Oklahoma Gazette 3-4-15 by Oklahoma Gazette

FREE EVERY WEDNESDAY METRO OKC’S INDEPENDENT WEEKLY VOL. XXXVII NO. 9 MARCH 4, 2015

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NEWS: OKC SCHOOL SUSPENSION RATES TOP IN NATION P.4 FOCUS ISSUE

ARTS: MOMENTUM OKC SHOWCASES OUR FINEST P.33

MARK HANCOCK

OKC’s Underground Monster Carnival

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2/19/15 3:55 PM

CONTENTS 8

ON THE COVER

NEWS

LIFE

Creators Art and Stephanie Sunday talk about Oklahoma’s largest horror, cosplay and freaky fun convention, the Underground Monster Carnival, which they founded years ago to celebrate the art and culture of thrills and chills. It hits State Fair Park on Saturday. Story by Louis Fowler, P. 30. PLUS! Check out our cosplay cocktail recipes from staff reporter Greg Elwell, P. 19.

Education: suspension rates

OKG shop: liquor stores

State: liquor laws

Shop Local

Performing Arts: Who Am I This Time? (And Other Conundrums of Love), Sesame Street Live

News briefs

Nonprofit: Red Tie Night

Fit Local

Chicken-Fried News

Active: Run Lucky 5K

Commentary, Letters

Religion: Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma

Sudoku / Crossword

Music: straight edge, event listings, reviews

Film: The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Astrology, Classifieds

LIFE

Cover: Underground Monster Carnival

OKG picks

Eat Local

Food & Drink: cosplay drinks, Mighty Dog, Mustang Brewing, food news, IPAs, OKG eat: bars

Visual Arts: Momentum OKC

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

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M A RK HA N COC K / FI LE

NEWS EDUCATION

School-to-prison pipeline? Studies show that OKC school suspension rates are among the highest in the nation. New district leadership addresses ways to correct the problem. BY BEN FELDER

Seventy-five percent of African-American male high school students in the Oklahoma City Public Schools district were suspended at least once in 2012. It’s the highest rate in the nation. Forty-five percent of all high school students in the district were suspended during the same year, which is the nation’s 10th-highest overall rate. With evidence supporting a direct connection between suspensions and dropouts, incarceration, poverty, low academic performance and unemployment, OKC is losing a generation of young people like almost no other city in America. “It should shock our conscience, and it should prompt action,” said Dan Losen, director of the Center for Civil Rights Remedies, a social research firm that recently released a report showing suspension rates for every American school district. New district leadership arrived last year with a long list of challenges, but the unprecedented suspension rate must be addressed before any substantial reform can take place in the state’s largest district. “It’s alarming,” said Superintendent Rob Neu, who was hired last year. “We knew that we had discipline issues in the district, but those numbers are alarming and have to be a priority for the district.” Neu said reversing suspension trends requires policy and procedural changes, but he also believes some changes can take place immediately just by recognizing the problem. It’s a belief Losen shares, too.

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“We can’t fix what we don’t talk about,” Losen said. “It is really important that we think about what is happening in the school environment, and these suspension numbers are good indicators.”

‘Bad kids’

Tenth-grader Jashon Lawrence isn’t surprised to hear his district has one of the highest suspension rates in the nation. “I guess we have a lot of bad kids,” Lawrence, a Northwest Classen High School student, said when asked his thoughts. Critics of suspension-heavy policies say removing troubled students from schools without exploring other disciplinary options sends a message that schools like those here are full of “bad kids.” The district’s high rate impacts school performance and society as a whole. “We must interrupt the pernicious school-to-prison pipeline that starts with black and brown boys being disciplined excessively and harshly, causing them to think of themselves as ‘bad kids,’” Jonah Edelman, co-founder of Stand for Children, wrote in a column for The Daily Beast last year. “This is the No. 1 civil rights issue of our time.” Statistics back up Edelman’s claim, including the fact that Oklahoma has the second highest African-American incarceration rate in the nation, according to a study by the University of WisconsinMilwaukee. In fact, states like Wisconsin, Iowa, Pennsylvania and Oklahoma — which have some of the highest AfricanAmerican suspension rates in the nation

— also are home to some of the highest black incarceration rates. This connection implies that states where schools suspend large numbers of black students also lock up large numbers of black adults. While not as high as the male rate, black female students are suspended at a higher rate (54 percent) than their white peers (25 percent). Like male students, females also face a higher risk of incarceration after being suspended. “The single largest predictor of later arrest among adolescent females is having been suspended, expelled or held back,” wrote Johanna Wald in Deconstructing the School-to-Prison Pipeline: New Directions for Youth Development, citing a 2001 report by the American Bar Association. Suspensions and harsh disciplinary measures in high schools have been blamed for the so-called “school-toprison pipeline,” a phrase Neu has used in the past, especially when discussing the underperformance of the district’s minority students. “We’ve got a problem,” Neu told the school board in December. “Our AfricanAmerican students are dying on the vine, and if we don’t do something to intervene right now, we know their pathway.” In an interview with Oklahoma Gazette last week after the release of the report listing the district as top in the nation for black male suspensions, Neu reiterated the seriousness of the issue. While he cautioned that the data is two years old, he said discipline must be a focus for district leadership. “There are a lot of priorities for the

district, but this is a top priority because when you are suspending students, their chances of being successful and graduating greatly diminishes,” Neu said. Neu also said the way a school disciplines students greatly affects their self-value and how they view their community. It’s a reality that Lawrence, the Northwest Classen student, embodied when asked if he really thought OKC schools have “a lot of bad kids.” “I don’t know,” said Lawrence, before taking a long pause to offer his own question. “What else would those [statistics] mean?”

Trending up

Data from the district for the 2012-13 school year shows signs that suspension numbers might have fallen slightly from the school year tracked in the Center for Civil Rights Remedies report. Regardless, the district remains one of the highest suspending school systems in America. The U.S. Department of Education noticed the high minority suspension rate. too. Last year, it launched an investigation into the matter. District leadership cooperated with the Department of Education’s investigation by submitting additional data, according to Brandon Carey, attorney for the district. “We are just waiting to hear back from them,” Carey said. However, if suspension rates have fallen in the last two years, it would be a stark change from the several years before, as rates trended up. The district’s elementary-level suspension rates increased from 7.2 percent in 2010 to 13 percent to 2012, according to the same report from the Center for Civil Rights Remedies. Highschool suspension rates increased from 25 to 45 percent during that time period. Also, suspension rates for all racial groups increased during those years, and the gap between white and black student suspensions increased to 31 percent. One obstacle in decreasing suspension rates might be its lack of a dedicated staff position to oversee discipline policies. “We need a person who can focus on that,” said Teri Bell, executive director of student support services, the department that oversees disciplinary issues. Bell said the district’s student services department was reduced from four staff members to two in 2001 and has never been replaced. Aurora Lora, OKC’s associate superintendent, said that even with a return to four staff members, the district would still lag behind most school systems of similar size. “We need a dedicated person looking at this issue because that’s what you find in districts our size and smaller,” she said.

Success stories

Oklahoma City is hardly the only urban school district to deal with high suspension rates. While percentages have

HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT SUSPENSION RATE 2012-13 The percent of each high school’s student population to be suspended during the 2012-2013 school year.

Capitol Hill Classen School of Advanced Studies Douglass

23% 5% 26%

Oklahoma Centennial

32%

US Grant

22%

John Marshall

22%

Northeast

NW Classen

18%

Southeast

14%

Star Spencer

24%

Emerson Alternative

10%

Source: Oklahoma City Public Schools

risen locally, some school districts across the country have shown improvement after employing various plans. The San Francisco public school district cut its suspension rate in half last year after expanding support programs to address student behavior. The rate of minority suspensions also fell from 1,063 black suspensions in the 2011-12 school year to 576 in 2013-14. Latino

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suspensions fell from 698 to 344 during the same time period. The International Institute for Restorative Practices (IIRP) works with districts, including those in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Minneapolis, Minnesota, to discover methods for reducing suspension and discipline issues. “We focus heavily on building trusting communities between teachers and students,” Keith Hickman, assistant director of continuing education for the IIRP Graduate School, told Oklahoma Gazette. “We get teachers to express their feelings, and this is all really important ... because we believe the healthiest environments for human beings are ones where there is free expression.” Big Picture High School in Seattle was recently profiled in The Seattle Times for its use of restorative practice in an effort to reduce suspensions through a philosophical change in which “rule breaking is now treated as harm done to a relationship ... rather than a reason to mete out punishment.” An example of this type of shift, as reported by the Times, includes three female students suspected of smoking marijuana, an infraction that would have normally resulted in suspension. “Instead of sending the three smokers home with a litany of their failings, [the

principal] sat face-to-face with each, explaining what it felt like to have his trust violated,” Times reporter Claudia Rowe wrote. “He read them testimony from other teachers, who spoke of their belief in the young women — how they had a chance to go to college, build a career, leave their difficult family lives behind.” Taking a calmer and more reasoned approach to discipline issues sounds easy but can be a challenge for teachers. “Everyone wants the superhero teacher from Hollywood, but everyone can’t be that,” said John Thompson, a former Oklahoma City teacher and current education writer who has contributed to This Week in Education, School Matters and Oklahoma Gazette. Thompson said the struggle in an urban district like OKC’s is that students bring baggage with them from home and discipline issues are often expressions of the pain they feel. Learning how to deal with that expression, Thompson said, is the key, rather than just being less triggerhappy with suspensions. “There’s nothing easier than criticizing the Oklahoma City Public Schools,” Thompson said. “On the other hand, compare the sincerity and professionalism of the Oklahoma City administrators with what we see in everyday life and they come off really looking pretty good.

The compassion and desire is there; the training and planning is not.” The district’s leadership is still less than a year old, so the statistics of the past might be unfair to peg on the current superintendent and his team. But with the recent report and the ongoing U.S. Department of Education investigation, district leadership is well aware of the issue and must look for ways to remedy it. “I think recognizing that you have a problem is the first step to fixing it,” said Ryan Kiesel, executive director of the Oklahoma chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). ACLU chapters in other states have confronted districts over disproportionate suspension rates among minorities, and while a local legal challenge has not been launched, Kiesel said his office is monitoring OKC’s situation. “It’s not easy to come to grip with numbers that tell a difficult story like this about our district,” said Kiesel, who also said he is optimistic about the direction in which the new superintendent is moving. “My hope is that the school district ... can get to a point where school suspension is used rarely across the board, but particularly in its disproportionate application. This has to change.”

OKLAHOMA GAZETTE | MARCH 4, 2015 | 5 2/26/15 4:37 PM

M A R K HA N COC K

NEWS STATE

Brewing debate The liquor store industry pushes back on proposed legislation that would allow in-shop refrigeration and high-point beer sales in grocery stores and local breweries.

Dan Dewberry and Stephanie Bice at a recent committee hearing concerning her proposed alcohol bill, at the State Capitol.

BY BEN FELDER

Independence Day, Labor Day and Memorial Day are the top three biggest days for beer sales in the nation, according to numbers from The Nielsen Company, a research firm. Except in Oklahoma. Liquor stores, which are the only establishment the state allows to sell high-point alcohol — drinks with more than 3.2 percent alcohol per weight — are required to close on most holidays and Sundays, which costs consumers a level of convenience that’s typical in other states and stunts sales for hundreds of liquor stores statewide. While liquor store owners might long for the day when they can be open on holidays and Sundays, many also don’t want the state’s alcohol industry

6 | MARCH 4, 2015 | OKLAHOMA GAZETTE

The craft brew industry is really flourishing in Oklahoma, and Oklahomans want more [options]. — Stephanie Bice

reformed to include high-point sales in grocery stores, which would create more competition. There is also some pushback toward a bill that would allow liquor stores to refrigerate beer. “I personally favor it as someone who would become the owner of more liquor,” Bryan Kerr, president of

Retail Liquor Association Oklahoma, said about the refrigeration bill. “The positive is consumer convenience. But some stores are not big enough to accommodate refrigeration, and as a result, they oppose it.” Kerr said the state’s liquor store industry is highly competitive and some storeowners worry Senate Bill 383 would force businesses to make costly upgrades to include refrigerators. And therein lies the biggest problem with changing alcohol laws. Conservative and religious institutions often aren’t leading the fight against proposed change; it’s the industry. Despite the resistance, SB 383 passed unanimously at a Senate committee hearing last week, sending it for possible consideration on the Senate floor.

“I knew it would be popular among the younger folks, but I wasn’t sure how it would be perceived with other people,” said Sen. Stephanie Bice, the freshman Republican lawmaker who authored the bill. “I think 10 years ago, if this topic had presented itself, it may not have got the support it has now, but the craft brew industry is really flourishing in Oklahoma, and Oklahomans want more [options].” Senate Bill 424, by Sen. Brian Crain, R-Tulsa, which would allow breweries to sell high-point beer at their facilities, also received unanimous support from the same committee last week. SB 424 has been backed by the League of Oklahomans for Change in Alcohol Laws (LOCAL), an advocacy group launched last year that targeted the ban on breweries selling high-point beer. “You can order a beer at a restaurant, you can order a beer at the bar and go down to the liquor store and drink it at your house,” Tony Tielli, Roughtail Brewing Co. co-founder, told Oklahoma Gazette last year. “But the place that makes the beer is the one place where you can’t buy it. It’s silly.” The possible passage of these two bills represents a shift in the state’s tight control on alcohol sales, and supporters of the legislation say they are optimistic as the bills move to the floor. “Today, we saw once again that grassroots activism works,” Kevin Hall, founder of LOCAL, said in a statement following the passage of both bills. “One industry insider told me today’s vote was ‘unprecedented.’” High-point alcohol sales remain closed off on major holidays and Sunday — which isn’t likely to change soon — but Bice said she hoped success with her bill this year would lead to continued discussion about updating the state’s “archaic” liquor laws. “I think we are really looking at larger reform,” Bice said. “It’s a process.”

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Muslim Day The Oklahoma State Capitol commonly serves as the site for yearly advocacy events by all types of organizations, associations and community groups. Friday, it was the site of the first annual Oklahoma Muslim Day at the Capitol. The Oklahoma chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) announced that registration for the event exceeded capacity despite organized anti-Muslim protests. The Interfaith Alliance of Oklahoma and the Oklahoma Conference of Churches also helped coordinate escorts for Muslim attendees into the Capitol to ensure their safety. “We are truly appreciative of the support for this event that Oklahoma’s Muslim community has witnessed from our elected officials, law enforcement authorities and the interfaith partners,” said CAIR Executive Director Adam Soltani. “Our goal is to encourage Oklahoma Muslims to be active participants in the democratic process, and this event is our first step in making that possible.”

As the Plaza District Association celebrated another year at its third annual State of the Plaza, a list of numbers from the urban district told the story of how viable the district has become. Slices of pizza sold last year by Empire Slice House: 389,370. Pies purchased at Pie Junkie: 19,538. Employees in the district: 365. New businesses to open last year: 10. Total businesses in the district: 38. “It’s just crazy to me to think about these [numbers],” said Plaza District Association Executive Director Kristen Vails during Wednesday’s State of the Plaza event.

“There were many in the homosexual community that were abused as children … and maybe the parent didn’t know [because] the child didn’t feel like they could talk about it,” Rep. Pam Peterson (pictutred) said in offering her support for a conversion therapy bill last week. “What I proposed to some of the opponents to this bill is what if [a] parent is seeing a different characteristic in their child, [like gender identity], because of a sexual abuse situation that may not be discovered? This family says, ‘I am going to take you to counseling for gender identity counseling.’ From my perspective, I thought we might be able to discover an awful person out there who is abusing a child because the symptoms [of that abuse] are coming as a gender identity [problem].” House Bill 1598, by Rep. Sally Kern, would strengthen the rights parents have to take their child to conversion therapy to change same-sex attraction or transgender characteristics.

