http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01 Articles and stories from the July 2009 issue of TEXAS MONTHLY. en-us Thu, 16 Jul 2009 00:00:01 -0500 Thu, 16 Jul 2009 00:00:01 -0500 PHP 5.2.10 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss cllewellin@texasmonthly.com (Charlie Llewellin) http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/thetexanistunleashed.php roar@texasmonthly.com () July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/64s9uLb-a68/thetexanistunleashed.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/thetexanistunleashed.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/webextra.php Twice I had the honor'that's what it was'of interviewing Walter Cronkite. The first time was in September 2003, in the restaurant at the Regency Hotel, in New York, where Mr. Cronkite met me for breakfast and an extended talk about the state of journalism. He was clearly hobbled by various ailments and slowed by age'he was then 86'and he was extremely hard of hearing, a challenge in a loud and crowded room. But as soon as I asked him the first question, he sprang to life, and he remained animated the whole time, even when disgraced New York Times reporter Jayson Blair, jawing with his book publisher at a nearby table, approached to pay his respects. Cronkite could not have been nicer to him, though he muttered to me afterward, "What do you say to that guy?" The second time was in February 2006, on a day he traveled to'... roar@texasmonthly.com (A) July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/M_bNfTimhiM/webextra.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/webextra.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/bird.php For many years I had a fairly basic operating definition of what a real friend was. If I got thrown into jail in Arkansas, a real friend would come and bail me out. No one has very many stalwarts in her life. I was lucky that I acquired five by birth'two sisters, three brothers'because, growing up, I didn't make many friends of any variety outside the gene pool. As a military brat, I was uprooted constantly. Many such brats become kudzu-like in their ability to take over whatever alien landscape they are repotted into and be elected head cheerleader by the end of second period. I was the other type: a twitchy introvert with a number of "nervous complaints," more shrinking violet than kudzu. Dreaming of busting into hot games of four square and red rover, I asked my mother for the secret to making friends. "To have friends,"'... roar@texasmonthly.com (A) July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/c4fUWWBdEbA/bird.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/bird.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/bookrev.php There's no more-welcome sign of the summer reading season than Joe R. Lansdale's Vanilla Ride, featuring the troublemaking and problem-solving escapades of Hap Collins and Leonard Pine. The unlikely pair of crime fighters (Hap is a white, determinedly heterosexual, underemployed construction worker; Leonard is a black, loudly queer, underemployed nightclub bouncer) last appeared in 2001's Captains Outrageous, which found them dodging bandits in Mexico. Now they're back in their East Texas stomping grounds, where an old pal, Marvin Hanson, begs them to bring home his granddaughter, Gadget (n'e Julia), who has taken to selling dope with some local lowlifes. After kicking the snot out of the punks and flushing their product, the two-man wrecking crew learns that the dealers were fronting for Dixie Mafia mobsters'and the messy affair does not come to a halt until the FBI, a posse of assorted tough guys, and a hired killer get'... roar@texasmonthly.com (A) July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/urZoNZm9ZsQ/bookrev.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/bookrev.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/bookrev2.php It took four novels for Steve Hockensmith to steer his sleuthing ranch hand brothers, Gustav "Old Red" and Otto "Big Red" Amlingmeyer, to Texas, but the budding town of San Marcos circa 1893 proves a fine fit for The Crack in the Lens and its unpretentious brand of mystery. The series was launched in 2006 with Holmes on the Range, in which Otto passes the time on a trail ride by reading a Sherlock Holmes story to the illiterate Gus, who decides to emulate the great man and solve crimes through deductive reasoning. Having displayed a surprising knack for "detectiving," the saddle-bum Sherlock has now ridden off, Otto in tow, to the Lucky Seven ranch, in the Hill Country, where he is determined to unravel a heinous crime with a deeply personal connection: the brutal murder five years earlier of his darling Gertie Eichelberger. Deflecting nonstop threats from'... roar@texasmonthly.com (A) July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/9p0EWVoz6dg/bookrev2.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/bookrev2.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/bookinterview.php The San Antonio author has exhibited an impressive sense of worldliness with his literary mysteries, the settings of which range from seventeenth-century Amsterdam to twentieth-century Florida. The Devil's Company, his sixth novel, returns to eighteenth-century London, where pugilist-turned-PI Benjamin Weaver'who first appeared in A Conspiracy of Paper and later in A Spectacle of Corruption'becomes embroiled in the intrigues of the British East India Company. Liss has regularly appeared on the New York Times Notable Books list and was the 2001 winner of the Barry, Macavity, and Edgar awards for best first novel. Compare your current perspective on writing with your attitude after your first book, A Conspiracy of Paper. When I started out, it was a much more desperate kind of writing. With my first book, I wanted to produce something that I could publish. With my second novel, I was terrified I would not be able to do'... roar@texasmonthly.com (A) July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/9hn2pH1oDLs/bookinterview.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/bookinterview.