Students are studying the ancient Dead Sea Scrolls this semester at Oklahoma City University. Photo by J. Christopher Little.
The study of ancient texts is not often a hands-on experience for scholars. But one special class of Biblical Hebrew students at Oklahoma City University will be getting awfully close.
The Rev. Dr. Lisa M. Wolfe, religion professor at OCU, is leading a team of students studying the Dead Sea Scrolls. These manuscripts contain writings from the third through first centuries BCE, Wolfe explains. Because they are dated so much earlier than most known Hebrew Bible manuscripts, the discovery of these manuscripts was “nothing short of revolutionary,” she says.
Wolfe says that the class relies on photographic records of the scrolls that are assigned to them but had the opportunity to see the scrolls in person when the class took a field trip to Hobby Lobby Corporate Headquarters.
“The artifact we are studying is part of the Green Collection, which includes more than 40,000 Bible-related items amassed in recent years by the Green family, which owns Hobby Lobby,” Wolfe says.
But this research is also extraordinary in another way. The OCU students granted this honor are undergraduates.
“We are all thrilled beyond belief. It is uncommon for a Ph.D. student to have the opportunity to work with an artifact like this. For undergraduates to get to do it is unprecedented,” Wolfe says.
Their work includes extrapolating as much information from the text as they can and looking for any uniqueness about the artifact.
“Since this artifact is extremely fragmentary, our first task was to determine what larger text it represented,” Wolfe says. “It is like trying to do a jigsaw puzzle with only a few pieces.”
In addition to hopes of great scholastic findings, Wolfe says that the project might even affect the way Oklahoma is viewed.
“Oklahoma probably does not come to mind when people hear ‘Bible scholar,’ so it may well put us on the map for that,” Wolfe says.
It’s hard to say which is a longer stretch: from Tulsa to London, or from investment banker to cabaret star. Harold Sanditen, who returns to Oklahoma in November to play his first-ever show in his hometown, ought to know. He’s taken both those journeys.
A member of the longtime Sooner State family that, among other things, originated and ran the well-remembered Otasco chain of auto-supply and appliance stores, Sanditen grew up in Tulsa, the city of his birth. And while he acknowledges that his time there didn’t really foreshadow his later career as an entertainer – “I always felt slightly gawky, slightly effeminate, not really comfortable on stage or comfortable in my body,” he says – there were still a few clues if you knew where to look.
“I was in Once Upon A Mattress when I was at Memorial High School,” he recalls with a chuckle. “That would’ve been in 1973. I played Prince Dauntless the Drab, which was the male lead. And then I was in Oklahoma! and Carousel, but I only had chorus parts in both of those.”
Offstage, however, Sanditen’s love of music showed itself in an unusual way.
“I had a player piano when I was in Tulsa, and I must’ve had 2,000 piano rolls,” he recalls. “I used to go to the Fairgrounds, to the flea market, and I’d go to auctions, and I’d buy all these piano rolls from the 1910s and the ‘20s and whenever else, and they really exposed me to an incredible variety of music.”
After high school graduation, Sanditen went on to get a degree in business administration from Arizona State University, followed by an MBA from the Wharton School. And although he performed in The Wharton Follies, which he describes as “a spoof of life at the business school,” staged briefly at the beginning of each term, that was it for the music part of his persona.
“I really just put it aside,” he explains. “I sang a lot at home. I sang in the car. I sang everywhere I could. But I never sang professionally.” He chuckles again. “I was too afraid to get up on stage.
“So I got my MBA, moved to New York and decided to follow the investment banking route. I did that for a few years, until I had the opportunity to move to London. It took a while to get a work permit. But once I did, I set up shop as a theater producer, and that’s what I did for 20 years.”
The jump from banker to producer, he points out, isn’t as extreme as it might seem. He’d already invested in a couple of shows in New York, so he was familiar with how the process worked.
