own personal “dream project” with longtime friend and OKC-based rapper Jabee Williams.

“There’s a lot in the can. We’re always talking about it and working on it, and it could possibly come out in 2015,” Duncan said. “My songwriting style and [Jabee’s] hip-hop really work well together.”

Williams isn’t the only local artist Duncan shares longtime dreams with.

Since the 2011 release of the music video for “Stalker” — a catchy, funny tune about an overly enthusiastic fan — the singer-songwriter has been on the lookout for ways to work with Kyle Roberts, a friend and well-known videographer. Duncan and Roberts filmed the video on a Nokia N8 smartphone when Nokia selected “Stalker” to be the first official music video made on the phone. The whimsical video has since reached over 40,000 views.

“Kyle and I really want to build a rotating room someday for making music videos,” Duncan said.

The 32-year-old son of a preacher and music teacher — admittedly influenced by Frank Sinatra and having been compared to today’s Michael Bublé, Jason Mraz, Jamie Cullum and

My songwriting style and Jabee’s hip-hop really work well together.

— Denver Duncan Robin Thicke — is certainly finding his place in the world of soulful pop.

His 2010 debut release, Let’s See What Happens, won him widespread acclaim, including the number two spot on Oklahoma Radio’s Best Songs of 2010 list for haunting duet “Beg Me,” performed with Okie folkstress Sherree Chamberlain.

Fans eagerly awaiting more from Duncan, take heart: This October, he will begin to release a series of singles with music videos, including a special Christmas collaboration with country artist Bryan White. Duncan toured with White in December 2010, opening a series of Christmas shows for his longtime friend.

Duncan’s soulful sound is no secret to the advertising world, either, as OKC’s Robot House Creative recently sought a Duncan original to soundtrack a national ad campaign for GlobalHealth. The ad will air in mid-September, and the track is simply titled “Good.” Expect nothing less from the impassioned songwriter, who is happy to once again share the stage with the talented Chamberlain. “[We] take every chance we get to sing the song together,” Duncan said.

See Duncan perform live along with Sherree Chamberlain and Elms at the inaugural Heard on Hurd, Edmond’s ambitious food truck festival molded in the image of OKC’s wildly successful H&8th Night Market, 7 p.m. Friday. Admission to the event is free.

O K L A H O M A G A Z E T T E • S E P T E M B E R 1 7, 2 0 1 4 • 4 9

T R AVI S P I E R C E

LIFE MUSIC

Sticking around Whereas many indie-rock acts fizzle and fade, Oklahoma City’s Gum plans to be here for a while.

BY JOSHUA BOYDSTON

Gum with Heavy Glow and Helen Kelter Skelter 9 p.m. Friday Blue Note Lounge 2408 N. Robinson Ave. thebluenotelounge.com 600-1166 $5

Time is a precious commodity. So often in music, a stretch not spent actively recording, releasing and touring behind an album is viewed as time wasted, an interrupted cycle indicative of fading attention and a waning spotlight.

Oklahoma City indie outfit Gum cherishes time just as deeply as the next, but its members would rather spend those precious moments mapping out a final destination than running in circles.

And that has meant time spent bonding, practicing, growing, studying and evolving. It has taken five years to reach the point at which they feel comfortable enough in their skin to release their eponymous debut record, and the wait — as long and excruciating as it felt at times — is what made that possible.

“I don’t think we were always sure who we were as a band, at least not earlier on. It’s part of the journey, and a lot of that is self-discovery,” frontman Joe Bello said. “To get the opportunity to grow together as a band and mature, it’s been special. Band development is something that’s been lost with how fast things happen these days.”

Though the relationships that comprise the band are lifelong, Gum’s first practice sessions occurred just over half a decade ago. Bello was joined by his brother and guitarist Levi Bello, along with cousin and drummer Sam

Bray. The other two members — bassist Taylor Dragoo and keyboardist John Baber — have known the others as early as middle school, and at this point, the two are as tight as the ones sharing bloodlines.

“Even if they weren’t direct family in the beginning, it definitely feels like it now,” Joe said.

The sound is shaping up as those bonds grow tighter, too. The broader indie-rock sound of Gum’s 2011 EP, Make It Sound New, was narrowed to a restrained take on sleek alt-pop — indebted heavily to Spoon, Television and Brian Eno — on the recently released 11-song effort, which was recorded at Bell Labs Recording Studio with Trent Bell over the course of two years.

“It’s not just a collection of songs,” Joe said. “There was intention behind the record. We put out something where the songs can stand alone, but together, they create a bigger picture.”

