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Andrew Suber on Geodesic Domes in Terlingua
Welcome to the site, motive. Visit motive's site for some sick raps about secession and politics.
Motive on Geodesic Domes in Terlingua
that looks like a Don Bryant designed home, but it doesn't look like his land. He's out on Snake Road.
RQfan on 5 Reasons I’m Glad that Jive Turkey Randy Quaid Left Marfa
I appreciate this amazing saga of investigative journalism, but I do not feel it is fair to academy-award winner Randolph ...
BigBeast on 5 Reasons I’m Glad that Jive Turkey Randy Quaid Left Marfa
YOu are stupid to put down Randy Quaid because I partied with him and Evi and it was freaking awesome. ...
Andrew Suber on Geodesic Domes in Terlingua
Help us out a little bit, Katherine... what's this guy's name? What's his son's name? What was the name of ...
katherine chambers on Geodesic Domes in Terlingua
dear sir i have a friend who is looking for his father of same name and old ...
Andrew Suber on TEXARKANA GUNSLINGERS @ BIG BEND COWBOYS
I'll be there at the home games, Shawn. Go Cowboys!!!
shawn phillips on TEXARKANA GUNSLINGERS @ BIG BEND COWBOYS
Headin to Alpine TX to spring training with The Big Bend cowboys pro baseball team- Im hoping to earn a ...
Tom Lehr on Big Bend Live Music March 9, 2010
The Marathon Manhorse/Donkey Parade show at Railroad Blues is actually tonight, Thursday, March 11. No cover! Come check us out! A ...
M.K. on List Your Favorite Restaurant for Free
I love to visit Alpine when I go to Big Bend Nat'l park. Recently ate at the GULF STATION CAFE. Had ...

ABOUT WTW

It's 1/2 Wikipedia, 1/2 Whole Earth Catalog and 1/2 Reader's Digest. Our mission is to disprove Chomsky's statement: "Any dictator would admire the uniformity and obedience of American media."

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CREDITS

Andrew Suber: Publisher and Editor

(432) 294-2549

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--West Texas Weekly is looking for:

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Richard Linklater at the Marfa Book Company

[Kudos to the Chinati Foundation and Marfa Book Co. for generously arranging cultural events such as this one.]

March 17th, at 8:00PM, Chinati and the Marfa Book Co. invite you to a free screening of Me and Orson Welles, Richard Linklater’s 2009 film about the young Orson Welles. Linklater will be on hand to introduce the movie.

Me and Orson Welles is a fictionalized account (the screenplay is by Holly Gent Palmo and Vince Palmo, from Robert Kaplow’s novel) of Welles’ landmark 1937 staging of Julius Caesar in New York. Welles (played here by the British actor Christian McKay) is twenty-two at this point and coming off the success of his all-black production of Macbeth. (The radio version of War of the Worlds and Citizen Kane are still to come.) A young would-be actor (Zac Efron) joins Welles’ new Mercury Theatre group and is taken under the wing of the great man—a swaggering enfant terrible and theatrical dynamo who everyone in the company (and the theater world at large) regards with a mixture of awe, dread, and loathing.
Click for more…

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5 Reasons I’m Glad that Jive Turkey Randy Quaid Left Marfa

[The Classical Wineaux is Contributing Editor Nightlife for West Texas Weekly. He drinks whiskey at a undisclosed RV Park somewhere in West Texas. His comments are opinions and fictions, and do not reflect the opinions of West Texas Weekly, its staff or its editor.]

Homemade Pipe

Don't bogart that s@#$, Classical Wineaux


Hola! I am the Classical Wineaux. Let me hoist a glass to the following friends (Shorty, Red, Lonnie Glasscock, Avery) with an old Irish toast:

May your glass be ever full.
May the roof over your head be always strong.
And may you be in heaven
half an hour before the devil knows you’re dead.

Happy St. Patricks Day. The Classical Wineaux celebrates St. Patricks Day by getting s@#$housed on whiskey. I generally watch TBS in my RV while I’m drunk. I sure have been seeing a lot of Randy Quaid on TBS late at night. I think his career is undergoing a revival.

But I don’t care. I’m the Classical Wineaux and am not scared of anybody. I’M GLAD YOU LEFT TOWN RANDY QUAID! I’M CALLING YOU OUT!

Evi Quaid poses nude with a gun

Put your damn clothes back on, woman!


These are the five top reasons that I am glad that he left Marfa, Texas for good. I like his brother Dennis a lot, but I think that Randy is white trash. I’m white trash, too, but at least I am smart enough to stay away from crazy women. When your wife asks you to pose nude with a gun on your vacation, you tell her, “I”m watching “Everybody Loves Raymond” you dumb b!@#$. I don’t have time to take no pictures.”

So, here are my 5 reasons that I am glad Randy Quaid left town.

