Okgazette 1-21-15 by Oklahoma Gazette

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FREE EVERY WEDNESDAY METRO OKC’S INDEPENDENT WEEKLY VOL. XXXVII NO. 3 JANUARY 21, 2015

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MAR. 13 AARON LEWIS

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CONTENTS 23

NEWS

ON THE COVER It’s a Red River rivalry that has the potential to damage public health and lands. Local and national groups look for ways to reduce haze and pollution that crosses into Oklahoma from Texas. Story by Ben Felder. P.4

LIFE

Cover: pollution

OKG picks

Sudoku / Crossword

Education: bloggers

Active: OKC and The Energy

State: economic forecast

Education: Joy Hofmeister

Food & Drink: Broadway 10 Bar & Chophouse, Downtown Restaurant Week, Big Boy’s Bar-B Que Express, OKG eat: Keep It Local OK

Music: Bands to watch in 2015, Kirra, John Calvin Abney, event listings

Metro briefs

Community: Making HERstory

Film: Blackhat, American Sniper

Chicken-Fried News

History: female lawmakers

Astrology

Commentary

Classifieds

Letters

Visual Arts: Galleries to see in 2015

Performing Arts: Todd Barry, Swan Lake

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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Dirty Texas

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Pollution from our neighboring state invades our airspace and covers a nationally protected mountain range in southwestern Oklahoma.

By Ben Felder

A tour of the Wichita Mountains used to include a stop on Mount Pinchot and a tour guide pointing out the granaries in Grandfield, nearly 35 miles away. “We don’t even point them out anymore because you can’t see them,” said Bobby Williamson, who lives just outside the gate to Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge and volunteers with Friends of the Wichitas. A steady increase in air pollution has created low visibility in one of Oklahoma’s most popular nature reserves, and the biggest culprit is Texas. “A lot of the haze in our area comes from Texas,” Williamson said. The Wichita Mountains are considered one of 158 natural areas in the United States designated to be protected from high levels of air pollution, and states are required to develop plans to play their part in meeting Regional Haze Rule standards set by Congress and the Environmental Protection Agency. Texas, according to the EPA, has fallen woefully short in creating a plan to meet those standards. “The current [Texas] plan is not just ineffective; it would not meaningfully reduce haze in the Wichita Mountains until 2155,” said Whitney Pearson, a regional coal organizer for the Oklahoma chapter of the Sierra Club. Oklahoma has to do its part, but with just 3.9 percent of pollution in the Wichita Mountains originating from within the state — compared to 27 percent from Texas — any meaningful cleanup of the air won’t take place without major changes in coal power plants in Oklahoma’s southern neighbor. “There is no way to have any meaningful improvement without Texas stepping up to the plate,” said Emily Harris, a public health facilitator for Environmental Justice Advocacy and member of the Faulkner County Citizens Advisory Group in Arkansas, which is also negatively impacted by Texas-based pollution. “The rules from the [EPA] will reduce the haze pollution in Oklahoma and Arkansas.” The low visibility in places like the Wichita Mountains stems from pollution particles that absorb and

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scatter light. However, beyond just limiting long-range views, air pollution from sulfur dioxide can also cause respiratory illness and disease, along with an array of adverse respiratory effects including bronchoconstriction (narrowing of the airways that can cause wheezing, coughing and shortness of breath) and increased asthma symptoms, according to the EPA.

EPA’s rejection

Sierra Club member Whitney Pearson shares her thoughts regarding keeping the Wichita Mountains’ air clean during a news conference last week. those requirements were being met in Texas. Wichita Mountains are heavily impacted by sources in Texas, more so than by sources in Oklahoma, and we have decided there were more controls that should be in place.” While Texas is the biggest contributor to air pollution in the Wichita Mountains, particles from power plants in other states, Mexico and Canada have also been found in Oklahoma, the EPA reports. But Donaldson said removing all Oklahoma-based pollution, along with other sources, would do little to improve conditions at the Wichita Mountains without changes in Texas.

A plan to reduce air pollution submitted last year by Texas was deemed unacceptable by the EPA, which is in the process of holding public hearings over its own recommendations on how Texas can meet requirements in the Clean Air Act. Those recommendations include installing air scrubbers at several Texas coal power plants to limit the release of sulfur dioxide. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has responded by saying the EPA recommendations would result in an additional $2 billion and would have limited impact on air quality. “The particular requirement we are Point 9 Power Plant dealing with is the reasonable progress requirements,” said Guy Donaldson, a section chief with the EPA. “We felt like we needed to take a close look at if

Pushback

The EPA has grown accustomed to pushback by states, not just from Texas but also Oklahoma. The EPA won a battle last year with the state’s largest utility, Oklahoma Gas & Electric (OG&E), to upgrade several power plants. The U.S. Supreme Court previously rejected a request from OG&E to hear an appeal to the EPA’s standards, which upheld a lower court’s ruling that the utility company had to comply with EPA demands. While OG&E is converting some coal plants to natural gas and installing air scrubbers at other plants to comply continued on page 6

Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge

Monticello Power Plant J. Robert Welsh Power Plant

H.W. Pirkey Power Plant Martin Lake Power Plant

Limestone Power Plant

Big Brown Power Plant

Sandow Steam Power Plant W.A Parish Power Plant

Coleto Creek Power Plant

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Shelly Campbell holds a photo of the Wichita Mountains with other Sierra Club members. The Wichita Mountains have experienced an increase in air pollution coming from Texas. continued From page 4

with EPA demands, environmentalists say the utility is missing an opportunity to do more. “We don’t feel OG&E has taken a long-term look at what a larger reliance on wind and renewable energy could mean later on,” Pearson said. “That’s one of our major frustrations with OG&E right now.” While the EPA can enforce pollution benchmarks, the agency does not mandate the technology used. Whether a utility or state wants to comply by adding air scrubbers to existing coal plants or embrace windgenerated power is completely up to them. “We identify what we think is the state-of-the-art technology, and [utilities] can meet standards using that technology; but if they can find another way, they can do that,” Donaldson said. “We do not mandate the technology they have to use.” OG&E has until 2019 to comply with EPA standards, a move the utility has said will increase consumer bills. “We are disappointed on behalf of our customers,” OG&E spokesman Paul Renfrow said last year following the court decision. “We still believe that the Oklahoma State Implementation Plan would have enabled us to meet the Regional Haze requirements at a much lower cost. However, we accept the court’s ruling and now turn our attention to meeting the 55-month compliance deadline.”

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Pollution politics

In the pushback the EPA has seen from utilities and states, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt has been one of the agency’s loudest critics in recent years and advocated for OG&E’s appeal of EPA standards. “This is the administration saying, ‘We’re going to penalize fossil fuels. We’re going to emphasize renewables, cause energy costs to skyrocket,’” Pruitt told National Public Radio last year following the Supreme Court’s decision not to hear Oklahoma’s case. Pruitt isn’t the only Oklahoma lawmaker to criticize the EPA. Republican primary races for the U.S. Senate and House last year featured candidates attempting to out-duel each other on who hated the EPA more. A debate between Rep. Steve Russell and candidate Patrice Douglas featured tough talk from both candidates on how, if elected, they would fight the EPA. The nation appears split on its support of the EPA, and while public support for putting environmental protections over economic growth has declined over the past 30 years, a majority of Americans (51 percent) still believe the environment should take priority over the economy in many cases, according to Gallup. Threats to the EPA’s reach could intensify with a Republican-controlled House and Senate, but those threats will lack bite with a Democratic president able to veto legislation and set the course for the Clean Air Act.

However, that reality is why environmental advocacy and utility companies will pay close attention to future elections, including the 2016 presidential race. “With different [presidential] administrations, approaches are different on how they are going to implement the Clean Air Act,” Pearson said. “I’d say 2016 is pretty important for all the progress we have made. We don’t want to turn back, and we aren’t going to.” While environmental sustainability is political for some, others see it as a bipartisan issue that could end up being one of the most important of the 21st century. “I believe this is probably the most important ethical issue of our time,” said Bruce Prescott, Oklahoma Faith Network director and an advocate for the Wichita Mountains. “It’s not just the environment that is at stake, but it is also our health that is at stake.”

Next step

The EPA was in Oklahoma City last week to host a public hearing on its recommendations for Texas’ implementation plan, and the agency is accepting comments from the public until April. The EPA hopes to have its own implementation plan finalized by September, setting Texas on a course for dramatically reducing its air pollution that so often finds its way into Oklahoma and other states. “Texas is the biggest contributor of air pollution in the country,” Pearson said. “A major cleanup plan has to start with them.”

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news education

Educators unite Weekly chats, blogs and a hashtag unite teachers across the state.

For the past few years, dozens of blogs, a Sunday night Twitter chat and the #oklaed hashtag have given educators a voice in Oklahoma education, an industry commonly dominated by politicians, pundits and others who work far beyond the classroom walls. “I think [the online community] helps with teachers who sometimes feel like they don’t have a voice and who often think they have to suck it up and deal with it,” said Rob Miller, a Jenks Middle School principal and author of the popular ViewFromTheEdge.net education blog. “We don’t control the media, but I think we do control the social media.” Whether it’s blog posts on controversial legislation, state superintendent elections or thoughts about the challenges of limited public school funds, the growing online Oklahoma education community has been credited for moving the needle on many issues that impact schools across the state. “The last few years saw an explosion of amazing bloggers in #oklaed,” wrote Claudia Swisher, who blogs about being a fourth-generation teacher. “Administrators, teachers, we found our voices, and we found our community. We used our teacher voices to point out our concerns.” Like Miller’s, Swisher’s blog has grown in popularity since she began in 2011, and she is sometimes called “the godmother of Oklahoma education blogging.” After attending an education-related blog seminar a few years ago, Swisher took the plunge. “There are teachers blogging about their classrooms and administrators who write about policy and state issues, and it’s been an amazing thing to be a part of because so often, teachers feel as if they don’t have a voice,” Swisher said. “We may, at times, feel as if no one is listening, but we are listening to each other and we are learning from each other.” Beyond having a voice that reaches lawmakers and policy leaders, digital networking helps connect teachers who might feel detached from other colleagues. “I have felt isolated in my area of the state, discouraged that my passions are not prioritized,” said Vanessa Perez,

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Garett fisbeck

By Ben Felder

Claudia Swisher works on her computer at The Red Cup in Oklahoma City. a middle school computer teacher in Lawton. “My Twitter connections have led to physical site visits, answers to desperate cries for help and a renewed sense that I belong in education.”

We don’t control the media, but I think we do control the social media. — Rob Miller

In an industry that includes lobbying firms, think tanks and other powerful associations, the online community of teachers and administrators attempts to level the playing field. Many of those teachers who commonly engage online also offer further perspective to media, including through the creation of a state educators media guide, which includes contact info for several teachers, principals and superintendents across the state who have volunteered

to speak with journalists about local education issues. “Prior to discovering #oklaed, I could only rely on the expertise, willingness to share and time constraints of the teachers in my building for that information and understanding,” said Michelle Waters, a language arts teacher at Little Axe Middle School who has also helped create the annual educator’s media guide. “I don’t remember exactly how I discovered #oklaed, but once [I] found it, I knew the community was something special. I have been able to meet, learn from and be inspired by educators from across our state.” Many #oklaed bloggers and social media users inspire and connect educators. They also offer perspective for parents, community members and journalists. There are many in the #oklaed network, but possibly the most famous was unknown until last week. Since 2012, the author of OKEducationTruths.wordpress.com has written about education with an insider’s perspective without revealing his identity. On Sunday, Rick Cobb, an assistant superintendent in Moore, revealed his identity to thousands of followers at the end of a weekly #oklaed

Twitter chat. Cobb is a staunch critic of former Superintendent of Public Instruction Janet Barresi and credited her controversial management style as his motivation for blogging. Colleagues often sent him links to his own thenanonymous blog and recommend he read it, but Cobb kept his identity sealed from nearly everyone but his wife. “I decided that what made this blog work was the ideas, not the personality,” Cobb wrote in Sunday’s reveal post. “Collectively, we have turned back a wave of people who seek to destroy our schools.” Perez called the blogs of Cobb and Miller a “lighthouse” for educators. “So often, it feels as much information is hidden or spun from us,” Perez said. “The bloggers not only helped reveal the truth but eloquently expressed my frustration and disbelief at the state of education in Oklahoma.” The #oklaed network is a digital teacher’s lounge, but those involved say it also helps shape policy. Miller credits #oklaed for helping to change the Reading Sufficiency Act last year after parents were not included in early discussions. He also believes it helped mobilize educators and like-minded citizens to the ballot box and helped bring attention to flaws in the state’s A through F school grading system. With so many blog posts and tweets that offer critiques of the public school system and those who lead it, it can be easy to dismiss these online contributors as a pessimistic bunch. But Miller said his view of the future is optimistic, even though he acknowledges many challenges remain on both a state and national level. “We constantly have people say, ‘How are we going to hold schools accountable?’ ... And then they put it on us to try and explain how we are going to do it different,” Miller said. “In my mind, what we need to have is a conversation about what it means to have an educated person in the 21st century. We have to identify those skills and then transform schools. Those are big challenges, but I think the collective [#oklaed] community is helping to solve those issues.”

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news state

$54 question The employment and budget outlook for Oklahoma is positive, despite low oil prices. By william w. savage iii

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For the last five years, a strong energy sector has allowed Oklahoma’s economy to grow faster than the nation’s as a whole. Now, in the face of plummeting oil prices and uncertain energy markets, Oklahoma officials and local experts express cautious optimism that the state’s budget and a resurgent national economic engine can buoy job outlook. Still — you can ask any mechanic — engines need oil and gas. “We’ve been over-performing the nation because of the energy sector,” said Dan Rickman, OSU regents professor of economics. “This is going to switch, but because of (the national economy), we’re still going to grow.” Rickman released an annual revenue and job-growth prediction for Oklahoma’s economy, which is factored into state revenue estimates made by Gov. Mary Fallin’s budget department, a division within the Office of Management and Enterprise Services. OMES — or “oh-mess,” as the robust agency is colloquially called — is headed by Preston Doerflinger, a former Tulsa city auditor. He’s also Fallin’s former Secretary of Finance and Revenue. Doerflinger presented budget and economic prognostications garnered from contracted economists like Rickman to the Oklahoma Board of Equalization last month. “Despite some of the nuances with

State and local budget outlooks are good, especially with the growth of business sectors including construction and hospitality. the budget, our economy remains strong (in Oklahoma),” Doerflinger told the board, whose members include Fallin, five elected state officials and the president of the Board of Agriculture. “If we do have some energy sector shrinkage, our number could drop a little bit.” Such shrinkage is feared by a wide range of Oklahomans, from families supported by oil-field workers or energy company cubicle-dwellers to the four dozen or so elected officials and bureaucrats who attended the meeting. “If we really knew (what the price of oil would do), we wouldn’t be here,” Rickman said. Throughout the meeting, board members like State Auditor Gary Jones asked Doerflinger and others whether the state revenue projections being presented were taking the sagging oil prices into account. Doerflinger said they were. By the day’s end, however, crude prices dropped to $54 per barrel. “I think everybody is always concerned about the price of oil because energy certainly has a significant presence here,” said Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce President and CEO

Roy Williams. “Having said that, the flip side of the coin is as long as it doesn’t impact employment here, now consumers have different choices in how they spend money that they’re saving at the gas pump. As a result, if you look at the city’s sales tax numbers, they’re pretty strong.”

Job growth

The impact on employment numbers might be the $54 question. Rickman’s analysis focuses on job growth, and he anticipates about 30,000 new jobs added in Oklahoma this year, especially in areas of administrative and support services, durable goods manufacturing, health services, hospitality and food services and construction. The energy sector was not highlighted as a source of 2015 job growth. As for OKC, Williams sees many positive developments in motion and on the horizon, including the General Electric Oil and Gas Technology Center’s construction and 13 new hangars planned for Tinker Air Force Base. “Barring something that we have no control of, we anticipate that 2015 is going to be a good year,” Williams said. “Diversifying an economy is a major long-term strategy.” He said the main components driving our economy are aviation, energy, bioscience, healthcare and information technology.

Challenges

However, Williams and Rickman both see challenges for the state, and the Board of Equalization heard numbers and took action at its meeting that some fear will impede the state’s growth and stability. A 1-percent increase of estimated General Revenue Fund for Fiscal Year 2016 receipts set off a tax cut “trigger” that was passed into law last legislative session. As a result, the Board of Equalization voted to cut Oklahoma’s top personal income tax rate from 5.25 percent to 5 percent. David Blatt, executive director of Oklahoma Policy Institute, released an immediate critique of this tax cut following the board’s action. “Under this tax cut, 41 percent of Oklahomans will not see any tax reduction, and the average tax cut for middle-income families will be just $30,” Blatt’s statement read. Balancing desires for lower taxes and the needs for critical state services is a challenge, Rickman said. “Really, economists universally agree that education and infrastructure are critical for private sector growth,” he said. “The question is, ‘What’s adequate support?’”

Williams has long been concerned with both education and infrastructure. “That’s going to create some interesting decisions as to how the Legislature is going to fund … core government services,” the chamber president said of declining state revenues from the energy industry. “What concerns us — and I’m talking about the business community and employers in Oklahoma City — is the struggle that they have in finding talent, in finding workforce. And the school system provides the workforce. It provides the fundamental building block to enter the career market.”

