STREET

Issue 24 Vol. 12

OY

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10 ON THE CORNER
Its about to be a new year, which means theres a new impetus to make a lifestyle change. Luckily Norman is a town with local treasures to help you with your goals - and one of the fantastic options is on Main Street: Downtown Fitness.

STREET MAGAZINE
Dec 20, 2013 Issue 24 Volume 12
Editor-In-ChieF Kelli Smith Art Director Kelli Smith

BOYD
LIFE AT THE GROVE COMES FULLY LOADED! Our community includes everything you need to live the way you've always wanted. Come check out our fully furnished 2 and 3 bedroom apartments. PLUS...WE NOW HAVE A SHUTTLE!
CoPy Editor Ashley Roy PhotoGraPhy Mark Doescher Emilye Lewin Contributors Ashley Roy Alexis Auckland Chase Cook Mel Guapo AdVertisinG RePresentatiVes Joe Wilhite PubLisher Joe Wilhite

TECH ATTACK
This year outputted two new gaming consoles, so sometimes the games werent as awesome. Still, 2013 involved the release of some great games - reviewed here!

8 7 ON THE SCENE 12

MUSIC
This Christmas season, Oklahoma has made music history. Thats right: It has been named Christmas Music Capitol! (Not just in the U.S., but the world, I might add.)

ROMANCE
This past Thanksgiving, our own Alexis Auckland learned a valuable lesson when it comes to relationships and hobbies. It involves a two-foottall dirt bike and a just-as-tiny crash.

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ON THE CORNER
I cannot believe that it is already time to start a new year. It felt like just a few days ago I was starting 2013 with new ambitions, ready to graduate and ready to thrive in adulthood. I am so grateful and proud of Boyd Street magazine and all the hard work my writers, photographers and contributors put into this years volume to make it one of the best Ive seen so far. Hopefully Boyd Street just keeps growing and improving along with Norman, keeping you informed and entertained any time you pick up an issue. Happy New Year! xoxo,

Any articles, artwork or graphics created by Boyd Street Magazine or its contributors are sole property of Boyd Street Magazine and cannot be reproduced for any reason without permission. Any opinions expressed in Boyd Street are not necessarily that of Boyd Street management. WEBSITE & SOCIAL MEDIA boydstreet.com

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Tech Attack Chase Cook

Wading in the Reflecting Pool

Its that time of year! Time to sit down, put on the Hat of Judging +1 and make sweeping statements about games Ive played this year. This was an awesome but also weird year for gaming. As companies ramped up for the release of new gaming consoles the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 there was a strange feeling of developers refusing to show their cards as they sent the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 into the sunset with a slate of games. Every year there has to be winners in the gaming economy, so while the console market was a bit weak this year (sorry, releasing new console doesnt automatically compensate for a weak gaming lineup this year), it was still a great year for gaming overall. Here are my winners for 2013 based on categories I just made up but are still totally scientic. Best 3-D game: The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds isnt just one of the best Zelda games to ever be released; it has better 3-D than Avatar. Thats right, James Cameron. Links got that triple-dimensional feel that makes your stomach queasy when he falls from great heights. The game leverages 3-D to hide treasurers, makes combat fun and increases the visual delity of the game. Take that, Cameron! Best sidekick: Grand Theft Auto V might have great writing, an awesome open world to explore and an incredibly fun multiplayer, but the icing on the cake is Ron, Trevors sidekick. Ron complains all the time. He is terried at every turn and generally doesnt seem built to run Trevors company. However, he is incredibly faithful and offers great comedy relief to take the edge off some of the absurd violence in the game. He isnt Samwise Gamgee by a longshot, but hell do. Best game with pirates: Assassins Creed IV: Black Flag wasnt an incredibly fun game at rst. The combat looks a little silly, Edward Kenney is kind of a jerk and collecting things is getting old. But after a few hours, you steal a boat and sail into the high seas as gunships blast the port side of the boat and rogue waves threaten to upend the ship, sending your crew to rest with Davey Jones. The game really opens up once you get the boat and the world is gigantic. There is an argument to be made that it is an empty game while being so big ... but, come on, pirates! Best game with cards: I think 2013 was the year of the card game and there is no better card game than Blizzards Hearthstone. It runs incredibly smooth, it has great balance and it costs zero dollars to play. Thats right, ZERO DOLLARS. Of course, you could buy packs like that rich kid from your youth who bought Pokmon cards until he lucked out and got Charizard. But that isnt fun. The real fun is building decks in the arena game, where players are given random cards and build a deck. Its a fun game to play with friends and enemies. Well, there you have it. My best games of 2013. I still think this year was a little weak, but there were some brilliant games out there. Pick up a couple of the games above and you wont be sorry.

