Subject: Texas

• Tex-Max

  April 2, 2009

• "Texas Needs to Respond": In the State, More Than 300,000 Children are Homeless

  National Center on Family HomelessnessFrom the Texas section of the study America's Youngest Outcasts: State Report Card on Child HomelessnesThis morning, the National Center on Family Homelessness made it official: Texas has more homeless children than any other state in the union, and significantly more needs to be done to care for them. Says the center's new 220-page study, America's Youngest Outcasts: State Report Card on Child Homelessness, of the approximately 1,555,360 homeless children i

  March 10, 2009

• Thomas Haden Church on How Owen, Luke Wilson Really Got Their Nicknames

  The Ninth Annual Texas Film Hall of Fame induction ceremony, held last night on the site of the old Austin airport, was quite the damp, frigid shindig -- part all-star love-in, part call to arms. Amidst the inducting -- and feted this year were the likes of Powers Booth (SMU's own), Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke, J.R. Ewing hisself and Arkansan Billy Bob Thornton ("My family comes from Richardson, Garland and Greenville") -- there was also the demand that Texas legislators fund a bill th

  March 13, 2009

• The Economist: The Stars at Night are Big and Bright and Soon to Be Out of Work

  The Economist takes a gander at Texas -- "America's most robust big state" -- and concludes (spoiler alert!) that "many now fear that Texas's low-tax, low-spend model will need revision." Why come?In December 2008 and January 2009 the state lost tens of thousands of jobs. Unemployment reached 6.4% in January. (That was more than a point below the national level, 7.6% in January.) And the worst is to come. Susan Combs, the state comptroller, has estimated that Texas will lose 111,000 jobs in 2009

  March 19, 2009

• Cocaine Blues: Sorry, Texas, But You Will No Longer Be Able to Buy This Stimulating Drink.

  Out of the Dallas County's 44th Judicial District Court comes this swig o' news, courtesy the Texas Attorney General's Office: Never again will you find Cocaine on your local soft-drink shelves. Greg Abbott and his staff, including Dallas-based ADA Joyce Iliya of the Consumer Protection and Public Health Division, has had the maker of the so-called "energy supplement" in court for a good long while, but today they announced they got what they've wanted all along: a permanent injunction that mean

  March 23, 2009

• On The Range: Enchiladas

  Let's face it: A true Tex-Mex establishment succeeds or fails on the strength of its enchiladas. I realize I'm speaking only for myself, at least as far as popular dishes go. Many patrons of an El-or-La-something-or-other (as Rosemary Kent dubbed Tex-Mex restaurants in her Genuine Texas Handbook, released a generation ago) are perfectly content to order fajitas, tacos, or quesadillas every time. However, one can always learn volumes about the cook's commitment to authenticity through enc

  March 25, 2009

• Bonus MP3: The Texas Red Legs -- "Long Way to Lubbock"

  Rattlesnake Inn, the full-length debut from The Texas Red Legs, recently hit the streets, and the North Texas quartet has kindly offered up a fine cut from the album for your listening pleasure. Check it out...Bonus mp3: The Texas Red Legs -- "Long Way to Lubbock"Very reminiscent of The Band and Dylan--and that's not a bad thing at all. I dig Richard Davis' world weary vocals and that wall of (country) sound production. If the rest of Rattlesnake Inn is as pleasurable as this track, this could r

  March 27, 2009

• Former Texas Prisoners Offer Their Support to State Legislators Trying to Help Them Out

  State Rep. Rafael AnchiaToday down in Austin, more than a dozen former Texas prisoners freed using DNA testing made their case in front of Texas legislators concerning myriad related bills sitting before lawmakers, among them fixing the way victims ID would-be offenders using photos of a live lineup, about which we wrote at great length in this August 2007 cover story. Dallas State Rep. Rafael Anchia has also introduced legislation -- H.B. 1736, also being discussed by the House and Senate this

  March 31, 2009

• Friday Night Lights: Sounds Like Quite the Texas Day Planned Down in Victory Park

