October 2010 Issue

backyard

King of Diamonds

The story behind Kokernot Field, the best little ballpark in Texas.

They Once Played a TV Texan

Though you might have forgotten.

TV Texans Played by Actual Texans

Someone’s got to keep ’em honest.

Notable TV Texan Character Names

Remember ol’ what’s his face?

Unbelievable TV Texans

Sure they're supposed to be from Texas, but c'mon.

The Eighteen Billion Dollar Man

Texas is facing an unprecedented deficit in the next legislative session, so to help our poor, overworked elected officials, I went ahead and balanced the budget for them. And good Lord! It wasn’t pretty.

Innocence Lost

Anthony Graves has spent the past eighteen years behind bars—twelve of them on death row—for a grisly 1992 murder. There was no plausible motive nor any physical evidence to connect him to the crime, and the only witness against him repeatedly recanted his testimony. Yet he remains locked up. Did

Lone Stars

The ten greatest TV Texans.

Shawn Achor

The Harvard researcher talks about his new book, The Happiness Advantage, and more.

New and Noteworthy

Las Canarias, San Antonio and Patrizio, Fort Worth.

By Patricia Sharpe

Patricia Sharpe

Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.

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Snap Decisions

Your unofficial playbook for watching college football in Texas during the weekend of October 16.

Zandunga Mexican Bistro

I’m a big believer in the helpful phonetic spelling of tricky words (it comes from a long-ago stint as a junior high school English teacher, a disorderly experience that we needn’t go into here). But in the case of “huitlacoche,” a Nahuatl word, the phonetic “hweet-la-koe-chay” doesn’t help much.

By Patricia Sharpe

Patricia Sharpe

Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pat’s Pick, for Texas Monthly.

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Rangers Win! Rangers Win!

A manager who admitted using cocaine? Owners who declared bankruptcy? Something about Claws and Antlers? No, the craziest story line of the season is that the Rangers have finally earned some respect.

A Q&A With James Hoggard

An interview with James Hoggard, author of Patterns of Illusion: Stories and a Novella

A Q&A With Keith Graves

An interview with Keith Graves, author of Loretta: Ace Pinky Scout

A Q&A With Amy Fusselman

An interview with Amy Fusselman, author of The Pharmacist’s Mate

A Q&A With Robert Bryce

An interview with Robert Bryce, author of Pipe Dreams: Greed, Ego, and the Death of Enron

A Q&A With H. W. Brands

The author of The Age of Gold: The California Gold Rush and the New American Dream talks about peddling history and more.

Spill Way

When people ask me if cartel violence will find its way into Texas, I tell them it already has—and it’s going to get worse.

Guacamole “Al Gusto” (“Your Way”)

Recipe from Zandunga Mexican Bistro, Austin.

Bloggers, Babies, and the Benefits of Beer

A roundup of the latest and greatest scientific research from Texas universities.

Huitlacoche Risotto

Recipe from Zandunga Mexican Bistro, Austin.

Good Friday Night

John Spong talks about unearthing the history of TV’s portrayal of Texas through the ages and how Friday Night Lights changed it all.

Show Me the Money

Paul Burka talks about cutting $18 billion from the Texas budget, separating the essential from the nonessential, and spending money on bricks and mortar.

Snap Decisions

Your unofficial playbook for watching college football in Texas this weekend.

Snap Decisions

Your unofficial playbook for watching college football in Texas during the weekend of October 9.

Dollars and Sense

When the Legislature meets in January, lawmakers know they won’t be able to cut their way to a balanced budget. Instead, they should do what a certain Republican governor did more than twenty years ago: raise taxes.

Dem Bums

Bill White’s toughest foe this fall isn’t Rick Perry. It’s the national Democrats. But he could still win. Maybe.

Spills and Bills

The BP oil spill hit the small world of Houston’s oil and gas business hard. So now that the well is plugged, who’s up and who’s down?

By Mimi Swartz

Mimi Swartz

Mimi Swartz is a staff writer based in Houston.

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No Retreat! No Surrender!

Besieged on all sides, will the Daughters of the Republic of Texas finally lose control of the Alamo? Not if they can help it.

Offering Fine Advice Since 2007

School yard bullying, game-day taunts, gambling etiquette, and children who dislike bones in their meat.

By David Courtney

David Courtney

David Courtney, a.k.a. the Texanist, is a staff writer.

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Roar of the Crowd

Marfa BlightsI take offense at your recent portrayal of the people of Marfa [“Breaking Away,” August 2010]. You state, “Marfa doesn’t seem to wake up till noon.” Yes, there are some imports—city folk, so-called artists—in town who may sleep till noon, but this is originally ranch country, and

October 2010 Contributors

Christopher and Kathleen Sleboda, D. J. Stout, and Paul Burka.

Tenacious P

If it’s something you’d just as soon not think about, chances are Pamela Colloff has written about it for TEXAS MONTHLY. Here is a partial list of the subjects she’s covered since coming to work at the magazine thirteen years ago: murder, arson, abortion, heroin addiction, hate crimes, illegal immigration,

Buddy Miller

On working with Robert Plant and more.

The Grand Theatre: Volume One

A new album by the Old 97's.

Phosphene Dream

A new album by the Black Angels.

Andrea Karnes, Museum Curator

Karnes, who grew up in Fort Worth, earned art history degrees from the University of North Texas and Texas Christian University. She has worked at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth since 1989.This is my twentieth year at the Modern, and I still get the question, What is a

How to Do Big Hair

Texas women may not have invented big hair, but they realized long ago the allure of the coiffed crown. Just consider Ann Richards, who made it her trademark and once declared an official Big Hair Day, in 1993. The style is powerful yet elegant, bold but surprisingly down-home. As Gail

Ken Starr’s Study

The Baylor University president shows us his refuge.

Fort Worth Stockyards

Fort Worth Stockyards.

This Time It’s Personal

Can Steve Austin wrestle his acting career into submission?

It’s All Greek to Him

Rick Riordan greeks out with a Percy Jackson spin-off.

Making Dr Pepper

David Thomas on making Dr Pepper.