International Association of Business Communicators History

Downs Matthews begins his history (A GENEALOGY FOR IABC/HOUSTON) with " The place is Houston, Texas. The year, 1946. A young man named Walter Beach, editor of The Humble Way, published by the Humble Oil and Refining Company of Houston, has just returned from a business meeting of the Southwestern Association of Industrial Editors (SAIE) held in Little Rock, AK. He is inspired to start a chapter of SAIE for industrial editors of Houston."  Includes a list of presidents.  Read more at http://www.iabchouston.com/en/cms/2764/

Austin is for Archivists

Austin is for Archivists self-describes itself as "This blog is an attempt at a comprehensive, grassroots-level compendium of things to do in Austin while you are here for the 2009 Joint Meeting of the Society of American Archivists and the Council of State Achivists."  "This blog and its contributors would like to thank the Ischool of the University of Texas at Austin for hosting this blog." I'm wishing they would continue the blog past the convention and focus on Austin area archives - collections, news, events, practices, etc. Read more at http://www.archives2009.org/

Video of map conservation

Watch a brief video of delicate, professional map conservation of a Pecos County map at the General Land Office, courtesy ABC news, KTRK http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/video?id=6724012

Postcards from Texas - TV 55 documentaries

Postcards from Texas, is a new television program about Texas 19th and 20th century history, currently focusing on the greater Houston area.  It is broadcast by Channel 55 on Sunday afternoons at 4:00 p.m. and repeated the next Saturday at 7:00 p.m.  Most segments are about 5 minutes, but some approach 10 minutes.  Each segment splices together interviews from 2 or several historians or other informed folks and many historical photographs using the "Ken Burns" pan-and-zoom technique to elicit a dynamism from the photos.  The interviewee's comments or each photo last on the screen for a couple of seconds to at most 10 seconds, so the viewers are kept entertained as well as informed.  The audio on my computer system leaves the sound occasionally a bit blurry, but still communicable.  Each segment is accompanied by an edited version of the narration.  Music often plays in the background.  The segments are archived on the channel's website.  A companion blog gives occasional extra details.  All rather well done by Mike Vance, producer. Read more about it www.houstons55.com/postcards-from-texas/ or jump right in and see how Houstonian "Jesse Jones Saved the Houston Banks" back in the depressed 1930's.  Jones was the principal financial architect of Roosevelt's national economic recovery.  Jones had been earlier recommended to President Herbert Hoover by the powerhouse Texan John Nance Garner who went on to become FDR's veep.  Jones even set salaries for some bankers! Did they have bonuses in those days? http://www.houstons55.com/postcards-from-texas/stories/2009-03-08-jesse-jones.jsp

San Jacinto Symposium

The Battle of San Jacinto Symposium meets Saturday, April 18, 2009, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.  Hilton Hotel and Conference Center, University of Houston under the title of "New Light on Old Stories.  The Battle of San Jacinto Symposium is sponsored by the Friends of the San Jacinto Battleground as a forum for promoting public awareness of the events of the Texas Revolution era.  Read more at http://www.friendsofsanjacinto.com/site/   The five panelists are: Roger Moore, founder ofMoore Archeological Consulting, a group which studies sites and deposits in the complex context of modern cities. In work ongoing since 2003, he has led the first systematic, methodologically appropriate investigation of the Battle of San Jacinto; Gregg Dimmick, author of Sea ofMud: the Retreat of theMexican Army after San Jacinto and editor of General Vicente Filisola's Analysis of Jose Urrea'sMilitary Diary, translated by John R.Wheat.  Dimmick, a pediatrician, works closely with the HoustonArcheological Society in tracing theMexicanArmy's retreat in the 1836 campaign; Douglas D. Scott, a professor in anthropology at the University of Nebraska, has a special interest in 19th century military sites and forensic archeology. The innovative research he started at the Little Big Horn Battlefield NationalMonument won the U.S. Department of Interior's Distinguished ServiceAward in 2002; Douglas Mangum co-manages the San Jacinto Battleground field work and developed and manages the GIS database of maps for the project. Mangum worked on sites in Scotland, England,Mississippi, NewMexico and Texas before joining MooreArcheological Consulting; Manuel Hinojosa is an architect, artist, avocational historian and acknowledged authority on theMexicanArmy of the nineteenth century. His research of the "Mexican Soldado" at the PaloAlto Battlefield won the battleground's 2006 MeritAward. Speakers on specific topics are: H.W. Brands will emphasize the importance of interpreting battlefields and set their meanings in modern context.  Brands is the DicksonAllenAnderson Centennial Professor of History at the University of Texas atAustin and author of more than 20 books, including the awardwinning Lone Star Nation: The Epic Story for Texas Independence. Sam W. Haynes will compare Texas with other post-colonial societies in their struggles to define themselves after winning independence. Aprofessor of history at UTArlington, Haynes' focus of study is the western expansion of the U.S. in the 19th century. He is the author of James K. Polk and the Expansionist Impulse. James P. Bevill will discuss his new book, The Paper Republic: The Struggle for Money, Credit and Independence in the Republic of Texas, and the San Jacinto soldiers who helped structure these finances. Bevill is past president of the Texas NumismaticAssociation. James E. Crisp, North Carolina State University, will moderate the symposium for the seventh year. His book, Sleuthing the Alamo: Davy Crockett's Last Stand and otherMysteries of the Texas Revolution, won theT.R.FehrenbachBookAward in 2006