On the Scene
Arrgh Matey Assassins Creed IV: Black Flag
Blackbird Chimys Blackbird

Chimys

Louies Too

Louies Too

(out of 5)
Honestly, I about gave up on this game. As I went through the motions of Assassins Creed games and jumped from rooftop to rooftop, stabbing guards and perching on perfectly placed wooden beams, I grew tired. But then they gave me a boat. It isnt Grand Theft Auto on the high seas, but its still pretty darn fun. You can customize your boat, your crew and your assassin. The story is a little hokey, but it is Assassins Creed so its hard to expect much. The games world is gigantic and probably too big, but moving from island to island on your boat, scuttling schooners for sugar and loot and generally being a no-good pirate is awesome. The game has been discounted for the holidays, and while it wont change your life, it will certainly let you pretend to be a pirate for a few days.

Take a tour today and mention you saw us in Boyd Street! Like us on Facebook The Renaissance At Norman www.livebyou.com

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Music Mel Guapo

OKLAHOMA NAMED CHRISTMAS MUSIC CAPITOL OF THE WORLD

With an exponentially expanding catalog of Christmas music coming out of Oklahoma, the state is named the Christmas music capitol of the world.
2013 will be remembered as a year history was made for Our Great State. It will be remembered as the year when people started to also think of Christmas Music when they thought about Oklahoma. Why is that? Because 2013 was the year Oklahoma was named the Christmas music capitol of the world. made a pretty solid impact. Our fourth album will be out late next week in vinyl format (limited to 1,000 copies) and the digital release will be out for all next week as well. Thanks to everyone that has contributed to this effort over the years, especially Chris Harris, Jarod Evans and every musician that has been a part of it. You all inspire me and drive me to want to do even more to support our states creatives.

On the Scene
Fuzzys Blackbird Louies Too

Fuzzys

OConnells

OConnells

It was not an overnight process, and it consisted of a concerted effort from both musicians and non-musicians alike across the entire state, all the way from Lawton in the southwest to Pryor in the northeast. And at the heart was Norman. Three men in particular led the way in the Oklahoma Christmas Music movement, and they all happen to be from Norman: Chris Harris, Jonathan Fowler and Jarod Evans. Their combined efforts have produced ve full-length, various Oklahoma artist Christmas records over the last four years.

I spoke with Jarod Evans about the past, present and future state of Christmas music in Norman and Oklahoma generally and Blackwatch Studios in particular. MEL: How does it feel, releasing the third annual volume of A Blackwatch Christmas? JAROD: It feels great. I think its our best yet. Im really happy with the record and proud of what weve done. MEL: Is it true that Blackwatch is considering full focus on Christmas music production throughout the year? JAROD: Well, Mel, let me put it this way: Anything is possible. I could certainly imagine a scenario in which Blackwatch was involved in full Christmas music production. You can be sure that if that were the most feasible option, we would be ready for it. There is a lot of exploration to be done with Christmas music, and were just scratching the surface.

CHIMYCHANGAS BURGERS MARGARITAS FISH TACOS

Campus Corner

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N AY (GROU OS ALL D

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It all began with Fowler VW and Nice People presents Checking It Twice, the 2010 Holiday Companion, featuring a wide swath of primarily Norman-based artists such as The Boom Bang, Evangelicals and Gentle Ghost featuring Brine Webb. The following year featured a dual release from both Chris Harriss Nice People Presents The 2011 Holiday Companion and Jarod Evanss Blackwatch Presents A Blackwatch Christmas. In 2012 came A Blackwatch Christmas, Volume II, and this year saw the release of Jingle-Beats and HollyTonks, A Blackwatch Christmas, Volume III. In an ofcial statement regarding this years release, Jonathan Fowler had this to say about the Christmas Music Movement: Almost four years ago, Mary Ann Osko convinced me that we could help Oklahoma become the Christmas Music Capitol of the World, which led to one of my all time favorite things Ive had the pleasure to be a part of: the Fowler VW Christmas Compilation. I think its safe to say that we have
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CHECK OUT THE MUSIC: Visit FowlerVWChristmas.com for a free download of all three volumes of A Blackwatch Christmas, and visit NicePeople.Bandcamp.com for a free download of the 2010 & 2011 Nice People Holiday Companions.

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On the Corner Ashley Roy

When You Need a Workout You Can Always Go...Downtown!

