What does poverty look like?

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P.4 Sarah Green knows many people in the community who live at or below the poverty line. Many are destitute. Others find themselves at life’s edge, facing unaffordable rental rates, ruined marriages, ballooning health care bills and lost hours at work. The list is neverending. “I’ve heard people say poverty is relative, and I think that can be said about Oklahoma City,” Green said. “People tend to think people in poverty are homeless, lazy and need to get a job. It’s not the case.”

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NEWS

In plain sight

Poverty impacts a disproportionate number of OKC residents, including our employed, disabled, seniors and youth. By Laura Eastes

Elvis Howard can’t remember the first time he walked into Love Link Ministries.

That doesn’t matter now. He has found his lifesaver. Each month, Howard makes the more than 2-mile walk to the Love Link building at the corner of NW Fourth Street and Linwood Boulevard. It takes him time.

Once there, he finds a seat with other clients in the waiting room. A verse from the Bible’s book of Luke is painted on the wall: “For with God nothing shall be impossible.”

“I leave with groceries and the Lord,” he said. “I come when they tell me to come back.”

Howard is matched with a volunteer and a shopping list for two. He lives with his nephew. Volunteers help guide him through the grocery store-style food pantry as he chooses between juice and milk and asks about kiwis, onions, potatoes and breads.

After selecting his frozen meats, Howard has enough groceries for the next 22 days.

He then begins his trek home as he pushes a small grocery cart along Western Avenue.

Elvis lives in the 73106 ZIP code, one of 11 ZIP codes with the highest poverty rates in the state, according to an August U.S. Department of Health & Human Services report. At least 33 percent of residents in these areas live below the federal poverty level, earning $24,300 or less for a family of four. Seven of those 11 ZIP codes are in Oklahoma City.

Love Link Ministries, founded by OKC teenagers in 1991, moved into the 73106 ZIP code in 2012. Many food pantry visitors live nearby, but many travel from northeast OKC, another high poverty ZIP code.

As program director, Sarah Green knows many people who live at or below the poverty line. Many are destitute. Others find themselves at life’s edge, facing unaffordable rent, ended marriages, ballooning health bills and lost hours at work. The list is neverending.

“I’ve heard people say poverty is relative, and I think that can be said about Oklahoma City,” said Green, who has worked in the nonprofit sector since 2010. “People tend to think people in poverty are homeless, lazy and need to get a job. It’s not the case.”

Each month, Love Link Ministries provides 22-day grocery allotments to 350 local families. The aid frees the working poor’s limited resources to help pay for rent, childcare, prescriptions, utilities, diapers, transportation and other necessary costs. For the elderly, it bridges gaps that social security and food stamps, now known as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), miss.

People visit Love Link’s food pantry and thrift store because they truly need help.

What Green and others at Love Link Ministries see daily is not a mild or scattered phenomenon. In 2015, nearly one out of every six central Oklahomans earned less than the federal poverty rate before taxes. Specifically, 133,519 people in Oklahoma’s Fifth Congressional District — which includes the majority of Oklahoma County and all of Seminole and Pottawatomie counties — lived in extreme poverty, according to the most recently available U.S. Census Bureau data.

Nationally, 14.7 percent of Americans earn income below the federal poverty level, Census data shows.

Elvis Howard shops for groceries with assistance from volunteers Les Wright and his grandson, Kaden Jacobs, 11, at Love Link Ministries. | Photo Garett Fisbeck

Poverty cycles

“When we are talking poverty, we are talking about chaos,” Adrienne Elder said as she sketched an equal sign in between the words “chaos” and “poverty.”

Elder’s page is filled with black ink illustrating the well-known concept of the “poverty cycle.” She draws together poverty’s perennial traits: lack of basic needs, child neglect, mental illness, poor school outcomes, substance abuse, teen pregnancy, incarceration and low-wage employment.

Each element feeds off of and is fed by the others, and absent some interventions, the cycle never ends. In the middle of the page, Elder writes “Cycle of Chaos.”

With a background tied closely to the nonprofit sector, Elder can speak at great length about the cycle in which poor families find themselves. As an example, Elder describes a family struggling to afford basic needs like food, shelter, clothing and health.

As a result, children are malnourished and unhealthy and sometimes encounter neglect or abuse. As a result, those childhood traumas contribute to mental health issues and difficulties in school. From there, poor school outcomes can sweep youth toward substance abuse, risky behavior, dropping Guthrie out of school, pregnancy, incarceration and 73044

OKC metro poverty This summer, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services identified 11 high poverty ZIP codes in Oklahoma. In a high poverty ZIP code, at least 33 percent of residents live below the federal poverty level.

Seven are in Oklahoma City. Four are in north Tulsa: 74106, 74110, 74116 and 74126.

73120

Edmond 73034

Lawmaker’s perspective

High poverty zip codes 73142

73116

73003

73012

73013

73134

73162

73114

73131

73132

73112

73118 73105

Yukon 73099

73122 73008

73111 73121

73107

73106

73119

73102

Mustang 73108

73117

73128

73104

73064

73159

73109

73139

Moore 73170

4

73141

Oklahoma City

73127

73103

fewer employment opportunities. The continuum is seemingly endless as impoverishment then passes to the next generation.

Earlier this year, Elder co-facilitated Oklahoma City’s first class of Getting Ahead, part of the Bridge the Gap initiative. The 20-week program assisted parents tackling issues of poverty. Offered by nonprofit ReMerge, the program provides participants a solution-oriented strategy. The first class graduated 13 participants.

Each participant’s poverty cycle is fed in different ways. Even so, Elder noticed two common recurring barricades. First, most have untreated traumatizing events in their pasts. Second, many participants began their families early without any family planning.

Elder said families locked into the cycle of generational poverty must be connected to programs supported by two-generational, evidence-based methods. An increasing number of reports show that two-generation approaches can disrupt the cycle. Often, those programs meet the needs of children through early childhood development or youth services and provide parents with parenting education, employment training and resources to help secure basic needs.

OKC provides some two-generational evidence-based programs, but Elder said more are urgently needed. On her paper, she inscribes interventions: mental health counseling; employment training, tutoring and mentor programs; substance abuse treatment; sex education and access to contraceptives; and others. She circles “two-generational evidence-based programs.” They are the most effective route out.

73129

73115

73149

73160

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Norman

73110

The word “poverty” is often avoided, but its chaos provides the backdrop for more than Midwest City half the queries U.S. Sen. James Lankford receives about education, jobs, race relations, health and more as the lawmaker travels across Oklahoma to visit with constituents.

“People don’t typically ask about poverty, but they ask about the symptoms of the issues around it,”Shawnee said the Republican leader from Oklahoma City. “We’ve been a country where 74804 you’ve been able to climb out of poverty.”

73130 In September, Lankford joined four other Republican senators as members of the Senate Opportunity Coalition, an initiative 73150 at reducing poverty by developing aimed “strong conservative solutions” to help American families. The coalition is focused continued on page 6

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on listening in relation to poverty issues in their communities.

Lankford, who spent 22 years in youth ministry before serving as representative of Oklahoma’s Fifth Congressional District, said nonprofits, not governments, hold the potential to lift families out of poverty.

“Government might be good at providing a safety net, but [it] is terrible at providing mentoring and helping people to escape,” Lankford said.

Education and quality jobs are the surest pathways out of poverty, said Lankford, who also believes graduating from school, securing full-time work and waiting to have children are the most direct ways out of poverty.

For those who want to rise above, Lankford said, there are programs — offered by the government, nonprofits or religious organizations — that can help.

“For the individuals who are in poverty right now, I don’t want them to feel alone,” Lankford said. “I want them to have a basic sense of ‘Here is how to escape it.’”

Let’s talk poverty

Poverty in schools

Eighteen-year-old Savon Knight admits he wasn’t the easiest kid to raise. He was a troublemaker with a behavior problem, and he repeatedly clashed with his father.

“Things went left when they should’ve gone right,” Knight said as he recalled his home life while growing up in Luther.

As a teen, Knight moved in with his grandmother. Things were good overall until the troublemaking surfaced again. Knight’s next option was sleeping on family members’ couches. Eventually, a friend’s family took him in for several months. The Douglass High School student was homeless.

“I was 17 and on my own. That’s a young age,” he said. “I think there should be a solution out there to help the next person from becoming homeless.”

Knight is one of nearly 4,400 Oklahoma City Public Schools (OKCPS) students identified as homeless. OKCPS is the state’s largest district with 41,00 students enrolled in prekindergarten through 12th grades.

During the 2006-07 school year, when Kathy Brown began as OKCPS’ homeless education coordinator, 1,365 students were enrolled in homeless services. Last year, she worked with 3,200 students.

Not every student or family that visits the OKCPS Homeless Outreach in Public Education (HOPE) office is considered homeless in the strict sense of the word. A majority live in homes shared with other families after experiencing an economic hardship, like job loss. Others live in shelters, substandard housing, motels, cars or public spaces like parks.

Fliers offering services from nonprofits like Urban League, Sisu Youth and health organizations are displayed in the office. A HOPE brochure shares contact information for disaster services, shelters, legal aid, food pantries and other key nonprofits.

“We work with the families to find out what their needs might be outside of education,” Brown said. “Families are hesitant.

They don’t want to tell us about living out of 6

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5th congressional district

Who lived below the poverty line in 2015 in Oklahoma’s 5th Congressional District, which emcompasses most of Oklahoma County and Seminole and Pottawatomie counties:

OKlahoma 16.9 percent of residents 24.5 percent of children under 18 18.1 percent of working-age women 12.5 percent of working-age men

POttawatomie seminole

By race and ethnicity 27.4 percent African-American 24.7 percent Native American 25.1 percent Latino 18 percent Asian American 13 percent white Source: Figures from the U.S. Census Bureau reported by Center for American Progress

a car or living in a park. They fear they will lose their kids.”

The increase in the numbers of homeless students is staggering. Additionally, 80 percent of OKCPS students are eligible to receive free or reduced lunches, which is often used as a proxy measure for the percentage of students living in poverty.

“People are shocked, and frankly, I was shocked too,” said Mary Mélon, president/ CEO of The Foundation for Oklahoma City Public Schools, which operates independently of the district and plays a significant role in supporting and providing opportunities for students and teachers.

“You know there is poverty in the community, but you just don’t see it,” she said. “I am confronting it and seeing it on a daily basis. You can’t go into any of our schools without having it right in front of you.”

Foundation programs like Partners in Action get the community into the schools for service. Businesses and organizations have hosted teacher appreciation events or committed to visiting the schools for reading buddy or mentioning partnerships.

“If we aren’t willing to confront that we have suffering right under our noses, we are doing a huge disservice to our fellow citizens,” Mélon said.

Knight, a member of the Class 4A state championship basketball team, now lives in an apartment. He pays bills with earnings from his job as a host at a local restaurant.

He also earns a small monthly stipend from leading a mentoring program at Douglass.

Additionally, he coaches youth basketball and football at the YMCA. “I think every adult has hard times, and that’s what it is for me right now,” Knight said. “I will bounce out of it.”

Knight’s advice for anyone — teen or adult in extreme poverty and homelessness — is to find help. About a month ago, Knight received his acceptance letter from Langston University. He wants to study education and become a classroom teacher and coach.

“No longer is there a question mark at the end of graduation,” Knight said. “I actually know what the next chapter is.”

Serving the south

An hour before sunrise on an unseasonably warm November morning, a few people congregate outside a converted two-story church building. More men and women make their way to the parking lot of Skyline Urban Ministry at 500 SE 15th St. The nonprofit is situated in OKC’s southeast quadrant, one of the ZIP codes where community members endure high levels of poverty.

The doors of the ministry, which offers a food resource center, clothing closet, eye clinic and hot meals for seniors, open at 9 a.m. Those gathered are the first served through its food program. It opens at 1 p.m.

“There is a fear of scarcity,” said executive director Rev. Deborah Ingraham. “So many think, ‘If I am not first, there wouldn’t be enough.’ It just breaks my heart.”

The food resource center, with Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma support, provides groceries to about 100 families six days a week. In one day, staff estimated about 160 received fresh fruits, frozen meats, cereals and canned goods. By the end of September, 43,000 people were served in 2016, a surge from 33,000 people in all of 2015.

“We are talking about people that are hard working,” said Ingraham, who is known as Pastor Debbie around the ministry. “About 60 percent of the people we serve are disabled or elderly. The other 40 percent is working.”

The stories of the impoverished are told at Skyline Urban Ministry. Some are told voluntarily and others when a family applies for services for the first time. All are asked to write down an income amount.

A downturn in the oil and gas industry ties into many of their stories where jobs were lost and new paychecks don’t cover living costs. Seniors discuss monthly $700 social security checks followed by monthly $15 placed on SNAP cards. That’s not enough, either, and breakfasts and lunches allow seniors to afford other vital needs.

Ingraham knows her clients make choices and hard decisions. Many ask about assistance for housing, utilities and transportation, services the ministry does not provide.

They sometimes speak of helplessness and desperation, like a family that uses dish soap

to wash dishes and clothes and also to bathe.

Shampoo and bar soap are luxuries. In the waiting room, murmuring voices halt as a Skyline employee calls numbers and begins helping clients. To pass time, a mother asks her preschool-aged daughter to identify the food pictured on the grocery list. More numbers are called. Any number under 162 can head into the food pantry. A man stands up, but re-checks his number: 163.

“It wouldn’t be that long,” he said.

“We want to make effective change,” Ingraham said. “We realize we are just filling gaps, which is important. We want to find ways to help people move out of the system.”

Finding help Infant Crisis Services 4224 N. Lincoln Blvd. | 405-528-3663 infantcrisis.org Programs include providing formula, food and diapers to babies and toddlers in crisis.

Love Link Ministries, Inc. 1122 Linwood Blvd. | 405-239-6219 lovelinkministries.org Programs include food pantry and thrift store.

Skyline Urban Ministry 500 SE 15th St. | 405-632-2644 skylineurbanministry.org Programs include an eye clinic, a food resource center, a clothing closet and senior services.

Sunbeam Family Services 1100 NW 14th St. | 405-528-7721 sunbeamfamilyservices.org Programs include counseling, early childhood education, foster care and senior services.

The Urban Mission, Inc. 3737 N. Portland Ave. | 405-946-1556 urbanmissionokc.org Programs include a food pantry, a thrift store and a back-to-school program.

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In business

An Oklahoma native launches the next peer-topeer online service company in the Sooner State.

By Laura Eastes

Few people can boast an Eastern European film crew used their garage and backyard as a film location.

However, Oklahoma native Cindy Convery is one of the few.

While Convery hasn’t seen the film to confirm the scene made it to the final cut, she can verify the earnings by simply making the space available. It wasn’t the first time Convery turned a profit with her Southern California two-car garage. A neighbor booked the space for short-term storage.

That’s how Convery’s garage sparked the creation of Raw Space for Rent, an online community marketplace that connects people looking to rent space.

“I was looking for a business, and I wanted to do something that added to the community,” Convery said during a recent interview with Oklahoma Gazette. “This idea popped up.”

Convery’s idea was simple and based on Airbnb, which allows property owners to rent out a room through a peer-to-peer rental site. Convery expanded the idea to spaces, like garages, attics, sheds, patios, backyards, gardens and offices. Even the open space under a bed or the top of a closet could be listed on her website.

Peer-to-peer services like Airbnb and ride-sharing services Uber and Lyft are

I wanted to do something that added to the community.

Cindy Convery credited with helping hosts and drivers earn some extra money. No monthly fees are required to list services, but a small transaction fee is taken during bookings.

Raw Space for Rent joins the list of peerto-peer services as another outlet for boosting incomes. The website works to connect those with unused space to those in need of space.

“The site can be used for anything,” Convery said. “Someone rented space for storage of a snowboard for $25 during the offseason. Another person rented out the trunk of their car.”

Raw Space for Rent goes beyond sports equipment or available storage space and includes listings for rooftops, backyards and lounges, which have served as rentals for weddings, meetings, family reunions and other special events.

Sooner launch

In recent years, Oklahoma City has nabbed top rankings as one of the best places to

launch a business or a startup. Convery, an Ada native, wasn’t aware Oklahoma’s largest city was an entrepreneurial haven when she decided to promote the website in Oklahoma City this year.

During test runs in California and New York, Convery envisioned Raw Space for Rent finding success in the Midwest, where people tend not to let anything go to waste and are always willing to lend a helping hand. With Oklahoma roots, Convery settled on the Sooner State as the site’s launching point. Now, Convery spends two weeks a month here, finding new spaces to add and encouraging people to scroll through the listings.

In Oklahoma City, Raw Space for Rent visitors can find studio rehearsal spaces, vehicle storage venues, downtown rooftops, a chapel, classroom spaces, offices, event spaces and more.

“People love it,” Convery said during a visit inside The Seiber building lobby in Midtown.

The restored 1928 luxury lounge could facilitate a group of 80 people for a special event.

“If they’ve used Airbnb, they immediately understand it,” Convery said.

Oklahoma has served as the perfect place to launch, Convery said. In the future, she sees Norman residents utilizing the website to rent their yards for tailgate parties and football game parking.

College students in need of summer storage to house small furniture and a few boxes could be connected to residents with space in a basement, attic or garage.

The possibilities for Raw Space for Rent seem endless, said Convery, who said she gets an idea for a listing about every 10 minutes.

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NEWS

Weigh in Oklahoma confronts childhood obesity rates. By George Lang

“These pants are getting tight on you.”

It’s a rhetorical trick that ascribes action to an inanimate object, an act of passive generosity deflecting from the harsher truth of the matter for thousands of Oklahoma children.

In a state that ranks No. 46 nationally for overall health, a significant percentage of kids living in Oklahoma are classified as obese.

The subject can be daunting for any parent who wants to keep their children happy and free of unnecessary anxiety about their appearance, but according to Angela Jones, director of health and wellness initiatives at YMCA of Greater Oklahoma City, it can also come down to parents’ lack of awareness about their own health.

“There are a lot of parents who underestimate their own weight, so they naturally underestimate their child’s weight,” Jones said. “And there’s so much stigma attached to weight in general that sometimes parents are afraid to react.”

Tracking habits

According to The State of Obesity, a project of the Trust for America’s Health and the

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, more than one-third of Oklahoma adults are considered obese, and the numbers for children are not promising. Statewide, 15 percent of children ages 2 to 4 who participated in Food and Nutrition Service’s Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program are obese, and 17 percent are overweight. High school students fared slightly better, with 11.8 percent considered obese and 15.4 percent overweight.

The factors contributing to the continuing rise of pediatric obesity in Oklahoma should not surprise anyone.

Lack of activity and the domination of processed foods in refrigerators and pantries result in children eating too much of the wrong things and not offsetting that intake with enough exercise to burn off those reserve calories.

“Nowadays, it’s very common in this world of technology that we live in to do very sedentary activities,” said Shannon Welch, director of community health at the Oklahoma City-County Health Department. “Parents can encourage activity by going outside and playing with their children and also help their children have access to healthy food. The thing is,

Parents can encourage activity by going outside and playing with their children and also help their children have access to healthy food.

Shannon Welch 10

n ov e m B E R 9 , 2 0 1 6 | O kg a z e t t e . c o m

Child

Childhood obesity is on the rise in Oklahoma. | bigstockphoto.com

children have very limited control over what foods are available to them, so they really rely on the parents to provide those healthy foods for them.”

The combination of convenience foods and couchbound entertainment can be literally deadly, contributing to early heart disease as well as type 2 diabetes.

While Oklahoma adopted standards for restricting foods of minimal nutritional value (FMNV) in the public schools in 2006, the onus for responsible diet and exercise falls to the parents and the children themselves once school lets out.

Jones said the trend toward longer work hours for parents often means children have more unsupervised time at home, resulting in more time with the Xbox and delicious, salty, sugary and fatty FMNVs.

Action plan

To combat those behaviors, the YMCA adopted a plan called OK 5210, an easyto-follow guideline to help children monitor their own behaviors regarding food and exercise.