We’ve been overperforming the nation because of the energy sector. This is going to switch, but because of [the national economy], we’re still going to grow.” — Dan Rickman

Oklahoma Legislature

When the Oklahoma Legislature convenes Feb. 2, challenges await it, both from a funding mindset and a policy perspective. In addition, Williams added, the issue of Medicaid expansion — or an Oklahoma-created alternative thereof — also remains unclear, even as more Republican-controlled states pursue the topic. Oklahoma Policy Institute estimates Medicaid expansion would create upwards of 12,000 jobs over 10 years in Oklahoma, jobs that other states are adding while Oklahoma is not. Williams, who also has worked at chambers of commerce in Texas, Arizona and Ohio, said these state policy conundrums can be viewed similarly to the federal question of how to fix the struggling Highway Trust Fund and other unaddressed infrastructure needs. “Unfortunately, it hasn’t been an economic discussion,” Williams said specifically of Medicaid expansion, which could cover about 130,000 lower-income Oklahomans who have limited health care access. “It’s been a political discussion.”

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news education

Joyful noise Ga re tt fi s be c k

The state’s new school superintendent receives a warm welcome as she faces tough challenges.

By Ben Felder

Walking out of the Oliver Hodge Building across the street from the Oklahoma State Capitol, a gray-haired teacher remarked on how excited she was to have a new state superintendent. “It’s a new day,” she said while darting to her car to escape the subfreezing temperatures. Joy Hofmeister, the newly swornin state superintendent of public instruction, was holding a reception inside her new office on her first day. Teachers, school administrators and politicians crowded inside to greet the state’s highest-ranking school official, who begins her tenure with high expectations and the knowledge that the honeymoon period could be shortlived if she can’t deliver on the lofty objectives she campaigned on. “This is a new day for Oklahoma schools and the state department of education,” Hofmeister told hundreds of superintendents and school administrators at the annual Cooperative Council for Oklahoma School Administration legislative conference last week. Hofmeister’s first significant address as state superintendent was met with applause and visible signs of support from school officials. She demonstrated a different tone from Gov. Mary Fallin’s own address to the same crowd just minutes earlier. “It’s going to be a tough budget year,” Fallin told educators. “It is what it is.” While Fallin acknowledged that more funding is needed for Oklahoma schools, including increases in teacher

pay, she defended the government’s inability to make more progress. Hofmeister, still speaking like a government outsider just two days into her term, spoke as a representative for educators, saying she was eager to advocate for teachers and students during the upcoming legislative session. “I think my role is to be an

I would hope that we see reduced testing and more time provided for the classroom teacher for instruction. — Joy Hofmeister advocate [for schools] and to present to those [state] leaders and key decisionmakers what is needed,” Hofmeister told Oklahoma Gazette. “I think I play a significant role in presenting the case that needs to be made for what our schools must have.” Hofmeister said she expects to make progress this year on reducing the number of end-of-the-year tests for secondary students. “I would hope that we see reduced testing and more time provided for the classroom teacher for instruction,” Hofmeister said. “I also believe we will have a remedy for the end-of-the-year exams to be reduced from seven to one and that one would be more of an ACT

Joy Hofmeister embraces supporters at the State Department of Education. model.” Hofmeister also said she was eager to improve teacher morale, which includes increased pay and other resources. “We will make significant morale changes to address our teacher shortage,” Hofmeister said. “Our teachers are exiting to other states and into other industries for many reasons, and we can’t look to one reason or one solution to try to solve a very complex problem. A year from now, we should have a fully developed plan that is in place to address those immediate needs.” Educators at last week’s conference said they felt a lack of respect from the state Department of Education in recent years, which became a major theme both at last year’s teacher rally at the Capitol and in the defeat of Janet Barresi in last year’s superintendent election. Hofmeister comes into office with plenty of challenges, and funding is the biggest. Oklahoma’s reduction of K-12 funding by 22 percent since 2008 represents the largest cut in the nation, according to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. Legislators were told that this year’s budget process doesn’t offer much hope for reversing that. As much as $20 million might be withheld from public schools this year due to a miscalculation of state aid since 1992. Also, the Legislature will have roughly $300 million less to spend this year than last, according to early estimates.

On top of that, falling oil prices have created even more unknowns about the state’s budget health, and they risk putting the state in tough economic times. “Even in good times, we are not meeting our obligation to fund schools, public safety, healthcare and other core services at appropriate levels,” David Blatt, director of the Oklahoma Policy Institute, wrote in a recent column. Even with the hand Hofmeister was dealt, she continues to proclaim lofty goals that begin with creating a Department of Education that feels more open to educators and administrators. “We need to dismantle the walls that have perpetuated an us-versusthem mentality over the past couple of years,” Hofmeister said. “People are desperate to dispense with the toxic atmosphere. Our school leaders deserve a state department of education that provides clear, consistent and accurate information.” Educators demanded change last year, and they followed through on those demands at the ballot box. Hofmeister brings an enthusiasm to the office that many educators across the state also have embraced. But the challenge to drastically improve the state’s educational standards start right away for the new state superintendent, and time will tell how long that new enthusiasm will last.

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metro BrieFs

Artsy Fartsy

Park(ing) place DDRC approves a downtown demolition that includes Union Bus Station.

read

Art | Film | music | theAter in this issue

Following a three-hour hearing last week, Oklahoma City’s Downtown Design Review Committee (DDRC) voted to approve a developer’s request to demolish nine historic buildings downtown to make way for a new highrise and parking garage. Developers of the proposed 499 Sheridan development asked permission to demolish a city block west of Devon Energy Tower and argued it was not cost-effective to restore any of the nine historic buildings, including Union Bus Station, which served as the Greyhound bus terminal for nearly 80 years. “It might not be a happy thought for some, but [demolition] is the reality of where we are,” said David Box, an attorney representing 499 Sheridan. The city’s planning department had recommended the bus station be preserved and a planned parking garage be relocated.

program at a cost of $405,000 for cameras, hardware and additional staff. Police Chief Bill Citty said he was supportive of the idea but cautioned there are still details to work out. “Body-worn cameras are kind of inevitable, and officers seem to be really receptive of the body-worn cameras,” Citty said. He said four additional employees would need to be hired just to handle the management of footage, including responses to open records requests. Citty also said the department would have to determine when cameras would be allowed to be turned off. A new state law (House Bill 2676) passed by the Legislature last year clarifies that all police footage captured from dashboard and body cameras is open for public request. The bill does allow police to not release video that depicts a fatality, nudity or a minor. Footage used in internal investigations is also not subject to release until the investigations are complete. “We created some exceptions that didn’t already exist,” said Sen. David Holt, R-OKC, who co-sponsored the bill. “Before the law, you had to give up everything, but we added uniformed treatment that included exceptions on releasing video.” Ashley Terry

mark h ancock / f ile

Ga rett fi s be c k

By Ben Felder

Body cameras

OKC police will experiment with body cameras, a technology that has grown in popularity in law enforcement following a year of high-profile use-offorce cases across the country. City Manager Jim Couch told the Oklahoma City Council last week that the city would seek a vendor to supply 100 body cameras for a one-year pilot

wheeler district

A new urban community continues to build momentum with the addition of a new project administrator. The Wheeler District, a proposed

neighborhood and development across the Oklahoma River from downtown OKC on the property of the old Downtown Airpark, launched a planning process last year with a series of public meetings and casting a vision for a walkable, bikeable, communityoriented neighborhood. This month, Blair Humphreys, a developer with The Humphreys Company, announced the addition of Ashley Terry as project administrator, a full-time position that will provide executive support and coordinate communications, events and meetings. Humphreys said he hopes to break ground on residential development later this year with the first residents moving in sometime in 2016.

MATTRESS ZONE

By the numbers

$61. OKC residents can purchase a rain barrel for that price through a city program that works with the Central Oklahoma Storm Water Alliance (COSWA). The organizations are offering a discounted rain barrels online at upcycle-products.com starting at $61 plus a $2.50 online handling fee. Residents should click on “order forms” on the right side of the web page and choose “Oklahoma City.” The ordering deadline is March 15. “Rain barrels collect water that drains from your home’s gutter system,” Environmental Protection Manager Raymond Melton said. “And it’s free.” Rain barrels ordered online can be picked up between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. on March 20 or between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. on March 21 from the Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facility, 1621 S. Portland Ave. say what?

“A generation [of residents] still believes the ballpark has always been downtown and the river has always had water … because that’s the city they have grown up [in] because that’s the city you created for them,” OKC Mayor Mick Cornett said last week during his annual state of the city address. Visit the news page at okgazette. com to read six things you should know about his address.

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Sure, wishing someone “Happy Holidays” might be a polite and respectful thing to do in December as you realize our world is made up of many different religions, some of which have their own special holidays in the final month of the year. But is it what Jesus would do? Sen. Roger Thompson, R-Okemah, doesn’t think so. He introduced a bill this year that would protect Oklahoma teachers who want to say, “Merry Christmas.” If this bill seems like a waste of time while Oklahoma schools are woefully underfunded, state teacher pay ranks near the bottom and there is no documented account of a teacher being punished for saying “Merry Christmas,” it’s probably because it is. But hey, wasting time is a cherished hallmark of the Oklahoma Legislature. Good luck, Sen. Thompson, and Happy holidays!

FRieD news Reading racket

Believe it or not, Oklahomans like to read. We even made a list of states in which people like books. But don’t get too excited. We haven’t said which books we’re famous for liking yet. Movoto.com was interested in which states like Harry Potter and Twilight the most, and ours made the Top 10 list. Oklahoma ranked No. 30 for liking Harry Potter, which is seen by book lovers as the more literary of the two. Almost 4 percent of us are fans. Not too bad. But we ranked No. 4 in the Twilight lovers list, which shows that 4.5 percent of Oklahomans like Twilight Twilight. For some reason, people here love sparkly vampires and really bad relationship dramas — we won’t go into how that might have something to do with the state’s domestic abuse rating though. Oklahoma was one of only seven states that like Twilight

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Potter. more than Harry Potter Those of you who are embarrassed and wondering about how serious this study was can just calm down. It was very scientific. Movoto used Facebook to gather the data. It counted the number of fans in each state by tallying up “likes.” That “like” button on Facebook is dangerous, people! Use it wisely. (And read better books. We’re begging you.)

Busted!

College hookups should not be this problematic. Last week, several alleged pimps, human traffickers and prostitutes were arrested by the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs — aka the Human Trafficking Unit. Where was this arrest? you ask. At a brothel. In Edmond. JohnTV.com reported that undercover cops found an ad, called the number in it and were led to a woman inside an apartment at

157 Stonebridge Blvd. — Villas at Stonebridge — in Edmond. Once there, they also found University of Central Oklahoma senior Ali Hussain Al-Yousuf, 24, hiding in a kitchen closet. (Please don’t tell us he was just finishing a bag of jelly beans.) The apartment was in his name, the website reports, which means he was arrested for “criminal complaints of aiding and abetting prostitution and maintaining a house of prostitution.” Pictures posted to the website show a female, who has since been identified as 20-year-old Rachel Herrera, in a red shirt and black booty shorts, sliding down a stripper pole in what appears to be an apartment. Also, the site alleges Al-Yousuf is — or was — an industrial safety technology/technician major at UCO.

Drink up

Alcohol is coming for you and your family. The slavering beast of alcohol is one of many health concerns that

Oklahoma Gazette’s

We are looking for individuals who possess strong communications skills, a positive attitude and a desire to help others. These positions require extensive phone contact (inbound/outbound calls) with mortgagors and require someone who has excellent multi-tasking skills to assist with file documentation. Candidates must be dependable and have strong PC skills. Some of the many reasons to join our team include: • Standard working hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. • Bilingual candidates fluent in Spanish and English earn an additional $1.00 per hour • Competitive salaries and excellent benefits • Classroom-style and on-the-job training programs • Business casual atmosphere For additional information about these exciting career opportunities and to complete an on-line application, please visit our website. All candidates must complete an on-line application. If you are unable to attend or have previously submitted an application or were interviewed, please send us an e-mail to hr@midfirst.com to let us know that you are interested.

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Oklahomans deal with, and the picture of just how strongly it affects Okies is crystallized in a report by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. According to NewsOK.com, the report ranks Oklahoma No. 11 in deaths from alcohol poisoning between 2010-2012. While the report paints the data in broad brushstrokes, NewsOK .com quoted Terri White, Oklahoma’s mental health and substance abuse commissioner, who called the report “the tip of the iceberg.” She clarified that death statistics in no way correlate to the number of people suffering from any other disease and complications associated with chronic drinking. So, we’re doin’ fine, Oklahoma. Just put the bottle down. For those who seek help for problem drinking, please visit ok.gov/odmhsas to find resources. In the meantime, Okies, let’s hope for not even making the top 20 the next time this survey rolls around. In fact, let’s dream big and hope we are last. That would be one ranking we could all be proud of.

education vacation

Although we like to read, we still suffer mightily in public education. At least that’s what a new ranking shows. Oklahoma recently ranked No. 48 out of 50 states (plus the District of Columbia) for education — for those suffering with numerical dyslexia, that is third worst in the union. Meanwhile, before former State Superintendent Janet Barresi left office, she released a report on the challenges she faced coming into office and what the state faces with her leaving office and Joy Hofmeister replacing her. “We need an aggressive legislative agenda in terms of education, and I call on our executive branch to keep pushing for that,” Barresi said in a story by KOCO. Our schools could probably stand to get more funding, but what do we know? We at Oklahoma Gazette barely know how to read.

Crime solvers

Social media can sure be a nuisance for criminals. According to NewsOK .com, employees at Sam’s Wholesale Liquor, 3625 NW 23 St., recently used Facebook to solve a crime and guilt a thief into making amends after he stole a bottle of scotch the day before. An employee recognized the man, found him on Facebook and sent him a message. Now if we could just get the social media site to criminalize game invites we all would be much safer.

Country, comedy

In news that is bound to make you laugh or cry, this week’s Saturday Night Life (SNL) host and musical guest is Oklahoma country music star Blake Shelton. According to People.com, fewer than 40 performers have done both. Shelton has some pretty big shoes to fill; Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash and Garth Brooks have all played done double-duty.

Let’s hope Shelton takes a cue from another famous Oklahoman’s debut on the live comedy show. Garth Brooks was self-deprecating, charming and funny. Hopefully Shelton doesn’t take himself the least bit seriously. Perhaps the show’s cast will riff on he and Miranda Lambert’s idyllic life on their acreage in Tishomingo, where they keep it simple with Lambert’s bed and breakfast; her shop, The Pink Pistol; and her line of wines, Red 55. Maybe he’ll get laughs when he rolls his eyes at Lambert bringing home yet another rescued dog. People reports that Carson Daly tweeted a joke about Shelton “drinking his way to the top.” It would be funny to see the image of the hardworking, average guy turned on his head. Ultimately, we wish the Okie the best of luck. No stranger to being in the spotlight, we’re sure the country music star isn’t that different from the rest of us Okies — with or without multimilliondollar record sales.

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commentary

Community vitality By allison Barta Bailey

A study produced by the National Trust for Historic Preservation using data from Seattle, Washington D.C. and San Francisco suggests that neighborhoods and districts with a variety of architecture, including historic buildings, are good predictors of community vitality. This same research also suggests that older buildings are especially popular with millennials. I’m not surprised. My favorite places in OKC — Midtown, the Plaza District, Automobile Alley, 23rd Street — all incorporate the building diversity that this study mentions. I don’t just consider these areas of commercial value to me. I feel welcome there. I consider those districts my community, my OKC. However, prior to last week’s Downtown Design Review Committee (DDRC) meeting, I wouldn’t have

considered myself a preservationist. Although I care for historic buildings and the character that they contribute to their neighborhood, I had resigned that it was another generation’s battle to wage publicly. It took an application for a demolition permit on the art deco Union Bus Station — a building that I could easily imagine as a local restaurant — to make me aware that I am responsible for my own voice in these conversations. I attended the DDRC meeting that was determining the fate of the bus station. The executive director of Preservation Oklahoma and I were the only members of the public who stayed through the multi-hour meeting to share our comments. The meeting was during a workday and was especially long. The political conflicts that many active citizens face when making public comment

against a project of this magnitude can’t be overlooked either. But at one point in the meeting, a partner in the proposed project approached the podium and stated, “No one would ever visit a Greyhound bus station!” I heard muffled laughter from his peers in attendance, including several members of the DDRC. I was taken aback with how out-of-touch that comment was with my generation. Locally, the wait is at least an hour on weekends to eat pizza at an old laundromat in the Plaza District. A recently opened restaurant called The Grey in an old Greyhound bus station in Savannah, Georgia, also comes to my mind. I would definitely visit that. Sitting in the pew in City Hall, listening to the dialogue, I realized that the input from my peers needs 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.

happen from a leadership role to make a difference. We need like-minded citizens to serve on the boards, commissions and our city council. Speaking to my generation directly: We can’t use the excuse that we are millennials anymore. We aren’t going to inherit this city. Instead, we already inhabit this city. We have bought homes here, we support businesses here and we are equal to every other citizen. Being involved in grassroots community projects goes a long way to improving our city, but it can’t stop there if we want the city decisions to be reflective of our opinions. I filled out the application on the City of Oklahoma City’s website for a board or commission. I hope that you’ll join me. Allison Barta Bailey is a local retail consultant and cofounder of Better Block OKC.

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.

truth requires proof

Why should the polemics of free speech and religion always presume that only the pious can be offended? Everyone gets at least one life to struggle to control against vast arrays of powers claiming to have a greater stake over the individual; familial, ethnic, social, cultural, legal, political, national, etc., as well as religious powers. What is religion but extending a claim to power over the individual in some alleged, ill-defined afterlife? Whatever violence may be done to an individual in this life is nothing compared to the violent threat of eternal damnation. Virtually every ethnic group believes that they are the one true people. Few individuals actually make a conscious, rational choice of their religion. It is hard to change one’s religion without an existential crisis.