Texas Map Society Spring Meeting

Texas Map Society http://libraries.uta.edu/txmapsociety/ spring meeting this year is in San Antonio, April 3-5. The principal sessions on the 4th include   John Hébert, Chief of the Geography and Map Division of the Library of Congress Topic: "Cartographic Reflections of the Urrutia Map"   David Buisseret, formerly Garrett Chair Holder, UT at Arlington Topic: "Another Perspective on the Urrutia Map"   Richard Kagan, Professor of Early Modern History, John Hopkins University Topic: "Urban Images in Hispanic Maps"   Ricardo Padrón, Associate Professor of Spanish, Italian and Portuguese, University of Virginia Topic: "The Spacious World of Spanish America"   John Miller Morris, Associate Professor of Geography, UT at San Antonio Topic: "Colonial Cartography on the Far Frontier"   John Wheat, Center for American Studies, UT at Austin Topic: "From Old Maps to Modern Books; Jack Jackson's Colonial Cartography"

State of Texas Publishing - Parsons

Noel Parsons, former director of the Texas Tech University Press and recently retired with family in Florida, in 2005 had some excellent comments for the folks in Conroe and you.    The State of Texas Publishing Parsons begins:  "In his book The Ornamental Hermit, which Texas Tech Press published in 2004, essayist Robert Murray Davis, long-time professor of English at the University of Oklahoma, includes an essay on the state of Oklahoma writing and publishing. In doing so, he must compare Oklahoma, and every other state, to Texas. He notes that no other state except New York, of course, and perhaps California (and I would include Mississippi) has a literary culture to compare to that of Texas." Further down he askes the questions "Why is this? Why, except perhaps for Mississippi, does no other state away from the great publishing centers of the northeast have anything approaching the literary tradition of Texas?" From a presentation at the conference "The State of Publishing," Montgomery College, Conroe, Texas, November 19, 2005. Read more about Texas literature at http://www.ttup.ttu.edu/fromthedirector.html In February 2008 Texas Tech announced "Texas Tech Press Director Elected to State Literary Group: Noel R. Parsons will be inducted into the Texas Institute of Letters for his work in advancing Texas literature."         Read more of Sally Post's article at  http://www.depts.ttu.edu/communications/news/stories/08/02-parsons-til.php

E-book Week

Apparently, it's Read an e-book week.  Booksforabuck has a special offer and some are Texana.   http://www.booksforabuck.com/general/read-an-ebook-week.html

Texas Intercollegiate Press Assn Hall of Fame

The TIPA Hall of Fame has several entries for each year.  The first year, 2002,  includes older historical persons.  The TIPA began in 1909, yes, a century ago!   http://www.texasipa.org/

State Bibliographic Guidelines

BIBLIOGRAPHIC GUIDELINES FOR PUBLICATIONS OF THE TEXAS GOVERNMENT   Oh!  The Joy!  Inquiring minds may wish to peruse at their leisure the reading of the 2004  6-page clarifications from the Texas State Library to Texas government publishers.   It begins  "Identifying a publication accurately ensures its usefulness and accessibility to people who may start out with no knowledge of the publishing agency or institution, of the material's history or of the environment that produced the document.   Approach the identification of your publication as if you are solving a mystery. Let the publication's audience know the who, what, when, where and how (and sometimes the why) of its creation and distribution. Always place this information on a title page that immediately follows the cover of the publication. By using a title page with appropriate identifying information on it, you guarantee that in the future your own organization's staff, as well as researchers in general, will be able to understand the context in which it was produced."   Continue at http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/statepubs/docs/Bibliographic_Guidelines.2004.rtf

West Texas Collection - Angelo State U

The Angelo State University Porter Henderson Library in San Angelo has a Dr. Ralph R. Chase West Texas Collection. http://www.angelo.edu/services/library/wtcoll/ Their mission statement is "The mission of the West Texas Collection is to collect, store, preserve and make accessible for scholarly research selected historical and genealogical manuscripts, records, books, pictorial and other related materials. The primary focus of the Collection is West Texas. The Collection also serves as the primary depository for documents and records related to the history, development and operations of Angelo State University. The Collection also participates in the Texas State Library's Regional Historical Depository Program serving twenty-two West Texas counties."   Suzanne Campbell is the Collection Head.   Portions include

Texas Centennial Markers

Sarah Reveley, Ferdinand Lindheimer Chapter DRT, New Braunfels, has embarked on a broad project to identify and preserve the Texas Centennial landmarks throughout the state.  She provides this report: "Most of us are familiar with those big granite markers with the bronze Texas star, but have no idea what a phenomenal project they represent. Back in 1936 the State of Texas decided to hold a Centennial celebration, and like everything else Texas does, it was the biggest and best celebration of a Centennial the world has ever seen. The Exposition was held in Dallas, but the celebration itself involved another exposition in Fort Worth, and statewide celebrations including construction of  9 memorial museums, 5 community centers, 16 restorations of historical structures, 2 park improvements, 20 statues of  important Texans, and over 1,000 historical markers, grave markers, and highway markers. TexasEscapes offered to create a space for the Centennial on their popular site, and I got started photographing, and soon others began to help. Sadly, many of the markers have been vandalized, damaged by weed-eaters and mowers, or discolored by algae. Some have disappeared when a roadway was widened, or made inaccessible by landowners. Others have been forgotten in neglected cemeteries.   Half of the markers have been photographed, and 25% of those have some form of neglect.   When the THC said they had neither the manpower nor the funding to maintain the markers, and few County Historical Commissions have made any efforts to save them, I decided to do something. A grassroots effort, by volunteers brought together via the internet with a mutual interest in Texas history, got underway to locate and photograph all of the markers, and when the DRT became aware of the problem, they volunteered to help state-wide..  A mailing list now spreads the news, and two websites are documenting the Centennial." Read more about it at http://www.texasescapes.com/Centennial/Texas-Centennial.htm - Centennial overall and http://www.picturetrail.com/neglected_tx_centennial