The program is funded through Oklahoma City Community Foundation and advises children to eat at least five servings of fruits or vegetables every day, limit their “screen time” to two hours or less, engage in one hour of exercise and

consume no sugary beverages.

The YMCA is bringing the OK 5210 message to other community organizations and hopes to implement the program in public schools.

“We’ve found through the help of the Centers for Disease Control that if people can make those changes in particular, it can have a very strong impact on your health,” Jones said. “It doesn’t condemn them for making less-healthy choices sometimes; it recommends positive behaviors, and it doesn’t give them a mixed message about their health and their bodies. It’s just a strategy that they can use.”

Another contributing factor to pediatric obesity is the phenomenon of “food deserts,” areas in which access to fresh vegetables and healthy foods is limited.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, large swaths of Oklahoma County fall within the categories of “low income” and “low access,” meaning residents in these areas are one-to-10 miles away from a grocery store and financially limited in how much healthy food they can buy.

“Right here in our area, there are places where people have to drive up to five miles to get access to the grocery, so a lot of families use convenience stores for primary access to quick groceries,” Welch said. “And that is something we’re trying to address.”

Next year, Oklahoma City-County Health Department will debut the Oklahoma City Mobile Market, a food truck featuring fresh fruits and vegetables as well as important pantry staples. The truck, which will service areas designated as food deserts, is expected to start service during spring 2017.

Additionally, the department has worked closely with city and county authorities in the implementation of Complete Streets, an initiative that has recently added 35 miles of sidewalks and trails in Oklahoma City. Welch said that such measures have an important impact on physical activity for children.

“By doing that, especially for pedestrians, it’s having access to sidewalks throughout the city,” Welch said. “It gives children the opportunity to walk to school in a safe environment, and that’s a great way to encourage physical activity and to curb obesity.”

For more information on OK 5210, visit ok5210.org.

Oklahoma City-County Health Department’s Oklahoma City Mobile Market is expected to launch Spring 2017. | Photo provided

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NEWS

Talking health

The Oklahoma City-County Health Department engages citizens in discussion about improving community wellness. By Laura Eastes

What does a healthy they see as a top healthTown Halls Oklahoma City mean to related need for their area? We will ask about you? occhd.org It’s a question the the challenges they see for 405-427-8651 Oklahoma City-County their area in regards to Free Health Department becoming the healthiest 6:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesday (OCCHD) wants anin the state.”

Wesley United swered from a myriad of Local public health Methodist Chuch leaders host the town community members.

1401 NW 25th St. halls, asking citizens to This month, the local list and describe health health department 6-7 p.m. Tuesday launched a communityoutcomes or concerns in St. Paul the Apostle driven strategic planning their communities. As a Catholic Church process for improving group, citizens will 3901 S. Sunnylane Road, discuss health barriers, community health. At the Del City center of the effort is a lack of programs or ways to expand current services offered by the desire to hear citizens’ insights on what health department. community health and wellness looks like and what it can become in the future, said A report summarizing the town halls Megan Holderness, an administrator in and common comments will follow the comOCCHD’s epidemiology department. munity meetings. Ideas could shape future “Based on data, we can see one piece of program and service options at the health the puzzle, but the community discussions department, which covers approximately help us fill in the holistic approach to health 27 percent of the entire state population.

The department operates the majority and wellness,” Holderness said. “What do

UNI_16-RP-240_FreeBets_Gazette.indd 1

OCCHD epidemiology department administrator Megan Holderness discusses health outcomes. | Photo Gazette / file

of its programs from three campuses located in northeast, south and western Oklahoma City.

“It lets their voices be heard and gives us the opportunity to hear about ideas for services or programs,” Holderness said.

The town halls play a critical role in the release of the Oklahoma County Wellness Score 2017, a detailed report that serves as an update on the health status of the community. OCCHD released a wellness score report about three years ago. The 152-page document illustrated where the community stands in an array of health risks, including the number of births to teens, the percentage of people with hypertension, cancer mortality rates and suicide rates.

The data is broken down by ZIP codes.

In the past, the wellness score has led public health officials to develop strategies, initiatives, policy changes and programs to effectively improve health.

By adding the town halls, the public has a chance to weigh in, sparking discussion and debate for what can be done over the next three years in Oklahoma County. In total, four town halls are offered, each in a different area of the county. Holderness expects diverse discussions to come from each of the town hall meetings, as health outcomes vary by ZIP codes.

In addition to the town halls, OCCHD hosts the County Local Pubic Health System Assessment on Thursday. The all-day conference is similar to the town halls, but the audience is made up of individuals working in public health. Discussion will center on citizens’ ability to access essential health services and the current capacities of the entire public health system.

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chicken

friedNEWS

Maybe it’s the stickers?

That’s the thought we at Chicken-Fried News had when we read the recent study from personal finance website WalletHub. In the study 2016’s Most & Least Politically Engaged States, Oklahoma earned the lowest ranking at No. 51. Yup, we are the least politically engaged state, based on factors like number of registered voters, voter turnout and contributions to political campaigns.

(Insert “Thanks, Obama!” meme here.)

Seriously, we are scratching our heads. Why is there such a lack of political engagement among Oklahomans?

The Chicken-Fried Newsdesk staff put our heads together (nobody was injured) and came up with five possible reasons Oklahomans don’t vote: 1. Emergency certified teachers forgot to teach the lesson about civic participation being a key ingredient of a well-functioning democracy.

2. Polling stations are impossible to find, as they are located in churches, schools and community centers. Why can’t election workers set up at Sonic Drive-In locations during happy hour?!

3. We have developed allergic reactions to adhesive and can’t be within so many feet of stickers. Think peanut allergy, but worse.

4. The state’s top leaders, like country singers Blake Shelton, Toby Keith and Wanda Jackson, rarely make trips to polling stations. Don’t believe us?

Check it out for yourself at BadVoter.org.

5. Someone went around the country grousing that elections are rigged.

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He’s GOAT!

Oct. 28, Oklahoma City Thunder superman Russell Westbrook recently became the first NBA player to score a 50-point tripledouble in 41 years, tying iconic baller Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s 1975 record.

As The Washington Post succinctly said in the two-word lead of its Oct. 29 reaction story: “Kevin who?”

ESPN staff writer Royce Young said of Westbrook’s reaction to the milestone: “Westbrook didn’t seem all that impressed with the feat, saying he hadn’t reflected much on it.”

Westbrook told ESPN, “[I’m] hungry, I’ll tell you that much.”

Indeed.

Westbrook scored 51 points to pilot Thunder to a 113-110 win against the Suns in overtime.

To quote Jabbar’s timeless Roger Murdock retort to little Joey, who visits him in the cockpit in a scene from the 1980 comedy Airplane!: Joey: “Wait a minute. I know you!

You’re Kareem Abdul-Jabbar! You play basketball for the Los Angeles Lakers!”

Roger Murdock: “I’m sorry, son, but you must have me confused with someone else. My name is Roger Murdock. I’m the co-pilot.”

Well, yeah. As far as history goes, Jabbar — er, Murdock — probably just became history’s copilot to Westbrook’s NBA legacy.

Frequent caller

Before this story begins, here is a quick reminder that there are plenty of things in the world to do when feeling lonely or bored.

Calling the police is not one of them.

A police officer was called to Brenda Reed’s home in late October after she reported her 18-year-old daughter missing, according to OKCFox.com.

The officer made contact with Reed’s daughter and confirmed that she was not, in fact, missing.

However, that was not the end. Reed called 911 again the same day to report her daughter missing. A second officer came out to her home and asked Reed if she already spoke with an officer that day.

The woman reportedly said she had but “didn’t like what was said,” according to FOX 25.

After the officer told her to only call 911 in an emergency, she said she thought it was one because she “can’t get her out of jail.”

Police reports indicate the second officer had already been called out to Reed’s house earlier that month for nonemergency calls.

When he reviewed Reed’s 911 records, he discovered that the woman called police 19 times since Oct. 1, each of which were determined false calls.

Reed was then arrested and booked into Oklahoma County Jail.

Bad grades?

Are Oklahoma schools getting better or worse? According to 2016 A-F Report Cards released by the State Board of Education, it’s both.

Oklahoma State Department of Education (SDE) earned an A for counting up all the letter grades for schools across the state, with the number of A’s, B’s and D’s decreasing from 2015 and the number of C’s and F’s going up.

Much like parents who just know their kids are smarter than the report card gives them credit for, public school administrators have denounced the results.

“It’s inaccurate, it’s misleading and it’s invalid. That’s been proven,” Norman Public Schools Superintendent Joe Siano told The Norman Transcript.

For a district with two A and four F schools out of 25, invalidating the scores sounds reasonable. And that might be easier to do next year, since newly passed state law House Bill 3218 repealed the current assessment formula, meaning SDE is developing a new way to measure student and school achievement.

Whether or not State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister is still running the department when that happens is still up in the air. A week after a release of the A-F grades, Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater filed campaign fundraising and conspiracy charges against Hofmeister. If convicted, she could spend up to 11 years in prison.

Economic hate

Everyone agrees that Oklahoma has money issues and we don’t need any more.

What we can’t agree on is what is most important to Oklahoma citizens.

Greater Oklahoma City Chamber and Tulsa Regional Chamber members recently spoke out against the ways legislators spend their time at the Capitol, multiple local media recently reported.

Their comments were made after Rep. John Bennett (R-Sallisaw) accused Adam Soltani, executive director of Oklahoma’s office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-OK), of being a terrorist.

Bennett also claimed Imam Imad Enchassi of the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City trained terrorists.

A group of legislators and local Muslim officials attended Bennett’s Oct. 25

interim study, “Radical Islam, Sharia Law, the Muslim Brotherhood and the radicalization process,” at the State Capitol.

Soltani reminded the bloviating Bennett that there is no evidence to support the lawmaker’s accusations or his “biased agenda,” the Tulsa World reported.

Leaders of OKC and Tulsa chambers of commerce are concerned that legislators’ focus on a “social agenda” will adversely affect state economic and business development.

“When we even talk about criminalizing physicians or seem intolerant on diversity or things like that, it doesn’t help us,” Tulsa Regional Chamber senior vice president Brien Thorstenberg told the House Committee on Economic Development , Commerce and Real Estate in the days after the interim study, KFOR.com reported. “Even if those things don’t pass or don’t happen, it can take years for those things to be overcome.”

Kurt Foreman, Greater Oklahoma City Chamber executive vice president, agreed.

K FOR .com repor ted chamber leaders believe legislators should instead focus on legitimate issues like

education and transportation.

“Their attention to social issues can be a factor in whether our economy is going to grow or not,” Foreman said. “We think you need to focus on the things that make a difference in the long run, not a little issue here or there.”

Some lawmakers disagreed.

“It’s unfortunate that the chambers are looking just at an economic impact, whereas we, in the Legislature, are looking at the impact on the children,” Sen. Gary Stanislawski (R-Tulsa) told NewsChannel 4 in May, when many legislators were focused on a controversial bathroom bill that discriminated against transgender people.

Soltani told Red Dirt Report that CAIR-OK is considering legal action against Bennett after his public attacks.

“We’ve always protested when elected officials use their power and state resources to propagate hate,” Soltani said. “This took it to a whole new level; the blatant lies and accusations are disturbing.”

connect to

Engage at Central

The Wall Street Journal ranks UCO among the top 10 universities in the nation for student engagement.

The Central experience is more than just a degree. It’s

engaging students to think, to give, to persevere and to lead.

Engage with us today.

UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA TM

uco.edu

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UCOBronchos

O kg a z e t t e . c o m | n ov e m b e r 9 , 2 0 1 6

15

letters

NEWS Oklahoma. Now we know why Fallin has been successful in attaining public office and a miserable failure at lifting up all Oklahomans in need, not just the tiny minority who finance her political campaigns.

She has played them like a fiddle. But every form of refuge has its price. They have played her like a Stradivarius, too!

Tom Guild Edmond

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.

‘Stimulus’

Play on

Many might think that Gov. Mary Fallin doesn’t have the sense God gave a peanut.

She certainly is a sorry excuse for a governor.

So how do you explain the fact that she has never lost an election for public office?

She is at most of average intelligence. She has spent her entire public career using the political class and Oklahoma political moneychangers to promote her career. They have in turn used her for their selfish purposes. The latest example is her proclamation to set aside a day to pray for the energy industry. This is the tip of her hat to the wealthy donors who have financed her political career.

Her unstated message is that the energy industry is a person, too, my friends (thanks, Mitt Romney). Of course, we know that the overleveraged energy industry in Oklahoma has overleveraged their assets, including

the good will it used to have with the vast majority of Oklahomans.

We are tired of our safety (think artificially induced earthquakes) being put at risk to promote their bloated profits.

We empathize with oilfield workers who had dangerous jobs, lost those jobs and now are struggling to make house and car payments and sustain an adequate standard of living. But those workers are not unique.

There are hundreds of thousands of Oklahoma workers living in poverty or near poverty or who face unemployment and have the same struggles.

Most Oklahomans have little to no sympathy or empathy for the megawealthy,

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high-rolling energy barons who have been living high on the hog and are now paying the price often paid by high rollers who roll snake eyes and crap out on their reckless behavior.

It was recently reported in the Daily Oklahoman that Fallin said to the 400 prayerful folks at her energy event at the Tower Hotel that she was just praying for the “needy” as her Bible tells her to do.

Since the energy industry was not even in the womb in biblical times, she seems to have missed the rest of the needy in Oklahoma and left out a few million folks who may also have their struggles in surviving in today’s anti-worker economy in

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16

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When a politician — I don’t care who, whether it’s a liberal, RINO or otherwise — says “I want to spend $1 trillion on —” that means they have no idea what that “something” is really going to cost. They haven’t done one bit of homework on the subject.

It’s just off the top of their head.

One trillion dollars is a ginormous amount of money.

It’s an absurd, insulting number devoid of any concern of what that means to the average person. Someone in power picks this figure, thinking it’s enough that if they throw it at the problem, maybe some minute amount will stick, actually make a difference of some kind so they can take credit for it. People who are willing to do this are mentally lazy, selfish, aren’t willing to do their jobs and don’t give one damn about you or me.

Doug Rixmann Newalla

MBER

JANU

9

ARY 2

f eat u re

EAT & DRINK

Phở real

As winter approaches, this traditional Vietnamese soup helps warm up chilly diners. By Greg Elwell

Technically, phở is a breakfast food.

Phở or pho (sounds like “fuh,” not “foe”) is Vietnam’s national dish, a soup of deeply spiced beef broth filled with long, slender rice noodles and tender cuts of beef.

In Vietnam, it’s eaten in streetside stalls on the way to work and many of the best shops are sold out by 9 a.m.

Thankfully, the same is not true in Oklahoma City, where phở restaurants abound as lunch and dinner destinations.

As the year progresses, this steaming-hot Vietnamese delight only gets more popular with customers.

The dish found its way to Oklahoma after the fall of Saigon in 1975, when hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese fled the country after the Vietnam War. The U.S. government took in many of the refugees, housing some at Fort Chaffee, just outside Fort Smith, Arkansas.

The refugees were allowed to leave when they found a sponsor, and many in Oklahoma City were willing to help.

That was the first wave, and more arrived in the decades since, joining family members who established businesses and Oklahoma City’s thriving Asian District community.

Ngoc “Anna” Dinh, whose in-laws own Pho Lien Hoa, 901 NW 23rd St., said phở is an integral part of the Vietnamese experience.

It is one of the city’s most popular phở eateries, and it continues to gain momentum since opening in October 2000. Dinh said she doesn’t know the exact number of bowls of soup served there each day, but she guesses it’s about 500.

“That’s actually something I’d like to find out,” she said.

Recipes abound

There’s no set recipe for phở, or at least there are so many it’s hard to say what absolutely has to be in it. One thing traditional broths have in common is beef bones, Dinh said.

“We fill the whole pot full of them,” she said. “You have to cook the bones all over.

Cook them for hours, and then you start seasoning.”

Employees arrive at Pho Lien Hoa at 8 a.m. to start cooking. But they’re not making the soup customers eat today — they’re working on tomorrow’s broth.

The long, slow process extracts substantial beef flavor from the bones as well as collagen, which gives the broth an almost creamy texture.

Dinh said Pho Lien Hoa’s recipe is fairly simple.

It includes grilled onions, ginger, cinnamon and star anise, giving the broth a warm spice profile that’s different from American beef soups. The broth is skimmed as impurities rise to the surface

to keep it looking and tasting clean.

While the broth is one of phở’s most defining characteristics, each diner gets to customize the bowl by choosing which cuts of beef go in the soup.

Vocabulary lesson

Some phở regulars have their orders down to a number at their favorite restaurant, but knowing the lingo will help diners navigate menus.

Pho đặc biệt means “special phở,” and it includes a combination of cuts of thịt (meat). At Pho Thai Nguyen, 3221 N. Classen Blvd., a bowl of pho đặc biệt is filled with beef tenderloin, brisket, flank steak, tendon, tripe and beef meatballs.

For cuisine newcomers, a good bet is phở tái, which is broth, noodles and rare steak, or phở chín, or lean brisket. The heat of the broth, which comes to the table still steaming, cooks the meat.

Other common beef cuts are fatty brisket (gầu), fatty flank (nạm), tendon (gân) and tripe (sách).

Even if a specific combination isn’t listed on the menu, restaurants are very accommodating about combining the ingredients customers ask for, because the meats are added to the dish just before it’s delivered to the table.

Though Pho Lien Hoa specializes in phở, other popular Vietnamese have expanded menus to include a greater selection of traditional dishes.

Lee’s Sandwiches, 3300 N. Classen Blvd., is a franchise mostly known for Vietnamese bánh mì sandwiches, but the Oklahoma City location also offers daily phở specials.

The menu at Pho Cuong, 3106 N. Classen Blvd., incorporates more variety with mì (egg noodles), cháo (rice porridge) and hủ tiếu (pork noodle soup), among others. Housed in an old green-blue house, Pho Cuong breaks its phở menu down into dishes for novices, intermediates and experts.

Vietnamese eateries are common throughout Asian District, and in recent years, such venues have expanded farther into the metro. Edmond is home to Pho Bulous Noodle & Grill, 3409 S. Broadway Suite 700, and Pho Ben Restaurant, 304 S. Kelly Ave. Moore has Phở Lan Asian Bistro, 711 SW 19th St. Suite 102, and Norman is where to find Pho Winner Vietnamese Restaurant, 775 Jenkins Ave. The growth of phở venues is proof of the dish’s popularity, Dinh said.

“It’s light, it packs a lot of flavor and it’s easy to eat,” she said. “It’s usually eaten breakfast, but people have it for lunch or dinner or a midnight snack, too. We eat it all day long.”

Pho Cuong owner Duy Tran ladles phở broth into bowls at the Vietnamese restaurant. | Photo Gazette / file

Phở chín, a Vietnamese beef noodle soup with brisket, is one of 19 varieties of phở served at Pho Lien Hoa. | Photo Gazette / file

Rare steak joins noodles and a spiced beef broth in phở tái at Pho Thai Nguyen. Phở is usually served with limes, bean sprouts, fresh basil and chili sauce. | Photo Gazette / file

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EAT & DRINK

Edible culture

Johnnie’s Charcoal Broiler turns 45 this year, but metro diners have enjoyed this family’s signature burgers even longer. By Greg Elwell

Oklahomans have enjoyed Johnnie’s Charcoal Broiler for more than 60 years even though the restaurant has only been around since 1971.

Rick Haynes, who owns the restaurant chain with his brother David, said the metro’s obsession began when his father helped open and manage the now-defunct Split-T just north of Interstate 44 on Western Avenue in 1953.

“My dad was the Split-T, even though he didn’t own it,” Rick said. “It became an Oklahoma City icon.”

Their father, David “Johnnie” Haynes, cooked the burgers with a mixture of gas and charcoal, giving each one a familiar backyard barbecue taste. The restaurant was a hit, becoming a popular spot for hamburger lovers across the city.

Even so, Johnnie hungered to own his own place.