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/hollywoodtx.php Tawdry and overheated, featuring arguably the blowsiest cinematic catfight since Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?, this year's surprise hit thriller Obsessed is no one's idea of a respectable movie. The story follows an investment banker (Idris Elba) whose marriage to his former secretary (Beyonc' Knowles) is threatened by a psychotic office temp (Ali Larter). Mashing up elements of Fatal Attraction, Disclosure, and even Jungle Fever, the movie turns more hysterical and daffy as it goes along. By the climax, Knowles is forced to deliver lines like "You think you're crazy? I'll show you crazy. Just try me, bitch," while Larter finds herself literally swinging from the chandelier. Yet if Obsessed wins no points for elegance, it certainly shows us a cheesy good time. And its considerable success at the box office (it debuted at number one and grossed more than $65 million domestically) reveals something else unexpected: Houston-born Knowles,'... roar@texasmonthly.com (A) July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/qMIHDQLYF7I/hollywoodtx.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/hollywoodtx.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/talks.php You were elected mayor of San Antonio on May 9 with more than 56 percent of the vote, even though you ran against eight other people. Could you ever have imagined that you would avoid a runoff, let alone that the magnitude of your victory would be so impressive? No, it was a surprise. I was just hoping that I would get to 50 percent plus one. So when the early vote came back and it was more than 56 percent, I was elated. As a city councilman in 2005, you made it into the mayor's race runoff, although you were ultimately drubbed by Phil Hardberger. How did losing'and being out of office for four years'affect your confidence going into this? I was confident going in, but as the saying goes, "Once bitten, twice shy." Because of my defeat in 2005, I don't know if I approached it'... roar@texasmonthly.com (A) July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/ty5JPyrmKPc/talks.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/talks.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/theworkinglife.php Susie Q. (not her real name) has been reviewing hotels, restaurants, and retailers anonymously for about six years. She works for several market research companies, such as Sinclair Customer Metrics, to whom she reports her findings after posing as an everyday customer and testing out products and services. She has lived in San Antonio for more than 25 years. It's mystery shopper lingo to call your visit a "shop," whether it's retail or dinner or a hotel. So it's a "dinner shop" or a "hotel shop." I started out doing small and simple shops, like with video rental stores, rental storage units, and shipping outlet stores. Then it was fast food and family dining, and nowadays I get assigned hotels and upscale restaurants'there are certain ones in town I'm always excited about. I've also done specialty shoe stores and tanning salons. I have a pet store shop coming'... roar@texasmonthly.com (A) July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/G5Qyn3-JPkQ/theworkinglife.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/theworkinglife.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/themanual.php Some things never change, like the irrepressible desire to float a Hill Country river on a 100-degree day'with, most naturally, a cooler of beer. And while the basic art of loading one's booze boat also remains the same (use a separate inner tube with a bottom, pump it with extra air for a snug fit around the cooler), what is new are a few rules. River regulations enacted in 2007 by the City of New Braunfels to curb rowdy behavior among the 600,000 visitors who descend upon the area each summer are now vigorously enforced at entry points and exits and at random checkpoints along the banks. "These changes affect the Guadalupe just upstream, or north, of Gruene and the Comal, since it falls within the incorporated city limits," says New Braunfels police sergeant Chris Snyder, who notes that on Memorial Day weekend'the kickoff to tubing season'the city issued'... roar@texasmonthly.com (A) July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/e3wXMRYX3yE/themanual.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/themanual.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/thehorsesmouth.php NAME: John Wells | AGE: 50 | HOMETOWN: Outside Terlingua | QUALIFICATIONS: Runs the Southwest Texas Alternative Energy and Sustainable Living Field Laboratory, a personal experiment in green living / Chronicles his experiences online at thefieldlab.blogspot.com ' After working in fashion photography and set design in New York City for twenty years, I moved upstate to work as a building contractor. I had a huge, beautiful house on 32 acres, but the mortgage and property taxes were killing me'I was paying $1,000 a month in taxes. I decided I would try a debt-free lifestyle. I knew a couple, Abe and Josie Connally, who were practicing sustainable living in West Texas, so in October 2007 I packed up and moved. Now I own 40 acres in the desert, and my property taxes are $100 a year. ' I had experimented with sustainable living in New York. In the summer I'... roar@texasmonthly.com (A) July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/yh8iyax_hDQ/thehorsesmouth.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/thehorsesmouth.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/cdrev.php How did you celebrate your high school graduation? Wimberley's Sarah Jarosz marked the occasion with a debut album, Song Up in Her Head (Sugar Hill). The eighteen-year-old overachiever has been well-known regionally for years, appearing at numerous festivals and even with the Austin Symphony. Yet unlike a lot of child prodigies (she started playing mandolin at age ten), she's no mere technical instrumentalist: She's also a strong singer. Her soulful voice provides the glue for her longish, melancholy compositions, and she's brimming with big ideas'almost too many, in fact. Overlong and a bit unfocused, Song Up in Her Head, which was recorded in Nashville around her class schedule, is nonetheless surprisingly accomplished. It's easy to see why bluegrass stars like Jerry Douglas, Abigail Washburn, and Tim O'Brien are converts. Free-flowing, meditative songs like "Tell Me True," "Long Journey," "I Can't Love You Now," and "Left Home" (written by'... roar@texasmonthly.com () July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/cWv0APy7k_Y/cdrev.