Heard on the radio yesterday: An old norteño version of the old, old Hank Thompson hit "Wild Side of Life." "Mi Nueva Casa," I learn from musica.com, was a 1982 hit for Los Invasores de Nuevo León, boosting them to their first gold record. That is totally fitting in a number of ways, one being... Continue Reading →
Pool drills. No massé shots!
True story: I asked the guys at the table next to us once how you say "english" in Spanish. Took some demonstration before we were finally sure we were all talking about the same thing. The answer: "efecto." You put english on a pool ball in English; you darle efecto a una bola de billar... Continue Reading →
“Falling / yes, I am falling”: Country cover of a tumbling, descending Beatles song
Turnpike Troubadours have been closing some shows with an acoustic version of "I've Just Seen a Face," a lovely Paul song whose description in "Revolution in the Head" is just so wonderful I wanted to share it here: "the simplest of descending-sequence guitar songs, made indelible by a melody based on" intervals of the A-major... Continue Reading →
Going back to Aggieland to be of service to you
Big change in my life -- after 19 years of being a designer, reporter and editor at the Statesman, later this month I will jump geekstatically into my new job: communications specialist for the Association of Former Students at Texas A&M University. This is really, truly dream job time. The Association, one of the largest... Continue Reading →
Texas’ most spectacular bird probably lives near you
Painted buntings are so colorful that when people spot them, they think somebody's parrot has escaped. But these birds range across most of Texas. They just like to hide in brush, so they're rarely seen. To make them pop out like magic, here's all you need: white millet seed. I made this poster a few... Continue Reading →
Solo version shows soul-food roots of “Texas Cookin'”
I usually favor Guy's album cuts because they seem to catch his meaning best and he tended to have people like Emmylou hanging around harmonizing, or Waylon sawing away at the top end there in the back of "Anyhow I Love You." An exception is the solo acoustic version of "Texas Cookin' " that was... Continue Reading →
Hopping out of James Dean’s shower to get dressed for dinner
Marfa's Hotel Paisano famously housed the stars of "Giant" during filming in 1955, and you can, if you like, throw rooftop terrace parties in the Rock Hudson Suite; the Elizabeth Taylor Suite has a kitchen and sitting room. Up-and-coming actor James Dean got a single room with its own bath, not a given in hotels... Continue Reading →
Don’t get Shakespeare? Not your fault. But the dude is funny
This week was the first Shakespeare Week in the UK, a nationwide deal where they try to bring the big guy's works to life for elementary kids, a terrific idea and a tricky thing to do. Hell, it's hard to bring Shakespeare to life for grownups; that's when you get the faux-important approach, simply reading... Continue Reading →
Viola da gamba da Hewitt, Texas
I saw this beautiful thing played at a concert by La Follia Baroque; its player, James, told me about its history. Designed and built by luthier Timothy Johnson of Hewitt, it is a division viol (which the VdGSA says is an English type of bass viola da gamba). Johnson says the inlaid pattern is acanthus... Continue Reading →
How tweeting #3glad things can rewire brain for happiness
Psychology researcher and author Shawn Achor gave this quite funny TED talk in 2011, with five quick, science-based ways to increase happiness daily that he explains further in the video and in a blog post: Scroll to the bottom of this post for links to most of those research papers and others. Achor talks about... Continue Reading →
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