Heide Brandes 1/6/13 Heide Brandes 1/6/13

PRIMAL FEAR: The Psychology of Being Lost

I was hiking back on the stretch of the Buffalo River Trail in Arkansas I had spent most of the day exploring when unexplainably, unexpectedly and stunningly, I was lost.

Heide Brandes 12/24/12 Heide Brandes 12/24/12

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.”

Heide Brandes 12/19/12 Heide Brandes 12/19/12

Wedding Belles - Brides are being more cost-conscious

Births, weddings and deaths are the three recession-proof events in most people’s lives.

Heide Brandes 11/12/12 Heide Brandes 11/12/12

Fight Like a Girl - Edmond mom wins, finds strength in MMA Kickboxing

If you had told Jessica Cargill of Edmond 10 years ago that she would be kicking and punching people for a living, she just might have… well, punched you.

Matthew Austin 11/11/12 Matthew Austin 11/11/12

Fiber Artist

Donna Hilton's fingers stroke the cream-colored wad of shimmery, pillowy down made from a mix of Merino sheep, yak and silk. Her hands are smooth and dry from years of petting alpaca fur, sheep’s wool, raw cotton and goat coats.

Heide Brandes 9/11/12 Heide Brandes 9/11/12

I'm Just Me - Edmond woman becomes shining star despite dyslexia

Eight-year-old Tiffany Thompson would open a book, and as she read, the words would spiral around, slide off the page and rearrange themselves into a mess of symbols. She thought everyone read like this, navigating the moving and dancing words, but only she couldn’t make sense of it.

Heide Brandes 7/12/12 Heide Brandes 7/12/12

Toxic Overload

For 24 years, Karen Munger’s husband fought fires and sifted through the ashy rubble of destroyed properties and burned-out homes.

Heide Brandes 7/1/12 Heide Brandes 7/1/12

10 Boutique Breweries to Visit This Summer

They come with hundreds of different flavors, tasting of hops and fruit and grains of the earth, and they come with names like Horny Toad, Sisters of the Moon, Diabolical and Firefly. No longer do Americans have to choose beer only made by huge commercial breweries.

Heide Brandes 7/1/12 Heide Brandes 7/1/12

Roadtripping the Oregon Coast

Waking up on my first morning in the small coastal town of Bandon, Ore., I walked out of the tiny ocean-front motel to an alien landscape of crashing waves and thick grayness.

Heide Brandes 6/1/12 Heide Brandes 6/1/12

The Fast, Furious & Flowing Rivers of Arkansas

Heide Brandes 3/24/12 Heide Brandes 3/24/12

Celtic Punk

If you’ve hit any of the metro’s St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, you may have heard the Righs play. For those more hardcore into the local punk or Sca scene, you’ve definitely heard them at places like The Diamond Ballroom, the Opolis in Norman or The Conservatory.

Heide Brandes 2/24/12 Heide Brandes 2/24/12

The Pink Ceiling - women still battle gender pay gap

Despite the equal pay movement in America, a recent study shows that women are still making less than their male counterparts, and that pay gap is starting as early as graduation from college.

Heide Brandes 2/24/12 Heide Brandes 2/24/12

Going Fully Automatic - Gun Range offers chance to shoot fully automatic weapons

Standing in a dark cubicle with an actual 1928 A1 Thompson Submachine Gun – or as Hollywood calls it, a Tommy Gun – you feel like you need to be in a sharp pinstriped suit with a jaunty fedora sitting cockeyed upon your head and a fat cigar hanging off your lips like a curse.

Heide Brandes 2/4/12 Heide Brandes 2/4/12

From Fame to Faith

God comes to people in deep and mysterious ways, and sometimes He arrives in a stamped envelope from New Jersey.

Heide Brandes 9/1/11 Heide Brandes 9/1/11

The Dreamscapes of Josh Heilaman

Walking through the imagination of Josh Heilaman is like walking through a dream full of strange animal characters, swirling landscapes and slightly off kilter personalities.

Heide Brandes 8/17/11 Heide Brandes 8/17/11

A Wild Ride - The Sand Dunes at Little Sahara

The sand dunes at Little Sahara State Park create a mythical playground for off-road enthusiasts.

Heide Brandes 8/3/11 Heide Brandes 8/3/11

Drink Thyme - Herbs bring out the soul of summer cocktails

At the Cheever’s Cafe bar, Ariana Khalilian pulled out the plastic squeeze container containing a mixture of simple syrup and the pulverized essence of cilantro.