The long hours were especially challenging, Rick explained. All restaurant work is hard and his dad put in long hours six days a week, but he still found time to spend with his family.

Seeing them would get easier, though, after Johnnie and his wife Pauline opened the first Johnnie’s Charcoal Broiler at Britton Road and Military Avenue in 1971.

“We opened Johnnie’s when I was 13, so I worked with my dad and brother and mother every day,” Rick said. “I’ve never 18

n ov e m b e r 9 , 2 0 1 6 | O kg a z e t t e . c o m

had another job, and neither has my brother. We’ve been in the family business all this time.”

Tasty tradition

Johnnie Haynes didn’t just use the dualgrilling method on his burgers; he also brought signature burgers, including the Theta and Caesar, to Johnnie’s.

“The food is the same that’s been there forever,” Rick said. “We’ve had a lot of people copy us over the years that weren’t successful, but there are a lot of new places that do succeed.”

Despite competition, Johnnie’s Charcoal Broiler persevered because the restaurant stayed true to the senior Haynes’ vision.

“We’ve done other restaurants, but we’ve remained who we are,” Rick said.

“All cities grow up with a love for something. You’re partial to what you grew up eating, and it gets passed on to your kids and grandkids.”

In addition to Johnnie’s Charcoal Broiler locations, the Haynes brothers own West, 6714 N. Western Ave. and 1 Mickey Mantle Drive, and Urban Johnnie Bar & Grille, 121 NE Second St. Being able to explore different takes on the menu at their other eateries allows the duo keep the core Johnnie’s concept unchanged, making it a traditional Oklahoma City taste. Over the last 45 years in business,

lunch Special: 3 enTréeS for $6.50

Join Us! something new to try every week with

Brothers Rick and David Haynes at their new Johnnie’s Charcoal Broiler location in Yukon | Photo Garett Fisbeck

demand from Oklahoma ex-pats grew so high the restaurant began shipping Johnnie’s hickory sauce, the key to its Theta burger, to fans all over the world.

Little changes

The menu has remained largely unchanged over the last decade, when the Haynes began serving sandwiches and salads.

“For every one of those we sell, we probably sell 100 hamburgers,” Rick said.

“That’s the core of our business: hamburgers, onion rings and french fries.”

The reason it stayed the same is simple, he said: Change isn’t necessary.

“You have to do the things the customer demands, like when we added the gluten-free bun,” he said. “But as things progress, you try not to lose who you are and what you are.”

Their father died in 2000, and the Haynes brothers have run the restaurants since the early 1980s.

“My dad was involved — he was always involved until he died — but the last five or six years of his life, he was sick,” Rick said. “The vision to grow the company was probably more my brother’s and mine than his. I think he would be very appreciative and proud of what we’ve done.”

Expanding the restaurant, which now has more than a half-dozen locations across the metro, is a response to the changing city.

“It’s different now than it was then,” Rick said. “There weren’t so many restaurants and people didn’t eat out as much. People would drive across town to eat at Johnnie’s.”

Now the burger joint is expanding and recently opened a Yukon location at 1700 Shedeck Parkway. Additional locations are planned for Moore and Midwest City.

Rick said every business has an ebb

and flow, and he discovered the best way to survive is through consistency.

Every few years, the venues get updates, including fresh paint, but he said that’s basic upkeep.

“I think what happens is a lot of older restaurants don’t do those things. They don’t make themselves fresh, or if they do, they try to change who they are,” Rick said. “We’re lucky to have so many traditions in Oklahoma City, like Junior’s and Cattlemen’s [Steakhouse]. Johnnie’s is one of those.”

“ chef’s special”

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Success stories

The most refreshing thing Rick Haynes sees when he walks into one of his businesses is another generation of diners enjoying the food.

“If you go into one of our restaurants today, you see lots of little kids and lots of families eating Johnnie’s,” he said.

And employees always have stories about customers who moved away some years ago and, upon landing in Oklahoma City for a visit, stop in for a burger. His family’s work continues to make an impact. That’s a big reason the Haynes brothers are excited to open more stores.

“We want to be there for people growing up to eat at Johnnie’s, as well,” Rick said.

Because beyond the gas and charcoal, the homemade onion rings and the freshcut french fries, what matters is the finished product and the product guests can’t wait to finish.

“A lot of people worry about other restaurants opening, but if you take care of what you do and do it well, you’ll be successful,” Rick said.

Visit johnniesburgers.com.

O kg a z e t t e . c o m | n ov e m b e r 9 , 2 0 1 6

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EAT & DRINK

HOLIDAY CATERING

b rie f s By Greg Elwell

Oklahoma City native Rick Bayless recently received the Julia Child Award for his impact on how Americans cook and eat. | Photo Joyce Boghosian / provided

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•Honored Okie Oklahoma City native Rick Bayless was recently honored with the second-ever Julia Child Award. Bayless is a food icon who won the first season of Top Chef Masters hosts a long-running PBS cooking show Mexico — One Plate at a Time and owns nine successful Mexican restaurants in Chicago. He got an early start in his culinary career at Hickory House, his parents’ barbecue restaurant in south Oklahoma City (now closed).

Bayless was selected for the Julia Child Award for his “profound and significant impact on the way America cooks, eats and drinks,” according to a media release from The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts.

The award includes a $50,000 grant, which Bayless said he plans to donate to Frontera Farmer Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit he launched to provide capital development grants to small, sustainable farms serving the Chicago area.

While Bayless has impacted the way Americans cook and eat Mexican food, Julia Child influenced a young Rick Bayless, who said he asked his parents for her book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, when he was 12 years old.

Over the next three years, he cooked every dish in it, he said during his presentation, according to the media release.

•Barrios opens

It was a treat, not a trick, that Barrios Fine Mexican Dishes, 1000 N. Hudson Ave., finally opened to the public on Halloween.

The newest concept from A Good Egg Dining Group is Keith and Heather Paul’s first Mexican restaurant, but Barrios’ roots go all the way back to their purchase of the group’s signature concept, Cheever’s Café, in 2000.

Juan Barrios was a chef at Cheever’s, 2409 N. Hudson Ave., when the Pauls took over in 2000. His nephew Rufino Barrios later joined him, and the pair still keep the kitchen cooking.

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Since then, more of Juan’s family has joined A Good Egg. Ruben and Jose Barrios came on in 2002 during the opening of Iron Star Urban Barbeque, 3700 N. Shartel Ave. Housed in the old Swanson’s Tire Co. Building, Barrios includes indoor and outdoor seating with a patio Keith Paul said could be open almost year-round.

Chef Chad Willis leads the kitchen at Barrios after leaving A Good Egg’s seafood restaurant The Drake, 519 NW 23rd St, Suite 111.

Photo Oklahoma Department of Labor / provided

•Empire strikes

After celebrating its third birthday with a pizza-eating contest and outdoor music festival in October, Empire Slice House owners Rachel Cope and Avery Cannon marked another milestone when the eatery received the Mark Costello Entrepreneurial Excellence in Oklahoma Award in October.

“It was awesome and super unexpected,” Cope said. “Honestly, I didn’t know it existed until we won it. Then I did some research and saw all the other Oklahoma businesses that have won it.”

Presented by Labor Commissioner Melissa McLawhorn Houston, the award honors Oklahomans who expand job opportunities in the state.

Since 2013, Cope and Cannon have done just that, growing the Plaza District favorite located at 1734 NW 16th St. into a pizza powerhouse employing 70 people.

The award also honors late Labor Commissioner Mark Costello.

“It’s cool that Mark lives on through the award,” Cope said.

The creation of Empire spawned the launch of 84 Hospitality Group, which also runs Gorō Ramen + Izakaya, 1634 N. Blackwelder Ave., Suite 102, and Revolución Taqueria & Cantina, 916 NW Sixth St., which opened Nov. 3.

“We first walked in [Revolucion’s] building in March of 2015,” Cope said.

“Honestly, when we first got there, I had no idea what we should put there.”

She actually had the idea for the neighborhood bar and taqueria before she and Gorō co-owner Jeff Chanchaleune began talking about opening a ramen shop.

“I never would have dreamed (Gorō) would open before this space,” she said.

“I’d actually thought about having a Cinco de Mayo party here, so we missed that.”

Empire was nominated for the award

by Rep. Jason Dunnington, D-Oklahoma City, who said it would take more entrepreneurs like Cope and Cannon to continue growing Oklahoma’s economy.

first year anniversary Wine and dinner pairing monday, 11/14/2016. cocktails at 5pm and dinner served at 6:30pm. tuesday – Saturday, 11/15/2016 thru 11/19/2016 dinner 5pm. call or visit our website for our special anniversary week menus and to make reservations

neW manaGement team

Photo Greg Elwell

Left Chef Ryan MuRphy, center SaMMy SaMpSon, foh ManageR right SCott Cole, geneRal ManageR

2920 nW 63rd Street | 405.608.8866 themeatmarketrefectory.com lunch & dinner

6014 n. May 947.7788 | zorbasokc.coM

HOURS: mOn - tHURS. 11am - 10pm | fRi- Sat 11am - 11pm SUnday clOSed O kg a z e t t e . c o m | n ov e m b e r 9 , 2 0 1 6

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g a z e di b l e s

eat & DRINK

Snack attack

Meals are such a commitment.

Sitting at a table, making conversation, wearing pants — who has time for that? And sometimes, people just aren’t that hungry. What makes snacks so great is that you can eat them on the go, while you’re on the phone and they’re the perfect size.

Still hungry? Eat another snack.

Here are some popular places for those feeling peckish.

By Greg Elwell Photos Garett Fisbeck

Ea

The Lobby Cafe & Bar 4322 N. Western Ave. willrogerslobbybar.com 405-604-4650

On a menu with such upscale items as bacon-wrapped dates stuffed with goat cheese and dry-cured chorizo and a shrimp, crab and manchego cheese sandwich, it might surprise diners to find a dried delicacy like beef jerky. But The Lobby Cafe & Bar is never shy about pushing culinary envelopes. Thin strips of tender beef are seasoned and dried to create a protein-packed and savory snack that proves jerky can be fancy, too.

Ingrid’s

Republic Gastropub

“C” is for many things: capons, catapults and car collisions, to name a few. But thanks to a certain blue-furred New York City denizen, we know that the best “C” is for cookie. And for some of the best cookies in OKC, one must go to Ingrid’s. The European bakery is known for its pastries and desserts, and its cookie case is always popular.

Delicious thumbprint, chewy chocolate and snickerdoodle cookies share space with gorgeously decorated iced sugar cookies.

A lot of pulled, roasted chicken is sitting on top of each nacho at Republic Gastropub.

It takes a sturdy chip to hold up all the perfectly cooked meat and caramelized onions loaded with melted cheese, sour cream and a sliver of green onion. It takes an even sturdier customer to leave one on the plate.

Don’t worry. We won’t judge if you finish them all. Order a second batch for us while you’re at it.

6501 N. May Ave. ingridsokc.com | 405-842-4799

5830 N. Classen Blvd. republicgastropub.com | 405-286-4577

a s t Co s t St yle

Rococo Northpark

6th Anniversary Party

11/9/16 • 6-9pm

FALL IN LOVE ALL OVER AGAIN DATE NIGHT | ANNIVERSARY

Food and Drink Specials + Toast by Chef Jason & Chef Bruce Live Music by Born In November featuring C+ No Cover

#RococoCrabCakes Social Media Contest Win FREE Rococo Crab Cakes for a year!

Rococo-Restaurant.com/FreeCrabCakes for full details

Tues Open Mic night Wed Ladies night Thur KaraOKe Fri/saT Live Music & 2nd & 4Th Fri dJ w/cOMedy shOw

ReseRve youR table today!

BourBon St. Cafe RiveRwalk | bRicktown

100 E. California | 232.6666 | bourbonstCafE.Com

Office Parties. rehearsal dinners. reuniOns.

ReseRve a banquet Room today!

BourBon St. Cafe 12252 N. May Ave. • Rococo-Restaurant.com 22

n ov e m b e r 9 , 2 0 1 6 | O kg a z e t t e . c o m

RiveRwalk | bRicktown

100 E. California | 232.6666 | bourbonstCafE.Com

Lottinville’s

801 Signal Ridge Road, Edmond lottinvillesrestaurant.com 405-341-2244 Chips and dip is a classic snack, but no matter how spicy you make it, Lottinville’s has it beat. This Edmond mainstay has a burning desire to win customer loyalty with its queso fondito. A cast iron skillet filled with spicy chorizo, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, jalapeños and melted pepper jack cheese really gets cooking when it’s served to diners flambéed. Dip the house-made chips in the queso and a little fresh salsa for a snack that’s also a spectacle.

Taj Cuisine of India

Freshy Donuts & Sushi

Cafe 501

Why settle for plain potato when samosas, the pyramid-shaped fried darlings of Indian food, also add peas and spices inside crunchy pastry shells? The versions served at Taj Cuisine of India are freshly fried with a delicious green chutney dipping sauce.

The order might require a minute or two to cool down, but once samosas are ready to eat, they make for a delightfully filling appetizer.

Peanut butter and jelly. Sour cream and onion. And now there’s a colossal new culinary team: doughnuts and sushi. To be clear, Freshy Donuts & Sushi isn’t making doughnuts out of tuna or wrapping long johns in eel, but the restaurant does serve both (as well as bubble tea and snow cones). The doughnuts are lovely and light and big and round and delicious. The sushi is fresh (try the Freshy Roll if you need more proof), and the price is almost as friendly as the staff.

Whether served in a bowl with milk, sprinkled over yogurt or tossed straight into the mouth, granola is a treat. Cafe 501 makes a sweet granola that has enough crunch and body to be interesting. It’s baked fresh daily and sold by the bag (along with breads, cookies and cupcakes). The right way to eat Cafe 501 granola is however you want to.

1500 NW 23rd St. tajokc.com | 405-601-1888

6227 N. Meridian Ave. 405-721-8999

5825 NW Grand Blvd. cafe501.com | 405-844-1501

5805 NW 50th • Warr acres • 603.3997 2106 sW 44th • OKc • 601.2629

OpeN 7 days a WeeK Sunday-ThurSday 11am-8pm Friday & SaTurday 11am-9pm

O kg a z e t t e . c o m | n ov e m b e r 9 , 2 0 1 6

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OklahOma histOry Center is proud to present

ian rose

portraying

alexander hamilton “founding father� first us secretary of treasury first national bank founder revolutionary war soldier

tuesday | nov 15 | 7pm $5 to public | free for members tickets available 11/1 at 405.522.0765 wednesday | nov 16 | 10:30am for students | free 2:30pm for residents of senior care facilities | free tickets available 11/1 at 405.522.0765 performances made possible by oklahoma humanities council for more info contact education@okhistory.org or 405.522.3602 | 800 nazih zuhdi dr, oklahoma city

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v i sual arts

ARTS & CULTURE

Creative therapy

JRB Art at The Elms’ November artists infuse their paintings with emotion.

By Jessica Williams

Meshing a variety of mediums, JRB Art design from Parsons School of Design. at the Elms joins artists Robert Peterson Soon after graduating, however, she and Karam in conversation, bringing tochanged her focus from graphic design to gether their unique styles, personal hispainting. tories and geographical backgrounds in The shift resulted in impressionistic its gallery. drawings and paintings characterized by The Paseo Arts District gallery, 2810 layered colors and repetitious movements.

N. Walker Ave., combines JRB’s exhibition of pop realism portraits by Karam’s work displays her Peterson and When Less ability to build upon and Becomes More by impresalter her techniques.

Robert sionist artist Karam “One day, I became Peterson and unable to draw anything through Nov. 27.

Karam “I think art is a way in that I had been drawing for which I can portray the the past 10 years,” Karam 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesdaysworld inside of my mind told Oklahoma Gazette.

Saturdays and 1-5 p.m. to the outside world,” “From there on, I painted Sundays Karam said. “Creating art almost absentmindedly, through Nov. 27 is an unconscious process without form. I realized art JRB Art at The Elms where intuition leads the is not the act of drawing 2810 N. Walker Ave. what can be seen in the tip of the artist’s hand to jrbartgallery.com world, but what does not convey their deepest 405-528-6336 emotions onto the exist in the world.”

Free canvas.”

Each canvas presents an From Seoul, Korea, opportunity for catharsis Karam Cheong (who professionally goes and discovery. by her first name only) said she allows Karam said a spiritual pathos underlies intuition to guide her art and life path. her process.

“A ritual in Buddhism requires one to She received a BFA in communication

“Bob Marley” by Robert Peterson | Image provided

continuously bow 3000 times wholeheartedly. Through this repetition, one’s spirit is purified of all of the chaos within the mind,” Karam said. “Many emotions seep out of my body and onto the canvas. In the work process, my mind gradually empties these emotions while the canvas becomes satiated with them.”

Worldly figures

Peterson said art has also served a therapeutic purpose in his life.

The Lawton-based pop realism artist said he first painted to establish a small legacy for his family.

“I decided to try my hand at painting in 2012 after finding out that I was going to have hip replacement surgery,” Peterson said. “The thought of being put

to sleep scared me a little, and I wanted to be sure to leave something for my kids if, for some reason, I didn’t wake up from surgery.”

Peterson prevailed and realized his passions resided in intimate portraits of figures that inspire and emote.

Taking inspiration from late artists Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring, the artist said his figures come to fruition naturally.

“Painting for me is a peaceful conversation between the canvas and my brush that I get to watch,” Peterson said.

“Sometimes I’ll dream of what I’m going to paint, or an idea will just pop into my head at random times throughout the day.

I am also inspired for new pieces while painting one thing, which will lead to another.”

A chain effect also occurred for the artist in renowned recognition.

Peterson’s larger-than-life portraits have drawn attention from celebrities as well as Oklahoma audiences.

“Since [my] third painting, I’ve had a pretty good response from people from all over the world,” he said. “About a month ago, I was blessed with an opportunity to hand-deliver one of my paintings to one of my idols, Sean ‘P. Diddy’ Combs. I was so nervous I forgot to pack socks for the trip.”

The most humanistic aspects of life drive Peterson’s approach to art, which is made evident in his careful attention to personal details.

For his JRB exhibition, the artist debuted new subjects and techniques.

“I started creating this body of work about three weeks ago,” he said. “For the first time, I am doing pairs of paintings, grouping musicians next to visual artists.”

JRB’s featured artists represent a wide geographical and theoretical spectrum.

Karam started in Seoul and New York City, and Peterson has shown works all over the country.

However, in the middle of it all, Oklahoma City is the breeding ground for both artists’ innovations.

Visit jrbartgallery.com for more information.

“Yellow Essence” by Karam | Image provided

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ARTS & CULTURE v i sual arts

Scenic stroll

Art Hall adds a splash of color to the public space inside The Rise.

By Ben Luschen

When the weather is nice, passersby will find the Art Hall doors wide open as a public invitation. It would be easy for the public to think the corridor that neighbors The Drake Seafood and Oysterette inside The Rise retail building, located at the intersection of NW 23rd Street and N. Walker Avenue, is somehow off-limits.

Owner Anna Russell put out sandwichboard signs outside both entrances welcoming in guests.

“A lot of people are still surprised to hear that there’s a public art space in this building because they don’t pay attention to the doorway that they’re driving by or walking by,” Russell said.

Russell’s husband Johnathan is the developer behind The Rise, an upscale modern retail center designed with urban living and walkability in mind.

The couple traveled to Miami, Florida,

to research what such a building would look like. While there, Russell noticed Miami had many art galleries that were open for the public to walk into any time of day.

Russell knew The Rise had a common hallway that could be opened to the public and used in this way, so she pitched the idea of a visitor-friendly gallery to her husband.

“I didn’t want people to subscribe to gallery hours,” she said. “I want people to come in here at 8 o’clock at night and be able to look.”

The hall already featured both white and brick walls as well as a high ceiling, making it a natural setting for an art gallery. It also borders Urban Teahouse and functions

from left Owner Anna Russell and curator Helen Opper hope Art Hall adds to The Rise’s modern living model. | Photo Garett Fisbeck

almost like a lobby or resting place for shoppers and employees. Diners at The Drake can stroll over to see the art after finishing their meals.

