Do you enjoy the essentially overwhelming amount of caffeine and sugar during your daily dose of “stay-awakes.” People drink all sorts of caffeinated beverages throughout their day: coffee, energy drinks, supplements, and those mysterious “five hour” bottles. Needless to say, everyone has their flavor but these guys have flavor and style..

Started by Justin and Broc during a random conversation at their office — redbullroundup.com emerged. The website is a collection of photographs that automagically feed Flickr.com content tagged with ‘redbullroundup’. The website has numerous videos created by the guys behind the site and their close friends.

“Typical Wednesday hump-day is no fun for most of us. With work being spread out during the weekends from on-call status, freelance, and projects — hump days are just ridiculous. We decided to move the middle of our week to Thursday,” said Shattuck (myself - HA HA). Thursdays at 3PM local time (anywhere and everywhere you are) is the current time that the redbullroundup goes down.

There have been photographs submitted by women, men, teenagers, and even infants! With just about every photo accepted — you’re almost sure to appear on their homepage redbullroundup.com. The videos appear on Justin’s youtube.com channel, often, yet randomly throughout the week.

If you would like to get involved or just check out the stuff taking place — check out the website redbullroundup.com.

We are all too familiar here in Tulsa, Oklahoma with street and general construction around the city. It seems as soon as crews finish one section of a project they immediately move the cones and begin construction on the next section. Honestly, this is what we expect. These are our tax dollars at work! If you ask around, I’m sure you will hear, “There is too much construction in Tulsa, Oklahoma.” However, if you think about it doesn’t this mean our city is being reconstructed to support its ever-increasing growth?

Most of the roads here are decades old and getting them a face lift is not cheap. The road progression is a monetary figure that is way outside of any of our natural comprehension; but we can at least see the progress.

Highway 51 (Broken Arrow Expressway) is all sorts of cut-up heading into Downtown Tulsa. I’m not sure exactly what they’re doing but they’re doing something. I’m pretty sure its needed whatever it is. The water tends to collect pretty bad west bound around 21st and 15th street exits. At least its getting repaired and brought into better shape right? Been downtown lately? The construction process down there is going very well. Main street is fully finished and the Boston Avenue construction too!

Current Tulsa Metro Construction Projects:

• I-244 - Tulsa Co. - Bridge repair over Ark. River. Summer ‘08. Gibson & Assoc. $1.1 million.
• US-75 / SH-51 - Tulsa Co. - Bridge painting & repair on US-75 over Polecat Creek & on SH-51 over 21st St. S. Summer ‘08. Seminole Equipment (paint) & Gibson & Assoc. (repair). $1.2 million.
• US-75 - Tulsa Co. - Resurface southbound lanes from 56th St. N. to I-244. Fall ‘08. Becco Contr. $1.7 million.
• US-169 - Tulsa Co. - Cable barrier from 36th St. N. ext. no. to ½-mi. no. of 56th St. N. Summer ‘08. Action Safety. $600,000.
• US-75 - Tulsa Co. - Cable barrier from 81st St. S. ext. no. to I-244. Summer ‘08. Action Safety. $800,000.
• SH-20 - Tulsa Co. - Replace bridge 1/10-mi. west of US-169 at Black Jack Creek in Collinsville. Spring ‘08. Sherwood Const. $2.2 million. Local detour onto city streets
• SH-66 - Creek Co. - Surface & bridge work from SH-117 ext. east 1.5 mi. to SH-97. Widening to 4 lanes & bridge reconst. over Rock Creek & overflows. Summer ‘09. Becco Contr. $9 million. Detour westbound: SH-97 so. to SH-117, then west to SH-66. Detour eastbound: SH-117 east to SH-97, then no. to SH-66

If you add it up, there is a lot of money being spent on road repairs — which likely will be around for quite some time. Make the best of it, slow down, move over, and let the crews feel a little less anxious as to being hit by a speeding car or over-sized vehicle rubbing shoulders with them.

If you want to see more details including a map of the construction around the city as well as Oklahoma as a whole visit www.okladot.state.ok.us.

Last weekend is likely to be remembered as one of the most rocking weekends presented to our community. Friday afternoon, I stopped by the Dfest media tent to pick-up our staff writers’ press badges and related materials. Later, we arrived downtown to begin capturing the moments from some extremely marvelous bands.

