http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01 Articles and stories from the December 2009 issue of TEXAS MONTHLY. en-us Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:03 -0600 Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:03 -0600 PHP 5.2.11 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss cllewellin@texasmonthly.com (Charlie Llewellin) http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/feature.php The way to a true Texas dance hall'not the urban simulations, with their cosmetic trusses, last-call footraces, and she's-mine testosterone'is through the country, a long drive by pastures and cornfields and cattle guards, past driveways that look like roads and roads with numbers for names. You'll half think you're lost on the way, then feel a shock when you get there, not at the size of the structure but at the number of trucks parked outside. An older couple at the front door will take your money and smile like they know you. They'll gab at length, if you linger, about the bands they saw here when they were kids, dropping names like Adolph Hofner and the Pearl Wranglers, the Texas Top Hands, Johnny Bush, acts you can tell you ought to know better. You listen, but your eyes go to the dance floor. If the band hasn't started'... roar@texasmonthly.com (A) December 2009 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600 TEXAS MONTHLY: December 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/C5gIQnSFqBM/feature.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/feature.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/feature2.php Mayor Bill is on the move. Strapped into the passenger seat of an unmarked Lincoln Town Car, cell phone stuck firmly to his ear, he rolls through the vast grid of streets. He issues orders, barks out instructions. In the waning days of August 2005, something terrible has happened, and in some ineffable, fate-ridden way, it has fallen to him to fix it. That terrible thing is Hurricane Katrina. The storm, which has slammed into the Gulf Coast, has also loosed a flood of evacuees. Of these, 200,000 have landed in Houston. There is no guidebook or FEMA manual that addresses such a massive shelter operation. In Dallas, 30,000 victims have arrived, and Mayor Laura Miller is already complaining that her city is nearing the saturation point. In Houston, 30,000 people will come through the Astrodome alone. This is Mayor Bill's problem. This is why he is pounding through'... roar@texasmonthly.com (A) December 2009 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600 TEXAS MONTHLY: December 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/8Q4PdXubmA8/feature2.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/feature2.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/feature3.php With the end of every year comes an accounting of life'our triumphs, our disappointments, our hopes fulfilled or yet unmet. It is also a time to reflect on those who won't be coming with us into the next year. This annual exercise feels particularly poignant in 2009: The passing of celebrities in the past twelve months was striking not only for the roster of names'Ted Kennedy, Michael Jackson, Ed McMahon, Les Paul, Robert McNamara'but also for the unrelenting number, particularly during what was informally dubbed the "summer of death." In Texas, we noted with special sadness the loss of native greats like Farrah Fawcett, Horton Foote, and Patrick Swayze. We also bid farewell to many who shaped our state's consciousness and fate, from politician Don Yarborough and federal judge William Wayne Justice to civil rights advocate the Reverend Claude Black and Chicana poet Angela de Hoyos, from real estate'... roar@texasmonthly.com (A) December 2009 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600 TEXAS MONTHLY: December 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/IZMwM2UM2eg/feature3.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/feature3.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/feature4.php When Cathy McBroom stepped into the judge's chambers in the summer of 2002, she thought her heart was going to stop. She had been told the judge was a big man, but she'd had no idea just how big until he started rising from behind his desk. He was six feet four and at least 260 pounds'"literally larger than life," she'd later tell her best friend, shaking her head in wonder. Dressed casually in khakis, a button-down white shirt, and a sports coat, he took off his glasses, gave her a broad grin, and in a booming baritone said, "Cathy, I'm Judge Kent. Welcome to Galveston. Have a seat." Cathy, a 44-year-old mother of three, tried to keep her breath steady as she glanced around the room. It looked like a movie set, with lofty ceilings and the U.S. and Texas flags hanging behind the judge's desk. Shelves of'... roar@texasmonthly.com (A) December 2009 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600 TEXAS MONTHLY: December 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/LU_8S0AqLEE/feature4.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/feature4.