Theater Directors Top Picks 80614 by Oklahoma Gazette

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7/24/14 1:55 PM

CONTENTS 18

ON THE COVER

NEWS

LIFE

What the artistic directors are looking forward to in the upcoming season deserves our attention. This week’s cover story surveys local theater directors to find out the shows they’re most excited about from their peer companies. From Sweeney Todd to Cabaret, Macbeth, Evil Dead: The Musical and much, much more. Here’s your peek at this season’s most anticipated work. Story by Larry Laneer. P.39. — Jennifer Chancellor, editor-in-chief

City: Crosstown Boulevard

OKG picks

Sudoku / Crossword

City: city council election

Metro briefs

Sports: The Escape OKC, OKC Energy FC update, Flat Tide

Chicken-Fried News

Food & Drink: day drinking, Tsubaki Sushi & Hibachi, food briefs, Pub W, donburi, OKG eat: spicy dishes

Commentary

Celebrate Independents

Music: Idabel, Mothership, event listings, Stardeath and White Dwarfs

Letters

OKG shop: back to school

Health: teen pregnancy

Film: Guardians of the Galaxy, I Origins

Visual Arts: Desmond Mason

Astrology

Cover: theater season preview

Classifieds

Performing Arts: Lysistrata

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

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NEWS CITY

End of the road A local group makes another effort to reverse the course of a proposed downtown boulevard. Currently, Crosstown Boulevard ends between Sheridan and Reno avenues, where N. Klein and S. Klein avenues meet.

As a controversial plan for a downtown boulevard enters the homestretch of the design phase, opponents hope the Oklahoma City Council will step in and at least consider backing an alternative to what the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) has planned. Friends for a Better Boulevard, which believes the current boulevard plan from ODOT is based on outdated traffic numbers and would be harmful to the downtown community, submitted a letter this week to the city council asking it to consider a resolution requesting ODOT to rethink its approach. The boulevard is designed to replace the old portion of Interstate 40 that was torn down following realignment closer to the river. “Friends for a Better Boulevard (FBB) is ... requesting that consideration be given towards a revote on the OKC Boulevard design and alignment options,” the letter to the mayor and council said. “The reason for this request is due to the many changes that have been made by ODOT to develop the current four options.” While final design and construction of the boulevard project rests with ODOT, the city council voted in 2013 to support an alternative that features some elevated portions. FBB says updated traffic numbers since the council last voted should warrant a new look. “Friends for a Better Boulevard believes that this berm and bridge proposal [supported by the council in 2013] may potentially be entirely unnecessary if the traffic models were rerun ... with the new numbers that ODOT is now using,” the letter states. “We believe that this berm presents a physical and visual barrier that bifurcates the Film Row District from the Farmer’s Market District and Capitol Hill. A physical barrier that may entirely be unnecessary and result in stifled socioeconomic and pedestrian activity in the area.” As ODOT prepares to announce its final plans this fall, the FBB letter to the council constitutes a last-ditch effort to stop construction of what the group sees as a “highway lite” option. However, few on the council appear willing to bring the boulevard issue back for a vote. “If they want us to look at the no-build option, I don’t think that is a good idea,” Ward 6 Councilwoman Meg Salyer said about a boulevard option that

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PHOTOS BY S HA N N ON CORN M A N

BY BEN FELDER

Meg Salyer

John Pettis Jr

would run completely level with current downtown streets, making minimal changes to the current layout. While FBB has not officially endorsed the “no build option,” also known as Alternative D, many with the group and other opponents have expressed support for it. “I think we need move forward,” Salyer said. “There comes a time where we have to settle on an alignment. After working on this for a couple of years now, I think we have the best compromise.” FBB also says a revote would be a good idea because two members of the current council were not in office at the time of the 2013 vote. Ward 7 Councilman John Pettis Jr, who was elected after the boulevard vote, said he would be open to discussing the issue but does not plan to push for another vote. “I’m open to all discussions,” Pettis said. “But this isn’t my focus right now.” A spokesperson for the mayor also said

Mick Cornett was ready to move forward and felt ODOT’s current plan meets the city’s needs.

The final plan

Following an open house earlier this year, ODOT announced it was moving forward with Alternative C. However, public comments were gathered, along with further suggestions from city officials, and the final plans are being completed with those comments in mind, said Brian Taylor, an ODOT engineer. “We have taken the comments that have been submitted to us and are making necessary modifications so we can submit our preferred alternative this fall,” Taylor said. Taylor also said additional bike and pedestrian features will be present in the final plan. The controversy over the boulevard stems from ODOT’s desire to move traffic in and out of downtown as quickly

as possible, versus a desire by some, like FBB, to see a boulevard more in line with current downtown streets. However, while organizers with FBB and other groups might feel their concerns have been ignored, ODOT says the project represents one of the largest collaborations of transit officials and the public in state history. “It’s a success story because of our public involvement,” said Brenda Perry, spokesperson for ODOT. Perry also said more public comments would be accepted when the final proposal is unveiled this year. ODOT is in the process of completing an environmental assessment to submit to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). If approved, ODOT will be able to proceed with its final design. However, the federal government could require ODOT to complete an environmental impact study, which could take years to finalize. FBB, which believes the currently proposed boulevard harms economic development, hopes the federal government will not accept the environmental assessment for the same reason. However, Doug Hecox, a public affairs specialist with the FHWA, said the economic development issue would not be considered. “We are trying to improve traffic flow and traffic safety. That’s our business,” Hecox said. “We don’t judge which project they should do. It’s their road system. We are just there to make sure federal funds are used correctly.”

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NEWS CITY

Who’s next? Talk of possible city council candidates is already underway as the race warms up prior to next year’s elections.

BY BEN FELDER

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Elected city officials/ next election date Mayor Mick Cornett March 6, 2018 Ward 1: James Greiner March 7, 2017 Ward 2: Ed Shadid March 3, 2015

David Greenwell PHOTOS BY M A RK HA N COC K

Four Oklahoma City Council seats are up for reelection next March, and while Election Day is still more than eight months away, some names are emerging as possible candidates. A few of the councilors up for reelection have already announced their intentions for next year, and there appears to be an effort to recruit some challengers based on oppositions that remain following this year’s mayoral race. Ward 6 Councilwoman Meg Salyer, who is a 6-year veteran of the council, is up for reelection in March, and Ward 2 Councilman Ed Shadid, or members of his campaign, have looked for possible challengers to Salyer. A member of Mary Sosa’s House District 89 campaign team said members of Shadid’s team had asked about Sosa’s interest in running for the Ward 6 seat against Salyer several months ago. Shadid ran an unsuccessful bid for mayor this year, and Salyer had publicly supported Mayor Mick Cornett. In a comment to Oklahoma Gazette, a very angry Shadid denied that report. “With any basic journalism, you could figure it out. I’m not recruiting anyone,” Shadid said. “You go do your work.” Shadid said it did not make sense for him to recruit Sosa for a Ward 6 run because she lives in Ward 4. However, Anna Langthorn, who works for Sosa’s campaign, said someone claiming to represent Shadid’s campaign did not realize Sosa lived outside of Ward 6 when they approached her earlier this year. “They said they were trying to build a coalition,” Langthorn said. Shadid denied any interest in seeing Sosa run for council and said he is supportive of her House campaign. He also said it would be silly to seek a Ward 6 candidate because a “well-established person has already decided” to run against Salyer. However, Shadid did not mention who that was. Shadid said he has never discussed a council run with Sosa and Sosa released a statement Friday reiterating her commitment to running for the House and said she had not spoken with Shadid personally about the city council. Prior to this year’s mayoral election, Shadid told this reporter he would be interested in finding “likeminded candidates” to run for council in 2015. If

Ed Shadid

Ward 3: Larry McAtee March 7, 2017 Ward 4: Pete White March 7, 2017 Ward 5: David Greenwell March 3, 2015 Ward 6: Meg Salyer March 3, 2015 Ward 7: John Pettis Jr March 7, 2017 Ward 8: Pat Ryan March 3, 2015

Meg Salyer

Shadid’s camp is looking for candidates, it’s likely those who opposed him during the mayoral race are also trying to find someone to challenge Shadid in Ward 2, political observers say. Shadid, who is up for reelection in Ward 2, was first elected to the council in 2011. Shadid advanced to a runoff and beat opponent Charlie Swinton in a race that turned negative down the stretch.

Pat Ryan

Other names in Ward 6

I just feel at this time that the time commitment [of running a campaign] is going to take too much. — Nick Harroz

Another name that has been mentioned as a candidate in Ward 6 is Jonathan Dodson, a partner with Reneighbor who is also involved with the proposed Wheeler District on Western Avenue. “It’s something I’m deeply interested in and would love to do at some point in the future,” Dodson said. “But I’m not sure this is this time for it.” Dodson’s name has been floated as a possible candidate from circles in the city’s urban core, which could indicate a desire by some to push a younger candidate. Ward 6 is home to the Plaza District, Midtown and several other urban

neighborhoods that have recently attracted a lot of young leaders who are becoming more engaged in community and civic affairs. Other rumors from political observers have said school board member Laura Massenat could also seek a run at Ward 6. However, Massenat, who is part owner of Elemental Coffee Roasters in Midtown, said it wasn’t a race she was interested in entering. “I am flattered by the rumors but don’t feel my work is done on the [Oklahoma City Public Schools] School Board, and I do not intend to run for city council,” she said in an email to the Gazette.

Wards 8 and 5

Ward 8 is the only confirmed open seat, as Pat Ryan announced this year that he does not plan to seek reelection. A few names have been floated as possible candidates for this north OKC ward, including Nick Harroz, president of Mark 1 Asset Management. “I have struggled with this decision on whether to run or not,” Harroz said. “I just feel at this time that the time commitment [of running a campaign] is going to take too much.” Harroz said he was set on running earlier this year, but the death of his grandfather changed his plans as he works to manage his family’s affairs. “In March, I was 100 percent sure I was going to run,” Harroz said. “I’m not saying that I’d never make a run at it. Just not at this time.” Mark Stonecipher is an attorney with Fellers Snider who has come the closest to confirming a run for council. Stonecipher, who has served on the board of adjustments as a Ryan appointee and charter review committee in 2008, said Ryan approached him last year and asked about his interest to seek the Ward 8 seat. “We will have a formal announcement soon,” Stonecipher said. David Greenwell, who was first elected Ward 5 councilman in 2011, announced this year that he plans to seek reelection. OKC’s council elections are nonpartisan, and there are not set term limits. Councilmembers are paid $12,000 a year. If a candidate fails to receive more than 50 percent of the vote in March, the top two candidates will advance to an April 7 runoff.

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METRO BRIEFS

Uber controversial The Uber and Lyft rideshare programs are getting a closer look from the city council.

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from city staff said the NCAA Women’s College World Series and other events had “grown to a point where the ASA Complex can no longer accommodate existing patron and media demands.”

Rob Neu

Say what?

The council approved improvements to the ASA Hall of Fame softball stadium and Chesapeake Energy Arena last week. The council approved a $822,043 bid to construct a new player’s family lounge and promoter office at Chesapeake Energy Arena. “These [promoters] live on buses and in hotel rooms, so it’s starting to become a little bit of a competitive trend [among arenas] to be able to put them in a real workspace,” said Thomas Anderson, the city’s executive manager of special projects. Anderson also said the new family lounge will double in size compared to the current facility. The council also approved $1.2 million in renovations for the softball stadium, which will come from a 2007 general obligation bond. Improvements will include a new outfield locker room, new public restrooms, lighting, dugouts and other features. A memo to the council

MARK H ANCOCK / FILE

Stadium repairs approved by council

Food truck licenses restructured

As food truck businesses continue to grow across the city, a new licensing fee structure has been developed by the city. Food trucks will be required to purchase an annual $100 license but will also have the option to purchase a $150 license that includes six special events. A $250 lincense would give a food truck the ability to attend unlimited special events, such as the H&8th Food Truck festival held each month in Midtown.

Eric Wenger

MARK HANCOCK / FILE

“This is partnership at its finest,” said Rob Neu, OKC public schools superintendent, about the new Haul Pass program. Emerson High School students will be given fully funded bus passes to use the city’s public transit system at no cost. Funded by both the school district and city, the program is expected to expand to other high schools in the district.

MARK HANCOCK

Following several months of research by city staff, a proposed ordinance for rideshare services has been developed, but city officials admit that it has not been met with total agreement from either side of the debate. New services like Uber and Lyft, which allow riders to call for a car via a mobile app, have been met with frustration from the city’s taxi companies, who complain the new services do not have to meet the same guidelines as traditional cabs. A proposed ordinance was introduced to the Oklahoma City Council last week that would require Uber and Lyft drivers to complete a background and medical check, apply for a permit and allow their vehicles to be inspected each year. In his presentation to the council, Assistant City Manager M.T. Berry said Uber currently meets the insurance requirements in the proposed ordinance. “Despite our best efforts, the taxi, limousine or Uber or Lyft are not satisfied,” Berry said. A public hearing is scheduled for Aug. 26 before the council, and a final vote could take place Sept. 9. The uniqueness of Uber and Lyft centers on the ability to call a car simply by pinpointing your location on a mobile app. Drivers are considered contract employees of the rideshare companies, and they use their own cars. Payment for the ride is deducted from a rider’s credit card, which is pre-entered into the app. Riders do not exchange money with drivers.

“It’s a new industry, and we are trying to respond to it professionally and still have a number of public health concerns addressed,” said City Manager Jim Couch. The city has also created standards for food truck parks that allow multiple trucks to gather. A public hearing on the proposed ordinance is scheduled for Aug. 12.

SHANNON CORN M A N / FI LE

M A RK HA N COC K

BY BEN FELDER

By the numbers

123. That’s the number of miles the city of Oklahoma City repaved in 2014, which is a considerable increase from 33 miles in 2012 and 78 miles in 2013. Eric Wenger, director of public works in OKC, said the increase was thanks to a voter-approved bond in 2007. “We are putting a lot of effort into the reconstruction of Oklahoma City streets,” Wenger said. “We still believe that this number is going to increase.”

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CHiCKEN

FRiED NEWS

Thanks, Obama!

This meme will never end. Ever. And as long as the blame train is chugging ahead at dangerously high speeds, let’s all get on like bunch of freight hoppers. Watch your arms and legs, people. Recently, U.S. Republican Senator Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa, told MSNBC that he visited the U.S.Mexico border and interviewed Central American youth. Because, ERE! C O M E HT C H U ! you know, he WE GO speaks Spanish “reasonably well.” So now he knows everything. “These kids are here, in this country, at the invitation of the president,” Inhofe told MSNBC. “I think everyone knows it; nobody says it ... [Obama] is making it sound as if, ‘Come here, we’ll take care of you,’” Inhofe said. “And they all believe this.” However, not everybody agrees with Inhofe’s take on the situation, and that might be why “nobody says it.”

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A recent poll by the Public Religion Research Institute found that most Americans think our country should shelter the thousands of children that cross our border, most of them unaccompanied. Seventy percent agree we should aid them, as well. Also, 69 percent classify the youth as refugees, not as illegal immigrants. Maybe that’s because they’re minors and, well, aren’t legally responsible for decisions made by their adult parents to send them into a country that’s also a safe haven from the rampant violence happening south of our border. That makes more sense.

Abortions and t-shirts

The owners of Hobby Lobby have been credited for being pioneers for religious freedom following their successful

challenge to the federal government’s requirement to provide contraceptives as part of employer-provided health insurance. Now it appears that even satanists want to follow that example. In a letter posted on its website, the New Yorkbased Satanic Temple says the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling should allow its own members to opt out of participating in information-consent laws, which require women seeking an abortion to hear a state-directed counseling that includes information designed to discourage the abortion, according to the Guttmacher Institute. “The Supreme Court has decided that religious beliefs are so sacrosanct that they can even trump scientific fact,” the group stated in its letter. “Because of the respect the Court has given to religious beliefs, and the fact that our

our beliefs are based on best available knowledge, we expect that our belief in the illegitimacy of statemandated ‘informational’ material is enough to exempt us, and those who hold our beliefs, from having to receive them.” Then again, SUCK IT, this could all be a ploy to sell BEATLES! merchandise, as the group also sells T-shirts that say, “Right to accurate medical information” on its website. They come in black, white and pink and cost $25.