The big ideas behind that bigger picture tie back to the band’s very own story — how life never turns out how you expect. But just like the subject of the album, Gum — playing Friday at Blue Note and Saturday at Opolis — is feeling good about its chances, having already written enough material for a second full-length record they hope to have out in a year’s time and finally feeling ready to pick up the pace.

“It’s about growing older and some of the expectations of what your life would be not playing out as romantically as you might hope,” Joe said of the selftitled record. “There’s an undercurrent of disappointment, but the character in the record keeps trying even though it looks like it’s not working. So in that, there’s hope.”

We had this vision of this being a long-lasting thing. It’s nice to see that come to fruition.

— Joe Bello

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LIFE MUSIC WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 17

Hank 3, Diamond Ballroom. COUNTRY Heavy Glow/GUM/Helen Kelter Skelter, The Blue Note Lounge. ROCK Hogan & Moss String Band, The Blue Door. FOLK Jade Castle, Leadership Square. SINGER/SONGWRITER

Aaron Newman Band, Baker St. Pub & Grill. FOLK

Joe Teichman, Grandad’s Bar. COUNTRY

Casey Donahew/Josh Abbott, First Council Casino, Newkirk. COUNTRY

Kali Ra/The Choke/Dj Bone, The Conservatory. ROCK

Drive-By Truckers/Lucero, Cain’s Ballroom, Tulsa. ROCK Grant Wells, Skirvin Hilton Hotel. PIANO North Meets South/Blame it on the Boogie, The Deli, Norman. ROCK Steve Crossley, Red Rock Canyon Grill. SINGER/ SONGWRITER The Friends No BS Jam, Friends Restaurant & Club.

VARIOUS

THURSDAY, SEPT. 18 Avenue, Baker St. Pub & Grill. COVER

Karen Khoury, Legend’s Restaurant. PIANIST Lost on Utica, Russell’s, Tower Hotel. ROCK Lucky, Louie’s Grill & Bar, Lake Hefner. COVER Matt Blagg, Red Rock Canyon Grill. SINGER/ SONGWRITER Randy Cassimus, Full Circle Bookstore. ACOUSTIC Regg, The Deli, Norman. ROCK Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers/Enormodome, Wormy Dog Saloon. COUNTRY The Clique, Friends Restaurant & Club. VARIOUS The Indigos, The Paramount OKC. ACOUSTIC

David Morris, Skirvin Hilton Hotel. PIANO

SATURDAY, SEPT. 20

George Devoure, Grady’s 66 Pub, Yukon. ROCK

Aaron Newman, Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill. FOLK

Grace Askew, Grandad’s Bar. BLUES

Aaron Wall & the Red River Rebellion/Kent Fauss, Grandad’s Bar. COUNTRY

Kierston White/Elizabee, The Deli, Norman. SINGER/ SONGWRITER

Ali Soltani, Full Circle Bookstore. ACOUSTIC

Mike Hosty Duo, O Asian Fusion, Norman. ROCK

Borderline, Sliders. COUNTRY

My So Called Band, The Paramount OKC. COVER

Brian Belarus, The Paramount OKC. ACOUSTIC

Owen Temple/Handsome Devils/Brad Fielder, Bluebonnet Bar, Norman. SINGER/SONGWRITER

Coco Montoya, VZD’s Restaurant & Club. BLUES

Conor Oberst, Cain’s Ballroom, Tulsa. ROCK

Tear Stained Eye, Wormy Dog Saloon. COUNTRY Time Machine, Red Rock Canyon Grill. COVER

FRIDAY, SEPT. 19 2AM, Tapwerks Ale House & Cafe. ROCK

Spoon

pick

Jabee and Friends, The Deli, Norman. HIP-HOP Jacob Becannen/Mark Vollersten, Nonna’s Purple Bar. ACOUSTIC

Karen Khoury, Legend’s Restaurant, Norman. PIANIST

Champaign Jam, ET’s Bar-B-Que, Edmond. R&B

Lost on Utica, Russell’s, Tower Hotel. ROCK

Christian Pearson/Gary Johnson, Skirvin Hilton Hotel.

PIANO

Lucky, Remington Park. COVER

Stat Band, Riverwind Casino. R&B

Christian Pearson, Skirvin Hilton Hotel. PIANO

Steve Potlz, The Blue Door. SINGER/SONGWRITER

Luke Sweeney/Pizza Thieves, Opolis, Norman. VARIOUS

The Weathermen, Tapwerks Ale House & Cafe. COVER

Rob Zombie/DJ Ginger Fish, Brady Theater, Tulsa. ROCK

Uninvited Guest, Baker St. Pub & Grill. COVER

Sham 69/Total Chaos/Violent Affair/Sleaze Dizease, Farmers Public Market. ROCK

SUNDAY, SEPT. 21

Maurice Johnson, Avanti Bar & Grill. JAZZ Mitch Casen, Friends Restaurant & Club. COUNTRY