The night immediately began with a killer performance by Paramore; however, we missed the amazing show (so-we-heard) from Danelle Phillips’s band Congress of a Crow. Although we missed Congress of a Crow’s performance, we did not miss the opportunity to socially network and have a chat with Danelle Phillips, their lead singer. We even persuaded her to throw up the 918, in support of both our website and the local community she represents. “Thank you so much!” she exclaimed as we presented her with a memory card for her digital camera so she could capture the moments herself.

Given the opportunity to sit backstage and converse with the bands and the other members of press was more than a great experience; it was an opportunity for us to show our wealth to the community. Even something small and generous like giving away AA batteries to a random fan backstage of Paramore or giving Danelle a memory card was our chance to be positive. This feeling was more than reciprocated throughout the event. All of the bands were generous with their time and words.

The All American Rejects blasted fans away with a pretty long performance with all their current and previous hits. We met a few great fans and captured some pretty sick shots of the group. Throughout the night we continued to snap photos, take names, and try to mentally note the performances and performers. We did a pretty decent job, from talking to Doug, a 12 year old fan who was leaning against the railing jamming out to “Move Along,” to four random guys we met while picking up refreshments.

Meeting up with Anthony a.k.a. PDA Friday night and being personally invited to his show Saturday at the Blank Slate stage was a great feeling. He has read our website (thistulsa.com) before and was more than supportive of our small-time publication here. Friday night ended with a small party at Brad’s house with some friends and family of PDA and ourselves.

We continued to rock out Dfest Saturday with Sworn Against, PDA, The Roots, Zappa Plays Zappa, Colourmusic, and the crowds backstage.

The parties were great, crowds polite, people awesome, performers excellent, and overall left a definite hole after it was said and done. More about each individual band and their performance soon!

Vision 2025 set many wheels in motion for various real estate and development groups around Tulsa, Oklahoma. There were proposals of remodeling numerous downtown historic locations and large warehouse style buildings into urban living spaces: lofts, flats, and town homes. However, it has been a few years and there has not been a whole lot of progress. Progress is not just measured in visible changes to our downtown community, but the quality of living as well. We realize that not all progress can be seen from the streets, but when do we get to start seeing progress and not just hearing about it.

Been there, done that

Personally, I’ve lived downtown. I lived in Tulsa’s beautiful downtown Tribune building for well over a year. I miss the downtown urban lifestyle that came with living downtown. I miss sitting on the roof and drinking my beer, listening to the loud pedestrians cross Archer and Main street after the bars close, and those loud trains that never seem to let up. Those are elements, whether noise pollution or trash that make living downtown an unique experience. Now, looking back and remembering how difficult it was to find an Urban pad in the first place; where is the rest of the lofts?

Who needs and proposed what?

During Vision 2025 there were proposals and fund requests from ten development / real-estate management companies in Tulsa. The funds were allocated out and distributed to help increase the overall quality of residential living spaces in downtown Tulsa. The funds were allocated based on longevity and overall return on the community for each dollar spent; we think. Why else give someone money to develop a Tulsa loft project, than to make sure its livable, secure, and nice; right?

According to Vision 2025’s website vision2025.info there was supposed to be RFP’s in 2005; seen them yet? The walk project, park remodels, and various other projects that spawned out of the same financial allocation are complete. There are also a few of the loft and building remodels that are complete: Tribune, Philtower, etc in downtown. So yes, there are a few downtown loft living spaces in Tulsa. The Tribune Phase II project listed below is not for any remodeling or further enhancements to the original building. The money is to build a secondary location directly next door the Tribune Building. “Hello, buy my loft, but by the way — a new building is going in right next door which is going to be MUCH nicer!” Try to sell that in two years. Trust me, it’s difficult!

Who, Why, What, Where, When, etc..

Transok Building
600 S. Main St.
Funds requested: $2 million
Total project cost: $4.7 million
Developer: Navajo Properties

The proposal: This is one of several downtown properties that have been purchased by California investors Henry Kaufman and Maurice Kanbar. The pair want to create 52 lofts on the upper floors, with the ground floor used as commercial space. The lofts would range in size from 752 to 1,450 square feet, with rent priced between $940 and $1,812.50 per month. Formerly known as the Public Service of Oklahoma Building, this art deco structure - completed in 1929 - is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Gates Building
Two buildings at 323 E. Brady St. and 216 N. Elgin Ave.
Funds requested: $1 million
Total project cost: $2.25 million
Developer: Gates Building LLC, Robert
Johnson Architects

The proposal: Converting the old Gates Hardware building and an adjacent structure in the Brady District into 16 units. They would rent for about $950 per month starting out. If sold, they would be priced between $180,000 and $200,000.

