August: Osage County Arrives in Tulsa

Urban Tulsa Weekly arts writer Holly Wall put together a set of stories on the debut of native Tulsan Tracy Letts' August: Osage County for the Jan. 21 edition and let me tell you, it has me all excited in a my-family-is-dysfunctional-too! sort of way.

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Spectator Sport

If there's one thing we Okies are nutty about, it's lake-goin' season. But now that that's over, we're donning our orange, crimson or hurricane blue from head to toe (sometimes to ill effect, especially when body paint is involved), only to better enjoy spectating in our other best-loved pastime.

Read the rest of this story in Consumer Watchdog in this week's edition of Urban Tulsa Weekly.

Get on the Bus

I've talked to a lot of folks over the past couple of years about our public transit system here in Tulsa.

While patronizing everything from local clothing boutiques to local farms is glamorous in a town that's riding a serious wave of citizen patriotism, riding the bus with Tulsa Transit is far from being as good as being seen dining at Elote.

Read the rest of this story in Consumer Watchdog in this week's edition of Urban Tulsa Weekly.

What to Do in Tulsa This Weekend

This weekend is looking like it's gonna be a soggy one, but that's no excuse to sit inside on your behonkus from now until time to leave for the office Monday morning.

There's plenty – and I do mean plenty – of ways to have a smashing time in T-Town this weekend. As heard this morning on the KRMG Morning News with Joe Kelley, here are all the reasons why not to spend the next three days shacked up with Netflix and last year's leftover Orville Redenbacher.

Tasha's Picks for the Weekend of Sept. 11

Friday

Wood Window Workshop
When: Friday-Saturday
Where: Brady Heights; Parish Church of St. Jerome, 205 W. King
Take DIY to the next level and learn the basics of historic wood window restoration from Bob Yapp, Master Carpenter and former host of the syndicated radio show The House Doctor, in one of three half-day workshops: Friday, 8am-12pm; Friday, 1-5pm; and Saturday, 8am-12pm. Cost is $10. Refreshments and materials will be provided. Reserve space by RSVPing. Hurry!

Saturday

Something for the Dudes: Bluegrass and Chili Festival
When: Now through Saturday
Where: Claremore Expo Center
Who doesn't love chili? Celebrate the reason for the football season northeast of Tulsa this weekend with some of the hot and spicy stuff, along with plenty of free, live music by Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder and Mountain Heart and others. Look for the Mid-America Regional Chili Cook-Off, the festival market, arts and crafts, an open car show and the Kiddie Korral so you can burn your mouth out in peace.

Something for the Ladies: Divas Gone Wild
When: Saturday at 7:30, Sunday at 4pm
Where: Tulsa Zoo and Living Museum, H.A. Chapman Event Lodge
Don your favorite cocktail party duds and go wild with some of Tulsa's best musical talent (including Rebecca Ungerman and Fiawna Forte, two of my very favorites), all to support the HIV/AIDS education efforts of H.O.P.E. of Tulsa. Tickets start at $15.

Sunday

Kings Champion Medieval Faire
When: Saturday, 10am-7pm; Sunday, 10am-6pm
Where: Chandler Park in west Tulsa
Looking for children's activities and demonstrations in Medieval arts by the local chapter of the Society for Creative Anachronsim, plus all other manner of Medieval-related stuff? Chandler Park is the place for you this weekend. Coincidentally, it's also the place for a 1/4-scale pirate ship – just in time to get good and prepared for Talk Like a Pirate Day.


Community

Chapters Literacy Fundraiser
When: Friday night, 6:30pm
Where: Hardesty Regional Library
Shocker: One in six adults cannot read the prescription label on a medicine bottle, understand a newspaper article or enter complete information on an application. The Ruth G. Hardman Adult Literacy Service exists to blow this statistic asunder, and this Friday night, you can help. Plus, you'll get to hang out with local authors Tim Tingle, Jeff Martin and Teresa Miller. Tickets are $40.

Rainforest Restoration Foundation Dinner
When: Friday, 6:30pm
Where: Tulsa Zoo
Love turtles? Who doesn't? Dine at the Zoo this weekend to benefit the conservation of the Giant Amazonian River Turtle and the development of projects targeted at preserving biodiversity and community in the threatened Ecuadorian rainforest. Tickets are $50 and are available by e-mailing the Rainforest Restoration Foundation.