The Onion and Texas Humor

Texans wishing to laugh at themselves can go the infamous "The Onion" newspaper and search their database for "Texas" at http://www.theonion.com/content/index . Sample articles include Texas Penguin Truck Accident Last week, a truck carrying exotic fish, penguins, and an octopus overturned on a Texas highway, spilling its cargo. What do you think? August 14, 2006 | Issue 42•32 American Voices Texas Governor's Mansion Burned A fire that severely damaged the Texas governor's mansion was intentionally set. What do you think? June 10, 2008 | Issue 44•24 American Voices

Moving Vince's Bridge?

The Heritage Society (in Houston) presents "A Strange Case for Moving Vince's Bridge" by C. David Pomeroy, Jr., Thursday, March 19, 12-1 P.M.   News release: "Occasionally we need to review our history to make sure that the facts and their interpretation are accurate. If appropriate, corrections must be made to insure a meaningful understanding of our history. Unfortunately some revisionist history is based on a predetermined conclusion and often without confi rmation by the facts. Local historian C. David Pomeroy, Jr. will discuss an attempted high jacking of the location of Vince's Bridge and a few other incorrect historical matters associated with the Battle of San Jacinto in April 1936."  Read more at www.heritagesociety.org   David's own website  http://www.earlytexashistory.com/

Western Heritage Awards

Western Heritage Awards National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum April 17 - 18, 2009 http://www.nationalcowboymuseum.org/   Awards are self-described as:  "First presented in 1961, the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum Western Heritage Awards were established to honor and encourage the legacy of those whose works in literature, music, film, and television reflect the significant stories of the American West. The awards program also recognizes inductees into the prestigious Hall of Great Westerners and the Hall of Great Western Performers as well as the recipient of the Chester A. Reynolds Memorial Award, named in honor of the Museum's founder. Each honoree receives a Wrangler, an impressive bronze sculpture of a cowboy on horseback."   The recent awards include Juvenile Book  Journey to Gonzales  Author: Melodie A. Cuate  Publisher: Texas Tech University Press   Magazine Article  Bringing Home All the Pretty Horses  Author: Dan Flores  Publisher: Montana, The Magazine of Western History   Hall of Great Westerners Inductees   Anne W. Marion    Texas   1938 –   Chester A Reynolds Memorial Award Recipient  Nolan Ryan Jr.  Texas    1947 –

Poster images

All Posters . com offers over 2,000 images of Texas, via the search box for "Texas."  Many are old postcards, many are recent photographs (lotsa urban and rural shots), some painted images.  You can browse by locale.  Most cost in the $20.00's range.  Seems as though libraries across the state could use a similar system for their photos display and potential reproduction.   Austin Big Bend National Park Dallas El Paso Greetings from Texas Houston San Antonio Texas State Flag

East Texas Histoical Awards

The East Texas Historical Association presents a variety of awards http://www.easttexashistorical.org/ Self-described as C. K. Chamberlain Award honors the article judged (by a panel of peers) the best to appear in the East Texas Historical Journal within a year Ralph W. Steen Award honors those who have served the Association through activities primarily other than writing Lucille Terry Historical Preservation Award, also sponsored by the Texas Forestry Museum, honors outstanding works of historical preservation of landmarks in East Texas Ottis Lock Endowment Awards honors outstanding teaching, the best book on East Texas each year and research grants for those who study East Texas historical topics; A number of research grant awards are made annually, usually in amounts of $500 to $1000. Best of East Texas Award is awarded for one-of-a-kind and best-there-is promotion of East Texas and its historic importance. The Best of East Texas Award is endowed by Bob and Doris Bowman of Lufkin, owners of Best of East Texas Publishers and Bob Bowman & Associates, Inc.

Drought Monitor

So, you've notice a dry spell?  Well, see it graphically. http://drought.unl.edu/DM/DM_state.htm?TX,S

Southwestern Historical Quarterly online

The Southwestern Historical Quarterly's first 100 volumes are online at http://www.tshaonline.org/shqonline/     Self-described as: "The Texas State Historical Association is pleased to present the first 100 volumes of the Southwestern Historical Quarterly, the oldest continuously published (since 1897) scholarly journal in Texas. This service will remain online free for an extended period, but will eventually become a benefit of membership in the Texas State Historical Association. About the Southwestern Historical Quarterly Online The Southwestern Historical Quarterly Online consists of more than 57,000 images of the pages of the first 100 years of the Quarterly as well as volume tables of contents and volume indices. The process of publishing the Quarterly Online involved locating printed copies of the 100 Volumes presented, unbinding them, scanning the 57,000 pages with a high resolution scanner, generating text via Optical Character Recognition or "OCR" software, encapsulating the document structure and text in approximately 2500 XML files used to produce the Tables of Contents and Indices, and compressing the 25MB page image files. "