Bike ordinance Councilman Pat Ryan has proposed another change to the city’s bicycle ordinance, this time adding language that mirrors the state’s bicycle law. The proposed addition, which was introduced last week, would prohibit cyclists from passing vehicles between lanes of traffic traveling in the same direction. The proposal is set for a Tuesday vote. “The ordinance change would allow police officers to issue violators a traffic ticket,” Ryan said in a statement. “Right now, officers can only try to enforce a violation by asking a prosecutor to pursue a criminal misdemeanor charge. That is a burden on law enforcement and too serious of a charge for violators.”

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CHiCKEN

FRiED NEWS

Loyal Durant

Can you imagine Kevin Durant in a Washington Wizards jersey? Having recently suffered yet another physical setback and undergoing a minor procedure on his right foot, the normally reserved Thunder star expressed his displeasure at an even deeper setback in an interview with GQ Magazine: the front office’s team management. Durant stated that he has had to endure a drop in supporting team talent the past few years during his quest for an NBA championship. He also said that he was done saying the “right things” to conceal his frustration about it. Whoa now, non-PC KD. What are you suggesting? You see, a few questions pop up when it comes to free agency, like ‘If a player might leave, what could make them stay or where they might go?’ Also, Durant’s own free

agency might come soon in the face of consecutive disappointing season finishes. There is speculation that his hometown team, D.C.’s Washington Wizards, might be the next natural pick for Durant if he isn’t kept happy with the Thunder. The past few seasons have been rough for the Thunder, but hardly mediocre. Though plagued by injuries to Serge Ibaka, Russell Westbrook and Durant, the team has made consistent runs at division titles. Despite a terrible start to this season, OKC seems once again bound for the playoffs, but with a championship drought dragging on, it’s possible that only a ring will tell if OKC will get another chance with Durant at the helm.

Defensive advice

The best offense is a good defense. And the best way to avoid being arrested for an offense is to get the hell out of there — at least according

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to University of Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops. “If some girl starts hitting you, you better not touch her. Jump your ass out the window and don’t stop running.” Those wise words were attributed to @OU_CoachStoops by Tennessee Titans center (and former OU player) Gabe Ikard, who said it was some of the best advice he had ever received. No strangers to big hits on the field, both Ikard and current OU offensive lineman Tyrus Thompson said it was a message Stoops delivered regularly. After OU running back Joe Mixon’s 2014 suspension for allegedly punching a woman in the face and a seeming epidemic of domestic abuse plaguing the NFL, it’s good to know someone with authority is passing that lesson on to players. Just make sure you’re on the first floor. Anyone who self-defenestrates from too high up might have trouble with the “don’t stop running” part of those instructions.

Prison murder

Oklahoma earned top-notch ratings in yet another study. Unfortunately, it was on a list from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, which showed that we have the highest prison homicide rate in the nation. That’s more than three times the national average, the Associated Press reported. The Sooner State reported 39 homicides between 2001 and 2012, which is 14 deaths per 100,000 inmates. For reference, the national average is 4 per 100,000. “We’re doing everything in our power … but bad things happen when you’re dealing with bad people,” Oklahoma Department of Corrections spokeswoman Terri Watkins told AP. Oklahoma’s prison system now operates at 67 percent of its recommended staff level with prisons, on average, at 118 percent capacity.

‘Catch this’

All this wintry precipitation is making one Republican senator a bit hot under the collar. Last week, Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa, chucked a snowball at his colleagues from the floor, CNN reported. He was trying to prove a point. Sorta like, you know, bringing in a bag full of hot, delicious $2 tacos and feeding the entire office just to prove that global food insecurity doesn’t exist. Anyway. “Catch this,” said the Environment and Public Works Committee chairman just before hurling the well-formed lump. “In case we had forgotten, because we keep hearing that 2014 has been the warmest year on record, I ask the chair, You know what this is? It’s a snowball just from outside here. So it’s very, very cold out. Very unseasonal.” Rhode Island Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse replied, “You can believe every single major American scientific society or you can believe the senator with the snowball.”

Illegal books

Stop the presses! If you were planning on passing out Bibles or biblical pamphlets to children in Oklahoma schools, you’re going to have to find some other way — preferably one that’s not technically illegal. Jamison Faught, son of Rep. George Faught of Muskogee, and Gideon International recently passed out Bibles to fifth-grade students in Checotah, Eufaula and Stidham, but when Freedom from Religion Foundation found out, it sent complaints to 26 districts. “Passing out the scriptures — you certainly can’t be blamed for that,” Rep. Faught told NewsOK.com. “What happens is, this group has used scare tactics.” The “scare tactics” (the letter from the foundation) stated that the practice is unconstitutional because allowing the Bibles to be passed out on public school property counts as “the District … impermissibly endorsing religion.” “The law is pretty clear on this, that outside groups cannot come into the

public schools and distribute Bibles,” Andrew Seidel, staff attorney at the foundation, told KOCO.com. “These children are taught by their parents not to accept things from strangers, and you have this evangelical group going out there and forcing their religion upon these children. It’s incredibly predatory and dangerous.” Seidel did say that if you stood just off school property, you could legally pass out any sort of book or pamphlet you wanted.

Sue, baby

It’s a natural part of life. You start a business, watch it turn into a billiondollar enterprise, then leave it and spend your golden years tossing lawsuits back and forth with the company you raised from a pup. It could happen to any

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of us. But right now it’s happening to Aubrey McClendon, the founder and former CEO of Chesapeake Energy who left the Oklahoma City company in 2013. Chesapeake is suing McClendon with the claim he stole company secrets on his way out the door. McClendon has threatened to fire back. “It is beyond belief that the company that I co-founded 25 years ago and where I worked tirelessly to build it into one of America’s largest and most successful oil and gas producers has now decided to add insult to injury almost two years to the day after my resignation by wrongly accusing me of misappropriating information,” McClendon said in a statement last month.

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COMMENTARY

P ROVI DE D

An argument for education choice BY BRANDON DUTCHER

I’ve been doing public policy research and writing for nearly 20 years, and during that time, I’ve seen a noticeable shift in how Oklahomans have come to view public education. The prevailing view has always been that public education refers to a system of government-run schools to which children are bureaucratically assigned based on where they live. And though that is still the prevailing view, it’s changing. More and more, public education is understood in terms of our societal goal of ensuring an educated public. Pennsylvania state Sen. Anthony H. Williams, a liberal Democrat, puts it well: “An innovative and productive public education system can include home schooling, parochial schools, private schools, cyber schools, public charter schools and, yes, traditional public schools

— all of which I support” (reported via pennlive.com, March 6, 2011). As it happens, Oklahoma is somewhat of a leader in the burgeoning movement to give parents more options. Long gone are the days of my childhood, when nearly everyone went to the public school closest to their house. Today, Oklahoma has public charter schools, magnet and specialty schools, virtual schools and a vibrant homeschool sector. A growing number of children are using vouchers and tax-credit scholarships to attend private schools. The newest innovation is education savings accounts (ESAs). Soon to be considered on the Oklahoma Senate floor, ESAs allow parents to bank a portion of their child’s per-pupil funding and use the money for private-school tuition, tutoring, online learning or a

customized mix of options. Curious what Oklahomans think of education choice, I commissioned SoonerPoll help find out the answer with a question that acknowledges its pros and cons. In a January survey of likely voters (margin of error ±4.34 percent), respondents were asked, “Some people say that educational choice programs — such as vouchers, tax credits and ESAs — give parents the power to choose the school that works best for their child and puts pressure on all schools to do a better job educating children. Other people say that educational choice programs rob public schools of the funds they need to improve and allow a select few students to get a better education while other students are trapped in their current schools. Which viewpoint comes closest to your own?” Education choice prevailed with 52.5

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

percent of respondents. “If it were your decision and you could select any type of school,” SoonerPoll also asked, “what type of school would you select in order to obtain the best education for your child?” A traditional public school was the choice of 40.4 percent of respondents, while 43.2 percent said private or parochial school, 8.1 percent said charter school and 7 percent said homeschool. (In the Oklahoma City metro, 33 percent chose a traditional public school and 67 percent choosing something else.) Education choice is a growing trend. After all, parents — not government officials — have the moral right to determine a child’s path. Policymakers should fund students, not systems. Brandon Dutcher is senior vice president at the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs (OCPA), a free-market think tank.

LETTERS Oklahoma Gazette provides an open forum for the discussion of all points of view in its Letters to the Editor section. The Gazette reserves the right to edit letters for length and clarity. Letters can be mailed, faxed, emailed to jchancellor@ okgazette.com or sent online at okgazette. com. Include a city of residence and contact number for verification.

Legalizing discrimination

In October, marriage became legal for same-gender couples in Oklahoma. Since then, thousands of couples exercised their right to marry, celebrating with families and friends as Americans traditionally do. Recently, the Oklahoma Legislature kicked off its 2015 session with numerous bills that would treat people differently based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Some bills are more repressive than others, but each one seeks to limit the freedom of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals to enjoy the same rights as the heterosexual majority. Same-gender marriage has been legal in Massachusetts for over 10 years. Our nation has had a decade to notice that the sky didn’t fall. In fact, polls show an increase in support of marriage equality

12 | MARCH 4, 2015 | OKLAHOMA GAZETTE

as we have come to learn that the people we interact with every day are gay and decided, “So what?” The fears were unrealized. Change can be unsettling, but a rush to write prejudice and discrimination into our laws out of fear is destructive and divisive. Diversity isn’t a threat. In fact, it’s enriching for any environment — a workplace, congregation, family, society — and each is the better for it. Ours is a society that recognizes that our personal beliefs should not determine the rights of our neighbor. Sexual orientation or gender identity isn’t something an individual chooses or practices. It’s who they are, and each person is some family’s loved one, deserving of equal access to services and equal treatment under the law. No one deserves to have their relationship devalued in a misguided attempt to exalt another’s or to be treated as “less than” in any way by employers, businesses or government agencies. Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) Norman is an organization formed to support and advocate for LGBT individuals and their families. We have the diversity of experiences, beliefs, identities and opinions that any group would have plus an intense concern for equality. We are asking our fellow Oklahomans to resist

fear, stand for mutual respect and insist that legislation designed to diminish the rights and hurt the spirit of a vulnerable minority be rejected. Please contact your state legislators to share your concern about bills that would treat LGBT citizens differently. Each one of us has a voice. The price of silence is too high. — Steve Davis, PFLAG Norman president Norman Change, please

Oklahoma has many issues facing it today: budget shortfalls due to a drop in energy prices, a continuing public education black eye, water woes due

to drought and increasing population, the Department of Human Services, painkillers, prisons, etc. All of these issues need the full attention of our elected representatives. With these serious issues at hand, it is a real shame that Rep. Sally Kern instead uses her bully pulpit in the house to further her personal agenda against those who are different from her. Ms. Kern, we have real problems in this state. Please refocus your time and energy on the above issues instead of your own homophobia. House Bill 1598 does nothing to make Oklahoma a better state; it is simply hateful and unchristian. — Blake Gibb Oklahoma City

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OKG picks are events

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DOWNTOWN

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

BOOKS Sasha Martin Book Signing, author of Life From Scratch will discuss and sign copies; a story of food from around the globe, 3 p.m., Mar. 7. Full Circle Bookstore, 1900 Northwest Expressway, 842-2900, fullcirclebooks. com. SAT Dorothy Alexander Poetry Reading, storyteller, author and Oklahoma Poet Laureate nominee will read some of her works, 2-3 p.m., Mar. 8. The Depot, 200 S. Jones Ave., Norman, 307-9320, pasnorman.org. SUN Wendelin Van Draanen Book Signing, author of the Sammy Keyes Mystery series and Flipped will speak and sign her works, 5 p.m., Mar. 10. Best of Books, 1313 E. Danforth Road, Edmond, 340-9202, bestofbooksedmond.com. TUE Let’s Talk About Baseball, Oklahoma, discussion of, The Boys of Summer by Roger Kahn, 6 p.m., Mar. 10. Northwest Library, 5600 NW 122nd St., 606-3580, metrolibrary.org. TUE Let’s Talk About It, Oklahoma, book discussion series ending with The Sleepy Hollow Family Almanac by Kris D’Agostino; the story of a family with many problems and one son fighting to do the right thing, 7 p.m., Mar. 10. Oklahoma City University, 2501 N. Blackwelder Ave., 208-5000, okcu.edu. TUE

FILM Mystery Film Screening, blindly embrace an unadulterated cinematic experience, 8 p.m., Mar. 5. Dope Chapel, 115 S. Crawford Ave., Norman, (580) 917-3695, facebook.com/Dop3chapel. THU The Duke of Burgundy, (UK, 2014, dir. Peter Strickland) Cynthia, a wealthy woman who studies butterflies and moths and her newly hired housekeeper become lovers and when Cynthia wants something more conventional their relationship is threatened, 7:30 p.m., Mar. 5; 5:30 & 8 p.m., Mar. 6-7; 2 p.m., Mar. 8. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 236-3100, okcmoa.com. THU Ilo Ilo, (SG, 2013, dir. Anthony Chen) a mother becomes jealous when her troublesome son forms a friendship with their maid, 2 p.m., Mar. 8. Oklahoma City University, 2501 N. Blackwelder Ave., 208-5000, okcu.edu. SUN

Oklahoma City University (OCU) offers an advance screening of Ken Burns’ documentary, Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies, a story of science and the humans who defied the limitations of our bodies and minds. Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book by Siddhartha Mukherjee, the film covers cancer from its first appearance in fossils to the research of modern institutions. It shows at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Kerr McGee Theater in OCU’s Meinders School of Business, NW 26th St. For more info and to RSVP, visit oeta.tv/cancer or call 208-5000.

Thursday

HAPPENINGS

State Fairgrounds, 3001 General Pershing Blvd., okstatefair.com. SAT

Boots & Blues for Sight, a special night benefiting Prevent Blindness Oklahoma with a live DJ, wine and beer tastings, prizes and fun, 6-9 p.m., Mar. 5. IAO Art Gallery, 706 W. Sheridan Ave., 232-6060, iaogallery. org. THU

The Maiden Voyage: Belly Dance Spectacular, featuring talented belly dancers and surprise guests; live drummers, freestyle dance opportunities and refreshments, 8 p.m., Mar. 7. The Paramount OKC, 701 W. Sheridan Ave., 517-0787, theparamountokc.com. SAT

Terrarium Thursday, terrarium class walking you through the steps of creating your own succulent terrarium and provide you with the supplies to make on your own, 6:30-7:30 p.m., Mar. 5. The Plant Shoppe, 705 W. Sheridan Ave., 748-0718, plantshoppe.com. THU

Tuesday Topics, learn about the history of Bricktown with Steve Lackmeyer, noon, Mar. 10. Ronald J. Norick Downtown Library, 300 Park Ave., 231-8650, metrolibrary.org. TUE

31st Annual Omelette Party, an event benefiting the Oklahoma City Museum of Art and including egg dishes from your favorite chefs, live music, drinks, raffles and more, 7 p.m., Mar. 6. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 236-3100, okcmoa.com. FRI

FOOD Chocolate Festival, an event for chocolate lovers to enjoy many different chocolate treats; from candies to pies and cakes and much more, 6-8 p.m., Mar. 6. Mustang Town Center, 1201 N. Mustang Road, Mustang, 376-3411. FRI

Underground Monster Carnival, old-school carnival themed collector convention with prizes, costumes, exhibits, vendors and more, 1-9 p.m., Mar. 7. Oklahoma

Desperate Homicides, comedic mystery dinner, 6:309:30 p.m., Mar. 6. Ted’s Cafe Escondido, 2836 NW 68th St., 848-8337, tedscafe.com. FRI

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Live and Let Die, (US, 1964, dir. Guy Hamilton) James Bond comes to Tuesday Night Classics at Harkins, 7 p.m., Mar. 10. Harkins Theatre, 150 E. Reno Ave., 231-4747, harkinstheatres.com. TUE

Cancer: The Emperor of all Maladies

Green Tie Gala

Featuring a dinner, auctions and entertainment, the 33rd Annual Green Tie Gala raises funds for programs for homeless women and children through Catholic Charities’ Sanctuary Women’s Development Centers. For auction prizes, the event offers trips to Ireland and Cozumel, gift cards and Kendra Scott Jewelry. To end the evening, Souled Out will perform live music. The gala starts 6 p.m. Friday at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd St. Tickets are $200. All proceeds benefit the Holy Family Home and Sanctuary Women’s Development Center. Call 523-3009 or visit greentiegala.org.