Bigger than The Beatles?

It’s no secret that a lot of people like Garth Brooks. It’s why he’s the best-selling musician since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales in 1991. But things are about to get even peachier for Brooks, as he stands to sell even more once he offers digital downloads through garthbrooks.com — and at a “stupid

price.” “People are going to mistake (stupid-cheap downloads) for giving it away,” Brooks told reporters last month, “but I’m not.” If he sells a million downloads — which should be available very soon — he’ll likely surpass Elvis as the best-selling solo act of all time, putting him up over 135 million albums sold. Heck, The Beatles (177 million units sold) might even be within his reach after he releases his forthcoming 11th studio album later this year. That’s right, the 52-year-old country icon could one day become bigger than The Beatles. Garthmania is still real.

Abandoned cellar? Put your kids in it!

Grand plans for Aubrey McClendon’s wine cellar didn’t quite work out as intended. The project, near the

Chesapeake campus at NW 68th Street and Classen Boulevard, was started in 2006. It was abandoned sometime in 2008, complete with rusting steel beams and a partial foundation. Grand plans are once again underway, but rather than storing wine, it will store children. NewsOK.com reports that the site will be converted to an 18,000-squarefoot American Energy Partners day care center. What was once a sad, empty lot will soon be filled with children’s laughter.

Still fighting that fight

A Salt Lake City, Utah, attorney is using the Freedom of Information Act to sue the FBI over an open records request connected to the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal building in Oklahoma City. Jesse Trentadue alleges that the bureau failed to adequately complete his records request and he knows that

Police recently connected the dots the tapes and documents containing the from a bloody knife in the pocket of information he’s seeking exist. He wants a drunk dude to a man that had been permission to search FBI offices in OKC stabbed in the abdomen while minding and Los Angeles for the “missing” records his own business. himself. According to a The Salt Lake Tribune NewsOK story, reported that Trentadue James Johnson believes the records was sitting cool contain information and detached at connected to his DO NOT SIT HERE. the bus station brother’s death in an when Phillip OKC prison not long Hall, “unsteady after the bombing. and slurring his Though officials have words,” walked declared Kenneth up to him and Trentadue’s death a began threatening suicide, his family believes him for no reason he was killed by prison guards before stabbing him in the during an interrogation gone awry abdomen. and that the guards mistook him for You know the scene in The Royal a man believed to be connected to the Tenenbaums in which Gene Hackman’s bombing. character gets kicked out of the house The federal government paid the and his sidekick, Pagoda, takes out a Trentadues $1.1 million for restitution small Swiss Army knife, deliberately in 1995. unfolds it and then stabs Hackman in the gut before helping him into a cab? Feeling stabby Yeah, I bet this was nothing like that. This is the last time you put a knife in me! Hear me?!

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COMMENTARY

If only I was a corporation BY ROBIN MEYERS

I should have expected the Hobby Lobby decision, given the record of the Roberts court, but it still made we wonder, yet again, if people are paying attention to what we are becoming — or more accurately, what we have become. Because Oklahoma’s Green family, which owns the company, objects on religious grounds to the provisions of the Affordable Care Act when it comes to birth control options, the women who work for Hobby Lobby cannot make their own personal, moral and religious decisions about their own reproductive rights. In other words, the boss can do as he pleases, and his workers can do as they please, but only if what they do pleases the boss. Welcome to the world of the personhood of corporations and the second-class status of the individual citizens who serve them. Prepare for an onslaught of cases that allow corporations (now that we

would all recognize one if we saw it walking down the street) to pick and choose which laws to follow based on the religious beliefs of their owners. Hobby Lobby may be a “closely held” company, but the Constitution, and especially the Bill of Rights, was written to protect closely held human beings. The founding fathers not only gave us freedom of religion but, more importantly, freedom from religion. More troubling to me is the unquestioned assumption that the Green family’s version of Christianity is normative. They have the right to be closed on Sunday (which I admire), hold personal beliefs about the sinfulness of homosexuality (which I disagree with) and pay their workers more than the minimum wage while importing products made in China under conditions Jesus would find appalling. But in America, they do not have the

right to deprive workers whose beliefs are different from theirs the benefits that others are guaranteed by law. Nothing is more un-American. In case you doubt that not all religious views are equally protected, consider how unlikely it is that a case concerning my religious views would make it to the Supreme Court. During the run-up to the invasion of Iraq, I wrote commentaries for Oklahoma Gazette against the war, preached sermons against the war and participated in demonstrations against the war. Bill O’Reilly called people like me “bad Americans” for opposing the war, but I did so out of religious conviction. That’s right, my understanding of Christianity compelled my personal activism. But at no time did I assume for one moment that I could withhold a portion of my income taxes that would go to

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.

fund it. I believe in Christian pacifism, except in the case of self-defense, and my taxes (compelled by my government) were being used to fund something that directly violated my personal religious beliefs. Imagine the court ruling in Meyers vs. Dick Cheney and Co. that a minister’s individual opposition to what he believed was both illegal and immoral should exempt him from paying a portion of his taxes. You guessed it. That’s never going to happen. That is, not unless I grow up to own a corporation that employs thousands of women whose personal and constitutional rights I can violate because my individual religious beliefs are more important than theirs. This is not a conservative or liberal issue, my friends. It’s a wake-up call. So wake up. Rev. Dr. Robin R. Meyers is senior minister of Mayflower Congregational UCC Church, OKC, and Professor of Social Justice at Oklahoma City University.

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. Starting salary isn’t the problem

Your Chicken-Fried News piece (News, Chicken-Fried News, “More teachers needed,” July 23, Oklahoma Gazette) on low teacher pay has motivated me to share my two cents. I have been involved in Oklahoma education since 1968, when I began my teaching career at Ulysses S. Grant High School in Oklahoma City. Over the past 46 years, I have been a classroom teacher, union leader, school administrator and school administrator association lobbyist. For the past 27 years, I’ve worked as an independent consultant for schools in every corner of our state. Thus, I feel qualified to comment. As you reported, teacher pay in Oklahoma ranks 49th in the nation. I cannot remember the ranking making any higher than 46th; we seem to

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languish near the bottom and, as a state, seem satisfied with that position. I submit that the problem is not really the starting salary. A salary of $32,000, plus fully paid health insurance, plus retirement benefits is a decent start for a young college graduate who has likely been working at McDonalds all his/her teenage years. My starting salary in 1968 was $5,750. The average wage in 1968 was $5,572, and today it’s $35,034. So starting teacher salary is not far from average. The real problem is the maximum salary. The State Minimum Salary Schedule, which includes a health insurance benefit, tops out after 25 years, a masters’ degree and a doctorate at only $46,000. Across the state, approximately 200 districts pay above the minimum, mostly in and around our major urban areas. This leaves teachers in approximately 330 of our state’s 527 school districts with a salary that tops out at $46,000. I believe that if teaching is a true profession, the movement from $32,000 to $50,000 should happen in about 10 years or some reasonable amount of time given the preparation for, the importance of, and the demands of the job within the profession. Now, everyone is about evaluation and accountability,

and we all want and should demand effective teachers. The state Legislature in 2010 passed an overhaul to our teacher evaluation system. We are now in the process of continual implementation of the Teacher Leader and Effectiveness model enacted by the Legislature. As we implement the law, we have been using a qualitative model that measures a teacher’s performance in the classroom in a variety of ways. Unfortunately, when the 2015-16 school year arrives, our evaluation model will include a “50 percent component” based upon quantitative measures and will be heavily weighted on value-added student test scores. In state after state, where this movement began, including

Florida, lawsuits are being filed against the value-added testing model for its inaccuracies. To sum up, we should evaluate our teachers on their classroom and schoolwide performance and demand nothing less than effective teachers. We also must pay our teachers professional wages. The money to for these things cannot come from local school districts; it will take hundreds of millions of dollars from the Oklahoma State Legislature, and these funds will be available if we’d stop concentrating on tax cuts and more on the needs of our students and teachers. — Willie Quiñones Oklahoma City

Oklahoma of Department

Libraries

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If you use our color, it is PMS 543, 102R 153G 204B, or Hex #6699CC

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OKG picks are events

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

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BOOKS Ruin Falls, Jenny Milchman book signing, 3 p.m., Aug. 7. Full Circle Bookstore, 1900 Northwest Expressway, 842-2900, fullcirclebooks.com. THU Surviving Henry, local author Erin Taylor Young talks about her book, 6:30 p.m., Aug. 7. Full Circle Bookstore, 1900 Northwest Expressway, 842-2900, fullcirclebooks. com. THU

FILM

M A RK HA N COC K

Sonic Summer Movies: Pitch Perfect, (U.S., 2012, dir. Jason Moore) Beca is cajoled into joining The Bellas, her schools all girl singing group, 9 p.m. Aug. 6. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 445-7080, myriadgardens.org. WED Freebirds, Harkins’ Summer Movie Fun provides parents the opportunity to take their kids to the movies once a week for 10 weeks for only $5 total, 9 a.m., Aug. 7-8. Harkins Theatre, 150 E. Reno, 231-4747. THU-FRI Urban AG Coalition Film Series: More Than Honey, a film series about issues central to the local food, gardening and farming movement, 7-10 p.m. Aug. 8. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 445-7080, myriadgardens.org. FRI Free Summer Movie Series: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, (U.S., 2013, dir. Cody Cameron, Kris Pearn) Flint discovers that his machine still operates and now creates mutant food beasts, 8:30-10:30 p.m. Aug. 8. Chesapeake Boathouse District, 725 S. Lincoln Blvd., 552-4040, boathousedistrict.org. FRI Outdoor Screening: Jurassic Park, (U.S., 1993, dir. Steven Spielberg) a theme park suffers a major power breakdown that allows its cloned dinosaur exhibits to run amok, 9-11 p.m. Aug. 9. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave.,445-7080, myriadgardens.org. SAT

Live! on the Boardwalk The Plaza District is a pretty cool place all the time. But on the second Friday of each month, it’s even better. August’s Live on the Plaza — the district’s monthly gallery walk and street festival — jazzes it up with a boardwalk theme. So hit the Plaza from 7 to 11 p.m. Friday on NW 16th Street between Classen Boulevard and Pennsylvania Avenue. Admission is free. Call 367-9403 or visit plazadistrict.org.

Friday

FOOD Pinot’s Palette, wine and paint party, 7-9 p.m., Aug. 7-9; 2-4 p.m., Aug. 10. Pinot’s Palette, 115 E. California Ave. 602-3850, pinotspalette.com. THU-SUN Budget Friendly Meals, tips for planning healthy, delicious and quick-to-fix budget friendly meals, 10-11 a.m., Aug. 8. Uptown Grocery Co., 1230 W. Covell Rd., Edmond, 509-2700, uptowngroceryco.com. FRI Tipsy Artist, wine and paint party, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Aug. 8-9. Tipsy Palace, 124 W. Oklahoma Ave., Guthrie, 800584-1039, tipsyartist.com. FRI-SAT The Artistik Palette, the social painting place, 7-10 p.m., Aug. 8. The Artistik Palette, 5820 E. Reno Ave., Midwest City, artistikpalette.com. FRI Midtown Market at Saints, fresh, Oklahoma-grown produce, meats, dairy, baked goods, honey and prepared foods such as salsa, jam, jelly and relish, 1 p.m., Aug. 8. Midtown Market , NW 9th St. and Walker Ave. FRI Magical Family Night, treat your family to a kid-friendly meal with mystifying magic performed table side, 4 p.m., Aug. 10. The Melting Pot, 4 E. Sheridan Ave., 235-1000. SUN

Western Avenue: On the Lawn: Ladies Night!, catering to the lovelier half of Oklahoma City by providing a fun and fabulous time for women and girls of all ages, 8 p.m., Aug. 7. Chesapeake Lawn, 6001 N. Western Ave. THU Outdoor Sculptures in Lion’s Park, six outdoor sculptures created and displayed by OU art students, Aug. 7-13. Lions Park, 450 S. Flood Ave., Norman, 3665472, ci.norman.ok.us/parks. THU-WED Women of Faith Tour, revive your faith, awaken your spirit, transform your life, Aug. 8-9. Cox Convention Center, 1 Myriad Gardens, 602-8500, coxconventioncenter.com. FRI-SAT Scissortail Traditional Dance Society, contra dance featuring live music by Ladies at Play, with teaching by special guest Debra Carson Harpe, 8-11 p.m., Aug. 9. First Unitarian Church, 600 N.W. 13, 232-9224, uuokc.org. SAT

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PROVIDED

HAPPENINGS

Lysistrata That Aristophanes really knew what he was doing. The Greek playwright penned Lysistrata over two millennia ago, yet its highly sexual themes and musings on gender roles resonate today as strongly as they ever have. See Reduxion Theatre Company’s interpretation of the rip-roaring social comedy 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Broadway Theater, 914 N. Broadway Ave. Tickets are $18-$25. Call 604-4730 or visit reduxiontheatre.com. See our story on page 41.

Friday–Saturday, ongoing

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The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)

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Ever wanted a complete rundown of Shakespeare’s stuff but in one neat, compact production? The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) covers all 37 of The Bard’s works in under two hours, with only three people handling the whole thing. See the Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park production starring Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield 8 p.m. Friday at The Paramount OKC, 7 N. Lee Ave. Tickets are $10-$15. Call 235-3700 or visit oklahomashakespeare.com.

Friday Physician Assistant Program Info Sessions, 5:30-7 p.m., Aug. 11. Oklahoma City University, 2501 N. Blackwelder, 208-5000, okcu.edu. MON

PERFORMING ARTS A Little Night Music, follow the romances of an oh-so-entertaining weekend jaunt in the countryside, featuring the classic song Send in the Clowns, 7:30 p.m., Aug. 7; 8 p.m., Aug. 8-9; . Civic Center Music Hall, 201 N. Walker Ave., 297-2264, okcciviccenter.com. THU-SAT Fabulous Fibs, Fables and Folklore, show shares the wit, wisdom and laughter of Africans and African-Americans through their folklore, proverbs, and melodies, 7:30 p.m., Aug. 9. Carpenter Square Theatre, 800 W. Main St., 2326500, carpentersquare.com. SAT

SPORTS OKC Redhawks vs. Iowa Cubs, minor league baseball, 7:05 p.m., Aug. 7-9,11; 6:05 p.m. Aug. 10. Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, 2 Mickey Mantle Ave., 218-1000, bricktownokc.com. THU-MON Oklahoma Victory Dolls vs. North Texas Derby Revolution/Denton County Outlaws, roller derby double header to benefit the Neighborhood Services Organization, 5-10 p.m., Aug. 9. Oklahoma State Fairgrounds, 3001 General Pershing Blvd. SAT

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BI GSTOC K.COM

continued

Downtown Dash If you like to run and love public art, we don’t even need to tell you. If you don’t like to run but you do love public art, you should still register for the Downtown Dash, an evening 5k race through Midtown, Heritage Hills and Mesta Park. The first in a series of Downtown OKC’s Run This Town events, Downtown Dash also benefits Downtown Oklahoma City Initiatives’ Public Art Project. Packet pickup begins at 6 p.m. and the race 8 p.m. Saturday in the St. Anthony Hospital parking lot, 1000 N. Lee Ave. Registration is $35. Visit downtownokc.com/runthistown.