The Mayo Hotel
115 W. Fifth St.
Funds requested: $8.4 million
Total project costs: $21,342,548 million
Developer: Mayo LLC

The proposal: Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Mayo Hotel was once hailed as the finest hotel in Oklahoma and was the tallest building in the state. In recent years, the Grand Lobby and Mezzanine have been renovated without public funds, and this project would continue that effort. The building would have 118 lofts that would be sized between 700 and 3,060 square feet and rent for $700 to $3,060 per month. There also would be new elevators, a revamped Crystal Ballroom and a rooftop bar. The proposal is split into two parts — one for $5 million and the other for $3.4 million — in case the city wants to help fund only a portion of the work.

First Street Lofts
310 E. First St.
Funds requested: $1,574,315
Total project cost: $2,824,315
Developer: Blue Dome Properties LLC

The proposal: A residential loft building that would be marketed as “creative spaces for creative people.” Sixteen units would range in size from 678 to 1,883 square feet and rent for between $700 to $2,100 per month. The bottom two floors would be commercial space.

The Olive District
Third Street and Kenosha Avenue
Funds requested: $5 million
Total project cost: $11.3 million
Developer: Maverick Properties

The proposal: In what is being billed as the beginning of the Olive District, 25-year-old entrepreneur Micha Alexander would construct a new building that would be a mix of condos and office and retail space. The 29 condos would have prices ranging from $153,150 to $238,200, and a penthouse would be priced at $630,600. Alexander said he is flexible on the name of the Olive District. It originated with the idea of making the cellular tower on the site look like a swivel stick and putting several giant olives at the bottom. (He started up the martini lounge 818 nearby.)

The Wright Building
115 W. Third St.
Funds requested: $1.5 million
Total project cost: $6,065,650
Developer: RK Development LLC

The proposal: To convert the top five floors of the building, which is in the process of being put on the National Register of Historic Places, into 27 one- and two-bedroom loft apartments. They would be sized between 1,027 and 1,710 square feet and rent for between $1,500 to $2,200 per month. A 45-space parking structure would be connected. The 1917 building was the first high-rise medical office in Tulsa.

The Mayo Building
424 S. Main St.
Funds requested: $4.5 million
Total project cost: $15.1 million
Developer: Wiggin Properties LLC

The proposal: The design calls for 94 one- and two-bedroom units in sizes ranging from 600 to 2,000 square feet, with ground-floor commercial outlets such as the current tenant, Billy’s On the Square restaurant. Monthly apartment rent would be $650 to $2,400. Amenities would include hardwood floors and a rooftop terrace. The building was constructed in 1910 and expanded in 1917.

Tulsa Club Condos
115 E. Fifth St.
Funds requested: $2.5 million
Total project cost: $6 million
Developer: Tulsa Club Development Co.

The proposals: With retail and office space on the first two floors of this art deco building, the rest would be converted to condominiums and penthouses. The 47 condominiums would range in sizes from 746 to 1,000 square feet and sell for between $111,000 and $150,000. The 13 penthouses would be 1,300 square feet each and sell for $260,000. This 1926 building was constructed through a joint effort between the Chamber of Commerce and the Tulsa Club, an exclusive organization that was started by Tulsa’s oilmen. Club members enjoyed a lounge, squash courts, gymnasium and barber shop and other amenities until it closed in 1994 due to falling membership.

Tribune Loft Condos
Phase II, adjacent to the original Tribune Building location at 20 E. Archer St.
Funds requested: $4 million
Total project cost: $11,592,000
Developer: American Residential Group

The proposal: A new building would be constructed with complimentary architecture adjacent to the original 1924 Tribune Building, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The second phase would have 40 units with one to three bedrooms and ranging in size from 831 to 2,258 square feet. They would have prices ranging from $165,000 to $395,000. The new building also would have office and retail space on the first floor and parking.

900 Reunion Center
9 E. Fourth St.
Funds requested: $2.76 million
Total project cost: $3.76 million
Developer: Reunion Investments Limited LLC

The proposal: Sixteen luxury condos sized between 1,500 and 1,800 square feet would be constructed in this 10-story building. Pricing for the condos has not been determined.The red-brick with limestone trim building was constructed in 1917 as the First National Bank building.