The “Fear of God” is religious terrorism. If you do not believe a particular way, you will suffer more than you can imagine forever. That is a violent threat. There are equally vague rewards promised for complying. Just the fear of offending family and community is usually enough to maintain religious tradition for any religion. No religion is innocent of having mass slaughter committed in its name at some time. My parents resented being forced to go to church and told me they wanted me to make up my own mind about religion. That in itself is considered heresy by threatening the absolute claim of religious power. Like all believers, I pick and choose what I believe. I do as much of what I consider good as I can, and I choose to believe that I would compare favorably to any religious zealot. No religious beliefs can withstand serious rational questioning. I would put up the contributions of the likes of Galileo, Copernicus, Giordano Bruno, Isaac Newton, Darwin, etc., as contributing more to the benefit of humanity and the true understanding of reality as any religious icon, and many endured as much persecution. That so many religious believers reject those contributions as a threat to

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their religious beliefs is the definition of willful ignorance and threatens a return to religious tyranny. Offensive? You bet. Science is hard. Religion is easy. — Thomas Blaney Oklahoma City Differing opinions

I would like to mildly disagree with James Fidlerten regarding the “other” alternative paper in OKC (Commentary, Letters, Jan. 7, Oklahoma Gazette). I disagree with his statement, “I doubt seriously if its editors would publish what I have to say.” This has not been my experience. Please don’t misunderstand me. The alternative we’re talking about clearly

has a very conservative bias, especially when it comes to the petrochemical industry. Too many industry “think tanks” are given op-ed space to suggest thinking was part of the process of developing their claims. My last published letter attacked an op-ed proclaiming the absurd notion that the burning of fossil fuels is moral. Can we not agree that it is very important to publish contrary opinions in such forums when they are willing? Let them know what you think. Send letters. And, James, thank you for your work. — David Grow Edmond

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okg picks are events

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

BOOKS Edmond Authors’ Book Fair, book fair hosting over forty local authors ranging from children’s authors to romance, drama and more, 1-4 p.m., Jan. 24. Edmond Historical Society & Museum, 431 S. Boulevard, Edmond, 340-0078, edmondhistory.org. SAT Jay Asher Book Signing, New York Times bestseller and author of 13 Reasons Why and The Future of Us, 4-6 p.m., Jan. 24. Best of Books, 1313 E. Danforth Road, Edmond, 340-9202, bestofbooksedmond.com. SAT Bob Ford Book Signing, author of Black Cat 2-1; aircraft commander who flew over one thousand missions in Vietnam, 6-7:30 p.m., Jan. 27. Best of Books, 1313 E. Danforth Rd., Edmond, 340-9202, bestofbooksedmond.com. TUE

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Let’s Talk About It, book discussion series; this weeks featured book is As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner, 7 p.m., Jan. 27. Oklahoma City University, 2501 N. Blackwelder Ave., 208-5000, okcu.edu. TUE

Designed to introduce global filmmakers to our state’s booming film industry, this festival includes dozens of film screenings as well as workshops and live entertainment. Plus, pie lovers — filmmakers or not — will enjoy Pie Lady of Pie Town (pictured), a documentary about food, travel, love and finding your true calling. Native American actor and Oklahoman Wes Studi (Avatar, Dances with Wolves) narrates this Jane Rosemont film. Trail Dance Film Festival is Friday and Saturday at the Chisholm Trail Heritage Center, 1000 Chisholm Trail Parkway, in Duncan. Passes are $7-$40. Visit traildancefilmfestival.com.

Distinguished Speakers Series, presentation by Bruce Katz on the future of the OKC metropolitan area; coauthor of The Metropolitan Revolution, 1-2 p.m., Jan. 28. University of Central Oklahoma, 100 N. University Drive, Edmond, 974-2000, uco.edu. WED

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Craft Cocktails 3.0, cocktail workshop featuring six talented bartenders from around OKC, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Jan. 22. Plenty Mercantile, 807 N. Broadway Ave., 8887470, plentymercantile.com. THU

Saturday Cooking Class, learn how to prepare your own homemade fruit pie, 10-11 a.m., Jan. 24. Uptown Grocery Co., 1230 W. Covell Road, Edmond, 509-2700, uptowngroceryco.com. SAT

Tequila Tasting & Tapas, led by experts to discuss the selection and specially paired tapas with each new tequila, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Jan. 22. Schlegel Bicycles, 900 N. Broadway Ave., 232-4040, schlegelbicycles.com. THU

Local Product Expo and Tasting Fair, sample locally made products made with local ingredients, noon-4 p.m., Jan. 24. Natural Grocers, 7001 N. May Ave., 8400300, naturalgrocers.com. SAT

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Grossology: The (Impolite) Science of the Human Body, exhibit based on the best-selling book by Sylvia Branzei; lets visitors see the good, bad, and ugly facts about the human body from runny noses to body odor and more, Jan. 21-28. Science Museum Oklahoma, 2100 N.E. 52nd St., 602-6664, sciencemuseumok.org. WED-WED Bright Night of Cub Scouts, sleep inside the museum and watch movies in the Dome Theater; Science Live and Planetarium shows, nature themed movies, full access to the museums exhibits and chances to learn skills

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The ABC’s of What You Eat: Oranges, learn the facts about oranges including nutritional benefits, how to select the perfect orange, and serving ideas, 10 a.m., Jan. 27. Buy For Less, 2500 N. Pennsylvania Ave., 5256600, buyforlessok.com. TUE

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Desi & Cody

Norman music Festival Fundraiser The Norman Music Festival (NMF) fundraiser features the music of Kyle Reid, Desi & Cody, Robert Hoefling, Cody Brewer and other area artists. The night’s proceeds will be split between keeping NMF free forever and helping send 20 Oklahoma artists to the International Folk Alliance (IFA) in Kansas City. IFA is an annual event celebrating traditional music and dance. Showtime is 7 p.m. Saturday at The Chouse, 717 W. Boyd St., in Norman. Admission is $20-$25. Visit doubleweb .com/nma/chousetickets.

Anyone interested in the outer limits of today’s popular dance choreography needs to attend the Young Choreographer’s Showcase. The University of Oklahoma University Theatre and School of Dance chose 10 outstanding original works from hundreds of submitted pieces. Performances are 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday at Donald W. Reynolds Performing Arts Center, 560 Parrington Oval, in Norman. Tickets are $15-$35. Visit theatre.ou.edu or call 325-4101.

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Star Wars Night at District house One thing you must do this week: Drink coffee with a storm trooper. For cosplay, karaoke and lots more, come in your Rebel or Empire duds 8 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 21, for Star Wars Night at District House, 1755 NW 16th St., with JediOKC. All ages. No smoking. Visit facebook. com/districthouseokc.

ROMANCE IS IN THE AIR

Nothing says romance like a cozy retreat at an Oklahoma State Park. Secluded cabins, crackling fires and misty mornings are just some of the alluring amenities available. Turn up the heat this February with 15% off a lodge or cabin stay and score romantic bonus points that will last until next Valentine’s Day. Visit TravelOK.com/SPDeals for more offers, and plan your retreat to remember.

Wednesday, Jan. 21 and earn badges, 7 p.m., Jan. 23-7 a.m., Jan. 24. Science Museum Oklahoma, 2100 NE 52nd St., 602-6664, sciencemuseumok.org. FRI-SAT Delicious, Delectable Hot Chocolate Adventure, hunt for the chocolate tree in the conservatory, then dissect one of the chocolate tree fruits, and discuss how bitter beans turn into delicious deserts, 1-2 p.m., Jan. 24. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 445-7080, oklahomacitybotanicalgardens.com/events. SAT Animal Picassos, come and make artwork with the animals; draw, paint, craft, and make origami creations, 2-3:30 p.m., Jan. 24. Oklahoma City Zoo, 2000 Remington Pl., 424-3344, okczoo. com. SAT Little Big Chefs, cooking class for parents and kids to enjoy together; learn to make fish sticks, ages 5-8, 2-3 p.m.; ages 9-12, 3:30-4:30 p.m., Jan. 25. Uptown Grocery Co., 1230 W. Covell Road, Edmond, 509-2700 , uptowngroceryco.com. SUN

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Art Adventures, young artists are invited to experience art through the book The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats, 10:30 a.m., Jan. 27. Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, 555 Elm Ave., Norman, 3253272, ou.edu/fjjma. TUE

PERFORMING ARTS Todd Barry, NYC based comedian and actor known for roles on HBOs Flight of The Conchords, 8 p.m., Jan. 22. ACM@UCO Performance Lab, 329 E. Sheridan Ave., 974-4700, acm.uco.edu. THU Kindness, story of a mother and son who leave their home in Illinois for a fun trip to NYC and each meet strangers who are potentially dangerous, 7:30 p.m., Jan. 22; 8 p.m., Jan. 23-24; 2 p.m., Jan. 25. Carpenter Square Theatre, 806 W. Main St., 232-6500, carpentersquare.com. THU-SUN Everybody Loves Opal, three con artists meet a woman named Opal and plan to take advantage of her insurance but she reveals a big secret to her new “friends” and the tables turn, 8 p.m., Jan. 22-Jan. 24; 2:30 p.m., Jan. 25. Jewel Box Theatre, 3700 N. Walker Ave., 521-1786, jewelboxtheatre. org. THU-SUN ROMAN NOSE - ONE OF THE ORIGINAL 7 OKLAHOMA STATE PARKS

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Oklahoma Gazette’s VISUAL ARTS 2014 Monothon, exhibit featuring more than 100 monoprints produced by over 90 artists from Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico. Artspace at Untitled, 1 N.E. Third St., 815-9995, artspaceatuntitled.org. A Fleeting Moment, exhibit featuring artist Bruce Peil as well as work by other artists, Jan. 23-25. Grapevine Gallery, 1933 NW 39th St., 528-3739, grapevinegalleryokc.com. Acrylic Paintings by Bert Seabourn, a painter, print maker, sculptor and teacher who uses a unique fusion of design, color, form and composition in his works. 50 Penn Place Gallery, 1900 Northwest Expressway, Suite 113-R, 848-5567, 50pennplacegallery.com. Beginning Quilting, learn the history and techniques of hand quilting; practice quilting using a rocking stitch on a provided quilt frame, 1-4 p.m., Jan. 24. Oklahoma History Center, 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive, 521-2491, okhistory.org/historycenter. SAT

Choice of one appetizer, one side fry, two entrees, two desserts and two soft drinks or teas per couple.

APPETIZERS LOADED FRIES (Choice of one) Fire Fry, Chili Fry, Okie Fry, Thanksgiving Fry, P.B.& J Fry, El Mexicano Fry, Thunder Fry SIDE ITEM (Choice of one) Cheese Cubes, Fried Green Beans, Fried Onions, Sweet Potato Fries, Regular Fries

ENTREES BURGERS (you can choose any from the menu) TWO SLIDERS (you can choose any from the menu)

kIND Yoga Stretch your latest health regimen with the many benefits of yoga inside the serenity of Crystal Bridge Tropical Conservatory at Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave. Instructor Alexis Persico of This Land Yoga leads students through exercises appropriate for all levels of experience 5:45-6:45 p.m. Tuesday. Enjoy the relaxation and stimulation of a Vinyasa-style class while surrounded by the fragrant beauty of 13,000 square feet of Tropical Wet Zone plants. Bring a yoga mat and water and we’ll meet you inside the Crystal Bridge. The class is free for Myriad Botanical Garden members and $5 for the general public. Visit myriadbotanicalgardens.com.

Beyond the Battlefield: Depictions of War, paintings, prints, and photography that examine and depict war and conflict of the modern world with a focus on World War I, World War II and the Vietnam War. Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, 555 Elm Ave., Norman, 325-3272, ou.edu/fjjma. Black and White, painters, photographers and two- and three-dimensional artists explored the visual impact of value and created a body of work ranging from rich, deep blacks to stark, bright whites. In Your Eye Studio & Gallery, 3005-A Paseo St., 525-2161, inyoureyegallery. com. Colby Bowers & Jamie Pettis, Bowers draws inspiration from the natural world and uses high vibrant contrast subjects while Pettis is inspired by her roots in Oklahoma and uses oils and acrylics. DNA Galleries, 1709 NW 16th St., 525-3499, dnagalleries.com. Guest Juror Lecture, join Chad Alligood, curator of the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art as he presents a lecture on current art practices following his travels around the country, 6 p.m., Jan. 22. Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, 555 Elm Ave., Norman, 325-3272, ou.edu/fjjma. THU Letterpress, Post All Bills, exhibit featuring the designs of Amy Johnson’s letterpress illustrations, typography and more. University of Central Oklahoma, 100 N. University Drive, Edmond, uco.edu. provide d

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Tuesday

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All That Jazz: A Symphonic Celebration of Kander & Ebb, music from Broadway’s favorites such as “Chicago”, “Cabaret”, “New York, New York” and more, 8 p.m., Jan. 23-24. Civic Center Music Hall, 201 N. Walker Ave., 297-2264, okcciviccenter.com. FRI-SAT

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Yoga For Kids, a relaxing activity for kids to enjoy; help them develop inner strength, confidence, self-esteem and become healthier mentally and physically, 4-6 p.m., Jan. 21 & 28. James L. Hall Jr. Center for Mind, Body and Spirit, 3366 Northwest Expressway, Suite 100, 713-9950, integrisok.com/mind-body-spirit. WED/WED OKC Blue vs. Canton Charge, The Oklahoma City Thunder’s NBA D-League affiliate hosts the Canton Charge, the D-League affiliate of the Cleveland Cavaliers, 7 p.m., Jan. 23. Cox Convention Center, 1 Myriad Gardens, 602-8500, coxconventioncenter.com. FRI

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PBR, A Professional Bull Riders event, 8 p.m., Jan. 23; 7 p.m., Jan. 24; 2 p.m., Jan. 25. Chesapeake Energy Arena, 100 W. Reno Ave., 602-8700, chesapeakearena.com. FRI-SUN The State Games of Oklahoma, trail run; 4 mile, 8 mile, or 12 mile option, 9 a.m., Jan. 24. NU Draper Trails, SE 89th St. and Post Road, soonerstategames.org. SAT OKC Thunder vs. Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA basketball game, 7 p.m., Jan. 26. Chesapeake Energy Arena, 100 W. Reno Ave., 602-8700, chesapeakearena.com. MON OU Sooners vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders, men’s college basketball, 6:30 p.m., Jan. 28. Lloyd Noble Center, 2900 S. Jenkins Ave., Norman, 325-4666, lloydnoblecenter.com. WED

Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra You might not know it yet, but you’ve always wanted to see a ukulele orchestra. Catch New Zealand’s Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra 7:30 p.m. Friday at Oklahoma City Community College Visual and Performing Arts Center Theater, 7777 S. May Ave. The group — comprised of 11 ukuleles and a double bass — combines its talent with comedic flair. The show is part of the college’s Performing Arts Series. Tickets are $15-$45. Visit tickets.occc .edu or call 682-7579.

Friday

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Oklahoma Gazette’s

Monkey Do: New Works by Matt Goad, exhibit showcasing work from the graphic designer and illustrator who also specializes in woodcut printing. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 445-7080, oklahomacitybotanicalgardens.com/events. Natalia Ferber’s Altered Life, exhibit of artist, Natalia Ferber, who creates artwork by blending and merging several photos together. Kasum Contemporary Fine Arts, 1706 NW 16th St., 604-6602, kasumcontemporary.com.

Paul Walsh, exhibit by former art educator and professional painter; landscape paintings that describe rural south central Oklahoma. Firehouse Art Center, 444 S. Flood Ave., Norman, 329-4523, normanfirehouse.com. People, Plants and Places, paintings and sculptures by artist John Wolfe; assemblages of found objects combined with terra cotta clay heads and hands. The Depot, 200 S. Jones Ave., Norman, 307-9320, pasnorman.org. Romy Owens, OKC 125 walk and talk, noon-1 p.m., Jan. 23. The Underground, 101 Park Ave., 235-3500, downtownokc.com. FRI Rooster Mixed Media Workshop, create your own rooster using bold colors, abstract strokes and collage mixed media; open to all skill levels, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Jan. 24. Paseo School of Art, 3110-A N. Paseo St., 205-8990, paseoschoolofart.com. SAT Small Towns & Quiet Places, exhibit by artist Gregory Booker; a photography exhibit of small rural towns with a purpose of bringing attention to forgotten parts of our country. The Lightwell Gallery, 520 Parrington Oval, Rm. 202, Norman, 325-2691, art.ou.edu. Strange Lands, exhibit featuring three international artists and 3 local Oklahoma artists; the collection seeks to reconcile humankind’s reach towards the heavens as well as its deep roots in Earth. SIG, 131 Dean A McGee Ave., Suite 135, sigokc.org. The First Fifty Years of Oklahoma Art, showcases work from Oklahoma’s first artists, including Woodrow Wilson Big Bow, Woody Crumbo, Charles Banks Wilson, Nan Sheets and more. Gaylord-Pickens Oklahoma Heritage Museum, 1400 Classen Drive, 235-4458, oklahomaheritage.com. The Nature of Man: Paintings and Drawings by Harold Stevenson, exhibit honoring Mark White, the interim director and Eugene B. Adkins Curator at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art; explores Stevenson’s investigation of masculinity from his early career in the 1960s to more recent works from the 1990s. Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, 555 Elm Ave., Norman, 325-3272, ou.edu/fjjma.

ze n a a l l e n

Natural Penomena, artist Linda Hiller creates Natural Penomena in art; nebulas, oceanography and ions. The Summer Wine Art Gallery, 2928-B Paseo St., 831-3279, summerwinegallery.com.

Wanderlust

Find your passion at Wanderlust: Nomadic Interpretations of Contemporary Africa, a group art show featuring the cultural diversity and artistic expression of African culture. Contributors include Oklahoma City artists Amber Wiley, Ebony Iman Dallas, Gay Pasley, Ronna Pernell, Alex Mutua Kathilu. Through the exhibit’s closing day on Jan. 30, guests can donate art supplies to the Afrikanation Art Supply Donation Drive for children and professional artists in Somalia. View the exhibit at The Project Box, 3003 Paseo St. Visit theprojectboxokc.com.