Saturday

YOUTH

Full Moon Bike Ride, meet and ride from the Gardens Bandshell on a full moon route through downtown Oklahoma City, 8:30-9:30 p.m., Aug. 10. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 445-7080, myriadgardens.org. SUN

Freebirds, Harkins’ Summer Movie Fun provides parents the opportunity to take their kids to the movies once a week for 10 weeks for only $5 total, 9 a.m., Aug. 7-8. Harkins Theatre, 150 E. Reno Ave., 231-4747. THU-FRI Summer Kids Camps, sports and recreation camps, college for kids and counselors in training program, Aug. 7-8. Oklahoma City Community College, 7777 S. May Ave., 682-1611, occc.edu. THU-FRI

MOHAMMAD JAVAH ERI

Free Summer Movie Series: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, (U.S., 2013, dir. Cody Cameron, Kris Pearn) Flint discovers that his machine still operates and now creates mutant food beasts, 8:30-10:30 p.m. Aug. 8., Chesapeake Boathouse District, 725 S. Lincoln Blvd, 552-4040, boathousedistrict.org. FRI

A Softer Storm / Line of Flight

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Fans of forward-thinking art have no shortage of options here in Oklahoma City. And two new exhibits from up-and-coming local artists perfectly embody this boom: Elise Deringer’s A Softer Storm and Mohammad Javaheri’s Line of Flight. See their joint exhibition at an opening reception from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday at Mainsite Contemporary Art, 122 E. Main St., in Norman. The exhibit runs through September 13, and admission is free. Call 360-1162 or visit mainsite-art.com.

Friday, ongoing

Story Time with Julie, hear the best and newest children’s books, 10:15-11 a.m., Aug. 9. Full Circle Bookstore, 1900 Northwest Expressway, 842-2900, fullcirclebooks.com. SAT Weekend Keeper Connections, from anemones to zebras, learn about your favorite Zoo animals from the people entrusted to care for them: the keepers, Aug. 9-10. Oklahoma City Zoo, 2000 Remington Place, 424-3344, okczoo.com. SAT-SUN Buzzing Bees, learn about why bees buzz, what attracts them and why they’re so important to us and our world, 9:30-10:30 a.m., Aug. 12. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 445-7080, myriadgardens.org. TUE

VISUAL ARTS Anji Bryner, works primarily in oils but incorporates other media into her work, including acrylics, watercolor and mixed media. Gallery 66, 6728 NW 39th Expressway, 314-2430, gallery66ok.com. Aquaticus: An Ocean on the Prairie, exhibit includes information on the building of the Midwests only major aquarium in the 1980s, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Aug. 7-13. Oklahoma City Zoo, 2000 Remington, 424-3344, okczoo.com. WED-WED Art Gone Wild: Paintings by OKC Zoo animals, pieces of art created by the Zoo’s own talented animal artists made especially for the show with some help from their care givers. AKA Gallery, 3001 Paseo St., 6062522, akagallery.net.

Brandice Guerra’s Wunderkammer/Totemic Taxonomy, a wondrous display of art and natural history curiosities and a collaboration between Pete Froslie and Cathleen Faubert, where totems are explored in the current context of the 21st century. Science Museum Oklahoma, 2100 NE 52nd St., Oklahoma City, 602-6664, sciencemuseumok.org. Conspicuous Caffeination, stunning mesas and ordered lines of cedars of New Mexico sparked Bruce’s creative urge. Gray Owl Coffee, 223 E. Gray St., Norman, 701-2929. Contemporary Flora, exhibit by Linda Hiller is all about bright colors, bold forms and modern beauty. Summer Wine Art Gallery, 2928 B Paseo St., 831-3279, summerwinegallery.com. Dian Church, sometimes graphically realistic, sometimes totally abstract always with an emphasis on design and color. Norman Santa Fe Depot, 200 S. Jones Ave., Norman, 307-9320, pasnorman.org.

Live on the Plaza, see the best of what the Plaza District has to offer, 6-10 p.m., Aug. 8. The Plaza District, 1618 N. Gatewood Ave., 367-9403, plazadistrict.org. FRI Ladylike, work evolves from themes of female body image, feminine stereotypes, eating and domesticity. IAO Art Gallery, 706 W. Sheridan Ave., 232-6060, iaogallery.org. New West, featuring emerging and established artists from New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, Kansas and Oklahoma. Acosta Strong Fine Art, 7302 N. Western Ave., 464-9719, johnbstrong.com. Oklahoma Art Great and Small, small-works show by members of the Oklahoma Art Guild. Contemporary Art Gallery, 2928 Paseo St., 601-7474, contemporaryartgalleryokc.com. Pinot’s Palette, paint, drink, have fun. 7-9 p.m., Aug. 7-9. Pinot’s Palette, 115 E. California Ave., 602-3850, pinotspalette.com THU-SAT

Emerging Artist Showcase, featuring artist and cloudscaper David Holland. Acosta Strong Fine Art, 7302 N. Western Ave., 464-9719, johnbstrong.com.

Power Play, exhibit explores human physiology and the power of the human body. Science Museum Oklahoma, 2100 NE 52nd St., 602-6664, sciencemuseumok.org.

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

Shifting Frontiers, consists of cowboy portraits and rugged Western landscapes. Gaylord-Pickens Oklahoma Heritage Museum, 1400 Classen Blvd., 2354458, oklahomaheritage.com.

Georgiana Stewart, artist uses color and form to communicate the beauty and emotion in the people, objects, and amazing land and seascapes around her. Contemporary Art Gallery, 2928 Paseo St., 601-7474, contemporaryartgalleryokc.com.

Spacial Recognition, two innovative artists exploring the nature of spaces, both those surrounding us and those within us. In Your Eye Studio & Gallery, 3005-A Paseo St., 525-2161, inyoureyegallery.com. This is Our Oklahoma Land, Kimberly Baker specializes in photographing Oklahoma Landscapes. 200 S. Jones Ave., Norman, 307-9320, pasnorman.org.

GILLIAN LANG

Kim Robbins: Blossoms for the Soul, Robbins masterfully captures nature and adds her own unique flair through digital processing. Crystal Bridge Tropical Conservatory, 301 W. Reno Ave., 297-3995, myriadgardens.com.

Small Works, selections from the Oklahoma Art Guild. Contemporary Art Gallery, 2928 Paseo St., 601-7474, contemporaryartgalleryokc.com.

Art Gone Wild Zoo animals are cute and fun to look at and all that, but their art is even more engaging. That’s right: Elephants, hogs, sea lions and other beasts of the wild have created works of art (with guidance from their caregivers) as part of the fifth annual Art Gone Wild art show. The exhibit is currently on display at a.k.a. Gallery, 3001 Paseo St., and runs through August 30. Admission is free. Call 606-2522 or visit For OKG aka-gallery.com.

Wednesday–Wednesday, ongoing

music picks see page 53

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PHOTOS BY M A RK HA N COC K

LIFE FOOD & DRINK

Afternoon delights Who says alcohol can only be consumed in the evenings?

BY GREG ELWELL

The goal is simple: Drink during the day. The rules: Don’t get sick. Don’t go broke. Don’t get arrested. If you’re the kind of person who has a job, you’ll probably be doing this on a weekend. If you’re the kind of person who doesn’t have a job, you probably don’t need my advice on drinking during the day. Your tolerances might vary, but mine does not. I am the father of two kids under the age of 4. I rarely drink, and I rarely sleep. When I do have the time to day drink, it is indeed very serious business. Here’s how to do it correctly:

1. Prep work

You will be drinking tomorrow, which means you will not be driving. Go ahead and sign up for UberOKC if you haven’t already. Download the app and get your $10 credit. (And enter in the numbers for some cab companies in your phone while you’re at it.) A designated driver is not a bad idea, but he/she/it needs to understand this is an all-day job. You can buy all this person’s

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food and perhaps you can return the favor someday — unless you’re a selfish jerk, in which case just go with cabs.

2. Get your brunch on

If brunch were a person, it would be the patron saint of day-drinking. Go into a bar at 11 a.m. and it’s a little sad. Go into a brunch spot at 11 a.m. and you’re already behind. This is where you lay the groundwork for the rest of the day. You and your group of four or five will order up a hearty breakfast and a stiff drink. You want eggs, bacon, ham, potatoes, cheese, toast, pancakes — stickto-your-ribs, soak-up-the-booze meals. Most diners won’t serve you alcohol, so be prepared to spend a little more on breakfast and go to Picasso Cafe, 3009 Paseo St. (If you’re day drinking on Sunday, this is the place for you.); Deep Fork Grill, 5418 N. Western Ave.; Cheever’s Cafe, 2409 N. Hudson Ave.; or Whiskey Cake Kitchen & Bar, 1845 Northwest Expressway. As for the drinks, I don’t care if it’s a bottomless mimosa brunch; you’re not

trying to go home drunk by noon — you’re in this for the long haul, so only get two. Relax, enjoy each other’s company and gradually tie one on.

3. Find a patio

Brunch is over and you’re feeling good. You should not be full-to-bursting with food, and the alcohol should provide you with that gentle humming sensation that lets you know you’re in an altered state. What you need now is a little sunshine and another cocktail. If you didn’t start at Picasso’s, now’s a good time to go there. Or hit up The Wedge Pizzeria, 4709 N. Western Ave., or The Mule, 1630 N. Blackwelder Ave. Ideally, you’ll get in some people-watching with your continued

From left Brandon Porter, Zak Corbett and Dustin Graeber enjoy some afternoon drinking at Drunken Fry. liver-pickling. Are you laughing a bit too loud? Good. It’s all going according to plan. Get an appetizer or two for the table, but keep it light. Too much food and it’s nap time. Too little and your buzz will escalate to inebriation.

4. A short walk

If you’re lucky enough to be in Midtown, downtown or the Plaza District, you can get up and stroll to CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

Sleep the sleep of the dead, day-drinker, and dream of the next time you’ll have this much fun.

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LIFE FOOD & DRINK

Bartender Priscilla Angelico draws a Guinness for a lucky afternoon drinker at VZD’s Restaurant & Club.

5. The bar

Congratulations! It’s far enough past noon that going to a bar seems jovial and not like the proof your relatives have been searching for to get your intervention underway. It also probably isn’t packed yet, so you can grab a table and start drinking beer. Unlike the restaurants, the bar isn’t in a hurry for you to leave, as long as you behave yourself — which means walking that thin line of 1) not getting hammered and 2) still drinking. Probably best that you switch to beer at this point. This was your idea, so you buy the first bucket of suds. Everybody takes turns after that. Snacks are fine, but don’t eat anything heavy. That comes a bit later. Edna’s, 5137 N. Classen Circle, or the Hi-Lo Club, 1221 NW 50th St., are obvious choices here, but you might also enjoy VZD’s Restaurant & Club, 4200 N. Western Ave.; 51st Street

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Speakeasy, 1114 NW 51st St.; or one of the myriad sports bars dotting the city (The Dugout Bar & Grill, 10909 N. May Ave.; Republic Gastropub, 5830 N. Classen Blvd.; or Cousin’s Bar & Grill, 6509 N. May Ave.). Entertainment is key to keeping your group together or even adding to it. A TV is fine, and a jukebox is better.

6. Home again, home again

You might have been to a couple of bars today. You definitely used up all of your Uber credit and probably your friends’ patience. It was fun, but now it’s time for that fun to wind down. Bid your friends adieu. Some will decide to keep drinking and go ahead and cross the line into drunkenness. Poor Stacy. You know better. You’re going home — with one quick stop on the way. Remember how you skipped lunch? You won’t skip dinner. Stop somewhere with food that is good but not particularly healthy: a Mother Tucker from Tucker’s Onion Burgers, 324 NW 23rd St.; a bag full of enchiladas and Tacos Calvillo from Abel’s Mexican Restaurant, 5822 NW 50th St.; or a pile of barbecue from Back Door BBQ, 315 NW 23rd St., Bedlam Bar-B-Q, 610 NE 50th St., or Steve’s Rib, 7202 W. Hefner Road.

PH OTOS BY MARK HANCOCK

a nearby shop. Don’t buy anything, of course — nobody needs to carry a bag full of clothes while day-drinking. But the fresh air and exercise will be somewhat sobering before you up a touch at your next stop.

If your ride just wants to get you home, get a pizza delivery to meet you there. Get out a giant travel mug and fill it with cold water. Crack open that bottle of extra-strength Tylenol and swallow two or three. Eat your food, drink your water and watch something dumb and fun on Netflix until you are full and sleepy — it shouldn’t take long. The day is over. You won.

Dakotah Cross-Johnson and Kelsey Bowen are served by JoAnn Stanfill on the patio at Picasso Cafe. Tomorrow, you go back to real life, hopefully sans hangover. Oh, and ignore your phone. You’re not going out again. Sleep the sleep of the dead, day-drinker, and dream of the next time you’ll have this much fun.

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Sushi and steak From raw to well-done, Tsubaki offers excellently prepared menu items in a casual atmosphere.

BY GREG ELWELL

Tsubaki Sushi & Hibachi 5900 W. MEMORIAL ROAD 792-7818 WHAT WORKS: The Heart Stealer roll will steal your heart. WHAT NEEDS WORK: The fishy Godzilla roll. TIP: SIT AT THE BAR AND ENJOY THE SHOW.

I’ve never quite understood why sushi and steak are always getting shoved together. Don’t get me wrong; I love both of them. I named my children after them. My son, Prime Marbled. My lovely daughter, Nigiri Uni. But, much like my children, I’m always surprised when people want them to hang out. Generally, if you’re doing a great job with steak, you’re not so hot with the sushi. Places that excel at sushi don’t always cook the best steak. Yet so many Japanese restaurants, like Tsubaki Sushi & Hibachi, 5900 W. Memorial Road, are doing both at once.

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You will be forgiven for driving past Tsubaki a few times before finding it. Crammed between a gas station and a Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches, it’s easy to miss. However, once you’ve been inside, it’s hard to forget. It doesn’t have the flash and style of Sushi Neko, but Tsubaki presents a clean and modern atmosphere that’s classy enough for a date but laid back enough for the kind of date on which I would go. It’s nice, it’s sedate and the service is excellent. The portion size on the tuna tataki ($10) leaves a bit to be desired, but that might just be down to my gluttony. Quick-seared tuna is sliced thin, served in a slightly sweet sauce and topped with a salad. Each bite features the crunch of greens giving way to the tender tuna, which practically melts on the tongue. Can you tell I liked it? I liked it. There. No more confusion. For something ever so slightly more filling, the gyoza ($5.50) come either fried or steamed.

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I always order the mackerel nigiri ($3.75) at sushi restaurants because I like the flavor and because, as a slowerselling fish, the quality of the mackerel can tell you a lot about the rest of the menu. In this case, the mackerel was firm with a neutral smell (that’s good) and a potent flavor (that’s also good). If you haven’t had mackerel, give it a shot so I don’t feel weird being the only guy who likes it. The sushi rolls are what most people get, and Tsubaki has a few winners. You can’t go wrong with a spicy crunchy tuna roll ($5.50), and I was quite happy with this version. The Philadelphia roll ($6.25) was nice, too, with a good crunch to the cucumber. For the more expensive specialty rolls, I recommend the Heart Stealer roll ($13) which is whimsically shaped into half-hearts — all the better for stealing away a piece. With tempura shrimp, jalapeño, avocado and cucumber, it’s got a little crunch, a little heat, a little fat and an amazing flavor. The only broken heart I get from this roll is when I realize it has all been eaten. I was less impressed by the Godzilla roll ($12), which packs in tuna, salmon and yellowtail (with

cheese and special sauce) before it gets deep fried. I don’t know if it was the fish that was fishy or the oil it was fried in, but there was an off flavor. If you’re the kind of weirdo who gets chicken fried rice ($10) at a Japanese restaurant, congrats on being my son. (I love you, Prime.) It had the right amount of grease, good chicken flavor and lots of crunch from the vegetables fried in. On the grilled side of things, the Tsubaki hibachi ($20) lets you pick two proteins (chicken, steak, shrimp, scallops, salmon or lobster) to be cooked up with rice and vegetables on the griddle. I got the steak and shrimp. While I liked the way the meats were cooked, I was a little disappointed to find them doused in a sweet sauce, which kind of invaded all the other elements on the plate. Tsubaki is a grown-up sushi spot in a part of the city that needs it. And while I’m not completely sold on the hibachi portion of the menu, the sushi is good, the service is wonderful and the prices are reasonable. For those tired of wandering the hinterlands of Memorial Road, searching for non-chain restaurants, Tsubaki is a welcome and tasty relief.

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Taking eats to the streets

L AURE N HA M I LTON

FOOD BRIEFS

Bricktown Brewery opens Truckburger and offers menu favorites in its food venue on wheels.