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/btl.php In mid-September, Governor Rick Perry traveled to Washington for a fundraiser and a meeting with reporters. It was a routine trip that did not figure to be newsworthy. During a press conference, however, a journalist asked about an execution that had taken place on Perry's watch in 2004. This was the now familiar story of Cameron Todd Willingham, who had been convicted of the murder of his three young daughters in a house fire that investigators had found to be arson'a conclusion that experts have since said was based on dubious scientific evidence. Perry responded with characteristic vehemence. "I'm familiar with the latter-day supposed experts on the arson side of it," he said. He accompanied his unflattering description of the "experts" by making quote marks in the air with his fingers. When the governor returned to Texas, an obscure state board, the Texas Forensic Science Commission, was preparing to'... roar@texasmonthly.com (A) December 2009 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600 TEXAS MONTHLY: December 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/utXU-sxaMjk/btl.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/btl.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/behindthelinespodcast.php Coming soon.'... roar@texasmonthly.com () December 2009 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600 TEXAS MONTHLY: December 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/0GInkdBIvhc/behindthelinespodcast.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/behindthelinespodcast.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/hart.php In the custom of modern political campaigns, invitations to a September fundraiser for Governor Rick Perry prominently displayed the names of major contributors. At the pinnacle of the gilded ladder were those who had earned "Lone Star Council Gold," for giving at least $50,000 to the governor's reelection effort. There, perched alongside the usual suspects (political heavyweights like the AT'T Texas Political Action Committee, the Texas Association of Realtors, and the Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas), was an emerging powerhouse in Texas politics: the Border Health PAC, a group closely aligned with Doctors Hospital at Renaissance, a sleek physician-owned health care facility in Edinburg. The hospital opened in 1997 and has recently become a force to be reckoned with. Alonzo Cantu, a prominent McAllen developer and an investor in DHR, was a prolific fund-raiser for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. When DHR opened a new women's hospital, in 2007, Nancy'... roar@texasmonthly.com (A) December 2009 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600 TEXAS MONTHLY: December 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/eoBMv1D4e9o/hart.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/hart.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/letterfrommidland.php Ernest Willis has one vice left: smoking. He smokes in his purple Lincoln Town Car, driving around Midland. He smokes while chatting with his neighbor in his front yard. He smokes at the kitchen table in his condo, which he shares with his son Shawn, who sells cars at a dealership in Odessa. Willis spends a lot of time in the condo. He likes to get up early, usually about six-thirty, and make a pot of coffee. Then he smokes a cigarette and turns on the news. He makes sure Shawn gets up in time to go to work. Sometimes Willis goes over to visit his brother Alton in Odessa, and maybe after a while they'll have lunch at a nearby Furr's Cafeteria. "I spend a lot of time with Alton," Willis told me. "We go eat, sit around and talk. We get in the car and drive around,'... roar@texasmonthly.com (A) December 2009 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600 TEXAS MONTHLY: December 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/j0a9c687QNs/letterfrommidland.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/letterfrommidland.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/bird.php Victorian writers, they make me feel like such a whiny underachiever. Let's take Charles Dickens for one insanely productive example. He scratched out dozens of books, a ridiculous number of short stories, articles, essays, tweets, blog posts, and uncounted tech manuals, from "Quill 2.0 for Dummies" to "Dip Your Nib Into Ink Pot Express!" And all by hand, which meant that when Chuck wisely decided to change a protagonist's name from Jayden Chastain to David Copperfield, he couldn't just hit "find and replace." Even with their hand-scrawled towers of foolscap, though, I don't recall any of the Victorians complaining about carpal tunnel syndrome. Yet here I am, braces on both wrists, pertinent digits snug in wee splints of my own manufacture, whimpering like Glenn Beck. I should be heartier; I started out on a manual typewriter that required the strength of a blacksmith. Mistakes had to be painstakingly erased.'... roar@texasmonthly.com (A) December 2009 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600 TEXAS MONTHLY: December 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/igZpBKdYJs4/bird.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/bird.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/multimedia.php roar@texasmonthly.com () December 2009 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600 TEXAS MONTHLY: December 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/-ciisSxkuwc/multimedia.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/multimedia.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/thehorsesmouth.php NAME: Ginger Reeder | AGE: 50 | HOMETOWN: Dallas | QUALIFICATIONS: As a vice president for Neiman Marcus, scours the globe annually for over-the-top "fantasy" gifts to showcase in The Christmas Book / This year tracked down such items as a $25,000 customized cupcake car, a $12,000 chandelier made from plastic bottles, and the world's fastest electric motorcycle ' A good gift, large or small, makes you think, "This person gets me." That's why even a handwritten note with a flower left at the appropriate time can be great. It's the essence of gift giving. ' Pay attention and shop all year long. I preach this but never practice it. It's a week before Christmas and I'm going, "Oh, my God, what am I going to get my sister?" But six months earlier we were on the phone and she said, "I really love Iron Chef," so I should have'... roar@texasmonthly.com (A) December 2009 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600 TEXAS MONTHLY: December 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/qL_QimQTu4c/thehorsesmouth.