Scary Tales of OKC

SEE P.29

STREET

SEE P.44

SEE P.11

$50,000 HAUNT THE HOUSE GIVEAWAY IT’S SPOOKY HOW SPECTACULAR OUR OCTOBER GIVEAWAY IS! NOW THROUGH OCTOBER 30, WE’RE GIVING AWAY $10,000 FROM 6 PM TO MIDNIGHT EACH FRIDAY. EARN ONE ENTRY FOR EVERY 5 POINTS EARNED.

$10,000 PAYS TO WIN TOURNEVENT EARN FIVE POINTS ON YOUR WILD CARD TO REGISTER FOR OUR PAYS TO WIN TOURNEVENTS ON MONDAYS IN OCTOBER. TOP TEN SCORES WILL PLAY FOR THEIR SHARE OF A GUARANTEED $2,500 PRIZE POOL.

SUNNY SIDE UP FOR SENIORS 50+ EARN 20 POINTS THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY AND BE ELIGIBLE FOR A FREE BUFFET AND WILD CARD BONUS PLAY ON WEDNESDAY.

NOV 13

NOV 20

DON WILLIAMS

LEANN RIMES

JAN 2 CASEY DONAHEW BAND

OKC’S MOST REWARDING CASINO 405.322.6000 • WWW.RIVERWIND.COM I-35 AT HIGHWAY 9 WEST, NORMAN, OK GAMBLE RESPONSIBLY 1.800.522.4700

COMING SOON: TRAVIS LEDOYT – JANUARY 9 • ERIC PASLAY – JANUARY 16 RANDY ROGERS BAND – JANUARY 29

2 | oc to b e r 21 , 2015 | Ok l ah oma Ga z et te UNI_15-CGR-117_October_Combo_NP.indd 1

10/16/15 9:12 AM

CONTENTS 29

21

8

NEWS 4

Education: Millwood Public Schools

6

Culture: Indigenous Peoples Day

8

City: MAPS 3 Convention Center

ON THE COVER

’Tis the season for ooky, spooky treats and tricks for everyone, and this issue rounds up politicians (P. 11), local kid-friendly and adult events (P. 29), OKC Pride’s holiday block party (P. 31), Science Museum Oklahoma’s Not-so-Frightening Fun Night (P. 33), OKC Horror Fest (P. 44), a special screening of Halloween (P. 45) and a chilling review of Crimson Peak (P. 45). We ain’t never scurred!

10

City: demolitions

11

Parody: The Okie Family

12

Chicken-Fried News

14

Commentary

14

Letters

44

LIFE

LIFE

16

OKG picks

36

21

Food & Drink: The Cow CalfHay, briefs, Mix on Main, Passion for Pizza, OKG eat: colorful

Performing Arts: Bernice Bobs Her Hair

38

Sudoku / Crossword

41

Music: Jason Boland & The Stragglers, Stephen Chopek, listings

44

Film: OKC Horror Fest, John Carpenter’s Halloween, Crimson Peak

46

Astrology

46

Classifieds

29

Culture: Halloween events

31

Culture: Treats and Tricks Halloween Block Party

33

Youth: Not-So-Frightening Fun Night

34

Community: YWCA shelter

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.

Ok l ahOma Ga z et te | oc to b e r 21 , 2015 | 3

news education

p hotos by m a rk ha n coc k

Terrific turnaround Millwood strives to increase academic performance despite the district’s ongoing challenges.

By Brett Dickerson

Turnarounds for any organization require strong leadership, hard work and a lot of cooperation. Third-year Millwood Public Schools Superintendent Cecilia J. Robinson-Woods has embraced all three as she works with the community, students and schools to overcome problems that have held the district back for over a decade.

She can be seen almost everywhere on the campus as she interacts with staff and students, upbeat yet determined to lead the small district to greater success.

“My goal every day is for students and teachers to have confidence and conviction in believing that all of our students have the ability to be great,” Robinson-Woods said during a recent Oklahoma Gazette interview.

And confidence and conviction are starting to show around Millwood, whether it’s at a home football game; inside the classrooms of its elementary, middle and high school; or at board meetings.

Parents, students, staff, administrators and board members reveal hope and are engaged to create a future of success for the district.

“She is always, always around and always speaking with the kids and those parents as well,” said Andre Coleman of Robinson-Woods. “She is very visible. You can reach out to her with an issue; you can talk with her.”

Three years ago, Coleman and his wife, Felicia, celebrated as one of their children graduated from Millwood. They now have three children in Millwood schools: a freshman, a sophomore and a third-grader.

“I had an opportunity for my children to leave and go to other schools,” Coleman said. “We chose to stay because we recognized that there were some really good things that were going on and it’s a school that, academically, we feel it had turned a corner.”

Small district

The district spans just over 10 square miles in northeast Oklahoma City and is encircled by the much larger Oklahoma City Public Schools district. Its campus is close to Interstate 44 and N. Martin Luther King Avenue.

The district’s relatively small footprint leaves it with a slim local tax base, which is keyed off property tax revenue.

4 | oc to b e r 21 , 2015 | Ok l ah oma Ga z et te

Coach and math teacher Darwin Franklin hands a test to his Algebra I students at Millwood High School.

Millwood’s student body hit 100 percent.

That stark number epitomized challenges the district faced as it worked to improve the quality of education it delivered.

Poverty heavily affects everything: staffing, funding, planning, development, management and student achievement.

Robinson-Woods and other Millwood administrators said the impact poverty has on home life and student health is carried into school with them and must be acknowledged and effectively addressed in order for true learning and thriving to take place.

Leadership change

Millwood Senior Class President E.J. Green walks with college scholarship recipient Breonna Hall.

Millwood has been in existence for over a century, first as an elementary school. It added a middle school in 1963 and a high school in 1971.

It didn’t take long for the high school to get positive attention.

Newspaper reports from 1984 show Millwood High School was named one of the top four high schools in the nation by the U.S. Department of Education.

And when a graduate and former four-sport standout entered the national stage, so did Millwood. Joe Carter hit a World Series-winning three-run walk-off home run for the Toronto Blue Jays in 1993. It was then that Millwood High School became a household name, even if few knew there was not a town named Millwood, Oklahoma.

City decline

The district sits well within a part of Oklahoma City that has aging housing

and a varied mix of different demographic groups that make addressing the needs of its students a greater challenge than some communities.

As Oklahoma City grew and took on socioeconomic struggles often present in large cities, Millwood students eventually reflected those challenges, too.

In the last decade, the district found itself descending into a spiral of discipline issues and low achievement, according to informal accounts given by administrators and parents who are also Millwood graduates.

Poverty levels are often measured by the percentage of students who qualify for free and reduced lunches.

In 2014, the most recent official state profile, Oklahoma City Public Schools reported 87 percent of its students qualified for free and reduced lunches. Statewide, 62 percent of students qualified.

Given the district’s small tax base, it had to make fundamental changes if it was to survive, and in 2013, Robinson-Woods took on the challenge.

Millwood Arts Academy was founded as a means to increase achievement of some middle school students as they moved toward high school. However, it was structured to exist to one side of the regular student body.

Robinson-Woods said Millwood Public Schools was paying for two middle schools in a district that served about 1,000 enrolled students.

After meetings with parents and much discussion, the two middle schools were merged, which helped balance the district’s finances, as did other cost-saving measures.

Andre and Felicia Coleman witnessed the high achievement of their children in the academy and at first openly worried about and opposed the change.

But their opinions changed.

“It’s just wonderful,” he said. “The Arts Academy always had it. But as for the whole campus, since Superintendent Robinson [Woods] has come in, the board has supported her and she has made strides.”

Christopher Harrison, board president and a Millwood graduate, is convinced that Robinson-Woods’ leadership and ability to empower other leaders reestablished a positive environment of achievement and excellence in the district.

“I’ve watched the morale of the staff

That morale shows in the calm discipline of Millwood students, teachers and administrators. In classrooms, pupils and educators engage in the teaching process. The atmosphere is calm, and energy is focused on learning.

Students achieve

cecilia robinson-wood walks through Millwood Public schools in oklahoma city.

and the students increase tremendously,” Harrison said. “The staff believes in what they are doing. Our students are believing that the learning process is taking place, and they can tell that the teachers care.”

Along with success comes pride and improved morale, which is a word the Gazette heard repeated in conversations about the school and the student body.

“The morale itself has really been raised over the last couple of years,” Harrison said. “And that translates to discipline and increase in academics.”

UNI_15-RP-213_Green_Halloween_Gazette.indd 1

Three high school students spoke about positive experiences they had at Millwood.

Tre’veon Ellis talked about how head football coach and freshman-level Algebra I instructor Darwin Franklin taught him the love of math and the critical thinking skills it develops.

The first and most challenging endof-instruction exam students must take is in Algebra I. “It has been my favorite class so far at Millwood High School,” Ellis said.

Seniors E.J. Green and Breonna Hall are in several concurrent classes offered at Millwood by Rose State College. For students who are ready, concurrent classes allow seniors to earn college credit before graduation.

Green is the superintendent’s son and entered the school two years ago when his mother was hired. He has earned the respect of his classmates, who elected him senior class president.

His favorite course so far is the

concurrent U.S. history class he is taking.

He aspires to become a civil rights lawyer and a pastor.

“No matter what, I want to protect people’s rights,” he said.

Hall is an academic and athletic standout. The accomplished sprinter was offered a six-year, full-ride scholarship from the University of Tulsa.

Math and science have been her favorite subjects since middle school, where she was able to start taking high school classes.

She wants to be a petroleum engineer.

“Millwood has taught me discipline.

I’m college-ready,” Hall said.

Student performance

Christine Harrison, the administrator who once shaped the Arts Academy into a higher-achieving segment of Millwood Public Schools, is now the district’s director of teaching and learning.

Essentially, the district’s academic performance is her responsibility.

The overall school grade for its elementary and high school is stalled at “F.” However, both in the state and nationally, single grades for whole schools are controversial and generally distrusted, even by some suburban superintendents whose schools regularly earn “A’s.”

In Oklahoma State Department

of Education reports for 2014, 199 of 1,795 schools received “F” grades. Most low-scoring schools were located in highpoverty communities.

Millwood’s scores on high school end of instruction (EOI) exams showed some improvement in areas like Algebra I and U.S. history between the 20112012 and 2013-2014 academic school years. But scores in three other EOIs dropped, vexing Harrison and other administrators who see Millwood’s marked improvement.

The disconnect between test score data and the positive change in atmosphere at Millwood led Harrison to say, “There’s a big difference here between feel and paper.”

Christopher Harrison also spoke about the long-term challenges of improving test score performance.

“We need more rigor,” he said. “I’m excited about the growth that is taking place. We can see that. I was disappointed in the direction that the state school report card [has taken].”

So while the “feel” of Millwood Public Schools dramatically improved in recent years, the “paper” — the test scores — will continue to challenge the small district, at least for awhile, as a deeper framework of achievement is established.

Ok l ahOma Ga z et te | oc to b e r 21 , 2015 | 5 10/14/15 2:55 PM

news cuLture

Gaining momentum Columbus Day or Indigenous Peoples Day? Many community members call for the latter.

When it comes to explorer Christopher Columbus, many recall learning the ubiquitous rhyme “In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.”

Countless American grade-schoolers memorized the line on or around the second Monday of October, known as the federally recognized holiday Columbus Day. Oklahoma City resident Sarah Adams-Cornell remembers those lessons.

A member of the Choctaw tribe, she asserts the holiday overlooks the painful history of Native Americans and is often celebrated under misperceptions.

The implications of Columbus’ New World discovery are more complicated and serious than a grade-schooler can fathom. The Italian sailor was not the first to discover the New World, and he never set foot in North America. History shows that his ships reached various Bahamian islands and met with Lucayan-Arawak Indians, which were later terrorized by Columbus and his crew.

For years, Adams-Cornell observed American cities that were renaming the second Monday in October Indigenous Peoples Day and shifting recognition from the conqueror to the people he encountered and their descendants. In 1992, Berkeley, California, was the first city to proclaim Indigenous Peoples Day. Last year, Seattle and Minneapolis became the first major cities to recognize Indigenous Peoples Day. This month, Denver; Portland, Oregon; St. Paul, Minnesota; and Albuquerque, New Mexico, joined the list.

State change

In September, City of Anadarko leaders approved an Indigenous Peoples Day proposition and became the first Oklahoma municipality to make the switch. Presidents at the University of Oklahoma (OU), Oklahoma City University and Southeastern Oklahoma State University followed suit, which led to on-campus cultural ceremonies and celebrations of the decisions.

Adams-Cornell believed Oklahoma City would be next. She rallied friends from fellow tribes and created the grassroots group Indigenous Peoples’ Day OKC. After presenting its call during the public comment portion of the Sept.

15 Oklahoma City Council meeting, a resolution was drafted following support

6 | oc to b e r 21 , 2015 | Ok l ahOma Ga z et te

p roVI De D

By Laura eastes

robert Henry speaks during a recent indigenous Peoples Day proclamation ceremony.

from Councilman Ed Shadid.

“It is something we wanted to change for a long time but never felt like we had an opportunity,” said Adams-Cornell, activist-in-residence for the Center for Social Justice, an initiative of the Women’s and Gender Studies Program at OU. “As native people, we don’t have a large seat at the table. We are underrepresented at every level of government, local included.

We’ve never seen that opportunity arise to have some success. This year was different.”

The resolution was presented to the council Sept. 29. After dozens of community members — many of whom identified themselves as Native Americans — spoke in support, the measure failed in a 4-4 tie vote with Councilwoman Meg Salyer absent.

The same resolution came before the council at the Oct. 13 meeting. Under the council chamber’s chandeliers adorned with metal Native American chief busts, more than 20 people reiterated their call

for Indigenous Peoples Day to all nine council members.

The public requests, along with letters from residents and tribal leaders, weren’t enough to sway the council. The resolution failed in a 4-5 vote. Council members James Greiner, Larry McAtee, Salyer, Mark Stonecipher and Mayor Mick Cornett casted “no” votes without explanation in open session.

The final vote elicited a shout from the chamber gallery: “We’ll be back.”

Council views

Oklahoma City Council members Shadid, Pete White, David Greenwell and John Pettis Jr. were ready for the city to embrace Indigenous Peoples Day. “One of the things made very clear is the insult that the indigenous people feel about this date being named in honor of Columbus,” said White, who requested the Oct. 13 re-vote. “This is an effort to bring history back in line with what really happened.”

Shadid agreed. Before voting, he urged fellow council members to join him in support and said the federal government made a mistake in 1937 when it created the holiday.

The City of Oklahoma City does not observe Columbus Day. Unlike federal workers, city staffers work the second Monday in October. Additionally, there are no public celebrations or ceremonies held in Columbus’ honor. The mayor said he believes altering the holiday is the role of the federal government.

“This is a federal holiday, and I think at some point, the federal government is going to listen to them,” Cornett said after the Oct. 13 meeting. “That’s my advice; go after the federal government.”

That plan is in the works, but native leaders also see value in first presenting legislation at the local level.

“I think it is important that our national leaders see what is happening in our cities, and then they will see the need for it to happen on a federal level,” Adams-Cornell said. “Our local governments ... can pass resolutions or proclamations. They have the power, and we are ready for them to exercise it.”

Indigenous Peoples’ Day OKC will present its request to OKC leaders again, as Shadid asked for the resolution to be added to an agenda in 2016. AdamsCornell said the group is reassembling and encouraging natives to register to vote and become involved in local government.

“This is a unifying issue for the Native American community,” AdamsCornell said. “Though we are sovereign nations … this is an issue that brings us all together.”

Various tribes were represented in the council chambers during the past three meetings. Some even came from outside of Oklahoma City. Jasha Lyons EchoHawk is a Pawnee resident whose heritage is Pawnee and Seminole. She was ready to see progress in Oklahoma’s largest city.

The experience prompted her to work with the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma to promote Indigenous Peoples Day in Pawnee, a city in northeastern Oklahoma.

“It matters to us, and it matters to more than just indigenous people,” said Lyons Echo-Hawk. “It is about truthtelling, and it is about integrity … I think it will speak volumes when Oklahoma City adopts this resolution. It is a matter of time.”

UNI_15-CGR-119_HauntTheHouse_NP_9.25x12.25.indd 1

Ok l ah oma Ga z et te | oc to b e r 21 , 2015 | 7 9/23/15 2:17 PM

news city

Site check

Oklahoma City Council selects a convention center site and focuses on acquiring the properties within it.

By Laura eastes

Public vote

Those involved in the convention and tourism industry aren’t the only ones awaiting contemporary, state-of-the-art space.

In 2009, Oklahoma City voters showed their support for expanding convention opportunities when they approved $777 million in MAPS 3 capital improvement projects. A new convention venue, proposed to replace the aging Cox Convention Center, landed $287 million of those sales tax dollars for land purchase and construction.

Meanwhile, the older one continues to be booked.

Securing a venue site has proved more complicated than originally anticipated.

Earlier this year, the Oklahoma City Council identified a location just west of Chesapeake Energy Area. However, the price was more than the $13 million the city budgeted for land acquisition.

The search continued and might have concluded at the Oct. 13 council meeting, when the nod was given for staff to acquire land in an area called “East Park 1,” which runs SW Fourth to SW Seventh streets and encompasses land between S. Robinson Avenue and S. Shields Boulevard.

Mayor Mick Cornett said the selected site highlights the council’s commitment

8 | oc to b e r 21 , 2015 | Ok l ahOma Ga z et te

N

eminent domain proceedings for properties within the site, but negotiations with property owners will take place first.

The city owns some properties, including a former fire station, in that vicinity.

Cathy O’Connor, president of the alliance, said acquiring all parcels of land could take nine months.

“It has a great location along the [new] Oklahoma City Boulevard (SW Fourth Street),” O’Connor said about East Park 1. “It is adjacent to the new park. It is near the Myriad Botanical Gardens, the arena and Bricktown. It has a lot of advantage from a location perspective.”

Neighbors

maPS 3

POteNtIal

DOWNtOWN

maPS 3

PaRk

CONVeNtION

UPPeR PaRk

CeNteR SIte

the NUmBeRS Here’s how Oklahoma City’s tourism business looked in fiscal year 2015:

201: Number of groups that held meetings and events $171.6 million: Economic impact on the metro area from convention and sports sales Source: Oklahoma City Convention & Visitors Bureau Fiscal Year 2015 Annual Report

to building within budget and the land meets the expectations of residents.

“I think when you start to look at our current convention center and what the issues are … it needs to be bigger and it needs to be better,” Cornett said.

“Every dollar we spend on land is not

making it bigger or better. We want a site that would be easily accessible and keeps construction costs down.”

The Alliance for Economic Development of Oklahoma City leads the land acquisition process for the new convention center. The council approved

Another advantage is the neighboring land, which could be developed for a convention center hotel. Separate from MAPS 3 projects, there has been much discussion surrounding the viability of building a convention center hotel.

Hotel land acquisitions will be led by the city’s Urban Renewal Authority and developed by a private developer, O’Connor said.

While the proposed site neighbors the new MAPS 3 downtown park, it will be a walk from a line stop for the modern streetcar, another MAPS 3 project. The previously nixed site was closer to a stop.

The streetcar will begin in Bricktown and take passengers through downtown, into Automobile Alley and toward Midtown.

The Alliance for Economic Development joined city staff, the MAPS 3 Citizens Advisory Board, the convention center subcommittee and a consultant to locate convention center locations.

