December 2011 Issue
Features
Not Your Average Joe
With local roasters all over the state, there’s no reason you have to drink coffee that’s been in a warehouse for two months.
“If the Serial Killer Gets Us, He Gets Us”
Police had all but given up looking into a pair of assaults against two prostitutes in the Houston neighborhood of Acres Homes. But when a third turned up dead, investigator Darcus Shorten embarked on a search that revealed a brutal reality.
Oral History
Trial by Fire
It will be remembered as the year of smoke and devastation, as drought-fueled flames wreaked unprecedented havoc across Texas, from Bastrop County to Possum Kingdom. A photographic and oral history of the 2011 wildfires.
Feature
Up in the Air
No state has defied the federal government’s environmental regulations more fiercely than Texas, and no governor has been more outspoken about the “job-killing” policies of the EPA than Rick Perry. But does that mean we can all breathe easy?
Columns
Enron Ever After
Ten years ago this month, the company that once dominated Houston collapsed in a cloud of debt. But its ghost still haunts the city—and America.
The Keys to My Heart
For decades, I had an on-again, off-again love affair with the piano. Today, my ardor is once more in bloom—to the envy of even my husband.
The Texanist: Can I Teach My Neighbors Gravel-Road Etiquette?
Enforcing gravel-road etiquette, contemplating “turkey bacon,” reconsidering the bolo tie, and sussing out the true meaning of “goat roper.”
Reporter
How to Design a Custom Belt Buckle
Western-yoke, pearl-snap plaid shirts and straight-fit jeans may currently be trending, but custom-made belt buckles will never go out of style. “It’s an item you can wear every day for the rest of your life, then pass down to the next generation,” says Ingram’s Clint Orms, who has crafted buckles
Liza Richardson
The disc jockey and music producer on hanging out in Deep Ellum, working on the TV show Friday Nights Lights, and keeping up with Texas music.
Houston Might Be Heaven: Rockin’ R&B in Texas, 1947–1951
Major labels are often maligned for their draconian business practices, but one thing they’ve always done well is archive and repackage vintage music. With CD sales in steep decline, though, the big players have all but given up producing lushly packaged box sets. Cue the fly-by-night independents. HOUSTON MIGHT
Historic Downtown Marshall
When the weather turns cold, the self-proclaimed “Center Stage” of East Texas, attracts tourists with its famous Wonderland of Lights. And have you tried the raspberry-chipotle burger?
Eddie “Lucky” Campbell, Bartender
Campbell is the beverage program director for Edward C. Bailey Enterprises, which includes the Bailey’s Prime Plus steakhouses and Patrizio restaurants. The barman, who decries the title “mixologist” as a “vanity move,” started his cocktail career seven years ago—on the day he stopped drinking. After stints at some of the
Building a Gingerbread Capitol
Amanda Naim on baking her first batch of cookies, molding each piece of the dome, and having a steady head.
Web
Web Exclusive
A Q&A With Skip Hollandsworth
The executive editor on writing about prostitutes, working with detectives, and recreating scenes.
A Q&A With Patricia Sharpe
The executive editor on eating out for breakfast, scrambling eggs, and discovering syrup.
Web Exclusive
A Q&A With Nate Blakeslee
The senior editor on why Texas has taken the lead in fighting new EPA air pollution regulations and what will become the fuel of choice for the next generation of power plants in Texas and around the country.
I Say Burrito, You Say Taco
Our top-notch team of anonymous reviewers have some strong words on what to call those delicious tortillas filled with things like eggs, beans, or chorizo. Regardless of semantics, though, they all like to eat them.
A Dallas Church Preserves Robert Johnson’s Legacy
First Presbyterian Church's plan to renovate 508 Park Ave., the building where the legendary bluesman recorded almost half of his famous discography, has music lovers and historians cheering.
The Drop Everything List
The Mavs vs. the Heat, Lavelle White in Austin, RG3 takes on the Alamo Bowl, and Hayes Carll plays the John T. Floore Country Store . . .
The Texas Quarterback Boom Continues
Robert Griffin III, who led Baylor to its best season in decades and won the Heisman Trophy, is the latest stick of dynamite in the Texas quarterback boom.
Web Exclusive
From Screening Movies to Releasing Them
Alamo Drafthouse founder Tim League starts an independent film distribution company, but can he make it work?
The Drop Everything List
The Polyphonic Spree, Breakfast with the Cranes, YouTube tournament, and O. Henry's Gifts of the Magi . . .
Web Exclusive
Unsolved Mystery
It has been twenty years since four teenage girls were murdered in a north Austin yogurt shop—and still no answers.
Need Some Gift Ideas?
We got you covered. Representatives from three independent record stores in Texas recommend recent releases from local artists to give as gifts to music fans.
The Drop Everything List
Tamales! Holiday Festival, the Nutcracker, Holiday Wine Trail, and the Charlie Daniels Band . . .
Living With the Border Fence
The border fence cuts through a Valley farmer's property, upending his family's life.
The Drop Everything List
Kinky Friedman's Hanukkah Tour, Mariachi Mass, Renegade Craft Fair, and Jamie Foxx . . .
The Drop Everything List
Brittney Griner, East Austin Studio Tour, the Trains at NorthPark, and the World Gaming Championship . . .
Velvet Taco
I ORDERED AT THE COUNTER and took a seat on a metal stool at a big varnished wood table near wall-to-wall windows. My dinner arrived in a paper wrapper, and I ate it with my hands and a spork. Distraction consisted of watching a motley crew of fellow diners
Six Must-See Museums and Collections
Six members from Women for the Arts share which museums, collections, and venues travelers should not miss.
Miscellany
Roar of the Crowd
Roar of the Crowd
Powder Puff PieceDespite the uninspired cover plug, I picked up the most recent issue so that I could hopefully learn more about Miranda Lambert’s music, songwriting, and relationship with Texas [“The Girl Who Played With Firearms,” October 2011]. Unfortunately, Skip Hollandsworth’s story disappointed. Several times during the first three
Editor's Letter
Going Postal
Back in February 1973, in the very first issue of this magazine, founding editor William Broyles wrote, by way of introduction, “If our readers have ever finished the daily paper or the six o’clock news and felt there was more than what they were told, then they know why
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