“It was far more creative, yes, and it gave me the chance to explore plays and musicals,” he says. “My interest in the stage always came from music, but I only produced one musical in 20 years. It was a jazz musical called The Slow Drag, based on the life of Billy Tipton, who was from Oklahoma. We did it in London on the West End. I loved it.”
As a producer, he adds with a laugh, “I got close to the stage without having to actually be on it. I was on the sidelines – anywhere but front and center. I’d always wanted to be on the stage, but I’d never really had the confidence. I had that horrible stage fright.”
After a good, long run, however, Sanditen found himself staging “smaller and smaller things” as the business changed around him.
“The economics of producing weren’t as good as when I moved here [to London],” he explains. “Ticket prices were going up, the costs of producing a show were going up, and I was pretty much a one-man band, because the shows I did tended to be things that weren’t blatantly commercial but had some commercial possibilities. Those choices meant that you were taking a bigger risk of losing money.”
He was producing a play in New York when he heard from an old Wharton friend named Simone Schloss. After a couple of decades of working and raising children, she was debuting her own cabaret show. Intrigued, Sanditen went to see the production, and, he remembers, “That’s when the seed got planted.”
Still, before he could think of putting together his own show, he was going to have to do something about his stage fright. He finally faced it at what he calls a “cabaret boot camp” in Tuscany, Italy, run by the American performer and teacher Helen Baldassare.
“It was a small group of nine people, and it was the best group-therapy session I’ve ever been to in my life,” he says. “We’d meet at nine o’clock in the morning and cry until about one, and we’d break for lunch, and then cry from two to five.”
Sanditen laughs.
“But I started learning what cabaret was all about there,” he adds. “We had a group show at the end of the week, and we all sang three numbers, and I was so scared I was just shaking. But I decided at that point that if it was something I ever wanted to do, I had to just completely get over that. So I just didn’t allow it to concern me anymore. I had other things to worry about, like scripts, things I had to say. I mean, I couldn’t let stage fright get in the way of all the other obstacles I was going to have to be dealing with.”
Just about a year and a half later, in September 2008, Sanditen did his first solo cabaret show, The Secret of Life, in New York, followed by a London engagement. Since then, he’s created and performed a new production just about every year, gaining new venues and new fans as he goes along.
“Once I got the bug, once I really realized what cabaret is all about – the focus on lyrics, and the storytelling and how the songs relate to you – it just opened up a whole new world,” he says. “It also made me realize that as much as I may have wondered why I never took the step to do it 30 years earlier when I was younger, I didn’t have the world experience to really understand some songs. I’ll be doing a Beatles song in Tulsa called ‘In My Life.’ That song is incredibly beautiful, but you can’t talk about all the things you’ve seen in your life and what you’ve loved if you’re 25 years old.”
For his Oklahoma debut, he’ll be doing selections from his two latest productions. One of them, Shades of Blue, has been recorded live on a new CD.
“I just did a brand-new show called Full Circle, and it was all songs from the ‘60s and ‘70s that were instrumental to me when I was growing up,” he notes. “So rather than doing Shades of Blue, which is an intact jazz cabaret show, I’ll do one set of selections from the CD Shades of Blue and another from Full Circle, which takes me back to my days in Tulsa.
“That way,” he concludes, “it’ll be much more personal.”
Harold Sanditen’s Nov. 30 show is set for the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame’s Jazz Depot in downtown Tulsa. For ticket information, call 918.281.8609 or visit www.okjazz.org.
Autumn colors and cooler temperatures mark the changing seasons; out with summer and in with cold and flu season. As we head inside, our closer quarters mean we are at a higher risk for sharing in whatever bug is going around.
The best way to avoid illness is to utilize a common sense approach to avoid getting sick; if you do fall ill, there are tips to bounce back as soon as possible.
We hear all the time the best method to avoid getting sick in the first place is to wash your hands, and our experts couldn’t agree more. Good hand hygiene is the single most important way to prevent all types of infections.
“Wash your hands, wash your hands, wash your hands,” encourages Dr. Dianna Willis, family medicine physician with Utica Park Clinic in Sapulpa.