The East Park 1 site also calls for removal of an OG&E electrical substation. The city budgeted $30 million for the relocation, which is not included in the $13 million set aside for land purchase.

Two other sites considered for the convention center also were located near Chesapeake Energy Arena. Two of the three considered sites fell upon the electrical substation.

As land contracts come before the council, design information will follow.

Convention center specifics are still being determined, although early indicators point to a facility double the size of the current venue.

chrIstoph er stree t

Drawing everyone from presidential candidates for the Southern Republican Leadership Conference to meteorologists for the National Weather Association’s annual meeting and teachers from across the state for EdCamp, Oklahoma City is a major convention city.

Cox Business Services Convention Center is the site of numerous state, regional and national meetings. Over the past year, 201 groups gathered for meetings and events, according to the Oklahoma City Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB).

That number will likely rise with the addition of a new, modern convention center.

“We continue to look forward to the addition of more space in the new convention center as we repeatedly are forced to pass up opportunities to bid on meetings larger than we can currently attract and concurrent meetings that require significant space,” the CVB’s annual report stated.

©2015 SFNTC (4)

VISIT NASCIGS.COM OR CALL 1-800-435-5515 PROMO CODE 96552

CIGARETTES

*Plus applicable sales tax Offer for two “1 for $2” Gift Certificates 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 06/30/16.

Oklahoma Gazette 10-21-15.indd 1

Ok l ahOma Ga z et te | oc to b e r 21 , 2015 | 9 10/1/15 8:35 AM

m a r k ha n coc k

Ga r e t t FI s b e c k

news city

Two properties Oklahoma City Council moves toward the demolition of 45-year-old apartments and a historic film exchange building.

By Laura eastes

Soon, Oklahoma City residents will finally say goodbye to two notable structures. While many agree both the film exchange building and Lantana Apartments would require extensive repairs in order to become viable properties, the decision to tear down the 89-year-old exchange building continues to be a subject of contentious debate, as opposed to the derelict and deserted 1970s-era apartments.

Before the end of the year, seven fire-damaged structures located in the abandoned western Oklahoma City complex will be demolished thanks to a contract unanimously approved by the Oklahoma City Council on Oct. 13. In a deal that will cost $234,652, well below city staff estimates, K&M Dirt Services will knock down a majority of the apartments at 7408 NW 10th St. The 12-building complex spans

Lantana apartments

nine acres and is owned by Southern California’s Regatta Capital Group (formerly Regatta Investment Group).

At first glance, it is easy to see Lantana Apartments is in a state of nonviability, and its last tenant moved out seven years ago. City staff is regularly called to the property to respond to fires and abatement issues; more than 100 complaints have been lodged via the Oklahoma City Action Center since 2008. Additionally, $81,959.24 in delinquent taxes is owed on the property, according to data from the Oklahoma County Treasurer’s office.

Council member James Greiner, who represents Ward 1, where the apartments are located, supports the city’s decision to level the housing units and place liens on the property to recoup costs.

“The bids actually came in about $160,000 less than what we were

10 | oc to b e r 21 , 2015 | Ok l ahOma Ga z et te

anticipating,” Greiner said. “That’s good news. Hopefully, this will get something going on this property.”

Exchange building

To pave the way for the new MAPS 3 Downtown Public Park, the council approved a measure to collect bids for demolition of structures in its path, which includes the historic film exchange building.

Built in 1926 as the second film exchange building in Oklahoma City, the two-story structure has served a variety of purposes through the years, including a tire shop and federal low-income apartments. Most recently, Oklahoma City Rescue Mission provided its services to the homeless there. Located at 523 S. Robinson Ave., the 16,740-square-foot venue has been vacant for about 15 years, city documents show.

Film exchange Building

In 2014, the council approved the future park’s master plan, which didn’t include a film building rehab. However, some city leaders and community members called for the structure’s study for potentially adding it into the plans.

In September, landscape architect Mary Margaret Jones told the council attempts to add the building rehab to the master plan failed because the rehab wasn’t feasible.

The Downtown Design Review Committee toiled over the demolition, reviewed park plans and toured the structure. Ultimately, it approved the demolition application in September.

The vote was 8-1, with Councilman Ed Shadid opposed.

The stone entrance sign etched with the words “Film Exchange” will be preserved, along with other bricks from the site.

news ParoDy

Creepy kin If you look closely, Oklahoma politicians bear a striking resemblance to a certain ookey TV family.

By GreG eLweLL

“They’re creepy and they’re kooky, mysterious and spooky. They’re altogether ookey” and we keep voting them into office for some reason.

Every state has a few weirdos who somehow luck their way into office, but Oklahomans seem to take some kind of twisted joy in embracing the most extreme candidates and shoving them into the spotlight.

Perhaps it’s natural selection. Or maybe rural Oklahoma towns just want their weirdest residents to leave and electing them into the government is a one-way ticket to anywhere else.

Surely that’s what happened to U.S. Sen. Jim “Granny” Inhofe, the matriarch of The Okie Family. Tulsans wanted their weird former mayor to vacate the city, and the only way they could think to get him out was with a ballot.

What’s so creepy about Inhofe?

Maybe it’s that he’s a dyed-in-the-wool climate change denier who happens to be chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.

At least he and U.S. Sen. James “Lurch” Lankford spend much of their time in D.C. Unfortunately, they’re making policy decisions, like Lankford’s lax views on gun laws, drilling for fossil fuels and cutting taxes so hard that the whole country will bleed out.

Power duo Randy “Gomez” Brogdon and Gov. Mary “Morticia” Fallin are doing their part to reverse the state’s trend toward progress and are still making life difficult for some of us in Oklahoma.

Former state senator Brogdon also was a short-lived chairman of the Oklahoma Republican Party with a penchant for stepping in crap and then sticking that foot in his mouth.

Remember when he hired a man who had, just three years prior, pleaded guilty to domestic assault and battery to be political director?

Or when, under his reign, the OKGOP’s Facebook page posted a “joke” equating welfare recipients with animals?

Scary, right?

The Brog might be gone, but Fallin is still here. How do we not all have divots in our foreheads from smacking ourselves every time our lawmakers make the news?

Name a topic and you’ll likely find one of them on the wrong side of the issue.

Minimum wage? Fallin capped it at $7.25 statewide. Drought and fire? She

JameS laNkFORD

RaNDY BROGDON

JOe DORmaN

SallY keRN

asked everyone to pray for rain. But she’s always looking for solutions. Sadly, many of the solutions she’s looking for right now are meant to be used in executions.

The one man who could have taken her down is Oklahoma’s answer to Uncle Fester: former state Rep. “Joltin’” Joe Dorman. Maybe it was naive to think a Democrat could unseat a sitting Republican governor in the buckle of the Bible Belt, but Dorman certainly didn’t help his case by sitting quietly through the campaign. C’mon, Fester! You waited until after you lost to turn on that Rush Springs charm!

It’s awfully hard to get people to vote for you if they’re not even sure what your name is. Maybe next time.

Or maybe once Fallin is out of the way, a dream candidate can fill her shoes.

JIm INhOFe

maRY FallIN

RIChaRD mORRISSette

State Rep. Sally “Wednesday” Kern will be term-limited out of office in 2016, paving the way for her to move her homophobic claptrap to the governor’s mansion.

The hot tub could be converted into a baptismal fount! She could lobby to have her entrance music at every event be “The Imperial March (Darth Vader’s Theme)!” Perhaps we can even get a follow-up to her self-published book The Stoning of Sally Kern called Sally on the Cross or It’s Kern or Burn!

And who could be our Pugsley except for state Rep. Richard Morrissette? We know he put forward the Right to Try Act (House Bill 1074) to help terminally ill patients access novel treatments, but it certainly fits with Pugsley’s mad scientist leanings.

Don’t forget he’s also the guy who interjected himself into a high school football team after a 52-0 Capitol Hill loss to Ardmore. Sure, he represents the area, but you don’t see Fallin bursting into the University of Oklahoma locker room at halftime to give the Sooners a pep talk.

Maybe we’re off base with this comparison, though. Yes, Oklahoma has a deep bench when it comes to finding extra-ooky politicians with a tenuousat-best connection to reality. And yes, Lankford’s posture and voice bear a striking resemblance to Lurch.

But with all the earthquakes rattling the state, maybe Oklahoma is more like Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Sunnydale and the State Capitol is our local version of the Hellmouth.

Ok l ahOma Ga z et te | oc to b e r 21 , 2015 | 11

CHiCKEN CKEN Bloodthirsty visitors

We’re really lucky to live in a quiet place like Oklahoma City. It’s not on a Hellmouth, we don’t have questionable witch-hunts in our past and, unlike New York City, our living population greatly outnumbers our spooky ghost population.

Unfortunately, though, it seems we’re at great risk for a vampire attack.

OKC is the sixth most likely place vampires would go after leaving their coffins, according to Trulia.com’s recent article, “Where to Avoid Ghastly Unnatural Hazards: Zombies, Vampires and Ghosts.”

Trulia looked at U.S. cities with populations over 800,000 and ranked them “based on the number of hospitals and blood banks per 50,000 people” because “vampires tend to congregate in areas where their favorite food is readily available (hospitals and medical centers).”

Only San Diego; Austin, Texas; San Francisco; Louisville, Kentucky; and New Orleans would be sucked dry before the

FRiED NEWS vamps pillaged OKC and headed to blood-rich Boston, Seattle, San Antonio and Phoenix.

If there’s a zombie attack, stay away from Providence, Rhode Island, since it probably has more cemeteries than OKC has churches. However, we’re not too sure if you can trust Trulia and believe that New Orleans is the most haunted city in the U.S. since it based that on how spooky-looking the city is in a “very scientific” and “not-at-all random” study.

12 | OC TO B E R 21 , 2015 | OK L AHOMA GA Z ET TE

Dependable Durant

Kevin Durant: power forward for the Oklahoma City Thunder, winner of the NBA Most Valuable Player award, an Olympic gold medalist and founder of the Kevin Durant Charity Foundation.

Great player and

outstanding guy. You already know this, but does ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith? The First Take co-host reported Durant is looking to the Los Angeles Lakers once he hits free agency.

Durant told The Oklahoman the comments were false. He said he doesn’t talk to Smith, especially about his free agency. Smith claims otherwise, and the former print journalist didn’t like having his credibility questioned.

He responded by threatening the NBA all-star.

“You do not want to make an enemy out of me,” Smith said twice during the Oct. 5 edition of First Take.

That was low.

While Smith was “looking right into the camera” and trash-talking, the Thunder baller was serving his Oklahoma City community. Durant played hoops with students at North Highland Elementary School.

The school’s new outdoor court was made possible thanks to Durant’s foundation and the Build It and They Will Ball program.

“I want to provide the students of North Highland and Oklahoma City with access to a high-quality basketball court that will help the next generation develop their own passion for the game while learning important values, such as teamwork, sportsmanship and living an active lifestyles,” Durant told KFOR.

Poor execution

If you’re not going to do something well, don’t do it at all. Maybe that should be the motto for the state’s execution team, based on more than 40,000 pages of documents released by Gov. Mary Fallin’s office in the wake of the executions of Clayton Lockett and Charles Warner, Tulsa World and The Oklahoman recently reported.

Problems with Lockett’s attempted execution forced a postponement of Warner’s, which was originally planned for the same day. Warner was later executed Jan. 15.

Now we know more about errors made in both executions.

In Lockett’s case, the technician at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester was ill-equipped for the job

due to his inexperience and a lack of correct needles to administer the IV. The execution was abandoned after 43 minutes, in which time, according to Tulsa World reports, Lockett rose from the gurney and spoke when he was supposed to be unconscious. Lockett died of a heart attack.

Meanwhile, Fallin was attending a Thunder game, the newspaper reported.

Nine months later, Warner’s execution proceeded with an unapproved drug in the three-drug cocktail: potassium acetate instead of potassium chloride.

That mix-up nearly occurred again Sept. 30, the day Richard Glossip was set to die by lethal injection, The Oklahoman reported.

The debate over the existence of the death penalty rages on, but we should all agree that if Oklahoma is intent on killing prisoners, at the very least, officials should follow the guidelines they created for how to do it.

Par-Tea

“I know I’m an irritant,” said local irritant and Sooner Tea Party co-founder Al Gerhart to KOCO.com. “I’m a political figure; everybody knows me.”

Those who don’t know Gerhart probably don’t know he was previously convicted of blackmail for a threatening email he sent to former state Sen. Cliff Branan or that the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals recently overturned the conviction.

The email Gerhart sent told Branan he would “make sure you regret” not getting an anti-United Nations environmental sustainability bill heard and passed, the TV station reported.

“I will make you the laughing stock of the Senate if I don’t hear that this bill will be heard and passed,” Gerhart wrote. “We will dig into

your past, your family, your associates, and once we start on you there will be no end to it. This is a promise.”

The court said it is protected speech.

The majority decision, written by Judge Gary Lumpkin, said the email “is the kind of vehement, caustic and unpleasantly sharp political speech protected by the First Amendment.”

The decision stopped short of calling Gerhart “a real jerk” or telling him where to stick any future emails, but it’s kind of implied.

Commanding payment

Oklahoma’s famous Ten Commandments monument was removed from the capitol grounds around 10:15 p.m. Oct. 5.

The Washington Post reported that Wilbert Memorials was paid about $4,700 to move the granite monument to its new home at Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, a conservative think tank.

It was moved under the safety of darkness to avoid any sort of trouble.

“We wanted it removed as quickly and safely as possible with little interruption as we could,” John Estus, a spokesman for the Office of Management and Enterprise Services, told the Post.

We don’t have to look at it anymore, but it just won’t stay out of the news.

Now, Wilbert Memorials, which also replaced the monument after it was damaged last year, says it still hasn’t been paid for rebuilding it. Rep. Mike Ritze, whose family paid for the original, “vowed to spearhead a fundraising effort for the second monument” but hasn’t returned calls for comment on the issue of payment, according to U.S. News & World Report.

“We have not received anything on the monument,” Gary Mosier, Wilbert Memorials sales manager, wrote in an email to The Associated Press.

Even so, Gov. Mary Fallin wants the monument returned to capitol grounds. U.S. News reported that Fallin is seeking a constitutional amendment “to remove the section that prohibits the use of public property to support ‘any sect, church, denomination or system of religion.’”

Largest Local Selection!

9 Convenient Locations!

www.partygalaxy.com OK L AHOMA GA Z ET TE | OC TO B E R 21 , 2015 | 13

COMMENTARY GI L M I tc He L L / P roVI De D

Indigenous Peoples Day in OKC

BY SARAH ADAMS-CORNELL

When the City Council of Okla-humma City failed to pass the Indigenous Peoples Day resolution at its Oct. 13 meeting, it didn’t just fail to bring justice to their Native American citizens; it failed to listen to the voice of the people.

Twenty-seven members of our community who represented a variety of ethnicities, organizations and nations came together to ask our council members to honor indigenous people and acknowledge the true legacy of Columbus and the harm his legacy causes. They spoke with eloquence about accurate history, psychological impact, possible city revenue, educational impact and contributions made by native people, with an overarching message that none of us can help what has happened in the past but what matters is how we treat each other now. The feeling of goodness and

unity was palpable. It was enough to make the most cynical a believer in the power of a united community.

Councilman Pete White and Ed Shadid added to our sentiment by saying that we weren’t trying to rewrite history. Instead, we want it to accurately reflect what took place. They suggested that justice shouldn’t have to wait for leadership to get on board.

Without any acknowledgement from other council members, the vote was called and Mayor Mick Cornett announced the motion failed. I must mention that he didn’t skip a beat and was on to the next agenda item without a word to us. Not one word.

Their offices were flooded with calls and letters from the community in support of Indigenous Peoples Day, and I witnessed the outpouring of support in the

meeting without one single voice to the contrary. So I ask you, what would possess the Columbus Five — Cornett and council members James Greiner, Mark Stonecipher, Larry McAtee and most disappointing of all, Meg Salyer — to ignore ethics and the voice of the people?

I have many theories. The one that reoccurs to me most is probably the most difficult to change. How can we expect the Columbus Five to understand us if they don’t have much interaction with communities of color? One would hope that our elected leaders have the ability to see past their own life experiences and have the heart to serve our entire community, regardless of skin color, but sometimes that’s not what happens.

As is always the case, good things come out of disappointing circumstances.

Our community rallied, new alliances

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.

were made, a conversation was started, social justice fires were ignited and native people united again!

We must use this momentum to stay organized in our efforts. If this leadership won’t help us, we must change the leadership. We must insist that our family is registered to vote.

We must keep and distribute a list of elected leaders who pass laws that harm or help our people and hold them accountable at the polls. Leaders in our communities of color must step up and run for office. We must support each other in those efforts.

And most importantly, we must vote and work in solidarity. #ipdokc Sarah Adams-Cornell is a member of the Choctaw Nation, University of Oklahoma activist in residence, OK Choctaw Tribal Alliance board member and OKC Public School Native American Student Services Parent Action Committee vice chairman.

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.

Blame game

Concerning the fiasco in the Cotton Bowl: I blame the local media for the OU football team’s loss to Texas. Young people listen to the media whenever the media talks about them. If you tell youngsters often enough that the team they are going to play next has no chance in hell of beating them, they will come to believe it. If they believe that is true, the battle is already lost. And of all games to pull such crap, the OU-Texas game, where anything can happen and so often does.

I have not heard Dean Blevins or any of the clowns on Sports Talk radio say, “I was completely wrong about the game.”

I doubt they have the balls to admit their complicity.

— Tim Parker Midwest City Easy access

Has it occurred to any of the “build a

wall on the Mexican border” contingent that some Mexicans have proved marvelously adept at constructing very lengthy tunnels without detection?

— Frank Silovsky Oklahoma City

Idol chatter

And then, like a thief in the night, it was gone.

Of course, state money, labor and security were used for all this, and no one but media and religious sponsors were invited as Gov. Mary Fallin, Radical Mike Reynolds and Mike Ritze, probably embarrassed, removed the Ten Commandments monument and left with their tails between their legs. I am surprised A.G. Scott Pruitt was not there; he was the one spending untold thousands, wasted on settled law.

Like the “Gaylord Dome” at the state capitol — also supposedly built using “private money” — taxpayers were soaked as the public spends millions on repairs as the dome slowly crushes a building too old and weak to support it.

But a political paper wanted that dome, and like the idol, bootlickers and lickspittles gave it to him. By the way, I thought Christians weren’t supposed to worship graven images like this.

Funny how conservative hypocrites cherry-pick their beliefs to fit their wants

14 | oc to b e r 21 , 2015 | Ok l ahOma Ga z et te

and needs. Regardless, it’s gone, Fallin has egg on her face using state property and money, much as in “trailergate,” and Pruitt can stop spending our money on his issues for his governmental campaign and getting his face in the news. By the way, it’s an idol, not a monument.

— Larry Stem Oklahoma City

Religious, right?

How right I was!

I don’t see how you assume deism influenced “a majority” other than the words and warnings of John Adams, who was mostly antagonistic of religion, rather than God. As a deist, he possessed the knowledge of Romans chapter one of the Bible, which declares that even Adams had the basic knowledge of the creator, justice, judgment and mercy, “because

that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”

So, even Adams and his studied philosophers were not original in their moral and legislative foundations.

Though the ideas of historical figures were considered, no doubt, in forming the laws of liberty, it is either in ignorance or dishonesty to diminish the influence of the Ten Commandments in word or the giving of them in the minds of the founding fathers.

