Waco

The 5 Dumbest West Fertilizer-Plant Explosion Conspiracy Theories On The Web

Investigators are nowhere near declaring what caused the explosion of the fertilizer factory in West April 17. Other investigators, however, have come to their own conclusions, or raised their own questions. Their own nutty, farcical, inane conclusions and questions. They are the West Truthers on ... More >>

David Koresh & The Branch Davidians: 5 Odd Facts From The Debacle On Its 20th Anniversary

It was twenty years ago today (as the Beatles might say) that a crazed religious kook sparked a debacle of a federal-government raid that left 83vdead, including 28 children. Arguments have raged endlessly since that Waco raid, with a hard core of people saying the blame for the deaths sits squarel ... More >>

Health Camp: The World's Most Ironically-Named Restaurant

When I was in school at Baylor University in Waco, our dining options -- both on- and off-campus -- were sadly limited. I hear they've built a Hooter's there now, though, so good for them. (Not on the campus, obviously. Hell, the Chili's they built on campus a few years ago isn't even allowed to ser ... More >>

Spice Things Up With Fruitcake French Toast

Fruitcake is one of those things that you either love or hate. I just so happen to really enjoy a slice of fruitcake (although it must be a small slice or my teeth will rot). As a child I never understood why my grandma would force me to eat a slice each year -- I only ate desserts if they were mad ... More >>

National Cookie Month: Make a "Pizookie"

October is National Cookie Month, so what better way to celebrate than with an at-home pizookie? Thank you BJ's Brewhouse for introducing me to one of the best cookies in a skillet with ice cream dessert. When BJ's came to Waco a few months ago, we all jumped for joy because we finally had access to ... More >>

Ashley Nicole "Babygirl" Richards, 21: Two Accusations of Vile Animal Cruelty Round Out Eventful Summer

Ashley Nicole Richards has been a busy lady this year. Back on the Fourth of July, the 21-year-old southwest Houston resident was arrested in connection with a riot that erupted on the Brazos riverfront after Waco's annual fireworks display, and now she has been charged here with savagely torturing ... More >>

Brady Conine of Flying Saucer Talks Beer, Bums and the Waco Connection

Now over ten years old, The Flying Saucer downtown is not only one of Houston's longest-standing craft beer bars, it also has stood long enough to see myriad other bars come and go in its wake. I am lucky enough to live less than a mile away from Flying Saucer, and when I first moved downtown, it wa ... More >>

New Baylor Stadium: Now Texas Can Actually Have a Good College Football Venue

On Friday, Baylor regents gave a thumbs-up to the construction of a new $250-million stadium that will post up on the Waco campus and alongside the Brazos River. If Waco City Council green lights the $35 million tax increment financing zone funds that would be needed, then the 45,000-seat venue coul ... More >>

Comment of the Day: Why Man Who Ate Dog Brings Talk of Zombies

We have some great commenters here on Hair Balls, and it's time we paid some damn attention to them. So we'll be highlighting a Comment of the Day each morning or afternoon from the previous day's work. Maybe two comments, even. This will all be determined by a highly rigorous scientific formula i ... More >>

Joshua Matthew Pierce: Con Man's Short, High-Flying Career Over

Though his actions were sleazy in the extreme and hurt a lot of people, including some he was ostensibly close to, you've just got to hand it to Joshua Matthew Pierce. In a Waco federal court yesterday, Pierce, of Houston, pleaded guilty to defrauding a Waco bank, his own son-in-law and another ma ... More >>

Randy Travis' Arrest: Five Other Country-Music Arrests That Sound Like Country Songs

Randy Travis: Life is like a country song​Randy Travis' arrest sounded like nothing more than the opening verse to a country song. The singer is drunk, late at night outside a Baptist church, drinking wine out of the bottle. If that doesn't set you up for a redemptive last verse after you've ... More >>

Fabian Aguirre and Clifton Grasham-Reeves: Austin Therapist and Waco Actor/Drama Teacher Facing Sex Charges

Waco's Clifton Grasham-Reeves.​Two Central Texans -- an Austin therapist and a Waco teacher/actor -- are in hot water after their alleged sex crimes have come to light. In the newer of the two cases, a 30-year-old former University of Texas psychology grad student was charged last week with s ... More >>

The Prince of Skull Orchard

Artistic polymath Jon Langford is still a Leeds art-school punk at heart.