Bowie Mine Literature

During these economic times, readers may wish to chuck their volumes and grab their spades, going in search of buried treasure.  Townsley takes you on a tour of the literature.   The Bowie Mine A Literature Review by Bill Townsley http://www.texfiles.com/texashistory/bowiemine.htm

Libri Vox

Free audio recordings are available to hear at LibriVox http://librivox.org/ for copyright free works.  The search box, which does NOT allow for subject searches, returned only one title item for "Texas," see Lafferty below, a short story.  Other Texana may be there.  A glance at the top of their alphabetical list showed Andy Adams "Cattle Brands."     Lafferty, Raphael Aloysius. "Sodom and Gomorrah, Texas" (in "Short Science Fiction Collection 004") · (readers) Adams, Andy. "Cattle Brands" · (readers) and there's some Robert E. Howard

Declaration of Independence

March 2, 1836 - Texas Declaration of Independence from the Convention of 1836.  Take a digital tour, chase a few rabbits, learn a little.   Texas State Library http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/treasures/republic/declare-01.html   Handbook of Texas Online http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/TT/mjtce.html   Texas Almanac http://www.texasalmanac.com/history/declaration/   UT Tarleton Law Library http://tarlton.law.utexas.edu/constitutions/text/1836dindex.html   Yale University's Avalon Project http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/texdec.asp   Humanities Texas traveling and online exhibit http://www.humanitiestexas.org/exhibits/list/signers/overview.php   Portal to Texas History lesson plan http://texashistory.unt.edu/young/educators/notebook/Declaration/index.shtml Dawn Bishop's lesson plan http://texashistory.unt.edu/young/educators/notebook/Declaration/lesson.doc Texas Tides lesson plan http://tides.sfasu.edu/Teachers/Tides/docs/LessonPlans/MiddleSchool/social/MurphreyIndependence.html   Texas State Cemetery http://www.cemetery.state.tx.us/signers.asp   Daughters of the Republic of Texas Library Weblog http://drtlibrary.wordpress.com/2009/03/02/texas-independence-day-march-2/   Lone Star Junction commentary http://www.lsjunction.com/docs/tdoi.htm   Wkipedia, of all places http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Declaration_of_Independence   Books Greatness to Spare: The Heroic Sacrifices of the Men Who Signed the Declaration of Independence  by T.R. Fehrenbach Lives of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence  by Benson J. Lossing  The Signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence by Louis Kemp The Texas Declaration of Indepedence in Exact Facsimile by Anson Jones Press Articles Greer, James K. "The Committee on the Texas Declaration of Independence," Southwestern Historical Quarterly 30 and 31 (April and July 1927), 239-251, 33-49. Shuffler, R. Henderson. "The Ark of the Covenant of the Texas Declaration of Independence." Southwestern Historical Quarterly 65 (July 1961), 87-100. Shuffler, R. Henderson. "The Signing of Texas' Declaration of Independence: Myth and Record." Southwestern Historical Quarterly 65 (Jan. 1962), 310-332.

Judy Alter on Will Howard in Dallas Morning News

Last Sunday Judy Alter wrote in one of her occasional Dallas Morning News "Texas Letters" column about Will Howard, publisher of Will's Texana Monthy and host of the Texas Parlor etc.  Her kindness and generosity are exposed.  Thanks to Judy.  Hmm, she surely knows how to put the carrot out in front of this bibliographer.  Read more at   http://www.guidelive.com/sharedcontent/dws/ent/books/stories/DN-bk_alterhoward_0222gd.ART.State.Edition1.4c00ec8.html   Keep up with Judy at http://judys-stew.blogspot.com/

Edward Nowatka

Edward Nowatka, now a Houstonian, writes book reviews and such often related to Texas.  Two of his articles in Publishers Weekly regard Texas retail bookselling.   "Texas Bookstores Assessing Ike Damage" considers the impact on places like Galveston. 9/15/08 http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6596209.html?q=texas   "Texas" explores the weight and influence of Texas-originated chains Half-Price, Hastings, and some independent stores. 10/29/07 http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6494668.html?q=texas   Ed has a site at http://www.edwardn.com/ and a blog "Books: Consumed and Digested" at http://edwardn.blogspot.com/ where he occasionally reviews Texana.  Ed also contibutes to a group blog "Beyond Hall 8" where Texas occasionally finds its way into the postings.