Swing, Rattle and Roll
When: Saturday, 6:30-11:30pm
Where: Cains Ballroom, 423 North Main
The 2009 Emergency Infant Services annual fundraiser will honor that tradition so close to the heart of this city, Western swing. Don't miss the chuck wagon-style dinner and live auction, and bring your dancing shoes – oh, and $125. But, hey, it's for a good cause, and it'll be rip-roarin' party – plus, $95 of that ticket price is tax deductible.

Urban Indulgence
When: Saturday, 7-10pm
Where: Hard Rock Casino & Resort in Catoosa
100+ beers, wines & spirits. Live action gourmet stations. Desserts from nearly 40 of Tulsa's sweetest restaurants. (Stay with me, there's more.) $1000s in prizes & giveaways. The chance to win a Takamine guitar signed by Oklahoma's own Toby Keith. Special guests Kerry Vincent, Judge of the Food Network CHALLENGE, Mrs. Oklahoma International and Elvis. Who else could throw a party like this but Urban Tulsa Weekly? Tickets are $25, and proceeds from the event benefit Tulsa Advocates for the Protection of Children & (ironically?) the American Diabetes Association.

Playdate Reloaded
When: Saturday, 8pm-2am
Where: FlyTrap Music Hall, 514 E. Second Street
What is Play Date? It's an alternative to the typical night out, that's what. There's drinks, food, music and Hungry, Hungry Hippos. As the saying goes, you don't stop playing because you get old; you get old because you stop playing. Admission is $10.

Third Annual Restaurant Week
When: Sunday-next Saturday
Where: All over Tulsa
The week of good food at an even better price kicks off just in time to ward off a case of the Mondays. Dine on a three-course, prix-fixe (or fixed price, meaning you get a number of meal choices under the umbrella of a certain price – in this case it's $12.95 for lunch, $29.95 for supper) at selected Tulsa restaurants, including Avalon Steakhouse, The Brasserie Restaurant & Bar, KEO and Palace Cafe - some of my very favorites. A portion of the proceeds benefits the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma's Food 4 Kids Program.


Music/Festivals

Free, Live Music at LaFortune Park
When: Friday night, 7-9pm
Where: LaFortune Park, in LaFortune Gardens
There should be good, dreary weather lined up for some smokey blues Friday night with Wanda Watson. Might want to pack an umbrella in that picnic basket.

India Fest
When: Saturday, 11am-5pm
Where: Expo Square in Central Park Hall
I love Indian food perhaps more than is legal, and I've been waiting for this festival all year. Sample a wide array of food (!), music and dress at this festival, which benefits the India Association of Greater Tulsa. Admission is $4 for adults, $2 for kids ages 4-11. Parking is free.

A Taste of East Tulsa: Celebrating Family and Culture
When: Sunday, 1-5pm
Where: Green Country Event Center, 12000 E. 31st Street
Family, music, dance, resources, fun and, oh yes, lots and lots of delicious food. This celebration of the 10th anniversary of the East Tulsa Prevention Coalition is sponsored by the Community Service Council of Greater Tulsa and the East Tulsa Prevention Coalition and is funded by CSAP Drug Free Communities.


Home

Tulsa House Beautiful Show
When: Friday, 2-9pm; Saturday, 10am-9pm; Sunday, 11am-6pm
Where: Expo Square, QuikTrip Center
Remodeling? Renovating? Or, if you're like me, accidentally demolishing? Time to hit the Tulsa House Beautiful Show. There will be dozens of vendors who specialize in everything from landscaping to lighting design waiting to help the DIY-impaired beauty their dwellings. Adult admission is $6, kids 12 and under get in free. Get $1 off admission by visiting the Expo Square Web site.

Green Homes Tour
When: Saturday-Sunday, 1-6pm
Tour the first LEED Gold Certified single family home in the Tulsa area, at 1536 E. 35th Place. Admission is $5. Whether you are an authority on the environmental impact of green living or you are new to the concepts of being green, all of Tulsa is invited to tour this home and learn how green building is a benefit to you and your community. By the way, this 4 bedroom, 3.5 bathroom, 3,381-square-foot Southern Living Dream Home costs $649,000. Who said green was cheap?

