PHOTOGRAPHS
Party Pics by Wesley Winston Cox & Fine Creative Shots by Les Phénixes

One of my favorite local restaurants is Desi Wok located at 41st and Yale. My wife loves the Tiki Massala and so do I.

Today as I was rollin’ through to pick up some food from Desi Wok, I stopped to talk to one of the guys who works there.

After a short conversation with him he was telling me about a band that he was a member of “Society Society” - he told me to look up their My Space page when I got home, so I did.

myspace.com/societysociety

From what he told me they are all experienced musicians and hip to the music game. They formed a Hip Hop band (it has plent of Rock as well) and have been getting some great gigs - he told me with a grin “We are opening for Afro Man, which should be fun . . .”

After checking their My Space page and their only released single, I followed up with an email to him telling him I was interested in shooting their music video and then immediately posted this.

They have a gig coming up this weekend. If you are into local music and dig Hip Hop/Rock, I would say they are definitely worth checking out.

Over one thousand Miami residents waited to apply for one of the 35 open positions in the Miami Fire Department. Some had camped out for over two days. It was a scene right out of the movie “Invincible”, all 1,200 applicants hoping to play the role of Vince Papale.

This is the first time in ten years the MFD has openly accepted applications.

With the possibility of a stable job looming on the horizon many arrived early Saturday morning to stake a claim in line. There were those that brought lawn chairs, others sleeping bags, and an overwhelming amount brought nothing more than anxiety and fear induced by a flailing economy. True colors were shown by most as information was spread that only the first 750 applications were going to be taken.

The front of the line was secured at 5 AM, Saturday (50 hours earlier) by Alejandro Valdez. When asked about his urban camping trip Valdez replied, ” It was freezing Saturday night, and it was raining last night, and then, during the day, it was hot.”

The consensus among those waiting was that despite the lengthy line and less than ideal weather, enduring the elements was worth it to possibly safeguard a future for themselves and those dependent upon them.

Even though the Cinderella story of flight 1519 might be the one chosen for a movie by Hollywood, any of the 35 applicants selected for duty in the MFD might disagree when asked which course of events has given them hope for the future.

Local social juggernaut Rania Nasreddine hosted the 2009 Super Bowl (of Chili) at her home near “The Ranch” at 51st and Sheridan Sunday night. The event was a Super Bowl party AND a chili cook off. Rania’s home was stuffed with Tulsan’s eager to down some chili and take in the Super Bowl.

The streets leading up to Rania’s house were packed with cars and my unofficial headcount put around 100 people at the event. From creatives to professionals it was a veritable who’s who of young Tulsanites.

02-01-09 2009 Super Bowl (of Chili) from Wesley Cox on Vimeo.

Full Photo Album / Flickr Set here

Featured Photos:

During the proceedings on Thursday the former Governor gave a 47 minute appeal to his colleagues covering every facet of his life from fetching coffee in Washington D.C. to proclaiming his innocence, all was delivered in an Academy Award winning fashion.

This seemed to have no affect on the outcome for “Blago” as the final vote read 59-0. “They pitched a shutout” the impeached politician said after his hearing when asked about the unanimous vote. He then made comparisons between himself, Ghandi, Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela.

Immediately after the hearing the media followed and swarmed the former Governor outside his home as he went on to say, “If they can do this to me they can do this to you.”

The cautionary words seemed to fall on deaf ears as the immediate questions to follow all revolved around whether Mr. Blagojevich ever considered resigning or his plans to write a book.

At one point “Blago” quit answering questions, serpentined through the crowd and directed the photographers to capture a moment between himself and the children he had just found to exploit. It was a photo-op right out of the Nixon playbook. When the reporters responded by telling him that the parents of the minors needed to be present to give consent “Blago” took it in stride.

After about thirty minutes the sideshow came to an end and the first impeached Governor in twenty years parted the crowd and made his way up the drive to his house…….. But not before asking the coven of reporters if they would show up to cover him if he had something to say. The overwhelming response from the crowd of journalist was nothing more than a collection laughs and sighs of relief that the days of covering this absurd story had come to an end

In this weeks post we will be discussing brothels.

Now please try to imagine (or remember) a time before cell phones, pagers and the internet. Now for the sake of this article try to imagine you are back in this pre-technological age, and you are a “john”. You’re out and about, you’re looking for action, some excitement, the thrill of a lifetime. Without the ability to drunk dial and order brides from overseas you would think hope was far from alive and well in Tulsa, in all actuality nothing could be farther from the truth. Spanning at least 10 years was a call-in escort service which operated out of a building in the approximate location that Empire Bar now stands. The process was simple, you would dial “RIDESHY“, a machine would pick up and you would leave a message. If those who screened the messages felt you were a potential threat or a police officer they would simply not respond. This racket ran through the 60’s and 70’s until it was finally shut down.