Texas Booksellers Association

Texas Booksellers Association

The Parlor had occasion to poke into the business of the Texas Booksellers Association, a fairly new venture, at least by name, to determine their intentions. The interviewed were TBA Membership Director Shirley Dyess of the Dusty Jacket in Irving and Dallas (http://www.thedustjacket.biz/ ), Chris and Hugh Wright of the Wright Collection in Waxahachie (http://www.thewrightcollection.com/ ), and Gary and Sue Fox of the Texas Star Books in Fort Worth (http://www.txstarbooks.com/ ). They’ve got themselves a pretty dynamic group now with a track record and concrete, achievable goals.
Texas Parlor Question: How did the Texas Booksellers Association get started?
Texas Booksellers Assn. Answer: The association started in 1991 as a cooperative effort to get a book show going in Ft. Worth. It was then known as the North Texas Booksellers Association. At that time there was a company putting on book shows in Dallas, Houston, and Austin, but in not Ft. Worth. About four years ago, the owner of that company retired. The Ft. Worth show was still going on organized by a cadre of hardworking volunteers. The October, 2008, show was the 16th Ft. Worth book show organized and managed by the association. The association had the great good luck to have in its membership many members outside the North Texas area as well as some from outside of Texas. So two years ago the name was changed to the Texas Booksellers Association and the association has been granted non-profit status.
Parlor: Does the association do any other shows besides Ft. Worth?
Booksellers: Yes, for the last two years we have partnered with DM Promotions of Houston for a joint book and postcard show in the Houston area. In January of this year we also put on our 1st Austin book show.
Parlor: Does the association plan to put on more shows?
Booksellers: Yes, plans are in the works for a Dallas book show, but it probably will not happen until 2010.
Parlor: What other things does the association do?
Booksellers: We conduct book collecting classes through adult university education.
Parlor: What are the association’s goals?
Booksellers: As it says on our website http://www.texasbooksellers.org , “cultivating appreciation of books in the community, maintaining the vitality of the independent book trade, and promoting ethical trade practices.”

A Forest Woodlot - Clark

"A Forest Woodlot" is provided by Jeff Clark up in Red River County.  The blog's self-describes itself as   "My goals on the property are sustainable personal wood production while increasing wildlife habitat and biodiversity, managing the pond for wildlife and enjoyment, and creating accessibility for my disabled wife to enjoy nature. I have found that most forestry literature is for midwest and northern states, and Texas agencies are set up for the large property owners and corporations. I will be posting any information I find useful, reviewing forestry books, and documenting the work."   As a forest steward, Clark will be recording his progress using diverse sources with an eye toward shaping information, much techical but some more personal to his situation, useful to Texans.  He's posted 12 book reviews so far.   A rather civilized approach to our tall, brown and green citizens.   http://texaswoodlot.blogspot.com/

Scholarly Books

The University of Chicago Press operates a book site - BiblioVault - for scholarly books.  It's self-description includes:   "The BiblioVault repository serves 60 scholarly presses and contains digital files for more than 14,000 books. Most books published over the past few years exist as electronic files originally used to print the hard copy. Older books that exist only in hard copy can be scanned to create electronic files. Publishers can deposit both types of files in BiblioVault."   A search for the subject of "Texas" brought 196 books.   The typical information is represented by "We're the Light Crust Doughboys from Burrus Mill": an oral history Jean Ann Boyd Copyright year: 2003 Publisher: University of Texas Press ISBN-10: 0-292-70925-0 (Paper); 0-292-70916-1 (Cloth) ISBN-13: 978-0-292-70925-6 (Paper); 978-0-292-70916-4 (Cloth)   You have the option of buying through the system. Read more at http://www.bibliovault.org/

Texas Publishers Assn - African-American Newspapers

Self-described as "Welcome to the the Texas Publishers Association (TPA).  The association is The Black Press of Texas, established in 1986. The association consists of African American owned and operated newspapers serving virtually every region of Texas with a potential reach of 2.9 million African Americans."   It's self-history begins "In the mid-1980's a group of visionary African American publishers in Texas decided to take control of their destinies a step further.  Although long the voice of black Texans, individually, the publications knew they lacked the power and influence that a collective organization could bring.  In unity, there is strength, they realized. "   With 14 newspapers across the state, showing for each as this one from San Antonio San Antonio Observer Telephone:  210-355-8686  Fax:  210-271-0441 Hussein Ali - Publisher 3607 Tuscany Drive San Antonio, Texas  78219 Email     Website   Last year's convention was in Dallas, Texas, November 8, 2008, South Dallas Cafe, 3126 Grand Avenue.   Read more at http://www.texaspublishersassociation.org/

Waymarking and TCU

Waymarking is a website for historical and other markers across the world.  There's a whole series on Texas historical markers (about 2,000 so far).  For example, see Texas Christian University marked at http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM5VK8

Hunter S. Thompson in Texas

Yes, friends and neighbors, hide the Wild Turkey, children under the age of 62, Barbie Doll women, and men subject to the subjugation of bad influence.  You find Mr. Gonzo himself re-represented at http://fuppets.blogspot.com/search/label/Hunter%20S.%20Thompson  Fuppets specializes in "Dredging the most interesting and entertaining dead bodies from the bottom of the Internet Meta-Ocean" and here are several postings on the deleterious effects of gonzo journalism. Is is the Rice Stadium Super Bowl VII that you remember?  You likely didn't sit next to Hunter S. Thompson.