The Bridges of Texas: 12 Beauties

We don't do rustic covered bridges here in Texas; we don't do massive Golden Gate spans either. But that doesn't mean the state isn't home to some beautiful pieces of bridge art. You can look for abandoned bridges here. Here, though, are a dozen of Texas' best. ​12. Suspension Bridge, Waco T ... More >>

Billy Joe Shaver

Billy Joe Shaver

Gadhafi: Libya's a Lot Like Waco

Gadhafi has Waco on his mind​Libya leader Muammar Gadhafi, (a.k.a. He Of Many Spellings), the absolute top man these days for giving bizarre speeches who isn't named Charlie Sheen, rocked the house again today. In a sprawling speech that sometimes, but not too often, flirted with reality, Ga ... More >>

"Whacko From Waco" & 10 Other Batsh!t Texas Songs

Texas: You're soaking in it.​Happy Texas Independence Day, everyone. Today The Only State That Matters officially enters its 175th year of pissing off the lesser 49 states and producing the best music anywhere on Earth. One of Texas' biggest honky-tonk heroes is of course Billy Joe Shaver, who ... More >>

Balcones Rumble

​A few weeks ago, I found myself downtown at Spec's in search of a birthday present for my dad. He's fond of drinking Early Times whiskey ("It's good enough for Walker Percy"), so I thought this might be a good opportunity to get him something a bit nicer for his nightly tipple. I walked the a ... More >>

Galveston: 21st Most Dangerous Neighborhood? Doubtful

Stay out of Waco!!!!​Some outfit called NeighborhoodScout.com has been getting internet run with a list of the 25 most dangerous neighborhoods in America.Tourists walking The Strand in Galveston beware: You are strolling in the country's 21st most dangerous neighborhood. Allegedly. What the w ... More >>

4 Movies Every Waiter (or Ex-Waiter) Can Sympathize With

Maybe the funniest movie you've never seen.​I've always said that if I have kids, I'm going to make them hold jobs in two industries while they're in high school or college: retail and restaurant. Your appreciation for the hard, often thankless work these folks do -- and your treatment of them ... More >>

ESPN GameDay Coming To....Waco?

Colleges all over the country drool at the thought of hosting ESPN GameDay. It's a mark of high honor and respect, and students try to outdo each other in raucously cheering on-camera behind the hosts.Baton Rouge, Austin, Gainesville, they've all hosted. And ESPN has now announced that they will be ... More >>

Kelly Gene Parker: HS Principal Brags About His Penis To 17-Year-Old Girl

Seymour....you know what​Kelly Gene Parker, the former principal of a Waco-area high school, wasn't against all that there "sexting" like some high school principals can be. Especially the ones from the Waco area.A former Meridian High School student is suing the school district, claiming Parker s ... More >>

Trevisio Touts a Texas-Sized Happy Hour

Photo by bhamsandwichAll this and more can be yours...​A common complaint of Medical Center denizens -- whether they're in the area to work, to receive treatment or to visit someone in one of the maze-like hospitals -- is that there are very few decent places to eat and drink. (You thought we ... More >>

Lawn Mower Man

Kenneth Page followed his peculiar dream from Texas to Florida.

