February 2005

Table of Contents

Find the access code — required to read stories online — on the third contents page in the most recent issue of Texas Monthly. Subscribers can also visit our Customer Care page to get the code. Subscribe now and get instant access.

Features

Power

What it is and isn’t. Who has it and who doesn’t. Our 2005 list.

Happily Enron After!

The fairy tale is long over, but reality hasn’t necessarily set in.

He’s Daniel Johnston, And He Was Gonna Be Famous

He was, for a while, and look what happened: Today one of the great songwriters in the alternative-rock universe is a 44-year-old manic-depressive living with his parents in Waller. And the worst thing about it is, he’s about to be famous again.

Where to Eat Now 2005

What’s on the menu this year? Not the best new restaurants of all time, perhaps—but you’ll still love the veal shank at 17, the Texas quail at T’afia, the Guinness stout cake at George, and the fusion of French and Mexican cooking at Lanny’s Alta Cocina Mexicana. And don’t forget to order the fish . . . everywhere.

Columns

Behind the Lines

Going Public

An exit interview with Hockaday’s headmistress.

Anne Dingus

Message In a Bottle

Blondness—natural or otherwise— is even more Texan than Big Hair.

Kinky Friedman

My Pet Project

Even stray cats and dogs need a Gandhi-like figure.

Don Graham

Fallen Heroes

One riot, one Ranger, one much-maligned historian: rereading Walter Prescott Webb.

Patricia Kilday Hart

(Much) Higher Education

Who thinks tuition deregulation stinks? Middle-class kids—and me.

Reporter

As Told To

Hazard Pay

A brush with death in Afghanistan

Encyclopedia Texanica

Texas Myth #714

No, you can’t shoot your adulterous wife.

Reporter

Little Las Vegas

Gambling, in case you were wondering, is still illegal in Texas. But for the past decade, elusive entrepreneurs from around the country have been slipping into towns like Kingsville and quietly setting up small-time casinos that combine the slots of Atlantic City with the decor of an OfficeMax and the convenience of a Circle K. Try your luck?

Previews+Reviews

Books

The best new books from Texas.

Previews+Reviews

Music

The best new music from Texas.

The Filter

Pat’s Pick

Strip House

Miscellaneous

Texas Monthly Talks

Marsha Sharp

“A lot of people are perfect fits for universities. I’m a perfect fit for Texas Tech. I understand West Texas. I am West Texas.”

Web Extra

Split Personality

Executive editor S. C. Gwynne, who wrote this month’s cover story, talks about Speaker of the House Tom Craddick, his seemingly average-guy life in Midland, and his powerful persona in Austin.

Web Extra

Eating Around

Senior editor Patricia Sharpe on how she picked this year’s best new restaurants.

Web Extra

Almost Famous

Senior editor Michael Hall on musician Daniel Johnston and writing about mental illness.

Texas History 101

The story of the Texas Rangers begins with a familiar name—Stephen F. Austin.

Texas Tidbits

For the past thirty years, Lady Raiders basketball has taken Lubbock by storm.

Happy Trails

A recent excursion to Dripping Springs ended up being the perfect way to spend a day with friends.