“We’d love for everybody who visits Uptown to visit here,” Russell said.

Art Hall debuted to the public during the Open Streets OKC festival in March. It added independent curator Helen Opper in the summer.

Opper worked in the contemporary and modern art worlds in New York City, San Francisco and Oklahoma City, specializing in curatorial work. She met Russell while

v i sual arts

Climbing a Mountain

Christie Owen’s stress-reduction painting exercise became a unique artistic success.

By George Lang

Surroundings Through Jan. 7 Oklahoma Hall of Fame at Gaylord-Pickens Museum 1400 Classen Drive oklahomahof.com 405-235-4458 Free-$7

Five years ago, after spending most of her adult life working in graphic design, Christie Owen began to seriously devote her energy toward sculpture and painting, beginning with animal subjects and then moving into abstract work.

Owen brought her art to prominent shows like Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition’s 12x12 Art Fundraiser, and her large-scale paintings were progressing nicely until a family health concern shifted 26

N ov e m b e r 9 , 2 0 1 6 | O kg a z e t t e . c o m

her attention in a new and fascinating direction.

“About 2013, my brother had surgery and it was really scary,” said Owen, whose current show, Surroundings, is on display through Jan. 7 at Oklahoma Hall of Fame at Gaylord-Pickens Museum, 1400 Classen Drive. “I just had to get out of the hospital, and so I went down to my studio and I was just looking at the supplies that I had and I wanted to do something calm — not necessarily something expressive or actionoriented like I’d been doing, you know?

This was just a calm way of just focusing.”

What transpired was the product of self-therapy. Owen grabbed a palette knife and applied a dab of acrylic paint and modeling paste to her canvas, and then another and another, building a mesmerizing grid of varying colors. She worked on the first one for three weeks, never knowing if it would amount to anything that would impact the art market.

“It was like a puzzle, like a game that I could build layers on,” she said. “It was

Christie Owen with a piece from her “Sugar Mountain” series at Oklahoma City Hall of Fame at Gaylord-Pickens Museum | Photo Garett Fisbeck

I thought, ‘Let’s go big or go home.’

Christie Owen

completely different for me, but it was good, because I really needed to be present and focus on just one thing.”

Her first sale at auction confirmed that there was a market for her “Sugar Mountain” and “All in All” series, and after posting the works to her website, she received a commission. Then she was invited

looking for a space for a client’s summer exhibit. The two soon discovered they shared a common perspective.

“We both have a passion for art,” Russell said. “I feel like no wall should be wasted.

We wanted local artists to have another opportunity to show their art, too.”

Opper said she is excited for Art Hall to increase its presence in the community.

“We’re learning from each event we have, too,” she said. “We’re still transitioning out of this startup mode into a more regularized schedule and events to work with artists and the public.”

Art Hall bringings in new artists every three months. Art from couple Tony Dyke and Susan Morrison-Dyke is on display through December.

All art on display is for sale. Russell said those interested in buying pieces can pay upfront inside Urban Teahouse. Artists interested in exhibiting can find a submission form at art.theriseokc.com.

“Most of the time, we try to have several artists or mix the type of work that comes in here when we rotate out the art, just so we’re appealing to everybody who walks through here,” Russell said.

The Rise was built to attract a wide range of people, and Art Hall’s goal is to keep its displays varied.

“We have options for ways to show art in this space, so we want to make a diverse exhibition program,” Opper said.

to show her work at ArtNow, Oklahoma Contemporary Art Center’s annual sale and benefit.

“I thought, ‘Let’s go big or go home,’” she said.

She went big, and her painting sold.

While Owen’s work includes functional art, sculptures and furniture, the “Sugar Mountain” and “All in All” series are her calling card at this point. Each of the largescale paintings takes between 100 and 120 hours to create — Owen actually logs her hours using the TimeTracker app — and require a great deal of discipline to complete.

“That kind of work involves intention, as opposed to working in a kind of experimental, free way,” she said. “This definitely has parameters and boundaries. It’s almost like a game, and I’m the game master.”

So far, she’s winning. A “Sugar Mountain” painting measures 5 by 14 feet, and the work is building a similarly massive following. The sixth and seventh paintings in the serious sold at this year’s ArtNow event, and while Owen continues to work in other media, these distinctive pieces are resonating. While she said that there’s always the possibility that someone else is working in a parallel vein, her paintings came from a personal place: a stressreduction strategy that resulted in artistic success.

“At the end of the day, if somebody’s making something similar, it’s still my mark, my fingerprint, my style,” she said.

V i sual A rts

“Deep Snow” by Edward Aldrich | Image National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum / provided

Diminutive marvels

Small Works, Great Wonders offers an entry point for first-time Western art buyers. By George Lang

Visitors to the National Cowboy & Western Patterson said. “We have artists from as Heritage Museum often come away refar away as Canada, Vermont, New Jersey, membering James Earle Fraser’s The End California and everywhere in between, so of the Trail or Glenna Goodacre’s Ronald we really do bring artists together from Reagan, After the Ride, both massive sculparound the country.” tures that fill the rooms of the facility. But The show was installed Nov. 5, allowing with Small Works, Great Wonders 6-10 p.m. visitors to preview the works, which cover Friday at the museum, 1700 NE 63rd St., a large range of traditional and nontraditional styles and subjects, from realism to art buyers can buy fine art without renting a truck to take it home. abstract expressionism. J. NiCole Hatfield’s The scale of the art expressionist portraits provides an entry for of Native Americans many art buyers who share space with Tulsa Small Works, might be intimidated by painter Christopher Great Wonders Westfall’s modern the pricing at other sales urban settings, and such as the annual Prix 6 to 10 p.m. Friday Western landscapes de West, but many of the National Cowboy & Western artists who participate range from the realism Heritage Museum in that renowned sale of Denis Milhomme’s 1700 NE 63rd St. “Winter Retreat” to and show also exhibit at nationalcowboymuseum.org Small Works. Because Robert Burt’s abstract 405-478-2250 the two-dimensional depictions of country $65-$75 pieces must be 16-by-20 homes. Any unsold art inches or less and sculpwill remain on display tures and ceramics must fit into a 20-inch and for sale through Dec. 31. square box, the prices are considerably Patterson said the range of art on display lower on average. in Small Works is indicative of how Western “That’s what makes the artwork more art has opened up in recent years. Small affordable,” said curator Susan Patterson.

Works reflects not just the history of the “The ticket price is less than our bigger art West, but the changes that have taken place shows, and the unique feature of the show since the Pony Express, wagon trains and the Oklahoma land runs. is that you get to take the artwork home “I think it opens the door for someone that evening as opposed to purchasing it who hasn’t collected before, and this parand having to leave it on exhibit for another six to eight weeks. It gets taken off the wall, ticular show carries a very modernist take wrapped up and readied to take home.” on Western subject matter as well as traThe cocktail event will play host to over ditional styles,” Patterson said. “It’s a com100 participating artists and feature door bination of artists showing you something prizes and live music. The art preview and you don’t usually see in a more represenreception beings at 6 p.m., and at 7 p.m., the tational show. You’re going to see much fixed-price sculptures, paintings and cemore than cowboys in this show.” ramics by artists throughout North The museum is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Mondays-Saturdays and noon-5 p.m.

America will be sold by a drawing.

Sundays. Museum admission is free“We have a large number of artists from across the country and nearly 20 artists $12.50.

Visit nationalcowboymuseum.org. who live in Oklahoma in this year’s show,” O kg a z e t t e . c o m | N ov e m b e r 9 , 2 0 1 6

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ARTS & CULTURE p er f o r m i n g arts

Stepping up

Celebrated theater and film actor Ben Vereen plans a night of music and positivity for longtime fans in Oklahoma City. By Ben Luschen

Steppin’ Out with Ben Vereen 8 p.m. Nov. 18 OCCC Visual and Performing Arts Center Theater 7777 S. May Ave. tickets.occc.edu 405-682-7579 $45-$65

Above almost all else, Ben Vereen is a gracious man.

The exceptionally talented actor, singer and dancer is known for his work on Broadway and in film and television, perhaps most notably in the role of Chicken George from the wildly popular and groundbreaking 1977 miniseries Roots.

Steppin’ Out with Ben Vereen, a show that makes its way Nov. 18 to Oklahoma City Community College’s Visual and Performing Arts Center Theater, 7777 S. May Ave., is a way for the award-winning actor, singer and dancer to pay tribute to his fans, many of whom have supported him for decades.

In the show, Vereen performs songs he’s well-known for, plus a few new tunes.

He also shares personal, career-related tales with the audience.

“I talk about the journey [fans] have allowed me to have,” Vereen said during a recent phone interview with Oklahoma Gazette. “We tell stories and we have more of an intimate evening.”

Vereen, who is frequently seen smiling, said he is fortunate to do what he loves for a living and is forever indebted to those who have long supported his work not only for his employment, but also for shaping his outlook on life.

“I wouldn’t be who I am today if it wasn’t for them,” he said.

Always a crowd

Vereen spoke with the Gazette after finishing a week of shooting new comedy series Making History, set to air on the Fox network sometime in 2017.

Recently, audiences might have seen

him portraying Dr. Everett von Scott in The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let’s Do the Time Warp Again, Fox’s remake of the 1975 cult musical horror-comedy.

He also joined Broadway thespians, including Idina Menzel and Kristen Bell, onstage at the 2016 Democratic National Convention to perform a rendition of “What the World Needs Now Is Love.”

“It’s exactly the message this nation needs to hear,” he said.

It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Vereen to take part in such a significant event in front of millions of viewers, he said.

But the actor always finds an audience, even when he’s on a closed film set.

“You have to remember, even when it’s not live, there’s still a crew,” he said.

“There are the costumers, the caterers, the producers who are behind the scenes watching it. You know what one of the greatest compliments is? When one of the crew hands or a grip comes up and goes, ‘Wow man! That was great.’”

Vereen sometimes finds himself marveling at how much it takes to make a scene appear effortless.

He said he is as grateful for the hundreds of behind-the-scenes personnel he has worked with through his career as he is for his many fans.

“I sit there and I go, ‘Wow. Look at all of these people running around like bees to set it up for one shot,’” he said.

Creative importance

The actor spent his teenage years at Manhattan’s High School of Performing Arts.

His experiences there taught him an appreciation for arts education.

He has long been a vocal advocate for art’s impact on youth and society.

Recently, Vereen was recruited to join Americans for the Arts, a nonprofit proponent of the public and educational art programs, as an arts advocate.

Oklahoma arts supporters know all too well that many fine arts programs have been some of the first to be cut when education funding takes a hit. Vereen said that is the wrong approach.

“In the Bible, it says, ‘In the beginning, God created,’” he said. “It doesn’t say, ‘God manufactured.’”

Ben Vereen | Photo Isak Tiner / provided

Vereen said one of the most significant things advocates can do to preserve arts education programs is vote for public officials who share those same interests.

“We the people pay the government, and we allow them to cut away what we need, what we want,” he said. “If they need to make their cuts to do certain things, we have to rearrange our agenda to make the things we want happen.”

Vereen launched two programs, Wellness Through the Arts (WTA) and the Ben Vereen Awards, to provide scholarship opportunities and support for youth who are involved in the arts in California’s San Diego County.

He said he would also like to connect with an Oklahoma City school while here to speak with local theater and arts students.

The actor said while teachers shape America’s youth, everyone can take a role to help foster childhood creativity.

“Our job as elders or as parents is to guide them and take that creativity and guide it to where it’s going to be a positive outlet,” he said.

Above all, though, Vereen said it is important to make sure our creative passions are used to unite us as one diverse body of humanity.

“We are all walking, talking art pieces,” he said, “and if we treat ourselves that way, then we would have a better society, I like to think.”

Learn more at tickets.occc.edu.

In the Bible, it says, ‘In the beginning, God created.’ It doesn’t say, ‘God manufactured.’

Ben Vereen

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p er f o r m i n g arts

Vintage views Pin-Ups on Tour delivers the music and entertainment of the 1940s to veterans across the country.

By Mark Beutler

It’s not only Cher who can turn back time Pin-Ups on Tour entertains U.S. veterans — a national touring group is turning across the country. | Photo provided back time all the way to the bawdy burlesque a fun way of funding these hospital perfordays of the 1940s.

Pin-Ups on Tour is a mances and as a way of Pin-Ups group of performers who bringing the community on Tour recreate the World War together in support of II era, complete with our military.”

8 p.m. Sunday vintage costumes, songs When they’re not Jazmo’z Bourbon St. Café and skits. busy performing on stage 100 E. California Ave. It’s all for a good or in clubs, Nichols said pinupsontour.com cause, too, with proceeds the group provides free Free-$35 going to VA hospitals entertainment to the naacross the country. tion’s military heroes.

The show comes to Oklahoma City 8 “We do this in two ways,” she said. p.m. Sunday at Jazmo’z Bourbon St. Café, “First, all veterans and active-duty 100 E. California Ave. service members attend our events for “As vaudeville died and movies free. Secondly, we put on free familybecame popular, show producers had to friendly performances inside VA hospicome up with new ways to draw an auditals across America. These hospital visits ence,” said Julia Reed Nichols, founder are the heart of our organization, and and chief pin-up. “As the saying goes, ‘sex guests at our events have the opportusells,’ so burlesque became a booming nity to donate personalized gifts for the veterans we visit that we hand out after business in America and a whole new art form. The women who headlined these our performance. Since our first hospital clubs were classic beauties dedicated to performance in 2014, we have enterthe art of the tease and always left the tained over 2,500 hospitalized veterans.” audiences wanting more. These shows The show itself sticks close to 1940s guaranteed entertainment to their music like The Andrews Sisters’ “Boogie guests, and we hope to live up to that Woogie Bugle Boy” but also branches out history.” to include songs as diverse as Elvis Presley’s 1972 hit “Burning Love.” Even though they are classic songs, Nichols said the pin-ups make them fun for audiences at least 18 years old.

“I have been overwhelmed by the support our program has received across America,” she said. “We did our first outof-town show last year, and since then, we have seen over 6,000 people in 33 states. Much of that support has come from young people in their 20s and 30s looking for a ways to give back that is fun.”

Audience members are also encourJulia Reed Nichols aged to get in the spirit of the 1940s by dressing in vintage fashions.

“We have good music playing, pretty gals dancing, drinks flowing, food and a Nichols said the cast of performers community of people that are there for met in Los Angeles.

In their downtime, they would volunthe same reason: to help make our veterteer in Department of Veterans Affairs ans smile,” Nichols said. “I’ve seen ev(VA) hospitals by putting on vintage eryone from 18- to 94-year-olds at our shows for ill and injured veterans. shows. It’s a mission that crosses ages.”

“Once we put videos of these shows Tickets are $20-$35 at pinupsontour. online, our supporters started to ask us com. Veterans and active-duty military are admitted free with RSVP. to come across the country,” Nichols said.

“We put together our burlesque tour as

Since our first hospital performance in 2014, we have entertained over 2,500 hospitalized veterans.

® NATIONAL COWBOY & WESTERN HERITAGE MUSEUM

®

Featuring a fusion of traditional and contemporary paintings and sculptures created by more than 100 of the nation’s finest artists.

Friday • November 11, 2016 6:00 − 9:00 p.m.

Details, reservations, and proxy bidding info available at www.nationalcowboymuseum.org/smallworks/ Online catalog available by early November Reservations encouraged www.nationalcowboymuseum.org 1700 Northeast 63rd Street Oklahoma City, OK (405) 478-2250 Major Event Sponsors Alan & Nadine Levin Supporting Event Sponsor Gregory M. Simon, Prix de West Chairman Museum Partners Devon Energy Corporation • E.L. and Thelma Gaylord Foundation Major Support The Oklahoman

O kg a z e t t e . c o m | N ov e m b e r 9 , 2 0 1 6

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WANT A CREATIVE OUTLET FOR YOUR FOODIE INTERESTS? We’re looking for folks with professional writing experience to expand our food coverage as contributing writers in areas such as sustainable farming, farmers markets, ready-to- eat dining, home delivery trends and sourcing ingredients for home cooking.

PLEASE SEND A COVER LETTER SHARING YOUR FOOD INTERESTS AND RESUME TO MARIAN HARRISON MHARRISON@OKGAZETTE.COM

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yo ut h

ARTS & CULTURE

Positive steps

Oklahoma City Ballet’s donors enable its BalletReach program to provide shoes for students in its classes. | Photo Oklahoma City Ballet / provided

Oklahoma City Ballet’s BalletReach program brings dance to underserved students. By Mark Beutler

Oklahoma City Ballet has been the metro’s premier professional ballet company since 1972.

In the past few years, executive director Shane Jewell and artistic director Robert Mills have danced to new heights with one spectacular production after another.

But the ballet offers more than just world-class entertainment in the heart of Oklahoma. It is also an organization giving back to the community.

Oklahoma City Ballet offers outreach programs designed to provide dance education and community-based performances throughout central Oklahoma.

One of those programs is BalletReach and provides on-site dance classes to seven underserved schools in the Oklahoma City and Ada areas.

“The goal is to give these students an experience they never would have had while promoting arts appreciation and arts education,” said Stephanie Pitts, Oklahoma City Ballet development and outreach coordinator. “Because the children attend underserved schools, many of them would not have the ability to participate in a ballet class or extracurricular activity without this program. It also provides a fun, healthy activity for the students.”

One of the seven schools BalletReach now works with is Positive Tomorrows.

It is Oklahoma’s only elementary school that specifically serves homeless children and their families.

“Positive Tomorrows students previously visited our Oklahoma City Ballet

studios to watch the company rehearse,” Pitts said. “They were so fascinated with the dancers and interested in taking classes. So earlier this school year, Positive Tomorrows staff reached out to us and expressed interest in having ballet classes on-site. We were so excited to be able to reach these kids, but we needed help with funding the program. Dell graciously stepped in and became our sponsor.”

Some students are struggling with issues such as bad home environments, and they just light up when they attend their ballet class.

Stephanie Pitts The classes are held at least twice a week, Pitts said, for 30 to 45 minutes a day 32 weeks a year. During the 2016-17 school year, more than 1,000 hours of instruction will be provided. The company also provides ballet shoes so students can receive the full experience of being ballet dancers.

“This program goes far beyond teaching kids about ballet,” Pitts said. “Some students are struggling with issues such

as bad home environments, and they just light up when they attend their ballet class.”

Pitts said one particular story emphasizes the tremendous impact of BalletReach.

“Students in a class were asked to draw what they thought a ballerina looked like,” she said. “Most drew dancers with light skin. The ballet teacher showed them her picture, and it was of a girl with brown skin. They were so amazed that a ballerina could look like them. … The program has helped to emphasize the fact that these students can really become anything they want to be when they grow up.”

In addition to Positive Tomorrows, BalletReach is on-site at Crutcho, Britton, Wheeler, John Rex Charter, Santa Fe South and Arbor Grove elementary schools in Oklahoma City and the Chickasaw Nation Child Development Center in Ada. Plans are also underway to expand to two other schools.

Pitts said being a good community partner is one of the ballet’s main goals.

“One of our three tiers of focus is outreach,” she said. “It is just as important to us as providing beautiful ballets for our audiences and exceptional training at our dance center. The dance center itself provides over $220,000 in scholarships to students who cannot afford ballet classes.”

Eight of those scholarships were awarded through BalletReach, and the organization hopes to award 12 next year.

“We are dedicated to making ballet accessible to everyone,” Pitts said. “Our outreach programs are an integral part of this.”

Oklahoma City Ballet is a nonprofit organization that relies on donations to provide these programs at no cost to participants.

For more information or to donate, visit okcballet.com.

act i v e

OKC’s Spokies program was recently revitalized with new bikes and a new sharing system. | Photo provided

Spiffy Spokies

OKC’s bike-sharing program gets a facelift after four years of service. By Adam Holt

Oklahoma City continues to push for hearthealthy and environmentally sound transportation by improving its pedaled twowheelers.

