Rainbow Courts, One of the Oldest Motels in Texas, Is Reason Enough to Visit Rockdale
The charming, historic property is an ideal base from which to enjoy the area’s top-notch barbecue.
John Nova Lomax has been an oyster shucker in Tennessee, a landscape gardener and British Telecom mail clerk in Lancashire, and a field hand on a kibbutz in the Arava section of the Negev in Israel. He is also the author of Houston's Best Dive Bars: Drinking and Diving in the Bayou City, a guidebook to Houston dive bars, and co-author of Murder & Mayhem in Houston: Historic Bayou City Crime, a compilation of notorious Houston crimes.
Lomax has been a full-time journalist in the Bayou City since 2001. He spent eleven years at the Houston Press as a music editor and staff writer and is proudest of helping discover Hayes Carll, rediscover Lil’ Joe Washington, and winning an ASCAP Deems Taylor Award in 2008. With future Marfa city councilman and justice of the peace David Beebe, Lomax walked a total of more than 200 miles of Houston streets on about a dozen different trips, writing about the adventures as part of the “Sole of Houston” blog series. After leaving the music beat, Lomax covered crime, courts and culture for the Press. His work has also appeared in Spin, the New York Times, the Village Voice, and LA Weekly. He has been a senior editor with Texas Monthly since January 2015.
Articles by John Nova Lomax
Roy Head’s ‘Treat Her Right’ Gets the Star Treatment in Quentin Tarantino’s New Flick
The Texan’s 1965 hit is pivotal to ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.’
LULAC Calls For Fort Hood to Be Renamed Fort Benavidez
The national Latinx civil rights organization pushes for the Central Texas army base to finally honor a Texan hero.
The Story Behind Guy Clark’s “My Favorite Picture of You”
I spoke to the man who shot the photo that inspired the song covered on Willie Nelson’s new album. (He’s my dad.)
The Best Thing in Texas: Willie Nelson Performs a Guy Clark Tune on the ‘Tonight Show’
The Red Headed Stranger honors his fellow Texas troubadour with two tracks on his new album.
Too Many Visitors Miss Out on Houston’s Diversity
If the city hopes to become a tourist draw, it should market its multiculturalism, not the same lineup of attractions found elsewhere.
It’s Time to Rename Fort Hood for a Truly Texan Hero: Roy Benavidez
We should honor this badass Medal of Honor winner, not an incompetent Confederate general who fought against the United States government in defense of slavery.
An Early Internet Meme Found Its Way Onto a Houston World War II Memorial
Digging into the provenance of a provocative message carved into a shrine to fallen soldiers.
Five Creative Proposals for the Battleship Texas’s Future
What should be done with the historic dreadnought once it’s relocated from its longtime home?
Despite Jeep Weekend Chaos, Crystal Beach Locals Defend Their Libertarian Paradise
Everyone agrees that the recent event—full of drunken fights and scores of wrecks—escalated dangerously. But many Bolivar Peninsula residents will be damned if they’ll accept new rules to curtail the anarchy.
The Flight of the Texas Fireflies
Although they're on the rebound in Central Texas, these magical flying beetles aren't lighting up the sky like they used to. A New Braunfels expert says they're still out there if you know where to look.
Houston Has an Aggressive, Radical Plan to Sell Affordable Housing
Launched in 2018, the Houston Community Land Trust aims to make home ownership attainable for families of limited means.
Wherever the NFL Takes Him, Ed Oliver Will Always “Be Someone” in Houston
Our latest homegrown football star has been drafted away from the city he loves.
Dressing Down Parents at Houston’s Madison High School
No shower caps, bonnets, Do-rags, or saggy pants? The principal’s dress code for parents is about more than just school-appropriate attire.
Is This the Most Houston Historical Marker of All Time?
First of all, it memorializes a parking garage.
Does Buc-ee’s Texan-Accented Mystique Translate in Alabama?
A visit to the beloved mega-convenience chain’s first store outside its home state.
Whataburger Sold Swag at the WhataGames and the Internet Freaked Out
Happy WhataGames! May the ketchup be ever in your flavor.
Dance Halls, Dive Bars, and More: The Good-Time Gathering Places of Texas
Appreciations by current and former staffers who know them all too well.
A Close Look at Vince Young’s Career
The Texas Longhorn legend will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame this year. Here's why he absolutely deserves it.
