Texas Monthly

CD and Book Reviews

The best books and CDs from Texas.

For Posterity’s Sake

Coming Soon: Groacho MarxThe Cockroach Hall of Fame Museum, Plano. Michael Bohdan, who calls himself Cockroach Dundee, runs the museum at his pest-control business, featuring such exhibits as H. Ross Peroach and Liberoche, a dead roach covered with sequins sitting at a miniature piano topped by a candelabra.If It’s Closed,

Gimme a Break

The Prairie View A&M Panthers. With a 64—0 loss to Grambling, Prairie View set an all-time collegiate football record by losing its fifty-first straight game, a streak that is now at 57 and counting. Jim Hightower. The former state agriculture commissioner and critic of corporations was dumped by ABC

Year of the Snake

At First the Count Was Ten U.S. Customs Service agents in Eagle Pass searched the driver and the passenger of a pickup and found eight live snakes wrapped in socks and pantyhose inside the two men’s underwear. Pass the Boysenberry Syrup or Start Saying Your Prayers Charles Bryant of Missouri

The Award Winners

Jeffrey Dahmer Would Have Loved It The Houston Chronicle food section offered a stew recipe that called for “1 1⁄2 pounds skinless, boneless children breasts or thighs.” At Least He Left the Punch and Cookies A robber hit a neighborhood branch of the Security State Bank of Abilene the same day that the

Give and Take

TEXAS ROAD SIDE BEEF JERKY (“You Kill It—We Grill It”), available from Richter Enterprises in Hondo for $4.99. THE LION KING AND OTHER PAPIER-MACHE ART made from toilet paper by inmates of the El Paso County jail, priced individually. AGGIE CASKETS, in maroon fiberglass, available at Southwood Funeral Home in

Head Ache

LYNDON B. JOHNSON AND HIS FAMILY PAPER DOLLS, a cutout book featuring Lyndon and his family in their undies, published by Dover Books as part of its presidential paper doll series, $4.95. TRAIL OF FLAME: THE RED-HOT GUIDE TO SPICY RESTAURANTS ACROSS AMERICA, by Jennifer Trainer Thompson,

The 1996 Bum Steer Awards

A year of Anna’s antics, biker Barbara, capsized chiles, Davidians defined, expensive electricity, futile freebies, Gramm gossip, helpful hurricanes, insect ingestion, jousting jurors, king-size kindergartens, lottery litigation, Microsoft misprints, naughty nonagenarians, ostracized Oilers, punching princes, questionable quenching, romantic rhinos, sanctified shooters, topless trading, unfriendly unionists, vetoed vagrants, weird wine, X-posed

Ranch Potato Wedges

6 baking potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced 1/4 cup minced garlic 1/4 cup minced shallots 1 1/2 sticks butter 1 1/2 cups heavy cream 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese salt and pepper to tastePreheat oven to 350 degrees. In a heavy saucepan, sauté garlic and shallots in butter over low

The Texas Twenty

In the past twelve months they worked hard, overcame obstacles, bucked conventional wisdom, touched our lives, and—above all—demonstrated the conviction, character, and individuality that defines our state today. Presenting our second annual list of the year’s most interesting and influential Texans.

The Texas Kid, 1988

The late folk artist Willard Watson was a funky fixture of Dallas’ art scene. Better known as the Texas Kid, he was famous or his courly manners, cockammy yard art in his Love Field-area home, and eye-popping, Longhourn-crowned luxury cars. Watson often collaborated with other artists; in 1976, for example,

The Bush Family’s Zuni Stew

1 1/4 cups pinto beans, soaked overnight and drained 1 bay leaf 1 teaspoon dried oregano 1 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons corn or vegetable oil 2 yellow onions, cut in 1/4-inch pieces 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 2 tablespoons red chile powder, or more, to taste 1 teaspoon ground cumin

Governor’s Mansion Summer Peach Tea Punch

6 cups water 3 family-size (1 ounce) tea bags 2 cups fresh mint, loosely packed 1 small can (6 ounces) frozen lemonade concentrate 1 bottle (32 ounces) R.W. Knudsen Peach Nectar (it has the most flavor) 1/2 to 1 cup simple syrup 1 liter ginger ale 1 liter club sodaBring

To Pack and Pack Not

We asked twenty famous Texans: Will you carry a gun?