Friday

14 | MARCH 4, 2015 | OKLAHOMA GAZETTE

The ABC’s of What You Eat: Broccoli, learn about the nutritional benefits of broccoli along with serving ideas; enjoy homemade cream of broccoli soup, 10 a.m., Mar. 10. Uptown Grocery Co., 1230 W. Covell Road, Edmond, 509-2700, uptowngroceryco.com. TUE

YOUTH The Delicious Delightful Vanilla Bean, learn about the amazing vanilla orchid and make homemade vanilla ice cream, 11 a.m.-noon, Mar. 5. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 445-7080, oklahomacitybotanicalgardens.com/events. THU Sesame Street Live: Let’s Dance, put on your dancing shoes and dance with your favorite Sesame Street friends, 10:30 a.m. & 6:30 p.m., Mar. 6; 10:30 a.m., 2 & 5:30 p.m., Mar. 7; 1 & 4:30 p.m., Mar. 8. Cox Convention Center, 1 Myriad Gardens, 602-8500, coxconventioncenter.com. FRI Bright Night of Grossology, an overnight adventure exploring why the human body produces mushy, oozy, crusty, scaly and stinky gunk, 7 p.m. Mar. 6- 7 a.m., Mar. 7. Science Museum Oklahoma, 2100 NE 52nd St., 6026664, sciencemuseumok.org. FRI Gorilla Dynamics, meet a zookeeper and learn about the gorillas; how they live, who’s who and who rules among the family, 2-3:30 p.m., Mar. 7. Oklahoma City Zoo, 2000 Remington Pl., 424-3344, okczoo.com. SAT

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OKC Auto Show Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nothing like the smell of engine grease and motor oil in the morning, and this weekend, both can blast your deserving nostrils. Visitors can drive a selection of Chrysler models, peruse 400 new cars and trucks and experience a distracted-driving simulator. Kids activities abound with opportunities to meet Thunder mascot Rumble, Sooner Blake Bell, Iron Man and Captain America, as well as win a free LEGO set and run amok in a play zone with a giant slide and obstacle course. A drawing to win a 2015 Chevy Colorado, 2015 Ford Fusion or 2015 Smart Passion Coupe will also be held. The show opens 10 a.m. Friday and continues through Sunday. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for children ages 7-12 and free for kids under 6. Visit okcautoshow.org.

Friday-Sunday Kids Trout Fish Out, trout fishing; prizes awarded for different fishing categories and a pancake breakfast, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Mar. 7. Robertson Activity Center, 1200 Lakeshore Drive, Yukon, 350-7680, cityofyukonok.gov. SAT

PEFORMING ARTS Flowers For Algernon, production based off the novel by Daniel Keyes; Charlie undergoes an experimental surgery that was performed on a mouse named Algernon which increased his intelligence and then regresses, Charlie fights to keep his progress and not have the same result as Algernon, 8 p.m., Mar. 5-7; 2:30 p.m., Mar. 8. Jewel Box Theatre, 3700 N. Walker Ave., 521-1786, jewelboxtheatre.org. THU-SUN So My Son Married His Boyfriend In Frogville, Buddy Bovine and Jasper Hallow Jr. plan to get married in the small town of Frogville since marriage equality passes in Oklahoma and all heck and panic ensues as they prepare for the big day, 8 p.m., Mar. 6-7. Actors Casting & Talent Services, 30 NE 52nd St., 702-0400, actorscasting.com. FRI-SAT La Cage aux Folles, flamboyant, sparkly and fun performance of the Tony and Oliver Awardwinning musical, 8 p.m., Mar. 6-7; 3 p.m., Mar. 8. Reynolds Performing Arts Center, 560 Parrington Oval, 325-4101, ou.edu. FRI-SUN CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

OKLAHOMA GAZETTE | MARCH 4, 2015 | 15

Eat .

continued

DRINK. BOWL. BOWLING LOUNGE

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Ignite Arts Festival Formerly known as the Spring Arts Festival, the Ignite Arts Festival exhibits multimedia work from student and professional musical and visual artists. Held in conjunction with Harding Fine Arts Academy’s Art Spark Youth Art Contest, the event includes beverage and food booths with fest fare such as Indian tacos, egg rolls and hot dogs. Art is available for purchase. The free festival opens 10 a.m. Saturday at the academy, 3333 N. Shartel Ave. For more information, call 702-4322.

Saturday Patti Lupone, Tony and Olivier Award Winner presents her new concert COULDA, WOULDA, SHOULDA... Played That Part in which she performs songs from musicals she could have played, should have played, did and will play, 8 p.m. Mar. 7. Oklahoma City Community College, 7777 S. May Ave., 682-1611, occc. edu. SAT

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Thursday, March 12th, 2015 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Norick Lounge | Meinders School of Business Graduate Admissions: 405.208.5094 | gadmissions@okcu.edu

ACTIVE Flamenco Workshop, workshop with Catalina RioFernandez to learn the Garrotin for beginners and experienced dancers, 5:45 p.m., Mar. 6; 3:30 p.m., Mar. 7; 3 p.m., Mar. 8. Everything Goes Dance, 1721 NW 16th St., 525-1000, everythinggoesdance.com. FRI Panera Beacon Run, 25K, 15K, and 5K run around Lake Hefner, 7:30 a.m., Mar. 7. Stars and Stripes Park, 3701 S. Lake Hefner Drive. SAT Zumbathon, a fun exercise event including four 30-minute sessions benefiting Bound4Glory and Beyond’s 2015 Prom Dress Giveaway Tour; all ages welcome, 10 a.m.-noon, Mar. 7. University of Central Oklahoma, 100 N. University Drive, Edmond, 9742000, uco.edu. SAT Strides of March Half Marathon & Dogwood Dash, half marathon or 5K benefiting OKC Metro Alliance’s Firststep program which helps those recover from substance abuse, 8 a.m., Mar. 8. Lake Stanley Draper, 8301 SE 104th St., www.okc.gov/lakes/draper.html. SUN OKC Blue vs. Santa Cruz Warriors, The Oklahoma City Thunder’s NBA D-League affiliate hosts the Santa Cruz Warriors, the D-League affiliate of the Golden State Warriors, 11 a.m., Mar. 10. Chesapeake Energy Arena, 100 W. Reno Ave., 602-8700, chesapeakearena.com. TUE

VISUAL ARTS Abstract Abstract, a group exhibition of small abstract paintings from eleven local, national and international artists. Mainsite Contemporary Art, 122 E. Main St., Norman, 360-1162, mainsite-art.com. Ansel Adams: Masterworks, a collection of 47 works by photographer Ansel Adams; nature, architecture, portraits and landscapes. National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd St., 478-2250, nationalcowboymuseum.org.

2501 N. Blackwelder | OKC | Register at okcu.edu/gradopenhouse 16 | MARCH 4, 2015 | OKLAHOMA GAZETTE

Art Part 2.0: Celebrating The Work of Tomoaki Orikasa, view Tomoaki’s many metal creations and his miniature Yolk Arts while enjoying beverages and hors d’oeuvres, 7:30-9:30 p.m., Mar. 7. Kasum Contemporary Fine Arts, 1706 NW 16th St., 604-6602, kasumcontemporary.com. SAT Chicanita on the Plains, new works by street and folk artist, Jeannette Herrera also known as BlueFaceKiller; she creates visual narratives using alla prima which marries her Peruvian heritage with street culture and personal experiences. Kasum Contemporary Fine Arts, 1706 NW 16th St., 604-6602, kasumcontemporary. com. Art: From My Family to Yours, Theresa Hurt brings together a unique offering of talent from her related family and her Pirates Alley family showcasing a stunning array of styles and talent from handmade journals to photography, abstract paintings, landscape works and more. In Your Eye Studio & Gallery, 3005-A Paseo St., 525-2161, inyoureyegallery.com. FOR/give, solo exhibition of Christie Hackler who uses enamel wall hangings and sculpture to focus on the beauty of letting go and setting free our pasts. The Project Box, 3003 Paseo St., 609-3969, theprojectboxokc.com. In the Spotlight: The Art of Linda Kukuk, exhibit of award-winning Choctaw artist Linda Kukuk who specializes in detailed watercolor and scratchwork drawings on black clayboard. Red Earth Museum, 6 Santa Fe Plaza, 427-5228, redearth.org. Intuitive Nature, artwork by local provocative abstract artist, Kevin Thomas whose work is intuitive in nature and explores positive and negative space. Jann Jeffrey Gallery, 3018 Paseo St., 607-0406. March Into Spring, spring exhibit to get you ready for warmer months ahead showcasing colorful Spring inspired paintings by gallery artists. Contemporary Art Gallery, 2928 Paseo St., 601-7474, contemporaryartgalleryokc.com. Megan Gerety and Jessica Lutz, March featured artists; Megan Geretly creates mixed media pieces representing nature while photographer Jessica Lutz is drawn to the raw landscapes of Texas. JRB Art at The Elms, 2810 N. Walker Ave., 528-6336, jrbartgallery. com. Momentum OKC 2015, multimedia event exhibiting some of the best Oklahoma artists ages thirty and younger presented by the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition, 7 p.m., Mar. 7-8; 2-7 p.m., Mar. 9-10. Farmers Public Market, 311 S. Klein Ave., 232-6506, okcfarmersmarket.com. SAT

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Myriad Pop-Ins Before the kids start tearing up the house, get them out and about by bringing them to Myriad Botanical Gardens’ spring break pop-in events. Participants can arrive at any time to join in on garden crafts, planting or scavenger hunting. While activities are free for members’ children, donations are appreciated. Pop-ins run 10 a.m. to noon Mondays and Wednesdays, March 9, 11, 16 and 18 at the Children’s Garden Porch, Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave. Visit oklahomacitybotanicalgardens.com or call 445-7080.

Monday, ongoing Monkey Do: New Works by Matt Goad, exhibit showcasing work from the graphic designer and illustrator who also specializes in woodcut printing. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 4457080, oklahomacitybotanicalgardens.com/events.

Ultimate Painting, a live competitive art event celebrating artistic talent; painters have 20 minutes to create their best work in three rounds while the audience chooses the winner; live music and beverages, 6:30 p.m., Mar. 5. Wine & Palette, 201 NW 10th St., 227-0230, wineandpalette.com. THU

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Opening Reception for D.G. Smalling, featured artist; style features South Eastern iconography with contemporary technique, 5-8 p.m., Mar. 6. Exhibit C, 1 E. Sheridan Ave., Ste. 100, 767-8900, chickasawcountry.com/explore/view/exhibit-c. FRI

Two Voices: Painter and Poet, artwork by Corizon Watkins, Carolyn Faseler and Betty Wood. Nesbitt Gallery, 1727 W. Alabama Ave., Chickasha, 416-3524, usao.edu/gallery/about.

Othello’s Comedy Classic After a month of qualifying clashes of wit and humor, the stakes are high for 20 comedians as they compete for laughs and a chance to headline a comedy show on the Las Vegas strip. The first-place winner of Friday’s final round gets a 15-minute spot and taping for four consecutive nights. The show starts 9 p.m. Friday at Othello’s Italian Restaurant, 434 Buchanan Ave., in Norman. There is no cover charge. Call 701-4900. For OKG

Friday

music picks see page 43

OKLAHOMA GAZETTE | MARCH 4, 2015 | 17

18 | MARCH 4, 2015 | OKLAHOMA GAZETTE

LIFE FOOD & DRINK

Drinking games If you are devoted enough to dress as your favorite movie or comic book character, you might as well drink the right drink as well.

BY GREG ELWELL

All dressed up and nothing to drink? Cosplayers go to great lengths to bring their characters to life with elaborate makeup and costumes. So why just have a beer or a glass of wine when it’s time to relax? For those cosplay fans who want to drink in character, we’ve come up with a few libations that stay true to their inspirations. SEE RELATED COVER STORY ON P. 30

Ingredients 2 1/2 oz. gin 1 tablespoon cocoa powder 2 tablespoon sugar Directions 1. Pour gin into a malt shaker or something similar. 2. Stir in the cocoa and sugar, mix together and shake. 3. Pour into a champagne flute glass and serve.

When the Crown Prince of Crime isn’t battling Batman, he’s usually locked up in Arkham Asylum, which brings to mind this classic mixed drink

Ingredients 1 1/2 oz. gin 1 1/2 oz. Pernod 1 teaspoon grenadine Directions 1. In a rocks or Old Fashioned glass,

build the grenadine, Pernod (or other anise-flavored liqueur) and gin, in that order; do not stir. 2. Gently add ice; watch as the cocktail changes colors. 3. Eventually drink. (cocktailchronicles.com)

in the comic books, a drug called venom gave Bane the power to break Batman’s back. In real life, these drinks might give you the power to breakdance.

Gamma rays gave the Hulk his green hue and raging strength. She-Hulk got her powers from a blood transfusion. But, still, a Gamma cocktail seems apropos.

Ingredients 1 part Blue curaçao 1 part Malibu Rum 2 parts pineapple juice Marshmallows Directions 1. Mix the liquids. 2. Place over a small glass of crushed ice. 3. Top with a single white Marshmallow for men or a single pink marshmallow for ladies. 4. Drink the drink first. Eat the marshmallow last (as it has then absorbed the alcohol).

Scale ingredients to servings Ingredients 1 oz licorice liqueur 1 oz Goldschlager® cinnamon schnapps 1 oz Jagermeister® herbal liqueur 1 oz Rumple Minze® peppermint liqueur 1/2 oz. grenadine syrup

Ingredients 1/2 oz. tequila 1/2 oz. Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey Directions 1. Shake with ice and strain into a shot glass.

Directions 1. Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker filled with ice cubes. 2. Shake well (until red-ish). 3. Serve into shot glasses as appropriate.

Credit: Melvin Lavallee

Pris, a replicant, came to Earth to try to extend her short four-year life span, but she had to avoid the Blade Runners who want to “retire” her. We get the feeling she (and you) might enjoy this version of the Blade Runner a little more. Ingredients 2 oz. of Bacardi Carta Blanca Rum 1/2 oz. Jamaican rum

2 1/2 oz. fresh pineapple juice 1/4 oz. simple syrup 2 dashes Angostura bitters 1/2 oz. fresh limejuice Directions 1. Shake all ingredients together with ice. 2. Strain into an ice filled glass. 3. Garnish with a pineapple wedge and a maraschino cherry.

OKLAHOMA GAZETTE | MARCH 4, 2015 | 19

Jim’s

Jim’s Diner

Dine

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iner

WEEKLY SPECIAL

LIFE FOOD & DRINK

Dog, gone

• breakfast • SPICY CHICKEN FAJITA OMELETE WITH CHOICE OF POTATO & BREAD...$7.99

Nobody makes ’em finer than Mighty Dog makes ’em.

