Yesterday, a friend and I had yet another conversation about moving to the Big City. Specifically, her fantasy of moving to the Big City. She’s desperate to one day escape the hillbilly confines of Oklahoma, and flee to somewhere like Chicago.

“You know, I’m okay with living in Oklahoma,” I said after some thought, “I just wish I could mold the people here more to my liking.”

I like Oklahoma City. I like living here. But my predominant complaint, the one reason I might desire greener pastures, is the sameness of this part of the country. There’s a certain level of homogeneity in our demographics, with significant majorities of whites, straights, political conservatives and Evangelical Christians – but there’s homogeneity in our entertainment choices, as well. Too many of my neighbors seem frighteningly content with the mundane crap that passes for popular culture around here. Dinner at Applebee’s. Disturbed (or Toby Keith) at the Ford Center. Norbit at Bricktown Harkins.

It’s not like Oklahoma City lacks quality culture. We have a terrific annual film festival in deadCENTER. We have interesting art galleries, and theaters that show non-mainstream movies. We gave The Flaming Lips to the world. Granted, one may have to dig a bit deeper than in, say, Austin, to find these things, but Oklahoma is far from the cultural wasteland it may appear to be on the surface.

So what really gets under my skin is the utter closed-mindedness I sense on the part of many of my fellow Okies. It’s an almost defiant refusal to venture outside the ole’ comfort zone, and many seem even downright hostile towards trying something new.

Example A:

Dwight and I are going to see Pan’s Labyrinth at the Noble Theater this weekend. We’ve already seen it once, about a month ago. I fell madly in love with this movie, and have spent the last few weeks obsessing over it. So when I learned it was playing again this weekend, I knew I had to go again, and drag everyone I know with me. I want them to love this movie as much as I do. One friend of mine agreed to go.

She then called a mutual friend of ours, and asked if she wanted to “see a film with us Friday night.”

“I don’t like films,” our mutual friend replied.

Who doesn’t like films? My friend and I were stunned.

“I like comedies,” said our mutual friend, “but I don’t want to see a ‘film.’”

We soon deduced that our friend interpreted the word “film” as something different than “movie.” “Films” are artsy-fartsy. Independent. Foreign. “Movies” are what Hollywood churns out on a regular basis. Pan’s Labyrinth is a “film.” Talladega Nights is a “movie.”

My friend continued to try and talk her into joining us, but our mutual friend never budged.

I hear this kind of thing all the time about subtitled movies, too. “I don’t want to read my movies,” they say. I want to grab them by the shoulders, give them a good shake and tell them how many amazing movies they’re missing out on. I want to tell them that after just a minute or two, you’re not even aware of the subtitles.

Example B:

Another friend of mine is very, very meat-and-potatoes. If it’s not massive quantities of barbecue or pizza, he’s not interested. Nor will he eat anywhere he deems too “frou-frou.” If there’s a white tablecloth and flowers on the table, forget it – even if he’s missing out on the best mini-burgers and sweet potato fries in the city.

Don’t people ever get bored with the same old stuff? Don’t they ever want to try anything new? Ever? Don’t get me wrong, I love Will Ferrell as much as the next guy, but there’s so much more out there.

I consider myself fortunate to have at least a small handful of close friends who more or less inhabit my wavelength. I really can’t ask for more than that. I just don’t want to live someplace where anything even slightly out of the mainstream is immediately dismissed as “weird,” “artsy-fartsy,” or “more of that damn liberal baloney.” I’m not suggesting that all Oklahomans must immediately run out and see S&M-themed performance art; I simply want to be able to find more than one person who’s willing to see Pan’s Labyrinth with me.

…and worship begins at 4:00pm tomorrow, March 1st.

The Academy Award-winning Al Gore will be giving a presentation on (what else?) climate change at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman. This event is free to the public, and doors open at 3:00pm. Click here for more information.

James Cameron has produced a new documentary to be shown March 4th on the Discovery Channel. This film, entitled The Lost Tomb of Jesus, purports that 10 small caskets discovered near Jerusalem may have held the bones of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and possibly their son and other family members.

While some members of the archaeological community are skeptical about these claims, a recent article on the subject brought a couple of questions to mind. Even if it’s unlikely that these tombs really are the final resting place of Jesus and Family, I wonder what kind of evidence it would take to disprove a Biblical claim.

Suppose, just for the sake of argument, that one day some major, conclusive discovery is made – one that would prove that Jesus never rose from the dead. Or that he married and had children. Or that he wasn’t the Son of God, but simply a great teacher. What would it take to convince the Believers that what they’d always accepted as truth, is, in fact, not? I suspect that even the most conclusive of evidence, should it exist, would not be enough to shake these folks’ faith.