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/cdrev.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/cdrev2.php As pseudo-realist dub/funk/Afrobeat/hip-hop/Latin ensembles go, it's tough to beat Ocote Soul Sounds and Adrian Quesada. Okay, so they're unique'but as a spin-off of two genre-bending bands, you'd expect nothing less. Ocote Soul Sounds is a pseudonym for Mart'n Perna, the founder and saxophonist of NYC's Antibalas, the dozen-member group that fueled an Afrobeat revival, while Quesada is a founding member and guitarist for Austin's ten-piece Grupo Fantasma, whose modernized cumbia-funk-salsa counts Prince among its admirers. Coconut Rock (ESL) is the pair's third collaboration, and this time they've added an array of guest vocalists to their psychedelic trance stew, among them Brazilian star Tita Lima and Antibalas's Marcos Garcia. Perna and Quesada each play multiple instruments (it takes a seven-piece band to re-create their music live) and keep the grooves hypnotic, with chanting, reverb-drenched horns, percussion, and guitars. It's a creative mix anchored by a persistent funky undercurrent. Freed'... roar@texasmonthly.com () July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/4hH3O7P_WFo/cdrev2.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/cdrev2.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/cdrev3.php From his public sparring with the Nashville establishment to his marriage to (and subsequent divorce from) Dixie Chick Emily Erwin, Charlie Robison has often attracted more attention for his personal life than his music. Which is a shame, because the Bandera-raised singer is a sharp, natural talent with an affable grace. Beautiful Day (Dualtone) is his first album in five years, and in some respects, it offers few surprises. The album boasts a big melodic and muscular pop-country sound that sidesteps the audience pandering so typical of the genre; there's also the requisite cover by a Nashville outsider (Bobby Bare Jr.'s "Nothin' Better to Do"). But then there's something different: Robison's writing gets personal. He touches on his divorce in songs like the title track, "Yellow Blues," and "She's So Fine" without reveling in self-pity. Still, "Middle of the Night" and "Feelin' Good" seem like afterthoughts, and ending'... roar@texasmonthly.com () July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/6-Qlgvys2dM/cdrev3.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/cdrev3.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/musicinterview.php The Austin-born, Dallas-raised lead singer for the Old 97's has led a fruitful double life as a solo artist with the albums Mythologies (1989), The Instigator (2002), and The Believer (2006). He has just released his fourth album, Rhett Miller (Shout! Factory). You actually began as a solo artist, making your first album in high school. Your future Old 97's collaborator Murry Hammond produced it. How did you get from there to the Old 97's? The 97's formed in '93. It was a different iteration of Murry and me. We had a few other bands and got frustrated about battling this testosterone-driven rock world. We said, "Let's form a band that doesn't run the risk of getting successful. A coffeehouse, countryish, folk music band." Of course, ironically, that's the band that became successful. Have the Old 97's been together continuously since then? Not so long ago, there were rumors of'... roar@texasmonthly.com (A) July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/eomA8KUVccw/musicinterview.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/musicinterview.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/thetexanist2.php Q: Propane or charcoal? Gus Burns, Corpus Christi A: Over the years, the Texanist has had a foot in both of these combustive camps. Propane is greener, cleaner, and speedier, and on occasion, he has found these qualities persuasive. Charcoal, on the other hand, delivers a slightly better flavor and the pyrotechnical satisfaction derived from setting something on fire. The choice between the two can be said to make manifest the classic struggle between convenience and quality, an ageless battle that has reared its head innumerable times throughout human history. Your query echoes such antique conundrums as "printing press versus illuminated calligraphy," "phonograph versus live band," and "Night Hawk Top Chop't Classic TV dinner versus Momma's home cooking." Needless to say, the Texanist takes this question very seriously. He has studied it at great length, broken it down and built it back up and broken it down again.'... roar@texasmonthly.com (A) July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/TnTMNg3LVws/thetexanist2.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/thetexanist2.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/objectlesson.php After well-publicized struggles with addiction, Texas Rangers center fielder Josh Hamilton is back on track to be one of baseball's most powerful hitters. Before and after home games, the 28-year-old can be found in the team locker room at the Ballpark in Arlington, where he gets suited up, jokes around with teammates, and stashes his most valuable gear. "A locker is the player's toolbox," says Hamilton. "I store wristbands, batting gloves, and a bunch of other secret things in there." One thing that's not hush-hush is his newfound spiritual devotion. The father of three regularly sits in his black leather chair in front of his cache of equipment to read Scripture before games. For the Texas Rangers' game schedule, along with team and player stats, visit Texasrangers.com. For information on American and National Baseball Leagues, check out MLB.com. ' Pony cleats are back in the'... roar@texasmonthly.com (A) July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/8HbeXcTVbQM/objectlesson.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/objectlesson.