1. Evi was f@#$ing crazy. She had crazy eyes. She was always out in the parking lot doing crazy s@#$. Someone should have put her in the booby hatch. It did my Aunt Rita a world of good going to the booby hatch for a couple of months. You get to paint pictures and eat hamburger steak and dance with the nurses on Christmas or your birthday. Hell, there ain’t no shame in being incarcerated for as long as you need to get back on your feet.
Click for more…

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West Texas Weekly 03/11/10 Vol. II Issue #6

Update: Spokane woman signs with Big Bend Cowboys

Tiffany Brooks is headed for spring training with the Big Bend Cowboys of Alpine, Texas in the Continental Baseball League. She is the first woman to play professional baseball in America this century!

Big Bend Video


A tour of the historic Hotel Paisano in Marfa, Texas. Visit the Hotel Paisano’s website.


A music video featuring the beautiful landscape of Terlingua, Texas.

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fist
surf the local web! recommend this site to yr friends
this is yr thoughts, yr comments, yr voice
westtexasweekly.com

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Big Bend Events

Terlingua Arts & Crafts Market 10 AM to 5 PM Sunday, March 14 at the Party Barn of the Big Bend Resorts Motor Inn, at the junction of Hwy 118 and 170.
Jewelry, pottery, photos, paintings, condiments, and much more will be available.Click here for the official website.

– Need to upgrade your ride? Raffle tickets are now available for a chance to win a 2002 Triumph Bonneville Motorcycle. Proceeds benefit KRTS Marfa Public Radio, 93.5 FM.
Tickets for this raffle are $50 apiece, and no more than 200 tickets will be sold. Tickets are available online at marfapublicradio.org or at Transpecos Guitars on Holland Avenue in Alpine and at the KRTS studios on Highland Avenue in Marfa. You can also view the motorcycle at the KRTS studios, which is being displayed in the front window of the station.
The winner of the raffle will be selected at the KRTS “Radio Rendezvous” on Saturday, March 20 at the Capri in Marfa. This is the kickoff event for the KRTS Spring Membership Drive, which begins Friday, March 19 and runs through Monday, March 29.

[ Submit your Big Bend events to Matt Hodges. Click here to visit our events page and leave it as a comment to the public. Or, submit by email to matt [dot] hodges [at] live [dot] com.]

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Click Here and Subscribe to West Texas News

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Big Bend Photos
Terlingua Wolf

Forget the club, use a wolf.


A wolf guards a vehicle in Terlingua. Courtesy J. P. Schwartz.

Contrails

Contrails, Mark Ofenstein

Big Bend Tweets

twitter logo header West Texas Weekly 03/11/10 Vol. II Issue #6
RT @CBS7news: Terlingua Woman Jailed in Attempt 2 sneak Alcohol to Inmate http://bit.ly/b9Rv22
RT @duchessofrock: I hear there are trace amounts of lithium in the tap water in Marfa. No wonder my vacation has been so pleasant.
Congrats on Pizza Foundation getting mentioned in Rachel Ray’s magazine: http://bit.ly/aUBjx9 #marfa

Big Bend Dining Notes:The Pizza Foundation

food West Texas Weekly 03/11/10 Vol. II Issue #6
To locals, this is a no-brainer; chewy, perfect crust and good ingredients make the best pizza in the Big Bend. The dining room is informal and you can watch the cooks toss the dough for your pie in the clean, organized kitchen.

The real proof is in the dough. Good pizza dough is elastic without being tough. All you need are flour, yeast, pure water and touch of salt and a lifetime of practical experience dealing with the stuff. You can get widely varying quality if you don’t know what you’re doing (which is why national chains like Papa John’s and Pizza Hut make their dough at a central location.) The dough at Pizza Foundation gets a consistent A+ from me. I recommend a traditional hearty pizza: italian sausage, onion and black olive, anyone?

The salads are great and filled with high quality produce. I love the Greek, but the bread salad is really the king. Fresh, hot bread, tangy tomatoes and copious amounts of olive oil make you forget you’re eating healthy. The fresh lime-ades are a great pick-me-up for a hot day. [A. S.]
Pizza Foundation: 102 U.S. 90, Marfa, TX. (432) 729-3377‎. $ (inexpensive)

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Big Bend Live Music March 9, 2010

[Big Bend Live Music is a feature brought to you by Matt Hodges, Contributing Editor Music. If you have a gig you'd like to share with the world, email him at matt.hodges@live.com]

Matt’s Pick This Week goes to A Few Too Many! 