Ramping up the quality and quantity of its services, Spokies, the sole bike-sharing program in OKC, replaced its aging fleet with new heavy-duty models.

Eight docks containing up to 50 bikes total are located throughout downtown, Midtown and Deep Deuce.

Spokies is part of Embark, the public transit division of the Central Oklahoma Transportation and Parking Authority.

Speedy success

The revamped Spokies system, instituted in August, improves on the original in a number of ways, beginning with the bikes themselves.

“They are three-speed bikes. The former bikes are one speed,” said Jeanne Smith, Embark bike share and river transit manager.

The gears shift via an internal hub, allowing a smooth transition rather than the jerky motion of a classic derailleur. Riders change gears with a simple backward twist of the right wrist, a motion akin to revving a motorcycle engine. This allows riders to climb hills with ease.

The new fleet is designed and produced

by Trek Bicycle Corporation, a manufacturer out of Waterloo, Wisconsin. The old bikes were created by Worksman Cycles.

Though they were high-grade, they were not constructed for sharing.

“They weren’t designed to be left outside 24 hours a day,” Smith said. “[The Trek] bikes were designed to be left out in the

snow, the sleet, the rain, the mud, whatever.”

Carried away

Baskets hold up to 20 pounds and reside on the front of the bikes, as opposed to the baskets behind the seats on the Worksman models. And the back wheels of the new designs have skirt guards to protect clothing from becoming entangled in the spokes and help keep riders’ legs cleaner.

They also feature built-in generators that power the front and rear lights.

The seats easily adjust, accommodating riders 5 feet to 6-feet-2-inches tall. The new fleet also features front and rear wheel hand brakes and better tires.

“All these tires are gel-filled. So if you get a flat, it’s kind of like Fix a Flat that is already built into it,” Smith said.

Finding time

Along with the new bikes, riders enjoy a massive upgrade in software. The new Spokies use BCycle.

Each bike is equipped with GPS and radio frequency identification (RFID) devices allowing riders to search for the closest available bike through the company’s iOS or Android app. Riders who purchase monthly or annual passes are able to keep track of

burned calories and miles traveled as well as a measure of their carbon footprint.

The GPS and RFID technology allows Embark to locate bikes and keep the docks better balanced.

The new system also brings simplified walk-up pricing and a cheaper annual pass.

The former system involved a confusing half-hour check-in system for those who weren’t pass members. Now, walk-ups can swipe a credit card at the dock kiosk and ride until they are done. Walk-up rentals cost $3.50 every 30 minutes. The first hour is free for pass members.

Pass holders also have access to BCycle bikeshare programs in 28 other U.S. cities participating in B-Connected, including Austin and Fort Worth, Texas, and Kansas City, Missouri. Monthly passes cost $9.95 and annual passes are $70.

Smith said the new bikes have been well-received and offer many benefits to those who take part.

“People say that this system is much easier to use,” she said. “Also, people just don’t have to go to the garage to get your car just to make a short trip.”

Spokies hopes to expand to other areas of OKC in the future.

Visit spokiesokc.com.

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ARTS & CULTURE

Folloonw Us

Celebrate Pink OKC 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m Nov. 16

facebook

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Oklahoma Gazette Olympic career as a health and wellness promoter and motivational speaker.

“It has been an amazing experience, and I am so blessed to do something I love each day,” Miller said. “In gymnastics, my favorite part was to be able to make people smile. Now I have the opportunity to effect real change in people’s lives in such a positive way. I’m living my dream.”

Cancer journey

h ealt h

Edmond native and Olympian Shannon Miller is the guest speaker Nov. 16 at Celebrate Pink OKC. | Photo Memory Jade / provided

Health champ

Olympian Shannon Miller speaks at Oklahoma Project Woman’s Celebrate Pink OKC event.

By Lisa K. Broad

1. Pick uP your FREE coPy of 2. read the book 3. come to the discussion

novEmbER 30th

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On Nov. 16, Oklahoma Project Woman hosts its third Celebrate Pink OKC luncheon and fashion show to support its commitment to promote early detection and reduce breast cancer mortality statewide.

Founded in 1995, the organization is dedicated to ensuring access to mammography and other diagnostic and surgical procedures for low-income and uninsured Oklahoma residents.

This year, Edmond native, decorated Olympic gymnast and women’s health advocate Shannon Miller will be the event’s guest speaker.

Miller sees a special affinity between the local, community-focused mission of Oklahoma Project Woman and that of her health and wellness organization, Shannon Miller Lifestyle.

“We are national in our reach and enjoy working with other companies and nonprofits,” Miller said in a recent interview with Oklahoma Gazette. “It’s so important to have a voice in your community.

Oklahoma Project Woman helps women by creating awareness and expanding education. In addition, they provide resources to get women the help they need.”

Wellness focused

Miller’s passion for promoting women’s health and wellness grew organically following her retirement from Olympic training.

“I went from eating six full meals a day and training 40-plus hours a week to a complete life change virtually overnight,” she said. “I kept eating the same but was no longer training. I gained a significant amount of weight and lost a lot of that confidence I had gained through gymnastics.”

Miller had to make significant changes to her lifestyle.

“At first, I was very focused on the number on the scale. However, I soon realized that it was really about my overall health. Over time, with a focus on an ‘everything in moderation’ approach to diet and exercise, my weight evened out,” Miller said. “More importantly, I had more energy and began to think about life beyond gymnastics in a positive way.”

After completing her law degree at Boston College, Miller put these newfound insights to use, founding Shannon Miller Lifestyle and pursuing a new, post-

In 2011, Miller was diagnosed with a rare form of ovarian cancer.

After undergoing surgery followed by an aggressive chemotherapy regimen, Miller has remained cancer-free.

In addition to intensifying her personal and professional focus on fitness and nutrition, the experience also prompted her to “stop and smell the roses a bit more.”

“As I racked up degrees and started my business, I didn’t stop to enjoy the success.

I was on fast-forward through life,” she said. “When I was diagnosed, my world stopped. I was forced to slow down, forced to focus on my health. I was also forced to think about my own mortality. That’s a really tough thing to do. I tried not to dwell on it, but I did hear the lesson loud and clear: Enjoy the moment.”

Miller is proud to take part in Celebrate Pink OKC. “I’m excited to speak at the luncheon.

I’ll talk about my experience with cancer and the importance of what Oklahoma Project Woman does each day,” she said.

“I’ll also be talking about the importance of making your health a priority. Of course, I’ll need to talk about the Olympics a bit as well.”

She also relishes spending time in her home state.

“I love that I get to bring my kids to Oklahoma and they are at ages where they can now experience more,” she said.

“They even know the song ‘Oklahoma’ since I’ve been singing it to them since they were born.”

The Celebrate Pink OKC luncheon is Nov. 16 at Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club, 7000 NW Grand Blvd. Tickets are $75.

Visit oklahomaprojectwoman.org.

film

Time, warped

Doctor Strange shatters the god complex in one of Marvel’s best movies yet. By Jacob Oller

Hands have long linked man to the divine.

Their ability to create and restore, to develop civilization, have been seen as a blessed ability inherent in an instrument sent from above. During the revolutionary age in the physiological sciences at the advent of more modern surgery, the hands of surgeons became powerful symbols in everything from Rembrandt paintings to anatomy textbooks.

Light shone upon them, and onlookers gaped — there’s a reason Michelangelo’s “The Creation of Adam” has the hands as its focal point rather than the face of God. When neurosurgeon Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) loses the precise use of his hands in a car accident, this relationship is broken. His ego, which is tied to his ability, is severed. The one god he believed in (himself) is powerless, and he faces physical and spiritual impotency.

Minutes earlier, he razzed colleagues about a Chuck Mangione tune before nimbly plucking a bullet from a brain. This is the same self-important careerist build up and break down Marvel gave us in its first foray into a cinematic universe, 2008’s Iron Man. Now, in Doctor Strange, we see how familiar symbols (both characters and their parts) have adapted and matured over the last eight years.

For a film that so readily traffics in Asian imagery (tea-drinking, Buddhistinspired hand movements, Kuji no in spells) and is set in Nepal for its majority, it’s jarring that the cast features one Asian character with a speaking role and another as a body prop.

While Tilda Swinton’s performance as The Ancient One, whom master Strange eventually seeks after giving up hope in Western medicine, is undeniably fun and mixes a tired, wizened tolerance for skepticism with a dry, spritely wit, the rewriting of the Sorcerer Supreme as a Celtic woman feels counterintuitive and jarring.

At a Nepalese sorcerer training facility, where guardians protect Earth from interdimensionally mystic threats the Avengers aren’t quite equipped to see, Strange meets Wong (Benedict Wong) and

Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor). Wong is a stoic librarian who provides many of the film’s nonphysical laughs when shutting down Cumberbatch’s snide pop culture riffing.

More complex Mordo is the good cop of the sorcerer team.

He plays by the rules — you get the feeling he’d read the interstellar stareaters (in this case, Dormammu, a malevolent face riddled with mirrored vertices like a futuristic Star Fox video game villain) their rights if they had any.

For less interesting tension, we turn to the relationship/romance/professional exploitationship between Strange and his ex/colleague Christine Palmer (a brilliantly comic Rachel McAdams). Palmer and Strange dance the tired dance between the arrogant dick and the patient woman who is always there for him. Thankfully, Palmer is also written as a grounded foil for Strange’s headfirst dive into mysticism, which provides lots of great reaction shot humor, but this isn’t a great love story.

Rather, Doctor Strange is a trippy tale of finding spirituality through one’s own abilities. The visuals cartwheel through space and time, throwing you into pools of madness only to dry you off with a wind tunnel that doesn’t quite have a Euclidean geometry. The world spins, or is manipulated by evil zealot and former Ancient One pupil Kaecilius (Mads Mikkelsen, perfectly pitched somewhere between reasonable Hannibal and supervillain), into a game board for its mystical demigods’ pleasure.

They use the environment as a weapon, a stage or an escape route. Characters break the screen into multiple mirrored fragments or shove entire sections of the frame away along with the cars they wished to avoid during the fights, making this one of the most visually ambitious superhero movies ever made.

Realities are broken and time is rewound before a climactic conflict that is refreshingly clever and completely character-centric. The parts might seem (sometimes problematically) familiar, but there’s new magic here.

Image Marvel Studios / provided

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ARTS & CULTURE

culture

Aaron and Alyssa Brackett saw a niche opportunity and opened Oklahoma Drone Photography in Edmond. | Photo Garett Fisbeck

Business approach

(FAA) enacted Part 107 of its regulations Aug. 29, which require all commercial unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, to have a licensed unmanned aircraft (UAS) pilot to operate legally.

Aaron Brackett said he was among the first to undergo the testing, making ODP one of Edmond’s first licensed and insured drone photography companies.

Aaron Brackett took the 60-question, knowledge-based test, passed the required Transportation Security Administration (TSA) background check and obtained a remote pilot certificate, which allows himto fly the drone commercially.

An additional law prohibiting drones from interfering with critical infrastructure like water treatment plants, electrical substations, chemical companies, power lines, natural gas facilities and government buildings went into effect Nov. 1.

The Bracketts said the possibilities for drone use are seemingly endless and span from research to special events.

Alyssa said the couple chose commercial real estate and construction photography over wedding or special events because of the new regulations. Aaron described the knowledge required to commercially operate a drone, listing height restrictions, structures that you are not allowed to fly near and rules that apply to operating drones near large groups of people.

The restrictions parallel the knowledge requirements of pilots licensed to fly traditional aircraft.

Drone operators must also register their drones, which have their own tail numbers like airplanes.

Aaron stressed the importance of becoming licensed. “[Drones] have become really popular.

With that popularity comes risk. If you don’t know how to operate them safely, it endangers the airspace that is used by millions of people every day. If a goose can take down an airplane, imagine what a drone can do,” he said. “People need to be responsible. The licensing is the first step toward that. It definitely doesn’t take away from what we’re doing; it adds to what we’re doing, it adds to the safety of what we’re doing.”

ODP finds it easier to work with real estate agents, architects and construction companies because of the regulations.

The Bracketts are excited to capture construction progression.

They want to find companies that literally have the dirt there and then get them on a weekly, biweekly or monthly schedule to help clients capture their projects from the ground up. Visit oklahomadronephotography.com, email oklahomadronephotography@gmail.com or call (405) 4063664 for more information.

Aaron Brackett demonstrates drone photography at Lake Hefner’s lighthouse. | Photo Oklahoma Drone Photography / provided

An Edmond company takes its photography business to the skies. By Lauren Dow

Aaron and Alyssa Brackett use drones to provide their clients with new perspectives of their city and surroundings. They own Oklahoma Drone Photography (ODP), an Edmond-based start-up the husband and wife team launched after a local architect they knew mentioned the need for effective methods to photograph his projects.

“There’s only so much you can capture on the ground,” Alyssa said.

This inspired an aha moment for the couple: Aerial drone photography is a growing industry and offers an inexpensive alternative to traditional aerial photography. Alyssa said their start-up sprang from the needs of those in real estate and construction sectors. Drone photography makes an expansive, detailed point of view accessible to most business owners for a fraction of the cost of traditional aerial photography services.

“We’re trying to give a unique perspective to people that they haven’t seen before,” Alyssa said.

The reception has been universally positive, the couple said. The Bracketts recently spoke to Oklahoma Gazette near the lighthouse at Lake Hefner. A child pointed with delight at a device as it hovered over the water.

Onlookers asked how it worked and wanted to see what the pilot sees on his

or her tablet or phone app.

“They kind of like piecing it all together and seeing how it all works,” she said.

It’s estimated that millions of drones have been sold to consumers in the United States. “[The key to success in such a rapidly growing industry],” Alyssa said, “[is] to find your niche and go with it, because if you try to do everything, it’s too much.”

While anyone can buy a drone, most owners are hobbyists. Alyssa explained that ODP offers professionalism as well as liability insurance, photo editing, marketing experience and quick turnaround.

“The actual quality of the product and the professionalism of our company is what are going to draw people to us versus a hobbyist,” she said.

The Bracketts have lived in the metro for three years and are impressed with the city. “[Oklahoma City] has incredible infrastructure,” Alyssa said. “This is one of the cities that we’ve lived in that we’ve noticed the most new construction and the most new business in the area.”

Sky standard

Oklahoma Drone Photography became a limited liability company (LLC) at the end of July. The Federal Aviation Administration

Oklahoma Drone Photography takes photos and videos of property and construction sites for businesses and real estate purposes. | Photo Oklahoma Drone Photography / provided O kg a z e t t e . c o m | n ov e m b e r 9 , 2 0 1 6

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ARTS & CULTURE

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Oklahoma Gazette

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Local spirits Haunted Oklahoma City explores our paranormal history.

By George Lang

Once a city builds up a substantial history, the spirits come out. In Oklahoma City’s case, a turbulent frontier past, distinctive architecture and cemeteries filled with colorful characters result in a plentiful supply of paranormal tales worthy of the city’s storied past.

Haunted Oklahoma City delivers a unique twist on the local ghost story genre by providing as much fact as it does fiction.

Authors Jeff Provine and Tanya McCoy bolster each supernatural account with substantial historical content, a strategy that Provine said makes the scary stuff seem more real.

“I like giving the context for these stories to be set in,” said Provine, a curriculum developer and lecturer at the University of Oklahoma (OU) and founder of the OU Ghost Tour. “I mean, it’s one thing to have a spooky story, but to show the truth behind it raises it to a whole new level. I’m all about the stories — I love folklore, and you always hear old tales from England and the East Coast, but we have so many stories right here in Oklahoma that they have to be written down. It’s just astounding.”

The book might not prove the existence of ghosts, but Haunted Oklahoma City does illustrate how just about every area of Oklahoma City has its own creepy story.

Familiar legends like Anna Overholser’s haunting of the Overholser Mansion are given more weight thanks to McCoy’s first-person experiences with the paranormal.

As co-founder of the Oklahoma Paranormal Association, McCoy is an active ghost hunter, a level of experience

that dovetailed with Provine’s interest in the subject and his journalistic background.

Provine said that while the subject matter doesn’t allow for absolute confirmation, he applies the skills he acquired as a graduate of OU’s Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication to what is a plainly unprovable subject.

“I always want to include stories that I’ve heard from at least two independent sources. It’s not just somebody making something up, but it’s something that’s actually floating around out there,” he said. “If it’s somebody who’s overly eager to tell a story, that sends up some red flags.

My favorites are the ones who are kind of shy about it. They’re like, ‘I don’t know what I think, but here’s something that happened to me.’”

Haunted Oklahoma City covers familiar territory such as the 10th floor of The Skirvin Hilton hotel, the Overholser Mansion and the Carey Place hatchetkilling legend. Then Provine and McCoy dig deeper with stories about a wandering nun at Mount Saint Mary Catholic High School, the self-clinking bottles and swinging light fixtures at Deep Deuce Grill and the cold spots that can be found in Cattlemen’s Steakhouse, Belle Isle Station and several locations in Bricktown.

All are seen as signs that a restless spirit is on the premises.

But the first story in the book is one of Provine’s favorites and is the least informed by paranormal happenings. It centers on the death of a drunk who called himself Rip Rowser Bill, and it was the first recorded death in Oklahoma City.

According to Provine, Rip Rowser Bill came into town looking to start a fight, or as he said in the legend, “I have come to Oklahoma City to start a graveyard.”

Rip Rowser Bill essentially terrorized the city of 10,000 people with his threats of ultraviolence until he barged in on a meeting of the Knights of the Cottonwood, a group that was trying to establish a basic government for Oklahoma City.

Several men tackled Bill, binding his legs and arms, tying a long leash around his neck and looping the leash over a cottonwood branch to keep him in place.

The men left for three hours, and when they returned, Rip Rowser Bill was hanged, his feet dangling half a foot above the dirt.

The Knights of the Cottonwood concluded that the rope shrank due to the humidity, but enough to raise him six inches off the ground?

Rip Rowser Bill started a graveyard in what is now Bricktown, and eventually, the graves were moved to Fairlawn Cemetery to make room for the warehouse district.

“That’s just a crazy story that happened right here,” Provine said. “There’s nothing outside of reality about it, but it’s just astounding to think about.”

calendar Wine for the People: Wines for the Holidays, will enjoy traditional holiday fare crafted by the Vast/ V2 culinary team and accompanying wines hand selected by Thirst Wine Merchants, 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Nov. 10 V2 at Vast, 333 W. Sheridan Ave., 405-2084347, vastokc.com. THU

are events recommended

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

YOUTH BOOKS

Homeschool Family Workshop: Sacred Words: The Saint John’s Bible and the Art of Illumination, learn more about the exhibition Sacred Words: The St. John’s Bible and the Art of Illumination and create your own illuminations back in the classroom, 10 a.m.-noon, Nov. 11. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 405-236-3100, okcmoa.com. FRI

Let’s Talk About It Series, discussion of Whose Names Are Unknown by Sanora Babb, with the discussion led by Bruce Treadaway, 6 p.m. Nov. 9.

Full Circle Bookstore, 1900 Northwest Expressway, 405-842-2900, fullcirclebooks.com. WED Ralph Ellison Creative Writing Workshops, creative writing workshop with guest instructor James Cooper, who presents his session Horror, Storytelling and Real Life Monsters, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Nov. 10. Ralph Ellison Library, 2000 NE 23rd St., 405-424-1437, metrolibrary.org/ralph-ellison-library. THU Book Signing, Will Thomas signs and discusses his book Hell Bay along side Julia Thomas who signs and discusses The English Boys, 3-5 p.m. Nov. 12. Full Circle Bookstore, 1900 Northwest Expressway, 405842-2900, fullcirclebooks.com. SAT Second Sunday Poetry series, featured guest is former Norman resident Robin Schultz, 2 p.m. Nov. 13. The Depot, 200 S. Jones Ave., Norman, 405-3079320, pasnorman.org. SUN OU Press Authors Day, Connie Cronley signs Poke A Stick at It: Unexpected True Stories, Jim Ross signs Route 66 Crossings: Historic Bridges of the Mother Road and editor B. Byron Price, Mark Andrew White and John Lovett sign Picturing Indian Territory: Portraits of the Land That Became Oklahoma, 1819-1907, 2-4 p.m. Nov. 13.