Tulsa Preservation Commission Open House
When: Saturday, 2-4pm
Where: The Parish Church of St. Jerome, 205 W. King
The benefits of preservation will be explored in a talk by Bob Yapp, and you'll get the chance to applaud the 2009 TPC Preservation Award winners. The open house is free and open to the public. Psst - Refreshments will be provided.


Other Stuff

Gallery Showing: Jason Yang
When: Friday night, 8-11pm
Where: Ida Red Boutique, 3346 S. Peoria Ave.
If you have a thing for pop art, you'll love Jason’s colorful, iconic art, boasting lots and lots of color, playful imagery and homages to vintage memorabilia, and unique depictions of everyday life. Stars Go Dim will be on hand to play an acoustic set at the show.

Art Blast at Gilcrease Museum
When: Saturday, 10am-3pm
Where: Gilcrease Museum
Bring the family to Gilcrease to check out the new exhibition, “Emissaries of Peace: The 1762 Cherokee and British Delegations.” Here's what else there is to do: Create 18th-century inspired arts and crafts from Cherokee and British cultures; enjoy a puppet show and outdoor games on the Green; Listen to a Cherokee storyteller from the Cherokee Heritage Center; search galleries in a scavenger hunt that traverses Gilcrease Museum and Philbrook Museum (free shuttles will run 11am-3:30pm between both museums, by the way). Admission is free for families with children, thanks to BofA.

Fall Hot Loops
When: Saturday, Sept. 12, 7pm
Where: Loops, in Utica Square
These shindigs, the ultimate of girlie parties, are nothing short of legendary. Be there for the unveiling of the fall Hot Loops wall, with patterns and fibers galore; a spread of munchies, including the Burnt Butter cupcakes that reportedly no one can resist; deep discounts on the purchases of the evening; an exclusive, bling-tastic party favor worth more than $20; and (whew!) pomegranate margaritas. What more do the yarn addicted need? All this for $25. To reserve your spot, call 742-YARN. Space is limited.

Cops on Donut Shops

When: Friday-Sunday

Where: Krispy Kreme Tulsa, 71st and US 169

This year marks the fourth annual effort by Law Enforcement Torch Run and Krispy Kreme to put cops in precariously high places for the benefit of Special Olympics programs across the U.S. Why not snag a donut this weekend and toss the change skyward for a good cause?

Rilla Askew @ Gardner's

When: Saturday, 3-5pm

Where: Gardner's Used Books & Comics, 4421 S. Mingo Road

As a dyed-in-the-wool book nerd, Rilla Askew is one of my faves. Not only is she an Oklahoma Book Award winner and the 2009 recipient of the Academy Award in Literature from the Academy of Arts and Letters, but she's going to be at Gardner's Used Books & Comics this Saturday, signing books. Gardner's has several of her books in stock, including "Fire in Beulah," "Harpsong" and "Strange Business." September is National Literacy Month, and Gardner's is celebrating by hosting a book signing with an Oklahoma author every Saturday, so keep your ear to the ground for more bookish goodness from 44th and Mingo.

Sports

College Football
When: Cowboys, Saturday, 3:30pm; Sooners, Saturday, 7pm
The Big 12 Oklahoma teams are at home this weekend, with the Cowboys take on the Cougars at home in the new Boone Pickens Stadium at Lewis Field in Stilly, the Sooners face Idaho State in Memorial Stadium in Norman and the Hurricanes are at New Mexico, while the Hurricanes take on New Mexico in, you guessed it, New Mexico.

Tasha Does Tulsa | Run Training: Take Two
When: Saturday, 10am
Where: RiverParks (meet on the Pedestrian Bridge overpass over Riverside Drive)
We're running a little more and walking a little less this week at RiverParks. Meet us on the overpass by the Pedestrian Bridge, and be prepared to run in the rain. As long as it's not freezing, drizzle is the best running weather.

Turkey & TATURS 50K/25K/10K Trail Race
When: Saturday, 6:30am
Where: Westside YMCA at Turkey Mountain
Turkey and TATURS – Get it? Heh, heh. Back to business: The 50K starts at 6:30am; 25K at 7; 10K at 7:30 in the urban wilderness area that is Turkey Mountain.

