We Love the Westlake Chaps. No, Really.
When you’ve won so many games by so many points for so long, bitterness comes with the territory—but it’s finally time to stop hating the best high school football team of the decade.
It was one of the most passionately observed traditions on any college campus in the country. Then, on November 18, 1999, a week before it was scheduled to burn, the Texas A&M Bonfire collapsed in the middle of the night, killing twelve Aggies. Ten years later, as the university continues to wrestle with the tragedy—and debate whether Bonfire should ever return to campus—the students and alumni who chopped logs, hauled timber, and built stack talk about what they saw, what they lost, and how their school was changed forever.
BackTalk (36 comments) »
Since 1996, a legal battle has raged between ExxonMobil and a powerful South Texas ranching clan that believes the oil company sabotaged wells on the family property. Even after a ruling by the state Supreme Court earlier this year, the bitter feud shows no signs of letting up. Maybe that’s because it’s about something far more important than money.
BackTalk (8 comments) »
The decision to abruptly remove 437 children from a fundamentalist Mormon compound in Eldorado sparked the largest custody battle in U.S. history. But now that the last child’s case has been settled and all the kids are back home, a question still lingers: What really happened on the Yearning for Zion Ranch?
BackTalk (37 comments) »
A gastro-scientific inquiry into the finest burgers in the state that invented the burger, including the Toro (#4), the Stodg (#6), the Miss Hattie (#28), and, in our top slot, a miracle of meat served only on Sundays. No wonder they call it the Lord’s day.
BackTalk (35 comments) »
According to the district attorney in Smith County, this building was the site of the most horrific child sex ring in Texas history. Three of the adults convicted of running it have already been sentenced to life in prison. There’s just one problem: The DA in neighboring Wood County, where the building is located, says nothing happened here at all.
BackTalk (40 comments) »
When the president visited Texas A&M last week, the opposition was waiting.
BackTalk (5 comments) »
Even someone who supports the death penalty, as you do, can and should be up in arms over the Cameron Willingham case.
BackTalk (9 comments) »
Why the unlikeliest of states—ours—should legalize marijuana.
BackTalk (25 comments) »
On October 26, the first FLDS criminal trial in Texas begins. What legal strategies remain for the defense?
BackTalk (4 comments) »
When you’ve won so many games by so many points for so long, bitterness comes with the territory—but it’s finally time to stop hating the best high school football team of the decade.
dance miller children holiday miller outdoor theatre ut aggies hispanic outdoor young christmas kaboom books nature professional free holidays houston science kids events family arboretum opening music austin children’s museum free children’s music university of texas classes center concert football culture theater outdoors theatre art charity austin longhorns education green things weekend learning fun