— Michael Moberly Mustang

CALL TODAY! Professional Dog Training by K9 University Certified Trainers

• STRUCTURE • OBEDIENCE • POTTY TRAINING • MANNERS • CHEWING • SOCIALIZING K9 UNIVERSITY IS THE ANSWER LET OUR EXPERTS TEACH YOU!

K9 UNIVERSITY, LLC

9217 NW EXPRESSWAY•OKC • 405.231.4335•WWW.MYK9U.COM

VAPOR

WORLD

FALL BACK SALE! OCT. 30  NOV. 13 OCT. 30ST  NOV. 13TH

BUY ONE BOTTL E OF ELIQ UID GET ONE FREE! Y PP FROM 3 5 PM & 78 PM HA R!!! MON DAY  SATUR DAY U HO ALL DAY SUNDAY

THREE GREAT METRO LOCATIONS M O O R E : 2311 S I  35 S E R V I C E R O A D M I D W E S T C I T Y : 8 911 S E 2 9 T H S T SOUTH OKC: 9101 S WESTERN, STE. 106

Ok l ah o ma Ga z et te | oc to b e r 21 , 2015 | 15

OKG picks are events

recommended by Oklahoma Gazette editorial staff members.

For full calendar listings, go to okgazette.com.

BOOKS UN I VerSA L StUDI oS / P roVI De D

Craig Whitson Pizza Book Signing, pizza lovers and local author supporters rejoice, because thanks to Craig Whitson, the two are now in one place; join the Oklahoma native pizza chef and connoisseur for a signing and Q&A regarding his masterpiece, partcookbook, part-restaurant guide Passion For Pizza: A Journey Through Thick and Thin to Find the Pizza Elite, 6:30 p.m., Oct. 22. Full Circle Bookstore, 1900 Northwest Expressway, 842-2900, fullcirclebooks.com. THU Story Time with Julie, kid-friendly story time with the latest children’s books, 10:15 -11 a.m., Oct. 24. Full Circle Bookstore, 1900 Northwest Expressway, 842-2900, fullcirclebooks.com. SAT Secret Life of Bees Discussion, join OCU for their discussion of the book by Sue Monk Kidd that inspired the award-winning movie about a young girl in South Carolina who finds solace and comfort in beekeeping after running away from home, 7 p.m., Oct. 27.

Oklahoma City University, 2501 N. Blackwelder Ave., 208-5000, okcu.edu. TUE

FILM Movie Night at the Market, it’s an undead movie masterpiece back-to-back monster mash-up; film addicts and first timers alike are welcome at this horror cult classic double feature, including The Lost Boys (1987, US, dir. Joel Schumacher) and Army of Darkness (1992, US, Sam Raimi); no vampires will be invited in, disembodied hands must be accompanied by their owners, 7 p.m., Oct. 21. Farmers Public Market, 311 S. Klein Ave., 232-6506, okcfarmersmarket.com. WED Steak (R)evolution, (2015, France, dir. Franck Ribiere) part travel documentary, part scientific study, this film journeys halfway around the globe examining and exploring all the things that make steak taste so good, from the farm to the grill, interviewing experts and taking taste tests along the way; this one night event also features hors d’oeuvres and a wine tasting for a truly delicious evening, 5:30 & 8 p.m., Oct. 22. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 236-3100, okcmoa. com. THU

Dracula Double Feature Fathom Events and Turner Classic Movies (TCM) present English- and Spanishlanguage versions of the 1931 classic horror film Dracula 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sunday and Wednesday, Oct. 28, at Quail Springs Mall 24, 2501 W. Memorial Road, and Cinemark Tinseltown, 6001 N. Martin Luther King Ave. The English version stars Bela Lugosi, and the Spanish version features a completely different cast and was shot only at night. TCM host Ben Mankiewicz presents insights on both. Tickets are $4.40-$12.50.

Sunday and Wednesday, oct. 28

to wreak havoc upon the town in this scary fun Disney classic, 7:30 p.m., Oct. 27. Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, 2 S. Mickey Mantle Drive, 218-1000. TUE

HAPPENINGS 11th Annual Terror on 10th Street, both educational and pants-dampening, this haunted attraction is unique in that, where most haunts are set in large buildings or the woods, this one takes place in an actual house; the interactive walk-through features theatrical performances which eerily recount the house’s haunted history, 7-11 p.m., Oct. 23-25. Terror on 10th Street, 2005 NW 10th St., 232-1816, facebook.com/ terroron10thstreet. FRI-SUN

OKC Horrorfest Closing Night, join OKC Film Club for its third and final night of Horrorfest, featuring a mystery Wes Craven tribute film followed by the Nerdy Girls of OKC & OKC Film Club Halloween party, 6:30 p.m., Oct. 27. District House, 1755 NW 16th St. TUE

ARTober Fest, join Thirsty People OK for an evening of local food and drink as well as live music as you also support breast cancer awareness by bidding on local art, 7 p.m., Oct. 24. Graphite Elements &; Design, 1751 NW 16th St. SAT

Hocus Pocus, (1993, US, dir. Kenny Ortega) when a skeptical virgin lights a cursed candle on All Hallows Eve, he awakens three centuries-old witches from the grave

Cemetery Symbols, historically, we have learned a lot about past civilizations and their inhabitants by how they buried their dead and marked their graves; WILDer PHotoGrAPH Y / ProVIDeD

Paper Towns, (2015, US, dir. Jake Schreier) Quentin’s next-door neighbor and lifelong crush Margo is missing; after convincing Quentin to sneak out and join her for a revenge adventure that lasts until dawn, Margo is not at school that day, or the next day, or the day after, but has left a series of puzzles and clues for Quentin to find her, 6 p.m., 9 p.m., & midnight, Oct. 23. Meacham Auditorium, 660 Parrington Oval, Norman. FRI

what you may not know is that the same is true of our society, culture, and individuals by special markings on headstones; join the historians at the Oklahoma History Center for a uniquely macabre and informative class on cemetery symbols, 1-3 p.m., Oct. 24. Oklahoma History Center, 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive, 521-2491, okhistory.org/ historycenter. SAT Drop-In Art, you’ll make a mask, you’ll make a monster mask; join the OKC MOA in the lab to make fun and funky monster masks, and you’ll be guaranteed to be a graveyard smash, 1 p.m., Oct. 24. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, 236-3100, okcmoa. com. SAT

FOOD Cider Press Demonstration, move over, Pumpkin Spice, we’ve got a new fall favorite drink; if you’ve ever wondered how that tasty fall-themed applecinnamony nectar known as apple cider is made, then now is your chance to find out and quench that autumn thirst while you’re at it, 1 p.m., Oct. 23. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 445-7080, oklahomacitybotanicalgardens.com/events. FRI

OKC Dead Has life battered you like a sledgehammer on a fly? Do you fancy yourself a survivor? Test your resiliency at OKC Dead, an interactive theater production from Reduxion Theatre Company that pits audiences against a zombie hoard in a battle to save our city. Head over to Civic Center Music Hall, 201 N. Walker Ave.; buy a ticket; receive your “weapons”; join a team; and get busy! Shows run at 20-minute intervals and begin 7 p.m. Thursday through Oct. 31. Tickets are $18-$28. Visit reduxiontheatre.com or okcciviccenter.com.

thursday-Sunday, ongoing

1 6 | oc to b e r 21 , 2015 | Ok l ahOma Ga z et te

RE X UR I CE / P ROVI DED

IN HIS HANDS

Pooch Parade Dress up Spot in his nicest Halloween finery for the 19th annual Pooch Parade 1 p.m.

Sunday at Grand Boulevard Park, just north of Grand Boulevard and 63rd Street.

Proceeds benefit Animal Rescue Friends of Nichols Hills, a nonprofit rescue organization that fosters, cares for and aids lost and abandoned dogs and cats in Nichols Hills. Registration is $25 and begins at 1 p.m. Visit animalrescuefriends.com.

H H H H H H H H H H H H HH H H HaLLOWeeN COStumeS H ON THE CHEAP! YOu BuIld THEM. H H HuNter'S paradiSe H H H FROM nOSe tO tOeS - KID'S tO KIng SIZeS SOMe XL - BIg SeLeCtIOn - LAteSt StYLeS H H eVeRYtHIng MOSt HUnteRS neeD H H H H H H H H 1P.M. - 4:45P.M. AlwAYs CAll AHEAd! H H KidS to King SizeS H Family Skiwear & Winter Clothing H H FROM nOSe tO tOeS Stylish Jackets • Gloves Boots H H • Men's Insulated Canvas • Bibs • Coveralls H H Sam’S BeSt BuyS H H 2409 S. Agnew • 636-1486 • M-SAt 9-5:45 H H H H H H H H H H H H H HH

OpeN Next SuNday

THE POWER TO HEAL A CHILD’S HANDS The INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City is home to the Congenital Hand Clinic, which is dedicated to providing distinctive medical and surgical care for children born with congenital hand differences.

Sunday

Congenital tumors, cerebral palsy, nerve injuries at birth and musculoskeletal Carne Diem Chili Cookoff, go ahead and start fasting in preparation for the 13th Annual Carne Diem Chili Cookoff, where you’ll taste over 50 different chilis from local chili chefs as they compete to take home the gold, all for the price of a $10 donation to United Way of Central Oklahoma, 11:30 a.m., Oct. 23. VI Marketing and Branding, 125 Park Ave. FRI Cheese, Wine & Charcuterie Class, it’s time to party with pancetta, promenade with prosciutto, boogie with bacon, and essentially go ham with ham; join Forward Foods to discover fresh pairings for cheese, wine, and all varieties of cured meats, 6:45 p.m., Oct. 23. Forward FoodsNorman, 2001 West Main St., Norman, 321-1007, forwardfoods.com. FRI Saturday Cooking Class, casseroles are amazing for several reasons: they are cost-effective and super easy to prepare, they feed a ton of people (or, you know, one person for two weeks straight), and they can be made to be basically whatever flavor you’re craving, including cheeseburger, which just so happens to be the recipe of the week at Gourmet Grille’s weekly cooking class, 1 p.m., Oct. 24. Buy For Less, 3501 Northwest Expressway, 946-6342, buyforlessok.com. SAT Uptown Cooking Class, autumn has been scientifically proven to be the best season; breakfast is not only the most important meal of the day, it is also the indisputable champion over all of the other meals; autumn and breakfast had a baby, and that baby was pumpkin muffins, which you can learn to bake this Saturday with Chef Gary Tow, 10 a.m., Oct. 24. Uptown Grocery Co., 1230 W. Covell Road, Edmond, 509-2700, uptowngroceryco.com. SAT

FRI, OCT 23

JOSH ABBOTT BAND MON, OCT 26

CHVRCHES THURS, OCT 29

JAMEY JOHNSON FRI, OCT 30

GHOSTLAND OBSERVATORY

wrist, hand and digits. The INTEGRIS Congenital Hand Clinic is under the direction of Ghazi Rayan, M.D., who has been treating children with congenital differences from Oklahoma and neighboring states for more than quarter of a century.

For more information on the INTEGRIS Congenital Hand Clinic or to schedule an appointment, call 405-945-4888.

SUN, NOV 1

THE AP TOUR FEATURING MAYDAY PARADE WED, NOV 4

IRATION

MON, NOV 9

GOGOL BORDELLO TUES, NOV 10

LUCERO

TUES, NOV 17

METRIC

SAT, NOV 21

JD MCPHERSON continued on next page

anomalies due to limb development may affect the shoulder, elbow, forearm,

integrisok.com/handsurgery 405.945.4888

TULSA, OK ★ 423 NORTH MAIN ST.

TICKETS & INFO: CAINSBALLROOM.COM Ok l ah o ma Ga z et te | oc to b e r 21 , 2015 | 17 UNI_15-IN-171_FY16_InHandandMicrosurgery.indd 1

10/1/15 11:46 AM

Now Booking!

Have your Halloween makeup done by one of our great artists

$5

continued

off

any $25 purchase Offer expires 10/28/2015

9612 N. May ave. - okc Located iN the coLLoNade shops 430-7915 | tues-fri 10-6, sat 10-5 MiLoaNdLiLyboutique.coM

P roVI DeD

810 -1226 | 7646 N. WESTERN THEMAKEUPBAR.COM

Bring in this ad and get

Halloween Spooktacular: School Spirits University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) presents Halloween Spooktacular: School Spirits as part of its Faculty Artist Concert Series 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at UCO Jazz Lab, 100 E. Fifth St., in Edmond. Vocal music faculty perform seasonal songs and celebrate the school’s 125th anniversary. Guests are encouraged to come in costume, too. Tickets are $10 at the door and free for UCO students with valid ID. For reservations, contact Laurie Flewwellin at 974-5749.

tuesday

YOUTH Magic Lantern, join the Paseo Arts District for its annual Magic Lantern celebration, “a night of light instead of fright,” where little ones can craft lantern masks, decorate pumpkins, and join the costume parade, 3-7:30 p.m., Oct. 25. Paseo Arts District, 3022 Paseo St., 525-2688, thepaseo.com. FRI Why Do Leaves Turn Colors?, if your little one is in the constant stage of asking everything from why the sky is blue to why there aren’t any more dinosaurs left (we know, kid, we’re disappointed, too), they might be interested in knowing why once a year the leaves change colors and fall off the trees, and the Myriad Gardens is here to answer their questions, 1 p.m., Oct. 24. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 445-7080, oklahomacitybotanicalgardens.com/ events. SAT Garden Monster Bash, the skeletons will be dancing, the monsters will be mashing, the creepy crawlies will be creeping and crawling to the Pumpkinville Halloween Party; with live music, tricks, treats, dancing, and games there is infinite fun to be had by all ages, 6 p.m., Oct. 24. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 445-7080, oklahomacitybotanicalgardens.com/events. SAT Spooktacular Ocean Adventure, one glance into the ocean’s darkest depths is enough to prove that monsters are very real, but they live in the sea, not under your bed; join the OKC Zoo to discover some of these creepy creatures as well as make ominous ocean crafts and see an undersea pumpkin carving, 10 a.m., Oct. 24. Oklahoma City Zoo, 2000 Remington Pl. SAT Crafts For Kids, if your son having conversations with his own hand and calling it Tony is kind of starting to freak you out, cover that hand right up with an adorably spooky paper bag puppet to make it seem less weird; this week’s craft is Spooktacular Puppets so you can get back to pretending little Danny is normal again today, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., Oct. 24. Lakeshore Learning Store, 6300 N. May Ave., 858-8778, lakeshorelearning.com. SAT Free Halloween Portraits, join Portraits Innovations for a spooky snapshot, and you and your little one can choose to enter the portrait contest for a chance to win $5,000; parents will receive a 5x7 of the eerie effigy and three digital images on the (haunted) house; no purchases will be available, this is strictly frightening fun, 4-6 p.m., Oct. 26. Portraits Innovations at Quail Springs Mall, 2394 W. Memorial Road. MON

1 8 | oc to b e r 21 , 2015 | Ok l ahOma Ga z et te

Brick-or-Treat, join the Bricktown Association and nearly 3 dozen businesses for the second annual candy hunt throughout the Bricktown neighborhood, where tricks and treats are sure to abound, 4-7 p.m., Oct. 27.

Bricktown Ballpark, 2 South Mickey Mantle Drive. TUE

PERFORMING ARTS Bernice Bobs Her Hair, based on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, this brand new upbeat musical is equal parts The Great Gatsby and She’s All That (or Mean Girls, My Fair Lady, or the last ten minutes of Grease, depending on what year you were born); Bernice Bobs Her Hair says it all in the title, and in bobbing her hair, Bernice learns some important lessons about herself and the people with whom she surrounds herself, 7:30 p.m., Oct. 21 & 22; 8 p.m., Oct. 23; 2 & 8 p.m., Oct. 24; 2 p.m., Oct. 25. Lyric Theatre, 1727 N.W. 16th St., 524-9312, lyrictheatreokc.com.

WED-SUN (See our review on P. 36) Dial M for Murder, made famous by Alfred Hitchcock in the 1954 film adaptation of the same name, Dial M answers the question of what happens when a murderer accidentally becomes the victim; it’s a tale of blackmail, betrayal, and the perfect crime… until the perfect crime turns out not to be so perfect after all, 8 p.m., Oct. 22-24; 2:30 p.m., Oct. 25. Lyric Theatre, 1727 N.W. 16th St., 524-9312, lyrictheatreokc.com. THU-SUN Oklahoma!, get ready to get so excited about your home state that you even want to sing about it; the musical responsible for Oklahoma’s state anthem will be onstage this weekend, and it’s so good you cain’t say no to putting the kids in your shiny little surrey and heading over to have yourselves a beautiful mornin’-er, evenin’, 7:30 p.m., Oct. 22-24; 2 p.m., Oct. 25. Rose State College, 6420 SE 15th St., Midwest City, 733-7673, rose.edu. THU-SUN Silence! The Musical, if you have often found yourself watching 1991 psychological thriller The Silence of the Lambs and thinking to yourself “Gee, I love this movie, but wouldn’t it be better if, say, all the characters sang Broadway musical numbers?” then do we have good news for you; the self-proclaimed “unauthorized parody” of the horror classic is coming to Oklahoma City, but do not expect the singing & dancing to diminish the terror; under age 12 not admitted, BYOL (bring your own lotion), 8 p.m., Oct. 22-24. Civic Center Music Hall, CitySpace, 201 N. Walker Ave. THU-SAT Alvin and the Chipmunks Live, if high-pitched singing anthropomorphic chipmunks are your thing- or maybe you just have kids- then come see Alvin and his friends together onstage, complete with the Chipettes,

singing all your favorites, 3 & 7 p.m., Oct. 23. Cox Convention Center, 1 Myriad Gardens, 602-8500, coxconventioncenter.com. FRI Giselle, nearly two centuries ago Adolphe Adam’s Giselle was the height of ballet, garnering rave reviews and popularity across Europe, Russia, and the United States; this weekend, the epitome of romantic tragedy retakes the stage once again with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic and OKC Ballet, 8 p.m., Oct. 23-24; 2 p.m., Oct. 25. Civic Center Music Hall, 201 N. Walker Ave., 297-2264, okcciviccenter.com. FRI-SUN

modern impressionist acrylic works are displayed all over Oklahoma draw inspiration from natural and industrial textures, from both the organic and the inorganic. Verbode, 415 N Broadway Ave #101.

Cale Chadwick, exhibit of artwork by artist Cale Chadwick who creates pieces of art using her drawing, painting and photography skills; the natural, organic elements found throughout the original Chickasaw allotment that her family still resides on, plays a role in her artwork. Exhibit C, 1 E. Sheridan Ave., Ste. 100, 767-8900, exhibitcgallery.com.

Adelé Wolf’s Burlesque & Variety Show, if you seek adult-friendly Halloween fun, consider adding a little frisky to your fright night with local burlesque queen Adelé Wolf and a deluge of dolls from all over the U.S. at the 4th Annual Halloween Spectacular, featuring all sorts of entertainment ranging from the pretty and playful to the wonderfully weird, 8 p.m., Oct. 24.

Oklahoma City Contemporary, 3000 General Pershing Blvd, adelewolf.com. SAT

Enrique Moya Gonzalez, part of the Norman-Arezzo art exchange, Enrique Moya Gonzalez is one of three Italian artists to exhibit at Mainsite this fall; featuring the overlay of human forms over texts and manuscripts in combination with a collage of physical objects, Gonzalez’s works give a thrilling sense of illicitness by putting art on surfaces where art ought not go. Mainsite Contemporary Art, 122 E. Main St., Norman, 360-1162, mainsite-art.com.