R.K. Gun & Knife Show
When: Saturday, 9am-5pm; Sunday, 9am-4pm
Where: SpiritBank Event Center in Bixby
If you love guns and knives you'll love this – all 500 tables of it. Adult admission is $10, kids get in for $3 and kids under 6 pay nothing. By the way, paid admission is good for both days of the show, so live it up with the weaponry.

American Miniature National Show
When: Now-Sept. 19
Where: Expo Square
We humans have a penchant for miniature stuff: miniature dogs, miniature people and, of course, miniature horses. Catch this show of tiny horses – big fun in a small package, as they're called – all weekend and into next week.


Movies

9
When: Opened earlier this week
The world's machines have turned on mankind and sparked social unrest, decimating the human population before before shutting down. It's all unicorns, puppies and sunshine from here.

Sorority Row
When: Opens Friday
Five sorority girls accidentally murder one of their sisters and are then chased by a murderer themselves. Yikes – sounds kinda like my personal favorite high school movie, Jawbreaker.

Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad All By Myself
When: Opens Friday
Madea, America's most hilarious grandma, catches a group of juvenile delinquents and delivers to their aunt April, who wants nothing to do with the kids. Sounds like home to me.

Whiteout
When: Opens Friday
Kate Beckinsale hangs up her fangs and picks up a stint with the U.S. Marshals in Antarctica, just in time to investigate the continent's first homicide.

Soul Power
When: Opens Friday, 3:30pm
Where: Circle Cinema, 12 S. Lewis
An epic trip back to 1974 when the most famous R&B acts in the world put on a 12-hour-long concert to help promote Muhammad Ali and George Foreman's historic “Rumble in the Jungle” in Kinshasa, Zaire. A plot and a half.

Hang Me Out To Dry

When my clothes dryer went to the big laundry room in the sky early this summer, my first reaction was to cry.

Second, I turned on my computer and opened Maytag.com. I'd just spent nearly five years with a dryer (circa 1968), and I soon found all the fancy features now available on this humble household appliance.

In fact, clothes dryers didn't need to be humble at all. Some models come with that hip, brushed aluminum finish, for crying out loud. I wanted to plunder our kid's college savings account and put one of those bad boys in my living room. Why relegate it to the same place where I store my old paint cans, rakes and sundry combustibles? It would have been the prettiest thing I'd ever owned. I was ready to welcome it as a full-rights member of the family.

Enter my ever-frugal, always-sensible husband.

Read the rest of this story in Consumer Watchdog in this week's edition of Urban Tulsa Weekly.

What to Do in Tulsa This Weekend

The weekend weather forecast might not be the best we've ever had, but that doesn't change that what lies before us, friends, is a three-day weekend, thanks to Labor Day on Monday.

If you're looking for ways to live it up this holiday weekend T-Town style, you've come to the right place. As heard (and seen!) Friday morning on the KRMG Morning News with Joe Kelley, here's what to do in Tulsa this weekend.

Tasha's Picks for Labor Day Weekend 2009

Friday
57th Annual Cherokee National Holiday
When: Friday-Sunday
Where: Tahlequah, Capital of Cherokee Nation
The Cherokees and their culture represent a huge part of who and what Tulsa is. Learn about it inside and out, particularly the history behind the signing of the Cherokee Constitution in 1839, this weekend in the capital of the Cherokee Nation, just up the road from T-Town a piece in Tahlequah. Be sure to check out the plethora of arts and crafts, family activities (including a kids' fishing derby Saturday starting at 7:30am), a golf tournament, a variety of music, and dancing. Don't forget your walking shoes for a cultural tourism walking tour. Wi tse do lv I (that's Cherokee for “y'all come,” in case you didn't know).

Saturday
South Tulsa Music Festival
When: Saturday, 2pm
Where: Riverwalk Crossing Amphitheatre
See, Southies? You don't have to traverse the highways and negotiate the invalid IDL to catch some quality, local music after all. This weekend is the South Tulsa Music Festival, featuring arts and crafts vendors and a killer lineup of Okie-grown bands. It all gets kicked off at Dirty's Sports Bar before the main act ascends the stage at 4pm. And guess what? It's fuh-ree, baby. For the running order of acts, check out Hizer's story in this week's Urban Tulsa Weekly, and get a hardy preview of what's to hear at the festival at the STMF Myspace page.