Southwest Review - Awards & Prizes

The Autumn 1955 issue celebrated the fortieth anniversary of the magazine. The venerable Southwest Review (est. 1915) provides awards & prizes, self-described as   "The SWR offers awards for the best works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry published in the magazine. These awards are given by the editors and are not contests. The McGinnis Ritchie Award Robert F. Ritchie, who died in 1997, was a long-time and generous supporter of the Southwest Review. In 1960 he established the John H. McGinnis Memorial Award to honor the man who edited the Southwest Review from 1927 to 1943. With a bequest in his will, Mr. Ritchie enabled us to maintain the tradition of his generosity. Since 1998, the  McGinnis-Ritchie Award has been given annually to the best works of fiction and nonfiction published during the previous year in these pages. The awards consist of cash prizes of $500.   The Stover Memorial Award The Elizabeth Matchett Stover Memorial Award was established in 1978 by Jerry S. Stover of Dallas in memory of his mother, who was for many years a key member of the Southwest Review staff. The award consists of a $300 cash prize and is given to the author of the best poem published in the magazine during the preceding year.   The Morton Marr Poetry Prize The Morton Marr Poetry Prize is an endowment by Marilyn Klepak of Dallas in honor of her father, whose love of poetry has encouraged her to pass this love on to others. Generous supplemental donations were also provided by Mr. and Mrs. David T. Searls, Jr. The first prize is $1,000 and the second place prize is $500. Both prizes earn publication in Southwest Review pages. Judging for 2008 was Charles Martin.   The David Nathan Meyerson Fiction Prize Southwest Review is pleased to announce a new prize for fiction writers who have not published a first book. Named for the late David Nathan Meyerson (1967-1998), a therapist and talented writer who died before he was able to show to the greater world the full fruits of his literary potential, the prize consists of $1,000 and publication in SWR. With the generous support of Marlene, Marti, and Morton Meyerson, the award will continue to honor David Meyerson's memory by encouraging and taking notice of other writers of great promise.    The 2008 and 2007 awards can be seen on their website at http://smu.edu/southwestreview/   Most of the Review's writings are not Texana, but I still like to keep my one on them.  Their current issue focuses on Modern Fiction from Arab Women.   See history at http://smu.edu/southwestreview/History.asp

eleven40seven - Literature journal at TCU

painting by Danielle Martin   Up at Texas Christian University amongst a nest of creative writers, there's the Bryson Literary Society with a journal eleven40seven.  The self-description is "The mission of the Bryson Literary Society is simple: to promote literary culture at TCU. Whether you're an avid reader, an up-and-coming author, a prospective English major, or anyone from any major who just wants lively interaction with some of TCU's students, BLS is for you. We define literary culture as any community in which the written and spoken word is recognized for its transformative power. We hold these truths to be self-evident: Once we become readers, we become caretakers of the language and bear a great responsibility for its preservation and continued health. Otherwise, reading is strip-mining. Those who argue that poetry and fiction are "irrelevant" should first articulate how football performs a more necessary cultural function. Expanding on William Carlos Williams's sentiment, literature "to be alive must have infused into it...some tincture of disestablishment, something in the nature of impalpable revolution, an ethereal reversal." Or, to mis-quote Jack Nicholson, "You want the truth about literature? You can't handle the truth about literature!" Read more at table of contents / about us / submit / archive /  http://www.1147.tcu.edu/   The journal's current issue carries a prose piece and several poems.  Quincey Miller's poem, "What doesn't kill you" begins with the line "Put me inside you, let me die" and explores sensuality and a butterfiy's metamorphosis, evoking, unknowingly (?), the official state insect, the Monarch butterfly.

Their blog is at http://bls-tcu.blogspot.com/

Texas Limestone Paper Weight

Texas Limestone Paper Weight. By Phillip Hoggatt, artisan. Distributed by the Gift Shop at the San Jacinto Museum of History from the Museum’s location in La Porte, just east of Houston. 5” x 5” x 1” http://www.sanjacinto-museum.org/

Larry Spasic, the Chief Operating Officer of the Museum, recently spoke to the Harris County Historical Society, giving his usual exciting invitation to the museum. He brought with him some wonderful paper weights carved from the pitted and fossilized limestone. They used unnecessary remnants of the great monument itself. On the stone’s underside are some protective little cork spots. Larry mentioned that his samples were the last of their current batch. More would be available about March. The cost of the previous batch was about $20 or $25 each. They make excellent gifts for weighting paper or just for decorative display. I use mine to keep a book open to a page that I’m reading from while keyboarding. Mine remains cool so I also hold it to my forearms during a long writing period to cool the muscles. Give them a call to see when they’re available or to put yourself on the waiting list. 281-479-2421

Luke Wilson and Rushmore movie

News Release from Austin Film Society's Texas Film Hall of Fame Awards   2009 TEXAS FILM HALL OF FAME AWARDS HONORS RUSHMORE WITH LUKE WILSON ON HAND TO ACCEPT AWARD, ANNOUNCES BROADCAST PARTNERSHIP WITH KLRU "(Austin, TX) - The Austin Film Society (AFS) is pleased to announce that Luke Wilson will accept the Tiffany & Co. Star of Texas Award on behalf of RUSHMORE, the critically acclaimed Wes Anderson film made in Houston, at the ninth annual Texas Film Hall of Fame Awards, presented by AT&T, on March 12, 2009 at Austin Studios. Both Anderson and co-writer Owen Wilson, Luke's brother, hail from Texas and used their early prep school experiences as fodder for the wry script that garnered exceptional critical acclaim and launched both into Hollywood careers. RUSHMORE follows precocious teen Max Fischer (Jason Schwartzman), a scholarship student at the exclusive Rushmore Academy, as he navigates his friendship with wealthy industrialist Herman Blume (Bill Murray) and his crush on widowed teacher Rosemary Cross (Olivia Williams). The film will be honored with the Tiffany & Co. Star of Texas Award, which is given each year to an outstanding Texas film. Past recipients include URBAN COWBOY, GIANT and THE LAST PICTURE SHOW." ....   read more at http://austinfilm.org/