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/streetsmarts.php 1. Victor Tango's Tristan Simon's fifth Henderson Avenue establishment, billed as a gastropub, entices a good-looking twenty- to thirtysomething crowd that comes here for upscale bar food and a drink menu so good that leaving a little fuzzy is a distinct possibility. Small plates of two-bite appetizers like lamb chop lollipops and mini'cheeseburger tacos encourage sharing, and the stout drinks, like the champagne-infused French 75 and the muddled mint-and-cucumber Victor Tango, make any night of the week more extravagant. 3001 N. Henderson Ave., 214-252-8595, victortangos.com 2. Stacy Hyde The cool palette (white, cream, pale blue) of this home-furnishings store exudes "chic beachside shack meets posh Parisian boutique." Overstuffed couches covered in crisp, bleached fabric are flanked by weathered side tables scattered with silver seashells. The gourd-shaped lamps by Dallas-based Arteriors add a touch of citified elegance, and the affordable price points for the on-trend styles can't be beat.'... roar@texasmonthly.com (A) July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/4fJenne4nug/streetsmarts.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/streetsmarts.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/feature.php *And we do mean foulmouthed. If you are offended by obscene language, proceed with caution. It is almost five p.m. on a Sunday in December and I'm sitting with Ted Nugent in the back of one of Jerry Jones's jets. The plane has just left Kerrville for Dallas, where the Nuge'one of the terms with which Ted refers to himself when he deems first-person pronouns and his given name to be insufficient'will perform his trademark solo-electric-guitar rendition of the National Anthem before a pivotal Cowboys game with the Giants. Though he knows he's an obvious choice for the job, he being one part guitar hero, one part fabled outdoorsman, one part pillar of the political right, and in every part an American patriot'"I'm a defiant motherfucker from the very origins of the Concord bridge!"'he has yet to put a finger on how he got the gig. "It will be'... roar@texasmonthly.com (A) July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/Qw3songFOfo/feature.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/feature.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/letterfromrefugio.php One morning in October 2006, Nathan Smith, a 38-year-old musician from Los Angeles, jumped into his dented red 1972 Thunderbird, picked up his friend Kathryn Brown, and headed to Texas for the first time in his life. He drove nonstop, except for bathroom breaks, pushing the car as fast as he could through Arizona and New Mexico. Not long after he crossed the Texas state line, a DPS trooper pulled him over for speeding and asked him where he was going. "To find treasure," Nathan exclaimed. "I'm on the hunt for buried treasure!" The puzzled officer let him go with just a warning, and Nathan was soon barreling down the highway again, finally arriving outside the tiny town of Refugio, north of Corpus Christi. It was nearly three o'clock in the morning. Nathan drove to a bridge over the Mission River and stopped, his heart pounding. He turned to'... roar@texasmonthly.com (A) July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/NalI9hueIIk/letterfromrefugio.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/letterfromrefugio.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/douglasbrinkley.php Theodore Roosevelt had been enthralled with the idea of Texas since 1883, when he arrived in the Dakota Territory to ranch cattle. To Roosevelt, the outdoors brought spiritual renewal to city dwellers, and many of the Badlands cowboys he encountered spoke of the Hill Country as a hunter's paradise, teeming with big-bodied deer. It wasn't until nine years later, however, as the U.S. civil service commissioner, that the 33-year-old visited the Lone Star State for the first time. Officially, he came to investigate the case of a few U.S. postal employees who had been dismissed for purely political reasons. But he also made sure to arrange for a six-day collared peccary hunt that would enliven The Wilderness Hunter, the outdoors memoir he was writing. Furthermore, Roosevelt was planning to anchor future installments of his massive history of the frontier, The Winning of the West. "The next volumes I take'... roar@texasmonthly.com (A) July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/sD1tISS5yxc/douglasbrinkley.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/douglasbrinkley.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/btl.php When you live here long enough, you become inured to certain things that might otherwise drive you crazy, like the fact that we rank, among all states, near or at the bottom of too many lists: dead last in health insurance coverage, forty-ninth for children living in poverty, well below average in the incarceration of nonviolent teenagers, and so on. So when the Legislature gets infatuated with a nonpressing issue'this session it was voter ID'instead of trying to improve dire situations that have persisted for decades, the public response isn't outrage but a collective shrug. It's our way to embrace the bright side of the Texas myth (independence, individualism) while ignoring the dark side, which leaves the less fortunate to fend for themselves. Some of these evils have been with us for so long that we've come to believe they're intractable, even though other states have proved they aren't.'... roar@texasmonthly.com (A) July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/RTBx7lsqi6s/btl.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/btl.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/feature2.php The Eighty-First Legislature was like Seinfeld: a show about nothing. It was dominated by an event that was a year away, the looming 2010 Republican gubernatorial primary battle between Rick Perry and Kay Bailey Hutchison, and by issues that were political rather than substantive, none more so than the session-long battle over voter ID. And it achieved nothing, other than an endless succession of dying bills, forlorn hopes, and bitter recriminations in the closing days. The major event of the session was a sea change in the leadership, as Joe Straus replaced Tom Craddick as Speaker. This upgrade brought about an instant change in the culture of the House, and for most of the session the lower chamber functioned in a bipartisan manner that was reminiscent of the Pete Laney era. Straus was so immersed in learning his new job that he did not really work closely with the other'... roar@texasmonthly.com (A) July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/zkU07605sh0/feature2.