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 24

Edgar Cruz, Skirvin Hilton Hotel. ACOUSTIC

Riders Ford, Wormy Dog Saloon. COUNTRY

Empire State Band, Myriad Botanical Gardens. ROCK

Slowvein, Belle Isle Restaurant & Brewery. ROCK

Jamie Bramble, Uptown Grocery Co., Edmond. ACOUSTIC Karen Khoury, Legend’s Restaurant, Norman. PIANO PROVIDED

Flat Land Band, Nonna’s Purple Bar. ACOUSTIC

We dare you to find a band as consistently awesome as Spoon. Over the last decade and a half, the Austin-based indie-rock legends (it’s safe to call them that now) have released great album after great OKG album, each unique to one another and infectious in its music own way. See the band on the heels of its latest critical and commercial success, They Want My Soul, with support from eclectic singer-songwriter EMA, 8 p.m. Tuesday at Cain’s Ballroom, 423 N. Main St., in Tulsa. Tickets are $23-$38. Call 918-584-2306 or visit cainsballroom.com.

Helen Kelter Skelter/The Sluts/Gum, Opolis, Norman.

ROCK

Borderline, Sliders. COUNTRY

Drive, Mickey Mantle’s Steakhouse. COVER

Tuesday

Grant Stevens, Skirvin Hilton Hotel. PIANO

Jumpship Astronaut/Vehicles, The Blue Note Lounge.

ROCK

DJ-OVY, Aloft Downtown Oklahoma City. VARIOUS

Spoon with EMA

Don and Melodee Johnson, Twelve Oaks, Edmond. JAZZ

80z Enuf, Remington Park. COVER

DJ Evan C, Colcord Hotel. VARIOUS

TOM HI N E S

LIVE MUSIC

Limp Bizkit/Machine Gun Kelly, Diamond Ballroom.

ROCK Mike Hosty, The Deli, Norman. BLUES

DJ Jason Clark, Tapwerks Ale House & Cafe. VARIOUS Grant Wells, Skirvin Hilton Hotel. PIANO Machine Gun Kelly, Cain’s Ballroom, Tulsa. HIP-HOP Mark Vollersten, Red Rock Canyon Grill. ACOUSTIC North Meets South/Deli All-Star Jam, The Deli, Norman.

ROCK Replay/80’z Enuf, Baker St. Pub & Grill. COVER

Sebadoh/Feel Spectres, Opolis, Norman. ROCK

Shakers of Salt, Farmers Public Market. COVER The Friends No BS Jam, Friends Restaurant & Club.

VARIOUS

MONDAY, SEPT. 22 Miss Brown to You, First National Center. JAZZ Porter Robinson, Cain’s Ballroom, Tulsa. VARIOUS The Rebel/Spray Paint/Eric Harman, Opolis, Norman.

ROCK

Sebadoh, Opolis, Norman, Sunday, Sept. 21

TUESDAY, SEPT. 23 Caleb McGee/Brad Fielder, The Deli, Norman. VARIOUS

Submissions must be received by Oklahoma Gazette no later than noon on Wednesday seven days before the desired publication date. Late submissions will not be included in the listings.

Submissions run as space allows, although we strive to make the listings as inclusive as possible.

Fax your listings to 528-4600 or e-mail them to listings@okgazette.com. Sorry, but phone submissions cannot be accepted.

O K L A H O M A G A Z E T T E • S E P T E M B E R 1 7, 2 0 1 4 • 5 1

Brightmusic chamber ensemble presents

LIFE MUSIC REVIEWS

Sept. 22, 7:30 pm, atall souls’ episcopal church Sept. 23, 7:30 pm, at st. paul’s cathedral Hailed for his

warm, expressive sound and winning way with the audience, baritone randall sc is firmly established as one of the most highly regarded musical interpreters of his generation.

ticketsavailable at the door $15 adults, students free

Making the grade

BY ZACH HALE

Whether intentional or not, the title of Broncho’s first record, Can’t Get Past the Lips, plays like tongue-in-cheek premonition.

The Flaming Lips have long been the Oklahoma music scene’s de facto figureheads for many outside the state, and over the last three decades, heaps of talented and deserving acts have tried — and failed — to supersede them. Given the controversy surrounding recent Lips endeavors, the litany of good press for Broncho’s recent output couldn’t have come at a better time.

The Tulsa/Norman-based garage rockers were the beneficiaries of good fortune when Lena Dunham, the creator of HBO’s hit comedy series Girls, used its Buzzcocks-esque single “It’s On” to soundtrack the credits for this spring’s highly anticipated season opener. From there, Internet buzz surrounding Broncho hinted at a national breakthrough.