Whether starting as a new freshman or returning to complete a college degree, now is the time to Live Central! Create opportunities in your life at the university uniquely connected to the thriving Oklahoma City metropolitan area. It’s not too late to enroll for fall – classes start Aug. 18! Get started now at www.uco.edu/admissions!

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

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What do you want? More bacon! When do you want it? How about now? Bricktown Brewery has answered that call and taken the show on the road. Truckburger offers all of your favorite things about the brewery (minus the booze). There are bacon burgers, candied bacon, thick-cut fries and bacon-stuffed hot dogs. Baconstuffed hot dogs, people. It’s everything you love about Bricktown Brewery’s food, gone mobile. Speaking from personal experience, eating at this truck tastes like you’ve won something. Keep track of Truckburger on Twitter by following @truckburger or using the new @TruckItOKC app. It’s sure to be coming to an event near you. Also, Bricktown Brewery just opened a new location in Owasso, and manager Blake Lippert said, “the turnout has been incredible.” Have your coffee, and booze, too!

District House in the Plaza District is about to become your new favorite hangout for more than coffee; it now offers beer and wine service. Since it just received its beer and wine license, the selection will continue to grow with a strong emphasis on local craft beers. You can also look forward to menu updates to complement the new beers and wines. And as if that’s not enough, District House will host beer tastings from local craft breweries during Live on the Plaza 7-11 p.m. the second Friday of each month. Good food, good company

If you prefer to spend your Saturday

mornings sleeping in, there’s no reason you should have to miss out on local organic produce. Now, thanks to the Paseo Art District Sundaze Organic Festival, you don’t have to. The green space next to Twisted Root Gallery, 3012 N. Walker Ave., is now home to a different kind of farmers market. “This is the only farmers market in the evening. It’s a chance for the community to get together and enjoy some good food and live entertainment,” said Brian Dunaway, the event’s creator. The festival features local food vendors and entertainment from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. There are an array of products from several vendors, including produce from W Bar M Sheep and Wool in Yukon and baked goods and granola from Mim’s Bakery, 1235 SW Second St. Dunaway said that a local cheesemaker also will be featured and various arts and crafts will be for sale. He said he hopes to draw more vendors as word about the festival gets out. “At the first one [July 20], there were about 150-200 people,” he said. For more information, or to become a vendor or entertainment, please visit facebook.com/ PaseoSundaze. Sundaze Market

D EVON G REEN

Now is the Time

BY DEVON GREEN

Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lippert hold a fresh Truckburger hot dog, burger and fries in Bricktown.

M A RK HA N COC K

Posh pub grub

Made-from-scratch local fare, full-service bar and server-attended lanes! On the Canal in Lower Bricktown. 405.702.8880

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Pub W is a saloon that takes its food offerings to an attractive level of culinary accomplishment. BY DOUG HILL

Pub W 3720 W. ROBINSON ST. NORMAN PUBWNORMAN.COM 701-5844 WHAT WORKS: Good service and food. WHAT NEEDS WORK: Lose the brown gravy with the fried chicken dinner and serve it with a white, creamy gravy. TIP: If you’re looking for the pride of Pub W, try the chicken dinner special offered every Sunday.

Pub W might be the only joint in Oklahoma that includes a quote from author, counterculture hero and vagabond Hunter S. Thompson on its menu. “Your body is not a temple, it’s an amusement park. Enjoy the ride,” is printed under the pub’s list of tempting entrees. The restaurant is a sanctuary of TV, sports, food and drink. Its primary decor are big-screen television monitors in several rooms. There’s adequate seating well away from a horseshoe-shaped bar and also an outdoor patio. As might be expected, it can get noisy but it makes for a festive atmosphere. Though the place was packed, service was fast and friendly. The suds choices are many and include exotic Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout by North Coast Brewing Co., Red Republic by Roughtail Brewing Co. in Oklahoma City and Green Flash Trippel Ale by Green Flash Brewing Co. Alcohol content ranges north of 8 percent on all these beers. The appetizer menu includes roasted red pepper hummus ($7) and pot roast potachos ($9). The latter is a mid-American mash-up inspired by traditional nachos. House-fried potato chips are used to scoop up a melange of barbecued pot roast, cheese, sour cream, grilled onions and jalapeños. The fresh orchard salad ($4.50)

Experience the Exotic Vegetarian Friendly Buffet

The Chupacabra

comes with butter lettuce, apples, golden raisins and toasted almonds. It’s topped with Roquefort blue cheese bits and lemon vinaigrette and includes pita bread on the side. The kids menu is similarly reasonable, with your choice of fries or fruit and a drink included, there’s grilled cheese ($5), fried shrimp ($6), a burger ($5) or pigs in a blanket ($5). Every Sunday, there’s a fried chicken dinner special ($14). The pride in this dish shows on the sandwich board sign out front and an enormous poster about it on an inside wall. Their pride is justified. Pub W serves a bone-in chicken leg, thigh and breast. It appeared to have been deep-fried rather than cooked up in grandma’s cast iron skillet, but the taste was good. It was a nice plate of grub with one jarring note. The mashed potatoes were smothered in brown gravy rather than the traditional white, creamy variety. For a side dish, I ordered Corn O’Brien, which was meh. However, the Asian salmon ($15) was attractively presented with sauteed red bell pepper and green beans and rice sporting carrot freckles, and the fish filet was glazed with hoisin sauce and scallions. The salmon was overbaked by around five minutes and would have benefited from more Chinese catsup. In Spanish, a chupacabra is a legendary monster rumored to attack livestock and drink its blood. Pub W offers a sandwich named The Chupacabra ($9), pulled chicken, grilled jalapeños and onion, Muenster cheese and aioli garlic mayonnaise served on peppery bread. Definitely try Gina’s Southern Devil’s Food Cake ($7) or the homemade buttermilk pie ($5). They are worthy of your personal amusement park. Enjoy.

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Donburi means “bowl” in Japanese and is composed of hot rice topped with various fish, eggs, chicken, beef or vegetables. It is a meal all in one dish, Japanese comfort food popular with the busy lunch crowd. A versatile concept, the rice bowl can be topped with whatever is on hand and is usually served with miso soup and Japanese pickles. However, it wasn’t always the on-trend dish that it is today. Back in 19th-century Japan, rice was commonly served separately, accompanied by many other dishes as part of a very formal meal. The one-bowl notion was unique in its day and was initially dismissed. Over time, as Japanese restaurants began serving donburi, the idea caught on. You can choose from five donburi selections at Tokyo Japanese Restaurant, 7516 N. Western Ave. The flavorful tentoji don ($9.50) includes shrimp, eggplant and other vegetables in a feather-light fried tempura batter over a bowl of rice. On the side is the traditional tsukemono, or pickled vegetables, which includes cabbage, cucumbers, turnips and yellow daikon radishes. Also try the katsudon ($8.95), a succulent fried pork cutlet with egg omelet and sweet stir-fried onions. Saki Sushi, 13520 N. Eastern Ave., is an Asian fusion sushi restaurant with roots in traditional Japanese cuisine. This is a relaxing getaway destination; you can sit at the sushi bar or on floor cushions at the customary low dining tables. The unagi donburi, ($13.95) is a visual beauty: broiled eel with avocado and rice garnished with a pink orchid

Oyako donburi from Sumo Japanese Steak House blossom. The orchid is, indeed, edible and, yes, it does taste like a flower. Enjoy one of the most quintessential donburi dishes, the oyako don ($7.95) at Sumo Japanese Steak House, 1801 S. Broadway, in Edmond. Oyako in Japanese means “parent and child,” referring to the two main ingredients, chicken and egg. Oyakodon originated in Tokyo in the nineteenth century, and this version of donburi was one of the first to gain popularity, due to its simplicity. This bowl of goodness includes simmered chicken and onions in a sweet and savory sauce. Added to this dish is shichimi togarashi, a popular spice blend that originated in the 1600s and is made up of seven ingredients, including ground chili and sesame seeds. A hidden secret in the metro area is Samurai Sushi & Grill, 1630 NW 23rd St. This tiny sushi restaurant and Japanese grill offers up a delightful chicken katsudon ($7.95). A full meal in a bowl, it includes thinly sliced, breaded chicken and is topped with onions, egg and a sweet soy sauce. “Donburi can also be made at home,” said manager John Lu. You might need to practice making rice first though. “The rice needs to be perfect. However, it does take a bit of time to make donburi toppings,” owner Bing Zheng added. That’s why donburi is perfect for lunch trips out of the office.

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Spice is nice If you can’t beat it, join it — the heat, we mean. Pepperbellies, here’s a veritable who’s who of hotness. From curries to Creole, these are places where those who like it hot will feel right at home. — by Devon Green, photos by Mark Hancock, Shannon Cornman

Cajun King 5816 NW 63rd St. cajunkingokc.com 603-3714

If you are looking for an authentic taste of the bayou without a 700-mile road trip, look no farther than this buffetstyle restaurant with a ton of choices. There are plenty of items — from étouffée to blackened pork chops — to wake up your taste buds. The meal starts with freshly made beignets that are not only worth the price of admission but also a nice way to cool off the hot. Laissez les bon temps rouler!

Charm Royal Thai Cuisine 5805 NW 50th St. charmthaicuisine.com 792-2153

The exterior of this restaurant is deceiving. What looks like just another restaurant tucked into a strip mall space opens into an elegant, inviting space. The knowledgeable staff will happily guide you through the menu and adjust the level of spice to your liking. We highly recommend the spicy basil chicken. It has enough heat to get your blood pumping. For a break from the spice, try the house salad. The dressing is so good you’ll want to do shots. Finish it all with a Thai iced coffee.

Kabob-n-Curry 4104 N. Portland Ave. kabob-n-curry.com 601-3454

This unassuming Pakistani restaurant is chock full of an array of items to satisfy your need for spice. There is a wealth of curries to choose from, and we recommend the mutton achaari to really start a fire. Make sure to order plenty of the perfect tandoori naan and a mango lassi, a sweet fruit-and-yogurt smoothie as a cooling treat for dessert. Kabob-n-curry also caters and can bring a taste of the exotic to your next gathering.

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Hillbilly Po’boys and Oysters

La Gumbo Ya Ya

With drinks in mason jars and generous portions, what’s not to love about this place? The blackened crawfish po’boy definitely brings the spice, and the oyster nachos on house-made chips with orange sauce are one-of-a-kind. Wash it all down with one of its signature cocktails. We recommend the Honey Rider with organic honey and peach moonshine.

With a rotating menu of some of the finest gumbos, po’boys and Puerto Rican food the city has to offer, there’s nothing we’ve tried that we don’t love. Make sure to remain flexible, as the menu is determined by what’s available and fresh. The gumbo changes daily, but every choice is extraordinary. Paired with a shrimp or softshell crab, you’ll be in heaven. If you can, save room for some of the bread pudding. You’ll thank us later. Check out its website to find its current location.

1 NW Ninth St. facebook.com/HillbillyPoBoysOysters 702-9805

lagumboyaya.com 226-0746

The Big Easy New Orleans Cafe 359 E. Main St., Yukon facebook.com/TheBigEasy66 350-8989

The Big Easy just got that much more authentic; it now serves beer. Wash down your blackened chicken or catfish with a Louisiana special Abita beer and you’ll feel as if you stepped into the French Quarter. With a huge menu to choose from, you’ll want to revisit The Big Easy any time you want to feel a little Mardi Gras spirit.

Banana Island 1117 NW 25th St. facebook.com/bananaislandrestaurant 602-1188

Banana Island is one of the few Asian restaurants that have Malaysian cuisine, which is a blend of Malay-style food with Indian and Chinese traditions. And there are plenty of options that turn up the heat. Get out of your comfort zone with a chef’s special, such as the authentic spare ribs served with a sweet-and-spicy sauce, or the Evil Jungle Chicken, an aptly named spicy curry dish not for the faint of heart.

O K L A H O M A G A Z E T T E | AU G U S T 6 , 2 0 1 4 | 2 9

Cool for school

12 WAYS TO REACH 216,000 READERS WITH

Before you can say, “No fair,” summertime is over and it’s time to hustle back to the grind. Whether you are getting the little ones ready for their first big day or wanting to look sharp for your first day back, several places in Oklahoma City can help you look your best. Be sure to bring your Keep it Local OK card with you, as most of these retailers give you discounts or special offers if you have one. — Devon Green

Advertise next to Shop, Gazette’s Monthly feature highlighting THE places to splurge. PHOTOS BY SHAN N ON CORN M A N

Entice readers to spend some retail-therapy time in YOUR shop. Call your account executive at 528.6000 or email specialsections@okgazette.com today to reserve your space!

Trichology Salon 14101 N. MAY AVE., SUITE 110 TRICHOLOGYSALON.NET 302-6499

How about a fresh start for the new school year? You could make a big change with a new cut and color or freshen up your look with some subtle scissor work. In either case, the professionals at Trichology have you covered. This full-service salon combines the latest techniques and technology with a talented and professional staff. Go into the school year looking your best.

Masks from around the world!

Weldon Jack 3621 N. WESTERN AVE. WELDONJACK.COM 241-5660

FOLK LIFE

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This unique building on the corner of NW 36th Street and Western Avenue is home to a welcome newcomer on the OKC retail scene. Weldon Jack is a world of motorcycle jackets, shaving gear and housewares with not a floral pattern in sight. The other half of the space is a bona fide full-service barbershop. It is open by appointment only. Be sure to stock up on the luscious line of Okiemade Halston & Henley shave and skin care products to keep you looking sharp through the semester. Uptown Kids 5840 N. CLASSEN BLVD. #3 UPTOWNKIDSSTYLE.COM 418-8881

While you’re at Classen Curve, swing by one of the metro’s most popular kid’s clothing stores. Owner

Carolyn Goldman has created an inviting, colorful space full of stylish, ageappropriate wear for boys, girls and babies. The shop was created with the busy parent in mind, with an area for kids to play while mom or dad shop. They also carry school uniforms. If the little ones are on their best behavior, perhaps a stop next door at Uptown Candy is in order. Laobi Boutique 454 W. MAIN ST., YUKON 494-7447

This shop in Yukon recently reopened and features a variety of fun and funky attire for ladies, children and babies. Browse its a huge selection of serious brandname accessories, including scarves, handbags and shoes. It also carries whimsical designs for kiddos, like Shark Week-themed onesies and tiny Ralph Lauren sneakers.

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The days of being made fun of for having glasses are long gone. Plus, being able to see is cool. So look smart and rad with the perfect pair of frames or sunglasses. The staff will help you with the basics, but with so many pairs to choose from, it’ll be up to you to pick the ones that will make you head of the class.

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W W W. C A F E 7 O K C . C O M Keedo Kids NORTHPARK MALL 12100-F N. MAY AVE. 607-0887

If you want your girl or boy to be the most fashion-forward kid in the class, look no further than this children’s store. The boutique is packed full of designer names like Vera Bradley. The Keedo brand is designed and made in South Africa by local workers who are mostly single moms. They have a great T-shirt collection for both boys and girls. And who can start back to school without a backpack? CK and Company

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Get ready to turn heads in class. To do that, forget the mall. CK and Company is a chic luxury boutique where you are sure to find the latest in eye-catching designs. The highly curated collection is both classic and timely but never trendy. The beautiful glass-and-metal space is larger than it looks — be prepared to spend some time taking it all in.