DINNER $35 PER COUPLE Choice of one appetizer and dessert per couple. Choice of two entrees and soft drinks or teas per couple.

APPETIZERS FRIED PICKLES AND ONIONS

ENTREES

Wednesday-Wednesday, ongoing

PO’ BOY ENTREES (We picked a couple of our favorites, but you can choose any two from the menu) CAMP FIRE DRIP BEEF Perfectly seasoned slow roasted beef with warm leek and shallot relish, topped with horseradish cheddar and served with dippins’ for dipping

Thunderheads, oil paintings of dramatic storm clouds in the Oklahoma skies by artist David Holland. Governor’s Gallery, State Capitol, 2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., 521-2931, arts.ok.gov. White II, exhibit features the work of 25 different artists who have created artwork of various mediums in different shades and tonalities of white. JRB Art at The Elms, 2810 N. Walker Ave., 528-6336, jrbartgallery.com.

HORNY-TOAD FRIED OYSTERS Fresh oysters hand-breaded and fried, and served with lettuce, tomato, and pickles or our sweet pepper slaw with choice of sauce

DESSERTS ru th ann borum-loveland

BREAD PUDDING AND ICE CREAM Baked to perfection and topped with apple pie moonshine glaze

ArtNow Gala The ArtNow Gala is one of Oklahoma Contemporary’s (OC) most important fundraisers. The event helps keep OC exhibits open and free and celebrates its 26th year by featuring works by 29 area artists. All pieces are on sale this one night only. Find food, fun and fine art 6:30 p.m. Friday at OC, 3000 General Pershing Blvd. Admission is $75-$150, and you must be 21 to attend. Visit oklahomacontemporary.org or call For okg 951-0000.

Prix fixe pricing does not include taxes, gratuity or alcoholic beverages. No sharing or split plates.

PRESENTED BY

music picks

Friday

see page 43

O k l a h O m a G a z e t t e | J a n ua r y 2 1 , 2 0 1 5 | 2 1

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life fooD & Drink

Homefront

left Jeff Dixon, Broadway 10 Bar & Chophouse co-owner, speaks with Terri Sadler of Fitzsimmons Architects,at the restaurant.

Aaron Soward and Jeff Dixon’s Broadway 10 Bar & Chophouse puts a fun and sophisticated twist on the traditional steakhouse.

right Juli Greenwood, bartender, stocks wine at Broadway 10 Bar & Chophouse.

By Devon Green

Jeff Dixon and Aaron Soward weren’t interested in reinventing the chophouse with Broadway 10 Bar & Chophouse. They wanted to improve it. The pair’s new restaurant, located at 1101 N. Broadway Ave., recently opened in a breathtakingly redesigned former Buick dealership. “There was a lot of anticipation, especially since the space was so open and people going by could see the progress,” Soward said. “We were more than happy to swing those doors open.” Their challenge was to find the right mixture of intimacy and grandeur in the almost cavernous venue. The two-story restaurant boasts a grand staircase, which was lovingly restored and now nestles the wine cellar in its nooks and crannies.

Caesar salad

Meatball and baked potato

Vintage chic

The pair was set on using existing architectural details of the space as their guide. To best utilize the 8,000-squarefoot space, they worked with local firm Fitzsimmons Architects to bring it to life. The concept, with its warm colors and lush textures, is open and inviting. When you walk in the front door, the immediate focal point is the central bar. The modern rectangular fixture breaks up the space nicely. “We call it ‘casual fine dining.’ We didn’t want it to be a stuffy, crown molding-type space. Aaron described the dining room as an extension of the bar; you walk in and it’s an immediate community interaction,” Dixon said. The dining room features plush, embroidered booths and elegant chairs. The restaurant’s colors echo the elements the two wanted to incorporate into its simple menu: Oak and hickory blend a creamy palette with hints of gold and white tablecloths.

Green beans

Terri Sadler of Fitzsimmons Architects said the intentional staggering of booth heights lends a feeling of intimacy among dining parties. “[Fitzsimmons] was able to get inside of our heads and make that a reality,” said Soward. Fun design details pay homage to the building’s history. Modern photos of vintage Buicks grace the walls of the ground floor’s private dining rooms, one of which was an oil change bay. Unintentional but complimentary to Chophouse 10’s theme, the round holes of the kitchen’s vent hoods mimic the VentiPorts of ’40s-’60s Buicks, Sadler said. They are most noticeable from the second floor, which is 1,400 square feet of semi-private dining. It offers a sweeping view of the action, and it’s only from that vantage point that you realize what a big, busy place this is. “We also knew from the beginning we wanted to include private dining with full audio and video capabilities,” Dixon said. “A primary focus was to make ourselves available to local businesses.”

New attitude

Chocolate cake

On the opposite side of the bar is the expo kitchen, where staff busily prepares a straightforward menu. Soward and Dixon enjoy the open layout, which they feel includes guests in the dining experience. There is also a chef’s table in the kitchen, for those who want an immersive experience. “We wanted to redefine a steakhouse on our own terms. I don’t want to go to my dad’s steakhouse,” Soward said. The pair brought chef John Patterson as chef de cuisine and set about building a solid menu. “When we were kicking names around for who would lead the kitchen, [Patterson’s] name came up a lot in different circles,” Dixon said.

The result is elegant, echoing the subtle touches of the architecture. The menu is one page, with appetizers like steak tartare and calamari; soups and salads; and entrées of traditional cuts of steak, lamb and pork. Then there is the unexpected: a sushi menu including The Buick, with crab salad, asparagus and spicy shrimp sauce. The menu also offers a fish of the day and organic wild-caught salmon. The sides are fresh looks at classic choices, including smoked Gouda mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes gratin.

Taking ownership

This isn’t Dixon and Soward’s first restaurant opening; the two have worked in the Oklahoma City restaurant industry for decades. “It is a completely different thing when it’s all your baby,” Dixon said. “Right before you open those doors, you realize what you’ve taken on. Then it’s too late to be terrified.” Soward said he learns something new every day, but for him, “it’s more liberating than anything else.” Dixon said that they have received tremendous support from the beginning. “The community has welcomed us with open arms,” he said. “Aaron and I are so grateful for that. When we say thank you, whether in person or on social media, it’s from the heart.” Visit broadway10okc.com or call 2123949 for more information. Broadway 10 is also a participant in Oklahoma Gazette’s Downtown Restaurant Week presented by Downtown OKC, Inc. (DRW), which runs through Saturday and is a great opportunity to sample prix fixe menus at reduced prices. Learn more about DRW on P.24.

O k l a h O m a G a z e t t e | J a n ua r y 2 1 , 2 0 1 5 | 2 3

NOW OPEN!

life fooD & Drink

The Wedge Pizzeria, Deep Deuce

It’s not too late!

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421 NW 10TH STREET / FASSLERHALL.COM

2 4 | J a n ua r y 2 1 , 2 0 1 5 | O k l a h O m a G a z e t t e

Experience Downtown Restaurant Week’s fabulous dining options through Saturday. By Devon Green

There’s a cultural renaissance happening in the heart of Oklahoma City. Everywhere you turn, there are events, new public artworks and a lot of restaurants, especially downtown. “The growth in restaurants over the past few years has been incredible,” said A.J. Kirkpatrick, director of operations and planning at Downtown OKC, Inc. “Restaurants play such a vital role in defining downtown’s districts to residents and visitors. They are often the first thing to get people to start visiting revitalized areas.” You are officially invited to Oklahoma Gazette’s Downtown Restaurant Week presented by Downtown OKC, Inc. (DRW for short). This week, it’s all about getting out there, eating and exploring. DRW continues through Saturday. Here at Oklahoma Gazette, we like local business, and we shout about the ones we’ve found and love. Downtown OKC, Inc. (DOKC) focuses on revitalization and helping those who are a part of those efforts. DOKC is a nonprofit that helps empower small and large businesses and breathe new life into the area, and it does that in a number of ways. “Not only has the total number of downtown restaurants increased significantly, but we are also seeing increasing diversity in terms of menu offerings and are starting to see restaurants in parts of downtown that would have been a pipe dream 15 years ago,” Kirkpatrick said. Thanks to the support and work of local business owners and the communities that surround it, downtown is experiencing a rebirth. That growth is also flooding into the neighboring areas in the form of locally owned shopping and dining establishments in districts like Midtown, Uptown 23rd and Automobile Alley. What better way to give a shout-out to all the cool stuff going on around downtown than throwing a party?

“We are really excited to be a part of it,” said Elizabeth Howe, executive chef of Flint. She hopes a lot of folks come in to visit Flint and the dozen other participating eateries to taste what they have to offer. So what are you waiting for? The best of downtown OKC is ready for you. You won’t even have to tap into your rainy-day fund. Oklahoma Gazette’s Downtown restaurant Week presented by Downtown okc, inc.

Want to come to the party? It’s easy, and it runs through Saturday. Find a full guide with menus and maps at okgazette.com.

first, choose a participating restaurant: » Broadway 10 Bar & Chophouse » Hillbillies Po’Boys & Oysters » Flint » In the Raw Sushi » Let’s Do Greek » Packard’s New American Kitchen » The Basement Modern Diner, inside RedPin » S&B’s Burger Joint » The Melting Pot » Urban Johnnie Bar & Grille » Vast » The Wedge Pizzeria, Deep Deuce » 10 North Grille, inside the Renaissance

Hungry for lunch? Most restaurants offer fixed menu choices for $12. That’s a steal, people. At The Wedge, 230 NE First St., you can get a mini antipasto plate, a side salad and a personal pizza of your choice for 12 bones.

round two? Dinner includes an appetizer, an entrée and a dessert for $35 per person. Want to eat at Flint on a budget? This is the time to do it. Flint, 15 N. Robinson Ave., offers appetizers like fennel leek and apple soup, baconwrapped quail and a blood orange mousse.

Ga r e t t fi s b e c k

Bringing the magic to OKC.

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Restaurant & Brewery

EVERY FRIDAY & SATURDAY IN JANUARY

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3401 S. Sooner Rd - Moore, OK

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Big Boy’s offers tasty meats and the best potato salad around. Indulge yourself. By GreG elWell

Big Boy’s Bar-B-Que express

meat, so be careful with the sauce.

7018 W. BrittOn rOad

BriSkeT! ($12.75 per pound /

603-2632

$6.50 per half pound) I wasn’t quite as excited by this, so I wouldn’t count on the brisket to pack on the pounds. It’s really a showcase for sauce, in my opinion.

What WOrks: Pulled pork and smoked turkey are delicate and flavorful. What needs WOrk: it quickly sells out of some favorites. tiP: Call ahead to cut down on a lengthy wait.

Perhaps I’m just going blind in my old age, but I probably drove past Big Boy’s Bar-B-Que Express dozens of times without seeing it — and at least twice when I was specifically looking for it. That’s because Big Boy’s, 7018 W. Britton Road, is behind a 7-Eleven and around the corner from a perpetually under-construction intersection. I’m happy to tell you that Big Boy’s has the kind of cuisine that can help anybody put on some weight. That’s right! If the thought of returning the clothes your grandma bought for you for Christmas is too much, consider plumping yourself up by eating mountains of barbecue. Big Boy’s serves up all your favorites. riBS! ($18.50 a slab) These come loaded with meat and a nice smoke ring that extends the flavor down to the bone. Like most good ribs, these do not require sauce to eat. They are pretty fatty, but that’s what makes ribs good. You will need several napkins. PUlleD Pork! ($12.75 per pound / $6.50 per half pound) In my experience, most restaurants fail at pulled pork because they forget that it needs a) to taste like something and b) to be pulled. Big Boy’s pulled pork was tender, without any overly large, chewy chunks. Pork is one of the more subtle flavors of cooked

SMokeD TUrkey! ($12.75 per pound / $6.50 per half pound) Can you expand your waistline by eating smoked turkey? My entire childhood proves you can. I was quite impressed with Big Boy’s version. Finding the right balance between moist and wet is not always easy, and most restaurants err on the side of bone-dry. This was well-seasoned and tender. HoT link! ($1.75) It’s hot! It’s a link! It’s delicious because it’s full of fat! This is sliced up to help some of that drain away (and to get that sweet browned-fat flavor deeper into each bite), so enjoy. If you’re the type who likes to try all of these things at once — as I am — then get the three-meat combo plate ($11.75 with two sides) and mix-and-match. There are also twomeat combos ($10.75) and one-meat combos ($9.75). There’s also a sandwich option ($4.50 with your choice of meat), which is a buttery grilled bun with some hot barbecue wedged in between. On the side ($1.99 regular/$3.99 large/$25 for a 9x11-inch pan), the baked beans were fine, but the potato salad was a real treat. Tender potatoes, a little crunch from the pickles and not too much mayonnaise. Just because something is hard to find doesn’t mean it’s great. But Big Boy’s Bar-B-Que Express is worth seeking out.

MidFirst Bank currently has over 50 banking center locations in Oklahoma with plans for continued growth. We are currently seeking talented, sales and service oriented individuals to join our Personal Banking team in the Oklahoma City metro area Some of the many opportunities available include: • Full Time and Part Time Tellers (Part Time Tellers Receive a $250 Sign On Bonus) • Personal Bankers in our Moneyline Call Center • Assistant Banking Center Managers • Teller Operations Supervisors Personal Banking associates assist customers with a variety of transactions while identifying beneficial products and services in a professional team oriented work environment. Attributes of a successful candidate include proficient computer and 10-key skills, strong leadership qualities, an outgoing and enthusiastic personality and a competitive spirit. Assertive and persuasive communication and client service skills are a must. Previous banking experience is preferred, but not required.

Some of the many reasons to join our team include: • Competitive Benefits to include tuition reimbursement • Ability to earn incentive pay • $500 Experience Bonus for candidates who possess at least 12 months of previous banking experience

www.midfirst.jobs

If you are interested in this opportunity, please visit our website to complete an online application. AA/EOE M/F/D/V O k l a h O m a G a z e t t e | J a n ua r y 2 1 , 2 0 1 5 | 2 5

local love Give us a small local eatery over a big chain any day. The folks over at Keep It Local OK feel the same way. Bryce Bandy and Chris Branson offer a merit badge for 405 pride with their Keep It Local card, which offers discounts at many of our favorite eateries. Learn more at keepitlocalok.com. — by Devon Green, photos by Mark Hancock and Garett Fisbeck

GoGo Sushi express & Grill

The Cake Shop by ButterSweet Cakes

The bento box is, like most things that come out of Japan, functional and aesthetically pleasing. It’s cute as a button and perfect for lunch. GoGo Sushi, with two metro locations, mastered a perfect to-go option and creates incredible and satisfying sushi. With a Keep It Local card, you get 10 percent off. Bonus!

ButterSweet Cakes is one of those wellkept secrets of Yukon you’d almost accuse the city of keeping to itself. This is serious cake with just the right amount of icing. The rotating selection of cupcakes is available in mini and full-sized varieties. Make sure to place custom orders a day in advance. Enjoy 10 percent off with your Keep It Local card.

1611 S. interstate 35 Service road, Moore gogosushinow.com 794-3474

Downtown Restaurant

817 S. Mustang road, yukon buttersweetcakes.com 265-4994

Belly Dancing Saturdays • 8:30

Week.

6014 N. May • 947-7788 www.zorbasokc.com

The Urban Cowboy: OKC’s most local burger!

NoName Ranch grass-fed beef on a Prairie Thunder Baking Co. butter roll. Try it for lunch or dinner. Open daily: Mon. - Sat. at 11, Sun. at 1 The restaurant at RedPin On the Canal in Lower Bricktown. 200 S. Oklahoma Avenue > 405-602-0111 2 6 | J a n ua r y 2 1 , 2 0 1 5 | O k l a h O m a G a z e t t e

Crave 211 n. robinson Ave., Suite 114 craveokc.com 606-6691

This little shop serves smoothies and protein shakes that are tasty and full of good things for people on the go. The Crave is made with strawberries, bananas, honey and vanilla and can be ordered with supplements of protein, bee pollen or Calcium Plus. Also try locally roasted coffee from Elemental Coffee Roasters and small bites like cheese and crackers. Save 20 percent with your membership card.

Trapper’s fishcamp & Grill 4300 W. reno Ave. funfresh.com 943-9111

We all love this part of Pearl’s Restaurant Group. It’s a casual family joint with really good catfish. You might not know about its other menu items like steaks, quail and incredible pork chops. Trapper’s knows how to cook land-dwellers just right, too. Its 12-ounce blackened prime rib is to die for, and on Tuesdays, they’re buy one, get one free with your card.

kang’s Sushi Bar and Bistro 2080 e. Second St., edmond kangsasiankitchen.com 285-8300

This modern Asian restaurant takes a variety of flavors from Asia and makes them sing. Find classic Chinese favorites like Peking duck alongside traditional nigiri and sashimi. Take a whirlwind tour of Southeast Asia in one stop, and with your card, you save 10 percent.

Jim’s

Dine

Jim’s Diner

Jim’s

t, an urban teahouse

Humble Pie

7518 n. May Ave., Suite D urban-teahouse.com 418-4333

1319 S. Broadway Ave. Suite B, edmond humblepieok.com 715-1818

The tea world is a big one, and owner Kristy Jennings is committed to helping customers find their new favorite varieties. “As much as I love tea, it acts as a vehicle to bring people together,” Jennings said. Every six weeks, a new artist’s work hangs on the walls of this cozy tea shop. Sign up for the store’s mailing list at the counter, and when you use your card, you get 5 percent off any tea — loose or prepared, to drink or to-go.