The next featured brothel holds a record for the longest running operation of its kind. The magic began in 1936 when Pauline Lambert began the May Rooms. It was located at 326 1/2 east 1st street. The empire grew into four hotels, all of which gave service with a smile, as well as happy endings. The business thrived over forty years until 1979 when Madam Pauline was finally arrested and the brothels closed. It’s rumored she was able to keep her business running so long without police raids because many city officials were regular clients. There is now a May Rooms Gallery of art located at 328 east 1st street.

Hopefully this brief lesson in the history of our local sex trade has moved and inspired you to taking up arms in the fight against our oppressor. Hopefully this has opened the eyes and given a dream to some young entrepreneur and given Tulsa its next Pauline Lambert.

Until Next Time!

As I lived in Tulsa longer, Lower Brookside to be exact, I started to realize what a hot place Brookside was. That businesses south of the highway claimed to be in Brookside and that the borders of Brookside were somewhat debatable. Then a couple of years ago I heard someone refer to “Upper Brookside.” Which was the first time I had heard anyone ever describe a sub-district of Brookside. In fact I believe I remember a friend scoffing at the fact that someone would describe their area of Brookside UPPER BROOKSIDE, as if it were pompous.

All of that is what has led to this post, which I feel is the ultimate district breakdown of Brookside, Tulsa Oklahoma. So now, if you would, please honor me by referring to Brookside according to the sub districts that I have outlined below.

Click this image to see a larger version of this map.

Feel free to leave feedback and comments about my breakdown if you see room for improvement or refinement. I have the layered PSD so I can easily update this map.

The building has been cited for violation of fire, electrical and plumbing codes as well as collapsed ceilings and evidence of trespassing and other possible criminal activity. The city had assessed a $1,000 fine each day since August 2007 until a Tulsa County judge awarded the city a $331,815 civil judgment in October for the unpaid charges.

The current owner, Carl J. Marony, of California picked the property up for around $125k sources say and has not done a thing with it. Rather than put it to good use he has opted to negligently let it sit unattended while homeless people smashed their way in and desecrate the structure.

A neighboring building manager, who opted to stay off the record, shared that he had made numerous attempts to assist the situation. From purchasing the building to forming a partnership, Marony has been quite unreasonable in his opinion. His asking price is said to be $3 million for the building in its current state, which is a huge exaggeration based on the current condition and occupancy in the neighboring buildings.

The building was designed by Bruce Goff, noted Oklahoma architect, for his Art Deco and Modern designs and is highly regarded for its original Art Deco design and downtown location. Built in 1927, it was home to the once prestigious Tulsa Club and Tulsa Chamber of Commerce, who had originally commissioned the project.

Something refreshing about the throng of artgoers was the mixed bag of age brackets. There was no particular demographic on display this particular night, as is usually the case with more traditional institutions, and most everyone seemed to be familiar with the crowd in attendance, indicating a tightly knit creative community.

The color on the wall was courtesy of the aforementioned artist, and while the illustrations were a familiar genre for anyone who’s ever ventured outside of Tulsa, the technicality and vibrancy of Mr. Rogers work did not disappoint. At times the work represented a style reminiscent of Sailor Jerry tattoos, or even popular body art in general. Stylistically, the vernacular also included motifs from both Asian and Spanish-Catholic cultures as made evident by the depiction of dragons and effeminate skull and cloak characters.

Although the work on display was already familiar territory for the urban art scene, the one recurring element that really impressed was a faux-wood grain effect that HEK brought to life by creating a lively maze of delicate strokes that would ebb and flow across the page. Anyone who bothered to stay awake during their art history course in college would likely compare this treatment to the woodcut masterpieces of old, and they would be right. More than a couple of compositions showcased this gorgeous effect and I marveled at each of them.

While rubbing shoulders with the patronage, a dialog commonly overheard was how much Tulsa needed more places like this. That sentiment can’t be overstated. One correlation that’s constantly being reaffirmed is between the health of a community and the vibrancy of it’s art crowd. Tulsa, like many comparable cities, is looking to integrate itself with the progressive 21st century mindset of the more metropolitan areas.

Those who forego the trite migration to NYC in favor of making a community of their own right here in T-Town should be applauded for not giving in to one of our more prevalent cultural cliches. There is nothing stopping Tulsa from becoming a scale model of the notable metro areas scattered along the coast, and although such a transformation will take many more years, it’s apparent that we are heading in that direction.

The new Loose Leaf Gallery and all of the other haunts that make up the bohemian-like pockets of Cherry St., Brookside, Blue Dome & Brady will continue to sprawl, consume and enrich the outlying areas. I look forward to the coming years in North Tulsa and Loose Leaf is just one more reason to maintain faith in that direction.

Interested in experiencing Loose Leaf? Make your way over to 328 E. 1st ST. in downtown, just North of all the Blue Dome attractions. You’ll be glad you did.

- Trevor_B