Cattle Auction, San Angelo, 1940

In no other state were the turbulent thirties documented as exhaustively as in Texas, where Farm Secirity Administration photographers such as Dorothea Lange and Russell Lee took more than five thousand pictures of Depression and pre-war life . When the agency became the Office of War Information, some of its

The 1995 Bum Steer Awards

A year of amorous angels, bra buzzers, camouflaged Claytie, denied Davidians, escaped evangelists, faulty flags, gainful gangs, hefty hypnosis, inmate inedibles, jumbo jock-straps, kaput killdeers, lunching Lassie, mercurial mushrooms, nabbed ninjas, overhyped O.J., pumpkin purloiners, questionable quizzes, rap ruffians, sexy sprinters, tack taxis, unappreciated universities, videotaped villains, wayward Willie, X-sposing

The Texas Twenty

Because they are talented at what they do. Because they made a difference this year. Because they reflect the state of our state. Here are twenty Texans you need to know.

Shallot-Mustard Vinaigrette

1/2 cup champagne vinegar 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 1 cup extra virgin olive oil 1 1/2 cups pure olive oil 2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots Salt and pepper to tasteMix vinegar and mustard in a stainless steel bowl. Add olive oil in a steady stream, beating with wire whisk until

Hummus-Tahini Spread

1 15- or 16-ounce can garbanzos (chick peas) 2 tablespoons tahini (sesame paste) 1 tablespoon pure olive oil 1 teaspoon fresh pressed garlic or prepared garlic paste 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice Salt and pepper to tasteDrain garbanzos, reserving liquid. Blend first 5 ingredients in food processor or blender, adding

Edible Flowers

1/2 cup fresh soft goat cheese 24 edible flowers (preferably trumpet-shaped)Whip goat cheese in blender until smooth; pipe or spoon into flowers.To serve, arrange slices of stuffed lamb on plate atop tomatillo sauce. Decorate lamb with remaining pepper strips and garnish plate with flowers. Serves 6.

Tomatillo-Mint Sauce

1 pound fresh tomatillos, quartered 1 jalapeño, seeded and chopped 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh garlic 3 tablespoons clarified butter 1 cup sherry 1/4 cup soy sauce 1/4 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup chopped destemmed fresh mint 1 teaspoon ground black pepperSauté tomatillos, jalapeño, and garlic in clarified butter until

The 1994 Bum Steer Awards

A year of Arlington appellations, bedouined Bush, candied coiffures, detestable dinosaurs, effervescent executioners, fancy fertilizer, greedy Gorbachev, holy Halloweens, ignorant ichthyofauna, Japanese jokes, klipped Klingons, lottery lovebirds, medical margaritas, nude nuptials, overwhelmed ostriches, pugilistic pitchers, quashed quarterback, royal redialings, satanic Santas, titillating typos, UFO urgings, vindictive Vermonters, wanted: wives, X-citable

The 1993 Bum Steer Awards

It was a year of absent Alamos, buried Barbies, castrated calves, derriere drawings, errant escalators, filching frats, grid-iron graduates, hightailing hoopsters, income-tax immigrants, jailed joggers, Keating kudos, lascivious linksters, mercenary morticians, nonoffensive nachos, overdrawn officials, Perot pumpkins, querulous quackers, relaxed Rangers, safe-sex students, testosterone teeth, undersea upraisings, visionary vacuumers, wounded

Political Pretexts

Date-Nut Chews

Recipe from Dean Fearing of Dallas’ Mansion on Turtle Creek.

The Cowboy Boot Book

This fall, photographer Jim Arndt and Western props supplier Tyler Beard visited the annual event in Burnet to chew the fat with many of the craftsmen featured in The Cowboy Boot Book (Peregrine Smith Books), their pictorial guide to fancy footgear. Arndt and Beard have dressed Western

Family Fortune

Reader letters published in our November 1992 issue.

Stagecoach Alpine

ON A HILLTOP NEAR THE INTERSECTION of U.S. highways 67 and 90, just east of Alpine, a plywood stagecoach and four horses seem to be hightailing it into town. “A local artist-character built the stagecoach,” says Rick Sohl, who owns the hilltop. “He used it in parades but was looking

Last Rights

My son ended his life after three years of madness and unbearable depression. Who am I to say he did the wrong thing?

Life or Death?

Reader letters published in our October 1992 issue.

Bull Snake on a Sofa

When James H. Evans moved to Marathon in 1988, he was struck by its abundant wildlife. “Anything unattended will be overrun with animals,” says the photographer. Evans takes up that theme in his “Lucille” series, focusing on a house vacated by the death of an elderly friend of that name.

Easy Rider

Reader letters published in our September 1992 issue.

Rodeo Reliquary, 1991

After a visit abroad in 1987, Sean Earley transformed his art. He returned steeped in Italy’s ubiquitous religious imagery, eager to paint the icons of his home state’s country and western myths (see “Earley Texas,” TM, December 1990). In this memorial scene, the Rodeo Queen presides over ascending contestants. Set

People’s Choice?