Elmer Kelton Statue

As King of the Western, Elmer Kelton is the proud son of Texas where the San Angelo Area Foundation wishes to sponsor a major, life-size statue.  If you wish to learn of the effort or make a contribution, please do.   The Foundation's online information begins as:   "San Angelo's own Elmer Kelton has published 47 novels and 13 non-fiction books in the Western genre. Three of his books have won the Western Heritage Award from the National Cowboy Hall of Fame, and the Western Writers of America have awarded him an unprecedented total of SEVEN spur awards! Kelton has been chosen by his peers of the Western Writers of America as the "Best Western Writer of all Time."  "In recognition of his outstanding contributions to literature, a committee of Elmer Kelton supporters is working toward the creation of a life size statue of him which will be placed inside the new Tom Green County Library when it is completed in 2010. This committee has chosen local artist Raul Ruiz from among 10 other artists."   Read more at http://www.saafound.org/articles/view/35/elmer-kelton-statue

A Class Apart

Mexican-American rights enjoyed a major boost from a tragic event in Texas in 1951.   PBS aired a fine documentary, "A Class Apart" on the topic as one of their "American Experience" series.   The written introduction on the website begins: "From a small-town Texas murder emerged a landmark civil rights case. The little-known story of the Mexican American lawyers who took Hernandez v. Texas to the Supreme Court, challenging Jim Crow-style discrimination. In 1951 in the town of Edna, Texas, a field hand named Pedro Hernández murdered his employer after exchanging words at a gritty cantina. From this seemingly unremarkable small-town murder emerged a landmark civil rights case that would forever change the lives and legal standing of tens of millions of Americans. A team of unknown Mexican American lawyers took the case, Hernandez v. Texas, all the way to the Supreme Court, where they successfully challenged Jim Crow-style discrimination against Mexican Americans. AMERICAN EXPERIENCE presents A Class Apart from the award-winning producers Carlos Sandoval (Farmingville), and Peter Miller (Sacco and Vanzetti, The Internationale). The one-hour film dramatically interweaves the story of its central characters— activists and lawyers, returning veterans and ordinary citizens, murderer, and victim — within the broader story of a civil rights movement that is still very much alive today."    Read more, see the video at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/class/   Next air date Feb 23, 8:00 Central.

National Book Awards

Texans well-represented in National Book Awards competition : November 19, 2008 By EDWARD NAWOTKA, Special Contributor, Dallas Morning News    What does Ed say about Annette Gordon-Reed, Kathi Appelt, Reginald Gibbons, and Mark Doty?  Well, click the link.    http://www.guidelive.com/sharedcontent/dws/ent/books/stories/DN-bookawards_1119gd.ART.State.Edition1.4a31170.html

The First Line - a journal

http://www.thefirstline.com/index.htm Editor: David LaBounty Manuscript Coordinator: Robin LaBounty   THIS PLANO-BASED JOURNAL'S SELF-DESCRIPTION follows below   "Our Mission The purpose of The First Line is to jump start the imagination-to help writers break through the block that is the blank page. Each issue contains short stories that stem from a common first line; it also provides a forum for discussing favorite first lines in literature. The First Line is an exercise in creativity for writers and a chance for readers to see how many different directions we can take when we start from the same place. TFL Specs Published: 4 times a year starting in 2002 (Spring, Summer, Winter and Fall) From 1999 through 2001 we were six times a year First Issue: May/June 1999 Cost: $3.50/issue and $10.00 a year. Here's our subscription information. The First Line is a publication of Blue Cubicle Press, LLC. Here's our contact information. " ----- The Parlor's host is trying to Imagine having the FIRST LINE of your short story dictated to you by your publisher, even before you write the story!

"Year in Review 2008: Literature

Year in Review 2008: Literature January 5, 2009  By EDWARD NAWOTKA / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News /  Edward Nawotka is a freelance writer in Houston. The article begins:  "The year 2008 should erase any lingering doubt about Texas' importance on the literary landscape. Texas writers hit best-seller lists, took home national awards and sparked international controversies. On the business side, one of the largest new independent bookstores in the country opened for business in Plano. And elsewhere, it was a good year for vampires – and a bad one to be an American looking for a Nobel Prize."    Ed's  # 4 out of his top 10 is "4 Cormac McCarthy's archives go to Texas State: Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Cormac McCarthy these days lives in Santa Fe, N.M., but his literary archive was purchased by the Southwestern Writers Collection, a part of the Wittliff Collections at Texas State University-San Marcos. There, it will reside in perpetuity alongside the works of other notable Texans such as Willie Nelson. University President Denise Trauth called Mr. McCarthy's papers "the crown jewels of our literary treasury."    For a well-rounded education, read more of Ed's top 10 at http://www.guidelive.com/sharedcontent/dws/ent/yearinreview/stories/1228glyirbooks.172ed70.html

America's Most Literate Cities 2008

John Miller at the Central Connecticut State University again informs us of the most literate cities in America.  Texas has some in two of the categories   http://www.ccsu.edu/amlc08/   TOP 10 - Plano is # 1 Education Level Education Attainment was indexed with two variables: 1. Percentage of the adult population with a high school diploma or higher 2. Percentage of the adult population with a bachelor's degree or higher   TOP 10 - Austin is # 5 and Dallas and Fort Worth tie for # 10 Internet Resources Internet resources were indexed as three variables. These numbers were then divided by the city population in order to calculate ratios of internet resources available to the population. 1. Number of Internet book orders per capita 2. Number of unique visitors per capita to a city's internet version newspaper 3. Number of webpage views per capita to a city's internet version newspaper