Barnes & Noble, Norman, 540 Ed Noble Parkway, Norman, 405-579-8800, barnesandnoble.com. SUN T.A. Barron book signing, bestselling author of the Atlantis trilogy and the Merlin saga for middlegrade readers among others, signs and talk about his books, 6-7:30 p.m. Nov. 14. Best of Books, 1313 E. Danforth Road, Edmond, 405-340-9202, bestofbooksok.com. MON

FILM The Bronze Buckaroo, (US, 1939, dir. Richard C. Kahn) Herb Jeffries rode onto the silver screen to provide the flourishing all-black movie houses their own cowboy movie star. Filmed on a blacksonly dude ranch in Victorville, California, Buell’s production provided a classic B Western in a West without whites, 1 p.m. Nov. 9. National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd St., 405478-2250, nationalcowboymuseum.org. WED Certain Women, (US, 2016, dir. Kelly Reichardt) film explores the lives of three strong-willed people in wide-open Montana, 5:30 and 8 p.m. Nov. 11-12, 5:30 p.m. Nov. 13. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 405-236-3100, okcmoa.com. FRI-SUN The Terror of Tiny Town, (US, 1938, dir. Sam Newfield) an evil gun-slinging midget terrorizes the good little people of Tiny Town; they organize to defeat him and zany antics ensue, 1 p.m. Nov. 16. National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd St., 405-478-2250, nationalcowboymuseum.org. WED

HAPPENINGS PAMBE Ghana’s Global Market, seasonal fair trade shop that provides destination shopping for unusual and unique gifts, including a wide selection of folk art from around the world; all proceeds benefit PAMBE Ghana’s La’Angum Learning Center in norther Ghana, noon-6 p.m. Nov. 8-12, 15-19, 22-26, 29-Dec. 3, 6-10, 13-17, 20-24. PAMBE Ghana’s Global Market, 6516 N. Olie Ave., pambeghana.org. WED Mistletoe Market, three-day, one-stop holiday shopping extravaganza featuring unique merchandise from more than 100 vendors from Oklahoma and across the country, Nov. 10-12. Cox Convention Center, 1 Myriad Gardens, 405-6028500, coxconventioncenter.com. THU -SAT How Culture Affects Typography, join AIGA, the professional association for design Oklahoma and Nikki Villagomez for a look into how culture affects typography and decision-making processes in everyday life, 6:30-9:30 p.m. Nov. 10. Bricktown Brewery, 1 N. Oklahoma Ave., 405-232-2739, bricktownbrewery.com. THU The Story of World War One, a program of stories, slides, maps and facsimiles on the story of World War One, 7-8 p.m. Nov. 10. Mabel C. Fry Public Library, 1200 Lakeshore Drive, Yukon, 405-3548232, mabelcfrypubliclibrary.com. THU Veterans Day Parade, salute and honor the men and women who have fought for the freedom we enjoy every day; Grand Marshal Ret. Lt. Gen. Bruce Litchfield will lead the parade filled with floats, car clubs, marching bands, musicals, Jr. ROTC, replica submarine, square dancers, color guard, public safety vehicles and

Maker’s Mark Dinner Cattlemen’s Steakhouse and Maker’s Mark chairman emeritus Bill Samuels Jr. show their love for Okarche-based Center of Family Love with a fundraising dinner. An evening of craft bourbon, fine wine and steak awaits guests at the Maker’s Mark Dinner 6:30 p.m. Friday at Cattlemen’s Special Event Center, 1325 S. Agnew Ave. Samuels and Rep. Mike Sanders (R-Kingfisher) will speak. A live auction offers a trip for four to Kentucky with a VIP tour of the distillery and dinner at Samuels’ favorite Kentucky restaurant. Tickets are $150.

Email rsvp@cflinc.org or call 405-2634658 ext. 1006. Visit centeroffamilylove. org. Friday Photo Maker’s Mark / provided

Harry Potter Science Overnight, explore the science of Harry Potter just in time for the opening of the Potter-inspired film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them; attend Care of Magical Creatures and potions classes, cast Harry Potter-like spells with computer coding, work on wand skills, play Quidditch and more, 7 p.m. Nov. 11- 7:30 a.m. Nov. 12.

Science Museum Oklahoma, 2020 Remington Place, 405-602-6664, sciencemuseumok.org. FRI Frank Stella Relief Art: Ages 9-12, tour The Modernist Spectrum and take a special look at Frank Stella’s sculpture The Spirit-Spout; use bold colors to create a painting and turn it into relief art, 10 a.m.noon, Nov. 12. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 405-236-3100, okcmoa.com. SAT Fall Food Feast: Calling All Kids, celebrate fall foods with a tasting followed by a game to learn what leftovers the worms will like, 10-11 a.m. Nov. 12. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 405-445-7080, oklahomacitybotanicalgardens.com/events. SAT Free Family Make +Take: Robot Sculptures, taking inspiration from exhibiting artist Melvin Edwards, young artists use recycled materials to create a robot sculpture with silver paint, glitter, pipe cleaners and foil, 1-4 p.m. Nov. 12. Oklahoma Contemporary, 3000 General Pershing Blvd., 405-951-0000, oklahomacontemporary.org. SAT Sonic Free Family Day: The Art of the Book, free admission and a host of hands-on art projects

more, 10 a.m. Nov. 11. Midwest City, SE 15th Street and Century Boulevard., Midwest City. FRI

Leading Ladies, Leo Clark and Jack Gable, two down-on-their luck Shakespearean actors, find a newspaper article about an ailing woman who wants to share her multimillion-dollar inheritance with her sister’s children, Max and Steve and when the men find out the aunt can’t find her nephews, you already know they plan to become Max and Steve but there’s a minor problem: Max and Steve are actually Maxine and Stephanie, 8 p.m. Nov. 10-12, 17-19, 24-26, Dec. 1-3, 2:30 p.m. Nov. 13, 20, 27 and Dec. 4. Jewel Box Theatre, 3700 N. Walker Ave., 405-521-1786, jewelboxtheatre.org. THU -SAT

Statehood Day Festival, family-friendly celebration of Oklahoma’s 109th birthday, Nov. 12. GaylordPickens Oklahoma Heritage Museum, 1400 Classen Drive, 405-235-4458, oklahomaheritage.com. SAT Negotiating Difficult Conversations, explore ways to navigate challenging conversations in a variety of settings from work to your personal life; discover a path toward mutual understanding, 2-4:30 p.m. Nov. 12. Dunlap Codding, 609 W. Sheridan Ave., 405-6078600, dunlapcodding.com. SAT

OKC Flea, a market for makers, artists, crafters, curators, designers and upcyclers, noon-5 p.m. Nov. 13. OKC Farmers Public Market, 311 S. Klein Ave., 405-232-6506, okcfarmersmarket.com. SUN Learning with the Labyrinth, Jan Sellers, a recipient of the United Kingdom’s National Teaching Fellowship presents a lecture based on a book she co-editied by the same name, 9:30-11 a.m. Nov. 11.

University of Central Oklahoma, 100 N. University Drive, Edmond, 405-974-2000, uco.edu. TUE

FOOD Wine Through Time, fundraising event featuring food and wine tasting as well as silent and live auctions; some of the most desirable vintners are paired with some of our community restaurateurs’ finest samplings, 6:30-9:30 p.m. Nov. 11. Edmond Historical Society & Museum, 431 S. Boulevard, Edmond, 405-340-0078, edmondhistory.org. FRI Weekly Farmers Market, shop goods from local producers, bakers and artisans, 9 a.m.- 2 p.m. every Saturday. OKC Farmers Public Market, 311 S. Klein Ave., 405-232-6506, okcfarmersmarket.com. SAT OKBio BrewFest, showcase of Oklahoma breweries while raising awareness of Oklahoma’s diverse bioscience industry, 5-7 p.m. Nov. 10. Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, 2 S. Mickey Mantle Drive, 405-218-1000, i2e.org/okbio/ okbio-brewfest. THU

Photo University of Central Oklahoma / provided

Tess Remy-Schumacher and Paula Malone, Tess Remy-Schumacher, cello, and Paula Malone, soprano, perform a program that features the blending of the two instruments, 7:30 p.m. Nov. 10. Armstrong Auditorium, 14400 S. Bryant Road, Edmond, 405285-1010, armstrongauditorium.org. THU

Live! on the Plaza, join the Plaza District every second Friday of the month for an art walk featuring artists, live music, street pop-up shops, live performances and more, 7-11 p.m. Nov. 11. Plaza District, 1618 N. Gatewood Ave., 405-367-9403, plazadistrict.org. FRI

Oklahoma Ghost Tour, a walking tour of Bricktown and downtown OKC to tell the spooky tales of our history; hear about the mysterious death following the Land Run, hidden tunnels where people were born, lived and died without ever seeing the sun and more, 8-9:20 p.m. Nov. 12. Mojo Blues Club, 1 E. California Ave., 405-232-2639, mojosokc.com. SAT

Edmond International Festival A collage of cultures is on display noon-3:30 p.m. Saturday during the University of Central Oklahoma’s Edmond International Festival in downtown Edmond.

International students will man informational booths, provide food samples and offer cultural demonstrations at Edmond Festival Market Place, 30 W. First St., in Edmond. Admission is free for UCO students and $5 for nonstudents. Visit oga. uco.edu or call 405-974-5577. Saturday

Alexander Hamilton program This version of Alexander Hamilton won’t be rapping, but you will still want to hear what he has to tell you. Award-winning historical interpreter Ian Rose comes to Oklahoma to demonstrate his version of the United States’ first Secretary of the Treasury. Catch the show 7 p.m. Tuesday at Oklahoma History Center, 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive. Tickets are free-$5. Visit okhistory.org or call 405-522-0765.

Tuesday Image provided

and in-gallery experiences throughout the entire Museum, noon-5 p.m. Nov. 13. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 405-236-3100, okcmoa.com. SUN Art Adventures, young artists are invited to experience art through books and related art projects for children ages 3-5, 10:30 a.m. Nov. 15.

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

PERFORMING ARTS Kristin Key, stand-up comedy performance, 8 p.m.

Nov. 9-10, 8 and 10:30 p.m. Nov. 11-12. Loony Bin Comedy Club, 8503 N. Rockwell Ave., 405-2394242, loonybincomedy.com. WED -SUN

go to okgazette.com for full listings!

OKC Improv presents Fall Shows, improvisational music and comedy from local performers, 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Nov. 11-12, 18-19. The Paramount Theatre, 11 N. Lee Ave., 405-637-9389, theparamountokc.com. FRI-SAT Best in Ten, entertainment, including staged readings of the winning plays from the theater’s 13th annual Ten-Minute Play Contest, 7 p.m. Nov. 12.

Carpenter Square Theatre, 806 W. Main St., 405232-6500, carpentersquare.com. SAT The Music of Franz Joseph Haydn, featuring Haydn’s Symphony No. 39 in G minor conducted by Eugene Enrico and led by Gregory Lee, professor of violin at OU and Oklahoma City Philharmonic Orchestra concertmaster, 3 p.m. Nov. 13. Catlett Music Center, 500 W. Boyd St., Norman, 405-325-0538, musicaltheatre.ou.edu/facilities/catlett/. SUN Oklahoma Community Orchestra, under the direction of Irv Wagner, featuring harpist Gaye LeBlanc, 3 p.m. Nov. 13. Oklahoma Christian University, 2501 E. Memorial Road, Edmond, 405425-5000, oc.edu. SUN Oklahoma City University Guitar Ensemble, awardwinning OCU Guitar Studio under Matt Denman, Kyle Patterson, Lynn McGrath and Brian Belanus, 8 p.m. Oct. 26, Nov. 16 and Nov. 30. Petree Recital Hall, Oklahoma City University, 2501 N. Blackwelder Ave., 405-208-5000, okcu.edu. WED

ACTIVE OKC Thunder vs Toronto Raptors, NBA game, 7 p.m.

Nov. 9 Chesapeake Energy Arena, 100 W. Reno Ave., 405-602-8700, chesapeakearena.com. WED

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calendar c a l e n da r

continued from page 39 Devon Ice Rink, ice skating, Nov. 11-Jan. 29. Devon Ice Rink, 100 N. Robinson Ave. OKC Thunder vs LA Clippers, NBA game, 7 p.m. Nov. 11. Chesapeake Energy Arena, 100 W. Reno Ave., 405-602-8700, chesapeakearena.com. FRI

OKC Blue vs Maine Red Claws, OKC Thunder’s NBA D-League affiliate basketball game, 7 p.m. Nov. 11. Cox Convention Center, 1 Myriad Gardens, 405602-8500, coxconventioncenter.com. FRI University of Oklahoma vs Baylor, college football game, Nov. 12. Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, 180 W. Brooks Drive, Norman, 405-3258200, soonersports.com. SAT Oklahoma State Cowboys vs Texas Tech, college football game, 2:30 p.m. Nov. 12. Boone Pickens Stadium, 700 W. Hall of Fame Ave., Stillwater, 405744-7714, okstate.com. SAT

5th Annual Winter Festival Show, three-day art show kicks of holiday season, Nov. 10-12. Grapevine Gallery, 1933 NW 39th St., 405-528-3739, grapevinegalleryokc. com. THU A Sense of His Soul, exhibit featuring only on the eyes, stripping away any additional identifiers, the mouth, hair, facial structure anything that would clearly identify who the person is, thereby making all subjects in this work equal in the eyes of the viewer, through Dec. 30. Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, 555 Elm Ave., Norman, 405-325-3272, ou.edu/ fjjma.

Ashlyn Metcalf Solo Art Exhibition, paintings on discarded library books, paper and panels, Nov. 10-Dec. 4. DNA Galleries, 1709 NW 16th St., 405-525-3499, dnagalleries.com.

Botanical Drawing with Pen and Ink, draw plants in black and white using line drawing, stipple and crosshatch shading, 1-3 p.m. Nov. 12. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 405-4457080, oklahomacitybotanicalgardens.com/events.

SAT

Child Labor in Oklahoma: Photographs by Lewis Hine, 1916-1917, exhibit highlighting a collection of 25 powerful photographs taken by Lewis Hine while he was in Oklahoma 100 years ago. Oklahoma History Center, 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive, 405-5212491, okhistory.org/historycenter.

Color, Connections, Constellations, Caroline Cohenour’s debut collection of original watercolor works, through Nov. 26. In Your Eye Gallery, 3005 Paseo St. #A, 405- 525-2161, inyoureyegallery.com.

Conversation, new artwork by Jan Jeffrey inspired by conversations; loud voices result in stronger, bold colors while soft create layers of mild tints, through Nov. 26. Paseo Art Space, 3022 Paseo St., 405-525-2688, thepaseo.com.

Curiosities, dual exhibition featuring works from AK Westerman and Bombs Away Art, on display through Nov. 19. Mainsite Contemporary Art, 122 E. Main St., Norman, 405-360-1162, mainsite-art.com.

Thanksgiving food basket donations Last year, Jesus House shared more than 1,500 food baskets with families in need at Thanksgiving. The nonprofit hopes to best that number this year. Jesus House is a nondenominational inner-city outreach organization that provides food, clothing, shelter and other resources to Oklahoma City’s homeless, near homeless, addicted and mentally ill populations. It’s accepting donations of frozen turkeys or hams, instant mashed potatoes, canned vegetables, gravy mixes, dessert mixes and other typical Thanksgiving dinner items 7 a.m.-7 p.m. daily through Nov. 22 at Jesus House, 1335 W. Sheridan Ave. Baskets are distributed Nov. 21-23 until supplies are exhausted. Visit jesushouseokc.org or call 405-232-7164. Wednesday-Wednesday, ongoing Photo Gazette / file Free to Breathe Run/Walk, third annual lung cancer 5K run/walk and 1-mile walk; help raise awareness and fund vital research programs, noon Nov. 13. Regatta Park Landing, 701 S. Lincoln Blvd., 405-702-7755, okrivercruises.com. SUN OKC Thunder vs LA Clippers, NBA game, 6 p.m.

Nov. 13. Chesapeake Energy Arena, 100 W. Reno Ave., 405-602-8700, chesapeakearena.com. SUN Adult Tree Climbing, swing from the tree tops during this adult tree climbing event; harness, rope and instruction provided, 3-5 p.m. Nov. 13. Will Rogers Garden Center, 3400 NW 36th St., 405-943-0827. SUN OKC Blue vs Salt Lake City Stars, OKC Thunder’s NBA D-League affiliate basketball game, 7 p.m.

Nov. 15 Cox Convention Center, 1 Myriad Gardens, 405-602-8500, coxconventioncenter.com. TUE

VISUAL ARTS 10th Annual Paseo Arts Awards Dinner, an evening to honor individuals who have contributed to the artistic creativity and well-being in our state, 6-8:30 p.m. Nov. 16. Skirvin Hilton Hotel, 1 Park Ave., 405272-3040, skirvinhilton.com. WED

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Encaustic Monotypes, encaustic mono printing workshop with recent Skirvin artist-in-residence Gayle Curry, Nov. 12. [Artspace] at Untitled, 1 NE Third St., 405-815-6665, artspaceatuntitled.org. SAT Fall Art Opening, enjoy beautiful art, hors d’oeuvres and live classical and jazz guitar by Pat Griffin, 5-9 p.m. Nov. 10. HUE Studio-Gallery and Dean Lively Fine Art, 1 N. Broadway, Edmond, 405696-2647, huefineartgallery.com. THU Gayle Curry, showcase of new works and an installation by artist Gayle Curry, through Nov. 13.

Kasum Contemporary Fine Arts, 1706 NW 16th St., 405-604-6602, kasumcontemporary.com.

4-H Annual Chili Supper and Auction Fundraiser 4-H stands for Head, Heart, Hands and Health. The organization should add another H for Hungry to celebrate the Oklahoma County 4-H Annual Chili Supper and Auction Fundraiser 6 p.m. Nov. 19 at Oklahoma County OSU Cooperative Extension Service Conference Center, 2500 NE 63rd St. Clubs compete to earn the honor of crowd-voted favorite. Funds benefit local 4-H clubs. Call 405-713-1125 or visit oces.okstate.edu/oklahoma/4-h. Nov. 19 Photo Oklahoma County OSU Cooperative Extension Service / provided

Prairie Arts Collective Sunday Art Opening, showcasing the innovative fiber artwork of Dana Helms, 1-4 p.m. Nov. 13. Prairie Arts Collective, 3018 Paseo St., 405-5335883, facebook.com/ prairieartsokc. SUN

Sky Lines and Sea Scales, Vikki McGuire captures how the elements of nature play upon each other, showing their gift, through Nov. 27. Contemporary Art Gallery, 2928 Paseo St., 405-601-7474, contemporaryartgalleryokc.com.

Rebecca Mannschreck, acrylic painting, through Dec. 31. 50 Penn Place Gallery, 1900 Northwest Expressway, Suite 113-R, 405-848-5567, 50pennplacegallery.com.

Southeastern Beadwork II, begin a traditional bandolier bag in the class, learn different stitches, and tour the American Indian gallery, 10 a.m.4:30 p.m. Nov. 12. Oklahoma History Center, 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive, 405-521-2491, okhistory.org/ historycenter. SAT

Red Dot Art Sale and Fundraiser, IAO’s annual fundraiser featuring a silent auction, live music, poetry by local performers along with hors devours, 7-10 p.m. Nov. 12. IAO Gallery, 706 W. Sheridan Ave., 405-232-6060, iaogallery.org. SAT Remembering When, showcase of Linda Guenther’s presentation of nature in a nostalgic way, through Nov. 27. Contemporary Art Gallery, 2928 Paseo St., 405-601-7474, contemporaryartgalleryokc.com.

Sacred Words: The Saint John’s Bible and the Art of Illumination, includes 70 selected folios from The Saint John’s Bible as well as other historical illuminated manuscripts, such as a Book of Hours, Quran pages and Torah scrolls, Oct. 15-Jan. 8.

Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 405-236-3100, okcmoa.com.

Melvin Edwards Exhibition, a pioneer in the history of contemporary African-American art and sculpture, returns for his first solo exhibition in Oklahoma in the last 25 years; Edwards creates new, site-specific complex welded sculptures from chains, tools and steel found in Oklahoma scrap yards along with works from his noted Lynch Fragments series, through Dec. 27. Oklahoma Contemporary, 3000 General Pershing Blvd., 405951-0000, oklahomacontemporary.org.

Power and Prestige: Headdresses of the American Plains, original exhibition includes nine headdresses from Northern and Southern American Great Plains along with historical photographs and other supporting artifacts including ledger art depicting Indian warriors and bonnets from the museum’s permanent collection. National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd St., 405-478-2250, nationalcowboymuseum.org.

Utopia, an exhibition of work that illustrates the various definitions and dreams for a utopian future; through this exhibition, visitors will consider many possible futures and how our actions today contribute to the reality of tomorrow, Nov. 10-Dec. 31. Current Studio, 1218 N. Pennsylvania Ave., 405673-1218, currentstudio.org.

Women at War, works of three renowned artists: Ebony Iman Dallas, Gay Pasley and Edward Grady.

Owen’s Arts Place Museum, 1202 E. Harrison Ave., Guthrie, 405-260-0204, owensmuseum.com.

Off the Beaten Path, a photo documented joint art exhibit by Scott and Katie Henderson; tour many of the state’s unusual, intriguing and lesserknown areas, though May 4. Science Museum Oklahoma, 2020 Remington Place, 405-602-6664, sciencemuseumok.org.

Picturing Indian Territory, surveys how the people, land and history of Oklahoma were constructed visually by artists, illustrators and journalists from the early decades of the 19th century before and after the creation of Indian Territory in 1834 to the unification of Indian and Oklahoma Territories to create the state of Oklahoma in 1907, through Dec. 30. Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, 555 Elm Ave., Norman, 405-325-3272, ou.edu/fjjma.

The Modernist Spectrum: Color and Abstraction, explore the invigorating ways in which postwar American artists, especially those associated with the Washington Color School, made it new, producing novel work that sought to reinvent abstract art through an alternatively rigorous and playful manipulation of color, line and shape.

Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 405-236-3100, okcmoa.com.

Visage: Photography from the Permanent Collection, explore how photographers have examined individuality through portraiture and shaped the presentation of identity through pose, props, and lighting and compositional choices, through Dec. 4. Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, 555 Elm Ave., Norman, 405-325-3272, ou.edu/fjjma.

Nicki Albright, showcase of contemporary fused glass; a kaleidoscope of kiln fused glass with subtle nuances ultimately defining the final design, through Nov. 30. The Purple Loft Art Gallery, 514 NW 28th St., Suite 400, 405-412-7066.

Picture Yourself grand opening, the first new permanent exhibit in nearly a decade; interactive exhibit where visitors step into lifesize, gilded frames and the contributions of the first, best and only in many fields worldwide ­­— members of the Oklahoma Hall of Fame, Nov. 12. Gaylord-Pickens Oklahoma Heritage Museum, 1400 Classen Drive, 405-235-4458, oklahomaheritage.com. SAT

The Art of Collecting, an exhibition featuring world class paintings from the Melton Legacy Collection, through Nov. 17. Melton Gallery, 100 N. University Drive, Edmond, 405-974-2000, uco.edu.

Fresh Fall Flavors Lunch & Learn Colder weather often means heartier meals, and people looking maintain a healthy weight will discover tasty, healthy fall produce recipes during Fresh Fall Flavors Lunch & Learn 11:45 a.m.-1 p.m.

Thursday at Oklahoma County OSU Cooperative Extension Service Conference Center, 2500 NE 63rd St. Admission is $5 and includes recipe demonstrations of black bean pumpkin soup, roasted Parmesan sweet potatoes and balsamic cranberry Brussels sprouts with samples. Guests should bring their own lunch. Register at facebook.com/okcountyosuextension or call 405-713-1125.

Thursday Photo Oklahoma County OSU Cooperative Extension Service / provided

go to okgazette.com for full listings!

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.

For okg live music

see page 44

MUSIC

event

Alan Parsons | Photo Simon Lowery / provided

Progressive Project

The Alan Parsons Live Project | Photo Simon Lowery / provided

Musician and legendary audio engineer Alan Parsons discusses The Beatles, Pink Floyd, The Who and his childhood curiosity in recording people’s voices ahead of his Nov. 19 tour stop.

By Ben Luschen

Alan Parsons is sometimes referred to as one of the luckiest men in music, but applying that title to the legendary musician, audio engineer and producer sells short his immense talent.

Parsons is foremost known as the namesake of The Alan Parsons Project, the ’70s and ’80s progressive rock act cofounded with multitalented musician Eric Woolfson and continued until the latter’s departure in 1990. After releasing 10 albums together, Woolfson left to develop other projects.

Woolfson died in 2009.

Parsons’ musical mystique is fed by his earlier work as a studio engineer for albums like The Beatles’ Abbey Road and Let It Be and Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon.

On Nov. 19, Parsons brings The Alan Parsons Live Project to Rose State College Hudiburg Chevrolet Center, 6420 SE 15th St., in Midwest City.

Hear, here

Parsons got his start working with sound and recording equipment as a child. His father owned a bulky, early-era tape recorder, and Parsons said he was obsessed with it.

These days, almost anyone with a laptop can record their voice or edit together a song.

But during Parsons’ childhood, household ownership of a tape recorder was very rare.

“When I was growing up, people did not know what their own voices sounded like,” he said during a recent Oklahoma Gazette interview. “I remember people being completely startled if I were to record their

speaking voices. ‘Is that really me? Do I really sound like that?’”

Parsons said the increased availability and capabilities of recording and audio engineering technology are partly to blame for what he sees as bad habits in modern musicmaking.

Modern albums and songs, he said, are sometimes made by different people hundreds or thousands of miles apart. Parsons believes in the organic process achieved by a team of people in a single room. He has learned the value of it through his decades of experience.

I don’t think anyone knew we’d be talking about it 45 years later. I’m very proud of that, of course.

Alan Parsons

Abbey Road

In 1967, a teenaged Parsons was hired as a low-level employee at London’s legendary Abbey Road Studios. At the time, it was one of the world’s premiere recording studios and churned out British pop and rock records from The Beatles, The Hollies, Cliff

Alan Parsons Live Project 7:30 p.m. Nov. 19 Rose State College Hudiburg Chevrolet Center 6420 SE 15th St., Midwest City alanparsonsmusic.com 405-733-7960 $39.50-$150

Richard and others.

Parsons, who first worked for Abbey Road’s parent company in a department outside of music, has said that he got his job in the studio simply by sending a letter to the company president and asking for a transfer.

Without taking that initiative, Parsons might have missed incomparable experiences as an insider on some of history’s greatest examples of popular music.

So what would have become of Parsons if he never sent that letter?

“I had thoughts of being a TV cameraman once,” he said. “So possibly if I hadn’t gone into audio, I would have went into video.”

Abbey Road was where Parsons earned his first official recording credit (though technically his first work was on The Beatles’ Let It Be, recorded before Abbey Road). The engineer worked his way up, gaining trust and responsibility over time. He even spent a short time in 1998 as Abbey Road’s overseeing executive before stepping down to concentrate on his music.

Back to basics

“So many records these days are made partly by machines and by individuals,” he said. “[Some people say], ‘Let’s start with a drum loop and then let’s add a bass and then let’s add a synth part and let’s add a vocal that will be so badly out of tune that it will be unlistenable, but we can fix it.’ That’s the way records are made now.”

Parsons lamented the shortening attention spans caused in part by technology and smartphones. He said fewer people seem

interested in listening to full albums.

It could be argued that Parsons predicted technology’s dulling effect on society nearly 40 years ago. I Robot, The Alan Parsons Project’s 1977 sophomore studio album, was partially themed around the idea that artificial intelligence might eventually overtake mankind.

Parsons stresses that young musicians should learn music in a traditional way. He developed his instructional DVD series The Art and Science of Sound Recording as a learning resource for musicians trying to make it in the industry. Commercial recording studios are rare compared to when Parsons was coming up. “[Studios] used to be the training ground for people,” he said. “You start being a tea boy in a commercial studio and work your way up. That’s how I did it, and it’s really quite difficult now. The few commercial studios out there now expect people to have had some kind of college degree, to have done some kind of recording course.”

In history

It is easy to imagine Parsons as a hard-toimpress, critical nitpicker, but the truth is even those who have glimpsed behind the curtain of music greatness can casually enjoy musically, too. He said he would have loved to be a fly on the studio wall when The Who put together 1969’s Tommy or ’71’s Who’s Next. Parsons the fan and Parsons the professional are recognizably different.

“I try to listen on the basis of ‘Is it a good song? Is it a good performance?’ Perhaps if I hear it again in a studio environment, I might start to look at it analytically,” he said.

“If I’m just listening in my car, I don’t think about the production value.”

It was obvious to Parsons at the time that The Beatles albums he worked on would become seminal rock ’n’ roll achievements.

The Liverpool quartet was the biggest band in the world.

Still, he is sometimes in awe of the permanence of some of the projects he participated in. When he was working on Dark Side of the Moon with Roger Waters, Richard Wright and the rest of Pink Floyd, he recognized it as the band’s best work to date, but he could not predict its staying power.

“I don’t think anyone knew we’d be talking about it 45 years later,” he said. “I’m very proud of that, of course.”

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8

Lucius performs Friday at ACM@UCO Performance Lab. | Photo Piper Ferguson / provided

Lucius

with The Cactus Blossoms 9 p.m. Friday ACM@UCO Performance Lab 329 E. Sheridan Ave. ilovelucius.com 405-974-4700 $15 All ages

w i n 2 t i c k e ts to

steppin’ out with ben vereen

friday

nov. 18 oklahoma city

community

college enter to win

okgazette.com/gWW gazette’s weekly winner will be announced each week in the table of contents Printed winners have 7 days to claim tickets

Must provide eMail, full naMe & phone nuMber.

42

NOVEM b e r 9 , 2 0 1 6 | O kg a z e t t e . c o m

event

Ben Ver-

MUSIC

Perfected pairing

Good Grief by Lucius | Image provided

Holly Laessig and Jess Wolfe sing as one in indie rock band Lucius.

By Ben Luschen

Holly Laessig did dress up on Halloween, but she doesn’t restrict herself to wearing brightly colored ensembles just one day of the year.

Laessig and Jess Wolfe are each one half of the harmonizing vocal duo in Lucius, an indie rock quintet originally based in Brooklyn. Laessig spoke with Oklahoma Gazette over the phone Halloween morning in advance of the band’s Friday show at ACM@UCO Performance Lab, 329 E. Sheridan Ave. Laessig and Wolfe are costumed — as each other — almost every day. The two appear as almost mirror images on stage, usually in identical, flamboyantly styled clothing. They are sometimes mistaken as sisters.

Halloween was, and to an extent remains, an important holiday to Laessig.

“It does kind of feel like Halloween every day for us,” she said.

The two met as students at Boston’s Berklee College of Music. They were friends of friends at first. One night over drinks, they bonded while discussing

It does kind of feel like Halloween every day for us.

Holly Laessig

musical influences. They soon launched a plan to perform a cover show together around The Beatles’ White Album.

“I think Jess was very gung-ho about it, like, ‘This is going to happen. Let’s meet tomorrow morning,’” Laessig said. “I was like, ‘I’m going to be hungover, but OK, sure.’”

The cover show didn’t happen, but the two began regularly writing and recording together and eventually formed a band.

Performance art

Laessig said the two have always worn

complementary clothing while performing.

Their matching style developed in part as homage to a time in music when presentation was at a premium.

“I was always a huge David Bowie fan, and both of us love old-school soul music like The Supremes,” she said. “That’s what you ooh and ahh over in the rock ’n’ roll scene.”

In the same way a choir in matching robes is heard by an audience as one sound, Laessig said she wants to be heard as one when she and Wolfe perform. Their simultaneous vocal style developed early and naturally.

Laessig said she remembers hearing double-tracked vocals as a stylistic choice on some albums. When she saw the same artist live, it didn’t sound the same. The Lucius vocalists developed their harmonizing style in part to bring that effect to their live show.

It took some practice, but soon, Laessig and Wolfe sang in perfect unity.

“For me, I always sang along with the radio, and I’m sure [Wolfe] was the same,” Laessig said. “I would always make an effort to blend in with the recordings. In the car, I would try to find my place, so I was used to blending.”

Lucius released Good Grief, its second studio album, in March. It’s a moody yet kinetic collection laden with ’80s-style synths. Rolling Stone magazine praised the project and called it “a clear departure” from the band’s sunshiny 2013 debut Wildewoman.

Laessig said while many have commented that Good Grief seems to be worlds away from their debut record, the end result did not surprise either women because they knew this sound, which she said more closely resembles their live show, was always in them.

Plans for a follow-up album are in the works. Lucius released the single “Pulling Teeth” in September, and a 10-inch release is scheduled for Nov. 25. Where the band’s sound goes from here is still being determined.

“Wherever we go from here will be somewhere interesting,” Laessig said. “I can’t tell you where yet ... but it’s going to be whatever we write and whatever serves that song the best.”

The sound might be fluid, but fans shouldn’t expect the band’s stage style to change anytime soon.

“When the sound and everything is just right and you can let all the logistics fade, it’s just the best feeling in the world,” she said. “You’re this unstoppable person you’d never recognize in your daily life but it’s fun to be for two hours.”

f e at u r e

Blood vision

Sturk’s passion for creating meaningful hip-hop grew out of the influence of his older brother.

By Erick Perry

With the powerful influence of his brother guiding him, Oklahoma rapper Sturk now seeks to return lyricism to the forefront of the genre.

He commemorates this through his album Chickasha, which he independently released this summer.

“I named the album Chickasha so that people can see that there is talent here and also to show the city that they can live their dreams even in a small town,” he said.

Born in Chickasha, Sturk moved to Lawton at an early age. However, that wouldn’t be the end the city’s mark on the rapper.

His older brother, who also grew up in the city, often visited him in Lawton.

Along with his brother came his brother’s music collection.

The two loved music and soon began trying it out for themselves.

“Hearing my older brother rap made me want to rap,” he said. “I would record myself rapping in my stereo, rapping over Tupac Shakur songs. I was probably 13

years old,” Sturk said.

He also listed Jay Z, Michael Jackson, Nas and Mariah Carey as artists who inspired him to take music seriously.

After returning to Chickasha years later, Sturk went to work in the studio, mostly by himself.

“I have to work alone in the studio in order to avoid being influenced,” he said.

“Rap music is very trendy in its current state; everyone sounds like the next person, so I try to avoid that by working alone.”

The rapper is very self-motivated in his music and in his daily life.

“I live my life on a schedule, so it’s very easy to balance music with life,” he said. “I cut out a lot of things, including watching a lot of TV and hanging out, because it was needed in order to do what I need to do in my waking hours. I tell people all the time, ‘If you want to get the most out of your day, make a weekly schedule with a time to start and stop your daily activities.’”

Sturk performs across the state at festivals, colleges and even churches.

Sturk performed at this year’s Twister Fest in Chickasha. | Photo provided

He said at this point, a live stage feels like home.

“If I had to describe the feeling, the closest thing that I can think of is the feeling people get when they’ve found the person they want to spend the rest of their lives with,” Sturk said.

In a state that is often seen as a challenging scene for hip-hop artists, Sturk said he’s living his dream. He said the difficulty level differs from artist to artist because each wants to accomplish different things.

He makes music for people who don’t have a voice and are trying to better themselves. He said his concept of success is more personal than it might be for other people and can be achieved just about anyplace.

“I’ve gotten feedback from people who tell me that I inspire them to live their dreams … from a girl who told me that one

of my songs helped her figure out a relationship problem,” he explained. “It’s not difficult for me at all [being an Oklahomabased rapper] because I’m chasing people more than I am fame.”

His communications degree and dexterity with media platforms like YouTube, Spotify, iTunes and Google Play definitely help, though.

The musician also works to reach people through Young World, a volunteer group he created in Chickasha that helps young adults within the community. He said its mission is to “activate and unify young adults through volunteering and live events inside the community.”

For more information on volunteer opportunities with Young World, visit youngworld405.com.

Find music and learn more at sturkmusic.com.

3127 S. 4th St. Chickasha, OK 405.825.3529 O kg a z e t t e . c o m | n ov e m b e r 9 , 2 0 1 6

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LIVE MUSIC These are events recommended

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

WEDNESDAY, 11.9 Chalk/Goodfella/BlindSight20/20/Social Creatures, The Paramount Theatre. ROCK Grant Wells, Skirvin Hilton Hotel. PIANO Killing The Messenger/Hostile, Thunder Alley Grill and Sports Bar. ROCK R&B Jam/The Exclusives, Bourbon Street Bar. R&B

Scott Lowber/Will Galbraith/Ed VanBuskirk, Friends Restaurant & Club. COVER The Dirty Little Betty’s/Red Francis/The Gomes, Red Brick Bar, Norman. ROCK

THURSDAY, 11.10 Barnyard Stompers, Classics. COUNTRY Garage Band Jam, Bourbon Street Bar. BLUES Jackie Bristow, Kamp’s 1910 Cafe. SINGER/

SONGWRITER

John Hiatt, Grand Casino, Shawnee. SINGER/ SONGWRITER

Another Alibi, Baker St. Pub & Grill. ROCK

NOBUNNY, 89th Street Collective. ROCK

Dirty Red and the Soulshakers, Bourbon Street Bar. BLUES

Ted Bross/Elecktra/Rick Reynolds, Sauced on Paseo. ROCK The Anniversary/Carly Gwin and the Sin, Opolis, Norman. ROCK The Mainliners, Wormy Dog Saloon. COUNTRY The Smooth Soulful Sax & Axe, Jazmo’z Bourbon St. Cafe. JAZZ Titty City/Zach Smith, Blue Note Lounge.

ROCK

FRIDAY, 11.11 Aaron Newman, Fuze Buffet & Bar. ROCK Billy Joel, BOK Center, Tulsa. SINGER/SONGWRITER

Full Circle, Newcastle Casino, Newcastle. ROCK Grant Stevens, Skirvin Hilton Hotel. PIANO Hidden Agenda, Oklahoma City Limits. ROCK Lex the Hex Master/Skum/Gravedog/ Burntfuze/Maniak, 89th Street Collective.

ROCK

Meanstreak/Big Empty, Brewskeys. ROCK Peter Case, The Blue Door. SINGER/SONGWRITER Ravens Three, Full Circle Bookstore. FOLK Skytown/All for More/Good Villians, Blue Note Lounge. ROCK Vanic, ACM@UCO Performance Lab. ELECTRONIC

Chad Todd Band, JoJo’s Bar, Yukon. COUNTRY

SUNDAY, 11.13

Christian Pearson/Gary Johnson, Skirvin Hilton Hotel. PIANO

American Killers/Trap Queen/Redneck Nosferatu, Blue Note Lounge. ROCK

Drive, Baker Street Pub & Grill. ROCK

Blues Jam/Dirty Red and the Soulshakers, Bourbon Street Bar. BLUES

Edgar Cruz/Kyle Dillingham, UCO Jazz Lab, Edmond. ACOUSTIC Electric Avenue, Mickey Mantle’s Steakhouse. POP Henna Roso/Brandee, The Deli, Norman.

VARIOUS

Josh Abbott Band, Tumbleweed Dancehall, Stillwater. COUNTRY

Jam Session, Ghost Riders Saloon. VARIOUS

MONDAY, 11.14 Digisaurus, Red Brick Bar, Norman. POP Kyle Brewer, Jazmo’z Bourbon St. Cafe.

SINGER/SONGWRITER

Life of the Party, Oklahoma City Limits. ROCK

TUESDAY, 11.15

Lisa and Laura, Full Circle Bookstore. ACOUSTIC

Direct Hit/Tennement/Filaments, Blue Note Lounge. ROCK

Local Man Ruins Everything, Blue Note Lounge.