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/thehorsesmouth.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/theworkinglife.php Ohler, who was born in New Mexico, worked as an EMT and firefighter in Utah before moving to Houston six years ago. He is stationed at the West University Place Fire Department. I'm not going to lie: I enjoy fighting fire. There's an adrenaline rush'it's exhilarating. I hate to say it, because property is being destroyed, and it is horrible when someone is displaced or when people or animals lose their lives. But in the midst of battle, I'm having a good time. People look at us firefighters and paramedics and think we're crazy. "Why would you give up your whole day to sit there and hope you make a call at two o'clock in the morning for someone?" But that's the whole motivation. You have to have an altruistic nature, to want to help people. I thrive on that good feeling, to know that I made a'... roar@texasmonthly.com (A) December 2009 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600 TEXAS MONTHLY: December 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/QMZMYaM4SoA/theworkinglife.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/theworkinglife.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/thetexanist.php Q. Is it wrong to wear your football team's jersey to church?Bill Bledsoe, Dallas A: The Texanist will endeavor to put the answer to this question in terms that you will understand. As a devoted football fan, you are undoubtedly aware of the phrase "not in my house," a defiant cri de coeur that is generally shouted by a swaggering defensive end who's just sunk a running back for a loss on third-and-short. Well, imagine for a moment that the Almighty is a 265-pound linebacker with meaty arms, a penchant for smashmouthiness, and one of those scary dark visors on His helmet. He who would attend a gathering held in this gentleman's house would do well to observe the accepted dress code or risk the loudest "not in my house" you have ever heard. The proper duds are known as Sunday-go-to-meetings or sometimes even church clothes; an untucked,'... roar@texasmonthly.com (A) December 2009 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600 TEXAS MONTHLY: December 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/7p5iAbcKiWY/thetexanist.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/thetexanist.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/themanual.php 1. History As with most rodeo events, pinpointing barrel racing's exact origin is near impossible. "It probably started out as pretty women on fast horses, but now it's a competitive sport for serious athletes," says Martha Josey, a world-champion barrel racer, Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Famer, and co-owner of Josey Ranch, a barrel-racing training center in Karnack. This spectator sport, dominated by women, dates back to at least 1948, when 38 cowgirls in San Angelo formed the Girls Rodeo Association in an effort to buck the rodeo industry's all-male tradition; in the eighties, the organization's name changed to the Women's Professional Rodeo Association. The WPRA's most popular draw was, and continues to be, barrel racing, a blink-and-you'll-miss-it event in which the fastest time wins. 2. The Horse Successful racing requires, above all else, a worthy steed that responds quickly to cues. Key traits include an even temperament, high levels'... roar@texasmonthly.com (A) December 2009 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600 TEXAS MONTHLY: December 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/wrNFmpZ_LDY/themanual.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/themanual.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/themanual20.php roar@texasmonthly.com () December 2009 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600 TEXAS MONTHLY: December 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/XNCr64GFUY4/themanual20.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/themanual20.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/objectlesson.php The word "retirement" isn't in Billy Joe "Red" McCombs's vocabulary. The 82-year-old businessman, whose entrepreneurial ventures have ranged from owning car dealerships and the San Antonio Spurs to co-founding media conglomerate Clear Channel Communications, typically works sixty hours a week, Monday through Saturday, at his office in San Antonio. "I've been high-energy since the day I was born," says McCombs. One thing that remains static, however, is lunch. Always present in his mini-fridge are cheddar cheese, salad dressing, and a block of bologna, which he slices thick to wrap in iceberg lettuce. "I'm low-carb," says McCombs. He eats in his office three or four times a week, surrounded by family photos and the sounds of Hank Williams or Julio Iglesias on his CD player. On the Counter ' I love peanut butter on apples. ' I've got eight grandkids. These (pictured on the mug) are three of them, and'... roar@texasmonthly.com (A) December 2009 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600 TEXAS MONTHLY: December 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/CBw41C9mTmo/objectlesson.