The group’s biggest hurdle at this juncture wasn’t that the Lips were obstructing its path; it was how to stand out when working within the confines of a genre as saturated as punk and garage rock. After all, the most successful of this cluster are beloved because of their songwriting strength, their ability to construct a memorable hook that resonates with a single listen — something Broncho was adequately equipped with from the beginning.

Just Enough Hip to Be a Woman, Broncho’s second full-length and first in almost four years, finds the band admirably exploring new sonic terrain, opting for glam-informed guitar pop, experimenting with texture and atmosphere and, in its most thrilling moments, retaining much of its hookwriting prowess.

Nowhere is this as evident as in “Class Historian,” the album’s lead single and Broncho’s most singular

achievement to date. With its infectious “do-do-do” chorus, the song is equal parts leisurely and exhilarating, with frontman Ryan Lindsey exuding a boisterous swagger that few of his ilk can replicate. It’s these moments — also displayed in the Modern Loversindebted “What” and the disorienting guitar collage “Kurt” — that suggest Broncho has achieved the creative leap necessary to break through on a national scale.

The band does, however, occasionally succumb to the seemingly inescapable pitfalls of reinvention, with several songs seemingly focusing more on how they sound than how their arrangements unfold. Tracks like “Deena” and “NC-17,” for instance, come across as aimless, uninspired pastiche, lacking the vitality and compositional edge of Just Enough Hip’s stronger offerings.

Other moments delve into the shoegaze-imbued alt-rock of the ’80s and ’90s — with mixed results. “I’m Gonna Find Out Where He’s At” is the best of the lot, a decisive, Jesus and Mary Chain-inspired standout in the album’s largely inoffensive and ignorable middle section. Alongside “Class Historian,” it’s a stirring culmination of both a willingness to experiment and a penchant for engaging melody. Offerings like these are where Broncho is at its best.

Ultimately, this is a record that finds one of Oklahoma’s most promising young acts learning, progressing and discovering what it can eventually become. It remains to be seen whether Broncho fulfills the prophecy (one it never actually prescribed for itself) as heirs to the Oklahoma music throne. But Just Enough Hip to Be a Woman alters the trajectory in a way that makes it seem more likely.

Broncho Album: Just Enough Hip to Be a Woman | Available now | bronchoband.com

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LIFE FILM

As the program’s new director, Tava Sofsky hopes to build on the Oklahoma Film & Music Office’s recent success.

BY ALYSSA GRIMLEY

After 28 years away from home, Tava Sofsky is back in the Sooner State and has joined the Oklahoma Film & Music Office as director.

Sofsky grew up in Ada and graduated from the University of Oklahoma. In her junior year, she realized that she wanted to get into the entertainment industry.

“I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted to do, but this burning desire was there,” she said. “It was like a fire that was lit underneath me.”

After graduating, she knew that her professional life would lead her to either New York or Los Angeles.

“I chose L.A. and started at ground zero,” she said.

In L.A., Sofsky gained commercial film and music experience, starting out as a production assistant. She did projects with producer Doug Claybourne, a fellow Oklahoman.

“I love all the aspects of filmmaking, which is why I chose producing,” Sofsky said. “You get a big picture of the whole industry in this line of work.”

Sofsky got married and started a family in L.A. (Her husband is also a filmmaker.) After traveling across the country for different projects

Tava Sofsky

— including restoring an old movie theater in Florida — she and her husband decided that they could afford to make a change.

“We realized that we didn’t have to be in L.A.,” she said. “We were always either on location or traveling, so we moved back to Oklahoma.”

When Jill Simpson, the former director of the Film & Music Office, approached Sofsky about taking her place as director, she was thrilled and humbled.

“It was a blessing that she thought of me,” Sofsky said. “[Simpson] transformed the face of the film industry in Oklahoma. And we share similar backgrounds — we both worked for the same producer, Doug [Claybourne].”

Sofsky credits her courage to pursue her love for film to her parents, who encouraged her from an early age to follow her passions.

“My upbringing was that you can do anything,” she said. “The sky’s the limit.”

Her parents also instilled in her a strong work ethic that she held onto throughout her travels.

“My parents taught me to be a hard worker, that you don’t deserve a handout. You have to work for it,” Sofsky said. “I tried to carry that

through and stay true to who I was while I was out in L.A.” Given her experience in L.A. and her Midwest heritage, Sofsky said that she can relate to both the filmmakers and crew in Oklahoma as well as to the out-of-state crowd. Her focus now is to build relationships with outside filmmakers and bring them here.

“We want to craft an image so that quality projects come to mind when you think of Oklahoma film,” she said.

Sofsky said that festivals like deadCENTER help put Oklahoma film on the map in a positive way.