• Lunch • CHICKEN SPINACH SALAD...$8.49

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Mighty Dog

faces or arms and are not technically alive. 2216 N. Portland Ave. | 436-9795 And like so many things that aren’t technically alive, I WHAT WORKS: Hot dogs and hot links, specifically those covered in chili. ate those hot dogs. And they were pretty good. WHAT NEEDS WORK: The hamburgers are kind of blandburgers. The best of the bunch is the eponymous Mighty TIP: Traffic on Portland moves fast, so watch yourself pulling out. Dog ($2.75, or $4.99 with a drink and side), which To be honest, it was the logo as much is an all-beef hot dog grilled to give as anything that got me in the door. diners that perfect snap when they Hot dogs are a hard sell around bite in. On top: chili, cheese, onions here because everyone thinks they and mustard (if you love America) can make one. Specialty dogs can or ketchup (if you have given up on be a draw, and there’s nothing like a happiness). grilled dog purchased from a street Could you make a chili cheese dog vendor after a night of liver-pickling at home? Probably. But then you have to fun, but the classic diner dog has not make chili. And grill hot dogs. And buy caught on around these parts nearly as buns (which come in a package with successfully as, say, hamburger stands a different number of buns than you and taquerias. have hot dogs). And, frankly, wouldn’t But there’s something about that you rather let a professional do this for smiling, waving hot dog at Mighty you? Add some hot sauce. Let the whole Dog, 2216 N. Portland Ave., that gets thing steam and melt inside the foil me. He knows. Look into those eyes. wrapper. Embrace the comfort. He knows what’s coming: a searingFor more flavor, hot grill; a snug bun blanket; and you can go for a then a slathering of salves Polish dog or a like mustard, chili and hot link ($3.49), coleslaw. which add a bit of And then. spice and kick to the And then. He normal hot dog spice knows. But he’s blend. still smiling and The slaw beckoning you dog is a in. Why are you pretty so calm about this, brilliant Mighty Dog?! creation Why won’t you (though quite save yourself?! different from After going the kind frequently inside and talking found in El Reno’s with the nice lady thriving Onion behind the counter, Burger District). I found out the reason This coleslaw he’s not panicking is that is much more he’s just a cartoon character. mayo-centric, Real hot dogs don’t have but with a

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A chili dog, Frito chili pie and a root beer goes down fine at Mighty Dog. lovely cool crunch that sweetly plays against the heat of the chili and the tender texture of the Schwab hot dog. I would like to say nice things about the cheeseburger ($5.99 with fries and a drink), but “Well, it was OK” is about as far as I can go. This burger could use a little more seasoning and a little more care on the grill to keep the patty tender. Better was the Frito chili pie ($3.99), which covers Fritos (you’ve seen them) with the same chili they use on the hot dogs (meaty and delicious) and tops the whole mess with shredded cheese and onions. The grease from the chili starts to soak into the chips after a little while, and I know that doesn’t seem like a good thing, but it absolutely is. That’s flavor country, friends. Many of the combos come with a choice of sides, including potato salad and potato chips. As a fan of a good, homemade, delicious potato salad, I would recommend you get a bag of potato chips. If you find yourself parched by all these chips and hot dogs and the like, might I point you toward a bottle of root beer? Mighty Dog has a few smaller brands, and they’re all pretty delightful. Mighty Dog is kind of a ramshackle old building from the outside, but they keep it nice and clean in the dining room. And there’s that hot dog, man, just waving at you without a care in the world. I know you’re not real, Mighty Dog, but I still want to know your secrets. Why are you so happy? Is it because you’re not wearing pants? I guess I’ll just keep eating hot dogs until I find out.

Home brew

M A RK HA N COC K / FI L E

Tim Schoelen

With a new agreement, Mustang Brewing Company moves all its operations back into the state, which means we’ll get its distinctive drinks faster. BY GREG HORTON

Mustang Brewing Company has entered into an agreement with Krebs Brewing Company, the maker of Choc beers, to bring all of Mustang’s brewing operations to Oklahoma. Mustang purchased OKCity Brewing Cooperative in 2013 for the purpose of relocating all brewing operations to that location. However, the facility was completely destroyed by the tornado that hit the metro in May 2013. Mustang founder and president Tim Schoelen rebuilt the operation. In 2014, he opened a new office and facility at 520 N. Meridian Ave. Right now, Mustang’s kegs and bombers are produced at the Meridian facility, so the new agreement with Krebs will move the brewing and bottling process for all other beer products to the tiny town of Krebs in Pittsburg County. “Zach Prichard [president of Krebs Brewing Company] and I have discussed moving the operation to Krebs a few times over the years, but the production was never sufficient for Choc and Mustang,” Schoelen said. “Now that Krebs has expanded its operation, there is room for both.” Schoelen said he believes the new partnership will have an immediate effect on Oklahoma’s economy in terms of production and jobs, but it will also mean his products will get to the stores and bars faster. “This was the plan all along,” Schoelen said. “The tornado just set us back a bit.” Mustang now produces 15 beers plus regular limited releases throughout the year. To celebrate the new partnership,

Mustang will release four of its Unbridled Series beers in April and May, all of which will be brewed and bottled in Krebs. “Our first releases from Krebs will be the Rocket Fuel IPA and the Strawshitaw Wheat, a strawberry wheat version of our gold medalwinning Washita Wheat,” Schoelen said. “Those will be in April. In May, we’ll release our Farmhouse and the Tractor Therapy [Session] IPA.” Mustang also has two year-round beers, but brewing in Oklahoma will make it possible to produce four or five year-round beers, he said. All Mustang beers, even those made at the Krebs facility, will be produced by Mustang’s brewers. Since the tornado, all of Mustang’s 12-ounce bottles have been brewed and bottled at Stevens Point Brewery in Wisconsin. Schoelen said he worked with Point even before the devastating storm, but the new arrangement makes it possible for all of Mustang’s products to move here. Schoelen said he sees no reason to relocate his entire operation to Oklahoma City anytime in the near future though. “We like this arrangement very much,” Schoelen said. Krebs has a high-capacity bottling operation, meaning that Mustang won’t need to purchase even more equipment. Currently, Mustang doesn’t sell its brews in cans, and it doesn’t plan to, at least not now, Schoelen said. “I like the cooperative spirit among craft brewers in this state. It’s good for craft beer, good for beer drinkers and good for the state,” he said. “I see no reason this relationship cannot continue indefinitely.”

OKLAHOMA GAZETTE | MARCH 4, 2015 | 21

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In preparation for the upcoming Faberge: Jewelers to the Tsars exhibit at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, gourmands and art lovers unite for the 31st annual Omelette Party 7 p.m.-midnight Friday at Chevy Bricktown Events Center, 429 E. California Ave. EGGsquisite House of FabergEGG is this year’s iteration of the event, which blends fine art and fine food. As always, the Omelette Party features gourmet egg dishes and omelets prepared by local chefs, along with live music and entertainment. Proceeds benefit the museum’s exhibits and programs and fund the expansion of the permanent collection. Stars and DJ Brian Smith will perform, and there’s an art raffle with works from more than 50 local artists. Tickets for the 21-and-over party are $100 for museum members and $125 for non-members and must be purchased in advance. Find tickets and learn more at okcmoa.com or call 236-3100 ext. 237. The museum’s Faberge: Jewelers to the Tsars exhibit opens to the public in June.

Important information about the educational debt, earnings, and completion rates of students who attended the programs at Platt College, visit http://www.plattcolleges.edu/content/program-disclosures. Licensed by: OBPVS. Programs vary by campus.

None 222 soon

La Luna wheels Venerable downtown restaurant La Luna Mexican Cafe will close its doors on April 11, said owner Cindy Cabrera. A longtime fixture at 409 W. Reno Ave., the business was founded by Cabrera’s stepfather 21 years ago. She bought it from him in 1988. Watching the revitalization of the area is exciting, she said, but it also set a countdown for the restaurant. “There have been plans to develop this property for a while,” she said. “That’s why I bought the Newcastle location (La Luna Cantina and Grill) three years ago.” It’s located at 2812 Highway 62 Access Road in Newcastle. Closing now allows Cabrera to exit on her own terms, but La Luna won’t disappear from Oklahoma City. The restaurant will continue catering and appearing via food truck at The Bleu Garten and special events. “I’m looking forward to focusing on the food truck. It’s a lot of fun, but it’s hard to do when I have the restaurant around my neck,” she said. “But first I’m going to spend some time relaxing.”

22 | MARCH 4, 2015 | OKLAHOMA GAZETTE

Room 222 at the Brick is opening. “Officially, I can say it’s coming soon,” said Mardy Bliss, general manager. Owners want the space at 222 E. Sheridan Ave. to become OKC’s premier lounge spot by bringing comfort and style to customers. Everything on the menu — appetizers, salads, entrees and desserts — is paired with wines and other beverages to make it easy for patrons to sit back and relax. A mixologist is developing signature cocktails as well. “We have a riesling pizza that pairs with a riesling wine,” Bliss said. “Same with our hamburgers. Whether they come in for just an appetizer or for a full meal, we want to provide a pleasant experience.” Though it will have live music and a DJ, there won’t be techno music or headbanging. Customers can dance or sit and talk comfortably, Bliss said. In addition to the lounge area, Room 222 hopes to dazzle diners with what Bliss calls the largest quartz bar in Oklahoma. “It’s the first thing you see when you walk in,” he said.

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This Machine

Due to popular demand, Marshall Brewing brings back its This Machine IPA celebrating Woody Guthrie.

BY GREG HORTON

Marshall Brewing Company’s This Machine IPA was meant to be a one-off beer, according to Wes Alexander, director of sales for the Tulsa-based brewery. The beer was made in conjunction with the Woody Guthrie Center’s move to downtown Tulsa several years ago. “At the time, the museum approached us to do a special batch in honor of the move, and of course, we were thrilled to do something to honor one of our state’s favorite sons,” Alexander said. Eric Marshall, founder and brewmaster, opted for a Belgian-style India pale ale for the special batch. They also wanted to use a name that would resonate with fans of Oklahoma-born folk activist and music legend Woody Guthrie and pay tribute to his lyrics and vision. Marshall reached out to the Woody Guthrie Foundation in Mt. Kisco, New York, an organization headed by Guthrie’s daughter Nora. “It was important to Eric that he get her permission to use the name ‘This Machine,’” Alexander said. “She agreed to let us use that one as well as ‘Bound for Glory,’ another IPA we produced in a limited batch.” Both the names are familiar phrases to Woody Guthrie fans. This Machine comes from a sticker on his guitar: “This Machine Kills Fascists.” Bound for Glory is part of the title and lyrics to his popular song “This Train is Bound for Glory.” The first batch of This Machine sold so fast that Alexander said he knew he was onto something good. Marshall did a second version of the beer that was aged in whiskey barrels, but its newest

This Machine IPA, shot at Classics Bar & Grill in Oklahoma City. iteration returns to the simple Belgian IPA style. This Machine might not have enough hops for some IPA fans, but it’s a very well-done, balanced beer, and that balance leads to one of Marshall’s main philosophies. “We want to do fun, out-of-thebox things,” Alexander said. “But the foundation of our beers is drinkability.” This Machine is absolutely drinkable, even approachable for people who are not necessarily fans of the heavily hopped IPAs that flooded the craft beer market in recent years. The hops are here, but they’re a component of the beer, not its star. The trend seems to be growing; another local brewery, Anthem Brewing Company, based in Oklahoma City, also recently released a very balanced IPA. Anthem IPA debuted in January, and brewer Pat Lively said he wanted beer that doesn’t blast the palate. “The industry has taken a kind of slingshot approach to hops and IPA over the past few years, as if they wanted to see just how far they could go,” Lively said. The bitterness that IPA fans crave is present, but again, as with the This Machine, it is one note among many. Anthem’s is bright with citrus and floral flavors, and it is refreshingly dry and light enough to have a few in one sitting. Both Anthem and This Machine are available at TapWerks Ale House, 121 E. Sheridan Ave., and Oak & Ore, 1732 NW 16th St. Classics Bar & Grill, 8310 N. Western Ave., also carries This Machine.

MARCH 30 & 31, 2015 The ANIMAL Conference is an open forum designed to convene, discuss, network, and learn about the important issues facing animals in Oklahoma and beyond. Skirvin-Hilton Hotel in Oklahoma City

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OKLAHOMA GAZETTE | MARCH 4, 2015 | 23

Drink quirky You can get a beer almost anywhere, but for an experience, you need a bar. Here are some of OKC’s quirkiest and most interesting watering holes. — By Greg Elwell Photos by Mark Hancock and Garett Fisbeck

Wilshire Gun

Cookie’s

Groovy’s

615 W. Wilshire Blvd.

2304 N. Western Ave.

5705 Mosteller Drive

wilshiregun.com

521-9004

842-9248

If you’re a star without a stage, then take a friend and head to Cookie’s, where karaoke is on the menu every night. Or maybe don’t take a friend — the bar only holds about 50 people, and that’s packing them in like singing sardines. While the bar is full-service, it does not, sadly, serve actual cookies.

Please look behind you. Is there a groove thing attached? If you answered yes, please report to Groovy’s, where the dance floors are full of rump-shakers and hot-steppers. With a soundtrack that ranges from the ’70s to the ’90s, it’s popular with a slightly more mature demographic but welcomes anybody looking to dance the night away.

608-4999

Get locked and then loaded at Wilshire Gun, which combines all the fun of firearms and firewater under one roof. If the prospect of tipsy trigger fingers worries you, the owners have that figured out. All guns are locked up before drinks are poured, and an ID scan means once the bottle is popped, pistols are done popping for the rest of the day.

1221 NORTH 50TH, OKC 405-843-1722

WWW.HILOOKC.COM

24 | MARCH 4, 2015 | OKLAHOMA GAZETTE

Alibis

So Fine Eatery & Pub

1200 N. Pennsylvania Ave.

733 NW Fourth St.

605-3795

236-2222

Moonshiners Music House 119 E. California Ave

Wilshire Club 2917 W. Wilshire Blvd. 842-9151

moonshinersokc.com

Alibis serves a diverse crowd, which means there’s a little something for everyone. Or a lot of something if you order one of its famous Seven Deadly Sins Fish Bowls. At 80 oz., these are definitely drinks meant to share. If bar games are your thing, try your hand at beer pong on Monday nights.

There are plenty of characters at So Fine Eatery & Pub, but none quite so ornery as owner Larry Jenkins. The veteran barman has a thousand stories to tell, though they might be hard to hear once the karaoke starts or fans gather to watch a Thunder game. And keep your eye on its Twitter feed (@SoFineOKC) to find out when the next limbo contest begins.

SPRING INTO A MONTH OF GREAT LIVE MUSIC AT GRANDAD’S!

Friday, March 6 Saturday, March 7 Thursday, March 12 Friday, March 13 Saturday, March 14 Friday, March 20 Saturday, March 21 Thursday, March 26 Friday, March 27 Saturday, March 28

Brad Fielder (8:00) • TJ Mayes (10:00) Tanner Miller (8:00) • The Brass Beats (10:00) Kyle Reid and the Low Swingin’ Chariots (9:00) Andy Adams (8:00) • Butch Cavendish (10:00) Barrel House String Band (10:00) Tom Marshall (8:00) • Erik the Viking and friends (10:00) Carter Sampson (8:00) • Joe Mack and the Macktet (10:00) Cherokee Maidens (9:00) Robert Banta (8:00) • Hosty Duo (10:00) Rock ‘n Roll Camp for Girls Fundraiser A night of all-girl bands and ladies arm wrestling!

And don’t forget Choir Practice with Buffalo Rogers every Wednesday at 9:00 and Family Game Night every Thursday at 6:30! Lineup subject to a change of season.

235-7625

Live music fans will love aptly named Moonshiners Music House, where the walls are shaking with a steady stream of up-and-coming country acts. Open Thursday through Saturday (and into the wee hours of Sunday), this raucous dancehall serves up food from Hooters and drinks that would make a mountain man swoon

If you’re looking for a daiquiri, keep going. Wilshire Club is an old-school, cash-only bar that has been in the same family since 1958. There are no “blender frou-frou” drinks on the premises, but if you’re looking for a place to play pool, smoke and dance to the jukebox, it has got you covered.

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OKLAHOMA GAZETTE | MARCH 4, 2015 | 25

Bottoms up, y’all

Wig Sale!

