Columns

Bacchus to the Land

Clear your palates, oenophiles; Chateau de Muleshoe is on its way.

Behind the Lines

The Viet Nam War was the second this country lost.

Up, Up, and Away

This is the Houston Rockets. We have lift-off.

New Dogs, Old Tricks

The importance of being a prairie dog.

Long Live the Queen

Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown of San Antonio’s restaurants.

Cuisine, Cuisine

Enroll in a school where not matter how tough the final exam is you can still eat it.

Behind the Lines

Those who laugh first at the Texas Legislature do not laugh last.

Cheap in the Heart of Texas

A family vacation, almost a contradiction in terms, is still possible at these old-fashioned resorts.

Informed Sauces

We’re encouraging you to hit the sauces this summer.

Goats Need Love, Too.

Once you let a goat in your life, you can never get it out.

Clothes Made the Man

Why Willie Farah is taking up slack—not slacks—these days.

Behind the Lines

Jimmy Carter’s energy program wants to bury the age of oil and gas whether it’s dead or not.

Creole Folks at Home

Going native in the city where food is on everybody’s lips.

Birth of a Notion

It’s called competitive childbirth, but no gold medals are awarded for it.

Bombs Bursting in Air

With its latest batch of exploitation movies, Hollywood gets more blood out of old turnips.

Catchy Coup

How to squeeze a multimillion-dollar business out of a ten-second radio jingle.

The Wizard of Oz (Ret.)

Question: What goes on behind the closed doors of the stateÌ­s most elegant restaurant these days? Answer: Nothing.

Behind the Lines

Soldiers of Misfortune

What happens to a mercenary when all the fighting stops?

A Long Weekend in Houston

A tour of Houston that will take you off the beaten freeway.

Hearing Voices

All we are saying is give opera a chance.

The Old Indoorsman

How to stale the wild house cat and other tips for indoor survival.

Their Bodies Themselves

Even for muscle men, a sound min is as necessary as a sound body.

Spilling The Beans About Coffee

If you have to pay outrageous prices for coffee, you might as well get your money’s worth.

Good as Gold

For most treasure hunters, the hunt is more important than the treasure.

Allah In the Family

In the middle of the booming Houston economy are some new movers and shakers.

Behind the Lines

Right On

In their hearts, these conservative writers knew they were right. Now the rest of us know it too.

Liberal Education

For years, liberals have been the biggest critics of Austin city government. What happened when the got the power to do something about it?

Alley Up

Why are Houstonians starting to talk about the Alley Theater again?

Seeing Red

The only way Red Garland could make us mad would be to quit playing piano.

The Coast of Living

We thought that after Earthquake, Los Angeles was gone for good. But no, here it is, back again and the same as ever.

Rio Grande Redux

Our man-about-restaurants finds some old friends on the border of disappointment; other old friends just keep getting better.

Art and Soul

Art for your sake and no one else’s.

Behind the Lines

He’s Got a Secret

The Mexican pyramids are an open book compared to Peter Tompkins’s rambling account of them.

The Last Record Store

There’­s a heaven for record collectors and it’­s in the middle of West Texas.

Raza Desunida

South Texas has had a revolution, but itís not the one José Angel Guttiérrez planned.

Just What the Doctor Ordered

A total stranger may be the best friend you ever had.

A Star Lives On

Barbara Streisand, that is. King Kong was better off dead.

Works of Ort

Leftovers don’­t have to be left out.

Coping

Living in the country is all you ever wanted—and probably more than you bargained for.

Behind the Lines

Apple and Oranges

The Oranging of America is not about the Longhorn football team taking over the government, but Max Apple’­s book is only slightly less bizarre.

Valley Cats

What has two legs, antennae, and is covered with sequins?

Basket Cases

Surprise! There may be hope for Southwest Conference basketball.

Paper Tigers

These bureaucrats belong in a zoo.

Water Log

Some thoughts on why swimming is its own reward.

Tender Is the Plight

F. Scott Fitzgerald has better luck with Hollywood (this time) than Woody Guthrie.

Cafe Accompli

Enjoy a tropical eat wave in the Valley this winter.