  Dana Wheeler-Nicholson will be among those attending Friday's Texas Day shindig in Victory Park.Before touting today's AFI Dallas International Film Festival line-up, this heads-up: The Dallas Film Society just sent along the guest list for Friday's daylong Texas Day event, which kicks off with the free Texasville screening and Peter Bogdanovich Q&A at the Magnolia. Says the schedule we just received, Victory Park should be chock-a-block with familiar faces beginning, oh, 'round 6:30, as the

  April 1, 2009

• Short Orders: Tupinamba

  Tupinamba12270 Inwood972-991-8148Eddie Dominguez's place is the restaurant equivalent of the Grapevine Bar--an unassuming, colorful, come-as-you-are kind of place.If you've never been to the latter (conveniently located across the street from our offices) or if you can't ignore for a moment the bar's reputation, then consider Tupinamba one spot where the city feels free to shed its pretentious reputation. By that I mean the popular joint serves Texas comfort food. And looking at the crowd on cer

  April 6, 2009

• I-45 Showdown

  The Mavs and the Rockets square off

  April 9, 2009

• Nimble Nylon

  March 12, 2009

• Get Ready to Get Tea'd On. Pardon, Tea'd Off!

  As we mentioned last week, the Tea Parties are here, the Tea Parties are here! So those not prepared to protest with the likes of Mark Davis, "Dave-from-London" and "Lance Hurley as Patrick Henry" at the Dallas tea'd-off affair had best steer clear of City Hall starting at 4:30 p.m. And for those in need of a complete list of area wingdings, look no further than this round-up of Texas Tea Parties -- several of which Governor Rick Perry's planning on attending, including, just maybe, gatherings a

  April 15, 2009

• Now, For the Good News: The DFW Is Still One of Best Big Cities For Job Growth in U.S.

  Earlier this week, Michael Shires, associate professor in public policy at Pepperdine University, and Joel Kotkin posted on Forbes and New Geography their annual list of the best cities for job growth in the country -- though Kotkin adds the caveat that given the state of things, "perhaps we should call the rankings not the 'best' places for jobs, but the 'least worst.'" Either way, North Texas -- hell, most of Texas -- sits high atop the list, with "Fort Worth-Arlington" ranking No. 4 among lar

  April 16, 2009

• No Need to Secede. Because, See, Texas is Already a Foreign Country.

  Time magazine wonders this morning: "What's All That Secession Ruckus in Texas?" Um, Governor Rick Perry, maybe? And, natch, his very vocal support for House Concurrent Resolution No. 50, which, as we pointed out in February, states that the "81st Legislature of the State of Texas hereby claim[s] sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over all powers not otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal government by the Constitution of the United States."Al

  April 17, 2009

• On The Range: Chili Con Carne

  Given the popularity of chili, this was probably inevitable.Chili con carne, better known as chili for short, was named Official State Dish of Texas back in the late 1970s. Why chili and not barbecue or steak? According to Paul Burka, political writer, food guru, and all-around resident curmudgeon of Texas Monthly magazine, the esteemed members of the Texas State Legislature were bribed with beer (probably enough to do the trick) and free chili by a lobbyist for the cause. In his

  April 15, 2009

• Crime Screen

  May 21, 2009

• Over the Weekend: The Octopus Project, This Will Destroy You and Ume at the Granada Theater

  The Octopus Project,This Will Destroy You, UmeGranada TheaterMay 23, 2009Better Than: Watching three exuberant non-Texas bands trying to have some fun on a Saturday nightThe Octopus ProjectThree Texas bands delivered well-crafted, wildly diverse music to an appreciative audience at the Granada on Saturday night. Opener Ume provided a tight set of riff-driven power rock. Guitarist/vocalist Lauren Larsen tossed off complex riffs with amazing fluidness--although, for too much of the set, her amazin

  May 26, 2009

• Texas-Sized Yums

  May 28, 2009

• Drink To Heat

  May 28, 2009

• Bonus MP3: The Uncle Bill Roach Band -- "I'm Goin' To Texas"

  Mike Slagle has led some form of The Uncle Bill Roach Band since 1976., which, according to my math, equals 33 years quality Texas music. Name after Slagle's great Uncle, the band incorporates tropical influences into its version of Americana. Now based out of Granbury, Slagle and crew remain a vital link to our state's musical heritage.8 Second Ride, The Uncle Bill Roach Band's forthcoming full-length is slated for release later this month. But Mike was kind enough to send along the first sing