Okies love pizza, and Edmond residents couldn’t keep Humble Pie secret if they tried. You can get both your favorites — New York-style and Chicago-style — in one eatery. It also caters to gluten-free diets with something that doesn’t resemble cardboard. Huzzah! No matter your pizza preference, it’s worth the drive north. And with your card, you can deduct 10 percent off your bill to make the journey even more worth it.

y r a u n a J s e r u t a e F

Dine

WEEKLY SPECIAL • breakfast • VEGGIE OMELET WITH HASHBROWNS & TOAST...$4.99

Steaks • Seafood • Lobster • Rack of Lamb

Celebrating 50 years at this romantic country estate. RESERVATIONS PREFERRED

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VALID ON DINNERS UP TO $1199 ONLY. DISCOUNT TAKEN OFF EQUAL OR LESSER PURCHASE. LIMIT 2 COUPONS PER PERSON. NOT VALID WITH ANY OTHER OFFERS. EXPIRES 1/28/15.

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20 NW 9TH • 405.270.0516 5929 N MAY • 405.843.8777 14020 N MAY • 405.418.8477 102 W MAIN ST • 405.360.5726 • Norman 7745 S WALKER (1240 & Walker) • 405.631.0783

WWW.SANDBBURGERS.COM O k l a h O m a G a z e t t e | J a n ua r y 2 1 , 2 0 1 5 | 2 7

Early bird registration ends February 16! VISIT US ONLINE AT theanimalconference.com AND REGISTER NOW #animal2015

2 8 | J a n ua r y 2 1 , 2 0 1 5 | O k l a h O m a G a z e t t e

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

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS JONATHAN BALCOMBE is director for Animal Sentience with the Humane Society Institute for Science and Policy. A behaviorist, he writes frequently about pleasure and desire in animals.

DR. AYSHA AKHTAR is a neurologist and public health specialist. She is the author of Animals and Public Health: Why Treating Animals Better is Critical to Human Welfare.

CURT PATE conducts demonstrations and clinics on stockmanship, colt starting, horsemanship, and safety. He focuses on improved livestock handling for the sustainability of the cattle industry.

DIANA WEBSTER is the president of the Native American Humane Society. She draws on her cultural traditions, education, and experience to make tribal communities safer for tribal members and animals.

CHARLES SIEBERT is a regular contributor to the New York Times Sunday Magazine on issues surrounding animal emotion and human nature related to animals.

DR. VINT VIRGA is an animal behaviorist and has been a leader in veterinary medicine for more than 25 years. He is the author of The Soul of All Living Creatures, recipient of the 2014 Silver Nautilus Award.

O k l a h O m a G a z e t t e | J a n ua r y 2 1 , 2 0 1 5 | 2 9

life community

m a rk ha n coc k

Homey A teen mentoring program gives students a place to share their thoughts and opinions. By AnyA AlvArez

All Lena Khader wants to do is give high school students a safe place to share their thoughts and feel accepted and provide them with a community many of them do not have in their personal lives. At 23 years old, Khader has run a mentoring program, Making HERstory, once a week in south Oklahoma City for the last year and a half. Khader remembers what it felt like to be a teenager and often be unheard. Even though she was an honor student at U.S. Grant High School, people held the perception that most students there did not care about their education because the school was failing standardized test scores at the time. “I felt like for so long, my voice was nonexistent or not cared about,” she said. Early on, she realized the impact it had on her and the need for Oklahoma youth to share their voices. She also realized that change could come about through youth movements. After graduating college, Khader took a year off from her studies and decided to teach at Upward Bound, a federally funded mentoring program. When she finished teaching the course, many of Khader’s students did not know where to go from there. “I had already started working on creating Making HERstory but wasn’t sure if I wanted to stay in Oklahoma at the time,” Khader said. After 95 percent of her students said they would attend Making HERstory gatherings if offered, she decided to commit her time and energy to creating a program in OKC. Around 20 students show up each week, and the discussions that take place are lively and provoking. The students possess an eagerness to change and

understand the world around them. Discussions about police brutality, racism, gender inequalities, problems in their schools and the realities of identifying as queer in Oklahoma take place in a judgment-free environment. The group starts with the students gathering in a classroom at the library. Khader puts up posters around the room, all with various discussion points that have taken place over past group meetings. Some posters have the history of the women’s rights movement, some have bullet points of issues that the LBGQT community faces, and another poster discusses how to organize within their community in a productive way that can incite change.

I believe in the future of these students. — Lena Khader

Once the meeting commences, Khader sets forth the topic the group will discuss that day. In this particular meeting, the subject of police brutality is the main focus, and after an hour and half of discussion, Khader passes out the Black Panther Party Ten-Point Program. The group reads each point together and analyzes the points with consideration of each other’s opinions. Seeing the posters around the room and the ideas that come from youth, one would be hard-pressed to not feel some inspiration. “I am often amazed at the insight

3 0 | J a n ua r y 2 1 , 2 0 1 5 | O k l a h O m a G a z e t t e

Lena Khader leads a group discussion during a meeting of Making HERstory at the Southern Oaks Library. these young women and men have,” Khader said. “They have a spark within them to make a change that is exciting to be around.” The group gives a support system that many otherwise would not have, Khader said. She also hopes to start a scholarship fund one day, especially since many of the students would be the first in their families to go to college. “I believe in the future of these students. I hope I can continue to give them that space where expression is encouraged and where they can start to believe in themselves as well,” Khader said. At 16 years old, Melissa at first seems shy, but when the topic of social injustices in her school comes up, she immediately perks up and shares her opinions in a constructive and thoughtful manner. “I’ve learned not to care what other people think and that it’s okay to have opinions. I openly talk about being undocumented now and how that’s impacted my life. I’m not ashamed of it anymore. I want to make a difference too, the way Lena has,” she said. Another student, Gwyn, 18, has never had problems expressing her opinions. But she feels that she is never respected at home or by her teachers or peers at school. “I just feel like there is a lot of judgment and people don’t take the time to take me seriously. Here, I know my opinions and feelings are respected,” she said. Michelle, who is 17 years old, says Making HERstory feels like home and the group has opened her up to new ideas.

“I used to think I would never want a woman to be president of the United States,” she said. “I just wanted things to stay the way they were because change felt uncomfortable. Now, since I’ve learned so much in here, I want a woman president one day because I want someone to represent me.” Melissa also believes Making HERstory has helped her find her identity. “I wasn’t aware of a lot of things going on in the world, and now that I’m more aware, I have a better sense of myself,” she said. Anna Kappel and Tori Bauman, both in their early 20s, help run Making HERstory. Both said that although they aren’t in high school, they still feel like they gain a lot from participating in the weekly group discussions. “It’s definitely been a transformative experience. It offers the opportunity for me to grow as a person without being attacked,” Kappel said. Participating in the group has inspired Bauman to one day go to law school and help change the world. The group hopes that Making HERstory can one day become part of school curriculum. “Every school has Key Club. So, I don’t see why Making HERstory couldn’t be part of all schools,” Gwyn said. They all agree that they want Making HERstory to continue to grow and inspire youth in the OKC area to see that change is possible, even if you don’t have your driver’s license yet.

OKC’S BEST KEPT SECRET

life history

CHECK OUT OUR DIAMOND SELECTION FOR 2015 HERE’S A SMALL SAMPLE OF WHAT WE HAVE

Thirty years later, the state still struggles with its female legislator numbers.

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Female representation at the statehouse, which was covered last year in Oklahoma Gazette, has long been a challenge in Oklahoma. A cover story from a 1985 issue of the Gazette highlights how far we’ve come and how far we’ve fallen. “Women are beginning to think in terms of running for office, not coffee,” said Wanda Jo Stapleton (formerly Peltier), former chairwoman of Oklahoma Women’s Political Caucus, in a Gazette article published in 1985. “That attitude is beginning to catch on after about 10 years of effort.” Stapleton’s quote in the article titled “Women make selves at home in House and Senate” was written at a time when six newly elected female legislators pushed Oklahoma’s total female representation to 13. That number has fluctuated over the past three decades, but today’s Oklahoma Legislature includes 19 women, an increase of just a handful and the second lowest percentage in the nation. It is also one fewer female than last year’s Legislature. “Women are more likely to need to be recruited to run,” said Kelly Dittmar, an assistant research professor at the Center for American Women and Politics, a unit of the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University, in a 2014 Gazette article on women at the state capitol. “That means there needs to be the sort of infrastructure or individuals that are asking women to run. That is an essential key.” Dittmar said the lack of female recruitment by major political parties and organizations is partially to blame for the low national level of female lawmakers and Oklahoma’s nearbottom rate. Those female lawmakers elected in 1985 would have probably envisioned a larger gain 30 years later. “I think women are beginning to

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place more value on the things they do, beginning to realize they have made important contributions,” said 1985 Rep. Lina Larason, an Oklahoma City Democrat. “But, I’m still looking forward to the day when we won’t say ‘women’ or ‘men’ but people who are qualified, experienced and capable.” Thirty years later, women may be viewed as stronger lawmakers despite the continued low rate of elected officials. Oklahoma has a low rate of women members of the House or Senate but does have a female governor who was first elected in 2010 in a race between two female candidates. While more women in the state capitol would help the Legislature grow closer to the state demographic profile — which includes a population more than 50 percent female — there are many who believe the first priority is electing qualified candidates, not just women or men. “I don’t know if it needs to be a better ratio,” newly elected state Senator Stephanie Bice said a few months before her victory in 2014. “It needs to be quality people first and foremost.” Comparing an article from 1985 with today shows the state has made some progress in electing female politicians, but Oklahoma still ranks near the bottom when it comes to the Legislature adequately reflecting state demographics.

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life visuAl Arts

OKC renaissance m a rk ha n coc k

There are many excellent art galleries to check out, and they have a lot planned for 2015.

Oklahoma City is experiencing an art boom, and 2015 is shaping up to be a banner year for the local art community. From Tall Hill Creative’s planned art and music festival in March called Everything Is Not OK to Kasum Contemporary Fine Art’s upcoming exhibit of street artist Jeannette Herrera’s (aka Blue Face Killer) work, art followers have much to look forward to in the first quarter of 2015.

Tall Hill Creative

Tall Hill Creative, 3421 North Villa Ave., is the brainchild of longtime Oklahoma City artists Ross Adams and Jason Pauley. Started in 2013, Tall Hill Creative has quickly become known as a space for new local artists to explore personal themes. “We try to have the artists have some kind of concept,” Pauley said. “[Adams and I] both come from graphic design backgrounds, so we want our exhibits to flow and be consistent.” Adams said he wanted the space to be more than another wall for artists to hang their art. Instead, he wants people to experience the artist’s world as much as possible. To that end, Tall Hill is essentially one giant canvas. Guest artists are encouraged to transform the space to fit their theme as much as possible. “This place kind of serves as a launching pad in that aspect, because someone can come in here who has never had a giant wall to legally paint on to take their time with,” Adams

Ga rett fi s be c k

By trevor hultner

said. “Artists can come in here and take their time and try things, and until the show, the doors are pretty much closed, so you don’t have to be worried about doing a bad job.” Tall Hill is hosting a three-day music and art festival March 13-15. It will include more than 30 artists and dozens of bands. “It’s my brainchild,” Adams said. “I’ve been involved in DIY punk actively for 20 years, playing in bands and doing art for them. A lot of my visual art was spawned from my activity in punk.”

Kasum Contemporary Fine Art

Tony Morton, CEO and director of Kasum Contemporary Fine Art, 1706 NW 16th St., has lived in the Plaza District with his wife for five years. In that time, he has had the opportunity to witness and help shape the nascent creativity boom in Oklahoma City. “To me, we’ll be in a renaissance when people stop using words like ‘weird’ to describe what’s happening and start saying things like ‘evolved’ and progressive,” he said. Morton built Kasum Contemporary out of a previously existing gallery, Paseo Originals Art Gallery, when that gallery’s owners, Kay and Ray Orr, retired. “I ran Paseo Originals for some time,” he said. “I had ambitions towards eventually opening a gallery, and when Kay and Roy came to me and told me they wanted to retire, it was a bit of a surprise.”

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Artists Ross Adams and Jason Pawley at their gallery, Tall Hill Creative. They plan to have an art and music festival at the gallery in March. Morton wanted to make sure he’d be able to do the gallery justice, minus a lot of financial risk. So he found a spot closer to home on the Plaza, in a building whose owners were willing to work with a first-year business. Then came the name change. “It’s my father’s last name,” Morton said. “It’s the name I was born with. As homage to my father, on Father’s Day, I got to share with him the name of the business, and that was pretty fantastic.”

Dustin Oswald, owner of Planet Dorsshak. Kasum kept many of the artists the previous gallery represented, and Morton said he has already brought several new artists in for 2015. “Stephen St. Claire came on with the gallery whenever I moved over here, and I recently brought in work from his wife, Joy St. Claire, who does some pretty amazing small works,” he said. “Natalia Ferber is going to be an artist we show in the beginning of the year. Natalia is originally from Uruguay. She’s living in London now. It’s a big deal for me because it’s my first foray into photography.” Other artists include Thomas Bautista and Jeannette Herrera, a Peruvian street artist. “I think [her work] is going to shake up the art scene here in Oklahoma City, or at least make people scratch their heads a little bit,” Morton said. Herrera’s work currently has the distinction of being part of Cheech Marin’s museum art tour Chicanitas: Small Paintings from the Cheech Marin Collection. Her work will be on display at Kasum Contemporary in March. For more information about current exhibits, as well as a full list of artists, visit kasumcontemporary.com.

Paseo Art Space

New artists looking for a place to show their work always have a shot at Paseo Art Space, 3022 Paseo St., in the Paseo Arts District. An offshoot of

m a rk ha n coc k

Brass Bell Studios owners Tanner Frady and Ashley Smith view artwork by Reagan Kloiber on display at their studio. Paseo Art Association, Art Space is a multimedia art gallery, and anyone with a body of work can apply to show there. “We don’t specialize in anything,” Executive Director Amanda Bleakley said. “We’re a great venue for new artists that may be looking for a place to show their work. Sometimes it’s hard to break into the art scene, and here, you can rent the space, which is unique for most places.” The Art Space charges $350 for members to rent the space, and then it takes a 10 percent commission of the artist’s sales. Artists have to submit their work to a committee of their peers for approval. “You can submit your work digitally via our website and choose which month you’re interested in, and if we feel like it’s a good fit, you can rent the space for a month,” Bleakley said. “We have a committee of two or three people. They’re local artists, and they decide whether a work is appropriate or not.” January’s guest artist is Sean Giboney from Tulsa. Giboney works mostly with abstract painting and portraiture. You can find out more about Art Space, including how to submit and when special gallery events are held, at thepaseo.org.

Brass Bell Studios

Since 2011, Brass Bell Studios, 2500 NW 33rd St., has showcased local art and provided a space for the studio’s co-owners, Ashley Smith and Tanner Frady, to work. They host art openings the first Sunday of every month from 5 to 9 p.m. “BBS features local artists and is open to anyone wanting to participate in semi-annual group shows,” Smith said. “[It] also hosts a local Drink and Draw program every second Thursday of the month from 8 to 11 p.m. During D&D, anyone is welcome to come and casually hang out, draw, doodle and/or communicate and network with

other artists.” Brass Bell’s next major event is Sunday, Feb. 1. It will feature Smith’s work as well as the work of Samantha Vigliaturo, Natalie Griffin and Jennifer FayLocke. Find out more at facebook.com/ BrassBellStudios.

Planet Dorshak

Planet Dorshak — the home of Dorshak Bloch and Bombs Away Art Company, as well as the primary retailer of Literati Press comics and books — is planning a 2015 full of science fiction-tinged comic book art and other mixed media. According to studio owner Dustin Oswald — the artist and designer behind the pseudonymous Bloch — they will feature a different artist every other month. “I’ll leave their stuff up for a couple of months,” Oswald said. “We had Tony Trammell’s stuff up in December as our featured artist, and I left his up for the new year.” Next month, Planet Dorshak will feature illustrator Natasha Alterici’s work as part of an effort to focus on contemporary American pop culture themes, Oswald said. In March, Oswald will host the Marvel March Action Auction, a private showing featuring various artists’ takes of their favorite Marvel superhero or villain on 12x18inch cradled birch panels. He will donate the proceeds from the show to the arts enrichment program at Cleveland Elementary School. Tyler Wardlaw, an illustrative artist, will be the featured artist in April. Later in the year, Planet Dorshak will have a book release party for Oswald’s second graphic novella, limited edition prints and t-shirts. You can find out more about Dorshak’s upcoming events at facebook.com/planetdorshak.