Sunday
Family Fun Weekend at Bass Pro Shop
When: Saturday-Monday, Noon-6pm each day
Hold on to your hats, folks, because there's more than enough family fun at Bass Pro this weekend to knock your socks off: Paintball target practice, radio-controlled car races, bean bag toss, a chance to win Tony Stewart's $20,000 “Smoke” Nitro boat and a slew of other prizes. You'll need to sneak inside to grab a Starbuck's to keep up with it all.

Monday (Labor Day! Woo-hoo!)
Driller's Farewell Game
When: Monday, 6:05pm
Where: Driller's Stadium (version one), 15th and Yale
The time has come. As the Driller's pack their bags to ready for their move to their new stadium in downtown Tulsa, fans can watch The Team take on the NW Arkansas Naturals in not just the last game of the 2009 season, but the last game of an era. Tickets start at $6, but bring a few extra bills in case you “just get something in your eye” and forgot the Kleenex.

Music

North Indian Classical Music and Dance
When: Saturday, 7:30pm
Where: Tulsa Performing Arts Center, John H. Williams Theatre
The South Asian Performing Arts Foundation brings an evening of music and dance from the orient to the rolling hills and overalls-wearing folks of Green Country, Oklahoma. Check out two-time Grammy Award winner Zahir Hussain on the tabla (an Indian drum) and Antonia Minnecola busting the moves – I hear their performances are more than worth the $45 ticket price.

Wine & Jazz at Riverwalk
When: Sunday, 6-8pm
Where: Riverwalk Crossing in Jenks
Since a case of the Mondays won't be breathing down your neck this week this week, a Sunday night of good wine and good food at one of the Tulsa area's hottest spots for just chillin' sounds just like what the doctor ordered. Bring $20 and be ready to kick back, relax and maybe even make a few friends who understand your taste for the finer things in life.

Arts

First Friday Art Crawl
When: Friday, 6-9pm
Where: Brady District
If you haven't been on one of these art crawls in Tulsa's Brady District, you're missing out, plain and simple. Start the night at The Gypsy Coffeehouse and wrap things up at Club 209, and make sure to stop at the brand-spanking-new Living Arts Center in the old Bed Check building at Brady and Detroit, Tulsa Glassblowing Studio, CFC Chocolatier, Tulsa Artists' Coalition and Lola's at the Bowery.


Sports

Tulsa Hurricane Football
When: Friday, 7pm
Where: Superdome in New Orleans, LA
Hurricane Football kicks off the weekend and the 2009 season from New Orleans Friday night as the boys take on the Green Wave. Catch it at the watch party at Fair Meadows Sports Grill, as hosted by the TU Alumni Association and the Golden Hurricane Club.

Oklahoma State Football
When: Saturday, 2:30pm
Where: Boone Pickens Stadium at Lewis Field in Stillwater, OK
The game ain't in Tulsa, of course, but lots of folks here will be rooting on the Cowboys Saturday evening as they take on the Georgia Bulldogs. Hit your favorite pub to catch the game with some buds, some brew and a widescreen.

Oklahoma Football
When: Saturday, 7pm
Where: Dallas Cowboys New Stadium in Arlington, TX
Did your first words sounds something like “Boomer Sooner?” Then I'm about to tell everyone what you'll be up to Saturday night: Watching the OU game with your favorite boys and girls as the Sooners take on the BYU Cougars.

2009 Ariat Tulsa Reining Classic
When: Now-Sunday
Where: Expo Square in the Built Ford Tough Livestock Complex
Is it Reining in here? The forecast is calling for the thunder of stamping hooves at Expo Square this weekend where a world-class collection of Reining horses will be on parade. The first 100 kids through the door for the Ariat Tulsa Reining Classic Slide Zone (doors open at 1:30pm, show starts at 2) get a free Breyer portrait model of Big Chex to Cash and a chance to see the breathtaking palomino paint stallion in real life, ridden by NRHA Million Dollar Professional Andrea Fappani. That's one autograph you won't want to miss. Price of entry is $5 for kids, $10 for adults.

Oklahoma Palomino Show
When: Friday-Sunday
Where: Expo Square in the Pavillion
The beloved steed of Greek mythology – who could resist carving out a bit of his weekend to get a load of that? Bask in the presence of the pride of Queen Isabella's Spanish court until the cows come home to 21st and Yale Sunday evening.

