Quick Links

Miscellany

Editor's Letter|
May 31, 2011

App in the Heart of Texas

Only a few years ago, the word was understood (if it was used at all) to mean chicken wings or jalapeño poppers or nachos. That time is gone forever. As even the proudest Luddite now knows, an “app” is something you download onto your handheld device or tablet, a helpful

By

Roar of the Crowd|
May 31, 2011

Roar of the Crowd

DishingYou folks must be a passel of damn Yankees. First, in Texas we don’t “make” our grub; we “fix” it [“Home Plates,” April 2011]. As in, “I believe I’ll fix some breakfast.” Second, that Dutch oven y’all show on page 112 appears to be a plain ol’ cast-iron pot.

By

Editor's Letter|
April 30, 2011

Talkin’ About an Education

The U.S. Constitution says nothing about public education, but all the state constitutions have clauses addressing it, and reading through them is a mildly inspiring way to spend half an hour. Arkansas: “Intelligence and virtue being the safeguards of liberty and the bulwark of a free and good government, the

By

Roar of the Crowd|
April 30, 2011

Roar of the Crowd

Site SeeingWhile reading my March copy, with the “175 Years of Texas” headline and the beautiful, enticing scratch-and-sniff, it was only appropriate that I swell with pride, as I so often do with our family copy of the journal. Hell, the word “terquasquicentennial” at the top of the cover alone

By

Food & Drink|
March 31, 2011

Holy Frijole

The first person I think of when it comes to cooking like a Texan is Enrique Madrid. You probably have someone you think of, your father, perhaps, or your grandmother. I think of Enrique, a historian, archaeologist, cook, defender of the borderlands, author, and lecturer whose family has been living

By

Roar of the Crowd|
March 31, 2011

Roar of the Crowd

Power of AttorneysConcerning your February cover story [“Power Company,” 2011], in which you discuss Texans for Lawsuit Reform, I have three comments: First, Dick Weekley is the primary founder and moving force of TLR. I am proud to have been at Dick’s side at the beginning and throughout TLR’s journey

By

Texas History|
March 1, 2011

Past Present

Big moments call for big efforts. This year marks the 175th anniversary of the victory of Sam Houston’s ragtag band of volunteers over the Mexican army, which led to the creation of the sovereign Republic of Texas. In the almost two centuries since then, much has changed. Texas is now

By

Roar of the Crowd|
March 1, 2011

Roar of the Crowd

Bum RushTrue to his Arkansas hillbilly roots, Jerry Jones has become little more than a buffoon, sporting bad toupees for the national television cameras that are recording his weird mannerisms and spasmodic antics during his team’s games. And now you crown him and his roster of overpaid underachievers Bum Steers

By

Politics & Policy|
February 1, 2011

Session Up

This issue went to press four days before the start of the most important legislative session of our lifetime, when lawmakers face, in addition to the testy, high-stakes business of redistricting and the supercharged debate over immigration and voter ID, an epic fiscal crisis: a budget shortfall of up to

By

Roar of the Crowd|
February 1, 2011

Roar of the Crowd

Full of BeansYou failed to list a restaurant that is not in any way fancy but has the best Tex-Mex food: El Mercado on North Burnet Road in Austin is the place I mean [“Let’s Have Mex-Tex,” December 2010]. The tortilla chips are tasty, the service is excellent,

By

Roar of the Crowd|
January 1, 2011

Roar of the Crowd

Table TalkI am not a Texan. Nor a Republican. Nor even a Baptist. And when I saw the cover on immigration, I thought, “Uh-oh, here we go.” Then I saw “The Immigration Dinner Party” and read the profiles of the guests [November 2010]. I figured at least

By

Editor's Letter|
January 1, 2011

Steer Pressure

A wise man once said, “Beware of football Bum Steers.” Baseball is fine, and so is basketball, since both of those seasons will have wrapped up by the time the January issue goes to press. But football is a different story. Just when you think a player or a coach

By

Roar of the Crowd|
December 1, 2010

Roar of the Crowd

Innocence FoundIt’s been nearly ten years since I became aware of Anthony Graves [“Innocence Lost,” October 2010]. It seemed as obvious then as it does now that he is another victim of Texas justice. It is incomprehensible that he was ever considered a viable suspect, much less one who

By

Politics & Policy|
December 1, 2010

Don’t Mess With Exes

“Take the grips up to the attic.” That was Harry Truman’s response to a reporter who asked him, as he arrived back home in Independence, Missouri, after leaving the White House, what he intended to do first (“grips,” for all you kids out there, used to be a common synonym

By

Roar of the Crowd|
October 31, 2010

Roar of the Crowd

Quarterback SneaksWhile Bryan Curtis’s piece on Texas quarterbacks sure got me in the mood for some pom-poms and pigskin, missing among the photos was former Stephenville High and University of Houston gunslinger Kevin Kolb [“Arms Race,” September 2010]. The Philadelphia Eagles QB certainly merits a nod over

By

News & Politics|
October 31, 2010

Point of Border

The job of most editors, myself included, is to delight, entertain, surprise, and inform their readers. The majority of the time, when it comes to choosing a cover story, we try to keep the emphasis on the first three, since the other job of most editors, myself included, is to

