—Update: Kudos to Ballroom Marfa for bringing in Bon Iver for a jaw-droppingly affordable $2 as a kickoff to the weekend before Chinati Open House Weekend. The show is October 1st, click here to pre-order tickets. I will be there with my camera in one hand, and a Long Island Ice Tea in the other.
—Update: President George W. Bush visited Marathon and made a brief stop-over at the Alpine Christian School. Click here to read a description of that visit from Alicia Haynes, proprietor of the Alpine Christian School. My sources say that he had a relaxed vacation at the Gage Hotel and did a little quail hunting at J. P. and Mary Jon Bryan’s ranch.
To me, Ms. Haynes is a bit misleading about how easy it is to get a former president to pop in: “The visit occurred through a request made to President Bush’s staff asking if he could make a quick stop by the school on his way to a private function in Marathon.” I doubt that the local public schools could have made the same request and had it honored.
— Boyd Elder will be my partner in crime for a new feature here at West Texas Weekly: “Ask Boyd”, an advice column for life in West Texas. In my mind, Boyd has a certain practical wisdom accumulated from years in the art world of LA and NYC tempered by his time out here in West Texas. E-mail me at andrewsuber@hotmail.com with your questions on life, love and art for Boyd.
Also, click here to see his beautiful line of leather jackets and accessories. They are also available at Barnett Harley in El Paso.
—The Pinche Gringos are one of my favorite local bands. Here they play “Riders on the Storm”. I apologize for the relatively bad sound quality from my portable camera, it doesn’t do justice to the high-grade jam they were pumping out for the packed dance floor at Padre’s Marfa.
–The Terlingua Ghosttown was recently featured in Atlas Obscura, an online atlas of bizarre and interesting destinations. Click here to read that article. Atlas Obscura is a wiki; feel free to edit the article and add your photos.
— The Shooting West Texas photo seminar starts at 8 am this Friday at Sul Ross. The two day seminar will help amateur photographers sharpen their skills. Click here for a schedule of events.
–A big congratulations to Theresa and Lane “Huckleberry” Williams for re-opening the Longhorn Steakhouse here in Alpine. Maria Curry said this about her experience at opening night: “Best steaks in town! LONGHORN!!! Don’t miss the superb food! Terriffic!” Carrie Branum had this to say: “My tenderloin was perfectly medium rare. Best-priced Prime Choice steak in town.”
–One of my sources tells me that Details magazine has listed Marfa as number 51 in a list of “63 Things That Make You a Pretentious Tool”. I find this needlessly insulting to the wonderful people who make Marfa their home. Personally, I would place taking cultural cues from men’s magazines at two or three on that list.
—RANDOM VIDEO OF THE WEEK: Japanese television explores a fellow whose hair looks like a hat:
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