Shows this weekend:

Thursday, March 11th

  • Kevin Dean at Harry’s Tinaja in Alpine, 8:00 PM.
  • Ted Arbogast at Starlight Theater in Terlingua, Texas, 8:00, PM

Friday, March 12th

  • Open Mic Night at Harry’s Tinaja in Alpine, 8:00 PM.
  • Kevin Dean at La Trattoria in Alpine, 6:30 PM.
  • Marathon Manhorse and Donkey Parade at The Railroad Blues in Alpine, 10:00 PM.
  • Maria Moss and John Hogan at Starlight Theater in Terlingua, 8:00 PM.
  • South City Jam at La Kiva in Terlingua, 8:00 PM.

Saturday, March 13th

  • A Few Too Many at The Railroad Blues in Alpine, 10:00 PM.
  • Folkadelic at Starlight Theater in Terlingua, 8:00 PM.

Sunday, March 14th

Tuesday, March 16th

[Do you have a local live music event here in the Big Bend? Share it with the world, email Matt Hodges at matt.hodges@live.com You can also leave it as a comment on this post.]

- – -

This article is brought to you by these local sponsors:

Railroad Blues The premier live music venue in the Big Bend– Try their world famous Sangria!

La Posada Milagro– Beautiful, unique rooms in the Historic Terlingua Ghosttown

La Junta Exchange– Vintage Clothing, Local Art, Curios

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Support West Texas Weekly through micropayments with Kachingle!

Here at West Texas Weekly we want to bring you the best stories, photos and video from the Big Bend region. To do this, continued funding is important and after looking at different funding sources we recently chose Kachingle. Kachingle is an innovative social micropayment service that enables readers to easily make ongoing, voluntary micropayments to sites like ours.

Kachingle is simple, user-centric, and a user-controlled alternative to cumbersome subscriptions, paywalls, and pay-per-article plans that some media outlets are considering. It requires virtually no effort on your part – you just become a Kachingler, giving $5 a month through PayPal, and then click once on the Kachingle medallion on our site. No credit cards, no passwords, no separate accounts for every site you visit. Kachingle will keep track of your monthly visits to each of the sites you’ve selected, and at the end of the month, your monthly pay-in to Kachingle will be distributed proportionally among those sites.

We hope you will become a Kachingler. After you become a Kachingler, you’ll also be able to share the sites you support with colleagues, friends, and family, and turn them on to the sites you visit. You can sign up as a Kachingler by “mousing” over the Kachingle Medallion on this page (or in the left sidebar of the homepage) and clicking on “Join Kachingle”.

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West Texas Weekly 03/04/10 Vol. II Issue #5

VAL BEARD WINS BREWSTER COUNTY JUDGE, KILLINGSWORTH AND PALLANEZ RE-ELECTED

“Brewster County voters agreed with County Judge Val Beard’s campaign slogan — “Keep Val Beard” — and returned her to office Tuesday. She will have no GOP opponent in November’s general election.”
Click here to read more at the Alpine Avalanche.

NIMBY NEWS ACCUSES AVALANCHE OF BIAS

The Avalanche’s completely confused editorial policy and demonstrably unprofessional unfairness toward Avinash Rangra and bias toward Judge Beard justifies the low esteem in which the American press is now held.

All over the Granite Newspapers website we read the words “community” as it relates to newspapers. Who among us is in Perry’s community?

Lastly, publisher/editor Mike Perry is directly accountable for this mess.

I know no one in journalism who works harder than Mike and Cindy Perry. But the proud traditions of the American press from the Colonial printers to the Washington Post and the New York Times in the Watergate mess demand that journalists be competent too.

Read the rest of McNamera’s coverage of the election at The Nimby News.

–For Presidio and Brewster County election results for state posts, click here.

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header2 300x94 West Texas Weekly 03/04/10 Vol. II Issue #5
Do you have a nagging computer problem like slow boot times, bad internet connection or operating system bugs? These problems reduce your efficiency to perform necessary tasks. Take control of your life! Contact Nectar Computers and avoid anonymous, time-consuming service from a call center in Bangalore.

Nectar computers will get you running at top speed with expert skill and timely top-notch customer service.

Located at 800 N 5th St. in Alpine you can reach them at (432) 837-3021 or visit them at www.nectarcomputers.com.

- – -

Big Bend Video

A wonderful event. I hope this video captures that.

–”Dustin Roller, Cody Higgins, Joseph Cupps being badasses. Sul Ross State University.” Thank you for the footage, Jayson.

Marfa, My Dear: “An improvised absurdity starring Jaclyn Jonet, Black Moses and Lola “Prosciutto” Ruspoli. Directed by Tao Ruspoli, based on a story by Olivia Wilde www.lafco.tv www.marfafilmfestival.org”


Judd at Tina Kim. Thanks to Marcelo.