Getting your higher point alcoholic beverage in Oklahoma might be a bit cumbersome thanks to the state’s antiquated liquor laws. We can’t buy vodka after 9 p.m. or on Sundays, just to name a few of the restrictions. However, to make your venture for bourbon (or anything with more than 3.2 percent alcohol) less annoying, here are a few places to help you find your fix. Now the only real hassle left for you might be navigating through a hangover and that stabbing lump of regret. — By Kory B. Oswald

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Pancho’s Liquor Town 6801 N. MERIDIAN AVE. 721-7351

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Pancho’s cares about its patrons. It has been family-owned and operated since September 1959, and Joyce Shadid, the matron of the family, still takes care of the store with the help of her daughter, her son-in-law and her grandson. Pancho’s — named after the patriarch who died in 2010 — boasts a dedicated 4,000 feet of space to their wine selection, more than 50 single-malt scotches and small-batch bourbons. And they try their hardest to keep their prices as low as possible, manager Brenda Wilson said. Pancho’s Liquor Town offers senior discounts every Tuesday and Lady’s Day discounts every Thursday. On those days, qualifying patrons receive 12 percent off any wine and 5 percent off of any beer. The store also offers party consultation, so if you need help deciding how much booze you need for your bat mitzvah or wedding, just ask the owners. The Wine Gallery 12000 S. WESTERN AVE. 735-8700

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Adam Duffy, owner-operator of The Wine Gallery, personally researches the wine selection that is available in Oklahoma. He spends a great portion of his time reading magazines and online sources to find his wine selection. The Bourbon and Scotch selection at the store is huge, with more than 100 craft whiskeys that retail for more than $30. Duffy also provides a pick six that allows patrons to choose what their six-pack is made of so they don’t have to risk buying beer that they don’t care for. Andy’s Liquor Store 2720 S. MIDWEST BLVD. 737-5085

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Serving Midwest City since Prohibition ended in 1959, this package store specializes in customer service. Andy’s is currently selling half pints of Hornitos tequila for half price ($3.99) and has specials on Jose Cuervo Cinge half

gallons for $20. The store has a running special of 10 percent off any case of wine and 5 percent off any case of liquor. Get your Irish beer and whiskey at a discounted price for St. Patrick’s Day. In Good Spirits 12233 N. COUNCIL ROAD 470-5819

In the spirit of good booze and great times, In Good Spirits wants its patrons to have an experience they won’t forget when they come to the store. With a helpful and friendly staff, the store offers more than 700 wines and 50 local and domestic craft beers. It’s offering 15 percent off any wine through March.

It also holds wine tastings and 12 new scotches. It also takes requests; if there is something you need that they don’t keep in stock, just ask and they will get it for you.

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Broadway Wine Merchants

to your twitter feed.

824 N. BROADWAY AVE. BROADWAYWINEMERCHANTS.COM 231-0031

Artisanal drinks abound at Broadway Wine Merchants. Located in downtown OKC, this 3,500-square-foot package store focuses on offerings from smallproduction wine and spirit facilities that have less than 1,000 case productions. This means that more obscure beverages can be found there. The store offers 650 different craft beers, from local to domestic and international breweries. The store has around 70 different bourbons and more than 100 different scotches in stock. Modern Liquors 2918 N. PENNSYLVANIA AVE.

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528-6995

This family-owned liquor depot was once a grocery store but has been selling nothing but booze for more than 30 years. It offers more than 200 brands of brews and 1,000 types of wine. The abundance has the little shop crammed from floor to ceiling with bottles of social lubricant. To remedy the tight space, the family behind Modern Liquors is looking to expand its shop.

think & DRINK is a series of hosted conversations in local pubs on provocative topics and new ideas. Event entry fee is on us - drinks are on you! Presented by the Oklahoma Humanities Council

FEATURING • Ryan Kiesel: Executive Director @ The OK ACLU • Matt Gile: Associate @ Hall Estill Law Firm

Sean’s Wine & Spirits 6969 NORTHWEST EXPRESSWAY

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Every Tuesday, this 18,000-squarefoot panacea of social engagements has 20 percent off of every bottle of regularly priced wine. It also has special craft beer and a large selection of regular beer. The store singles out its beer packages so customers can try the beer without having to fully commit to a sixpack. With the largest beer wall in the state, you can find the beer you know and love while also experimenting.

• More info @ThinkAndDrinkOk #ThinkAndDrinkOk

www.shopbowandarrow.com 617 N. Broadway Ave. • 601-0605 Hours: Mon-Fri 11-6 • Sat 11-4 OKLAHOMA GAZETTE | MARCH 4, 2015 | 27

GA ZE T T E STA FF / FI L E

LIFE NONPROFIT

Even Redder Oklahoma AIDS Care Fund’s annual fundraising gala is set for Saturday.

Kim and Brad Henry

BY ZACH JACOBS

Red Tie Night 6 p.m. Saturday Grand Ballroom Cox Convention Center 1 Myriad Gardens okaidscarefund.com 348-6600 $350

A special time of year is here upon us in Oklahoma. (No, it’s not the start of football season.) Every year since 1992, members and friends of the Oklahoma AIDS Care Fund (OACF) have come together for a fundraiser to combat HIV and AIDS in Oklahoma.

Fun fundraising

As with every year’s gala, fun, food, music and live and silent auctions are on the list of events. Previous years’ galas have included appearances by lawmakers, professional athletes and local and national celebrities. More than 650 people have purchased tickets to the gala. Gov. Mary Fallin, Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett and University of Oklahoma football coaches Barry Switzer and Bob Stoops are annual attendees. Mary Deane Streich, co-chair of this year’s gala, said this year’s entertainment includes Las Vegas-based Simon Winthrop, an award-winning magician and World Champion of Magic. But there’s always dancing. Streich said Dr. Larry “T-Byrd” Gordon & The Music People Luv Orchestra, who are returning to provide musical entertainment, plan to get the gala’s attendees out of their seats and give them a chance to work off the fancy dinner they’ve just eaten.

28 | MARCH 4, 2015 | OKLAHOMA GAZETTE

Seriously entertaining

There are obviously different motives for getting locals to open their wallets to buy tickets for the gala or bid on unique items in a silent auction. Streich said the gala’s proceeds not only comprise 100 percent of the nonprofit group’s annual operating budget but also benefit 17 programs across the state that offer education, emergency assistance and prevention aimed to fight HIV/AIDS in Oklahoma. Since its inception, OACF’s Red Tie Night galas have raised more than $11 million. Streich said last year, OACF distributed $600,000 to fund 15 HIV/ AIDS projects as a result of Red Tie Night. And while those numbers might be impressive, OACF stretches its dollars as efficiently as possible. According to its website, a $10 donation buys a 20-minute HIV test, while $300 will pay a month’s rent or the deposit for a person suffering from HIV/AIDS complications. OACF also operates several statewide programs aimed to prevent the disease and help Oklahomans with HIV/ AIDS and their families. Its Emergency Assistance Program helps HIV/ AIDS-affected Oklahomans who find themselves in an emergency financial situation. Its education and testing programs provide free and confidential HIV/AIDS and STD tests. And its HIV networking luncheons, which take place six times per year at the American Red Cross building in Oklahoma City, are designed to advance community collaboration and information-sharing among HIV/AIDS service partners. OACF’s support dovetails with state and federal programs for HIV/ AIDS prevention and education media campaigns, grant programs for HIV service agencies across the state and the

Oklahoma Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS (HOPWA) program.

Life sentence

According to an Oklahoma State Department of Health profile, the number of HIV and AIDS-related deaths in 1990 — the year before OACF was founded — was slightly less than 150. In four years’ time, that number skyrocketed to more than 300 deaths. However, by 1997, the HIV/ AIDS mortality rate in Oklahoma had decreased to about 150 per year again and has slowly but surely decreased since then. Dr. David Chansolme, OACF’s board vice president and a medical doctor who treats HIV/AIDS patients, chalks up that mortality rate decrease to a shift in public thinking over time, something he said OACF strongly supports. Years ago, he said, an HIV-positive diagnosis was a death sentence, but despite HIV/AIDS being “the same disease as it was 30 years ago,” education was one of the strongest ways to help fight the disease — it is now one of OACF’s greatest challenges. He acknowledged the two-edged sword that is AIDS and HIV education: While “it’s not as stigmatized” anymore, younger generations don’t remember the scare HIV/AIDS had at one point. “We’ve come a long way to get there,” he said. Chansolme also said that OACF and its partner groups identify HIV/AIDS patients earlier and place them into systems of care sooner, something he said has driven care from more inpatient in nature to more outpatient overall. All of these efforts take caring volunteers and donors, which is, once again, where Red Tie Night comes in.

23 years

The first Red Tie Night gala netted $84,000, which was distributed to a small group of HIV/AIDS health and medical agencies in Oklahoma. But since 2006, each annual gala’s proceeds have exceeded $1 million per year. Streich says OACF hopes to continue the $1 million-plus trend this year through its ticket sales and auction. She said that, despite the economic downturn of the past few years, OACF has provided services “that wouldn’t happen if the money [it] raised hadn’t been put back into the community.” Individual ticket prices begin at $350 each, which Streich said includes attendance to the event, a steak-andshrimp banquet dinner and an open fullservice bar. Streich said the bar will be serving a new signature cocktail, a tasty cranberry mojito, this year. However, if you can’t get your tuxedo or evening gown ready in time for Red Tie Night or find formal wear a bit too stuffy, you can still help OACF continue its mission to fight HIV/AIDS through prevention, education and helping those affected through monetary donations online. Streich said the bottom line about the Red Tie Night Gala is people having fun, serious fun, that benefits people with HIV/AIDS across the state. Part of the event is keeping people aware that “HIV is still a problem;” keeping the public vigilant about the disease will help keep it from becoming a bigger problem, Chansolme said. For more information on the event or to donate to the Oklahoma AIDS Care Fund or purchase tickets to the 2015 Red Tie Night gala, visit okaidscarefund.com.

LIFE RELIGION

Southern discomfort Baptists will converge to discuss same-sex marriage and a new way to address it while still maintaining their belief that it is a sin. BY GREG HORTON

6:30 p.m.-9 p.m. Monday and 7:45 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Tuesday Quail Springs Baptist Church 14613 N. May Ave. bgco.org 752-2965 $40-$50

Southern Baptists in Oklahoma will gather at Quail Springs Baptist Church this month to hear denominational leaders discuss how churches should respond to legalized same-sex marriage. The Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma (BGCO), the state organization of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), is sponsoring the two-day meeting called The Gospel, Sexuality & the Church. As part of the event, keynote messages will be given by Al Mohler and Russell Moore. Mohler is the president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, and a frequent speaker and writer on cultural issues. Moore is the executive director of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, a role that makes him the chief ethicist for the denomination. Brian Hobbs, the director of communication for the BGCO, said the conference will be similar in some ways to a national event sponsored by the SBC in 2014. “Our hope is to lead our churches and their members to embrace biblical standards of sexuality and respond to others, including those who may disagree with us, with kindness and conviction,” Hobbs said. Kindness is a theme of the SBC’s approach to the issue of legal samesex marriage. When federal judges started ruling state marriage bans unconstitutional, conservative Christian denominations were suddenly forced to deal with a new cultural reality in which their traditional message against same-sex marriage no longer has the force of law. For several years, Moore has been saying that same-sex marriage is coming to the “red states,” a message he believes many Christians simply were not ready to believe. Now that legal same-sex marriage has arrived, Moore is helping craft the

Southern Baptist response. Moore said that he is encouraging Baptists to use “convictional kindness” in their dealings with others. “The goal of convictional kindness is to respond with truth and grace,” Moore said. Moore’s tone and approach was a welcome change to many Baptists who were concerned that the stridency sometimes associated with cultural disputes was effectively alienating the exact people Baptists were trying to reach. “As Baptists, we believe the goal is not just to be heard but to call people to reconciliation,” Moore said. “The anger we have often seen in the cultural battle comes from a siege mentality, a fear of losing something, but Christians ought not be afraid.” Mohler concurs with much of what Moore said, and the two have designed their keynote addresses specifically to help Baptist ministers — although Hobbs said anyone is welcome to register for the event, especially pastors from other denominations. Mohler, too, laments much of the tone the controversy has generated. “The truth is that we have been guilty of speaking about this as if it is someone else’s struggle,” Mohler said. “We erred in speaking as if this affects people a long way from us, but the truth is that people in our churches are struggling. This is our struggle, too.” Mohler helps train Baptist ministers at Southern Seminary, and he wants to help equip them to talk to people with whom they disagree in a loving manner. “We make a grave error if we speak like we are speaking from a platform of moral superiority,” Mohler said. Mohler said he is telling pastors and Christians who have engaged in the “culture war” with this sense of moral superiority or fear and anger to repent for having dealt with people wrongly. He, too, emphasizes the idea of care or kindness. He encourages pastors and seminary students to be comfortable speaking to people irrespective of their sexual orientation, and here Mohler lists an array of sins with which pastors should also be comfortable. The point is that the role of a minister is to treat all people as sinners and prefer no sins above others. Still, he is not naive about how the message of so-called biblical

Al Mohler

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The Gospel, Sexuality & the Church

sexuality will be received by those who do not agree. “No matter how kindly we say it, many will not accept it as compassionate or caring,” Mohler said. The disconnect will occur for many people, Christians included, with the insistence that biblical marriage means one man and one woman or that the government should ban samesex marriage. The nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute released polling data that shows approximately a quarter of self-identified Evangelical Christians support same-sex marriage, and researchers at Baylor University (a Southern Baptist university) reported that another quarter do not support efforts to ban same-sex marriage. The numbers are deeply skewed when age is taken into account, as opposition to same-sex marriage increases with the age of those polled. Mohler and Moore are attempting to craft the SBC’s response and communicate it to an audience whose support for banning same-sex marriage decreases every decade. Both Moore and Mohler insist that the role of the minister is not to back down from what they call a biblical position, even as they believe Christians must find better, gentler ways to communicate. “This is not a new sexual revolution,” Mohler said. “We must not be afraid to be honest about what we believe the Bible says about these issues. The sexual revolution did not start with federal judges in 2014; it has been going on for decades, and no one on either side yet knows where it is heading.”

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OKLAHOMA GAZETTE | MARCH 4, 2015 | 29

Frightful

Blaine Ross as Bane Grimm and Josh Guilbault as The Joker

From out of the darkness, the Underground Monster Carnival makes its annual appearance. BY LOUIS FOWLER

Underground Monster Carnival 1 p.m.-9 p.m. Saturday Hobbies, Arts and Crafts Building State Fair Park 3001 General Pershing Blvd. undergroundmonstercarnival.com $0-$11

It’s creepy. It’s kooky. And it is most definitely ooky. For the fourth year, it’s the return of the Underground Monster Carnival, the only Oklahomabased horror convention that promises thrills and chills for the whole family, Addams or otherwise. Curated by lifelong horror fans Art and Stephanie Sunday, proprietors of the Plaza District’s cabinet of curiosities known as Dig It!, the festival has continued to grow every year, feeding on the fear-driven fun of the spook show-loving masses that continue to discover what lurks beyond the gates of the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds. This year’s festival is set to be the largest gathering ever, an “old-school carnival-themed convention” loaded with costumes, vendors, exhibits and workshops, panels and much more. Originating from a series of Underground Horror Fests the Sundays concocted in Tulsa, what started off as a way for like-minded individuals to exhibit their freaky wares has now transformed into an annual celebration that Art likens to a “family reunion.” “Originally, it was going to be horror-themed, handcrafted, handmade goods, local actors, writers and film people just getting together, getting to know each other,” Sunday said. “I changed it because I got a lot of sci-fi

30 | MARCH 4, 2015 | OKLAHOMA GAZETTE

fans, a lot of rockabilly, steampunk, so many different genres wanting to be included, that I just felt the word monster was kind of like a variety of things in pop-culture realms.” The 2015 Underground Monster Carnival is Saturday at the Hobbies, Arts and Crafts Building at State Fair Park, 3001 General Pershing Blvd. While the first few get-togethers were held in standalone venues, the event had reached such a level of popularity that Sunday eventually moved to a much larger space, the fairgrounds being the perfect atmosphere for the aura of terror he was trying to create, complete with the essence of cotton candy and nachos. With a feel that’s more Famous Monsters than Fangoria, last year’s attendance was three times the attendance of the first year. Sunday attributes this to the fact that, unlike many horror conventions, the Monster Carnival is a mostly family-based affair, allowing horror-fanatic parents to share their love of the genre with their offspring. “It’s kid-friendly, based on a family who’d let their kids watch The Goonies or Gremlins,” Sunday said. “One of the things that have made it so popular is that there’s a lot of cosplayers — more adults than children, every year — and the adults always tend to want to dress more scifi, like Star Wars or Doctor Who.”