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/objectlesson.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/streetsmarts.php 1. Gregory's of Salado Smitten men whose girlfriends have been singing along not so subtly to Beyonc''s "Single Ladies" make a beeline to this Salado institution. Open since 1977, Gregory's has a wide range of engagement bling'traditional Tacori solitaires, modern micro-pav' settings from Claude Thibaudeau'but even the unattached will fall for the designer pieces, like the Bellarri South Sea pearl necklace with detachable brooch. Ditto for the store's other works of art: Namb' crystal vases, Wood That Works kinetic wall sculptures, and highly stylized wooden kaleidoscopes from Paul Knox. 401 S. Main, 254-947-5703, gregorysofsalado.com 2. Strawberry Patch Giving is never better than receiving when gourmet food is involved. But you can treat yourself and everyone on your shopping list at this epicurean pantry: canned Dumas Walker pickled jalapenos for Mom, mango butter for yourself, Amici olive oil (from the Tuscan olive farm of a former Texas'... roar@texasmonthly.com (A) December 2009 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600 TEXAS MONTHLY: December 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/Pb0VFYi-GM4/streetsmarts.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/streetsmarts.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/hollywoodtx.php It's not called an Oscar curse for nothing, as the likes of Linda Hunt, Mira Sorvino, Mercedes Ruehl, and Brenda Fricker could all tell you. But even by the dismal standards of those post'best supporting actress nosedives, nothing quite compares to the year that Ren'e Zellweger just had. January brought New in Town, a fish-out-of-water comedy that seemed as if it had been pulled from the Saturday Night Live rejected-sketch pile ("Bridget Jones moves to Fargo!" the television advertisements proclaimed without a hint of irony). The independently financed comedy-drama My One and Only was expected to be one of the high-profile acquisitions at February's Berlin Film Festival, but all the major distributors passed. The film's producers eventually struck a self-distribution deal through Freestyle Releasing, and the movie trickled into 250 theaters in August. (It arrives on DVD this month.) Zellweger's sole commercial success of the year, the 3-D animated'... roar@texasmonthly.com (A) December 2009 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600 TEXAS MONTHLY: December 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/ULiGr4b694g/hollywoodtx.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/hollywoodtx.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/bookrev.php As he nears the winter of his Pulitzer- and Oscar-winning career, Larry McMurtry is taking a staid victory lap with a three-volume memoir, which now yields its second installment: Literary Life. At 175 pages, it is a scant look back at forty-plus books and half a century of writing, but it is nevertheless a pleasurable seat at the knee of the famously reticent writer, who chatters on about himself ("an old fashioned realist"), his books ("Little of my work in fiction is pedestrian, but, on the other hand, none of it is really great"), and his influences (such as On the Road, Kerouac's "one really good novel"). Deadpan and self-deprecating, he is equally likely to expound on the autobiographical nature of Duane's Depressed as he is about the time he ate chicken gizzards in Wichita Falls with Susan Sontag. Not surprisingly, Literary Life offers insight into the workaday'... roar@texasmonthly.com () December 2009 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600 TEXAS MONTHLY: December 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/kr1YbxJO4do/bookrev.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/bookrev.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/bookrev2.php Cleaving: A Story of Marriage, Meat, and Obsession will surprise readers who know Austin native Julie Powell only as the winsome novice chef played by Amy Adams in the film version of Julie ' Julia, Powell's near-brilliant first book. Images of that Julie'and of the saltier blogger from the original text'are thoroughly excised by the libidinous shrew found here. This Julie cheats wantonly on her husband, Eric, for two years, until he takes on a girlfriend in retaliation. To gain perspective'and material for a second book'she apprentices herself for six months to a master butcher, finding the work so therapeutic that she embarks on a whirlwind meat-cutter's tour of Argentina, Ukraine, and Tanzania before returning home to Eric and an uneasy, if loving, reconciliation. The Julie in these pages does too much drinking, copulating, and agonizing, sometimes in cringe-worthy detail: Both marriage and book are messy and nearly'... roar@texasmonthly.com () December 2009 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600 TEXAS MONTHLY: December 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/CZ8d9e9AzXk/bookrev2.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/bookrev2.