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Your Ad Here

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Big Bend Events


In celebration of Texas Independence and the battle of the Alamo, Dude of the Dead outdoor music festival in south Presidio County at the base of the Chinati Mountains, will take place Saturday March 6th, starting at 2pm. The festival is located 15 miles west of Presidio off HWY 170. Camping is free, BYOB encouraged. Seven bands are set to preform including local talent: Doodlin Hogwallops; Big Mountain Boogaloo, Cantina Fight and from Austin: Rayon Beach; The Flesh Lights; Shapes Have Fangs, Dead Space plus Randy Travesty.
The entry fee is $5 per person or $20 per car/truck/van load. Admission will be waived for the first 15 vehicles.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact Charlie Angell, 432.229.3713.

–Dumitrescu Gallery reception
The Dumitrescu Gallery, located inside Elms Bookkeeping at 108 N. 5th Street in Alpine, will have its final exhibition this month, with a reception from 6-8 p.m. Friday, March 5. The gallery’s last day will be from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. April 3. Avram Dumitrescu is an illustrator and lecturer with the Center for Big Bend Studies at Sul Ross State University. His illustrations are featured in a new textbook, “Drawing Inspiration: Visual Artists at Work.”

–Sierra Club to hike Hancock Hill
Start your spring break with a hike up the Hancock Hill trail above Sul Ross State University on Saturday, March 6. Hikers will meet by 9 a.m. at the trailhead behind Mountainside dorm (entrance No. 4). The hike will take about 2 hours and is moderately strenuous. Participants should bring water, a hat and footwear appropriate for loose rocky surfaces. For more information, call Martha Latta at 432-837-1070.

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Enjoy only 2 cosmetics, enough sleep and Dr. Bronner’s ‘Magic Soap’ to clean body-mind-soul-spirit uniting One! All-One! Absolute cleanliness is Godliness! For facial packs, scalp & soothing body rub, add dash on bath towel in sink of hot water. Wring out. Lay over face & scalp. Massage with fingertips. Repeat 3 or 4 times ’til arms, legs and all are rubbed, always toward the heart. Rinse towel in plain hot water and massage again. Breathe deeply! Health is Wealth. For we’re ALL-ONE OR NONE! ALL-ONE! ALL-ONE! ALL-ONE!

Learn more about Dr. Bronner’s organic toiletries: http://www.drbronner.com/

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A Brief Editorial Note
You're number one!

You're number one!

Here at West Texas Weekly, you come first! My new layout and navigation reflects that:

  • Popular Articles (now in the left sidebar of the homepage) features the popular articles that you comment on and that provoke discussion
  • The Your Comments feature (now in the left sidebar of the homepage) provides an excerpt from your comment, a link to your homepage and your avatar. Your comments on Big Bend events are now displayed to the world.
  • The User Hall of Fame (now in the left sidebar of the homepage) showcases those West Texas Weekly users who consistently provide their insight, opinions and information to the community.

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VISIT http://www.superthrive.com/ FOR A FREE TRIAL! YOUR PLANTS WILL LOVE YOU FOR IT!

- – -

Big Bend Dining Notes: The Gulf Station Cafe

food West Texas Weekly 03/04/10 Vol. II Issue #5
Flanked against the Alpine Amtrak Station stands one of the best little restaurants I’ve found in the Big Bend. The Gulf Station offers a limited lunch and dinner menu but packs a lot of joie de vivre from each item. Soups, sandwiches, burgers and salads are the main items but try the stuffed Portobello mushroom or roasted chicken.
It’s easy to go veggie here – we did it accidentally: Greek Salad, Garbanzo-Potato- Spinach soup and the killer choice of the night spinach pancakes made with Japanese panko, in a perfectly French beurre blanc sauce.
The place is cozy – something urban going on: tall ceilings, stained cement floors, polished aluminum tables, black chairs and Stella Artois on tap served in classic pint glasses – we could be on the left bank. The wine hangs from a chained raw iron rack with bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay from Argentina to Texas. At least the varieties are French.
Exposed three membrane brick colors one wall, a dead give-away for anything commercial built in Alpine in the 1930’s. The other wall glimmers with sheet metal and old photographs from the 1950’s – when the place was a true Gulf Station. Choo-choo-cha-boogie plays through speakers mounted near a large abstract on canvas. Chagall would not be impressed, but it is not bad.
The train horn blows, a signal for the pause that refreshes, a mistake for sure, not that the bathrooms weren’t beautiful – exquisite actually … his and hers, regular and ethyl, but when I return there is only a sliver of the home made Key Lime Pie, a sliver so small it reminds me of the inferior country to the east of France that makes the little wheels of soft cheese, packaged in tiny wedges. But the pie – par excellence! [M. Chenault]

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Big Bend Live Music March 4, 2010

[Big Bend Live Music is a feature brought to you by Matt Hodges, Contributing Editor Music. If you have a gig you'd like to share with the world, email him at matt.hodges@live.com]

Matt’s Pick This Week goes to SPONtaneous COMbustion!  Classic rock doesn’t get much better.

