Forgive us this moment of self-congratulations, but the May issue featured an excerpt of executive editor Skip Hollandsworth’s The Midnight Assassin. Its publication was a point of pride for the entire staff. Skip first wrote about the case of a nineteenth-century serial killer in Austin in the July 2000 issue, and the book garnered rave reviews from Publisher’s Weekly, the New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, and the Wall Street Journal. However, not everyone was happy. Our excerpt left a reader from Pearland “terribly disappointed” because it didn’t cover all the murders. To which we say, Skip would love it if you’d buy the entire book—and we’re certain he’ll autograph it for you if you do.
And now, a sampling of feedback from our readers:
Climate Change Agent
The bottom line is, the global-warming issue has been ridiculously politicized, which takes it way off point regardless of the side you are on. Linking a global-warming expert to also being an evangelical Christian is a spot-on example [“Unfriendly Climate”].
Jeff Pruett, via Facebook
How can you be an expert on something that doesn’t exist?
Larry Ladd, via Facebook
Cue the tinfoil hats, five, four, three, two . . .
Johnna Lee-Garcia, via Facebook
Brilliant. So grateful for Katharine Hayhoe’s wisdom.
Cathy Cole, via Facebook
Back in the late sixties, it was “subsidence.” We were taking too much water from the earth, and the whole world was going to sink into itself. Then came the “new ice age,” with millions of folks freezing to death. And when the weather got too hot, it became “global warming.” And when it became obvious that global warming occurred naturally over the millennia, proven by core samples—just look at the strata in the Grand Canyon for crying out loud—it then “moderated” into “climate change.” So what’s next?
Elias Rodriquez, via Facebook
This woman is pushing an absolute hoax.
Don76550, via texasmonthly.com
Another politically correct article . . .
Jim Madewell, via texasmonthly.com
Wow, this lady is pretty remarkable both in her scientific skills as well as her communication skills. Her ability to stand before a group of cynics and present the science is very unusual. I was once pretty cynical about whether global warming was real but even more so that the activities of civilization may be a major driving force. I now think the evidence is pretty compelling. Unfortunately, before the evidence becomes strong enough to convince most of the skeptics, we will be so far down the road that fixing the problem will be exponentially more difficult. We simply cannot risk being wrong.
Donuthin2, via texasmonthly.com
Wes Ferguson [“Wimberley Storm Warning”] and John Nova Lomax [“Is Houston Sustainable? A Flood Postmortem”] should read each others’ articles, as well as “Unfriendly Climate,” by Sonia Smith, and note the pattern: climate change is already hitting Texas VERY, VERY HARD!
Droughts plus tornadoes plus massive floods are occurring with increasing frequency all over the state. Very few, if any, places in Texas are currently equipped or built for the catastrophic weather events already becoming commonplace. The people of Wimberley and elsewhere who reject “government regulations” as interfering with their God-given property rights should feel free to call on God and not the government to bail them out if they have ignored building guidelines and suffered the consequences.
Wessexmom, via texasmonthly.com
Good Eats
Loved “The Mighty Mudbug.” I’m the fourth generation to live on our rice farm in southwest Louisiana. We have raised and eaten crawfish for generations.
Boiling crawfish in seasoned water is the common practice and acceptable, but it takes much longer and requires more seasoning and fuel. But, most important, the salts in the seasoned-boiling-water method draw the moisture out of the tail meat, causing the meat to stick to the shell. This is simple osmosis.
Most people ruin crawfish by boiling them far too long in an unnecessary salt solution. Next time, steam your crawfish in three to four inches of unseasoned water for four minutes after seeing the foam. Then season as you pour the crawfish into an old ice chest.
I promise they will be the easiest-peeling crawfish you’ve had. In fact, you won’t even need to peel the tail! Just break it off and squeeze the meat into your mouth, like a tube of toothpaste.
Chip Kyle, Welsh, Louisiana
Succulent article by J. C. Reid with #stellar snaps to boot about the Mighty MudBug in @TexasMonthly. Now I’m hungry.