  June 10, 2009

• Because, Apparently, Oklahoma City Makes a Better Fort Worth Than Fort Worth

  The Texas flag's waving in the Oklahoma breeze at this very moment: Noted The Oklahoman yesterday, director Michael Winterbottom's about 200 miles north of here shooting the second big-screen adaptation of Jim Thompson's 1952 novel The Killer Inside Me, about a deeply disturbed West Texas lawman who kills 'cause he just can't help himself. Casey Affleck's playing Deputy Sheriff Lou Ford, and the cast also features the likes of Jessica Alba, Kate Hudson, Ned Beatty, Simon Baker and Bill Pullman.A

  June 15, 2009

• On The Range: Beans

  On The Range is a weekly exploration of the history and lore of Texas menu items.Drywontonmee"When you have four hundred pounds of beans in the house, you need have no fear of starvation. Other things, delicacies such as sugar, tomatoes, peppers, coffee, fish or meat, may come sometimes miraculously, through the intercession of the Virgin, sometimes through industry or cleverness; but your beans are there, and you are safe. Beans are a roof over your stomach. Beans are a warm cloak against e

  June 17, 2009

• All Hail the Mighty State

  June 18, 2009

• Free Ice Cream Incites Child Locavore Riot

  Paciugo's West Village location showed off its recent facelift last night, throwing a party complete with free samples and the unveiling of three new flavors--Texas Pecan Sea Salt Caramel, Texas Peaches & Strawberries Sorbet and Chocolate Jalapeno--aimed at Lone Star locavore trendies. The Pecan Sea Salt Caramel recalled the mouthful of sandy seawater that often accompanies a boogie board wipeout in shallow water (only with pecans), while the Chocolate Jalapeno tasted like burned chocolate w

  June 18, 2009

• Download: Are We Too Late For The Trend? Compilation, 1979

  Someone over at a music blog called Good bad Music for bad, bad Times, has done old Texas punk fans a real solid, posting the entirety of the 1979 Texas proto-punk compilation Are We Too Late For The Trend? compilation up for download.The compilation features some real gems, including tracks from Dallas icons The Nervebreakers ("I Love Your Neurosis"), Barry Kooda ("So Sorry") and The Telefones ("Solid Ground"). Olds will no doubt dig the comp, as will die-hard local music fans looking for a lit

  June 22, 2009

• Girl in a Coma

  June 18, 2009

• Lone Star Face

  June 26, 2009

• Like a Virgin: How One So-Called "Bad Girl" Became a "Beautiful Young Lady"

  The central question posed in this week's cover story is this: Can teaching rebellious young girls how to become old-school "ladies" save them from a cycle of teen pregnancy and poverty?Teen pregnancy is a riddle in Texas, a state that has the second-highest teen birthrate in the country behind California. Abstinence-only education doesn't work. And, as of 2004, teen childbearing in Texas was costing taxpayers at least $1 billion, according to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned

  June 25, 2009

• If You Drive a Ford Pick-Up Truck, You Might Want to Pay Special Attention to This

  Welcome to "Watch Your Car Month" -- and, no, we're not referring to this. Not exactly. But this morning at 10 at the Dallas Police Department Auto Pound on Vilbig Street, officials from several local auto-theft task forces will gather 'round stripped and recovered cars -- and a working one made entirely of stolen parts, how Memphis Raines -- to make the case that most high-speed car chases, this week's excepted, stem from auto thefts. Officials say a car's stolen every five minutes in Texas."H

  July 1, 2009

• A Salute to Those About to Hard Rock, At the Far End of Victory Park

  Patrick MichelsThe decor recalls great moments in Texas music history. Also, that time Kelly Clarkson sang at a Cowboys game. The Hard Rock Cafe is finishing up its preparations for a soft opening next week, but invited press to take a look around their new digs today, at the south end of Victory Park -- or, as we've noted before, but one block from the House of Blues.While the kitchen looked nearly done, the gift shop looked alarmingly incomplete -- but plenty of rock memorabilia, including boo