“It helps show Oklahoma in a new light, sort of rebranding our image to the industry,” she said.

Sofsky’s plans for the Oklahoma Film & Music Office include hosting more cineposiums — events that bring filmmakers and other prominent players in the industry together in a roundtable-style workshop to discuss aspects of filmmaking.

“We want to provide more opportunities for people to learn about specific areas of filmmaking that they’re interested in,” Sofsky said, “whether it’s production management, distribution or costume design.”

Sofsky said that she wants to educate

SHANNON CORNMAN

Sky’s the limit My parents taught me to be a hard worker, that you don’t deserve a handout. You have to work for it.

— Tava Sofsky

aspiring Oklahoma filmmakers about the tools they have at their disposal, such as the rebate program, which offers eligible companies up to a 37 percent rebate on their Oklahoma expenditures.

“Our goal is to grow and promote our talent so that they are equipped to work on any project here,” she said.

“Part of that is dependent on educating people about their available resources.”

Today, Oklahoma’s film and music industry is growing rapidly, and Sofsky thanks the state’s rich cultural history and devoted citizens for that.

“We have such a great heritage,” she said. “And we’ve got the talent.”

In other words, you’re doin’ fine, Oklahoma. Time to make some movies.

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LIFE FILM

Existential Drop James Gandolfini is Marv in The Drop.

BY DANIEL BOKEMPER

The initial image of Michaël Roskam’s first directorial venture into American cinema, The Drop, is a rippling reflection of a mechanical structure within a lowly puddle, provides an adequate thesis for this mediocre yet ultimately redeeming narrative.

Bob, an unassuming New York City bar-back portrayed by Tom Hardy, oscillates within a life of repetitive happenings and complacency to his proud, street-savvy employer, Marv (James Gandolfini). Instigated by Bob’s discovery and adoption of a wounded pitbull pup with the aid of Nadia (Noomi Rapace), the film is propelled into a web of deception and violence carefully tread by the polished and scarred shoes of the drop bar’s owner.

However, many of the “veiled” twists of the film are easily anticipated, save a

Friday, Sep 19, 9pm

dark epiphany in the piece’s falling action.

On the note of expectation, The Drop unfortunately reaffirms the machismo that was deconstructed and dissected a few years prior in Roskam’s Bullhead. Likewise, Hardy and Gandolfini’s performances are only illuminated within a few brief instances, the latter appropriately over the former. For example, Gandolfini draws a resounding parallel to Marlon Brando, citing that he “used to be somebody,” or someone that mattered. Marv is distraught by his misanthropic tendencies but ultimately surrenders to a lethal destiny of sparse fortunes and European extortionists.

Paradoxically, the character of Marv suggests that mob-fueled danger might allow for a perverse spiritual comfort. Thus, Marv accurately encapsulates many of the figures Gandolfini spent the majority of his

Sat, Sep 20, 9:30pm Saturday, Sep 27, 9:30pm

career portraying.

The cinematography, though periodically needless, does conjure a story-driven aesthetic. Often, red light would bathe the antagonistic Eric Deeds (Matthias Schoenaerts), while yellow shades lay prevalent in association with Bob. Like the morally convoluted protagonist, however, the colors gradually merge before erupting into an orange crescendo at the enemies’ final encounter inside of the titular saloon. Uniquely, Hardy encapsulates this urbanized take on the ancient dichotomy facially and tonally; though frequently framed as warm and passive, Bob quietly morphs into a stern and ruthless rogue seamlessly, such as when a detached appendage needs disposing of.

One major disappointment arises with Nadia. Though Rapace does well to subtly

Friday, Oct 3, 10pm

P ROVI DE D

The Drop takes a superficial look at organized crime and money laundering in New York City.

preserve the character’s introductory sense of paranoia (and implied self-sufficiency), Nadia eventually reverts to the stereotypical rubric of many crime dramas. The woman is struck between the whims of two men who compromise her initial independence.

Again, Roskam teases another cinematic revolution, but much like the protagonist’s steadily uncovered tendencies, the film reverts to traditionalism.

Perhaps Roskam’s hesitant tendencies echo a clash between the director and writer Dennis Lehane. Or, on a more existential note, The Drop illustrates our attempt to circumvent systemic oppression, only to be cut short by a force as old as law, forcing one to work from within in order to survive. Though the reflection ripples, the structure still stands.

Tuesday, Oct 7, 8pm er Nev er v o C a

Electric Okie Acid Test

David Bruster Band

Simo Tickets available at ticketstorm.com

24th Street Wailers The Hey Diddles for Honky Tonk Tuesday

O K L A H O M A G A Z E T T E | S E P T E M B E R 1 7, 2 0 1 4 | 5 5

Mood wring

Audrey Tautou is Chloé and Romain Duris is Colin in Mood Indigo.