Other Stuff

Aberson's & Friends Warehouse Sale
When: Now-Saturday. Friday hours, 9am-3pm; Saturday hours, 9am-12pm
Where: Family & Children's Services, 605 S. Peoria Ave.
Huge discounts – 85 percent, from what I hear – on clothing and home décor from Aberson's and 30 other local stores that represent the finest in what Tulsa offers the First-Class Shopoholic? Count me in. All proceeds benefit Family & Children's Services. Get a complete list of participating vendors here.

Cherry Street Farmers' Market
When: Saturday, 7am-11am
Where: On historic Cherry Street just east of Peoria
Load up on grillables for this weekend's cookout at the only place in Tulsa where a grocery getter can score the best range of anything from heirloom squash to artisan sausage, all straight from the farmer or rancher, all at once. Before you go off spouting about how expensive the food is at the farmers' market, read this article. See? It's okay - you were wrong, but I forgive you. I'll even save you a spot in line at the Three Springs Farm booth.


More Free Stuff

Tasha Does Tulsa | Run Training: Take One
When: Saturday, 10am
Where: RiverParks, starting at the Pedestrian Bridge; meet at the Riverside Drive overpass
Come one, come all, even if you haven't yet signed up for the “official” Tasha Does Tulsa | Run team. We'll be doing beginners' run/walk circuits around the Pedestrian Bridge/21st Street loop, rain or shine. Feel free to bring dogs, strollers and a top to pop at the finish line.

Movies

All About Steve
When: Opens Friday
A crossword puzzle constructor played by Sandra Bullock falls in love with a cameraman on the first date and consequently follows him all over the country to woo him. Nag much? No. Because this is Sandra Bullock we're talking about here.

Extract
When: Opens Friday
Jason Bateman is an extract man. He's not exactly what you'd call a lucky extract man. Plus, his wife is having an affair with a gigolo. I know what you're thinking, and it's something along the lines of, “I'm sorry, what?!” There's hope, people. If you're like me and miss Beavis and Butthead every day of your life, go to movies.yahoo.com for B&B's genius synopsis of this bizarre-sounding movie.

Gamer
When: Opens Friday
Like Second Life come to life, Gamer stars the pretty people Gerard Butler and Amber Valletta. If you've ever fantasized about acting out your innermost desires and fantasies in front of a global audience (Lord knows I'd attempt to eat 60-oz. steak in one sitting if it weren't for that whole“in front of a global audience” part), then this is the movie for your Labor Day weekend viewing pleasure.

In the Loop
When: Opens Friday at 5:30pm; Second showing at 7:45pm
Where: Circle Cinema, 12 S. Lewis
Like parodies? How about American politics? Get a dose of each with this spoof of the inner workings of U.S. and British government agencies and their international relations.

Staycation Awhile

When I first heard the word "staycation," a portmanteau of "stay" and "vacation" that describes a vacation light on traveling and the pocketbook, here's what came to mind:

Grandma lounging in the kiddie pool in the front yard, donning one of those plastic bathing caps with the plastic daisy. Junior sitting cross-legged on the porch, drenched in sweat and trying desperately to keep up with a melting ice cream cone. Mom and Dad washing the car and cleaning out the garage because -- as we all know - vacation time spent at home inevitably turns into days of chores we never got around to during spring cleaning.

Bor-ing, right? That is, unless you enjoy helping Granny with her sunscreen in those hard-to-reach places.

Read the rest of this story in Consumer Watchdog in this week's edition of Urban Tulsa Weekly.

First Come, First Served

Sometime in the future: the first Native American-Polish, ambidextrous, former college hockey star, soccer mom Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court hands down the long-awaited ruling on who owns the right to market and sell the ground beef patty sandwich historically known as the "hamburger." The obviously high court decides in favor of the plaintiff in Weber's Superior Root Beer Restaurant vs. McDonald's Corp. Indeed, Weber's did, in fact, invent and name the hamburger, says the Court.

All of a sudden, this prototypical American sandwich begins making a comeback. Sushi dives, salad bars wilt, Buffalo wings fly away, pizza loses its pizzaz.

Read the rest of this story on the cover on this week's edition of Urban Tulsa Weekly.