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/feature2.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/feature3.php Courtney Tissiere Swig Martini Bar, San Antonio Swig Martini, a lounge-y San Antonio bo'te that has locations on both the North Side and downtown, might boast a 35-martini menu, but its bartenders, like Courtney Tissiere, are also encouraged to put their own spin on the American classic. When thinking of the perfect summer thirst quencher, Tissiere first had visions of a crisp, champagne-topped cocktail garnished with Poteet strawberries. But since the popular Texas fruit isn't in season, she decided to change course, reaching instead for cucumbers and the Austin-'based Tito's Handmade Vodka'at twelve years old, it's the granddaddy of Texas-made spirits'for an equally cool quaff. Sipping her "mojito in martini form" while people-watching on the River Walk may be the best way to spend a balmy night. CUCUMBER MINTINI 1/4 cucumber 5 fresh mint leaves, plus 1 sprig for garnish 2 lime wedges 2 sugar'... roar@texasmonthly.com (A) July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/cAcNT0RiJRg/feature3.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/feature3.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/feature4.php Great historical achievements are often taken for granted. Forty years ago, for example, on July 20, 1969, folks gathered around televisions and radios as Neil Armstrong stepped down onto the moon; they wept in public and in private; they never forgot the particulars of their experience on that day. But most people born after 1969 view the achievement as a foregone conclusion. They may never stop to consider in amazement the idea of a man in a space suit standing on the surface of the planetary satellite that humans had been staring at in wonder for tens of thousands of years. Certainly, they rarely contemplate the astounding journey that led to that first step. On April 12, 1961, only three months after President John F. Kennedy came into office, the Russian Yuri Gagarin became the first person to orbit the earth. In response, Kennedy declared it his intention, in'... roar@texasmonthly.com (A) July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/nPlLzXWRIUY/feature4.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/feature4.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/streetcam.php roar@texasmonthly.com () July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/svKRPaGT6dM/streetcam.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/streetcam.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/streetcam2.php roar@texasmonthly.com () July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/fJB7jP19h-k/streetcam2.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/streetcam2.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/streetcam3.php roar@texasmonthly.com () July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/y7SYMZvp49U/streetcam3.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/streetcam3.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/filterdining.php Brisa Cocina Mexicana Houston White tablecloths and solicitous service are your first clues. And one look at the menu confirms it: Brisa is a step above the usual Mexican spot'and there's no Tex-Mex. Sure, an enchilada or two makes an appearance, but how about queso cilantro, a block of Chihuahua cheese crusted with crushed chicharrones and fried, then topped with a roasted poblano-tomatillo sauce, cilantro, and sesame seeds? Or an inventive Queso Fajita, a wrapper of cheese stuffed with fajita meat, then topped with poblano-tomatillo sauce and a garnish of avocado pico de gallo? Even the sides are handled with loving care: The rice, beans, and guacamole are first-rate, as are the chips and the house-made salsas. And did we mention the margaritas? The owner is Diana Ramos, who used to own Habanero Blue, downtown. Welcome back. Bar. 5161 San Felipe (713-993-9899). Open Mon'Fri 11'10, Sat 1'10. Brunch Sun'... roar@texasmonthly.com (A) July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/ruuQOewoNVI/filterdining.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/filterdining.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/patspick.php Why do some restaurants have you at hello and others never get to first base? The campaign starts with good PR and a monster e-mail blast. It ramps up with text messaging, Tweeting, blogging, and Yelping once the place opens. (Do you remember when people used to phone each other and talk about restaurants? How quaint.) Finally there's the mysterious mojo that results when the crowd, the mood, and the food'let's not forget the food'all mesh. Whatever the combo, three-month-old Perla's Seafood and Oyster Bar has it: At seven o'clock on a Friday night, every table was reserved and there was more than an hour's wait. One of my favorite perches is the cold bar, where you can watch the hardworking oyster shuckers popping open a changing array that might include briny Lady Chatterleys, diminutive Kumamotos, and buttery-textured Malpeques, plus a clam or two, like Old Salts. In fact,'... roar@texasmonthly.com (A) July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/7juxUByn-NQ/patspick.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/patspick.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/recipe.php 1/4 cucumber 5 fresh mint leaves, plus 1 sprig for garnish 2 lime wedges 2 sugar cubes 2 ounces simple syrup (one part sugar dissolved in one part water) splash of fresh lime juice 1 1/2 ounces Tito's Handmade Vodka splash of club soda Muddle cucumber, mint leaves, 1 lime wedge, and sugar cubes with simple syrup and lime juice. Add vodka and shake with ice. Strain all ingredients into a sugar-rimmed martini glass and top with club soda. Garnish with remaining lime wedge and mint sprig.'... roar@texasmonthly.com () July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/ev8tGquwQPQ/recipe.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/recipe.