Shows this weekend:

Thursday, March 4th

  • Kevin Dean at Harry’s Tinaja in Alpine, 8:00 PM.
  • Leo Rondeau Trio at The Railroad Blues in Alpine, 10:00 PM.
  • Ted Arbogast at Starlight Theater in Terlingua, Texas, 8:00, PM

Friday, March 5th

  • Open Mic Night at Harry’s Tinaja in Alpine, 8:00 PM.
  • Kevin Dean at La Trattoria in Alpine, 6:30 PM.
  • SPONtaneous COMbustion at The Railroad Blues in Alpine, 10:00 PM.
  • Butch Hancock’s Townes Tribute at Starlight Theater in Terlingua, 8:00 PM.
  • Trevor Reichman at La Kiva in Terlingua, 8:00 PM.
  • Doodlin’ Hogwallops at Padres in Marfa, 10:00 PM.

Saturday, March 6th

  • Stone Honey at The Railroad Blues in Alpine, 10:00 PM.
  • Moondogs at Padres in Marfa, 9:00 PM.
  • Lady Gaga (Joe and Trevor) at La Kiva in Terlingua, 8:0o PM.

Sunday, March 7th

  • The Dry Creek Diggers at Harry’s Tinaja in Alpine, 8:00 PM.

Monday, March 8th

  • Trevor Hickle at Starlight Theater in Terlingua, 8:00 PM.

Tuesday, March 9th

[Do you have a local live music event here in the Big Bend? Share it with the world, email Matt Hodges at matt.hodges@live.com You can also leave it as a comment on this post.]

- – -

This article is brought to you by these local sponsors:

Railroad Blues The premier live music venue in the Big Bend– Try their world famous Sangria!

La Posada Milagro– Beautiful, unique rooms in the Historic Terlingua Ghosttown

La Junta Exchange– Vintage Clothing, Local Art, Curios

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Election Results March 2nd, 2010

ELECTION NIGHT RESULTS FOR BREWSTER AND PRESIDIO COUNTY COURTESTY SEC. OF STATE: http://enr.sos.state.tx.us/enr/results/

BREWSTER COUNTY, DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY

RACE NAME PARTY PARTY EARLY VOTES PERCENT TOTAL VOTES PERCENT
U. S. Representative District 23
Miguel Ortiz DEM 204 24.87% 324 20.46%
Ciro D. Rodriguez – Incumbent DEM 616 75.12% 1,259 79.53%
———– ———–
Total Votes Cast 820 1,583
Precincts Reported 8 of 8 Precincts 100.00%
—————————————-
Click for more…

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Avoid the 5 Worst Bars in the Big Bend

[This feature is brought to you by the Classic Wineaux, West Texas Weekly's Contributing Editor Nightlife.]

We are Brothers in Brew

We are Brothers in Brew


The Classic Wineaux would like to buy a drink for the following people:
Dr. Doug aka Dr. Black aka Dr. Blackman aka Doug Blackman
Vicki Harris
Boyd Elder
Charlie Bell
Beth Garcia

Hola! I am the Classic Wineaux, the Gonzo journalist who has the stones to bring you the lowdown on Big Bend watering holes, beer joints and dives.

Who is the Classic Wineaux? He is a middle-aged aspiring writer who smokes filter-tipped cigarettes, drinks bourbon and loves a 99 cent well drink. I live in an RV, clean my rifle and listen to Country and Western eight-tracks. Don’t f!@# with me!

The bar scene in the Big Bend is lame this time of year. Sorry, folks. My advice is to hit the French Quarter (the folks who don’t have enough money to leave NOLA after Mardi Gras are the real deal) or Austin’s pubs. If you’re not drawing a fat-ass disability check like I do, you may not have the resources to rent a weekly hotel room and do so. You might be stuck out here in this s#$%hole swilling Natural Light.

However, this article ain’t about where to go, it’s about where ain’t to go. What are the biggest s@#tholes where knife fights, ugly women and watery drinks abound?

And don’t get me wrong, I love dives. Here’s the secret to running a dive, though: get a lady of the white trash persuasion with tattoos, double Ds and a case of clinical psychosis behind the bar serving drinks. Let her slutty girlfriends run up huge tabs and sleep with the patrons. I’ll walk ten miles of corduroy road to drink at that bar! Second tip, have a jukebox with some Tom Petty and Bob Seeger on it. Third tip, let the spirits and friendship flow freely until someone shoots someone out there in the parking lot.

Here are the Classic Wineaux’s five worst bars in the Big Bend

1. The Pressboxx, Alpine, Texas
This is a dive. But it’s not a good dive. No liquor, just beer. No girls. Dingy, depressing and dirty. The only event is bi-weekly karaoke. Two pool tables and a jukebox full of pirated CDs are the only entertainment.

