Texas Monthly articles from February 2000

Texas Monthly archives from February 2000

Animal Magnetism.(a fascination with horses and riding is described)
February 1, 2000... A HORSE IS AN ANIMAL THAT WEIGHS HALF A ton, has a brain the size of a tomato, and is instinctively alarmed at the approach of any predator, including man. Horses can be trained and they can become affectionate toward humans, but they never...

ROAR OF THE CROWD.
February 1, 2000... Bettering The Best IN "THE BEST OF THE TEXAS CENTURY" [December 1999], if anybody deserves the title Entertainer of the Century, it's George Jones. The Ol' Possum himself produced a number one record in four consecutive decades. BUDDY...

LOW TALK.(former model and stripper claims to have had an affair with George W. Bush)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2000... W IS FOR "WHEW!" The governor survives a tabloid assault. "BETTER TO BE A FAKE SOMEBODY than a real nobody," said that talented student of human motivation, Tom Ripley, and Tammy Phillips might well agree. How else to explain the...

Y2Kay.(the Texas political scene, at the beginning of the new century, is somewhat uncertain because of the governor's run for the presidency)
February 1, 2000... Governor Hutchison? And other questions about Texas politics in the new millennium. SOME SAY THAT THE millennium arrived in 2000; others say that the correct date is 2001. In Texas politics, though, the old order will prevail for yet...

THE EX FILES.(actor Dabney Coleman discusses his time at the University of Texas)(Brief Article)(Interview)
February 1, 2000... Dabney Coleman After attending the Virginia Military Institute for about two years, I enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin. My family had all gone there, and I majored in philosophy, history, and economics--one for each year. I finally...

DON GRAHAM'S TEXAS CLASSICS.(Review)
February 1, 2000... Stream of Consciousness In 1957 John Graves--World War II veteran, onetime expatriate, and TCU professor--put a canoe into the waters of the upper Brazos River for one last look before it was to be dammed. He took a dog with him and not much...

FACE.(artist Bill Barminski)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2000... Bill Barminski In an age when "new media" is almost synonymous with "e-commerce," it's important to note that computers have radically changed the landscape for fine art. No one knows this better than Bill Barminski, a 37-year-old artist who...

One Endless Night.(Review)
February 1, 2000... WINDCHARGER MUSIC/ROUNDER JIMMIE DALE GILMORE'S voice reminds me of reading the Bible. The speech is so stilted and hopelessly antiquated, it somehow rings poetic. Since 1991's groundbreaking After Awhile, though, the voice and the songs...

Something Happened.(Review)
February 1, 2000... NEWIMPROVEDMUSIC THREE TRACKS DEEP INTO Something Happened, "Peace of Mind" jolts to a start with a ricochet drum beat. Close behind, electric guitars bleat in accompaniment as Seela begins to sing: "Peace of mind, peace of mind, I've been...

The Big "D" Jamboree Live, Volumes 1 & 2.(Review)
February 1, 2000... DRAGON STREET FROM THE LATE FORTIES INTO the early sixties, the Big "D" Jamboree was Dallas' answer to the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville and the Louisiana Hayride in Shreveport. Broadcasting live from the Sportatorium on KRLD, the Jamboree...

Broke Down.(Review)
February 1, 2000... PHILO/ROUNDER SLAID CLEAVES IS A CRAFTSMAN. Broke Down, his second national release, is carved and polished just so, the work of someone who has studied his influences: Woody Guthrie, Hank Williams, Bruce Springsteen. Lured to Austin from...

Briefly Noted.(sound recordings)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2000... LITTLE JACK MELODY AND His Young Turks' Noise and Smoke (Kilroy), celebrating Texas' most twisted cabaret act, finally captures the group in its element (i.e., recorded live).... Catfish, Carp, and Diamonds: 35 Years of Texas Blues (Catfish), a...

The House of Gentle Men.(Review)
February 1, 2000... Kathy Hepinstall The House of Gentle Men BARD IN THIS QUAINTLY ADDICTIVE tale, the house of the title is a sort of anti-bordello for women, where the male residents provide lovelorn ladies not with sex but with solace, sweetness, and...

If the Gods Had Meant Us to Vote They Would Have Given Us Candidates.
February 1, 2000... Briefly Noted IF THE GODS HADN'T MEANT us to laugh, they wouldn't have given us Jim High-tower. The rabidly populist Austinite (and former Texas ag commissioner) inspires chuckles all around as he champions workaday Americans in If the...