That suspicion terrifies, but doesn’t surprise me. Should we really expect those who believe in virgin births and resurrections to acknowledge scientific evidence? What should we expect from those who continue to believe that Saddam Hussein was directly responsible for 9/11, even in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary? Or someone who continues to dismiss current climate change research as “opinion?” What does it say about someone who stubbornly refuses to accept reality, instead choosing to believe the version most palatable to them? What goes through such a person’s mind? Is there any cognitive dissonance at all?

I guess we could always ask George W.

One passage in this article really got to me, though:

Stephen Pfann, a biblical scholar at the University of the Holy Land in Jerusalem who was interviewed in the documentary, said the film’s hypothesis holds little weight.

“I don’t think that Christians are going to buy into this,” Pfann said. “But skeptics, in general, would like to see something that pokes holes into the story that so many people hold dear.”

It couldn’t possibly be as simple as a desire to find logical, sound explanations for the world around us. No, we skeptics are apparently just the kind of people who take pleasure in things like pointing out plot holes in movies, or in snatching little kids off the street and telling them that there is no Santa Claus. There is no Tooth Fairy! Mwahahahaha…

Do people really think this? Is this what comes to mind when the average person thinks of a “skeptic?” I hate to break it to you, but I think most of us take pleasure in finding truth, not in crushing people’s dreams. I also think most of us are terrified of living in a world where our society is governed by people who are prone to delusional thinking. I shudder to think of life in a world without facts.

What was the name of your first pet?

News Channel 4 just ran a story on overcrowding in the Oklahoma City animal shelter. When I first spotted the promo ad for it a couple of days ago, I was apprehensive.

“Why are these healthy, happy pups being put to sleep?” Linda Cavanaugh questioned over footage of sweet-faced dogs peering up at the camera through a kennel door. The ad ended with a typical melodramatic graphic – an image of a dog toy and a collar bearing a tag with the name of the story, “Silent Slaughter.”

“Silent Slaughter?” Terrific, I thought. Was this going to be some sort of shrill expose on how Oklahomans’ tax dollars are being used to brutally murder innocent puppies? Were they going to vilify the poor vet techs who have the unpleasant job of euthanizing the animals? As much as I didn’t want to watch the story when it aired, I knew I had no choice.

I was pleasantly surprised. There was no tone of hysterical outrage. No unkind, unfair portrayal of the shelter and its employees. Instead, the piece focused on the importance of spaying and neutering your pets, and used footage of dogs being euthanized to show what can happen when you fail to do so.

They spared little detail with the footage. We saw dog after dog, with their goofy grins and wagging tails, being held on a table as a vet tech injected the Phenobarbital into their veins. After mere seconds, each dog would collapse, lifeless, on the table as its collar was removed. The dead dog was then removed from the room as a new one took its place on the table. It was brutal to watch, even though the vet tech and shelter employees were nothing but humane and professional.

Ever present in my mind was that one Sunday morning when I accidentally wandered into this area while volunteering at the shelter. I remember stumbling upon the pile of limp, motionless animal bodies on the floor, and in an embarrassing moment of naiveté, assumed that they were just sleeping. My brain simply couldn’t process what I was seeing. It was not until later that the crushing truth descended upon me.

One statistic in the story really jumped out at me – two unaltered pets and their offspring can, over six years’ time, produce 67,000 animals. No wonder the shelters are so overcrowded. Even though the OKC shelter has done a fantastic job recently promoting adoptions, and its location is expanding in size, there are always more unwanted animals than they can handle. The inflow of unwanted animals into the shelter is relentless.

The news story also profiled local programs and organizations that provide spaying and neutering assistance. Spay Oklahoma, with its somewhat disturbing name, is one such organization. Best Friends of Shelter Pets is another, with their SNAP (Spay / Neuter Assistance Program). According to their website, “SNAP is primarily targeted to qualified low income pet owners who receive assistance from Medicaid or DHS.”

Just like knowing the truth about where your hamburger meat comes from, I think this is something everyone should be aware of. I’m tired of people saying, “Oh, I don’t want to know about these things.” God forbid they see something that makes them sad. Just as steaks come from somewhere besides the meat counter at the grocery store, there are real consequences when you fail to be a responsible pet owner.

And for god’s sake, if you’re wanting a dog or a cat, please please please check at the shelter first. There are so many good pets there, needing a home. Petfinder will give you a sample of who’s out there waiting for you.

I’m glad I put all my hippie-vegan-freak jokes on hold for a couple of hours and watched Earthlings. I’m glad I saw that pile of dead puppies, and I’m glad I saw the news story last night. Ignorance is no excuse.