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LIFE HEALTH

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Millions of Oklahoma tax dollars go toward teen childbearing each year, while much less money goes toward prevention. TheEscapeOKC.com 921 N.W. 23rd

Artsy Fartsy

read

Art | Film | music | theAter in this issue

3 2 | AU G U S T 6 , 2 0 1 4 | O K L A H O M A G A Z E T T E

BY TEDDY BURCH

The truth

One ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, or in this case millions of Oklahoma tax dollars each year. In 2010, the state of Oklahoma spent $169 million on teen childbearing. However, very little money is allocated for expanding education to prevent teen pregnancy. “Many nonprofits are about reacting,” said Kathy Harms, executive director and founder of Teen EmPower. “They are spending time and resources working with pregnant teens, and I say let’s back up a bit. Let’s try to increase education so the teen doesn’t end up in the situation.” Ten years ago, Harms began Teen emPower with the focus of preventing adolescents from taking part in high-risk actions through youth education. “We need to take a prevention approach,” Shanté Fenner, education and training director at Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy, said. “We educate on the importance of wearing seat belts. We talk about the reasons why we shouldn’t smoke. Why would we want to prevent teaching accurate information on this topic?” Overall, teen birth rates are going down. Six years ago, Oklahoma had 7,581 births to girls ages 19 and younger; in 2013, the state had 5,379 births to girls ages 19 and younger — a 29 percent decrease. However, to put that into perspective, more 18-19-year-olds in Oklahoma gave birth in recent years than entered the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State

From left High school students Micayla Thibodeaux (17) and Chase Gulliver (17) present a Teen EmPower class with Kathy Harms, the organization’s executive director, at Del Crest Middle School. University as freshman. “The teen birth rate in Oklahoma has ranked too high for way too long,” said Sharon Rodine, youth initiatives director at the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy. “The benefits of preventing youth pregnancy are enormous. Other challenges such as child neglect, poverty, even unemployment can be affected by this. The good news is that this is preventable.” Currently, there is not a teen pregnancy rate because there is no way to accurately track pregnancy rates. However, what is monitored is teen birth rates, and in 2012, Oklahoma ranked 49th in the country — just ahead of New Mexico — for the highest teen birth rate of girls ages 15-19 and 50th (the highest and worst) in the country for ages 18-19. “In our country, we do poor job of discussing sexuality with young people. And as a result, we have the highest rate of teen births of any of the industrialized nations in the world, and for many sexuality transmitted diseases,” Harms said.

Not really reality

Reality television, music and film CONTINUED ON PAGE 34

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O K L A H O M A G A Z E T T E | AU G U S T 6 , 2 0 1 4 | 3 3

LIFE HEALTH DID YOU KNOW? IN 2012...

› Oklahoma ranked 49th in the U.S. in birth rates for

teens 15-19 with 47.3 births per 1000 females of the same age range. New Hampshire ranked first with 13.8 births per 1000 females. The U.S. average in 2012 was 29.4.

› Oklahoma ranked 48th in the U.S. in birth rates for teens 15-17 with an average of 22.8 births per 1000 females, compared to the U.S. average of 14.1.

› Oklahoma ranked 50th in the U.S. in birth rates for teens 18-19 with an average of 83.1 births per 1000 females, compared to the U.S. average of 51.4.

IN 2013 ... (COUNTY) › Oklahoma County had the largest number of teen births, with one out of every five (22 percent) teen births in the state occurring in Oklahoma County.

› On average, 100 girls between the

ages of 10-19 gave birth in Oklahoma County each month.

› More teen girls gave birth than graduated from Oklahoma City Public Schools.

› In Oklahoma County alone, public

sector costs related to teen childbearing have been estimated to be at least $40 million per year.

SOURCES: Healthy Teens Oklahoma, a project of the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy; Oklahoma County 2013 Teen Birth Facts You Need to Know, prepared by the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy; and Advocates for Youth.

promote or even glorify teen pregnancy; however, the truth is an extremely different picture. For Harms, the hardships of teen pregnancy began at 15 and increased after giving birth at 16. “For many years, I would have to wonder, ‘Am I going to pay the gas bill or am I going to pay the electric?’ because I knew I wasn’t going to be paying both,” Harms said. “Or I would wonder, ‘Am I going to buy diapers or am I going to pay rent?’” The majority of teen mothers are single, and the demand to do whatever it takes to make ends meet becomes overwhelming. Many times, this results in not being able to dedicate 100 percent of your time to your child due to the demands of work and overall survival. In many cases, it is the child that suffers. “Whenever you are going to take a child to daycare, what do you think is the first thing a single parent is going to ask?” Harms asked. “While it should be, ‘Are you going to take care of and protect my child?’ actually, it is ‘How much?’ And the lowest bidder … is the winner.”

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It’s about education

Nelson Mandela believed education to be the most powerful weapon available to change the world. Harms and Teen emPower’s mission follows a similar undertaking. Their approach isn’t about pro-life or pro-choice; it’s about proprevention and educating teens. “It is so widely promoted that talking to teens about the subject promotes it; however, this is just not true. [It’s difficult to get] people [to] understand we are not promoting [sex], we are about promoting healthy information,” Harms said. “You are not

a bad person for thinking about sex. You are not a bad person if you have had sex. You just need to know what all is involved with it.” Rodine believes in youth education and that there is a role for everyone in teen pregnancy prevention. This is the thought behind Advocates for Youth’s Let’s Talk Month, which takes place this October. Parents, caring adults, youthserving organizations and communities can focus on ways individuals can help young people make good decisions and avoiding risk-taking behaviors. “Let’s Talk Month encourages parents and caring adults to be available and open to young people in talking about healthy relationships and preventing teen pregnancy,” Rodine said. “We don’t want this focused on school sexuality education or clinic programs. We want the focus on parent-child communication, tips for parents, ideas for increasing community awareness and opportunities to talk with and guide youth.” Understanding the diverse backgrounds of families within the community has been a large part of the success of Let’s Talk Month. The program allows agencies, religious institutions, businesses, media, schools and parent groups to plan events that inspire parent/child communication about sexuality. “Society has this notion that information [about sex education] is being taught at school or at home,” Fenner said. “It’s being shown that its not. Simply put, parents are the best educators, and we must teach accurate information.”

P HOTOS BY S HA N N ON CORN M A N

LIFE VISUAL ARTS

Desmond’s masonry Whether on the hardwood or in the gallery, Desmond Mason’s talent reaches far and wide. BY DAVID DEAN

It’s easy to talk about how great of a guy Desmond Mason is. Perception is an interesting thing, though. How well do we really know him? In talking with people around Oklahoma about why he’s so beloved, the general responses include: A) He was a star basketball player at Oklahoma State University; won the NBA Dunk Contest in 2001; and spent nine years in the NBA, including a season with the Thunder. So, basketball. Check. And B) He’s an artist. So, art. Check. He’s an artist and an athlete. People know that. But it’s also like saying you have heard of a book, you know the title, author and general premise but you don’t have any idea what lies within the pages. Mason’s depth is substantial — as a person, a father, a husband, a leader, an entrepreneur, a studied artist, an allaround trendsetter and someone who is overflowing with original beauty, hustle and compassion. Mason is many things. He’s not just an artist; he is art. Mason’s love of life is contagious and energetic — he has an ease about him that screams total inner peace. It was hard for me not to cut our conversation short and just see if he wanted to go skate, because the dude handles a board as well as a brush or a basketball. We started things off discussing the Oklahoma City art scene and how wonderful the growth and change has

been in recent years. “The art scene here is growing very rapidly,” Mason said. “There are some pioneers in art here. Ten to 15 years ago, Oklahoma City was very Southwest-art related, and that’s what people focused on, not so much the contemporary young artists or the abstract expressionist artists. The scene has picked up fast.” Mason moved back to OKC four years ago, and within months, he had his own studio that he has been working out of for the last three and half years. “Oklahoma City has really embraced my art,” he said, “which they’ve always done and I’ve always appreciated.” After a few years of people popping in and out of his workspace, stepping over gallons upon gallons of paint and the messy beauty that is a working artist’s studio, he decided it was time for an actual gallery. D. Mason Art Gallery opened a few months ago. “My goal for the gallery was to be able to hang my own work and not have it in other galleries,” he said. “We will have one local artist a quarter, a full solo show. It will just be their work, up for a month, and then my work will go back up. It was really just to show my work outside of my studio.” A current trend in exhibits and art shows — not just in OKC but all over — has been art events, with the focus on attraction, loud noises and eclectic

I was an artist quite a ways before basketball, but they were hand in hand for a long time in my life. — Desmond Mason above Desmond Mason shows off his work inside his gallery. distractions. This can be frustrating to those who feel a gallery should be about nothing but what’s on the walls. Maybe that’s a purist’s point of view. It’s not a shock that Mason, a studio art major at OSU, feels the same way. “I’ve been very fortunate to see a lot of places, and one of my favorite places in

the world to see art is the Tate Modern in London,” he said. “I knew exactly what I wanted my gallery to be. In the center of the gallery, there’s an acrylic bench that’s virtually invisible. I wanted something in the middle, but I didn’t want it to CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

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LIFE VISUAL ARTS

CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

obstruct the view. When you walk in, it’s a clear bench. You can walk right into it if you’re not looking. The walls are stark white, the floor is concrete — it’s very simple. It’s all about what’s hanging on the wall.”

A student of the game

Mason is a lifelong student of art. And despite being the 17th overall pick in the 2000 NBA draft, he has always felt that he is an artist first and an athlete second. “It hit me a long time ago. When I first got into painting, I was riding around with buddies, skateboarding and tagging walls and drawing in my books, just trying to get out of the neighborhood,” Mason said. “I was an artist quite a ways before basketball, but they were hand in hand for a long time in my life.” He has never forgotten his childhood dreams or where he came from. They’re a daily inspiration for him, but they have also created strong opinions on arts in Oklahoma’s public school systems and as an outlet for kids everywhere. “The unfortunate part is the funding of art programs in public schools. That is killing kids from being creative,” Mason said. “I was a public school kid growing up, and that was really big in my life, to be able to have that kind of outlet.” His family plays a big role in his art, and it is his first source of inspiration. He has been married to his wife for 12 years and has two kids, an eight-year-old daughter and a four-year-old son. His family’s support and reflecting daily on what he has overcome is a driving force in Mason’s hustle. “It’s amazing being able to go into

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the studio and create and really just to be able to look back at where I came from,” Mason said. “I reflect on that and some of the things I went through, some of things I saw young that I shouldn’t have. I had a lot of naysayers growing up.” He’s an internationally known artist, with exhibits from Hawaii to Las Vegas, Tokyo to one of the raddest shows in the states, ArtBattles, in which he recently had a solo exhibit. Some notable figures attended his ArtBattles show — NBA players Chris Bosh and Dennis Rodman, 2 Live Crew’s Luther Campbell — and then an unfamiliar face but familiar name approached Mason: Marcus Suarez. “He’s a graffiti artist from New York that I’m a big fan of,” Mason said. “He was the pre-[Jean-Michel] Basquiat, doing what he was doing. I walked through the exhibit with him and showed him my whole body of work, and he kind of stamp-of-approvaled me. He gave me some pointers. It was amazing. I love his work and his massive murals that are all over the world — just incredible. It’s guys like that; they just really inspire me and push me to continue to do what I do.” If you know Mason’s work, you will no doubt see a hat tip to Basquiat. It’s extremely challenging as an artist to not be too heavily influenced by the works of people you admire, to let that love organically flow through an artist’s brush. Mason is a modern-day living artist, which he says he’s trying to get better at each day. He wants to blaze a trail for young kids and people who are young in the art game, as people like Basquiat, Banksy, Shepard Smith and Mr. Brainwash currently do for him. If it sounds like street art is Mason’s game, you’re spot-on. But it’s his alltime favorites who still have the biggest

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impact; Picasso is his No. 1, followed closely by Mark Rothko, Wassily Kandinsky and Andy Warhol. That blend of love for current modern artists mixed with the classics is a big reason Mason’s pieces are so unique, and it’s also why he doesn’t work in one medium. One piece might be classic contemporary, the next straight-up graffiti. His style is a mix of abstract expressionism, street art and multiple mediums, but at the core, he is simply a modern-day contemporary artist.

What’s in store

Sometime next year, you can expect to see Mason’s upcoming fashion line. (His leggings are already a standout in the fashion game.) He talks about this next step like someone who could walk into a meeting with Valentino and hold his own. “The concept is my work, thoughts and designs being

put on garments,” Mason said. “I’m talking high-end fashion. That’s why I’ve been drawing on Louis Vuitton purses; I’m testing it out.” While being an international artist in OKC, Mason is still heavily involved in the arts at OSU and has done countless things to help those programs expand. But he also believes more can be done. “My next goal with OSU is to get a gallery for the students,” he said. “I want to have a gallery where they can display their work and to have exhibitions while they’re still actually in school so they understand what it’s like to be in a gallery, hang in a gallery, have it function exactly like a gallery.” The fact is, Mason could be anywhere, but he’s here in OKC helping artists thrive, helping the art scene continue to grow and believing in the beauty and growth of this city just as much as we all do.

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Let’s play

Lyric Theatre’s Michael Baron

Polling among local theater companies suggests there is much to look forward to in the fall season.

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BY LARRY LANEER

some challenges to Sipress and Osborne in the intimate Broadway Theater, but if they can repeat the feat of fitting a big show into a small space without it seeming diminished, as they did with Cabaret, this might be the hottest ticket in town. Plus, Sipress has done some intriguing casting: W. Jerome Stevenson will give extra-close shaves as Sweeney Todd, while Elin Bhaird will bake the meat pies as his accomplice, Mrs. Lovett. Let’s hope RTC is prepared to extend the run or add performances. Stevenson might be the hardest-

What the artistic directors are looking forward to in the upcoming season deserves our attention. working man in show business next season, because he also will play Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in the twohander The Mountaintop, another of Baron’s choices. By American playwright Katori Hall, the play is set entirely in a room of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis with the action taking place on the eve of King’s assassination on April 4, 1968. The production is a joint effort of Oklahoma City Repertory Theatre (CityRep), Pollard Theatre Company and Poteet Theatre. Under the direction of René Moreno, it will open at the Freede Little Theatre and then transfer to The Pollard in Guthrie. Baron also is looking forward to CityRep’s production of Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike by Christopher Durang, winner of the 2013 Tony award

The Pollard Theatre’s W. Jerome Stevenson

for Best Play. Durang spices up his comedies with darker themes, and Ben Brantley of The New York Times called Vanya and Sonia a “sunny new play about gloomy people.” The play focuses on three siblings who will be played by CityRep regulars Stacey Logan, Shawn Churchman and Wendy Welch. As the title suggests, some of the play’s elements were inspired by the works of Anton Chekhov. Michael Jones will direct, and he has a nonpareil ability to fit shows into the tiny CitySpace while making them seem as spacious as all outdoors. Theatergoers should expect an in-your-face — if not an in-your-lap — production. In addition to being a fine actor and musician, W. Jerome Stevenson is Pollard’s artistic director. He also

likes Vanya and Sonia, along with Billy Elliott, which will be part of Lyric’s summer season next year at Civic Center Music Hall. Billy Elliott the Musical is based on the 2000 film Billy Elliott, which features music by Elton John and won the 2009 Tony award for Best Musical. The story concerns 11-year-old, motherless Billy who lives in northeastern England’s County Durham during the 1984-85 miners’ strike. Lingering one day after his boxing lesson, Billy discovers a class in ballet. The dance will provide the boy with unheard of opportunities. It’s good to see Lyric stretch with more provocative musicals in its usually glitzy summer season. CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

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LAU REN H AMILTON

Theater season runs the same as the academic year: fall to spring with an additional summer session. So during the canicular lull, Oklahoma Gazette asked artistic directors of local theater companies what plays and musicals — presented by city-area theater companies other than their own — they are most looking forward to in the 2014-2015 season. “City area” was defined as everything between Guthrie and Norman, inclusive, and any local theatrical production could be considered. Why artistic directors? you might ask. We could have just as legitimately surveyed directors, designers, actors, conductors, stage managers and plain old theatergoers such as you and me. But in addition to many other duties — organizational, financial and promotional — artistic directors decide or influence strongly which plays and musicals their companies present. Thus, a small number of people determine what all theatergoers will see. And this is as it should be; they are supposed to be the experts who keep up with the latest developments in the theatrical world and guide us through what one hopes will be a challenging, thought-provoking, enlightening and entertaining season. Thus, what the artistic directors are looking forward to in the upcoming season deserves our attention. So, on with the survey. Michael Baron of Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma cited Stephen Sondheim’s classic Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street at Reduxion Theatre Company (RTC). The show will be directed by Matthew Sipress with musical direction by Brian Osborne, the same duo who staged Cabaret to much critical and popular acclaim for RTC last season. Sweeney Todd might present

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Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park’s Kathryn McGill

HOW THEY VOTED

Oklahoma City Repertory Theatre’s Don Jordan

Not surprisingly, CityRep’s Donald Jordan picked Evil Dead: The Musical at The Pollard. This Canadian rock musical is based on the cult classic film series. In the same vein, Jordan will take a stab at a touring production of Murder for Two, presented under the auspices of Lyric Theatre. In this musical whodunit, one performer plays a policeman trying to solve a murder case, while another performer plays all the suspects. And they both play pianos. Jordan also likes An Inspector Calls, originally performed in 1945 and written by English dramatist J.B. Priestley. This play has enjoyed many successful revivals in recent years in both the United Kingdom and the United States. It will play at Plaza Theatre as part of Lyric’s continuing, welcome efforts to branch out from just staging big musicals. Speaking of hefty musicals, Jordan named Big Fish, which will be presented

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S HA N N ON CORN M A N

Reduxion Theatre Company’s Tyler Woods

by Lyric next summer. The show is based in part on Tim Burton’s 2003 film of the same name and concerns a traveling salesman and his relationship with his adult son. This musical has had several productions, but the reviews were decidedly mixed when it played Broadway last year. It will be interesting to see something new (to us) and Lyric’s interpretation. Jordan also mentioned Lysistrata, Aristophanes’ comedy about sex and war from 411 B.C., which opens the season Friday at Reduxion, and Wit, the Margaret Edson drama staged by Oklahoma City Theatre Company. Winner of the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Wit depicts the last hours of a university English professor who is dying of ovarian cancer. This highly acclaimed play has not been staged in the city area since Carpenter Square Theatre did it in 2002.

