ON THE COVER: Photo illustration by Darren Braun. Cheney head: AP/Charles Dharapak.
January 2007
Table of Contents
Features
The 2007 Bum Steer AwardsIt was a year of aggrieved actors, banned boobs, Cuban commodes, DeLay denial, errant Elmo, frisky floaters, grouchy governors, hung hoopsters, immigration insensitivity, job-seeking judges, klobbered Karl, Longhorn lushes, miffed musicians, nude no-no’s, ousted Osteens, peeved passers, quarreling queens, riled Rangers, subpar sheriffs, tiny “terrorists,” unseemly URLs, vice presidential violence, wiseacre W., x-asperated x-wives, youthful yakkers, and zoo zeal. Here Comes TroubleDan Patrick is causing nervous breakdowns of various size and duration—and he’s not even in the Texas Senate yet. Par ExcellenceThe best golf holes in Texas, according to the legends of the game. |
Coal Hard FactsFacing an energy crisis, Texas is on the verge of a solution that will belch about five billion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere in the next forty years. Breathe deeply—while you still can. The Permanent CampaignElections disappear into the history books, but the buttons and matchbooks and posters that exhorted us to vote for one candidate or another live on in our memories—and in the personal collection of the state’s biggest political junkie. Home GirlMost people from Dallas who make it big in the music business get out of town as soon as they can. “That’s what celebrities do,” Erykah Badu says. “I never wanted to be a celebrity.” |
Columns
Michael EnnisThe Mighty MetroplexJust a few years after nearly being written off the map, the region has become a roaring engine of growth and social transformation. |
Suzy BanksThe Horror! The Horror!How my lifelong dream of writing a novel turned into a nightmare. |
Reporter
Music ReviewYour Biggest FanMusic ReviewSnowbyrdMusic ReviewCold, Cold World |
The Filter
Pat’s PickCibo |
Miscellany
Editor’s LetterOur Cover Is BlownRoar of the CrowdSaving Accounts |
Web Exclusives
Now That’s FunnySenior executive editor Paul Burka on editing Bum Steers. Power PlayExecutive editor S. C. Gwynne on researching the energy industry and writing about coal plants. The Real WorldWriter-at-large Michael Ennis on writing about politics and culture. |
Man of the PeopleExecutive editor Mimi Swartz talks about Dan Patrick, Houston’s celebrity-talk-show-host-turned-politician. Groovy GirlSenior editor Michael Hall on spending time with Dallas musician Erykah Badu. |
Recipes
SuppliCibo, Austin |