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/roar.php I can only assume that your editors carefully discussed the merits of placing Joel Osteen on the cover. And I can only deduce that they decided that the benefits (presumably in terms of the appeal to his religious constituency) outweighed the costs. One question they might not have considered, or considered carefully enough, however, is how the decision to use the image of a fundamentalist preacher to sell magazines makes you appear to the rest of your audience, including but not limited to mainstream Christians. At best, it is cynically pandering to a vocal religious minority for commercial reasons; at worst, it comes dangerously close to advocating (implicitly, but clearly nonetheless) Osteen's charlatanism and fringe religious views. Mark Vail New Orleans, Louisiana You really dropped the ball by putting Joel Osteen on the cover. His "ideas" for Texas were nothing but tired clich's and useless platitudes that anyone'... roar@texasmonthly.com () July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/VpeBmY7RI1k/roar.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/roar.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/editorsletter.php One of the notable characteristics of this magazine is that it manages to inspire an equal amount of criticism from all parts of the political spectrum (this will come as a surprise, of course, to all parts of the political spectrum). Since our subject matter is a state, and not a lifestyle or an ideology, our readers are all over the map politically, sharing only the common denominator of an address or a hankering for the place they used to call home. Texas-loving conservatives tend to think we're too liberal, while Texas-loving liberals tend to think we're too conservative. Either way, we never end up preaching to the choir, and our in-boxes are never empty of "you suck" e-mails from one segment of our readership or another, lambasting us for leaning too far left or right. Sometimes we're accused of doing both at the same time. This month should'... roar@texasmonthly.com (A) July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/gOViKYvu8jk/editorsletter.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/editorsletter.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/contributor.php Dan Winters ' Is it possible to be a true celebrity and not have had your picture taken by Dan Winters? Consider the list of stars he has photographed: Bono and Meryl and Willie and Gwyneth and, of course, Barack. So what about Ted (Nugent)? Even the cover shoot at the Motor City Madman's ranch, near Waco, went off without a hitch. "He is as sharp as a tack," Winters says. "I told him that I saw him perform at Cal Jam II, in 1977, when I was fifteen. He immediately corrected me and said, 'It was 1978.' " Patricia Kilday Hart ' It has been two decades since writer-at-large Patricia Kilday Hart started following lawmakers for Texas Monthly's'... roar@texasmonthly.com () July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/S403lRJqSFc/contributor.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/contributor.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/recipe2.php 1 1/2 ounces Cadenhead's Old Raj Dry Gin 1/2 ounce Paula's Texas Lemon 1/4 ounce Pag's Parfait Amour Cr'me de Violette liberal splash of Fever-Tree Bitter Lemon Luxardo maraschino cherries (garnish) lemon peel, long and twisted (garnish) edible orchid (garnish, optional) Combine gin, Paula's Texas liqueur, and cr'me de violette over ice and shake only twice. This is not intended to chill the drink, only combine the flavors. Strain into a Collins glass over crushed ice. Add Fever-Tree Bitter Lemon to taste. Garnish with cherries, lemon peel, and'if you really want to impress'an edible orchid.'... roar@texasmonthly.com () July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/aFIb535ebcA/recipe2.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/recipe2.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/texasuncut.php roar@texasmonthly.com () July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/ZgIgrZK3kCw/texasuncut.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/texasuncut.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/recipe3.php 3/4 ounce homemade rosemary syrup 5 sprigs of fresh rosemary (for syrup and garnish) 2 ounces Treaty Oak Platinum Rum 1/2 ounce fresh lime juice 1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice 1 egg white To make rosemary syrup: Combine one part sugar and one part water in a pot. Bring to a modest boil and add several large sprigs of fresh rosemary. Reduce for 7 minutes; remove from stove and cool. Strain out rosemary and bottle syrup. Mix all ingredients and shake hard with ice. The cocktail should develop a long-lasting frothy texture. Strain and garnish with rosemary.'... roar@texasmonthly.com () July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/vaLBl1I8oL4/recipe3.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/recipe3.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/recipe4.php 1 navel orange wedge, peeled 1 half-inch slice fresh pineapple 3 fresh strawberries, stemmed and sliced in half 3 red seedless grapes 1 slice Red Delicious apple 1 ounce Paula's Texas Lemon 1 ounce Paula's Texas Orange 5 ounces 2005 Zin Valle Rising Star Zinfandel, Mesilla Valley splash of club soda or Sprite sprig of fresh mint (garnish) Combine fruit with Paula's Texas liqueurs and place in a glass or metal container for 24 hours to macerate the flavors and create a sangria base. Add Zinfandel and shake. Pour over ice and top off with club soda or Sprite. Garnish with mint.'... roar@texasmonthly.com () July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/wJvJi9KLV2E/recipe4.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/recipe4.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/multimedia2.php roar@texasmonthly.com () July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/a8ANR7Ald3g/multimedia2.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/multimedia2.