By

Roar of the Crowd|
September 30, 2010

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

By

Roar of the Crowd|
August 31, 2010

Roar of the Crowd

Dove TalesAs a fifth-generation Californian—a state that long ago lost its self-worth to historical revisionism—I applaud your insightful observations on Larry McMurtry and Lonesome Dove [“True West,” July 2010]. Luckily the rich history and traditions of Texas have withstood the politically correct demythologizing process that has destructively

By

Energy|
August 31, 2010

Baby Boom

On October 27, 1900, an Austrian-born mining engineer named Anthony F. Lucas spudded in an oil well on a hill near Beaumont. He’d drilled a previous well in the vicinity to a depth of 575 feet before running out of money and giving up, but this time he’d secured financing

By

Editor's Letter|
July 31, 2010

All He Wrote

He’s been here from the very beginning. In February 1973 readers of the first issue of a brand-new magazine called TEXAS MONTHLY were treated to, among other stories, a strange but fascinating piece by a strange but fascinating writer named Gary Cartwright. Gary was already familiar to many Texans

By

Roar of the Crowd|
July 31, 2010

Home Sweet Home

I just finished reading your “ Where I’m From” issue, and fellas, I’m touched [June 2010]. My kids are hungry, my dog needs a walk, and my Facebook friends are wondering where I went. I have no opinion on the last episode of Lost, because I didn’t watch the

By

Roar of the Crowd|
June 30, 2010

We’ll Be Dammed

“Go With the Flow” was interesting and informative, but Charlie Llewellin’s description of the Devils River erred in stating that this is the one river in Texas that’s never been dammed [May 2010]. I am sure that many old-timers and not-so-old-timers in Del Rio and Southwest Texas

By

Editor's Letter|
June 30, 2010

Dove Story

A place is lucky if it gives birth to good writers and luckier still if it is able to hold on to them. Most places aren’t, maybe because good writing about home is usually not celebration; it involves ambivalence, love mixed with hate, pride mixed with dismay, hope mixed

By

Roar of the Crowd|
May 31, 2010

Queen of Hearts

I am writing you these few lines to thank you and your staff for remembering my daughter on the fifteenth anniversary of her death [“Dreaming of Her,” April 2010]. It was a beautiful story that brought back a lot of memories for my wife, myself, and my family.

By

The Culture|
May 31, 2010

Where I’m Home

This is our second “Where I’m From” special issue, in which the entire magazine, front to back, is given over to stories about growing up in Texas. Last time, most of the essays were by staff writers. This time we turned to some of our favorite authors, folks like

By

Roar of the Crowd|
April 30, 2010

Kicking the Bucket List

Well, you knew it would happen. You publish the bucket list of things that all Texans should do before they die and e-mail messages from surly Texans proclaiming notable omissions pile up in your inbox like empty beer cans at a tailgate party [“The Bucket List,” March 2010].

By

Editor's Letter|
April 30, 2010

Yes We Canoe

I’ve been thinking about a spot on the Brazos about a day and half below the dam at Possum Kingdom Reservoir, where a long, humped island narrows to a spit of sand. A couple of years ago I found myself camped there with three friends. We’d been paddling all

By

Roar of the Crowd|
March 31, 2010

Office Talk

Your “Perry for President?!?” cover sent me to the phone to schedule a stress test. The last Texas governor to ascend to the White House left a scar on our great state that will always be a painful reminder of big business’s influence on our democratic process. To even suggest

By

Music|
March 31, 2010

Fotos y Recuerdos

This past year marked an important, though largely unnoticed, milestone for fans of Selena Quintanilla Perez, the hugely popular Tejano singer who died at 23 on March 31, 1995: She has now lived in our memories for longer than she performed professionally. She was 9 years old when she started

By

Roar of the Crowd|
March 1, 2010

DeLayed Reaction

After picking up the mail and happily opening Christmas cards, I looked down and saw Tom DeLay on the cover of texas monthly [January 2010]. I almost threw up. But as I read that it was time for the Bum Steer Awards, I just thought, “What a great choice.”

By

Editor's Letter|
March 1, 2010

Cover Me

Willie’s done it seven times. So has George W. Bush. Ross Perot and Troy Aikman have each done it four times. Kinky Friedman has done it three times (twice dressed as a woman). Lance Armstrong, Ann Richards, Rick Perry, and Selena have also done it three times (and pssst:

By

Roar of the Crowd|
February 1, 2010

Dance Fever

Loved the dance hall stories, especially those about Floore’s and the Quihi Gun Club [“Step Right Up,” December 2009]. I sure knew I was home in Texas, after twenty years of wandering the world with the Air Force, when I attended a wedding at the latter, surrounded by four

By

Editor's Letter|
February 1, 2010

Paulitics 101

When Paul Burka was ten years old, his mother gave him a board game called Politics. This is the honest truth. Elvis’s mother gave him a guitar; Paul’s mother gave him Politics. He can still remember the rules. “You tried to capture the states, which were divided into six

By

Roar of the Crowd|
January 1, 2010

Eternal Flame

What a well-done and moving story on this tenth anniversary of the Bonfire collapse [“Ring of Fire,” November 2009]. Flying at 37,000 feet on my way to New York, I cried like a baby as I read the story. Flashbacks to ’72 and ’73, when I was a medic

By

Magazine Latest