The Pressboxx is next to a s!@#$y hotel. It looks like the kind of place where truckers get handjobs.

Click for more…

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Mao, Medicine Balls and Communism

[Mark Glover is Contributing Editor Alpine. Click here to visit Trans-Pecos Science Moment for more of his thoughts on the Big Bend.]

pen and pen stand woodcutMarfa – Lineaus Hooper Lorette stands on the wood floor of his old adobe home on the south side of Marfa and nods to an acrylic collage he commissioned — a trio of civil rights workers gunned down in Philadelphia, Mississippi in 1964. He names them one by one as tears roll down his cheeks.

Barrel-chested, bespectacled with a thick white mustache, Lorette is running for public office again. The former 1982 Citizen’s Party candidate for Texas US Senate is on the ballot for Presidio County Judge on the March primary democratic ticket.

“My family has a tradition of social advocacy – and I got struck with the lightning bolt,” Lorette said. He sits down at his desk and his three dogs, Anna Louise Strong, Primo Levi and Kim Philby slink to his side.

The son of an oil field worker and a radical mother whose father was an avowed communist, Lorette’s family moved when he was a young boy from Oklahoma to Odessa. Soon he was part of the anti-Viet Nam war movement at UT Austin, planning protests at night while he earned a degree in accounting by day.

“I’m a communist with a little ‘c’. You can’t expect to be a successful communist in a country that holds private property in the esteem we do,” Lorette said. “It’s the only country in the world where the land owner owns the minerals below the surface.”

He rattles off statistics, stats an accountant would know.
“Ag exemptions for property taxes were once only for those who made their living on the land. Now any rich person can own thousands of acres and pay nearly nothing to the county for schools, roads and services.
Click for more…

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A Guide to Green Business in the Big Bend Pt. 2: La Loma del Chivo

[Contributor Darci Pauser writes extensively on renewable energy at her blog The Field Trip ]
La Loma Del Chivo
On the “scruffy side” of the tracks in Marathon, Texas, sits La Loma Del Chivo. An eclectic variety of buildings occupy this city block of land, from a kiva to a sweat lodge, to a bedroom sarcastically entitled the “McMansion.” The special thing about all of these buildings is their DIY flavor– all have been built not according to some professional architect’s idea of what a building should be, but according to the vision and creativity of those actually building it.

The hostel is an inexpensive option for those traveling through West Texas, or going into the Big Bend National Park. It’s even free for bicyclists traveling down highway 90. If you cannot afford the $15 a night, there is also a work-trade option, and the hostel is host to several folks in the WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) program. How refreshing to find a place where so much creativity and property is allowed to flow and the feeling is so laid-back. WWOOFers are encouraged to start whatever project they would like, and owner Guil funds the materials cost. A workshop is available for all who desire to use it. The result is papercrete buildings– some big, some small– a brick pizza oven, an organic garden, and pathways made of crushed glass tumbled smooth.
Click for more…

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Big Bend Live Music, February 25th 2010

[Big Bend Live Music is a feature brought to you by Matt Hodges, Contributing Editor Music. If you have a gig you'd like to share with the world, email him at matt.hodges@live.com]

Matt’s pick this week goes to Radio La Chusma!  A fun mix of a variety of styles of music just waiting to get your party started.

Upcoming shows:

Wednesday, February 24th

Thursday, February 25th

  • Kevin Dean at Harry’s Tinaja in Alpine, 8:00 PM.

Friday, February 26th

  • Open Mic Night at Harry’s Tinaja in Alpine, 8:00 PM.
  • Kevin Dean at La Trattoria in Alpine, 6:30 PM.
  • Los Pinche Gringos at The Railroad Blues in Alpine, 10:00 PM.

Saturday, February 27th

Sunday, February 28th

  • The Dry Creek Diggers at Harry’s Tinaja in Alpine, 8:00 PM.

Tuesday, March 2nd

[Do you have a local live music event here in the Big Bend? Share it with the world, email Matt Hodges at matt.hodges@live.com You can also leave it as a comment on this post.]

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This article is brought to you by these local sponsors:

Railroad Blues The premier live music venue in the Big Bend– Try their world famous Sangria!

La Posada Milagro– Beautiful, unique rooms in the Historic Terlingua Ghosttown

La Junta Exchange– Vintage Clothing, Local Art, Curios

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“Our Crowd” and the Rule of Capture

[West Texas Weekly continues to bring you insight into local politics. Mark Glover, Contributing Editor Alpine, explains the legal logic behind riparian rights.]

Alpine – While the West Texas water export plans of Clayton Williams hang in a Federal Court in Midland, Dr Megan Benson presented an historical overview of the evolution of Texas groundwater law at the Sul Ross campus last Friday night, hosted by the Center for Big Bend Studies.

