Burkablog »
And now a discussion that really matters (Fri Nov 20 at 5:02 PM)
In the Pink »
The Wrecking Coup (Fri Nov 20 at 1:33 PM)
Page Break »
Supreme Court to Rehear Exxon Case. Yes, That Exxon Case. (Sat Nov 21 at 1:45 PM)
Eat My Words »
Talking Tamales (Thu Nov 12 at 11:12 AM)
Alan says: I am in favor of limiting the governor to two consecutive terms. But blacklisting someone after eight years altogether, regardless of how good or bad they did their job, can needlessly force an effective public official out of public service. Many state governors throughout history have served well over eight years without their constituents regretting it. I would point out that such a system is wholly unworkable in twenty-first century America: we live in the era of the permanent campaign and the 24-hour news cycle. A governor facing re-election every other year would essentially do nothing but fundraise (which is close to what most do anyway even with four-year terms). (November 19th, 2009 at 11:09pm)
Stories on Texana
Offering Fine Advice Since 2007 »
Can I wear a football jersey to church?
by David Courtney [December 2009]
The Manual 2.0 »
A cowgirl and the experts at WWS Stables teach Andrea Valdez how to barrel race.
[December 2009]
Kick Up Your Heels »
A slide show of images featuring our state’s classic dance halls, from the John T. Floore Country Store, in Helotes, to the Stampede, in Big Spring. Photographs by Jeff Wilson.
by [December 2009]
Randy Goode »
Artificial Inseminator
As told to Betsy Ellison [November 2009]
Offering Fine Advice Since 2007 »
What’s to be done with annoying neighbors?
by David Courtney [November 2009]
Ring of Fire »
On November 18, 1999, at 2:42 a.m., the most passionately observed collegiate tradition in Texas—if not the world—came crashing down. Nearly sixty people were on top of the Texas A&M Bonfire when the million-pound structure collapsed, killing twelve, wounding dozens more, and eventually leading to the suspension of the ninety-year-old ritual. Now, ten years later, on what would have been Bonfire’s centennial, the Aggies celebrate the history, relive the tragedy, and wrestle over what happens next.
by Pamela Colloff [November 2009]
The Manual 2.0 »
A Native American storyteller and the experts from San Antonio’s Centro Cultural Aztlan teach Andrea Valdez how to build a Día de los Muertos altar.
by [November 2009]
Offering Fine Advice Since 2007 »
Can I unfriend a Facebook friend?
by David Courtney [October 2009]
Cattle Drive »
The Sauceda Ranger Station, in the Bofecillos Mountains, is still a working cattle operation—and the home of a registered Longhorn herd. Photographs by Charlie Llewellin
by [October 2009]
A Prayer (and a Recipe) for Cowgirls »
The queen of the rodeo may not have been mother of the year but her pecan pralines were to die for.
by Donna Xander [October 2009]
The Manual 2.0 »
The experts from League City–based American Fence and Supply Company teach Andrea Valdez how to build a barbed-wire fence.
by [October 2009]
Offering Fine Advice Since 2007 »
Will hiring a yard guy make me soft?
by David Courtney [September 2009]
Fairest of the Fair »
From Luling’s Watermelon Thump Queen to Gilmer’s Queen Yam, small-town Texas is full of festival royalty, and pretty is the head that wears the crown.
Text by Katharyn Rodemann [September 2009]
Why Are Tortilla Chips So Damn Good? »
Is it the crispiness? The crunchiness? The saltiness? Thankfully, a small cadre of researchers in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences at Texas A&M has spent much of the past thirty years munching on this question.
by Karen Olsson [September 2009]
The Texanist Unleashed »
Will hiring a lawn service to do my mowing make me soft?
[September 2009]
The Manual 2.0 »
The experts from the Dallas Gun Club and World Wide Blast and Cast teach Andrea Valdez how to hunt dove.
by [September 2009]
Queen of Hearts »
She’s the girl who wears cowboy boots under her poufy white taffeta dress every weekend as she rides in some other town’s parade.
by Lisa Gartner [September 2009]
Revolutionary Kind »
Daniel Miller, the president of the Texas Nationalist Movement, is a proud secessionist. And the tea parties were just the beginning for this true believer.
by Nate Blakeslee [September 2009]
Talk Rodeo »
From the cowgirls racing around barrels to the cowboys hanging on for their lives atop bucking bulls, there’s nothing quite as exciting as watching the rodeo at the Fort Worth Stockyards.
by Betsy Ellison [September 2009]
The Manual 2.0 »
The experts from Austin-based Sweet Leaf Tea Company teach Andrea Valdez how to brew sweet tea.
by [August 2009]
Life Coach »
The long-time coach of the Texas A&I Javelinas looks back on his twenty-one years of football.
by Casey Wheeless [August 2009]
Offering Fine Advice Since 2007 »
Does keeping a found twelve-pack of beer constitute stealing?
by David Courtney [August 2009]
The Texanist Unleashed »
Charcoal or propane?
[July 2009]
Offering Fine Advice Since 2007 »
Propane or charcoal?
by David Courtney [July 2009]
The Manual 2.0 »
The experts in New Braunfels teach Andrea Valdez how to pack a cooler tube.
by [July 2009]
The Texanist Unleashed »
How do you get your husband to quit using foul language?
[June 2009]
What’s the Big Idea? »
How to make the Lone Star State even better.
[May 2009]
The Texanist Unleashed »
How to treat a jellyfish sting.