“It is especially important to clean your hands with soap and warm water after using the bathroom; after changing a diaper; before preparing or eating food; after blowing your nose, sneezing or coughing; after caring for a sick person; and after touching an animal,” shares Kendra Dougherty, epidemiologist in the Acute Disease Service at the Oklahoma State Department of Health.
Dr. Kathryn Reilly, professor of family medicine at the University of Oklahoma, suggests taking this idea a step further. Whenever possible, take the time to clean communal equipment before using.
“Cleaning equipment like phones that are used by lots of people can help,” recommends Reilly. Another equally important way to stay healthy is to keep your immunizations up to date, the influenza vaccination in particular, advises Dougherty. Many think they can simply avoid people who are sick.
“But, that is not always possible,” explains Reilly.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, flu symptoms start one to four days after the virus enters the body, meaning people are often contagious before they even know they are sick, shares Willis.
“Avoid putting yourself at risk by getting a flu vaccination,” encourages Willis.
Despite what some may think, the flu vaccination does not cause the flu, assures Willis. Each type of flu virus has different strains that change from year to year so it is important to get the flu shot each and every year, offers Dougherty.
Additionally, the vaccine typically protects against three to four strains of the flu that are circulating at the same time, so it’s always worthwhile to get a flu shot, even if you think you’ve already had the flu, says Reilly.
“It’s never too late to get the flu shot,” explains Dougherty.
“If you get sick from one strain of the flu, it would provide protection from getting the flu again from a different strain.”
Additionally, the vaccine can lessen the symptoms if you do end up sick, adds Reilly. “The flu vaccine can mean the difference from being really sick for a long time and being mildly sick for a few days,” she explains.
Healthy lifestyle habits may help ward off illnesses, as well, shares Reilly.
“Studies have shown that people who eat a healthy diet and [perform] moderate exercise regularly tend to have fewer upper respiratory infections,” says Reilly.
Tricks are for kids, but games are for the teaching of valuable life lessons and solidifying identity within the tribe. Philbrook Museum of Art, 2727 S. Rockford Road, Tulsa, pulls out some of its coolest works by such Native American artists as W. Richard “Dick” West and C. Terry Saul to illustrate how play and competitive sport were used among many indigenous tribes to prepare its youth for the responsibilities of adulthood, including hunting and warfare. Games such as stickball honed skills with weapons and improved hand-eye coordination, but they also required teamwork useful to the tribe. Philbrook opens “Games People Play: Sports and Competition in Native American Art” on Sunday, Oct. 27. “Games People Play” will remain up until Jan. 12. Museum admission is $7-$9. For more information and museum hours go online to www.philbrook.org.
Gilcrease Museum is more than an exhibition space of fine art and traditional arts of the Americas. Sometimes it’s an exchange of composition and ideas in the form of paintings, sculpture, carvings and photography. The latter purpose is most recognizable in late October when Gilcrease opens “Collectors’ Reserve: Small Works Exhibition and Sale.” Beginning Saturday, Oct. 26, collectors can view works by more than 70 contemporary artists. Those works (measuring 16 inches by 20 inches or smaller) go on sale at a special sale event on Nov. 7. Wildlife, landscapes and portraits in expressionism to realism on canvas, in oil and out of stone or bronze – “Collectors’ Reserve” has something for every collector. Get your early peak on Saturday or online at www.gilcrease.utulsa.edu. Call 918.596.2758 to ask about the Nov. 7 sale.
We’ve all been there before. It’s the end of a busy day, we’re committed to eating healthier as singles now than when we were in college, we get home – and facing us are plenty of fresh vegetables but no defrosted key ingredient, which to most people means protein (hopefully fish and poultry if you’re properly controlling what you keep around the house). For many singles, this is the ideal time for an effortless call for delivery. But for those seeking to lose or control weight and who are committed to that goal, there are simple solutions, quicker than delivery, right under your nose.