Scary Monsters

Cosplay — the act of wearing costumes to either create or pay tribute to a character in a participant’s favorite

M A R K HA N COC K

COVER VISUAL ARTS

It’s a really good way for horror fans to get together and realize that they are not alone.

NOW OPEN ♦

— Harold Neal events, women are definitely at the forefront, so the female presence I feel here is very strong.” From crafting costumes to crafting masks, the monster makeup workshops are also a big draw. This year, local special effects maven Dave Richmond brings his Tom Savini-taught talents to the show, designing zombie and Frankenstein’s monster makeups for the monstrous masses. One of the reasons he’s proud to present his work here is to inspire the next generation of makeup artists and prove that one doesn’t need to disappear to Hollywood to have a career in the industry. He noted the current rise in homegrown productions like the recent award-winning horror flick Army of Frankensteins as proof. “There’s just a lot of stuff that goes on here in this state. A couple of guys that have actually started effects houses have progressed and are doing a lot of effects for a lot of local filmmakers, with the freedom to spend their days devoted to it,” Richmond said. A friend of the Sundays, Richmond has seen the Underground Monster Carnival grow and believes that, with the continued support of the community, it could be the premier horror convention in the area, expanding to two or three more days and bringing in fans and revenue from across the country, thanks to the

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Art Sunday left and Brian Berlin get pumped for the Underground Monster Carnival. Sunday started the Underground Monster Carnival with his wife, Stephanie. MARK HANCOCK

genre — is the lifeblood of the Underground Monster Carnival, and everyone who attends is encouraged to dress up and play along. There are even a couple of prize-laden costume contests thrown in as an added bonus. It has become so popular, in fact, that it was one of the reasons the Sundays decided to add a wide array of panels to the proceedings. They’re organized by local veteran cosplayer Ashley King, who, in addition to bringing together discussion groups on a wide array of topics, will be heading her own panel, Costuming 101. “It’s going to be a basic rundown of how to develop, create and work on your own costumes or cosplay based on existing designs,” King said. “I’ve been to a lot of different conventions and events, and I find that panels at events like this definitely help to create a better sense of community because it does allow people who are knowledgeable to do their thing, giving them a chance to share their knowledge.” Other panels include The Writer’s Eye, featuring local genre writers, and Horror Films: A Critical Eye, chaired by a handful of local film critics discussing horror’s place in the world of film. Besides championing cosplay as a serious art form, King also applauds the Sundays for their constant inclusion of women into the conversation of horror and sci-fi. At a time when many national horror conventions have come under fire for sexual harassment and general sexist behavior toward female fans, King believes that the Underground Monster Carnival is one of the few genre-driven safe spaces where women can express their creativity. “Women especially are big drivers in a lot of creative scenes like this,” King added. “We tend to produce a lot of content, whereas men kind of tend to take the stance of the knowledge keepers. They’re the ones who will debate Batman’s strength versus Superman’s or whatever all day long. I feel that at a lot of fandom

OKLAHOMA GAZETTE | MARCH 4, 2015 | 31

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COVER VISUAL ARTS CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

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The idea of growth is definitely a sentiment that is shared by many of the vendors who come to hawk their wares, especially the artists who make a special trip across the country just to sell their artwork at the carnival. Midwest City artist Harold Neal said his horror and fantasy artwork — sculptures, paintings and prints — always has a bit of dark comedy to it. His annual outing to the Underground Monster Carnival is one of the most successful times of the year for him as a creator, financially and creatively. Thanks to the carnival, his commissions, gallery showings and fan base in the metro have increased. “It’s very uplifting and very validating to know that someone would buy my work and hang it on their walls,” Neal said. “You do it in

your house, in the privacy of your home, and you have no idea what people are going to think, if it’s even worth it. But you go to a convention and then someone actually likes it enough to put it in their living room, [and] it makes it all a special experience.” This experience is also the reason nationally acclaimed drummer and guitarist Rocky Gray makes it a point to show off his work at the carnival. Formerly a member of bands like Evanescence and Shredded Corpse, Gray has earned a name for himself as a horror artist that mixes his love of metal music with the darker artistic aspects of the genre. Gray lives in Arkansas and has made the Underground Monster Carnival an almost ritualistic endeavor, loading up his car with his paintings and multimedia artwork. He cites the Monster Carnival as one of the most important conventions in the nation, one that has given a home to the many who want to enjoy the experience of being at a convention full of sci-fi and horror fans just like themselves. Besides his artwork, Gray is also selling his horror-inspired solo album Accursed and posters for the new ’80s Halloween-themed film The Barn, which he scored. While his rock notoriety brings in fans who mainly want to talk music, it’s a conversation he welcomes, especially when it comes to the idea of mixing music and horror. “It’s great when fans of the music come by the booth and say hi and maybe get some stuff signed. It’s always great to talk with them and hang out,” Gray said. “I think all of the conventions are equally important to the horror community, and the Underground Monster Carnival have found their place in the community.” If there is a running theme consistently mentioned by staff and vendors to fans and artists, it’s a sense of community and unity that the Sundays have brought to the oncescattered horror and sci-fi community in Oklahoma. “It’s a really good way for horror fans to get together and realize that they are not alone,” Neal said. “There are people out there that enjoy the same things they do, and it gives them a chance to go to panels and learn and meet local writers, musicians and artists and inspire them.” Although the carnival will only serve 3.2 beer, you can have your own cosplay cocktail pre-party. Check out our guide on page 19.

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Dozens of up-and-coming Oklahoma artists were chosen to showcase their skills this weekend during Momentum OKC. BY CHRISTIAN WILSON

Momentum OKC Downtempo 8 p.m. Friday Full Speed 8 p.m. Saturday Free gallery hours 2-7 p.m. Sunday and Monday Spotlight artist presentation 6 p.m. Monday OKC Farmers Public Market 311 S. Klein Ave. momentumoklahoma.org 879-2400 $10-$25

Eighty-one of Oklahoma’s most promising young multimedia artists will display work through this weekend at Momentum OKC, which includes film, performance, new media and live music. The roster of artists all under age 30 includes three spotlight artists who were awarded $2,000 each to create socially engaging art projects for the event. Juan William Chávez, head curator, and Suzanne C. Thomas, emerging curator, sorted through more than 150 projects, selecting artists and pieces that showed risk-taking, interactive components and elements of sophisticated humor. Chavez said the three spotlight artists — Randall Barnes of Midwest City and Eric Piper and Jenna Bryan of Norman — were chosen as this generation’s brightest primarily due to their focus on community.

Randall Barnes

Eric Piper

Piper created and manages Dope Chapel, a DIY art, music and community venue in Norman. Artifacts from a selection of events held there, in addition to a model of the Dope Chapel gallery, will be presented in his Momentum gallery.

Jenna Bryan

Incorporating Japanese aesthetics and video game influences, Bryan’s Amesphere consists of a woodblock reduction print of a planet and community and a series of small figures, apparel, animals, tools and other items that would normally populate an environment. Viewers can create figures and items of their own to be placed in Amesphere, organizers said. “We are all invested in engaging our communities and go about it in different ways,” Barnes said. “Whether it’s a community art space, interactive art-making experience or community service, we’re all working to enhance our communities through art-making and as artists.”

The venue

Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition (OVAC), which organizes the show each year, selected OKC Farmers Public Market, an early 20th century, 40,000-square-foot structure on the national register of historic places, as the venue. Spotlight artists will be situated at its epicenter, with the rest of the galleries surrounding them.

Artwork by Eric Piper

Momentum’s first exhibition was held at Stage Center in 2002. Born from a concern for young state artists, the event seeks to gain exposure for young artists by helping them connect with new audiences and each other. It has since utilized numerous locales and attracted thousands of patrons, becoming a prime venue for breakout artists. “The age limitation provides the opportunity for younger artists to exhibit in a highly competitive field,” Barnes said. “Momentum is often the first juried exhibition young Oklahoma artists are accepted into.”

The curators

Each year, a new guest curator, usually an active curator or artist from within the state, is selected. Occasionally, one’s selected from outof-state to expose exhibitors to regional networking opportunities. Chávez, the appointed curator for this year’s submissions, is on loan from St. Louis. Involving spacial utilization, such as that of vacant buildings or lots, his projects usually address community and social issues related to their use. Each guest curator also picks an “emerging curator” to mentor as he organizes applicants and awards and visits spotlight artist studios. Chávez selected Thomas, an art professor at Rose State College in Midwest City. “Her ideas and thoughts played a major role in the selection process and studio visits,” Chávez said. All art pieces are available for purchase. PH OTOS PROVIDED

Barnes, who used to work with the Graffiti Removal Unit of the Oklahoma City Police Department, integrated ideas of community service and dialogue into his project: a graffiti removal workshop and graffiti wall performance piece. Barnes normally works with oil paint, wood and prints, but his exhibit focuses instead on the

affects of graffiti art and removal, displaying the tools of both trades. Throughout Friday night, Barnes will buff or paint over the wall, slowly diminishing the work while creating a new one.

Eric Piper

Randall Barnes

Jenna Bryan

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For movie descriptions and ticket sales visit OKCMOA.COM OKLAHOMA GAZETTE | MARCH 4, 2015 | 33

Laughter, Love Carpenter Square Theatre presents comedic adaptations of Kurt Vonnegut stories. BY CHRISTIAN WILSON

Who Am I This Time? (And Other Conundrums of Love)

NSS Gazette 1-4 Pg.pdf

2/25/15

5:12 PM

7:30 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday Carpenter Square Theatre 800 W. Main St. carpentersquare.com 232-6500 $5-$20

Kurt Vonnegut might be the one satirical pacifist and counterculturalist who needs no introduction. Carpenter Square Theatre brings to the stage stories by the Indianapolis-born writer, which span more than 100 works including Cat’s Cradle and Slaughterhouse-Five. Who Am I This Time? (And Other Conundrums of Love), a comedy adapted by Aaron Posner, fuses three Vonnegut short stories from his collection Welcome to the Monkey House. The production is titled for the second story, which follows actor Tom Newton, an introverted mousy loner sort energized by the fake lives of the characters he plays in the North Crawford Mask and Wig Club of central Connecticut. In this story, Newton’s interactions are presented within the span of a single evening, offering a brief but substantial cross section of his own life and the unique lives of those around him. The other stories are narrated by Newton as well. The first follows two childhood sweethearts as one returns from war to prevent the other’s marriage while the third chronicles the relationships of a successful movie star. As with so many human endeavors, the play centers on the theme of love.

CMY

34 | MARCH 4, 2015 | OKLAHOMA GAZETTE

Who Am I This Time? (And Other Conundrums of Love) “It’s really kind of my favorite thing,” said Rhonda Clark, artistic director of Carpenter Square Theatre and costume director for this production. “Comedy mixed with, I wouldn’t say drama, but with a touch of pathos.” The play explores how people develop relationships; how they look for love, find it and navigate the universally difficult objective of maintaining and growing it. The play marks the third Aaron Posner adaptation the theater has run. Posner, co-founder of Arden Theatre Company in Philadelphia, has directed more than 100 productions and adapted novels by Chaim Potok and stories from Vonnegut and Mark Twain, among others. “He really has a knack for taking novels and short stories and making really good, viable theater pieces out of them that give the essence of the original material,” Clark said. Clark said feedback has been positive, with audience members noting this play’s on-point mix of comedy and humanity. Unlike many productions at the theater, Who Am I is family-friendly and offers patrons a worry-free night out. Directed by Kenneth Benton, Who Am I stars Craig Pruitt as Tom Newton with Jennifer Farley as Kate, his wife. Rodonna Carter, Nathan Dunn, Lana Henson, Erick Rivera, Caitlin Royse and Mike Waugh fill out the cast. The show’s metro-area premiere runs through March 14. Because of the small theater space, reservations are recommended.

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Getting to Sesame Street is easier than you think; it will be at Cox Convention Center Friday-Sunday with Sesame Street Live: Let’s Dance! Grab the kids, nieces and nephews, or your own inner child — everyone loves to see Sesame Street. Using high-energy dance routines and songs, this multi-million-dollar tour production showcases Broadwaystyle music; fun scripts; and stellar set design, costumes and lighting. “Sesame Street Live: Let’s Dance! is a super-interactive show. That’s what’s so special about it,” said performer Molly Faith Jackson, whose character is Zoe, a 3-year-old girl monster. “The characters try to get into the audience as much as possible to dance and interact with the kids.” Jackson has a BFA in Modern Dance Performance from the University of Oklahoma and has been touring with the group for more than a year. “I have been really fortunate to portray a character that personifies my own personality,” Jackson said. “[Zoe] is imaginative, and I can really see a 3-year-old Molly in Zoe. She is so much fun, she brings a lot of energy to the stage and a lot of kids relate to her because she loves to dance.” Zoe’s character gets so very excited at times that her words cannot get out fast enough. The production is big and pays a lot of attention to detail. Big Bird’s costume is made from 4,000 customdyed yellow turkey feathers hand-

Sesame Street has been on the air since 1969. sewn to yellow fabric. Fifteen yards of fabric stitched in seven separate layers form Zoe’s tutu alone. A typical tour includes 25 people: 8 crew members, 14 performers, a company manager, an assistant company manager and a performance director. To get from city to city, the scenery and costumes are carried in two 48-foot semitrailers. The bright and colorful scenery features the classic Sesame Street street itself, an alphabet scene and neon light scaffolding. These are the backdrops for Elmo’s song “Do the Robot,” as Cookie Monster teaches all “feets” to dance and Ernie’s “Shake Your Head One Time” song.

I love seeing the kids’ interactions with the characters and how the parents and grandparents react to their kids. — Molly Faith Jackson

“I love seeing the kids’ interactions with the characters and how the parents and grandparents react to their kids. Sesame Street has become multigenerational,” said Jackson. It’s not surprising that the show spans generations, as Sesame Street and the Muppets first premiered in November 1969. Jackson is thrilled to be back in Oklahoma City to perform. “The show is a great opportunity to build memories and bond families together,” she said.

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LIFE ACTIVE

Sláinte!

The Fifth Annual Run Lucky 5K and Mission Mile Fun Run raises money for blood cancer research.

Run Lucky 5K 12 p.m. Sunday, March 15 Classen Curve District 5825 NW Grand Boulevard runlucky.com $30-$40

For some, a reward is needed to accomplish a goal. Like a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. For others, beer is the greatest motivator. Or is that fear? Regardless, the luck of the Irish might be enough to sustain participants of the fifth annual Run Lucky 5K and Mission Mile Fun Run on March 15. It might also help that there is beer waiting to be consumed at the end of the run. And not just any beer. In the spirit of St. Patrick’s Day, green beer will be handed out at the finish line at Classen Curve, 5825 NW Grand Blvd. Hot chocolate is available for those who do not drink alcohol. The success of the Run Lucky 5K and Mission Mile Fun Run may be attributed to luck, the beer or just good old-fashioned diligence. “We are very proud of the fact that we’ve raised $192,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in our first four years,” said Jennifer Willis, the race’s sponsorship and marketing chair. “The funds raised do stay here in Oklahoma.” In four years, the event has become one of the biggest 5K races in the state. Last year’s race drew nearly 2,100 registered participants in cold and

windy weather. This year, organizers are seeking 2,200 registrants and hope to raise $50,000. The event is organized by Friends of LLS (FLLS), a nonprofit group dedicated to supporting the LLS’s mission of blood cancer research. Willis joined FLLS nine years ago through a church acquaintance. Most group members had loved ones who had battled cancer, but Willis’ family had not been affected. She did it simply to help others. “This is a passion,” said Willis, who is also a marketing coordinator for a Norman-based architect firm. Last year, that passion got more personal as Willis’ grandfather was diagnosed with chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML), a type of bone marrow cancer that mainly affects the elderly. “It’s made this event and this cause even more important to me,” she said. Classen Curve merchants also come together for the awards ceremony and after-party, complete with a DJ and dancing. If you like leprechauns, the costume contest is a big hit, with prizes in adult and child categories. Many younger and new runners participate in the Mission Mile Fun Run. This race also puts a face to the proceedings as posters, signs and banners line the course honoring those who have fought cancer. Race-day registration begins at noon, and the Fun Run starts at 1:30 p.m. The 5K begins at 2 p.m., and the awards ceremony and after-party begins at 3 p.m.