SHOW

COMPANY

NUMBER OF VOTES

Company

Pollard Theatre Company

Billy Elliott the Musical

Lyric Theatre

An Inspector Calls

Lyric Theatre

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike

CityRep

Big Fish

Lyric Theatre

Evil Dead: The Musical

CityRep

Lysistrata

Reduxion Theatre Company

Macbeth

Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park

The Mountaintop

CityRep/Pollard Theatre Company

Murder for Two

Lyric Theatre

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Reduxion Theatre Company

Wit

Oklahoma City Theatre Company

Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park’s (OSP) reticent Kathryn McGill and Tyler Woods of Reduxion both picked another Sondheim classic, Company, which will be staged by Pollard. McGill didn’t have much more to say on the subject, but let’s cut her some slack. She has been busy playing Cleopatra for OSP this summer, and dealing with Mark Antony and those nasty asps would be distractions for anyone. Woods says he’s a fan of Sondheim’s musicals from the 1960s and 1970s (Aren’t we all?), and Company is quintessential Sondheim of the period. This show has received several city-area revivals over the years. Woods also likes An Inspector Calls and Macbeth, an OSP production early in the season at the Water Stage. Macbeth will be played by David Chrzanowsky, who is new to Oklahoma

City. He is a fight instructor (for the stage) and acting teacher at Oklahoma City University. Mandee ChapmanRoach, who did a fine job as Olivia in Twelfth Night this summer, plays Lady Macbeth. It will be directed by D. Lance Marsh. In the new season, local Equity, professional, community and collegiate theater companies will present many shows other than these cited by the five artistic directors. Now that the experts have pointed theatergoers toward the highlights, let the season begin. Let’s hope for some surprises (of the good kind).

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There really is nothing new under the sun. In fact, the plot of Lysistrata could be an actual headline from today’s news: The women of Greece are fed up with the Peloponnesian War, which has been raging for 20 years. The title character, Lysistrata, proposes that the women withhold sexual privileges until the men can negotiate peace. It has been 2500 years since Aristophanes penned Lysistrata, and things haven’t changed much. One only has to browse current news to find evidence of women using the same tactics to effect change today. Recently, there have been sex strikes in Japan, Colombia and Russia. For Tyler Woods, co-founder of Reduxion Theatre Company and director of Lysistrata, the Greek comedy’s timeliness was part of the reason he chose it to open the company’s new season. He directed it 10 years ago for a charity performance and is eager to revisit it. “It’s a play I have always really enjoyed.” he said. “I love the Greeks. It’s very funny and a great translation. It’s the same translation I did 10 years ago with a few updates.” He has evolved as a director in the decade since, and this play is a benchmark of his growth. This season’s update includes

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The women of Lysistrata. musical numbers, fighting and dance all crammed into a minuscule 75 minutes. The play has plenty of raunchy material in it, and within that blue humor is a conversation about how men and women communicate. Both Tyler and his wife, Erin, tend to choose plays that address socially and politically relevant issues, and they want to engage the audience in a dialogue about them. “[The Greeks] were so good at writing theater that mattered, that spoke to the politics of the time and had the potential to significantly change people’s opinions,” Tyler said. “That’s what we want to do for people.” Erin is playing Lysistrata in this production. “These are very serious issues,” she said. “[Aristophanes] said some really wonderful things within this play, which is in contrast to other playwrights of the era [who] were really demonizing women.” Lysistrata, in the course of the play, is as frustrated with her fellow women as she is the men, but for different reasons. She tells them that they aren’t doing much to combat the negative perceptions of them. Her motivation is not only to end the war but to open up entirely new lines of communication between the sexes — and she succeeds. In its disguise as a sex comedy, Lysistrata made a revolutionary suggestion about the role of both sexes: In a time when women were distractions or even downright evil, Aristophanes suggested that perhaps the sexes should talk to one another.

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NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD PUZZLE ANSWERS Puzzle No. 0727, which appeared in the July 30, issue.

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ACROSS 1 Sandwiches with toothpicks 5 Corner key 9 Refuse 14 Alternative to texted 18 European capital, to natives 19 Discipline 20 Jimmy ___, “They’ll Do It Every Time” cartoonist 21 “Le Roi d’Ys” composer 22 Telephone line 25 “___ Eyes” (1975 Eagles hit) 26 “Let ___” 27 Dash 28 Union gain? 29 Gut feeling? 30 Cruise line 33 Like one’s favorite radio stations, typically 34 Perfect, e.g. 35 Sarcastic retort 36 Played out 37 San ___, Calif. 40 “Double” or “triple” feat 41 Special somethings 43 Late actor Wallach 44 Vinyl-roofed car 48 Butler’s quarters? 49 Tickle Me Elmo maker 51 Like 52 Story line 56 First two words of “Dixie,” often 57 Longtime baseball union exec Donald 59 Loudmouth’s talk 60 Romance novelist Roberts 61 ___ de Champlain, founder of Quebec 63 Like the Marx Brothers 65 Pinched 69 Interprets 70 Car featured in the Transformers movies 72 Country with the most all-time medals in Olympic baseball 73 Pathet ___ (old revolutionary group) 75 Fit of fever 76 Capt.’s prediction 77 Finish line

82 Draft pick 83 Astronaut Slayton 85 Email virus, power outage, etc. 86 Formal confession 87 Iraq War danger, for short 88 Maze feature 90 Shake off 92 Names hidden in Al Hirschfeld drawings 94 Gown accessory 95 Politician’s goal 96 Hunt in Mission: Impossible 99 Small pellets of noodle dough in Jewish cuisine 101 Fault line 106 Foreign princes 107 Hogan contemporary 108 Road shoulder 109 Stove cover 110 Old Venetian V.I.P. 111 Laugh line 114 “I Ain’t Marching Anymore” singer/songwriter 115 Bayer brand 116 Picture problem 117 Some spinners, informally 118 Chris who played Mr. Big on Sex and the City 119 Lets go of 120 Gallic greeting 121 Spanish 3 + 3 DOWN 1 Stock 2 Slow 3 Target, as a football receiver 4 Approximately 5 Cartier units 6 Throat soother 7 Name meaning “born again” 8 Trail 9 French connection? 10 Exemplar of indecision 11 How an angry dog should be kept 12 Zipped 13 Endorsing 14 Help line 15 Date line 16 A-list 17 Robert who played filmdom’s Mr.

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Chips Trident-shaped letters House ___ Weeper of myth Only non-Southern state won by the G.O.P. in ’64 31 College in Atherton, Calif. 32 Confusion 33 Some charity events 36 Famous Amos 37 Embarrassed 38 Put off 39 Power line 40 Org. with the Sullivan Award for character, leadership and sportsmanship 41 Baud measurement 42 I.R.S. form with a line for “Casualty and Theft Losses” 45 “___ calls?”

46 Birthplace of Pres. Polk 47 Drew 48 Starch source 50 Canola, soybean and peanut 53 Former center of Los Angeles 54 Affirmative action 55 Listen here 58 Coastline feature 62 Start of an apology 64 PC component 66 Mug 67 Alley org. 68 F.D.R.’s Scottie 71 “There’s always next time!” 74 Initials, in a way 78 Bang-up 79 Almost stop with the head facing the wind, as a ship 80 Blooming business? 81 1967 war locale 84 Subway line

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Put your puzzle-solving skills to use with The Escape OKC, the Google-proofed experience your adventurous mind is looking for. BY DEVON GREEN

Imagine giving money to strangers to lock you up in a room. Now imagine that your only way out of the room is to solve a series of puzzles. You only have an hour to solve the puzzles, and you can bring your friends along to help. Sound like fun? It does to the guys behind The Escape OKC, a new entertainment concept in the city. Andrew Gipson, the creator, first experienced a puzzle house in Belfast, Ireland, and promptly decided that Oklahoma City needed something similar. He recruited friend Jonathan Cox, who has worked with games and puzzles all his life, and put together The Escape OKC. Up to six friends can book a room and pay for an hour’s time. The rooms are graded on difficulty, and you solve puzzles to escape. The rooms have a theme, and there

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is a narrative that ties the whole concept together. The games are also Google-proof so, while you can take anything you want into the room, there’s more to them than pulling up answers on your smart phone; they want you to have to use your wits to work through it. “We have total faith in our puzzles,” said Gipson. “Everything you need to solve the room is in the room.” Currently, you can choose from two rooms. The Forgotten Outpost is a 1960s Cold War theme. The creators built the room and puzzles that all work into the theme, and they included some spy tech from the era. The other room, The Four Brothers, revolves around the founding principles of philosophy and thought. For Cox, who has degrees in humanities and philosophy,

This illusive keyhole artwork greets you as you enter the front door, with owners Andrew Gipson, left, and Jonathan Cox at The Escape OKC. along with a love of gaming, it’s a great fit. “[The room] is based around philosophy and the older systems of magic,” Cox said. Cox is drawn to philosophy and humanities because he loves the subject, not because he was dead-set on working in the fields. In fact, he knew going into it that a career as a philosopher is the exception rather than the rule. When Gipson approached him about being the creative force behind the puzzles and games, it was a dream come true. Gipson was more intrigued by the fact that there was nothing like this in Oklahoma and not many of them in the United States. He sees it as a chance

for people to get together and use their creativity to solve problems. Not only is it a great place for friends to sharpen their wits and be creative, it’s a great place for teambuilding among colleagues. “[Visitors] have a lot of fun. I like to think they maybe learn something about problem solving, but it’s the camaraderie; you’re going to learn something about your friends in there,” Gipson said. Gipson and Cox plan to add a third room with a crime scene procedural theme within the next month. It will be more difficult than the two rooms featured now. Book a reservation by visiting the website, theescapeokc.com, and you can follow it on Twitter (@theescapeokc).

OKC Energy FC is in a playoff position with seven games left in the season.

BY BEN FELDER

When the final whistle sounded on Oklahoma City Energy Football Club’s 1-0 win Saturday over Orange County Blues Football Club, coach Jimmy Nielsen turned to the crowd and pumped both his fists. The three points earned with the win pushed OKC (8-8-5) to sixth place in the USL Pro standings, well within reach of the playoffs, which invites the top eight teams in the league. “The guys are working extremely hard for this here,” Neilsen said minutes after the game. “They find a way to win.” Late goals are starting to become a habit for Energy FC, and the firstyear head coach said recent results showed a step in the right direction for a team that is finding ways to do just enough to get the result. “I think it was probably not our best game, but the guys had a good belief,” Nielsen said. “To win on what was not our best day, that’s a big step in the right direction.” Following Saturday’s win, Energy FC enters the homestretch of the season with seven games remaining on the schedule. A tophalf finish and playoff berth would be a statement for the first-year franchise, and a strong finish is within reach as only three of the last seven games are against teams above OKC in the standings. David Leichty was the hero on Saturday as he scored the night’s only goal in the 88th minute to break the scoreless tie. “The biggest thing is the three points,” Leichty said about the points OKC picked up in the standings following the win. “We are pushing for the playoffs.” The win was also made possible by Samir Badr’s perfect game at goalkeeper, which was his second consecutive game with a clean sheet. “I know that we can play a much

center better game,” Badr said. “But [Orange County] didn’t have a good chance at a shot on goal.” Like Nielson, Badr admitted the game could have been played better, but he saw a more unified squad in the second half when Energy FC found the late gamewinner. “[At halftime,] Jimmy said we have to play more as a team, be more compact,” Badr said. “Although we didn’t play our best ... we came more together [in the second half].” OKC is back in action Saturday at Sacramento, the league’s third-place team. However, Energy FC will bring confidence with them to California, not just because of this week’s win but because OKC is 2-0 against Sacramento Republic Football Club so far this season.

What it will take to make playoffs

left Kyle Greig

REMAINING SCHEDULE* Aug. 9 at Sacramento Aug. 14 vs. Arizona Aug. 16 vs. Los Angeles Aug. 22 at Arizona Aug. 24 vs. Charleston Sept. 4 at Sacramento Sept. 6 at Orange County

*Home games in bold

Two games against Sacramento and Arizona United Soccer Club, and one game each against Orange County Blues Football Club, Los Angeles Galaxy II and Charleston Battery remains for Energy FC. Only three of those games are at home, but OKC has a 5-4 record against the teams it will face. With 29 points, OKC is four points ahead of the first team outside of the playoff line. A few more wins, along with a draw or two, could be plenty to push Energy FC into the postseason.

Home vs. away

Oklahoma City has been a team that plays tighter at home, at least on the scoreboard. In the 11 home games this season, Energy FC has scored 11 goals, giving up nine. However, despite playing one less game on the road than

Javier Castro

The guys are working extremely hard for this here. They find a way to win. — Jimmy Nielsen

at home so far, the team has scored 18 road goals and given up 19. OKC’s field is not as wide as others across the league, and less room around the ball might be partly to blame for the lower scoring output at home. With four of seven games remaining on the road, OKC will have a chance to continue its more open scoring style with a hope of locking down a playoff spot.

Team leaders

With seven goals this season, forward Kyle Greig leads the team in goals scored and is tied for seventh most in the league. Team captain and midfielder Michael Thomas ranks fourth in the league for most minutes played, as he has logged 1,890 minutes of play this season, which is the most that can be played in 21 games. The team leader in assists is Adda Djeziri with five, good enough for sixth in the league.

New home underway

Playing its first season at Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School’s Pribil Stadium, Energy FC will nearly double its home capacity next year when it moves to Taft Stadium on May Avenue. Construction is underway at Taft Stadium, and current season ticket holders will soon have a chance to secure seats at the new stadium, club officials said. The new Taft Stadium will be updated on the inside, but the iconic east wall will remain. Taft Stadium will hold around 7,500 fans next year.