ROCK

Shaun Suttle, Skirvin Hilton Hotel. PIANO

Martha Stallings, Lottinvilles Restaurant, Edmond.

VARIOUS

WEDNESDAY, 11.16

Mike McClure, The Blue Door. SINGER/SONGWRITER

$uicideboy$, OKC Farmers Public Market. HIP-HOP

Mike Ryan, Wormy Dog Saloon. COUNTRY

Curses/Sheeva/Alive Alone, The Paramount Theatre. ROCK

Newsboys/The Afters/Ryan Stevenson, Lloyd Noble Center, Norman. POP Street Kings, Bourbon Street Bar. ROCK Switchfoot/Relient K, Diamond Ballroom.

ROCK

The Blend, Remington Park. ROCK The Washitas/Cedar House, The Basement. VARIOUS Vylan, Dust Bowl Lanes and Lounge. VARIOUS

SATURDAY, 11.12 Adam Aguilar, Rock & Brews. ROCK

NOVEM b e r 9 , 2 0 1 6 | O kg a z e t t e . c o m

Register Faulkenberry / provided

Matt Cox, The Bluebonnet Bar, Norman. COUNTRY

Steve Crossley Solo, Margarita Island. VARIOUS

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Women of Woodyfest It’s time for a road trip! Acts like Annie Oakley (pictured) and Miss Brown to You highlight the all-female roster of the second annual Women of Woodyfest concert in Okemah. The event is a fundraiser for the Woody Guthrie Coalition, which puts on the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival each July. Women of Woodyfest begins 8 p.m. Friday at Hen House Cafe, 613 W. Broadway St., in Okemah. Admission is $20, and tickets will be sold at the door. Visit woodyfest.com or call 918-623-2501. Friday Photo Keisha

Live music submissions must be received by Oklahoma Gazette no later than noon on Wednesday seven days before the desired publication date.

Late submissions will not be included in the listings. Submissions run as space allows, although we strive to make the listings as inclusive as possible.

Fax your listings to 528-4600 or e-mail to listings@okgazette.com.

Sorry, but phone submissions cannot be accepted.

go to okgazette.com for full listings!

free will astrology Homework: Compare the person you are now with who you were two years ago.

Make a list of three important differences.

Testify at Freewillastrology.com.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) I am in awe of your

headfirst, charge-forward, no-distractions approach.

In fact, I aspire to incorporate more of the Aries-style directness into my own repertoire. But I also love it when, on rare occasions, you flirt with a more strategic perspective. It amuses me to see you experimenting with the power of secrets. Your wisdom often grows at an expedited rate when you get caught up in a web of intrigue that exposes you to dark joys and melodramatic lessons. During times like these, you feel fine about not having everything figured out, about not knowing the most straightforward route to your destination. You allow the riddles and enigmas to ferment as you bask in the voluptuous ambiance of the Great Mystery. Now is such a time.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) I am pleased to inform

you that at least 30 percent of what you think you know about love and lust is too prosaic. Probably too narrow and constrained, as well. But here’s the good news: As soon as you agree to relinquish the dull certainty of that 30+ percent, you will open yourself to a surge of fresh teachings. And soon, I expect, dewy throbs and hot flows will awaken in all the erotic parts of your body, including your heart and brain and soul. If you’re brave enough to respond, generous lessons in intimacy will keep you entertained for weeks.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Over the last two

decades, well-meaning Westerners have donated a profusion of clothes to low-income folks in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. Kind and magnanimous, right?

Yes, but their largesse has had an unintended consequence: the demise of the textile industry in those African countries. With this as a cautionary tale, I’m asking you to take inventory of your own acts of benevolence and charity. Are they having effects that you approve of? If not completely, how could you adjust the way you give your gifts and bestow your blessings?

By Rob Brezsny

CANCER (June 21-July 22) Is it possible that you

might flourish as a topdog after all the work you’ve put in as an underdog? Can you wean yourself from the worried fantasy that you’ve got endless dues to pay, and then harness your imagination to expand your confidence and build your clout? I believe you can. And in the coming weeks I will unleash a flood of prayers to the Goddess of Holy Reversals, asking her to assist you. Now please repeat after me: “I am a creative force of nature. I am a strong song of liberation. I am a wise animal with direct access to my primal intelligence.”

Libra in my natal chart.) But in accordance with the astrological indicators, I am authorizing you to be a bit less courteous and solicitous than usual in the next two weeks. Don’t go overboard, of course. But allowing yourself some breathing room like this will help you get more rigorous access to your authentic, idiosyncratic, soulful urges -- which will be very tonic.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) Until 2007, Scotland’s

smooth, peaceful, and bland. Is that the experience you want? Mild satisfactions, sweet boredom, and slow progress? There’s nothing wrong with any of that.

Please feel free to loll and loaf as you explore the healing charms of laziness. Grant yourself permission to avoid conflict and cultivate sunny self-protectiveness. This is one of those times when silence and stasis are among the best gifts you can give yourself. Welcome the rejuvenating power of emptiness!

official slogan was “Scotland, the Best Small Country in the World.” Deciding that wasn’t sufficiently upbeat, the government spent $187,000 on a campaign to come up with something better. “Home of Golf” and “Home of Europe’s Fastest Growing Life Sciences Community” were among the proposed phrases that were rejected.

The ultimate choice: “Welcome to Scotland.” I bring this to your attention, Scorpio, because you’re in a favorable phase to rebrand yourself. But I hope you will be more daring and imaginative than Scotland.

How about “Smolderingly Alarmingly Brilliant”? Or maybe “Safely Risky and Unpredictably Wise” or “Home of the Best Secrets Ever”?

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) It’s time to replace

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) I cheer you on

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) The next two weeks could be

banged-up, dried-out old obsessions with ripe, juicy fascinations. It’s your duty to phase out numbing traditions and deadening habits so as to make room for exciting new rituals, customs, and sacraments. Can you summon the electric willpower to shed influences that are technically “correct” but lacking in soulfulness? I think you can. Do you love yourself enough to forswear pretty but meaningless titillations?

I think you do. Now get out there and do the hard work necessary to bring more serious fun into your life.

Homework: Write an essay titled “What I Can Do to Be More Playful.”

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) Over the course of his or

her life, the average British person says “Sorry” on over 90,000 occasions. The typical Libran Brit probably utters routine apologies upwards of 120,000 times. Libras from other countries may not reach that heady level, but many do specialize in excessive politeness. (I should know, as I have three planets in

as you attend to your difficult but holy duties. I send you my love as you summon the wisdom and resourcefulness you need to weather the gorgeous storm. Here are clues that might be useful: Whether you are partially or totally victorious will depend as much on the attitude you hold in your heart as on your outward behavior. Be grateful, never resentful, for the interesting challenges. Love your struggles for the new capacities they are building in you.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) The coming weeks

constitute the harvest phase of your personal cycle.

That means you have the pleasure of gathering in the ripe rewards that you have been cultivating since your last birthday. But you also have the responsibility to answer and correct for any carelessness you have allowed to affect your efforts during the previous eleven months. Don’t worry, dear. My sense is that the goodies and successes far outnumber and overshadow the questionable decisions and failures. You have ample

reasons to celebrate. But I hope you won’t get so caught up in your rightful exaltation that you’ll neglect the therapeutic atonements.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) Like England and

Spain, the Netherlands has a royal family, including a king, queen, prince, and princesses. They’re an egalitarian bunch. The young ones attend public schools, and the previous queen’s birthday is celebrated with a nation-wide flea market. The king’s crown is attractive but quite economical. Its pearls are fake, and other “jewels” are made of glass, colored foil, and fish scales. In accordance with the astrological omens, I propose that you create a regal but earthy headpiece for yourself. It’s high time for you to elevate your selfworth in an amusing and artful way. What fun and funky materials will you use in your homemade crown?

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) In her book, *A Natural

History of the Senses,* Diane Ackerman reports on the eccentric methods that professional writers have used to galvanize their creative process. Poet Amy Lowell relaxed into her work day by puffing on Manila cigars. Novelist Colette plucked fleas from her cat. T. S. Eliot’s poetry thrived when he had a head cold.

Novelist George Sand liked to jump out of bed after making love and immediately begin writing. Novelist William Gass, who is still among the living, wanders around outside taking photos of “rusty, derelict, overlooked, downtrodden” places. As for D. H. Lawrence: climbing mulberry trees naked energized his genius. What about you, Pisces? Now is an excellent time to draw intensely on your reliable sources of inspiration-- as well as to seek new ones.

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.

O kg a z e t t e . c o m | n ov e m b e r 9 , 2 0 1 6

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puzzles New York Times Magazine Crossword Puzzle Updates

By Caleb Madison | Edited by Will Shortz | 1106 ACROSS 1 One talking on the phone, nowadays?

5 Numerical prefix 9 Glitz 13 Coronas, e.g.

19 What sweet gestures may mean 20 Whitman sampler?

21 Like sardines 22 The princess in The Princess Diaries 23 “Fine, see if I care!”

25 Banned pollutants 26 With reason 27 Reading comics, doing crosswords, etc.

28 *2000s group with three eponymous Disney Channel

films, with “the” 30 USCG rank 31 Woman of whom it’s begged,

“Please don’t take my man,” in a

1973 hit 33 Place 34 *Athletic footwear once

promoted by Pelé 38 Bled 39 Bo’sun for Captain Hook 43 Soon enough 44 Prefix with -pathy 45 School in Berkshire 47 Shelf supports 48 Set (against) 49 Result of Québec’s vote to leave Canada 50 Event code-named Operation Neptune 51 Endure, in an expression 52 B flat equivalent 56 Lie on the beach 58 *Enzo Ferrari called it “the most

beautiful car ever made” 60 Make sense of 62 Lush 64 Acronym for an outdoor fantasy game 65 Things found at the starts of the

answers to the six starred clues 71 Get bored (of) 72 Prefix with -stat 73 Not go home by curfew 75 *Showy orange bloom 80 Artist Magritte 82 Chest bones

83 Some acids 84 Fantasy creatures 86 Band with the 1991 No. 1 hit “Unbelievable” 88 Like non-prescription meds 89 Colt 45 brewer 90 Home to Hernando 91 American ____ 93 Start of many congregation names 94 Suit 95 Woodrow Wilson was the only

U.S. prez to have one 96 *Something spotted on a runway?

99 Margarine 101 Axis foe 102 When sung five times, a 1974

Rolling Stones hit 103 *1968 Peter O’Toole drama, with “The” 107 1998 Faith Hill hit that describes

“perpetual bliss” 112 Cold-weather conveyance 113 Part of PSU: Abbr.

114 Annual California music festival 115 Symbol of wisdom 116 Small change 117 “I’ll take care of that” 118 Employments 119 Threw out 120 In view 121 Comes together 122 Football gear

DOWN 1 Kemo ____ 2 Corsica et d’autres 3 Recruiting org.

4 Odysseus, by birth 5 Possible paths 6 Intimidates 7 Faction in Twilight fandom 8 Funny Schumer 9 Minnesota athlete 10 Able to practice, say 11 Pulitzer-winning Edward 12 Best-selling PC game before The Sims 13 Convert chips to money 14 X-ray, e.g.

15 Tech help station 16 ’Stro, e.g.

17 Streamlet 18 “Goes”

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54 Plant malady caused by overwatering 55 Teacher’s head count 57 Familiar folks 59 Target audience of Out magazine 61 Actress Polo 63 “Don’t quit ____ now!”

66 Browser button 67 Flipped 68 Assess 69 Angel who visited Joseph Smith 70 Lie on the beach 74 Implied 75 Tailor’s need 76 Kind of theater 77 Barb 78 Settles snugly 79 1000, 1500 and 2000: Abbr.

81 Best Supporting Actress nominee for Birdman

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Account EXECUTIVES Stephanie Van Horn, Saundra Rinearson Godwin, Elizabeth Riddle, Nathan Ward

85 Make a “T” gesture in basketball 87 Pro 90 Eats 91 Setting for a sunset on the Seine 92 Rehab attendees 93 Split 95 The fingers of a hand, e.g.

97 One plus one?

98 Fancy-schmancy 100 Actress Balaban 101 Hit musical with the song “N.Y.C.” 103 Exam with logic games, briefly 104 Digging 105 Sounds after a magic trick 106 Some contraceptive devices 108 Loudly acclaim 109 ____, She Wolf of the SS (1975

cult film) 110 Cold-weather conveyance 111 Lip 114 Part of a wheel

New York Times Crossword Puzzle answers

O S S A

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R A B S A L O N E S P R I N P V O G E E K E A D L I Y T D E S I N B E Y O A Y T O E P O L T S N L O W C L O S I F S S E V E N N N E R I A C T M I N U S E D A R L O B E

EDITOR-in-chief Jennifer Palmer Chancellor jchancellor@okgazette.com Assistant EDITOR Brittany Pickering Staff reporters Greg Elwell, Laura Eastes, Ben Luschen Contributors Mark Beutler, Lisa K. Broad, Lauren Dow Adam Holt, George Lang, Jacob Oller Erick Perry, Jessica Williams Photographer Garett Fisbeck Circulation Manager Chad Bleakley Art Director Chris Street Advertising/Marketing Design Coordinator Erin DeMoss Graphic Designer Anna Shilling www.okgazette.com Order mounted or ready-to-frame prints of Oklahoma Gazette covers, articles and photos at okgazette.yourheadline.com

Puzzle No. 1030, which appeared in the November 2 issue.

T R E K E G N G O Y N E S U F R L E E D A I D D I P I S E L P E A S

Advertising Director Christy Duane, cduane@okgazette.com Account Executive / Advertising assistant Leah Roberts

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

Accounts receivable Karen Holmes

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Marketing Manager Kelsey Lowe Accounting/HR Manager Marian Harrison

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

Sudoku Puzzle Hard

VP, CORPORATE AFFAIRS Linda Meoli

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24 Tinder and others 28 Miss ____ (late TV psychic) 29 Astronaut Shepard 32 U.S. base site in the Pacific 34 Half of a 1960s pop group 35 Popular sleep aid 36 Godzilla foe 37 Ages and ages 38 Prince and others 40 Who said “Revolutions are the

locomotives of history” 41 Composer Satie 42 Dirección geográfica 46 ____ Boston (luxury hotel) 47 Eagerly seized 50 One side of the climate change debate 51 Pops 53 JFK tower grp.

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

S A K I

E D E L

D A N L

A R A I L

N I N E S

G O O F

M A L E V O L E N T

S T O R E O W N E R

S W A N N A R I

3701 N. Shartel Ave. Oklahoma City, OK 73118-7102 Phone (405) 528-6000 Fax (405) 528-4600 Copyright © 2016 Tierra Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

P h o n e (4 0 5 ) 5 2 8 - 6 0 0 0 | E - m a i l a dv e r t i s i n g @t i e r r a m e d i ag r o u p. c o m

cLASSIFIEDS

cLASSIFIEDS

JOBS

Autos

Advertise in the Gazette’s cLASSIFIEDS

AUTOS

405.528.6000

Wholesale Christmas merChandise Trees | WreaThs | Garlands designer Quality at prices never seen before!

SYSTEMS ENGINEERING MGR MELBER LLC, Oklahoma City, OK

located at 118 nW 8th, OKC behind the hideaway Pizza in automobile alley.

Open Mon-sat 8-5

Visit us online at ChristmasDirectOKC.com

Teach Your Teens To Drive

AAA Offers “TAke The Wheel” PArenT-TAughT Driver’s eD. kiT

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MASSAGE CERTIFIED THERAPEUTIC

• QuAlifies Teens fOr sTAnDArD Driver’s eD. AuTO insurAnce DiscOunTs incluDing uP TO 35% Off On AAA insurAnce* AuTO POlicies • sTATe-cerTifieD Driver’s eD. cOurse WiTh everyThing PArenTs neeD • lOW cOsT - high AAA QuAliTy - WiTh lOTs Of lOcAl suPPOrT • 15 yeArs Of exPerience Offering cOurse sTOP by Any AAA OklAhOmA Office, visiT AAA.cOm/TAkeTheWheel Or cAll sheryl AT (800) 222-2582

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northpark 12252 n may | penn 2824 n Penn

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i can help!

cLASSIFIEDS

Call Bryan Waters | 405.658.3018

Homes

Kathy Christian

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20% off special Call Today to Make an Appointment

405.229.3351

OCC-24486

cLASSIFIEDS

License No: BUS-24861

Body Massage $50/hr Foot Reflexology $30/hr 405-286-6885 Open 7 days • 10a-10p 6900 N. May Ave, OKC (6900 Plaza)

BUS-25872

Bachelor’s in Computer Science + 5 yrs exp.Will be in charge of Technical Support Department.

Analyze, develop, implement web applications to support internal units; network installation and management.

Will work with various operation systems: Win Server, Debian Ubuntu, Mac, and other programs as Linux,Dreamweaver, Fireworks; Will manage web site; Perform project planning and scheduling analysis projects. This includes the coordination with outside services resource.Design and management of software to control payroll and sales of the Company; Installation and management of network among the users of the Company; Technical support, using internal network and virtual; Programming using different languages and software: PHP, HTML, CSS, SQL, XML, Visual Basic, ASP, Jquey,Mysql, MsSpl 2000. MS and Linux Certified Pro.Mail Resume: 2716 SW 29th St., Oklahoma City, OK 73119.

Amazing Spa

therapeutic cupping now availble body & foot massage $19.99/half hour massage Open 7 days a week 10am-9:30pm | 6610 N. May Ave. | 405.810.5876

DAVE’S APPLIANCE REPAIR All makes washers, dryers, ranges, dishwashers, refrigerators, disposals.

24 years experience

314-3191

$25 service calls

EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Federal Fair Housing

Act of 1968, which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, national origin or an intention to make any such preference, limitation, preference or discrimination.

This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of this law. Our readers are hereby informed that all dwellings in our newspaper are available on an equal housing opportunity basis.

Advertise in the Gazette’s

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405.528.6000

Royal Treatment Massage new client special!

mon-sat 10a-9p | sun 11a-7p edmondokmassage.com 1733 W 33rd st, ste. 120 edmond, ok | 340-0400 O kg a z e t t e . c o m | N ov e m b e r 9 , 2 0 1 6

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BMW 740i

www.cooperbmw.com

THE BMW 7 SERIES. THE MOST INNOVATIVE VEHICLE IN ITS CLASS. Experience uncompromised luxury and cutting-edge technology, with 13 innovations found in no other luxury vehicle. And with its lighter Carbon Core frame and 445-horsepower* engine, this BMW delivers exactly the kind of performance you’d expect from the Ultimate Driving Machine.®

0.9% for up to 72 months on new 2016 and 2017 BMWs. *445 horsepower based on the 750 xDrive Sedan.

2016 740i | $779/month*

2016 Z4 sDrive28i | $479/month*

2016 320i Sedan | $249/month*

2016 528i Sedan | $469/month*

2016 X5 xDrive35i | $579/month*

2016 X1 xDrive28i | $269/month*

14145 North Broadway Extension Edmond, OK 73013 | 866.925.9885

Imports 2016 740i, 36-month lease, $5500 down, MSRP $82,295, Standard Terms 2016 320i Sedan, 36-month lease, $2750 down, MSRP $34,145, Standard Terms 2016 X5 xDrive35i, 36-month lease, $3500 down, MSRP $57,995, Standard Terms

BmW

2016 Z4 sDrive28i, 33-month lease, $3000 down, MSRP $50,695, Standard Terms 2016 528i Sedan, 36-month lease, $3500 down, MSRP $51,195, Standard Terms 2016 X1 xDrive28i, 36-month lease, $3000 down, MSRP $35,795, Standard Terms

Web: www.cooperbmw.com Email: rkeitz@cooperautogroup.com Standard terms & Tag, Tax. 1st Payment, Aquisition fee, processing fee WAC *See dealership for details — offers subject to change without prior notice. *October prices subject to change.