Janeane Garofalo, literal actual comedic genius Janeane Garofalo is gracing the humble inhabitants of Oklahoma City with her legendary wit and lighthearted cynicism; the Wet Hot American Summer star will perform not just one, but TWO shows back-toback thanks to UCO and OKC Comedy, 8 & 10:30 p.m., Oct. 25. ACM@UCO Performance Lab, 329 E. Sheridan Ave., 974-4700, acm.uco.edu. SUN

Landscapes, merging the avant garde with the abstract to create a cacophony of crazed and confusing images that speak at once of everything and nothingjust kidding, this exhibit is essentially exactly what it sounds like: landscapes in all shapes, sizes, and colors.

Jann Jeffrey Gallery, 3018 Paseo St., 607-0406. FRI

ACTIVE Oklahoma Sooners vs. Texas Tech, a quick game word association will quickly let you know whether or not you should attend the football game this Saturday: 1) BOOMER; 2) TEXAS; in order to attend the homecoming game, you must have responded correctly to 2 out of 2 of the previous prompts (answer key: 1) SOONER; 2) SUCKS), 2:30 p.m., Oct. 24. Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, 180 W. Brooks Drive, Norman, 325-8200, soonersports.com. SAT Spooky Full Moon Bike Ride and Run, get your heart racing in a good way, by dressing in your favorite costume and heading down for the spookiest bike ride & run of the year; if you aren’t sure if that’s your friend you sense behind you or something else … well, best not to turn around, but it couldn’t hurt to pedal faster, 7 p.m., Oct. 27. Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., 445-7080, oklahomacitybotanicalgardens.com/ events. TUE OKC Thunder vs. San Antonio Spurs, a storm is coming, and it is loud, proud and bringing a crowd; join the OKC Thunder as they challenge the Denver Nuggets to a little pre-season match between friends, 6 p.m., Oct. 18. Chesapeake Energy Arena, 100 W. Reno Ave., 602-8700, chesapeakearena.com. WED

VISUAL ARTS

Mystical Menagerie, Katie O’Sullivan and Diana J. Smith’s abstract creature creations are a marriage of the whimsical and the bizarre in this collection of acrylic paintings and handmade clay sculpture; Smith’s clay sculptures are delightful animal wizard characters, while O’Sullivan’s paintings depict a plethora of animal creatures who border on human shrouded in a psychedelic frenzy of color. Kasum Contemporary Fine Arts, 1706 NW 16th St., 604-6602, kasumcontemporary.com.

News from the Woods, Debby Kaspari’s drawings and acrylic paintings portray how time and nature transformed the abandoned places she found during a residency in Massachusetts’ Harvard Forest.

The Depot, 200 S. Jones Ave., Norman, 307-9320, pasnorman.org.

October Show, this month the featured artists include graphic artist J. Kapil Renninger, photographer Sheryl McLain, and painter Dustin Caballero. Paseo Gallery One, 2927 Paseo St., 524-4544, facebook.com/ paseogalleryone.

Playground of Curiosity, imagine falling down a rabbit hole and into a magical world where everything is weird and wonderful and looks like the abstract offspring of microbes and paisley and you’ll have a decent idea of what it’s like to stroll through the works of Kerri Shadid, poet and paper marbler extraordinaire. The Project Box, 3003 Paseo St., 6093969, theprojectboxokc.com.

bIGStocK.coM

All in All, you don’t make it onto the wall of the Chesapeake Arena Thunder Family VIP Lounge for nothing; boasting a BFA from State University of New York College, Christie Owen’s organic abstract and

Ghost Runners 5k Dog Run Why the long face? Don’t forget your pants. Exercising can be ruff ruff. Don’t be sad, keep your cool, stay in shape and bring your best friend along for the run. The pooch-friendly Ghost Runners 5k Dog Run is Sunday at Lake Hefner’s Stars and Stripes Park, 3701 S. Lake Hefner Drive. Registration is $35$40 for the 5k, which kicks off at 2 p.m., and $15-$25 for the one-mile fun run, which starts at 1 p.m.

For OKG Visit ghostrunners5k.com.

music picks

Sunday

see page 43

Ok l ahOma Ga z et te | oc to b e r 21 , 2015 | 19

Refinance an auto loan you have with a competitor and will give you ...

90 days with no payments and pay you $100! * RATES AS LOW AS 3.25% APR

ExclusivEly at

DOWNTOWN

SOUTH

NORTH

101 North Walker 8812 South Walker 3561 W. Memorial 813-5500 813-5550 813-5564

mecuokc.org *Approval is based on credit worthiness; existing ME/CU auto loans are not eligible for this promotion; minimum loan amount of $5,000; interest will continue to accrue during the 90 days with no payment; $100 will be deposited into your account when the loan is established. For a $20,000 AUTO loan for a term of 72 months with a 3.25% APR, the monthly payment will be $306.15.

CRAFT

BEER

INSPIRED

N. May at wilshire | OKC MitCheNerfarraNd.COM

MENU ITEMS MECU 07-01-15 Summer Splash GAZ.indd 1

7/1/15 4:21 PM

Choose us for great local, regional and international beers that you won’t find anywhere else.

WE HAVE OVER 30 TAPS AND 70 BOTTLES!

ALE CRUST

NEW

We make all our pizza dough from scratch every day, but we added one special ingredient for our new Ale Crust, Newcastle Brown Ale. This lightly sweetened handcrafted crust goes great with any specialty pizza or customized creation.

Enjoy any of our specialty pizzas or create your own pizza on our New Ale crust!

ITALIAN GRINDER

A classic combination of seasoned beef, salami, pepperoni, sweet Italian sausage, red onions, roasted garlic, red peppers and pizza sauce, finished with sliced pepperoncini.

MEDITERRANEAN FARMER

NEW

Spinach, sundried tomatoes, red onions, artichoke hearts, red peppers and goat cheese over basil oil, garnished with parsley.

AFTER WORK & LATE NIGHT SPECIALS Daily 3pm to 7pm and 10pm to close

MIDWEST CITY 7301 SE 29th St.

OKLAHOMA CITY - SOUTH 2125 SW 74th St.

20 | oc to b e r 21 , 2015 | Ok l ahOma Ga z et te

EDMOND 1150 East 2nd St.

life food & driNK the Cow Calf-hay

Best dressed The Cow Calf-Hay is awfully proud of its beef, as it should be.

3409 Wynn drive, edmond | thecowcalfhay.net | 509-2333 What WORkS: the cheeseburger and the Juicy lucy alone are worth the drive.

What NeeDS WORk: the mad cow burger is too much happening at once. tIP: Wait a second to eat the fried pickles; they were just in scalding hot oil.

There are few questions I hear more often than, “Where’s the best burger in the city?”

Those questions are, “Who are you?!” and “How did you get in here?!” and, occasionally, “Will you leave already?”

But when I’m not breaking and entering, I’m burgering and eating, so I have a pretty decent handle on the metro’s best bovine patties.

Nic’s Grill is amazing and worth the wait. The No Name Burger at Irma’s Burger Shack is a revelation. There’s a highly underrated burger at Chester’s Billiards & Grill and (I’ve heard) at Red Dog Cafe.

But there is another burger ready to join the pantheon of greats. And it’s at the painfully named Cow Calf-Hay, 3409 Wynn Drive, in Edmond.

The pun in the title is followed through inside the charming little restaurant, which gains its fashion sense from the City Bites chain, as there are framed pictures of cattle on the walls, a giant ceramic cow in two parts, ropes and the rest.

This is a restaurant proud of its beef, and that’s pride well deserved.

As a starter, it’s a difficult choice between fried pickles ($4.29) and fried green beans (small order $4.99), one I was not willing to make. King Solomon himself would have trouble deciding between two deeply unhealthy, deeply delicious and deeply fried appetizers like these.

The fried dill slices are lightly breaded and freshly fried with a zing of sourness in every bite. The green beans are coated in a spicy breading that will zap your taste buds to life. Could you forego a burger and just eat these?

Certainly.

Ultimate Chicken sandwich with onion rings

Juicy lucy

fried pickles

Contenders

Better, though, to press on into beefier territory and order the Classic Cow Cheeseburger for $9.99.

Yes, these burgers are $10. Yes, they are worth $10. Also, you get fries, so quit your whining.

My friend ordered his classic cheeseburger plain, and I respect that move. There’s a difference between a

great burger and a burger with great toppings. This is a great burger: perfectly seasoned, cooked through and still juicy, because fat is a wonderful thing.

To be clear, I think the best burgers are fully dressed; crisp lettuce, juicy tomato, sharp onion and a few pickle

slices are all welcome to bed down on my burgers for a short, horrifying nap.

But this simple stack of bun, beef and cheese was intoxicating.

But what if you want to eat something ridiculous? That’s what the Mad Cow Burger ($9.99) is for. It’s a

burger covered in diced chicken, covered in two kinds of cheese, covered in grilled potatoes, covered in bacon, covered in homemade spicy ranch dressing.

It’s a hot mess.

Hot and fresh, though, that mess didn’t make much of an impact. It was good, but there was too much going on. Everything was cooked right, but it was too muddled to be more than a gimmick.

Oddly enough, I did like another weird mix-’em-up burger. The Maui Cowi ($9.99) had bacon, pepper jack cheese and honey mustard and was topped with a teriyaki grilled pineapple ring. It was sweet, it was salty and it was unique.

The best I’ve had, and definitely the closest to the classic cheeseburger, is the Juicy Lucy ($7.99 for a double, $8.99 for a triple and $9.99 for a quadruple).

This isn’t quite what I expected, as the Juicy Lucy usually has a hunk of cheese hidden inside a beef patty. Instead, these are thinner patties with lots of American cheese and a few dill pickles. Dang if that isn’t just about the tastiest thing I’ve eaten in a while — so simple, but absolutely perfect.

There’s also The Ultimate Chicken Sandwich ($9.99) with a freshly breaded and fried chicken breast, bacon, grilled fresh jalapeños, pepper jack cheese, cream cheese and jalapeño jelly. The only thing I wish this sandwich had was a little thinner chicken breast. It was a bit unwieldy through the middle, and I think a more uniformly sized breast would have helped.

On the side, I think the french fries, which come standard, are dandy. But for a 50-cent upcharge, the onion rings are my favorite. And I’m not sure what the onion ring sauce is, but that needs to be jarred and sold to everybody.

I know the question will never go away. Cheeseburgers are a nearly universally loved commodity, and one about which diners have passionate feelings.

But if you’re looking to add another contender to the already-crowded Royal Rumble that is Oklahoma City’s burger scene, The Cow Calf-Hay might just be ready to win the belt.

Ok l ahOma Ga z et te | oc to b e r 21 , 2015 | 21

p hotos bY ga rett fi s bec k

by GreG elwell

food briefs

by Greg Elwell

German vacation

p rovi ded

The Southern United States Trade Association took a trio of Oklahoma companies’ wares on a trip to Germany during promotions in two cities.

Southern Okie’s fruit spreads, Suan’s Scotch Bonnet jellies and preserves and Pepper Creek Farms BBQ sauce made their European appearances in Berlin and Stuttgart as part of some in-store promotions.

Oklahoma products from Griffin Foods, for more than 15 years, and Clements peanut butter, for at least five years, have been staples in Germany at certain retailers, said Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry international market development coordinator Barbara Charlet.

Charlet said the ability to export internationally is important for those wanting to expand their business and gain additional sales. She said the association is working to help local companies find new income streams in international markets.

Vast chef Kurt Fleischfresser (pictured below on the left) designed a pair of menus highlighting Southern cuisine for each week’s in-store promotion and also went on the Stuttgart trip.

Cocktail class

provid ed

Those who love a well-made cocktail might want to set aside Sunday afternoon for the Monthly Classic Cocktail Class at Ludivine by bar manager Chris Barrett.

Barrett will delve into the history of the Old Fashioned, explain the differences between rye and whiskey and show attendees how to mix their own perfect cocktail. The class starts at 4 p.m. at Ludivine, 805 N. Hudson Ave. It’s $40 per person and is expected to last about an hour. In addition to enjoying a cocktail, there will be complimentary hors d’oeurves served nearby at The R&J Lounge and Supper Club, 320 NW 10th St., after class.

g azette staff / file

2 2 | oc to b e r 21 , 2015 | Ok l ah oma Ga z et te

Chef Marc Dunham (pictured) recently resigned as director of Francis Tuttle Technology Center’s School of Culinary Arts, where he was instrumental in expanding the program and bringing in events like the annual Charcuterie Jam and the Guest Chef Dinner Series.

“It’s been a great five years working with the students and faculty at the Francis Tuttle School of Culinary Arts,” said Dunham. “I’m very proud of everything we’ve accomplished during my tenure there, and I know the school and its students will continue to do great things.”

Dunham is leaving the school to pursue personal interests.

mark hancock

Dunham departure

Connecting bites Most people at the airport are looking to get away, but the new Cross Grain Brewhouse at Will Rogers World Airport hopes to bring a local touch to preflight dining.

Owned by Delaware North Travel Hospitality, Cross Grain is a chain showing up in airports in Boise, Idaho; Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Charleston, South Carolina; and, next year, Richmond, Virginia. Delaware North COO Richard Schneider said each location uses local flavors, ingredients and beers to create unique dining experiences.

“For us, it’s a chef-driven concept with local flavors, local purveyors and local beers,” he said. “That’s how we deliver the localized experience in a branded concept.”

Schneider hopes its fresh-to-order food and artisan cocktails will inspire travelers to show up to the airport a little early. And with a menu that changes seasonally, he said there will often be something new to try at each concept.

m a rk ha n coc k

SMALL PLATES & WINE, PERFECT BEFORE OR AFTER YOUR SHOW.

OUR BAR MENU IS THE PERFECT WAY TO END YOUR DAY

Fresh t The long-awaited second location of t, an urban teahouse is now open at 519 NW 23rd St., Suite 107, on the north side of The Rise shopping center.

Owner Kristy Jennings (pictured) said she hopes the new location in one of the city’s most walkable districts will allow more people to try what t has to offer.

Jennings said t serves a variety of loose-leaf teas that are quite different from those found in the grocery store.

“We’re a lot closer to the growers, so our supply chain is shorter,” she said. “That means fresher, better tasting and better quality tea. Even compared to the tea that’s called loose-leaf in the grocery stores, you can see a visible difference and you can definitely taste it.”

The shop focuses on personal service and guiding tea novices and experts to finding the right kind of tea and the best way to prepare it.

“We do mini classes once a month on how to make really great loose-leaf tea at home, but we’re always glad to walk people through it,” Jennings said. “People get overwhelmed with our list of 100 teas, but I tell them they can set it down and if they let me pick their brain, I can help find a tea they’ll really enjoy.”

In addition to buying tea by the ounce to take home, Jennings also makes tea in-store for customers on the go.

PATRONOOKC.COM

405.702.7660

mark h ancock / file

305 N. WALKER

Meat seizing There is no safe time to schedule a chili cook-off in Oklahoma City. Summer extends halfway into fall, and then winter comes blowing in like a big, bad wolf.

But VI Marketing and Branding is still bringing back its Carne Diem chili event to benefit United Way of Central Oklahoma on Friday.

Park Avenue will be closed from Broadway Avenue to Robinson Avenue for a street party with plenty of chilis as competitors face off to win the coveted Carne Cup from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. For a $10 donation, attendees get three bowls of chili to sample from the event.

It’s the fourth year for the event to be public. In 2012, Bruce Rinehart of Rococo (pictured at right) took home the Carne Cup, followed by Dave “The Food Dude” Cathey in 2013 and the Range Café at Wilshire Gun in 2014. This year, at least 15 restaurants will compete for the top prize. More than 60 chilis from VI staff, vendors and others will try to win the amateur title, which comes with a cash prize.

Live music will be provided by The Wise Guys.

“We’ve raised more money each year, and 100 percent of every penny we bring in goes to United Way,” Larry McAlister, director of public relations at VI, said.

“Depending on the weather, we expect up to 700 people to come through.”

It’s free to walk around the event and hang out, McAlister said, or donate $10 at the event to try some chili.

Ok l ah oma Ga z et te | oc to b e r 21 , 2015 | 2 3

life food & driNK

Mix ’em up Norman businesses bring a sense of community back to Main Street.

by GreG elwell

Norman has streets, too.

After watching successful festivals taking over Hudson Avenue in Midtown, Western Avenue and even Hurd Street in downtown Edmond, Norman businesses are banding together to shine a light on their own shopping and entertainment district with Mix on Main this Friday.

But most of all, Mix on Main is about community building, marketing director Vilona Michael said.

“This event enables local businesses to begin conversations and partner with each other. It encourages individuals to step outside and meet their neighbors,” she said. “It’s the perfect time to mix and mingle with other Main Street friends and fans.”

That might sound more like a town hall meeting than a party, which is why Mix also promises lots of live music, interactive gaming trucks, glow golf, shopping and a bevy of food and drink options.

There are plenty of businesses that make Main their home, and they wanted a way to remind their city and the surrounding area what they have to offer, Michael said.

Gina Mitchell, owner of Mitchell’s Jewelry, 2201 W. Main St., said Main Street has never been more vibrant but Mix on Main is an opportunity to bring new people to the area.

The addition of music, food trucks and wine and beer tents will only enhance their draw, she said. It’s also an opportunity to collaborate with neighbors. Music will be provided by students and bands from McMichael Music, which offers kids of all ages instruction on instruments and vocals.

There will be three stages, including some singer-songwriters performing acoustic sets. Bands playing include The Lion Bandits, Dr. Silence, Absolute Zero and Truth Uncommon.

“One of my favorites, Scratch

24 | oc to b e r 21 , 2015 | Ok l ahOma Ga z et te

mix on main 6-10 p.m. friday Main street between 24th Avenue and Mercedes drive, Norman Twitter: @normanmixonmain free

Kitchen & Cocktails, will be serving delightful bites in our store and will be set up outside with beer and wine,” Mitchell said.

Other food options at Mix include Big Truck Tacos, Eskimo Sno, Mutts Amazing Hot Dogs, The Candy Basket, La Baguette and Abbey Road Catering.

Wine and jewelry probably appeal more to the adult shopper, but Oklahoma National Guard Sgt. Michael Canaday said they’re planning to make Mix fun for the younger set, too.

A gaming trailer will set up in front of the Army National Guard recruiting office at 2115 W. Main St. with Xbox One and Playstation 4 games for all ages to enjoy. Indian Motorcycle of Oklahoma City will also set up outside so gearheads can peruse.

Canaday said this kind of event is important to help make Norman a real home for residents.

“Being a part of the Norman community is sometimes taken for granted,” he said. “Many of us gather with our friends, family, schoolmates and work associates and head out to enjoy all the cool events outside of Norman, knowing it will be there when we get back. We forget that, as a community, if we don’t stick together and support each other, that community may disappear.”

The inaugural Mix is 6 to 10 p.m.

Friday on Main Street between 24th Avenue NW and Mercedes Drive.

ga re tt fi s be c k

Vilona Michael

m a r k ha n coc k

JOIN US FOR GAME DAY ON THE PATIO!

Craig whitson

Pizza world

An Oklahoma City native living in Norway returns to Full Circle Bookstore with a new cookbook.

OPEN DAILY 11AM - 2 AM

A A GLASS GLASS A A DAY DAY KEEPS KEEPS THE THE

by GreG elwell

6:30 p.m. Thursday full Circle bookstore 50 Penn Place 1900 Northwest expressway fullcirclebooks.com free

Flour + yeast + salt + water + heat + time = pizza crust.