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/bookrev3.php In 2006 Washington Post lifestyle columnist Hank Stuever headed to Frisco (population: roughly 90,000) as a modern explorer seeking the headwaters of the River Xmas, and the result is Tinsel: A Search for America's Christmas Present. Though not against the holiday, he archly notes its nineteeth-century origins and tenuous connections to Christ's birth before insinuating himself into three households: that of Jeff and Bridgette Trykoski, whose outdoor yule lights rack up three million YouTube hits; well-heeled Tammie Parnell, who runs a holiday decorating business; and evangelical divorced mom Caroll Cavazos, who hopes that her budget-breaking finds at Best Buy will make a rough season merry for her kids. Stuever knows his way around a wry observation and catalogs his subjects' excesses with gentle bemusement. Though he remains cynically unaffected by their zeal and heads home decrying the synthetic seasonal cheer, his epistle from big-box America is revealing and'... roar@texasmonthly.com () December 2009 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600 TEXAS MONTHLY: December 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/X4uuCUuOp74/bookrev3.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/bookrev3.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/bookinterview.php The award-winning dramatist (Signs of Life: Six Comedies of Menace) looks to the Texas roots of novelist Patricia Highsmith to explain the traits and compulsions that informed her life. In The Talented Miss Highsmith, she explores the crime writer's journals and love letters to reveal a complex and erratic individual who created brilliantly suspenseful fiction but was never comfortable in her own skin. Schenkar lives and writes in Paris and New York. Tell us about the birth and childhood of Patricia Highsmith. Like everything else about Pat, her birth, on January 19, 1921, in her grandmother's boardinghouse in Fort Worth, was unusual. As Pat liked to say, she was "born out of wedlock but legitimate": Her mother, Mary Coates, had divorced her father, Jay B. Plangman, nine days before she was born. Mary, a flamboyant artist and illustrator, then took off for Chicago to look for work. Pat's grandmother,'... roar@texasmonthly.com () December 2009 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600 TEXAS MONTHLY: December 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/cnVJQEzzUec/bookinterview.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/bookinterview.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/cdrev.php By now the archetypal Texas country-pop of Lyle Lovett rings with such easygoing familiarity that even his new songs sound like old favorites. It's a testament to how well Lovett inhabits his own skin. And yet while recent years have seen some excellent recordings, a few of them'particularly the less spontaneous Large Band albums'leave you with the nagging feeling that you've heard it all before; it's on his solo efforts where Lovett seems the most engaged. Natural Forces (Lost Highway) now finds the middle ground'a band session with a modest, organic feel. In terms of his material, it's also one of Lovett's best efforts in years. If only there were more of it. Lovett writes (or co-writes) only five of the eleven songs, and they're all gems: the melancholy surrender of the title track and "Empty Blue Shoes," the wry humor of "It's Rock and Roll" and "Pantry,"'... roar@texasmonthly.com () December 2009 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600 TEXAS MONTHLY: December 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/OOIYuQ0pPPE/cdrev.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/cdrev.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/cdrev2.php Though he manhandles his guitar like a professional wrestler and sings with the voice of a walrus, Austin's Jon Dee Graham makes music about human frailty and emotional vulnerability. Graham has endured a lot lately: His son was diagnosed with a debilitating disease, and last year, a car accident nearly took his life and left him with chronic pain. None of it, however, has kept him from making one of his finest albums in years. It's Not As Bad As It Looks (Freedom) resounds with not-going-to-let-the-bastards-get-me determination. The burning opener, "Beautifully Broken (That's All)," which recounts his recovery, is followed by other astonishing songs: There are master strokes like "Gilead" and "My Lucky Day," some Blind Willie Johnson channeling in "God's Gonna Give You What You Need," and the fierce "La La (La-La-La)," which repeatedly taunts, "How do you like me now?" While the album could use some'... roar@texasmonthly.com () December 2009 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600 TEXAS MONTHLY: December 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/54IWXUThFSY/cdrev2.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/cdrev2.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/cdrev3.php It's East not West Texas that's known as a blues hotbed, but Long John Hunter (born in 1931 in Louisiana) staked his claim in the hardscrabble juke joints of El Paso and Ju'rez, most notably the Lobby Bar. Hunter's raucous thirteen-year, seven-night-a-week tenure there, which began in 1957, is the stuff of regional legend. He drew in the best: Etta James, Lightnin' Hopkins, Gatemouth Brown, even Buddy Holly. Despite this, and a 1954 single on Duke Records as well as later releases on Alligator, Hunter remains a benchwarmer on the national blues scene, without even a Wikipedia entry to his name. Which is a shame, because as Looking for a Party (Blues Express) shows, Hunter is ever the natural, expressive talent. He lays down an affable and fluid swing and pours his heart into his R'B-infused vocals, sounding at times like a young Sam Cooke. His understated guitar'... roar@texasmonthly.com () December 2009 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600 TEXAS MONTHLY: December 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/zGCTxOZUFZk/cdrev3.