Al Reinert, Who Chronicled Houston’s Space Age in Magazines and Film, Passes Away at 71
For the Renaissance man—a baseball player, a features writer, and an award-winning documentary filmmaker—the sky posed no limit.
Did We Just Witness the Biggest Longhorn Victory of All Time?
And, yes, we understand that they've won a National Championship.
End of an Era: Fitzgerald’s in Houston Closing at Year’s End
After 42 years, Fitzgerald's is closing. The legendary club certainly made its mark.
Talk Like a Texan: This One’s for All Y’All
Simply put, "y'all" is the best way in the English language to address more than one person, and we speak to a linguist who argues the same.
The Power Issue: Jim Crane Is Assembling a World Championship Team That’s Built to Last
The Houston Astros owner probably isn’t too worried that his team didn’t go all the way this year—he’s settling in for the long haul.
Talk Like a Texan: Let’s Chaw the Rag
In our latest episode, we explore uniquely Texan sayings that make us happy as a clam in high tide.
The Longhorns Might Not Like The S&P+ Ranking, But it Works
The computer system ranking don't like the Longhorns. Here's why.
Are the Longhorns Back?
Depends on what you mean by back. But most of y'all need to slow your roll.
Vintage Postcards of Texas: Music Hall at Fair Park, Home of the State Fair
With the state fair in full swing and the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners teeing it up in the Cotton Bowl, we start our series in Dallas.
Talk Like a Texan: Manchaca or Manshack? Guadalupe or Guadaloop?
In our latest podcast, we explore the sometimes messy but always rewarding collision of Spanish and English in the Lone Star State.
Talk Like a Texan: What Do You Call Your Grandparents?
Is it Mammaw and Pappaw? Oma and Opa? Abuelo and abuela? Or something else entirely?
Talk Like a Texan: Feeder Roads
What do you call that little road next to the great big freeway?
How a New Generation Is Reviving Small-Town Texas
Dismayed by sky-high rents and yearning for a slower-paced lifestyle, a new generation of Texans is ditching the big city and fostering a Rural renaissance across the state.
There Are Six Ways to Say ‘Pecan,’ But Only One That’s Right
In the inaugural episode of our new Talk Like a Texan podcast, we explore the proper pronunciation of our state nut.
Goodbye to Anthony Bourdain, a Chef Who Understood Houston
Through the food he sought out, Bourdain recognized the particulars that made a city unique, rather than what the city aspired to be.
Why San Antonio Is the Best City in Texas for Artists
Artists Ana Fernandez and Cruz Ortiz on finding inspiration in their hometown.
The Astros Are Back and Better Than Ever
Houston Astros fans offer their outlook on the team’s first season as the defending world champions.
How the Alamo Got Its Hump
The “ridiculous scroll” didn’t top the structure until after the Battle of the Alamo.
Talk Like a Texan: The Pronunciation of Bowie Knife, Jim Bowie, and David Bowie
A pronunciation investigation involving two Bowie men known for living large.
Talk Like a Texan: The Story Behind the Houstonian “Feeder Road”
One of the last markers of the Houstonian dialect dates back to the Southern Pacific Railroad.
The Benevolence of Father T.J.
The founder of Cristo Rey Jesuit College Prep in Houston's last gift to his students—and to all of us—was his wisdom.
Talk Like a Texan: What Do We Mean By “Fair to Middlin’ ”?
It's better than good—at least if you're talking about cotton quality.
A Deep Dive Into How Dallas Got Its Name
Prepare for a tale of blackface minstrelsy and swashbuckling high seas adventures, a whodunit with the last page maddeningly ripped out.
Talk Like a Texan: How Texans Use “Down,” “Out,” “Over,” and “Up”
Prepositionally, you can go over or out to Abilene—depending on where you're coming from.
Leon Bridges’s Houston Rodeo Performance Wasn’t Booked for African-American Music Fans
Who should play on Black Heritage Night? And who gets to decide?
Luis Perez: The Most Interesting Football Player on the Planet
The senior quarterback for Texas A&M at Commerce, the winner of Division II's version of the Heisman, has one of the strangest stories in all of football.
Talk Like a Texan: Is “Tumping” Texan?
An etymological investigation into the Southern phrase.
A Comprehensive List of How Texans Mispronounce Places With Spanish Names
From Amarila to Wad-a-loop to the Purda-nalleez River, we've taken some liberties when it comes to pronunciation.