[May 2009]
Ghosts Of War »
The battlegrounds of Texas tell an incredible story of struggle, sorrow, triumph, and terror that is far more complex and surprising than anything I learned in school. All I had to do was get in my car and go see them.
by Gary Cartwright [April 2009]
Styles and Styles of Texas »
The thirty Texans with the most iconic, unforgettable, eye-popping looks, from Davy Crockett to Beyoncé.
by Jordan Breal, Gary Cartwright, Michael Hall, Skip Hollandsworth, Kristie Ramirez, John Spong, Mimi Swartz and Brian D. Sweany [March 2009]
The 40 Best Small-Town Cafes »
Our exhaustive, exhausting, strictly scientific (and lamentably fattening) survey of the finest home cooking around, from Maxine’s on Main, in Bastrop, to El Paraiso, in Zapata.
by Leslie Baldwin, Caleb Bennett, Sarah Bourbon, Jordan Breal, Paul Burka, Amber Byfield, Marilyn Carter, Cathy Casey, David Courtney, Libby Farris, Megan Giller, Freddy Gottesman, Ross Green, Lisa J. Grissom, Melissa Guerra, Michael Hall, Steve Harmon, Stacy Hollister, Irene Kosela, Stacey Van Landingham, Patricia Busa McConnico, Missy Colbert Nichols, Brad Perkins, Tony Privett, Ronn Reeger, Katharyn Rodemann, Emily Rosenthal, Patricia Sharpe, Sandy Sheehy, Jake Silverstein, Eileen Smith, Alison Sterken, Brian D. Sweany, Kim Todd, Amanda M. Trimble, Andrea Valdez, Reese Vaughn, Katy Vine and Lois Wischkaemper [December 2008]
True Grit »
Once upon a time, before the pundits and the politicians hijacked it for their nefarious ends, “cowboy” wasn’t a dirty word. The lifestyle and worldview it suggested was seen as completely in line with the very finest Texas values: hard work, independence, honesty, decency, valor. For the sake of today’s generation of ranch hands and cattlemen, it’s high time we steal it back.
by Elmer Kelton [July 2008]
Offering fine advice since 2007 »
Can you park in your friend’s front yard?
by David Courtney [November 2007]
Offering fine advice since 2007 »
Is it okay to dip and spit at the office?
by David Courtney [September 2007]
The Texanist Unleashed »
To dip or not to dip? That is the question we asked unsuspecting passers-by in downtown Austin.
by David Courtney [September 2007]
75 Things We Love About Texas »
Including: the sopa azteca at El Mirador, in San Antonio; the spring-fed pool at Balmorhea State Park; the humidity; elbow room; free advice at White Rock Lake, in Dallas; county courthouses; boots-and- jeans-clad Academy Award–winner Larry McMurtry; and—seriously— quail hunting.
[April 2006]
The 2005 Bum Steer Awards »
It was a year of: Alamo amour, bollixed Bush, cheeseburger chagrin, dissed Davy, egregious ethics, film flops, guileful gynecologists, hibiscus hullabaloo, in-flight idiocy, jiggling Janet, konservative kross-dressers, laughable liposuction, microphone mishaps, numskull name-nabbing, opinionated obits, pot parfaits, Qaeda qualms, reckless Rather, streaking solons, tasteless Tecate, UT users, vulgar veeps, Wicca watchdogs, X-pensive X-crement, yoga yoke, and—zounds!—zero tolerance.
[January 2005]
Encyclopedia Texanica »
The seven dips on a Texas trip.
by Anne Dingus [October 2004]
Wheels of Fortune »
For automakers in the U.S. and overseas, Texas is the
very best market for the pickup truck. And for Texans,
the pickup truck is the very best vehicle—if only for
what it says about who we are. Or who we'd like to be.
by John Spong [August 2004]
Them's Fightin' Words! »
All over the world, and all over this country, the Texas
stereotype is mocked and maligned (so what else is
new?). Does it matter, really, if everyone thinks we're fat,
violent, prudish yahoos?
by Mimi Swartz [July 2004]
Encyclopedia Texanica »
How high may our flag fly?
by Anne Dingus [July 2004]
Going For the Jiggler »
Explaining the enduring appeal of Jell-O can be as challenging as, well, nailing it to a tree.
by Anne Dingus [June 2004]
Statues of Limitations »
A bronze likeness of a Texas heroine will soon appear in downtown Austin—and with it, no doubt, an unnecessary controversy.
by Gary Cartwright [May 2004]
Dingus Dishes »
Just call her Super Texan. Lone Star guru and Texas Monthly senior editor Anne Dingus launches a new column this month. Here, she shares her thoughts on cacti, culture, and correcting misperceptions.
Interview by Lori Fradkin [May 2004]
War Torn »
Senior editor Gary Cartwright on the battle between the evildoers and the whiners and the future of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas.
Interview by Lori Fradkin [May 2004]
Blazing Brushstrokes »
Growing up, I read scores of pulpy paperback westerns with good-guy-bad-guy action—and it was their amazing covers in gaudy, manly hues that roped me in.
by Anne Dingus [January 2004]
Holding Court »
Senior editor Anne Dingus discusses auto camps, motels, and newfangled amenities like swimming pools, ice machines, and television.
Interview with Anne Dingus [October 2003]
Big Shots »
In the sixties, when stars like the Beatles, Dinah Shore, and Marlene Dietrich descended on Dallas, Peggie and John Mazziotta captured them on film.
by Anne Dingus [September 2003]
Speech Lessons »
Senior editor Pamela Colloff discusses accents and how her own has changed since she moved to Texas.
Interview by Patricia Busa McConnico [June 2003]
Head for the Hills »
A friendly bar in Johnson City, a grand old opry in Mason, a cabin with a view of the Sabinal Canyon, and 22 other things I love about the Hill Country.
by Suzy Banks [April 2003]
