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Today in Texas History – June 13

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PMRC Punk Metal Rap Coalition: February 2013

From the Annals of the First Amendment –  In 1992, Law enforcement officials in Texas called for a ban on Ice-T’s song “Cop Killer” featured on his “Body Count” album.”  In Texas, the call for a Time Warner boycott was led by the Combined Law Enforcement Assn. of Texas (CLEAT).  The call apparently backfired as sales of “Body Count” – which had been out for several months – leaped 370% in Houston.  Soundscan, a New York research firm that tablulates US sales for Billboard magazine, noted that sales more than doubled in Austin, San Antonio and Dallas. Ironically, Ice-T would go on to play police Detective Odafin Tutuola in hundreds of episodes of Law & Order.

World Cup 2026 Awarded to North America

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FIFA announced today that the 2026 World Cup Finals (and please note that is the appropriate name for what begins tomorrow in Russia) will be played in the USA, Mexico and Canada.  All three countries will receive automatic qualification for the Finals.  The field will be expanded to 48 teams with additional slots likely awarded to COMEBOL, UEFA and CONCACAF.  The USA will host 60 of the 80 games and Mexico and Canada 10 apiece.  All games after the Round of 16 will be played in the USA with the Championship Game in New Jersey.  Here’s hoping that Houston and Arlington will get games.  Red’s goal – assuming he makes it that long – will be to attend at least one game in the USA, Mexico and Canada.

A Texan Travels to Mexico

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Red is back from a short trip to Mexico City.  Here are a few observations:

  1.   Every hostess in Mexico City must wear her hair pulled back.
  2.   The streets and highways in Mexico City are in better condition than the roads in most Texas cities.  Sad.
  3. Roads are frequently closed/barricaded for mysterious reasons.
  4. You must find a trendy restaurant – (e.g. Sonora Prime Grill) arrive at 2:30 on a weekday and sit back and watch the show for a couple of hours.
  5. If you are looking for lunch before 1:00 pm – forget it.  However, a late breakfast is available everywhere.
  6. The Ballet Folklorico de Mexico is a must see and great bargain for the price.
  7. You will be surprised by something – Red arrived in time for the massive Colores de Primevera market set up in huge tents on the Zocalo – flowers, plants, herbs, food (especially chocolate and mole), therapy, clothes, pottery, trinkets, etc.  When he was leaving they were setting up the massive TV screens for the World Cup on the Zocalo.
  8. There are always massive amounts of police in the city center.  They appeared poised to quell any disturbances.  There do not appear to be any disturbances.
  9. Retail is king in Mexico City.  There are shops on every block that isn’t fully occupied by a church or a government office.
  10. There are a number of great museums that are must-sees such as the Archelogical Museum in Chapultepec, the Castillo de Chapultepec, the Museum of Modern Art, etc.  But you should find some of the less well-known museums.  Red found an exhibition at the former Palace of Iturbide now the  “Palacio de Cultura Banamex” featuring equestrian works from the Americas – paintings, etchings, photographs, sculptures, saddles, spurs, bridles, folk art, etc.  – a truly fabulous exhibit for the horse lover.

 

 

Trumph – The Insult Comic President [TM] Tweets – Red Translates

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As has been stated by numerous legal scholars (that would be Sekulow and Guiliani), I have the absolute right (really the duty to save this Country and placate all my supporters) to PARDON myself (After all, l’etat c’est moi, n’est pas – Melania taught me that one), but why would I do that (why do I do anything?) when I have done nothing wrong (which raises the question – why would I even mention that I can pardon myself if I have done nothing wrong.  Answer: to drive MSNBC and CNN crazy)? In the meantime, the never ending Witch Hunt (and again – lots of damn witches), led by 13 very Angry and Conflicted Democrats (& others) (Commies to the last man) continues into the mid-terms (my last chance at avoiding disaster)!

The Best Little Antiques Store in Texas

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Red is something of a hopeful antiques shopper – always hoping that there is a major find hidden somewhere in the dross that fills most such places.  Well, that never happens. But when you come across a store that always has interesting and unusual stuff, then there is a certain joy in just wandering around wondering what you might find.  Good prices help too.  Red’s current favorite is The 8th Eighth Street Market in Comfort.  There is always something new and different (e.g. an antique ice cream popsicle mold).  To top it off, there is an excellent coffee bar and pastry shop up front.  Don’t miss this one.

