November 2007
Table of Contents
Features
Girl Gone MildAfter spending her adolescence largely out of view (except for a few scrapes with restaurant and bar employees), presidential spawn Jenna Bush is emerging as a public person in her own right. But her return to private life can’t come soon enough. Plus:Girl Gone Mild: PodcastListen to Skip Hollandsworth read this month’s cover story on Jenna Bush. Girl Gone Mild: VideoSkip Hollandsworth discusses how the president’s daughter went from party girl to serious author. Keep Out!Which is worse: looking the other way as millions of illegals stream across the border or building an unconscionably expensive and impractical fence that few in the Valley (a) want or (b) believe will make a difference? The Day Oscar Wyatt CavedIn the right light, the ornery octogenarian oilman’s guilty plea can be seen as a victory: After all, he won’t spend the rest of his natural life in jail. But the fact is, he couldn’t beat the rap—and he knew it. |
The Old Man and the RiverFifty years after the mythical trip on the Brazos that was the basis for John Graves’s classic book, I followed in his wake. Literally. Plus:Being There: The Brazos RiverInspired by John Graves, S.C. Gwynne takes a canoe trip down the Brazos River. Goodbye to a River: PodcastListen to author John Graves read his favorite chapter from Goodbye to a River. The Glorie of DefeetWhat Samir Patel learned in five years of not winning the national spelling bee (other than the root words of “eremacausis”). Plus:Keep it SimpleWhile researching spelling-bee star Samir Patel for my story “The Glorie of Defeet,” I came across references to a group that called themselves the Simplified Spelling Society. One segment of the group that picketed the Scripps bee sounded like an art mob with an anachronistic flair. “Spell Different Difrent,” read one sign. The Society’s Web site offers up questions like “Why do ‘they,’ ‘say,’ and ‘weigh’ rime?” The Glorie of Defeet: VideoSamir Patel is the world’s most famous speller and he’s never won the national spelling bee. Katy Vine tells us why. “This Isn’t Hell, You Bloody Yobs. This Is Only Texas.”Exclusive: The first three chapters of Custer’s Brother’s Horse, the new novel by Edwin “Bud” Shrake. |
Columns
Kinky FriedmanReform Follows FunctionWhen I ran for governor, I saw firsthand everything that was wrong with our state’s political system. That’s why I know how to fix it. Plus:Reform Follows Function: VideoThe former candidate talks with Evan Smith on Texas politics, and why he may run next time as a Democrat (if he runs). |
Michael EnnisModern ProblemsWhat Dallas has in common with Beijing—and why their shared vision of the twenty-first-century world must carry the day. |
Reporter
The Filter
Pat’s PickTrio |
The Filter: DiningNew and NoteworthyCasa Colombia, Austin and Grooves Restaurant And Lounge, Houston Jordan's PickFashion at The Park |
Miscellany
Roar of the CrowdPortrait of a LadyContributorsKaren Olsson, Kenny Braun, and Edwin “Bud” Shrake. |
Editor’s LetterThe Center Holds |
Web Exclusives
A Man and a RiverExecutive editor S. C. Gwynne talks about running the Brazos River just as legendary author John Graves did fifty years ago. Bill CunninghamInspired by the popularity of a panel on Texas crime literature hosted by the Southwestern Writers Collection in 2004, editors Bill Cunningham, Steven L. Davis, and Rollo K. Newsom have compiled Lone Star Sleuths: An Anthology of Texas Crime Fiction, with thirty excerpts from the likes of Rick Riordan, David Lindsey, Mary Willis Walker, and Joe R. Lansdale. Star PowerTennis great and celebrity Anna Kournikova talks about retirement, working with kids, and coming to Texas. |
Me and Tommy LeeNo Country for Old Men is Tommy Lee Jones’s new movie. I don’t think he’ll be granting me an interview anytime soon. Net GainsTexas Monthly Intern Kyle Adams talks to A&M Coach Mark Turgeon and UT Coach Rick Barnes about what fans can expect in the upcoming season. |
Recipes
Crab FondueTrio, Austin |