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P HOTOS BY S HA N N ON CORN M A N

On goal

M A RK HA N COC K

LIFE SPORTS

Making waves A new paddle board rental company provides a cure for boredom. BY TREVOR HULTNER

A box van sits placidly on the shore of one of Lake Overholser’s many tributaries with an assortment of water sports gear on the shore. Across the water, birds divebomb prey and the sounds of the city are reduced to a whir. “It’s really cool back there. You kind of feel like you’re out of Oklahoma City,” Eric Pappas said. Pappas is a lifelong aficionado of boardsports of all kinds. He is also the co-founder, along with principal founders Jason and Paige Smiley, of Flat Tide, Oklahoma’s largest paddleboard rental fleet. After finding inspiration in Austin, Texas, in 2012, Pappas and the Smileys opened thier mobile company in OKC last year. In a single year, Flat Tide grew from a small, nomadic operation to a largely stationary one, eventually choosing to maintain a semi-permanent base at Lake Overholser. In that same year, their average rental rate increased from four boards per day on the weekends to more than 40 per day. “We started with eight boards and the truck,” Pappas said. “Fast forward to this year, we’re teamed up with SUP ATX, and they leased us out 100 boards. That made us the second largest rental fleet in the United States, next to Austin.” Paddleboarding has its roots, along with surfing, as one of the primary means of transportation and leisure in Polynesian and Pacific Island cultures dating back more than a thousand years. According to Pappas, paddleboarding is quickly becoming one of the most popular watersports in the world — especially in landlocked locales like Oklahoma. One reason might be its versatility. “You can make it as hard as you

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Flat Tide's Eric Pappas unloads his truck where the North Canadian River connects Lake Overholser with Stinchcomb Wildlife Refuse. want it to be from a fitness perspective, or you can make it as relaxing as you want to be,” he said. “We get people who put their dogs on the front of the boards, the kids on the front, an ice chest.” For those interested in the more challenging end of the paddleboarding spectrum, Flat Tide also offers yoga classes that utilize the paddleboards. SUP Yoga is offered every Tuesday and Thursday, taught by instructor Kerry Myers. “When we first started, we played around, trying to see what we could do without falling off,” she said. Myers said that doing yoga on a paddleboard teaches the practitioner how to distribute their weight more evenly. “When you take that practice back to land, you’re more aware of where your balance is at,” she said Oklahoma City Riversport, a cityrun river tourism outfit, leased 50 boards from Flat Tide earlier this year, increasing paddleboarding’s reach in Oklahoma and providing interested paddlers new areas to go. But Pappas said he believes Flat Tide’s Overholser location is a prime spot for the sport. Currently, Flat Tide is trying to bring competitive paddleboarding to OKC in the form of Waterman’s Paddle for Humanity, an annual race series that helps raise money for food kitchens and programs that support homeless youth. For casual paddlers, Flat Tide offers $20 rentals on the weekends and $15 rentals during the week. To learn more, visit Flat Tide at flat-tide.com.

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PROVI DED

LIFE MUSIC

Bells and whistles Local folk band Idabel is refining its free-flowing sound and keeping an open mind. BY JOSHUA BOYDSTON

The Society 3 Year Anniversary with Idabel, Bored Wax, Elms, Chase Kerby and more 7 p.m. Friday The Society 1609 Blackwelder Ave. thesocietyokc.com

French composer Claude Debussy described music as “the space between the notes.” Michael Khodabakhsh, Taylor Godsey and Andy Coppinger — the minds and hands behind Oklahoma City indie-folk act Idabel — seem to understand this well. So much modern, popular folk has devolved into a series of well-placed “heys.” But Idabel stands undaunted by the negative space those hollers so often occupy, a group founded on nuanced musicianship and fearless editing where only the most necessary notes live on. “We are turned on by understated and subtle things,” Godsey said of Idabel’s less-is-more philosophy. “It’s nice to pull back. You don’t always have to

have the punch line on your sleeve all the time.” The trio came to know each other through a short musical fling banjoist Godsey and drummer Coppinger had with Michael’s older brother, but the chemistry between those two and the younger singer-guitarist Khodabakhsh was stronger and more enduring. They bonded over a love of Califone and good ol’ Delta blues, along with fractions of Mogwai, Modest Mouse and Tom Waits. There was nary a moment to explore the spark, however, and their paths split apart as school and work dragged them across the country. But the three kept in steady contact; Khodabakhsh would send the first drafts of music he was working on to the other two, which proved to be the foundation for the trio’s very first songs. As college wrapped up and jobs led them back to Oklahoma, the three came together under the same roof in the summer of 2012 and Idabel was finally born. “I’d been waiting a long time,”

We are turned on by understated and subtle things. — Taylor Godsey

Coppinger said. “I’m excited to see what comes, which is funny, because it’s only just begun.” Maybe because the opportunity had eluded them for so long, Idabel dived headfirst into practice five nights a week, steadily refining its earliest songs with methodical and tireless precision. The group’s first two singles, “Leaping in the Water” and “Sweet Talker,” were unveiled via YouTube last spring, each sharing the best qualities with Bon Iver and Fleet Foxes while managing to sound unique to Idabel even still.

“I really feel like it comes out organically,” Khodabakhsh said. “We almost can’t take credit for anything that happens.” Godsey, meanwhile, can’t quite pin down the band’s predecessors, and he sees that as a plus. “Sometimes it’s hard to tell what influences seep into your music,” he said. “But I don’t know that it’s a good thing to be able to recognize where any part comes from anyway.” An EP has been in the works and on the verge of coming out for a year now, and the five-song effort is just awaiting some mixing and mastering. It has been an arduous process for the self-professed perfectionists, but the recorded material — and the band itself — has been a long time coming. Yet the three are content to wait until everything is totally right. It wouldn’t be Idabel any other way. “In that process, you become one. It’s a marriage,” Coppinger said. “It takes a year or so to get a sound. For sure, we have that now.”

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Rock me, mama Steeped heavily in the sludgy sounds of hard classic rock, Mothership is ready for takeoff. BY NATHAN WINFREY

Mothership with House Harkonnen, Rainbows are Free and Citadel 10 p.m. Friday Blue Note Lounge 2408 N. Robinson Ave. thebluenotelounge.com 600-1166 $5

Texas-based trio Mothership is inbound to bring another helping of heavy rock ’n’ roll to its devoted Oklahoma City fan base — and maybe have a few beers with a some new followers while the band is here. Still revved up from its first European tour, Mothership can’t wait to play for its Okie friends again. “Everyone who comes out is really supportive,” said Kyle Juett, bassist and vocalist. “It’s nice to have some family up north that we can go join with and play some music for and have a good time.” Kyle and his younger brother, Kelley, on guitar and backup vocals started Mothership with their dad, John Juett, on drums a few years ago. The multigenerational lineup was always temporary, but the year spent rocking with their father will be impossible to forget. “I don’t know too many people who have had the opportunity to do something like that. It was a very memorable time, not only in my career but in my life,” Kyle said. “It just so happened to be the kick-start that we needed to get this whole machine moving.” In his earlier years, John saw just about every band and filled their home with seemingly every record ever produced. “There’s a lot of musicians out there that had parents who grew up in that era,” Kyle said. “It was only a matter of time before you started getting into the kind of stuff that your rock ’n’ roll parents were into.” There is definitely a throwback vein in Mothership’s music; the long-haired Texans channel a bit of Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden and AC/DC. “At the end of the day, we’re just trying to fill our own void,” Kyle said. “You can have influences all day long,

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but in the end you have to create your own music.” John learned to play drums once the siblings started playing music together, and when Mothership blasted off in 2010, John was onboard. Eventually, he initiated Judge Smith as his replacement. Mothership released its self-titled debut album last year and has been hitting the road and the skies to get the word out. “We really felt like we were on another planet,” Kyle said. “It was like a journey — not only in our body but in our minds — going into a different realm of society and seeing that our music already beat us there. It was just one big, awesome, rock ’n’ roll experience.”

It was only a matter of time before you started getting into the kind of stuff that your rock ’n’ roll parents were into. — Kyle Juett The best part of the European tour — which took them through London, Paris, Poland, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and elsewhere — was the Freak Valley Festival in Netphen, Germany. “It was our first festival show. The crowd was very, very enthusiastic and welcoming,” he said. “Every city we played was wild, every night was wild. Even people who didn’t speak English knew our songs word for word.” Sometimes it isn’t easy to play music and tour. Kyle said you have to be born to do it, but that compulsion drives them to want to write records and leave their stamp on civilization. Mothership will release its second album on Ripple Music in November. Its first is available at mothershiphaslanded.com. The band will play the Blue Note on Friday.

P ROVI DE D

LIFE MUSIC

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LIFE MUSIC WEDNESDAY, AUG. 6 Carol Morgan, Myriad Botanical Gardens. SINGER/ SONGWRITER Chiodos/Bless the Fall/I Killed the Prom Queen/Capture the Crown, Cain’s Ballroom, Tulsa. ROCK Electric Avenue, Baker St. Pub & Grill. POP Grant Wells, Red Piano Lounge, Skirvin Hilton Hotel. PIANO Joe Mack/Sky Smead/Carter Sampson, Grandad’s Bar. ROCK North Meets South/Josh Berwanger Band/Carly Gwin, The Deli, Norman. FOLK

Dante and the Hawks, Tapwerks Ale House & Cafe. ROCK Electric Avenue, Louie’s Grill & Bar, Lake Hefner. COVER Gary Johnson, Red Piano Lounge, Skirvin Hilton Hotel. PIANO Hillbilly Vegas, Grandad’s Bar. COUNTRY Idabel/Chase Kerby/Bored Wax/Elms, The Society. VARIOUS Jason Young Band, Thunderbird Casino Shawnee. COUNTRY Kyle Reid and the Low Swingin’ Chariots/The Oh Johnny! Girls, The Deli, Norman. VARIOUS Laura Leighe, Aloft Oklahoma City Downtown. POP Matt Blagg, Redrock Canyon Grill. SINGER/SONGWRITER Maurice Johnson, Avanti Bar & Grill. JAZZ

Old Monk, The Conservatory. POP

Mothership/House Harkonnen/Rainbows Are Free/ Citadel, Blue Note Lounge. ROCK

Steve Crossley , Redrock Canyon Grill. ROCK

Nathan Burris, Thunderbird Casino, Norman. COUNTRY

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

Sativa Prophets, VZD’s Restaurant & Club. HIP-HOP

THURSDAY, AUG. 7 Acoustic Terrace Thursdays, Myriad Botanical Gardens. ACOUSTIC Air Line Road, Wormy Dog Saloon. COUNTRY Avenue, Redrock Canyon Grill. COVER Blake Lankford, O Asian Fusion, Norman. SINGER/ SONGWRITER Brent Saulsbury/Will Galbraith/Wayne Duncan, Friends Restaurant & Club. ROCK

P ROVI DED

LIVE MUSIC

Stephanie Urbina Jones, The Blue Door. SINGER/ SONGWRITER

Fall Out Boy with Paramore and New Politics

The Clique, Friends Restaurant & Club. VARIOUS Urban Addiction, Russell’s, Tower Hotel. ROCK

Sunday

What She Said, Belle Isle Restaurant & Brewery. ROCK

OKG

SATURDAY, AUG. 9

music

When it comes to crowd-pleasing, arena-filling modern rock music, few bands are as good at what they do as those on this bill. Poppunk luminaries Fall Out Boy and Paramore have joined forces for a monumental co-headlining tour, aptly titled Monumentour, and it’s coming through Oklahoma City. The concert kicks off at 6:30 p.m. Sunday at The Zoo Amphitheatre, 2101 NE 50th St. Tickets are $46-$68. Call 602-0683 or visit thezooamphitheatre.com.

pick

Aaron Newman Duo, Redrock Canyon Grill. ACOUSTIC Annie Up, Riverwind Casino, Norman. POP Bryce Dicus, Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill. COUNTRY

David Morris, Red Piano Lounge, Skirvin Hilton Hotel. PIANO

Don and Melodee Johnson, Twelve Oaks, Edmond. JAZZ

Drive, Baker St. Pub & Grill. COVER

Drive, Newcastle Casino, Newcastle. COVER

Lower 40, The Dugout Bar & Grill. ROCK

Joe Tiechman, Grandad’s Bar. SINGER/SONGWRITER

Earth Wind & Fire, Brady Theater, Tulsa. POP

Newsboys/Andy Mineo, Frontier City. CHRISTIAN

The Dave Thomason Band, Grady’s 66 Pub, Yukon. COVER

Grant Stevens, Red Piano Lounge, Skirvin Hilton Hotel. PIANO

Pierce Hart, Full Circle Bookstore. ACOUSTIC

FRIDAY, AUG. 8 Arron Einhouse, Wormy Dog Saloon. COUNTRY Blind Date, Oklahoma City Limits. ROCK

TUESDAY, AUG. 12

Robert Banks/Deep Water, Urban Roots. R&B

Kierston White/Eliza Bee, VZD’s Restaurant & Club. SINGER/SONGWRITER

Slowvein, Belle Isle Restaurant & Brewery. VARIOUS

Luicidal/Codone, The Conservatory. ROCK

Sunny Side Up/Akiba/Cosmostanza/Limp Wizurds, The Conservatory. ROCK

Mitch Casen, Friends Restaurant & Club. COUNTRY

Hosty Duo, The Deli, Norman. ROCK JV’s Fillin’ Station, VZD’s Restaurant & Club. COUNTRY

The Clique, Friends Restaurant & Club. VARIOUS

Kyle Reid and the Low Swingin’ Chariots/Paul Benjamin Band, Grandad’s Bar. SINGER/SONGWRITER

Uncle Zep, Oklahoma City Limits. ROCK

Greater Oklahoma Bluegrass Music Society Concert, Oklahoma Country-Western Museum & Hall of Fame. BLUEGRASS

Lucky, Tapwerks Ale House & Cafe. ROCK

Cutter Elliott, Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill. COUNTRY

Laura Leighe, Aloft Oklahoma City Downtown. POP

Urban Addiction, Russell’s, Tower Hotel. COVER William Clark Green, Wormy Dog Saloon. COUNTRY

ANNA LEE

Buffalo Fitz, Full Circle Bookstore. ACOUSTIC

SUNDAY, AUG. 10 Edgar Cruz, Red Piano Lounge, Skirvin Hilton Hotel. ACOUSTIC Eli Young Band/Stoney LaRue/Brothers Osborne, Lower Bricktown Live. COUNTRY Miss Brown to You/Terry Ware, The Blue Door. FOLK Paramore/Fall Out Boy, Zoo Amphitheatre. ROCK Shortt Dogg, Myriad Botanical Gardens. R&B Sunday Flyers, Lions Park, Norman. ROCK The Casket Girls/Dreamend, Opolis, Norman. POP

Zanzibar Showcase, The Deli, Norman. VARIOUS

WEDNESDAY, AUG. 13 Aaron Newman Band, Baker St. Pub & Grill. COUNTRY American Hate/Impalers/Loom, Opolis, Norman. ROCK Curtis McMurtry, The Blue Door. SINGER/SONGWRITER Grant Wells, Red Piano Lounge, Skirvin Hilton Hotel. PIANO Kate Tucker and the Sons of Sweden/Moloko Litso/ Campbell Young, The Conservatory. SINGER/ SONGWRITER Joe Mack/Sky Smead/Carter Sampson, Grandad’s Bar. SINGER/SONGWRITER Mark Vollertsen, Redrock Canyon Grill. PIANO North Meets South, The Deli, Norman. FOLK The Friends No BS Jam, Friends Restaurant & Club. VARIOUS

Mike Hosty/The Red Devils, The Deli, Norman. BLUES The Sunday Flyers, Lions Park, Norman. POP

MONDAY, AUG. 11 Elms, The Society, Friday, August 8

Scott Copeland/Alan Orebaugh and Friends, The Deli, Norman. SINGER/SONGWRITER

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.

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THE NEW OPEN

LIFE MUSIC REVIEWS COUNTRY DANCING

WED, THURS & FRI at 5 & SAT at 2

LESSONS

WEDNESDAYS

Coyne flip 401 S. MERIDIAN

BY JOSHUA BOYDSTON

Wayne Coyne and his Flaming Lips cohorts cast a long shadow, one that Stardeath and White Dwarfs probably won’t ever fully escape.