O k l a h O m a G a z e t t e | J a n ua r y 2 1 , 2 0 1 5 | 3 3

UNIVERSITY THEATRE

life Performing Arts

M i n dy Tuc ke r

The University of Oklahoma is an equal opportunity institution. www.ou.edu/eoo

THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA

8 pm Feb. 6 and 3 pm Feb. 8

Sharp Concert Hall, Catlett Music Center, rated PG

(405) 325-4101 THEATRE.OU.EDU

Old-school

Todd Barry

Comedian Todd Barry makes people laugh with his unscripted improv and deadpan delivery. By eric WeBB

todd Barry with gabe Bravo, Bradchad Porter and Wampus

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8 p.m. thursday Acm@Uco Performance lab 329 e. sheridan Ave. okccomedy.com 618-6944 $20-$24

On the heels of his acclaimed The Crowd Work Tour, comedian Todd Barry is back out on the road and sharing sly observations with his signature low-key delivery. Operating in a comic stealth mode until it’s time to strike, Barry swoops in to deliver a barrage of jokes, piling on punch line after punch line. Barry’s three-decade stand-up career has yielded three albums, three Comedy Central specials and a documentary. As an actor, he’s known for roles like the bongo-playing interloper on Flight of the Conchords and Mickey Rourke’s deli boss in The Wrestler. He has also played versions of himself on shows like Louis and Delocated. OKC Comedy partner BradChad Porter said that Barry’s unique voice inspired a generation of comedians. “Young comics everywhere have started their careers doing a version of Todd Barry,” Porter said. “He makes deadpan an attribute to strive for and elevates clever to art.” It’s not just Barry’s delivery that sets him apart; it’s his choice of material: good, old-fashioned, observational joketelling. Porter will open for Barry on Thursday at ACM@UCO Performance

Lab, as will Wampus Reynolds and Gabe Bravo. Barry started doing stand-up in his early 20s, inspired by the rich open-mic and stand-up comedy boom of the ’80s. He developed his own voice over time by performing whenever possible. “I never planned the way I talk or my onstage energy level. Whatever I’ve turned into happened organically,” Barry said. Barry gained a reputation for his crowd work, engaging in organic, off-the-cuff comedic exchanges with audience members during his sets. A few years ago, he had the idea to do an entire tour of shows comprised of only crowd work and film them. The resulting documentary, The Crowd Work Tour, was produced and distributed through Louis CK’s website. “It was relaxing because I didn’t have to plan anything but stressful because I still had to fill the time,” Barry said. “I enjoyed the experience because I really didn’t know what to expect every night.” By involving the crowd in his shows, Barry creates custom experiences for audiences. “Few comics have the wherewithal to create such an experience night in and night out,” Porter said of Barry. For this tour, Barry presents some written material but still takes time out during every show to go into the audience. He just wants everyone to have a good time. “Making a group of nice people laugh is great thing,” Barry said. “When it’s going well, you can’t even believe that it’s also your job.”

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Monday and Tuesday, Russian National Ballet Theatre will perform Swan Lake at Edmond’s Armstrong Auditorium.

By BrenDAn HooVer

7:30 p.m. monday-tuesday Armstrong Auditorium 14400 s. Bryant road armstrongauditorium.org 285-1010 $45-$97

Russian National Ballet Theatre will return to Edmond’s Armstrong Auditorium, 14400 S. Bryant Road, Monday and Tuesday to perform Peter Tchaikovsky’s 1877 masterpiece Swan Lake. Both performances begin at 7:30 p.m. “It’s really a feast for the senses,” said Shane Granger, Armstrong Auditorium’s marketing director. “It’s a unique opportunity because you’re seeing an art form that was really perfected in Russia.” Choreographed by French ballet master Marius Petipa, Swan Lake tells the tale of young Prince Siegfried, who falls in love with the swan queen, Odette, who has been bewitched and cursed by the wicked sorcerer Rotbart. Only true love can break the spell. Founded as Soviet National Ballet in Moscow during the perestroika era of the late 1980s, Russian National Ballet Theatre incorporated graduates from the Russian choreography schools of Moscow, St. Petersburg and Perm. The company recruited top dancers from Russia, Latvia, Ukraine and Poland. Today, the company features 60 dancers, many of whom have been with the company since its inception, and is led by artistic director Elena Radchenko. This will be the company’s third visit to the extravagant, $25 million Armstrong Auditorium, which opened in 2010. The auditorium features a 9-foot Hamburg Steinway concert grand piano, two 7-foot Baccarat

Russian National Ballet Theatre will perform Swan Lake, originally written in 1877 and considered a ballet masterpiece, at Armstrong Auditorium. crystal candelabra commissioned by the shah of Iran to celebrate the 2,500th anniversary of the Persian Empire and three 2-ton Swarovski-Strass crystal chandeliers hanging in the lobby. Granger said it seeks to provide Oklahomans with “monumental cultural experiences.” Armstrong Auditorium is home to the Armstrong International Cultural Foundation’s performing arts series, now in its 17th season. The venue has hosted some of the world’s most renowned performing artists, including the Vienna Boys Choir, the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields and EGOT-winning composer Marvin Hamlisch, who died in 2012. The Armstrong International Cultural Foundation is a nonprofit humanitarian organization sponsored by the Philadelphia Church of God, based in Edmond. The foundation also sponsors archaeological excavations in Israel, and the Armstrong Auditorium currently hosts an exhibit of ancient Jewish artifacts. “It’s an opportunity to do good works and live through example,” Granger said of the foundation. “It all stems from the idea of ‘love your neighbor.’” The foundation is “primarily financed,” by the Philadelphia Church of God, which Granger said subsidizes about 60 percent of the performing arts series’ budget. The other 40 percent comes from private donations and ticket sales. For more information, visit armstrongauditorium.org or call 285-1010.

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

New York TiMes crossword Puzzle aNswers Puzzle No. 1228, which appeared in the January 14 issue.

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B U I C K S

E S P R I T

R A T E U S I N H U M D I R C A T B O S S H O O H A C K E Y U C S O L E S G S M I A D E S P O U T T O R C A S A H N E N E A P G S O R E S T E S I S M O S S H O D G L O V A T E P E

N A N C Y P E L O S I A N N E S B E N

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

B A R W I N E H O K E A A L P I R E S A C I S T S U I E E N R F I E H O M O T O O N E P E C S E Y H O L L Y O G L O C E A K U M T L S T A T E

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

across 1 The “1” of 1/4 4 Org. portrayed in American Hustle 7 Conceal, in a way 11 Aloof 17 Subj. that gets into circulation? 19 Caterer’s container 20 Starters 22 Spring 23 Greeting at the door 25 Daily newspaper feature, informally 26 Rabelaisian 27 Signs from above 28 Part of U.N.C.F. 30 “Nobody’s infallible, not even me” 32 Literary genre of David Copperfield or Ender’s Game 34 World-weary 35 U.K. record label 37 States 38 So-called “herb of remembrance” 40 Jimmy 43 Serenader, maybe 45 Something a chair has 47 Candid Camera feature 48 To the same extent 51 What a hippie lives in? 54 Takes to court 56 Novelist Frank who wrote The Octopus 58 She, in Brazil 59 Hipster beer, for short 61 Most IRT lines in the Bronx, e.g. 62 Cry of discovery 63 ___ cotta 65 Like smoothie fruit 67 Rocker Weymouth of the Talking Heads 71 Title song question in Disney’s Frozen 75 ___ jacket 76 Abalone 77 Southern African desert 78 You can bank on it 79 Bygone French coin 81 Foreign policy grp. 82 Window units, briefly 83 ___ Stark, Oona Chaplin’s Game of Thrones role 85 Friend’s couch, perhaps 89 Stuffed Jewish dish 92 Leslie of Gigi and Lili

93 Singer Mann 94 “Tom ___” (#1 Kingston Trio hit) 96 Reclined 98 Sang like Ella 100 What may eat you out of house and home? 103 Hon 107 37-Across, informally 108 Some police attire 110 Academy Award winner who has played both a U.S. president and God 112 Cover subject on Ms. magazine’s debut issue, 1972 115 Easily bribed 116 City burned in Genesis 117 ___ algebra 118 Scope 120 1990s craze 122 Eats up 123 Kitchen gadget 124 Free ad, for short 125 Water carrier 126 See 52-Down 127 Like stereotypical TV neighbors 128 Application info: Abbr. 129 Spanish article dowN 1 Pioneering urbanologist Jane 2 Inability to recall the names of everyday objects 3 To wit 4 Entertainment 5 Elicit 6 “Delaware Water Gap” painter George 7 Long period of stability ending circa A.D. 180 8 Part of Lawrence Welk’s introduction 9 Enthusiastic, sociable, confident type, it’s said 10 Norma Jean, later 11 Kitchen gadget 12 Certain weanling 13 One of a Greek trio 14 100% guaranteed 15 “Kinderszenen” composer 16 Exclamation repeated in the Monkees’ TV theme song 18 Is a mixologist

4 18

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93 99

107

108 113

61 66

100

101

109

118

122

123

126

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103

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111 116

119

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124 127

21 Drug also known as Ecstasy 24 Big Ten rival of UMich 29 College sr.’s test 31 Award for Hunt and Peck 33 Shooters’ org. 34 Its drafts may be crafts 36 Bothers 39 Fourth word in the Star Wars prologue 41 Kind of blue 42 Ones holding hands? 44 Un Ballo in Maschera aria 46 Hesitant start to a question 48 + end 49 “Ooh-la-la!” 50 Cold treat, informally 52 With 126-Across, first European to cross the Mississippi

105

115

117

110

114

82 89

74 77

112

76 79

Stumped? Call 1-900-285-5656 to get the answers to any three clues by phone ($1.20 a minute). The answers to the New York Times Magazine Crossword Puzzle that appeared in the January 14 issue of Oklahoma Gazette are shown at left.

Oklahoma Gazette

11 21

25 28

125

128

53 Thrills 55 Website billed as “the front page of the Internet” 57 Clinches 60 Repast for a late riser 64 Singer Carly ___ Jepsen 65 ___ favor 66 Good wood for cabinetmaking 68 Where bombs are bursting, per Francis Scott Key 69 “Au contraire!” 70 “Gimme a break!” 72 Quick round of tennis 73 Takes on 74 Summers of old? 80 President Arthur’s nickname 82 Feature of much modern architecture 84 Hill or dale 85 Mama ___ 86 Popular Eastern beverage 87 Largest state of Brazil

129

88 90 91 95 97 99 101 102 104 105 106 109 111 113 114 115 117 119 121

0111

New York TiMes MagaziNe crossword Puzzle THe desceNT oF MaN By Finn Vigeland / Edited by Will Shortz

Deadly viper Suffix with hotel Container in a 34-Down Place to kick your feet up Solid rock center? Very much ___ thruster (NASA system) Wanders (around) Traveling around the holidays, maybe New Jersey town next to Fort Lee 1960s-’80s Pontiac Substitute Edward Snowden subj. Quo Vadis character Nutty Tries to win You can trip on it Dude Has the ability to

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inside ACCOunT eXeCuTiVe Brenda Howerton

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COpy ediTOr Brittany Pickering

bpickering@okgazette.com

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Garett Fisbeck

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prOduCTiOn direCTOr Mandy Coakley

pmays@okgazette.com

Ashley Parks

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prinT TrAFFiC COOrdinATOr/ sAles AssisTAnT Shawna Stine

street/mailing address 3701 N Shartel Ave Oklahoma City, OK 73118-7102

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ACCOunTs reCeiVAble Sue Auld sauld@okgazette.com

O k l a h O m a G a z e t t e | J a n ua r y 2 1 , 2 0 1 5 | 3 7

Energetic fit The Oklahoma City-County Health Department and OKC Energy FC partnership is ‘a natural fit.’ By ZAch JAcoBs

The Oklahoma City-County Health Department (OCCHD) announced plans to expand one of its campuses in a partnership with the metro’s newest professional sports franchise. Officials said they unanimously approved a letter of intent Dec. 9 from the Oklahoma City Energy Football Club to build a multi-field training facility at the Northeast Regional Health and Wellness Campus in Oklahoma City. Jason Hawkins, Energy FC general manager, said partnering with OCCHD is good for both organizations. “We had been pursuing various locations and partnerships for just the right place to call home,” said Hawkins. “When this opportunity came about with OCCHD and their desire to have sports fields on the campus master plan, it was a natural fit.” OCCHD officials are excited as well. Ken Johnson, OCCHD media relations coordinator, said officials plan to take their original designs to a higher level overall. “The OCCHD had always planned to build basketball courts and multi-purpose sports fields on the NE Health and Wellness Campus,” said Johnson. “The Energy FC partnership will allow for higher-grade fields to be constructed and maintained as well as provide additional programming and community engagement opportunities.” Hawkins and Johnson said the current design includes two professional-grade, 80-yard-wide soccer fields as well as basketball courts, additional parking, restrooms and a concessions area. While construction on the fields has already begun, officials say they anticipate the project to be finished by

3 8 | J a n ua r y 2 1 , 2 0 1 5 | O k l a h O m a G a z e t t e

An aerial-view rendering of the multi-field training facility at the Northeast Regional Health and Wellness Campus at 2600 NE 63rd St. summer 2015. Until then, Johnson said OCCHD and Energy FC program staff will meet regularly with community partners to develop a schedule of programs and activities to give Oklahoma City locals opportunities to come to the campus and engage in active lifestyles. Johnson said a grant from BlueCross BlueShield of Oklahoma (BCBS) will cover a quarter of the project’s estimated initial $600,000 price tag, while OCCHD will cover the remaining funds. He also said Energy FC’s contribution would be maintenance and programming on the fields, equating to approximately $500,000 in-kind payments over the next five years As part of the partnership, Hawkins said Energy FC will work closely with OCCHD and BCBS to provide clinics and physical activities to benefit area youth. “Obviously, sports programming is the most natural fit,” he said. “Part of the appeal of our being on campus is the attention that will come to the campus as a whole and all of its great programs.” Johnson expressed mutual praise for Energy FC. “[Their players] are young men who have committed to healthy living. Energy FC has demonstrated brand recognition and will help to increase traffic at the campus,” he said. For more information on the project, visit OCCHD’s website at occhd.org or Energy FC’s website at energyfc.com.

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Watchful eyes From hip-hop and psychedelic rock to looped violins and even honky-tonk, 2015 promises possibly the most anticipated Oklahoma music in years.

lacey elaine tackett

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Kaitlin Butts Goes well with: Miranda Lambert, Those Darlins Wannabe country starlets are a dime a dozen, and exceedingly few of them have the grit, passion and character that Tulsa-born, ACM@UCOschooled Kaitlin Butts carries with her honky-tonk-friendly voice. While cutting her teeth at the Centennial Rodeo Opry, she caught the eye of Red Dirt legend Mike McClure, who recorded her debut album Same Hell, Different Devil at his Boohatch Studio in 2014. Due early this year, the album recounts stories of heartbreak, revenge and a little bit of fun and could be the foundation for Oklahoma’s next big country star.

Haniwa Goes well with: alt-J, Braids This state has a rich array of music produced inside its borders, but pure indie pop territory is relatively unpopulated. Upstart Haniwa changes that. The four-piece’s self-titled debut album — out in December — is a sophisticated but consistently infectious collection of deep-sea pop glimmers, moody piano ballads and boy-girl sung dance jams, and traction will grow steadily with a year’s worth of shows in support of this standout material.

Found Footage Goes well with: Metz, Iceage Prog-punk rocker Found Footage made an undeniable statement with As Far As Far, a Dust House Studio-recorded album that followed a string of strong EPs and singles since the band’s 2012 inception. With a vinyl re-release imminent, the group will ride that to even grander heights in the days to come. Songs like “Ghosts” and “This Train Sucks” are electrified IV drips of stoner rock sludge, hair-raising guitar hooks and ear-splitting noise that put the danger back into an art form in such desperate need of it. Arena rock is dead, but DIY livewires like these guys (and band buddies Sex Snobs and Power Pyramid) assure a long underground shelf life.

joe c a p pa

Idabel Goes well with: Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver Idabel is quietly devastating, simple but rich folk music that tends to paralyze all within earshot of it. Much of the past year was spent doing just that, blindsiding unsuspecting crowds across the city with its offbeat bluegrass sound, all while having little more than two live music videos online for perusing. Last month brought the Joe Cappa-directed video for its new single “Breadwinner,” a teaser for an EP due in early 2015. Oklahoma is a hotbed for indie folk, and Idabel is on the verge of being the state’s best.

mark elliot-atria creative

Deus Eyeslow Goes well with: Joey Bada$$, Earl Sweatshirt There’s a wealth of hip-hop talent here, especially in regard to decades past, but it’s still a tall order to crack through the threshold of underground emcee of choice to one that the greater public is aware of. Jabee and Josh Sallee have done it, and Deus Eyeslow should be next. A collaboration of Rodney Hulsey and producer Shawny C, Deus Eyeslow put out Lyrical Voodoo, one of 2014’s best local hiphop records, and word is the new batch of material from the artistically provocative pair is even better.

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Bleverly Hills Goes well with: Drake, JMSN Long has Bleverly Hills been the Robin to Josh Sallee’s Batman (also dreaming up beats for the likes of Alex Wiley, Mod Sun, Roosh Williams and more), but it’s looking more and more like he’s destined for a share of the spotlight himself. Born Courtney Blevins, the multitalented singer released alt-R&B flavored collaboration “Play” with his bud Sallee last month with more music due this year. The beat-producing won’t go away, but armed with a silky voice and tastemaker sensibilities, he must just follow in Pharrell and Kanye West’s footsteps, shifting from behind the scenes to the venue marquee.

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bellevuebi zz.com

By JoSHua BoyDSton

Helen Kelter Skelter Goes well with: Tame Impala, Arctic Monkeys Few bands worked as hard in 2014 as Helen Kelter Skelter. The cheekily named psych rocker played what seemed like twice a week at every metro venue that would have it. The band cashes in on that sweat equity with its full-length debut jam-packed with desert-baked, mind-bending rock tunes that would do Josh Homme or even John Paul Jones proud. It’s set for release in the first quarter of 2015, and a victory lap will be well-deserved, but it seems more likely that the band will spend the next 12 months moving faster than ever.

Sarah Reid Goes well with: Julianna Barwick, Julia Holter Bringing the old world into the new, classically trained violinist Sarah Reid employs looping not as a gimmick but as a means to conjure ornate, chamber pop panoramas designed to whisk you away. She’s a mesmerizing presence and captivating performer who has charmed many a crowd at house shows around her hometown of Norman over the past two years, and bigger shows will come soon. The sister of Kyle Reid (who had a fine 2014 too) looks to carry that momentum forward with her full-length debut recorded at Breathing Rhythm Studio and set for release in coming months.