Reader letters published in our August 1992 issue.

The Puffy Taco

HIS HEAD IS A TOMATO CHUNK. HIS tortilla shell is surprisingly furry. His feet look like jalapeño peppers. And when kids tackle him during the sixth-inning footrace at the San Antonio Missions’ home games at V. J. Keefe Field, they sometimes send his shredded lettuce and grated cheese flying. What’s

Workin’ on the Railroad

Meet the people who keep Texas' trains on track.

Arcola Cafe

When Birney Imes began working on his juke joint series in 1983, the black honky- tonks that nourished the Mississippi Delta’s rich blues tradition were being replaced by discos. “What attracted me,” Imes says, “was the creativity that went into that special atmosphere. The older places have a timeless quality.”

Eye of the World

Starting in 1923, Beaumont businessman John Gavrelos carved out a realm of his own at his J&J Steak House on the Eastex Freeway. Gavrelos died in 1979, but his Eye of the World, a tiny museum appended to the side of the restaurant, still lures visitors with its enigmatic jumble

Elvisualizations

Elvis fans will have their very own sightings in a new book, In Search of Elvis, just published by the Summit Group in Fort Worth ($12.95). The cartoon book is a knockoff of the prodigiously successful Where’s Waldo? children’s series, but Summit’s publicity coordinator Bryan Drake suspects that more parents

Tough Choices

Lawrence Wright’s “The Case For Castration” [TM, May 1992] provides an interesting view on the issue of castration, sex offenders, available treatment, and society’s concerns about the best response to such acts of assault and violence. As the article documents, treatment of sex offenders is a recent development. In Texas,

Henry, Hillary, Colin, and Mort

THE PRESIDENT CAN’T RUN THE COUNTRY BY HIMSELF. the people he appoints to key positions can make or break his administration. Here is a possible lineup of Cabinet officials and major appointments. They are able, diverse, and largely nonpolitical. Most of them are people that Perot is known to respect.

Fay Ray at Siesta Time

William Wegman’s subtle portraits of his weimaraners have elevated the pet photo to high art. But few connoisseurs have known the range of his creativity—until now. The &first retro- spective of the artist’s output, on view at Houston’s Contemporary Arts Museum, offers more of his trademark pups but also plenty

Picture Perfect

As the sole studio photographer in Granger from 1924 to 1955, John Trlica recorded on film most of the important occasions—public and private—in the Central Texas farming community. Because Trlica kept meticulous records and saved every negative, his shop became the repository for an intensely documented history of a small

House of the Century

“Still ahead of its time, even after twenty years,” says architect Doug Michels about Ant Farm’s futuristic House of the Century, designed and built in 1972. The colony of anti-establishment architects (of whom Michels was one) christened themselves Ant Farm in honor of the toy ant colonies popular in the

Character Study

“THE KILLER NEXT DOOR” [TM, April 1992]? I thought someone had sent me a copy of True Detective instead of Texas Monthly. The title and cover illustration are definitely out of character for the magazine we subscribed to the last time we lived in Texas. Once the

The Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup

Photojournalist Jim Cammack was struck by an odd sight at Sweetwater’s annual spring rattlesnake roundup: a man with a tail. No, the man, a Jaycees volunteer, was not participating in a roundup-sanctioned snake-wrestling contest. He was demonstrating one technique for holding the powerful Western diamondback while milking its venom.

Aquarena Mermaids

Water acts may ebb and flow, but since 1950 the polyester-clad mermaids at San Marcos’ Aquarena Springs have barely had time to keep their heads above water. Their subaquatic dances are a tribute to the popularity of such swimming celebrities as Esther Williams and Johnny Weissmuller, a testament to

Liquor Licker

Larry Peterman is a revisionist where suckers are concerned. His new tequila lollipop con gusano (complete with the worm) is his take on making hard liquor palatable: “We tried using mescal,” he says, “but it tasted so bad—kind of like burned dirt with rubbing alcohol—that nobody would eat it.”

Corps Values

As a female member of Texas A&M’s Parsons Mounted Cavalry (“one of the units most determined to remain all male”), I want to clear up some of the misconceptions in Mimi Swartz’s “Love and Hate at Texas A&M” [TM, February 1992]. I have been a Drill and

Roadside Veterans

The grand scenery of the American Southwest draws hordes of tourists bent on capturing calendar-perfect panoramas on film. In “Revealing Territory: Photographs of the Southwest by Mark Klett,” an aptly titled show opening March 14, the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth presents quite different views, ones that the vista-hungry