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/recipe5.php 2 ounces jalapeno-infused Republic Silver Tequila 3 jalapenos (for tequila and garnish) 1/3 kiwi, peeled 6 fresh mint leaves 3/4 ounce ginger syrup (such as the Ginger People) 3/4 ounce fresh lime juice 1 ounce 7UP To infuse the tequila: Slice 2 large jalapenos and remove seeds. Insert peppers in a bottle of Republic Silver Tequila and allow to sit for 3 to 6 hours (the longer the spicier!). Muddle kiwi, mint leaves, ginger syrup, and lime juice in a 16-ounce mixing glass. Add tequila and ice and shake vigorously. Fill a Collins glass with cubed ice and add 7UP. Double-strain (place a cocktail strainer over a fine-mesh strainer) all other ingredients into glass and garnish with jalapeno twist.'... roar@texasmonthly.com () July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/-ZR8kpkzvgg/recipe5.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/recipe5.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/webextra2.php After whipping up their signature summer drinks for our July cover story, two of the state's most innovative mixologists'Robert Heugel, of Houston's Anvil Bar and Refuge, and Justin Beam, of the Ritz-Carlton's Rattlesnake Bar, in Dallas'chatted with us about the importance of ice, the blossoming of our homegrown microdistilleries, and what Texans should (and shouldn't) be drinking. Robert Heugel Anvil Bar and Refuge, Houston You opened Anvil Bar and Refuge in March. What sets it apart from other watering holes? We don't take any shortcuts at all. Every ingredient that goes into a drink gets put in separately. You hear people say that they use fresh juices in all their drinks, but we take it to a whole other level. Our juice is juiced fresh every single day, and it's not pre-mixed with anything before it's put into the drink. We don't use vodka in cocktails'... roar@texasmonthly.com (A) July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/tSDkwKGA29Q/webextra2.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/webextra2.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/eat+tell.php roar@texasmonthly.com () July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/aL1TC0FLFQk/eat+tell.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/eat+tell.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/multimedia4.php roar@texasmonthly.com () July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/jzxP2iBR-OI/multimedia4.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/multimedia4.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/multimedia3.php roar@texasmonthly.com () July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/SDjQuycKhxE/multimedia3.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/multimedia3.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/behindthelinespodcast.php roar@texasmonthly.com () July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/lyKhnDE8VJo/behindthelinespodcast.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/behindthelinespodcast.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/recipe6.php Recipe Courtesy of Tyler Treharne, 2900 Restaurant, El Paso Being an avid gardener myself, I like to utilize the fruits of my labor in every culinary experience, and drinks should be no exception. Basil is a nice herb that is easy to grow, and most of all, loves the West Texas heat. Tyler Treharne 2 ounces Makers Mark 1/4 ounce fresh grapefruit juice 2 fresh chocolate basil leaves 3 fresh mint leaves orange twist (garnish) bitters (garnish, optional) Shake all ingredients with ice and pour into your favorite highball. Garnish with orange twist (add bitters if you like a kick!).'... roar@texasmonthly.com () July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/5nVVQh7KIBo/recipe6.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/recipe6.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/webextra3.php On May 15, 2009, Farrah Fawcett'the Corpus Christi'born Catholic schoolgirl turned University of Texas sorority sister turned internationally celebrated sex symbol turned bonafide Hollywood train wreck'finally achieved that which had eluded her for more than three decades: She found purpose and transcendence on-screen. Farrah's Story, a two-hour account of the actress's ongoing fight against metastatic anal cancer, was a late addition to NBC's May sweeps schedule. Filmed and produced by her longtime friend Alana Stewart, it sounded, at least on paper, deeply confused: On the one hand, Fawcett was railing against the tabloids for invading her privacy and making her cancer battle public; on the other, she was allowing Stewart to record every last detail of that battle for commercial purposes. But Farrah's Story featured not even a hint of the narcissism that so often infected her creative work over the years. Instead, Stewart put forth an agonizingly detailed portrait'... roar@texasmonthly.com (A) July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/xPEWOashXxk/webextra3.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/webextra3.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/webextra4.php June 2009''NBC News Angel Heart Before her death, Farrah Fawcett achieved what had long eluded her: three-dimensionality. by Christopher Kelly February 1997 Vanity Farrah It's been twenty years since Charlie's Angels and the poster that drove men wild. But even today, at fifty, Farrah Fawcett still turns heads'including mine. by Skip Hollandsworth April 1982 How Farrah Fawcett Changed the World Reflections on the Elvis of television. by Gregory Curtis ''... roar@texasmonthly.com () July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/Vns4Rm7f8x4/webextra4.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/webextra4.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/webextra5.php You may have noticed that it's hot outside. If you're like me, you're wondering, "How did I end up in hell? I thought I was a semi-decent person." When I walk outside in the morning, I feel like I may burst into flames. Before I get to my car I'm already sweating profusely and gasping for air, and once I get inside, I'm trapped in a virtual oven equipped with leather seats and a half-melted Dal'-esque steering wheel.Yes, it's summer in Texas. But this isn't just any summer. It's the summer to end all summers (please, God), with record-breaking heat, triple-digit temperatures, and the uncontrollable urge to sit in your freezer, atop the H'agen-Dazs bars. Here in Austin, it's been over 100 degrees for nine days straight. When the meteorologists say a "cold front" is coming, they mean that it could plunge to a refreshing 98 degrees. If'... roar@texasmonthly.com (A) July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/N7qrgHuvf_8/webextra5.