O k l a h O m a G a z e t t e | j a n ua r y 2 1 , 2 0 1 5 | 3 9

Long live Hard rock act Kirra chugs ahead with Run Away and an opening slot for Puddle of Mudd. By JoSHua BoyDSton

Kirra album release with Puddle of mudd, octave Jaw and Part-time Savants 7 p.m. Saturday oKc Farmers Public market 311 S. Klein ave. okcfarmersmarket.com 232-6506 $20-$40

FIRE LAKE ARENA IN SHAWNEE OK GET TICKETS AT WWW.CPNBOXOFFICE.COM OR CALL 405.273.1637

4 0 | j a n ua r y 2 1 , 2 0 1 5 | O k l a h O m a G a z e t t e

“Rock is finally dead,” Gene Simmons declared in an Esquire profile last fall. The famed bassist bereaved what he felt was the destruction of an art and lifestyle that his band Kiss caricatured to its most flamboyant (even comical) extremes. Oklahoma City modern rock act Kirra mentions that eulogy in its band bio, and its fast-rising career might just be the most compelling argument against it. “We’ve had the pleasure of opening up for some big-name bands and even just attending shows as fans at Chesapeake Energy Arena,” guitarist Daxton Page said. “You have to be a big band with a big following to play a place like that, so when someone says rock’s dead, I can’t help but point to that.” Playing an engine-roaring brand of hard rock indebted to Chevelle, Seether and Pearl Jam, Page and bandmates Jesse Williamson (vocals, rhythm guitar), Ryne McNeill (bass) and Zach Stafford (drums) — who met each other thanks to a Craigslist connection — do recognize that even right here in the Midwestern heartland of rock music country, fewer and fewer young musicians play straight-ahead rock music, even if they readily consume it. It might just be why Kirra (surf slang for moving with the ocean) has amassed the following and prominent gigs (opening for 3 Doors Down, Saving Abel and more) in such a short amount of time. “The Oklahoma market is kind of starving for a normal rock act,”

Page said. “It’s hard, because you get paired with heavy, death metal bands or indie bands. There’s not much of a middle ground as far as a normal modern rock band.” Fewer club promoters are willing to book those sorts of bands either, he said, though Kirra has managed to find itself onstage at Hollywood’s Whiskey a Go Go and House of Blues. Page sees trends that are influencing that, though he’s positive there’s still a place for traditional guitar bands. “Pop culturewise, there’s a rise in that heavier scene, and I think a lot of kids are focusing there,” he explained. “People want to do something that’s never been heard before, and I think it overcomplicates things sometimes. There’s an almost draught of normal rock bands because of that.” With a collective dream of writing music and touring for a living, the four members hope that their new album, Run Away, will help get them there. It’s a heart-on-itssleeve sort of record; chugging guitars and gunfire percussion meld into edgy backdrops for tender confessions of love, loss and struggle. “A lot of the record deals with being in bad situations, be it family, friends or relationships, and escaping that to move on and have a better life,” Page said. “We try to be genuine about what we are singing about. I think people can tell that there’s a sincerity to it.” On the strength of the new album, a slick new video for lead single “Fly” and an impending album release show with Kansas City grunge rockers Puddle of Mudd this Saturday at OKC Farmers Public Market, Kirra hopes that it can help keep that rock torch burning for some time to come. “I feel like this album is going to open some doors,” Page said. “Listening to it, it’s like, wow. To be able to hear every little part is a gratifying experience.”

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Best Luck Celebrating his second album release in as many months, John Calvin Abney proves luck comes to those who work for it. By JoSHua BoyDSton

Better Luck album release show with John calvin abney 7:30 p.m. Sunday the Blue Door 2805 n. mcKinley ave. bluedoorokc.com 524-0738 $10-$15

In the span of about two months, John Calvin Abney has released two albums. And they aren’t companion pieces, leftover B-sides, covers, different projects or one-off collaborations. They are two distinct solo records vigilantly conceived as separate entities. The seven-song EP Empty Candles dropped in November, and full-length Better Luck will be celebrated during Sunday’s release show at The Blue Door, 2805 N. McKinley Ave. The former is an Elliott Smith-inspired experiment with grunge folk, and the latter is a classically tinged alt-country affair. Hard work isn’t unprecedented for this Oklahoma musician, who tirelessly pursued a degree in anthropology from the University of Oklahoma as he moonlighted almost every night at places like The Deli and as a sideman for everyone from Samantha Crain to John Moreland. But the songwriting boon is. “It can be a grueling, nightmarish process sometimes, to work songs out, but if I wanted to write new songs, I was going to have to do it,” Abney said of the 18 months he spent slavishly devoted to writing more (and better) songs. “I couldn’t wait on anyone or anything to do it for me.” He’s as electrified as ever, but the important part is how he’s learning to harness it. The longtime Norman resident now lives in Tulsa and focuses that energy into a more central artistic thought instead of creation for creation’s sake, unlike his early EPs, including 2012’s Without Wax and 2010’s Wish Alloy. “I just hope those records disappear

into the cosmos,” Abney said. “I had all the initiative and all the energy and all the execution, but I didn’t have the connection. I didn’t know myself well enough as an artist yet.” Abney credits burying himself in his work and friendships with musicians Moreland, Crain, Sean Barker, Bryon White, Kierston White and Penny Hill for his sense of selfdiscovery and becoming the artist he is supposed to be, not the one he thought he should be. “They taught me how to be myself. There’s no need to be anyone else,” he said. “I’m sinking into what I can do and not pushing to places that don’t fit me as a person or a musician.” Empty Candles and Better Luck were mined out of an emotionally raw period that saw his life and professional pursuits tumble, sublimated into that tireless work ethic with which he attacked each record. “Everyone lives through their peaks and valleys. The past five years have been a crazy journey in a lot of ways. I’ve experienced a lot, and my life took a massive change,” Abney said. “I never thought I’d be doing music the way I am. It’s this constant sort of enigma that I can’t really explain.” Better Luck was tracked in San Francisco studio Tiny Telephone with friends and collaborators Moreland and Kyle Reid and engineer Jacob Winik. The process for Empty Candles couldn’t have been more different, as Abney holed himself up in Norman spot Breathing Rhythm Studio for eight straight days and mixed and tracked the whole affair himself. “I created something all by myself,” Abney said. “It was a brand-new experience.” Any stylistic divergence or difference in process can be tracked back to its classic American roots rock core, and though the winding path forward from here is still missing some of the signage, at least he knows he is pointed in the right direction.

* Visit NASCIGS.com or call 1-800-435-5515 PROMO CODE 95561 *Plus applicable sales tax Offer for two “1 for $2” Gift Certifi cates good for any Natural American Spirit cigarette product (excludes RYO pouches and 150g tins). Not to be used in conjunction with any other offer. Offer and website restricted to U.S. smokers 21 years of age and older. Limit one offer per person per 12 month period. Offer void in MA and where prohibited. Other restrictions may apply. Offer expires 12/31/15.

O k l a h O m a G a z e t t e | j a n ua r y 2 1 , 2 0 1 5 | 4 1 Oklahoma Gazette 01-21-15.indd 1

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ORC-0118Gaz_Layout 1 1/14/15 11:40 AM Page 1

We Believe...

PA I D A DV E R T I S E M E N T On the 42ND Anniversary of the Landmark

Reproductive Freedom is a vital part of Religious Liberty. Ken Ackley & Karen Pope Lee Agnew Janice & Jack Alexander Janet Allen Gary Allison & Barbara Bannon Andy & Rachel Ames Roger & Sue Ames in Honor of Rev. Mary E. McAnally Ellen & Bill Anderson John Anderson Jo Angelina Claudia Arthrell Mary W. Athens Melissa Potter Atkinson Estelle & Allan Avery Ted Bakamjian Harold & Mary Battenfield Linda Thomas Baxter Kathy Becker Marilyn Bell Judy & Edgar Benarrous Janifer Bennett Nancy Bennett Elizabeth Berry Rex Berry Heidi Bigknife Robert & Becky Billings Susan D. Bishop David Blatt & Patty Hipsher Greg Bledsoe & Marilyn Ihloff Lynn Bootes Dianne Marie Bostic Carrie & Shannon Bowen Sara Bradford Phyllis Cole Braunlich Cassie Breshears Kathleen Briggs Suzanne Broadbent Jane F. Brumley Joyce & Mel Buckner Carol & Hugh Burleigh Hillary Burns Dr. Larry & Debby Burns Nancy Cain Tim & K Caldwell E. Dawn Campbell, DO Martha & Charlie Cantrell Anthony Carillo & Blanca "D" Thomas Carson, DDS Pamela J. & Gordon Cecil Iris O. Chandler Peter Allan Childs Karo Chowning Rev. Mark Christian Louise Christie Vicki Cisneros

Rabbi Karen & Rabbi Micah Citrin Lisa Coats William A. Coberly Beverly Collin Catherine Gatchell Cooper L. Ann Corder-Agnew Michelle Cornshucker Janus Couve Michele A. Cowen Martha Cox Mickey Cox Stephen Cranford & Myrna Jones Rob & Laurie Crowder Bob & Sheri Curry Janet & Patrick Curth Janet Dann Cindy Decker Jennifer Del Rio Barbara & Fred Delozier Gloria Dialectic, PhD Elaine & Doug Dodd Rev. Philip Douglas Rev. Kelli Driskoll Jeff Darby & Janet Dundee Norma Eagleton Patty & Len Eaton Rev. Cathey Edwards & Joe Perrault Marilyn Eldridge Rev. Cathy Elliott Marion D. Elson & William H. Elson, Jr. Dennis England Suzy Ewing, LCSW UMFT Jennifer Fain Nancy G. Feldman Thurma Fiegel Kathie Fite Lu Ann Fite-Morris Vic Powell and Greer Fites Marc Boone Fitzerman & Alice Blue Dr. Jim & Pat Fluegel Claire Ames Fogarty Elizabeth Ames Fogarty Margaret Ames Fogarty Nancy Frye Foote Sue Forney Sally & Jim Frasier Anita Fream Kalyn Free & Steve Bruner Todd Freeman Joyce Freshwater Emily & Mark Friedman

Roe v.Wade Supreme Court Decision January 22, 1973

Deborah Fritts Angie Frizzell Susan Frusher Ada Galli Bernard R. Gardner III Gail Gaustad Richard & Vicky George Veva Gibbard Carla Gilbert Barbara Glass Lynn Frazier Goldberg Anne Marie Grassmann Sharon Gray Janet C. Gregory Dennis & Carrie Grote Julie Gustafson Julie Hackman Brandie Haddan, Brenna Haddan, Kylie Hawley, Maggie Hawley Madison Hake Susan J. Hakel, MD Heather Hall Karen Hamm Gwen Hampton Nancy & Hank Harbaugh Martha Hardwick & Pearce Blake Ric Harrison Tex & Ellen Hartman Harold & Martha Hatt Virginia Hebermehl Bobbie & Don Henderson Lana Wood Henson Chris Hicks Clara Hill Kathy & Bill Hinkle Jane Ho Stephen A. Hobbs Jody D. Horn Dr. David & Vicki Hurewitz Marilyn Inhofe-Tucker James & Judy Jarvis Barbara K. Jenkins Kathryn Jennings & Richard Bunn Elke Johnson Stephen and Mindy Johnson Rev. Jonalu Johnstone Mary Ellen Jones Dan Joslyn Carole and Davis Joyce Carol Kallmeyer Carol Bailey Kamp Martha B. Kamp Jenny S. Kauffman Mary Keller Carmen & Barry Kinsey

Kate Kline Carol Krueger George & Aldean Krumme Tim & Linda Larason Jennifer Latham Rev. Marlin & Anitra Lavanhar Rev. Bob Lawrence Rev, Tamara Lebak Billie Lee Heath Lee Dick & Trish Lieser Jacqulyn Longacre Pat & Bob Lucy Stephen Ludiker Maxine Mackey Sue Marshall Jan & Jim Massey Megan Nicole Massey (Smith) Rebecca Massey Marsha Mathews Jan Mattinson Cheryl Maul Doris Mayfield JaNelle McAdams Rev. Mary E. McAnally & Family Mike McCrary Joe & Jeannie McDaniel Nancy & Joseph McDonald Jean McLaughlin Linda Meek Theresa Melega Erika Mendoza Charlotte Miller Melissa Miller Miriam Mills, MD Paula G. Milsten Jay Minor Ursula Andress Monroe Rev. Chris Moore Linda J. Moore Michelle L. Moore Betty Morrow James E. Morton Laura Morton Anne Murray Lucille & Hal Musgrove Joe & Mary Newman Patrick & Jane Newman James Nimmo Ken & Pat Oglesby Ginny Gregory Pahdocony Keri Parks Jo Ann & Joe Parsons Sandra G. Payne Barbara Ann Perry Betsy Perry

Karen & Robert Petry Carol & Jim Phelps Penny Pierce George & Elaine Pikler Audrey Ann Pine Mona Pittenger Jackie Pizarro Jeff and Kate Pounds Robert & Montague Prater Kenneth E. Proctor Barbara Purtell Elizabeth Rasmussen Nik & Amy Sarraf Renshaw Ruth E. Richards Rev. Dr. Jack Robertson & Cathy Robertson Sara Jane Rose P. Sachdev Mary Saddoris, MD JoAnn Flournoy Sager & Ed Sager Barbara Santee, PhD in Memory of Billie Letts Martha L. Scales Marcia Holway Schaefer Winona M. Schnitzer Connie & John Seibold Claudette & John Selph Carol L. Sherman Rabbi & Mrs. Charles P. Sherman Deborah S. Shinn G. E. Shissler John N. Sieler Sigrid Simmons Martha Skeeters, PhD Richard & Sandra Skinner Charlotte G. Slemp Gailene Smith Marilyn Snedden Sonia & Karl Sniderman Lonsdale Snyder Dr. Melanie Spector Jessica Spencer Alice C. & Charles C. Stanford Wanda Jo Stapleton David Staudt Anne Steiner Betty Stevens Pat Stevens Marianne Strong Minou Sutton & Don P. Rowland Susan & Tom Swatek Sheila & Scott Swearingen Mrs. Crystal Taff Linda Tatman Richard & Marilyn Thompson David Tinney Madolyn J. Tryon Andrew Turner & Cindy McKinney Caitlin Turner Larry & Claudia Vandiver Alice Van Wormer Tana & Jerry Van Cleave Quendy & Ralph Veatch Miriam & Melissa VonAschenCook

Su Waner Anita Ward Jane Warren Chelsea Weaver Vicki & Mike Weaver Jill Webb Marcia Weinstein Sue Weinstein in Memory of Judy Halpern and in Honor of Nancy Hunt Wirth Rev. Dwight Welch Bruce & Suzanne Wenger Cecilia Wessinger Marlene Wetzel Deborah Whittaker Judy Wilder Bill & Aneta Wilkinson Chad Williams Mandy Winton Warren & Nancy Hunt Wirth in Memory of Betsy Rice Gary & Kay Witt Rev. John & Barbara Wolf Larry & Phyllis Wolverton Andrew Wood Zane & Amber Wood Norma Gladd Woolsey Faith Groups and Organizations All Souls Unitarian Church Challenges & Choices Class, St. Stephen's United Methodist Church College Hill Presbyterian Church Day Alliance All Souls Unitarian Church Fellowship Congregational Church UCC Social Justice Committee First Unitarian Church of OKC All Souls for Reproductive Justice Hope Unitarian Church Oklahoma Congregations of the Southwestern Unitarian Universalist Conference Presbyterians Affirming Reproductive Options PHEWA PC "USA" Oklahoma Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice Temple Israel, Social Justice Committee Women of Hope, Hope Unitarian Church Adoption Affiliates League Of Women Voters Of Metropolitan Tulsa NOVA Health Systems Oklahoma Coalition for Reproductive Justice Planned Parenthood of the Heartland Planned Parenthood of Central Oklahoma Reproductive Services

THE OKLAHOMA RELIGIOUS COALITION FOR REPRODUCTIVE CHOICE

BRINGS THE POWER OF RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES TO ENSURE REPRODUCTIVE CHOICE AND JUSTICE THROUGH EDUCATION AND ADVOCACY. “Abortion is a personal issue, best left in the hands of a woman, her doctor and her Faith.” Pro-Faith • Pro-Family • Pro-Choice • Pro-Justice

YES! I want to support this newspaper ad as well as the religious Pro-Choice message of the Oklahoma Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice.