Edward Balusek, via Twitter
Lemony Snippets
By God’s grace I’ve not had an alcoholic drink in nearly 25 years, but I can attest to helping give rise to the popularity of the Chilton in West Texas in the late seventies and eighties [Vittles]!
Jody Plymell Holland, via Facebook
So funny. Drank these in Lubbock all the time and haven’t met anyone who knew what I was talking about! Loved them!
Julie Blankenship Salley, via Facebook
Was introduced during my college years at Tech; I like to use Topo Chico and a splash of olive juice.
Ashley K. Stryker, via Facebook
Topo Chico. Fill the glass with Topo Chico.
Andrew Elliott McBurney, via Facebook
Not too sour? Sounds like indigestion in a glass. I’ll try one, though!
Lana Bailey, via Facebook
First and only time I had this was in Lubbock—until tonight, because that looks fantastic.
G. Michael Brown, via Facebook
What’s the Beef?
I read the Texanist first when I get a new Texas Monthly in the mail. Sometimes I disagree, but I (almost) always enjoy his responses to (mostly) sincere questions. But he fumbled the ball with his answer to the steak question. He could have referred the writer to TM’s very own Dining Guide. He could have suggested Brazilian steakhouses, where you get a variety of beef steaks in thin slices or lamb or whatever. He could have suggested French, Italian, Chinese, Vietnamese, or other foreign-country eateries. Fort Worth has all of the above. And why does a night out have to be expensive? All of Texas’s medium- to big-sized cities I’ve visited have good Tex-Mex (and often real Mex), places with good food and good vibes. And I haven’t even started on barbecue. Maybe you should ask the Texanist why or whether he eats dinner out. Or let Pat Sharpe answer the next restaurant query. I hope the rest of the May issue shows more thought.
Bill Larson, Universal City
If Bob Wills is the King of Western Swing and George Strait is the King of Country, that must make Willie the King of Kings—or is that Jesus?
Howard Huston, Fort Worth
I’ve lived in Amarillo over fifty years and just learned via the TV weatherman that there is a town named Bootleg not far from here, population 10 (according to Google)!
Mary J. Provins, Amarillo
More for the Texanist: Cut and Shoot strikes me as amusing. And every time I pass the highway sign for Peggy I think she must have been quite a woman to have a town named after her. Poth . . . “PO-th” or “PAH-th? And what does it mean?
Pam, via texasmonthly.com
A Call to Arms
On behalf of the 37,000 members of the Texas State Rifle Association, thank you for creating an informative and well-written April 2016 issue dedicated to guns. You took the hot topic of the day and examined it from all directions, from the police officer who relies on his sidearm for protection to the trauma chaplain who lost loved ones in the tragedy of Charleston to the mother whose son was not prevented from purchasing firearms until his violence manifested itself in the killing of his father.
Additionally you heard from Texans raised around guns, learning at an early age to respect them, care for them, and treat them responsibly. In our mind, education, awareness, and responsibility around firearms are key to raising children in any home, but certainly one where guns are present.
Firearm ownership can be a highly emotionally charged topic. We learned from former state representative Suzanna Hupp why the passage of the concealed handgun license, in 1995, was so important. We don’t want to live in fear of the world around us, but given the options, we choose to be prepared to protect ourselves and our families should the need arise.
It was good to see a wide representation of Texas gun owners in your issue, both male and female (the fastest-growing segment of gun owners), those focused on firearm safety, family hunters, and competitive shooters. The facts and figures will be enlightening to many, and they illustrate the economic impact the firearms industry has on our state, with a variety of manufacturers relocating to Texas, as well as the wealth of Texas-based companies.
We look forward to participating in the discussions to create an environment with the fewest restrictions on law-abiding citizens, while fully enforcing current laws relating to illegal purchase or use of a firearm.
Doug DuBois Jr., Executive Director, Texas State Rifle Association