PROVI DED

BY BRENDAN HOOVER

Run Lucky 5K participants

We are very proud of the fact that we’ve raised $192,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in our first four years. — Jennifer Willis

Early online registration is $30 through noon on March 12. Late registration is $40, and you can register online or at Red Coyote Running and Fitness, 5720 N. Classen Blvd. The first 2,000 registrants will receive a dri-

fit event shirt. Mission Mile finishers receive a commemorative dog tag, and 5K finishers receive a medal. If you’re not up to running or can’t be there, the Snooze Lucky option is for you. You still get a race shirt and the satisfaction of supporting the cause. “They say we’ll see a cure within 15 to 20 years, so we will see a cure in our lifetime,” Willis said. “Why wouldn’t you want to be involved with this?” Team registration is new this year. Awards will be given to the largest team and the team that raises the most money. Teams that raise more than $500 will have a tent near the starting line at NW 59th Street and N. Classen Boulevard. For more information, visit runlucky.com.

OKLAHOMA GAZETTE | MARCH 4, 2015 | 37

SUDOKU/CROSSWORD SUDOKU PUZZLE HARD

WWW.S UDOKU-P UZZLES .N ET

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

NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD PUZZLE ANSWERS Puzzle No. 0222, which appeared in the February 25 issue.

B U S S T O P

E S Q U A R E

T H U R B E R

H A L I N P M A N B U T T R E S S

38 | MARCH 4, 2015 | OKLAHOMA GAZETTE

I R R I T A B L E

N A N N Y G O A T

H E R E E R I N E A L S S E L L E E O S R P G E F F U L E R I L M A D E P I E R T L Y Y E D S I P S T A R L R I A I T N S H T T E S S E

D R I V E L

G O T O N T O

Q U C E O U B E S A F L O O O U D S

O B I G T H A R A R O N E S A M S E A D E T O R E U M S L G S A O R E N U C H O I S U E R Y N S A G E A S A V R M O N E Y L A B O R I T O I S F T E R T E S A T E H O W L D I S T A B E G E R J L O M D

H E R O

S I E G E

E T I G E R

T M E M O D R E E A X D E Y E S

L A D Y I R E E E T T A I R R P S O N E T I E E S T D L E G E N D I N A P E T

I V E S I S A P S L O G C A B I N S

Y O L A T E N G O

M O B S T E R S

ACROSS 1 Furnishes 8 Bit of body art, for short 11 St. ____ Fire (Brat Pack film) 16 Book reviewer? 19 Expel, as from a club 20 Historical chapter 21 Turnpike turnoffs [intimidate, in a way] 23 Narrator of Amadeus [go to bed] 24 Pet food brand [recover lost ground] 26 Compassionate [finally become] 28 City of Light creator at the 1893 World’s Fair 29 Welles of The Third Man 30 Dunderhead 31 Attaches, in a way 32 Barbershop sound 36 Dealer’s enemy 38 Ridicule 41 Country with the longest coastline 44 Comic strip dog 45 Skateboarder’s safety item [salaam] 51 Goodbyes [abate] 52 Flagman? 53 Point at the ceiling? [misbehave] 55 She’s not light-headed [amass] 57 Embarrassing putts to miss 59 Cosmic balance? 60 Lit group 61 Film library unit 63 Guy’s partner 64 Storied voyager 65 What each group of shaded words in this puzzle does 69 Dark looks 73 Get some Z’s 74 Subtle emanation 75 Concert poster info 79 Comic actress Catherine 80 Four-legged orphans 83 Activity done in front of a mirror [clearly define] 85 Office trash [resign] 87 Start of many rapper names

89 Upset stomach [consume] 90 Loud and harsh [start crowding the crotch] 91 ____ Tree State (Maine) 92 Like March Madness teams 93 Contentment 95 Theater giant? 96 Establishes 97 Release tension, possibly 102 Big tank 104 What sarongs lack 108 Finnish outbuilding 109 Control of one’s actions [fall in great quantities] 114 Granite dome in Georgia [moderate] 117 Converses à la Tracy and Hepburn [pay in advance] 119 Athens landmark [arise] 120 Retro music collection 121 Do without a radiator 122 Over there 123 Brought on 124 Stan of Marvel Comics 125 Lectures DOWN 1 Super Bowl highlights, to some 2 House on campus 3 Precamping purchase 4 Luxury hotel chain 5 Barrel racing venue 6 Printmaker Albrecht 7 Mixes up 8 Appetizer with puréed olives 9 Fuego extinguisher 10 Balustrade location 11 Physicist Rutherford after whom rutherfordium is named 12 Radiation shield material 13 Hosts, for short 14 Muesli tidbit 15 Electoral map division 16 Setting for a castle 17 Painter Uccello 18 City on the Nile 22 They’re all in the same boat 25 “____ Late” (Ricky Nelson hit) 27 Banquet V.I.P.’s

24 26

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Stumped? Call 1-900-285-5656 to get the answers to any three clues by phone ($1.20 a minute). The answers to the New York Times Magazine Crossword Puzzle that appeared in the February 25 issue of Oklahoma Gazette are shown at left.

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31 Wild guess 32 Strikers’ replacements 33 Taxi character Elaine 34 Greenlandic speaker 35 Glazier’s supply 37 Estrangement 39 Detach (from) 40 Misfortunes 42 Fitting 43 Team with a mascot named Orbit 46 Firth of The King’s Speech 47 Mattress size 48 Mr. ____ (soft drink) 49 Gillette brand 50 Like a dull party 53 Go across 54 Actress Swinton 56 Hanes purchase, informally

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NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE CROSSWORD PUZZLE FLIP-FLOPS By Patrick Berry / Edited by Will Shortz

86 Sport with double touches 88 To one way of thinking 91 Unseen danger 94 Nevertheless 97 English assignment 98 Knife brand 99 Iroquoian tribe 100 Before long 101 Boutonniere’s place 103 Keyboard abbr. 105 Swinging occasion? 106 West Side Story heroine 107 Unfriendly dog sound 109 One of a bridge foursome 110 Smelly 111 Check mark 112 Book of Mormon prophet 113 Brisk pace 115 Brother of Shemp 116 Getting on 118 ____-pitch

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40 | MARCH 4, 2015 | OKLAHOMA GAZETTE

LIFE MUSIC

XXX

P HOTOS P ROVI DE D

As hardcore punk grows more accepting of internal divisions, straightedge finds itself among family.

BY CHRISTIAN WILSON

On a recent Saturday, roughly 75 people gathered in The Conservatory for a punk concert. At first glance, it didn’t seem like anything out of the ordinary. There were a handful of bands playing that night, including regional acts Free at Last and United Races. Yes, these fans are anarchistic and unconventional. They eschew authority. By all definitions, they’re punks. But they don’t fit the stereotypical image of their cigarettesmoking, booze-swilling, sex-driven, nihilistic peers. They’re sober.

metalcore, thrash and more — it makes sense that over the remainder of the century, hardcore filled the gap. As it diversified, individual tastes narrowed. A genre can only splinter so much before supporters reorganize to regain a sense of togetherness, which is exactly what hardcore promotes: everyone.

Caleb Montgomery, owner of OKC music label Wrong Ones Records and musician, drums at a straight-edge gig several years ago. and even disco) — were sown. Popular culture dictated one thing; punks said, “Piss off.” Rock ’n’ roll’s punk subculture quickly became defined by its deviant behavior, which included uncouth habits.

Labeled

After punk burst onto the scene in the ’70s, a self-aware subculture soon followed and gained momentum through the next decade, taking root in the attitudes of deviant youth across the country. Bands like Minor Threat with outspoken musicians like Ian MacKaye gave these street-drug shunners a name: “Straight Edge.” The movement gained substantial popularity through the 2000s, but around 2005, it started slipping, said

Remix

It’s a big family within hardcore. — Caleb Montgomery

Nick Hampson, operator of The Conservatory. “There were a ton of bands that were fully straight-edge,” Hampson said. “There used to be solely straightedge shows, but less and less people are into the movement. Now, you run into the whole thing of, ‘Yeah, our singer is straight-up, but we’re not.’” Hampson hints at a seemingly unlikely phenomenon, though in hindsight, it seems perfectly natural. With such a strong initial divergence, it’s strange to think that hardcore punk ideals might be expanding to reincorporate straight edge. But after even the hardcore subgenre splintered in the ’80s due to its wide-open frontier — to straight edge, bent edge, funkcore,

defining turns came between two points. One was The Teen Idles’ release of record Minor Disturbance. Its cover featured two crossed hands with black X’s on them. The X’s referenced the Sharpie markings that music venues scrawled on the back of underage kids’ hands to let bartenders know they couldn’t imbibe. It also became a symbol of straightedge empowerment. The second point was MacKaye’s song, “Straight Edge,” performed by Minor Threat. As he said in an interview transcript in All Ages: Reflections on Straight Edge, “People picked up on it insanely.” It’s said that there are three X’s in straight edge: alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs. Some throw in promiscuous sex, vegetarianism and other addendums.

Trey Ridlen of Speak Out! “The whole hardcore mentality is respecting people for who they are and also having your own thoughts and opinions and living by them, staying true to your convictions,” said Caleb Montgomery, owner of OKC music label Wrong Ones Records and former member of Oklahoma straight-edge bands Speak Out! and Stay.

Deviants

In the late 1970s and early ’80s, seeds of dissent — reactionary visions developed against popular music of the age (think Culture Club, Kenny Loggins, Journey

Drug and alcohol use and other awareness- and body-harming habits became inseparable associations. For some punks, that was fine. But for others, especially the younger population of punks who couldn’t drink at these shows anyway, the associated hedonism was a turn-off. History points to MacKaye (Fugazi, Minor Threat, The Teen Idles) and his contemporaries as founders of the subgenre. MacKaye and company fell into an in-between group: They irritated the real world by being nonconformists, and they irritated hardcore punks because they weren’t self-destructive. While there was a slow build of support for MacKaye’s mentality, the

“For me,” Montgomery said, “it’s just not drinking, not smoking, not putting those things into my body so I can ... have my own thoughts and opinions and stay out of trouble for the most part.” After hardcore punk band Minor Threat came 7 Seconds and SSD. Then a plethora of emo hardcore and post-hardcore bands followed during Revolution Summer in ’85 (Rain, Rites of Spring, Soulside, Gray Matter and others). And so it continued. But today, youth in straight edge and other hardcore subcultures are mixing, going to the same shows, supporting the same bands, singing along to the same music. There isn’t a need to be as staunchly protective and divisively different because lines are blurred, Montgomery said. Punks accept other punks. Montgomery actually bartended January’s straight edge concert, an irony that isn’t lost on him. He made interesting observations from his post. “It was a cool show, lots of kids showing up, moshing, singing along,” he said. “But that’s the thing: There were a lot of people who weren’t straight edge. People who aren’t straight edge like straight-edge bands and people who are straight edge like bands that aren’t. It’s a big family within hardcore.”

OKL AHOMA GAZ ETTE | MARCH 4, 2015 | 41

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42 | MARCH 4, 2015 | OKLAHOMA GAZETTE

A Place To Bury Strangers/Depth & Current/Power Pyramid, The Conservatory. ROCK Casey & Minna, Saints. VARIOUS Designer Drugs, XIIX Lounge. VARIOUS Edgar Cruz/Jeff Nokes and Freinds, Avanti Bar & Grill. ACOUSTIC Grant Wells, Skirvin Hilton Hotel. PIANO Hank & Cupcakes, HiLo Club. POP Maurice Johnson, R&J Lounge and Supper Club. North Meets South, The Deli, Norman. ROCK Sleeping With Sirens/Pierce The Veil, Diamond Ballroom. ROCK

Crooks, Wormy Dog Saloon. COUNTRY DJ R&R, Russell’s, Tower Hotel. VARIOUS Equilibrium, Belle Isle Restaurant & Brewery. COVER Forum/Aluma, 51st Street Speakeasy. ROCK Gentry, Kendell’s Bar. VARIOUS Jackson Taylor Band, Grady’s 66 Pub, Yukon. ROCK Larry Chin/Em and the MotherSuperiors/The Fabulous Minx, Blue Note Lounge. VARIOUS Ledisi, Brady Theater, Tulsa. R&B Max Ridgeway Trio, Full Circle Bookstore. ACOUSTIC Miranda Lambert, Chesapeake Energy Arena. COUNTRY Roy Lee Scott & The Flying Cowboys, Sliders. COUNTRY Shakers of Salt, Tapwerks Ale House & Cafe. COVER Shortt Dogg, Riverwind Casino, Norman. R&B

Urban Addiction, Baker St. Pub & Grill. COVER Scott Lowber/Will Galbraith/Ed VanBuskirk, Friends Restaurant & Club. COVER

Team Nightstand/Applied Music Program/Softaware, Opolis, Norman. VARIOUS

THURSDAY, MAR. 5

The Indigos, The Paramount OKC. ACOUSTIC

Brent Saulsbury/Will Galbraith/Wayne Duncan, Friends Restaurant & Club. ROCK Brett Eldredge/Ryan Kinder, Cain’s Ballroom, Tulsa. COUNTRY Culture Cinematic, O Bar. JAZZ David Morris, Skirvin Hilton Hotel. PIANO Erick Harris, Will Rogers Lobby Cafe & Bar. VARIOUS Medicine Brother/Haniwa, 51st Street Speakeasy. ROCK Samantha Crain/The Handsome Devils, The Deli, Norman. FOLK The Central Jazz Jam, UCO Jazz Lab, Edmond. JAZZ The Clique, Friends Restaurant & Club. VARIOUS

FRIDAY, MAR. 6 Annie Oakley/Montu, The Deli, Norman. VARIOUS Autumn Ray, The Blue Door. SINGER/SONGWRITER Avenue, Mickey Mantle’s Steakhouse. COVER

P ROVI DE D

Christian Pearson/Gary Johnson, Skirvin Hilton Hotel. PIANO

The Clique, Friends Restaurant & Club. VARIOUS

Forum and Aluma Friday

Thin Skin/Fade/Holy Smokes, The Conservatory. ROCK Trent Tiger, Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill. ACOUSTIC

Formed in 2013, indie post-rock band Forum hit the Oklahoma City music scene with surprising fervor. music Late 2014 welcomed its debut release, and the band is on the rise. Its music was even picked up by the Oklahoma City Thunder. The show — with opener Aluma — is 10 p.m. Friday at 51st Street Speakeasy, 1114 NW 51st St. There is no cover charge. For drink and food offerings and more info, visit 51stspeakeasy.com.