� Please send me additional information. � I’m enclosing a tax-deductible gift of $__________________ � Please charge my �MasterCard �VISA �Discover # �� - �� - �� - �� Exp___________

Or, you may donate online. Go to http://www.okrcrc.org and click on Make A Donation. Choose which type of donation you’d like to make and click Donate. Name________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Address______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ www.okrcrc.org

City________________________________________________________________ State_____________________ Zip____________________________ Phone (_____________)__________________________________ Email_________________________________________________________________ Please make check payable to OKRCRC. Clip this reply form and send it along with your tax-deductible donation to: OKRCRC, P. O. Box 35194, Tulsa, OK 74153-0194, or use our website: www.okrcrc.org

4 2 | j a n ua r y 2 1 , 2 0 1 5 | O k l a h O m a G a z e t t e

Code: OG

lIFE muSIc Gentry, Kendell’s Bar. VARIOUS

WeDNesDAY, JAN. 21

Jeff Rogers, Full Circle Bookstore. COUNTRY

Grant Wells, Skirvin Hilton Hotel. PIANO

Karen Khoury, Legend’s Restaurant, Norman. PIANO

Larry Pierce, Ronald J. Norick Downtown Library. PIANO

Mark Gibson, Blue Note Lounge. SINGER/SONGWRITER

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

Michael Summers, UCO Jazz Lab, Edmond. JAZZ

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

Mike Bradley, Jazmo’z Bourbon St. Cafe. SINGER/SONGWRITER

THuRsDAY, JAN. 22

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Live music

Helen Skelter Kelter/Gum, Opolis, Norman. ROCK

Jennifay Joy & Diamond Grit, Route 66 Roadhouse. COUNTRY

Mike McClure Band, Grady’s 66 Pub, Yukon. VARIOUS Mike Ryan, Wormy Dog Saloon. COUNTRY My So Called Band, The Deli, Norman. COVER

Boxcar Bandits, Wormy Dog Saloon. COUNTRY

Roy Lee Scott & The Flying Cowboys, Sliders. COUNTRY

Brent Saulsbury/Will Galbraith/Wayne Duncan, Friends Restaurant & Club. ROCK

Slowvein, Belle Isle Restaurant & Brewery. POP SqadLive, Riverwind Casino, Norman. COVER

Masked Intruder/The Copyrights/Community Pools/ Lotta Tuff, The Conservatory. ROCK

The Clique, Friends Restaurant & Club. VARIOUS

Mitch Bell, Devon Tower. JAZZ

The Mark Gibson Trio/Chase Kerby and the Company Men, Blue Note Lounge. VARIOUS

Motherfolk/Haniwa/Dead Armadillos, Blue Note Lounge. ROCK

What She Said, Oklahoma City Limits. ROCK

Reckless Kelly/Kevin Fowler, Cain’s Ballroom, Tulsa. COUNTRY Reese Wilson/Michael Summers, Kendell’s Bar. SINGER/ SONGWRITER

sATuRDAY, JAN. 24

Samantha Crain, The Deli, Norman. FOLK

Andy North, Grady’s 66 Pub, Yukon. VARIOUS

Scott A.F./Them Hounds/Huckwheat, 51st Street Speakeasy. VARIOUS

Bleu Edmonson, Wormy Dog Saloon. COUNTRY

The Central Jazz Jam, UCO Jazz Lab, Edmond. JAZZ

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music

Don and Melodee Johnson, Twelve Oaks, Edmond. JAZZ Foxburrows/Tumbling Nebulae, The Deli, Norman. ROCK

FRiDAY, JAN. 23

Haven Alexander, Othello’s Italian Restaurant, Norman. VARIOUS

Bandromeda, Remington Park. COVER

IndianGiver/Deus Eyeslow/Rachel Brashear/Sardashhh, Blue Note Lounge. VARIOUS

Chad Slagle/Cowgirl’s Train Set, Grandad’s Bar. VARIOUS Chelsey Cope/Kalyn Fay/O Fidelis, The Paramount OKC. FOLK

Jimmy Dale and the Beltline/TJ Mayes, Grandad’s Bar. COUNTRY Joesf Glaude and Guitars Gone Wild, The Paramount OKC. VARIOUS

Saturday

City Presbyterian Church, or CityPres, 829 NW 13th St., is turning out to be a knockout venue for shows. Doors open 7 p.m. Saturday for Oklahoma City folk-pop act Horse Thief, which released its latest album, Fear in Bliss, in April. Indie rock act Pageantry also will perform. Local artist Chad Mount will present visuals. Yeah, it sounds kinda trippy to us, too. Perhaps the best part is that it’s a chance to drink beer in a church. The show is free and open to all ages. Visit facebook.com/ horsethiefokc.

mONDAY, JAN. 26

Norman. VARIOUS

K.C. Clifford, The Blue Door. SINGER/SONGWRITER

Maurice Johnson, Avanti Bar & Grill. JAZZ

Kyle Reid/Jesse Aycock/Levi Parham, The Chouse,

Mike Bradley, Jazmo’z Bourbon St. Cafe. SINGER/SONGWRITER

Ali Harter Residency, Blue Note Lounge. SINGER/SONGWRITER

Mitch Casen, Friends Restaurant & Club. COUNTRY

Deus Eyeslow, Blue note lounge, Saturday

Night Ranger, Riverwind Casino. ROCK Plainview, Belle Isle Restaurant & Brewery. VARIOUS Puddle of Mudd/Kirra/Octave Jaw/Part-Time Servants, Farmers Public Market. ROCK

TuesDAY, JAN. 27 The Steve Story Band, 40 & 8 Dance Club. COUNTRY

Roy Lee Scott & The Flying Cowboys, Sliders. COUNTRY

WeDNesDAY, JAN. 28

Scott Keeton, Remington Park. ROCK Shadowman Blues, UCO Jazz Lab, Edmond. BLUES Stranded at the Station, Full Circle Bookstore. FOLK

Railroad Earth/Shook Twins, Cain’s Ballroom, Tulsa. ROCK

Uncle Zep, Oklahoma City Limits. COVER

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

suNDAY, JAN. 25

Tiny Moving Parts/Trade School/Limp Wizurds/Ultra City, The Conservatory. ROCK

Edgar Cruz, Othello’s Italian Restaurant, Norman. ACOUSTIC Jamie Bramble, Uptown Grocery Co., Edmond. ACOUSTIC John Clavin Abney, The Blue Door. FOLK Karen Khoury, Legend’s Restaurant, Norman. PIANO Silent Planet/Artifex Pereo/All Have Sinned, The Conservatory. ROCK jenny james

Bruce Benson Trio, Othello’s Italian Restaurant, Norman. JAZZ

Horse Thief/Pageantry, CityPres OKC. ROCK

pick

Horse thief

Stalley, Farmers Public Market. HIP-HOP

Submissions must be received by Oklahoma Gazette no later than noon on Wednesday seven days before the desired publication date. Late submissions will not be included in the listings. Submissions run as space allows, although we strive to make the listings as inclusive as possible. Fax your listings to 528-4600 or e-mail them to listings@okgazette.com. Sorry, but phone submissions cannot be accepted.

O k l a h O m a G a z e t t e | j a n ua r y 2 1 , 2 0 1 5 | 4 3

life film

provided

Gray area Blackhat doesn’t hack enough into the mysterious and dark dynamics of sleuthing for cyber criminals. By Daniel Bokemper

Michael Mann’s latest tech-fueled thriller Blackhat bolsters a promising first movement but ultimately falls short of the director’s previous crime titans such as Heat and Collateral. Starring Chris Hemsworth as Nick Hathaway, an incarcerated hacker set free in order to halt a series of disastrous, cybernetic attacks, Blackhat bounds across three continents, detailing the search for an anonymous, electronic assailant. Despite a subject matter that has become almost cliché in the past year, the film is an exception for Mann, as it fails to live up to a momentous expectation and allows the piece’s fiction to overshadow its brief glimpse of reality. After a nuclear meltdown in China and an attack upon the American stock exchange, investigative units from both nations resolve to work together to terminate the digital threats. With a series of conversations held mostly off-screen, Chen Dawai (Leehom Wang, My Lucky Star, Beginning of the Great Revival) determines a cybercrime network, or blackhat, is likely responsible for both attacks. Unable to garner traction through sanctioned

means of cyber sleuthing, Dawai seeks the aid of Hathaway, a furloughed Canadian convict. With understandable hesitance, the newly formed coalition hunts for minute traces of the cyber terrorist. Gradually, the film’s scope narrows as the chase morphs into a battle between Hathaway and the blackhat. Early shots in Blackhat entice viewers with an implication of socioeconomic consequences and what caused them. For example, opening frames examine the globe, slowly illuminating the light of technology and the potential vulnerability of massive networks. Later, vast cityscapes are examined, with specific attention drawn to traffic lights, vehicles and terminals that service and coordinate most of society. Shortly thereafter, there’s a tracking shot across a motherboard, that which trails circuits and likens heatsinks and transistors to skyscrapers. With haste, Blackhat presents the unpleasant closeness of these two worlds as malicious data (a fast-traveling tracking beacon) makes its way to a pivotal turbine, spurring the China meltdown. Past this act, unfortunately, the

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A capable cast and capable director-writer cannot prevent the work from derailing into a stereotypical crime thriller.

movie loses much of its intrigue. Feeling much like an extended pilot for a crime television series, a relatively capable cast and an even more capable director-writer cannot prevent the work from derailing into a stereotypical crime thriller. There is a genuine attempt to examine a form of crime that — unlike those detailed in Mann’s previous films — isn’t quickly or easily understood. Discussions between Hathaway, Dawai and the coalition spearheaded by Agent Carol Barrett (Viola Davis of TV’s How to Get Away with Murder) shed light on a few ins and outs of cyber crime. As quickly as a genuine dissection emerges, so too does it abruptly end;

high-octane chase scenes (and later gunfights) diminish social commentary until the film barely resembles its original premise. That said, Blackhat’s choreography is to be commended, as a particular scene in South America harkens back to the impeccable editing of films like Paul Greengrass’ The Bourne Ultimatum or John Woo’s Hard Boiled. Abandoning its exploration of largescale cyber crime, the film’s action is invigorating yet troubling. Blackhat’s agents are steeped in genericism. Here, a confusing theme and fluctuating focus prohibits Mann’s work from finding solid ground. Hathaway and the antagonist lack the composition and dynamics to make their rivalry worth following. Considering recent cyber attacks upon Sony and pressing fears of security breaches, it would be reasonable to assume that this film could be a bit more educational or even more altruistic. Conversely, it could have allowed the fiction to overtake reality completely, in which stylization would have provided a more compelling story. Blackhat has trouble doing either.

p rovi de d

American hero? The new Clint Eastwood movie is a drama that focuses on an American Iraq War hero who killed many enemy combatants during his tours of duty. By James Helton

Through decades of acting, producing and directing films, the words “Clint Eastwood” have transcended from just a man’s name to evoking the image of a Hollywood powerhouse. As an actor, he forged the mold of the modern Hollywood tough guy with the occasional stopover of light-hearted comedy. As Eastwood matured, so too did his films. The director has never shied away from a subject, either in politics with J. Edgar, the brutal world of female boxing in Million Dollar Baby or one of the touchiest subjects in society: war. Whether talking comedically with Heartbreak Ridge, being very serious and even critical in Flags of Our Fathers or actually telling a story from the enemies’ perspective in Letters from Iwo Jima, Eastwood crafts his stories of war as tests of the human spirit and one’s sense of duty, with the hero eventually emerging from an unsuspected character or obtuse angle. Now, approaching his 85th birthday, Eastwood delivers another war hero epic with his 37th directorial credit, American Sniper. After packing on a whopping 30 pounds, Bradley Cooper (American Hustle) certainly delivers a standout, possibly career performance in his portrayal of legendary Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle. Though Sienna Miller (Factory Girl), delivers a poignant performance as Taya Kyle, this film definitely belongs to Cooper. In a recent issue of Variety Magazine, author and Iraq war veteran Paul Rieckhoff, CEO and founder of Irag and Afghanistan Veterans of America, said, “Now, it’s not the most complex film. Not the deepest film. Not even

the most provocative. But in terms of storytelling, action, emotion, production and performance, attention to detail and especially the frighteningly accurate soundscape, there’s been nothing else close that’s been made since my platoon entered the war in Iraq.” This sums up the movie perfectly. As a war epic, American Sniper hits its mark. This film’s only detriment is its seemingly singular definition of heroism. After four tours of duty in Iraq, Kyle finally returns home to his wife and children to face his greatest challenge: reintegrating himself into non-combat civilian life to become the father and husband he started out to be before 9/11. He did this through helping his fellow servicemen stateside as best he could. “‘Mow a vet’s lawn, help them deal with their groceries, do anything,’” his wife quoted him in a recent article. The only place Eastwood missed his mark is when he failed to mention that in real life, Kyle’s wife founded the Chris Kyle Frog Foundation to help veterans everywhere. In the movie, Eastwood spends little time and focus on the selfless acts of heroism for which Kyle is also known. Kyle definitely served his country in his mission as a SEAL Team sniper with an exceptional performance. He should be remembered most certainly for saving exponentially more lives, combat and noncombat alike, than he is credited for taking. American Sniper is a must-see, but just remember that if a smooth sea doesn’t a good captain make, then a high body count doesn’t necessarily a hero make.

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FREE WILL ASTROLOGY Homework: Name something you feel like begging for. Then visualize in great detail that this something is already yours. Report results to FreeWillAstrology.com. ARIES (March 21-April 19) Is there a patron saint of advertising or a goddess of marketing or a power animal that rules publicity and promotion? If so, I’m going to find out, then pray to them in your behalf. It’s high time for your underappreciated talents and unsung accomplishments to receive more attention. And I am convinced that the astrological moment is ripe for just such a development. Help me out here, Aries. What can you do to get your message out better? What tricks do you have for attracting the interest of those who don’t know yet about your wonders? Polish up your self-presentation, please.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) During his 67 years of life, Taurus-born Leonardo da Vinci achieved excellence in 12 different fields, from painting to engineering to anatomy. Today he is regarded as among the most brilliant humans who ever lived. “His genius was so rare and universal that it can be said that nature worked a miracle on his behalf,” said one observer. “He towered above all other artists through the strength and the nobility of his talents,” said another. Yet on his death bed, Leonardo confessed, “I have offended God and mankind because my work did not reach the quality it should have.” Typical for a Taurus, he underestimated himself! It’s very important that you not do the same, especially in the coming weeks. The time has come for you to give yourself more of the credit and respect you deserve. GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Where you have been and what you have done will be of little importance in the coming weeks. Both your mistakes and your triumphs will be irrelevant. In my estimation, you have a sacred duty to spy on the future and reconnoiter the pleasures and challenges that lie ahead. So I suggest you head off toward the frontier with an innocent gleam in your eye and a cheerful hunger for interesting surprises. How’s your Wildness Quotient? If it’s in a slump, pump it up.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) Will you ever find that treasured memento you misplaced? Is there any chance of reviving a dream you abandoned? You are in a phase when these events are more likely than usual to happen. The same is true about an opportunity that you frittered away or a missing link that you almost tracked down but ultimately failed to secure. If you will ever have any hope of getting another shot at those lost joys, it would be in the coming weeks. For best results, purge the regret and remorse you still feel about the mistakes you think you made once upon a time. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) In the early 1300s, the people of the Mexica tribe had no homeland. They had wandered for centuries through the northern parts of what we now call Mesoamerica. According to legend, that changed in 1323, when their priests received a vision of an eagle eating a snake while perched at the top of a prickly pear cactus. They declared that this was the location of the tribe’s future power spot. Two years later, the prophecy was fulfilled. On an island in the middle of a lake, scouts spied the eagle, snake, and cactus. And that was where the tribe built the town of Tenochtitlan, which ultimately became the center of an empire. Today that place is called Mexico City. Have you had an equivalent vision, Leo? If you haven’t yet, I bet you will soon. Go in search of it. Be alert. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) By the end of the 16th century, nutmeg was in high demand throughout Europe. It was valued as a spice, medicine, and preservative. There was only one place in the world where it grew: on the Indonesian island of Run. The proto-capitalists of the Dutch East India Company gained dominion over Run, and enslaved the local population to work on plantations. They fully controlled the global sale of nutmeg, which allowed them to charge exorbitant prices. But ultimately their monopoly collapsed. Here’s one reason why: Pigeons ate nutmeg seeds on Run, then flew to other islands and pooped them out, enabling plants to grow outside of Dutch jurisdiction. I see this story as an apt metaphor for you in the coming months, Virgo. What’s your equivalent of the pigeons?

Can you find unlikely allies to help you evade the controlling force that’s limiting your options?

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) Have you triggered any brilliant breakthroughs lately? Have you made any cathartic departures from the way things have always been done? Have you thought so far outside the box that you can’t even see the box any more? Probably not. The last few weeks have been a time of retrenchment and stabilization for you. But I bet you will start going creatively crazy very soon -- and I mean that in the best sense. To ensure maximum health and well-being, you simply must authorize your imagination to leap and whirl and dazzle. SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) The cassava plant produces a starchy root that’s used as food by a half billion people all over the planet. No one can simply cook it up and eat it, though. In its raw state, it contains the poisonous chemical cyanide, which must be removed by careful preparation. An essential first step is to soak it in water for at least 18 hours. I see this process as a metaphor for the work you have ahead of you, Scorpio. A new source of psychological and spiritual sustenance will soon be available, but you will have to purge its toxins before you can use and enjoy it. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) Italian composer Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868) didn’t like to work hard, and yet he was also prolific. In fact, his desire to avoid strenuous exertion was an important factor in his abundant output. He got things done fast. His most famous opera, The Barber of Seville, took him just 13 days to finish. Another trick he relied on to reduce his workload was plagiarizing himself. He sometimes recycled passages from his earlier works for use in new compositions. Feeling good was another key element in his approach to discipline. If given a choice, he would tap into his creative energy while lounging in bed or hanging out with his buddies. In the coming weeks, Sagittarius, I recommend you consider strategies like his.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Each hour of every day, the sun offers us more energy than oil, gas, and coal can provide in an entire year. Sadly, much of our star’s generous gift goes to waste. Our civilization isn’t set up to take advantage of the bounty. Is there a comparable dynamic in your personal life, Capricorn? Are you missing out on a flow of raw power and blessings simply because you are ignorant of it or haven’t made the necessary arrangements to gather it? If so, now would be an excellent time to change your ways. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) According to my analysis of the long-term astrological omens, 2015 is the year you can get totally serious about doing what you were born to do. You will be given the chance to slough off all that’s fake and irrelevant and delusory. You will be invited to fully embrace the central purpose of your destiny. If you’re interested in taking up that challenge, I suggest you adopt Oscar Wilde’s motto: “Nothing is serious except passion.” Your primary duty is to associate primarily with people and places and situations that feed your deepest longings. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) “Give up all hope for a better past,” writes Emily Fragos in her poem “Art Brut.” That’s generally sound advice. But I think you may be able to find an exception to its truth in the coming weeks. As you work to forgive those who have trespassed against you, and as you revise your interpretations of bygone events, and as you untie knots that have weighed you down and slowed you up for a long time, you just may be able to create a better past. Dare to believe that you can transform the shape and feel of your memories.

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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