Kenneth Page: Honky-Tonk Heartbreak Trifecta Compels Five-State Lawnmower Ride

Goin' to Florida with an aching in his heart​Newsflash: country music can be corny. Many a shit-kicker heartbreak song is riddled by cliches. But you know what they say about cliches: they get to be cliches because they are true.That is especially the case with Kenneth Page. The Waco-area mechanic ... More >>

In Honor Of Billy Joe Shaver's Epic Courtroom Performance: Five Great Trial Scenes From The Movies

If he was only a honky-tonk legend before last week, today Billy Joe Shaver is a true Texas immortal. His testimony at his own aggravated assault trial in Waco saw to that.Three years ago, Shaver shot a fellow drinker in the face in the parking lot of a Waco bar. That much is beyond dispute. Whether ... More >>

Opinions "Mixed" On Obama's Fort Hood Visit, Waco Paper Says, Demonstrating An Odd Use Of "Mixed"

​The once-respected Waco Tribune Herald was purchased this summer by a very conservative family whose first move was to put "In God We Trust" on the front page of each edition.Since then the paper has become very right-wing (even for Waco!!) on its editorial pages. We don't read it enough to know ... More >>

My Widdle Dog Wote Himself An Op-Ed Cowwum!!

We took note this summer when the Waco Tribune was sold to someone with no journalistic experience, whose first move was to add "In God We Trust" to the front page.​Now Clifton Robinson is taking Central Texas journalism to a whole other level. His publisher's column was written this week by his d ... More >>

God Enters The Journalism Business

​The Waco Tribune Herald is now operating under new ownership, having been sold by the Cox newspaper chain to the Clifton Robinson family.The first edition under the Robinsons came out yesterday, and there was at least one noticeable change: The front page now includes the slogan "In God We Trust. ... More >>

Texas Traveler: Dr Pepper Museum

Photo by Jeff BalkeWaco isn't the first place that comes to mind when people think "road trip." Instead, visions of an ultraconservative town that was once the site of an epic, fiery battle between a cult and the United States government spring to mind. Fortunately for Waco, the town act ... More >>

22nd Annual Houston Art Car Parade and Weekend

This is art rated by the MPH

Octopus Cocktail at Connie's Seafood Market

Photos by Katharine Shilcutt Submerged pieces of octopus peer out from the glass at Connie'sAdmit it.  It's just fun to say: octopus cocktail.  You want to say it five times fast.  Go on.  Try.  When you're done, head over to Connie's Seafood Market on Airline f ... More >>

Five Worst Hangovers In The Movies

The holidays are upon us, and whether you're dealing with 8-hour layovers at O'Hare or sleeping on your aunt's rollout bed with the bar that lays right across your sacroiliac joint or "entertaining" your brother and his brood of monstrous offspring, chances are you're going to drink. A lot. To help ... More >>

If His Name Was Chet Smith, He'd Be a VP Candidate Now

Drenched in Blog: Dr. Pepper, Axl Rose and Chinese Democracy

Sweat Science

Down-Home Delights

Ten of the best from Nashville and elsewhere

The Brutal Truth

Author Patricia Bernstein recalls a grisly, hate-fueled murder in The First Waco Horror

Love It, Fear It

A Brit flourishes by studying Houston

Bye-Bye Bongs?

Tubing without beer bongs? Why?

Child Support

The same extreme measures that saved Sidney Miller at birth also severely disabled her 11 years ago. Texas courts are still trying to determine who should pay for it -- and could set a legal precedent in the process.

Racket

In his first 24 years of life, Brad Turcotte has already become a music-business veteran

Best Swells of Houstonian Pride

Shannon Elizabeth

Learning Curves

Charter school scandals are teaching Texas a hard lesson -- one the state should have known fouryears and $77 million ago

Letters

In the Line of Fire

During the Branch Davidian siege, a Waco TV reporter risked his life to help federal agents -- then was falsely accused of setting them up. Before the compound burned, his career was in ashes.

Hometown Without Pity

Honky-Tonk History

He had 78 hits over 50 years and revolutionized country music. Now, Hank Thompson gets a new green light.

The Sound and the Fury

Talk radio's Rob Thorn warns of the New World Order and impending apocalypse. The Texas Constitutional Militia is listening.