  July 6, 2009

• Texas Monthly's President, Evan Smith, Will Now Be CEO of New Texas Tribune

  Evan SmithRemember how, earlier this week, we mentioned that Austin venture capitalist John Thornton was starting an online newspaper, the intention of which is to cover Texas and specifically Austin? Well, now we know who the CEO of that paper's gonna be: none other than Texas Monthly's president and editor-in-chief Evan Smith, who today announced to his staff via a memo now on Romensko that he's taking over as CEO of Texas Tribune: As John has been telling anyone who will listen, the Texas Tri

  July 17, 2009

• The Texas Red Legs Win First Leg Of Shiner Rising Star Contest

  An artist's rendering of Richard Davis, last seen somewhere between Plano and Lubbock.​Last week, I blogged about how one of my favorite local alt-country acts, The Texas Red Legs, were competing in the most recent installment of the Shiner Rising Star Contest.Well, lo and behold, Richard Davis and crew went out last week and won the contest's first installment at Plano's Love and War in Texas. Here's the video, complete with the judges' commentary--plus various inebriated hooting from the fei

  July 30, 2009

• Frank Rich Says It's Lupe Valdez Who Really Scares the Heck Outta Glenn, Rush and Newt

  ​In his New York Times op-ed this morning, Frank Rich pours one out for Henry Louis-Gate. And as he moves from Cambridge to the White House (for the free beer), Rich stops to huff the Brit Humes at FOX News, where everyone's calling everyone else a racist these days (oh, that Glenn Beck!). So, why all the "hysteria" from that side of the TV? Writes Rich, blame Texas.What provokes their angry and nonsensical cries of racism is sheer desperation: an entire country is changing faster than these w

  August 2, 2009

• Hash Over: Twitter Taste-Off, Sevy's Brunches Saturday, And Taste The Watters Creek

  ​DrinkLocalWine.com wants you to know that wine-making isn't just for Californians, and what better way to spread the word than Twitter? The advocacy group will hold the first Twitter Taste-Off at its conference Saturday at Le Cordon Bleu Institute of Culinary Arts Dallas. Along with lunch and tastings of some 40 wines, the conference will also feature seminars about trends in Texas wines, the distinctive grapes Texas wineries use and how wine lovers can get more regional wines in stores and r

  August 10, 2009

• First Look: Texas De Brazil Express

  ​We love the idea of Texas de Brazil Express: take a trusted name in meat-coma dining and parlay it into a quick meal concept. Round out said concept with a simple assisted assembly-line format and plop it in a busy shopping center (with ample parking) and you've got yourself a winner. At first glance, TDBE (we're gonna abbreviate, 'cause they do it, too--and we're not paid by the word) comes across much like a Chipotle or the revered Freebirds World Burrito. Another smart move, if you ask

  August 11, 2009

• At Transportation Summit, Kay Bailey Hutchison Knocks Perry's Roads Record

  ​Senator and gubernatorial hopeful Kay Bailey Hutchison used her appearance today at the Transportation Summit to establish her cred as someone committed to "a state-of-the-art transportation system" while knocking Rick Perry's support for tollways and the Trans Texas Corridor. Speaking at the Omni Mandalay Hotel in Las Colinas, Hutchison said Texas should get more than 92 cents back for each dollar sent to Washington, plugged her Highway Fairness and Reform Act of 2009 and, with a line bound

  August 14, 2009

• Sips And (Sound)Bites And Almost Fist Fights

  Back to school, with drinking--and threats--allowed: a panel discussion at the drinklocalwines.com conference.​This past Saturday, a sold-out crowd gathered at Le Cordon Bleu Institute of Culinary Arts in North Dallas for the first-ever DrinkLocalWine.com Conference. Hosted by website founders Jeff Siegel and Dave McIntyre and the Texas Department of Agriculture's Go Texan program, the event drew wine makers, wine writers, bloggers and enthusiasts from far and wide for discussions on the topi

  August 17, 2009

• The Bees Needs

  August 27, 2009

• Charity Jam

  September 3, 2009

• A Sordid Blanche

  September 17, 2009

• "This is Not About Gay and Lesbian Marriage."