Conclusions

We don’t really have any conclusions as of yet, but we do have over 25 emails currently out there in cyber-space waiting for answers. We have started the process of finding out some answers and letting you know where we stand on downtown livable spaces. Urban lifestyle in Downtown Tulsa Loft Spaces; we know it exists, and will only get better — but how long do you think it’s going to be before we can really start living and enjoying some downtown Tulsa lofts and amenities?

As a little girl I was not the type to walk around with a lace tablecloth around my head and pretend to walk down the aisle. I very rarely dreamed about my wedding day and what everything would be like, and even after being engaged for over a month I have only purchased one bridal magazine in my life. Going into wedding planning, for someone like me who had no idea what she wanted, was a little intimidating. I had no idea what venues were available (let alone which ones were good), where to start my cake search, or even where more than one bridal shop was for me to start looking at dresses. I have lived in Tulsa my whole life, but I simply have not paid attention to these things until lately. The great thing is that Tulsa is a wonderful place to plan a wedding, and after searching websites and calling a few places most of my wedding is already planned. Tulsa is full of great resources if you just open your eyes to look for them.

The first thing I did (which I believe set the tone for the entire planning process) was visit RealSimple.com and download their wedding planning checklist. This checklist is amazing, and goes through everything you would otherwise forget to think of. They break down how much you should spend on various aspects of the day based on your overall budget, give you a month-by-month checklist of what needs to get done, and give you all kinds of helpful tools like an alcohol purchasing chart and a photography checklist. I love lists, and this website really hit me in the right spot.

There are plenty of wedding planning websites designed specifically for those planning Tulsa weddings, but I couldn’t find one that met all of my needs. I simply Googled things like “wedding venues in Tulsa”, and “Tulsa caterers” and lists and lists of options came up. So far I’ve encountered some great people and some not so helpful people along the way, but I’ve found that most people in Tulsa truly want my wedding day to be great, and they want to help in whatever way they can.

The first big obstacle was to find the venue. This was a little difficult for me because my finance’ and I wanted our wedding and reception to be at the same site. For those of you who are like us and want your entire shindig to be at one venue, it can be rather difficult to find places that are big enough to accommodate more than 120 people. We actually were lucky since that is exactly the number we are inviting. Here were my favorite places after searching Tulsa for a few weeks:

Tulsa Historical Society: This venue was really nice, but since we were planning a day time wedding and they are open during the day they didn’t want us to interrupt their visitors, so we reluctantly stepped aside. For weddings of around 120 people you can have a nice indoor ceremony, but if you get blessed with nice weather their outdoor scene is gorgeous.

Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame: The jazz hall of fame was fun, and would have been great for a night-time casual wedding and reception with mingling and hors d’oeuvres, but we wanted a day-time event and it just didn’t seem to fit.

Dresser Mansion: Another gorgeous venue for an all in one event. The only reason I didn’t consider this one was because one of my best friends had her wedding there, but I would have jumped at it otherwise. It’s perfect if you’re fearless when it comes to weather, because the ceremony will only fit outside if you want more than 100 people.

After lots of searching, we decided on Tarp Chapel. It’s a perfectly adorable, glass chapel in Broken Arrow that is perfect for a daytime ceremony like we want, or for a sunset ceremony in the evening. Many, many people had suggested we check it out. It turns out that other people’s advice led us to the right spot even when a wedding website in Tulsa couldn’t. I guess the best wedding planners in Tulsa are the guests!

Being a fan of Google’s services; I have plenty of alerts setup that notify me of news as it happens near and around Tulsa, Oklahoma. Unfortunately, the news that seems to be appearing lately is absolutely horrible! Not that the quality of the news is less than desired — it is just the overall covered topics make me want to rip my eyes from my skull and step on them.

Have you realized that news is entirely negative? When was the last time you turned on the television and really witnessed a hour block of television focused entirely on the positive environment and scenarios happening in our city? Being that ThisTulsa.com is still a fairly new personable news source; I hereby promise that we will never cover more negative topics than we do positive.

This article spawns from a recent Google alert I received that contained 9/10 articles involving drugs, murder, violence or other crimes against humanity. Curious what is going on in our city? Setup a Google alert.