Tag: Uncovering Oklahoma Page 72 of 78

If being locked in a room with your friends for an hour while finding clues to solves puzzles and ultimately getting the code to escape sounds like fun, then I recommend visiting The Escape. In my latest Uncovering Oklahoma video, I interviewed Bridget Trowbridge, James Gibbons, and Shey Ramsey about the live action escape the room game in Oklahoma City. The Escape also has locations in Tulsa and Omaha, with the OKC location being the flag-ship store. This video has been approved to contain no spoilers!

For some history, real life escape rooms are based off computer games of the same theme, but brought into real life. It’s all hands on, but also there’s no cheat sheet as it’s all up to you and whoever you bring. Also just so I’m clear: you’re not going to get murdered in these rooms. There’s nothing that can injury or hurt anyone. No one other than your team will actually be in the room, unlike some other escape places.

This is was my first video shot in 4K with my Panasonic GH4! There was no difference in my workflow. Rendering on my MacBook Pro didn’t take long either. While filming, I did encounter an issue I’ve never faced before with the florescent lighting creating bars on my video. It drove me nuts because at the time I had no idea how to fix it, so I worked around it or with it. The best way to learn things is to do things.

Overall, I’m happy with this video. I especially loved the introduction for it. I don’t care to use my voice, but with that modulation it worked so well. This was actually a happy accident. I had recorded audio to act as a place holder and have Leslie do the lines, but I was playing about with the audio effects and ended up with what you hear. I did consider doing the whole project in the style of the intro, but decided against it for timing, annoyance, and how other Uncovering Oklahoma interviews flowed.

For the first time, Uncovering Oklahoma’s The Escape OKC video featured music by a local band, Larry Chin. (I usually used a royalty free track.) I had told Jennifer Maynord of Cellar Door Music Group I was planning to do a video on The Escape and asked for recommendation for a song to use with it. She sent me a pre-release version of a song Larry Chin were working on and got me in touch with the band. I look forward to our continued partnership and working with more local bands in the future!

I’ve had the honor of being invited to speak at the Norman Public Library West about my Uncovering Oklahoma Date Idea Books. My first presentation was on Friday, February 20. This was first time I gave a talk about myself, what I do, and my travels. I enjoy talking to people about places, so I knew talking in front of crowd, about something I was passionate, I would be comfortable.

Before the event though, I sent a tweet out to one of my favorite writers, Neil Gaiman, asking for advice. To my joy, and later embarrassment of the typo I made, he responded. The conversation went as such:

Wisdom I kept in mind.

The subject of my first talk was road trip ideas. I spoke about such places as Talimena National Scenic Byway, Heavener Runestone Park, Center of the Universe, Chickasaw National Recreation Area, Arbuckle Wilderness, and a few others. Overall, the presentation was about 20 minutes.

The feedback I received on the first presentation was it was okay, however, people wanted it to be be longer and more in-depth. They also suggested to have more pictures, give a prize, show off the Uncovering Oklahoma site, and share some videos.

I took everyone’s comments and the next time I spoke in March on the subject of date ideas, it was nearly an hour long. Fewer people showed up for the second one–partly due to bad timing as it was also spring break and there were St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. Despite the lackluster turnout, I felt way better about everything and I enjoyed myself. Plus, I have a solid presentation for future use and I got pictures of me speaking to add to my resumé.

To recap what I’ve learned:

1. Know What To Say
2. Breathe
3. Pace, don’t rush
4. Pictures are awesome
5. Have text with slides for viewer note taking
6. Video clips are awesome too (doesn’t have to have sound to be effective)
7. Give something away
8. Investigate surrounding days for scheduling conflicts
9. Enjoy It
10. It’s Public Speaking – Not Pubic Speaking

Billy Sims BBQ is Tulsa-based fast casual concept serving premium BBQ smoked daily in-house with traditional sides. Founded by 1978 Heisman Trophy winner Billy Sims, and cofounder Jeff Jackson, Billy Sims BBQ is a unique franchise concept that is one of the top rated celebrity and athlete-owned restaurants.

To promote the limited-time “All You Can Eat Rib Night” on Tuesdays, I had the pleasure of interviewing Billy Sims himself at the Norman location. Sims was a kind and energetic interview. He’s one of the bigger celebrity interviews I’ve done, on camera at least. I kept the focus of the interview on the restaurant and food because Uncovering Oklahoma is a travel positive site and I didn’t want to do anything that could damage chances of future interviews with other people.

For this video, I experimented with a one camera back-and-forth question and answer style. I concluded this style would work best if I had at least a second camera and mic on myself. A good note for the future. I am happy with the audio quality on Sims himself with the mic and audio settings I used.

After the interview, I had the Heisman Sandwich with mac and cheese. It kept me full well into dinner. To me, the restaurant was like Swadley’s or Rib Crib, but sports themed.

Anyway, that’s my interview with Billy Sims.

Hello, readers!

Today I have released the new edition of Uncovering Oklahoma’s Date Idea Book! Inside the book you will uncover a wealth of romantic, fantastic, creative, and local places for amazing, fun, and unique dates.

My date idea book was written with all types of couples and dates in mind to show that there is something fun out there for everyone and to help expand the concept of date night beyond the standard “dinner and a movie.” This book features various suggestions for a night (or afternoon) out in different parts of Oklahoma, along with pictures and quotes from people about why they think a particular place makes for a great date spot. And while the focus of the book is date ideas, it isn’t limited to starry-eyed couples. Feel free to grab some of your friends, pick an adventure from these pages, and go!

The paperback version of the book is available through Amazon.com for a list price of $17.

It’s also available as a $2.99 ebook on Kindle, Apple’s iTunes/iBooks, Nook, and Google Play! This year I was able to have the eBook released from all of the various places at the same time as the book. I’m also happy that this edition is available for the Nook as last year due to a large file size, it was not accepted.

On Friday, February 20, 2015 I will be at Norman West Public Library to speak about myself, my date idea book, Uncovering Oklahoma, and I’ll give a presentation on road trip ideas. After my presentation, I will be available for book singing and meeting up with everyone. Event details here.

The focus of this edition of the date idea book was corrections–removing places no longer in business, and adding new ideas to make up for the lost ones. When I set out to revise the book, I ended up making more changes than I thought I would. I’m excited to release this new edition to keep people tied over as I’m working on a new adventure book to be released later this year.

Your purchase helps support Uncovering Oklahoma and me becoming a full-time writer. Check it out for great times year round.