The Fire Gods of Carrier, Oklahoma
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The Fire Gods of Carrier, Oklahoma

On Monday, the night sky above Oklahoma City’s Bricktown will erupt in an explosion of light, noise and music. Crowds of gaping mouths sighing “oooh” and “aah” accompany the bombastic display of colors that race into the sky, detonating into spectacles of sizzling brightness that paint the night with celebration and American pride.

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Trap, Neuter, Release

On a dark Thursday night that promised rain, MaryDoris Casey was creeping around some dumpsters behind a row of fast food restaurants and wading through overgrown lots filled with the detritus of empty soda cups and food bags.

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The Vintage Doll

The Vintage Doll, Mimi LaRue, is adorable in a 1950s-style pink and white dress, white stellar heels and flesh-toned hose with that iconic black seam down the back. Her lips are as red as cherries and her eyes flutter with that cat-like swoop of liquid black eyeliner. But it’s her hair that ties the whole look together.

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Skating Polly

The girls look like little pixie fairies–just so tiny and young and full of the energy that butterflies and hummingbirds seem to have. It’s hard to visualize these two teenage girls–one 18 and the other 13–as the new powerhouses in punk/pop music.

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Ice Ice Baby

“What do you see when you look in here?” asks chef Ken Burkemper as he stares into a large metal freezer full of water so clear it could have come straight from a spring. The obvious answer is “clear water,” but Burkemper laughs. “That’s what everyone says. I like to joke with them. I tell them I’ll give them $100 if they can touch the bottom.”

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