May 2011 Cover

Photograph by Randal Ford.

May 2011

Table of Contents

Features

The Rangers? Don’t look now, but after four decades of haplessness, the boys from Arlington are poised to make a run at something more than just another pennant. They might just be . . . America’s (new) Team.

A slide show of images of the Texas Rangers, the perennial also-rans that have finally earned some respect.

With public education facing an estimated $7 billion in cuts, the question on everyone’s mind is, Are Texas schools doomed? So we assembled a group of dinner guests (a superintendent, advocates on both sides, an education union rep, and the commissioner of the Texas Education Agency) to find out. Check, please?

Victor Emanuel can find you a hooded warbler, a horned guan, or maybe even an Eskimo curlew. But his real genius is that he can get you to really look at a grackle.

Explore nature with Victor Emanuel as he takes a tour of Hornsby Bend, his favorite birding spot in Austin.

In this exclusive excerpt from Remember Ben Clayton, a new novel by Stephen Harrigan, a sculptor meets a lonely rancher who has lost his son and needs something to remember him by.

One of Texas’s most acclaimed writers talks about his new novel, his process, and what he really thinks about e-readers.

Why did Jason Bourque and Daniel McAllister, two Baptist boys from East Texas, set fire to ten churches across three counties last year?

Columns

Mimi Swartz

Amid all the drink tickets, bikini-clad hostesses, and outrageous displays of wealth at the world’s largest expo for independent oilmen, I was determined to get some answers about the future of the business.

Patricia Kilday Hart

Was Aaron Peña’s defection to the Republican party a quixotic move that will cost him his political career or the start of a bad trend for Democrats?

The Texanist

Picking bluebonnets, pastry terminology, angling laws, and the best way to respond to a speeding ticket.

Behind the Lines

The worst deficit facing Texas right now is not the one in our budget: it’s the leadership deficit.

Reporter

The Horse’s Mouth

Billy Joe Shaver on being an outlaw-country legend.

The Working Life

Chris Treviño, tattoo artist.

Object Lesson

The onetime presidential adviser gives us a glimpse of her home life.

Street Smarts

Flower lovers drawn to the Rose Capital of the Nation will find snazzy frocks and spicy guisado de puerco amid the petals and thorns.

Artist Interview

On her new album, Carrying Lightning, and more.

Music Review

A new album by Okkervil River.

Music Review

A new album by Steve Earle.

Book Review

A new Crockett biography by Michael Wallis weighs in on how Davy died.

Hollywood, TX

Can the T. D. Jakes brand go mainstream—and live to tell the tale?

The Filter

Pat’s Pick

The Filter: Dining

Francesca's at Sunset, San Antonio, and Saldivia South American Grill, Houston.

Miscellany

Stephen Harrigan, John Burgoyne, and Patricia Kilday Hart.

Web Exclusives

The executive editor, who wrote this month's story about the East Texas church fires, on getting subjects to talk, interviewing people behind bars, and defining turning points.

The senior editor on embracing enthusiasm, going birding with Victor Emanuel, and wading through tall grass.

On watching ballgames at the old Arlington Stadium; writing about the Texas Rangers, America’s new favorite team; and comparing notes on morality with C. J. Wilson.

The outlaw-country legend on his recent acquittal, his songs, and his friendship with Willie Nelson.

Victor Emanuel describes what he likes about these beautiful birds that can be found in Texas.

An excerpt from the introduction.

Fifty-eight bands from around the world play Austin Psych Fest 4 April 29–May 1. Michael Hall sits down with the Black Angels, founders of the festival (and the “Reverberation Appreciation Society”) and rejuvenated psychedelic godfather Roky Erickson.

Dallas chef Darren McGrady on cooking for Princess Diana and her family, selecting the royal wedding menu, and making Prince William's favorite thing to eat.

The Big Bend Open Road Race, Larry Joe Taylor’s Texas Music Festival & Chili Cook-off, Itzhak Perlman, and the Buc Days Carnival . . .

The complete transcript of a roundtable discussion on public education hosted by TEXAS MONTHLY and published, in edited form, in the May 2011 issue.

Bob Woodward, Carl Bernstein, and Robert Redford dished on All the President’s Men,contemporary journalism, and Watergate’s enduring legacy at the LBJ Library Thursday.

Huey P. Meaux, one of the most successful and significant record producers in Texas history, died last weekend at age 82. He leaves a legacy marked by brilliant songs and some very bad decisions.

Arcade Fire, the Texas State Surfing Championships, the Wings Over the Hills Nature Festival, and the Wiener Dog Races . . .

The Texas Beer Fest, Lucinda Williams and Erika Wennerstrom, the Battle of Port Jefferson, and Railfest . . .

An excerpt from Chapter One.

The Golden Arm Trio, Texas Bound, the Tejano Conjunto Festival, and the 24-Hour Video Race . . .

Multimedia

One of Texas’s most acclaimed writers talks about his new novel, his process, and what he really thinks about e-readers.

Sixteen years after Anthony Graves was convicted of murder and sentenced to death, students helped to set him free. Richard Schlesinger, a correspondent for 48 Hours Mystery, reports on the case.

Explore nature with Victor Emanuel as he takes a tour of Hornsby Bend, his favorite birding spot in Austin.

A slide show of images of the Texas Rangers, the perennial also-rans that have finally earned some respect.

Recipes

From Chef Darren McGrady.

From Alma, in Dallas.

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