It starts with eggs. Yes, eggs. Not being a nutritionist or an M.D., the debate over eggs can be a confusing one. Conduct a little research online and one finds that for every expert decrying the perils of eggs, there is another expert claiming they are fine sources of protein in moderation. “Moderation” is the key to most nutrition plans, and in my own weight loss voyage, I utilize them largely as a go-to ingredient when I’ve failed to make better plans. Even the most ovo-phobic nutritionist would probably admit that two eggs are better than a large, stuffed-crust delivery pizza.
Still, something as simple as scrambled eggs generally lacks the variety of flavor and nutrients we want to end our day with. Not to mention, on their own, a little lackluster. But as the protein in a more innovative dish, the egg can be a little protein powerhouse in a dinner that also contains plenty of other, healthful things.
Following is an easy dish that’s been a helpful part of my own regimen and which features several ingredients I have found to be filling, healthy and leave me feeling as if I have done right by myself.
We’ll call it Egg Foo Not-So-Young:
Ingredients
1 whole egg plus one additional egg white, whipped together (substitute with all egg whites if you prefer)
1 serving buckwheat soba noodles* prepared as instructed on package
¼ cup chopped onions
1 chopped garlic close
½ cup chopped bell pepper
¼ cup chopped carrot
¼ cup chopped bok choy or any other cabbage – consider a pre-chopped slaw mix as a quick substitution
1 tablespoon soy sauce
½ teaspoon fish sauce (available at Asian, gourmet and specialty markets and a terrific secret ingredient in countless dishes)
1 teaspoon sriracha (an Asian hot sauce with a notable depth of flavor not found in most hot sauces)
¼ teaspoon 5-spice powder
¼ cup crushed unsalted peanuts or almonds
Salt and pepper to taste (don’t forget to compensate for soy sauce and fish sauce both bringing salt to the flavor palate)
Preparation
1. While easy soba noodles are in prep, lightly coat bottom of wok or fry pan with a mix of Canola and peanut oil and turn heat to medium-high
2. Just before pan smokes, add all vegetables, increase hurt and stir fry while soba noodles drain. Stir fry for approx. two minutes, stirring constantly. You aren’t looking for very soft here.
3. Add soy sauce, hot sauce, 5-spice powder and fish sauce and continue stirring to incorporate for 30 seconds.
4. Add cooked, drained soba noodles, stir to incorporate for 30 seconds, then reduce heat to medium.
5. Add whipped eggs, let set for 10 seconds, and then stir well into mixture until fully cooked. Test and add salt and pepper as needed.
6. Remove from heat, top with crushed nuts and garnish with chopped scallions if you like.
Yields: 1- 1 ½ servings
Cook time: Less than 10 minutes
* Buckwheat soba noodles are among many new varieties of pasta/noodles that nutritionists claim are vastly superior to standard white pastas and have a delicious, slightly nutty flavor.
-Michael W. Sasser is Oklahoma Magazine’s senior editor and an award-winning journalist. Neither a medical nor nutrition expert, he shares his personal weight loss journey exclusively with Oklahoma Magazine readers. Reach him at [email protected].
Even as a relatively new Tulsa resident, there are a number of local cultural institutions with which I am familiar – and of which I am quite fond. Tulsa’s own Philbrook Museum of Art is chief among these, a regional icon, immaculately preserved and curated, and distinctly beautiful, inside and out.
Until recently, however, I was familiar with Philbrook Downtown, in the Brady District, only conceptually and hadn’t taken the opportunity to visit. But an exhibit now winding down there had captured my attention for some time and this week, I took the time to check out the exhibit and the gorgeous Philbrook Downtown. Oh, the exhibit did not let down – on the contrary, it was quite impressive. Still, it was this new Brady landmark that surprised and impressed me the most, instantly elevating it to a site I know I will be spending many long hours at in the years to come.
