If you live in Texas, you probably have a complicated relationship with the state. As in: You love Willie Nelson, but you hate Ted Cruz. You’re proud of Buddy Holly, but then you remember Joe Rogan moved here and started talking like he invented barbecue. We gave the world Beyoncé, Selena, and Wes Anderson — […]
Category: Culture
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Posted inNews
The Day Austin ‘Lost Its Innocence’: HBO’s Newest Crime Doc Tackles Haunting Unsolved Murder
For tried and true Texans, HBO’s newest docuseries might hit close to home. “The Yogurt Shop Murders” digs into a 33-year-old cold case in Austin — a murder so haunting, the then-mayor proclaimed it the day Austin “lost (its) innocence.” In December 1991, when Austin was still a relatively small college town, not yet on […]
Posted inNews
‘Love Is Blind’ Is Coming to Austin, Home of Horribly Behaved Singles
Tech bros, it’s your time to shine — “Love is Blind” is casting in Austin. The mega-popular show, where faceless singles meet behind a screen, fall in love, and get engaged (to varying degrees of success), bases itself out of one city for each season. The eight-season show has already had its moment in Dallas […]
Posted inTV & Film
Richard Linklater’s Indie Classic ‘Slacker’ Is a Time Capsule of a Bygone Austin
Texas hasn’t gotten its due as a major piece in the complex puzzle of American art. We’re here to rectify that. Every three weeks, H. Drew Blackburn will conduct a thoroughly scientific analysis of the 254 integral (one for every county) books, movies, tv shows, albums, podcasts, songs, and magazine articles — you name it […]
Posted inNews
Ozzy Osbourne Once Urinated On the Alamo. Texas Forgave Him (But Didn’t Forget).
Forty-three years ago, rockstar Ozzy Osbourne drunkenly urinated on the Alamo. What ensued afterward was a strained, decades-long relationship between the Grammy Award winner and the sacred Texas landmark — including an arrest, a 10-year ban, two apologies, a tenuous reconciliation, and, now, a tribute in light of Osbourne’s death. “At the Alamo, we honor […]
Posted inOpinion
How Do You Celebrate a Country That Doesn’t Love You Back?
Last month, my mom sent me a video of a little girl named Galilea from Dallas. She’s sitting on her gray couch, clutching a brown plush dog, remembering her mom’s voice, her clothes, and the way she would say goodnight. “My mom is supposed to be with us,” she says. “ICE took her away.” On […]
Posted inOpinion
Happy July 4. Everything You Love About America Was Made by Black People.
Black women are intrinsic to the fabric of America. Grace Wisher, a Black girl from Baltimore, assisted in the creation of the American flag. Harriet Tubman led Union soldiers to victory at the Combahee Ferry Raid during the Civil War. There is no United States without Black people. It was Black women and men who […]
Posted inOpinion
This Fourth of July is Red, White & Bleak
It’s almost the Fourth of July, and I have no idea what to do with it this year. I guess I could grill something? Or wave a sparkler and pretend things are normal? But it just feels bizarre, like clapping for a magic trick while the magician bleeds out backstage. The red, white, and blue […]
Posted inPolitics
Texas Bans Lab-Grown Meat, Declares Freedom Only Counts If It Mooed First
It’s official: Texas has lassoed itself another big win for freedom — by banning it. Yes, in a bold stand for liberty, small government, and the God-given right to eat things that once mooed, the Texas Legislature has banned the sale of lab-grown meat. If you were hoping to celebrate your next tailgate — or […]
Posted inCulture
Sequins, Feathers, and Bolo Ties: The Best Fan Fits From Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter Houston Homecoming
The energy shifts when Beyoncé is back in Houston. Her hometown showed up and showed out for the Texas dates on her Cowboy Carter and the Rodeo Chitlin’ Circuit Tour: nightclubs and bars hosted Beyoncé-themed dance parties and drag shows, the airports welcomed fans with “Cowboy Carter Corners,” and eager Beyhive members braved the heat […]