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/webextra5.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/themanual20.php roar@texasmonthly.com () July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/RIwH7nJsZcE/themanual20.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/themanual20.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/webextra6.php A few years ago, the Texas Legislature passed a law stating that no films showing Texas or Texans in a bad light would be given tax incentives. This law effectively put Bob Hudgins, director of the Texas Film Commission, in charge of determining what that meant. Nobody except Hudgins paid much mind to the law until this spring, when Hudgins denied incentives to a film called "Waco." The initial complaint, as well as accusations, came in an Austin American-Statesman blog post on May 25, which stated, "While attending the two-week Cannes festival'Emilio Ferrari and Tara Wood, executives at Los Angeles-based Entertainment 7, said that Hudgins had bowed to pressure from politicians." Hudgins said he found inaccuracies but wouldn't specify. Then, in a later Statesman story, Byron Sage, the FBI's lead negotiator during the siege, outed himself as one of Hudgins' fact-checking sources. "Sage contends that the new film'... roar@texasmonthly.com (A) July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/kD0BKsVuG6w/webextra6.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/webextra6.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/webextra7.php On the road from Austin to Coupland (known for its long-standing dancehall), you can expect to drive past green farm fields, black and brown grazing cows every two miles, the occasional cluster of small-town residences, and aluminum bodegas that house John Deer tractors. What you won't expect to see off the main highway is a field of eight-foot metal-and-granite sculptures erected just beyond a few trees and patches of Wandering Jew plants. Pausing for a double take, looking at the road behind you and back at the stone sculptures in front, you will notice a sign, a standing sheet of polished metal with cut out letters reading "Hamilton Sculpture Foundation." Your interest peaked, you will step out of the car and start walking up the stone-paved driveway on a hill that gives way to a sight just as odd as the last: An older, white-bearded man with sun-speckled skin and'... roar@texasmonthly.com (A) July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/KAyB3OM7MFg/webextra7.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/webextra7.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/webextra8.php Patriotism was alive and well at the International House of Pancakes as I stopped with three hungry girlfriends for some brunch on the way out of Austin. After filling our stomachs with red, white, and blue pancakes and roughly 64 ounces of coffee per person, we hopped in the car sufficiently caffeinated and set the GPS for the historic little town of Gruene. The highways were also ablaze with our national colors, only instead of strawberries and blueberries, they took the form of swirling lights atop police cars patrolling the roads throughout the Fourth of July weekend. Having decided to forgo the Shiner in favor of a peaceful day of antiquing and people watching, the four of us drove down I-35 singing to the radio and daydreaming about a future after graduation. "Just think," my friend Bethany said, "ten years from now we'll be driving out here with our families'... roar@texasmonthly.com (A) July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/zjTf6EFB7cc/webextra8.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/webextra8.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/webextra10.php Just how weird and ugly were the so-called Mineola Swingers Club cases? Not weird and ugly enough, according to recent court hearings in Tyler. The cases, which I wrote about in the April 2009 issue, involve five young children accusing six adults of running a sex kindergarten in Tyler and a series of child-sex shows at a swingers club in nearby Mineola. There was no other evidence except for the words of these kids'no tangible physical evidence and no adult witnesses'but it was enough to send the first three defendants to prison for life in 2008. To advance the state's theory in all three cases, the prosecutor hammered away at a main theme: The children were, from the start, consistent and firm in their stories about the unbelievably horrible things that had been done to them. Well, not so fast. The fourth trial, that of Dennis Pittman, is'... roar@texasmonthly.com (A) July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/haERf3xxXBM/webextra10.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/webextra10.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/webextra9.php People always give me funny looks when I say I take French. I'm from Texas after all'shouldn't I know Spanish? And while I've picked up enough Spanish not to embarrass myself with a Mexican menu, it's always nice to find Lance Armstrong is not Texas's only tie to France. It's a Saturday night in Austin, and I'm one of about eight hundred partygoers celebrating the 220th July 14 anniversary of the French Revolution at the Alliance Francaise's annual Bastille Day celebration. To a bystander, the French red, white, and blue covering the lawn of the historic French Legation Museum might seem as if a confused group of Austinites was celebrating the Fourth of July a week too late. But when night falls, the scene turns into an outdoor Parisian caf' nestled into the heart of Texas. French Texas Men in cowboy hats sip wine out of plastic cups under hanging'... roar@texasmonthly.com (A) July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/0MNGs08s7Eo/webextra9.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/webextra9.php http://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/multimedia.php roar@texasmonthly.com () July 2009 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 TEXAS MONTHLY: July 2009 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/texasmonthlycurrent/~3/A8IedvAat6k/multimedia.phphttp://www.texasmonthly.com/2009-07-01/multimedia.php