There are variations here and there, but for the most part, pizza crusts are made of the same ingredients around the world, said Craig Whitson, co-author of the new book Passion for Pizza: A Journey Through Thick and Thin to Find the Pizza Elite.

Even in Naples, Italy, where a group tightly controls aspects of the dough to be considered true Napolistyle pizza, every pizza shop’s dough that starts the same ends up tasting different.

Whitson was born and raised in Oklahoma City, but he has spent most of his life in Norway. Norway is where he met his wife. Norway is where he had kids. Norway is where he went from a drummer to a baker to a restaurateur and, eventually, became Grillkongen, “king of the grill.”

After bringing Mexican, Italian, American and Creole foods to Norway, he’s now enmeshed in the world of low-and-slow barbecue in his adopted homeland. But his hobby and his passion is pizza.

“If you like pizza, it’s probably one of your favorite foods,” he said. “There’s

something about it that’s fascinating.

It’s amazing how much variety you can create with just these ingredients.”

Whitson and his friends like pizza a lot.

“We’re more interested in pizza than is considered normal,” he said.

So they went on a trip around the world, stopping in at all the pizza capitals — Naples, Rome, New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles — and at all the best shops in between.

What they found were little things that make a big difference. They spoke with people who make the pizzas, deliver them, farm the tomatoes that make the sauce and cure the meats that become toppings.

“It’s incredible to see all the work that goes on behind the scenes to create a pizza,” he said.

Three and a half years of Whitson’s experiences, along with those of Tore Gjesteland, Mats Widen and Kenneth Hansen, are chronicled in Passion for Pizza along with several recipes from around the globe.

Though Whitson has published plenty of cookbooks in Norway, he said there’s something special about having a book come out in the U.S. He will be signing and discussing his book at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Full Circle Bookstore, 1900 Northwest Expressway. Much like the pies he’s passionate about, Whitson said the signing is also bringing him full circle.

“My mother loved to read,” he said.

“She used to take me to Full Circle all the time as a kid.”

ZOMBIES AWAY! AWAY!

Custom labels for every holiday

712 N BROADWAY WED 11AM-7PM

2 TICKETS TO

Craig Whitson book signing

CORNER OF CLASSEN & BOYD, NORMAN 405.329.3330 | THEMONT.COM

405.232.WINE (9463) THURS-SAT 11AM-11PM

i2E BREWFEST

WEWOKC.COM SUN 1PM-7PM

CHICKASAW BRICKTOWN

BALLPARK ENTER TO WIN OKGAZETTE.COM/GWW

THURSDAY NOVEMBER

5

2015

GO TO OKGAZETTE.COM/GWW TO ENTER TO WIN A PAIR OF TICKETS

GAZETTE’S WEEKLY WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED EACH WEEK IN THE TABLE OF CONTENTS. PRINTED WINNERS HAVE 7 DAYS TO CLAIM TICKETS. MUST GIVE EMAIL, FULL NAME & PHONE NUMBER. Ok l ahOma Ga z et te | oc to b e r 21 , 2015 | 2 5

Culinary colorful Roy G. Biv was a simple man, a plain man, until a catastrophic accident at the Crayola factory forever altered him. From that day forward, he would fight against the injustice of bland, boring meals with the power of color!

Also, he couldn’t sit on white furniture. That’s just a given.

Go with Roy on his amazing adventures as he tastes the colors of the rainbow!

— by Greg Elwell, Photos by Garett Fisbeck

La Baguette Bistro

Classen Grill

The Drake

7408 N. May Ave. labaguettebistro.com | 840-3047

5124 Classen Circle 842-0428

519 NW 23rd St. thedrakeokc.com | 605-3399

Red is the color of rage and romance.

And there’s no anger more potent than when you take a date to La Baguette and they’re out of the red beef tartare. Ooh la la, now here’s a meal that isn’t afraid of flavor. Chilled and chopped raw beef tenderloin mixed with a variety of textural and tasty treats like capers and red onion and served with an egg yolk on top is a classic French delicacy. Truly, you’re living la vie en rouge.

Oranges, despite their reputation, hate to be hugged. Why do you think they grow so high up in those trees? They’re trying to keep their delicate organs away from the overly affectionate morons walking around on the ground. But they’re just so adorable, which is one reason you can always get a pitcher of fresh-squeezed orange juice at Classen Grill. Just try not to think of their tiny screams.

#2 $2.49 (egg roll)

20%

OFF THESE ITEMS WED & THURS WITH THIS AD

#5 $7.99 (pho)

2624 N CLASSEN BLVD | 405-602-5095

LIKE US ON

26 | oc to b e r 21 , 2015 | Ok l ah oma Ga z et te

“Are ya yellow?” drawled Toronto Dale, the Canadian cowboy. “...,” said the Lemon Dream pie from The Drake.

“I said, are ya yellow?” he screamed.

“Dale, you colorblind idiot, that’s a piece of pie. It can’t answer you,” said Dale’s friend, Marvin. “But, for the record, it is yellow.”

And that’s how Dale and Marvin shared dessert.

Bistro38 Thai Green Cuisine 2903 NW 36th St. bistro38.com | 948-2788

Kermit the Frog famously sang that it wasn’t easy being green, which is silly.

Frogs are green all the time without any effort at all, just like the basil that goes into Bistro38’s pad basil noodle dish. Basil isn’t sitting there in the ground, thinking, “I should be green and delicious.” It just is. And when it’s cooked alongside chicken and noodles in a pungent, sweet sauce, it’s extremely easy to love — sorta like that frog.

Big Sky Bread Company

Guyutes

6606 N. Western Ave. bigskybreadokc.com | 879-0330

730 NW 23rd St. guyutes.com | 702-6960

Pinkitzel Cupcakes & Candy

Some people argue that blueberries are not actually blue. “They’re really more of an indigo,” is something someone with way too much time on his hands might say. Sorry, pal, but some of us have more important things to do. There are babies to pet and dogs to dress in costumes and delicious blueberries and cranberries just waiting to be baked into bread at Big Sky before it’s slathered in butter and enjoyed.

Get with it!

As a kid, I always wondered about the one-eyed, one-horned, flying purple people eater. How many purple people are there to eat? Didn’t that thing get hungry? Perhaps, when there were no people around to eat, it aimed its one eye and one horn at Guyutes, which serves up a brilliant purple beet hummus with freshly fried sweet potato chips. And its employees are so friendly, they probably don’t even blink when a voracious monster comes in.

150 S. EK Gaylord Blvd. pinkitzel.com | 235-7465

Little boys seem preternaturally opposed to pink. It’s the color of princesses and unicorns and strawberry shortcake cupcakes from Pinkitzel. Boys can’t abide tha— Wait. Did that say cupcakes?

Because guys might like football and dirt bikes and ninjas, but they also love cupcakes, no matter the color. Finally, we’ve found their weakness! Well played, Pinkitzel. Well played.

SNACKS & SANDWICHES

CHECK OUT OUR NEW MENU ITEMS! Valid on dinners up to $11 99 only.

Discount taken off equal or lesser purchase. Limit 2 coupons per person. Not valid with any other offers.

Expires 10/28/15.

SUNDAY SPECIAL 10/25

TURKEY DINNER WITH STUFFING AND VEGGIES

$7.99

7950 NW 39th EXPWY | 405.495.5105 6317 N MERIDIAN | 405.702.9862 MON – FRI | 6AM – 10PM

11AM-9PM | MON-SAT • 11AM-4PM | SUN

M-F 7am-6:30pm • Sat 9:30am-4pm 2310 N Western 524-0887

NW 50TH & MERIDIAN | 947.7277 ONLINE ORDERING NOW AVAILABLE!

OKLAHOMASTATIONBBQ.COM

Ok l ah oma Ga z et te | oc to b e r 21 , 2015 | 27

3501 N.E. 10TH OKC, OK

COM .

T T KA T

KAT

OM

ST.C

ORE

EDF

UNT SHA

D E T N U A H ‘S

T S E R O

F

ROR R E T HE

T

E ARLYTPS A G C O P IE A S E

ZOMB KATT

PRIZ

L A AYS

E

AW GIVE

LIVE

TOP

FOR

SCO

RES!

ENT

UN G E B HAS

IDES R Y A H E ATCH P LABL N I AVAI K P GES A M R E EV PU LT B ADU OUR

PK PUM

FOOD

ATC IN P

FOR FUN

FREE H IS

NT TO E

THE

WHO

AM LE F

I LY

ER!

KS

TRUC

NM RTAI

ENTE

GET YOUR TICKETS TODAY AT STUBWIRE.COM

2 8 | oc to b e r 21 , 2015 | Ok l ah oma Ga z et te

LIFE CULTURE Frightful fun

9 P.M. SATURDAY OKLAHOMA CONTEMPORARY 3000 GENERAL PERSHING BLVD. ADELEWOLF.COM 445-1696 $25-$40 | 18+

If you’re an adult and you want to participate in a more ... interesting beloved Halloween tradition, don your corsets and fishnets and Time Warp over to The Boom’s production of The Rocky Horror Picture Show at 2218 NW 39th St. If you’re thinking it might be a good idea to eat before dealing with Dr. Frank N. Furter’s antics, go early and partake in The Boom’s dinner service, which starts at 6:30 p.m. Shows sell out quickly, and tickets are limited.

If you missed your chance to snag tickets to The Boom’s popular show, head down to Sooner Theatre, 101 E. Main St., in Norman. Sooner Theatre’s cast is chosen through a costume contest before the show and acts it out in front of the film screen like so many decked-out, transsexual-loving fanatics before them. The show starts at 10 p.m., tickets are $10 and prop bags are $5.

Visit soonertheatre.org.

Bricktown Haunted Warehouse Brick-or-Treat

7 P.M. WEDNESDAY, OCT. 21, THROUGH OCT. 31 CHICKASAW BRICKTOWN BALLPARK 2 S. MICKEY MANTLE DRIVE. BRICKTOWNOKC.COM 236-4143

4 P.M.-7 P.M. TUESDAY BRICKTOWN RENO AVENUE AND MICKEY MANTLE DRIVE DOWNTOWNOKC.COM | 236-8666 FREE

$15-$25

Put on your best costumes and prepare to haunt Bricktown. Bricktown Association and Downtown OKC Inc. host the second annual Brick-or-Treat 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Stop by the tent at Reno Avenue and Mickey Mantle Drive to get your trickor-treating bag and a map of participating businesses. You also can paint pumpkins, make silly faces in the photo booth, goof around with Oklahoma City Dodgers mascots and say hello to Oklahoma City Energy Football Club players, the Thunder Girls and Rumble the Bison.

This year’s event also features a 7:30 p.m. screening of Hocus Pocus at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, 2 S. Mickey Mantle Drive.

All events are free and open to the public, but children must be 14 or under and in costume to trick-or-treat.

Magic Lantern Celebration on Paseo

b IGStocK.coM

bIGStocK.coM

SKIP LArGeNt / ProVIDe D

If you’re 18 and over and have a penchant for fishnets but aren’t really into aliens from the planet Transsexual, Adèle Wolf ’s Burlesque & Variety Show Halloween Spectacular at Oklahoma Contemporary, 3000 General Pershing Blvd., is just the ticket.

Wolf ’s shows are full of award-winning burlesque, cabaret, circus arts and belly dance performers. The Halloween show stars Wolf, Shira Amar, Hazel Honeysuckle (pictured) from New York City, Renee Holiday from Dallas and Ricky Phoenix from St. Louis. Audience members should dress in their Halloween best.

3 P.M.-7:30 P.M. SUNDAY PASEO ARTS DISTRICT PASEO AND 30TH STREETS THEPASEO.ORG 525-2688 FREE

Magic Lantern Celebration on Paseo is a great event for families looking for a Halloween celebration that isn’t scary or spooky.

Oklahoma City children are invited to the Paseo Arts District to make a wish and visit art studios to construct a costume of wearable art 3-6:15 p.m. Revelers and their families are then invited to dance to music by Steve McLinn of Ojas Music in a pumpkin parade through a jack o’ lantern labyrinth.

All activities are free, but donations will be accepted.

kids age 13 and up. It’s difficult to run from ghosts if you’re wearing heels or flip flops, so you must remember to wear sneakers. You can also earn prizes like concert tickets and T-shirts by playing Zombie Laser Tag, which costs $10.

Admission to The Haunted Forest is $20, and $30 allows you to purchase a VIP Speed Pass so you can jump to the front of the line.

KATT Haunted Forest LOST LAKES AMPHITHEATRE AND WATER PARK 3501 NE 10TH ST. KATTSHAUNTEDFOREST.COM | 384-8585 $20-$30

Do you like forests? Do you like haunted places? Then you’ll love KATT’s Haunted Forest. The frightening attraction at Lost Lakes Amphitheatre and Water Park, 3501 NE 10th St., includes hayrides and a pumpkin patch (open to all ages).

The Haunted Forest is a 20-minute trek through nightmaaaaares that is open to

Over 1 million people have flocked to Oklahoma City’s Bricktown Haunted Warehouse to be scared out of their minds every Halloween season for 29 years. This year, the haunted funhouse has taken over Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, 2 S. Mickey Mantle Drive, and event organizers have created a suspenseful fright fest under the bleachers with the help of local horror experts.

ProVIDeD

ZAc HA rY StertZ / P roVI De D

Adèle Wolf’s Burlesque & Variety Show Halloween Spectacular

The Rocky Horror Picture Show at The Boom 8 P.M. THURSDAY-SUNDAY AND WEDNESDAY, OCT. 28 THROUGH OCT. 31 11:30 P.M. OCT. 31 2218 NW 39TH ST. THEBOOMOKC.COM | 866-966-1777 $25

bI GStoc K.coM

There are so many Halloween events around the metro that it’s often difficult to decide which ones to go to. Some are too risqué or scary for children, some require too much effort and some of us are just so desensitized that we need to fear for our lives for a little while before we get into the holiday spirit. We’ve rounded up a bunch of events and activities so adults, families and children can find a way to celebrate the season. — By Brittany Pickering and Jennifer Chancellor

Midwest Horror Shorts Film Festival 8 P.M. OCT. 30 OKC FARMERS PUBLIC MARKET 311 S. KLEIN AVE. MIDWESTHORRORSHORTS.COM $15-$300 | 18+

Horror movies are one of the best things about the season. Ghosts, goblins, vampires, werewolves, murderers and others draw millions to the box office every fall.

But Midwest Horror Shorts Film Festival offers a different experience than the movie theater box office. It features panel discussions, contests and more than 20 short films. The winner of this year’s event will receive a $300 prize.

Films start at 8 p.m. Oct. 30 at Farmers Public Market, 311 S. Klein Ave. General admission is $15. Guests must be at least 18 years old.

Ok l ahOma Ga z et te | oc to b e r 21 , 2015 | 2 9

30 | oc to b e r 21 , 2015 | Ok l ah oma Ga z et te

P roVI DeD

LIFE CULTURE

Street treats

OKC Pride’s Treats and Tricks Halloween Block Party returns for its second year along the 39th Street strip.

BY MARK BEUTLER

8 p.m.-12 a.m. Oct. 31 39th Street District at 39th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue okcpride.org Free

All Hallows’ Eve, with all its spectacular campiness, is the perfect time to make a trip to 39th Street to join OKC Pride’s Treats and Tricks Halloween Block Party.

Northwest 39th Street between Pennsylvania and Barnes avenues will be closed to traffic, allowing revelers safe and easy access to the event, which features live music, food trucks, familyfriendly activities, drinks, costume contests and live music.

“We hope everyone will come out and join us in our newest tradition in what has come to be known as the Gay National Holiday: Halloween … We want everyone to get dressed up and head out to the strip, and bring your friends,” said Michael Clark, OKC Pride board president. “Anyone who has attended OKC Pride’s annual festivals, concerts, block parties or parades knows that we put on the biggest and best party in the city.”

OKC Pride is in its 28th year as a grassroots voice for the LGBTQ community. Clark said it focuses on awareness, outreach, health and education. This is the second year it has held the Treats and Tricks block party.

“OKC Pride represents a huge and diverse community in the state of

Scenes from last year’s inaugural OKC Pride Treats and Tricks event Oklahoma,” Clark said. “Our members are business owners, professionals, educators, artists, health care workers, parents, young and old alike. We are most proud of our recent outreach efforts to LGBTQ youth groups to let them know they are accepted and welcome in the Oklahoma City community by thousands of others just like themselves.”

In recent years, Pride has taken what were once rather decadent events like the annual OKC Pride Parade and transformed them into more familyfriendly celebrations. This year’s June parade drew 40,000 spectators, Clark said, making it one of the largest privately run events in Oklahoma City.

“For next summer’s event, we are now in talks with the legendary band Queen, fronted by Adam Lambert,” Clark said. “It is all still very ‘iffy’ and depends on scheduling, but we are hopeful it will work out.”

The Treats and Tricks party on 39th Street is free and open to the entire Oklahoma City community. It is geared toward adults, but The WreckRoom is open to guests age 16 and older.

“This year, we expect a large crowd and have arranged contingencies for weather,” Clark said.

Parking will be available at Angles, Tramps, The Boom and Habana Inn, and each venue also will host late-night Halloween events in conjunction with the block party.

SHARED SPACE

treats and tricks halloween Block Party

Shared Space: Photographs from 1987 and Beyond Works from the Bank of America collection 10/29 - 12/18 Opening reception: 6-8 p.m. Oct. 29 3000 General Pershing Blvd. | Oklahoma City, OK 73107 www.oklahomacontemporary.org | 405 951 0000 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday | 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday-Saturday

Image: Wout Berger, Vietnam (Cat Ba Island), 1998. Color coupler print, 1998 negative, printed 2003, 4/12. Courtesy of the artist.

Ok l ahOma Ga z et te | oc to b e r 21 , 2015 | 3 1

Take back your

MORNING

B r i da l R ings

WITHOUT BREAKING THE BANK.

&

Wed d i ng Ba nd s

By Beverley K

Sealy Tuberose

King or Queen Set - $497

Sealy Posture Pedic

Firm or Plush Queen Set - $697

G r a c e f u l Fe m i n i n i t y w i t h l a c y , v i n ta g e f i l i g r e e s e t i n p l at i n u m w i t h d i a m o n d s

Financing available WAC

32 | oc to b e r 21 , 2015 | Ok l ahOma Ga z et te

LIFE YOUTH

Spooky science

P roVI DeD

A special advertising section for all things kid Halloween friendly

Science Museum Oklahoma hosts an overnight holiday event filled with goo, space travel and glow-in-the dark discovery.

Friday, October 30 • 6-9pm

BY KALEY PATTERSON

Not-So-Frightening Fun Night 7 p.m. Friday-7 a.m. Saturday Science Museum Oklahoma 2100 NE 52nd St. sciencemuseumok.org 602-3760 $25-$45

Science Museum Oklahoma explores the eerie science behind things that go bump in the night at Friday’s Not-SoFrightening Fun Night.

Clint Stone, director of education and training, said the overnight event focuses on elements of Halloween that are sometimes linked with the supernatural but can be explained and created through basic science.

“The science overnight will give the kids a chance to explore the freakish science that actually makes those things work in the natural world,” Stone said.

“We’ll be focusing on the eerie, but we’ll be learning the science behind it. How do we make these things that seem ‘wow’ and amazing? How do we make them work? And then how do we learn the science behind the things we consider creepy?”

Check-in begins at 6 p.m., and the family-friendly event begins 7 p.m.