Thursday is

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The comparisons and bartrivia fact that frontman Dennis Coyne is Wayne’s nephew would feel superfluous if it wasn’t totally necessary, because Dennis is the nephew of weirdo-indie rock’s brightest luminary. The two groups collaborate frequently (remakes of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon and King Crimson’s In the Court of the Crimson King), drummer Matt Duckworth is now touring with both bands and Stardeath’s sound is cut from the same acid-soaked washcloth that the Lips practically own the textile factory for at this point. To tell Stardeath’s tale without mentioning all those ties to The Flaming Lips would be like The Karate Kid without Mr. Miyagi. But what’s more important is the fact that the rise of Oklahoma City’s second most famous psychedelic pop band is not just alternative music nepotism. With Wastoid, the long-awaited followup to 2009’s The Birth, the four-piece is proving to be more than the Igor to Wayne and company’s Dr. Frankenstein. While they will always share the same penchant for graspable experimentation, Stardeath is plotting its own space-rock trials and executing them nicely, too. It’s important to have a rope back down to Earth with such sonically ambitious excursions, and Dennis, Duckworth, bassist Casey Joseph and guitarist Ford Chastain have found their essential sense of gravity in funk and groovy, ’70s-divined bass lines. That wasn’t absent from

The Birth, but it’s exponentially more pronounced in the Parliament-onLSD title track and “Sleeping Pills and Ginger Ale.” Wastoid alternates between nastysexy and nasty-abrasive, a sprinklecoated blood-and-guts affair that delights with shiny gems and spooky industrial thuds alike. There’s plenty of ear-bleeding noise in “The Chrome Children,” “Birds of War” and “Hate Me Tomorrow” clocked in before a true Sea Change moment with soulpurring closer “Surprised.” That’s all folded together in leadoff single “Frequency,” traversing to the top of a Play-Doh sludge mountain just in time to catch the sun bleeding into the night. Stardeath is in its peak form in those flashes, plucking a gold nugget out of the River Styx. The band does it again in “The Screaming” (featuring — you guessed it — The Flaming Lips), but the more straightahead, traditionally poppy twosome “Luminous Veil” and “Guess I’ll Be Okay” is just as winning. A rare album that gets its momentum in the back nine instead of losing it, Wastoid overcomes a comparatively slow start with a rush of impressive songwriting toward its end. It lacks a song as singularly effective as The Birth’s “New Heat,” but the sophomore effort is a fully baked thought, and even its most starkly contrasting offerings are bound together. There’s a gentle, throbbing loop that its first and last songs are built on, and it pulses throughout like the album’s very own irregular heartbeat — which is fitting, because it feels like a new monster has just come alive.

Stardeath and White Dwarfs Album: Wastoid | Available now | stardeathandwhitedwarfs.com

Intergalactic force

Guardians of the Galaxy

PROVI DED

LIFE FILM

In a summer largely devoid of quality blockbusters, Guardians of the Galaxy zooms past the competition. BY PHIL BACHARACH

Just when you think you have reached your up-to-here limit of comic-book flicks and a ho-hum summer movie season, up pops Guardians of the Galaxy to restore your faith in the Marvel juggernaut and cinematic escapism. Still, it isn’t entirely accurate to lump Galaxy in the canon of superhero flicks. While based on a relatively obscure Marvel series that first appeared in 1969, its adventurousness and fantastical worlds owe much more to Star Wars, which is to say the movie is essentially an intergalactic Western. Imagine if Star Wars’ cantina scene had been envisioned by someone with a sense of humor instead of George Lucas and you have a good approximation of Guardians of the Galaxy. It is great fun and a welcome respite from the de rigueur gloominess that has weighed down summer fare in recent years. There are no inner demons for tortured heroes, no humorless mythologies, no coded references to 9/11. Instead, there is a talking raccoon, a blue-skinned gangster with bad teeth, a mining colony inside a ginormous skull, a blue cyborg, a particularly menacing arrow and a villain who looks like a cross between Darth Vader and a steroidal Marilyn

Manson. Director James Gunn, a Troma alum whose credits include 2006’s Slither and 2010’s Super, is an inspired choice to take the helm. He and co-writer Nicole Perlman strike an irresistible balance of action, comedy and even emotional depth. Anchoring it all is a terrific performance by Chris Pratt (Andy Dwyer of television’s Parks and Recreation) as Peter Quill. Abducted by space aliens as a kid in 1988, Peter grows up to become a wisecracking rogue who cheats, steals and seduces his way through the galaxy. He would like to be known as “Star-Lord,” but that nickname elicits vacant looks, not shudders of fear. Such responses are understandable. Peter isn’t a conventionally fearsome outlaw. When he tracks down a fist-sized silver orb on behalf of a mysterious collector (Benicio Del Toro, Che), Peter slips on headphones of his vintage Walkman to jam out to the 1974 Redbone hit single “Come and Get Your Love.” What follows is a particularly joyful and hilarious solo dance. The tune, part of a blissful soundtrack packed with ’70s-era bubblegum pop, reminds Peter of his late mother.

Imagine if Star Wars’ cantina scene had been envisioned by someone with a sense of humor instead of George Lucas and you have a good approximation of Guardians of the Galaxy.

The orb is coveted by all sorts of badass types. Among them is Gamora (Zoe Saldana, Avatar), a green-skinned assassin who has been dispatched by evil Ronan (Lee Pace, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug) to retrieve the sphere. The caper also ensnares Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper, American Hustle), the aforementioned raccoon, a bounty hunter whose “muscle” is a sentient tree called Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel, Riddick). Groot is only able

to say three words, those being “I am Groot,” but the sentence is enough to fully converse with Rocket. Imprisoned after a dustup on the planet Xandar, the group winds up crossing paths with Drax the Destroyer (pro wrestlerturned-actor Dave Bautista), whose brute strength is matched only by his inability to comprehend metaphors. These loners and misfits form an uneasy but effective alliance. The ensemble cast has extraordinary chemistry, but perhaps the biggest surprises here are the finely drawn (literally and figuratively) CGI characters of Rocket and Groot. Pathos and laughs ensue, with Cooper deserving special props for his transformative vocal performance. Guardians of the Galaxy might feel a bit exhausting by its final stretch, but that’s a minor quibble — and perhaps just symptomatic of an embarrassment of riches. I don’t know what the sequels will bring, but I do know this: Guardians of the Galaxy saved my summer at the movies.

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RED DIRT THEATRE PRESENTS

TRUE WEST

LIFE FILM

da2u n a L e v Da Y 30-AUG

WRITTEN BY SAM SHEPARD

JUL

August 8th-9th, 15th-16th 8:00PM Tickets (cash only) General Admission: $15 Seniors/Students: $10

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For more information & reservations contact Red Dirt Theatre at reddirttheatre@gmail.com or call (405)290-8899 30 NE 52nd St., OKC, 73105

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A few years ago, a low-budget science fiction film called Another Earth dazzled unsuspecting patrons at Sundance Film Festival. With his unique approach to genre — contemporary surrealism with heavy philosophical undertones — director Mike Cahill made a strong impression with scant budget or resources at his disposal other than a camera and a vision. As indie directors go, Cahill is considered one of the industry’s most promising young talents, one with the potential to cast a wider net as his career progresses. I Origins, Cahill’s anticipated followup, isn’t quite the big leap forward as many were hoping, but it is a similarly clever — albeit flawed — cinematic experience. The film, which opens this weekend at select metro theaters, follows Ian (Michael Pitt, Seven Psychopaths), a young molecular biologist whose obsession with the eye lures him to Sofi (Astrid BergesFrisbey, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides), who has, frankly, amazing eyes. Ian is a staunch atheist, a believer in science and reason, but Sofi is more idyllic in her spirituality. While the two engage in an unlikely romance, Ian and his lab partner, Karen (Brit Marling, The East), face both a potentially gamechanging scientific discovery and an unspeakable tragedy. Dealing with a premise that is so philosophical in nature can be a delicate balancing act, and as forward-thinking as it is, I Origins never embodies the intellectual moviegoing experience it wants to be. Many of its crucial plot developments are a bit far-fetched or reliant on coincidence, and it spells out every little detail rather than leaving any room for interpretation. This was likely done as a means to seal all its

It’s another example of Cahill’s incomparable talent and the oddly engaging lens through which he sees his craft. plot holes with a snugly plugged cork, but its packaging is unusually neat for such an ambitious feature. There are other moments when its musings on religion — whether for or against — hedge on preachy. Cahill draws his line in the sand early and often, pandering to our own predispositions a little too heavy-handedly in anticipation of an inevitible payoff. Despite its flaws, I Origins does have a ton of heart. Its more grandiose moments strike an emotional chord (in part thanks to the music of Radiohead) that is often ignored in the realm of science fiction. Its premise is also unique enough that we are willing to accept our own suspension of disbelief and submerge ourselves in its intrigue. Cahill’s approach to storytelling is unlike that of any other filmmaker, presenting his audience with a unique and exciting hypothetical scenarios and executing with delicate precision. I Origins fails to embody the post-Another Earth progression we were hoping Cahill would make. It is, however, another example of his incomparable talent and the oddly engaging lens through which he sees his craft. As the film draws to a close, you get the impression that Cahill has a masterpiece in him somewhere; it’s only a matter of how deep he is willing to reach.

P ROVI DE D

TICKETS WILL BE AVAILABLE AT THE DOOR (Reservations recommended)

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY Homework: Tell what techniques you’ve discovered about feeding honey to crocodiles. Truthrooster@gmail.com

ARIES March 21-April 19 Don’t just be smart and articulate, Aries. Dare to be wildly wise and prone to unruly observations. Don’t merely be kind and well-behaved. Explore the mysteries of healing through benevolent mischief. Don’t buy into the all-too-serious trances. Break up the monotony with your unpredictable play and funny curiosity. Don’t simply go along with the stories everyone seems to believe in as if they were the Truth and the Way. Question every assumption; rebel against every foregone conclusion; propose amusing plot twists that send the narratives off on interesting tangents. TAURUS April 20-May 20 Breve orazione penetra is an old Italian idiom. Its literal translation is “short prayers pierce” or “concise prayers penetrate.” You can extrapolate from that to come up with the meaning that “God listens best to brief prayers.” In the coming week, I invite you to apply this idea whenever you ask for anything, whether you are seeking the favors of the Divine Wow or the help of human beings. Know exactly what you want, and express it with no-nonsense succinctness. GEMINI May 21-June 20 Every February, you go through a phase when it’s easier to see the big picture of your life. If you take advantage of this invitation, your experience is like being on a mountaintop and gazing into the vastness. Every August, on the other hand, you are more likely to see the details you have been missing. Transformations that have been too small and subtle to notice may become visible to you. If you capitalize on this opportunity, the experience is like peering through a microscope. Here’s a third variation, Gemini: Around the full moons of both February and August, you may be able to alternately peer into the microscope and simulate the view from a mountaintop. I think that’s about to happen.

CANCER June 21-July 22 You wouldn’t sip dirty water from a golden chalice. Am I right? Nor would you swig delicious poison from a fine crystal wine glass or ten-year-old vinegar from a queen’s goblet. I’m sure you will agree that you’d much rather drink a magical elixir from a paper cup, or a rejuvenating tonic from a chipped coffee mug, or tasty medicine out of a kids’ plastic soup bowl you bought at the thrift store. Don’t you dare lie to yourself about what’s best for you. LEO July 23-Aug. 22 Every 12 years, the planet Jupiter spends about a year cruising through the sign of Leo. It’s there with you now, and will be with you through early August, 2015. What can you expect? EXPANSION! That’s great, right? Yes and no. You might love to have some parts of your life expand; others, not so much. So I suggest you write down your intentions. Say something like this: “I want Jupiter to help me expand my faith in myself, my power to do what I love, and my ability to draw on the resources and allies I need. Meanwhile, I will prune my desires for things I don’t really need and cut back on my involvement with things that don’t inspire me. I don’t want those to expand.”

before you actually unleash it. It would be sad if you flung a half-assed thunderbolt that looked like a few fireflies and sounded like a cooing dove. And please don’t interpret my wise-guy tone here as a sign that I’m just kidding around. No, Libra. This is serious stuff. Life is offering you opportunities to make a major impression, and I want you to be as big and forceful and wild as you need to be. Don’t tamp down your energy out of fear of hurting people’s feelings. Access your inner sky god or sky goddess, and have too much fun expressing your raw power.

a minor sin or petty crime that no one will ever find out about? What if you are tempted to lie or cheat or deceive in ways that advance your good intentions and only hurt other people a little bit or not at all? I’m not here to tell you what to do, but rather to suggest that you be honest with yourself about what’s really at stake. Even if you escape punishment for a lapse, you might nevertheless inflict a wound on your integrity that would taint your relationship with your own creativity. Contemplate the pleasures of purity and righteousness, and use them to enhance your power.

SCORPIO Oct. 23-Nov. 21 In your dreams you may travel to Stockholm, Sweden to accept the Nobel Prize or to Hollywood to pick up your Oscar. There’s a decent chance that in your sleepy-time adventures you will finally score with the hot babe who rejected you back in high school, or return to the scene of your biggest mistake and do things right this time. I wouldn’t be surprised if in one dream you find yourself riding in a gold chariot during a parade held in your honor. I’m afraid, however, that you will have to settle for less hoopla and glamour in your waking life. You will merely be doing a fantastic job at tasks you usually perform competently. You will be well-appreciated, well-treated, and wellrewarded. That’s not so bad, right?

AQUARIUS Jan. 20-Feb. 18 “The thorn arms the roses,” says an old Latin motto. The astrological omens suggest you’ll be wise to muse on that advice in the coming weeks. How should you interpret it? I’ll leave you to draw your own conclusions, of course, but here are a few hints. It may be that beauty needs protection, or at least buffering. It’s possible that you can’t simply depend on your sincerity and good intentions, but also need to infuse some ferocity into your efforts. In order for soft, fragile, lovely things to do what they do best, they may require the assistance of tough, strong, hearty allies.

VIRGO Aug. 23-Sept. 22 TV comedian Stephen Colbert confesses that his safeword is “pumpkin patch.” Does that mean he participates in actual BDSM rituals? Is it the codeword he utters when he doesn’t want the intensity to rise any further, when he doesn’t want his next boundary crossed? I don’t know. Perhaps he’s simply joking or speaking metaphorically. Whether or not you engage in literal BDSM, Virgo, there’s an aspect of your life right now that has metaphorical resemblances to it. And I suggest that you do the equivalent of using your safeword very soon. Nothing more can be gained from remaining embroiled in your predicament. Even if the ordeal has been interesting or educational up until now, it won’t be for much longer. Escape your bondage.

SAGITTARIUS Nov. 22-Dec. 21 Lake Superior State University issues a “Unicorn Questing Privilege” to those people who are interested in hunting for unicorns. Are you one of them? I wouldn’t be surprised if you felt an urge like that in the coming weeks. Unusual yearnings will be welling up in you. Exotic fantasies may replace your habitual daydreams. Certain possibilities you have considered to be unthinkable or unattainable may begin to seem feasible. Questions you have been too timid to ask could become crucial for you to entertain. (You can get your Unicorn Questing License here: http://tinyurl.com/unicornlicense.)

LIBRA Sept. 23-Oct. 22 If you’re planning to hurl a thunderbolt, make sure you are all warmed up and at full strength

CAPRICORN Dec. 22-Jan. 19 Your ethical code may soon be tested. What will you do if you see a chance to get away with

PISCES Feb. 19-March 20 If you go to an American doctor to be treated for an ailment, odds are that he or she will interrupt you no more than 14 seconds into your description of what’s wrong. But you must not tolerate this kind of disrespect in the coming days, Pisces -- not from doctors, not from anyone. You simply must request or, if necessary, demand the receptivity you deserve. If and when it’s given, I urge you to speak your truth in its entirety. Express what has been hidden and suppressed. And this is very important: Take responsibility for your own role in any problems you discuss. 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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Research Volunteers Needed Researchers at OU Health Sciences Center need healthy volunteers ages 18 to 30 who have a parent with or without a history of an alcohol or drug problem. Qualified participants will be compensated for their time. Call (405) 456-4303 to learn more about the study and to see if you qualify.

The University of Oklahoma is an equal opportunity institution

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OKLAHOMA BRAIN TUMOR FOUNDATION Outpatient Mental Health Organization in OKC is seeking LCSW, LPC, and BHCM II. We need counselors in all areas of the state as well as in OKC and Tulsa, bilingual is a plus. Please send resume to accounts@okbtf.org or fax to 405.843.4392 for immediate response.

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Crane Cartage is looking for Owner-Operators for the Oklahoma area. Recruiting for one ton flatbeds with 32’ to 40’ goosenecks to handle hot shot and expedited oil field deliveries. Owners Must Have: • Valid CDL • A verifiable clean driving record and good work history • No more than three moving violations in three years • Must be 21 years or older Owner Operators Must Be Able To: • Speak and read English well enough to do his or her job and respond to official questions • Determine whether the vehicle is safely loaded

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