Now I am even less familiar with architecture than I am with formal interpretation of the arts, and I never have a problem acknowledging my own amateur enthusiast status. But I have seen the world’s great museum and over time, have picked up on the importance of use of space, lighting and flow. The great museums know how to employ these things. Lesser museums do not. Philbrook certainly does on its main campus, and I discovered this week, the same braintrust has applied similar smarts to Philbrook Downtown. Immaculate and gorgeous? You bet. But it is more than that. Downstairs here are segmented rooms, permitting visitors to focus specifically on themed exhibits. Upstairs, though, is more open space, creating a physical, ideological and thematic flow from section to section that takes art and objects the uninitiated might consider related, and deliciously differentiates one category from another. While other museums statewide might carry huge collections of Native American work, Philbrook Downtown clearly explains and differentiates the differences as outside influences impacted on Native American works – and celebrates the artists who broke tradition. What qualifies as Native American art? Must cultural norms be observed for a Native artist to produce art considered “Native American,” or is her ethnic identity and worldview enough? Philbrook Downtown is the first museum I have seen address that issue in depth, and the staff of this incredible institution has little trouble discussing this in equal depth. For art and history aficionados, for those of us in search of a connection to our own Native heritages, it is an incredible and thought-provoking opportunity here.
Yet it wasn’t Philbrook Downtown itself that brought me here. It was the exhibit, Sirens of the Southwest that had been luring me here for months. This impressive exhibit surveys the work of women artists who, in the aftermath of World War I, flocked to the Southwest in search of an authentic American experience. They found it in New Mexico and while Georgia O’Keeffe might be the most famous among these, there were numerous other highly talented women artists who also found artistic inspiration in the color and culture of the American Southwest. While those artists who remained on the East Coast continued to have their perspectives dominated by European culture, these brave women carved out something distinctly American.
While I am a big fan of O’Keeffe, what really appealed to me was the history here. This was the early 20th century. Women still didn’t often travel on their own. Yet O’Keeffe and her contemporaries, seeking authenticity, left the Coast, often on their own, to seek something inspirational and ultimately intrinsically American in the eye-popping beauty of New Mexico and the Southwest. The drive for an authentic artistic experience, away from the influence of staid European style, and perhaps even away from the male-dominated arts world of the Coast, was so powerful it inspired these amazing women to head west.
The history and sociology alone made this a must-see exhibit for me. And then there was the actual art. Overall, I found that the female artists represented in this exhibit had a far better grasp of the color patterns, the patina of this beautiful part of the nation. Male artists tackling similar themes, appeared more focused on representational work, which, while solid works of art, lacked the subtle influence of colors and character represented in the works of the women artists. While O’Keeffe’s minimalism and use of negative space made each of her works worth long study, plenty of other works by her contemporaries here were impressive on their own. Works by Rebecca Salsbury James, Gene Kloss and Gina Knee fleshed out the range of possibility for artists in this situation. Barbara Latham’s delicious characterization in “The Blizzard” and Dorothy Eugenie Brett’s “Golden Autumn” and “Blessing of the Mares” are eye-popping in their depth and capturing of color.
Sirens of the Southwest is an exhibit not to be missed, whether because of the spectacular art, the fascinating back story – or just for the opportunity to visit this relatively new but entirely brilliant addition to Philbrook and to the local arts scene. The exhibit runs through November 10, and if you’re going to make one exhibit wrapping up before the new year, this is the one.
Just don’t forget to see the rest of this incredible museum space while you’re there.
Philbrook and Philbrook Downtown have a number of spectacular exhibits and special events on the horizon, so keep checking back here for advance notice, reviews and leads on how best to enjoy this incredible institution. You’ll be glad you did. And you’ll see me there.
For more information, visit www.philbrook.org.
-Michael W. Sasser is Oklahoma Magazine’s senior editor and an award-winning journalist. For comments or suggestions, reach him at [email protected].
Students are studying the ancient Dead Sea Scrolls this semester at Oklahoma City University. Photo by J. Christopher Little.
Students are studying the ancient Dead Sea Scrolls this semester at Oklahoma City University. Photo by J. Christopher Little..jpg)