Friday as Science Museum Oklahoma transforms into a giant laboratory where holiday-themed experiments enable youth to create slime by combining different molecules and glow-in-thedark “radioactive” quicksand with cornstarch, water and other elements.

Guests also will make their own treats from a brew of liquid nitrogen and an erupting jack-o’-lantern. Other activities include hands-on work with snakes and Madagascar hissing roaches.

“This is a great family outing. Kids come with their parents, kids come with their friends or their friends’ parents,”

A special production of Science Live on Friday will celebrate the season.

Stone said. “This is a great opportunity really for everybody. I would encourage parents to come; it’ll really be a lot of fun for them.”

Groups of six or more children must be accompanied by at least one adult, Stone said. Younger children who aren’t yet comfortable alone also should attend with a parent or guardian. Admission is $35-$45 per child and $25 per adult.

Breakfast will be provided.

“There are so many things that can be enjoyed with this, from having fun with the chemistry and being able to make things and understand things at a level they didn’t understand before,” Stone said.

Participants also might enjoy the delicacy of mealworm cookies, which Stone said are packed with energygiving calories, protein and fiber.

“That’s something that these kids and families will go and they’ll tell their school friends and their work buddies [about] on Monday,” he said.

The night also includes a special Halloween Science Live planetarium show.

“We’re making sure that when they leave, they still have the knowledge and understanding to perform some of these experiments safely at home and the relevance of how what they’ve learned relates to their daily lives,” Stone said.

Guests are encouraged to bring their own sleeping bags or air mattresses, extra clothes and towels. Costumes also are encouraged.

Guests must call 602-3760 to register before 3 p.m. Thursday.

KIDS OF ALL AGES, WEAR HAPPY COSTUMES & ENJOY: INFLATABLES • LOTS OF CANDY • FOOD TRUCKS DUNK TANK • GAMES • MEGA CAKEWALK TRACKLESS TRAIN • FACE PAINTING

14600 N PORTLAND AVE, OKC • CROSSINGSOKC.ORG/FALL-CARNIVAL

A free, family-friendly event with games, activities and fun.

Costumes are encouraged, but not scary ones!

— Thursday, October 29 — 4 to 7 p.m.

Sponsored by 2401 Chautauqua Ave., Norman, OK 73072-7029 (405) 325-4712 | samnoblemuseum.ou.edu The University of Oklahoma is an equal oppor tunity institution. www.ou.edu/eoo.

For accommodations on the basis of disability, please call (405) 325-4712.

Ok l ahOma Ga z et te | oc to b e r 21 , 2015 | 33

LIFE COMMUNITY

Hopeful shelter The YWCA Thelma Gaylord Emergency Shelter provides a safe haven for women and their children.

BY ALISSA LINDSEY

Voted OKC’s Reigning Mediterranean Cuisine

for 15 years

6014 N. May 947.7788 zorbasokc.com lunch & dinner 3 4 | oc to b e r 21 , 2015 | Ok l ahOma Ga z et te

Deb Stanaland

M A rK HA N coc K

The only certified shelter for battered women and their children in Oklahoma City has opened a new location.

The YWCA Thelma Gaylord Emergency Shelter will use its new 27,000-square-foot facility to expand its domestic violence and sexual assault services to women in the metro.

In OKC, about 120 domestic violence cases are turned over to detectives each week.

“Our new shelter is for battered women and women with children in order to escape devastating domestic violence situations in their homes,” said Deb Stanaland, chief support services officer for YWCA Oklahoma City. “We are continuing to offer the same services that we have offered for a very long time, and we will be able to expand those to more than double our capacity.”

At the previous location, YWCA OKC could house 55 women at a time, but the shelter was reaching capacity most of the time, Stanaland said. The new shelter will offer 120 women and their children a safe place to stay for 30 to 45 days.

Oklahoma ranked third in the nation for the number of women killed by men in 2013 and 2014, Stanaland said.

“The Oklahoma [Domestic Violence] Fatality Review Board did a 10-year study, and they discovered that of individuals in single homicide incidents, 98 percent of those never did seek services,” she said. “So we know that our services for domestic violence work.”

The shelter offers services like counseling, medical treatment and exams and economic empowerment programs at no cost to clients staying at the shelter.

Domestic violence and sexual assault counseling is available for adults, and parent-child interaction therapy is available for children.

Specially trained nurses administer rape and sexual assault exams and can address related medical needs in the clinic.

Once a week, The Healing Hands Foundation, an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization and a service site of Community Heath Center, Inc., sends nurse practitioners to attend to clients’ minor medical needs.

FOR mORe the new YMcA oKc location, 2460 NW 39th St., is accepting donations of new bedding and is registered at target under YWcA oKc. the YWcA domestic violence hotline number is 917-9922, and the sexual assault hotline number is 943-7273. the hotlines are confidential and can be used to report domestic violence or sexual assault.

Learn more at ywcaokc.org or by calling 948-1770.

Last year, YWCA OKC helped provide a safe place to stay for a little more than 1,200 women, Stanaland said. The shelter provided 11,357 safe nights, and staff administered over 400 rape exams.

Encompassing all of its services, the shelter served more than 3,000 clients in person and almost 21,000 more clients through the crisis hotlines, outreach programs and prevention education.

These services are made necessary by the nation’s statistics.

One in four women in our society is a victim of domestic assault, Stanaland said, and one in three girls is sexually abused by the age of 18.

Stanaland said the Thelma Gaylord Emergency Shelter was funded by about $15 million raised by a council of six individuals who reached out to businesses, organizations and individuals in the community.

Presented by

You’re invited to join us at a GILENYA® Go Program™ Event An opportunity to meet Gabriel Pardo, MD, learn about prescription GILENYA, and connect with people in your community.

10/28/15 at 11:30AM Ted’s Cafe Escondido 2836 NW 68th Oklahoma City, OK 73116

STEAK (R)EVOLUTION THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22 5:30 P.M. | 8 P.M.

Tell or bring a friend!

Accessible to people with disabilities.

Light meal served.

Parking will be validated.

Space is limited.

Please RSVP by calling 1-866-682-7491 You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/ nedwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

VICTORIA FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23 5:30 P.M. | 8:30 P.M. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24 5:30 P.M. | 8:30 P.M. SUNDAY, OCTOBER 25 2 P.M. | 5:30 P.M.

GILENYA is a registered trademark of Novartis AG. GO PROGRAM is a trademark of Novartis AG.

Be the first to hear about upcoming films, watch trailers and more by joining our newsletter.

Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation East Hanover, New Jersey 07936

FOR MOVIE DESCRIPTIONS AND TICKET SALES VISIT

©2013 Novartis 1/13

T-GYA-1234305

Text okcmoafilm to 22828 to get started.

WWW.OKCMOA.COM

Friday, October 30Th 317 NW 23rd Street | RockfordOKC.com

Ok l ah oma Ga z et te | oc to b e r 21 , 2015 | 35

Premiere production Bernice Bobs Her Hair finds a world debut at Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma and runs through Saturday.

By Jack Fowler

Bernice Bobs Her Hair 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma 1727 NW 16th St. lyrictheatreokc.com 524-9312 $25-$45

There are plenty of things that can destroy a musical comedy. It’s not anyone’s fault, really; there are just more moving parts than most mortals can artfully manage.

After all, music, dancing and comedy each rely largely on timing — a missed cue here, a clunky dance step there, and the whole contraption can grind to a halt before your eyes.

What makes Bernice Bobs Her Hair at Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma such a joy to behold is that everybody gets everything right. From the charm and skill of the cast and simple beauty of the set to Michael Baron’s seamless stage directions, Bernice hits its mark as a polished and funny crowd-pleaser.

Evil glee

NOW HIRING! g looking for a Managin Oklahoma Gazette is tic, ge er en hardworking, Editor to round out its fun-loving team. ence in the

experi e at least five years of Applicants should hav n. journalism professio ial and photography lude managing editor Job requirements inc a Gazette and and editing to Oklahom assignments, writing in a collaborative rk wo to lity le and an abi Associated Press sty environment. ail-oriented and highly motivated, det Applicants should be supervising editorial and erience managing deadline-driven. Exp staff is preferred.

iting sume, writing and ed Send cover letter, re m. on@okgazette.co samples to mharris e. as No phone calls, ple

3 6 | oc to b e r 21 , 2015 | Ok l ah oma Ga z et te

Bernice Bobs Her Hair was first published in The Saturday Evening Post in May 1920. Based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s second short story, the tale of a wealthy Wisconsin girl who spends August with her scheming cousin Marjorie, Lyric’s production, written

by Adam Gwon and Julia Jordan, had its world premiere earlier this month in the Plaza District and runs through Saturday.

Bernice, played with lovely vulnerability by Celeste Rose, is a sheltered, socially awkward girl from Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Her cousin Marjorie (played by Sarah Quinn Taylor) fancies herself as anything but.

Pretty, popular with the boys and plenty smart enough to be dangerous, Marjorie takes on her cousin as a project and schools her in the ways of new slang and easy manipulation of the local boys who swoon around her.

Bernice proves to be a quick study.

Bernice (Celeste Rose) and Marjorie (Sarah Quinn Taylor) scheme in Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma’s production of Bernice Bobs Her Hair.

When Warren, a local boy Marjorie has toyed with for years, turns his attentions to her kin, Marjorie shifts from tutoring to treachery as she hatches a scheme to ruin Bernice’s newfound happiness.

Taylor, a University of Oklahoma student, plays Marjorie with an evil glee that’s consistently funny but never overdone. She flips her hair and arches her eyebrows and shoots secret hand signals at her reserved cousin when she quotes Oscar Wilde, and Rose provides a terrific launching pad for her cutting lines and dramatic exits. Both actresses bring different, complimentary energies to their shared scenes, and the progression of their relationship from annoyance to begrudging trust to outright hatred is a pleasure to watch.

Oklahoma City University graduate Russell McCook plays smug and smirking Warren. He does a fine job delivering Warren’s lines with the cocksure bravado of a Yale freshman during the Roaring ’20s but makes his biggest mark on the performance when he sings. He has as fine and effortless a high tenor voice, and his first duet with Rose is nearly breathtaking.

Singing praise

The entire cast can sing, and the snappy songs are accompanied by a jazz band donned in white tuxedo jackets and featured prominently throughout the show. During the production’s more introspective moments, Rose’s solos are tenderly wrought, but both she and Taylor belt admirably when they square off against each other in one of their more pugilistic duets.

The supporting cast, especially the ladies, move well and know how to deliver a joke. One especially memorable song, “This Could Be Great,” gave Madeline Dannenberg, Virginia Newsome, Keslie Ward and Kaley Were

KO RI NEA RSON / P ROVI D ED

life performing arts

ANTI-AGING SERVICES

a chance to deliver lines every bit as juicy as anything said by Bernice or Marjorie, and their timing was flawless. As evidenced by the show’s opening scene, the women work wonderfully as a group; their voices and interactions are faultless.

However, “The Girl From Old Eau Claire” might be the best number. Male cast members, giving brotherly advice to leader and ladies’ man Warren on how to handle the elusive Bernice, tell him in the chorus to smack her with a golf club.

As Brandon Block, Travis James Burch, Hayden Gray and Stephen Stark (holding the golf club) line up and swing in unison, you can’t help but remember two things: One, it’s a comedy, and two, it’s a period piece set before women could vote, so maybe it’s not too far off from being historically accurate, unfortunately.

Delicate subject matter aside, the song is rollicking, Broadway-esque, and well choreographed, especially when Gray is given a chance to punctuate a provocative lyric with the most unexpected dance move of the evening. It ends on a rising swell of four-part harmonies reminiscent of great old musicals, and the fellas pull it off with gusto.

A good bit of Jordan’s dialogue and at least one of Gwon’s songs mention the women’s suffrage movement, but the show never really deals with the subject on anything deeper than a comic level.

A duet between Marjorie’s parents, played wonderfully by OKC theater veterans Mandy Jiran and Vince Leseney, treats the desire for equality at the beginning of the 20th century more like a playful household spat than a political statement, and the number serves as a punch line as much as a political statement.

But maybe the best part of Bernice is that it doesn’t aim for (or ask for) too much. Lee Savage’s set is spare, beautiful and static throughout — save for two mattresses that appear and disappear throughout the show without notice — and serves as a blank canvas upon which the actors paint. There’s nothing distracting, nothing too messy or crowded.

The costumes, designed by Jeffrey Meek, are period appropriate and beautiful, and they’re not so gaudy as to distract the audience from the cast’s skill and chemistry, something that might have been tempting to do, given the period.

One gets the sense that Baron’s gift lies in choosing what to remove from a production. With Bernice, he stripped just enough away to leave audiences with something pretty great: a good, old-fashioned musical that hits all the right notes.

MICRODERMABRASION $30 First Treatment $200 Package of 5 MICRODERMABRASION ADD-ONS $10 Glycolic Peel $20 Jessner’s Peel

NOW OFFERING

FACIALS

starting at $30 JUVEDERM • RADIESSE

BOTOX Always $10 Per Unit

OKC’S PREMIER HIGH END Consignment & Interior Design Shop

NEW LOCATION

Schelly’s Aesthetics

Schelly Hill, R.N.

NOW OPEN, 36TH & WESTERN

Shoppes at Northpark, 12028 May Ave. 405-751-8930 Open Mon-Sat www.skincareokc.com

FORMER BRUNO’S LOCATION

Gift Certificates Available

NEW & CONSIGNMENT ONE OF A KIND PIECES

OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK M-S 10AM-6PM, SUN 12PM-5PM

2229 NW 138TH 3704 N WESTERN

405.749.3500 KNInteriorConsignment.com

Ok l ahOma Ga z et te | oc to b e r 21 , 2015 | 37

OKLAHOMA CITY’S WOODCARVING SHOW

ARTISTRY IN WOOD

sudoku/crossword Sudoku Puzzle EASY Fill in the grid so that every row, column and 3-by-3 box contains the numbers 1 through 9.

Oct. 31 & Nov. 1, 2015 Saturday, 9:00 to 5:00 Sunday, 10:00 to 4:00

Hobbies & Arts Building, OKC Fair Grounds • Oklahoma City

FEATURING Whittling Contest • Demonstrations Door Prizes • Vendors Purchase Awards

www.s udoku-p uzzles .n et

Finest Wood Carving & Woodworking Exhibition in OK

New York Times Crossword Puzzle answers Puzzle No. 1011, which appeared in the October 14 issue.

CONTACT Kent Wallace (405) 819-0460 E-mail kentwallace10@gmail.com www.okcarver.org

T I F F

T A C T I N Y C B E A C A L S C A M

Y E A S T Y

3 8 | oc to b e r 21 , 2015 | Ok l ah oma Ga z et te

A V I A

N O B U P E T U N I A

O D O R A N A T O M Y

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

A D H D

I D E A

T E R N S

R E I N

C A V F E E G

A R K L E N O V E S A S D A T T W I P E C R E Y E T P Y

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

R O T C U N L I E C T E E F R R I C P A S D E U I S H R I E N X

B R I E K E R P L U N K S T A S

J U J I T S O U D I Z L E E D S Y O K S E N O O G G R A E M S E L A S S

L E A N E S T

O S H E A S

Z A G S

Y S E R

I E R T E A L E I A

E L L S

ACROSS 1 Get by 5 Draw ____ on 10 With 101-Across, screen icon 15 Co. that invented the floppy disk 18 Utah attraction for skiers 19 Certain graduate 20 Headquarters of Royal Dutch Shell, with “The” 21 Shellac finish?

22 Gladly, old-style 23 Tents and the like (2001-8) 26 Wraps 28 See 109-Across 29 Goes after 30 Brought (in) 31 One of two official Philippine languages, along with English 35 Flight figures, for short 36 “Case of the Ex” singer, 2000 37 1964 Charlie Chaplin book (1980-84) 41 Actress Green of Casino Royale 43 ____ column 45 All-inclusive, in edspeak 46 Epitome of easiness 47 Northeastern university where Carl Sagan taught 49 Egypt’s Port ____ 52 Soft wear, informally 54 Long stretch 55 Der ____ (Adenauer) 56 TV show since 10/11/75, eight of whose former stars appear in the circled squares in this puzzle 58 Show-off (1975-80) 62 Stockholders?

64 “Yikes!”

66 Quarter 67 Nashville inst.

68 Muff, e.g. (2005-13) 71 Dessert often topped with cream cheese (1990-93) 76 In the, in Italy 77 TV star who loved oats 79 Shirt style 80 Those girls, in French 81 Berlin standard (1990-96) 86 Spring business?

88 Ambush predators of the sea 89 Pharaoh ____ 90 Padre’s hermano 91 Slim and trim

93 Thing 95 Trucker’s circuit: Abbr.

96 Redhead on kids’ TV 99 How “You Make Me Feel” in a Van Morrison song 101 See 10-Across 102 With 120-Across, intro heard every week on 56-Across 107 First American carrier to show movies on flights 109 With 28-Across, letter opener 110 CH4 111 Kitchen pad 114 Dispute 117 “____ thoughts?”

118 Ranger rival 120 See 102-Across 124 Champ’s cry 125 Prefix with -centric 126 Taekwondo is its national sport 127 Makes a good impression?

128 El ____ 129 Frequent target of ID thieves 130 Destructive 2012 hurricane 131 Latches, say 132 Zapper target

DOWN 1 Not so bright 2 Coat cut 3 15-time guest host of 56-Across 4 One way to get home (2000-06) 5 Cockeyed 6 1974 Best Actress for Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore 7 911 respondent, for short 8 Wheel of Fortune buy 9 Gently sponges 10 1953 biblical movie 11 Dorm heads, briefly 12 Ottoman Empire title 13 Bird-feeder fill 14 ____-skelter 15 Like the North Pole 16 English county that’s home to Reading 17 Snafu 19 Animal without feet 24 Title girl in a 2002 Disney movie 25 “Cheerio” 27 Focus of urban renewal?

32 Some digital camera batteries 33 Soviet labor camp 34 Baseball’s Hodges

1

2

3

4

5

18

19

22

23

26

43

VOL. XXXVII No. 42

Oklahoma Gazette is circulated at its designated distribution points free of charge to readers for their individual use and by mail to subscribers.

The cash value of this copy is $1.

Persons taking copies of the Oklahoma Gazette from its distribution points for any reason other than their or others’ individual use for reading purposes are subject to prosecution.

32

63

68

57

50

65

92

87 93

116

120

107

118 122

112

113

101 108

111

121

75

94

106

117

74

88

100

110 115

73 80

86

99 105

109

61

79

98

104

54

72

85

97

53

60

71

91 96

114

40

67

78

90

103

39

52 59

84

95

35

66

77

17

46

51

70

76

16

21

34

58

69

89

15

45

64

83

14

29

44

56

62

13

25

33

49

55

12

38

48

102

11

37

42

82

10

24

31

47

9

28

119

123

124

125

126

127

128

129

130

131

132

69 More open to the outdoors 70 “Get ____!”

72 Find another spot, maybe 73 16-time guest host of 56-Across 74 ____ O’Hara, 2015 Tony winner for The King and I 75 German coal city, once 78 Bygone presidential inits.

81 Peer-group member?

82 Countermeasures 83 Democratic presidential nominee before Kennedy 84 Shirt style 85 Piece of cake in school 87 “____ we alone?”

92 11 follower 94 Colorful fish 97 “Makes me want seconds!”