“In Texas, because of the Rule of Capture, one landowner or corporation can mine and market a disproportionate amount of water for immediate gain seriously impacting or depleting resources without liability to his neighbors,” said Benson, a recipient of the 2009 Fellowship for Excellence in West Texas History.

Texas, the only western state that practices the Rule of Capture, aka the Law of the Biggest Pump, gained its head of steam in a 1904 court case known as W.A. East vs. Houston & Texas Central Railroad Inc.
Click for more…

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Big Bend Live Music February 10, 2010

[Big Bend Live Music is a feature brought to you by Matt Hodges, Contributing Editor Music. If you have a gig you'd like to share with the world, email him at matt.hodges@live.com]

Matt’s pick this week goes to S.P.I.C. and the rest of the punk rock night group.  I’ve been wanting to see S.P.I.C. since I checked them out on myspace, but what can  I say?  I’m big on punk rock.  Here’s the Dead Milkmen!


Shows this weekend:

Thursday, February 18th

Friday, February 19th

Saturday, February 20th

Sunday, February 21st

Tuesday, February 23rd

[Do you have a local live music event here in the Big Bend? Share it with the world, email Matt Hodges at matt.hodges@live.com You can also leave it as a comment on this post.]

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This article is brought to you by these local sponsors:

Railroad Blues The premier live music venue in the Big Bend– Try their world famous Sangria!

La Posada Milagro– Beautiful, unique rooms in the Historic Terlingua Ghosttown

La Junta Exchange– Vintage Clothing, Local Art, Curios

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Video Upload #1

I watch a lot of YouTube video. I also create a lot of it.

Here are a ton of great videos that just don’t have a home… they are just too strange and wonderful to discard, though.

Some are related to our region, the Big Bend. Others are just the natural result of the strange nature of the Internet. Video from every era of television, from all over the world, is available to us.

If you have a video that you would like to share with my readers, email me at andrewsuber [at] hotmail [dot] com. If you have something strange and wonderful to share, let me know.


Chicken George and Ruby on West Texas art


BUY UGLY FURNITURE!!!


Supergran– UK cult kid’s comedy about a physically-enhanced grandmother

John Fahey– my favorite folk guitarist


Welding with jumper cables

Terlingua campfire


Breakdancing at a 1991 Iranian party

French psychedelia from the 60s

Two of my heroes, John Cale and Lou Reed, sing about Andy Warhol’s work ethic with French subtitles

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West Texas Weekly 02/11/10 Vol. II Issue #4

Big Bend News

Charlie Wilson with Afghani Freedom Fighters

Charlie Wilson with Afghani Freedom Fighters


RIP Charlie Wilson. Wilson represented Texas’ 2nd Congressional District from 1973 to 1996. His involvement with the funding of the Afghani freedom fighters in the 80’s was dramatized into the film “Charlie Wilson’s War”. Wilson died at Memorial Medical Center-Lufkin. Read an article in the Midland Reporter Telegram regarding his death.

–A Kermit nurse is being threatened with a potential ten year jail sentence for blowing the whistle on a doctor who jeopardizing the health of his patients.

“It occurred to Anne Mitchell as she was writing the letter that she might lose her job, which is why she chose not to sign it. But it was beyond her conception that she would be indicted and threatened with 10 years in prison for doing what she knew a nurse must: inform state regulators that a doctor at her rural hospital was practicing bad medicine.” The NYT reports on this here.

–Randy Hill, an Abilene entrepreneur, is starting a venture to use mesquite wood chips as a biomass fuel source.

“Hill’s home area of West Texas is growing as a source of wind power, but there’s room for other sources, he said. “Wind is only going to be an auxiliary source of power,” he said. “It will never be a primary energy source. We will always need other sources of power.”
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports on it here.

–If you’re unemployed and need a job, the Census Bureau is looking for help. The AP reports on it here. Stop by this website to find out more about job opportunties.

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ELECT AVINASH ‘AVI’ TO BREWSTER COUNTY JUDGE
The preceding is a paid political advertisement from a local, private citizen

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Big Bend Photos

Kat Cox
Kat Cox, by Leslie Slenning. Check out more of her fantastic photos at Hot Rod Dolls.

Big Bend Video of the Week


The charity auction for Haiti held at the Starlight Theatre, Terlingua Ghosttown, Texas.
Cast: the people of Terlingua.
Soundtrack: Harry Belafonte, “Man Smart, Woman Smarter”; FischerSpooner, “Emerge”.

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A Guide to Green Businesses in the Big Bend Pt. 1: Eve’s Garden

[Contributor Darci Pauser writes extensively on renewable energy at her blog The Field Trip ]
Eve's Garden
Eve’s Garden has been meticulously designed, built, and landscaped for the past eight years by owners Clyde Curry and Kate Thayer. Their vision, which Eve’s Garden embodies, is increased “localized self-reliance.” Hence, the Garden is not only a wonderous place to stay, but is also built to inspire the creative spirit. Clyde describes the B&B as a “Hope Center,” a place where folks can experience an example of more responsible living.