Today in Texas History – June 1

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From the Annals of Folk Music – In 1972, the first Kerrville Folk Festival got under way.  The KFF was founded by Rod Kennedy and began with performances in the Kerrville Municipal Auditorium.   This year’s festival is already under way and runs from May 24 to June 10.

The KFF bills itself as “the longest continuously running music festival in North America” and “a Mecca in the songwriting community.”  The Festival is now held over 18 days at the Quiet Valley Ranch about 9 miles south of Kerrville.  The Festival attracts as many as 30,000 guests come from all over the world, but each evening’s performance is limited to about 3,000 guests.

The KFF has presented many famous and not-so-famous singer-songwriters over the years, including such notables as Lyle Lovett, Willie Nelson, Robert Earl Keen, Lucinda Williams,  Peter Paul & Mary, Judy Collins, David Crosby, Janis Ian and Arlo Guthrie to name a few.  You are very likely to see one or more future stars of folk music at the Festival.

Poster from the 2010 Kerrville Folk Festival.

Today in Texas History – May 31

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The Veramendi Palace doors are in the Alamo, along the east wall. Express-News file photo

From the Annals of Spanish Texas – In 1783, Fernando Veramendi was killed by Mescalero Apaches near the presidio of San Juan Bautista in Coahuila while on a business trip to Mexico City.  Veramendi was born in Pamplona, Spain and moved to Texas in 1770 first settling in La Bahia.  While conducting business in San Antonio de Bexar he found a bride, Doña María Josefa Granados, and thus, married into one of the influential Canary Islands families who were the primary Spanish settlers of San Antonio.   Now well-connected, Vermandi opened a general store, lent money to other settlers, and acquired large tracts of ranch and farm land.  He built a large home on  Soledad Street that later came to be known as the Veramendi Palace. He was a civic leader and was elected as an aalderman in the ayuntamiento of 1779, and later as a senior alderman in 1783. He was killed while on a business trip to Mexico City. He had five children the most prominent of who was his son Juan Martín de Veramendi who served as governor of Coahuila and Texas in 1832-33.

Photo of the doors from the Veramendi Palace displayed at the Alamo.  The building was demolished in 1910.

Red Weighs in on Push Cart Controversy

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Several current PGA tour members have questioned the manhood of NCAA golfers who use push carts instead of carrying their own bag.  Golf Digest has the full scoop.  Harris English,  Billy Horschel and others seem overly offended  by the amateurs employing modern push carts (Red remembers the days of pull carts).  Not all pros have fallen in line.  Bob Estes for one indicates that he wishes he had used one as he now suffers from some medical conditions possibly caused by years of carrying a hefty bag.

Red himself forswore the use of a pull/push cart for many years and insisted on walking and carrying.  But in order to still walk as much as possible, Red has moved into the pro-push cart camp.  For those who think golf is no exercise at all – Red challenges them to walk 18 holes in the Texas summer heat sometime. Walking an average 18 hole course is typically the equivalent of about 16-20,000 steps.  That’s anywhere from 4 to 6 miles.  Red you ask, how can that be when a course is only about 7000 yards?  That leaves out the green to next tee box stroll of up to 100 yards or more, the walk around the green while putting, the searching for your and your fellow players’ balls, measuring distance, and general meandering, etc.  Lugging a 20-30 lb bag for 6 miles is really not that much fun.  Even the younger Red would usually be wondering about the sanity of same after the 14th hole.  So the pampered elites of the PGA tour who haven’t lifted a bag in years and have a caddy to cater to their every whim on the course need to layoff the amateurs – most of whom are playing for the love of the game and will never play for the big money.

Today in Texas History – May 30

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From the Annals of the NEOs – In 1961, a chondrite meteorite landed in the backyard of a man in Harleton  in Harrison County.   The 8.36 kilogram meteorite was recovered within thirty minutes from a reported depth of about two feet in soft sandy soil.  It was distributed among scientists for a careful study of a freshly fallen meteorite, especially with respect to cosmic-ray-induced effects.  Known as the Harleton Meteorite the specimen is housed in the collection of the Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.