Hot Off The Presses

Love coffee? Me too. As with food, I enjoy coffee best when someone else makes it for me, and especially if I'm being served coffee in a mismatched mug in some cute, moody little coffee house somewhere.

Problem is, in this here town, a standard 12-ounce cup of black, coffee house coffee costs about $2. Swig one of those every day of the month and you have practically another utility bill on your hands, with nothing to show for it except pampered taste buds and a circular file with coffee breath, constantly full of cup sleeves and stirrers.

Here's another idea: Make your own coffee, and keep the change.

Read the rest of this story in Consumer Watchdog in this week's edition of Urban Tulsa Weekly.

A Degree in Home Ec

It's August in Oklahoma. Now that we don't keep our kids in the fields until way down in the fall, it's time to put the offspring on the bus and send them back to the classroom.

So, while the kids are getting their first dose of the three Rs in three months, you're at home celebrating the silence that has erupted in your home by breaking your no-drinks-before-5pm rule.

Before you top off your tasty adult beverage, consider this: According to a Charles Schwab Young Adults and Money Survey out earlier this year, 43 percent of young adults feel poorly prepared to invest their money appropriately, with 40 percent feeling unsure how to best decide how to save for the future.

Read the rest of this story in this week's edition of Urban Tulsa Weekly.

Veg Out

I've used a bunch of real estate in this paper talking about how we can all save money on that line item in our budgets that continues to rank in the top three most expensive aspects of staying alive: our food.

With finance whizzes telling us to spend anywhere from 5-20 percent of our take-home income on munchies, second only to the price of the roofs over our heads and the transportation we use to get to the place where we work to earn the money for everything else we have to buy. All the tips I've given in this column about grocery shopping bear repeating: Learn to use coupons strategically. Plan meals around the sales printed in weekly grocery circulars. Never shop when you're hungry. And so on and so forth.

After going on for the months since this column began about such money-saving tactics, I predict that what I'm about to recommend will, then, cause more than one of you to balk.

To get some of the best deals in town on produce, head to the closest farmers' market.

Read the rest of this story in Consumer Watchdog in this week's edition of Urban Tulsa Weekly.

Supplying the Demand

Shopping for school supplies these days can be as tough as the mystery meat in the cafeteria.

Not only are parents forced into the mosh pit that is the school supply isle at the local big-box store in August, but they are forced to do so while squinting at a crappy photocopy of a school supplies list while also suffering a jealousy attack over the goodies available to kids today that they could have only fantasized about sporting on their first days of school.

Read the rest of this story in Consumer Watchdog in this week's edition of Urban Tulsa Weekly.

Fore! Thoughts

The wind and rain of springtime in Tulsa, Oklahoma, has come to an abrupt and steamy end. The humidity of the air has surged--the air has more water content than the human body most days--and the sun isn't holding back, taking temps up to 100-plus degrees.

This can only mean one thing. It's time to hit the golf course.

Read the rest of the story in Consumer Watchdog in this week's edition of Urban Tulsa Weekly.

From the Ground Up

Let’s play a game. Which sounds more appetizing: A peach sprayed with pesticides and picked hard and green in an industrial orchard in California, processed and packed at a sprawling, faceless, corporate farm and trucked a couple thousand miles to your local grocery store...

Or, a peach picked ripe at a farm in a city you could, despite the geography courses at your public school, pinpoint on a map, delivered to your farmers’ market totally free of chemicals, long-distance travel damage and other modes of interference and sold to you by a friendly guy in a hat who reminds you of your grandfather?

Wait. There wasn’t really a choice presented there, was there? It’s one of those “duh” decisions. Who in this day and age doesn’t want unmitigated, fresh fruit grown by people they know? After multiple food safety scares, documentaries extolling the nutritional merits of fresh-picked produce and all those blurbs on TV about how we should all be reducing our carbon footprint, demand for food grown within a stone’s throw from home is on the rise.

Read the rest of this story in this week's edition of Urban Tulsa Weekly.

Boob Tube Bliss

Of all the crazy and backward things I've done to conserve skrill, there's one that, 100 percent of the time, gets either a gasp, a look of shock or one of these: "Wha?!"

I have no cable television service. I haven't had it since before I was married, five years ago.

