Table of Contents

October 2003

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Features

The Spirit of '76

How Matthew McConaughey got discovered, why Renée Zellweger's part is so small, why some of the actresses can't eat ketchup to this day, and everything else you didn't know about the making of the classic high school flick Dazed and Confused.

Greatness Visible

The dream of a first-rate university rising out of the prairie north of the Colorado River is almost as old as Texas itself. Which prompts the question, When will UT finally live up to its potential?

King's Ransom

At UT's Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, extraordinary cultural treasures are available for your inspection—if you know the magic word.

God and Man at Baylor

Can one man change the world's largest Baptist university? He can if he's controversial preacher-president Robert Sloan, Jr. And, just maybe, one man can destroy it too.

The War at Home

For so many American families with loved ones overseas, Vietnam complicated everything. The Allens, of El Paso, found that out the hardest way possible.

Columns

Books

Not-So-Great Plains

Suzan-Lori Parks gets the culture and cadence of West Texas right, sort of; Annie Proulx doesn't.

Behind the Lines

World Crass

Will Houston's next mayor be White?

Food and Drink

Stirring the Pot

What Julia Child is to French cooking, Diana Kennedy is to Mexican: a pioneer in her field with creativity to spare and strong opinions about everything.

Texana

Cottage Industry

For decades, family-run motels looked after weary travelers all across Texas. And who looked after the families who ran them? The Temple-based Tourist Court Journal.

Cartwright's Texas

Holy Trinity

When I was growing up in Arlington, the upper Trinity River was a dirty joke—and it still is. But the lower Trinity? You've got to see it to believe it.

Reporter

Reporter

Molly Ivins

Molly Ivins goes nuts for Arnold.

Reporter

The Unkindest Cut

Three months ago we named David Dewhurst one of the state's best legislators. Now we're not so sure.

Reporter

Letting Go

Anne Dingus drives herself to tears.

The Filter

Pat's Pick

PAT'S PICK

Pat's Pick

BEST FESTS

Pat's Pick

BOOKSHELF

Miscellaneous

The Last Roundup

Lottie's Love

A whole Lottie love.

Books That Cook

Clean Your Plate: Dishes for Every Occasion

Clean Your Plate: Dishes for Every Occasion (Favorite Recipes Press, 2002)

Happy Trails

The tiny community of Egypt, southwest of Houston, is a place of antiquity, which makes it the perfect town to visit if you are a history lover like me.

Recipe

Tlacoyos

Texas Tidbits

You may know the story of Bevo, but do you know when UT first played a football game against A&M?

Web Extra

Austin or Bust

I was looking for a change when I decided to move to Austin and attend the University of Texas. Until I got there, I had no idea how big the change would be.

Web Extra

Artistic Musings

Author Gregory Curtis talks about Paris, impressions, and the Venus de Milo.

Web Extra

Picture Perfect

Photographer Peter Yang talks about hanging out at the Texas Union and the key to taking a great portrait.

Web Extra

Talk To Me

Associate editor John Spong talks about Hollywood types, drinking beer, and a typical high school scene.

Web Extra

Holding Court

Senior editor Anne Dingus discusses auto camps, motels, and newfangled amenities like swimming pools, ice machines, and television.

Web Extra

Horns Aplenty

Senior executive editor Paul Burka talks about this month's cover story, "Greatness Visible."

Web Extra

Forty Acres and a Notebook

It took a while, but I finally found my niche at the University of Texas at Austin.

Texas History 101

Harry Ransom made sure Texas would be known for more than its cowboys.