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/cdrev3.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/musicinterview.php As an instrumental virtuoso with a wildly curious nature, the 47-year-old songwriter, banjo player, and guitarist is known for genre cross-pollination: He has played bluegrass with Austin band the Bad Livers, jazz with Bill Frisell, and country with Robert Earl Keen. Pizza Box (ATO), Barnes's first album on a major label, counts Dave Matthews as a collaborator. You grew up in Belton. What do you remember about your upbringing? It was kind of austere'a farming community. But I have good memories of the people there who played music. Was your family musical? Not so much. But they were big music fans. My dad was an original rockabilly dude'he raced cars and went to see Elvis in Waco'and my parents had a huge admiration for all the Opry stars: Hank Williams, Red Foley, Bob Wills. I grew up thinking those guys were the greatest expression of humanity, and I wanted'... roar@texasmonthly.com () December 2009 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600 TEXAS MONTHLY: December 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/D6v5F6hH8Lw/musicinterview.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/musicinterview.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/editorsletter.php The night I got married we danced for hours at the AmVets Post 65, in Marfa. It's a large building with sheet-metal siding, a beat-up but gracious wooden stage, dramatic wooden rafters, and an Iwo Jima mural between the doors to the lobby. Like a lot of small-town halls, it's a hardworking place. Over the years, I'd been to gun shows, concerts, and birthday parties there. The week before the wedding, it had been the site of the Marfa High School prom, and "MHS 2004" was still stapled up on either side of the stage. An AmVets hall is a special place for a celebration. The walls of Post 65 are filled with photos of veterans'and a few soldiers who never came home from their wars. Three large portraits in the lobby, near the bar, pay tribute to the town's Vietnam casualties, Mario Juan Mendias, Joe Henry Samaniego, and'... roar@texasmonthly.com (A) December 2009 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600 TEXAS MONTHLY: December 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/KiuImZ5ykug/editorsletter.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/editorsletter.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/roar.php Most people would never suspect that I'a 53-year-old retired Navy veteran who is conservative to the core'would support the legalization of marijuana ["Texas High Ways," October 2009]. However, I do. It has come to the point in the state of Texas where too much time and effort is being wasted by law enforcement trying to catch people with drugs, especially marijuana. This seems to be the only thing occupying the minds of our Department of Public Safety these days. If done right, legalizing marijuana would put the drug cartels out of business, save the state millions of law enforcement dollars each year, make the state some much-needed tax revenue, and probably reduce the consumption rate of marijuana among young Texans. Marcus Wilbanks San Antonio I loved your article about Texas and cannabis legalization. I'm a cancer survivor living with complications from a bone marrow transplant. I was becoming'... roar@texasmonthly.com () December 2009 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600 TEXAS MONTHLY: December 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/ams1SjNoMFc/roar.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/roar.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/contributor.php John Spong Photograph by James H. Evans "The best way to save these buildings is to use them," says senior editor John Spong about the classic Texas dance halls that he visited for "Step Right Up". Of the thousands of landmarks across the state, Spong selected eight of his favorites, most of which are in Central Texas and exhibit a strong German-Czech influence. And if his picks put you in the mood to scoot across the floor, you can join Spong for a party at Sengelmann Hall, in Schulenburg, on December 12 to celebrate the story. Steven Tabbutt It is the perfect image for a story with the perfect title: "Perversion of Justice", about a powerful judge who repeatedly victimized women in his office. "The idea of Judge'... roar@texasmonthly.com () December 2009 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600 TEXAS MONTHLY: December 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/RktRrfr2Kbg/contributor.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/contributor.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/filterdining.php Ciao Bello Houston The Vallone restaurant dynasty'specifically Tony and Jeff'has an instant hit on its hands with Ciao Bello, whose name translates aptly to "Hi, gorgeous." It seems that adding dramatic art to the striking setting that previously housed Jimmy Wilson's Seafood and Chop House (high ceilings, visible kitchen, massive wine walls, and a lovely patio) and offering classic Italian dishes at mid-level prices result in a packed house. Our favorite entr'e was pure Tony: skinny strands of fedelini pasta topped by a buttery sauce cut with lemon and vermouth. We were also quite fond of the cuscinetti, plump pasta "pillows" stuffed with chicken, fontina, sausage, and spinach. Ciao bello, indeed. Bar. 5161 San Felipe, near Sage Rd (713-960-0333). Open Mon'Thur 11'10, Fri 11'11, Sat 5'11, Sun 5'10. $$'$$$ W+ Justine's Austin The bistro's Web site, featuring grainy black and white photos of seminude women in a bathtub, has generated'... roar@texasmonthly.com (A) December 2009 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600 TEXAS MONTHLY: December 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/i7ziMDR9ZZ0/filterdining.