Michel Gondry combines whimsy with weirdness for the Paris romance of Mood Indigo.

BY PHIL BACHARACH

Mood Indigo 7:30 P.M. THURSDAY, 5:30 P.M. FRIDAY, 8 P.M. SATURDAY, 2 P.M. SUNDAY OKLAHOMA CITY MUSEUM OF ART 415 COUCH DRIVE OKCMOA.COM 236-3100 $7-$9

I will say this for Mood Indigo: It does not lack for imagination. Writerdirector Michel Gondry got his start in the attention-span-challenged realm of music videos, where he learned that less is not necessarily more — especially when you have only a few minutes to let your inner madman out for a run. As a maker of feature-length films, Gondry has not modified that penchant for excess. If anything, the bigger canvas has simply provided him more elbowroom to flap his arms about and really cut loose.

And cut loose he does. In this adaptation of Boris Vian’s 1947 French novel, L’Écume des jours, Gondry indulges his dreamer heart and lunatic brain. Mood Indigo, which screens Thursday through Sunday at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, conjures up a hallucinogenic Paris. It’s a place where doorbells scuttle around on spidery legs and apartments are inhabited by tiny men who wear mouse costumes. Petits fours are literally served in tiny ovens, stopmotion animation breathes life into bizarre-looking meals and couples dance on oversized, rubbery legs. The fancifulness is by turns delightful and exhausting, if not exactly compelling.

Romain Duris (The Beat That My Heart Skipped) portrays Colin, a carefree Parisian bachelor with enough means that he does not have to work. He spends his time hanging out with best friend Chick (Gad Elmaleh, Midnight in Paris), listening

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to Duke Ellington records (hence the movie title) and imbibing with the help of a “pianocktail,” a piano that doles out cocktails to match the music being played. Chick begins dating the niece of Nicolas (Omar Sy, The Intouchables), Colin’s full-time cook, which sparks Colin’s resolve to fall in love with someone. Luckily for him, he soon meets the lovable Audrey Tautou (Coco Before Chanel), here playing a young woman named Chloé but who is essentially a version of the quirky nymph she was in 2001’s Amélie.

Silliness and twee prevail until the inevitable crisis: A water lily drifts into Chloé’s open mouth one night while she is sleeping and lodges inside a lung. The movie darkens literally and figuratively, as Gondry trades in his candy-coated color palette for a monochromatic scheme.

Gondry indulges his dreamer heart and lunatic brain.

Mood Indigo is inventive and often visually sumptuous, no doubt about it. But it is somewhat like gorging on cake frosting; momentarily enticing but likely to induce nausea. In Gondry’s most successful works — particularly his sole masterpiece, 2004’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind — his irrepressible surrealist impulses are tethered to substantive themes and provocative ideas. There is no such weight to temper the whimsy overload of Mood Indigo, a film as pretty as it is pointless.

P ROVI DE D

LIFE FILM

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY Homework: What’s your favorite excuse? Try not to say it or think it during the coming week. Report results to Truthrooster@gmail.com.

ARIES March 21-April 19 It’s no secret. The wealthy one percent of the population has been getting progressively wealthier.

Meanwhile, the poor are becoming steadily poorer.

I’m worried there is a metaphorically similar trend in your life. Am I right? If so, please do all you can to reverse it. Borrow energy from the rich and abundant parts of your life so as to lift up the neglected and underendowed parts. Here’s one example of how you could proceed: For a while, be less concerned with people who think you’re a star, and give more attention to those who accept and love your shadow side.

TAURUS April 20-May 20 “I choose a lazy person to do a hard job,” says Bill Gates, the world’s richest man, “because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it.” That’s good counsel for you right now, Taurus. You’d be wise to get in touch with your inner lazy bum. Let the slacker within you uncover the least stressful way to accomplish your difficult task. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, there is no need for you to suffer and strain as you deal with your dilemma.

GEMINI May 21-June 20 If you don’t identify and express your conscious desires, your unconscious desires will dominate your life. I will say that again in different language, because it’s crucial you understand the principle. You’ve got to be very clear about what you really want, and install a shining vision of what you really want at the core of your everyday life. If you don’t do that, you will end up being controlled by your habits and old programming.

So be imperious, Gemini. Define your dearest, strongest longing, and be ruthlessly devoted to it.

CANCER June 21-July 22 Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004) was an influential French photographer, a pioneer of photojournalism who helped transform photography into an art form. In 1986 he was

invited to Palermo, Sicily to accept a prize for his work. The hotel he stayed in seemed oddly familiar to him, although he didn’t understand why. It was only later he discovered that the hotel had been the place at which his mother and father stayed on their honeymoon. It was where he was conceived. I foresee a comparable development on the horizon for you, Cancerian: a return to origins, perhaps inadvertent; an evocative encounter with your roots; a reunification with an influence that helped make you who you are today.