Christian Ficition Writers

The American Christian Fiction Writers have at least three chapters in Texas, which is in the Southwest Zone.   CENTEX Chaper in Round Rock http://home.austin.rr.com/linharris/centex.html  ALAMO City Christian Fiction Writers in San Antonio DFW Ready Writers in Dallas / Fort Worth   Get furher info at http://www.acfw.com/chapters.shtml   They've also got reviews in several genre  Historical Fiction    Romantic Fiction    Women's Fiction    Chick Lit/Lady Lit/Mom Lit    Suspense/Mystery/Thriller    Sci-fi/Fantasy/Futuristic    Multi-Cultural Fiction    General Fiction

French Legation Site and Blog

The Daughters of the Republic of Texas begin their website with this information: "Nestled in a quiet, green corner of the bustling modern capital of the State of Texas, the French Legation was originally built in 1840-41 to be the residence of the charge d' affaires who represented the government of France in the Republic of Texas. The Legation became the home of Dr. and Mrs. Joseph Robertson in 1848, remaining in their family until 1949, when it was acquired by the State of Texas. Under the custodianship of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, the site has been lovingly restored and furnished with items original to its time period. It is the oldest extant frame structure in Austin." Read more at http://www.frenchlegationmuseum.org/ The French Legation Museum Blog http://frenchlegation.wordpress.com/  was started in December 2008.

Exquisite Historical Photograhy

"Exquisitely Bored in Nacogdoches" is a site on Flickr (a site to exhibit and arrange sale of professional photographs), and this photograher (unnamed on the page) is performing (intentionally or not) an absolutely outstanding job of capturing architectural and vernacular signage photography (most in a wide swath of East Texas, but he does range outward to Eagle Pass and Fort Worth, and some oozing into Louisiana) of Texas.  He covers at least a hundred cities and towns. For example, he has 41 images of Marshall (the Parlor host's hometown), 18 of Jacksonville (where your host faultily studied for the ministry), 400 of Nacogdoches (where your host studied teaching), 75 of Austin (where the host studied librarianship), and 11 in far off Junction (where your host's brother went before TAMU).     He has 99 of old gas stations and 10 of ghosts of Bull Durham.   The rural shots are as nostaglic as the town shots.  At present, he's loaded over 4,000 images.  The image quality is fine.   The photos can be arranged by topic and by town.   I set his photos on "slide" presentation mode (a Flickr option) and could hardly look away.  Click on slide images and the subsequent shots show the annotations.   Somebody, maybe at Stephen F. Austin State University, oughta begin talking with him about the permanent archiving of his work in a research facility.   http://www.flickr.com/photos/exquisitelyboredinnacogdoches/

Home Range - Henry Chappell

Henry Chappell, novelist, essayist, journalist, blogs under the title Home Range: Notes on Literature, Nature, Working Dogs, History, Other Obsessions and Sundry Annoyances   About Me begins:  "Henry Chappell was born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1960 and grew up in central Kentucky in the small town of Campbellsville. He graduated from Western Kentucky University in 1982 and moved to the Dallas, Texas area where he worked as an electrical engineer in the defense industry. Weekends, he explored Texas through hunting, fishing, and birding trips. In 1986, he read John Graves' Goodbye to a River and knew then and there that he wanted to write. Shortly thereafter, his articles, essays and short stories began to appear in various regional and national magazines. Over the past decade, he has written scores of articles for publications such as Orion, Field & Stream, Sports Afield, Gray's Sporting Journal, Concho River Review, Texas Highways, GORP.com and Texas Parks & Wildlife." http://www.byhenrychappell.com/   His books include Blood Kin, The Callings, 6666: Portrait of a Texas Ranch, and At Home on the Range with a Texas Hunter

Bush Library

About the Center " The George W. Bush Presidential Center will be located on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, and will house the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum, the George W. Bush Policy Institute, and the offices of the George W. Bush Foundation. The George W. Bush Presidential Library will be the official archive of President and Mrs. Bush's presidential and gubernatorial records, as well as the papers of cabinet members and key decision makers within the administration. The museum will tell the story of the Bush presidency within the context of the historic challenges of the first decade of the 21st century and how President and Mrs. Bush worked to advance the core governing principles of freedom, opportunity, responsibility and compassion. The George W. Bush Policy Institute will advance these core governing principles  through research, discussion and scholarship. The Institute will operate independently of SMU but will leverage opportunities for collaboration with SMU faculty and students to enhance the Institute's efforts."  Read more at http://www.georgewbushlibrary.com/

Houston 100 Years Ago Chronology

The "Houstonian" at http://houstorian.wordpress.com/ carries a regular feature "100 Years Ago."  The entries include a source, often with extracts, commentary, and graphics.   A nice visit for folks and maybe something to emulate.

1960's Texas Music

For all the Boomers and even today's Busters, you can read and groove in 1960's Texas music history at http://www.scarletdukes.com/st/texmusic.html   It allows a focus on Houstonk, Austin, Dallas/Fort Worth, San Antonio, West Texas, South Texas.   One of their links takes you to You Tube See and hear the Sir Douglas Quintet performing "Nuevo Laredo" on You Tube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EM2uOhiM2YM