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/filterdining.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/patspick.php You should definitely try to get to Samar soon, while chef-owner Stephan Pyles is there, spending quality time with his new baby. At any given moment, he might be greeting newcomers, rushing back to the kitchen, or explaining the exotic menu to the tables of downtown businesspeople and arts patrons who have wandered over from nearby museums and performance halls. "Isn't this fun?!" he blurts out to a group he's escorting around. The guy is obviously having a blast. Indeed, it's almost impossible not to have a good time here, especially if you're in the main room, with its semi-open kitchen and jangling music. Located on the ground level of a commercial building, the space is defined by tall plate-glass windows, glowing lamp shades, yards of crimson fabric around secret alcoves, and a majestic Syrian beaded chandelier. Ever the trailblazer, Pyles helped invent Southwestern cuisine in the eighties, then'... roar@texasmonthly.com (A) December 2009 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600 TEXAS MONTHLY: December 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/X8QfWKodajk/patspick.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/patspick.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/multimedia2.php roar@texasmonthly.com () December 2009 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600 TEXAS MONTHLY: December 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/0fJOlcvH-g8/multimedia2.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/multimedia2.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/recipe.php Recipe from Samar by Stephan Pyles, Dallas Tahini Sauce 1/4 cup tahini 1 cup Greek'style plain whole-milk yogurt 1/2 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice salt and pepper Combine tahini, yogurt, and lemon juice in a small mixing bowl and whisk until smooth and creamy. Season it with salt and pepper and set aside. Vinaigrette 2 tablespoons Spanish sherry vinegar 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon) zest of 1/2 lemon 1/4 teaspoon sugar 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil salt and pepper to taste Combine vinegar, lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar, and Dijon mustard in a small mixing bowl. Whisk in olive oil, little by little, in a slow, steady stream, until vinaigrette thickens or emulsifies. Season vinaigrette with salt and pepper and set aside. Salad 24 cherry tomatoes 1 English cucumber 1 green'... roar@texasmonthly.com () December 2009 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600 TEXAS MONTHLY: December 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/OJL3qPPxeZU/recipe.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/recipe.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/webextra.php It was 1954 and there were little Catholics everywhere. It was the baby boom and Catholic parents were baby factories, moving to the suburbs and producing children to fuel the Catholic schools. When I started second grade in 1954, St. Camillus School in Maryland smelled of virgin concrete and plaster, blackboards that had never been written on. I remember the highly polished floors and asphalt tile blocks, and how strangely quiet it was, even with so many children there. Nuns glided down the halls, their heavy black wool skirts flapping like flags in a light wind while rosary beads, hanging from their waistbands, clicked in rhythm with the flapping of the black wool. Before the school was completed, we were farmed out to existing schools. Like a little Catholic gypsy girl I spent kindergarten in St. John the Baptist de la Salle in Chillum and first grade at'... roar@texasmonthly.com (A) December 2009 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600 TEXAS MONTHLY: December 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/v5PpfBtoKWk/webextra.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/webextra.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/recipe2.php Recipe from Donna Xander. A long-time favorite Christmas recipe in my house. It seems simple but it's deceptively hard to make. It's beautiful though, elegant, understated, and delicious. Cake 3/4 cup sugar 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature 8 ounces almond paste 3 eggs 1 tablespoon kirsch or Triple Sec 1/4 teaspoon almond extract 1/4 cup flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder Powdered sugar Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously butter and flour 8-inch round cake pan (springform works best). Combine sugar, butter, almond paste in mixing bowl and blend well. Beat in eggs, liqueur, almond extract. Add flour and baking powder, beating just until mixed through'do not overbeat. Bake until tester comes out clean, about 40-50 minutes. Let cool. Invert onto serving platter and dust lightly with powdered sugar. Raspberry Sauce 1 pt. (2 cups) fresh raspberries (with 2 tablespoons sugar)'... roar@texasmonthly.com () December 2009 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600 TEXAS MONTHLY: December 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/dBfwcj7PazQ/recipe2.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-12-01/recipe2.php