LEO July 23-Aug. 22 With expert execution, musician Ben Lee can play 15 notes per second on his violin. Superstar eater Pete Czerwinski needs just 34 seconds to devour a 12-inch pizza. When Jerry Miculek is holding his rifle, he can get off eight crack shots at four targets in a little more than one second. While upside-down, Aicho Ono is capable of doing 135 perfect head spins in a minute. I don’t expect you to be quite so lightning fast and utterly flawless as these people in the coming weeks, Leo, but I do think you will be unusually quick and skillful.

For the foreseeable future, speed and efficiency are your specialties.

VIRGO Aug. 23-Sept. 22 As the makeup artist for the film Dallas Buyers Club, Robin Matthews had a daunting task.

During the 23 days of shooting, she had to constantly transform lead actors Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto so that they appeared either deathly ill or relatively healthy.

Sometimes she had to switch them back and forth five times a day. She was so skillful in accomplishing this feat that she won the Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling.

Her budget? A meager $250. The film was a shoestring indie production. I’m naming her your inspirational role model for the next few weeks, Virgo. I believe that you, too, can create magic without a wealth of resources.

LIBRA Sept. 23-Oct. 22 “I am a seed about to break,” wrote Sylvia Plath in her poem “Three Women.” That’s how I see

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SCORPIO Oct. 23-Nov. 21 The English verb “cicurate” is defined as “to tame or domesticate” or “to make mild or innocuous.”

But it once had an additional sense: “to reclaim from wildness.” It was derived from the Latin word *circurare,* which meant “to bring back from madness, to draw out of the wilderness.” For your purposes, Scorpio, we will make cicurate your theme, but concentrate on these definitions: “to reclaim from wildness, to bring back from madness, to draw out of the wilderness.” In the coming weeks, you will be exploring rough, luxuriant areas of unknown territory. You will be wrangling with primitive, sometimes turbulent energy. I urge you to extract the raw vitality you find there, and harness it to serve your daily rhythm and your long-term goals.

SAGITTARIUS Nov. 22-Dec. 21 “You can exert no influence if you are not susceptible to influence,” said psychologist Carl Jung. Extrapolating from that idea, we can hypothesize that the more willing and able you are to be influenced, the greater your influence might be. Let’s make this your key theme in the coming weeks. It will be an excellent time to increase your clout, wield more authority, and claim more of a say in the creation of your shared environments.

For best results, you should open your mind, be very receptive, and listen well.

CAPRICORN Dec. 22-Jan. 19 Congratulations, Capricorn. Your current dilemmas are more useful and interesting than any that you have had for a long time. If you can even partially solve them, the changes you set in motion will improve your entire life, not just the circumstances they immediately affect. Of the several dividends you may reap, one of my favorites is this: You could liberate yourself from a messed-

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up kind of beauty and become available for a more soothing and delightful kind. Here’s another potential benefit: You may transform yourself in ways that will help you attract more useful and interesting dilemmas in the future.

AQUARIUS Jan. 20-Feb. 18 Alan Moore is the British author who wrote the graphic novels Watchmen and V for Vendetta. He is now nearing completion of Jerusalem, a novel he has been working on for six years. It will be more than a million words long, almost double the size of Tolstoy’s War and Peace, and 200,000 words bigger than the Bible. “Any editor worth their salt would tell me to cut two-thirds of this book,” Moore told the New Statesman, “but that’s not going to happen.” Referring to the author of Moby Dick, Moore adds, “I doubt that Herman Melville had an editor. If he had, that editor would have told him to get rid of all that boring stuff about whaling: ‘Cut to the chase, Herman.’” Let’s make Moore and Melville your role models in the coming week, Aquarius. You have permission to sprawl, ramble, and expand. Do NOT cut to the chase.

PISCES Feb. 19-March 20 For a long time, an Illinois writer named ArLynn Leiber Presser didn’t go out much. She had 325 friends on Facebook and was content to get her social needs met in the virtual realm. But then she embarked on a year-long project in which she sought face-to-face meetings with all of her online buddies. The experiment yielded sometimes complicated but mostly interesting results. It took her to 51 cities around the world. I suggest we make her your inspirational role model for the coming weeks, Pisces. In at least one way, it’s time for you to move out of your imagination and into the real world. You’re primed to turn fantasies into actions, dreams into practical pursuits.

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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And now that nervous, hopeful, ecstatic moment is about to arrive. Be brave!