Entering through the large front door, you step inside the main house to a welcoming foyer, painted brightly and with findings from the natural world dispersed throughout. Going forward, you walk between two dining rooms, where Garden guests enjoy an organic meal each morning. Next, the kitchen where the magic happens is chock-full of every implement you could possibly imagine for creating delicious and nourishing food. Down a few steps, and you come to the main lounge area, where a coffee table is host to a number of inspiring books and rags— ACRES USA and The Transition Handbook, to name a couple. The house is 100 years old, standing within a few blocks of Marathon’s main drag and small shops, and local art decks the walls.

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Avinash “Avi” Rangra for Brewster County Judge

Dr. Avinash Rangra
Dr. Rangra is committed to change and transparency for Brewster County. He has tirelessly campaigned to bring county government back to the people of Brewster County. Join him Friday at the Adobe Rose in Marathon, Texas at 6:30. There will be live music, free food and drinks. Most importantly, there will be a candidate who will listen to your problems and fight for you.

To find out more about Dr. Rangra’s campaign for Brewster County Judge, visit his Facebook campaign page and become a fan today! Early voting starts soon, so choose Dr. Rangra for Brewster County Judge.

MY LIFE

I am married to Anjali, and we have one child, Amit. Our family also includes two dogs, Kishmish, a Maltese, and Gypsy, a mixed breed rescued off Hwy I-10.

My parents, Sri Kundan Lall Rangra, and Srimati Rampyari Rangra were both school teachers. I am third in a family of four brothers, and three sisters.

After receiving my B.Sc (Hon’s), and M.Sc (Hon’s) in Chemistry at Panjab University, I taught for two years at Hindu National College, Hariana (my village).

I came to the States in 1962 for my Ph.D.. at Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma. I am a member of Sigma Xi Chapter of Oklahoma State University 1965.

I joined the Sul Ross State University faculty in 1967 as an Assistant Professor in Chemistry and was promoted to the rank of Professor in 1974. I was the Foreign Student Advisor for about ten years, and for several years was the Radiation Safety Officer at SRSU.
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Big Bend Live Music February 10, 2010

[Big Bend Live Music is a feature brought to you by Matt Hodges, Contributing Editor Music. If you have a gig you'd like to share with the world, email him at matt.hodges@live.com]

Matt’s Random Video This Week is:

“With A Spirit” by Sound System 009.  I know, this is the stupid song everyone puts on their “People Falling Down Funny” or “Best Party Pics” photo and video compilations on You-Tube.  It’s 9 minutes long (or longer in the original version) fairly repetitive trance/techno;  However, I find this song to be full of variations through each section.  There are comprehensive lyrics, several verses in fact, with a refrain/chorus and layer upon layer of ambient instrumentation.  I can’t get enough of it.  I somehow feel like this song is a link to the future of music.  I know, I may be way off base and consider it possible that no souls share my opinion of said work, but there are deeper psyche triggers, I find, in the soothing melodic tones that strike me as rather nostalgic – of what I’m not sure, but nostalgic nonetheless.  I hope you enjoy.  If not, let me know.  Leave a comment, I’d love to hear your opinion!

Shows this up-coming weekend:

Thursday, February 11th

  • Kevin Dean at Harry’s Tinaja in Alpine, 8:00 PM.

Friday, February 12th

Saturday, February 13th

Sunday, February 14th

  • The Dry Creek Diggers at Harry’s Tinaja in Alpine, 8:00 PM.

Monday, February 15th

  • Lonesome Cowboy at the Starlight Theater in Terlingua, 8:00 PM.

Tuesday, February 16th

  • Big Mountain Boogaloo at Harry’s Tinaja in Apline, 8:00 PM.
  • Doug Scharnberg at the Starlight Theater in Terlingua, 8:00 PM.

[Do you have a local live music event here in the Big Bend? Share it with the world, email Matt Hodges at matt.hodges@live.com You can also leave it as a comment on this post.]

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This article is brought to you by these local sponsors:

Railroad Blues The premier live music venue in the Big Bend– Try their world famous Sangria!

La Posada Milagro– Beautiful, unique rooms in the Historic Terlingua Ghosttown

La Junta Exchange– Vintage Clothing, Local Art, Curios

Add to Del.cio.us RSS Feed Add to Technorati Favorites Stumble It! Digg It!

December 12th 2009 Marfa Texas

Friends and Motorbikes
Cast: Hugh, Boyd, Betty, Romi
Soundtrack: “Slaapkamers Met Slagroom”, Sonic Youth

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