98 Vitamin regimen 100 Ship’s load 103 Chomps on 104 Loses it, with “out” 105 Italian mount 106 “Actually, I do” 108 Dining partner? (2005-12) 111 Counter orders 112 Lewis who sang the theme for Avatar 113 “… then again, maybe I’m mistaken” 114 Weeds 115 Old colonnade 116 Go bad 119 Does, e.g.

121 Like the border of Time magazine 122 Ultimate 123 Post-O.R. site

37 John ____, greaser in American Graffiti 38 ____ law 39 Designer of the Florence Cathedral bell tower 40 Class 41 Digital money 42 Alessandro ____, scientist who discovered 110-Across 44 Abbr. of politeness 48 “You ____ worry” 50 Radio host Glass 51 Jeanne ____ 53 Class 57 Subsidiary proposition 59 Cool 60 Does a high-wire act, e.g.

61 Centers 63 Cool 65 N.B.A. head coach Steve

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 October 14 issue of Oklahoma Gazette are shown at left.

Oklahoma Gazette

8

27

36

81

7

20

30

41

6

1018

New York Times Magazine Crossword Puzzle FOR VARIETY’S SAKE By David J. Kahn / Edited by Will Shortz

corporate

advertising

editorial

Circulation

Creative

www.okgazette.com

publisher Bill Bleakley

Advertising and Marketing Director Christy Duane

EDITOR-in-chief Jennifer Palmer Chancellor

Circulation Manager Chad Bleakley

Art Director Christopher Street

General Assignment editor Kory Oswald

ASSISTANT Circulation Manager Duke Fleischer

Graphic Designers Ashley Parks, Print Production Coordinator

Order mounted or ready-to-frame prints of Oklahoma Gazette covers, articles and photos at okgazette.yourheadline.com

publisher@okgazette.com

Associate Publisher James Bengfort jbengfort@okgazette.com

VP, CORPORATE AFFAIRS Linda Meoli lmeoli@okgazette.com

Marketing Manager Kelsey Lowe

cduane@okgazette.com

Account Executive / Advertising assistant Leah Roberts lroberts@okgazette.com

Account EXECUTIVES Stephanie Van Horn

svanhorn@okgazette.com

jchancellor@okgazette.com

koswald@okgazette.com

aparks@okgazette.com

Laura Eastes

edemoss@okgazette.com

gelwell@okgazette.com leastes@okgazette.com

Saundra Rinearson Godwin

Accounting/HR Manager Marian Harrison

Elizabeth Riddle

COPY EDITOR Brittany Pickering

eriddle@okgazette.com

bpickering@okgazette.com

Amber Parker

Photographers

mharrison@okgazette.com

Please address all unsolicited news items (non-returnable) to the editor.

Accounts receivable Sue Auld

aparker@okgazette.com

sauld@okgazette.com

sbrigance@okgazette.com

First-class mail subscriptions are $119 for one year, and most issues at this rate will arrive 1-2 days after publication.

Receptionist/calendar Kirsten Therkelson, Coordinator

Inside account executives Whitney McCown

Sarah Brigance

cstreet@okgazette.com

Staff Writers Greg Elwell

klowe@okgazette.com

sgodwin@okgazette.com

cbleakley@okgazette.com

Erin DeMoss, Advertising/Marketing Design Coordinator traffic coordinator Arden Biard abiard@okgazette.com

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

General Phone (405) 528-6000

General Fax

(405) 528-4600 Copyright © 2015 Tierra Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

Mark Hancock, Chief

mhancock@okgazette.com

Garett Fisbeck

gfisbeck@okgazette.com

wmccown@okgazette.com

listings@okgazette.com

Ok l ah oma Ga z et te | oc to b e r 21 , 2015 | 39

s U w o Ll o F on

facebOok ...all the COOL KIDS are doing it! facebOok.com/okgazeTte

Oklahoma Gazette

40 | oc to b e r 21 , 2015 | Ok l ahOma Ga z et te

Red grit

Jason Boland & the stragglers

Jason Boland proves again that the road least traveled can also be the one least cluttered with bro-country stereotypes.

By AdAm Holt

Jason Boland does not care about what is popular.

He does not care who or what song tops Billboard’s country or rock charts.

What he and his backing band, The Stragglers, do care about is authenticity.

The idea of music credibility is what inspired and influenced the band when it first launched in Stillwater in 1998 and what it achieves on its latest album, Squelch, released Oct. 19.

“It began like most bands do; just some guys wanting to have fun and create music that we would enjoy leaving behind,” Boland said.

Through the notes and lyrics of contemporaries Bob Childers, Tom Skinner and The Red Dirt Rangers, Boland and company recognized substance in the Red Dirt genre and let it flood through guitar picks and drumsticks as they created their first album, Pearl Snaps, in 1999.

Stillwater is considered home to Red Dirt, a blend of country, Southern rock, honky-tonk, Western swing, blues, folk and, on occasion, punk. It also was home to Childers, often called the Father of Oklahoma Red Dirt, and the place many musicians gathered to hone the distinctive sound as they jammed, family-style, on local homesteads and in bars.

Boland said the Red Dirt movement offered an alternative to the sounds of pop country.

“Commercial country music was beginning to feel the backlash, and it created an underground,” he said. “We definitely were influenced by rock, especially in our live shows. They were more cowpunk than our early records.”

Boland said traits of alt-country

bands like Uncle Tupelo and Son Volt find their way into his music, as do the cowpunk influences of Social Distortion. He also holds an affinity for English rock act Muse.

With such an eclectic amalgam of sound, Jason Boland & The Stragglers will never top modern country charts, and bandmates say they are OK with that. In fact, they pride themselves on being part of the genre’s underground.

And their roots and friendships matter. Songs not penned by Boland and his band are often written or co-written by friends like Texas country/ Red Dirt hybrid Stoney LaRue and fiddle, guitar and pedal steel master Randy Crouch, Boland said. And the band signs off on everything, even album art.

In turn, Jason Boland & The Stragglers is its own band.

Formula none

“You really have to look into the mirror and say, ‘What am I going to leave behind, my copy of what this person did?’” he said.

The formulaic structure of modern pop-country, which he also mockingly calls “bro-country,” means acts like Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan and Jake Owen often sing about drunken nights by a creek or lake with a truck or tractor and sexually available women. This “eternal summer,” as Boland called it, homogenizes the genre to the point of boredom.

In November 2014, Nashville songwriter Greg Todd produced a viral video that mashed up six bro-country hits (including one by Oklahoma’s own Blake Shelton) to form a near-seamless tune.

“There’s this conveyor belt factory mill of songwriting, and every artist’s sitting around, hoping that their label gets them the right song, written by the right eight people it took to write this new rip-off of a Top 40 pop song,” Boland said. “In the machine, it’s always a second-rate version of something that’s already been done, and done badly.”

He believes bro-country has its place but, at some point, needs to be cut off and sent home.

As repetitive as it is, it does make money. Aldean, Bryan and Owen have sold millions of albums and singles to millions of fans via heavy play on terrestrial radio and heavy label and promotional backing.

“The masses usually aren’t daring enough to say, ‘No; listen to this,’ because … it’s easier for everyone to jump up and down in unison and throw your fist,” he said. “Some people will go back and listen to a commercial flop and call it genius now or look at a band that only lasted for three or four years that everybody missed except for the 10 people who were looking for something new.”

It’s those fans, the ones who hunt for treasures in record stores and on the Internet for something not readily available through mass media, that make up a large part of The Stragglers’ following.

“Young kids who aren’t afraid to seek out their own music, old people who got left behind by pop music, cowboys who miss honky-tonk music, people with mohawks that listen to Johnny Cash’s American Recordings and Social Distortion,” he said. “I look out at our crowds and get a chuckle at who’s standing next to who.”

I look out at our crowds and get a chuckle at who’s standing next to who.

— Jason Boland

Boland wanted Squelch to sound full and rich, as if the listener was in a small club with the band. Like previous records Pearl Snaps and Dark & Dirty Mile, the album was recorded on analog equipment. No part of the music touched a computer until its pressing.

Boland likes the sound of reel-to-reel tape as well as the challenges it poses.

“You have a certain amount of tracks, and you have only one performance, not multiple performances taking the best three,” he said. “What you do is what you did.”

The band enlisted producer Jim Ward, guitarist for the band Sparta and co-founder of Texas post-hardcore band At the Drive-In. Boland felt his influence would further sharpen the album’s teeth.

The group’s next Oklahoma concerts are Nov. 27 at its 10th annual Leftover Turkey show at Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa and Nov. 28 at Wormy Dog Saloon, 311 E. Sheridan Ave. Visit thestragglers.com.

Ok l ahOma Ga z et te | oc to b e r 21 , 2015 | 41

dA rA N He r r M A N / p r ovi de d

life music

life music

Lyrical moments Drummer and multi-instrumentalist Stephen Chopek brings his guitar to Tuesday’s tour stop at Guildhaul.

p rovi de d

By Adam Holt

Stephen Chopek with Ryan Lawson and DS Yancey 8 p.m. Tuesday Guildhaul 3010 NW 23rd St. facebook.com/okguildhaul $5 donation

Stephen Chopek is many things, but unproductive is not one of them. A multi-instrumentalist, Chopek has toured worldwide — primarily as a drummer — with John Mayer, jazz guitarist Charlie Hunter and singer-songwriter Marc Broussard.

Now, however, he finds himself alone. His recently released album, Things Moving On Their Own Together, features only Chopek playing more than 10 instruments and singing. Yet, his current tour, which stops Tuesday at Guildhaul, 3010 NW 23rd St., is bare-bones and features just him and his guitar.

Chopek, 41, first delved into music as a 10-year-old in his birthplace of Rutherford, New Jersey, 10 miles west of New York City.

“Before [drums], through school programs, I had taken other instruments — piano, violin and guitar — but drums were the first instrument I had a natural inclination, any draw for,” he said.

In the following years, through private study of jazz drums and work in youth orchestras and bands, his reputation grew, and in 2001, he became a “Pearl artist” for Pearl Drums.

He studied percussion with noted jazz drummers Leon Parker and Billy Martin, a former member of jazz-funk trio Medeski, Martin & Wood. Through Parker, he landed a gig with Charlie Hunter, with whom he toured on a large scale from 2000 through 2002.

“I traveled across the country, the world, Japan, all over the place,” he said.

Afterward, he heard from Mayer, who was an up-and-coming singer-songwriter who liked his drumming and asked Chopek to join him. They toured, and Chopek appears on Mayer’s 2002 live album Any Given Thursday.

From there, Chopek found himself behind the drum kit for music acts like Marc Broussard, Jesse Malin and The Alternate Routes. While touring with Malin, he was inspired to look into serious guitar playing.

“His approach to the guitar just made sense to me,” Chopek said. “Watching

42 | oc to b e r 21 , 2015 | Ok l ah oma Ga z et te

Stephen Chopek

him play guitar, I was able to relate to some of the things I was working on at the time playing guitar. His playing … supported the lyrics of the song.”

Until that time, the guitar was an instrument Chopek strummed here and there. He revisited previous, half-hearted songwriting he scribbled into notebooks.

“Up until that point, I would put a song together, a chord progression, but when it came to writing and singing lyrics on my own … the process stopped,” he said. “Around that time, I made a commitment to work on a song from start to finish.”

With a small catalogue of new songs, in 2008 and 2009, Chopek and his guitar took to full-time busking, or public performance for gratuities, in New York City subways. Those sessions taught him the importance of dedication and persistence.

“You’re performing, but it’s also a good time to practice; practice guitar, practice the ways to sing,” he said. “At the end of the day, I would have been singing four to six hours. It was like a workout.”

The performances led to his first solo release, 2012’s See Through, a 12-song album comprised of only vocals and guitars. The minimalist approach helped him concentrate on his newfound love.

“Songwriting was still pretty new to me, singing was still pretty new to me and I just wanted to focus on that,” he said. “I wanted to step outside of the role of being a drummer.”

In 2013, he was drumming in The Everymen. The band could not make a scheduled show in Atlanta, and always one to be productive, Chopek asked the venue if he could play solo. He then scheduled an impromptu 10-date tour

from New Jersey to Atlanta and back. It was a success.

“I enjoyed it. I soon as I got back, I scheduled a fall tour,” he said.

Chopek is currently touring for his latest release, Things Moving On Their Own Together. The 14-song album includes two previously released EPs and four new songs.

His philosophy for the creation of Together is much different than it was for See Through. The minimalist approach is gone with multi-instrumental Chopek performing guitar, drums, harmonica, synthesizer and more on the new release.

He also entered the sessions without finished products in mind.

“Going into the studio, I had the guitar parts and the lyrics written, but as far as drum parts and other instrumentation, I kind of did that stuff in the studio, more in real time. I didn’t pre-plan,” Chopek said.

1990s indie rock bands like The Pixies and Dinosaur Jr. influence his style.

The vocals and the overdriven 16th-note strummed guitar on the song “Systematic Collapse” is reminiscent of Guided by Voices, another Chopek favorite. He also said musicians from the roots of rock and roll, like Muddy Waters and Buddy Holly, have made their mark on his style.

Chopek said past experiences, such as writing See Through, playing in subways and touring, led him to be more confident going into the studio for Together.

“I was relaxed as far as letting the songs breathe a little more,” he said. “I’m very satisfied with the way it came out.

There are thoughts of growth for me as a person, as a songwriter and as a musician from the album.”

Drive, Baker Street Pub & Grill. ROCK Edgar Cruz/Jeff Nokes, Avanti Bar & Grill. ACOUSTIC Grant Wells, Skirvin Hilton Hotel. JAZZ

Cosmic Wool/Cobrajab/SplifLifter, Blue Note Lounge.

ROCK Daniel Jordan, Fuze Buffet & Bar. ACOUSTIC DJ Rodney Ladd, Colcord Hotel. VARIOUS DJ Six, Russell’s, Tower Hotel. VARIOUS Hosty Duo, Belle Isle Restaurant & Brewery. ROCK John Arnold Band, Thunderbird Casino. COUNTRY

Hotel Books/Bad Luck, 89th Street Collective. VARIOUS

Jose Hernandez & The Black Magic Waters, 51st Street Speakeasy. ROCK

Maurice Johnson, R&J Lounge and Supper Club.

Midas 13, Alley Club. ROCK

S. Reidy/Cadency, Moe’s Hookah Bar Norman. HIP-HOP

Patrice Pike & Eliza Gilkyson, The Blue Door. SINGER/ SONGWRITER

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

THURSDAY, OCT. 22 Brent Saulsbury/Will Galbraith/Wayne Duncan, Friends Restaurant & Club. ROCK Britt Nicole, Wormy Dog Saloon. SINGER/SONGWRITER Haterade, Subsonix at the Market. ELECTRONIC He Is Legend/Must Be The Holy Ghost, 89th Street Collective. ROCK

RPM, Riverwind Casino, Norman. ROCK Sunny Ledfurd, Wormy Dog Saloon. ROCK Troy Hardin, Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill. COUNTRY

SATURDAY, OCT. 24 Aaron Newman Band, Tapwerks Ale House & Cafe. FOLK Dave Ramirez, The Blue Door. SINGER/SONGWRITER Deuces Wild, Baker Street Pub & Grill. COVER

LUCKY, Colcord Hotel. COVER

DJ Josh Tullis, Colcord Hotel. ELECTRONIC

Peelander-Z/Your Mom, Opolis, Norman. PUNK

Don and Melodee Johnson, Twelve Oaks. FOLK

Replay, Baker Street Pub & Grill. COVER

Dylan LeBlanc, The Blue Door. SINGER/SONGWRITER

Taddy Porter/Los CAMINOS/Turbo Wizard, Blue Note Lounge. ROCK

Hosty Duo, The Deli, Norman. ROCK

Uncle Lucius, Grady’s 66 Pub. ROCK Walk the Moon/Holy Child, Diamond Ballroom. POP

FRIDAY, OCT. 23 Avenue, Baker Street Pub & Grill. COVER Blitzen Trapper, Opolis, Norman. FOLK

JAS oN QUi GL e Y / p rovi de d

LIVE MUSIC WEDNESDAY, OCT. 21

JB & The Moonshine Band, Wormy Dog Saloon. COUNTRY

Blitzen trapper

Kali Ra/Christ the Scientist/Kill the Reflection, Blue Note Lounge. VARIOUS Kristen Stehr, Riverwind Casino, Norman. COUNTRY

OKG

LUCKY, Newcastle Casino. COVER

music

pick

Midas 13, Alley Club. ROCK Replay, Remington Park. COVER

Born Cages, 89th Street Collective. ROCK

Tall Tales, Magic and Majesty, Civic Center Music Hall.

VIOLIN

Casey & Minna, Jazmo’z Bourbon St. Cafe. FOLK

Urban Addiction, Russell’s, Tower Hotel. POP

Blitzen trapper friday

Experimental country-folk quintet Blitzen Trapper hits Norman on Friday for a tour stop to support its latest album release, All Across This Land. Doors open 8 p.m.; showtime is 10 p.m. at Opolis, 113 N. Crawford Ave., in Norman. The Domestics open the show. Guests must be 21 or over. Tickets are $15-$18. Visit opolis.org.

Cole Porter Band, Grady’s 66 Pub. COUNTRY

SUNDAY, OCT. 25

LUCKY/Shaun Suttle, Skirvin Hilton Hotel. COVER The Ongoing Concept, 89th Street Collective. CHRISTIAN

Casey & Minna, Uptown Grocery Co. FOLK

Josh Qualls, Colcord Hotel. Various

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 28

Mike Hosty One Man Band, The Deli, Norman. ROCK

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

New Years Day/Get Scared, 89th Street Collective. ROCK

Grant Wells, Skirvin Hilton Hotel. JAZZ

Scott Lowber/Will Galbraith/Rick Toops, Friends Restaurant & Club. COVER

Maurice Johnson, R&J Lounge and Supper Club. VARIOUS

Fruit Bats, Opolis, Norman. ROCK

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

Wake the Sun/MATAS, Blue Note Lounge. VARIOUS

MONDAY, OCT. 26 Rick Toops, Friends Restaurant & Club. ROCK

Peelander-z, Opolis, Norman, thursday

provided

Sound of Ceres, Opolis, Norman. POP

TUESDAY, OCT. 27 Halloween Spooktacular: School Spirits, UCO Jazz Lab Edmond. CLASSICAL

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.

Ok l ahOma Ga z et te | oc to b e r 21 , 2015 | 4 3

M A R K HA N COC K

LIFE FILM

District scream OKC Horror Fest wraps up another year with a surprise film showing and party on Tuesday.

BY PAUL FAIRCHILD

OKC Horror Fest 6:30 p.m. Tuesday District House 1755 NW 16th St. facebook.com/OkcFilmClub 633-1775 Free

OKC Film Club’s Horror Fest might be the only place in town where you can openly, loudly and unabashedly yell at a movie screen, “Don’t go in there!”

The monthlong event wraps up Tuesday with a Wes Craven tribute and party hosted by OKC Film Club and Nerdy Girls OKC. “We just want people to have a good time,” said OKC Film Club co-founder Alex Palmer. “We love horror films.”

OKC Film Club wants people to know there’s more to Romero than the Night of the Living Dead series (which also was featured earlier this month).

Palmer founded the event two years ago as VHS Horror Fest and thought it would be fun to show lesser-known titles that were only playable on a VCR. However, he hadn’t anticipated the difficulty of finding the antiquated video tape players, and getting them to cooperate with modern projection equipment proved even more difficult.

Despite the trouble, Palmer knew he was on to something. Horror Fest 2013 brought in a fun-loving crowd.