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P H O N E (4 0 5 ) 5 2 8 - 6 0 0 0 | E - M A I L : A D V E R T I S I N G @ T I E R R A M E D I A G R O U P. C O M

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Program Coordinator/Experienced House Manager HTS – Habilitation Training Specialist Job Coach CNA – Certified Nurse Aide CMA – Certified Medication Aide ACMA – Advanced CMA Must have valid OK Driver’s License and pass background screening. Will train the right individual.

EARC offers competitive pay and great benefits including medical, dental, vision & life insurance; vacation, sick and holiday pay; retirement plan with company matching!

APPLY IN PERSON AT 10 E. 9TH STREET, EDMOND, OK 73034 OR CALL (405)341-7132 FOR MORE DETAILS.

DENTAL ASSISTANT Variety Care is looking for enthusiastic Dental Assistants due to our expansion starting November 17th, 2014. These individuals would be responsible for assisting the Dentist in providing dental care to the patients of Variety Care. Dental Assistant experience/school preferred.

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Send resumes to OK Marketer email: proximitymarketing jobs@rbaoftx.com

Research Volunteers Needed

ACCOUNTING SUPERVISOR Performs various accounting functions to include posting entries, verifying and reconciling source documents to financial reporting system output, processing payments, and/or assisting in preparation of billings and other financial reports. Responds to inquiries and contacts other departments and/or vendors to resolve a variety of problems. Troubleshoot day to day work related issues with other Accountants, and provide feedback to Director. 2 years of Great Plains Dynamics experience required.

Visit www.varietycare.org/careers to apply. EOE

Researchers at OU Health Sciences Center need healthy volunteers ages 18 to 30 who have a parent with or without a history of an alcohol or drug problem. Qualified participants will be compensated for their time.

Call (405) 456-4303 to learn more about the study and to see if you qualify.

The University of Oklahoma is an equal opportunity institution

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EVENT SPECIALIST Renewal by Andersen OKC & Tulsa Area Are you looking for additional income or seasonal work?

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If you are friendly, outgoing & enjoy talking to people, Renewal by Andersen has the PERFECT opportunity for you!

WE OFFER: • BASE PAY $11/hour + attainable BONUS structure • Part-Time positions(mostly weekends) • Flexible Hours • Paid Training • Fun Environment • Integrity Based Company • Advancement Opportunity REQUIREMENTS: • Aggresive, enthusiastic, & Self-motivated • Must have reliable transportation • Able to work evening, weekend, and occasional weekday events • Able to pass a criminal background check

Please send resumes to OKC or TULSA Events to: eventjobs@rbaoftx.com

MidFirst Bank currently has over 50 banking center locations in Oklahoma with plans for continued growth. We are seeking high-energy, dynamic customer oriented people for the following opportunity.

MONEYLINE PERSONAL BANKERS

Personal Bankers are responsible for handling a wide variety of customer transactions in a call center environment with new and existing customers, identifying beneficial financial products and providing quality service in an enthusiastic, responsive and articulate manner. Qualified candidates must have PC Skills, and be customer service oriented. Currently we have several shifts available:

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$1.50 shift differential Monday-Friday from 6 pm to 9 pm. $2.00 shift differential Saturdays from 4 pm to 6 pm and all Sunday hours. $250 Sign On Bonus

If you interested in this position or other opportunities, please visit our website to complete an online application:

www.midfirst.jobs

5 8 | S E P T E M B E R 1 7, 2 0 1 4 | O K L A H O M A G A Z E T T E

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P H O N E (4 0 5 ) 5 2 8 - 6 0 0 0 | E - M A I L : A D V E R T I S I N G @ T I E R R A M E D I A G R O U P. C O M

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EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Federal Fair Housing

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This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of this law. Our readers are hereby informed that all dwellings in our newspaper are available on an equal housing opportunity basis.

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*Lease financing available on 2014 BMW 328i xDrive Gran Turismo vehicles, only at participating BMW centers on leases assigned to BMW Financial Services NA, LLC/Financial Services Vehicle Trust through October 01, 2014. Monthly Lease payments of $389.00 for 36 months based on MSRP of $44,575.00.

* Lease financing available on 2015 BMW Z4 sDrive28i vehicles, only at participating BMW centers on leases assigned to BMW Financial Services NA, LLC/Financial Services Vehicle Trust through October 01, 2014. Monthly Lease payments of $389.00 for 36 months based on MSRP of $55,200.00.

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*Lease financing available on 2015 BMW 640i Coupe vehicles, only at participating BMW centers on leases assigned to BMW Financial Services NA, LLC/Financial Services Vehicle Trust through October 01, 2014. Monthly Lease payments of $969.00 for 36 months based on MSRP of $81,850.00.

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