Downtown Fitness celebrates its 10-year anniversary and is as successful as ever.
For the longest time, my view on working out matched Jennifer Lawrences: I hate people who say, Im addicted to working out. I want to punch those people in the face. Trying to be more open-minded, I had to do a little introspection. Why did I feel that way? Well, I hated the stereotypical gym atmosphere: meatheads grunting and slamming weights down on the ground with bulging neck veins and a mighty roar. How would they view a little blonde girl with twigs for arms? I felt awesome just for moving up to 10-pound dumbbells! Thankfully theres an entrepreneur who feels the same way. Mark Floyd of Downtown Fitness divulged his tness journey to me: When I was 16, I was young, overweight and feared the idea of starting a workout regimen in a public place. My family purchased a membership for me at a tness center. It took several months for me to actually get the courage to go in and use the facility. He understands that, oftentimes, people new to tness are hesitant to get out of their comfort zone, let alone make a sweeping life change. Thats why he shaped the culture of Downtown Fitness the way he has. The club has grown and grown, and we have seen thousands of people come in and enjoy the clean, friendly and fun atmosphere. We are a family at DTF. Members are not just a number; they are greeted by name and treated like more than just a customer. We pride ourselves on customer service because we LOVE our members. And it shows. Year after year Downtown Fitness has been nominated for Best of the Best! health club in Norman. Its one of the premier clubs in Norman and has grown immensely in 10 years. Speaking of 10 years Downtown Fitness is celebrating its 10-year anniversary at the beginning of the New Year. Floyd says they continually update their state-of-the-art equipment. On top of the inviting atmosphere, Downtown Fitness boasts nationally certied personal trainers, licensed dieticans, free orientations, lockers, showers, tanning and free yes, free with membership tness classes! The tness classes are just about anything you could imagine: relaxing, renewing yoga to boot camp the regular and the get physical! variety. Target different body parts with a butt and glutes class or a hard CORE class. You can even dance with Zumba or Turbokick. The DTF website lists 18 options, so theres bound to be something to meet whatever physical needs you have! Personally, Im one of those folks that need group tness and healthy competition to keep motivated. Maybe I need to drop by

- Location 119 W. Main Norman, OK 73069 - Contact Info 405.801.2927 dfnorman.com

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Get ready to change your life, just in time for 2014!

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SUSHI STIR FRY STEAKS COCKTAILS FINE SAKE AND WINE

Romance Alexis Auckland

Get In Where You Fit In

Holiday season means more time at home, and that usually translates to extra time with your partner. Instead of the old routine, sometimes its fun to mix things up. I decided my partner and I could ll the hours over turkey weekend by exploring one of my boyfriends hobbies. I wanted to get in on a portion of his life I hadnt experienced. My man adores anything on two wheels, and hes amazing on a dirt bike. He goes balls to the wall, taking tree trails at max speed and attempting jumps reserved for X-gamers. Hell pump his CR250 on up to full pull, engine screaming, bustin a wheelie. I love it and I respect it because I grew up with dirt bikes. Since we met, Ive been begging him to take me along on his rides. He goes with his brother and sometimes friends, but its always a man trip. No ladies have ever been invited and I thought it was high time that changed. I didnt plan to barge my way into his extracurricular activity and make myself a xture on his sessions. I just wanted to take part once or twice. So, after some solid talking and a tad yelling, I got my way. Over Thanksgiving holiday, my wish came true and I nally got my dirt biking invitation. As the old adage goes, be careful what you wish for. We rolled up to his brothers house, and the boys quickly loaded up their monster bikes, then showed me what Id be ridinga Y-Zinger recently purchased for boyfriends four-year-old nephew. It was circus style, about two-feet off the ground, and I had to hold back the string of expletives I wanted to unleash on the grinning men. Did they think I couldnt ride? Was it a joke meant to derail my craving to join in their reindeer games? I didnt know, but I was gonna make darn sure I still went on their mission, tooling Dumb and Dumber style behind them just to prove a point. We simply dont want you to get hurt, said my boyfriends brother. I know how to ride. My training wheels were a motorcycle. I grew up in the country, city boy, I shot back, straddling the midget moto. I meant business. To prove my prowess, I ripped (a.k.a. putted) down the street, knees sticking straight out to the side, gripping miniature handlebars and revving a throttle that sounded like a dying deer. I went to make a sweet left turn when the handlebars stuck inside my knee crease, making me tip over and land on my side in front of the neighbors driveway with the tiny motorcycle still running, jammed securely between my thighs. See, babe? Dangerous, said my boyfriend as he walked up, shaking his head. Staring up at him from the worlds lamest crash site, I decided maybe I didnt need to overlap with this part of his world. Maybe some things are better left separate. This holiday season, remember to squeeze and cuddle, but also remember to give space and freedom. Relationships thrive when each member is encouraged to celebrate something of their own. Support your lovers me time and your own alone moments. Theyre candy for the soul.

W
Love Have You Bafed?
Drop me your situation. Lay down your good, bad and fugly tales from the dating crypt. This is your chance to ask anonymous advice on how to handle the stage 5 cling-on, killer crush, friends disapproval, infamous commitment phobe or any awkward love debacle. Im ready to be brutally honest, if youre ready to hear the hard truth. Write to boydstreetromance@gmail.com.

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