He decided to keep the festival but ditch the old-school tech.

Fans of the genre often return multiple nights and multiple years.

Joel Hacker started watching horror films at a young age with his father, much to the chagrin of his mother.

Hacker said he enjoys the opportunity to revisit his childhood, this time on the big screen.

4 4 | OC TO B E R 21 , 2015 | OK L AHOMA GA Z ET TE

“The first night, they screened Dead Alive,” he said. “A lot of people hadn’t seen it before … It got a great audience reaction.”

OKC Film Club co-founder Patrick Crain, who Palmer refers to as “the human film encyclopedia,” also fell in love with the genre as a kid. Growing up with asthma, he spent a lot of time in the house, and movies were his primary form of entertainment. He saw John Carpenter’s The Thing when he was 8 and Halloween and Friday the 13th not long after that.

“As an art form, [the genre is] important because horror basically reflects the psychological mood of our society. They always have, even from the early days in the 1930s, when the Universal monsters came around,” he said. “As an art form, [it] reflects our society’s inner fears and our anxieties — more so, I think, than any other genre.”

For Tuesday’s event, the film club decided to keep the lead film a surprise and would only call it a “Wes Craven tribute film.”

“We like to keep one of the movies a surprise. It’s fun for the audience,” Palmer said. “Even though I have an idea about what’s showing, it’s fun to walk into a theater not knowing what’s going to be on that screen.”

The night also includes costume and horror trivia contests, both with prizes. Entry is free, said OKC Film Club co-founder Eric King.

“This is a community where you show up, you watch a double feature, like in the old days, when you’d have The Wolf Man and then Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man,” King said. “It’s something I always wanted to be a part of, but I’ve never seen that in the city.”

COM PASS I N TE RN ATI ON A L P I C T UR E S / P R OVI DE D

Cutting horror John Carpenter’s 1978 classic Halloween — and killer Michael Myers — returns to theaters for a one-night screening event.

Halloween

BY JAMES BENJAMIN

7:30 p.m. Oct. 29 AMC Quail Springs Mall 24 2501 W. Memorial Road fathomevents.com $15

As any fan of the classic Halloween horror series knows, Michael Myers just can’t stay away for long. For most of us, it’s no surprise that that one of Hollywood’s most twisted killers returns to his beginnings as the original 1978 film returns to theaters for a special screening Thursday at AMC Quail Springs Mall 24.

The project is a partnership between SpectiCast and Fathom Events, a company that offers a variety

of theater screening events, from classic comedies to live boxing matches and concerts.

Tuesday’s showing will be preceded by an introduction from director John Carpenter, said Kymberli Frueh, Fathom’s vice president of programming.

Recently, Fathom also joined with Turner Classic Movies for a screening of the original Dracula. (See our OKG Picks on P. 18 for more information.)

Last year, the company organized a viewing of the 1931 film Frankenstein.

“There has been a lot of hype and fan interest about the screening of John Carpenter’s Halloween so far, so we are expecting to see a lot of people come out to the theaters,” she said.

One of the main draws of this event

will be Carpenter’s introduction, filmed specifically for cinema audiences. In the intro, he will offer insight into the making of the classic. In addition to directing Myers’ debut, Carpenter also scored Halloween and is responsible for creating its highly recognizable and jilting piano theme.

John Carpenter’s Halloween will be shown in many U.S. cities at 7:30 p.m. local time Thursday.

“We expect to reach a wide variety of audiences with this event,” Frueh said. “Halloween appeals not only to older fans who [saw] it in theaters originally but also to newer audiences who are seeing it for the first time on the big screen. Iconic fright-night titles are a part of our Halloween culture, and this one is a true classic.”

Frueh said she is excited about this event and added that guests can expect high-definition picture and sound.

She also said the screening is the perfect fright-filled event for the season.

“There is a sense of camaraderie in watching a classic feature on the big screen together,” she said. “The theater is packed with fellow fans who are just as excited as you are. You walk into a theater completely anonymous to the strangers around you, but once you share a couple of scary scenes together and the emotion that goes with them, you become a community.”

Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at the AMC box office and online at fathomevents.com.

U NIVE RSAL / PROVIDED

John Carpenter’s Halloween

Crimson creep Guillermo del Toro’s latest film exceeds expectations.

BY BRITTANY PICKERING

I hate scary movies. I’m one of those people who covers her eyes and tries to distract herself when previews filled with ghosts, serial killers, psychopaths or demons pop up on the screen, interrupt my TV binge-watching and make me jump. I’ve even had nightmares after seeing a preview.

I hate scary movies, but I loved Guillermo del Toro’s new gothic masterpiece Crimson Peak.

Edith Cushing, played perfectly by Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland), is the slightly naive but intelligent young daughter of an industrialist in Buffalo, New York. She’s also an aspiring author who reveres Mary Shelley and just happens to be able to see ghosts. She meets Thomas Sharpe, an unusual, haunted young baronet somewhat stiffly played by Tom Hiddleston (Only Lovers Left Alive) while he is trying to convince her father to invest in his red clay mines.

Charlie Hunnam is Alan McMichael, Edith’s childhood friend

Crimson Peak

who disapproves of her interest in Sharpe and, frankly, isn’t in the film long enough. It’s a different role for Hunnam after his years on Sons of Anarchy, and it would have been nice to see more of him in this setting.

After a small amount of public scandal, a murder and a second terrifying warning to “beware of Crimson Peak” from beyond the grave, Edith marries Sharpe and moves in with him and his restrained, mysterious sister Lucille (Jessica Chastain; Zero Dark Thirty) in their sinking mansion, Allerdale Hall, in Cumbria, England.

Edith learns Allerdale Hall is commonly called Crimson Peak only after she begins seeing strange things and asks if anyone has died there. The house slowly reveals its secrets and enables Edith to unravel the terrible history hiding within its walls along with the red clay.

The screenplay, written by del Toro and Matthew Robbins (Mimic, *batteries not included), is superb for a horror story.

There were a few lines that verged too close to gimmick territory, but the film wasn’t so full of ghosts and jump-out-ofyour skin moments that viewers became desensitized or bored halfway through.

When there was gore, it wasn’t unrealistic and it didn’t take over the story.

Del Toro is a director known for visually intricate films like Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy and Pacific Rim, and Crimson Peak didn’t disappoint. The sets are excellent — del Toro made sure the non-haunted settings are pristine, colorful and full of snotty, uninteresting socialites and Allerdale Hall is dusty, decrepit and void of life. He even managed to include small, intricate details and clues for viewers paying close attention — the wallpaper at Allerdale is all mothpatterned, and the house dog is a Papillon (French for “butterfly”). The costumes are nuanced, parallel the characters’ personalities and help pull viewers into the time period.

You don’t go to a del Toro film

expecting cheap special effects, and del Toro outdid himself in terms of inventiveness. His ghosts were creepy and unlike any I have seen onscreen; they are made of bones, swimming auras and more humanity than is comfortable in something so morose and are themselves visibly haunted by their deaths. The industrial-age inventions — working models of machinery, early electricity, projected photographs and voice recordings — manage to captivate a modern audience that spends its days bored while staring at a level of technology only dreamed of 100 years ago.

Despite my hatred of all things frightening and a few questionable decisions involving accents and the movement of the red clay, Crimson Peak is superb. If you want to see a quality horror film with an actually engaging story, go see this movie — even if you don’t really like scary movies or their previews.

OK L AHOMA GA Z ET TE | OC TO B E R 21 , 2015 | 45

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY Homework: Send pictures of your favorite scarecrows or descriptions of your dreams of protection to me at Truthrooster@gmail.com.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) According to the online etymological dictionary, the verb “fascinate” entered the English language in the 16th century. It was derived from the Middle French fasciner and the Latin fascinatus, which are translated as “bewitch, enchant, put under a spell.” In the 19th century, “fascinate” expanded in meaning to include “delight, attract, hold the attention of.” I suspect you will soon have experiences that could activate both senses of “fascinate.” My advice is to get the most out of your delightful attractions without slipping into bewitchment. Is that even possible? It will require you to exercise fine discernment, but yes, it is.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) One of the largest machines in the world is a “bucket wheel excavator” in Kazakhstan. It’s a saw that weighs 45,000 tons and has a blade the size of a four-story building. If you want to slice through a mountain, it’s perfect for the job. Indeed, that’s what it’s used for over in Kazakhstan. Right now, Taurus, I picture you as having a metaphorical version of this equipment.

That’s because I think you have the power to rip open a clearing through a massive obstruction that has been in your way.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock did a daily ritual to remind him of life’s impermanence. After drinking his tea each morning, he flung both cup and saucer over his shoulder, allowing them to smash on the floor. I don’t recommend that you adopt a comparable custom for long-term use, but it might be healthy and interesting to do so for now. Are you willing to outgrow and escape your old containers? Would you consider diverging from formulas that have always worked for you? Are there any unnecessary taboos that need to be broken? Experiment with the possible blessings that might come by not clinging to the illusion of “permanence.”

CANCER (June 21-July 22) Terence was a comic playwright in ancient Rome.

He spoke of love in ways that sound modern. It can be capricious and weird, he said. It may provoke indignities and rouse difficult emotions. Are you skilled at debate? Love requires you to engage in strenuous discussions. Peace may break out in the midst of war, and vice versa. Terence’s conclusion: If you seek counsel regarding the arts of love, you may as well be asking for advice on how to go mad.

I won’t argue with him. He makes good points.

But I suspect that in the coming weeks you will be excused from most of those crazy-making aspects.

The sweet and smooth sides of love will predominate.

Uplift and inspiration are more likely than angst and bewilderment. Take advantage of the grace period!

Put chaos control measures in place for the next time Terence’s version of love returns.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) In the coming weeks, you will have a special relationship with the night. When the sun goes down, your intelligence will intensify, as will your knack for knowing what’s really important and what’s not. In the darkness, you will have an enhanced capacity to make sense of murky matters lurking in the shadows.

You will be able to penetrate deeper than usual, and get to the bottom of secrets and mysteries that have kept you off-balance. Even your grimy fears may be transformable if you approach them with a passion for redemption.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) New friends and unexpected teachers are in your vicinity, with more candidates on the way. There may even be potential comrades who could eventually become flexible collaborators and catalytic guides.

Will you be available for the openings they offer? Will you receive them with fire in your heart and mirth in your eyes? I worry that you may not be ready if you are too preoccupied with old friends and familiar teachers.

So please make room for surprises.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) More than any other sign, you have an ability to detach yourself from life’s flow and analyze its complexities

with cool objectivity. This is mostly a good thing. It enhances your power to make rational decisions. On the other hand, it sometimes devolves into a liability.

You may become so invested in your role as observer that you refrain from diving into life’s flow. You hold yourself apart from it, avoiding both its messiness and vitality. But I don’t foresee this being a problem in the coming weeks. In fact, I bet you will be a savvy watcher even as you’re almost fully immersed in the dynamic flux.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) Are you an inventor? Is it your specialty to create novel gadgets and machines? Probably not. But in the coming weeks you may have metaphorical resemblances to an inventor. I suspect you will have an enhanced ability to dream up original approaches and find alternatives to conventional wisdom. You may surprise yourself with your knack for finding ingenious solutions to long-standing dilemmas. To prime your instincts, I’ll provide three thoughts from inventor Thomas Edison. 1. “To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk.” 2. “Just because something doesn’t do what you planned it to do doesn’t mean it’s useless.” 3. “Everything comes to those who hustle while they wait.”

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) Some unraveling is inevitable. What has been woven together must now be partially unwoven. But please refrain from thinking of this mysterious development as a setback. Instead, consider it an opportunity to reexamine and redo any work that was a bit hasty or sloppy. Be glad you will get a second chance to fix and refine what wasn’t done quite right the first time.

In fact, I suggest you preside over the unraveling yourself. Don’t wait for random fate to accomplish it.

And for best results, formulate an intention to regard everything that transpires as a blessing.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) “A waterfall would be more impressive if it flowed the other way,” said Irish author Oscar Wilde. I appreciate the wit, but don’t agree with him. A plain old ordinary waterfall, with foamy surges continually plummeting over a precipice and crashing below, is sufficiently

impressive for me. What about you, Capricorn? In the coming days, will you be impatient and frustrated with plain old ordinary marvels and wonders? Or will you be able to enjoy them just as they are?

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) Years ago, I moved into a rental house with my new girlfriend, whom I had known for six weeks. As we fell asleep the first night, a song played in my head: “Nature’s Way,” by the band Spirit. I barely knew it and had rarely thought of it before. And yet there it was, repeating its first line over and over: “It’s nature’s way of telling you something’s wrong.” Being a magical thinker, I wondered if my unconscious mind was telling me a secret about my love. But I rejected that possibility; it was too painful to contemplate. When we broke up a few months later, however, I wished I had paid attention to that early alert. I mention this, Aquarius, because I suspect your unconscious mind will soon provide you with a wealth of useful information, not just through song lyrics but other subtle signals, as well. Listen up! At least some of it will be good news, not cautionary like mine.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) When I advise you to GET NAKED, I don’t mean it in a literal sense. Yes, I will applaud if you’re willing to experiment with brave acts of self-revelation. I will approve of you taking risks for the sake of the raw truth. But getting arrested for indecent exposure might compromise your ability to carry out those noble acts.

So, no, don’t actually take off all your clothes and wander through the streets. Instead, surprise everyone with brilliant acts of surrender and vulnerability.

Gently and sweetly and poetically tell the Purveyors of Unholy Repression to take their boredom machine and shove it up their humdrum.

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.

HANDYWOMAN

Roofing - new & repairs Paint - interior/exterior and remodeling 722-7004

NW OKC Historical Area

Charmingly furnished 1 bd apt, utilities paid $450/mo + $200 dep. Single only. No pets

2643 NW 11th • 524-5566

QUAIL SPRINGS CONDOS Large 1 bed, 1 bath condo, walk-in closet. Covered parking, patio, w&d, gated, water & cable paid. $710/month + deposit. No pets. 878-6440

Real Estate Auction 5 Good Ranching & Hunting Properties in Beckham County Near Hext & Erick

Quail Creek Executive Home

1 & 2 BEDROOM LUXURY CONDOS approx. 900 sq ft. $850 a month all appliances + w.d. • no pets • non smoking

4 lg beds, 3 lg living areas, 3.1 baths, updated cooks kitchen, almost 4000 s.f. $2800 mo includes year round yard care.

Call Scotty Mandel,SMCO Realtors - 495.4405

NW OKC • 405.615.2002

EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY

All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968, which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, national origin or an intention to make any such preference, limitation, preference or discrimination.

This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of this law. Our readers are hereby informed that all dwellings in . our newspaper are available on an equal housing opportunity basis 46 | OC TO B E R 21 , 2015 | OK L AHOMA GA Z ET TE

Saturday, Nov. 7th 10:00 am • Sayre, OK

For brochure call 580-225-6743 www.genecobbauction.com

11TH ANNUAL

Terror on 10th Street

haunted house 2005 NW 10TH ST OKC 2 MILES WEST OF BRICKTOWN

OCT 23, 24, 25, 28, 29, 30, 31 & NOV 1

405.232.1816 | $10 PER PERSON | 7-11PM

NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR WET PANTS

P H O N E (4 0 5 ) 5 2 8 - 6 0 0 0 | E - M A I L : A D V E R T I S I N G @ T I E R R A M E D I A G R O U P. C O M

405.470.1177 • 5821 W. Wilshire, OKC

LIC # - OCC - 13270 THIS IS A MODEL

Stronglite MaSSage table for Sale Case and bolster included Call 405.408.0258 for more info & pricing no calls between 11a.m.-8:30p.m.

Kathy Christian 405.229.3351

We Relax Massage

405.605.0858

• Petra’s Massage • VOTED TOP 5 MASSAGE BUSINESS IN OKLAHOMA

• $35 FOR 1 HOUR MASSAGE • Lic. 03439

THIS IS A MODEL

I-40 & Meridian Open 7 days

Lic#BUS-16053

classifieds

To make an appointment call

1019 S Meridian Ave Oklahoma City

Daisy Spa

3013 NW 63RD ST. CALL 205-4876 FOR APPOINTMENT

Health ADDICTED TO...

Heroin? Methadone?

Pain Pills?

WE CAN HELP! Call 753-4994 for a free evaluation 2301 W I-44 Service Rd. • Floor 3 Walk-ins Welcome Monday-Friday 8am-12pm

Combo Massage $40/hr

Need to Rehearse?

OPIATE ADDICTION TREATMENT

30 MIN. FOOT & 30 MIN. BACK

20/hour – PA included

$

DOWNTOWNMUSICBOX.COM

405-285-8098 • Open 7 Days Joy Foot Massage 301 S. Bryant Ave. • Ste. 120 • Edmond, OK 73034

Facial & Massage Therapist Call for Appt. 213-7745 $10 - Beginning Hot Yoga Wednesdays at 6:30pm and Sundays at 10am

OCC-09708

DOWNTOWN MUSIC BOX | 405-232-2099

Men welcome • 5959 NW Expressway Ste E

Peony

Day Spa

LIC # - OCC. 13811

Chinese Massage

Open 7 Days

405-286-9710

7338 N May Ave. • OKC OK 73116

· Addicted to pain pills? Heroin? · Want to get off Methadone?

HELP IS A PHONE CALL AWAY

405-525-2222

Check for daily specials

5005 N. Rockwell • 405.603.5300 Lic. 100895

Now Accepting New Patients!

This is a model

Advertise in Gazette’s

Heroin Kills!

Parents! Prevent your child’s death.

We can help. Become a patient today!

Medical assisted treatMent: Certified Therapeutic

subutex, suboxone, Bunavail & Zubsolv Make your appointment today

405.602.1024 | NO WAIT! Advertise in the Gazette’s

Lic. BUS-16395

THIS IS A MODEL

Certified Therapeutic

CHINESE SPIRIT SPA

2206 A N.W. 164TH • 405.509.6021

classifieds

405.528.6000

Health

405.528.6000

OK L AHOMA GA Z ET TE | OC TO B E R 21 , 2015 | 47

The BMW X3

www.cooperbmw.com

CRUISE THE ROAD. OR THE WEB. THE BMW X3.

Get away. Stay connected. Now it’s easier than ever with optional ConnectedDrive Services, Real Time Traffic Information, and apps like Twitter and Spotify.*

X3 xDrive28i | $469/month*

Z4 sDrive28i | $499/month*

X5 xDrive35i | $679/month*

328i xDrive Gran Turismo | $369/month*

528i Sedan | $449/month*

320i Sedan | $279/month*

14145 North Broadway Extension Edmond, OK 73013 | 866.925.9885

IMPORTS 2016 X3 sDrive28i, 36-month lease, $3000 down, MSRP $45,845, Standard Terms 2016 Z4 sDrive28i, 36-month lease, $3000 down, MSRP $52,695, Standard Terms 2016 X5 xDrive35i, 36-month lease, $3500 down, MSRP $62,595, Standard Terms

BMW

2015 328i xDrive Gran Turismo, 36-month lease, $3000 down, MSRP $46,345, Standard Terms 2015 528i Sedan, 36-month lease, $3000 down, MSRP $52,745, Standard Terms 2015 320i Sedan, 36-month lease, $3000 down, MSRP $35,345, Standard Terms

Web: www.cooperbmw.com Email: rkeitz@cooperautogroup.com Standard terms & Tag, Tax. 1st Payment, Aquisition fee, processing fee WAC *See dealership for details — offers subject to change without prior notice.