  ​As you're no doubt aware, on Thursday, Judge Tena Callahan of Dallas County's 302nd Family District Court ruled that two men married in Massachusetts in 2006 could indeed get divorced in Dallas. To which Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott responded, Whoawhoawhoa: "The laws and constitution of the State of Texas define marriage as an institution involving one man and one woman. Today's ruling purports to strike down that constitutional definition -- despite the fact that it was recently adopte

  October 5, 2009

• Yes, But What If Texas Were Healthy?

  ​Yes, indeed -- when it comes to health care, says the Commonwealth Fund, Texas ranks ahead of only Nevada, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Mississippi. The full study's here for those looking for context, but for Texans all the bad news is right here -- five pages full of charts documenting all that ails Texas's health care system, which ranks last in access and equity, which is what researchers call the "differences in how well the health care system functions for people based on their inc

  October 8, 2009

• Bible Study With the ACLU of Texas

  Flickr photo: goatopolis​Maybe you recall the ruckus raised last May, when some folks up in Frisco got upset with the fact the school district allowed for the dissemination of Gideon bibles on campuses. And no doubt you recall what happened a year earlier, when some Jewish kids in Plano ISD were taunted with bibles and asked, like, won't you burn and stuff if you come in contact with the New Testament? (Silly -- it doesn't burn, but it does sting a little.) Which more or less brings us up to s

  October 8, 2009

• Handle The Proof: What To Drink On A Day Like Today

  ​Great. The full force of Texas winter is upon us...for a day...in October.Another month and Europeans will start seeing mulled wine stands open. Decades ago these probably held a big, steaming pot of red wine spiced with cinnamon, vanilla, cloves and other seasonings. Nowadays, of course, you find commercial-sized stainless coffee pots.Not the same charm, but it's still good stuff: gluhwein in Germany, glogg in Scandinavian countries, svarak (pronounced sfarzhak) in the Czech Republic...Other

  October 9, 2009

• Sikh and Tired of School Bullies

  ​The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas just sent word that the organization, in coordination with a U.N.-affiliated advocacy group called United Sikhs, sent out a letter warning Texas school districts -- including DISD -- to protect Sikh students from discrimination or bullying. The missive is after the jump. The letter reminds the superintendents of state laws requiring schools to prohibit and take steps to prevent student harassment. "Because schools are responsible for ensuring t

  October 15, 2009

• Texas-OU: Another Longhorns Victory

  Texas beats OU, even in the girls' bathroom.  And the delicious conclusion of Parts 2 and 3 ...

  October 21, 2009

• Hophead: Beer Across Texas Guides Brew Lovers To The Lone Star State

  ​Fort Worth's Paul Hightower may make his living as a technical writer, copywriter and indexer, but one of the great passions in his life is beer. On his Dallas Craft Beer Examiner blog, he is a relentless and well-informed cheerleader for the best beers available in North Texas, whether they're brewed locally or abroad. Writing a guide to Texas brewers would seem an obvious choice for a textbook author with such an extensive knowledge of the subject. As it turned out, though, his friend and f

  October 29, 2009

• Analog Rebellion (formerly PlayRadioPlay!) Wishes You A Happy Halloween, Shares A New Track From His Upcoming Release

  Earlier this week, the artist formerly known as PlayRadioPlay! and now known as Analog Rebellion, Aledo's Daniel Hunter, released the above clip, which offers fans yet another glimpse at the direction of his upcoming record. Specifically, the above song, which is set in the video to a clip of Hunter and a friend carving jack-o-lanterns, is a re-working of an earlier PlayRadioPlay! track called "Texas." Now titled "An Onest Thank You," the track is less an ode to Texas and more of a head-scratch

  October 30, 2009

• On The Range: Milanesa

  A chicken fried steak, by any other name...​On The Range is a weekly exploration of the history and lore of Texas menu items.Let's suppose a job offer landed in your lap that's just too good to be true. The money is a significant upgrade from your present position.Only one problem: You'd have to move out of state, possibly even out of the country. How could you possibly leave Texas and all the Lone Star things you hold near and dear, such as chicken-fried steak? I mean, do other cultures have

  November 4, 2009