I always feel like I have to explain why not. It's a strange feeling to be motivated to do that, mostly because I still haven't managed to come up with a plausible explanation for why I'm not participating in this country's most cherished medium of communication.

Read the rest of this story in Consumer Watchdog in this week's Urban Tulsa Weekly.

Cheap Date

Cash can't buy love (at least, that's what they try to tell us), so why try? After all, just because you're short on skrill doesn't mean you can't be long on love.

Thanks to our low cost of living, you'd have to earn 28 percent more in L.A. (52 percent more in Boston) to afford the lifestyle we all enjoy right here. Entertainment comes relatively cheap here in T-town. That's a good thing for your personal life, because we all know dating isn't the most inexpensive thing to do these days. We all do it (yes, even we marrieds, and hopefully only with our spouses), but not all of us manage to keep the resulting bills from Visa and Mastercard at bay.

Next time the bank calls on date night, give one of the outings listed below a shot. These plans are low-cost, high-excitement, and I know this because I've been on these dates myself. According to my experience (because I wouldn't tell you to do something I haven't done myself, not even for a good laugh), the flavor of the week won't guess that he or she is the subject of a budget date. It's hard to notice such things when you're having an absolute blast.

Read the rest of this story in Consumer Watchdog in this week's Urban Tulsa Weekly.

Hot Wheels

The weather is warming, and so is the pavement. Why spend the summer days ahead stuck in traffic running the A/C full blast when the reliable two-piston engine--the bicycle--and Tulsa's 50-plus-mile trail system beckons throughout the city?

Maybe one vital piece of that whole hitting-the-trails equation is missing: The wheels. Problem is, new bikes cost a pretty penny, especially at the local specialty shops. In this town, it's difficult to get into a quality, new bike for less than $250--roughly, the cost of 50 gallons of gas at the peak of last year's summertime surge in oil prices.

This type of hit to the wallet isn't all bad. For that kind of money, a buyer gets top-notch machinery with which to hit the trails, saving money on bike repairs, auto wear and tear, gasoline, time and, potentially, health insurance.

Read the rest of this story in Consumer Watchdog in this week's Urban Tulsa Weekly.

D.I.Y. Nation

Remember how grandma washed her aluminum foil, laying it out to dry so she could use it to store the next evening's supper? And her box of string, buttons and other scraps, things she just couldn't--or wouldn't--throw away?

Maybe she refused to buy new things when hers busted, choosing instead to make do without. Or, she'd concoct some homespun repair job that made her avocado-green dishwasher look more like a science project gone horribly awry than a well-maintained, lovingly used home appliance.

We all made fun of grandma, and her thriftiness may have seemed extreme. But, you know, she just might have been onto something.

Read the rest of this story on the cover of this week's Urban Tulsa Weekly.

Happy Pamper

We all know the phrase, "Don't hate me because I'm beautiful."

That goes double if I paid $6 for my hair cut.

We've all lost 30 percent or more of our retirement accounts. Gasoline prices are on the uptick, ready to stick it to our summer vacation and back-to-school budgets. Job security in Tulsa isn't as bad as it could be, but no T-Towner can deny that the more-or-less 7 percent jobless rate is on his mind as he puts on his extra-fancy pants to head to the office each day.

Even so, we still want to be pampered. Thanks to local cosmetology colleges--there are nearly 100 in this land where the wind goes sweepin' down the plains--it's possible to get the latest beauty treatments without tapping the cash value of our life insurance policies.

Read the rest of this story in Consumer Watchdog in Urban Tulsa Weekly.

Untagged

It's 3am and you're awake, staring into the glow of your laptop computer.

It's been a month since you got the dreaded pink slip. You've had leads, even landed a few job interviews, but no job offers, not yet.

The unemployment rate in the state isn't great at 6.2 percent, and at least we're not auto-industry laden Michigan with its 12.9 percent jobless rate, but still. How to stand out against all those applicants? Isn't there a better way to land a job than to send 400 resumes to nondescript HR post offices boxes? And, by the way, how much do singing telegrams cost these days?

Then, you've got mail--e-mail, that is. It's from your mom. She asks if "this Facebook thing" is populated by ax murderers and child molesters and ice cream men and, if not, maybe it could help you in your job search.

The answer? Of course. How? Indeed.

Read the rest of this story in Consumer Watchdog at Urban Tulsa Weekly.