The Art Guy.(critic Dave Hickey)
February 1, 2000... Renegade critic and philosopher Dave Hickey finds beauty where others find banality and integrity where others see glitz. HER VOICE IS SO SAD. You just know she was never on top of the world. She was never on top of anything." Dave...

Unhappy Trails.(Harris County police work on cold cases)
February 1, 2000... When two Houston detectives began investigating unsolved murders full-time, they hoped DNA testing would make it easy. They were dead wrong. HARRY FIKARIS AND ROGER WEDGEWORTH miss the flashing red lights, the yellow strips of crime scene...

Live and Learn.(102-year-old author, George Dawson)
February 1, 2000... George Dawson spent his youth working on farms, only learning to read when he was 98. Now 102, he's written a memoir. Its title: Life Is So Good. THE ONLY STUDENT IN the adult-education class not puzzled by the question was George Dawson,...

Green Acres.(Developing bamboo industry in Mexico)
February 1, 2000... Retired Houston agribusinessman Robert Gow has always taken risks. Now he's betting that bamboo will make him rich--and benefit the Yucatan too. AT AGE 66, ROBERT GOW could be enjoying a well-earned life of leisure in Houston--puttering...

Who Wants to Be a Billionaire?(more Texans billionaires in 1999)
February 1, 2000... YOU DO? IS THAT YOUR FINAL ANSWER? THEN READ THESE WORDS OF WISDOM FROM TEN OF THE WEALTHIEST TEXANS. YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE REGIS PHILBIN to know that everyone wants to get rich these days, but is Texas a good place to do it? Consider this...

The Man Who Loved Cat Burgling.(Mitch Shaw robbed rich for nearly ten years)
February 1, 2000... By day, MITCH SHAW was a colorless computer nerd. By night, he teamed up with his sweetheart, JENNIFER DOLAN, to rob Dallas' rich and famous of their jewelry. The police say they pulled off impossibly daring heists for nearly a decade--until...

This Is living.com?(Young entrepreneur Andrew Busey)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2000... The high-tech boom has made Andrew Busey a multimillionaire before his thirtieth birthday. If only his home life were so rich. MAYBE YOU'VE WONDERED what it would be like to win the lottery when you're 33: Welcome to Swankyville. But let's...

THANKS A MILLION 1999.(List of American philanthropists)
February 1, 2000... FROM HOUSTON HOOPERSTAR CHARLES BARKLEY TO A PASSEL OF PREPPIE DALLASITES, THE MANTRA OF LAST YEAR'S TOP PHILANTHROPISTS WAS: BE TRUE TO YOUR SCHOOL. THE BOOMING TEXAS ECONOMY AND the burgeoning ranks of Big Rich inspired a massive show of...

Top of the Morning.(restaurant chefs share secrets of great breakfasts)
February 1, 2000... From gingerbread pancakes to chilaquiles with queso fresco, some scrumptious ways to wake up your taste buds and break the fast. Just add coffee. EATING BREAKFAST AT A RESTAURANT IS ONE OF LIFE'S best low-cost, high-value indulgences....

Northern Exposure.(Texas artists at the Whitney Biennial)
February 1, 2000... With Fort Worth's Michael Auping as a curator and nine of the state's artists participating, this year's Whitney Biennial puts a New York spotlight on the art of Texas. "THE WHITNEY BIENNIAL IS THE EXHIBITION THAT EVERYBODY loves to hate,"...

RESTAURANT GUIDE.
February 1, 2000... Policies and Definitions The Restaurant Guide is a service to our readers. The magazine accepts no advertising or other consideration in exchange for a restaurant listing. Reviews are written by resident critics in the cities that we list....

American Beauty Cake From Rather Sweet Bakery.(the making of a flourless chocolate cake)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2000... American Beauty Cake From Rather Sweet Bakery Desserts can never be too rich or have too much chocolate--that's Rebecca Rather's philosophy. For Valentine's Day, the owner of Austin's Rather Sweet Bakery (814 W. Twelfth Street) has created a...

Alvin Ailey.(dancer and choreographer)
February 1, 2000... THE POVERTY AND RACISM OF 1930'S TEXAS were "an enormous stain" on his life, recalled Alvin Ailey in his autobiography. Yet other memories of his Texas childhood helped the dancer and choreographer leap to stardom: The affecting blues of...