OKG

pick

SATURDAY, MAR. 7 2AM, Tapwerks Ale House & Cafe. ROCK Amarillo Junction, Remington Park. COUNTRY Avenue, Mickey Mantle’s Steakhouse. COVER Daniel Jordan, Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill. ACOUSTIC

Kristen Stehr, Riverwind Casino, Norman. COUNTRY

Don and Melodee Johnson, Twelve Oaks, Edmond. JAZZ

NewSong/Jeremy Camp/Francesca Battistelli, Chesapeake Energy Arena. VARIOUS

Elvis Costello/Larkin Poe, Cain’s Ballroom, Tulsa. SINGER/SONGWRITER Grant Stevens, Skirvin Hilton Hotel. PIANO Jim the Elephant, Baker St. Pub & Grill. COVER

Feathered Rabbit/Heat Warmer, Blue Note Lounge. VARIOUS

Penny & Sparrow, The Blue Door. FOLK

Greensky Bluegrass/Rayland Baxter, Cain’s Ballroom, Tulsa. BLUEGRASS

Replay, Russell’s, Tower Hotel. COVER

LUCKY/Shaun Suttle, Skirvin Hilton Hotel. COVER

Roy Lee Scott & The Flying Cowboys, Sliders. COUNTRY

John Pizzarelli/Jane Monheit, UCO Jazz Lab, Edmond. JAZZ

Slowvein, Belle Isle Restaurant & Brewery. POP

Josh Sallee, The Deli, Norman. HIP-HOP

Steve Seskin/Jeff Wood, Rodeo Opry. COUNTRY

Kali Ra/Hannah Wolff/Bamboozle, Blue Note Lounge. POP

The Clique, Friends Restaurant & Club. VARIOUS

Maurice Johnson R&J Lounge Wednesday

WEDNESDAY, MAR. 11

Voodoo, Oklahoma City Limits. ROCK

Edgar Cruz/Jeff Nokes and Freinds, Avanti Bar & Grill. ACOUSTIC

Whiskey Myers, Wormy Dog Saloon. COUNTRY

Firestarter, Guildhaul. POP

SUNDAY, MAR. 8

Grant Wells, Skirvin Hilton Hotel. PIANO Maurice Johnson, R&J Lounge and Supper Club. JAZZ Replay/80’z Enuf, Baker St. Pub & Grill. COVER

American Aquarium/Jonny Burke, Cain’s Ballroom, Tulsa. ROCK

Scott Lowber/Will Galbraith/Ed VanBuskirk, Friends Restaurant & Club. COVER

Edgar Cruz, The Blue Door. PIANO

The Friends No BS Jam, Friends Restaurant & Club. VARIOUS

Maurice Johnson, The Depot, Norman. JAZZ Mountain Smoke, UCO Jazz Lab, Edmond. BLUEGRASS Scott Lowber/Will Galbraith/Rick Toops, Friends Restaurant & Club. COVER

MONDAY, MAR. 9 Ali Harter Residency, Blue Note Lounge. SINGER/ SONGWRITER Bleed The Pigs/NoxThanks/Cottonmouth, The Conservatory. ROCK Rick Toops, Friends Restaurant & Club. ROCK

PROVID ED

LIVE MUSIC WEDNESDAY, MAR. 4

TUESDAY, MAR. 10

WHITECHAPEL/Broken Flesh/All Have Sinned, The Conservatory. ROCK Zac Lee Duo, Will Rogers Lobby Cafe & Bar. JAZZ

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.

Bush/PVRIS/Mallory Knox, Diamond Ballroom. ROCK

OKLAHOMA GAZETTE | MARCH 4, 2015 | 43

LIFE MUSIC REVIEW Heading south Oklahoma Gazette previews three can’t-miss acts each week leading into to Austin’s South by Southwest festival. BY CHRISTIAN WILSON

P ROVI DE D

The South by Southwest Music Conference and Festival (SXSW) has exploded since its inception in Austin, Texas, in 1987. Attracting 700 registrants that first year, SXSW now attracts more than 50,000, bringing in nearly a thousand bands. It might be hard to sift through them all on your own, so each week leading up to the festival, Oklahoma Gazette will preview a handful of bands that, as an Oklahoman and music-lover, you should not miss. Learn more about the festival at sxsw.com.

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44 | MARCH 4, 2015 | OKLAHOMA GAZETTE

Nuns

Nuns are solid. More specifically, its music is spacially surreal rock with a distinct solitary vibe, a thought-upwhile-sitting-alone-in-a-cabin feel that hits you hard but then becomes such a familiar part of your past experience it hardly registers at all. Nuns is the solo project of frontman Hank Hanewinkel III (yes, that’s his name, and it’s alliteratively awesome), and its debut album Opportunities is a quiet but by no means transient first showing. Written by the Broken Arrow native, the album features his sister Christy Hanewinkel on drums, Chris Davis on bass, Grant Thomas on keyboards and John Burton on guitar. During SXSW, Nuns performs 8 p.m. March 19 at 720 Club Patio in Austin. PROVIDE D

JEREMY JONES • LEVI QUEEN

PROVID ED

Most know these guys like the back of any highly familiar extremity. For anyone outside the state, this is local talent you’ve probably heard without knowing it, especially after the HBO series Girls featured its music. Having just finished a tour with Billy Idol, this indie garage band from Norman is building quite the critical following since forming in 2010. After popping out its acclaimed debut album in 2011, last year, the band released its sophomore album, Just Enough Hip to Be Woman. Songs like “It’s On” and “Class Historian” are standouts, recalling retro rock of years past. Clocking in at 32 minutes, the album paces itself well. It’s still a frantic dose of rock ’n’ roll adrenaline and another notch in Broncho’s belt. Catch Broncho 1 a.m. March 18 at the Bungalow in Austin.

Ibeyi

The French Cuban twin duo LisaKainde and Naomi Diaz, known as Ibeyi, is quickly becoming one of the showstoppers of the year. Its self-titled debut album combines the deep soul beats of conga and the cajón with an electronic pulse and multi-lingual, harmonic melody. It’s a beautiful combination that stuns. It’s also, as so many artistic expressions are, a beauty born of tragedy. At the age of 11, the twins experienced the passing of their father, Miguel “Anga” Diaz, an acclaimed conga player. The day after his death, Naomi picked up his favorite percussion instrument, the cajón. After taking time to feel out their musical intuitions, the twins partnered up to create an album reflective of their pains, their Yorùbán culture and the gravitational bonds of family. The resulting music is an impact bigger than the sum of its parts. See the sisters 9:30 p.m. March 20 at Central Presbyterian Church in Austin.

P ROVI DE D

LIFE FILM

Hotel Marigold A timeless cast of characters examine the mistakes age and wisdom were supposed to correct, tapping into a youth yet unexplored. BY CHRISTIAN WILSON

A sequel to 2011’s The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Second Best meets up with the characters right where the narrative left them. Originally a story of seven Brits who go to Jaipur, Rajasthan, India, following motivations ranging from lost loves to lost finances, the sequel introduces few new faces to its adept cast and keeps most of its initial structures. At the helm are holdovers Dev Patel, Maggie Smith, Judi Dench and Bill Nighy with supporting roles by Penelope Wilton and Richard Gere, who is new to the cast. Everything this review could ever hope to tell you can be inferred from that cast. The movie plays out as if the actual actors were simply living it. There is namecalling and snippy-yet-endearing British humor. There are witty one-liners. There is deep emotional respect veiled behind petty jealousies. A self-awareness of the nearing end of some of Britain’s greatest actors is ever-present. Whereas the first movie focused on the challenges of adapting to a foreign country and finding support in others there, this film is about finding romance and partnership in the period of life when self-loathing and lack of purpose so easily take hold. As Dench’s character, Evelyn, posits, “How many lives can we have?” The characters move throughout Indian cityscapes from their new home base in the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, run by Sonny (Patel). A few have found jobs, some have found hobbies and all have found routine. Immediately, the tension of the plot is introduced and continues mostly through Nighy’s poignant one-liners. “We could be madly happy,” he says. “The thing about life is there’s so much bloody potential.” If only the characters can commit to their decisions, most of which, again, relate to their love and desires. The primary romance is between

The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel Sonny and his fiancée Sunaina (Tina Desai), which functions as a point of reference for the older relationships and serves to structure the movie along the timeline leading to their wedding. Aside from this strong though struggling young love is the often ill-timed romance between Evelyn and Douglas (Nighy), the distrustful relationship between an American writer (Gere) and Sonny’s mother (Lillete Dubey) and the adulterous back-and-forth of lusty loners Norman (Richard Pickup) and Carol (Diana Hardcastle). Thematic interplay is obvious. There is old love versus new love. There is energy and hope against self-pity and resignation. There is the question of whether we are ever defined by or chained to our shortcomings within the iterations of our lives. The theme of age as incongruent with experience is all too pervasive in the movie. There exists throughout the film a dysfunction within each character that makes them lose confidence, feel desperate yet put off their desires and create mental barriers to their own happiness. The mistakes age and wisdom were supposed to correct are just as fresh in their later years as they were in early ones, and the lessons to be learned just as relevant. Evelyn’s question of ‘How many lives?’ remains relevant: new ends, new beginnings and a renewed need to stumble through lessons of youth. But maybe it’s in this dysfunction, the film suggests, that we can always renew that vigor that inspires us to challenge our unhappiness and move ourselves forward. Maybe there’s an untapped resource of youth in the process of making and rectifying our mistakes.

OKLAHOMA GAZETTE | MARCH 04, 2015 | 45

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY Homework: True or false: You can’t get what you want from another person until you’re able to give it to yourself. Explain why or why not. FreeWillAstrology.com.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) To depict what lay beyond the limits of the known world, medieval mapmakers sometimes drew pictures of dragons and sea serpents. Their images conveyed the sense that these territories were uncharted and perhaps risky to explore. There were no actual beasties out there, of course. I think it’s possible you’re facing a comparable situation. The frontier realm you are wandering through may seem to harbor real dragons, but I’m guessing they are all of the imaginary variety. That’s not to say you should entirely let down your guard. Mix some craftiness in with your courage. Beware of your mind playing tricks. TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Whenever I close my eyes and seek psychic visions of your near future, I see heroic Biblical scenes. Moses is parting the Red Sea. Joseph is interpreting Pharaoh’s dream. Jesus is feeding 5,000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish. What’s the meaning of my reveries? Well, this psychic stuff is tricky, and I hesitate to draw definitive conclusions. But if I had to guess, I’d speculate that you are ripe to provide a major blessing or perform an unprecedented service for people you care about. GEMINI (May 21-June 20) In a New Yorker cartoon, Tom Gauld outlines “The Four Undramatic Plot Structures”: 1. “The hero is confronted by an antagonistic force and ignores it until it goes away.” 2. “The protagonist is accused of wrongdoing, but it’s not a big thing and soon gets sorted out.” 3. “The heroine is faced with a problem but it’s really difficult so she gives up.” 4. “A man wants something. Later, he’s not so sure. By suppertime he’s forgotten all about it.” In my astrological opinion, Gemini, you should dynamically avoid all four of those fates. Now is a time for you to take brave, forceful action as you create dramatic plot twists that serve your big dreams.

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CANCER (June 21-July 22) “To be happy is to be able to become aware of oneself without fright,” said heavyweight German philosopher Walter Benjamin, a fellow Cancerian. I am happy to report that there’s a good chance you will soon be blessed with an extraordinary measure of this worry-free self-awareness. And when you do — when you are basking in an expanded self-knowledge infused with self-love and self-appreciation -- some of your chronic fear will drop away, and you will have at your disposal a very useful variety of happiness. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) “As you get older, the heart sheds its leaves like a tree,” said French novelist Gustave Flaubert. “You cannot hold out against certain winds. Each day tears away a few more leaves; and then there are the storms that break off several branches at one go. And while nature’s greenery grows back again in the spring, that of the heart never grows back.” Do you agree with Flaubert, Leo? I don’t. I say that you can live with such resilient innocence that your heart’s leaves grow back after a big wind, and become ever-more lush and hardy as you age. You can send down such deep, strong roots and stretch your branches toward the sun with such vigor that your heart always has access to the replenishment it needs to flourish. The coming weeks will provide evidence that what I say is true. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) “I will not wait to love as best as I can,” says writer Dave Eggers. “We thought we were young and that there would be time to love well sometime in the future. This is a terrible way to think. It is no way to live, to wait to love.” That’s your keynote for the coming weeks, Virgo. That’s your wake-up call and the rose-scented note under your pillow and the message scrawled in lipstick on your bathroom mirror. If there is any part of you that believes love will be better or fuller or more perfect in the future, tell that part of you to shut up and embrace this tender command: Now is the time to love with all of your heart and all of your soul and all of your mind. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) I love the song “Shine On You Crazy Diamond,” by

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46 | MARCH 4, 2015 | OKLAHOMA GAZETTE

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) The African country of Ivory Coast has two different capital cities. Yamoussoukro is the official capital, while Abidjan is the actual capital, where the main governmental action takes place. I suspect there’s a comparable split in your personal realm, Capricorn:

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) When Arnold Schwarzenegger became Governor of California in 2003, the state had the eighth largest economy in the world, right behind Italy and just ahead of Brazil. Schwarzenegger had never before held political office. When Cambodian doctor Haing Nor performed in the film *The Killing Fields,* for which he ultimately won an Oscar, he had no training as an actor. He was a novice. Will you try to follow in their footsteps, Pisces? Is it possible you could take on a role for which you have no preparation or seasoning? According to my divinations, the answer is yes. But is it a good idea? That’s a more complex issue. Trust your gut. Go to RealAstrology.com to check out Rob Brezsny’s expanded weekly audio horoscopes /daily text message horoscopes. The audio horoscopes are also available by phone at 1-877-873-4888 or 1-900-950-7700.

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Responsibilities include providing assistance to customers who are struggling with their mortgage payment and providing solutions to resolve delinquencies. Duties include inbound and outbound telephone contact with customers. Individuals with excellent communication and PC skills, the ability to multitask, and who enjoy working in a fast-paced environment are successful in these positions. Candidates must be dependable, possess a positive attitude, have a desire to help others, and be adaptable to change.

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVES Want to learn a fun profession? • NOW HIRING • 2 MEN & 2 WOMEN • NICE APPEARANCE CALL FOR INTERVIEWS

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EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Federal Fair Housing

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) In 1953, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first humans to reach the summit of Mount Everest. It took them seven weeks to climb the 29,029-foot peak. In 1960, Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh got into a bathyscaphe and sailed to the lowest point on the planet, the Mariana Trench at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. It took them four hours and 47 minutes to go down 36,070 feet. Based on my analysis of your astrological omens, I think the operative metaphor for you in the coming weeks should be the deep descent, not the steep ascent. It’s time to explore and hang out in the depths rather than the heights.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) I’ve gone on three book tours and done my spokenword show in scores of bookstores. But one of my favorite author events took place at the Avenue C Laundromat in New York City’s East Village. There I performed with two other writers as part of the “Dirty Laundry: Loads of Prose” reading series. It was a boisterous event. All of us authors were extra loose and goofy, and the audience offered a lot of funny, good-nature heckling. The unusual location freed everyone up to have maximum amusement. I see the coming weeks as a time when you, too, might thrive by doing what you do best in seemingly out-ofcontext situations. If you’re not outright invited to do so, I suggest you invite yourself.

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SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) Sneaking around isn’t necessary, Scorpio. There’s no useful power to be gained by hiding information or pursuing secret agendas. This is not a time when it’s essential for you to be a master of manipulation who’s ten steps ahead of everyone else. For now, you are likely to achieve maximum success and enjoy your life the most if you are curious, excitable, and transparent. I invite you to embody the mindset of a creative, precocious child who has a loving mommy and daddy.

a case of mixed dominance. Maybe that’s a good thing; maybe it allows for a balance of power between competing interests. Or perhaps it’s a bit confusing, causing a split in your attention that hampers you from expressing a unified purpose. Now would be a favorable time to think about how well the division is working for you, and to tinker with it if necessary.

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2 BEDROOM LUXURY CONDO

Pink Floyd. Other favorites are Tool’s “Third Eye” and Yo La Tengo’s “Pass the Hatchet, I Think I’m Goodkind.” But all of these tunes have a similar problem. They’re more than ten minutes long. Even before my attention span got shrunk by the Internet, listening to them tested my patience. Now I have to forcefully induce a state of preternatural relaxation if I want to hear them all the way through. In the coming days, Libra, don’t be like a too-much-of-agood-thing song. Be willing to edit yourself. Observe concise boundaries. Get to the point quickly. (You’ll be rewarded for it.)

Candidates must possess a work history that includes excellent customer service and communication skills along with strong PC/data entry ability. Enthusiastic persons, who enjoy working in a fast-paced environment, are good listeners, detail oriented and interested in providing customer service are most successful in this position. Experience in customer service, the financial industry, real estate, legal, or mortgage servicing is helpful but not required. Preference will be given to candidates with call center experience. Scheduled hours are from 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. Spanish bi-lingual skills earn additional compensation.

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OKL AHOMA GA Z ET TE | MARCH 4 , 2015 | 47

*February numbers are subject to change.