August 15, 2011

Not only does our August 15th issue tame beasts, it also defies death.  Be on the look-out for this heart-stopping, circus-themed edition, packed with so many acts of daring-do that not even a big top can contain it.

ANTON VON OSTENDORF: Trapeze artist Anton Von Ostendorf flies through the Tulsa sky with the greatest of ease, by Holly Wall.

BUSTER KEATON WAS NOT AN OKIE: Oklahoma’s connection to Buster Keaton, by Jeff Martin.

SCOTT RAFFE: Mark Brown says good-bye to Scott Raffe, acclaimed circus photographer.

CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE: Ann Zoller discovers the Center of the Universe right here in Tulsa.

SONGS: Award-winning author Aimee Bender has a new song for Tulsans in this installment of Imaginary Oklahoma.

TOGETHER IN TULSA: Rebekah Greiman tells the story of how two ballet dancers ended up in stride.

SMALL TOWN, BIG TOP: Rosie LoVoi gets a view to a circus tent-raising — through the photography of Kenneth Ruggiano.

ESPECIALLY THE ZEBRAS: Amy Leach rediscovers the Tulsa Zoo—for better or worse.

THE BOTTOMLESS ACHE OF THE REVOLUTION: Michael Mason recounts the harrowing story of a Cuban artist’s escape to Oklahoma.

THE TENDER OF THE FLAMES: McNellie’s bartender Laura Carrera tells us about one of her favorite regulars, Gordon E. Schacher, a flamboyant character with five-inch long fingernails who looks like he’d be more at home in a Gypsy camp than in a downtown pub.

NORMAN’S FORGOTTEN LEGACY: Do you remember OU’s Institute for Primate Studies? Josh Kline does, and Norman’s forgotten legacy ain’t pretty.

ALL’S FAIRE IN LOVE, JUNK, AND WAR GAMES: AndNatasha Ball interviews Jeff Hiller, the man behind the magic (and anachronisms) of Muskogee’s Renaissance Faire All that, plus mind-blowing illustrations by Jeremy Luther and graphic design by Carlos Knight.